Band of Mercenaries
"This place... It's..." Alysia was speechless as she walked through the ruined section of town. It had been ten days since she and Lyn had left Sacae. Now, as they made their way to Caelin, they passed through a range of mountains inhabited by bandits. Lyn had relayed tales of the atrocities they'd committed, but to Alysia, seeing them firsthand was horrifying.
"This entire place is in ruins." Sain said sadly. "Why doesn't their marquess do anything to help them?"
"They don't have a marquess." Lyn said. "Taliver Mountain is home to a gang of vicious, ruthless bandits. No marquess holds power here, and those who try to resist are quickly cut down." She paused. "My village was near here, on the other side of this mountain." Alysia saw her fight back the tears. "It only took one night... my people were... There are fewer than ten of the Lorca left. They're soulless beasts. I'll never forgive them."
Alysia shifted uncomfortably. "Lyndis..." Sain said.
"I won't run away." She said, hands balling into fists. "I'll be back, someday. I'll be stronger. I will break their swords beneath me like twigs under a stallion's hooves." She closed her eyes. "I will avenge the Lorca." She vowed. "I will do everything in my power to see it through."
"When that time comes, bring me with you!" Sain declared.
"Don't forget me, either." Kent added.
"Sain... Kent..." Lyn smiled. "What of you, Alysia?"
Alysia didn't respond, but instead stared blankly ahead, her mind lost in the past, in a memory that felt like it was an entire lifetime old.
"Alysia?" Lyn asked again.
"Hm?" Alysia responded, returning to the present.
Lyn sighed, and shook her head. "You've been spacing out like that ever since you got some of your memories back, but you still haven't told us anything about your past. Are you sure you're alright?" A tone of worry was creeping into her voice.
Alysia nodded. "I'm alright. They're just hard to take in... Who's over there?" Alysia pointed to the intact side of the village, where two men were bullying a young pegasus rider.
"Is that... Florina?" Lyn gasped. "Let's go!" They ran over to the site of the commotion. "Is that you, Florina?" Lyn cried out.
"Lyn?" The purple-haired girl asked.
"Florina! It is you!" Lyn cried happily. "What are you doing here?"
"Lyn! I... I..." Tears began to form in her eyes.
"Come now, no crying." Lyn comforted.
"You are acquaintances?" Kent asked riding up.
"She's a friend. Her name is Florina." Lyn explained. "She's a pegasus knight in training from Ilia. She's more than a bit shy around men." Turning back to Florina, she asked, "Florina, what happened here?"
"Well, when I heard that you'd left, I decided to follow you. I saw this village, and flew down to see if they'd had any word of you. I didn't see these two, and... well..."
Alysia stifled a laugh. "You landed on them?"
"Well, I..." She blushed, and sighed. "A little."
"Ha! You heard her!" A man yelled, striding up. Florina yelped, and scrambled behind Lyn. "She admits her fault! She stepped on my friend, so now she has to pay!"
"Florina," Alysia asked, "Did you apologize?"
"Yes." She said sheepishly. "Many times over. They just wouldn't listen." Tears returned to her eyes.
Lyn hugged her close. "It's alright, Florina."
"Look," Alysia said to the man, "She's clearly sorry. Can't you just let this pass? Neither you nor your friend appear injured."
The second man approached. "No way! The wench comes with us, by force if need be!" The men drew their axes, but retreated when Kent and Sain drew their swords. As the bandits ran, other bandits filed out of the ruins they had just come from.
"We've got to fight back!" Lyn declared.
"You're a pegasus knight, right Florina?" Alysia asked. She nodded. "Can you fight?" She nodded again, more confident this time.
"Lyn, these villagers may end up caught in the crossfire unless we warn them. I'll head to this village. Florina, there's another one over this wall. Please warn them, but make sure that you steer clear of archers." Florina nodded, and went to her saddle, making sure everything was in order.
Alysia dashed off to the nearby village, and headed to the nearest house. The place was a ghost town. "Hello? Anyone here?" She called out.
"Leave us alone, you thugs!" A voice answered. "We've given you all our gold already!"
"No, wait! I'm not a bandit! I'm here to help!" Alysia responded. She heard hushed whispers from a nearby house, and then the door opened to reveal a brown-haired man. A bow was strung over his chest, and a quiver hung at his side.
"If you're not one of the bandits, then who are you?" He asked.
"I'm Alysia. My group and I are just passing through." Alysia explained. "We saw some bandits, and we're going to deal with them, but we don't want anyone caught in the crossfire. We need you to warn the villagers to close the gates!"
Alysia turned to leave, but felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned back around. "The name's Wil. I'm also a traveler of sorts. These people have been very kind to me. I'd like to help you fight."
"We need all the help we can get, Wil. Welcome aboard!" Together, they left the village as Florina approached from the air. Alysia heard a sharp cry as she saw Wil.
"It's OK!" She shouted. "He's with us!" Florina gave a nervous nod, and continued north.
"What's with her? Is she alright?" Wil asked.
"Oh, sorry. That was Florina. She's timid around men as is," Alysia explained, "and your having a bow doesn't help matters much."
Wil nodded. "I understand just how bad it is for a creature of the sky to suddenly drop from the air." He said with a devilish grin. "But maybe she should fear the enemy's archers instead of her own, no?"
Alysia smiled. "Come on, we need to get involved!"
Wil nodded, and Florina approached again, this time managing to simply cringe once as she landed near Wil.
"I visited the village." She reported to Alysia, doing her best to ignore the male archer before her. "They gave me money and directions to an armory nearby."
She tossed Alysia a bag filled with gold and prepared to take wing again. "Hang on a moment." Alysia said. Florina held her position, waiting.
"These walls are going to make it hard for Wil to see what he's shooting." Alysia said. "Could you please spot for him?"
A look of dread crossed her face for a brief moment, but it quickly faded, though she still looked uneasy. "Of course." Florina said.
Alysia nodded, and took off for the rest of his group.
She found Lyn with Kent and Sain as they worked in tandem to finish off a bandit, Kent finishing a fight with a sword-wielding mercenary with a quick thrust of his lance, and Sain managing to dodge an arrow that came from over the wall.
"Kent!" She called, tossing him the bag of coin. "There's an armory near here. Get some weapons!" The knight nodded, and took off. "Sain!" The green-clad knight looked to his commander. "Dispatch the archer on the other side!" Sain nodded, and took off.
A few minutes later, they reconvened, Kent handing Sain a new sword, while buckling the other to his own belt.
"I... I think I saw their leader in some ruins to the north." Florina said. Alysia nodded, and closed her eyes for a moment in concentration.
"Wil, I want you to get in an opening shot at their leader. After that, I want Kent and Sain to go in with swords, hitting him on either side. Florina, I know you're no good around men, but I need you to come in on top of him as Lyn hits him from in front." She opened her eyes to see understanding looks from most, and a timid look from Florina. She nodded, and they moved north to the ruins of another cluster of houses.
Wil fired a quick shot from his bow, which flew straight and true into the leader's shoulder. Then, as planned, Kent and Sain galloped ahead, flanking the bandit and cutting at him with their swords. He managed to dodge Kent's blade, but Sain succeeded in wounding the bandit further. Florina approached, but swerved at the last moment, landing near the bandit.
"Um... Excuse me..."
"Huh? It's you! So, you changed your mind about coming with us, eh?"
Florina fidgeted. "Well...no... But..." She stuttered. "This really is... my fault... Really... So, can we..."
"What?" The bandit yelled. "C'mon, lass, out with it!"
"I'm sorry. Can we..." She took a deep breath. "Can we just stop fighting now?"
"You've got to be kidding." He muttered. "After I've been made to look like a fool? No way!"
The bandit charged her stationary mount, which quickly took off, buffeting him with gusts of wind.
"You're coming with us!" The bandit yelled after her. "I promise you that! Now, if you don't want to get hurt, give yourself up!"
"Hey, listen!" Lyn called out. "There's something I wanted to ask you."
The bandit turned to look at Lyn. "Oh? Begging for your life so soon, bitch?"
Lyn ignored the comment. "Are you... Taliver bandits?"
"Taliver?" The bandit spat the word, clearly insulted. "Those greedy monsters? We're nothing like them! Those fiends will even kill women and children! We're from Ganelon, and we know a little something of honor. We don't harm women, for one thing." A disturbing grin spread across his face as he laughed. "After all, why kill what you can sell?"
Again, Lyn ignored the comment. "If you're not Taliver, then there's no reason for you to die here today." She moved her hand from the sheath that held the Mani Katti. "If you would like to tuck your tail between your legs and flee, do so now. I won't give chase."
"You... You... No more courtesies!" The bandit yelled. "You bitches are going to learn to watch your tongues!" The bandit charged Lyn, his axe raised high in preparation to strike. Lyn easily dodged the strike, and sank the Mani Katti into him. He dropped his axe as Lyn calmly slid the Spirit Sword from his belly, and he clutched at the wound.
"You'll... Regret this... My brothers... The Ganelon bandits... will avenge me!" Then, his eyes rolled back into his head, and he collapsed.
"Lyn!" Florina cried, rushing to hug her old friend.
"Florina, why did you follow me?" Lyn asked. "It's so dangerous."
"I... Do you remember the knighting ceremony for Ilia's pegasus knights?" Florina asked.
Alysia spoke up. "Joining up with freelancers?"
Lyn looked at her, as though curious as to how she knew that. Then, the realization hit her, and turned back to Florina. "That's what brought you here?" She asked, surprised. "You're ready to undertake?"
The pegasus knight nodded, sending her light-purple locks into small waves. "I wanted to say goodbye before I started," She explained, "but when I got to Sacae, I heard you'd left with some strangers, so..."
"So you followed be because you were worried?" Lyn asked. "That's nice of you to do, but I'm more worried about you. Most mercenaries are men. I can't imagine you being comfortable around them."
"I know. It's just..." Florina sighed. "I've always dreamed of being a pegasus knight. I figured it'd... work out somehow. I'm not so sure now. Maybe... maybe it's hopeless..." Tears began to collect in her eyes.
"Florina... Please don't cry." Lyn said.
"Yes! Shed no tears!" Sain called out. "There is no reason to give up your dreams!" Florina squeaked, and dashed behind Lyn. "I just had the most brilliant idea!" He announced.
"Sain, most of your ideas end with something going horribly wrong, remember?" Kent said.
Ignoring his partner, Sain continued. "You should come with us!" He said proudly. "Between myself, Kent, Wil, and Lyn, we're a fine group of soldiers, and freelance to boot!"
"Yeah! Join us!" Wil said. He frowned. "Wait, did you just include me?"
Sain kept on going. "Of course! Destiny brought us all here! Fate arranged for us to gather! Come now," He said, "Lyndis' band of mercenaries is as good a training group as you could hope for!"
"Sain!" Kent said, not bothering to hide the annoyance in his voice. "This is no joking matter!" He pulled his partner away, and began talking to him with furious whispers.
"Lyn?" Florina asked. Lyn turned around to face her friend. "Mercenaries?"
Lyn smiled. "I can give you the details later. This is all a bit rushed. However, Sain is right."
"Hah! Finally!" Sain said, getting a disapproving look from Kent.
"Will you come with us, Florina?" Lyn asked.
"Gladly!" Florina said. "Traveling with you while fulfilling my training requirements is too good an opportunity to pass up!"
"Fantastic!" Sain said, jogging up. "Beautiful Florina, I am Sain, a knight of Caelin!"
Florina squeaked, and quickly backed away from the knight errant, something that only seemed to egg him on.
"So beautiful, yet so modest!" And on he went, trying without success to woo Florina.
"I beg your forgiveness." Kent said apologetically. "Calling us mercenaries..."
Lyn shook her head. "No, I approve. We can't leave Florina alone. She does require... 'special' attention, though. Can I trust you?" Kent nodded.
Wil walked up to Lyn. "So, it's alright if I travel with you?"
Alysia laid a hand on his shoulder. "You helped us out a great deal today." Alysia said. "Of course you're welcome with us!"
"Thank you!" Wil said. "Honestly, I don't know what I'd have done without you guys. A group of thugs stole all of my money, and I was living off of these people's generosity." He admitted. "I'd be honored to count myself among Lyndis' Legion!"
Alysia smiled. "'Lyndis' Legion'?"
"You'd prefer 'Alysia's Army'?" Wil asked jokingly. That brought everyone to a fit of laughter. As it died, Lyn looked at Alysia.
"This is getting stranger with each passing day, Alysia!" She said.