Chapter 210: Aurelia
The next morning, they returned back to Eldoria. They stood in a damp clearing, the mood as somber as the overcast sky.
They had no plan. They had no destination.
"So," Sherry said, breaking the silence. "What now? Do we just wander aimlessly until someone decides not to throw rocks at us?"
Riku looked at the tired faces of his friends. He didn’t have an answer. "We keep moving east," he said, his voice lacking its usual confidence. "Away from the coast. Maybe we’ll have better luck inland."
It was a weak plan, and everyone knew it.
They set off, their boots sinking into the damp earth. They walked in a dejected silence for what felt like hours. The only sound was the wind rustling through the tall, dark trees of the Ironwood Forest.
Then, a new sound cut through the air.
It was a scream. A woman’s voice, sharp with terror. It came from somewhere deeper in the woods, off the main path.
The group froze instantly. They looked at each other. Their weariness was gone. It was replaced by a sharp, focused alertness.
"Help!" the voice cried out again, closer this time. "Someone, please!"
Riku didn’t hesitate. "This way," he commanded, his voice a low whisper. He moved into the trees, his steps silent. The others followed close behind.
They moved quickly and quietly through the dense undergrowth. The sounds grew clearer. They could hear the rough laughter of several men. They could hear the defiant, frightened voice of the woman.
Riku held up a hand, signaling for them to stop. He peered through a thick bush.
In a small, sun-dappled clearing ahead, a young woman was backed against a large oak tree. She wore the fine, but now torn, clothes of a noble. Her silver hair was in disarray. Her face was pale with fear, but her eyes blazed with a defiant fire.
Surrounding her were four men. They were rough-looking bandits, clad in mismatched leather armor. They held rusty, notched swords. Their faces were twisted into cruel, leering grins.
"Scream all you want, little bird," the leader of the bandits sneered. He was a large, ugly man with a scar that ran down his face. "No one can hear you out here."
"Do you have any idea who I am?" the young woman spat, her voice trembling but full of a noble’s arrogance. "My father is Lord Aris of Highwind! He will have your heads for this!"
The bandit leader just laughed. It was a harsh, ugly sound. "Oh, we know exactly who you are, Lady Aurelia."
He took a step closer. His grin widened. "That’s why we’re here. Your father has been a thorn in our employer’s side for a long time. He needs to be taught a lesson."
He reached out a grimy hand towards her. "And you, my lady, are the lesson."
Lady Aurelia flinched, but she did not scream again. She just stared at him, her eyes filled with a mixture of terror and pure, undiluted hatred.
Riku had seen enough. He looked at his companions. He saw the cold fury in Lila’s eyes. He saw the predatory glint in Sherry’s. He saw the righteous anger on Lysaria’s face.
This was a problem they understood. It was clear that they wanted to help, and no words were necessary.
Riku stepped out from behind the bush. He moved with a calm, unhurried gait. He did not look like a warrior. He looked like a simple traveler who had gotten lost.
The four bandits turned. Their leering grins widened when they saw him.
"Well, well," the scarred leader sneered. "What do we have here? A lost little lamb?"
Riku stopped a dozen paces from them. He ignored their taunts. His gaze was fixed on the young woman by the tree. "Let her go," he said. His voice was quiet, but it cut through the clearing.
The bandits stared at him for a moment. Then they burst out laughing. It was a loud, ugly sound that echoed through the quiet woods.
"Let her go?" the leader repeated, wiping a tear of mirth from his eye. "Did you hear that, boys? He wants us to let her go!"
Another bandit, a short, stocky man, looked past Riku. He saw Lila, Sherry, Lysaria, and Elara emerging from the trees behind him. His eyes went wide with a greedy, predatory light.
"Look, boss," the stocky bandit said, nudging his leader. "He brought friends. Lots of pretty friends."
The leader’s grin turned venomous. "So he did. It seems our luck has turned. We came for one noble lady, and we got four more for free."
He looked at Riku, his eyes filled with contempt. "You want us to let her go? Fine. Leave the other four with us, and you can walk away. A fair trade, don’t you think?"
The young woman, Aurelia, stared at Riku and his companions. Her face, which had been pale with fear, grew even paler. She was beautiful, with high cheekbones and eyes the color of a stormy sky. But now, those eyes were wide with a new kind of terror. It was not for herself. It was for them.
"No," she whispered, her voice a choked gasp. "Go away. Please."
She looked at Riku. She saw a handsome, unarmed man. She looked at the girls behind him. She saw four beautiful young women who were about to walk into a nightmare.
"Run!" she cried out, her voice cracking with desperation. "Get out of here! You don’t know what these men are! They will hurt you!"
Riku stared at her. He was genuinely surprised.
He had expected her to be arrogant. He had expected her to demand his help as her right. He had not expected this. He had not expected selflessness. He had not expected kindness.
In a kingdom that had shown them nothing but suspicion and hostility, this noble lady, with her own life on the line, was trying to save them.
He saw the genuine fear in her eyes. It was not the fear of a coward. It was the fear of a good person watching others walk into danger for her sake.
Riku’s expression softened. A slow, reassuring smile touched his lips.
"It’s alright, Lady Aurelia," he said, his voice calm and steady. "We are not the ones who are in danger here."
He turned his gaze back to the bandits. The smile was gone. A look of cold, hard finality replaced it.
"I will not ask again," he said. "Let her go."
The scarred bandit leader sneered. "I will not ask again? Or what, little lamb? You’ll bite me?"
He and his men took a step forward. Their rusty swords were held ready. Their intentions were clear.
Riku sighed. He had hoped to avoid this. He raised a single hand.
Light Bolt. [-20 Goodwill Points]
A small, simple sphere of white light shot from his palm. It was not a powerful spell. It was meant to stun. To incapacitate. It was the kind of magic that had easily dealt with the bandits back in the Korvan Kingdom.
The scarred leader’s eyes widened in surprise as the bolt flew towards him. But he did not panic.
"Shields!" he roared.
In perfect unison, two of the bandits standing beside him slammed the butts of their swords into the ground. A shimmering, crackling barrier of blue lightning erupted in front of them.
Riku’s Light Bolt slammed into the thunder shield. It fizzled and died with a pathetic hiss. It did not even cause the shield to flicker.
Riku’s eyes widened slightly. He was genuinely surprised.
The bandit leader laughed. It was a harsh, grating sound. "You see that, boys? A southern mage. All flash, no fire."
He pointed his sword at Riku. "He’s more powerful than he looks. Assume formation! Mages, suppress him! Warriors, flank!"
The bandits moved with a practiced, military precision that was shocking to see. The two shield-bearers held their ground at the front. The other two, their hands now crackling with raw lightning, moved to the sides.
"You thought we were common thugs?" the leader sneered. "We are veterans of the Unification Wars. We know how to deal with mages."
One of the side bandits thrust his hand forward. A bolt of jagged, blue lightning shot towards Riku.
Riku dodged. The bolt slammed into a tree behind him, blasting a chunk of bark from its trunk.
These were not like the bandits of the Korvan Kingdom. These men were much more powerful and ruthless.
Lady Aurelia watched the scene, her face pale with a new, dawning horror. She had seen Riku’s spell. She had seen it fail. She saw the professional way the bandits moved. She could also make out the clear confusion on Riku’s face, associating it with surprise at having his spell countered.
"No," she spoke dryly, her voice a choked gasp. "Please, just run!"
She looked at Riku, her eyes filled with a desperate plea. "You can’t win! There are too many! They are too strong! Please, save yourselves! Leave me!"
Riku heard her. He saw the genuine, selfless terror in her eyes. He saw her trying to save a group of complete strangers, even though it would probably leave her for the worst.
"It seems like we finally found someone." He spoke with a small smile on his face