The old man turned to the elven girl, his voice gentle.
"Where are you heading, Evelyn?"
Evelyn answered calmly, "I was heading toward the nearest village."
"Is there a specific reason?" the old man asked, his brow raising slightly.
"I heard there were bandits killing innocent people," Evelyn replied without emotion.
Auxen, sitting nearby, spoke up, "We're also heading there."
Evelyn glanced at him, her blue eyes steady. "Oh? And what purpose do you have?"
Before Auxen could respond, Jace interrupted with a smirk, "Wait, I thought you don't talk to humans?"
Evelyn shot him a cool look. "I said I only talk when necessary."
Nick chuckled at their exchange.
Jace leaned back, feigning offense. "So, I was the only one who spoke unnecessarily, huh?"
Evelyn, without missing a beat, said, "You're doing that right now."
Jace narrowed his eyes. "What did you just say?"
"I said you talk unnecessarily," Evelyn repeated, her expression unreadable.
Nick raised his hands, laughing lightly. "Calm down, both of you. So, Evelyn, you're here to deal with the bandit problem?"
"Yes," Evelyn replied simply.
Nick smiled. "Well, what a coincidence. We're also here for the same job. Maybe we could team up?"
Evelyn gave a small shrug. "I'll think about it."
Jace leaned toward Nick and whispered under his breath, "Nice, but I don't think we need her help."
Without even looking, Evelyn said sharply, "It's not like I want to team up with you either."
Jace froze. "How did you hear that?"
Auxen laughed. "Dude, she's an elf. She has sharper senses than an average human."
Jace gave a dramatic bow. "Oh, my apologies, mighty elf."
Evelyn responded coldly, "You don't have to apologize. It's not like I expect too much from a human."
Jace groaned. "Ahh, you again..."
The old man burst into laughter. "Haha! You kids remind me of my team back in the day."
Nick perked up. "Your team? Were you an adventurer?"
The old man smiled mysteriously. "You wouldn't believe me even if I told you."
Nick rolled his eyes playfully. "You really like building suspense, huh?"
Before the old man could respond, Auxen pointed ahead. "We're getting close to our destination."
But suddenly, without warning, the carriage lurched to a stop. The driver, pale with fear, jumped off and sprinted away, abandoning the carriage.
Everyone inside tensed.
The Black Luminaries, alongside Auxen and the elven girl Evelyn, stepped cautiously out of the carriage. The horses had long since bolted, leaving the wooden vehicle abandoned on the dusty road.
Before them, standing in the middle of the path, was a gang of bandits.
There were at least a dozen of them rough-looking men in torn armor and stained cloaks, each armed with crude swords, axes, and bows. Their faces were twisted into cruel smirks, eyes gleaming with greed as they sized up their prey. Some wore mismatched pieces of armor looted from unlucky travelers; others had tattoos and scars crisscrossing their bodies like badges of violence.
At the center of the group stood a larger man, clearly their leader. He wore a rusted breastplate and held a massive broadsword slung casually over his shoulder. His voice boomed across the clearing as he stepped forward.
"Well, well, what do we have here? A bunch of little lambs without a shepherd."
The bandits laughed mockingly, surrounding the carriage from both sides, cutting off any hope of retreat. The tension in the air grew heavy, like a storm about to break.
Evelyn silently rested her hand on the hilt of her sword, her blue eyes sharp and cold as ice.
Jace, Nick, and Auxen exchanged quick glances, their muscles tensing. Despite the banter earlier, now their faces grew serious
and Auxen hide behinds them.
They knew.
A fight was inevitable.
The bandits drew their weapons with a chorus of metallic sounds, advancing with cruel grins.
But they had no idea...
They weren't facing ordinary travelers.
They were about to face the Black Luminaries.
To be continued...