Just a little heads up that Chapter 5 might take a while to come out. I've currently got badly addicted to Pokemon Conquest (possible fic coming out soon) so I haven't been writing as much as normal. If you really can't wait, or need more Rukaioness to satisfy you (and let's face it, who doesn't?) then I'm planning on uploading an old Pokemon detective story I wrote a while ago, so keep an eye out for it.

Anyway, with that warning out of the way, enjoy!

Chapter 4

"I still don't see the point of this." Sain muttered, rubbing his hand in pain.

"Believe me, it'll come in handy later." Vesper assured him, cutting Kent's hand slightly with his ceremonial dagger. "There. Now I've made the contract with both of you."

"And you're sure this'll help us in battle?" Kent asked, skeptically.

"You'll see." Vesper winked.

"Hey, how come you only scratched Kent's hand, but badly cut mine?" Sain complained.

"I like Kent more than you."

"Alright, I've finished gathering supplies." Lyn ran over, carrying a large sack. "I have to admit, it was a good idea to get that carthorse. I'd hate to have to carry this lot to Caelin."

When they'd arrived, Vesper had immediately dashed off and bought an old wagon, with some horses to pull it, under the claim that 'he didn't want anyone to get tired in case they were attacked'. Lyn was certain it was just because he didn't want to walk, but she didn't mind.

"Oh, before we go..." Vesper reached into his pockets and pulled out an old map. "I'd rather like to visit this church."

"Oh, the altar of the Mani Katti?" Lyn looked over Vesper's shoulder.

"Mani What?" Sain scratched his head.

"The Mani Katti is a sacred sword." Lyn explained. "They say if a traveller prays at the altar before a journey, he is granted good luck. I didn't know you were the religious type, Vesper."

"I just figure we could use all the luck we can get." Vesper grinned.

In actuality, there were two reasons Vesper wanted to visit the altar. Firstly, he wanted to hire a stave-using priest. He was certain they'd get into a fight sooner or later and, although they had a fair few vulinaries, a healing priest would make things a lot easier. The second reason was to do with the bandit troupe they'd met. Vesper had no doubt the bandits were trying to follow them, so he figured by going somewhere unexpected, they could throw the bandits off their trail.

"I don't know..." Kent scratched his chin. "I don't think we should waste time. The Marquess is seriously ill."

"I'd quite like to go." Lyn piped in. "It'll be nice to relax a bit."

"Ah yes, the two of us can stroll the altar grounds alone, and pray to God to help our love stay strong." Sain went into his 'passionate romantic' mode.

"Uh... yeah, that too."

"So it's agreed." Vesper grinned. "We'll head to the altar of the Mani Katti!"

"Why won't the damn sword come out?" Glass delivered another painful kick to the old priest lying on the ground.

"Heh... The sword won't come out to one like you..." The priest chuckled, inbetween his gasps of pain. "It will only come out to one the gods have chosen as worthy..."

"I am Glass, the best swordsman in Sacae!" Glass yelled, kicking the priest again. "Even the Gods fear my name! Now remove the sword!"

Glass and his gang had recently take over the altar, in an attempt to steal the sword. But, to Glass's surprise, the sword wouldn't come out. No matter how hard he pulled, it was stuck fast in the altar.

"Boss, maybe you should lay off him a bit." One of Glass's henchmen suggested. "You're probably gonna kill him if you keep that up."

Glass stopped a moment, attempting to calm his rage. "You're right. Take the priest to the back room, and make him talk."

"Got it." The Henchman grabbed the priest's arms and dragged him away.

"In the meantime, you bastards get to work!" Glass yelled at the rest of his gang. "If the sword won't come out of the altar, then we'll break the altar and pull the sword from its rubble! Now-"

"Aieeeeek!" A scream suddenly sounded from the entrance. A young woman had just entered and spotted the gang. "Thieves!" She began to run off, towards the main town.

"Damn that Ferrest! He was supposed to stop anyone getting near!" Glass groaned. He turned to his gang. "Don't just stand there gawping! Get after her and kill her, before she brings the whole town onto us!"

Glass's gang hesitated for a couple of seconds, before dashing after the woman.

Outside, Sain and Kent prepared their weapons.

"And you sure this'll work?" Kent muttered under his breath.

"My plans always work." Vesper had taken shelter in a nearby house and was now in full glowing tactician mode. "Get ready. They've taken the bait. There are 5 bandits heading your way."

When the group had arrived at the altar, Vesper was the first to notice several suspicious footprints, in the dirt. They had asked nearby residents, who told them that they'd seen several armed men heading into the church. Their suspicions were confirmed when Lyn was attacked by one of the bandits, while scouting the area. She slew him with realitve ease, allowing Vesper to activate his tactician powers. He'd detected Glass's henchmen in the church, beating up the priest, and immediately came up with a plan. Lyn would pretend to be an innocent passerby and lure the gang outside, where Sain and Kent could ambush them. So far things were going exactly as planned...

'Any second now...' Lyn thought to herself, as she let the bandits out of the church courtyard. Suddenly, she 'tripped' and was sent sprawling to the ground. The bandits couldn't believe their luck and ran over to where she was lying.

"Tough luck, lady!" One of the bandits grinned. "But we can't let you get any-"

In one one swift motion, Lyn drew her sword and slashed the bandit's throat. While the other bandits were surprised, Kent and Sain charged at them, on horse back, cutting down another two. The remaining two bandits, seeing things take a turn for the worse, decided to retreat back to the safety of the church, but couldn't outrun the two cavaliers, who sliced them down.

"As much as I hate the idea of my darling Lyn being used as bait, that worked pretty well." Sain admitted.

"Thank you." Vesper grinned. "Now there are two more bandits left inside the church. I trust you can fight well on two feet?"

"We'll be fine." Kent helped Lyn to her feet. "We'd better hurry. Who knows what they're doing to that priest."

"Be careful." Vesper warned. "One of those bandits seems really strong."

"You can measure someone's power now?" Lyn muttered.

"Now that I've made 3 contracts, I can." Vesper explained. "It's only a weak estimation though. I have no idea exactly how strong he is, or whether he's stronger than you three. So just be careful."

"We will." Kent reassured him. "Let's go."

The three slowly entered the church, swords drawn.

"Vesper said that the strong bandit was in here, so keep an eye out for him." Lyn whispered.

"That scrawny wimp isn't always right." Sain scowled. "I can't see anyone in he-"

"Duck!" Lyn kicked Sain in the back of the leg, knocking him over and narrowly avoiding Glass's sword stroke. She then leapt at Glass, but he deflected her blow with ease.

"Not bad." Glass smiled, moving out of Lyn's range. "You're not just an 'innocent bystander' after all."

"Keep back, you two." Lyn nodded to Kent, who was helping Sain up. "This guy's way out of your league."

"But-"

"No arguing!" Lyn leapt at Glass and the two fought, in a flurry of steel.

"Do as she says." Vesper ordered. "Do you two have your lances with you?"

"No, we left them with our horses."

"Damn!" Vesper swore. "We'll need them to take this guy down. Stay there and I'll fetch them."

With that, Vesper dashed out of the house towards the church, still in his glowing, blue tactician mode. Those who saw him that day believed him to be an avenging phantom, seeking vengeance against those who had invaded the altar, and he became a mysterious legend. But that didn't bother him at the moment.

Back in the church, Lyn and Glass were still duelling. Neither were able to get the other hand. Their blades were moving so fast, Sain and Kent had trouble keeping an eye on them, never mind getting close enough to strike. Finally Vesper arrived, in all his glowing blue glory, and chucked the two their lances.

"What do we do now?" Kent asked.

"Wait until Lyn-" Vesper remembered he didn't need to use telepathy. "Wait until Lyn gets back, then hit him with your lances."

"What makes you think that'll get him?" Sain scoffed. "Look at that guy's skills!"

"We've got a weapons triangle advantage." Vesper explained. "Lances beat swords, since it's harder for swordmen to get close enough to do damage. Similarly, swords beat axes, since axes are too heavy to deflect multiple sword strikes, and axes beat lances, since they can snap them in half thanks to their strength."

"I see..." Sain lied.

"Look, that doesn't matter for now." Vesper turned back to concentrating on the battle. "Lyn, retreat!"

Lyn opened her mouth to reply, but the momentary distraction was what Glass had been waiting for. He kicked Lyn in the stomach, sending her flying and causing her to drop her sword. Before anyone could do anything, he stepped on the sword, snapping its fragile blade, then dashed towards Lyn, intending to finish her off.

"Stop him!" Vesper yelled, but Sain and Kent were too far away to do anything.

For Lyn, time seemed to slow down. She could see Glass charging towards her, a look of victory on his face. She could see Vesper, still glowing blue and shouting orders. She could see Sain and Kent dashing to protect her. She knew she had to do something, but she couldn't roll away. Suddenly she felt a sword handle in her hand. She didn't know where it came from, or what it was, but she knew she had to use. It wasn't until she'd sliced Glass's sword in half, and him along with it, that she realised she'd just drawn the legendary sword, the Mani Katti.

"Hah, is that so?" The old priest grinned. "I never thought I'd meet the true wielder of the Mani Katti, at least not in my lifetime."

After Lyn had beaten Glass, the final bandit had entered the altar, to see what all the fuss was about. After seeing Glass's body, he'd screamed like a little girl and tried to run, but Sain nailed him to the wall with a well aimed javelin.

"So I really am its wielder?" This was too much for Lyn to take in. "But- But I can't be!"

"A couple of days ago, you thought you couldn't be a member of Lycian nobility." Vesper pointed out. "And now you're the wielder of a legendary sword. I'd just accept it's fate for weird, but awesome, things to happen to you."

"Indeed." The priest nodded. "I hope the sword serves you well."

"You want me to take it with us?" Lyn was flabbergastered. "But-!"

"A sword should be with it's true wielder." The priest told her. "I only wish I could come with you. But I'm too old, and there are no other priests to look after this place."

"Really?" Vesper could barely hide his disappointment. "There goes that plan."

...

"I have a feeling you didn't exactly come here to pray," Kent sighed.

"Really? What tipped you off to that?"

"This sword... is really mine?" The reality of the situation was finally sinking in for Lyn.

"Yeah, we may have mentioned that once or twice."

Lyn, on instinct, gave Vesper a thwack with the Mani Katti's scabbard.

"Ow!" Vesper rubbed his head, in pain. "Did you just hit me with a legendary sword?"

"Yeah." Lyn finally accepted it. "I guess I did."