Special Blustering Bandits

***Common Special Request***

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## Quest Data

* Normal, from level 10

* Speed check (DC50)
	+ If failed: -10 HPBandit - level 5
* Bandit - level 5
* FULL HEAL
* Intelligence check (DC80)
	+ If failed: -30 Energy
* Stone Golem - level 10
* FULL HEAL
* Air Elemental - level 12
400 XP

Quest loot: Blustering Bandits

Buy on Neftyblocks for 50 GUILD

* 1 guaranteed from:
	+ Magic Dust (85%)
	+ Bottled Wind (10%)
	+ Gale Palm Scroll (5%)
* 1 guaranteed from:
	+ Stone (50%)
	+ Branch (50%)
* 1 optional, 54.5% to get no reward:
	+ Mysterious Chest (20%)
	+ Mysterious Scroll (10%)
	+ Recovery Remedy (10%)
	+ Enlightening Scroll (5%)
	+ License Reroll Ticket (0.5%)
* 1 optional, 75% to get no reward:
	+ Lesser Air Glyph (12.5%)
	+ Lesser Earth Glyph (12.5%)

## Story

### ***Location: Croft Hills***

Stifling a yawn, you survey your surroundings. It's early in the morning, so early in fact that the sun has barely risen, but here you find yourself standing on top of a hill by request of the Mayor of Croft.

You can see Alexis standing on a nearby hilltop, and Chester's bulky form is visible in the distance. The three of you are on the lookout for any sign of a bandit camp that's rumoured to be in the area. Scanning the forested hills, you spot some gaps in the trees that could be clearings large enough for a few tents. The three of you have organised a rendezvous time back at Croft, so you set off to investigate your leads.

### ***Location: Croft Hills***

The first clearing you check unfortunately is empty, with just a small rocky outcrop that has prevented any trees from growing. Checking your directions, you begin travel towards the next clearing but it's not long before the back of your neck prickles and you get the feeling you're being watched.

Spinning around, you see a shadowy shape between the trees behind you. It moves, revealing a large wolf.

Fight a Wolf!

### ***Location: Croft Hills***

You fend off the beast, and it chooses to flee rather than continue to fight you. After a short walk, you're approaching the second clearing and you pause as the sound of voices carries through the woods. It looks like you might have found your target!

Trying to stealthily move closer to gather more information, you start to creep through the undergrowth. You manage to get close enough to see a few tents set up next to an extinguished campfire. On a pair of fallen logs sits two people dressed in armor made up of assorted cloth and fur. Luckily neither is looking in your direction.

### ***Location: Croft Hills***

"I still say it's your fault we got stuck here with guard duty." One of the pair complains to her companion. "All it takes is one pretty barmaid to smile at you and seconds later you're telling the whole tavern all about Travis' plan." The man sitting next to her snorts.

"Nah, the idiot has it in for me. I reckon he'll try to put a knife in my back soon. Then I'll show him. I mean, who knows. maybe I'll get lucky and that elemental will take care of him for me." It sounds like these are indeed the bandits that you were sent to track down. "Besides, she actually knew the information we needed." He pulls out a rolled-up piece of paper from his bag and waves it around emphatically.

### ***Location: Croft Hills***

"I don't need some stupid map. I know how to find a bloody hill." Impersonating someone else's voice, the bandit gives a mocking laugh.

"What an idiot. This entire area is nothing but hills. I'll bet you 5 Guilders Travis and his group get lost without my map." You watch as he returns it to his pack. You freeze as he stands suddenly, causing the other bandit to look up from the wooden staff she's whittling with a small knife.

"What? You hear something?"

"Nah, I'm bored out of my mind. Going to go for a walk and," he switches back the mocking voice, "make sure the campsite is secure." He picks up his battered sword and begins to walk off in the opposite direction to your hiding place.

### ***Location: Croft Hills***

As he departs, you realise that he's not taking his pack - this could be your chance! You watch the man stomp off into the woods, cutting away at any branches that are in his path. The other bandit sighs and seems to be engrossed in the staff she's carving.

You move through the trees until you're approaching from as close to the bag as you can get while being out of her line of sight.

**Roll a Speed check! (DC50)**

Failed check

***Failed Speed check - Location: Croft Hills***

You start to sneak forward, emerging into the clearing. So far, so good. The woman hasn't noticed you yet, and soon the bag is within reach! You spot the roll of paper and pull it from the bag. Checking you haven't been noticed, you turn to leavem but as you do, a loose stone gives way under your boot and you stumble sideways into the bag. The bandit leaps to her feet, startled, and reflexively flings her whittling knide at you!

"Well, ain't this a surprise? Looks like things aren't so boring after all." Wielding the half-finished staff, the outlaw advances on you.

Fight a Bandit!

You manage to knock out the bandit and flee into the woods. After a few minutes of running you think you've put enough distance between you and the camp, so you pause to catch your breath. Unfortunately, a few seconds later, the other bandit appears nearby and spotting you, charges with a yell!

Fight a Bandit!

Passed check

***Passed Speed check - Location: Croft Hills***

The morning breeze rustling through the leaves and the still audible sounds of the other bandit moving through the forest cover up any sounds your approach makes. You silently creep over to the pack, still a decent distance from the woman nearby. It isn't even closed, making your task far easier. You slide the roll of paper from the bag and making sure you haven't been noticed, return to the cover of the trees.

Moving quickly, you cover enough distance so that the camp is no longer in sight. Taking a breather, you go to examine the map the pair were discussing when the other bandit emerges from the trees and, spotting you, charges with a yell!

Fight a Bandit!

### ***Location: Croft Hills***

The bandit hits the forest floor after your last attack, and you decide its safest to wait until you get back to Croft to examine the map. You check your compass and make your way towards the mining town.

Before long, you arrive back in Croft. It doesn't look like Alexis or Chester have arrived back yet, probably because you found the bandit camp so quickly. After stopping in at the Town Hall to report the location of the camp, you take a seat on a bench in the town square and wait for them to return.

### ***Location: Croft***

After about half an hour, Alexis walks into the town, her bow at her side. You wave and she joins you on the bench.

"Any luck?" She asks, and you hold up the still rolled up map. "Oh! Well done - how long did it take you to find them?" You already know how she's going to react, but you can't help yourself.

"About 15 minutes. It was the second clearing I checked." You grin as Alexis groans.

"I told the Guild they should have given us someone who can use communication magic. I checked **eight** different places in the area I was assigned." The ranger takes the rolled up map from you and unfurls it. "Uh... what is this meant to be." Realising you never actually looked at it yourself, it's now your turn to groan as you look at the map.

### ***Location: Croft***

It's an incredibly crudely drawn set of scribbles and triangles that you *think* are meant to represent hills. It looks like this was originally a flyer for some event happening at Bridgetown, and the original text makes it even harder to decipher any meaningful directions from the map.

"Is that meant to be a rock or a person?" Alexis tilts her head slightly and squints at the paper, peering at the scrawl across it. "I think that writing says Croft?" The two of you attempt to make sense of the map while you wait for Chester to return.

**Roll an Intelligence check! (DC80)**

Failed check

***Failed Intelligence check - Location: Croft***

Chester soon arrives and joins the headache-inducing efforts to transcribe the annotations to an actual map of the region.

After a titanic effort, the three of you eventually manage to copy the bandit's directions, which appear to lead to Halfpeak Hill, located past the mines. Agreeing never to mention how long it took three seasoned adventurers to make sense of a map, the three of you head out towards your goal.

Passed check

***Passed Intelligence check - Location: Croft***

A few minutes pass as you try to extract any useful information from what could easily be mistaken as a child's drawing. There's not a lot to go on. You think back to the conversation you heard between the bandits, and suddenly realise!

Jumping to your feet, you race over to the town's tavern. To your disappointment, you see the familiar man who owns the tavern standing behind the bar. Alexis catches up, and you explain that the bandit said he'd gotten his information from a barmaid.

"Like that one?" Turning to look where she's pointing, you see a young woman has just emerged from a door carrying plates of food.

***Passed Intelligence check - Location: Croft***
You both approach the woman after she delivers the food to a table. The barmaid initially looks nervous but seems to relax when she recognises you from prvious stays at the tavern.

"Uh, did you need something?" Alexis explains the situation to her, and she's able to recall the conversatin you're asking about. The barmaid tells you that the man said he was on a quest to see an Air Elemental so she told him they could occasionally be seen at Halfpeak Hill. She also helpfully marks the location on an actual map of the are for you. It's not too far out of twon, a little past the mines.

Thanking her, Alexis leads the way back to the town square where Chester is now waiting. You fill him in on what he missed, and the three of you set off towards Halfpeak Hill.

### ***Location: Halfpeak Hill***

Following your new map, you soon reach Halfpeak Hill. As you draw near, it is very apparent that Halfpeak Hill is undoubtedly a mountain, not a hill. It's extremely steep, and it's going to be a long climb but luckily there's a winding trail leading up towards the summit.

The three of you make your way along the path, until about two-thirds of the way to the peak when you hear crashing and the sounds of breaking stone. Fearing a landslide, the three of you race forward, only to find your path blocked by five stone golems of varying sizes! From the shattered terrain around you, it's not hard to tell that the constructs are angry, and you prepare yourself for a fight.

Fight a Stone Golem!

### ***Location: Halfpeak Hill***

Looking around you see that each of your party have managed to take down a golem each. There's still two left though, but Chester calls to you.

"[Your name], you're closest to the trail - keep going and we'll catch up!" He and Alexis each engage one of the remaining opponents as you continue up the mountain trail. Reealising the bandits are likely ahead, you down a healing potion as you go. The higher you climb, the stronger the wind becomes, and making progress is difficult but you press on.

### ***Location: Halfpeak Hill***

Slightly out of breath, you finally reach the top of Halfpeak Hill and stare in shock as you see the bodies of unmoving bandits scattered around the summit. In the midst of the chaos is an Air Elemental, a form made of swirling clouds and air currents made visible by the debris they have gathered. Like the golems below, this force of nature is clearly agitated and probably the source of the windstorm. It seems to notice you for the first time and, as fast as the wind, has reappeare in front of you before you can react.

Fight an Air Elemental!

### ***Location: Halfpeak Hill***

The gale force winds die down as the Elemental seems to have run out of energy. It ceases attacking you, appearing to know that it's been defeated. It floats in front of you as the weather returned to just a gentle breeze, and cautiously wait to see what it will do next. But it simply regards you for a few moments, before its incorporeal form turns away and with a **whoosh** and a cloud of dust, it soars off into the sky.

The sound of footsteps signify that Alexis and Chester arrived just in time to see the Elemental depart. As you finish explaining what transpired, you notice one of the unconscious bandits coming to, and the three of you quickly apprehend the outlaws that caused this mess.

### ***Location: Croft***

By the time evening arrives, you've returned to Croft and turned the bandits over to the Mayor's office. Collecting your reward, the three of you return to the town's tavern for the night, where the barmaid offers you each a free drink as long as you share the tale of your adventure.