Day 7: Mar-20, Thieve’s Camp Exterior

Having successfully secured the exterior of the bandits’ encampment, the heroes bound their surviving hobgoblin captive before depositing him unceremoniously in one of the tents while they decided his fate. Kit and Eleanor wished to interrogate the prisoner and hopefully bring him to justice at the hands of the local authorities. Daethin recommended offering the hobgoblin the choice of immediate execution or release (stripped of all gear) on the condition that he provide the group with information on the remaining foes. Rua’Lanna found herself struggling with one of the classic paladin dilemmas… (The most famous being whether to gloriously charge the red dragon and almost certain death head-on, or to provide pragmatic leadership as part of a better thought out strategy) to reconcile her righteous hatred of all things evil with her code of honor forbidding the summary execution of helpless opponents.

While the rest of the group debated their captive’s fate, Kit snuck into the tent to attempt an interrogation. While she managed to significantly improve the hobgoblin’s attitude, she was unable to pry any useful information out of him. A subsequent attempt by Eleanor and Rua’Lanna met with even less success. In the interest of time, the party decided to leave the captive bound in the tent while they moved in to clear the rest of the stone ruin. So, placing any potentially dangerous or valuable objects in Daethin’s bag of holding, the party made their way inside.

The interior of the crumbling ruin was devoid of furniture. However, the building was obviously still occupied. The party determined that the barking they had heard during their previous battle originated in one of the interior rooms of the building. Attempting to determine the nature of the canines making the racket, the party attempted to peek cautiously into the next room. As soon as they cracked the door, however, the obviously hostile pooches forced them to immediately close it again.

As the group debated the best way to clear the guard dogs from the next room, a bandit unleashed the hounds so that they could deal with the focus of their attention. The dogs rushed around the exterior of the building to attack the party through the open front door. Once the group turned to face the pooches, their master then burst into the room to attack from behind. Fortunately, a well-placed color spray from Rayne and some excellent swordplay made short work of the dogs and their master.

Upon entering the room serving as the dogs’ kennel, the party saw an example of their opponents’ brutal nature. The room was full of bones and partially devoured carcasses in various stages of putrification. Daethin was able to determine that the bandits likely disposed of any meat-like products (including humanoid victims) by feeding them to the dogs.

In the room beyond the dogs’ lair, the adventurers discovered an open trap door and set of stairs leading down. Following the stairs, they found themselves in a basement filled with equipment and the bandits’ spoils.