I used to have a cat once. I loved her a lot. Then one day, she fell ill. A few days later, she died. That was my closest experience with death.

I was reminded of that cat when I saw Emma lose her footing and stumble as the large arrow pierced her abdomen. How shitty I felt once she was gone. How much it hurt to think that she was no more.

Emma fell off the giant and I rushed to catch her. She landed in my arms. Her amour was a lot harder than I imagined. Slowly, I helped her onto the ground.

Tears fell from her eyes while she grinded her teeth together. The pain must have been diabolical.

“Emma!” I called out to her, panicking. “Use your magic to heal yourself! Use it, like you used it on me!”

Her entire body trembled. She became pale, paler than the snow. Yet somehow, she managed to push through and utter a few words.

“I’m... trying to...” she said before screaming.

Something must have gone wrong. Terribly so.

She put her hand on my shirt and mustered enough strength to pull me closer.

“I can’t... heal it. Only... stabilize...”

“Shit,” I muttered, before reaching under her arms. Carefully, I pulled her behind the giant’s corpse and focused on our attacker. “Did you see who shot you?”

She could not utter a word. All her strength went into resisting the arrow that pierced her. Observing it a bit more, I realized what it was: the arrow of a ballista. An ancient military siege weapon, a gigantic crossbow.

Peeking out of cover, I saw it way up ahead. A giant machine on four wheels. On its other end was a young man with red hair. The leader of the Yellow Mountain bandits. He wore a bronze laurel on the top of his head. His smug smile was the trademark proof of an asshole. Pride gleamed from his gaze as he met my eyes.

“Hello,” he grinned, “Have you come in search of a little girl? Don’t you worry, we haven’t laid so much as a finger on her. She is in good hands; in my hands until you pay the price.”

He threw a bag in front of the ballista. Something was inside it, moving. I could not make out what it was, only that it had small, child-like hands.

Then it hit me: it was Heidl, the little girl, who was struggling in that bag.

My heart rate elevated. Finally, after all this time, the goal of my quest was before me. If I were to get that bag in my hands and free Heidl from its shackles...

I could win.

This was no time to play hero. Be it, I really wanted to punch this guy in the guts for hurting Emma. No, I wanted more than that. I wanted to hear him scream. I wanted to make him bleed. I yearned for nothing more than to watch his body break apart.

But not yet. The bag lay right before the ballista. One bad move and Heidl gets shot.

“Alright!” I shouted, “What is it that you want? Money? I got gold on me, though not much. Only... uh...” I searched through my pockets. “Like... around fifteen gold?”

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“Fine! That’s enough. Come out with your hands raised and walk before the ballista.”

The hair stood up on the back of my neck. I had a bad feeling about this.

Nonetheless, I did not have much choice. Were I to run, he would just snipe me down. Ballistae have a long range. I got no choice but to comply.

Emma grabbed my leg, forcing words through her pain. “Don’t... do it...”

I looked back at her, but there was not much I could say. The sooner we get this done, the faster I can get her to a doctor’s care.

I walked out of cover with my hands raised.

“Idiot...” Emma cursed.

Slowly, I approached the ballista. All the while, the bandits’ leader watched me with a grin. When I got close enough, he spoke. “Stop! Place your valuables on the ground.”

I nodded. Grabbing the coins from my pocket, I stepped forward to place them on the ground, when suddenly...

I slipped. The gold flew out of my hand and scattered in the air. Some rained down on the snow, some fell into the abyss, while some landed on the ballista.

The bandit chuckled. To him, this was entertaining.

“Alright,” he spoke, “Go ahead and open the bag!”

Getting up from the snow, I walked to the bag, the ballista’s arrow following my every step. The bandit still aimed at me. It was only a matter of time ‘till he shot.

I heard a feminine voice while untying the bag, much of what you’d expect from a child. Peeking into it, I saw two scarlet red eyes. A familiar sense overcame me. Quickly, I realized why.

Two cat ears appeared above the scarlet red eyes. “Nyoho!”

Pulling away from the box, I just managed to dodge the tiny Nyeander as she somersaulted out of the bag. Her landing was as graceful as a flame bowerbird, she struck a powerful pose, then tipped her hat.

“We meet again, Axel,” she proudly proclaimed.

I stared at her, silently.

She continued, “I broke free from the guards’ hands and hid at a friendly bandit camp! This time, you won’t be so lucky as to escape me or my blade!” She pointed her duellist sword at me.

I sighed. “Did you tell your guys that I was looking for a girl?”

“Indeed! Why do you ask?”

I pointed to my left. She turned, and as soon as she saw the ballista, screamed. “Wait, wait, wait! What is that? Why is it pointed at us?!”

“They are trying to kill me.”

“What?! Hold on, we were meant to have an epic duel––“

“Shut it!” yelled the bandit leader. He pressed a button on the ballista, and the cogs in the machine began to turn. “I won’t give anyone the girl, nor will I leave any witnesses alive!”

The machine clicked. The ballista was charged and pointed at me.

With an arrow this size and a shot this powerful, I had no chance of survival.

Nyeander started freaking out, having found herself in a deadly situation. Behind the corpse, Emma sighed angrily, then squealed as the pain grew worse.

I looked the arrow in the eye... and grinned.

My plan was successful.

“Die!” the bandit yelled and shot the ballista. However, when he pulled the lever that would have sent the arrow flying toward me, it made a strange clicking sound.

The bandit pulled again. Click! Nothing.

“What, did your toy break? Is it not working? What will you do now? Will you cry? Will you call your momma’?” I mocked him with much, much enjoyment.

The bandit leaned above the ballista and looked into its inner structure. Everything was fine, besides one thing: the cogs that were responsible for shooting were jammed. And by what? Coins. My coins.

“Remember when I fell and threw my coins? That was not an accident! I planned to get your shitty machine stuck!”

The bandit ignored me, sending a barrage of kicks at the machine. He was trying to unjam it but to no avail.

Watching him fail to get it working was fun, but I did not have any more time to waste.

“Alright, you shitty NPC!” I walked by the ballista with my daggers drawn. “Time to end this!”

He still ignored me. I don’t know what it was, maybe his code or his genuine anger, but he just kept kicking the ballista.

Suddenly, one of his kicks hit something, or rather something was activated by it. Just as I got close enough to climb onto the machine, it began to move and roll down the mountain.

“What the––“ but before I could have said it, the ballista slipped through the snow, rolled down the path nearly hitting Nyeander, crashed into the giant’s corpse, turned, and fell off the cliff. In an instant, the ballista and its operator were gone.

I rushed to the cliff. Below the mountain ran a fast-moving river, and when I looked down, I could see a splash where the ballista fell.

Parts of the machine floated to the surface, but no bandit. His body never appeared again.

Bold text appeared in the air, floating before me.

[ Congratulations! ]

[ Yellow Mountain, Bandit Camp cleared! ]

[ Check the Journal for Rewards! ]