Andrew’s wrists chafed against the ropes they’d bound him with, though probably not quite so bad as Peter’s. His younger brother had called for the dragon, but to no avail. The bandits dragged to the waterfall, where they opened a door into the cliffside. They shoved the travelers along a tight winding pathway, until the cave opened into a wide chamber with pillars holding the ceiling up. Off to the sides were several small chambers. The bandits threw them into one of the chambers, then their boss leaned in the doorway to examine them.

“I can’t imagine why you lot would be wandering so deep in the wilderness this late,” he said.

“We’re traveling from the Iron valley to Woadrok,” Andrew said.

“Not as funny the second time, kid,” the leader said. “You’re way too far south of the road for that.”

“We’re not joking,” Anna said. “We… we have something to deliver to them.”

“Oh?” the leader said, leaning over Anna. “And what would that be? If it’s valuable enough, I might just take up the job for you.”

Anna looked back at the other two. Peter shrugged. At least he was following Andrew’s advice for once. Andrew didn’t want to think about what these men would do if his brother started claiming they had a dragon coming for them. But looking at Anna, he saw she had no idea what to say. Then an idea struck him.

“The fourth member of our group has it,” Andrew said.

“The fourth member?” the leader asked. He leaned down before Andrew. “Do tell.”

“My brother called for him when you were binding us,” Andrew said. “He’s off hunting, but he’s carrying a message for the Archmage.”

“And where is his gear?” the bandit leader asked. “You only had enough for three.”

It took all of Andrew’s will not to look away as his brain tried to compose an answer. Anna came to his rescue, though. “I was sharing it with him,” Anna said. The leader spun to face her, and she stammered out, “he’s… he’s my older brother. Wasn’t space for anyone else to share.”

Andrew saw confusion cover Peter’s face. Peter looked at him, and Andrew gave a little shake of his head. Still looking a bit confused, Peter screwed his mouth shut and looked back at their captors. The bandit leader rose to his feet and examined the three of them again. “A fourth stranger.” he shook his head and stormed out of the little chamber. “You two make sure they stay put,” he said to two of his men. “The rest of you, let’s go keep an eye out for this companion of theirs.”

The bandits left, closing the door to the prison chamber. The door was thin wood, weathered, but clearly not as old as the surrounding structure. On the other side of the thin panel, they heard their guards complaining to one another about getting left behind. They could hear the pair move a little ways away. Probably taking seats at a table.

“So do I have it right that you’re pretending Jarnvaror is your older brother?” Peter asked in a whisper.

“Sort of,” Anna said.

“Feels weird.” He frowned, looking around. “What is this place anyway? Is it an old Dwarvern outpost or something?”

Anna shook her head. “We don’t build like this, or use symbols like those,” she gestured to the doorframe, which had a series of unfamiliar runes and stary glyphs carved into it. “And we don’t abandon places like it, either. I think these are ruins from the Catastrophe.”

“Underground?” Peter asked.

Anna shrugged. “Well, they’re all over the place, aren’t they?”

“That’s not important right now,” interrupted Andrew. “We should focus on thinking of a way out of here.”

Peter leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms. “Well, we don’t have any weapons to fight our way out of here with.”

“Do you even know how to use a sword?” Anna asked.

“A little,” Peter said. “Lord Richard gave me one to practice with when we first met him.”

“But you never kept it up,” Andrew said. “And you’re right, we don’t have it now.”

“So what can we do?” Anna asked. “Because I don’t think sneaking out is an option, either.”

“We could wait on Jarn,” Peter suggested. “He’d eventually find us.”

“I don’t think we can rely on that while under the waterfall,” Andrew said. “And there’s no telling what the bandits will do in the meantime.”

“So what can we do?” Anna asked.

Andrew didn’t answer right away. He crossed his arms and looked at the makeshift door to their little chamber. “Even if we get through that, there are the guards to deal with on the other side.”

“Can we open it?” Anna asked.

“Let’s see,” Peter said.

“Wait, what are you doing?!” Andrew hissed as his brother walked over to the door.

“Seeing if it’s locked,” Peter replied in a whisper. “I didn’t hear any keys.”

“They’re watching on the other side!” Andrew shot back.

“Just a peak,” Peter said. The boy grabbed the nob and turned it. The door opened, And Peter peaked through the crack. Then he grinned back at the others. “They’re playing cards. We could rush them!”

“That’s too dangerous! We don’t have any weapons,” Andrew reminded him. “We need a way out where they don’t notice us.”

Peter thought for a few seconds. “Yeah, that doesn’t seem possible.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Andrew sunk to the floor, acknowledging the point. “No fighting our way out, and no sneaking out,” he muttered. Another thought started forming.

Before it had finished, Anna sat down as well. “So we’re stuck then?” she said.

“We’ll think of something,” Peter said.

“Yeah,” Andrew agreed. “I think we’ve got one other option. You still have your bracelet, don’t you?” Anna nodded, and Andrew was very grateful they hadn’t stripped them of their valuables before trying to interrogate them. “Do you think Halcyon could affect them through the door?”

Anna opened her mouth to answer, then shook her head. “I have no idea. I could try. What are you thinking?”

“I’m wondering if your Wisp can put the guards to sleep without them noticing.”

Anna blinked, looking at her bracelet. “I… I don’t know if he even has that power.”

“It’s worth a shot, isn’t it?” Peter said.

Anna looked between the brothers. She took a breath in, then she nodded. “I’ll give it a shot. She put her hand over the gem in her bracelet and closed her eyes. Her breathing slowed.

“So what’s he saying?” Peter asked.

“He’s not saying anything,” Anna said. “He doesn’t really talk. He just… feels.”

“But is he going to calm them down?” Peter asked.

“I’m still trying to figure out how to get him to understand that!” Anna hissed.

“Peter, just give her a minute,” Andrew said. He saw the blue light beginning to shine through in Anna’s hands. It was slight, but he felt the calming influence of the Wisp. He glanced to the door, listening for the guards on the other side. He could tell they were speaking, but he but he couldn’t make out any words. Halcyon’s influence helped temper his nerves, but he knew it wouldn’t be enough to lull anyone to sleep, even this late at night.

“I don’t think he understands,” Anna said. “He seems worried about us, so he wants to keep us calm. But he can’t tell what’s going on.”

“There’s no way to tell him we’re in danger and we need him to knock out our enemies?” Peter asked.

“No, not really.” Anna said.

“What’s going on in there?” came the voice of one of the guards. “What’s that light?”

“Damnit,” Andrew hissed. “Stop him. It’s not working.”

“I can’t just tell him to quiet down,” Anna said.

“Hey, answer me!” Called the guard.

Andrew felt panic rising up under Halcyon’s influence, and he saw fear creeping into Anna’s face as well. The Wisp grew stronger, trying to force his calm down on them, but Andrew saw no way it could put anything to sleep, let alone a nervous bandit guard.

The barricade opened and the two men stepped into the room. “What the hell—” the first one began. Then he paused, seeing the blue light coming out of Anna. “A mage….” he muttered.

The second hefted his axe. “This isn’t worth it,” he said. “Let’s just kill them and be done with it.”

At the words, Andrew and Peter both rose to their feet. But the Wisp was faster. The Wisp sprang fully out of Anna’s bracelet and formed a wall smoky light between the bandits and the travelers. The guards scrambled back a few steps.

“Another Wisp user?” asked one.

“I thought the boss turned you lot down,” said the other.

“Turned down…” Andrew repeated. Then an idea clicked together in his head. Halcyon was still pouring out a calming influence. He wanted to diffuse the situation. So Andrew let it cover him as he stood facing the gandits. “Not everyone has turned us down,” he said. He heard the other two rustle at the statement, and he hopped they would know to play along. “There was someone else in the area who was interested.”

“Who?” the guard asked.

“The… that is, if you’ve turned us down, then that’s none of your concern,” Andrew managed, surprised by how well he seemed to be acting. He thought of feigning anger or annoyance. But something stopped him. It would be impossible to intimidate the guards with the Wisp keeping them calm as they were. No, he had to convince them they were the people trafficking in Wisps. He had to convince them they were already right. “We were trying to travel in secrecy, but we’ve wasted enough time trying that with you.”

Anna stepped up next to him, and he looked down at her. She nodded to him, and he knew she’d picked up on the game. “We were hoping to honor your wish to not be involved,” she said. “But if you keep us here, our employer won’t allow that. They’ll come after you.”

The bandit’s exchanged a look.

“Well, are you going to keep us here despite that?” Andrew asked.

“The boss…” one began.

“Your boss will understand when you explain it to him,” Andrew said. “Now will you let us go, or shall we start using the Wisp?” He bit the inside of his lip, hoping the last line wasn’t taking things too far.

The two guards exchanged one more look. Then they stepped out of the chamber and made room for the trio to pass. “Whatever you lot are planning, just leave us out of it,” said the second guard.

“We intend to,” Andrew said. He looked back at the other two. “Let’s go.”

They walked out of the Bandit’s cave and back into the night. Apparently sensing the tension break, Halcyon returned to Anna’s bracelet. His influence faded, and Andrew felt his heart begin to thunder in his chest, as if it had to make up for the unnatural calm. When they were far enough from the waterfall to hear themselves, Anna whispered, “Did that really work?”

“It seems like it,” Andrew said.

“What do we do now?” Anna asked.

“Hide until daylight,” Andrew said. “We don’t want any of the other bandits to stumble on us in the dark. They’re out looking for Jarnvaror.”

“I don’t like the idea of hiding,” Peter said. “Besides, “There’s still the stuff at our campsite. We should probably grab that before anything else.”

“Are you crazy?” Andrew said. “That’s where the bandits started their search. They might still have someone there!”

“That’s fine. We can just pull the same trick on them and get our stuff.”

“I’m not sure that will work again,” Anna said.

“They might take our stuff if we don’t go and get it, though,” Peter said.

“Oh well!” Andrew hissed. “None of it’s worth risking our lives over. We’re going to wait for Jarnvaror.”

“About that,” Peter said. “How are we going to do that? The bandits are combing the forest, and it could be hours before Jarn gets back.”

Andrew could feel his head beginning to pound. He’d been working on that problem, but the best he could think of was, “We’ll… We’ll stay alert. If we all keep watching, we should see them first.”

Peter shrugged. “I guess.” He looked over his shoulder in the direction of the camp. “Still think we should grab our stuff while we can.”

“No!” Andrew said. “We’ll move into the far trees there and wait for Jarnvaror.”

Peter crossed his arms. “Yeah, yeah,” he muttered. He looked up. In the dark, his face was obscured. But Andrew heard the change in Peter’s voice when he continued, “on second thought, maybe we shouldn’t go to the far trees.”

Andrew blinked, not catching his brothers meaning for a moment. Then he saw what Peter had seen first. Two figures stepping out of those trees. He caught movement from the corner of his eye and saw another pair emerging from the shadows. He wasn’t even surprised when the bandit leader’s voice came out of the darkness, disembodied like some ghost commanding the other four. “It seems you’ve managed to trick all of us tonight,” the leader’s voice echoed. “No sign of any friend of yours. You really aren’t worth our trouble. Kill ‘em, boys.”

The Bandits drew their weapons.

A roar split the air overhead. Andrew saw the heads of the bandits snap up. Even as they did, Andrew flinched as Peter’s voice boomed behind him, “Down here!” A quieter dragon call followed in response.

“What are you doing?” the Bandit leader said.

“We told you we had a fourth member,” Peter called. A moment later Jarnvaror landed on the river bank, between the trio and the bandits. The dragon ignored the strangers, though, golden eyes fixed on Peter, and rumbling a low growl. “Oh, yeah,” Peter replied, “probably hard to find food with these guys wandering around the forest.”

The dragon blinked, then swung his head around to see the bandits. Between the dragon’s wings, Andrew could see the men were stunned, looking up at the beast. Their faces were invisible in the darkness, but he knew by how stiff they all were that none of them would be a threat anymore. He fell to his knees himself, feeling like a great weight had been removed from his shoulders. Peter grinned down at him. “I think we’ll be able to get our stuff, now.”