1 Flames of Devils

"Hey Boss...shouldn't we...try to ease relations with Lord Craysin? If he gets too angry then he may send adventurers to take us out.."Spoke a young man about the age of 17 in leather armor and a shortsword at his side. He had black spiky hair and a common-looking face and features. White, rough skin , with farmer like arms and a slighty obese body. The boss was a much larger man with orange hair and a long scraggly beard that reached his chest...Both seemed a bit unkempt as bandit life was hard and around the age of 38 who whore rusty and poor condition plate mail with a large greatsword on his back. The boss looked over to his underling and said, "The adventurer guild is not associated with any nobility and is recognized by the crown as a big asset. The guild will not accept any request he has since we do not commit any crimes. Our only bad rep is that the Lord does not favor our presence."

The young man sighed and went to turn to leave but his boss stopped him.

"Tai....listen, kid, don't worry about it! I and the rest of the Razor Bandits will protect each other...we are a family after all."The boss spoke before the two clasped their arms together with a brotherly sort of manner.

The Razor bandit base was pretty good despite living away on their own...a large wooden wall with logs with spikes on their end around the entire base and many wooden structures inside for sleeping, eating, and bathing. There was also a small yard for training and leisure which included dice, drinking games, or just tomfoolery. There were four towers at each of the corners of the base with archers appointed to keep watch. A large gate for entering and exiting...

The Razor base is an oddity since they have been able to keep themselves from being taken out by the adventurer guild from now due to the way they make their money. They offer protection for the many villages that don't get any help from their lord....because of this they have gained quite a good reputation from the villages...and are often celebrated as heroes when they take out any monsters that attack their homes.

The land they operate in is called Fallstone due to the many trees that retain their fall colors year-round. The lord of the land is called, Lord Craysin. Lord Craysin cares not for the small villages in his area of influence and discards any request of help from them. These villages include Redstone, Yellowstone, and Greenstone. They reside on the outer edge of his domain and require passing merchants for any complex goods they wouldn't get otherwise since the main city of Redfall is about a week of travel away.

The Razor bandits only protect the people of the outer rim but called Bandits because of Lord Craysin...only because it irritates him that the people praise such commoners...of whom have created their own small encampment. It gives hope to those that are working as farmers of a different life.

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Tai is in the yard of the Razor Bandits fort and is training his swordsmanship against a training dummy and is doing his best. Yet he has had not much training in the past....and only had recently joined the Razor Bandits in hopes of starting out a life on his own...and not become a farmer. At the edge of the yard by the wall sits an experienced man with a chain mail shit and a tabard which was black and had the crest of Razor bandits made on it. It was that of a lion with its mouth open roaring and a small broken crown on its head. This was to symbolize the flaws of the nobles and the royals....of whom are born spoon feed everything. The man has brown hair that was short and split in the middle letting it hang on the side of his head. He has green eyes and a small beard which made him out to be quite handsome..

The man walks over to Tai and says, "Hey look you need to straighten your a little more and widen your stance when you swing otherwise you'll have no power behind it....here let me show you."

The man held his blade in hand and turned toward the dummy and sliced splitting the dummy in two.

Tai's eyes lit up with amazement as he spoke, "That was amazing mister! Truly amazing!"

"The name's Grain...I used to be a soldier before joining up with the Razors...got sick of all the drills and sucking up to the noble class. If you want I could keep teaching you how to swing this thing properly if you want."Grain spoke before sheathing his blade.

Tai couldn't believe Grain was so good at the blade...so he readily accepted his offer.

The day went on like normally and eventually, it was nightfall, Tai was stationed to be a guard that patrolled the inside of the fort in the yard. He was a little tired from training all day with Grain, but he still had his job to do. He enjoyed his life in the Razor bandits. He helped people by taking out the monsters that threatened the villages and was seen as a hero. Tai was even getting sweet on a girl he would see whenever he was stationed at Redstone. Maria was her name....a pretty and kind girl...

The night continued on without much to note before Tai could hear someone walking in the shadows....curious and because he was a guard he walked over to find out who it was. Getting into the small alleyway from the side of the building and walls of the fort he could see nothing but a few crates and a bird sleeping on the top of the building...

"Hmm...guess it was nothing.."Tai said before turning around but a blunt object smacked the back of his head making him fall to the ground passed out.

A few hours later he was awakened by the sounds of screams and yells of terror....and the heat of flames. Opening his eyes he was presented by a scene of absolute madness... Dead bandits all around the base...fire has spread through all of the buildings that ran up the main pathway. Even the boss's house was aflame but not as much as the others. His eyes widen as he yells, "Boss!!!!"

Tai's voice screeched through the air as he began running through the fort with tears in his eyes for his fellow members.....good people. He burst through the door of his boss's home and was met with the clanging of blades and axes. Grain and the boss were fighting against three people. A halfling wearing a cloak and leather armor with twin daggers, a tall slender mage in blue robes and staff, and a large man with an axe. They wore the sigil of the adventurer guild around their necks in the form of a necklace with a silver rectangle at the end.

Tai's core was shaken...these three monsters had no form of remorse or sense of care for the life of others...they fought because of the rewards for jobs. They had grins on their faces and to Tai, it seemed like red eyes of demons. Monsters to monsters.

"Boss! Grain!"Tai called out before rushing forward to aid them by taking on the halfling...to him it seemed like his best shot at winning. Tai charged forward toward the halfling with his blade as he remembered Grain's lessons on a proper swing and executed it perfectly making the blade come on quickly and with good form. Despite this, the halfling was able to dodge nimbly and dash forward kicking Tai in the gut making him fly back and roll on his back and pass out once more.

"Kid!!!"Grain called out nearly turning to check on him but was a soldier....he knew doing so would result in his death....however the boss was no soldier...just a kind man who protected people. The boss turned and was smashed by the large man with his axe cutting him down making it sink into his stomach and he falls back hitting the wall of the building.

Grain was the pelted by a barrage of four blue spikes of mana from the robed elven woman of their group. He wasn't out just yet and parried the large man's axe giving him a slice across his side letting blood splurt out....however the halfling was able to get in his blindspot and stab both his blades right through Grain's body making him yell out in pain as he bled on the ground standing and wobbling...this was his end.

"Why...why did the guild....accept Craysin's request..?"Grain spoke as he knocked on the door of death. The adventurer's kept quiet and the large man brought down his axe splitting Grain in half with his might.

15 minutes pass and Tai wakes up to his right arm searing with pain as it was being burned by the encroaching fire.. He yells out in horror before getting up and patting himself out. The fire was close to collapsing the house and he needed to get out. With tears in his eyes he looks toward the door to leave but turns to see his friend Grain on the ground dead and his boss in the same boat.. wincing and feeling a large amount of dread and hatred before turning and leaving the burning building.