"Everyone. The duel will not happen tonight. We will be playing a game instead." Rankala said in a loud voice, addressing his bandit group.
"Our last captive got away from his cage and actually beat two of our guys unconscious. I want you to hunt him down and kill him." He announced.
The men around him all rose to their feet and cheered loudly.
"Anyone who can bring the head of that man here will be rewarded a fine woman and ten pieces of gold coin." He continued, surveying the excited men around him.
"Go and have fun!" Rankala said again and raised his wine.
The bandits cheered again and run around. The quickly geared up. They picked up different weapons and equipments. Most did not even bother to wear an armor, afraid to be left behind by the rest.
"That was a nice speech there. I liked it." Bar-nu said, nodding to his brother.
"That was nothing. I even think that it was a better way of entertaining the guys rather than doing those fake duels." Rankala said, then stood up from his seat.
Bar-nu chuckled in agreement.
"I will go and try to join their fun. I really don't want to give them the ten gold coins. I will catch and kill the captive myself " Rankala laughed and walk away.
"Greedy bastard." Bar-nu muttered and laughed too.
Bar-nu stood up from his seat. The camp now was almost empty with his group searching the area. He was not worried that the captive might actually get away. That captive has been repeatedly tortured for a few days now and was only given water for sustenance. That captive would not last until sunrise. It's either he would die of exhaustion or die early from the hands of his bandits. It doesn't matter to him eitherway.
Bar-nu entered back to his tent and looked at the real treasure at the corner. It was the kid that he is intending to sell. It was inside a small wooden cage just around over a meter tall and wide. the kid can't even stand inside it. The kid looks filthy and dirty and smells bad now, but Bar-nu knows its real worth. He chuckled and offed the kid few fruits. The kid only looked at him desdainfully as if he was something disgusting.
"I don't know if you can
understand this, but you are the only one alive from your convoy now. If you want it to stay that way, i suggest you eat." Bar-nu meet the kid's eye and said it slowly.
The kid did not reply, only continued to look at him.
"Whatever pleases you then." Bar-nu said again and turned away.
-----
Saluk and his companion were just by the tree line when they heared a sharp whistle.
"C'mon let's go!" He said to his companion, gesturing the person to follow him.
He has been convincing this man for quiet a while now to run away, and that he will come back for the other captive later. But the other person refused to move.
The bandits are now all around the area and it won't be long for them to be seen if they did not move.
The man in front of him was speaking rapidly, gesturing with his hands here and there but Saluk doesn't have any idea what the man is trying to say.
'Where did this man come from? He must be a trader from far away to be speaking a language that he had never heard of.'
"Okey. You run away. I go and look for the kid." He tried again. He gestured his hand, pointing the man and then mimicking the action of running. He then pointed to himself and mimicked the act of looking for something small.
"You get it? I you run away now." Saluk said again.
The man looked at him for a while, as if trying to decode what those actions were supposed to mean. Then the man nodded to him and pointed the big tent.
"You think that the kid is in that tent?" Saluk pointed that tent to and then gestured his hands around.
The man nodded.
"Okey, lets go there quick. follow me closely and try not to get noticed. Saluk said again, he continued to talk to the man even if he knew they don't understand each other.
After exchanging meaningful nods with the man, Saluk swiftly run forward. He run-dashed from tree to tree until we was finally a few meters from the big tent's entrance.
"Okey, I will go inside first. You stand guard here." Saluk said again, he turned around to gesture the action only to find out that the man did not follow him at all.
He quickly scanned around, afraid that the man might have been captured again. Then he saw the man's back enter the first tent.
'Big brother, I thought we agreed to rescue the kid. Why are you in the other tent?' Saluk felt slightly betrayed.
He did say that he will rescue the kid alone, but the man insisted that they go together. Or did they misunderstand each other again?
He recalled that he had been to the tent that man just entered to. Inside was just chest of magic artifacts and treasures. He was sure that there's no captive inside. The man also repeatedly gestured this large tent so he took it as the location of the kid.
'It was all clear right? I did not misunderstand the man or anything.' He thought. Oh well, he'll just find it out himself.
Saluk go slowly inched towards the entranced of the tent, and peered inside. In the corner, he saw a wodden cage and inside was his target. The kid was sitting in an awkward curled position. The kid was holding his knees tightly and his face was covered by the almost solid patch of dirty and muddy hair. Saluk's heart felt a certain prick. He will free the kid for sure.
Saluk switch his sight to the man sitting by the center of the tent. The man's eyes were closed. He has a large, muscular build. He has lots of magical amulets and a large axe stood unsupported by his side. His armor was a little different from the rest of the bandits too and he looks really strong. He must be the bandit leader.
'It's a good thing he's asleep.' Saluk thought and entered quietly, not making any sound.
He just made the first step into the tent when the air suddenly froze. The air got so heavy that he found it so hard to breathe. He wasn't able to move as if his whole body was bound by the air itself.
-----
Bar-nu was resting. He really have not fully recovered yet from his injury or he would have joined his men to hunt down the fleeing captive.
It was not even 10 minutes from the time he closed his eyes when the soft hum of his defensive prism was triggered.
He quickly opened his eyes and saw a man frozen midstep in front of his tent's entrance.
"Who are you?" Bar-nu said calmly, raising his eyebrows.
The man before him was young. He could even still call him a boy. He looks to be just a summer or two, above 20. His
clothes has rips and he doesn't seem to be carrying any weapon or magical artifact. The man has a bandana that covers his eyes so Bar-nu thought that this young man is blind.
"You are a thief, Are you?" He asked again. He stood up.
The young man was struggling, trying hard to move but he was bound by the defensive prism. The man did not answer him.
"Pardon me. You must not be able to breathe right now, how can you even answer my question." Bar-nu laughed lightly and then picked up a small cube in the table beside him. He made a few taps in the cube, infusing it with his magic vein.
Bar-nu deactivated the defensive prism. He did not feel threatened at all. The young man in front of him doesn't have any offensive aura. He can kill this young man anytime he wanted.
"You are too stupid to be a thief you made me laugh. The way i see it, you will die here tonight. How about try and tell me a good joke and i might just change my mind." Bar-nu said, smiling to the young man before him.
The young man steadied himself and answered. "I am here to get the kid."
Bar-nu was quiet for a while, trying to absorb what he just heard and then laughed out loudly.
"Ha ha ha ha. That was a good one young man." Bar-nu said.
"So, you will let us go?" The young man asked solemnly.
"You must be really blind. No, i will not let you go. You will die tonight." Bar-nu chuckled and. He closed his fist then stretched his forefinger outwards. He made a pointing gesture and raised his hand from his side leisurely.
A wooden spike forcefully rushed from the ground upwards where the young man was standing.
To his desbelief, the young man just swayed a little to the side and gracefully dodged his wooden spike.
"I knew you would say that." the young man sighed.
"Die!" Bar-nu said again, he gestured again, but this time all the five fingers of his hand was stretched and he repeated the same gesture.
"Woah! So strong! You can actually make five of those pointy things appear at the same time?" The young man in front of him jumped away again almost effortlessly.
"You are rather good yourself. Bring it!" Bar-nu's smile was gone now.
Bar-nu now used both of his hands and waved it towards the young man.
Wooden spikes rushed from the ground now endlessly. The furnitures in front of him started to fly un all direction as it were punched by the wooden spikes from the ground. Soon, the big tent was not able to handle Bar-nu's attacks and was torn apart. Wodden spikes filled the ground in front of him like the outside of a sea urchin.
Yet the young man was just leaping around like a grasshopper. Even considering that the man was blind, Bar-nu can't make a single hit.
"You know. We can. Always. Talk about. This." The young man said in between his jumps.
"Why don't you just die!" Bar-nu was starting to panic now. There are even some of his men that are being implaled by his spikes as they approach and try to assist him.
"That's because. Your Attacks. Are very. Predictable. Your. Men last night. Was even better. Than You." The young man replied few words at a time.
'What does this young man mean? He was asleep the whole night last night while he was recovering from his injuries. Did his men encountered him last night? But his brother didn't mention anything to him.'
Almost half of his base was demolished now. There is fire in some area caused by knocked-over torches and fueled by his wooden spikes.
Bar-nu now acknowledges the strenght of this blind man, but his pride will never allow it if he wont be able to land a single hit on him.
Bar-nu continued to attack the young man. He will not let him escape. Some of his men also tried to launch an attack themselves but the young man just seemed to dance around all of it.
"Please stop attacking me, can't you see that i'm not fighting back?" The young man jumped to the highest tree nearby and shouted at them.
'You dare mock me!' Bar-nu gritted his teeth. His wodden spikes will not be able to reach that high up. Where the damn is Rankala? Bar-nu caused too much damage on their base now, his brother should have noticed it if he was nearby.
"Then why don't you come back down and fight back. Are you just good at dodging and jumping?" Bar-nu shouted back.
He was so frustrated that even his previous wound opened up again. The young man is really too fast he can't land any hit. But if Bar-nu can just somehow taunt the young man to face him in face to face combat, he believes that he could kill the man. Only if he could taunt the other party to come down.
The young man from the treetop was silent for a while, as if thinking deep about it.
'The young man was too smart to fall for his taunting. He has to try better.' Bar-nu's eye twitched.
"Okey i will come down now." The young man said and jumped down.