Misfits, Part III: Brigands and Scoundrels

“Do you hear that?” Buster paused and the group scanned the treelines enclosing the empty road.
“Negative. No auditory stimuli detected.” The android reported.
“Exactly. Chirping birds and skittering bloody squirrels have been getting on my wick the past two hours and now they stop? Must be some-”
“Stop right there! Your money or your life!” Screamed the lead bandit as she came out of the woods brandishing a crossbow at the group.
“Wait-” Cathy began.
“Initiating defence protocol.” Sickle's blades emerged with a swish.
“I said, wait-”
“Finally, something to explode.” Buster cracked his knuckles.
Behind them both, a blade was unsheathed with a sound like the roar of a griffin. “By Sarenrae's light, stand down or I shall cut the both of you to pieces!”
Buster frowned and adjusted his jacket, though Sickle continued to advance, blade raised.
“Wait a minute!” Tangerine told her. Sickle paused in place, limbs occasionally jerking as if tugging on binding chains.
“Waiting.” Sickle confirmed in icy monotone.
“Doubtless, these bandits saw we were perfectly equipped to deal with them. A paladin and a golem are not to be trifled with. Now look at them, Buster, and tell me what you see,”
Buster peered into the gaps between trees, “The business ends of some crossbows.”
“Behind those.”
Buster looked, and grunted, “Kids. Scared kids.” The leader looked about the oldest of them, and couldn't have been more than 19.
“Scared and desperate, I'd imagine.” This was inflected like a question and addressed to the leading bandit.
“Yeah.” She admitted, “Reason you didn't hear any animals is we've hunted the woods clean.”
A loud click sounded from Sickle's shoulder and the arm hung loose. “Sickle, come back here.” With great hesitation, both blades receded, and the robot turned around and trudged to its mistress.
The leader lowered her bow and her bandits followed suit as she stepped forward. Out of the shade of the trees, it became clear she had little meat to her bones. “We're starving, and many of us are too young to even use a bow.”
“What happened to your parents?” Cathetal pressed.
“They resisted The Overlord.” She cast a meaningful glance towards the mountain, “He'd love to have his goons make an example of us, too.”
Behind Cathy, Sickle looked skyward, “Unidentified flying object inbound.” The party and the bandits followed Sickle's gaze, and after a moment Cathy pointed with her sword.
“There. That glint in the sky.”
“Looks shiny.” Tangerine commented.
“It's his eye.” The bandit leader back away into the woods, most of her companions already running away into the treeline.
“Wait, what do you mean?” Cathy insisted, looking between the object in the sky and the leader, but she was already losing herself among the trees.
The object came closer, and revealed itself to be a glass orb, floating above them.
“They said that thing was someone's eye, right?” Buster eyed it suspiciously.
“Yes.”
“So it's watching us?”
“I'd suppose so.”
“Good enough for me.” Buster made a motion as if hurling something at the orb. A moment later, a fiery explosion knocked it out of the sky and it crashed and shattered on the ground.
Upon reaching it, the group gathered around. Cathy put a protective hand on Tangerine's shoulder to prevent her picking up one of the shards.
“Analysis: Formerly flawless, mundane, crystal.” Sickle analysed.
“Fu-” Buster ahemmed, “Bloody wizards.” Buster took a thin roll-up from the assortment Glimmeron had provided him with and lit it. “Well, come on. I fancy eating tonight, and apparently the woods are hunted clean out here.”
“Miss Sickle?” Tangerine tugged at Sickle's arm as the group began walking again.
“Yes, Mistress?”
“What was wrong with you just then?” Her voice filled with concern.
“A simple malfunction. The repairs will be trivial.” The monotone assured her.
“Oh. Okay. I'm glad you're okay.” Tangerine smiled wide, and Sickle nodded.

“The eye has been destroyed, Master.” The youth knelt before him in the wide stone hall.
“As expected. Not to worry. There are more where it came from. Rise as you will, child.”
The young man bent to take a loaf from a golem holding a platter and idly bit into it, “There were some bandits there too. Think you should send a team to kill them?”
“No, no. I'm sure that problem will take care of itself in time. They don't pose us any threat.”
“Of course, Master.” He answered through a mouthful of bread.
“You may go.” His master waved his hand in dismissal, and he meandered off.