Angelic Devotion Ch1

[Purg]

He awoke suddenly, stretching out against the cold ground, shivering as he realized he was coated in a thin layer of dew. "I'm a bit surprised I actually nodded off," he muttered as he rubbed his back - the stump had kept him sitting, but hadn't been very good for his spine, and a day of riding would only make things more difficult. He had better take care of it now, then - a small bit of stretching had him feeling a bit better, but it was still sore. That was as good as it was going to get, though, without some help from the others, and he really didn't believe they would have time. Looking to the east, he determined it was probably only a bit before sunrise, an hour at the longest. The embers were still giving off a bit of heat or light, but not enough to cook anything quick for breakfast - he supposed he should get some tinder while the others were still asleep. He shouldn't have to look fa- why was his bag open?

Forgetting his hunt to get dry brush, he knelt down quickly, looking through the pockets as fast as he could. Once, twice, a third time... Gods dammit, someone had... Who?! He pulled one of his daggers out quickly, glancing at the sleeping forms near him. Andra... Ivan... Izu... the other mercenary... Kieru! Kieru was missing. At first, he considered that someone could have taken her - one of the Granfs, maybe - but the fact that they all lived yet was a healthy amount of evidence against that. That would mean, then, that she had taken them. The rage within him burned hotter, brighter than the stars above could hope to match. If she had been a spy all along... He shouted, a furious cry that echoed through the trees. It would reveal their location to any enemies still nearby, but at this point, that was the smallest threat to him. Those papers were important, and if delivered to an enemy with a brain...

"Wake up, get ready, and follow me, as quickly as you can!" he shouted, sure his shout had awoken at least his friends. He grabbed his bag, his sword, placing the knife back where it would be concealed. "Kieru's missing, as well as some of my notes - Talgusta would be the nearest place to take either!" he called, leaping onto the drowsy horse's back, leaving the part about suspecting the small girl as an enemy unsaid. "And I don't intend to lose those papers!"

He whipped the reins and jabbed his heels into the side of his mount - with a surprised cry, it bolted, into the morning mists.

[CT075]

Bullet awoke to the sound of footsteps. He was instantly alert, tensing up. Then he realized it was one of the mercenaries he'd been traveling with. He seemed to be agitated.

"Something wrong?"

---

Laterite had ridden off, and Bullet was running after him. They were a good hour-and-a-half away from the fort on foot. He ran harder, trying not to impale himself on the branches that seemed to always be in his way. His heart quickened. He had seen footprints leading both to the fort and away from their camp in another direction. The only explanation Bullet could come up with to explain that was that the girl had wandered off and been captured!

Then he tripped on a branch. He cursed, got up, and reminded himself to keep a closer watch on his surroundings.

[Dark Sage]

Having fallen asleep awhile ago after eating his meat, Shizunai awoke to the calls of Laterite. Apparently Kieru was gone. Not only that but this Laterite had valuable papers that were taken as well.

"Very unusual," he said, putting the mask back on. "Very, very unusual. Important papers and a girl here kidnapped and we still live. Now does anyone have a set of bows or arrows I can use? We should go look for Kieru and I'd prefer to take out any kidnappers, if there are any at all, from a distance."

[CATS]

"I got a bow, but I'll be damned if I'm gonna let your hands touch it, Izu. Aren't you and yours supposed to be all with the honor and tradition, anyways? Odd that now you want to pick them off from the bushes like a guerrilla fighter instead of facing them in single combat. Or did you leave those ideals behind when you left your country? Guess we'll find out when we make it to the fort. Come on, time to show us what you've got," Ivan said, just as he finished fastening his sword & scabbard to his belt. After one last check of his weapons, he gave Andra a quick shake and a "come on, something's wrong, follow us," then dashed off after Bullet, motioning for Shizunai to follow.

[Dark Sage]

"Do not presume to know anything about me," Shizunai said coldly following after. "If we were in Izuna, you'd be forced to duel me and it would not end well at all for you. For now, the bow is necessary if we wish to rescue the girl and avoid being found by Grandford people. Honor means nothing if it gets people killed." Drawing his katana, and holding his scabbard at the ready, Shizunai crept along, keeping his eyes out on for any Grandford soldiers.

[CATS]

"Wait, what? Who said anything about rescuing? From the sounds of it that damn kid stole Laterite's notes and took them back to the Granfs at Talgusta! Knew she'd be more trouble than she's worth, brats always are. Maybe you think you'll be makin' up for what you tried back at the fort if you save her? Gah, I don't know who's worse, you or her," Ivan said in between breaths as he ran after Laterite and the other fellow.

[Kanami]

Fort Talgusta lay in ruins, parts of the wall still stood definatly here and there, but for the most part the entire thing had burned to the ground. The only thing which remained were several men in dull red armor who looked more weary then alert. They'd marched across from Ariost, taking only a few breaks in between and had to massacre the citizens of Elrest last night, those who had remained at least anyway. Crispy bodies lay scattered throughout the fort, but the group had set up camp in a corner which had remained relatively untouched by the flames. Two dozen men had been left at the fort, as the remainder marched on to Fort Gorbac and Hesval, and all were quite drained, mentally and physically. Two soldiers, had returned with a girl who was most likely an escapee from Elrest, but despite their orders, they'd had enough bloodshed for the day and technically their orders were to clean out Elrest and it's inhabitants, not to chase after everyone who escaped.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"5 more minutes" Kieru groaned as she felt someone tug on her shoulder. She was tired, sleepy and far from being in a good mood. She'd had a horrible dream and sleeping the night away apparently wasn't enough for her. She felt a hand enter her pocket she smacked it away, not noticing that the contents had been relieved. "5 more minutes Sister Mary, please" she whined keeping her eyes closed. She could hear men mumbling in the distance, probably Father John lecturing her again. Putting her hands over her ears, she tried to get back to sleep, no longer hindered by the long droning voice of the pastor.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The soldiers looked down at the girl, before shrugging their shoulders, they'd tied up her hands and feet and she didn't seem like the type to overpower them anyway even if she did try to make an escape. More importantly she seemed like a member of the church and was probably just a follower who had been held captive or wasn't able to flee to Granford. Either that or she was just some runt who'd been separated from her mother somewhere and was wondering around lost. "Shouldn't we nail her captain?" one of the men with a husky voice asked, they'd received orders to exterminate the entire fort, and clean out the nearby city of Elrest. Elrest had been taken over with relative ease last night. Most of the inhabitants had fled when the explosion had occurred, and those that had remained weren't much of a challenge as they were slaughtered. A small thin man grimaced as he recalled what he did last night to the inhabitants of Elrest "Captain, was it really neccessary to..."

The captain frowned, as did several others who were standing nearby. "An order's an order soldier" he replied briskly, subconsciously rubbing his shirt which was stained with the blood of a girl around the prisoners age. Feeling uneasy, he looked at the papers quickly, not really finding that immediately stood out. The captain frowned again as he tried to make out the neat hand writing, he was much better with a sword then with a pen and the black scribbles were annoying him. Tossing the papers to the side, he glared at a bulky envelope which had some tacky insignia on it. "Not one I recognize" he grumbled as he showed the the symbol to the other soldiers who shook their heads as well.

Looking down at the envelope again, the captain shook his head, "The high ups can read this junk, or toss it in the fire, I honestly don't care, where'd the carrier pigeon?" he barked. Clearly not in the mood to read the papers which resided inside. He'd contemplated tossing it aside himself but had concluded that it might be important information which could be used against the enemy and decided against it. The faster they won this war, the less cities he'd have to clean up. Handing the envelope to a man who'd arrived with a caged pigeon, who quickly tied the envelope to the birds leg, before the bird flew off in the direction of Ariost.

As the Captain watched the bird disappear from view he sat down with a sigh. It was only two moons ago that he'd sat with friends in the local tavern drinking the nights away, and now he was here in some foreign land, surrounded by crispy black bodies with the blood of innocents on his blade. He looked around at his men, who likewise seemed to be low on morale, they'd had no sleep last night yet none had dozed off, too afraid of the nightmares which would await them. The captain raised an eyebrow, there were a few missing. He'd ordered two pairs of two to patrol the area, yet there was half a dozen missing. Meaning one of the pairs he'd sent out hadn't returned yet. Despite being groggy, he decided to investigate where his goons had gone off to.

[Dark Sage]

"Fool. I am a holy man. I have taken vows of chastity and I have my own code of honor. If you believe I am like Lord Zefana, you are even more of a twit than I thought. You should not assume I am like that man at all. Now stay silent before you force me to defend me honor."

[SuperFush]

"Dun wanna..." Andra stretched and yawned as he was so rudely awakened from peaceful slumber. "Fine, fine, I'm up, I'm up. Yeesh, you'd think that...oh, Laterite's stuff was stolen? Well, we better get going then."

Moments later, Andra was mounted on Rakka and ready to take flight. He had a few choice words for a certain annoying foreigner first, though.

"Defend your honour all you like, my friend. Don't assume that you special training and "mystical powers" mean anything against a real fighter, though. You're hardly the only one here who's lived by the skill of your sword arm, you know! Anyways, Ivan, I'm going ahead. I'll scout out and see if I can see anything. Don't annoy him too much, eh?"

With a wink, Andra pulled on the reins and Rakka reared into the sky. Before long they were little more than a speck against the clouds. Andra patted his mount's neck. "Good to be up here again, hm? Even if it was only a day's delay." Rakka whistled her agreement. Chuckling, Andra searched the horizon for any sign of the missing girl.

He found a horse instead. That'd be Laterite. Andra twitched the reins and swooped down to fly just overhead of his noble spy friend.

"So, now that we're away from the Izu and the...other one, what exactly is missing?"

[CATS]

"Lord who? Whatever, you know, you're probably right. We should focus on killing the other guys, not each other, for now at least. Oh, well hey there Andra."

Ivan waited as the wyvern rider said his piece, fighting the urge to agree with him. He'd done enough antagonizing for the moment, especially since they were about to go into a combat situation.

"Ok then, don't give us a ride on the wyvern, we don't mind hoofing it anyways," Ivan grumbled as Andra disappeared into the sky.

Edited October 11, 2010 by CATS

[Purg]

"Nothing particularly major. A letter to the Defauxs, a few sundries about Crestia as a whole - nothing that should be devastating if the Granfs get a hold of them. But someone - no, that's a pretty blatant lie - she took them. I don't know if she's a spy or just stupid - either way, she stole from me, and that doesn't put me in a good mood. If she's made it all the way back to Talgusta..." He gritted his teeth. "... Let me repeat that I'm not in a good mood." He wasn't sure what he would do when he arrived - he was still basically useless against knights, and if she had already made it to them, he would either have to depend on the others, or... he wasn't sure what. Really, there was something he could do, but he'd rather not break any cover, even if it was a small, almost insignificant piece. If it came to it, though... This was his problem. Ivan and Andra had no reason to help - it had been his decision to bring her, and it was his responsibility to recover what had been taken.

There. An armored man, much like the ones that occupied a page in his sketchbook now, at the edge of the ruins of Fort Talgusta. His armor was slightly different than a normal Granf footman, though - perhaps he was of a higher rank, or a different division. Kieru wasn't within his line of sight, but the man, and any others nearby, would obviously be in the way. Wordlessly, he dismounted, drawing his saber and looking at it for a moment. "Pathetic," he said quietly, sticking it point first into the soft earth, tying his mount's reins to the hilt. It would be useless against armored opponents - both the horse, which hadn't been trained for combat, and the sword, which wasn't high quality enough to even dent plate armor - so he supposed he'd have to rely on his preferred weapons instead. He put his hands behind his back, gripping a pair of concealed knives in the back of his belt, before addressing the man.

"You must be one of the men responsible for the upkeep of this place," he said calmly, his words belying the fury that was churning inside. "I don't see why it's so important - with most of the fort destroyed, it's not a very defensible place, not that it ever was before, and I can't see any tactical reason to want to recapture it. Still, I suppose these are your orders. I think it's important for you to know, though, that you've likely come into possession of some things that belong to me. And I may not look like much, but, if you have any belief in a merciful god guiding your actions, you would be much better off giving me what's mine. I'm not particularly good at taking prisoners."

[Fayt Zelpher]

Arias was shocked as he saw Beatrice push him aside. 'What the heck did she think she was doing?' Just then, he turned his head toward Beatrice and saw the knight standing there, his sword lodged in Beatrice's armguard. Upon closer inspection, he realized that her armguard was beginning to bend, and all of the sudden, he was surprised to see that her armguard, along with half of what appeared to be her forearm, was lying in pieces upon the ground.

Still a bit dazed from being thrown to the ground, Arias quickly regained his senses when her heard a loud shriek. 'Beatrice seemed really angry,' he thought as she begun to attack the knight like a wild savage. 'Note to self: Don't tick Beatrice off if you enjoy your face in one piece.' She quickly finished the last knight, then turned around. But Arias noticed that Beatrice was crying. Or at least, seemed to be in great pain, as though she could break down at any moment. With this realization, a sudden torrent rushed over Arias as he looked upon Beatrice. To see that she had just saved his life, and to see the pain she was in - something triggered in Arias's mind.

Arias looked at Beatrice once again. 'There will be retribution for this,' he said in a calm voice, almost devoid of emotion. 'Blood will be spilled today. Someone will pay for this with his life' Arias turned toward the fort, and started walking toward it with a certain degree of righteous bloodlust. He wanted to stay and comfort Beatrice, but he knew that there was nothing that he could do to help her. With that scream of pain still ringing in his ears, Arias began to channel a great deal of energy. A few sparks flew around him, and the crackling sound of tiny bolts of lightning could be heard. Arias turned toward Beatrice.

"I will restore your honor. Those Granford scum will pay for this."

Arias turned back toward the fort, and started running, consumed by his tranquil fury.

He saw one soldier walking up toward the fort, heading back from town, or the 'restroom', or who-knows-where. Arias didn't care. He chanted a few words and where there was a soldier, now only metal and ash remained.

The soldier had let out a scream in the instant just before Arias roasted him alive. It was little surprise to Arias that 3 more soldiers left the fort - well, what was left of it - to confront him. Arias licked his lips - another victim had come forth, waiting to pay blood tribute to Beatrice. Arias was more than happy to collect.

He started chanting another spell, but while he was doing so, the three men all charged at him. 'Predictable,' Arias said to himself. 'They always rush in, never suspecting that death is just around the corner.' Arias's hands filled with flame. He charged in, his speed slightly exceeding those of the knights - they were weighed down by their armor, but Arias was also smaller, not to mention not as physically strong as they. Arias quickly dispatched two of them, when he felt some pain on his side. Apparently, the third one managed to cut Arias's side. It was a near miss, but not enough of a miss to prevent his blue robes from being stained into a very feminine shade of purple. Arias was completely unfazed by this. He let out a few words as he cast a spell. His hands were caught aflame by this, as he charged into the knight. The knight drew his sword and slashed at Arias. Arias briefly felt his left arm get cut as his flaming hand melted through the knight's armor, killing him right there on the spot (and likely preventing the blade from cutting further into Arias.

Arias looked around. He could feel himself in a bit of pain, but he knew that he had work to do. There were probably more soldiers in there, and he was going to make sure that they did not live to boast of their actions to their friends back home.

[rn7]

Three figures, who had been hiding up until now, peered up to see the commotion. Looking down from their position, they saw a person fighting multiple targets.

"Why, ain't that the boss, huh?"

"Don't look like da boss to me. It look like the guy in bathrobe to me."

"Grub, you tubba' lard. That ain't no bathrobe, it's a summoner cloak!"

"Well, I dun be seeing no summin'. Looks like a dress to me, so I call it bathrobe."

"Now, Grub, you ain't making a spit of sense there, yew know that?"

"Oy, you guys stop that bickering, now! That magey down there's throwing down, so I suggest we get out there and do our business too!"

"Slim, if that ain't the darnest idea I've ever heard in my life, then string me up with a ball of yarn on the windowsill and call me a ding-a-ling-a-bing wind chime!"

"That don't make no sense at all."

"Shut it, Grub."

Three arrows fired in quick succession, striking a nearby knight in the helmet. One missed completely, one nicked an ear, and one lodged itself within the guy's brains. Impromptu lobotomy aside though, the man was still very much alive and much provoked from being filled with arrows. Unfortunately for him, there was already someone in front of him, waiting to unload a ton of hurt upon his puny self. Grub shoulder rushed the knight, knocking him over and driving the arrow even further into the knight's head, then immediately brought down the blunt side of his axe down. The armor was busted through like wet paper, and a giant sheet of metal made its new home inside the knight's chest. Grub then stood tall, looking at his kill with half-disgust and half-satisfaction. Then, out of nowhere, Slim came in and stabbed the dead guy with his spear. Grub looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

"What? I'm contributing!" Slim insisted. Both Grub and Snare shook their head and moved on.

Another guard charged at the three. Slim quickly dislodged his spear from the dead body, and then, using his insane range, stabbed the knight in the neck before he could even properly wield his weapon. Slim dragged the soldier along from the neck, bringing him closer, then slapped him to the ground. Before the knight could even attempt at getting up, four crossbow bolts flew threw the air and slammed into the ground, barely missing the knight's joints. The knight hoisted himself up, only to see that he was stuck-- the bolts never intended to hit him, only to nail his chainmail to the ground. A huge shadow loomed over him, and he knew what was next. Execution by giant axe.

With those two done with, the three approached the enraged mage.

"Hey magey guy! What happened to Miss Boss?"

---

Beatrice stumbled through the trees. Bad day... week... month... hell, let's just say bad year. It wasn't the worst, but Beatrice could hardly remember the last time she got beat up so bad. Oh, wait, yea, she could. She could never really get that year out of her mind, as much as she tried to suppress it. A sharp stinging made her shut her eyes and shiver, snapping her back to the present. She fell to the ground in a heap, breathing out heavily for a second before dragging herself up by the fingernails.

Got to find Arias. No time for pain. I can sit around and enjoy the past later. Beatrice's thoughts compelled her and kept her moving along, despite the screeching pain. It was the worst type of pain, the pain in a limb that didn't even exist, the pain that could do nothing but endure for the time being. Beatrice got her sword from the ground, staring at its shining gleam. A dull red mark was on the end of it, an old reminder. Beatrice shook her head, as if to clear it of any thoughts. She sheathed the blade and continued toward the fort.

Damn it, Arias, you should have waited for me. Honor, schmarmor. I hope you didn't do anything stupid. Heh, look who's talking.

Beatrice collapsed again to the ground. Each time, it was harder and harder to get back up. Beatrice got back up any way. She wouldn't miss this for the world.

Edited October 11, 2010 by rn7

[Kanami]

The captain turned, drawing his sword at the sight of the man. It didn't matter who the man was as long as he wasn't a Granf soldier, which he clearly wasn't. "Where we station ourselves isn't your business heretic" the man spat. "And I've got no idea what you're talking about, haven't got anything which doesn't belong to me yet" the captain stated not giving the papers that had fluttered away awhile ago a second thought.

Looking the man up and down, he raised his weapon, not only was it his orders to kill Crestians but this man clearly hadn't approached for a friendly chat. Nor was he a typical civilian. Even civilians weren't stupid enough to approach armed soldiers and start making demands, moreso if the soldiers were from an invading nation. "Don't know what your game is, but surrender now and I'll promise you a quick, painless death" the man said confident is his own abilities, but also the dozen men who stood ready, trained and armed for the combat which was sure to follow. Several of his men had circled around to prevent the intruder from escaping. Not moving their eyes off Laterite who seemed to get more and more impatient with each passing moment.

Likewise one of the soldiers had gotten impatient, he'd had no sleep and wasn't in the mood to deal with a cocky Crestian. With a cry that resembled a screech he jumped forward thrusting his sword towards the man who stood before him. But stopped just before striking when he heard a cry from nearby.

"Captain?" a soldier asked uncertain, if the enemy had arrived from Crestia they didn't have the the manpower to fight back.

The Captain shook his head "More bandits, It'll be a good few days before anything from the neighboring provinces make it here." he paused looking around to check for signs of an enemy "We'll slaughter this one first and then worry about the others later, but keep alert."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kieru groaned as she heard a warcry nearby, at first she thought it was one of the sisters screeching about what those religious nuts wailed about, but it sounded different, a mans voice. If it was father John he'd probably be spluttering on the ground right now. Deciding she wouldn't get any more sleep she finally decided to wake up. Only to find she couldn't move her arms or legs. Damn sisters, was there a compendium of punishments or somewhere that all sisters had to read before being accepted? Opening her weary eyes, it took a few moments for her to recognize that she wasn't in bed, or church for that matter, but some horrible wasteland. It took several moments before she recalled the events of the day prior, though why she was back in the fort bound wasn't something she could understand. She couldn't have been captured by people could she? She shivered at the thought as some garbled sound came from nearby, something about honor. Deciding she didn't want to stick around to find out she started wriggling along the ground like a worm. It was ungraceful, but life was more important at this stage. She hadn't even made three steps of distance when she heard a cry of pain which was cut short. "Crap, crap crap" she muttered wriggling away faster. She caught a glimpse of red armor on one her wriggles but thankfully, the soldier hadn't noticed her and seemed preoccupied with something else.

Edited October 11, 2010 by Kanami

[CT075]

Bullet was running full tilt through the woods when he heard the sounds of someone falling. He started towards the noise, then hesitated. If he found someone from his side, then he might miss the chance at some Granford flesh. If he instead ran into a regiment of soldiers, or even one, he was unarmed. He broke off a relatively large branch from a tree next to him to use as a makeshift club. Still useless against anything with decent armor, but better than nothing.

He wasn't sure what he had expected. All he knew was that it wasn't this. He'd found the woman from yesterday morning (Beatrice) struggling through the forest towards the fort. Except this time she was missing an arm. Curious. Bullet walked forwards warily, branch balanced on his shoulder.

"Hey. Need a hand?"

Edited October 11, 2010 by Camtech075

[rn7]

"A hand? Haha, you're a hoot!" Beatrice wearily waved her arm stump at Bullet. Bullet, Bullet. She knew it was that mercenary from before, but he had left so fast that she couldn't really get a real image imprinted in her mind. But now, slogging slowly by as she was, Beatrice found she felt an odd familiarity with the merc. If was as if... as if she had met him before-- no, even more than that. She had worked with him before. Her mind swam through the torrents of pain in an attempt to remember.

"Ha ha ha! It's you, that damn bounty hunter! Ha ha ha!" The laughter that escaped from Beatrice's mouth edged on delirium. A huge facade to brush aside her immense pain.

It was that bounty hunter, or at least bore a strong resemblance to him. Beatrice and him had worked together once, on the right side of the law, putting criminals behind bars or underground. Of course, Beatrice always preferred the latter. Was it seven years ago? She was so young then, a brash, immature kid. In many ways, she didn't grow out of it. She didn't go by Beatrice back then, but what the other hunters called her.

"Lil Red". A cute nickname for someone who at best barely stood tall enough to the shoulders or chests of other hunters, sometimes tippy-toeing. Bullet didn't go by Bullet either back then, or as far as she could remember. Both of them were quite a notorious pair back in the day. Try as she might, she couldn't really remember why they split in the first place. Beatrice had grown a bit in the meanwhile, but the name Big Red had already been taken.

"I don't need your help. What are you planning to do with that stick any way, bash a cardboard donkey and steal all the candy from its guts? Go snatch one of the dead knights' swords, then get to the fort. We've got a takeover in progress." Beatrice continued stumbling and falling over through the forest, giggling to herself. The pain was making her lose her mind.

[SuperFush]

A shadow fell over the two soldiers. They dismissed it as a cloud, which, all things considered, was pretty stupid. No one ever looks up, after all, so they were taken completely by surprise by the large flying lizard swooping down and knocking them both prone. One reached for his sword, only to have his arm stomped on painfully by a large, clawed foot. Rakka stared down at one of them men and snorted, covering him in mucous. As for LAterite, he wasn't crushed beneath a large flying lizard. However, he was grabbed by the shirt and hauled onto Rakka by the large flying lizard's rider. Before the other soldiers could reach them, Andra had slapped the reins and shouted some insults and they took off, leaving the two soldiers groaning on the ground.

Once they were safely in the air, Andra sighed. "That was uncharacteristically stupid of you, y'know. I mean, did you have a plan for what you were going to do after killing one, or what?" He guided Rakka back towards the group still following. "You're lucky I hauled myself out of bed, you know!"

[CATS]

"Aha, there you two are! You know, if I didn't know you better, I'd have thought you just went charging in ahead of us or something. There have been a few screams in the last few minutes, but no blood on your weapons, so fortunately, not you two. Guess we've got help from somewhere, then, good to know. Anyways, you're the eyes, so what are we looking at here? How many of them are there, how well-armed?" Ivan said, directing the last question to Andra and Laterite.

[Purg]

"I hadn't expected a dozen men. Perhaps two or three, but not quite so many. Still, I was going to disarm the one who attacked, since he was so graciously distracted, along with all the others, and dealt with him. That would have left eleven, and their captain. If there were fewer, I could have likely avoided them until opportunities presented themselves." He shook his head. "There's really no reason to keep so many men here. Crestia would be wise to just leave this miserable pile of rubble alone, instead of wasting their numbers trying to take such a horrible position. I'm actually more concerned why there are any Granfs still here at all. Unless they intend on winding a supply caravan through this region, it has literally no worth to them." Staring down at the knights, glad to see they didn't have anything with longer range than a few spears, he began thinking of how they could take on the men. He had lost any stealth, not that he had planned on relying on it in the first place, and still didn't have an answer to his question. He couldn't trust that the captain didn't know what he was talking about, so they couldn't simply leave without finding out what had happened - or without finding out just who or what Kieru was.

"I don't intend to leave without finding out what happened to my papers. I highly doubt they would disappear anywhere but to here, and it's not like the captain's words can be trusted. I also don't think Kieru would be anywhere but here - she didn't seem to know the countryside very well, so this would be the only familiar place for her." His face fell as he bit his lip. "... If she's a Granf spy, then I'd rather have that confirmed now than hear about it later. So I suggest we get this finished as fast as we can, and then find somewhere better to be." He pulled a pair of knives out from the back of his belt, both of them long and cruel, intended for piercing in between plates of armor. "Because I think we're all tired of this dismal place."

[SuperFush]

Andra shook his head. "You're right about that, at least. If getting that stuff is that important to you, you know I'm with you."

They flew down towards Ivan and the others. "Well, we saw about a dozen at first, decently armoured and armed. Two of them had a wyvern dropped on them, though, so they'll be pretty stiff, I imagine."

[CATS]

"Aw, a dozen, really? That many to guard a fort that doesn't exist anymore? Anyways, let's see, anyone know where that other random guy is? Me neither, guess he ditched us, oh well. Can't blame him. So let's see, me, you, Lat, Izu. Each of us needs to account for 3 bodies at least, and I assume we need the CO alive to ask him where Lat's stuff is. This is gonna be tricky. Laterite, you're the best at playing hard-to-get; Izu, to be frank I don't trust you, and Laterite can probably pull his weight alone here in the event that you fuck up, so here's what I propose. You two stay on the ground and provide a distraction--draw the soldiers into the forest, separate them, whatever. Doesn't really matter. Me and Andra snatch the leader as soon as we get an opening, carry him away on Rakka, use him as leverage to make his goons back off. Trade the leader for Lat's stuff, get the fuck out. What do you say?" Ivan said to his allies.

[CT075]

"Huh. You sure don't look like you can get back to the fort on your own. And my choice of weapon is none of your business."

Bullet remembered her now. It was several years ago, before he'd gotten involved as a mercenary. Bullet leaned over, and, despite her protests, lifted the woman onto his shoulder. "Come on now. We both know that you're not gonna make it back in time for any more action on your own." He started back to the fort, then, as an afterthought, relieved one of the dead knights of his sword before continuing on his way.

Edited October 11, 2010 by Camtech075

[rn7]

Beatrice wanted to protest the dude all walking on over to her and carrying her the rest of the way to the fort, but she was pretty tired and didn't feel like arguing. Instead, she took a quick nap and let Bullet drag her sleeping self the rest of the way. Might as well make the most of it, she figured. Her fingers trickled on the edge of her scimitar's hilt, but she knew the man was no threat. He wouldn't gain anything for killing her, and besides, they were former associates.

As soon as the two breached the forest, they saw a group of people talking about how'd they take twelve or so soldiers. They had a dragon, so she'd figured they'd be fine.

[CT075]

Bullet shook his shoulder a little as he walked just a little out of the forest. He spotted the three men he'd been traveling with circling overhead on a wyvern. He also spotted several troops in that general area.

"Hey, Red. Wake up." Bullet lowered Beatrice onto the floor and hefted his weapon. "I don't fancy taking on all twelve of those soldiers at once. So, if you can still fight, follow my lead. If not, just stay here and try not to attract any attention. I'm gonna go see if I can thin down the numbers before they notice us." Bullet figured she wouldn't appreciate taking orders from him, but he didn't feel like an argument right now. He pointed his sword at the troops, holding it low and parallel to the ground, and charged. He was halfway there when he remembered the other mercenaries. Bullet ran even faster. Right now, he was moving fast enough to do some serious damage to any armor he connected with. He'd also probably destroy the sword.

((Note: Yes, this is the same move Beatrice used all the way back at the beginning))

Bullet collided with the back of one soldier's armor, thrusting the sword with as much force and momentum as he could muster. The blade shattered in his grip, but not before knocking the man several feet forward and creating a loud, satisfying clang. The rebound also threw Bullet off balance. He dropped the remains of his blade. Shit. I really hope they noticed me now. With no other option available to him, he tackled the man he'd just hit and started wrestling with him for the man's weapon. "A little help would be appreciated right about now!" he shouted.

Edited October 12, 2010 by Camtech075

[rn7]

Beatrice saw Bullet deal with the knights probably the only way he knew, directly. Maybe even more than directly, seeing as he just bumrushed the knight. Bullet's sword shattered on impact, but it was dubious whether that was due to the force of the blow or the general disrepair of the weapon. Bullet never did take too much care of his weapons, losing it often and having to resort to scavenging one from the body of a dead corpse. Beatrice, on the other hand, had the same sword she did since she was twelve.

Beatrice yawned while staring at Bullet wrestle with the armored knight. The pain was still overbearing and twisting. She was awfully tempted to ditch him for laughs, but she knew Bullet was really the persistent type. He'd probably find her, tie her up, and leave her to die in the middle of the desert. At which point she would escape and come after him. And repeat, ad nauseam. She started to remember a bit why exactly they split up. They'd be at each other's throats all the time. Bounties were always worth more alive than dead, but somehow Lil Red didn't really grasp that. A little kid like her never really had an appreciation for money. She was in it for the cheap thrills and violent entertainment.

Beatrice stretched out, and leaned against a rock. She was pretty sure the others would come to help, and if not, well, Bullet lived this long. She playfully stroked the hilt of her sword, wondering if she should bother finding Arias.

Edited October 12, 2010 by rn7