Karl kept walking, so that anyone who might have been alerted of his presence wouldn’t be tipped off that the woodcutter had talked to him, and consulted the team.
[What do you think? It appears that the others didn’t get sent here, so we’re on our own for a minute. Should we head through the woods for safety, or take our chances on the road, where we know we won’t get lost?]
[How tough could they be? There are five of us.] Rae replied, not concerned.
She had a good point. He wasn’t alone, and that seemed to be the real concern of the woodcutter.
Karl activated [Flaming Body], then changed to his much more battered set of armour, with the green tunic, and began making his way down the road.
[Wait, I have a better idea.] Rae informed him, and Karl paused at the side of the road.
She made him a rough woven duffel bag that looked like cheap canvas, then left her space to chop up a log and stuff it inside before rolling the bag in dirt.
[There, now you look like a hobo.] Rae laughed.
Karl laughed and slung the duffle across his back as he walked down the road at a steady pace, not quite jogging, but a comfortable fast walk for a warrior type Elite.
It was already getting dark, and he didn’t want to be too close to the village when the sun went down. He still had plenty of energy, and the ability to see in the dark, so there was no real reason for him to stop moving.
The bandits would have a harder time attacking at night without him detecting them first, and they might not even be set up.
If it was anything like home, then few people travelled at night if they could avoid it. Karl didn’t know if this place had cars, as he didn’t see any in the village, and the woodcutter was using a mule.
But woodcutters used mules or horses at home as well, it was just more efficient than trying to move machinery through the woods.
Rae got to work and made him a new coat with a hood, and a low hem that almost dragged on the ground. It was the adaptive coloration silk, and would make him nearly invisible in the dark as he jogged along the road.
But when there was no mana in it, the coat would be five different shades of green brown and black patches.
Karl activated the coat and put the duffle back over his shoulder. Every little bit would help as the night got darker, and clouds rolled in.
With no moon up and the stars obscured, it was incredibly dark out, and nothing was moving within earshot as Karl began to jog with [Silent Movement] activated.
He brought up [Eternal Lightning] to keep his stamina up, and settled in for a long night of running through the woods, until his normal day would have been up.
He didn’t know what pace the old farmer had intended when he said that Bunga was two days away, so it would be better to make up time today, and then find a good camp during the daylight hours.
Just after midnight, Karl saw the first signs of life along the road. There were two people high in trees on either side of the road, and a large group gathered around a campfire, looking like they were asleep.
They might just be resting, but thermal vision showed them laying down.
[I will move to the left of the road, far enough that the humans shouldn’t see me. If they do, then Rae will send her Golems against the archers in the trees first. Try to take them out before they can send out a warning.] Karl cautioned
[They’re hiding their power. That’s a neat trick. I wonder if it’s a spell? I can tell that they’re powerful, but not how powerful.] Rae pondered.
Karl thought about it and realized it wasn’t actually a difficult trick. If he had no active spells, he could just focus his energy inward, and most of his power signature would be masked.
That would make it harder to detect him if he was hiding in a tree, but it would also leave him open to attack.
[Are we not going to do anything?] Hawk complained.
[Only if we have to. We have places to be, and I don’t know how strong those thieves are with their power shielded. The villagers did warn us that there are much more powerful things in this country.] Karl reminded him.
[Still, wouldn’t the Red Dragon be happy if we eliminated bandits? Bandits make Orphans.] Hawk suggested.
That was a bit of a stretch, but Karl could see how enthusiastic the beasts were.
[Fine, we test them. Rae, take out the scouts in the trees with golems.]
If they had misjudged the situation and the Golems couldn’t make a clean job of it, he would run before the others realized what was going on.
The Golems appeared in the trees, and the guards reacted instantly, lashing out with attacks that did serious damage to the barriers on the constructs, and then slashing three more times as they fell from the tree to the ground.
But that was the end of them. The sharpened limbs of the Golems had punched holes in their chests through the flimsy leather armour they were wearing, and they drowned in their own blood in a matter of seconds, even as large red pools were forming under them as their hearts struggled for a few more beats.
The commotion had alerted the rest of the bandit team, and Karl called the others out, but kept Thor in reserve, as he would be too easy to spot along the road, and the trees were too close together for him to move between them without knocking them over.
Karl hefted his maul and moved into the trees, watching the groggy bandits run for the road.
Five charges of [Chain Lightning] on his maul were prepared, and one of the bandits instantly turned to him, alerted by the ability use.
Karl swung the oversized hammer, catching the man in the chest, and a barrier flared before shattering, along with an amulet around his neck.
The Lightning arced between the Bandits, whose movements were slowed by the effect. Then three flaming totems appeared halfway up the trees around them, firing inwards, right before [Rend] infused fireballs began to rain from the sky.
The bandits had no idea how to deal with the attacks from every direction at once. They were well practised in attacks against merchants and other ground-based targets, but the art of ambush from above was what they specialized in, not what was normally used against them.
The majority of the bandits were quickly annihilated, but one man was just laughing off everything that they were throwing at him until the Golems hit him from behind, and tore huge gashes in his flesh.
That got his attention.
[I think he has a skill that prevents smaller damage. We need to hit him harder.] Remi noted as she examined the battlefield.
That sounded good to Rae. She knew just how to do that.
So did Karl.
When the bandit leader turned to deal with the Golems, Karl charged five layers of [Bone Crusher] on his maul and buffed himself all the way up.
When the bandit leader’s blade landed on a Golem, nearly tearing it in half, Karl’s maul smashed into his back.
The bandit leader went limp, and Karl backed away, suspecting a trap, and let the Golems at him.
They stabbed at the body for a few minutes before deciding that he was dead enough and not just paralyzed from the chest down. Given the skills that many Elites had, if he was just paralyzed, he might have healed.
[There are still heat signatures in the camp, but they’re just wiggling. Do you think they’re treats the bandits were saving?] Rae asked.
[Possibly, but no eating them. We will go see what they left for us.] Karl reminded her.
[How can I even call them treats if I can’t eat them? Oh, never mind, they are treats of the toy variety. I can play with these ones.]
That had Karl concerned as he went to see what the spider had found.
What he found were ten children, bruised and dressed in filthy rags, tied up and immobile around the campfire, so they didn’t freeze to death at night.
Elven children in specific, going by the long and pointy ears. They must have been taken from a caravan because there were no Elves among the dead on the road.
[Everyone, I need a cleanup. Get rid of the bodies and remove any signs of a battle from the road. Actually, put the bodies in someone’s space, in case there is a bounty on them.
We might be able to trade them for good things.]
Now, he just needed to decide how to transport the kids.
