B3 Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18

Hands on his knees, Lucan gasped for air, his men beside him, both faring no better, after the long uphill rush. They glanced behind them furtively, even if they knew the mud-dwelling monsters were unlikely to climb the grassy hill after them. The creatures weren’t so dangerous, in truth, but rather numerous and troublesome in the mud.

Lucan had worried at first that they might be able to drag them under, but the pool of mud lacked depth, and the creatures lacked strength. It only took him one glance ahead, however, to realize that it wasn’t the only mud pool here.

Another drop in the terrain heralded a patch of thick mud not far ahead of them. Lucan could only let out a long, exasperated sigh. He noticed, however, that Tomis was walking back and forth along the hill on which they stood. Soon enough, he returned to them with his head hanging low.

“There are faint tracks,” he said. “The locals seem to circle around the lowlands, tracking ridges and narrow hills.”

Lucan nodded, understanding the man’s shame. He was their scout and tracker, after all. He didn’t blame him overmuch, however. He couldn’t have foreseen their blight, and circling the mudlands would take considerable time.

They went on with it regardless, circling around several pools like the one they encountered, larger and smaller, each time having to bend their route farther to avoid them.

When the march got dull and it felt like nothing would jump out of the grass to claw at them, Lucan perused his Blessing.

You have slain a lv3 Bogclaw and absorbed its Vital Essence.

You have slain a lv4 Bogclaw and absorbed its Vital Essence.

You have slain a lv3 Bogclaw and absorbed its Vital Essence.

You have slain a lv5 Bogclaw and absorbed its Vital Essence.

You have slain a lv3 Bogclaw and absorbed its Vital Essence.

Race: Human

Level: 18

Vital Orbs: 1

Mind and Body

Physique: Steel I 0/60

Spirit: Emerald III 0/10

Skills (0) 0/100

(Passive) Swordsmanship lv31: Adept

(Hybrid) 7-Point Star Dance lv22: Journeyman (0/4)

(Active) Wraith Strike lv29: Journeyman (0/4)

There hadn’t been much to gain from that battle, with their enemies being of so little significance, though it still pushed him a bit on his path to the next level. That would be a long path, however, unless he faced enemies of more substance in the coming days.

He let the stone tablet engraved with his Blessing disappear and observed his surroundings. They were coming out of the odd bogland at last. Tomis would go ahead from time to time, scouting their path, and soon, he came back with word that he’d found another road.

Lucan secretly rejoiced, having been worried they were slowly losing their way. They soon reached the road, finding it to be of pressed gravel and dirt, which meant that they were closer to civilization, hopefully the city they had set out for.

Tomis kept to his scouting habit throughout their journey, and Lucan was thankful for it when he came back to them with word of an ambush.

“Ambush?”

“Yes,” Tomis said. “Six men, three hidden in the bushes to the right of the road, three in the hills to our left.”

“Bandits?” Ryder wondered out loud.

“The Union is full of adventurers and mercenaries,” Lucan said. “Such folk are only a step removed from bandits.”

With a subdued voice, Tomis added, “My father once told me that mercenaries in Bitis sometimes turned bandit if they fell on hard times.”

“I reckon there is plenty of work for their kind in the Union, though,” Lucan said. “Regardless, we may go around or attempt to sweep them up one side. Did you find a route around them?”

“Yes,” Tomis said, “but we will be spotted by the ones hidden up the hills.”

“I do not wish to be pursued,” Lucan said. “We will surprise the ones in the bushes. It will be too late for their fellows to come to their aid by the time we’re done with them. Then we can handle the hill dwellers next.”

With grave countenances, his two men nodded. It would not be without its perils. They had light armor under their garments, and they were not adequately equipped for combat, but he would not take chances, considering all six could pursue them should they be discovered sneaking around them.

Tomis led them to the side of the road, where shrubbery reigned over the grassy plain, and they crouched in the rather familiar hostility of the green. Tomis claimed that the bandits hadn’t spotted him. They seemed to be waiting for an opportune target to pass by. They would likely ignore dangerous men like bands of adventurers or mercenaries, preferring to waylay lone merchants and such. When it came to a small party of lightly armed travellers like theirs, Lucan believed they might chance their luck, and he preferred to be the one to offend rather than being on the receiving end.

Tomis led them through his preferred terrain, circling some lone trees and climbing others to steal looks ahead, hopefully without being seen. Not unused to trudging through untamed wilderness, Lucan and Ryder followed easily.

They continued their crawl forward for a time, until Lucan felt himself back in the Wilderlands, sneaking past some Wildermen and cutting down others. At least, it was so until he heard a shout.

Tomis’s head snapped up, looking in the direction of the road but higher. “One of the hill watchers saw us.”

Lucan didn’t hesitate. “Charge!” They were close enough that they would still have the upper hand against the ones in the bushes, even if they couldn’t take them entirely unawares.

They rushed through the shrubbery, trampling bushes and bouncing off saplings as they went, none of them halting to consider. Lucan and Ryder overtook Tomis, who had his bow ready.

With his sword in hand and his man-at-arms at his side, Lucan rushed the first bandit. The man had turned in their direction, though he didn’t seem to know the particular bush they would come out of. Fear was also evident on his face, even if he was belligerent in his manner. He was handling a maul that was soon sweeping wide in a bid to harvest their lives.

Lucan and Ryder slipped under the sweep, watching it swing wide. Lucan then lunged forward with a slash to the man’s grip, slicing through his fingers before he could bring the maul to bear again.

Not letting the chance go to waste, Ryder dashed into the bandit’s guard, carving him up as one would a side of beef. The dying bandit’s comrades soon burst through the shrubbery, too late to save their fellow. One of them sprouted an arrow from his eye, and the other froze long enough for Lucan to Star into his guard and run him through with his sword.

Pulling his sword free, Lucan turned to the sound of shouting men. He peered through the leaves, seeing four men charging down the hills across the road, two of them wielding bows. As one of the bowmen stopped to nock an arrow, one of Tomis’s found him, burying itself in his shoulder. Upon seeing this, the other bowman slipped and fell on his backside, scrambling to hide behind a rock.

Lucan and his men moved out of the bushes in lockstep, their eyes sharp. Tomis kept his bow leveled at the hiding bowman’s rock as the other wrestled with the arrow nestled in his shoulder.

“That’s four of them, not three,” Ryder said, his tone not lacking in reproach.

“They were difficult to spot from low ground,” Tomis retorted.

The bandits’ charge seemed to sputter out as they realized that their fellows across the road were not long for this world and that they were already without their two bowmen. The two armed for a melee eventually came to a halt, looking at each other with wide eyes that shared a question.

Unwilling to charge uphill, Lucan and his two companions watched their enemies, waiting for them to come to a decision. The bandits were quiet for a beat before the one behind the rock shouted something at his fellows and dove for the nearest ridge, landing into a quick crawl when his attempt to fly to the other side of it failed.

The other two exchanged one more glance and bolted in different directions. Tomis’s arrow nicked the armor of one of them before they disappeared between the small hills. Lucan looked where the injured bowman had been and found nothing. He exchanged his own incredulous look with his two men before shrugging.

“I will keep watch,” Tomis said.

Lucan nodded and headed back to their fallen opponents with Ryder.

“We ought to search them,” Ryder said. “Perhaps they have had good fortune in the past few days.”

Lucan paused, giving him a sharp glance. “Their fortune comes with the misfortune of others, Ryder.”

Ryder gave him a sheepish smile. “Yes, of course.” Then, losing the smile, he continued, “It is a shame.”

Lucan shook his head and knelt by the first man they’d killed. He would not celebrate their fortunes, but he would not be wasteful either. Ryder knelt by another, and they both began picking through their enemies’ belongings.

Lucan soon found a golden ring on the little finger of the man he was searching, then he picked up the bandit’s purse, hearing the jingle of coins as he did.

Opening it, Lucan found a few coins, silver and copper, and a few copper bits. A moment before he threw them to the side, he frowned. He hadn’t brought anything lesser than a silver coin with him. A traveller ought to have some lesser coin. He pocketed a few malformed copper coins. Then he took the handful of copper bits —edges broken off old or large coins —and put them in one of his small pouches.

“What’s this one?” Ryder’s voice brought Lucan out of his musings. He looked up to see the man-at-arms looking quizzically at a strange silver coin, testing it with his teeth then staring at it again with a frown.

Lucan answered him, “Several guilds mint coin in the Union. We often see the coinage of the westernmost guilds in Barwalis. This must be one of the others’.”

“Is it a silver coin proper?” Ryder asked.

“Depends on the guild’s mint and their reputation,” Lucan said. “But it’s worth something. Could be twelve coppers, could be five. Depends on where you are, too.” Ironically, copper was the most reliable of coinage, since no one bothered to thin it with other metals as they would silver and gold.

Ryder only nodded at his words and slipped the coin into his pouch.

After making certain that his quarry had nothing too valuable hidden away, Lucan took the gold ring and left the silver for his men. Ryder moved on to the third fallen bandit, looting him and putting aside Tomis’s share. “They could have a hideout with their goods nearby,” he said as he finished.

Lucan shook his head. “We will waste no more time here. Back to the road.”

Ryder nodded and packed the items he’d put aside before they circled ahead to rejoin the road in less hilly parts, Tomis warding them as they went.