Severing the other two chains that were attached to Brad, I left him to work himself free of the mundane remnants and moved to Emilia. She stood and stretched, extending and straining her chains to give me easier access. I nodded in appreciation and went to work. Three chops later and she was as free as the others. I stepped back from the adventurers to give them room and made a quick tour of their makeshift prison.

  The cabin was quite big, not huge, but for a frontier house it wasn't small either. Not surprisingly, almost everything in here was made of wood, with the millstone being one of the few exceptions. The floor seemed to be laid out with the millstone as the centerpiece of the room, part of it even seemed to have been incorporated as a central pillar of the building; the most likely reason the place had lasted so long. Jaeger spotted a set of stairs leading to the second floor, but it was mostly blocked by some crates and broken furniture. The building was well-maintained, but if he had to guess, the second floor had suffered instead of the first.

  He broke from these thoughts as the adventurers moved toward him, Emilia in the lead. When he'd freed them, they'd all been wearing what passed for underclothes, but now they were armored and armed.

  Sivly was wearing an open midnight blue robe with a series of straps and buckles underneath that covered her chest, thighs, and arms. The robe and straps were etched with small watery blue runes. She grinned fiercely as she met his eyes, holding a staff topped with a trident-shaped piece of coral.

  Troy wore a set of smoky gray armor that seemed to move even when he stood still, a small hooded cloak completing the piece; it lit up the small stars in his eyes. He was adjusting a dagger and a sawtoothed short sword as he walked up; Jaeger caught sight of a small crossbow hanging from his back.

  Brad was wearing metal armor, the likes of which Jaeger had never seen before. It was arranged horizontally across his chest, overlapping downward and surrounding his torso in two halves. He also had three sculpted metal discs on his breastplate, depicting a lion, a crossbow, and a hammer. His arms and legs were covered in ornate metal armor, it was incredibly detailed, but without context, all Jaeger could identify was a central lion figure; it was the main piece on his shoulder pauldron and kneecaps. Brad completed the look with a helmet shaped like a lion's head and a long cape. As for weapons, he only seemed to be carrying a large rectangular, semi-cylindrical shield.

  Emilia had simply thrown on a large cloak and a bandolier. Her coat was an armored patchwork monstrosity; it was covered in scars and burn marks; fire and acid. The patches were made of completely different materials; the base was some sort of scale, while the replacements were leathery, furry, and some were even metallic. That wasn't the only oddity; she was covered in pockets and had gloves attached to her wrists; they were armored and clearly weaponized. To complete the ensemble, she had an empty bandolier running under her jacket across her chest. On her head was a broad-brimmed hat with armor running along the top; a pair of almost dainty round glasses accompanied it. She held a single dagger, but quickly tucked it into her boot and simply flexed her gloved hands.

  Bound and chained they had looked like civilians, now they looked like adventurers. Seeing them all armored, he greeted them.

  “I see you found your gear.”

  “Yes. The bandits did not take them far, and in fact made a point of teasing us with our equipment in a chest so close. A mistake they will soon regret.”

  He nodded as he looked the group over.

  “I would like to thank you for the rescue Bounty Hunter Jaeger. What do you plan to do now?”

  “No need, no hunter shall refuse aid to another hunter. As guild mates, it is my duty to help if I can. Besides, as I told you, I'm also here for the Swords of Greenwood bounties, with you free I plan to collect my bounties.”

  She nodded before motioning to herself and her group.

  “We want to help.”

  “Yes, my friend, you have done us a service, so let us do you one in return.” Brad said as he stepped forward.

  “This is not a capture bounty. This is an extermination, every single one of them has to die, man, woman, or whatever. Can you do that?”

  Sivly looked at her group, who nodded in return, and spoke up.

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  “Yes. They kidnapped us and were very open about what was going to happen to us. We have no problem killing them all. We all agreed that if any of us got out, we'd make sure these bandits paid the price.”

  The others all nod in agreement.

  “Fair enough. Before I agree, though, I need to address something. My bounty was originally to simply kill them all, but adjustments have been made. A being of Greenwood asked for their heads or their hearts. It's my contract, so the adjustments were something I agreed to, and I have no qualms about it, but if you join me in killing the bandits, you'll be part of this contract as well.”

  “Was this creature a demon, a devil, or an outsider?”

  Emilia asked immediately, her hands balled into fists.

  “I don't think so. I haven't met any of those things knowingly, but I believe that if something like that tried to do business with me, it would be stopped.” Jaeger didn't think Mischief was the sharing type.

  I am not.

  “Hmm.” Emilia reached into a jacket pocket and pulled out a small vial. “Drink this. If you're free of demonic, devil, or outsider essence, you'll be fine. If you have that essence, it will purify you painfully.”

  Jaeger took the vial and considered his decision. A part of him didn't trust that this woman wouldn't try to kill him, but another part told him to trust his guildmates. Guild bonds were important, and if he wanted to build them like he had in Beseria, he'd have to offer some trust. He considered the two opinions and chose the latter; if Emilia tried to poison him, he'd use his powder horn and then kill her.

  He popped the cork and threw back the white liquid, tasting sunshine and lavender as it went down his throat. He waited, it seemed they all did, and nothing happened; although his eyes did feel slightly dry. He turned to Emilia and held out the vial, she cocked her head, studying him intensely before taking it.

  “Interesting. We will follow your contract’s stipulations. Since you show no signs of corruption, the being you met is most likely a Guardian of Greenwood.”

  “And what is a guardian?”

  “A beast that has attained enlightenment in a place filled with magic. It has chosen to bond with the Greenwood itself for power and immortality, in exchange for guarding the land. For whatever reason, it has chosen to work through you to exact a price from the bandits. Most likely because of the corrupted treants.”

  Emilia explained to Jaeger, and the adventurers with her seemed to be excited by the information as well. For example, when Sivly spoke.

  “Why doesn't it deal with them?”

  Emilia turned to the otterkin.

  “The wards around the camp are blocking it.”

  “You saw wards?”

  “No, but I can feel them, like pins and needles on my skin. However, it is unlikely to affect any of you, so do not worry.”

  Jaeger regretted letting his curiosity get the better of him as he felt the situation slipping out of his control.

  “That's enough. If you want to know more, you can all talk later, but if you're going to help me, we need to act soon.”

  That got everyone's attention and they turned to look at him. Brad asked what they were all clearly thinking.

  “What is the plan?”

  “How stealthy are you all?”

  As Troy stepped forward, the group looked to him.

  “Not very, aside from myself and Emilia.” He nodded at Brad and Sivly. “Brad's armor is loud and eye-catching, while Sivly must speak her spells aloud, and like Brad, they are loud and eye-catching.”

  Brad nodded along with the assessment of his stealth, while Sivly simply shrugged.

  “If you want quiet magic, find a night sorcerer or a shadowcaster. I wield the power of the ocean, and it is not silent.”

  “Which brings me to my next point. What is everyone's skill set?” Jaeger asked.

  “I am an Imperial Warrior, my armor is strong, and my hammer is equally so. Once I am close, my friend, the battle is over.” Brad said.

  Troy tapped his sword and dagger. “I'm a Starlight Wanderer. I'm agile, stealthy, and can infuse my attacks with the power of the stars. Though I can hold my own in battle, I prefer to come and go.”

  “Wave Skimmer, I can control water and ice. I'm also a skilled swimmer and know how to use my trident.”

  “I am a Combat Alchemist. Owing to my nature I am a skilled hand to hand fighter.”

  Jaeger waited for more from Emilia, and when none came, he pushed.

  “And the alchemist part?”

  “Useless for any of you, the only alchemical tonics I have on me are designed for myself.”

  He figured that was the best he was going to get out of her.

  “I'm a Bounty Hunter. I've got my axe, my pistol, my rifle, and a little bit of extra magic. Nothing fancy, just some containment spells.”

  If he wanted to use his chain magic, it would be best to play it down now.

  “What is a pistol and rifle?” Sivly asked.

  “Ranged weapons. Projectile-based with a trailing beam and anti-magic properties.”

  The others immediately began to question him. How could a magic attack be anti-magic? Was it soul magic? Could they use it? How exhausting was it to use? He waved his hand before he spoke.

  “We have no time for this. Those dead guards will be seen, or rather not seen, soon enough.”

  That ended the questions and brought a tension back into the room, for a moment he thought the adventurers had forgotten the situation they were in. He looked at each of them, having decided on a simple plan.

  “Troy, Emilia, you two go out first and sneak into the camp. There may be sentries, so be careful, go to the far end of the camp and start quietly killing any sleeping bandits you find. Me, Brad and Sivly will go out the front door and sneak in as close as we can before making a frontal assault. I'll give you two a head start, but I don't think we should wait too long.”

  Troy and Emilia said goodbye to Brad and Sivly before the two slipped out. Jaeger knew that the moment his group walked out the door they risked getting caught and starting a riot, so he wanted to give the other two as much time as possible.