The Bandits Settle In

“Give ‘em time, Kazo.” Ungonius smiled, “Always good to let ‘em shit themselves a bit before we go back to collect.”

A pile of fallen stonework in the middle of the dilapidated fort was serving as the bandit leader’s throne. The large Aeln man reclined watching as his men set up tents within the walls of Meadowfort.

“I just thought we should move while we still have so many of the boys here.” The large grey skinned urken sat on a large block of stone and idley picked a bit of food from one of the small tusks that emerged from either side of his mouth.

“Nah. Should be fine. These country berks don’t need to know that some of the lads will go and keep an eye on our other villages.”

“You still intend on setting up camp here?” Kazo flicked a piece of old meat off his fingernail with a grimace.”

“Oh aye! Nothing makes a man feel more like a king than havin’ a castle. Ha ha ha!”

A small hunched figure picked its way through the bandit’s camp towards Ungonius and Kazo nervously doing its best to keep away from the other bandits.

Ungonius noticed the figure and grinned.

“Finyi! My little potion brewer!”

The little individual approached Ungonius and bowed. As it straightened, its hood fell back revealing a squashed pale green face dominated by a pair of large luminous yellow eyes with slit like pupils. Finyi was a kaputi, one of the subterranean goblin race known for their low cunning and cowardice. She bobbed her head nervously and her eyes flicked about constantly as she walked

“Well?” Ungonius said leaning forward on his makeshift throne, “‘‘Ave you made what you ‘ad promised?”

“Oh yes yes. Ungonius will be pleased with Finyi. The stock is pure and unfiltered. Good and strong! Good and strong!” Finyi babbled in a high pitched whine.

“Good! Great! Let’s not beat around the bush! We’ll do the deed tonight!”

“What is this?” Kazo asked. The urken did not think much of Finyi. He had no time for her potions and poisons.

“Something special that our lil kaputi friend has whipped up” Ungonius replied cryptically, a sly grin on his face.

Kazo frowned, a deep growl building in his throat. The little kaputi had come to Ungonius a few months earlier with the promise of a decoction that would make his men unkillable. Kazo had not been the bandit leader’s right hand at the time, the position was held by Dirger, an aeln. Ungonius wanted a man in the camp to test Finyi’s elixir. The men were afraid of what it might do but Ungonius pressed them to do it. He ranted and screamed and cursed them all as cowards.

Dirger, mostly to end the sorry affair, stepped forward and agreed to take the potion. Kazo remembered the old man looking into his eyes before he downed the mixture in one gulp. The memory stuck with Kazo, for the next time he made eye contact with Dirger, there was no recognition in the aeln’s eyes, just rage and hunger. It did not take long for the potion to have an effect. Dirger screamed, his hands clawing at his temple. The sound he made was like nothing any of the bandits had heard before, first a screech that pushed against the border of what an aeln could potentially produce before rising in pitch to hit an unnatural tone that had the crowd of onlooking bandits covering their ears and scrambling away.

Dirger launched himself with horrifying ferocity at the nearest bandit, his fingernails digging into the bandit’s neck. The man was rode down to the ground by Dirger whose fingers were now deep into the man’s throat, the first two joints of his fingers disappearing under his skin, blood welling up around them.

Kazo and the other rushed Dirger to try and bring him down but he was far too strong and when Ungonius roared for them to kill him, the most unnatural nature of Finyi’s concotion’s effects were revealed. A sword slash had taken the Dirger’s arms off so that they could pry him from the dead man beneath him.But, as they wrenched him back, he continued to scream with rage and kicked his legs at his captors. But, what absolutely horrified Kazo was what was happening at the ragged remains of the man’s arms. From the bloody stumps sprouted new flesh. It warped and twisted as it grew out, at first it seemed to reform Dirger’s lost arms, but after the forearm it began to split into multiple limbs, some sprouting hands and others forming blades and tentacles. New weapons at its disposal, the thing that had been Dirger, launched itself at another of the bandits. In the end it had taken near two dozen of them to kill it. Seven of their number were cut down as they desperately cut Dirger into smaller and smaller pieces and his body stopped regenerating.

“I know what you are thinkin’ Kazo. It won’t be like before. Finyi has promised me that.” Ungonius said, pulling Kazo from his horrifying memory.

“Show ‘em Finyi.”

Finyi brought out a bag from under her cloak and dumped it on the ground in front of her. It was a common travel bag used by many across the land with a strap to hang from a shoulder and made of a light leather. She undid the string from around the button and opened the bag’s flap, spreading it wide to reveal the inside.

Kazo leaned forward and peered in. The bag was full of dark leaves. The edges of each leaf were almost black and the colour gradually shifted to the spine which were a light pink. There was no smell to the leaves and Kazo had no idea what to make of it.

“This one is the real deal. Tonight, pick a couple of the lads and head on over to Meadowfort. Stick this lot into their well.”

“And what happens next?” Kazo asked.

“We reap the reward.”