At the bushes about half a mile away from the recreation huts, Maereth and Issen crawled and took position to scout out the area. There were presences nearby, alert ones, but they were distant and patient.
"Looks like Vaelor's got all our ranged types with him for protection," Maereth said.
"Yeah, he knew what he was doing, didn't he? Clever little bastard."
"But where is that guy?"
"Shhh."
Through the entrance of the central hut, they saw a slender figure float through. It was a young girl, nineteen or twenty at most, with jet black hair in a bun, and heavy, sharp brown eyes. Another presence of a strong, short man towered at her side.
"How cocky is Vaelor to be with a girl?" Issen whispered. "In the middle of a civil?"
"None of that matters," Maereth said. "Don't forget what we came here to do."
They prepared the attack they had been waiting for.
Maereth summoned a blanket of invisibility and spread it outward with her hands, all while Issen drew back an Axiom arrow and aimed for Vaelor, making sure the shot passed cleanly through Maereth's ability. He took his time, because he always told himself that it would be one shot, one kill.
The arrow was sent on its path.
"Copy."
With an animal's instincts, Maereth shoved Issen aside and leapt away into the grass. An instant later, they felt the wind of the arrow tearing past them, their own attack sent back at double speed.
"So it was you two idiots that survived?" Vaelor called from inside the hut. "I can copy two abilities at once, did you forget?"
"How did he know?" Issen muttered.
"We should have realised that he's hiding some other trick," Maereth said. "I don't like it."
Vaelor stepped back inside, he grabbed Bethryl by the arm, and prepared to head out into the moonlight. As he passed through the doorway, he gestured casually toward the surrounding huts.
"They won't run," he said. "They'll try to follow, and they'll come through here. You know how to deal with them, don't you?"
Then he left with Bethryl, heading toward the spider's cave, where Rovick and the others waited.
Maereth and Issen regrouped.
"Smartest thing would be to leave now," Issen said.
Maereth surveyed with her veteran's eyes the area as the bandits repositioned, each one slipping into prepared firing spots in silence.
"They're not like those other ones," Issen continued. "Ranged experts who take their time before their kill. You know we might not be able to take them all."
Vaelor was already far away. The bandits were ready.
"You know," Maereth said quietly, "it's a beautiful night to die, isn't it?"
Issen looked at her. Then he smiled.
They split up, moving in separate directions. Both lowered their Axiom presence and slipped into the cluster of huts.
Already, someone followed Issen from behind, ready to kill him.
The bandit needed only one Axiom bullet. He took position, steadied his breathing, prepared to fire.
But it was too late for him now.
At this level, it could be anything, a subtle sound, a shift in light, a change in the air. That was all it took.
Before the bandit could shoot, Issen hurled an Axiom blade forward. It ricocheted off the hut wall, curved back, and flew straight for the bandit's head. Issen masked the movement until the last second, tilting his head aside as his own blade passed through his space. The attack was completely untelegraphed.
The bandit collapsed on impact with his skull.
On the other side, two bandits searched for Maereth, who had vanished under invisibility. They knew her well. They knew she couldn't stay invisible for long. They expected her to rush them at the last second with an Axiom blade.
They emerged onto the road leading to the central hut, and saw Maereth walking alone, in plain sight, and they followed.
But their mistake was simple: they forgot Maereth knew exactly what was stored in each hut.
During the moment they lost sight of her, she slipped into the armoury, stole an explosion spell, which she planted behind her under an invisibility blanket.
The bandits closed in, until one sensed something was wrong.
And it was then that the explosion rung and reverbed through the air.
In the chaos, one bandit dropped from an arrow Issen fired from the shadows. The second staggered back—never realising Maereth had already gone invisible and stepped into range.
She appeared and her Axiom blade ended it instantly.
Only one ranged bandit remained.
His ability was the most dangerous. It lacked precision, but allowed him to unleash multiple ranged attacks in rapid succession. If Maereth or Issen showed themselves for even a moment, they would be torn apart.
He lowered his Axiom presence and waited.
Then he saw Maereth.
She rounded a corner, dodging at least five instant attacks. He pursued, watching her move toward the edge of the huts. She wouldn't escape in time.
He prepared to fire again and surged forward.
He slipped.
Maereth had planted an invisible hurdle between two huts. It caught him at the knees. He hit the ground hard, scrambled up—
—and Issen's arrow was already in the air.
"Alrighty," Issen said. "That all of them?"
"Yeah. Think so."
"What about that bastard, Vaelor?"
"It's gonna be tough now, because he's at the spider's cave with Rovick."
"And what about you know who?"
"We may need to forget about that freak, Ashar, for a change."
"Kareth said he was important."
"I believe in what Kareth says," Maereth replied. "But if I'm being honest… I think it's already too late for him."