Bandits

Bandits. Many, many bandits. The attack on the two bandits yesterday must have roused the hornets nest, this was an unheard of turn of events, yet another difference between Axiom and whatever plane of existence Sven was in now. Bandits were just NPC's that guarded loot caches, just a stepping stone for newer players on their journey through the game. But here they were, charging the fields of Botany. The bandits were roughly level 10, at least they were in the game world, and here they were: sweeping through a level 1 beginners area like it was the most normal occurrence.

Farmers were fleeing from their pastures, abandoning their livestock and their tools. A couple of farmhand boys, no older than 12 happened to rush past Sven along with their mother. Most farmers were running into the fields, no doubt to hide among the bushes until help arrived, but some of them ran towards the hamlet.

'They'd be slaughtered.' Sven thought morbidly, looking at the fleeing families run into the target of the bandits wrath he resolved himself. 'If I were to flee as well, those people will all die.' Looking to Elise, she hadn't taken her eyes off the horde soon approaching, her eyes wide and her body frozen in fear.

"Elise, you don't have to fight if you don't want to, but I'm going to get in their way. While I fight them, gather up the sick and elderly and escape-" Elise shook her head, willing herself to move despite the fear.

"No! I can do this!" Sven looked at her and sighed, there wasn't much room for convincing her otherwise with the look she was giving him right now. Nodding, the two ran towards the village, drawing their swords as they blocked the path of the oncoming war march.

"30, no 40 bandits." Sven estimated, they were close now, so close he could hear their war cries and the thunderous sound of footsteps charging towards them.

"Bandits are not like slimes, they will vary their attack patterns. For a beginner like you, focus on parrying their attack and then use that momentum to counter attack. Block, dodge, duck and weave your way around them the best you can, don't take the initiative, always play reactively." Sven gave a crash course on the basic tactics in fighting bandits, Sven wasn't sure if Elise was even listening, she seemed fixated on the enemies before her, but she nodded never the less.

'If only I had a class, this would be nothing.' Sven grumbled, the pair readied their small wooden defender shield, the horde was so close you could almost taste their breath on the air, wine smelling with a tinge of something rancid. The first attacker lunged towards Sven, the blade being redirected by the small wooden shield as Sven tilted his shield slightly inward, sending the momentum of the bandits blade forward along with the rest of his body, seizing the moment Sven swung his sword down and impaled the bandit through the throat through the nape of his neck. Aiming for critical hits would be of **** importance for this battle, Elise watched the kill happen before her in slow motion, he brain like cogs on a wheel turned until something clicked into place.

An attacked was soon upon her, tearing her eyes away from Sven and his kill, Elise ducked the swing, resting her shield arm against the ground she **** her blade upwards and into the throat of the assaulting bandit, as he fell limp she rolled him away from her. Sven smirked, he approved of her method even if it was a little too stylish and a little less efficient. There was no time to spare in a battle of course, blades were soon upon Sven as he had to dodge multiple swipes, thrusts and lunges of the bandits charging towards him.

It's all about waiting for the right timing, Sven was patient for a time as he dodged, duck or blocked his opponents attack until he noticed it, the bandits attacks were in sync now, with a fast swing of his shield, Sven sent the oncoming blades hurtling out of his opponents hands all at once, and without wasting the momentum of his spin he swung a full turn around this time with the other hand holding his sword, sending his opponents heads rolling to the floor with a clean, savage slice.

The bandits that were behind those just killed had a moment of doubt as they watched the clinical decapitation of their companions, all in an instant and even when the white haired boy seemed to be losing the fight. Because Elise was behind Sven, she only dealt with the bandits one, maybe two at a time while Sven took the main aggression of the horde.

"Flank him! He can't take on all of us!" One bandit shouted. It was true, there was just so many of them, it was hard for Sven to envision a victory condition the way things were going, he was just starting to feel the onset of battle fatigue, and together they'd only killed 5, maybe 6 bandits of the 40 before them.

Sven parried another set of vicious blows from the group currently teaming up on him when he noticed a bandit was approaching Elise from her flank, Sven threw his iron sword through the air in the direction of the flanking bandit, connecting unceremoniously with the bandits back, the iron pierced bandit didn't die right away but his pained shouts alerted Elise to the danger at her back, after blocking her opponents attack she darted back and pierced the wailing mans throat, finishing him off.

Sven took a slash to his thigh, wincing at the pain he jumped back but wobbled on his injured leg. Quickly he took out his crafted stave from his inventory, the action seemed to startle the bandits around him.

"It's one of those cursed heroes! Take this one alive!" The bandits circled round Sven once again, he wasn't as maneuverable as before, so he opened his inventory to try and even out the odds, holding a phial of a brown substance in his hand, Sven threw it at the bandits feet. The bandits braced themselves for what damage was to come, but when nothing happened they began to charge forward again, only to trip and fall into the sticky substance that rooted them to the ground.

Wasting no time, Sven pierced the bandits full of holes, with their movements halted and their weapons flung to the floor from their fall, they were like sitting ducks ready for the slaughter. Elise had just executed two of the bandits at the same time with a curved arch, she was starting to grow quite adept to battle, dangerously so even. The twos fighting spirit hadn't gone by unnoticed, villagers and traders alike had been watching the two defenders go at it for a while now, maybe they were drunk on battle too, or maybe they were spurred on by the fight, or maybe they were sick of playing to the bandits tune, either way, the villagers felt so emboldened by the victory of the 2 vs many before them that joined in on the side of Sven and Elise.

Picking up their sickles, rakes and hammers they charged at the bandits, who were took so completely by surprise by the sudden uprising of villagers that many of them were blindsided to the ground by mere farming tools. Sven was beginning to fight less and less bandits at a time, to the point where he could parry and then counter, parry once more into another counter, on and on like that until the bandits numbers dwindled, their morale and ranks completely destroyed by the humiliating means of their defeat to just 2 lone good-doers and a pack of farmers.

The remaining bandits retreated back into the deep woods, tails tucked between their legs, chased off by aged men with rakes and young girls and boys with river rocks. Sven sighed as he sat against the floor panting.

'If I was smarter I would have ran, why did I stop and fight?' Sven was brought out of his musing as Elise fell to his side.

"Are you ok, Sven?!" She looked to be in a better condition than he was, she hadn't even be injured once in that entire fight. She was a natural fighter, and a fast learner to boot.

"Just tired, I'm fine really." Sven reached into his inventory and pulled out one of his crafted health drafts, in the heat of the battle he hand't the time to take one out, drinking it quickly the wounds on his leg began to fade and heal up, leaving only a reddened spot of dried up blood.

'It's her, I did all that stupid stuff for her.' Sven realized as she tended to him gently, wiping the blood away and searching his body for other injuries. It was her kindness and compassion towards the common people that spurred him on to fight for this hamlet, to put his neck on the line for strangers who he owed nothing to. It was a miracle that they'd won, had the villagers not joined in the tide of battle would have eventually drowned the two. Sven knew this to be true, but he fought for them anyway, and unlike the game world, the villagers fought for him in return.

Picking himself up, Elise helped him towards the inn for a nights sleep, the farmers cheered for the couple as they passed, Sven couldn't help but blush at the attention. The night grew dark, but he had his fill of adventuring enough for one day.