That something soon revealed itself to be a bird of midnight black, its dark form cutting through the sunlight before descending quickly, alighting on Eldrin’s shoulder with delicate precision. Its black feathers shimmered with hues of dark blue and purple, giving it a mystic appearance.
Both Justin and Lila watched the magnificent animal with awe, which looked at them both curiously.
“Shadowflight,” Eldrin introduced, stroking the falcon’s head tenderly. The bird nuzzled him. The bond between the two was obvious.
“You have a falcon?” Justin asked.
“Just as he has me,” Eldrin said with pride, as they continued their way up the road. “Shadowflight is my Bonded animal. Most Rangers, upon reaching Level 3, get the privilege of choosing to bond a wild creature. That creature becomes an extension of ourselves, sharing in our senses and even our emotions.”
“I knew that about animal bonds,” Lila said, “though I’ve never seen it in action.”
Justin couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy, looking at the bird, equal parts beauty and deadliness. He doubted he’d ever have a cool ability like that.
Curious about the rest of Eldrin’s skills, Justin directed his gaze to inspect his character to get a general sense of things.
Name: Eldrin Thornwood
Class: Ranger
Level: 10
Attributes:
Power: 10
Coordination: 15
Endurance: 12
Intellect: 12
Perception: 10
Charisma: 11
Skills:
Ranger’s Intuition (Level 0): Senses imminent danger from subtle cues. Can inspect classes, stats, and skills of characters of equal or lower level, even when they are not in the party.
Eagle Eye (Level 1): Boosted accuracy with ranged weapons and heightened observational awareness.
Nature’s Cloak (Level 2): Enhanced stealth in natural environments.
Animal Bond (Level 3): Connect deeply with a wild creature, traditionally a falcon or similar intelligent bird.
Pathfinder’s Pace (Level 5): Navigate through rough terrain with ease, instinctively covering tracks.
Alchemist’s Touch (Level 7): Amplified potency of crafted potions, antidotes, and poisons, 5 percentage points per character level.
Guerilla Expertise (Level 10): Improved first strikes when ambushing, ensuring high accuracy and damage.
Seeing Eldrin’s attributes and skills reaffirmed Justin’s decision to join with him. It reminded him there was still a lot of ground for him to cover. Nature’s Intuition, Eldrin’s starting skill, seemed like something very handy to have. Just yesterday on the road, such a skill might have alerted Justin and Lila to the danger of the highwaymen long before reaching them.
Eldrin continued leading the group north as morning passed into early afternoon. Once well past the hills, Eldrin veered eastward, entering the thick of the forest. Now things felt less like a game and more like reality. Justin saw those bandits melt into these woods just yesterday.
As they moved, Justin felt a lightness in his step, realizing that despite the thick underbrush and uneven terrain, they were traversing the wilds as easily as they would a well-trodden path. Eldrin’s Pathfinder’s Pace was indeed a boon. Justin was carrying his heavy leather pack as if it were nothing.
Lila seemed alert to any danger, always having a hand on the hilt of her throwing knife.
Without warning, by a stand of pines, Eldrin stopped in his tracks, raising a hand to halt the others. He bent down, brushing aside some reeds to reveal a large pit, its floor lined with wickedly sharp spikes.
“A common bandit trap,” he whispered. “A single misstep, and one could find themselves impaled.”
Justin figured Eldrin’s Eagle Eye must have detected the danger.
Justin shivered, thankful for Eldrin’s sharp senses. With a gentle whistle, Shadowflight took to the skies, disappearing from sight.
“We’ll let him scout ahead,” Eldrin said, watching the horizon.
“Now what?” Lila asked.
Eldrin held up a hand. Lila’s voice had carried farther than she had intended.
He nodded toward some underbrush just a few steps away. “Over there.”
They followed the Ranger, waiting in the gathering darkness without saying a word.
Minutes later, Shadowflight returned, landing deftly on Eldrin’s arm without a single sound. Eldrin closed his eyes for a moment, his face a mask of concentration. Justin could tell he was communing with the animal using his Animal Bond.
“Four of them,” he murmured. “Just as you said, Justin. They’re camped out by Raven’s Rock, cooking their evening meal.”
Justin and Lila exchanged glances. The sun was descending, casting a golden hue over the landscape. Nightfall wasn’t far off.
“They’re half a mile from here. We can speak a bit more freely, though you would be shocked how far sound carries in the Wildwood. It’s a quiet forest, and the outcrops of rock can produce echoes that only amplify sound.”
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“What’s the plan?” Justin asked quietly.
“We’ll use the cover of night to our advantage. Shadowflight can distract them from above while I use my Nature’s Cloak to approach undetected. I then set up a good ambush point, and my Guerilla Expertise will ensure my first hit lands true, likely enough to take care of their leader.” He looked at Justin. “That’s part of the reason I wanted you here. I need you to tell me what he looks like.”
Justin hesitated for a moment, the image of the bandit leader forming clearly in his mind. “He’s tall and broad-shouldered, with a long, unkempt beard that’s streaked with gray. He’s wearing a battered iron helm with a black plume, and a scar runs from his temple to his jaw.”
Both Eldrin and Lila watched him, impressed. Even Justin was surprised he could recall the face so easily. He’d always struggled with remembering faces, and even names. He wondered if it was a passive gift of his class, something not exactly mentioned by the System to him upon adopting it.
“Good recall,” the Ranger said. “With my Eagle Eye, he won’t stand a chance.”
Lila gripped the haft of the throwing knife in her belt. “And if things go south?”
“That’s what you’re there for, Lila,” Eldrin stated simply, meeting both their gazes. “You too, Justin. They’ll do one of two things when their leader falls. They’ll split, or they’ll fight. I imagine the former is the most likely. You’re there for backup in case they decide to charge me. You two can hold them off while I take more shots with my bow. With luck, neither of you will have to lift a finger. But battle plans never go off without a hitch; that’s the reason I wanted backup. And of course, the bandit leader could be of a higher level than I’d previously imagined, and things can be worse if he has a class. We must be ready for any surprises.”
“What surprises?” Lila asked nervously.
“That, we will have to see. Hope for the best, plan for the worst.”
They ate a light meal as they waited for the full cover of darkness.
----------------------------------------
The moon hung high in the night sky, casting eerie silver shadows on the forest floor. They stood at the edge of the tree line, watching the meadow where the four highwaymen lay on their backs, all but one clearly asleep below a high, pointed cliff that could be none other than Raven’s Rock. In the nighttime darkness, its shape was reminiscent of the dark bird, the cliff’s point as sharp as a beak.
As planned, Eldrin activated his Nature’s Cloak and melted into the shadowy dark grass like a wraith. He approached the unsuspecting bandits to set up a good ambush point. Justin and Lila remained in the shadows of the trees; there was no chance either of them would be spotted. Up above, Shadowflight circled, waiting for the Ranger’s signal.
Justin waited, having long lost sight of Eldrin. His heart pounded in his chest, sweat ran cold down his neck. At any moment, Shadowflight would—
The falcon’s high shriek sounded out of place in the night. Immediately, all four bandits roused, including the leader, who stood head and shoulders above the rest. He was perfectly open to Eldrin’s Guerilla Expertise.
Eldrin’s bow twanged from somewhere in the distance, and then something quite unexpected happened. As the missile made its approach, it didn’t land true in the bandit’s chest. It only pierced his right arm.
“Ambush!” the leader roared, clutching at the arrow.
The three other bandits drew their swords and charged into the darkness toward Eldrin.
“Come on!” Justin said, drawing his dagger and heading out of the trees. “We can’t let him fight alone.”
Justin’s voice was louder than he’d intended. Thinking he was the source of the arrow, the bandits immediately turned and sprinted his way. They would be upon him all too soon.
But that was when Shadowflight swooped down, his talons gripping the shoulder of the most laggardly bandit and digging in. The bandit screamed, flailing, but Eldrin took advantage of the distraction, rising from the underbrush and advancing like a shadow, bow drawn. This arrow shot true, directly into the man’s heart. He crumpled, lifeless.
That left two more bandits. The first was charging toward Lila.
Not knowing what else to do, Justin willed himself to perform his Poison Barb ability, unsure of its efficacy in this situation. He got a lock on the bandit’s face, and at that moment, gained insight into the perfect insult that would emotionally damage his opponent.
Justin cleared his throat. “Isn’t it tragic that you’ll never amount to anything more than a failed pawn, forever overshadowed by your more talented and handsome brother?”
Even Justin was startled by the scornful insult. There was something about his voice that wasn’t exactly his. Without having to be told, he knew he had assumed the mannerisms and inflections of the bandit’s shrewish mother.
The bandit froze for a heartbeat, his face blanching as memories of childhood rivalries and endless comparisons surged to the forefront of his mind. It was a wound, deep and painful, and Justin had just poured salt into it.
The comment didn’t stun the bandit exactly, but it at least made him falter, giving Lila the second she needed to gather her courage. With a cry, she lunged forward and launched her throwing knife. It twirled through the air and landed true right in his throat. The man’s scream became a bloody gurgle as he went down.
Gained 20 XP (Current: 54/200)
Eldrin dispatched the last bandit with a clean, lethal shot.
All three bandits were good and dead. Eldrin lit a torch just to be sure. Justin watched, wide-eyed, his heart feeling as if it would beat out of his chest. It had all happened in less than thirty seconds.
Eldrin nodded toward the leader, still lying injured by the campfire.
“Come on,” Eldrin said. “This isn’t quite over yet.”
They approached the bandit leader, whose eyes were closed. At first, Justin thought he was dead, too, but he was shocked to see the man was still breathing.
Without a word, Eldrin quickly secured him with some rope, tying his hands behind his back with practiced precision while attaching another rope around his waist, fashioning a makeshift leash. He finished by tearing up some old fabric and placing a blindfold over his eyes. The arrow that had pierced his arm was more like a dart, hardly lethal.
“You meant to shoot him in the arm,” Lila said, in realization. “You poisoned that dart, didn’t you?”
“Aye. Duskbell flowers and the venom of the blue-spotted tree frog. He’ll sleep all night, and well into the morning. The poison also has antimicrobial properties, so the wound won’t become infected. Even dragging him along with a leash, we’ll reach the Mercenary’s Guild in a couple of days and get double the experience for our troubles.”
“Nicely done,” Justin said, impressed.
“Yes,” Eldrin said. “Even if they weren’t supposed to come after you both like that, it all worked out in the end.”
“Thanks for helping,” Lila said to Justin. “But no thanks for drawing their attention.”
Justin shrugged. “Win some, lose some.”
“Let’s see what we’ve got here,” Eldrin said, looking around the camp. “Once we’re done having a look around, it might behoove us to head back to the road rather than pass the night here. I don’t think there are any more of them, but one can’t be too careful.”
“What about him?” Lila asked, nodding toward the bandit leader.
“It’s but a mile to the road from here. And with my Pathfinder’s Pace, we can bear him with ease.”
They rummaged through the bandits’ possessions. Most were worthless trinkets, and the weapons Eldrin judged too worn to be worth the weight. But among the valuable loot, they discovered a gold chain, an ornate silver dagger with a ruby-encrusted hilt, and a velvet pouch filled with twenty-four silvers and seventy coppers.
“Not bad,” Eldrin said, pleased. “But that knife is worth far more than the coins. From the size of that gem, it'll easily sell for a golden crown or even more to the right buyer. The chain will sell for about five silvers. Whatever the proceeds, I’ll take half and you two can split the rest.”
Justin and Lila nodded in agreement. After seeing how tonight went down, Eldrin was right to say he required most of the compensation, especially if they got the bandit leader back in one piece. If anything, he was being quite generous in his dispersing of the loot.
The trio hoisted their unconscious captive, making their way back to the road. Justin felt a mixture of exhaustion and triumph. The rewards hadn’t been settled yet, but if his calculations were correct, anywhere from forty to fifty silver marks were coming his way: twenty for the completion of the job, and an additional twenty-five or more from the selling of the loot and distribution of the coin. So new to this world, he couldn’t even guess how he’d spend it. The Baron’s parcel seemed so inconsequential in comparison.
From Lila’s smile, however, it seemed she knew exactly what to do with her reward.
Setting up a makeshift camp just out of sight of the roadside, they prepared to rest. Shadowflight perched on a nearby branch, on the very tree Eldrin was binding their captive. The bird’s sharp eyes watched from above, ensuring he made no moves.
Eldrin nodded, satisfied, before starting a fire and settling down to sleep.
Justin watched him concernedly. “The falcon will let us know if he wakes up, right?”
“That bandit isn’t waking up till the sun has gone up a fair way,” Eldrin said. “But if he wakes before that, you have nothing to fear. Shadowflight will do a far better job than any of us with those eyes of his. As you’ve seen, he’s very capable.”
Justin nodded, satisfied with that answer. “Good enough for me. Good night, all.”
He slept with his back to the fire. When morning came, they would finish things up and start their journey to the Mercenary Guild in Silverton.