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Chapter 11 - Hags and Bandits

Yaghma has been gone for more than a week now. Heydar had woken to his absence and the presence of a few uninvited guests. They claimed to have been given access to the place by Yaghma. Heydar had allowed them to sleep in an empty hut with blankets from his room and Yaghma's house. During the first 3 days, other than trying to comfort the elderly women and providing anything they needed, Heydar kept practicing magic. He heard from the women about what happened and the description was nothing but grim and scary. 

According to them. Under the cover of the night, the bandits crept close to the village in large numbers but still kept a distance. their numbers increased from an odd 50 to 200. Then they attacked.

It started with flaming arrows, followed by a frontal assualt by the bandits. The bandits were swift and strong. They cut down villager after the villager very easily. It took some time for the village head to compose the people and for the warriors and hunters to face the bandits. This was not the first time the village was under attack, so they were able to work together with rhythm. Retired soldiers barked instructions and the men formed a line. Another line behind consisted of bowmen and brave young men with slingshots. The villagers above the line quickly scampered behind the line for safety. It was mostly women, kids and the elderly. The bandits' momentum was destroyed for a moment, until a wild cackle reverberated from deep within the bandit force and a solid object of fire pierced through a man apart of the defensive line. 

The scene scared the women beyond their wits. One of them, Mrs Gallo, had the sense to gather the women together and lead them further from the village for safety. They stayed in Bisro's restaurant with the kids while others were tasked with finding horses. The four elderly women were told to ride the horses all the way to Lord Yaghma's house and ask for help. Unfortunatley, on the way here they decided to take a break which led to the horses running away, forcing them to trek the rest of the way on foot, taking longer than should have.

Yaghma said he would send someone to fetch them once he handles the bandits but it's been a whole week with no one coming. Heydar thought of learning a spell to help him see further, but that would take too long. He focused on honing his current arsenal and advancing his core. Regardless a week is not enough to achieve a lot.

After mulling over it he decided to go check on Lord Yaghma's situation. He told the women about his decision, they reacted very strangely. At first, they dissuaded him, but when he insisted they didn't try to convince him for the second time. Upon thinking about it, this wasn't strange at all, although Heydar was still a young boy, he was known as the son of Lord Yaghma who can use magic. The women were worried. They were worried about their kids, worried about their husbands, worried about their friends, worried about their mothers, their sisters, their fathers. They left all of their loved ones in a bloody village while they cowered in the safety of Yaghma's house. They were too afraid to go back, but their hearts ached at the thought of their children getting beheaded by the bandits, enslaved, sold, and abused. It wasn't a thought anyone could bear. During their stay at Yaghma's house, there were times when they couldn't sleep or eat. The guilt gnawed at them and the stress was getting the better of them. So when Heydar said he would go back, they found it very difficult to stop him. They stared at his small frame and fragile face, his every being showed no signs of being prepared for danger. Alas, the boy was not theirs, they did not love him. In their guilt, they insisted on making food for his journey. 

After they made him food and packed for him, he set off with a small bag in tow and a sword. Heydar was as inexperienced as it comes. Although the fear and anxiousness occupied his heart, excitement followed very soon. He was leaving the house to go far for the first time. He went down the hill and entered a forest with short trees, it was very sparse. He heard the chirping of birds and the flutter of their wings. Rabbits in haste and insects crawling here and there. 

The forest had a dirt trail he was told would lead him to the village. From now on, Lord Yaghma will not be able to call me a fawn, I might be able to leave the house more often from now on. As he followed the trail his eyes darted everywhere, trying to capture everything. 

Suddenly he heard a snap. He jumped, startled, he looked for the source. A hare. Its eyes observing silently, while its whispers twitched from time to time. 

Heydar let out a breath of relief. That gave me a fright. He kept staring at the hare, he was yet to test his spells on a living creature. He closed his eyes and his core released a suction force, he began arranging glyphs for a fire arrow. Should I ? He gave the Hare another look. He was very tempted. That would be a huge waste of energy, I'll end up exhausting my core if I chase every little animal that comes my way. He dispelled the glyphs from his core and stopped channeling energy. He left the hare and kept walking, before going still. Suddenly, he whipped around and aimed his hand at the hare, an arrow of fire shooting out and landing on the hare. BOOM! The hare exploded, blood and guts spread far. Birds scattered, the peace of the forest was disturbed for a brief moment. Who was I kidding? Heydar thought to himself "Wasting energy" what a joke , he chuckled to himself before carrying on with his journey. There was still a long way to go, but he was having fun so far, the fear in his heart lessened