The men looked human, walking on two legs, no extra limbs that he could see from here. Most had on hoods, brandishing weapons at the poor little group of what Niko assumed were merchants.
"Ya think yer so special, eh? Running around, selling on our turf?! Well, don't go thinking we ain't gon' do nothin' bout it! Ain't that right, men?" The leader called, pointing his sword high as he rallied his people against the super threatening group they were bullying.
The victims of the robbery were cowering together, huddled close and trying to appear non-threatening. A few of them were women, and Niko was pretty sure he saw a child as well. There were tears and wails begging for mercy, cowering away from the tall men with big swords.
Niko scoffed silently at the rough treatment. Big bullies.
"What jerks! I swear, people are just so selfish!" Plu muttered, her tiny incognito green stem dress meant to camouflage ruffling along the edges in restless anger.
"I thought we were silly? You can't expect us to be perfect, can you?" Niko scoffed at her, watching her green disguise do nothing to shield him from the bright flashes of color that radiated from her.
"Of course I can! If you don't strive for perfection, you'll never get anywhere good." Plu answered, flipping her tiny head as hair fell from the flower on top of her head. Niko just now learned she had blue hair, something he hadn't even considered with all the flowers she kept as her wardrobe.
A scream drew their eyes back to the clearing, one of the hoodlums having knocked a poor merchant to the ground. Another, one with a green hood that hid all details of what they might look like, came forward and grabbed a woman by the hair, making her fall to her knees.
"Stay down like the trash you are!" He screamed in her face, her tears doing nothing to his bigoted anger. Niko was feeling like they had seen enough. There was no reason for this kind of treatment.
"Hey Plu? Is there any sort of magical solution you got up your sleeve?" He whispered, giving her a look as they heard more shouts from below. A twinkle entered her eye as she smirked, before pulling a tiny stick out of thin air. It was twisted and gnarled, as though it had seen a lot of use, and she waved it around with dramatic flair as a large coin puffed into existence.
It landed into Niko's hand, an unimpressed look crossing his face as he looked at it.
"A coin? What, are we going to buy their freedom?" He sneered, lip curling as he rolled his eyes.
"Don't mock!" She screeched, waving the stick as though she might actually be capable of turning him into a toad. Maybe she could. She was, after all, a raging inferno when they first met.
"This is the perfect solution! All you gotta do is touch them with it and all the problems will disappear with beautiful style!" She waved her hands in a fluttering motion, winking cockily before shoo-ing him on.
Niko gave her a look, not entirely convinced, before shouting a loud "Stop!" and emerging from the bushes.
Safe to say, the robbers all went still, looking completely caught off guard as they watched the strange man pop out of the bushes.
Niko froze when he remembered the fact they were all armed, and he had to make direct, physical contact to maybe do something with his magical coin.
Not the best weapon in a fight with actual weapons.
He sighed, shuffling forward as he tried to square his shoulders and look intimidating.
"I demand you release these people and return to your no doubt law abiding lives!" He yelled, pointing a finger accusingly and stomping his feet roughly as he walked.
One of the guys, tall and cloaked in all black came forward, sword at the ready as he pulled his hood from his face. He looked like a down right ruffian, unshaven, giant chin and scarred blue eye. There was an eyepatch, and with the state of his one eye, it was a miracle the guy could even see.
"You want us to stop? I'd like to see you try and make me, little boy." He gruffed out, shoving a finger into Niko's chest as he glared with the one eye. It was that finger in his chest that Niko made contact with, the coin popping up and touching him before Niko even realized what he was doing.
There was a bright flash, the man's eye going wide as he was sucked into the piece of metal.
Niko stared at the coin, his own eyes the sizes of saucers, before looking back up at the surrounding men.
They were still, all looking caught off guard with the disappearance of their great leader.
"There's more where that came from, so I suggest you put down those weapons and surrender!" Niko yelled, squaring his shoulders and glaring at the group.
There was a moment of hesitation, before one of the hooded men burst into laughter.
"I'm sorry, that was the funniest thing I have ever seen!" He cried, clutching at his knees as he bent over. With a deep sigh, he stood up straight, marching forward as he pulled the hood from his face. It seemed to be a tradition to expose one's face before trying to kill people.
This guy was young, eyes a shiny brown, as though they were polished topaz with a hazel tint. Black hair hung to his ears, obscuring those eyes and giving him a more menacing vibe. The wide shoulders and thick arms might have also helped that vibe.
He gestured his sword at Niko, as though to say prepare yourself, before sprinting forward. Niko gasped, falling back a couple steps as he readied his coin. This was definitely not a fair fight.
The man smiled, slicing his sword at Niko's hand and almost severing every finger he used to hold the coin. Niko was lucky he moved it back in time, flailing as he tried to keep his balance.
"Hold still and I promise I won't cut off too much, little sparrow." The man laughed, like dismembering a random stranger was a funny affair.
This guy seemed better at this than their leader, which seemed a bit counterproductive, but Niko didn't have time to consider how bad they were at picking leaders. He was trying to not die, again. Or at least just keeping his fingers connected to his hand.
In a last ditch effort, Niko ducked to the side as the sword swung down, throwing his coin at the man's face with every fiber of muscle he possessed.
The guy reeled back like he'd had lightning thrown at him, eyes wide and a disbelieving smile dragging his lips to the side. There was a smack as it made contact, his head jerking back at the force of the blow before the man flashed away in a bright light. Niko huffed, looking back at the group to find most of them running in the opposite direction. He scoffed, throwing his hands up in incredulity, almost offended at the fleeing cowards. He really wasn't that intimidating, but maybe imprisoning two of their men made them think he was. Niko looked at the pathetic little victims, crying and holding each other as they gathered their scattered things from where they'd been thrown about. He scooped up his prison coin, shiny and unsuspecting to all that might look at it.
Niko went over to help them, putting their wagon back on its feet, grabbing whatever was on the ground and piling it inside.
"Hey, Plu! Can you get their donkey back?" He shouted towards the bushes, drawing the tiny creature out of her hiding spot.
"Niko! You're alive! I thought for sure you were a goner!" She flew to his face, rubbing her hands all over as though he might not be real, tiny tears falling into little seeds at their feet.
Niko pried her strong little hands away, eyebrows raising as he went to scold her.
"You thought I'd die? What about the magic coin you gave me? You said it was a guaranteed win!" He accused, finger steering toward her face as he glared.
"Of course, it's my magic, it wouldn't go wrong! But, those guys looked ready to kill and they had the means to do it! I was just worried I'd be denounced as a future guide if you died on your first day here!" She sobbed, seeming almost genuine in her distraught display. Of course, it had more to do with the fact she'd lose her license or whatever for guiding travelers from other worlds, and less to do with the fact she cared for said traveler and his physical safety. Niko would take what he could get, for the moment. They had just met, so there wasn't any real care, but if she sent him into battle half-baked like that again, he might have to sue whatever agency was in charge of Flair guides.