I reincarnated in game

17 Falsely Accused

Hugh and Judi managed to maneuver the large steam wagon through the trees, and back to the main road, close to where they had initially fought the bandits.  They turned left. 

“This road leads to Halea; it is the closest village to the bandit’s lair.  It would make sense that they would target this village for their looting because they would be able to make a quick escape through the woods, back to their hideout,” Judi speculated.  “We can start there to see if we can reconnect the rightful owners with their missing property.”

“OK, sounds good,” said Hugh.  “Are you familiar with Halea?  Do you think we will have any problems with the locals?”

“I have been there a few times … they tolerate strangers to a point; they won’t bother you if you keep to yourself,” Judi replied.  Looking at the darkening sky, Judi added, “We will have to step on it to be able to get through the gates before they are closed for the night.  We should be able to find an inn where we can stay for the night.  We will have to look for one with an outbuilding large enough to park this wagon; we have to keep all this stuff safe.”

The town guards were just closing the village gates as they arrived.  “Hold up a minute!” Hugh shouted, “We need to get through!”

The guards hesitated a moment, then motioned Hugh to bring the wagon through.  One guard, eyeing the goods they were carting, said, “It is fortunate that you came when you did.  If you were stuck outside with all that stuff, the bandits hereabouts would be all over you.  You would be lucky to escape with your lives.”

“Thanks,” Hugh responded with a subtle smile, knowing they had already taken care of that threat.  “We appreciate you allowing us in.  By the way, would you be able to direct us to an inn around here where we can stay; one which would have a safe place to park our wagon for a day or two?”

“Well, the closest one would be down the road a bit.  Go straight along in this direction and take the first trail on the right.  Not too far down the trail, you will see a large inn with several outbuildings.  It is called the Bashford Inn.  They will give you a place for the night,” replied the same guard.

The next day, about noon, Judi and Hugh found their way to the local constabulary’s office and approached the guard on duty.  “We’ve come to report that we discovered a bandit’s lair just outside of town,” explained Judi.  “We were accosted by a band of them on the road which leads from Zerrot to Halea.  We managed to defeat them, and then tracked them back to their lair in the woods.  After we took care of the remaining cutthroats, we found that they had a lot of stuff which we feel may have been stolen from the citizens of this village.  We wanted to make our report to you, and then, tomorrow, we can bring the recovered plunder here so you can see to it that the townspeople have an opportunity to claim their rightful property.”

Judi had been detailing the account of the attack and the stolen goods when Matthew walked into the office behind them; as soon as he heard that the travelers had been on the road from Zerrot, he wanted to talk to them.  While he completed the entry in the logbook, Judi informed the guard that they were staying at the Bashford Inn in case he needed to get in touch with them.

As the two finished up with the guard, Matthew walked over to where they were standing and introduced himself, then asked, “You say you were on the road from Zerrot to Halea; you didn’t happen to come across my missing son did you?  His name is Kenneth.”

“No, we didn’t see anybody except the bandits, sorry.  We will keep our eyes out for him, though; we’ll be in town for a couple more days.” Hugh said, as he and Judi bade farewell to Mathew and walked out the door.

Hugh and Judi picked up a few things in town and then headed back to the Bashford Inn.  They thought they should check on the steam wagon just to make sure that it would be ready for the trip into town the following morning.  When they entered the outbuilding, they were surprised to see a dwarf sitting on the back end of the wagon. 

“Excuse me.  What are you doing in here, and what are you doing on our wagon?” asked Judi as she assumed an aggressive pose.  It was then that she noticed the dwarf seemed to be a little dazed.  “Are you OK?”

“Uh … yea; I think I am OK,” Kenneth replied hesitantly.  “Hey, your voice sounds familiar … were you the ones who found me and put me on the wagon?”

“What are you talking about,” asked Hugh.

“He does kind of resemble that stone statue we found at the lair,” observed Judi.

“Yea … that was me,” exclaimed Kenneth.  “I have been under a curse for a while and it turned me to stone.  It appears it was only temporary because I am able to move again; at least for the time being.”  Kenneth flexed his arms and hands and then jumped down off the wagon.  He almost fell over; his feet still seemed so heavy … “Guess, I still need a few moments more to get the circulation going in my legs.”  He flexed his knees and rotated his ankles.  Feeling a little more confident, he ventured a few steps, extended his hand, first to Judi, and then to Hugh, saying, “My name is Kenneth.  I came here with my Pa about two weeks ago but we got separated.  I need to find him right away.  Could you help me?”

“Kenneth?” asked Hugh.  “Would your father’s name be Matthew?”

“Yes!  Do you know him?  Do you know where he is?” exclaimed Kenneth.

“Yes and no … What I mean is, yes, we met your father, but no, we don’t know where he is, other than that he is in town,” replied Hugh.  “We can take you into town tomorrow when we take this stuff into the constabulary’s office.  The guard will most likely know where your father is staying.  I am sure he will be happy to know that you are safe and sound!”

The next morning the trio set out for town on the old steam wagon.  When they were still several blocks away from their destination, they heard some men shouting at them; waving their arms, and yelling at them to stop.  Hugh slowed the wagon to a stop opposite a small alley where a dozen or so men approached them.  The men moved to surround the wagon so it couldn’t advance or retreat.  The leader stepped forward, saying, “Hey.  Who is that?” pointing to Kenneth.  “Is his name Kenneth?”

“Yes,” replied Hugh.  “Who are you?”

“Forget about who I am,” replied the leader.  “I know who you are … you guys are kidnappers!  I demand you hand the dwarf over to me, right now!”  Hugh looked over the man’s head and saw from his epithet that he was a Level Twenty-five, Warrior, with full health.

“Wait a minute.  We are not kidnappers.  We found Kenneth last night and are taking him to the constabulary’s office so he can reconnect with his father,” replied Hugh.

“No, you are not!  You are not going to collect my reward for finding him!” exclaimed the leader.  He turned to his men, saying, “Get ‘em boys; but save the sexy broad for me … I have plans for her!”  Then, turning to Judi, he crudely remarked, “After we lay a beating on you here, I’ll be taking you back to my place for a ‘laying’ of another sort … your luscious lips will soon be begging for mine!”

Judi was discussed and shuddered at the thought.

“OK, Bob!” they replied, as they moved in to attack.  Bob’s epithet updated with his name.

Hugh assessed the situation quickly and knowing they were vastly outnumbered, snuck his hand into the bag he was carrying, and palmed one of the crystals in which he had captured the recorded growls.  He surreptitiously tossed the crystal over the heads of the attackers, into the alley where they had been.  As soon as the crystal hit the ground, the magic activated; a cacophony of terrifying growls filled the alley and reverberated off the walls. 

Everyone froze.  Another series of growls emanated from the crystal, even louder than before.  Half the assailants turned and ran off along the road, away from the wagon.  Judi initially reached for her bow, then, realizing that the aggressors were not armed, chose her knife, flipping it around in her hand to use the handle, defensively.  Hugh did the same thing with his short sword; together they jumped down and proceeded to engage the enemy.  Hugh quickly scanned the epithets of the thugs and realized that they ranged in levels from ten to fifteen.   After the last engagement with the bandits, Hugh had done a self-inspection and realized that he had leveled up to Level Ten.  With the enemy being at that level or above, he quickly put an attribute point into hand to hand combat; he then moved forward.    

Kenneth had watched the aggressors surround the wagon and prepare for an attack.  He crouched, in fear, behind some of the property on the steam wagon.  “Oh, no!  Stay back!” he wailed.  A wall of ice suddenly formed around the wagon, closing it off on all sides.  Hugh and Judi saw the icy defense encircle the wagon.  They weren’t sure what, or who, was responsible for the ice wall but at least it would keep Kenneth safe for now.

Hugh engaged the man closest to him; dodged his punch, grabbed his opponent’s wrist, and smashed the pommel of his sword into the attacker’s nose; the thug fell.  Another man swung at Hugh from behind; Hugh spun around, kicked him in the groin, then kneed him in the face as the fellow sunk to his knees.

Meanwhile, Judi engaged two men on her side wagon.  She hit the first man, who was slightly behind her, with the back of her hand, knocking him into the wall of one of the buildings.  She turned, and using the handle of her knife, punched the second man square in the jaw, knocking him out. 

Judi and Hugh advanced towards Bob and the one remaining crony by his side.  The subordinate took one look at his fallen comrades, turned and left, saying, “To hell with this.  I am outta here!”

Bob stood alone.  Judi spoke out, “So you have plans for me, huh?”  She flipped her knife into the air, deftly catching it with the blade now pointing menacingly, toward Bob …

“STOP!”   A strong, male voice reverberated along the alley.

In the moment of silence following the shouted command, the sounds of weapons being drawn and many feet racing down the ally could be heard echoing off the walls.  Tension ran high as more people flooded into the tight alleyway. 

Hugh and Judi looked at each other … they didn’t know if the advancing troops would be friend or foe.