Adriana’s Diary – Part 2

Kingmaker Diary – Part 2 (June 23, 2018)

Day 6, cont. – Oleg's Trading Post (Pharast 1, 4710)

Ulgan, Gannokh, Carax, and Amos question 2 bandits to no avail. They later turn out to be Breg and Asbar. Ulgan demonstrates his talent for interrogation by threatening and urinating on a prisoner. Even the offer to let a prisoner go if they cooperate gets nowhere with Breg and Asbar. With magical help, I persuaded one of the bandits to surrender and am now questioning him in the shed. At first Johann wants to take his own life, but I manage to stop him. Sobbing, he tells me his story:

He was kidnapped along with his sister on the eastern trade road. Johann had to do many terrible things so his sister Kalani could stay alive. He is terrified of Kressle, the leader at the bandit camp, who is good at fighting with 2 handaxes. Unfortunately, Kalani was taken to the Stag Lord, the bandit king, at the fort on the Tuskwater, probably about 60 miles south-southeast of the bandit camp. Johann knows the way to the camp, which is about 25 miles southwest of Oleg's Trading Post and, according to his shaky counting, home to about 20 bandits. Happs, Kressle's lover, is dead now. He was the leader of the 6.

Gannokh executes the other two in the name of the swordlords, drawing Ulgan's ire during a small skirmish. One of the two prisoners had broken free and was about to lunge at Ulgan's throat with a knife. Gannokh rushed over with his axe and robbed the half-orc of the challenge the gods had sent him. It looked as though one more stunt like that might cost Gannokh at least an arm. Amos was none too pleased with Gannokh's eagerness either, since the dwarf had assigned Johann the task of executing the last prisoner. Johann was to prove that he really was on the swordlords' side. Here, too, Gannokh tried to settle matters with his axe before Johann could make a decision. At the end of the day, Ulgan called the warriors together, and amid the clash of metal on metal, a healing wave washed over the companions. The din of battle rang in our ears, and the iron taste of blood was on our tongues. Praise Gorum.

Ulgan, Carax, and Gannokh bury the 2 as well as the 3 other bandits. Amos sets things straight with Johann in his dwarven way and even makes him count potatoes… Oh man.

When the 3 return from digging, Johann tells us everything he knows about the camp:

• The camp is guarded by bandits up in trees. Always the same trees
• There are no guard dogs, fences, or barricades
• Almost all the bandits have horses
• Kressle rarely leaves the camp
• The best time to take the camp is when not all the bandits are there
• Prisoners are tied or chained to trees
• The horses are kept at the edge of the camp

We talk things over at the table by the fire at Oleg's Trading Post, then in his house without Johann. We decide to head toward the camp, exploring the surrounding area first. After a good meal from Svetlana, we ride off with Johann.

Day 7 – south of Oleg's Trading Post (Pharast 2, 4710)

After 1 day exploring a lot of unremarkable grassland, we now know the land around Oleg's Trading Post. We decide to spend another day exploring the area—heading south, where the riders from the camp would be coming from. We spot hills far to the south and explore several caves there, otherwise finding plenty of grassland just like the day before. Here, 2 large spiders surprise us, coming straight out of the ground. They throw webs at Ulgan and Gannokh. A giant spider comes out of the cave and leaps at our two warriors in a single bound. Amos hits one spider hard with his throwing axe and hacks at the giant spider with his greataxe; Ulgan ignores the taut web and lays into it, while Gannokh tries to break free. Carax casts spells but also comes under attack from one of the spiders. Bruin is hit by a web and retreats from the spiders in fear. Finally, the oversized Ulgan splits the spider's head in 2 with a mighty blow. I put one spider to sleep, and Gannokh kills it. The last spider—weakened by Carax's acid—is felled by Amos. Luckily, no more of these critters show up. After Carax has cleared out the cave with a flame spell, Ulgan, Amos, and Carax explore it. They also find 2 human corpses carrying money and a vial, which I later identify as bull's strength. Gannokh takes it, and we move on.

As we travel across the grassland, 2 large flying creatures approach us. Carax and I recognize them as griffons, eager to snatch our horses. Unfortunately, we have no cover, and only the sacrifice of our extra packhorse makes the griffons veer away. While they tear into the horse, we make our escape on ours.

Day 8 – south of Oleg's Trading Post (Pharast 3, 4710)

After a quiet night in the grasslands, we have finished exploring the area by late morning. Now we ride toward the route leading from the camp to Oleg's Trading Post and finally reach the Thorn River. From here it would be only 1 more hour to the Thorn River ford and the bandit camp. We want to make camp on a hill at the edge of the woods to watch what happens and see whether we can intercept a group.

Sure enough, we spot 5 riders to the south whom we want to intercept. Unfortunately, we are too slow, and they manage to turn into the woods toward the camp before we reach them. They got a closer look at Carax and me, and we at the 4 remaining riders, too. We break off the pursuit and decide to change our position for the night. Johann leads us into the woods on the right bank of the Thorn River until we are about a 30-minute walk from the camp. We make camp for the night, sheltered behind a hill, from which Amos restlessly scans the darkness, lit only by the moon.