Scum and Villainy

[etherial]

From the journal of Gronk Longtusk:

20 Borrum, 1421 T.H.
At last I have put together the team to take out these Bandit rascals. Irwin and I have spent some time discussing the various strategies we could employ and the variety of elementals he could summon, but we have concluded that the simplest solution is the best: Beat down their front door with as powerful a Fire Elemental as he could reasonably summon and follow along in its wake.

As we climbed into the mountains, I left my companions a ways behind me to scout ahead. Their defenses were well placed, however, and I was made. One stepped out to confront me and I tried to charm him with my roguish good looks until my comrades could catch up, but they weren't buying it. Romari managed to Mind Dagger one right off the cliff he was standing on. I took out their leader while the others removed the third. Two more Bandits chose to engage rather than flee and Monstrous Ceadda managed to make short work of them too.

Near the entrance to the Copper Mine they'd elected to use as their lair, Irwin summoned a Fire Elemental with a Strength Rating just under his Circle - easier to control, I suppose. He set it loose inside the mine with instructions to set everything flammable on fire. We never saw the Fire Elemental again, but we saw plenty of evidence of its work.

Onward we went into the depths of the mine. Someone managed to set off a trap in one of the larger chambers. We tried to scatter to minimize the damage, but the chamber doors slammed shut and I alone had managed to escape. The room began to fill with oil and the remaining lamps on the ceiling ignited the substance. Quick thinking on Irwin's part allowed him to cast Resist Fire on the group within while I scrambled about looking for a control mechanism. I ended up having to crawl beneath the chamber to the control room to disable the mechanisms causing the oil to pour in. Meanwhile, Aegharan, Irwin, and Romari figured out that the key to deactivating the system lay in a riddle that could only be answered in the tongue of the Earth Elementals - an insanely complicated security mechanism for either a mine or a Bandit lair!

Not far beyond that chamber we arrived at a deep chasm in the earth with a fort on the far side. A creature that looked like it had once been Human commanded the remaining Bandit forces and a summoned Metallic Earth Elemental. I leapt to an upper area so I could snipe their archers and Ceadda began to fight the enemy Elemental. Irwin assisted him in holding and then Banishing it, but a Bandit came up behind me.

Forced to defend myself in close quarters, I dropped my precious bow and drew my daggers, hoping that my Talent in reading foe's weaknesses would carry the day. The decayed one stepped onto a wooden bridge to cast spells at us from closer ranger and Irwin took advantage of his desperation to destroy the bridge and hurl our enemy into the chasm. Their leader dead, the remaining Bandits surrendered and we were able to secure the location.

As civilization expands, Banditry will probably always remain with the people who travel the roads from Throal, but this organized menace at least has been stopped.

PCs:
Aegharan, male Elf Illusionist
Ceadda, male Human Warrior
Gronk Longtusk, make Ork Archer/Liberator
Irwin Ernest Hopperton III, male Human Elementalist
Romari Savre, male Elf Wizard

NPCs:
???