Deep Forest Trouble

Sven had slain several wolf packs by now, his inventory almost bursting in its fullness, day had turned to night yet he was still in the deep forest despite the potential of running across bandits. In Axiom, risk takers were often rewarded handsomely with experience boosts or with hidden treasures. Night time grinding while more dangerous offered the chance at what the game had called "variable loot dens", a mechanic that would reveal randomly generated loot rooms to adventurers exploring at dangerous hours.

Sven had dinged level 7 from his grinding and felt comfortable walking around the forest, for a while he walked without any encounters which was strange considering the forest was usually teeming with wolfs, gnarled oakmen and psiSpirits. Such a distance without monsters usually meant the path had been cleared out beforehand. Sven kept himself on high alert to whatever he may be walking into.

Suddenly a scream, a feminine one at that. Sven stalked ahead faster, a girl being caught out in the deep forest at night only bode bad tidings for what was to come next. Sven entered a clearing and took in 3 figures, a woman with short red hair knelt beneath 2 darker figures, bandits Sven realized. The girl had been stripped of her chainmail down to the skin, covering her sizable chest as best she could with her two arms, hugging her breasts to her body. Her sword had been knocked to the side, Sven could see, and one of the daggers had his curved blade pointed to the nape of her neck.

"You know who we are right?" The bandit holding the sword to her neck asked, she spat on the ground in a guttural response of disgust.

"You cravens are Filvens men, if you can be called men at all." She growled, the other more idle bandit kicked her in the ribs, causing her to grunt and fall to her side.

"You're gonna find out that we're men alright." The assaulter began to play with his belt, the young red head whimpered as she curled into a ball. Her bruised body was worn out from her fight, the two men had caught her unawares when she tried to travel through the clearing. She cursed her stupidity as the man revealed his pained manhood to the open air.

Sven wasn't much of an assassin, but he remained undetected until he was just within their perception range, charging the man with his pants down first. The man unsheathed his sword, having no time to cover himself up before it came to blows. The bandit opened with a parry just like Sven predicted he would, so Sven opened with the blunt side of the spear, when he was parried he swung on his heels and thrust the jagged end into the mans gut. A head shot was too risky from that angle, a gut shot was a guaranteed hit. The man reeled back in pain as the other lunged forward in a thrusting motion.

Sven side stepped the expected lunge and riposted the blow by aiming for the bandits hand, the spiked end pierced the bandits hand and caused him to drop his weapon in time so that he could parry the initial bandits raged cleft swing. Iron clanged against wood as Sven blocked the savage swipe, the bandit reeled back for another swing but failed to anticipate the short thrust Sven sent back, connecting with the bandits exposed throat, followed up by a sickening twist. A critical hit, and one bandit left dead at Svens feet. The other bandit had picked up the sword in his good hand, but upon seeing his companion killed, he began to flee. Not good, if he reports back to the leader about the girls whereabouts or about what he had done, the bandits might seek **** on the local hamlets.

Sven decided to take a risk, pulling his stave back he jousted it forward like a spear, sending the weapon hurling through the air, the spiked end connecting with the bandits right leg, just behind the kneecap. Sven picked up the bandits iron longsword and paced towards his fallen foe, the man whimpered weakly, his brow shone with sheen of sweat, equal parts exertion and fear.

"Don't kill me sir, I'm just a lackey, I never wanted go down this path, it was my friends that **** me to!" He trembled at the sound of footsteps approaching.

"You were about to **** this girl, and then when I showed up you were going to report to your leader where no doubt the local villages would suffer your retribution. Tell me, how many men and women have you butchered just because you were told to? For no more than the linings of their purses and the shoes on their feet? Did you show them mercy when they begged for their lives?" The bandit began to splutter half coherent excuses before Sven slowly plunged his newly acquired sword through the mans throat.

A man has his reason for going into banditry, but with a reputation of leaving no man alive after they've been robbed doesn't do much in the way of convincing Sven that such a man had any ounce of ethics left in him, crocodile tears to save his own skin was all the man had amounted to in his last moments.

"May I know your name, sir adventurer?" Sven turned around to the woman he had saved, she was still kneeling on one leg, shaking slightly. It was then that Sven noticed a gash in her injured leg, a numbing poison Sven realized. A potent one at that, for this area at least. Had he been inflicted with such a poison, he'd be in the same situation she was. Picking up his trusty stave, he stored his iron longsword in his inventory. The girls eyes widened at the sudden use of grand magic.

"A hero, not an adventurer! Old nan would tell me stories about heroes, horrible stories." She shuddered, suddenly afraid of the white haired man that approached her, seeing her fear Sven stopped.

"My name's Sven Gate, I'm not going to hurt you. I don't know what that old lady told you but I'm different!" Sven reasoned, she seemed to ease up a little after the reassurance that she wasn't simply being spared from the wolves to be eaten by the bear.

Sven had prepared some healing drafts earlier from the roots and herbs he'd acquired from the vendor, expelling one from his inventory he handed it to her. She took it hesitantly but after weighing up her choices she decided to trust the stranger that had saved her life. A healing draft would do nothing to ease the numbness coursing through her body from the poison, but it would heal her back up to full life, and from there her body can focus on expelling the chemicals coursing through her veins.

"Thank you." She almost whispered, looking away with a blush on her face. It must pain her to rely on others, Sven gathered. She was in no position to walk back to town, especially with there being wolves and even more dangerous monsters lurking through the night time forest.

"Here, let me carry you. I'll take you back to the nearest inn." The woman's blush deepened, could he be saying that because he saved her, he should be entitled to a night with her?! She shook her head, no he doesn't seem like he would... Her eyes shook a little as she **** a glance at his suddenly handsome face, the moon shone across his features so favorably that her heart skipped a beat.

"Yes." She found herself saying wishfully to nothing in particular, Sven smiled before turning around and picking her up piggy back style. She was heavier than she looked, her bare breasts pushed into his back, Sven blew steam from his nose, he could get used to this. On the way back, Sven deposited the bandits boiled leathers into his inventory, along with the red heads ruined chain mail coat.

His walk back was completely uneventful, the way he had came was still cleared of monsters, however when he entered the inn, things were a little different. The old man at the counter had raised an eyebrow at the sight. The inn keeps daughter was still awake even at this hour, idly sweeping up nothing in particular until she took in the sight that greeted her at the front door. She blushed heavily before running off to another room, the broom dropping to the floor as she fled.

"It's always with the dead of night with you, and this time you bring back a half naked **** girl. Should I be worried, lad?" The man eyed Sven suspiciously, Sven hadn't even noticed she'd drifted off to sleep against his broad back, a small smile on her face. Sven realized he'd just been talking to himself the entire walk back and sighed.

"I know what it looks like, I found her in the deep forest before the bandits got to her. How much is it gonna be for another room?" Sven had pocketed some coins from the bandits bodies before leaving, however the inn keep merely shook his head.

"No rooms spare." Sven grimaced, could he bring a girl he didn't really know back to his room? In his old life, he couldn't have fathomed such a scenario in his wildest dreams.

"Be a gentlemen and sleep on the floor, here catch this." The man tossed two sets of thin blankets. Sven grumbled as he climbed the stairs, he was really looking forward to a nights rest in his own comfy bed. The red head sighed happily as she was carried up the stairs.