An old man plays a gentle guitar for his young son, his beard bristling with delight.
Putting down the instrument, he grabs a book next to him.
He opens the fairy tale and starts to tell a story.
"In the West, Lies a land so pure, it lacks the cruel technology of the north, the drought, and pain in the east, the swamps in the south - A land void of the touch of men, where suffering does not exist, and the trees and grass stand tall, putting their plump fruit for all to enjoy."
The boy glances from his small carpet-like bed.
His eyes were fluffy, on the verge of sleep.
"Do you think it's any better there... dad?"
"Maybe it is, maybe not, for now let's focus on sleep." He kissed the top of the boy's chestnut-colored hair.
Giving a slight smirk.
"Your beard tickles, Dad."
He pouted.
"Then maybe it's time to shave. Goodnight, Liam."
"Goodnight da---
*THUD*
Liam opened his eyes to the view of a charming girl looking at him, her slim green eyes were sleazy - her body slim, she giggled like a child, almost like she was proud she ended up in this position.
Liam sighed, "Surprising, didn't expect you to be making moves on me, Hail."
"Why, you wanted to make a move yourself?" She snickered.
"You want me to?" He grinned in response, rubbing her hair.
She recoiled back to the edge of the carriage as soon as he touched her. He sighed, seeing the wannabe flirt. Wonder why she did stuff like this despite not liking him, girls are weird, he thought.
"Ehem," she coughed, "Jokes aside, there are some bandits outside - they're probably gonna ambush us soon."
Liam rolled his eyes, looking a bit jealous.
"Wish I had detection for my affinity."
"Trust me, when your brain is like an alarm clock 24/7, it's not fun." She shrugged. "You gonna take care of the trouble outside, or should I do it?"
She pointed to her staff that was made of iron, Liam briefly imagining what she would do, and shook his head, scared.
Not wanting to imagine it anymore, he opened the carriage door and said, "Give me a buff before I go."
Hail flicked her fingers, and a light purple glow flickered on Liam for a second as he stepped foot outside.
He sighed.
"This is gonna be annoying."
He looked at the carriage and wondered why they didn't just get a car. This would avoid them the trouble of bandits, sigh, He hoped they didn't have guns.
Liam stepped in front of the carriage and glanced at the nearby trees.
Deeply inhaling, he shouted on the top of his lungs,
"SHOW YOURSELF YOU THIRD RATE BANDITS"
Immediately after he said that, the bushes crunched, and a woosh came out from a nearby tree as three shadowy figures wearing black cloaks showed themselves with a grin.
Liam observed them for a second.
The one on the right was a girl, and she was equipped with a crossbow with a fancy design. The middle guy was a very short man resembling a dwarf; he was short and bulky complete opposite of the guy on the left, who was tall and skinny.
Slowly, the girl with the crossbow approached him with an arrow pointed at him.
He sighed, distracted by something other than the crossbow.
'Holy huge,' he muttered to himself.
"So what do you want?" He said, staring at the girl.
"We want your carriage and everything in it, hand it over and we might spare you," Her lips and hands were shaking when she said that.
Liam looked back at the carriage, seeing a shiny light coming from the door. He sighed.
Soon, a woosh came out, followed by a shattering and a cracking sound of wood.
An Arrow had pierced through her crossbow before she could even realize, leaving her staring at the broken piece of wood in awe.
She had a complex expression...
Her lips opened.
"So beautiful-
But before she could finish her words, Liam threw a painful kick at her gut - Making her crash into a nearby tree, piercing through the nearby air like a bullet.
Her back hurt like a thousand spikes were impaled to it, before the light in her eyes went out.
Her two companions looked at her with fear and then looked back.
"I told you I could handle this by myself," Liam turned his head back at the carriage, glaring at Hail.
"Says you, who was busy staring at her chest, you owe me one for saving your dumbass." She rolled her eyes.
"Come on, you would do the same in my situation."
"Pervert"
"Ugh," Liam scowled red-faced. He really hated this girl sometimes.
Shaking his head in embarrassment, he looked at the two bandits, "SCRAM."
The two looked at each other before nodding. They slowly turned around with a horrified face, but before they could leave, Liam appeared behind them and snatched them by their hair and lifted them in the air with a scary grin.
Using his entire body, he smashed the two down on the ground, making the nearby birds gawk and leave the area - after he buried their faces in the small crater he created.
He patted his hands.
Hail sighed, "Did you have to give them hope? You crazy sadist."
"A Crazily Handsome sadist," He corrected.
"That's not any better - did you kill them?"
"No, they should be alive, but the two guys will struggle with getting a girlfriend now."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Hail asked.
"They're ugly now," Liam responded in an instant.
"Ah"
Hail got out of the carriage and petted her dress, "What about the girl, want me to disfigure her too?"
He thought for a second and then had an idea, "No, we're not taking her with us."
"...Pervert"
Dammit, Liam thought, "That's not it, I need somebody as bait for a later plan. And I doubt you'd volunteer."
...Hail nodded.
"Other than that, she's hot."
Hail sighed, "Fair point."