Arathia Basin

Jacob looked down on the sprawling camp that lay between several hills, half of the troops were silently working their way around the camp to attack from the north while Jacob led the southern attack with the other half of his forces. The mounted light cavalry would be almost completely useless in the wooded area so they had orders to stay back and kill or capture anyone who broke through the attack. A small palisade wall, no taller than 5 feet tall, enclosed the camp and provided a basic defense.

The scouts had reported nearly 300 bandits were camped within the makeshift fort. A group of Rogues had infiltrated the fort with orders to provide a distraction once Thorgron was in position with his half of the attack force. They had found two smaller camps with about 50 bandits each yesterday, considering the size and amount of bandits this should be the main camp.

"In position." silently came over the raid chat from one of the Immortals from that had marched with Thorgron. Jacob immediately tapped the pouldron of the Lieutenant next to him and he gave silent orders to the Dawn Guard members nearby. The Immortals would already be issuing their own orders to their War Parties to form up and silently move out. Over the next 20 minutes, the Jacobs group made it's way silently down the hill and once they got within 50 feet most of the spell slingers and half the archers stopped while the remaining foot soldiers continued on.

Silently Rouges scrambled up the wall to silent any sentries and to douse any torches. Two Druids darted forward to silently work some magic to weaken a section of the palisade so that ropes that were being anchored in the section could easily pull it down. "Group 1 is ready to breach the wall." silently went out over the raid chat. A minute later group 2 responded that they were ready as well.

Jacob immediately sent a message to Darren, "Waiting on you buddy." as he eased Moonlight from its scabbard. The nearby archers would use flares as soon as the first explosion went off the reveal any nearby enemy Rogues/Hunters/Rangers that would try to escape.

Darren silently cursed as he dropped out of stealth and quickly worked to prepare the alchemic bomb. He never figured that he would use the same mechanics for practical jokes to kill his enemies in this world. The bomb would hang in front of the door of the cabin and the first person that opened the door would have a bad surprise waiting for them.

Each bomb was Fates' equivalent to an Anti-Personnel grenade, they would do little structural damage but anyone caught within the blast radius would be cut to ribbons. Each rogue within his small group could only carry 6 of the little bombs safely. Now they were spread throughout the little tent city and near the few crude cabins, they believed held any commanding officers.

After placing his last bomb, Darren made his way to one of the Warehouses that held any booty from the bandit raids. The mad alchemist, Abraxxus, had bottled Hellfire. This would be the first use of the destructive force and the Rogue was looking forward to the explosive results.

Jacob smiled as he watched as a pair of explosions lit up the night, damn Abraxxus might have done a too good of a job this time. The ropes that were anchored to the wall went taught as the Dawn Guard soldiers strained to tear down the section to give them access to the inside of the fortress. Suddenly a series of explosions rang out as Alchemic Bombs that had been rigged to go off were triggered causing dozens of casualties. Suddenly the wall started to snap and give before crashing down onto the ground giving the Jacobs attacking force a nearly 20-foot opening. The Dawn Guard and soldiers from Ineford immediately swarmed the opening and into the broken fortress.

Gregory Thompson logged back into Fate after eating some food. He wanted to enjoy some of the local entertainment before taking up the nightshift guardpost. He did not expect to see the cabin partially on fire or the blast marks from some bomb going off near the doorway. Peaking out of the damaged cabin, he saw the end of the pitched battle and that the bandits the Weighted Chance had recruited were being slaughtered.

Before he could fade into stealth a voice whispered in his ear, "Where do you think you are going." and then felt a piercing pain in his side before he felt his head being smashed into a knee.

Alert...

You Kidney has been punctured and you are bleeding internally. You are losing 3% of your health every 10 seconds.

Your jaw and nose have been broken and you cannot use any skills, abilities, or magic that require you to speak until your jaw has been healed.

Alert...

Before he could reorient himself, Gregory felt his arms and legs being bound and a blindfold being placed over his eyes. "Place him with the other captives, once the fighting is done, he will decide what to do with the captives." Gregory started to thrash about when he was punched in the same spot he had been stabbed causing Gregory to see stars as he tried not to pass out from the pain, "Resist any further and I will stab you in the other kidney." Someone hissed in his ear as two people grabbed his arms and dragged him away as a collar got slapped around his neck.

Alert...

You have a Collar of Submission, for the next...hour...you cannot use teleport scrolls, portal stones, communicate with anyone over a distance, or enter combat.

Alert...

Crap, he was boned and with no way to alert anyone within Weighted Chance that their plans had gone sideways. Jacob walked among the dead and dying, dispatching enemies and finding friends and allies either to recover their bodies or to desperately try to save them. "Report Thorgron!"

"We killed the majority of the bandits, we won't get an exact body count until later though. We captured 12 bandits, 6 soldiers from Middlebrough, and 3 Immortals. Based on what Darren told me, the Immortals capture is only temporary and they will be able to escape within 45 minutes. We lost 10 soldiers from Ineford and the Dawn Guard lost 6 so far, we have 15 seriously wounded and 30 walking wounded. We also found 4 Wood Elves, they had been abused badly. Your Bonded, Chalxae, June, Snaggletooth, and Mug are seeing to them as they know how you feel about those things." Thorgron reported as he shadowed Jacob as he walked among the bodies.

Jacob nodded his head in acknowledgment before heading toward where the captives were being held. A squad of the Dawn Guard followed him as he contemplated his choices before him. Every captive bandit and soldier had at least 2 Dawn Guards or soldiers from Ineford watching them while a whole squad of Deathwalkers watched the 3 captive Immortals. "You men and women could have been anything you wanted,' Jacob stated as he looked at the bandits, 'but you choose to become bandits. You murdered, stole, extorted, and raped. For these crimes today you will be executed." Several of the bandits started crying as they were dragged away to be executed while others spit at Jacob as he moved toward the soldiers.

"Soldiers of Middlebrough, you will be brought before the Merchants Council of Ineford where you will be questioned about your involvement in these crimes. I would suggest you be honest because it will affect how you are treated." Jacob stated before moving toward the last and smallest group.

"Immortals of Weighted Chance guild, there is very little I can do to punish you. If I kill you, my PK counter will go up and you might lose a piece of your equipment and I will get some of your money. On the other hand, if the locals execute you, you will suffer Death De-Buffs, you will lose experience, money, and maybe equipment.' Jacob looked up at the Deathwalkers, "Can you guys please kill them." Mikeal nodded and before stepping forward to carry out their sentence with two others.

Kingdom Quest Complete: Trade Route Trepidation

Description: Leading an allied force, you hunted down and destroyed the bandits that had been harassing the trade route between Ineford and Middlebrough. In the process, you discovered the fact that the bandits were being supported by both the Immortal Guild of Weighted Chance and Middlebrough. Although the extent of their involvement is unknown at this time.

Rewards: 5,000 Kingdom Experience, the trade route between Ineford and Middlebrough is now open and secure, the Market of Middlebrough is now open for trade

Bonus: Your forces captured soldiers from Middlebrough, interrogate them for information of their involvement with the bandits

Jacob walked away while the soldiers prepared the captives for transport to Ineford, As he approached where the 4 Wood Elves were being Jacob could see that Mug, Snaggletooth, Bree, and another Immortal were working healing magic while Chalxae, June and two other women softly talked to them. Bruises and blood covered their naked bodies as the healers silently worked over their bodies. Jacob's fury grew at the sight of their battered bodies and gave him some solace in his judgment of some of their captives. "Captain, as soon as the healers say they are stable, I want the Wood Elves moved to one of the carts. Try to keep them together so they do not think we are separating them. Keep at least one woman with each captive and try to keep anyone else away from them. I want to leave this place as soon as possible. The wounded have priority, then loot. Understand?" The Duergar saluted before moving off and barking orders.

A dozen wagons and double that number of carts with their draft animals had been captured when they took the fort. Both Warehouses had been burned to the ground with all the contents, but every bandit dropped both coin and at least one piece of equipment. Half the equipment and coin would go to Ineford and the rest would be transported to Eternal Night. Transporting the wounded and dead would take most of the space, but they should have just enough room in the wagons and carts for everything. 3 Days Later...

City of Ineford

Merchant Council Chambers

"Merchant Lords and Ladies of Ineford, I bring word from the north. The bandits that had been plaguing the trade route between Ineford and Middlebrough have been slain and their camp razed to the ground. I also bring sad tidings, Middlebrough was aware of the situation and did nothing to resolve the situation. 6 of their soldiers were present when we destroyed the bandit camp, we captured them in the course of our attack. Even worse, Immortals of the guild of Weighted Chance were present and fought on the side of the bandits." Jacob called out as the Council went into an uproar over the news.

Before anyone could respond, Dudrik quickly stood and responded, "These...soldiers...should be taken into custody and thoroughly questioned before any course of action is taken. No one doubts the veracity of your statement, but it might not be the whole truth."

Jacob smiled and slowly turned toward the Reagent, "Of course Lord Dudrik Goldflint. Please question them, I am sure they are full of stories and justifications for their actions. A time is coming though when talking will not be enough and actions will be required Lord Goldflint." Jacob stated before turning and leaving the Council Chambers.

City of Ineford

City Administration Building-Reagents Office

Jacob sat and waited for nearly 30 minutes while waiting for Dudrik to show up, "Sorry about the delay, I had to settle the Council down and then deal with the prisoners."

Jacob snorted before responding, "I would be careful with who you trust. Your Council has been infiltrated before, I am sure Middlebrough has eyes and ears within the city maybe even on the Council itself. If they do, I am sure they will arrange either suicides or murder of the captured soldiers."

Dudrik responded immediately, "I know. Officially they are in the dungeon below Council building, unofficially they are somewhere more secure and with people I trust. I have a Mind Mage and Truth Speaker overseeing their interrogations as we speak. Now another envoy of the Gilded Handz was present at your show and wishes to speak to both of us, are you willing to talk?"

Jacob considered what had happened before nodding, "Let's see what the Gilded Handz have to say now."