Trouble again?

We walked on the road leading out of the city for 10 minutes before we finally entered the forest. This forest was denser than the northern forest and seemed busier based on the level of noise. After walking for another 10 minutes, Cleo gave us a signal to stop all of a sudden. We waited there listening carefully and finally Cleo said "I think there are some people coming this way."

After 10 or 15 seconds I saw 3 people walking towards us. As they got closer I realized there was 1 man and 2 women in that party. The man was almost a half a head taller than the women and seemed to be well built. He had a large sword on his back and was dressed in heavy armor. The women were dressed in flimsy dresses that were almost see through. They were dressed in a way that highlighted their "best qualities". The 3 of them seemed to have seen us as well and started walking towards us. The demeanor of the women seemed to have changed and they seemed more on guard. The guy was still completely nonchalant.

The 3 of them stopped in front of us around 3 feet away which I thought was too close considering we didn't know each other. I realized that the guy was really tall and seemed almost as tall as Val. The women were actually taller than Turek who was the tallest among us. One of the women stopped in front of me and other other in front of Turek. The guy completely ignored the 2 of us and only addressed Cleo.

"Hey there little lady! What are you doing in these parts of the wood? It's really dangerous here you know? Lots of monsters and wild animals! Do you want to come with me? I will protect you with all my strength!."

So this sleazebag just wanted to get Cleo in his party huh? He seemed like a top class pervert, I thought to myself while looking at the tall woman in front of me. The woman stared back down at me as if I was a nuisance and I should get lost.

"No thanks. I already have a party."

"What… these 2 useless guys here? One of them is just a little kid! How can they protect a beauty like you?" said the pervert shamelessly.

"Don't worry about them. I think we will be on our way if you don't mind. Lets go you two"

Cleo tried to go around the guy but he blocked her path while the women blocked our path.

"I didn't give you my permission to leave" The guy seemed to have become angry. "How about this. We can have a friendly spar and if you can hit event me once, I will let all 3 of you go. You will see how strong I really am once you spar with me!"

The guy seemed quite confident and he did seem strong. I was starting to get a bit worried. He might force Cleo to leave with him if she is unable to hit him. After all, that would mean that she is no match for him.

"Fine. But I don't want my party members to get hurt." Cleo said coldly.

He told the 2 women "Why don't you keep these 2 kids company! Take good care of them! You are not allowed to hurt them no matter what happens in the spar." He looked back at Cleo and asked "Are you satisfied now?"

"Yes" Cleo replied coldly. She was obviously angry but the guy probably didn't realize that.

Next moment I felt my feet leave the ground. The woman in front of me had bent down, grabbed me around by butt and picked me up with one of her arms. She then calmly started walking away from Cleo and the guy. I looked back and saw that Turek didn't receive the same treatment. While the woman was a bit taller than Turek, he was too big for this kind of humiliating treatment. Instead she had simply grabbed him by the arm and dragged him to the other side. It was obvious that Turek was just as helpless as me though. It seems even these 2 women were quite strong. Now I was even more worried about this fight.

Cleo watched both of us being taken away tensely to confirm that we were all right. She had her fists closed and seemed to be the angriest I had seen her so far. She knew that the 2 of us were hostages and she had no choice but to fight. The women had shown how strong they are and she wouldn't be able to save both of us even if she tried. That is why the women had taken us in opposite directions.

I looked at the woman carrying me and she didn't seem to be paying me any attention. She knew I wasn't any threat to her. I was thinking I might be able to escape somehow if I hit her in the face but looking at how confident she was, I didn't think there was any way for me to escape.

I saw that Cleo and the guy and saw that they had started making some space between themselves. I squirmed in the arm of the woman carrying me to get a better angle but I couldn't move much at all. She was holding me in a vice like grip. It seemed she realized what I wanted to do so she shifted me and angled herself so I could see the fight. She must want me to see just how strong her master was which worried me even more.

I pulled out my arm that was trapped between our bodies and placed it around her neck so that if I did have to struggle, I would have both of my hands free. The woman looked up at me with an amused smile as if she knew what I was thinking. After all, based on how she was holding me she thought of me as just a kid that tagged along with Cleo. She adjusted me once more and pushed me up. Now instead of being held tightly next to her body, I was instead sitting on her arm. It gave me a lot more freedom of movement. It was as if she was mocking me and telling me to try my best. It was humiliating but I decided to not do anything until the end of the sparring match.