Bumbling Bandits

"All right men," a ninja named Deverca said, "The heretic should be coming down the road any time now, if what my informant said is correct. I want Fox and Rat to head around to the west, Fink and Dog take the east. The rest of you will come with me and attack from the front." Intensity shone in his brown eyes as he thought of the amount of money their informant was paying for this job

"Yes boss," quipped the twin thieves, Fox and Rat. Both men were twenty years old, with jet black hair and deep green eyes. Knowing each others' moves led them to an easier time in battle. Any man who faced the twins would surely be killed, and his belongings stolen. They then began to sneak into hiding places behind two of the many trees on the west side of the road.

Without a word, the thieves named Fink and Dog headed towards the east side of the road. At fifteen, Fink was the youngest member of Deverca's gang. He had red hair and dark blue eyes. His nineteen year old partner, Dog, had light green eyes and brown hair.

Sticking with Deverca was Weazel, Kyoko, and Esmeralda. Weazel was a twenty-three year old thief with white hair and hazel eyes. His wife, Kyoko, was a thief of twenty-two years with golden blond hair and fiery amber eyes. Esmeralda, the dancer, was Deverca's wife. She had mahogany colored hair and blue eyes. Her skin was a little more tanner than her allies, as she was prone to spending her free time at the beach in order to always look her best for her husband.

With all of the thieves in position, Deverca gave the sign to wait. Soon, he saw a small group coming down the road. It consisted of a male Monk with brown hair and blue eyes, a female Ninja with blond hair and blue eyes, a red haired brown eyed male Archer, a black haired amber eyed female Summoner , a silver haired male Priest with blue eyes, and a brown haired female Samurai with light brown hair. Deverca smacked his head, this wasn't Ramza's group. But just then he remembered the stories of the young man's first six allies from school, which fit the descriptions of these people.

Deverca whistled in order to signal his men. With the two women waiting in the shadows in order to open up a second front if needed, the six jumped out at the warriors. The ninja/thief yelled, "Drop your weapons and give us all your money. Our boss would like to have a word with all of those people who have allied themselves with the heretic, Ramza Beoulve. So come quietly."

The Samurai, whose name was Margurita, stepped forward. "I'm sorry, boys, we can't trust you. I know you've got some sort of sinister plot going on here, either that or your boss does. If you want to fight, though, we would be more than happy to oblige. Tess! Tyler! Sage! Pete! Leon! Let's go!"

"Who made you the boss," whined Priest Leon, "I would certainly be more able to lead our party in the absence of our leader. Ramza said nothing about you choosing a plan of action."

"Shut up you arrogant little twit! We're in great danger, and all you can do is complain. We'll charge the enemy, and that's final," screamed Summoner Sage, who, along with Leon, formed a clinic to take care of battle injuries that Ramza and his party sustained.

Leon shut up after that. He began to cast Holy on Fox, while Margurita used Masamune to Regen and Reraise the party. Archer Pete was firing his Perseus Bow at Rat. Sage had cast Shiva on Fink and Dog. Monk Tyler was using Wave Fist on Weazel, and Ninja Tess had just thrown a Zorlin Shape at Deverca. The party regrouped in the center, and looked at their enemies.

Deverca yelled, "Kyoko, Esmeralda, get over here! We'll need your help in battling these fools. They're not the pushovers we originally thought that they would be, especially the women."

But before the two female thieves could arrive to help them out, they were cut off by an Ifrit cast by Sage. The Summoner looked at her opponents defiantly. "We are running late now, all because of you. If I miss the party I was going to attend because of this, there'll be Hell to pay. Now, will you six and your other allies kindly get out of here, or do I have to get rough some more?"

Deverca sheathed his Zorlin Shapes, and signaled his men to run. They would regroup, and attack the heroes again another time. As she watched them go, Sage's chest swelled up with pride. Nobody messed with the allies of Ramza Ruglia and got away with it.

* * *

"And that's what happened," Tess told Ramza, "Sage stopped reinforcements from arriving, and then they ran. But it looks like we haven't heard the last of them, they'll be back." Although somewhat naïve, Tess's ability to adapt to any situation was good, given the number of problems the group had in the past during the Death Corps uprisings, and also the Lion War.

"So, thieves attacked. I wonder if someone is onto us. Who knows, I might have accidentally let on at my true identity some time during the last few weeks," Ramza pondered.

Meliadoul told him, "Ramza, we were careful. I don't think they found out on their own. You say they mentioned a boss, Tess. He must have some sort of connections that told him that the real Ramza Beoulve wasn't killed, that there is a cover up of sorts going on. Might it be the new leader of the Shrine Knights? I've heard that Alexi Eldrich isn't a man who you can pull the wool over his eyes." Her green eyes met his brown ones, but then she immediately looked away once more.

Tess immediately regretted being the one who volunteered to read the report to their leader. But Tyler was too stubborn, Sage had gone to her party, Pete was too emotional, Margurita was shy and modest, and nobody wanted Ego-Trip King Leon giving any reports to the leader. Thus, the responsibility often fell on Sensitive Queen. "Maybe that's all it is. They appear to be thieves, but Vormav hired some assassins from among thief gangs in the past. The church probably hasn't changed at all."

'I hope that's all it is,' thought Meliadoul, 'Alexi Eldrich, sending thieves to take out Ramza. But something is telling me that there's going to be a new battle ahead of us, and evil has not fallen prey to our swords. Ramza, please be careful in the upcoming fight. If I lose you too, I would just die.'

- - - -

This chapter was meant to introduce the generic allies of Ramza, as well as the gang of thieves that they will be fighting often. Think of them as the incompetent lackeys. Here are the generic allies. Yup, left over from "Love of a Shrine Knight", saved it for all other fics. . .

Teresa Parish (Tess): a charitable, sensitive, gullible, and easily adaptable Ninja. She's 20 years old, and was born on February 23. Her sign is Pisces, and her secondary is Item.

Tyler McCloud: a stubborn yet patient, hard working, strength seeking Monk. He's 21 years old, and was born on May 18. His sign is Taurus, and his secondary is Item.

Allysa Anderson (Sage): a trendy, stuck up, petty, and possessive Summoner who is half of the group's clinic, along with Leon. She's 22 years old, and was born on September 8. Her sign is Virgo and her secondary is White.

Peter Alexander (Pete): an emotional, moody, protective, and traditional Archer. He's 21 years old, and was born on July 18. His sign is Cancer and his secondary is Item.

Margurita Alans: a modest, shy, skeptical and logical Samurai. She's 19 years old, and was born on September 5. Her sign is Virgo and her secondary is Item.

Leon Armitage: a creative yet arrogant, attention loving and egotistical Priest who is half of the group's clinic along with Sage. He's 18 years old and was born on August 22. His sign is Leo and his secondary is Item.

All other heroes are in their special job. Their secondaries are as follows: Ramza-Item, Meliadoul-Black, Alma-White, Mustadio-Item, Beowulf-Break, Reis-Item, Orlandu-Item, Agrias-Item, Malak-White, Rafa-White. Deverca and Esmeralda have Steal as a secondary. Fox has Sing, Rat has Time, Fink has Yin Yang, Dog has Summon, Weazel has Black, and Kyoko has White