Leifr braced himself to be thrown from his steed, but was gratefully surprised when the warhorse seemed more keen on continuing the attack. A quick sideways glance allowed Leifr to see Fiore and Lyrisa pressing the attack against the crossbow-wielding bandit. Leifr nervously chuckled at their apparent success so far and then answered the bandit's claim with his own:

“The only thing you'll see is the humiliation of defeat!”

Not wanting to disappoint his steed's enthusiasm, Leifr readied his cursed blade once more and together he and his warhorse continued their two-fold assault, Leifr's greedy sword falling towards the bandit's weapon-arm in an attempt to disarm him, spending more energy than normal in effort to make the blade strike true.

Leifr attempted to disarm the man of one of his two axes, to make sure that the bandit could not get two strikes off at once while his horse pressed another assault with its heavy hooves. Normally a disarm was quite difficult, but Leifr was quite practiced in the art of disarming opponents, and the unique design of the Khopesh made it a bit easier to disarm, meaning to Leifr a disarm was just like any normal strike, except a bit more energy consuming as he made the extra effort to make the disarm work.

---

Leifr Disarm: 10 + 12 Talent + 3 Weapon + 2 Weapon Disarm = 27

---

The disarm struck true, the man's axe in his main hand falling from his grasp about five or so feet away. Either way, he wasn't going to be able to get it so easily. After his axe had fallen away he now struggled to parry the oncoming hooves of the horse that Leifr rode upon. The hooves of the horse struck true, very true, and would have been even truer if the strike hadn't been on an instant whim. The hooves struck the man, his armor barely doing anything to block the heavy blow as just the sound of hoof hitting Galmin was heard, the bandit going down, either unconscious or dead, a bit hard to tell in the heat of battle. Either way, it was clear now that the axe wielding bandit was no threat, leaving just the Crossbowman as the only remaining threat.

The crossbowman, upon seeing his other three comrades knocked down and his crossbow still needed to be reloaded, didn't have the courage to keep fighting anymore as even he held his life higher above any money these three were carrying. He dropped his crossbow, holding his arms up in the air as he got to his knees. "I-I surrender, take what you want from me or the others, but spare my life please!"

It was clear now from that proclamation of surrender that this man no longer had the will to fight. He even took off the dagger from his belt and dropped it to the ground to show that he was sincere. The man clearly knew when he was outmatched, and this was that time.

How long had he been travelling by now? A week or so? Probably a few days more than a week, considering how often he had gotten sidetracked with strange plants that he found along the way, taking the time to examine them before realizing that they were useless. It did some good for his catalogue though, which was filled with new sketches of useless plants. At least, they'll be considered useless until they show some sort of potent synergy with another concoction or whatever.

Even though Allereun, now, didn't have the time for such trivialities.

His wanderings had led him off course, and now, with the Three Moon Festival quickly approaching, the bespectacled botanical explorer was picking up the pace, hoping that he could reach the town of Calgeth at least a day before the festival happened, so he could have a long, long rest, preferrably by a warm fire. Word from Calistre was that there had been some bandit troubles down at Calgeth, after all, and most of Allereun's nights had been spent without a fire, munching on cold rations whilst he hugged himself against the bite of the northern winds. It was annoying, but necessary. After all, his negotiation skills were only useful if his opponents were reasonable enough to think over his terms.

And the Three Moon Festival was approaching. He had no time to spend in a bandit camp, healing with their injured and making friends out of all of them.

Taking a look at the sun once more, which cast a radiant tint over the hills, Allereun sighed, took another swig of his water canteen, and brushed a few beads of sweat out of his eyes. The terrain was getting hillier at this point, the ups and downs of the country making it harder on his legs. It would have been great if he had travelled with a caravan or bought a horse, but a horse meant that he would have to travel on the roads, avoiding potentially uncommon herbs that could be foraged, while a caravan would make him a target for bandit attacks.

It was sometimes painful, being so smart, logical, and self-disciplined.

Nevertheless, he reminded himself that he would be arriving in Calgeth soon, judging by the landmarks nearby, and fueled his body with the promise of a warm meal and a cold drink. Fortune willing, he'd be able to find a proper alchemical shop as well, and trade secrets with the local alchemist or apothecary.

At least, that was what WAS on his mind, until he heard the generic exchanges between what sounded like bandit-hunting guards and guards in general. First, there was an obviously false bluff that spoke of veteran soldiers wasting their time to rout a bunch of small-town bandits, followed by the sound of a crossbow and then the beginning of a fight. Dropping onto his knees and sliding off all his packs, Allereun drew the hood of his cloak over his head and took a moment to take a deep breath.

And then, he started to inch his way towards the scene of the battle.

After all, he WAS interested in collecting Blood Lotuses, and remembering the location of this battle could mean that, perhaps one year later, there will be blossoming Blood Lotuses everywhere.

By the time he made it over the top of the hill, it had been clear that the battle was already decided, with the shinier people (he assumed that they were rather well-armored guards), being on the victorious side.

Standing up and raising up both hands to show that he wasn't hostile, Allereun called out, the sunlight highlighting his amber eyes, “Hello there, are you guards alright?”

Fiore slowly put his rapier back into its scabbard, staring at the crossbowman. Fiore then looked over at the girl who had helped him, the corner of his mouth giving way to a smile. "Good job, you were a great help," Fiore said. Even though she accidentally whipped him, she tried to help - and succeeded. Fiore turned around to face Leifr, about to complement him before hearing a voice.

"Hello there, are you guards alright?" And in that very instant, the illusion for Fiore was shattered, the adrenaline that gave him the ability to fight on was gone, and right then and there, Fiore realized it. Fiore looked down at himself, seeing the the deep wound. Fiore touched it, and as soon as he did, a bolt of pain raced through his body. Fiore quickly withdrew his finger, but the pain didn't go away, the pain stayed in his body.

Fiore, forgetting about the person who just asked him the question, slowly started to limp towards Leifr, the pain obviously affecting his body. Fiore was hoping that Leifr would have some kind of bandages, something to help him, and so, Fiore tried oh so desperately to reach Leifr, but midway, he fell down to the ground, tripping due to the terrain which was somewhat uneven. "Leifr..." Fiore whispered out as he landed on the ground, staring at Leifr boots and his horse's hooves.

After the battle was apparently over, Lyrisa looked behind her. The three bodies laying there were a bit unsettling, but the girl got over it quickly. The sound of an unfamiliar voice is mostly what did it though. It was a. . . Person. She wasn't sure if it was a man or woman. It's shape was ambiguous enough. . . Then she heard a thump. It was Fiore, laying on the ground after attempting to reach Leifr. "No, apparently not. Help out a little?" She said to the newcomer referencing Fiore. As worried as she was for him, there was still an enemy. Even though he surrendered, he was still there. She took the dagger, pocketed it, and picked up the crossbow to make sure he didn't have any funny ideas. Racing over to Fiore she set the crossbow down and went to look at the wounds. . . There was a decent amount of blood, to be sure. . .

With the surrender of the crossbow-wielding bandit, Leifr released a breath he didn't realize he was holding. As he buckled his cursed blade against his waist he noticed his arms still trembling from adrenaline. That's right; it was the first time Leifr had sustained a real injury. Though he has been battered and bruised in all his sparring lessons and duels, the bloodlust and violence of real combat was on an entirely different level. Leifr was in awe at the strangeness of combat, fully aware of his wound but at the same time not really believing it was there. Drooping his head to look at it, there was a dull pinch all along the gash on his torso and he wondered how it would feel if it were deeper like—

Fiore.

At that moment a voice rang out from the distance without hostility. Leifr instinctively looked towards the source and saw what appeared to be a beautiful woman with short red hair. Wincing as a bright light glared from the woman’s face, Leifr shook off his curiosity and quickly dismounted.

“We were attacked by bandits!” He called out to the figure as he quickly rummaged through a satchel on his warhorse which was now breathing heavily and fidgeting from the wound obtained in the previous battle. The lowered tension made Leifr's own wound start stinging viciously, but it was bearable. Pulling out some small rolls of cloth that were previously treated with inexpensive healing ointments, Leifr rushed over to Fiore and dropped to his knees.

“Sir Fiore, I purchased some bandages during my earlier travels and was fortunate enough not to have need for them until now.” Fiore was taught some basic first aid by his tutors but even he knew that his technique was crude at best. Leifr silently berated himself for not being more wary and purchasing additional healing salves and ointments. Perhaps Lyrisa or the woman had knowledge of medicine?

“One of ours sustained heavy wounds,” he called out to the woman, hoping for his mental image of an angelic beauty rushing over and curing Fiore his ailment to come true. Liefr turned his head to face the remaining bandit and continued fiercely, “Though wounded myself, fighting another bandit or two would be of no inconvenience!”

Huffing confidently after his words, Leifr winced as his wound's stinging grew evermore present.

“Lady Kor–” He shook his head, remembering what she said before the battle. Inhaling deeply and swallowing some spit, he started over, “L-Lyrisa.” Even if he could say it, there was no way he could stick it in a sentence and so he defaulted back to his original speech, “Milady, have you learned of any treatments or medical aid to save Sir Fiore?”

Lyrisa, apparently worried about Fiore, began to look at Fiore's wounds, trying to treat his wounds somewhat, something that would take a good five minutes or so.

---

Lyrisa First Aid: 20 + 8 Talent + 17 = 45

---

Lyrisa, while having no training in the art of first aid, had remembered probably a few things from maybe a book she read once or maybe something from what one of the Scribes had taught her. Recalling this bit of knowledge, she somehow managed to treat Fiore in just a minute, helping to staunch the bleeding and relieve pain to help lessen the severity of the wounds. Fiore would feel a decent bit better after Lyrisa's incredible treatment and would no longer be in incredible danger. He still needed a good bit of rest indeed, but he was now at least able to fight a little better now.

It seemed that things weren't as clean as they first appeared. Right after he called out, one of the guards staggered, collapsing to the ground, whereas another seemed to have a flash of red on his body, clearly a torso injury of some sort.

Jogging back to retrieve both his Herbal Pouch and his First Aid Kit, as well as a length of rope from his Survival Kit (Allereun was an orderly person who liked to separate things in different bags), the androgynous young man jogged down the hill. He blinked until his eyes became accustom to the slight adjustment in sharpness, before turning his attention to the man who had sustained the greatest injury.

The skill of the young, short-haired girl, however, was quite something, as, in the span of just a few minutes, had brought Fiore out of the danger of death. Nodding, with approval clear on his face, Allereun said, “That was very well done. Shall I assume that you're the medic of the group then?”

Jerking his head to the side, directing her attention back to the bandit who had surrendered, he said, offering up a length of thick rope, “If you can, please tie up that gentleman's legs, just in case he tries to make a run for it. You'll need him for further questioning, no? Or have you already wiped out the majority of the bandits plaguing these hills?”

While asking those questions, he got to work, first offering a cloth for Leifr to bite onto. Passing water over a second one, he carefully dabbed the cut, clearing away the dried blood in order to get a closer look at the shape of the injury. After that was done, the young man drew out a needle and thread, cleaning the tip of the needle with a splash of water as well, before getting to work.

Really, it would have been better if he had some alcohol with him, but the burly guardsman will just have to deal with the pain for now.

A small rhythm was built, as Alleruen's foot began to thump up and down, setting the pace for his needlework.

Odysseus trotted up to Leifr's horse, looking at her and snorting. Odysseus stared at Fiore, who laid on the ground after receiving care from the girl, and then towards Leifr, who was receiving care from the person who had luckily arrived to take care of their wounds. Odysseus gave off a low and sad nicker before trotting towards the girl.

Fiore, on the ground, stared at Odysseus, looking at his eyes. "He looks... sad..." Odysseus bumped his head into the girl once, then backed up and did it again, and finally did it once more before standing still, looking at the girl. "I think you best follow him." Fiore carefully stood up and grabbed the rope, walking over to the bandit who had surrendered, tying up his legs. Fiore looked over his shoulder to see Odysseus trotting over to Leifr's mare. Odysseus hoped that the girl would get the message, that maybe they would take care of Leifr's horse.

Fiore grinned, careful not to let anyone see. He's a nice horse, Fiore thought in his head as he finished tying up the bandit. Caring is the word I would use for him, he cares about others... I mean, maybe not me, but he does care about other people... isn't that right?

... Fiore's consciousness stayed quiet, but Fiore knew that he could hear everything he was saying, that he watched the entire fight, after all, he was stuck in Fiore's head, he really couldn't do anything but listen and see what Fiore was doing. Fiore stayed silent, his grin slowly leaving his face.

Talk whenever you want, you can curse and insult me whenever you want, Fiore thought as he stood up, staring at the party. You are the burden I must carry for everything wrong I've done in my life, so I don't mind having you around... besides, it sounds quiet without your ranter.

Fiore Rope Use (Survival): 12 + 5 Talent = 17

---

A decent knot was tied around the bandit's legs preventing him from running. Of course, some would have to have been tied around his hands as well, to prevent him from escaping, but the man did not struggle, as he knew that his life would be forfeit if he did. The other bandits, by this time, would be either really unconscious or dead dead, except for one of them. The one with the sword and shield, that Fiore had "finished" off, just appeared to be unconscious, as if Fiore's last blow to him was not mortal. He probably just passed out from his wounds, but was not bleeding out. Proper medical care would be able to save him from death, of course a proper examination would also be required to tell whether or not he was alive.

And speaking of medical care, Allereun began to perform his own attempts at first aid, using proper bandages and other such things, on Leifr's wounds.

---

Allereun First Aid: 14 + 13 Talent + 1 Item Bonus = 28

---

Allereun was really good at first aid, but his treatment of Leifr was nothing like Lyrisa's in that one moment. Still, Leifr would feel a good bit better now, the bleeding of his wound having stopped and a bit of his strength beginning to return, putting him in pretty good fighting condition, no longer bloodied. Of course, both fighters were still a bit battered, but a good bit of rest would fix that.

"I-Ill tell ya whatevah ya want, just let me go. I promise i'll neva rob anyone again!" The tied up bandit was pleading now, looking quite frightened, actually struggling at his bonds a little now as being tied up for minutes at a time was unnerving him.

As Allereun finished his task, tying the stitch up and then wrapping a length of bandage around the stitch, he drew back with a sigh, brushing his hair out of his eyes. It wasn't a bad work, but it was nothing like the lightning speed improvisation that he had witnessed from that girl. Needless to say, he'd have to ask her about that some time.

Turning back to the one conscious bandit, now full of fear of the unknown, of what might happen to him, Allereun murmured, almost as an afterthought, “Wish there was more blood here, really. Would do the Blood Lotuses some good.” It was an afterthought that he had intentionally meant for the bandit to hear, before whatever light left the alchemist's eyes, leaving only a dull, emotionless stare as he peered into the eyes of the unarmed man.

“That's great,” he said, in a flat tone, “Everyone trusts the promises of a bandit who had just tried killing them just a few minutes past. Please, young man, tell us all that you know, and maybe I'll consider not sewing your eyes, mouth, and fingers together so that you can keep your word.”

“Ah, but surely no one can trust the words of a bandit, so it'd be better if we kept you in a nice, comfortable cell while we confirmed your knowledge as well, right? You might even find it more comfortable, imprisoned while they find a nice tree to hang you by.”

“Or do you have a greater offer to make, outside of only your words?”

"Just something I've read from a book." She took care of the man's wounds as if second nature. She had never. . . Actually applied these techniques before. Sure she had discussed them at length with someone before, but. . . This was different for her. She was just glad that the man wasn't bleeding out anymore. She looked towards the new person and their talents at fixing up a wound. It looked a little less patchwork than the job she did, though perhaps the results were not quite the same. When this newcomer spoke to her she was a bit surprised, “That was very well done. Shall I assume that you're the medic of the group then?”

Lyrisa had to laugh at that a little. She was no medic, nor healer. She was just a simple scholar. Maybe simple wasn't the adjective she was looking for. "Not exactly. I'm not wearing the robes now, but I'm actually part of the Scribes. I read about treatment somewhere before and just applied what a learned in a more present situation" She got her smug look back as she continued a small bit, noticing the horse, Odysseus was it, motioning her to Leifr's warmare. "I'm just you average genius seventeen year old girl I suppose."

She took a look at the horses wounds. "I just got lucky with the creep. I could try but it might not work out so well this time." She looked to the newcomer, whom she had yet to learn a name from. "Hey, you. New person. You got a name? Think you could try and patch up this horse real quick?" Her tone came out a bit more rough than she intended. She didn't care in the long run, but it was never good to be like that in a first encounter.

The crossbow bolt hurt, but it was bearable. The sword stung, but it was bearable. The tiny needle? Leifr was amazed he was still sitting up. Pulling the slightly torn cloth from his mouth, he nodded in appreciation – with the slightest hint of resentment for the treatment – and breathed out a quiet “thank you, milady” between pants. With a few deep breathes he regained a bit of his composure and was about to answer the bandit's plea before the unknown woman (after a rather chilling statement) answered for them.

She was cold and intimidating, but that is one way to get information and most of the others seemed preoccupied. Forcing himself to stand up, thankful that the once blazing pain had subsided into an dull, almost ringing sensation. His warhorse snorted heavily and shook its head as if to shake away its own pain, but it stayed in its position as both it and its rider seemed safe for now. Leifr flinched a little when he heard Lyrisa's age, and nervously chuckled when his idea of treating a little girl as an adult seemed to have prevented him from getting on her bad side. Seventeen, huh? Well, with her knowledge, it probably wasn't a lie.

Leifr decided that he would do the unkind job of disarming and scavenging from the other unconscious bandits. As he approached the axe-wielding bandit, Leifr noted the man's main axe a good distance away and then kicked his secondary axe away from the bandit. With a deep breath and furrowed brow, he slowly pulled his shield from his arm, pulled the strap over his head, and let the shield come to a rest on his back. With a sigh of relief that the ordeal of testing his stitches' bindings has ended, Leifr crouched down and searched his body as well as checked his pulse to make sure he was still alive.

Fiore was taken aback at the revelation. This was news, big news, huge news. The "girl" which Fiore commonly referred to as... "girl" was not in fact twelve or thirteen, no, she was seventeen. "Seven... teen..." Fiore managed to mutter from under his breath. "One... and seven..." Fiore walked over to Odysseus, who stared off at Leifr's horse. Fiore leaned into Odysseus' ear, making sure to whisper and to not let anyone else hear their conversation. "Odysseus... you... you heard that... right? ... Seven... teen..." Odysseus turned his head to look at Fiore, and gave off an aggressive snort, almost as if he was saying, "You're an idiot."

"... Boy... she's seventeen... seven... teen..." Fiore pointed towards the girl, which made Odysseus look at her as well. "I thought she was thirteen, or twelve! No... she's... she's seven... teen... seven... teen... that means she's six years younger than I, can you believe that? She still looks like such a child!" Odysseus turned his head to look at Fiore again, this time giving off another snort, albeit less aggressive, trying to say, "Stop freaking out."

"You're right, Odysseus!" Fiore said as he nodded silently. "I should try even harder to protect her now that I know she's of proper age to be courted, I have to protect her from the freaks who would dare lay a hand on her, such as... such as him!" Fiore turned around quickly to point at Leifr. "Yes! He's the kind of scum that would dare try to lay a hand on such a fair and noble child- I mean woman!"

Odysseus squealed, which caused Fiore to jumped back, trying to communicate the fact that Fiore was an idiot. Odysseus cocked back his leg, about to kick Fiore, but Fiore, knowing what a cocked leg meant, walked away from Fiore, after being kicked by Odysseus not once, but twice, Fiore was more cautious.

"Alright, Odysseus, I'll try to be cool and collected like I always am, I must do my best to protect her!" Fiore then realized something, and as soon as Odysseus put down his leg, Fiore walked up to Odysseus, leaning into his ear. "...What's her name, boy?"

Alleruen Intimidation: 20 + 12 Talent + 5 Situation + 14 = 51

---

The man was scared shitless, his entire body shaking as Alleruen's words and presence shook him to his very core. The man was having trouble speaking, looking positively terrified as these words chilled his very soul. It took him a few moments, but soon enough he was able to speak. "A-Alright, i-if ya let me go, i-ill tell ya where we buried the loot that the boss was going to use to gather othas to help man that abandoned bandit camp, the one located here! W-We had heard it was abandoned, so we was gonna use our loot to get some guys to help us start our own crew. Let me go, and it'll belong to all of yas! Just don' let me hang! I-I'm only doin' this job to support me wife and son!"

There was no way the man was lying. He seemed completely sincere, it wouldn't take a good look to realize that. His entire body was shaking, Alleruen's words causing him to practically spill out his soul before her. They could choose to let him go and get the loot, or take him back to the proper authorities. Of course, there was always the option of double crossing him as well, getting the loot and turning him in.

Leifr, in the meantime, was searching the body of the axe wielding bandit, both of the bandit's hand axes being just average hand axes meant for cutting either wood or bodies.

---

Leifr Observation: 13 + 8 Talent = 21

Leifr Diagnosis: 19 + 7 Talent = 26

---

A search of his body revealed just his basic leather armor, a brass key, a dagger, and 9 iL. The brass key looked like any other ordinary key, but could be the key to whatever loot this whimpering bandit was talking about. With Leifr's knowledge of first aid, it was easy to tell that the man was indeed dead, the cause of death most likely being his horse's hooves.

---

Leifr Concentration: 18 - 4 Talent = 22

---

Leifr did kill the man, but his mind would be steeled enough to not freak out or panic too much or become incredibly depressed, or however else he would feel. Maybe the realization that his horse had killed the man with its hooves, which was something Leifr was able to determine, helped him get past this a bit since he himself did not deliver the final blow.

Meanwhile, as Fiore was having another one of his... episodes.

---

Fiore Concentration: 20 + 2 Talent + 14 = 36

---

Fiore, maybe thanks to his horse "listening" and "talking" to him, would be able to get his mind under control with ease, able to push away that other self that was making him freak out, Fiore even gaining a bit more control over his mind, as well as temporarily being able to have a clearer mind for quite the while with no need to fear another mental melt down.

A job? He considered this...a job?

As an academic who worked hard to learn what he learned, who travelled long distances to extend his craft, there was just a tiny bit of real anger that found its way onto Alleruen's face, but with just one smile, he dispelled such petty emotions. A man who had no job, forced to commit crimes in order to keep his family fed. Where had he heard that story before?

Ah, that's right. He's heard of it too many times.

Stretching his neck by letting it roll backwards, left and right, the man then said, bringing his left hand behind his back, almost as if he was planning to draw out a hidden weapon, “So, you're saying that these three are your only companions? Or are there more of your group elsewhere? It wouldn't be very nice, now would it, to be ambushed while we dig up your supposed loot.”

He tilted his head then, drawing out a single silver iL from behind him, and continued, “But I digress. You still haven't built enough trust for me to simply let you go, so how about you hop along and show us where the loot is, right now? And if you do that...”

Alleruen smiled once more, this time a smile that was generous, merciful, beautiful, and trustworthy.

“I swear on my name that I shall find you a proper job, in which your family will never starve, and you will never have to face the wrath of the Blade Master again.”

One part stick, one part carrot, and perhaps the hope of reformation.

The only problem would be convincing the guardsmen of Calgeth to hire the man, but things should be smoothed over with his new friends there.

“Oh, and my name's Alleruen. It's a pleasure to be of acquaintance to such a talented trio.”

"L-Look. The loot is buried behind a rock near the entrance of the camp, which is totally abandoned. The boss and us were gonna get some guys and run it ourselves to steal from people so that everyone would get money. Not a single bloody person besides us four has been at that camp for many cycles. Now I-I'm gettin outta here." Suddenly, despite the terror he was feeling making him very shaky, the man seemed to easily escape from his rope bonds that Fiore tied on him in a few swift movements, even able to stand up during this. Luckily he was not too far from his horse.

He didn't even say anything as, despite how shaky his fear was making him, he remounted his horse with incredibly agility within that same manner of moments, using the next few moments to ride off with incredible swiftness, doing all of this with incredible precision despite the incredible amounts of fear he was feeling from the terrifying apothecary. And with that, unless anyone wanted to give chase, he was gone on his horse, no weapons on him so he really wouldn't be a threat to anyone, the fleeing ex-crossbowman seeming a bit bloodied as he fled.

"Hey!" Lyrisa shouted as the bandit made his expeditious escape. "Wow, he's in a hurry. . . " She said as the man made his way on his horse. Lyrisa didn't have the time to catch up to him, nor would she really be able to do much should she actually do so. Her allies were not in the best of shape anyhow. "We should just let him go. If he does anything. . . Well, I doubt he will actually. But, for his sake, he should take on a more honest life. Someone here scared him shitless anyhow." She pointed to the new person.

She looked at the bodies pondering if they were corpses yet or not. It didn't matter too much, without treatment they were probably dead anyhow by now. "Creep, Liefr, you two probably should just let your wounds heal up."

Leifr closed his eyes and furrowed his brow when realized the bandit had died from his assault. Perhaps it was because this was his first combat or because it was not him who struck the final blow, but he was able to keep calm despite tarnishing his honor. No, not yet. He promised to himself that he would restore his honor and restore his oath anew. Swallowing hard, he silently asked the man to forgive him for causing his unfortunate demise (despite the bandit already being dead), and relieved him of his iL and brass key.

Leifr glanced to the other two bandits strewn about and shuddered, but decided to play it safe and headed towards the sword and shield bandit Fiore fought with. It was around then that the red-headed woman made some rather outlandish claims about turning the bandit into an honest man before introducing herself as Alleruen (a rather strange name that made Leifr wonder where she was from).

“I am Leifr of the noble House Forbannet, at your service milady,” he said invitingly with a smile.

Though, almost immediately after, the bandit laid out the location of the treasure and revealed some rather important information that caused Leifr to immediately cease his actions and ponder.

Could only these four bandits, of which only three people (including the fact that one was undoubtedly no fighter) were able to subdue, really be able of kidnapping four people from Calgeth? Leifr ran his hand through his hair as he thought about this development; maybe the bandit intentionally avoided speaking of the four they abducted, or maybe...

Leifr glanced at Fiore and Lyrisa, wondering if they came to the same conclusion he had. Even if they had already known, Leifr decided to keep his theory to himself for now. Until they reach the camp, they were all-

“Hey!”

With Lyrisa's cry, Leifr quickly searched around Lyrisa before following her eyes and seeing the riding figure of the bandit's back shrinking away. He was of no danger to them as he had left his crossbow by Lyrisa, but...

He didn't say where the abandoned camp was.

Leifr's face contorted into a mix of a grimace and cringe as briefly thought about riding to catch him but decline against it. Riding now while his steed was wounded was not the best idea and Leifr's wound would open if he rode too roughly. Based on the bandit's words it was nearby, but Leifr really didn't want to split up the group and have everyone search for it. Not to mention the fact that both the fighters were wounded, Fiore almost falling unconscious moments earlier. Leifr almost lost consciousness as well, but it wasn't from the battle. Leifr passed a wary glance at Lady Alleruen, but shook it off with a thankful grin. Even wasn't a pleasant experience for Leifr she did help him, a total stranger.

Lyrisa called out to Fiore and Leifr due to the same idea of watching over the wounded, but Leifr smiled broadly and called back,

“I am grateful for milady's care, but my body is not in such a shape that movement would cause me duress. Please allow me to be of use a while longer.”

And with that, Leifr crouched down to the sword and shield bandit and began the same checks that he performed on the previous bandit. But wait, this might be a way to avoid having to know the fate of the first bandit that fell in battle. Leifr hoped that he was just unconscious but doubt gripped tightly at him and made him tremble slightly when he looked upon the sword bandit's fallen body.

“Ah, but if milady would be so kind, the bandit that inflicted this wound on me may have hold of a map. Forgive me for asking so grim a task, but if milady would search him? For someone as intelligent as you, Lady Kortine, these words are wasted but I would like to say them all the same: Please be careful.”

Leifr did not kill the bandit that he was searching, so even if he was against killing, his own honor was not tarnished since it was Fiore who killed this one. But this one...

---

First Aid: 5 + 7 Talent = 12

Observation: 18 + 8 Talent = 26

---

Was probably gone. He wasn't moving and he seemed pretty wounded, it was hard to tell with Leifr's poor skills in the healing arts, which was a more common name for them rather than first aid, which was a name for them mainly used by more scholarly types. Still, if the man was indeed dead, it wasn't Leifr's fault for this one since this was Fiore's foe and it was Fiore's burden to bear for this one's death. Upon his body, though, was 10 iL, a light wooden shield, and a broadsword. No map or key upon his body, meaning they would have to do a search of the hills to see if they could locate the apparently abandoned bandit camp that belonged to four small time bandits who, as Leifr thought, probably didn't have the skill or courage to steal people from their homes in Calgeth.