A/N Requested by Itz Mercy of Dragons of Alantis. Based on events of Dragons of Alantis.
Mercy's POV
Alantis had changed much in the year since the fall of the Black Hawk alliance. A name that once spread fear and hatred now lay almost forgotten. Half of the once powerful group formed a new Allliance called Wicked Soulz. It was coled by Flare and Mayhem. Two powerful and well known lords.
The name Flare brought anger out of him. Mercy was normally calm and collected but the memory of what Flare had done to his men was still fresh in his memory. It had taken a long time for his men to recover. Now that they had recovered Stray Dogs was becoming a well known face. Many other lords feared the Stray Dogs. Not just because of their strength but the loyalty of the men who made it.
They were originally named Stray Dogs as a joke. A band of misfits that didn't have a place anywhere. So they scrounged up what money they could and bought a small town. Slowly over the course of the year they made it into a formidable kingdom. Everyone had a job. There were no slackers and if it came down to it they all would fight for their home.
They had made allies with the Choas Alliance and Reapers Alliance. This meant trade and peace between the two. As the more powerful of the three Choas looked after their allies but were still weary. As they had learned when the Black Hawks fell even your closest friend could become an enemy. Sadly it was happening more and more often as of late.
Wars had been breaking out left and right. Refugees seeking shelter came to Stray Dogs. Not many left once they stayed for more than a few weeks. The comraderie was contagious. The Lord's didn't look down upon the vassels instead worked to help them.
Still not everything was happy in his home. Rumors had broken out that a killer was loose in the small town just outside of his kingdom. The town officials were asking for aid. It was hard to ignore the town but all of his generals were preparing for the eventual return of Wicked Soulz. Maybe he could make a quick trip just to see if it was anything to be worried about.
Fredrick his second in command came up next to him. He had called for the man earlier. He had brown hair with green eyes. He was tall almost six feet with broad shoulders. He weilded a broadsword like it was nothing. His chosen weapon was a war axe though. He led the minitaur army. The ones that had sworn loyalty to him.
With that was the heavy Calvary and battle dragons. They were some of the lesser dragons that they had employed in their army. As long as they were fed and given a chance to fight they were happy.
Mercy's blue eyes turned to the mountain were his red Dragon Dorren lay. He had found the egg while on a mission when he was just a boy. Without knowing why he knew there was something special about it. So he kept it. A week later it hatch into a small red dragon. The town he had been staying in immediately threw him out. Local superstitions stated dragons were bad luck.
For awhile even he believed. Yet he could not bring himself to kill the dragon. About two months after he had found the egg a woman from the Reaper alliance was in the town that he at. She was looking for recruits and took an interest in him. Even more so when he finally showed her his most guarded secret. He joined Reapers after that and quickly rose through the ranks.
He shook himself of thought of the past as he said in greeting," Hey, Fred. How are things looking?"
He could see the man's jaw twitch as he said," Training is on schedule but we are still low in terms of archers. On top of that we don't have anyone that could actually properly train them."
That was there main issue. Out of all the problems with troops they could have. Their main issue was with archers. They only had 200 half trained archers. They just didn't have a dependable teacher.
Mercy preferred his sword and dagger personally. Though he could still use a bow if the situation called for it.
He said calmly," I have to leave the kingdom. I'm going to gather information on the killer that's loose. I want to be sure whoever it is won't make for the kingdon. I shouldn't be gone more than two or three days at most."
Surprise filled his friend's eyes. It wasn't often that he left the kingdom. Especially not without an escort. Even if he was just going two kilos to the south there was still a risk. A risk of an assassin by Mayhem and Flare sent to kill him. He wouldn't put it past either man.
"Are you sure about this? Mayhem and Flare have spies everywhere. We can't afford to lose you," green eyes met his blue.
They had been through a lot together. For some reason though he felt as if he had to go. He had to seek out this killer. He hadn't had a feeling like this in a long time. Not since he met Lulu. Then the feeling told him that it was the right path to follow her and he never regretted. Not once.
He said with a fond smile," I'll be back before you know it. I shouldn't be gone long. Trust me."
Fred gave him a long look with his piercing green eyes as said," You have one of your feelings again. Don't you?"
Mercy grinned as he said," I do."
"Ugh not again. Mercy the last time you had one of these feelings we got lost in a snowstorm," Fred growled.
He couldn't help it he laughed at his old friend. Fred quirked a small smile of his own and with that he was off. It would take him an hour to get to the small town by horse back. Taking Dorren wouldn't be the best idea even if he was faster.
He saddled up his horse Cadoc and led him out of the city. Once outside he could breathe a breath of fresh air. It had been awhile since he had gone outside of his city. Normally he was too busy running the kingdom and the alliance.
An hour later he was outside the town. Cadoc seemed to be happy to be outside as well. Still when they approached the town the townsfolk gave them looks of suspicion. It seemed that the cry for help had been genuine. Now they were suspicious of everyone.
He opened his jacket enough to show the symbol on his breast. It was a well recognized symbol by now. That of the Stray Dogs. The gold plating around his signified that he was the Lord of the Stray Dogs.
It didn't take long for suspicion to turn to gratefulness. They now knew that he was a friend not an enemy. He was met at the town center by the leader of the town.
He was a graying older man with kind brown eyes. The man held out his hand and said," Lord Mercy thank you for responding so quickly. My name is Robert I'm the appointed leader of the town. With war brewing on the horizon we weren't sure if you or your men had time to deal with the killer."
Mercy shook his hand and said," I came as soon as I could. We had to be sure that this killer wouldn't make his way to the kingdom's. Maybe we should take this some place more private?"
He had noticed that they were beginning to get a crowd. Somethings needn't be shared with the whole town. Especially since they didn't know if the killer was working with someone. Maybe for some extra money to feed their families. These were tough times for everyone after all.
Robert glanced around before nodding solemnly. It was obvious that he shared the other's concerns. Even in the kingdom's times were tough. Alliances and kingdom's that once took many refugees had closed their borders. More than once his own advisors had requested for him to do the same.
Yet he had been unable to. He remembered what it was like to have no place to go. He was not willing to let another go through the same fate that he had.
Robert led him to the village council hall. They went into one of the meeting rooms. In the room was a large wooden table that had many wooden chairs. The dust on the table spoke of how long it had been since it was used.
Once they had both taken a seat Robert handed his some paper. One sheet held a sketch of the victim. Under that was a brief biography of the person. The person had been a male of only 22 years. The male had planned on enlisting in the Stray Dog's army.
Mercy could find nothing in the papers that would cause someone to kill the man. He knew though things rarely were as plain as they seemed on paper. He would have to do his own investigation on the young man. First he needed to find the killer that was on loose.
Rubbing his eyes he asked," What do we know of the killer? Is there anyone that seems out of place in the town?"
Robert thought for a moment then he said," Two people have come into town since just before the attacks. One has already left and was a simple merchant. The other seems more like a drunk than anyone if consequence."
A drunk? Typically murderers did not stick around in a town to drink themselves drunk. Still it wouldn't hurt to speak to this person. Maybe their killer was just a reckless person. Something told him it wouldn't be so easy though.
He got directions to the town's bar and left immediately. It was still early in the day for someone to be drinking but he could at least scope the place out. To his surprise when he opened the door there was already someone there.
A man sat at the bar turned slightly so he could keep an eye on the door. He had black hair and piercing green eyes. Still the man barely glanced at him before returning to his drink. Mercy could see the outline of a sword at his hip and a bow and quiver across his back. He was wearing all black pieces of clothing. To the point were it was hard to see where one thing ended and another began. There was more to this man than just what he could see.
He decided to sit a few seats down from the man to watch him. He ordered an ale and pretended to sip at it. From his angle he couldn't see any identifying markers on the man. Even refugees kept their previous symbol until they found a new one. Yet this man had nothing.
Those green eyes were rare in Alantis. Few had eyes like that and most of them were presumed dead.
"What do you want? Can't you see I'm busy?" A gravelly voice asked. It took him several seconds to realise that it came from the unknown man.
The man's voice was gravelly and rough from obvious lack of use. No doubt he was not one to make simple conversation. If anything the man seemed to dislike him without even hearing him out.
Mercy sipped at his ale. It was strong and bitter to the taste. Nothing like what he was used to back home. Still if it would get his foot in the door with this guy. It would be worth it.
He replied calmly," I was requested to come to this town do to there being a killer on the loose. I wanted to be sure the killer would not come to the kingdom's."
The man quirked a small humorless smile as he asked," So you chose choose to bother me? I guess i should be honored that Lord Mercy of the Stray Dogs took time out of his day to bother a drunk."
The man seemed to be making fun of him. There was some kind of strange amusement in his eyes. It didn't last long though. Soon they were hard again as the door opened. The man's left hand went to rest on his sword's hilt.
Mercy turned to see what the problem was. Men in dark cloaks stood in the doorway assessing the bar. Their eyes fell upon the two of them. Silver unfamiliar crest adorned their shoulders. This showed them as leaders of whatever alliance they belonged to.
His companion was on his feet in half a second watching them as they moved forward. The man in the front said with a growl," In accordance to the laws set by Lord Mayhem you are under arrest for treason."
It was obvious that they knew Mercy was there. Otherwise they would have used the dark haired man's name.
His companion smiled a cold smile as he asked," What if i don't want to submit to arrest? What will you do? Kill me?"
There were five of them and only one of him. How in the hell did he expect to win this? Still the man's stance did not show arrogance but pure power. Like he knew exactly what he was doing.
"We will kill you if necessary. Surely not even you could take five armed men by himself?" The one who had spoken before said.
This wasn't his fight yet he stepped up next to the swordsman. Mercy said with a growl," He's not alone."
Their eyes narrowed at the sight of him. A dark grin appeared on the drunk's face as he said," Five of you idiots I could take easily. Drunk or sober. Yet my friend here wants a piece of you. So I'll take the three on the left. You can have the two on the right."
Mercy didn't even have a moment to protest as the man drew his sword. The bartender grumbled out as he ducked below his bar," Not again. Why does he always bring trouble to my doorstep? Klien you better pay for the damages."
Klien wasn't that the name of the former Black Hawks leader? He didn't have much time to consider the new information as he too drew his sword. Mercy blocked an overhand strike and stepped around to avoid a thrust to his gut. The men weren't playing around and they didn't care if they killed him.
He continued to block strikes but that was all he could do. Outnumbered he couldn't make any attacks of his own. As he blocked another attack though a knife buried itself into his opponents armpit. Normally the man's armor would have blocked it. Instead it slipped through the small weakness in the armor. Every armor had its weakness. Knees and armpits were most common.
Now he only that had one opponent to deal with he was able to disarm his opponent. When he turned to help his drunk friend he found the man pulling his sword free from one of the attacker's chest. On the floor of the bar lay two others with similar fatal wounds. There was no pity or regret in the man's gaze. Just simple acceptance. It was as if killing didn't bother him.
The man wiped the blood from his sword stoically before sheathing the blade. Cold eyes then turned to him and his living opponent.
"Why is he still alive? Kill him," The man demanded.
Mercy blinked then said," There is no reason to kill him."
The man snorted as he said," If you let him live he will only bring more. No it's better to end him and be done with it."
Mercy watched as the blood drained from the others face. Instead of being reassuring to the man he said," It is not the Stray Dogs way. I won't let you kill him."
The drunk said pulling his knife from the other opponent," If i wanted to kill you I would have done it already. Stand aside I cannot let word get out that I was here."
Mercy stubbornly stayed in front of the other. He would not stand aside and let a kill needlessly happen. Everyone had the potential to change if given the chance.
The man growled as he drew his knife again ready to throw it," Damn it! Move!"
Stubbornly he shook his head. During the fight he had come to realize that this man was the killer. This man who killed so easily was hesitating to kill him. He wasn't the lost cause that Mercy and many others thought he was. He just had to prove it.
Frowning Mercy said," If you want to kill him you will have to get through me. Something tells me you kill for a reason. That you don't kill innocent people. If I'm wrong prove it by killing me."
The knife wavered. It was ever so slight that if he hadn't been watching so closely he would have missed it. Most people would have put it up to him being drunk. Mercy knew better. The drinking wouldn't interfere with his skills so much. After all he had just taken down for people. One of which was with a perfectly executed knife through.
"Do you have a death wish? Is that why you are so insistent on dying?" The man growled.
Mercy replied softly," I could ask you the same thing. I don't know who you are but i can see your pain. There is something about you that is familiar. Yet I'm sure we have never met."
The man flinched. For a tense moment they just stared at each other. Mercy didn't want to move wrong and cause the man to kill him. That would defeat the purpose.
A voice from over the side of the bar said," Listen to the kid, Klien. He's not a bad guy. A little naïve but not a bad kid."
It was the bartender. It took him a moment to realize that was the second time someone called the man Klien. Could it really be?
Before he could scrutinize the man he sheathed his knife. He turned to them and said," I'll let you go this time. Tell Mayhem the next time he sends someone after me I'll publically disembowel them."
The only living opponet gulped loudly before nodding obviously terrified. Then with a sharp moment the man left. Leaving him alone with the bodies and one survivor. Not before he saw the black gold crest at the bottom of his shirt. The symbol of the Black Hawks.
