Contract Journal 1: Bandits in the Swamps

Been a while since I last had to dust you off, eh.

Managed to get a new contract, finally, maybe I'll get something interesting to do for a change, but I doubt it, it's just clearing out bandits, again.

Agreed upon rates, 220 per pair of ears (Notifying mark is a small tattoo), and 500 per bandit leader.

Signatories, Shiro, the Clanless, and Guard Captain of Mechanist.

So first things first, got to organise transport for myself and 4 others to the Town of Drellin, further in the swamps, which has apparently been set upon by several organised groups of Bandits in the last few days. Victor keeps crowing about how he can summon us ghostly steeds to carry us above the water, but given the fact that we don't know exactly what we're going to be going up against I told him to not bother, and just look for something more mundane.

Luckily we didn't have to look for long, a resident of the area, who calls himself "Ducky", offered to ferry us "Fine looking adventuring types" for a "Small fee" of 4 gp each, which we decided to accept after seeing his boat, which looks fine, apart from the holes, and the stench of fish, and the dark, ooze that seems to have filled several recesses on the hull.

Interesting note,"Many Names" is seasick, clearly we need to use boats for transport more often.

After an hour or so we entered the first of the Mangrove trees, this swamp air is starting to disagree with me, and according to Lily and "Many Names" we were being followed by something on the banks, is it wrong that I want the bandits to have tamed ape-men, and use them for combat, but nothing materialised from the trees, during that leg of the journey.

And we've come to a fork that our intrepid guide doesn't remember existing, I told people to take the right fork, but did anyone listen to me, of course not.

And now with a 5 minute break to argue, and reconsider, and to form a committee, and argue, and panic, and argue some more, before deciding yes we'll go down the right fork. At least Chak shows some tactical sense and suggested that we try to confuse our pursuers by using an illusion of ourselves going down the other fork, combined with a cloud of fog summoned by Victor, got our pursuer's off our backs and going the wrong way.

After moving far enough down river, we disembarked from the boat, covering it with debris from the riverbank, and leaving Ducky behind to protect the boat.

We quickly came across a lone bandit collecting firewood, which we proceeded to capture, with the intention of interrogating him for information, before being rudely interrupted by another two bandits, who were promptly dispatched, and de-eared, which may have had something to do with our captive's sudden show of compliance, that and Chak took his ears off with a dagger, on a surrendered opponent.

Luckily our captive was able to tell us about one of the three camps, and give us some basic information on the camps boss, Clayton, at which point we managed to formulate a fairly basic plan, which goes as follows.

Step 1) The rest of the group hide in the trees around me as I walk up to the bandit camp, and challenge their leader to single combat, where if I win they surrender, and come in willingly, and if I lose I lose.

Step 2) If the bandits cheat, I mean when the bandits cheat, the rest of the group springs from hiding and uses their surprise appearance to their advantage.

And the plan worked, mostly, Lily failed to hide successfully and walked into the bandit camp with me, where we were bound with leather straps, and almost thrown in a pit before I gave the signal. After that it was an easy enough fight, the bandits cleaned up with no difficulty, although I hope none of the bandits escaped to warn the other camps.