A long trail of men trudged slowly across the plains, a breeze swirling the grass around them. Each man was loaded down with a heavy pack of the recovered loot. Ropes bound the men together, from one bandit’s waist to the next, so that no man could run.

Shags kept a close eye on the men as they walked, trotting up and down along the column, his tongue lolling out, to make sure that none even thought of escaping. Yrip, Snarl and Chance led the laden horses up the front of the column, keeping up the pace.

Chance kept looking back as they walked through the afternoon, at the bandits behind him, their heads lowered as they walked on, uncertainty stark upon their faces. Chance could understand that; they were bandits after all, and the reception they were bound to get from their victims was liable to be on the unfriendly side. A part of him wondered if he was doing the right thing. But then again, bandits couldn’t be allowed to just roam free, to disrupt the lives of their victims and bring pain and misery to the land, Even if it hadn’t been a quest to be completed, and an optional side quest at that, it was still a problem that needed saving.

It took the rest of the day to make it all the way back to the farm they had departed from, arriving just before the sun set. It had been a long two days with little sleep, and a lot of hard work, and they were all exhausted upon arriving. Theras was waiting for them on the outskirts of the farm as they neared, carrying an axe with him, concern giving way to a great deal of surprise as he realised just what he was looking at.

“You captured them all?’ he asked in astonishment.

“Almost all,” Chance corrected, “But that band will not trouble you anymore.”

Theras slowly shook his head, before giving a sudden shout. “My horse!” he cried out. “You have found her!” He hurried over to the brown mare in the pack of horses, stroking her nose. “I had no thought to see her again.”

“We recovered everything that they took,” Chance explains, “And brought it back with us. Was there anything else of yours that they took?”

Theras nodded. “Yes, a few things. Mostly produce, but there were some valuables mixed in with it.”

“You will have some time to search through what we recovered to find what is yours,” Chance told him. “We will have to stop here for the night, if that is okay with you, and continue on to Estethford in the morning.”

“Here?” Theras asked, looking at the bandits. “What of this lot?”

“We will keep a close eye on them,” Chance promised. “We will just need to keep them secured.”

Theras rubbed at his chin. “Well, you could use one of my storerooms,” he said “It is empty at the moment, mostly due to them, and we can bar the doors shut when they are in.”

Chance nodded. “That would be good.”

The bandits were made to offload the loads they had been carrying before being led to the storeroom, a small building made of lumber that stood off by itself, one with no windows and just the one door. They were untied before entering, one by one. Chance made sure that they had an ample supply of food and water, as well as blankets to use during the night. The door was shut behind them when all were inside and barred from the outside so that they couldn’t get out.

Shags settled down in front of the storeroom, right in front of the door, his head resting on his paws, to keep an eye on the imprisoned bandits.

“How can we ever thank you for all that you have done,” Theras asked as he began to search through the goods that had been recovered. “I will be able to sleep soundly for the first time in weeks now they are no longer around.” He set aside a couple of trinkets. “You have done so much for us.” To the trinkets he added some of the cheese, a side of dried meat and a small keg of wine.

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“Don’t mention it,” Chance told him. “We were happy to help out.”

“The least I can do is to introduce you to my family, so we can all thank you properly, and provide you with a meal as a way of thanks.”

Yrip smiled at that, and Snarl broke into a broad grin. “If it isn’t going out of your way,” Chance replied.

Theras snorted. “Hardly.”

“Then we accept.”

Theras picked up the goods he had collected and headed for the farmhouse. “It's me,” he said as he knocked on the door when he arrived. A scraping noise came from behind the door, the sound of something heavy being dragged away. Then the door opened partially. A woman looked out, peering through the gap, one who wore a simple farmer’s dress in greens and browns. She had long dark hair that had been braided and flowed down over her shoulder. She looked at Theras, then beyond him, to where Chance stood with Yrip and Snarl. Her eyes widened at the sight of them before she looked once more at Theras.

“These are the ones you told me about?” she asked.

Theras nodded. “They are, Elysa. They have returned. Look!” he said, passing her a bracelet he had recovered from among the recovered loot. The woman cried out as she took it, tears appearing in her eyes. She clasped it tightly to her chest. “Thank you, thank you!” she called out to Chance. “This was given to me by my mother. I had thought it gone forever.” She slipped the bracelet, a simple thing of strands of bronze twisted together, onto her wrist.

A surge of emotions ran through Chance at Elysa’s words, and he wiped at an eye and felt a slight tightening of his throat. There was pride, of course, that he had actually accomplished something worthwhile, as well as a certain embarrassment that she was so grateful towards him. Gratitude was not a reaction he was used to receiving, but Elysa was overwhelmed by it, and Chance found that it was not an unwelcome experience.

The door fully opened and Theras led them inside, leaving the axe leaning against the wall alongside the door. The interior was not overly large, and with all of them and the furnishing inside, it was a tight squeeze. There were two other people in the farmhouse, standing at the far side of the room, two young kids, a boy and a girl. The girl, older and taller than the boy, had an arm around him, holding him close, and they were both looking wide-eyed at the new arrivals, especially at Snarl as he entered, stooping under the door.

The furnishings of the room were simple, with a wooden table and some stools dominating the centre of the room. Chests around the room were used for storage, while from the ceiling hung bundles of herbs, strings of garlic and onions, dried meats and cheese. At one end of the room was a fireplace, and at the other there was a doorway that led into a back room, which was where the family slept Chance suspected. It wasn’t much, but it had a homely feel to it. The room was lit up by the fire in the fireplace, as well as some lamps and candles around the room.

“These are Lesri and Alette,” Theras said. “Children, these are the ones who have been helping us with our troubles.”

The boy, a stocky serious-faced lad with dark hair that Chance felt couldn’t have been more than seven or eight years old, looked Chance over. “You’re a dwarf.”

Chance smiled. “Most of the time.”

“I thought dwarves were only in stories.”

“Well, if we are then I seemed to have escaped one.”

The boy laughed at Chance’s reply and Theras chuckled. “You will have to excuse the lad, but he has heard many tales about dwarves. There haven’t been any seen around here since I was his age.”

“I am Chance,” Chance told the boy, “And these are my friends, Yrip and Snarl.”

Lesri looked at the kobold and gnoll, his eyes going wide. “What are they?”

Snarl knelt down on one knee, but even so, his head was still above the boy’s. He grinned at him. “Yrip is a kobold. I am a gnoll.”

“A real gnoll?’ Lesri asked. “You haven’t come to raid us, like the bandits, have you?”

Snarl cackled. “No, no, not today.” He winked and Lesri laughed. Snarl reached inside of his coat and pulled a small knife sheathed in a plain leather scabbard, offering it to Lesri. “All boys need a good knife,” he said, before turning towards the girl, Alette. She had the same dark hair as her brother, long and braided. Once more Snarl reached into his coat and took out a bracelet that he had secreted away in there somewhere, one made of a leather cord upon which were strung polished beads of wood, bone, and stone, which he held out towards her. “And for you,” he said. The girl took it with a timid smile.

“Thank you,” she said.

“Yeah, thanks,” Lesri added, drawing the knife from its sheath to inspect it.

Snarl grinned again. “You are welcome.”

“Come and sit,” Elysa said. “It is time to eat.”