Chapter 10: "Hm… Bandits… Where have we seen this before?"
Lon'qu
"Hey, Lon'qu, come on, Grayson says we got some training to do" Robin calls to me as I slashed another log
Clean in half. And it didn't even budge. Good.
"Hm. So the boy remembers I exist?" I asked with a small smirk. He just gave me a sheepish look
"Seriously?" I just groaned "Fine, I'm coming"
"Holy shit, I forgot about Lon'qu" Grayson sputtered as he saw us
"Yeah. Way to go, kid" I deadpanned. He threw his hands up
"Hey, to be fair, I haven't seen you since…"
"You locked up? Fine. I understand I never checked on you" he gave a sigh of relief
"So, what will we be practicing?" I inquired
"Well… An… acquaintance of mine is going to teach us about physical magic"
"So, you plan on making me a mage?"
"No. It's… Well, I'll let him explain. Hold on, I'll call him" he closed his eyes.
Hm. This guy must be crazy
Suddenly, a second, almost blurry, image of Grayson appeared behind him
"Hey" it said. The first Grayson groaned
"Guys, this is Stryker. Stryker, why the fuck do you look like me?"
"I can take any form I like. Why? You got a problem?"
"Yes. It's bad enough you're in my head, I don't want you to go around looking like me. Next thing I know, you're telling everyone you ARE me"
"But I am…" Stryker said with a wide grin
"No. Just… No." Grayson replied unamused
"Hm, fine" he flickered for a while before showing that he was the same… But also different. His features were sharper, his hair was sleeker and spikier at once and his eyes…
His eyes were GLOWING green as opposed to Grayson's bright green orbs. However, his left eye… It was scarred and also, it contained no white- it was all black, save for the iris.
"Okay, what the fuck, dude?" Grayson looked almost horrified
"What? I just took your appearance and changed it up a bit and put in the edgiest additions possible: a scar over the eye and a black sclera. Now, it'll be IMPOSSIBLE to mistake me for you- my appearance is too unique!"
"Yeah, but why do you STILL have to base it on MY appearance"
"Eh. Don't know, don't care" he shrugged "So, Lon'qu, I believe you have some questions"
Understatement of the year
Grace
"How far away are we?" I asked
"We're about half an hour out from Westwall" Ayer replied "It's just beyond this forest"
"Oh, okay then" I answered contentedly. Suddenly, a handful of civilians came into view, running for their lives
"Are you mercenaries? Please help us! Our town is being attacked by bandits!" the man at the front of their group asked as he came up to us
"Hold on, are you from Westwall?" Priam asked urgently "What about the town watch?"
"They were caught off-guard and were cornered as they covered our retreat. By now, they're probably surrounded. Please, save them!"
"Alright, leave it to us. Alright, then, come on!" he kicked his horse's side and sped off, the rest of us following
Damn it all, I hope that Wanderer's okay
I'm guessing we made it in time since I can still hear fighting- as well as orders being barked like "Damn it, just finish them already!" and other stuff like "Get their fire mage first!" and "Aw, fuck! It burns!" (Those last two statements may or may not be connected)
"Right, let's go!" Priam dismounted from his horse and, after ensuring it wasn't gonna run off on him (because walking is no fun at all) headed into the fray, the rest of us in tow
We reached the town square in time to see quite a sight: Numerous charred remains lay all over the place while bandits kept coming toward a small group of five- and were almost immediately sent flying or cut down
Suddenly, I saw a bright, white-hot fireball descend from the sky and explode on another incoming group of bandits, covering them in flames and leaving them writhing and screaming in agony
"Wow… Do they even need our help?" Priam let out a chuckle
"Yes we do! We can't do this all day, you know!" One of them, a white-haired man in a tactician's cloak yelled back. I would've thought it was Robin if it weren't for the fact that his cloak had red markings, not purple
"If you say so" Priam answered, drawing Ragnell "Everyone, go!" Vick stayed behind the group, ready to defend against reinforcements. Matilda lagged. Ahead of Vick but behind the rest of us, she would be well-covered while she picked off the bandits with magic. Ayer had somehow made it to a rooftop and took potshots at whatever reinforcements were headed our way. That left Priam, Lucius and me.
Now, I don't know how well I would've done but the two of them got there before I did. And that meant that, between them and the town watch, there were just not enough bandits to go around.
Well. At least I tried to be helpful. Oh well.
I almost sheathed my sword when I heard Matilda call out
"Grace! Up on the roof! They got Ayer!"
I looked up just in time to see a man with an axe push Ayer off the roof before jumping down himself and cleaving the archer's body in two with his axe
"AYER!" I screamed in shock
How? Weren't we the good guys? Is this just because he was a minor character? DAMN IT! DAMN IT ALL!
"Heh, heh. You're next, girlies. Oh, and you too, tin can" the bandit grinned savagely. I just looked at him blankly. He hardly noticed, though, because his attention was shifted to Vick who rushed at him with his poleaxe
As I watched them fight, I thought back to my time with Priam's company. Never once did I feel they were anything more than NPCs. Heck, even though I appreciated them, it was only as mere units. Why did it take someone's death for me to accept they were people too?
No more. I'm done with this. If I'm gonna fight alongside these people, then I would have to start treating them as real, living beings
"Vick! Back up!" I called out, running toward their fight. He stepped back and I slashed at the bandit with a reverse grip. He just sidestepped it and readied his axe but a thrust from Vick's weapon forced him on the defensive.
Seizing the opportunity, I kicked at the bandit's legs. However, they hardly even gave in and he just swatted me aside.
"Grace!" Matilda rushed to my side and healed me up "It's not good. There's still more coming. Priam and the others are blocking them off from the square but they'll need more help"
"But Vick-"
"It's okay, I'll back him up. Now go!" I nodded begrudgingly and got up, heading off to meet the bandit offensive.
I met up with the town watch's cavalier with their (wounded mage) trying to block off a street
"Need help?" I offered. I didn't wait for an answer and rushed at the bandits, slashing in a wide arc with a reverse grip, hitting two bandits at once- but not quite killing them. The cavalier disposed of them quickly enough afterwards
"Thanks. We'll mop up here, now. Head to a bridge two blocks to the east. Our other companions are over there. They might need your help"
"Sure"
Their other companions, huh? I bet the Wanderer's one of them
Satoshi
"Damn, when will backup get here?" I asked as I fired off another spell
"Not sure, either" our healer, Kya replied "Hold still, Ned" she said, holding out one hand and clutching her staff with another while the swordsman was enveloped in a green light
"Hey, thanks, Kya" he said before turning his attention back to the bandits. Another one charged in but was met by the tip of his sword as soon as he reached him. Then, one of Priam's companions- the gray-haired woman- arrived
Oh, great. A GIRL. Let's hope I don't mess up NOW in the middle of a battle
"Hey, you guys need some help?" she asked
"Nah, we're doing just fine" Ned replied with a grin
"Don't listen to him. Any help would be appreciated" I said calmly
All right, me! I didn't stutter or otherwise make a fool of myself
"Okay, then" and she ran off to engage the bandits
Man, I should tell you, this girl's a NINJA. She ducks, dives, jumps, rolls and flips all over the place, slashing at enemies at the same time. One of them got through her and got into her blind spot. Since this was probably the girl Stryker was talking about in his message, I decided to help her out
I pocketed my tome and grabbed my saw cleaver- straight outta Bloodborne- and slashed the bandit in two. Grace turned around and noticed the dead guy
"Oh, thanks. Nice save" she smiled
"Yeah, you too" she just looked at me blankly
…
DAMMIT!
"Alright then, that's that" I said I said as I disposed of the last bandit "So, should we rendezvous at the square with the others?"
"Yeah, sure"
On the way back, she suddenly spoke "So… You must be a Wanderer"
"Huh? What gave it away?"
"That saw cleaver from Bloodborne" she pointed at the weapon strapped to my back
"Oh, right. Forgot about that"
"So, then, what's your name?" she looked at me expectantly
"Satoshi. Satoshi Aerial"
"Huh. You Japanese?"
"Half, actually. I'm Japanese from my mom's side and my dad's Canadian"
"Oh, okay then. So, I'm guessing you got a book when you got here" I nodded before taking it out of my pack and handing it to her, letting her read the message
Satoshi Aerial
Welcome to Valm. Now, if you're gonna get sent to Fire Emblem Awakening, then why weren't you sent to Ylisse? No particular reason. I don't know, really, it's the boss's idea.
So, anyway, since there are no Shepherds here yet, you'll have to meet up with Priam's army. You remember him, right?
Oh, yeah, and show this to Grace. She's a Wanderer like you and should be with Priam by now. When you do, this book'll activate its communication feature, allowing you to contact all the other Wanderers regardless of location
Just stick with them until the Ylisseans get there okay? You'll probably pick up some future children on the continent too.
Well, that's all for now. Good luck not dying!
-Stryker Gryphus
She closed the book and gave it back to me
"Well then, greenie, welcome to not-a-fanfic!"
"I'm sorry for your loss" One of the villagers told Priam "He must've been a brave man"
"No… It's okay. He would've wanted to die rather than surrender anyway" Priam answered. I looked over to Grace and saw her previously light mood was replaced by a much darker one, her face wearing a sullen expression
"So, anyway. Captain Ned?" Priam addressed our leader
"Yeah?"
"Would it be okay for Satoshi here to join up with us?"
"Well, that would depend on Satoshi... Whaddya think, kid?" he asked me
"Well, okay. I mean, I have to, for reasons I can't disclose"
"Ha! Always one for secrets, aren't you? Fine, go ahead. Though I do admit you've been a great help" he clapped me on the shoulder
"Thank you, sir"
"Well, you lot had better get going. Wouldn't do for "The Radiant Hero's Legacy" to be late coming home, now would it?"
"You know?... Of course you do. Well, anyway, thanks, captain!" Priam said before walking off, prompting us to do the same
We stopped at a little grove in the forest to bury their archer- Ayer- properly. After our moment of silence, Priam spoke
"We've lost a good man but gained a new friend here. Welcome- at least for now unless you have other plans- Satoshi"
Chapter 10
A/N Yay! New chapter! And it didn't take me an eternity and a half
So so so so so sorry about this chapter. I admit, it's hardly my best work (though even if it were, it wouldn't be any better)
So, anyway, Satoshi was submitted by kaizero6
Now, if you were wondering how many OCs there are lined up, the answer would be: 11-13 total. Not counting new submissions. So, yeah. That's a lot. Not even including the minor characters like Priam's mercenaries or the town watch.
As for personal weapons, here's a list:
Robin: Magic sword: "Dreadwing"
Reflet: Multitype tome: "Grimoire"
Grayson: Bifurcated sword: "Grayscale"
Grace: Bifurcated sword: "Greyhound"
Albireo: Clip-system crossbow: "Black Swan"
Marcus: Twin axes: unnamed for now
Dylan: Glaive (referred to as a lance): unnamed for now
Satoshi: Fire tome: "Amaterasu"; Saw cleaver (straight outta Bloodborne): unnamed for now
So, yeah. OC-centric (although they won't replace the canon cast. Just upstage them by doing something else)
So, again, sorry if this chapter ain't up to par. I'll try to work better next time.
-NS01 out-