[Neomi]

And the saga continues...

After a comfortable night (or two) spent in Beregost, Humperdink remembered that he needed to head back to the north to investigate the bandits' camp. There were varying motives among the members of the group. Kivan had been recruited with the simple agreement that the group would hunt the bandits. Montaron, now adrift without his best friend and confidant, simply followed wherever he was ordered to go. Xan had nothing better to do and was convinced that the group would likely die in the morning. Kagain, long since abandoning his goal of tracking down a lost caravan, now resumed his search for the bandits with renewed zeal. Imoen of course would follow Humperdink to the ends of the earth, no matter how hard he tried to convince her to leave the group. Humperdink himself cared not whether a larger plot was involving the entire Sword Coast. Bandits were bandits and they disrupted the commerce that helped to fuel the economy that supported his rightful place in the nobility. And that could not be allowed to happen.

And so the group ventured into the southern reaches of the Woods of Sharp Teeth, near Peldvale. They encountered several groups of hostile bandits, but eventually they came upon a fellow who was willing to talk. Humperdink himself was not terribly savvy with bluffing or theatrics. Luckily, Imoen (who was both smarter and more charming) was able to convince the bandit that the company were nothing more than mercenary do-no-goods looking for a chance to commit mayhem along the Sword Coast. Surprisingly, the bandit offered to take them directly to the secret hide-out of their leader, Tazok.

Upon arrival to the camp, the group passed the cursory inspection by Tazok and began to plan an assault. The camp was infested with Hobgoblins and Gnolls, as well as various human bandits like the ones they had encountered in the woods. However, Kivan identified a large tent as being the headquarters and the Company entered without raising an alarm. Inside, they were quickly attacked by a small group of Tazok's elite henchmen. Another lucky charm spell by Xan helped to turn the tide, and liberal use of a wand of missiles by Imoen and fine marksmanship from Kivan kept the mage out of commission while Kagain and Montaron focused on the huge Gnoll. There weren't many places for Humperdink to hide in the tent, and he took a grazing hit from an arrow fired by the Hobgoblin before he was able to duck behind a crate in the corner. Fortunately, he was able to drink an antidote potion to ward off the poison that coated the arrow. Montaron, however, was not so lucky. Since Humperdink had just finished drinking the last antidote, there was nothing that could be done when the Hobgoblin aimed his deadly shafts in Monty's direction. In the end, Montaron died in slow agony just as the rest of the group finished off the Hobgoblin and the battle was won.

After taking the loot that they could carry, the group quietly slipped outside into the night. One by one they lured the bandit guards away to their doom and eventually the bandit camp was empty, except for the Company of Humperdink. The foray had been expensive, as they had lost Montaron. But he could be replaced. And the armor and weapons that had been gained would be invaluable as the group continued along their path, which pointed in the direction of the Cloakwood forest.

But first, they would need to return to Beregost for fine food, spirits, and royal accomodations.