�Yes. What is it that you request?� a man in rich velvety black robes replied, in a strong, almost snakelike voice, pulling back his hood to reveal long silvery hair and dull silvery skin, almost gray. His dark robes ruffled in the noon wind and the trees whispered of a future storm.
�We need your service,� a smaller man with dirty blond hair snickered. He cocked an eyebrow up, and grinned cruelly.
�No,� the woman said, showing her yellow tinted teeth, �we want your coins!� She smiled, cocked her head and then drew her rapier and pointed it threateningly towards the robed man.
�Unfortunately, my dear lass, I am afraid I must keep my money. Anyway, what would thy want with forty thousand silver in the first place? You simply don�t have the means to carry it,� the silver skinned man replied, pleased with the smirks coming from the bandits.
�I will enjoy taking your na�ve life,� the woman said, smiling with anticipation. The tallest bandit, the first one who spoke, drew a large clabbard, a minotaur blade, while the shortest of them unsheathed a battleaxe, followed by the other two who simultaneously readied their longsword and morningstar. The grinned wickedly as they crept up on the black robed mage. �I doubt all of us will be needed to butcher you, but c�mon, there�s simply no fun in only one person attacking.
Then it was the robed one�s turn to grin, �I shall not enjoy myself for the first minute, if you live that long, but after that, I recommend running, and running fast.� With a darkwood staff in hand, his eyes began to glow an eerie yellowish light. The staff also began to radiate with the light, as he lowered the staff so it pointed towards the tallest of the bandits. The bandit raised his clabbard over his head to finish off his victim before any real fighting was necessary. Unfortunately, that measure was too late, as a long blast of searing light slammed into the bandit, immediately scorching his leather armor and sending him flying backwards. The others raised their heads in fear of the sudden attack and watched horrified as their companion slammed into a tree with enough force a long crack appeared in the tree and the limb wavered back and forth. Gulping, they readied their weapons and strained to keep from running. They continued advancing, more cautious now.
�Thirty seconds.�
The female bandit lunged forward, right as the black robed mage raised his hands to the sky, leaving an obvious vulnerable spot even the lowest swordsman would notice. The thin blade stabbed into his skin, and broke. The broken blade flew backwards as the thief lost her balance and fell face first into the dirt. She scrambled away from the mage and he lowered his hands down and bent down toward her. She pulled a rusting dirk from her belt and slashed forward, slashing him across his left cheek. �Stay away from me, abyssal fiend!� she screamed as the mage lowered his free hand on her breast, and the color left her face. A wicked smile curved along his face as she turned pale and her skin became taunt across the skull of her face, as did the rest of her body. When the mage turned, all that was left of her body was a broken rapier, clothes, and a skeleton.
�Times up.�
The remaining three stopped dead, their eyes bulging with fear. �Gentlemen, as I said moments ago. Run, run fast, for I am Jarvis, greatest spell-slinger alive!� Jarvis cocked his head, and blinked as the gash upon his cheek stopped bleeding and vanished, without leaving a single mark.
The shortest recovered and snickered, �Yeah, and I'm a balor lord. You better run, as I�m gonna cut your damned heart out with a spoon!� He yelled as he lifted his wooden battleaxe, obviously more suited for wood cutting then battle, and charged the one called Jarvis. The bandit with the longsword regained composure and charged with him, right into a blue death. Jarvis through his staff aside, and waved his hands in a symbolic nature, manipulating the magic around him, and loudly murmured the key words of magus. The air blurred as several dagger-like projectiles of blue energy shot towards the two daring bandits. They slammed right into the blue bolts, and fell into the ground with a thud as large pools of dark red surrounded their dead corpses.
Jarvis laughed maniacally as the man with the morningstar through it towards the ground and sprinted off in the opposite direction of the shadow robed mage. The bandit raced through the woods at a heart wrenching speed, and rounded a great oak to see two snakelike eyes staring into his. His heart beating, the bandit backed up, right into a tree, as Jarvis pulled a long scimitar out of seemingly nothingness. �Fool. Do you not know that you never just steal from people randomly? Only fools do things such as that. Considering that the next person you attack could be stronger then a god, it�s just not smart. Now how should I finish you off, eh?� Jarvis smiled coldly, �You know, I have a spell that would take decades to kill you, and you would be screaming for mercy within a matter of minutes.� Jarvis laughed insanely as the man�s eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fainted.
Shaking his head, Jarvis strolled over to the man and snapped off his tunic with his scimitar. The mage carved a design into the man�s bare chest, of which highly resembled a snake�s eye. Jarvis�s blade vanished once he was finished, and he leveled a hand towards the blood-smeared symbol. The bloody smear suddenly radiated a bright green, and then the light subsided, leaving only warm blood on his chest. �Now you will remember me by my mark,� Jarvis smiled as he tossed the man a silver coin, �for your trouble,� he laughed, then turned and slowly walked back to the path.
Pulling his hood back over his silvery hair, he mumbled, �I simply do not understand. Why would he refer to himself as a balor lord?� he shook his head in misunderstanding, �it would have been so easy to kill a balor lord��