Advent of Eternity - Chapter 48 (Patreon)

Knell stood on a hill overlooking the bandit camp, hiding behind a large tree. The forest had thinned out since he and his crew had set out to find the group of men the villagers had been given to, but there was still enough foliage to take cover in.

This one was slightly larger than the previous camp, but there was no sign of a larger tent. That either meant that everyone was about the same level of strength, or their leader wasn’t stupid enough to give his position away so easily.

“What do you think?” Stix asked. “Same strategy?”

“Slightly different one,” Knell replied, shaking his head. “They’ve got hostages this time, and ones that I don’t doubt they’ll start to kill if they think it’ll help their position. I doubt we’ll be able to save everyone, but I’d like to do what we can.”

“We don’t even know where the hostages are,” Cyll pointed out. “They could be anywhere.”

“Another problem,” Knell agreed with a nod. “I will not risk our lives, though. Not when we can avoid it. We’ll attack together, and as swiftly as possible. I suspect the villagers are probably kept in some sort of spell, perhaps distributed throughout the camp. I don’t see any sign of prisoners from here, and there isn’t enough room to stick them in the same spot.”

“Assuming any of them are still alive,” Cyll muttered.

“Assuming that,” Knell said with a nod. “Either way, we’ll wrap around this hill and attack from the back. I’ll use slow on the closest men, and the two of you will take them out before they can make noise. We’ll continue around the camp until we’re discovered. Then I will retreat while Cyll draws attention to himself and Stix picks up any stragglers. Do not interact with the villagers until the bandits are dead – that should keep their attention on us rather than others.”

“Sounds good,” Stix said, flipping a dagger in her hand. “Let’s do it.”

They slipped back down the hill and wove through the forest, keeping enough space between themselves and the camp to avoid getting spotted while moving. A few minutes later, they stood on the backside of the bandits, just a short distance away from where an entrance to the clearing through the tents waited for them. Knell set his mental clock – this wasn’t to take more than ten minutes, by his calculations.

Knell’s eyes flickered faint yellow as he tried to keep his foresight’s power to a minimum and avoid detection. He held two fingers up to Stix, who nodded. The three stepped out from the trees and Knell cast slow on a bandit just a few feet in front of them. His friend was looking in the other direction, half-asleep.

He barely had time to register their presence before Stix’s dagger flipped through the air and caught him in the throat. The other bandit standing guard started to turn, but Cyll was upon him before he could open his mouth.

With a sharp twist, Cyll snapped the man’s neck and let his body crumple to the floor. Like a group of specters, the three slipped into the bandit camp. Energy entered Knell’s body from the body of the man he’d slowed, but he ignored it.

They worked through the backs of the tents, taking out the bandits as they ran into them. Knell’s slow spell was instrumental in stopping them from reacting or calling out, and Stix’s accuracy with her daggers was incredible.

Knell had worked through almost half of the bandit camp when the first shouts started to ring out. A little later than he’d hoped. That would push up their timetable. Knell grinned, then gestured to Cyll.

“Do I still have to follow Stix’s rules?”

“Yes,” Knell said. “Until it isn’t possible anymore.”

“Blast,” Cyll grumbled. He raised the massive sword he’d gotten from the bandit captain and let out a roar, charging into center of the camp and bisecting an unlucky bandit that happened to step into his path.

Knell moved toward the edge of the camp while Stix trailed after Cyll and the bloodbath began in earnest. Cries and yells echoed through the clearing, joined by the clash of metal and the thunk of sword on flesh.

The clock in Knell’s head ticked away as his eyes grew brighter and he swept his gaze over the camp. He leaned back, avoiding an arrow that whizzed past his head. Ducking behind a tent, Knell waited for his clock to count to five before he stepped out once more, whipping his staff out where he knew the bandit’s head would be.

It struck the man in the chin, snapping it back and knocking the man unconscious instantly. Knell twisted his staff apart and drove the blade into the man’s heart before ripping it free and flicking the blood off.

Two minutes left. The sounds of fighting had intensified now, but judging by the lack of cursing coming from Cyll, Knell was pretty sure they were handling everything fine. If something had gone wrong, the immortal man probably would have been ‘mortally wounded’ and have lost Stix’s challenge.

Knell swept a nearby tent’s flap open and ducked inside. A dirty rucksack laid in the corner and some supplies were strewn across the ground, but there was nobody inside it. He frowned, then check another one to find much of the same.

While Stix and Cyll worked their way through the bandit camp, Knell inspected the tents, finishing off any bandits that he stumbled across. None of them were particularly strong, which brought him even more confusion.

The sounds of fighting petered off. Knell finished checking the tent he was in, then stepped back outside with a sigh. The mental clock clicked to a stop. He’d overestimated the bandits by a little over a minute.

“Cap?” Cyll yelled. “Think we got them all!”

“I gathered,” Knell called back, walking out and into the center of the camp. Cyll had a sword sticking out of his shoulders, while Stix was completely unharmed.

“I think this counts as failure,” Stix said. “Nobody can fight with a blade halfway into their back.”

“It’s my shoulder. Lots of people get hurt worse than that and keep going,” Cyll replied, ripping the blade out with a grunt. He tossed it to the ground and grinned as the wound sealed closed. “See?”

Stix rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I’m not going to argue this one with you. These blokes weren’t too good, though. Pretty weak, actually.”

“I was thinking the same,” Knell said. “We beat them without too much difficulty and I didn’t even get enough experience to level up from them. There’s no way these were the ones that beat the town.”

“Could it have been the other bandit?” Cyll asked, nodding at his sword. “The guy I took this from. He seemed decent enough.”

“It’s possible. The woman we fought in the dungeon had what must have been some decently strong magic, though. Was that really the best they had if she was roaming around? I feel like we might be missing something.”

“What about the villagers?” Stix wondered.

Knell shook his head. “Nothing. No signs of them anywhere.”

“Should have kept a prisoner,” Cyll said with a chuckle.

“We should have,” Knell admitted. “I was too cocky. I didn’t think they would have sent them elsewhere again. For now, search the camp and see if you can find anything that give us a hint as to where everyone is.”