As they eased into it, a guard outside who was keeping watch was gazing around, unaware that he was living his last moments. A swish from the wind parting before an arrow pierced his skull. He tumbled down the roughly set up post, clearly dead.
Those around looked in shock. A rough-looking man glared as he unsheathed his blade. "BANDITS!" roaring out, the camp was then swarmed by bandits with hungry frenzied looks of joy for loot and bloodshed. The clashing of metal and screams of the dying painted the event in the cycle of such a life.
The man and woman were stunned. Before the man could reach for his blade, a male bandit had entered and snickered before quickly plunging his blade into the man's chest. The female screamed while the bandit licked the blood off his blade as he eyed her. What followed was simply life and death.
When the conflict was over, the bandits were quickly taking what they could. Avrin woke up, unaware of what was going on. He cried out as he was hungry.
"Huh? What's this?" one of the bandits spoke as he went into the tent and saw Avrin. Reaching over, he took the small wrapped baby and went out with him. "Boss, I found a baby!" he took Avrin to a large man with a beast-like frame who looked at Avrin.
"A brat? Are they that dumb to bring a kid? Pfft..." the bandit leader shook his head in disgust. After all, he may be a bandit leader, but it was survival of the fittest; a baby had no place in a trade caravan.
"Should we kill 'em?" The man holding Avrin spoke, unsure what to do. The bandit leader thought for a moment. "We'll take it all back, find some milk for it. Maybe we can sell it early if we find a buyer."
Later, the bandits had packed up their things as well as most of the goods they could get and began to head back to their base. When Avrin was feeding on some milk he was given, he was listening to their conversations.
"Bandits now? Isn't this just great..." A little reluctant, he wondered if that being was looking at this all unfold and if they were amused at Avrin's situation, or maybe this was part of it too.
After several days of travel, the bandits were currently residing in a small fort built against a mountain ridge, hidden from view mostly by large trees. They were celebrating their haul, eating large chunks of cooked meat, and drinking whatever alcohol they could get their hands on.
The bandit leader was laughing, proud of himself. "This makes 46 caravans we hit. With all the loot here, once I find some buyers, we can expand southeast more, or even turn ourselves into a merc army." He clearly had big plans for himself and his so-called brothers in arms.
"Here's to the boss!" one of the rowdy bandits raised a large pitcher of alcohol to the bandit leader. The others did so as well, the leader clearly amused as he raised his own cup, made of gold before taking a swig.
Avrin, of course, was oblivious to it all as he was to the far side of the large chamber with all the other loot they hauled in. Awake and having just been fed, he was listening to the loud cheers and music. Though still a newborn, he was tired. He fell asleep, having a feeling this was just a fleeting moment in his life.
While the bandits were celebrating, they were unaware that figures were closing in on the fort. The scouts they had set up were being cleanly killed and picked off before they could even scream. Then at the fort's entrance, a massive explosion echoed, shaking the fort. Even Avrin had woken up in shock.
What followed were screams and shouts followed by combat. Avrin listened carefully to what was going on. "M-MAGES! THEY GOT MAGES!!" a bandit screamed before he was hit by a fireball, exploding into flames as he screamed before turning to ash.
"Tsch... disgusting vermin..." a woman in a cloak had a wooden stave with a blue gem tipped at its end. Around her, armored figures and others were rushing in to kill the bandits. A young man rushed into the fray. Raising his longsword, the man's body emitted a glow before his sword lit up with runes. With a single cleave, he cut two bandits in half at the waist as if it were a hot knife through butter.
"Try to keep those we can alive, the bounty pays more for live bandits!!" seemingly the leader of the group that had attacked. The bandits were all miserable, clearly unable to defend against these warriors who knew magic and were more skilled than caravan guards.
When it was all said and done, the bandit leader had been beheaded by the leader. All that was left was to secure the fort and alert the nearby city officials a few days' travel away. Avrin heard silence and mumbling, the battle seemingly over. He clearly didn't want to be looked over and starve to death or worse. So he let out a feeble cry to get attention and suss out the situation.
"What's that?" the only female mage of the bunch rushed over to the source, surprise written on her face. "Ohh!! A baby!!" She dropped her staff and reached down to pick up Avrin, joy on her face. "These bastards even steal babies! They all deserve to die!" Hatred in her eyes as she looked over the dead and captive bandits. She gently patted Avrin's back. "There, there..."
Avrin, though, sighed in relief. Judging by the sound of things, these people or at least the woman liked him, so he didn't need to worry. He soon fell back asleep, his prior nap having been disrupted due to the fight.
The adventurers cleared up what they could, having to leave the massive load of supplies. From the group of 15, 8 of them remained to keep watch, the rest including Avrin taken by the female, left to head to the city.
"Geez, you know we can't keep a kid..." the man leading the group mumbled as he nervously looked at the woman who was glaring at him.
"Why not! It's clearly a sign. Besides, isn't it time we settle down? Look how cute he is!" cooing at Avrin with joy who played along with the happy loving baby, obviously trying to hold onto whoever gave him the most attention.
The man sighed, cursing under his breath, clearly not wanting to argue when he knew regardless, he would lose.