A game of defense

Running along a small path that connected the Farms of Jansens with the Furbows, Jay and Kathariel followed the instructions they got from the wounded worker. He had wanted to guide them, but the two declined and even left the horse behind.

With their agility, they were faster on foot if they rushed.

The Furbow's worker had alarmed the Jansens and begged for help. He then went on towards the tower at the border, asking for assistance.

But as moving out with enough forces would take a lot of time, Jay had offered to fill in the gap. Of course Kathariel consented to that and the two took off not a minute later.

Reaching the fields close to the Furbow's Farm after over thirty minutes of sprinting, Jay understood why no one heard the attack. The distance between the Farms was simply enormous.

Closing in on the Farm buildings, they finally saw what was going on. And the sight was not something nice.

Multiple bodies of farm workers lay on the yard and a group of bandits was trying to access the main building.

The Furbows and the surviving workers seemed to have fortified themselves inside there. Only some workers that tried to protect the others from outside were fighting the bandits.

But it was a loosing battle as they had neither experience nor any weapons other than pitchforks and hoes.

Kathariel readied her bow and Jay held his arcane missiles at the ready as the stepped onto the yard.

Until then, no bandit had noticed them. But as they did, they rushed towards the new arrivals, stepping over and on the dead or severely wounded workers laying between them.

They didn't even come close.

Those measly twelve bandits that could easily take over the average farm and would surely have done so in the next fifteen minutes, posed no hindrance to Jay and Kathariel.

The first that died were two aggressors equipped with longswords.

Their heads went missing after Jay fired perfectly aimed [arcane missiles].

At nearly the same time the single archer in their group died to a arrow through his left eye.

From then on it rained arrows over the attacking bandits, blocking them from rushing in as they seeked cover.

The next bandit that followed him in death was one that tried to attack Jay barehanded. His crushed rib cage from a punch wielding air magic and the man hurling 5 yards through the air would have told him how stupid that idea was...

Without collateral damage they annihilated the remaining bandits except one. A single bandit had fled the moment they had stepped out of the field and onto the yard.

Every other one was downed in no time.

While Jay was rushing over to the wounded, trying to heal them as long as they weren't deceased, Kathariel went over to the locked door with some of the workers that were outside and knocked.

They told the Farmers and people inside who they were and after some noise and rustling from inside, the door opened.

Glad he made it in time so no one else than the wounded themselves noticed, Jay had healed the three workers that had survived. At least he thought it was that way.

Joining the rest of the people inside the fortified building, Kathariel introduced herself and him.

Theodore and Verna Furbow, the farmers owning this pumpkin farm, as well as their young son Ullmar greeted them friendly and thanked them for their help. But as they started to open the shutters again and gave word to their workers to rest, Jay interfered.

"I'm sorry to say that, but I don't think their raid is over...." J.

"He is right. If we're unlucky, this was just the vanguard." K.

From then on the discussion about what to do next unfolded. The workers wanted to go outside and defend the farm with the two new fighters, but were declined of course.

But they went out together to place barricades around the main building and fortified the Farm even more.

Some of them carried the deceased workers to the barn so they wouldn't hinder the defenders or lure in wild animals.

Just as they finished the preparations they spotted torches in the distance. The lights neared disorganized and from multiple directions, even through the fields, so it was clearly not the army but bandits.

Ordering the workers and the Furbows to get back into the building, Kathariel readied her bow.

Jay took a bow from his inventory as well and even donned her a second quiver. He had looted many quivers and arrows as he plundered the bandit camps in Eldrin, so he had a lot to spare.

Looking over to Jay, Kathariel had a questioning gaze.

"First you shoot spells, then use healing magic and now you even take out a bow? You should stick to one route or you'll die..." K.

"We'll see about that...." J.

With his last word he pulled the bowstring and shot an arrow into the darkness. The sound of something getting hit and then something heavy falling down silenced Kathariel.

To Jay the darkness was nonexistent.

He could see clear as day in the night, though with everything in shades of green.

The fallen bandit with a arrow sticking out of his body didn't need visual confirmation though, his log did the job.

Then he shot the next arrow.

The gurgling sound he gave off in his last seconds as the bandit fell down with a arrow sticking through his windpipe alarmed the man next to him.

To that, Jay quickly shot another arrow. This time he slightly missed his aim and it was an arrow to the knee.

Diving into the darkness, Jay rushed to the bandit and switching his Fine Longbow with the Wingblade. Piercing the heart of the bandit from behind, Jay freed him from his suffering.

Back behind the barricades he saw Kathariel shake her head in bewilderment.

But they had no longer time to chat about his skills and way of progression as the main force had arrived. Their torchlight gave the two an impression of their counts.

And they were many.

At least fifty bandits were closing in on the farm, fully armed and with a torch for nearly everyone. To that sight, a wide smile formed on Jay's face while fear showed itself on Kathariels.

Cracking his neck, he readied his bow again and fired Arrows unceasingly.

The (double strafe) practically always in use and a single (aimed shot) here and there thinned out the first six opponents until the Lieutenant came to her mind. Joining the cover fire, the two of them had defeated more than twenty bandits until they had to move for the first time.

"You take the front! Don't let anyone slip through!" K.

Some of the bandits had snuck around the farm and were closing in from behind. It was Kathariel that noticed them and moved out to kill them.

Jay thought that was the best moment for a large scale attack so he stored the bow away.

Missing large scale or area magic, he went with casting and skill slot usage again and concentrated on arcane missiles and chain lightning.

Jay had shown those elements before and, though he slowly started to trust the elf a little, he wouldn't reveal all his abilities. Fire was a no go from the beginning, given the bandits wanted to set the farm on fire it would be dumb to do the trick himself...

The first chain lightning grilled two bandits to crisps and stunned a third one, showing Jay the qualitative leap his magic power underwent.

The arcane missile, locked on the stronger opponents homed in and either severely wounded or instantly killed them.

While Jay shot his magic all around the place and illuminated the vicinity, Kathariel kept herself to the shadows of the barricades and either shot perfectly aimed arrows or stabbed her opponents down with her short sword.

Glad the fields were no crops or hay and would burn as well, the two defenders killed off the incoming bandits like machines.

Charred and headless corpses lay in a wide angle in front of the barricade Jay used, while human porcupines lay in front of Kathariel. Those with thicker armor simply had gotten a arrow through their eyes.

But that had only went on for the next twenty bandits.

Suddenly the attacks ceased as if someone had ordered the mindless dying of subordinates to stop. Spreading over a wide area, some of the bandits tried to throw their torches on the farms roof and set it on fire. The idea was as atrocious as it was brilliant, but it had one flaw.

With a single arrow to each, Kathariel stooped the torches midair and kept them from getting close.

At the same time, Jay gifted a Arcane missile to those who threw the torches.

After the plan failed, one torch after another got extinguished. Kathariel was hard pressed finding her targets but Jay simply had to switch to his night vision.

What he saw was all bandits hording together and rushing towards them the moment they were surrounded by darkness.

"Attack incoming! Prepare for melee..." J.

Kathariels shocked look was more to him being able to see the bandits in total darkness than to the information itself.

Without wait she unsheathed her sword and took a stance near the main buildings entrance. They had decided to let them come close in case the bandits went for a run down tactic.

Jay had jumped on one of the hay wagons they used as barricades and was shooting some more bandits with his bow. Without illuminating them their way with spells, some of the bandits stumbled over or into the wagons and tools the workers had set up as barricades.

Those that went through without problems earned themselves an arrow or two.

But as the distance was short, Jay made a backwards somersault behind the wagon and with a spin kick send it rolling towards the right flank that was closing in first.

Switching his bow for the Wingblade an charging it with lightning, Jay dashed for the first incoming bandit.

With a slash he nearly split the first opponent in half, turning around he backwards stabbed another one that got additionally charred by the charged lightning.

Taking the sword left handed out of the dead body, Jay intercepted a sword coming for his head and punched a charged and magically boosted fist into the bandits guts. Pulling his hand free of the bloody mess he caused, he switched back his sword hand.

Passing a female bandit as Jay rushed forth towards the biggest bandit that seemed to lead the others, she fell down without uttering a word. Her head bumped on the ground some yards behind her body as jay arrived before the big fellow.

The sparse light shining in from the farm behind Jay, as well as his lightning charged weapon were hardly enough for the close to eight foot tall goliath of a man to see his opponent.

Had he seen the wide grin Jay was wearing, he'd have either turned tail and fled or called him an idiot.

Both actions would have been plausible.

Without knowing that, the bandit leader swung his massive war-hammer top down onto jay, expecting a splattering sound.

But the only sound he heard was a sharp cutting sound accompanied by crackling.

Turning his head, he saw the tall defender slightly next to him holding something big in his hands.

The sword he had wielded was missing and he didn't move an inch. Turning towards him, the bandit leader noticed something was off.

Just at that moment Jay threw the big mans arm towards the bandits feet.

He had dashed forward the moment he noticed the bandits attack and severed his arm with a slash. Normally it would have been impossible for him to cut something that massive and with high defense, but using the bandits attack and weight to boost his own, Jay pulled it off. Literally.

Picking up the heavy hammer that was nothing more than a bloody wooden trunk affixed to a thick wooden stick, Jay made a practice swing. The poor soul of a bandit that got streaked and blown yards to the side indicated the weight of that weapon.

His next swing was faster.

Using the momentum of the practice swing and turning it into a lift, Jay crashed the hammer down even faster than the bandit had managed. The hammerhead raced down directly before the mans nose, making him think it was a miss.

But it wasn't.

The next second anything of his left foot other than his heel was gone.

The bandit was not even done processing the pain, as Jay turned around to pull up and lift the hammer out of the crater it had caused. Getting it out and into a wide swing while grabbing the handle close to the end, the hammer crashed into the bandits right leg, shattering every bone from the knee down and bringing his body to a side-wards rotation.

Throwing a glance over to Kathariel who had already killed off two bandits that had arrived and was facing her third, Jay knew she was alright. As the bandit leader crashed down on the ground, Jay pulled the Wingblade from his inventory and stabbed it into the mans left shoulder.

He pushed it down to the hilt, making sure to pin him onto the ground.

Not that he could flee with his leg and foot crushed as well as getting electrocuted.

From then on it was mayhem.

Even Kathariel who had killed off the last of the three bandits attacking her, watched Jay as the bandits surrounding him brought the last few torches and positioned around him. In the total darkness their numbers had more than halved and the hammer swinging youth left no question as to whom was the culprit.

A blasting head here, a body sent flying there, some crunching sounds and screams of agony mixed within, horror was written on every face.

Even on the beautiful elf's.

That changed the next seconds though, as multiple bandits ran towards the farm. This time it was not to attack, but out of fear.

It didn't change the fact that they came here attacking the farm and was retaliated accordingly by Kathariel.

Alternating between her bow and sword in gracious movements that looked more like a dance than an actual slaughter, she got rid of one bandit after another.

A little out of breath and leaning on the big hammer, Jay was watching her as she defeated the last bandits. They had lost count on how many people they killed that night, but it was way more than they thought first, and they were glad it was over.

Pulling the big bandit, or what was left of him, towards the farm, Jay sat down on the nearest wagon.

The Lieutenant notified the Furbows and their workers that the threat was gone but they were sorry for the mess.

That "mess" was a little understatement as, when the first workers went outside bringing something to drink for the blood-smeared fighters, they were utterly shocked.

Around where Kathariel fought lay multiple corpses in puddles of blood with fine cuts and stabs all over their bodies. In ten meters distance and further on, the victims had either multiple of accurately placed arrows sticking out of their bodies.

It looked like a battlefield.

As they reached Jay with his, by then blood red hammer, they handed over a bottle of ale and couldn't get a single word out.

Starting with a hay wagon that had run over two bandits and impacted on a third, they saw corpses without a drop of blood spilled. The were either charred in different states or missing their heads.

A bit further away and somewhere in between lay similar human porcupines as at the farm yard.

But what had them shut up completely was the circle a bit into the field illuminated by torches.

It was impossible to tell how many corpses lay there. A gory mess of flesh, bones and blood was all one could see.

Not a single body seemed intact and, going by the debris stuck to his armor, the perpetrator was clearly him. And then he turned his head towards them.

"What is it? Attack is the best defense, no?" J.