"What do you mean you can't spare any men!?"

Eric slams his fist on the chief guards table.

He traveled to Luton's guard office to ask if they can assist in his search.

"Like i told you, our forces are spread thin at the moment, there have been reports of bandits robbing cargo coming to Luton."

"My son and his friend are lost in the forest! Are you saying you don't care what happens to them?"

"Sigh, look here, we're as busy as it is. We would like to help but we just don't have the manpower."

The chief guard shrugs with his hands up.

"Yeah, you look real busy munching on that cupcake of yours."

"I'm on a lunch break."

Eric looks around the building, visibly angry.

There are guards just sitting on their desks or lazying around.

"Tsk!"

The chief guard stuffs the cupcake in his mouth and gets up.

He walks to a cabinet and pulls out two scrolls.

"Munch, if it's so urgent, then you can have these."

Eric takes the scrolls from him, confused.

"And what are these?"

"We received these experimental flare scrolls from the mages guild in the capital. Just say the words in the scroll to activate it and throw it into the sky. Once we see it from here i'll send some guards over."

"These better work or there will be hell to pay. If something happens to those children, i'm coming for you."

"Y'know, i could throw you in jail for threatening a guard."

The chief guard says with a smug expression.

Eric raises his fist into the air and slams it on the desk, breaking it in half.

CRASH!

The guards are visibly shocked and speechless.

"Feel free to come after me."

Eric warns the chief guard and leaves the building.

 

"Any luck? That was some noise."

Some volunteers from the village came to Luton with Eric.

"Barely, and there are more bad news. Bandits have been sighted around the area."

The Volunteers look at each nervously.

"What can we do?"

"I'll buy each of you a weapon, but i understand if you want to leave. Bandits are dangerous, there is no shame in turning back."

"I'm with you Eric. Ever since you came to the village with your wife you've been a tremendous help. I'll fight with you!"

Among the volunteers, a young man steps up.

The rest volunteers are inspired by this bravery.

"Me too!"

"I'll fight some bandits!"

"If there are many of them, we can protect our families too!"

Eric smiles at them, relieved.

"Thank you. I won't forget this. Come, let's head to blacksmith to get your weapons."

 

Eric and the group arrive at Gondo's shop and step inside.

"Oh, Eric! What brings you here?"

"It's urgent Gondo, my son and his friend are missing. These are volunteers want to help me and they need weapons. I'm paying so any decent ones will do."

"A rush order, huh? I do have some spare weapons lying around, let me get them for you."

The dwarf walks to the back and rummages around.

He emerges with a barrel full of weapons.

He empties it on the middle of the floor and the volunteers take their pick.

Some take spears, swords or hammers.

"Spears are easier to use compared to swords and hammers have good stopping power."

Gondo explains to the volunteers.

"Heh, this'll do."

A larger volunteer says while tapping his hand with a spiked hammer.

"This ones nice and sharp!"

Another swings a sword around.

"I'm not cut out for combat, but maybe with this i can contribute."

Says another while inspecting his spear.

"Thank you Gondo, here's the money."

Gondo takes a coin purse from Eric.

"Pleasure doing business. And if you manage to find that kid, we should celebrate with a drink."

Eric waves goodbye and the group begins heading back to Hillcrest with their new weapons in hand.

"Damn it, it's starting to rain."

A volunteer informs the group and points to the sky.

Eric looks up at the sky as raindrops begin to fall.

Dark clouds have filled the sky and are blocking out the sun.

"There is no time to waste, we must head for Hillcrest at once!"

 

The sound of wet footsteps through the mud approaches the cage.

Rolund Taps the cage's bars with his sword.

"Wake up."

I slowly open my eyes.

I was sleeping with my back against the cage, my legs bent and my arms crossed over my knees, my head resting on them.

Alfreda on the other hand was sleeping on her side next to me, using Stella's bag as a pillow.

I hate this.

I hate this place.

I hate Rolund, Grem and the bandits around us.

I wanted to open my eyes in my room, in my bed.

"Get up, the boss is waiting for you two."

"Not interested."

I stare at him, showing him the disdain in my eyes for him and the bandits.

Alfreda scoots next to me and holds my arm.

"Mm..."

She mumbles nervously.

Rolund opens the door and we step outside.

He places shackles on us and attaches a chain to them for him to hold on to.

"Follow me."

He pulls roughly on the chain and we begin following Rolund through the bandit camp.

This is the first time we more of it, as up until now we've only went to Grem's tent.

The bandit camp is larger than i previously thought and there are more people.

We pass some of them and they give us curious looks.

"Huh, who's this?"

"Are these the kids the others were talking about?"

"That boy looks evil for a child."

"Hah! isn't that the boy who broke Lucan's arm?"

"The elf's cute."

"What is the boss planning for them?"

I clutch my right sleeve, looking straight ahead.

Alfreda clutches the back of my shirt, trying to hide her face behind my back.

"Alex, i'm scared..."

"Be quiet and keep your guard up."

I see something out of the corner of my eye and i turn my head.

Two bandits throw a body on top of a few others.

Judging from their clothes they seem to civilians who were trying to pass through the forest.

The clothes of the bodies are bloody, as are the weapons of the bandits who threw them.

They must've killed not too long ago.

Some other bandits are on top of a wagon, throwing stuff down, probably the cargo the civilians were transporting.

Few sweat drops form on my forehead, but i choose to remain focused on following Rolund.

"What're you looking at Alex?"

"Nothing, keep your head down."

We stop and arrive to a large open area.

There are four lit braziers placed into a square.

Grem is standing in the middle of them and grins when he sees us.

"I brought the kids, sir."

"Excellent. Let us begin the initiation."

Rolund nods and loudly addresses the bandits around us.

"Gather around, men! The boss is ready to start!"

The bandits begin slowly gathering in front of Grem, leaving the forest wide open behind him.

I can see Lucan and the overweight man sitting on a fallen tree not too faraway.

The overweight man is preoccupied with his broken nose, wincing in pain as he touches it.

Lucan watches me angrily, his arm in a makeshift cast.

Rolund makes us stand next to Grem, but doesn't take off our shackles.

Because of the open area, we are being soaked by rain.

My anxiety and uneasiness are increasing by the minute and i purse my lips slightly.

Once most of the bandits are present, Grem clears his throat.

"As some of you may already know, a few days ago at night, these children followed the lights of our scouts in this forest. Of course, our talented..."

Grem pauses for a split second and looks to his side, his expression showing that he doesn't really mean it, which isn't obvious from the distance the bandits have gathered around.

"...Scouts noticed them right away and swiftly captured them."

I can see the scouts who captured us looking at each other proudly.

If only you knew how little Grem values you.

"And these past few days, i've been talking to them. Of course, they're just innocent children, so i would never hurt them."

I'm not sure if his voice had slight sarcasm to it, but i heard some chuckling coming from the audience.

A both lie and a truth.

Although he treated Alfreda with kindness, he didn't hold back from beating me and using psychological torture.

"This little girl, Alfreda, was kind enough to tell me about herself."

He extends his open hand towards her to introduce her, which causes her to flinch.

"She told me about herself, her parents AND the location of her village."

The bandits murmur amongst themselves excitedly after hearing this.

Alfreda looks down at her feet with a guilty expression and begins sobbing.

"Sniff, sniff."

"What about the boy?"

Someone shouts.

Shit, now it's my turn

Grem chuckles.

"The boy? I see potential in him. For a kid, he's shown himself to be tough and resilient. He doesn't shy away from pain, for example when i sliced his hand open with my trusty greataxe. These qualities combined with his aggression impressed me."

He points at Lucan and the overweight man.

Lucan looks away in annoyance when the other bandits turn their attention to them.

"And he's surprisingly strong. With my guidance i can make him into a strong warrior."

Rolund looks at Grem in confusion.

"Sir? Do you mean...?"

"That's right! I have decided that he, together with his friend will join us! If he proves his worth, we are a step towards rebuilding my brother's mercenary company!"

Alfreda looks at me in fear.

The world tunes out and i can hear my heart beating fast.

Sweat trickles down my face and my hands tremble.

It's like time is standing still as i try process the ramifications of us being forced join Grem's band.

My thoughts are interrupted by the cheering of the bandits.

Rolund takes out the keys to our handcuffs so that he can remove them from us.

He doesn't notice me looking at his face when he's about to take mine off.

He looks uneasy about Grem's decision.

I'm confused too, as up until now he's treated me so roughly.

He is about to unlock my shackles, when he turns to Grem.

"Sir, are you sure about this? Maybe we should think this through?"

Grem turns to look at him, grinning but his eyes show some anger.

"Are questioning me, Rolund? You've never questioned me before, so as my right-hand man, it would be preferable for you to keep it that way."

Rolund gulps nervously.

"Yes, sir."

Click, and the shackles are off.

"Now then, Alex, step forward!"

I take step forward and the bandits cheer.

"Now, stand in front of me."

With heavy steps i approach him and look down at the ground, my fists balled up.

"Alex, as a new member of the bandit band, you will recognize me as your superior and mentor, hell, you may even call me your father."

The bandits laugh loudly.

I don't register much of what he's saying.

"To make this official, pledge your loyalty and kneel before me!"

Kneel?

To him?

Behind him i see the open forest.

We just have to get there, it's our only chance at escaping.

I just have to get past Grem and grab Alfreda.

"Boy, i said KNEEL!"

I tense up when i'm surrounded by overwhelming pressure.

The weight of his voice is forcing me down, but i grit my teeth and resist.

"Ah!"

Alfreda falls on her knees, it's affecting her too.

Rolund watches me in surprise.

"No one has been able to resist Grem's 'Voice Of Authority' before!"

Grem takes a step closer to me, clearly agitated.

"KNEEL!"

My knees bend and i take a wider stance, clenching my fists and using all of my strength to stay standing.

"HNNG, GAH!"

I don't know if it's my pride or my desire to become the strongest that is allowing me to resist, but that doesn't matter right now.

"...ou..."

Grem raises his eyebrow.

"What did you say?"

"...k you!"

He leans in closer.

"Speak up boy!"

Slowly i lift my face to look at him, baring my teeth with eyes of hate and anger.

"I said FUCK, YOU!"

With frightening speed he grabs my collar and lifts me high into the air with his right hand.

"YOU DARE DEFY ME!? I'LL KILL YOU!"

This is it, this is the moment!

I have decided Grem!

I'm going to fucking kill you!

I throw my right hand into the air.

From within my sleeve, something flies out and i grab it.

A sharp iron stake.

It was sticking out of the cage and i used the rock to strike it off.

With this i will kill you!

Grem, Rolund, and Alfreda, along with the bandits, see the sharp tip, which shines from the light of the braziers in the rain.

My knuckles crack as i clench the stake as hard as i can, and with all my strength, i drive it towards his face.

"HAAA!"

Grem's eye twitches and with quick reflexes, he blocks it with his hand as it goes through it, blood splattering on his face.

"!!!"

Shocked, he realizes he underestimated my strength and didn't put enough power to fully stop it.

Before he can react, i overpower him and strike the stake deep into his left eye.

Blood splatters from his eye onto both of us and he lets go of me with a deafening roar of pain.

"AAAH!"

I land on my feet, my heart racing.

I lift my head to look at Alfreda, who's looking at me with shock and surprise.

My foot pushes against the ground and i lunge towards her.

Swiftly, i grab her hand and pull her behind one of the braziers with me.

With a strong kick, i the brazier falls over towards Grem.

The coals fly through the air and hit him, causing his clothes to catch on fire.

While holding Alfreda's hand, i sprint and pull her with me towards the forest.

Rolund is about to run after us, but realizes that he is forced to prioritize Grem and extinguish the flames.

We disappear through the bushes into the forest while the bandits rush to Grem's side.

Once the flames are gone, Grem graps the stake and pulls it off his eye and hand, spraying blood on the wet grass.

He looks at Rolund and the bandits with a face of rage, his wild hair standing up.

They can see the bloody, gaping hole of his eye socket and he screams.

"What are you standing around for!? GET THEM!"

 

Together me and Alfreda run through the forest, dodging trees and jumping over pits.

"Alex, slow down! M-My legs... are too tired!"

I could barely hear her through my adrenaline but we stop.

We have managed to put some distance, but the bandits could reach us at any moment.

It's understandable that she'd be tired, she doesn't train like i do.

"Hurry, climb on my back!"

I squat down in front of her.

"Okay!"

She adjusts Stella's bag and wraps her arms around my neck.

I put my hands under her knees and take running stance.

With a sharp inhale of air, i tense up my body and launch forward at great speed.

I weave through the trees, surprised by the speed i'm running at.

Up until now, i've only ran at speeds i know i can run.

This is the first time i'm using 100% of my strength.

 

"This way! Follow the tracks!"

Rolund shouts as he and the bandits follow us through the forest.

He points at the sky.

"Search for them from above!"

"Yes, sir!"

A bandit archer climbs the nearest tree with great skill.

When he reaches the top, he scouts around for us.

He catches something from the corner of his eye and focuses on it.

"Eagle Vision!"

The veins around his eyes visibly bulge and his pupils contracts.

His eyesight sharpens and he zooms in on us.

"They're heading north!"

"You heard him!"

Rolund turns around and assumes a low stance, and in the blink of an eye, disappears into the trees.

The archer takes out his bow and readies an arrow.

He pulls the string back and aims at us.

"Sniper Shot!"

He releases the string and the arrow soars through the air.

That tingling sensation again!

It's like my body moved on its own and i sidestep, the arrow missing us by a hair and hits a nearby tree.

"Kyaa!"

Alfreda screams.

"Damn it!

The archer curses and begins climbing down.

 

The wind hits Alfreda's face as i run.

"I didn't know you were so fast, Alex!"

"Me neither, but keep your guard up! Is anyone following us?"

She looks behind her.

Her eyes open wide when she sees something in the distance.

"Someone's coming this way!"

"Tsk! They're faster than i expected!"

It quickly reaches us and runs past us.

Out of the bushes emerges Rolund, who blocks our path.

I stop in my tracks, panting.

"Rolund!?"

I say loudly.

The other bandits are still faraway so his speed was extraordinary.

Alfreda mutters nervously.

Rustle, suddenly a hooded bandit emerges from the bushes behind us too.

"Great, you found 'em boss!"

The bandit brings his left arm to his right-side,

"Ice Shuriken!"

A set of 5 shuriken made out of ice form into his hand and he throws them at us.

"Duck!"

Roland shouts and i do.

He steps in front of us and draws his sword, destroying them all with a single strike.

"Boss, what're y-...!?"

Rolund dashes towards the hooded bandit and strikes him down with a single slash.

Did he just kill one of his own?

I let Alfreda down and we get up.

"What do you want!? Are you taking us back?"

I shout at him, confused as to why he would do that.

Isn't he a loyal follower of Grem?

He turns around and sheathes his sword back into its scabbard.

"I want to talk."