Author's Note: I forgot what I always do at the start of this story. The disclaimer! I don't own FFXI! There, done. I completely forgot about that.

Anyway, another point for this chapter, some things may seem to not add up with the FFXI world (especially the way everybody talks about adventurers at one point). I just wanted to point out this is still 594 years before Final Fantasy XI, so the way they talk about them here and things is designed to be setting up different attitudes that change over the centuries. I actually plan that you see them change as the story progresses, but I wouldn't be convinced I can pull that off, so that idea may die. It doesn't involve characters insulting each other, which means I struggle to write it. (I'm really a one trick pony when it comes to writing, which you'll probably come to notice/have noticed if you've read my old stories). Anyway, on with the chapter!

CHAPTER 5

COMBAT

"What is it?" Olose asked quickly. Norg spun in shock, facing Olose.

"You." He gave in blunt answer, drawing a sword. "He's a monster! A werewolf! That's why he's so strong!" He announced.

"What?" Olose cried.

"No! Norg, you do not understand!" Arcadia cried.
"I understand perfectly." The silver long sword shone in the light. "I understand this will kill him, and end his curse once and for all."

"I don't want to hurt you Norg." Olose said calmly. "I'm not evil. I'm cursed, but it doesn't mean I'd harm anybody."

"Fei hua Olose!" Spat Norg. "I bet that's what you always say."

"It's the truth!" Olose protested.

"All those elvaan patrols killed in the woods. That truth too?" He snarled.

"I didn't mean to! They came after me!" Olose cried.

"Well then, consider this for everyone's safety, Olose." Norg smiled, holding out his blade. "Silver will burn through you like fire." He lunged with the sword.

Olose dove aside, grabbing a chair and swinging it. Norg jumped back and swung with his sword. Olose blocked it with the chair and leapt at Norg, tackling him. The silver blade crashed to the floor as the two fell. Norg kicked Olose off of him, and the hume flew backwards, slamming against the ground. Olose spun to his feet, crouched, as Norg moved in. Olose unleashed himself, pouncing through the air with a roar. He hit Norg and the two crashed out of the window of the manor and into the street outside.

Lightning struck as they landed and rain began to pelt down. Round two of the storm that had ravished the woodlands earlier. Norg and Olose rose to their feet, facing each other.

"You don't need to do this." Olose warned.

"I'm only doing what I have too." Norg answered. "I have to make sure San d'Oria remains safe. I have to finish what our knights started."

"Your knights?" Olose gasped. "You-" He paused. "You elvaan bastards wiped out my people!" He sprang at Norg, knocking him from his feet and striking him to his face. "It's your fault dammit!" He screamed. "It's all your fault!" Norg spun on the ground, flipping his legs around Olose's neck and throwing him off with them. He rolled over and struck Olose to the throat and nose, shattering it. The bone regenerated as Olose threw Norg off with all of his might. "They were peaceful!" He sobbed. "They weren't harming anyone! And they knew how to control it!" He roared as he charged, hitting Norg with great force. "If they were alive I would be able to control it! She'd still be alive!" He threw another punch, but Norg blocked it, swinging behind Olose and sweeping his legs away. Olose crashed to the floor.

"Who?" He snapped. "Who are you talking about?" Olose growled and sprang from the floor, tacking the elvaan.

"You elvaan bastards!" He screamed, hitting Norg again. Norg hit Olose, causing him to fall back. Norg sprang to his feet, taking a fighting stance.

"They did what they thought they had to do!" Norg protested. "They didn't realise!"
"You do!" Olose spat. "And you continue to fight!"

"I follow the rules!" Norg yelled.

"Then don't!" Olose shouted. They paused. "Don't! So what if some rule tells you to exterminate every last one of us. Look at me. I am the last. And I'm a person first, a werewolf second." He stood there, panting, as rational thoughts re-entered both of their minds. The rain thundered down on them as both Arcadia and Tarrak watched in concern from the shattered window.
"The werewolves murdered and killed many people." Norg stated. "They had to be wiped out."

"And the elvaans didn't murder and kill many?" Olose asked.

"That's different!" Norg cried.

"Is it?" Olose snapped. "The elvaans wiped out an entire race! That's genocide! Or it will be if you kill me."

"You compare the werewolves to the elvaans, then fine." Norg growled. "Then you're no better than us for fighting me for what my brethren did. I didn't kill your people, Olose." There was another awkward pause. "That was the warriors of the armies from two decades ago." Olose paused.

"I never meant to kill anybody." Olose stated sadly. "I-" He suddenly froze. "Do you hear that?" Norg's sensitive elvaan ears listened.

"That's a horn sounding retreat!" He gasped. "Coming from outside the city! Someone's in trouble!" The two looked at each other and bolted for the exit to the city without a second thought.

A young elvaan woman ran, bleeding heavily, and carrying her unconscious companion. Bloodied brown hair flowed behind her, and her armour was cracked and broken, an arrow lodged in her shoulder. She stumbled, barely able to keep moving, her injured shoulder unable to cope with the dead weight of her friend. Half a dozen orcs still chased her, roaring and howling. She gulped with determination, she had to make the gates for her friends sake. Her squad had been ambushed on patrol, and all but the two now fleeing were dead. Her friend was barely still alive, having taken multiple arrow hits and having had his own hand cut off. She had been injured, but managed to stay conscious and knew to retreat. She thought she saw something approaching. It looked odd. Like somebody running on all fours at incredible speeds. Her eyes went wide as something bolted past her.

Olose leapt into the air, kicking the leading orc in the head with a roundhouse. The orc crashed to the floor, its neck broken. Before Olose landed, he kicked the second orc in the jaw. He landed in between them. He quickly kicked the second orc again to the rib cage, and once more to the neck in a rapid pump of side thrust kicks, taking it out. Two more orcs charged, stabbing him with their spears. The elvaan woman spun, looking in shock. Olose grinned, grabbing the two spears and spinning them around, his wounds instantly healing. He lunged, stabbing the two orcs with their own weapons, taking them out. Another beast hit him across the head, knocking him to the ground. He looked up in a daze as the attacking orc kicked him over and hit him to the face. He roared, leaping upwards and knocking the orc off of its feet. The two tumbled, but the orc managed to throw Olose off of it. It rose, and a figure snapped its neck from behind. Norg smiled and Olose looked around with a sigh. The orc that Olose had failed to take care of had been finished off by Norg easily enough. The two stared at each other for a moment before rushing to the aid of the two elvaan.

"He's been hit badly." The woman told them. "I couldn't stop them. They ambushed us!"

"Shee-niou orc cowards!" Spat Norg.

"I'll get him back to town." Olose decided. "I'm faster than any of you."

"I'll help the girl get back." Norg told Olose. "I'll meet you at the barracks."

"Alright." Olose nodded. "See you back at the city." He lifted the wounded man and shot off through the forest. Norg helped his new companion to her feet.
"Are you alright?" He asked.

"I'm not a girl. I'm a woman. And a respected member of this army!" She commented.

"What?" Norg said in confusion.

"You said you'd help 'the girl'. I'm Private Nadia, I have a rank and a name." She told him. Norg smiled slightly.

"Don't you think we have more concerns right now. You're hurt." Norg pointed out.
"And you're no white mage." Nadia said angrily. "Now help me back to town."

"Charming." Sighed Norg.

Olose was slumped outside the barracks some time later. The rain thundered down on him, but he decided it was better than waiting inside with the elvaans. He pondered everything that he had argued with Norg about earlier. The fact that the elvaans had wiped out the werewolves, but in turn, he had hated the elvaans for it as much as they hated the werewolves for the few they had murdered. He wondered what Norg would do next. He didn't really want to think about it.

"Tzao-gao!" He heard Norg exclaim as the elvaan marched out of the barracks. Olose jumped slightly, completely unaware that he had ever been in there. He felt fairly stupid for having waited outside.

"What's wrong?" Olose asked in confusion as thunder roared overhead.

"That girl I escorted back." He grumbled. "I've never met anybody so irritating."

"Well, least you're through with her now." Olose sighed.

"Not quite." He grumbled. "That's the problem. She's been assigned to my squad now her own is gone. At least once she's out of the infirmary." Olose chuckled to himself and Norg scowled. They paused for a moment.

"Listen, about earlier-" Olose began.

"Forget it." Norg interrupted. "I should never have done anything. You're a good man, no matter what curse you carry."

"I should leave this city." Olose sighed. "It's for the best."

"Not that simple." Norg told him. "You arrived with Arcadia, and are now registered to go to this dance with her." Norg explained. "I checked by. If you disappear, it'll be suspicious. And if the higher ups catch on to who you are, they will hunt you down."

"Aw gos se." Olose said sarcastically. Norg smirked slightly.

"So my plan involves you getting out of here after the party, leaving with Arcadia as her official bodyguard." He paused. "I know you're supposed to be taking that position anyway." Olose looked at him, confused as to how he knew. "I stopped by and talked with her. Had to apologise for smashing the window." He gave in explanation, Olose not even having to ask.

"So I stay here for the time being?" Olose confirmed. Norg nodded. "Sounds exciting."

"It could be." Norg told him. "We may have a problem."

"The orc attacks? Two in two days. They're up to something." Olose figured.
"For a wild man you're brain works pretty quickly." Norg laughed. Olose grinned.

"But what does attacking a few elvaan patrols mean?" Olose asked, trying to make himself more serious once again.

"I don't know." Norg sighed. "When San d'Oria expanded, we kicked a lot of the beastmen from their homes. They could be retaliating. These petty attacks are a pathetic form of vengeance."

"Or it could be something bigger." Olose warned.

"The beastmen couldn't function in groups bigger than six. They can't organise a dammed thing." Norg laughed. Olose nodded uneasily.

Back in the home of Lord Tarrak Arcadia walked gently over, bending down and wrapping her soft hands around the hilt of the dropped sword. She struggled with its weight, lifting the blade, but not being able to keep the point risen. Tarrak laughed, walking over and taking it from her before she dropped the weapon. She blushed slightly with embarrassment.

"I don't think somebody like you should ever handle a weapon." Tarrak said warmly. Arcadia sighed, looking around the room and at the shattered window. The wind blew in harshly.

"I apologise sincerely for this." She said politely. "I will pay you for the repairs."
"Don't worry." Tarrak laughed. "That was the best entertainment I've seen in years. Never seen somebody fight like that Olose boy."

"Have you not?" Arcadia inquired curiously.

"No." Tarrak answered. "He fought like an animal, not a hume. He hasn't been trained, at least not by any normal warrior."

"He grew up alone in the woods." Arcadia explained, walking out into the hallway outside. "He could not have been trained for many years." Tarrak smiled as he understood. Arcadia grabbed hold of a smooth golden pole, and lifted it up. White cloth hung around the end of the pole. An umbrella.
"Where are you going?" Tarrak asked, suddenly concerned.

"To find Olose." She answered. "I need to find where they ran off too."

Arcadia walked lightly through the city, the white umbrella open wide above her head, repelling the rain. She gripped the pole of the umbrella tightly, her hands shivering from the cold. She decided to hurry, the bottom of her dress still getting lashed by the rain and her legs becoming soaked. She shivered and decided to find some cover.

She walked under a large canopy, shivering and deciding she had made a bad decision going in search of Olose. The huge elvaan city loomed around her and she suddenly felt very lost. She gulped awkwardly and decided she should head back. She knew she wouldn't find Olose.

A loud shattering noise proved her wrong. She screamed, backing away. A large clear window to a bar she was next to had just exploded, and Olose's body flew through it and crashed into the street. He got up, looking dazed.

"Arcadia." He said in surprise, flicking pieces of glass out of his face. She sighed, calming down.

"What is it with you and windows?" She asked.

"Well I-" Somebody jumped out of the window and tackled Olose. He crashed down and hit him off. Olsoe staggered to his feet.

"Bloody adventurers!" Spat the attacker, who clambered to his feet. "Bloody hume adventurers!" A whole group of elvaans stumbled out of the bar. Arcadia watched in shock. Norg climbed out the window to watch.
"You really know the best places to get a drink, ya know?" Olose cried to Norg sarcastically.

"We don't like adventurers around here." One of the elvaans snarled.

"I kinda figured." Olose sighed.

"Adventurers have no place. Leeches." He continued to rant. "You leach off people, steal the jobs real people are supposed to do."

"I'm not an adventurer!" Olose protested. "Norg! Tell them!"

"What? Why me?" Norg laughed. "This is fun." The elvaans began to advance on Olose and he backed away a few steps.

"I'd like to point out that I'm slightly outnumbered." He said to Arcadia, managing a smile. She looked on in disbelief. "So, you understand, I'm normally perfectly heroic."

"What does that mean?" She asked in confusion as he backed away.

"Urm, well it's just that I'm gonna-" He paused as the elvaans moved in to attack him. "RUN!" He screamed, and bolted away as fast as possible.

Norg walked over to Arcadia as she looked on, stunned. She tried to speak, but failed.

"Orcs attacked a patrol." He explained, deciding to save her the trouble of asking. "We stopped them and rescued the survivors, and decided to grab a drink. It turns out that some elvaans mistook him for an adventurer." There was a pause.

"Oh." Arcadia answered. She knew perfectly well that adventurers were frowned upon as freelancing leeches that stole the jobs of people who had respected trades. They very rarely were even allowed into the city, and were greatly frowned upon. "I was actually wondering about why you two were no longer trying to kill each other." She explained, walking towards Norg and stepping carefully to avoid the shards of glass.

"Oh, that." Laughed Norg, as if he had forgotten it. "We decided to work out our differences by speech."

"He is a nice person." Arcadia said, her voice having an almost dreamy quality to it. "He does not deserve to be treated badly." Norg smirked.

"I know." He answered. "That's why I didn't kill him." Arcadia chuckled to herself before instantly straightening herself back up. "What's so funny?" Norg asked, sounding offended.

"Nothing." She said, covering her mouth up to hide her smile. "I am sure you could have killed him."

"I could have!" Norg protested. Arcadia laughed, before shivering. "You look cold." He said after a pause. "We had better get you home."

"Thank you." She said softly, lifting up her umbrella as they stepped out into the rain. "I hope Olose is alright."

Arcadia was sat some time later clutching a cup of elvaan tea, keeping herself warm. Tarrak had got his servants to border up the smashed window, but it was still cold within, especially considering that Arcadia had gotten wet outside. She had already changed clothes into a light blue nightdress, and let her long black hair down, but had insisted on staying awake until Olose came back. Norg had left for the barracks, but Tarrak had stayed with her. The door suddenly slammed open and she sprang to her feet. Olose stood there, looking tired.

"Elvaans don't like me." He commented. "One stabbed me!" He pointed to the hole in his shirt, stained slightly with blood even though the wound was healed.

"You get a white mage?" Tarrak asked in confusion at his mysteriously healed wound.

"Urm, yeah." Olose answered.

"I am reconsidering you being my bodyguard." Arcadia told him. Olose suddenly looked incredibly worried. "I think I should be yours." She added, finishing the joke. She chuckled and Olose sighed with relief.

Deep within the dark caverns of a mighty bandit layer, the legendary bandit king Abaj Tuh sat in a large golden throne.
"Sir?" Came the voice of an elvaan. "I believe you may be interested in this."

"What is it?" Abaj, a bald and slightly overweight hume, asked. His dull grey eyes looked out from his fatty face.

"I was in a brawl at a bar in San d'Oria." The elvaan told Abaj. "I saw someone you may be interested in."