Grimm stared down at the bloody mess of the bandit before him and laughed. "Pathetic" he said with a bellowed guffaw. He turned towards the cleric nearby and grinned, with a curt nod of approval he moved over towards Tobias. The former templar had taken quite the beating, underhanded tactics had torn asunder the stoic man's hamstring, he would be lucky to make the walk to the cleric for medical attention let alone continue on the mission. With bolt still lodged in his leg, grimm offered Tobias a hand up.

(Assuming he accepts) Grimm yanks Tobias up over his shoulder and carries him over towards Nick. "The women will fawn over the battle-scars arms-brother." with another laugh he moved back towards Nick while calling out. "Wee one, we have wounded. We can play hide and seek another day bwahaha!"

(Grimm is moving Tobias towardes Nick to be tended too, even with the bolt in him he'll go about gathering bandit bodies, piling them together nearby, that they can be looted, hopefully one will have a map, or perhaps a healing drought upon them.)

Knowing his own wound could wait compared to the near-crippling gash the knight had taken, the scholarly cleric focused his mind and offering a silent prayer channeled one of his divine gifts into a different spell. (Basically converting Divine Favor to 1st level Cure spell (Don't have my PHB handy to look up name) Cure Light isn't it?)

Placing his hands on the wound Nick chants the words necessary to heal the wound of his companion. Once the spell had done all it could he set about administering to the other wounds they had all sustained. (Heal checks to dress wounds, remove bolt, pack deep wounds with the Tikkla if it seems they may need more than simple bandaging. I can't believe I did this, but I seem to have forgotten to buy a Healer's Kit, so unless someone else has bandages I guess I'll have to bandage with the local plants.)

With his wounds bandaged he approaches the rest of the group.

"Ouch. That looks like it hurts." He looks at the wounds his travel-mates took in the battle.

"While the rest of you are getting tended to, I'm going to go take a look around. I'm sure that wasn't all of the bandits. And I'll see if I can find the prisoners."

Without really waiting for a response, the halfling disappears into the underbrush, sneaking along through the shadows of the forest.

Tirmut 6th, 1022
Scarwood Forest.
Northern Alcana.
First aid was the priority in everybody's mind as they assessed the damage they had taken in the ambush. Kresimir, in a great show of brawn, neglected his own injury entirely to bring the wounded Tobias closed to Nick, while off on his own, Koriss drew upon a rough-and-tumble upbringing to re-align his broken nose.

A short prayer to the Librarian gifted the hands of Nicholas with a gentle blue glow, causing warmth to surge into the ex-Templar through his hands. The pain of his wounds fading just slightly, Tobias could feel his muscles threading back together, and after the gift was bestowed upon him and Nick backed away, he found himself able to climb to his feet unassisted.

Some of the other injuries to attend required the removal of armour, so among all members, bits and pieces of their protective garb had to be shucked while Nick made a cursory inspection of the area to see if he could find anything to use in their aid. He found some broad-leafed Kosa ferns not far from the battleground, and recalled their nature to be non-toxic and relatively smooth so as not to aggravate damaged tissue. Plucking a couple of the long red leaves from the base of the plant, he returned and set himself to work. The bag of Tikkla would have to do for the time, and he withdrew one of the orange bricks, wincing at the smell. It suddenly dawned on him that he wasn't quite sure what to do with them, and decided to try a poultice. Cracking one in half and chewing the dry fibers into a tar, he felt the slight want to vomit from the overwhelming bitterness, and spat the pulp into one of the Kosa leaves. Binding it tightly around Tobias' torn forearm, and then getting the Templar's aid in tying a similar bind around his bicep.

Breaking into another cake, he managed a bandage around the leg of Koriss, flayed from the close-range crossbow shot, which ceased bleeding nearly immediately after the putrid thing was tied onto him. Kresimir was the last to receive treatment, as he had busied himself with hauling the four corpses into their midst, rounding up their fallen weapons as he went. By the time it was his turn for medical assistance, all four black-garbed bodies lay side-by-side on the leafy forest floor.

Tobias set himself to searching them, checking for hidden pouches and the like, while Nick was forced to pull the lodged crossbow bolt out of Kresimir's side. The missile had grazed the hip bone, but didn't seem to have caused it any major harm beyond its penetration, and so the scholar stemmed the bleeding with another application of the bitter root-cake. By now, his tongue was stained deep orange, and he felt an overwhelming need to wash his mouth out. Some part of him suspected even soap would be a step in the right direction...

A small pile of findings had been retrieved from the bandits, which were gathered in a small pile. Some notched knucklebones, a couple coins, a honing stone, two short swords, four daggers, a bandana with a crudely painted skull on it, a flat glass bottle half-filled with dark whiskey, and a strange piece of cloth with a star made of two interlocking triangles on it. Beyond this six-point star, it was bare, aside from two red strikes on it; one of the points of the star, and opposite it, one of the intersections. The four crossbows were also gathered, and a total of sixteen bolts.

With just the slightest of warnings, Koriss was gone again, having slipped away into the low-laying shadows to have a look around. His knife drawn and in hand at all times, he moved carefully, trying not to let his bandage slip. But, Nick had done a good job of binding the wound, and his movement was only slightly impaired.

Carefully scanning the ground before each step he took, he'd only moved a few minutes away from the others when he came across a muddy length of cord running just a few inches above the ground. Easy to miss, as it'd been stuck with dead leaves and grasses, but the halfling was on high-alert, and stopped short of it. Getting low to the ground, he looked around to see where it led, and followed it to the right for two feet, where he found it anchored to a slim alder trunk.

It was what he found at the other end of the line that caused him worry, for on the other side of a fallen tree, he found a forked branch holding the trigger mechanism. A tiny flat of wood held a stone poised above a small glass vial. What was in the vial, he knew not, but the vial was placed upon a small keg, less than a foot in height. The entire mechanism was concealed in a hollow of the fallen tree, and looking a little further in, he found a pile of all kinds of dangerous objects; shards of glass, roofing nails, sharp pieces of stone, and even coins that had the edges notched to become barbed.

While he recognized neither what the vial contained, nor what the unopened keg might house, it was the intricacies of this particular trap that worried him. First and foremost, how it actually worked was unusually complex. Obviously, it was made to spray the shrapnel pieces all over the place, but this seemed something more advanced than a simple brigand's trap. A moment of reflection on the bells in the treetops, as well as the effective ambush revealed a somewhat daunting thought that they might be dealing with something a little more extreme than ordinary outlaws here...

((OOC: Updated! The group has been bandaged, and the bandits looted. Take what you wish from the above-mentioned things.

Koriss has located a type of trap he has never seen before, but has not touched any of the materials yet. He is less than a six minute walk to the south-east.

Nicholas: 17/23 – Bandaged bicep on shield arm.
Koriss: 9 (6)/15 – Bandaged wound, broken nose (Reset). 3 Subdual damage.
Tobias: 18/31 – Bandaged shield arm.
Kresimir: 32/38 – Bandaged left flank.

Two Tikkla used.

Flora update!))

As he examine the trap many thoughts passed through his mind.

It would take someone either very well trained or very ingenius to come up with a trap like this. I suppose we can see who is the smarter...
He looked at the setup again, looking for any secondary traps or activation mechanisms that were connected to this one. After the alarm and now the complexity of this, he would take nothing for granted.

Part of the trap's function was obvious. The rock dropped, crushing the vial. Likely that, along with whatever was int he barrel, would explode carrying all of the nasty little projectiles every which way.

(If he doesn't find any secondary traps he will continue...)

It seemed that all he had to do is prevent the rock from crushing the glass vial, and perhaps the barrel beneath it. He took a few moments to consider the cord and its strength before continuing on.

After carefully inspecting the trap he decided the best way to mitigate it was to simply remove the vial. Something about that vial must cause the projectiles to fly. The contents of the barrel, whatever it was, likely amplified it. If the vial was removed, at the very least the explosion would be limited.

He made his way towards the trap, still on the lookout for any secondary traps that might have been placed to protect the mechanism. Upon reaching the trap he did his best to remove the vial from the barrel without tripping the trap.

(If he is successful...) He then attempts to hold the rock and, if he could easily hold it, cut the cord and catch the rock. After all, he was very curious as to what might be in the barrel...

Realizing that he had no bandages to use, Nick set out in search of suitable flora with which to bind their many wounds. Scouring the surrounding plant life he came across some Kosa ferns that looked as though they would provide suitable cover without any unwanted irritation to the wounds. Pulling the Tikkla bricks from his pack he tried to recall exactly how to use them, but failed to recall ever having heard how they were best used. Improvising he decided to chew the foul smelling mass into a pulp and create a poultice for each wound he was treating. As if the constant grimacing and choked expressions did not give away the horrible taste he commented as he finished up the last of the bandaging, "Be thankful we did not have to eat this horrible stuff, if the smell wasn't bad enough it tastes even worse!" The aftertaste that lingered in his mouth made him shudder slightly, and so he took a long swig from his waterskin before wrapping the remaining Tikklas back in the wrapping and getting his pack re-situated. Just for good measure he asked, "Does anyone else feel they are in need of further aid, or will this do for the time being?"

Waiting briefly for replies, and providing aid if requested, Nick then takes a look at the recently plundered items gathered from their fallen adversaries. The strange cloth with its 6 pointed star caught his eye, something about it intrigued him more than it probably should have. Picking it up and examining it further he then made a point of asking, "Anyone mind if I hold onto this, it is bound to mean something, and I would like to try to find out what..." Picking up the bandana and a dagger he also made certain to ask if anyone objected to him claiming those as well, thinking that should the need arise again the bandana may make for a possible improvised bandage or two. (Assuming no one objects he will place the items in his pack and get it properly situated)

Pausing for a moment to think he decided that perhaps finding and holding onto a few more Kosa leaves might be a good idea. The first few had made for acceptable bandages, and having a couple more in with the Tikklas may come in handy until he could get some proper bandages, salves, and ointments for treating wounds. He turned to his still present companions, "I'm going to gather a few more of these leaves, just to be prepared should we require more bandages. I shouldn't be too long, but if you'd rather we stick together then you could come along, a couple more sets of eyes may prove useful in finding what we seek. (First place he'll look will be in the general area he found the first ferns, if nothing is found then he will move to another location, but he will stay close to clearing, so as to be easily located should the Raslan return with news from scouting ahead.)

Tobias gave the friar a nod when the man picked up the items of interest. "The bandana may prove of use when we find those bast***s' camp."

The ex-templar was angry and had more than a bit of self-hate at the moment. He couldn't help but think that their first skirmish had been mostly due to his own carelessness. That mistake had cost them heavily -- a horse, and a good beating with little to show.

Still, Tobias thought as he scanned the woods around him. This camp has got to be near enough. One doesn't set up alarms in the middle of nowhere.
The knight put together a case of bolts and picked up one of the crossbows. As he hand slid into the well-worn grip, Tobias thought about the last time he had used one. Through the smoke of his memory, he could see the face of the young lad, looking down at the bolt that had pierced his heart.

Tobias tried to blink the memory away, launching a bolt into a nearby tree. "It's going to feel good giving those swamp rats a taste of their own," he mumbled to himself.

Coming back to the present, Tobias nodded to Nick as the man prepared to scavenge for some plants. "Careful, Friar. I wouldn't be surprised if there be more alarms lying around."

Setting himself to adjusting his armour, the ex-templar kept an eye on the good friar.

Now... where did that blasted Raslan get off too?
[OOC: Sorry for my deal, gang. It's been a tough couple weeks. Hope this game is still on!]

Kresimir barely made a sound as Nick removed the crossbow bolt from his leg. In fact his nose upturned more at the smell of the Tikkla being placed within the wound than anything pain related.

As the Raslan disappeared once more, and Nick and Tobias conversed before the cleric too went off to pick more herbs, Kresimir shrugged, before going about sweeping down the area with leaves and branches, and when the bodies were done being rifled through, rolling them into the nearest patch of swampwater deep enough to conceal them.

As people returned however (hopefully) he was ready to move on again to find the Raslan.

Tirmut 6th, 1022
Scarwood Forest.
Northern Alcana.
The unusually rigged booby trap had fully captured the attention of Koriss, whose careful eyes were used to simpler things, such as deadfalls and triggered crossbows. Something of this calibre was completely foreign to him.

Thus far, the halfling had deduced the approximate workings of the rig. Rock falls to crush vial, vial ignites keg, and keg explodes. However, the contents of the vial and the barrel were unknown to him. And thus, should not be dealt with carelessly.

Examination of the keg and the vial perched atop it showed that the minute flask was secured in place by a thin length of thread, obviously to prevent it from falling out of place. Or, perhaps the contents were so volatile that careless stirring of it would cause it to go off. This thought sat heavily on the halfling's thoughts. First things first; to disable the trigger itself.

The stone atop the small platform was small enough to fit into his hand, but obviously it was more than enough to crush the glass beneath it when it fell. It seemed that most of the effect would be produced based upon the rock dropping from its perch, so if it were removed, logically, the device would become much less hazardous. Testing the weight of it with a few nudges from his hand, while keeping the other beneath the platform in the event that it toppled. He was relieved to find that it was actually quite light, and was easy enough to remove and set near his feet.

That done, he moved onto the next step, which had a knife in his hand to carefully cut the threads securing the catalyst. With slow, precise fingers, Koriss retrieved it between thumb and forefinger, and lifted it to eye level. Inside, a bright orange liquid filled it three-quarters of the way to the stopper. With a gentle tilt to the side, it flowed slowly about in the flask. A thick liquid, but beyond that, unidentifiable.

Spotting a slight groove in the top of the fallen tree trunk, Koriss set the flask down in it so as not to let it roll about, and turned back to the keg. The final piece of this rig.

He slipped the knife blade beneath the lid of the cylinder, and gave it a loosening twist. With a creak, he pried loose the top and peered inside. Filled nearly to the lip of the container was a coarse reddish-brown dust, the likes of which he had never before seen. Gingerly, he dipped his fingers in, dragging a trail through the surface of it, and finding it to feel very much like sand.

The diligent halfling had managed to disable the trap, much to his pleasure, but he'd yet learned nothing about what this may be, beyond the visual contents of the keg. From the size of it, and the density of the sandy substance, he was confident he could carry it. However, it certainly wasn't going to fit snugly into his pack. Still, it certainly held his interest.

(OOC: Part one of a two-part update. I'll get the one for the other group members up tomorrow)

The halfling's interest was peaked. He didn't know what the powder was, but he was sure he could use it somehow.

He search around for several leaves that he could fold up to hold small amounts of the powder. (Hopefully he finds something that will work.) He makes about a half dozen small balls of folded leaves filled with powder and packs them away in the pouch at his belt. He also took the vial, taking care to place it in a pocket where it wouldn't easily be broken. Whatever it was, it likely exploded, so he was very careful.

The beginnings of an idea were forming in his mind. Perhaps he would be able to give the bandits a surprise they would never forget before this was all over.

Tirmut 6th, 1022
Scarwood Forest.
Northern Alcana.
With first aid completed, a last once-over of the site was performed by the group. Nick scoured the nearby brush for more Kosa, of which he found a sufficient amount to improvise a crude healer's kit. Pocketing a dozen or so of the broad fern leaves, the cleric quickly returned to find Kresimir hauling the bodies off into the bushes.

While the Gano sought out a pool of water to dispose of the corpses, he came up empty. The swamp far behind them, the next best thing he was able to find was a mossy dugout beneath the sprawling roots of a large elm. He wasn't sure what had eroded the soil beneath it, but it would do. One by one, he tossed the black-shrouded bodies into it, and created a quick shroud of leaves and branches.

Kresimir and Nick returned to the clearing within moments of each other, where Tobias had gathered himself a crossbow and a case of bolts, and had carried on to adjust the straps and layers of his armour. Typical soldiering habit, but useful nonetheless. And a productive means of passing the time while allowing him to keep an eye on the others.

With the spoils divided up and the bodies discarded, the trio realized that Koriss had not yet returned. The halfling had an incredible way to vanish without a trace. But it wasn't long before he returned, slipping forth from the undergrowth in a way that only his compact stature could allow. His belt pouch loaded with leaf-wrapped bundles of the strange powder, he had cleared away the obstruction ahead of them and made that path safe to traverse. As far as he'd come to, anyhow.

The alarm and ambush aside, they knew that they were still near the bandit camp. But with traps and triggers set nearby, this provided a new outlook on what they might be dealing with. Setups this sophisticated went beyond that of simple highway robbers. The execution of the ambush only furthered that. Perhaps there was more at work here.

Having found himself a decent crossbow and some bolts, Tobias spent his time adjusting his armour while he waited for the others to return. His focus was not on his armour’s straps, however... tightening them was now habitual – he could do them in the dark if there was need.

No, the ex-templar was watching the woods around him, trying to keep track of his companions and keep alert for danger. “I hate this fen,” he muttered to himself. He longed for the field of battle, not these hit and run tactics.

The Gano and the friar returned just as Tobias was about to call out. “Ready to move on?” the soldier look at his new comrades-in-arms. “If those scumfeeders are smart, they’ll be packing up and rolling out,” he paused as he looked in the direction he had last seen the horse-thief. “And I, for one, don’t want t’ give them too much of a head start.”

Tobias’ gaze shifted, trying to locate Koriss. “Seriously! Where is that Raslan?! Kori...” But he was cut off by the sudden return of the little rogue. “Ready to go, good sir?” asked Tobias, trying to mask his mis-directed annoyance of being stuck in this stinking fen.

“I say we stick to the same walking order... try t’ keep our eyes open this time. Koriss, you scout anything ahead? Any idea which way we go from here?”

"I found a very complex trap that way." He motions towards the direction opposite from which he entered the camp. "If that trap is any indication, we would be wise not to underestimate our foes. They are no simple bandits."

"On another note, I don't suppose any of you might know what this is would you?" He pulls the small glass vial from one of his pouches. "It seem to be a catalyst for the trap I disarmed, but I'm not quite sure what it is."

Nick was all too willing to agree with the knight and the scout, after all who was he to argue? "It does seem as if these so-called bandits knew exactly how to handle us, and were more than prepared with that ambush. We would be wise to take it at a slower pace so as to avoid sounding any more alarms or finding any traps the hard way."

When the Raslan pulled out the vial Nick's inquisitive nature took over, and he volunteered to take a look at it, perhaps he would recognize the contents from a story somewhere, or even from within the secluded walls of his order's temple.

The ex-knight was pleasantly surprised with the little Raslan. Turns out the race is more than just pickpocketers and thieves.
Still, the news Koriss brought just confirmed his suspicions -- these weren't petty bandits. Hardened and shewd... for a moment, while Tobias didn't like their tactics, he wondered if the kidnappers' goals might be fairly close to his own camp's. Bloody civil war's got brother against brother...
Tobias turned his attention briefly to the vial the Raslan produced from one of his pockets.

[OOC: If Tobias can make an untrained knowledge check to see if he can identify the substance without actually having to take it from the friar, he will.]
Turning his attention back to where Koriss had come from, Tobias asked out loud, "Think they just randomly place traps around, or is that the direction we should keep heading in?" He paused for a moment. "I'm guessing the latter."

[OOC: Tobias is ready to move again, out past where Koriss spotted the trap.]