"What do you mean that he is not heading this way?" the leader of Reavers roared in anger at the bandit in front of him. "You told me that this is a fat sheep that has wandered into the Grasslands. You told me that he is getting to Starsinger Town with a wagonload of gold in his pack. And now, you are telling me that he is not heading this way!"
The bandit shuddered in fear as the leader pressed upon him.
"I have mobilized the entire camp just because you promised me that this prey was worth it. Now, after I have set everything up, you have the gall to walk up to me and say he is not coming. Do I look stupid to you?"
The leader roared as he grabbed the bandit by his shirt and pulled him towards him.
"Tell me, do I look stupid to you? Do all these men look stupid to you?" the leader sprayed his saliva on the bandit's face.
"Boss, we don't know what happened. He was really heading this way. Trust me, I wouldn't lie about it even if I ate bear's gall. I don't know what happened, but that brat had turned direction and is heading towards the interior."
The bandit simpered in fear. He knew that if the leader didn't believe him, then his life would be toast. He cursed Duncan inwardly for doing something like this.
"Then, you must have messed up somehow," the leader spoke calmly eyeing the bandit with disgust. "No one decides to take a walk into the interior of Grasslands on a whim. You guys must have tipped him off."
"Boss, I swear we didn't do anything. We would never reveal ourselves without your approval," the bandit whimpered and pleaded.
"So, that brat decided to go into the interior just like that, huh? I ask you again, do I look stupid to you?" the leader once more roared in the bandit's face causing the bandit to merely whimper.
"Tch! You disgust me. I hate people like you. You don't do your job well and you come speaking bullshit. And most of all, you think I am stupid enough to believe you," the leader said in a menacing tone causing the bandit to gulp in fear.
"Boss, I… I…"
Whatever the bandit wanted to say stopped short as he found a blade buried deep in his guts. He looked down in bewilderment not knowing when he was stabbed.
Just then, the bandit leader grabbed him by the face and pushed him down.
"I hate people who think I am stupid," the leader said viciously and spat on the bloody corpse at his feet. "All right you bastards, giddy up. This little prey wants to play hide and seek in the Grasslands. I will show him how stupid that notion is. The outer area of Grasslands is our territory. No one escapes from our grasp here!"
The surrounding bandits hollered their eagerness for the hunt. As for the bandit who brought news, his corpse was cold by now and no one even bothered to clean the place.
Pretty soon, the entire bandit group left the place in the direction of Duncan. They hollered and whooped as they rode hard to catch up with him.
*****
Duncan knew that either traveling onwards or backward was not something possible. So, he decided to head into the interior of Grasslands a little and try to lose these bandits.
Once decided, he turned his horse and started galloping towards the interior leaving his tails cursing. There were three bandits who were keeping track of Duncan in the shadows.
As one of the bandits went to report the news, the other two abandoned all pretense of stealth and followed Duncan on their horses. Unlike Duncan's horse, the horses the bandits had were well accustomed to the terrain here.
As a result, once they abandoned stealth, they were able to close in on Duncan fast. They began shouting at him to stop and even started threatening him with dismemberment.
But, Duncan paid them no heed. He snorted inwardly as he cursed bandits for being so shameless. Even if he did stop, there is no guarantee that they would let him live. So, why should he stop or heed any of their threats?
However, Duncan also realized another problem. His horse was not really accustomed to the terrain here. If he continued on like this, he would be caught up eventually.
While Duncan didn't take the two that were following him seriously, he knew that the rest of the bandits might catch up soon. And if that were to happen, he would be in dire straights by then.
So, the smart thing to do would be to take care of these tails first and if possible loot one of their horses. That way, he would have a proper mount that suited the terrain and also escape the pursuit easily.
Once, such an idea formed in his mind, Duncan decided to act on it post haste. He didn't want the other bandits to catch up and ruin his plan. So, he slowed down immediately pretending to heed their threats.
"Take everything you want, just leave me alone!" Duncan tried to act frightened, but he was never really fit to act.
When the bandits listened to what Duncan considered to be a scared voice, they felt as if Duncan was trying to fool them. This enraged them a lot and the duo didn't slow down as they raced toward Duncan.
Duncan cursed his luck once more and had to jump off the horse as he saw one bandit taking a swing at him without even slowing down. Just as he righted himself, the other bandit swung his saber at him from atop the horse.
Duncan hastily used the pack as a shield. The stop in momentum staggered the bandit for a bit. Duncan capitalized on that mid-second pause and shoulder-checked the bandit's horse.
The bandit yelled in fright as the horse staggered a bit. Meanwhile, the other bandit had already turned around and was galloping back towards Duncan. Duncan tossed the pack to the side and unsheathed his sword.
The moment the first bandit recovered from Duncan's shoulder check, Duncan was upon him with his sword. Duncan didn't try anything fancy. He straightforwardly stabbed his sword at the bandit.
The bandit blocked the sword with his saber in a hasty manner, leading the block to be insufficient. His balance was skewed and he tipped over the other side. Duncan turned and saw the other bandit rushing him with a swing of his sword from atop the horse.
He rolled away and came up on the second bandit's side. Without pausing, Duncan stabbed the passing bandit in the side causing the bandit to gasp and fall off. The horse kept running not realizing that its rider was already down.
Not wasting a second, Duncan approached the downed bandit and swung his sword at his neck. The bandit tried to roll away, only to get hit in the back. The bandit yelled in pain as Duncan's sword bit into his back.
Duncan heard movement from the side and turned to see the first bandit rushing at him with his saber. The bandit swung wildly and Duncan danced away nimbly causing the swing to miss.
Duncan followed it with a slash of his own. The bandit blocked it with his saber and tried to shoulder-check Duncan. He should have known better after seeing Duncan shoulder-checking a freaking horse.
As a result, it was the bandit who staggered back. Duncan didn't waste such a great opportunity. He stabbed at the staggering bandit and punctured a wound in his guts. Before the bandit could recover, Duncan chopped off the bandit's head with a single swing.
Duncan heard a shuffling sound from behind him and turned to see the second bandit trying to run away with his wounds. Duncan didn't show any mercy towards him as he approached him and stabbed him right through his back.
The bandit fell down with a thud causing Duncan to sigh in relief. The moment the fight ended, the adrenaline coursing through Duncan's body came down as well. Duncan looked around cautiously and took note of the situation.
Two bandits were dead. One of the horses had run off. Duncan's horse was to the side along with one of the bandit's horses.
Duncan didn't waste any time. He knew that he needs to be gone before the entire bandit group made their way here. So, he ran towards the sack he had discarded earlier and tried to lift it.
Unfortunately for Duncan, there was a tear in the sack from when he used it to block the bandit's sword. Duncan frowned in displeasure. But, there was nothing to be done regarding it.
He looked around in haste trying to see if there was anything around that could be used to fix it temporarily. His eyes fell upon the two bandits. They had nothing with them apart from their weapons. But, Duncan thought their clothes might be of use.
The one who was stabbed through the back had multiple tears on his clothes, so Duncan discarded him. He went to the one whose head was chopped off and ripped the shirt off his body unceremoniously.
Duncan used the shirt to plug in the tear in his sack and found it fitting somewhat correctly. Not willing to waste any more time, Duncan approached his horse and swatted it's behind causing it to take off.
Duncan sat upon the bandit's horse and headed off in a different direction away from the site. He hoped that the bandits chased after his horse and went the other way. While the horse was really expensive, it didn't suit his needs now. If it could lure the bandits away, then it was well worth its price.
As for what happened to the horse, Duncan didn't care about it one bit. He neither had the inclination nor the luxury to care for the horse when his own life was at stake.
*****
Several minutes after Duncan left the area, multiple riders on horseback arrived at the scene. Looking at the dead bandits, the bandit leader's face blackened in anger. He snarled wordlessly and looked around for the tracks of the brat that has escaped his clutches.
When he noticed three different horse tracks heading in three different directions, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He didn't know which direction Duncan took.
"Split into three groups and follow the tracks. Whoever finds the brat, signal others," he ordered his underlings and headed following the tracks that looked different from the other two.
*****
A/N: Hey folks!
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