The riders had stopped some 200 meters from us and, as if attracting our attention, loudly laughed and exchanged words we barely heard.
"They are joking about how good the Guild is as to send them women." Larthi's ears turned out far better than everyone else as she picked up the talk between the two bandits, sharing it with us. "And now talking about what they will do after they kill the men." This part was more muttered than spoken, Larthi reddening in either shame or anger.
"Horsefuckers! Come closer so I play with you! Dickless bastards!" Larcia didn't need even half her sister's words to start cursing at the riders, her spear and shield clanging as in challenge.
"Don't. These two are just baiting us to do something stupid, or at least to distract us from the others." Thiph cautioned her hotheaded companion, though from what I saw, it wasn't even required. Baiting and cursing as she was, Larcia hadn't moved a single step, and her eyes, even if sending glares that could kill at the raiders, never stopped scouring the east.
"Most importantly, they know who we are." Thiph pointed out to the part where the two bandits had mentioned the Guild, but before anyone could start thinking on the topic, or I started stressing even more, she suddenly brushed the matter aside, "But that doesn't matter. It is clear they are hostile and are about to attack. Defend the Maester, and kill everyone who approaches. Questions can wait."
Once again, I was surprised by the [Trade Guild] guards' absolute discipline, even though neither of them, maybe except Thiph herself, looked much of a soldier. Larcia, Caille, and even Falko stopped looking at the raiders, each concentrating on the direction they faced in this defensive formation.
"Can you reach him?" Thiph was the leader of the group, Falko passing the command to her, but also she was the one to face the north, from where the two horsemen had approached. Her quick question was for Larthi, who half turned, her bow slowly going up while her eyes locked on the raiders.
"Barely, and if they are good, they will avoid the arrow." While her answer was nearly negative, she had already prepared an arrow and drew the bow by the end of her words.
"Doesn't matter, good or not - it will distract them. Then you shoot the horses." Thiph commanded, but the arrow didn't leave yet.
"Lindar, the one to the right, is the weakest, correct?" As she finished raising and drawing, Larthi asked me, releasing the arrow as soon as I confirmed.
I nearly heard the 'swoosh' of the arrow as it left her hand and the 'pang' sound of the bowstring slapping against her bracer. Yet, as I prepared to follow the arrow and look just how it would play out, I heard the same sounds, and as I turned around, Larthi was already releasing a third arrow. Three arrows in less time than it had taken me to breathe!
Of the three arrows, the only one to meet with some degree of success would be the first one. Even if the bearded guy managed to react in time, and the arrow's down-flight missed him, it did graze the horse, making it suddenly start into a run. As for the other two, aimed at the horses, both failed.
The first one, aimed at the bearded man's brown horse, failed to hit anything, the target having moved from the spot. As for the other one, aimed at the guy that I deemed the dangerous one, or better said, at his white horse, the former avoided it, making his horse start off.
At first, I assumed that they would rush towards us, but they didn't, the white horse rider taking towards the west. As for the brown horse, its rider steered it to the east, opening distance from us. {So, they didn't expect that the archer is good or overlooked the bow..?}
I wouldn't have the chance to finish thinking about the matter as Thiph shouted a command directed at me, "Don't stop using the location spell!"
***
[Life Radar] showed me that neither the four guys to the south nor the three to the east had moved from their position, some 450 meters from us, while the western pair had actually closed enough to be at a similar distance. All of this, I immediately voiced out, informing the others.
"No one else, as in..?" Thiph had only started to ask as a trumpet-like sound interrupted her.
I would find out later that the sound came from a horn in the hands of the brown horse rider, the middle-aged bearded guy. And in response to it, all of the nine dots that now surrounded us from three directions started moving out toward us.
"They are starting to close in!" I shouted out in a far more panicked tone than the one I would have liked to use, all while doubts filled my mind. {Since becoming an apostle, my vision is nearly perfect, so why I can't even see a damn shadow?!} And indeed, with a clear line of sight, only a few trees and shrubs in the plain grasslands surrounding us, how come I saw no human figures?!
Seeing that neither of my companions showed any doubt or alarm, I actually questioned myself if asking such would be dumb, but in the end, I decided that I should. And yet, while the seconds passing while I doubted myself, the riders returning to the road, closing us from the north but from a distance of some 300 meters, the answer became clear.
Figures appeared in my field of view, and after I looked around, I confirmed nine of them. It was as if they appeared from thin air; nine people suddenly emerged while continuing to approach us from three directions. It would be far later, after the fight, that I would learn of how they had managed to remain unseen for so long or why they had moved far slower than usual, something I had overlooked because of the momentary panic.
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In any case, it wasn't the time to wonder about how they approached us with such stealth or why they had chosen to appear at that moment. After all, since they did materialize, the nine of them broke into a half run, closing in some 150 meters in just a few seconds, stopping at some 300 meters from us, the same distance as the riders.
-*-*-
From such a distance, I could already scan them with [Status Screen], at least if I concentrated on them. As for the details about their equipment and clothing, I could make most of them, but regretfully, as it would turn out later, it wasn't enough.
Four men to the south. The four of them dressed in something that looked like fur armor (in this heat!), skins and pelts combining in a one-kind design that made them look only partially human, especially because of the hairy masks that covered their faces. Untreated fur in mismatched patches of different colors covering their bodies. Each of them holding either a spear or a single-handed, utility-like axe, with only the one in the head carrying a wooden shield; the others had nothing but their weapon.
Opposite to their unique looks, their stats were nothing impressive. Except for a [Shaz'r Daei] title and a [Strength] above average, at 11 for three of them and 12 for the one that I assumed to be their leader, the one with the shield, they had nothing above 10. They didn't even have criminal titles!
Three men to the east, or better said, one woman and two men. Wearing loose clothes of red color, which once again made me question just how the hell I didn't notice them before, the three appeared almost unequipped for battle, except for the strange-looking weapons in their hands. Each of them carrying something that both resembled a spear, except for it being some meter long and the spike at the top being as wide as the pole, which was far broader than usual, more like a club.
For their stats, they also had a title that included the [Shaz'r] word, although theirs was [Shaz'r Daniz'r], as well as an impressive array of over-the-average skills. Yet, neither of them, except the woman, had anything above 11. As for her, she had several 12's and even a 13!
NAME (As I see it) LEVEL (Hiding anything below average) Shaz'r Daniz'r (New? Never seen before) - Strength 12 Willpower 13 Danger-Sense 12 Piercing 11 Bludgeoning 12 Close-Quarters 12 Middle-Quarters 11 Apostate (Title - Criminal) - Kingdom of Neverc Bounty 15 (Silver?)
Note; The criminal title, [Apostate], is definitively one that I have never seen, or even imagined before! Isn't the word, apostate, meant for people that go against religion?! But here? In the Kingdom? With all of the free choice for religion, and even the [One God] followers having nothing of sorts?!
The two men to the west would be the last ones I examined, and while I did so in the same manner as I had with everyone, it would turn out that I could reach some wrong conclusions. With them being the only ones dressed in actual leather armor, some glints showing that it had some iron or steel embedded, they still appeared as the weakest link.
And indeed, with all stats below ten except one, [Ranged-Combat], and without a ranged weapon in sight, as both of them remained unarmed, only the sheaths on their belts revealing that they did carry a short sword each, it was easy to assume they weren't such a threat, especially when recalling that they also had lagged behind everyone in this ambush and then had actually appeared last.
Their equipment also included a leather strip on their right side and a bag-looking thing on their left, which I actually ignored at that moment. The actual oversight of mine during this check!
As for their title - it also contained the same word as the others but was read, or at least appeared to me as, [Shaz'r Danir].
{Neither of them is overly impressive. And yet the numbers are definitively worrying! As are the overall comparison of stats, at least if we combine all against ours!} I found myself panicking again, even with my mental preparation and what I assumed to be my own willpower stemming from Chubu's events.
-*-*-
"While it pains me to leave such beautiful prey escape, if you surrender the Guild's envoy, you can all leave unimpeded. Under my word, the Danr'oe of the Shaz'r horde!" I am unsure how the guy shouted so loudly that we actually heard and understood him, but it was a fact. As for the word 'beautiful' - I can't help but single it out, as he expressed it in such a strange tone that even I shivered!
"WE ARE THE GUARDS OF THE CADOWDEN TRADE GUILD. SHUT UP AND ATTACK, OR RUN AWAY AS THE COWARDS THAT THE DANR'OE ARE!" I could have expected anyone to shout in response, anyone but Thiph, at least if going by the looks and manners. Yet it was her. The one who refused the offer even before I could process what was said to us.
"Damn right, fuckers!!" Larcia followed suit, although her voice could hardly reach the power of Thiph's, and I doubted she would be heard at such a distance. What did surprise me, once again, was that right after her, everyone, even her sister, Larthi, spoke or shouted similar words, cursing out loud at the attackers.
{Just who are these Shaz'r?} Not that I would have a chance to ask, the trumpet-like sound resounded once again - this time, I did notice that it was a horn-like thing held in the bearded rider's left arm and pressed against his lips that created it - and the nine met on foot rushed towards us!