Poor choice

You sigh, resting a hand on the hilt of your sword. The man in front of you appears quite confident, no doubt bolstered by the fact that they outnumber you by more than two to one. They all appear to be in Order uniforms, though you don’t see an officer among them. You shake your head.

“So, what’s going on here? If you’re robbing me, you’re out of luck.”

The man laughs. “Hardly! I’m here to collect your bounty. The captain said our orders were to let you pass, but to hell with that! You’re worth enough to get me out of this shithole backwater and back to the city.”

Beside you, Ferra snarls, but you rest a hand on her shoulder to restrain her. “You really don’t know what you’re up against. Your captain is right, and he’s keeping you alive. Go away.”

The man shakes his head. “Yeah right. I see two of you with weapons against twenty of us. Just come with me, we’re taking you back.”

You start to speak, but Ferra shakes off your hand and steps forward. Her orange eyes are beginning to glow, and her teeth are clenched as she snarls. “You. Will. Not. Take. Him.”

The man chuckles. “And who’s going to stop us? You? Back off, girl.”

You shake your head, knowing what’s coming. Ferra’s eyes are glowing brighter now, wisps of smoke rising off them. She’s clearly about to hurl herself at the man, but she gives him one more warning. “Last chance. Leave.”

The man laughs. “Cute. You know, we could use a fun little thing like you while we drag him back to…”

He doesn’t get the chance to finish his sentence. Ferra leaps at him, her arms changing to blades as she moves. Before the man can even react, he’s bleeding from a pair of deep wounds across his chest, and Ferra kicks him onto his back. His sword clatters to the ground, and everyone freezes. The enraged golem girl stands over him, a blade tip against his throat.

Shaking your head, you draw your own blade. Eyes turn to you as Caliburn thrums with power, the air groaning around the blade. The men surrounding you look nervous, and you step forward, looking at each one.

“Look, there’s a reason you shouldn’t fight us. Ferra alone could kill you all. But I don’t want anyone dead. We’re just passing through, and you can’t stop us. Go home.”

There’s murmurs among the surrounding men, and a few immediately back away. Gradually, they all seem to agree, sheathing swords and grounding spears. You walk over to Ferra, who still stands over the leader, keeping him pinned. You crouch beside him.

“So, what’ll it be? Your call.”

The man groans, clutching his still bleeding chest. “Y-yes…you’re free to go. I’m…I’m sorry…”

You nod. “Much better.”

You turn to the group. “Cassie? Would you please help him? Like I said, I don’t want anyone dying today.”

Cassie nods, coming over and laying hands on the man. She concentrates, and the bleeding stops as his wounds close. Though grateful, the man seems terrified, scrambling away as soon as Ferra steps back. Without even collecting his sword, he takes off after his fellows. Sheathing your sword, you sigh.

“Well, that was a waste of time.”

Victor shakes his head. “Not at all. We learned something useful there.”

You look at him. “What, that there’s a bounty on me? That’s not surprising.”

Victor shrugs. “True, but that’s not what we learned. The officers are being told not to pursue you. They don’t want their troops involved.”

Melora nods. “They want things like this. They want you to slaughter people trying to capture you!”

Sarah interrupts. “They’re trying to counteract the whole hero mystique you have going. So far, you’ve fought Order troops. They can’t call that anything but a battle.”

You sigh. “But if a bunch of starving farmers attack me, and I kill them, even in self defense, it looks like a bloodbath. Like I’m a psycho killer.”

Victor nods. “Exactly. They know what you’re capable of, so they’re trying to get you to defeat yourself.”

You look at the blood on the ground where the ringleader had stood.