They were terrifying to behold, covered from head to toe in blood and leaving a trail of dead bodies in their wake. The sight of even the leathery winged creatures being dismembered by the three she demons in the fiery darkness finally caused the bandits to flee - mounting what wyverns remained and taking to the star-lit sky.
"Get back here you cowards!" yelled Nessa as she saw them retreat.
It had taken them a few days travel from Gedrin before reaching here, the village of Sedrite. Jasmine's directions had proved accurate, as did Drisana's knowledge of the wyvern bandits who happened to be raiding the poor village just as they arrived. A figure moved in the corner of her eye, causing her to ready her weapon but the shadowy form put two hands up as a sign of peace and slowly advanced into the nearby firelight. It was a woman. One as well built as them.
"You sure picked a good time to arrive," she said. "It's always a pleasure to meet another ex-gladiatrix. I am Chaya, leader of what remains of this village."
"How did you escape from the arena?" asked Nessa with more than a little suspicion.
"I didn't," Chaya laughed. "I escaped from my previous owner's bedroom. Right after I slit his throat."
"Looks like you have a bandit problem," said Nerith absent mindedly as she looked around at the state of the village. Chaya shook her head.
"No, I have a wyvern problem. I can fight back the bandits just fine but I can't chase them up to their base on the mountain. You can't see it right now but when the sun comes up it's pretty easy to see the old castle. The cliffs are just too steep to climb and I didn't want to risk being away when they decided to run another raid. Bastards have taken almost everything now: our tools, weapons, supplies. They'll be taking lives next."
"They haven't killed anyone?" asked Nessa incredoulously.
"Not for lack of trying. Me and the boys have always managed to send them running before they can do any serious harm. At least serious enough that our healers can't fix it. Alas that also means we're spread pretty thin chasing them off and not actually managing to kill them either. If you are interested in getting rid of those wyvern riders just let me know how I can help. Just remember, I'm not comfortable leaving my folk on their own."
"Do you know of any cave systems nearby?" asked Nerith, already searching for a way up the mountain. "There must be a path up there for people on foot, unless they built the whole thing while flying on wyverns..."
"There is one cave entrance I know of a bit West from here, but it is home to a nasty ravager so we always steered clear. Those beasts are not to be taken lightly. Have any of you ever fought a Ravager before?"
The sisters looked at each other and shook their heads. Indas, quietly towering at the back smiled and nodded.
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