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Grey was about to retort when he was roughly dragged out of the tent and into the clearing. The sudden movement broke his connection with his knife and the blade dropped harmlessly to the ground. There were already two prisoners present in the middle of the bandit camp. Grey spotted the cloaked girl with the knives that Cordell had mentioned earlier and some of his hope faded away to see that she had also been captured. Her arms looked pretty burnt too. But it was nothing compared to the girl next to her.

Rook, Grey realized. She was barely conscious. And there was blood all around her.

So much, Grey thought. How is she even staying alive?

He glared at Silveris and Marcelle. "What have you done to her?" he snarled. "What are you planning to do with us?"

----

Sampson turned his head slightly at all the commotion in the middle of camp. The prisoners were being dragged out of their tents. He immediately sought out the arrow girl and found her, bound and bloody, slumped in the ground and unmoving. For some reason, he didn't feel satisfied.

There's no way I'm letting her die like that, he told himself. It will be my hands that cut the life out of her and nobody else's.

Prisoners were dragged out of there tents for some odd reason. We'd all have knees on the ground and are hands behind our back. Why are we here? Silveris was next to Marcelle. The long brown hair girl had blood all over her she looked like she was gonna die any moment now. "What do you want b*****." I'd say with fury in my eyes to Marcelle and Slivers.

The bandit rider glared threateningly at the stallion when it dug its hooves in, refusing to budge, and he gave a hard tug on the reigns while the other bandit kept an eye on the horses and Mirima at the same time, shivering slightly at the girl's voice despite the desert heat.

"Why won't the damned beast move? What sort of trick is this, girl?"

Back at the bandit camp, when Silveris saw the state Rook was in, he immediately turned to Myles, his eyebrow twitching in annoyance as he tried to keep the fire inside him calm and controlled because Marcelle wanted the prisoners alive and Rook looked like she was going to die at any moment.

"You had one job. So why the blazing hell is she still bleeding like that? How hard can it be to patch up a wound? Don't just stand there! If she dies, you die with her!"

Myles scrambled forward to wrap the bandages around Rook.

Marcelle smiled at Grey.

"Patience, purplehead. It's only blood loss."

He turned to Mystic.

"So much spunk in all of you! No matter. All of you are alive only because I see some use in you. You are all different. The dragon boy can turn into a dragon, purplehead can use telekinesis, the arrow girl's arrow skills and endurance are superb, and the dehydrated one's adeptness with a knife is the best I have seen. Therefore, all of you will fetch a handsome price. I plan on selling all of you, to different buyers of course. There are many desert rulers in need of assassin's, fighters, slaves, and whatnot. I don't care about the specifics. I'm just here to do business."

"You're selling us?" Grey exclaimed.

He glared at the bandits. "What makes you think anyone will buy us?" he snapped. "If I were a master, I wouldn't want an assassin who would end up killing me instead of my enemies."

----

Sampson got to his feet and, with one hand braced against his own wound, made his way towards Myles and Rook. He took a few bandages from Myles and began dressing Rook's shoulder, the same wound he'd made with his knife throw during their horse run.

The elf lets out a jolly laugh at the bandit's frustrated question. "Now, how should I know that? I don't know your methods for breaking horses, but I'd venture a guess that they're more geared to being able to sit in the saddle as quickly as possible. Thing is that what's done quickly is usually undone just as quickly, and he's had a marvelous taste of freedom just now." She gestures for the reins. "Let me try him. You've got to approach a horse in a partnership sort of relationship - learn to think and breathe as one unit."

She once again begins to fawn over the horse with pats, scratches, and whispered reassurances. Then she reaches up for a handful of mane and gently hoists herself a few inches off the ground to test his reaction. "You've got to take it slow, see?" She drops back to the ground and gracefully springs up onto his back. "There. Easy peasy. Shall we then?" She gestures in the direction from which they came. "I'd like to have a conversation with your leader."

That last bit is really a lie - she would much rather not have a conversation with any bandit, but something tells her that fate has set about a strange course for her today. She just can't shake the idea that maybe she's meant to land in their camp.

Cordell's mouth twisted up into a cocky grin as he watched the prisoners' reactions to the news they'd be sold. "How 'bout offerin' 'em up to Navarro?" he suggested to Marcelle. "He's always needed more hands fer the salt mine. Just think how much he'd pay fer one that could just magick those salt barrels right up onto 'is wagons!"

"Or...Lady Jadis. She sometimes has some interesting uses fer slaves," he added, hoping to see them squirm. Stories of Jadis the reclusive witch were widely known and widely feared. Even the bandits didn't mess with Jadis, though they sometimes did business with her.

"Course, the desert trolls would buy anything alive if ya can't get a good 'nuff price for 'em anywhere else. Maybe just sell that one straight to them," he pointed at finger at Rook who did not appear conscious. "Get somethin' for her 'fore she's stinkin' up the place and attracting flies."

"Selling us just to get a few million dollars what can you even get in the desert!" I'd yell at Marcelle. I'd look at all the prisoners, they were all scared, they were all surprised. I needed to make a stand.I'd look at Marcelle and stand up. "These people should live their lives and be free instead of being slaves again, this is disgusting even to your own bandits!" I'd shout to Marcelle. Then I'd get into a position and charge at him.

Marcelle had anticipated a reaction like this would come from the prisoners upon hearing the news but if you wanted to survive in the desert, you had to be willing to do all sorts of business and once the prisoners were out of Marcelle's hands, it wasn't his problem anymore and besides, the possible options Cordell had mentioned were indeed very promising.

"Once they buy you, it's not my problem anymore. We might even do an auction. Maybe that'll spread you all apart. The desert is a pretty big place..."

Marcelle broke off when Mystic charged for him but Silveris was in front of his leader in a flash, grabbing the dragon man as he rushed past with his burning hands and swinging the prisoner over Silveris's head, smashing him on the ground and placing one foot on Mystic's shoulder to keep him down.

Silveris's hands and eyes blazed with irritated fire.

Myles gave Sampson a small, grateful smile and finished wrapping the last of Rook's injuries.

Meanwhile, the bandit riders, unsure of what to make of Mirima as she gracefully hopped onto the stallion's back, exchanged a look and shrugged, deciding once they brought her back to the bandit camp, Marcelle, Silveris, and the other bandits could easily take her down there.

"Fine, desert rat. But don't get any ideas."

With a soft chuckle, Mirima replies to the latest comment, "Oh, goodness. Do pardon me, I believe I've forgotten my manners in the confusion. My name's Mirima; you must have me confused with another of your company."

((Is mr mollusk still on?))
Grey could only glare at the bandit leader. Is this guy serious? He fiddled with the rope that bound his wrists together. They needed to get out of here. Fast.
My magic is stronger if I use my entire arm but I should only need my fingers for this.
He flicked his index finger in the direction of Jez's wrists, aiming for the ropes that held her captive, and began to loosen the binding.

----

Sampson stood, wiping Rook's blood off his hands, and glanced at the fire in Silveris's hands.
He's angry again.
He looked down at the dragon man pressed underneath Silveris's foot. These people never learn.

I was smashed into the ground by Silveris and then he put a foot on my shoulder. I was struggling I was in pain. I looked back and saw a bandit looking at me then I looked behind and see the prisoners escaping without me. Guess it's up to me. I look up and see Sliveris with fire in his eyes and hand. Time to strike. I'd kick Sliveris in balls and try to run away. I could not run so I was limping. I already saw Sliveris recovering from the kick. I'd look around see a bandit have a bow and shoot me right in the shoulder, I fell to the ground. My hearing was becoming a death-rattle and my vision was starting to become white. Was I dying? I looked and saw myself pouring blood. I was dying and no one could save me. I let my eyes closed and hoped for the best.

((@Ayelle did you appear in the bandit camp or somewhere else?))
The bandit riders ignored Mirima's comment and started back towards the bandit camp, careful to keep Mirima in their line of sight along with the rest of the horses, all the time wondering what their leader Marcelle would say when he saw the girl but they were already nearing the oasis.

Neither Marcelle nor Silveris noticed what Grey was doing, being focused on Mystic who was trying to escape but now had an arrow lodged in his shoulder and was bleeding himself out on the ground, so Silveris came up to him and yanked the arrow out without hesitation, then motioned towards Myles.

Myles came to patch Mystic's injury.

A Roaring crackle sounded as a Pure purple/white arcane beam came from the sky. Probably blinding the people who were looking in that general direction.

Ayelle landed in the middle of the bandit camp.

Ayelle's mind was racing, “Did it work? Am I out?” She looked around her in a flash seeing a combat related scenery. “Oh god” she thought, I fiddled to much with the spells variables… “Where am I she mumbled”

No time to wait she recalled, for all she knew all of these people may be hostile!
She quickly casted 20+ random illusions scattered all around the area running in random directions. Ayelle knew they would not hold for ever, but a distraction was needed, she made a to “grand” entrance to NOT being noticed.

The illusions where a mere distraction, they are no flesh but just optical. They don’t shatter on contact with something however they just fade over time. A cunning spell she had learned from here mother.

She then blinked around 10 meters forward, and also started running into a random direction. “Time to think” she said to herself.

"What...?" Mirima stops the horse as a blinding flash of light shoots overhead and toward the bandits' camp. "Well, that's a new one to me. What was that?" She decides wait before proceeding as all the horses are jumpy from the phenomenon; no sense getting tangled up in a stampede.

Once she's sure her knees have a good grip on the horse, she begins to once again play the same calming tune as before in an attempt to keep the horses from bolting.

The sudden white light caused spots to dance over Grey's eyes, but he used the distraction to quickly loosen the ropes tied around the prisoners. Then he slid out of his own ropes and ran for Rook's near-unconscious body, shoving Sampson aside in the process and flinging out his hands to use telekinesis to push the bandit back.

"Hey, can you hear me?" he shouted, grabbing Rook's shoulders. "We need to get you out of here."

He took one look at her wounds and, in a quick swing, carried her off her feet in his arms.

Which way, which way? He picked a random direction, away from Silveris and Marcelle, and ran.

----

Sampson felt a force push against his chest as the telekinetic rushed for Rook. The force shoved the bandit back and he collided with someone, the wound on his stomach screaming in pain.

Sampson glanced over his shoulder. It was a white-haired elf.