The canyon was silent but for the creak of crossbows being drawn. Nine pairs of eyes pinned them like wolves deciding when to lunge.
Solved raised his hands, voice calm, steady—not pleading, but commanding.
"You don't want this fight. Think about it. Two strangers riding through, no wagons, no cargo. What do you gain by killing us? Dust and blood? Not worth the trouble."
One of the ground bandits spat. "We'll take the horses. That's worth enough."
Solved tilted his head, studying him, then smiled thinly.
"You've got a purse hidden under your left boot."
The man froze.
"Which means your boss doesn't trust you with the full cut. And judging by the stink of your blade, you haven't oiled it in weeks. The man up there with the crossbow—" he pointed without looking up, "—he's already sweating, because he knows his angle is too wide. If you fire, you'll hit one of your own before you hit us."
A murmur rippled among the bandits. Doubt. Hesitation.
Solved pressed harder, voice low and dangerous.
"Walk away now, and I'll forget your faces. Stay…" He let the words hang, eyes narrowing. "…and I'll remember every detail."
For a moment, it worked. One of the crossbows lowered slightly, uncertainty spreading.
Then the leader barked a laugh, breaking the tension.
"Nice tongue, city-man. But words don't pay our bellies." He stepped closer, blade flashing. "We'll take our chances."
Andrew's patience snapped. Steel hissed as his sword came free.
In one clean arc, faster than the eye could follow, he severed the leader's head. Blood sprayed the canyon floor.
The others froze.
Solved didn't flinch. His voice cut sharper than Andrew's blade.
"Now you've seen what happens when I try diplomacy and he gets bored. Shall we try again?" he said, wiping the blood splatter from his face.
Solved had read Andrew correctly from the start—a walking storm in borrowed clothes. In Tokyo he might have avoided such partnerships. But the dead don't have the luxury of high moral standards. And sometimes, justice required tools that weren't clean.
---
The remaining bandits scattered like startled ravens. Two crossbow bolts whistled past Solved's ear as he rolled behind a broken cart wheel.
"Eight left!" he barked to Andrew, who was already moving. "Two high left, two high right, four mobile!"
Andrew's blade sang through the air, deflecting a bolt that would have taken his shoulder. "I can reach the ones on the left ridge!"
"No!" Solved's voice cut sharp. "They want us separated. Stay close!"
A bandit rushed from behind a boulder, crude sword raised. Andrew pivoted, his blade meeting the attack with surgical precision. The bandit's weapon shattered. Andrew's follow-through opened the man's throat.
[ Seven left.]
"They're herding us toward the narrow pass!" Solved called out, spotting the tactical error. The bandits were trying to funnel them into a killzone where the crossbows had clear shots.
Solved grabbed a handful of dust and flung it toward the right ridge. "Smoke them out!"
The crossbowmen above squinted, momentarily blinded. In that instant, Andrew hurled his dagger upward with deadly accuracy. It found its mark—one archer toppled from the rocks.
[ Six left. ]
But the victory cost them. A bandit had circled behind while they focused on the archers. His blade scraped against Solved's ribs, drawing blood through his coat.
Solved spun, grabbing the attacker's wrist. Twenty-three years of arresting resisting suspects served him well—he twisted, heard bone snap, and drove his knee into the man's solar plexus. The bandit crumpled.
[ Five left. ]
"Behind you!" Andrew shouted.
Solved ducked as Andrew's blade whistled over his head, catching a bandit who'd thought to take advantage of the distraction.
[ Four left. ]
The surviving bandits had learned. No more direct attacks. They began a deadly game of cat and mouse among the canyon's rocky outcrops.
A crossbow bolt sparked off the stone inches from Solved's head. The archer on the left ridge was still active, and he had patience.
"We need to move!" Andrew growled, blood seeping from a cut on his sword arm.
They began leapfrogging between cover—Andrew advancing while Solved provided distraction, then switching roles. It was exhausting work, made worse by the climbing sun and thin mountain air.
One of the mobile bandits made a mistake, exposing himself as he tried to flank them. Solved caught him with a thrown stone to the temple, stunning him long enough for Andrew to close the distance.
[ Three left. ]
But their horses were down. Crossbow bolts had found their mounts early in the engagement, and now the animals lay dying in pools of blood.
"Thirty minutes wasted," Solved muttered, checking his timepiece as another bolt chipped the rock beside his head.
[ 00:26:18 Left ]
"The crossbowman's getting cocky," Solved observed. The archer had been taking increasingly risky shots, trying to end the standoff.
"I can reach him if you give me an opening," Andrew said.
Solved studied the canyon walls, noting the loose shale near the archer's position. "When I move, you go. Don't hesitate."
Solved broke cover, sprinting directly toward the opposite wall—apparently the worst possible tactical decision. The crossbowman took the bait, tracking him for what should have been an easy shot.
Instead, Solved dove and rolled, coming up with a fist-sized rock. His throw was precise, striking the shale deposit above the archer. Rocks cascaded down in a small avalanche.
The crossbowman had to choose: maintain his shot or avoid being crushed. He chose survival.
In that moment of distraction, Andrew was already moving. He scaled the rocky slope with practiced ease, reaching the ridge just as the archer recovered his footing.
[ Two left. ]
The last bandit, seeing his companions fall, made the smart choice. He threw down his weapon and ran deeper into the canyon, disappearing around a bend.
Andrew started to pursue, but Solved called him back. "Let him go. We don't have time."
[Combat +10.]
---
They stood among the carnage, breathing hard. Seven bandits dead or fled. Victory, but at a cost.
The horses lay still, their blood seeping into the canyon floor.
[ 00:22:43 Left ]
"Twenty-two minutes," Solved said grimly. "On foot, we'll never make it."
Andrew kicked at the dust, frustration evident. "All this, and we're still going to fail."
That's when the system chimed in Solved's mind:
[MYSTERY COMPLETED: "Why You Must Walk"]
[Reward: +32 Exp—Mystery Box - UNLOCKED]
An ornate wooden box materialized in Solved's hands, its surface carved with intricate runes that pulsed with faint blue light.
Andrew's eyes widened. "What's that?"
"Another memento," Solved replied, but Andrew's face showed he didn't believe it.
The box opened with a soft click, revealing a crystalline stone that seemed to contain swirling galaxies within its depths. Ancient symbols flickered across its surface.
[ITEM ACQUIRED: Teleportation Rune Stone]
[Type: Single-Use Magical Item]
[Effect: Instant transportation to visualized location]
[Range: 50 miles maximum]
Solved stared at the stone, understanding flooding through him. "Our ticket to Campoff," he said grimly. "The system knew we'd need this."
Solved looked at the rune stone, then at Andrew's suspicious expression, then at the impossible distance they still had to cover.
"We're not failing," he said with quiet determination.