Breaking Point

As we wound our way deeper into the Bandit King’s territory, so too did the settlements become closer and closer to each other. We encountered more people – mostly roaming groups of bandits – patrolling the roads, and the occasional larger farmstead located outside the safety of nearby town walls.

With Jensen’s warning in mind, I viewed each location with a more critical eye. However, the majority of places we visited had somehow established a relatively peaceful cohabitation with their bandit overlords, with some groups even acting like proper town guards. It seemed that the Bandit King himself had given his men broad guidelines to follow, and the severity of how they carried out their rule largely depended upon the individuals who had been placed in charge. Even so, even in the best of cases, the people were still not free. They were being extorted for everything they had to offer, living as little more than slaves.

But for every three peaceful villages, there was one where the abuse was outstanding. In fact, it was worse than I could have ever imagined. The people hurried about with their heads down, their emaciated forms hunched over to not draw any more attention than necessary while the bandits feasted on the spoils of their labor. They lived in constant fear of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The most egregious case we encountered came upon our visit to a town named Layhaven, a settlement even larger than Lakeside had been, and an obvious resource hub of the region. Wagons full of goods lined the roads and streets nearby, and there were dozens of people milling about in the fields outside the town walls, all with a vacant look in their eyes that went way beyond simple defeatism.

At this point, it had been almost two weeks since we had departed Lakeside, which meant that I had been confined to my human form for nearly a full month, the longest I had ever gone without transforming back into a dragon. I was becoming irritable and antsy, and yearned to stretch my wings again. It did not help that we were forced to grit our teeth and look the other way when it came to most of the bandit’s antics, not wanting to risk any altercations unless we absolutely had to intervene.

A ruckus off to the side of the road caught our attention as we approached the gates to the town, and we turned to see a group of four men harassing an elderly fellow carrying a wicker basket. As we watched the altercation, they changed from simply pointing fingers and making rude comments to shoving him back and forth between them, causing him to drop his basket and scatter the goods within – a meager harvest of what looked like carrots and potatoes – across the ground.

It made me sick to my stomach to watch, but if things had stopped there, I at least could have helped the man back up and moved past it. Seeing him trembling in the dirt, the group continued to sneer and hurl even more nasty taunts. Then, one of their number delivered a swift kick to his face, and the others shortly joined in and began to take turns beating the defenseless fellow.

I took a step forward, white-hot rage boiling up inside my belly, but as I reached for my sword, Lassan laid a hand on my arm to forestall me. I met his troubled eyes as he said, “I know you want to help, Leolyn, but we can’t afford to stir the pot, remember?”

“So what?” I hissed back, gesturing to the two dozen or so men and women toiling in the fields nearby, who were pointedly ignoring the commotion, “We’re just supposed to sit back and watch them beat an old man half to death?”

Rill’s gaze fell to her feet, and Tark spoke up, growling, “I agree, we can’t just stand around. Lassan, for the Goddess’ sake, it’s our duty to help the people! Come on.”

Lassan, too, merely stared at the ground, his face a mix of emotions as he struggled to determine the best course of action. Nora spoke up as well, “I know our primary mission should be meeting up with the captain, but this is…it’s too horrible!”

“If it helps,” Rill suggested, “We could always split up again? Leo and I will do what we can to help people, and you guys can break off to find your captain without getting involved in whatever might come of it.”

Lassan sighed heavily, and shook his head. “No. You’re right, we can’t ignore what’s happening either. I cannot allow you two to take everything on yourselves. If we do this, we do it together. Goddess, what would Julius do at a time like this?”

Nora laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder and gently told him, “You already know what the captain would do. He’d fight to his last breath to save these people. He might be a lot stronger than us, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t as well.”

The man stared at her for a few moments, before looking at each of us, in turn. Finally, he said with a bit more finality in his tone, “Alright. Then it’s decided. From here onward…we fight back!”

I grinned, and turned back towards the group, who were still wailing on the poor old man. Rill followed me up as I sprinted towards them, driving my fist into the face of the first man I reached. He spun like a top, staggering a half-step to the side before collapsing. In the time that took, Rill had already managed to dispatch two of the others with well-placed strikes of her wooden blade, and to my surprise, Tark appeared behind the last, his steel sword smoothly sliding in and out of the bandit’s chest. Nora knelt beside the collapsed old man, and immediately began to cast her healing magic upon his prone form, whispering assurances that everything was going to be okay.

The people working nearby paused what they were doing, seemingly confused as to what was going on, staring at us with expressions of awe and wonder as if they could not believe what they were seeing. But, one and all, there was just the slightest hint of something other than surprise sparkling behind their distant eyes; hope.

The few bandits who were watching over them made a break for the gates, where the guards there had also taken notice of the disturbance, and began to draw them closed. Along the top of the wall appeared reinforcements, bows drawn and pointed towards us. Their response was remarkably quick and well-organized, all things considered.

In short order, a man wearing a green tailcoat and thick-rimmed glasses appeared there as well, clearly more distinguished than those around him. His face was gaunt, and rough-shaven, the same as all his other cohorts, but there was also an air of self-assured importance about him. He studied us for a moment before throwing his arms wide and calling out, “Well, what do we have here? A group of adventurers looking to pick a fight? Let’s show them what happens when people try to mess with us!”

There was a chorus of snaps as bowstrings were released, and I quickly drew my sword and braced myself against the incoming volley of arrows…but, none of them were aimed at us. Screams and grunts rang out as those arrows found their marks in the innocent men and women all around us. I watched in disbelief as the people who had been picking crops and tilling soil mere moments ago now cried out in pain and fell into the dirt stained red with their own blood.

He had his men fire upon the townspeople, I thought dully, dazed by what I had just witnessed. Up on the battlements, the man cackled, seeing the looks on our faces.

“You don’t understand, do you?” he asked, managing to calm himself enough to speak. “Then, allow me to explain. There are over a thousand people living inside these walls, and there isn’t a single one that means a damn to me. But the men under my command, the men you just killed? Well, they’re a different story. Marik considers all of his men to be part of his big, happy family, and as his Auxiliary, it’s my duty to make sure they’re safe, even if that means making an example out of a few good assets. The workforce is important, but family is what always matters the most, wouldn’t you agree?”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Rill shouted back angrily, “Assets? Family? You just killed dozens of innocent people, you crazy bastard!”

The man whistled, and laughter erupted all across the lineup at her remarks. “Well, aren’t you a fiery one? Perhaps I haven’t made myself clear. If you want to cause trouble, take it somewhere else, before even more people get hurt. What you’ve already witnessed was what I like to call, an example.”

I glanced around at the others, all of whom were visibly shaken by the scene of senseless murder. Tears streamed down Nora’s face as she looked around at the fields of death, while Tark and Lassan wore grim expressions. My initial shock was finally wearing off, only to be replaced by seething fury.

“Follow my lead,” I told the others, and opened my core to allow mana, wild and unchecked, to flow through me as I walked towards the gates.

The man hooted, seeing my approach. “Oh? You’re not running away? Are you lot daft, or has my message really not made it across, yet? Listen here, I—”

The man was cut off as a bolt of lightning lanced down from the sky, obliterating the mighty gates that blocked my path. Within me, the mana responded to my anger, roiling and surging through my veins. Bandits were tossed from the top of the wall from the resulting thunderclap, and the air was filled with wooden splinters and arcs of static as I stepped over the threshold into the town proper, my steady advance not faltering for even an instant.

To my surprise, the entrance plaza was filled with bandits, and even more ran down the streets to join in. Several of them were helping up the charred form of their leader from where he had fallen. Thankfully, it appeared that the townsfolk had all gone into hiding for the time being.

“Are you okay, Tirel? You took that hit directly…” one of the men asked worriedly, seeing the state he was in. His clothing and hair were singed, and he struggled to stand, but the fact that he had even survived the blast told me that he was indeed not ordinary. Coming back to his senses, he pointed in my direction and yelled, “You! You’re a mage? Kill him, quickly!”

I was instantly set upon by the hordes of men wielding all manner of weapons, and I met them with all the power I could unleash. Taking some care to not hit any of the townhouses by accident, I split the earth and rained fire down upon my foes, burning through my mana as I sought to end this battle as quickly as possible. Bodies crumpled and flew across the square with each blast, and lightning struck from above, scorching the cobblestones wherever it hit.

The liberation of Layhaven was at hand.