2 Ambushed

Kyler fled as fast as he could to mine #81. He was determined to get this job over with. He wasn't a fool. In the past, he realized Clyde set him up. The man set up ambushes from demon beasts and hunter traps to kill his nephew. How man traps had he almost gotten killed by?

Usually, there was a ferocious animal of some kind Kyler had to get past. He learned to be cautious any time Clyde gave him a job. At this point, low-level demon beasts weren't too hard for him to trick and get past. He was prepared for Clyde's tricks. Looking at it from one perspective it was almost like Clyde was training him.

Kyler ran home and packed a few supplies. The supplies included demon beast bait. He also carried some potions he made that could put a demon beast to sleep. He dipped his arrowheads and knives in basilisk poison. Once, on one of Clyde's missions, Kyler came upon a dead basilisk. None of the animals would eat it because they were afraid of its poison. Kyler bravely milked the poison from its fangs and took out its poison sack.

He also removed the eyes. He had his cousin, Anvo, make a spiked mace for him. Each spike had a small amount of basilisk poison. The real surprise with this weapon was the ability to activate the petrification ability of the basilisk eye. The other eye Anvo kept as payment. He even gave Anvo some of the basilisk's venom. He didn't mind, this mace had saved his life numerous times. No one knew about these battles Kyler went through. He could barely lift the mace and swing it, but he was very intelligent and careful with how he attacked.

Armed with knives, arrows, and his mace, Kyler took the bait and continued toward mine #81. As soon as Kyler entered the woods he slowed down and began to carefully work his way to the mine. He looked for signs of demon beasts, or even regular beasts. A pack of wolves would be as difficult to deal with as one level one demon beast.

The closer he came to mine #81, the more puzzled Kyler became. As far as he could tell there weren't any demon beasts in the vicinity of the mine. Could it be Uncle Clyde didn't plan to attack him? Impossible, he even told Kyler which of the mines to go to. It was obvious he planned something to get him killed. The problem was, he couldn't return to the family residences until he accomplished the task Uncle Clyde gave him.

He thought about his options and remembered a nearby cave in the area. Kyler made his way there and after verifying there wasn't an animal in the cave, he went in. After entering the cave, Kyler noticed some rudimentary traps to protect against beasts. This was very strange. Kyler cautiously entered and avoided every trap. What he found was shocking! There were camping equipment and supplies in the cave. Once he saw these things he examined them closer. "Raider equipment!" he said to himself. What were the Raiders doing in the cave?

Just as he was pondering what to do, he heard voices coming from the entrance of the cave. Kyler found a dark corner in the cave where he could see those entering but it would be difficult for them to see him. He quieted his breath like he would when fighting demon beasts. He prepared his knives and took out his bow and arrow and was ready to fire at any moment. The shadows would give good cover in case he had to attack.

"What do you think Merik? That kid still hasn't shown up. You think he's coming?" a voice said. "We've been working with Clyde for years Saf. He's helped us kill so many of his family's people. Remember, he's the one who helped us ambush the assistant family head, the husband and wife pair. In fact, I think those were the parents of the kid we're killing today," Merik said.

When Kyler heard what Merik said he was horrified and shocked. His emotions were suddenly out of control and he couldn't help but make a sound. The two Raiders looked over in his direction and pulled out large knives and walked slowly to him. Tears streamed down Kyler's face. Rage filled his heart and he pulled back his arrow. He fired a shot at Merik and it only managed to knick his skin. That small cut was enough to allow the poison to enter his bloodstream. At first, Merik didn't realize anything was wrong, but he soon found it hard to breathe and collapsed to the ground. Saf, the other Raider, didn't see his friend go down. He dodged to the side when he felt the arrow fly close to him. He was looking for an attack.

Kyler's hands were trembling. He fired his arrow in a moment of rage but he had never killed another person before. Merik wasn't dead yet, but he would be soon. Kyler calmed his nerves and took in a deep breath. Exhaling the breath he notched another arrow and waited for Saf to move. Saf knew something came out of the shadows but he wasn't sure what it was. Maybe it was a snake or something. Saf stared into the shadows for a few minutes before turning to look at Merik. As soon as he looked at his friend he saw Merik laying on the ground motionless.

"Merik, you okay? What's wrong buddy, what happened," All that greeted him was silence. Saf decided to take a chance and run to Merik to see if he could help him. As soon as he left his hiding place, another arrow shot from the shadows and directly penetrated Saf's arm. He cried out in pain. He began to grab Merik's body to pull him to safety but suddenly felt dizzy. He also fell to the ground and could barely breathe.

Kyler rushed from his hiding place and drug the dying Raiders into the shadows. Once he had them in the shadows, he closed Merik's mouth and pinched his nose. Merik quickly died without any air. He did the same to Saf. Kyler checked the two's body for any clues or valuable material. He wasn't sure how many Raiders were in the woods. From the number of supplies and sleeping equipment it looked like there were a total of six Raiders. He just killed two so there were at least four left.

He wasn't sure if he should try to flee from the cave and get back to the family residence and warn everyone or if he should stay and try to ambush the remaining Raiders. However, his mind was made up for him. Just as he finished killing Saf, he heard more voices.

"I'm pretty sure Merik and Saf came back to get a couple of things boss. They should have returned," a man said from outside the cave. There were a few moments of silence when four more men entered the cave. Their weapons were already drawn. They looked around and didn't see anyone.

"Alright, I'm impressed kid, you got two of my men but you're not getting all four of us. Clyde said this boy is useless but I'm impressed," the boss said.

"Boss, why do you think the kid's in here?" a man asked. "He and our two men left tracks entering the cave, no one has come out, I don't see our men. The only concussion is Merik and Saf are dead or unconscious and the one who got them is still here," the boss said.

Just as he finished speaking, an arrow shot from the shadows and hit one of his men. The arrow pierced his eye and killed him instantly. Honestly, it was a lucky shot but that's not how it looked to the last three Raiders.

"Alright kid, I was going to kill you nice and easy, but now you've ticked me off. You're going to beg me to kill you," the man said.