Chapter 3 - Bandits

Chapter 3 - Bandits

Five hours earlier

—

Melanie

—

Layla was coughing again as she spoke to the headmaster. He asked her to go fetch some medical herbs, and she nodded her head weakly in response.

As Layla started gathering her belongings,

“I’ll go instead.” I said, stepping forward.

Her eyes widened for a moment, and she hesitated.

“You need to rest,” I added gently.

A faint smile appeared, and she handed me her travelling bag. I slung it over my shoulder and stepped out of the old orphanage.

Mundun, a modest settlement east of here, was the nearest village where I could purchase herbs. I had to hurry if I wanted to return before sunset.

The paved street of Lunaris stretched ahead, damp from the morning dew. I could see that the morning rays of sunlight were beginning to pierce through the clouds, illuminating the ridge tiles. The air felt quite chilly, but merchants were wandering about, setting up their stalls.

As I passed the town center, I glanced up at the church, which towered over the other residential buildings.

*Bong* *Bong* *Bong*

Deep resonating sound waves echoed across the street and rooftops, keeping time for everyone below and reminding them that a new day had arrived. A few townsfolk bowed their heads in an act of quiet devotion.

Everyone here seemed devoted to Lumira, a devotion so rigid it reminded me of the medieval fanatics on Earth. No wonder the town bore her name, I thought, shaking my head with a wry smile.

As I walked further, the scenery began to change. The neat streets began to thin, gradually transforming into untamed nature. Beyond the last houses, as the forest crept closer, the kingdom’s influence waned, and signs of neglect began to appear: patches of grass pushing stubbornly into the cracks, trees leaning in from both sides, their branches stretching onto the road as if trying to reclaim it.

Eventually, the paved stone road crumbled into a narrow dirt path. All of the neglect reminded me that this was not a peaceful world like Earth. The kingdom’s resources were stretched thin, and towns located in the countryside were forced to fend for themselves.

A sudden flapping of wings broke the quiet, and a flock of birds erupted from the distant treelines, their cries frantic. The cheerful chirping from earlier had vanished. The forest was dead silent except for the snapping of twigs and rustling of leaves, which rang sharply in my ears.

I pressed myself against a large tree and scanned the shadows between the distant trunks. Dark silhouettes shifted between trees, fluttering leaves with every movement, and my eyes caught a glint of sunlight reflected off metal.

My eyes flicked from one shadow to another, taking in every detail I could observe. Bandits, three of them…no, a fourth crouched just beyond, almost hidden from view.

Hmm… How should I approach this?

The narrow path gave me an idea. I realized I could make the forest do the work for me. A faint blue glow gathered at my fingertips as I focused, and a broad sheet of ice began forming above, stretching between the branches.

I anchored the edges carefully, the ice gripping the branches with just enough strength to hold. At the right moment, I would melt those joints and send the entire slab crashing down on anyone unfortunate enough to be beneath it.

The trap was nearly invisible in the thick canopy of the trees. No one would walk through a forest while staring at the sky, after all. Still, caution demanded that I have a backup plan.

I crouched low, creating slender spikes of ice before covering them in dirt and pressing them into the earth. The dirt should hide the gleam, but I covered them even more with the fallen leaves. A careless step by the bandits could be a fatal mistake.

Everything was set. I brushed the dust from my hands, straightened my posture, and exhaled slowly.

Now, it was time for the bait.

I stepped out from behind the tree and strolled down the narrow path, careful to let my pace seem unguarded. My shoulders relaxed, and my footsteps were light. I was just another innocent girl wandering the woods without a care.

The trick was a balance. If I acted too nervously, they’d sense it. If I looked too confident, they’d hesitate. So I let myself look… ordinary, and I would let their greed do the rest.

Branches rustled in the distance. It seemed like they noticed me. Good. I would let them come at me and then drop the ice slab before retreating behind my spike traps.

“Don’t move, little girl, or else you might get hurt,” a bandit threatened as he emerged from the treeline, brandishing his dagger. His grin was arrogant, the kind of smugness that reminded me of bullies from school, convinced that everything revolved around them.

Absolutely disgusting, I hated these types of people the most, but I put on an act anyway. I took a small, exaggerated step back and pretended to trip. I sat on my butt, with my eyes open wide, and my hands trembling.

“Hieek!” I yelped.

A second bandit stepped forward beside him, mirroring the same confident smirk. He licked his dagger with his tongue before twirling it lazily between his fingers.

“Aw, what’s the matter? Scared already,” he mocked.

From the shadows further back, I could see the third bandit nocking an arrow in his bow, his eyes scanning me like a predator. He didn’t say a word, but his presence was enough to give the other two their confidence.

I was prepared in case he shot an arrow at me. The moment he released his bow string, I would create a barrier out of ice to block it.

“HYAAA!”, the fourth bandit roared as he burst from hiding and plunged his dagger into the bandit armed with the bow.

~ End of chapter ~