Chapter 29) Border
Great-Great-Grandfather Julius was careful, starting small and let Bern think they were being smart, taking advantage of him. He let them ridicule them as they slowly fell for his trap, replacing each of their old cavalry with Hanover horses. He let them get used to the horses, and then, when it came time to replace them, they found that their own did not measure up. Their strategies had adapted to Hanover horses, and switching back would cost them too much time.
That was when he upped the price. He was always crafty.
"Madelyn, you need to watch your guard on your left," I shouted as I parried a blow. "You are wide open."
"So are you!" she retorted, twisting to kick at my legs. I easily flipped over her. "Hey!"
"I am an assassin; you honestly think I do not know most of dirty tricks?" I landed easily, and put the sword on her neck. "Checkmate."
"We are not playing chess!" Still, she laughed, stepping back. "Ah, I'm sore!" Yeah, so was I. We had been sparring for a rather long time. An hour or so, including breaks? "But I think I'm getting the hang of it."
"Considering the brutal training regime we decided to undertake as we crossed the plains, I would be surprised if you were not." I tossed the practice sword to the side and stretched, wincing as my back protested. "Freaking hell, I almost wish Marcus's method was not so effective." Marcus had been the one to outline everyone's training and damn if it was not brutal. Even Nicky was startled, and he was used to Etruria. "You think Brendan is done cooking yet?"
"Probably not, but I can't wait!" We rapidly discovered that Brendan was far and away the best cook of us, and we forced him to make food every day. Luckily, he did not seem to mind. "Oh…" Her face softened with a smile, and I turned to see what she was looking at. I knew almost immediately it was Hassar. "Looks like he's having fun."
"Yeah." The first few sword lessons Hassar had with Nicky were awkward, likely because there was a very good chance that Nicky was teaching him the same techniques that killed his wife. But now, the two laughed as they sparred, their horses being playful. "And there is Maria, trying to tag-team." But Nicky caught sight of her and ducked, making her pout. "I find this so… is ironic the word I want?"
"Maybe." She shrugged, looking at me. "Why?"
"A former Etrurian knight is teaching a Sacaean nomad and Ilian mercenary a tricks to staying balanced while fighting with swords." I smiled wryly. "You cannot tell me that is not something."
"Good point." She hummed a little in thought. "I was surprised that Hassar needed those lessons, though. He taught me, after all."
"From what I understand, Hassar primarily knows how to fight with swords on foot, and learned it as a past-time. His muscle memory on horseback is more for archery, which requires a very different seating."
"Oh." She giggled. "Still, it is wonderful to see them having fun." It was indeed.
It also made me curious about the others, so I glanced around the area to check. My eyes immediately went to Uther first where he and Wallace were exchanging boasts as they sparred; Wallace was teaching Uther lances and Uther was teaching him axes. You could tell by their smiles that they were having fun, though.
Yodel and Urien were not far away, and looked far more serious. But you could still see their happy smiles as Yodel successfully called on the power of a lightning tome, even if the magic struck a little too close to Eagler's horse for comfort. Eagler, though, barely seemed to notice it as he instructed Elbert and Marcus in axes, snapping criticisms and praise in equal measure.
"It certainly has been an interesting few days," I whispered. But now, we were on the border of Sacae and Ilia, having crossed into the mountains a few days ago. Maria suggested we head towards Edessa directly, which was in the northeastern part of Ilia. Which meant mountains. "I am pleasantly surprised we have not been hit with a blizzard yet."
"Let's hope the luck stays!" Madelyn laughed. Her smile faltered, though, as she glanced back at Hassar. I knew she was still thinking long and hard about what she wanted to do, what she wanted to risk. "Hey, Amanda?"
"I have no advice to give." I smiled sadly. "I am having difficulties taking the advice I have been given."
"I suppose." She sighed. "Ugh, okay, I'm going to spin the bad thoughts away." She promptly started twirling, and I just watched with incredulous exasperation. "And there!" She teetered a bit, giggling. "A dizzy spell will make them tumble out!" Seriously, Madelyn? "Wait, what's that?" She pointed to something on the horizon, and my eyes narrowed when I realized what it was. Smoke. A lot of smoke, especially for this time of day. "Amanda?"
"Let's check with Maria first." There might be some tradition. "But, if it's bad, we're moving."
If we met trouble on the border, did that mean we were going the right way? I would like a silver lining to this, please and thank you.
Well, there was trouble, and the trouble was morphs. More importantly, they were morphs led by that one who had teleported Albert away. And that particular morph had a bolting.
We split our group between firefighting and morph-fighting. It was times like this I really felt how 'small' our group really was.
"I don't know what's worse, the fire or the bolting," Uther growled. Somehow, he, a dismounted Elbert, and I ended up groups together, surrounded by fire and corpses. The smell was absolutely nauseating. "Elbert, what happened to your horse?"
"I'm letting the fire group borrow him to pull up rubble," Elbert answered, cutting down a morph that came to close. When he was not mounted, he tended to use his sword as if it were a rapier. For some reason. "They can do that better without me nearby, puking my guts out because I can see a child's hand blackening."
"Shame. We could have trampled them." He threw himself back suddenly, dodging another bolting. "I hate magic right now. Where's Yodel and Urien?"
"Tending to civilians." Elbert's tone very clearly conveyed an 'of course'. "Arrows." The three of us ducked, letting the arrows thud into the nearby house. "Okay, we need a plan."
"I think the plan is going to be you two busting through, and me trying to sneak up to that damn morph with the bolting," I grumbled. Things were so chaotic that I could not even think of a nursery rhyme to hum. The rhythm of the fight was all off. "Another one."
We had to roll out of the way, twice. First from the bolting, and then from the arrows. "I hope the others aren't having as difficult of a time," Uther sighed. He suddenly paused, and pointed. "Did the morph come down here?" Both Elbert and I turned and saw the morph not far away, tilting their head and studying us closely. "What? Done with trying to electrocute us?" There was no answer. They just kept staring. "Amanda, if you do not mind…?"
"My Master has ordered the collection of quintessence," the morph suddenly whispered. I could barely hear their voice among everything. "This has been completed. My mission is done." They pointed to the north. "Ephidel is to the north with the two little pawns. He will see things to the end." Uh…
"Why are you telling us this?"
"I do not know." They actually looked genuinely confused. "But I do not agree with working with this Albert pawn. It is not in my nature to disagree, so I worked on my task. And I have completed it."
"Then, what? You're just going to attack the place and leave?"
"Yes, it is inefficient to continue going about like this. The quintessence gathered is meek and meager." They tossed their bolting to the side for emphasis. "Yours is bright, glittering, glorious. It would be more efficient to simply take yours." Um… "But not yet. Your quintessence is still growing. I will wait. I will tell my master of you, and we will wait. This current plan is flawed."
"It sounds like you're just trying to logic a way to leave innocents alone."
"I am a morph." The words were soft, almost apathetic. "I am a construct, crafted in my master's view of perfection. All that I am is a false imitation." They nodded. "Yes, so is this guilt." Magic wrapped around them. "If I continue, I will be destroyed, and I could not help my master. So, I leave." A flash of light, and they did just that. They simply… left.
"Did that seriously just happen?" Uther turned to look at Elbert and me, as if to confirm. "Did they seriously just…?" Just give us a very longwinded 'I am so done here' and leave? Yes. Yes, they did. It did not make any sense to me.
"Well, I suppose that is telling of how insufferable Albert is," I joked, mostly to try and ease the confused tension of the area. The fires were starting to burn out. "Not even a doll can be ordered to help him."
"That is pretty amusing," Elbert agreed. He managed a small smile. "I wonder if they only even attacked the place to get our attention."
"What makes you say that?"
"Just because of how longwinded and clunky that speech was." Basically, it was 'just a feeling'. "I could be wrong. I like seeing the best in all people, even morphs." Yes, yes. "Ah, hello there, Maria, how goes everyone?"
"They 'go' fine," Maria replied, landing next to us. She dismounted easily, looking incredulous. "Did the morph in charge seriously run away?" Yep. "Why?"
"No idea," Uther sighed. He leaned into my slightly, as if totally exhausted. "I have a headache." I was certain his headache was the same as mine. Was that morph telling any semblance of truth? Were they truly gone? What had that morph been doing here at all? Nothing about them made sense.
"Well, you're in the perfect place for an icepack." She suddenly smiled sweetly, despite the blood and soot and the bodies at her feet. "Welcome to Ilia, by the way."
Well, this was one hell of a greeting.
People
· **Amanda, me. Huntress of Ostia.
o Thief and Assassin. Wields daggers and swords.
o Blonde hair, amber eyes, 19 years old.
o Former noblewoman who was disowned, and dealing with the scars of having an abusive ex-fiance. This is made worse by my falling in love with Uther.
o Probably due to all the fighting, but I've gotten skilled at killing even without the need for ambushes. I still prefer the shadows, though.
· **Uther, heir of Ostia
o Fighter? General? He wields axes, lances, and wears heavy armor.
o Blue hair, brown eyes, 19 years old.
o A kind, infuriating, man who started this whole adventure because he wanted to look into the murders.
o Taught Wallace axes, and learned lances from him.
· **Hassar, Sacaean mercenary, Chieftain of the Lorca
o Nomad of the Lorca tribe. Wields bows and swords
o Green hair, green eyes, 18 years old.
o Kind, idealistic, and perhaps a bit overworking given how quickly he got the lists out for us. Lost his wife, and baby son, to Etrurian squires, and is now terrified of falling in love, even as he develops feelings for Madelyn.
· **Maria, Ilian mercenary
o Falco Knight. Wields lances and swords.
o Lavender hair, blue eyes, 16 years old.
o On her year field-training, was tricked into helping and now seeks to atone for it. A skilled field medic.
o Doesn't seem to mind all of our antics, and is actually really supportive.
· **Madelyn, heir of Caelin
o Swordmaster. Wields swords.
o Black hair, blue eyes, 17 years old.
o A gentle noblewoman with a surprising fierceness. She is in love with Hassar and is worried about whether or not he would accept such feelings. She is also well aware of the struggles she will have for this romance.
o Took rather well to the 'dirty fighting' lessons I gave her.
· **Elbert, Marquess of Pherae
o Paladin. Specializes in swords, and knows lances almost as well. His axe skills could use work, but they are serviceable.
o Red hair, blue eyes, 18 years old.
o Got dragged into our mess by trying to figure out the cause of the unrest in Lycia. Happily married. A far too kind and idealistic person who will likely get killed trying to save someone.
· **Marcus, Pheraen knight.
o Paladin. Specializes in lances, but knows swords just as well now. His axe skills are noticeably lackluster in comparison.
o Purple hair, purple eyes, 23 years.
o Sometimes reminds me more of a butler than a knight. Seems to be dealing with some sort of trauma, but clearly thinks the world of Elbert.
o Specializes in generating brutal, but effective, training schedules.
·** Eagler, Caelin Knight.
o Paladin. Equally specialized in swords and knives. Noticeably poorer with axes.
o Green hair, brown eyes, 22 years old.
o Protective and perhaps a little stern. He is absolutely loyal to Madelyn.
o Taught Elbert and Marcus how to use axes.
· **Nicky/Nicholas, Count Hanover
o Paladin. Specializes in lances. Knows swords and axes equally well.
o Brown hair, amber eyes, 24 years old.
o My cousin, a former 'young knight' of Etruria. Still shaken by the revelations Desmond brought, though he does his best to not look it.
o Taught Hassar and Maria tricks to staying stable while fighting with swords.
· **Yodel, Priest.
o Healer primarily, but now knows light magic. Combat medic, anyone?
o Blonde hair, blue eyes, 25 years old.
o I think we are good for his 'acting calm through everything' training. Though, I think we exasperate him a lot.
· **Urien, Count Reglay
o Sage. Tomes and staves.
o Silver hair, silver eyes, 24 years old.
o Powerful magic user like many of those from Reglay, who got involved mostly because Albert was trying to kill Mordred.
o Managed to teach Yodel light magic, despite specializing in anima
· **Brendan Reed, Black Fang Leader
o Warrior. Specializes in axes, knows bows.
o Brown-blonde hair, brown eyes, 26 years old
o A surprisingly kind man, especially for an assassin, who was hired to kill us, but broke contract because it went against his morals.
o Awesome chef who loves cooking.
· **Wallace, Caelin Knight
o Armored Knight. Wields lances.
o Brown hair, brown eyes, 22 years old.
o Bombastic knight who manages to drive Hassar up the wall. Loyal to Madelyn, though.
o Taught Uther lances, and learned axes from him.
Author's Note: Okay, at this point, everyone is 'officially' promoted. We're also in Ilia at long last. For this chapter's growth rates, we have Hassar and Maria.
Hassar: 50% HP, 40% Str, 5% Mag, 40% Skl, 50% Spd, 40% Lck, 20% Def, 10% Res
Maria: 40% HP, 25% Str, 15% Mag, 50% Skl, 50% Spd, 45% Lck, 10% Def, 20% Res
(Fun fact: If you add up the individual growth rates for Amanda, Uther, Hassar, and Maria, you'll find that all of them add up to 255 each.)
Next Chapter – Sparkling Skies
