After that final glance back. I began to look at my small group. Haeshe obviously stood out though she was now in tighter fitting clothes with a few pieces of leather amour covering her body as well as her shoulders. Though Rukku did wonder where she had managed to get the armour that she had on.
The rest of them were Kesaj, Arruj and Shagris the men were all smiling happily with the ladies of the team, Lile and Leena just giving them annoyed looks.
It seemed like someone had said a joke that Rukku had missed at some point. The adventure's gear that they had salvaged though fitted them all just about with a few small modifications that was.
The small group though by all accounts were in high spirits as they set off. Rukku leading them off, had a small glance around before he choose to follow the mountain range northwards, the direction which the city should be in.
As they walked along, the jagged stone peaks on their left and the comparatively nicer looking flat, grassy plains on the west. Rukku only now started to get a better idea of the place he was actually in.
Though after walking for about a mile he guessed, they suddenly started to turn progressively more towards the west. As they did this, the group began to hear the noise of something in the distance. Though they could not really tell what it was, Leena suggested it could be the sound of objects smashing together. A miner hitting stone for example, though for some reason Rukku could not bring himself to agree with her.
"I think we should hurry up." He mumbled as he looked out, feeling the colder wind on his skin. He could have thought for a second he could even taste blood on the wind, though that should have been impossible so he quickly dismissed the idea that had come across his mind.
Then as the group rounded the corner, Rukku was forced to change the thoughts that were in his head around. In front of them was what looked like a merchant's caravan which was under attack from what seemed like bandits.
The cavern itself though seemed to be holding on at least for now. It was made up of three carts, containing some kind of cargo as a merchant would have. The cargo itself though Rukku could not see as the carts were covered up with some white fabric. Aside from that, there were a group of five guards as well as a couple of merchants. Though one of the merchants was lying there bleeding out.
The bandits themselves numbered around 15 and were all armed with mainly bladed weapons as well as axes, aside from that they all had on leather amour as he had looted from the adventures, it seemed like maybe they had gotten their armour from killing some of the bandits before.
"Lord, what will we do?" Haeshe quietly asked him as they looked on at a distance. Rukku quickly glanced back at her and was able to see eagerness, well all of them seemed to be eager. They had just been practising for now and some actual combat would help them out but still, they would be outnumbered a little. Then again, that did not matter before!
"Spread out, focus on protecting the last merchant. I will help the guards and push the bandits off, I doubt they will focus on fighting when the odds turn against them.
Inside though Rukku was stunned at how quick he had made the deduction. For the first time he began to think if he was actually still the same person as he had been before…
"CHARGE!"
His loud booming voice suddenly blasted out across the plains starling himself as well as everyone else around him, even the fighting which they were rushing into momentarily paused before the a group of bandits rushed up to them.
Behind him though, Rukku's small group all roared out as well as started sprinting down straight at the bandits. As he ran alongside them he could not help but smile a bit, his blood was pumping furiously and the adrenaline was thrusting through his veins. The feeling was just down well amazing!
Then as he ran faster and faster, everything all seemed to slow down again like it had when he was forced to fight before. He could even see the other's breathe as if it was all in slow motion.
Then as he neared the first bandit who was not eve reacting at the moment, he grasped his sabre and as he had practised over and over. He slashed forwards.
For a second it was as if nothing had happened, then as everything sped up. Blood spurted out and covered his vision for a second. The sudden screaming of those around filled his ears and by the time that he could see again, the group of 8 bandits that had rushed them were all dead.
He could not help but be surprised at the speed of their deaths. Even his fighters all seemed to be surprised. Everybody took a moment to look at the broken corpses at their feet in surprise. Then almost as one, they all looked up and the training bandits. Who with one look back, all ran together.
"Run! Do not stop! Monsters!" Their scream and yells of terror could still be heard long after they had gone out of sight.
Rukku spent a few seconds watching them run off like rabbits with their tails between their legs before turning back to the carven. He still could have to fight them too, depending on how they reacted to him and his group.
As he watched them, the remaining merchant slowly approached his guards surrounding him. Looking at them all nervously, he began to mumble. "Well…Uhh. Thank you…Uhh. Who exactly are you?"
Rukku did say anything for a couple of seconds, slowly analysing the man and his group. There just seemed to be a lot of cargo here for such a small guard detail.
"We are…adventures who are passing through. I just thought we could all lend you a hand for a reward of course." His sudden quick-thinking surprised his group, although they all kept the surprise inside and tried to not show it outside of themselves.
The merchant upon hearing this visibly relaxed and took a big sigh of relief. "Well if that is the case! You are most welcome my friends! And for rewards uhmm. I guess you at the madam over there lost your armour or it was destroyed? How about I get you some nice armour once we reach the city! Also, I can give you some silver now, 500 pieces should do right?" The merchant almost seemed to be a different person at this point and Rukku could not help but admire the man's mental strength as well as picking out what they needed most although this could have just been random luck too.
"That would do fine thank you!" Both sides were happy with the deal, their happy smiles making the attitude calmer.
"Well, we best be off!" Rukku and his group quickly boarded the carts and they all then began to set off towards the city which was in the west, which he had sort of worked already though.
As the sun began to set after a couple more days of travel, he could finally see it o the horizon and it was well imposing.