Aqua Crest: The Smothering Blade

Chapter 1: Spontaneous Girl of the Plains

A young girl danced about in the plains of Sacae. Her name was Lyndis and her family had been butchered by a group of bandits.

But Lyndis knew that there was no point in moping around. As the sole survivor, she had to find a way to survive, and avenge the loved ones she had lost. (1.)

So as she kept her fake smiles and her awkward dancing, she found a young man lying prone on the ground.

The girl waved her long teal hair away from her eyes and examined the man. He wore a dirty, old cloak and carried a small book in his hand. Carefully prying the book from his fingers, Lyn noticed that it was a book on military strategy.

"Silly scholar..." Lyn shook her head. "Instead of getting yourself rations, or a canteen, or a sword, or armor, you brought a strategy book, as if you could survive and defend yourself with a strategy book. What was he planning, to eat the pages of the book for nourishment and use its thick cover to whack foes?" Lyn stood there for a moment, and realized that if she left him out here, he'd surely die in the cold. Thus, she brought him into her ger, a nomadic tent similar to a yurt, and had him rest there.

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"Urg... Where am I?" Billy shook his head, slowly waking up.

"Get up, you lazy oaf!" A shrill voice pierced the air.

"Gah!" Billy jumped up. "Who are you?!"

The girl smiled sweetly. "I'm Lyn. I found you unconscious on the plains."

"And you kidnapped me?"

"Well, I was going to put it differently, but... Yes..."

"I'll give you anything... Just give me freedom... I can't go back to Catholic school. Please, I beg of you, let me free!"

Lyn blinked. "Well, I'll give you your freedom..."

Billy grabbed her leg and looked at her pleadingly.

"... If you help me plan and stuff."

"You have a deal." Billy nodded.

Lyn nodded and smiled at her new man-slave, and popped her head outside of her ger. She spotted two woodcarvers who were standing around doing absolutely nothing.

"Hey, Billy..." She mumbled, retreating back into the tent.

"Yeah?"

"Wanna go kill some random bystanders with axes?"

"Sure..."

And so, with some coaching from Billy, Lyn took down both axemen.

"We were chopping wood in the forest... Honestly..." The axeman with the larger muscles among the two murmured as Lyn put her blade to his neck.

"Sure you were..." Lyn smiled sweetly as she took his life.

"So, um, what do we do now?"

"Let's travel... And stuff..."

"Huzzah!"

And, so, Lyn and Billy traversed the land of Elibe.

At a nearby town, they met two riders, Kent and Sain...

And while Sain tried to sneak a peek up Lyn's dress, Kent informed her that her grandfather was lord of Caelin. Unfortunately, it seemed her granduncle wanted both her grandfather and Lyn dead, and would probably send armies of men to get rid of her.

"Well, I signed up to help you plan and stuff, but taking down hordes of foes who'll try to kill you because you're a threat to some madman's throne is not my specialty, so I'll see you." Billy was about to sprint away back to town, when Lyn ran forward and grabbed his collar.

"Oh, no you don't, Billy! If you leave, I'll have Kent and Sain pursue you to the ends of the earth... And they'll skewer you the moment they see you!"

"But, Lyn... After all I've done for you, you'd kill me?!..."

"No, but the point is... DON'T LEAVE ME, BILLY, I LOVE YOU!"

Billy smiled. "Oh, in that case, I'll stick with you forever."

"Thank you, Billy!" Lyn moaned, tears of joy in her eyes.

"Erm... So... Milady, your orders?" Kent looked at the awkward scene with calm discomfort.

"Oh, right, I almost forgot... Kent, go kill random people with axes and lances, just whoever you find threatening. Sain, go help him."

"Of course, Milady!" Sain cheered and charged forward.

"To think an honorable knight would be forced to travel with this crowd..." Kent sighed solemnly.

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As they moved on, they found other party members: Will, a traveling journalist who happened to be proficient with the bow, Florina, a pegasus knight who feared men for no apparent reason, and Dorcas, a family man who needed money.

"So Lyndis's Legion valiantly marches forward. The flora glisten when the lady marches above them, and the various fauna of the land trot beside these mighty heroes in celebration of their kindness. Lyndis's Legion shall crush the forces of evil wherever they hide. We men of honor and glory shall prevail! No villain can stand in our way!" Will would mumble merrily, frantically jotting down random bits of text and gibberish about Lyndis and her band with journalistic excellence, but Kent would read his writing and remind him: "I think you're referring to the wrong group of people."

They marched forward, meeting new people very day.

They found the sweet and kind Sister Serra, who, through flirtatious tactics, convinced Sain that Erk, the mage who was her escort, was abusing her. Erk continued to plead his innocence, and, thankfully, Billy and Lyn didn't really care and invited both into their army.

But the odd couple weren't the only allies they found...

After some time, they arrived at Castle Araphen, and found it under attack. After an Assassin tried to kill Lyn, as usual, he was defeated and Lyn spotted a new face.

"Hi there, bowman on a horse, what's your name?" Lyn suddenly squealed at a tribal man who looked like a fellow plainsman.

"..." The stern-faced warrior on a horse glanced at Lyn in response, and pointed to a small group of woven letters on his shirt.

Lyn read them, and gasped. "Oh, so you're Rath?" Lyn smiled at him.

"..." Rath stared at her with that same stern expression.

"I'll take that as a yes."

"..."

"So, shall we fight the enemy together?" Lyn asked with a smile, but anyone could tell that it was forced.

Rath nodded, and pointed at a nearby wall. He suddenly grabbed one of his arrows, and snapped it slightly. He pointed at the partially broken arrow, and back at the wall, and nodded.

Lyn looked at him curiously, but Billy suddenly spoke up. "Oh, so the wall's weakened?"

Rath nodded.

"So if we destroy the wall, what happens?"

Rath took a rock, put in on the ground, and had his horse step on the rock. Then he pried the horse's mouth open.

"So there will be something inside the room revealed when we destroy the wall, and when we enter that room and step on a button or tile, another room will be revealed to us?" Billy spoke sagely.

Rath nodded, and applauded Billy. Rath then took out a book, pointed at Billy, pointed at it, and smiled.

"Thank you." Billy smiled. Lyn stared at both men strangely. "Erm... Ok, Billy, you take the lead."

"Alright, then, Rath, let's do this!" Billy raised his fist in the air.

"..."

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Sain, Kent, Rath, Dorcas, Will, Lyn, these warriors fought bravely and excellently, and when the battle was over Lyn was invited to meet Rath's lord, though it took Billy's translating skills to inform her of this meeting.

Rath, Lyn, Billy, and Kent entered the great hall where Rath's lord greeted them. Lyn walked up to Rath's lord, who took one look at her and exclaimed. "Back, BACK you menace!"

"Huh?" Lyn stared at him strangely.

"She's a filthy nomad! A half-ling! Unfit for this society! Stay back!" The lord gasped.

Lyn scoffed. "What a filthy racist!" And stormed off. Billy and the rest of her men followed her, except for Rath.

Rath glared at his lord.

"Rath, what's the matter?"

"..." Rath pointed at the feathers on his head, and pointed at the bangle he was wearing that represented years of service to the lord.

"Oh, I'm not against you, Rath. Not at all. As you've pointed out, you've served me for a long time."

Rath took one good, long look at the lord, and suddenly gave him a punch to the face. The nomad quickly reared his horse and rode away.

"Rath, get back here! RATH!"

"..."

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"Rath? What are you doing here?" Lyn asked when she saw the nomad appear.

"..." Rath took off the bangle and had his horse trample it.

"So you're joining us?" Billy asked.

Rath nodded.

"That's wonderful!"

"..." Rath nodded again.

Our heroes marched on, with Rath in tow.

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After a long and grueling march, they finally arrived at Castle Caelin.

Lundgren, Lyn's granduncle, battled Lyn and her forces with great vigor and skill, but Billy, who was quite a spectacular strategist, used Rath's talent with hand signals and gestures, Will's talent in writing, Sain's talent in distracting the enemy, Serra's talent in driving them mad, and Kent's stalwart seriousness to his advantage. While Sain and Serra distracted the enemy, Rath would signal their comrades to surge forward and attack, and Will wrote down the positions of enemy troops and would relay that information to Rath, who would report to their comrades through interpretive dance. Kent would slay the vast majority of their foes with the cry: "For Lyndis!" This, of course, made Sain suspicious of him. Was Kent just as lecherous, only that he knew how to hide those feelings?

Finally, Lyn and her grandfather met face to face. The heroes of Lyndis's legion disbanded, except for Sain, Kent, and Will, who stood by Lyn's side. Rath gave his comrades a final dance to inform them of his whereabouts, but, realizing that none of them understood him, he left with a heavy heart. Florina, too, was about to leave but Lyn convinced her to stay, and Billy left far into the distance, bearing his friends farewell.

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1. Contrary to what the game might tell you, relatives who are NPCs and do nothing to help you in your darkest hour are considered dead.