Snippet #2506297

"A foreigner too?" One of the men muttered, turning to face Kinaro. "Don't like the look of him. Could be anything behind that mask. What's he saying?" Whilst many citizens of Loseji understood Terran common, in the countryside it was less common than in the cities, and bandits weren't typically the most educated of folk.

"What do you think?" the woman retorted, "He's telling us to leave, same as the other guy. Righteous assholes poking their noses into other peoples' business..." she grumbled.

"Isn't that the Vagrant? My brother was talking about a masked foreigner who could beat a dragonwatch guard with a sword."

"The who? Never heard of him."

"Stop yammering on, you two!"

Meanwhile, Seiji had successfully pried the bag off of his head. He took a moment to glance over at the masked stranger with a grin. "I think you'd better do what they say!" he exclaimed, "Give me my things back and go away!" He seemed entirely unnerved by Junwei's remark about potentially being a child-eating yokai.

The boy started to scrabble around collecting the scrolls of paper that had been tipped onto the road into his arms. This time, he wasn't stopped. The bandits were distracted by the blade of the masked man and the words of the other. "Alright, have your way." the woman, who it seemed was the leader of the band, said. "We'll go."

She waved her hand and the men started to move off away from the road.

"Aaah, hey!" Seiji protested, scrambling to his feet, "Give me back my compass and eyeglass!" he demanded. "You don't just get to walk away with them! Picking on people doesn't pay, you know!"

"Simmer down kid, or I'll take your tongue with me too." The woman pointed her blade at Seiji, halting him in his tracks. "We're taking the valuables. Don't kick up a fuss."