The man who left the inn much earlier slipped into one of the many alleyways stopped to speak with another hooded figure, her silhouette distinctly feminine.
"They are at the inn, as you predicted, my lady," the patron reported.
"Including Satsume?" the lady asked.
"I indeed recognized a man of his description," he replied.
"Excellent. You are dismissed," the hooded lady answered.
Upon the man's departure, the hooded figure made her way to the inn. She saw a group of people leaving, including Satsume, but presumed that they would be back later and went inside. She booked a room with the innkeeper and sat down at one of the few remaining empty booths to wait for the return of those who she was following. It did not take long for there to be a commotion outside, to which she paid no heed to, even as it escalated into some sort of battle. It was only a matter of time before it became clear what has occurred as the cry of a wyvern could be heard outside. Another Bernese raid.
Although it would be inaccurate to say that she was responsible for the attacks, she did speak with a certain Bernese politician about the threat that the Lycian Empire poses to the sovereignty of Bern. Perhaps conflict was inevitable, but there was some comfort in the thought that her words expedited the process of reaching the state of armed conflict. When a Tania guards-captain entered the inn and declared everyone to be conscripted into the Imperial Army, she instinctively pulled her garb closer around herself. This was not anticipated. As patrons were being armed by the guardsmen, one of them noticed her cowering at her booth.
"You, why are you huddling in the corner?" one of the soldiers approached her.
"S-sir? I'm s-scared..." she had to put on an act, hoping to appeal to the soldier's good conscience.
"Sorry miss, no one gets off conscription unless the physician can provide evidence of a physical handicap," the soldier grabbed her by the arm and hoisted her to her feet.
So much for that. If she could only she could...
"Wait a second..." The slightest movement of her hood momentarily revealed her face to the soldier.
Drat.
"You're Cecily Laus," the soldier narrowed his eyes. "One of the wanted nobles."
"I assure you, I'm not--"
The soldier slapped Cecily across the cheek to silence her. "Don't play dumb with me! I remember the faces of all the dignitaries that I escorted over the years."
Cecily held her bruised cheek with one hand as she angrily looked back at the guardsman. There is no point in arguing it further. Her eyes darted around, in search of something to bring to the attention of her would-be captor as the soldier pushed her towards the stairs. She saw Satsume again, speaking to... an Inquisitor?
"Sir Guardsman," she began, but she received another slap across the cheek for her troubles.
"Be silent!"
As she was led upstairs, Cecily gave Satsume a stern expression, hoping to get his momentary attention before disappearing up the stairs. The sound of banging on the inn doors were perhaps what saved her from disappearing entirely, as the guardsman scowled at the noise and pulled her into the closest room. He bound her hands with rope and tied the other end to the frame of the bed in the room.
"I will be back for you," he glowered as he closed the door behind him to return downstairs.
Cecily gave the rope an experimental tug, confirming that she cannot simply undo the binding herself, before sitting down on the bed. She could hear the fighting begin downstairs. She silently hoped that the Bernese would be driven off; the imagery of her tied to a bed does not sound very promising if it was a Bernese soldier who came through that door.
Ellie struggled to gather herself as the world spun a mile a minute. She squinted against the light as she opened her eyes. She'd made a mistake, being so quick on the offensive; she hoped she hadn't put her friends in any more danger than they were already in.
"Please, let me," Paige said to the soldier. "They need you out here."
"Eh, you're right. Take him to the back room with the other prisoner."
Ellie found the source of the voice came from two familiar looking young women. She shook her head lightly and her eyes met Paige's, if only for a moment. Her head hung low as she slumped against Paige, and the two limped off towards a back room. As the door shut behind them, Paige sat Ellie gently on a chair near the wounded Bernese soldier.
"Here, do you mind if I check your wounds? I can't use a staff, but I might be able to do something with a vulnerary."
She wiped the blood from her face and nodded, a little better off with something to lean on. Ellie tilted her head back and heaved a sigh of relief.
"I'm sorry, that was dumb," she admitted, wincing as Paige unbuckled the belt across her chest; her ribs throbbed as her friend pulled at her shirt, lifting it slowly and as gently as she could...
Wait...
"Paige!" Ellie whispered in a panic. She looked down and grabbed at Paige's wrist, probably harder than she should have.
What a way to tell her...
"My name isn't Eli..." she muttered, red in the face. She relinquished her grip on Paige's wrist and stared down into her own lap. Surely Paige wouldn't be mad at her for keeping it a secret, would she? Her eyes wandered back to meet Paige's, unsure of what would come next.
As Lennox approached the square, it became awfully quiet despite the chaos through the city. He looked around and saw several slain men. He recognized them to be the relic seekers that fled from before. He knelt down next to one leaning against a building. He had a single crossbow bolt in the neck. He pried the bolt from the neck and examined it. It had an odd colored feather attached to it. It was a colored somewhere between blue and green with the base having a blueish purple coloration to it. "Must have been dyed, but by who?"
He took the feather off the bolt and took it with him as he continued his walk to the square. The most prominent sound was barking, belonging to a dog tied to an abandoned stall. Other than the dog it appeared as if everyone else here fled or was slain. But then he heard footsteps and hid against a nearby wall. He peaked back in and saw someone, coming from an elevated part of the square.
He was almost entranced by what he saw. A young woman, with stark white hair. She was clad in a tattered black cloak; wearing an unusual top that exposes the entire front of her torso, save for her bust, that hung a little low around the waist with what appeared to be a pair of gloves stuffed in them; thigh high black boots that were attached by belts to a pair of matching black shorts with stockings visible in the gap between them. Her face was partially obscured by a piece of fabric covering her right eye, and over that was a headband with a distinctly familiar feather decorating it.
As he looked on, he noticed she was carrying a puppy in her left arm. Her right hand was holding a black crossbow. He could feel a sense of overwhelming sadness as she walked down the steps looking at the puppy in her arm. She made her way down the steps and to the barking dog and laid the puppy down next to it. "I found them," Lennox heard her say. She then cut loose the dog. "Those fiends only attack humans. Live in peace." The mysterious crossbowman watched the pair of dogs flee into the wind.
As Lennox looked on, he had unknowingly walked out from his hiding place. The girls expression had changed as she turned her attention to Lennox. "Who are you?"
A barely audible noise left his mouth as he realized his cover was blown. "Um...You like dogs?" He didn't expect to be found out and blurted that out without thinking.
"Yes, I like dogs. I don't like humans, though."
Lennox thought it a weird response, but decided he might as well continue with it. He began to walk towards her, "I like them both." He stopped when she raised the crossbow and aimed it at him.
"Who are you?" She asked once more, as she threatened him. "Have you come to kill me?"
"Don't shoot! I'm Lennox Hyperion," He replied, at a loss for words. "I'm just a drifter, like you." He pleaded.
"That's true," She replied, as she glared at Lennox. There was something behind that glare that unnerved him a bit. "I am Illya of the Mahsa."
Something about that sounded familiar, but he couldn't place it. It was hard to think with a crossbow aimed at him. He resumed his slow approach, "Illya, would you just put that down?"
"No."
With that, a crossbow bolt flew past his head, striking the wall he hit behind. He turned his head to look, but looked back to see she her finish reloading the crossbow. That was faster than he's seen anyone load a crossbow before. He found himself looking down the at bolt just resting there just a foot from his face.
"Answer me," She demanded. "Have you come to kill me?"
Looking around at the Lycian troops, he figured that she was wanted too. "We're both wanted."
"That is why I ask." Illya repeated as her left eye glared down the crossbow at Lennox. "Lennox Hyperion...I've heard your name before. Wielder of the greatsword Dyrnwyn. Rumored to be a total monster."
She knows about Dyrnwyn? He took have a step back and put a hand out in front of him. "Wait. I don't kill indiscriminately. This sword kills regardless of if someone is wielding it. I'm certainly not a monster. A monster would have attacked you already. So don't point your crossbow at me."
"Where are your companions?"
Is she guessing or does she know? "Carla is nearby. She is my cousin, and she's also wanted." Why was he revealing all that to her? Oh, right. Crossbow.
"Oh." That didn't seem to be the response Illya expected. "Tell Carla and the others you meet that I am Illya of the Mahsa, the Saint of Bolts."
"The Saint of Bolts?"
"I won't go with you." Lennox was confused by that comment. "I'll fight the Emperor on my own." That took Lennox aback a bit. "I won't get in your way, so leave me alone." Illya pauses briefly and puts down the crossbow. "Tell them in those exact words. You're capable of that much, yes?"
Lennox was confused by her. "What are you-" She then fired a bolt into the window of a nearby building, distracting Lennox enough to start fleeing. "Hey!" He called out as she was getting away. "Wait!" He called out once more, as if that would sway her. "Damn."
"Lennox!" Lennox turned to the voice. Carla caught up with him. "What happened here? Who killed the relic hunters?"
"Illya of the Mahsa, the 'Saint of Bolts'. She refuses to go with us. She'll fight the Emperor on her own. She won't get in our way, so leave her alone. That's the jist of what she told me."
"Illya! Come on Lennox, we need to go after her!" Carla yelled, pulling Lennox's arm. He's never seen her this antsy before. Well, except towards Roland.
"Just who is she to you?"
"Lennox. I'm also of the Mahsa. That's a Sacaen tribe...and Illya is my blood, just like you are mine." Lennox looked confused again. Illya and Carla are...related? "Our mothers are sisters, you daft idiot. Let's get going before I can lose her trail."
"But Tania-"
"Screw Tania. Blood comes first and Illya has a lot less support than Shad does. Let's go!" Carla yelled running in the direction Illya left from. Lennox turned back and sighed, before running after her. At least this way Shad won't have to worry about the relic hunters attacking him as well.
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All this commotion has been disturbing Taika's studying. She's been very patient, waiting for the chaos to die down, but she finally had enough. She poked her head out to say something when she saw Eli and a soldier tumble down the stairs. She froze up a bit at the sight of the soldier. She didn't know what was going on, so she crept out of her room into the open one to see an old man just peaking out from a hiding place inside. She pressed her index finger to her lips as she approached the window and looked outside. She saw the soldiers entering the inn from her vantage point. Bernese soldiers at that. This isn't good. What's going on down there? She hid under the sill and waited a bit. She looked back out and saw Shad down the road with a knight heading back to the inn. They must be completely clueless as to what's going on. As she was thinking about how to inform him, she heard some more noise. It sounded like it came from this floor.
She peaked out from the door to see a soldier close a door behind him and head downstairs. She crept over and opened the door, finding a woman tied to the bed post. Was this some soldiers trophy? What kind of sick man does this? "Shh..." She took out a magic tome and closed her eyes. After a quick almost silent chant, a small magic circle appeared at the tip of a finger, one she positioned below some of the ropes. Soon, a small three inch flame spewed out from the circle, charring the rope. She kept her cool and stayed focused on making sure she wouldn't burn either the bed or the woman. She burnt through most of the rope, but suddenly stopped. "You should be able to break through it on your own now."
"Please don't tell anyone I did that. You probably know how magic is looked upon on this country. You'd be doing me a big favor if you just ignore that I was here." Taika said as she retreated back to her room, leaving the woman alone to free herself at her own pace.
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Shad felt a bit uncomfortable on the way back. That sight was horrifying. The smell was worse. And to leave that to Carla to clean up. How desensitized have the two of them became thanks to that sword? And for that to happen in front of the church of all places? Ugh. No amount of gold could possibly convince Shad to switch places with Lennox. How maladjusted could Lennox be to be used to that sight? "Who am I to judge? I almost kill myself every opportunity I get." Shad voiced his thoughts aloud. It wasn't wrong, though. Shad almost gets himself killed all the time. But not today. Today, he walks away on his own two feet. Not carried off. Not dragged off. Not stumbling on a cane. He will walk away on his own power, supported by his own two legs.
"Heh. Of course I am. Who am I going to fight anyway?" Shad said aloud. Then he looked around. The street was quiet. It was him and Roland approaching the inn. He looked around. "Oh Elimine. The hell?! Why now?!" Shad shouted. Wyverns on the inn. Soldiers taking sniping positions on rooftops. Their target? None other than the inn he was renting. The same inn the others were already at. He recognized the armor as wearing Bern's colors. He saw some men run into the inn. "Shit. Shit. Shit! Am I going to have to fight Bern? Agh!"
IfIfightwithBernImightalienatePaigebutifIfightwithLyciaImight[i]alienateoffElibutifIdon'tfightImightlosebothwhatdoIdowhatdoIdowhatdoIdoThissucksthissucksthissucksthissucksIdon'tevenhaveabadideatofallbackonwhyisthishappening?![/i] Shad fell to his knees. He just stared at the inn, unsure of what to do. His thoughts are going through his head so fast, he can't even breath. That battle in the inn might end up with the Vanguard as it's casualties. Then something came to his mind. It was a horrible idea. One that put his life on the line, and perhaps might still hurt the Vanguard. "I could...fight both. No...that's...a bad idea. A bad idea. A...very bad idea." He got back to a standing position. He drew his sword and looked at the inn in front of him. "It's a terrible situation. Heh...so there is no bad ideas!"
He ran as quickly as he could as the two knights entered the inn. Unfortunately for them, Shad's sword is their weakness. He ran up on them before they knew it. He barely acknowledged the narrowly dodged arrows and outpaced the spells cast against him. He wasn't going to let them take this inn. So almost as soon as they broke through the door, Shad's Schiavona had broken through the gaps in the knights armor, stabbed from side to side. The knight fell to his knees in front of Shad. Shad grabbed the neck of his armor after removing his sword and inserted it again at the base of the neck. When it stopped against the other side of the chestplate, he removed the sword and let the knight fall in front of him, some blood spurting over his face as the man fell. He just stared into the inn. He saw Satsume and Yuri there. Paige and Eli were out of sight, Taika must still be upstairs. The patrons of the inn were armed and scared. There was also a group of Lycian soldiers. Damn. If he attacked the soldiers now, the patrons may turn on him. How cowardly of them to conscript civilians to die for them. He turned towards the other knight, who had noticed the lithe swordsman after his ally was taken out. Shad dove out of the reach of the knight, and looked at the man who seemed to be in charge. He had to bottle up his pent up rage for now. After all, they forced the citizens to fight for them. Last thing he should do is stab the commander in front of them. "There are more on the rooftops. They've planned an ambush." Shad informed as he walked past their lines without care for their opinions. He grabbed a cloth rag and wiped his face with it.
It was far too soon for a soldier to be barging into the room: the fighting had barely begun when Cecily saw the door opening before her. She instinctively steeled herself in preparation whatever was coming through that door. She could hear her breath quicken in pace with her heart and the start of a sweat down her brow. But it all slowly returned to normal once she realized that the woman who opened the door was alone.
"Who are--" she began to ask, but was hushed by the woman.
Cecily gave the woman an odd look until she saw the fire tome that was produced and immediately understood what was going on. Perhaps the poor lighting of the room at night made it difficult for the woman to tell who she was, but Cecily was known as a noble to have researched magic in Etruria alongside Etruscan researchers prior to the war of annexation against Etruria. She was kept safe from the immediate backlash of the Church's anti-magic movement because of her noble birth, but the her being declared of illegitimate bloodline invalidated her position as the third-in-line to the Laus marquessate.
Before she was displaced and forced to flee to Bern with other refugees, Cecily was able to establish a pro-magic underground organization called the Eight Republics, intended to help shelter and coordinate the mass movement of mages and other magical practitioners eastward. However, the organization has been floundering without the steady income once provided by Cecily.
When the woman stepped back, Cecily realized that she was still bound. She gave the bonds a tug and the now-flimsy rope snapped. When she looked up again, the woman was gone. Cecily momentarily contemplated going after the mage, but decided against it. The situation is too chaotic to figure out a way to get that mage to one of the Eight Republic agents. But, her newfound freedom did not include an escape plan.
Now what?
The fighting had just began downstairs and it is too dark outside to tell what is going on. Anyone seen fleeing the scene could potentially be run down by Bernese or Lycian soldier. Cecily walked over to the door and slowly opened it. She can hear the battle raging downstairs, but it is impossible to tell who is winning. Using magic to influence the battle would be incredibly dangerous, not to mention that her own magic is not intended for direct combat.
Footsteps thumped on the roof: likely to be disembarking wyvern soldiers. Cecily felt trapped between the two opposing forces as she moved from the door to one corner of the room. The sudden sight of boots crunching down on her room's window sill nearly made her jump. She curled up into the fetal position as the soldier planted his feet on the wooden floor.
Upon noticing her presence, the soldier raised his spear at her but did not charge. Their eyes locked onto each other as the Bernese soldier crept towards the door with the pointy end aimed at Cecily.
"The stairs are which way?" he asked Cecily.
Cecily pointed the direction for him.
"Thank you," the soldier opened the door and left her to join the fight.
With that encounter as the test run, it seemed like staying put was the most reasonable course of action for the moment.
Who the victor of the night's battle is did not matter to her: only that she would be spared from death or capture. Satsume was her best chance of neither occurring; after all, he should still be in the possession of a Lausian dagger, which she gave him as part of an oath of loyalty. Granted, he did not exactly enact his part of the oath, but she had little choice at the time and Satsume is at least honest with her.
Cecily curled up as tight as she could in the corner of her room as she heard more footsteps from other soldiers who entered the inn from the second story windows. She did not like feeling useless, but there is only so much that a person not-trained for combat can do right now. So, she simply waited for the battle to end.
Not one second after Raul’s command, a surge of purple came barreling in behind the two assailants. In a feat that defied the realms of believability, Shad had followed the two Bern siege knights into the inn, wounded one, and escaped completely unharmed. It was impressive, for sure, but also foolish. Shad’s words to the commander were lost over the din of the unfolding battle.
The inn patrons were quickly upon the second knight, their spirits raised by Shad’s incredible attack. The Bern soldier quickly stepped in front of his fallen comrade, raising his shield to absorb the citizens’ punishment while his ally retreated. Satsume and Yuri stood towards the back, near the stairs. They exchanged glances, but neither made any attempt to get involved.
They think they’re winning, Satsume thought. But they’re just lining up to be killed. He watched as several people closest to the knight were shunted aside by a shield bash. All the while, the knight cautiously stepped backwards, leaving through the open doorway.
Commander Raul glowered at Shad. Within moments, two Lycian soldiers had their spearpoints aimed at the young noble’s neck.
“You!” he shouted over the noise. “We have reports of a man with your description causing a scene near the church! Identify yourself!”
Yuri stepped forward. Satsume grabbed his shoulder as he moved. “What are you doing?” he asked.
“I need to protect the citizens,” Yuri said calmly. “They will grow suspicious if they see a man of the cloth standing idle in a time like this.” He continued walking and lowered his spear. “Go and find your friend. We’re creating a window to escape.”
“What about Shad?” asked Satsume.
“As this fellow can attest," he replied, gesturing at the crumpled heap of bloodied armor on the floor, "I’m sure he can take care of himself, my friend.” Yuri adjusted his hat and headed for the door. The fighting had moved outside, and the faint flitter of arrows could be heard as they rained down from adjacent rooftops.
Satsume headed for the stairs. Sounds of wyverns overhead added to the cacophony of sorcery and clashing weapons outside. He needed to find Paige and Ellie quickly. The incident with Paige surfaced in his mind again, and he shook his head almost forcefully to dispel it. Forget about it! You’ve got to-
“Prepare yourself, Lycian dog!”
Satsume’s train of thought was derailed by the Bernese soldier at the top of the stairs. He gestured at him with his spearpoint. Satsume, slightly nonplussed, snapped his own weapon out to combat length. “Get lost, I have no interest in you,” he said with a scowl. He reached out with his spear, parried the soldier’s attack, and reached out to grab him by the neck of his breastplate. Satsume hauled the man in close.
“You want to fight the dogs? They’re downstairs,” he said. He gave a hard shove and sent the armor-clad fool tumbling down the stairs. Satsume breathed a sigh of relief, then proceeded down the hallway.
“Paige!” he called out. “We’ve gotta move, let’s go!” There was no answer. No doors opened. No familiar redheads to be seen. Anxiously, he moved to one of the doors and poked at it with his lance, simulating a knock. “Hello?” Nothing.
A door towards the end of the hall was slightly ajar. Hurriedly, Satsume stepped in front of the doorway and pushed the door wide open with his spear. The window was open; it must have been how the soldier fellow from before had gotten in. “Blast,” he said to himself. He walked across the room and slammed the window shut. As he reached for the lock, a faint gasp caused him to snap his spearpoint in the direction of the noise. When his eyes followed the shaft to its tip, Satsume could only stare in shock.
That dark hair, pale skin, and expectant look. Oh man, that look. Like a mother about to scold her child. Satsume relaxed. He thumbed the button on his weapon, and it snapped back into itself. Cecily looked about ready to speak, but he interrupted her.
“Look, before you start, just know that I’ve been having a REALLY bad day, and you could not have picked a worse day to find me,” he said. He reached out his hand to help her to her feet. “What are you doing here?”
The door opened again, much more soon that Cecily expected it to. She could still hear steel smashing against each other in the distance, so who would be looking into the bedrooms? She kept quiet, hoping not to be noticed as the man entered, making his way to the window. He closed and latched the frame shut. Considering that it was a Bernese soldier who would benefit from that open window, it's safe to presume that he is Lycian. But is he of the regular military? The armor suggests as much. Her questions faded as the night's moon lit the man's face enough that, when he turned slightly, she could clearly see who he was.
Her exhalation snatched his attention.
"Look, before you start, just know that I’ve been having a REALLY bad day, and you could not have picked a worse day to find me," he said. He reached out his hand to help her to her feet. "What are you doing here?"
Thank Elimine that it's Satsume.
"I cannot be that unpleasant to be with, Satsume," she replied as she accepted his hand. "First impressions aside, of course."
Meeting someone while dying from poison and hunted by Lausian assassins is admittedly not a pleasant experience. Neither is being surrounded by Bernese raiders and Imperial Lycian devotees locked in battle. But she knew better than to catapult more witty remarks than what the situation called for.
"I have been keeping tabs on your activities while I was away and I have been given the impression you found the librarian from the Pherae incident. Paige, was it?" she asked. The noble paused only long enough for Satsume to confirm her identity.
"More importantly, is there plan to flee this town?" Cecily inquired. As she asked, an image from earlier crossed her mind. "And who is that inquisitor?"
As Taika stepped back into her room, she noticed something was off. Her bed sheet was missing. She stepped back out of her room, confused before making her way to Shad's room. She opened it up and noticed that Shad's sacaen top was gone as well. In fact, a grey tunic with a red hood as well as a black cloak and a couple hair bands lay on his bed. "What are these doing here? That looks like...Oh no."
She stepped back out of the room to see a red-headed knight enter the room with the woman she helped save. As much as she didn't want to risk her safety, she carefully approached the door and tried to eavesdrop.
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Heaving heavily from the run, Shad tossed away the rag he used to clean his face. He turned ever so slightly and found himself the target of a pair of lances. "That's what I get for helping you out?" He questioned between his breaths. Should have attacked them all. He thought.
“You! We have reports of a man with your description causing a scene near the church! Identify yourself!”
Of course. That much of a scene couldn't possibly end well. But an idea came to mind. "Don't get me started on that. Some guy gave his sword to some other guy. That other guy burst into flames. It was terrifying. A third guy got shot by a crossbow. The first guy straight up killed a guy by driving his head right into the ground." Shad explained, a bit frantically. Part of it was adrenline speeding up his talking, the rest was because it was a hard thing to see. "I was just getting my broken arms mended and I step outside to see all that. I stuck around to make sure they wouldn't harm the sister that was in the church. After most of them left, I came back here. When I saw the men gathered around the inn, I thought it was related."
He stood fully upright as he finally caught his breath. "As for who I am...I am Chad Chevalier. I'm a freelancer. Relatively new at the trade, though." He laughed a bit as he took a step back into...huh? He felt something on his back and looked down to see a pair of thin arms reaching down over his shoulders. That complexion...no. He turned his head slightly to see Cass, hair completely unbound hugging him from behind. What is she doing? He then felt someone grab his arm. No. Not grab. Hug his arm, to their chest. He turned his head the other way to see Alice. He felt the blood rushing to his face. What are they doing? He looked down ever so slightly at Alice. What is she wearing?! "Is that my shirt you're wearing?!"
"My dear Chad. I couldn't possibly wear my clothes. Not after the state you left them in last night." Alice said in a very suggestive tone. What state?! What!? He thought. "It doesn't fit me too well does it? You can take it off of me when we get back to our room."
Shad almost choked at that statement. What are they doing?! Did Cass put her up to this. Speaking of Cass, she relocated to Shad's other arm. Huh?! "Is that a bed sheet?!"
"Of course. I'm not showing this to just anybody." Oh god. She's acting just as suggestive. Is she implying she's nude under those covers?! "Let's hurry upstairs Chad. Taika's been very needy since you left. You mustn't neglect her, you know." This is how Shad dies. These two are assassinating his character right now. If Paige sees this, she might straight up end his life.
"Let's find Paige, she may want a turn too. We know you have a thing for red heads." What? No he...wait. He does seem to draw a lot of red heads to him, doesn't he? Alice, Paige, Eli and Satsume. Alice turned her attention to the soldiers. "Once you fight off those bad men, we'll gladly reward you, too."
"We'll meet you upstairs. Taika can't wait much longer, you know." Cass said to Alice, who finally released her grip of Shad's arm. Cass then dragged Shad away as he saw Alice approach the commander. The two went upstairs, stepping over the body of some soldier who fell. Who did that?
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"Oh Commander, let's start with you." She got up close to Raul, close as she could and took out a set of documents concealed in Shad's shirt. As softly as she could, she spoke to him."Let's cut the pretense. Alice Richter, Ostian Intelligence Corps." She handed the documents to Raul to examine.
"I'm here under orders from General Arthur Richter to observe that gentleman and to gauge where his loyalties lie. So far, he has been an upstanding citizen who has saved many Lycian lives. He is to remain unmolested until he is declared an enemy of the state, is that clear?"
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"Cass, what's going on here?" Shad said confused. He stepped over She stepped around a corner and looked down the stairs. She sighed, then dropped the sheet, revealing she was still wearing her normal clothes underneath.
"It's good when just let us speak, pup. You can be a bit dense and naive, but you could have blown that easily." She said as she looked behind Shad to see Taika eavesdropping.
"Did you have to do that? Before you butted in, I was a freelance mercenary named Chad Chevalier. Now they think I'm a freelance mercenary with a harem of women wanting me."
"Can't have that. Who's in there, Taika?" She questioned as she walked over. Shad grumbled, but followed her.
"Oh, Cass, wasn't it? And Shad. Uh. Some red haired knight and some woman they brought up before. She was tied up too, so I helped weaken her restraints. They must know each other."
The trio moved close to the door to try to eavesdrop. Shad figured it was Satsume, but who could he be talking to?
Paige was dumbfounded at Eli's two big reveal. This was the last thing she was expecting, what with Lycia and Bern going at it just outside their door. There was so much to ask, yet there was a voice telling them to leave this place. Upon closer inspection, it was Satsume upstairs, trying to find them. Paige grabbed a spare vulnerary from the shelf. She took Eli's (what was her name now?) hand and gently placed the potion.
"I really do want to talk about this," Paige began, "but if we don't leave now, we might not ever get to. Can you walk?"
Their conversation was interrupted by a cough. The Bern hostage had woken from his unconscious state. Paige ran over to check on him. His condition was deteriorating and the interrogation hadn’t even started yet. At the same time, the skirmish outside threatened to spill Lycian blood. She wasn’t ready to get a first-hand account of the impending war. Hoping to stop the battle before it got too violent, Paige grabbed the soldier’s arm, wrapping it around her shoulders.
“New plan. We’re getting you out of here.”
“No problem, lady…ah…”
As Paige helped the soldier up, she held a hand out to Ellie, urging her to stay put.
“Stay there for now, in case this doesn’t work.”
Paige and the soldier exited the backroom, a trail of blood dripping from the wounded. They were in the main room just as Alice was addressing the commander. Worst case scenario, Paige would wind with her own grievous wound for betraying the Lycians. If things worked out however, they could avoid further casualties.
“Soldiers of Bern!” Paige called out to the two remaining Bern fighters in the room. “Take your wounded and continue your fight outside town. There is no need to involve civilians. Fellow Lycians, let them pass so we can heal our own wounded.”
For once, she spoke with authority, despite not having a position in the army. It was the most logical solution considering the lives endangered by this move; she hoped others would agree.
The sounds of combat echoed throughout the empty streets. A small squad of Bernese shock troops battled fiercely with the inn patrons. Among them, the blue and gold armor of Lycian guardsmen scattered about. All the while, arrows and lesser magic spells rained down from the rooftops. It was a chaotic scene, and Yuri had found himself in the middle of it.
For the most part, he had managed to avoid direct combat, and took instead to guiding the wounded and panicked away from the fight. This included even a couple of Lycian soldiers, even though he felt it was their commander’s foolish decision to bring the fight here to begin with. Yuri did notice something strange about Bern’s attack, however.
No fatalities yet, he thought. If I didn’t know better, I’d think they had a very specific goal in mind. For now, Yuri was content to praise his foe for understanding that the citizens were not deserving of death, whatever their reasons were. Hearing an awful cry, he sprinted in its direction and found a middle-aged man on his knees, clutching at his arm. In front of him was one of the Bern soldiers. Yuri stepped in front of the wounded man and looked down at him.
“He didn’t back down! I warned him!” shouted the soldier. Yuri kept his blade outstretched at the soldier, while reaching down to help the wounded man to his feet.
“Please escape! You must- auuugh!” Yuri sank to a knee and reached at the pain in his back. An arrow had found its way into his right shoulder. The man he saved stumbled backwards a step or two before finally taking off.
“You would kill innocent people in the name of liberation?!,” cried Yuri. He gestured at the soldier with his blade and staggered to his feet.
“I’ll not be lectured by a drone of the Church!” shouted the soldier. He charged at Yuri, spearpoint leveled. Yuri heaved his weapon upwards and grasped it with both hands just in time to parry aside. The two clashed several times; Yuri struggled to keep the enemy’s spearhead from reaching in too close. Finally, the Bern soldier attempted a backwards step. With a quick downward chop, Yuri slammed the soldier’s spearpoint into the ground, pinning it near his foot.
“Hyah!” Yuri kicked at his opponent, separating him from his weapon as it caught him square in the gut. He used his weapon to shunt the spear across the ground, well out of reach. Before the soldier to get to his feet, Yuri turned and ran back towards the inn. Forgive me, he thought. As he approached the front door, his eyes caught hold of the sky.
A pair of wyverns sat perched on the inn’s roof. A sharp whistle pierced the battlefield, and almost instantly, the two beasts leapt from their roost and came streaking towards the ground. This sent many of the citizens into a panic; several dropped their weapons and ran. Yuri raised his blade over his head in an attempt to ward off the wyverns’ claws. As the whoosh of their wings carried back up into the air, Yuri began quietly reciting a prayer.
“Blessed Saint Elimine, grant me the courage to face this threat, and the strength…” he peered over his shoulder at the arrow haft in his back. “…the strength to surpass my folly.”
From the rooftops across the street, magical runes flickered in and out of existence. Streaks of flame poured down onto the street in front of Yuri. Yuri fixed his stare on the casters and held out his hand. His thoughts turned to his patron saint, and he silently prayed as the missiles grew ever closer to where he stood.
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Satsume rolled his eyes upon learning that Cecily had been keeping an eye on him. Because apparently “trust me, milady” isn’t worth much anymore, he thought. But he simply nodded.
“Is there a plan to flee this town?” asked Cecily. “And who is that Inquisitor?”
Satsume sprung his lance out to fighting length again and headed for the door. “That Inquisitor is apparently important to Paige; she said so herself. He’s also busy helping us find a way to escape.”
As they exited the room, Satsume felt a rumble creep across the floor, followed by the whooshing of leathery wings. Wyverns on the rooftops, he affirmed. Getting out of here just got that much tougher. It was then that he noticed the trio of characters gathered off to the side of the hallway.
“Shad!” exclaimed Satsume. He flashed a look back at Cecily to reassure her that he was not a danger to them. “Nice move getting back over here. Who are your friends?” He glanced past Shad at the two women that accompanied him.
“And where’s Paige?”
Cecily noted Satsume's disapproving look in response to her mentioning that she had been following him and silently made a note of it. There is a time and place for everything and now was neither the time nor place.
Although she had no reason to doubt Satsume's judgment or the truth of what he said about the inquisitor, Cecily was not one to trust an agent of the Church of Sanctity. The inquisitors were the people that formed the immediate threat against the Eight Republics. Not only that, but surely the Church would have been made aware of Cecily's own connections to anima magic through whatever Etruscan documentation survived the war of annexation combined with suspicions from her time in Etruria over a year before the war began.
"Do you trust him?" she whispered as they exited through the hallway's door.
As the two felt the trembling of wyvern flying low overhead, Cecily instinctively knelt down to steady herself. Not only physically, but mentally as well. Although it is not the first time Cecily has been in a fight, the un-muffled sounds of combat still rattled her senses. She understood that frequent exposure to these sounds would make it easier to tolerate the implications of the violence; nevertheless, she respected Satsume's ability to ignore it.
She did not realize that there were others in the hallway until Satsume's exclamation, which nearly made her jump. The Lausian noble slowly rose to her full height with the support of the wall as Satsume gave her a reassuring look. This "Shad" could still be a collaborator, but at least it's easier to accept his help than from one of the Church.
Alice almost bit her lip when Paige spoke up. She can't blow her cover just yet. The only one of the group who knows her true identity is Cassandra. Maybe Yuri as well. She couldn't quite remember what she leaked to him when she recruited him back in Santaruz. But Paige doesn't know, so she couldn't hold it up for much longer. She took the documents back from the commander. "Personally, I think it was a smart idea from a propaganda to enlist the civvies. But honestly, I don't care what you choose to do. I'm going back to my assignment, so I'll let you go back to yours." She said to the knight in the same low tone as before.
She approached Paige as she made her declaration. She hoped that she'd ignore the fact she was wearing some of Shad's clothes and that she was talking to the commander. "Good luck with that. I'll see about getting the others to help you out. I shouldn't be too long."
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Shad was a bit surprised to see Satsume come through the door. As almost as surprised as he was to hear wings. Wyverns. "I was getting ready to fight Bern and Lycia down there. But I saw you and Yuri...and the other patros of the inn as part of the defence. Kinda took the wind out of my sails there, actually. Shad joked, rubbing the back of his head. "This is Cassandra, uh, Hyperion. My-"
"His former fiance." As usual.
"Stop it. While that's true, she's also my spymaster." Shad continued.
Cass looked back at Shad with a wicked looking grin and turned back to Satsume. "In case your wondering, I still married into the family. It was just one of his cousins that I married instead."
"Remember Carla from earlier? Cass married Carla's older brother. Wait. Why am I explaining this?" He shot a dirty look at Cass and turned to Taika. "Anyway, this is Taika. She's my magic tea..ch...er..." Shad drifted off at the end there, just blurting that out. Taika looked horrified and Shad felt it. Satsume didn't know Shad used magic. Or at least Shad didn't think he knew. When Shad used magic to derail that boulder the first time they met, Satsume was out in the field with Orica fighting. And this woman Satsume was with. This was bad.
They heard someone running upstairs and Shad looked to see Alice finally joining them. "That's Alice. You might remember her Satsume. She hid out with us in that schoolhouse when that Glass guy attacked."
Instead of replying, Alice just froze, staring at the woman with Satsume. She recognized her. She had done some brief training assignments to spy on the other marches. Try to blend in, not get noticed, low level stuff. "Lady Cecily of Laus?" She questioned. She immediately knelt, recognizing a noble lady, yet unaware of the recent events around her. She had to do something. "Milady, I disgrace my family dressed as this. If you may excuse me, I will change into something more proper." She immediately stood back up and ran back to Shad's room to change.
Shad was taken aback by the revelation. "Lady...Cecily of Laus? That's uh. Huh. Laus. The...second largest march in Lycia. The second most powerful march." Shad didn't know what to do. How do you process this information.
"If she's an ally of Satsumes, I think we can assume she's an ally to us. Tyber Fen would be ecstatic if that's true." Cass butted in. She's also jumped the gun the bit. Satsume isn't an enemy of the state...right? Maybe. Shad turned his head to see Taika kneeling, her multi-colored scarf touching the ground.
"Forgive me, milady. Had I known who you were, I would have done more than just weaken your bonds. I beg of you, please don't turn us into the Church." Taika seems almost distraught. Wait. Weaken your bonds? What happened?
"I think Paige is downstairs. What is it with your luck with Lycian nobility?" Shad questioned Satsume, obviously referring to Orica. Whatever happened with her.
Back downstairs, Raul was dumbfounded. First, this Alice had declared herself under the employ of a high-ranking general. She was watching some random freelancer, who happened to look like someone who assaulted a church. Furthermore, she was dressed rather inappropriately; they were lovers apparently. Or that was her cover. He couldn't tell with spies. All of that could have been glossed over had Alice gone straight upstairs.
Enter Raul's second problem with redheads. Paige interrupted the fighting by holding up his hostage, ordering the fighting to cease. Who the hell did she think she was? He was ready to dismiss her as a do-gooder who needed to be locked up and dealt with after the Bern soldiers were finished. But then, Alice casually walked up to her and assured that she would get help from upstairs. The fact that the spy offered words of encouragement at all to someone committing treason was enough to arouse suspicion. That she was getting help from upstairs meant that the Lycians were betrayed: an ambush was going to occur. He should have confronted Alice of this revelation right then, but he didn’t want to alert those upstairs that he was aware of their presence.
Suddenly, Bern was not his most pressing issue. They were vastly outgunned by the Bern soldiers, but if giving up the hostage would give them temporary relief, he would have time to deal with those that would betray him.
Whatever confidence Paige had in the situation disappeared when Alice spoke openly to her. She just revealed everyone upstairs to the Lycian soldiers. Whatever neutrality she had attempted to have all this time was lost. Surely the commander wouldn’t accept her ultimatum-
“Go,” Raul declared to the two Bern soldiers. “Take your wounded man and get the hell out of my town.”
The two Bern soldiers did not hesitate; they weren’t waiting for the Lycians to change their minds. They took their man from Paige and carried him out of the inn. One of them blew a horn, alerting the riders that they got what they came for.
“Order our forces to cease fire,” Raul declared. “We have a new enemy.”
The sounds of war outside were replaced by Bern horns and cries of “cease fire”. Paige was shocked at the outcome. She would have been happier had Raul not stared down at her, enraged.
“Traitor!” Raul shouted at Paige. “That hostage could have told us where Bern’s forces were camped! We would have had the advantage!”
“You armed innocent people! If the fighting hadn’t ceased, they would have been killed! If protecting the Lycian people is a crime, arrest me.”
“You fancy yourself a humanitarian? You had a strike team waiting to take all of us out!”
“No, it’s not like that!”
Two Lycian soldiers disarmed Paige of her rapier and light brand before binding her hands behind her back. They took her outside, but before Raul joined them…
“ANYONE REMAINING IN THE INN IS TO COME OUT UNARMED AND READY TO SURRENDER!”
Ambrose had hidden himself in the shadows when he had seen the marching soldiers and the wyverns overhead, across the street from his destination; the inn in which he'd rented a room. Throughout the commotion he'd been tense, confused, even, as he saw the Lycians forcibly acquire an inn, and the Bernese force their way into the place. But what surprised him most of all was seeing a familiar face. His mind returned to the Keeper from some time ago, the one who's ankle got twisted, who he had spared. The mercenary couldn't remember his name, but he remembered his face, and he noticed this self-same keeper escorting those who were unable and unwilling to fight. He emerged from behind the building to help an old man.
Seems he took that lesson to heart, he thought. He was drawing his sword, planning to help, when there was a cease-fire ordered, by the attacking Bernese and the Lycians, so he slammed the blade back into the sheath, jarring his right hip a little. Soon after the foreign soldiers retreated, a red-haired girl emerged, bound at the wrists, escorted by something like thirty armed men and women, of whom there were fifteen to twenty actual soldiers, who seemed to be waiting for their platoon commander. She was familiar, too, and from the same adventure as the Keeper, in fact. The scholar who had learned a bit about the Emperor. What's she doing here? And where are they taking her? And why?
Now, Ambrose, as a mercenary, had learned long ago to keep a good estimate of his own abilities, and was quite aware that trying to lay low thirty fighters, by himself, was lunacy. Especially in light of the fact that he had no helm. He'd acquired an arming cap and a mail coif for his head, but any strong hit to his head beyond an arrow and his brain wouldn't function so well anymore on account of, well, a caved cranium. So he stayed in the shadows and watched as events unfolded.
Cecily could not decide whether to be shocked or bemused by the company's recognition of her nobility. They were surrounded by agitated Lycian and Bernese soldiers. To the Lycians, she has been wanted by the Lausian marquessate for some time. To the Bernese, a captured noblewoman would make for an interesting bargaining chip.
"The price of nobility..." Cecily quietly lamented, massaging her forehead. At least the poorly dressed one went to put on proper clothing.
If it was any consolation, a crowd awed by her nobility is not nearly as horrifying as being identified as a mage, as the woman she recognized from before was both labeled and named. Taika: she will have to remember the woman's goodwill. Wait, she mentioned the possibility of her turning the mages in to the Church? Has word of her status not reached this far east of Lycia to the common populace?
"Everyone please: now is not the time to kowtow before my titles," she reassured the crowd as some began to kneel before her. "There will be time later to discuss the future. For now, we must endure the current battle."
"I think Paige is downstairs. What is it with your luck with Lycian nobility?" Shad questioned Satsume. The reference to Orica was lost on Cecily.
"I see that you have a story to tell me later, Satsume," Cecily gave Satsume her eerie look before turning towards the stairs.
She could hear arguing downstairs: something about betraying Lycia's trust, if she could fit the pieces together. She saw around the corner of the stairway a red-haired woman being led out the door as a prisoner.
"Anyone remaining in the inn is to come out unarmed and ready to surrender!" someone shouted into the inn.
The lady withdrew from the stairs and looked back at the men and women behind her. Was there really a point in running? There is bound to be plenty of Lycian soldiers left behind, not to mention potentially a detachment of extra soldiers of the Tanian garrison coming in as a precaution against the Bernese raiders. Perhaps the crew had the expertise to overcome the average garrison soldier, but there is still the issue of finding the woman that Satsume told her about, Paige.
As Cecily opened her mouth to suggest complying with the soldiers for the time being, she heard something of scuffle outside: metal accenting on metal once and not repeated. Cecily didn't need much of an imagination to presume that the men outside were being put into a rude sleep... That gave her an idea. It won't solve the problem of likely combat against the town garrison, but it should lessen the numeric odds for these comrades of convenience.
"Everyone cover your ears, lest you want to be out until next morning," she told the rest before making her way downstairs.
Oh, there was something she almost forgot.
"By the way, I could use your protection, Satsume," Cecily called up the stairs.
Once Cecily stepped outdoors, she could see the situation at hand. There were soldiers knocked out cold on the ground, positioned where she could see them clearly from the inn's door, but not from the opposite way looking towards the building. Others have not quite noticed what happened, though their turning heads indicated that they knew something was amiss. Perhaps her plan would be too risky to proceed with, but it is far too late to turn back now. The garrison saw her step out and had their weapons in hand and cuffs at ready to take her in.
"Hold your palms out where we can see them!" one of the soldiers shouted at her.
Cecily complied. With a bonus. She began singing a galdr: magic of little renown in Lycia. Only those who have spent time reading on exotic magics would recognize its signs the moment the first notes left her lips.
The song was a lullaby that
many Lycians were familiar with, but coated in Cecily's own magics. It was one of the first studies that she made while studying in Etruria: an attempt to create new galdrar. A relatively successful project, if she could say so herself.
Quote:Sleep, good boy, my beautiful,
Close your eyes, sleep tight.
Quietly the clear moon is looking
Into your cradle.
I will sing you fairy tales
And sing you little songs,
But you must sleep with your eyes closed.
Close your eyes, sleep tight.
The weaker soldiers wavered, particularly the conscripted townspeople, some of them slumping over in a deep sleep. The stronger wavered somewhat, though there was some confusion in the ranks until the brighter of the bunch (correctly) chalked it up to magic.
"Stop her!" a soldier cried out.
An arrow hissed through the air, its aim afflicted by the sleep galdr, and scratched Cecily's ear. It probably cut a few strands of her hair along its way into the inn's front wall as well. Cecily could not ask for her companions' reassurance of protection and stop the magic: otherwise, the effect would wear off prematurely. Trust was all she could rely on as her heart started pounding in her chest. It took her entire fortitude to keep her chorus steady.
Quote:You will be a perfect knight
In your soul, a cossack.
I will watch you leave on your journey
As you wave your hand.
On that night, how many bitter tears
Will I shed all alone?
Sleep my angel, sweetly and softly,
The more tenacious soldiers pulled themselves together and charged at the Lausian noble, screaming war cries to combat the magic.
Quote:Close your eyes, sleep tight.
"I think Paige is downstairs,” said Shad, as the women all got acquainted (or apparently, re-acquainted) with each other. “What is it with your luck with Lycian nobility?"
Satsume’s eyes widened. He could feel Cecily’s stare drilling into the back of his head, and he didn’t dare turn around to receive it proper. He gave Shad a very slight, but harried shake of the head, as if to say, “you don’t want to know.”
“I see that you have a story to tell me later, Satsume,” said Cecily.
“Um… yeah. Look, we need to get out of here,” he said instead. “The battle isn’t going to last forever-“
“ANYONE REMAINING IN THE INN IS TO COME OUT UNARMED AND READY TO SURRENDER!” came the shout from below. Satsume recognized the voice as Raul’s. He presumed this had something to do with the Bernese soldier he had thrown down there a moment earlier. Regardless, followed Cecily and the others down the stairs. As he followed the group, he could hear the sound of a horn blowing outside. Bern is… retreating? But why?
“Everyone cover your ears, lest you want to be out until next morning," said Cecily. Satsume knew exactly what that meant. “By the way, I could use your protection, Satsume.”
“By your command,” he replied. He hurried to catch up. A contingent of soldiers was suddenly upon them as they exited the inn. As they moved to apprehend the young noble, she began to sing. Satsume could feel the effects of the song begin to take hold immediately. He felt his muscles relax, and the grip on his weapon weakened. It wasn’t the first time he had felt this way – he had heard Cecily’s songs on several occasions during their travels together. He had even battled through one, once – but that was a psalm compared to this. His armor felt incredibly heavy... but he kept on his feet.
The townspeople in the street began to crumple into contented sleep. Several of the soldiers did so, as well. “Stop her!” cried a voice.
Satsume wanted to tell the rest of the group how to resist the pull of the song, but it took every ounce of his willpower to force out a battle cry to match some of the more resilient Lycians.
“HrrrrraaaaaaaAAAAAAHHH!”
He stepped in front of Cecily and expanded his weapon, just in time to bring it up crosswise and intercept a pair of blades that were marked for Cecily’s throat. Reinvigorated through his shout, Satsume forced back the attackers’ swords with a shove, and followed through with a wicked horizontal sweep, forcing the soldiers to the ground with gashes in their abdomens.
This gave pause to the rest of the soldiers, who halted their charge and approached cautiously. Satsume looked off to the side, where Paige was being held. Her captors were struggling to stay awake – another moment of Cecily’s song would almost assuredly take them out. Satsume pointed at Paige with his free hand, signaling Shad and his companions to attend to her.
As he felt the song’s power threaten to sap him of his strength again, Satsume let out another cry to rally himself, and settled into a defensive stance.
“Come on!” he bellowed, leveling his spear at the enemy. “I’ll crush you!”
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Yuri braced himself as the fireballs approached, and…
…dissipated into nothing. “What?!”
Sounds of war horns droned in the distance, and Yuri watched as the figures on the rooftops began their retreat. Bern soldiers disengaged from their opponents and backed away, eventually retreating from sight. The two wyverns that had been terrorizing the ground banked upward sharply, and flapped their wings to clear the buildings and leave the scene of the fight. Yuri let out a sigh of relief and let his spearpoint fall to the ground.
“Thank the gods…” he said quietly. The pain in his shoulder suddenly came flaring back, reminding Yuri that there was still an arrow sticking out of him. He winced and reached for it; as he did so, his eyes caught sight of a man lurking in the shadows. He was cloaked, and a hood masked his face. He held a blade in his hand.
Yuri quickly snapped his weapon back up to the ready. Yuri did not recall seeing this person in the inn before the Bernese attacked. Was he one of them? Or maybe an agent of Lycia..? Yuri gestured at him with his weapon. “You there! Identify yourself!” He stepped towards the shadows, gathering the attention of a couple of the soldiers near him as he walked by.
“Let me see your hands!” Yuri said as authoritatively as he could. As he began to walk towards the stranger, a beautiful sound reached his ears. Yuri paused and, inexplicably, let his spearhead sink slowly to the ground. He turned to the source of the sound. The soldiers that had been following behind him were staggering in his direction. One dropped his sword, and within seconds, both were on the ground. Yuri quickly found himself lost in the song, as well.
He didn’t even notice that he had dropped his spear.
Yuri sank to his knees, overwhelmed by a calming feeling. And before long, he joined the soldiers in a peaceful slumber.
"Yeah, I know right?" Shad chimed in, following Cecily's exasperation. Looking at Satsume's reaction, it felt very familiar. Like one he gave Wolfram in regards to Kalin. Wow, that isn't too good. Had he not the same experience, he would have chuckled. Cecily began to walk downstairs, when a very unwelcome declaration reverberated through the inn.
"Anyone remaining in the inn is to come out unarmed and ready to surrender!"
Taika stood at attention and looked right at Shad and Cass, as if to ask what happened. A door opened and Alice came running out, wearing something a bit unfamiliar. "Paige freed their hostage!" She yelled as she burst open another door to look out the window.
Cass turned to Shad and tilted her head a bit to the left. Her unobscured eye was uncharacteristically wide open, showing off its golden color. She kinda just stared at Shad for a few seconds before her mouth curled into a smirk. "'In a terrible situation, there are no bad ideas', right? Are you two trying to outdo the other?" She mused.
Shad glared at her for a second before Taika opened the door to look outside. Cass had a wicked sense of humor at times. "Shut it." He said as he followed Taika. The pair looked out the window to see the gathered soldiers. They managed to hear Cecily warn about covering their ears. Shad and Taika looked at each other and saw Cecily step outside.
Then the singing began. Cass ran over to them, before crumpling into a heap on the floor. Shad felt a bit of wait, but Taika was fine. Taika stepped over to Cass, to check her out. She seemed very out of it. "I think she's performing a galdr. I've seen it mentioned once or twice, but I don't know much about it. All I know is that it's magic."
Shad turned back to the window, growing more curious about this Cecily of Laus. "Why aren't we all succumbing to it then?"
"I'm a full fledged mage. My magic resistance is top notch. You said yourself your family is traditionally deaf to magic, so perhaps that gave you a bit of magic resistance as well. Cass, apparently, is very susceptible to magic." Taika said as she tries to keep Cass awake. "I'm doing the best I can to keep her awake."
Shad felt a bit heavier, but he knew it wasn't from the song. Or rather, the magic behind the song. The song itself made him remember. The healer at the church. Her name was Lyanna. Lyanna's mother, Maisie, sung this to him once. Perhaps more than once. Lyanna sung it to him too. On the fuzzy day he can't remember well. That day he was scarred mysteriously that Lyanna healed. Why had he forgotten their names when they must have lived with him a little over two years before? He shook the cobwebs from his mind and took down the curtain rod over the window. He placed it at the base of the frame and grabbed a curtain. Before Taika could stop him, he jumped out the window, using the curtain to slow his descent.
Satsume had already beaten him to the punch of getting downstairs. He pointed Paige out in the crowd to him, so he ran over to help her. Before he got there, a woman with a green cloak had dropped down, kicking on of them in the face. The other guard didn't have time to react as she dashed back, hooked her left arm around the front of his neck, swung around behind him, hooked the right arm around his neck and slit his throat with a pair of daggers. She released him, letting him fall to the floor. Shad couldn't believe it. It was Alice. She didn't have the red hood on anymore. Infact, Shad never seen her dressed like this. White pants, boots with a red trim, brown belt with several pouches. She looked more prepared for combat than a normal villager would be. "Alice?! Shad yelled out. Alice looked at him for a moment, before shaking her head and pointing at her ear. Did...did she plug her ears?
Shad looked and found Raul, who was staring at him, Alice, and Paige. "The church already wants me dead, so I might as well cut to the point. I'm sorry commander. I lied. I'm not the freelancer Chad Chevalier. I'm the Young Pup of Arretium, Lord Shadrach Hyperion." He introduced, as he unsheathed his schiavona and aimed it at the commander. Alice pulled something from her right ear, just missing that Shad revealed his identity.
He didn't seem too affected by the song, but started laughing. "I should have known. Ostia doesn't send spies after mercenaries. Alice!" Raul called out to the spy, who glanced at the commander. "I don't know if you're his lover or you're an Ostian spy like you claim you are. You're a traitor to your people, just like her!" He yelled pointing at Paige. Shad turned towards Alice, confused. A spy? Her? No. No.
She turned towards him for a second before looking back. "I'm loyal to the Lycian League and to St. Elimine." She retorted. She turned to Shad briefly. "I'll distract them. Free Paige." She ran off, taking out a couple of soldiers in her path.
Cass told him. Cass told him he was being spied upon. That the spy seemed sympathetic to their cause. Was Alice really that spy? He shook his head and turned his attention back towards Paige, who was still bound. He knelt down and severed her bonds, then retrieved her gear. "Here you go. How are you feeling?"
Paige was standing still, not daring to defy her captors. Though she may have saved the Lycian civilians from fighting a losing battle, it had cost her dearly. It may have cost her and her allies their lives. There would be no way to find the heir to Lycia if she had her head cutoff. She only hoped that she could reason with Raul to spare the others. She prepared her plea as some emerged from the inn.
Paige wasn’t sure what happened next. Unexpectedly, a lady had come out singing. The librarian found herself entranced in the song along with the soldiers beside her. She swayed back and forth, her eyelids becoming heavy. Not even Satsume’s bellows could chase the song from her head. She fell to her knees, struggling to stay awake. The soldiers behind her would have joined her had Alice not take them out.
Everything was moving in slow motion. The strikes against Satsume’s spear. Alice flying through the air. Was that Fred over there? Paige couldn’t keep up with the fighting around her. She barely reacted when blood splattered across her back when Alice took out one of the soldiers. She saw Raul pointing at her, but shortly after, he too crumpled over, succumbing to the sleep.
“That looks nice right now…”
The last thing Paige felt were her hands being unbound. She thought she heard a voice address her, but alas, the spell had finally taken her. Paige slumped over on her side, passed out and unresponsive.
Ambrose felt the magic sweep over him when he heard the song, and immediately his hands clapped over his ears, atop the hood, muffling the sound even further. He concentrated on a fast-paced and merry song he'd heard in the recent past, running the tune through his head. After about thirty seconds, he'd decided that he could take his hands off his ears now, thank'ye ver'much. So he did, hearing the last diminishing note of the song, before he drew his longsword and headed into the fray.
He off-handedly noted another person wielding their weapon primarily in their left hand, a rarity in itself. But soon, he crashed into his first opponent, who stumbled away, turned to face him, and found, much to their dismay, he'd golf-swung his pommel into their crotch, then brought it back around to crack it across their helm. The soldier crumpled backwards, no longer a threat. A woman charged him, clad in Lycian armor as well, screaming her defiance. He sidestepped, tripped her, and would have half-sworded a thrust through her back had a third opponent not crashed into him.
Only, the soldier who'd crashed into him was bleeding from the mouth and his breastplate was dented. Fred shook off his distracted observations, because the woman he'd tripped, thank to his inattention, had risen off the ground and was running at him again. The mercenary gripped the blade half-way down with his right hand, using the weapon like a half-spear. A wild swing was thrown, but before he could parry, it was retracted and a deadly thrust to his left thigh replaced it. A feint?! He felt his pants ripping as a cool line parted his flesh. The burning pain began a half-second after, but Ambrose had used a pommel strike again, on her neck, covered in a mail coif, like his own. Had it been a cut, the blade would have done little, if anything. But blunt force transferred like lightning. The woman fell unconscious, either of a stroke, an aneurysm, or some other reason.
He made sure he had no one actively seeking his death at the moment, then felt just above his knee, where the woman's sword had pierced his pant leg.
Damn lucky, you are, Ambrose, he thought, relieved. Just a scratch.
Fred pulled off his hood, as it restricted his vision. He was thankful that his coif and woolen arming cap didn't fall off. He grabbed up the woman's unadorned helm, tried slipping it over his head, failed, and instantly hurled it at an opponent in front of Satsume. The helm bounced off the man's head with a hollow 'Thuonk!' sound, hit the ground again, and tripped another soldier.
Quote:I will yearn for your return,
Although I'll die before then.
I'll pray the whole day long,
And at night I'll wonder.
I'll think that you're in trouble
Far away in a strange land.
Sleep now, before you know sorrows,
Good night, sleep tight.
On the road, I'll give you
A small holy icon.
And when you pray to Elimine, you'll
Put it right in front of you.
While preparing for the dangerous battle
Please remember your mother.
Sleep, good boy, my beautiful,
Good night, sleep tight.
Cecily paused in the moment her song concluded, taking a deep breath to take her mind off of all of the magic she had to exert for that performance. She had no more reason to be here, since she has no experience using weapons (and her galdrar is strictly not combative in nature).
"I'll leave the rest to you!" she called out to Satsume before taking off at a brisk pace towards the clearest space of safety in the renewed brawl: by the prison wagons and where she could see Alice and Shad tending to the red haired woman that she presumed was the Paige that Satsume mentioned before. She did not hear the exchange between them and Raul, neither did she notice that Raul also collapsed from the galdr.
She saw a roughly circular object whizz by out of the corner of her eye and connect with a Lycian soldier. The thrower, she could only presume was someone's friend, and continued her half-walk, half-run towards where Paige has collapsed. She gently pried Shad away from Paige to personally attend to the sleeping woman. Cecily grimaced at the fresh blood splatter, but Paige appeared unhurt.
The noble kneeled down next to Paige and held the librarian's chin in a cupped hand to inspect her. The galdr had her knocked out completely. Cecily sighed, although she knew it could not be helped; warning Paige could have completely ruined the plan. She leaned over the librarian, turning the sleeping woman's head to the side, and sang another galdr into her ear until the woman started responding to Cecily's continued grip on her chin. Cecily's new song is not exactly a galdr intended to reverse the effects of sleep, but singing the extremely basic song Vigor should accelerate Paige through the effects of the sleeping galdr.
"We don't have time to play Sleeping Beauty, miss," Cecily playfully chided Paige as she came around (and releasing her chin). "You will have to do with a stand-in Princess Charming for now."
Paige began to awaken, her eyes slowly opening. She found herself facing the singer. Paige was confused; how long was she out? She looked around, seeing that the fighting was still going on. Paige turned back to Cecilia, trying to get words to come out.
"Um...who are you?" Paige asked before realizing this wasn't the time. "I-I mean, we should get out of here."
Paige's hands fumbled around for one of her swords, her senses slowly coming to.