Sorry for the late post. But I wanted to get this chapter out before 2019 was over. So here is it and hopefully I can keep a better upload schedule for 2020!

Read, review, enjoy!

Chapter 11: Brave Vesperia

Shortly after Raiden had turned twelve, his father returned early from a guild job. They hadn't been expecting him for another week at least. So it was a happy surprise to have him home. Raiden had run to greet him since he'd been playing with Rune and a few of the other kids when he heard his dad was home. But Raiden stopped in the doorway when he saw Yuri.

His dad was in their living room with his shirt off and his mother worrying over him. There were a lot of nasty bruises and Estelle couldn't do much for them. Raiden wondered what he looked like before his mother started healing his dad. "Seriously Estelle, they'll be fine in a few days," Yuri tried to tell her. But that didn't stop her from using another healing spell on him in case there was internal damage.

"Karol must have thought differently if you're home this soon," Estelle said sharply. "There is no way you could have finished that job this quickly."

"Dad," Raiden finally spoke up and took a few steps inside the house. "Did…did you lose a fight?" He went on to say. His dad was the strongest person he knew. He never thought of his dad losing to anyone. It seemed like such a strange concept.

Apparently they hadn't heard Raiden come in the way they seemed surprised to see him. Yuri motioned for Raiden to come over. And when Raiden was in arms reach, Yuri ruffled his hair affectionately.

"I'm fine," Yuri told them. "It was just some clown who got the worst end of the fight."

Raiden could believe that the other guy would look a lot worse than his dad. But what his dad said really confused him. "You fought a clown?" He was picturing his dad fighting an actual circus clown.

"Might as well have been," Yuri told him. "The guy certainly thought of himself as one."

"Well you need to be more careful," Estelle scolded. "I hate to tell you this, but you're not as young as you used to be."

Yuri had a smirk on his face when he replied, "Not an old man yet."

/~/~/

The storm ended shortly before morning finally came. But sleep didn't come easily to them. Paul stood watch for most of the night and every time Raiden closed his eyes, he kept seeing Henry bending his sister's arm in that unnatural way. Or even the creepy way he looked after seeing his own hand being cut off.

He kept going over what Henry had said. His father apparently fought him before. Raiden searched his memories from when his father was still alive and the times he came home. He obviously wouldn't have told them the full extent. But Raiden was remembering that day his dad came home early with all those bruises. A cane could have caused those if Raiden was remembering right.

Raiden was sure he was recalling the conversation right. He was sure his dad would refer Henry as a clown. Then he thought about what else Henry had said. "Will the score with Brave Vesperia and Circus Anarchy even out, or will I get another kill under my belt?" Did he mean he mean that he killed someone in Brave Vesperia? And was that his dad? There were only two people from Brave Vesperia who are gone; Judith and Raiden's dad. Did that mean he killed one of them? Raiden couldn't imagine either of them losing.

Then who did they lose to that kept them from ever coming home again?

"Come on kids," Paul suddenly announced. Raiden had quickly sat up, mainly because it had startled him. The others got up too. It looks like no one else got any sleep. "We're not wasting any time and getting to Dahngrest before nightfall."

It wouldn't take them long at all to get ready. Before going to sleep, everyone had put their stuff together in case they needed to make a run for it. Raiden quickly went over to his sister who was scratching behind Sable's ear. Thankfully the dog made a full recovery with Elena's healing. Raiden didn't want to thank what his sister would do if she lost the dog.

"How's your arm?" Raiden asked.

Elena just rolled her eyes at him. A way of saying, "Of course it's fine. Why wouldn't it be?" Raiden was relieved to get that look from her.

"Maybe by the time we reach the city it'll be fine to take it out of the sling," Raiden suggested. His sister jus nodded. A day seemed reasonable enough for everyone to think a broken arm could heal with healing artes. Elena was Estellise's daughter, so no one would think anything different.

His sister just nodded and got up.

"So I heard from the knights in Heilord that you ran away with Flynn's son," Paul said looking at Matthias.

"More like he ran away and we had to chase after him," Raiden muttered.

"So who's this girl? Who else did you drag into this?" Paul asked looking at Shea.

Raiden wasn't sure what they should say. Paul wouldn't do or say anything if he knew Shea was a noble other than just take them straight back to Heilord rather than Dahngrest. He wouldn't risk it.

"I'm just a merchant's daughter," Shea lied, which startled Raiden. She said it so convincingly too. "Trade's so poor between the Guilds and Empire, I'm just going to the city to acquire an item for my father."

Shea came up that cover story fast. Raiden wondered if she figured the same thing if he knew her real identity.

Paul let out a frustrated sigh. "So you plan on smuggling something from Dahngrest into Heilord."

"It's not as bad as you make it sound," Shea said matter of factly.

The older guild member just shook his head. He looked at Raiden again. "You really know how to attract trouble."

/~/~/

Skit: Guilds' Appearance

Matthias: Raiden, how well do you know this Paul character?

Raiden: What do you mean? I've known him my whole life.

Matthias: I figured that. He's part of Brave Vesperia. It's just that he seems like he might actually bring trouble. He really looks like some kind of vagabond.

Raiden: I've never really seen Paul being trouble.

Rune: Paul's the first guild member you've, isn't he?

Matthias: …

Raiden: Oh I see, you were somehow intimidated by Paul's appearance.

Rune: Paul doesn't even look that scary…

Matthias looking embarrassed: C-come on. He just suddenly appears in the middle of a storm and even cut off a man's arm. How else am I supposed to react to a stranger?

Raiden: I think you're just over reacting.

Elena walking by: If you're startled by Paul then you're really going to have a hard time in Dahngrest. *Walks away.

Rune: She's right. There are a lot scary guild members. Pretty much everyone in the Hunting Blades startle me just by looking at them.

Matthias looking nervous: There are people that look sketchier then the man we're traveling with?

Raiden: It's not as bad as Rune is making it out to be. But if you're that worried about it, just look at is as training. If you're going to be a knight you're going to have to deal with people that don't look like nobles. I'm sure most people knights deal with are going to look sketchy like Paul.

Paul suddenly appears looking annoyed: What's this about me looking sketchy.

All the boys look startled.

/~/~/

They traveled in silence. Raiden used the time to come up with some kind of idea for when he sees Karol. Though he wasn't sure what to say, he felt pretty confident that he could get Karol's blessing to continue his journey. They got Flynn's, one of the last people he thought would agree to this.

It seemed to take forever to finally reach the guild city since no one really talked, but they got there before dawn. They had stayed on the main road and they didn't have to worry about monsters, so they didn't even get to have that as a distraction. Paul hadn't had much to say and Raiden could tell that he wasn't in the mood.

It had been a few years since Raiden had seen Dahngrest. Not much had changed other than a gate over the bridge. In also looked like the guilds could pull the bridge up. Raiden wondered if it was in case war broke out. It saddened Raiden to see the bridge into the city like that and that Paul would have to talk with the guards about letting them in.

Raiden had mix feeling about the city. He remembered a lot of happy memories. But his dad was always in those memories. Raiden felt a bit silly for feeling like he should see him once they crossed the bridge. Raiden looked at his sister. Like always, he couldn't tell what she was thinking. She had to have been feeling the same.

Before Paul could talk when Shea suddenly said, "I'm afraid this is where we must part ways."

"What are you talking about?" Paul said. "I'm not about to let some kid wonder around guild territory."

"I thought you needed to get into the city," Raiden asked.

"I have a travel permit, so I'll be able to enter the city whenever I want," Shea explained. "But on our way here, I think we ran into a rare herb that will help make panacea bottles. It's going to be bugging me until I check it out for myself."

"Why didn't you say anything at the time?" Matthias asked. "We would have stopped."

"Sorry, I guess I just didn't want to slow you all down," Shea answered. "You all seemed like you were in a hurry." She glanced at Paul when she said that. Raiden could probably guess that Paul wouldn't have stopped just so Shea could investigate some plants.

"Still, there's no way we can just leave you-" Matthais started to say.

But Paul interrupted by say, "Fine, don't get eaten kid." He even tugged at Matthias' collar to get him to move. The knight wannabe was trying to offer protests, but the way he was stumbling over his own words, he was trying not to reveal who Shea really was. The two of them went over to the guards to get entry.

"Are you sure about this?" Raiden quickly asked. "You shouldn't worry about Paul, I'm sure I could get him to make a detour."

"Don't worry about," Shea said with a smile. "I'm grateful that I was able to travel you all this far. Besides, you have something you need to do, right?"

Raiden hadn't told Shea why he wanted to come to Dahngrest. Of course she hadn't told them of her reason for coming to the guild city. "I guess we both do, right?" Raiden commented.

Shea nodded.

Just then Raiden felt his sister nudge his side. "Come on," she said.

"I guess you all should get going," Shea told them.

"Right," Raiden muttered. He didn't feel comfortable leaving Shea. In fact he had actually been looking forward to traveling with her more. So he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that the wouldn't be traveling more together. "Good luck," Raiden told her.

"Let's go," Paul then called out. It looked like he got permission from the guards to let them all in.

Raiden looked back at Shea and the two of them exchanged small waves to each other. She turned around and started walking back into the woods. Raiden watched as she went on her way. Elena gently kicked him. "Come on," she told him again. He just hoped that Shea would be safe.

He turned toward the others and started walking into the city. The guild members at the gate were giving them skeptical looks. They were probably wondering who Matthias were. Raiden really wondered what Paul must have told them.

Matthias had a bewildered at seeing the city for the first time. But his legs where shaking as they walked across the bridge. In his mind, he was entering enemy territory. Raiden did believe that there were some guild members that would try something foolish and hurt Matthias because of the rising conflict. Raiden could remember Uncle Karol saying that there were a few guilds that believe in getting even rather than work for a compromise.

The city hadn't changed much since the last time Raiden had been here. The city was just as bustling as before. The market place was full of guild members.

"So where are we going?" Matthais asked Paul.

"To Brave Vesperia's base," Paul answered.

Raiden figured that would be where Paul took them. It was the moment of truth. Karol was the one he would need to convince for right now. He only had a little bit to come up with a defense.

Brave Vesperia's headquarters was in a large three story building. It had grown quite a bit from when Karol first purchased the building. There was a large sign over the front door with the name and emblem on it.

Paul walk up the stairs and opened the door which made a ringing noise. He motioned for Raiden to go first, which he did. Raiden had walked through that threshold. The childish part of his mind still thought he would see his father like so many times in the past. It still wasn't any easier.

There wasn't anyone in the main room other than an old, large dog laying on a mat. It looked almost like Repede other than having black paws and his once bright coat was turning grey. The dog was from Repede's first litter of pups and Yuri had left one of the them to Uncle Karol. His name was Captain. Raiden had always thought that was a weird name, but Uncle Karol said it had a story behind it.

Sable quickly padded over to Captain and playfully bit his ear. Captain gave her a low growl, but raised his head enough to give her a few licks. Sable was wagging her tail and giving happy barks at seeing her father. When Captain had some puppies, Yuri brought one home for Elena.

Elena of course went over to the dogs. Captain sniffed the air around Elena and started wagging his tail at her but it wasn't as enthusiastic as it should have. Captain was really getting old.

"I thought I heard a familiar bark," a deep voice said.

Raiden looked over and saw Uncle Karol walking out of his office. He was tall with short brown hair. Raiden knew that Karol had wished he'd grew up to be very muscular. He was maybe still on more of the slim side, but was bulky enough to carry his bag of heavy weapons. He wore baggy pants, a dark long sleeve shirt under a green vest that had Brave Vesperia's emblem on the back and front right corner. He even had a red kerchief tied around his neck and a big smile seeing them.

"Uncle Karol," Raiden said and hurried over to him. He hadn't realized how happy he would be to see him. He had even wrapped his arms around him.

He felt Karol pat his head. "How long has it been Raiden? I swear you've gotten taller."

Raiden took a step back. Rune had gotten closer and Karol put his hand on top of the young mage's head. "Rune, you've really shot up too. I was getting worried that Rita wasn't feeding you."

Rune's face was a bit red. He really hit a growth spurt in the last year. He'd been the subject of a lot of jokes from kids their age and even adults.

Karol looked over to Elena. "And Elena is getting as pretty as Estelle." Elena ignored that comment and kept her attention on the dogs. "And as cold as Yuri," Karol light joked.

Finally his eyes fell on Matthias. "And who is this?" He asked.

"I am an aspiring knight known as Matthias-" he started introducing.

"Oh, Flynn's son," Karol finished much to the chagrin of Matthias. Then he turned back to Raiden and Rune and asked, "So what do I owe to your visit?"

"These three ran away," Paul said blankly. Then pointed at Matthias, "And somehow got a knight's son involved."

"I see," Karol said. Then he patted both Rune and Raiden on the back. "Come on, you all must be hungry. I've got stew on."

He motioned them into the back where the kitchen and dinner table that could hold twenty people were. Raiden could smell the stew. He couldn't remember the last time he had Uncle Karol's cooking.

They all took a seat as Karol instructed while he and Elena fed the dogs first. Sable had quickly followed, but Captain was slow and went straight to another mat in the kitchen. Captain at his food while laying down. "Poor old Cap isn't doing so good," Karol said as he rubbed the dogs head. "He's going blind and I'm pretty sure he's got arthritis."

"Is there anything we can do?" Elena asked.

"He's just getting old," Karol told her. "No magic can fix that. Come on, help me serve the stew."

Elena kept looking at Captain, but did get up to help.

One by one, they each got a bowl of food. "Where are your kids?" Rune asked before he started eating.

"They're out helping some of the small merchants," Karol answered. "They wanted to help out with the guild and this merchant asked for some assistance. So I have them helping. They'll be here soon for dinner."

It would figure that Karol's kids would want to be guild members like their parents. But they were too little to do actual guild work. The oldest one was probably only eleven and the youngest being five.

"Is there a certain reason why you all have come to Dahngrest?" Karol asked.

Raiden was in the middle of chewing and couldn't get what he wanted out in time. Paul quickly answered. "I brought them here and we'll be shipping them back home in the morning," he said.

"What's the rush?" Karol asked. "I think just a couple of days wouldn't hurt."

"Karol, Ms. Estelle and Rita sent me to bring them home," Paul defended. "This is basically a guild job."

"And I'm sure Estelle and Rita will be fine knowing that the kids are in Dahngrest," Karol said calmly. "I'll send word to them tonight and in a couple of days we'll send them home."

Raiden quickly swallowed. "I would love to catch up with everyone here," Raiden added. This actually worked out better. He would have time to think of a way to continue their journey. He and Elena would have time to come up with a plan.

Of course Paul knew better. He knew why Raiden and the others were really up to. But he didn't say anything. He went on eating.

"Mr. Capel," Matthias suddenly spoke up. Raiden then realized that he hadn't touched his food yet. "I have something I would like to ask, if you don't mind."

"Call me Karol and you can," the leader of the guild said with a friendly smile. Karol probably like to keep things casual even when dealing with clients.

Matthias had a slight pause, then just went out and asked, "Is it really true that you turned down becoming one of the Five Master Guilds?"

He probably over heard it from Flynn. Shortly after relations between the guilds and the Empire turned worse, one of the Five Master Guilds dispended. Harry Whitehourse then asked Brave Vesperia if they would take their place. To everyone's surprise, maybe even to himself, Karol turned it down. It may have been the first time when a guild turned down being one of the Master Guilds. Raiden was curious about this as well.

Karol had an uneasy smile. "People thought I was crazy. My younger self would have been so mad. I had wanted to be the boss of a guild that helped protect this city, like the Don."

"Then why would you do that?" Matthias asked. "You'd really have a chance to run things and make a difference. Maybe even help with the anti-war movement." Raiden had overheard Flynn, Estelle, and even the Commandant talking how it would have helped their anti-war movement if Brave Vesperia was in control. The guild that ascended to the Five Master Guilds was one that was all for starting a war. Raiden couldn't remember what the guild's name was.

"But would I have really?" Karol then asked. "Being where I am now, I can see things I didn't when I was a kid. Brave Vesperia is respected enough to get plenty of jobs from high clients, but low enough that people with nothing can approach us. I know this guild has made a big difference in people's lives. And that's all I care about. That's what Brave Vesperia was formed for."

Matthias quickly stood up, knocking his chair back. "But we're on the verge of war. My father said that if you had joined in the Five Master guilds then we might not even have to worry about war."

"Just because Brave Vesperia would have the stance against conflict wouldn't have stopped other guilds from doing something stupid," Karol explained. "All it takes is one bad move. At least in this position, Brave Vesperia can stop it."

"Besides, the vote is one to three," Paul pointed out to Matthias. The guilds won't be officially declaring war anytime soon."

Matthias was quiet and fix his chair. It was a relief to hear that. It was clear the kids had only heard the adults worry rather than the actual political climate. Of course war could be started over something little at this point and the Empire could declare war at any moment.

"Where's the fifth vote?" Rune asked.

Karol gave a tired sigh. "The leader of the White Sentinels refuses to vote. He keeps saying he doesn't care what the guilds decide to do."

"I think he honestly wants a war but just doesn't want to be the one to vote for it," Paul added.

"My like he doesn't want to side with The Citizens of the Sea guild," Karol joked lightly. "The two leaders can't stand each other. Hayden, the leader of the White Sentinels actually asked me to reconsider when he heard Harry was going to asked them."

"Citizens of the Sea?" Matthias repeated. Of course his mother wouldn't educate him on the guilds.

"They're a sailing guild that specialize in both trading across the sea and fighting sea creatures," Elena recited.

"They're base is even out on sea," Paul added.

"So Altosk, Fortune's Market, and Soul Craft are all against starting a war," Rune recounted.

"That's right, of course there is a lot of pursue on Altosk to change their vote should the Empire shows any more disrespect to the Union," Karol went on to say.

Raiden had to say it was nice to finally hear these details. It was scary that war was close, but not as nearly hearing all these details. Maybe it was an oversimplification of the relations. At least Uncle Karol was talking to them like adults rather than avoid the question all together like his mother did.

Just then the back door that went directly to the kitchen. Two small girls with brown hair, one five and the other nine, ran through the door. They were laughing as they stopped in the kitchen to get their food. The older came out of the kitchen first running with a bowl of stew. The youngest was following close behind. "Walk girls," Karol called.

They just barely slowed down and got to the table while only spilling a little bit. The two girls only said a few hellos before digging into their food. They may have just thought their dad was doing some guild business.

"Girls, where's your older sister?" Karol asked his two youngest. The two of them just shrugged as they continued to pile food onto their plates. Karol stood up and looked at the two youngest kids. "Tamara was supposed to stay with you two, so where did she go?" He asked again. He voice was stern and not much louder.

The two girls stopped eating and the middle child finally spoke up. "Tammy got bored helping Mr. Smith, so she left."

"She left you?" Karol repeated.

"Yeah," the five-year-old started to say. "I think she wanted to do a bigger job."

There was a brief moment as Karol was taking in what they said. Then his eyes widened once he realized what they were talking about. "Tamara, you can't be serious," he called out of frustration. He looked like he was going to pull his hair.

"What's wrong Karol?" Paul asked.

"Tamara's run off to Kev Moc," Karol complained. "She overheard me talking to one of the members about a job in the forest. She begged me to do that job. But of course she couldn't do it."

Then Karol made a frustrated moan and was scratching the sides of his head. "Urgg, Tamara. When did you become so rebellious?"

Poor Uncle Karol, Raiden thought a bit amusedly.