Chapter 7 - Peasants and Bandits

General Summary

Fearing they are about to be ambushed or robbed, the company decides to make a quick escape. In a village that is mostly abandoned, perhaps there is an empty house where they can lie low until the owl returns with news. Reinhard calls up natural magick to dig a tunnel in the back of the barn, and as everyone crawls out, noisily, Eddi peaks out the front door, and sees the hosts on the back stoop, with candles, talking in hushed voices. The group makes its way to the back fence, where Reinhard creates another tunnel. Unfortunately, the house on the other side of the fence is occupied. A dog, followed by a peasant and his two sons rush over, and demand to know what the strangers are doing in their yard. Franz tells them that they wandered in by accident, and tries to intimidate them by saying they are here on the orders of the Margrave , and Cilly 'Wechselbalg' tries to calm the dog - to no avail, but the residents make no sudden moves - they know they are outnumbered and outclassed. Dietmar takes the opportunity to step forward to say they are on an important mission, and simply wish to pass. The peasants say they don't want any trouble, and simply wish the intruders to leave, which they then do. As dogs bark throughout the village, they take the road out of Putzdorff, and into the forest.
Eddi looks for tracks in the dark, and easily finds the fresh hoofprints of a galloping horse (and also discovers that Cilly, too, has superior eyesight in the dark - a gift she thought was unique to her). Soon, Reinhard's owl returns. It informs its master that a single rider rode a couple of miles down the road, to a place where a large fallen tree blocked further progress. There, the rider dismounted, walked a short ways to the left, and began striking a tree with his axe - likely, a signal. Soon, several people and a dog emerged from a hut hidden behind a thicket and spoke to him before he returned to his mount, and started to ride back toward the village. The company hides behind trees on the side of the road, and soon, hoofbeats indicate the sounds of a rider approaching. Franz, followed by the others, steps out in front of him, and orders him to dismount. The rider is Wilhelm and Käthe's son Thilo, and he is not taking any chances, though he keeps his wits about him. He dismounts, raises his hands in the air, and begins to answer the party's questions. He admits that he was riding to inform some rough people in the woods about the party's arrival in Putzdorff, but they opted not to follow him, saying that the strangers were too many, and too well-armed. The rough people are a mix - some are from Putzdorff, some from Hegenburg, and some from elsewhere. There are roughly a dozen of them, but their number and composition are always changing. When pressed to justify his family's behavior, he says that it's easy for the people beyond the Wunsch to be self-righteous, but the residents of Putzdorff are just trying to survive under trying circumstances. There are at least two claimants to the land - the Margrave and the Landgrave - but they only make demands, rather than coming to defend and feed those who they would tax.
The company takes Thilo back to the fallen tree, and then into the woods toward the hut. Though Dietmar, Franz and Basil are becoming exhausted after a full day's travel, they press on. Soon, they begin to scent the smell of wood smoke. Up ahead is a thick hedge. Eddi peers through it, and sees the outlines of a hut, with a dim light flickering in the window. Two dogs are leashed to trees in front of the hut. The group makes to sneak past the hedge to come upon the bandits unawares, but the underbrush rustles under their feet, and the dogs begin to bark. At this, Basil makes a sound imitating a bear's roar, hoping to draw them away, but they remain steadfast, and the plan switches to one of frontal assault.
Using the hedge as a perimeter, Basil and Eddi lead the charge, and are soon set upon by the residents of the house, who pour out the front door with axes, and receive the support of crossbow shooters inside and in front of the house. The press Eddi and Basil at the hedge, but the two of them dance as well as they can, and soon, Basil sings a lullaby that sends one dog and one of the men to sleep. Erich and Johann force their way through with their halberds to provide support for Basil and Eddi and to press the attack out of the hedge. More people rush out of the house, however, and soon, the two watchmen are surrounded. Poor Erich, being a big man and attracting lots of attention, soon finds himself confronted by three axemen, who only by some miracle do not chop him to bits. Eddi tries to envelop one bandit in her net, though he easily chops his way out of it. She goes to her filet knife, but soon drops it. Reinhard again resorts to natural magick to strike two of the enemy fighters, but he exposes himself to a crossbow bolt, and is nearly brought down as well. Concerned for his companions, Dietmar calls upon divine help to soothe spirits and staunch wounds, while Johann, angered by the near death of his friend, pokes away out of the hedge with his halberd. Cilly, upset by the fact that one of the dogs was grievously wounded, continues to roll her acid balls behind the hedge, and knocks one man out with noxious fumes. After swinging away vigorously, Franz rushes in, puts away his sword, and draws attention away from his comrades while uttering a spell that makes one of the bandits grasp at his chest. Erich and Johann charge in as well. At this point, with four of their number, and all the dogs out of the fight, a woman's voice from inside the house calls on the bandits to fall back. Now clearly annoyed, Dietmar calls upon the Trinity. The heavens open, and three of the bandits are enveloped in divine light, and fall to the ground. Now one bandit falls to his knees and surrenders, while the rest break rank and flee around the house. The party members pursue and bring them down, but the woman who was giving commands from the loft window is nowhere to be seen.

Missions/Quests Completed

• Forest bandits defeated

Character(s) interacted with

• Thilo, son of Wilhelm and Käthe
• Wilhelm and Käthe's neighbors 

Report Date

03 Nov 2020

Primary Location

Putzdorff