Chapter 3: A Rescue

After a long night’s rest to recuperate from their ordeal in the mine, the group spoke with Ed Sharp--the survivor of the bandit attack on a nearby farm. He explained that the bandits came out of nowhere and demanded gold and food from them. Ed hid in the barn with his mother and sisters while his father and older brother spoke with the bandits. After a heated argument, the bandits ran the father through with a sword and beat the brother to death with clubs. They set fire to the farm house, the fields and eventually the barn. Ed barely managed to escape, but his mother and sisters were captured. Without any form of payment, Ed suggested the group may do well looting the bandits’ spoils and also mentioned a buried magical item on the farm his mother may be able to reveal if rescued. The group agreed to do the job.
After asking around town about the bandits, the group learned little except that they are local to the nesme area. After gathering supplies, they left for the farm. There, they found little but the burnt out house, barn and ashen fields. After some investigation, Georgi (the name of the young human newcomer) discovered intact corn kernels scattered in a line leading east. They followed the kernels and were led into some nearby woods. Deep in the woods, the party discovered the bandits’ hideout in an old abandoned fort. They made quick work of sentries in a watchtower, but not before one of them alerted the fort of their presence. A search party came to investigate, and were quickly dispatched as well. From there, the group snuck up to the fort from the east and managed to climb up onto bluffs and stealthily made their way around the fort, killing the bandits (who ranged from humans to orcs, gnolls, hobgoblins and a half-elf bard). Their final battle alerted the rest of the fort, and after dispatching some reinforcements they captured one of them (the half-elf bard) alive and retreated into the woods to recover from the fighting and strategize. After a short rest, they questioned the bard who willingly gave up information. He revealed that the farmers were to be sold to Duergar slavers in two days’ time, and that the remaining 3 bandit sergeants and their Bugbear leader would likely kill the prisoners if directly threatened. If also warned that if given enough time, the bandits would flee to another hideout.
With this information, the group returned to the fort and waited out of sight to ambush the bandits as they tried to leave. Though the bard followed them back and agreed to help, he fled as soon as the combat began. Two spellcasting bandits were quickly slain, leaving only the Bugbear and one of his human thugs. The bugbear proved a mighty foe as he battled Wolder, but in the end suffered the same fate as his companions as a bolt from Alton’s crossbow pierced his skull. The group released the prisoners, looted the bandits’ stash and returned to the farm with Judith and her daughters Aela, Gaela and Maeia. She led them to the stashed item, which turned out to be magical goggles shaped like the eyes of an owl. Georgi and Alton fought over the item but Georgi was quicker and snatched it up. They returned to Nesme with the farmers and reunited them with Ed at Hawk’s inn.