Chapter 6
Summary: Our crew heads to a branched out town outside of the city, with Reynold heading in the same direction, fate will join these heroes at last...find out now
On the road, 15 miles from Luco village
The gang made their way northwest, to the village that they were charged with strong-arming... Traysek was holding the compass while Recorder walked with him, reading the map. The other three took care to watch their backs from any unexpected surprises... which often came in the form of stray wolves or small-time thieves.
Eventually, they come upon the crossroads, Recorder double-checking the map..."I think we're in the right direction, this looks like the crossroads Grave mentioned...what does it say on your compass?"
"It says we've been going north, so I think this is the right area..." Traysek said, walking up to the signs, "Yeah, Luco Village is one the left, we're in the right place,"
Inigo rose an eyebrow, "That's good to know, but where does the right path lead?"
Lucien walked up, frowning at the sign on the right, taking note of the scary-looking goblin face on it, "Well, from the scary goblin face on there, I'm going to assume that there's a goblin civilization nearby...not so sure if they're friendly to humans,"
"Most likely not, I know the ancient goblins back home weren't, I wouldn't expect the same out of these..." Traysek said, frowning at himself from the statement, "Then again... they could be, the holy army doesn't exactly feel all that "holy" either...it's possible..." he shrugged.
"Very true..." Record added in, "They might look all shiny and pristine, but they feel weird to be around too... and the way they were glaring at us back there..."
"Yeah, I read that loud and clear" Erik groaned, "What gives? we haven't even done anything to them...yet anyway,"
Traysek shook his head, "Not safe to do anything there...that paladin is just waiting to persecute us on ANYTHING... and if they search that ship, they'll know for sure we're pirates..."
"Yeah...dying from a noose is not how I plan on going out," Inigo shuddered, "If that's the case, why did we leave it behind? wouldn't they check it when we were gone?"
"No not really, the ship has a defense system in it, anyone with the audacity to break in will have to deal with the dwemer security spheres...and those are modified, tough luck getting in as well as out..." The captain chuckled, before starting on the left path, "Come on, we're burning daylight chatting like gossiping wenches..."
"Right...back to it...and my feet were just starting to feel better..." Record whined, following behind.
"Your feet are fine," Traysek rolled his eyes, "We haven't been walking that long...not if it's still daylight... maybe you should take it easy on the sweetrolls, yeah?"
She looked a bit miffed by that, "H-hey! I'll have you know that my lack of walking does NOT come from my eating habits, I happen to have a perfect feminine figure, thank you very much!" giving a pose in that process,
"My friend you ate like, Five or six of the sweetrolls that you took from the ship..." Inigo deadpanned, "Then all of the sweets you ate when we were walking around...I'm surprised you didn't vomit or something,"
Recorder snorted, "I has guts of steel, ok? I can eat a chocolate cake and walk in the desert just fine..."
"Uh..."Has"?" Lucien chuckled.
"I know what I said!" She snapped, "Don't grammar nazi me..."
Lucien nodded, slighty smirking "Just clarifying..."
"Please don't..."
Traysek sighed, "Recorder if you keep it up, you'll be fat or worse... you'll have tits just like Yuriana's..."
At that she froze, images of the buxom woman's breast filling her thoughts... she then put both of her hands to her chest with a horrified look..."Don't even joke about that! that woman and her poor back... how the hell is she able to fight with those?!" Recorder shrieked.
Erik chuckled, "to be honest with you, no one knows that answer...even the wenches themselves don't get it and it's their bodies..."
"No one huh?" She said, rubbing her chin, until a lightbulb dinged over her head, "Then It's decided...I'm going to dedicate my character arc to finding the answer! I'm going to explore the world of physics to understand how that's possible!"
Traysek blinked twice, "I don't think the fans would appreciate that,"
"I beg to differ!" before looking towards the readers, "If you all think I should have my own character arc in this physics-defying discovery, drop a 777 in the comments," giving a thumbs up...
*sounds of crickets*
"..."
Traysek blinked twice again, "Recorder...there's no one there..."
"Oh, they're there...and watching our every moment..." Widening her eyes at the readers.
Inigo widened his eyes now, "And they control our every movement...with buttons and a screen..." facing the readers with recorder...giving wide stares...which is starting to get creepy and uncomfortable...
"And demanding sex scenes..." Lucien added in as well, also staring at the readers...
Traysek stared at them all, looking at what seemed like nothing, "Right...You guys are being weird, I'm gonna keep walking now..." speed walking away from them.
"But sir! the prophecy!" Erik called after him.
Author: No, shut the hell up...this scene has gone on too long, you have all broken, beaten, and destroyed the 4th wall to the point that it's curled up in a ball in a corner, crying!
4th wall: *Sobs* the pain...! make it stop...!
Author: We are moving on now.
"But...!" Recorder tried to interject...
Author: MOVING ON!
Meanwhile...Celestine's church- Paladin's office...
Alicia glared daggers at a particular blond arrogant knight, who gave her an equal amount of disdain. Meanwhile, Claudia had a face of obvious disappointment etched on her.
"You were both tasked with watching them...so I ask you...why are YOU here...?" Claudia coldly asked, getting him to scoff.
"Oh please, those washouts?" Troy chuckled, " With all due respect my lady, A child could do the job watching them...why should I be worried about a bunch of rag tags when Rey's got it under control?"
The blond princess narrowed her eyes on him, "Because it was an order from your paladin, Mussel... you were meant to follow it to the letter, not drink with your dumbass friends!"
"Well, excuuuuuuse me..." He condescendingly remarked, "But I was under the impression that it was Claudia's order, not yours! you may be a shield princess now, but let's not forget that we are BOTH students of the same teacher, I don't have to take THAT from you!" standing up to glare her in the eye.
Claudia sighed, waving them both down, "That's enough..." before turning towards Troy, "Yes, while that is true that you both trained under me, her word is MY word and my word is LAW..." narrowing her eyes on him now, "Don't forget your place, Alicia is still a shield princess...and holy knights are to serve faithfully until they no longer able,"
"Of course my lady, forgive me, I did not mean to overstep," Troy apologized, bowing his head, "I just feel that I'm more fit for open conflict than tailing someone...I mean look at me, I'm a big guy...I'm not meant for stealth,"
Both princesses took a minute to stare him over, taking note of his size, with Alicia slowly nodding.
"Perhaps an error might've been made, so I'll give you that," Claudia concurred, "But, as true as that is, your brother is now out there alone, tailing five people...whose strength we have yet to measure... that's why I had you go with him,"
Alicia sighed, "But so much for that, we might find him in pieces the next time we see him,"
"And you need to have more faith in my brother, he's not someone who can go down so easily, I would know," Troy boasted, "I have a feeling he'll be fine, either way...maybe he'll use that big brain of his or maybe not...who can say?"
Both Alicia and Claudia said nothing, as the older shield princess went to ponder something. Alicia sighed, looking at Troy who looked sure that this would work.
"I hope you're right about this Troy, I want to have faith in this, but something tells me...it's not going to be that easy," The blonde princess said, "But if we find him dead out there...that's on your head and WE won't be the one's to take it..."
Troy nodded, "IF it comes to that, then I'll be the one to let father know, but until then...I wouldn't worry about it, again, that gang didn't seem all that tough,"
"And again, YOU'RE underestimating them..." Claudia cut-in with, "Just because most of those warriors aren't wearing armor, doesn't mean they aren't a threat...for all we know, they could be spies, assassins or pirates, just waiting to seize the city...we don't know them yet, but after this...we might," sighing after, "Alright Troy, I trust your plan, even though I think he still needs back-up, we'll go along with it..for now,"
The blonde knight gave a bow, "You will not be disappointed, Milady. I will take my leave now," turning and walking out of the door.
Once he was gone, Alicia shook her head, "By Celestine, I pray the idiot's not wrong..."
"As do I, for now though, it's the only plan we'll have to work with until we learn more," Claudia said, standing up, "Go check on our lady, she hasn't said much since she was left alone with that warrior,"
Alicia nodded, giving a bow, "Will do, I'll let you know if there's anything wrong," leaving the room as well.
"I'm sure you will," Claudia said, giving a wave at her departure. She then turned her attention to an old photo with two young boys, one with blonde hair and other with silver hair, standing with a younger Claudia, making her sigh...
'Reynold, if the situation gets too bad...please for the love of Celestine...come back alive...'
elsewhere, near Luco village...
On the back of a horse, Reynold rode with his hood up, hoping not to bump into those he was to trying to cut off. Eventually, he comes across a wrecked carriage and pulls the horse to a stop, "Oh no... what happened here?" dismounting the horse to investigate.
Once he got close to the wreckage, Rey could easily see the smoke still coming off of it... he found one of the bodies and check it, finding them to be other holy knights, body still very warm.
"This happened recently, the body's still too warm...whoever did this, isn't far...they're close..." Spotting horse tracks that surrounded it, "The attackers were horseback, these weren't demons that did this...These were bandits...damn..."
He looked around to see if anything was taken before he found one of the horses lying down, breathing heavily with arrows in it, walking up and kneeling down to it.
"You're still alive, shhhh...I know, you're in so much pain," comforting the horse, until it stopped breathing, closing his eyes, "Rest well, you've earned it," standing up, just see an approaching group in the distance, seeming to be the people he followed, "I think that's them coming now, didn't think they'd be here so soon," Takes a deep breath, "Here we go..."
...
"Boss, we've been walking for an hour now, you sure we're going the right way?" Recorder groaned, at the pain of her legs.
Traysek nodded, "We've been following the map correctly, it should be just down this-" spotting a wrecked carriage there, "Road...?"
"My god...What the hell happened here?" She said, completely shocked.
"Looks like they've been hit by bandits," Inigo said, hand on his sword, "
Lucien squinted his eyes, "Or worse, could've been those monsters we've been warned about, I say we proceed with caution"
"Here's to hoping they're ok," Erik nodded, putting away his canteen.
The crew reached the wreckage, the heavy smell of blood hitting them, getting a closer look at what happened, all of them happened to be soldiers transporting...something, The Redguard knelt down checking one of the bodies for a pulse, getting nothing.
"Damn, he's gone..." Traysek sighed, "See if they're any survivors, I want to know what happened here,"
"You won't find any here Captain, all these men are dead, including the horses," A voice said from behind it, putting everyone on guard.
Traysek placed a hand on his sword, "Who's there? show yourself!" he demanded, as a figure stepped out from behind it, with his hands up, "Did YOU do this?"
"I assure you, this was not me, I only arrived moments before, I found them like this," The hooded knight said, stopping a few feet away.
"Hard to believe that when you have your face hidden," Traysek said, narrowing his eyes, "Make me believe you, take off the hood,"
Rey stood there for a minute, thinking about it, 'I've gone this deep, might as well keep going...' He removed the hood, revealing his silver hair and face, "I assure you, I'm here in good faith,"
"You...!" Traysek's eyes widened, him having a flashback of seeing his face around the shields, with another knight, "I remember you, you're a part of Celestine's guard force," getting a nod in response, "Who are you? and what do you want?"
The young knight gave a greeting bow, "I am Reynold Von Musel, the disciple of Claudia Levantine and seasoned knight, I'm pleased to make your acquaintance"
"Likewise, I am Captain Traysek, nice meeting you too," The Redguard nodded, "And these are my mates, we were heading to a village before...we came upon this,"
Rey nodded, "Yeah, about that..." his expression turning serious, "I'm here to stop you in regards to that, I'm not letting you and your friends do any more harm to that village, those people live hard enough lives as is,"
Traysek rose an eyebrow, smirking as the rest of the crew put hands on their weapons, "You're here to stop us...? please do tell why,"
At this point, the holy knight felt a bit nervous and surrounded, hand on his own sword now taking note of some of their weapons, 'I've never seen swords that before, and I've been out here for a while, keep calm Reynold, they've got their hands trained but haven't drawn, yet,' taking a calming breath,"You were hired by Grave Levantine correct?"
The redguard frowned upon that, "Yes we were actually...For a collection run, not to seize the village,"
"There are things you do not know, for one, that village has nothing they can offer to you, they're...in a bad way," Rey explained, "The only you'll do is hurt them trying to take what they have left, I can't allow that,"
Lucien rose an eyebrow, taking his hand off his blade, stepping forward "Wait, wait! Hold on now, you seem to be going through all this trouble, perhaps we could learn more of this world and see what really goes on behind the glamour, maybe we could work something out,"
"The only thing we're going to work out is you all going home, last chance," Rey threatened, drawing his sword.
Traysek sighed and stepped in front of Lucien, "You tried Lucien, for all it's worth, it was a nice attempt, but I think our friend here has other ideas, so just hang back I've got him," resting his hand on the sword, "I understand you have your reasons, and most likely good ones, but I'm not one to walk away from a job, no matter how gritty it gets, so do what you must to stop me...stop us if you can..."
Rey hardened his stance, giving him an answer which made him sigh, "Fine...so be it, but do remember, I did NOT want this..."
The young knight lunged at him, missing when the Redguard stepped to the side, smirking. Rey continued his assault, the Redguard casually dodging the blows, angering him further, until he did a strong thrust, which also missed when his opponent, ended up behind him.
"Good technique, but you'll need to do better than that," Traysek said, giving him a kick that sent him forward stumbling.
The holy knight scrambled, turning around and getting back into stance, baring his teeth with a hard grip on his sword. 'Ok, wasn't expecting that, this might be difficult...'
Traysek grinned, drawing the sword faster than he could see, taking a relaxed stance, "Come on with it, kid..."
Battle song- Critical phase- SAO (Sword art online)
Both Knight and warrior clashed blades, the younger gritting his teeth as the older smirked, pushing him back easily before coming at him with hard blows, one of them hitting especially hard, breaking his guard. the holy knight growed and gave a wide swing, which was blocked and countered with a leg sweep.
"Shit!" Rey cursed hitting the ground, looking up in time to see the captain bring his sword down, forcing him to roll out the away before the blow connected, getting back into stance.
Traysek grinned, "Not bad, I should expect nothing less," building lighting to his sword, discharging it in the form of a slash.
"Woah!" The holy knight yelled, barely dodging the attack, which landed on a boulder with a loud...
"ka-thoom!"
Rey quickly turned to where the blast landed to find that a large boulder had been slashed through, lighting still arcing inside the slash hole, 'He also uses magic?! we were never told about this!' paling over the thought, coming out when he heard a loud laugh, quickly blocking the heavy blow, struggling.
"What's wrong? I'm going to guess you didn't expect the magic," Traysek smirked, putting his weight on him, causing the swords to spark, the energy of his sword enveloping his opponent.
Rey started to feel his legs buckle under him, gritting his teeth at the punishing effect, 'What the hell is this?! my body's in so much pain and he's not even striking me...wait a minute,' Glancing at the ebony scimitar, noticing the blue aura coming off of it, widening his eyes, 'his sword, of course...it's enchanted...!' Jumping back, barely missing the blow from the Redguard, armor taking a deep scratch, 'So that's how he did that attack from earlier, his sword has lighting and some weird power to it... getting back into stance, taking a calming breath, 'If I could get that weapon away from him, perhaps I could put an end to this,'
Traysek drew another lighting charge, before dashing towards him, slamming his sword into the other, causing it to spark again, with the lightning dancing around them.
Rey held on, gritting his teeth, 'Easier said than done...' pushing him back, before giving a wide swing, aiming at his sword hand, 'THERE!'
In the midst of that, Traysek slacked the grip on his sword, getting it knocked away...time seemed to slow down for everyone, as the crew all had shocked expressions at their boss being disarmed, watching the sword land a few feet away, stabbed into the ground.
Rey smirked, glancing at the sparking sword, "You had a good run, but this is over...!", going for a strong rush.
Recorder covered her eyes and looked away, "Oh god, I can't watch...!"
*Music cuts*
The Redguard smirked, whispering, Fiem Zii...!" turning ethereal as the knight went through him, his smirk widening.
When Rey passed completely through him, his eyes widened, his expression that of shock, "W-what?!" stumbling forward and regaining his balance, "How did he-?" Before he could process this, he took a punch to the face, before meeting a smirking Redguard.
"Nice attack, you need better aim though," Traysek taunted, beckoning him over his finger, "Come on, I'm disarmed and you still have your sword, this should be an easy win for you..."
Rey responded by charging at him with swings, which Traysek stepped out of the way, a bit causally...occasionally trapping and counting with punches and kicks to his unarmored areas, including his unhelmeted head. The Redguard locked his arm when he got a grip on it, putting pressure on the lock which caused pain.
"Ahhhh!" The knight yelled out, his arm twisted in a way it isn't supposed to be.
"Feel free to give up at any time bud, I won't fault ya for tapping out..." Traysek teased, retaining the lock on his arm.
The holy knight growled, kicking him away, attempting to run him through, "FEEL" THIS!" getting his arm trapped again, only this time, he was pushed forward, before the back of his armor was grabbed by the Redguard, who lifted him up and slammed him on his back, admitting a sickening crunch.
"Ugh...!" feeling his ribs crack from that slam, before standing up again, glaring his opponent down with his sword at the ready.
Traysek frowned at his heavy breathing, despite his attempt at a stance, "Um...you sure you can keep going? I'm pretty sure I heard ribs crack from that first slam,"
"Of course!" the young knight shouted, going for a thrust again this time...
However, instead of Traysek dodging or turning ethereal, he again moved his head, grabbing his sword arm, flipping him over his shoulder...
Rey slammed into the ground with a sickening crunch, dropping his weapon while he gasped from the impact... 'Arrgh! by Celestine that took the wind out of me! what the hell is this guy?!' Slowly standing back up, forgetting his weapon, 'Doesn't matter what he is or what he...did...I still need to take him down...!' getting into his fighting stance before charging at him with a battle cry, "Rrrraaaaggghhhh!" coming in with a punch, blood leaking from his lips.
Traysek remained neutral and waited until he closed the distance, once again, shoulder tossing him into the ground with ease.
"Not done yet!" Rey roared, again, quickly getting back to his feet.
*Slam!*
"I'M DONE WITH YOUR SHIT!" He shouted, throwing what looked like was going to be a hard punch.
*Slam!*
"Ok ok, I'll admit...That was quick..." Rey mumbled, stumbling to get to his feet, "But you won't see THIS coming!"
*Slam!*
Traysek at this point couldn't help but giggle at this, watching him stand back up again, "Gods kid...you're a glutton for punishment aren't ya?"
"Over there!" the glutton of a knight charged, only to AGAIN, (making this the fourth time) to end up on the ground from the same slam.
*Slam!*
"Oof!"
While this was going on, the rest of the crew watched as their boss tossed him around, sweat drops visible on the back of each head.
Lucien wincing from the sounds the slams made, cleared his throat, "Um guys...?"
"Yes, Lucien?" Inigo answered.
"Are we the good guys?"
"Of course, we're the good guys, we're always helping those who can't help themselves, I say we are," The khajiit grinned.
*Slam*
He nervously chuckled, "Even though...that's actually rather suggestive at the moment...given the uh...situation"
*Slam!*
"Ouch..." Recorder winced, "Thank god he's not doing that to me..." Shivering after, "Being slammed like that on repeat has GOT to be painful..."
Erik slowly nodded, closing his eyes "It does...it really hurts, however even with this, he's still toying with him...and because I doubt the other guy has the durability, I don't think this is gonna last too much longer..."
"I certainly hope not..." Lucien chuckling, "Because this is painful to watch...Funny, but painful to watch..."
...
At this point, The holy knight could barely stand on his two feet, making his way to him with a shaky fist, which finally landed...softly...
Huffing and out of breath, Rey weakly looked up, "Atlas...I...finally...struck you...!" before falling over, wheezing.
Traysek stood over him, blinking at the downed knight, "So...that was it? you're done? good, I was done too!" smiling after.
The holy knight used the last of his strength to flip him off, "F-fuck...y-you...!" passing out after.
The crew, who witnessed that entire fight, had mixed feelings about what just transpired...on one hand, they were happy that their boss won, but on another...
"Yaaay...we won?" Recorder cheered sarcastically, "I'm sorry, but can we REALLY call that a fight?"
Inigo sighed, "Well, it may not have been the best, but you can't deny that it was well...executed, get it?"
She stared at him for a few moments, "How long did it take for you to come up with that?"
"Shorter than the time it would take for you to find the answer for Yuriana's breasts," the Khajiit spat back.
Erik had a hand over his mouth, "Ooooof..."
"Yeah yeah, doesn't change the fact that he used the thu'um on this scrub," Recorder said, rolling her eyes.
Traysek's head snapped to that direction, "Record, Shut up...You know I don't play THAT fair, I may be Dragonborn, but I'm still a criminal through and through, anyway" before looking back down at an unconscious Rey, "First thing's first... what to do with our knight here, and I have a few ideas"
"Oh no... does this idea involve you tying him up and torturing him?" Lucien asked, already not liking where this was going.
The Redguard gave him a hard frown, "Why are you so quick to assume I'm going to do something awful to him? just get the ropes, I'll do the rest..."
spongebob narrartor: Moments later...
Reynald opened his eyes, finding himself to be alive, however, due to him being tied to a tree, he couldn't get to his own feet, and began to struggle.
"Ah, You're awake, good to see you back up," he heard a voice coo, turning to find the Redguard and his crew surrounding him, "How was your nap? you slept pretty well my friend, first time you've been to sleep in weeks?"
Reynold narrowed his eyes at them, "What is the meaning of this? untie me now!"
"Not until you calm down and listen to what we have to say..." Traysek shot back with, "I think we can still have a conversation, despite our earlier hostilities...all we ask is a minute of your time,"
Rey glared at him, stopping his struggling with the ropes, "Why the hell should I listen to anything you have to say? you've proved your point! so just kill me and be done with it!"
Traysek blinked at that, before chuckling, "Trust me, if KILLING you was the goal, you wouldn't be alive NOW, I swear it's like people assume I'm going to explode on them or do something mad thuggish...that's not how professionals like us do business Rey, If we just strongarmed and robbed every entity that came our way, we'd never get any clientele, hell, we'd be better off as bandits if we're going to go that route," waving it off.
"But you said-" Rey started with.
"I know what I said! I said that I DON'T walk away from jobs, but we're not moral-less! we do not tend to pick on those weaker and/or less fortunate than us! by the gods man... we're not bullies, we BREAK bullies!" "He snapped, cutting him off, taking a calming breath, softening his glare, "the only reason we even accepted this job was that we were going there with an open mind, and with what you told us earlier, I'm even more curious about this village, which brings me to proposition..."
At that, Reynold rose an eyebrow, "And what do you propose...?"
"Simple. you don't trust us, and it's not like we've done anything to help turn that around, I'm willing to bet that it's been even raised higher when we were seen earlier around town with Volt, starting to wonder there...anyway, since you don't trust us why don't you come with us? or at the very least, lead us there, so you can see for yourself what kind of people we really are..." staring into his eyes.
Rey actually was left in a daze, this stranger, no...this warrior, was willing to take him with them to the very village he was protecting...he had to wonder if the Redguard was plotting something or if he truly was genuine... one thing for sure, he knew he couldn't turn back...after all he had already failed his initial mission of staying discreet...only one thing left to do...
"Alright, say I believe you, how do I know for sure that you will keep your word once we get there, how do I know this isn't a trick?" he pressed, gauging for a reaction.
Traysek said nothing, until a lightbulb went off, "Alright, how about a fair exchange...if I break my promise...I offer something of value...my life..."
Rey as well as the rest of the party had shocked expressions, each having a mix of their own, however...
"I'm sorry...what?!" Lucien yelled, not believing what he just heard.
"Yeah...I heard that too, what the hell boss?" Recorder asked, equally shocked.
Inigo's ears went back, glancing at Traysek, "Hey my friend, are you sure that's a good idea?"
"Guys, wait a minute, I think he's on to something, let him play this out...I'm kinda wanting to see where it goes," Erik cut in, getting a nod from the captain.
"Thank you, Erik, at least you get what I'm doing," Traysek said, going back to Rey who still had the look of shock, "So what say you? a little blood for blood, eh?"
"Your- your life...? you can't be serious right now... you have to be mad to offer that KIND of value," Rey said, in disbelief.
Traysek shot him a hardened look, "Do you doubt my conviction, holy knight? and here I thought honor and duty are what your types strive for...or was wrong on all accounts?"
Rey actually bit his tongue on that, he didn't know what to say, no one's ever offered their life so...easily like that to him before...it wasn't something he was used to, maybe Alicia or Claudia is, but him? not at all... this rendered him silent for a minute, forcing him into his thoughts.
'He offered his life...? No one has ever done that here, even the most desperate would consider their options...This can't be desperation because he defeated me... So what is it then?' Looking at Traysek's stony, unmoving expression...from what it told it, he had his answer, this was no denying his conviction, and so out of defeat he sighed..."That face, tells me everything I need to know about how serious you are...I gotta say, no one's ever thrown their life in the mix before in these situations...it's usually gold or trinkets that are offered...not a life...That... actually blindsided me, captain, well done, I'd clap if I could but you know..." motioning to the ropes.
Traysek chuckled, "Right, let me get those for you," pulling a knife from his boot, cutting him loose.
"Thank you," Rey sighed, feeling the ropes snap and loosen, allowing him to stand, "I know YOU just offered that up, but about your men? they didn't seem happy about this,"
The Redguard shot a narrowed stare, "I offered MY life, not theirs...should anything like that happen to me, they are to go free, understand...? ALL of them...!" pupils now slit, glaring at him.
"I-I got it...! I won't hurt your friends, as long we're in agreement..." Rey said, learning how to re-breathe, after watching the other man's pupils slit like that.
Traysek's pleasant grin instantly came back, "Great, then we're done with that," twirling and putting his dagger away.
"Really? just like that?" The holy knight asked, confused about the sudden shift.
"Just like that, you want to protect that village, and I want to make sure my buddies don't end up with a noose around their necks, so like I said before, blood for blood... how about it, are you in?" extending a hand.
Rey stared at it for a moment, until he nodded, completing the handshake, "Yeah, I'm in...just don't make me regret this..." breaking the handshake, taking his sword back from the Redguard sheathing it, "As agreed, I'll get you and your friends there, I happen to know a shorter way...that map, takes you on the long way there, you would've been there by tonight if you kept going,"
"Of course, we would've...sly old fox..." Traysek grumbled, gritting his teeth, "Well, luckily for us, our little tussle didn't cost us a lot of time...how much farther do we have to go?"
Rey looked around, taking in his surroundings, "From here? not much further if we take the short way now..."
"Sounds like a plan to me, let's go," Traysek said, motioning the rest of the party to follow.
"Finally!" Recorder exclaimed, stretching her legs, "Not that I didn't enjoy the break, but something tells me I don't want to be out here at night,"
Rey chuckled, "No you really don't...right this way," leading them to where they had to go...
Meanwhile... at the black fortress
In the throne room, The dark elf queen had a book she was studying over...As she continued to scan over the pages, the doors to the throne room burst open, interrupting her from her study, which cloe took an exception to.
"What is the meaning of this?" She asked, glaring at him.
The dark elf soldier was out of breath, "*huff* *huff* lady Olga! we have trouble! some madman broke in and we can't make him leave!"
"Are you serious? just kill him and be done with, one intruder cannot be that difficult," Cloe snapped back, ready to gut him.
The soldier stood up, "If it was that easy, we've tried lady cloe! this man...no, monster I would call him, he can't. die..."
Olga's blood froze cold upon hearing that, 'could those pirates have gotten here already? no...surely not possible, otherwise there would be more noise than that...but then...what's this presence I feel...? it's familiar and yet...it's foreign...I have to get to bottom of this...' She sighed and nodded at her guard, "Thank you for telling this, where is...this intruder?"
"riiiiiiight here!" She heard a mad voice yell out from above, following the cheese wedges that began...to rain down on them.
The assassin frowned at the cheese raining down, "Is this...cheese? what the hell is this?" one of them bonking her on the head.
Olga narrowed her eyes in annoyance as she watched her throne room littered with cheese, "How strange...
A purple summoning orb appears in front of her, leaving behind what she assumes to be a human in the strangest attire she has ever seen...however, the presence she was feeling now was very clear that this was no human being in front of her.
Cloe could also feel the danger coming off of him and it was coming in waves, however, she wasn't quite convinced...at least not yet...
"Who are you human?! and what are you doing in our lady's throne room?!" drawing her daggers.
The mad prince looked down at her and grinned, "Aww~ now aren't you as cute as a poodle! of course, the last poodle I had ended up split in half with one half here and the other half there! quite messy I tell you, was still cleaning him off my dining table!"
The half-elf gritted her teeth, "That's it! I've had enough!" charging at him.
"Wait cloe! stop! that's not a human!" Olga yelled out in warning, however, her underling was too enraged to hear her.
Cloe slashed his throat, decapitating the mad prince; his face remaining in a twisted grin as his head rolled on the throne floor, his headless body, moving around for a bit until it collapsed.
"Heh...for all his big talk, he sure died like a-" Cloe went on to say, turning around to not only see that the body was no longer there, but even the head was nowhere to be found, "-Human...?" looking around frantically after.
There was a tap on her shoulder, turning her around to meet face to face with a very familiar bloody head, giving her a wide grin.
"Boo!"
Cloe shrieked, dropping her daggers and skittering across the throne floor, shaking, "Y-you! heads don't talk, heads don't talk! how are you still alive?!" pointing her shaking finger at him.
Olga was also shaken by this, even more, so that the headless body was dancing...with said head in his arms, 'So he's immortal...even to the extent of losing his own head...what exactly is he?'
"We told you he couldn't die!" the dark elf grunt shouted, "Our ogre tried cutting him in half and all he did was do this weird dance with his entrails as he laughed..."
Sheogorath stopped dancing with his head and turned his body to the elven soldier, "Oh! Do you mean my famous entrail shuffle...? it's my favorite dance! would anyone here like to see? or better yet?! would anyone like to be my dance partner?! HAHAH! I promise to be gentle..."
Olga gagged at the thought, shaking her head, "No no! that won't be necessary, you've proven yourself already, I apologize for my confidant's brashness, she's only doing her duty,"
Cloe hurriedly nodded her head, still reeling in shock, "I-I apologize...M-my lord, I was convinced you were a...well..."
"A little, tiny...puny mortal...?" he answered for her, in a dangerously low tone, getting a nod in response, "Well, that's just...the funniest thing I've heard all day! I mean I have my true form, but NO ONE wants to see that, it would drive you mad!"
The dark elf queen regained her composure, "Ok, aside from your recent...performance, who are you?"
"Reeeallly? you don't know me? Then again it is your first time after all...Very well! I am Sheogorath, Daedric Prince of Madness, Charmed~" Sheogorath greeted, giving a faux bow, "Now as for what I'm doing here...When you have nothing but well... an eternity, you tend to get bored of the same places, so good ol' Sheo decided to check out this world and maybe...just maybe...get an altar of cheese made!"
The dark elf queen blinked at that, not believing what she was hearing, "I'm sorry...? you mean to tell me...you came all the way HERE, for a cheese altar?"
"Not just any cheese Madam! but the cheese...! to die for," Sheogorath pointed out, "I tried everywhere else, but none of them had the right...what's the word...? Pizazz! the right stuff! do you know what it's like to come to a new place only to find out they're lacking where it matters?! by the audacity! So then I came here! figured this is the last place to seek out, given the dark foreboding clouds you have over it!"
Olga sighed, trying to retain her sanity, "OK, so you were drawn here...due to the negative energy, at least this is STARTING to make sense... clapping her hands together, "Well, Lord Sheogorath, we could work an agreement out then...I'll have a couple of workers get started on that, as a way of thanking you for not killing my underling for her rudeness earlier,"
"Again I apologize for that..." Cloe murmured, still bowing her head.
The daedric prince thought on that for a moment, until he nodded, "That's good enough, besides the lass didn't hurt me! takes a lot more than that to hurt us, HAHA! but I accept the apology."
Olga, Cloe, and a few soldiers let out sighs of relief, as the queen cleared her throat, "I'm glad to hear that, you have no idea..."
"HOWEVER!" he yelled out of nowhere, once again raising heartbeats, "It can't just be made out of ANY cheese...and I'll be able to tell! so no tricks or fakes!"
Olga chuckled, "I'm sure we've got everything we need, just...list down what you want to be used for it."
"It's a good thing I've brought my shopping list! do mind your footing..." Sheo said, pulling out what looked like a normal roll of paper...until he opened it, which trailed all the way to Olga, "As you see, it is Quite...extensive," chuckling as she knelt to pick up a part of it.
Olga read over the list, eyes widened until she cleared her throat, "All of this seems...rather out there, some of these recipes are exotic even..."
"Oh? so you're saying you don't have what all I need...?" his voice going low, chilling even, "Because that would be a shame...for you...for me? well, I'd get that new dance partner!"
Olga waved him down, "Now now now...I didn't say I never had it, just that it was expensive..." rolling up the rest of the list, "It should take a couple of days to complete, especially if we start now,"
"Wonderful! and no need to worry about specifics, or creative limits, feel free to go crazy!" Sheo laughed, and with that, he disappeared back into the same portal he came from.
The dark queen, now left with a large list as well as that many questions, turned to a couple of her guards, "Give this to the cooks and tell them the deadline,"
The guards saluted and took the list with them when they left, leaving Cloe and Olga alone in the throne chamber. The assassin sighed, making her way over to her queen.
"Lady Olga, from that list alone...do you think we have enough?"
"I'm sure we do, or I hope anyway...you never know with gods..." Olga sighed, "What's Greil doing? I'm surprised he didn't come running in from all this commotion,"
"He went somewhere...said he had few errands to run for you, even took a few soldiers and scouts with him," Cloe answered.
Olga frowned upon hearing that, "I sent him on no such errand...where in the world did he-? it doesn't matter, I suspect he'll be back soon,"
"You're not worried about this?"
"No...No I can trust Greil, he's always been like this, but loyal, honestly that's why we've had a winning streak against the humans so far..." The dark queen said, getting a nod from her assassin.
"If you say so, Lady Olga," Cloe concurred, standing up from where she knelt, "I'll be training if you need me, don't hesitate to call," leaving the throne room after.
Olga sat there for a minute, pondering where he could've gone...it was then she remember the conversation from yesterday, from what the harpies reported to them...she bit her lip, her doubt now turning to worry, hoping that he hasn't gone off to do what she was thinking, he was about to do...
Luco village...
The sun had started to set, as the crew along with Reynold finally arrived... from the crew perspective, the village looked run down, the buildings were old and weary, but simple, the crops look like they'd all dried up if there were any. it had people walking around in cloaks, as well as a few children running around. Rey on the other hand took a deep relaxing sigh and grinned.
"This is guys, welcome to Luco village, doesn't seem like much, but the people here make up for that," The young knight announced, as the Red Dragons took in everything.
Traysek looked around, noticing the lack of crops, the dried-up well, to the run-down buildings...all except one, the biggest building further away with a large cross in front of it.
"Hey...why's THAT building different than the others here? everything else looks like it could crumble from the next storm," He asked, staring at the far building.
Rey glanced up at it and nodded, "That's the orphanage...and that happens to be where we're going," taking the lead.
"Great...another orphanage...why there?" Recorder asked, frowning.
Rey rose an eyebrow at that, but shook it off, "We're going there because there's something you all need to see."
"Like how poor this village is...? I'm getting Riften vibes here," Inigo added in, looking around.
Erik nodded, "Agreed, although it's missing the rainy look to it,"
"That's not all that's missing," Lucien frowned looking around, "What...happened here?"
"That's what you're about to find out," Rey answered, "This way, I've got a friend there that'll welcome us in,"
Traysek sighed, nodding, "That sounds like a good place to start, at least we'll get somewhat of a red-carpet welcome," bitterly chuckling, following Rey 'You've gotta be shitting me...Grave is this your idea of a joke?! there is literally no money here to gain! hell, even steal and we can turn anything into turn a profit, here? they don't even have boots to steal!' Glaring down at someone's feet with gritted teeth, when they passed him, spotting a crying baby held by what looked like a sickly woman.
Upon seeing this, the crew felt pings in their hearts...this had confirmed how bad things were here, it was made even worse with Recorder's realization.
"Dear God, she can't feed him..." she whispered.
Rey slightly turned his head back, "Try not to stare...it's hard to look at, I know," in a low tone, pressing on after.
Erik walked up and patted her on the shoulder, "Come on, we need to keep moving," ushering her ahead, with Inigo and Lucien following behind, trying not to stare too hard at the locals.
The rest of the way there was quiet, but they had finally arrived, standing in front of a medium-sized building with a large cross landmarking the field from it. Upon closer inspection, this building too was to wear but not in the same state as the other ones they've seen before then.
Reynold turned to the group, "Wait here, I'll see if anyone's there, sometimes they leave out,"
"Take your time," Traysek waved off, as made his way towards the doors.
Unlike the others, Recorder had begun to pale the longer she stood there. finally breaking into a cold sweat, she cleared her throat. "So uh...how long are we going to be here, exactly...?" She asked, getting frowns and confused stares from the rest of the crew.
"Huh? as long as we need to be," Traysek said, frowning, "why would you ask-?" until he thought about it, eyes going wide at the realization, "Oooooh...right..."
"What? what's wrong?" Inigo asked, now equally curious.
"She told me about her past with orphanages during our time in Riften, I remember now..." Traysek said, sighing, "I'm sorry Record, I almost forgot about that...if you want, you can wait out here if it'll be too much,"
Recorder thought about that for a moment, until she glanced around, feeling a sense of dread, "Actually, I can try to stomach it...it can't be any worse in there than it is out here, right?"
The guys chuckled at that, which made her face gradually beet red.
"SHADD-UP!" She yelled, no longer able to contain her embarrassment, adding to their laughter. She gritted her teeth, "You guys are pricks...! you're supposed to be more supportive than this, this is serious for me!"
Traysek waved her down, "Alright, Alright, It's not that we AREN'T supportive in this, it's just funny how it changed the narrative when you were going to be the ONLY one out here," putting a hand on her shoulder, getting her attention, "And if it sucks like THAT, we can always burn it down, with mostly everyone out...sound good?"
She looked up, with an innocent expression, "Okay..."
"I'm sorry what?!" Lucien yelled from the background.
"Shhhh shhh! it's working...!" Inigo harshly whispered, shushing him.
Recorder blinked at him again with the same innocent eyes, "Do I get to watch it burn?"
At this point, the Redguard rolled his eyes, "Yes Recorder, we get to watch it burn,"
"Alright cool, let's go!" She said, now instantly back to herself, leaving Traysek in a daze.
Erik blinked at that, "That's all it took...? wow..."
Traysek let out a frustrated sigh, shaking it off, "It's fine, as long as she agreed to come in, I don't care,"
Meanwhile, at the door of the orphanage, Reynold was about to knock, until laughter was heard coming from around the back, 'Seems like they're already out and about, perfect, we won't have to go in so soon,' Motioning the party over.
...
Once they caught up, they were treated to a field of children running around, playing, laughing...a completely 180 from what they saw coming here. Despite the rags they wore, they looked happy.
Traysek caught up with Rey, looking around, "Lots of kids here...I'm assuming from their from the war, seeing this many,"
'Or they were dumped off...then again with this war happening, the former is possible...' Recorder mused, smiling at one of the passing kids.
Rey smiled, nodding, "Yeah, mainly orphans of war...this is where they go, be it from our side or..." glancing at a dark elven child playing amongst them, "Or theirs...This war...it eats everything and everyone...and these kids are the ones who really pay for it..." turning to Traysek, "You wondered what my reasons were back there, and you were right...they were good ones, so with that said, I see that you've kept your word on not shaking anyone down...tell me, captain, from what you saw of the village...see anything worth of value...?"
The Redguard bit his tongue for a minute, sighing, "No. there's nothing here at all...and if even if there was, I don't want it...wouldn't take it if they offered it either... and that's saying something...Gods, this is bad...I thought honorhall was horrible, I take it back, THIS is worse...what in oblivion happened here exactly? now I really want to know" his tone now serious.
"The corrupt officials in our order is what happened here, captain..." Rey answered, clenching his fist, "I would do anything to put those responsible to justice...for what they've done here...lying to our military telling them that we needed as much food and resources as possible. The problem is, we're already stocked in food and resources...in reality, they're just lining up their pockets..."
"And that's where the taxing comes from..." Lucien put together, "Damn...so that money that Luco has been sending..."
"Straight into Grave's pocket...you and your friends were completely sent off, that happens here, a lot and I wish I could do something about it," The holy knight lamented.
Erik rose an eyebrow, "So why haven't you?"
"Are you kidding? my rank alone is what makes this an impossibility...if I was captain or even lieutenant, I could make some changes from within...but I don't see that happen, at least too soon..." Rey sighed.
Traysek let out a slight chuckle, "You let rank determine what's right and what's wrong...? couldn't be me...I've served in the line of duty once, but that was a long time ago..." his expression solemn for a moment, until he shook it off, "putting duty above the desire to do what's right will always make you the loser at the end of it...if you truly desire to do the right thing, you should just do it, and if you fail, try it again. It should NOT be a "duty" to be a good person or to do the right thing, it should come naturally. Gods or no gods...I do what's right, because I CAN, not because I have an obligation or a duty to, but because I have the POWER to...perhaps it's an old Dragonborn habit...but I never once felt bad about it, even at the expense of gaining riches or power," putting a hand on Rey's pauldron, "Maybe, someday, you'll tire of being their armored punching bag...until then, I'm glad we're on the same side..." with a tooth goofy grin.
This left the holy knight at a daze, he couldn't even find the right words, thus tripping over a couple of them, until he cleared his throat, "I...never thought about it like that before...just do it huh? I would love to...but if I dishonor them in any way, I will also shame my family...we've been in this war for too long...my father is a politician in it, but before that, he served as I do...but, I will admit there is a lot of truth in your statement...perhaps I'll think on that..." spotting the back of a priest, "And there's the priest who runs the entire orphanage...he's a friend, you'll like him," leading them towards the man with his back turned.
As they got closer, Recorder frowned at the matted spiked blonde hair, going into thought, 'That spiky hair...No...it couldn't be...but he's a shinobi...no, it's probably not him! but if not him...then that leaves...' eyes going wide. "Oh my god, I think I know this guy..." accidentally out loud.
"Y-you do?" Lucien asked, obviously confused as she slowly nodded.
Rey walked up to the man with his back turned, and cleared his throat, "Father? it's Reynold,"
The man turned around to look him dead in the eyes, Recorder's jaw-dropping to the floor...
"Ah, Seems we have visitors, welcome back Reynold," In a familiar deep Italian tone.
The party got a good look at the man in front of them, he was tall with spiky blonde hair, wore circled glasses that gleamed brightly in the sunlight, as well as a trench coat with a large golden Rosario in front of him, on his gloved hands were some strange runes that Traysek himself couldn't make out well.
Recorder was too busy on the other hand, trying not to pass out, as the tall priest gave them all a friendly smile.
"I-it's you...! you're father Anderson! I know you, from what my records say, you're supposed to be dead!" Recorder proclaimed, pointing a shaky finger at him.
"Dead, and where did you hear that?" Anderson asked, leaning a bit closer to her.
"I-uh...it's classified...but just know that I know who killed you and I'm grateful, I haven't run into him yet," She said, nervously laughing it off, 'Stupid...! that was close...!'
Father Anderson stared at her for a moment, until he shrugged it off, "I do have...SLIGHT memory on how I ended up here...the rest is a blur, but," glancing at Traysek, staring into his red eyes, "YOUR eyes remind me of...HIS, that I remember...so tell me," glaring at the Redguard, "Are you one of those vampires too...?"
"No, I'm not Vampire...wouldn't exactly be out in daylight if that was the case there, friend," Traysek chuckled but kept his guard up.
Anderson kept his glare trained on him for a second, until his smile came back, "Of course you are, if you WERE a vampire, you would've burnt to a crisp before makin' it here, so with that out of the way...I bid you and your friends all welcome, to the house of God" offering a handshake, "I never got your name..."
"It's Traysek and it's a pleasure," The Redguard introduced, completing the handshake, "We're actually looking for the mayor, our friend Rey here, brought us here to meet him,"
"Ah, that old man...he's in the mess hall, I'll take you all to him, shouldn't be that busy," Anderson nodded.
Rey grinned, "That would be helpful, but first, I'm gonna say hi to a few of the kids, I brought a couple of things for them if you don't mind,"
"Not at all..." Anderson said, turning to Traysek, "While he's doing that, I'll take ya to the mayor,"
"Great, the sooner the better," The captain said, following Anderson with the others behind him, while the holy knight reached into the backpack he took off.
Meanwhile...nearby...
In a bush, a dark elf in scouting armor was watching them through his binoculars, his buddy along with him.
"What should we do? I didn't expect it to be this many people...!" The first elven soldier said.
The second elf put his binocular down, "We were ordered not to engage until ordered to do so... we are to remain at our posts,"
A call came through the first soldier's magic mirror, finding it to be Griel on the other line.
"What's the situation looking like now?"
"Looks like they made it to some orphanage in the village, but I haven't seen them since they went behind it," The first elven scout, reported.
"What should we do General? do we remain in position or fall back?" The second scout asked.
"Remain as you are and keep watch...When I'm ready, move from your position..."
"As you command General, we shall remain here, but if I may ask, what will you be doing sir?" The first scout asked.
Nearby the playing field, a large set of antlers stuck out of the bushes, blending in with the branches...Those antlers, however, belonged to a war mountain taurine, who was well hidden, even at his size..."Don't worry about it, I'll handle that part..." smirking, as he disconnected the mirror. His attention was now on the church, "Now we play the waiting game..." Greil said, remaining in his hiding place, watching the holy knight and children gathered up, ignorant of his presence. He knew he would have to wait, though he didn't know how long. whenever they left this orphanage...he would be waiting and ready and in his hopes, his opponent would be ready too...
He pulled out his magic mirror and touched a button, "As for the rest of you...be ready on my signal..."
...
To be continued...
Hello Everyone, I apologize that this took yet another year...to finally finish...lots of insanity happened getting to this point, including a great loss from a couple of Months back, My Grandmother...may she rest in peace :( anyway...I've also come to the realization that I need to start making these chapters shorter now, (Since I've gotten past the initial five chapters now...) So maybe it WON'T take me a yearly job to finish up with...for those who wanted sex scenes in this, I apologize for not being able to do it this time...However there is a saying about all good things...and you're all lucky, because next chapter...gets a little spicy ;) Stay tuned and may the gods watch over your mods friends... :)