After Raggard's comrades had been slaughtered by wolves, he contemplated what to do. His mind was a jumble, he was filled with emotion, unsure of where to go, what to do, or if he even had a purpose anymore.
He wiped his tear filled eyes and thought to himself, "This is all my fault. I was the leader. I was the one who hired them as mercenaries. I was the one who trained them. I was the one who filled their minds with the hopes and dreams of the outside world. But this is the cruel reality. The outside world is not an escape from confinement. Its merely a land of death, waiting for all who tread upon it. That's what I've been taught my entire life. Why did I think I could be different?"
Raggard continued to mope and blame himself for the tragedy that had befallen him and his comrades. He decided that it was his responsibility as a leader to meet the same end as his comrades, and stood up. He grabbed his sword, and his eyes became filled with revenge.
"Ill struggle to the very end to get rid of the monsters out here, and I will meet my comrades shortly."
He grabbed his eye with his left hand, and wiped the streak of blood that was blurring his vision. He then set out, away from the direction of the underground entrance.
A few minutes of rustling through the brush had passed when Raggard heard footsteps around him. They were soft, as if they were trying to conceal themselves, and Raggard quickly realized he had been surrounded.
"Show yourselves, beasts!", He exclaimed. "Well well, I didn't expect to be called a beast today." A tall thin man with long brown hair emerged from the brush.
"Say, fellas? What do you guys think? Should we let this guy off for calling me a beast?"
Another man emerged, with short black hair, and similar figure. "Of course not boss! He should pay the price for disrespecting you.", he retorted. "Mmm I completely agree."
A number of other people came out from the bushes, some women, mostly men, around 20 in total. All of them wore leather armor, aside from the one who was called 'Boss' who wore an aluminum chest plate.
He smirked and arrogantly put his hand on Raggard's chin.
"Alright bud. Here's how its gonna work. Either you give me all the money and equipment you got on you, or well kill you right here and take it for ourselves. Whats it gonna be?"
"Heh" Raggard remarked. "You probably thought some lone guy in the woods would value his life and be easy prey, am I wrong?"
A look of displeasure came across the bosses face. "Are you trying to be smug with me? EH??"
The boss slapped Raggard across the face. "Anyone can see that I have the advantage here. You should be begging for your life right now and you have the balls to talk back to me?!".
His face became flustered and he kneed Raggard in the gut, causing him to topple over to the ground.
Raggard slowly stood up, gasping for air. "I just lost all my comrades in a battle bud. You think I give a shit about my own life anymore? I gave that up before you met me boy. You thought I'd quietly submit, but I'll show you that you wont get out of this unscathed."
Raggard grabbed his sword and lunged at the boss. Caught off guard, the boss didn't react in time, and the sword pierced through the aluminum, leaving a hole in his chest.
Raggard tried to pull the sword out but it was firmly rooted in the mans chest. The boss coughed up a spit of blood and began to screech out his final words. "Geht-ugh blech... him..!!"
It turned into a frenzy. The boss toppled over and with him, Raggard, who was trying to pull the sword out was flung to the ground. All the bandits charged at Raggard, and his life flashed before his eyes as they came close enough to strike.
"I guess I was only good enough to slay a single bandit. Too bad I'm not a genius magician like you were, Leonard. Well, I guess that didn't do you much good anyway when the enemies were close enough to attack. My comrades, Ill be with you all soon".
A white string of light flashed before Raggard, bouncing from head to head of the attacking bandits. Their heads flew off, and blood spurted everywhere.
20 men had been decapitated in an instant, and when Raggard looked in front of him, there appeared a young boy, seemingly about 14 years of age, wearing a green beanie. He sheathed a twisted black dagger, which was glowing with a dark aura, into his rope like belt.
"I have a deal to make with you," The kid stated.