Chapter 9 – To Albion

Hello guys, here is chapter 9. This chapter officially starts the Albion arc. If you compare the size of Wardes's griffin to the griffins in DD, you'll see that the FoZ griffin is slightly smaller. Also the DD griffins can hold a grown man in its... paw? hand? claws? you get the point. Uh, not much else to say so I'll just head right to the spells used in this chapter

Grand Ingle - Fire-Wind repeated many times

High Petrifaction - Void-Earth-Earth

As always, read, comment, enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon's Dogma or Familiar of Zero.

Tristain Academy of Magic

Louise had woken up early even without Mikhail waking her up. All through the night, she had a hard time sleeping and in the morning, it showed. After quickly cleaning herself up, she left for the Headmaster's Office followed by Mikhail carrying her supplies.

When she got there, she saw that the Headmaster already had someone inside, it was probably a meeting with the professors. However, because she didn't have the time to wait, she knocked on the door twice and then waited for a few seconds before entering. Inside the office was the Headmaster and Professor Colbert. Both of them turned to look at Louise when she came in.

Suddenly the attention of two pairs of eyes, Louise shrank a little until she remembered her mission and confidently strode towards the two. Mikhail followed his Master inside, closing the door and then setting the bags down before taking up his usual position behind Louise.

"What may I help you Louise?" the Headmaster asked. Although he asked politely, one could easily tell that he was irritated at being interrupted. Colbert moved to the side a little after giving Mikhail a small bow which confused Louise while Mikhail simply narrowed his eyes a little.

"I would like to request some time off starting today for a week," Louise said. Osmond clearly had some knowledge as to the reason for this because he scowled a bit before adopting his usual cheery face.

"Of course. However, when you do return, you will have to make up for all the work that you have missed."

Colbert was about to interject, a student should not be missing an entire week of school without a good reason. Before he could speak up, Osmond shot him a look that made him withhold his thoughts. Of the people in the room, only Colbert did not know about what Louise had accepted the night before. Osmond did not know the details of the mission Louise had been given, but being the veteran that he is, he knew that the Princess's meeting last night with Louise was not friendly in nature, merely business between a sovereign and their subject. And he also knew that with Louise being so young and impulsive, it was very likely that Louise did not really think it through, only accepting the mission to gain some rapport with the royal family.

What he did not know was that Louise had thought of many things before making her decision. It was more about the end goal and not the way there, but it was brainstormed nonetheless.

After getting the Headmaster's approval, Louise thanked him and then left. When Mikhail was about to leave, the Headmaster gave him a look that conveyed a clear message: "Keep Louise safe." Mikhail gave the Headmaster a nod before quickly following his Master.

When the door was closed, Colbert turned to the Headmaster and resumed their conversation. He thought about asking about Louise, but he knew that the Headmaster wouldn't have allowed it if he thought that Louise was up to no good.

"Headmaster, what should we do about him? We can't just have a foreign sovereign roaming around in Tristain without protection and without the Queen's knowledge. And then there is also he fact that he was essentially kidnapped from his country and then bound to a little girl," Colbert explained.

He had been keeping an eye on Mikhail for the past few days since his discovery of the Pawn's title. Sure enough, the Pawn had carried himself with proper poise and seemed to always have an air of regality about him. That combined with the fact that Louise, who had been known as the Zero for her zero success rate at using spells, had suddenly acquired the ability to use Dot-class fire spells; this only occurring after the white-haired man had been bound to her as a familiar although her family had tried for years to get her someone who could teach her how to do magic. And who better to teach magic than a scholar who had enough knowledge about it that their king would give them the title of Seneschal.

That was Colbert's theory on Mikhail's origins. Mikhail was a well-respected scholar and military commander, enough that the king had granted him the title. Of course, he did not know anything about where exactly the man had come from; the Seneschal was an ancient title in Tristain, so ancient that it is not being used anymore.

The Headmaster shook his head, "Until he actually makes any demands, I don't think that we should act rashly. Simply keep an eye on him. Do not tell anyone about your theory of his origins. We don't want to cause any panic."

The Headmaster never told anyone about Mikhail's remark about the Staff of Destruction. It was unsettling that a weapon that dangerous would be constructed to simply kill one man. Perhaps he was more than a simple man.

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Louise and Mikhail had reached the Academy's gates and were waiting for Guiche to show up.

"Why is he late!? I specifically told him that we are leaving early today. If our guide gets here before he does, we are leaving him behind," Louise said to Mikhail, although he only nodded back in return. Louise turned to her familiar and gave him a glare. "You need to speak more frequently. I'm not talking to myself here."

"Very well Master. I shall endeavor to be more talkative from now on," Mikhail replied.

The sword on Mikhail's back popped open and then spoke, "Oi, here comes the blondie now."

Guiche walked towards the Master and Pawn confidently. When he reached them, he was greeted with Louise's temper. Mid way through her rant, a giant mole jumped on her.

"Gah! What is this thing doing!? Get it off!" Louise screamed.

"Oh? Verdandi never greets strangers like that. Do you have jewelry on you because she is attracted to gems," Guiche explained.

Mikhail walked over to his Master and then plucked the mole off her. After that, he helped his Master stand. "Master, are you alright?"

"Ugh, I feel dirty now," Louise responded, keeping an eye on the mole in case it was to jump her again. The mole was about to but then an abnormally strong gust of wind knocked it away. Mikhail immediately tensed up and looked for the source, and then he saw it.

"Griffin," he said curtly. He was about to fire off Grand Ingle until he saw a man riding the griffin. The griffin flew closer until it landed in front of them. Mikhail looked at the griffin strangely. 'Odd, I'm pretty sure that griffins are supposed to be bigger,' Mikhail thought. The rider had gray long hair and a short beard. The man had got off the griffin and then introduced himself.

"Greeting, I am the person that Princess Henrietta has assigned to be your guard and guide. I am Jean-Jacques Francis de Wardes, Captain of the Tristainian Griffin Knights."

"Wardes!? Oh Founder, how lucky am I to actually get to do a mission with you," Guiche said, his excitement clear for all to see.

"W-W-Wardes! I-It, uh, it's been a long time," Louise said.

"Ah, Louise. How are you?" Wardes asked.

"I-I'm fine, thank you for asking," Louise's face was red with embarrassment.

"You know each other?" Guiche inquired.

"Yes, I am Louise's fiancee actually," Wardes answered. He then turned to Louise and smiled at her.

Louise fumbled over her words before finally giving up and turned away. She looked down at her hands and saw the Water Ruby. She then remembered about the mission, "We should depart for the mission now that everyone's here."

Wardes nodded and then spoke, "We will ride for the port city of La Rochelle. There, we will catch an airship and sail to Albion. Come on Louise, you can ride with me on the griffin." Wardes got on his grffin and then offered Louise a hand

Louise looked over at Mikhail and saw him nod. She took Wardes's hand and then they took off. Guiche looked over at the Pawn and then sighed. Mikhail was already walking towards the horses that Louise and taken out before hand. Despite his hate for riding, Mikhail had begrudgingly admitted that it was faster than any other way currently available. He got on his horse and then followed the griffin.

Road to Albion

The sun had already set and the group was only half way to La Rochelle. Louise and Wardes had landed because the group was looking for a clearing to set up camp for the night. Mikhail found one and began to unpack. Guiche was busy talking to Wardes while Louise was thinking about something. That left it up to the Pawn to actually set up camp.

"Partner, I admit that I am awed by your patience with these people. If it was me, I would have left them alone a long time ago," Derf said.

In response, Mikhail shrugged and then said, "I was expecting it. Besides, it has been too long since I last camped out under the stars. It reminds me of the simpler times when I was still a Newly Arisen."

"My last wielder hated camping. She said that the bugs were scary and gross. I'm like, 'you have a SWORD! The bugs are more scared of you!' and then she said just stuck me into the ground for the rest of the night."

"No wonder you had so much dirt on you before. It was a pain to clean you, you know."

"Hey, it wasn't my fault, ok?"

"Whatever you say Derf-"

Suddenly Mikhail heard a whistling sound flying through towards the group. He ran towards his Master, unsheathing the sword on the way. The Gandalfr runes glowed brightly, improving his speed and reflexes. He got to his Master just in time before an arrow could land, swatting them out of the air with his sword.

"We're under attack!" Guiche yelled loudly when he saw what had just happened.

"Bandits!" Wardes pointed his wand-sword to a nearby cliff and fired off some wind spells. Some screams were heard as the attackers got hit by the spell. With the enemies now revealed, Mikhail brought out his archistaff and casted Grand Ingle, the fiery projectiles exploding on impact. The surviving attackers scattered but continued to fire arrows at the group. Some of the bandits traversed down the cliff and ran towards the group, thinking that it was safer in close combat against mages. On any other mage, it might have had a chance at success. However, with both a trained Griffin Knight and a former Knight of the Hunt, the bandits did not stand a chance. Guiche had finally summoned his Bronze Valkyries when Louise slapped him. The bronze golems did a remarkable job at taking the arrows for the group while occupying some of the bandits long enough for either Wardes or Mikhail to take them out.

Louise sent a small fireball sailing at an unwary bandit, surprising him and setting his shirt on fire. The man was quickly dispatched by the blade of the Pawn. That was the last of the melee bandits. The only ones left were the ones still shooting the arrows. Mikhail watched as Wardes created a shield of wind around the group to defend them from the projectiles. Quickly seizing the chance, Mikhail began casting a spell, a dark green sigil appearing on the head of his staff. When he finished casting, he released the spell High Petrifaction on the archers.

A large dark green, fog-like sigil descended on them. Immediately, the archers tried to get away. Unfortunately, they were unable to. Slowly their bodies started to turn to stone until they were simply statues. Mikhail walked towards them and then destroyed them with a swing of his archistaff.

When he turned around, he was met with two shocked faces and one scowl. Louise and Guiche were speechless. They had never seen that kind of Earth magic before. Turning a man to stone? That had only been described in tales. Wardes was now restudying the man that was his fiancee's familiar. At first, he had thought that the white-haired man was simply a swordsman for that was the only weapon visible. Then, in the middle of the fight, the Pawn just pulls a staff out of nowhere and began to cast spells while using the sword as well. He had seen the man in the red robe use Fire, Ice, Lightning and now a deadly Earth-type spell. His mission had just got more difficult. Inside, he was frustrated. On the outside, Wardes smiled and approached Mikhail.

"Louise had told me that you were a formidable mage. I didn't know that you were a fellow Square-class mage. It is reassuring that I will be working with another experienced veteran," Wardes complimented. Before Mikhail could reply, Wardes held out his hand and continued, "Don't try to deny it, I know a soldier when I see one. Besides, with your help, this mission has just gotten easier."

"I am glad that you are able to defend both yourself and Master Louise. Please continue look after yourself," Mikhail replied. He then looked at Wardes hand and saw him bleeding. Mikhail narrowed his eyes at the sight before walking towards his Master. "Master, are you injured?"

"No, not really," she replied. She then ran over to Wardes when she saw that he was bleeding. She grabbed his hand and then applied some of own supply of Greenwarish on the wound. The bleeding stopped quickly after and the wound visibly closed, albeit slowly. Wardes was surprised at this.

"Louise, what is this? Its healing properties are amazing," Wardes wondered.

"Ah, this is part of the Greenwarish plant that Mikhail gave me. It truly is a wonderful plant isn't it?"

Unbeknownst to Louise, Mikhail was positively glaring at Wardes. Mikhail had noticed that although Louise was not injured too badly, she did receive some bruises. When he got within six feet of her, she started healing. That was why she didn't notice her injuries. They had just healed before she could recognize them.

Even Guiche started to heal as well when he got closer to the group. However, Wardes had not. His robes, the Adept's Robe, has a healing enchantment on it. Any nearby ally will start to heal. Since Wardes did not heal from the effects of his robes…

Wardes noticed Mikhail's glare and assumed something else. "Oh? Are we jealous here?"

"J-Jealous? What does he have to be jealous over?" Louise asked. She understood what Wardes had meant and that Mikhail never saw her that way, but the thought that two men would potentially be fighting over her made her fantasize.

Mikhail's glare soon subsided and then he spoke, "Master, he should keep moving. This place is too dangerous to stop at." The Pawn repacked the supplies and then got back on his horse. "Let's move."

Louise watched as her familiar began to ride away. Then, she spoke, "Mikhail…. That's the wrong direction."

The horse stopped. It turned around and then eventually got back to the group.

"Of course Master. Let us keep moving for another hour before we finally settle down," Mikhail said shamelessly.

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True to his word, the group had traveled for another hour before setting up camp. Mikhail volunteered to stand watch through the night, although Wardes had frequently asked if Mikhail wanted to switch. The group then departed for La Rochelle again early in the morning. The rest of the trip to the port city was peaceful. The finally reached the city around dusk.

La Rochelle

"Finally, an inn! I've had quite enough of camping for the wee- Well, hello there mademoiselle. My name is Guiche de..."

"Louise, let's go rent a some rooms. Sir Mikhail, I trust you can bring in the bags by yourself?" Wardes asked. Mikhail nodded. Louise and Wardes headed into the inn while Mikhail followed them with the bags. He saw Louise blushing while Wardes talked to the man at the counter. When Mikhail approached them, Wardes turned around and began to speak, "Ah, Mikhail. Good job. Here is how the rooms will be separated: you and Guiche shall be roomed together in room 15 while I will share a room with Louise in room 16."

At this, Mikhail understood why his Master was blushing. "Do you confirm this decision Master?"

Louise nodded quickly, perhaps too quickly because she suddenly winced and then started to rub her neck.

"As long as you agree Master. Sir Wardes, I am sure you know that any inappropriate actions towards my Master will not be tolerated."

"It is a given," Wardes replied.

"Anything done that my Master does not approve of will result in immediate removal of the source. Do you understand?"

"Of course."

Mikhail looked at Wardes skeptically. He then spoke again, "If Master does approve, please be quiet. It is not proper to be loud in a public establishment like this." Louise's blush grew even more intense.

"Sh-sh-shut up Mikhail!" Louise stuttered. It seems like even she was thinking about it. Mikhail sighed deeply before walking to their rooms with the bags.

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The group sat down for dinner soon. Guiche was busy trying to woo the waitress while Louise chatted animatedly with Wardes. Their conversation was about their lives since they last saw each other. And then, their conversation turned towards Mikhail.

"So you're saying that Mikhail here was the actual person who apprehended Fouquet?" Wardes asked.

"Yes, I simply got the credit for it because he is my familiar," Louise answered.

"I see. Mikhail, if you don't mind, I would like to have a duel with you tomorrow. I would like to test myself against the man who took down the Fouquet," Wardes requested.

Louise was shocked at Wardes request. She didn't tell him about all the things that Mikhail could do because she wasn't too sure about it herself. However, she did stress that Mikhail was very skilled. If Wardes and Mikhail ever fought, she didn't know who would win; she didn't know who she wanted to win.

Mikhail stopped eating, he didn't need to actually eat and only ate to keep up appearances, and looked at Wardes. He then turned his gaze to Louise. He recognized the fear on Louise's face and then turned back to Wardes.

"Denied," Mikhail replied curtly before resuming to eat.

"Why not? Are you perhaps afraid?" Wardes taunted. He needed to know if his real mission would be threatened by the man before him. Experiencing his skills first hand would greatly reward him with the information that he needed.

Mikhail simply looked up at Wardes once more and then refocused on eating, not letting any of his suspicion show at the moment.

Wardes was irritated. He needed to know, but he can't force the white-haired man to fight him unless he gave away his secret. And then a thought occurred to him. Mikhail was loyal only to Louise and from what he had heard, followed her orders to the letter. That made things easier.

With a gentle smile on his face, Wardes turned his attention to Louise who was still occupied with her thoughts. "Louise, are you alright?" Wardes asked.

"Hmm. Oh, uh, yes. Yes I'm fine," Louise said when she was freed from her thoughts.

"Will you allow me to have a friendly spar with Mikhail?" Wardes asked. Mikhail threw Wardes a dirty look but remained silent. Louise still looked reluctant to agree so Wardes continued his plan, "Do not worry. I'll be sure to hold back and I'm positive that Mikhail will also hold back as well. Tell you what, you can be there to tell us when to stop. If you think it is getting too heated, feel free to stop us."

Wardes smooth voice combined with his gentle face convinced Louise, "Ok, I guess that it'll be fine."

Mikhail instantly began to analyze Wardes, searching for his motive. When Louise finally allowed it, Mikhail felt annoyed. 'Dammit. I was hoping to avoid this,' he thought. He didn't want a potential enemy learning about him or his abilities. The only reprieve that he got was that Louise said nothing about his different vocations. All conversation ended when Guiche was slapped by the waitress. Louise laughed at his expense and soon everyone went to bed.

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The next morning, Louise had been woken early by Wardes. After getting dressed, she found herself looking at Wardes and Mikhail in an open area with the men standing about twenty feet from each other. Guiche was openly cheering for Wardes while Louise looked back and forth between them nervously.

"So, are you ready Mikhail?" Wardes asked as he drew his sword-wand. He noticed that the Pawn did not have his staff with him, only the sword. 'Is he underestimating me?' he thought.

Mikhail was not underestimating the Griffin Knight. If anything, Mikhail was overestimating Wardes. Mikhail did not want to reveal anything about his powers yet so he opted to only use the sword for now. Mikhail drew Derf in response to Wardes question.

Both stood there ready but unmoving. The tension in the air was thick. Louise finally tried to speak up but her voice seemed to be the starting gun for both men began when she spoke up.

Wardes pointed his wand-sword at Mikhail and a Wind spell shot forward. Mikhail raised the sword above his head and then swung it down when the spell was in striking distance. The spell was cut in two and then dissipated. Mikhail then exploded forward, crossing the distance between the two in a blink of an eye. Wardes was just barely able to dodge the sword that came for his right ribs. Wardes jumped back and then casted a spell on himself, allowing him to move faster.

Wardes charged at the Pawn with a thrust. Mikhail deflected it and then swung the Derf once more at Wardes's ribs. Although Wardes leapt back, he was still hit slightly by the sword. When he saw tat he wasn't bleeding, he finally noticed that the Pawn was using the blunt edge of the blade.

The short exchange was simply for them to test the waters. Wardes smirked and then began to cast some more spells. Mikhail took this chance to attack again. However, Wardes jumped back and then unleashed several Razor Winds at Mikhail. Mikhail rolled to the side to dodge them but had to retreat when the onslaught of wind did not stop. Wardes continued to cast several Wind-based spells at the man. When Mikhail was sufficiently distanced, Wardes began to cast his signature spell: Lightning.

Mikhail continued to dodge the wind blades that soared towards him when he saw Wardes point the wand-sword at him. The small electric spark around the weapon tipped him off about what was coming next. The next second, a lightning bolt flew towards him. Mikhail's heightened reflexes allowed Mikhail to just barely dodge the brunt of the spell, although some of it did hit him due to the armor that he was wearing.

To say that Wardes was surprised at the outcome of his spell was putting it lightly. His spell had never missed before due to its speed until now. His shock had distracted him long enough for Mikhail to close in nearly stab Wardes in the abdomen. The only reason that he stopped was because his Master had yelled at them to stop.

Mikhail sheathed the sword and then whispered to Wardes, "That last attack has been determined to have been lethal should it have hit. You are now to be under strict watch Sir Wardes. Should you show any hint of insubordination or hamper the success of the mission in any way, shape, or form, you will be disposed of immediately."

Wardes narrowed his eyes at the Pawn as the white-haired man walked away. His mission's difficulty had just increased dramatically. He had attracted the attention of a powerful enemy. If he can't find some way to remove him from the scene, then the mission is doomed to failure. Louise ran up to him, patting him down and looking for any injuries. The solution had just ran up to him again. Louise. If he could somehow get Louise to cooperate with him, that will allow him to command the familiar as well.

Mikhail didn't saw a word after that, only staying close to Louise all the time and keeping an eye on Wardes. Later, the group finally got onto the airship that was headed to Albion with some supplies. Everything was going to smoothly and according to the captain of the ship, they were about to reach Albion.

The sound of a cannon erupted through the air. Some of the sailors ran to the port side of the ship to see what had happened.

"Pirates, Captain! All their cannons are aimed at us!"