Garl is stopped by Ayanna, but not mollified. "What's to know? He's a filthy pile of bandit vermin! Good men died out there today because this piece of dung can't handle an honest day's work!"

Still struggling, he makes a strangled sound in his throat and a spits a shockingly large wad of spit and mucus into the face of the archer.

The archer, meanwhile, is terrified now and starts trying to scramble backwards, tied up though he is. Flailing his legs and arms, he manages to move himself a few inches toward the trees.

"Untie him!" yells Garl, "Let him stand so I can gut him and spill his stinking guts into the dirt like a man!"

OOC: a Persuasion check might calm him down. Or Intimidation. Even Deception, depending. Advantage if Garl is promised something he wants out of the situation (in this case, some manner of revenge).

Danryn walks up to the scene and looks at the bound archer.

"I think we can agree things are going to be bad for you here in the near future. Tell us where you took the captives? You'd best hope they are well. Quickly man! Come clean and I'll try to ensure he only takes a few fingers," he says pointing at the enraged Garl.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:47, Tue 17 Oct 2023.

She was amazed by the irrational captain which probably threw off her argument, "Garl, we need to get information first. Get a hold of yourself."

17:10, Today: Glinsael rolled 9 using 1d20+5.  persuasion.

"Sure, kill him. But then what?" Kovann asked, challenging Garl.

"His death won't bring back the others, and it won't give us any answers. Can you speak with the dead? I know I can't? Maybe Danryn can, I don't know. But even if Danryn could speak with the dead, do you think he would talk to any of us after letting him die? You're angry, we get it. But we're here to find answers and stop them. We murder him now, what makes us better than them?"

"The Duke will undoubtedly want to personally sentence him for his crimes. While we may act on her behalf, the fact he's alive and well now should be considered as well. It will make a fine example to everyone that lawlessness is at an end here in the Borderlands, agreed?" Kojik asks of all present, looking to the others in the group and pointedly at Garl.

"I doubt the Duke would look kindly on anyone overstepping her authority in metting out justice," he added, this pointedly to Garl as well. Getting a bit of revenge might tempt the man right now, but thinking ahead to his own neck in a rope due to it should make him hesitate a little more.

Turning to the prisoner who was scrambling, Kojik continued, "And you may as well stop struggling now. If you resist, we'll have to kill you regardless. But if you cooperate, well... mercy is something the Duke may grant. If you're exceedingly helpful and answer our questions. Otherwise, well.. I'm afraid the gallows awaits in the end. Or worse."

---

09:37, Today: Kojik Virsk rolled 15 using 1d20 with rolls of 15.  Persuasion Check.

Garl grits his teeth and forces himself to calm down. His hands clench and unclench. He seems to calculate the risk/reward ratio of just fully venting his spleen on the archer.

But he gets it under control.

He looks around at them sullenly.

"Magistrates," he mutters, with venom in his voice, "Typical. Show up too late to help and not willing to what's needs doing. The Duke said it would be different out here. But it's always the grunts who suffer while the uppities talk mercy and law."

He spits on the ground.

"Have it your way. I'll have none of it."

And he stalks back out to the clearing to see about the remains of the caravan.

The archer, having made one more mighty attempt to break out of his bonds while everyone was distracted, but failed.

So now he lies there, peering up at the party, looking very young and very wide eyed. And very scared.

With Garl diffused, and the archer having realised he isn't going anywhere, Kovann let those who had a better way with words than him.

Instead Kovann turned his back, looking out to make sure nothing came their way, whilst practicing stretches as they avoided a fight.

Danryn rushes towards the bound archer shaking his mace.

"You tell us right now, Where did you take your prisoners!"

Supporting Danryn's threat Glinsael added with cold assurance, "you had better answer quickly. If you aren't useful, we can hand you over to Garl."

action: help for Danryn

10:22, Today: Danryn Storanson rolled 7 using 2d20-1, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 7,8.  Intimidation.

The archer screams in terror as Danryn looms over him and starts screaming.

"Aaaaaaah! I don't have prisoners! I don't know anything about prisoners! Dee Dee never takes prisoners! I don't know anything! Pleeeeeeeeeeease!!!!"

The orc's eyebrow(s) raise at the man's response.

"You don't want to tell me you killed them all! I can assure you of that. What brings you here and where are the rest of you hiding!"
This message was last edited by the player at 21:54, Mon 23 Oct 2023.

“And where is Dee Dee?”  Ayanna added.  With any luck, this guy would solve the mystery of the disappearing tracks.

Trying his best to listen in to the interrogation of the bandit archer, whilst making sure they aren't disturbed, Kovann takes the rope from his backpack and rejoins the others, throwing it onto the ground before the bandit.

"How about take us there. Carefully."

"Given how much he's screaming, he'd give us away a half-mile from their camp. Unless he calms down and cooperates a little more eagerly, I'd say we just keep him tied up and leave him here with the survivors. And if he guides us poorly or fails to tell us anything... important.. resulting in our failure? Well, we can make sure the word is sent that he betrayed us rather than his compatriots. The Duke's mercy will surely be gone at that point. Ever wondered what happens when a man is pulled in four directions by four horses?" he asked, coming up with one of the worst things he can think of in the moment, but a horrifying idea all the same. This he directs to the young man. Best to keep him terrified.

The matter of the base had already been broached by the others, so now it was for the young man to answer - or not.

The suggestion that he lead the party there made the archer's face drain of any remaining blood and his eyes bulge.

"Dee Dee would do so much worse to me if I lead you to her. But..."

He paused, tried to get hold of himself.

"I'll draw you a map. If you promise to let me go. I'll swear any oath you want, promise anything you want. I'll go into the hills and disappear. I'll draw you an accurate map. I promise. Just let me go..."

Glinsael handed him a sheet of paper and a pen. "Show us the layout of the camp as well, with sentry points, and the number enemies."

Danryn nodded and stepped a little ways back so the man could concentrate.

The young man looks up and blinks a few times. "I... I'm not sure about all that. I've only been there a couple of times." He blushes a little. "I'm new."

He takes the pen and the parchment, holding both like he's never used either many times before and, with a look of intense concentration (tongue stuck out the corner of the mouth), he starts drawing.

The map is simple enough: the river is at the top, with a slightly curved line going south. It bends around "Ravencaw Hill" and turns west. The western leg has the notation "decent game trail most of the way" and has a few landmarks named for measure (Three Finger Crag, Windrush Ravine, Broketooth Ridge, that Big Hole in the Ground Garson Fell Into One Time when he was Drunk and Broke his Ankle Real Bad."

At at the end, in a shaded-in area meant to simulate a patch of dense forest, he's drawn a bunch of pointy triangles around two huge leafless trees to indicate a camp. Assuming the landmarks are correct and nothing's seriously out of order, it shouldn't be very hard to find it.

He says there's a spiked wooden face most of the way around. Sentries on horses ride around just outside the fence. Some of them live there full time, some are farmers or foresters or homesteaders from the surrounding wilderness who come when there's work to do.

He says Dee Dee ordered a jail to be built recently, but he doesn't know why.

He says that everyone in camp sits down as a group to eat at noon and just before dusk.

He says Dee Dee has a very special dislike for the Duke ("whoever she is..."). And he says Dee Dee is known to be some kind of witch or sorceress because she has the power to summon and talk to ravens ("There's a huge black bird or two flappin' around her most of the time!"). And it's an open secret that she can commune with ghosts (although he's never seen this happen).

(plus, of course, there's whatever magic she uses to get everyone across the river. He doesn't know what that looks like. They blindfold everyone they can't trust before they cross)

He's not the best at counting, but he says there's maybe 20 to 30 people in the camp at any one time, and maybe half of them are fighting-people.

Hearing about the jail gives Danryn hope. His father may well be alive yet.

"This sounds like a considerable force. We should proceed to scout it more closely."

"I agree." Kovann replies to Danryn. "Maybe some kind of necromancer? Magic isn't my speciality however, so I may be wrong. What do you think Kojik? Is this something we need to worry about?"

"Speaking to the dead isn't too outrageous a spell, though if she were raising them back would be another matter. The raven suggests it may be her familiar though. I could see more than one hanging around if she had her's call to more. Makes it harder to identify which is really hers. As to the crossing.. I had Grover find where their tracks went, so I can study the area more closely, but without knowing more I couldn't guess at the specific spell. What was the crossing like? Hard? Slippery? Did it give at each step like rope or remain steady like wood or stone?" Kojik asked of the prisoner for more details. Blind he may have been, but he may have noticed other clues.

The question stumps him. He thinks about it for quite a while.

"I don't know. Sorta... normal I guess. I was on my horse the whole time, being lead. And it seemed like... regular ground? Certainly we were walking through water."

The others were doing well.  Ayanna stood back to keep the horse content and listened.  Some of what was said concerned her.  Some baffled her.  Time would tell.  What was obvious was their next stop.  They had a date with Dee Dee.

Glinsael took out another sheet of paper, and spoke arcane words while making signs over it. Holding the paper up revealed an image of the bandit with the word "exile" written above. She then spoke in an authoritative tone, "because of your compliance, by my authority as Magistrate, I condemn you to exile instead of execution. This image will be made known to the soldiery. You may never return to this territory."

Action: casting prestidigitation on the paper