The Red Lands

Which school of banditry?

"Winter makes traveling on the roads a task by itself. No wonder peddlers and merchants use this season to return home."

Ming grumbled while shading his eyes from the morning sun. Half of the morning had flown by, but the reflective glare did a number on his eyes. He and Rose wrapped up their early dawn training, a little later than usual since the girl wanted to practice a special fighting move.

"Even though you can see the ground in the little patches from melting snow, it's difficult to make out the road from it. If the line of hedges and little wooded shrubs did not line the trail, we would be riding lost in the grasslands."

Shauna replied as she clipped the reins of the wagon. The last time she visited Karst with Jim and a group of young girls, they met the Boss on his trip to the jewelers. With a pouch full of silver and coppers, they had oohed and ahhed themselves while visiting the small shops on the main street.

A sleepy voice drifted from the top of the enclosed cage.

"Well, four days to Karst can happen if we ride hard, or if the road is good. One day extra is not bad, considering our pace."

"Rose is right, I dare say you will view the stone wall of the town tomorrow, long before midday. I can't wait to visit the tavern and knock one back. Ah, the life of an adventurer. I wonder if I can find a good deal in the shops considering the Bitzer raids?"

"Knock what one back? Don't dream about it. When Shauna learns how to handle herself in the town, you can guzzle all you want. Besides, did you forget who holds the coin pouch?"

Rose drawled from above. No wonder Chu nominated her to secure their finances.

"I'm just saying, you know. It's not like I spend coppers in a wasteful manner, you know? Everyone wrinkled their noses when I bought that wooden bead back then, but look how important it turned out to be. Oh, what's this?"

Ming said while raising himself from a slouching position. Facing upwards to the long-haired brunette lying comfortably on the roof, he pointed a finger forward. Under a layer of warm, furry quilts, Rose followed the direction with her exposed eyes as he continued.

"Hey, Rose. Knut seems to be returning with a little more speed than normal. I wager he found something while scouting out in front."

Placing his sheathed sword over his lap, he waited for the news. The burly rider soon clopped next to them.

"Around the bend. There is a group of five or so men at the side of the road. They have a bonfire going and also seem to be cooking."

"Cooking?"

Ming asked.

"Well, I did see one or two of them hover around the fire. From their bags and walking staff, I say they are also travelers on the road to Karst."

"Ah, I see the smoke now. It's rather hard because of the sun in my eyes."

Rose added from her perch on top of the covered cage.

Ming rubbed his palms and then cracked his knuckles. He turned to Shauna, who had stopped the horse while they chatted.

"Looks like you will be in for a treat. Rose, wave the red flag so Finn can return from riding beside us out on the grassland. I don't want to shout at this time. When he joins us, we'll have a little chat and then move on."

***

The wagon rounding the bend bore all the marks of a peddler's caravan.

The various stitched hides covering the tray, the pair of large iron baskets hanging on both sides with chopped logs, and also the robed, whistling driver who drove away the winter chill. A pair of thin and weary hooded figures rode alongside the wagon on horses.

As the travelers rolled nearer, their wagon slowed on noticing the group near the road. The clops of the horses became longer as the pace slowed. Soon, the newcomers halted on the road before the campsite. A young man with an eyebrow-raising, stubble beard greeted them from the wagon.

"Hello, there, my traveling friends! What direction are you heading?"

"Greetings, we are journeying to Karst."

A lanky fellow with a sallow face and ruffled, shoulder-length, black hair answered. His weathered eyes from the prolonged exposure to the icy air switched between the riders. Behind him, three men shuffled while gripping their patched cloaks tightly around them.

"Haha... so are we. I and my trading partner, old Finn, overstayed in the village for the winter. Terrible business, but as luck would have it, we both bagged a pair of beauties. Come, love, don't be bashful... haha. Are you folks also villagers leaving for the town?"

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Ming said while embracing and squeezing Shauna in a hug. The braided-haired girl wore an uncomfortable smile as she yelped and tried to scuttle away.

"Yes, we used to live in the village, but we hope to strike it big in the town. You must be weary from all that traveling, so why don't you join us for a meal? We can travel later and then set up camp together."

"Excellent idea, we peddlers always say we prefer to travel in company. The more the merrier!"

Ming answered.

Not long later, Rose and Finn joined Ming and Shauna around the campfire. Three of the men sat with them while the other two went off in search of firewood. Giving the campers a wave with their empty hands, they trotted off behind the nearby bank.

"This is the first and last time I travel to the north on business. This demon beast raid is bad for business."

Ming said while rubbing his hands.

"It was terrible. We barely escaped from the slums with..."

A straw-colored man replied, but was cut short by an elbow from the sallow-faced ma,n who picked up the conversation.

"Yes, it was terrible. That's why we are heading to Karst."

"That choice is best, I tell you that. That fellow's face looks familiar. Hey, are you also related to Old Potts from the village?"

Ming asked while chinning the silent man sitting across from him.

"Old Potts?"

"Yes, you know him, right? He is an old tavern regular, with long gray hair and a blind left eye. Everyone in the village calls him Lefty. Remember him?"

"Ah, you mean Lefty. Sure, I know of him. Yes, that guy is old Lefty's nephew."

The black-haired man laughed. Ming joined him while gazing and scrunching up his nose at the low bank where the two firewood foragers left a trail of footprints. Standing up, he dusted his butt and approached the fire. With the flair of a stage performer, he spun to the audience, flapping his heavy cloak.

"Listen up, Shauna, Mr. Thomas has always said the most dangerous of beasts on the road walk on two legs. I figured my mentor said this in relation to a beast like a wolf demon. But no, he meant something else, something much more sinister..."

"Man! He meant human, right?"

Shauna answered. She had grown accustomed to their question-and-answer sessions Ming held during the nights. Ming scrunched his nose and mouth as if he could cry.

"Yes. He meant humans. By the way, you're not supposed to answer, Shauna. I'm trying to build suspense here. Suspense."

"Oh, okay."

Ming nodded to the sheepish face before gazing at his audience. The three men sitting seemed glued to the ground in confusion while Finn and Rose twisted their lips and averted their eyes. The shame of association bore down on them.

"The most important function of a traveler is observation. Shauna, from your experience in traveling, do we use the daylight to make camp?"

Ming swung himself and extended a palm. Seeing her silent, he suddenly recalled his last words with a sigh.

"Ah, Shauna, you can answer now."

"Oh. Ah... no, we do not use the daylight to make camp. We travel efficiently when we camp at night and then use the light to journey onward."

"Mr. Sallow says they are also traveling from the village. Did you pass signs on the road while we traveled?"

"No."

"These fellows kindly asked us to join them for a meal. Do you notice any signs of a pot or preparations to cook?"

"No."

"Does Mr. Potts' nephew look like him?"

"Who is Mr. Potts?"

"Forget it. And no, he doesn't look even vaguely familiar to Mr. Potts. Lastly, did you notice something strange?"

Shauna placed a hand to her lip. After a moment of thought, she then replied.

"The fellows who went for firewood. It's common knowledge not to walk barehanded into the wild."

Ming paused as if caught off guard.

"Eh? Yes... that too. But I was hoping you spotted the four heads bobbing behind the little snow-covered bank over there."

He said while pointing to the location in question. By now, the three men had sprung up and circled to block a retreat to the wagon. From beneath their cloaks, they retrieved rusted daggers and lovingly carved, pointed, wooden stakes. In the direction where Ming pointed, heads of black, yellow, and red grew until five men appeared.

"Bandits?!"

Shauna exclaimed while springing up. From beneath her traveling cloak, she drew a gleaming dagger. Next to her, Rose and Finn sighed and joined her. With a swish, the two of them held a sword in their hands.

"Leave the girls and the horses, and walk to the village. If we find you on the road to Karst, we will kill you."

Ming raised an eyebrow on hearing the demand from Mr. Sallow.

"Hey, you do know that makes no sense, right? Without rations, we'll die anyway. Where did you learn your banditry from? Your workmanship is full of holes."

With the net of eight men now surrounding the foursome, the bandits relaxed while expecting the inevitable.

"Listen, don't ask where we learned our bandit-torry from. You are looking at the next group of Mong Bandits."

"Mong Bandits? Not too long ago, they were once my role models. Nice choice. So tell me, what will you do to us if we don't walk away?"

Ming asked while stroking his stubble. His question raised a series of answers.

"Yu'll find yourself lying in a ditch. After the demon raids, we hoped to see a few stragglers from the village on the road. Can't understand why you be the first ones."

"Jamme there has no problem killing. As for your bedwarmers, well we be taking over them services."

"Snork, what we waiting fer, I say we bash a staff over him heads."

The teen raised his hand from the minute, unevenly shaved beard to scratch his black hair. He turned to Shauna while pointing.

"See, this is why Chu always says to stay in school. Half of engaging in banditry lies in conversation. How can you rob someone when you can't speak properly?"

Ming smiled at the sallow-faced leader while pulling out his blade. He stepped forward to the man while continuing to speak without looking back at Shauna, keeping his eyes on the man.

"I'm not Lucy, so that is the reason you're not dead yet. By now, all of you would have been corpses, bleeding out onto the snow."

"I'm not Miki, so don't expect me to rob and leave you, hoping you'll be back with more loot. And then kill you."

"I'm certainly not Dyna, so I have no time to reform you."

Ming leaked out his acquired aura from his years of life and death skirmishes. He made a cold laugh, which caused the man to flinch.

"I usually like to give a man a second chance. At one time, my little brother might have also done so. But all that is in the past. I will never forget the suffering bandits inflicted on him."

Mr. Sallow had no time to react when Shauna screamed.

He never had the opportunity to witness his lopped head sail and drop wonderfully upright on a patch of ice. The eyes on the head remained coated in disbelief. Before it, red raindrops fell from the spurting fountain, which then tumbled chest-first to the cold ground.

Pivoting slowly around to face the net of assailants, Ming finished with his unneeded trademark strike.

Standing with his sword buried in the man's ass, he smiled.

"Who's next?"