Just Another Witch Hunt

chapter two: Bandits

Eliza:

The rain slams against the ground rustling the trees outside. I can still hear the pounding of wet paws against the mud soaked ground as we rushed to this dark cave. We needed shelter, the dark wet world was all around us, suffocating us.
Layla found us this cave, the good girl can see in the dark luckily for me.
It's been a week since I set out for Giantsbury, still no sign of the large strange man. Not that I was looking for him, he's obviously someone to stay away from. But I am curious on why he hunts for the witch.
Did she take someone away like she did with me?
Destroy all she cared about much like with me?
Or was he searching for more, more....
I shuddered to think of anyone taking her side.
But I also shuddered since I was soaked. Standing over a pile of old planks as I try to light a fire.
Gods how I wished I was a fire mage in this moment.
Luckily it seemed someone heard my curse of a prayer.
As a spark ignites the dusty wood we collected around the cave.
Revealing an old bandit hide out.
Or at least what remained of it.
There were old bones, empty mugs, but the rusted daggers coupled with a traditional bandit flag that hung in the back of the cave. It had a goblin embroider on it, the color brown from dust. But it used to be a faded green.
Goblins, a dying breed. Over hunted out of fear. A few bad eggs, and everyone fears the entire race.
They hunt them like over populated deer, people are afriad due to how fast they grow and populate. A week old goblin can hold a blade. A child with a weapon can still be dangerous if left alone.
But in my experience, just like with orcs.
Goblins get a bad reputation, obviously the winners will paint them as the bad guys. But who pushed them towards being the monsters, over hunting for experience. Pillaging whole villages for the fun of it? Taking what people spend their life times building, or even watching your parents get murdered in front of you.
It happens to humans by goblins, it happened to goblins, to orcs, to the dragon newts, or lizard men or even the elves. The one race who assaulted, raped and pillaged all of those races? Humans.
Not all humans are bad.
But in my experience as an elf.
There's a lot of them.
The good ones always end up getting killed protecting someone whose not worth it.
Like my village, and how they protected me.
" Well well well now looky here?" I here from the other side of the cave.
A few rugged men came tumbling in, holding bottles of alcohol and brandishing shipped weapons.
You could see a darkness in their aura.
They were killers, thieves, even rapists. They were human.
Speak of the evil dieties, and they shall appear.
" Mmmm I like the look of this one, all alone in a cave, by herself with nothing but big kitten to protect herself. There's a huge storm outside so me and my boys saw this light and decided to fight some shelter... Now would you be so kind a guest as to keep us entertained while we wait for the storm to pass?" The one eyed leader asked, there were six of them all tall. The leader had a dead white white on his right side, he was the most muscular of the group. And the only one not holding a weapon. Two in the back held some loot, and one held food or least that what I presumed.
So three armed.
This was going to be annoying.
Layla was too big, I loved her but she was just get the way and she knew it.
Her kind didn't follow weak masters, but she would step in if things got too dangerous.
The last thing I wanted was the smell of blood filling the cave. Especially if I was going to be stuck here. Normally I'd try and reason with someone first, but these people. They were scum.

I sighed looking up at them smiling down at me, mostly looking back at Layla to watch if she moved deeming her the only real threat. When they should've been looking at me, especially when a dagger was lodged into the leaders throat in less than a second. They had no time to react, I threw the dagger as I lunged up pushing him back against the two holding loot. I pulled my ax out as a shield of briars form above my arm guard on my right hand.
I jump off the leaders body slamming my thorny shield into the food holders face as my axe slammed down on the unsuspecting armed bandit. The other armed bandit to the bosses right side gains his composure yelling out as he slashes his sword down. By then it was two late I rolled over the new corpse in a barrel like fashion pulling my axe out of his head as his comrade slices into his corpse. His blad was down his face unguarded, I smile twilight my body I toss the small axe at the last armed bandit watch as it moves in a circle like fashion beheading the poor fool before flying back to my hand through magic. I smile to myself, three down one severally disfigured, the other two trembling in fear.
I turn to them, covered in blood and holding my blood soaked torn shield and axe looming over them.
" Take your dead, and leave... You will not be warned again. " To add to the fear Layla got up and stood next to me looking down at the bandits while licking her lips.
They nod quickly grabbing their dead and running out into the storm preferring the threat of nature to me. I walk out of the cave and let the rain wash away the filth that was their blood. After five minutes, I head back inside stripping and hanging my clothes. Now naked I curl up into Layla who will watch out for me.
Now buried in her soft silk like fur with the fire to my back I shiver softly before drifting off the bed. The smell of iron still heavily in the air... Reminding me of home.