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The two bandits sharing the cart with Jesper quickly launched off into action. Beneath the gag made out of his bandana, Jesper couldn’t help but grin— Russell was here, and no one was stronger than Russell! He was going to kick all of their bandit butts right into jail! With his newfound hope, Jesper thought about returning to life at the Nook. Boy oh boy, no way was he ever going to steal cookies from the cookie jar again!

Alma’s probably sweating up a storm, Jesper thought, promising to himself that he would apologize for all the trouble he caused her over the last two days. All he had to do now was wait... but waiting was never one of Jesper’s strong suits. How epic would it be to see Russell take down all of the bandits? Pretty epic, Jesper decided and slowly weaseled his way to the front of the cart to sneak a peek.

For being tied up in a creaky, old cart, Jesper was pretty proud of how quietly he moved. Not that it was too hard to go unnoticed— the sounds from Rusell’s entourage grew to eardrum-bursting levels. The action must be getting started, Jesper figured, Darn, I must have already missed Russell’s heroic speech. Not wanting to miss anything else, Jesper tried to quicken his pace, but the ropes tied around his waist made it near impossible to move. If only there was something sharp to cut them off.

Scanning his surroundings, Jesper’s gaze landed on a knife one of the bandits left behind, perfect! Jesper wiggled his way over to the knife, creeping along the floorboards like an inchworm. It seemed to take eons to make any semblance of progress, and every second he wasted here was another second less he would get to see the fight. He was mere inches from his prize when a sudden noise froze him in his tracks. The cart’s curtains flapped open to reveal the grumpy bandit that he had the misfortune of meeting earlier.

Jesper gulped, he was really in trouble now. If the bandit noticed he was trying to escape, that would spell the end for him! Luckily, the bandit seemed to have more pressing matters at hand and paid no attention to Jesper. Without a moment’s hesitation, the bandit beelined for the knife and snatched it from right under Jesper’s nose. “Don't move,” the bandit growled and dashed back out of the cart. Jesper let out a sigh of relief— he didn’t realize he was holding his breath that entire time.

Wait, the knife! Jesper panicked. That was his only shot at freeing himself from the ropes. Besides missing out on Russell’s epic showdown, he wouldn’t even be able to get away if he needed to. Jesper’s eyes darted around the cart again, something, something, there has to be something sharp in this darn cart. They’re all bandits for crying out loud— they love sharp stuff!

His eyes settled on the nova tree, gleaming as he marveled at the pointy tip. That's it! Bless the nova tree for providing him with his way out of here.

With no shortage of effort, Jesper lugged himself over to the base of the tree. Hoisting himself up onto his back legs, the point of the nova tree just barely reached the middle of his stomach where the ropes ended. Whew, he was worried he wasn’t going to be tall enough. Maybe he was finally hitting his growth spurt? Alma always said he was just a late bloomer, and late bloomers still have to bloom eventually.

To his surprise, the nova tree cut through the ropes like butter. However, without warning, he felt a sharp pain and let out a yelp. The nova tree was a bit too good at cutting, and it nicked his thumb. He didn’t expect the nova tree to be so sharp. I mean, they let wynglings touch it all the time for crying out loud! Regardless, he was pleased with his ingenuity and happily discarded the torn ropes off of his body.

Finally, it was time for the main show. Jesper fumbled around to the front of the cart, his arms still half asleep from the rope. He shook them around like noodles, attempting to gain more circulation. As he did, his eyes grew large at the scene before him outside the cart.

Front and center, Russell stood between the bandits and the horde of angry wyngrew fighting for their nova tree back. From a glance, it was obvious that the bandits were heavily outnumbered. Each bandit would have to take down at least ten of Russell’s militiamen to even have a fighting chance— there was no way Russell was going to lose!

Then, a ghastly green glow illuminated the cart, and Jesper had to squint to see the source of the light. There, the leader of the bandits formed a fireball in his hand. The sinister green flame shook Jesper to the core. It reminded him all too much of the magic inflicted on him last night. With his arm outstretched, the bandit king hurled his fireball straight towards Russell. Jesper winced, not wanting to see his savior get burned. Luckily, though, Russell was able to sidestep away from the fire’s incoming path.

From there, it was all-out chaos. With every able-bodied magician participating, a volley of fireballs was hurled towards the bandits and the cart. The militia seemed prepared, though, as most of the fireballs thrown came in pre-packaged balls of kindling. Jesper squeaked as one of the fireballs landed uncomfortably close to the cart— didn’t they know that he was in the cart too? Another fireball came into his vision, this time on the direct path to hit him. Jesper squeezed his eyes shut, praying to Chii that it would miss him.

Shing!

The leader of the bandits unsheathed his sword and deflected the fireball. Jesper stared at him, mouth gaped wide. With a combination of fire magic, his sword, and a bit of finesse, the leader continued to deflect and hurl back the fireballs towards the militia. Wow, Jesper thought to himself, he’s really good at this. If he wasn't such an evil, kidnapping, nova tree stealing thug, he'd be pretty badass!

Despite the difference in numbers, the other three bandits were able to hold their own, effortlessly disabling the oncoming wyngrew. The dark blue wyngro was exceptionally good, and with only a dagger, she was able to best numerous sword-bearers head-on. Jesper bit his lower lip, a bit more unsure if Rusell really could win this fight. What would happen to him and the nova tree if the bandits won? He didn't want to think about it.

In an attempt of desperation, Jesper bit at his gag to try and loosen its grip from around his mouth. Fortunately for him, whoever tied the knot was not particularly good at it, and the knot was able to unfold from the back. Gently, the bandana slid off of his neck and onto the floor. Jesper looked down at the bandana— his sole focus became the white dots that patterned the fabric. He hated the bandana for what it represented: his father. At the same time, he couldn’t help but remember Alma’s headband and the warmth she had brought him. Unconsciously, he grabbed the bandana and tied it around his neck again. Just like last night, he was unable to let it go.
Now, with his mouth freed, he stepped up to the very edge of the cart and bellowed, “YOU CAN DO IT RUSSELL, I BELIEVE IN YOU!”

Jesper cowered a bit, as his shouting drew the attention of the bandit leader. In that moment’s hesitation, the leader was distracted enough to let one of the fireballs pass by him and land in the cart.

The fireball had snagged on the curtains of the cart, and like a match held to a flame, the cart was very quickly set ablaze.

“Oh no,” Jesper muttered, “What have I done?”

Whoo! Sorry this took so long to get out. It was a bit of an intimidating piece, so a lot of tinkering was done to get it finished. I hope you guys continue to enjoy Jesper's story and look forward to what happens next.

A big thank you to these two for helping me get this sketched, lined, and polished:

Sketch done by CherryTrabbit
Line-art and finishing touches done by Nestly

Description

Next

Previous

The two bandits sharing the cart with Jesper quickly launched off into action. Beneath the gag made out of his bandana, Jesper couldn’t help but grin— Russell was here, and no one was stronger than Russell! He was going to kick all of their bandit butts right into jail! With his newfound hope, Jesper thought about returning to life at the Nook. Boy oh boy, no way was he ever going to steal cookies from the cookie jar again!

Alma’s probably sweating up a storm, Jesper thought, promising to himself that he would apologize for all the trouble he caused her over the last two days. All he had to do now was wait... but waiting was never one of Jesper’s strong suits. How epic would it be to see Russell take down all of the bandits? Pretty epic, Jesper decided and slowly weaseled his way to the front of the cart to sneak a peek.

For being tied up in a creaky, old cart, Jesper was pretty proud of how quietly he moved. Not that it was too hard to go unnoticed— the sounds from Rusell’s entourage grew to eardrum-bursting levels. The action must be getting started, Jesper figured, Darn, I must have already missed Russell’s heroic speech. Not wanting to miss anything else, Jesper tried to quicken his pace, but the ropes tied around his waist made it near impossible to move. If only there was something sharp to cut them off.

Scanning his surroundings, Jesper’s gaze landed on a knife one of the bandits left behind, perfect! Jesper wiggled his way over to the knife, creeping along the floorboards like an inchworm. It seemed to take eons to make any semblance of progress, and every second he wasted here was another second less he would get to see the fight. He was mere inches from his prize when a sudden noise froze him in his tracks. The cart’s curtains flapped open to reveal the grumpy bandit that he had the misfortune of meeting earlier.

Jesper gulped, he was really in trouble now. If the bandit noticed he was trying to escape, that would spell the end for him! Luckily, the bandit seemed to have more pressing matters at hand and paid no attention to Jesper. Without a moment’s hesitation, the bandit beelined for the knife and snatched it from right under Jesper’s nose. “Don't move,” the bandit growled and dashed back out of the cart. Jesper let out a sigh of relief— he didn’t realize he was holding his breath that entire time.

Wait, the knife! Jesper panicked. That was his only shot at freeing himself from the ropes. Besides missing out on Russell’s epic showdown, he wouldn’t even be able to get away if he needed to. Jesper’s eyes darted around the cart again, something, something, there has to be something sharp in this darn cart. They’re all bandits for crying out loud— they love sharp stuff!

His eyes settled on the nova tree, gleaming as he marveled at the pointy tip. That's it! Bless the nova tree for providing him with his way out of here.

With no shortage of effort, Jesper lugged himself over to the base of the tree. Hoisting himself up onto his back legs, the point of the nova tree just barely reached the middle of his stomach where the ropes ended. Whew, he was worried he wasn’t going to be tall enough. Maybe he was finally hitting his growth spurt? Alma always said he was just a late bloomer, and late bloomers still have to bloom eventually.

To his surprise, the nova tree cut through the ropes like butter. However, without warning, he felt a sharp pain and let out a yelp. The nova tree was a bit too good at cutting, and it nicked his thumb. He didn’t expect the nova tree to be so sharp. I mean, they let wynglings touch it all the time for crying out loud! Regardless, he was pleased with his ingenuity and happily discarded the torn ropes off of his body.

Finally, it was time for the main show. Jesper fumbled around to the front of the cart, his arms still half asleep from the rope. He shook them around like noodles, attempting to gain more circulation. As he did, his eyes grew large at the scene before him outside the cart.

Front and center, Russell stood between the bandits and the horde of angry wyngrew fighting for their nova tree back. From a glance, it was obvious that the bandits were heavily outnumbered. Each bandit would have to take down at least ten of Russell’s militiamen to even have a fighting chance— there was no way Russell was going to lose!

Then, a ghastly green glow illuminated the cart, and Jesper had to squint to see the source of the light. There, the leader of the bandits formed a fireball in his hand. The sinister green flame shook Jesper to the core. It reminded him all too much of the magic inflicted on him last night. With his arm outstretched, the bandit king hurled his fireball straight towards Russell. Jesper winced, not wanting to see his savior get burned. Luckily, though, Russell was able to sidestep away from the fire’s incoming path.

From there, it was all-out chaos. With every able-bodied magician participating, a volley of fireballs was hurled towards the bandits and the cart. The militia seemed prepared, though, as most of the fireballs thrown came in pre-packaged balls of kindling. Jesper squeaked as one of the fireballs landed uncomfortably close to the cart— didn’t they know that he was in the cart too? Another fireball came into his vision, this time on the direct path to hit him. Jesper squeezed his eyes shut, praying to Chii that it would miss him.

Shing!

The leader of the bandits unsheathed his sword and deflected the fireball. Jesper stared at him, mouth gaped wide. With a combination of fire magic, his sword, and a bit of finesse, the leader continued to deflect and hurl back the fireballs towards the militia. Wow, Jesper thought to himself, he’s really good at this. If he wasn't such an evil, kidnapping, nova tree stealing thug, he'd be pretty badass!

Despite the difference in numbers, the other three bandits were able to hold their own, effortlessly disabling the oncoming wyngrew. The dark blue wyngro was exceptionally good, and with only a dagger, she was able to best numerous sword-bearers head-on. Jesper bit his lower lip, a bit more unsure if Rusell really could win this fight. What would happen to him and the nova tree if the bandits won? He didn't want to think about it.

In an attempt of desperation, Jesper bit at his gag to try and loosen its grip from around his mouth. Fortunately for him, whoever tied the knot was not particularly good at it, and the knot was able to unfold from the back. Gently, the bandana slid off of his neck and onto the floor. Jesper looked down at the bandana— his sole focus became the white dots that patterned the fabric. He hated the bandana for what it represented: his father. At the same time, he couldn’t help but remember Alma’s headband and the warmth she had brought him. Unconsciously, he grabbed the bandana and tied it around his neck again. Just like last night, he was unable to let it go.
Now, with his mouth freed, he stepped up to the very edge of the cart and bellowed, “YOU CAN DO IT RUSSELL, I BELIEVE IN YOU!”

Jesper cowered a bit, as his shouting drew the attention of the bandit leader. In that moment’s hesitation, the leader was distracted enough to let one of the fireballs pass by him and land in the cart.

The fireball had snagged on the curtains of the cart, and like a match held to a flame, the cart was very quickly set ablaze.

“Oh no,” Jesper muttered, “What have I done?”

Whoo! Sorry this took so long to get out. It was a bit of an intimidating piece, so a lot of tinkering was done to get it finished. I hope you guys continue to enjoy Jesper's story and look forward to what happens next.

A big thank you to these two for helping me get this sketched, lined, and polished:

Sketch done by CherryTrabbit
Line-art and finishing touches done by Nestly