Almost a month passed by and today was another Saturday. Nathan, Arielle ("Will") and Ashley ("Rey") arrived at the Adventurer's Guild once again at 6:45 am and lined up in the junior Botanist queue. Upon registering with the receptionist lady, the children headed to the East Gate Bus Terminal. Upon locating their ride, they handed the driver their quest cards and seated inside the wagon. In about five minutes, the wagon was fully seated, accommodating eight children, and then it promptly set off.
Today, the quest location was deep inside a forest, next to a rural mountain path. It was quite far from the city, and the wagon didn't arrive until 9 am. As the morning sun struggled to pierce the dense canopy above, a gust of previous night's lingering cold air swept through the forest, enveloping the children in its chill upon their arrival.
"I think I saw a coyote there." Ashley warned as she stepped off the wagon.
"Ain't nothin' to worry 'bout, sweethearts," the Paladin lady said with a reassuring smile, "I got my eye on it." In cases involving wild beasts, Adventurers typically opt to drive them away, rather than kill them, to minimize damage to the ecosystem.
As was customary, the party’s four wagons arrived at the location, driven by Combat Adventurers with bronze or silver ranks. Following protocol, they vigilantly guarded the area as the children collected useful plants. The Kingdom had outsourced public road security to the Adventurer’s Guild through a contractual agreement, tasking them with patrolling for bandits and demons. In other words, Adventurers were both bodyguards for the children and security contractors for the government. Since part of their paycheck was paid for by the Kingdom, the guild did not need to cut too deeply into the children's earnings for their own protection, and at the same time helped keep the public road safe for travelers and merchants, killing two birds with one stone.
Nathan, Arielle, and Ashley collected herbs and useful plants at a safe distance from the wagons. Following an hour of gathering, a clarion horn blast suddenly shattered the tranquility and echoed through the forest, alerting everyone in the vicinity. Adhering to protocol, the children swiftly ceased their gathering and made a hurried, yet composed, dash towards the wagons. In under a minute, all children were back at where the wagons parked, closely followed by the return of three Adventurers.
The Paladin, who had driven the siblings' wagon, was the first to return. Her armor, polished to a shine despite bearing the scars of past battles, glimmered in the forest's dappled light, which starkly contrasted with her raven tresses and the deep, warm tones of her dark, southern-hued complexion. As she sprinted back to ensure the children's safety, the Paladin's hand rested on the hilt of her sheathed sword, while her diligent Sapphire eyes, shining with a deep sense of responsibility, meticulously scanned the surroundings.
The Hunter, in his forties and thus considered an old man by both military and Adventurer standards, was the second to return. Despite his age, only a few white strands in his brown hair betrayed his years, lending him a somewhat youthful appearance. Notably, the Hunter's fair complexion was unusual among his peers, for most active Adventurers developed tans from prolonged outdoor exposure. This unusual characteristic suggested that he had recently taken a break from active duty. Nevertheless, the keen vigilance in his Onyx eyes, coupled with the fluid precision of his movements, instilled a sense of reassuring dependability in the children.
The Spellcaster, appearing to be in her early twenties, was the third to arrive. Her brown hair was neatly tied back in a ponytail, and her warm, earthy complexion harmonized elegantly with her supple, well-fitted leather armor. Over her back, she wore a shield adorned with intricate runes, and at her hip, she secured a compact, close-combat sword, both at the ready. Despite her youth, her fluid movements exuded quiet confidence, reassuring the children of her competence.
Now that Nathan had knowledge of glyphs as an apprentice Rune Crafter, he noticed the glyphs on the Spellcaster’s short sword right away. "Lightning glyph on a sword. It's a stun sword. She must be a Spellcaster." Disciplines focused on melee combat typically utilized Earth element glyphs on their shields and weapons, for Adventurers with livelihood and profit in mind would prioritize the durability of their expensive equipment to minimize maintenance expenses.
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"Bandits, incoming from the east!" the Hunter bellowed in his deep, commanding voice, and the alert boomed through the forest, signaling unmistakable peril.
Simultaneously, the haunting echoes of horns resonated from the distant mountains.
"Sounds like we're not the only ones under attack!" the Spellcaster commented as she climbed onto her wagon's driver seat.
The Warrior, identifiable by his youthful appearance, which placed him in his late twenties, and the gargantuan sword slung over his shoulder, approached the group with a measured, unhurried stride, his cumbersome armor and the imposing sword noticeably slowing him down. The Warrior's polished black armor merged flawlessly with his dark, rich complexion, making him all but invisible in the forest's shadowy depths, except for the menacing, piercing gleam of his Amber eyes. Despite his intimidating appearance, his neatly styled dark blue hair suggested a fastidious and refined individual, which, despite the chaos, brought the children on his wagon a sense of comfort and security; this urged their frightened call for the Warrior to pick up his pace.
"I"m comin', gimme a sec!" the Warrior reassured the children, picking up his pace.
"Are all the kids accounted for?" the Spellcaster inquired with a lacing of concern.
"Just leave if your wagon is full, head north to Coalville," the Hunter answered urgently.
Nathan, Arielle, and Ashley were aboard the Paladin's wagon, which swiftly took the lead, clearing a path forward, while the Warrior's wagon trailed behind, bringing up the rear. Following a twenty-minute chase, as the bandits closed in on horseback, the distance between them gradually diminished. With the bandits in pursuit, the Adventurers accelerated the wagons to unprecedented speeds, spurred by the urgency of their situation. The mountain road was treacherous, its rugged terrain making for a jarringly bumpy ride. Suddenly, as if things couldn’t get worse, one of the wagon's wheels catastrophically detached, sending the vehicle careening to the ground.
Nathan, Arielle, and Ashley sat at the front of the wagon, clinging tenaciously to the wagon's handrails, their knuckles white with tension. Even so, they almost fell off the wagon as it dropped to the ground after a wheel blew off. In a swift, lifesaving intervention, the Paladin lady instinctively grasped the siblings with a reassuring "Gotcha!", preventing their tumble.
"Them rocks was too hard on da wheels," the Paladin said, as the Hunter, the Spellcaster, and the Warrior's wagons sped away.
In the distance, the Paladin's keen eyes picked out several bandits. Mounted on horseback, the bandits were rapidly closing in, their steeds' pounding hooves echoing through the air. Many of them were carrying ropes and fishing nets. Clearly, the bandits aimed to abduct the children, intending to traffic them for profit.
"Children, go!" the Paladin drew her sword and positioned herself at the road's narrowest point, ready to face the oncoming threat. Then, she chanted, "Divine Spells: Iron Wall, Reinforced Blade, Enhanced Strength, Stoneskin, Stone Wall."
As Nathan nervously glanced back while running, he saw the Paladin lady valiantly engaging the bandits. Due to the narrow road and her strategic deployment of Stone Wall, she forced the bandits to dismount from their horsebacks, and she was outnumbered only two to one. Meanwhile, some bandits started climbing up the mountain's forested slope, attempting to flank her from behind the trees.
Suddenly, an arrow shot toward the bandits trying to encircle the Paladin, striking one bandit in the leg. Since climbing trees and slopes restricted their ability to defend against arrows, the rest of the bandits became reluctant in their attempt to surround the Paladin, opting instead to hide behind their shields on the ground. With her rear and flank now secure, the Paladin voiced her gratitude, "Thanks, Hunter!" as she blocked a spear thrust with a loud metallic clank.
"No problem!" The Hunter continued to release his arrows at the bandits, serving as a warning and for suppression as they landed on the bandits' shields. "Keep running, children!"
Ahead, the three wagons were now driven by older children or young teenagers. The Warrior and the Spellcaster quickly joined the fight with the Hunter and the Paladin in a formation, and the bandits fought back with a formation of their own. Despite being outnumbered, the Adventurers' teamwork gave them an edge over the bandits.
As the eight children pressed on, they rounded a bend in the mountainous path, where they were confronted by a heart-stopping sight: a contingent of bandits, approximately two hundred meters away, riding toward them on the road ahead. Upon spotting each other, the bandits accelerated and charged on horseback, prompting the children to frantically turn back and flee toward the Adventurers. Soon, Ashley was starting to run out of breath and fell behind. Without hesitation, Nathan discarded his harvest basket, quickly lifted Ashley onto his back, and resumed his sprint, driven by desperation.