Sorry about the long wait. The file system in which I store my ideas and stuff crashed deleting a lot of stuff. I had to rewrite everything. Anyways, this will update more frequently I hope.
Usual disclaimer, yadda, yadda, I don't own anything, it belongs to intelligent systems. One Gag Inspired(Stolen) from FMA.
"Go with me to a notary, seal me there
Your single bond; and, in a merry sport,
If you repay me not on such a day,
In such a place, such sum or sums as are
Express'd in the condition, let the forfeit
Be nominated for an equal pound
Of your fair flesh, to be cut off and taken
In what part of your body pleaseth me."
Shylock-The Merchant of Venice
It's warm.
I wonder where I am?
Did I really die again?
Am I waking up now?
Luso's eyes opened slowly and gazed at the moon. Its silver light illuminated the forest, and gave the waxy leaves a dull glow.
"I'll have to admit, Your resistance to magic is still terrible." Issaic muttered while peeling off a bandage on Luso's arm. Although it was covered with burn blisters and frankly looked terrible, it was numb and actually didn't hurt that much. Issaic dipped a fresh bandage in a vial and tightly bound the wound. Then it hurt like the dickens, it was like stubbing your toe on an iron knife, heated in the fires of Hell.
"EEEEYYYYAAAAHH!"
"Be quiet you big baby, I could have just poured this vulnerary on top of your arm, but then it would form scar tissue. It may hurt more but it's better to dilute it and apply it slowly." Issaic muttered while giving the bandage one last time. "Also when did you get a chest piercing? You said you'd never anything of the kind, remember? Do you mind if I see it?"
Luso sat up and felt his chest. The tiny crystal trembled as he tapped it gently. If it shattered, he died.
"Don't touch it!"
Issaic shook his head. Then he sighed and took out a small leather pack from behind a tree. "Ngh stingy. Anyways, here's a bag. It has a medium bullion, more than enough to last a few months, a map of the nearby area, and some clothes. Take it and go north. Go straight to Ylisstol and keep on going if you want to avoid our squad. "
Luso sat up and grabbed the backpack that Issaic was offering him.
"Why are you helping me? Didn't I try to kill you?"
"We are friends aren't we? Friends have to trust each other, and so I trust that you have some reason why you did what you did. Come on Matt, let's go, I know a short cut through the wood's foot paths so we can go much faster."
Luso slung the pack over his shoulders and followed the magician. The dirt path road had dried out from a heat wave and released huge piles of dust with each step. Luso coughed and sputtered, but Issaic simple carried on.
But no matter how far they wandered neither one could see a city.
"Hey Issaic." Luso said softly. "Doesn't this place seem familiar?"
The magician slumped on the ground and glanced back at his map. "It's strange, we should be at least at Southtown."
The two looked over the map, before Luso flipped the map over. "We're lost aren't we."
"At least it was a nice day for a walk." Issaic said with a sigh. "Screw this, let's just wander around until we find a road Matt."
"Issaic?"
"Yes?"
"Stop calling me Matt. From this day on, I am Luso. I'm wiping my previous life away, and starting a new one." Luso grinned and laughed nervously.
"That sounds foreign, where did you hear that one?"
"... I first heard it a while ago from people far, far away when I was very, very young." Luso muttered. "Yeah. We have no idea where we are going, do we."
Issaic scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Not a clue ."
A sharp growling noise suddenly came from behind them.
With turning around, Issaic asked quietly. "Is that a bear?"
Luso turned slightly around and looked. A monster with blackish brown fur at seven feet tall towered over them, with a pair of two cubs next to her side.
"Yes. It is Issaic." The mercenary said in a slightly shaky voice.
"Do you want to run or climb a tree?"
"I heard that if you stand tall and stare at it in the eyes, that bears will back down. Let's see if that works."
Luso then proceeded to fly through the air and smashed into a tree. The bear roared in triumph, and moved in front of its cubs. It snarled at the two petrified men.
Luso sat up, his head still ringing from the impact."Ugh. It hurts."
"What should we do?"
Issaic and Luso scrambled to their feet as the bear started charging.
"Run! Run! Run for your lives!"
The bear smashed through rotting wood and dense forest like a boulder. Nothing could stand in its path, as it ravaged through the woods chasing after the creatures that threatened it's cubs.
"I don't think climbing a tree will help!" Luso cried as he crashed through a tapestry of branches.
"But this might! Wind!"
A gale whipped up around the magician and fired toward the beast, ripping through the wood and shattering branches.
Unfortunately it did absolutely nothing to the bear. The magical force faded away on impact, and only served to piss it off.
"You're useless!" Luso cried as the enraged creature rushed towards him.
"I forgot bears have almost as high resistance as a Pegasus! It's not my fault!"
The two men burst out of the forest and landed on a gravel road. Upon seeing the forest end, the bear snarled at them and turned around.
But before their eyes was something far more terrifying then any woodland creature.
A young red haired woman holding a sword with a jagged blade shaped like a lightning bolt.
"Hello, my name is Anna! And if my eyes don't deceive me that particular killing edge was an item stolen by bandits. Could you explain how it ended up in your hands?"
Luso and Issaic were kneeling on the side of the road. Issaic was crying softly, and Luso was biting his lip to keep himself from doing the same.
The crimson haired merchant smiled cheekily as she fiddled with her sword. "I don't want you to lower your arms. Keep then up straight with the tips pointing towards the sky. You thieves only maintained this position for an hour, I want at least twenty more minutes."
"Please." Issaic groaned slightly. "It hurts, can you just let us-"
"If you lower your arms, I'll show you that prices aren't the only thing I can cut in half."
Luso closed his eyes and begged. "If that weapon I took when I left the bandit group was so expensive allow us to make restitution."
"This gold should do." Anna said with a cheerful grin as she hefted the bullion out of Luso's backpack.
"Wait!" Issaic cried out. "The fair market price of a killing edge is three thousand gold! That is easily five! This is highway robbery!"
"I loaned you an object, and now I'm getting interest. Now normally I charge about twenty five percent interest per day, and since it was missing for a month, I believe that you should be giving more. Your cape has a silver clasp doesn't it Magician?"
"Umm."
"Your clothes. Give them to me."
Seriously? Was this woman a terminator?
Issaic glanced at Luso for a second before slowly taking off his cloak. In the second they made eye contact Luso somehow knew what Issaic wanted him to do.
He wanted him to knock her down. He wanted him to tackle a TERMINATOR.
"Fine take my cloak!" Issaic hurled his cloak at the merchant, the heavy fabric wrapping around the lady.
Luso rushed forward, tackled Anna and knocked her over.
Issaic ran a few steps and grabbed his spell tome. "Matthew run!" The boy screamed before running down the road as fast as he could.
Luso let go of still struggling merchant and grabbed the iron sword and killing edge before escaping.
Within five seconds of their escape the two men saw a red headed blur hurtling towards them. A hail of lightning bolts fell from the sky, raining down upon the two fleeing men.
"Augh! She's coming! Issaic hit her with the strongest wind magic you can!"
"But what if I kill her?"
"It doesn't matter! She's a monster! A monster I say!"
A green aura whirled around Issaic, as the man stopped and turned around.
Three blades of wind, two lightning bolts and a ball of fire materialized behind the magician.
"Take this! Its everything I've got! Lord Grima give me strength!"
A magnificent explosion rocked the ground causing a massive plume of dust to scatter through the sky.
In the center of the scorched earth was a very pissed off merchant. The lady now twisted by rage charged straight at them albeit slower than before.
"Is that cow made of adamantium or something!" A hand clasped around Luso's mouth.
"Argh! Anna kill me I won't taste good enough to sell off as beef!"
Issaic shushed the mercenary, and forced his fingers into his mouth to prevent him from talking- or rather screaming in terror.
He quickly dragged the mercenary behind a nearby tree as the merchant wandered through the streets.
The two men didn't dare to breathe as they heard Anna pass by.
"That was terrifying." Luso groaned as he peeked out from the side of the tree.
Issaic was still shivering in terror. He chattered out,
"I can see smoke. I-I-I guess we can just keep on going that way."
The rest of the walk to southtown was filled with silence except for a short conversation with the locals, and continued until they reached the market place.
Two times on their walk, they had to hide in bushes or behind trees to avoid a red headed woman. Although in the end one of them caught the two of them. Surprisingly they weren't shanked and rather, much to their confusion were dragged cheerfully off to see a stall. Luso theorized that Anna was either bipolar, or had multiple personality disorder as this one was polite, kind, and even quite funny. Issaic had hidden away some items in a pocket under his shirt and Luso had a small pouch hidden in his shield so they weren't exactly broke. But they weren't rich either, having only weapons and enough food to last a week or so.
"I never thought Ylisse would be like this. Everyone is really polite, except for the travelling merchants but they don't count."
Issaic said quietly while looking through a pile of spell tomes.
"Excuse me." An orange haired man chewing on a pastry bumped in between Luso and Issaic before wandering off.
"Of course, there are always the people that do that kind of thing." The magician muttered with a sigh. "I'll go find us an Inn. Can you pass me 3 gold?"
"Uh sure!" Luso rummaged through his bag looking for the pouch. He swore that he had it in his inside pocket, but it wasn't there. Where was it?
"Issaic! It's missing!" Luso said in a panic. "Seriously Ma-Luso? You probably just lost it in that bag of yours. We'll use mine."
Then Issaic checked his pockets. Every last coin, as well as a cookie they had bought earlier, was stolen. "What the? It's all gone! No way! How does that happen! Were we robbed?"
Wait a second. When could they have been robbed?
Luso whirled around and chased after the orange haired man.
"Stop Thief!"
"I'm sorry Issaic, I lost him in the crowd. "
The magician broke down crying again."This much be divine punishment for turning against Plegia. Unless this is a bad story, meeting a bear, getting almost killed by an attractive lady, and getting pick-pocketed fifty gold is completely implausible. Where will we sleep? In the streets? This is the last straw! Lord Grima take this pitiful soul as tribute." Issaic grabbed a knife and pointed at his throat.
Wait what? Hold on.
Luso reached out and tried to grab Issaic's wrist but was too late. He was beaten too it.
A nearby village maiden grabbed the magician's wrist. "Wait! If you have no place to go, you can rest in our home."
Issaic touched the knife's tip with his finger. The blade slid back in its hilt. He then laughed and said. "Would I really commit suicide over an inn? You know me better then that Luso. Miss, were you serious in letting the two of us stay at your house? For free? Why would you do that for us?"
"Sleeping in the streets is dangerous even if you have weapons. There have been bandits about. I mean Aren village was attacked just a little while ago. Survivors came in just a few hours ago. "
Issaic and Luso awkwardly stared at each other. Issaic bit his lip, turned around and started whistling.
"Um hello?" The village girl asked.
"Uh sure, we'll take up that offer." Luso said softly.
"No, actually we'll be fine. Thank you though." Issaic muttered, his face downcast while pushing Luso back.
"If you are afraid you'll intrude, I will assure you it will be fine." The maiden said with a slight grin. "Our house is the one on that corner, just over there."
"No it will be okay."
He grabbed the Mercenary by his shirt and dragged him along with him into an alleyway.
The moment they were alone, Issaic said quietly. "I would have killed her."
"What? I feel like I'm missing something here."
"If I didn't leave, in the next raid we would have done, I would have killed her, or perhaps our more vulgar allies would have captured her."
Luso quickly caught on. "So is that why you refused her help? You felt guilty?"
"I don't know."
"Just because you feel guilty doesn't change the fact that with the night comes thieves and murderers. Lets accept the nice lady's offer and pay her back, see?"
The sky started to turn orange as the sun started to set.
"Issaic, come on. We can pay her back. We will, don't worry and just ask her for one night in her house."
"Fine. But I don't feel that this is a good idea. Ylissians are not the most compassionate people from my understanding."
The two men wandered over to a small wooden house, and knocked on the door.
"Hello." The maiden said with a smile as she opened the door.
The mattress that the two men were given wasn't much. It was a bed of straw with a linen sheet covering it.
Although much softer then the stones on the street, it was not what Luso would call comfortable in his perspective.
No matter what position he lay down in, it always jabbed him somewhere with a sharp piece of straw.
Eventually Luso just sat up and walked towards the door.
Issaic was already on the other side of that door staring up at the night sky.
Issaic smiled warmly. "Not all Ylissians are bad people."
"Huh?"
"I was a bit cruel right? Assuming they were all horrible. But they are just like us Plegians. Some nice, some cruel, some simply terrifying. If the bandits came, I don't know what I'd do. It's funny what one day can do right?"
Luso murmured, "yup. You were. The stars are pretty tonight right?"
"Yes Matt, they are beautiful."
A thin haze of smoke covered up a constellation. Then it was followed by another puff, then another.
"That's a smoke signal! The bandits will come tomorrow!" Issaic cried in shock.
