Bandits

"Remove the tail of the one who caused this, that will be their warning. The next problem they cause will be dealt with a broken leg. If you are forced to break more than two legs, then you might as well kill them since medical expenses for anything more would bottom out with their sales price," Brado hopped onto his horse effortlessly. "Also, after repairs have been finished you must rearrange the cages into the center of the wagon, none are to be near any wheels or edges. I don't want to see this happen again."

With that done, Brado rode back to the front while yelling, "Set up camp! We will be here till tomorrow morning due to repairs, so take this time to rest a little. But if anything else unexpected happens, I shouldn't have to warn you of the consequences."

"Sir, yes sir!" shouted the guards in unison.

Having reprimanded those responsible for the accident and scared the remaining forty-seven guards, Brado relaxed internally and maintained his rough and tough persona outwardly. He and Artio began to set up their tents at the front of them all.

Brado grumbled, "Hmm… so much for a smooth ride. And we only got half a day's travel yesterday after we finally gathered them all up. With our slow pace, it'll be another day and a half before we cross the border."

"Stop whining Brado. Even if the tribal chief came back, he's no match for either of us," Artio's encouraged.

"True, we won't have to worry if he found us. But still, I don't like the thought of staying here in their region for any longer than we have to. Once we cross that border, we're home free," Brado sighed with relief just thinking about it.

"That's understandable, Brado. But still, what do we have to worry about? We both came personally this time. With both heads of the Blood Moon Guild present, what can anyone within such a desolate territory do, huh?" he didn't like to see his partner so worried and ruin the mood. "Don't you remember what our intel told us one moon ago? The territory has only been claimed recently and still in chaos for the most part. The new leaders may not even know about the stallion tribe, let alone know that we did, so why should we be scared? And now that you're a mid-perennial, together with a low-perennial like me, the only person who might stand a chance is the territory ruler himself. But why would he come personally when he can send other beasts to do it for him?"

Brado liked his partner's logic, that's why Artio was always the brains of the bunch while Brado was the iron fist that kept the Blood Moon Guild in line. Their teamwork and intricate schemes allowed them to become one of the most powerful underground organizations in the entire Prodson territory. The mere mention of the Blood Moon Guild anywhere in the Prodson Territory would cause blood to curdle. Too many had heard the rumors of the dastardly things that they had done behind the scenes. They had even struck a deal with a major merchant guild and formed a very lucrative partnership.

The whole reason they had come along for this trip was to ensure the capture of the entire herd of Thick-skin Stallions. This was a personal request from their partnered merchant guild, who had received an anonymous order for one hundred stallions. When Brado and Artio mentioned that it might be false, the merchants said that they originally thought the same thing until they received half of the payment upfront as a deposit. Seeing that this job could earn them enough to retire, Brado and Artio took it without a second thought.

Brado felt better after listening to Artio, but he knew that the ruler of this territory wouldn't just hand them over. The more subjects a territory had, the more offerings the territory leaders would receive. Plus, why would they give up what could be a great military asset? If the ruler found them out and was able to catch them before they crossed that border, then there would be a blood bath. Having crossed the border to commit such actions, not even their business partners would be able to stand up for them. Being outside of their region meant they would be abandoned by everyone they knew and forsaken to face punishment in a foreign land with no mercy.

"Come on Brado, don't tell me you're worried that they'll find us? That's impossible!" Artio wanted to set Brado's mind at ease. "Isn't it a few days' worth of travel just to reach the center of their territory, where the ruler most likely lives the easy life? Just for the chief to get back would take a few days and if he wanted to go and bring the territory ruler, it would be more than one sun before they even make it to the border. By then, we'll be long gone, and so will these stallions. There's nothing to worry about except how we're going to spend all the gold we'll be making off of this. With a thousand gold apiece, we could vanish from society and live the high life. No need to live on the run or anything! Isn't that what you wanted?"

Brado blinked a few times and showed a slight smile. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I should be celebrating, not sulking," He reached into his tent and pulled out a large gourd that made a sloshing sound every time he moved it around. "What do you say, Artio? Will you join me for a drink?"

"Haha, I thought you'd never ask!" Artio followed Brado into his tent with beaming grins on their faces. Even as night fell, the light inside burned bright and their silhouettes could be seen laughing and toasting each other.