Cypher turned to see Agnad and Tym, along with several other of the Gett guards running into the town square.

They were dirty and bleeding, but from the looks of it, their injuries weren’t too terrible all things considered. However, he didn’t see Richmond anywhere and Cypher wondered what had happened back at the gate. However, looking at the situation he could guess that things weren’t going well.

A ring of bandits soon emerged from between the houses and closed in around the front door of the mayor’s house.

“There you are boy!” said Agnad as he drew closer.

“Glenis you get back inside, we’ll handle it from here!” said Cypher. She nodded, whispering her thanks to him, and closed the door. He could hear the locks moving into place and a bar being lowered across the door as he turned to face Agnad.

“What’s the situation?” asked Cypher as the large man rested his hammer across his shoulders.

“It’s not going well. The bastards have us quite outnumbered and their leader is a strong sonofabitch. That asshole killed Richmond before I could do anything,” he said through gritted teeth.

Cypher scowled and stared down at the ground. He hadn’t known the man very well but the news that he had lost his life was still sad to hear. It was clear that the fight had been a rough one. Agnad’s leather armor was cut and destroyed in several places. His massive hammer had a large chunk missing from it and even his precious wineskin was torn, still wet with the remains of what it once carried.

“I see you’ve been holding your own here. Good job kid! I’ll be sure to let lord Galvan know you pulled your weight when we get back. Right now though, we have other problems to worry about,” grunted Agnad as he turned back to face the ring of bandits closing in.

The men laughed and brandished their weapons as they got into position. Then two men emerged from the middle of the encirclement and stepped forward. One was almost as large as Agnad and was dragging a large, chipped axe behind him. His clothes were dirty and covered in blood but he didn’t seem to be injured.

The other was smaller in stature but quite fit. He held a look of authority on his middle-aged face beneath locks of dirty blonde hair. He had a short goatee and a scar across his cheek, but his most striking feature was his eyes full of malice and confidence. His armor was better than that of the other bandits around him as well. It was mostly leather, but it had bits of iron or steel woven throughout along the shoulders and down his flanks. Even his leather chaps were studded with small iron spikes, and the tips of his boots were clad in protective metal.

His face was smug, his stance boastful, and around his neck hung a necklace of pure silver with a small dagger of the same precious metal that dangled just above his clavicle. He was clearly a man apart from these other bandits. There could be no question that he had led the attack on Gett this evening. That said, it didn’t appear as though he had been a part of the initial battle at the front gate.

His armor was clean and didn’t show any signs of damage at all. The others seemed to revere him, and they even stepped aside to let him pass unhindered. If nothing else was a dead giveaway, his attitude certainly showed that he was the bandit leader in charge of this group. He stepped forward and smiled as he rested his claymore on his shoulder. Cypher’s eyes narrowed as he caught sight of a red streak along the blade. It was smeared as though it had only recently been cleaned of gore, but it was clear that it had been a lazy and hasty cleaning.

“Richmond…” Cypher said as he stared at the scene unfolding before him.

“Well, well well! This is quite the surprise we have here! I was told that this place would be mostly unguarded. But I see that my intel wasn’t completely correct in the end. Still, we have you outnumbered by quite a lot. It might be a good idea to just surrender and let us take what we came here for,” said the man.

Cypher gripped the hilt of his sword tightly as he stared on and the man continued to speak.

“Look, I think we’ve all spilled enough blood here tonight. Tell you what, if you drop your weapons and give us the goods we won’t kill any more of you. Yeah? See, needless slaughter really isn’t my style and I’d much rather avoid that outcome if it’s possible. I mean just think about it. Do we really need to kill everyone here?”

“That seems awful pointless to me don’t you agree? You there, the big guy with the beard, you’re a reasonable man, right? You’re one of the ones who brought that magnificent haul from Galvan manor aren’t you? See, that’s all we’re after here! Feeding this group of mine is quite an expensive endeavor you see. Why not help us out and hand it over, yeah?”

“Bah! As if I’d betray lord Galvan and just give you these supplies!” replied Agnad. “He put it on me to protect this shipment until the guards from Gett returned, and by the Seven, I won’t let you lay a single hand on it! Besides, you killed Richmond and I can’t forgive that you bastards! You’re just gonna have to fight your way through us!”

Agnad spat and swung his hammer down in front of him with a resounding “THUD.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk…” scoffed the bandit leader. “Very well I suppose we’ll just have to do it your way. I was hoping that we wouldn’t have to slaughter an entire village this time but since you wanna be so stubborn about this…” The bandit leader’s expression changed from one of calm cunning to sadistic pleasure in an instant. Cypher’s blood ran cold at the sudden change and he took an instinctive step backward.

Agnad rested a hand on his shoulder and nodded at him before returning his gaze to the leader.

“You know…” Agnad began, leaning his hammer hilt against his shoulder as the head rested against the ground. He pulled out a second wineskin from within his breastplate and took a long drawn-out drink from it. “It’s bastards like you that I really despise… Ugh, keep an eye on the door for me will ya kid?” Without warning, the wineskin was on the ground and Agnad had thundered forward toward the bandit leader.

Cypher was left stunned at the sheer speed of the man and his jaw hung open, his apprehension from before fading in lieu of the awe that now filled his mind. His opinion of Agnad had changed greatly upon seeing him in action. He ran like an enraged bear and it seemed as though nothing could stop him. Before, Cypher had simply pegged him as a disgusting and lazy guard who didn’t care for, and who couldn’t do much. But seeing this side of him, Cypher couldn’t help but admire the hulking man.

“Grumm, if you would be so kind,” said the leader as the large man next to him readied himself and blocked Agnad’s incoming strike.

The two giant men with their massive weapons clashed and sparks flew as Agnad’s hammerhead ground against his foe’s axeblade. They struggled fiercely for a moment before a flurry of blows began to fly between them. At that, the other bandits moved in and the guards from Gett took to battle against them.

The bandit leader simply walked his way through the onslaught and headed straight for Cypher and the front door of the mayor’s house. Cypher gripped his blade tightly in his hands as the bandit leader approached.

“Heh, so this is what’s left for me is it? A child with a shitty little sword? Well, I’ve certainly faced down worse. You know kid, you don’t have to die here. You can run away if you like. If you do I promise that I won’t chase after you. Killing someone so young and-” the man let out a sarcastic chuckle as he glanced at Cypher’s small frame, “-promising doesn’t quite sit well with me.”

Cypher scowled at the man. Fear coursed through him, but he put it to the back of his mind. The man before him was dangerous to be sure, but Cypher refused to back down against someone so utterly boastful and arrogant. Besides, Cypher could see how the man kept his guard loose and open. Several opportunities to attack presented themselves as plain as day.

That said, Cypher could almost feel that they were simply a diversion. Most likely, his lax guard was a trap to bait out a hasty attack, and Cypher was having none of it. He did wonder though if this was another situation he could overcome without killing. Jelroy’s teachings were paramount to him and he wanted to adhere to them if he could. But perhaps fatal strikes were unavoidable this time.

“Don’t underestimate me! I won’t let you pass a step further! If you want to take these people’s livelihood you’ll have to do it over my dead body!” Cypher exclaimed, his grip on his sword growing even more firm than before.

“Oho~ That’s quite an appealing proposition. You’re a lively one! I’ll be sure to take a memento of our time together. Very well, prepare yourself, boy, and, try not to die too quickly!”

“CYPHER!” roared Agnad as he struggled against Grumm, “WATCH OUT FOR THAT ONE! HE CAN-” but before he could let out another word, Grum had engaged him in heavy combat once more and Agnad’s attention was forced upon the battle.