For clarification in case it wasn't already obvious, italics are what the person is thinking.
Don't forget to review! I appreciate knowing the story was read!
Dawn broke, shining light through the window to Boyd's, Oscar's, and Rolf's room. They were all brothers, but no one would've guessed it if they weren't told outright. They had little in common at first glance. Unfortunately for Boyd, the light was positioned right in his face. Out of habit, he threw the covers up over his face. ' Just a few more minutes.'
Despite being what he called a "professional", he had a terrible habit of sleeping in, not that he cared all that much. Today was especially hard because he had stayed up late last night having another argument with Rolf, not an uncommon occurrence for them. He got up to close the curtains for a few more minutes of shuteye, several unknown objects cracking beneath his footsteps on the darkened floor. No doubt they were his. He was also a very untidy person, something that drove his older brother, Oscar, insane.
Closing the curtains, he returned to his bed. Despite the noise the mysterious floor objects were making beneath his footsteps, Rolf still remained asleep. Oscar was already up. Boyd and Rolf had been arguing about Ike being a better mercenary than Boyd. Boyd, of course, thought the very idea was a bunch of bologna and that Rolf was an idiot, while Rolf insisted that Ike was better and that Boyd was the idiot. It hadn't taken very long for the argument to devolve into name calling. 'Wait a minute, that's right! Today is Ike's first day as a mercenary! Oh shit, I forgot! As a veteran, I've got to be the perfect role model for him!'
He threw up the covers and opened the curtains as fast as he had shut them. He threw on an extra change of clothes and dashed down the stairs of the wooden house, taking them two or three at a time. He landed with a loud crash at the bottom as he jumped the last few. 'Heh, if Rolf wasn't awake before, he sure is now.'
He ran outside, allowing himself a breather. The mercenary fort, as it was called, wasn't exactly a fort. It consisted of four large buildings; an armory with a stable in the back, a miscellaneous building used mainly for recreation and meetings, a living quarter, and a mess hall. Truth be told, Boyd wouldn't have minded a couple ballistae and catapults…
Enough about that though. Boyd still needed to get ready. Heading for the armory, he stopped in surprise just short of it. Over at the meeting building, Boyd was shocked to see Ike standing outside of it. 'What the hell!? Did he really get up before me!?'
No matter. Boyd could still save face here. Making sure Ike didn't see him, Boyd slipped into the armory. He quickly picked his usual armor up from the rack and threw it on , fiddling with all the straps. Outside, he could hear voices.
"Ike, today we have a request from the nearby village of Caldea to drive out some bandits that have recently been looting from there. According to our reports, they're not terribly strong, but don't let your guard down, they'll slice right through you if they get the chance. The group will consist of us, Oscar, and Boyd. Let's go get you a weapon." It was Titania. 'No no no!'
Boyd was determined to be ready first. Finishing with all the straps, he quickly set about for his axe… and was surprised that he couldn't find it. 'I could've sworn I left it right here on the haystack…'
A quick search of the surrounding area turned up nothing, much to his dismay. He overturned a number of haystacks in a vain attempt to locate his weapon. He normally left it next to his armor to make it easier for himself. He could've taken another one from the armory, but the Greil mercenaries were a rather poor group. It wasn't uncommon for them to take on low paying jobs and even jobs for free. This was one reason why the three brothers were still members. Greil wasn't a typical mercenary leader. He was hard, but a caring person, but since they were usually short on funds, they were short on weapons as a consequence. Boyd was hesitant to take a new one out of the armory if he still had his, but it was looking more and more like it had grown a pair of legs and walked out on its own. Outside, a third voice had joined Titania and Ike.
"Now that we've got you outfitted, let's go check on Boyd and Oscar." Titania said.
"I'm already here and ready to go, commander." It was Oscar. 'Crap! I need to be ready, now!'
Forgetting all about the whole weapon shortage, Boyd dashed into the weapons room…
And there was his axe. Cleaned and polished from his last battle, but undoubtedly his axe. Boyd gave himself a mental kick. 'Of all the places to look, I didn't think to look in the one place my axe was supposed to be.'
He grabbed it off the wall and dashed outside, practically knocking the door off its hinges.
"Don't forget me! I'm ready too!" he shouted as he rounded the building to where Titania, Oscar, and Ike were. They were all ready to go. Titania and Oscar even had their respective horses all saddled and everything. Titania arched her eyebrows.
"Is that so, Boyd? That's a surprise." She said.
"Not today it isn't!" Boyd paused to catch his breath. "After all, I need to set an example and be the perfect role model for Ike!" An awkward silence descended on the group after Boyd's proclamation before Ike spoke.
"I'll… take your word for it." Boyd decided to ignore the sarcasm.
"Well, now that we're all ready, let's go kick some bandit butt!" Boyd turned and started taking the path out of the fort, the others in tow.
"Uh, Boyd?" It was Oscar. "You do realize that a number of your armor straps aren't even done, don't you?" Boyd turned his head to see that he had forgotten to do them in his haste.
"Nice role model, Boyd." Ike said sarcastically.
"Shut up, Ike." Boyd muttered, still wearing a grin. Caldea, as it turned out, wasn't far from the fort. It was only about a twenty minute ride. They arrived just over a half hour. Boyd's first impression was that no one in their right mind would even bother looting such a tiny village.
The village was at the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean and consisted of about ten small houses, and a larger building, presumably the town hall, located in the center of it all. It seemed unlikely that the village had much as far as supplies were concerned.
"Why would bandits be out here? There doesn't seem to be much out here." Ike said, seemingly reading Boyd's thoughts. Titania answered him.
"Perhaps that's why they decided to target here. The village would put up less of a fight for them. It doesn't matter in any case. Our objective remains the same. We need to drive off the bandits. Hmmmmm… Boyd and Oscar, I'd like you two to head around the village to the back. Ike and I will hit them from the front. Our reports say they aren't strong, but keep your guard up."
"Yes, deputy commander." Oscar answered.
""I will." Ike said. Boyd just flashed a grin and a thumbs up. Before Boyd and Oscar could move out, Oscar turned to Ike.
"Just remember Ike, you're not out there alone. Don't be afraid to rely on us." Ike nodded in silent acknowledgement. Boyd and Oscar moved along the outskirts of the village so as to avoid being seen.
"Heh, I knew she'd want him with her. She wants to make sure Ike stays safe." Boyd let out a laugh. He couldn't wait to tell Rolf that.
"And yet it wasn't that long ago that she was having you follow her around. Now it's me who has to keep an eye out for you. Watching you can be a chore sometimes." Oscar said with a small smile.
"What's that supposed to mean!?" Boyd demanded.
"I'm just saying I remember one or two times you were so excited you broke your own axe." Oscar replied. Before Boyd could come up with a snappy retort, they saw Ike and Titania heading for the village, their cue to start.
In all fairness, the bandits never really saw it coming. Even if they had, the outcome would probably have been the same. Titania literally rode through the bandits, swinging her axe atop her steed. Whoever was left in her wake of destruction was picked off by Ike. Boyd was forced to admit as he saw Ike cross blades with another sword wielder that Ike had some skill, but he wasn't about to let Ike show him up. As a burly bandit approached him, he parried the bandit's blow, and brought his axe down atop the bandits head, his body crumpling to the ground immediately. Pulling his axe out, he swung it at the steps he heard behind him, catching a second off guard, who fell almost as fast as the first. Oscar rode by and made shish kebab of a third bandit who had been trying to sneak up on Boyd.
The four worked their way quickly towards the center of town, the remaining bandits becoming desperate.
"Damn villagers! You'll pay for hiring this mercenary scum!" A shout came from nearby. Before Boyd could question who it was, smoke rose from a nearby house. The bandit had set it on fire.
"Boyd!" Oscar shouted. He didn't need to be told twice. With his horse, Oscar was first there and occupied the bandits; there were apparently two of them. Boyd tried the door and found that it was locked, but a swift kick and a look inside showed him that no one was there to his relief. Luckily for him though, the fire hadn't spread beyond a single room and whoever lived here had buckets of water, presumably to bathe with, in the kitchen. Grabbing two at a time, he had the fire doused before it could cause any real damage He saw that he might've overdone it with the water, though. 'I hope the owner doesn't mind extremely wet furniture too much.' He thought.
Upon returning outside, he was surprised to see that any bandit who wasn't dead had already fled the village. The fight was apparently over already. Titania rode over to check up on the brothers.
"Looks like all of the remaining bandits have fled. I don't think they'll be back here anytime soon. Good work everyone. The townspeople were all locked inside the town hall. I guess the bandits didn't want anyone in the way of their looting." Titania said. 'Well, that explains why no one was home.'
Ike came over as Boyd finished this thought with what appeared to be the entire village in tow. One man, an older man who was already graying, stepped forward.
"On behalf of my village, thank you. Thank all of you for ridding us of those horrible bandits. I'm sorry, but the bandits made off with most of our money. This is all we have to offer you for your services." The old man held out a small bag of gold. No doubt it was even less than what had been initially offered for the contract, but the village couldn't help it.
"Thank you. We were happy to help." Titania answered. The four turned to leave and head back to the fort. They needed to report to commander Greil as soon as possible after all.
Okay, so I'll admit you didn't do too bad out there Ike. Still, it wasn't amazing as my first time though!" Boyd said. No way he was gonna admit that Ike's work had been impressive.
"Not too bad? Why, Ike here took out the enemy leader all by himself!" Titania said.
"Come to think of it, the first time you fought was one of the times you broke a new axe." Oscar said, more to himself, but everyone could hear him. At this Boyd turned red.
"You didn't have to bring that up, Oscar!" Boyd said. The four arrived back at the fort before sundown. Titania, after finishing with her horse and gear, immediately went to commander Greil to report the result of the mission. Oscar went off to the mess hall to make some dinner for everyone. When he was away on a mission, Mist was usually the one to cook. While Boyd wouldn't say it to her face, she was a terrible cook compared to Oscar. Of course, everyone seemed terrible compared to Oscar. He was an amazing chef. Unfortunately, he would have to wait for the food. Searching for a hammock, he tossed his axe down on the ground. He would worry about it later. Right now he just wanted some rest. Laying in the hammock, he closed his eyes and soon drifted off to sleep.