Chapter 2: Knights of Countries
"I'm going mother, this is something I have to do, I must do."
"I understand, your father has heard her voice as well, he knows what he must do, and I know this is something, you have to do."
...
"Don't worry, if Volker and Daimos think they can stop me, they obviously have not touched up on their history."
"Justin, just promise me that you won't do anything foolish."
"It's not me you should be worried about..."
The tavern wasn't that far from the smithy where Kurtis worked at, but there was a lot of commotion in town, apparently there was a small skirmish between Lenster and Thracian soldiers near the town, and considering Holmes close proximity to the border, was nothing unheard of.
Because of this there were plenty of horsemen patrolling the streets, armored knights with shiny lances pranced up and down the roads at will, and had already arrested two men suspected of being Thracian spies.
"Glad to see the paranoia police are as rigid as ever." Trevor mocked after witnessing a trio of soldiers dragging a screaming man down the street.
"It's kind of pathetic really, out here they'll take you away for even looking at someone funny." Kurtis added, showing his disdain for the knight's actions.
"I know there trying to protect us, but this is wrong." Markus elaborated, always a believer of king and country, but not willing to support such actions.
"Well we're here, I heard there a special on imports today." Trevor mentioned.
The three stepped inside the mostly vacant building, owing to the fact that most of the town residents were holed up in their houses or massing on the streets. Only three other people were inside the bar, a burly man sitting right up at the counter, a hooded figure reading a book in the corner, and of course the bartender.
After ordering their drinks, the burly looking man at the counter turned to Markus, asking him, "Aren't you that mercenary who took out the bandits camped off the main road?"
Markus simply nodded his head, picking up his glass and taking a drink from it.
"I'm Lazarus, I travel around the Thracian peninsula as a merchant, thanks for getting rid of those brigands, their bad for business." He stated, holding out his hand to Markus.
"Well it wasn't just me, thank my brother as well, I never could've handled it myself." Markus replied, shaking Lazarus' hand.
Just then sounds of a scuffle erupted, and a young girl burst into the tavern, followed by several soldiers, upon realizing that she was trapped, the girl drew a sword from beneath her cloak and faced the soldiers.
"There's no where left to run miss, I suggest you disarm yourself and come with us." The lead man stated, readying his spear to attack.
Markus got off his chair and asked the captain what they were doing here.
"This girl here is under arrest for suspicions of spying, why don't you get a good look at her, she is Thracian." He replied.
"I am not a spy, I was asking to be taken into custody, not to be arrested!" She shouted at them, the sword in her hands shaking.
"Do you have any proof?" Markus asked, Kurtis and Trevor also having stepped down beside him.
"Horse hairs! Are you with us or with her?" The captain barked at him, motioning for the other two men to ready their weapons.
"Some party this is, eh Markus?" Trevor asked.
Just as Markus was about to elaborate on his point, the soldier's captain charged at Markus, who barely avoided the lance, countering with a swift elbow to the back of the neck, knocking him out instantly.
The left flanking soldier was taken down by Kurtis, who had him in a sleeper hold while Trevor wrestled the lance from his hands. But just as Markus was about to help the girl, he found that the third soldier was retreating, leaving a trail of blood behind him as he hobbled out of the bar.
Unfazed by the commotion, the bartender poured another drink for Lazarus, who had remained sitting th entire time at the counter, the hooded man in the corner also remained, either unaware or uncaring for the battle that just took place.
"Well, that's that, thanks for the help." The girl thanked Markus, wiping the blood from her sword and sheathing it away.
She was about to leave when the wounded soldier returned, this time with what appeared to be a knight in charge.
"My subordinate here tells me he was attacked by a Thracian spy and her conspirators." He calmly stated.
The girl made a move for her sword, but Markus raised his hand against her, looking deeply into the knight's gray eyes. He then turned to the soldier, "You discharged soldier, take your captain and squad mate out of here and report yourselves to the authorities." He ordered.
So he and another soldier with the knight dragged off the unconscious men, and knight was left alone with Markus and the others.
"I heard about your exploits the other day, saved me and my men a lot of trouble, you have my thanks." He said to Markus, smiling as he shook his hand.
"Sorry to interrupt, but am I free to go?" The girl questioned the knight.
"No, if you don't mind I'd like it if you stayed and answered a few questions along with your friends here." He replied, sitting down at one of the tables in the room.
So Markus cleared his story with the knight, whose name was Lucas, explaining that he and his friends were simply stopping by for a drink. The girl's story, whose name was Liana, was a bit complex, she stated that she was simply passing by when the soldier's attempted to drag her off for "sexual" reasons.
"But you are a Thracian, yet you live in Manster?" Lucas asked her.
"My parents fled Thracia after the huge drought twenty years ago." Liana replied.
"And where are your parents now?" He questioned.
"Dead, died a few years ago, papa first from sickness, and then mom when the house burned down." She woefully replied.
"I'm sorry for your loss." Lucas consoled.
Just as Markus was about to leave with Kurtis and Trevor, Lucas called for them to stop.
"If you don't mind, I have a proposition for you." He stated.
Lucas explained that the soldier's presence in the city was due to the skirmish, which Lucas stated was not so small after all.
"Earl Dorias and I led our troops to meet the enemy east of the Purple Dragon Mountain, but Dragon Knights under the command of General Geshtar ambushed us, the whole battle lasted for hours, I only barely got Dorias himself to retreat, he was hellbent on fighting to the end." He elaborated.
"Wait, you say the knights were led by General Geshtar? The commander of Thracia's elite Trotzen Ritter?" Liana asked.
"You seem troubled girl, do you know this man?" Lucas asked her.
"Not personally...no, but everyone in Thracia has heard of him, he's the strongest Dragon Knight in all of Thracia." Liana stated.
"Fair enough, well after Dorias and I pulled our troops back, we got reports that the Thracian soldiers occupied a fort out near Manster castle, one of our forts, obviously we can't let it stay in their hands." Lucas explained.
"Let me guess, you want our help in taking it back?" Kurtis asked.
"Precisely, we don't have the manpower to attack the fort directly, we lost too many soldiers in the previous battle, and reinforcements won't be arriving for quite some time.
"We'll help, but I expect one hell of a bill, today is my birthday after all." Markus said.
And with that, Lucas left to go prepare this troops, saying that they would all meet after preparations in one hour. But while Lucas had to ready his troops, there was only one thing on Markus' mind.
"Where are you going to go?" Markus asked Liana, who had sat down for a drink while Lucas and Markus conversed.
"I don't know really, I kind of just drift around." She stated.
"Why not come with me? You obviously have some swordplay down, and we could always use more fighters." Markus queried.
"I guess I do owe you for helping me." She stated.
Markus got up from the table, saying, "Then it's settled, Kurtis, go tell father that we're heading out with the knights of Lenster, Trevor, go ready any equipment we might need, it's going to be a long night." And with that everyone left to go prepare for the attack.
A Brief Overview of Characters Introduced This Chapter
Lucas: A knight of Lenster, and the commander of the 2nd Royal Platoon, he is a realist, able to quickly make the right decisions on the battlefield, and commands a certain amount of respect from his fellow knights.
Age: 30 Class: Duke Knight
Liana: A young girl with Thracian descent. she claims her family fled from Thracia during the great drought that racked the already barren lands of the country.
Age: 13 Class: Myrmidon
Author Note: Not much to say for this one, except ramble about something. My cat has been acting VERY weird ever since an operation she had some months ago to remove a cyst on her leg. Before, she was quite shy cat, now she is bursting with affection, follows me everywhere around the house, and even looks out the window to see when I come home when I go out. She never did any of this stuff before, it's quite strange. Also, remember that opening, it's important.
For those (at least one person) wondering, this fic is almost 100% OC, the only canonical characters I have planned to have as actual characters are Dorias, Xavier, Calf and Cuan. Sigurd and Eltshan will show up for a brief cameo but will have little impact on the main storyline, due to this fic (currently) taking place twelve years before FE4's First Gen, though a time skip is planned later.
I'm writing (typing) Chapter 3 as I'm doing this author note, so expect that chapter up soon.