The Whispering Pines forest lived up to its name. High above the dirt road, dense pine canopies blocked out the morning sun, casting long, gloomy shadows across the four supply wagons. The rustle of pine needles, the creak of wooden wheels, and the shouts of the four local wagon drivers encouraging their mules were the only sounds in the woods.
Jade walked ten paces ahead of the lead wagon, his spear held low and his wooden round shield ready. Beside him, Yuzon kept his eyes fixed on the elevated ridges flanking the road.
"This leather jack smells like old lard," Nathaniel muttered from beside the lead wagon, tugging at the stiff collar of his new armor while holding his light crossbow. "And the crank lever is digging right into my hip."
Numerius glanced back, shifting his kite shield on his back. "At least your armor is padded, Nate. My back shield keeps banging into my calves every time I step on a root."
"Keep your eyes sharp," Jade warned in a low voice, looking back at the crew. "Let me remind you, in this world, a single group of Forest Bandits can easily wipe out an eight-man basic Imperial patrol in a woodland ambush if the patrol isn't ready. We know how they operate, but this isn't a video game where we just farm them for experience."
Yuzon adjusted the grip on his new hunting bow, scanning the dark canopy. "Jade is right. Back in our bedrooms, traveling across Calradia happened on the top down Overworld Campaign Map. You could zoom out, see red party flags, and track troop numbers from miles away. Here, there are no flag icons above the trees. And in the game files, Forest Bandits are Level 16 archers with an Archery stat of hundred and ten. We are sitting at a meager Level 4 with stats in the twenties."
"So basically, if we walk into a blind alley, we get turned into pincushions," Nathaniel summarized, his grip tightening on his crossbow.
A sudden sharp whistle cut through the air.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Four heavy wooden arrows thundered down from the tree line with terrifying force.
The lead arrow struck the driver of the second wagon straight through his right eye. The iron broadhead punched through his eye socket and exploded out the back of his skull in a spray of red. The man died before he could even scream, his limp body tumbling off the high wooden bench and crashing onto the dirt road.
His spooked team of mules whinnied in panic, pulling the second wagon sideways and threatening to jackknife into the ditch.
Another arrow whistled past Jade's head, the razor-sharp broadhead nipping a small chunk of flesh off the top of his left ear.
Jade gasped as a sharp, burning sting flared on his ear, hot blood immediately trickling down his jaw and dripping onto his padded gambeson collar.
"Ambush! Forest bandits!" Jade shouted, dropping low behind his round shield while wiping blood from his cheek with his shoulder.
Above them on the rocky ridge, six figures dressed in green cloaks emerged from behind pine trunks, already nocking fresh longbow shafts with frightening speed.
"Drivers, stay down under the wagons!" Nathaniel yelled, diving forward to grab the dead driver's spooked mules and pulling their lead rope to keep the second cart from bolting into the trees. "Whoa! Easy, mules! Don't run!"
"Stay behind the wheels! Don't trade shots in the open!" Yuzon added, diving behind the lead wagon wheel just as a second volley thundered down.
An arrow slammed into Mataranas's new heavy cavalry shield with a dull thud, the sheer force of the impact making the big guy stumble back a step as he shielded two of the terrified peasant drivers crouching behind him.
[+1 Shield]
"Heavy bows," Mataranas grunted, bracing his boots in the dirt. "Shield is taking damage."
Numerius crouched beside Matty, the wide Vlandian kite shield slung across his back absorbing a stray arrow that ricocheted off a pine branch. "Damn, they shoot fast! From down here, we can barely see where they are firing from!"
Jade's strategist brain kicked into overdrive, recalling everything about how forest bandits operate once battle begins.
"Think about how they fight!" Jade called out over the sound of splintering wood as another arrow struck the wagon. "Forest bandits rely entirely on their archery and high ground! They don't carry heavy shields or body armor! Once an enemy advances with heavy shields, their archers naturally lock their focus on the approaching threat and ignore the tree line!"
"Great logic," Nathaniel gasped, crouching low behind the rear wagon wheel as he cranked his light crossbow lever with shaking hands. "How do we get up a forty foot rocky ridge without taking three arrows to the chest?"
"We use their own fighting habits against them," Yuzon said, his eyes scanning the ridge through the gaps in the wagon wheel. "Forest archers will instinctively concentrate all their fire on the biggest, most obvious target moving up the slope. Matty and Num, you take the center path up the slope using your heavy shields as a moving wall. Angle your shields up to draw their attention."
"What about the flanks?" Numerius asked, gripping his mace.
"Jade and I will use the thick pine trunks on the left ridge to flank them while they are focused on Matty," Yuzon explained, nocking a broadhead arrow. "Nathaniel, stay with the wagons and drivers. Pick off anyone who leans over the ridge to get an open shot at Matty."
Nathaniel swallowed hard, setting a bolt into his crossbow groove. "Right. Shoot the green cloaks. Got it."
"Move!" Jade commanded.
Mataranas stepped out from behind the wagon first, raising his heavy, metal-rimmed cavalry shield over his head at a sixty-degree angle. Numerius locked in right behind him, positioning his back-slung kite shield to cover their left flank as they began a slow, deliberate march up the steep dirt slope.
The forest bandits fell right into the trap.
Four archers pivoted on the ridge, concentrating all their fire on the two heavy figures climbing the slope. Arrow after arrow slammed into Matty's cavalry shield with heavy clatters.
A low-flying shaft skipped off an exposed rock, grazing Numerius across his right thigh. The broadhead cut through his trousers, leaving a burning three-inch gash across his calf.
"Gah! Son of a bitch!" Numerius cursed, wincing as blood soaked his leg, but he kept his boots moving right behind Matty's shield.
"Holding!" Mataranas shouted, his legs straining as he pushed upward.
On the ridge above, a forest bandit leaned out from behind a pine trunk, drawing his bowstring to his ear to aim at Matty's exposed ankles.
Snap!
A crossbow bolt whistled up from below, punching straight through the bandit's leather vest. Nathaniel's light crossbow hit the bandit in the chest, sending him tumbling down the rocky slope with a cry.
[+1 Crossbow]
Nathaniel stared from under the wagon, his jaw slightly open. "Wait. I actually hit him? I was just aiming for the green cloak!"
While the remaining bandits were completely focused on Matty and Nathaniel, Jade and Yuzon moved quickly through the thick pine trees on the left flank.
Two bandits were standing near a mossy boulder, completely absorbed in trying to break Matty's shield wall.
Yuzon stepped out from behind a thick oak, drew his hunting bow to his cheek, and released.
The broadhead arrow whistled toward the bandit's head, but at the last fraction of a second, the bandit noticed the rustle of leaves. The man swayed his head instinctively, the arrow grazing his ear before thudding harmlessly into the pine trunk behind him. In a flash of terrifying speed, the bandit pivoted, drew a fresh shaft, and returned fire instantly.
The arrow hissed past Yuzon's shoulder, cutting through his tunic sleeve and leaving a bloody gash along his forearm.
"Tsk," Jade clicked his tongue, crouching behind a boulder. "Level 16, alright. Their reaction time is insane."
"They know we are on the flank! Charge now!" Yuzon yelled, drawing another shaft to keep them pinned.
Jade page-vaulted over the mossy boulder at full sprint, drawing his short steel arming sword. He closed the distance in two strides, thrusting his blade straight at the leading bandit.
The bandit abandoned his longbow, drawing a heavy iron hatchet from his belt with blinding speed. Instead of cowering, the bandit met Jade's blade with a brutal counter swing.
Clang!
The heavy hatchet slammed into Jade's arming sword with overwhelming force. The sheer power of the impact echoed up Jade's arm, sending a jolt of pain through his shoulder. The shock of the strike nearly tore the sword from Jade's grip, throwing his posture off balance and making him stumble back on the loose pine needles.
Jade barely caught himself, his boots skidding across the steep slope as he scrambled to raise his round shield.
"Holy hell!" Jade yelled, his heart pounding in his throat.
Even though Forest Bandits were specialized in archery and considered weak in melee compared to heavy infantry, their overall base Level 16 stats meant their raw physical strength and weapon speed were still high enough to match or even overpower Jade's meager Level 4 stats in a direct clash.
The bandit snarled, swinging his hatchet again in a broad horizontal arc aimed at Jade's exposed neck.
Jade braced his round shield, catching the blow near the boss. The force of the strike shivered through the wood, forcing Jade onto one knee as fresh blood dripped from his nipped ear onto his neck.
"Jade!" Numerius roared, reaching the crest of the ridge despite his bleeding leg.
Numerius lunged forward, swinging his heavy iron-banded mace from behind. The mace struck the bandit's shoulder guard with a sickening crunch, crushing the leather and sending the man crashing onto the rocks.
Mataranas reached the crest an instant later. He slammed his heavy cavalry shield into the remaining bandit near the boulder, using his entire body weight to pin the man against the pine trunk while swinging his iron flange mace.
Yuzon fired a point blank shaft from ten feet away, hitting the pinned bandit squarely in the throat.
The remaining two bandits on the far end of the ridge took one look at the bloody melee, dropped their longbows, and bolted into the deep forest.
Silence returned to the mountain ridge, broken only by the heavy, ragged gasps of the five friends and the whimpering of the three surviving peasant wagon drivers down on the road.
Jade remained on one knee for several seconds, his right arm trembling from the shock of the hatchet strike. He lifted a hand to touch his left ear, wincing as his fingers came away coated in warm, sticky blood.
"You okay?" Numerius asked, leaning on his mace and panting heavily as he offered a hand to pull Jade up, blood dripping down his own right calf.
"Barely," Jade gasped, accepting the hand and standing up on shaky legs. "Their melee stats are supposed to be low, but their raw level difference makes them hit like a runaway cart."
Numerius wiped sweat from his eyes, squinting at Jade's left ear. "Well, at least the cut is small. Put some pine sap on it later."
Mataranas lowered his heavy cavalry shield, examining the six deep arrow gouges on the metal rim and the dent from the bandit he had pinned. "Good fight. But we need better stats."
Nathaniel jogged up the slope, panting heavily and holding his light crossbow with trembling hands after securing the second wagon's mules. He took one look at Jade's bleeding ear, Numerius's sliced leg, Yuzon's cut arm, and the dead driver lying beside the wagon below.
"You guys are actually bleeding," Nathaniel said, his voice quiet as the adrenaline began to fade. "The second driver... the arrow went right through his eye. He didn't even have time to duck. That was way too close."
"They shot hard," Mataranas said, pulling a longbow shaft from the wood of his shield and throwing it aside. "Crossbow shot was good, Nate."
Nathaniel looked at his crossbow, letting out a long breath. "I honestly didn't think I would hit him. I just pulled the lever."
Jade pulled up his UI, watching the combat summary notifications flicker across his vision.
[Combat Victory: Whispering Pines Ambush]
Enemies Defeated: 4 Forest Bandits (2 Fled)
Squad Casualties: 0 (Minor Injuries: Jade Ear, Yuzon Arm, Numerius Leg)
Caravan Status: 4 Supply Wagons Intact (1 Driver KIA)
Combat Experience: +110 XP
Skill Gains: One-Handed +3 | Polearm +2 | Bow +3 | Crossbow +3 | Shield +3 | Leadership +3 | Athletics +2
The experience boost nudged Jade's progress bar closer to Level 5. His accelerated healing trait was already at work, a faint warm sensation tingling along his nipped ear, Numerius's leg, and Yuzon's forearm as the bleeding slowed down.
Yuzon walked over to the fallen bandits, picking up three undamaged longbows and two full quivers of broadhead arrows. "These longbows are high quality Yew wood. They will fetch a decent price at the next town market."
Nathaniel pulled out his small parchment ledger, his Trade 35 skill immediately working through the numbers as he wiped blood off a salvaged leather vest.
"Three yew longbows, two quivers, plus four iron hatchets and leather vests. That is roughly eighty-five denars in total loot value. Our ten percent squad share from the contract gives us eight denars and five coppers."
Numerius chuckled despite his sore leg, shaking his head. "Eight denars for almost getting chopped in half. Mercenary work is brutal."
Nathaniel sighed, looking down at the second wagon on the road below. "So who is driving the second wagon now? I can barely handle a crossbow, let alone a team of four mules."
Mataranas walked toward the slope, slinging his heavy shield. "I can drive. Mules are quiet."
Jade sheathed his notched steel arming sword and picked up his short spear, looking down at his four friends and the four supply wagons waiting below on the dirt road. They were bruised, bloody, and exhausted, and a civilian driver had died, but they had stood their ground against Level 16 enemies, saved the caravan, and won.
"Gather the loot and get back down to the wagons," Jade commanded, wiping the last of the blood from his jaw. "Matty takes the second wagon. The Calamity Squad just earned its first contract win."