The knights who quickly volunteered for the scouting party were a considerable boon. It allowed Fanilly to understand their capabilities, at least to some extent, far more quickly. But the scouting party would wait until after they dismounted. She did want to try and lay out her plan of attacking the bandit camp in more detail, but for the moment it was important to understand what defenses were in place. The bandits themselves were invariably inferior to the knights in equipment and training, but the 'Bandit King' was something of an unknown factor, and it was possible there were some sort of defenses in place that could make an attack more difficult.
Fanilly paused as she listened to some of the concerns(and Tyaethe's rebuttal) voiced by her knights.
While scouting seemed practical, if they moved
too slowly, didn't that give the bandits more of an opportunity to prepare, if they did know they were coming? It was strange that the Bandit King had challenged them so directly, but... ah, this was an odd situation. But the Iron Rose Knights wouldn't be cowed by bandits! She didn't want to be an unworthy captain, and when the order had such a history of striking down far more impressive threats then bandits...
Besides, this was Fanilly's duty. She had to carry it out.
As the knights around her spoke, Fanilly thought over what they knew of the bandit raids in her mind. Certainly, a few of the dead men of the King had been killed in methods one would expect. Arrows, blades, axes, spears. But the majority of the dead that had been recovered were slain through far more grisly methods. Whatever weapon had been used against them had not simply killed them, it had cut their bodies to pieces. Many soldiers had been cut entirely in half. Simple fact was that there was someone among the bandits who wielded an enormous weapon capable of doing such incredible damage to even someone wearing armor.
The forest was growing considerably thicker, here.
"It's not unlikely there may be scouts of the bandits, as well, but for the moment it's important to act quickly," Fanilly said, finally, "But the forest has become too thick for horseback, we must dismou-"
She stopped dead as she looked up. Ahead, wheels smashed, caught up against a tree, was a cart. A horse lay dead in front of it, arrows sticking from its side and neck. A man lay on the ground. He wasn't moving.
The Order's duty came to the forefront of Fanilly's mind immediately as she lept from her horse. There was the sound of metal on leather as she drew her longsword in one hand, the blade flashing in the light of the setting sun. Even if this was foolish... if that man was alive...!
The Captain of the Iron Rose Knights sprinted forward without a second thought. Soon she was upon the cart, coming to a halt and kneeling beside the downed man. He was an older man, in his late fifties perhaps, with greying black, short hair and simple clothing. His side was soaked in blood, and there was a gash in his flesh. And yet, he was still breathing, even if he was pale an unconscious.
"... He's still alive!" Fanilly called to the others, looking back over her shoulder, "But he needs aid immediately!"
The man's eyes fluttered open, and fell upon Fanilly's face, then the symbol on her breastplate.
"... You... an... Iron Rose Knight..." he said, weakly, reaching up towards the girl. Her attention returned to him quickly and she took his hand in her own.
"Hold on," she began. His wound was bloody, but if he got medical attention swiftly then he could perhaps survive, "As captain of the Iron Rose Knights, we
will get you to safety!"
He weakly shook his head. "L... leave, this is... a trap..."
... A trap...?
Fanilly heard the sound before she saw anything. She released the man's hand, and did the first thing that came to mind, throwing herself to the side, catching herself with her free hand as she stopped and looked up. Three black arrows had buried themselves deep in the wooden cart where she had been moments later. Almost immediately, a hooded man in ragged leather armor sprang out of the downed cart and threw himself at her.
Fanilly threw herself to the side as he swung a shortsword down towards the short girl. His sword hit dirt, but he swung back up just as she drew her dagger and immediately locked his strike up in her guard, a followup strike forcing him back immediately. Just as her training had told her, just as she'd practiced a thousand times or more...!
"Heh," he spat, "Skilled for a little girl, but no use when the other guys get here. What are you doin'-"
His eyes found the symbol on her chestplate, and then his gaze found the other knights. His eyes widened in horror.
"... Th... the Iron Roses?! Oh
gods above!"
Perhaps he had known there was a large force approaching. It would have been difficult for him not to, if he had been lying in wait. But it did not appear he realized it was the Iron Rose Knights.
He was hardly alone, however. A considerable number of bandits now emerged from the forest, brandishing shortswords, axes, and a number of other weapons. Not a single one of them appeared unshaken, but perhaps they felt they had little choice but to commit to their trap.
"Iron Roses, to arms!" called Fanilly, raising her sword.
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