Nellise knelt for a closer examination, but Pacian pushed her aside at the last moment, as the injured man swung at her with a short sword gripped tightly in one hand. It narrowly missed her as she fell back onto the ground, and Pacian didn’t hesitate to finish what Colt had started.
“What the hell were you thinking?” he hissed to Nellise, as loudly as he dared.
“He was suffering, Pacian. I couldn’t just leave him like that,” she protested, clearly upset. “Besides, how do we know he’s even a bandit? Colt might have just shot an innocent man.”
Pacian didn’t seem impressed with her argument, as he quickly started frisking the body for valuables. “We’re in the middle of nowhere. What did you think he was doing, catching up on his knitting?”
“Enough,” Colt grunted, making an effort to keep his volume low. “This one was obviously a lookout, so he probably has friends nearby. If we don’t take out the scouts, we could be facing a whole bunch of them at once. Stay under cover and keep quiet. Nel, are you any good with that crossbow?”
“I spent an afternoon shooting at targets earlier this year,” she answered quietly. “I’ll make do if I have to.”
“Good enough. If we can spot someone giving orders, we’ll take him out, and hopefully that’ll send the rest of these bastards running.” He retrieved the arrow from its grisly resting place and strode purposely forward.
“You two are a little too comfortable with killing,” Nellise remarked sadly, hefting her crossbow. “There are other ways to deal with people, you know.”
“Sure, just get them to drop their weapons and we’ll have a nice little chat,” Colt answered from nearby. Aiden noticed a look of profound sadness cross Nellise’s expression, but consigned to her fate, she had no choice but to follow along with the rest.
From his place at the rear, Aiden could see little of what Colt was up to, though he did hear the occasional arrow being loosed from the ranger’s longbow as he quietly took down the unsuspecting targets. Pacian was quick to move in and keep the fallen bandits quiet in their last moments, but so far Aiden felt they had been lucky.
He glanced down at the body of one of the highwaymen and saw that his clothing was thick and warm but tattered, devoid of any gear that would help one survive in the wilderness. His beard was thick and untamed, and his skin dirty and scarred.
They continued on through the forest, moving parallel to the road for another half an hour, encountering three more scouts along the way. All of them were eliminated before they knew what hit them, thanks to Pacian’s scouting and Colt’s expertise with the longbow.
In the fading afternoon light, Colt waved them over to his position near a small copse of young trees. He crouched low, peering at the ground at his feet as the others gathered around.
“All right, we’ve made a good start here,” the ranger grunted with a low voice. “Those men were obviously looking for anyone trying to break through from Bracksford, but I think they were expecting a bunch of rookie guardsmen, or a desperate caravan, not a professional assault. Oh, and we checked to make sure they weren’t trying to rescue kittens in trees, in case you were wondering,” he added dryly.
“I have no problem doing what we must to save the town, but that does not mean I am eager to take part in this bloody-handed business,” Nellise shot back under her breath. “I accept these men are here on illegal business, so do not doubt my resolve to see this through.”
“Fair enough,” Colt grunted. “If any of you have been paying attention to the smells around you, you’ll have noticed the faint hint of wood smoke in the air.
“That tells me we’re nearing a camp, probably with most of them in one place. One of us should go take a look and get an idea of the numbers we’re dealing with. Hard to make plans based on guesswork.”
“I suppose you’re looking at me,” Pacian grumbled.
“Well I could go,” Colt mused, scratching his unshaven chin, “but I have just spent most of the afternoon killing their spotters, and I think I’ve earned a break. So yeah, just go look. Don’t try anything else on your own, killer, or you’ll bring down all sorts of hell on us.”
Pacian took a deep breath and heaved himself to his feet. Using his surroundings to conceal his approach, he started moving upwind towards the smell of the smoke. In his camouflaged leathers, he quickly disappeared into the damp forest.
“I have been wondering,” Nellise said, after a few tense minutes had passed. “Should we try talking to these people?”
“Are you serious?” Colt scoffed. “After what happened to you a few hours ago?”
“Colt, that man swung at me after you’d shot an arrow into his chest,” Nellise reminded him. “I can’t say I would have done anything different under the circumstances. I’m suggesting we might be able to talk them down, or perhaps even find out why they’re doing it.”
“I don’t think they’re starving farmers looking to put food on their tables,” Aiden responded. “Have you looked closely at the ones we’ve left behind? They look like a bunch of drunken louts.”
“I don’t think these are the kind of men you reason with, Nel,” Colt added. “We need to show them force before we can make then surrender. If we went in there to talk with them, that’d just give away our only advantage — surprise.”
“All of that is based on their looks, a spurious argument if ever I have heard one,” Nellise mused. “I offer no apologies for making an effort to find a peaceful solution. I only hope we are able to deal with being outnumbered, should you choose to fight.”
“You’ve got that right,” Pacian said, appearing next to them and giving the young acolyte a start.
“Do you mind?” she exclaimed. “You almost gave me a heart attack.”
Pacian shrugged, his expression grim. “Sorry. I’ve counted a dozen men around their camp, and that’s not including any hiding out there in the forest.
“I saw three wagons stashed off to one side, probably the remains of other merchants who tried to make it through. They’re rowdy, bored and spoiling for another fight.” Nobody spoke as the enormity of the task before them was laid bare.
“Damn,” Colt muttered, and then went on to spit out a number of other colorful words that had Nellise blushing furiously.
“All right, just calm down,” Aiden snapped. “We still have the element of surprise, yes? Pace, what are they armed with?”
“Some hunting bows, short swords, clubs, lots of knives, that sort of thing,” Pacian explained. “Oh, and one guy had a big sword like Colt’s. He was the only one wearing armor, too.”
“Probably their lead man,” Aiden mused, recalling what Olaf had mentioned about Fletcher. “What if we could create a diversion?”
“Even if we could get close enough,” Colt said — “and by ‘we,’ I mean ‘me’ – I’d have to drop him with one shot. It’s one thing to kill a man while he’s standing perfectly still in the forest, and quite another to do the same to someone walking around a camp.”
“The longer we wait here, the greater the chance of being discovered,” Pacian warned.
“Would they be spreading around the area to attack travelers?” Aiden wondered.
“That’s the general idea of bandits yes,” Pacian confirmed, a little exasperated.
“When they’re isolated from each other, we strike at each group separately,” Aiden suggested, with a scathing glance at Pacian. “I’ve read about tactics like that. We bring enough force to face each group, and defeat them before assistance can arrive.”
“Too risky,” Colt replied. “If I can drop the leader, it’ll show them who’s boss and throw them into confusion. We sneak in closer and I’ll take a shot, then we sort things out from there. Pace, take point.”
Pacian nodded and with a gesture from Colt, they continued forward.
The tension increased as they crept forward for what must have only been ten minutes, but felt much longer. Aiden’s heart pounded as Pacian spotted first one, then two hooded me
n moving silently through the forest ahead.
The big ranger slowly turned to face them on one knee, with his longbow set and ready. Nellise mimicked his posture, aiming down the length of her crossbow towards their unsuspecting prey.
“You take left, I take right,” Colt whispered. He slowly drew the bow and took aim, exhaling softly as he held the string back. The two men had stopped moving, taking up positions near trees close to the road.
Aiden glanced nervously at Nellise, who was clearly conflicted as she aimed the deadly weapon at living, breathing people. “Ready?” Colt whispered. “We do this together.”
“A moment,” Nellise responded, adjusting her grip on the crossbow.
“If you can’t do it, hand the weapon to Pacian and step back,” Colt muttered, without taking his eye off the target.
“Is there no other way?”
“Not with these people, no,” Colt hissed. “If you want to be merciful, aim well.” Nellise slowly let out her breath and steadied her aim.
“Now,” Colt whispered finally, loosing his arrow.
“Kylaris forgive me,” Nellise breathed as she unleashed her crossbow bolt. Both weapons struck true, dropping the men in quick succession.
Suddenly, Aiden heard a cry from the other side of the road – someone had witnessed the two bandits fall and raised an alarm. The forest came alive with the sounds of movement and shouted orders, and Colt silently cursed at the noise.
“We’re in for it now, people,” he growled. “Get under cover and be ready.”
Aiden and the others ducked beneath nearby shrubs and held still, waiting for signs of activity. Soon, a man in a heavy green cloak hurried past their position, heading towards his fallen comrades.
Pacian, impatient as ever, silently crept out of the bushes as soon as the bandit had moved past. Aiden didn’t dare call out the many expletives that crossed his mind at that moment, for fear of blowing their cover.
His friend, dagger at the ready, matched the bandit step for step, slowly closing in behind him until he was within reach before putting his weapon to work. Pacian caught his victim’s body on the way down and dragged it into brush where Aiden and the others were hiding.
“Move,” Colt ordered, driving Aiden and the others to leave cover and run after him. A bandit in amongst the trees nearby loosed an arrow, and a second later it whistled right past Aiden’s ear. Colt drew and shot another arrow as he ran, dropping the brigand as they rushed past.
Shouted threats and taunts from the bandits echoed through the trees, driving Aiden and his companions to run even faster, with branches whipping their faces as they rushed through. They kept this up for another minute before Colt slid across the muddy ground into another dense area of foliage, waving for the others to follow him in.
“Now what?” Pacian asked Colt as he fought to catch his breath. Aiden’s heart was racing and his eyes darted about, frantically looking for any further threats, but all he could see was the foliage.
“The smell of wood smoke is stronger; their camp is close by,” the ranger whispered, beads of sweat trickling down his brow. “I’m willing to bet their leader won’t be on the front line with his mates, so if I can get a clear shot, I could take him down in one go.”
“There’s a dense fog moving in,” Nellise remarked between breaths.
“Brilliant; that’ll help us avoid being seen. Stay low and follow me in.”
Keeping the noise of the searching bandits far to their left, they moved ahead as quietly and quickly as they could. It wasn’t long before the distinctive noise of a crackling fire could be heard up ahead through the encroaching mist.
They found good cover, and Colt peered through the brush at the scene. The sound of a man’s deep, irritated voice could be heard booming through the forest; he was giving orders and clearly not enjoying the news he was hearing from his people.
“I wager that’s our man,” Colt whispered, nocking an arrow ready to shoot. “I see half a dozen with him. Just be ready if this doesn’t go to plan.”
Aiden tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword and exchanged a tense glance with Nellise. Colt took in a deep breath, then burst into action.
He sprang out of cover and took aim, drawing the string back on his bow and loosing it in one smooth action. The distinct sound of the arrow striking a tree echoed through the forest, accompanied by a phrase from Colt that did not instill confidence in his companions.
“Bloody hell, I missed.”
Chapter Five
There wasn’t time to fall back or consider an alternative plan; the instant Colt’s arrow struck the tree, Fletcher and his crew whirled around and spotted them. Aiden froze at the prospect of facing half a dozen bandits in a straight-up fight, but Colt didn’t hesitate. He tossed his longbow aside and drew his huge greatsword, standing ready to face the large group of brigands.
Aiden came to the conclusion that this was the right time to see what his magical glove did. He pulled it on and raised his arm, then spoke what he hoped was a word of command that he’d translated from the obscure writing engraved upon it. Half expecting it to shoot some kind of energy at the approaching bandits, he was instead rewarded with a glowing translucent disc that appeared out of thin air, hovering just above his wrist.
At first confused, Aiden didn’t have time to consider it further as a bearded man bearing a short blade bore down on him. Caught off guard, Aiden reflexively raised his arm, expecting to be run through by the attack. Instead, the blade was turned aside by the disc of energy.
The bandit hadn’t expected this and the sword twisted out of his hand, leaving him momentarily vulnerable. Seizing his chance, Aiden thrust his sword into the side of the man’s chest and knocked him to the ground with the magical disc, which he used as if it were a shield. The look on his enemy’s unshaven face was as he fell was haunting. His brown eyes were wide and his rough, haggard features stayed with Aiden, paralyzing him as he realized he’d just taken a life.
The fight didn’t stop for him, though. Ahead, Colt swung his heavy sword in one expert swing after another, either cutting down or forcing back three of his opponents whose blades simply weren’t long enough to reach past the massive weapon’s arc.
From around the other side of the brush, three more brigands approached, more cautiously this time after witnessing the power of Colt’s weapon. Pacian didn’t give them a chance to pause; he dove in and knocked one to the ground, driving his dagger into his opponent’s chest again and again until the bandit stopped moving.
Nellise loosed a bolt from her crossbow, then tossed it aside, brandishing her quarterstaff as she rushed to Aiden, in time to block the attack of an approaching man he’d failed to notice. Her stance showed she was indeed trained with the weapon, and as the bandit came at her, she disarmed him with one quick swing and followed through by cracking him over the head with the other end of the staff, sending him toppling to the ground.
A second man followed right behind him and shouldered Aiden hard, sending him sprawling on the ground, gasping for breath. Nellise came to his aid once more, swinging her staff low to hit the bandit before he could stand up again. Then a looming presence made them both look up.
The man was bigger than the rest, easily six-five in height, and wielding a shining greatsword. Chainmail covered his torso and legs, protecting him from all but the strongest of their weapons. His face was set in an uncompromising sneer, and his unshaven stubble and dark eyes gave him an unsettling appearance.
Fletcher had entered the fray.
Nellise, eyes wide, took an involuntary step backwards from the ominous figure bearing down on her, while Aiden rolled to one side and found his footing. Fletcher swung the greatsword at Nellise, which she was able to duck beneath in the nick of time.
The towering bandit stepped in, hefting his greatsword in another wide sweep which Nellise narrowly averted by knocking it aside with her staff. Aiden saw his chance to act and scrambled forward, slashing Fletcher not once but
twice across the chest, drawing a line of blood from his leather tunic.
Fletcher had a surly grin on his face as he turned to engage Aiden, who used his magical shield to effectively block each swing. The big man wasn’t the only problem they were facing, however. More of his men were showing up, emerging from the surrounding forest to join in the fight. If Aiden and his companions didn’t find a way to end this soon, they’d be overwhelmed.
“Hey, pick on someone your own size,” Colt shouted in challenge to Fletcher. The bloodied bodies of four men lay at the ranger’s feet, and he seemed every bit as imposing as the thug standing before him.
“Ranger,” Fletcher growled in recognition. “You’ve killed a lot of my lads today, you ugly bastard. I’ll make you pay for that.”
He turned to Colt and quickly closed the distance. Colt faced off with Fletcher, leaving the others to deal with the remaining bandits as the sound of fighting echoed through the forest.
Pacian and Nellise kept a pair of bandits occupied as another aimed his hunting bow in their direction. Aiden shouted a warning and Pacian responded reflexively, throwing his only dagger at the archer. It lodged into his chest, ruining his aim and taking him out of the fight.
Nellise cried out in alarm, and Aiden saw she was having trouble keeping her two enemies at bay. Pacian, now unarmed, resorted to rushing forward and ramming his shoulder into the closest of the two, sending them both tumbling to the ground in a scuffle.
Aiden hurried to Nellise’s aid, and although she was no novice with the quarterstaff, the man she was facing was quick and ruthless with his dagger. She swung and twirled the staff to keep him at bay, with blood staining her torn robe from his slashing attacks, but the bandit was so intent on his prey he didn’t see Aiden charging in.
Aiden ran his blade right through the bandit, using the force of his charge to drive the point home, and left him bleeding on the ground.
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