There was, in fact, some good worrying over bandits. While they had managed to walk for around an hour without interruption, Leo felt that the ground began to shake once more. He felt his survival instinct screaming at him, as he tried to figure out what was approaching and from where. Marem froze in place, the rumbling like that of the Armurion that attacked her.

Leo spotted them first, odd ships that glided over the sand. These sand ships were quick to approach, and accompanying their appearance was the shake of desert beasts. He saw that the ships seemed to be 3 in number, each one carrying at least 10 people. He looked closely, as he saw the leading ship had a familiar face at its front.

It was the large thief from before, as he seemed to have brought more people. Leo still didn’t want to fight, but with such a large force, he would have a hard time keeping Marem safe. Though as the group got within Marem’s view, she seemed to return back to herself. She grabbed the staff tied to her back, locking eyes with Leo.

“You ready?” she asked.

He didn’t know what to say, or how to articulate that he didn’t want to fight. His response was to simply nod at her, as they turned their gaze back to the ships. Leo stepped forward, as he hoped to keep his healer safe from any attacks.

Once he had gotten a few paces away from Marem, the ships had closed most of the distance and slowed to a crawl. Leo looked back, satisfied with the distance between him and her, as he prepared for whatever they would throw at him.

“Betcha’ regret talkin’ back now, don’ ya,” sneered the large thief.

Leo saw the others seemingly in wait, as they stared at the large one in some form of anticipation. He figured that the big guy was the boss, and that he had decided to get revenge for last night.

“Not really, it helped get rid of the rats that were scurrying around my camp,” retorted Leo.

He saw the man’s face turn into a scowl, as it grew red with anger. This man had a short fuse, and it seemed as if Leo was a matchstick. While hopeful he could get the man to run away like last time, Leo doubted it would be so easy. Running away in the cover of night is simple, but leaving now would display his cowardice in light.

“I ‘member ya said somethin’ about mercy, well I don’ got any either. FIRE!” the man snarled, as the others moved quickly.

A volley of arrows shot forth at Leo, as the bandits pulled out their concealed bows and crossbows. Leo instinctively moved to block, but he caught himself, keeping his arms by his side. He felt each arrow connect, as they shattered upon his skin. While they broke against him, he made sure to keep eye contact with the man.

He saw the fear appear in his eyes, realizing that what had happened the night before was no simple trick. When the storm of arrows stopped, Leo simply stood there, his eyes filled with malice. The bandits froze, clearly not expecting to fail so spectacularly once again.

“Magic dammit, mus’ be a trick o’ magic,” the man concluded.

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Leo saw the other bandits murmur amongst themselves, trying to convince themselves and each other that it was as simple as magic. He doubted the man would surrender, but Leo felt as if a play for intimidation would be the only way to not leave a mountain of bodies.

He moved briskly towards the large man, who quickly realized what Leo intended to do. He saw the man take out his sword in defense, as his fellow thieves followed suit. Though even if he had 29 people armed and ready, not a single one moved to his aid.

When Leo was just a few steps short of him, the man commanded the group to attack at the top of his lungs. Leo saw two of the nearest individuals rush towards him. One swung his club at Leo’s head, accomplishing nothing but making wood chips. The other went for a stab into his side, which did nothing but sprain his wrist and ruin his knife.

“I told you, I would not be as merciful the next time,” reminded Leo.

He saw the color drain from the man’s face, as the other bandits hesitated. While they had been ordered to attack, not one wished to advance towards the man who hadn’t even flinched when a club smashed into his head.

“Incompetent bastards, bring it up!” the man shouted, his voice an echoing boom.

Leo saw some men at the back of the ship pull on a thick chain, though he wasn’t certain what they were attempting to do, but when the ground shook once more, he realized that it wasn’t their ships that caused the shaking. He saw an Armurion burst from the ground, chained at the wrist and fingers. The beast was covered in scars, clearly from being beaten into submission.

He saw a confident smirk appear on the leader’s face, positive that he had just pulled out the ultimate trump card. Leo did not care about the threat, but he turned to look at Marem, as he saw tears start to well in her eyes, as she stumbled back at the appearance of the Armurion.

Leo assumed she wouldn’t react well to seeing one. He turned back to see it quickly making its way towards him, attempting to flatten him while his guard was down. He was more than happy to have the bandits' weapons shatter against his skin, but he couldn’t allow something like this to live.

He locked eyes with the boss, who was smiling at Leo, confident that he had won. Barely a moment before the Armurion made contact, Leo shot his arm upwards in a gentle strike. The Armurion burst to pieces with the singular blow, its remains scattering far throughout the sky.

He stared down the bandit boss, who had frozen in fear, seeing his prized beast die so easily to a man he attacked. Leo walked towards him, stepping onto the sand ship as he was now eye to eye with the man. He glanced at Marem, who seemed more at ease with the Armurion sufficiently disposed of.

“Hey Marem, can you heal crushed arms and broken bones?” he asked.

She took a second to gather herself, “Yes, I could do so.”

He wrapped his hand around the boss's arm, smiling at the man who stared back at him terrified. Leo truly didn’t want to kill him, as taking even a guilty life made him uncomfortable. though he certainly didn’t mind making him suffer.

He tightened his grip, as the man screamed out in pain. His arm was easily crushed under Leo’s grasp, as his fellow bandits stared on in shock and horror. It took Marem a second to process what happened, as she realized what Leo meant by his question.

Her eyes glowed pink as she pointed her staff at the man, who Leo unhanded. Leo stared in fascination as the man’s arm returned to normal as if it wasn't just crushed moments ago. Leo knew he could do this all day, in the same vein that he could kill them all, but he didn’t want to be a person who did those things.

Leo once put his hand on the man’s shoulder, leaning in and whispering, “What you will do is help me and my friend through the desert, and we’ll be taking your ships as our ride. If you refuse, then you can imagine what I plan to do.”

The man felt his heart stop, as he realized that he had started a fight that he truly had no ability to win. His once sharp anger lost its resolve, unable to resist in the face of this unstoppable force. Despite the fact that his very being hated the idea, he knew what he had to do.

“Yes sir…” he begrudgingly answered.