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Flavio chuckled, it seemed between him and Bender they were intimidating enough. When the man peed his pants the gnoll was really going, he almost flopped over laughing. Still there came the question on what to do with the lot of them.

"I say we kill them. They're criminals, nobody'll miss them. If we imprison them they might call out to their friends when we're approaching or escape." The musketeer drew his rapier. "We can make it quick, that'd be merciful right?"

Bender Of Iron Will chuckled as he heard Flavio's laughter. At least the Gnoll spoke his language. Still he had to respect Arien's choice as well. Humiliation was always entertaining to say the least, though he had killed far more important people over much less. He too drew his blade.

"Their screams could attract unwanted attention. We could possibly sneak up on 'em other basterds." This made the shaggy bandit weep even harder."Please!" He yelled as he leaped in between Bender and Flavio, holding himself around their boots."Please! I've got family at home! I have children! I beg of you kind sirs!" Bender kicked him off of him."Yer soilin' me boots, lad."

The woman remained calm, though in her pitch black eyes there was a hint of fear."Release us, and I'll help you find Brennikens lair. You can help yourselves to whatever loot you find inside!" Bender now seemed surprised. This sounded interesting, though the captain remained skeptical."And why would an initiate know 'bout the leader's lair, hmm?" The woman looked him straight in the eyes."I have my ways." She then looked at Flavio."You can either trust me, or kill me, but you'll live to regret it, I promise." She then finally looked at Arien."Just let us go... or at least Barton over there. I beg of you!"

Personally Bender didn't like it. He was up for turning a profit, but his carts were full as it were. And the Orcs as well as Alexander were listening whilest they took care of Segrid. They'd have to share the loot for sure.

Arien contemplated. There might be a way to do this without getting into too much trouble--but he'd never teleported into an area without seeing it first. He wasn't even sure it was possible.

"Whatever we find inside?" Arien repeated. "Are we even sure that there is anything inside? How are we supposed to know this isn't another trap?"

It was looking more likely that this wasn't going to end without bloodshed. He shook his head. "I'll let Bender and Flavio deal with you." He was no good at interrogation--didn't need to be, when Flavio and Bender had that end covered.

Flavio also kicked the man away, he wasn't even wearing boots and he didn't want man-snot on his toes. Still the act made him chuckle again, what a blatant coward this was, although he could remember himself doing similar things once... long ago.

"You seemed rather fond of this Barton?" The gnoll suddenly voiced, as he placed his foot on the man to keep him pinned to the ground. He brought the tip of his rapier to the man's neck. "What if we kill 'him'? His childeren will end up bandits too whether he lives or dies. His life really has no worth to us, but perhaps it does have some worth to you." Flavio looks up at the woman. "How about this? If we get that treasure in the lair without trouble we're letting him and you run along, if you double-cross us he will die, rather painfully too. I might chew off his hand." Flavio seals the deal with a round of maniacal laughter, and a look that seems to imply he is certainly not joking.

Barton's crying ended when Flavio but the tip of his rapier on his neck. He was remarkably quiet. The woman was not. Her breathing was getting heavier."We both have enough to lose! You think I signed on to die a slow death!?" She sighed."Look, I know my... way around men. They tell me stuff after enough convincing. I know where the lair is, but seeing as how I failed as an initiate, I wouldn't be welcome there, regardless of you lot surviving Brenniken."

Bender Of Iron Will nodded."I like Flavio's idea." He said as he turned to Arien."If she's not liein', she can go free, that way yer happy as well, aren't ya lad?" He grinned." 'N if she turns out to be a liar, well then lass." He turned back to her gaze." Let's just say yer goin' to wish yer mother never spat you out o' her belly." Bender said in a dark tone as he slid his steel thumb over his sabre, causing a few sparks to release from the edge. The woman seemed unimpressed.

Roughart walked over to the group."Segrid's going to make it. As long as we can keep her to sit still. That leg of hers is pretty damaged." He told the group."So, are we about to run into a few more surprises?" Bender nodded."The main bunch is futher down the road. The pigs got themselves a Half Giant." Roughart only smirked."Good. Giants make for decent fights."

Soon the group would get mounted up again. The prisonors were tied up by Bender with some rope and were put in the back of his cart in between his crates. Soon everyone was ready for a bit more traveling. Alexander wasn't looking forward to it at all.

It was a fair trade off, and gave both parties a chance to keep to their word. So Arien nodded his head, accepting Bender's decision.

He returned to his mount, keeping a wary eye out for a Half-Giant.

"Do we still have to fight our way through the group up ahead?" Arien called over his shoulder to the hostages, "Or is there a shortcut to get to the lair?"

As soon as Flavio was mounted again he started to prepare for another shot for his musket. It seemed that he might need it soon, and he wouldn't want Arien to his weapon jam or explode.

With the prospect of a half giant though the gnoll couldn't help but be wary, and look for any strange noise he heard. He would not like to be caught unawares.

Bandits wouldn't be able to keep a half giant hidden for very long. These things are pretty bad at being sneaky. Bender wasn't too worried about meeting the thing. He could trust his arm to match the creature's strength.

The woman shook her head in reply to Arien."Once we're there Brenniken will realise the initiates failed and he'll go back to the hideout before we can manage to escape. And she knows that area very well. You wouldn't last that long. No, it's better to face her on the road." She explained, though she sounded distressed.

After half an hour Bender came to a stop."Smell that? Filth." He dismounted himself. And indeed the air had a rather foul smell to it. The scent of grease was very obvious."They're further down the road." He turned to his companions."If we dismount now we can sneak up on them. Delaborgio ought to stay here alongside the captives 'n the wounded orc." He explained."I'm not that tactical on land though, anyone got some sort o' clever idea?"

Arien brightened at once. "If I can get a hundred feet of rope, I'll lay some snares. Then when they come to attack us, they'll get caught." Already he was opening a pack and pulling some length of rope out. It wasn't much, maybe ten or twenty feet of rope, but it was long enough for Arien to create a noose at one end, stick his hand through it, and draw it tight. An example for the others to see.

"I'll tie 'em to trees so they can't just keep coming. And if I'm lucky, I might snag the giant." Arien grinned, intrigued by the possibility of getting to lay traps for people and not get in trouble for it. "Pit falls work well too, but they take time to set up."

The gnoll dismounts as well and walks to Arien and his boss. With a smile Flavio nods at Arien's plan. "Sounds clever! They'll be overwhelming odds, if we take them all on at once we won't stand a chance at all. Perhaps use hit and run tactics once we got them spread and snagged?" The musketeer had his musket in hand already, although he might not use it for a while now, the thing made a lot of noise. Just the battle of before still had the gnoll's ears ringing.

Bender Of Iron Will grinned."Lad, that's a good plan." He looked at his cart and walked over there."I've got some lyin' 'round in 'ere, I'm sure." But it was Alexander who hopped off of his cart and opened a crate."I've got some rope I meant to sell. But I guess I can lend it for the good cause." He said proudly as he walked over to Arien with the bundle of ropes."Alright, lad. Get ta work."

Roughart looked out into the distance."How will we get these assholes here?" Bender walked over next to him."I reckon we ought to lure 'em somehow. Perhaps one o' us could go out to the bandits 'n act like a lone salesman? Then act like yer retreatin' and lead 'em into the trap?" Roughart nodded."Sounds good to me, but I'm not signing up for that job. I'm not a spectacular rider."

Arien grinned at the coils of rope given to him. He could have fun with this and ideas of past pranks sprang easily to life. A net trap, he'd need to set a net trap.

Logging that away, he rolled his eyes at his companions. "Do I have to do everything myself?" he complained. "I can lure them, because I can teleport past the traps. And I'd rather one of you didn't spring them too early. Stay here. I'll give you a signal when I'm done."

And heaving the coils of rope over his shoulder, Arien headed for the patches of tree cover for his snares, saving the slightly clearer path for the net trap.

It took a while, though he worked quickly and efficiently. And at last he was out of rope. He'd made about a dozen different snares, ranging from pulling the victim into the air to tripping, and then of course the net trap which would wrap up and around anyone who had the ill-fortune of stepping on it. It would immobilize, hopefully, the giant; at the very least, it would stop a horse in mid-trot.

He came back to the others with a smug expression on his face. "So, did we decide on who's going to lure them out?"

Seeing as the gnoll would probably not pass as a believable salesman, and Arien was having too much fun setting up those traps, Flavio spent his time gathering rocks and twigs, he was going to make a makeshift wall to take cover. The enemy was bound to have their own sharpshooters, and he loved shooting for better than being shot at.

Alexander Delaborgio made himself useful by prepping up one of his horses. The small white horse has been saddled and a few large bags were placed on the flanks of the animal. This way the rider would look like a lone salesman who'd be off trying to make a bit of money during the festivities. That was bait any bandit would fall for.

Ghen'drak tended to her sister whilest Roughart chanted very softly. It sounded like he was speaking backwards, and as soon as Arien was done with his traps, flames appeared from the orc's hands and formed a shape on the ground. Dark lines formed curly flames surrounded by a circle. As if someone placed dark tendrils on the floor to mark something."Now don't step on this!" Roughart warned everyone."You'll burn more than just your foot off."

Luckilly Bender had just heard that. While the group was preparing he took the liberty of moving the two carts and the remainder of the horses into the woods where the bandits wouldn't be able to see them. None of the horses enjoyed carrying Bender and his heavy arm around though.

"I believe your teleportation would come in handy indeed, my friend. But I'm not keen on losing my horse. Can you teleport her along with you?" Alexander asked curiously, a bit worried about what might happen if he lost her.

Arien returned to find that the rest of his companions had been busy, and he gave a wide berth to the "burn more than your feet off" trap. Fortunately he had a good memory; had to with all the traps he laid.

He eyed the wall that Flavio was constructing. "That's handy," he murmured, watching for a minute to see how the man built it, and logging it away for future use.

And then he turned to Alexander. "You want me to teleport...with a horse?" His eyes went wide. "How far are we talking?" Actually, scratch that, it probably didn't matter. The horse would be more than enough to teleport on its own, let alone with Arien riding it. But he was curious what was so important to Alexander that he would ask such a question; or where the man had in mind.

It was not easy to build a high wall, but luckily it didn't have to be very large, now and then he asked an orc to help with moving a rock, he wondered if he was the only sharpshooter, but he'd assume they all could benefit from a volley on the first wave of bandits. "Now the outside." The gnoll murmured with a chuckle as he started putting stones on the front of the wall, twigs and branches were not going to stop many arrows or crossbow bolts after all.

Alexander nodded in reply to Arien."Yes, she's a very expencive horse, but also a fast one. I'm sure you'll be able to outrun anything with her." He remained quiet for a little while."Look, if you can manage her to get away from the traps and into safety, that's perfect. I just don't want her hurt when I can avoid it."

The Orcs gladly helped Flavio when he asked to, though Ghen'drak sometimes made a snarky comment about him being a coward for hiding instead of facing the enemy head on. Roughart would just remain silent and do his job.

Soon when everything was prepared and Bender Of Iron Will walked over to Arien."Lad, I think we can all agree yer a better choice as to act a lone salesman. Ya know where yer traps 're laid 'n that teleportin' comes in handy as well. When we're done fightin' ya should tell me how ya do it." He grinned."Give 'em hell, lad."

Should Arien travel towards the bandits he would soon find them. This was a much larger group and they seemed more threatening than the initiates. They wore thick leather and padded armors. Some of them even chainmail. None wore helmets though. This group consisted of twelve people. Most of them humans. Brenniken wasn't subtle in showing she was the leader. Her thick leather armor was covered in golden ornaments. On her shoulders as well as on her chest black feathers were sown. Her long hair was as black as said feathers and gave this fair woman a rather sinister look. On her wide belt two handguns were strapped and a spear was tied to her back. In her slender hands she held a golden chain to the creature that was the most fearful about this group.

The Half Giant was twice as long as Bender and at least twice as broad. His hands were enourmous and could easilly squeeze someone's head to a pulp. The grey skinned creature resembled a troll more than a Half Giant. His tooth were crooked, his hair was shaggy and short and he walked as if he had a rock tied to his back. On the skin that it shows he had many tribal looking tattoos and everything glistened due to grease. The creature didn't wear impressive armor though. Just some bark across his groin, shins and arms. The bandits probably didn't want to walk around with a naked Half Giant.

The group knew something went wrong with the initiates. They were speculating about wether they had failed, died or even deflected. Though soon their attention would be drawn by bait they couldn't possibly let go.

Arien nodded at Alexander. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of her." He usually did okay with animals--assuming they weren't eating his food first.

And then it seemed they were ready to go. Arien flashed a cocky smile at Bender's words. "Oh, trust me, Bender, you ain't seen nothing yet." He swung up onto the horse, and adjusted a few things before unhooking his blue cape just enough to let the red vials of Tabasco sauce be seen.

"Alright, off we go to sell some Tabasco sauce." He whistled as he went, sitting up tall and proud, until he came across the site of the bandits. He nearly blanched at the sight of the half giant, but he kept his wits about him.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he broadcasted in a loud voice. "Are you tired of eating the same gruel day after day? Do you want a change of texture? Or flavor? Well, I, Arien Chase, a traveling salesman, have just what you ordered. For only a short time--whilst I'm alive--you too can have the treat that is Tabasco sauce! It's guaranteed to wake up those dormant tastebuds and put an extra spring to your step. So come right up...and try a sample--no charge!"

As he spoke, he maneuvered the horse around so that he could easily kick it into a canter back the way he had come, unwittingly showing off all the bags of "goodies" that had been planted on the horse as well.

As soon as the wall was done Flavio took his gun and crouched behind. The shot he now had was the accurate kind that had felled an earlier bandit leader, this shot was quite valuable. In truth, as the battle was drawing closer and closer, so was the gnoll's confidence dropping. They were ridiciously outnumbered, he knew that, everyone knew that, even their captives knew it.

It was almost unconciously that the ex-pirate started plotting out possible escape routes for it things got out of hand. He wasn't about to die over an old man and a guy with jewels.

The bandits listened to Arien, if only to mock him."He-hey, I know that sauce. It's supposed to be real spicy." One of the bandits carrying a rifle announced."Oh, is it?" The woman in feathers spoke."A hot young man carrying a hot sauce? That's a match made in heaven." Brenniken said as she grabbed hold of one of her handguns. She yanked the chain on which the half giant was tied to. it followed her obiediently."I like your goods, mister Arien. Sadly for you Crimson Ravens don't take samples. How do you feel about it, Stomp?" The Half Giant looked at Arien with a large frown."Stomp no like little man. He smell salty."

Brenniken looked back at Arien with a sly grin on her face."Stomp has spoken. But you'll find me to be a much more reasonable person. I'll give you a choice, either forfeit your goods and we'll let you go, or we will take your life as well as everything else. Please choose wisely, I don't like killing handsome young men like yourself. It's such a waste." The rest of the group walked forward as well. All of them were on horseback, but their steeds were broad creatures. They wouldn't be able to keep up with the slender horse Arien was riding. They realised this though, so most of them were already aiming their guns at him."Ma'am." A bandit suddenly spoke up."Our initiates were supposed to be the ones taking on traders. How did this one get past them for god's sake?" The woman didn't seem worried about it though."Slipped by, I'm sure. So what'll it be, pretty boy?"