Encounter 7: Inept Attackers

On their journey home, Bwirses inept hirelings attack the PCs. The hirelings have no business being outdoors without a chaperon, much less waylaying anyone, but due to their special gifts they decided to make a go of adventuring. Unfortunately, their cleric was killed by a marauding gnoll on the way to their first adventure, and they have committed to working as bandits for hire (Gretlon thought it sounded fun) until they earn enough money to have him raised from the dead. The cleric was the only good-aligned member of the team, and since his demise, they have been in a moral downward spiral. Hanter is the brightest of the group, but he is very shy and lets Gretlon, the most charismatic of the gang, push him around. The others follow the bullys lead.  

The Ambush:

The gang is planning to attack the PCs about halfway back to the Last Chance Inn at a point in the road where there is a large oak tree on one side of the road and several large granite boulders opposite it at the base of a low hill. 

• Gretlon has instructed Kanter to wait in the road to stop the PCs. 
• Meanwhile, he and Zanzibrat will hide in the tree and cover him from there. 
• Hash and Kulp have been instructed to begin by hiding in the boulders. Hash will remain there and hurl darts into the melee, while Kulp has orders to slip in and sneak attack the PCs spellcasters. 
• Not a great plan, but it will get worse because Hanter and Kulp both have different plans. Hanter will attack any spell casters in the group and keep them down, no matter what Gretlon says. Of course, if Kulp gets hurt hell have to go protect her instead. 
• When the ambush is sprung, Kulp plans to find the biggest, most dangerous PC and take him out.

After defeating the gang, the PCs can travel to the Last Chance Inn to spend the night, and then return to Greyhawk without incident.