[Ridge]
I was not, in fact, being dramatic. I did however forget who exactly I was traveling with.
The figures reveal themselves one at a time, surrounding us and blocking off the only paths we can take without ditching all of our stuff. Remember when I mentioned how amazing we would be if we weren't under certain circumstances. Yeah, me too. It's all I can think about right now.
Tellur's not drunk anymore, but he doesn't have a weapon. I should've asked the Viscou- Kedcoe, to arm us before we left. All we have is the sword I brought with me the night of the fire and a dagger Kadeeth stole off of one the dead Nymour soldier's body. Plus, I'm still injured. Not really ideal conditions for us right now, but at least it's better than it was a few days ago.
My foot throbs as I take a protective step towards Raforn. I've had to use the crutch a lot today because of the bruising rubbing against my shoe. It's like the initial pain is healing, but while it fizzles out new, smaller aches are torturing me.
"Put your bags on the ground, empty your pockets, and step away from the wagon. This can all be over quick if you do as we say." A bored, sophisticated voice orders. Only the last beams of evening light remain, so a normal person wouldn't be able to make out where it came from.
I slowly reach to lift Caroley's satchel over my head, and the others nervously follow suit. I inch closer to Kadeeth, close enough to see his face in the dim sunlight. He raises an eyebrow. I answer his silent question with a slight jerk of my head towards our left.
I poke him with my pointer finger as I toss the bag on the ground. He's closer to the voice, who's most likely the leader, so he'll need to make the first move or somehow switch places with me. Suddenly I want to rake my finger nails down his face.
Why does he look like that- nodding as if he understands, while his expression isn't serious at all. I plaster a warning on my face but he's not looking at me anymore. He tosses his backpack on top of the wagon in a bold fashion. Do NOT piss these people off Kadeeth James Riddotha, or I will kill you.
The bandits, or whoever they are, have moved in closer, but still haven't left the safety of the shadows. Their silhouettes never stop moving, practically dancing around us in an intimidating circle.
"Good, now step away." The voice praises as I add my own backpack to the pile. Their voice is still in the same spot. Whoever's speaking isn't moving, that makes this easier. Usually with smaller less organized groups like roadside ambushers if you take out the leader the rest fall apart.
"We don't want any trouble..." I draw out as I slowly step away from our stuff and towards the voice.
"Something tells me it finds you often." The voice banters seductively. Then I get a glimpse of Kadeeth's face and time freezes. The witty response to buy time in order to get closer- stuck in my throat. He's smiling.
Hasn't this bastard caused enough trouble?? What could he possibly have to smile about right now? He better have a song or a joke stuck in his tiny little brain right now or so help me I'll stick a sword through it instead.
Kadeeth throws his hands up in mock surrender and starts striding casually in the direction of the voice. I grab for his arm but miss.
"Kadeeth," I hiss after him.
He ignores me, "Why don't we talk this out?" He calls into the darkness. Something shifts among the trees.
"You may talk, if you wish to have your tongue cut out, and sold along with your other organs." The voice retains its low alluring quality, but there's an irritated aggression to it now. Kadeeth laughs.
"Kadeeth, shut up." I growl, louder this time.
"C'mon, man, this isn't funny." Raforn agrees, his words quivering.
The voice hums, "You should listen to your friends. There's no point in dragging this out when we could just kill you."
He chuckles again. Fuck. I feel Raforn's presence shift nervously closer to me. I can't act recklessly right now.
The sound of glass shattering followed by a struggle boom throughout the clearing. I whip around, grabbing Raforn and pulling him closer to me. I look up to see Tellur hovering the sharp remains of a smashed liquor bottle above the eye of a man dressed entirely in dark clothing.
"A TRADE." Kadeeth yells, sounding serious now, "Let us go peacefully, with our belongings... and our tongues." A woman with black hair in braids long enough to drag on the floor steps out from our left, slow clapping.
"How amusing, you think you've won." She states, "It's unfortunate how wrong you are." Her already condescending face falls. She's furious. Whether it's at being bested or at Kadeeth's antics in general I'll probably never know, "Kill them." She snaps her fingers at us and all the dark clothed figures reveal themselves completely, all armed to the teeth.
"Damn it!" I grind out, unsheathing my sword in one swift motion. Raforn steps back in fear and trips on the uneven path. He plummets to the ground at Kadeeth's feet. The psycho's face lights up at the sight.
"You don't want to kill us," Kadeeth screams desperately, he thinks hard for a moment before forcing out another small smile, "we have a CHEF!"
"What?" Is the collective response to the idiot's hopeless bargaining.
"A Chef. He's the best of his trade in the entire Empire, evening among the palace cooks." Kadeeth boasts. Even I might start laughing at this point, "Don't take this the wrong way, but you all seem like you could use even a halfway decent meal..." Is he seriously insulting them right now? No- is he actually talking about Raforn's cooking right now?
"Did," The woman pinches the bridge of her curved nose, "did you just offer us food- in exchange for not killing you?" She clarifies.
"It's really freaking good." He admits, rubbing the back of his neck. I hate that habit. I hate him. Kill him. He won't be missed.
The woman stares in disbelief, her comrades seem to be in a similar state. Everyone's at a sort of- standstill. Only Kadeeth would be capable of something like this. The final rays of light as the sun vanishes over the horizon reflect from my sword to the woman's eyes. The glint snaps her out of whatever trance Kadeeth has everyone under.
She snaps twice and before I can get my own wits together something heavy crashes down on the back of my head. A loud crack rings out and mixes with the shrill screaming of Raforn's startled voice.
I stagger forward onto my bad foot, which immediately gives out, making me crumple helplessly to the ground. My burning head hits the ground hard and suddenly, forget the sunset, the sun is gone altogether.
Everything goes dark.