4 Bro Clip

         “This is the last place I saw the lad. He was running full sprint through the trees so there should be no lack of a trail to follow.” Dax said, while searching the surrounding area for signs of passing. Shortly he found a few broken branches and picked up the trail.  Paul and Kendrall stayed about ten paces back from him so he could concentrate on tracking without distraction.
         They followed the broken trail in the forest for three hours until it came to a small game trail then disappeared.  They stopped to have lunch.  They made their camp in the forest in small clearing.  While Paul and Kendrall set about to prepare the meal Dax tried to sort of the trail.
         “Dax should pick up that trail shortly, he will most likely eat his rations while he walks, or not at all.  I think this stop is to soothe your pounding head,” Kendrall joked.
         “I should have know when they threw us a huge feast for the meager feat we accolplished,” Paul laughed.
         “Let’s go.  I found the trail and I don’t want to lose it,” Dax called.
         “Well that is not much of a break for my weary head,” Paul called back.
         “Shut up and move it.”
         They picked up their gear and moved to catch up with Dax.  He had his pack off and was pulling out his rations as he moved down the trail.  Soon his pack was back in place and he was eating as he walked.
         They followed the path for another hour. The forest was starting to thin out when Dax raised his hand signaling them to stop.  Then he put his finger in front of his mouth, motioning them to silence, and waved them to him.
         “I think we are close to their base of operations.  There is much more foot traffic here than I have seen anywhere else.  I want you to have your weapons out and be ready for anything,” Dax whispered
         They all drew they weapons.  Kendrall removed his shield from his back and slipped his arm into the straps.  Creeping slowly they moved forward, Dax leading the way.
         They traveled this way for another fifteen minutes. They were climbing a large hill when they first heard voices.  They couldn’t make out any conversation yet, but voices were unmistakable.  Dax motioned them low then they climbed up to the ridge of the hill.  All three, while lying on their bellies, climbed to the top of the hill and peered down.
         They saw a small yard in front of a gaping cave entrance.  In the yard were two wagons, what looked to be an archery target and two men.  One was a gray hair and the other was the boy that Dax had scared off.  The boy was trying to line up an arrow with the target and the old man was telling him how to do it.  He struggled to pull back the string, didn’t wait to aim and shot the arrow well over the top of the target.  Dax motioned them back down the hill.
         When they were far enough down the hill Dax whispered. “Ok we found them.  Now we just need to find out how many are in the cave and what kind of stores and supplies they have.  Any ideas?”
         “Just one,” said Paul looking at Dax expectantly.  “Kill those two and sneak in.”
         “You could get their attention and lead them on a chase through the forest.  They wouldn’t catch you and we could sneak in behind them.” Offered Kendrall.
         “I think we are going to have to do this the hard way Ken,” said Dax
         Dax unslung his bow, and knocked an arrow.  Paul and Kendrall followed him up the hill.  When Dax reached the top he peaked down and saw that they had not been noticed.  The boy was again trying to hit the target.  Dax quickly jumped to the top of the hill.  He sighted in on the gray hair.  The boy drew back his string, held it a second to aim and let fly.  Dax did the same. This time the boy actually sunk his arrow in to the target.  The boy cried out in joy and turned to his mentor.  His mentor had an arrow protruding from throat and was falling backwards.  The boy spun a quick circle just in time to take his own arrow in the chest.  He fell to the earth with a grunt.  He was about to call out when another arrow pierced his throat.
         “Damn, nice shot,” Paul said. They quickly ran down the hill.  Paul picked up the man and carried his body a short way into the forest.  Kendrall did the same with the boy. 
         Slowly they crept back to the entrance of the cave.  Paul leading Kendrall next and Dax bringing up the rear.  They entered the cavern slowly.  About ten feet in Paul moved to the side and stopped to let thier eyes adjust.  That done they moved in further. The huge cave mouth narrowed quickly to a tight small tunnel.
         They moved farther in quietly and the tunnel grew larger quickly also.  The first room they came to was large, twenty feet deep and forty wide.  There were boxes and barrels of loot the bandits had stolen.  There were two tunnels leading off the room.  One was straight ahead and another to the left, which light poured from.  Voices could also be heard coming from the tunnel to the left.
         Paul pointed to the left tunnel and crept up to the entrance of it.  He poked his head around.  The tunnel went straight for a few feet then opened into another room.  It was larger even than the first, with much more loot piled all over the room.  Gold and jewels glittered from a few piles along with the mundane loot.
         In the back of the room were four men.  They seemed to be arguing. Their voices where hushed and they argued in harsh whispers.  One of the men was a huge hulking beast with an axe on his back.  He had black hair and beard and looked like a pirate.  Another man wore the robes of a priest or wizard.  His head was bald and he had no weapons in sight.  The other two looked to be rag tag mercenaries.  Piecemeal armor mixed with brightly clashing colors of clothing.  One carried a huge tulwar and the other a large hammer.
         Paul waved them back once he had seen enough.  When they were out of ear shot he relayed to the others what he had seen.
         “I think Dax takes a bow shot first then we charge them.  I could see most of the room and there were only four of them.  If you take out the robed or big one first we can beat them,” Paul said.
         “Why the robed one,” asked Kendrall?
         “I just get the feeling like he may be the most dangerous one of the group,” said Paul.
         Dax nodded “its good to follow your instincts. Ok, I will plant an arrow in his chest and we charge the other three.”
         They moved back to the tunnel entrance, this time Dax in the lead.  Paul had is sword out and Kendrall his shield and mace.  Dax looked around the corner slowly.  The men were still engaged in their conversation.  Dax knocked his arrow and stepped out to get a line of fire.  He brought his bow up and took aim down the arrow at the man in the robe.  He let fly.  The arrow streaked like a lightning bolt at the robed man.  Just as it was about to slam into his chest a blue translucent globe appeared and the arrow deflected up into the ceiling.
         All four men turned to see Dax standing there.  The robed man held forth his hand and spoke a word.  Four purple snakes shot out at Dax.  An instant later Paul ran past Dax with his sword held high and screaming.  The purple snakes zigzagged around Paul and hammered into Dax.  He flew back three feet and hit the floor of the cavern. 
         Kendrall saw all this happen and looked at Dax in shock.  Kendrall raised his shield then went to check on Dax.  Dax was shaking it off and trying to get to his feet.  Kendrall called out to Evera and pointed his hand at the robed man.  A searing bright light slammed down upon the blue bubble the man was in.  The bubbled seemed to bend for a second then popped with a loud PLOOP.  The light was gone now, but so was the bubble.  Kendrall ran forward to help Paul, while Dax unsheathed his sword.
         The two mercenaries met Paul.  The tulwar flashed, but Paul ducked it.  The hammer came in low.  Paul caught it on his short sword.  He jumped back to avoid another swipe of the huge curved sword.  The man in the robe was chanting.  Paul knew that he was in trouble.  The mercenaries were more skilled fighting together than he was alone.  He parried another sword cut, but saw the hammer flying for his exposed side.  At the last second it pulled up short.  The wielder pulled it back in time to block a mace swing from Kendrall. 
         Again the tulwar flashed and Paul blocked it.  He tried to kick out but the man dodged deftly.  He tried a quick stab with his sword only to be picked off by the larger blade.
         The wizard finished chanting and he shimmered then disappeared.  The hulking black hair pulled his sword it was a saber the kind favored by pirates.  He was watching, looking for an opportunity to stick someone or hamper one of the brothers.
         Kendrall swung his mace only to meet stout defense.  The hammer came from the left and he took it on the shield.  Instead of swinging with his mace at his opponent he jumped forward quickly and smashed his shield into the man’s face. The man took two steps back, but managed to keep his balance.  Blood ran freely from his mutilated nose.  Kendrall didn’t wait for the man to regain his senses.  He rushed forward and brought his mace down in a hard overhand arc.  The hammer was raised in defense and stopped the swing.  Kendrall slammed forward and bashed the man again.  He was beat, his legs went out from under him and he fell backwards.  Kendrall moved forward to finish the man, but suddenly the behemoth was before him.  Dax stepped to his side and nodded.
         Paul was having a hard time with his mercenary.  Swords flashed and each had his defense in line.  Paul couldn’t find an opening in the man’s defense, but his defense was in line as well.  The tulwar flashed from up high, Paul angled his blade for defense.  The parry was perfect and the blade glanced just wide of his shoulder.  He tried to thrust straight ahead, only to have his blade knocked away in time. 
         Paul saw that his brothers had engaged the behemoth. He seemed to be a match for both of them.  Paul knew he must do something fast or they could be in trouble when the mage attacked.  Attack and parry, slash and block it went back and forth.  Finally the man was tiring, his huge sword taking its toll.  A sidelong slash came in at him, instead of parrying he stepped back, then right in behind the blade as it passed.  His sword shot forward to pierce the man in the neck.  Blood gushed out in a river of crimson.  Paul moved to join his brothers.
         The behemoth was a master swordsman.  He was quick and powerful and seemed more than a match for the brothers.  His blade banged of shield, mace and sword in an almost continuous screech. 
         The brothers were at a loss for how to attack someone so quick.  Suddenly he pressed hard on Kendrall, who luckily had his defenses in place.  Dax saw his opportunity and stepped forward to skewer the giant.  The pirate turned on him instantly.  He slapped Dax’s sword away and a huge meaty fist followed it.  The hulk smashed Dax in the jaw and sent him flying through the air to land in a pile of loot, completely unconscious.  The attack left him off balance and out of position.  Kendrall brought his mace down on the back of the pirate’s leg.  The leg started to buckle but he caught himself.
         He looked at Kendrall with unmasked hatred.  He tested the leg again, and it held his weight.  He moved forward with a slight limp.  He jumped at Kendrall with a renewed fury.  They met once sword striking shield.  Something flew into the giant of a man.  It didn’t hurt the big man, but it distracted him. He looked down and saw a small silver plate rattling around on the floor.  Then he looked up and saw Paul standing there.  Paul had another plate in one hand and a wine bottle is the other.
         Kendrall circled around so that the big man was between himself and Paul, then he attacked.  The big man blocked and parried furiously.  He tried to circle, but Kendrall kept him between the brothers.  A plate flew into his back and he glanced back.  The mace came swiping in. His sword was in line at the last instance for a block.  As soon as he turned back to Kendrall Paul jumped forward and flung the wine bottle.  The bottle flew through the air and slammed bottom first into the base of the man’s skull.  Kendrall’s mace arced down and crunched into the top of dazed pirate’s skull.  He dropped instantly dead to the floor.
         The brothers ran, huffing and puffing, to Dax.  He wasn’t dead only unconscious.
         “Wake him up and make sure he is ok.  I will look around to make sure no one else is here,” said Paul.
         Paul quickly ran throughout the rest of the little cave complex and found empty rooms.  Kendrall woke up Dax who had a pounding headache, but was fine other than that. 
         Paul went over to the pirate’s body and looked through his equipment.  He took his rings and a small sack of gold that he had.  Then he picked up the sword the giant had used.  He noticed that the blade was long and slightly curving at the end.  He also noticed a small glowing gem set in the pommel.  He made a quick cut with the blade and found that it seemed incredibly fast.
         “Dax, come here.  I think this sword may be magical.  Spar with me I need to test it.”
         Dax drew his blade and squared off.  Paul sprang forward and went through a quick attack routine.  The cuts came lightning fast and he could have skewered Dax had he wanted to.  Dax’s block’s and parries seemed slow and out of line.
         “Either you just became a much better swordsman that I or that blade is magical.  You should keep it.  It will help us when we find the bald man.  I think we will need all the help we can manage.” Dax said.
         Paul pulled the scabbard off the giant man and put it on his sword belt.  He strapped his sword on the other side of his belt.  The brothers made another quick search of the rooms and found nothing else of interest. 
         They quietly made their way out to the front of the cave.  There was no one around.
         “I guess we have taken care of the bandits.  Dax mark this location well so you can lead some of the townspeople back here so they can retrieve their stuff.” Paul said.
         “We should still step cautiously.  Just because no one else is here doesn’t mean that more bandits don’t call this their home.  If we happen upon more of them we need to be ready,” interjected Kendrall.
         “I agree, we move back to the village the same way we came here.  I will range farther ahead to scout and you follow prepared,” said Dax.
         Dax set out.  Paul and Kendrall followed a few minutes later.  They slowly made their way to the road.  They found no signs of trouble.  When they reached the road Dax was waiting for them.
         “I saw no signs of others returning to the cave or of any ambush waiting.  We should return to Eggly and let them know they no longer need to worry about the bandits.  Then we need to leave first thing in the morning.  The trail of the bald man grows cold,” said Dax.
         “Agreed Brother,” said Paul.
         They hurried up the road.  Dusk was just falling when they reached the edge of Eggly.  They hurried into the town hall and found the mayor just ready to leave for the evening.
         “We have found the bandits compound.  We have slain their leaders and you should no longer have trouble with them,” Dax stated flatly. He knew the mayor was a man of many, many words and wished not to get him started.
         “Oh, thank you thank you so much.  You have saved ou-“
         “Your welcome,” Paul said.
         The brothers turned to leave. They started walking towards the door the mayor was shouting after them. 
         Paul turned back to him, “Thank you, really.  We were happy to help your town and its people.  We don’t require your reward as we took some gold off the leader of their little clan.  Your town’s supplies and equipment is in a cave complex to the south about half a days ride. If I were you I would make haste retrieve it.”
         “Opmouth Cave, is that where they were?  I know the cave system.  I used to play there as I child.  I can’t believe that is where they were hiding out.  I will send out bearers in the morning with wagons to get our stuff back.  I am thankful that no children tried to sneak out there to play as we used to.  That would have been horrible.  Are you sure that you don’t want the reward?  We save it specifically for this reason.” Blurted the Mayor.
         All three brothers held up their hands, signaling the Mayor to please stop.
         “Honestly, thank you for the offer. All we really need is a few horses and some feed.  Do you think you could do that for us,” asked Dax
         “Oh yes of course, ahh...thank you again.” The Mayor said blushing.  “Come down here in the morning and we will have your horses saddled and waiting. Again, thank you.”
         The brothers made their way back up to their room at the inn and all three fell instantly asleep.