MLII C6, P4- "Deceiver"

"Deceiver" is the sixth Chapter of "Miracula Luxia II" 's sixth Chapter. It was released on 31.05.2021.
== Plot ==
A short journey through the lands of Avernum rewards our heroes with valuable information that will help them defeat the ones who are trying to kill them. An ancient tablet, infused with forbidden knowledge, is now in their possession.
Meanwhile, an old enemy of Jared's grandfather encourages his group of bandits and prepares them to attack their intended target again. However, they will soon learn how dangerous it is to mess with battle-scarred heroes like Jared and his allies.
A storm is brewing. A new battle between good and evil seems to be inevitable, at this point...
... But what will be the cost to achieve victory?
== Story ==
While Jared and his allies search the Abyss for more clues regarding the Darkness of Duskwood gang, a mysterious person watches them from afar. His face is obscured by a hood, but his facial features betray that he is male.
For some reason, he is interested in them. He watches them silently as they search every perimeter of the Abyss for their enemies.
When they come close to the settlement where he resides, he grins.
"Finally."- He says- "They're here."
He enters the settlement and whispers something to the bandits guards within. As Jared and his allies enter the settlement and approach the guards, he takes a few steps back.
"I think that this is the right place."- Allister mutters to Aleks- "What should we do with them?"
Aleks thinks about this for a second. Then, he remembers that there is no time to waste, pondering what to do next.
"Intimidate them, but don't kill them."- He mutters to him and Jared- "If my calculations are correct, their leader will be foolish enough to separate himself from the rest of his pack. Stay alert."
Jared and Allister nod. They approach their bandits and draw their weapons.
"They... they discovered us!"- One of the bandits exclaims.
Soon, all of them look at the mysterious person behind them.
"Sir, this is not how we wanted it to be!"- The bandit says- "What do we do?"
Sir?
Jared and Allister point their weapons towards him.
"It looks like we found our culprit."- Jared mutters.
As he approaches him cautiously, the man smiles.
"What brings you here, brave heroes?"- He says to them.
His voice is calm. Unlike the other bandits, his hands are not shaking and he is not willing to run away.
At least for now.
"It is clear that you are not like the other vagabonds around you."- Jared says calmly- "So. Tell us something about yourself."
The man smiles. His cheerful attitude is unnerving for all of our heroes. All, except for Jared, who calmly points Demonslayer towards his enemy and patiently waits for him to make the first move.
"You should know that I'm someone you shouldn't mess with."- He says- "My friends are many and my power- absolute. I am the new ruler of the Abyss. You and your friends don't scare me at all."
Jared sighs.
"Oh. Another fool who deceives those around him. A person who makes them think that they will be safe from the law and that they're free to do whatever they want."- He says calmly- "I see how it is."
Although his allies think that he is a simple bandit, Jared easily sees through the facade of false emotions and analyzes his opponent.
On closer inspection, it is clear that he is not what he seems to be.
"Are you Benedict?"- Jared says, unconcerned.
The man smiles again.
"What if I am?"- He asks him- "What would you do to me?"
Jared glares at him, but soon realizes that he is not intimidated.
"I do not care if you are him or not."- He says- "The attacks on my friend, Allister, must stop. Your group has done way too much damage to us. This will stop here... and now."
Suddenly, the man's smile vanishes from his face. It is replaced by a frown within a matter of seconds.
"Or what?"- He says- "What will you do if we continue attacking you? Do you have a grudge against us? Or are you simply too overprotective for your own good?"
Jared's expression does not change. He continues to point his weapon towards the bandit as he speaks.
"Either way, this villainy will be stopped, once and for all."- He says- "It does not matter whether I have to solve this problem peacefully... or violently."
Every single bandit nearby gasps. They were not expecting Jared to show such a high level of enthusiasm when faced with a challenge like this.
The masked bandit, however, is still unfazed. His eyes cannot be seen clearly, but he carefully analyzes Jared with them. Looking for a detail which will help him gain advantage in this battle.
Having learned what he wants to know, he turns to the bandits near him. He turns back to Jared and smiles.
"Let's see whether you can survive this attack."- He says as he makes a chopping motion with his hand.
Suddenly, all of the bandits spring into action. Albeit reluctantly, they are forced to do their job. And they are not planning to leave this world without a fight.
As the bandits surround Jared and his allies, the masked bandit starts to walk away.
"He is way too important to be left alive!"- He says as he clears a path that leads away from the bandits- "Stop him, Meggy!"
Meggy glares at the masked bandit, making a quick decision whether it is a good idea to face him or not. 
Finally, she decides that it does matter. Strong or not, she must do whatever she can to defeat him. Even when the fight may seem hopeless.
"This is my chance to prove that I'm no pushover!"- She mutters to herself- "Come on, Meggy! You can do it!"
She pushes two bandits out of her way, draws her weapon, lets out a battle cry and charges.
As the bandit tries to walk away, he is taken by surprise as Meggy attacks him from behind. She delivers a chain of lethal blows that successfully weaken him and force him to fall on his knees.
"Oh yeah!"- Meggy says and looks at her allies- "Did you see that Jared? I did it! I did it!"
In her seconds of glory, she fails to notice how the masked bandit easily stands up and wipes the dirt out of his robe.
He taps her on the shoulder. When she turns around, a magical shield envelops him.
"You seem proud that you've managed to defeat me. That's good."- He says- "However, you should realize that some enemies have a lot more to show."
Suddenly, the shield glows fiery red. The air grows very hot.
"Brace yourself, young lady."- He says- "The worst has yet to come."
In a few moments, the air changes from searingly hot to very cold. A chilling wind emanates from the magical shield, throwing Meggy back.
As she tries to stand up, the masked bandit casts a spell on her. Soon, she is hit by a giant fireball.
"Meggy!"- Jared yells and pushes his way past three bandits.
He grabs Meggy and holds her in his hands.
"I... I'll be okay."- She assures him- "Don't worry about me."
Aleks approaches them and pats his son on the shoulder.
"I'll take care of her."- He says as he carefully takes her in his arms- "You should take care of that bandit before he escapes."
Jared nods and draws his weapon.
"This is the end of the line."- He says to the bandit, who is watching from a distance- "You have nowhere else to go."
The bandit smiles.
"We'll see about that."- He says and changes the element of his shield.
Suddenly, a powerful whirlwind attempts to throw Jared back and prevent him from attacking his opponent. 
At first, it seems like it has succeeded. Jared loses his footing for a second and falls on his knees.
The masked bandit laughs.
"I warned you, you foolish child!"- He says to him- "You can't mess with the forces of nature. Defeat is inevitable!"
In a few moments, Jared stands up and smiles.
"We will see about that, brigand."
The masked bandit is surprised to see that Jared is now standing firmly on his feet and is approaching him.
No longer hindered by the whirlwind, our hero manages to destabilize the defensive capabilities of the shield. Its owner watches as it slowly weakens to the point when it starts to crack.
"Maybe he's more powerful than I think."- The bandit thinks to himself as he prepares to cast another spell.
Jared sees that his enemy is about to attack and takes a step back. He holds Demonslayer with both of his hands, patiently waiting for his enemy to execute his strategy.
"Let's see if you can survive this."- The masked bandit says and hurls a giant fireball at him.
Jared leaps into the air as the fireball reaches its destination. He strikes it with Demonslayer.
In a few moments, the giant ball of flame is directed towards the one who brought it to life. It strikes him and throws him back.
As Jared lands on the ground and runs towards his enemy, he realizes that his counterattack has given him a rare advantage. An opportunity that will allow him to win this battle- And, perhaps, the war.
He prepares to land the final, deciding blow. However, his enemy does not plan to die yet.
As he swings his blade towards him, the bandit pulls a small, glass orb from his robe and leaps back.
"Your trickery will not work on us!"- Jared yells and tries to push the orb away from the ground.
This attempt seems to be in vain. As soon as the orb touches the ground, a black mist emerges from it and envelops the air around both Jared and the bandit.
Jared's vision darkens. He attempts to attack his opponent, but soon realizes that he is not attacking anything but the air around him.
Somewhere in the distance, he hears the laughter of the masked bandit.
"Until we meet again."- He says to him- "Jared Kaos."
Then, Jared hears him walk away from the battlefield. It seems like this distraction gave his enemy the perfect opportunity to run away. And he took it eagerly.
When his vision finally clears he looks around. Sure enough, the masked bandit is gone.
One thing is clear, though. Whoever this mysterious enemy claims to be, he has more than enough power to back his words up with brute strength and magical abilities.
"How does he know my name?"- Jared wonders as his father stares at the corpses of their fallen enemies.
He turns around and looks at his allies. Something is on his mind.
"Everything that this bandit did to slow us down. His speech. His magic. His mockery."- He says, sighing- "Without any doubt, this is the bandit that we are looking for."
Allister raises his eyebrow.
"Benedict?"- He says- "He didn't seem very dangerous to me."
Aleks shakes his head.
"No. He's trying to fool us. To think that we have an actual chance against him."- He continues- "We mustn't take any chances. We must strike fast if we want to catch him by surprise."
He looks at his son.
"We need to warn His Majesty about this imminent threat."- He says to him.
Jared nods.
"I want to come with you!"- He says.
Aleks shakes his head.
"I know how much you want to act, but this is not the time. Not yet."- He says- "For now, I want you to stay with Allister and protect him from anyone who tries to harm him. I promise to be back soon, but I want you to take care of him while I inform His Majesty about Benedict and his bandits. Understood?"
Jared nods.
"I will protect him with my life."- He says calmly- "Rest assured of that."
Aleks nods, pats his son on the shoulder and bids farewell to Allister.
"Don't worry, my boy."- He says to him- "My son is an experienced warrior and a devoted hero. He will never let you down."
Allister nods.
"I trust him. I know that he is as competent as he seems to be. We will be a great team."- He says- "See you soon, Mr. Kaos."
Aleks smiles and pats him on the shoulder.
"We will find this bandit soon."- He continues- "And when we do, we will make him pay."
He turns to Meggy.
"There's no time to waste. We must warn His Majesty, the king of Avernum, about this new threat."- He says to her- "Can I trust you to come with me?"
Meggy is surprised by Aleks' sudden desire to recruit her for an important mission. Thrilled and surprised.
"Me?"- She asks him- "But why me? Why not Jared? He... he's clearly more competent than I am!"
Aleks smiles.
"I see potential in you, Meggy. Your swordplay is remarkable."- He responds- "However, you cannot hone your skills simply by waiting for something exciting to happen."
He nods.
"Come on."- He says- "Get ready. Soon, you will become a hero. Just like us."
Meggy's soul is filled with determination. Her eyes beam with excitement. She starts to shift from foot to foot, impatiently waiting to spring into action.
"Then let's go, Mr. Kaos!"- She says excitedly- "What are we waiting for?!"
Aleks smiles.
"That's the spirit, young lady!"
The two of them depart, leaving Jared and Allister in the outskirts of the settlement.
Jared takes a good look at it. He sees the ruins of a wall surrounding them- something that he did not pay attention to when they arrived.
"This place... it used to be a fort controlled by the Darkside Loyalists."- He says as memories of the time when he fought this dangerous group of vagabonds reappear within his mind- "It is bold of those bandits to take over a place that is not rightfully theirs, don't you think?"
Allister raises his eyebrow.
"What if they're working for them?"- He asks Jared- "What if they are teaming up with them and are working against us?"
Jared turns around, surprised.
"This is a very interesting question."- He responds- "If so, we have a very dangerous matter on our hands. Defeating the Darkside Loyalists was not an easy feat for us. Defeating someone who directly works with their successors would be even harder."
He nods.
"That explains why that bandit was so powerful."- He continues- "Whatever powerful magic the Darkside Loyalists have uncovered, it seems like that person was taught a large portion of it."
Allister gasps.
"So. This means that... that... "
Jared nods and sighs.
"Yes. I know."- He says- "If we want to win the battle and the war, we must be prepared for everything."
He turns around and looks at the lands behind him. Then, he sighs again.
"However, we must do as we were told."- He continues- "My father wants me to protect you from evil while he is absent. And I am not going to let him down."
Jared takes a few steps forward. Then, he turns back and looks at Allister.
His hands are trembling. He is unsure what to do next.
"It is alright, my friend."- He says to him in a soft and calming voice- "There is nothing to fear. When we fight an enemy, we always fight together. We are in this together and I am not going to let a brother-in-arms be harmed by anyone. It does not matter if our attackers are people or monsters, I will protect you from them at all costs. We will make it out of this mess, I promise."
Jared's kind words break through the veil of fear and insecurity which clouds Allister's mind. The young man steps forward, much more confident in his actions.
"Lead the way."- He says calmly- "I will stand by your side."
Jared nods.
"Thank you for trusting me."- He says to him- "Now, let us do what must be done."
They start to walk away from the bandit settlement. A few minutes later, they leave it behind for good.
Soon, they will return to the city of Paris and wait for Jared's father to return. It will not be long before the real battle begins.
For now, however, they must rest.