Bandit Meeting

"Bandit Meeting"

"This place has seen better days," Julien thought to himself, feeling uneasy as he approached the cabin. He took a deep breath before entering, trying to calm his nerves.


"Julian, nice of you to join us on this fine rainy day," Dread said in a low, raspy voice, his eyes fixed on Julian.


Julien took another deep breath, feeling the weight of everyone's attention. "Yeah... I got turned around trying to find this place, it's pretty well hidden," he said, trying to sound confident.


"Well that's kind of the point," Asher said, smirking at Julien from across the room.


Julien sensed that Asher was bothered by his presence, but he tried to ignore it. "Asher," Julien nodded in acknowledgment.


As Julien started to make his way to a corner of the room, Asher couldn't resist taking a jab at him. "Werewolf," Asher remarked in an annoyed tone.


Julien froze, feeling the sting of Asher's insult. It reminded him of all the times he was belittled and cast out from his home.


"Enough," Dread interjected, his tone stern. "I don't have the kindness or patience to babysit. We all have a common enemy, and I will not allow fighting among ourselves," he asserted, his eyes sweeping across the room.


The room fell silent, and tension hung heavy in the air.


"Boss?" a voice spoke up from a dark corner, breaking the silence. All eyes turned to the shadowy figure. "Why did you call us here?" the voice asked.


Julian couldn't help but feel a sense of clarity in the voice coming from the dark. Dread was the only one who didn't shift his attention to the shadowy figure.


"Eric, good to have you with us," Dread smiled. "How long have you been standing there, boy?"


There was a pause in the room.


"A while. I was the first one here," Eric responded calmly.


Everyone in the room seemed surprised and confused, especially Asher, who had been standing next to Eric the whole time without realizing it.


"What? There's no way!" Asher exclaimed. "I've been standing here the whole time!"


Asher felt Eric's eyes staring at him, which gave him the creeps.


"I don't know what to tell you," Eric replied.


Eric emerged from the dark corner. "So, Boss, what's up?" he inquired.


"Creepy," Asher muttered under his breath.


Dread stood up from the chair he had been sitting on.


"You boys may have noticed the increase of royal knights of late," Dread said calmly. "It's beginning to make business challenging. A war is coming, and the king is at risk of being dethroned. He's taking major precautions," Dread confirmed, annoyance creeping into his voice.


Everyone's attention in the room was fixated on Dread.


"Good, he'll have what's coming to him," Asher interrupted, his eyes flashing with anger.


The room snapped their attention on Asher.


"I think it's about time those bastards in the kingdom be cleansed," Asher declared. "They've done nothing but pillage and kill. I say good riddance."


"There are innocent people in the kingdom," Julien disagreed, his voice firm. "Sure, Some deserve many horrible things. That doesn't include everyone."


Julian was surprised by his response, it was out of character for him to speak his mind so candidly.


Asher scowled, staring at Julian. He was about to head straight towards Julien, but Eric stepped in, putting his hand on Asher's shoulder.


"Calm down." Eric said politely.


Asher looked over his shoulder and pulled away from Eric's grip.


"Get off me!" Asher grunted


Asher crosses his arms giving one last sneer look at Julian turning his attention towards Dread


"Are you boys finished?" Dread scoffed.