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  + 50 Exp X 5 (250)

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  The bandit looked around at his former allies now dead in the dirt. The two mages that easily dispatched them had turned their attention towards what the dead were carrying, but there was one little thing they missed.

  The leader of the group had always told each and every one of them to keep a knife, dagger, or other small blade in one of their boots or another hidden spot within reach, as it turned out he was the only one to follow that advice. No one else other than their leader had anything in his boots and this gave him a chance to get out alive.

  While the two mages were loading everything they took from boots to weapons up onto their wagon the bandit slowly worked his hands towards his boots and slipped his hand inside. It took a few moments to get a proper grip on the small shiv but he managed to slowly pull it back out and keep it hidden from their sight.

  Holding the shiv in a backwards grip he slowly started digging into his earthen restraints in an attempt to break them apart. Slowly yet surely it started breaking apart and he could start moving his wrists around in the restraints, however the two mages were also close to packing up everything which would lead to them turning their attention towards him.

  He started quickening his pace almost carelessly as he watched the mages get close and closer to discovering what he was doing, when the restrained eventually broke right off he barely waited for the mages to turn before jumping up and running back into the tree line as fast as he could muster.

  He could hear the mages shout out in surprise and then at him, likely telling him to stop, but he didn’t care. When the noise died down he was just about to let out a small laugh, but not before he felt a sudden burst of pain from his leg as he fell to the ground.

  The bandit clutched his leg as he screamed out, out of his blurring vision he could see something sticking out of the back of his leg. At first he thought it was an arrow of some sort, but as he reached towards it and felt it in his hands he realized it was not only far too small but it wasn’t made up of wood like it should have been.

  His thoughts went back to when they first tried to ambush the mages and how quickly they lost five and everyone else was captured.

  *********

  Like many times before the ten stood behind the tree line hidden from view watching the road for anyone foolish enough to come through. The past week had been rather good for them as they had raided two wagons filled with food and other valuables they had needed for days before. Now it looked like lady luck was lending her favor, and who were they to turn her wonderful gift of fortune down.

  “Over there.” Their leader whispered just loud enough for them all to hear. “Looks like another wagon. I’ll bet they have a nice haul for us to take off their hands.”

  A small chuckle ran through the group as they all readied their weapons for the wagon to pass by. For a moment as the wagon came right up next to them the sounds of the forest seemed to stop completely as the bandits were grinning at how much easier the fools were making their work by coming so close. When the wagon was just a handful of meters away moving at a slow pace they all jumped out with their weapons at the ready.

  The leader of this small crew of bandits was about to shout at the two travelers and order them to drop their things when he and two others dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes. The leader and one other bandit were both on the ground dead with what looked to be a crossbow bolt in their chest and eye respectively while the other was clutching his now bleeding shoulder.

  The wagon ahead of them suddenly stopped in its tracks and the two robed riders jumped off the sides in a very casual manner. Something about them and the air about them was telling the seven bandits with their eyes on them that something was wrong. Whether it was intuition or experience they just knew they were in far more danger than they normally were.

  The second and smaller traveler raised their hands and quickly conjured up a small ball of fire that quickly shot towards another of the bandits, with a scream and the sound of flesh sizzling another bandit was dead and on the ground.

  The remaining six turned to run, but the larger traveler raised his hands upwards like an upper cut with an open palm, that somehow used the earth that made up the road behind them to create a wall.

  One of the bandits tried climbing over, he reached his hands up and jumped as high as he could. Just barely his fingers reached the edge and he started pulling himself up, but the smaller mage didn’t allow that to happen. Another small ball of fire collided with his exposed back and he died covered with terrible burns as well.

  With nowhere else to go the remaining five bandits turned back to the two travelers who stopped casting their spells and took the time to walk closer. Neither said anything as they stood just roughly seven meters away with their hands hanging to their sides.

  The bandits each had their weapon of choice in their hands in a two handed grip held directly ahead of them in a defensive position, not that it would do them very much. They breathed heavily as they kept their eyes trained on their opponents, the fear of whatever magic they might pull next was keeping their minds preoccupied.

  Abruptly the larger mage extended both his hands with his hands open and closed his hands tightly, as that happened each of the remaining bandits felt something grab them from behind and reach towards their arms and hands. They each looked down and away from the mages and saw the earth from the wall was now grabbing onto them like it was alive.

  Stolen story; please report.

  Four of the five quickly were subdued as their hands were forced behind their backs, however the largest of the five and the second in command managed to keep himself on his feet and struggle against the magical restraints. For a whole minute he managed to keep the mage adapting to the struggling opponent. Eventually the second and smaller mage had enough and stepped forwards to their last struggling opponent and with a conjured earth rod smacked him across the face several times.

  Each strike took focus away from his struggle and he eventually fell in line like the others.

  “Now that we have your attention I think it would be in your best interests to tell us what we want to know.” The mage spoke with a light amount of amusement in his voice. It was almost disgusting to hear someone talk in such a tone without even receiving anything, it reminded the bandits of their leader, the woman who butchered their last leader like an animal.

  **********

  The bandit felt his vision going dark as he faintly could hear the two mages running up to him and kneeling down next to him.

  “Did you really need to shoot him in the leg?” The woman mage asked as she started casting some sort of spell that reduced the pain.

  “No I didn’t, but that little trick he pulled off pissed me off. Might as well establish what happens if he tries something again while I stop him.” The woman mage didn’t respond as she continued casting her spells, slowly the pain faded in the bandits leg and the male mage picked him up and started carrying him to the wagon.

  “He looks really heavy, do you need help carrying him?” The woman mage asked after several moments of walking.

  “No, not really.” The male mage quickly replied. “Despite his height he isn’t really that heavy. I imagine banditry hasn’t really been all that good when it comes to eating during the winter. I think this one might just be skin and bones, go on and feel his arms.”

  The bandit could feel a pair of soft hands against his limp arm, the hands ran up and down his arms in a cold and calculative way. The touch reminded him of the one time he went to the healer in his home village as a child. The old woman and her touch were both just as cold and uncaring as what he was feeling now.

  “Yes, you are right. I can feel just how little mussel this man has in his arms.” The woman mage squeezed his forearm as she spoke. “This bandit must have only been given a minimal amount of food during the winter, that must have been why they were all so slow on their feet. The one leading this group looked a little better, but even then he was still showing signs of hunger.”

  “Perhaps once we defeat and capture or kill the woman leading these bandits the rest will go and find some decent and proper work. That way they could get a good meal every day without killing anyone for it.”

  “Perhaps, but I honestly doubt it. Banditry is a lot like homelessness in the way that most who engage in it are doing so because of sickness in their minds. For the homeless it is typically delusions and hallucinations, bandits are often sadistic or emotionless. Perhaps someone should study those types of people, they might find something interesting that could help reduce the amount of young people becoming bandits as they become adults.”

  *********

  Calavia and I took turns keeping an eye on the bandit and casting the occasional restoration spell to keep him alive until we reached the small city we learned was known as Lindum.

  When we presented the bandit to the guards at the front gate one immediately left for the sergeant while the rest stayed to keep an eye on us and the bandit. I only recognized a few of the guards as ones I had seen before that also knew who we were, the rest however were quite skeptical of us despite what their colleagues were saying.

  Eventually the sergeant we knew arrived and looked at our catch with a mix of relief and shock evident on his face. “You caught one that has valuable information!?” He almost shouted at us as he looked between us and the bandit in the back of our wagon.

  “We did.” Calavia bluntly stated as she gestured towards the bandit. “We think it would be best if we continue dealing with these bandits, perhaps the city could help us in some way. Such as monetary support for each bandit we kill or bring in.”

  The sergeant looked at Calavia and back to me slightly flustered. I nodded in agreement with her and he took a deep breath before answering.

  “I will speak with the captain and see what I can do, but I make no promises.”

  “That is good enough for us.” Calavia smirked as she dragged the bandit towards the nearest guard and dropped him like a sack of potatoes. “In the meantime we will be patrolling the roads for more bandits. Best we take out as many as we can before we take on their leader.”

  With little else to say we jumped back into our cart and rode back outside of the city for more bandits to bring.

  “We should probably bring something to the city guard as evidence of all the bandits we have killed.” I thought out loud when we were a good distance away from the city. “What does the mercenaries guild require in situations like this?” I asked, turning to Calavia.

  “I never really did a lot of jobs where you were paid based on the amount you have killed, but I recall once where the client wanted the right ear of each of the goblins we killed.” Calavia said in deep thought. It was likely something that happened years ago now.

  “That sounds a little gross don’t you think?” I asked. “Wouldn’t it be better to bring their weapons or something just as important.”

  “No, not really.” Calavia flatly stated. “It is usually a body part to prevent anyone from cutting a deal with the target. The only exceptions I know of are certain well known targets and something that is very personal, a king and his crown would be a good example of that. I suspect the best we could do would be to just bring their severed heads in a bag we don’t mind throwing away.”

  “That is a little disappointing.” I muttered as I kept my eyes on the road ahead. “Should we go back and collect the heads of the other bandits or should we just go look for new ones?”

  “We can go back if you want to, but it would probably be better if we just look for more.”

  The ride continued in silence until we reached a four way branch in the road, to the right was the way we came to find the city, forwards was where we killed the first group of bandits and took one prisoner, and to the left was unknown to us entirely.

  “If we go forwards we should be able to pass by the dead bandits, but there are probably more if we go down the left path.” I said as we came to a stop. I wasn’t worried about anyone else coming up behind us as the land around us was mostly empty, we would see anyone coming a good while away.

  “Where exactly did the sergeant say most of the bandits were attacking the merchants and other travelers?” Calavia asked as she was deep in thought.

  “I don’t think he did say.” I quickly replied knowing I would recall something like that. “But if I recall correctly, to find the nearest settlement, which would be a farming village, we would need to go forwards. After the long winter I am betting the bandits are very hungry for just about anything they can get their hands on.”

  “The forwards it is.” Calavia said in a half joking manner. Just a few moments later we were heading forwards down what was likely the most traveled road away from Lindum with our eyes watching for any signs of movement.