punchew

This is one short chapter o.O

The train screeched to a halt, producing sparks and an ear-deafening sound. Audible shouts and grunts could be heard from inside the cabin that Alta and Kaida were in, and a conductor hurriedly ripped the door open. 

“Are any of you here adventurers?”

“I am,” Alta replied hesitantly before pulling her adventurer’s license from her wallet. 

“Good! There are bandits at the front of the train and I need people to deal with them, go!” The conductor directed them to the front of the train.

Alta quickly dashed down the coaches with Kaida in tow, and as soon as she exited the first coach she dodged a knife that would have nailed her in the head.

“What the heck?” She dove forward and onto the grassy field below. She immediately got up into a defensive stance, with her sword drawn. She was staring straight at a trio. She remembered faintly hearing about them while talking to the ticket counter; something about a group of bandits causing a ruckus for locomotives, and their name?

“The locomotive marauders?” Alta looked in disbelief. Of all the times, why would they show up now?!

“Well, what do we have here? A wee girl with a sharp stick? Be careful or you might hurt yourself!” One of the bandits teased. He wore a brown jacket tucked inside black trousers, the same as the other two bandits. They had hardened leather under their jackets. Their faces were covered by bandanas, making it difficult to know who they were.

“Tsk,” Alta clicked her tongue. “Says the low-lives whose only contribution to society is  keeping children away from forests!”

“Pfft. Is that the best you’ve got?” They laughed.

Alta disregarded their refute and tried to dig up details about them from memory. The locomotive bandits were famous for their brazen acts of thievery from trains. They often used extortion or threats involving bombs. 

Alta glanced over the tracks and as expected, she found a large pile of explosives. Damnit, this is a difficult spot.

The tension in the air could’ve been cut with a steak knife as she stared down the three bandits, her fists clenched tightly. If she wasn’t able to take them down, the bandits would continue to marauder people’s livelihoods and she wouldn’t be able to get home. It was a palpable situation only broken by Kaida, who had been quiet up to this point finally speaking out.

“Are those bad guys? Can I kill them?” She asked with glee, her eyes shining and her finger pointed towards the bandits.

“You can take them down,” Alta had completely forgotten about her but quickly answered. “Just don’t kill them.”

The bandits took that as their signal to attack and rushed forward with their weapons drawn. The trio split into two groups, one duo focused on Alta while the last bandit went for Kaida. Alta wasn’t prepared for the force of two bandits against her sword, so she quickly cast a strength spell on herself. She could just barely make out a smile through their masks.

“Disgusting,” She parried their attack and shoved them away, creating a bit of distance between them. She quickly glanced over at Kaida, only to see her handily beating up the unlucky bandit with a quick combo of punches and kicks.

Why does she have to be so much better than me at this? Alta complained to herself. She felt just a smidge jealous and outcompeted by Kaida. Just as she was held up in thought she left an opening for the bandits to exploit. One of the bandits rushed forward with his sword, intending to capitalise on the newfound gap. Alta was barely able to deflect the attack and it left her stumbling backwards. 

She recovered from the attack and quickly went back to the fight, undeterred by her performance so far. 

She wasn’t about to call it quits due to a few plucky bandits, she was a city guardsman after all. Her adventuring job was just a side gig after all, and the sword wasn’t her main weapon of choice.

They dealt blows back and forth, with Alta once again just barely managing to cope. A parry to the left, a deflection to the right, a duck to avoid a swinging sword and a quick dodge backwards to avoid the swipe of a dagger. Alta was quickly driven against the wall of the train carriage, she tensed up as the bandits sealed away any escape route. 

A slight feeling of despair and fear grew in Alta’s mind, something she hadn’t felt since her mother’s death. It gripped and tugged on her heart ever so slightly, reminding her that there still were things repressed deep inside her heart.

Just as she prepared herself for the last stand Kaida came flying over from nowhere, knocking out both the bandits and Alta all while causing collateral damage to the carriage. The last thing Alta saw was a boot flying towards her.

End of chapter 4~