Death Tunnel

Aside from Benton, who continued glaring at him with hostility, the rest of the caravan members were reasonably friendly with Damian.

Alester was very friendly and entertained him with a variety of stories from his youth and his time as a sailor. And what a story those were, the young merchant lived a most interesting life.

Shortly after Alysanne was born, Alester was presented with the opportunity to join an expedition to the Summer Islands sponsored by the Merchant Guild of Oldtown. Several wealthy members of the guild heard of the riches of the southern archipelago and wanted to see if they could take advantage of the resources of the islands to enrich themselves even more. Two ships sailed from Oldtown to the Summer Islands, a place they did not see as the ships were attacked by pirates shortly after embarking on their voyage.

Most of the volunteers and sailors were killed, and the few that managed to survive were sold into slavery in Volantis. Alester was one of those "lucky ones", spending nearly a decade as a slave in Volantis before escaping by sneaking into the hold of a ship. The ship was Braavosi and luck was on his side because even after being found by the sailors the captain took pity on him and allowed him to join the crew.

The Braavosi ship was headed for Great Moraq, ("They were kind enough to allow me to join the crew, ask them to abandon their duties and bring me to Westeros directly- Gods, I dared not think such a thing!"). The trip to the distant island lasted half a year, and between the business that the Braavosi had with the men of the Far East and the time it took them to return to Braavos, Alester was sailing with them for almost two years.

When he returned home, the baby he had said goodbye to all those years ago was already a young woman, an adult by Westerosi standards. Alester's heart filled with pride at seeing the wonderful young woman his baby had become and with sorrow at having missed all those years of her life. The tragedies Alester suffered did not end there, his wife died of an illness a few days after his return and his father followed her into the afterlife just two years later.

Now, after half a lifetime on the other side of the world, he is the owner of the caravan created by his late father and Damian can see in those eyes so expressive they almost look like an open window that Alester does not feel prepared to lead the caravan. And from the attitude of the members of the caravan, the eight employees and seven guards, they also doubt it.

Alysanne seems to be very much the pillar that holds this caravan together, she supports her father and glares at anyone who crosses the line. Her glare is very effective, Damian watched with amusement on more than one occasion as grown men and women blanched at the intensity of those bright green eyes, and her sharp tongue is even more effective to keep the employees under control.

His relationship with the black-haired girl didn't improve much, they were cordial to each other but never very friendly. Damian doesn't know if Alysanne holds a grudge against him for having seen her naked, for having outsmarted her in her own game (which she realized given the annoyed looks she gave him the first night) or if she is suspicious of him.

Perhaps Benton's words aroused suspicions and doubts, or perhaps those suspicions were already there but Alysanne kept them hidden while they traveled alone but now in the company of her father (and their guards) she feels more comfortable expressing them. Damian wouldn't be surprised if that were to be the case.

He has to admit his situation is quite unique, and very suspicious from the point of view of any insightful person. A twelve-year-old boy, armed to the teeth, and with almost half a dozen horses loaded with more weapons and supplies than he could possibly need. Benton's theory that he is a bandit scout would be the most plausible, it would be easy to believe.

When Alester asked him about it, he told him that he is the son of a sellsword, that his father died in Essos fighting in the Disputed Lands and that after hearing the dreadful news his mother died of a broken heart (that and she always had a fragile health). With neither of his parents alive, he sold the farm to some neighbors and set off with his horses (which he couldn't sell for lack of buyers) to Oldtown, where a distant relative of his mother lives. Alester believed the story and showed his sympathy, even offering him a job as part of his caravan. Which moved Damian a bit but he had to politely decline.

`In truth, Alester is too kind and gentle for a merchant. Alysanne on the other hand... Yes, she has what it takes to succeed in this profession.`

On the fourth day of joining the caravan reached a road called "The Bow" which runs from Silverhill to Bitterbridge. The road is so named because instead of following a straight line from Silverhill to Bitterbridge it follows a trajectory reminiscent of a bow. Unlike the dirt roads that had circulated until then, The Bow is paved with stone, which makes it much easier for carts to circulate.

When the landscape is large plains, circulating on the paved road is comfortable, fast and almost relaxing, but unfortunately the road goes through several forests. Tall trees on both sides of the road with thick bushes around them turn the road into a narrow tunnel surrounded by vegetation. Clearly there are no foresters to keep trees and brush from turning both sides of the road into perfect hiding places for anyone with a sword and a hungry belly planning on turning to banditry.

`The lords have no interest in maintaining the roads as that would be a "useless'' expense for them. All the nobles seem to ignore that trade is the heart of any civilization. Trade, education and laws, those are the keys for a civilization to thrive. But no, in Westeros trade is seen as something inferior, something unworthy of the time of anyone with `noble` blood. What did Robert Baratheon call it? Counting coppers, I believe. Education is controlled by the Citadel and laws... There is no fixing this "system", I have to burn it to the ground and build a new one.`

Damian's concern proved correct as they were attacked within hours of entering the forest.

***

Damian was riding next to the cart where Alester and Alysanne were riding, Alester was telling him about a friend he made in Great Moraq.

"-language isn't everything, my young friend. You can make friendships that will last a lifetime just by sharing some beer and meat with someone. My good friend Hao didn't speak an ounce of Valyrian or Common Tongue, and I hardly knew two words in his tongue, and yet-"

"Shh." Damian silenced Alester and turned his head towards the forest. "Did you hear that?" He asked them in a whisper.

Damian's eyes fix on a large tree a few meters ahead, the top of that tree sways more than the ones around it. On top of that he heard a slight crack, a very familiar noise.

"Hear what?" Alysanne looked at him with annoyance.

He ignores Alysanne's questions and rides forward, and tells the men riding the first cart to stop immediately.

"What's going on?" Benton intercepted him and looked at him with the same hostility and suspicion as always.

"Bandits. In the trees, I counted three. They have crossbows." He says quickly. "There may be more hiding. They cut down the tree over there, and as soon as we get closer they will throw it on us."

The guard squinted into the trees and saw something because the next thing he did was swear loudly.

"Seven Hells!" Benton started yelling orders to the guards, the bandits heard his screams and realized their ambush failed. Instead of waiting for their enemies to organize, they attacked.

Five bandits on foot ran out of the trees with weapons in hand, two with swords, one with a spear and the other two with maces. Four others stayed behind and began firing at them with their crossbows. Three were sitting on the branches of some trees and one next to the tree that they had cut down and planned to throw on them.

"Fuck!"

"Take cover! They have crossbows!"

Damian didn't stay still and quickly drew his bow. He was very aware of his surroundings, he made sure to stay away from the five bandits that were attacking them with melee weapons, and also kept moving so as not to be an easy target for the crossbows.

While the guards were fighting the five bandits he began to take out the crossbows one at the time.

Crossbows are good weapons if they are loaded and your opponent isn't too far away, as soon as your opponent dodges the bolt you're screwed. Reloading another bolt takes a good minute, although it may not seem like much, in the middle of combat one minute feels like an hour and is more than enough time for an enemy to finish you off.

The bows, on the other hand, only require a few seconds between shots, by the time the bandits loaded the second bolt, Damian had already eliminated half of them. Unfortunately, that same thing drew the attention of the other two crossbows towards him and as soon as they had the bolt loaded they pointed towards the redhead.

Damian grabbed two arrows from the quiver strapped to his saddle and jumped off his horse, slapping Marengo on the back for him to gallop away.

`I'll find him later.` Damian thought as he ran into the woods. He jumped the last meter that separates him from the forest and quickly took cover behind a tree, his quick reflexes were the only thing that saved him from being hit in the neck by a bolt.

`Two crossbows left, I have two arrows. I can't miss.` Damian turns his neck and looks towards the two bandits and has to duck quickly to avoid a bolt. `It was one shot, the other bandit must have his crossbow loaded. As soon as I come out from behind the tree, he'll shoot me. I have to admit it is a good strategy, a good way to overcome the weakness of a crossbow.`

Damian closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

`Unfortunately for them I had already trained myself for this kind of situation.`

Damian holds his bow and arrows in one hand and draws his gladius.

***(Flashback)***

"Gawain, are you sure?" Ralof looked at him skeptically.

"Yes, uncle." The redhead answered him for the third time. "I will almost certainly find myself in these kinds of situations and if I don't master this I will end up dead."

"I don't know whether to call your 'special training' genius or madness," Ralof sighed and rubbed his temples. "I lean more towards the latter."

Gawain just chuckled.

"Maybe so, but it's a necessary madness."

"Fine, fine. But I warn you that it will hurt a lot." Ralof picked up a bow and arrow, the arrow has a small leather ball on the tip. "The arrows won't penetrate your flesh but the impact will leave you with a very nasty bruise."

"Better get bruised today than become a pincushion tomorrow."

***(End Flashback)***

Damian comes out from behind the tree for a second and immediately takes cover again.

`That is one bolt, for its angle the bandit in the tree was the one who shot.` He comes out from behind the tree and starts walking forward. All his senses are focused to the maximum towards the bandit at the foot of the tree twenty meters away.

The world seems to slow down and he sees in great detail how the bandit points the crossbow towards him, the noise of the bolt shooting out of the crossbow is heard with as much intensity as if he were next to the bandit. A wooden stick with an iron tip, it doesn't look like much but if it hits you... Damian won't let it hit him.

The redhead tightens his grip on the hilt of his gladius and just as the bolt is a few meters away he swings his sword in a quick slash.

The sound of metal clashing against metal echoes through the forest and before the bandits can process what just happened Damian drops his gladius to the ground and quickly takes aim with his bow.

His first target is the bandit sitting on the tree branch, he is the one who shot first so he had more time to reload his crossbow.

`Target twenty-two meters away, immobile.`

The arrow cuts through the air with a high-pitched whistle, and before it reaches its target Damian has already readied his next shot.

`Target twenty meters away, immobile.`

Two shots, two enemies.

Damian lets out a relieved sigh as he sees the bandits fall, the bandit on the ground fell into the half-wet leaves and the bandit sitting on the tree was left hanging from the rope that tied him to the tree trunk.

`All those bruises were worth it.` He looks at the bolt in the ground a few feet away and smirks.

***

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