Section Five: For a Perfect Heart
When the group left New Hope the morning after Falco joined the Guild, they numbered six.
Bill Grey, having been giving a word of approval from the local healer and gotten a horse from the local guard station, had asked to join the group. Peppy, meanwhile, had had a long discussion at the guard station as well, and came back in armor. He had brought some of his old armor along, and had picked up the rest at the station. How exactly he had convinced the local head guard to do it, Fox didn't care to know.
Fox knew they looked to be a strange group as they left, this belief confirmed when citizens watched them leave, standing in the street or looking out windows. A paladin, a knight, a fighter, a thief, a sorceress, and a mage. Truly a strange group, but they had an advantage over whomever they'd fight, because of the diversity.
"It seems we'll be able to take one of several paths." Fox later said. They had stopped to the side of the main road, and he had pulled out a map. "Any of these will get us to our destination, but the hazards are different."
"Hazards?" Falco asked, frowning. The road forked off, then split again farther on.
"Local wildlife." Said Katt. "Depending on what road we take, we'll go through foothills, mountains, forests, or fields. Each has their own dangerous inhabitants, and we're going to be in the wilds for quite a while. The next large city is a stronghold at a mountain pass, then there's almost nothing until the boarder."
"Which is where the battles are." Bill finished.
"Correct." Fox frowned at the map. "And the most direct path may be the most dangerous, or may be the safest."
"How so?" Peppy leaned over Slippy's shoulder to see the map better.
"The most direct path would be through the forest, here, then go through some of the mountains directly to the stronghold." He traced the path on the map. "And whether or not it is safe really depends on what lives there."
"Let's take the most direct path, then, because all of them are likely to be dangerous somehow." Said Katt, brushing her hair back.
"Mm. Aren't there dragons in this mountain range?" Falco asked, tracing it on the map.
Fox looked at him. "I'm not sure, are there?"
Silence for a moment, and everyone looked at Falco.
"What do you mean? How should I know?" He said defensively. "It's just a question."
"Well, then. I can't say for sure. There might be." Fox rubbed his chin. "Red dragons and copper dragons are the two species that usually roost in mountains."
"What's the difference?"
"Chromatic dragons are evil."
"Oh. Right. So what does chromatic mean?" Falco gave Fox a look.
"Colored. Red dragons are evil. Copper dragons, on the other hand, are good. At least, that's the general belief. We're more likely to get attacked by red, at least." He rolled the map, swinging back into the saddle as the rest did.
"Copper… Hmm."
"That's probably what species of dragon inhabits your sword." Fox gave Falco a look. "Considering you already knew that there were dragons in the mountains."
"Not red, eh?"
"No. That dragon spirit is acting as a guardian force over you, so its beliefs can influence yours. I'm sure a few of us would have been killed in our sleep if you had taken on the beliefs of a red dragon."
"Ah. And how do you know so much about this?"
"My father once harbored a guardian force, Falco."
"Quetzalcoatl." Said Peppy.
"Aye." Fox sighed, and didn't say anything else for a while.
"When do we reach the next town?" Slippy asked, tinkering with something he had pulled out of his saddlebags.
"Early to late morning, depends when we move out." Fox was looking at the map again. "Mostly what we're going to travel through are small farming villages. Katt's correct, the next city with any size is the stronghold."
"I don't like this."
Everyone looked at Falco. He was standing separate from the rest of the group, looking out toward the horizon and the border. The collar of his Guild cape was turned up, and it was fluttering in the wind.
"Don't like what?" Peppy asked, testing the edge on his broadsword.
"Something doesn't feel right." He looked at Fox. "Is this what you were talking about when you said you could feel that the forest was enchanted? Can you feel that?"
Fox frowned, pressing his fingertips together and half-closing his eyes. "I just hear an echo, or something akin to it. Plenty of creatures are magical."
"That may be true, but…." Falco sighed, then shrugged. "Forget it. It's probably nothing."
It was mid-morning when the party reached the next village. It was small and very beautiful, plainly the people here had a lot of pride in what they had.
However, when the six entered the town, the looks thrown their way were nervous and scared.
"Who sent you, kind sirs and madam?" Inquired a voice. A village man walked up, apparently the mayor.
"No one sent us. We're on the side of the King, though. We're on our way to the border." Said Peppy, leaning an arm on the pommel of his saddle.
"Well then, you might be just the people to assist us." The man, a middle-aged collie, ran his fingers through the fur on his scalp. "If you are willing to listen?"
"Please."
"Then dismount and follow me to the tavern. It would be the best place to talk."
"Who exactly is in charge of this group?" The collie asked, looking around at the six. They had sat around a table.
"I am, currently." Said Fox. "What is it that you need assistance with?"
"We've got a slight problem." The collie spread a map out on the table. "There's another village half a day's ride ahead on this road, and a few more after that before you reach the mountains. We've lost all contact with them."
"Lost all contact." Falco echoed. "Meaning what?"
"We've sent messages via every route we can think of. Every pigeon and messenger we send never comes back. And a few days ago, we saw a column of smoke rise from that area. It's the wrong time of year to be burning fields." He sighed. "We aren't soldiers here, gentlemen and lady. We'd be very much in you debt to see if these villages fare well."
"The path we're taking doesn't take us by all these villages. However," Fox said, standing and tracing the road with his finger. "We will pass through the next one before we turn and travel through the forest. We will investigate there. Suffice to say that if anything horrible has happened to that village, it has probably happened to the ones closer to the mountains as well."
"Fair enough. You're going to travel through the forest?" Now the collie looked even more worried. "Dear me, that isn't a very good idea… many dangerous things live in that forest…"
"Thank you for your concern, but I believe we should be able to take care of it. Anything else you wish to discuss?"
"Do you think that Andross' soldiers have gotten farther then what is known?" Katt asked, looking out toward the horizon.
"I don't believe so. At least, not his formal soldiers." Fox replied, frowning. He glanced at Falco, who nodded once. "Although it's very possible that a portion of Andross' forces could have crossed the border. As far as I have heard, Andross is a powerful sorcerer."
Peppy nodded. "Very powerful, and a dark sorcerer at that."
"Which means what?" Falco asked, looking out toward the mountains absently.
"Evil begets evil, Falco." Slippy filled in. "He'd have sent out messages to every evil race on the planet, asking for help in exchange for something else."
"The chromatic dragons?"
"Not just them I'd think… And I think that the mayor's fears were correct." Fox suddenly pulled his horse to a stop, nose twitching, staring off in the direction of the town.
The others didn't need him to say anything else. They saw the circling, black carrion birds in the distance, and smelled the smoke.
Fox stood on the hill overlooking the village, loosely holding his reins in one hand, staring down. The village was desecrated. What few buildings that were still standing were burned and crumbling. All the surrounding fields had been burned. Not only that, it was easy to see limp forms sprawled on the ground, hanging from burned rafters and trees.
"Survivors?" Bill asked hoarsely.
"There won't be any." Fox replied heavily, starting forward, still leading his horse.
"What could have done this?" Slippy asked, magic flaring off of him as he cast spells to ward off evil. Though it was a good thought, the whole town seemed saturated, dripping with malignant power.
"Any number of magical beings." Peppy said, voice cold and calm. "What exactly did this is an enigma to me."
"The man who knows everything hasn't an answer." Falco sighed, crouching and rolling a body over. It was a young woman, and she had been completely gored, chest cavity ripped open and heart removed. Her expression was frozen in speechless horror and pain. He sighed and brushed a hand over her face, closing her eyes, then slowly standing. "They're all like this…"
Fox leapt, pulling himself onto a burned rafter, then hung by one arm, cutting down what bodies were hung, one by one. He had been correct. There were no survivors. The town was completely destroyed.
They gathered the bodies they could find at what was left of the church, then met in the town square in front of it.
"Perytons." Fox suddenly said, lifting a hand to rub his chin. "Perytons did this."
"Parry-tons?" Falco repeated. "That's familiar somehow."
"I believe everyone has heard about the Peryton race in some way. They're a clan of evil beings that wishes nothing more then to hunt humans to tear out and consume their hearts."
Peppy's eyes lit up with recognition. "I remember now. It's their belief. They think they will be better for it if they could find that one perfect heart."
"What do they look like?" Katt asked.
"Picture, if you will, a gigantic eagle with the head of a demonic stag." Peppy crouched and picked up a stick, sketching a rough outline. "Fox's father and I never had to fight them, but we heard tales from other knights about them. My guess is that they've been hitting every city from the mountains to here, in a chain."
"Every town? But that means…" Slippy trailed off, and the group looked at each other. "Oh, my god." He finally whispered.
"We move out now." Fox swung onto his horse, which snorted and pranced in place. The mare had been loosing her brown color, oddly enough, becoming lighter and lighter. Fox sighed when he noticed—his father hadn't taught him that spell—and hoped that he'd meet an elf in the forest who could correct the problem. "If we ride hard, we can get there by nightfall." With that, he threw the torch he had been holding, and the church lit up in a massive cremation ceremony.
"Mama!" Wailed a thin voice through the smoke, broken by coughing. "Mama…"
The mayor picked the child up, crouching inside the church. The entire city was under siege by the most demonic creatures he had ever seen. The farmers had lit fire to fields to attempt to obscure the beasts' vision, but the fire had spread to parts of the town. Crouching there, he could hear screams from outside. It was becoming obvious to him now exactly what had happened to every other town, and what was now happening to his. The chances of winning were slim against such foul beasts.
There was a crash, and one of the beasts came through one of the stained glass windows of the church, screeching horribly, flapping huge wings and staying above the floor. What refugees were crouching inside the building screamed and cowered, hands up to cover the back of their necks, crying.
Another crash resounded, but this time, it wasn't a horrible scream that came, but a roar of defiance. Looking up, the mayor saw one of the travelers that had come through his town not long ago, still on horseback, brandishing a pair of swords and ringed by an intense aura. His mare reared, screaming challenge at the demonic beast, kicking flashing hooves, then without prompting charged. The beast screamed back, flapping higher and swinging its demonic rack of antlers at the rider, then screeched as one of the rider's swords cut right through both antlers. The beast dove, and the rider went with it, tumbling off the horse and to the floor. But when the beast went to scream triumph over the rider, the sword went up, and the beast screamed and writhed as the rider effortlessly stabbed right through the demonic bird, standing and throwing the body across the room.
The rider stood there for a moment, still loosely holding both swords, then looked over his shoulder at the mayor. It was the fox that had been leading the party.
"You came back to help us." The mayor said numbly.
"Of course." Was the simple reply. "We would not have had it any other way." He swung back into his saddle, and without prompting the horse turned and leapt out one of the broken windows, into combat.
In the start, the pack of Perytons had numbered over a dozen. They didn't work well together, only teaming up so they would have a better chance at finding that one perfect heart. It had been effortless so far. The towns hadn't had anything to defend themselves with. But now, a new force had been added, and the Perytons were forced to regroup above the town, straining to see. There, in the clear center of the town. A group of six, waiting. Only one remained on horseback, and the horse reared, screaming challenge at them. The rider's aura flashed and flared, and he pointed one of his swords at them. Challenging them.
They dove as one, then some dropped lower, charging along the ground instead of from above. They were met with sharp blades, arrows, and magic, two falling before any of them got within striking distance.
Peppy crouched in a doorway, putting arrows to his bow and firing again and again. He had brought his poisons with, even though he hated using them now, and now they were saving his team. His shots were accurate, and he took down three of them by himself and wounded others. Katt and Slippy crouched beside him, casting spells to assist their team members. Fox, Falco, and Bill were facing their enemy head on, Fox still on horseback, the other two on the ground, backs turned toward each other. Falco was doing massive damage in passing, he had managed to take wings and clawed feet off as the Perytons dove past him. Falco struck first, Bill would go in for the kill. Fox fought on his own, charging his enemy. The mare he rode seemed as eager to fight as he was, charging then rearing to strike with sharp-looking hooves.
The Perytons regrouped, now numbering only six and most wounded, looking down at the group, which waited patiently for the next attack. They fanned out to surround the group, then suddenly dove, four charging along the ground two attacking from above. They focused on the three fighters, especially on the two on the ground. Bill was knocked to the ground by the massive wings, and Falco was forced into a crouch, warning the beasts away with his sword.
The smoke that had plagued the town from the start suddenly blew away, and massive clouds gathered over the town. Lightning crackled, and Fox snapped his head up, eyes wide in surprise. Then the entire town seemed to freeze as a bolt of lightning struck the ground.
Fox charged forward, stopping only to pull Falco and Bill to their feet and out of the way as more bolts hit the ground, and a spinning form appeared, unwrapping to become a bird. Massive wings spread out, and it surveyed the Perytons, then struck forward with its head. Lightning appeared, striking in a glowing circle, then an explosion rocked the ground. The Perytons screamed, first in anger then in pain, and fell.
Fox shielded his eyes with his arm, looking up at the massive bird. "You aren't my guardian force."
I did this as a favor to your father. I could not prevent his death but I can help prevent yours.
He sighed and bowed his head. "We were winning Quetzalcoatl."
Just so.
The bird disappeared, and the thunderstorm faded away.
The group reformed around Fox, who now stood dismounted. His horse nosed him once, and he patted her neck absently.
"I take it you didn't call it to you." Peppy said.
"No. Quetzalcoatl is not my guardian force, it was my father's. I don't have a guardian force." Fox sighed. "Is anyone wounded?"
All five shook their heads, Bill rubbing where a Peryton had given him a knock behind the ear.
Slowly, townspeople appeared, gathering in the streets. It looked like the majority had lived through the attack.
"Thank you." The collie said, standing nearby, still holding the little girl. "We are in your debt."
"Not at all." Fox replied. "It would probably be wise if you were to leave here and go to one of the larger cities, such as New Hope. They have strongholds and could protect against these beings, should they try again." Fox looked at the bodies of the Perytons and felt remorse. Not that they had died, no, but that an entire race could be so misguided.
"We will pack and leave at first light." Swore the collie. "And you will travel on?"
"Yes." Fox nodded once. "We too will leave at first light."
The collie watched in amazement. This small group, apparently vigilantes, had not only returned to help, but they stayed, and helped the town get ready to leave. They packed wagons, rounded up horses that had bolted, bandaged wounds. The leader of the group—who introduced himself as McCloud—helped as much or more as his group, apparently not willing just to watch and command like most unit leaders. After all was done and the townspeople were relatively comfortable and sheltered for the night, the collie looked out and saw McCloud standing in the town square, still awake, now checking over his team again and watering their horses. As he watched, McCloud ran a hand over his horse's coat and looked at his hand, and sighed.
The collie, named Derrick, left the tavern and joined McCloud. "I wanted to thank you again for coming back."
"And as I said before. It is nothing." Fox replied, rubbing his eyes. The rest of his team had already settled down. He was still awake, not willing to go to sleep yet.
"You saved our lives, yet refuse any sort of payment, or even a debt?" Derrick raised his eyebrows.
"Yes. That is my way." He unsheathed one of his swords and tested the edge. A supernatural light rose off the blade of the katana as he cleaned it.
"Is it their way as well?" Derrick gestured at the rest of Fox's team.
"Perhaps." Was the reply. "I have my own code I follow. We all do. We just have come to terms on… a few things."
"Ah. And now you're on the way to fight in the war. Well, I must say from what I saw you'll do well."
"Thank you, but that is not my goal."
"Then what is, young man?" He asked, now mildly exasperated.
"Mayor, my father died dishonored. I am doing this to clear his name. The guardian force Quetzalcoatl appeared tonight because once upon a time that was my father's guardian force." Fox sighed. "You should get some rest. As must I."
"Very well then. I'll see you at first light."
"Good night." Fox walked away and joined his group, though from what Derrick saw, he was by far the last asleep of the six.
Fox woke up far before dawn, sweat pouring down his back and temples. He sprang to his feet easily in one powerful contortion of his body, running his fingers through his hair. "Nightmares." He muttered to himself, then shook off, assembling his things and getting ready to leave. Some parts of the town were already stirring, getting ready to leave to New Hope.
"Well, good morning. Didn't sleep well, I take it?" Derrick glanced at the young man.
"Not anymore. Far too much on my mind." He replied. "Is there anything I can do to assist?"
"No I don't think so. Go ahead and assemble your team."
Fox nodded and turned away, nudging Falco awake, then Bill. Peppy was stirring, and Slippy was helping Katt check on a few wounds they had bandaged the day before.
"Morning already?" Falco said around a yawn.
"By definition." Fox replied. "We have to move out."
"All right." He got up clumsily.
Not long later, the two parties went their separate ways. Derrick and Fox shook hands before the groups parted, nodding to each other.
"Thank you again, Sir McCloud." Derrick said as a goodbye.
"Our pleasure. May you have a safe journey." Fox nodded once, and led his group away, toward the mountains.
"Who was he exactly?" Asked one of the surviving townsmen, watching them leave.
"All I know is his last name is McCloud."
"Wasn't there a rather well-known Knight named McCloud? One of the crusaders?"
"I believe so. Wonder if it's any relation. Ah, well. Let's go. I don't want to stay here any longer then I have to." With that, Derrick turned his horse and led them toward New Hope.