"You'll go no further, bandit!" That sudden outcry gave Ko pause. The man speaking was standing a step ahead of the other three, a single blade forward. "You have your spoils, let these people go!" Ko had to stifle a laugh at that. He didn't quite succeed, however, and was forced to cover his mouth with one hand to avoid laughing out loud. Did they really think he was just a bandit? "You don't really think I'm a bandit do you? What kind of bandit dumps his spoils into a ravine with no way to recover them?" That seemed to make the man think, and while his brow was furrowed Ko actually saw the moment one of his friends realized what was going on. The fear that washed over her face was rather amusing. "See, she gets it. This isn't about stealing the ore. This is about making that ore disappear."
For just a moment, Ko's eyes shined just a little brighter, his magic billowing around him. "And everyone else along with it." The four guards swallowed heavily, but still held their ground on their leader's mark. If anything, Ko was surprised to see that the leader was even more angry than before. "So that's why...we were assigned this detail because...you backstabbing sonuvabitch..." He didn't seem to be speaking to Ko, which brought Ko around to realizing who he was talking about. The spindly man must have assigned extra guards to this caravan because he wanted them gotten rid of alongside the ore. While Ko didn't like being manipulated in such a way, he couldn't deny the efficiency of it. Killing two birds with one stone, as it were. "It doesn't matter. Even if you kill us, the others have already escaped by now." That got Ko to smile for real, eyes gleaming.
"You didn't think I'd be wasting time talking to you if I didn't have an answer for the getaways, did you?" As if on cue, the sound of explosions reverberated through the ravine, along with the sounds of Nantosuelta's roars. Immediately, the tension in the leader's shoulders melted away, along with his resolve. Such a shame. Taking a deep breath, Ko braced his feet and tilted his head back, a magic circle appearing in front of his face.
Another job finished, nice and clean.
2075/2000