Lloyd will do everything he can not to get lost at this point, so I am not thinking he will need any survival checks for determining where north is or the like. I am leaving it up to Sib to decide what I find and if it has any in-game effect.

Also, don't forget everything else Lloyd had said/done in the previous post! I just made Lloyd do some stuff to sort of keep my attention going, don't think that you have go at the same pace as me...

For those (like myself) needing to establish some kind of set chronology for all the events your fellows have wandered off on, I present you with a (relatively) objective order.

-While Sylvia and Aria were talking, presumably staying just long enough to hear that the enemy in question was actually bandits, Junn wanders off to examine the outer walls of the fort. If I forget to mention later, the fort's dimensions are 10ft. tall wooden palisade, with four 20ft. tall towers.

-Lloyd responds to request for help. The Leveton's answer will be forthcoming in the next post.

-Levetons dispatch information they have assuming someone indicates that they'll help.

-Lloyd declares his intention to leave for the forests just visible toward the south-east ~10mi away. Sylvia makes a password. Lloyd leaves right away as Sly goes on to make a second password in case of spies (I'll give you a hint how paranoid she is... the fort and surrounding terrain are essentially devoid of humanoids other than those present at the lunch)

-Sylvia heads out and looses Lloyd in the flat grasslands. Discovers Junn somewhere out there. They return.

-Meanwhile, the rest of the group is free to actually get some planning done about the bandits coming the next day, awaiting the info-drop I'm about to unleash with my next post.

-Junn and Sylvia probably arrive not too deep into planning (I doubt they even went far enough to loose sight of the fort)

-Lloyd, password change unknown in his haste, probably arrives back later in the evening.

Now that's what a Q&A is good for... even if it's just an answer to a question no one asked

But greatly appreciated, nevertheless. Obviously you're anticipating our needs and acting appropriately. =D

I'm not sure what kind of planning you can expect, since we don't know anything about we're facing...>.> I suppose a sorta general plan could be put together based on the skills people are willing to divulge. Maybe some defenses or traps set or whatnot.

As far as Lloyd is concerned, it is a perfect timetable... Upon reflection, I am kicking myself in the pants for (again) not being patient, as Lloyd may wish to say more when others respond to his comments, or make some points of their own. This will be fun... sort of like Homestuck! 8D

Hey, it's a question for the Q&A, look at that. Ummm, so, in only three posts it's already started to annoy me that I can't refer to other characters by their names. Can we assume they introduced themselves to each other on the ride out, or should the precedent of Junn and Sylvia be followed (introducing within posts) and hopefully have introductions all around soon?

is that since we traveled for 3 days, we can have basic introductions done. Sib wrote in the first post of Q&A (I believe) that my character says little while traveling, and whatever questions are asked I answer very simply and plainly. So you would know my name and that I am a doctor. But you wont know much else about me... that's my understanding anyways.

Yeah, everyone said 'hi' to each other when they got into the wagon, and eventually names and professions were divulged. You know about as much of each other as their description on the first page of this Q&A says (plus what you've inferred from their actions since starting the game) except Sordin, of course, at the moment.

Yay, okay, I will use names and professions in future. It will make things much easier and open up room for more description without being redundant. =D

For anyone who's hanging on to the edge of their seat, I've been meaning to crank out a post since Thursday, but I flopped out all over the long weekend while further and further updates accumulated.

I am now endeavouring to respond to everything that's happened. We'll see how it goes.

I has a plan: Sylvia volunteers herself as live bait to distract the attention of the bandits, the others lie in wait and when the moment is deemed right, BAM! hit 'em hard and fast and bring them all down.

Lloyd and Sordin will (most likely) agree on something... and it is battle related to boot!

Oleg will grumble about any plan involving not killing the bandits and hanging their corpses as warning to any further attempts, but he will remain silent as an admission of the validity of Sordin's (and later Lloyd's point)

Also, I'd like to offer mention that Ortlieb can track. I can't say how difficult it would be since I don't have time and the rules on hand right now, but I can give you and estimate for Ortlieb to relate if this plan finds favour later.

I knew our dear druid had potential in such matters, but I did not wish to apply it to Lloyd's calculations. Lloyd would know that 'it' is a 'thing' of the woods, but would not know if 'it' had the capacity track.

Ignore the title but listen anyways. How about we DON'T kill the bandits and instead disarm and capture them first. Or at the very least the commander who seems to be a familiar face amongst their ranks for the time being. We capture him, Sylvia interrogates him, we squeeze as much information from him as possible, then gut him like a fish. We capture more alive the better, torture works best if your fellows are exposed to it before you are, to loosen those otherwise tight lips.

Concerning Sordin's fears of a retaliation coming within a few hours' time, note that the distance to the edge of the forest, the direction the bandits are suspected of holing up in, is about a couple hours' journey, even on horseback. Oleg and Svetlana suspect that their camp lies within a day's ride, since the bandits are always eager to be gone as soon as they can, starting in the early morning.

Also, about the possibility of the bandits resisting attempts to extract information out of them, I believe all three of Sylvia, Junn, and perhaps Lloyd would be eager to take up the challenge to prove Sordin wrong in this. Of course, with their methods, Sordin might have to kill them all on the spot XD

EDIT: Update to go with Reralae's post. This just suddenly reminded me of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, about how one was about how a cornered enemy fights all the more viciously when there's no hope for escape... granted that you should likely have them outnumbered in your territory, and this isn't a battlefield, it doesn't exactly apply, but I just wanted to mention it