[jexterarsdon]

Broost Tacaherrio feared little.

He was the son of hunters, born into a family of strength and blood. He had gotten into the art of crime many years ago, but even he came unprepared for this.

He found himself alongside the rest of the Xuat gang, all twelve of whom stared at the carriage waiting for them.

It looked exactly like a carriage from Goldberry, a mining town near Xuat. It's blacken hue and red stripes signaled it as a threat to any bandits, making it one of the most renowned ways to travel in the region.

Har appeared, opening the carriage door and motioning people inside.

"We don't have all day. It'll be cramped but this used to smuggle items into Ocia so it's spacious." He said, as Dazzewekk and Fert Borborham entered the carriage.

As more and more people entered, the mood began to brighten.

Was it the last effort of positivity, or simply a good sign of things to come?

[Caedric Kazim]

Caedric awoke the next morning, stiff but well rested. He combed his fingers through his hair, pulling bits of straw from his wavy locks. Today would be a day that would be written in history books, read long after his mortal life ended. He wondered, who around them would perish this day, and be forgotten to time? In the dark of night he had stolen dried meat and fruit from the stores of someones property, and he greedily ate as he waited amongst the other men. He did not offer to share with them, nor did he care to partake in idle conversation. 

Caedric stood off to the side, one hand on his weapon, as a carriage drawn by two muscled draft horses pulled up to a halt next to them. Time to go. He shouldered past one of the men, securing his seat on the opposite side next to the window. The potential for a great loss of life gave Caedric a feeling of preemptive sadness that ached in the crevices of his hardened heart, yet the possibility of claiming treasures as his gave him excitement. He had yet to use his weapon in battle, and wondered if today it would be painted red. 

He took another bite of dried meat, and gazed outside the carriage window and the last of the misfits filed in. 

[jexterarsdon]

Jexter and Nercy found themselves sitting right next to a strange man. They had seen him during last night's meeting, but they had become too distracted to fully realize that they had never met this man before.

They were going to start asking questions, but Har Sherburne spoke up.

"Here's the plan, I'll drop you all off right next to the road where a carriage is heading towards. That carriage contains over fifty bars of pure Quenyi gold, making it worth more than the entire town of Xuat combined. There will be five to seven guards alongside a carriage driver protecting it. Find the best shot amongst you cause you only have one shot at this.

I also brought along a special weapon I'm case you need it." Har paused, and reached into his cloak. He pulled out a glass sphere, which appeared to contain a fireball inside of it.

"This is a firebomb, if the glass shatters the firebomb goes off. Anyone caught near it will be dead before you can do shit about it, so don't mess around with it. Now, who is the least clumsy?"

"That's probably me." Uzojjo said, reaching out for the firebomb.

"I hope so, cause it's your responsibility now." Har said, as he handed it to Uzojjo.

"What happens if the Ocia Mafia sends out reinforcements?" Broost asked.

"Run like hell, they'd rather die than let someone steal their gold. It's cultish in a way honestly."

"So when are we going?" Fert asked.

"Right now." Har said, as he tapped the carriage.

The carriage began to move, gathering more and more speed as it went.

"One more thing, don't try and take the gold, it weighs far too much and will just slow you down. Simply kill the carriage driver, take out the guards, and burn the carriage, that will cause enough havoc."

"Where does this gold come from?" Broost asked.

"Goldberry, the mafia have mines there. It's the only place they can get gold from. The leader, Xick Orporless, cheapened out years ago, made it so only one carriage came and went. Xick's currently in Ocia so it's prime time to cause problems for him."

Jexter took another look around, and noticed that Roender and Smroog had joined them. They didn't really seem to talk much, not after Marcellus beat them last week.

"Are we going to die?" Nercy asked Jexter, whispering to him.

"Were the softies Nercy, Cotton and Wool, they're probably keep us away from the dangerous parts."

"We'll be there in five or six minutes." Har announced. "Get ready."

[Caedric Kazim]

Caedric listened intently, gaze drifting from the window as their new leader spoke, confidence radiating from his being hidden behind rags and shadows. It would seem he'd thought of everything so far - and the man wondered where he got his intel. Could he have been borne in Selâ, whose citizens were able to warg into their familiar creatures, granting them ability to see the world in a different perspective, in a different place? He corrected himself then, reminded of the night before, when his mouth yawned open for a creatures appendage to come forth. Right, not from this world. Caedric's mind had forced him to forget - this discover had shattered his vision of the world and everything in it. His stomach lurched at the thought. To sit so close to a foul beast such as this... it was beyond him. Caedric inhaled through his nose to re steady himself.

His hands rested in his lap, where he found it easy to access his weapon if needed. Not that it would matter vs the parasite, but if push came to shove, he'd not hesitate to raise his blade to the other men in carriage, should they press him to. "I'll cut their horses free." He added with a solemn nod. Although Caedric enjoyed a heist, wreaking havoc and stealing, he was no monster. He imagined his blade slicing through the tethers that kept the horses pulling the gold-carrying carriage, securing the animals freedom and condeming the humans to a cruel and barabaric death. He wondered where this stranger procured his items, and if he gave them so freely, did he have more hiding beneath the visage?

Caedric pondered on whether he would sneak small amounts of gold in his pockets, if they had any. Only a few more minutes, and he would surely find out. He brushed his hair behind his ears, adrenaline coursing through his veins, filling him to the brim with anticipation.

[jexterarsdon]

The carriage would soon come to a halt, and the doors on either side would suddenly be opened by a person on either side.

The one on the right was a large burly man, his entire face viewable to the crew.

Har walked off the carriage and coughed silently into his sleeve.

"Don't worry about Giggles and The Messenger, they're just here to assist me." Har said, as he walked over to the carriage driver.

"Is it clear?" He asked the driver.

The driver responded immediately, completely obscure from view.

"I can't see anything, probably should hurry them out however, I can't predict what time the mafia gets here."

"Fair enough. Giggles, double check for any forgotten items then head back to your spot, we need to leave as soon as possible."

Giggles nodded, and observed as the members of the Xuat gang left the carriage.

The Messenger, who was a mysterious cloaked figure with half a mask on his face, appeared to have an open ear for any strange noises.

"You hear anything Messenger?" Har asked.

"Nope, it's quiet." The Messenger responded.

"Alright, head to the tree line, you all have your weapons right? I hope so cause if you wish to get paid I need this to go as smoothly as possible. If you do fail, head into town, that way your death will become a newsworthy event."

Har glanced over the thirteen men that were about to risks their lives, he tried to remember their faces, but rushed himself by getting back inside of the carriage.

The carriage sped off in an instant, and the gang was now alone.

[Caedric Kazim]

Caedric was pulled from his thoughts as the carriage halted suddenly, jolting him into the shoulder of the creature that sat next to him, wearing a mans skin. He shuddered, wondering if it was possible to become infected by close proximity. He avoided making eye contact, and was the first to jump out when the side doors were opened suddenly. He recognized none of their faces, but did not let on his discomfort. He would do what he always did to ensure his own survival - lie and perform.

He listened intently to the instructions, nodding as he shifted his weight on apprehensive feet. His muscles, still filled with adrenaline, ached to be moved, yearned to release the pent up energy. Caedric unsheathed his short sword, which curved into a fine point, with a jagged tooth on the end. He watched as the carriage doors shut, with the stranger inside, and pulled off disappearing on the horizon. They were left to fend for themselves.

Caedric nodded to the others, and turned to make his way to the tree line for cover. He wondered, if push came to shove, would any of the men here defend him? Or would he be left to fend for himself in battle? He would soon find out his own fate, and theirs.

[jexterarsdon]

The carriage came soon enough.

Broost spotted it first and quickly whistled. With the whistle came a chaotic noise of panicking gangster quickly attaching bolts to their dartbows, and firing at the carriage.

The carriage came to a halt, and the driver of the carriage quickly lept off of the carriage.

Five people came hurrying out of the carriage doors, crossbows in their hands, armed and ready to fire at the gangsters.

The robbery had begun.

[Caedric Kazim]

Caedric's attention honed in as he heard the whistle from their lookout behind the dunes. Arrows shot past his head, whistling in the air as they met their mark, points buried deeply into the wood of the carriage that was their target. He had quickly knotted his hair behind him, keeping the strands from obscuring his vision. This is what they were waiting for. He sized up the men, who were thicker than he was. Although Caedric did not posess raw strength, he had speed and stamina on his side.

He opened his mouth, letting loose a fierce battle cry, vocal chords straining and scratching as he did so. Caedric could finally release his pent up energy, he ran forward, leading the charge. His legs pumped furiously, kicking up sand and leaving footprinted dents in his wake. An arrow shot at him, and he lifted his blade to strike it from the air before it could pierce his flesh. He closed the space between them quickly, launching himself into a leap towards the horses leading the carriage, who neighed and bucked furiously, nostrils flaring.

His blade cut though their reigns, freeing them. There would be no escape for these men now. Caedric reached his hand for the loose rope the tethered the equines to their charge, grasping it as fiercely as he could. It tore into the flesh of his hand, burning through his skin. He winced, but pulled himself to the back of one of the horses as the other fled. The men turned to him, shooting from their crossbows. Caedric's mount reared, its hooves cutting through the air. Arrows pierced its chest and stomach, and it let out a painful scream as it pawed, a hoof cracking a mans skull, dropping him lifeless into the sand. It lurched forward, and Caedric flew forward with it.

He lead with his blade, thrusting it forward to the neck of a second man, whos let out a bloody gurgle as his head lobbed to the side, before dropping to join his friend into the sand. Caedric fell hard on his shoulder, and barely had a moment to steady himself before his attackers had time to respond. He looked to his "friends" who were here to rob them, eyes pleading for assistance.

[jexterarsdon]

Caedric's actions did not go unnoticed, and Broost made sure to fire some bolts at his directions.

The rest of the gang were a bit occupied however. As multiple bolts had gotten close to striking them.

Dazzewekk in particular had a few near misses, especially when a bolt missed his head by a few inches.

"These bastards have good aim!" He shouted, at no one in particular. "Keep an eye out for any stray bol-"

A bolt flew straight into Dazzewekk's eye. Causing the man to fly back in pain.

No one seemed to really notice this however, as Broost made a successful hit on the carriage driver, who was now dead on the ground with a bolt striking out of his head.

"Got one!" Broost shouted, turning his head towards the man next to him.

He was greeted with a dead Dazzewekk.

Another guard was struck in the throat by Uzojjo, and collapsed to the ground.

The fight was coming to an end it seems.

[Caedric Kazim]

Caedric witnessed arrows flying towards his enemies under wispy tendrils of hair that fell from his bun. He shot a thankful look to Broost, before hopping to his feet quickly to assess the situation. His adrenaline began to subside, and he felt a wave of tiredness wash over him. Two of his comrades were dead, and all of the carriage riders were deceased as well. He kicked one in the ribs with his foot, for good measure. You could never be too sure of your enemies.

Caedric sheathed his sword, and began to dig around their belongings, searching for any information or small trinkets of value. He may not be able to run off with gold, but he could very well pocket a wristwatch. As he dug through the belongings of the deceased, he took measure to keep some of his attentions on the atmosphere around him, so that he would not get caught by surprise should reinforcements show up.

He decided that he would care for the bodies and remains of those who helped him later, once their quest was completed. 

[jexterarsdon]

The fight was ovover. Seven bodies laid either by or close to the carriage. Dazzewekk's body laid untouched by everyone.

"Is Dazzewekk the only causality?" Broost asked.

"Yeah, I think so." Fert answered.

"Bloody hell, at least it's over."

Uzojjo, Roender, and Smroog gathered around Dazzewekk's body, seemingly paying their respects.

Uzojjo was the only one to speak.

"Goodbye friend, may whatever awaits you be somewhat more peaceful than this."

Uzojjo walked away, and reached into his pocket. He pulled out the firebomb that had been given to him.

"Hey I never had to use this, what should I do with this?"

"Put that thing away, we shouldn't play with firebombs. Bloody things shatter way too godamn easily."

"Then why did that masked man give me this?"

"As a last resort most likely." 

"Where are the softies?" Fert asked.

"Cotton and Wool are lying low. They aren't really combative." Broost pointed out.

"Cowards didn't even try to shoot anyone did they?" 

"You know how they are. They can be lookout." 

"You're too nice on them." Uzojjo spoke. "But they are good at keeping quiet so I suppose I'll shut up."

"You should, any loud noise might bring the wrong attention."

"Anyways-shit why was the rock right there-anywas I'll go with Roender and Smroog to the back of the carriage, maybe try and score a little something." 

"Do you know how heavy gold is? Especially when packed all into a box?" 

"Yeah that's why I'm breaking a box open, one gold bar is a lot lighter than multiple after all." 

"Alright, get me a bar too, hell get us all a bar." 

Uzojjo, Roender, and Smroog walked to the back of the carriage, but found a lock placed on the carriage doors.

"Shit it's locked, give me a few minutes to lockpick it." 

Broost nodded, and turned to face Fert and Jarloss.

"Let's go see the softies. I want to try and make sure they understand how close they are to getting beaten up." 

Uzojjo crouched down, causing his pockets to become fully exposed.

Uzojjo pulled out a lockpick and began to fiddle with the lock.

"I should have it eventually. Just be patient!"

Broost shook his head and then turned to face the softies.

"Cotton! Wool! Why the bloody hell did you come to a fight you weren't going to fight in?" 

Jexter spoke up. "I had no orders, it was more or less a free-for-all." 

"So? No one else felt the need to stand aside."

"You know that I don't really join in on fights, I'm the softie." 

"Look, Dazzewekk's death pissed people off, I can only keep them away from you for so long."

"Alright, alright, how about I take care of Dazzewekk's body as punishment."

"No he needs a proper burial. Why don't you just run off. We'll all going to disappear anyway."

"Hold on where is Rex?"

"Yeah, wait...Zivexau and Raccis are missing as well."

"They arrived with us right? Are they hiding out until we leave?" Jexter asked.

"They talked the big talk about being there for us. The bullshitters..." Broost paused, and turned towards Uzojjo.

"Uzojjo! Keep an eye out for Rex, Raccis, or Zivexau, they're at it again!"

Uzojjo stood up, quickly enough to cause a sphere to fall out of his pocket.

Uzojjo realized too quickly what had happened.

"Holy fu-"

The explosion was loud and bright. Causing the surrounding area to become full of dust and wooden debris.

The sounds of ringing began to play in everyone's ear, and Broost quickly ran to the trees.

Jexter and Necry followed closely behind him.

[Caedric Kazim]

Caedric pocketed a small charm, a few bills of legal tender, and a brass pin as the other men joined him around the downed carriage. Blood had began to sink into the sand, painting it red and filling the air with the smell of copper. His heart began to slow in his chest as things began to calm down, and the other discussed lockpicking the carriage to rifle through its contents. He was happy to stand aside, taking care not to step on any bodies. Though, he didn't particularly feel like the two cowards who hid in the forest deserved any loot. Caedric eyed them suspiciously.

His ears perked up as they argued amongst each other, trying to locate their missing friends. Had they made a run for it when the fight started? He shook his head. Lesser men operated out of fear. He would forget their faces, their intentions, their history, everything about them. They would fade into the vast nothingness while they lived, which to him, felt like a death in its own right.

He barely had time to react when the small orb fell from one of their pockets. The realization swept through his mind, and his eyes widened with fear. Caedrc had forgotten the name of the peculiar object, but he knew of its power. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Everyones attentions had turned to the fire orb, as it struck the ground, opening up into a fiery explosion. Caedric had just enough time to shield his face with his forearm as the blast sent him careening backwards. The wind was pushed from his lungs and he gasped hoarsely. The cloth on his shirt was burned through, and the skin on his arm had suffered a similar fate. He groaned as he forced himself to the side, air refilling his chest. The stench of burning smoke filled his nostril, nearly causing him to retch on the sand. Caedric whipped his head around, surveying the situation. Had anyone else been harmed?

[jexterarsdon]

A sense of panic ranged over the gang as they quickly ran over to the now destroyed carriage.

They found Caedric alive but injured, and began looking for Uzojjo'delaah'gorstah.

They would never find most of the body.

"Shit!" Broost said, as he looked over the bodies of Roender and Smroog. "We don't have time to bury the dead, we've got to get out of here!"

Fert nodded. "Ain't no way this place stays quiet for long, do we head back to Xuat?"

"It's probably the closest place, can the injured guy stand up?"

Jarloss looked over at Caedric. "Looks like he only has burns, lucky bastard. Can you stand up?"

Broost turned to the softies. "Cotton, Wool, get those horses, we need to get the hell out of here!"

[Caedric Kazim]

Caedric steadied himself before forcing his arms to bear the weight of his body as he pushed himself up from the hot, wet sand. He grimanced in pain as the skin of his forearms stretched and ripped from the burns, leaving red open flesh with grains of sand sprinkled in. He'd survive, but would be terribly scarred afterwards. He was grateful for the reminder of his mortality. It seemed the one who dropped the bomb was disintegrated - his friends searched high and low for him, but found him naught, except for a foot here and a finger there.

He nodded to the others as he stood up fully, hair falling from his tie and sticking to his face that was sheen with sweat. He hobbled to his sword that was flung from his grasp and was stuck halfway in the earth, blade down. He sheathed it and removed his shirt, taking the hem of it in his mouth and ripping the fabric so that he could tie it around his forearms, preventing bacteria or worse from infecting his wounds.

He gazed towards the horizon, squinting his eyes at shapes that moved like shadows. Would there be more men coming their way?

[jexterarsdon]

Cotton and Wool quickly gathered up two horses, which would only be able to carry four people.

Broost looked around, and spotted three people running towards the carriage.

"Oh look who's joining us!" Broost said; as Rex, Zivexau, and Raccis revealed themselves.

"What the hell happened!?" Rex asked, sounding frightened.

"Well Uzojjo blew himself up so now the mafia very likely knows that something is up." 

Raccis and Zivexau quickly grabbed both horses from Cotton and Wool. They lead the horses over to Broost.

"Oh sure, now you want to help out." Broost said sarcastically.

"There's no time for arguments." Rex pointed out, as he looked around. "There's eleven people here and only two horses. We don't have enough for everyone."

"Give a horse to the injured man, he's the least likely to be able to keep up." Broost ordered.

"Alright, I'll book it with Zivexau and Raccis. That just leaves everyone else. Where is Dazzewekk? He's good at math."

"Dazzewekk's dead, so is Roender and Smroog." 

Rex paused, and blinked. "It's not just Uzojjo?" 

"No, we lost four men." 

Rex stayed silent for a moment. "I...see, I guess the masked guy was right about this being dangerous. Who's going alongside the injured man?"

"So far I'm thinking Cotton and Wool. The softies didn't fight either but at least they were here."

"I'm here now." Rex pointed out.

"Sure, that's great for the rest of us. Regardless, Cotton and Wool are the least capable of fighting back anyways, so it wouldn't be smart to leave them here." 

"I agree, are you and Jarloss taking a horse?"

"Probably, unless you suddenly decide to ask for a horse." 

"No, no, there's not enough horses for everyone, I'll just make a run for it."

Broost nodded. "Alright...probably should start running now." 

"Why's that?" 

"Cause I'm getting really tempted to add three more bodies to the count."