Thursday, 12 July 1280, Morning (Flox)

Oloc smiles at the plan's success. "I hadn't expected that to go so well," he mutters to himself. The mage then approaches the charmed bandit.

"Greetings friend, what is your name? And tell me, are there any more of you outside the caves or were you three the only guards?"

The bandit says that his name is Flox, and that he and his two companions were the only sentinels outside the cave.

Oloc also tries to get the bandit to estimate how many men are in which caves on the map. Flox replies that there is Mackey, his four bodyguards, and his pet snake who are likely to be up the tunnel to the northeast, though they occasionally come in to the main living area of the bandits, and even sometimes go out into the countryside on their own. Additionally, there are roughly ten to a dozen men inside the caves at the moment.They mostly circulate between their living area, the storage areas, and the pool (their water source).

When Oloc inquires about the map, the bandit doesn't have any additional information on the layout of the caves except to say that Mackey has told him and the other bandits not to go into the tunnel leading to the "unused cavern" on the map. Mackey said something about the cavern being "unstable."

Oloc then listens to the rest of the group for questions to ask of the guard before relaying them. 

*****

Gaven cleans off his club, looks to the rest, smiles and says, "Well done. Hopefully no one was alerted by our ambush."

Gaven says a short prayer of thanks to the Light and then searches the bodies over for valuables and information.

Each of the dead bandits carries a longbow, a quiver, and a short sword.* Additionally one wears a small silver ring (probably worth about 10 gp), and another has a small pouch containing a set of thieve's tools and around 5 gold coins.

Having finished with the bodies, Gaven presses Oloc to ask several more questions about Mackey, along with questions regarding traps and exits.

Flox says he hasn't seen his chief today, but he's pretty sure Mackey is the cave. According to the charmed bandit, Mackey is pretty tough, keeping a large, rowdy group of rogues in line. His bodyguards enforce whatever rules Mackey lays down, and everyone says his pet snake is a killer, and fiercely loyal to the bandit chief. He admits, though, that he has not seen the chief's serpent in action himself.

Flox doesn't know of any traps apart from the trip wire at the entrance – though he emphasizes once more the danger of the off-limits "unused cavern." He's not aware of any secret or hidden doors, and he doesn't think that there are any other entrances. He says that Mackey always picks a hideout that is small, hard to find and easily defended, adding: "Mackey always says that with only a front entrance, we can't be stabbed in the back."

The sentry concludes by telling you that almost all the bandits are armed with swords, and a there is also a small stock of maybe 3 or 4 additional bows, along with a fair supply of arrows.

*****

Taken aback by how well their plan had worked Duran cautiously approaches the bodies of the dead guards.

"I think we should hide these bodies in the brush in case some one comes back or out looking for them," Duran says.

Duran motions for Ollie and Bill to help him and the mercenaries hide the bodies. This is accomplished quickly and easily, as the undergrowth is quite dense.

Speaking to Jack, Gweneth, and Stan, Duran says, "It looks like you are all living up to your reputations, very good work friends."

Stan pats Jack on the shoulder, and gives a smile and a nod toward Gweneth. "Yes, that was quite a job these two did on the last bandit." Stan seems to have stepped into a mentoring role for the two new fighters, who in turn seem to have accepted his tutelage willingly.

After the bodies are hidden Duran moves to stand guard with Stan watching the cave entrance while the guard is questioned. In passing he indicates to Oloc that the mage should ask if there are any bandit patrols or groups out in the country side that would be returning that day, that could surprise us from behind.

Flox replies that there are no patrols, but that small groups go out to raid, leaving the caves and returning at very irregular intervals.

*****

At this news Varros positions himself, Jack and Gweneth to guard the path to the party's rear.**

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OOC: Actions?

*Flox is similarly armed, but I'll leave him armed and unlooted until you tell me otherwise.

**I went ahead and NPC'd this, even though it's still a bit early by our new posting rhythm, since I won't be able to post tomorrow, and Dienekes said he might have trouble posting, and this seemed a rather logical / non-controversial action.

Enemies Defeated:

3 Bandit Sentries (two dead, one charmed)

Loot:

2 longbows

2 quivers (20 arrows each)

2 short swords

1 small silver ring (10 gp)

1 set of thieve's tools

5 gp