Barty's "Princes of the Apocalypse"

Rumble certainly had half a mind to give chase after the fleeing man! Yet for all the compulsion to do so, he scarcely makes it a few steps before sounds of the bear viciously mauling one of the other bandits gives him pause in step. It was possible that whatever hunting instincts the bear might possess might encourage the beast to give chase after a lone target!

"Tch! Arkun! Any chance you can tell that bear friend of yours to get that last one?" He called out had neither Arkun or Melek not put that man down in short order. Apart from that, Rumble tried to position himself in such a way as to shield Melek and dissuade the bear from approach. Though as a precaution he focused more the power of stone within himself and further reenforced his body.

Action: Cast Stone Ward on self.

Arkun nods to Rumble, turning to the bear and forming his mouth just so he says, “The last of your captors runs away, take vengeance on him, then you are free!  My name is Arkun, and I will help you if you ever need it!  I am friend to bears, and friend to you!”  As if to light his way, he sends a mote of energy after the fleeing bandit, seeking to strike him down.  

Starry Wisp : 20 to hit, for 3 points of radiant damage to the fleeing bandit.  

Melek sees the remaining bandit fleeing toward him, and sees an opportunity to take a prisoner and return them to town for proper justice. He rises from his place of semi-concealment, and stands tall in front of the malefactor, the blue light of the fire painting his white hair, and his long wispy sword held in front at arms length, point forward.

You are defeated! Surrender or perish!

Action: Ready Eldritch Blast. Trigger if bandit is still up on his turn and makes any move to attack Melek.

(I figure if Arkun doesn't get him, then the bear will... but just in case)

The bear's head whips over to Arkun, the creature giving only a gruff snort before it lopes full speed toward the fleeing bandit. The druid's radiant wisp is faster than the bear's paws, however, and the fleeing man falls with a cry of pain, unmoving.

The bear slows as it reaches the dead man, pawing at him and sniffing the air. It turns to face Arkun and the rest of the party while Aldric places manacles on the hands of the only surviving bandit laying in front of him. The bear rears up and lets out a roar, before its jaws close over the arm of the dead man in front of it, dragging the body away into the brush.

Area Description:

In a brush-choked dell a short distance from the Cairn Road is a makeshift camp in front of a cave entrance. Nearby is a wagon with a wooden cage atop it.

OOC: Each character has received 16 XP for defeating the camp of bandits!

Though Rumble felt and even grimaced a little from retroactive guilt in encouraging the felling of the last bandit, he'd soon closed his eyes and took some small comfort in knowing -- believing the man had been doomed from the start. For if Arkun's magic hadn't felled the men, the bear -- who clearly moved with far greater haste than anything the bandit could've mustered -- would've slain the man in due time.

The genasi's eyes snap back open as he's suddenly torn from his thoughts hearing the bear roar. But while sharpened reflexes had him immediately snap into a more guarded posture, he soon instead found himself breathing a small sigh of relief as nothing more came of the roar.

Even still, he remained on edge as even as he looked over everyone and tried to roughly gauge their condition, before piping up with a plan of action: "Well, that went a whooole lot better than expected, huh? Shame we couldn't capture more, but these lot were given ample enough warning, I suppose." He sighed and shook his head. "In any event, seeing as no more of their fellows came pouring it, I believe it's safe to assume the cave is safe enough. But, I'm gonna go in and make sure. Be back in a sec." Rumble doesn't really wait for permission this time around before following through on his words. 

Aldric is disappointed they weren't able to capture more than just the one, but his new companions are more heavy handed than he, and they — save perhaps the novice — are not his to train or command. He sits the lone survivor up against a tree to keep him from choking on his own spit and nods at Rumble as he says he will check out the cave. It's as if the genasi had read the half-orc's mind. At least that is encouraging.

The old knight looks around, waving a finger at the two bodies. "Search them."

He kneels down and begins searching the unconscious man as well, only groaning a little at his wound's lingering pain.

Arkun relaxes for a moment, walking over to the mangled bodies and begins to search them.  “Got what they deserved, treating a bear like that…”  After searching pockets, he heads over to the fire to see if there is anything they were discussing, anything in their supplies to suggest why they were here and what they were planning.