Chapter 24: These are what we call a predicament

In front of this vision it was to find a ruined complex which was run by a lot of bandits who seemed to be on their guard, the wizard who had appeared some time ago in this group must have warned these men. This is not to my advantage because the element of surprise would have been very useful, I would have to deal with it, I really don't have a choice.

Everything seemed ready for the biggest fight I have had to live so far, the tip of my spear was sharpened and this spear is firmly in my hand, my helmet covered the totalize of my face, all my energy was flowing in every part of my body to be ready at any time in case of a fight. I don't think I could absorb any energy in these places, because of the harmful energy that is in the atmosphere it could be more harmful than beneficial.

So I have to fight while saving the energy I have, it will be complicated considering the number of bandits I have spotted so far. Lots of groups were scattered around these buildings, me the ones I was looking for were small groups that I could fight more easily. Fighting too many at the same time would be suicidal, I don't want to die today. The life time I have in my body is much longer than what I got when I was born, I intend to take advantage of this to learn as much as possible.

I had to do a lot of walking to find a group that was the right size to start. While browsing the approaches to the temple to finally find those I'm looking for, I came across a path that contained a small group of these bastards escorting a cart.

While stationing myself high up to have a clear view of it I activated my eyes, I wanted to know which ones this wagon contained. My sight was confused by something on this cart, it had to be enchanted to create a veil covering it all. The aura of objects was fuzzy and very difficult to discern, the aura of a particular object was very different from others, I would say strange in such a corrupt place.

The energy that is expelled from this artifact is so pure that I can see the nefarious atmosphere around this cart, being purified by contact with the aura of this one. 
I had never seen anything like this before, I did not know that an artifact could be so powerful, I had read books about such an artifact, but they are myths. 
I couldn't guess what the wizard will do with such items, but it doesn't bode well. 
I can't even stop the convoy because it looks too big not to be noticed if it's late, or if it doesn't arrive at its destination. 
Continuing to follow them is counterproductive; I should go find a way to infiltrate this facility.

* Omniscient point of view *

Izel continued his path without doubting that the wizard already knew where he was. As soon as he saw a group that was too big he crouched down to hide it as best as possible. It was not obvious to him because a man wearing war gear like his is not very discreet in a wood belonging to bandits.

Yet his gear is limited to three things which were his helmet, his spear and of course those boots but his gear was way too pretty for the place. This is of course too few equipment or people to tackle such an adventure, his youth has made him forget the main rule of a fighter: Always be prepared for anything.

While Izel was looking for a way to fight off a small group of bandits a young woman was guided to the mad wizard who was leading the bandits. This young woman was the adopted daughter of this sorcerer, he had taken her in when the place where she lived had been shaved by loggers. When the wizard saw his daughter come into his office he started talking to her:

Wizard: "Well done my daughter for leading her into this part of the forest."

Girl "I would do anything for you dad, he doesn't suspect a thing I think I can control it but it didn't work well."

Sorcerer "Yet I told you, this young and very special man. He is not from this realm yet he has such energy in him."

Girl "I should have listened to you, you knew a lot more than I did."  (She said sullenly.)

Sorcerer "I don't care about your age so much, I didn't know more than you, everything can be learned my dear."

Daughter "Thank you father, could I go to my room now?"

Sorcerer "I grant you my daughter you worked very well, I won't need you for a while, rest well."

Daughter “Thank you father, have a nice evening."

When her daughter left her office, her smiling face disappeared to be replaced by a sinister one. His plan had been prepared a long time ago and the more it progressed the more excited he was. He had started checking this band of misfits some time ago as it was handy for retrieving certain items, or stealing them if he could not be found. To achieve the ones he wanted he had to have a lot of objects and some rare plant, almost free labor was much appreciated by him. Certain stain was not worthy for him to do with those hands, especially since his face was not to be spotted until his plan was finalized.

Izel had just found a group small enough to be attacked by him, he had been observing them for ten minutes. Gently approaching one of the man, his spear was pointed at the man's back so he could stab him quickly. The spear came closer to the man every second, when he was ready enough izel pulled forward and pierced him. What izel hadn't foreseen was that the man did not die directly, the sound of his agony had warned the others of an attack.

The two remaining we took their ax and we approached him to fight him, the blow was brutal he did not seek this preserve unlike izel. Izel’s weapon wasn’t made for close quarters combat, he would only be parried at first, but the further the fight went the more he had to attack if he was to win. His spear could not always protect him, the blows became less and less strong for his part.

One of the enemies made a mistake and it was at this moment that Izel was able to strike him with the stick of his spear, the man's face wearing a bruise, his sense of balance had become disturbed. Thanks to this movement he was able to have a little more freedom to attack the only one that was left, this one was much tougher and more experienced than he would have liked.

A fair fight was always easier than a three-on-one fight. They were facing each other, the tension was at its height between the two. The first movement was by the bandit who violently attacked Izel's left side with that ax, he parried with the handle of his spear and then launched an attack himself with the tip of it. His enemy's weapon did not release the pressure, the blow was quick and violent.

The force used by the two fighters was impressive but it only took a step for this fight to end in death, this came when the bandit left too much room in Izel, he of course took the opportunity to thrust his spear point into the bandits' blow. The gurgling blood and the hissing of the breath of it was the only sound we could hear at the end of the movement.