Antioch (North of Aurelis)
Weeks later:
"These belligerents stand accused of tarnishing the memory of the Hero-King Marth!" a herald announced in front of a crowd while holding Brine and Roan's wanted posters "They have been conducting rebellious activity throughout the kingdom and disrupting the lives of those that are caught in their warpath! It is your duty not only as citizens of Archanea but also as descendants of those who fought and supported the Hero-King to report any sightings or information related to these criminals! Rest assured that Queen Lani will handsomely reward those who shall fulfill their duty to the kingdom!"
"Who are these people, anyway?" a man amongst the crowd whispered
"You don't know?" his companion replied "From what I heard, they helped breakout a large group of rebels imprisoned in the capital and burned the city while reaching for the boats"
"Really? Sounds brutal"
"It is. The heralds say many died that night. Also, I heard that people have been seeing a large group of bandits from the northern provinces marching south"
"That's a scary thought… I hope that one is just a rumor"
"That's true… But all these rumors do explain why there are a lot more guards around the city…"
As the two men continue their conversation, the 3 hooded figures behind them walk through the crowds. They were walking slowly and carefully, gently pushing people aside and seemingly joining a group of hooded priests before slipping into a dark alley.
Meanwhile, on the rooftops, another hooded figure spots the 3 enter the alley and quickly follows them. Demonstrating remarkable parkour abilities, he scales the roofs as he trails the 3, his feet not even touching the ground below. Upon reaching the alley, he spots the 3 figures descend down a flight of stairs.
In what appears to be an underground passage, the 3 hooded figures eventually reach a large wooden door at the end. One of them knocks on it.
The door hole opens. "Yes?" a deep male voice asked
"We're here to see Gilberto" a calm female voice replied
"Who's that?"
"Nobody. Just an opportunist"
The door hole closes and after a couple of clicking noises, the man opens the door.
The 3 figures enter and put their hoods down as man closes and locks the door behind them.
"Shara. Maya" Lorelei said "Don't speak unless I say so. Do you understand?"
The 2 rebels nod as they proceed deeper into the passageway.
It was barely lit but Maya could notice silhouettes of people in some parts of the passage. To the untrained eye though, they are barely noticeable.
"We're being watched…" Maya whispered
"I guess it's only natural for the Thieves Guild to be this cautious" Shara replied
"You two, shut up" Lorelei interrupted as they reach a wooden door at the end of the passage.
The outlaw knocks on the door.
"The boss is expecting you" a guard said as he opens the door and the 3 proceed into the map room.
"Gilberto" Lorelei said as a middle aged man wearing a brown hooded cloak puts a map down and approaches the 3.
"Lorelei" he replied "It has been years since we last spoke"
"Indeed"
"Last I heard of you, you were about to be executed. We tried to rescue you but it seems you made the choice to join the kingdom"
"I did but now I am no longer affiliated with the kingdom"
"Yes. I heard of a small group of the Kingdom's finest soldiers defected and staged a prison riot at the capital, burning it in the process. Am I correct in assuming that is your group?"
Lorelei nods. "But we did not burn the capital. We never set fire to anything"
"I thought as much. The kingdom does love manipulating information. Though it still boggles my mind how an assassin of your caliber would choose to side with the kingdom in the first place"
"Gilberto. I am pressed for time. Do you have the information I asked?"
The trickster chuckles. "I guess we cannot catch up on old times when a war is going on"
He then directs Lorelei to a map placed on top of a table on the left side of the room.
"Here is a map of the silver mines" he reported "My informants tell me that Taguel slaves have been moved there recently. Many of these slaves came from that same revolt your unit squashed months ago"
"… The kingdom broke their word…" Maya muttered in disgust
"Not surprising considering the kind of people running it" Shara added
"What of the guards?" Lorelei asked
"The mine is heavily guarded" Gilberto answered "They even have a few riflemen stationed there but the slaves still outnumber them and, as you asked, I had some of my people pose as guards and slaves at the mines"
"And the magical stones?"
"We managed to steal from the treasury in the capital. It was not an easy task to steal hundreds of these stones and smuggle them from the capital to the mines so this uprising better be worth it"
"Don't worry it will"
West of the city is a valley leading to the mountains. Deep in the mountain's forests, a wild boar's screams echo throughout the trees as it is seemingly running for its life. Behind it are two hunters; Lissette, who is chasing it on foot, and a wyvern rider, flying above the trees.
Lissette throws a miniature lance but misses her mark. The wyvern rider then throws his hand axe but misses as well.
"Athena" he said as his wyvern slows down and he jumps down to the trees below. He nods at his wyvern as she continues chasing the boar.
"What?" Lissette wondered "What's he doing?"
The wyvern rider skillfully free runs, jumps, and swings his way through the trees as his wyvern leads the boar straight to him. He stops on top of a branch just before a small clearing as the boar's screams become even louder. He brings out his steel axe and controls his breathing.
As the boar reaches the clearing, the wyvern rider jumps from his branch and successfully lands on top of the boar. He quickly plunges his axe on the animal, stopping it dead on its tracks.
"There" he uttered as he pulls his axe out of the animal and his wyvern lands next to him "Good work, Athena"
His wyvern responds with a delighted cry as he pats her head.
"Wow, Yungho" Lissette said as she approaches the wyvern rider "That's quite an impressive feat you just did"
"It's nothing" the wyvern rider replied "Alma taught us all how to hunt"
"Every day I learn something new about you guys. I guess you aren't just your run-of-the-mill bandit"
"I'll take that as a compliment" Yungho replied as he ties the boar on his wyvern
Lissette chuckles. "You know, at first, I thought you'd be like Carol or Lorelei"
"What makes you say that?"
"Well when you guys joined us, you were kind of quiet and reserved. Always spending time with your wyvern. Don't get me wrong. Marian does the same with her Pegasus but you seem to pretty much avoid everyone else in the camp"
"I got nothing to talk about with anyone"
"Really? Not even with your fellow vigilantes?"
Yungho shakes his head. "No. I've always kept to myself even during our vigilante days"
"Why?"
"People have a tendency to misunderstand me and it irritates me a lot when that happens. So I prefer to spend my time away from people"
"Hmm… I get what you're saying but I don't think everyone in camp will misunderstand you. Hell, you may get along quite well with Maya"
"You think so?"
"Yeah. We all have our respective views and observations of everyone in camp but it's through talking like this that helps us correct misunderstandings"
"You have a point… I'll think about it"
"Great! Now let's head back to camp. It's almost lunchtime!"
"You're right. Let's go then"
"Hey. You think I can hitch a ride on your wyvern?"
"Huh?"
"It'll be faster that way. Does your wyvern mind?"
Yungho turns to his wyvern who seems to be staring at the lancer.
"Athena?" he asked as the wyvern lowers her head "Whoah. That's rare. Athena doesn't usually allow people to even touch her let alone ride on her"
"Thanks Athena" Lissette responded with a chuckle "Let's be off then"
Yungho mounts onto Athena followed by Lissette, who then wraps her arms around the wyvern rider, surprising him.
"Lissette?" he uttered
"I haven't flown on a wyvern or Pegasus before so…"
"Oh. I get it. Well hold on tight"
Near the base of the valley and hidden by thick woodland lies the Sokols' camp.
It was around noon and everyone in camp was eating lunch together with their friends and social groups, save for Carol who was eating alone at a corner of the camp, at the edge of a cliff no less.
In her hands as a piece of tart. She takes a bite before staring into the horizon, the town among them, with cold unfeeling eyes. She sighs as she hears footsteps behind her.
"Taichi?" she said turning around
"Hello" the samurai responded as he sits near the dark mage "Do you mind if I sit here?"
"No"
Initially, there was an awkward silence as the two sat there silently eating their respective meals. After a while, Carol turns to Taichi as he eats the hunted boar meat using a pair of thin wooden sticks.
"What are you using?" she asked in a monotone voice
"These are called chopsticks" Taichi answered "They are used in eating meals and cooking food in my home country"
"Those don't exist in Archanea or even Valentia. Where is your home country?"
"Hoshido"
"The Eastern Continent then. Intriguing… I have never been there before. Also, those sticks seem to be made of wood. How do you clean them?"
"There is a technique taught to us on how to make and maintain chopsticks so there is no problem in maintaining them. Making them is not that hard also"
"I see…"
Another awkward silence ensues as the two continue eating their meals. Carol takes small continuous bites on her tart and Taichi quickly devours the rest of the meat.
"Hey" Taichi said after drinking a cup of water "Why are you alone?"
Carol doesn't respond. She continues eating her tart.
Taichi sighs. "If you do not want to answer my question then I will respect your decision. But know that a man can only reach so far alone"
Carol finishes her tart before turning to the samurai. With a blank expression, she says "I am no man"
Taichi's eyes widen as he hears Carol's response. Her voice and face were still as blank and emotionless as ever but the samurai could detect the faintest humor in her words.
"You seem to be capable of joking after all" he remarked
Carol stares at the samurai, still looking emotionless.
"I shall return to the others now. Take care and know that you are not alone"
The samurai then stands up and walks away as Carol continues to stare at the samurai. After losing sight of him, she turns around and stares at the city below.
"… Capable of joking…" she muttered "… Impossible"
Silver mines, West of Antioch
Nightfall:
Hiding inside a small forested area overlooking the mines, the members of Sokols observe the activity around the mine. The atmosphere was tense as the lives of the Taguel lay on their hands.
"Is everything ready?" Roan asked as he scans the area with his spyglass
"Yes" Lorelei responded as she prepares a fire arrow "All that is left is the signal"
"… Do it"
With a nod, Lorelei carefully aims her bow before she loosed her fire arrow. It flies past several guards before landing on a carefully placed barrel containing black powder.
Seconds later, the barrel explodes. The explosion wasn't that big but it catches the attention of several guards.
"NOW!" one of the disguised guards shouted as they unsheathe their weapons
"FOR FREEDOM!" a Taguel slave shouted as he and his kind begin transforming into their beast forms.
"It's begun" Roan said as Alma orders her men to throw grappling hooks down below "The Taguel will walk free after tonight!"
With a loud battle cry, the members of Sokols slide down the makeshift zipline, landing on different parts of the mine.
As Roan lets go of the zipline, he draws his steel sword and impales an enemy myrmidon. He quickly turns to his right and barely parries a bayonet charge from an enemy rifleman. The enemy soldier jumps back and attempts another thrust but Roan parries it as well.
Menawhile, Lorelei and Maya are climbing one of the watchtowers as the 2 riflemen on top were busy shooting at the rebels below. Lorelei reaches the top first and is quickly spotted as one of the riflemen flimsily attempts to shoot her.
The outlaw quickly pushes the rifle to the side as the rifleman pulls the trigger. She then kicks him off the tall watchtower as the other rifleman charges towards her with his silver sword. Lorelei jumps back, dodging the strike. Undeterred, the rifleman continues his assault with the outlaw dodging most of the strikes.
Frustrated, the rifleman intensifies his attacks until Lorelei grabs his right hand and knees him. She takes his sword as he recoils from the damage and promptly stabs him with his own weapon before the outlaw kicks him off the watchtower.
As her adversary falls to his death, a shot flies past Lorelei. 2 more enemy riflemen, from another tower, have set their sights on her. She quickly draws her bow but the other rifleman was ready to fire. But before he could pull the trigger, a loud bang echoes close to Lorelei and the enemy rifleman falls off the tower.
"Maya" the outlaw uttered as the rebel rifleman reloads "Not bad"
"I have my moments" Maya replied as the other enemy rifleman was ready to fire
This time, though, Lorelei was quick to fire her arrow, finding its mark on his chest.
On another side of the mine, Alma and Taichi engage a company of enemy knights and lancers. They were in formation with the knights and their shields at the front and the lancers standing behind but in between the small gaps in the knights' shields.
2 Taguel slaves transform into rhinos and ram their horns against the shields but the knights hold their ground and resist as the lancers behind them thrust their silver lances forward. Both Taguel are stabbed in the head, instantly killing them. The knights then begin to slowly advance towards Alma and Taichi.
"These royals don't joke around" Alma uttered "Hey Taichi. You thinking what I'm thinking?"
Taichi nods.
Alma smiles. "Alright you fat royal scum! Let me show you how 'savages' fight!"
The berserker then charges forward and wings her tomahawk but the knights block her attack. Behind her, Taichi jumps onto her shoulders and jumps past the knights and lands behind the lancers, his steel katana still in its sheath.
As 2 enemy lancers charge towards him, the samurai quickly moves past them and unsheathes his katana. Seconds later, the 2 lancers collapse into the ground.
"Who is next?" Taichi taunted
Meanwhile, Alma notices one of the knights was about to thrust his lance at her. The berserker quickly moves her tomahawk to parry. The other knight attempts a counterattack but Alma dodges the attack and slashes his legs before slashing his back, incapacitating the knight.
As the other knights break formation to attack her, Alma runs to Taichi's side. Both rebels are now surrounded as an enemy myrmidon, fighter, and mercenary join the fray.
Alma chuckles. "How are you holding up, Taichi?"
"I can still fight"
"Good to hear!"
A lancer then rushes forward. Alma quickly sidesteps and cuts his weapon in half with her tomahawk. Taichi quickly slashes the unarmed lancer before he could react.
"Anyone else want some?" Alma taunted as the enemy soldiers hold their ground "Nobody? That's rude. You shouldn't keep a lady waiting!"
At the base of the mine, Roan, Oscar, and several Taguel engage several enemy mercenaries. Oscar charges first but his attacks are easily parried. As he struggles to gain the upper hand on his opponent, another mercenary attempts to attack him. Roan intervenes and eliminates the mercenary with a single strike.
"Pay attention to your surroundings" he said as Oscar pushes his adversary back.
"O-Ok!" he replied as he resumes his attacks and 3 other mercenaries surround Roan.
They each charge forward individually with Roan dodging the 1st attack and parrying the 2nd and 3rd.
The mercenaries surround him once more, forming a triangle around him, 2 in front and 1 behind. A tense standoff ensues for a while as the 4 soldiers wait and see who would make the first move.
With a nod, the 3 mercenaries charge at the same time. Roan prepares to parry as he sidesteps and evades the attack of the mercenary behind him. He quickly counters with a slash to the mercenary's back. He then parries the attacks of the 2nd mercenary before evading the attacks of the 3rd.
As another standoff ensues, Oscar comes charging from behind one of the mercenaries, catching him off-guard. Roan takes the opportunity to attack the last mercenary.
The enemy soldier parries his attack but Roan forces his sword to move to the side as he sucker punches the mercenary with his left fist. He follows up the attack with a kick in between his adversary's legs and ends the fight by hitting the mercenary's head with his sword's hilt.
Roan then turns to Oscar who was struggling to block his opponent's attacks but before he could act, a fireball flies past him and hits the mercenary. Roan turns around, seeing Brine had cast a fireball spell.
"Nice work, Brine" he utters as the Tactician switches targets
As Roan approaches Oscar, he is shot at the back of his left shoulder by an enemy rifleman, escorted by a lancer and myrmidon.
"Roan!" Oscar uttered as he runs to his side "Are you ok?"
"I'm fine" Roan replied "Focus on the enemy"
Roan and Oscar prepare for another fight but a gigantic rabbit jumps down from above and tramples the enemy rifleman. It quickly slashes at the lancer with its claws and kicks the myrmidon with its hind legs. With no more threats in the immediate area, the rabbit turns to Roan.
"Thank you" Roan said "You saved us"
"You" a female voice echoed "You are the one who made that promise months ago"
"You're the Taguel leader from back then?" Roan responded as the rabbit pins him to the ground
"You lied!"
"No. You misunderstand! I tried to help but the Kingdom-"
"Enough! I have had enough of your honeyed words! You Archaneans are all the same!"
The rabbit then begins to apply pressure on Roan's chest.
"Roan!" Oscar said as he tries to save the captain but the rabbit counters with its hind legs.
Oscar tries to block the attack but the force sent him flying a few feet.
"Please!" Roan pleaded as the air was slowly being squeezed out of him "B-Believe me!"
The rabbit doesn't respond. She simply continues pressing harder.
"Fauna! That's enough!" a hooded trickster said as he approaches the rabbit "This man speaks truth"
"Gilberto!" the rabbit replied "Are you certain?"
"Yes. He is the one responsible for this revolt. It was his plan that allowed you all to have your beaststones once more"
The rabbit then stares at Roan once more before backing off. Roan sits up as he gasps for air.
"I apologize" Fauna said as she transforms into her human form "After our capture, we were beaten and punished for our revolt. Many of my brothers and sisters were beaten to death and worse, some were even forced to become pets to those Archanean spawn!"
"What?!" Roan replied "I didn't know that!"
"It's true, Roan" Gilberto added
"Damn it… I made the mistake of trusting the Kingdom… Listen. I now return to all of you, not as a soldier for the kingdom but as a liberator and as a warrior for justice. I am now leading a revolt against the Kingdom of Archanea and I would like the support of the Taguel. Will you help us?"
"You are not lying to me, are you man-spawn?" Fauna replied
Roan shakes his head. "No. I swear to you. I will keep my promise to free your people"
Fauna ponders for a moment before turning to Roan once more. "Very well. The Taguel shall aid you under the condition that at the end of this war, my people will be free"
"You have my word"
With the combined might of the rebels, Thieves guild, and the Taguel slaves, the mine fell in less than an hour. After locking up the surviving enemy soldiers, the rebels began stealing whatever supplies they can find and loading them into carts.
Roan ordered the rebels to move fast as it would not be long before the first divisions of the Royal Army would arrive. Unbeknownst to him and every rebel in that mine, the Royal Army was far closer than they though.
While the last few crates of supplies were loaded onto the carts, the Royal Army's Iron Cross unit, led by General Mathis, and an entire legion of veteran Archanean troops, led by General Laset, arrived.
They did not attack, though, rather they surrounded the mines, trapping the rebels inside. Mathis, once again, offered a parley to which Roan accepted.
"I think you already know what we'll say" Mathis said
"Why are we negotiating with these heathens?" Laset protested "We can easily crush these rebels like the vermin they are!"
Roan doesn't respond but he does leer at the haughty general who was seemingly showing off his shield and killer lance.
"General" Mathis responded "Let me handle this. Roan. I will give you time once again but know that it is far lesser than what I allowed you on our last encounter"
Returning to the mines, Roan is met by the other rebels.
"Do not tell me you are considering surrender!" Fauna said with concern "You gave your word to ensure my people's freedom!"
"Fauna" Brine interjected "We're surrounded. We cannot hope to break through this large of a force with what we have and not expect many to die"
"Tsk! Then I would rather die a free Taguel than live another day as a slave!"
"Be reasonable, Fauna! Death is not the only answer here!"
"So what's the plan, captain?" Alma asked
"… I don't know…" Roan replied "There's no way out unless we fight our way out but this won't be like that time in the capital. Most likely, Mathis has learned from that and is ready to gun us all down the second we charge. That is not even considering that they can easily pursue us even if we manage to break through since we are too far from the coast"
"So we just surrender?" Oscar said "That's it?"
"What choice do we have?" Marian responded
Everyone goes silent as the moon illuminates the ground. Roan stares at it for a moment before walking towards the foreman's cabin.
"Brine. Gilberto" he said "Come with me. We need to check the maps"
The two men comply.
Foreman's cabin:
"It's no use" Brine said "None of these maps show a way for us to sneak past the army or even break through"
"He's right" Gilberto added "These mines were built with only one way in or out"
"There has to be a way…" Roan responded "We did not go this far just to surrender"
"The Royal Army came too quickly" Gilberto said "None of my informants told me that they were close"
"Damn it!" Brine said "So this was a trap"
"It is" a male voice said
The three men look at the door and find a dread fighter standing by the entrance. He was just as tall as Brine and only his blue eyes can be seen through his mask.
"Who are you?!" Roan shouted as the 3 men draw their weapons
"Peace" the dread fighter replied "I did not come to fight but rather, I would like to offer your army a means to escape"
"What?"
"There is a secret path through the forest that we can use to evade the Royal Army. It is not detailed in maps so don't bother looking"
"A secret path?" Brine responded "Sounds too good to be true"
"How can we trust you?" Roan added "The kingdom has ruled the continent for a thousand years. How come nobody has ever found this secret path of yours?"
"You are surrounded with no hope of escape" the dread fighter replied "I am simply offering you the hope that you lacked and are desperately in need of. It is your choice whether or not to take it"
Roan puts his sword down and ponders for a moment. "… Fine. We'll take your secret path"
"A wise decision"
"Roan!" Brine interjected "What are you doing? We're just going to blindly trust this person?"
"We have no choice. I'd rather gamble my chances with this dread fighter than with the kingdom"
"But what of the army?" Gilberto asked "Surely, they have the entire mine watched so I doubt they will simply allow us to simply leave the mines and walk into the forest"
Roan then walks outside and stares at the sky. He notices clouds were everywhere tonight but the moon was still illuminating the area.
"I see a cloud about to cover the moon" he said "Get everyone to snuff out the torches. We move once the moon is covered"
"Clever" Gilberto replied "Very well. I accept your plan"
"Huh?" Brine reacted "We're really going through with this?"
"We have much to lose, Brine" Roan answered "We saw how untrustworthy the kingdom is so I'd rather bet my chances on a random dread fighter than with the kingdom itself"
Brine sighs. "… Fine. Not like we can come up with a better plan…"
With that, the rebels snuff out every torch in the mines and upon the moon being covered, the rebels quickly but quietly move towards the hidden path mentioned by this dread fighter. Luckily, he was telling the truth. By the time the Royal Army realized what had happened, the rebels were already marching west towards the vast deserts of Mamorthod.