The Cast Die

Medea prepared to set out with her squad of fifteen soldiers shortly after the small scouting unit she'd sent out came back. Their report confirmed her suspicions.

‘As I thought, the bandits are hiding in one of the caves around the island. The scouts managed to narrow down the location. It's best if we move out soon.’

With that thought, Medea went to see the village head as Vac got prepared with the other soldiers.

‘That guy is surprisingly good at getting along with others despite his awkward and somewhat abrasive personality.’

The village head turned pale when she told them of the location, and in a hushed voice said, “I must warn you, my lady. The caves have a bad reputation. Plenty of people have gone missing there in the past. One time, a kid wandered into one of the caves, and his dead body was found quite far away at the entrance of another cave. Maledictus locus est!’

‘Interesting. Could it be… Well, no point in wracking my head with speculations. I've sent out a messenger out to the king detailing my plans, and I've made all the preparations I could think of. It's time to proceed.’

And so they headed out, going as quietly as possible as they followed the trail of the bandits the scouts had managed to find. She carefully manipulated dust and the earth to hide their presence and then split up her forces into smaller groups as they flanked the bandits. By the time they noticed, it was too late, as Medea and her men attacked.

Instead of trying to run away, the bandits attempted to push back.

‘As I expected from these death worshiping followers of Pluto.’

She brought up her whistle to release a signal. Her whistle was unique as it produced an eerie call, almost like a dying man's last breath in sound but resonating at such a frequency such that it could be heard at a distance, even by the dragons high up. The signal she used: a long drawn out sigh followed by three short bursts. 'Begin attack', it meant.. On cue, Solaris appeared behind the bandits and blew white-hot flames at them. She'd had Solaris fly the long way around ahead of time. But still, most of the bandits managed to get away, which hadn't surprised her. They were quick and strong, as per their reputation. What was surprising was the fact that there also seemed to be a few earth walls popping up to defend against the flames.

‘Interesting. Did they recruit some of our people? I wonder how they accomplished that, can't imagine they did it alone.’

Regardless of that, the fight was more or less over at this point, or so she thought. But then more and more bandits flooded out of the cave like a swarm of bees, far more than the expected number.

‘There’s no way that cave has space for these many, unless… I suppose that the village head’s tale wasn't nonsense, and what I suspected is true. But it's no matter, I've prepared enough to deal with this.’

With the release of another signal, the archer on Ladon whom she’d ordered to fly up above them quickly fired down a barrage of arrows. As the bandits began to panic, she sent her strongest unit into the center of the bandits right as the arrows stopped, again on her signal. At the same time, she had the unit fire scent based smoke bombs at the bandits, which provided some decent cover aside from the intended use. They'd been made by Vac.

Vac himself had been posted up front on the right flank, accompanied by her trusted soldier Idmon, who'd been instructed to keep him safe. He'd been doing an impressive job so far. He wasn't the most skilled combatant, but his instincts were solid and he was clever at maneuvering about, with decent spatial awareness. And with his ability to use multiple powers, he was a unique entity, certainly causing excitement and boosting morale, as some rumors had already spread that his arrival was a good sign from the gods, rumors she'd happily encouraged.

‘He truly is a useful ally, and… friend. Now, if my hunch is hopefully wrong, then it should be fine. If not, I still have my backup plans.’

She then noticed that the bandits weren't all immediately rushing in. There seemed to be some holding out just outside the cave entrance. A small group was huddled around, holding up shields in what seemed like an attempt to buy time.

‘Something is off. I wonder if…’

Medea quietly sent a signal to the guards, telling them to guard her. In the meantime, she focused her attention to the ground. She'd always had a fondness for it from a young age, and she'd been blessed in return. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and focused her senses through the ground, in order to ‘see’ the bandit group and their actions. There was some risk since this level of precision and focus did require a lot of energy, but she didn't need to worry about that as much as others.

Through the use of this trick, she was able to ‘see’ a bandit member shifting his hands around in a strange dance and changing a spell in a low voice, which she hadn't noticed before due to the others around him.

‘Is he casting a ritual? Some ancient artifacts do require those, and the labyrinth could have some kind of ritual related to it. I should stop him, just in case.’

With that, she grabbed onto a mana jewel from a small punch by her side and sacrificed it to fuel a mini-quake under their feet that disrupted their ritual, and then signaled for the dragon above to plunge down on them right away.

They were just in time, as the entrance to the cave was in the process of shifting. It seemed like they'd planned on closing it off. In a panic, the bandits rushed back in a chaotic manner. As a result, the bandit whom she'd knocked down earlier with her mini-quake to interrupt the ritual was left behind by the others, as their attempts to help him up were interrupted by her launching stones in order to incapacitate the man. As they gave chase to the bandits, she ordered for him to be captured. On instinct, the man thrust his hand towards her, using earth magic to throw stones at them as he scrambled to get away, to no avail.

‘He doesn't look like a regular bandit. In fact he looks like… no matter, it's not important now.’

She quickly barked out an order to capture that man alive, and set about organizing a small group to chase the bandits down the cave tunnel, in accordance with the plans she'd come up with. She had a loyal subordinate named Idmon create a thread of earth and tie it to her own person. He'd extend it along as they went further in. It was a complex technique that only a rare few could do. She had one of her dragons accompany them as well.

Their exploration of the tunnel confirmed her suspicions. Its winding structure that seemed impossibly intricate could only be the work of the gods.

‘I can't believe it. We've found it, we found the mythical Labyrinth! I suppose this means that they were lying after all, and are likely involved with the bandits. No matter, I can crush them eventually, all in good time.’

Even as the path split, she was able to follow the bandits using the scent. When they were a short distance away from the bandits, she had her group quiet down and hold cloth to their faces, as her dragon released smoke. Smoke that Vac directed towards the bandits. As the bandits struggled with the asphyxiation, and scrambled to cover their faces, her group pounced, and quickly defeated them all. It was an overwhelming victory. As her men cheered, she tapped her foot against the ground to raise herself up, and then said, “Heed my words, men, brave soldiers of Sicily, loyal devotees of Ceres! Heed my words of praise for you all. We have won an overwhelming victory over the bandits, the scourges of thievery, the worshippers of death! What's more, we've uncovered the legendary Labyrinth itself! In honor of this great day, we shall hold a festival in the capital for all to attend!”