Chapter 17:

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Session Number: 17
Date: Sunday 7th June 2015
Venue: Densial's
PCs & Players:

Besheeba Wlk2 (Alain) (kills: none)
Connor Brd2 (Yeran) (kills: none)
Johnny Rog2 (Craig) (kills: none)
Nicolai Clr2 (Fergus - remote) (kills: none)
Oskar Mnk2 (Ash) (kills: none)

XP Awarded:

The bandits talk amongst themselves, largely ignoring the newcomers Johnny and Connor. Johnny continues to act as if battling nausea.

"Have you heard where we're going next?" Connor asks Johnny.

"Buggered if I know."

"What about you guys?" Connor asks. He is met with little more than disinterested glances. After an uncomfortable silence, one says "Nope."

"Bloody typical," Johnny says. "Nobody tells us anything. And it's us doin' all the bloody work."

"I know, right?" Connor says. "I was also told we weren't taking any prisoners, we were just killing them. But there was that guy."

One of the bandits raises his head. "Who told you we weren't taking prisoners?"

"Nicolai, back over at the other tents."

"Well he's wrong. Prisoners are used for manual labour."

"Oh. Well that makes much more sense than just killing them."

"That guy strung up over there," says Johnny, "He's not gonna be much use to anyone. You're not gonna get much manual labour out of 'im."

"The monk?" says the bandit. "He must be special if Rezimer is keeping him alive. Why else would you keep something like that?"

"Is 'e bein' made some sort of example of, or somethin'?" Johnny asks. "'E must've done somethin' 'orribly wrong."

"I don't know. I wouldn't wanna be in that half-elf's skin when Rezimer wakes up in the morning. That's when the questions will get very serious."

"'Ow much longer do you reckon 'e's got in 'im?"

"No idea. Not my job."

"Nasty business. Nasty way to go."

"Serves him right. Should have joined the cult. Praise be to Tiamat." The bandit extends his left hand, fingers splayed.

"Praise be," echoes Connor.

"Yeah, what 'e said," says Johnny, then feigns retching.

"So you use them for manual labour," Connor says. "What's the labour?"

"Some of them convert, obviously. Why wouldn't they? Praise be to Tiamat."

"Praise be," Connor says again.

"All glory to the Queen. But you know, there is stuff that needs doing around here. We could get the kobolds to do it alright, slimy buggers… So how did you guys do during the raid?"

"Not so great," Connor replies. "But we got stuff. Yourself?"

"I conducted myself well and I'm sure that … all glory to Tiamat…" (this accompanied by a a fist to the forehead with pointer and pinky fingers extended, reminiscent of twin horns) "I'm sure the goddess herself saw me in a good light."

"It was a bit of a nonevent at the end, wasn't it?" comments Johnny. "Were you there for that?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"You know, when they sent out their 'champion'."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"What, were you not there?"

"I was gathering booty as instructed, what were you doing?"

"I was doing what I was told, guarding his back, that big blue guy, what's his name?"

"The half-dragon? Cyanwrath."

"Yeah, him."

"Was Cyanwrath in a duel of some kind?"

"Oh, I wouldn't call it that."

"He called out the greatest champion Greenest could field," Connor explains. "They just sent out some lowly soldier."

"An' 'e cut 'im in 'alf," Johnny finishes.

"Cowards!" the bandit says. "We obviously would send out our greatest champion, because that's what would be expected of us. Cyanwrath has a very deep sense of honour and loyalty… But you wouldn't want to make him angry."

"Seen much of Rezimer?" Connor asks.

"No, not really."

"Yeah, what's her story?" asks Johnny.

"Oh, obviously a worshipper of the Great Queen…"

"Praise be," Connor replies, extending his left hand.

"All hail the Queen," the bandit says, making the horn gesture. Johnny notes that Rezimer appears to be a woman.

"Did you hear what happened at the mill?" Connor asks.

"No…"

"Yeah, it didn't completely go our way, did it?" chimes in Johnny.

"Once again, I don't know what you're talking about. We were doing our job, collecting booty as we were told. Prisoners if we came across them. Killing soldiers if we had to."

"You must've 'eard about the church, then?" Johnny says. The bandits are tight-lipped. "Go', you keep it to yerselves, don't ye? The church? Y'know, where they sent a whole bunch o' men to get a whole bunch o' stuff and none of 'em came back…"

"I'm sure they did come back. Maybe you were just wrong. It is unlikely that our men would be taken."

"I agree," Connor quickly adds with a quick side glance at Johnny. "Who can stand against the followers of Tiamat? Praise be." This met with a bunch of outstretched left hands.

"Yeah, well, obviously they weren't true followers of Tiamat", says Johnny. "Praise be to Tiamat."

"I don't think that followers of Tiamat would be so easily taken out by Greenest warriors," says Connor.

"The whole world is spinning a little less now," Johnny says. "Let me just try and get meself to me feet." He staggers upright. "No, I'm alright. Let's go. Thanks for your hospitality, gents."

"Praise be," adds Connor.

Johnny and Connor vacate by the same route they entered, to the west. Connor keeps an eye on the bandits, ostensibly looking after his overindulgent friend. The bandits do no more than watch.

As soon as the pair are safely out of sight, they head deeper into the shadows. "Have we pushed our luck enough tonight?" whispers Johnny.

"No."

"Sorry, I phrased that as a question."

"We have to get that man out of his shackles, otherwise he could be dead tomorrow morning."

"Got any good plans? 'Cause the last one didn't go too well."

"I put the dog to sleep. You unlock the shackles. Anyone else I put to sleep."

"You wanna let our friends in on this little plan of yours? I think it wise."

"I prefer to leave now but I guess it's better to be prudent."

Johnny and Connor sneak back. Connor scales the cliff to talk to Nicolai while Johnny climbs the lookout tower. Throw body off cliff to hit large tent? Physically improbable. Take one of the lookout guards down and shackle them in place of the monk?

Realise that a lot of the discussions the party have had have been in front of the two guards. What to do with them?

Plan to take one of the guards back into the camp to bind in place on the 'X' structure should they go ahead and free the man currently there. Scare the living daylights out of both guards. One capitulates and appears to be willing to do whatever he is asked; the other remains belligerent.

Johnny, Connor and Besheeba take the willing guard, tell him to act drunk and keep quiet, and re-enter the camp. They make their way to the south through the middle of the camp and around to the cliff face south of the 'X' structure. Connor wants to Sleep the guards outside the large tent and get on with freeing the captive.

"I'd like to know who 'e is first," Johnny says. "If 'e's the chef of this place and 'e just made a bad curry, I'm not interested."

"OK."

Johnny and Besheeba make their way out towards the captive man, leaving their own captive with Connor who spends time teaching the man to laugh at his jokes while holding a knife to his throat.

Thirty feet behind, Besheeba speaks in the man's mind, asking him questions to which he can turn his head to the left to answer no and to the right to answer yes.

The man's answers are very informative. He identifies himself as Leosine Urlethar, the missing monk and owner of the necklace depicting a silver dragon. Oddly, he does not want to be rescued… He wishes to remain where he is, in the enemy's clutches, to study them further. He has some sort of non-suicidal escape plan but doesn't seem to be in any rush to use it. Cyanwrath is in the large tent, and he is not alone - Rezimer and Frulim Mondath are there also. He does not want news of his plight delivered to his friends in Greenest. The cave to the east does not hold a dragon. The man has around fifteen allies also held captive, in bad condition but able to walk, in a cluster of tents behind him and to his left. He wants them set free if possible - although some may refuse to go…

Have some prisoners sworn allegiance to the cult?

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