Player Progression Story The Bloody Redwoods

Spoiler: Ambiance

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On the eastern side of the Schön River, in a rundown lumber mill on the outskirts of town, Antonio the Strong ordered around his gang of bandits, setting up simple defenses and traps around their impromptu hideout. Antonio was among a handful of former mercenaries employed to the usurper Andrieu Anahera, and he had organized these lowlife ruffians into an effective fighting force. The gang, known as “The Dustborn”, had not intended to stay by the Schön for longer than a day or two, but word of their criminal deeds had stretched all the way to the newspapers of Regalia. Antonio knew within a week, bounty hunters or worse would come for him and his gang, in search of the mayor’s daughter, one Erika von Redwood. Standing atop a rooftop covering half of the sawmill, and fiddling with a makeshift lever by his side, he knew the captive they had worked so hard to capture wouldn't be let go without a fight.

Mayor von Redwood himself wasn’t exactly eager as the Bloodcast Contingent walked into town. A nervous, portly man, he waved a crimson cane at them and asked where the rest of their forces were. Alexander blinked in astonishment as he saw the man and what it meant for their plan, and thought quickly in purchasing a few straw pillows from the locals. When Lazarus Lupenzi tried to explain this was their entire force, the Mayor very nearly collapsed in fright, but promised them a reward should they find his “little sapling” and bring her home safe. An impressive score of 30 men was rumored to be hiding out at the old Redwood Lumber Mill, long since abandoned in favor of a newer facility closer to the River. The rest of the group noticed shifty glances from the townsfolk surrounding the Mayor, but nothing further. With all the information they could in hand, the Bloodcast group set out toward the old lumber mill.

While the draft of their plans had included a detailed strategy once they reached the edge of the lumber mill territory, they had failed to appoint a vanguard or any scouting force to assist in this endeavor. As a result, it was Antonio the Strong himself who first saw the group far off in the distance. Calling for a quick order to cease with defensive preparations, he called his men into the Log Cabin and the surrounding area, waiting for the band to approach. Lazarus and Zelgius had brought their respective spy glasses and peered through them to try and scout the camp. Luckily for the group, Zelgius spotted a few of the slower bandits as they ducked into cover. “They know we’re here. Alexander, I don’t know if your little disguise is going to work.” Alexander waved him off, already beginning to strip his armor off and stuff his purchased pillows up his front. “We haven’t got another plan. Just… try not to let me get killed out there, alright?”. And so Alexander dressed himself up as close to the mayor’s appearance as he could manage. Through a spyglass of his own, Antonio the Strong peered out at the group. “I… think they are stripping off their clothes.” One of the bandits piped up at that. “Must be Ithanians, huh?”.

A chorus of low chuckles from the bandits, before they all hushed up as Alexander strode up to the Lumber Mill. A Daendroque man trying to pass a portly Heartland Ceardian Ailor mayor, one who was assuredly known to most of the bandits in the mill. Antonio the Strong stepped out onto the rooftop of the Lumber Mill, aiming a loaded crossbow at the mayor. “Who in the void are you?!” he asked, to which Alexander stammered, not expecting much of a dialogue. “Why, I am the Mayor von Redwood of course! I demand you, uh, give me back my daughter! At once!” There was a slight pause before Antonio laughed and raised the crossbow up again. “You have no idea what business you’re stepping into, daen-boy. This goes way beyond me and our friend in town. Prepare to-”

And it was at this moment Julius knew the jig was up, and blew his horn. In a rush, Alexander and the Bloodcasts surrounding him threw their shields or otherwise up, and charged the lumber mill. Lazarus led his men from the opposite direction in as stealthy a run as armored knights can manage.

But back at the front, Alexander and his men encountered their first proper trap. Bear traps had been placed in the grounds surrounding the mill, and while most were avoided by the perceptive knights, both Alannah and Seraphina fell victim to the traps, their armor saving their limbs, but causing them to limp with a loud metal bear trap biting into their calves for the remainder of the battle. To their credit, both women charged on toward the Mill. As they reached said Mill, archers took pot shots from the windows, two scoring hits on Alexander’s gut, but both arrows not quite able to pierce both his pillow stuffed stomach and the armor beneath it, allowing the poorly dressed Alexander to reach the mill itself, and cut down two bandits wielding lumber axes in short order. Zelgius was shortly behind him, surrounded on all sides by bandits wielding clubs and axes. He proved more athletic than most, expertly moving out of the way of their piecemeal attacks, before slashing down two of the bandits with one stroke of his blade. Many of the others broke ranks, fleeing from the eerily calm Zelgius. Julius managed to rally Seraphina and Allanah, and the three stood in a v formation, cutting a bloody path up a flight of stairs and onto the sawmill proper, fighting around the still active tool. To Seraphina’s horror, the captive girl, one Erika Redwood, was tied up where the log was supposed to be, and on the roof of the building Antonio the Strong stood, with a makeshift lever by his side. Antonio shot down crossbow bolts at the lot of them, ensuring they had not the time to focus on anything but their survival.

Meanwhile, Lazarus and his men had finally reached the mill. Only by the grace of Lazarus’ eyesight had the group avoided each and every trap on their way to the mill. But, as the Bloodcast leader kicked down a door to enter the lumber mills lower half, he was greeted with a 7 foot, tower of a man. This monster hurled a thick log straight at Lazarus’ face, who was promptly blasted off his feet and landed outside in the grass. Lazarus’ nose had been cracked over to one side, and he was dazed. Ivar quickly rallied the rest of the men, who charged into the mill and began hacking at the 7-foot monster. It would be Everett, near the smallest of them, to confuse the behemoth with a quick wrist buckler bash to the groin, and a shortsword stab up and through his throat. With the monster of a man defeated, the group ran up to find Erika Redwood tied up on the sawmill, Lazarus shakily following behind.

As his Dustborn Gang was quickly cut down around him, Antonio pulled the lever by his side, and the sawmill wired up, beginning to quickly move toward the captive girl. With about half of the gang still alive and keeping the others busy, it was only Lazarus who stood, still dazed from his nose being shattered, who could reach the saw mill in time. The poor girls' arms and legs were not only tied together, but a metal chain connected her throat to the sawmill base itself. Lifting his Steel Longsword and stepping between the whirring blade and the girl, he hacked thrice at the metal link, and on the third blow, separated it. Erika Redwood wasted no time throwing herself off the mill, but Lazaus’ heroic deed cost him, as Antonio fired a crossbow bolt into his sword arm. At the same moment, the whirring blade reached Lazarus’ left calf, tearing it up as he was sent tumbling to the ground. Antonio the Strong swore, taking aim with his crossbow again at the fallen Bloodcast leader, before Alexander roared and threw his shield up at the man in desperation. To everyone's astonishment, it knocked the gang leader off balance and careening off his perch, down onto the whirring sawmill blade back first. Impaled through the back with the still whirring blade, Antonio the Strong convulsed in agony as the saw carried on cutting, spraying the captive girl in the gang leaders blood. This sight was enough for the remaining bandits to break ranks and flee the mill, some falling into the very traps they set up as the made a beeline for the forest. Zelgius did his best to console the captive Redwood girl, trying to calm down the blood-soaked child, still tied up next to the sawmill. Seraphina and Alannah helped each other limp back to town, while Julius and Alexander carried the severely wounded Lazarus.

While they had no medics among their group, they did manage to find a clinic in town who saw to their wounds, though Lazarus, Seraphina, and Alannah would not be able to walk properly for several days, and Lazarus would not be able to fight for at least a week. William had the good sense to grab a rag and clean most of the gore off the captive girl before returning to town. The Mayor von Redwood personally rewarded the band of Bloodcasts with a small chest of regals, and a set of redwood handled hand axes for each member of the band. He then slapped Alexander across the face when he saw the pillows stuffed up his shirt, and realized what they had planned. Despite the gruesome antics of the day, the Bloodcasts had not broken ranks and had saved an innocent life. As they left town, Zelgius did notice those same shifty-eyed townsfolk glare at the Mayor when his back was turned, and a few glanced toward the treeline surrounding their town thereafter. A few of the Dustborn Gang had gotten away, but surely they wouldn’t be a problem to the good people by the Schön River ever again.

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