The scream of a horse shook Alice from her peaceful sleep, echoing through the carriage. Shouts and curses accompanied the horse's screech, along with the sound of falling bodies.
The caravan was under attack; a group of bandits wanted to seize the pelts they collected from the woods.
There were almost twenty bandits, double the numbers of the hunters. To make matters worse, all of the hunters' bows were stashed in the weapons carriage, leaving them with only daggers to defend themselves. The bandits likewise didn't have any ranged weapons, instead carrying short swords.
Alice peeked her head out, worry written across her face. A light blue mist was quickly dispersing into the air, and all of the hunting squad's horses were collapsed on the ground. The horses struggled, trying to stand, but there was no energy in their muscles. This was the effect of a magic stone: It wiped out all the strength of an animal, locking them to the ground helplessly.
The hunters had formed a semicircle around the carriages, brandishing their daggers towards the enemies. Hugo edged back towards the weapons carriage, hoping to grab his bow before the bandits made their move.
If one was to rate their combat abilities, a regular citizen would be a one, and the hunters averaged a three when armed with daggers. They had tons of experience out in the woods, but hadn't fought other humans often. The bandits were a 4, their longer reach would prove to be dangerous for the hunters.
As it stood, the hunters stood little chance of winning this fight… unless they could get their bows. When armed with a bow, an excellent shot like Hugo could be called an eight. As long as nothing went wrong, the battle would be over the moment Hugo reached his bow.
"Stop moving or the kid gets it!"
Unfortunately for Hugo, something did go wrong. One of the bandits had his arm wrapped around Su's neck, holding his sword against her side. Hugo immediately froze, staring at the bandit's sick grin with terror.
"If you hunters leave right now… we might let you live. Drop all your weapons and leave. We're taking the pelts… hm, and this little girl. She might fetch a few col if we sell her to a brothel."
Alice watched the standoff from inside the supplies cart, shaking in terror. About two meters away, the bulky bandit holding Su stood menacingly, a twisted smile on his face as he watched Hugo panic.
Alice's knuckles tightened on the ash wood bow, an arrow already knocked on it. She was the only one with a bow- the only one who could save her friend… and she was the only one who couldn't shoot a bow well enough to save her. Taking a shot at the bandit, even at this point blank range, would end horribly. Alice was armed with only practice arrows, which wouldn't do much damage to an enemy. The arrows wouldn't even pierce through a tough leather jacket, and definitely wouldn't be able to kill one of these bandits.
Ash, who had been sleeping beside Alice, stood up slowly. The effects of the so-called "magic stone" didn't seem to be able to reach him inside of the carriage, and the mist left behind by it outside had already dispersed. Ash backed up from the entrance of the carriage, his muscles bunching up.
^Are you sure about this bro? We don't know if that mist from the magic stone is gone already… Well, I guess we don't really have a choice. Better to go down fighting, right?^
The bandit was mid sentence, taunting Hugo, when Ash burst from the carriage. The grey wolf lunged at the bandit holding Su, knocking him to the ground and freeing Su.
All of the bandits froze for a second. Why was there a wolf here, and why was it attacking their man?!?
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Hugo jumped to the weapons carriage, snatching his bow and a large quiver of arrows from within.
The hunters fell back towards Hugo, forming a small semicircle around him, while the bandits moved forwards, trying to cut down the hunters.
Ed was new to the Bravens hunting group, and this was his first hunting trip. He didn't have the same knowledge or experience, so he lagged behind the others in reaching Hugo. The skinny lad wouldn't stand a chance against the bulky bandits with his little dagger, so when one of the bigger bandits swung his sword towards the young man, panic took over.
'Shit! Is this how I die? I just wanted to learn more coming out here! My little sister… how will she be able to survive now?'
The bandit stepped forwards, his blade coming at Ed like the grim reaper's scythe.
THUNK!
A sound reminiscent of an arrow impacting an animal sounded. Ed's eyes were squeezed shut as he waited for the blade to come… but it didn't. Opening his eyes, Ed saw the bandit falling backwards, an arrow protruding from his mouth.
Now that Hugo had his bow, it went from a desperate situation for the hunters to an all out slaughter. The hunters crouched defensively in front of Hugo, keeping the bandits from approaching, which Hugo mowed them down. A new bandit crumpled to the ground every second, an arrow sticking from something vital for life.
Meanwhile, next to the supplies cart.
Ash pinned the bulky bandit to the ground, tearing at his right arm, which held his sword.
As soon as he had stepped out from the carriage, a sense of weakness had hit him, but he had no options other than to keep attacking.
The mist from the magic stone was still in effect, sapping away Ash's strength.
'We need to kill this guy and get back to the carriage before we collapse, or we're done for!'
Switching his target to the man's throat, Ash reached his jaws forwards.
Now that his arm was free, the bandit struck his sword into Ash's side, slicing through his smooth pelt. The man's arm was already horribly mangled, and the sword wasn't able to pierce farm into Ash's chest.
Ash flinched from the intense pain, but continued with his attack. He needed to end this as soon as possible.
Ash's jaws sank into the man's throat, cutting off any chance the man had of making a comeback. The man fell limp, blood seeping from his crushed and torn neck, forming a puddle on the ground under him.
Both Su and Alice looked on with shock at the developments.
The fight between the bandit and Ash hadn't taken more than a few seconds, and Su had yet to make a move. She stood, about to walk over to the carriage to join Alice in hiding until the bandits were all taken out by Hugo. She had never seen a human die before, but she tried to keep her feelings bottled up for the time.
Seeing someone of your own species die in front of you for the first time would make anyone feel sick.
"Ash, watch out! Another one is coming!"
Another bandit saw the wolf and girl next to the carriage, seeing their best chance at winning. If he could kill the injured wolf and take the girl hostage again, the hunters might give up.
Ash stood to face the incoming threat, then collapsed back to the ground.
The effects of the magic stone had finally overcome him- there was nothing he could do. Seeing Ash's inability to move, Su stood forwards to fight the incoming bandit.
A grin covered the bandits face as he nimbly dodged Su's dagger, then landed a heavy slap across her face.
"Stupid girl, now that your little wolf buddy is out of the fight, you are done for too."
Within the carriage, Alice's hands were trembling. Su was captured once again, and now Ash wasn't here to save her.
Drawing an arrow, Alice took aim at the bandit standing over Su.
The world seemed to slow down, and Alice's hands stopped shaking. Alice's eyes coldly surveyed the man's body before finding a target. The arrow pointed to a place it could pierce despite having a dull tip- the bandit's neck.
THWANG!