AN: The world of Exile/Avernum (in this chapter, specifically the bandit fort, Fort Duvno, and previously introduced characters) belongs to Jeff Vogel and Spiderweb Software. Persons and places belonging to the game will be put back unharmed when I'm done.
As the group trooped down the winding pathway from the bandit fort, it proved that Jynx's suspicion had been correct, and they saw six men, dressed in the same sort of leather that they had seen on the other bandits walking up the pathway. At least, Brynja caught sight of them first, and urgently gestured for silence.
"They're coming," she whispered, "should we let them pass and then attack, so they can't get away?"
"Gives them high ground," said Ansel, "but . . . yeah, I don't want them escaping." He then gestured to a few stalagmites for the others to hide behind, and slipped behind another.
The six men passed by, swaggering a bit and exuding a strong odor of mushroom ale, such that it seemed the group had hardly needed the precaution of hiding behind stalagmites.
As soon as they had all passed, Ansel gestured to the others, and then stepped out from the stalagmite, and said, "Excuse me, gentlemen--there's something I think we need to discuss." He held his sword ready in one hand, making it quite clear what sort of discussion he had in mind.
The men turned to look, and two of them started to sprint up the hill toward the fort.
Jynx called out, "That won't help you--they're all dead up there."
"You taking over?" said one of the men, a rather sickly expression on his face on top of the pale skin of one who had been in Avernum for some time.
"Not over robbing innocent people," said Duncan.
"If that's how it's gonna be, I'll go with my boots on," said one of the others, and he swaggered toward Ansel, a little unsteadily, drawing his own sword as he approached.
The two men sprinting up the hill did not stop at Jynx's words, and soon were out of sight. Three of the remaining men seemed to be of the same mind, and pulled swords, advancing on Ansel and Duncan, who stepped forward to meet them.
Perhaps due to their drunken state, the three men were unable to come close to striking either Ansel or Duncan, and soon lay dead on the path.
The remaining man, the one who had asked if they meant to take over, looked as though he might become ill on the side of the path, his sword still sheathed, as he said, "Ain't no use, is it?"
"What do you mean?" said Ansel, sharply.
"I mean--ain't no good trying to fight," he said. "You accept a surrender?"
"We still have to get your other two friends," said Duncan.
"I understand," he said, looking like he was somewhere between vomiting and tears, and barely holding back from doing both. Under the fungal light, it became clear that he was quite young--perhaps as much as twenty, but certainly no more than that and quite likely younger. "Ya want to tie me up, take the sword, whatever . . . I just . . . I'm scared." The fight with the tears lost, although he made no attempt to wipe them away.
"We're not letting the others get away," said Ansel. "And you know what's going to happen when we turn you over back at the fort."
"You gonna do it here, then?" he asked, his voice quiet, and he tried to wipe the tears back, streaking through the grime on his face.
"Probably better that way," said Duncan. "Got a priest here can let you confess to first."
"There ain't no other way out," he said, looking up toward the fort. Then he drew his sword, handing it hilt first, to Duncan.
"We know," said Ansel, "we been up there already."
As Duncan took the sword, Brother Theo stepped over to the surrendered bandit, and the captive man sank to his knees. Jynx could hear the first words of the formula beginning a confession, but she was concentrating more on the pathway above, catching only the occasional sob from the young man.
The other bandits still had not made an appearance when Brother Theo said, "I absolve you. And, farming is--from what I hear--much more productive around Mertis. Perhaps you would do well to travel that way."
Those words brought the attention of the others, and Ansel said, "You're going to let him go?"
"Yes," said Brother Theo. "I see no reason for bloodshed when reform is possible, do you?"
Ansel, who'd had his misgivings about the execution of the one bandit on the roadside looked at Brother Theo, a little lost for words, then finally nodded his agreement.
"Of course, we will probably be traveling throughout these lands," said Brother Theo, taking the stone sword from Duncan's hands, "before we find where we wish to settle, and such mercy will only be extended once. I'm sure you understand."
"Yes, sir," he said, stuttering slightly as the stone sword slipped back into his hands, "thank you, sir."
"And be off with you," said Ansel.
"Yes, sir!" he said, and with a face that was streaked with grime, tears, and sweat, the former bandit made his way back down the pathway.
"What was all that about?" said Jynx.
"He'd gotten into farming north of here," said Brother Theo, "and turned to banditry after the catheads burned him out. I suggested that he might find it a better choice to return to farming in another area."
"You sure it was a good idea to let him go?" said Duncan. "I mean, he could just start up again as soon as he's away."
"I know," said Brother Theo, "but there are times when one just knows. I cannot explain it better than that."
"I trust your judgment on it, Brother Theo," said Jynx. "But now we've got those other two to deal with. Now, what occurs to me--we should leave two of us at the head of the pathway up there, while the rest of us go to flush them out."
"Sure, and who's going to hold back?" said Rudel.
Ansel said, "Well, how about you and Duncan? Between you, you've got the skills to hold your own if they start back before we spot 'em."
"Fair enough," said Duncan, as they returned up the slope to just outside the bandit fortress.
At the gate, though, they saw one of the two men who had sprinted up, his sword on the ground. "Figured it wouldn't be long," he said, his voice shaking somewhat.
"Where's your friend?" said Ansel sharply.
"Jumped," replied the bandit. "Guess you got the spooks when you was up here before."
"What did you know about those?" said Brother Theo.
"Only that they was here before I ever came up here," replied the bandit. "And the skeletons, they only stayed in that one room, and if we avoided them, they didn't bug us. So we just let 'em have the space. But it is so quiet up here, and he said we're done for anyhow, and he was going on his own terms, and he ran for a window and jumped."
"Which window?" said Jynx.
"Where the spooks was," said the bandit.
"We'll want to verify that," said Ansel, taking a rope from his pack. "You're surrendering, then?"
"Yeah," said the bandit, trying not to look terrified.
"Why'd you run?" asked Jynx.
"Guess I just didn't believe it," he said, looking thoroughly miserable, but not protesting as Ansel began firmly tying his arms together behind his back, looping the rope once around the neck, then back through the juncture of the two arms before making a hobble to keep the man from being able to run again.
"I'll keep an eye on him," offered Brother Theo, "while you verify his story."
"Thanks, Brother," said Ansel, and he led the way to the room where they had fought the undead the previous day.
The window in the room was definitely wide enough to allow a body to pass through, and Jynx gingerly took a look out the window.
"Sheer drop from here," she commented, "oh . . . there he is."
"Well, in that case," said Ansel, looking quite uncomfortable, "I guess we ought to go back and take that fellow to the fort, let them sort him out there."
Duncan said, "He might wish he'd gone that route when it's all over." He looked out the window at the dead body below and shook his head. "Clear that bandits don't have much reason to live if they get caught. We better watch ourselves with that prisoner."
"He won't be able to get out of the bonds," said Ansel. "Not without the rope around his neck cutting off his breath."
"All right, then," said Rudel. "But just the same, I'd rather get all the way to Fort Duvno for the night, than spend time out camping with the prisoner."
"Point taken," said Ansel. "Well, if we're not going to be totally dead on our feet, we better get going to Duvno then. It's a good hike."
They rejoined Brother Theo and their prisoner, and from the look of things, the prisoner had taken the opportunity to make a confession to Brother Theo, who seemed to have made it a mission to prepare bandits for the final judgment.
"Well, that's one bandit no one's going to have to worry about again," said Ansel. "Let's get on our way back to Duvno."
They walked down the steep incline, their prisoner managing not to fall despite the hobbling of the rope that Ansel had tied, and the others were fairly quiet as they made their way across the stalagmite-covered cave floor. It had been a long journey, but at last they came within site of the walls of the fort, and despite the paleness of an Avernite, their bandit captive visibly blanched.
"Re-thinking your surrender?" said Ansel, noticing this.
"No point in that," replied the bandit, but he was clearly nervous. "Just getting scared."
They reached the gates minutes later, and the two guards at the gate greeted the party, as they had recognized them from their earlier stay in Fort Duvno.
One guard said, "What you got here?"
"Prisoner from the bandit fortress out west," said Ansel. "He wanted to surrender, so we're bringing him here. Figured since your captain mentioned them cells, you got a place for him."
"Yeah, we'll have a place for him," said the guard, and he gave a laugh. "Well, go on--I'm sure the cap'n'll like your little gift-wrapped package."
They made their way into the fort then, the bandit prisoner very subdued as he walked amidst his captors.
"You got a report to make?" said Captain Johnson, looking up at the group as they entered his office.
"We got a prisoner from that bandit fort," said Ansel. "And we did it. We killed the commander of the brigands."
"Difficult, was it?" said the captain.
"He was a bit tough," replied Ansel.
"Not bad," replied Captain Johnson. "That task had stymied the best efforts of my boys for months. Well, I thank you for your help." He smiled, the sort of smile that would put a chill in the heart of almost anyone, and he opened a drawer and pulled out a small pouch and handed it to Ansel. "Prisoner, you can take through that door," he added, pointing to a door labeled "jail".
"Thank you, sir," said Ansel, and the group made their way through the door.
Another soldier was sitting in a chair in a room before the two cells, and said, "What you got?"
"Bandit that surrendered to us," said Ansel. "Captain said to bring him here."
"Very good," said the soldier. "I'll take him from here."
"If it's all right," said Ansel, "I'd like to retrieve my rope."
The soldier nodded, and then Ansel untied the bandit, and began coiling the rope. Once the rope was re-packed in his backpack, Ansel gave the prisoner a last look of pity, and then led the way out to the streets of Fort Duvno.
"I need a drink," said Ansel.
"It's been a long day," said Brother Theo, "so why don't we head over to that inn, get a good meal and a room for the night, and continue on tomorrow?"
"Good plan," said Ansel, and without a further word, he led the way into the inn.
"And what can I get you?" asked Alice, the inn-keeper, looking up from her cleaning of the already clean bar.
"Meal, a round of ale, and some rooms for the night," said Ansel, settling at one of the tables.