Magic user? What kind of nonsense ideas did Eira or Erick put in their heads?

The leader smiled big as he turned back and looked at Iris. “Good! You’re all alone. Can’t be too careful, yeah?”

Iris tilted her head in faux confusion. “Of course, I’m alone,” she said. “Who else would I be here with?”

The man shrugged as he put his mug down and gestured for her to go outside. “The knights, of course. They’ve been trying to find this camp for some time, and you just waltz in like you own the place.”

She adopted a smirk as she stood up. “Ah, come on now. I don’t own it… yet,” she said with a wink. “So, what kind of jobs have you got? I could really use the coin. This world is so hard to find work in.”

She was led outside where the others had spread around the camp, looking busy. It immediately put her on edge. Something wasn’t right. Based on the robes, she suspected the two lieutenants or whatever were casters. That put a slight wrench in her plans, but nothing insurmountable.

This is going south. He suspects something.

The bandit leader nodded as he walked her toward the fire. “Well, we’ve got all sorts of jobs. But we need to make sure we can trust you first. And I’m going to be honest with you, Iris. I don’t trust you at all.”

Iris shrugged, hiding her impatience. “Understandable. We just met. What’s a girl got to do to prove herself? And no, getting in my pants is not on the table.”

He shook his head as he chuckled. “We’re not uncivilized here. You ain’t got to worry about none of that. Men. Women. We’re all in this together. Anyone who would turn on one of their own doesn’t deserve mercy,” he said.

She nodded understanding. “Completely agree.”

“And the people who supposedly recruited you are all dead,” he added. “Your fellow terrans.”

Suddenly, the bandit leader gestured to his men, and they all took out their weapons, causing Iris to take a step back and draw her own sword. The bandit leader was glaring at her, his hands resting on the twin hilts of his blades.

“I think you’ve been lying to us, Iris,” he said, his voice cold and hard. “You know how I know that?”

Iris kept her cool as she took a defensive stance. “What are you talking about?” she asked, her voice steady. She was confident in her chances, all she had to do was [Lightning Step] away if things got dicey.

The bandit leader gestured to the side toward a tent, and a man stepped out. Iris had to curse her luck when she recognized the large telv man that had gotten away at the bridge.

Damn it.

“He warned us all about the redheaded terran with magic that killed everyone on the bridge,” he said. “How you slaughtered your fellow terrans.”

Iris gritted her teeth. So much for keeping a low profile.

She took a deep breath and tried to keep her composure, despite feeling frustrated at getting zero information out of them. Well, just leave one or two alive to get it out of them then…

Actually… this is probably not gonna work, but let’s try it.

“Listen, I don’t know what he told you, but he’s lying,” she said, pointing her sword at the telv man. “I didn’t kill anyone. In fact, he let me and my group through under Erick’s orders. I had the merchant pay him fifty gold for the ‘convenience’.”

The bandit leader raised an eyebrow. “Is that so? And how do we know you’re telling the truth?”

Iris took a step forward, still holding her sword at the ready. “If I killed everyone, why’s he still alive? You really think he could outrun anything?” she asked. “But I’m not going to stand here and let you accuse me of something I didn’t do. I’m a mercenary, not a murderer.”

The bandit leader chuckled. “Well, we’ll just have to see about that, won’t we?” he gestured to his men. “Capture her. She’ll answer us when she isn’t so confident.”

One of the caster’s hands erupted in flames, while the wind started whipping around the other’s. Why is it always fire? So cliche my dude. At least airbender bro is kinda unique.

Iris cast [Storm Armor] and smiled as bolts of lightning shot off of the crackling sphere of electricity that formed around her. “Alright my guy, I’ll give you one chance, otherwise you all get to die. Well, maybe not all of you. We’ll see.”

“I take it back. Just kill her, she’s more trouble than she’s worth,” the bandit leader ordered while taking several steps back.

She laughed.

The fire caster launched several orbs of fire toward Iris, but she dodged them easily with [Rushing Wind]. The wind caster retaliated by sending sharp gusts of wind her way, but she weaved around them with ease.

She rushed at a nearby guard, spinning around him as another orb of fire lashed out at her, hitting the bandit in the chest.

The bandits started yelling and coordinating, but she just [Focused] on herself.

She dodged another orb of fire and flicked her wrist at the fire user. Iris grinned as her [Chain Lightning] launched at the fire caster, the crackling energy connecting and then surging off of him and hitting another bandit as well.

They both fell to the ground, smoking.

And that’s why you wear armor folks.

The wind caster scowled and sent a barrage of wind blades toward Iris, but she sidestepped and [Lightning Stepped] to him, emerging in an explosion of electricity that shocked two nearby bandits.

Before she could launch a spell at the wind caster, the bandit leader was there. The man swung his blades at her, but she caught them both on her longsword. She shoved him back and spun, using [Arc Lash] but the man lept backward, dodging it.

The buzz of her [Danger Sense] went off and she immediately used her [Lightning Step] to surge away, narrowly dodging more wind blades.

As she emerged away from the bandits, she could hear the sounds of her party rushing into the camp and engaging the bandits.

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She stole a glance in their direction, just in time to see Gryff impale a telv woman through the back, while Laken launched an arrow into another.

The wind caster used a gust of wind that threw a crate at the [Ranger] but the man dove out of the way just in time.

“Iris! Get the caster!” Kaira yelled out, then rushed straight toward the camp leader.

Oh, this is gonna be fun.

She pulled mana into her, channeling all she could, and started launching [Sparks] one after another at the caster. The man started sprinting as he used something to hasten his movement speed, throwing spells at her as he dodged her orbs of lightning.

A bandit rushed her, but before he was even within four paces, Bree bashed into him with her shield and then stabbed him with her spear as he fell to the ground.

Iris continued to focus on the wind caster, dodging his spells and launching her own. She could feel the sweat pouring down her face and the strain on her mental stamina, but she didn't let up.

The caster stumbled as one of her [Sparks] clipped him in the leg, and she took advantage of the opening to [Lightning Step] to him and drive her sword through his chest.

The man gasped and fell to the ground, dead.

Three bandits were rushing back out from a tent, armed with crossbows. She saw their focus on Gryff and Laken, intent on firing at the two men. She lifted her hand and channeled her [Arcane Torrent]. A flurry of arcane splinters formed and shot out, homing in on the area, each exploding in a burst of energy.

The men didn’t have a chance as they were shredded by the spell.

She took a deep breath and looked around the camp. The bandits were either dead or in the midst of fighting with her party members. Even as she watched, a bandit woman was easily dispatched by Bree before the medic engaged with a man armed with only a club and a basic wooden shield.

She fired a [Spark] at another bandit that tried rushing her, catching him right in the face. The man locked up and fell, and she had to look away from the damage.

Kaira was engaged in a fierce battle with the bandit leader. Iris raised her hand to cast a spell but realized she didn’t have a clean shot. She watched as the two clashed their weapons together, the sound of steel ringing through the air. Kaira was wielding a sword and shield, while the bandit leader had two swords.

Iris could see that Kaira was holding her own, her movements graceful and precise. She was blocking and parrying the bandit leader's attacks with ease, using her shield to deflect his strikes while simultaneously countering with her sword.

The bandit leader was strong and fast, but Kaira was clearly the better fighter. She was able to anticipate his moves and strike back with deadly accuracy.

After a minute of fighting, Kaira managed to disarm the bandit leader, knocking one of his swords out of his hand. She pressed her advantage, pushing him back and forcing him to his knees.

The bandit leader raised his hands in surrender, blood streaming from a wound on his side. Kaira approached him, sword at the ready. Iris could see the satisfaction on Kaira's face as she held the bandit leader at sword point.

As the woman lowered her blade, thinking the fight was over, the bandit leader saw an opportunity and pulled out a hidden stiletto.

Iris’s [Danger Sense] buzzed and she yanked at the mana around her. Her mind raced as she sought a solution, and the world seemed as if was nearly still. She watched in slow motion as the man moved.

She had no chance to get there in time. Iris needed a spell, but her current spells wouldn’t work. The only one that may work was [Lightning Step], but she didn't want to risk the discharge hurting Kaira.

She closed her eyes and focused on her thoughts, delving deep into her mind. She could feel the power of [Arcane Torrent] pulsing within her, a cracking orb of purple energy with shards flickering around it, yearning to be unleashed. It was a spell that had saved her when she had needed it, but one that she no longer needed. The pressure inside her head increased as she pushed back against it, forcing it to recede deep into her subconscious.

As the spell seemed to go dormant, she felt a weight lifted from her mind, the constant pressure of the spell no longer bearing down on her.

She opened her eyes, and dropped her sword, before it even hit the ground she was forming a new spell. Lightning surged to her will, and using her [Electromancy] and affinity to alter her magic to combine it with [Unerring Shot], she formed a spear of pure electricity.

Iris lifted the spear and drew back, just as the man lunged forward and stabbed Kaira in the stomach. The man grabbed Kaira by the shoulder and stabbed her again. Iris yelled out as Kaira stumbled back, dropping her sword and shield, her hand moving to cover the wounds even though she wore armor.

Iris threw her [Lightning Spear].

The bandit leader laughed as he kicked Kaira to the ground, picked up one of his swords, and raised it to finish her off.

The crackling spear of lightning shot forward, homing in on the bandit leader, and just as he was about to bring his blade down on the woman she liked, the spear pierced through his chest, then shot off and spun around before piercing him again… and again… and again.

As the man fell, multiple holes through his chest, Iris was already rushing forward.

“Kaira!” she yelled, ignoring the fighting that was still going on between the last few bandits and the others.

Iris rushed to Kaira, who was lying on the ground, the elf’s hand clutching her stomach. “Kaira, stay with me!” Iris yelled as she checked for the wound. She saw that the armor had been punctured, and blood was seeping out of the wound beneath it rapidly.

Kaira smiled up at her. “You’re so pretty,” the woman said quietly.

“Bree, we need you here!” she shouted.

The woman arrived a moment later, her medical kit in hand. “Kaira, you’re going to be alright,” she said, as she quickly assessed the wound.

“We need to get her armor off,” Bree said, her voice shaking. “And then stop the bleeding.”

Iris nodded and the two women started removing Kaira’s breastplate as carefully and quickly as possible.

Once it was off and tossed aside, the medic applied pressure to the wound. “We need to get her to Stilstead,” she said.

“No,” Iris said firmly. “We need to do something now.”

Bree looked at her, confused. “I don’t have what we need here to do something!”

“The healing goop,” Iris ordered. “Use it. Shove it in the wound if you have to. We can’t wait.”

The sun elf took a deep breath before nodding. She quickly retrieved the vials of glowing green goop from her kit. She applied it to the wounds, carefully ensuring that the material seeped into the holes. As she did, the goop seemed to glow with a soft green light.

Bree gasped and jerked back.

Iris shook her head. “More, cover it.”

As the woman applied more, the bleeding started to slow. “It’s working, Bree said, notes of awe and relief in her voice.

Iris let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. “Now, we need to get her out of here.”

She turned and looked for the two men. Seeing them shove down two bandits to their knees. “Gryff!” Iris yelled. “We need a stretcher!”

The man glanced down at the bandits before saying something to Laken and rushing off.

“She’s stable for now,” Bree said, causing Iris to jerk her head back to Kaira as the sun elf started to bandage the wound. “But we need to get her to Stilstead as soon as possible.”

Iris nodded, her mind already racing with plans to keep Kaira safe.

When Gryff finally arrived with a makeshift stretcher made from tent material and two poles, Iris took a deep breath. Laken arrived at the back of the two bandits who looked terrified.

Iris looked at the group. “Gryff, you and Laken carry Kaira. Bree, you guide them. I’ll watch out for danger and keep a handle on these two.”

Her eyes narrowed as she looked at the bandits. “We will be moving quickly you stay in front of me and behind them. If either of you slows us down or tries anything, you die. You keep up or you die. I do not care.”

Both men nodded quickly. One of them pointed in a direction. “That way is the quickest to the road. It’s got a hidden path that we use for wagons,” he said.

Iris narrowed her eyes.

“I swear!” he said quickly.

“If you’re lying to me, remember,” she warned in a low voice.

He nodded grimly. “I die.”

“Good,” she growled. “We understand each other.”

You’re going to be alright, Kaira.