"Those bandits?" Jude said.
"So you do know them." Siderius said.
Jude nodded his head. "They are a pair of very notorious bandits around here. They have robbed quite a few places and wealthy merchants. The merchants want them dead more than anything else.
Thieves aren’t good for business."
"Why do you want to know about them?"
"I had an opportunity to meet the two of them before. Casper is a very capable warrior while Buster is very smart. They are useful to me."
"Is that so? If that’s the case, you should hurry up before they are caught."
"What makes you say that?" Siderius raised an eyebrow.
"Have you ever heard of the Ivitsio Bank? It is one of the oldest financial institutions in all of Ithisium. They have offended the representative agent in Scalize. The Bank has set up a heavy trap to catch those two."
"A representative agent... I assume his name is Dunn Longar?"
Siderius smirked gently.
A few days later, on the Sandy Road connecting to Scalize and leading to the mainland of Eldoria. The surrounding landscape was filled with bald orange hills and free flowing yellow sand. The hot sunlight drenched the land. No amount of humidity and water were able to be retained.
There was only one fleet of caravans on the Sandy Road with four small carts and around eight riders surrounding the caravan.
They travelled slowly. The riders kept their eyes peeled and focused on the far landscape, making sure to notice any danger that may pop up.
In one of the bald hills, Casper and Buster laid down flat. Buster held a long spyglass in his hand and looked down its scope.
"There are around twenty guards there, Casper. You think we can take them?" Buster said.
"Are there any witches?" Casper said.
"Nope. I highly doubt it. But you can look for yourself."
Buster passed the spyglass to Casper. The Casper Kid squinted his eyes through the telescope.
"Yup. No witches alright. Those riders can be very bothersome. But as long as we can ambush them when they’re resting, we should be good."
"So the plan is a go?"
"The plan is a go. Call the boys." Casper withdrew the spyglass.
He and Buster slowly crawled down the hill to avoid exposing their silhouettes. At the foothill, a band of bandits was waiting for them. They all had horses and were armed to the teeth.
The horses were old and short, not the kind of horse that could be compared to Red. But still, these beasts had accompanied the thieves through many battles.
"Get on your horse, boys. We will follow the caravan closely. Keep your distance one or two hills away unless I tell you otherwise." Buster said.
"My body is heating up!"
Casper and Buster climbed on the horsebacks. They led the band after the caravan.
The group followed Buster’s order closely, maintaining their distance and tried their best to make as little noise as possible. The Casper Kid left the formation a lot but no one was saying anything. He knew what he was doing and was a very experienced bandit, different from the rest.
Casper’s role was that of a scout. He would run around to spy on the caravan and keep his guard up to spot any potential danger.
The bandits followed the caravan long into the day. Then night fell.
The band of bandits stayed far away from the caravan but they could still see the columns of smoke made by the campfire. It signalled to them that the people of the caravan had taken a rest.
"Let’s set up our camp too, boys. Fill your belly and rest well. But do not make any fire. We don’t want to alarm our target." Buster shouted.
The bandits set up a temporary quick camp and began eating and drinking. They were filling up their missing energy that had decreased throughout the day, getting ready for a battle of steel and blood.
"Remember. If they surrender, we’ll let them go." The Casper Kid said.
The Casper Kid and Buster finished their meal first then rode to the location of the caravan. They did one last scouting to make sure everything was going according to plan.
The people of the caravan had fallen asleep. They set up tents and sleeping bags on the ground.
The guards slept inside sleeping bags. It was a little colder and less comfortable than the tents but it allowed them to better sense danger around and react to it. They covered themselves up tightly to avoid the cold of the night to get to them.
Buster’s brow furrowed.
"What’s wrong?" The Kid said. He saw that worrying look before.
"I have a bad feeling about this, Kid. There’s something wrong." Buster said.
The Kid looked back at the caravan’s campsite. He raised the spyglass again to see. In this darkness, there wasn’t much to spot.
The guards were all covered up by blankets. The campfire was shimmering gently with red coals.
"Shit! It’s a trap!" The Casper Kid said.
"What? How do you know?"
"There isn’t a single fire in that campsite. Even if they don’t put off the campfire, they should have a lantern or a torch nearby."
Buster understood it right away. Light was needed to ensure survival. It chased away beasts and helped people stay alert in the night.
"But what actually concerns me is... Where are all the horses?" The Kid continued.
The Kid’s ears twitched a little bit. He heard a low but sharp noise behind them. The Kid pushed Buster away. He himself rolled out of their location.
A bunch of arrows landed right where they were laying down.
Sweat poured out on Buster’s head and he looked over.
The riders of the caravan had approached them from behind without their knowledge. On their horse hung the heads of what seemed to be their comrades.
The Kid grabbed his sword tightly. His jaw clenched. "They were waiting for us to let our guard down. The boys... are dead."
Buster grabbed Kid’s shoulder and pulled him running. "Are you crazy?! There are at least twenty guards here! Those aren’t our usual drunken patrons. We must run. NOW!"
The two of them climbed on their horsebacks quickly and bolted away.
The riders chased them. Arrows shot past them many times. Casper and Buster kicked the side of their horses, urging them to go as fast as possible.
"Hahaha!" From behind them, a familiar voice shouted. "Run, you low-life cheaters! Run or I’ll cut your balls off when I catch you!"
Buster and Casper looked back to see Dunn Longar riding alongside the riders.