Above & Below

With the three weaklings subdued by Effort's intimidation, Brask shoves them aside roughly as he races to Pip's side to give the little goblin his healing potion.

5

Pip sits up with a start, clutching at Brask's arm. He slowly calms himself, looking around and surveying the scene. The last fallen soldier has a pair of Pip's arrows sticking out of his back. Pip nods toward him. "I did good?"

Effort kicks away the soldiers' weapons and begins restraining them with lenghts of rope.  Looking over at the prisoners, she glares back down at the soldiers.  "One of you had better know where the keys to release those women are."

One of them nods toward the leader's body. "Be on him." You easily find a small ring with a pair of keys on it. One of them opens the shackles, should you wish to do so.

You did good.  Now on your feet, soldier.  Brask's voice is gruff.  The shooting was good, the staying back needs work.  Your next training run won't be so gentle.  He doesn't help the goblin up, but makes sure he can do it by himself.  Then he starts paying attention to what's going on around him, and moves towards the men who surrendered, making sure they don't get any bright ideas of escape or resistance.

It seems it was not yet time for me to join the others... Kurama thought exhaustedly to himself as the energy dissipated around him and fell back onto the ground, wincing and breathing heavily.  Seeing the others take the lead with the remaining prisoners, Kurama contented himself to closing his eyes and trying to slow his breathing, finding little success.  Staying put, he eventually opened an eye and said matter of factly, "They were... tougher than expected.  I still have much to learn it seems."   

"Hmpf," Effort says as she rifles through the leader's body and finds the keys, unimpressed with the man's excuse.  Moving over to the chained women, she unlocks their shackles without saying much.  When they're finally free, she steps back and says, "I am Effort.  The big one is Brask, the small one is Kurama, and the tiny one is Pip.  Whatever your circumstances were before this, you are all free women now.  We were sponsored in this endeavor by Baron Whiteroot of Sicklerville.  If you wish to return with us to there, you are more than welcome to do so.  But before that, it falls upon the three of you to decide the fate of those men over there," Effort says, pointing at the guards.  "They claim they had no choice in the matter.  You women shall be their judge and jury on that point.  I do believe we have the execution bit covered, should it come to that," she says frankly.

The women look back-and-forth at each other, at Effort, and at the soldiers. "Oh...I don't know," one pipes in a hoarse voice. "Let them go, I suppose. They may still get that execution bit when they get back empty-handed."

After a moment, the other woman nods in agreement. Then she looks down. "I don't know if we can go back home...we were given to these men. They might come looking for us."

Pip walks over to the soldiers and unceremoniously pulls out his arrows, cleaning off any blood or viscera in the dirt before putting them away.

Any fight you survive is a good fight, Brask says emphatically to Kurama.  We were outnumbered and we still kicked their arses, right?  Maybe we need a bit of practice, mind.  I reckon we'll get plenty soon enough in this place.  He looks suspiciously around at the world in general, and then focuses on Effort and her conversation with the women and the surviving men.  Not a lot of freedom round these parts it seems, he says idly as he walks over to the men.  Orders, you say?  he asks, leaning on his maul.

"Y-yes." One stutters. "Of course. Gotta follow orders. We were told to help get this caravan back safely."

Another looks around at his fallen companions. He tilts his head quickly as if to say well, that didn't happen.

Tell me your orders, exactly, Brask says as mildly as a minotaur leaning on a maul can.  And about the guy who gives them.  Intimidation 24

Sigh.  Really could've used that nat20 two rounds ago. :)

"Okay, okay," the guard holds up his hands in resignation. He then points to the fallen leader. "That one over there recruited us from the town guard to come along. Finn, his name was. Nasty guy, but good at gettin' people to do what he wanted them to. Picked different guards each time. Sometimes more than once if they did a good job, I guess. This is my second run across the valley. We head to one of a few towns. Pick up food, goods, sometimes people that are to be brought back as workers, soldiers, concubines. Don't know many of the details on that front. We just walk along the carts, is all. I'm guessin' all the orders come down from Baron Cynric, but I never talked to him myself."

Kurama Insight check: 19

He seems to be telling the truth, and as much as he knows. These guys probably aren't very high up on the totem poll.

Not rising to his feet, Kurama turned to the three captives and asked, "What will this Baron do once he discovers his latest run has been ambushed?  And where will you go now?  We're pretty new to this... region but there does not seem to be much around in terms of holdfasts or other safe locations to survive the elements and whatever else lives out here."  

Effort snorts loudly, letting everyone know what she thinks of the three captive guards.  "No choice, they say.  Just doing their jobs.  Following orders.  Humpf."  She crosses her arms.  "Everyone has a choice.  Even if it means to fight, and to die.  You chose to support slavery.  Do not think *my* offer of protection is going to extend to you three fools.  Though I will gladly turn you over as prisoners for Baron Whiteroot.  Maybe he will find some value in your skills and be more forgiving than I am inclined.  But make no mistake.  The three of you willingly chose to turn a blind eye to slavery and forced prostitution for money.  I would slay you where you stand, if not for the mercy of your captives," she spits.

Her piece said, she stomps away, stopping only briefly to rub Pip's head and give Kurama a curt nod, before angrily rifling through the fallen soldiers' pockets for money, weapons, armors, and other useful items, and then dragging the bodies a bit away from the shoreline, piling them together.

"Might put us to the axe," one somberly states. "Or demote us, if we're lucky. Maybe we'll get to clean shit for the rest of our days."

"Better 'an being eaten alive out here, or tortured elsewhere." They seem to relax a little as Effort heads off to search the corpses. "Those are your options out 'ere."

Give me an investigation check to search the bodies.

Investigation: 22 + Guidance 3

Dang!

The guards have very little. Spears and small shields. The thugs each carried a mace, and one had a heavy crossbow hanging from his back. The leader wielded a somewhat fancy (for this plane) longsword. Upon further inspection, Effort would conclude this was a +1 longsword. She also finds a pouch on his person with 42 gold pieces in it.

Among the carts, there are crates of various foods - potatoes, carrots, turnips, a few sorry looking heads of cabbage - along with tied up stacks of blankets and furs. Nothing particularly extravagant, but certainly useful on a cold night.

Were the carts being pulled by anything?  Or would Brask I mean the whole party have to drag them back to the Baron? XD