The convoy of carts and the carriage pierced right through the dust which had gathered upon the main road—the only road leading towards the kingdom Maria from the village known as the Vayu Village.
The gallop of the horses and bulls were the only sound which seemed to be echo around, as everyone kept to themselves, even the children's focus were only upon the road nothing else. It was clear that the incident and the the caution of the priest, all had served to frighten them.
"Oh, the lord of the sun, please illuminate our path and ensure nothing goes wrong in our journey towards the kingdom."
Father Sefir muttered underneath his breath, with his hands clasped together and the eyes remaining closed, so that the concentration only remained upon the image of the deity and nothing else.
All the whole, Dianne continued to look outside the windows of the carriage, gazing at the numerous drifting trees outside with a pensive look on her face. Her hands were sweating and the hairs on the back of her nape all had stood. Something was going to go wrong.
She could feel it in her guts, and also...was that shadows moving from one branch to the another, or was it just a momentary illusion? She didn't have any idea honestly and hence she kept her doubts within herself only.
Sefir opened his eyes after a few minutes of continuous praying dedicated to his divine lord, turning his head towards his daughter, only to squint when he saw the lines of tension painting her youthful face into an old hue.
"Dianne, what seems to bother you my child?"
He asked her with a tint of worry clear in his tone, and placed one of his hands on her right shoulder to offer her some sense of reassurance, amidst all the things—unknown to him going inside her mind which painted her whole face with tension.
"Father. Are you truly sure, that this road is safe for us? I don't question your wisdom, never, but still I ask you this for something doesn't feel right here. There's a malicious stench wafting around the corners and on each tree that surround us, father."
Dianne shared her concern with a low voice, as she curled a strand of her hair around her fingers, and the gaze never directly faced the eyes of her father always shifting.
Sefir was surprised by her sudden worry and then he shook his head with a soft chuckle leaving him, and thought the incident of the past night didn't leave her yet, so he spoke out trying to give some relief to the worries clouding her thoughts.
"The incident of the past night and my words have stained your subconscious, my dear daughter. This is why you are imagining things. Don't worry they will pass. Focus on the road not the feelings inside. You understand me, don't you, my dear daughter?"
Dianne only offered a hesitant nod in response, never the one to argue with her father, no matter how confident she was about her vision. Seeing her acceptance, Sefir ruffled her hair and then took his head out of the carriage's window to ask a question, to the one with the reigns of the horses i.e. the one driving.
"How much farther till we reach the kingdom Maria, Joel?"
The driver turned his head back a bit, and answered.
"Just a few minutes more father."
The priest nodded and pulled his head back from the windows of the carriage. Then both the father and the daughter sat in silence with each light bump—due to the harsh terrain, echoing loudly.
But then a particularly large bump shook the interior almost as if the wheels had crashed into something, the horses outside neighed quite loudly yet the driver somehow calmed them down and the priest looked out again.
"What happened?!"
The priest asked with worry flashing in his eyes and his pitch heightened a bit due to his surprise. Even the other carts had stopped due to the erratic behaviour of the bulls, and the residents of the village were trying their best to calm their beasts down.
Worry and fright filled the strong veins easily, for the past night's incident had weakened their will to fight by a large margin, and even if a little rabbit was the reason for the crash they would imagine it as a ferocious demon.
"I don't know father, but the horses have seen something! Wait, I will check the wheels to see what caused the bump."
The driver jumped down from the seat, walking back with a wooden cane in hand that helped him with his walking due to his weak bones because of his age. When he reached the back big wheels, he saw black ropes—the material having many shards of glasses stuck to it so that no one could grab and rip it easily, tied around the wooden wheels which restricted them from rolling any further.
The old driver had seen it a long time ago, when he was but a child and the memories that surged made his hunched back straighten up along with hairs on his body.
"EVERYONE! WE HAVE BEEN TRAPPED!
THE SKULLBANDITS ROAM AROUND US!!!"
The driver screamed and before anyone could react, the head was severed, tumbling and rolling on the ground, with a fountain of blood decorating the carriage.
The horses and the bulls made noises of fright, as the numerous shadows jumped from the surrounding trees and bushes down in front of the villagers—who stepped out of their carts and carriage with a mixture of fright and shock along with countless others.
Dianne gripped her father's forearm, and Sefir instinctively went in front of her, a father would always protect his children no matter what stands in front of them.
The rays of the sun pierced through the clouds, revealing the men that stood in front and all of them carried weapons—swords, axe and many others. All of those weapons carried the brand of their bandit group—the skull of a wolf and other brandings of powers which seemed to be pulse with magical strength—in other words, simply called sigils.
The men wore only a black chest plates with their wolf skull branding, and accompanying it was a shadow cloak that could help in blending in, it was clear that they prioritised freedom of agility over the defense aspect.
Their faces were hidden by a rag-like mask—covering the lower part of their face only, starting from the nose only. With their bloodthirsty eyes free to look at, because it only served to increase the terror which had originated in the opposite person's heart.
"What do you want from us?"
Father Sefir asked with his tone being composed and his face still, no fear or stress was showed but beads of sweat did trickle down his forehead.
A man stepped out from the middle of the bandit group—only 15 men were present in total—a small count for such a well known group.
The man was the only one without a mask, and he looked to be the leader due to the numerous scar that painted his visage, along with the fact that had no armour on.
Along with that, the other members backed away as he came in front of them, his locks of black fell till his shoulders and he was quite short yet his muscles were practically bulging out.
Some wrinkles painted his face, but it was clear from his body, that age had no effect on his strength. It only served to make his face look more sunken.
"What do I want?"
The man began as he tilted his head to the side, and then smiled, making him look like a jolly grandfather.
"I want..... That sixteen year old girl you hold behind you. If you pass her on to me, I will spare you and even will let you continue on your journey without taking your vehicles with us."
The right hand raised and the index finger pointed right at Dianne who cowered when she saw the looks that he gave, analyzing her from head to toe, stripping her bare.
But why would he want her? There were many with more plump bodies and looks, so then why specifically her rather than the other women of the village?