South Road Bandits
From GURPSworld Wiki
Part One
Our boys trained and purchased equipment and most importantly, tried to figure out where to journey next. Lix, Ambrose, and Andre were fighting for Mesantia where they would inherit Clemens Mox's book on adventuring as that would help them in their journeys. Conan who cared little for Mox hated the idea and instead wanted to travel close by, gathering a reputation from connected town to connected town. He had actually been approached by Brutus, the Metelli's man about a couple bounties they could hunt in the nearby the town of Cleius.
They had no better plans at the moment and chose to complete that job as they mulled over where to go next. Brutus told them the details, they would be hunting a group of bandits run by a big black man. The bandits had been attacking them for years and a group of merchants in a web of towns were all putting forth coin to end the problem.
The boys set out, leaving Polly to look after their apartment. They paid him well and promised more on their return. The journey was uneventful and they soon arrived in Cleius. After some fruitless information gathering Conan declared they should see a fortune teller. Lix thought the idea sounded great, he'd never been to one before and was excited. Lix quickly found one and they rushed in to talk to the old woman. Conan went right to the point asking about the big black man. She told him, he was a danger and Conan should stay away from him. When it was Lix's turn he asked about the Prince of Thieve's dagger, but in much broader speech. Without thinking the woman said "Sell it, buy bread". Lix looked at her suspiciously then she continued "it's cursed, get rid of it". Lix had heard earlier that day that the knife was known to be missing and that there might be a reward for its return possibly. He had also heard however, that the knife might have some magical enchantments. Of course, the Prince of thieves died poisoned in his home, so a lot of good it did for him. Lix payed her a silver and left a tad shaken. As they were leaving the fortune teller called out to Lix, telling him to beware of the black man as well. She told them to go visit the fountain at the center of town then turned her attention to some soup.
When they found the fountian all they found was a mean hunchback that didn't take kindly to Hugo taking any of his hunchback glory. They found a tavern and slept for the night. When they woke they set out for more information gathering and this time asked for directions to the biggest merchant house in town. They went to a wine shop owned by the Louellie family and asked for any information on the bandits. It turned out this had been one of the merchants who had chiped in with Brutus to get the bandits out of the way. They were directed to meet with Roderick a black sheep in the family. He was a ranger and could tell them more.
They seeked him out and learned where he camped. When they met, the boys were put to work skinning rabbits, while Roderick told Conan directions. He told them to turn back, that these bandits would be difficult prey. But our boys were confident, overmuch some would say. They shrugged his warnings aside and made for the bandit camp.
When they got close to where they thought it would be Lix had them wait while he scouted ahead. It was very dark and even with Lix's great night vision he felt a candle was needed. He went in the direction he thought the camp was a hoped nobody would see him. He inched closer and closer and eventually noticed a little bit of light. Then he felt a spear tip hit his back. A man behind him told Lix to drop his weapons. He then searched the thief for any more, remarking at how well armed he was. Somehow Lix was able to play dumb and convince the man he was going to see the dog fights that he knew happened at the camp from time to time. The men laughed and told him he was way off as the fights were only on the full moon. They had him show them to his friends.
Andre could feel something was wrong with Lix and put the others on alert. Soon they heard Lix loudly talking to the guards and the boys set up an ambush. It was barely even a fight; the guards went down in less than two seconds. Conan had recently purchased a broadsword, and he sure used it.
Luckily the guards had no time to raise alarm, so Lix took the time to scout the perimeter of the camp. He made it around the camp and grew more and more worried with each tent and person he saw. This camp was huge. Suddenly there were shouts coming from the hills at the center of the camp. He couldn't understand the language but he was pretty sure it was time to get out of there. He quickly made it back to his friends and they retreated.
They made it back to Cleius and slept. The next morning they heard more about the fights and met with a dwarf and his stinky friend. They were miners and the boys hoped they knew a bit about the caves in the hill of the bandit camp as it was an abandoned mine. They had no knowlege of those caves, however they mentioned more about the dog fights. Apparently, they would fight dogs against a bear. Sometimes for special occasions they would put an ape in the fights. It was all gruesome business and was really for an unsavory sort.
The boys were losing hope, but Lix felt he needed to check out the camp at daylight. His friends followed him knowing he could easily get into more trouble. When he reached the camp he again had them wait while he checked out the camp. Lix's heart sank as he counted twenty eight tents. There were even more people but of them he noted only twelve warrior types. Still that outnumbered the boys more than two to one. Lix heard movement in the trees and saw two guards. He slunk into the trees and sped back to his friends.
They would have to figure out a cunning plan. A frontal assualt would only get them killed. Hugo, was quiet the whole way back to Cleius. Suddenly as the town was just coming into view he exclaimed:
"Would you pay money to watch a hunchback fight a bear?"
Part Two
The boys prepared for their infiltration. Conan payed the "rent" in Tarantia and the others bought camping gear. They knew their plan was a longshot, but it was the only one they had. They entered the camp in the day and they were greeted with waves of hello rather than spears.
They were sent to a tattooed man named Qafir, one of the Zingarans. Andre went right into his pitch. This coming full moon they would like to pit Hugo against a bear, for a share of the profits of course. The man laughed and said that was very unlikely to happen, but Andre persisted. Qafir realized they were serious and told them to go ahead and set up camp, they could talk more on it once they tested Hugos skills.
They stayed the night and in the morning they found that the Zingarans were gone. They still had not seen the big black man they now knew to be Ojogan. They set to finding food for themselves, Ambrose and Lix tried to hunt... unsuccessfully at first, but eventually Ambrose did catch a deer. Lix on the other hand set up a trap in an area Ambrose thought would be a good place for rabbit and snagged himself one. The city boys weren't doing as poorly as they suspected. Perhaps they would do alright on the road after all.
Night came and the Zingarans were still away. Two of the men from the camp approached Conan asking him if he would mind joining in on guard duty. Conan said he would be fine with that, and volunteered Hugo as well. They offered to work the area patrol rather than sit by the camp, much to the relief of the camp men. Before they left they told Lix to get ready to scout around. Lix followed them and reentered the camp from the side now guarded by his friends. He checked out each of the back caves seeing they were all pretty shallow and completely empty.
Finally he reached Ojogans cave. He was still unsure if the black man was still around, but this was his best chance. He stealthily peeled back the hide covering the entrance and went into the cave. He had great night vision but it was pitch black in the cave, he had to light a candle. He used his flint and lit the flame. The room was empty thankfully. He searched around and found a door behind a hide. He found another hide and behind it was a hole which he could tell had recently been used to store something.
He checked the door for traps and entered. A foul draft had him gagging but really who can complain once you've smelled necrotic ooze. He ventured further with his candle clutched tight. he rounded a bend and suddenly was knocked to the floor by a huge figure. In the flickering candlelight he saw the gorilla. It wore armor which might have been comical except that the beast's huge form seemed so comfortable with it. It lunged at Lix and he rolled away just in time. Lix got to his knees dodging another attack then he ran for the exit.
He left the dying candle behind, fearing for his life. Perhaps if he could have killed the beast it wouldn't have been such a problem. However, there was no chance Lix alone could subdue the creature leaving it unharmed. If it were wounded, when the bandits returned there would be no chance of a surprise attack or a stealthy poisoning. All this planning would be for nothing.
He retuned to the others and told them what happened. They were not pleased. Hugo offered to mix a batch of opium infused berries to drug the ape and at least retrieve the candle. Lix agreed to try and get passed the ape again the next night. This time when he made it back to the door in the cave he chose to be cautious, knowing he was only one false step away from being flattened the night before. He rattled the bowl of berries and clanged his knife and whistled away but the beast would not come to the closed door. After many obscenities and every pet name Lix could think of he gave up and went back to camp.
Hugo told him he should have gone in the cave and handed the gorilla the berries. Lix laughed and wondered if this hunchback's mind was addled from all the opium he smokes. Perhaps this bear fight would be a huge disaster. How on earth did he think he would survive?
The next day the bandits returned. They mentioned that Hugo should be ready for a fight that afternoon. They produced a few untrained dogs and told the hunchback not to injure them. He grabbed a stick and his shield and told them he was ready. He held back the dogs with precision, striking them on the nose when he could. One of the dogs had quite the affinity for Hugo's crotch. Hugo gave that one a little extra hurt. The battle lasted not much over a minute but by that time there was much laughter from those who watched.
It seemed they had a deal, Hugo would be fighting. Qafir tried to reason that it might be better for him to do another fight like this one. If Hugo died to the bear, it might not be good for business.
Over the next few days Andre got to know the Zingarans better. He tried to pick up their language and above all tried to see what kind of people they were. What he found disturbed him. These men were good people, obviously they had helped this camp greatly by offering protection from local bandits. When he spoke with Lix on the matter it was clear the two were united. They would not be harming these men.
When Conan mentioned a plan for Lix to silently assassinate Ojogan when the others were were off catching the bear for the fight, Lix told him he would not be helping. Well, first he asked for a larger share of gold, but then went back to stand firm that he would not be made a murderer.
And so the party was split, Conan, Ambrose, and Hugo would be plotting to kill Ojogan. Lix and Andre would have to find a way to end this peacefully, and they would have to do it soon. The full moon was a mere week away.
Part Three
The night of the bear fight was quickly approaching. Even sooner would be the night after the men went out to capture the bear and the night Conan, Ambrose, Hugo, and Tharar would be assassinating Ojogan.
Lix and Andre met to think of any idea that could stop the killing. Maybe they could tell them there was a job far away, or just pay them to leave, or perhaps they could establish a traveling circus. None of these ideas really worked but Lix kept coming back to the circus idea. In some ways it would actually be really good. They would be able to have at least four times as many bear fights a month if they made a routine that didn't involve the bear dying. They could act as a cover for the banditry operation, also smuggling any goods in the wagons. Best of all the route they took could go along the path our adventurers would be taking insuring safer travel. They would split the bounty and be on their way.
Lix asked Andre to help him prepare his idea to be presented to Qafir and later Ojogan. When they met with Qafir he was at least intrigued by the idea but was unsure what Ojogan would think. That was enough for Lix, he went off to prepare for the full moon. He tasked Andre with making fireworks. He asked Tharar to build a few structures and sew costumes, while Conan would prepare a song and a bunch of nude girl drawings. The two of them refused; instead they prepared for the fight with Ojogan.
That day a few wagons approached the camp. They were led by a man known to the zingarans. He had brought a tiger and a black sleeker animal he called a black tiger. These beasts would be fighting one bear and they would be getting another to fight Hugo. Conan started to get worried that they had somehow been found out. Perhaps these tigers would be set after them.
The day had come when the bulk of the fighters left to go capture the two bears. Lix woke up and set out for the town of Clieus to capture a dog. He had been thinking and it would be funnier if Hugo fought a pathetic little dog dressed in a dragon costume rather than an actual bear. Plus when they traveled as a circus did they really want a bear weighing them down? He got into the city and found the most perfect dog, but it was a feisty little creature and ran away. Lix retreated back to the camp determined to come back the next day.
That night all but Lix and Andre would be sneaking into Ojogan's cave to kill him. There was a hitch in their plan though. Three zingarans stayed behind, meaning the boys would have to fight past them as well. When the night came two zingarans stayed by the fire. Later they withdrew to the woods. Meanwhile Conan and the gang watched growing more and more uneasy about this fight. They were not warriors, not really. The zingarans were. They could never defeat them in open combat four versus four. The hopes of sneaking in and killing Ojogan vanished.
The next morning Lix woke again earlier that he normally did and raced to Clieus to find that dog that got away. Conan woke soon after and noticed some zingarans talking with Ojogan and the beastmaster. When he approached the beastmaster telling him he had a few drawings of the tigers, he was told they could talk in a little.
Meanwhile Lix had just come back with the perfect dog, not the same one as the day before but a great one nonetheless. He asked Tharar how much fabric he needed for it and ran back to Clieus to fetch it.
Something about the conversation Conan saw had him worried. He went into the tent and told everyone to pack up; they needed to leave quick.
Lix found the perfect fabric for the dragon costume and ran back towards the camp. Just outside the city, he ran into the others. When they told him they were leaving he just shrugged and said guess I need to find another hunchback. Of course that proved harder than expected and he found himself in the tavern with the rest of his companions. Moments later Qafir entered. He asked them if they were coming back soon as some had been injured in the hunt and needed Andre's healing.
Conan all too quickly said he'd join them on the walk back to the camp. As they walked on the road Conan made signals to the others. Lix and Andre couldn't see as they were in front talking with Qafir. Conan lept forward drawing his sword and sliced into Qafir.
Lix told Andre to run into the woods and hide, while he ran off to tell the bandits. The two had not signed on for murder and that is exactly how they saw this. Showing his skill Qafir evaded attack after attack. He was wounded but not terribly so. He ran for the woods, knowing his speed would be of great use in the woods. The boys kept the attack steady racing after him but again Qafir was too quick. Then he was gone, escaped into the woods.
When Lix made it back to the camp, he quickly told them of the attack. They sent three men back with him to the spot Qafir was assaulted. Lix found Andre and helped him back to camp. Lix left them with a health potion for when they found Qafir hoping he still lived. Qafir was only missing for a while, he was relatively unharmed. Lix asked if they would be going after Conan and his gang. The bandits saw no need for this. They thanked the brothers for their help, and told them they were more than welcome to stay.
When Conan arrived back in Tarantia, he met with Brutus. Conan had made a drawing of the bandits as well as Lix and Andre. He was awarded some gold for his efforts. He went back to the house and talked with the others, they would be leaving Tarantia at first light.
And so the twins had made allies of the bandits and became wanted men in the process. The others made enemies.