"No Fin," Effulgyn whispers, casting a frowning glance at the gnome, "they'll only last an hour, I can't keep em here longer than tha. She'll have to be tied up if we're to keep her bound fer longer."

Fin coughs loudly to try covering up Effy's timely warning, "First, I think we'll need to tie them up with something a bit more reliable than magic cuffs. Should be some rope in the wagon." Try as he may to cover himself, Fin could feel the heat rising in his cheeks over this clumsy show of dominance.

OOG OK so at this time in our journey together I think it's time for me to share more about how laws and rules work in Stoacia. How do most GMs share this stuff in PbP? How would you prefer it?

(OOC: Well, as a DM I just wing it when it comes to laws of the land and keep notes as I go. The topic hasn't really come up in my other PbPs. You have free rein!)

((Info-dump away!))

So, I ended up going pretty deep into the history and politics of Stoacia which I don't think is necessary for you right now. Here is what might be necessary:

Each city or village in Stoacia (The Commons, Waewood, Beres, Kindermarsh Village, Voture Village, any others...) are bound to 5 Stoacian laws, enforced by something called The Guard, which is basically like an army. 

These laws are (in order of their adoption/ratification):

1. Honour the Strength of Magic in all forms, such is Stoacia’s devotion to Kord.
2. No unlicensed performing of Magic
3. No unlicensed possession of Magical items
4. All newcomers must demonstrate devotion to Kord through Magic or through supporting Magic
5. No possession of counterfeit Magical items

Each city must, at minimum, adhere to these laws. Any other laws they decide to adhere to are "not the Guard's business", as a member of the Guard might actually say. So these have become known as City Laws and are governed by each city's Overseer. (An Overseer is something like a Mayor, but the election process is very different and actually pretty wild!)

Each city has its own way of dealing with broken laws but the smaller ones, lacking resources and necessity, really, have adopted something akin to "an eye for an eye" justice whereby things are just taken care of between families, clans, individuals etc. So like let's say Bethany Halftree goes over and punches Matthew Stoutfinger in the mouth over in Voture Village, it is widely accepted that at some point, Matthew will make things right by punching Bethany in the mouth, or a member of Bethany's family by proxy. In other words--there is no administration because there is no administration necessary. The individuals and the families argue it out.

It's a wildly inefficient system and can take generations for some things to resolve, but this is a very new nation, and the people seem to like it...or at least until recently but that's a story for another time. 

Should one of the 5 Stoacian laws be broken, each city has to have some sort of mechanism for arresting the guilty party/parties, and holding them until The Guard makes their way to the city (to collect licensing fees and records and such), at which point they will bring the prisoners to The Stoacian Order of Magic in Waewood (Stoacia's only bureau!) where they will be tried and eventually punished (or set free, which is another thing altogether). 

So. If Fin and Effy are thinking of bringing the Human and the Gnome and possibly the Half Orc to Kindermarsh Village, they would need to get them to the Overseer there who will take it from there. Avra informs you that the Overseer of Kindermarsh Village is actually a family friend named Tobas Freefist but the first challenge will be convincing him that these folks should be held there given that the actual crimes were committed outside of village boundaries. 

"Kindermarsh have enough problems," Avra says darkly. "Avra say let them sleep again, and leave them here."

Bumping this up! What do you want to do next? 

The updated player log is here, and a summary is as follows:

• The sleep spell is no longer active but I think bless might be? Fin?
• You are all out of initiative since the gnome and the human are subdued, and since the half orc, domash, does not seem interested in fighting you. However: the ferret has not yet been seen and is somewhere so keep that in mind
  • The human and the gnome are bound. They look hurt, but not too badly.
  • The half orc look pretty bad but is not bound
• Fin and Yesrora have not taken any damage 
• Effy has taken a fair bit of damage and is at less than 50% health. I think he may be out of spell slots as well?
• Avra is now almost at full health thanks to Fin's lay on hands

Of note: the gem is in Yesrora's possession, while both vials are in Fin's.

“When we leave, that ferret’s gonna come outta the woods at some point and chew through that rope,” Effulgyn’s tenor rings out for all to hear. “So we’re just going ta discourage that from happenin too soon so ye don’t try followin us.”

The halfling waves his hand over the ropes and says, “Qis-f'tujej' fgugfdu!” A small shower of sparks rains on the bindings. (prestidigitation)

“Now,” Effulgyn says, “that’s gonna last a few hours. If your pet tries chewin on em before then…,” the young wizard’s thumb draws a line across his own neck dramatically, as he makes a threatening glottal noise. “Poison.”

“You,” the halfling says to the half-orc, “should come with us. Tell me more about yer farm along the way. Asterix! Heigh Ho let’s go, my sweet beastie,” he smiles, and looks to Fin, back turned to the human and gnome, eyes searching for a yea or nea to the plan. 

Fin takes a long moment looking between his friends climbing into the wagon and bandits tied before him. He couldn't just let criminals go to keep robbing the roads, but they had no way of transporting them. What's more, the thought of a local Overseer ignoring the threat just because happened outside the town limits was preposterous! It was all too much, and it seemed he was outnumbered on opinion. A dark thought crossed his mind: Bandits can't rob without hands...

Fin was never a violent soul, but this desperate conflict brought such thoughts forward. It all boiled over as he spun and brought his blade down at the smiling bandit. His blade stopped short of the man's neck and Fin's normally casual look was replaced with pure anger. "We will be back along this road. If we see you again, I'll only bring a head to the next town's Overseer." Message delivered, Fin joins the others in the wagon.

Are you still going to take the bard with you?

Yes!

((Indeedee-do!))

With Effy on the bench, I see Domash and Avra in the cart, as they have taken the most damage, and Yesrora and Fin walking alongside.

They pass the human and the gnome who remain shackled for the time being, but they'll either get out once the ferret chews them out (given that once a conjured item takes damage it disappears) or within the hour that the conjuration lasts--whichever comes first. Assuming you have ridden them of their weapons, either outcome is OK by you. Doesn't really matter anyway...you are able to ride on without incident.

You are all silent for a while, thinking your own thoughts. Eventually Domash starts playing his flute--even though Effy told him not to earlier--but no one stops him now. The tune he plays is soft and hopeful.

Effy, to you, from the bench of the cart as you expertly coax a calmer Asterix along the road, it reminds you of fall harvest at Nymblewynd farms. Of beer and of large roast dinners. You feel instantly rejuvenated, as though his music is healing you. And in fact, it is. (OOC Please roll 2xD8 healing from Domash's second level Cure Wounds.)

The melody repeats twice more. To Avra the music reminds her of her farmhouse, of resting by the fire after a long day of labour alongside her Pa. She is also restored to full health. And from the other side of the cart, Domash has also regained some vitality.

He continues to play his flute, no particular melody this time, for a while. 

Effulgyn clicks his tongue to set Asterix in motion away from their bound would-be robbers, hoping that the guileful gamble he’d taken would at least slow down the villains long enough to allow a good head start toward safety. I don’t like tellin lies, it doesn’t suit me, an I feel like a fool trying to swindle my way out o that situation. But neither do I relish the alternative risk of being stuck with that rapier again. 

The wound throbbed, and though the bleeding had mostly stopped, there was still a trickle and his shirt was uncomfortably wet. In this mood, Effulgyn didn’t have the energy to stop Domash from doing magic with his flute, and indeed, drifted to sleep as the soft and hopeful melody whispered across his dreams. 

Later, jostled when the cart thumps over a rock in the road, Effulgyn blinks to awareness, and smiles, “Easy there, Asterix, that’s a girl!,” having regained his energy. “Domash, ye can play whenever ya want. You’ve healed me right as rain!,” he beams. “Thank ye!!” (OOC: back to full HP :)

Looking back to his bloodied shirt, the halfling whispers magic words, “Qis-f'tujej' dumfbo!,” while running his hand over his arm (OOC: casts prestidigitation). The dried blood disappears, and the linen now shines white as a bucket of fresh milk.

There, now I feel more myself again. With a plucky grin, he exchanges a look with Fin, to say, we’re doing all right, pal, and offers an old country song, which he sings with three parts enthusiasm and one eighth part melodicism in turn with the half orc’s flute melodies as the cart moves along toward the Kindermarsh.

You plot along without incident for some time, mostly in silence, until you reach the lakeside village of Kindermarsh. It came upon you quite suddenly with a clearing of trees, and then neatly parceled pockets of land. 

"Farms," Avra says to no one in particular. 

Indeed, you can pick out farmhouses here and there as you go, and midsummer things growing: strawberries, cucumbers, tomato, stuff like that. Effy you must feel quite at ease in this land of rolling farmland, and even Yesrora, who is used to caves and the like, finds this pleasant in its own way.

The lake blooms ahead like a large blue jewel and you can see houses now built just around it. They are modest, sort of like the houses you saw in Beres, but against the backdrop of lake and fields, they look so much more wholesome. 

"Kindermarsh Village," Avra says, "North side of lake. Avra's farm and the sick on south side but we stop here for food and for tales." 

"Now those words, 'food and tales,'" the young wizard says, turning to Domash, "are music t my ears. Another one is 'Inn,' and 'comfortable bed.' Wull okay, that's two or three but whose countin, eh, Asterix? Maybe we can find you some fresher fodder than what ye been chewin on today so far?" Excited, but also in the back of his mind, wary, Effulgyn turns to Fin to whisper, "The Kindermarsh, Fin. We're half-way through our journey now!"

Fin gives a sidelong smile and long sigh, "About time, too. I can't wait to get back and be done with all this."

"A family farm would be best. We'll repay in kind whatever we can, but rest in a welcoming home is always better than an inn."  Fin threw his shield and javelin quiver into the wagon as they crossed into Kindermarsh. The welcome feeling of a town eased any tension he had for the time being.

After some thought, Avra suggests visiting her uncle's farm for a rest.  You're still another couple of hours from her farm, and while she's eager to get back and check on her Pa (who she believes might have done something rash with the encroaching mold) it's clear you all need to freshen up. So you head toward the east, with the lake on your right, toward Kindermarsh Village. Eventually the village makes itself known in the distance--you can see a cluster of buildings up ahead--but Avra invites you to turn down a dirt road before you get to it. There you continue for a short while, climbing along the road, with trees on either side of the road and different crops on either side of you. Eventually, you come to a small (for half orcs), older, wood frame house, painted blue. It's really quite pretty. 

"Uncle not at home," Avra says as the cart comes to a halt near the end of the drive. "Cart gone," she explains. "We can rest here any ways, or we can go to Village--uncle might be at market..."

What do you guys think? You can rest at Avra's uncle's place or you can go to Kindermarsh Village to see if he is at Market (or you can propose something else altogether)

Effulgyn’s mood had vacillated up and down as they have traveled. His thoughts moved to Ash, Ferg, and Arc, friends these last two years who have disappeared now so quickly. It’s been less than a week since they had left the Academy. It was as if some invisible force was fighting their progress, day by day stripping them of their friends. And now only Fin and Effulgyn remained. 

“No one said this’d be easy, did they?,” the halfling muses aloud, apropos of nothing, only half convinced.

But upon seeing the small blue farmhouse, Effulgyn’s face breaks into a smile. 

“Look, Fin! The thought o sittin round table and passin a bread basket around and fresh butter in its own dish and a tall glass o fresh brew in hand!,” the young wizard’s enthusiasm bubbles to overflowing. 

“Avra, kin we leave the cart here an find yer uncle? I hate t impose without his blessing but you know im best.”