A Swordhand for Hire Part 1

Hello everyone and welcome to another story for A New Crusade IF! This particular story will focus on what might happen if Ulric became part of the camp of Anastasia Hoshin. Now this first chapter here is an introductory one so it's gonna be a little short, mostly because I just felt like the last scene was a good place for it to end off on. With that in mind, it seems like we have no Guest Review questions this week, so let's dive on in!

A Fountain In the Capital City of Lugnica

Here we are once again everyone, asking the question 'What if' and seeing what stories are spun from it. And once again we find ourselves at the fountain where the Crusader first appeared in Lugnica after his death at Jerusalem. Originally, he went forward and became the knight of Lady Emilia. In our more recent story, he went slightly to the right and became one of the most trusted soldiers of Crusch Karnstein.

This time, our hero shall turn and venture down a path behind the fountain where he appeared, his awe and wonder at the new world leading him to venture aimlessly into the more merchant oriented part of the city this time around. 'Such a strange place,' thought Ulric as he walked the streets, his eyes sweeping over one stall and its wares after another, 'so much like home and yet, so different at the same time.' The city he was in reminded him a little of where he lived in Europe whenever his parents or his duties had taken him to one of the larger and more populated areas. He surmised that such a massive and ornate collection of buildings which grew grander and grander as one approached the center meant that this was likely a capital or at least incredibly important city.

It certainly had the hustle and bustle of a capital city with countless people wondering to and fro to take care of whatever business was at hand. What was strange about these people were that some of them weren't entirely human. He'd nearly gone for his sword upon sighting his first demi-human, a woman with rabbit ears. Then he noted that she was not the only one and there were possibly as many demi-humans as there were humans present in the city.

Stranger still, no one seemed to be at all terrified of the people with animal features and acted as if their presence was entirely normal. Since Ulric didn't want to cause an incident or a misunderstanding, he decided to follow this example and continue on his way, albeit with a wary eye. It was then the Knight noticed that people were also treating his presence as if it was relatively normal. The reason for this became readily apparent when he spotted another couple of figures walking along in full knight armor.

'So this place does possess knights,' he mused. It was reassuring in a way, knowing that wherever he was now he might at least be able to find someone of a chivalrous nature. 'But that does bring up the main problem I need to address,' he thought, 'I need to find where in the world I am and what I can do to get back to Jerusalem.' And so, the Knight proceeded to start asking around about a stall that might sell maps of the city and country he was in.

In a short while, fortune smiled upon him as a helpful, albeit rude, maid with pink hair pointed him in the direction of a stall that sold what he was looking for. "Half-baked Knight," he repeated aloud. It was how the maid had referred to him, "that's a bit of a new one when it comes to insults." But the Crusader had been called far worse by his enemies, so the light prodding hardly affected him at all as he arrived at his destination.

The stall owner was a middle-aged man dressed in a vest and a rugged, short-sleeved shirt, at least giving off the appearance that he was well-traveled. In front of his stall was another man in a white robe with yellow trim around the hood, which he kept up, and sleeves. Since Ulric didn't know how much of a hurry he needed to be in, if any at all, he didn't mind waiting for the transaction to complete before going next. And his patience was quickly rewarded as the hooded man paid the stall owner and turned around.

Ulric moved to let him pass but for some reason, the stranger in the white robes froze upon taking notice of him. "You," said the man in an accent that immediately set the Crusader on edge, "where did you get that armor?"

"It was a gift from my father," replied Ulric, "I received it upon completing my training as a knight."

"And if I were to ask you what the meaning behind that symbol on the front is?" Asked the man.

"It is meant to depict the cross from which our lord and savior, Jesus Christ, hung from as payment for the world's sins," replied Ulric, "after that, he rose again and the new covenant with the Lord God Almighty began. This cross is a symbol of our faith in God."

"And the reason you shed blood in the holy land, Crusader," sneered the man as he pulled back his hood, revealing that he was a dark-haired man with olive skin. Ulric recognized the stranger's ethnicity as a Turk almost immediately. It took a moment, but Ulric composed himself and answered.

"There was never a need for bloodshed," said Ulric, "you simply refused to give the Holy Land to those who followed the will of God. Your time there was marked with nothing but bloodshed."

"As if your land was any different," said the Turk before reaching for something under his robe, "but there is one thing we can agree on: fate seems to have brought us together. For the first time in ages, I can spill the blood of my enemies!" The two men moved in a blur as they drew their swords and the sound of clashing steel rang out in the market place.

The two quickly exchanged a series of blows before the Turk elbowed the Knight in the face, knocking him over onto the ground. Ulric reacted quickly and kicked his foot out from under him, causing the Turk to stumble as the Crusader rolled back to his feet. 'He moves differently and hits harder than any Turk I've fought up to this point,' Ulric quickly realized as he exchanged a few more blows with his enemy before narrowly avoiding a slash that cleaved the map seller's table in two. Naturally the stall owner was upset about it but the man was also wise enough to know not to get in between the two right now as the Knight went on the offensive.

He assaulted his opponent with a series of blows aimed at the Turk's left side which he parried with relative ease before catching Ulric's blade on his own and roughly shoving it away. But the Crusader had anticipated this and used the momentum to spin around, crouching as he did so, and aim a slash at the Turk's midsection. Had he stopped moving forward even a fraction of a second later, the Middle Eastern man would've had his gut cut open instead of just his shirt. The damage to his attire seemed to enrage him even more as he came down on the Knight with a series of brutal vertical and diagonal strikes which the Crusader was just barely able to ward off before countering with a vertical strike of his own.

His opponent was ready for such a maneuver, though, and spun to the side while also kicking Ulric in the back with enough force to send him crashing into the ground. The Crusader rolled over just in time to dodge the next strike before rolling in the opposite direction to evade another. He raised his sword then with one hand on the flat of his blade to block the third strike, his muscles straining as the Turk pushed downward with his blade inching closer by the second. "Now at least one of us can see who's on the other side," he said, "God or A-AAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"

A suddenly loud, piercing scream rang out from nearby that was so intense Ulric was certain he would go deaf any moment from the pain in his eardrums. But his opponent seemed to have it worse as he dropped his sword and covered his own ears, his cries of anguish drowned out by the overpowering noise. It didn't take long for it to overpower his balance either as he fell backwards onto the ground. It was then that the noise finally ceased, leaving a very irritating but still much more tolerable ringing in the two fighter's ears.

The first thing the Crusader heard after that was a voice which clearly belonged to a young woman. "Berat," said the voice, "what's the meanin' of this?"

"M-My lady," groaned the man known as Berat while sitting up and rubbing his ears, "this knight, I don't know him but-."

"You don't know him?" Questioned the Young Woman that Ulric now noticed was on the slightly shorter side. "So am I to understand that you attacked a complete stranger in broad daylight in the middle of the market place?!" Even despite her clear exasperation it was obvious the woman was attractive. Her purple hair reached past her shoulders and her bluish green eyes showed quite a bit of intelligence behind them. What was also striking about her was her all white dress that she was wearing which appeared to be made of some type of fur, or at least the cape around her shoulders was. Naturally Ulric found himself wondering for a second if she was cold given the thick, white furry cap on her head.

"I attacked an enemy," said Berat as he pointed at Ulric, "that man is an Englishman, a Crusader who rode against my people and took Jerusalem from us!"

"We took what was ours by right as declared by God Almighty," said Ulric, "you had plenty of other land you could settle on. We weren't asking for quite that much."

"You think that land is only holy and sacred to you?!" Exclaimed Berat as he reached for his sword only to recoil as a wooden staff with a rounded end whapped him on the head.

"Lady Hoshin didn't give you permission to attack," said a much smaller individual wearing the same type of white robe as Berat, with the addition of animal ears on the drawn back hood. Though what really caught Ulric's attention were the cat-like ears which matched the orange hair on what he now saw was a girl's head. Stranger still was the cat-like tail poking out from under her robe. "Do you want me to yell at you again?" 'That little one was responsible for the pain in our heads,' realized the Crusader with more than a little surprise.

The Turk was clearly displeased with this situation but relented and settled into a kneeling position as Ulric slowly stood up. He made sure his movements were slow and deliberate as he sheathed his sword, noting how wary Berat seemed to be of the small cat girl. Though his attention quickly shifted when the woman known as Hoshin turned to him. "Sorry about him, he's usually well-behaved," she said, "he didn't injure you, did he?"

"None that I've noticed," replied Ulric, "though I am curious what his position is in relation to you, Miss-."

"Oh, where are my manners," she said before doing a slight curtsy, "I am Anastasia Hoshin, and this here is Mimi Pearlbaton and Berat, two of many mercenaries in my employ."

"'Employ'," repeated Ulric while glancing at the Turk, "he's clearly not lost his hatred for my countrymen. Is there something preventing him from returning to his people?"

"Ah, so that explains why you were at the map stand," said Berat as he slowly picked up his sword and sheathed it with clear reluctance, "which reminds me." He turned and tossed a few coins to the owner of the stall whose table he'd cut in half, "apologies, I was meaning to take his head with that blow." The seller simply nodded his head several times before moving to gather up what he could. "Now where was I, oh yes, I have not returned to my people because they are not here."

"I take it you mean more than simply not at this location," said Ulric as he crossed his arms.

"Surprisingly perceptive, Crusader," said Berat in a mocking tone, "yes indeed, my people are not here in this city, this land, or even on this continent. And after three years of searching, I realized that they do not even exist here."

"Some must exist here if you are here," said Ulric, "it's highly possible your people are just very rare in this land."

"That is what I thought at first too," said Berat before he bent down and picked up a map which he unrolled, "until I discovered this." The Knight studied the map closely and noted that it was a map with all the keys meant for depicting a world map. At least what little he could make out of it.

"Is this supposed to be a map kept by those who still believe the earth is flat?" Questioned Ulric.

"It is not just a belief here," said Berat, "by the sound of it, you have just arrived, correct?"

"Very astute," replied the Knight, "I was in one location and then I was here in this city." He decided for now to leave out the part where he'd died beforehand.

"Well my enemy," said Berat, "you have travelled to more than just a new city. This flat world you see before you is one entirely different from our own, which is round. For one reason or another, you and I have both been transported by the will of Heaven to be here, in an entirely different world."

"We're in, a whole other world?" Questioned Ulric as he tried to keep his mind from racing. It didn't make sense and yet made perfect sense at the same time. The same yet slightly different architecture, the odd foods and names for them, the presence of humans with animal features and the other strange creatures that were roaming the streets.

He knew he was no longer in the Holy Land, but now it had been revealed that he was nowhere near home either. "So you've got no one here," said Anastasia, "if you really are from another world, like Berat here, then you no longer have a way to reach your family or friends either. You're now a Knight without a king or a country to fight for and what's a knight without a castle to defend?"

"I am, a Knight without a cause," he thought aloud in shock, doing his best to keep his composure, "the Holy Land, is forever out of reach for me."

"It is out of reach for the both of us," said Berat, "until now, I thought I would never even see a Crusader again."

"And we just engaged in a battle that would've had absolutely no effect on the outcome of Jerusalem's fate," said Ulric with a hand to his head, "any duels between us now, would be pointless."

"Not entirely," said Berat, "the chance to wet my blade with the blood of a Crusader is still a thought that I relish."

"And you should just keep on relishin' it in your thoughts only," said Hoshin, "you're still under contract with me and I haven't given you an order to kill this knight."

"I will of course honor our arrangement, your ladyship," said Berat with a slight bow, "but I must protest at leaving this one alive. Crusaders are nothing but trouble."

"Only for our enemies," said Ulric, "and since we do not appear to be exactly enemies at this very moment I shall trouble neither you nor your Mistress. And so long as God wills it, things shall remain that way. So if you'll excuse me, your ladyship, it appears I must seek out employment as well as a way to return to my homeland."

"Perhaps I can help with that," said Anastasia, "I saw part of that fight and for someone who just arrived here, you seem capable. Anyone who isn't killed right away by Berat is worth some consideration."

"Obviously I had to hold back so as not to injure anyone else," said the Turk as his face twisted into a frown, "and you can't possibly be thinking of offering a zealot like this a place in the ranks of the Iron Fang?"

"As we just talked about," said Anastasia while holding up one finger, "he's got no holy land and no kingdom to fight for here, so we just give him something to fight for. If he's anything like you then he'll honor his word or a contract to the letter and Ricardo can always use someone else he can trust. And there's no reason I have to have the both of you working together, so it won't even be an issue."

"Would you happen to have access to anything that'll explain how I came to be here?" Questioned Ulric.

"Whether or not I have access isn't really the issue," replied the Purple-haired Girl, "as head of the Hoshin Trading Company I have numerous connections and can get just about anything, or at the very least get the information on it."

"'Trading Company,'" repeated Ulric, "so you're a merchant then? Not to be rude but I've had more than a few reasons not to think very highly of merchants in my homeland. Even beheaded a couple who were caught selling weapons to both sides while I was on the way to Jerusalem."

"And what if I said I'm not just a merchant," replied Hoshin as she produced a black and gold bauble with a red jewel in the center that appeared to be, shining. "You're no doubt wondering why this is glowing. The reason is very simple: this is a royal insignia that denotes me as a candidate to take the throne of Lugnica, the capital of which we happen to be standing in right now."

"You…you mean," Ulric tried to find the right words for a moment, "you're royalty then, a princess?"

"Not exactly, but feel free to call me your highness any time," said Anastasia as she did a quick twirl, "right now the country is about to undergo something called the Royal Selection and all but one of the candidates for the throne have been found. Obviously there's a lot riding on it so finding the most loyal people you can is pretty important. Come to think of it, if you're anything like my cousin then an oath of loyalty means that much more."

"It would indeed be an honor to serve a royal, your highness," said Ulric with a bow, "but if I might state an observation, you said there were more royal candidates. Would it be not wise for me to observe each one before making a decision on which I chose to serve, if any at all?"

"If you weren't in need of money, lodging and other necessities then I'd say go right ahead," replied Hoshin, "and I should warn you right now that two of the candidates aren't even worth it. The Bloody Bride, Priscilla Barielle, is a notorious woman who does questionable things for no other reason than they amuse her, even harming others. And the silver-haired half-elf, Emilia, is trouble no matter how you look at her since she's probably got something to do with the Witch of Envy. Even if she didn't, the Witch's Cult would still be a problem for anyone who joins her camp."

"There are witches here?" Questioned Ulric with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh that's right, you also need a bit of an education about this world too," said Anastasia with a smile, "now that I think of it, Tivey might enjoy trying to teach. Tell me, what do you think of books…Oh, now isn't that a bit thoughtless of me. It seems I never got your name."

"Of course," said the Crusader with another slight bow, "I am Sir Ulric, though I hail from mainland Europe I am a knight of England and a Crusader for the church and God Almighty. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Lady Hoshin. And to answer your question, I quite enjoy reading. When not dispensing my duties as a knight, I read the sacred word of the Lord and whatever other stories I can find."

"Then Tivey will love you," said Anastasia, "he loves readin', after all, and I know he'd enjoy having someone else to talk to about reading books."

"You say all of this as if I've already made up my mind about what I'm going to do," Ulric pointed out, "you never mentioned the nature of the final candidate."

"Oh, you mean Crusch Karnstein," said Anastasia, "she's definitely a lot less trouble than the two other candidates and she's very professional in comparison to them as well. You'd probably get along with her except for one problem: she's already got one of the best swordsmen in all the land working for her. I wouldn't be surprised if you really had to impress her to even get a chance at being accepted into her camp."

"In other words," said Ulric, "you're saying my best option lies in joining up with you, Lady Hoshin."

"I promise I'm a good boss," she said innocently, "Mimi here can vouch for me. Berat would vouch except he's not really in a good position right now given that I have to punish him later."

"Are you going to dock my pay or make me brush the ligers again?" Questioned the Turk.

"Not just any liger," said Hoshin with a mischievous smile, "you get to brush Ricardo's liger. I'm certain you remember how particular he is." The Turk's response to that was a bit of grumbling while the Royal Candidate turned back to the Crusader. "So, what do you think, Sir Ulric, care to join my merry little band?"

"You do, admittedly, make several valid points," said Ulric, "my knowledge, resources and funds are all beyond lacking in this instance. And given the picture you've painted of Lady Karnstein it's likely I'd appear as little more than a bumbling fool in chainmail as opposed to a well-versed knight if I tried to become a member of her camp now. Moreover, I doubt I'd find work at the castle, either, given the same reasons. Considering all of that, there seems to be little reason I shouldn't take you up on your generous offer."

"But there's something else you're wantin' to say about that, isn't there?" Noted Hoshin by the tone of his voice and mannerisms.

"If I am to join you and your mercenaries, it will be under a few conditions," said Ulric, "first and foremost being that I am allowed to terminate the contract at any time for any reason. Secondly, it would be wise to keep me and Berat separated until we work out our differences, should that even prove possible."

"Let's not get our hopes up too high," said Berat, "I will honor the ancient customs of my people and not kill you in your sleep should you join us, but that does not mean I have to get along with you."

"Then it seems we are at least in agreement on that," said Ulric before turning back to the Merchant Girl, "and the first condition I named?"

"You're askin' for more than you might think," said Hoshin, "how will I know if you've suddenly decided to terminate your contract with me?"

"You have my word that I shall inform you of such an occurrence," said Ulric, "I haven't forgotten already that you're a merchant, after all. If I'm going to work under you then I'm going to need to be able to trust you and the best way to do that is to ensure you can't abuse your authority by having a completely binding contract over me. Likewise, you'll simply have to trust that I will honor my word and not terminate our contract without first alerting you. I believe this is what some merchants call 'risk and return'."

"Indeed," said Hoshin, "I must admit you seem to have a good head on your shoulders, which is exactly the kind of thing I like my workers to have. And if you really are a knight then that means you take your word seriously. Very well then, we have an agreement." She held out her hand which Ulric shook, signaling the first of many arrangements the two would make.

"I imagine you won't bother hearing my disapproval of this new hire, Lady Hoshin," Berat more stated than asked.

"No," said Hoshin, "but I can put some of your fears to rest. Sir Ulric, I'd like to mention something in advance of drawing up our contract, one of 'my' conditions for your employment. You are not to fight with any of your new comrades without an especially good reason. Do I have your word on this?"

"You have my word as a knight," affirmed Ulric, "my blade shall not fall on any under your employ unless their actions pose a threat to you or those under you."

"Will that be satisfactory enough for you, Berat?" Asked Anastasia as she turned back towards the Turk.

"As much as I loathe Crusaders, many of them have kept their word in the past," he said, "it is, acceptable, for now."

"Outstanding," said Anastasia before turning to Mimi, "why don't we celebrate our new hire, my treat." The little cat girl cheered loudly before turning to hurry off towards the nearest restaurant. The Knight and Turk followed after Hoshin as she walked along humming happily to herself. Had Ulric known half the strange things that would happen with this agreement, he'd have asked for more conditions.

And so begins Ulric's new life as a swordhand under Anastasia Hoshin! Wonder if his disapproval of merchants will change with this experience? Also, since I'm half-expecting someone to mention this, I'm honestly unsure how to write some of Anastasia's dialogue. She's supposed to speak in Kansai dialect, to my understanding, but in the English dub she doesn't really possess an accent. Let me know which y'all prefer as well as any other suggestions you've got for future stories. Be sure to stop in next time as our Knight ventures to Kararagi and meets the Iron Fang! 'Til then.