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<blockquote data-quote="Nthal" data-source="post: 7813567" data-attributes="member: 6971069"><p style="text-align: center"><strong>The Importance of Vetting - 09/19/2019</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center"></p> <p style="text-align: center"><em>Knight of the Post. </em></p> <p style="text-align: center"><em></em></p> <p style="text-align: center"><em>Shiv. </em></p> <p style="text-align: center"><em></em></p> <p style="text-align: center"><em>Thief. </em></p> <p style="text-align: center"><em>So many words for the same type of profession. Says nothing about the person behind it. Some hold to codes obscure to any but themselves. Some just want the finer things at the lowest price. And some just look at jink as a way to keep score.</em></p> <p style="text-align: center"><em></em></p> <p style="text-align: center"><em>But some folks aren’t suited for the lifestyle. The problem is most only figure that out as they bleed to death in an alley somewhere. </em></p><p></p><p>I turned to look at the man. He was dark haired, and brown eyed, and of medium build and he had face while young, was still weathered and tanned. He sat at a table next to us with a grin on his face, and an ale in his hand. Two others that were sitting with him, had left the table, and so he moved his stool closer to us.</p><p>“If you are looking for Ravalan, his place is easy enough to get to,” he started looking back and forth between the brothers. “That is if you know where you are goin.”</p><p></p><p>“And you know him well enough to guide us there?” Iesa asked.</p><p></p><p>“Me? Nah. I’ve talked to him once or so,” the man continued after gulping a down more of his ale. “But I don’t need to be friends to know where his cabin is. Stumbled on that by chance.”</p><p>Iesa nodded a second and looked at Daneath, who simply shrugged. He then asked “Well, then how much is it for your time?</p><p></p><p>“A couple of crowns would be fine, but you can pay me once I get you there.”</p><p></p><p>“How far is it?” Daneath asked, leaning towards the man.</p><p></p><p>“Oh, probably not more than a brisk hike good sirs. Its not like the weather is going to be a problem,” the man replied.</p><p></p><p>Iesa looked at us for a moment and quickly said, “I think you have a deal. What’s your name?” and Iesa offered his hand.</p><p></p><p>The man smiled, put his mug on the table, and clasped his hand around Iesa’s. “You can call me Roggins. You ready to head out?”</p><p></p><p>“Well if it is really not that far, we should go now. Once we talk to him, we can come back for supplies we might need,” Beepu said eager to get moving. “What about you Myr?”</p><p></p><p>For the first time, Roggins seemed to notice me. He turned to look, and that same old look of surprise was there when he made eye contact. But it faded quickly behind a smile. But there was more to it than that; a hunger or a desire was lurking there. He was canny enough not act on it, but not couth enough to cover it up. I may have been used to the looks that some men cast my direction, but it didn’t mean I enjoyed the attention. And this one seemed more unseemly than most.</p><p></p><p>Unfortunately, that was to be expected and was common enough in Waterdeep. But something else was off, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. So, after a moment I said, “Well you have your hearts set on it. And no sense lugging stuff for a journey if we don’t know how much we need.”</p><p></p><p>Roggins smile got just a bit wider and he replied, “Well, easy hike for you, and easy money for me. Let’s get a movin,” and he stood, downed the remains of his ale and moved to the doors leading to the street. With the four of us, and our growing menagerie in tow.</p><p></p><p>Roggins led us westward, away from the hills around the town, and headed towards a flat part of the light forest to the west. The forest was scattered around hills, and Roggins led us through the valleys between them. Isea and Daneath were in front, following our new guide, followed by Beepu and then myself taking up the rear. Foggle of course was flying just over head, Mo was perched on Iesa’s shoulder, while Gossamer ran and flew just behind me in the trees.</p><p></p><p>The summer sun was going to set late today, and the hike took us away from the farms and any nearby ranches. But as the hike began to wear on, I began to realize something.</p><p></p><p>We had been following our guide for a while, and I noticed that at least once, that his choice of path had a tendency to move us north and south a number of times, but that we really didn’t make much progress west. But I wasn’t versed in travelling in the forest, so I wasn’t concerned at first. But after a while it kept nagging at me.</p><p></p><p><em>Gos. Fly up above us and watch. See if we are making any real progress westwards. Something seems off.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>--Sure thing</em></p><p></p><p>I then started to watch our guide now. He certainly knew the area; he didn’t look concerned about where he was, which I expected. But as I watched him, he clearly was looking for something. But he was also watching us, and he threw a lot of unsavory looks in my direction. I began to feel uneasy.</p><p></p><p>After some time, we started to make our way to a clearing when our guide spoke up. “Well, there we are! Just on the other side of this clearing, and on the other side of that hill, and that’ll be the place.”</p><p></p><p><em>Gos, we’re heading towards a clearing don’t go too far.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>--Really? You haven’t been that far from it. In fact, if I didn’t know better, you are being led in circles.</em></p><p></p><p>I quietly unslung my shield from my back and strapped it onto my arm. That feeling that I had now was a grim certainty. We were being bobbed and peeled. I mentally cursed at myself for being a cony. I was considering what to do next when Roggins moved ahead to a tree and then stopped, turning to face us.</p><p></p><p>“Well all, it has been a pleasure. I do enjoy easy work.” He said with a wide grin.</p><p></p><p>“So where is Ravalan’s place?” Iesa asked sounding puzzled.</p><p></p><p>“Not sure I could tell you that. But I can tell you that the quicker you drop your weapons and gear, the faster this will be.”</p><p></p><p>The brothers were glancing at each other, and just in front of me, I could see Beepu stiffen as Foggle must have started to tell him something.</p><p></p><p><em>--Myr, there are about five other figures among the trees.</em></p><p></p><p>I looked around, and I could see two easily with bows drawn and arrows notched ready to release.</p><p></p><p><em>Right, stay in the upper branches, and stay hidden.</em></p><p></p><p>“So, wait. You’re trying to rob us?” Iesa said incredulously.</p><p></p><p>“I think that might sum it up yeah. I was surprised that you took me up on my offer to honest. But as I said; easy work.”</p><p></p><p>“I think you might find this line of work…dangerous,” Daneath said grimly, his hand already on the hilt of his sword readying to draw it.</p><p></p><p>“Well we got you outnumbered and arrows ready to fly. I’m not worried.” He retorted.</p><p></p><p>“Well,” I said. “A bunch of spivs looking to be put in the dead book.”</p><p></p><p>Roggins blinked a second and tilted his head, “Um, you’ll have to humor me, what does that mean, exactly.”</p><p></p><p>“A bunch of thieves, who are about to die,” I said calmly, and I then threw out a bolt of energy past Roggins, to a bowman behind him. It struck true and the scream of pain was almost like music to my ears, ending this farce.</p><p></p><p>The others moved quickly, with Beepu sending a gout of flame towards another target next, followed by Daneath charging towards a closer bowman, swinging and drawing blood. Iesa sprinted towards another one and dropped him with a quick thrust of the rapier and a slash across the throat with his dagger. Mo just bolted for a nearby bush for cover, while Foggle flew higher above the trees.</p><p></p><p>Roggins wasn’t expecting a fight, based on his expression. He quickly drew a short sword and moved towards Daneath. His swings betrayed a serious lack of skill, as he slashed wildly, hitting Daneath’s shield ineffectively. Daneath’s foe had dropped their bow, for a sword as well and had much the same impact on the large man. Meanwhile the others launched their arrows at me, but nothing was even close to finding a target. They too were untrained, and not even skilled hunters let alone bandits.</p><p></p><p>Iesa circled and took on another bowman and had great luck in finding an opening and dropping him. Beepu and I each took down our respective targets with more blasts of magic, knocking them down, as arrows flew around us wildly. I felt the rush and joy of the fight once again, and I was almost disappointed on how quickly they fell. But mostly I was angry. Angry at myself for falling into an obvious trap. Angry at the gelbas of these spiv’s trying to rob me.</p><p></p><p>Seeing his companions fall was all that Roggins needed to see; he was outplayed and far outmatched. He dropped his sword, as did his one standing associate.</p><p></p><p>“I’m…I’m…sorry…um…perhaps we could--”</p><p></p><p>“Shut up,” I said marching over to where Roggins and his pal stood with their hands raised above their shoulders. I glared at both of them with a look that I was sure could melt cold iron.</p><p></p><p>How many others had they done this to? This wasn’t a place of wealth; it was full of hard-working folk that were likely just trying to live and leave enough alone. This whole bob and peel <strong><em>offended</em></strong> me for some reason.</p><p></p><p>“Strip and drop your gear. Iesa, see if anyone else survived.” I said. My tone didn’t brook any dissent, and Iesa without hesitation started to examine the fallen. Beepu caught up with us and was also angry.</p><p></p><p>“You mean this has been a waste of time?” the gnome accused.</p><p></p><p>Roggins was dropping his sword belt and dagger to the ground, while his companion dropped his bow, quiver and another short blade. “Um, yes…sorry…we didn’t want to hurt—”</p><p></p><p>“Then you shouldn’t have pointed your weapons at us. And keep going.”</p><p></p><p>“What? I don’t underst—” Roggins started confused.</p><p></p><p>I plucked a bit of the strand within me and focused it on my voice as I shouted.</p><p></p><p>“I. Said. STRIP!” and my voice echoed in the forest, far above the level of shouting.</p><p></p><p>Roggins, who must have stood a head taller than I, was now terrified. I watched he and his friend unbuckle his belt and armor. Iesa came up dragging a body and went back for the others. By now the pair were down to their small clothes and they looked at me with dread.</p><p></p><p>“Same with the others,” I said nodding at the body. “You can leave their clothes alone.”</p><p></p><p>I watched them both gulp and start to peel off the gear. As they did so, I saw that Beepu had started some kind of ritual casting. But eventually we had four corpses lined up on the ground with a pile of swords, bows, and boiled leather armor. The two stood meekly by, clearly nervous and unsure on what would happen next.</p><p></p><p>“Iesa watch them, while I take care of their friends.”</p><p></p><p>“What are you going to do Myr?” Daneath asked.</p><p></p><p>“Last rites.” I said and I flexed and pulled on the Strand with in me. This time I used the strand not to throw energy around, but to put that energy to work. I could feel resistance, as I focused on the earth in front of me. As the others watched I pushed up dirt and gravel up and away from a point that expanded. Soon enough soil was pushed up from the ground to make a pit that was about five feet deep.</p><p></p><p>I turned to look at the would-be thieves. “Lay your friends to rest. It’s the least you could do for them.” The pair nodded and together lowered the bodies awkwardly, but gently into the pit. I then knelt at the edge and prayed aloud:</p><p></p><p>“My lord, these men’s time has come to an end. Lay these souls to rest in the eternal embrace of death. Judge them against all the things they have done, not just the sins at the end of their time. Let judgement come quickly, and may their souls atone for their crimes. Blessed be the fallen.”</p><p></p><p>I could see the tears in the eyes of Roggins, and I knew then that he was new to his life of crime. He wasn’t hardened yet by the deeds. He thought he could rob and not hurt anyone, not thinking that others around him could be hurt. He could save himself if he chose.</p><p></p><p>“Iesa, Daneath bind their hands and feet together.” I said simply as I stood once again. The brothers pulled rope from their packs and the pair started to bind their hands</p><p></p><p>“Myr what are you—” Beepu started.</p><p></p><p>“A lesson.” I said coldly. And after the brothers had firmly tied the pair, I again flexed and moved the soil around to create another pit. At this point Roggins and friend started to panic.</p><p></p><p>“Wai…wai…wait! Don’t do this!” Roggins stammered while his friend’s eyes bulged.</p><p></p><p>“Put them in, standing.” I said and then Iesa and Daneath complied, looking at me with some trepidation. Once the pair were in the pit, I then reversed the magic. The earth moved and started to fill the pit. Soon only their head and shoulders were left exposed to the air.</p><p></p><p>I knelt down to the pair and looked at them both and then I quietly spoke.</p><p></p><p>“Consider this a lesson on how close to death you were. Consider how close you are now. And consider that if the gods decide to let you survive how you might make amends. It’s too late for your friends. As for your souls…that’s up to you.”</p><p></p><p>“You…you…you can’t just leave us here!” Roggins begged.</p><p></p><p>“Really? Why not?” I said evenly, leveling my gaze at him. “What exactly were you going to do with us if we surrendered our gear? Let us walk back to town? I saw how you looked at me in the Inn,” and I watched him swallow hard.</p><p></p><p>“What were you going to do? Hurt us? Blind us? Maim us? Kill us? And what about me? Would you have had your way with me first?” and I watched his face lose color.</p><p></p><p>“Did you think I was just going to…entertain you?”</p><p></p><p>“I swear…we wouldn’t hav…”</p><p></p><p>“You see, I know being a spiv isn’t easy. But your friends have already paid the price. So, I would think very hard about this second chance you are getting. Because if I hear of you causing more problems for others, I will personally flay you.”</p><p></p><p>I stood again, staring down at the pair in the earth with disdain. I then turned to the others.</p><p></p><p>“Gather the gear, and let’s go back to town,” I said.</p><p></p><p>“Well carrying it won’t be a problem at least,” Beepu said as he lifted some of the gear up and then placed it on something hovering in midair. As I looked, I realized that barely visible was a disc of force that was holding the items up.</p><p></p><p>We all loaded the disc up and started to head back to town, when I heard Roggins call out.</p><p></p><p>“Please…don’t leave us here…please!”</p><p></p><p>I didn’t even turn around to look, as their voices faded in the distance.</p><p></p><p>It was a while before anyone spoke again. The sun had just kissed the horizon to the west when we finally came to the outskirts of Secomber, the orange light illuminating the few clouds, and the houses as we walked.</p><p></p><p>“That was…cold Myr,” Beepu said breaking our quiet.</p><p></p><p>“Did you think they had a warmer fate for us?” I asked.</p><p></p><p>“I do not know. We could have done something else however. Bring them to the local captain of the town perhaps?”</p><p></p><p>Iesa didn’t even look up from the ground he was staring at as he walked, “Out here, it would likely be a hanging.”</p><p></p><p>“We had already beaten them up enough, we could have let them go or—”</p><p></p><p>“Beepu,” I said quietly “I didn’t want them to get off easy, so they rob or steal from someone else.”</p><p>“It just seems harsh.”</p><p></p><p>“This wasn’t exactly a mugging in Waterdeep, where they just take your jink and run,”</p><p></p><p>“Still…I did not expect that response from you,”</p><p></p><p>I grimaced, “Its been a while since I let anyone take anything from me. I wasn’t going let him start taking...anything.”</p><p></p><p>“So, what do we do with this pile of stuff?” Daneath asked gesturing at the pile of gear on the floating disc.</p><p></p><p>“I have an idea about that” Iesa said with a smile.</p><p></p><p>-------------------------</p><p></p><p>“And they are all dead?” the guard captain asked sounding impressed.</p><p></p><p>“Well, we buried them all,” Iesa said with a smile. “But we figured that the gear might be useable by the local militia or something.</p><p></p><p>I smiled wistfully as Iesa’s deflection. It certainly wasn’t a lie after all.</p><p></p><p>“Well we are always short on equipment, so this will help.”</p><p></p><p>“Not a problem,” and Iesa started to turn and head deeper into town.</p><p></p><p>“If you don’t mind me asking, what were you doing out there anyway?”</p><p></p><p>Daneath interjected, “We were looking for someone by the name of ‘Ravalan’”</p><p></p><p>“The firbolg? He doesn’t live that close to town.”</p><p></p><p>“That is unfortunate. We hoped to find him soon,” Beepu commented with a frown.</p><p></p><p>“Well, can’t help you find him, but I can tell you who might,” and the captain pointed down the road to the south. There in the fading light I could see multiple campfires.</p><p></p><p>“The goliaths have come into town to trade…and drink.” He nodded toward the fires. “I seem to remember that Ravalan had visited them before.”</p><p></p><p>“So how should one introduce oneself to a…gathering of goliaths?” I asked.</p><p></p><p>“Well that’s simple. Start with a toast.”</p><p></p><p><strong>Session notes:</strong></p><p></p><p>We really should have asked for references. The DM was kind of dumbfounded. I saw the problem far away, and let the newer players walk right into it. It does make for interesting times.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Nthal, post: 7813567, member: 6971069"] [CENTER][B]The Importance of Vetting - 09/19/2019[/B] [I]Knight of the Post. Shiv. Thief. So many words for the same type of profession. Says nothing about the person behind it. Some hold to codes obscure to any but themselves. Some just want the finer things at the lowest price. And some just look at jink as a way to keep score. But some folks aren’t suited for the lifestyle. The problem is most only figure that out as they bleed to death in an alley somewhere. [/I][/CENTER] I turned to look at the man. He was dark haired, and brown eyed, and of medium build and he had face while young, was still weathered and tanned. He sat at a table next to us with a grin on his face, and an ale in his hand. Two others that were sitting with him, had left the table, and so he moved his stool closer to us. “If you are looking for Ravalan, his place is easy enough to get to,” he started looking back and forth between the brothers. “That is if you know where you are goin.” “And you know him well enough to guide us there?” Iesa asked. “Me? Nah. I’ve talked to him once or so,” the man continued after gulping a down more of his ale. “But I don’t need to be friends to know where his cabin is. Stumbled on that by chance.” Iesa nodded a second and looked at Daneath, who simply shrugged. He then asked “Well, then how much is it for your time? “A couple of crowns would be fine, but you can pay me once I get you there.” “How far is it?” Daneath asked, leaning towards the man. “Oh, probably not more than a brisk hike good sirs. Its not like the weather is going to be a problem,” the man replied. Iesa looked at us for a moment and quickly said, “I think you have a deal. What’s your name?” and Iesa offered his hand. The man smiled, put his mug on the table, and clasped his hand around Iesa’s. “You can call me Roggins. You ready to head out?” “Well if it is really not that far, we should go now. Once we talk to him, we can come back for supplies we might need,” Beepu said eager to get moving. “What about you Myr?” For the first time, Roggins seemed to notice me. He turned to look, and that same old look of surprise was there when he made eye contact. But it faded quickly behind a smile. But there was more to it than that; a hunger or a desire was lurking there. He was canny enough not act on it, but not couth enough to cover it up. I may have been used to the looks that some men cast my direction, but it didn’t mean I enjoyed the attention. And this one seemed more unseemly than most. Unfortunately, that was to be expected and was common enough in Waterdeep. But something else was off, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. So, after a moment I said, “Well you have your hearts set on it. And no sense lugging stuff for a journey if we don’t know how much we need.” Roggins smile got just a bit wider and he replied, “Well, easy hike for you, and easy money for me. Let’s get a movin,” and he stood, downed the remains of his ale and moved to the doors leading to the street. With the four of us, and our growing menagerie in tow. Roggins led us westward, away from the hills around the town, and headed towards a flat part of the light forest to the west. The forest was scattered around hills, and Roggins led us through the valleys between them. Isea and Daneath were in front, following our new guide, followed by Beepu and then myself taking up the rear. Foggle of course was flying just over head, Mo was perched on Iesa’s shoulder, while Gossamer ran and flew just behind me in the trees. The summer sun was going to set late today, and the hike took us away from the farms and any nearby ranches. But as the hike began to wear on, I began to realize something. We had been following our guide for a while, and I noticed that at least once, that his choice of path had a tendency to move us north and south a number of times, but that we really didn’t make much progress west. But I wasn’t versed in travelling in the forest, so I wasn’t concerned at first. But after a while it kept nagging at me. [I]Gos. Fly up above us and watch. See if we are making any real progress westwards. Something seems off. --Sure thing[/I] I then started to watch our guide now. He certainly knew the area; he didn’t look concerned about where he was, which I expected. But as I watched him, he clearly was looking for something. But he was also watching us, and he threw a lot of unsavory looks in my direction. I began to feel uneasy. After some time, we started to make our way to a clearing when our guide spoke up. “Well, there we are! Just on the other side of this clearing, and on the other side of that hill, and that’ll be the place.” [I]Gos, we’re heading towards a clearing don’t go too far. --Really? You haven’t been that far from it. In fact, if I didn’t know better, you are being led in circles.[/I] I quietly unslung my shield from my back and strapped it onto my arm. That feeling that I had now was a grim certainty. We were being bobbed and peeled. I mentally cursed at myself for being a cony. I was considering what to do next when Roggins moved ahead to a tree and then stopped, turning to face us. “Well all, it has been a pleasure. I do enjoy easy work.” He said with a wide grin. “So where is Ravalan’s place?” Iesa asked sounding puzzled. “Not sure I could tell you that. But I can tell you that the quicker you drop your weapons and gear, the faster this will be.” The brothers were glancing at each other, and just in front of me, I could see Beepu stiffen as Foggle must have started to tell him something. [I]--Myr, there are about five other figures among the trees.[/I] I looked around, and I could see two easily with bows drawn and arrows notched ready to release. [I]Right, stay in the upper branches, and stay hidden.[/I] “So, wait. You’re trying to rob us?” Iesa said incredulously. “I think that might sum it up yeah. I was surprised that you took me up on my offer to honest. But as I said; easy work.” “I think you might find this line of work…dangerous,” Daneath said grimly, his hand already on the hilt of his sword readying to draw it. “Well we got you outnumbered and arrows ready to fly. I’m not worried.” He retorted. “Well,” I said. “A bunch of spivs looking to be put in the dead book.” Roggins blinked a second and tilted his head, “Um, you’ll have to humor me, what does that mean, exactly.” “A bunch of thieves, who are about to die,” I said calmly, and I then threw out a bolt of energy past Roggins, to a bowman behind him. It struck true and the scream of pain was almost like music to my ears, ending this farce. The others moved quickly, with Beepu sending a gout of flame towards another target next, followed by Daneath charging towards a closer bowman, swinging and drawing blood. Iesa sprinted towards another one and dropped him with a quick thrust of the rapier and a slash across the throat with his dagger. Mo just bolted for a nearby bush for cover, while Foggle flew higher above the trees. Roggins wasn’t expecting a fight, based on his expression. He quickly drew a short sword and moved towards Daneath. His swings betrayed a serious lack of skill, as he slashed wildly, hitting Daneath’s shield ineffectively. Daneath’s foe had dropped their bow, for a sword as well and had much the same impact on the large man. Meanwhile the others launched their arrows at me, but nothing was even close to finding a target. They too were untrained, and not even skilled hunters let alone bandits. Iesa circled and took on another bowman and had great luck in finding an opening and dropping him. Beepu and I each took down our respective targets with more blasts of magic, knocking them down, as arrows flew around us wildly. I felt the rush and joy of the fight once again, and I was almost disappointed on how quickly they fell. But mostly I was angry. Angry at myself for falling into an obvious trap. Angry at the gelbas of these spiv’s trying to rob me. Seeing his companions fall was all that Roggins needed to see; he was outplayed and far outmatched. He dropped his sword, as did his one standing associate. “I’m…I’m…sorry…um…perhaps we could--” “Shut up,” I said marching over to where Roggins and his pal stood with their hands raised above their shoulders. I glared at both of them with a look that I was sure could melt cold iron. How many others had they done this to? This wasn’t a place of wealth; it was full of hard-working folk that were likely just trying to live and leave enough alone. This whole bob and peel [B][I]offended[/I][/B] me for some reason. “Strip and drop your gear. Iesa, see if anyone else survived.” I said. My tone didn’t brook any dissent, and Iesa without hesitation started to examine the fallen. Beepu caught up with us and was also angry. “You mean this has been a waste of time?” the gnome accused. Roggins was dropping his sword belt and dagger to the ground, while his companion dropped his bow, quiver and another short blade. “Um, yes…sorry…we didn’t want to hurt—” “Then you shouldn’t have pointed your weapons at us. And keep going.” “What? I don’t underst—” Roggins started confused. I plucked a bit of the strand within me and focused it on my voice as I shouted. “I. Said. STRIP!” and my voice echoed in the forest, far above the level of shouting. Roggins, who must have stood a head taller than I, was now terrified. I watched he and his friend unbuckle his belt and armor. Iesa came up dragging a body and went back for the others. By now the pair were down to their small clothes and they looked at me with dread. “Same with the others,” I said nodding at the body. “You can leave their clothes alone.” I watched them both gulp and start to peel off the gear. As they did so, I saw that Beepu had started some kind of ritual casting. But eventually we had four corpses lined up on the ground with a pile of swords, bows, and boiled leather armor. The two stood meekly by, clearly nervous and unsure on what would happen next. “Iesa watch them, while I take care of their friends.” “What are you going to do Myr?” Daneath asked. “Last rites.” I said and I flexed and pulled on the Strand with in me. This time I used the strand not to throw energy around, but to put that energy to work. I could feel resistance, as I focused on the earth in front of me. As the others watched I pushed up dirt and gravel up and away from a point that expanded. Soon enough soil was pushed up from the ground to make a pit that was about five feet deep. I turned to look at the would-be thieves. “Lay your friends to rest. It’s the least you could do for them.” The pair nodded and together lowered the bodies awkwardly, but gently into the pit. I then knelt at the edge and prayed aloud: “My lord, these men’s time has come to an end. Lay these souls to rest in the eternal embrace of death. Judge them against all the things they have done, not just the sins at the end of their time. Let judgement come quickly, and may their souls atone for their crimes. Blessed be the fallen.” I could see the tears in the eyes of Roggins, and I knew then that he was new to his life of crime. He wasn’t hardened yet by the deeds. He thought he could rob and not hurt anyone, not thinking that others around him could be hurt. He could save himself if he chose. “Iesa, Daneath bind their hands and feet together.” I said simply as I stood once again. The brothers pulled rope from their packs and the pair started to bind their hands “Myr what are you—” Beepu started. “A lesson.” I said coldly. And after the brothers had firmly tied the pair, I again flexed and moved the soil around to create another pit. At this point Roggins and friend started to panic. “Wai…wai…wait! Don’t do this!” Roggins stammered while his friend’s eyes bulged. “Put them in, standing.” I said and then Iesa and Daneath complied, looking at me with some trepidation. Once the pair were in the pit, I then reversed the magic. The earth moved and started to fill the pit. Soon only their head and shoulders were left exposed to the air. I knelt down to the pair and looked at them both and then I quietly spoke. “Consider this a lesson on how close to death you were. Consider how close you are now. And consider that if the gods decide to let you survive how you might make amends. It’s too late for your friends. As for your souls…that’s up to you.” “You…you…you can’t just leave us here!” Roggins begged. “Really? Why not?” I said evenly, leveling my gaze at him. “What exactly were you going to do with us if we surrendered our gear? Let us walk back to town? I saw how you looked at me in the Inn,” and I watched him swallow hard. “What were you going to do? Hurt us? Blind us? Maim us? Kill us? And what about me? Would you have had your way with me first?” and I watched his face lose color. “Did you think I was just going to…entertain you?” “I swear…we wouldn’t hav…” “You see, I know being a spiv isn’t easy. But your friends have already paid the price. So, I would think very hard about this second chance you are getting. Because if I hear of you causing more problems for others, I will personally flay you.” I stood again, staring down at the pair in the earth with disdain. I then turned to the others. “Gather the gear, and let’s go back to town,” I said. “Well carrying it won’t be a problem at least,” Beepu said as he lifted some of the gear up and then placed it on something hovering in midair. As I looked, I realized that barely visible was a disc of force that was holding the items up. We all loaded the disc up and started to head back to town, when I heard Roggins call out. “Please…don’t leave us here…please!” I didn’t even turn around to look, as their voices faded in the distance. It was a while before anyone spoke again. The sun had just kissed the horizon to the west when we finally came to the outskirts of Secomber, the orange light illuminating the few clouds, and the houses as we walked. “That was…cold Myr,” Beepu said breaking our quiet. “Did you think they had a warmer fate for us?” I asked. “I do not know. We could have done something else however. Bring them to the local captain of the town perhaps?” Iesa didn’t even look up from the ground he was staring at as he walked, “Out here, it would likely be a hanging.” “We had already beaten them up enough, we could have let them go or—” “Beepu,” I said quietly “I didn’t want them to get off easy, so they rob or steal from someone else.” “It just seems harsh.” “This wasn’t exactly a mugging in Waterdeep, where they just take your jink and run,” “Still…I did not expect that response from you,” I grimaced, “Its been a while since I let anyone take anything from me. I wasn’t going let him start taking...anything.” “So, what do we do with this pile of stuff?” Daneath asked gesturing at the pile of gear on the floating disc. “I have an idea about that” Iesa said with a smile. ------------------------- “And they are all dead?” the guard captain asked sounding impressed. “Well, we buried them all,” Iesa said with a smile. “But we figured that the gear might be useable by the local militia or something. I smiled wistfully as Iesa’s deflection. It certainly wasn’t a lie after all. “Well we are always short on equipment, so this will help.” “Not a problem,” and Iesa started to turn and head deeper into town. “If you don’t mind me asking, what were you doing out there anyway?” Daneath interjected, “We were looking for someone by the name of ‘Ravalan’” “The firbolg? He doesn’t live that close to town.” “That is unfortunate. We hoped to find him soon,” Beepu commented with a frown. “Well, can’t help you find him, but I can tell you who might,” and the captain pointed down the road to the south. There in the fading light I could see multiple campfires. “The goliaths have come into town to trade…and drink.” He nodded toward the fires. “I seem to remember that Ravalan had visited them before.” “So how should one introduce oneself to a…gathering of goliaths?” I asked. “Well that’s simple. Start with a toast.” [B]Session notes:[/B] We really should have asked for references. The DM was kind of dumbfounded. I saw the problem far away, and let the newer players walk right into it. It does make for interesting times. [/QUOTE]
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