The woman and two children huddled together in one of the rooms of my new house quietly. The temperature in the dark wooden rooms had dropped further still next to the lake as the breeze grew to a moderate wind that swept the chill of the water through the open doorway and windows. I had nothing further to offer them now and could tell there was still a large amount of fear and uncertainty from the looks in their eyes and the expressions they wore while clinging together. Anyone would be terrified in their situation, so I took none of their looks of to heart.
"Are your homes nearby?"
"I don't know. I think we travelled all night to get here... Our village was burnt to the ground."
"I see, for now, please just stay here. I need to take care of these assholes now. When I get back, we can work on getting you home. If you know how to start a fire, please feel free."
The woman nodded and with that settled I departed. The sounds of birds and cicadas that had rung across the lake during the day, had changed to crickets and nocturnal critters that hooted and cawed around me. Tracing back the steps I'd made earlier that day I managed to find the road again without too much issue and after a few more minutes of searching in the dark, found the path that led to Surn. There was no sign of anyone in my vicinity, and I couldn't help but fear the worst as I readied myself to sprint up the brambling mountainside.
I ran as fast as I could up the winding trail doing my best to avoid tripping on the numerous tree roots and small boulders. Despite the hazards, I was making great time, in less than twenty minutes I was in detection range of the village. I strained my senses while maintaining my breakneck speed to the best of my ability. The situation was dire. Eight bandits had reached the edge of the village while another four were moving around its perimeter towards the cliff. They were about to launch a pincer attack and close of any route for escape. The villagers were almost all within their homes and none seemed to notice their impending deaths.
I was still thirty or so seconds away when the yells of the aggressors erupted from up ahead. I didn't need my sensory vision to tell the raid had begun, I could hear it clearly echoing down through the trees. Fifteen seconds.
The first scream rang down upon me like a lead weight as I weaved through low hanging branches. Five seconds.
The light from the village came into view along with the sounds of battle and smell of smoke. The nearest target was a house to the right of the path. Two men had kicked through the front door and had someone cornered inside. I burst through the tree line and launched myself through the darkened doorway. The bandits' auras glowed red on my mind and clear as the day. The portly woman who had served me drinks the night before was backed up against the wall. A man, likely her husband was held in her arms. He had been stabbed through the heart and was already gone. I can't sense him.
The bandits had little time to react to my arrival. My right arm held a sword I'd shaped earlier to be as sharp and hard as I could imagine. With swift precision, I ran it through the neck of one the one on the right as he turned to inspect my footsteps. Too slow. I'd severed everything vital in that single thrust, causing him to drop to the timber floor in a heap. The bandit to my left had good reactions. Realising he was in danger, he stepped back, dodging the blow from my left hand which was shaped as a battle axe.
"Oi we've got trouble"
He sprinted from the house into the clearing outside. I gave the woman a sorrowful look while the glowing light of the deceased bandit made its journey to me. She hadn't even realised i was there, all she could likely see was her husband's face in that moment.
None of the attackers had paid any attention to the man who'd called out and were still absorbed in their own battles. Some from the village had taken up arms and were defending their homes with their lives, others were barricaded in hoping to hold out the initial onslaught. My priority was to kill the Man fleeing from me then move on to the houses under attack. These bandits seem to have faith in their skills as they were outnumbered here in the village yet were taking their time moving from house to house. It seemed to have been more of a sport to them than a battle.
The man who had evaded me moments earlier reached one of his compatriots at the front door of Edvars house. I could tell Edvar was still ok inside to my relief, but at that moment, another scream rang out from the other side of the village. One of the houses had been successfully breached and the attacker was bearing down on the four inhabitants inside, their blue forms cowered as his red figure loomed towards them. I have to do something.
As quickly as I could, I formed a small, imperfect, wooden ball from my right hand and took aim, throwing it with all my strength towards the bandit. It missed the doorway completely but crashed into the wooden wall with such force "CRACK" the whole hillside echoed as if a gun had gone off.
Startled, all the bandits in unison looked toward the house and then into the clearing. They had noticed me.
"HEY, YOU SCUM. IVE JUST FINISHED KILLING YOUR FRIENDS IN THE HIDEOUT. IM HERE TO KILL THE REST OF YOU NOW SO LINE UP LIKE GOOD LITTLE LAMBS FOR THE SLAUGHTER."
I yelled at the top of my lungs hoping their attention would move from the villagers to me. It worked like a charm. All seven of the remaining bandits left the houses they were in the process of ransacking and made a beeline toward me in the clearing at a steady pace. They didn't seem at all afraid of me. The four others who had circled the village earlier remained hidden out of site.
"What the hell do you think you are?"
"You reckon you killed our crew? I call bullshit."
The Bandits were sneering and laughing as they closed in slowly like a pack of hyenas on their prey.
"Yeah, i killed them. Even killed those other two of yours, Vil and Sin was it?"
The sneering faces suddenly snapped to a more serious expression and, they paused their predatorial approach. Giving them names of their crew had clearly made them reassess the situation. That moment of hesitation was all i needed.
"You son of a bitch, I'm going to tear every la..."
An arrow flew through the air and lodged itself deeply in the back of the bandit. They had been so focused on me that they failed to realise the village men who were taken by surprise earlier had now time to arm themselves and launch a surprise attack of their own. Two more arrows whistled through the clearing to find their marks with the shoulder and leg of another two bandits, effectively incapacitating them. The remaining four uninjured turned towards the source of the arrows.
"Bad move"
Darting at full speed and getting between all four, i launched a vine at each grabbing them by the necks and slamming their heads into the ground rendering them unconscious. One of them hit the ground a little more forcefully. His skull had cracked with sickening crunch on the hard earth and, his light too moved across. The three that remained alive (one of which was the escapee from the house earlier) were swiftly tied together by my vines and a roar erupted from the men of the village. They had survived for the most part. There was one deceased and a few more seriously wounded but currently in no mortal danger. I can get to them shortly.
"You guys, come stand over here with me. We aren't done yet."
Five village men gathered around the unconscious and deceased bandits. There were three Archers, all in their thirties by the looks. I had met them on the night of the party and recalled their names as Edgar (Edvars son), Gren and Shil. Edgar was a tall man with sandy blonde hair that hung to his broad shoulders and muscular frame. The other two were of stockier build but none the less toned. It would seem a hard life on the mountain had trained their bodies well at the very least, if not so much their skill for combat. The other two of the five were older and held wood axes made for chopping trees but were effective on any limb none the less.
"ARE YOU FOUR GOING TO HIDE UP THERE FOREVER?"
The other four bandits above the village hadn't made any move while watching their comrades captured and seemed to be simply looking over the scenario until i called out. Suddenly a mean, rasping laugh trickled out of the darkness of the slope above the village, sending a shiver down my wooden spine.
"I thought I'd concealed myself rather well but here you are calling out all four of us."
The remaining bandits began to emerge into the light of the fires that had begun to burn from dropped torches in the clearing.
"My name is Gerard Valekeep. It seems you've done a number on a few of my crew. Idon't suppose you're going to make up for that my joining up with me?"
"Of course not."
"I didn't think so."
Gerards presence was menacing. His matted red hair seemed to glow of it's own volition amongst the nearby torches. Though he wasn't as tall nor as broad shouldered as the men around him, he commanded an unseen strength that all present were aware of. There was something about his maniacal grin that portrayed the utmost confidence of a seasoned killer. Not once did his eyes break from his targets, not even to look at his dead or captured comrades. They were simply periphery to his next battle.
"It looks like this one is quite strong as well. We'd suggest a tactical retreat at the moment."
{Not gonna' happen. I'd prefer to take care of a problem when it arises rather than kick the can down the road.}
The bandit slowly drew his sword from its sheath. It was black steal that seemed to absorb the light around it giving it the appearance of a void. I have to be on my..
"Fleetfoot"
I was too slow.