3

Hearing Gawain's call, Iris nods and follows after him. While he positions the sleeping bandits an ties them up, she'll go through their pockets, pouches, and any packs they were carrying to see what she can find.

Investigation: 16

(It would still be Intimidation)

The bandit cries out in pain as Hildr begins to crush his hand, cursing and shouting out. "Alright alright! I yield already!"

"People call us criminals, but you're a pair of ruddy psychos." He mutters, glaring between Gallant and Hildr. Shifting uncomfortably with the woman's boot still on his hand, he turns his attention to the bard as best he can. "What do you mean 'tell you everything,' what in the hells do you want to know? Our weakness?"

With his free hand his fellow's corpse. "Well I'd say getting stabbed is a pretty damn big weakness but you seem to have figured that out already." 

While Gawain hurriedly ties up the other three, Iris is able to make a quick check over their belongings. Besides their weapons (each carried a scimitar and a light crossbow, as well as 10 bolts each), they collectively had 14 silver pieces and 34 copper pieces among them. In their packs you also found a large lidded jar with a cloudy yellow liquid inside. 

"What can you tell me about your leader?" 

The bandit grunts, shifting again as he meekly tries to lift Hildr's boot off his hand. "Not much, he's a secretive type. Wears a mask, doesn't leave the tower often. Rest of us thought he was a nutjob because he introduced himself as the Night Lord. But he had coin, equipment, and knew how to best to work this area."

"Have you ever seen him leave the tower during the day?" 

He looks up at Gallant with a confused look on his face, "well yeah."

Imbursed by his seemingly dumb question Gallant straights his face, "We know there must be more than one way to get into the tower outside of the front door. Tell us the secret passageway." 

The man stares at Gallant for a few moments, then shakes his head as best he can. "There isn't a secret passage. One way in, one way out. There's some other rooms underneath the tower, but unless someone knows something I don't the only way in is through the one door."

It's at this time that the three enchanted by Irisviel begin to stir. The woman you first encountered is the first to come to her senses, pulling against the rope binding her and her allies. From where they sit, she's able to see all of you, but she wouldn't have sight of the dead bandit on the grass, nor the bandit who has surrendered. "What the -? Dammit. Let me out you little shits!" She looks around, and spots the corpse of one the bandits still on the road. "Kirci!"

She continues look around, yelling out. "Artur! Dobarn! Where are you!?"

Gawain looks down as the trio awaken, having retrieved his glaive at this point. "One we convinced to surrender, and another is dead." He pauses, glancing at the bodies. "Sorry. Wish it hadn't come to that."

Far enough away that she wouldn't be able to reach him if she tried anything funny, he crouches down to be eye level. "Whatever fight you think is left, there isn't one. You and your friends are properly restrained, you're not getting out of this. How the rest of this goes is up to you, don't make this any more difficult than it need be."

"How many more are a part of your little group?"

Persuasion(/Intimidation): 18

The other two men stare at the ground while she glares at Gawain, silent as she seems to take stock of the situation. She closes her eyes, huffs, and seethes through gritted teeth. "Thirteen."

Crannoc, listening to the conversation and dynamic between the previously aggressive, now captive bandits and the interrogating party members, seeks Silvanus' Guidance to help him understand what is being communicated.

In particular whether the bandit leader is telling the truth through her gritted teeth.  Perhaps inflating the figure like a puffed out lizard or peacock?  Or sandbagging like a pack of animals instinctively luring rivals into an ambush by retreating and seeming fewer than they are.

Insight plus Guidance:  16 + 3 = 19

"What are we going to do with these captives? You, Iris, expressed skepticism about heads on pikes—although I assure you it would be a highly effective deterrent to banditry in the region." Better yet, skin them alive, Hildr reflects but has enough sense not to propose it to such a squeamish group. "I am unaccustomed to taking prisoners—at least, not if they were combatants. They will be a burden. We can't take them with us. Surely, you don't intend to deliver them to Greenest, giving the enemy advance notice of a threat and enabling these Sunless to prepare?" It strikes you that Hildr is quite articulate, albeit suitably uncouth, for a barbarian.

"I don't doubt it would be effective...I just don't think it's the right move. This place is too peaceful for it." Things had happened quickly, and Iris honestly hadn't thought of what to do with their prisoners. Hildr made good points. Couldn't take them along, and taking them back to Greenest would take too long, the others would now something was wrong. "We could tie them up somewhere in the woods, then get them on our way back?"

"Could you get us into your crew?"

Crannoc reads the woman's demeanor as one of frustrated resignation, nothing to suggest a falsehood.

The man laughs at Gallant's question, "you serious? Yeah. Sure. I'll walk you right into the tower, let's go now."

"Good choice." Gawain says to the woman, standing up. He hears the conversation going on around him about what to do with them, and intends to share his opinion. But there was one last question he wanted answered. "How do you deal with the tangleweed? Are there spots to step in that make it avoidable?"

Once that's answered, he adds his voice to the conversation between Hildr and Iris. "I think Iris has the right idea. Tie them up somewhere and come back for them later."

The woman glares at Gawain for a moment longer after his second question, then nods her head towards the jars of liquid Iris found from their packs. "On the boots. Repels it."

At the bandit leader's words, Crannoc considers the cloudy yellow liquid in the jar thoughtfully.  Plants that attack, and are repelled by ointment like insects.  Never an end to new flora and fauna to learn of in Silvanus' domain.  Glad we do not have to burn it as I thought at first.

On that note... "What shall we do with the two corpses?  I would prefer not to risk a woodland fire by burning them, and no time to bury.  I can hack them up and smear some of the gore on the trees so that scavenging carnivores will find them, and thus through their excrement, nourish the forest so that even in death, these men contribute to Silvanus' cycle of life.  Would reduce the risk of them rising as undead as well.  Speaking of which..."

He turns to the bandit leader.  "Why do you call yourselves the Sunless, anyway?  Have you got some bats and a vampire back at the tower?"

Crannoc's tone is light, but he watches the bandits closely to see if their faces or bodies betray anything at these words, asking for Silvanus' guidance.

(OOC:  Let me know if another Insight check is required or if the 19 from before carries over.)

Hildr glumly concurs with Iris and Gawain and proceeds to scout the area for a suitable spot to tie up the captives.

Wisdom (Survival) check: 7

After returning to the group, she explains that she cannot find a suitable spot: "Everywhere I look I find animal scat and tracks. So, unless our intent is to have our prisoners eaten alive while we're away, I don't suggest we tie them up—unless, of course, our nature priest would like to have a go at it."