Wrong Afterlife - Ch.11 - Not Like In The Stories (Patreon)

*** content warning: graphic violence, death ***

Despite the lack of windows or anything we all seemed to wake up at sunrise. It turned out there were numerous cracks and gaps in the wood walls that some slivers of light shone through, and that was enough to rouse the three of us.

Once again it was cramped and awkward as we all went through the process of getting dressed and getting our gear on and everything. Then when we were all ready we exited the tiny room and headed back out into the tavern. I was half expecting to find the barkeep asleep atop the bar like Avril said, but he was already awake.

Breakfast was basically a repeat of the small snack we'd had for dinner, except the meat was left-overs from the previous night. So was the bread, but at least it wasn't stale. And the ale was room temperature and flat, but apparently that's just the way ale worked on this world.

After we had enough to eat the next task at hand was stocking up on food for the next leg of our trip. That turned out to be a little more involved than making a single stop at the general store. 

All our wineskins were refilled at the tavern, with a fresh supply of the strong flavourful ale. Then we were able to get dried salted meat and some dried lentils and stuff like that from the outpost, but fresh food meant shopping around a bit. It turned out there was a bakery of sorts, where we got more of those rough rugged loafs of bread. I also made sure we got something a little less tough, and ended up with a couple fresh loafs in my backpack.

Avril found a farmer who'd sell us a supply of root vegetables, and after I convinced my companions we needed bacon we managed to find someone who was willing to sell us some. So when we finally set out from the little hamlet I had over a kilo of smoke-cured pork belly in my pack, along with the fresh bread.

That left me a little worried about attracting monsters, or even just normal non-monstrous wolves. On the other hand I had my nice new sword and a little more confidence in my magic, and Clara had lots of arrows. So I was pretty sure we'd manage just fine.

Our walk north took us past a few more farms, while the little hamlet soon disappeared behind us in the low rolling hills. It was only a half hour or so before we left the fields behind for another forest. Then over the next ten or fifteen minutes as we followed the trail through the trees my ears kept twitching and swivelling back behind us.

I finally asked quietly, "Has anyone else been hearing things?"

"Yes," Clara whispered as she calmly set an arrow on the string of her bow. "We're being followed."

Avril added softly, "They're probably going to try and attack us soon. They might try and use the trees as cover."

Both of them seemed fairly calm and relaxed about the situation, which I found sort of confusing. Like the idea of being attacked or ambushed sounded scary, yet neither of my companions seemed to be concerned or surprised.

"It's people from the little village right?" I whispered. "Why not attack while we were asleep at the tavern?"

The ranger shrugged, "Nobody wants a fight in their home. It's messy, things get broken."

I was about to respond again when I caught a scent in the air up ahead of us. There was only a gentle breeze but it was coming from in front, and the smell I'd picked up was pretty unmistakable.

"That big guy from yesterday," I said softly, "With the axe hammer thing. He's somewhere ahead of us."

Clara nodded once and responded, "When the fighting starts, let me and Avril handle it. You stay safe Fiona."

My heart rate started to pick up as her words sank in. It wasn't 'if' but 'when', she seemed to assume there would definitely be a fight. And she wanted me to stay out of it.

That left me with some mixed feelings. I had my new sword and daggers, and I was more confident about my shock spell. This was the sword-and-magic isekai fantasy I'd asked for, even if I was new at this I was sort of an adventurer. Plus I'd already defeated the Demon Queen, albeit through a massive stroke of luck. 

I wasn't exactly looking forward to getting into a real fight for my life, but I didn't want to just stand on the sidelines and watch my friends do all the hard and dangerous work. On the other hand I was definitely anxious at the idea of fighting. And I really didn't want to get hurt, I especially didn't want to see either of my friends hurt either.

After another minute or two my ears twitched again. The sounds behind us were closer and clearer, and I whispered "I think there's three of them behind us. They're moving in."

"I know," the tall strong ranger responded just as quietly. "Just stay calm and let us handle it."

My sensitive ears caught another noise not far ahead of us, and a moment later that big guy with the axe-hammer emerged from behind a tree to block our path. And as soon as he did, the other three guys behind us hurried into position, so we were surrounded. 

To the right was a slim wiry looking guy holding a short spear, basically a thirty centimetre blade ontop of a meter long wood shaft. It didn't look like something he'd throw, it was more like a tiny sword with a really long handle. Or a baseball bat with a knife at the end. Either way it was obviously for swinging and stabbing.

Behind us was a short scrawny guy clutching a pair of nasty-looking daggers in his hands. And to our left was another unpleasant looking man carrying a crossbow. He also had a long wicked-looking curved knife hanging from his belt.

All four of them stood a couple meters away from us, and it was clear from the hungry lust-filled looks on their faces that they weren't here for our money or our belongings. Although I was sure they'd happily take all those things, but that wasn't their main goal. 

On the one hand it almost seemed like a cliche, the sort of scenario I'd read about in dozens of isekai stories. On the other hand being in it for real was a lot scarier than I'd expected, and my heart was racing as I glanced around at the four armed men.

The big guy with the axe-hammer spoke up, "The only safe choice is to give up. We don't want to kill you girls, but we're not above hurting you if that's what it takes to get you to cooperate."

My heart was still racing, but I did my best not to let it show. Both Avril and Clara seemed completely at ease, except I was positive they were both ready for action.

The tall strong ranger glanced around with a calm look on her face. She didn't bother to respond, there was no point. She simply raised and drew her bow in one smooth motion, and before anyone had a chance to react her arrow was halfway through the chest of the guy with the crossbow.

For a split second after that I almost couldn't believe it just happened, like part of my brain wasn't able to process that Clara had murdered a guy right in front of me. The guy didn't seem to realize it either, he stood there with a look of surprise on his face, as a single rivulet of blood ran down the front of his tunic. The arrow was slightly off-centre on the left side of his chest, and I had no doubt it went right through his heart.

A moment later the guy crumpled to the ground and all hell broke loose around us. The remaining three guys charged at once, the spear guy lunged at Avril while both the axe-hammer guy and the daggers guy went for Clara. 

The druid's body moved almost like a dancer as she easily twisted out of the way of the spear that was thrust at her. At the same time she was already casting a spell, and before the spear guy got a second chance he was caught by thorny vines had emerged from the woods behind him. They wrapped around his neck and arms and legs, then dragged his screaming struggling body back into the woods to the right of the trail.

Meanwhile Clara knew she didn't have time to prepare another arrow. Instead she swung her bow around and jabbed the tip of one end into the throat of the daggers guy, while twisting her body to the side to avoid a swing of the axe-hammer. The daggers guy stumbled back coughing and choking, while axe-hammer guy pulled his heavy weapon back for another swing. 

So far everyone was ignoring me, probably because I was so small and weak. Or maybe it was because of the collar I was still wearing. They may have assumed that meant I was a domesticated pet or something, despite being armed. With my heart racing and my hands shaking I even pulled out my short sword, but beyond that I really had no idea what to do.

Clara was using her bow as a thin light club or something, held in her left hand. She clutched her big dagger in her right hand, and she was still facing off against the big guy with the axe-hammer thing. And at a glance it seemed like the ranger was outmatched. Her opponent was taller and stronger, and his weapon looked nastier. 

By that point daggers guy had recovered from the jab to his neck, only now he was faced off against Avril. The guy was clearly on edge though, after seeing the druid's magic in action. As for spear guy, he'd stopped screaming and struggling. For that matter I couldn't even tell if he was still alive or not. Those thorny vines held him completely immobilized, and from the look of it they weren't going to let go any time soon.

Axe-hammer guy made the next move. He lunged for Clara as he swung his weapon, he was clearly aiming for her shoulder or arm in an attempt to disable her. 

The tall strong ranger reacted with smooth practiced motions, as she side-stepped his strike then thrust her bow between his legs to trip him up. The man stumbled and flailed as he fought to keep his balance, but Clara was already following-up with an attack from behind. 

She lashed out with her foot and knocked him even further off balance, and when he fell to one knee she was on him in an heartbeat. Her dagger flashed as she pulled it in close then drew it across his throat in one quick decisive motion, and axe-hammer guy crumpled face-first to the ground with his hands at his neck.

That's all it took for the last guy to lose his nerve. He turned and ran for it, straight down the trail back towards the little outpost.

Clara calmly tucked her dagger away then pulled another arrow from her quiver. She set it on the string then drew and released it in a single action. The arrow found its mark and a moment later the fleeing bandit went down in a heap some thirty meters away from us.

Suddenly the woods were quiet again, everything was still and silent. The entire fight had only taken maybe twenty or thirty seconds, and most of that was during the brief pause in the middle after the first two guys had gone down.

"Holy shit," I mumbled as I looked around in shock at the scene before me. 

I found myself staring as the enormity of what happened started to sink in. This was no eldrich horror, this wasn't some random monster attack. It wasn't even wolves or dangerous beasts of the forest. These guys might have been assholes, but they were humans. Just some stupid guys. At the same time I realized I was no fighter, no warrior or hero. I wasn't even an adventurer. 

Less than a week ago I was flipping burgers for a living. I'd never even really been in any fights before. Now four armed men had threatened my life and the lives of my friends, and instead got themselves brutally murdered before my eyes.

The reality of the situation was only just starting to sink in, and I couldn't help thinking to myself that it was nothing like the stories I'd read. 

Avril must have noticed I was in shock, she moved to my side then gently guided me a half dozen meters further north along the trail. She had an arm around my shoulders and made sure we were both facing away from the scene behind us as she asked quietly, "Are you alright Fiona? You're not hurt are you?"

"I'm ok," I replied just as quietly. "None of them even looked at me. They were just focused on you and Clara."

The gorgeous druid nodded once, "They recognized we were more experienced, we were the greater threat."

"They didn't stand a chance, did they?" I asked softly.

She shook her head, "Not really. They weren't very well-trained, and certainly weren't as experienced as Clara and myself. Odds are they were driven by greed and desperation. That doesn't excuse their actions though. They deliberately stalked us, and I think you know what they'd have done with us had they been successful."

"Try not to let it bother you too much, ok Fiona?" she added as she reached out and gave me a few gentle head pats and scritches. "None of us enjoy this sort of thing, but it's not unusual out here in the wildlands. And don't worry ok? Clara and I will protect you, and we'll continue to train you."

My ears twitched some sounds behind us, but I forced myself not to look back. It only took a moment to identify what I was hearing. Clara was searching the bodies, probably looking to see if they had anything worth taking. She was probably also recovering her two arrows, assuming they were still usable.

Instead I forced myself to focus on Avril. I gave her a weak smile and replied, "Thank you. Except I don't know if I'm cut out for this sort of thing after all. Maybe I'm not really meant to be a rogue, I'm not really an adventurer."

"Arcane rogue or not, you're still our girlfriend Fiona," she replied. Then she gave me some more pets and scritches as she gently teased, "And if you really do want to give up on the sword and magic, you can always be our cute little pet fox."

My tail started slowly wagging again, and that was entirely because of the head pats and ear scritches and had absolutely nothing to do with the idea of being Avril and Clara's cute little pet fox.