Shortly after arriving, Clyde saw that the tiny pycon wasn't completely defenseless. While he couldn't apparently take on half a dozen men at once, he was clearly a able fighter.
Clyde could have instantly killed the lot of them in one attack, but had felt it wiser to pick them off one by one. He could wing a few, take out one here, thus allowing more time for the pycon to feel saved and perhaps be more grateful. More importantly it would also likely hide his skill, since if he instantly killed them all with one of his full strength attacks it would be clear he was on par with a master.
Clyde did not want to reveal his abilities, not until he had to. Showing he was a Reimancer at all was something he was less than certain on doing. But now that he'd gotten himself into the fight, it was his only skill that could settle things.
However along with the mundane combat he saw the pycon deliver, he also felt a charge on the air. Not his own magic, he had long since learned to ignore it in his readings. But a feeling of djed on the air, of magic taking place nearby, that was clear to his refined aura sense.
While the magic wasn't being used on him, all djed left signs. Runoff and reverberations that could be picked up by the proper ear. In this case the djed being twisted and turned, magic, rang true as a low hum and bristle on his skin within his aura sensing.
Slamming Cha onto the ground, he mentally pictured the sound of the staff striking the dirt, a sweeping wave of sounds echoing outward. Focusing his djed he infused it into the imagined sweep of sound, and sent out a tendril towards each of the remaining men and the one Pycon. For a skilled Aurist reading half a dozen auras at once, particularly at the shallow level he was, was a simple matter.
It took but a moment to tell which one had the active use of magic. The pycon. If the magic use had been less recent it would have taken time and care to figure out which one was the personal mage, but with the djed still actively glowing in their body, still in use, it was clear he was using magic. Djed was normally constant and even across a body. When a person used personal magic it built up in clumps, in focused areas, which clearly gave one away as using magic.
What were the odds, Clyde pondered to himself, that he'd stumble across another mage?
While most of his body was a constant glow, a dim but slow burning flame, his left arm seemed to be aflame by comparison. Clearly that was where the magic was being used. From his own experience with mages of each variety, two came to mind. One was an old apprentice of his, who'd enhanced his bodies power with a magic called flux. Another was a more recent acquaintance who could rip bits of her astral body out and use it directly to fight with magic.
Since the pycon seemed to still be fighting physically, he assumed it was the flux, though he couldn't know for sure. It could also be some other third of fourth magic he wasn't familiar with, as he knew there were others. As he thought on he supposed it could also be morphing, a magic he'd learned only recently, which did deal in shifting ones body. And those were just the magics he personally knew of.
As soon as he'd figured out which one was using magic, he'd begun to focus more on that one, letting the others fade into his periphery. He was aware of the others, could tell where they were and where they stood, could see their sight in his aura vision even without looking, but he didn't bother to look any further.
He did however press on further into the pycon. It would take time though to learn more, at least with the amount of focus he was giving to his auristics. Most was focused on his surroundings, and on the bits of himself floating about in the soil and earth and stone. His res. He knew where it was as it was a part of him, even when not directly with him.
As the pycon release his magic there was a sudden surge of motion, of attack, but it ended with the bandit lying on the ground, injured severely in the area he'd been attack by appearances. The pycon in turn seemed also to be flat on his back, or perhaps simply dazed. Clyde wasn't sure if it was because the magic he'd used had truly been that potent, or if he was simply not very skilled in its use and so had been unduly drained by a simpler attack. Or, he reminded himself, some other third option in between.
As the pycon lay on the ground, and the bandit let out a scream of pain, the other four bandits were a bit uncertain. Both had just seen a ally be put down, and it was clear from their expression that their attention and intent was divided. Should they go after the clay man? Or the human? Or should they run and cut their losses, leaving their "allies" to fend for themselves. Of course should they flee and their allies win, they would be in serious trouble with their once allies.
Part of this was understood by Clyde by looking at their faces, expressions, and body positions. He was not only a mage, but also a skilled interrogator. He could read many visible signs, and understand their thought processes to a degree. Or so he assumed. Their was always the chance that their thoughts were completely different from the ones Clyde assumed.
If they weren't simple bandits, or were driven by another purpose, then his understanding would likely be far off. Likewise, if they feared something greater than the immediate threats, feared it more than death or imprisonment, then that also would likely make his understanding of their actions untrue.
Regardless of if he was right, the two of the four bandits closest to Clyde turned towards him. One began to come at him, while the other didn't move, but turned towards Clyde.
Lifting Cha off the ground once more, he mentally seized the stone shiv still lodged in the skull of the bandit he'd killed. With a mental twist the shiv exploded outward along with a small trail of blood and gore. Since the shiv was soaked in his res, he utterly knew where it was. Likewise since the bandits were locked within tendrils of his aura sight, he knew where they were positioned without a doubt.
Canting Cha in a small sideways gesture, the shiv shot off towards the bandit that had begun to walk towards him. He aimed the stone shiv directly for the bandits heart. However with the motion of the bandit and his focus split on other tasks, his aim wasn't true. Instead it landed a few inches lower than his target, impacting him in the gut. The bandit froze, a lance of pain through him, and clutched at the butt end of the shiv that protruded out of his gut. Unlike the first bandit the blow wasn't instantly fatal, but it would likely kill the man eventually if not treated immediately.
Since they were in the woods, this seemed unlikely.
Staring at the man facing him, and loud enough for the other two to hear, Clyde spoke force in his commanding tone again. Intimidation was another skill Clyde was well versed in, and even without his shows of attack and incapacitating men with nothing but a single blow, he was quite scary. Adding in what he'd done, along with the pycon, and he did not doubt they'd be feeling quite a good bit of fear.
“So, anyone ready to surrender, and preserve their life? I promise that if you toss down your weapon, and fall to your knees, you will be taken without harm. ”
Clyde paused for a moment, before continuing, having punctuated his words by a purposeful pause.
“However if you continue to try to kill myself and my friend here, we will be forced to do nasty things. You have three seconds to choose, before I assume you have turned down our generous offer.”
The pycon of course had never met Clyde before, and they had not agreed on anything, but it seemed the right thing to do to imply the pycon was in on the agreement, and would go along with it. If they assumed they'd planned the agreement out in advance, and knew each other, perhaps they'd be that much more uncertain of their chances.
