Brigand Hunt, Late Summer 668

[scarik]

This adventure was incited by an encounter as Ji-ho's henchmen brought the treasure back to town. They encountered a large band of brigands, and while Rolton spotted them in time he was hit by several crossbow bolts. The party then successfully evaded the brigands in the morning mists. Later that day they encountered a group of pilgrims escorted by Knights of the Blue Lily...

Sir Schad's messenger is the first to arrive in Borderton with news of the brigands that had meant to ambush the latest group of pilgrims. Within the hour additional patrols are launched and another dozen Knights of the Blue Lily take to the road to drive off the threat.

As that goes on Jing Si-woo conducts his required business and pays the Margrave's taxes for the treasures they have won.

The next day word goes out that the Margrave is raising a company to go out into the fields and forests to hunt down the brigands and bring them, dead or alive, to face the King's Justice for the crime of highway robbery. The news sets the township abuzz and soon dozens of soldiers are taking the shilling to join the hunt.

[Leitz]

Jing Si-woo

Early the next morning Si-woo had a short conference with a Dawi crafter and Hemia, leaving the latter mildly speechless. After the inspection (3 LI), pay, and before release of the men for leave, Si-woo mentioned that he will join the hunt for the brigands. If the LI wish to join, the Margrave's pay will be thier own, not counted against their regular wages. (that is, they can get extra pay) Si-woo then sent Rolton and the 3 LI carring the spider leg to the Margrave, and to let him know that Si-woo and his band offer their services against the brigands. The story of the trophy will come later, when the Margrave has time.

After delivering the leg, the LI are released from duty, and can "sign on" or go party as they wish. Si-woo, Hemia, Gar, and Drotik will prepare their gear.

Did Rolton and his horse heal up over the night? If Rolton is still down, Hemia will heal him.

[scarik]

Did Rolton and his horse heal up over the night? If Rolton is still down, Hemia will heal him.

Rolton HP short rest [_4d6]=(1+2+5+2)=10 No
Rolton HP long rest [2d6]=4 Also No.
Roltons horse HP short rest [_2d6]=(6+4)=10. Recovers 1 hp which is all it lost.

[Leitz]

Jing Si-woo will ask Hemia to heal Rolton as much as she can. He is down 2 HP.

ADDENDUM Since there's no time crunch, can she do a ritual and conserve her SP?

[scarik]

Jing Si-woo will ask Hemia to heal Rolton as much as she can. He is down 2 HP.

ADDENDUM Since there's no time crunch, can she do a ritual and conserve her SP?

That works.

[scarik]

The Margrave sends his patrols out in force to keep the roads clear immediately but it takes a few days to raise a suitable force to go out and bring the miscreants to battle.

On the third day word comes back that the northern logging camp has been sacked and grisly tales spread quickly about the wicked deeds done to the people there by these brigands. Survivors fleeing the massacre begin to trickle back to Borderton over the next few days. Many don't speak at all and those who do look often into the distance with tears in their eyes.

The horrors they can recall send shivers down most people's spines and Sir Tylar resolves to move out soon. But his hand is forced by his companions as Sir Kyl is incensed by the depravity of the brigands. So furious is he that he drags the altar out from his chapel in Lily Tower to the mustering field where he calls the faithful to arms in the name of the Lawgiver. By sunset four score have come with whatever weapons they can manage, ready to set out at dawn.

[Fighting Man]

Jared salutes the veteran sergeant taking his name for the roll - Heaven knows what the poor man has been through - and gestures to the twins to follow him. Naturally, he pockets the coin; he's not nearly rich enough to decline it or hand it off to someone else. Soon, he's at the south lawn, awaiting the arrival of Sir Kyl.

[Leitz]

Jing Si-woo

A small group stood slightly apart from the angry crowd; three light footmen, one seasoned crossbowman, a heavy footman shadowing an armored female devout to the Lawgiver (her brightly polished holy symbol gave her away), and a junior knight (1) not of the Blue Lily order. Oddly enough they seemed to center on a short foreigner (2); darker skinned with long black hair pulled into a ponytail.

Rolton, the knightly sort, leaned in towards the smaller man and whispered. "Sir, I conveyed your message to Sir Schad, just as you directed."

His tone suggested Rolton wasn't happy with the message. "You should be with the knights; Schad's behavior and words say as much. He got down off his horse to greet you as an equal, and word of that has gotten around. The knights would accept you, if you let me get you a proper horse. You do not need to be a foot commander, and much less need to offer yourself as a simple soldier."

The lady on the other side of the short man nodded. "Your cousin needs you to show his position, and his honor. This would be the time to do that, in plain view of the knights and the people."

She didn't say more. Rolton had glanced at her new holy symbol earlier and winked. He said nothing about how her new robes complemented Si-woo's clean surcoat.

When the short man looked at the crossbowman and the heavy footman, the latter said nothing. The crossbowman, like any experienced soldier, shrugged. There were lots of variables, picking the political ones was someone else's business.

The crowd in front of them roared in anger as Sir Kyl forcefully detailed the depravity at the logging camp.

The short man said nothing for a full minute, he simply scanned the crowd. Observing their discipline, their weapons, and their unity. He sighed, looked at Rolton, and shook his head. "No."

"If my cousin has anything to say about it, you will be Sir Rolton as fast as possible. If Sir Schad were to grant me a boon, that would be it. You should ride with the knights, not I." Nodded back to the crowd, he said, "Look at them. The knights are bold, and they call the commoner to the field not realizing the dangers. Rolton, you said the brigands have as many as we see before us, and that assumes you saw all of them. Brigands willing to massacre a camp have more experience, and more willingness to kill, than most of those before us now. Someone needs to lead them, so that they all do not all die. For if they die then the knights will be surrounded and the Margrave's defenses will be gone. Scores more will join the brigands, and then we will have to fight them at our home."

He put his hands behind his back, like one of the teachers of his youth. "No, we will do our best to help solve this problem right now. My best is on foot, and each of you will need to do your best for us to survive. Drotik, see if you can convince those with missiles to follow your lead. Gar, do the same among the foot. Point back to Rolton, Hemia, and myself if anyone doubts you. They will get the message."




1. Depending on how much the observer knows of knight hood, the "knight" in question is a knight in arms and deportment, but his lack of arms on his shiled says he is not actually a recognized knight. Most likely a senior squire, or similar.
2. An Easterling, from Gogurgyeo/Korea.

[scarik]

Sir Kyl continues firing up the crowd into the night.

Sir Tyler sends out squires from the order to gather sergeants and commanders to attend him in for their assignments. Most already have them of course and are formally appointed and dismissed but the matter of the sub commanders requires some thought. The three lead knights will take over all command of course.

Jared meets Siwoo, Rolton and Hemia

Siwoo and Jared are to go with Sir Tyler to command the militia archers and infantry respectively.

Sir Schad wants Rolton, as most experienced squire, to lead the cavalry scouts.

Hemia has a choice of how to proceed. She can join with Sir Kyl and channel the fervent rabble, or remain with the main force under Tylar.

[Fighting Man]

Jared doffs the fancy hat he keeps around for social occasion and bows to Siwoo.

"Greetings. Name's Jared Crassus, in the Margrave's service. Pleased to be working with you.

After putting his hat back on, Jared introduces his henchwomen, a pair of elven girls called Robin and Evelyn.

"Looks like those bandits are a real piece of work. The land'll be better off without them."

[Leitz]

Jing Si-woo

The Easterner smiled, and bowed in response to Jared and the ladies. When he spoke, Magyar was clearly not his native tongue. "I am Jing Si-woo, serving under my cousin, Jing Ji-ho. My companions are Rolton, soon to be a knight, the priestess (1) Hemia, Drotik, and Gar, and men from our militia. We are in for a difficult fight; the bandits we encountered had a significant number of self bows and crossbows, I fear the knights may get picked off as they are easy targets."

Si-woo listened to the stirring up for a while, and shook his head. "Passion is good, but it does not replace skill, discipline, or courage. The force Rolton saw was easily larger than what we seem to have here, and we likely did not see all of it. Rolton, you have your duty as I have mine. Drotik on me, let's get what discipline and drill we can, and make sure everyone has a large number of missiles. Gar stay with Hemia," Si-woo looked at the priestess and smiled. "Sir Kyl speaks well but the faithful are neither well armed nor armored. Help them find weapons and armor, and stay out of the fight until just the right moment. Scrounge anything left on the field, from our side or there's. Keep them steady, you will know when to commit."

I'm not sure on the time flow here, so once assignments are given, Rolton will go find his troops and get them ready while Hemia and Gar wade through the faithful and make sure they are known. Gar remains close to Hemia. Si-woo and Drotik will find the missile troops and drill them in Changing from Line to Column (and back) going left and right, as well as getting into position quickly. While Si-woo and Drotik may not be known, they are obviously well trained soldiers and know what they are doing

(1) Si-woo uses the generic term, since he has not been clued in on Hemia's career progression path.

[scarik]

Sir Tylar calls Siwoo and Jared over to his pavilion and shows them a model of the terrain set out on his table.

“You are here, good. I wish Jing Ji-ho was here as well.

Sir Kyl has a hundred men, mostly no better than rabble led by a few good soldiers. The Margraves men are mostly out on the roads or holding the garrison. I have three dozen archers, ten crossbow men and 20 woodsmen. We can spare 30 light foot and 20 heavy foot to form our center. I’m giving Rolton a dozen horsemen and 6 of the older squires. My knights will be our reserve.”

He points out the location of the logging camp in the northern wood.

”The wood here is light but no place for a lance charge. The light cav will be able to move easily enough and once we force these scum to battle the knights will bring the hammer down. Kyl’s rabble are good as a show of force but they will be of no use in combat. I plan to hold them as a second line and let the infantry make contact.

I’ll hear your advice now.”

[Leitz]

Jing Si-woo

Si-woo bowed to Sir Tylar, and said respectfully, "My cousin would not hesitate to help, if he were here. I will act as he would; and support you to my best ability."

He looked back at the map for a moment, and then turned squarely to Sir Tylar. Taking off his helm, he went to one knee and bowed his head. "When we met Sir Schad on the road, he dismounted out of respect to me, as I have no horse. I understand it to be a great honor, as I now kneel to you, my superior officer in this endeavor. Please remember that I do not speak your language well, and if I give offense, I ask for grace. I will obey your commands to the best of my ability, but with what we know of the bandits, this plan will get us all killed. If you grant me a few moments, I will explain myself."

Assuming permission is given

Si-woo stood, but remained respectful. "Rolton was ambushed by a group of eighty to one hundred men, with half a dozen or a dozen crossbow and perhaps another half armed with self bows. Consider the intelligence gathering and maneuver discipline to get that large of a force that close to Borderton, undetected and in a perfect time and position to ambush knights and pilgrims. That says they also have above average logistics capabilities for sustained operations. Thus everything that we are doing will be known to them before we arrive and they will be ready for it. Everyone admires and respects your knights, and the bandits know you will build your final strategy around them."

Glancing at Sir Tylar to make sure the Western knight wasn't about to chop off any Easterner's head, Si-woo continued. "There is no strategic reason to attack the logging camp. Obviously the bandits have sympathizers across the commoners, and those commoners have friends and family in those logging camps. There is a tactical reason, however. It is perfect terrain for them and lousy terrain for us. The knights cannot engage fully without risk of being shot out of the saddle by the crossbows, or being de-horsed by the self bows. The heavy foot cannot make contact unless the brigands allow it, the heavies move too slowly and the wood and uneven terrain will prevent us for forming a good shield wall. They attacked the logging camp to incite you, to destroy Borderton's knights and much of her militia. That will close the road to Raven's Well and Springkeep, allowing them to be isolated and destroyed in turn."

Assuming his head and shoulders were still connected, Si-woo took a deep breath. "The bandit's opening move sacrificed the loyalty of the common people. If they win the game, the commoners will be forced to support them, but until they win the commoners are placing their faith in you and the Lawgiver. That gives us a tremendous advantage. Sir Kyl is well known for his faith, and I will attach our priestess to his unit. She is not nearly as well known, but due to be installed as a 'friar'. I believe that is the term. She is known to be in my cousin's camp, and thus carries a small portion of the commoner's belief in my cousin's abilities to achieve great things. As a well experienced priestess of the Lawgiver, they will also know that we have divine wrath on our side."

"Send messages to Raven's Well and Springkeep, and ask for whatever support they can provide. If they provide anything, it will be a bonus, but the bandits will know they have a chance of facing necromancers and even more divine wrath. It also means the entire plains will turn against the bandits, and the nomads are not a force to be trifled with."

"When the force moves out, have those knights and squires that value the commoners move among them, giving encouragement and respect. Have the heavy and light foot look for recruits who can bolster their numbers, if not copy their equipment or skill. Courage carries a man when victory is uncertain."

"Right now the bandits have us beat in numbers, supply, position, information, and cadence. We cannot defeat them as a whole, but we can deny their information sources by winning the commoners. Send me and the woodsmen to scout the bandits actual layout, we will go through the woodland game trails and not with the main force. Our goal will be to observe from the enemy rear, and report back. If we can ruin their supplies and cast doubt on their security, it will make any battle more to our favor. Perhaps their faint of heart will slip away in the night when the thought of being turned into a zombie crosses their mind? Or that being marked as a bandit means a curse upon them and their family? The more we negate their advantages, the better chance we have of bringing them to justice, either on the field or on the gallows."

Si-woo stepped back slightly, and bowed again. "Sir, that is my advice."

Si-woo is not mentioning Gar or Gar's background, but fully intends on using both to advantage.

[scarik]

Tylar's Reaction [2d6]=7

The Knight Captain continues listening, neither offended nor convinced.

"I think you give these curs too much credit in their martial spirit, but I must accept that there are traitors among our people for them to have been so close and so bold. Jared, I hear you are an expert in assault tactics, what say you?"

[Leitz]

You know me, always looking for situational modifiers. Si-woo specifically spoke well of the knights, and Sir Schad by name. He also affirmed Tylar's leadership and his own dedication to success, as well has having Leader feat so Tylar knows Si-woo will bring whatever group he's with forward.

[Fighting Man]

Jared smiles to Ji-Woo. "Well, we'll just have to take it, then," he says. "Stout shields and good nerve ought to do the trick, especially with so many of the Margrave's men helping us out."

---

At the strategy meeting, Jared studies the terrain. Something about what Sir Tylar said has given him an idea...

"Sir Tylar, you give me too much credit; all I know of assault tactics is shouting "march" and "hold fast". That said, I believe what we could do is march in with a frontal assault, bold as brass, to get the bandits' attention and get them to engage us in pitched battle, Once we've fixed them, your riders can sweep in and wipe them out. Hammer and anvil, basically. Of course, I'll need a bunch of men who are brave enough or too stupid to run from a bigger force; unfortunately most of my boys are torchbearers at best."

He glances to Evelyn and Robin, who seem bored by all this talk of strategy. "The girls know some minor magics; they might be able to harry and further pin down the incoming bandits, though how exactly they do it depends on them."

[scarik]

Sir Tylar will take your advice. As PCs would you prefer to have a short adventure with a small group (ie you and henchmen) and then maybe have large unit action or handle this as a Battle with your adventure wrapped into a scouting phase then mass combat resolution?

[scarik]

If there are no objections the plan will be: Si-woo goes scouting with his crew plus the Elves while Jared takes some of the braver troops to be a vanguard and threaten an assault but not launch it until after the scouts are back.

[scarik]

Silence means agreement, so moving on!

Jing Si-woo gathers his compatriots and readies to go out scouting. Sir Tylar sends hobilars to Ravenswell and then on to Springkeep to alert them of the operation. None of his men know where the lost dwarf-fort is or he could send someone there as well, but as it is they will have to send one of their own if they want to alert Jing Ji-ho of the developments.

Bandit Hunt.jpg (117.35 KiB) Viewed 33 times

You begin from Borderton at 50.18
The Logging camp is the red splotch in 47.18/19
You were attacked on the road at the red X in 47.19

[Leitz]

Jing Si-woo

Standing off by himself for a few moments, Si-woo gathered his thoughts. The past few days had been glorious. Well, the evenings, nights, and mornings were. Si-woo rested in contentment for a full minute, and then cleared his mind for the task at hand. Tylar's original plan for Si-woo's people provided options for them to identify and recruit those they felt best for the quest. Keeping them with the teams that Tylar had assigned also showed respect for Tylar's wishes, even if his plan was modified heavily.

Thus Rolton would lead the squires and horsemen, Hemia would shepard the flock of frenzied but untrained. Her strength might hold them together long enough to be potent and fewer men would flee when the woman remained. Gar, of course, would remain by Hemia. She was a wonderful person, but mildly frivolous with her own safety sometimes. Si-woo had already spoken to Gar about recruiting, as well. Gar had turned his life around, and was a good addition to the team. Perhaps there were others like him; one mistake should not condemn a man or woman. They would bring their own skills and add to the team as well.

Drotik would lead the missile troops until Si-woo returned, assuming he was able to return. That was the part of his plan no one else knew; he wasn't sure the woodsmen could scout and escape. Keeping the others in the main groups gave them more of a chance than going with him. He had sent the three light foot with Tylar's hobilars, they were to go to Raven's Well, rest, and then the next day carry the message to Cousin. Si-woo hadn't said what his role in the brigand hunt would be, either Cousin would discern it, or not. No sense risking anyone finding the message, even if they couldn't read his writing. There was probably a spell for that.

It was time to execute the mission. Si-woo briefed his people, encouraged them one last time, and smiled at Hemia. Then he found the woodsmen, and they devised a time and direction to leave that would not be reported as unusual, even if someone did carry the message to the brigands. They were only going to scout, but Si-woo had gotten enough extra arrows that if it came to a fight, the brigands would pay dearly.

The plan, with the input of the woodsmen, is to leave late at night in ones and threes, and meet an hour or so away at a landmark the woodsmen know. Si-woo will travel with one of the woodsmen, and wear a cloak as they do. His gear is a little lighter weight than his dungeneering rig, and he will use dark cloth to strap things down for silence. He will travel with one of the woodsmen, as will the elves if they are there.

They will travel through hexes 49.18, 48.17, 47.17, and then come from the north. They will gather what information they can, and Si-woo will evaluate the layout for best use of Tylar's troops.