A tale of bandits on the roads, of dying and of life,
A tale of how, though it seems strange, that three so odd should meet -
A human, elf and vampire merc together in the street.
On a day in bitter Winter-time when mornings frosted clear,
In a sparsely wooded valley with a tall cliff standing near,
There a battle 'tween some bandits and a mercenary crew -
Mercs were hired by yonder village, for 'twas nothing else to do.
Though the harvest had been early, and the Winter running late,
Many of the sheaves of barley had been lost to rain and Fate;
Merchants passing to the valley on the dusty winding roads
Were lately being ambushed, and divested of their loads.
The village called its Council up upon a frosty night,
All seated round a bonfire large to fill the grove with light,
But the Elders hemmed and hawed, no-one knowing what to do -
Till a young scribe and a shepherd stood, their voices ringing true.
"Our town is fraught with perils from the bandits in the woods,"
"And we all are getting poorer as we cannot trade our goods
For the food that we will need to live until the dawning Spring!"
"And what do the revered Elders say? Why, not a single thing!"
"We should send a message to our land's King for our cause,
To send a company of guards for the upkeep of his laws!"
"Or failing that, if bandits loose would trouble our liege not,
Perhaps a group of mercenaries somehow could be got?"
The Elders rose as one with words of outrage in the air,
"Ask who for help? Just as you say, the King could hardly care!
Too old for war, too young for wisdom, nothing could he do -
And how, I ask, would we find cash to hire a mercenary crew?
"You all know we have no money, and that we have little food,
And I hardly think that merceraries would take payment in wood
Or lumber, or in sheep or wool, or in woven mats for floors -
Why, they'd probably take our homes instead, and turn us out-of-doors!"
The shepherd spoke with passion. "Even mercenaries have homes
Or families, who could use new rugs, or children's toys and combs,
Or woven shirts of lambswool fine, or jerkins leather tanned -
We have a wealth of commerce if we just look to our land!"
The scribe also stepped forth again to raise his arms and speak,
"The bandits have been hijacking all merchants here for weeks -
The traders that came through today bare to the wagon boards!
If mercenaries were promised all a share of bandits' hoards?"
There was much more discussion of the problem there that night,
But when the dawn had come 'twas resolution in its light.
Four 'merchants' carrying little goods would chance the next new sun -
The goods to pacify the brutes, and the messengers fast would run.
One to the King, one to the Prince, and two to gather round
From towns and taverns far and wide all mercs that could be found,
To tell them of the many treasures held by bandits bold and bad,
In hopes that some would come and fight for loot that could be had.
Eventually the first two reached the Prince and King with tales,
However as debated those two lords shrugged off their wails.
So the mission lay to those that were recruiting in the towns,
In the taverns and the streets and inns, searching up and down.
A motley crew they gathered in the end, less than a score,
Due to face twice their number in the growing bandit corps.
Several more joined on the journey back, but still were overmatched,
And perhaps it would have better been if more sentries had watched.
For when by the forested valley's cliffs they camped a last night out,
A few hour's march until the village - near enough to scout -
They sentries set, and went to sleep, but wakened soon to find
The bandits ambushed them at dawn, and war already joined.
The first three sentries soon were dead, cut down without a cry,
But the other two were more alert, and raised the others nigh:
A woman with the best night-eyes - a Vampiress Undead -
The other, a human Ranger, tough but looking underfed.
The bandits, seeing surprise vanish, charged out from the trees around
Into the fray with cries that filled the cliffs with echoed sound;
The mercenaries outmatched fought, no choice that they could see
For they were pinned against the cliff, and none of them could flee.
Three Men with too much armour and a scruffy looking chap
Formed a kind of shield formation in a treeless gap,
With a lanceman and a longsword wielder standing in the back
But they barely held the rogues back long enough to give some slack.
The Vampire fought with mist and fear and quite well with a sword,
She'd be looking to take any Dark spells found in the bandits hoard.
Any other spells would probably go to the Elf-Mage across the fight,
Who blinded three of the rogues at once with a bright blue blast of light.
Though running out of magic, the Elf-mage took a shield and sword,
And used them to a good effect with two men tall and broad
And all three shielded archers dire of the mercenary trade,
For some are not so fortunate to be good with shield and blade.
Another archer in the group, no-one knew from whence she came,
Had started up a tree at the first sight of bandit swords aflame.
Well out of reach right by the cliff she shot enemies below,
When her quiver emptied, she pulled rocks from the cliff to throw.
Two younger Elves fared not as well, their twin blades were overthrown,
And four Men and a swordswoman too breathed their final groan.
The two Guards and shielded archers slain, the Elf-mage sorely pressed,
The Vampire finished on her side and came to help dispatch the rest.
The last bandits were dealt with and the survivors looked around,
To find that all their crew but three were dead upon the ground:
The Elf-mage with the sword and the Vampress hooded low,
And in a tree astride the cliff the Human with the bow.
"Well, all the more for us," the Vampire maid said with a sneer,
As the Elf wiped off her sword and the girl climbed down the tree.
"I...asked... one of those bandit dudes - that guy without his skin -
Where we could find their hideout and the loot they hid within.
"It's in a cave upon the height, a mile or two back that way -
He was really quite loquacious - we can't possibly go astray."
The Elf-mage turned to packing up from in the camp they fled,
And the Human started rifling through the weapons of the dead.
When all was done with at that site an argument ensued,
For the Vampire wanted straight to find the bandit's cave and loot,
But the Elf, who was more cautious, said "There could be many more
Waiting at the bandits' hideout - could be as many as a score.
"I think that we should go on forward, the village soon to reach,
And there rest for an hour or so, and eat, before we breach
The cave - and then the villagers could give us some help there,
For three alone, against a guard of many - should we dare?"
"I'd like to live," the archer said, "I'd also like to eat.
We ought to rest as well we can before we try this feat.
Anyway, I have no arrows left, and all these ones are bent."
The Vampire grumbled in her hood but nodded in consent.
The three went on towards the town, which promptly called a meet,
And all assembled in the square the winning mercs to greet.
"There's only three!" the first whisper stole through the huddled crowd,
"They're females all!" brought men to tears and women standing proud.
The Elf-mage told the tale of how they'd been ambushed at dawn,
And a short synopsis of the battle finished there that morn;
Then asked them for assistance from any villagers brave
To come and scour the last of rogues from the hideout in the cave.
The Blacksmith and the Carpenter, both highly muscled men,
The Miller's sons, the Wheelwright and the Scribe with his quill pen
Who said: "I only come to tally up the treasure earned,
So all may see that sharing out is fair for all concerned."
And of the ladies, some of them came forth to go along;
The barman's only daughter, singer of many a dirty song,
The weaver's daughters three that each had found a blade,
And a merchant's widow, and one of the Miller's sons' maid.
Six and six they set out with the three that knew the way,
Of spirits high and full willing to carry forth the day.
The Elf-mage scouted out ahead, the Archer out behind,
And the Vampire led the group of townsfolk strung out in a line.
Their voices and the cracking sticks the Elf could clearly hear,
And she quietly cursed their loudness 'gainst the stealth that she held dear.
The Archer caught up with the group as they neared the hideout cave,
And the faces of the villagers began to turn quite grave;
For among the trees they saw the corpses of the recent fight,
Both mercenaries and the bandits strewed in shadow-dappled light
Looking fully twice as gruesome than they had been in the morn -
With the flies and scavengers arrived to feast on bodies rent and torn.
The Elf-mage swift came quietly back - only the Vampire saw
The nod she gave towards the ridge and held up fingers ten and four,
Made a gesture in a circle, a parting sign and slipped away;
The Vampire nodded once and stopped the rest without delay.
The tactics were quite standard, they would split the party up,
Men and women mixed of course, with seven in each group;
One group would circle west, the other one would circle right,
And when the signal came, then both would start to fight.
The Archer got the Blacksmith and the widow and the maid,
The younger Miller's son and a daughter of the Weaver's trade,
And the Carpenter who'd brought a shield was trotting in the van -
She thought it likely he'd be killed, the stupid battle-eager man.
The Vampire led the Wheelwright and the Miller's heir and Scribe
The Bar-maid and the other Weaver's daughters just behind,
They moved off round the close side until they reached the cliff,
The breeze had changed - of the bandits' camp they caught a whiff
Of sour wine and beer and sweat and dirt and nasty things;
And hoped the other group were also waiting in the wings.
Then in the camp a light went up - there was a startled shriek -
And both groups ran torward the sound, the bandit horde to seek.
The Elf-mage had sent up a flare that torched two guard bandits,
And running round in flame they set more alight - the twits.
The bandit guard here did not fight so well as those below,
And so it was that most of the fight was over in few blows.
They ventured into the dark cave, the Vampire going first in mist,
The Elf brought up a mage-light, and the Scribe with pen in fist.
The cave made a sudden turn, and then along the wall -
Was what they had all waited for: the bandit's Treasure Hall!
So when the mercenaries left town to ride their lonely roads
They travelled off together, with their slightly heavier loads;
For being in a battle hard and proving themselves true
Can forge the bonds of friendship in the most unlikely crew.