First
"You know, usually when someone spots a rope in the middle of the forest path, tied between two trees, their first instinct is not to go and trip it."
"Well sorry for being curious about what it was about! How was I supposed to know it was a trap?"
"Geugh, so much for being a wealth of worldly knowledge. Once we're out of this mess, I'm never letting you direct where we go again."
He stayed quiet at that. There wasn't really a fair rebuttal after all, he was the reason why they were currently both in a rope net, dangling from a tree branch in the middle of a relatively dangerous path. And now they were waiting for whichever group of rogues, bandits, or criminals the trap they sprung belonged to to come and finish them off. Well, try at least. It was kind of hard to completely kill them.
A few more minutes passed before he tried talking again. "You didn't have to go follow me y'know. Then at least you coulda been free."
But this seemed to tick the other off even more. "And what, leave my only friend in this land of forests filled with traps to die on his own? Not in a million years, even if I just found you again at the nearest Wellspring."
"That's...Not what I meant. I more meant that if you were free it'd be easier for you to free me."
"Oh, so you were thinking of yourself again! How humble of you!"
"I really just can't win, can I? Alright, I admit it. I screwed up, and I'm stupid for wanting to know what a random contraption was doing in the middle of the forest. There, does my confession suit your fancy."
"You didn't really have to berate yourself there at the end."
He sighed at his compatriot proving his point of not being able to win even further. He was always like this when he was irate, which happened often on this journey despite him being the one to suggest it. Instead of dwelling on it, however, he focused on his surroundings. Summer was in full swing, the trees were almost unhealthy shades of green, insects were buzzing and birds were chirping. Occasionally a rabbit or a squirrel would come into view for a few seconds before disappearing into a bush or up a tree. It reminded him of a more peaceful time, without strange contraptions in the woods, before his Great Slumber as his compatriot put it. Before sentient species dominated the planet.
Then he woke up at a Wellspring with this blockhead leaning against a pillar nearby saying they should go on a journey throughout the world. How he hated him sometimes.
It was getting dark now. Well, darker than before. If he had to guess, sometime between afternoon and sunset. The shadows were lengthening and the sky was turning the slightest shades of yellow and red. That's when he heard the shuffling in the bushes, different from the animals. A larger beast. Or perhaps not a beast at all.
And a few seconds later, his question was answered. Three bandits in what he assumed was the latest in popular bandit fashion revealed themselves off the beaten path. They spoke in a language he couldn't quite understand, barking to each other and laughing at probably what they considered their 'fresh kill'. He caught his compatriot whispering something about Agrian, but to be honest he had enough on his mind without listening to his ramblings, mainly, what he was about to do should these bandits decide to make him their entertainment for the night. Whether by humiliation or by simple guilty pleasure. Though those could be a one in two experience, he mused.
They hefted the bag off the branch and hoisted it between two of them while the third- presumably the leader- walked ahead. It wasn't very far from the path, but it was enough to be considered hidden. Their camp was partially underneath a rock face for additional protection, and had a convenient cave nearby for storage, or at least that's what he guessed they used it for.
They tied their hands up, then tossed the two into an iron cage and locked it, before cutting the net apart through the bars using a rather long sword. Well, at leas they were free from their immediate enclosure, and were spared a few inches of space apart. His compatriot had remained silent through the trip, no doubt working on how to get out of the camp alive.
He spoke up first. "So, what's the plan?"
"Well, counting the ones already at the camp there's a total of five, and they speak Agrian, which means they probably at the very least know what they're doing. That nation's practically built on the premise of steal or be stolen from. In terms of fighting our way out, there's not much we can do. But we can scare them if they're halfway knowledgeable on the old history of the land."
"And what are the chances of that?"
"To be honest, not high at all. But hey, better than nothing, right?"
Well, that was true at least. It was worth a shot, but now the question was how they were gonna get their attention enough to be serious. Unfortunately his compatriot forbade the usage of either of their Gifts on the journey, however long it might be, which makes encounters like this especially difficult. But then, usually the journey makes up for it later. Usually.
"We could screech like baboons until they get annoyed enough to come over here."
"No, they wouldn't take us seriously then."
"What about giving up everything we own?"
"They've already got that. We're locked up in a cage, they can take whatever they want and still keep us in there. Not much choice then."
"Well, this is an open field of discussion you know. You can suggest stuff too."
"Acting true to our nature, maybe? Without using our Gifts of course."
"It's certainly an option, but wouldn't that just make them angry?"
"It doesn't matter if they're angry, so long as they're taking us seriously."
"Fair enough point. Have at it then. I'll jump in whenever."
His compatriot sighed, and probably was lamenting the fact he told him to start, if he had to wager a guess. Usually he wasn't the one outwardly talking to people. But he took a deep breath, composed himself, and began.
"So, care to tell us why you have us locked up in some rusted iron cage we could so very easily break through?" He called out towards their campfire. One of the bandits looked towards them and piped up with a hearty laugh, finally speaking in a language he could understand. "Yeah, right. If you could break through that you'da done so already! Now keep quiet, we's tryin ta' eat!"
But his compatriot wasn't done yet. "We were bored and wanted to see what you'd do with us, but this is even more boring than being stuck in that net. You guys make for terrible entertainment, y'know?"
This seemed to irk them a little. He had to give it to him, when he was into his role he was damn good at it. One of them got up and walked over to them, obviously a little tipsy, but dangerous, and to prove the point further he leveled a dagger towards them. "Tryin ta' play tough, are ya? Aw'right then, why don't ya be a little more entertainin for us tonight! Boys, bring em out, I'll slit their throats meself, and then we can revel in their gold and laugh while we throw their bodies in the fire! Screw the job, they've gone an' made me mad!"
The job...? He thought. Maybe there was more to these bandits than met the eye. But he couldn't think about that much on account of his short being grabbed and him being dragged through the mud towards fire, forced on his knees, and with his hands still tied behind his back he couldn't even do anything about it. This took a turn for the worse. And now that stupid bandit is preaching or something in- what was it, Agrian? Regardless, he still couldn't make the words out. He shot a quick glance at his compatriot, who looked a little more panicked than he did at the moment.
"Come on, surely this gives reason to use the Gift!"
"No, you can't! That wouldn't only kill everyone here but you'd basically be broadcasting your location for the others to come find us! Under no circumstances can either of us use our Gift!"
"Well, what do you suggest we do then!? Just die!?"
"Of course not, but...we have to get out somehow. Let's try fighting, it might be our only chance now."
"I thought you were against fighting in the first place."
"I was, but that was when I thought we had options. We don't now."
"Argh, fine! I'll distract them, you book it! And don't give me crap about it like in the trap, this was my fault in the first place!"
"I-"
"No! No crap! Just nod your head and sprint when you see an opening!"
At that, his compatriot finally agreed to one of his ideas, and he prepared himself. He'd run too, given the chance, but his were substantially lower. Still, a chance is a chance...
The bandit was still preaching, and this gave him an opening. He stood up, reared back, and headbutted the bandit hard in the back of the head, sending him stumbling forward. His compatriot broke out into a sprint getting away, and the leader ordered two of his men to go after him. That was fine, he was confident his compatriot could lose them. It was the remaining three he was worried about. The leader lunged forward with his dagger, still staying on his toes, but more than a little tipsy from the feast they were having earlier. He dodged left, then right, then left again, turning as he did so, and he managed to raise his arms up in time for the bandit to accidentally slice through the ropes tying his hands up. Now with his hands free, he had a significantly higher chance of survival.
The bandit swayed back, a little off-put by the fact he just freed his own prisoner, but nonetheless determined to go in for the kill. The other two bandits struck at the same time too, but unluckily for them, he knew some swordplay, and one of them happened to have a sword.
The leader lunged with his dagger, the one to his left nocked his bow, the one to his right swung his sword in a downward arc. All of this slowed as his perception of time increased to allow him to think. This wasn't technically a part of the Gift, so he was free to use it, though it might be treading the line a little bit. Parallel Thinking, the ability to take in multiple sources of information at once and act upon it immediately rather than having to process it first. He would reach out and grab the sword bandit's outstretched arm, dodging the blade and bringing it down further so as to block the leader's own jab. With his dagger thoroughly embedded into his ally's arm, the sword was dropped, and he grabbed it with his remaining hand. But he wasn't done with the sword bandit yet, he'd yank the bandit further in front of him, using the pain of the dagger to get him off balance in order to block the arrow from the last bandit, then throw him towards the leader. He'd take out the archer while the leader was getting the probably dead bandit off of him, and then he'd kill the leader, simple as pie.
Of course, it would have been if he had his enhanced physical prowess from the Gift. But right now, he was just an ordinary being with no special power barring parallel thought. His body wasn't even fast enough to throw off the bandit with the sword. He grabbed their wrist, but before he could even do anything the bandit had thrown him off and struck him in the side of the head.
And as the rest of the world went dark, the bandits standing over him, he could have sworn he saw a brilliant flash of light from somewhere in the distance.
