Chapter 4—The Ganelon Bandits

She rarely had the time to actually practice her swordplay thanks to the endless work split between the armory and her family, but Marina was still quite a force, as Kent, who had agreed to spar with her for a moment, quickly learned. Marina was far more agile than Kent, but against his incredible accuracy, they were on even footing. If anything, it was her technique above all else that kept Kent from winning outright. At the moment, the score was four points to one, with Marina winning. Kent, after getting struck four times, had finally caught on to her strategy and scored a successful blow to Marina's shin. In a real battle, even limbs were valuable, so they counted in practice as well. In the case of strength, the two were almost equal, so neither viewed overpowering the other as a priority. Every now and then, their blows came to a pressing match, but Kent had learned to release early lest Marina release and dodge to throw him off-balance. In fact, that was how Marina had scored twice in the match.

The various wild plants were in bloom—delphiniums, roses, lilies, among others, but the only reason anyone noticed was because their aromas overpowered the stench of sweat that both combatants were likely emitting. The clack of the two wooden rods striking each other echoed across the hills, bouncing back upon hitting the small group of mountains near the castle.

Marina felt a stabbing pain in her chest as she fell back from the force of Kent's thrust. That was a surprise. Kent was a cavalier, so he was more familiar with the use of a slash, which, while more powerful, was far easier to parry.

"My apologies," Kent said, helping his opponent up. "Did I strike too hard?"

"Yes," Marina said, "but thanks to the padding, it didn't hurt…too much."

"We've been taught that Sacaen warriors rarely wear armor, so that makes their torsos far more vulnerable. Is it true?"

"I think the clothes we wear in battle answers your question. Supposedly, someone who traveled with the Djute for a while ended up becoming a lethal swordmaster."

"Is that so?"

"It's only a rumor, not to mention I haven't seen him since I… I suppose you could say eloped… with Igor. Have you ever heard of Karel the Sword Demon?"

"I can't say I have; I don't bother with the stories of famous fighters. Wallace and Roland are the only ones who even remotely interest me."

"Well, it's just that Karel didn't even wear padding under his clothes; a single well-aimed blow could kill him, but he was skilled enough to kill his foes first."

"You sound as though you respect him."

"I do, but I don't like him that much. He's very powerful, but he is said to nearly live to kill nowadays. Before Igor and I eloped, Karel was essentially a typical Sacaen plainsman." She paused. "We're talking too much; shall we continue with the match?"

"Sure. I believe it is now four to three. If I strike your torso again, the match is over."

"If I strike you anywhere, the match is over."

The match resumed. Kent probably attacked more, but that was because he had an advantage. Marina was a very skilled fighter, but Kent had longer arms, giving him a greater reach. It seemed only a small advantage to anyone who watched the match with no knowledge of the sword, but reach had won many a battle for Kent. Marina noticed that Kent's blows were parried at much closer quarters than her own blows. She was wary of Kent's use of thrusts now and knew that he would probably try the strategy again. Sure enough, Kent straightened his path and thrust his sword, which would have struck Marina right in the heart had she not ducked. That was what Kent saw coming; Marina ducked and counterattacked, which Kent dodged. Kent brought his wooden sword down lightly on Marina's head. The match was over. Marina sighed through her nose and waited for the sword to move so she could stand up.

"You must have trained quite a bit while traveling with Lady Lyndis," she said. She had never lost to a knight before, so losing to Kent was a bit of an embarrassment to her.

"Sain got some training as well; I simply pay more attention to accuracy than power. Watching Lady Lyndis in battle afforded me chances to imitate her technique, which, unlike the style taught to Lycian knights, revolves more around striking the foe's weak spots than overpowering him. Surely enough, my own skills in battle grew to reflect that tendency. Sain strikes harder than I do, but whenever we spar, he rarely touches me."

"It seems your position of Commander is a well-earned one, considering how you married foreign styles to your own to improve yourself."

"Thank you. By the way, your style seemed rather odd; even Lady Lyndis did not use that method."

"I normally use two swords in battle because of the specific strengths and weaknesses of my favorite sword."

"A wise choice. It slightly weakens your defense, but it makes you quite versatile. Out of curiosity, what is your favorite sword? I'm guessing it's something like a killing edge, considering how few people can use armorslayers or longswords with just one hand."

"It's a special blade made from obsidian."

"I'm not familiar with what obsidian is."

"Obsidian is a type of glass formed in and around volcanoes. In the form of a sword, it's fragile and essentially useless against armor, but it never becomes dull and always cuts cleanly and effectively."

"Very fascinating. So that's why you always wield two swords—you need something for armored foes."

"Exactly."

"I hope I will never have to see that sword in action."

"I hope so, too."

The two shook hands and went off in different directions. By the time Alberich's walls had come into view, Marina noticed something wrong. Igor was running to her. The fact that it was Igor did not bother her, but more so the fact that he was in his robes and cape. The only time he dressed like that was for battle. In the distance, Marina thought she saw a flame rise and fall.

"What happened?" she asked when Igor was within earshot. "Is everyone okay?"

Igor handed Marina her obsidian sword and an iron sword. "Bandits," he said, panting. "A whole army of them. It's as though ten different groups got together and decided to attack. The majority of them are near the southeast gate, but they're struggling to surround us."

"Let's go, then!"

Igor drew up a ball of energy in his hands and teleported himself and Marina to the market square. There, three people with weapons were lying in ambush, waiting for the bandits to break through the northern gate. The sound of thunder (Xenia, most likely) flew throughout the town, bouncing in every direction in response to the veritable labyrinth of houses and shops comprising the town.

"I'll go help Xenia out," Igor said. "Do what you wish."

Before Marina could respond, Igor dashed off, somehow able to run despite nearly keeling over in his search for her. Marina headed down the main road and narrowly avoided getting dental work done by an arrow. She looked in the direction of the shot and saw villagers clashing with bandits at the wrecked western gate. That would do. Drawing closer, she noticed that the bandit army was mainly brigands, as was typical of a horde of bandits.

"Mother, out of the way!" Feodor yelled before two oxen almost gored Marina, pulling a carroballista behind it with Feodor operating it. The driver pulled back on the reins and turned so the broad side of the cart was facing the fray. Feodor shot a bolt from the ballista, running through two bandits before losing momentum and leaving a bloody shish-kabob on the ground. Marina ran into the fray. Since the bandits had no armor, she was most effective on the front lines.

A dark-grey-haired man occupied the center of the fray, swinging a powerful axe that Marina had only seen once—in her family's armory. The man swung the axe and immediately struck down a villager. The axe then glowed and was swung right after at Marina, who managed to snap out of her shock and dodge in time. The blade broke a stone making up the road, soon being brought back up by the bandit's muscular arms. Noticing the bandit's horned helmet, Marina noticed that this was no ordinary brigand—she was facing a Berserker. Marina countered with a blow from her own obsidian sword, making a gash in the bandit's purple shirt and padding just below the edge of his armor. Blood slowly seeped from the cut, but it was almost useless. Marina's follow-up was a slash intended to separate the bandit's torso from his legs, but her iron sword, despite being quite sharp, was caught by the padding and did not even cut into the man's hard muscles. The bandit swung his axe again, missing both blows.

At the moment, it was best to retreat. Marina dashed to the armory, cutting through the five bandits inside nimbly and with little trouble. She only hoped the lock in her room was still holding. At the top of the stairs, she saw all the doors in fine shape, completely unharmed. She entered her room and put away the useless iron sword and removed from the sheath above her bed a sword Karel had given to her as a gift a long time ago: a Wo Dao. Such a deadly blade would be sure to strike down the giant outside.

Marina ran downstairs, cutting down two new bandits who had bothered to come in and back out into the battle. Marina confronted the Berserker again, striking first with a powerful blow with her obsidian sword, which managed to cut through a strap holding the bandit's armor on and created another cut, which the man ignored. The next blow was the one she had a feeling she would strike. Marina jumped back in a flip and struck like a whirlwind in two devastating blows, one carving the man's arm to the bone while the second cut the other strap holding the armor, making it fall off. The bandit swung his axe, yet again missing both blows. Berserkers were known for their immense power, but they were unlikely to strike someone as agile as Marina was. Marina performed another critical hit, this time with her obsidian sword, slicing through the man's right shoulder and continuing until it slid out cleanly while cutting his breastbone (according to Igor, the breastbone was actually just a lot of cartilage gathered in the same place). A follow-up with the Wo Dao was not necessary; the bandit's purple clothes turned red as blood oozed from his mouth and wounds. The dropped axe made a loud clatter as the Berserker fell to the ground, dead.

The other bandits, seeing their superior cut down by a mere myrmidon, began to hesitate.

"Carjiga's dead!" yelled one. "Let's get out of here!"

Many retreated, but others stayed to be finished off. That was the first time Marina's Wo Dao had been used in battle. The obsidian blade had been used a few times before, but never in a battle of that scale. The bandits, whatever group they were, were no ordinary group; they were practically an army. Fortunately, being close to the castle, there were plenty of skilled combatants in Alberich to help with the defense. As word of Carjiga's death reached the other bandits, the battle quickly shifted from a stalemate to a victory.

The town of Alberich was not going to be in good condition for some time. For one thing, twenty-nine villagers had died in the battle, along with sixty-seven wounded. The first priority was getting the dead out of the town so any disease-carrying scavengers, such as rats, would not be a danger to the town. There were also several repairs to be done, especially to the southeastern gate's area, which had seen most of the fighting. Around 10,000 Gold's worth of weapons and valuables had been stolen from the armory. Volga had been lucky enough to be deeper in the town, safe from harm and theft. The town streets had ants on them harvesting dried blood and an occasional piece of flesh that the cleanup had somehow missed. Xenia was one of the wounded, but it was hardly a wound thanks to Reverend Anadyr's healing magic. The burn mark on her arm was now just an eyesore and not a source of pain in any way.

"They're not your typical bandits," Marina said. "I've never seen them in such large numbers before, let alone with a Berserker in their midst."

"You only faced a Berserker?" Xenia asked rhetorically. "I got this burn from a Sage. If Father hadn't arrived when he did, my arm wouldn't be the only part of me with dead flesh. There were also two Heroes (even though they should be Villains in this case), a Valkyrie, and a trio of Falcoknights. That Triangle attack of theirs almost killed Dancaïre. That Berserker may have been the leader, but most of the casualties were where Father and I were fighting."

"The only advantage of the bandit attack was the fact that most of their magic tomes were not damaged," Igor said. "We were lucky enough to find a Luna tome (which I killed the Sage with) and a Fimbulvetr tome. The Ganelon Bandits, as they called themselves, had wrought a good amount of havoc and stolen a good amount before they got here. Needless to say, the castle is going to receive a dreadful report, not to mention a lot of people here are beginning to resent Lord Hausen. Despite being close enough for knights to arrive in less than an hour, the castle did nothing. If this is how well-defended Caelin is, I certainly hope we're never invaded."

"It was a surprise attack," Marina said. "Chances are the castle didn't know about their approach."

"A group that big got past the castle undetected? Either the defenses are awful, or the Ganelon Bandits are great at sneak attacks."

Marina had nothing to say to that, so she remained silent. She trusted Lord Hausen and Lady Lyndis, but she could not help but think there was a problem. Perhaps something else had drawn the knights' attention. Considering the recent disappearance of Marquess Pherae, there was probably much else to worry about; a bandit attack was not a top priority—besides, Alberich had won, right?

Author's Notes: I didn't manage to kill Carjiga in Chapter 4 of Lyn's Story, so I decided to let him return. As for the word "carroballista", that is a ballista mounted on a cart for increased mobility. Most ballistae were actually carried rather than rolled.