Reuben looked around nervously. His heart was beating like a drum and he found it difficult to suppress his excitement and nervousness. It was a chilly night but the damp clothes stuck to his back because of his sweat. Today would be the last day of the transactions. Slowly picking up the sack containing gold bars worth six thousand gold coins, he looked at the two men standing almost a hundred yards away from him.

"Stay there for a bit more. The antidote will be in your hands shortly."

A burly man dressed in black replied in a voice that seemed devoid of emotions, "No, hand over the antidote first. Then you can leave. You have my word that no one will attack you."

Reuben sneered as he looked at the well built man who had just replied. He didn't believe for a single second that the other party would keep their words. His safety would be compromised the moment the antidotes left his hands.

Try all you want. I am not falling for your stupid lies. Just wait a while till I receive the signal. I will get rid of this hot potato get out of here.

Time, like it always did kept on moving at its own pace. Reuben grew increasingly nervous as the arranged time drew closer. The man in black was giving him a death stare but he couldn't care less.

"You already have the gold. Hand over the antidote now. Or are you planning on reneging your promise?" The agitation and impatience was glaringly apparent in the voice now.

"Just stand still over there. I will keep my words. You will have the antidote soon. I like my head where it is. I wouldn't be stupid enough to not hand over the antidote after receiving the pay."

"What are we waiting for? Just hand over the antidote. Then we can both be on our ways."

"JUST WAIT!" Reuben put power behind his answer this time. It would be troublesome if the other party moved now. Not only did the duo standing in front of him have strength that matched his on their own but they were also well armed. Reuben's equipment was focused on stealth and mobility, taking on the duo would be akin to seeking death. Not to mention the various parties hiding in the dark.

"A mere thief dares act with such arrogance? If you don't hand over the antidote now, I will take it from your corpse."

"If you step any closer, you won't be getting your hands on any antidote"

Unsheathing his sword, the man in black took a charging stance. The smell of gunpowder filled the air. It looked like the man in black really planned on taking action.

Sh*t! How could they send this crazy dog to complete the deal. Is he a lunatic who doesn't care if the lords die? It will be bad if he really comes at me. I can't hand over the antidote yet. If I do so, I am dead. If I don't hand it over now, it looks like this crazy bastard will charge at me.

"Enough! Calm down Black." The companion standing beside the man in black finally spoke. Though he spoke in a calm manner, his voice commanded great power and authority." We shall wait for a little longer. I hope you don't keep us waiting for long. Or else, I can't guarantee that you will be safe even if my companion doesn't move."

The three men went back to staring at each other without exchanging any more words. Reuben looked at the man who just spoken and relaxed. At least the lords seemed to have sent someone who could think straight.

The sound of a horn permeated throughout the forest. Black looked around everywhere to try and pinpoint the direction of the sound. But no matter how hard he concentrated, he couldn't decide on a direction as it seemed like the sound was coming from all directions.

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"Annoying little trick." Black looked at his companion who made the comment. Raising his hands, the companion snapped his fingers and the magic was dispelled. Everyone could now make out that the source was behind the so called 'Robin Hood'.

"To think that you would dispel the magic instantly. Seems like you came prepared. Well then gentlemen, that is my cue to leave. I hope you will have a wonderful night. Farewell." Reuben threw a pouch containing the antidotes towards the duo and bowed in a crude manner.

"Bastard!" Black roared as he dived towards the pouch. The antidotes were kept in glass vials and they were very fragile. His companion was a wizard and couldn't make any immediate move to hold down the other guy. The pouch had been thrown quite a distance away from him in order to keep him busy and he couldn't help but curse.

"Stop him Ray." Black yelled at his companion as he caught the pouch and hurriedly checked its contents. Thankfully the antidotes looked genuine, at least at a quick glance.

"I know." The companion named Ray began conjuring a ball of flames. Just as he was about to attack Reuben, the ground began shaking and he lost his footing. Grabbing a tree nearby to stabilize himself, he looked at where Reuben was standing. The bastard who had been stalling for time for so long revealed a teasing smile at him and threw down a cylindrical object. Upon impact, the object began spewing out smoke in great amounts. Soon, the wind blew the smoke away but Reuben was nowhere in sight.

"F*ck that son of a bitch escaped. How could you let him do that Ray?" Black spoke in a tone full of dissatisfaction.

"Don't talk as if you could have done anything if you were in my stead Paul. I am already pissed at you for trying to take things too far earlier. What if the bastard had destroyed the antidote?"

"Tch.. I know the likes of them better than you do. No way in hell would he dare to cut off his own lifeline. I was only trying to scare him to see what he had up his sleeves. But thanks to you, he waited it out until the horn sounded. It was probably a signal from his helpers."

"It wasn't a risk I was willing to take. Would you take responsibility if anything happened to the antidote. I would have to suffer the wrath of six noble families including the one I serve. Keep your crazy acts to yourself."

"Forget about it. What was the mini earthquake earlier?"

A trace of lingering fear surfaced in Ray's eyes as he replied, "A tier five spell. Probably Earth Shake."

"What?" Black asked in voice full of shock, "Are you telling me that a gold ranked wizard is among the thief's helpers?"

"Yes. Thank god we are in a forest. If it was anywhere else, we would probably be in a really bad shape right now. Or worse, dead."

Black looked around trying to find any clues as to where the spell had come from. The wizard seemed to be wielding earth magic. The spell earlier had shook the ground in a nearly ten meters radius. They were standing in a forest where the soil was held tightly by the densely growing trees and plants. Had they been in any other place, the ground would probably be full of cracks and fissures. Who knows if the two of them would be alright at all.

"Well, our work is done. The others will take care of whatever happens next." Black spoke in a bland tone and headed for the estate where his lord was staying. Ray looked at Black and headed towards his own lord as well.

***********

"Did you feel it Vincent?" Zach asked in a fearful manner.

Vincent looked towards the west where the outburst of mana had come from. "I did. Felt like a tier four spell, possibly higher."

Nathan and Casper looked at the two wizards and asked what had happened. Vincent answered honestly causing frowns to appear on the duo's face. Nathan followed up with another question, "What do we do? It's alright if it was a 4th tier spell, but if it's a tier 5 spell, it would mean that the wizard is not under the employment of any of the lords. The situation could get a lot worse, do we still follow our plan?"

"It's not confirmed that it's a gold ranked wizard. Even if it is, the wizard might be someone whose strength the lords had hidden. So, there's a good chance that the wizard might very well be on our side. Besides we are only going to look around. We won't make a move if the situation looks bad. Let's go." Zach suppressed his fear and spoke in a somber voice.

While the rest were feeling iffy, Casper was excited. It was hard to come by a gold ranked wizard or warrior in these parts of the country. Seeing one in action, that was even rarer. "Let's go. We can just observe for now. I don't think we will be in any real danger. The lord's forces vastly outnumber the enemies after all."

Vincent thought it was too naive to assume that the enemy forces might be smaller than the lords. After all, the enemies had made no moves as of yet. Still, he didn't want to give up on this opportunity as well. After all, if they succeeded tonight, everything would change for them. "Sure, we can always turn back."

After everyone agreed, the group headed towards the direction Reuben had fled to.