The contractor will ensure that a high-value item is safely transported via mercenary escort.

Lyght lounged against the side of the tree. Sitting up in a high branch, he could see the surrounding area clearly as he kept watch for any possible bandit approach from the east—the direction they had come from on the previous visits to the farm. Enough trees dotted the landscape to keep it from being totally barren, but not enough to obscure his vision in a way that someone would be able to approach without being seen. He’d likely hear any unwelcome visitors before he would see them anyway.

The early afternoon breeze swept across the area, causing the tall grass of the fields and the leaves of the trees to rustle in pleasant conversation with one another. Lyght breathed in, appreciating the fresh air of the countryside. Though he wouldn’t want to live in a place like this permanently, he could respect the nicer aspects of it that were superior to the city. The air just simply wasn’t as fresh there as it was here, and the city was far too noisy to experience some of nature’s subtleties like the sounds of birds singing or squirrels chittering in frustration that the hiding spot for their acorn had been found by another.

He stretched out flat along the thick tree limb and gazed up at the underside of the canopy above, streaks of light sneaking through from the sun high in the early afternoon sky. It had been almost two hours since he and Troy had split from Gargarel and Feros, accompanying Marzie while the other two remained at the farmhouse with Donny. Lyght had come out further east to scout while Troy stayed behind so that Marzie was not alone.

Splitting up was his plan. He had asked Marzie about the day’s activities and what she and her son needed to get done today. She was to work the fields in the southern part of the farm while Donny handled the chickens and firewood duties up at the house.

Lyght and his squad were here to protect them from bandits, yes, but it didn’t make sense to him to force Marzie and Donny to deviate from what they normally do. He felt it pertinent that they go about their daily duties in the same manner they always did, but with the added assurance that they had protection in the event the bandits did show up. Sure, he could tell them to stay in their house until all the bandits were dead, but there was no guarantee that they would show up today. And, if they didn’t, then Lyght just prevented the pair from getting needed work done for no reason.

It would be today or tomorrow—Lyght was sure of that much. If Gargarel had his way, it would be today. The Gmaas was anxious to prove his strength, and “smashing some bandit heads” would be the perfect chance for him to do so. Lyght was personally hoping it was today also, though he had nothing to prove. He just wanted to fight. His practice battles with Feros and Geren were the only action he’d gotten the past couple of weeks. Well, there were the Street Crows… but teasing those poor guys was admittedly more fun than beating them up, so his brief encounter with them didn’t count.

Sparring with friends and family was fun, sure, but after so many battles, the familiarity between opponents was too strong to really expect any exciting twists from the norm. It was akin to playing chess or dice with the same person regularly. Eventually, each person would know what strategies the other liked to employ, understand their risk tolerance, and predict their moves more accurately as a result. Actual battles were a game of learning on the fly in real-time what the opponent was capable of, reacting accordingly, and continually adjusting strategy when necessary. Lyght found it exhilarating each time he faced a new foe.

Geren would often stress to Lyght, however, that familiarity with one’s opponent was not a bad thing in some cases and could even be applied to real situations. He explained how not every fight with a strong foe would result in a clear winner and loser where one survives and one perishes. Sometimes, he would battle people he had battled before, and learning how to use prior knowledge from previous encounters and apply it to ensure victory in the subsequent rematches was crucial.

Lyght struggled some with fully grasping the concept, though, because it seemed to him that it would just be easier to focus on always winning the first encounter so that there weren’t any rematches. He could see the logic when it came to beasts and other wild monsters, but he was more concerned with fighting other people since those were the ones that were the biggest threats. They were also unpredictable.

The breeze that had been carrying the folial conversations of the grass and leaves to Lyght’s ears was soon replaced by the conversation of just such people’s voices instead. Lyght sat up from his lying position on the branch and repositioned himself, kneeling as he looked towards the direction the sound came from. He could see five bandits walking in a small group about four hundred feet away. The contents of the conversation they were having were not audible, but whatever it was must have been an entertaining topic as the low drum of voices became overpowered by belting laughter.

So carefree, when they’re terrorizing these people…

He studied the quintet from his perch. One man seemed to be leading the conversation that was drawing such hysterics from the other four. The details were fuzzy from this distance, but Lyght could see that he wore a leather helmet and armor with a large greatsword slung across his back. Based on his position in the middle and the others’ laughter at whatever foul jokes he was telling, it appeared that he was the leader. The other four were wielding weapons as well, but smaller ones that were holstered at their waists. All five men were Human, which checked out with how Marzie had described the past visits.

Surprisingly, they stopped their westward trek towards the farm and gathered around one of the larger trees in the area that offered the most shade. Settling down, the men seemed content to relax for a moment. Perhaps they didn’t feel any need to rush and wanted to take a break from however much walking they had done to get this far. The farm wasn’t going anywhere, after all.

It was a perfect opportunity to ambush the fools—an opportunity Lyght didn’t plan on squandering. It went against the original plan of ambushing them when they arrived at the farm itself, but killing them all here was an objectively better outcome than putting Marzie or Donny in any undue danger.

…Wasn’t it?

He shook the doubt from his mind as he jumped from one tree to another. Creeping closer, the overhead foliage and the glare from the sun shining above provided him cover if anyone were to look up. After encroaching within fifty feet west of the group’s resting spot, he deftly maneuvered his way down the tree until his feet were on the ground and the tree stood between him and the bandits.

“‘Ey Mundt, ya figure we can just leave this to the others? I right feel like takin’ a nap.” A gruff voice asked lazily, yawning as they finished the sentence.

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“Aye, I second that. I reckon they can handle it ‘emselves”. A second one followed.

“Shut it, you two. I already let ya be lazy fer a bit. Let’s get back to movin’. Liam’s group may be there already. It’d look bad if’n we showed up late, wouldn’t it?” A third voice that Lyght presumed to be the one called Mundt answered.

From his place behind the tree, Lyght could hear the sounds of men groaning and equipment jangling. Footsteps crushing leaves and twigs underfoot soon followed. Despite missing the chance to ambush the men while they were resting, he was still in a good position. They were going to have to walk past him, so he could simply pounce on them then.

He was concerned about who “Liam’s group” was. A second group of bandits from the same crew? They must have gone to the farmhouse. One group to the farmhouse to accost the family for whatever coin or personal goods they had left, and one group to the barn to raid the crop stores. Feros and Gargarel could surely handle the ones at the farmhouse, but he still wanted to clean up these five as quickly as he was able so he could double back and regroup.

Alright, we’ll make it quick. When they round the corner, I’ll—

His thoughts had distracted him and he didn’t immediately notice that the footsteps had changed direction slightly. It was lucky that his foray through the tree earlier had knocked some extra clusters of smaller branches down to the earth; their nearby crunching made his heart jump as he realized the danger he was suddenly in, adrenaline flowing.

Quickly, he jumped straight up into the air. Shortly after he went airborne, an axe and a curved blade each came swinging around either side of the tree trunk and planted themselves into the base of the tree where he had been. Pieces of bark scattered through the air haphazardly, and two ugly faces that didn’t house full sets of teeth looked up at the ascending Lyght.

How?! He thought with frustration as he withdrew one sword with his left hand, stabbing it into the tree and using it as an anchor to fling himself further up the tree and onto a higher branch.

“Come down, little squirrel! We’ll make it quick ‘n painless!” The axe-wielding bandit called as he hefted the two-handed weapon back up onto his shoulder. He had been the second voice from earlier.

“Well, it woulda been quick ‘n painless for ‘im already if he’d just stayed still.” The other one said, pulling the half-moon blade of his sickle from the tree. Lyght didn’t recognize this voice, somewhat mopey and lethargic in its speech.

Lyght looked down and could faintly see the rest of the bandits moving around on the ground through the gaps in the leaves below him. They somehow knew where he was hiding and he had been the one ambushed. Now they were all on the defensive, waiting for his next move. He was like a cat that had been chased up a tree by a large dog.

He took a deep breath and calmed himself. If they had a method of ranged attack to hit him with, they would be attempting to do so currently. In that case, they must all be melee fighters. He could beat them, it would just be a bit harder now that his element of surprise had flipped upside down. Eyeing the movements through the leaves, he lost sight of three of the men as they retreated further back and to the opposite of the tree. The two who were responsible for the initial ambush were still visible, weapons ready and eyes angled upward, affixed on his position.

Assuming he had judged the situation correctly, Lyght guessed that he should be able to attack these two without the other three giving him any immediate trouble with they were spaced. He unsheathed his other sword so that he held one in each hand and jumped down.

Once he had cleared the bottom of the branch canopy, he quickly stabbed the tree again as he had earlier to give himself an anchor. Only this time, instead of flinging himself straight up vertically, he planted his feet to the side of the tree and launched himself up and out at a diagonal angle towards the pair who had attempted the attack earlier. Once airborne, he began channeling essence and charging his circuits.

They each took a swing at him as he fell upon them, but he deflected the axe with his left sword and the half-moon blade with his right, sliding between the two men in a spray of sparks like a knife caught between two grindstones. He landed squarely between them and spun in a circle, blades outstretched.

The mens’ leather and hide armor didn’t stand a chance against the refined edge of Lyght’s dragonscale blades. In that one swift motion, he cleanly cleaved both bandits across their midsections. Blood spilled from their stomachs and down onto their boots, each dropping their weapons and collapsing with shocked looks on their faces.

Lyght looked towards the other three—they were on the other side of the tree as he had thought. Well, two of them were, at least. Where was the third? There was no sign of the one with the greatsword he had seen earlier—the man he presumed was called Mundt.

He suddenly heard footsteps approaching rapidly. However, he saw nothing. Then he noticed the tall grass being stamped down in a fast steady rhythm that matched the sound of the steps.

Bastard’s invisible! What kind of crew are we dealing with that they have access to that kind of magic?!

Quickly flipping his left sword around into a traditional grip, Lyght then crossed both weapons above and slightly in front of him in an x shape right as an invisible weight came crashing down onto the blades. If he hadn’t already guessed it, this was obviously confirmation the greatsword wielder was concealed.

The guys with big weapons always open with an overhead swing. He thought with a slight smirk, thankful he was able to block the unseen attack.

A woman’s shriek could faintly be heard in the distance to the west. That was definitely Marzie’s voice. Another group must have been at the barn. He hadn't heard anything yet from up north at the farmhouse, but he may also just be too far away. The possibility that all four members of his squad were engaged in separate battles—and the mistake he had made with engaging this group too son—suddenly dawned on him.

Not good! Gotta finish this and regroup with Troy!

The man’s weight was still bearing down on Lyght’s swords, and Lyght would likely lose a contest of brute strength. The other two men were running forward, looking to provide backup for the invisible man while he held Lyght at a disadvantage. Now that they were closer, he could see that one wielded a brutish wooden club and the other a pair of crude shortswords. He needed to make a play soon to get himself out of this situation and head back.

Whatever magic that had been shrouding his foe faded away, revealing the black-bearded face of Mundt contorted with a grimace of struggle. The man continued to press the greatsword down in an effort to keep Lyght pinned.

“Give it up little man. I can feel yer grip ‘bout to slip. I’m too strong for ya!” Mundt grunted between breaths.

Lyght simply smirked in response. Then he discharged the essence that he had been channeling, the sharp boom of thunder echoing throughout as lightning pierced the air.