1.1 Map and Hexcrawl

I can definitely try and speak with the forest spirits. They did communicate with me via dream for help. Perhaps they will be helpful here.

You have several close calls as bandits and moving in, out, and about of this area. You can inspect the fort or seek out fey. However give me a appropriate sneaky roll to avoid the bandits. That is stealth or survival, deception if appropriate

I will move into the deep woods off the beaten path avoiding bandits with ease as I seek the fey in their home territory (with Filbert accompanying me of course). I am becoming one with the woods as I did in my past slipping into old habits with ease.

Silene easily moves through the area, avoiding any active or inactive bandits. From your connection to the deep primarily forces of the first world, you can assert that no fey make there home in the shadow of the Stag Lord's fort.

Seeing Octavius' laughable attempts to move stealthily Linzi steps in to help. She pulls him aside and dresses him in a cloak taken from the captured bandits "Come I'll guide you, I promise to stop laughing". This is further aided by Silene's pervious trailblazing of the region.

Luckily the bandit fort is not hard to scout, sitting on top of step hill overlooking the lake. A narrow path of hard-packed earth winds up the hillside approaching the Stag Lord’s fort—this path is 30 feet wide, 300 feet long, and provides no cover. The remaining hillside surrounding the fort is devoid of shrubbery save for isolated thorny vines, but a few large boulders provide cover for a stealthy approach. The fort itself is a rough wooden palisade built overtop of stone ruins.

About four to eight guards stand watch by the forts gates, with a pair making the rounds on the walls every half hour or so. Interestingly, it the guards who stand at watch don’t seem to keep much of an attentive eye on the hillsides. Bandits come and go from the fort, bringing wood, games, and other supplies. There are also tracks a larger group leaving the fort recently.

When you regroup Valerie opines "We should be careful, assaulting this fort would be difficult at best. Maybe we should gather information then withdraw to gather strength"

From before:
Silene easily moves through the area, avoiding any active or inactive bandits. From your connection to the deep primarily forces of the first world, you can assert that no fey make there home in the shadow of the Stag Lord's fort.

New:
Silene can guess that the Fey have fled from the area immediately arround the fort. When she was deeper in the wilderness she did see Fey-signs

From the odd patterns of stone and plantlife, Dalia is sure that the hillside that surrounds the fort contained a extensive graveyard near the base. Obviously not tended or cared for.

New map

Activities in the fort wind to a close, the valuable loot in loaded onto the horses, and the dead are laid to rest. Harrim, Linzi, and Valerie volunteer to secure fort and the heavy trade goods that need to be moved by boat or wagon until proper logistics channels are established.

Make you way back to Oleg's? Ie travel north east?

Back the way we came makes the most sense as we will be establishing a trade route with Oleg's post. Look for more effective ways of travel along the way.