The quiet footfalls of three pairs of feet could be heard amidst the sound of crickets and flying birds, as they traversed the soil, dirt and grass that was west of the city of Iris. Felix took the lead in front of Michael and Scott, leading the two of them somewhere which could apparently serve as a hint to where the Bandit King's lair was.
But, this raised the question, with how many self-proclaimed "Bandit Kings" there truly were, scattered across the lands with no end to their ceaseless arrogance and insolence, who knew if he was truly leading them to the right place?
Felix scratched his chin before turning his head backwards, listening in on the conversation that the two behind him were having. And they were talking about… Cathedrals?
"You two are weirder than I would expect…" Felix said.
"What?" Scott replied.
"Why are you two talking about Cathedrals, of all things?"
"Well… I'm trying to gain some information if that soothes your worries."
Felix grinned.
"…Honestly, I think we three would pair great as a trio!"
"…Really? I mean, Scott's around eighteen or nineteen, and I'm three years younger than him. You look like you're more than ten years younger than both of us."
Felix scowled at that.
"I'm almost around your age! …I think. Possibly… Anyway, I truly do think that we three would work well together! I'm fast and sneaky, you're a cool, sword-wielding guy, and he's…"
But, before Felix finished his sentence, he suddenly remembered something else he wanted to say, or rather, ask.
"…By the way, how did you manage to do that to Boss Pugsley, in that bar?"
Scott shrugged.
"I can't tell you."
"…Really? Are you some sort of "great warrior" or something? Or a magician?"
"A magician?" Scott asked.
In the meanwhile, they walked past a large pile of stones and wood that somewhat shared the visage of an old well.
"I'll tell you about it later, but for now..." Michael cut off.
The three of them looked around and were met with the sight of an abandoned village. By this time, it was slowly becoming dark again, so the ambience of the gloaming nightfall only further enhanced the stillness.
"…So, you're telling me that a hint of a Bandit King's location is around the ruins of an old village?"
"Well, I didn't say it was going to be somewhere nice, did I?" Felix replied, "Come on!"
The three of them quickened their gait and raced through the village, and eventually found themselves around another deserted well, devoid of any kind of water.
"…He's gonna make us jump down, isn't he?" Scott muttered.
"Hehe. It's deep, but I'm sure we can handle it, right guys?" Felix said as he stared into its deep darkness.
Following his words, he jumped right into it, and there was no sound even as he supposedly landed.
"…"
They both glanced at each other and resolved to follow Felix's lead a moment afterwards. Michael jumped in first, and then Scott, who felt the well brush up tightly against him as he dived into it.
But surprisingly, the well didn't stop at a reasonable depth, and kept on going on and on, and it was at this point that Michael started to shriek in terror, yelling:
"Bats! Bats!"
"Stop being such a coward!" Scott yelled, but also secretly terrified.
And then, they finally landed. In a small pool of water, hidden underground in a cave, littered with bats flying around and all sorts of critters.
"…Ouch…" Scott groaned, "I'm gonna be feeling this forever..."
"Haha, you guys are wimps!" Felix giggled.
"Anyway, this is one of the places which some bandits call, the "Meeting Point". I'm sure one of the bandits around here knows the location of the Bandit King we're looking for."
"…Urgh… I've definitely decided, after we help you with this, you're staying with us until you fully repay the favour you'll owe us…" Michael said, clawing his way onto the stone ground.
The three of them went onwards, deep into the cavernous depths that were filled with cobwebs, lingering bats and sticky slime belonging to whatever creatures lurked even deeper within. However, due to the torches that lit up the way for them, they weren't completely in the dark.
As they walked, Scott looked around and found recent traces of battle, as well as more of that odd, greyish, slimy substance, which he touched and inspected.
Weird…
He looked at Michael and Felix and noticed that they were quite far ahead of him. It was obvious that Michael was scared out of his wits in such an unfamiliar place, while Felix was just a natural speedster, even when walking.
But, before Scott managed to catch up, he heard a visceral growling noise from behind him. One that belonged to an abnormal monster which had already noticed him.
"Hey… guys?! I think we might have a situation!" Scott yelled, facing the monster.
This creature seemed to have long been in these depths, and resembled that of an octopus, except that now, tendrils also extended from every part of its body, and all of its tentacles and tendrils were lined with rows upon rows of teeth. It was also slightly bigger than him.
Michael and Felix had also noticed the slimy beast by this time, yet could do nothing as the creature had a clear advantage through the extreme length of its several arms.
"…Damn it…!" Scott exclaimed.
He braced for the monster's first attack, seeing as it was too late to launch the first attack from his side.
But, before it charged at him with its tentacles, an unidentified object flew from the other end of the cavern, from the dark abyss of the depths, and almost hit Scott's head, but narrowly missed, tearing through the creature in an instant.
An axe. And one that belonged to the man approaching.
"Ah, finally, you're here!" Felix breathed out.
"Great Axe!"
An incredibly muscular and tall, olive-skinned man with short, spiky black hair and a hardened, grim expression approached, shirtless and wielding a battle axe twice the size of the other one, which was just a normal throwing axe.
"…Uh… who is he…?" Michael asked Felix, to which he replied:
"He's "Great Axe"! One of the Marauder Generals of the Eastern Bandit Union! But, don't worry, he's pretty nice too!"
"…You mean, nice as in friendly or "nice" as in, at least he won't kill me…?"
Great Axe narrowed his sharp, intensely raven-black eyes at him, and grunted.
"So, why have you come here today, sneaky brat?" He asked in a gruff voice, "With these two fools strung along with you?"
"Well, we're looking for all the information on one of the Bandit Kings around here. More specifically, the one who has my stuff, the Berserker Fist!"
"I know most Bandit Kings aren't in the Bandit Union, but…"
Great Axe nodded and gestured for them to follow behind.
Meanwhile, Scott walked up to Michael and whispered:
"Did I just hear Felix call that big fellow a Marauder General? Are we sure he isn't just leading us to our deaths?"
Michael shrugged. "I've heard from other disciples that the bandits in the Bandit Union are nicer than you'd expect. I heard they only steal from and attack other money hoarders, like the pirates, for example."
"Ah… alright then… but, just know that I'm certainly gonna blame you if I die here."