Chapter 4.2: The Dim Journey to Orlane

The sun is nearly at its zenith when the party rides Rufus' wagon into the forest. At first the trees are sparse, with lots of bushes and shrubs in between, and the the sun is warm on your faces and arms with only intermittent shade. But before the hour is out, the trees have closed in on either side of the road and the sunlight is reduced to a greenish glow through the thick canopy that has formed above the Road. The world of brightness and light is behind you; a cool, dark tunnel stretches ahead into the distance.

The Dim Forest is aptly named.



Though the party has heard about the Jarl family, you have no idea where the crofters' homestead is, other than "nearly a day within the Dim." There is no one else on the Road now, and the undergrowth has crept its way in on either side, so that the Road is definitely narrower than it once was. Deep ruts show where past carts trundled on through winter rains; hardy plants have sprouted in the deeper tracks, and leaves have drifted onto the road in such numbers that you can hardly tell that a Road was even here. Other signs of life abound: creatures scurry and scamper through the bracken on either side, making an ongoing rhythm of small rustling, crashing noises. Leaves and small twigs fall from birds and squirrels moving through the treetops. It is as if the Road had been forgotten, people have vanished, and Nature has come to reclaim its land.

Forgotten? No. Thinking of the mystery of the cult and how traffic to and from the farming community of Orlane has dwindled to almost nothing, you realize that "abandoned" is the better word. People have vanished, and many of them involuntarily.

Eager to make progress, for the first few hours the heroes do not stop except for short breaks to relieve themselves or to rest the oxen. Not long after they enter the forest, they dine on the wagon, taking turns driving the oxen while others eat. Time rolls by as they continue through the deep shade of the trees.

Everyone else is content to let Dell go off by himself as the only one looking for a campsite; they've only known him briefly, but they already explicitly trust him. Surely he'll be fine on his own.

Dell finds the path that leads off to a little homestead with a large house and generous barn. He doesn't get too close, out of respect for not disturbing the occupants. Coming back, he also finds a campsite that his brother had used, a bit closer to Hochoch and into the trees to the south.

The campsite that Dell has found is nestled in among a stand of oaks south of the Road (*). Dell can tell by the ashes of the fire that only a couple of days have passed since it was last used; everyone takes that as an encouraging sign: this may be the place that the Dungeon Busters who came before them used.

Dell is able to confirm this within a few minutes, while Guilbert is helping settle the oxen and the adventurers are unloading their gear from the wagon: apparently from long years' habit, Chase had carved a Boundary Warden blaze on the trunks of two of the oaks. Reynald gathers wood for a fire as Olyena begins preparing Berthold's customary evening meal. She looks uncertainly at the motley crew gathering round her master, and whispers to the baronet: "While we are traveling with them, should I be preparing food for your companions too, my lord?"

* - For your edification, note that this is the campsite that the previous party set on Day 25.

The evening passes pleasantly enough and soon it is full dark. As everyone shares their observations of the trip so far and discusses preparations for their arrival at Orlane, each of you can roll a WIS (insight) check.

Dell has a nagging feeling that he saw something important, but he can't quite put his finger on it. So around the campfire, he relates to the others in particular detail all that he saw while he was scouting ahead of the wagon, trying to find this campsite. So it is when he describes his journey through the forest that Sora looks up, frowning.

Reynald, Berthold's page-training-to-be-a-squire keeps starting at every sound, clearly ready to challenge any of the undead or bandits or troglodytes that they've heard about to a trial by combat. The boy has so much nervous energy, it's almost exhausting just watching him. At one point, he offers to go on a night hunt, as "I'm sure I could find a boar or even a bear!" "What would you do when you found one?" Guilbert the groom asks calmly but with some bemused curiosity. "You've got no spear, and in the dark they'd smell you and hear you before you ever saw them."
"I could make a spear!" Reynald retorts.

Feeling more comfortable with one another, the new party settles down into their rotation of watches and the rest of the night passes uneventfully.

The morning arrives with a slight brightening of the blackness under the trees and the drip of condensation falling from leaves onto the thick litter of the forest floor. After feeding the oxen, Guilbert begins hitching them to the wagon as Reynald and Olyena go through the motions of their long-running squabble over who will help Berthold don his heavy armor.

Continuing down Cecily's Road in the gloom of the Dim Forest, the ox-drawn wagon draws abreast of the narrow track that leads north toward the occupied farmhouse and barn that Dell noted last night. Every one of you hears the snap of a twig and a muttered "damn" from the trees on the opposite, south side of the road. Clearly there is someone trying to hide there.

"Not alone," Antonius murmurs, voice low but certain, raising a hand and signaling to halt and listen. "Someone watches us… and poorly. Hold. Let them reveal themselves—or we draw them out."

Berthold exclaims: "To arms! They are upon us!"

Kazzak loads his crossbow and aims into the trees. "Show yourself! We mean no harm but we will defend ourselves!"

In unison with the fighter, rogue Dell takes up his bow and nocks an arrow.

Amnestria rolls over backward and drops down between the packs riding with her in the wagon bed.

"I gotta admit," a masculine voice comes from behind the trees, "You guys were right. I thought for sure he was heading back to town and we'd never see him again." This person - Hider One - sighs, and the party members can pinpoint his location by his voice and by a half-glimpsed shape behind a tree. "So what's it gonna be: kill, capture, rob?"
Sora watches Hider One closely, poised to fight.

---

14 - Antonius (10/10)
14 - Berthold (11/11)
14 - Kazzak (12/12)
11 - Dell 9/9
7 - Amnestria (9/9)
5 - Hiders
3 - Sora (12/12)
0 - Noncombatant servants

Round One
(this is followed by round two)

"Fire and charge forward?" Kazzak asks the Baronet, aiming his crossbow into the trees, "Or stay and fight?"

Meanwhile, Antonius stops the oxen and jumps down from the buckboard. Stepping off of the Road in between tree trunks, the cleric holds aloft the bloody glowing amulet and intones his Command with all the sepulchral authority of Wee Jas: "Drop!" to the half-seen figure to the south.
Hider Two drops what he's holding. "What? Faskat!" he swears aloud.

Not answering Kazzak directly, "Guilbert, get on the cart and keep it moving!" Berthold issues the command as he vaults over the side of the wagon and lands with a jangle of heavy armor on the Road. "Olyana, take cover in the cart!" he adds as he runs past her, and then tosses his shield to the boy, "Reynald, cover Guilbert, here, take my shield!" Then, drawing his huge sword, the knight crashes through the foliage to seek cover in the trees as he approaches the figure he's spotted to the north.

Kazzak realizes that he has his answer and presses the lever that looses the crossbow bolt. The shaft disappears into the trees.

Dell hops down into the bed of the wagon, pushes past Kazzak, Amnestria, and Sora to jump down off the back of the wagon, and dives into the trees, ducking out of view of Hider Two.

Amnestria pokes her head up over the side of the wagon, pulling her backpack with her as a rudimentary barrier. She can hear her heart pounding in her chest, but she calms her mind through long practice, recalling the familiar movements of creating fire from the Weave and the arcane phrases that she must vocalize to send the flame flying through the air.


The half-seen hidden figures in the trees yell and attack.
The first hidden figure, One, looses a bolt at the boy, Reynald. But the crossbow bolt clips an ox, so the bolt goes wide. The ox screams in pain and starts to try to run, held back by its yoke.
Two, who no longer has his crossbow in hand, draws a sword and runs at Antonius. He misses completely.
The third hidden figure, Three, looses a crossbow bolt at Olyena. Olyena falls with a bolt lodged in her chest, dying.
Completely undetected by the party until now, a hidden figure behind the wagon, Four, looses a crossbow bolt at Amnestria.
Amnestria takes 5 piercing damage as the bolt strikes her in the shoulder. Her owl flaps up in alarm.

In response, Amnestria lets the magic roll forth from her, sending fire through the trees to engulf Hider Three.
Hider Three takes 6 fire damage and she dies horribly.


Seeing the approach of the ambushers, Sora leaps out of the wagon with a clatter and rushes into the woods, crashing through the underbrush to come around the broken tree stump to attack Hider Two with kicks and punches.
Hider Two takes 10 bludgeoning damage!



Seeing his servant struck down in the attack, Berthold yells, "Reynald, get Olyena in the carriage!"
As Guilbert climbs up onto the buckboard and takes the reins, young Reynald looks back and forth between Guilbert and Olyena. Deciding which order to obey, Reynald tosses the shield into the back of the wagon and gets his arms under Olyena's bleeding form and then tries to stand up. He manages to do so with a huge grunt of effort; the full-grown woman weighs a bit more than he does. Then he tries to figure out how to get her up and over the lip into the bed of the wagon when he can't throw her in (even if he was able to throw more than his own body weight over his head, he wouldn't want to treat her so carelessly). Eventually he flops her body over the side and walks his hands down her body, pressing her weight up to lever her over the side and rolling her as gently as he can into the wagon; it's not too much of a drop.
For her part, Olyena tries to cling to life, but the damage to her organs makes it difficult.
Olyena fails her first death save.

---

14 - Antonius (10/10)
14 - Berthold (11/11)
14 - Kazzak (12/12)
11 - Dell 9/9
7 - Amnestria (4/9)
5 - Hider 1, Hider 2 (-10), Hider 3 (dead), Hider 4
3 - Sora (12/12)
0 - Noncombatant servants: Guilbert, Olyena (dying, one failure), Reynald

Round one, continued...

Seeing the approach of the ambushers, Sora leaps out of the wagon with a clatter and rushes into the woods, crashing through the underbrush to come around the broken tree stump to attack Hider Two with kicks and punches.
Hider Two takes 10 bludgeoning damage!



Seeing his servant struck down in the attack, Berthold yells, "Reynald, get Olyena in the carriage!"
As Guilbert climbs up onto the buckboard and takes the reins, young Reynald looks back and forth between Guilbert and Olyena. Deciding which order to obey, Reynald tosses the shield into the back of the wagon and gets his arms under Olyena's bleeding form and then tries to stand up. He manages to do so with a huge grunt of effort; the full-grown woman weighs a bit more than he does. Then he tries to figure out how to get her up and over the lip into the bed of the wagon when he can't throw her in (even if he was able to throw more than his own body weight over his head, he wouldn't want to treat her so carelessly). Eventually he flops her body over the side and walks his hands down her body, pressing her weight up to lever her over the side and rolling her as gently as he can into the wagon; it's not too much of a drop.
For her part, Olyena tries to cling to life, but the damage to her organs makes it difficult.
Olyena fails her first death save.

---

14 - Antonius (10/10)
14 - Berthold (11/11)
14 - Kazzak (12/12)
11 - Dell 9/9
7 - Amnestria (4/9)
5 - Hider 1, Hider 2 (-10), Hider 3 (dead), Hider 4
3 - Sora (12/12)
0 - Noncombatant servants: Guilbert, Olyena (dying, one failure), Reynald

Round Two
(this is preceded by round one, followed by round three)

Amid the sudden chaos, Antonius shut out the cries—the wounded ox, the clash of steel, the cry of anguish as Olyena fell. His focus narrowed to the man rushing him through the trees. With practiced ease, he turned his body to avoid the attack and the blade whistled harmlessly past. The amulet of Wee Jas pulsed a crimson glow on his black-clad chest as Antonius stepped forward, his warhammer Final Measure coming up in a tight, controlled arc. There was no flourish, no wasted motion—only the calm, deliberate strike of a man who had faced violence before and met it without hesitation. Already pummeled, his opponent is surprised at a hammer attack coming up from below and is unable to deflect the deadly blow.
Hider Two takes 4 bludgeoning damage and falls dead, his ribs crushed!
Another soul joins the goddess in the Patterned Web today.



Taking no time to ponder the fact his initial quarry had just been consumed in flames, Berthold the knight turned to look for another target. Immediately he sees Amnestria sway, a shaft protruding from her back. ::Where? There!:: Berthold spies the traitorous bastard who had attacked the party from the rear, and runs full speed toward the foe, brandishing his long blade two-handed.

Seeing the closest assailant go down, Kazzak leaps down from the wagon and races toward the attacker behind them (Hider Four), just a bit ahead of Berthold.

Dell sees his intended target go down in a flurry of blows, then also notices Amnestria's grunt of pain. Looking behind him, he sees another figure leaning out from behind a tree trunk. Dell nocks an arrow, draws, inhales, aims, exhales and releases the string. There is very little of the target showing from behind the tree, but still the rogue's aim is true. As he sees his arrow hit home, Dell says a little thanks to his brother who always hammered home the routine, forcing him to practice it so much that it works as one fluid motion instead of multiple steps.
Hider Four takes 6 piercing damage!




Amnestria tenses, ready to either Dodge any further incoming shafts or cast a protective Shield between herself and such missiles.

Hider One, seeing the dark cleric strike down his companion, looses a shaft at Antonius, but it is lost in the foliage and the Jasidin doesn't even realize he's been attacked.

Hider Four, reeling from the arrow in his side but seeing the murderous approach of the two warriors, backpedals while cocking his crossbow. He looses it at one of them: the larger target, Berthold.
The bolt punches through the meat of Berthold's left arm.
Berthold takes 2 piercing damage!



Also unaware of the terrible crossbow attack, Sora looks about for her next opponent, her eyes settling on Hider One. She moves 20 feet in his direction through the underbrush of the forest.



Guilbert begins driving the oxen again, and the wagon lurches into motion again.
Olyena gasps shallow breaths. Her life is bleeding out onto the packs; she has two failures.
Reynald trots alongside the wagon and hauls himself up and over the side to join Amnestria and Olyena in the bed.

---

14 - Antonius (10/10)
14 - Berthold (9/11)
14 - Kazzak (12/12)
11 - Dell 9/9
7 - Amnestria (4/9)
5 - Hider 1, Hider 2 (dead), Hider 3 (dead), Hider 4 (-6)
3 - Sora (12/12)
0 - Noncombatant servants: Guilbert, Olyena (dying, two failures), Reynald

Round two, continued...

Amnestria tenses, ready to either Dodge any further incoming shafts or cast a protective Shield between herself and such missiles.

Hider One, seeing the dark cleric strike down his companion, looses a shaft at Antonius, but it is lost in the foliage and the Jasidin doesn't even realize he's been attacked.

Hider Four, reeling from the arrow in his side but seeing the murderous approach of the two warriors, backpedals while cocking his crossbow. He looses it at one of them: the larger target, Berthold.
The bolt punches through the meat of Berthold's left arm.
Berthold takes 2 piercing damage!



Also unaware of the terrible crossbow attack, Sora looks about for her next opponent, her eyes settling on Hider One. She moves 20 feet in his direction through the underbrush of the forest.



Guilbert begins driving the oxen again, and the wagon lurches into motion again.
Olyena gasps shallow breaths. Her life is bleeding out onto the packs; she has two failures.
Reynald trots alongside the wagon and hauls himself up and over the side to join Amnestria and Olyena in the bed.

---

14 - Antonius (10/10)
14 - Berthold (9/11)
14 - Kazzak (12/12)
11 - Dell 9/9
7 - Amnestria (4/9)
5 - Hider 1, Hider 2 (dead), Hider 3 (dead), Hider 4 (-6)
3 - Sora (12/12)
0 - Noncombatant servants: Guilbert, Olyena (dying, two failures), Reynald

@spaceseeker19

Round Three
(this is preceded by round two, followed by round four)

As the wagon rolls past, Antonius grabs onto the railing, hops, skips, and leaps up onto the tail gate. Stepping into the bed of the wagon, he sits on some of the piled gear that isn't quite so blood-spattered and glances at the bleeding wizard contorted in pain from the crossbow bolt sticking out of her back. His assessment is instantaneous: she is badly hurt, but not dying yet. "You will be alright, Amnestria. Apply pressure to the wound—firmly. Do not remove the bolt if it remains seated; if it has passed through, bind the shoulder tight." This nonsense is helpful, as it forces her to focus her thoughts not on the panic or the pain but on how she could possibly tend to the wound in such a way herself. Are some people flexible enough to reach their own back like that? Or is there a sort of device she could craft that would enable a person to pull a weapon out of a place they can't reach? Antonius sees that his words have their intended effect, and he encouragingly adds "Slow your breathing. I will attend you once Olyena is secured." Turning to the dying servant, the Jasidin pulls the quarrel from her chest and tosses it aside. Then he puts his hand on the wound, blood spurting between his fingers. Necrotic energy from the goddess flows through him as Her conduit, the symbol on his chest glows redly, and the mortal wound closes. Though still covered in gore, Olyena is now Stable.

Berthold continues charging across the Road toward the sneaky, cowardly assailant who attacked Amnestria from behind, Hider Four, catching up to the blackguard before he can get away. Off to his left, Kazzak is doing the same, circling around through the trees to come up on Hider Four's other side and being careful to not stay in the path of Dell's arrows.

Hider Four has not had the chance to take cover again, in part because of the two furious warriors charging him, but also because of the bird that is flapping in his face, blocking his vision. Amenstria's avian companion Grallaria is furious at the attack on her mistress and is making this bandit know it. So it is that when Dell looses another arrow, Hider Four doesn't see it coming and can't dodge it.
Hider Four takes 7 piercing damage as the shaft lodges in his gut.


Berthold and Kazzak are adjacent to Hider Four. Dell is 70' away from him.

She's still musing about self-care for back wounds, but as the wagon lurches forward, Amnestria instinctively looks ahead to where they are going and sees the hostile man crouched behind the trees. Gasping with pain and anger, she quickly chants the syllables to wreathe her hand in flames, which she then hurls past Antonius and Guilbert, over the oxen, and into the trees toward Hider One. Hider One is too protected by his three-quarters cover, though, and the tree's bark is scorched instead of the bandit.

Hider One doesn't notice this; his focus is on the crashing, cracking noise of the underbrush as the monk is bearing down on him. He loads his crossbow with shaking fingers, cocks it, and looses the quarrel in Sora's direction. It's lost in the foliage.
Trying to ignore the bird in his face, Hider Four drops his crossbow and attacks Kazzak with his scimitar, figuring that the shorter dwarf might be easier to fight past than the glowing knight with the enormous sword. This is an error, of course: Kazzak still has his shield, which handily blocks the bandit's clumsy slashes.

Sora closes the remaining distance and punches Hider One hard in the face.
Hider One takes 6 bludgeoning damage!

Guilbert drives the oxen forward and the wagon continues along Cecily's Road, with Reynald holding Berthold's shield protectively in front of the driver. Guilbert growls a bit at not being able to see, but he's grateful for the cover and that Antonius seems to have stopped Olyena's screams. Olyena rests peacefully, splayed across the packs.


Sora is adjacent, Antonius is 30' away, and Amnestria is 35' away from Hider 1.

---

14 - Antonius (10/10)
14 - Berthold (9/11)
14 - Kazzak (12/12)
11 - Dell 9/9
7 - Amnestria (4/9)
5 - Hider 1 (-6), Hider 2 (dead), Hider 3 (dead), Hider 4 (-13)
3 - Sora (12/12)
0 - Noncombatant servants: Guilbert, Olyena (stable), Reynald

Round Four
(this is preceded by round three, followed by round five)

Antonius shifts in the back of the jouncing wagon to squat next to Amnestria. "Hold steady," he says, "This will hurt." He yanks the bolt cleanly out of her back; it does hurt, but not as much as Amnestria feared, and her rigorous mental discipline allows her to maintain focus on her magic. Applying pressure to the grisly wound, Antonius intones an entreaty to Wee Jas and the goddess chooses to grant her miraculous power once more.
Amnestria is fully healed. Blood clots, muscles regrow, fresh skin develops.
Spreading the wizard's blood on his clothing, Antonius calmly advises "Breathe. Pain means you still have purpose."

Kazzak continues clashing swords with Hider Four, blades ringing loud under the trees. This, combined with Grallaria's fluttering, buffeting wings, distracts the bandit enough that Berthold can land his attack easily. The large blade cleaves into the man, who spins too late. The knight's blade rises and falls again and again, hacking deeply until the bandit falls.
Hider Four takes 10 slashing damage and dies.



Seeing Hider Four go down under the knight's blade, Dell turns away and rushes through the edge of the Forest paralleling the Road. As he approaches the wagon, he can see Sora punching and kicking at something or someone behind a tree up ahead. Dell nocks, draws, and looses another arrow, but the shaft thunks into the tree trunk in front of the man's head.

Repeating the long-practiced syllables, Amnestria summons fire on her hand again, and flings it at Hider One. This time the flame catches on a low-hanging branch, just barely missing her target. Grallaria silently turns and flaps through the air after the wagon.
The owl is 60' closer to Amnestria.

Hider One, realizing too late that he missed his chance to flee, drops his crossbow and pulls out a scimitar in a desperate attempt to stop the monk from beating him to death. He slashes desperately, cutting into Sora's arms as she punches.
Sora takes 4 slashing damage!

Wincing in pain, Sora launches a roundhouse kick at the man, but he steps back out of the arc.
Sora follows up her kick with a lunge punch, striking Hider One in the solar plexus. His breath whooshes out with the blow.
Hider One takes 4 bludgeoning damage!



As Reynald continues to hold Berthold's shield to cover him, Guilbert drives the oxen further, advancing the wagon another 10' down Cecily's Road. This brings the heroes in the wagon - Amnestria and Antonius - to an angle where H1 no longer has any cover from their attacks.


Sora is adjacent to H1. Dell is 20' away, Antonius is 25' away, and Amnestria is 30' away from H1.

---

14 - Antonius (10/10)
14 - Berthold (9/11)
14 - Kazzak (12/12)
11 - Dell (9/9)
7 - Amnestria (9/9)
7 - Grallaria
5 - Hider 1 (-10), Hider 2 (dead), Hider 3 (dead), Hider 4 (dead)
3 - Sora (8/12)
0 - Noncombatant servants: Guilbert, Olyena (stable), Reynald

Round four, continued...

Seeing Hider Four go down under the knight's blade, Dell turns away and rushes through the edge of the Forest paralleling the Road. As he approaches the wagon, he can see Sora punching and kicking at something or someone behind a tree up ahead. Dell nocks, draws, and looses another arrow, but the shaft thunks into the tree trunk in front of the man's head.

Repeating the long-practiced syllables, Amnestria summons fire on her hand again, and flings it at Hider One. This time the flame catches on a low-hanging branch, just barely missing her target. Hider One, realizing too late that he missed his chance to flee, drops his crossbow and pulls out a scimitar in a desperate attempt to stop the monk from beating him to death. He slashes desperately, cutting into Sora's arms as she punches.
Sora takes 4 slashing damage!

Wincing in pain, Sora launches a roundhouse kick at the man, but he steps back out of the arc.
Sora is adjacent to H1. Dell is 20' away, Antonius is 30' away, and Amnestria is 35' away from H1.

---

14 - Antonius (10/10)
14 - Berthold (9/11)
14 - Kazzak (12/12)
11 - Dell (9/9)
7 - Amnestria (9/9)
5 - Hider 1 (-6), Hider 2 (dead), Hider 3 (dead), Hider 4 (dead)
3 - Sora (8/12)
0 - Noncombatant servants: Guilbert, Olyena (stable), Reynald

Round four, completed

Grallaria silently turns and flaps through the air after the wagon.
The owl is 60' closer to Amnestria.

Sora follows up her kick with a lunge punch, striking Hider One in the solar plexus. His breath whooshes out with the blow.
Hider One takes 4 bludgeoning damage!

As Reynald continues to hold Berthold's shield to cover him, Guilbert drives the oxen further, advancing the wagon another 10' down Cecily's Road. This brings the heroes in the wagon - Amnestria and Antonius - to an angle where H1 no longer has any cover from their attacks.

---

14 - Antonius (10/10)
14 - Berthold (9/11)
14 - Kazzak (12/12)
11 - Dell (9/9)
7 - Amnestria (9/9)
7 - Grallaria
5 - Hider 1 (-10), Hider 2 (dead), Hider 3 (dead), Hider 4 (dead)
3 - Sora (8/12)
0 - Noncombatant servants: Guilbert, Olyena (stable), Reynald

Round Five
(this is preceded by round four)


As we begin round five, twenty-four seconds into the skirmish, only one visible opponent remains: hider one. Berthold and Kazzak are 110' away from the bandit (who has cover from them), Amnestria (in the wagon) is 30' away from him, Antonius (in the wagon) is 25' away from him, Dell is 20' away from H1 (who has half cover from this angle), and Sora is adjacent to the bandit.

As Berthold and Kazzak jog to catch up to the wagon carrying Antonius and Amnestria, Dell looses another arrow at H1. The bandit jerks backward as a feathered shaft punches through his torso.
H1 takes 5 piercing damage!

Amnestria summons the familiar magic, flames forming on her hands and then flung at H1. This time, the spell hits its target, and the bandit's head bursts into flame!
H1 takes 3 fire damage and dies, screaming horribly.

With all the apparent opponents defeated, the encounter has ended. The party regroups at the wagon; each PC gains 20 XP.

---

14 - Antonius (10/10)
14 - Berthold (9/11)
14 - Kazzak (12/12)
11 - Dell (9/9)
7 - Amnestria (9/9)
7 - Grallaria
5 - Hider 1 (Dead), Hider 2 (dead), Hider 3 (dead), Hider 4 (dead)
3 - Sora (8/12)
0 - Noncombatant servants: Guilbert, Olyena (stable), Reynald

Round five, completed

As Berthold and Kazzak jog to catch up to the wagon carrying Antonius and Amnestria, Dell looses another arrow at H1. The bandit jerks backward as a feathered shaft punches through his torso.
H1 takes 5 piercing damage!

Amnestria summons the familiar magic, flames forming on her hands and then flung at H1. This time, the spell hits its target, and the bandit's head bursts into flame!
H1 takes 3 fire damage and dies, screaming horribly.

With all the apparent opponents defeated, the encounter has ended. The party regroups at the wagon; each PC gained 20 XP.

---

14 - Antonius (10/10)
14 - Berthold (9/11)
14 - Kazzak (12/12)
11 - Dell (9/9)
7 - Amnestria (9/9)
7 - Grallaria
5 - Hider 1 (Dead), Hider 2 (dead), Hider 3 (dead), Hider 4 (dead)
3 - Sora (8/12)
0 - Noncombatant servants: Guilbert, Olyena (stable), Reynald

Guilbert draws the oxen to a stop and climbs down with Reynald; together they find and fetch the bodies of the bandits.

Dell is able to retrieve the one arrow that lodged in a tree toward the end of the fight; the others are lost in the dark forest or lodged too deeply in flesh and bone to extract intact.

Two of the bodies are badly burnt. The other two have sweat-reeking leather armor that could be patched and repaired by a tanner. None of them have been mutilated with tattoos or scars, nor do they bear any jewelry. Between the four of them, they did have an assortment of money: 93 cubs and 6 seals. Each had a slightly curved short sword with a single edge (scimitars), each of which has clearly seen a lot of use in fights and also for cutting brush. They each had light crossbows, but one of them was broken when the dead bandit fell on it. So there are three light crossbows, and a collection of quarrels (bolts) for the crossbows. Crossbows bolts are too small to use with a bow, and they hit with such force that they are destroyed on impact with anything harder than a bale of hay. So none of the bolts they used are retrievable except for the one that Antonius extracted from Amnestria's back. In addition to that one, there are 34 bolts that had not been used. Their boots are terrible, even more worn than those of Berthold's servants. Clearly none of them is a cobbler, nor have they bought new equipment for a long time. The wizard notes that they have no reading material, nor do they have packs or other gear, which suggests that a camp or hideout must be nearby.

It is less than half an hour since the party left their campsite. Sora follows Dell as he leads the way back to the trail leading north to the homestead, Grallaria the owl riding on his shoulder.

Making a pile of the weapons next to the bodies, the others consider how to dispose of the bodies and how to break swords. "We do have the wagon," Reynald points out after making a few failed attempts to bend and snap a blade. "We don't have to leave any of this stuff."

---

Amnestria (9/9)
Antonius (10/10)
Berthold (9/11)
Dell (9/9)
Grallaria
Kazzak (12/12)
Sora (8/12)
Guilbert
Olyena (stable, 0 HP)
Reynald

As Antonius is busy starting the Jasidin rites (it's complicated by the fact that he has to clear a space in the forest large enough to draw the circle), the two Dungeon Busters finish covering the 120 paces to the edge of the farm. Grallaria flaps off of Dell's shoulder and flies silently around the Jarl farm. She sees no other people (and disappointingly no rodents, either). Sora stops at the edge of the farm, still within the shadow of the trees, listening intently. She hears nothing and sees no movement. Dell sneaks ahead into the farm like a ghost. There is a barn - the doors are open - a farmhouse with closed door, a garden on the other side, and fields beyond that. A great fire pit stands in between the barn and the house, with the blackened remains of a pig on a spit, mostly bones.

Having finished giving orders to his servants, Berthold marches after the two heroes who are exploring the farm. It takes a bit of searching, but soon enough he finds the path and clatters along toward the farm, his heavy armor jingling with every step. Sora and Dell can hear the unmistakable sound of the Baronet's approach; they know Berthold is coming, and that they've got perhaps a minute before he catches up to them.

Berthold stops as soon as he realizes that the others aren't coming, and that he should give the scouts more time to complete their mission.

Rather than entering the farm to search, Sora stays in the trees to be able to watch and listen to detect any other bandits who might sneak up on Dell. She sees and hears none.

Dell notes the boar, which was probably cooked within the last day. Frowning at the implications, Dell moves into the barn - there's nothing in there - and into the house. The bones and gristle scattered around the chairs along with the various clay mugs confirm what he suspected: at least ten people were here, eating the boar. Looking in the various rooms, he sees that all the beds have been used, and blankets on the floor point to many people squatting in this abandoned home. ::Yes:: he thinks ::These were the ones who were occupying the house last night::. None are present now.

Based on what he's seen and heard, Dell envisions the following scenario: last night he approached the farm, saw it was occupied, and left. But it was bandit squatters on the farm, who must have posted lookouts, and they saw him. Not concerned with a single man, the bandits debated what to do, with some thinking he was just a single traveler on the way to Hochoch. In the morning, the remaining bandits left to do...something, leaving four of their number to remain near the farm, and when those heard the wagon approaching, those four hastily set up their ambush.

So it sounds like the party wants to use the Jarl farm to recuperate and to prepare an ambush for the remaining bandits that may return soon.
There is a farmhouse with two stories consisting of a main room/kitchen and a side bedroom, with narrow stairs leading up to three other rooms upstairs.
There is a stone well, where the family drew water for cooking.
There is a midden heap, where the family emptied their bed pans, kitchen scraps, and any other vegetable waste.
There is a large barn, containing a wood pile, loft for hay or other cut and dried food for animals, and pens for a couple of animals (now gone).
There is a vegetable garden, for growing food for the family.
There are crop fields, for growing crops to sell at market.

What, then, is the plan?
Where will you put the oxen?
Where will you stow the wagon?
Where/how will you hide the corpses?
Where will each of you conceal yourselves?
Are there any other preparations you wish to make?

Kazzak draws up the rope and the bucket attached to it. The water is clear and the sip is cool and sweet with no ill effects. This supports all the evidence they've observed already, that the bandits are squatting at the abandoned farm (and so they wouldn't poison their own water supply).
The path back to Cecily's Road is to the south. It opens up on a wide yard, perhaps 40 paces across. The house is on the east side of the yard, with the front door and windows facing west. The well is a few paces east behind the house, adjacent to the garden on the other side (further east). The house is about 25 paces from the barn, which is on the north side of the yard with its doors facing south and north. The midden is east of the barn and north of the garden. The fields spread to the east and to the north beyond the house and barn. All are enclosed by the thick trees of the Dim Forest.

The house has four windows on the ground floor: one on either side of the front door, letting light through the west wall into the main room. Another window is opposite, letting light in from the east to the left of the fireplace. The fourth window is in the southern wall, letting light into the ground-floor bedroom. The other exterior door is the back door, to the right of the fireplace and which leads out of the main room to the east. Stairs start just outside the bedroom door and lead to the second story landing. It's very dim at the top of the stairs because there are no windows, just three doors (one each in the north, east, and south walls). These doors lead to three very similar bedrooms. The one to the north has a window in the north wall (overlooking the barn) and another in the west wall (overlooking the yard). The south bedroom has two windows facing the woods to the south. The east bedroom has a window facing east (overlooking the fields) and another facing north (overlooking the garden and barn).
Dell opens the barn doors wide and finds a comfortable, concealed spot in the loft. While the bandits could return from any direction, all signs indicate that all recent traffic used the path (except for the people bringing back something bloody from the fields - Dell assumes this was the pig they caught and slaughtered), so he faces south.
Acting as lookout and ready to hurl more deadly fire from behind an illusion, Amnestria takes position in the west-facing window in the north bedroom on the second floor.
Without committing himself to any preparations for the ambush yet, the noble knight looks for signs that the bandits are returning...beyond the fact that they left some of their number here at the farm. He doesn't find any spare food, as the bandits slaughtered one of the Jarl family's livestock. It may be that they are planning to come back with food for the ones they left here. But hidden in a cupboard, Berthold does find a sack with a bunch of stuff in it: silver combs, rings, cameos, an oak cane, some lace veils, a small roll of velvet cloth, an embroidered surplice, and twelve pouches - the type a person might wear on their belt when traveling. Going through the pouches, Berthold finds they contain an assortment of coins. None of this tells him when the bandits are likely to return, only that they are certain to return sometime.

As he is weighing the pouches in his hand, Berthold hears the wagon arrive. He steps outside and helps Antonius lift unsteady Olyena down and help her into the house. Laying her down on the bed in the first-floor bedroom, Berthold pulls a blanket over her and encourages her to stay in bed for peaceful, recuperative rest. "Stay quiet, conserve your strength," Antonius directs her, before going out to the well to draw some water to give her in a cup that he finds in the kitchen.
After Antonius delivers the mug of water to Olyena's bedside, he leaves the knight alone with his servant and returns outside. As the death cleric directs and assists Reynald and Guilbert in the disposition of the dead bandits, Kazzak stations himself with loaded crossbow between the front door and a window.
After watching Antonius direct his servants in setting up the scene with all the precision of the more elaborate stage plays he's seen at the Dunsdale court, Berthold goes back to searching for further evidence of the bandits' activities. He finds no weapons other than the ones on the bandits the party killed, which are currently hidden in the wagon. He figures this means that the bandits are in the habit of carrying their fighting equipment - armor and weapons - on themselves, rather than leaving a store behind. But, as he observed earlier, at least some of their loot was left here with the three men and one woman (the four whom the party killed), so they are likely to return, and, if nothing out of the ordinary tips them off, they are likely to do it without suspecting anything has changed for the worse.

Antonius finishes directing the setting of his grisly tableau, then when he starts scattering coins, Sora emerges from the forest to see what in the world he's doing. As the death cleric explains his plan again, Berthold calls Reynald and Guilbert away to help secure Olyena's safety. Though she is comfortably resting in the ground-floor bedroom, Berthold doesn't want to worry about the safety of his retainers while he's fighting, if it comes to combat. So he has Guilbert gather up the body servant (an easy task, since she's as small as a toddler in his arms) and carry her upstairs. There, the knight charges them to be vigilant and to defend Olyena from anyone trying to gain entry to "her" bedroom (the south one). As Berthold entrusted his heavy crossbow to Reynald, Antonius finished setting the stage for his show and came inside the farmhouse. He closed the door behind him, nodded to Kazzak, and then went into the kitchen to light the fire, making it seem as if the bandits were still inside, cooking. Sitting at the dining table with a clear view of the door, Antonius assumed the proper prayer posture and began to commune with his Lady. Soon enough, Berthold clomped back down the stairs, dropped his helmet on the table and sat down opposite Antonius with a grim smile and a nod. Sora joined Dell in the barn, but instead of climbing up into the loft, she is waiting in the shadows just inside the barn doors on the ground floor below the rogue.

Hours pass. It is early afternoon when Sora and Dell hear the voices of people approaching up the forest path.

Dell is in the loft of the barn with the doors open; he has the least muffling of approaching sounds.

Reynald, listening at the south-facing window, tries to stay alert.

At his window, Guilbert looks out over the fields to the east.

Despite being inside the house, Antonius hears the approaching voices through the open window next to Kazzak. No one else in the house does, but Sora hears and immediately ducks behind cover on the ground floor of the barn. Above her in the loft, Dell listens closely.

As Dell and Antonius decide how best to communicate what they've heard to the rest of you, everyone please roll initiative.

It is early afternoon.

It is just about the time when civilized people in Hochoch would be taking a break for the midday meal (and hours after the farmers would have finished theirs). Antonius murmurs "They're coming - more than four. Armed and unworried." as he stands and takes position by the window on the opposite side of the west-facing front door from Kazzak. Berthold dons his helmet and takes the two steps to be just inside the front door of the house, standing within arm's reach of the dwarf, who is praying under his breath at the other window, and the death priest on the other side. A few paces to the south from the three of them is the foot of the stairs leading up to the second floor, and beyond that the door that opens into the empty ground floor bedroom.

Upstairs, Olyena and Reynald wait in the southern bedroom. Guilbert is in the eastern bedroom. Amnestria and Grallaria are peering out the west-facing window of the northern bedroom.

Amnestria looks across the yard and sees the open loft where Dell is perched, making hand signals to notify her that the enemy is coming from the south. As he does so, he gives the double-whistle signal he's established with Sora. Directly below him, ducked out of sight of everyone else, the monk hears the signal and knows to be ready.

Dell in the loft and Amnestria, Antonius, and Kazzak peeking out the west-facing windows all see two rough-clad humanoid figures - most likely humans or human half-breeds - step out of the trees and see the wagon scene.

Round One
(this is followed by round two)

Two bandits have just stepped off of the path into the farmyard. Everyone hears their reaction.
"Whoa - that's not a pig!"
"No, it's not."

The first one - we'll call him Abe - sighs audibly, then calls out more loudly: "These travelers better have had some food! You were supposed to prepare a meal!" Abe approaches the house and ends his turn just outside the front door. "Hello? Is there food ready?" Abe is 5' from Kazzak and Antonius through the windows, but melee attacks through the window with anything other than a stabbing piercing weapon will have disadv, canceling the ADV from attacking unseen. They can step away and use ranged attacks without fear of opportunity attacks. Or any of the three of them on the ground floor could open the door, be seen by Abe, and step through to attack (there is enough room for PCs to squeeze past and partially surround him). Abe is 30' from Sora, and Dell has a clear shot at him. He has partial cover from Amnestria from the eaves of the roof.

The second one - we'll call him Bem - has moved to the wagon to inspect it. He stoops to pick up some coins, giving him half cover from ranged attacks. "That's weird..." He is 15' from the front door, 20' from the second story window, and 40' from the barn.

Whatever others are coming, they're still on the path.

Grallaria drops down from Amnestria's shoulder, cutting off any line of sight from the bandits as she drops below the window sill.

Sora runs out from her hiding place in the barn, speeding across the farmyard to jump and kick Abe.
Abe takes 3 bludgeoning damage!
Sora follows up with a series of punches and slaps.
Abe takes 4 bludgeoning damage!

Amnestria ducks down at the window, following Grallaria. She's significantly larger than the bird, so the top of her head is still visible over the sill. Amnestria draws a tiny glyph in the air with her wand to refresh her illusion of an empty window. She hopes that helps to keep them both concealed.

Two more bandits, Chel and Dhit, enter the farmyard from the path.
"Who is that??"
"She's attacking Abe!"
"Jilted lover?"
"Doesn't matter, she's beating the hell out of him!"
Chel and Dhit run across the yard to end adjacent to Sora and Abe just outside the farmhouse door.

Dell leans out from his hiding place in the loft with bow drawn. Loosing the arrow at one of the newcomers, he then steps back behind cover.
Chel takes 11 piercing damage with a shout of dismay.

Two more bandits enter the farmyard from the path; let's call them Ene and Fern. Dhit yells: "There's another one in the loft!" Ene and Fern take cover behind the wagon with Bem. They load their crossbows, Readying attacks at the first hero they see.

Two more bandits enter the farmyard; let's call them Gull and Huff; Fern yells "We've got the archer - you check the house!" Gull and Huff duck down for a moment, then nod and head back into the trees.

"Follow me!" Berthold bursts out of the front door, and crossbows twang as Ene and Fern use their reactions to try and perforate him. Ene's bolt thuds into his shield, but Fern's bolt punches through into his gut.
Berthold takes 5 piercing damage!
Stepping past the scrum of enemies around Sora, Berthold lashes out at the one most blocking the way - Abe - and catches the man in the back of the neck.
Abe takes 12 damage and falls, headless.
Continuing through the space thus vacated, Berthold continues his charge toward the wagon, coming around the side to confront the three crouched there.

"Zâramu ai-mênu!" Kazzak is right behind the baronet, coming around the other side of the wagon, swinging at Bem. The bandit ducks and weaves around the swings. "How many of them ARE there??" Bem wails.

For a moment Antonius is taken with the image of himself looking down from a high vantage point, directing the battle. But then he steps out of the front door and calls the judgment of Wee Jas down on Chel and Dhit, the two nearest bandits. "The Ruby Bell does not ring in warning — it tolls only when Wee Jas has already claimed the soul."
Chel takes 7 necrotic damage and drops dead.
Dhit takes 7 necrotic damage and staggers.

This ends round one.

---

20 - Bandits Abe (Dead) and Bem (half cover)
19 - Grallaria (1/1)
17 - Sora (8/12)
17 - Amnestria (9/9)
17 - Bandits Chel (Dead) and Dhit (-7)
14 - Dell (9/9)
11 - Bandit Ene (3/4 cover) and Bandit Fern (3/4 cover)
10 - Bandit Gull (in the Forest) and Bandit Huff (in the Forest)
6 - Berthold (4/11)
6 - Kazzak (12/12)
3 - Antonius (10/10)
0 - Reynald (4/4), Guilbert (4/4), Olyena (1/4)

Round one, continued...

Grallaria drops down from Amnestria's shoulder, cutting off any line of sight from the bandits as she drops below the window sill.

Sora runs out from her hiding place in the barn, speeding across the farmyard to jump and kick Abe.
Abe takes 3 bludgeoning damage!
Sora follows up with a series of punches and slaps.
Abe takes 4 bludgeoning damage!

Amnestria ducks down at the window, following Grallaria. She's significantly larger than the bird, so the top of her head is still visible over the sill. Amnestria draws a tiny glyph in the air with her wand to refresh her illusion of an empty window. She hopes that helps to keep them both concealed.

Two more bandits, Chel and Dhit, enter the farmyard from the path.
"Who is that??"
"She's attacking Abe!"
"Jilted lover?"
"Doesn't matter, she's beating the hell out of him!"
Chel and Dhit run across the yard to end adjacent to Sora and Abe just outside the farmhouse door.

20 - Bandits Abe (-7) and Bem
19 - Grallaria (1/1)
17 - Sora (8/12)
17 - Amnestria (9/9)
17 - Bandits Chel and Dhit
14 - Dell (9/9)
11 - Bandit
10 - Bandit
6 - Berthold (9/11)
6 - Kazzak (12/12)
3 - Antonius (10/10)
0 - Reynald (4/4), Guilbert (4/4), Olyena (1/4)

Round one, continued...

Dell leans out from his hiding place in the loft with bow drawn. Loosing the arrow at one of the newcomers, he then steps back behind cover.
Chel takes 11 piercing damage with a shout of dismay.

Two more bandits enter the farmyard from the path; let's call them Ene and Fern. Dhit yells: "There's another one in the loft!" Ene and Fern take cover behind the wagon with Bem. They load their crossbows, Readying attacks at the first hero they see.

Two more bandits enter the farmyard; let's call them Gull and Huff; Fern yells "We've got the archer - you check the house!" Gull and Huff duck down for a moment, then nod and head back into the trees.

---

20 - Bandits Abe (-7) and Bem (half cover)
19 - Grallaria (1/1)
17 - Sora (8/12)
17 - Amnestria (9/9)
17 - Bandits Chel (-11) and Dhit
14 - Dell (9/9)
11 - Bandit Ene (3/4 cover) and Bandit Fern (3/4 cover)
10 - Bandit Gull (in the Forest) and Bandit Huff (in the Forest)
6 - Berthold (9/11)
6 - Kazzak (12/12)
3 - Antonius (10/10)
0 - Reynald (4/4), Guilbert (4/4), Olyena (1/4)