His heart pounded wildly. “Run!” Carter shouted, his screeg voice cutting through the near silence which ran through the camp. “Get up, you bastards!”

  “Carter, why are you shouting like a damn dog?” Mattias asked, emerging from his tent. A rain of red spttered across him as Carter’s torso, from his left hip to his right pec up, dropped dowween his boots.

  Mattias drew his sword swiftly, his body reag before his mind could process what had happened, catg the greataxe with his glowing white longsword. His arms felt like gss shattering, his boots digging into the earth beh. “What? What is an Iyrman doing here?”

  “You must be Mattias the Moonbde,” Kandal said, his lips formed a savage smile. “I am Kandal, son of Randal!” The behemoth of an Iyrman did not pull his greataxe back to wind up for another blow, but instead forced it harsher against the bde.

  “To arms!” Mattias shouted, sliding back from the force of the Iyrman’s push. “To arms, you bastards!”

  The other bandits had heard Carter’s screams and had already grabbed their ons, emerging from their tents, tossing away their pying cards, tossing aside their drinks. A few of them had been out, w the fire, before they saw Kandal cut an adult man in half right before them. They tentatively reached for their ons, gng between one ao see if the others were willing to fight.

  “It’s just one Iyrman! Quickly!” Mattias slid back further, slowly being forced towards the cave wall. Mattias wore a breast pte, with bits of pieces of armour which covered the rest of his body, yet he didn’t feel as though it would be good enough to deal with this son of Randal. ‘Gods, damn whoever fed this bastard!’

  Mattias grunted, leaping up to drop kick Kandal, who hadn’t expected such a manoeuvre. Mooook the moment of surprise to roll away and create some space, hopping onto his feet once again as he grabbed his bde with both hands.

  Another bandit swiped at the Iyrman with their greataxe, which was made of some kind of dark steel, but Kandal swayed aside, pung the bandit’s face, befrabbing the handle of his owaxe with both hands again. “More!”

  The Iyrma towards Mattias, who stepped in to crash against the handle of the rge on, pinning his arm guard against the bottom of the curved bde of the greataxe. He sshed at Kandal weakly, uo gather the momentum, but still cutting into the Iyrman’s skin. It drew blood, though it barely made the Iyrman bloodier sidering how much blood he was already painted in.

  Kandal roared with ughter, causing Mattias to look up at his howling face. “More!” Kandal roared, wanting to be soaked in blood before he slew them all.

  ‘I told you, Balrog, I told you! No good es from beihese fug savages! Why didn’t you listen?’ Mattias’ heart pounded wildly, instilled with fear of the Iyrmen.

  Another bandit took the ce to leap onto the back of the ughing Iyrman, shortsword in hand ready to stab, but he jabbed downwards to block a greatsword meant to remove his legs from the knees down.

  “Sorry I’m te, Eshva was trying to pass me.” Dargon grinned wide, gng between the bandits with his greatsword in hand.

  Eshva wailed like a banshee, darting out of the trees with her trusty warhammers in hand. Her eyes wo prey, an equal distaween the head of her warhammers and their skulls, but they were on opposite sides from one another.

  Mooreated back to his panions, the seven bandits f a semicircle. “We o hold them off for…” Moonbde fell silent. ‘They followed Carter all the way here? Did they…’

  “I don’t think we’re going to be getting any support,” the bandit with the shortswords said. His arms were throbbing, as though he had been pushing a cart the entire day. ‘So these are Iyrmen.’ He swallowed. “I regret calling you Moonbitow.”

  Moonbde sighed, gng betweehree Iyrmen. Three Iyrmen against seven of them. “We have no qualms with you, Iyrmen.” He could hold Kandal for a moment and allow three to pile on eae.

  “No!” Eshva roared, stepping forward. “No! Fight!” She snarled before leaping towards two bandits, filing her warhammers. “Fight!”

  “Moonbde’s yours,” Dargon said to Kandal, winding his greatsword back over his shoulder as he leapt forward, using his erength to try and cleave the bandits in half.

  “Stop!” Argon shouted, emerging from the bushes. He had followed the trail of heavy footprints, and the blood which had been dripping out from Kandal most of the way.

  Eshva stopped her warhammer from g in a bandit’s chest pletely, his mail already dented from the first blow she had mao nd right before Argon had saved him.

  Dargon stopped, feeling his hamstrings scream at him as his bde stopped, cutting into the leather of the bandit’s armour, the shortswords shaking violently from failing to block the blow.

  The bandit dropped his shortswords and fell on his ass, panting for air as his arms grew numb with pain. “Fuck!” he cried, ying on his back. “Sozain take you!”

  Kandal had cshed with Moonbde’s Moon Bde, which was still glowing, illuminating all the blood against his body. He stepped away calmly, as though he hadn’t just tried to split a grown man in half. “Will you take this honour from me?” Kandal asked, gripping his greataxe tighter.

  “When have I denied you your honour?” Argon asked, not in the mood to joke. He stepped into the clearing prng between all the tents, the fire pit, which still had some glowing wood, and the cave. He narrowed his eyes at the cave, before his eyes fell to the man in the breastpte with the glowing sword. “Moonbde.”

  “I’ve never had the pleasure to meet you,” Mattias said, trying to fore and into his voice. He gripped his sword even tighter, fearing he may drop it because his arms felt like pe. “What do I owe the honour?”

  Argon stepped closer, his eyes sing the clearing some more. There were enough tents for ten people at most, which meant that some of them slept in the cave. There were enough cy bowls for more than just fourteen bandits, though.

  “How many children do you have?” Argon asked, his eyes returning baattias’.

  Mattias’ eyes fshed wide with surprise. ‘What?’ He swallowed, gng between the Iyrmen, noting all the blood on them, and their state of wild disarray. “Where’s Balrog?”

  “I cleaved my sword through his shoulder,” Argon said, taking a step closer. “Would you like to see?” The Iyrman reached up towards the handle of his ft greatsword, feeling the bandages against his rough skin.

  “No,” Mattias admitted. “I really wouldn’t. We have six children.” The man sighed, knowing that the ce f to fight the Iyrmen had passed. Ronny was down and out, his hands more than likely uo grab his shortswords, and the others would stab him in order to please the savages.

  Argon closed his eyes, inhaled, and tilted his head back. He heard the breeze of the forest, the swaying of brahe boured breath of the bandit and the practised breaths of the Iyrmen. He was two paces and a leap away from Mattias. There were three bandits with mail, two with leathers and cloth, oh leathers and cloth, with mail underh and some ptes against his forearms and shins, as well as Mattias, who had his breastpte and a few ptes. There was a greataxe, awo spears, a pair of shortswords, one mundane sword, and a magical sword which matched one of their ons.

  Kandal could kill the man with the greataxe, but he’d go for Mattias. He’d o hide behind Kandal’s body before his greataxe cleaved through a man with the leather, and Eshva would mao deal with two in their mail, and Dargon…

  After a sed in thought, he looked down towards Mattias. “Show me.”

  Mattias gnced between the Iyrmen, seeing how Kandal and Eshva were bloody, a so eager to tiheir fight. ‘I should dey a fight as much as I . That way one would be weaker, and the other would be less eager.’ He sheathed his sword, before he turned and motioo the cave.

  Argon followed Mattias into the cave, and the other bandits gnced between one another and then sized up the Iyrmen. They outnumbered the Iyrmen two to one, and if they were to fight, they would be able to defend using a body, and attack using the other.

  “Hoooo!” Ronny groarying to form a fist, but he winced and gasped in pain.

  The Iyrmely swayed their ons, stretg out their muscles, keeping them warm.

  “How do you always mao get so bloody?” Dargon asked. “Every time we go out, you always have to buy another set of furs.”

  “What’s the fun in dying a bloodless death?” Kandal asked. “If a mage bsts me to bits, then at least they’ll find dried blood over me.”

  “Half of it is your own.” Dargon shook his head. “It’d be embarrassing.”

  “My daughters will know I did not cower from cool steel!” Kandal howled with ughter.

  “Too much talking!” Eshva snarled, revealing a rare three word sentence. Her brow pulsed. She liked Kandal when he didn’t fight because he was quiet, and when he did fight because he enjoyed spilling blood as much as she loved crushing bones, but she disliked how the blood warmed his vocal chords.

  The bandits stared at the Iyrmen, w how many of them would survive if they all turail.

  The cave was lit by the light from outside, opening up into a room which was roughly twenty steps long and fifteen steps wide. There were six children, each tied up by ma their ankles, with s ected between each of them. The s would allow them to mhly three steps between one another before it ulled taut.

  An elf pulled back towards the er, hiding behind the rge human boy in front of her, who stared up at the Iyrman in utter shod fear, before he he tattoos.

  “I-Iyrman?” the boy gasped.

  The other humans, each boys, stared up at the Iyrmen, their eyes full of shock, before it was repced by hope. “I-it’s an Iyrman!” The boys khe tale of the Iyrmen, they had grown up on them. Of course, they were also a savage people, but they had been taught ohing.

  If an Iyrman fights for you, you’ll be safe.

  Though the stories had ged retly, they still recalled how powerful the Iyrmen were. Their eyes beamed up towards Argon.

  The dwarven girl, who was tied at the other end, so she was far enough away from the elf, stared up at him. “Are ya here ta save us?” Her voice was barely a whisper.

  “This is no business of yours, Iyrman,” Mattias said, swallowing as stealthily as he could, his hand around the handle of his bde. “I’ve sated your curiosity, so we leave it here.”

  Argon stared at the six children. He inhaled deeply, his entire muscles tensing, causing Mattias’ fiwitched, before he rexed again. He felt the heat build within him, and he slowly turned his head to stare at Mattias.

  Argon remained silent, just staring at Mattias. Mattias remaianding as tall as he could, catg the Iyrman’s gre with his own. He was still mostly fresh, in parison ton, who had been in a fight with his leader, and had run so far to the cave. If push came to shove, he’d take the children hostage.

  Yet, as he thought about what he could do, the several ways he could live, nth poured into his arm which oised to draw his bde to cut the Iyrman down. His entire body had grown heavy by the pressure the Iyrman was exuding, seeing how the man’s brow was twitg. The pressure filled the entire room, deafening the silence.

  It was hours ter when they returo the vilge. Adam stood at the gate, seeing the Iyrmen emerge. First came Kandal with his chest high, who was allowed to lead the procession, followed by Moonbde, whose arms were tied in front of him, the rope trailing back towards the sed prisoner. Since he had been dehe Right of Kill, he had been rewarded the Right of Lead.

  Argon hadn’t wao hear Kandal pin all the way back, so gave up the right to his panion, even though it was his as the leader of the group. He trailed behind the st prisoner, leading the sed procession.

  Eshva sulked beside him, but she stood tall, in order to be a good role model to the pair of girls who stuck close to her. The dwarf noted how the warhammers were of fine make, and the elf uood that Eshva would bask her in blood for the various rituals she would need.

  “That’s no Knight, that’s an Iyrman!” Dargon fell into hysteric ughter at the pune of his joke, almost g.

  The boys ughed too, one of them even spping his kwo of them didn’t get the joke, but they ughed anyway.

  “He’s no Knight!” the rge boy said, trying to not cry.

  “He’s an Iyrman!” another said, before falling into a fit of weeping giggles. “An Iyrman!” “There he stood, a strong silhouette, like a statue cut by the hands of Chief Iromin,” Adam said, rubbing his .

  “What?” Tazwyn threw a look towards him, furrowing her brows.

  “Oh, nothing.” Adam smirked. “I’m just trying to help you figure out how to speak of my manliness.”

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  I, unironically, ughed so hard at that joke and I don't why.