“Jesus…” That was just all kinds of messed up. Elliot took the long way around the carriage, ignoring the two men and horses, all with their throats slit. He grimaced as he briefly looked into the horrified, glazed-over eyes of one of the men, blood soaking into their long beards. They looked like aristocrats. He turned away immediately. When told the bandits had killed two people, he had expected them to be guards, not two old men who looked like they could barely put up a fight. He looked back to make sure the children were ok. The group of kids was huddled together a good twenty feet from the horrible scene. The oldest, who he now knew was named Elena, was keeping them on watch duty.
He cursed as, in his distraction, he stepped on a running river of blood coming from one of the Horses. This was just a complete bummer through and through… The carriage didn’t provide any more hints than he had first assumed. The inside was ransacked, and one of the chests in the back had been thrown on its side and completely empty. He checked for the secret compartment in the carriage and was surprised to not be able to find it even with knowledge of its presence. He had to physically tear a hole through one of the seats' wooden exterior to find the inside hollow. It was ingenious, actually, making the carriage just a tad bigger than needed to allow for some hidden treasures.
Or some poor kids, apparently.
He found nothing, so he exited and went back to the children, particularly to Elena. “I couldn’t find anything to help. Do you know where they went?” She looked at him sadly, before shaking her head no. He almost decided to just run around the forest and search that way, before one of the quieter kids walked up to him. It was one of the two boys of the group. “...mom went that way.” He pointed to the right side of the road, his eyes deadly serious. “I heard her going over there.”
Elliot almost wanted to pick the kid up and cheer. At least one of these brats was useful. “All right! Now we’re talking. Ok, just give me a second.” He placed the travel pack down, and then his sword. For what he was doing he needed to be as light as possible. He stretched a bit before looking up at one of the taller trees in the area with a sturdy base. “Ok, everyone inside the carriage. Hide back in the hole if anyone comes and don’t do anything your parents wouldn’t want you to.” They nodded, and with that, he set off.
Thanks to the points he put in vitality, he was quite a bit heavy when he actually exerted force, almost 230 pounds despite his frail-looking body. It was still quite unexpected for him to shatter the ground underneath him as he hopped around twenty feet in the air. Right when he neared the tree, he sunk his fingers into the bark, earning a loud creak and groan from the wood. He regained his balance, landing on the wood with simple grace.
He wasn’t done, though. With all his might this time, he kicked off the tree and shattered the wood around him, going a good extra 30 feet in the air. He didn’t expect to find anything, but it was good to have at least an aerial view of the place- “Oh, what the hell is that?” As he fell, he couldn’t help but notice a large, white tent in the middle of nowhere. It seemed just recently set up, as if it was intentionally put there just today-
His head bent forward as his head hit a random branch, the rest of his body bending in awkward angles as he crashed into the ground. It wasn’t as if this type of damage could do anything to him, but he covered his eyes and stomach as he fell, unsure if those areas were still able to be pierced by random branches. A couple more seconds of terribly smacking against wood and he was back to the ground, none the worse for wear. Elliot smiled as he went back for his sword, knowing that he could have easily stuck the landing with the “aerial maneuvering” skill he’d gotten so long ago. But hey, what was the fun in that?
___________________________________________________________________________
The leaves underneath him crunched so loud he almost flinched at every step he took. He’d try to look for a way to either make himself lighter or quieter in the future, there had to be some sort of magic out there that was capable of either. The tent was quite far from the main road, way too far for it to be a bunch of roguish bandits trying to make a quick buck. He couldn’t help but think it was suspicious, however.
There was no way these people wouldn’t have anything to do with the situation. He stopped when he finally made it to the tent, seeing two men in front of a fire next to it. He hopped to the side of a tree, hanging onto the side with pure grip alone. The strength stat might have given him his frail body, but damn was it useful at times. One of them, a balding man with quite a nice set of armor, seemed to be upset. “...We can’t just leave them there. If the royal guard is called, there’s no telling what’ll be done to us.”
The other, dressed in nothing but a pair of pants and gauntlets, spit into the fire with a snarl. “And what do you say we do? Go back and take a bunch of children hostage? How about we just kill them where they stand? How about you use the seat as a fucking pin cushion while I stand and watch!? I’m not some fucking sicko who can take out some poor kids, bastard...” Elliot almost fell off the tree at the words. They knew the kids were hiding inside the carriage?
The balding knight lowered his head in shame, not responding to the berating. “You hired us to keep the Azor couple hostage for a weekend and take care of witnesses, that’s all we agreed upon. Those kids didn’t see a damn thing, and I’m sticking to that. The children’ll get picked up by a random carriage and sent back home, probably. Whatever happens to them happens, and I can’t be bothered to give a shit. We won’t be here long enough for the royal guard to take people here anyway. Bastards take months before they even think of getting off their asses.”
He spit again into the fire before going back inside the tent, coming back a moment later with a massive barrel on his side as if it was nothing. “Besides, you worry too much. No one around here will really go out here to fight us. They’d be kissing their lives goodbye if they did. Now, let’s drink! No sense in letting those bastard's gifts go in vain, huh?” The balding knight seemed consoled by that thought, looking back up at the bandit with the frown gone from his face, nearing the flame before sitting down with a groan. “Let’s.”
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
As the two started drinking, Elliot went around the back, checking for any other people in the area. It took a moment before he realized they were the only other two there. A shiver went down his spine, unable to believe two people were able to cause that much carnage… Truly, this world was a terrifying place. He took a moment to check if there was any sound coming from inside the tent before tearing a hole through it with his sword. The place was rather well maintained, with the inside lined with weapons and equipment. The only thing off was the two struggling people tied and stripped down to their underwear.
The lady had looked at him with fear in her eyes, trying to pull the ropes off herself. He almost couldn’t see the man through the multiple layers of chains over him and the gag in his mouth. His eyes seemed to be full of every rageful demon in the world, though. He went into overdrive as he saw him, his muscles pressing into the chains in a way that must have been painful. Elliot quickly put a finger over his own mouth, indicating the two to be quiet.
Neither listened, and exasperated, Elliot calmly put the sword down and his hands up. He was quick to find the clothes of both, bringing them up to the two before cutting through the lady’s rope with a dagger. “They’re right outside, so don’t make too much noise. Do you know where your husband’s key is?” He whispered to her. The woman, astonished, nodded and wobbly stood up, going over to the table and picking up one of the couple keys there.
She came back and awkwardly handed it to him, he looked at her for a second before going to unlock the chains on the man. He only needed to unlock a few before the man burst through with his strength alone, pulling off the gag with just as much fervor. He turned to Elliot with the same anger as when chained, which caused him to move back a bit. “I-I’m not here to start a fight, we need to get going. Those two are outside and I'm not sure if we can handle them.”
The man didn’t seem to listen, handing his wife’s clothes over to her and putting on his own. She barely seemed to move even with the clothes in front of her, only dressing when she was nudged on by the man. “Thank you, child. But those bastards… I need to take revenge for what they did.” He was finally fully dressed, picking up a straight sword from one of the tables and examining its edge. Only with the clothes on did Elliot truly see the true royal aura from him. “If I fall in battle, take my wife to safety. She isn’t in her right might… you understand?”
Elliot moved to stop him, but the sharp glint in the man’s eyes told him he’d be far safer keeping away. Elliot cursed. He was so close to bringing both these bastards back to the damn kids, and now one of them wanted to commit suicide? He wasn’t about to just up and watch that happen. He went to grab his sword, earning a glare from the man before he waved their concern away. “Relax, I promised you’d be coming with me too, so I'm going to help. I’m ready when you are.”
He took the massive sword on his back out and held it on his shoulder, gaining an approving glance from the man. “Your class is quite strong, boy. My name is Frederick Azor, tell me yours… so that if I may die, I may die alongside a friend.” Elliot gave a weak smile, the whole scenerio baffling him to no end. Why was this man so dead set on dying? He had children, for god’s sake… And what was with the way he talked? “Elliot. Elliot Dresmr. Now, just say the word and we’ll go out there.”
Frederick nodded solemnly, turning the blade in the air and slashing it down in front of him with the strength of a dragon. “Let us go.”
He charged forward before Elliot even had a chance to respond, shouting the whole way. Elliot was quick to catch up, finding him head to head with the bandit in only pants. Fortunately, the knight was a bit too slow on the take to help, and Elliot was quick to take advantage. He lunged into the air, crashing down the sword in front of him to hack the man in half. His hands shook as he was abruptly stopped by a hammer that looked almost as heavy as his sword.
“Bastard! You’ve gone against the wrong man!” With a shout of valor, the knight glowed yellow, pushing Elliot back with newfound strength. He landed on his feet, skidding a couple of meters back before stopping. Damn, what the hell was with this man’s strength!? What kind of level was this bastard!? The fight didn’t end there, eaither, the knight charging with the hammer and cracking the ground with his mighty steps. As he swung down, Elliot managed to dodge the first blow, striking him in the side with his fist. It didn’t seem to affect them as they continued swinging at him with everything they had.
It was then that Elliot realized why the man was so strong. They’d probably put all their points in strength and vitality, and little in anything else. He nimbly dodged another strike and stepped backward, parrying the next with his blade before bringing the sword down on the knight’s neck. It was barely blocked, throwing the knight back and onto his butt. “D-damn it! Those eyes, it has to be! Are you a demon!?”
Elliot didn’t bother answering, continuing the momentum and leaping into the air, spinning the blade back around in an arc to have it come crashing down on the knight. It took all the man had to block the strike, only to lose the hammer along the way. It flew to the side and smashed against a tree, lodging itself deep inside the wood. The entire time, the knight was looking at him in horror. “B-bastard! What side are you on!? The damned Raised Kin?” He barely dodged Elliot’s sword, moving to the side with fear on his face. “You’ll be damned for this! You and all your heathen kind will rot-” He didn’t get to finish, half his torso spilling foward to the ground with a sickening squelch.
Elliot grimaced, the scene in front of him a reminder of what had happened in the town. To have to fight again so soon made him sick… Luckily, the father seemed to have wrapped things up as well. He was clearly winning the fight between the two, and by no means was the shirtless warrior weak. Hell, if they had tried to fight Elliot he wasn’t even sure he would put up a fair fight. The bandit’s sword seemed to deflect off Frederick’s blade as the noble man seamlessly parried each blow, earning an offhand cut or piercing blow into the bandit’s sides.
It was only because of the man’s extreme agility that he was able to hold off against the father, Elliot realized. Without it, he’d already have gotten struck in the vitals. Despite the obvious fact he was about to lose, the warrior didn’t seem to give up, though. There was a desperation in his eyes that made it seem like he couldn’t just run away, even though it seemed he could have easily outrun them. Before he could think about that any longer, Frederick finally pierced the heart of the man, watching with cold eyes as the life left his body.
The man died a warrior, Elliot could not deny that. Frederick, with a stone resolve, slid the sword out and flicked it to the side, removing as much blood on the blade before reaching to his pocket and pulling out a handkerchief. He walked over to Elliot, his eyes showing no satisfaction in what had happened. “Thank you… Elliot Dresmr. Your assistance in this battle was crucial. If I had not had you by my side I wouldn’t have been able to avenge my… my children. God bless their souls.”
Elliot just nodded along, before looking up in confusion. “Your… children?”