“You were saying?”

The gezer looked up like a sad puppy, but those tricks had yet to work once on Jonas. Seeing it didn’t work, he cursed and began to babble like a madman.

All he got was another jab to the ribs to get him talking clearly again.

“Them orcs are as easy to read as them book them nobles be reading. They always take the bushy paths no man could push through. They to dumb to do other things. Once we knew that, getting by them was easy as taken pebble bread from a noble kid. They might be faster, stronger, and got a noise like a hound, but all we’s got to do is cover ourselves in mud and crushed leaf water and walk around them like cats. Ya’ know, like our name, the Big Cats.”

Jonas rubbed his chin. The thought that a few bandit groups were actually getting the better of the orcs in the forest more than surprised him. Raneria looked skeptical at best, but that probably had more to do with how much she already despises him for taking her favorite spot snuggling into Gregor.

Ash and Shab, on the other hand, both looked thoughtful and just as surprised as he was. Who in their right mind would even consider bandits and their ilk as skilled men and women in the forests much less as a threat to the orcs that could literally camouflage by literally standing there?

Yet, it made sense, didn’t it. They had to have a way to survive for years on end against constant raiding and attack. If they couldn’t escape and get around the parties of orcs they would not even exist, not as they were now thriving enough to attempt to steal from the King of the entire colony.

Though they probably still don’t know who he really is. Just another high noble with more money than brains. Who with any common sense would waste chests of gold and treasure to buy fruits filled with energy just to give them away to peasants and commoners?

Someone who had more than he could possibly spend in a hundred lifetimes of splurging.

More importantly, someone who wouldn’t even notice a few fruits--well a few hundred--disappearing in a single night. That’s the perfect catch any thief or bandit could find. Unlucky for them, Jonas had competent subordinates he could delegate his more important responsibilities over to.

Then it hit Jonas like a bag full of bricks. Wouldn’t those bandits make a wonderful squad to implement guerrilla warfare? The thought of flitting between the trees and bushes ambushing the smaller raid parties and terrorizing any larger ones made him beyond giddy. He had to have them enlist into his army. And where to start than with a high ranking individual from the best at it.

“Well then. Good to know.” Jonas stopped and with him everyone else did. He stared deeply into the old man’s eyes. “And it’ll probably save your hide. Better thank the father you have some talent I can use. Otherwise...well you could probably imagine what I would do to someone stealing from me.”

He got up close to the bandit and began to whisper into his ear. “And trust me, death would be the least of your concerns.”

With that he turned around and left the bandit to stew in his thoughts. Probably imagining all the horrible ways to torture someone as Jonas left.

“Ash,” Jonas said. “Make sure he swears all the necessary oaths. Him and his entire crew. We’ll need his services sooner or later. Won’t we.”

With that, he continued to walk through the streets and back towards the manor. At least now he had another door opened for him. Before hand, finding anything outside of the city was out of the question, but with the bandits, he could still scavenge and hunt the wild animals for food and resources.

Ash nodded with a contemplative but proud look--matching even Frezar’s. “Yes, Master. I’ll make sure they are bound beyond a doubt. They wont have a choice beyond obeying absolutely loyally. Nothing more than your BlackGuard.”

With that and a savage smile she turned around and walked away with a few guards dragging a flailing old bandit with them. The man knew what was about to happen and did his best to get away, but found the BlackGuards to be to powerful to even break their grip.

Jonas didn’t know they were that powerful. Old and thin as he was, the guy was still on the first stage of the Path. There was a surmountable difference between a normal person and anyone that has broken past the first stage. Not only was their physical attributes night and day compared to each other, but breaking past that barrier meant you gained an innate ability beyond the bounds of physics.

In this case, the old man got the ability to surpass the starvation and pain he had always dealt with. Innate regeneration that could heal almost anything. The man could have gotten the ability to have anything, but his existential need overcame his imagination. Or he just couldn’t see beyond that.

It brought him to wonder about what exactly was this first breakthrough. Was he supposed to close his eyes and then wake back up knowing exactly what he had gotten and how to use it. Like some book? Honestly, he had tried that with the skill scrolls he had gotten from his father. How could he not?

Something had made him beyond giddy to imagine learning everything there was to know about them just by opening it up or trying to tear a bit--he couldn’t even get a scratch on the damned paper. That had gotten Frezar hysterical. The old butler even began to jump around in absolute panic.

Something about the entire city being leveled by some explosion, but Frezar was speaking so fast he didn't really catch most of it. Or really any of it.

“Sir! Sir!”

Jonas jumped. He had zoned out again in the middle of the street. Worse of all, every eye in the entire street had been staring at him zone out without once blinking. Embarrassing really.

Too add to it, the thin knight, running around in his father’s armor, came in with a face full of panic. Eyes wide and face as pale as a ghost.

“They're here! All three of them! Their entire groups! All of them are sitting outside of the gates!” Every single commoner jumped. Their trance had broken by the mention of whoever had shown up. Though this time, instead of the worshipful gazes, one of fear replaced them.

And then the guy started babbling like a maniac. Jonas couldn’t make a single word out of them all. Nothing after the first few sentences.

“Hold up!” Jonas screamed, to catch his attention.

The man froze, though he shook like a leaf in his spot--armor rattling and everything.

“Who showed up, exactly?” Jonas was beyond interested. What type of person could illect that kind of fear in his people?

One that needed to go. And quickly.

“T-t-the Big Cats, and Grey Boars, and...and…and even the Tiny Rats! Every single bandit, they’re an army! Ten thousand strong! And they are looking for you!”