In the midst of his sulking, Victus was alerted by yet another tree branch cracking, and impulsively punched the ground. A burst of wind emerged from his fist and the surrounding fog shortly dissipated. He looked up, seeing a little blond girl hiding behind a tree not far from him.

“Oh!” She jumped when she was seen, going even further behind the tree. His face relaxed, and he slowly rose to his feet, breathing a sigh of relief.

“You can come out now,” he noticed her still peeking at him.

She shyly emerged, “Sorry for scaring you, mister.”

“It’s okay,” Victus went over to her and knelt down on one knee, to more or less match her height. “What are you doing out here all alone, so late?”

“I was forbing..f-forging..”

“Foraging?”

“Yeah! With my mama, but then, I saw these pretty flowers, and then, I..I got lost..”

Victus looked around to make sure they were still safe, and then he stood, “Don’t worry. We’ll find her together.”

“O-Okay..”

He looked at the path ahead. There was a trail not too far from here, he thought. If they followed it, they could probably find the girl’s house, or at the very least they’d be led into town, and then they could search for her parents there. Victus began walking, but the girl remained in place.

He turned back to her, “You comin’ or what?”

She shook her head, “It’s too scary. Could you hold my hand?”

How precious, he thought.

“Of course. As long as you don’t mind getting dirt and tears on your hand,” he extended his hand and she took it. The two walked towards the trail and continued on it. It was eerily quiet.

“Mister-”

Victus flinched, “Gah! What?! Sorry, I mean..What?”

“Why are your ears pointy like that?”

“Oh. I’m a half-elf. Half human, half elf. What about you?”

“I dunno, I’m a girl, I think..”

“Haha, well, that’s up to you, really.”

“What do you mean?”

“..Bah, you’ll understand when you’re older.”

They walked for a short while longer before she spoke again.

“Mister? Are you old?”

“To you, probably. I’m twenty.”

“Really?! Then why is your hair all gray?”

“It’s not gray, it’s silver. I’ve always had it like this, even when I was your age,” he looked at her, realizing that she likely didn’t believe him. “I mean, yeah, I’m old,” he humored her. They continued on the trail, and she became as curious as she became talkative.

“Mister, why were you crying?”

“I wasn’t crying, I just got something in my eye-”

“Oh. Is that why your eyes are all red?”

“Huh? No. My eyes are naturally crimson. It’s cool, no?”

He looked at her, showing off his vibrant red irises.

“It’s scary,” she replied, looking away.

“Good for when my friends get hiccups..You got hiccups?”

She shook her head, “No.”

“Didn’t think so.”

Victus felt like his nerves were starting to wear off the more that they talked, “So, you got a name, little girl?”

“..Auburn.”

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“Auburn, huh? That’s a cool name. Mine’s Victus.”

“Victus,” she repeated, like she was still learning words.

They walked a while longer, until they spotted the light of a campfire, “Hey! Let’s go ask them for help.” Auburn nodded, and the two hurried over to the campfire. To his surprise, Victus found he was very unlucky. The men sitting around the campfire, about three of them, were wearing studded fur armor: the kind of armor that belonged to bandits and thugs.

“Oi, get a look at this fella,” one of them chuckles, all turning their attention to Victus and the little girl. Instinctively, Victus moved Auburn behind him, taking a few steps back. He couldn’t take on this many guys at once, even if he were to use lethal force, which he didn’t allow himself to use.

“We don’t want any trouble..We’re just trying to get back to town..Know the way?”

“..Is that right?” The bandit rubbed his goatee, chewing on a freshly roasted drumstick, “And are you gonna compensate us for tellin’ ya?” He wiped his slobbery gob.

“..Depends on how much?” Victus seemed hesitant.

“How much you got?”

Normally, he’d take this opportunity to trick them and run away, but the girl wouldn’t be fast enough, and he wasn’t strong enough to carry her while fleeing. He reached into his coat, taking out a pouch of coins. He tossed them at the bandit, “There. Now tell us which way to town, and we’ll be out of your hair. If you had any..”

The bandit laughed, “Oi, but you're forgettin’ about the little girl. She needs to pay too.”

“Excuse me? She’s just a kid, man.”

“That’s rather unfortunate then, ain’t it?”

“..Tch,” Victus glared, turning to her, ''Auburn, you ever played hide and seek?” She nodded. He gave a reassuring smile, “Go hide. I’ll start counting,” Auburn gave a quick nod and ran away.

“Oi, you shouldn’t have done that.”

“Shut up. Give me my money back, and I won’t kick your sorry ass. Or do we have to make things difficult?” He bent his knees, lifting his fists. The bandit laughed once more, slapping his hand onto his knee.

“Check out the balls on this guy!”

“I won’t ask twice,” Victus held his hand out.

The bandit stopped laughing, standing from the log he was sitting on. He approached Victus, much taller and more muscular than him. “Looks like you’re gonna hafta make me, mate,” he spit on the ground, giving Victus the stink eye. The half-elf remained silent, reeling his hand back and slamming his fist into the man’s abs. There was a small surge of wind, but it wasn’t nearly enough to push the bandit back

Low on juice, Victus thought. He wasn’t good at managing his magic energy reserves. Must’ve blown it all away earlier. He shook his fist, stepping back, “Ow! Felt like punching a bag of rocks..”

The bandit shoved Victus, taking out the broad battle-axe holstered on his back. The other two bandits stood and took out their weapons too. “That all, mate? Almost got me excited, way you were talkin’ so tough before.”

Thinking quickly, Victus kicked dirt up at the bandit’s face, blinding him temporarily, “Agh! You little shit!” He swung recklessly, and Victus ducked, diving under his legs.

Once he turned and looked up, another one of the bandits swung at him with a scimitar. He somehow caught it just before it could slash into his chest, both of his hands pressing against the sides of the sword’s rather broad blade.

“Nice sword..!” Victus struggled to hold the sword back, the blade inching closer to his face with every passing second. If he lived to tell this tale, he’d certainly exaggerate this part.

Another bandit moved close to attack, and Victus kicked his shin as hard as he could, causing the man to keel over and fall onto the other thug. Victus stylishly flipped back up to his feet, taking out his fancy dagger. He spun it and held the weapon backhanded, bending his knees, “Don’t come any closer!”

The bandit with the axe turned to glare at him, his vision recovered. He began to swing wildly at Victus, but the half-elf was experienced, and he evaded and parried the large axe head with his dagger, sparks flying into the air. While fighting, the two were moving towards a large tree.

Just when Victus had his back up against the bark, he redirected the axe into the ground with his dagger, then used it as a stepping stone to kick the thug in the face. The bandit let go of the weapon to hold his head, stunned. Victus sheathed his dagger and gripped the nearby axe’s handle with both hands, lifting it with all his might. He spun and slammed the axe into the tree behind them, cutting deep into the wood. The axe didn’t go all the way through, but it would take good effort to pull the weapon back out.

“Had enough?!” Victus turned and shouted at them.

“Boss, we got her!”

Victus looked past the leader, and the other bandits he held off earlier were holding Auburn. She looked afraid, struggling to pull her wrist away from the scumbags that were holding her. The leader shook his head, finally snapping out of it.

“Bastards! Let her go!” Victus tried to shove past the leader, but he didn’t get very far before the bandit grabbed him and pulled him into a headlock, “You..son of a..!”

“First, I was just going to beat you to a pulp and sell her off. But now, I’m going to kill your cocky ass! All while she watches!” The bandit growls, his grip tightening. Victus felt his vision begin to fade, gasping and pulling at the man’s arm.

“You should’ve thought better than to try and be a hero!”

Victus’s eyes widened, and with a snap, his body went limp. Auburn shouted, “Victus..!”

The bandit let him go, and his body fell to the ground. His vision was intact, but he couldn’t move, he couldn’t breathe. This was it, he’d lost. It was all over.

Distantly, he saw a heavenly light form, shining brightly. He saw the silhouette of his father and his mother, and he saw Duncan. They called out to him, and he felt relieved he would finally be able to join them in the afterlife.

But a deep, foreboding voice rang out within.

“How unfair.”