<div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/8/8e/Yushoto_Jiao-Long.jpg)</div><br/>"Bandits need a reason to operate in a particular area," Jiao-Long replied. "Either sufficient traffic to allow them to consistently get small gains, or higher value rewards that are achieved less often. They also need somewhere to dispose of any physical loot .. after all, they can hardly sell it back to their former owners. Alternately, they may simply be offering 'protection' from the settlement. A smaller group could stay nearby, a larger one would have to move or risk, well, overgrazing the area."<br/><br/>"A spirit of some kind could be trying to extort worship, either by withholding something the settlement needs, or by threatening them in some manner .. crop failure, animal attacks, bad weather .. whatever is within it's purview."<br/><br/>"Fae would be feeding on the people themselves. Similar issue to bandits regarding the risk of taking too much and destroying their food source."<br/><br/>"A beast with a taste for human flesh will be the simplest scenario. Hunt and drive off or kill."<br/><br/>"If it's something else .. well, in order to defeat our foe, we need to know what they are. Once we have an idea of what they are, and what their capabilities are, we can formulate an effective response. Step one, gather intel." He gestured in the direction the others had left, and waited to see what the commander would make of his assessments.