NOVEL WEB Chapter 5: Caravan
—----------------------------------------------------
Amaya
Hearing that I almost facepalmed. Languages! Yes they were a thing. After some thought I realised that I actually knew 4 languages from this world. Elvish, imperial, draconic and high fey. So I switched to imperial.
“Greetings, my name is Amaya.”
I also noticed that I did not have a last name. In video games you often just have one name. Maybe I should make one up?
“It seems you had some trouble with bandits. Don’t worry, your men are fine and I can release them shortly,” I assured him.
The man I was talking to had short blond hair and a neatly trimmed moustache. There was a scar on his forehead. He was also a bit taller than me.
“Thank you for your intervention my lady. I am captain John Sterros from the Iron Rock guard. We owe you our lives. I would deeply appreciate it if you freed my comrades, some of them might need medical assistance.”
I could see some sweat forming on the man's head. Was that from the spell? No matter.
“Sure, I might even be able to provide some healing.” I answered.
After that I quickly went from soldier to soldier and ended the effect. I also used a first circle healing spell on 3 of them. I even checked the wagons and freed the terrified drivers.
“Captain, what is a night elf doing here?” I heard somebody whisper. Night elf? I suppose that is how my species is called around here. Good thing I heard that. Getting the name of your own species wrong would have been embarrassing. Appearing naked was already embarrassing enough. Oh god, just thinking about it made me want to bury myself. Thankfully only the captain saw me. The bandits had their backs to me. They might have even covered some of my naughty bits.
Meanwhile the captain talked with his soldiers. “I have no idea, but that was a powerful spell. I don’t know which circle but surely at least the 5th. She also used some healing magic. And she seems to carry a sword. Whatever she is, she has a lot of power. But the bandits were too well trained and equipped. While they had a wide assortment of weapons and armour they were all of good quality. They also had some training and a mage. The night elf was probably here for those bandits.”
Thanks to my elven hearing I listened to the entire conversation. They thought I am here for a greater purpose? They would never believe that I am just looking for a city to buy clothes. Maybe I just act mysterious? This would never go wrong, right? I approached the captain, who was now standing with his soldiers. I already healed the ones who were wounded badly. The others only had some minor cuts. But they were currently bandaging those.
“Captain Sterros, what do you want to do with those bandits?” I asked.
“The punishment for their crime would be death. But I would like to question them. The problem is we do not have any restraints. There is some rope, but not enough to tie up 23 prisoners. We also don’t have enough men to properly guard them at night. Provisions might also be an issue unless we find their camp. Although we should reach the city tomorrow evening. Further, there is no way for us to restrain a mage.” Sterros replied.
The death punishment slightly shocked me. But mediaeval worlds were not known for their prison systems I suppose. Sterros made some good points about the prisoners. Could I help? Well it so happens I had 30 manacles in my inventory. Why? Well, there was this quest to free prisoners and I kept the manacles. Why did I loot those? Because I could. If something is lootable you just take it. That left the mage problem. How would we stop him from casting?
I did have a polymorph spell. Usually one was unable to cast magic while in a different form. I had a special talent that allowed me to use magic while being polymorphed. The same talent also allowed me to speak. And yes, I got that talent by cheating. Which means there should be no way for the mage we captured to have it.
“I might be able to help with that captain. I will provide the manacles, help guard the prisoners and I do have a solution for the mage.” I said smiling.
—----------------------------------------------------
John
Damn it. As if I needed more confirmation that the elf was here for those bandits. Nobody travelled around with that many restraints by accident. And since she hadn’t said anything specific that meant politics. This was way above my paygrade.
“We gratefully accept your help lady Amaya.”
—---------------------------------------------------
Amaya
He did not question me on the manacles. Maybe it’s not that odd in this world? Good. After that short exchange I went from bandit to bandit, stopped the spell, disarmed them and put on the manacles. My strength was far superior so their resistance was rather futile. I didn't even have to put any effort into it. The wide eyed guards collected the restrained prisoners and gathered them behind the wagons.
Now only the mage was left. I did not want to give him any opportunity to cast so I decided to polymorph him while he was still frozen. I decided to transform him into a goat. The 5th circle polymorph worked like a charm, I unfroze the surprised goat and put a leash on it with some rope.
While I was handling the mage I heard John giving a speech. “Two of us gave our lives today. We will honour their deaths and bring the bodies with us for a burial. I know you are wondering how we will manage those prisoners. Lady Amaya has offered to escort us back to the city. Treat her with the utmost respect. Don’t ask her any questions.
The prisoners will have to walk behind the wagons. If they fail to comply, pain can be a great motivator. I want to move out in 10 minutes. Store all the gear from the bandits in the last wagon.”
As I walked towards John with the goat I saw his eyes widen. I suppose he did not expect the polymorph. It was one of the few spells that had unlimited duration. If you failed to resist the spell you were stuck until someone dispelled it. I handed over the goat and started moving towards the tree still blocking the road. I grabbed it and moved it to the side. I loved my new body. When I turned back toward the wagons the people looked strangely at me. At least the bandits were properly terrified. I hoped that stopped them from escaping.
The drivers of the wagons were trying hard to be unnoticeable. They were clearly uncomfortable with the whole situation.
I waited until everyone was ready to get moving and followed behind the prisoners. That way I could keep an eye on them. That helped to keep them moving. They seemed to be terrified of getting close to me.
Nobody tried to start a conversation with me. Everyone was strangely quiet. So we continued our journey till the evening. We were still inside the forest but stopped when there was a small clearing next to the road. While the soldiers were busy building tents the prisoners would have to sleep in the open. At least I could provide them with some food though. I pulled bread and a barrel of ale out of my inventory. While I was lacking cooking gear I did have a bunch of mugs. Hm I also had a table. Don’t ask.
So I set up a table with mugs, bread and the barrel next to it. I welcomed the soldiers to it and told them to also feed the prisoners.
Was it a good idea to have ale while on duty? Probably not. Although it might be normal for a mediaeval society. Depending on how clean their water was, the added alcohol made for a safer beverage. Then again, this world had magic.
Nobody seemed to complain. The guards started to enjoy the food and drink. The captain thanked me for the supplies and made sure the prisoners got something as well. I just watched from the sides eating a sandwich. I wondered if I could use a water elemental to clean the mugs when they were done?
Speaking of elementals. This time I had the soldiers to wake me. I had no idea how they keep track of time. But whoever was on watch would be able to wake me when the elementals disappeared. There were 6 soldiers left and their captain. With me that would be 8 people. So we had 4 groups of 2 for the night watch. I would have the last shift together with the captain.
Before we went to sleep I decided to summon 4 medium elementals with an 8h duration. I went for 2 earth and 2 water elementals. That should stop the bandits from getting any ideas while I slept. I wondered if the 6 h would be enough to recharge all my slots? Elves often needed less sleep than humans.
Should I sleep in my elf form? Damn my lack of camping supplies and clothes. I could have asked the soldiers for a blanket but that would be embarrassing. The temperature would not bother me with my resistance but the ground was not very comfortable. And I would have to sleep in my clothes. I also just realised that all the soldiers and bandits were male. Was that a coincidence? Magic should be a great equaliser when it comes to the strength of both genders. I suppose I would learn more in the city.
Anyway, I decided to go with my black panther form. I did not mind curling up on the forest floor. The fur did make it a lot more comfortable. And so my second day in this new world came to an end.