I sat on the dirt floor of my prison, pondering my resources. It wasn't a task that took me long.

  Weapons: none.

  My pair of makeshift goblin knives and the goblin spear had all been stolen. I had nothing left but my fists.

  Other equipment: none.

  On top of the lack of weapons, there was a lack of... well... everything. I had a dirty, torn shirt of cheap cloth. Shoes that were reasonably sturdy, but well worn, and ever since the head-stomp, the right-hand one had smelt faintly of goblin. Even a soak in the river hadn't helped it.

  Skills: one.

  At least there the answer wasn't 'none', but it wasn't as if I was going to farm the bandits to death. Skills that were actually meaningful consisted of [Expert Stealth], and that was it.

  ... Perhaps when I was trying to entice the bandits, I should have pointed out that I had [Cooking].

  Oh well. Too late now. I wasn't going to cook them to death, either. Or, if I did, it wouldn't be the sort of cooking that would be improved by [Cooking].

  I had decent Stats, too, but I doubted they would exceed most of the bandits. How much experience did bandits earn? Maybe not much, but even if so, my total Stats only matched that of a regular person at level twenty-seven or twenty-eight. Not even a full thirty, given the increase to free stat points at the first growth milestone of level twenty. I'd bet plenty of bandits had reached that level.

  All in all, it was fine declaring that these bandits needed to die, but I might as well declare the sky to be green for all the effect it had.

  The other kids mostly left me alone once they were certain I wasn't either going to break down in tears or start screaming and shouting. A few others tried to strike up conversation, but I wasn't really interested. I talked enough to confirm that none of them had combat Skills or anything that would help burn down the bandit village, and that was as far as my interest lay. If they told me any more sob stories about murdered family, I would get angry enough to do something stupid.

  Truthfully, I was already angry enough to do something stupid.

  Sophia could take care of getting them back to civilisation if and when the opportunity arose, but given my status, I couldn't, even if I survived my stupidity.

  Alas, waiting around failed to reveal any opportunities. I hung around at the edges of the hut, trying to listen to chatter from outside, or watch the comings and goings of the bandits, but they seemed strangely reluctant to hold important, private conversations within earshot.

  At least they fed us, tossing in bags of bread several times throughout the day. It wasn't the best bread in the world, but it beat the bricks we used at home hands down. Alas, there were always extra guards hanging around outside whenever the door was opened to provide food or refill our water bowl, so even that provided no opportunity. At least they didn't throw any more kids in.

  Night fell, and as the light faded, so did some of my indignation, giving way to a colder anger. An opportunity would arise. I just had to be patient. I joined the others on the floor, trying to catch some sleep.

  The world exploded.

  Many of the children leapt straight from sleeping to screaming without passing through any intervening stage.

  "Quiet!" I shouted. "Listen to what's happening outside!"

  Of course, no-one listened to me.

  I ran around the perimeter of the hut, trying to get a view of what was going on. The simple fact that the hut was still standing implied that my initial fear of some massive monster stepping on the village was misplaced, but the gate and a good section of palisade around it was simply gone.

  It occurred to me that the screaming coming from outside was rather louder than that on the inside.

  I'd discounted the option of breaking my way out of the prison on account of it making too much noise, but right now the entire camp was in uproar. It was the middle of the night, and most bandits were asleep. Those on watch were dealing with whatever was happening at the gate. Doubtless those that had been asleep were busy strapping on armour this very moment, and in a minute or two the camp would be swarming. I needed to move now.

  I ran to the opposite side of the hut, braced my feet against the wall, grabbed a likely-looking plank, and pulled.

  "What are you doing?!" shouted someone.

  "Escaping!" I shouted back. "Help me!"

  There was some amount of indecision, but before long, other kids were running over and adding their own measly Strength to my efforts.

  The wooden plank bent, a few nails pulling away, but it didn't break.

  Another nail went ping, followed by a second. The plank bent further, then it burst, showering the room in splinters.

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  "Go!" I whispered, and the kids lined up to get out of the hole while I started work on making a second one.

  No-one immediately attacked them, which was nice.

  A second panel burst off, and this time I was the first one crawling through the hole, leaning on [Expert Stealth] as I went. If not for a vague hope of finding combat Skill crystals somewhere in the village, I'd have dumped my four remaining skill points into it.

  A couple of bandits rushed out of another hut, looking around wildly. Their eyes fixed on our hut. "The kids are escaping!" one of them yelled.

  "Back in your cell, if you know what's good for you," shouted the other, and the kids screamed. A few of them even turned to crawl back through the hole. Given that there were still others coming out, that caused something of a crush. Hopefully, it would take the bandits some time to work out I wasn't in the middle of it.

  There was still screaming going on from the gate, along with clangs of metal against metal. It seemed obvious that the bandits had been attacked, but by who and why, I had no idea. Perhaps it was a pursuit party chasing me, but it could just as easily be forces from the local lord, or a rival bandit clan. I had no way to know. Besides, whoever it was, I doubted they were on my side.

  The axe guy came out of a hut.

  Despite a face that was red with anger, eyes almost glowing, he took the time to methodically look around his camp.

  His eyes met mine, and I felt something inside myself twang as [Expert Stealth] searched for some way to keep me hidden but came up empty, the Skill breaking as its adversary saw straight through it.

  He ignored me, looking on at the damaged wall of the prison hut, then out towards the gate.

  "Teams four and five, secure the perimeter!" he roared, loudly enough that the entire camp must have heard him, bandit, captive and attacker alike. "Watch for assailants attacking from other directions. Team six, guard the captives. Kill any found outside of their containment. Teams one, two and three, to the main gate. Only those above level fifty on the front line, others on support."

  And with that, he left, still ignoring me. Apparently, I wasn't as important as dealing with the unknown force that had demolished a section of the village's defences and was busy chewing through his men at a speed that, given the continued screaming, hadn't slowed since the assault started.

  That was... fair, but I still felt oddly insulted.

  Still, the moment's reprieve permitted me to re-engage [Expert Stealth]. As ever, the important advice was to look like I belonged. It seemed that this camp was strangely close-knit, and I'd bet everyone knew everyone else, but in the darkness of night, in the chaos of combat, how many of them would recognise me as an escaped captive at a distance?

  It would help if I got hold of some of their armour, though.

  On the basis that the bandit boss probably had a hut to himself, I sprinted to the door he'd come from, ducking in just as a bunch of other bandits converged on the prison hut.

  "Who the hell are you?!" shouted a voice.

  Damn. He didn't have a hut to himself.

  The speaker was a woman in far too little clothing, and my first thought was another captive, but she seemed more alarmed at my presence than hopeful for a rescue. And then she made a grab for a dagger on a bedside table—and oh boy did the state of the bed conjure up images I didn't want in my head—and I moved.

  Her Dexterity was obviously inferior to mine, and by the time her hand was around the dagger, my hand was around her hair. I yanked and she toppled backward, waving the dagger ineffectually as she fell. She hit the floor back first, cracking her head on the dirt floor. I took advantage of her brief period of disorientation to stamp on her wrist.

  She released her hold on the dagger, so I grabbed it.

  "What are you? The bandit boss's wife?" I asked.

  "Don't you dare call Leo a bandit," she spat, climbing back to her feet. "He's done more good for this canton than that fat fool of a count ever will. If not for people like you..."

  She took a deep breath, staring at me with hate.

  I stabbed her in the throat.

  Her expression shifted to one of surprise, as if she couldn't believe what had just happened. She floundered for a moment, mouth opening and closing wordlessly as her wound bubbled, then she collapsed back to the floor, a pool of her blood expanding around her.

  Murderer? It had been self defence! She'd blatantly been about to call for help! Besides, claiming that a murderer, kidnapper and slaver was doing good?

  Then again, it was true that none of the kids had mentioned being from this canton. They were all children of travelling merchants, or other travellers, or had been kidnapped from elsewhere. Probably Cargellen Canton, since it was the closest; the bandits probably nabbed kids foraging in the forest.

  Not that it mattered. The bandit leader—Leo, apparently—may have ignored me before, but now that I'd killed his... wife? Concubine? Whoever it was, it was someone he was happy to share a bed with, and I couldn't imagine he'd be pleased with me stabbing her. The morality of the situation was no longer relevant.

  On the bright side, I had a weapon now.

  Shortly, I might even have more. I ransacked the single-room hut, looking for anything worth stealing. There were better clothes—sized for Leo, so far too big for me, but I could still make them work. I found a backpack, again far too big, but as long as I didn't fill it, it wouldn't get in the way. There were some coins, silver and gold coloured, in sizes and denominations I'd never even seen before. There was jewellery, which might be useful if I could ever sell it. A couple of jewelled rings went into a pocket. A spare dagger went into a belt. A couple of bottles went into the backpack, along with spare clothes.

  No skill crystals, alas. No armour, either, although that wasn't so much of a disappointment because no way would it have fitted me, and unlike clothing, you couldn't simply fold up the hem and make do. There were also a couple of locked chests I couldn't get into, and I didn't exactly have time to hunt for a key, even if the sounds from outside made it obvious that the fight was still ongoing.

  Suitably equipped, it was time to escape, and if I could earn some experience on the way out, so much the better.

  I opened the door and walked bravely out. There was, thankfully, no immediate yelling in response. Everyone must be in position by now. Those ordered to the front gate would be concentrating on not dying, while those ordered to protect the perimeter would be facing outwards. I only needed to worry about team six, but fortunately, they'd positioned themselves mostly at the holes I'd made and the door, and none were looking in my direction. Those by the holes were all looking inward, while those at the front were busy staring at the fight going on at the gate.

  Leo wouldn't have ordered his best and brightest to guard a bunch of kids, would he? The idiots busy staring at a wooden wall, leaving their backs wide open, would become my next serving of fuel.