OOC:
In the morning you will have some time to prepare.
(probably, the Levetons did insist that the bandits have been coming on the 1st of the month routinely the past 4 times)
Jen mentioned ambush on the way in. For that you would need some scouting. With 4 riding horse you can cover lots of ground.
Glen mentioned create a fat target. You have carts and cargo from the trading post that you could fashion into something.
I am going to suggest some preparation activities.
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Scouting, time: ~4 hours, roll: Survival, Lore; eg warcraft, or Stealth. Double range on horse back
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Craft Deception, time: ~4 hours, roll: Deception, Crafting, or Lore: eg Merchant
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Watch, time: 4 hours/shift, roll: Perception
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Gather Information, time: 0.5 hours, roll: Perception, Diplomacy, warcraft, etc
Also, you have 4 NPC that can be directed.