The Man They Call Shan

[Kwokinator]

One of the bandits began to stir, and starts struggling as he finds himself immobile under a healthy amount of dirt.

"Hey!  Who are you?" he demands. "What have you done to me?"

[Edward]

Zhu-Lin uses the shovel to toss a small amount of dirt in the bandit's face.

"You seem to misunderstand.  I'm asking the questions.  And if I don't like the answers, I'll just have to use the shovel some more."

"We'll start with how many of you there are."

[Kwokinator]

The bandit spits the dirt back at Zhu Lin's face, or towards it anyway.

"Screw you, I'm not telling you anything!  Now let me out before the rest of the guys come, and I'll let you live!"

[Edward]

OOC: Back from vacation.

Zhu-Lin shrugs.  "You are well beyond them being able to hear you and I am not so foolish as to trust the word of a bandit."  He glances towards the other, still unconscious bandit, then looks back at the uncooperative one.  "It's not like I need you and it really would be simpler to just kill you."

[Kwokinator]

OOC:  Vacation?  Cool.  Where'd you go? ^_^

The bandit looks at his fallen comrade, and a large sweatdrop begins to fall down his forehead as he fails to see the rise and fall of his partner-in-crime's chest.

"Alright, alright!  I'll talk!" he says in a panic, frantically looking around in search of backup, but failing to find any. "Just don't kill me like you killed him!"

[Edward]

OOC:  Vacation?  Cool.  Where'd you go? ^_^

OOC: England, primarily London, but also visited Haddon House (exteriors used in Princess Bride), Belvoir Castle (an ancestor trained horses there) and Avebury (very impressive stone circle).

OOC2:  Looks like the bandit hit his head on the rock a bit harder than I thought.

"If you tell me what I need to know, I promise what happened to him won't happen to you.  How many of you are there?"

[Kwokinator]

OOC:  Boo.  I wanna go to England too >_<

"Alright, I'll talk!" the bandit cries. "What do you want to know?"

[Edward]

"Let's start with how many of you there are," Zhu Lin says.

[Kwokinator]

OOC: Oops, sorry for the lateness.  I'm online so rarely when I'm home for vacation @_@

The bandit looks around shiftily, as if looking for backup, before replying with a "Umm... let's see... usually four, maybe six to eight if some of the people who never show up show up."

[Edward]

"My, what a helpful answer," Zhu-Lin says dryly.

"So do these four include you, your 'sleeping' companion, and the two eunuchs?"

[Kwokinator]

"So you're the one who did it to them!" the man spits at Zhu Lin. "You bastard!"

[Edward]

OOC:  How did I miss this post?

Zhu Lin plants the blade of the shovel inches away from the man's nose.

"Is that what they said?"  Zhu Lin rolls his eyes.  "Well, I suppose it was less embarassing than the truth.  You might note that I do not carry a sword."

Zhu Lin pulls the shovel back out.

"I was travelling, minding my own business, when they offered me an impromptu demonstration of swordplay.  Their enthusiam was impressive, if not their skill.  I was agile enough to evade their blades, but to their misfortune, they were unable to avoid their own follow-through, thus qualifying themselves as court officials."

"Not wanting them to miss out on the new career they fitted themselves for, I stopped the bleeding and went to a nearby well."

Zhu Lin's eyes grow hard.  "Where I encountered a dead girl.  She didn't like being killed, of course, and planned on haunting you all until you longed for death.  I suggested that only the actual murder deserved that, and offered to find the killer."

"So who was the wretched coward who attacked an unarmed girl from behind?"

[Kwokinator]

OOC:  Sorry, either forgot or couldn't decide how to proceed @_@

The bandit's face pales slightly at the mention of being haunted, and stays silent.

I've never seen the girl... I've only heard them bragging about how rich she was... I shouldn't have to take the fall for them, should I?

But I'm part of the crew, she might come get me too...

His features visibly clouds over, evidently fighting an internal battle.

But if I rat them out?  Where's my honour?  

Screw honour.  I never shared the loot, never liked it when they bragged about it.  Honour among thieves, I never kill unarmed helpless girls.

That decides it.

"It's not the guys you got," he answered, looking at his fallen compatriot to make sure he's still unconscious. "All I'm going to say is that one of them uses dao, the other one uses a chain staff with nine links.  They're buddies, so if you find one you find the other."

[Edward]

OOC:  Yay, I can finally post reply here.

"A dao and a chain staff with nine links.  Thank you."  Zhu-Lin considers a moment.

"We do have a problem, though.  I can't just let you and your partner go, as you might warn them.  But killing you would be rude and ungrateful and so far as I know you and your partner are thieves, not murders and thus do not deserve death."

"On the other hand, were I to leave you tied and gagged and then I failed against the murderers, you'd die of thrist, which also isn't fair to you."

"When I overheard you and your partner, it sounded as if you bandits were going to split the loot and part company in the next few days.  If that is the case, I can arrange things so you can dig your way out while I pursue the murders and bring them to justice."

Zhu-Lin uses his medical skills to tend to the unconscious bandit.  He will also make sure they get water and food.

[Kwokinator]

"Come on, just let us go!" the bandit protests as he struggles against the heavy mound of dirt. "There's only one way up the caves, and you just beat us so obviously we can't beat you to warn them, so why not let us go?"