From his hiding spot, the raider named Ragoon watched as Pete slapped Cedric. When it happened, Ragoon gasped in horror. Had that man killed Cedric with one slap? At only level seven? That seemed impossible.

How was Rumpke going to take it when he found out his brother was dead? Sure, all the Trash Pandas like to tease Cedric, and Rumpke would threaten his brother from time to time. But that didn’t mean Rumpke wanted his brother dead. Would Rumpke blame Ragoon for it? If so, Ragoon was as good as dead, too.

Ragoon caught his breath when he realized Cedric wasn’t dead, only unconscious. In fact, Cedric still had all his HP. After that, how did he have all his HP?

Ragoon looked at the others in the room. One of the pixies was on their communication box, no doubt calling the local guard, Nick Warman.

It didn’t give Ragoon any time to plan or organize Cedric’s rescue. The best Ragoon could do was go back to the hideout and let Rumpke know what happened. Should he go back? No, Rumpke might still blame him for Cedric’s capture. He'd punished others of the Trash Pandas for less. Then again, did Ragoon have any other options?

He always wanted to go to the capital and get a legitimate job in waste management disposal.

He sighed, knowing he didn’t have enough len saved up to leave Greenlake. Besides, Rumpke would know how to save his brother. Ragoon wouldn’t get in trouble. Or would he? He reconsidered a rescue attempt. He could try to save Cedric. How much time did he have before Nick arrived? Could Ragoon defeat Pete? Could he handle the two humans, the elf, and the pixies at the same time? He focused on the human girl.

She was only level one. It would make her an easy target. Ragoon felt disgusted by how someone could reach adulthood without gaining any levels. He’d seen it happen before, but he didn’t understand it.

He turned his eyes to the baker, a level seven elf. Even though he wasn’t familiar with a baker’s skill tree, Ragoon was sure he could take a level seven.

He considered the pixies. Adult pixies had a unique talent to manipulate the wind and elements. These pixies seemed too young for that. The most potent spell they’d know would summon a dust devil at most.

That left the blond-haired, blue-eyed human…

After careful but hurried consideration, Ragoon decided to abandon Cedric. On his way out of town, he remained in the alleys. On the outskirts of town, he stuck to the grass and crops in the fields.

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A short time later, he made it to the mountain and the treeline. Therewithin, he found privacy from any who might have seen him. As he climbed the hill, he kept his pace slow, not anxious to return to Rumpkin.

The cool night air whistled and rustled the branches around him. It also reminded him they were entering fall. It was one of his favorite seasons. And it held Harvestfest, his favorite holiday. Ragoon had a great costume picked out for the occasion. He’d wear it to the party that the Trash Pandas always put on during the holiday.

What was he doing thinking about holidays? First, he had to survive his upcoming interaction with Rumpke. He chided himself and hurried the rest of the way to the entrance of the Trash Panda’s lair. When he arrived, he shoved through the foliage covering the cave opening.

At that time of night, the cave was almost empty. The rest of the gang had gone to rob, steal, loot, and scavenge for all the loot and food they could get their hands on. Only a few guards and raiders remained. They spaced themselves at even intervals throughout the tunnels. They saluted Ragoon as he passed by them.

When he reached Rumpke’s chamber, the guard stationed on each side of the door pushed it open. Ragoon stepped through the open doors. A few steps in, and the doors closed behind him.

Rumpke sat in a corner, a pile of knives, short swords, and ninja stars on the table in front of him. Rumpke shifted the weapons around, organizing them. Without looking up from the weapons, Rumpke asked, “how did it go? I know Cedric can be difficult to work with, but he means well.”

As Rumpke had begun to speak, Ragoon stopped, standing at alert. When Ragoon started to talk, he saluted, hitting the palm of a closed right fist against his left shoulder. Then he held it there. “Sir, they captured Cedric.”

Rumpke stopped sorting the weapons, looked up at Cedric, and frowned. “And you somehow got away?”

“Only to inform you, my lord.” Ragoon struggled to keep his composure. “As it turns out, the human who killed the Turkey Titan is powerful. I would not have been able to face him my…”

“Did I not send you, Ragoon,” the fur on every inch of Rumpke’s muscular form stood on end, and his scowl intensified, “to protect my brother?”

“You did, sir,” Ragoon replied. “But, I thought…”

“I don’t pay you to think.” Rumpke roared, standing and knocking over his chair. Then with slow, precise movements, he lifted his arms to each side. His arms bent at the elbow, clawed pointer finger touching clawed thumb on each hand. He lowered his hands that way, expelling a slow breath and saying, “okay… okay… We’ve got this. We can fix this. Mom would want you to fix this. You need to save your brother.”

“Sir?” Ragoon remained saluting. “We can save your brother with a trade.”

Rumpke let his hands fall to his side.” A trade? What kind of trade?”

“Pete, the one who killed the Turkey Titan and captured your brother,” Ragoon explained. “He has a friend, a level one human woman.”

“Level one?” Rumpke spat. “How disgusting and weak.”

“Yes,” Ragoon agreed. “We can capture her and use her in a trade for your brother’s safe return.”

“Let’s go with your plan, Ragoon,” Rumpke told him. “Gather the rest of the raiders together. We need to be careful this time. We need to plan. This Pete is becoming more trouble than is good for him.”