Chris and The Three Wizards by D.A.Sanford - HTML preview

Reputations go before us

The now four of us have been so successful in capturing bandits that there now is a bounty on our heads by their organization. Did not know they had one but they apparently do.

We do not really care. Only the stupid will try to collect on it but who do you go to cash in. Even if you were able to kill us, where is the contract? Where would you go and more important, would you even dare to collect? I would be assured that you would not leave anyway other than feet first.

Sara has not got her legs under the boost. She still becomes intoxicated with the power and really needs to take a special pee induced nap. When she wakes, she can be really, bitchy. Hang over is the only way to describe it.

Now, even if we are not in battle, I give her a few seconds boost. Sara is getting better but anything longer than five minutes, she needs to sleep. Whether if she wants to or not.

She is starting to calm down at five minutes. I have talked to Garth and Jim when she is napping, “Next time I will not tell her but I will say to her that I will count out the five minutes but it will be a slow count. I think that she will be more aware of me yelling out time. So much so that she will not realize that she is in more control.

The very next fight with bandits, I do just that. The fight lasted ten minutes but she only heard me count to five. When I yelled about me going to throw a bottle, she was still sober.

I threw, they went down and she was wondering why we were smiling.

I ask her how long was the battle. She tells me that it didn’t last long enough, “Only five minutes.”

“No,” Jim told her, “it was ten minutes. You should have been sleeping with those bandits. If you are not told of the time, you are not aware and go berserk. Chris counting caused you to be aware. Just like drinking, you are not aware on how much you have drunk even when you get falling down drunk. If you count your drinks, most of the time , you do not drink as much.”

Sara is seeing what is being told to her. If she finds a way of fighting while distracting herself from getting lost in the battle, she can extend the boost . She really does not like the pee break.

Over the course of walking, we had Sara, start counting out loud as is gave her boost. After a while, we could see her smile. She was enjoying the boost just like slowly sipping an excellent sipping whiskey. Slam it home and you need more and more. Now she can enjoy the feeling without going berserk.

The next fight, Chris did not even count. I must say that now we have Sara,, the fights do not last as long. We go for the knock outs whenever possible. Dead had to be dragged, too much work.

So far the bounty is not collected. I should rephrase that, we collect our bounty. No one has collected theirs. The four of us now have really good accounts. Rewards stack up. Each time, Jim and I love the face Garth makes. You would think that the life of being used would make him spend but he is a pincher.

He always says that he wants a place that he can just sit on a porch with his feet up and watch the world go by. “With my size, I need a big house with an even bigger porch.” He will smile the remainder of the day.

I’ve told him that I may just make a house next to his.

Now we have had good fights but mostly ones that are mediocre at best, some or all of the three have just said that I need to throw the bottle. Then we did our signature naked marching of the bandits to the village chief. He welcomes us and after the usual formalities with the guard note and the bank, he asks us to come to his office.

We do go to him but all of us notice that something is off. After a little polite talk, he tells us, “I have word from a village that there is a band of twelve that are terrorizing the outlying families. Rape, murder and torture. They are totally depraved, they do this as if it was entertainment. The reward is dead or alive but it is halved if they are brought in alive.”

This threw us. The reward was the most we have ever had but I really had to ask, “It sounds that you actually do not want to even have to deal with a trial. There is no one that will cart twelve bodies in this heat for untold miles. How do we prove that they are dead?”

The chief produced a dimensional bag. “All that is required is twelve heads. This bag will hold all without decay. After you bring in the heads, you can keep the bag. Be forewarned, these people are professionals who are sadistic. They have others who are intimidated through threats to family. They have been caught before but have been broken out by those who are under their threats. That is why the reward is half if brought in alive.”

I look at Jim, Garth and Sara. Without a word, each nods in affirmation so I take the bag and the information. We go to a business quiet room. Usually we would just go to a tavern but with not knowing who is under the threat, we need the secrecy.

“We have taken on this task. This will be the first time that I will not use the bottle. I feel that it will not be appropriate to knock them out and then kill them. Also, the boost. I feel that each of you have improved from what you were when we first met. I am able to take on the average gang we have encountered. We have fought but we always have brought them in alive.”

It is Garth that interrupts me. “I think I speak for the others, I was going to suggest that you stay out of this. You are too valuable to the group but if they start to come after you, start walking slow and vanish to them. Get to a safe distance and cast boost on all of us. We will kill and behead.”

The other two voice the same concern. It is a good feeling that they are really friends.

“We have our plan. No discussing it once we are outside the room.“

This time, I actually stop outside the gate and concentrate. I search and get a faint feeling. “There is a feeling in the direction we are headed. I will be using perception until I get a strong signal. I think that we should ignore the slight feelings. I get the impression that they will be almost too strong of a signal for me to confuse it with anyone else.”

They agree. That faint signal is not growing any stronger.

“It must be another gang. They do not feel as if they have more than five. I need to scan some more.”

We are far enough away from the villages background interference. I start to scan and there was a signal that was very strong. It feels like it is the right number but it is so foul that I run to the side of the trail and throw up everything that I have had for the day.

I would not have been surprised if I saw my shoes coming out of my mouth.

Regaining my composure, Jim says sarcastically. “Did you find anything?”

I retort, “No, it is just that you really need to jump into a stream. You really need to wipe yourself better after taking a dump.” Then I point in a direction that does not follow a path.

“They are a days walk from here. They just left another village, devoid of life. Even babies.”

Now none of us have any doubt, either we will have heads in the bag or they will collect the reword for our heads. One thing, they will have a lot less members. We will take them with us.

They seem to be stationary, so we stop for the night at a point where we can ambush them as they wake. I don’t care. Ambush sounds fine. Also I feel that if it starts to go bad while we fight, I’ll throw every bottle I have and piss on them if I have to. My team will wake to a bag of heads.

As dawn approaches, we sneak up to their camp site. They are either so arrogant or so stupid because there is no guards. The first emerges from her tent, Sara charges in and takes the first head but it alarms the others. They all swarm out and the fight is on.

The now eleven are giving them a hard time so I yell boost. I do that as I am walking slowly around. The three are now slicing through and the numbers are dropping. The fight is going too long so I yell piss bottles.

Sara yells back, “Don’t you dare. This is now fun.” Garth and Jim say the same so I really intensify the boost. Because of my concern for my friends, I have found that I can push them over the top limit.

Garth is just squeezing his opponents to death. Jim is now in super combat mode and Sara is , well Sara. She is drunk on the power boost. Soon, there is no one left. Garth and Jim calm down but Sara is still hacking at the torso of her last opponent.

All I needed to yell at her was five minutes have elapsed. Time for pee. She stops in her tracks. Garth goes over to her, takes her sword from her, points down and asks her if she wanted him to check if that one was still alive.

She smiles at the big guy and gives him a hug. “Would you please be so kind as to do that.”

We all laugh.

Most of the heads have already been severed. Only three had to be done. The twelve are in the bag. We go back to the site we camped at and broke it down. It is not a good idea to stay here. Those bodies will attract the animals.

It was miles away before we stopped at noon to rest.

They look at me strangely. I point and say, “The last wizard is that way. That group will be fighting that faint signal gang soon. We can get an idea of that wizard’s potential.”