Chapter 90: Search for Lynn

POV Eliza

“Ken?” <Eliza>

“Eliza?” <Ken>

Ken jumped up from his stooped position. He looked drunk and there were two jugs in front of him. He also had dark circles under his eyes.

“What's going on? You look like hell. Where are the others?” <Eliza>

“Eliiiza! Help me!” <Ken>

“Now calm down.” <Eliza>

“Lynn, she's ... she's ... sob!” <Ken>

“What's wrong with Lynn? Tell me!" <Eliza>

“She's gone. She's dead!” <Ken>

Ken burst into tears. Lynn was dead? What had happened? I had to calm Ken down so he could tell me what was going on. I took him in my arms and patted him on the head. He cried his eyes out on my shoulder and then slowly calmed down. Then I was finally able to hear the story from him.

Lynn had gone on an adventure quest with the two boys. They were supposed to guard a merchant's cart traveling east from Tyros to Murembach. Murembach was a town about 7 days away. The route led past a forest. There they were attacked by bandits. During the fight, first Ronnen and then he himself lost consciousness. When they regained consciousness, they had found the merchant's cart plundered. Apart from the two of them, the merchant had not been killed and the horses were still there. However, there was no trace of Lynn. Ronnen and he had then made their way back to Tyros and reported back to the guild. Then they had split up and tried to look for me, because no one else wanted to go on the search. Ronnen had left for LIghtburgh and he himself had waited here. Plagued by guilt, he had tried to escape by drinking. It had been three days since the robbery. At the end of his story, he fell asleep exhausted.

I left him to sleep with his head on the table and wondered what I should do. There was no question in my mind that I wanted to help and find Lynn. To do this, I had to go to the scene of the robbery and look for clues. My first destination would be the guild the next morning. I hoped to find more hints there.

Early the next morning, I made my way to the guild. There I asked around and learned that there had been frequent reports of robberies in the area recently. The reports were so new that no one had yet got to the bottom of the cause. There was a C-rank quest from the guild for clues and clarification of the robberies. I accepted it straight away. What I then found was another quest to cover a merchant who was leaving for Murembach the next day. I briefly considered whether I should accept the quest, but then decided against it. I planned to follow the merchant within sight and then observe a possible ambush. There was no easier way to spot the bandits. Perhaps they would lead me to their hideout.

I left a message for Ken that I was going in search of Lynn. I would tell him in person, but I was afraid that he would follow me. In his current state, he was no help to me. Besides, he didn't have the necessary skills for a secret rescue operation. I didn't want to put him in unnecessary danger.

The next morning, I waited for the merchant at the city gate. There were many travelers making their way east, including two merchants. After they had set off, I followed them within sight. One of the traders was faster than the other, so I took my bearings from the second. I assumed that we would catch up with the first trader if he was ambushed. So it was enough if I went after both of them.

The first day and night passed uneventfully. I knew from Ken that the location of the raid was two days away from Tyros. The area had become increasingly wooded, perfect for an ambush. Just before the sun went down, both the merchants and the other travelers set up camp. The first trader could only be seen in the distance. I rested for a few hours.

The raid would probably take place at night or in the early hours of the morning. So I crept into the forest. My plan was to go around the rear merchant's camp and sneak up to the front merchant. Maybe I could spot people hiding in the forest. I did indeed sense people, so I hid and waited. They seemed to split up and target both traders at the same time. It took until well after midnight for the bandits to put their plan into action. They charged towards the outnumbered guards of the merchant in front and quickly overpowered them. The second merchant had stronger cover and was apparently only attacked as a distraction. In the meantime, they looted the first wagon and quickly disappeared back into the forest. That was the starting signal for my pursuit.

I followed the bandits across the forest to the north, where the terrain was more hilly. The combination of night and my night vision made the chase easy for me. They didn't seem to expect a pursuit either. After about two hours we had reached our destination. I recognized a cave in a rock face where the bandits disappeared. Now I could also determine the number of bandits. I counted eight alone who had committed the robbery. But I didn't know how many were still in the cave. I didn't know how strong they were individually, but if they had similar levels to me, 1 was doable and 2 was probably too many. So I needed a good plan.

I moved away from the cave entrance within sight to watch the bandits. I built a shelter and hid it in the forest. While I watched, I rested. Throughout the day, several persons were occasionally seen at the entrance. Around midday, a single person left the cave. According to the equipment, it was a scout. As I estimated the number of bandits to be around 12, he could be the only scout. His loss could be a major blow to the bandits. So I spontaneously decided to follow him and take him out if possible. To do this, I dropped my transformation and became a dark elf again. I immediately felt much more comfortable in my skin and felt my mood improve at the prospect of a fight.

I followed the scout cautiously. My senses were better than his because he didn't notice me. He moved purposefully towards the east. Did he want to go to Murembach? I had to prevent that, so I accelerated and ran an arc to intercept him. I conjured up an increase in speed for myself. As soon as he came back into my field of vision, I fired my strongest attack spell and ran towards him with my weapons drawn. He was completely surprised and reacted too slowly. By the time he had drawn his sword, I had already hit him twice with my daggers. The advantage in my speed was so great that he had no chance. One attack from him was followed by three attacks from me and I was able to dodge all but one of them.

After the victory, I was breathing heavily and felt strangely numb. He's the first human I've killed. So far it's always been monsters and animals. I only realized this now and it weighed heavily on my conscience. I knew it would happen eventually, but when it actually became a reality, it was harder than I thought. I had to sit down and it took a long time before I was able to act again. I also struggled to keep the contents of my stomach down once the adrenaline had left my body. He was a bandit and he certainly had people's lives on his conscience. Nevertheless, this would stay with me for a long time and it would not be the last battle I fought against the bandits. There were still many of them in the cave, but they stood in the way of rescuing Lynn. That alone was reason enough for me to carry on.