A Lord's Ransom

2025-04-11T03:51:07Z

Arumi: A ransom trade goes both better and worse than expected.

{{Infobox expedition log
| title = A Lord's Ransom
| date = 4/9/2025
| storyteller = Tiresieas
| tier_of_play = Trainee
| player_characters = Quan, Swaying Petals, Evalynne Stoneking, Uravas, Ariyu, Arumi
| rewards = 250exp, 22g1s (275exp and 0gp for Quan)
| result = Success
| author = Arumi
| downtime_days = 2
}}
A ransom trade goes both better and worse than expected.

(The following report is written cleanly and with crisp penmanship)

<big>'''14:27:43 - Day 1'''</big>

:After a brief wait, the last of the six associates has arrived to meet with Lady Adina, the woman who posted this request. I will include a brief description of everyone attending:

:*Lady Adina - a well-dressed noblewoman with a quiet demeanor; she seems particularly affluent.

:*Uravas - my older brother, and a naturally gifted magus with a good sword arm. He can be a little odd, but he's good with people.

:*Ariyu - my twin sister, a dependable woman and sharpshooter. She's quick on her hooves and deceptively strong.

:*Quan - an extremely tall, broad, tattooed half-elf fetchling and martial artist. He seems prone to outbursts and provocations.

:*Swaying Petals - A diminutive sunflower leshy and cleric of Sarenrae. She brought a sword but seemed reluctant to use it.

:*Evalynne Stoneking - A cheerful, agile dwarven woman who fights with her fists. She brought homemade sweets from the Guild Hall.

:(The following is scrawled in small print between sections, as though added after the fact)

:*Arumi - A civic wizard and record keeper. I'm just here to keep my family out of trouble.

:Lady Adina has provided the associates with set of specific directions to a meeting place, as well as one hundred and twelve gold pieces to be used to pay a ransom to retrieve her wife, Lady Bri, from bandits who have taken her captive. She has also indicated that her wife is a more than capable adventurer who typically handles herself well on the road.

:Quan has insisted that it is cowardly of Lady Adina to not try to retrieve her wife herself, to which the party disagreed vehemently. He offered for her to accompany the associates, although she seemed reluctant and ultimately very relieved when the idea was dismissed; he still recommends her a few workouts to be able to handle situations like this herself in the future.

:The associates depart from Onadbyr shortly afterwards.

<big>'''12:36:27 - Day 2'''</big>

:It has taken us twenty-two hours and eight minutes to find the meeting place from the directions provided, including a night's rest on the road. At time of writing, there have been no incidents to report, save for some discussions between Uravas, Evalynne, Swaying Petals, and Quan, who seems to have some manner of rare, size-changing mushrooms they're all interested in.

:('Possibly fake?' is written in the margins next to this entry)

:The bandits appear to have taken residence in a makeshift wooden fortress approximately a year into its life and adjacent to a small lake; it seems shabby, although well enough put together to weather the elements. Our plan is to simply hand the money over and retrieve Lady Bri - a simple handoff. Uravas has been given the bag of gold, Quan will be attending him, Swaying Petals will attend to the hostage's injuries, and I will be waiting outside of the flimsy gates to give signal to a hiding Ariyu and Evalynne if anything goes wrong.

:The bandits have opened the gates and allowed the three into the fortress while their leader counts the gold.

<big>'''12:38:53 - Day 2'''</big>

:(The following section is written less neatly, as though with an unsteady hand, although it seems to return to normal by the end of the passage)

:'''Battle report:'''

:Casualties:

::*Three human bandits - killed by Lady Bri through assorted and varying sword-related injuries

::*One human bandit - killed by Swaying Petals through a barrage of magicked needles

::*One human bandit - killed by Uravas with arcane flames

:Injuries:

::*Lady Bri - various blunt force trauma and minor cuts from fists, clubs, and a whip

::*Quan - extensive injuries from fists and sling bullets; was temporarily unconscious

::*Swaying Petals - moderate lacerations from a whip, repeated strikes to the head

::*Evalynne Stoneking - minor injuries related to being clubbed

::(after the next two entries, there's a small, underlined '-4g')

::*Uravas - severe injuries from repeated punches; was temporarily unconscious

::*Ariyu - severe head injuries from both trying to bash down a door and being struck repeatedly; was temporarily unconscious

::*Tobin - moderate injuries due to being struck with fists and kicked

:The bandits closed the gates and ambushed those who were inside; the resulting battle was bloody. They were trying to take the associates hostage to ransom them back to Onadbyr and so were only trying to knock everyone unconscious. Me and my sister were locked out of the fort, but Evalynne managed to sneak around to a back entrance and free Lady Bri from her manacles, whose help ended up invaluable in turning the tides. By the time Quan managed to get the gates open again, half of our number were already badly injured; the battle was uphill from here, but with myself and Swaying Petals keeping everyone on their feet, the party was ultimately able to overwhelm the bandits. Ariyu in particular managed to put a great number of arrows in the bandits by the end of the skirmish.

:Uravas, with the help of Quan, managed to convince the final survivor - Tobin - to stand down after Uravas offered him the chance to join his pirate crew, also convincing Lady Bri to not violently murder the man. Over the next fifteen minutes, the party set about investigating the fort, discovering a very flimsy and ramshackle boat on the lake, which was then used to send off the bodies of the bandits in a bizarre burial in which the boat was set ablaze before sinking. Swaying Petals and Quan offered some words for the dead, although Tobin didn't seem too interested in watching the bandits put to rest.

:Before leaving the lake, Evalynne invited Lady Bri to build a sandcastle with her. Impressive work for a novice, really - she built a little moat and everything. "Castle Lakefront" she called it; she might have a knack for this sort of thing.

<big>'''09:37:23 - Day 3'''</big>

:We have all arrived safely in Onadbyr after twenty hours and roughly forty minutes of travel, including a brief rest off the road at night. There were no incidents to report, and everyone’s injuries have been tended to.

:Lady Adina and Lady Bri have been reunited, and in exchange, the associates have been awarded the money that would have been used to pay the ransom - although Quan opted out of his share. Tobin was awarded two gold pieces to help reintegrate him into civilized life in the town, and everyone else was awarded twenty-two gold and one silver piece as compensation.

:Quan has been trying to get Tobin to work out with him since we got back. It's unclear if this is a threat.

:(This last entry has been written in the margins)
:Remember to get more of those sweets from the Guild Hall.