First Contact

It took the better part of the morning to reach the forest. As Saga had expected, it didn’t take long for Dapper to materialize on her shoulder, tapping out his greeting then settling in for the trip. They passed only a single traveller as they passed the first trees, a trader who’d been turned away at the roadblock they’d heard about. The bandits had taken some of the traders goods, mostly food and wine, then sent him back unharmed. The man seemed shaken but otherwise alright, and the pair reassured him the road back to Cristin’s Crossroads was relatively safe. Having sent him on his way, Saga and Master Dorrin stopped to plan.

“You’re going first.”

Saga blinked. Master Dorrin had led with that, catching her completely off guard. “Beg pardon?”

He chuckled at her. “I’m big and threatening. They might be more likely to resort to violence if they see two-well armed travelers heading their way. Best they see a only a pretty girl to keep their guard down. You can get a feel for the situation, and if it looks like they’re going to turn hostile, we’ll attack.”

“What if they get the drop on me?”

“I’ll be watching, don’t worry. Besides, I know you have a few tricks up your sleeve if that happens.”

Saga nodded. “Do you really think they’ll attack me? They were polite enough to the trader. Relatively speaking, of course.”

Master Dorrin frowned. “He said he met them a few hours ago. There’s a chance they’ll have changed out their guard by the time we arrive, and even these bandits aren’t a homogenous lot. You might get more friendly types that’ll take some coin and send you on your way, or you might run into some who want…more.”

She felt a chill run up her spine, but she nodded again. He was right, she had ways of defending herself. Those poor bastards wouldn’t know what hit them if they tried something. “Do you have any suggestions on how I should proceed?”

He shrugged. “I’m letting you take the lead on this one. Just approach them, keep their guard down, get information if you can, pass if they’ll let you, prepare for a fight otherwise. How you do all that is up to you.”

“I thought you said if bandits got involved, you’d be in charge.”

“I am in charge, and I’m delegating the task to you.” He grinned, and it somehow filled her with confidence. “I’ll be following from the bushes. I’m no ranger, but I can be stealthy enough when needed, and I’ll try to get a count on their numbers. Dapper can communicate between us, right?”

She looked down at her beatweaver friend. “It would be one way, but yes. You can speak to him, give him orders, and he can pass them on to me discreetly. Can you do that for us, Dapper?” The spider saluted her and hopped onto Dorrin’s shoulder. Saga continued, “If you need to ask him a question, Master, he can give you numbers, and answer yes or no questions. One tap for yes, two for no.”

Master Dorrin nodded and looked down at his new passenger. “Are you ready, little friend?” The beatweaver tapped once, loud enough for them both to hear, and the other two nodded in acknowledgement.

It was time to move.

Saga walked for what felt like hours, but was likely only one based on the presence of the sun still directly overhead, filtering through the forest canopy. She felt alone, even knowing she had two shadows watching over her. I need to do something to break the silence, she thought. I don’t want to surprise these people, the last thing I need is a crossbowman firing a panic shot at me.

Making a decision, she pulled out her flute and began to play. It was her favorite travelling song, a repeating series of notes with minor variations that would take a while to grow boring. The music echoed, bouncing off the trees surrounding her and filling the air. Surely they wouldn’t miss this, and she had to be getting close to where they’d set up their checkpoint.

There.

She almost missed him, a figure in brown and green hiding in low brush, his bow low to the ground. She watched him out of the corner of her eye but continued to play, not letting on she’d noticed him. He was on the opposite side of the road from her allies, but she was certain if she’d seen the man then her mentor would have, too.

Sure enough, she felt a light wait settle across the back of her neck, and Dapper’s message confirmed that Dorrin had not only seen the man hiding on her right, but had also had to skirt a second archer on her left. Saga winced. I missed one. I need to be better.

She could feel the man on her right following alongside and slightly behind her, and eventually she noticed the woman on her left, too. Two so far. There have to be more. What are they waiting for?

A bend in the road revealed her answer: two wagons were set across the road as she came around, likely to prevent mounted charges or other wagons from crashing through their blockade. A group of four bandits lounged around the wagons, clearly not expecting a threat. She couldn’t help but be proud that one of them seemed to be nodding along to her song. Don’t let it get to you, Saga, she warned herself. Bad guys like music, too.

During her time at the Academy, Saga had spent her free time mingling with some of the Guards and their instructors. On occasion, she was even allowed to attend their training sessions when it didn’t conflict with her usual lessons. Sometimes this was unarmed combat, and other times it was Investigations. She trained with the young men and women who learned how to deal with the criminal element. Most of the training was useless to her, fun though it was, but there were still others that would serve her well here. How to win people over, how to become another person…and how to seem helpless.

She came to a stop, pretending to have just noticed the blockade, and her eyes went wide. “Oh, good day! Did my song scare off your horses?” She looked at each of the rough-looking men in turn, giving them her best smile. “I could send someone here from the village to come help you when I arrive.”

She heard a few of the men chuckle. One of them, the man who’d been enjoying her song, hopped down from his wagon and grinned, approaching her. His face was dirty, but she got the feeling it might have been intentional. She’d heard of rangers smearing dirt across their faces to hide in the wilderness, and the two archers she’d passed proved these people had at least some concept of stealth.

“Good day to you, girl.” He looked her up and down, and she couldn’t tell if his eyes were appraising her clothes, or her body. Both, probably. “Yeah, you scared ‘em off. Poor things ain’t never heard playing that bad before. Sorry to say, you won’t be passing through here. This here’s a quarantine blockade. No one in or out.”

“Quarantine?” Saga didn’t have to fake the shock. None of the people who’d been turned away had mentioned this. “Is it…the plague?”

One of the men, a pale man with Tandolki features and a sword at his hip, shrugged. “Dunno. Captain made the decision this morning. They’re going to let the village die out, and we’re here to make sure it don’t spread.”

“I see. Perhaps I should go back to the City and fetch healers?” She kept her eyes wide and innocent, using the real emotions she felt, concern and anxiety, to fuel her act. “If I get a horse from the Crossroads it shouldn’t take long. Then you guards don’t have to sit here in the middle of the road all day.” She gave the men a slight bow and turned. “I’ll return as quickly as I’m able.”

“Not so fast, girl.”

She froze at the words. It was the dirty-faced man, apparently the leader. Slowly, she turned, using her inner nerves to sell the anxious smile. “Yes, sir?”

“What’s a lone girl like you doing out here? Where’s your caravan?”

Saga let her smile falter slightly. “Oh, I’m sorry. I’m a bard, you see. I was sent to the village to collect a song.” The other men were approaching now, and she could sense the archers still hiding in the brush to either side. “I can play the flute-“

“S’that what you call it?” one of the other men said, getting a laugh from his friends.

“Maybe it’s her instrument?” said another. “I’ve got another flute she can try.” More laughter.

Saga forced herself to keep smiling despite the growing warmth in her cheeks. “I can also play the drum, if one of you has one, or I can dance.”

“Can you sing?” the first man asked. He almost seemed genuinely curious. Maybe these were the honorable bandits after all?

“I think it’s best for everyone involved if I don’t, good sir, or your horses will never come back,” she said. She feigned meekness, trying to keep them busy until she got a signal from her master or they showed signs of turning on her.

“Well then, I suppose I’ll have to settle for that dance.” The first man placed a hand on her shoulder, gripping it tightly, and the surrounding men began to jeer and laugh.

Alright, maybe they’re not the honorable ones. “I really should be going.” She tried to take a step back, but his grip was strong. She didn’t dare try to break it, lest she give herself away. Not yet.

“Nonsense. You have plenty of time to get back to the Crossroads. How about you entertain me and my, er…fellow guards.” He put his other hand on her cheek - she had to suppress a shudder - then traced his fingers up to where her hair disappeared into her hat. “What say we get rid of this thing and make you more comfortable for our show?”

Here it comes…

“Please be gentle with it!” she blurted out, surprising the man and his friends. She forced a stammer into her voice. “The hat…it was a gift from my grandfather. Please…”

The leader’s eyes narrowed, studying her while the other men continued to taunt her. She began to feel hands on her back, her arms. Her instincts screamed her to run, but she needed to hold on a little longer. Instead, she used that fear as a disguise, her eyes wide and body trembling.

Wait for it…

His expression changed; he’d dismissed her as a threat. “We’ll be real gentle with you, girl, as long as you’re a better dancer than you are a flutist.” With a flourish, he whipped the hat from her head and threw it over his shoulder in one smooth motion, and the world slowed to a crawl.

His eyes widened in alarm, fixed on a point just above her hairline on the sides of her head. A sunbeam filtering down caused golden light to reflect off of her horns and play across his face as she turned her head, whipping her braid around to come directly between herself and the man.

“She’s-!“

Now!

In that instant, she released the Will she’d been gathering, reached out to the silver rose hair clasp her brother had given her, and triggered it. A blast of force more powerful than any windstorm she’d ever experienced exploded from her. She remained untouched at the eye of the storm, but all four of the men around her were sent flying into the carts and the trees.

The world returned to normal speed as she stood, getting her bearings. The archer on her left cried out, but she was cut short; Saga’s Master had taken his first victim. Thinking fast, she turned towards where she knew the other archer was hiding, gathered her Will once more, and Leaped into the air at him. She felt weightless as she closed the distance, drawing her sword and preparing to fight. A sharp pain crossed her shoulder a split second before she heard the sound of an arrow impacting a branch behind her.

She cried out, but kept her eyes focused on the archer. The man was already moving his hand to draw another arrow from his quiver, but it was too late. When she was directly overhead, she cast Crush, magnifying her body weight and sending her crashing straight down on top of the archer. She landed hard, and she heard a sickening crunch. He’ll feel that in the morning, she thought, wincing at the pain in her shoulder. She stepped away from the man, putting her back to a tree and taking stock of her situation.

There were at least two bandits down, and the other four would probably get back up sooner rather than later. You need to focus on your strengths, she told herself. She’d fought multiple opponents before, but that had only been training. Keep moving, don’t let them get closer than your sword. You can do this. She looked down at her shoulder, grimacing. The wound was shallow, only a red line across her now bare skin. She looked down at the wounded man in front of her. “This is my favorite coat, you jerk!” She gave him a swift kick for good measure, then froze.

He hadn’t moved. He hadn’t even made a single sound when she’d landed on him. Even if he was knocked out he would have reacted to the kick, right? She knelt down to check on the man despite the danger. His chest had been caved in, she realized, and fresh blood poured from his mouth. His eyes stared blankly at the forest canopy.

He was dead.

Her blood ran cold, her stomach sick. She hadn’t meant to kill him, just knock him down until…

Are you prepared for that eventuality?

Master Dorrin’s words from that morning echoed in her ears, and she realized, suddenly and certainly, that she was not.

“You crushed Georgie! You crazy cow!”

She looked up, snapped out of her thoughts by the arrival of one of the other bandits. It was the swordsman. He rushed at her with sword in hand, swinging wildly. She brought her saber up in a practiced defense and swept his attack harmlessly to the side before dancing around him, leaving shallow cuts across his sword arm and back by reflex. The sight of real blood welling through his tunic made her pause long enough for him to recover from her attacks, and he squared off with her, more careful this time. She continued to circle him, reminding herself over and over to keep moving.

This had the added benefit of giving her the lay of the land. Two of the other three bandits were on the ground, an unmoving figure with his back horribly broken and twisted, and the other with a neat cut across his throat. This one was still thrashing, clutching at his bleeding throat uselessly. The man was already dead unless he received a Heal in the next few seconds. Part of herself wanted to go help him, but she doubted his friends would give her the chance, not when she might just as easily finish him off.

Focus, Saga! She brought her attention back to her opponent. She wasn’t here to protect these men.

The swordsman moved again, lunging at her with more precision than he’d shown before. She managed to twist and avoid being skewered, but only barely, and his attack left a shallow cut across the bottom of her ribcage. She could feel the warmth of the blood trickling down her belly, but oddly enough she didn’t feel any pain. Why doesn’t it hurt?

She forced herself to focus once more, readying her sword for the man’s next attack. His initial attack had been fueled by anger over his fallen comrade, but he was clearly experienced with a blade. And where were Master Dorrin and the last bandit?

Once again, her wandering mind almost cost her her life, but she was able to fully avoid the attack this time. The man searched her eyes while keeping his sword at the ready, and slowly, he began to smile.

“You’re new at this, aren’t you? The killing, the fighting?”

She cried out and slashed at him. Not the flourishing strike of an experienced sword dancer, but a novice swordsman’s practice swing. The man laughed while easily sidestepping the attack. “What’s gotten into you, girl? Where’s the cat that left these scratches down my back?” His grin was predatory, and he made a show of lowering his sword and looking her up and down as the other man had. “When we’re done here, I’ll be sure to give you the opportunity to leave a few more. You might even enjoy yourself.”

He’s taunting you, Saga. He’s afraid of you. She tried to reassure herself, but it wasn’t working. His stance was too confident, and that leer…he knew she couldn’t kill him, and that meant he’d already won the fight.

She swung again, yelling furiously, but again he sidestepped her attack. “Come on, little kitten, where did those claws go? I thought drakes were supposed to be dangerous. You’ve got to at least make the first round interesting for me before we move on to the second.” He laughed. He was laughing at her! She tried to summon her anger, her years of training, but she couldn’t bring herself to harm this man, no matter what he said.

As they continued to circle, she finally caught sight of Master Dorrin, and her blood froze. The bandit leader had a dagger to his throat from behind, and the two were watching Saga face off against her opponent. Her mentor was unarmed. Where are his swords? His face was a mask of stone, showing nothing, but the man holding him was watching the fight with obvious interest. “Don’t mind us, girl. We’re just enjoying the show.” He pressed the knife a little further against her mentor’s throat, and even at that distance Saga could make out the trickle of blood running down from where it cut into him. “That said, if you don’t play nice with my man there, I might have to end the old bastard here and come hold you down for him. You’ve killed four of us now, there’s no way you’re getting out of this without some payment.” The man sneered. “You understand, it’s just business. All we would’ve taken was your gold, your clothes, maybe a little of your dignity, then sent you on your way. Was that really so much to ask? Now, we have to make an example of you.”

The world slowed down yet again, and she felt numb all over. Her pride, her hesitation had led her to this moment. _Think, Saga! It’s only two of them! You can handle this, you just have to…to…_her sword tip wavered, and her head sank. She couldn’t do it. Despite what these men had likely done in the past, and what they were about to do, she couldn’t kill them. Maybe if she gave in, went along with them willingly, they’d at least let Master Dorrin go? She knew it wasn’t likely, but she didn’t know what else to do.

“Saga! Saga, listen to me!” Master Dorrin called out, but the bandit holding him pressed the knife harder against his throat in warning. Her mentor called out again anyway, ignoring the obvious pain he was in and the man holding the knife. “Remember lesson two!”

Saga frowned, thinking back to their first day together, and what he’d told her then. The memory came immediately to her mind, and it only took a second for her to make a decision. “I’m sorry, Master.”

Her sword clattered to the dirt road at her feet.