The average person in Euphelia detested bandits with a passion. Many people had lost at least someone they knew to the human dangers that operated far from the established towns and cities, and who knew how many had simply disappeared with no word as to their fate. In principle, the guys were not opposed to the idea of making our wealth from those who had already stolen it from others, the issue was more in the details of such an idea. There were only eight of us, and bandits generally were not pushovers who would simply give up all of their “hard-earned” plunder in the face of less than ten armed men.
First and foremost, we would need to target a group that was small in size, and for that we would need to get some clues as to where the bandits in the Kingdom of Setim were set up. Cameron was a great help in getting us started, as he himself admitted to growing up in a village which partook in these kinds of activities. Cameron was from Hessia however, so any knowledge he had about banditry was in a different location, and most likely outdated since he joined up with the mercenary band more than a year ago.
He was still confident he’d be able to get us something specific, as while the bandits didn’t raid too close to cities and towns which would just elicit a more proactive response from the settlements which had the numbers to send them out on patrol, they still used these same cities as places to resupply and spend their ill-gotten gains. He also reminded Fisk and I that in a large city like Zelan, there would be many blacksmiths, one of which was bound to not be ‘clean’.
So that meant that spotting a member of some bandit group wouldn’t be a problem, but we would still need to somehow tail them to their base of operations, which was bound to be somewhere secluded, and not likely somewhere too close to Zelan. For this particular task, all eyes landed on Castos who we knew had some experience tracking as a hunter, and we asked him if he was capable of following someone discreetly through the countryside, while remaining inconspicuous.
He was originally apprehensive, bringing up one excuse after another with most of them being logistical in nature. These weren’t something that we couldn’t solve with money, and we all pooled all of our money to Fisk who said he would be able to get Castos some new warmer clothes to wear for his reconnaissance mission, along with enough supplies for at least a week.
Castos insisted that he leave his armor with us for now, as he explained, it was important to move quickly when you were hunting something, be it a man or an animal. It took us only a day to get Castos outfitted in a thick, brown-colored set of warm clothes. After that it was Cameron’s turn and he was given some money to go drinking in some of the seedier places in Zelan, and over the protests of some who thought Cameron was just taking advantage of the situation to indulge himself, he disappeared for one night from our inn.
He returned to us the following morning, his breath stinking of alcohol but with a proud expression on his face. He went to only four different taverns that night, but already had his suspicions about two blacksmithing shops in Zelan, drawing on his experience to sniff out some valuable information by treating men to drinks. Cameron, Fisk, and I went to scout the two places out, and the blacksmithing shop owned by a fat man named ‘Hawa’ was the one we chose to observe.
Just standing around was not a great idea, as we would seem odd and out of place if we stood on the street and stared at the shop all day, so Cameron asked for some more money while gesturing to a cheap inn which was across the street, but not directly from Hawa’s blacksmithing place. I agreed, and handed him enough money to book a room for at least this night, and went to get Castos while Fisk and Cameron made arrangements at the inn.
Our hunter was already prepared for his task, wearing warm clothes and having a sack wrapped around his torso over one shoulder with his supplies. I informed the others of our current plan for a ‘stake-out’, and they seemed to be content to wait by themselves in our booked common room, passing the time until they received news from us.
Fisk got us a good rate on one of the rooms with a window on the street-side, which was only meant for two occupants but we weren’t here for comfort. Cameron was already posted at the window when Castos and I returned, watching the blacksmithing shop and evaluating the people who went in and out over time. His evaluations were sometimes made aloud, giving us an insight into the way his mind worked, and what criteria he used to judge Hawa’s customers.
‘Don’t judge people by their appearances’ was an often-repeated mantra back on Earth, but didn’t seem to be applicable to this continent at the very least. Here a more apt saying was probably ‘If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it’s probably a duck’. Cameron had no lack of focus for the many hours of surveillance, and the three of us just relaxed as best we could on the two beds that the room had and enjoyed his narrations. Closer to the evening Cameron’s stance changed from the relaxed one he was in to one of alertness, and the rest of us reacted to this change immediately.
“I think that’s our man” Cameron announced, and waved us over in turns to show three mercenary-looking men walking up to the blacksmithing shop with a bundle of something in one of their hands.
“Those three?” I asked, to which Cameron nodded and began his explanation.
“I can’t be certain, but they look to be carrying a bundle of weapons to either sell or repair. They’re the ones who stood out to me the most out of Hawa’s customers today” Cameron explained, and this being the only lead we had we formulated a plan.
Cameron had no problem being discreet within the city, so he would go outside and find out where those ‘mercenaries’ were staying as they left the smithy, and then return to us who would head back to the rest of our squad. Cameron discovered that the three men were staying in an inn closest to the North-Western gate of the city. We all agreed with his theory that they would use that same gate to leave when they were finished with their business, so all eight of us relocated to the same inn as our targets.
We set up a rotation where one of us with the exception of Castos would stay at one of the tables downstairs and keep an eye out, watching for a sign of those ‘mercenaries’ leaving. The rest of us would stay within the large common room we booked, and stay out of sight in order not to alert our targets of our intentions. Castos was told in no uncertain terms to rest up as much as possible, as he would have the most difficult task once the time came.
The men we were observing did not seem to be in too much of a hurry to leave, which was logical as at this time of year the roads were almost completely deserted compared to the warmer months. The lack of travelers also meant a lack of plunder for bandits, so their extended stay reinforced our belief that they were not simply mercenaries. Five days after our target was selected, Edmund, who was downstairs with his elder brother, ran into our room and informed us that the four men had left the inn, and were already outside with a wagon.
We had noticed the wagon parked behind the inn before, and yesterday Cameron also saw two of the men loading up supplies and the bundle of weapons onto it. The fact that they had a pack horse was a good sign, since a man on foot should be able to keep pace with a horse pulling a wagonload of cargo. Castos sprang into action, and set off on his mission.
We didn’t have much to do while he was away, so we stayed at the inn, getting some exercise in the inn’s backyard, hoping that we would not have to wait too long for Castos return. By the second day I was starting to worry that something had gone wrong. Had the men discovered Castos following them? If so then there was almost a zero percent chance that we would be able to see him ever again. My worrisome nature was starting to get the better of me, and I was already thinking of what we should do should Castos not return soon. This sentiment was infectious, and the others were becoming restless as well.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
When the unmistakable form of our scout returned to us a day later, fur-covered and sporting a smile that indicated that he was successful in his mission. He had followed them for almost two days, as the wagon traveled along the road to Renia, before they made a turn East and headed into the forest. The men who he had followed were on alert before making the turn, searching for the presence of anyone around them, before they went off the road.
The men were indeed bandits, and they had a camp in the forests about an hour’s walk away from the main road, in which he counted eleven unique individuals. He couldn’t be too sure if that was their total number, since he observed it for just over an hour, but it reasons that no one would be out hunting in the middle of winter for game, so we agreed that there were eleven bandits in that camp.
Castos used many expletives to describe his hardships, but the furs that we had purchased for him to wear on top of even his coat did their job, and he returned to us cold; but alive. As soon as he was done venting his frustrations, he pivoted the discussion to our attack on their camp. I didn’t feel too scared by eleven men if the eight of us worked together, and I didn’t have to hide any of my abilities. The others too felt confident, as the element of surprise was no small advantage in such a situation.
Castos informed us that they had only one of them on watch duty, and the man didn’t look to be too attentive in his estimation. That made sense, as who in their right mind would mount an attack in winter, at less than a dozen bandits at that. The one thing we would have to watch out for was the arrows, Castos said. He noticed some discarded arrowheads when he was surveying the enemy camp, and showed us one he picked up as proof.
It made logical sense for bandits to have men who could use ranged weapons, as there was less of a risk of death if you could kill your enemy from a distance. With that consideration in mind, we all thought it might be best to mount the attack at night, as an aimed shot couldn’t be placed by an archer that couldn’t see you.
I agreed with that idea as well, but I proposed that we spend at least a day properly refining our strategy once we all saw the camp with our own eyes. I wanted to do some practice with sorcery as well, which would show the rest of the squad what kind of offensive power I could use during the raid on the bandit camp.
The last topic of conversation I brought up before we set off towards the bandits was what to do with those that did not die in battle. If money was our only consideration then it made sense to sell them off as slaves at the nearest town, but that would bring with it its own set of problems, disregarding the morality of it altogether. If we turned up with bandits as our slaves, then word would get around that a group of eight mercenaries had fought some bandits and won.
The optimist in me assured me that nothing would come of it, and we would in fact, be lauded as heroes who had removed a local threat. The pessimist however, began to imagine scenarios of bandits finding out who we are, and then we would become targets ourselves. As such, we agreed that if any of them survived, we would simply kill them, an option with a finality in it. Bandits as a whole shouldn’t expect anything better, argued Fisk, and if we chose to be humane then there’s a chance that we would simply create enemies that might find us in the future. Part of me still felt that killing people, if they posed no immediate threat, was an immoral move, but another understood that if we didn’t kill them, then chances were they would continue on with their current line of work, causing even more suffering to others.
We bought some extra food and boiled some water at the inn to fill our newly acquired waterskins with, and left Zelan heading in the direction of Renia. Castos led the way, although his task was made easy as we followed the main road for the majority of the time. We only camped for one night before reaching the place where the camp was located, and took turns observing it quietly from different directions.
Only Castos himself would come close enough where they might be able to see him, with the rest of us only seeing it from afar, and never in its entirety. Castos began making a sketch of it in the dirt with a stick, showing us where the tents were located, and how many men occupied each one. There were still only eleven bandits, which relieved me of the worry at the slight chance that Castos might have been wrong.
We had found the camp while it was still only sometime near noon, so we spent the time until sunset working through a specific plan of attack, and also teaching the six of us who never went hunting how to do the ‘hunter’s step’. This would be an essential component of making a stealthy approach, as if even one of us stepped on some twig and it snapped it would make a clear sound that would alert the bandit who had night watch of something moving near the camp.
I ran through a few Sylrift forms in front of the squad, showing the speed I was capable of when using wind to help me accelerate. There was no snow on the ground at all, so I couldn’t make an attempt at using water sorcery to my advantage. The others, seeing my inhuman speed, agreed that I should be the one to take out the sentry, giving us a good chance of making it inside the camp with the rest still being fast asleep.
The last preparation we did was deciding on how we would kill those who were sleeping, using one man to hold down a sleeping opponent who was being played by Kurt, while the other made a clean stab in the chest. One’s job would be to hold down the man, while also keeping one arm firmly over his mouth, while the other would have to deliver a clean but powerful stab to the heart.
As the skies turned darker, we set ourselves up in predetermined positions, getting ready for the bandits to retreat away from the fire in the center of their camp to their tents. They didn’t seem to want to cooperate however, staying up for a full two hours after darkness fell, before deciding they were tired enough to go to sleep. To stay on the safe side we waited another half-hour, before I decided it was time to begin.
I walked in front, while five others traced my path and tried to put their feet exactly where my imprints could be seen in the ground. Edmund and Castos were positioned elsewhere, as we had decided that only five of us would make the assault, while three men would form a ‘triangle’ around the camp, on the lookout for anyone who might try and flee into the darkness.
The approach was slow and methodical, the darkness of the night not providing us with perfect visibility. As we were moving closer to the camp, the surprising absence of the lookout appeared before us. We only paused for a few moments, before continuing forwards, and the missing man could be seen keeping warm next to the fire in the center.
Whether it was the cold or dereliction that caused the man to be off his guard, I would never know, but this made our task both easier and harder. If I could take out the only one who was still awake further away from the sleeping men, then the chances that the others would be alerted would be decreased, but now that he was at the very center of the camp that advantage was no longer there.
On the other hand, since the man was only occasionally turning his head to observe anything but the fire in front of him, a stealthy execution was now possible on the sentry. Fisk stayed near the entrance of the camp, forming the last corner of the ‘triangle’ of our own encirclement, while the rest of us continued to the firepit.
The sentry was wearing armor, something we all assumed the others would not do as sleeping in it was not exactly conducive for rest. We came from behind him, which required us to circle around as his point of view was angled to where we might be seen if we took the shortest route. Everyone’s swords were unsheathed so I set both of mine down quietly, and approached him barehanded.
When I was within reach, I made a quick move to grab his face, both of my hands latching over his mouth while Dorian delivered the killing blow from the front. A muffled yelp of surprise escaped the bandit, but it was quickly cut off by Dorian’s strike. His sword struck not his chest, but his neck as the armor that the bandit wore protected his heart.
We paused for a moment, as I quietly laid down the corpse on the floor, and stood silently waiting for any sound that might indicate his death was not quiet enough. The crackling of the wood in the fire was the only sound that could be heard while we waited. Evidently, the first kill was a success, so our attack continued.
We managed to go through nine bandits without much effort, as we caught all of them sleeping, but they were doing so in pairs, so four of us entered every tent as we extinguished their lives. It was at that last tent, which was also slightly bigger than the others where the first and only hiccup in this night’s events appeared.
A man who was half-a-head taller than I stepped out of the tent, and immediately saw the dead sentry near the fire. I was outside the last smaller tent, while Cameron, Opie, Kurt, and Dorian were going through the motions inside. He immediately shouted “ATTACK!”, hoping to alert the other bandits. Unfortunately for him, only two men were roused from their sleep by his warning, and the first thing they saw was four armed men standing over them, swords already drawn.
The last man who was alive ran back inside his tent, and even though I wanted to rush after him, clearly seeing that he wore no armor and carried no weapon, I hesitated. I didn’t know what the inside of his tent looked like, and before I could enter, chances were he would have already had at least a sword in hand.
As such, I called the four inside the tent to come with me, and they came out with Cameron’s and Kurt’s blades already bloodied, and followed me to the last tent in the bandit camp. I didn’t want to enter it at all, so told the four of them to take the tent down in its entirety, revealing the last bandit to be killed.
He didn’t have enough time to get armor on, so only had a sword and shield, and an old helmet on his head. He looked all around himself, and saw that five armed men were surrounding him, and shouted again, this time going for volume rather than a specific word. No one answered his rallying cry, and he came to understand the severity of his predicament.
Seeing no other choice, he charged at Dorian who was the shortest of us, thinking he would be the easiest to take down quickly. Unfortunately for him, Dorian compensated for his lack of height with a relentless drive to become a great swordsman, and displayed his skills excellently by diverting the bandit’s overhead strike and dealing a blow to his unprotected legs.
The bandit screamed in pain, and fell to the ground as his balance was thrown off. Before he could even stand up to resume the fight, Dorian delivered a nasty stab into his back, which made the bandit collapse back onto the cold ground of the forest, his breaths labored and unsteady. Seeing that all of the threats were dealt with, Dorian looked away from his opponent and into my eyes. I gave him a nod of appreciation, before congratulating the others on a job well done.