Chapter 3: Band of Mercenaries
As the days progressed we reached a town that seemed to be devastated by bandits. This close to the mountains on the border of Bern was truly a haven for those up to no good who preyed on the weak. Unfortunately for the four of us we had to travel this path. Since it was one of the best routes from the area of Sacae we were in to the border of Lycia. I could see Lyn begin to tense up, then she spoke,
"This place... It's..."
"The entire area is in ruins. Why doesn't their Marquess do anything to help?" Sain inquired.
"Taliver Mountain is home to a gang of vicious, ruthless bandits. No Marquess holds power here. My village was near here, on the other side of the mountain. My people were. The Taliver bandits came at night. It took only one night. The survivors numbered less than ten, including me. They are soulless beasts. I will never forgive them. Never."
"Lyndis..."
"I am not running away. I will be back... someday. I'll be stronger... I will break their swords beneath me like twigs beneath a stallion's hooves. I will avenge my people. I'll do everything in my power."
"When the time comes, bring me with you."
"Sain."
"Don't forget me, either." Kent answered
"And me three, I would miss it for the world."
"Kent... Oh! You, too, Anson? I... You're... thank you."
As we continued to walk into w=town there was a screech of
"Don't you dare touch her!" Followed by a plead of, "Do what you will with me, just... Let her go. Please, I beg of you."
As we hear that Lyn rushed over and saw a Pegasus standing there. The creature was just like that out of a storybook from Greek mythology. The man hair and mane and the white wings of a Pegasus were unmistakable. I was soon brought out of my revelry when I realized that we would have to fight to protect the Pegasus, her rider, the villagers as well as ourselves. So my mind was furiously coming up with a strategy.
"No chance. The girls goes with us- by force if need be! Hey! C'mon out now, boys! The men are fair game, but don't put a scratch on the girls!
"Anson! We've got to fight back!"
The woman, Florina, seemed a bit nervous to put it lightly.I guess a confidence boost was in order for her but still. That made it more difficult.
"Lyn! I!"
"You're a pegasus knight, aren't you? You can fight, can't you?"
"...Yes!"
"Listen carefully, Anson. We're facing bandits. They're underlings, but we can't take them too lightly. Let's clear them out of here. Are you ready? The layout around here might make it difficult to fight. The same holds true for our foe, too. If we use these walls just so, they may ensure our victory."
"Lyn... Who's that?"
"This is Anson. He's still an apprentice, but he's my tactician."
"Oh, I see... Uh... Anson? I'm pleased to meet you."
"It is a pleasure to meet you Florina."
Then I gave my orders. "Lyn first I need you to go visit the nearby houses and tell them to lock up to prevent bandit attacks. After that you Kent and Sain are to try to eliminate the bandits coming from the walls. Find a bottleneck and eliminate them there. That way their numbers mean very little. And we could use the advantage. Florina, I want you to go quickly to the village over the wall and tell them the same thing as Lyn is telling the villagers in the closer village. Then come back got it?" As each of them nodded they set about their tasks.
Lyn quickly returned with someone from the village, an archer named Wil. He seemed pretty good with the bow he carried and to me this was a very good thing. We could really use some long range support. He was also a very likable and amenable person. The type you could trust with a task.
The bandits were not very good at organizing and tried to use their superior numbers, yet we had the advantage of the perfect bottleneck in the walls so that their numbers meant a lot less. As Florina was returning she suddenly gave out a cry of alarm. Lyn and I whipped our heads around to see Florina cowering away from Wil as she was returning from her mission.
"Lyn! What should I do? There's an archer!"
"What? Where! Oh, that's Wil."
"Hi! You're one of Lyn's friends?"
"Um…"
"What... What is it? Are you unwell?"
"I'm sorry, Wil. Her name is Florina. She's timid around men, and you... you've got a bow."
"Oh! I see! You must be a pegasus kngiht! I apologize for frightening you, but I do understand your fear of bows.
"I... um... ...I'm sorry... Even looking... at a... bow... frightens me ever so much..."
"Of course, I understand! But you should really only fear the enemy's archers, not your own."
"Yes... of course..."
I sighed. With that taken care of we could return to aiding Kent and Sain against the main rush of the bandits. Wil shot his arrows from behind the two knights and soon there was a break in the ranks and I ordered Kent, Sain, Lyn and Florina to charge in quickly and finish off the rest of the bandit force.
It finally was down to the final bandit. Wil peppered the man with a few arrows while he had open shots. Unfortunately the man had decided to go after Florina. The man attacked but the arrow in his side slowed him down. As he raised his axe Florina desperately thrust her lance. Remarkably the lance went into his chest and through his heart killing him instantly. The battle was won. But the man had warned of more of his group. We were finally able to do a meet of all the members of our little band. Lyn started it off
"That's finally taken care of!"
"Lyn!"
"Florina... Why did you follow me? It's so dangerous."
"Do you remember the knighting ceremony of the Pegasus Knight of Ilia?"
"Yes, you join a band of freelance soldiers to further your training. Is that what brought you here, Florina?"
"Uh-huh. I wanted to talk to you before I set out. But when I went to Sacae, I heard that you had left with some strangers, and..."
"You were worried for me? Thank you, but I'm more worried about you."
"Me?"
"Listen, most mercenaries are men, right? Bands of men? I can't imagine you being at all comfortable around them."
"I know, I know. It's just... I've always dreamt of being a Pegasus knight. I imagined I would just... work it out. Somehow. After today, I'm not so sure. Maybe I should just... give up."
"Florina... Don't cry... Yes! There's no reason to give up your dream! Hm?"
Just as Lyn said that the local womanizer of our band, Sain decided to intervene. Just what this shy girl needed…
"Lovely Florina! I have the most brilliant idea!" Needless to say Kent was none too pleased.
"Sain!"
"You should come with us! With the addition of Wil here, we're a fine group of soldiers, and freelance to boot!"
"Wait, did you just include me?"
"Of course! We were destined to meet here! It's fate! Come now, Lyndis's band of mercenaries is as good a training group as you will find anywhere!"
"Sain... This is no joking matter!"
"Lyndis? Um, Lyn? Mercenaries?"
"I can give you details later. This is all a bit rushed. However, Sain is right. Will you come with us, Florina?"
"Travel with you, Lyn? Truly? I would be so... so happy!"
"Fantastic! Beauteous Florina! I am a knight of Caelin. My name is Sain..."
"Eeek! Stay back! Don't get so close."
Well, at least the women in our group know how to avoid the walking, talking man-flirt of the group when it comes to relationships. But I knew all too well that many women do prefer people like Sain over people like me.
"Ah... Beautiful, and yet so modest!"
"I beg your forgiveness. Calling us mercenaries..."
"No, I approve. We can't leave Florina on her own. She requires special attention, though. Can I count on you?"
"Yes! You have but to ask."
"So... Is it really all right if I travel with you?"
"Oh, yes. Of course! If you're willing, Wil."
"Actually, I'm very grateful. Truth be told, all of my money was stolen, and I'm... at a bit of a crossroads. I would be honored to count myself one of Lyndis's Legion!"
"Lyndis's Legion"? This is getting stranger with every day, Anson."
At that I laughed heartily. Of course things would get stranger. To me the strangeness was some of the best part of the adventure.
"I find it amusing Lyn. It makes traveling more fun. The new people that you meet and the quirks is what a lot of traveling is about. It is the fun part."
As the joking continued throughout the night we laughed and made plans on where to stay the next night since the bandits would soon be on our trail again. We decided to stop at an old run-down abandoned fort.