Chapter 15: The Bandits - Part 3
A hush fell over the camp as the boss stepped out, everyone waiting to see who he was and what he would do.
*thud**thud**thud*
The sounds of footsteps broke the silence across the camp. A rattling of chains follow as he walked.
Everyone expected the boss to challenge their brave savior to a fight, a duel, to determine the victor.
…
What they didn't expect, was to see him hurl himself to the ground, planting his face on the floor.
"I surrender! Please don't hurt me!" He cried out.
"Ehh, wait wha-?"
Flabbergasted at what came out of the boss's mouth, she was now able to see who this man was. She had been expecting a massive, brooding, and aggressive man, covered in scars from all the fights he had won.
What she didn't expect to see was a short stumpy man, covered head to toe in silks, finery, and large golden chains holding jewels, the wealth evident in his clothes and from his massive stomach.
"But… my boss fight…"
Not that she wanted a boss fight, given the condition she was in. It just felt expected given all the novels she had read. The lack of one felt unfulfilling.
She quickly made her way over to the man and tied him up. As she did, he too muttered the words 'snake girl' once he had a good look at her.
The same reaction came from the couple in the tent.
"Snake girl!"
"Snake?"
"Yes, yes I have a snake's tail. More importantly, all the bandits are tied up and you are free." She told them. Looking around the tent, the same finery followed. Silk clothing was strewn all over the place, along with plenty of good food and some sort of wine. What ruined this though was the chains, dried blood on the floor, and the bruises the couple had.
"The bandits have all been tied up?" she asked, confused. "Who was able to achieve such a feat?" t was clear the woman was expecting a knight or group of soldiers to have saved them.
"Wha-, it was me. I tied up all the bandits. That's how I was able to reach you."
"You saved us? All by yourself?" The man asked sceptically.
*huff* "It would probably be easier if you just talk to the other prisoners." Octavia said as she held her hands out, helping to pull the couple up. "The man that was in here, I see that he hurt you, given the bruises. Did he do anything else to you?" Subtly trying to ask if he hurt either of them by sexual assault or the like.
"Sort of… It was a bit strange though."
"What do you mean?"
"Well after he hit us, he offered us food and just… watched us eat. As I said, it was strange" The woman answered.
"Watched them eat," she thought to herself. "To each their own I guess."
Getting the couple outside she helped them sit down and made her way to the prisoners, starting with the fox girl, going to untie her.
"Took you long enough."
"Ehh." Octavia was just stunned at the first words she received from this girl.
"S-sorry. I mean thank you for saving me. I've been told I can be quite blunt, and I mostly say the first thing that pops into my head… Really, thank you for saving me, for saving us."
"It's no problem. I was passing by and heard the commotion. I couldn't just stand by and let it happen." Undoing her binding as she spoke. "Thanks for the distraction before. Not sure I would have been able to deal with those last three if they weren't focused on you."
"I didn't do it to help you!... I mean th-they were just annoying me, so I let them have it." The fox girl replied as she quickly looked away.
Octavia hid a small chuckle. "She's quite stubborn isn't she. She's a, what's the word again from those novels, a tsundere. At least I think that's what she is. Never met someone like that before", she mused to herself.
"Ok. Thanks anyway." Now freed the girl stood and rubbed her wrists where the rope bindings had been. "Can you help free the other prisoners? I'm going to gather all the bad guys in one place"
The girl nodded and replied "sure", making her way over to start freeing everyone. Octavia went around gathering all the bandits. Dragging them to the centre of the camp. She found that the first girl she knocked out was awake, but thankfully still bound. The interesting thing was that the couple and cook she bit were both still paralyzed. While she didn't know exactly how much time had passed, it had been some time since she started her assault on the bandit camp.
With all the bandits in the centre of the camp, the freed prisoners gathered around, glares and hatred aimed at the bandits. As she was taking stock of the situation, she noticed something.
"Where is that flamboyant knight?"
The men and women looked around, wondering also, but they stopped when a groan came from the fox girl.
"Fine. I'll go get him."
As the fox girl walked away she mumbled, "I was really hoping she forgot about that idiot."
…
A short while later, she brought the knight out from where he had been stashed by the bandits. He was no longer unconscious, but he still had his bindings on. Like before, even though he failed miserably, many of the women and a few men's eyes shined in adoration for the knight. The fox girl rolled her eyes at the scene.
Leaving him with his fans, she made her way over to Octavia. Looking her up and down, she then stated very firmly, "You shouldn't exist."
Octavia, again stunned by the bluntness of this girl, tried to figure out what she meant.
"Damn… What I mean is, that Lamia's are extinct. They died out ages ago. So, how are you here?"
Scratching the back of her neck, she wasn't sure how to answer that. Should she tell her about her transmigration?
Unsure whether it was wise to do so, given that she had just met this girl, she skipped over the transmigration. She briefly told her about waking up in the wood, born from an egg, and then making her way to town. Octavia could tell she had many questions, but Octavia just didn't have the answers.
All while this discussion was happening, the fans had removed the knight's bindings and gag. He flung his hair back, like a model in a swimwear commercial, and strode to the fox girl.
"My love. I have journeyed far and wide to find you again. The bond between our hearts led me to you, just in time to save you from this scum. Now, let us journey back and take the next step in our lives. Marriage." Every word was dramatized, and Octavia could practically see a wall of roses behind him.
The speech elicited sighs and gasps from the group, one woman even fainted. All eyes turned to the girl, awaiting her answer, wondering if there would be a wedding once they get back to their home. What they were met with though, was a massive look of disgust, fists clenched and a body trembling with rage. The ones that were not lovestruck, had the sense to step back, Octavia included.
"Just leave me alone! We are not in love! You did not travel far and wide! You did not save me! And we will never ever get married!" Steam practically came out the top of her head as she shouted this. "I have never had feelings for you. You only travelled from the nearby town. You were taken down by the bandits very easily, and while our parents want us to get married, it will never happen! You are pompous, arrogant, and a complete idiot and I will never love you!"
Face completely red now, she turned and headed towards the outskirts of the camp. "Just leave me alone." She mumbled sorrowfully.
Sir Roderick's expression did not change. It was as if the whole conversation went over his head, and all he heard was her "I love you", selectively missing all the other words she had said.
"My love. Where are you going?" He said as he started to follow.
Octavia's body just moved on its own, knowing she had to do something about this man. With his outstretched hand towards the girl, Octavia took the opportunity to bring her head down, and bite deeply into his hand.
"Owww!" He pulled his hand back, rubbing the wound. He then raised one of his hands, laying the back of it against his head. "Woe is me. Who would dare mar the pristine skin of one as handsome as myse-"
His dialogue thankfully stopped, and Octavia was very thankful her venom was fast-acting. Sir Roderick was now frozen in his dramatic pose, unable to speak. Turning to check on the girl, she found her watching the whole thing, a large smile plastered on her face. Once she saw that Octavia noticed her, she quickly hid it and looked away embarrassed.
Looking back at the knight, it seemed that while some of the group was shocked at what she did, a look of understanding flooded the crowd. Looks like the love spell has worn off the group for the time being, most likely after the knight had continued to pester the girl after her outburst. Now they all showed annoyance at the knight's antics.
"Right. Now that the commotion with Sir Roderick is over, and bandits are tied up, we should probably get out of here. First though, I never properly introduced myself. My name is Octavia, and I am a Lamia. Could you all tell me your names?"
Octavia wasn't expecting to remember all of them, as once they get to safety, she probably wouldn't see them again, but it was polite to ask.
The group all chimed in, thankfully one by one. Even one of the bandits gave their name, the paralysis starting to wear off, likely trying to elicit some sort of sympathy, humanizing themself. With all that had happened, it would take more than that for that to happen though. He was also quickly gagged like the others after that.
"Sylvia. My name is Sylvia."
All eyes were on the fox girl, who had made her way back over to the group. Now known as Sylvia, as she introduced herself. "As you can see, I'm fox-kin."
Compared to the others it wasn't much of an introduction, but it was consistent with how she acted, straight to the point.
"So, am I right in assuming you were all heading to or came from the town of Caldaria."
A lot of head nodding followed.
"How were you getting there, wagons or carriages or something."
More nodding.
"Do you know where they are?"
One of the men piped up, "Yes, they took us when we were sleeping in our camp. The carriages were hidden nearby. The bandits never found them."
"Great, let's get to them. What should we do about the bandits?"
"If you take them to the town and hand them over to the lord you should be paid for bringing them in." An elven woman brought up.
With the plan made, the bandits were silent as there wasn't much they could do. The group was now in control of their weapons, and they were all bound and gagged. Should they try anything, they would be cut down easily.
Before leaving Octavia and the group rummaged through the camp, looking for anything of value. All the belongings that were taken from them when they were captured, were returned to their rightful owners. For the remaining loot, it was unanimously decided that it would be given to Octavia to do what she wanted, given she had saved them all, which they helped transport. Nothing of significant value or unique was amongst the loot, it was mainly just finery, cutlery, and random rusted weapons and armour. It wouldn't sell for much, but as a starting fund, it was enough.
…
Quite a long trek was needed to reach the carriages. The group had originally been camping a way of the side of the road, leaving the carriages nearby on the only flat land accessible from the road. That meant they had to move somewhere nearby to camp. The bandits had been traveling to the road at the same time, likely to start up their operation when they came across the campsite during the night.
…
There were no issues on the journey. The bandits were guarded by the whole group, watching them for any strange behaviour. The path was well-trodden, used by the bandits each day, so no one was accidentally hurt on the route.
It was mostly silent during the travel. Everyone was focused on just getting back to civilisation that no one really wanted to make any small talk.
…
Reaching a clearing, the remnants of the camp were found, damaged from the bandit's raid and looting. Just a short walk away and two carriages, still with what looked like very long-haired horses attached to them. There was also a single horse covered in armour which Sylvia recognised as Sir Roderick's.
Sighs of relief came from the group. The bandits could only give out a muffled groan in annoyance at how they missed them during the raid.
They stored their belongings in and around the carriage and the group started boarding. Sylvia though was adamant that she would not be in the same carriage as Sir Roderick.
Sir Roderick's horse was tied up to the first carriage, and a couple of the men took up positions at the front of each, where they took the reins.
With final preparations, everyone had boarded, but with the lack of space given the extra person and loot, Octavia couldn't figure out how she was going to get on the carriage with her massive tail.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Braderzsz
Braderzsz I hope you liked the chapter. Next for Octavia is getting to the town, and figuring out what she wants to do.
I will also be setting the novel as R-18, one to cover my self just in case, and two because I may end up adding some R-18 stuff in the future.
Let me know what you thought of the chapter.
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