Return to Jorgaldur Volume II: the druid archer

Ambush (I)

As the more than half a dozen adventurers approached the opening in the defenses, an arrow struck in front of them. They all stopped suddenly, alert, until one of them noticed something in the arrow.

"It says that we don't get too close, that there are traps. There's a sketch", she read the attached note.

"Where did they shoot from?" asked another.

"I don't know, but I'm glad they're on our side," Leo added, while reaching the end of the group.

"What's that?" pointed out another.

They stared at the Clone made of plants for a while, amazed. In the dark, it seemed real.

They spread out around. They were careful to not be very close to each other, except for a pair who had known each other for a long time, and went together. The distrust was evident, as well as understandable. Only when they truly attacked the bandits could they dispel doubts. If someone didn't attack, they would be accused of being a traitor.

The rest were distributed throughout the caravan. Surely, the bandits would attack on all fronts, so hoping to distract them. Then, the others would attack from behind, once they entered through the hole. Also, they probably hoped to finish quickly by taking advantage of the fact that half of the adventurers should be resting.

Soon, the first bandits began to cross the shield through the open space. Slowly. Stealthily.

"Where's Khidgo?" asked one of them.

"He may've killed that Leo, and is hiding the body. Fucking idiot. He should be watching over," another bothered.

By now, two had infiltrated, and they didn't give much importance to the situation. They just looked around, without being able to see the hidden adventurers. They didn't begin to advance until six of them entered, as they needed to make room for those who were behind. Goldmi found that there were about twenty, whose levels were between 35 and 48.

As the next one was walking through the opening, one discovered the Clone in the dark. He tried to attack it, but fell into the first trap. A dangerous wind was activated. It began cutting the one who had stepped on it, and caused confusion to the bandits.

Immediately, the elf invoked Tangle, which immobilized those outside with roots. At the same time, she released three arrows, that surrounded her enemies and activated a Wind Trap. They are somewhat less powerful than the Wind Abyss, but they can be created from a distance.

The bandits were confused, while the adventurers gaped at how quickly everything had changed. However, that didn't prevent the latter from attacking at range, without approaching the traps.

On the other side, the feline went through the hole, while covered in flames. She was taking advantage of the bewilderment and Tangle to attack their enemies. A Nature Wall rose behind her, so separating the bandits.

Those who were stuck inside realized that they couldn't retreat. Since they were being attacked by the cutting winds, elf's arrows, and by spells and arrows from the adventurers, they chose to advance and attack.

Soon, the other three Wind Abysses were activated, which created even more chaos and damage among the attackers.

"There aren't more. The note said there were only four," recalled a mage.

Three warriors advanced. They were ready to hold the bandits if they managed to get past the traps. In fact, when one of them was about to do it, Leo pushed him back inside with a Kick.

It didn't take long for adventurers and bandits to notice that numerous arrows were coming out of the tree, although it was difficult to distinguish the figure hidden among the foliage. What could be distinguished was the lethality of those arrows.

Some created Wind Traps. She was taking advantage of the little space the bandits had to move around, and that there were roots that held them down. Others had powerful penetrating power. Even the two bandits who were wearing heavy armor were cornered by the bludgeoning damage from Rough Arrows.

Outside the barrier, the lynx had taken advantage of their immobilization to quickly kill five of them. Of the other eight, a pair had managed to break free, and another six were watching for the attacks of that terrible enemy engulfed in flames.

Meanwhile, inside, the attacks of the elf and the other adventurers took their toll on their enemies. Especially striking and deadly was Fire Rain, whose biggest problem lies in being easy to dodge, to get out of its area of influence. However, in that situation, the bandits had no such option.

They were soon eliminated, after which the adventurers emerged through the hole, now without the Wall. They found the terrified bandits who were facing the feline. She was covered in flames, and jumping from one side to the other. They were used to fighting in ambushes that they created, not to being chased by a fast animal who was several levels higher than them, of great agility and deadly attacks. To this, it was necessary to add that the soil could open and that some roots would try to catch them.

The irruption of the adventurers caused panic among their ranks. One tried to flee, but was easily caught by the lynx. The rest didn't hesitate to surrender.

Meanwhile, another thirty bandits stalked the perimeter and attacked the shields. They were trying to distract the adventurers, while waiting for their companions to enter and surprise them from behind.

However, they were the ones surprised. While cloaked in the darkness of night, the adventurers who had crossed the hole attacked from one of the flanks. Maybe they were only four at range, but the surprise factor was on their side, and their enemies were scattered all over the perimeter. They were caught off guard, so they killed two of them, and wounded three more.

Warriors rushed toward the survivors, before the farthest bandits could react. At the same time, the adventurers defending the perimeter passed to the other side of the shield, and began to attack them as well. They were still fewer, but they had confidence in their strength, especially if they had the initiative.

On the other flank, a feline was advancing through the shadows after being healed by her sister. The archer was hiding a little further back, as she was preparing to attack at any moment. She would do as soon as her sister spotted through Visual Link the hidden targets in the night.

However, when the adventurers went on the attack, they cast light spells to expose the bandits. So, she had a better option. She waited until her sister was close enough to them. Then, the elf created first a Light Trap amid the bandits, so distracting them and leaving them even more exposed.

After that, she fired three arrows at one of them, with Curved Shot. She was trying to make them believe that they were being attacking from behind. Those arrows were nearly impossible to see when fired, but they were visible when they hit their target.