"How much longer do we have to walk?" cried Koko, pfft mages.

"Just think of all the cake money you'll earn Koko." momma chuckled out.

"Right! Cake, do it for cake." Koko muttered to herself in what has apparently become her new mantra.

Steadily marching down the road, a turned over, half destroyed carriage is abandoned. Must've been left like this for a few days but as luck would have it, this is the last known location of the troublesome brothers. Searching the area of the ambush its fairly easy to work out what happened. Ahem~ The rope connecting the horses was severed, causing the carriage to crash and grind, eventually tumbling over. According to the notice only one male body was found and its yet to be confirmed but it is assumed there were female travellers on board. Not surprising as the duo are known for black market slavery, meaning forcing slavery on registered members of guilds and societies rather than from war or debt. While slavery isn't illegal in most countries, kidnapping is, according to Astrid. Loop holes for people with power to abuse.

These travellers were not hit by chance, thats for sure, its too co-ordinated. Whoever they were, the bandits knew they'd be here and how to strike, it might've been a stroke of luck the carriage overturned though. Deciding to search the wooded area surrounding the crash site for more clues, we split up into two groups; mom and Koko, me and Asty.

I definitely should've asked to go with Koko or mom how the hell am I meant to concentrate on our job like this? Asty seems oblivious to the situation and is deliberately checking every nook and cranny. Why wouldn't she be? This is important to her, come on Ava, get your head in the game. Firmly slapping each cheek I start to turn over every leaf. It doesn't take long for Koko to shout out. As we hurry over she was already pointing down to what seems to be dried blood. Perhaps their attack didn't go exactly to plan? There wasn't a lot of blood but just enough for us to find a trail through the forest. 

Unfortunately... it didn't take long for the trail to run cold, his wound clearly not deep enough. Damn. Just when we thought all hope was lost, we could hear the sounds of fighting nearby. Through the shubbery we spy a familiar figure we did not expect to see. That damn stupid brainless ape of a barbarian stood fiercly, cleaving at a wild boar until he managed to split it in half. What kind of ridiculous strength does this guy have? Seemingly unaware of our presence he chuckles to himself and carries on his way, deciding this guy is suspicious as hell, we follow along his path of destruction.

As it turns out, we made the right call as the man leads us to a cave which was definitely owned by no one good. It's a cave after all. 

Deciding to wait outside and observe the entrance to catch him on his return. The merc went inside a while ago and has yet to come back out, should we have gone in after him? As I pondered our dilemma, the sound of laughter echoed out of the cave, hunkering down to watch the exchange. Seems we're right on the money. The merc exits the cave with two suspiciously bandit-y looking siblings. Too far away to hear their coversation the merc hands over a pouch, of what I can only assume is gold, before strolling away with a one handed farewell.

I think all of us wanted to take them on to find out just what the hell is going on but after witnessing the mercs subjegation of the boars two halves, we thought better of it.

"Alright, the barbarian is gone now, we should try to sneak up on those two and take them out quickly. Don't want to give them a chance to escape." Mom said, I guess she thought this was too serious of a situation to not take charge in. 

"Okay, Ava take up point with me, Koko remain in the back and Astrid... I know how you feel but don't run out ahead of us, cover Koko and wait for a no-fail situation to strike, if one arrises.

Asty hesitates for a moment before swiftly nodding in confirmation. Her eyes harden with resolve like cold steel.

Slowly and carefully we approach the entrance, after confirming there are no traps, we begin our raid on bandit brother hideout.

                                                                                                                                 ***

Dark... barely lit by torches in the distance. Luckily the brothers are making a heap of noise, so our approach is made easier. Nearing the destinct sound of the taller man brag about how 'easy' of a job this will be, cash already in the palm of their hands. 

"Nabbin for nobles, how far up we've come, don't you think brotha?" The smaller, nimble looking man shouted out.

"Right you are my brother! Before long we'll have enough money to buy our own nobility, think about it, Flynn & Flann surrounded by women and money in a grand estate! HAH!" Excited exclaimed the tall stocky brother, clapping his thigh in joy.

"YEAH! Whats estake? Fancy meat? Sounds good to me brotha!" Intelligently pondered by the short lad.

I facepalmed. These two are the hated crime duo? 

Deciding we'd heard enough mom pointed towards the tall man and whispered, "Make sure we take him alive, I want to know what the hells going on with that merc." Nodding we all took arms, ready for the battle. 

Koko takes the lead with some faint whispers to manipulate the roots above that poke out of the caves ceiling. Large brown earthy roots wriggled down around the unsuspecting bandits, binding them in place.

"Wha the FUCK, brotha!" Screamed the small one.

Mom and I leaped out, rushing to take them down. Unfortunately the large man had other plans than being easy prey. Dropping a palm sized ball to the ground that eurpted into a puffy grey cloud encompassing us all. The cloud causing Koko to enter a coughing fit, the concentration on her magic fails allowing the bandits escaped their bindings. Mom and I weren't safe from the cloud either, and whilst my mind is in complete disarray, my sight starts to blur. Dark red blotches flushing over my vision, trembling. I realise I could feel everyones movement in the grey fog. A mixture of sound and vibrations of ripple around me, sudden faint red illuminations pierc through the cloud drawing my attention. 

The smaller and stupider brother was clearly not prepared for his big brothers plan, joining us in coughing and spluttering, letting me know exactly which blob of red he was. Holding my breath as I advance, striding in my steps, claw reaching out in full force to collide with the red blob. A scream escapes his lips as he falls to the ground, I think I pulled on his guts as I feel a thick layer of blood paint over me. Ew, I hope stupidity isn't infectious. Fighting on instincts, I trace the sound of his screams down, silencing him once and for all.

One brother down. The smoke cloud starts to disappear from the depth of the cave, as we enter each others vision. The Large man was already in full swing however, launching me flying with a single, unguarded kick to my abdomen. Crashing into the wall I could feel my body lurch and my stomach churn. My numbing vision rippling for a moment until I could clearly see Astrid flying forwards. Her sword swinging down over his head.Suddenly the faint echoes of asty's scream float around my head in between the piercing white noise.

"You fucking BITCHES, you- You killed Flynn but you will not kill this Flann." Flann declared through gritted teeth, parrying Astys strike as if swatting a fly. 

Asty falling face first into the ground is unable to react to Flanns followup attack.

"SEYU!" Koko screamed, manipulating another root to block the falling sword. However mom was already in motion, a faint gold light emitting from her body as she brings her claw down Flanns neck. Crunch. Blood funnelling out of Flanns body with the pressure of geiser. The disgusting brother made way to the ground, gargling his last breath.

... Victory? 

*phew*

There was no cheer however as mom grabbed Astrid by the scruff of her neck.

"What the fuck was that? You could've died! You put us all in danger! What if he took you captive? I told you not to jump in!" Mom practically screaming in her face. Koko trying to calm the situation down reaches out to my mothers shoulder. 

"She knows Seyu, the important thing is we won and everyone is oka-" her calm tone suddenly dropped with a glance towards me.

Astrid following the gaze breaks free of my moms grasp and rushes to my side flinging her arms around me.

"Are you okay Ava? I'm so sorry, you're hurt because of my selfishness to hunt down these bastards and its all my fault, I'm sorry don't die, hey you're not gonna die right?!" Blubbering out words towards me, I could barely even notice as I was already focusing on her embrace.

"OUCH! What was that fo-" Asty cried out after being interrupted. my mom had chopped her head.

"Give her space, let Koko cast some healing magic on her. You okay Ava baby? I know you're tougher than some kick." 

Oi, are you caring mother or sadist teacher, pick one.

"I'm fine, just a little disoriented. You don't need to worry Asty." I comforted Asty with the warmest tone I could muster despite my condition.

"Lets loot this place at least... Tsk, a shame we couldn't capture one." Mom spat out with an irritated tone. 

There wasn't much to take, just their half damaged weapons, some food and drink. After Koko finished touching me up, we had a brief discussion about what to do with the merc, deciding to ask the guild for advice. Asty, realising they were actually finally dead, broke down in tears. With my arms wrapped around her, she cried on my shoulder for a while. 

With everything settled here, it was time to make our way back to town and claim our reward.