[X] Stay silent. You don't want to risk getting Artemis mad at you, and from what you've heard this Robert really hurt her.
The guy has proven himself to be untrustworthy. Parley gives him advantages (more time, his men move closer, more information on our composition / situation). If he parleys for information, anything he says is suspect anyway. If he parleys for the lives of any hostages he might've taken, the price now is steeper than the price you could get in a better situation where you have actual leverage.
Narratively it's always nice to get more information even if it screws you over, because the quest must go on. Practically, this has gtfo written all over it.
Honestly, there's no reason to respect a desire to parley here. This isn't a formal conflict between two armed factions where the rules of war should be observed. This is just a criminal with delusions of grandeur. And not just any kind of criminal; treason, kidnapping, and banditry were all capitol offenses on Earth when Europe was in a similar state of technological and societal development. Not only do they not have any right to expect a request for parley to be honored, they don't have any right to expect quarter whatsoever.
As a practical consideration, it would also be for the best if none of the bandits lived to harm others, or to report anything they may have seen.
[X] Stay silent. You don't want to risk getting Artemis mad at you, and from what you've heard this Robert really hurt her.
"If quarter is asked-"
"No quarter will be asked."
"Nor given."
-Sky-Marshal Victoria And Crown Prince Ignacious Wyrmblood, before the Duel of Defilement (allegedly)
As you watch Artemis raise her loaded bow, you find yourself shrinking behind Kelton, who was nearest.
You'd seen Artemis sad before. You'd seen her confused, upset, even angry. You'd never seen her like this before. There was no warmth, no dignity, nothing but barely-restrained fury left in her. She doesn't just dislike this man, she hates him, to the point where she isn't willing to give him anything. The childish desire to learn more about the world, no matter the source, dies on your lips.
Artemis hisses something under her breath as she looses her arrow. For a moment, you think she is trying to hit Robert, even though your lightning wouldn't have been able to go a fifth of the distance it would have needed to. Surely her arm wasn't that much stronger? However, as she lowers her bow with a note of grim satisfaction, you realize that she had something else in mind. "What just happened?" you ask as the arrow slams into the ground between the two groups.
"Tradition dictates that, when parley is offered, the receiver may reject it with prejudice by taking an aggressive action," Axton says quietly. "After what Robert did, even that is a dignity he barely deserves, but Lady Artemis is a woman who has always strictly observed the rules of honor."
Artemis, meanwhile, stepped forward and cups her hands around her mouth. You realize what she's about to do and cover your ears just before she shouts as loud as she can.
"THE NEXT ONE GOES BETWEEN YOUR EYES, TRAITOR!"
As you peer into the distance, it might just have been your imagination, but you swear you see Robert's shoulders slump slightly in his armor as he reached up and tugs the white cloth from his spear.
"Remember what I said, Ryza," Artemis growls, not taking her eyes off the man as he takes his sword back from his subordinate and settles in to think. "You get the chance: hit him with as many lightning bolts as it takes to ensure that's he's very permanently dead. I'd prefer to kill him myself, but I'll settle for him being gone."
"…Is that something I need to worry about?" you ask nervously. "I didn't think ghosts were real."
Artemis blinks as she looks back at you, some measure of her wrath fading. "No, no, it's just an expression," she says. "While the dead can rise when subjected to enough unhallowed magic, it's just their bodies; souls only remain in this world under very specific circumstances that I don't expect to find here. I just…" she sighs. "If he hadn't betrayed us, Selena and the others might still be alive."
With those alarming and saddening revelations, she turns and grips Actaeon's reins. "We should go," she says. "We gain nothing by standing around: he probably won't attack us directly. He was just trying to waste our time so he could gather his bandits. Spirits willing, we can keep ahead of most of them."
As you follow after her, you notice Kelton keeping himself at the back of the group, and specifically keeping himself between you and Robert's minions. "Don't worry, kid," he says when you glance up at him. "I won't let the bad knight hurt you. He wants you? He goes through me, and nobody goes through me." You give a weak smile, but as you glance past him, you see the three riders are shadowing you; making sure that they don't lose sight of you while still staying out of range of retaliation.
Although…
You carefully make your way up to where Artemis is leading the way (hopefully casually making sure that she's between you and her giant horse,) and whisper. "Artemis… if you really want him gone, I can make him gone."
After all, no matter how fast a horse is, there was no way it was faster than you on the wing, and as a dragon you'd be much bigger and scarier than them or their horses.
Artemis looks at you, then looks back and Robert, and you can tell she's temped. Tempted to tell you to cut loose, and with some surprise you realize that a part of you, the part centered around your faintly crackling stone, actually wants her to tell you to attack. You'd never met this Robert, you didn't know exactly what he'd done or why he'd done it, but he'd hurt your friend, and to your dragon-self that made him worthy of a painful death.
You aren't sure if you should be pleased that your dragon likes Artemis enough to feel protective of her or terrified that there's a part of you that wants to commit murder.
Maybe he is just that bad.
Maybe your dragon-self is tired of feeling hunted.
Maybe you're absorbing some of Artemis's anger.
Maybe you're just angry about what happened to the other manakete and want to get some of that fury out.
For a moment, you considered skipping asking and just going.
However, as the moment passes, Artemis shakes her head and brings you back to stability. "Thank you, Ryza, but no," she says. "As much as I want him dead, I will not put you needlessly in harm's way to do it." As you start to open your mouth, she raises a finger. "There are more dangers than just physical, Ryza. If necessary… well, many things are permissible when nessassary, but so long as he's just trailing after us like the coward he is, we don't need to do anything rash." Her eyes flick between Kelton, Axton and Lancel as she says this.
"Okay," you say. As you drift back towards Kelton, you notice Axton giving you a nod. You smile and nod back: glad that he was more willing to see that you were trying to help.
The next hour passes in tense silence. Your feet hurt, your back hurts, and normally you would have asked if you could stop for a bit, but with the lingering presence of Robert and his men you don't dare suggest it. Once, one of his riders disappears, only to return about twenty minutes later. "He must be trying to rally his men," Artemis says grimly when you ask what he's up to. "Assuming they were spread out, it'll take some time to find them all and get them pointed in the right direction. We're not in immediate danger, but we will be if we can't break contact."
To this end, Artemis is not idle. Guiding the group further from the road, she seeks out any sort of difficult terrain to try and lose Robert and goons. You find yourself constantly ducking into stands of trees, crouching through ditches, pushing aside tall grass, anything that could block your pursuers' vision. It would be fun if you weren't so worried, like the games of hide and seek you used to play with Mother.
Unfortunately, it seems that Robert was a very good seeker. Every time it seemed you'd thrown him off, one or another of the riders would appear atop some nearby height, spot you, and within minutes the others would join him, and the slow hunt would continue.
After an hour, just after Kelton managed to convince you to let him carry your pack for a bit so you could move a bit easier, Lancel hisses. "He's up to something!"
Turning, you see a fourth rider has joined the other three, and Robert seems to be listening to him. Finally, he gestures, and the newcomer vanishes down the other side of the hill. Robert, meanwhile, forms up his remaining men before riding down the hill at a brisk pace, heading straight for you with weapons bared.
"It's a feint," Artemis says after a moment of studying their approach, an ugly sneer marring her face. "He won't attack, not with only three men. He's just trying to delay us."
"If it is a feint, my lady, it's a feint we must respect," Axton says. "We need to move to that hill there, it's the closest high ground, and it will slow the horses enough to give us time, should they launch their attack."
Artemis grimaces, but nods. "Very well," she says, tugging Actaeon's reigns and gently guiding him to the base of the hill Axton had mentioned. "But he's going to break off just outside longbow range and retreat. My guess is the rest of his goons are getting close, and he just wants to keep us jumping."
You nervously watch as Robert and his men continue to advance, fingering Thunder's Cry under your cloak. Kelton is still keeping himself in front of you, and as you watch you can see the eyes of the bandits briefly passing over you before seeming to dismiss you. Or at least they seem more focused on Artemis than anyone else.
However, as the six of you arrange yourself about halfway up the hill, just as Artemis predicted, the three riders smoothly turn aside, well outside your range.
"COWARD!" Artemis cries after Robert, but he doesn't turn to look at her
"My lady, if I could make a suggestion?" Kelton says as the group sets off again, keeping a wary eye in case the riders decided to turn around. "I've gone farther from Miau than most, and I happen to know of an old Imperial watchtower not far from here. It's mostly ruins; I don't think anyone's used it for anything since before the Imps left, but it still had three walls and most of a roof when I looked last; it could be a place to rest."
Artemis looks at the sky, frowning for a long moment before slowly nodding. "I would prefer not to get pinned down," she says, "But show the way: it's better to have options."
With a nod, Kelton takes the lead even as the nerve-wracking game of chase continues. Twice more, Robert and his men begin to charge, forcing the group to take a defensive position before breaking off well before they were in danger. Kelton tried to lure them in once with a few insinuations about their parentage that you're pretty sure were meant to be insulting, but Robert snapped something as the rougher bandit started to turn back and they continued on their way.
"Cowards," Kelton mutters.
"True, but what can you expect from traitors?" Artemis says, getting a dry laugh from the militiaman.
As you walk, you notice Artemis continuously glancing at the sky. At first, you think she's just keeping track of time, but every now and then you hear her mutter something like "a little more west…" or "come on, come on…" Frowning, you try to see what she's so interested in, but all you see are clouds in the distance. You decide not to ask; surely she knows what she's doing.
Axton and Lancel are also talking, and once you see Axton scratching something on the back of his hand. However, before you can get over to see what they're interested in, the conversation breaks up with another of Robert's feints.
Finally, however, as the sun begins to sink below the horizon and during one of the brief periods of peace after a trip through what looked like some sort of old, man-made river, Kelton points. "There, the tower," he says.
You blanch slightly as you stare at the crumbling ruin. You'd thought your home was ill-kempt, but that thing looked like a stiff breeze or errant tail swing would knock it down! "Are you sure that's a good idea?" you ask weakly. "It doesn't look… stable."
"It's the best we've got," Artemis says, looking up at the sky again before giving a grim smile. "And if it's still standing, then it's better off than it looks. I wouldn't want to stay in winter, but for spring, it should be fine for a night." She nods upwards "Besides, even if it wasn't meant to have multiple exits, it probably will now, which gives us options."
"Options how, my lady?" Kelton askes, confused. "I would think that would be a bad thing; we'll have to watch more places."
Artemis glances around. "Let's get inside first," she says. "We probably have a few minutes before they catch up again, so we should get under cover before they do. Then, we can talk about what we plan to do next."
'Trust Artemis,' you tell yourself as you follow her into the shadow of the old ruin, shivering as the empty remnants of windows seem to glare down at you like eyes, the gaping hole in the side of the wall open as if to swallow you all whole. 'Trust Artemis, she knows what she's doing.'
It took a few minutes, but eventually the six of you were settled in what had clearly once been a nice room, but was now a half-collapsed wreck. However, since it was only half collapsed rather than completely collapsed, and it only had one entrance, it was the best you had, and so it would have to do.
"So, what now?" Kelton asks, propping himself up near a window and peering out. "I don't see them yet, so if you have a fancy plan, now is the time."
"Well, it wouldn't work now, but I do have a plan," Artemis says. "We can't keep going like this; Robert is slowing us down enough that eventually the rest of his minions are going to catch up." She glances at you. "While it is… possible, that we could endure that battle, it would be dangerous, and I would prefer to avoid it if possible."
"But how are we going to do that, my lady?" Lancel asks. "Even if Actaeon was at full strength, he couldn't carry all of us fast enough to evade three riders, and if I may be so bold, might I assume that you are still unwilling to leave us behind?"
"That's not an option, no," Artemis says. "But we do have an advantage that Robert doesn't: Ryza can see in the dark." She gestures. "It's a cloudy day, and if I'm reading the winds right it'll be a cloudy night. That should give us some real darkness to work with."
You realize what she's getting at. "Artemis-"
"If we leave a fire lit, as if we're keeping up a watch, we could slip out and be on our way tonight. Ryza could guide us through the darkness, and we'd be long gone before the reinforcements showed up."
Axton and Lancel glance at each other. "That's… a big ask, my lady," Axton says. "It's true that Lady Ryza was able to guide you through her home in the dark, but that was her home, a place she knew well. It's far more difficult traveling in a strange place, especially at night. And she'd have to guide all of us, not just you." He glances at you. "I'm not saying it's impossible, but it does carry great risks."
"I-"
"And there's another danger to consider," Lancel says. "We suspect that he's calling his men here, but Robert's cunning. He could have sent them on ahead to block the path to Agrithe; we could leave Robert behind just to run into them, exhausted." He kicks a few rocks into new positions. "But there is another way. I've been keeping track, and if we keep going north rather than north-east, then we're heading almost exactly towards Castle Legerius. More importantly, we'd be going away from the bandits, which buys us more time.
He points at the rough map at his feet. "If we reach Countess Mantrae before they catch us? We win. She may have fewer soldiers than your father, but the bandits would be fools to try and take us from under her protection. From there, either we wait for relief from Archduke Cartese, or Countess Mantrae gives us an escort to carve a path. Either way, we don't need to force Ryza to try and guide us at night; it should only take us until the day after tomorrow to get to Castle Legerius, and if we march hard during the day, we should be able to outdistance the footmen, leaving only horses. Robert and his lackeys are the only experienced riders; the rest won't be able to do more than flail about if they try to attack us mounted."
"But-"
Artemis interrupts. "We don't know if the bandits on the mountain were all they had: somebody paid these people, and they could have paid off others. While I trust Countess Lindila, the only place we'll truly be safe is Agrithe. Besides, I've brought enough trouble on others' heads already."
"We could-"
"You're all making this more complicated than it has to be," Kelton says. "I just spotted them: still just the three. They seem to be setting up on that little hill we passed coming here. Good lines of sight on us, except for their western flank. There's an old overgrown hedgerow there we could sneak up on, especially since they'd be focused on the tower." He grins at you. "The kid can guide people at night? She and I could sneak out and get the drop on those guys tonight. Take them out, and the rest are lost. A super mage and Miau's best against three bandits? I like our chances if we get the first hit in."
"I think-"
"That's even riskier!" Lancel says. "Our greatest advantage right now is that we have local numerical superiority, if we throw that away-"
Finally fed up with being ignored, you snap "Is anyone going to listen to me, or are you all just going to assume what I'm going to do what you want?!" Everyone looks over at you, and you feel your face heating up; that had sounded far less whiney in your head. However, before you could apologize or retract your statement, Artemis spoke gently.
"I'm sorry, Ryza," she says. "You're right; you are a part of this group, and we shouldn't simply assume your preferences, or worse exclude you from joining the discussion. What are your thoughts?"
What do you think? Quickly, you think through your options, categorizing the pros and cons as best you can before opening your mouth to speak.
[] Agree with Artemis: it would be best to avoid a battle for as long as possible. Slip away in the night, you have faith in your abilities.
-Pros: If it works, you can avoid a battle, and you can be on your way without the shadow of fear.
-Cons: It was hard enough guiding Artemis through your home, there is a chance that things go wrong. Plus, you'll all be sleepy tomorrow.
[] Agree with Axton and Lancel: there's no need to make things more difficult for yourselves if there are friends nearby. Rest here, then set off tomorrow for this Castle Legerius.
-Pros: You'll all be at full strength tomorrow, and your destination will be only a fraction of the distance. Plus, you'll be able to meet new friends!
-Cons: The bandits will have time to gather their forces and make a plan of their own tonight.
[] Agree with Kelton: right now your biggest problem is Robert and his two goons. Remove them tonight, and things get much easier.
-Pros: If this works, you're not only avoiding a problem, you're solving it.
-Cons: To have a chance, you'll need to split up; five people and a horse can't sneak up on them.
[] Suggest a different course of action.
-Pros: It might be a really good idea; you're smart!
-Cons: It might be a really bad idea; you don't know a lot about humans or what's going on.
I think Kelton's plan has the best risk/reward ratio. Still risky, but a known risk. Even if Artemis' plan succeeds, they still know the general direction we're heading in, and we're tired. Getting caught while tired would be really bad. I also don't like the idea of letting them do plans for the 2nd idea. I feel like they would have precautions against our shortcut. By comparison, the risk for Kelton is losing in combat, which is basically inherent to the other plans if they go bad anyway, but with a much larger enemy force.
What about combining the first two plans? Slip out in the night and race for Countess Mantrae?
Edit: There are a few ways we could make good use of being able to fly. First is to scout the path ahead, find the optimal route. The second is that we could, in theory, go on ahead to Countess Mantrae with some sort of proof of Artemis' presence, like a signet ring, and get soldiers there racing towards Artemis' party to hopefully meet up with them before the bandits catch up.
What about combining the first two plans? Slip out in the night and race for Countess Mantrae?
Edit: There are a few ways we could make good use of being able to fly. First is to scout the path ahead, find the optimal route. The second is that we could, in theory, go on ahead to Countess Mantrae with some sort of proof of Artemis' presence, like a signet ring, and get soldiers there racing towards Artemis' party to hopefully meet up with them before the bandits catch up.
I think combining the plans might be a good idea. It combines the pros of Artemis' plans with one of the pros of Axton's. If it fails the consequences are the same as if Artemis' plan had failed. If it succeeds then the only negative is that the group has a full day's march ahead of them while tired. Either way the bandits still don't have time to make a plan.
Rushing ahead to get reinforcements might be tricky. Ryza is a wonderful child but still fairly young in dragon years. Even if Countess Mantrae's castle is a straight shot, a straight shot across a day's worth of travel does leave some room for Ryza to get lost since she doesn't know the way, nor does she have any experience in long distance navigation. It also relies on Ryza's stamina lasting long enough for her to gain significant distance with her flight. Additionally I presume Ryza would have to leave during the night if she wanted her wings to avoid being spotted. This increases the chances of her getting lost and she's going to be tired.
I think combining the plans might be a good idea. It combines the pros of Artemis' plans with one of the pros of Axton's. If it fails the consequences are the same as if Artemis' plan had failed. If it succeeds then the only negative is that the group has a full day's march ahead of them while tired. Either way the bandits still don't have time to make a plan.
Rushing ahead to get reinforcements might be tricky. Ryza is a wonderful child but still fairly young in dragon years. Even if Countess Mantrae's castle is a straight shot, a straight shot across a day's worth of travel does leave some room for Ryza to get lost since she doesn't know the way, nor does she have any experience in long distance navigation. It also relies on Ryza's stamina lasting long enough for her to gain significant distance with her flight. Additionally I presume Ryza would have to leave during the night if she wanted her wings to avoid being spotted. This increases the chances of her getting lost and she's going to be tired.
My major concern is moving the horse at night; that's pretty risky even on good footing and where the rider can see. I don't know if we'll be taking a road or if it'll be open country. In open country that's just asking for a broken leg. Even if you can see where you're going, the horse can't see where to step. (It's bad enough trying to do it as a human. I've been in the woods in the countryside at night; it's a scary thing to do and not a great idea. Twisting an ankle or walking off a ledge you can't see are real easy to do.)
Using Ryza to make light once they're away from the immediate vicinity might work better than relying on nightsight the whole way.
My major concern is moving the horse at night; that's pretty risky even on good footing and where the rider can see. I don't know if we'll be taking a road or if it'll be open country. In open country that's just asking for a broken leg. Even if you can see where you're going, the horse can't see where to step. (It's bad enough trying to do it as a human. I've been in the woods in the countryside at night; it's a scary thing to do and not a great idea. Twisting an ankle or walking off a ledge you can't see are real easy to do.)
Using Ryza to make light once they're away from the immediate vicinity might work better than relying on nightsight the whole way.
Don't know if we have enough magical stamina and control to maintain an electric sphere for that long, tbh, though we've also really never had the opportunity to check that until now. That said, though... i'm not sure it'll actually be faster, to travel at night. It'll be slower going because the party'll need to be cautious and fairly stealthy, and because of exhaustion, we might end up having to stop and rest earlier the next day.
I do think it's better if we deal with the group trailing us tonight, then start heading to Legerius in the morning. 'just' heading to Legerius means the group trailing us can try sending a runner to the group trying to cut us off (if that group even exists, but that's not really a risk worth taking), which seriously reduces our odds of reaching safety before getting pinned down. Taking out the group trailing us denies a potential ambushing-group the knowledge of us changing course, completely wasting the ambush.
[X] Suggest a different course of action.
-[X] Night raid against the group tailing us, then change course to Legerius in the morning to bypass the risk of ambush. Reasoning as above.
So, Ryza's presence is the wild card here that Robert has no way of knowing about. I actually think it would be instructive to ask Artemis what she would have done in this situation if we weren't here - the reason being that whatever the answer is is what Robert likely expects. Unfortunately, Artemis's plan was constructed to utilize Ryza's vision but presuming she wasn't here, or was just a normal human child, what would she do?
I think this is actually the biggest risk of launching an attack, honestly. If Robert expects it because he thinks that's what Artemis would try then he may be ready for it and prepared accordingly. Worst case he has also deduced Ryza is a mage simply because if the bandits have noticed how some of their own died back when Ryza attacked it's basically the only explanation even if it seems a bit unbelievable to them. On the other hand, if Artemis still would have tried to lose him in the night it's entirely possible he's directed men to cut our path off as the others warned.
That probably makes Axton and Lancel's plan the safest as given. Optionally we could suggest merging it with Artemis's idea of sneaking out if we think that increases our chances but I find the argument that moving the horse may be a more difficult problem compelling.
So, Ryza's presence is the wild card here that Robert has no way of knowing about. I actually think it would be instructive to ask Artemis what she would have done in this situation if we weren't here - the reason being that whatever the answer is is what Robert likely expects. Unfortunately, Artemis's plan was constructed to utilize Ryza's vision but presuming she wasn't here, or was just a normal human child, what would she do?
I think this is actually the biggest risk of launching an attack, honestly. If Robert expects it because he thinks that's what Artemis would try then he may be ready for it and prepared accordingly. Worst case he has also deduced Ryza is a mage simply because if the bandits have noticed how some of their own died back when Ryza attacked it's basically the only explanation even if it seems a bit unbelievable to them. On the other hand, if Artemis still would have tried to lose him in the night it's entirely possible he's directed men to cut our path off as the others warned.
That probably makes Axton and Lancel's plan the safest as given. Optionally we could suggest merging it with Artemis's idea of sneaking out if we think that increases our chances but I find the argument that moving the horse may be a more difficult problem.
I will point out that we've faced worse odds prior (bandits vs village militia, though that turned out kinda garbage because of the rolls), and similar odds prior (Encounters vs bandits in Ryza's Home), so even if he expects it, a sneak attack is manageable odds. We just need to be sure they don't take the opportunity to set traps themselves... the risk of information travelling, i'd also rate as a con to any plan that leaves the group trailing us intact. The enemies should not be allowed the opportunity to adapt, whatever choice we pick...