'Help? Shit, do I go and help her or just keep moving. I'm no saint, but it sounded life her life may be in danger. But, it could also be a trap. Hmm, what should I do?' Rey thought to himself.
He was in a conundrum as part of him said to keep moving on and mind his business, and the other part said to try and help. There were pros and cons to each choice, but when he thought about where he'd be right then if Harris and Rory didn't save him, he made the choice in his mind to repay one good deed with another. Paying it forward some would say.
But, before he could even take a step, a figure came frantically running out of the forest, nearly stumbling on the foliage. When the figure stepped out of the shadows of the forest, Rey saw an absolutely gorgeous woman running from the forest. She had a tall, slim figure and somewhat humble chest, but even that couldn't take away from the almost ethereal charm and beauty of her sharp features, full pouty lips, grey eyes, long, silky light blue hair that went perfectly with her creamy white skin. She had a short, form-fitting robe that came to just past her supple thighs and hugged her womanly hips perfectly.
In short, she was a beauty that was on par with Rory when it came to looks.
And judging by her short, pointed ears that Rey saw briefly poke through her hair as she ran, she was definitely an elf, or at least in part. Rey did remember Half-Elves being a thing and that short pointy ears and human features were their identifiers, and this girl definitely matched the description.
As if she felt Rey staring holes through her loose tattered robes, the girl turned to face him and a light of hope entered her sharp grey eyes as she ran towards him.
"Please kind sir, help me!" the girl yelled as she ran to him, then practically fell into his arms when she got close. Between her looks, her warm breath on his chest as she clung tightly to him, the feeling of her panting heavily in his arms, and the sweet irresistible fragrance she was giving off to his new animalistic senses, Rey was having one hell of a time controlling himself at that moment.
Before Rey could lose the battle with his urges, 4 figures burst out of the forest looking around everywhere before their eyes landed on him and the Half-Elf girl.
'Aww fuck, this girl came with more that I bargained for.' Rey thought. Little did he know how right he was.
The 4 figures stopped a short distance away from Rey, all of them shooting him deadly glares. One was a Dwarf with black hair and long beard carrying a two-handed hammer. Two of them were Human, one tall and stocky with a sword and shield while the other was short and lanky with a bow. One was a Goblin with a crazed look, carrying two daggers. The last was a burly Orc that reminded Rey of Karrick, only this one had a mohawk and carried a massive spear.
All of the men were rough looking and smelly, the very image of a bandit.
"Hand that little whore and all of your belongings over and you won't get hurt, much!" the Orc threatened with a rough voice, while the other bandits broke out into a laugh. It seemed the Orc was the leader of this merry bunch.
Rey frowned at the threat, as even if he decided to give away the girl to avoid trouble, there was no way he was willingly going to hand over his newfound wealth. Now they went and made his decision for him.
"Yeah, that's not going to happen, buddy. But, if you're trying to stick your dick in something, your friends there look like they're eager to volunteer. Why don't you go ask them?" Rey retorted almost instantly. By the time he realized what he said, he knew there was definitely no way to avoid a fight now.
When they heard what Rey said, the bandits immediately stopped laughing and gave him death glares, brandishing their weapons. They seemed more interested in cutting Rey to pieces now than getting to the girl.
"Oooh, Kitty has jokes! Let me cut him, Boss. Let me cut him!!!" the Goblin yelled furiously in a high-pitched, shrill voice, breathing heavily as he clutched his two daggers.
Rey wasn't sure who to go for first, as they were almost a perfectly full party. The Dwarf had the Frontline damage role alongside the tall stocky human. The Goblin had the Flank position while the short Human covered range. And lastly, the Orc doubled as a Tank and a Damage role, which made him tricky to deal with. The only roles they didn't have covered were the Healer and Mage role, which Rey was thankful for. Dealing with these 4 would already be a challenge.
While the 3 bandits were waiting for their Boss' sign to attack, the Orc stood there with a pondering expression before he turned to the others.
"He may be on to something." the Orc said as he looked to his fellow bandits.
"Huh?" They all asked, confused on what their boss was suddenly on about.
"I mean, hear me out. We all get along well with each other, spend all of our time together, and we clearly have chemistry..." the Orc said, suddenly bashful and shy, which didn't fit his image.
"Eh?! What the hell are you talking about, Boss?! W-we aren't gay!" shouted the Dwarf. A light blush could just barely be seen past his bushy, black beard.
"Don't give me that shit! We see each other naked all the time! And you, weren't we practically rubbing our meat together when we raped that girl last week? You even looked me in the eyes as you finished! And need I have to mention what we all did together last month after we sold that big haul?" the Orc asked, his full attention now on his crew who were suddenly all blushing.
"W-we were all drunk, stinking drunk. T-that doesn't count as us being gay. We were just...friends having a bonding moment. It definitely didn't make us gay... Right?" the short Human asked, suddenly not so sure of himself. They were all silent for a long moment, not one of them looking up from the floor.
"You know what, fuck it. I... I'm gay and I fucking love you guys! There, I said it!" the tall Human blurted out, fearing how his crew may react to him admitting the truth.
The next moment, large green arms wrapped around him, pulling him into a firm hug.
"Shh, it's okay. I love you guys too." the Orc said, embracing the Tall Human.
After a moment of hesitation they all hugged each other and enjoyed this touching moment of accepting who they are and loving each other.
"I want to thank you, Lion. If it wasn't for you, we would nev-" the Orc said as he turned to thank Rey, only to find him and the girl nowhere to be seen.
Little did Rey know he just singlehandedly started Terria's first gay bandit crew, that goes on to terrify all of the men on Essex.
* * * * * * * *
Far away from the bandits touching coming out moment, Rey was now stopped, breathing heavily as his lungs felt like they were on fire. In his arms, he held the cute Half-Elf girl in a princess carry, while his staff was strapped to his back.
Was it cowardly to run from the bandits, possibly. But, Rey knew that he wasn't one of those MCs in the stories he used to read that were protected by 'Plot Armor', nor was he some powerful warrior that could fight his way through any battle. He did the only sensible thing he could think of, which was run while the bandits were distracted. He just didn't expect how effective that tactic would be.
He also didn't expect his new stamina either, as he ran at full speed for several miles without stopping. A feat that only Olympic athletes could dream of back on Earth.
Setting the gorgeous girl down for a second, Rey propped himself on his knees before he went toward the side of the road to lay on his back while he caught his breath. Feeling some movement next to him, Rey looked over to see the girl sitting very close to him. When she brushed her long blue hair over her ears and gave him a sweet smile, Rey felt his heart rate raise back up like he was still being chased by the bandits.
"I can't thank you enough, Lord Healer, for coming to my rescue. Those brutes...they attacked my carriage and killed all of my servants. They were talking about doing horrible things to me! How could I ever repay you?" the Half-Elf girl asked in a airy, feminine voice as she leaned down closer to Rey.
Rey was getting closer to his limit the closer the elf girl came. He was just about to ask for something risky when a flashback or Harris telling him to not be late flashed across his mind. As cute as this girl was, the thought of pissing Harris off terrified him, especially after seeing how scary Jory could be. With a heavy heart, Rey slowly shook his head as he sat up.
"As much as I'd love to lay with you all day getting to know you...personally, I'm afraid I have a scary old mentor waiting on me to return. Plus, I'd be taking advantage of a cute girl during an emotional moment if I did anything further, so I think it's best we leave it as just a thank you." Rey said begrudgingly, as even he can't believe he was denying such a beauty.
Seeing Rey deny her, the girl's smile turned pouty for a split second before she settled for a sad resigned smile. Rey was surprised when the girl hugged him and snuck a light kiss to his lips, before burying her face on his broad chest.
"You are far more honorable than most men, Young Healer. My name is, Kairen, but those close to me call me either, Kai, or, Ren. What may I call you, Young Healer?" the elf girl, Kairen, asked as she looked up at him with her sharp, sultry eyes.
"A cutie like you, you can call me whatever you like. But, my name is Reymond Reed, but those close to me call me, Rey." Rey said as he flashed her a charming smile, making a light blush appear on her face.
"Mmm, Rey, I like it. And Reed? I don't remember any noble families that go by that name. Hmm, either way, Healer Rey, do you mind if I travel with you to the next village? I'm not sure if I could make it safely by myself." Kairen asked in a soft, unsure tone.
"Uh, sure, I don't mind. We shouldn't be far now, so hopefully we can have you on the way to where you're supposed to be soon." Rey said as he stood, grabbed his staff, then offered Kairen a hand to stand.
Since he was tight on time, Rey offered to carry Kairen on his back, which she happily accepted. Now that he wasn't running for his life, Rey noticed that Kairen was unbelievably light, as he felt as though he were barley lifting anything. But when he thought about it, he just chalked it up to her elf lineage, as they were known for being light and agile. Plus, with her riding piggyback, Rey had a chance to feel her perfectly shaped butt and thick thighs, which felt incredibly soft and smooth to the touch. Coupled her warm breath tickling his ear and her lightly playing with his wild black mane, Rey nearly took the risk of being late.
As they ran towards South Harrend, Rey and Kairen talked, getting to know each other. To Kairen's surprise, she found out that Rey had amnesia and didn't have any memories before he woke up in the forest. When she learned that he just started an apprenticeship with Jory to learn Healing and Harris to become a Warrior, she was even more surprised, as she had never heard of anyone trying to learn both, at least not at the same time.
Kairen knew that on top of having to have some of the largest mana capacities, Healers must study more that just simple spells, as they must learn everything pertaining to the anatomy of all races as well as the involved study of Alchemy, as when a Healer runs out of mana, their jobs don't end, they just changed their arsenal. This was one of the main reasons that Healers are so rare and highly valued.
Rey was able to learn that Kairen was the child of a noble, but she had a falling out with her father, leading to him sending her away from home to one of the family's unused manors in East Harrend. As she talked about being abandoned by her father, Kairen looked pretty upset and her alluring smile turned into a light frown, but Rey couldn't help feeling that even her pouty face was so cute and found himself even wondering how many suitors she had. But, when he heard that she was the daughter of some rich noble's daughter that lives in the Pruvian Capital, King's Mountain, Rey dashed any thoughts on getting with her immediately.
Kairen said that she was a student at a school called Maothore Academy, and when she described it as a school for the arcane, Rey was immediately reminded of that magical school that only the best of the best could get in, which put Kairen in a new light in his eyes. But when he asked why she didn't just blast those bandits away with magic, she stated that Maothore seals their students mana when they leave the academy for their breaks. Suddenly Rey started to understand how she got in that predicament. Still, he couldn't believe that school would force their students to go out in the dangerous world completely vulnerable.
An hour or so later, the outskirts of South Harrend finally came into view. Little did he know, a grumpy old man was already watching him from a distance, already planning a brutal training session thanks to him fooling around.