Brave Soldier
By Jemu Nekketsu
DISCLAIMER: I don't own either Brave Soul or Rune Soldier, much to my angst. I just like to write about them.
Chapter 2: Crazy Morning-Afters
"Damn it to hoolies, this place is a stinking monster hell-hole!" Rudy roared, "And I haven't even had breakfast yet!"
"Oh, pipe down, you're making my head hurt!" Carol snapped at the swordsman.
"I can't fight on an empty stomach! What kind of monster attacks before breakfast?" he continued his tirade, kicking a stray kobold corpse into a pile, or rather, the foot of the small hill where its brothers lay.
"I guess that makes them monsters, then," Karen supplied. "They clearly have no manners, Sensei."
"… Don't call me that."
Kobolds, as a whole, were not big threats. They weren't big, and don't present much of a challenge to a 7-strong adventuring party consisting of a swordsman, two priestesses, a summoner, a thief, a magician, and a princess with a magical gun under the normal circumstances. However, nighttime in the gloomy forest wasn't a normal circumstance, and the cunning little monsters took advantage of this, hurling knives, hand axes, and short spears at the party and ducking back into the brush. Their night vision allowed them to attack with impunity and retreat – until Carol and Clare started to unload their spells on the foliage and trees. Their cover gone, and the area lit up, the tables turned fatally for the kobolds. Marin quickly summoned a horde of Undines to put the forest fire out – while it was nice to be rid of the spooky forest once and for all, as Ruby pointed out, where would the monsters go except to any nearby human settlements?
The kobolds then tried another attack, this time before dawn, but the widened clearing limited their hit-and-hide plan.
"Carol, what do you think, were our recent attackers from the same pack?" Clare asked.
"Hmm, the fur color is the same, but the pattern is different. Interesting," Carol replied.
Rudy raised an eyebrow at the exchange. This was rare, Clare and Carol not sniping at each other like a new bride and her mother-in-law.
"Breakfast is ready! Come and get it!" Alicia yelled, causing another eyebrow-raise for Rudy. 'Something is going on in here, but that can wait after breakfast.'
The morning stillness was shattered by a shrill scream, followed by the sounds of a man in pain. Normally, this would have been cause for alarm, but not for two tired adventurers who had spent the night evading detection and capture from kobolds.
"Melissa's awake," Genie noted, facing the direction of the scream.
"And is staying true to form," Merill added. "Well, if this keeps up, we should meet up with them in no time."
Genie grunted in response, motioning for the other woman to get a move on.
"Why are you upset at me, Melissa? Is it because you woke up next to me, or rather, wrapped around me?" Louie couldn't resist asking. He liked the way Melissa's eyes gleamed when she was mad – or was about to launch another ray of searing light. He couldn't tell which was which – yet. He was optimistic that he would figure it out, eventually, assuming he didn't die during the interim.
"If you were any sort of gentleman, Louie, you will not mention that fact in public hearing!" Melissa snapped.
"Public hearing? Have you taken a look around at where we are, Melissa? There's nothing around us but trees, and I doubt they'd mind if they heard that we slept together last night." Hmm, not the best choice of words, I think, thought Louie.
A strangled gasp and a screech informed them that some people did mind hearing that particular tidbit of information.
"WHAT-?!"
"Did I just hear you say you slept with Melissa?!"
"Oh, Genie, Merill, you're finally here! Just in time, I was about to make pancakes for breakfast. Are pancakes alright with you, or-" Louie never got to finish his sentence, as Melissa's self-proclaimed protectors proceeded to turn him into a pancake.
"This is very much against my will," Melissa lamented softly, as usual, to herself.
'Suck it up and deal with it, woman. Adversity builds character, or haven't you heard?'
'I never should have listened to you,' Melissa hurled back at her subconscious.
'Would you rather have spent the night getting chilled, and woken up alone in the morning? Oh, and try to prevent your protectors from killing our champion, hmm?'
'They wouldn't.' She hoped that it was true.
'They just might – after all, those two see you more than a friend, you're practically sisters. All you need is some ceremony that specifies what you can, will, and will not share, some witnesses, and that's it!'
Melissa's subconscious didn't have to worry – much as Genie and Merill wanted to stomp Louie into the ground, exhaustion finally caught up with them, and they ended up using the magician's limp form as a cushion. Melissa's brow twitched.
"Melissa, help me. I can't move," Louie pleaded.
It was going to be one of those days. She just knew it.
Unknown to the humans, word was spreading among the demi-humans of the previous night's firefight. The various kobold packs were in disarray – two packs downed by the same group of humans. It was clear that this party of humans was a threat, but what was their purpose here? Were they the same as the other bands that entered, intent on exterminating all non-humans in the forest, even though it was clear that it was the humans who did not belong here? Clearly, something must be done about them, but as their numbers and skills stand, it would take a bloody toll on them, with the results still uncertain.
The same thoughts were shared by a clan of black-skinned orcs. It was one thing to go against other demi-human warbands, where losses made sense in the face of all the number of bodies involved in the fighting, but for a mere fistful of humans to take out more than their weight in kobolds was saying something else. Even kobolds could pull orcs down by sheer numbers, trickery and dogged determination, causing losses in a warband of comparable size, but if reports were true, none of the band of seven suffered any serious damage. They attributed it to magic – setting the forest on fire to flush out the kobolds was a sound tactic, but the trees in this dark forest did not take flame easily from pitch and torches. Perhaps, they could play the humans against their rivals, and strike them down when the opportunity presented itself.
The discussion in the camp of green-skinned orcs was taking a different tack entirely.
"Boss! Dem 'umies jus' up and wacked da stuffin' outta couple a gangz o' dogboyz!"
"Couple a gangz? Dat makes, lemme see, twenty, twenny-eight, uh, whutz afta twenny-eight?"
"Uh, thirty – no, no, I got it thirty an' nine, yeah!"
"Huh! So, dat many 'umies came in ta our woodz?"
"Nuh-uh! I hear 'em sneakboyz say it were just seven of 'em!"
"Seven!? Them sneakboyz must be sniffin' them finger-leaves again! There's no way seven 'umies can take down two gangz o' dogboyz!"
"Dem 'umies wuz usin' a lotta flashy trikz and settin' stuff on fire. I saw it m'self."
"SO! Dey like settin' stuff on fire, ey? HUR HUR HUR HUR HUR!"
"I don't like da sound of dis – da Boss is laughin'."
"Yer! Da boss laughs funny!"
"Not dat, stupid! When da Boss laughs, it means plenty o' pain comin' up!"
"Lissen up, ya lazy bunch a gitz! We'z goin' huntin'! We'z gonna be pickin' a fight wi' deze 'umies dat think dey's can set my forest on fire! On yer feet, Boyz! All together, wi' me!!"
The forest's eerie silence was shattered by a single loud roar, echoing among the trees.
"WAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHH!!!"
The roar brought Genie and Merill to instant attention. They made their way, slowly, to their feet, with Louie pulling his staff from his pack, and Melissa had hers out and was gripping it as she prayed to Mylee.
"I'm beginning to have second thoughts about the sanity of sticking around this place," Louie muttered.
Melissa ignored him. "Genie, Merill, are you alright?"
"We had some shut-eye, and a bit of food before, so I figure we'll be alright," Genie replied.
"What the hell made that awful noise?" Merill asked.
"Something I hope we don't have to meet in the near future," Melissa replied.
"Aw, come on, don't be like that! It's obviously the guardian for the forest's secret treasure. It's partly what we came here for, right?" Louie countered.
"If I remember correctly, we were here to look for 'a great treasure.' I don't recall 'avoiding becoming dog food' and fighting as part of our goals here," Merill whined.
Another loud 'WAAAAGGGHH!' resounded through the trees, and Louie felt a tremendous surge of sorcery a mere second before columns of fire roared up some distance to their right. Inhuman screams filled the air, as did the scent of charred flesh. Melissa felt her stomach rebel, and cupped a hand to her face to fight the wave of nausea.
"We better move!" Louie cried out. Genie nodded, then glanced at Melissa, who was turning into a sickly shade of green. "We need to move quickly, Melissa. Are you up to it?"
"I don't know," the priestess answered honestly.
Thunder boomed as Louie felt lightning magic being flung about, and the resulting increase in screams proved that somebody meant serious business. The sounds of battle, of steel clashing against steel, of blades ripping through flesh, were getting closer and closer.
"I'll cast a spell that'll make us move much faster – it'll make our walking speed after casting it faster than our running speed before!" Louie said.
"Do it, magician!"
"Years for minutes, moments for life! Haste!" Louie intoned.
"I don't feel any different. Are you sure it worked, Louie?" Merill asked.
Before the magician could answer, a group of green-skinned hulking humanoids looking badly tattered and singed stumbled into the clearing where the four were. Genie recognized the breed. "Orcs!"
Suddenly, one orc's head was loped off, courtesy of Genie's broadsword. Two of Merill's daggers found homes in two of the creatures' thick skulls, and a fourth was sent crashing through the trees by Louie's fist. Before the remaining orcs could act, another six of them were out of commission, leaving only seven. With their newfound speed, Louie, Merill, and Genie were able to take care of remainder. The only damage they sustained was a long rip in Louie's cape, where an orc's wrist-claw managed to snag it.
"Wow, I guess that the haste spell worked. Looks like I owe you one, Louie," Merill quipped.
"The last ones fled here onii-chan – eh?"
Louie and company stared at the green-clad, pink-haired female that suddenly burst through the foliage, sporting cat ears on her head and brandishing a spear.
"Wait up, Marin – huh?" A brown-haired swordsman followed, appearing from the direction of the battle and magical explosions, a long narrow-bladed sword in his hands.
Genie and Merill, who still had their weapons out, tensed, holding their arms ready. Louie strode in front of the two, much to their dismay, and asked, "So, was it you guys we heard earlier roaring loudly enough to wake the dead?"
The swordsman spoke up, "That wasn't us, it was those orcs whom we dispatched that made the racket. Looks like you had a run in with them as well."
"Yeah, well, they sure make a lot of noise, but don't have much to back it up with. I think my haste spell was overkill."
Haste spell? Rudy thought, appraising the speaker. He spoke like a magician, referring to spells nonchalantly like Carol, and yet he had a longsword strapped to his belt. He couldn't be… "Ah, where are my manners? I'm Rudy, a Hunter from Valencia. And you are?"
At the mention of the words 'Hunter' and 'Valencia,' Genie stiffened and cried out, "Don't answer him! Don't give him your name!"
"Why, Genie?"
"Agh, you had to drop names, didn't you!" Merill whacked him on the head.
"Ow, Merill, what was that for?"
Rudy's eyes gleamed briefly. I better take Karen as a tag-along on my next missions – it makes moments like these happen more often. So, we have Genie the blademistress, Merill the little thief, and voila! Our mission is almost over. "Your friend who looked like she was about to throw up, her name is Melissa, isn't it, Mr. Rune Soldier?"
"Hey! You know my name! Am I famous?"
"Aw, hell, now look what you've done!" Genie moaned.
"What is it with you guys?! Is there something I'm not seeing here? Let's have some explanations, Mr. Rudy, Hunter of Valencia, since my friends here won't tell me a thing."
"Sure. I'm a Hunter, Rune Soldier. I take on various requests – I investigate rumors, I retrieve lost items, I locate missing persons, and take on the occasional bodyguard mission. If the price is right, or if I feel like it, I'll consider taking your request. With me so far?"
"Yeah, and please, call me Louie. It's weird being addressed as Rune Soldier – I didn't even make that title up."
"Okay, Louie. Now, my last request was from a certain high-ranking nobleman from a kingdom called Ohfun. It seems he wants a certain fighter/magician brought before him, so he could 'give the young man what he so richly deserves for his actions.' When I asked for particulars, I was informed that he would be traveling with three women: swordswoman, a thief, and a priestess. Sounds like anyone you know?" Rudy gave him a grin.
Genie's hands tightened around her sword hilt, while Merill's arms ached from holding her knives in a ready position. Louie took a step back. "You're- you're hunting me, is that it?"
"Yup. That pretty much sums it up. So, are you ready to go? My client is waiting."
"Sorry, but I don't intend to return to Ohfun anytime soon!" Louie cried out. He brought out a small orb, the one he used for teleporting, and spun around to retrieve Melissa – only to see her standing still, a knife held to her throat by a redhead standing behind her.
"I'm afraid we can't allow you to do that, Mr. Magician," the redhead drawled.
"Nice going, Ruby, I didn't notice you back there," Rudy called out.
"You weren't supposed to," came Ruby's reply.
"I thought you were a city thief – had you had some ranger training too?"
"Moving undetected in the brush isn't too different from moving inside a mansion, just a bit more challenging."
As Genie and Merill watched in dismay, the rest of Rudy's party made their way through the trees and stood behind him and Marin.
"What took you guys so long?" Rudy asked.
"We had to take care of the bodies, so as not to attract any more attention," a blue-haired woman with a rapier answered.
"Clare had enough presence of mind to see to that – unlike present company here," a pink-haired woman retorted. "Seriously what were you two thinking? You could have run into more monsters, and there were just two of you!"
"Aw, Carol, I didn't know you cared," Rudy joked, then hit the grass suddenly as Carol flung a fire bolt at his head.
"We were all worried about you, Mr. Swordsman," said another blue-haired girl, who bore a striking resemblance to the one called Clare.
"Ah, Alicia, could you not stand too close to your sister – I can't tell you two apart," complained a blonde in a white and pink traveling dress.
"You can tell us apart by our clothes and gear, can you not, Karen? I don't wear armor like Clare does, and I carry a staff."
Rudy got to his feet, careful to put Marin between him and Carol's line of fire. "So, Louie, we have a hostage, and we outnumber you 2 to 1. Not good odds for you, if it comes to a fight."
"Y- yeah. How about letting the hostage go? In fact, let everyone else go – it's me the king wants, not them, right?"
"Actually, the king wants to return the favor to 'the heroes who defeated Dardanel.' Note that he meant a group, not a single person in this case."
"It's hopeless, then. The reputation of the Hunters of Valencia is well deserved," Genie sighed, sheathing her broadsword.
"Genie?" Merill asked, unsure, her gaze flicking from her dejected friend, to her captured friend, to the man leading their capture. With a curse, she stowed her knives away. "I hate this!"
"Louie?" Rudy asked. When he got no response, he continued, "What did you guys do that made the king desperate enough to hire us from Valencia?"
"Why do you have to ask? Didn't you see the damage?"
"What damage?"
"The damage to the castle! We dropped a huge floating magical device on it, by accident, after foiling Dardanel's plans."
"The castle was impressive, massive, gorgeous, when we came to see the king. Whatever damage you guys did, someone must have been busy and cleaned it up after you left."
"Must have been my father," Louie mused. "Now I owe him as well."
"Ruby, can you bring the priestess over – I've finished binding these two with magic," Carol called out, "And we'll do her next."
"Finally – my arm is getting sore. I apologize that we have to resort to this, priestess, it's just that we can't take any chances with your burly friend," Ruby drawled.
"I know – in your place, I would have done the same, if I saw one of your members vulnerable," Melissa replied. "Lord Mylee generally disapproves of such tactics, but it does prevent unnecessary bloodshed."
"Lord Mylee?" the thief asked.
"He's my deity – the deity of my order. He's a god of battle."
"God of battle – that means, your quarterstaff isn't just to focus spells with, right? You can fight with it, if it comes to that."
"Yes."
"Heh, totally the opposite of our mild-mannered Alicia."
Louie came to a decision. "Alright, we'll return to Ohfun with you."
"As prisoners, or of your free will?" Rudy asked.
"What's the difference?" Louie demanded.
"Simple. If you return as prisoners, we'll keep you under magical restraint for the remainder of our trip. If it's of your free will, we will demand on your word of honor that you not try to elude us – do so and we will hunt you down and take you back with force. If you behave, though, we in turn are honor-bound to keep you in good condition before your meeting with our client."
"In other words, the hard way, or the easy way, nya!" Marin piped up.
