Bandits

Well… It seems I've botched it.

I thought that maybe, since the AIs weren't the brightest, I could lure enemies out and then kill them without alerting others, but it seems these bandits were smarter than they look. All of the bandits stared right at me, and pointed their arrows. Crap, I better do something quick or else I won't live to see tomorrow. I quickly wrapped my dagger around the neck of the nearby bandit, who had already been wounded.

"If you get anywhere near me, I'll kill him!" I shouted, in an attempt to intimidate the bandits out of harming me. Granted, I was going to have to kill them anyways, but I could at least escape now and come back a different day.

"Wel… we don't want John to die, he makes good tea… but we also can't have strangers wanderin around our camp and stabbin' our members… speakin' of wanderin' around. Why in the name of Vomtar are you doin sneakin around here?" one of the bandits piped up, still having his bow and arrow pointed straight at my skull.

"I heard John makes good tea, so I came to try it... why else would I be sneaking around a bandit camp?" I retorted.

"Well, if ya were gonna join us for tea, then why did'ya stab him' in the side?" another bandit spoke.

"Well, I didn't know it was him… ya' know?" I responded. I really hoped my high charisma paid off.

The bandits sat there for a second, pondering my statement, when one finally exclaimed, "Well of course, it only makes sense that he wouldn't know which one of us is John! It was all just a big misunderstanding." the other bandits stood there in awe, and stared at the other bandit. For a few moments, the rest of the camp stayed completely silent. Slowly but surely, however, the rest of the camp slowly began to nod and applaud the other bandit.

"Of course, it makes perfect sense!"

"Why didn't we just assume that in the first place?"

"You're such a smart guy, Kyle, you should get a raise!"

Applause erupted from the camp, and I let my knife down from John's throat. A man from the back, who I assumed was the leader, came up to me.

"Well, now that that's all settled, please come join us for tea! It's always a delight to have guests." the bandit leader said, ushering me into the camp. It looks like these bandits weren't as smart as I originally thought.

[TASK CHANGE]

T̶a̶k̶e̶ ̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶b̶a̶n̶d̶i̶t̶ ̶c̶a̶m̶p̶!̶

Befriend bandits and ask them to leave!

+250 Rogues Association REP

+350 Tergaron REP

+500 EXP

+750 Tyles

+1000 Tea Bandits REP

New Title

Well, that's reassuring. It looks like I made the right decision, just a shame I won't be able to get EXP from killing them, though. I continued walking with them, as we entered into a large wooden hut, filled with a large, round dining table, and twelve stools surrounding it. In the corner of the building, there were a few portable cooking utensils, including a magic stove top, a kettle, and a pot.

"Apologies for the mess, like we said, we don't get that many guests here." the bandit leader said, as he sat down at the front of the table. John the bandit had run into the back, filled the kettle up with water, and started to boil the water on the magical stovetop.

I sat down next to them, and waited for John to finish making the tea. While I was waiting, I decided to make some small talk with my new bandit friends.

"So… how long have you all been here?" I queried.

"We've only had camp set up here a few weeks, at most." one bandit said.

"Yeah, we really haven't been here all that long." another bandit continued.

"Interesting, so… if you don't mind me asking, why did you all become bandits?" I asked. All of a sudden, the entire building became silent, as sharp stares were thrown at me…

"..."

"..."

"Hahaha! You're quite the interesting one! We were just messin with ya, we'll tell you why we're bandits!" the bandit leader responded. "Well, I'm really the only one who can tell my story, but we're pretty much all the same. We lived in bad conditions, and had to make a living for ourselves. We aren't good at anything besides fightin and lootin', so that's the life we chose. It's a lot, but it ain't honest work."

"Hmm, I see that is indeed quite tragic… but why did you never think about becoming mercenaries, or working for a guild or association?" I questioned, wondering why they had never thought of such an obvious option.

"Tch, most of those blasted associations wouldn't accept low-life riffraff like us, even more so now that we're wanted criminals… it just wouldn't work out for us." the bandit leader said, looking glum.

I thought for a minute, thinking about my options. "Then… why don't you join me? I work for a small shop, and we're in need of some more employees. There's some spare rooms upstairs, so I'm sure you'll be able to sleep there. Plus, I'd be more than happy if you were to all help me out on some of my missions and expeditions… so, how does it sound?" I offered.

The bandits looked at each other confused, but with some glitter of excitement in their eyes.

"If we join ya', what's in it for you? We get paid, free room and board. So what do you gain? We aren't stupid you know." one of the bandits said.

Ironic.

"Well, I get to take some shifts off at the shop, and I have some backup for whenever I go out on missions and grinds. Sounds okay?" I responded.

"Hmm, yup, that'll work. Alright boys, tonight we celebrate! To our new leader, and to our new lives! Hoorah!" the bandit leader cheered.

John poured everyone some coffee, and we celebrated all through the day.