Darkness reigns under the moonless night. A time for sinners and superstitions, when God rests his all-seeing eye. Doors are shut. Prayers are offered. Even nocturnal beasts become docile on such silent nights. However, for those who embrace the dread it brings, the conditions cannot be any better.
Along the forest road, my crew hold position amongst the mottled trees and await our blind quarry. The silhouette of our spears and arrows merge with the branches as we become as unmoving as the trunks around us. Indeed, our stealth would be impeccable… if not for the damned greenhorn panicking beside me.
“Calm down, Jackson. Unless you can chirp like a bird, stop breathing through your bloody mouth.”
“I-I can’t help it, Mister Gulliver. I-I’ve never held up anyone before.”
“Did you not resolve yourself when you sheltered me from those soldiers? Do you want to go back to starving on your radish farm?”
“N-no. None of us could bear to live like that anymore, but-”
“But nothing. You don’t see those merchants feeling guilty when they buy your stuff for cheap then sell it for much more. Wealth begets wealth, so we’re all damned to be the dirt under their heel if you never risk anything. Just be thankful our ‘prey’ has prosperity to spare.”
“W-what if we have to fight their guards?”
“Relax, Jackson. The secret to healthy banditry is to threaten, not fight. The reason I chose this caravan is because they’re obviously running late, and due to contractual obligations, they have to hire someone for protection just to cover their backsides. Of course, being the misers they are, they’ll hire any cheap sod who’re no better than yourself. With all twenty of us here, all we’ll have to do is surround them and they’ll surrender quietly.”
“Really, Mister Gulliver?”
“Yes, yes. I’m a veteran, after all. So put on your best scowl and don’t mess up.”
Honestly, this crew is hopeless and I would abandon them in a heartbeat if I could. Still, it beats scrounging for a new crew from scratch, especially after my last job. I can imagine those cretins at the underground guild cackling behind my back. Guess I’ll keep these guys around until I get enough replacements.
Suddenly, there is a slight rustle, and I turn to find the scout has stumbled his way back. He nods nervously so I signal to everybody with a few flickers of my lamp and wait for the caravan to arrive. Moments pass but eventually we hear the rhythmic clatter of hooves and the coarse crunch of heavy wheels. A moment later, a line of five covered wagons roll into view, their lead driver humming wistfully to the silent trees and even quieter thieves. However, the moment he arrives at the fallen logs, his face goes pale as he realises what’s going on.
“Okay, now!
COME OUT, COME OUT! THIS IS A ROBBERY, YOU HEAR! IF YOU WANT TO WALK AWAY WITH BOTH SETS OF LIMBS, COME OUT AND SURRENDER YOURSELVES, RIGHT NOW!”
All twenty of us spring out and surround the wagons Although there is some shock, they readily comply and kneel in a group. Evidently, it’s not the first time they’ve been robbed which certainly helps since my crew is almost as jittery as them. I look at Jackson and quietly nudge him to say something lest the collective inexperience becomes too obvious.
“D-don’t any of you do anything suspicious! If you offer all your possessions, we’ll let you keep your lives!”
“Ha, ha! Of course, if you keep us in a good mood, we might feel particularly charitable and spare some of your belongings,” I say as I immediately cover the bumbling fool.
By the spirits, I already went through all this with him! If you want to make a living in this business, you have to be show constraint. The last thing you want is to draw the attention of a priory of knights. I’d better replace this kid fast. Maybe I can recruit their bodyguards to-
Huh? None of them are armed. Did they seriously not hire anybody? Their merchant, a portly guy in a blue coat, seems particularly pale. Maybe he’s regretting his carelessness… or not. He seems particularly fixated on the wagon in the far back.
“… Did anyone come out of that wagon?”
“Err, I don’t think so, Mister Gulliver.”
“*Sigh* Don’t use my name, you dimwit. Anyway, it seems we’ve got a shy one. Hey Biggie and Bear, go drag them out for me, will ya?”
“You got it, Boss.”
“N-no, don’t!” says the merchant in a panic. “I’ll give you all my valuables, j-just please don’t disturb them.”
“Them?”
“… T-they were just joining us for the ride, even offering their services if we let them join. I-I hired them in name only to fulfill my contract, but if that sleeping dragon were to stir…”
“Enough grandstanding. Who are ‘they’? You’re making them sound like-”
“Um, Mister- I mean, boss?”
“Yeah, what?”
“B-Biggie and Bear haven’t left the wagon.”
A chill runs down my back as I turn to look at the unassuming carriage. The men have become restless after hearing the merchant’s claims and knowing that, indeed, something is waiting in that wagon. Taking charge, I approach the ominous transport with four others in tow. After a moment of deliberation, I plunge my sword into the cloth cover and begin tearing it apart. The others follow my lead, only to reveal-
“N-nothing?”
“Where’s Biggie!? Where’s Bear!?”
“And where are those damned bodyguards!? How could all of them disappear right under our noses?”
“S-should we check the other carriages, Boss?”
“We’ll check all of them at once. Hey, Drake, take your group and-”
My voice fails me as I then realise there are three fewer of us than before. Unfortunately, the others notice as well and trip over themselves in a panic. Even the caravan folk appear spooked as they huddle closer to one and another. My frustration boils over as I rush up to the merchant and hoist him by the collar.
“Talk! Who are they, damn it!? Tell me everything you know!”
“T-they’re a trio of masked adventurers, each with a semblance of a different animal. They looked more like performers, but their leader-”
“I don’t care! Weapons, skills, physiques. Stop rambling and start telling me those things instead!”
“O-okay. Their team is comprised of two men and a woman, although one is no bigger than a child. One had a curved sword, another had a white sceptre, and the final one had both a sword and a staff.”
Blasts, we’re clearly dealing with a well-rounded party. The second one must be a cleric while the last one is probably a mid-range mage, hence the defensive sword. That mage has to be taken out first, although they’ll surely be guarded by the alleged swordsman. Now that it’s come to this…
“Come on, guys, take what you can carry and follow me! We’re bailing!”
“Huh!? B-but what about Drake and-”
“They’re dead, Jack! And more of us will follow if we don’t leave right the heck now!”
“Um, B-Boss?”
“Yeah, wha- Oh.”
Too late. I only now notice the conspicuous layer of dark mist along the forest road. As I try to trace the source, the black haze suddenly expands into a blinding shroud in an instant. I take the caravan’s lamp and usher everybody to rally, but then-
“Oof… ARRRRRGH!!!”
Frank falls face first into the gravel before being dragged into the darkness in an instant. His screams continue until a gruelling ‘crack’ returns the night to silence. His immediate friends begin screaming in turn, flailing their spears at the oncoming mist. Stupidly, one of them knocks their adjacent companion into the darkness and he too disappears, screaming into the night.
“Dear God, let’s get out of here!”
“No, wait, you fools!”
“Who cares about the loot!? We have to-”
“I SAID WAIT! Now, listen.”
Thankfully, ten of them still have the sense to listen, while the rest scatter into shadows like headless fowl. Although there is some hesitation, the ones who stayed then realise… that they can no longer hear the others’ footsteps.
“B-by the spirits, are they… gone?”
“I don’t know, but if we want to make it out alive we’d better stick together. These adventurers are clearly trying to whittle us down, which means they can’t take us all at once.”
“Let’s take some hostages, then! At the very least, we can use them as shields until we can get out of here.”
“Ha! You’re finally thinking like a bandit, Jack. Okay, Mister Merchant, you heard the young-”
“Boss.”
“Oh, what is it now?”
I turn to face my team but find they are shaking their heads and pointing elsewhere. I catch myself breathing more awkwardly as I follow their quivering fingers to a silhouette that is darker than the surrounding mist. For a moment, I could have sworn I saw a pair of horns, but as the ominous haze mysteriously thins...
“B-Biggie? Is that you?”
“Sorry for the scare, Boss. I just got up and wandered through this black fog.”
“You were only knocked out? Where are the others, then?”
“Laid out like fish at a market, just behind the bushes over there. I-I think those adventurers are long gone.”
“Oh, thank God,” breathes Jackson. “They were only trying to spook us.”
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
“Yeah, I guess. Well, don’t just stand there, Biggie. Come on over, quick,” I gesture… while secretly reaching for my dagger.
This smell. This feeling - like a chisel separating my skin from my flesh - is screaming at me to flee from the ‘man’ before me. This has to be the effect of a Title, and I’m the only one who has noticed. Although he looks and sounds like the real Biggie, his presence reminds me of those branded mercs at the underground guild… only a dozen times worse.
No amateur should possess such a Title. No human should possess such a Title. The damn fiend has his guard down, but I have to wait for him to get closer, distracted by the ignorant fools around me. By the spirits, please don’t notice my shaking hand…
“Say Biggie, aren’t you looking a tad smal-”
“
His head snaps back as my knife lodges squarely in his eye. Without a sound or another expression, he falls back and lays flat on ground, half-submerged in the lingering mist.
D-did I get him? No, that dreadful feeling still hasn’t gone away! I must-
“Are you out of your mind, Gulliver!?”
“You just killed Biggie!”
“Let go of me, you morons! That’s not-”
“I see, I see. So at least one of you is somewhat competent. As expected of you, Boss.”
Hearing Biggie’s nonchalant voice say those malicious words causes everybody to freeze. With great reluctance, we awkwardly turn to find our ‘companion’ is standing back on his feet… with my knife lodged firmly in his eye. There is no blood, only a bottomless void where his flesh should be. All of sudden, the doppelganger before us makes a wide smile.
And wider, and wider… a-and wider it goes. His face stretches to impossible lengths, as his hair twists and grows into a pair of grasping branches. Jackson looks as if he’s fainted on his feet. The nearby merchants are reciting the entire Word out of desperation. Even I’m not sure if I’m silently screaming, my throat too tense to let out a whimper. The only reason none of us have run is because we dare not lose sight of any part of his contorting body lest it breaks off and chases us. Finally, the thing settles into the form of a black-robed stranger with the head of a deer. It’s a mask, of course, but I have a feeling something far more unsettling lies underneath.
“W-who are you?”
“…”
“What are you?”
Like a watchful owl, it tilts its head to an uncomfortable degree as it ponders my words. I curse my mindless question and consider offering it coin, but it immediately replies, all while keeping Biggie’s voice.
“I see no need to answer that personal question. You should be more concerned of your own lives instead, once I’m done with you all.”
“Damn it! Come on, guys. We can take him!”
“Oh, really now? You and what army?”
A pail of anxiety washes over as I spin around to find another three of us have disappeared. I vaguely imagine a pair of boots being dragged into grove before- Damn it, why did I look away!?
“
Without the slightest sound, the deer-headed mage is now a foot away in the same motionless posture. I fall over in shock, but my mishap may have saved my life as two of my men charge at it with spears. In a flash, the mage reduces their weapons to splinters and grabs one of the offenders by the collar…
“Huh?”
… before throwing him over the tree tops, followed by a distant thud. Like stepping on a gryphon’s tail, a primal fear washes over us as it moves onto his next victim. With a loud crack, it kicks the other guy so hard that it sends him flying straight into the nearest tree. One of the braver ones rushes towards it with an axe, but with a snap of its fingers, the poor sod suddenly collapses on the ground as if a gargoyle just landed on his back. Despite its cold silence, there is an unmistakable playfulness in its actions as it dispatches each person in a different way… save for me, who is busy scrambling underneath the carriages.
No way I’m sticking around to hear their screams! I have to get to the trees- no, its companions must be lying in wait. I’ll just leg it down the road and not look ba-
THUMP!
“A-ARGH!”
Before I can leave the vicinity of the caravan, a massive object suddenly lands in front of me in a spray of dirt and gravel. As I stagger back from the thick cloud of dust, my eyes widen at the sight of the large log now laying before me… the same one we used to block the convoy at the very front of the line.
“Y-you…. YOU DAMNED DARK MAGE!”
With no other screams to enjoy, I earn its undivided attention as it slowly strolls towards me, its sword lightly tracing along the ground. I can’t kill it. I can’t flee from it. There has to be something I could- Huh, that guy there…
“Stay back!”
Out of desperation, I drag out the guy cowering behind the closest wagon and press my knife against his throat. It’s the merchant from before, and despite being his employer, he was also in the middle of fleeing the mage’s onslaught. The creature in question comes to a stop and tilts his head quizzingly. However, my heart soon sinks as it continues undaunted.
“Damn it, didn’t you hear me!? I said stay back!” I scream before tripping over the log. The merchant is still in my grasp , but he’s lost consciousness before the looming fiend. “Don’t you get it? His life is in your-”
“Wrong,” he says with such authority that his voice rams down my throat. “His life is in your hands. Your sins are yours to bear. The only thing I care about is how I’m going to punish you.”
“P-punish? Do you think yourself a holy knight?”
“I don’t need scriptures to judge the likes of you, Daniel Gulliver,” he sneers as I suddenly realise he knows my full name. “Believe me, I do not kill on a whim, nor for some convenient excuse like the greater good. I am your counterweight, and my blade the scales. So tell me, Mr. Gulliver: how much do you value your own life?”
“Damn it! E-enough of your empty threats, or I’ll-”
“I think you’ve messed with him enough, ‘Usagi’. At this rate, he’s going to choke his friend by accident.”
For a brief moment, the mage looks away, and against my better judgement, a dreadful feeling compels me to follow his gaze. There is another figure beside the closest carriage, and it’s-
“H-huh!?”
It’s the merchant. B-but if he’s over there, then who’s-
“Mr… Gulliver…”
Hearing that familiar, feeble voice, my body shudders and my breathing becomes chaotic as I look down at the purple-face to find...
“Jackson!?”
T-that’s impossible. When did- That dastard!
“You played me from the start!”
In a fit of rage, I throw a knife straight at the merchant. However, he raises his hand and a wall of light suddenly appears to protect him. While I’m taken aback by his magic, I’m soon speechless as ‘his’ visage melts away to reveal a white robed woman in a rabbit mask.
A-another freak. I have to run. I have to-
BANG!
In a blur, I grabbed by the neck and slammed against a tree before I can even lift a finger. I don’t even have time to feel pain as an all-encompassing sense of dread embeds into every inch of my being, like metal needles dipped in icy cold venom.
“The nerve of it. You must really not value your life.”
Why can’t I move? I-it’s the shadows. The moonless shade is crawling over me, holding me in place...
“I can tell, Daniel Gulliver. You weren’t forced into a life of banditry: you revelled in it. Feeling nothing for your lifetime of victims.”
It feels as if his hollow eyes are peering deep into my soul. He’s already judged me.
“Still, what I truly despise is not your moral compass but your personal character. You’d gladly abandon everyone here for a chance to escape. But I won’t give you that chance.”
I-I have to surrender. D-damn it, why can’t I move my mouth? I-I need to-
“Giving me the silent treatment, are we? Or perhaps your life is flashing before your eyes? Either way, it would be rude to keep you waiting.”
I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die.
P-please…
“S… spare-”
“.
… me…
----------------------------------------
“Good work, ‘Usagi’. I was a bit worried about their numbers but you made things a breeze. I’m glad it went as well as it did.”
“I agree, ‘Shika’. I was really worried what he would do to his own associate after I switched places.”
“Tell me about it. It took me a bit before I realised what was going on. Still, I have to apologise to you about that. I was really out of position when he threw that knife.”
“Oh stop it, ‘Shika’. I’m touched by your concern but this isn’t the first time I’ve been targeted. I can handle myself well enough so please don’t feel so responsible for my wellbeing.”
“Ah, my bad. I forget you’ve been in this business longer than me. We’ve only been in a party for, what, over a month now?”
“Closer to two, actually, but I know what you mean. Thankfully, public order in the Lysium Theocracy is exemplary so situations like these are rare. Now that I think about it, we also first met during a bandit attack.”
“Yeah, and it seems I’ve gotten better at handling them since,” I say as I throw another unconscious offender onto the wagon.
Like most things in life, cleaning up turned out to be more of a hassle than the act. I kind of regret punting a few of the bandits so far away, although I made sure to cast
I hear a quiet mutter and several balls of magical light suddenly illuminate our surroundings. Looking over to my teammate, I notice Lili has removed her rabbit mask to straighten her long, golden hair. She hangs her mask on the side before massaging her slightly-red, pointed ears.
“‘Usagi’-”
“It’s fine to call me Lili again, Enbos. I made sure to put those ruffians to sleep.”
“Is the mask uncomfortable? I can always make adjustments.”
“It’s fine, Enbos. Besides, I can always create an illusionary mask if it gets too stuffy.”
“Your
I turn towards the side of the road to see a short figure in a dog mask emerge from the tree line. Behind him, he’s dragging some branches like a makeshift stretcher with several unconscious bandits on top.
“I’m back, Enbos.”
“Good work out there, Hachirou. That’s the last of them, I take it?”
“Hai. I hope I didn’t hit them too hard.”
“No, your control has definitely improved,” I examine while trussing the last few bandits. “By channelling
“And yet you, his teacher, didn’t offer the same courtesy to your own victims,” sighs Lili.
“Hey, at least they’re alive, right?”
“They sure didn’t believe that when you hit them. I’d hate to think if any of their injuries affected their fated Path.”
“I have to agree with Lili, Enbos. Everybody deserves to live to their fullest.”
“Oh, not you too, Hachirou. Speaking of, do you have any injuries yourself?”
“I have plenty of mana to heal you, Hachirou.”
“T-thank you for offering, Lili, but I’m fine this time. I didn’t resort to
“Now THAT would have been total overkill. Anyway, let’s go inform the merchant. We’re probably holding up the convoy at this point.”
After stacking all the bandits onto the wagon, the three of us make our way to the head of the front. Without fail, the other caravan members turn their heads as we walk past, whether to silently stare or to quickly avert their gazes. Well, I guess I was asking for it when I put on that show, so I should be glad that I managed to protect them.
“They’re probably not thinking what you think they’re thinking,” says Lili, somehow knowing what I’m thinking.
“I-indeed. Maybe they feel reassured knowing you are here to protect them,” says Hachirou just as a child starts crying behind us.
“Guys, you don’t need to comfort me. The secret to this job is to threaten, not to fight. We’re just too damn good it.”
“True, especially when you seem to savour the role. You get way too invested in playing the monster.”
“Oh, you think it’s just me, ‘Usagi’? They only started fainting after you added your ‘special effects’. It’s a shame I can’t appreciate your masterful shows in person, literally.”
“No, no, I can’t take all the credit, ‘Shika’. It’s only because I work with such a wonderful talent that I could accentuate you to unspeakable levels.”
“No, no, no, my natural traits can’t possibly compare to your sense of direction and timing. To reveal yourself at the end like that? Truly, your years of experience are something else.”
“Dear Lord, you know I didn’t mean it like that. Besides, I only took my magic in this direction because of you. But what do you think, Hach- I mean, ‘Ookami’?”
“Um, erm, uh… I think you’re both equally terrifying!”
“…”
“…”
“… Pfft! Hahahahaha!”
“Huh? D-did I say something wrong?”
“Nah, if anything…”
“… you’re the only one in the right.”
“Eh?”
“Ah, our saviours! How can I be of assistance?”
Ending our moment of levity, I’m approached by a thin, middle-aged man with a forced smile. He’s still wearing plain linen after we told him to hide amongst the employees.
“We’ve finished securing all twenty bandit,” I report. “We can move out now.”
“Eh? All?”
“Is something the matter?”
“No. It’s just, well, I was expecting some fatalities amongst their number.”
“Like we said, sir, it was nothing but a performance,” I reply. “We will not kill unless the situation demands it, and I’ll have you know we are more than capable. Leave it to the Church and their knights to be the judge of their sins. We only slay those that forsake the value of life.”
“My, how commendable! For a dark mage, you truly are a principled individual. Hahaha!”
“…”
“Anyway, we were hoping you could let us join one of your other carriages,” interrupts Lili, who adeptly reads my mood. “Our current one is a bit full, you see. Would you be a dear and let us accompany another wagon?”
“O-oh, er, I apologise, Ms. Iranor, but the other carriages are-”
“Ah, I almost forgot,” I chime in. “We were thinking of giving you and your crew all the rights to the bounty.”
“All?”
“Naturally. We’ll take a small cut, of course, but I think it’s ample compensation for the damages to the rear carriage. Now, about that ride...”
“I see, I see! I’ll prepare a space immediately. Please await my return.”
Metaphorically rubbing his grubby hands, the merchant glides past the wagons and begins notifying his staff. Although Lili and Hachirou are masked, they look to each other with shared disgust towards him.
“Although I preach the virtue of charity, weren’t you too generous, Enbos?”
“I’ve met fa~r more despicable traders, Lili. Besides, I never planned on handing in the bandits myself. It would’ve alerted the authorities to our movements.”
“I see. *Sigh.*”
“What’s the matter, Hachirou? Are you still salty about the horse?”
“Not at all, Enbos. I-I understand why, but…”
“I feel the same, Hachirou,” laments Lili, “and after all the hours I spent taming him…”
“We had no choice. The Church was clearly using the horse to track us. Dobs would be happier with that old couple, anyway.”
“Ah, he used his nickname.”
“*Ahem* Nevertheless, even with Lili’s magic, we’ve made too much of a commotion this time. Moreover, the merchant might just go ahead and report us.”
“That would be unlikely, Enbos. The Church treats groundless accusers almost as harshly as actual heretics. Maximillian saw to that years ago.”
“He’s also the reason we’ve been marked in the first place.”
“You’ve dodged actual inquisitors. I’m sure you can deal with a few guards,” dismisses Lili. “Besides, I’ve bewitched the caravan to see your head as a mottled toad.”
“Oi!”
“So relax, Enbos, and take in a thousand years of culture and prosperity. There is so much to see and I can’t wait to show you two the breadth of my homeland.”
“Enbos and I definitely will, Lili. Personally, I’m really looking forward to the local cuisine.”
“*Giggle* I think you mean the local beverages,” she jabs as Hachirou looks down shyly. “But yes. We have some of the oldest vineyards in all of Aren, and…”
As the merchant heralds us to the second carriage from the back, I’m distracted from Lili’s and Hachirou’s conversation and reach into my cloak. With a slight tug, I quietly dislodge a broken spear tip that slipped between my ribs. Staring at the bloodless piece of sharpened scrap, I silently sigh about the path ahead.
“Enbos?”
“Are you coming?”
“Yes, ‘Ookami’, ‘Usagi’. Ready or not, I’ll be there,” I say while discarding the evidence in the undergrowth, beneath the moonless night.