Hello everyone, and welcome back. I know its been a while since my last update, but I'm back. More info at the end of the chapter.
I do not own Rising of the Shield Hero or Call of Duty.
"Field report. It's been six days since initial contact. Progress on the training has been swift. Reconstruction has been going extremely well, due to the villagers willingness to rebuild. Mr. Dempsey hasn't taken a bath yet. He still smells like a wet lizard. Raphtalia out," Raphtalia said, with a smile on her face, as Dempsey smacked his face with his open palm. She had woken up yesterday morning when Dempsey was doing the field report, which led to him explaining what it was. Today, Dempsey woke up to her doing it in his place. The good news was that she hadn't had a nightmare for a few days, or at least she didn't wake up in the middle of the night.
"Really, Raphtalia?" Dempsey asked, still groggy.
"Yup!" She responded, a smile on her face. He sighed.
"I don't know if I should be proud of you for waking up early, or upset that you said I smell like a wet lizard," Dempsey said, joking.
"Well, take a bath and I'll stop talking about it," she replied, beaming.
"Nobody else seemed to mind," Dempsey muttered, making the racoon girl laugh. The American then joined in on the laughter.
As they entered the atrium, they picked up a bowl of venison stew. The two had managed to take down an elk, which gave the villagers something to eat besides vegetables and rabbit. As they ate, Keel, the black haired boy from a few days ago, showed up.
"Oh, hey, Raphtalia, Mr. Dempsey," the boy said, waving at the two. He sat down next to them, his stew in his bowl.
"Hey, Keel, what's up?" Raphtalia asked, sipping on her stew.
"Nothing much. The others are still asleep, so I decided to just get some food early," he said, as he ate some of the soup. "My God, what is this? It's so good!"
"Its venison stew," Dempsey answered.
"Venison?" Keel asked.
"Basically, its elk meat," Raphtalia answered.
"Well, whatever it is, it's good," he responded. Raphtalia giggled, as Dempsey held back a snicker. They quickly finished their meal.
"Anyways, Keel, it's time for us to go," Raphtalia told the boy, whose ears dropped.
"Alright, I guess we'll see you this evening," he told them. Raphtalia planted her hand on his head.
"We'll be back, don't worry," Raphtalia said, making Keel look up with a smile.
"Yeah, I don't know why I'm getting so worked up. We'll see you guys later," he told the two hunters, who responded with a wave.
Before they left the tavern, Raphtalia made sure her bow was secured to the quiver. It would be attached to the strap, but it's being used as part of the sack for the meat. The two nodded to each other, before they left into the village proper.
Some of the buildings were in the process of being rebuilt, but everyone still stayed in the tavern. There were a few villagers with makeshift spears guarding the perimeter. Dempsey taught them how to guard an area, just in case monsters showed up. They waved to the duo, who entered the nearby forest.
The hunt was uneventful.
It was currently the evening. They had managed to snag about seven rabbits, and they cooked one. The fire was made by Raphtalia, while Dempsey watched her.
"So, Raph, you think you're ready?" Dempsey asked.
"Well, I'm still learning with building a fire, and I haven't touched on first aid, so I need to learn how to do that still," Raphtalia responded, biting into a chunk of cooked rabbit meat.
"Hopefully you'll never need to use it. With how things are going, I might leave sometime next week," Dempsey told her, as he watched his chunk of rabbit get roasted over the fire.
"What do you mean, 'I'?" Raphtalia asked, her eyes narrowing.
"Well, I want to make sure you're still okay with leaving. You've got friends here, and they'll miss you," Dempsey responded, raising his hands.
"I know, but I can't leave you all alone. You might get lonely and scared," Raphtalia told him.
"Thanks, but I don't really get scared."
"Well, I'm still going!" She said, stomping her foot. She was pouting. Dempsey looked at her, before a small snicker escaped his lips. He then burst out laughing. Raphtalia, confused, asked, "Wh-What? What is it?"
"You look so funny when you pout," Dempsey said, in between laughs.
"At least I don't smell," Raphtalia muttered.
Dempsey stopped laughing, before sighing, "Well, you managed to convince me. So, when we leave, we'll have to stick together," Dempsey told her, raising a fist. Raphtalia responded by pounding her own fist into his.
"Well then, let's do it," the raccoon girl told the Marine, who nodded. They finished their food, put out the fire, and made their way back home.
Little did they know what awaited them.
Captain Willows's breathing has heavily labored. The spear managed to pierce the armor he was wearing, as blood came from the wound. He left it in his torso, no need to make his last moments worse. Looking around, he saw the burning ruins of the village he had entered earlier that week. The adults were slaughtered around him, their blood spilt on the ground.
"What the hell?" He heard that knight from a few days ago ask. Footsteps approached, as Willows held onto life. "My God, what happened?" The knight asked, his staff was held tightly in his hands.
"He-hey! Kn-Knight," Willows called out. The knight, Dempsey he believed his name was, walked over. When he saw the injured captain, his eyes burned with a raging fury.
"You fucker! You did this?!" He asked, raising his staff.
Before it came down, he stopped. He looked at the spear that was implanted in the Captain.
"This staff is too well made for the ones in this village," Dempsey muttered. "Who did this?" Dempsey asked, his voice not as angry, but it still had venom in it.
"I-Idol Rabier. He ordered his men to come here, and take all the children. His knights killed all of the adults," Willows explained.
"N-no," a voice whispered. Looking behind Dempsey, he saw a young raccoon girl, with a brown leather jacket, a sack on her back, and a bow in her hands. She looked around, her eyes widened and ready to burst.
"Raphtalia," the knight called, walking to her. He embraced her, rubbing her back as she let out her tears.
"I-I'm sorry," the knight captain said. He could feel the world around him grow colder. He would soon pass on. He closed his eyes.
He felt a prick in his neck, as the world suddenly grew hotter. Opening his eyes, he saw the laser focus of Dempsey.
"You don't get to die. Not until you explain everything," Dempsey ordered. He moved behind the knight captain, as he felt his arms get grabbed. He felt himself get pulled away from the village and into the nearby woods. The raccoon girl, Raphtalia, followed the two, her tears still falling from his eyes.
Dempsey stopped when they were about 250 feet away from the village. He rested the knight captain against a tree, while he held a shaking Raphtalia. After letting her go, he grabbed the spear that was lodged in the man, and pulled it out. He then quickly removed the armor and bandaged the wound using some bandages made from plant fibers.
Captain Willows remained silent throughout the procedure. Although he wondered why Dempsey bothered to save his life, it would be best to ask later.
"I saved your life. In return, I want you to tell me everything that happened," Dempsey ordered. Willows sighed, before responding.
"When I returned to Rabier's estate, I informed him that the village was completely destroyed. He appeared to be sad from it, but accepted the answer nonetheless. A day later, and he informed me that his scouts saw that there were villagers still alive. I told him that they must not be a problem, and to let them go. He appeared to agree, but said his scouts would keep an eye on it.
"This morning, we were told to go and collect taxes for a town that was past the village. When we stopped here, I told my men to explain the reason. The Commander told my men to round up all the villagers. I ordered my men to stop, but they refused to follow my command. After they rounded them up, the Commander announced, as per order of Idol Rabier, that all the children were to be taken to his estate and all of the adults were to be executed for some crimes that never happened. I tried to stop them, but my Commander stabbed me with his spear and left me to die. His men slaughtered them, and took off to Idol's estate," Captain Willows explained.
Dempsey looked to Raphtalia, who looked terrified. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, rubbing her arm.
"Why would he take the kids?" Dempsey asked. He dared to not imagine it, but he had to know.
"I grew suspicious of Idol over the past few days, so I investigated his estate. In the dungeon, I saw what that bastard did. He has demi-humans locked in there. Demi-human children. They looked like they were beaten half to death. He probably tortures them. If I had to guess why he took them," Willows trailed off.
"That monster," Raphtalia breathed out. "Where are they? Where are my friends?!" Raphtalia demanded, drawing her bow.
"Raphtalia," Dempsey responded sternly. She glared at him, before putting her bow back on her quiver.
"I have a map. It's of this section of Melromarc," he said, pulling out his map. "Rabier's estate is over here. We're about here," he said, pointing to two points on the map. They were relatively close to Idol's estate. He saw Raphtalia get ready to stand up. "If you're thinking about going there, I wouldn't do it. They placed my murder on you two. I heard the Commander talk about that as they left. Your best bet would be to go here," he pointed to a part of the map. It was to the south, about twice the distance from where they were to Rabier. "That's the estate of Lord Van Reichnott. He's kinder to demi-humans, so you'll have a better chance," Captain Willows explained.
"Alright," Dempsey said. "What about you?"
"I don't know. I thought I'd end up dead, so I figured I would give you a chance with my last breath," the captain told them.
"Well, if we go to this Reichnott guy, and he got news of us killing you, then he might turn us over to Idol. If you come with us, then he might listen. Come on," Dempsey told him, as he helped Willows up. He managed to hold himself upright, and walk slowly. He saw the young demi-human remain still, however. "Raphtalia, I know you want to help your friends, but we can't. I would love to go and kill that bastard, but we'd get taken down the minute we step foot in that estate. We have to wait. It's for our, and their, sake." Dempsey told her. It was firm, but there was good reason behind it.
"Bu-But Rachel, Keel, Rifana," Raphtalia said, her head lowering.
"I know. And it kills me to do this. But we have to. We will save them, one day. Unfortunately, today's not that day," Dempsey told her. She looked up.
"If it's anything, he won't kill them. Some of the slaves looked to have been there for a couple of months. I hope to God they can hold out," Captain Willows told them.
"You and me both," Dempsey said. "Come on, we need to move," he ordered, as the trio began their journey south.
They decided to rest under the night. Dempsey and Raphtalia made a small campfire near a river. Using the rabbits they hunted, they were able to eat one apiece.
"We aren't sleeping tonight. We need to use the darkness to our advantage. After we're done here, we're picking back up on the road," Dempsey ordered, as they nodded. While the two ate, Dempsey kept an eye out. For all he knew, those scouts could be trying to sneak up on them.
The truth was that he could go and save the kids that the bastard was keeping locked up. The only problem was Raphtalia. It wasn't that she was a burden, far from it. She's useful in hunting, and could probably snipe the guards before they even got there.
The problem was that she's just a kid. Killing isn't something you can do carefree, at least for the first few times. She might hesitate, and get herself killed or captured. Another thing was that, if he did bite the dust, she would be alone. He couldn't live with that possibility. Even if they got to Von Reichnott, he wouldn't leave to try and save them.
'Maybe the others can get them, if they're even alive,' Dempsey thought. His mind was soon flooded with images of them dying, and he was just standing there. They needed his hel-
A soft hand touched his leg. He could tell it was soft from the force they placed on his limb. Following the hand, it led to a concerned Raphtalia. He sighed, clearing his mind.
"You need to eat," she told him. Looking down, he noticed his rabbit was almost overcooked. Raphtalia managed to pull it out of the fire, so it was still edible. He nodded, before taking the rabbit. "Your friends will be fine. I'm sure they're strong, just like you," she told him, calming his mind. She'd been able to read him better with each passing day.
"We won't be able to save your friends, for a while at least," Dempsey told the racoon girl. "They'll open fire on us the minute we get in their sights. But if we find them, we'll ask for the rest of Primis to rescue them. They're an unknown element. Idol might make the mistake of trusting them," he explained.
"And they'll be close enough to save them!" Raphtalia exclaimed. Dempsey gave a smile, indicating she was right.
"If we get to Lord Reichnott's estate, we can ask for him to spread the message while you two leave this part of the country," Willows brought up. "I'll stay behind, to form a plan and to keep you from being held back."
"Good, then let's move," Dempsey ordered, as he stomped the fire out. They drank from the river, before resuming their journey south.
They were tired.
Their legs hurt.
Their bodies ached.
Their feet were covered in blisters.
But, they made it.
The three came out of the woodline, relieved as they felt the cool air of midday hit them. Raphtalia had her jacket tied around her waist, with the strap around her torso. The rucksack lost its use when they ate the last rabbits in the morning. Dempsey looked to be slightly winded, his cloth tunic covering his torso. Captain Willows had his armor on, but was using a large stick as a cane. He held his wound as he moved forward.
In front of them was a large mansion, with a group of patrolling guards surrounding it. One saw the trio and approached. He had a short haircut, with brown hair and brown eyes.
"Halt. State your busin-" He stopped mid sentence when he saw the American and demi-human. "You two! You're wanted by Lord Idol Rabier for the murder of Knight Captain Franklin-"
"Willows," the captain finished, stepping forward.
"C-Captain Willows?!" He stuttered, standing at attention.
"Yeah, and I would appreciate it if you don't accuse my saviors of killing me," Willows responded. "I need to speak with Captain Simmons. They need some rest, and to talk with Lord Von Reichnott. I trust that will be taken care of."
"Y-Yessir, right at once," the knight responded, giving a salute. Captain Willows walked into the grounds of the estate, leaving the knight with the two survivors, "You two can rest in the barracks. It's not much, but it's the best I can offer."
"That's fine." Dempsey said. They went to step forward, but Raphtalia fell face first into the dirt, her legs finally giving out. Dempsey chuckled, before throwing her onto his shoulder. "You alright?" He asked.
"So, tired," She muttered.
"Don't worry, we're almost to a bed. Then you can get all the rest you want," She snuggled up in his grasp, before he followed the knight. They were taken to a large building, and led to a large room with about 15 beds.
"Just find a bed and plop down on it," the knight told them, "In the meantime, I need to find out what's going on." With that, the two were left alone.
Raphtalia was dropped onto a bed and instantly fell asleep. Dempsey didn't blame her, since she had to stay up for over 24 hours and had to see her village destroyed. He only hoped she was so tired that her mind wouldn't produce any nightmares.
Dempsey sat on the bed next to the sleeping girl, keeping his eyes open. While he didn't need sleep, it would be best if he rested his eyes. Remaining awake, he closed his eyes and he felt himself drift off into a 'half sleep' state.
"N-no," he heard, as his resting state was broken. He looked to the young girl, who was shaking. He stood up and placed his hand on her shoulder, rubbing it.
'Another nightmare,' Dempsey thought. 'The sight of seeing those dead villagers must've brought them back. God damn that bastard.'
Dempsey noticed that she had stopped shaking. She felt calm, peaceful. He remained like this for a few minutes, as her nightmare was pushed out of her mind. He felt his eyes drop.
"Ah, it appears that you two are still asleep. I'll wait for you then," Dempsey heard, breaking out of his dreamlike state. Looking at the door, the knight from earlier had arrived, with Captain Willows and a third man in tow.
This third man had darker skin, with a short haircut and no beard. He was wearing cloth clothes instead of the armor typically worn by knights.
"Dang it, Steve, you woke then up," the third man said.
"S-sorry Captain Simmons," the first knight, Steve, responded.
"Don't be so rough with him, Josh. Besides it would be best to explain the situation to Lord Reichnott with those two," Willows told Simmons. Raphtalia, at this point, woke up.
"It doesn't matter, we're up now," Dempsey said, picking himself up. Raphtalia was confused and groggy, but followed the American's example. "So, we're gonna meet this guy?" He asked.
"Lord Reichnott, yes. It would be best if you all went together, to better explain the current situation," Captain Simmons responded. "We might wish to hurry, if you would like to tell your tale over a warm meal." He said, leaving the room. Steve followed, leaving the survivors of the demi-human village alone.
"We should go. Lord Reichnott is a patient man, but you might want something to eat besides rabbit. He could also provide you with a proper bed," Willows commented, before walking out. He gestured for the two hunters to follow him, which they did.
Entering the manor, they followed the Captain as he walked through a series of hallways and into a large dining room. The long table in front of them had various types of food, which made two out of the three almost begin to drool. Looking past the delicious, tempting food, was a man sitting at the head of the table. He was wearing a purple button up shirt with a white cape. He had a head of purple hair, with a pair of small glasses resting on his face. The two knights, Simmons and Steve, were sitting at the table as well, but they had not begun to eat yet.
"Ah, good to see our guests have arrived. Come, sit. We have much to discuss," the man gestured to the open seat near him. The three looked between each other, before nodding. Dempsey and Raphtalia sat to the man's right, while Captain Willows sat directly across from the duo.
"Thank you for your hospitality, Lord Reichnott," Captain Willows told the man.
"No worries. I believe it would be best if we discussed the situation while we ate. So, dig in," Reichnott told the people at the table, who then began to fix their food. Raphtalia was about to grab the biggest thing that didn't look like a rabbit and shred it, but Dempsey halited her. He got a large turkey leg for her, and handed it over. He took the other leg. The two ate, with Dempsey making sure she ate with at least some class.
"Thank you for the food, but I believe it's best if we get down to brass tacks," Dempsey told the man, who nodded.
"Well, I believe introductions are best to start off with," Reichnott said, "I'm Lord Von Reichnott."
"Dempsey, and this is Raphtalia," Dempsey told the Lord, while gesturing to the two.
"I see. Where are you two from?"
"Raphtalia's from the village in the north. Or the place that was the village," Dempsey said, "With me, it's a bit more complicated. My home's very far away. So far, that I can barely remember it. I remember traveling to Raphtailia's village during the recent Wave. I managed to end it, and I asked to stay there and help rebuild."
"You're the man who ended the Wave?"Reichnott asked.
"Yeah."
"I see. I assume you met Raphtalia there?"
"That's right. I kinda volunteered to become her caretaker during my time. I taught her how to hunt, and some survival tactics that I learned from my home. The day after the Wave, I encountered Captain Willows, who said the land was under the control of an Idol Rabier. I assume you know him?" Dempsey asked.
"Yes, I do. Although I'm surprised that he would wish to control a village with demi-humans in it, considering his hatred of them," Reichnott commented.
"Well, let's just say his intentions were less than pure," Willows said, "Yesterday, me and my men entered the village. I believe that we were cutting through it in order to reach the next town over. However, my men rounded up the demi-humans and took the children to his estate. The adults, however, were slaughtered. I tried my damndest to stop them, but my Commander turned on me, stabbed me and left me for dead. He was planning on framing the murder on Sir Dempsey and Raphtalia, who were out hunting. They arrived at the village and saved me, before we made a plan to head here."
"According to Willows, that bastard has a dungeon full of kids. He probably gets off on torturing them," Simmons responded.
"So, gentlemen, what will we do? Obviously we can't do much, since attacking a fellow lord will result in our death," Reichnott said.
"I believe I have an idea," Dempsey brought up. "I'm a member of a group of elite knights. We're called Primis, and there's four of us. We lost each other about a day or so before the Wave, so we're all scattered. If myself, or Captain Willows were to attempt on entering the estate, we'd get killed on sight. However, the other three shouldn't be considered dangerous, even though we walk with the same symbol on our chest. I had it removed, so he probably won't recognize it. If they were to make their way here, you can inform them of this situation. They should go and try to save them."
"Could I get a description?" The lord asked.
"After we're done eating. I guess we need to find out what comes next," Dempsey told him.
"Lord Reichnott! We have a situation!" A knight said, bursting into the room.
"What is it?" He asked, standing.
"A man is being followed by a horde of monsters. He's heading to the estate. He had a staff and armor just like him," the knight informed, pointing at Dempsey. His eyes widened.
"We need to go check it out. Come on!" Dempsey ordered, as Raphtalia shot up and they left. Willows went to follow, but was stopped by his fellow captain.
"You're still injured. I'll take care of it," Simmons ordered. Willows nodded, reluctantly. Simmons followed the two, drawing his blade.
As the two hunters ran out of the mansion, they noticed a man who was surrounded by giant frogs. The frogs were about the size of a human, and came in colors ranging from brown to green to blue. There were about fifteen of them.
The man had chainmail armor on, with a cloth tunic. The symbol matched the one on Dempsey's chest. He had a pair of goggles around his neck, alongside black hair. In his hands was a single edged sword. The blade had a slight glow to it. Dempsey couldn't explain it, but it just had an aura to it.
His staff was on its back. It had the same shaft as Dempsey's lightning staff, but the head of the staff was different. The staff had a blue crystal instead of a purple one, and instead of two prongs surrounding the crystal, there were four at equal distances from each other.
"Who is that?" Raphtalia asked, as she drew her bow.
"I'm not 100 percent sure. Can't see their face. But that's one of them. Let's help them out!" He responded, as he charged, staff ready for use.
"Eat my blade, beast!" The man said, as he sliced through a frog with his sword. He spoke in an accent unknown to the raccoon girl. One flanked him, but was sent flying due to a right hook from the American.
"Weren't expecting that one, were you?" Dempsey taunted, as he striked another one.
"Wait, is that you-" the man asked, before being cut off by a frog getting shot in the head by an arrow. Turning around, he saw Raphtalia, who placed another arrow between her fingers.
"I've got you covered!" She told him, as another arrow found it's new home in the stomach of another frog.
The man shrugged, before returning to the combat. Pulling out his staff, he fired out a burst of blue energy, which slowed down a group of frogs. He fired a second blast, which caused them to be solidified in ice. He swung his staff, which caused them to shatter like glass.
"Only 6 more!" Dempsey yelled. The frog let out a burp, causing a blast of green liquid, which burned the ground and whatever it touched. Dempsey managed to dodge it, before firing his lightning staff. After two blasts, the frog went down. "These things shoot acid!" He warned.
Raphtalia kept her distance, using her bow for protecting herself. When she was in the clear, she would protect one of the two men from flankers.
As the horde cleared out, the three approached each other. Luckily, all were unharmed. The mysterious man spoke first, looking to Dempsey.
"Thank you for the assistance. I didn't reali-"
"AH!"
A scream stopped the man, as they looked to the source. A frog managed to survive and was on top of Raphtalia. She couldn't move her arms, as they were pinned under the oversized amphibian. Her head was the only thing free. It opened its mouth, as acid began to drip out. It then moved it's head back, before lunging forward, ready to drown her in acid.
"Raphtalia, NO!" Dempsey yelled, rushing to try and intervene before it fired. He could use the lightning staff, but then he risked electrocuting her, or setting that thing off like a bomb. He only hoped he could run fast enough.
Raphtalia struggled to get out of the death grip the frog had her in. She couldn't reach her knife, and her bow was useless. She resorted to flailing, and maybe she could slip out of the grip.
"Kuso!" The man swore, before drawing his blade. He dashed forward, moving so fast the eye could barely track him. He stabbed the frog through the mouth, before lifting it up off the girl. He then freed his blade by carving an opening. Using the momentum, he quickly cleaved through the frog, ending its life.
Raphtalia looked at the man who just saved her life. She was completely stunned. She let out a sigh of relief, as the American ran over. She didn't expect to see him slide next to her.
"Raphtalia, are you alright?" He asked in a panic, checking her over. She placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm fine, Mr. Dempsey. Your friend made sure of that," she reassured him. They looked to the man, who was crouched over the frog's body.
"I do not require thanks. It was my honor to help those who risked their lives for mine," he told them, standing up. He swung his blade, causing the blood to fly off of it and onto the ground. He sheathed it, before turning around. Dempsey gave a small smile.
"Good to see you, Tak."
Thank you all for reading the chapter. I know it might've been unexpected, but the reason I'm uploading so much later is because I've been suffering from Writer's Block for Chapter 5. Since I couldn't write anything, I changed my focus to two side projects that has allowed me to clear my head on the next chapter, if that makes any sense.
Anyways, the two side projects are The Rise of the Time Controller (A Rising of the Shield Hero fanfic that should be out in the next few days) and The Rise of a Champion (A Shield Hero/Punch Out! crossover that will come out soon). Hopefully, I'll be able to chip away at Chapter 5, then we can get a move on.
Thank you all for reading, and have a good day.