If Ike was at all nervous for this, his first mission with the Greil Mercenaries, he certainly wasn't showing it to his colleagues. He didn't even complain about walking all the way to Caldea village, which, Oscar noted, was something his brother Boyd did not avoid on his first job. Ike's focus was solely on the job at hand, and on proving himself to his father. He realized he still had a very long way to go, but he also knew he wasn't the pup he once was. Now he had the chance to prove it.
Focused though he was, he didn't fail to notice the wagoneer approaching from the other side of a river bridge not far from the village, though not before team leader Titania did. He even recognized the driver, a reedy man with white streaks in his sickly green hair. He went by the name Sthensar, and he was a traveling merchant. He'd dealt with the Greil Mercenaries before, though not often. When he carried instruments of war such that mercenaries would be interested in, they were always enchanted in some way, and thus fairly expensive. Ike had only ever seen him make one sale to the mercenary company, a tome purchased by Soren, though he had given them a number of useful contacts and information, and he was considered a friend to the company.
"Ho, my friends!" the green-haired man called to them as he casually drove his mule towards them. The pale-faced man had an outgoing personality, but the kind of face one automatically distrusts, and his right eye did not quite look the same way its mate did. "What brings you out this way?"
"Business." Titania answered him. "We've been called to Caldea village."
"Ah, how fortuitous, then, that I should run across you now!" the merchant replied, pulling his mule to a halt. "I just so happen to be carrying some goods that would serve you very well in the coming battle."
"What makes you think it's a battle we're going to?" Ike asked him suspiciously.
"My young friend, why else would the esteemed Greil Mercenaries be called on business to a small village like Caldea?" Sthensar said with a businessman's smile. "If I were to make a guess... Bandits near the town?"
"In it, actually." Titania corrected him.
"All the more reason to have a fine weapon in hand." said Sthensar as he reached behind him into his wagon, and produced a sheathed sword. "Ike, my young friend, come and try this blade on for size." he offered, holding the hilt of the weapon towards Ike.
"I don't really need a new sword right now."
"You've not tried this one."
Ike spared a glance at Titania. "Do we have time for this right now?"
"I believe so. I don't think anything will change at Caldea in the next few minutes."
"Well, I suppose there's no harm in trying." Ike said with a shrug as he accepted the red-hilted sword from the merchant. "Good weight." he muttered, hefting the weapon a couple of times to test the feel of it, then drew the bastard sword. It was just a bit shorter than the sword belted at his hip, but it was lighter, made of paler steel, and there was a symbol Ike didn't recognize emblazoned upon the flat of the sword.
"And for you, Boyd, I have this." Sthensar said as Ike examined his sword. The merchant handed Boyd an two-headed axe that was, like Ike's, not quite as large as the weapon he carried, but still strong and bearing that character. The edges of both glowed with a very pale pink aura as the two young warriors swung them through the air.
"This is pretty light." Ike remarked as he went through one of his practice routines with the sword. "It looks heavier than it is."
"You will find that the sword, and the axe, Boyd, attune themselves to their wielders. They feel just as heavy as is ideal for you, but they generate much less fatigue than a normal sword. For every one time you could swing an iron blade, you could swing that sword seven times, even eight!" Sthensar extolled, smiling easily. "That of course is in addition to the fact that the weapons pierce armor more easily than a mundane weapon."
"As usual, you make a good sales pitch." Titania said tolerantly. "But I'm afraid there's still the usual problem-"
"How much? That question doesn't have the usual reply, my lady. You see, I am selling these weapons on behalf of a third party, one who operates under rather unusual principals. They do not believe in collecting any money until they recieve reports of customer satisfaction." Sthensar aims one eye at Titania while the other looks down at Ike. "To that end, you may use the weapons today as a trial, to see if they meet your satisfaction. And if they do, then we can negociate a fair price at a later time, when it is more convenient for you." he explains with a polite inclination of his head.
"You're not worried about them breaking before you sell them?" Oscar asks the merchant.
"My dear Oscar, those weapons would not break unless you were wielding them against the scales of the most ancient of Goldoan dragons." Sthensar replied confidently. "Perhaps not even then."
Oscar grimaced at the somewhat unsightly merchant. "If you please, don't call me that. It is... uncomfortable, somehow."
Rather than seem offended, Sthensar laughs lightly. "My apologies, sir knight."
"I'll take you up on that offer." says Ike as he raises his magical blade. "I think I can get some good use out of this blade."
"Same here." Boyd adds quickly. "Can't let Ike be the only one with a new toy."
"Splendid, young men!" the merchant exclaimed before reaching down into the footwell of his wagon. "Now, my lady knight, I am afraid I have but the one axe to offer. I do have a spear, however, if you've an interest, sir Oscar?"
"Just Oscar will suffice. And thank you for the offer, but, no. My spear is neither enchanted nor special, but it has served me well enough so far."
Sthensar nods his acknowledgement as he makes a note in a ledger of his. "Perfectly understandable, good sir. Well," he says as he replaces his ledger in the footwell. "I suppse I should keep you no longer. After all, we all have work to be attenting to."
"Indeed." Ike replied, belting his new sword onto his right hip. "Take care, Sthensar."
The cant-eyed merchant gives the Greil Mercenaries a friendly wave as they take their leave of him, resuming their course towards Caldea village, sending his right eye shifting in its socket. "Wield your blades well, young men..."
Thus, a little more than an hour later, Ike and his three comrades arrived at the village of Caldea. The sight of the armed bandits that had occupied the town, the ones they had been charged with driving off, might have filled some fledgling mercenaries with trepidation, but not Ike. He kept his resolve and his patience, waiting for Titania to offer her instructions before engaging the enemy.
"Our primary target is the mansion at the back of the village." the red-headed paladin explained, pointing out the building in question with her axe. "The bandits leader is inside. We take him out, and secure the building. After that, the rest of the bandits should either flee or surrender."
"Now remember, Ike, try not to do too much yourself." Oscar reminded his young friend. "It's not hard to get ahead of the rest of the group, and that can get you in deadly trouble. We don't want you getting in over your head on your first job."
Ike nods at the green armored knight. "I'll be careful. Oscar, Boyd, thanks for your support." Drawing his blade, Ike turned his attention to the enemies before him. He spared one more glance at his new sword, the finely-edged blade that glowed faintly pink. It was a new sword, but it felt right and strong. He trusted in himself, his friends, and his weapons. Ike was ready.
Being the most experienced of the group, Titania rode out ahead of the men to draw off and engage the bulk of the bandits in the village, leaving Ike to head north, while Boyd headed west to clear out the lower parts of the village. Ike didn't have to wait too long before he had need of his blade, either. A pockmarked man with messy brown hair walking down a dusty lane met his gaze almost as soon as Ike had entered the village proper. He took one look at the grim faced and armed mercenary and quickly drew his rust-sploched axe. "Someone's looking for trouble." he snarled at Ike.
Ike's only reply was to raise his blade and charge forward. The bandit laughed an ugly laugh and readied his axe, thinking Ike a mere boy playing with a fancy sword he found. All he could see was the money he'd make selling a sword that nice. He was totally unprepared for Ike's demonstration of skill when he sidestepped the bandit's opening swing and returned the favor, laying open the bandit's stomach. The bandit blinked with incomprehension, not only at the display of skill on Ike's part, but also that the wound did not ache like it should. It seemed to tingle, somehow, an actually pleasant sensation. He did not have time to dwell on it for too long, however, as Ike brought his sword down across the bandit's chest in a massive two-handed swing, and the man with the pockmarked face crumpled to the ground.
There wasn't as much blood as Ike had expected there to be. In fact, both wounds seemed remarkably clean, if such a term could be applied to fatal battle wounds. He heard Oscar ride up next to him, but the knight barely had time to say a word before a house in the northern part of town burst into flames. Both mercs felt this was no accident, and with a quick look, each one knew the other knew it was the bandits that had done it. And that, despite that, whoever lived in that house may need their help. "Go." Ike said quickly. "I'll watch your back." Oscar nodded sharply then kicked his horse into action, leaving Ike follow behind him and make sure no enemies came up behind his colleague. With that task on his mind, he didn't notice the pink energy glowing in the wounds of the bandit he had just cut down. He didn't know, couldn't know, that that same energy in his sword was now coursing its way through the flesh of the bandit who was not quite as dead as he appeared to be...
Even though no enemies appeared to impede Ike's progress, he still had to struggle not to let Oscar get too far ahead of him. By the time he'd caught up with his green-armored comrade, Oscar had found the bandits that had destroyed the house. One of them was already down, the wound in his neck mortal, but Oscar was now being attacked from two sides as an axe carrying muscular bandit worked around behind him with a smaller cutthroat tried to fend off Oscar's deadly spear.
Before Ike could join the frey, Oscar, showing his skill and expertise, goaded his horse into kicking out behind it, catching the axe-man in his burly chest and sending him sprawing to the ground. Not wanting to let the man get back up and menace his friend, Ike reversed the grip of his sword, lunged at the scar-faced man and drove his blade down into his chest. The bandit's hand released his axe as the man let out an unintelligable gurgle, his head rolling back to rest on the ground.
Ike looked up to see if Oscar needed further assistance, but the rough-looking swordsman was clearly overmatched by the Greil Mercenary. So Ike turned his attention to the large house to his left: the target house. And standing in the doorway, carrying an iron axe, was the man Titania identified as the bandit's leader. The man named Zawana swing his axe derisively at Ike. "I thought we were facing a bunch of sellswords, but you're nothing but a boy. Well, every brat needs a beating now and then. Ready for it?
"Not today." Ike replied grimly, approaching the bandit in the ragedy shirt, his sword glowing more strongly. "If you want to run away, now's your chance."
Zawana laughed an ugly laugh. "Imagine that, you sassing me. Don't that beat all. Come on, boy!" he cried, swinging his axe at Ike. Ike blocked the blow, but sensed straightaway that this bandit was different than the two he'd beaten before. Stronger, yes, and he wielded his axe with some skill. But he didn't seem to be as good as Boyd, Ike thought as he struck back at Zawana, stabbing the bandit chief in his left shoulder. If he could beat Boyd, he could beat this man.
He wouldn't do it bloodlessly, though, as Zawana's return swing got past Ike's defenses, striking the young man in the ribs. At least one was broken, Ike thought, but that wasn't enough to stop him. Especially not since Zawana's strike had left his left side wide open. Ike wasted no time in gripping his sword with both hands and driving the blade into Zawana's flank. The outlaw gasped in surprise, yet still managed to take one last swing with his axe at Ike. The son of Greil merely took a step back, pulling his glowing sword out of Zawana's side and letting the bandit's axe nick him in the chest, barely breaking his skin, before deliberately running the bandit chief through.
Then Ike heard Oscar yelling his name from where Ike had killed the last bandit before facing Zawana. Seeing the bandit chief in no condition to strike at him, Ike spared a quick glance at the screaming knight, then turned completely, his attention entirely diverted from Zawana. The scar-faced bandit that he'd impaled earlier was now glowing, a brilliant pink and white light. In the backlight from the buring house, Ike had somehow missed it, but there was no way to miss it now. It had to be a consequence of his sword, but Ike had never heard of a sword that could do that to a body. And despite the brilliance of the light, Ike was certain that the form was no longer that of the bandit. To his keen eyes, it seemed somehow female.
And indeed, when the light faded a moment later, the very male bandit that Ike had stabbed was now very female, and very pretty at that. And the biggest surprise, she wasn't dead. There was no sign of the stab wound Ike had inflicted upon the bandit.
Stunned, Ike turned back to Zawana. With no threat to him present, Ike was able to see the mystical energy in the bandit's wounds. "That's impossible..." Ike muttered as he saw the light begin to dance in Zawana's empty eyes.
"What's happening here?" Oscar cried, as confused as Ike himself.
The young swordsman looks down at the magic sword in his hand, the glow surrounding it the same glow as the light that suffused the downed bandit, the one now spreading across and through Zawana's skin. "It's... This sword. It has to be! But I don't... Oh heavens, Boyd!" he yelled, turning back towards the entrance to the village, the way Boyd had went. Boyd, who was wielding the same kind of magical weapon that Ike was. Sure enough, towards the south end of the village he saw his fellow mercenary, along with Titania, speaking with two women wearing the same sort of clothing that the other bandits had been, carrying weapons the same kind of weapons the bandits had been using.
"How could Sthensar not have told us this..." Ike muttered to himself, stunned by the magic on display. "What was his plan?"
Lost in thought, Ike didn't notice that Zawana's body had become completely suffused by the light of the sword. Even if he had noticed, he wouldn't have been able to tell what the light was doing to the bandit chief. The power of the sword was racing through not only Zawana's body but his soul, seeking the blackness within him and scourging it, purifying the ugliness of his spirit. The magic consumed evil like a glutton consumed food, but the process was not a painful one. All Zawana's body was registering was a pleassurable tingle.
At least it was at times. His mind was changing as well as his body. The events of his life were passing through his mind, before his eyes, reflecting on his life almost faster than his conscious mind could process. The dark deeds of the man's life now evoked a sense of guilt in the changing woman's mind. There was an acknowledgement of guilt for the wrongs he had committed, and a growing desire to make up for them. To do right from then on. That joy and satisfaction could be found in better places. In the light. Now, she was meant for better things.
None of these things were known to Ike. All he knew was, when the light faded from the bandit leaders body, he, like his cohorts, was now a she. Her hair was a softer shade of blue, as were her eyes. She still had a sizable nose, but it wasn't as pronounced as it was before. And her tattered brown tunic and bandolier were a bit strained to contain the new woman's bosom.
Ike didn't know what to make of Zawana now. When she stirred, groaning slightly, he reflexively gripped his sword tighter, but relaxed it when he saw Zawana's axe slip from her hands to clatter to the ground. The bandit chief sighed deeply then fell limply forward. Ike leaned in impulsively to catch the falling woman, steadying her before she hit the ground. "Passed out..." the mercenary muttered to himself. He looked over at Oscar again, who had dismounted and was now tending to the downed bandit, who seemed nearly as dazed as his- her- leader. The look in the green-haired knight's eyes seemed to say the same thing that Ike was thinking to himself: "Now what?"
When the day started, Ike knew that his first mission would be, in some small way at least, not entirely what he expected it to be. But this was beyond his wildest dreams. Looking down at his magical sword, Ike scowled and muttered aloud, "Sthensar's got a lot of explainign to do."
