Leo and Corrin had managed to escape after fighting off a group the bandits sent after them. But it was not long before they came across another trouble – a dark guild had just destroyed an entire village. What for, Leo was unable to determine – there was not much left in terms of physical evidence, nor was he able to determine who exactly did it. But it was there that he decided to at least try and make the world a better place. He already had enough reasons to hate dark guilds anyway. Leo started recording all the dark guild activity on a map, and he and Corrin destroyed several dark guilds during this time. Their activity gained them some recognition, and soon a messanger came to them while they were resting in a small town.

"Mister Leo Woodstock, Miss Corrin?"
"Yes, that would be us."
"I am here at behalf of Sir Izana. He has heard of your accomplishments, and wishes to discuss an important matter with you."
"Where are we to meet him?"
"At his manor. Shall I lead you there?"
"If it isn't trouble..."

While on the way to the manor, Leo kept wondering what is it exactly that Izana wanted. His province seemed peaceful enough, with little to no traces of dark guild activity. In fact, the countryside they were walking through right now could only be described as "idyllic". But as the small group drew closer to the village, warning signs became more obvious. Wanted posters were plastered on the walls, and it was not long before the group came across a funeral. Funerals, Leo realized – several people were being given funeral at the same time, a rather peculiar occurence. Asking his guides to stop for a moment, Leo bought a newspaper.

"Dark days for our village

A wave of murders and kidnappings has hit our village. Thirteen people have been killed so far, with seven more confirmed as kidnapped and nine more missing. The authorities report that everything seems to be the work of a single dark guild. Guild's aims remain unknown, but the village leadership is taking measures against the dark mages. Ser Izana, village mayor, has refused to comment on the rumors that mercenaries are being called for in order to put a stop to the dark guild activity. He has confirmed that measures against the dark guild are being carried out, but no further details have been revealed."

"Seems like the situation here is rather bad. Why did not you put in an official request to a legal guild, or ask for Rune Knights?"
"Unfortunately, we do not have such luxury.", replied a messanger, Caius. "The guild in question has been only doing this for a very short time. By the time we recieved a reply from either an official guild, or the Rune Knights, many more would have fallen victim to this dark guild. Contacting an independent guild was our only option."
"Technically, we are not a guild, but I understand where you are coming from. Alright, we will help. But we cannot exactly afford doing this for free."
"I understand. Don't worry, you will get paid, but you should discuss it with Ser Izana. We are close to his place now."

It was not long before Izana's mansion came into view. It was a very big house, with a lot of useless decoration. This did not speak wonders about the character of mansion's owner, but Leo thought he would ignore it as long as they got the information they were seeking. It did not stop him from having second thoughts once they met Izana himself.

"Welcome! Greetings and salutations! I am Izana, mayor of this village, a patron of arts, and five-time winner of the Best Hair Award!"
Even Corrin was dumbfounded. "M-mister Izana, what is..."
"Oh, yes! Silly me... we do have matters to discuss. We should go somewhere more appropriate. Oh, and when we finish, I hope you will stay. I gave orders to prepare a party!"
"A party? At this time? Does he even understand the situation his village is in? He is so digustingly casual."
"Stop being grouchy pants, Leo. A little fun will do us good. Oh, and about your collar..."
"W-what!? Why tell me only now? Seriously..."

With that, they went inside. His mansion seemed nice, but flashy. There were so many decorations that Corrin was overwhelmed trying to take it all in. Leo, for his part, did not change his opinion of the place for one bit, and his opinion of mansion's owner was hardly any better. If Izana's behaviour was any indication, too much decoration could cause brain damage. But Izana apparently could not tolerate silence, and so started discussion anew.

"I had heard much of your exploits against dark guilds. How can I help you?"
"Information. Are there any reports of dark guild activity in this area? Anything suspicious?"
"Not in immediate area, but I had heard rumors of dark guilds being busy in a neighbouring province. But maybe we should discuss it in more detail over a nice meal, hm?"
"...Sure."

It was not long before they were seated at the large table, with very large assortment of foods. Corrin just gawked at the display, but Leo was still suspicious of Izana, and used magic to check the food. It was poisoned. Not terribly surprising, but it was disappointing that they had no peace anywhere. Corrin tried eating some food, but Leo knocked it out of her hand.

"What?"
"Don't. It is poisoned."
"Oh, oh. Seems like you caught on. But no matter; you are still going to die!"

At that point, side doors opened and a large number of dark mages burst into the room. "Izana" undid illusion spell, showing his true identity – Zola, a mage responsible for deaths of Leo's family, and hightailed it out of the room. But Leo could hardly think about catching him, not with so many enemies in front of him. He used gravity to throw the table at the enemies, and jumped in front of Corrin, shielding her from direct attacks.

"Corrin, run!"

But Corrin could only watch, frozen to the spot. Spells that had already been fired obliterated the table that Leo had thrown. Smoke and splinters made it hard to see, but with the number of spells dark mages were throwing it made hardly any difference. Leo was hit with multiple spells and thrown back, knocked out cold by the attacks. He was bleeding, and Corrin ran over to his fallen form without thinking. A spell hit her while she was crouched over him, and she was just about to draw her sword – Yato – when the whole room exploded into chaos, as the bandits apparently started fighting among themselves. Right afterwards, the entire room was plunged into darkness, and Corrin could only hear the screams and the sounds of fighting – not even the spells could penetrate the darkness. When the darkness had retreated, only two of the bandits had remained standing.

"Don't worry! A hero of darkness is here!"
"Seriously, Odin, drop the class act. I am Niles, by the way. Unfortunately, neither of us is really versed in healing magic. Odin here knows some, but it may not be enough for such injuries. We need to find Izana as soon as possible."
"Understood. And thanks for the help."
"It was not a problem."

Odin ran over to Leo who was lying in a pool of blood. He proved better in healing magic than Niles apparently expected him to be, and managed to stop most of the bleeding, heal more minor and even partly close some of the deeper wounds. While Leo still needed medical care, he was healed enough that he wouldn't die unless infection set in. Niles found Izana locked in the cellar.

"Ha! Seems like I'm not a toast after all! Let's raise a toast!"
"Toasting can come later, Izana. We have wounded."
"Lead the way, then! I have to do my duty as a host, and repay the debt!"

It turned out that Izana, for all his silliness, was well-versed in the healing magic. By the time he was finished, Leo was completely healed – not even scars were left to tell where his wounds were. He was still out cold, though.

"I will give him a room to rest and recover. I cannot tell how long will it take, so you are free to stay here until he recovers."
"Thank you, sir."

Niles and Odin followed Izana to the room, carrying unconscious Leo down the corridor. Corrin followed behind them, unable to help yet unwilling to leave Leo alone with complete strangers, even if those strangers did save their lives just before. Former bandits placed Leo in the bed, after which Niles went to get some water. He returned soon thereafter, carrying water, which Corrin then coaxed into Leo's mouth.

"How long will he be out?"
"I cannot say. I believe I do not yet know your name, miss..."
"...Corrin. I'm Corrin, and this is Leo."
"Are you family?"
"...Well, yes and no. I do not have a family, a biological family, but Leo's family took me in when I was still a child. But they are all..."
"Dead?"
"Y-yes... killed by dark mages..."
"I see..."

Niles did not inquire any further; it was not necessary anyway. Instead, he sat in the corner, facing the door, just in case some more bandits appeared. It reminded him of the time when he had a family, and how different it was to street gangs and especially dark guild, where one's loyalty was primarily, if not exclusively, towards himself. When Odin came back from his discussion with Izana, Niles called him aside.

"So, what do you think?"
"About what?"
"The kids. I heard some of their story, and it is... familiar, if you know what I mean. I want to help them, but I will not be forcing you to help me with it."
"What are you talking about? Such a task is perfect for my darkness!"
"Assuming he survives... but with Izana's facilities, his chances are pretty good."

NOTES:

The surname I chose for Leo comes from the fact that Edward the Black Prince was Edward of Woordstock. And Leo has a lot of "black prince" theme going for him, from black armour to usage of darkness-based magic.