Bandits

As Lucius lead the way to the source of the screaming and apparently blood, Rena could not help but wonder what was going on with her friend.

He was rather stoic and monotone when they were in the manor for the purposes of maintaining appearances, but in private he was friendly and warm. So why? Why did he act so…well cold isn't the right word. She had seen him act cold and malicious a few times. This was simply a lack of caring. For some reason that felt…worse?

She had never seen or heard her friend behave in such a way before, so Rena was extremely unsettled.

Before they knew it, she too could hear the screaming that Lucius had referenced. By now everyone in the party had drawn their weapons in preparation for whatever they were going to find. Lethen had his sword and shield drawn, Jen had her greatsword, while Paul had his bow in his hand.

Lucius had yet to draw his weapon, but he did seem to be focused on making sure they were maintaining the right direction.

"Twelve people overall. There are a handful that seem to be injured. There is a lot of blood. Be ready." He called out before running ahead even further. 

Rena sometimes forgot how fast he was because in under a second he had tripled the lead he had on the rest of the group. At some point he ducked into the treeline and away from the road. He would periodically leave the safety of the forest to show that they were still following in the right direction and soon enough they began to understand what was happening.

In the middle of the path was a collection of wagons. There were at least three of them, each being pulled by an ox. Or they would be if the oxen were still alive. Instead, strapped to each cart was the bleeding out corpse of an animal with its throat slit.

The cargo seemed to be simple food and animal goods like grains, fruits, and furs. Scattered around the carts were a handful of bodies of young men in leather armor as well as a few people in tattered furs and ripped underclothes. It was clear now that the people Lucius had heard earlier were bandits and it seemed this caravan of people were their target.

A few people were still alive and milling around. Specifically, there was a group of eight men who wore tattered fur armor with a random assortment of weapons surrounding a group of four people, three women and a small child. On second glance, Rena saw that one of the women was also cradling an infant.

As they rapidly approached the attack sight, one of the bandits finally noticed them. He yelled out some sort of unintelligible command and he and five others ran towards their group of four. Lucius was still in the forested area, likely waiting for his chance to strike.

"[Ferrum: Iron Spikes]"

A line of metal surged in front of the party and raced towards the oncoming bandits as Rena cast her spell. Once it reached the bandits, giant metal spikes rose from the ground to catch the enemies. However, it seemed these ones were smarter than they appeared as all six of them jumped to the side and dodged the spell.

Jen was the first to reach the enemies so she swung her sword in a large sweeping attack from the right. The attack was so strong that two of the bandits had to work together to block it. A third attempted to catch her unaware, but was met with an arrow from Paul who had stopped and stayed back with Rena to provide cover. The shot was not fatal and only struck the man in the bicep, but it was enough to stop him from landing a strike on Jen's flank.

Lethen met with another of the attackers as well as the one who had an arrow in his arm. This left two to circle around them and rush after Rena and Paul's positions.

"[Glacies: Ice Spike]"

"[Bow Arts: Twin Arrow]"

A conical spike of ice shot towards the two, followed by an arrow from Paul. When the spike was less than three feet away from the two bandits, the single arrow split into two with each targeting one of the bandits.

"[Shield Arts: Deflection]"

One of the two bandits swung his shield in his off hand towards the attacks. It glowed for a moment with mana, leaving behind a trail of light that solidified for a moment in front of the attacks, preventing them from landing. The ice spike and the twin arrows shattered against the wall of mana which dissipated right after blocking them.

"Shit they have an Arts user." Paul muttered while loosing another set of arrows. "[Bow Arts: Pierce]" One of the arrows he shot glowed with mana and targeted the Shield Arts user.

Unfortunately the shot did not connect.

"[Sword Arts: Quick Strike]"

The bandit's arm and blade glowed and quickly sliced through Paul's enhanced attack, rendering it useless.

"Fuck, another spell Rena!" Paul ordered while jumping backwards to create additional distance.

"Right! Here…"

"[Forsaken Arts: Severing Slash]"

A black blur shot out of the woods at the bandits bearing down on Rena and Paul. The first of the two that took the hit was not the Arts user. Lucius' machete cut through his arm and across his chest, leaving a massive cavity behind and dropping the man to the ground in a heap. The second bandit was able to react and blocked the slash with his shield.

Lucius attempted to back away and prepare for another strike, but left himself open for a counter. He received a foot to the center of his chest which sent him flying backwards several dozen feet before he rolled to a stop, coughing.

This pissed Rena off, so she took advantage of the distraction to cast another spell. "[Glacies: Frozen Ground]"

Ice formed over the earth underneath the Arts user and up his feet, sticking him to the ground. Paul loosed several arrows one after another, forcing the man to block instead of focus on getting unstuck.

"[Ventus: Wind Blade]"

A magical slash of wind sliced at the bandit's feet, severing one at the ankle. He roared in pain and dropped his shield and sword in response. As he fell forward three of Paul's arrows sunk themselves into his chest and neck.