It was pitch black by the time Oujay's group made it to the edge of the forest but they dare not light torches. That would give them away immediately.
There were seven of them not counting Lalam and they had worked too hard to find the bandits hideout to make mistakes now.
Past the first few trees Oujay's mount was hesitant to go any further. She stomped her hooves and backed up. Oujay knew that animals had a sense for danger.
"What's wrong, girl?" He patted her head gently. She whinnied and tried to turn causing Oujay to pull on the reins.
He held his hand up to signal for the others to stop.
They all dismounted and awaited orders.
"What's the plan?" Jake crossed his arms. He was the loud mouth of the band. His spiky purple hair stood straight up and his face showed no signs of concern. He was always overconfident.
"Be quiet you idiot." Cath punched his arm. "The boss knows somethin we don't, so just follow his orders." Cath had matured with age. She took her job more seriously than the others and followed Oujay's every command.
Ace chuckled. He was the calm and collected guy. He had to be because archery took a lot of concentration and focus. He had a smile during every mission and seemed to make the best of any situation.
"That's enough, all of you." Oujay quieted them. "This is a serious mission. These men capture women and sell them across the sea. Lalam risked a lot to bait this man and we aren't going to screw up."
Jake rubbed the back of his head. "I'm sorry, Boss."
"All I want is to keep everybody safe. Leona, I want you to stay back in case something goes wrong. Medley would have a hard time getting through the trees anyway."
Leona nodded. She was the rookie of the group. This was her first serious mission and Oujay didn't think she was ready to join in combat. Hopefully there wasn't too much of it anyway.
"Jake, Ace, Eris, and Ehren follow me. Cath I want you to check the perimeter. Be on the lookout for traps. These are no ordinary bandits."
Leona handed Ehren a vulnery. "Be careful you guys."
Ehren smiled and gave Leona a wink. "You know us, always careful."
Cath took off running through the woods like a tiger. She was good at what she did. Oujay felt safer knowing she would be scouting ahead.
The group quietly mounted their horses and headed through the dense forest. Oujay hoped Lalam was all right. It was a lot to ask of her, but she insisted because Asha was in danger.
Asha was the group's cleric. She fell into a trap and was now being held captive by Jarek's bandits. They had to stop them because of what they do to young girls and even more so because Asha was so important to them.
Suddenly a branch snapped and Cath's voice rang out. "Watch out!"
Oujay held up his arm shield just in time but Jake and Oujay's mount were not so lucky. Arrows whizzed past. One found its target in the horse's neck causing Oujay to fall off the mare. She shrieked in pain as the blood spurted out.
Jake pulled the arrow from his shoulder and hid behind a tree. "Where are they!? I can't see a thing."
Oujay yelled in response. "Don't panic. Find cover."
Ehren ran to Jake and spread the vulnery Leona gave him on his wound.
"Thanks man." The wound closed up and he wiped the blood away.
"Don't thank me. Thank Leona when we get back."
Eris started conjuring up a spell. Dark magic was swirling around her.
"Shadows of the night find thy enemy and feed on their souls!"
The dark magic weaved through the trees and found their targets. Shrieks of her victims echoed through the forest.
Ehren put his hand on his twin sister's shoulder. "Do you think that was all of them?"
She didn't answer him, just stared at Oujay as he knelt down beside his horse.
"Eris? I'm talking to you." He shook her.
"I don't know but surely they know we are here now."
Oujay stroked his horse's neck as her breathing grew shallow. "I'm sorry it ended like this, girl." He whispered to her as her life slipped away. He stood up angrily after she passed on. None of this would have happened if Asha were here. She could have saved his horse.
Cath stepped out of the shadows and gave her report. "That should be all the guards, Boss. I'm sorry I didn't get those three in time."
"It's fine."
Cath shouted. "No it's not! I let you all down and it will not happen again."
Oujay let the silence linger before he replied. "How many were there?"
"I killed seven and Eris killed the other three. I think they were expecting us. Why else would they have so many people scouting the area?"
Lalam watched as Jarek walked away from her cell. The fool didn't tie her up or anything. He really must be underestimating her. That didn't bother her in the least because it would be his undoing.
The troubling thing was that she didn't see Asha in any of the cells they passed. She must be somewhere else. She wouldn't accept that Asha had already been sold.
She walked to the bars and tried to peer down the hallway. One torch stood on the wall and that didn't light very much up. Jarek had to have left someone on guard so she would need to be careful. She took her picklock out of her cleavage and began to work quietly on the lock. After a few moments it clicked open.
"Thank you, Cath. I knew having her teach me this would come in handy."
Now she had to decide if she should pick each lock or kill the guard for keys. If she didn't kill the guard now he would stumble on her anyway.
"Hey you!" An ugly man with an axe came running at her.
"Looks like my decision was made for me. Come and get me ugly!" She took off down the hallway.
If she was right the idiot would chase her and not call for backup. Sure enough he was at her heels. At the corner she would make her stand.
"Here goes nothing."
Before the guard could react she sprung off the wall like an acrobat and kicked the axe from his hand. The man had no time to scream before a dagger from her boot had slashed his throat.
Lalam landed and wiped her brow. "Whew, you made me break a sweat."
The man fell to his knees holding his hands over his throat.
She reached for the keys on his belt, grabbed them and swung them around on her finger.
"I'm more than just a pretty face. You learned that the hard way. I'll be freeing these girls now. Ta-ta."
She unlocked each cell she passed and not one sign of Asha. All the girls thanked her when she freed them. Some were in such bad shape that they needed help to walk. She led the group of girls after her while still searching for Asha.
"Have any of you seen a girl dressed in cleric clothes with shoulder length violet hair? Her name was Asha."
One of the girls who had a mangled leg spoke up. "I knew her. Two days ago we were both supposed to be sold to a merchant ship. Apparently they were looking specifically for clerics. I have no such skill so they refused to buy me. Jarek was so angry that he broke one of my legs on the trip back."
The girl's story made Lalam burn with anger. "Did you happen to know the name of the merchant? Please anything could help me find my friend."
"I'm sorry I don't. They did mention that they dealt in the trade of beasts. I don't think they were from our continent."
"Thanks for telling me. Now does anyone know if there is a back exit from this wretched place?"
One of the girls nodded.
"Good." She smirked as she took the torch from the wall.
Ace was the first to notice the orange glow coming from the sky.
"Look guys, I think the place is on fire."
The group began to run towards the light and stopped just before the blazing building.
A million thoughts rushed in Oujay's head. Were the girls all right? Who did this? Where were Jarek's bandits?
"Boss, their tracks lead around this way." Cath was leaned over some footprints.
"Good work, Cath." The group ran after the prints until they heard a scream further up.
"Lalam! Asha!"
They sprinted around the burning ruins to find Jarek with a sword to Lalam's neck. Dead or dying men were laying around on the ground. Lalam looked pretty banged up.
"Oujay!" She called.
Jarek covered her mouth. "Shut up! Don't come closer or she dies."
Ace had his bow strung and was ready to shoot.
"Jay, I can make the shot."
Sweat poured down Oujay's face. The blaze was also heating up. The fear in Lalam's eyes were almost unbearable. He couldn't afford to lose her but if they dropped their weapons Jarek would kill her anyway.
"Jay, answer me! What do you want me to do?" He was screaming at Oujay now.
Jarek inched backward. "I'm warning you. I'll do it! Drop your weapons now!"
The moment was surreal. Oujay felt the wind pick up and something told him everything would be ok. He dropped his sword and looked at Ace.
Ace hesitated but eventually lowered his bow.
Jarek laughed. "You fools! I hope you enjoy this—"
A javelin suddenly protruded from his head before he could finish. Lalam whimpered as his body slumped forward on top of her.
Oujay dropped to his knees as Leona and her pegasus landed nearby. "Thank you." He looked to the sky.
Everyone except Ace ran to Lalam and pushed Jarek off of her. Ace helped Oujay to his feet and brushed him off.
"I'm sorry you had to make that choice, Jay. You're braver than most."
"Or foolish. I don't want to have to make a decision like that again."
Ace smiled. "I'll make sure you won't have to."
After telling Cath where the girls were hiding Lalam made her way to Oujay.
"Asha was already sold, but we may be able to save her."
The news made Oujay's heart sink but he hugged Lalam tight.
"Good work with all of this. I'm really proud. We will deal with that news tomorrow."
She smiled sadly and hugged tighter. "Can we get these girls out of here and get home?"
"Yes. I would like that very much."
Leona walked up nervously fiddling with her hands.
"I'm sorry I disobeyed. I…I saw the flames and I didn't know what to think."
"You saved us tonight. Don't worry about it."
Leona's face flushed and she smiled at Ehren who winked back.
"Let's get the wounded on our horses and get back to town."
Right on cue the rain came down to put the fire out and wash the blood and dirt away. It was the end of one chapter and the start of a new one. Jarek was defeated and luckily they had a trace to follow. Tomorrow they would start the search for Asha.