Bandit Bash

We moved quietly in a single-file line just as we trained. Aesandoral was up front, acting as our eyes and ears. Then came myself. I was there just in case something unprecedented happened and a shield was needed. Behind was Sharzin, who barely existed in the cave's dim light. All the while, Rionriv held the rear, keeping an eye behind us in the event the raiding party had yet to return.

Eventually, the rough stone floor of the cavern gave way to a tiled surface. I stopped for a moment at this transition and inspected the area. In the upper corner, a small arcane contraption no bigger than a teacup appeared to have been smashed in at some point.

As the story went, they busted the false image projector. I thought to myself before giving the signal to continue.

After walking for a few minutes, we began to see the faint flicker of light ahead. Diminishing the magical light that I had been using up to that point, we continued stealthily in the near-total darkness.

“Zin, Aes. Engage.” I whispered a barely audible breath into everyone’s mind as I pressed my temple.

I then listened as the faintest footsteps progressed at a quicker pace than before. Moments later, quiet grunts and muted thuds came from the direction of the flickering flames.

“Down.” Aesandoral’s voice spoke in the back of my mind.

A chill cut through my body as I heard her whisper to me.

Thuh-thump! I gripped my chest firmly.

Not now! Life or death. Go time.

“Proceed to zone two and hold position.” I whispered as Rionriv, and I moved toward the light.

Rounding the corner, I saw the first two of many pig-snouted orcs with their large tusks resting in a pool of blood. They wore long-sleeved shirts and waistcoats, cotton trousers, brimmed hats, and bandoliers loaded with small vials that I knew contained a variety of explosive, pre-casted spells.

I had been on the money. Bully the Kid's top four lackeys and their gang were guarding his stash of shimmer crystals. This meant that the vicious boss was currently out terrorizing the hillsides around Squalls Crossing with his fifth lackey and her gang.

We caught up to Aesandoral and Sharzin in an open room with two carved pillboxes built into the stone walls. Keeping to the sides, we snuck under the arrow slits where unaware guards rested before collectively slinking into a short hall with a set of double doors ahead of us.

Tapping the two archers on the shoulder once we were in position, they readied their bows. Rionriv and I shifted into place and swung the barrier open, revealing a large open chamber with a single door on the far side.

Two guards immediately came to attention, but it was already too late.

Arrows flew toward the ill-prepared bandits, striking true and dropping both in an instant. One of them stumbled back off his feet, an arrow through his throat and blood pouring down his chest. He lifted a wand, firing off a bolt of fire that crackled through the air towards Sharzin.

I rushed forward, taking hold of the rogue and pushing her behind me. Throwing up my arms, I channelled magic into them, taking the blast in stride. It burned, singeing my skin, but nothing worse than any of the other discomforts I had experienced in recent days.

Sharzin now poked herself out from behind the cover I provided to take a second shot. This arrow flew true, lodging firmly into the back of the survivor’s head, crumpling him in an instant.

“Stage Two,” I instructed quietly, and we went off to our tasks.

Sharzin began locking up the door we had come through before using a scroll to add an extra layer of temporary arcane barricading. Aes and I began to look for a secret passage nearby while Rionriv examined the other exit to hear if the commotion had disturbed the sleeping bandits beyond.

A minute passed, and we turned towards each other with confirmation that our tasks were completed before moving on to the next carefully coordinated move.

Thanks to the weeks of memorizing the facility's layout and what to anticipate in every room, what we were doing was hardly fair. We were catching the bandits before they had even woken from a night of drinking. It was so effortless that to say we were shooting fish in a barrel wouldn’t even qualify as accurate.

Everything had gone as planned, all the way down to the rescue of the two trapped villagers who had been taken hostage. And after we provided them extra provisions and set them on their way back to Squall’s Crossing with a map to follow, we continued.

Room by room, the entire facility was cleared. The twenty-two bandits that made up the defence were dead without one alerting the others.

The final task was at hand as we stood outside the room where the bosses slept. We readied ourselves and, with a shove, I pushed the door in.

That was when reality slapped my story logic in the face. There were not four figures sleeping in a circle. But instead, a single, large frame resting in a sagging bed.

Oh, crap! Bully the Kid is here and not his lackeys.

He was the fastest caster on the western half of Moal’aw. This meant that if he got hold of his wand, it could quickly become game over for us.

“Same plan, just don’t let him get his wand out,” I announced as I rushed forward and grabbed his primary wrist.

Now that I was up close and personal, the man’s scent was unbelievable. Bully the Kid was a five-foot bullfrog, but may as well have been an equally stacked pile of bull-crap. Flesh that I would have assumed to be wet and slimy was dry, cracking in my hands as I gripped firmly. His bulbous eyes, now open, locked on mine as I grappled with him.

I watched as a trio of arrows connected where a heart should have been, but the beast of a man didn’t die. Instead, with a deep inhale, he released a bellowing croak.

It was a good thing we cleared the underlings before tackling the boss.

With lightning-fast reflexes, he reached over to his wand with a free hand and unsheathed it. A gentle flick was all it took. I felt the tip of the weapon touch my gut before a forceful blast knocked me from him.

He’s a silent caster?!

Colliding with the stone wall, my vision spun as I witnessed him release two more flits of the wrist, knocking back Aesandoral and Sharzin.

The two impacted against the adjacent walls, hitting their heads and becoming instantly dazed. I watched as Aesandoral struggled to get to her feet, instead tumbling back down to the ground.

“Shame, kids.” Bully the Kid croaked. “You almost had me. Very few people know I’m a lot easier to handle when I’m dry—”

I kicked myself up and to my feet. Charging forward, I nearly made it to him before the wand flicked my direction.

Instantly, I felt his signature binding magic ensnare me. It coiled around my arms and legs, crucifying me to the air as a magical noose wrapped itself around my neck.

Bah-dump! Bah-dump! Bah-dump! Bah-dump! Bah-dump!

My heart and mind raced as I felt the invisible tethers pulling me in every direction. Soon, I would be quartered and, judging by the smirk on Bully’s face, he knew that.

Tapping the wand to the top of his head, a trickle of water poured over his body. The once-parched skin quickly absorbed the moisture, giving it a pleasant sheen in the room’s flickering torchlight.

“Nice try, kid. But I won’t make that mistake a second time—”

“Bwaha-ha.” I struggled to laugh, looking him over as the magic pulled me to my limits.

“What’s so funny?” He asked, pointing his wand menacingly at me. “Acting tough in front of your little ladies? You won’t be laughing once I—”

“You amphibious fool.” I strained to say. “What have you done? You don’t even know, do you? Your clothes are soaked now, aren’t they?”

He looked down at himself, confused. “Yeah? And?”

“Well, surprise, asshole. There are four of us. Riiii—!”

“There’s whaaaaaaaaaa—“

Jumping from her hiding space behind the threshold, Rionriv released the electrical discharge that she had been building since we entered the dungeon. Lightning arced from her hands as though they were a Tesla coil. The electrical bolts struck out, connecting with the arrows buried into the bullfrog’s chest that acted as lightning rods, directing the energy into the core of our saturated enemy. By the time the built-up magic had been fully expended, all that remained of Bully’s body was his charred corpse.

I tumbled to the ground as the spell holding me disappeared. Behind me, Rionriv fell to her knees before releasing a sigh of relief.

“Whewph!—” She exclaimed, leaning her head against the door and holding a hand to her chest. “Woooow—I held back for so long that that release felt amazing.”

“You go, girl,” I groaned, pushing myself into a comfortable sitting position and coughing. “You blew your load on the boss just like we planned. Now, let’s take a 30-minute breather before returning to it.”

With that, everyone released exhausted sighs as we revelled in the success of clearing all the bandits and liberating the first floor. But the break was short-lived as the triop eagerly got back to work looting the level.