Hideout

Hideout

The region near the trade road linking the Duchy's capital to that of the Count in the north-west was a mess of hills, ravines, and small rivers. The land itself was fairly unhealthy; small patches of grass in between tough weed capable of growing anywhere, a few scraggly trees. It was better immediately adjacent to the rivers, as whatever part of the soil kept plants from growing had long since been eroded away, or replaced with soil from further away of different quality. But as a whole, the land was half dead, and uninhabited.
Yet the road cut right through it. Hills had been moved, and rivers bridged with long lasting stone. It had cost a fortune, and had taken the prior Duke's men almost ten years to complete; longer than any of the other roads. Though there was much grumbling about it, the truth was that compared to the old circuitous route the new road was faster and quite a boon for the Duchy - more even than the other new roads.
The relative emptiness of the region had also proven to be a boon to bandits. As such, it became the most patrolled road in the Duchy, with armed soldiers covering each part of the road twice a day, and several permanent camps and forts to supply them. The section of the road that lay within the uninhabitable region took about four days to travel, and had three forts and two camps along its length.
Depsite the patrols, groups of bandits would still frequently pop up and often survive for months even when actively hunted. Often, knights would wander the region, looking for certain particularly wanted bandits to bring in for their bounties. Wise bandits often left the region when the Duke or the Count decided to crack down on the bandits. Luckily, at the time Benjamin led his group back to their hideout for the first time no crack down was in progress. In fact, banditry had been at a low for a couple of years thanks to general prosperity in the Duchy - few were down on their luck enough to run the risk of getting caught and potentially executed.
The group's hideout lay in an out of the way valley through which a small brook gurgled; forming a pond in the centre. They had plans to build a watchtower - disguised as a tree - on the highest hill bordering the valley, which would give them a good view for a fair distance. Within the valley, they planned to build a stockade and several structures; as well as using the fertile land next to the brook to grow vegetables. But having just setup, the camp merely consisted of a few tents.
The five who had started robbing travellers - Benjamin, Bronwyn, Ned, Eustace and Lisa - were not the entirety of the group. Benjamin's wife Emeline (who was twenty years younger than he, barely in her thirties) and two children, as well as Eustace's elderly father Frank, had also come with them. They had remained behind to guard the camp and mind the children, and to begin planting the vegetables and prepare food for the return of the rest. Eustace's father was able to do little strenuous work due to severe arthiritis, but Benjamin's wife was healthy and capable (as well as an excellent cook who had much lamented their inn's lack of visitors).
As the five bandits crested one of the smaller hills looking down into the valley, a young voice called out. It was Benjamin's son, Benjamin, who was more often called Ben. "Dad! Dad's back!" he yelled, happily. He stood by the brook with a stick, and had obviously been poking at the river. Emeline was nearby, tilling the earth with a plow the group had 'acquired' as they left Black Arc. Outside the tents, sitting in a chair, was Frank, idly chatting with Benjamin's daughter, Ira.
"Hello there, little Benjamin!" replied the boy's father, as the group started to descend the hill. "Ned, tie up these horses next to the donkeys," he added.
The group had taken two carts and four donkeys worth of supplies with them when they had left Black Arc; all that each of them had (but had not sold before leaving). On their way north (during which they crossed the trade road) they had also stolen a pair of docile cows, as well as some farming equipment. Much of their stuff - apart from the tents and a few pieces of furniture - remained in the carts, waiting until they needed it.
"Sure," replied Ned, breaking from the group to head towards the donkeys.
"It's good to be back," said Bronwyn, stretching her arms out over her head. Benjamin's family started making their way up the hill.
"Welcome back," said Emeline as they met. She gave him a quick hug, then stepped back to allow his children to do the same. The rest of them continued on, heading to their personal tents.
"How'd it go daddy?" asked Ira, staring up at her father.
"Good, although we didn't get much. A few days' wages off a coachman, a cutlass, a set of nobleman's clothes and a couple of horses. But don't you worry," Benjamin said, squatting down to his young daughter's eye level. "We'll do better tomorrow."
"Come on, let's go get the meal ready," said Emeline, taking her childrens' hands.
As his family walked down towards the makeshift kitchen - a couple of benches and a cauldron - Benjamin looked around the valley. It was a good start. I'll be a bandit king before I know it, he thought to himself, happily.