Chapter 2: Bandit Blowout
The Cherry Row Tavern
As the morning sun peered through the windows, Lincoln slowly tossed in his bed before waking up and letting out a loud yawn. He hopped out of bed before making his way to the main dining area of the tavern for breakfast. However before he could order, he was fully woken up by a set of familiar voices and tackled to the ground. Lincoln struggled for a bit as he tried to get up but thankfully Leni saved Lincoln by pulling him out the pile. For the second day in a row, Lincoln was left gasping for air while Leni let out a joyful squeal of her own and ran toward the culprits of Lincoln's rear death. Lincoln leaned against the bar as he saw Leni, Luna, Lana and Lisa embraced in a group hug for a moment which warmed Lincoln's heart. The group sat in a booth and began to talk about their journey so far and how the trio got her and when. Luna told the tale about how they got here yesterday but spent the day trying out the food the town had.
Speaking of which, August came up to the group with a breakfast of toast, beans, sausage, eggs and pastries along with glasses of what was called morwoka fruit juice. Lana, being the most adventurous of the group, gulped down half the glass and found the juice extremely sweet and tasted like sunflowers. The rest of the group began to dig into one of the most delicious meals they've had in years; even better than their father. Before long, the meal was nothing but crumbs and bits while they rubbed their stomachs as they were beyond full. They recovered from their near food comma before they addressed the biggest elephant in the room; where's everyone else?
Luna, Lana and Lisa remarked how they hadn't seen the others on the cart ride to town as Lincoln and Leni were in the same boat in that regard. Henway came back to clean off the table before striking up a light conversation.
"So, what are ya plans? I love havin' ya 'round but it's not healthy to sit around in a tavern all day" he said while gathering some of the empty glasses.
"We're making a plan but we need to find the rest of our family" Lincoln retorted as everyone got up to dust off their clothes of stray food.
"Lost people, huh? Might wanna check Deadeyes Forest. Most people who are lost usually end up there" Henway began as he carried the tray back to the bar. "Just be careful, rumor has it that a bandit gang was settling down out there and their chief isn't the type of guy to talk things out." Lincoln got nervous as he had never planned for a bandit gang in the forest when writing the world. He had a few alongside roads but nothing like this. He began to think as Luna stepped forward.
"I don't care, man. We gotta find our family."
"Agreed" Lisa interjected, "Though it may be possibly dangerous, once we get everyone together, those bandits won't stand a chance." The girls murmured in agreement while Lincoln watched and got a surge of confidence from his sisters' determination. Lincoln began to think of a plan as to how to handle the bandits. It took a moment before Lincoln finalized his plan before addressing his sisters.
"Okay, we're going to go into the forest and we're gonna try to use Lola and Lana's twin-senses to see if at least Lola is there. It's not much but it's the best we got. Hopefully she's safe and some of the others are with her. Any questions?" Leni, Luna and Lana couldn't see any other plan that could work however Lisa did have a few opinions herself.
"What if we use M.U.T. instead? I'm sure it can track down the other," Lisa inquired as M.U.T. perked up and walked over to his creator. Before Lincoln could answer, Lisa was working on her pet in an attempt to find a way to track her siblings. It didn't take long until Lisa sighed while shaking her head. "It turns out I'll need something of theirs to track them down and all my samples are- MY SAMPLES!" Lisa began to quickly pace back and forth in a panic as she muttered about if her samples would survive with her being stuck in this world. Once again, Leni came to the rescue by calming her down while Lana volunteered to help restart the sample. Luna and Lincoln cringed at the notion before the man with the plan got the girls attention again.
"Well keep M.U.T. 's ability in mind but right now we have more important things to worry about than Lisa's experiment. Now, gather your stuff because we need to find our sisters." The girls nodded as Lisa was still worrying about her samples. Soon, they were all outside the tavern as Lana was trying to sync with her twin while the other double checked their bag. It didn't take long before Lana managed to track Lola down but her face was scared. "We gotta go! Now! Lola's in trouble!"
Deadeyes Forest Cave
Lori, Luan, Lucy, Lynn and Lola emerged from the cave as they picked up some berries and small game for their breakfast before the family goth and comedian climbed up a tree in search for anything of interest. Lucy had a bit of trouble due to her being better at seeing in the dark than light, however Luan found a few plumes of smoke in the same direction. She relayed the info to her sisters who came to the conclusion that it must be a town or village. Either way, it would be better to go there than spend more time exposed to the elements.
As they began to walk, Lori inquired about how Lola got her dress ruined to which the younger three Louds went over the events of yesterday. Lori was quite surprised that they were able to work together to kill an actual dragon meanwhile Luan, being herself, unleashed a few dragon puns causing the group to groan like always. After a bit of walking, the group found themselves at the front gate of a settlement with two guys standing outside armed with swords. Lori walked up to the men and asked where they were but her and her other sisters were only greeted by a sword pointed at them.
"Who da fuck are ya?" The first guy asks while twisting his blade mere inches from Lori's nose. Lori calmed herself before saying that they needed a place to rest properly after spending the night in a cave. "Is da so? Got any coin? Can't have ya stay here without coin." The group looked at Lucy and Lola but the princess wasn't ready to give up any of the gold and gems she nearly died getting. Excluding any of Lola and Lucy's fortune, the group managed to gather 30 gold pieces which the guard happily took with a smile. "Okay, you can stay but mess with anything that's not yours, well, I heard nonhumans are pretty tasty." He let out a chuckle as he signaled for the gate to open.
The girls were a little nervous as they entered the settlement as nearly everyone was glaring at them. Lori began to second guess their decision and began to lead the girls out with the promise that they'll find another place to stay. As they made their way back to the gate, their path was blocked by a large group of bandits. Before long the girls were surrounded by men of various sizes and holding different weapons with a grin on their faces. Lynn knew things were getting dangerous prompting her to hold her ax while Lucy had her hand hovering over her crossbow.
"Listen, we don't want any trouble. We made a mistake and we'll be leaving now," Lori said while noticing her sisters were getting ready for a fight.
"Too bad. Trouble found you," a voice bellowed as a few bandits cleared a way from a man. He wore the skin of skin as his own skin was stained with blood and scars. He stood tall amongst his men and his hands were protected by metal gauntlets. "Now, you have three options. 1, stay and be grateful. 2, die. Or 3, you lot service to my men's needs." As he said that the bandits licked their lips with evil intentions on their mind. Everyone but Lola knew what they implied by that, causing them to fully draw their weapons and Lori glared at the man in charge.
"We choose option 4, killing your men and turning you into our bitch," Lori roared involuntarily shooting a ray of lightning toward the leader. The chief took the blast to the face causing him to wipe his face before looking back at the small group. With a clash of his gauntlets, the two sides began to fight.
Lori, Luan and Lynn immediately jumped into combat as Lori and Lynn swung their sword while Luan was quickly striking some goons with punches. Lucy managed to flee to a shadowy place which allowed her to see better and use her crossbow with pinpoint accuracy. Lola, however, just dodged most attacks with the occasional firebolt the the men. The bandits were dropping one by one before the chief got involved with a powerful slam to the ground. The slam caused a ripple through the land, making the ground unstable for a moment before cracks formed below their feet. Lori, Luan and Lynn managed to keep their footing but Lola fell on her ass. The three sisters looked back to see if Lola was alright but that would end up being a mistake as some bandits grabbed them and took their weapons. Lucy tried to shoot the men holding her sister but she soon found out that she was out of arrow.
The chief chuckled as the girls were now vulnerable before making his way to Lola. Lola threw a firebolt at the larger man but he was unaffected as he easily shrugged it off. He grabbed Lola by her throat as the girls struggled to break free from the bandits' grasps. Lucy, with no other choice, ran from her hiding spot while unsheathing her dragger in an attempt to stab the chief. Her blade made contact with her target causing the chief to swing his arm back, knocking his gauntlets into Lucy's face. The chief laughed once more as he looked at his prize while Lola was struggling to breathe and break free. He kissed Lola on the lips while pulling up her robes to press a thumb where her pussy would be which sent her siblings in a protective rage. Lori, Luan and Lynn bit down on the arms of the bandits causing them to let go while Lucy dashed toward the chief again to repeatedly stab at man. The other three began to beat the man with their bare fists trying to weaken the man enough for Lola to escape. However the chief was harder to defeat as he swung Lola into her sisters, knocking them back.
"Just give up. My men are in need but, knowing most of them, they won't mind fucking a corpse." The men they were still alive got back on their feet as the settlement circled around the four. The girls were still deep in a rage as they looked around for any help or plan to save themselves and Lola but nothing came to mind. Just when hope was lost, the sound of a lute could be heard before the main gate was blown open with the gate guards being sent in on their asses. Stepping was Leni, Luna, Lana and Lisa with Lincoln standing in front. Lana scanned the area and saw Lola and the grasp of a large man and on the verge of passing out. The other four got a look at the whole scene and the look of murder soon spread across their faces.
"Let them go or else," Lincoln stated coldly, managing to scare a few bandits.
"Or else what," the chief said, welcoming the new meat. Without a word, Lincoln unsheathed his blade, Leni raised her hands, Lana morphed into a dog, Luna pulled her own dagger out and Lisa set M.U.T. to attack. "It's your funeral." Half of the men charged at the new group but were halted as Leni burned most of them with a cone of fire as Lincoln, Lana and M.U.T. charged in to fight and slay. Luna held back for a bit and played a turn to inspire the attacking trio before she and Lisa snuck over to help Lori and the others. As they helped, more bandits appeared but they were outmatched as the six of them worked together. Lincoln and Lana were fighting just as hard before the sister came in to support; armed and ready to fight. The chief was pretty annoyed by this group of kids putting up a fight as well as they were causing him to pull a desperate move.
The chief pulled a dagger out and held it up to the neck of Lola before bellowing out at stop. Both sides stopped their fight as the Louds' blood ran cold at the sight. "Now that I got your attention, here's what's gonna happen. You lot leave and we'll keep her as compensation." He pressed the blade closer to her neck as the others just stared while fight the urge to attack the guy. The bandits moved in closer to funnel the siblings out of the settlement with the occasional poke and yell. Lola, finally managing to get a bit of air before speaking
"I got two words for you," she wheezed out. She bent her hand back to place it one her hand on his chest. "Burning hands." With that, a blast of fire, similar to Leni's, shot from her hands burning a hole straight through the chief's chest causing him to drop Lola. As soon as Lola was safe, the siblings turned around and resumed the fight again but this time Lola had joined the fight. Soon, the small army of bandits turned into a few men and the chie who wasn't looking the best. Lincoln walked up the chief and pointed his sword to the head of the fallen man.
"Here's what's really gonna happen, We're gonna leave and you get to leave with your life," Lincoln said as the rest of his sister circled around him. With most of his men dead or injured, the chief had no other choice but to surrender. Most of the sisters accepted this but Lola wasn't gonna let him off easy. She grabbed the chief by his beard and looked him dead in his eye.
"Oh no, you're gonna pay for what you did to me. Where is your gold?" The chief begrudgingly pointed towards the cave before Lola told Lucy and Lynn to check out. The two quickly looked through the cave before coming out with two medium sized chests. Satisfied, Lola let go of the man before walking away with her siblings following after.
Lincoln led the group back to the Cherry Row where Lola paid for a row of drinks thanks to the dragons' loot. The sibling laughed, talked and healed as they relived the previous day of their life. Soon their attention turned to the chests which Lucy easily picked the locks off of. Inside one of them was even more gold with everyone quickly dug in and grabbed a few handfuls. In the other was a gauntlet with a claw on the end, a sword with an intricate design on the blade and a dark blue tunic. They looked at the loot before arguing about who gets what which turned into another of their sibling brawls. Lincoln put it to an end letting out a whistle to get their attention causing them to stop in various poses. Lincoln examined each item in the chest before giving them out to the appropriate person. Lucy got the gauntlet as it had concealed chambers in the finger; perfect for holding poisons and small tools. Lori got the sword, even though Lynn was the strongest, the blade had a few draconic words on it which might imply it has a bond to those with draconic blood. The tunic was given to Lola as Lincoln saw a slight change in the fabric which clued him in on what this tunic really is.
Lori and Lucy thanked their brother but Lola was confused about why she got the tunic. Lincoln smiled before asking her to think of any outfit and watch what happens. She took a breath and a moment as she came up with her dress outfit and in a flash, the tunic turned into a hot pink evening gown that shimmered with glitter and a pale pink sash that was tied around her hip. Lola checked herself out as a bright smile spread across her face loving her new attire. She hugged her brother tightly as she thanked him countless times for the tunic. Lincoln patted her head as they all enjoyed the evening drinking and partying from a successful day.
At the Bandit Camp
The leader, broken and humiliated, was beating down on anything that wasn't his crew as he yelled in annoyance about what had happened. As he threw a boulder at the wall, the sound of a woman's voice chimed in from behind him.
"Well well well, had a rough day Siegfried," the woman said, holding an infant in her arms. He ignored her as he held the wound from earlier. "Oh dear, don't be like that. We are on the verge of greatness and this land will be ours for the taking."
"That is if those kids don't catch onto your plan," Siegfried said while bandaging himself. "Kids? What kids," The woman inquired. "Yea. At least ten of them. Strong as all hells. If they found out about bringing back the plagued one, then you'll be the one with a rough day." The woman began to think and pace about what he had said before Seigfried could continue. "Worst of all, the white head kid and the pink girl managed to steal all my gold and treasure."
"Linky," the toddler said with excitement and a giggle. The woman was surprised that this child knew who Siegfried was talking about. "Who is "Linky"" the woman asked while dragging a finger over the child's cheek. "Bruber," the child answered with an innocent smile. "Interesting. I'll have to observe their skills and you, Siegfried, are gonna help."
"Like Hell I am! What makes you think I'm gonna fi-" but he was cut off mid rant as the woman jammed a needle into his neck and a purplish black substance was injected in. Soon, he fell over in pain as he felt his muscles expand almost to the point where his skin could barely contain it. His eyes darken to the point of pitch black as his arms and legs elongated. The woman covered the childs' eyes as the man who was there before was now something far more grotesque and far more powerful. He took some deep shallow breaths before looking his eyes to the woman "On second thought, I'll glad go for a round 2"
Character Lvl.
Lori lvl. 2
Leni lvl. 2 (Light Domain)
Luna lvl. 2
Luan lvl. 2
Lynn lvl. 2
Lucy lvl, 2
Lincoln lvl. 2
Lana lvl. 2 (Circle of The Moon)
Lola lvl. 2 (Divine Soul)
Lisa lvl. 2
Who is this mysterious woman? What happened to Siegfried? What will happen to the Loud siblings? Who is the Plagued One? Some questions will be answered. Next Time. Until then, check your spell slot
