by Gerard Bond
“Yes, you did well, thanks for that, I guess we all owe you.” She nodded graciously.
“Well people we really fell for that one didn't we? I am pleased we got off so lightly, it could have been far worse. I think we had better be more cautious from now on. These guys are sharper than I gave credit for.”
They all nodded at his words, it had a sobering affect on them. Loranda though wasn't so down,
“Hey we did take down a few of them though, that was the plan wasn't it?”
“Yes, I wonder how many were lost by them? Can you all remember how many you each hit?” Loranda went first,
“Well I got five of them in total, most of those after they ambushed us.” Night also had good news,
“I got three of them for sure and maybe wounded another.” Wollfen turned to Dark,
“How about you?”
“I can say I got three as well, two of them were the ones chasing me after we were ambushed.”
“And I hit one so that's twelve from our side of the road. What about you guys, how did you fare?”
Kane and the soldier each got one as did Solynne,
“That's another three there, wow, fifteen in total, that's more than I had hoped for.”
Wollfen looked at Night and Loranda with new found respect, of the fifteen bandits killed these two had accounted for over half of them. They definitely had skills that were finely honed. He didn't say anything right now, Wollfen didn't want the rest of them feeling they had underachieved, he knew they were all lucky to be alive.
“I am sorry we lost one today, if I had for a moment thought that we were going to run into an ambush I would not have given chase at all.” He looked to the other soldier, “Tell me Falk, did Isaac have any family?”
“No Wollfen, he was single but I think he may have an uncle who lives in Port Cholandra?”
“Well, we shall have to get word back. Let them know he died valiantly.”
“I am sure it would be appreciated.”
Wollfen turned back to the others,
“I think we need to risk sending you back to scout the cave Kane, we need to know if they are licking their wounds or are maybe stirred up and upset enough to come riding out again.”
Kane nodded getting up,
“I'll get right on it.”
Wollfen watched as the man prepared for what would be a four hour ride back to the valley of the bandits. It impressed him that the young man didn't hesitate or complain about anything that was asked of him. He was certainly proving to be an outstanding individual. He turned back to the others,
“We all did good today in spite of almost falling to that ambush, I would like to thank you all for what you have done so far, we have accounted for over half of the bandit numbers and I am sure this campaign will come to an end soon. All we need do now is be aggressive and yet cautious.”
He looked to each of them sitting there making eye contact with everyone.
“Alright then let's set a couple of sentries and rest up now,” He looked to Solynne, “I want you to go and try to rest and get some sleep, I need you to relieve Kane at dawn, that means a ride in the early hours of the morn.”
“Okay I can do that, will you be staying here at the creek tomorrow?”
“I'm not sure, it will depend on what Kane has to report, if there are any changes that allow us to move closer again I will send a person to let you know where we will be encamped.”
Solynne went off and he watched as she unrolled her bedding then he turned back to Dark,
“So my dear, we have time to kill, what would you like to do?” She looked him up and down with an appreciative smile,
“What I would like to do isn't the best choice right now Wolfy, we need to preserve our energy. Something tells me we are going to be busy out there again very soon.” He chuckled at her comment,
“You are a sweet vixen my dear.”
The following morning not much happened and they all kept themselves busy with minor chores. The soldier Falk and Kane had led three riderless horses back after the attack and Wollfen was checking the saddles of them both as Dark looked the horses over.
Kane showed up a few hours after dawn, he had much to tell,
“How goes it Kane? Are the bandits quiet?” He shook his head,
“Trouble is brewing there I think.” Wollfen was intrigued,
“Please go on, you have my undivided attention.”
“I heard quite a bit of commotion emanating from the cave, they were obviously arguing amongst themselves, one voice kept shouting over the others and did eventually get them to quieten down. But later after midnight I noticed a bandit leaving the cave now and again not to return. I think some are deserting.”
Wollfen contemplated the news, that was very interesting indeed and if it were true that some had left then the authority of their leader would be very shaky now,
“So how many did you see leave?”
“I am sure it was at least five, possibly six of them.”
“That's very interesting, so if we calculate that with the numbers already lost, that means they are down to about fifteen individuals.”
“That would be my guess yes, we have been very effective so far.”
Kane paused, he had a thought to put past Wollfen but wasn't sure if it would be welcome, Wollfen saw though that he seemed to have something on his mind.
“What is it Kane? You have something more to say?”
“Yes, I am pretty sure you won't like what I have to say but I will tell you. We have done very well so far and have been very lucky. It seems to me that the danger of this gang has effectively been neutralized. They won't be doing any raids on Outrock that would endanger it anymore. So I propose we pack up and leave, we can already call this a victory. Should we press our luck? Those fifteen bandits could still be very dangerous to us.”
Wollfen considered his words, it made sense on the surface, they had eliminated the majority of the bandits numbers but he wasn't satisfied with that.
“It all sounds well and good Kane but I am not convinced that the leader of those bandits will quietly skulk away. In fact I am positive he would only go away to lick his wounds and gather even more outlaws to him. It may take some time but I think he will be back.”
Kane had been expecting such a response,
“That's what I thought you would say and I also agree with you on what the leader will do. I think that we need to ride out now to the valley and I will tell you why. When the bandits stirred this morning they would have seen some of their companions had left during the night, there would be rumblings amongst the ranks for sure. I decided to put myself in their leaders shoes and look at it from his point of view.
He is going to have to act immediately to keep the rest of the men loyal, if he suggests they just sit and wait it out as before they are all going to know that eventually we will attack in force. They know that we know their numbers are far smaller now. Their leader will have to get them out of there and make a run for safety.”
He was right, there was an immediate and compelling need for the gang to get out and away.
“I think you have nailed it Kane, good thinking, let's get over there as fast as possible.” Wollfen turned and called to the others,
“Get ready to mount up and move out! We are preparing for battle!” Kane spoke up,
“What of Justin and Keera? They could be back by tomorrow night?”
“Yes that's true,” Wollfen turned and called out once again, this time to Falk, “Hey Falk, I need you to stay and wait for Keera and Justin. Once they arrive come straight to the cave, we will be there.”
“Very well.”
The man settled back down again, well at least he would get to take it easy for awhile longer. Wollfen looked around, he could see they would all be packed within the next five minutes and he went over to one of the captured horses and mounted up. Once the others were ready he led the way at a fast trot and they were on the road heading directly for th
e bandits lair.
A couple of hours later they pulled up outside the valley of the cave and scanned the immediate area, no sign of any sentries had been spotted, Wollfen hoped that the bandits hadn't already left. He turned to Kane and motioned him to follow, the others he made fan out and take cover. Then he headed for the ridge opposite the cave entrance to find Solynne.
Once the two of them had climbed the hill it only took a minute to find Solynne hunkered down behind a fallen tree looking into the valley below. Wollfen and Kane both crawled into position beside Solynne peering over the trunk at the dark mouth of the cave, there was a single sentry at the entrance who was looking around furtively. Wollfen spoke quietly,
“How goes it Solynne? What news?”
“There's been a bit of commotion in the cave and from time to time a bandit will come out and head over to the woods to the horses they have corralled there but no one has been doing anything that I can see. It is all strange.”
“Interesting.”
Wollfen looked over the surrounding area thinking about their best plan of attack.
“Kane, how hard do you think it would be to get to that corral and set the horses free? Drive them off?”
Kane looked and checked the approach to the area in question. He shook his head,
“It's like the cave, only one way to get to it and that means going past the mouth of the cave to get there. That sentry will spot them easily and set off the alarm.”
“We need to take that sentry out.” Kane didn't think that would help.
“It's broad daylight and we couldn't get close enough before he would see us and let the others know, if we wait till dark then we stand a good chance.”
“No, I am sure this lot will be long gone before darkness falls, I am surprised they are still here to be honest.”
“Yes, who knows what they are thinking.”
Alright, I am going back to the others, I have seen enough. Kane, you and Solynne can launch an attack from here once you see us riding in okay?” The two of them nodded,
“Alright, we will be ready.”
Wollfen crawled back and away from the ridge line then mounted his horse.
Once he got back to the others he let them in on what they saw and what he wanted to do,
“We are going to ride in at full gallop, take out the sentry at the entrance and set up outside behind whatever cover we can find, then we keep the bandits in the cave using our crossbows and bows. I will get Nightwing and Loranda to run their horses off out of the valley. Once we do that the bandits will have to wait till nightfall to make a break for it on foot, there is enough moonlight tonight that we will have a good view of anyone making their way out. What ever they do we should be able to take them down. There is only about fifteen of them and we number six, we should be able to pick them off one by one.” Nightwing wasn't too receptive of the idea,
“What if all fifteen bandits make a break straight away? There are only four of us here and Solynne and Kane will take some time to descend the hill. It could get pretty dicey.”
“Mm, you are right, I am getting ahead of myself, thing is they aren't going to wait around much longer, I am sure of it. Once they are on their horses there is no way we could run down fifteen of them, especially if they split up. If we could somehow distract the sentry long enough to kill him before he could run into the cave we may stand a chance. Without the bandits alerted inside that will give us time to set up outside. We may even be able to send two of us in to take down a couple of their number and cause them to panic.”
“I have an idea.” It was Loranda who spoke up, “You leave the sentry to me and I will take care of him, you lot just make sure to move fast and quietly once I put him down.” Wollfen wanted to know what she would do,
“What do you plan Loranda? How do you know it will work?” Loranda laughed and gave him an impish smile,
“Oh just wait a second and you will see.” Night rolled her eyes when she realized all of a sudden what Loranda meant,
“Loranda, you don't need to do that.”
“Oh? You have a better idea?” Night could only shake her head, she turned to Wollfen,
“I hope you aren't too shy.”
He looked at her quizzically but then it dawned on him as Loranda started to strip naked on the spot. Dark couldn't help laughing out loud as his eyes went wide.
Once Loranda was naked she grabbed her dagger in its sheath and tied it around her waist behind her back, the thin strap was hardly noticeable from the front. She then positioned the dagger to hang down her butt crack, it was well out of sight. Night looked on trying to appear unhappy but she couldn't help but admire her body, she was lean and fit, certainly a sight to behold. Finally Loranda mounted her horse and untied her long blonde hair, it flowed out in the sunshine and she shook her head for effect.
“So, do you think I can distract the sentry?”
The girls agreed yes, all Wollfen could do was nod quietly as she rode past on her way to the cave entrance.
Back up the valley the sentry was looking around but not out of any sense of duty, no he was having serious thoughts of grabbing a horse and making off. Quite a number of the other men had been mumbling about doing so too. Blackstorm though would have none of it, there had almost been a mutiny earlier in the morning and Storm had stabbed a man to death to keep the others in line. He had promised to get them out of there though, but why was he waiting? Why weren't they already riding off to safety? He didn't like it at all, nothing had gone right since they had kidnapped the Lord of Outrock over a month ago. He wasn't the smartest man around, in fact not only could he not read or write but he had trouble carrying a conversation. All he gave a damn about was drinking beer, having sex and eating good food. None of which he had in awhile. He didn't see himself sticking around for much longer at all, it was only fear of the unknown out there that was keeping him here for now.
He looked down the valley and spotted a lone rider coming towards him, he almost ducked inside immediately but hesitated, what was he seeing? Looking closer and waiting he realized that it was in fact a naked woman on horseback smiling widely. Wow, she was beautiful. He took a few steps forward keenly watching, a smile slowly crossed his lips as she came closer. But damn that was a fine piece of ass. All thoughts of why she was here didn't even cross his mind, he was too busy thinking with his dick. He was getting an erection as thoughts of what he wanted to do filled his mind.
The blonde girl was still smiling as she pulled up near him, she motioned for him to approach and she held her hand out. He responded by holding up his own and she gripped it firmly, still with that angelic smile of hers. Oh what a beauty and look at those luscious tits of hers, damn he was going to enjoy fucking this sweet piece of meat. He never got a chance to think another thought as Loranda reached behind herself and in a flash had her dagger out and plunging deep into his neck, the only sound that emanated from his mouth was a little gurgle as he sunk to the ground with her holding on slowing his fall. She looked back signaling down the valley and slipped off her horse, then she dragged the body out of sight of the entrance to the cave. There had been no sounds of any alarm so far.
Loranda grabbed her slacks and shirt off the back of the horse getting dressed quickly. Taking her crossbow slung on the other side of the saddle and stealthily moving to the cave opening she peered in from one side. Her bare feet made no sound on the rocky ground. She heard the other three approach from behind and dismount, she turned and gave a thumbs up.
Wollfen silently signaled for Nightwing to take up position on the other side of the cave entrance and he motioned for Dark to follow him to the corral. Once the two of them got there Wollfen open the gate and went inside, tapping each horse he walked by on the rump getting them to move. With the gate open they moved out but stood around. He looked to Dark,
“I don't want to yell or anything until we are ready for the bandits.”
She looked around and gave it some thought,
“Let's just walk them all down past the cave, then Loranda and Night can enter the cave and do their thing, once we hear a commotion start then we can drive them off. We will be closer too and be able to get into position faster.”
“Sounds good, let's make it happen.”
The two of them herded the horses back the way they had come going past the cave, as they did Wollfen gave Night a nod. She and Loranda then slowly moved inside.
Night glanced across to Loranda in the gloom, they moved slowly for a couple of reasons, obviously they didn't want to alert anyone further in to their presence but they also need to give their eyes time to adjust. It would be a few minutes before they got much deeper into the cave. Night moved forward and managed to step into a puddle, ugh. She was in her socks having removed her boots at the entrance. The cold water soaked her foot and made her shiver, it was icy.
Again she glanced across to Loranda and could see her staring ahead intently without distraction. She looked back again, there was movement ahead off to one side, someone was laying down on a blanket. Night once more looked across and saw Loranda give a hand signal. She nodded and gently lay her crossbow on the ground. Then slowly sliding her dagger out moved forward ever so slowly totally focused on the body. Loranda kept watch scanning as best she could, the cave was deep and they couldn't see in very far.
After a few more minutes Night was able to draw right up beside the sleeping man, she could smell his breath. It was rank. Slowly moving her hand towards his mouth she lifted her dagger and then at the last second pressed down hard on his mouth as she pushed the tip of the blade deep into his neck. He struggled in shock at first but couldn't make a sound, the blade was in his throat. His hands gripped her arms and he tried hitting her but already he was getting weaker. Within moments the man's arms fell away and he was dead.
She withdrew collecting her weapon on the ground and moving forward again. This time they were able to make good headway going in another thirty feet before pausing. The cave was opening up into a cavern and they looked around. There were tiny fires burning in multiple locations and about each of those fires were a number of bandits keeping warm. One of the bandits was berating the others giving them some sort of talk. Was he the leader? Night made a note of memorizing his face. She then took a head count of all the men she could see, there were twelve of them.
