"You know maybe I can get along with these two. If I'm going to be stuck with them might as well try to enjoy their company," Rinero thought to himself. Rinero looked up to the stars but then heard a noise from the forest. Rinero pretended he didn't notice the noise but peered carefully into the forest and noticed a faint glint in between the trees. Suddenly there was a twang sound, and an arrow came flying straight at Rinero's face. Rinero dived out of the way and the arrow stuck into the wagon behind him. Rinero reached for his saber, yet his hands grabbed only air. "Dam it, my saber is in the wagon!" Rinero thought as he scrambled to retrieve his blade.
After the arrow struck a group of bandits surged forward from the forest. They carried short swords and axes and one of them had a crossbow. They were lightly armored with an assortment of pieces of plate and chainmail over their ragged cloths. Their faces were obscured by black scarfs and cruel, killer eyes peered under their iron helmets. One more man came out of the bushes wielding a longsword. The man was in chainmail and wore a kettle helm and a black scarf. Over his chainmail he wore a white surcoat with a black dagger symbol. He was clearly their leader.
"Black Dagger Bandits!" shouted Zetarnu. Noname and Zetarnu got up and sprung backwards. They were surrounded, in total there were eight bandits around them. One of the bandits dashed forward, axe raised ready to strike. Noname leaped in front of the bandit and drew a dagger out of his cloak. The long, cruel piece of iron flashed under the moonlight as it slashed open the bandit's throat. Blood sprayed like a fountain from the wound and the bandit let out a sickening gurgle before dropping dead.
All at once the rest of the bandits charged forwards, bloodlust in their eyes. Zetarnu pointed his staff at the charging bandits. The staff shimmered with red arcane energy and blasted a bolt of electricity. Yet not even a millisecond later the bandit leader fired off his own bolt of electricity from his right hand.
The two bolts collided in a blinding flash with a deafening boom. Noname shielded his eyes from the flash with his cloak and took advantage of the confusion. Noname charged the bandit with a crossbow and stabbed him in the chest seven times.
The bandit leader charged at Zetarnu as the flash dimmed. Zetarnu dashed back and pointed his staff at the leader. "Son of a bitch! This one has magic," thought Zetarnu. Before Zetarnu could fire off another spell he was kicked in the chest and pinned to the ground by the bandit leader. The bandit raised his longsword to strike, yet before he could strike Zetarnu used telekinesis to grab the axe out of the hand of the first bandit Noname killed. The axe whizzed through the air and smashed into the bandit leader's side, piercing his armor spraying blood all over the ground.
Zetarnu got up and spit on the face of the bandit leader who was writhing and screaming in pain on the ground. "Heh, rookie," said Zetarnu kicking the bandit in the face, crushing his nose. Meanwhile Rinero had jumped out of the wagon, blade ready, just in time to see Noname fire a small fireball at the bandits. The fireball exploded on impact with one of the bandits, blowing a hole through his chest and leaving nothing but a flaming corpse on the ground.
Noname withdrew a second dagger from his cloak and rushed the rest of the scared and confused bandits, one dagger in each hand. Noname weaved through the swings and stabs of the bandits while delivering his own lethal strikes with incredible swiftness. The bandits scattered as Zetarnu, using his telekinesis, flung the weapons of the fallen bandits at the still living ones.
The scene was absolute chaos and all Rinero could do was watch, frozen like a statue. Flying weapons, fireballs, the calm and polite Noname brutally stabbing bandits to death, it all made no sense to Rinero and made his head hurt.
Noname plunged his two daggers into the last bandit, one in the neck, one in the heart. The corpse fell life less on the ground and Noname raised his head, then smiled and waved at Rinero as if he didn't just kill a man right in front of him a second ago. "Well that all the sons of a bitches done," said Zetarnu, hands on his hips.
"Wait no master, look at the number of corpses, there are only 7!" responded Noname.
"Then where is the- RINERO BEHIND YOU!"
Rinero whipped around to see a helmetless bandit, axe in hand, about to cleave him in half. The words of the old mercenary who taught him swordplay flashed into his mind. "Don't let the fear and panic of surprise take you over, keep your mind clear and strike without hesitation." Rinero swung his saber with deadly speed and precision at the bandit's unprotected head. Yet the familiar sensation of steel bashing against flesh and the subsequent cheer of the crowd was not what met him.
It was a sickening, strange sensation. A dull, wet, thunk as the saber sliced halfway down the middle of the bandit's head. The bandit's eyes became lifeless as blood drooled out of his mouth. The body fell to the ground with a thud, blood dripping off Rinero's saber. There was no victory, no pride or triumph in the act, just nothing, Rinero felt nothing. Rinero stared at the lifeless corpse sprawled on the ground, unable to comprehend that it was his doing.
His mind went blank, then it all hit him at once, a barrage of emotions. the whole thing didn't feel real, the entire day didn't feel real. Abducted by a mage and his half orc apprentice to go on a quest, it was all ridiculous, like something out of a dream. Surely, he would wake up in his bed ready to spend his tournament earnings, surely, he didn't just take the life of another man.
A hand clasped on his shoulder; it was Zetarnu. "Don't feel bad Rinero, it was you or him. Now try to get some rest, you're going to need all the rest you can get." said the mage. Rinero dragged himself into the wagon, covered himself in a blanket and went to sleep.