The New Game Master

Rosetta looked at Raven, "You three get back to scouting. We know the location of that bandit camp."

He looked at her, "You want us dead, 3 of us against two dozen? They could already be on there way here."

She nodded, "I want you off-trail and scouting. See if you see anything being set up."

He nodded and left the others behind. He rode half a mile and went off trail to the left. He rode hard for a mile and then he went into a slow and steady mode. He stopped to listen and hear.

The distant cracking of branches caught his ear. he dropped down from his horse with the bow at the ready. he went forward more and found a downed tree to take cover behind. He saw ten on foot all scattered about behind trees facing the roadway. he took aim at the one who was second farthest away. he held the shot and released the arrow.

He dropped behind the log before it hits and he heard him scream out. He heard them shuffling about looking for the shooter. He heard them clustered and talking. He pulled out the wand and he looked under the edge of the log and got a line of sight. he nailed them with the one fireball he had. He set the woods on fire as well as seven or eight of them.

The wand disintegrated as the last charge went away. He got his bow ready and fired another shot into the group. He sent one to the ground. They spread out behind trees. He looked under the tree and spotted the one guy he nailed with an arrow and he was burnt. He sent his one magic missile his way and he dropped. He saw two trying to rush his position. he fired an arrow at one of them.

He popped up and shot one and had four arrows hit the log. One went past him and two into him. One in the shoulder and one in the neck. Now he really was hurting. He heard the one bandit stop as he hit him but the other was still moving straight at Raven. He drew his sword. He waited until he came over the log and activate the sword and jam the sword into his chest.

He screamed out and fell over dead. He heard arrows coming in from the road toward his location at the bandits; the other two scouts. He left the sword buried in the body and moved down. He popped up again and shot one who was now hiding from the arrows coming from the road. He pulled up and sunk another arrow into an injured one. He turned to fire at Raven as he moved to the other side of the tree. He got nailed by an arrow from that direction. He heard them running off.

He popped back up and sank one more arrow into a fleeing bandit. That bandit dropped and Raven grabbed his sword and put it out. He sheathed the sword and lay there for a bit with his bow at the ready. He heard Rosetta call out, "Black you out there?"

He yelled back, "Yes. Just injured. Very injured."

He heard horses approach and it is another guard who happened to be a cleric. He looked at me, "You are lucky you are not dead."

Raven laughed, "I was sent out on a suicide mission I thought death was the goal."

He shook his head and snapped the arrowhead off the one in my neck first. He starts healing Raven as he pulls it out and then pulled the next one out. He hits me with another healing spell. He looked at him, "How many of the fuckers did we get. I lost count at three."

Raven looked at him, "You drew the ambush from the other side of the road over with your antics. Several of our guys caught them in the open as they rushed forward after hearing the fireball and all the smoke."

Raven got up and was still a bit unsteady but he headed back to where he left his horse.

Rosetta was waiting for him on the horse that had been loaned to him. She shook her head, "I said scout!"

Raven looked at her, "I had 10 lined up along trees aimed toward the road. I could try and sneak away. I would likely end up a pincushion or keep the cover. I alert you to the fact that I am fucked at the moment. I wounded at least seven and killed three of those.

He got up on my horse. "I scouted this area once already and told you what was out there. You sent me back out into the ambush. I just ambushed the ambush."

She sighed and nodded, "I know you are frustrated by all of this."

He laughed, "Frustrated does not even cover it. Fucking pissed off and wanting to beat the crap out of a Duke comes to mind."

She looked at me, "Stay away from the Duke."

He looked at her, "We are three and a half days out from where we started. We are understaffed and soon they will bring in more and just wipe this entire convoy out. Give me a reason to stay my hand. Hell, give me a reason to stay!"

She looked at him, "Why don't we talk after you have calmed down some."

Raven nodded, "That should be when half the Dukes blood is out of his body."

He rode off and she gave chase, "You cannot touch him you will be branded an outlaw."

He looked at her, "I heard some bandits have new openings."

She looked at him, "That is not funny."

He looked at her, "It was a statement of fact. You are right this is not funny, or fun. In fact, I am thinking about going back and punching Lady Caravel in the mouth."

She looked at Raven, "Why?"

He looked at her, "A Lady and a Duke make a deal to drag something through with her caravans. She probably knows what in the fuck it is. That means she knows she did not put enough guards or gear for this trip."

She looked at Raven and did not know how to answer that. He looked at her, "Did you suspect something?"

She looked at him and nodded. "Two carriages and only one noble. It did not add up why the security was so light. Two noble carriages you would expect twice or three times the security. Especially with a Duke."

He looked at her, "I think I will go back. You don't want me talking with the Duke? Then you get the answer to that question. Else I will return to the city and question Lady Caravel on the matter. Let her know what is going on out here."

They got back to the road and the guys were dragging out the dead. Twelve dead. That meant half were still out there. He rode toward the caravan and she was scared of what Raven might do. He rode back and the Duke was steaming mad, "Why are we stopped?"

He looked at him, "They came to make sure I was not dead. We got a dozen dead bodies up the road. Another dozen who escaped. This should not be a hard question to answer. Did Lady Caravel know you were carrying something secret in your carriage that needed protecting?"

He would not answer me. Raven shook his head and Rosetta asked the question again. The Duke looked at her. "She knew I was a courier. She didn't know I needed any protection beyond what I normally got. She doesn't know what I am carrying."

Raven gave him a hard look, "What would she say if she knew?"

He shrugged, "What she says and for that matter what you say does not matter. It is what it is."

He looked at Rosetta, "You better put me on rear guard for the rest of this trip or I will leave. I will also work to talk half of the guys you have into leaving as well.

Especially after a totally fucked comment from Duke shit for brains. Out here you rely on us. You cannot run into court and complain because you are too much of a chicken shit to help fight your own battles."

Raven rode to the back of the caravan and Rosetta came up to him, "He is pissed at the way you talked to him."

Raven shrugged, "He set himself up to die on this trip. I cannot prevent that. You put me back here or do I head back to the city now?"

She sighed and looked at the other rider in the back, "Ride next to the forward coach." She looked at Raven. "You stay back here for a while." She rode back upfront. They got moving again about six hours later the caravan was attacked and pelted with arrows.

Several were flaming and those were all directed at the forward carriage. He took off from his position and drew his father's sword as he rode into the woods looking for the shooters on this side. He found them and they were spread out. He somehow surprised the first guy with his approach and Raven ignited his sword as he fell into him coming off of his horse. He sent them both to the ground. The bandit was dead now as his neck snapped during the fall.

Raven left his sword and swung his bow around and started shooting the next one. He was caught in the crossfire and fell. He moved forward and saw the furthest shooter and Raven had a great shot at him from cover. He lined up and held the shot. He released and put the arrow through the side of the head through his ear. He looked closer toward the caravan.

He saw one guy who launched a fireball into the forward carriage. Raven fired at him from his position. He knew he was pinned in and he hit the ground. Raven stood and kept firing arrows at him as he tried to crawl away. Raven kept advancing and did not stop until a dozen arrows were in his body. He looked up to see Rosetta looking at him and Raven glared at her.

"Got two more back here and I think that one was mine too."

He walked back and grabbed his sword, extinguish it, and put it away. He dragged this guy's body down to the caravan and got out the rope. he roped the other and drug his ass down too. I got back and saw the dead horse and two dead guards and one of the Duke's aids was dead. The page who he fucked around with. Raven looked at the Duke, "It is what it is."

I looked at Olivia who was getting tended to. He sighed, "You alright?"

She nodded, "Just a little singed by that fireball."

He looked at her team and two of her horses were dead as well. I looked up at her, "Will that carriage move with only half of its horses?"

She shook her head, "No and we have no extra draft horses."

He looked at her, "What is the plan now?" Rosetta looked at me, "We pull one from the forward wagon."

We move these two with three horses." She hands Raven a wand, "From the guy, you stuck a dozen arrow into."

Raven walked over to him and reclaimed as many as he could. She looked at Raven, "I can give you more arrows."

He looked at her. "I know you can, but the way this trip is going we are going to be down to a bow fight at some point and having the extras will come in handy. I better get back to the rear wagon."

She shook her head, "I want you to see if you can find these guys horses."

He nodded and rode off on the left side of the road and saw a few in the camp trying to pack up. he yelled out, "Surrender now or I will fry your asses." One guy went for his bow and Raven sent a fireball into the group. The three of them were dead.

He rode down to the other side of the camp and found a string of thirty-six horses. He led them all out of the camp and back to the road. He came out ahead of the group and started riding forward when more arrows start whizzing by him. he kicked it into high gear as he took another arrow in the side as did his horse.

They make it to the front wagon when his horse drops over dead. Rosetta came up, "What happened?

Raven looked at her, "They have at least twelve more based on the horses. I killed three in the camp. Can we get this fucking arrow out of me NOW!?"

She called for one of the clerics and he got the arrow out and healed Raven up.

he looked at the tip of the arrow and it looks like the head of a dart. He checked the arrow over and then looked at Rosette, "This arrow is not normal."

She looked at it, "You are right but you are alive. This is one used to dose poison and to get through things like armor."

He looked at her, "They will come we have all of their horses."

Raven found a black stallion in the string and he cut him out and saddled him up with his gear.

he looked at her, "I am double backing toward the camp they had. I will stop at the ridge and blow up anything in the camp moving."

She nodded. He went off on the left side of the road while they played with horses and deployed guards. Some were deeper into the woods. He headed up and around them and headed to the base of the hill. He left his new horse.

he walked up and then crawl up as he got closer with his bow in one hand and the wand in the other. he saw six in the camp and he started blowing the fuck out of them. One called out, "We surrender."

Raven stepped out and looked at him, "Who are we?" He saw one. Two others came out.

Raven looked at them, "Grab your three friends and drag them over there with you. They did as he asked.

he looked at them, "Now run your swords through those three hearts. I want to make sure they are not waiting in ambush. The guys pull swords and he saw one of the guys on the ground move as if to cast. Raven rolled down the back of the hill and grab his horse as a fireball went off at the top of the hill. He rode back up and fired another one into the group who thought they got him.

Then another for the two who still crawled. He cast detect magic. he found two magical bows, a locked chest in one of the tents, all kinds of papers and he pull it all and put the papers into his backpack. he located another half dozen rings and three more wands. Two more sets of magical armor, two sets of bracers. He bundled all that up in a partially burnt cloak.

He pulled the chest out of the tent with a rope. he went back up over the hill and through the woods back to the camp. He got there and they had two more dead guards but they got the other six.

Raven looked at her, "We are down to twenty. We have a ton of stuff that needs to be identified. I have some reading to do." He started pulling papers out one by one.

He looked at Rosetta, "Did the Duke give his last family name as Costa, Assinberg being his wife's family name?"

She nodded. He handed her the note. "Guess we know who hates him as much as I do right now." She read while he pulled another. He handed that one to her and went to the next one. Then the next. By the time he was done he had a good picture of who the players were. He saw the Duke coming forward.

Raven looked at him, "A piece of a relic. Very interesting stuff in the letters we found. Including one from Duchess Costa wishing you dead. She is working to sell the fragment to some other kingdom. A King Gehon was named as a potential buyer. Twelve million platinum pieces in jewels apparently. That was the best offer on the table. If she holds the title as she says.

As soon as these get to the King you will no longer be a Duke."

He yelled, "Let me see those!" Raven took them back from Rosetta and looked at him. "I am not about to give you the evidence that shows your own families treachery in this manner. You want to read it fine. But you have to agree to have your hands bound behind your back as we show you each document."

He scoffed at me, "I do not believe you."

Raven sat there and read a portion of one letter. "...his cock is a three-inch disappointment to the male species. It shoots off at a stiff breeze and he is good for one shot a night. I count myself lucky when he just shoots it across my stomach because he has no control. That is why I am taking so many lovers. Men and women.

When I get this money I will be getting fucked and sucked on as much as I want whenever I want. I might even have sex on his grave once a week for the first year."

Raven looked at him, "She seems to be disappointed in your package. This is also the letter outlining your travel itinerary and the number of guards to expect. She prefers that you are the only one who is killed but if others must die. To quote her 'it is what it is.'

I laughed the first time I read that. Your phrase to us being used that way by your own wife. Who finds you completely inadequate. That was is one of these other letters. It included some of your indiscretions with a Sir Philip Toll who apparently enjoys pounding your ass.

Apparently, you cannot return the favor so you use your tongue and fist on occasion. What is this about him being a nephew to the King? I am sure it will go over very well."

The guys around Raven laughed and Rosetta just shook her head. The Duke looked at me, "That will destroy me!"

Raven nodded, "It is what it is."

Raven put the documents away and looked at the chest, "We have not opened that yet but it is heavy." One of the scouts went up and opens it and it is filled with coins. They spent an hour going through it and looked up, 50,000 gold pieces plus a few gems. The gems are not worth much a couple hundred for one and maybe twenty for the other two total."

Rosetta looked around, "Twenty guards that twenty-five hundred gold pieces each."

He looked at her, "What is the rule on wands. We have four counting the fireball wand I got off of the one caster. Olivia looked at them, "I will take these two and you take those two. We are the only arcane casters in the group.

I gave you the fireball wand that is nearly full and a level five magic missile wand that is full. The other is a firewall wand that you are not quite ready for. We have seen the damage in the woods you have caused."

The guys laughed and he looked at them, "Saved a lot of lives though."

She nodded, "That it did."

The Duke was still ashen and Raven looked at him, "Was there a question left Duke?"

The Duke looked, "What can I do to get those letters?"

Raven looked at him, "These three letters are enough to hang your wife and the other conspirators without embarrassing you much more than her reference to the size of your package.

That will also ensure your wife will lose her title, which means so will you. You will go back; maybe, to be a knight again. Provided these other letters do not go with them. The King does not really like you. That was in one of the other letters where she talked about him fucking her ass. All the while the King was telling her how disappointed he was that she married you.

He enjoys sending you out as a courier so he can spend more time buried in her ass. You might be a knight when this is done. There is only one way I will withhold these other letters."

Raven looked at him, "What?"

Raven looked at him, "Several things really. First. You will take your workers in the last carriage of yours and put them in your carriage.

You will dress normally for a common guard for the rest of this trip and ride horseback or seated as the second seat on your own coach. Next, you will give a signed document to Rosetta. The document will state that your wife's estate, before being seized, will pay 100,000 gold pieces to every widow or orphan.

From the guards who will end up dying because of her treachery. It is nothing anyone here wants to collect but as you see already that amount will only increase as we go. You are also responsible for doubling the number of guards at the next inn or town capable. Paying for them yourself. Lastly, you will be known as Yufull as in 'you fool' for the rest of this trip.

No Duke, No tantrums. No more crap. That will allow you to scavenge the draft horses from the second carriage and leave it behind. If you agree to those things I will give the damning documents to Rosetta to hold. You meet the obligation in guards and widow benefits then she will give you those documents. I do not trust you and you do not trust me.

Rosetta has been nothing but fair to both of us. She would be the logical choice. He looked at Raven, "Yufull? Really?"

Raven chuckled, "I thought Ass Hat would be too much. Besides, it might break you of the habit of calling people 'you fool' if you have to deal with it every day for this journey. It would start in the morning. I heard carriages burn really well.

A good way to burn the first of our dead. In fact, when asked we can honestly say we lost a Duke and a carriage because of this last attack."

He sighed and looked at Rosetta, "Anyway you can help me negotiate a compromise?"

Raven looked at her, "If he wants one then we will do it document by document. He can negotiate on behalf of each damning document.