Thanks to Lyn's heartfelt speech the previous night, Mark actually woke up smiling. He yawned and stretched out his legs and arms, cracking his back and running a hand through his hair. Light streamed in through the cracks of the ceiling of the room he has picked himself for the night within the ruined fort. He had fallen asleep sitting against the wall, it seemed, and at some point fell to his side with his back to the wall. Three books were open in front of his face, and he gently sat up and put them all away in his coat. He fell asleep reading again, it would seem. He stood up slowly, still not fully awake and shuffled his way into the inner room that everyone had been in the night before.
The only one who wasn't there was Dorcas, who had insisted he would be back at some point this morning before he left the previous night. Lyn and Florina were smiling and giggling with each other against the back wall. Mark couldn't help but feel his heart break a little while he watched Florina smile and be so happy, especially when remembering what he put her through the previous night. After a brief stare though, he merely contented himself with the fact that she was happy. He was done being negative with himself, he had decided. Sain was actually standing and walking around, albeit shakily. Dorcas had brought a new medicine for his wife to try but she insisted that he give it to Sain. Dorcas didn't want to, but one stern look from Natalie and he caved. Mark had already gone to bed, but apparently some of his coloration had immediately returned. Kent too, looked much better than he had the previous night, the vulnerary having a full night to work through his system. His shirt had been washed, meaning he had found a water source like Mark had asked, and his arm was no longer bandaged, showing no signs of injury. The only area that still had damage was his side, but it was looking much better. Wil had a few sticks in his lap and was making a few makeshift arrows out of them, since his supply was obviously running low. He was in his own little world, whittling away.
Mark inhaled deeply, smiled and the sight of things looking up, and shouted heartily, "Good morning everyone!"
Everyone turned, giving mixed "Hi"s and "Hello"s as Mark worked his way over to Kent. Kent turned to him and smiled.
"You seem better." He said kindly.
"So do you." Mark smiled back. He gestured to Kent's shirt. "I see you took my directive. Could you tell me where the water is?"
Kent nodded and pointed towards the back wall. "Of course. Continue straight that way for about ten minutes, and you will soon see it on your right. We have all already bathed before you, so since we are waiting for Dorcas anyways, please, take your time and relax." He smiled and, just like last night, ran a finger along Mark's coat. He held up his now pitch black fingertip. "Also, give your coat a wash. It's supposed to be green, you know."
Despite standing as a reminder of Mark's actions, Mark looked down and managed to chuckle. Regardless of why all the ash was there, it's true that he looked stupid. He gave Kent a smile and a thumbs up. "Will do captain." He said.
Kent looked at him confused. "I am a normal cavalry soldier. I am no captain."
Mark's smile broke a little. "No, I just meant it like… that is it's just-" He cut himself off and waved a hand dismissively. "You know what? Don't even worry about it. Thank you for the info." As he turned to walk away, Sain called for him.
"Oh, Mark, before you go!" He slowly made his way over. He was sweating all over.
"Should you even be standing?" Mark said, waiting for him to come closer.
Sain smiled a big toothy grin. "Nope!" He said cheerfully. He finally got close enough and turned Mark away from the others, putting an arm around him. Mark gulped nervously at his actions.
"Uh… can I help you?" Mark asked quietly, as this was clearly meant to be a one on one meeting.
Sain looked down at him with a know-it-all smile. "You know Mark, sick people can be very, very perceptive when people think they are unconscious on the back of a horse."
"You were definitely uncon-"
"Shhhh….." Sain said, putting a finger to Mark's lips. "Listen, I want to help you."
"...With what?"
"Oh come now, Mark, you insult me. You think a connoisseur of love such as myself wouldn't notice, even in my delirious state?" Sain shook his head, truly heartbroken. "Such a deep wound you cut in me, my friend."
"Uh…"
Sain rolled his eyes and leaned in to whisper. "I'm talking about your longing glances at Florina, Mark." Mark turned a bright red, causing Sain to hold in a laugh. "See? It seems I'm entirely correct." Sain patted Mark on the back, sending him on his way. Without looking back, Mark hid his face in his coat and hurried away. "Just let me know when you want to make your move and I'll help, ok?!" Sain shouted after him. Mark looked back briefly enough to receive a thumbs up, and quickly made his way to the water.
As it turned out, the water Kent had found turned out to be a small river. Mark took off his clothes, careful to lay out all of his readings and tools beforehand, and walked into the cool water. Once inside, he grabbed his clothes and a few rocks, and began to rub the ash out of them. Soon enough they were a brilliant dark green again. After laying them out to dry, Mark found a nice spot where the current wouldn't drag him away, leaned his head against a jutting rock, and passed out. He hadn't realized how tired all the stress had been making him before now. When he woke up, the sun was a small ways further in the sky. He yawned and stood in the current, making his way back to shore. His clothes, now dry, were soon packed with his equipment again, and just as he was putting on his coat…
"I don't know what you're talking about." He heard a female voice say. "I would never do such a thing. You should know me better at this point."
"Sure." Said an obviously unconvinced male voice. "Just like how you said you would never-" The voice stopped.
"Hmm? What is it?" The female voice inquired. No response.
Eventually, "...There's people here. Too many. Almost like a-" The man was cut off by a familiar sounding horn, the one from last night, and the sudden rush of boots hitting the earth. It came the other side of the river, where the voices were.
"Eeeeeeeeek!" Yelled the female voice, it's shrill nature piercing Mark's ears.
"Stay back!" The male shouted. Soon a beacon of fire lit itself through the trees. Mark was unsure whether he should step in to help now or to get his friends first, but since they weren't that far, he decided on the friends. Dashing back up to the fort, Mark ended up meetin them halfway. Apparently Dorcas had returned, and the group was heading towards the river.
"H-Hey, guys!" Mark yelled at them, waving an arm. "There's a fight! Someone's being attacked by the same group that raided us last night!" He was too far away to hear responses, but they started rushing to him. Mark quickly sprinted back to the scene. When he got to the river, a man in a red cape, fireballs hovering in his hands, was dueling with a swordsman along the river bank. A hood covered his face, but a few locks of purple hair tumbled out of it. Near him, keeping a silent watch with a bored look on her face, was a woman with two long ponytails in what looked like a lovely silk dress. She had a staff in her hands, nonchalantly healing the mage whenever he got hurt.
"YOU COULD HELP ME DAMMIT!" The mage shouted, sending a fireball into the face of the swordsman, making him dive into the river.
"Why should I? You've got it handled." The healer said, pointing to the now unconscious man. "See?"
"Because I could have died!" The mage said angrily, turning away from Mark to face the healer. Mark recognized the voices as the ones he heard earlier. Suddenly, the healer pointed right at him.
"Oh, behind you." She said flatly. The mage immediately pivoted on his foot and threw a fireball directly at Mark's chest. Now aware who it was, Mark simply lit his hand on fire and caught it. He smirked.
"What the-" The mage started before he saw who it was. He brought down his hood and rubbed his eyes. Slowly, he smiled. "You son of a bit-"
"Long time no see." Mark said, winding up. "I think this is yours!" He threw the fireball back at the mage. The mage also lit his hand on fire and caught it back.
"You're supposed to be dead, Mark!" The mage said happily. He put out the flames.
"You're supposed to be in Etruria, Erk." Mark retorted. Erk laughed.
"You wouldn't know since you died, but I've become a full fledged escort!" Erk said proudly. "What have you done with your life since you died, hmm?"
Mark shrugged. "Well, the afterlife turned out to be a single room tent so I came back."
Erk looked at him confused. "What? I don't get it."
Mark laughed and waved a hand. "Eh, don't worry about it. Point is, I'm here to help you fend off these raiders."
Erk shook his head. "I already fended off the raiders."
Mark looked at him with surprise. Erk wasn't that good at fighting, as far as Mark knew. "Then who is left?"
Erk shrugged, "Just some bandits. It's actually somewhat funny since-" He was cut off by a throat clearing behind him. His expression of joy at seeing Mark instantly changed. His shoulders dropped. His face was sullen. He practically aged ten years. He slowly turned around. "...Yes… Serra?" He asked sadly.
Serra clucked her tongue and smiled. "Oh Erk, sweetheart, you're going to introduce me right?"
Mark gasped. "Sweetheart?!" He looked at Erk in shock. "Erk, did you finally get a girl-"
Erk shot him the most venomous look Mark had ever seen him make. "No." He said, his words dripping malice and disgust . Mark gulped and raised his hand defensively. Erk let out a sigh and held a hand towards Serra. "This is Serra. She's my client. Don't trust her." He said flatly. Mark knew Erk could be a little emotionless and cynical at times, but this was a whole new level.
Serra stepped forward and held out a hand towards Mark. "Charmed, I'm sure." She said, completely disregarding Erk's 'Don't trust her' comment. Mark stared at her, unsure what to do. He was on the other side of the bank. He wasn't going to wad through just to kiss her hand. She seemed truly taken aback.
She turned to Erk, "Erk!" She whined, "He won't come kiss my hand! Was he raised in a stable?" She asked, somehow, seriously.
"Not even close. He's just not an idiot and see's that you're trouble." Erk mumbled.
"That's so mean of you Erk!" Serra said, hitting him on the shoulder. Erk didn't even flinch, just looked at her tiredly. "I should fire you for such remarks." She said, folding her arms in anger and turning away from him.
For a moment, Erk's face lit up with hope. "Please do." He pleaded. Serra laughed.
"Oh don't be silly Erk. I forgive you!" She said in a sing-songy voice. Erk's shoulders somehow dropped even more. "I mean, I can't be seen without a good looking man such as yourself beside me. That would just be undignified."
Erk's brow furrowed. "You force me to live this hell because you think I look attractive? What about the rescuing? The time and money management? The fact that I can shoot fire out of my hands?"
Serra frowned at him sadly. "Oh Erk, sweetheart-"
"Don't call me that."
"-Any old escort from Etruria can do that, but they're all so much older than you, and that's so creepy, don't you think?" She smiled like her argument made sense. "No no, that simply wouldn't do."
Mark tried his best up to this point not to laugh at his best friend's pain but now it was too much. Part of it was the joy of seeing Erk, his only real friend since childhood, again. Part of it was the situation. Part of it was the sound of bandit's still searching for them in the forest, somehow unable to hear this conversation. Regardless, Mark laughed hard.
Erk shot him another glare. He didn't care. "Well Erk." He said, wiping some tears from his eyes, "You seem well off."
"At least I have someone to travel with." He sneered. "I see you've retained your lonely mindset. This is why you should have taken me with you, you wouldn't be so-" He was cut off by Lyndis's Legion suddenly entering the scene. All six of them, even Sain, weapons drawn, slowly walked up on either side of him.
Lyn put a hand on his shoulder, staring down Erk and Serra. "Are these two giving you trouble, Mark?" She asked. Erk quietly looked at his feet.
"Nah." Mark giggled. "Quite the opposite actually." Mark made his way over to them and put an arm around each of them, bringing them closer together, much to Erk's dismay. "This is my best friend and his employer." Mark threw extra emphasis onto the word, just to piss Erk off more. "This is Erk and Serra. Let's help them out of a bind, hmm?"
The order's Mark gave to everyone were brief and simple: scatter around the area and defeat the remaining bandits in groups of two. The first pair was Dorcas and Wil, since Dorcas made an excellent front wall for Wil to hide behind and avoid close combat. The next pair was Florina and Lyn, since Florina whimpered whenever Mark tried to pair her with anyone else. Eventually he caved and the two set off together. The next pair was Kent and Mark. There was no real tactical advantage to this pairing, it was just who was left. This was because Sain fell off his horse, unconscious again, the medicine losing it's effect.
"Hey what's wrong with your friend?" Serra asked, concerned.
"He took a big hit from a diseased axe." Mark said, hoping onto the back of Kent's horse. "He's been like this for almost a week now.
"That's not good!" Serra said, hand over mouth. Oh really? Mark thought to himself sarcastically. I just figured it was fine.
"You're a healer right? Do you think you could fix him up?" Mark asked. Serra huffed and put her hands on her hips.
"Oh course I can. Leave it to me!"
"Thank you." Mark said. Kent started to spur his horse forward but was stopped by Erk.
"Mark. You haven't given me a command yet." He prompted. Mark could read the thought in his eyes. He was asking, no, begging not to stay here with Serra. Unfortunately for him, it made the most sense that he do so.
Mark smiled empathetically. "Erk, I know exactly what you're asking."
Erk closed his eyes, looking down and smiling. "Thank you Mark. It's been like this for months and I could really use the-"
"But no." Mark said flatly. "Go on Kent." Kent, smiling and laughing to himself, sent his horse into a full gallop immediately. When Mark looked back at the fading image of Erk, the betrayal on his face was still clear as day.
Cleaning up the bandits wasn't hard in the slightest. Mark would launch fire, and the occasional lightning bolt from the back of Kent's horse, and they essentially because a hit and run tag team. Gallop in, stab and fire off magic, get out, repeat. Eventually, the bandits were so unsure how to deal with it that they just gave up and started running away. This allowed the two to help out the other groups as well. First, they found Florina and Lyn employing a similar tactic, dropping in and out of the sky. After helping them clear out their area, they found Dorcas and Wil chatting and laughing on a rock, surrounded by unconscious bodies. When they returned, even Sain was doing better than ever. He was sitting up and immediately greeted them all once they rode up. It was possibly the easiest fight the group had had yet.
Well, except for Erk. Erk was pissed. Erk had a brand new tear in his cape, two on his pants, and five on his shirt. He had been cut a total of eight times while Serra was nursing Sain back to health, only to be stitched back together in time for whoever showed up next. Where any given duo of fighters fought five to nine bandits, Erk fought off an astonishing fourteen, essentially by himself.
"Wow." Mark said as Erk recounted the tale after everyone was talking among themselves. "Seems like you've actually become a decent fighter."
"Yes, you'd be surprised by me now Mark." Erk stated confidently. "And it's all because of teacher." Mark gave a half smile and looked away.
"...Let's not talk about him." He said.
Erk raised an eyebrow. "Oh? I thought this whole journey was to clear your head. Don't tell me you're still mad."
Mark sighed. "I'm never going to be not mad, Erk. So I'd rather just ignore it."
Erk shrugged. "Regardless, it's thanks to him." He looked up at the sky for a moment before looking back down. "But you know Mark…" He said. "...I'm pretty glad you're not actually dead."
Mark smirked. "Did you really think I was?"
Erk smirked back. "No one did. Literally no one thinks you're dead. I just wanted to make you think you actually tricked someone." Mark's heart sank at this news a little. He had put a lot of effort into faking his death. He was pretty proud of it.
"Yeah well, I figured." Mark said, looking away again. "It was worth a shot though. No way they were just going to let me walk out of the city."
"You're right, of course." Erk said. "Why are you with these people anyway? Isn't that the girl that's going to succeed the Caelin throne?" He asked, discreetly pointing at Lyn a few meters away.
"Yes, she is." Mark said shooting her a glance.
"I thought you wanted a low profile." Erk said hushed. He leaned in a little closer, making sure no one could hear. "They've been looking for you, Mark. They'll come for you pretty soon." Mark gulped nervously. His hands shook slightly in fear.
"I-I know that but I can't just leave." Mark said. "They're my friends."
"I'm your friend too right?" Erk said sadly. "Didn't stop you then." To this, Mark had no reply. Possibly his biggest regret of leaving was not telling Erk where or when he was going away. "Well, anyway, I'm not trying to guilt trip you." Erk said, raising his hands. "I'm just trying to give you fair warning. What you are doing will draw attention. And I'm not going to stick around to watch the fire and brimstone come hurling do-"
"Oh Erk, sweetheart, there you are!" Said Serra, skipping over to them. Erk moved a hand to his face and slowly let it fall off.
"...Yes, Serra?" He asked miserably.
"I have great news!" Serra said. "By using my detective skills, I have learned that Lyn is actually the Lyndis trying to take the Caelin throne!" She said hushed, looking around to see if anyone heard her. "If we help her take the throne we could have actual nobility indebted to us!" She said, happily.
Erk shook his head. "No, absolutely not. Besides, you're already 'actual nobility', you have no need for anyone to be indebted to you-"
Serra stuck her tongue out and pouted. "Well too bad because you have to do what I day and I say we're staying with Lady Lyn!" She huffed. "And besides, look at the good I already did!" She pointed to Sain, who was standing up and talking like he had never even been sick. "This group needs a healer like me!" She grabbed Mark by the coat and tugged at it. "Right, Mark? You're the tactician right? Shouldn't the group have a healer like me to round out our armament? Right? Right?" She kept bouncing up and down, almost tearing his coat at the sleeve.
"W-Well you're not wrong, per se…" Mark said, scratching his head. I'm just not sure if that healer should be you. He thought to himself.
"See?" Serra said, pointing at Mark and looking angrily and Erk. "So we're staying then. Change of plans. After that you can take me to Ostia as per our contract." She smiled and pulled Erk into a crushing hug. Mark briefly saw Erk's teeth grate against one another, and his hand catch fire and start to hover close to Serra's side, but he put it out. Serra let go of Erk and skipped back over to the rest of the group. Erk brushed off his clothes and sighed.
"...What was that about not being around for the fire and brimstone part?" Mark said, snickering to himself.
"You, dear friend, can shut up."
A/N Like I said, I'm on a kick of writing inspiration right now but with Christmas around the corner who knows when I'll write again. I'm hoping for at least one more chapter before Christmas even happens so… yeah. This ones a little shorter than usual, but as always, hope you've enjoyed. Thanks for continuing to read. :D -Matt
