Hey, sorry for the wait. This chapter delves a bit more into the differences between Fouquet and Six and the strain that comes with that. Besides that it'll go into more of their personal morals.
Six didn't like to admit it, but he wasn't that good without a weapon in his hands. Sure, he was decent in a scrap and he knew to use anything he could get his hands on, but when it came to a fistfight Veronica and even that loyal bastard Lucius had him beat. It was why he liked to use a knife. Easier to end fights quick with a stab in the right place.
Which was why he felt somewhat apprehensive when Matilda brought up the amatuer fight club earlier. They were untrained farmers and former soldiers, but knowing he couldn't pull out a gun or a blade always set him on edge. There was a reason he couldn't cut it on Dempsey's fighting ring. Veronica made a pretty good champion, though.
And now he was at the basement on the inn fighting shirtless men for coin.
Six dodged the clumsy swipe before he grabbed the older man's shoulders and kneed him in the gut. He was one of the tougher ones, an old merc who survived a couple of decades on the road. No surprise he'd use something like this to earn some extra caps...uh, gold.
The courier took the merc down with a few more hits to the face, "Anyone else?" He spat out blood and hissed at the pain in his busted lip. He took a few licks, but besides that he did pretty well. He was lucky. These people weren't fighting to the death or like their life was on the line. He'd seen people use their teeth to gnaw on necks or shove thumbs into eyes just to get an advantage.
He should know. He did both just a few weeks ago.
A few of the people in the small crowd exchanged looks. No one stepped forward and eventually the makeshift bookie offered him a pouch of coins, "You got some stones on you, lad." The gray haired man grinned, exposing a mouth filled wit missing teeth, "My advice, though? Make yourself scarce. People here don't like outsiders taking all their money. You and your lover are already getting attention."
"Thanks for the advice." He didn't bother correcting him on the lovers assumption. Easier to explain than two unrelated people who had a dozen kids in tow.
Six picked up his shirt and covered up his scarred chest again. Matilda got them passage on a caravan and they were due to leave today. The fight club was their last chance to earn some money before they left so he didn't worry about leaving some resentment behind. Wasn't like anyone here would send assassins after him.
Matilda was at a table waiting for him. She'd already spent some of the coin they made on some magical dye to turn her green hair a shade of chestnut brown. Really pricey, but she assured him that it was worth not getting the looks a Mage would in a country half conquered by the Legion.
"How did you do?"
"Decent enough, I think." He set the bag of coins on the table and rubbed his bandaged hands. They bought supplies for him, too. Clothes that helped him blend in better with the rest of the people here and some bandages to cover the metal on his knuckles. It itched and didn't have any ballistic fiber, but he could deal.
She took one look at the pouch's contents and nodded, "Good enoguh. Come on, caravan's due to leave in a couple of hours. Get anything else you need before we head out."
"You got a plan after we get to that town?" Six asked as he followed her out.
"Village, actually, and yes. The Legion is large but not enough that they can cover an entire country so soon. I have a map marked with which towns already got taken over, though I'll admit that intel might be out of date. I suggest we not stay in the village. We'll gather our supplies, gather information then leave. Should take a day or two at most."
"Not a problem for either of us, but what about Tiffania and the kids? Not sure if they're so used to being wanderers." In the wasteland it was pretty rare to be a homebody. Unless you were loaded you had to get out to earn some caps and the Mojave was the frontier. People from all over went there in search of adventure.
"Needs must. Better than being sitting ducks to that roving band of slavers."
Six hummed in agreement and watched as money exchanged hands between Matilda and the head of the caravan. It took some haggling to open up a spot for the two of them and a dozen kids but Matilda was nothing if not persuasive. He was tempted to try and join in on the bartering but he held off. Until he learned more about how things around here worked he couldnt' figure out if he was actually getting a bargain.
"We have safe passage to the next village but he won't take us any further. Apparently they're picking up more supplies and they can't afford the space."
"Sure we can't just pay him more?"
"Whatever he'd ask for is too high a price. We'll be right back to where we started." She crossed her arms. lips puckered in a deep frown, "Honestly we're lucky that he's even taking us along at all. A part of me still thinks that this is a trap somehow and we'll be sold off to bandits once we cross the threshold."
"He give any signs that he was sketchy?"
"Not sure what that phrase means, but if you're inquiring if he's suspicious? No. I've gotten pretty good at seeing those types in my line of work." The line of work that she refused to talk about. Whatever, it wasn't any of his business as long as she wasn't a slaver or serial killer or something, "Still, we can't let our guard down."
"Don't worry, I know the deal."
Soon enough they were packed onto the carts. Matilda's deal made sure they at least didn't have to walk to their destination, "Shh, it's alright, Manah." Tiffania said, patting the head of another 10 year old brunette girl. It was him, Matilda, Tiffania, ED-E and two other kids at the back cart while the remaining children took up whatever space was left.
It was a few hours into the journey that the two kids fell asleep. ED-E took that as his cue to zip up slightly, *beep beep* he chirped softly.
"Yeah, keep your head down." He tapped the top of the robot's chassis. Tiffania and the rest of the kids were pretty unsure when they saw the flying eyebot and Matilda kept stressing that he should only fly around when no one could see him. A 'golem' capable of flying around on its own power was bound to draw attention.
*beep beep.*
"He's right, now's probably a good time to ask." He looked to Matilda, "Could you give the two of us a rundown on just how exactly everything around here works? I've been running around blind ever since Tiffania summoned me."
"I'm sor-"
"Not listening to that again," he cut Tiffania off. Girl would apologize to Raiders for not having enough stuff for them to steal. They needed to toughen her up.
"Fine, I suppose it's only fair." She eyed the driver manning the carriage. Apparently it was a golem too, though it looked pretty human to him, "What do you want to know."
"First of all, magic. Guessing you don't just take a dip in some toxic waste to get those?"
"Hardly, unless you want to be poisoned." Matilda scoffed, "Magic is something you're born with. I've heard of attempts from some crazed scientists in Gallia about creating so-called artificial Mages, but those are just rumors and hearsay. The only way to be a Mage is to have noble blood in your veins."
"Noble, huh? That's what you and Tiffania are?"
"Do we look like nobles to you?" Matilda practically sneered at him. Touchy topic, "I said noble blood. There's more than a few bastards running around with magic in their veins."
"Still seems like a decent deal. I know people who'd kill to have superpowers." Not that it'd be too practical, mind. In a place where everyone and their grandma had firearms he'd take the gun over the magic.
"I never really thought about my magic. I only ever used it to keep us hidden," Tiffania murmured.
"And to heal strangers," Matilda said, more than a little disapproving.
"Cut her some slack. Helping strangers out isn't wrong." He'd been screwed over once or twice, but that was the exception rather than the rule. Some people just needed help and giving it was the right thing to do.
"It is when the it's the reason she got the Legion's attention." Tiffania shrunk in on herself at the scathing tone, "I understand you want to help people, Tiffa, but this world is...it's cruel, especially to someone like you."
"That's another thing I gotta ask about," Six said, trying to divert attention away from the shivering blonde, "You mentioned her ears are a bad sign. What's the deal with that? Ain't seen hate like that since snobs at the strip saw Ghouls." Or Legion with women who didn't 'know their place'. Mojave was bad enough but everyone just had to decide to fill it with more and more spite.
Then again he wasn't much better since he tended to hate all fake Romans on sight nowadays.
"Not that far off. Vampire spawn are probably the only thing hated more than Elves." Right, he had to remember that Vampires were a thing here.
*beep beep?*
"Yes, ED-E, Vampires. Did you forget the part where we're at another world? Keep up."
*beep beep!*
"Hey, Vampires are hardly the craziest thing we've dealt with. We've been through the Divide. If we survived Tunnelers we can survive bloodsuckers."
"I can't tell if you're dumb or just confident." Matilda shook her head, "If you meet a Vampire in anything besides bright sunlight there's no surviving them. But that doesn't matter since we're not going to run into the nighthunters." She let out a frustrated breath, "Vampires, Elves, Minotaurs, Winged People...all of them are Firstborns with bad history against humans. Some villages make pacts with the Winged People, but any and every other Firstborn is kill on sight."
"History?"
"Too long of a story to tell. Point is her ears mark her as an outsider and that's another reason not to linger in any towns." Tiffania tucked her knees to her chest and sunk a bit more into the hood of the thick cloak she wore, "...Don't worry, Tiffa, I won't let anyone hurt you."
"I'm not worried about myself." The teenager shook her head, causing the hood to flop about, "What are we going to do, big sis? We've lost our home and the children...where will they go? Can we even build a home like we did before?"
"I warned you before that taking so many of them in could only end badly." She didn't mean to sound harsh, but her words were enough to make the younger girl flinch, "I'll be honest, I'm not sure. Right now my priority is to get you out of those Brimir forsaken country before those crimson bastards find us. After that...I'm not sure." She looked down at the floor with a small scowl, "I never expected for the entire country to be overturned within our lifetime. Once we make it to Tristain...perhaps it'd be best to consider the idea of leaving at least some of the children at an orphanage-"
"No!" The elf's shout was loud enough that Six mentally thanked whatever God existed here that the driver was another stone robot thing. The last thing they needed was more attention, "You can't ask me do that! I...they're family, we can't just-"
"What do you expect us to do, Tiffa? Keep running for the rest of our lives with near a dozen children in tow? Set up another village where no one will find us?" Matilda shook her head harshly, "Do you think I like the idea of leaving them behind? No, I don't, but we both know they'd be safer in an orphanage than traveling around the country evading Legion bands and other hysterical fools who'll hate you simply because of what you are."
"But-"
"Now's probably not the time to discuss plans," Six cut in. Even if the driver wasn't listening in their yelling would eventually lead someone to check, "We're just a few hours from the village, right? Let's calm down for now."
"You act like this doesn't concern you." Matilda laughed bitterly under her breath, "How long exactly do you plan to continue this journey with us?"
"Till Tiffania and the kids don't need help anymore." He pulled out his nearly empty pack of cigarettes and grabbed one of the few smokes inside. He lit the tip with a flick of the lighter and leaned outside to let the smoke filter into the open air, "Like I said before, if you don't want me here just say so. I can make my own way." There was also the possibility of him dying here and never finding a way back. If that happened then...well, it'd happen. No sense in worrying about it. He could've died in the Madre, Utah, Big Empty, or the Divide. This place was at least pretty too look at.
"...I will find a way to send you back. I promise," Tiffania said eventually.
Six didn't try to reassure her again and just continued to look outside. They took up the back cart, leaving the rest of the caravan ahead of them. His eyes stared half-lidded at the passing scenery as the cigarette slowly burned to a nub. The only bit of hesitation he felt about being stuck here was what his friends would think. There'd be no body, no trace of him left. They'd probably just assume he the Legion buried him deep or a Deathclaw ate him or something. Maybe they'd raise a toast to his made-up name and talk about all the good times they had.
*beep beep.*
He parted his lips and let the cigarette drop, "You sure?" The eyebot beeped again and played a burst of loud music, which woke up the two sleeping kids.
"What in helheim is wrong with your golem?" Matilda practically snarled.
"He's picked up something." He grabbed two of the flintlocks and took one in each hand, "There's about ten people surrounding the caravan. Guessing its Raiders or whatever you call them here."
To her credit she didn't immediately dismiss him. Her eyes narrowed and she looked outside, "Is he sure."
"Yeah. Trust me, little guy's saved my life more times than I can count." He picked up the blackpowder pouch ball too. Best if they came in with a bang, "We could fight em off, unless you want to give up all the money we scrounged up."
Her sneer came back, fiercer and angrier than before, "Not a chance." She grabbed a nearby blanket and draped it over Tiffania and the two kids, "Stay inside and keep your head down, all of you. Do you understand?"
"Yes." Tiffania nodded and hugged the children tightly.
"They're coming. Get ready, Matilda."
Six held the primitive the primitive grenade and waited till they got closer. Four guys, one of them on horseback. Rear guard. From behind them he could hear the so-called leader at the head of the caravan making demands, "Drop your valuables and you can leave with your life!" The heavily accented man shouted. Six couldn't see what he looked like from his position, "You, merchant! Don't even think of fighting back!"
"We don't have much! Just weary travelers walking the road!"
"Travelers, eh?" The cart ahead of them had their cloths ripped away and the kids screamed, "Children? Odd cargo. Doesn't matter, we'll take these. The Legion will pay well for new soldiers and breeding stock."
...He was going to kill them all.
Six lit the fuse and tossed the grenade outside. The three bandits noticed the hissing and rushed away in a panic while the one on his horse was left to take the brunt of the blast . The explosion knocked the horse and its rider to the ground and Six kicked down the caravan's back door, guns drawn. The two closest bandits didn't get a chance to move before two shots rang out, both hitting them through either the head or neck.
Matilda was right behind him and chanted a quick spell. A rock the size of a fist materialized in front of her and surged forward, cracking the jaw of the last remaining bandit in front of them. He crumpled to the ground next to his friends "Get the others!" she shouted. Six grabbed the musket and fired off another shot at the charging bandit. The iron ball hit his chest and he stopped, blood pooling around the dirty tunic.
ED-E took to the sky and started raining blue death down on whoever was left. Six pulled out his knife and charged the head of the group, "Damn, shoot those bastards! Shoot-" He tackled him to the ground jammed the knife against the side of his neck. Unlike Magnus he struggled for only a moment before his body lay still and blood began to pool to the dirt below.
Footsteps from behind. Six grabbed the concealed 1911 and turned to shoot only to see the earth swallow the charging bandit till he was buried up to his neck, "God damn..." He whistled, impressed, and hid the pistol again. Whatever his doubts on magic were, he couldn't deny they were impressive. She could stop a charging Deathclaw with a flick of that wand of hers.
Still, kind of odd for Raiders to be in Legion territory. Most of them were strung up along with the other profligates. Then again, he thought, Sallow didn't care much about using the Fiends to try and stir up chaos. These bastards didn't know that they'd be next to get collars once they weren't useful anymore.
ED-E cheered and blared his battle hymn. The caravan leader and the few other travelers with them gawked, still trying to process everything. Six took it as a chance to grab at least a few of the discarded weapons and toss them into the back of their cart. He debated taking their clothes or other valuables too when the portly caravan head ran up to them, face still flushed and sweaty.
"Thank you, thank you both so much!" He shook both their hands. Six waved him off while Matilda forced a smile on their face. She looked like she was a hair's breath from knocking the man off for getting too close, "I had no idea we had a Mage with us. Bah, it's no matter. You saved us all. How could I ever repay you?"
"It's all go-"
"I hate to be crude, but we wouldn't say no to some money or provisions," Matilda interrupted, throwing him a sideways glare at the attempted refusal, "I would also ask that you keep our presence here a secret. Parts of this country are no longer so friendly to my kind."
"O-Of course!" He took a heavy pouch from his belt and handed it to her. Matilda measured the leather's weight before she nodded, finally smiling, "But, um...if it might be too bold to ask, I have another proposition." He looked between the two of them and then at ED-E floating nearby guarding the cart with the kids, "It's clear you and your companion are adept in combat, and your golem is...it's nothing like I've ever seen before, capable of flight and such magic. Perhaps you could help a friend of mine in the village we're going to."
"I apologize, sir, but we've our own circumstances. We're not a charity."
"Nor would I ask you to be." He stood up straighter at the seeming accusation of begging, "My friend was once well-off and I can pay you in her stead. I am no beggar on the street asking for alms. Do this for me and you can name your price."
Six and Matilda looked at one another. He shrugged and decided to follow her lead, "...Could you provide shelter for those who follow us?" she said eventually.
"Of course, it's the least I can do." He smiled and bowed. Fancy, "Thank you once again for your aid earlier."
The portly man left to go back to the head of the caravan, leaving the two alone, "Well, that just happened," Six said.
"We have little choice. We need money."
"Guess so." Normally he made do with just selling what he looted, but he'd need to find someone to teach him about how the currencies and fair prices here first if he wanted to do that here.
"...Come on, let's go back to Tiffa. They must be worried."
"What about him?" He jerked his thumb to the struggling bandit still buried up to his neck. He was cursing up a storm but they all chose to ignore him.
"What about him?" Matilda scoffed, "The magic isn't so strong that he won't be able to dig himself up given enough time. We'll be long by the time he actually manages to escape."
"And if he doesn't get out?"
"Then he's simply lazy and can't even be bothered to put in a few hours effort to save his life. Either way it's not our problem."
Cold. He was tempted to pull out his gun and shoot just to put him out of his misery, but he held off. He had to conserve ammo, "If you say so." He picked another discarded flintlock to replace the ones he spent and went back to their cart.
The merchant's friend ended up being a fallen noble. Matila almost turned around and walked away then and there before the woman pleaded, "Wait, please." She turned back and looked at the woman with a narrow-eyed stare. She'd changed her clothes, but she was still undoubtedly a noble. The way she carried herself even as she sat and her bright red hair and eyes. Matilda was lucky in that regard. While her hair was an unnatural color common for all mages her eyes were a dull brown, something she inherited from her commonder grandmother.
"This your friend?" Six asked the merchant. He'd led them into the basement of a house belonging to the village's mayor. She'd half thought it was a trap of some sort before she saw the woman. She would've preferred the trap.
"Yes." The man dabbed at his sweaty cheeks with a handkerchief and sat down next to the red haired woman, "Her family's estate was attacked by those red-clad savages not too long ago. Her husband perished in the fire and only her and her son managed to escape."
"That doesn't explain why you're hiding her here." Matilda crossed her arms, "If the Legion finds out you're sheltering a noble you know the consequences."
"I and the entire village understand quite well, my lady. The Galard family has been good to us, protecting us from the dangers and ensuring that not a single one of us starved. It was only due to their generosity that I was able to become a merchant. What kind of people would we be if the threats of those barbarians was enough for us to give up our loyalty?"
"Alive people." Matilda scoffed. How foolish. They thought those nobles truly cared about them? She almost pitied the poor fools. Nobles didn't care who they trampled in their games of power and intrigue. It was likely that their so-called just leader died in some poor attempt at honor rather than any care for the fate of his subjects. And now these deluded simpletons were going to do the same out of some misplaced loyalty.
"If you're asking us to take her on our journey for her safety then we can't help you."
"That's not what I need your help with," the former noblewoman said. Her voice was surprisingly firm despite her poor condition, "My son, he...those barbarians took him. He's just a boy, just 11 years old. I'll give anything to ensure his rescue."
"He's still alive? You sure?" Six asked.
"Absolutely. They went out of their way to avoid killing us, though I know not the reason why. We were transported in separate caravans. They took my son to one of their camps while I was..." Likely chosen to either be a hostage or a slave. Despite herself Matilda felt some pity for the woman. She heard all about what the Legion did to female captives and the former noblewoman was beautiful. She would've been a tempting prize.
"...What will you offer in exchange?" Matilda said eventually. She didn't like this, but she couldn't deny that the benefits were tempting. The thought of not having to scavenge for gold in every village was a pleasant one.
"I'll pay you a hefty sum." The merchant set a much larger pouch on the table. Matilda opened it slightly and peered at the coins inside, "I...I can't give you anymore, my apologies. That is all that I have left aside from some other items. Unless you'd be interested in those?"
"No." They needed gold, not chairs or pottery. Matilda took one last look at the hefty pouch. They could get some leeway with it, but with eleven children and the price Kristoph would ask from them all...
"Hey, don't worry. We'll get your-"
"Not good enough." Matilda sealed the pouch again and left it on the table.
"What?" Six looked at her as if she'd gone insane.
"You're asking us to actively make an enemy of the Legion. A pouch full of coins is hardly a fair price." It wasn't just Kristoph they had to worry about. Once they made it to Tristain they'd be right back to where they started. Then of course they had to find some magic in order to mask Tiffania's ears and be persuaded to keep their mouth shut. Even with that much it wasn't enough. She wouldn't put Tiffania through that again.
"Matilda, come on. They don't have anything else."
"Neither do we," she shot back coldly.
"It's still better than-"
"Here." The woman fiddled with something under the back of her tunic and placed one more thing on the table. An amulet of pure silver with a large blue gemstone at the center. A sapphire, she could even from a glance, "Will this suffice?"
Matilda picked up the chain, ignoring Six's doubtful look, and hummed when she saw the runes emblazoned on the chain's back, "This has been enchanted. A preservation charm."
"Yes, it's an old family heirloom going back many generations." Meaning it was old, she knew more than a few collectors who coveted aged items, "If I give that to you will that be enough to convince you."
"Matilda..." Six shook his head slightly.
"...Where is this camp?" She set the pocketed the necklace but left the pouch on the table. She wasn't foolish enough to think that they would let her have it before the job was accomplished.
"Does that mean you'll help?" the merchant asked, excited.
"Yes. Give us directions and make sure that our wards stay safe and we'll ensure the boy is returned safely."
"Oh, thank you!" The noblewoman clasped her hands together and cried in relief.
The merchant gave them all the information they needed soon they were on their way. They were told it'd take at least four hours to get there even on horseback, though thankfully he was generous enough to loan them a couple of brown mares till the rescue was completed. Six, much to her frustration, didn't know how to ride one and she reluctantly agreed to let him ride the same horse while the spare followed after them riderless. They needed at least two horses to bring that child back.
They also agreed to leave that goldem - Eddie or some such - as a guard. As grateful as the merchant was she didn't count on gratitude to protect Tiffania if her ears were exposed.
The two were almost out of the village when Six finally spoke up again, "Was that really necessary?"
"What?" she asked back more defensively than she would have liked. She didn't like being questioned considering their position."
"Extorting that woman. She already lost her husband and her house, you didn't have to take everything else."
"We're giving her son back to her. If she doesn't consider a bauble worth the price of that then she didn't really care about him." It took some pressing for her to even offer it as collateral. So much for doing anything to get her child back.
"They were offering us enough."
"I wish I lived in your world where money grew on trees and you could feed twelve children with just good feelings."
"You want to live in the Mojave? Yeah, I'd like to see you try."
Neither of them said a word to one another the entire trip, which suited her just fine. She was used to silence and up till now she never worked with anyone for an extended period of time. She'd had temporary partners, of course, but only ever for a job. The few times she received offers for continued partnerships she always rejected them. A partner was just a weight around your neck.
By the time they arrived the sun was setting. Matilda left the horses behind some tall trees and pulled out the map from her pack, "It'll be better if we leave the horses here so we don't get spotted."
"Whatever you say." He grabbed two flintlocks, a musket rifle and that strange firearm of his.
Soon enough they were both at the compound's outskirts, "There it is..." Fouquet crouched down and bit her lip. This wasn't just a camp, it was practically a fortress! The walls were made of stone and she counted easily over a dozen soldiers just at a glance with likely far more inside. Armed too. Most of them were carrying blades and spears of some kind while others carried more modern weaponry such as firearms.
"It'll be difficult to sneak inside," Matilda muttered. A quick farsight spell allowed her to spot. There were multiple sentries keeping watch and another at the door. Even if she made a gap on the stone wall with her magic it wouldn't be and easy walk over.
"What's the plan?" he asked. He still didn't sound too happy but she could care less so long as he was cooperative.
"Sneaking through the back is the best option we have. But then there's those sentries." She bit her lower lip. Even if they took them all down silently marching out with a scared, panicking boy in tow would be difficult.
"Hmm..." He lowered his odd device - a portable telescrope for both eyes, apparently - and picked up a blackpowder grenade, "I've got an idea. I'll make some noise up front, draw all the attention to the front gate. You sneak inside like you planned. Most of the goons are gonna be too busy dealing with me and they'll just leave a guard or two to man the slave pen."
"Have you lost all sense?" she asked incredulously, "There are easily a dozen men in the front gate alone. Your distraction won't last for more than a minute, and that's if we're being generous, not to mention that you'll lose your life in the process."
"Good to know you care, but I'll be fine." He stood up and she grabbed his right wrist.
"If you do this you're going to die. Taking out a group of scouts is different from a main force. You'll be slaughtered."
"Where's the trust? I think I've proven myself enough at this point." His smile was all too confident and she felt a spike of irritation in her chest.
"You know what? Fine, if you want to kill yourself I'm not going to stop you. Just make sure to keep their attention for at least a few minutes or else your attempted suicide will be pointless."
"Sure. I'll see you on the other side." She sincerely doubted that.
They went their separate ways, Six to the front gate while she circled around the back. The stone walls were heavy and thick, but it was nothing an Earth Mage couldn't bypass.
She didn't have to wait long for an explosion to emanate from the front gate. The barbarians shouted and rallied to front, which she took as her cue to begin chanting. Twenty seconds later and the stone wall in front of her split apart to create a passage inside. Just as Six said there were no sentries save one with his back towards her. He had opened the door to the slave pens and was shouting something to the people inside.
One incantation later and a rock was flung to the back of his head, knocking him to the ground. She stepped past his crumpled form stepped into the pens.
What she saw made her sick. Men and women of all ages chained and collared like animals, forced to huddle together in festering filth with rags barely clinging to their abused bodies. She'd heard tales of this Legion's treatment of captives but this was...inhumane.
It didn't take her long to find the boy. His red hair and eyes stuck out in a sea of brown and black. Even as a noble they treated him no better than the rest. There was an equality in that, morbid as it was, "Be quiet, boy. I come at the behest of your mother." A quick cantrip destroyed his bonds and she forced him to stand, "We will need to run, I cannot carry you. Do you understand?"
He nodded mutely and clung tightly to the back of her cloak. She only managed a few steps before the rest of the poor people around her cried and hollered, each begging for release, '...It would be practical to set them free,' she thought. While she couldn't take them with her sneaking out without a trace was off the table now due to Six's insane plan. And freeing all the slaves instead of just one would at least lessen the chances of the rescue being traced back to some noble boy.
A few cantrips later and they were all freed. Many of them thanked her while others wasted no time in running for the sweet release of freedom. Matilda told herself the action was purely logical as she dragged the boy to the makeshift hole she created. The sounds of fighting still came from the front, though far less so than she expected. Six had lasted far longer than she anticipated.
She continued dragging the boy till she was sure they were safe, "Here." She unfurled a cloak from her pack and handed it to him, "Keep the hood up and your head down. Nobles aren't popular right now and the last thing we need is to get stopped by travelers looking for easy prey."
She looked back to the fortresses direction and frowned. She didn't hear the sound of fighting anymore, which was more than a little disconcerting. If she had to guess that courier was finally overtaken. She shook her head and began to walk back to the horses. A shame. Despite their disagreements Tiffania did seem fond of him. She'd have to tell her sister the news gently-
"Already planning to ditch me, huh?" She froze for just a moment and turned, wand drawn, halfway expecting a similarly voice stranger, but it was him. His hands were raised in mock surrender and his mouth was still curled up in a wry smile.
"...You're alive?"
"Last I checked." He put his hands down and shrugged. His was covered in splatters of blood, though judging by the way he carried himself none of it was his. Speaking of carrying he had a makeshift pack slung along his back overflowing with bloodstained weapons of all sorts. It was a miracle he didn't collapse under its weight, "We heading back already?"
"What happened those barbarians?"
"Legion? They're all dead."
"I surmised that you killed a few judging by your weapons, but what about the rest? We need to be sure we aren't followed-"
"No, I don't think you get it. They're all dead. All of them. There isn't a single redskirt left. I checked."
"...I don't believe you."
"Go ahead and check then. It's safe now, I even saw some of the other slaves you freed. Nice work, by the way. Guess you do have a heart under there."
She didn't know if it was disbelief or caution but she did end up going back in the direction of the fortress. She barely remembered to tell Six to keep an eye on the boy before she practically sprinted there.
What she saw made her freeze in place. Bodies upon bodies, easily more than the dozen she spotted during the reconnaisance, lay among the field. All of them were dead or dying, some of them still moaning and trying futilely to staunch their wounds. Shot, cut apart, disfigured by explosions. It was grotesque. Just past them she spotted a couple of the escaped slaves either looting bodies or beating their now-helpless tormenters to death with their bare hands.
The stench of blood in the air made her dizzy. Matilda put both hands on her knees and resisted the urge to vomit. He was right, they were all dead.
"You alright there?" she snapped her head to the voice and glared at the so-called courier. She had her doubts now. No messenger could do...this, "Don't worry about the kid, he's close. If we're not leaving yet we should probably search the bodies or maybe inside the place for anything valuable. Between the two of us we could-"
"Are you insane?!" she shouted. He stepped back at her sudden shout, face knotted in confusion, "You just...killed everyone here and you're acting like it's no big deal!"
"Didn't realize you felt bad for these bastards." He scoffed, "You buried a guy up to his neck just a few hours ago, don't see how you have any kind of high ground here."
"There's a difference between that and...this!" She looked back and shuddered when she saw one of the men twitching. He was one of the more disfigured, half his body covered in deep burns and knife wounds, "How did you even...are you a Mage? A Firstborn of some kind?" Coming from another world didn't explain this. One man taking down an entire platoon was only heard of in hearsay like the Heavy Wind.
"No, not when I last checked. Had to use half a magazine on my gun, but apart from that I'm not some kind of superhero." He stepped past her to pilfer through another corpse. Even as a thief she found it repugnant. There was a difference between stealing from a vault and rifling through a dead man's pockets, "This'll go faster if you help me. Let's look around for anything we can sell. You wanted money, right?"
It didn't seem like he meant it judgementally, but the words were enough to cut through what little restraint she had, "You're a fool!" He stopped and looked back at her, "Do you have any idea what you've done?! Do you think these barbarians will take this lying down?! We were supposed to keep a low profile and now you've killed Brimir knows how many of them! The Legion will be more restrictive now in retaliation, and that's if they don't crucify every town around us in revenge. Every village we pass by after this will be far more wary of strangers now."
"I'm sorry I didn't put them to sleep. I didn't exactly have a lot of choice here." He clicked his tongue, "Way I see it we were already pissing off the Legion by freeing these people."
"There's a difference between freeing a few captures and massacring an entire platoon." She growled and turned away from him. Any longer here and she was going to lose her temper even more.
And, much as she loathed to admit it, a part of her was scared. His face showed no trace of guilt or hesitation at his actions and he was all too quick to loot their bodies for valuables. If shouting turned to action would she be able to get a spell off before he closed the distance? She'd seen what he was capable with a knife and she didn't fancy the idea of being on the other end.
"Alright, we're not going anywhere." He brought a bloodstained hand through his hair. Seemed like she was pissed and this wasn't the right place for an argument. Not even Arcade complained when they put down Fiend camps, "Let's get out of here. When we meet back up with Tiffania and the kids we can-"
"We are going our separate ways," Matilda said suddenly. She still stubbornly refused to look at him, "We'll go back to the village to split the reward but after this I want you far away from me and Tiffania. The last thing I need is someone who'll turn things into a massacre and draw even more attention to us."
"...If that's what you want." Six shrugged. He wasn't going to argue or plead. He told her from their first meeting that if she wanted him out he'd split, "Come on then, let's head back."
She didn't say a word and just walked back. Six followed after her a short distance away before he stopped and coughed, "So much for having a partner." He wiped his hand on his pants and grabbed another discarded gun. Hopefully he had enough money to buy some food, at least.
Turns out a thief from a feudal society and a courier from a post apocalyptic one are gonna have issues, who woulda thunk it? Turns out being a one man army can freak out your allies since seeing dozens of dead bodies tends to freak people out when they weren't raised in the post apocalypse.
I did try to get their morals across, even if they can be contradictory. Fouquet is a self-interested thief who doesn't care about helping people but generally tries to limit killing, dislikes looting corpses, and has a human reaction to seeing a mass murder. Six is more openly friendly and prone to helping people but he's a murderhobo who depopulates entire areas, strips the corpses to their undies and shows absolutely no reaction to killing people so long as they aren't innocent.
Next chapter will place focus back on Tiffania since she needs to be there to keep her parents from splitting up.
Question:
1. So who do you guys think is right at the end? Six is a murderhobo but people tend not to feel bad for Legionnaries. On the other hand his complete non-reaction can be really creepy and Fouquet does have a point that this will both make the Legion more vigilant and they might target the nearby villages in retaliation/blame them for the deaths of their troops.
Review answers:
Zero - That's assuming I use Saito at all.
kukuhimanpr - Yeah, but Couriers generally aren't mass murderers.
quarttzblade12 - I mean...he kinda did in this chapter.
zegaman - So far the Legion still seems to be a roving band, though it might not be like that across the country since this property apparently had commoners loyal to their lord. We'll see more nuance later when we get to Legion territory proper.
Scatman SSJohn EX - Hopefully Cattleya doesn't freak out when the shooting starts.
Firebird0315 - Yeah one thing I'm hoping for is to avoid the teenage romcom antics. Six and Matilda have their issues but they're far more severe than not wanting to confess.
Guest - To be fair you also somehow manage to gather multiple people and go across the wasteland with them.
Jeremy scout - Yeah, we know blackpowder exists, but smokeless powder from regular firearms doesn't. Keeping guns clean and maintained in this setting is gonna be annoying.
CabooseHelpsU - Except instead of a horse he has an eyebot. Hopefully ED-E doesn't meet the same fate...