A cold chill accompanied them, staying in the pitch-black veil, seeing more and more torches come into view. Figures clad in armor walked around, illuminating the large area they stood on even more.

‘’They don’t look familiar, not compared to those guys we dealt with earlier,’’ Ikari reported, at the very front, far less cautious than the rest but still remaining close to the team.

Not the same huh, must be a new group then. One of the two remaining bandit leaders.

—--

They were now a hundred steps away from the bandits, they were writing down and observing the immediate area, speaking in that same bizarre dialect only Ikari could understand, this time more heavily.

Their armor looked much better, still the same in appearance as the Stone’s Edge soldiers but modified with shiny minerals that shone even in the darkness along with more jury-rigged metal platings for protection.

‘’Should we wait em out or pick em off?’’ Ikari asked.

‘’A sudden ambush is an advisable solution, but not in this situation, information is scant and their true power is unknown, follow what Captain Ishmael ordered us to do,’’ Quellin responded, their voices gave a slight echo masked by the constant water drops and chilling breeze that went through this place.

He took a step forward to see for himself, but his hand brushed against something on the wall. It stuck to his hand as if glued, not even yanking it could get it off.

What the- get off me!

Kayd yanked violently but to no avail, taking out his blade which finally managed to cut off whatever stuck to his arm.

Ugh, I swear if this is something gross again like rat blood or the sludge from their tunnels…

Staring at the wall gave him no answers, unable to see what grabbed his arm, and reluctant to get close to the wall again.

Eugh, felt like string wrapping around my arm, or those glue pranks my classmates did to me.

The thought made him gag, however, his curiosity on the wall was shortlived, hearing more chatter from the bandits, now much more numerous than before. Some got closer into the pitch-black tunnel but the rest focused solely on the large open section they found themselves in.

They were loud, banging at the stone walls, breaking sections of it for some unknown reason.

‘’Captain, know anything about this place, or anything like this in the desert.’’

‘’Things changed, i did see small cave systems like this before but rarely found any threats in them, especially an organized group. I guess spending most of my time in the forest made me blind to the changes here, and beyond.’’ Ishmael replied. Kayd wanted to ask another question but stopped his lips as a bandit got much closer to them.

Ikari held her bow up, but the bandit didn’t seem to notice her or any of them. He hastily walked away once a bandit called out to him.

They formed small groups in parts of the cave section, looking down at something interesting.

One of them raised up what got the bandits’ attention, a gemstone that shone light despite the dark area it was in.

‘’So, they’re-’’

‘’Miners,’’ Lia answered first, making Kayd pause for a moment.

‘’Miners yes, but they definitely aren’t the good kind,’’ Ishmael added. Many of the bandits ran through another tunnel connecting to the section, taking any gemstone they could find.

The remaining few conversed with one another. Their torches hung on their waists, holding pikes and swords with most of their body clad in metal.

For bandits these are pretty rich and have more gear, I guess that’s expected when they’re also miners.

Ikari listened in on what they said while Ishmael thought about what to do next.

The cheers of the bandits that left were still audible even from such a distance away. A feeling that they would return was apparent in Kayd’s mind.

So the princess was right, they’re here for gold as well. Wonder what connection they have to the slaver leader, especially with the hole beneath the building.

It wasn’t long before the bandits returned, and an answer revealed itself upon their arrival.

Alongside the heavily armored bandits was a crowd of settlers armed with pickaxes with torn clothing as their only protection against the elements and whatever was in this place.

‘’They found an ore vein here, they’re not going to leave for a while.’ Ikari translated what a nearby guard was saying. Pushed, shoved, or simply beaten and whipped, the bandits herded the settlers toward the vein of that shiny metal. To their shock, explosions started ringing out as bandits chucked sticks of explosives towards the wall, hoping to find more of that shining ore.

‘’Explosives, pretty common in the hands of miners. Definitely not for bandits though.’’ Kayd remarked. By the looks of it, they seemingly had a large supply, chucking bundles of it towards the rock as if they were expendable.

Either they have a large supply of it from thefts or are just making it themselves. I would be shocked if these people were smart enough to know how to make an explosive anyway.

They kicked and punched the settlers, tossing them around to different veins almost fighting one another on who gets the most settlers to mine the ore veins they found. Kayd felt revolted at the sight, but looking down, he noticed that his anger was minor compared to Lia's.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

She stared intently, brandishing a knife and on the verge of just running up and killing them. Kayd was unsure if he had to hold her back or just focus on the people at the front.

‘’They’re here to expand their mining operations, they’ll mine quickly and head back to have the area improved for more mining.’’ Ikari continued translating word by word in a whisper. Ishmael looked forward with a determined face, now that we destroyed the one that enslaved and took people, it’s time to kill the one forcing them to hard labor.

‘’Their armor is too bulky, a frontal assault is not optimal. Staying in the dark and targeting any possible weakpoints is the most likely method to take them out.’’ Quelling relayed.

‘’Agreed, now for the plan onwards.’’ Ishmael cleared her throat while the miners toiled away and a few were dragged away, forced to carry the heavy ore still stuck to the rock.

‘’Just like before but this time we need to find more ways to hide in the dark while trying to stay in the shadows, which means we may need to make our own way forward.’’ While she spoke, the ground shook as a rumbling emanated from one of the walls, shortly after an entire portion of it collapsed, revealing another team of bandits who bore an entire hole through.

To the team’s horror, a familiar sight. That giant, blind, teeth and claw elongated to extreme levels, something that doesn’t look like it should exist.

‘’And here I hoped we won’t see those things again.’’ Ikari stepped back, drawing her bow and aiming it at that grotesque abomination. The rat giant.

Disgusting and vomit-inducing memories flooded Kayd’s mind, the sudden rush of it made him gag and nearly want to vomit as much as possible, remembering the smell and the face of the thing.

The bandits waved off the rat, now heavily chained and being piloted by a bandit riding on top like a horse jockey.

How did the rat get here, why are they using it, no…How did they even tame it?

None of the bandits looked afraid in the slightest, no, some looked disgruntled and shouted at the rat and its rider. Kayd also noticed that its skin was rougher rather than smooth, sacars adorned its body seemingly from digging against the sand.

Questions and disgusting memories fought against each other in dominating Kayd’s mind, but as he looked on, the rat looked irritated, wanting to move away from the area as if sensing something else. Annoyed by the constant jerking and swaying, the rider directed the rat back into the hole it just made, followed by its escorts with a growl to signal its departure.

Now was not the time to stay still and want to vomit, they had a plan to do. Ishmael cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention.

‘’As I was saying, we need to make this fast. Our main objective now is to find the heart of this mess, where all of these people are coming from, and kill their leader.’’

A windchime rang out upon finishing her explanation. Taking it out, yet another long list of tasks to do.

SIDE MISSION:

Bury the mining complex [X]

Free the remaining enslaved settlers [X]

Free the bound rats [X]

Destroy the Leader’s influence in the mine [X]

Eliminate her lieutenants [X]

Rewards: 1000 coins, Scorn of the lawless (Two of three)

Along with it though, was a message.

We have seen the Splendor Seekers brave the storm of battles time and time again, bearing the scars of a hundred fights and shed more blood than any I’ve seen before. Now though, let us spice things up with a new type of battle. Will we finally see their demise in this new battle? Or will my assumptions be predicted once more?

The paper burned away in their hands, an odd worry rose in Kayd.

New battle? Are we going to have to fight from range now instead? I really should have spent more time training with knives and bows.

After cursing himself for a few seconds, he turned to Ishmael who was already making her way forward towards a bandit with his back turned to the dark. The rest of the bandits were making their way out alongside the few miners that still remained, carrying heaps of ore with them through one of the dark tunnels.

With their departure, the ground began to shake, the muffled screech of rats pierced through the rocks.

‘’They’re mining everywhere around us.’’ Ikari looked above and around her, with a much clearer picture of the situation due to her hearing.

‘’That can be a way to mask a plan I have. Now, we need to take out the guards here first then-’’

‘’I’ll do it,’’ The once shy voice of Lia was replaced by a determined and visibly angered tone. She already stood near the front with her knife, staring at that bandit. A thousand thoughts rushed across her mind, either of grief and sadness or a desire for revenge. Although she can’t talk, Kayd could easily tell what got her to act like this.

‘’Are you sure?’’

‘’Yes’’ Ishmael expected her to back down or to shy away but no, she was serious. She raised her hand to try and stop Lia before she did anything rash and turned to Quellin.

‘’This is another outcome of your training, Quellin?’’ Ishmael asked.

‘’Just like any training, most of the result is from the trainee’s willingness, and partially by the trainer’s guidance. Yes, this was one of the outcomes that came from the training.’’

‘’I don’t know if turning a medic into a fighter like us is the best course of action, especially if we’re in enemy territory and she’s the only one that can patch wounds.’’ Kayd protested, Ikari nodded her head in agreement. As much as he wanted to see Lia become more brave and fight with them, now wasn’t the best time.

‘’Just let me do it,’’ Lia spoke again, now facing the team.

‘’I want to fight just like all of you, to not hide next to some corpse or behind men and women, I want to fight alongside my teammates, to take the same amount of pain and punishment. Just let me do it.’’ Ishmael stayed reluctant, debating to herself as well, having a similar thought to Kayd’s, but it didn’t look influenced by anyone even Quellin. This was her, and what she wanted.

“Alright, even if it's in this environment, there’s a first for everything. And I want everyone in my team to fend for themselves.” She moved closer to Lia, whispering guidance on how to handle the guard.

Everyone else followed suit, Kayd teaching her the weak points, Ikari on how to quietly and quickly move to them, and Quellin on how to hold it.

It all looked like a bunch of peers encouraging the most naive of their group to do something like jump into a body of water or hunt a deer.

After enough was said, they returned to the cover of darkness and silence, leaving Lia to use what they just said. Rather than worry, Kayd was anticipating what would happen next but kept a hand on his blade if something went wrong.