Pesky Bandits

The village of Lebourne: https://imgur.com/a/Gf5Dpnw (With more snow)

Braum and his group are currently inside the living room of the village chief's house. In comparison to the rest of the village, this house is a bit bigger with proper pieces of furniture as well. A fireplace can be seen in the wall with sounds of flame crackling. Furs of animals are used to pad the seats. The whole atmosphere can be described as cozy. The wife of the chief then started to serve the group some drinks and David, the village chief, starts to speak.

"As the village chief of Lebourne, I would like to express my utmost gratitude for defeating not one, but FOUR of those Serpental Bears! They haft' been a real danger to our community with them killing our livestock and all that. We have no clue why this winter those beasts come out. They usually just hibernate in their nests by this time." The village chief said to the group.

The group looks at each other and Braum takes the lead.

"So them being out in the winter is not normal? I see I'm glad we took care of them." Braum asked the chief.

The village chief smiles wide hearing Braum's reply and speaks again.

"Yeah, we're really indebted to you people this time. I must say, those armors are not like anything we have ever seen before, who are you people? And forgive me for being rude, but I haven't seen your skin color in this region either." The village chief asked the group.

"We are a group of mercenaries from a faraway land. We have been traveling for quite some time and we have learned the language of these lands. We would like to thank you for your hospitality in welcoming us but for now, we just like to trade the Serpental Bear's parts that we have slaughtered." Braum answered.

The village chief's smile disappeared. His face became the same shade of gloom that the rest of the villagers had before they saw Braum's group.

"That...won't be possible." The village chief said with a depressed look on his face.

Braum and his group's faces start to look confused.

"Why? Is there any problem with the bodies?" Kelvin asked.

"Not that...we don't have any money to spare…" The village chief answered.

After saying that, an awkward silent starts to engulf the whole room. Kelvin then starts to lean in and whispers at a low voice at Braum.

"Zed, the village seems to be having problems. We must not waste time. Let's head to another village or town to trade the serpental bears." Kelvin whispered to Braum.

Braum, pretending not to hear Kelvin's whispers, starts to speak towards the chief again.

"Is the village having problems? How can we help?" Braum asked the village chief.

The chief's face lights up again. He has been wishing for salvation this whole winter.

"Are you people willing to help??" The village chief asked back.

"We have time to spare, sure. I have also noticed that the guards at the gate is wearing cheap leather armor. They are probably just normal villagers, is that right? That's quite unusual as usually, there would be soldiers from the kingdom that are stationed in even the most remote villages." Braum said in a confident manner.

Braum's deduction was spot on. Everyone starts to become surprised, especially the chief.

'This person is really observant.' The village chief thought.

"Th-that's right...Mr. Zed?" The village chief asked, unsure.

"It's Zed" Braum answered.

"That's right Mr. Zed. Truthfully, due to the harsh winter that we have been dealing with, there must be a shortage of soldiers that can be sent to such a remote village like us. Because of that…."

The chief's face starts to cramp up and he almost looked angry.

"Bandits," Braum muttered.

Braum has guessed where things are going with the absence of the protection of the kingdom.

"THOSE BANDITS! They asked us for money every week this winter! With the absence of trading between villages and towns this winter, we are running out of money! And they have also threatened us that if we can't pay our fees, then they will start to take our women and children! They're going to be sold as slaves! Or worst!!!" The village chief said, raising his voice.

The chief snapped hearing about the bandits. One could not imagine such an angry loud voice can be heard from such an old person.

Braum and his group were also surprised to hear the existence of slaves. Of course, they know they exist in this lower civilization but hearing the word itself disgusts them as the concept of slavery is so utterly barbaric and ancient to them. With a tinge of anger in his voice, Braum replies back to the chief.

"I see. When is the next collection?"

Kelvin then begins to whisper at Braum's ear again.

"Zed. Are you sure about this? We are interfering with other people's issues."

This time, Braum replies to Kelvin.

"Yes, I'm going to help them. You people have been sitting at that high horse for so long that you forget to look down and see other people's suffering. I am not someone who will help just about anyone but whenever we can reach our hands, we will help those people in need." Braum said angrily.

Kelvin, Niko, and Urada are stunned hearing Braum's words. They are also quite fascinated that this Prince has already the qualities of a noble king but Kelvin still has a doubtful look hanging on his face. Braum repeats his words at the chief.

"When is the next collection?"

"R-r-right! They will come again tomorrow afternoon!" The village chief answered.

Braum starts to stand up and the rest of the group follows.

"Great. Just prepare us a place to stay the night and we will deal with them tomorrow." Braum replied.

"You can stay at this house! We will prepare rooms!" The village chief barked at them.

Before the chief hears any reply, Braum's group already left.

"Angels...they must be angels…" The village chief muttered silently.

**

Outside of the house, Braum starts to talk about their plans.

"I want us to split up today and find information. I will talk to the villagers while some of you guys either ask around the village or go outside the village to find clues." Braum said to the group.

"Forgive me Zed, but I still think that this is a waste of time. I will find some information on Toziro's squad …...but I will also try to see if they know anything about the bandit." Kelvin replied.

"*sigh* that's fine Rob. In due time I want the people of Yakana like you to understand that we must also help the people of the continent. And don't get me wrong, not all of them. The ones who are either a hinder to our plans or someone I judge to be deserving will die as well like the bandits tomorrow. Alright, Kaz, I want you to search outside the village for clues-" Braum replied back and said to Kaz.

"Hmph." Niko just snorted as a reply.

"-And Urada, I want you to stay with me to find information inside the village. Everyone understand?" Braum said to the group again.

"""Roger.""" Everyone replied.

Putting aside their personal feelings for the job, everyone knows their duty and that is to follow the orders of Braum.

**

Later that day, Braum and Urada are seen to be talking to the inhabitants of Lebourne. Urada is currently talking to the women of the village while Braum is playing with the children.

"Wow, Mister! Your outfit and armor look sooo cooooool!!!" One of the children said to Braum.

"That's right! It's even cooler than those legendary mercenaries that came to this village 3 years ago!!!" A boy echoed the fascination of Braum's armor.

"Hmm? Can you tell me more about those mercenaries boy?" Braum asked the boy.

"They're legendary! They're famous for refusing the requests of the nobles and instead, hears the requests of us common people! That's why we call them The Bodyguards! They protect us, little people!" The boy answered.

'This is probably Toziro's group judging by their modus operandi.' Braum thought in his head.

"Can you tell me more about them?" Braum asked the boy again.

"I don't really remember much... I was still little when they came to this village. But my favorite member is definitely Ace! His archery skill is out of this world! Some say he can even hit a goblin's belly button with his eyes closed!" The boy answered again.

'Kelvin have probably found more information later. I should just focus on the bandits' Braum thought.

"Hey, guys can you tell me about the bandits?"

The children who have been smiling and playing with joy stopped. Their happiness sucked out.

"The bandits...killed my father!" One girl said while on the verge of tears.

"My family can't feed the livestock anymore because we're out of money! The bandits!!" Another boy muttered angrily.

Braum understands their anger. He decides to be frank with them.

"Listen, guys, I'm going to defeat these bandits. They won't come here anymore...So I need you guys to tell me everything you know about the bandits."

The children stopped crying and their faces started to light up. Hope finally arrived for them.

**

Later that night, the group is back at the village chief's house. They are sitting in the same living room as before but Braum asked David, the village chief, to leave them alone for a while.

"What have you guys found? Let's start with information from outside the village, Kaz?" Braum asked.

"Hmph. The snow has covered a lot of their tracks but I found some traces of a camp around 1 kilometer north of the village. It's hard to tell where their base is but I would wager the direction of their base is in the north. Around the village, I also found one more Serpental Bear, which I killed." Niko reported his findings.

"I see good job Kaz. Now we know the direction where the bandits came from. Stef?"

"I talked to some women of the village. They said the bandits usually number around 30 people. One of them remembered that they have warriors, archers, and just one mage. However… I believe that there are probably more hiding outside the village when they collect the money." Urada reported her findings.

"Good job Stef. Rob?" Braum asked Kelvin.

"I have found some information about Toziro's group-" Kelvin answered.

"What a coincidence. Me too. Now let's save that information for after we kill the bandits, shall we? What did you find?" Braum replied in a sharp voice.

" Yes, You- *cough* Yes zed. The bandits do not seem to have a leader. They move in a group. Their real leader or mastermind must be in their base. I have also found that the bandits each carry a bounty on their head. I suggest cutting off their ears to get money rewards in the town after we killed them. ...Zed, what is your plan for this?" Kelvin asked Braum.

Braum just smiled. The bandits won't know what will hit them.