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[h=2]Stolen Land: Part 3
Siv[/h] The Stag Lord’s fort sat perhaps one hundred feet from the shores of lake Tuskwater. There was only one entrance. Siv was wracking her brain trying to come up with a good plan for getting beyond its walls. They had ‘A’ plan, just not a good one. It split the party and relied heavily on Meric’s ability to Bullsh*t people. She was not convinced.
Meric had told Asta and Siv the idea away from Dante. As a Paladin of Kord, sneaking into your opponent’s base and killing them while they slept was probably the cardinal sin. The plan was to use the pass phrase the group had been given from one of the captured bandits. Once inside, they could offer the liquor they had found at the previous bandit camp as an offering to the stag lord and as a means to get the men inside the fort drunk. Eventually they could silently kill some while they slept, then open the doors of the fort for Dante and Barry who waited outside.
She had initially hoped to lure most of the bandits out a few at a time and ambush them once they were out of sight of the fort. But only a single group had headed out in the time since they had arrived, and no other group was sent to investigate when they didn’t return.
She eventually agreed to go along with the plan. Meric, Asta and herself approached the fort minus Barry and Skydd. Barry remained outside with Dante; whereas Asta would summon Skydd to her once they found a quiet place inside the fort. As they approached, she was prepared to run as fast as she could away when their ruse didn’t hold up
“Who goes there!” Even though she was expecting it, the shout from the fort caused her insides to jump.
“By the Bloody Bones of St. Gilmorg, who wants to know?” Siv didn’t even recognize Meric as he spoke. His voice and mannerism had transformed into a carbon copy of the bandits they had encountered so far.
The gates opened. So far so good.
“I don’t recognize any of you.” Siv could feel the stares of a half-dozen bandits on her and Asta. Meric began handing out a few bottles of wine to the surrounding men.
“We’ve just come from the camp at the thorn river. We took down a wagon that was carrying a few cases of these. Can somebody bring this one to the Stag Lord?”
“Why don’t you do it yourself?” Came a comment from one of the now dozen men who surrounded them. Siv Wondered exactly what Meric was playing at here.
“No way. Last time I saw the Stag Lord he punched my horse for ‘spitting in the yard’. No way I’m doing it. Besides I carried the booze half way across the Stolen Lands, someone else can bring them to the Stag Lord’s door.” Meric was an uncanny liar. If Siv had not heard that story from one of the bandits they captured, she would have believed him.
One of the men yelled out after taking a swig from a bottle. “Donnel, take that case to the Stag Lord. Our friend here has earned a break.” Siv breathed a sigh of relief.
The rest of the evening was filled with smelly, disgusting, drunk bandits making lewd overtures to herself and Asta. One in particular began trying to grope her. Siv pulled a dagger and did her best to scare the man off. But he was loaded up on liquid courage, and shoved her dagger away. She was prepared to kill him when she heard Meric yell.
“Hey! Both of them are mine! “ Meric had his sword drawn in one hand and held an empty bottle in the other. All night he had cast minor illusions to make it look as if the bottle was full and that he was drinking along with the others.
“Find your own unless you want to find my blade up your ass!”
“Hey I didn’t know! Calm down! They’re yours I got it!” The man backed down. Siv was astounded at Meric’s ability to think on his feet.
Things went smoothly after that. There were twelve bandits in the courtyard of the fort. They couldn’t get inside to see how many were within. As they bedded down for the night, four remained on watch near the gate. Asta went to the rear of the fort and summoned Skydd. What followed was a brutal and methodical massacre. The bandits slept all around the ruins of the fort, and it was simple to go to them a few at a time and slit their throats as they slept.
Things almost went bad when Meric’s dagger slipped and he failed to kill the bandit he hovered over in one strike. But before the bandit could even shout, Meric put his hands to the man’s face and drained the heat from him. It was enough to finish him.
Only the four at the gate remained. Meric ran to it in a panic and signaled for them.
“Someone got into the fort and is killing everyone! Get over here quick!” He’s definitely not lying Siv thought. The panic on his face was so convincing that the bandits did not notice the blood on his armor. They ran to were Meric signaled and began to panic themselves.
“Holy sh*t they’re dead!”
Siv and Asta quickly opened the front door to the fort. Dante and Barry were inside before the Bandits realized what had happened. Meric’s plan worked like a charm. All that was left was to mop up and find this Stag Lord.
On queue a door to one of the upper areas of the keep opened and out walked a massive man where a stag’s head for a helmet. From a door on the ground level, three other men entered the courtyard. Chaos ensued.
Barry and Skydd were on the original bandits in a flash. Dante ran for the stairs to challenge the Stag Lord directly. Unfortunately for Siv, the Stag Lord stuck her with two arrows which severely wounded her. She took cover and healed herself.
The bandit at the Thorn river camped had not lied, the Stag Lord was a deadeye with a bow. Siv’s companions were learning that lesson the hard way. Fortunately Dante was able to harm him enough to grab his full attention. Skydd and
Barry attacked the new comers. Meric used a charge of burning hands from a wand they had found previously. Siv launched a Flaming Sphere at the Stag Lord, but he was often able to evade it. Skydd was wounded, but Asta healed him.
One of the Bandits struck Barry over the head with a club. He collapsed with a muted roar.
“BARRY!” Siv was enraged. But she couldn’t move from cover for fear of the Stag Lord’s aim. She summoned a wolf to aid Dante and distract the leader of the bandits. By now Skydd had killed a bandit who wielded a rapier, and had jumped onto another who wore chainmail and carried a shield. Siv ran to stabilize Barry.
Dante had stood strong against the Stag lord, but in the end he couldn’t match up one on one. He fell unconscious with multiple arrows visible sticking out of his armor. He had repeatedly healed himself during the fight, but the Stag Lord was a monster of a man. The hideous bandit wielding a club struck Asta with great force wounding her. Things looked bad for the group.
Thinking quickly, Meric cast an illusion that looked like Skydd running towards the Stag Lord. In his drunken stupor, he could not see through it. The remaining bandits fell. A final ray of frost from Meric sealed the Stag Lord’s fate. His corpse tumbled from the stair case.
Siv ran to heal Dante. He was still alive thankfully. She definitely couldn’t question his courage. It took them all a few minutes to take stock. It had been a close thing, but they had succeeded against all odds. The bandits of the Greenbelt had been decimated. The lands were safe. It was time to build a nation.
Siv[/h] The Stag Lord’s fort sat perhaps one hundred feet from the shores of lake Tuskwater. There was only one entrance. Siv was wracking her brain trying to come up with a good plan for getting beyond its walls. They had ‘A’ plan, just not a good one. It split the party and relied heavily on Meric’s ability to Bullsh*t people. She was not convinced.
Meric had told Asta and Siv the idea away from Dante. As a Paladin of Kord, sneaking into your opponent’s base and killing them while they slept was probably the cardinal sin. The plan was to use the pass phrase the group had been given from one of the captured bandits. Once inside, they could offer the liquor they had found at the previous bandit camp as an offering to the stag lord and as a means to get the men inside the fort drunk. Eventually they could silently kill some while they slept, then open the doors of the fort for Dante and Barry who waited outside.
She had initially hoped to lure most of the bandits out a few at a time and ambush them once they were out of sight of the fort. But only a single group had headed out in the time since they had arrived, and no other group was sent to investigate when they didn’t return.
She eventually agreed to go along with the plan. Meric, Asta and herself approached the fort minus Barry and Skydd. Barry remained outside with Dante; whereas Asta would summon Skydd to her once they found a quiet place inside the fort. As they approached, she was prepared to run as fast as she could away when their ruse didn’t hold up
“Who goes there!” Even though she was expecting it, the shout from the fort caused her insides to jump.
“By the Bloody Bones of St. Gilmorg, who wants to know?” Siv didn’t even recognize Meric as he spoke. His voice and mannerism had transformed into a carbon copy of the bandits they had encountered so far.
The gates opened. So far so good.
“I don’t recognize any of you.” Siv could feel the stares of a half-dozen bandits on her and Asta. Meric began handing out a few bottles of wine to the surrounding men.
“We’ve just come from the camp at the thorn river. We took down a wagon that was carrying a few cases of these. Can somebody bring this one to the Stag Lord?”
“Why don’t you do it yourself?” Came a comment from one of the now dozen men who surrounded them. Siv Wondered exactly what Meric was playing at here.
“No way. Last time I saw the Stag Lord he punched my horse for ‘spitting in the yard’. No way I’m doing it. Besides I carried the booze half way across the Stolen Lands, someone else can bring them to the Stag Lord’s door.” Meric was an uncanny liar. If Siv had not heard that story from one of the bandits they captured, she would have believed him.
One of the men yelled out after taking a swig from a bottle. “Donnel, take that case to the Stag Lord. Our friend here has earned a break.” Siv breathed a sigh of relief.
The rest of the evening was filled with smelly, disgusting, drunk bandits making lewd overtures to herself and Asta. One in particular began trying to grope her. Siv pulled a dagger and did her best to scare the man off. But he was loaded up on liquid courage, and shoved her dagger away. She was prepared to kill him when she heard Meric yell.
“Hey! Both of them are mine! “ Meric had his sword drawn in one hand and held an empty bottle in the other. All night he had cast minor illusions to make it look as if the bottle was full and that he was drinking along with the others.
“Find your own unless you want to find my blade up your ass!”
“Hey I didn’t know! Calm down! They’re yours I got it!” The man backed down. Siv was astounded at Meric’s ability to think on his feet.
Things went smoothly after that. There were twelve bandits in the courtyard of the fort. They couldn’t get inside to see how many were within. As they bedded down for the night, four remained on watch near the gate. Asta went to the rear of the fort and summoned Skydd. What followed was a brutal and methodical massacre. The bandits slept all around the ruins of the fort, and it was simple to go to them a few at a time and slit their throats as they slept.
Things almost went bad when Meric’s dagger slipped and he failed to kill the bandit he hovered over in one strike. But before the bandit could even shout, Meric put his hands to the man’s face and drained the heat from him. It was enough to finish him.
Only the four at the gate remained. Meric ran to it in a panic and signaled for them.
“Someone got into the fort and is killing everyone! Get over here quick!” He’s definitely not lying Siv thought. The panic on his face was so convincing that the bandits did not notice the blood on his armor. They ran to were Meric signaled and began to panic themselves.
“Holy sh*t they’re dead!”
Siv and Asta quickly opened the front door to the fort. Dante and Barry were inside before the Bandits realized what had happened. Meric’s plan worked like a charm. All that was left was to mop up and find this Stag Lord.
On queue a door to one of the upper areas of the keep opened and out walked a massive man where a stag’s head for a helmet. From a door on the ground level, three other men entered the courtyard. Chaos ensued.
Barry and Skydd were on the original bandits in a flash. Dante ran for the stairs to challenge the Stag Lord directly. Unfortunately for Siv, the Stag Lord stuck her with two arrows which severely wounded her. She took cover and healed herself.
The bandit at the Thorn river camped had not lied, the Stag Lord was a deadeye with a bow. Siv’s companions were learning that lesson the hard way. Fortunately Dante was able to harm him enough to grab his full attention. Skydd and
Barry attacked the new comers. Meric used a charge of burning hands from a wand they had found previously. Siv launched a Flaming Sphere at the Stag Lord, but he was often able to evade it. Skydd was wounded, but Asta healed him.
One of the Bandits struck Barry over the head with a club. He collapsed with a muted roar.
“BARRY!” Siv was enraged. But she couldn’t move from cover for fear of the Stag Lord’s aim. She summoned a wolf to aid Dante and distract the leader of the bandits. By now Skydd had killed a bandit who wielded a rapier, and had jumped onto another who wore chainmail and carried a shield. Siv ran to stabilize Barry.
Dante had stood strong against the Stag lord, but in the end he couldn’t match up one on one. He fell unconscious with multiple arrows visible sticking out of his armor. He had repeatedly healed himself during the fight, but the Stag Lord was a monster of a man. The hideous bandit wielding a club struck Asta with great force wounding her. Things looked bad for the group.
Thinking quickly, Meric cast an illusion that looked like Skydd running towards the Stag Lord. In his drunken stupor, he could not see through it. The remaining bandits fell. A final ray of frost from Meric sealed the Stag Lord’s fate. His corpse tumbled from the stair case.
Siv ran to heal Dante. He was still alive thankfully. She definitely couldn’t question his courage. It took them all a few minutes to take stock. It had been a close thing, but they had succeeded against all odds. The bandits of the Greenbelt had been decimated. The lands were safe. It was time to build a nation.