Uh, This Is: Unexpected...

As the bandits burst from the trees, the others also having already noticed their approach, you do a bit of a double-take. These are NOT the kind of bandits you normaly get around HERE, these are all various sub-types of the "Dishonored Samurai" category of "Bandits". While it's not-entirely unheard-of for that sort of group to be operating in this area, but it's never been one that's taken an active interest in YOU personally before, except that one time where you were supposed to be "Rescued" about 30 years ago, but had to tell-off the rescuing "Heroes" because their official excuse was one of the bandits went into labor and they needed a midwife, which, wasn't an "excuse" AT ALL. After she was successfully delivered of her twin daughters the PCs apparently did a sneaky to avoid the fight and the members of the "Bandit Gang" were adopted-as-PCs-on-mass by their outside-game friends except for two or three extra-unpleasant ones. The Woman you helped now runs "The Singing Oni" a few valleys over along with her daughters and grand-children, but she's getting-on-in-years now, so mostly she just oversees the kitchen and brewing rooms these days.

This group though? Not-So-Much; they aren't mixed-gender as far as you can tell, for one thing, and for another, they all have this terrified-and-crazy look in their eyes that makes you feel... Creeped-out, TBH.

"Have you Gotten any better at fighting over the past year?!?" Jaar calls out as the battle music begins to swell across the area.

"Not noticeably." You respond.

"Then stay behind us and do the usual with the healing." Julian says, as the four of them form-up to fight.

This is the point that things go a little-bit nutty; these bandits aren't charging into battle at all. The others don't understand Cathayan, but you do. (There's an ancient permanent portal on one edge of the Queendom that connects to the other side of the world, which is doubtless how the bandits got here in the first place. After two centuries you tend to pick-up enough of all the languages used in the area at-all regularly to at least hold a very basic conversation and/or read warning/hazard signs.) {=}RUN, RUN FOR YOUR LIVES, YOU GAYGIN IDIOTS! SHE'LL BE HERE ANY SECOND!!!{=} the man at the head of their group screams at you as they all run PAST your group to either side.