Bones spent the rest of his day in the bandit's hideout going over the changes in Skully in the privacy of his tent. Before the heist the next day, he wanted to make sure his golem was in top shape. Like Iam adamantly put it, his group of ragtags will take care of everything, but what Bones was concerned about was what after the heist. He would no longer be of use to the leader and he was sure he wouldn't be invited to join them. Not that he had any intention of joining them to begin with. He did, however, have the intention to deal with the lot! - And the new and improved Skully will be of great help.
Truthfully, it didn't sit well with him what he saw in the underground facility. The bandits were the worst of the worst and sooner or later, they would be dealt with by the adventurer's guild. More importantly, they were humans and their hideout was a potential experience den for Bones. Early in the morning the next day, Reggie rudely opened the doors to the tent in order to "wake Bones up", and let himself in."
"Jones! It's time we head out! Saddle up!" Reggie kicked the lying Bones' boots and emphasized each word. Bones waited a minute before leaving. Outside his tent, twenty bandits with stern, but greedy expressions waited saddled u p for their leader to issue orders. Once Bones joined them on the horse, the raiding party moved out.
After two hours of traveling, the party met with another group of three people. Iam raised his hand, signaling for the party to stop and wait, while he and Reggie went to meet with the other party in private. Bones observed the meeting between the two groups and noticed a couple of things.
Iam produced a small wooden plaque, a proof of identification Bones used, and then the two parties began exchanging words, far from the ears of any interested parties. Bones couldn't hear what it was they talked about, but from the gestures and body language, the other group were spies, the informants he was told about, and when Iam and Reggie came back, they informed the raiding party of their destination, Hilshall Ravine.
The party continued toward their ambush point and the brief moment of time Bones found with Iam, he asked him who were the people they met. Iams' explanation was brisk and short, and he moved to the front of the party shortly after. Bones didn't mind being left to follow from the back of the group. His position wasn't of utmost importance nor pivotal for the completion of the heist. If anything, Iam could take the chest and have it open at a later date. So Bones kept quiet and simply observed the people he rode with.
What he did learn was that the men were informants from the Thief's Guild like he thought they were, and the plaque was needed to gain access to the guild. It included their information services and access to shops selling specialized goods. If Bones had any quandary about dealing with the bandits, his decision was now made for him. If he still wanted to get his hand on that concealment ointment that is.
The way to their destination was riddled with paths that might seem inaccessible at first, but the bandits truly knew ways to maneuver hills and valleys. Another hour later and the party reached the ambush point where they met with the scouting group that left beforehand. The bandits dismounted and in an already experienced fashion started taking appropriate steps to set up the ambush.
Bones stood to the side, without moving a muscle (so to speak), until Reggie approached and directed him to go and wait by the horses approximately five hundred meters down the road. There wasn't anything else for him to do anyway so Bones obliged.
The twenty bandits separated into five groups. Four groups had taken to the trees and hid well until the time to take action transpired. The fifth group stayed with Iam and Reggie, and would welcome the merchant group. Two men were stationed with Bones to guard the horses but Bones, of course, didn't plan to stay and wait. He sat on the ground and leaned against a tree, relaxing.
The two men guarding didn't really care what Bones did as long as he was within range and they could keep their eyes on him. While they didn't pay attention and he was out of sight, Bones took the opportunity and switched places with Skully, giving him his jacket and covering his head with a hood. He positioned Skully to look like he fell asleep and sneaked out toward the ambush point.
The uppermost branches of maple trees provided great cover for hiding purposes, but didn't allow for free movements which restricted Bones from moving tree to tree like he did so numerous times before and forced him to move on the ground. He neared the ambush point just in time to hear the sounds of merchant caravan arriving and Iam's improvised and corny welcome speech. Bones hid behind a tree and relied on his senses to follow everything going on.
The speech, unsurprisingly failed and the merchant wasn't willing to part with his cargo without the fight. What followed were sequential sounds of bombs going off. The ambush started with smoke bombs being thrown and exploding in the front and behind the caravan, startling the horses and obscuring the view. Next were ranged attacks using crossbows that fell most of the escort in the first round of ambush. The adventurers fared a bit better and instantly reacted to the danger by taking cover behind horses and the caravan.
The next round was a close combat where the bandits simply overwhelmed the bodyguards with numbers. It was a crude way of fighting, without finesse but Bones had to admit it produced results. The peak of the ambush was a fight between Iam and Reggie against two second tier adventurers. Unfortunately their rank wasn't of any help. Iam handled one himself and the other was riddled with crossbow bolts while Reggie kept him at bay.
A few of the wounded men, after seeing the strongest of them standing no chance, decided surrendering was an option and Bones imagined what kind of fate awaited them.
Would have been better to die in battle then to…
Bones stopped his train of thoughts. His senses picked something else. Not within his surroundings but -
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Skully?
He couldn't see or read his mind but he sensed Skully moving, attacking and then standing down.
A minute earlier, one of the two bandits guarding the horses stared intently at Skully, sleeping it off.
"Whut is it Jack?" The other one asked.
"Bob, doncha think that thiev looks bit bigger den befor?"
"Whut thiev?" Bob asked, puzzled.
"Watcha mean whut thiev? Da one befor ye!" Jack rebuked condescendingly and pointed at Skully.
"Oh yeah, he look bit bigger 'en befor yeah! Ima go wake 'im up." Bob said and went to poke Skully. The rest of it was a blur but Bones was sure Skully killed them both.
[Please… Please!]
The merchant pleaded, but Iam ruthlessly cut his throat, then turned to one of the bandits and ordered him to go and bring Jones.
Ah crap…I guess I'll have Skully come and intercept the messenger, and kill him too. How long should I wait? Four-five minutes?
Bones waited five minutes until Skully appeared. He took back his jacket and goggles, put them on and braced himself for the show. He sent Skully back, stepped out in the open and started walking towards Iam and Reggie.
"Iam, You've been in an awful mood since yesterday. What's up with you?" Reggie asked, standing next to the bandit leader.
Iam looked to be bothered by something even though the heist went according to plan. "There's something off about Jones. Something about him doesn't seem right and it's been vexing me but I can't put my finger on what exactly."
"Well, he won't bother you for long. There he is!" Reggie nodded his head toward the approaching Bones. Iam welcomed Bones, looking pleased to see him but wondered what happened to the man he sent to fetch him.
"Ah that guy? He stayed there looking out for horses. They've gotten restless ever since the ambush started." Bones spewed an excuse and asked to see the chest. Iam narrowed his eyes, looking like he wanted to say something but quickly donned a smile and motioned for Bones to follow.
Iam led Bones to the back of the caravan, where the rest of the bandits were unloading goods and looting the dead bodies of the escorts.
"After you." Iam gestured to go inside first and Bones nodded, then climbed the caravan. The inside was spacious now that most of the cargo was removed and Bones spotted a stout body of a middle-aged man, with a greasy mustache and face contorted in fear. A giant gash went from the shoulder of his body to the waist on the opposite side. A clean cut and a fatal one. Iam followed right after Bones and showed him a small sized chest, resting next to the body. More specifically, the chest was right next to the merchant's hand that had a storage ring.
Bones immediately understood where the chest came from and in confusion turned to Iam. "I thought the contents would disappear if the storage ring was destroyed."
"Hm? They usually do but precious and high quality materials are too powerful to be destroyed that easily."
What? I didn't know that! That means something like a Mana Core isn't necessarily safe in storage space?
"Does that rule apply to- "
"Jones!" Iam raised his voice. "Have a go at the chest! I'm needed outside. Let me know when you finish."
"...alright."
It was clear Iam wasn't for small talk and this wasn't the right time nor place to ask questions. Bones picked up and inspected the chest. It was light and looked ordinary, without anything to separate it from thousands of other chests. He laid the chest back to the ground and took the Incomplete Skeleton Key out, then slowly inserted the key into the lock. The tip of the key went in before the first obstacle that required his shaping expertise.
The lock sure was strange but Bones didn't have difficulties changing the shape of the key to fit the lock. He knew he was on the timer because if Iam had sent someone to fetch the horses…
Skully should be able to handle most of them. If it's Reggie or Iam himself… I'll be able to sense it.
Minutes passed and Iam made a shortstop, asking Bones how he's doing. Bones assured him the lock is halfway open and he will be done in a matter of minutes.
"Good. We'll be done securing the cargo around that time too. Keep up the good work."
"Sure sure, boss." Bones said and focused back on the lock. He was relieved no one had yet gone to fetch the horses, however…
"Ricky, you and Jimmy go down and tell Jack and Bob, and Tommy to fetch the horses. We're just about done here."
Maybe I developed precognitive abilities? Two of them, both levels forty. Skully as he is now, should be able to handle them.
[click click]
Almost there.
"Is he still not done?" Reggie impatiently asked.
"Wait for it." Iam grinned.
"Wait for wh -"
[Boom]
The deafening sound of explosion rocked the nearby trees and sent pieces of the caravan sky high. The force of the explosion sent Bones flying through the roof of the caravan and he slammed hard onto the ground a dozen meters away. Iam chuckled while the rest of the bandits looked flabbergasted.
"D-did he fail? Did he fail to unlock the chest?" Reggie stuttered.
"Of course not. There was a safety mechanism placed inside the chest, an extra defensive layer I didn't disclose to our new friend. It wasn't just enough to unlock the chest, but to disable the trap too. This just saved us a whole lotta time", Iam casually said while walking over to the remains of the caravan.
"But the item!!"
"Worry not Reggie. The item would not break that easily, besides, do you think I would jeopardize the whole operation if I didn't know it would be unscathed?"
Iam reassured his right hand man. With his senses, he wouldn't have a difficult time finding the chest and while he rummaged through the debris left by the explosion, Reggie walked over and stood above the body of Bones.
"No way Jones survived the blast Reggie." Iam shouted but didn't stop him from doing whatever he planned on doing.
Using the tip of his boot Reggie turned the body over and saw an unrecognizable mangled face, void of any tissue. Only the singed skull remained from the force of the blast.
[ugh]
Reggie felt disgusted. He pressed the tip of his blade against Bones chest, then pushed through with a little bit of difficulty until he felt the ground. The body remained motionless and Reggie pulled his blade back and sheathed his weapon. He gave the body one last glance, then turned to leave, unaware of the baleful glare boring down his very soul.
In Pursuit of Vengeance activated
Chosen mark [Reggie, Brigand level 47]
Ricky and Jimmy that went to fetch the horses returned with hurried steps. Iam was not happy hearing about Bones killing his men and Reggie, he was startled to find out the feebly looking man named Jones managed to kill the three without so much as suffering a scratch.
"We lost four in a fight with the escort." Reggie said.
"I know."
"And Jones killed three? How?" This time he muttered.
"I know…" Iam spat through his teeth.
"We have lost a lot more men than we anticipated."
"I fucking know Reggie! Men! Saddle up! We're returning home." Iam snapped, losing his cool before composing himself and barking orders.