I don't recall the exact number, but it's basically around the same amount as the Angel of Irons followers when the Mighty Nein tried to rescue Fjord, Jester, and Yasha the first time around.
(Trying to avoid spoilers for anyone who hasn't seen Critical Role Campaign 2. ^^")
After Cadmus screams, Meli seems a little more focused and quieter as she realizes something. She watches Cadmus chase after the bandit, and she calls after him, "Cad, No! Wait!" She quickly manages to find a weak point in the net, and she breaks through! She bounds after Cadmus, and she tries to warn him, "Cad! No! Turn around! It's a trap!"
The bandit manages to narrowly run out of the range of the longsword's swing. He takes a moment, to bat Cadmus's blade back again before he keeps running. As he runs, he lets out a shrill whistle and he calls out, "Oi! I got trouble here! A little help here?!"
Cadmus is able to look ahead and he sees that the four bandits he faced were only a symptom of the main problem.
There are many more bandits ahead; Too many of them for just him and Meli to take on alone! He would also notice that the Moonpetal Gathering are there as well. They are currently loaded in carts with bars around them, like they're animals in cages. Their wrists and ankles are also manacled together in cold and almost rusty iron.
They all turn towards the Bandit Cadmus is chasing.
Meli's Turn Meli tries to break free from the net, and she finally succeeds with a 14!
She moves thirty feet after Cadmus.
Bandit 4's Turn The Bandit uses his action to disengage again and moves 30 feet towards his intended destination.
Kalila expected the worst of reactions when Gerta mentioned that her words did indeed sound like drunk talk. But confused relief washes over her when Gerta accepted her words anyways. She listened quietly as she explains that her brother believed in the innocent until they're proven guilty; A tenant of the Jury to be sure!
She looks to each staff member and listens as Gerta introduces each one of them to her, and their background, while eating a piece of bread quietly. The last of the staff to be introduced was Garrek, Gerta's nephew.
When Gerta reassured that she didn't need to rush off, and that she wasn't bothering anyone, she could feel her eyes grow somewhat misty. She manages to keep her composure, but...when was the last time anyone expressed such a sentiment to her? She was always a bother to someone, even to her own family. She always needed to make sure that she didn't take up too much time at home.
Nobody really believed in her back there, did they...?
She snaps out of the thoughts when Gerta offers 2 Gold per week of work, and an advancement so she can get herself proper work clothes. She gave a happy smile to Gerta after her words of welcome, and she answers her, "That's fair. Thank you so much, Gerta! I won't let you down,"
She speaks clearly thinking things over, "At the very least, the week here will let me get my bearings and consider what to do from here,"
"...And also figure out who or what that voice was, and how they heck they would call for me for that debt..." Kalila also thought to herself quietly, the dream still in her mind.
She then adds realizing something, and she informs Gerta a little embarrassed, "Oh, right! I am going to need directions to the tailor. I'm not familiar with the layout of Thornwood at all,"
The bandit cries out as he was hit with Cadmus's blade, and he falls to the side, allowing Cadmus to approach the last bandit out of the four. Meli cries out, "That hurt you meanie!" before she fires another verdant green energy blast. This magic misses the bandit again, as he quickly moves out of the way.
The last bandit growls as he takes in the sight of his fellows lying on the ground out cold. He speaks, "Oh forget this noise!" He manages to bat Cadmus's sword to the side, to effectively distract him, and he takes off running towards the forest.
He has let go of Meli, and left her at Cadmus's feet, allowing him to run faster than before!
Bandit 1 does indeed go down, and Cadmus is able to move to the last bandit.
Meli's Turn She tries another Eldritch Blast, and it misses the bandit with a 7.
Bandit 4's Turn He takes the Disengage Action and moves thirty feet away. He is fleeing!
Cadmus's Turn! Does he pursue, or does he let the bandit flee?
Hey, I'm not sure if Meli was in 5ft distance of myself, I think she would be, considering that the two last bandits were dragging her. If she would, my fighting style would impose disadvantage on the attack made against her. Let me know if it's the case and if I need to edit my post in case the hit from bandit 2 turns into a miss!
She is indeed! You can certainly use your reaction to impose a disadvantage on the attack roll.
Unfortunately, he still hits with a 15, but thankfully it's not a critical hit. So the damage roll will actually be a total of 4 (using the first number in the Critical hit roll)
Kalila smiles hesitantly at Gerta's words, but she answers her words genuinely as she gratefully accepts the bread basket, "I thought it would be best to be upfront with you now; Before the customers come in, or anything else weird happens. It really was kind of you to let me hide and rest here, when anyone else would have ushered me through the backdoor," She glances to the rest of the staff, and she notices that nobody seems to be eavesdropping, much to her relief.
Kalila blinks at the joke, but then she lets out a small "Oh," as she remembered that she's still wearing the dress. She also notes her own posture. She thought she had relaxed in this inn and tavern, but apparently the years of pressure, stress, and the strict lessons had ensured that she would never really relax physically; Always keeping her back straight and her posture perfect.
After Gerta asked her questions, she sighs and she answers, "My name is Kalila Wrenfield. And no, I'm not a princess," She opted to give the last name, and see if Gerta recognized it. She wouldn't elaborate further unless Gerta asked. She honestly hoped that Gerta wouldn't recognize the name. If she did, then she wouldn't blame her for reacting with fear.
Kalila got a 14 on Insight to see if Gerta recognized the last name Wrenfield.
She continues to answer Gerta, and while she remains calm as she speaks, she doesn't notice that the smoke within the bottle she's carrying reacts to her emotions; The colors shift to reflect her emotions, and how fast the smoke roils quicken depending on whether or not her thoughts threaten to spiral into distress.
She continues, gesturing to the dress she's wearing, "This...was for a special event: The engagement part of an arranged marriage with a nobleman," Her tone falls flat as she recalls the horrible memories of said event.
She then chuckles lightly and tries to joke to lighten the mood at first, "That ceremony is a disaster story in its own right. So to sum it up quickly, after everything that happened there I snuck out before he could actually propose, and I went to speak with my family,"
At this point, the smoke turns a bright, passionate red to reflect the rage Kalila felt towards the man, as she makes her point of why she wanted to speak with her family. Her tone is still calm and composed, but the tone flat to express her displeasure, "No amount of gold or promise of status will ever change my mind on refusing to marry that cruel and entitled man," Her body trembles as she resists the urge to withdraw.
She takes a deep breath, and the smoke calms as she calms down as well. She continues, "So, I was speaking--No, arguing is the proper term here--with my family, and everything abruptly went dark for me mid-conversation. The next thing I knew, I woke up in an alleyway near here,"
She then sighs, "...I realize you've probably heard that from many a drunk patron before, and I don't blame you if you don't believe me on that. Miss Thornwick certainly made her skepticism clear. But, I truly didn't drink anything: I didn't feel comfortable doing so around my so-called 'fiancee'," The smoke does dull in color as she expects Gerta to laugh at her or dismiss her words. The expectation to be silenced again...
She continues, "I ended up coming to this place, because I heard footsteps behind me shortly after I woke up. Somebody was following me, and I didn't dare to look and see who it was. I immediately got the sense that whoever was behind me was much more dangerous than some thug. So, I hurried here while doing my best to not tip them off that I knew they were following me. You know the rest from there,"
She then elaborates, "As for why I was so pale last night...The first reason was because I learned that I am actually more than 600 miles away from home," Anyone could tell from her tone that she didn't feel like her home was actually a home. It felt more like a prison...
She finishes, "And...I thought I felt that pursuer's presence in the room when I was alone. It really did feel like a ghost was chasing me..."
With the story finished, she finally looks to Gerta and the words ring in her mind again,
"All things have a price. All debts must be paid."
She speaks again, with the understanding that she's probably been a nuisance for Gerta, "I do want to repay your kindness by helping out around here. As you can probably tell, I'm ill prepared for any kind of journey. Once I've paid for the night's stay through labor, and I can purchase supplies needed for a journey, I'll be out of your hair,"
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