ATCL06.1 Bandit Attack

Time seems to have slowed. Dorian stands defiantly in front of Suzi Dudh, daring her to pull the trigger. He knows she wouldn't dare challenge his leadership. His dirty grin reveals his rotting teeth, and his knuckles turn white as he tightens his grip on both his sword and Hannah. Hannah lets out a faint cry as his hold on her arm becomes painful. The rest of the bandits watch nervously, their eyes darting between their prey and the tense standoff. "Don't do it, woman!" calls out one of the bandits.

What action is taken?

Suzi lightly squeezes the trigger, and in an instant, the smile vanishes from Dorian's face. He feels the tip of the bolt pierce his skin, followed by a violent explosion of skull, brain, and blood as the bolt rockets through his head (-23hp). Still gripping Hannah, who has regained the ability to scream, he pulls her to the ground as he collapses backward, his sword slipping from his grasp.
The other two female bandits, Ravenna and Lana, don't hesitate to seize the initiative set by Suzi. Ravenna, while shouting at the wagon teams to take cover, quickly turns and lets loose a couple of arrows at Thorne, her former bandit associate, who has his back to her. The arrows both hit their target (-6hp in total), but Thorne is resilient, and he staggers round to face his foe. Lana charges toward Sylas, who is briefly distracted by the commotion created by Suzi, but sill manages to dodge down before spinning around. Lana's sword only manages to nick him (-1hp) and the two prepare to face off against each other.
The male bandits, stunned, are initially unable to defend themselves. This was not part of the plan.
The commotion immediately escalates. Those unable to join in the combat escape to cover either under or behind the wagons, or even further afield to the protection of the trees. Boris and Fiona grab their battle axe and hammer respectively from under the seat of their wagon and prepare to attack Garrick. Suilven and Lucas grab their weapons and go for Liam who is standing next to the vulnerable wagon team of Ben and Lydia, and their passenger, the older woman Mrs T. Kael shocked by Suzi's execution of their leader, stumbles backward, drops his bow, and gathers himself ready to defend with his dagger. Suzi quickly reloads her crossbow, ready to let lose another bolt in his direction. Thorne, distracted and confused by the two arrows that are now embedded in his back, faces the turncoat Ravenna, a defiant growl on his face. Gareth looks all around him, not knowing whether to go for Ravenna or someone behind him. He only has his dagger for close quarters combat, and finally Sylas having been nicked, is now trying to defend himself against Lana.
Garrick holds his ground strongly against the onslaught from the dwarven duo of Boris and Fiona, with the pair inflicting -10hp of combined damage, and Boris only suffering a minor scrape (-1hp). Liam puts on a valiant defense too, holding off attacks from Lucas and Suilven. Kael, although ready for the attack, takes a bolt from Suzi straight to the chest (-4hp). He staggers but manages to hold his balance and his dagger. Thorne now takes an arrow to the chest (-2hp), gasps for breath, and while he prepares to charge at Ravenna, and with his guard down, Jasper swings his hammer, connecting with a crunching blow across the face, that sees a handful of teeth fly out in a spray of blood and his jaw shatters (-2hp). His head twists and he collapses to the ground. Asus lunges toward the confused Gareth, and slashing with his sword, it rips open the bandit's leather armour like a hot knife in butter through to his chest, and blood gushes out (-7hp). Lana, invigorated by the minor success of her first attack, whirls with her short sword, catching Sylas's thigh, tearing it open (-5hp). Faced with this onslaught, the bandit's attempts to attack back are almost futile.
Asus continues to engage with Gareth, and as the bandit takes a further hit from the elf (-3hp), he exposes his back. Ravenna let's loose 2 arrows in quick succession (-7hp). It's more than he can handle and with blood seeping from chest, arm and back, he drops his weapon, his eyes roll back and he slumps to the ground. Jasper encouraged by his first success, leaps across towards Kael, dealing another critical blow (-3hp), and felling his second bandit. Sylas having regained some composure, thrusts his dagger toward Lana. The former bandit is not quick enough to jump out of its way and the blade slices into her forearm (-2hp). Despite the onslaught on their companions, the bandits seem more enraged and with even greater conviction to see the fight through to the end. But while Sylas attempts to inflict more damage on Lana, Asus bounds effortless across toward him, and with an almighty thrust of his sword, it pierces through his back and bursts out his chest, sending blood spraying all over Lana. The two, now victorius over the their prey, turn to provide assistance against the two bandits still standing.
Liam and Garrick whirl around with their short swords preventing anyone getting close, despite the odds now stacked heavily in favour of the merchants. Liam seems to be the most agile, and as he ducks from one blow after another, he reaches out and his sword slashes across Lucas's leg. A deep cut to the bone (-6hp) sends the young man to the ground in screaming agony. And as Liam swings again, his sword cuts through Ravenna's neck. The dark haired former bandit crashes to the ground gasping for breath as the blood rushes out between her fingers (-5hp). The Blackbird's soul flies off to the branches at the top of the trees where they will rest forever in everlasting peace. But he cannot hold off everyone. Suzi stabs with her dagger (-1hp), then Lucas connects with his hammer (-4hp). Suzi again manages to catch his arm (-3hp), Suilven connects as well (-5hp) and finally Jasper finishes him off with another crushing hammer blow (-4hp).
Garrick defends well, but with no success inflicting damage with his short sword. Eventually the odds are too piled up against him, and Asus catches him across the face(-4hp) before Suilven, who's now joined the attacks, provides the final critical blow (-2hp).
N/A Suzi hesitates in pulling trigger, and Dorian's arm flashes up and knocks it to the side. His sword ready for the attack.

The position of all the characters is on the map. Details of all the initial actions taken by the teamsters and the renegade female bandits are available to the players.
The 6 remaining male bandits get ready to defend themselves. Run combat (and consider surrender) using map and printed out sheets.

N/A As they hear their comrades fall, the remaining bandits lose hope. Throwing their weapons to the ground, and holding their hands up, "Please stop, don't kills us. Please!", they beg.
As the final bandit standing receives his fatal blow, the hammer crushing his chest through his weakened leather armor. Blood oozes from his mouth as he falls to his knees, his arm no longer able to hold his sword aloft, hanging limp to the ground. He looks towards Suzi, and with his last breath, cries out:
"Curse you, Suzi! May the shadows betray you and the light blind you! May your blade turn against you in the heat of battle, and may your tongue turn black and rot in your mouth for your treachery! May you never find rest, haunted by the ghosts of those you've wronged, and may your soul be damned to wander, lost and forgotten, for all eternity!"
He exhales, blood gushing from his mouth and the gaping chest wound. His eyes roll back, and he collapses, headfirst, to the ground.

N/A The wagon team members who took up arms, along with Ravenna and Lana, if still alive, stop attacking when the bandits start to plead for their survival. Everyone waits for Suilven and Asus to act, and how do they deal with Suzi.

The shock, relief and panic is overwhelming. Those involved in the combat are splattered in blood, exhausted and on their knees. Anya and Selene rush to assist Lucas, immediately putting cloth onto his open wound trying to stem the flow of blood. Lana is in tears, crying over her fallen friend Ravenna. Suilven and Asus are trying to restore some calm and order over matters.
The bad weather that had been rolling in before the attack now engulfs the travellers. A rumble of thunder and a crack of lightning in the distance indicate the storm is close. Raindrops begin to fall hard, and evening darkness starts to take hold. There is no time to waste.
Father Mark insists that all the bodies be taken to the village for a proper burial. Suilven agrees and organises teams to lift the bodies onto the wagons where they can fit.

Roll a persuasion check (DC10 - he's not that insistent) to convince him that you don't have time. Done

N/A The bodies of any fallen bandits are dragged into the undergrowth where they will be left. Father Mark is not happy with this arrangement, but accepts the need to proceed to the village.

Does anyone notice Captain Roland missing? Perception DC15

As the wagon owners prepare their wagons for leaving, there is suddenly a shout out from Thomas. "Where's our purses gone? Has someone picked up or purses?". Cassandra responds, "Mine's gone too. Did those bandits take them before the attack? Can someone light a lantern so we can search for them?"
Suddenly there is a hint of suspicion directed towards the two female bandits. Is this a ploy or a ruse?

Roll a perception check Suzi? D10 (it pretty obvious) - Captain Roland is nowhere to be found.

"I swear we had nothing to do with taking your purses. We've shown you we're not cruel, and we've suffered enough of this life. We want to make things better, and we thought we'd shown you. Please believe us. Maybe they've just been kicked under the wagons in the commotion", Suzi pleads.
As she realises that one member of the group seems to be missing, Suzi asks, "Wait a minute, where's that old war hero gone? Is he still in hiding?" It soon becomes clear that Captain Roland may have left with a few of the purses.

Roll another perception check Suzi, D15.

"Come to think of it, how did that he know Dorian's name? When he was trying to calm everyone, he called out Dorian's name, but none of the bandits would ever call the Shadow by that name. Now the pieces are fitting into place. The Shadow said he had a signal you were approaching."

What do you want to do? Searching for Captain Roland will be near impossible in the dark and rain now. The bandits tied up their horses a few minutes away, Suzi suggests they could go get them.

Despite the heavy rain, Asus and Suzi agree to scout after Dorian as best they can and to atleast go and fetch the horses that are tied up only a 100m away. Suzi leads Asus to the place where the horses were tied up, but find that they've all gone. Tracks show the horses all heading off in the same direction, in close proximity.

Investigation check D15 - to detect anything about the horses tracks.

N/A Even though the rain is now falling hard, a thorough check of the horses tracks in the ground reveal that it appears they were tied together, and one set of tracks is more distinct, indicating the horse was being ridden.
The rain unfortunately has obliterated any chance of tracking the horses. All that can be told is there's a dug up track heading away along the same path that the horses arrived from.
At this point, it really is becoming vital for the caravans to reach Brightwater. The wagon team impress upon Suilven that despite the suggestion that they make camp on top of the hill, they need to get Lucas to somewhere safe and dry. The road down the hill will be treacherous, and all help will be required, but it is possible. The group head back to the caravans, and the wagon teams, and immediately get things going.
Cassandra is upset, she's lost almost 8gp and a silver necklace. And Thomas has lost about 11gp.

Do the characters want to do anything?

The three female bandits have about 3gp between them, and there's about 14gp recovered from the male bandits (the dead and the alove ones). That nearly covers the loss.
Before they leave, Suilven convinces the teams that they should collect the belongings of the fallen bandits (weapons and jewellery) and Ravenna and they can hopefully sell this to make up for some of the losses. There are 3 short swords, 4 daggers and a short bow with a quiver of 12 arrows. In addition there is a stone pendant in the shape of a hammer (worth 3cp), a small gold ring with Tianna inscribed upon it (worth 1gp), a plain silver ring (worth 3sp) and a gold pendant with an intertwining design on a leather neck piece (worth 1gp).
The wind and rain starts to drive into the faces of the wagon teams harder. It's cold and biting, but he wagon drivers manage to guide their horses and ox through it, Suilven and Asus and the others vigilant for any further attacks. But none come, and eventually the welcome sight of laterns can be made through the downpour.
They've made it to Brightwater.

The wagons roll into the town, being met by a village constable on the way in. "Follow me!" he calls up to Boris Thorne on the front wagon. While holding down his cape hood to stop the worst of the rain from hitting him directly in the face with one hand, he holds a latern up in the other, he guides the group to a series of stables. Thankfully these almost empty as the winter provisions have almost run out. Between the various stables he guides the teams to, there's enough room to store the wagons, their contents and stable the animals. And for those who sleep rough, there are platformed shelter above the stable areas.
Asus and Suilven ensure that all the teams are safely secured, the animals have feed and water and bedding, and suggest every one makes to the local tavern, where hot food and warm ale is available.

What do you want to do with the prisoners? What do you want to do with the dead bodies if you brought them? What do you want to do about Suzi and the female bandits?

There's a reward of 5gp for the bandits (dead or alive), as they had been affecting trade with the village for a while. The local constable, residing in the tavern when the teams turn up, is thrilled to have been told of the bandits demise, and is happy to hand over the reward. (+10gp) He also suggest the group take the bodies to the gravedigger for disposal.
The local gravedigger, is willing to bury the dead, but with no service, at a reduced price of 1cp per body. (-8cp)
Suzi and Lana are deeply apologetic for their part in this activity. Lana would like to stay on in Brightwater and help the villagers, paying penance for any harm she and her former comrades may have inflicted. She's originally from the local area, so hopes to make it up to her family one day, but need to sort herself out first.

What does Suzi do, offer? What are her plans? If they want her to join the wagon teams, as Oakendust's representative, Suilven will have to propose this to the drivers. Persuasion skill check DC10.

Suilven steps forward and proposes that Suzi be permitted to join their wagon on its journey to the City League. He pledges his unwavering confidence in her character, assuring the group that she will honor the trust bestowed upon her. Suilven promises that Suzi will work diligently without expecting any reward, serving as both a knowledgeable guide and a vigilant guardian throughout their travels.
N/A After some deliberation, the group reluctantly agree. Some are still suspicious, but they have trust in Suilven's decision.
The group expresses their gratitude to Suzi and her female companions. Despite their initial reservations, they can see that she is honorable at heart. They are thankful to have Suzi on board and pleased that Suilven successfully persuaded her to join their journey.

Are there any injuries to deal with?

Anya and Selene help patch up those with injuries with herb dressings, balms and ointments. The wounds will take time to heal, but they will be constantly checked on the journey to make sure there are no infections. Unfortunately the wounds to Lucas are too severe, and with care being offered by some of the local villagers, he elects to stay in Brighwater until he is fit enough to return to Arncastle. Maybe he will re-join the wagons on their return journey.
The wagon teams agree that after the events of the day, with the goblin attack, and then the bandits, an extra day in Brightwater resting would help everyone.

What plans are there for the next day? Do the characters want to try and return to the bandit camp? They will need to borrow horses, and leave in the morning. Will the wagon teams allow it. Persuasion check DC10.

Suilven proposes to the merchants that with their blessing, he, along with Asus and Suzi, might take this opportunity to hunt that rogue Roland down, and possibly capture him and the stolen purses.
The merchants listen carefully to your proposals. Capturing Roland and recovering the stolen gold, along with any other valuables at the camp, sounds like a valiant plan. With ample time to reach the camp and return before nightfall, some of the merchants offer to lend their horses for the endeavor.
N/A The merchants listen carefully to your proposals, but they have suspicions that they might be getting fooled again. Is this all part of Roland's master plan? What can you offer the merchants as a security bond, to ensure they are not conned again.

Depending on the offer, they will be convinced.

N/A Reluctantly, the merchants agree with your plan, and they will lend you some horses. But Boris Thorne swears that on the name of Gorm Gulthyn, he will hound any deceiver down to his last dying breath if the characters dare to not return.
The day has been long and hard, and now everyone is fed, watered and very weary. Horses will be ready iin the stables shortly after dawn for the characters, along with some light provisions, bread and cheese and filled water skins. The merchants have another busy day of trading and deal making ahead. It is time for everyone to get some rest.

Parent Plot

ATCL06 Meadowbrook to Brightwater