Part 7 ~ Meeting

…

Drake launched a series of continuous attacks. Combination of Triple Slash, Berserker and other multiple slashes technique. The orcan blocked every single one the attacks. However, Drake still had the upperhand. The orcan could only stay defensive. Drake was too fast for him to launch a counter.

Suddenly the orcan spoke. “Wait! I am on your side!” he shouted while blocking Drake’s slashes. “Oh yeah? Try!” Drake replied, not stopping. Drake stepped back, and delivered several windslashes at the orcan. The orcan lifted his axe and slammed it to the ground. “Hear me out!” he shouted.

As he slammed the axe to the ground, the floor around him rose up. Encircling him, protecting him from the windslashes. The last windslash broke the rock wall. Drake was astonished. So he could use magic too, Drake thought.

“You’re strong for an underling. Who are you?”

“Listen, I’m at your side. I was a Prober.”

Drake was confused. A Prober was law officers that investigate crimes. They were the right hand of the Enforcers, the group that police the kingdom. But he said ‘was’?

“Was…?” Drake asked.

“I was retired and lived peacefully in Heaton as a guild clerk. However recent situations required me to do this again.”

“You mean bandits infestations?” Riecca asked.

“Yes, the king did not send help at all. Late taxes they said. But with the high tax rates and bandits, we could not pay. With no protection from the king, the bandits became wilder. This is a vicious circle that needs to be stopped,” the orcan sighed. “That’s why I’m here now.”

“You expect us to believe you?” Drake asked.

“I don’t.”

~~~~~End of Chapter 2~~~~~

Part 6 ~ Meeting

…

Xola landed a scratch at his belly. It was not deep. He somehow evaded the attack. “You shit!” he said as he brandished his dagger. He attacked Xola, but Xola was ready. He leaped sideways and shot a fireball towards ‘bandana’. The fireball clearly was a surprise for ‘bandana’. He screamed and tripped, missing the fireball. A lucky miss.

The fireball shocked the orcan too. Drake used this chance to circle him and strike from behind. The orcan realized that and barely dodged it. He’s good, and experienced. He blocked all of my attacks, Drake thought. He felt happy. He loved a good fight. This orcan clearly was no small fry. Although I hope not all the bandits are like this.

Xola growled angrily. He hated it that he missed. And it was because the man slipped. Xola roared and charged. “Don’t think that you can surprise me again!!” ‘bandana’ shouted and slashed at Xola with his dagger. Xola jumped left and shot fireball at him. ‘Bandana’ rolled away, and suddenly threw his hidden knife towards Xola. Xola was caught by surprise too, but he did not such luck. The knife struck his left hind leg. He yelped at the pain. “Ha! You’re not the only one with surprises!”

As soon as he said that, he was knocked unconscious from behind. Riecca had not exposed herself earlier. “And that’s another surprise for you,” she said. She rushed to Xola’ side and treated the wound.  She looked at Drake. He was still fighting the orcan. That orcan is no ordinary bandit. Could he be the leader?, she thought. But they were referring someone else as ‘Boss’.

…

Part 5 ~ Meeting

…

They quickly hid behind the crates. They heard footsteps coming from outside the cave. A group of people were coming in to the treasure room. “Probably the bandits. We should see if we can find some information from them,” Drake whispered to Riecca.

Three people came in, talking loudly. “You should see the face of the wife!! Ha! Scared out of her shit!” one of the men said. He had a rugged look, with a worn out bandana. “Should have played with them a little. Hah hah!” another one laughed. This one was tall and slim. He was the youngest of the three. Drake looked at the last one. He was an Orcan. Half orc, half human. He did not say anything except for grunts and nods.

As soon as he learnt that one of them was an Orcan, Drake realized their problem. Damn! Xola! Hopefully this Orcan doesn’t inherit his orc parent’s ability. But then the Orcan became tense. “There’s something not right here,” he said to his two friends. “I smell something…”

Orcs had good sense of smell, and this orcan obviously could smell Xola’s presence in the cave. Drake’s mind started working. He had to figure out what to do; wait or surprise them.  He decided to wait a while longer.

“You smell something?” the youngest one asked.

“What’re you talking about? I could smell no nothin’,” the one with bandana said.

“I’m half orc. There’s something different in here.”

“Huh? Quit it! Just take the crates and move them. You don’t wanna piss Boss. If we’re late, we’ll be in trouble, I tell ya,” the one with bandana said.

The youngest one came towards the crates where Drake was hiding behind. As he took the upper crate, Drake swung his sword. The young one was caught by surprise and fell with that single strike. The other two were shocked to see their mate died. They were even more surprised to see Drake standing there. Drake charged at them. He chose the orcan, so Xola lunged at remaining one.

…

Part 4 ~ Meeting

…

“So how’d you have a rwulf tagging along?”

“That is a long story. I think it would bore you.”

“Try me. It should be better than just walking and searching.”

So Drake told Riecca the story of how he found Xola. They were walking in the direction that the thug pointed earlier, with Xola leading the way. The rwulf could sense and track better. Drake had just reached the part where Xola rescued him from the rocs when he noticed a cave up ahead. They stopped talking and went closer. Xola had already crouched behind bushes.

Drake scanned the surroundings. No one seemed to be around. The air was still. It was too quiet to be a bandit’s lair. “Maybe they all went out for a raid?” Riecca whispered. There was only one way to find out. Drake and Riecca sneaked in the cave. The cave was dimly lit, with some torches hung on the walls. At least there’s light. Someone lived here.

They continued going deeper towards the cave until they reached a large space. It was filled with a few crates. There was a table on one corner of the room. It looked deserted. “Well, I think we should check the crates for your stuff then?” Drake broke the silence.

“Don’t you think this place looks too empty for bandits that had robbed a town dry to live?”

“Yes. But since we’re here already, might as well check the crates.”

They finished searching the place. The crates were full of treasure indeed. However none was Riecca’s belongings. “I couldn’t find my stuff. I don’t think it’s here,” Riecca said.

“Well, at least this place is some thieves’ hideout. Maybe there are different group of bandits,” Drake said.

“So what do we do now?”

“I think we should start searching the forest again. I think I should travel alone, with you and Xola following closely. I think the Sharpwind could lure them out.”

“That does sound like a good id…” Riecca was suddenly interrupted by a low growl by Xola.

“Behind the crates!!” Drake hissed.

…

Part 3 ~ Meeting

…

The bandits and the elf lady were surprised by Drake’s sudden appearance. Xola took this opportunity to lunge at one bandit. Drake jumped and attacked the one who threw the Iceball, then turned around and attack the two thugs left. They did not have the chance to defend themselves, Drake was too fast.

Drake did not kill the last one. He needed him to find the leader. Drake held his blade at his throat. Then Drake turned to see the elf. He could not get a good look at her earlier from his hiding spot, but now that he could see her clearly, she looked familiar, but he could not remember. Her eyes, he knew he had seen it before, sharp and full of energy. She smiled at him and he almost skipped a beat. He turned back towards his hostage, afraid that she might see him blush.

“Thank you,” she said.

“Uhh… You’re welcome,” Drake replied. Still not looking at her. “So they stole your stuff?”

“Yes, there’s something important. A special treasure…,” she said as she looked at Drake’s sword. “Is that the Sharpwind?”

“Yes,” Drake said, surprised. He looked at her and said, “How did you know?”

“I’ve seen it once. When I was eleven. Don’t you remember? I saw you and your father practice.”

So that’s why she looked so familiar. She’s that elf girl. Funny meeting her here. Drake remembered when he had seen her. Ten winters ago. “Nice to meet you again,” Drake said. “Let’s talk more later. For now, we find your stuff first,” he said as he turned back towards the thug.

“So, where is your hideout?”

“Go to hell! I ain’t sayin’ anythin’”

“I will kill you instantly… Painless. But Xola there, he’s hungry. Maybe I should feed you to him. You’ve never seen a rwulf before, have you? Believe me, he’s very hungry…”

Xola stared at him, fangs bared. He barked once. The bandit yelped and said, “O’right, o’right… It’s in the cave that way…” He pointed to the west. “Thank you. Is that where the lady’s belongings are?” Drake asked. “Yes! Yes! It’s all there…,” he stuttered. “Good, but as I said, he’s really hungry…,” Drake said as he lowered the blade. Xola barked again, and the bandit got up quickly and ran away, screaming.

Drake turned to the elf. “Tell me what they stole from you and wait for me at Heaton,” he told the elf.

“Thank you, but you need not worry about me. I’ll go with you. I can take care of myself and I won’t be a burden.”

“But it will be dangerous…”

“I know some techniques. Trust me, I won’t be a problem.”

“Hm… Fine. You can come along.”

“Thank you Drake.”

Drake was surprised. How could she know his name? “How did you know my name?” he asked.

“We’ve met. I’ve got a good memory. My name’s Riecca if you’d forgotten.”

“Riecca. Of course I remembered,” he said. Blushing.

…

Part 2 ~ Meeting

…

Drake set out to find the hideout. The faster he could do so, the faster he could replenish his dwindling supplies. He decided to start searching north. He found a trail in the main road, leading towards the forest. Who would go to the forest? He decided to follow it.

He followed it deeper in the forest. After a while, he saw a group of people in the clearing ahead of him. He sneaked closer to the group. When he was near enough, he hid behind a tree, surveying the situation. A woman was talking with a group of what seemed like bandits. They were arguing. Clearly the woman was surrounded.

“Bad choice lady,” one of the bandits said.

“I know you were the ones who stole my belongings. Give it back to me!” the woman replied. She was slim. Her long black hair left untied. Drake noticed her pointy ears. An elf. The bandits had stolen her stuff and she had followed them here.

“Where are my things?” she asked again.

“Ain’t with you!”

“Yeah!” the bandits laughed.

“Hey! I’ve got an idea… Let’s play around with her… Since she came all the way, at least we have to give something…” one of bandits said. Laughing.

One of them came closer to her, reached out his hand, but her kick was faster. She kicked his groin and he fell down, crying. She seemed able to fend for herself. The other bandits were mad, they felt insulted. Then all of them charged at once. She fought back.

One bandit tried to attack her from the right. She dodged him and countered, hitting him in the face. A second bandit took out his sword and slashed at her. She somersaulted backwards, avoiding all of them. She had to prevent them from ganging in on her. Against a group of people, she had to take them down one by one.

She had no weapon, so she was at a disadvantage, but she seemed to be able to fend for herself. Her martial arts skill was good. The bandits were overwhelmed. However, one of them knew magic. He suddenly threw an Iceball at her. She was not ready for it. Drake leaped from his hiding place and windslashed at the Iceball, destroying it.

…

Part 1 ~ Meeting

Heaton was a simple town. The town folks were living peacefully until a group of bandits started disturbing the town. It happened around three months ago. The bandits appeared out of nowhere and started raiding carriages or travelers going in and out of Heaton. The town guards were not helping at all. Local town guards were no match for the bandits. The King refused to send any reinforcements. The reason being Heaton had not paid the taxes on time lately. Bandits, coupled with recent tax raises had crippled the town.

Drake arrived at the town from the south end. He took four days to reach Heaton from Hartmoor. It was a long journey but Xola helped in hunting and collecting fruits. Ever since he adopted Xola, the rwulf had been much healthier. Xola had grown stronger and more agile.

Drake was stopped before entering the town by a town guard. He checked Drake’s belongings and looked at Xola suspiciously. “Don’t worry. This is my pet. He’s not dangerous,” Drake assured the guard. With Xola now neat and healthy, he looked less dangerous.

“Sir, what is this?” the guard asked as he saw the Sharpwind.

“It’s my sword,” Drake answered. “Don’t worry, I’m a Hunter.”

“Sir, I am sorry to say that until the bandits have been dealt with, I can’t let you bring weapons inside the town.”

“Bandits? Then maybe I could help. I did say I am a Hunter.”

“Yes, we would appreciate that, but still, before the problem’s solved, I can’t let you take your weapon in.”

“Then I’ll go and handle this now. This sword is a family treasure. I need keep it by my side,” Drake said. Frustrated.

“Tell me what do I need to do and where to find the bandits?”

The guard earlier had called his captain to meet Drake by the town’s southern entrance. The captain looked tired.

“Just bring me the leader, alive. If he’s dead, how do we know that you did not just kill anybody and bring us the corpse?” the captain said. “I hope you understand. It’s not like we do not trust you, but the bandits had really torn this town apart.”

“Then I will bring you the leader. Any ideas on where to start finding them?”

“They usually raid our northern and western passage. They could be around the area. Honestly we didn’t search the area because it was too big.”

“Right. Thanks for the tip. I’ll see what I can do.”

…