EoD 023: Bandit Queen at Bay

Helmia, in her bear form, tore the door apart, which the terrified bandit had just slammed in her face. Beyond, a narrow hallway was choked with bandits. Stor stood paralysed on the stairs, and as Helmia watched, one of the bandits stabbed the half-orc in the chest before fleeing upstairs. He was quickly followed by his companions as the bandits began an undignified and hurried retreat upwards.

Embolded, the heroes—including Polumya—surged upwards. The bandits held the stairs with desperation, but the heroes, now with their blood up, sensed victory was near. Helmia transformed from bear form into the shape of a giant spider and scuttled up the tower. Shawn, seeing this, rushed from his position of cover and hurled himself onto her back. Thus, clinging to her chitinous body he reached the tower. Three bandits yet held the tower roof, but Shawn promptly shot one dead, and the other two immediately surrendered. Shawn gave them a choice: serve him or die; both men—Jarak and Inar—were enthusiastic in their protestations of loyalty to the old man.

Meanwhile, downstairs Stor—now free of magical paralysis and healed by a potent magic potion—led the final assault. In short order, all the bandits were down except for the Bandit Queen herself. Although she managed to hold the party off for a few moments—temporarily paralysing Jalt and forcing Stor to flee in mindless terror through her fell enchantments eventually weight of numbers told, and Jalt knocked the woman unconscious. The party was triumphant.

The woman was bound and gagged and stripped of anything she could possibly use to cast spells. The party then began a general search of the tower, turning up a surprising selection of valuable items and some coinage. In the cellar, they discovered a strange sight—the decomposing body of a dwarf literally hacked to pieces in a cell. The body also bore lots of small stabs to the chest, and the party could not think what could have inflicted both sets of injuries; certainly, none of the bandits had been seen carrying a weapon large enough to inflict some of the wounds. Stor and Syllana also found another well in the cellar. It seemed to intersect a small stream. The stream seemed to flow in the direction of the well they had discovered in the goblins’ lair. Could they have secretly gained access to the tower this way? The discovery annoyed some of the group, but for some reason, Stor found it amusing.

However, these discoveries would have to wait. The party had business in Dulwich-they needed to return the Masterson’s possessions to the bereft family, and they hungered to claim the reward for the Bandit Queen’s capture.

It was late in the afternoon by the time the party set off, and it was but a few hours before midnight when the party arrived back at Dulwich. Leaving the Bandit Queen at Dulwich Keep under the watchful eye of the Iron Maiden, the group returned to the Dancing Bear. The tavern was busy, but the Masterons were there—filling a table in a corner. Sampo remained awake, but his children were exhausted and slept the sleep of the dead. He was overjoyed to discover the party had retrieved his family’s possessions and that the wagon waited for him in the inn’s stables.

The party ate, drank and made merry. Today had been a good day; everyone who had set out had returned, and there was one less bandit gang able to prey on the travellers using the Great Road.

The next day, the party busied themselves around town. They had some trinkets to sell, and several of the group had equipment to repurchase. Additionally, the group had not yet received the reward promised them for the Bandit Queen’s capture. This annoyed some of the heroes…

This post is a session summary from my weekly 5e D&D Edgelands of Darkness campaign set in the Duchy of Ashlar.

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