Once again, I didn't check for any mistakes. I'm just too tired from typing to go back and look for any minor mistakes. If you do catch any, please feel free to point it out and I'll fix it.

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It was dark, very dark. Aside from the lights coming from the travelers and the moonlight, everything was shrouded in darkness in the tree line. The sound of crickets were permeating all around Bjorn’s surroundings sometimes he could hear the croakers singing, indicating they were near a pond. It was quite a peaceful night for Bjorn, although bandit attacks in Adetia’s Forest were quite common, bandits wouldn’t dare attack a caravan of their size.

‘Geh! I’m kinda regrettin’ going through this forest at night now.’ Weeks of travel on the road with little rest ain’t to good fer me.’ Although Bjorn was an adventurer, he was already 48 and he knew his years were catching up to him. It was fine if he were to go on short quests, but long journeys over many weeks wore him out too easily.

Bjorn may not act like it, but he was quite a caring man. He made sure to keep up moral in the escorts, because being an escort for caravans is a dangerous job, especially the further the caravan is going to travel. Bjorn made sure that all the other escorts were looked after and taken care of, since this was going to be his last job before he retired from journeying.

‘*Yawn* I’m not as young as I used ta be, might have ta passed this old baton on ta the next generation.’ Bjorn was situated near the middle of the long line of more than 20 carts and was in charge of over 50 men who were escorting the caravan. On a regular day, the guards would take shifts and watch guard the caravan.

The escorts were divided into 3 groups of 15 people, they would take shifts where they rotate the guarding between each group. By doing this, they would have 1 group resting, 1 group on prep, and 1 group escorting the caravan. In order to avoid any possible ambush, a smaller group of 10 escorts were used as scouts and were sent out 400 meters in front of the caravan to sweep for traps. If the scouts find anything they were to signal the caravan by firing a firebolt into the sky.

‘I feel bad fer group 3, they didn’t get ta rest at all. I just hope there isn’t any trouble on this last leg of the trip.’ The caravan was about halfway through the forest already, after exiting Adetia’s Forest, the walls of Adetia will be visible. They were almost done with the job, but now was also the most crucial point, because the Adetia’s forest was rumored to be home to many elusive bandit camps.

Although bandits usually travel in smaller groups of around 10 or so men, they have been known to gather and raid larger caravans such as Mitchell’s. So Mitchell’s caravan which was currently rushing to the forest edge was a prime target, especially at night.

‘I don’t even know why I Mitch agreed ter my crazy plan to travel through here at this time of night. I might have drunk a bit too much before talkin’ to him…’ Bjorn was greatly regretting his decision, after sobering up from the ale, Bjorn began to realize what he had done. ‘It must be me homesickness getting’ ter me.’

Bjorn was deep in thought and wouldn’t have noticed the change if not for the cough from an escort beside him.

Their surroundings were all quiet.

The chirping of crickets and noises of the night were all gone. It was as if a stillness was blanketing out all kinds of sounds from the environment leaving a feeling of isolation and loneliness.

‘Huh?’ After noticing the change in the environment Bjorn noticed something at the side of the road and rode up to it. He got off his horse and looked at the small glint of metal.

‘An arrow… and it’s chipped.’ Examining the arrowhead, Bjorn noticed that something was coating it. ‘Strange…’ He got curious and touched the tip of the arrow and smelled the dark coating.

‘Blood! Fuck!’

“MEN, PREPARE FOR AMBUSH!!!”

That one line was what sparked the powder keg of chaos.

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Hiro was peacefully dreaming of being able to cast spells and defeat monsters. In his dream he had just slain a giant snake that was terrorizing the forest near a village, he was about to cut off its 2 meter wide head to bring back when he heard this line: “PREPARE FOR AMBUSH!!!”

He was a light sleeper, because his father had brought him hunting for multiple days, the ability to wake up at a moments notice was crucial for survival. Thus Hiro was able to hear the booming voice of Bjorn as he screamed out those few words.

Jolting awake, Hiro woke up to see the whole area illuminated by a huge magelight. Someone had casted a magelight large enough to cover the area of the caravan, revealing everything in the area. In a panic, Hiro looked around to see what’s going on. In the edges of the tree line Hiro saw glimpses of moving figures darting back and forth.

“AHHHH!!!”

“AHHH!”

“AHHHH!!!”

In the next instant, arrows began raining down on the unsuspecting escorts, killing a couple with hits to the throat and face and injuring many others. Pandemonium was rampant in the area, many arrows were stuck to the carts, screams were everywhere and the sounds of metal striking metal began to permeate the environment.

“What’s happening?!” Hiro screamed at his father, who was holding out the cross and a strange glowing sword in his right hand.

“Get down Hiro!” The first wave of arrows had just passed and was aimed at the center of the caravan line, missing Hiro and his father. “I call upon the holy powers of Sienna. Form a shield and protect me from danger! Barrier!” After chanting the spell, a nearly transparent while bubble formed around the area where Albert was.

The next wave of arrows came crashing down towards the back of the caravan where Hiro and his father were located.

“Ow!” Albert suddenly got up and grabbed Hiro in a tight bear hug, sheltering Hiro within his barrier.

The arrows started bouncing off the barrier and ricocheting in random directions.

Hiro began to hyperventilate, “What’s going on father?! AHHHH!!!” The escort closest to them just got hit in the shoulder and fell into the back of their cart.

Soon men began appearing from the tree line, this particular group attacked the back of the caravan. It seems they did the same with the front and center of the caravan too. By firing arrows first before charging in, the bandits were able to cause panic and confusion within the escorts ranks.

Letting go of Hiro once he was sure the arrows stopped coming, Albert pulled up his delirious son, “Get a hold of yourself Hiro!”

“AHHH!! What’s going on?! Are we going to die?! I DON’T WAN-“

*SMACK*

Clenching the cross in his hand, Albert swung at Hiro, “There, much better?!”

“Ow!...” Rubbing the newly formed lump on his head, Hiro began to calm down and assess the situation. The bandits were nearly upon their cart and were fighting with the wounded adventurers that were stationed near the back. “Yea, what do you want me to do father?”

“I’ll watch your back Hiro, I’ll need you to see if the guy that fell into our cart is ok, and then I need you to string the bow!” Without waiting for an answer, Albert got off the stationary cart and began to support the other adventurers.

Climbing up over to the back of the cart, Hiro went to look at the wounded escort.

“Are you ok?!” Looking up and down the figure of the yound man, Hiro could see that he wasn’t alright. The man looked quite young, around 20 or so and was wearing some leather armor. Although not quite visible, Hiro could see that the arrow penetrated the armor and was sticking out of his right shoulder. Blood was slowly leaking from the wound, but he knew that if he pulled it out it would cause the situation to worsen.

“Ugh… I’m alright… Please… Pull out the arrow…” The young man seemed very weak, it looked like the man wasn’t used to pain and was on the verge of blacking out.

“I-I can’t d-do that!” Although Hiro wasn’t an expert on addressing wounds, he knows a little bit about bandaging. However, Hiro knew that this type of wound would open up if he were to pull out the arrow.

“Please!... I can’t take it… anymore…” The young man uttered that last line before he fainted.

Checking to make sure that the man wasn’t dead, Hiro held a finger under the man’s nose to check for breathing. “Whew!” Now that he was sure the man wasn’t dead, Hiro began looking for the old hunting bow that he had put away at the back of the cart. Digging through kitchen utensils and old books, Hiro saw the old unstrung bow towards the back.

Hiro put one leg between the bow and string and proceeded to bend the bow and strung it. With that out of the way, he pulled out the quiver of arrows and checked how many were in the bundle.

“Only 10…” He went back to the front of the cart where there was more room to move and see the battlefield. Outside, there were many pockets of fighting happening. He could see many corpses littering the battlefield, many of which were bandits. Magic bolts were flying through the air, only to hit and kill their targets. Hiro could tell that many of the magic bolts were from the escorts, because they were flying out to the tree line.

Whenever a firebolt or an icebolt landed, Hiro could hear the screams from the forest edge, telling him that some unlucky bandit just got hit. Of course, not all the magic bolts were from the escorts, some were flying at and hitting the carts, setting some ablaze and destroying the results of weeks upon weeks of bartering. A firebolt just whizzed past Hiro’s cart and hit a mage straight in the back, who was facing the other way.

Calling out to the lady, “Hey are you ok?!”

A painful cry from exited through her mouth followed by, “Yea, the cloak absorbed most of the damage!”

Relieved to hear that a random lady was ok, Hiro looked at the direction the firebolt came up. He could see a hooded figure hidden under the shadows preparing to cast another one. The glow from the staff that the bandit mage was holding was giving him away.

Hiro pulled up an arrow from his quiver and proceeded to nock the arrow. While this was happening, Hiro was shaking vigorously. It took him a couple tries before he could nock the arrow correctly and take aim at the bandit mage who was about 30 meters away and oblivious to his impending death.

‘Wait what am I doing?’ Hiro began shaking even more than before, he knew that he was starting to hyperventilate again. ‘Right now I’m about to kill a man… I know this is the right thing to do! But…’

Hiro was struggling, his once peaceful world had all of a sudden came to an end. In his sights was a man he did not know, but would soon die by his hands. Hiro knew that he must kill the man, or else others might die. He knows this, yet he couldn’t let go of the arrow that will kill the man.

Breathing heavily, ‘He must die. He must die. He must die!’ Right now Hiro was trying to force himself to let go of the bowstring and release the arrow that will spell the man’s fate.

“Kuh!” Biting down on his lip hard enough to draw blood, he was trying as hard as he could to let go. All the while, the oblivious bandit was about to finish chanting the spell. The firebolt was formed and only needed to be released.

‘I have to do it now! I HAVE TO DO IT NOW!!!’

“AHHHHHHHHH!!!” With a cry as loud as the crackling of thunder, Hiro released the arrow.

As if in slow motion, Hiro watched the arrow sail towards his target. The arrow that Hiro had once used to hunt animals for food were now being used to kill men and it was Hiro who was calling the shots. In the span of half a second the arrow flew through the air and made contact with the hooded figure.

Although it only took half a second, to Hiro it seemed like an eternity.

“H-h-her face…” Hiro’s face paled. The blood drained away from his face leaving only a dead-white mask of despair. In the moments of the arrow piercing the hooded figure, the bandit’s spell exploded. The explosion blew off the hood of the figure to reveal the face of a shocked woman. The expression of surprise and agony was apparent in her eyes as Hiro witness the arrowhead puncturing her throat.

Her body limped down after the firebolt exploded in her face and she laid there, blood oozing out from the hole in her throat.

“Urrrgghhh” Hiro tilted over the side of the cart and began to empty the remains of his dinner. The disgust of killing a human was overwhelming him and in response his body refused to obey him. He felt the strength drain from his limbs, his blood ran cold, and his vision blurry. He didn’t know if it was from the sweat pouring down from his forehead or the tears that seemed to gush along with the vomit. All Hiro could see was her expression as the arrow pierced her throat.

‘I killed her. I killed a person. She’s dead. What’s going to happen? What if she has a family? What will her kids think?’ In his turmoil, Hiro began to think of unnecessary things. His mind was becoming chaotic and he was beginning to lose himself in the death of the woman.

After emptying his stomach of its contents he laid down on the cart and proceeded to curl up in a ball. Rocking back and forth, Hiro was trying to reason with his conscience.

‘I had to kill her. She was dangerous. She could have killed someone. She was dangerous. She could have killed father. I had to kill her.’

“AHHH!!!” Hiro was on the verge of a mental breakdown. The intense emotional trauma was working its way into the very core of Hiro’s existence. He grew up not knowing how cruel the world can be, that was why Hiro couldn’t understand why bandits do the things they do.

Just as Hiro’s consciousness was about to collapse, something happened. Hiro’s vision began to whiten and a clear feminine voice rang through his head.

[Be calm my child.]

With that one line, Hiro’s mind cleared up. He regained control of his limbs, the tears and sweat stopped flowing, it was as if none of it happened. But it did happen and Hiro still remembers it quite clearly, only this time his mind was able to cope with the death of the bandit.

‘She had to die. If I hadn’t fire that arrow, someone I know might have gotten hurt or worse…’

After clearing his head, Hiro once again looked across the battlefield. The bandits were on the retreat, it seemed that through Bjorn’s warnings, many were able to block the incoming arrows and survive with a few minor scrapes. The bandits were equipped with only leather armor and light gear, meant for easy travel through the forest. While the adventurers were wearing heavy metal armor, so it wasn’t a surprise that the bandits were pushed back.

‘I see…’ Hiro fired the rest of his arrows into the retreating bandits, some missed their mark while others caused a few minor wounds. It was a fluke, that his first shot to the mage was a fatal shot. Although Hiro had experience in using a bow, it was only for hunting animals. So there wasn’t much power in the strings tension and his nerves still hindered his aim.

“Are you alright Hiro?” Running up beside the cart was his father. Albert looked really worn out, the barrier from earlier was already gone and he had a few cuts on his should. The larger cut was already dressed and bandaged, while the smaller ones were ignored. The look on Albert’s face was full of worry and relief, in the middle of the raid, Albert was forced to abandon the vicinity of the cart and leave Hiro by himself.

“Y-yea.” Although calm now, Hiro knew he would never forget the face of the dying woman. He knew he will be forever haunted by that face until he dies. Hiro for some strange reason, came to accept that she had to die, but he also knew that he would never forget the face of the first person he killed.

“Are you hurt anywhere? How’s the guy that got his by the arrow?” The sword that Albert had in his hands earlier had disappeared, it was a strange sight; one moment it was there and the next it was gone.

“Eh… I’m alright… I think…” Hiro wasn’t sure what to answer, he wasn’t hurt physically.

‘That’s right the guy in the cart!’

“Father, I couldn’t do anything for the man in the back. I need you to take a look at him right now!” Hiro rushed over to the man that was laid down in the back. The sight of the man set a chill down Hiro’s spine.

Although the magelight that was illuminating the area wasn’t all that bright, Hiro could see that the blood from the man’s shoulder was not stopping. By this point, there was a small puddle forming below the wounded man’s body and his breathe came in rapid successions.

“Shit! This is not good, I’ll have to perform emergency first aid! Hiro I need you to get ready to break the arrow shaft!”

“Got it! But isn’t that dangerous at this point?” Hiro had gotten used to situations like this. In their hunts there were multiple times where an arrow had pierced through a buck but had gotten stuck in the flesh. When this happens the only way to get the arrow out was to break the shaft near the arrowhead and pull it through. It was quite a gruesome work and blood usually sprays everywhere once the arrow comes loose.

Albert looked Hiro straight in the eye, “Just trust me Hiro!”

Convinced that his father knew what he was doing, Hiro summoned the courage to break the arrow shaft.

“Ok on three! One! Two! Three!” Clenching his teeth, Hiro tried as hard as he could to keep the shaft in place while breaking off the arrowhead.

“AHH!!!” The young man shook awake at the sudden burst of pain that coursed through his body.

“Shit! I call upon the holy powers of Sienna. Close this man’s wounds and stop the bleeding. Heal!” After Hiro quickly broke off the arrowhead, the man had woken up and started thrashing about. Before any more blood leaked out, Hiro pulled out the shaft and Albert casted a spell to close the wound.

“Hah Hah… I can’t believe that worked…” Albert was breathing hard after casting such a high leveled spell.

“Amazing… That spell will heal any injury right father?” Hiro’s eyes grew wide, it was his first time seeing a wound close so fast and without any scars like that.

“Hah… It’s not an easy spell to use and it only closes the wound and stop the bleeding. The man’s muscles are still torn, so he shouldn’t be using that shoulder anytime soon.”

“Still… That’s quite something father.” Relief spread across both their faces as they watch the young man slowly drifting off to sleep.

“Hehehe, That was one hell of a fight right Hiro?” Albert got up to look at the battlefield once more.

“Yea, it was.” Hiro also got up, looking at his father who stood proud and tall even when tired, Hiro admired his father greatly.

Still looking at his father, Hiro began to see something strange at the edge of his vison. Something was moving amongst the shadows once more. Without anytime to warn his father Hiro screamed, “NOOOO!!!”

Flying straight towards the center of his father’s back was an arrow.

Time began to slow. The arrow was centimeters away from piercing his father’s back, right where his heart would be.

Feeling something snap, Hiro screamed out the only thing that came to his mind.

“REISA!!!”