6 Ambush

Chapter 6 - Ambush

Eventually, I came up on Harris Crossing, which was just a little four-way and a makeshift sign. North was labeled Thompsons Pond, East was Misty Forest, West of course Haven Oaks and South as Haven River. The estimated time from the town to Outpost Earl said to be around a few hours one way.

At this rate it should be about dinner time when I make it back, might be able to squeeze a few hours in at those Jackalopes if I'm lucky. I play around with the different screens as I browse my information to pass the time. I still need to add my stat point somewhere too.

Let's see, it's a toss up between Strength, Dexterity or Constitution. My Dexterity is already extremely high, stacking it is only going to further help me. But then again Strength can add a bit more power to my already high speed. Constitution may not seem like a valid choice since I'm built more towards a high damage but… something I noticed with the leveling.

The higher your Constitution is the more health you can gain overall. For instance, if I had 19 in it when I just leveled I would have only obtained an additional 19 HP. If it had been 20 I would have obtained 40 HP. I'm nearly to that 30 point threshold which would triple my HP gains per level.

After a bit of math and thinking about it I place the point into Constitution. Hitting that next breakpoint while I am low in levels will allow me to focus on other stats later on and maximizing my gains. Satisfied with my thinking I close my eyes for a moment and enjoy my environment.

Suddenly that familiar tingle down the back of my spine which I am beginning to associate with danger appears. I casually open my eyes and immediately begin to scan my surroundings. There is no cover on either side of the road, nothing to hide in. No odd noises either but the feeling is getting stronger.

Military paranoia kicks in and I start scanning the road, maybe someone set some kind of trap. But I see nothing that looks like it's even been touched. It doesn't even look like anyone has been on this road for quite some time. Not even any tracks to be seen… wait…

That's what's off here, everything is too clean. There should be at the very least animal tracks somewhere. And this is the main road that heads towards the Outpost, supplies have to be sent and the map that Thomas shared has fishing spots marked off on it. There should be some kind of traffic on this road.

The feeling is sending full on tingles now, I come to a full stop and pull my dagger out. I glance behind me to make sure I'm not being snuck up on but there isn't anything there. What the hell is going on? I heard the thump of something on wood before the dirt in front of me begin to rise. Two other thumps were heard at my back as I watched a small gap open up and someone's arm reach out of it.

That arm had a dagger in hand at the end of it which was about to try and take a swipe at me. Lifting my leg I let the weapon sail under my foot before I slammed it down, crushing the hand holding it. There was a yelp as my foot collided and I twisted it hard for good measure, causing the dagger to be released.

The arm was quickly retracted like someone slurping a noodle. Bending down I grabbed the extra weapon and turned around to see two people climbing out of a some now uncovered dirt holes. One was just standing up and the other was still halfways in the hole. I took the newly obtained knife and flipped it, catching the blade between my fingers. Taking aim I chucked it at the one still partially in the hole.

That one definitely caught him off guard as he fell back into the pit. They may have got the drop on me but I've got the speed here. I rushed the one now standing who had a curved sword in hand. Once I was in range he slashed down at me and missed as I sidestepped. As he overextended I took a step forward and locked my arm around his wrist. My dagger flashed from my hand into his back while slightly pulling him down, holding him in place close to me.

There is a bit of resistance when my blade sank into his back which caught me off guard. A wild haymaker comes from the other side and I duck below it before planting my head and shoulder into his gut. It knocks him off balance and coupled with my foot planted behind his heel he topples backward.

I follow through to a full mount and slash out across his neck before he has a chance to retaliate.

*~~*

[Effect Triggered: Bleed]

*~~*

A loud crack sounded out as a burning pain came from the back of my head, jolting me forward. I rolled with it and quickly scrambled to stand up. Vision was a bit blurry but it looks like the other two finally decided to join the party.

Neither of them seemed to be advancing on me and way more concerned for their downed friend there. Which is fine by me, one on one this group doesn't seem like too much trouble. But things are going to get much harder if they all come at once.

"Shit he's down to about 30 HP left and has the bleed effect going" said the guy whose hand I smashed at the beginning.

*~~*

[Observe]

*~~*

[Jackson]

Level: 3

HP:60

*Human from Haven Oaks, Member of the Misty Forest Bandits

*~~*

[Sam]

Level: 3

HP:60

*Human from Haven Oaks, Member of the Misty Forest Bandits

*~~*

[Marshal]

Level: 4

HP:29

~Bleeding: -10 HP every 10 seconds

*Human from Haven Oaks, Member of the Misty Forest Bandits

*~~*

Damnit.

I don't want to fight three on one, though by the looks of it one of them will be dead in half a minutes time. Stall Regi, stall.

"Any reason why you three decided to attack me?"

Jackson and Sam looked at each other before Sam responded.

"You have the supplies for the Outpost, we were given a Quest to snag them for our Hideout"

I nodded at him before lowering my dagger a bit.

"Well, I don't know about any Quests or Hideouts but what I do know is that your pal is about to bleed out there. I don't know how to stop it and I'm definitely not going to give you the chance to stop it even if you can"

"So it's like this, there are still two of you that could attempt to take me down. But you run the risk of ending up like that guy" I said as I pointed to Marshal

"Or you both can cut your losses and we all just go our own way"

"There's two of us and one of you" snarled out Sam

"You're right and you started with three, I'll do my best to cut that number to at least one or none before I go down. What's it gonna be?"

I could see the hesitance in their eyes but once the now corpse in front of them quit moving that solidified it. They lowered their weapons and took a few steps back. I followed suit and took a few back as well.

We circled around each other before I turned and took off at a brief jog. I kept glancing over my shoulder until they were just figures in the distance.

*~~*

[Combat Log]

*~~*

~Skills: +1 Dodge, +1 Knives, +1 Observe, +1 Throwing

~Exp: 220

~Reputation: +20 Haven Oaks, -20 Misty Forest Bandits

*~~*

I can't say I'm too surprised to find criminals really, greed is just ingrained in the human nature. Bit odd to see they came from Haven Oaks though, guess not everyone is happy go lucky there. Would have been nice to snag whatever it was that reduced my damage by half, some kind of armor hidden under those clothes I bet.

I kept my guard up this time as I continued along the road. Randomly checking my surroundings to make sure those two didn't change their minds. The tingling never came back and it was about an hours time before I arrived at the Haven River.

The low bank sloped down into some crystal clear water, allowing you to even see the very bottom. The current didn't even seem to be moving at all. Fish of all shapes and sizes could be seen darting around, it was quite the view.

The bridge wasn't much to look at, someone had just taken eight logs and laid them down across the 15 or so meter river and tied them together. It was much firmer than I expected as I crossed. I know that if I even slightly enjoyed fishing this would be an amazing spot to come to. But I'm horrible at it, best thing I could ever do was catch a buzz.

Soon as I got to the other side I could make out the Outpost in the distance. Looked more like a tree fort with stakes around it. The location gave them a good view in all directions though. I eventually reached the makeshift looking fort and went straight to looking for someone to give me a bit of direction.

There was a single person standing at the gates, after a brief conversation I was sent off to the southeast side to find a Captain Flannery. All he really said was to just look for the biggest tent of the bunch. Once I handed these supplies off to him I would complete my first Quest and hopefully make it back to those Jackalopes.

The tent wasn't exactly hard to find, it looked like one of those big party ones you could rent for events. I pushed the flap back on one side and walked through. Inside looked like a mixture between an armory, mess hall and a base of operations. I feel a light push to my back and I move to the side to get out of the way.

"Careful there, just coming behind you" came a rather feminine voice

Well, that's what I get for standing in the entrance.

"Sorry about that, first time here. Trying to find a Captain Flannery, was supposed to deliver some supplies from Haven Oaks"

"You're looking at her, good timing by the way. Usually we always get them late, just set it down on the table over there"

I'm not going to say it's not a bit sexist to take one look at this woman and be surprised that she is the Captain of this place but I was. She was a petite blonde with bright blue eyes, looked more like a stereotypical college cheerleader than a Captain. I brought the box out from my inventory and set it on the table as requested.

I bring up the Quest list and press the complete button at the bottom.

*~~*

[Quest Complete!]

Reward 100 Exp, +5 Reputation with Haven Oaks

*~~*

First one done.

"Haven't seen you before, you new?" she asked while eyeing me up and down

"Yeah, just arrived in Haven Oaks today and got lucky in picking up a few quests. This being one of them"

"What do you think of our little slice of paradise soldier?"

"Everything is new to me, I feel like I'm back at basic with all there is to learn. How'd you know I served?"

"Please, I was a military brat. I could spot one of you a mile away, you all have the same walk and talk"

I chuckled at that a bit because she wasn't wrong.

"Well, thanks for the supplies..."

"Regi"

"Right, well not much here but feel free to restock a bit and rest if you need it. Careful on those roads the Misty Bandits have been a bit more active as of late. Patrols can't intercept all of them"

A bit late for that piece of advice but I nod and head on over towards the kitchen looking portion of the tent to see about maybe trading some of this meat for some other supplies.

*~~*

Name: Reginald

Race: Wyldling

Level: 2

Class: Adventurer

Title: The First

Wealth: 0

Health: 127

Stamina: 102

Mana: N/A

Exp TNL: 580

Points Available: 0

Strength: 26

Dexterity: 41

Constitution: 27

Magic: N/A

Wisdom: 36

Fame: 375

Traits:

[Perception]

[Pinpoint]

[Ecologist]

[Racial: Mask of the Wyld]

[Empty]

[Empty]

*~~*

Main Skills:

[Cartography] Novice 1/10

[Dodge] Novice 4/10

[Knives] Novice 6/10

[Light Armor] Novice 1/10

[Lockpicking] Novice 1/10

[Observe] Novice 4/10

[Sneak/Hide] Novice 2/10

[Tracking] Novice 1/10

[Throwing] Novice 3/10

[Unarmed Combat] Novice 3/10

*~~*

Crafting Skills:

[Alchemy] Novice 5/10

[Cooking] Novice 3/10

[Herbalism] Novice 1/10

[Hunting] Novice 6/10

[Empty] N/A 0/10

*~~*

[Inventory: Carry Weight 51/175]

*~~*

Rations x2

Small Tent

Canteen

Jackalope Meat x12

Jackalope Hides x11

Jackalope Horns x13

*~~*