Yoshi: People seemed to really like that last chapter.
Albedo: Of course they did. There was death!
Sméagol: He's obsessive, precious.
Omega: Yeah, well, here's the next chapter.
Chaper 6: The Threads of Fate.
After many days of travelling, the Killer's little troop stopped for the night with the forests of Hammel in sight.
Pyren had started a campfire, and Norma was sitting next to him, exchanging conversation with the mage. Jodus and Tia were standing guard in case of bandits, andand having quite the argument while doing so.
"Look, how many times am I going to say, 'I'm sorry,' before you forgive me?" Jodus exclaimed.
"You left me for DEAD!" Tia shouted back.
"I needed to-" Jodus started, and was promptly cut off.
"YOU DIDN'T NEED TO DO ANYTHING!" An infuriated Tia roared, and then went on long and very loud rant.
Killer was, miraculously, sleeping throughout all of this. Toss and turn he might, but the bellowing Tia never woke him.
Finally, the group's two newest recruits, the Shaman Korina, and the monk who was outside the chapel when the bandits had attacked, Brother Timothy, were away from the rest of the group. No one really understood why this peaceful monk wanted to join their cause, but his Light magic was definitely a boon to the group, so no one questioned it.
Timothy, finishing up his evening prayers, attempted to make conversation with the girl.
"So, what is your name?" he inquired.
"Hm?" Korina said, as she had been lost in thought looking at the boy near the fire.
"You seem to be interested in that boy, if I'm not mistaken," Timothy observed with a smile.
"Not in the way your thinking," Korina responded.
"Whatever you say," Timothy said.
"But if you are vying for that boy's attention, then I think you will have a little competition," he commented, gesturing at Norma.
Korina remained silent for a while, but then said, "I never answered your first question. I'm Korina."
"Timothy," the monk introduced himself, extending his hand, "It is my great pleasure to meet you, Korina."
Korina ignored the gesture and returned to her silent watch. Timothy shrugged, and walked closer to the fire, ready to sleep.
In the mysterious dark of the forest of Hammel, three travellers walked calmly. One, a small girl in black armour and blond hair, walked beside her horse. A sword was at her side and her brown eyes showed that she could use it. Another, a young man about the age of fifteen, with brown hair and a black, hooded cloak that hid his eyes, walked beside the girl's steed. Twin knives were at his side.
In front of them, leading the procession was a young man about sixteen. His brown eyes showed the soul of a great adventurer, his green cloak and dark brown, almost black hair flew in the wind, and he wore a blue headband. A sword was at his side.
"A nice day for a walk in the woods, wouldn't you say, Cross?" the leader of the group asked the hooded boy.
"Indeed, Anthony," Cross responded, "the mysterious shadows of the forest are sublime."
"You seriously creep me out," the girl commented.
"Oh, poor Christina," Anthony said in a mocking baby voice, "Is my little sis scared?"
"Oh, shut up," Christina retorted.
"That's the best you can come up with, wimp?" Cross snickered.
"Excuse me?" the young girl said, putting her hands on her hips, "If I recall correctly, this 'wimp' beat you-"
"Shh!" Cross suddenly interrupted.
"What?" Christina said, outraged, "How dare you-"
"Shh!" Cross shushed again, "Something's following us."
Slowly, the 'something', showed itself. In appearance of a white wolf, but with a black mane and bloodstained teeth, the thing growled menacingly.
"Just one?" Anthony wondered aloud, "this won't be fun."
As if on cue, more of the things came from the shadows, surrounding the group.
Christina gave her brother glare, as though saying, "You had to say something, didn't you?"
"Now," Cross announced, drawing his weapons, "the fun begins."
Elsewhere in the woods, a woman stood in combat with the very same sort of creatures as the trio elsewhere.
The woman, whose blue eyes betrayed no emotion, was dressed in the garb of a cleric, but was fighting as anything but. Her short black hair was already damp with sweat, as she was fighting the creatures unarmed.
She drove her heel into the throat of one creature, and turned to bring her knee into the stomach of another. Her fist smashed against another creature's jaw. She was holding up excellently, but she was tiring, something one of the creatures was about to exploit.
Waiting until she had turned to fight of another of its kin, the beast jumped at her, its maw gaping open, ready for fresh meat.
But the creature hadn't anticipated an ally of this human. It realized the mistake to late when a robed figure with brown hair jumped from the shadows and struck it with a long, slightly curved blade.
The figure's solemn grey eyes scanned the area, and found no more of the creatures about.
"Are you unharmed, Lady Lia?" he queried, sheathing his blade
"Yes, Ryu," Lia said, "Thank you for your assistance."
"You have hired me to be your guardian," Ryu said unemotionally, "And so I going to make sure you get your money's worth."
Lia shook her head as she began to walk away.
"Mercenaries."
Ania and Arden had been following their target in silence for quite some time. Both parties having finally stopped, Arden felt that it was time for some conversation.
"So, what do you think of their two new companions?" he asked, more out of boredom than curiosity.
"The ones they picked up in the village?"
"Yes," Arden replied, "The girl and the monk. What do you think?"
"I think they pose no threat to our mission," Ania responded, "but I'm still worried about their commander."
"Why?" Arden inquired.
"Something tells me he will be a threat to the mission."
After some silence, Arden heard Ania mumbling something about fate.
"What was that?"
"I was quoting to myself something my… 'Parents' used to say," She explained, "They said that everybody in the world is connected, as though there were invisible threads binding them. When these threads are sown together, people become connected, a part of each other's lives. This is how the great stories of the world are weaved."
Arden raised his eyebrows.
"So do you think they were speaking literally or metaphorically?" he asked.
"I'm not sure…" Ania admitted, noticing that the sun was coming up and the group they were shadowing was moving again, "But I do know this. I can feel it in the wind. The Threads of Fate, literal or not, are coming together."
Omega: Well, there's the chapter.
Albedo: Eh, it was okay, I guess.
Omega: I'll take that as a compliment from you, Albedo.
Yoshi: Didn't you have an announcement?
Omega: Oh yeah. I have compiled a list of all the classes that have yet to be used. They are: Knight, Mercenary, Fighter, Troubadour, and Priest. I also have room for two more Pegasus Knights (to stick to tradition) and I am also accepting some, not all, original classes submitted.