Beneath the veil of night's shadow, Jonan and the others who were captured in the cell, except for the old man, were carefully making their way to escape the bandit's stronghold.
The middle-aged man was leading the way, with the twins behind his back, and the same was true for the chubby man who had the small girl behind him; he was alert at all times, in case of any situation.
Meanwhile, Jonan was regulating his breathing, while he wasn't completely healed, he still had to go with the others in case he misses any opportunity of escaping the bandit's stronghold.
Tiptoeing their way carefully and bowing their heads in silence, they could hear rambunctious laughter echoing throughout the bandit's lair.
Now that Jonan was conscious, he noticed that the bandit's stronghold was more like a village, with huts all over the place, and it wasn't even organized.
Thankfully for them, there were no walls surrounding the bandits' stronghold, and their hope for escape intensified further. However, there were other bandits who were responsible for keeping watch around the stronghold, patrolling for any potential trouble.
After carefully avoiding the patrolling guards of the bandits, all of them finally made it outside of the stronghold. Noticing their successful escape made them all breathe a sigh of relief.
All of them were joyful for their escape, and after some time, they would be on their way to their homes.
"That old man was blathering nonsense, acting as if it was impossible to escape these ruffians, humph, and here I thought there would be any challenges," said the chubby man.
The middle-aged man was a bit upset about the chubby man's remarks and complained to him, "We can't be complacent, until and unless we have successfully escape, we should not stop for now."
Jonan also nodded, he had already made a mistake, and it had cost him badly; thankfully, getting back to his cohort was in sight, and he didn't plan on facing more such troubles.
At the same time, when they were making their escape, above them on the tree were three hidden shadows noticing everything that has happened with Jonan, they were none other than those of his cohort, Marla picked her bow behind her, and said, "Now let's get back to our route, so we can reach the area where the tribes of the beasts reside."
Edric was silent, but Elias stopped her, and with a forced smile, he said, "Little girl, there are some things we are not allowed to interfere in. I know your heart is in the right place, unfortunately, orders are orders."
Marla just felt uncomfortable listening to Elias, she knew he was ordered by the leader to just observe for now, and not help, while she didn't show it, she just didn't want anyone to face what she had already suffered, the very dark side of human nature.
Marla sighed, she hated this part of training among those of the great families, and she moved aside, not having the stomach to even watch what will happen next.
Jonan and the others had only made it a short distance in the forest before they heard it.
The howl of a horn, piercing the dim dark forest.
Jonan froze, his blood running cold. He turned, horror etched at his face, the bandits had noticed their absence, and not only that they were catching up quite fast.
"Run!" the middle-aged man barked, shoving the twins forward.
They ran.
Through the dense dark forest, their feet pounding against the earth, lungs burning with exertion. The girl whimpered, her small legs struggling to keep up, the chubby man scooped her into his arms, his pace slowing as a result, yet he determined to get out of here.
The bandit's pursuit grew closer, shouts, snapping branches. Rustling of bodies moving swiftly through the bushes.
Suddenly, a scream echoed.
Jonan turned around in time to see one of the twins fall; an arrow had pierced her throat, her eyes were wide with shock as blood spilled down her chest, her brother stopped, reaching for her, but the middle-aged man yanked him away.
"We can't stop!" his face expressing immense grief.
The chubby man growled under his breath, his arms tightening around the small girl. "Bastards!"
Another arrow was shot, and this one found its mark in his back.
He stumbled, choking on a gasp, and then another pierced his legs, which made his legs gave out beneath him, the small girl tumbled away from his grasp, landing with a shriek.
She scrambled forward, unfortunately, it was too late. She was sobbing as she tried to shake him awake, but he was in pure agony; he could only push her away to run.
At the same time, Jonan grabbed her wrist, pulling her with him. He could hear the bandits laughing now, like hyenas toying with their prey.
The middle-aged man and the remaining twin reached a small clearing ahead, panting heavily. "We need to split up!" he said, his voice hoarse. "You take the girl—"
An axe was thrown by one of the bandits, and it buried itself in the middle-aged man's chest.
The twin boy screamed, but it was cut short as a blade slashed across his throat. His body crumpled, joining the others in the dirt.
Jonan barely had time to process before rough hands grabbed him from behind. He thrashed, kicking, fighting, but his body was weak from exhaustion and pain, and it was useless. He was yanked backward, the girl's wails fading as more hands dragged her away.
"Well, well," a voice sneered beside his ear. "Thought you could run, did you?"
Jonan struggled, but a fist slammed into his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. He collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath. His vision blurred, his head spinning.
The leader of the bandits, Shakaan, crouched before him, grinning. "Gave us a nice little game to play with, almost made it out too."
Jonan's body trembled with exhaustion, rage, and grief. He could still hear the girl's screams, the bandits jeering. He could still see the lifeless eyes of the ones who had tried to escape with him.
Shakaan patted his cheek mockingly. "Take him and the girl back to the stronghold with you, with this, he will learn his lesson."
Jonan's breath hitched, but he said nothing. He had no words left, and it's true he learned something today, and it was a lesson he would remember for all eternity: he would never spare his enemies ever.
The bandits laughed, looking at his maddened expression, as they dragged him back through the darkness; the scent of blood was heavy in the air.