Mad King's War: Deliverer
Written by: ExposedWiresExposedVeins
Beta'd by: DarkEclipse45
Chapter Two: "Between the Trees"
The day after Commander Greil's death, Ike and his sister Mist stood in the middle of Gallia's grassy plains that were lightly touched by the setting sun's evening light. It was a bittersweet feeling for the new commander, seeing bountiful land that was untouched by beorc and the work of their hands, and yet standing at the site of his father. Commander Greil's axe, Urvan, marked the grave, its blade dully shining under the sun's rays. Mist laid a bouquet of flowers where the handle met the axe's blade. A beautiful item placed upon a tool used only to bring death and destruction. Beauty and the beast finally became one once again.
"Father…" started Ike, his voice ringing with despair. "This isn't a dream, is it?" He looked around and took a deep breath, knowing he can't deny what became of his beloved father and commander. "This… this is all real."
Mist replied with a sniff, wiping her face of shed tears with her delicate hand. "Dad..." Both siblings' eyes couldn't leave the sight of their father's final resting place.
The evening was inevitably going to turn to night, and the two already felt a chill. "The sun's going down and it's getting cold, Mist," her brother said. "We better go."
A moment passed, and Mist didn't say a thing. She continued to stare at her father's grave, her baby blue eyes forming more tears. "…W-why… Why?"
Not only feeling the pain of loss but also the sense of hopeless guilt, Ike hesitated before answering his sister. "I was at his side… but I couldn't save him. I'm sorry." He was tempted to explain what killed Commander Greil the night before. The final clash between their father and that knight in ebony armor, the master versus the pupil. Just the thought of that knight made Ike's blood boil with rage. In that moment, though, it was not time to let goals of revenge get the best of him; it was time to mourn for their loss.
After a moment of silence, Mist could only sniff some more. Her brother spoke up yet again. "It's… just so unreal."
"Dad's gone, Ike," Mist replied, "and I… I don't know what to do."
In response, Ike wrapped an arm around his dear sister in an attempt to comfort her. "Don't worry. I'm here." He took a deep breath; the fate of the Greil Mercenaries rested on his shoulders, but he wasn't going to let this be the end.
He continued. "I'll lead the company in Father's stead." Before Mist could respond, he went on. "Just as he did, I'll protect you all. You, the princess, everyone. Though I'm far from being the leader he was, I promise that I'll learn. No matter what, Mist, we're all family. As a family we'll continue to stick together, stand for each other..."
"I won't allow it, Ike," Mist countered in a desperate tone, now lightly pounding on her brother's chest in an attempt to convince him otherwise. "Now that Dad's gone, you're all I have left…if you go…if I lose you, I'll be left all by myself. I won't allow it…"
"I'm not going anywhere. I promise you, Mist…" Ike wrapped his arms around his sister. "No one's going."
xxxx
"Pathetic, you all might as well mark yourselves for death if you're seriously going to allow that inexperienced whelp to command! I'm out of here!" Shinon yelled as he marched out of the castle.
Needless to say, there were mixed reactions from the Greil Mercenaries that fateful night of the commander's death. All of the mercenaries, save for a disgruntled Shinon and an unsure Gatrie, would remain ever faithful to Ike, who had now taken over.
"Please reconsider!" Oscar begged as he and his brother Boyd followed the two out. "Is Ike inexperienced? I don't think any of us can deny it. But he's bound to lead like Commander Greil; I have faith in him. Just give him some time!"
Shinon wordlessly made a choking sound as he drew his thumb across his neck and departed. Gatrie remained, still not knowing what to do. A moment later, the sniper yelled out to his companion, "You're not seriously going to stay with these fools, are you, Gatrie?" He walked back in sight of the three with a rather impatient look on his face.
"I… I…" the knight stammered out. He finally spoke out after some hesitation. "We've been with the commander since the beginning, Shinon. Wouldn't it be betrayal if we left even though he's gone now? Titania is staying…"
"It doesn't matter anymore, Gatrie! The commander is dead, and the Greil Mercenaries will follow at this rate! You can do what you want, but I'm not wasting any more time with them. Besides, I can't stand staying here another minute, knowing I'm in the same borders as filthy sub-humans…" Shinon spat and left without a second look.
"You don't need to go with Shinon, Gatrie!" Boyd tried his hand at reasoning. "You've always been a great help to our group, and we'll make it worth your while if you stay! Come on! You can even keep Shinon's share of the gold if you want!"
"I… I'm sorry about this, but I'm leaving as well." Gatrie lowered his head and made a turn to go. "Shinon's been my friend longer than we've been a part of the Greil Mercenaries, and I can't abandon him just like that." With that, the armored knight turned his back on the brothers and followed his friend.
"You'll abandon us, though?" Boyd retorted in anger. "Fine, we don't need you guys! Get the hell out of here!" After a few moments, he calmed down. "Dammit…"
Oscar laid a comforting hand on his brother's shoulder. "We'll need to keep our heads up no matter how bleak the situation is, Boyd. We may have lost two members, but I'm willing to bet that we'll manage without them. We'll need to stay positive for Ike's sake and everyone else's."
"I just hope you're right…" Boyd said with a sigh as the two went back indoors.
xxxx
Malin couldn't sleep after seeing Commander Greil die in the arms of his son the previous night. As such, he volunteered to keep watch the night after until someone else would take over for the archer. He watched the front entrance as doubts ran through his mind.
Didn't even know the commander for a day, and he gets killed? And now his son replaces him? Malin wondered to himself. I've no right to question the end result, but it's concerning. I heard two of the mercenaries just up and left not that long ago… is it truly worth it if I stay? What if I leave? Crimea's numbers are dwindling. Daein won this the moment they invaded us. The Greil Mercenaries are shrinking in numbers and morale. Would I be safe to seek refuge in Begnion, perhaps?
Because of these doubts, Malin immediately felt the sensation of guilt pulling at the pit of his stomach. Then again, Crimea's my home. The Daeins have brought ruin, pain and suffering; we can't just let these bastards do as they please. I won't take this sitting down.
Malin then felt a tap on his shoulder from behind. He shook lightly at the touch and turned around to see Ike, the new commander, the very person he was questioning in his mind just a minute ago. "Scared me there a little, Ike… err, Commander Ike. My apologies."
"Don't worry about it, Malin," the swordsman replied with a raised hand. "I don't mind being referred to just by my name. I don't deserve the title of commander, but that doesn't mean I'll give up that easily. We…no, I, still have a job to do."
"Some foolhardy determination you've got there."
"I want to thank you for joining, Malin, but given the circumstances… no one has to stay. If you have any concern, even a little bit, I wouldn't hold it against you if you left."
Malin replied with some false snark, "You sound unsure of yourself. Some commander you are." He let out a soft chuckle, but then formed yet another serious expression on his face. "Joking there. Anyway, Crimea's my home, Ike. And while I'm not much of a fighter, I'll be damned if we let the Daein army do whatever the hell they want. There is no way I'm doing it alone, though. I'm in as long as we bring the fight back to them."
"I doubt it's a question as to whether we'll continue fighting them, Malin. That started as soon as we decided to take the princess to Gallia and under the king's protection. They'll hunt us and Princess Elincia until the king of Daein reaches his goal."
"You're stuck with me, then," Malin reached his hand out for a shake with Ike, which the latter accepted with no hesitation and shook firmly, "Commander."
xxxx
Later that night, Oscar took over for Malin in keeping watch. Before Malin would go back inside, though, Oscar decided it best to at least get to know each other.
As he walked outside and approached Malin from behind, Oscar simply announced his presence to the new mercenary, "I'm sorry if the past few days have been… well, awkward for you. Most of us have been keeping to ourselves since the commander's death." Upon reaching Malin's side, he offered his hand in a friendly manner. "My name's Oscar."
Malin hesitated in introducing himself to give an off-handed comment. "Maybe it would've been better if the new commander would simply introduce us to avoid such awkwardness, huh?" It took him a moment to realize he didn't introduce himself in kind, and as a result, Oscar lowered his hand. "I'm Malin."
Oscar shrugged. "Hmm. Perhaps you're right, but you need to consider the circumstances we're currently under."
Malin nodded in response. "I guess I've been too hard on the guy. He did lose his father, after all. Disregard what I said, then."
Oscar gave a small grin. "I'll do my best to, Malin. Despite the circumstances, it's nice to meet you."
"…Likewise." Oscar couldn't tell if he was being serious or at least just trying not to come off as rude.
"So, are you getting accustomed to the mercenary life? Is your friend, too?" Oscar asked with curiosity, his squinty look never betraying his face.
"I'm sure it'd be easier if I joined at a time when you weren't losing men left and right, to be honest. It's a little stressful, knowing I'll need to pick up the slack," Malin answered with a small frown. He lightened up a little in amusement, thinking about his companion. "I don't think I can say the same for Mia, though; I'm sure she loves the challenge. She could probably take anything the world throws at her with a smile. It'll be quite a shame when she learns she won't be able to all the time."
"Do you have so little faith in your friends?"
"It's not that I don't have faith, Oscar," the archer explained, "it's just reality. Take what just happened to your little ragtag group. I'm sure Ike thought Sir Greil was unstoppable until he ended up dragging his bloody corpse that night. I imagine you all thought the same. Then reality gives you a bite in the ass."
Before Oscar could respond, Malin let a yawn escape his mouth. "Listen, it's been lovely talking with you, Oscar, but I could use a little shut eye, seeing as you're taking over for me… you are taking over for me, right?"
The knight could only nod.
"Wonderful. Thank you for the chat. I'm sure we'll continue another time." With that, Malin walked back in the castle without so much as a goodnight.
Oscar let out a sigh when he was out of earshot, feeling slightly tested at the young man's remarks. I'm sure we will… thought the knight with a shrug.
Malin walked back inside the castle that would have been pitch black if not for the few torches that were lit throughout. He passed a room where he heard soft prayers.
The healer of the mercenaries, a priest named Rhys, was on his knees, paying no heed to the dirt that was gathering on his pure white robes.
"Goddess Ashera," Rhys beckoned the deity with a voice that sounded like he was softly crying moments ago, "please take our dearly departed, Commander Greil, into your gracious arms. May he watch over all of us in the coming days that may be the most testing for us. And may we all pull through, knowing what he always said: we are a family. We're here for each other."
Malin considered the frail priest's words while leaving so he wouldn't be intruding any more than he already had. Sir Greil really said that, huh? he wondered to himself. This is probably the most dysfunctional family I've ever seen. Still, the archer thought it was quite the sentiment the commander left behind. He shrugged it off despite himself, heading to his room to get some much needed rest.
xxxx
The next day came too quickly for the Greil Mercenaries. Despite all of the recent happenings with the loss of Commander Greil and the departure of two of the original members, though, the sun's graceful rays somehow made some of the group feel somewhat optimistic. Not for one of the newcomers, Malin, however.
Said bowman was gasping for breath in the early hours of the morning, grasping a practice sword in his hands. Mia sprinted towards her sparring partner, not bothering to give Malin a break. She swung her practice sword horizontally at Malin's torso, to which he tried to block. Successful at faking him out, however, Mia swept Malin's legs from under him, tripping him and following through with a blow to his chest.
Malin remained laying down, sweat dripping down his face. His clothing clung tight against his skin, only adding to the archer's discomfort. Mia reached out and grabbed his arms, pulling him up. Malin didn't bother to nod in thanks. He stood up straight and dropped the practice sword that Mia lent to him. He then bent over, resting his hands on his knees. In between deep breaths, he complained to his friend, "Mia… this was… one of your worst… ideas!"
"Nonsense, Malin!" Mia countered. She looked like she enjoyed the sparring match and it hardly looked like she broke a sweat. "We'll need to be able to pull our weight and even more now that our group's struggling! Greil's gone, and so are that knight and sniper!"
Malin took a moment to finally get his breathing back to normal. He then stood straight back up. "I know what you mean, but this isn't going to work for several reasons. One: I'm an archer. Two: I'm not fast like you, and nor do I have to be if I remain in the backlines, which will be happening. And most importantly-"
"But what would happen if somebody snuck behind our front lines and got to you?" Mia interrupted, poking her friend in the chest. "You can't just whack somebody with your bow; you'll need to protect yourself with something else!"
"It's highly unlikely something like that would happen, Mia. You never leave me alone," he answered with an annoyed voice, making it sound worse than it truly was.
He mumbled under his breath, "Eh, at least you're cute." Assuming Mia didn't hear that, he continued. "Just try not to bother training me to use something I don't feel at all comfortable with; I can't stand the thought of direct combat."
"Aw, and you were doing so well!" Mia complained.
"You gave me a beating while I couldn't even land a hit on you!" Before Mia could put up any more of an argument, Malin finished. "I know why you're trying to train me to use a sword… I think. But seriously, no more sparring. Why don't you just spar with Ike instead?"
"Oh, I couldn't do that," Mia replied in a concerned voice. "I don't wanna bother him at a time like this. He just lost his own father, after all."
"Right… okay, so not Ike. How about somebody who's not me? Maybe the priest?" asked Malin, though he mentioned the priest in a joking tone.
Mia suddenly made an "oh" expression on her face. She then went on about some fortune of hers while walking back inside the castle, presumably to find the poor healer.
Malin simply sighed, surprised that it worked, but also relieved that he was off the hook. He took a seat against the cool, stony structure of the Gallian castle and rested. Several minutes later, his rest was disturbed when he heard someone walking his way. Not bothering to look, he continued to rest his eyes. "Enjoying the air?" he heard Ike ask.
"Just a little, Commander." Malin finally opened his eyes and looked up to make eye contact. He noticed that Ike flinched a little at the title but paid it no mind. An awkward moment of silence remained after the short exchange of the two. "Nice morning, huh?"
Ike nodded. "Seeing the sun makes me feel strangely alive. Despite all our losses, it shines still as if nothing happened."
"The ramblings of a simple man," Malin chuckled. "Don't need much to feel the earth beneath your feet despite all that's happened in the past couple of days." With that said, the archer stood back up, stretching his limbs that continued to throb after the sparring match with Mia. Once he finished, he started walking towards the sea of trees that surrounded the abandoned castle.
"Where are you going?" Ike asked with an eyebrow slightly raised.
"Nowhere, don't worry about me. I just want to take a little stroll; I've never been to Gallia before and wouldn't mind doing a little sightseeing. I'll be back soon." Malin then disappeared in the dense forest.
xxxx
After a few minutes of walking, Malin never saw anything noteworthy other than thick vegetation. Perhaps he thought he'd catch the sight of a laguz, but Gebal Castle was probably too close to the border between Gallia and Crimea. Despite the efforts between the departed king Ramon and Gallia's ruler, Caineghis, discrimination was still ever present in both races.
Malin's first sight of a laguz was only a few days ago in Fort Meritenne; since then, he reminded himself to never get on their bad side. Despite his fear, he shared the view of his father before him, which was equality. Malin immediately scoffed at the thought of his father when he stopped by a tree and rested against its trunk for a brief couple of minutes. Always overthinking, the archer criticized himself, and then made his way back to the castle.
As he continued to walk amongst the trees, Malin thought he heard something behind him. Not wanting to risk anything, he turned around and saw in the distance some black-clad soldiers. In their company was a frail-looking girl with lavender hair; she obviously didn't look like she joined the Daeins under her own volition. "…Well, shit," he muttered under his breath. He sprinted back to the castle, not without muttering more unpleasant words.
Minutes after running for his own life, Malin reached the inside of the castle, gasping for breath. He stopped, landing on his hands and knees, feeling the cold stone floor. Maybe I should start running when Daeins aren't chasing us across Tellius, Malin thought to himself. The only one to meet him was none other than Ike. The others were presumably keeping to themselves, as few marks have passed since dawn.
"Malin? What happened?" Ike asked the archer in a concerned voice.
"I… B-bastards… They're… com-" Malin only managed to reply. Sweat was dripping down his face, and his lungs were burning.
Before Malin could blurt out anything else in gasps, Ike held up a finger, silencing him. The commander then passed Malin a canteen, which he accepted gratefully and downed the water in long gulps, not pausing once to let any air in.
Malin handed the canteen back to Ike, slowing down his labored breathing.
"Let's try this again, Malin," Ike said in a serious and commanding voice. "Tell me what you saw."
Wordlessly, Malin nodded. Before he could speak, though, Soren approached Ike in a sprint. The mage was apparently outside as well, as he knew of the situation at hand. "Ike, bad news! Look out the window!"
Ike and Malin followed Soren to a nearby window, which was merely just a gap to let air run through the abandoned structure. All three looked through the window, seeing it starting to rain and the less welcoming sight: a large number of Daein troops armed to the teeth and not looking interested to talk things out.
"…We're surrounded. Damn. Greil Mercenaries!" Ike shouted in frustration. The exclamation echoed throughout the small castle, and the rest of the mercenaries met at the front and spotted the opposition through other windows. They all rushed to gather their equipment without saying a word.
Mist and Rolf, however, continued to look at what the group would be facing. They looked like they wanted to do something, anything, to help, but something kept them from doing so. The two youths looked hopeless at the situation.
"So this was what got you running, huh?" Ike asked Malin in a smug tone.
"Yeah," Malin answered. "These guys are so stupid they marched into Gallia like they own the place! Ike, I know we've only been facing nothing but Daeins, but I guess I didn't think of how much these guys like you."
Ike didn't reply; he headed out to the entrance, ready to protect the castle. Everyone else followed. "Wait a minute, Commander!" Malin called out to him.
"We don't have a minute! Soren, what do you recommend we do here?" the commander asked his right hand man. "We're surrounded and this doesn't look good for us."
It didn't even take a moment for the mage to formulate a plan. "We have three choke points that need to be defended. If we let loose for just one second, we could fail. The only thing I see worth doing is having everyone protect them. I can aid from afar, as can he," Soren said, nodding towards Malin. "Needless to say, we keep Rhys out of harm's way, as usual."
The commander nodded. Before Ike could move, Malin distracted him. "One thing! When I saw the Daein soldiers, they had some girl that wasn't in the same guise. I'm assuming they're making her fight, so maybe we can talk to her so it's one less threat."
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it! Greil Mercenaries, move out!" Ike sprinted to the east end that was already protected by Oscar to aid him. Titania held the west with Soren close behind. Rhys kept a close eye on everyone should his healing be needed. Mia and Boyd covered the south, already facing horsemen. Malin grabbed an arrow from his quiver and stood behind the myrmidon and fighter, ready to fight.
Malin asked himself in sarcasm, "Where the hell could we find some Gallian soldiers?"
The Daeins were on the attack already. A horseman armed with a spear rode towards Boyd, going in for a stab. The fighter dodged, however, with a quick duck. As soon as he ducked, Malin launched an arrow that landed in the soldier's chest. The stricken soldier clutched at his fatal wound and fell off his mount.
Immediately covering for the fallen Daein, another horseman arrived. Not giving him an opportunity, Boyd swung his poleaxe upward, the force knocking the soldier to the ground with a huge gash in his torso.
Mia herself was fighting off an axe-wielding fighter. As the fighter tried using his brute strength to overtake the myrmidon, her speed was too much for him, her dodges being graceful as some sort of dance. Her dance would ultimately end, however, with a swift swing of her blade, felling the fighter with very little effort.
xxxx
The Greil Mercenaries were successfully fighting off the Daein soldiers, even with the amount of reinforcements they had. The leader of the forces must have held great command of the Daein army to have so many troops.
The southern entrance was protected still by Mia, Boyd and Malin. They had a brief moment where no soldiers approached. It was no time to rest, however, as a mage walked, visibly shaken either by the amount of fallen soldiers before her or simply the drizzle. "It's her!" Malin shouted. He wasted no time in shoving past the two, sprinting to the mage with lavender hair.
"What are you doing, you idiot?!" Boyd yelled in response. Mia took after the archer, somehow feeling responsible for him. "Wait, you too?" The fighter, while not sure of what was going on, kept his position. He knew better than to give Daeins the ground they sought if any more soldiers came.
Malin closed the distance between himself and the mage, who was holding a pale yellow colored tome in her weak grip. Mia caught up with him in no time. The young myrmidon assumed the archer had a good reason to approach the mage, but she kept an eye on the entrance to see if there were any soldiers attempting to sneak to it.
"You're not with these soldiers, are you?" Malin asked in a serious tone. "I recommend you get out of here while you have the chance."
The mage was still shivering, ready to explain herself. "These… these soldiers gave me no choice but to fight for them. They captured me some time after I lost the convoy I was traveling with."
"I think I know the convoy you're talking about. Haven't seen them, but I heard some talk travelers were staying here and made an agreement with our commander to hang on to our goods and such."
The girl's face brightened. "That must be them! Oh, I shouldn't have let myself get separated from the-" the mage was interrupted by a sneeze. The archer couldn't help but feel a little pity for the frail girl. She looked like she could hardly even stand on her own two feet.
"Little pathetic, aren't you?" Malin asked in a condescending tone. He immediately slapped himself for his lack of manners. "Me and my big… Sorry. I mean…there's no reason for you to be out here. You can go into the castle right away. We'll cover you."
The girl meekly shook her head. "No, I'd much rather fight with you." She showed her thunder tome that was hidden by her mantle.
"A mage, huh? Well, I don't see why not. Follow us back to the entrance; we'll protect you, umm…" Malin realized he never got her name.
"My name is Ilyana. Thank you for taking me i-" Another sneeze from the poor girl.
"I'm Malin. And the excitable girl is Mia," Malin introduced her whilst pulling said myrmidon towards the two. Mia had a friendly smile on her face and was about to speak, but the archer stopped her. "Let's just get back befo… son of a bitch."
Several troops marched towards the trio, with the commander, an armored knight, leading them. "You're not going anywhere. Forward, men!" the knight yelled in a booming voice. He and his reinforcements began to charge once more.
Malin, Mia and their new ally, Ilyana, sprinted back to the southern entrance, where Boyd was waiting. To no one's surprise, the fighter had a dumbfounded look on his face at the amount of reinforcements.
xxxx
There was no sign of the Daein reinforcements stopping. For each troop cut down by the mercenaries, two would take his place. The Greil Mercenaries kept fighting despite it all. At this point, everyone was strained, their muscles begging them to stop. Even Soren and Rhys were exhausted from all the magic spells casted and healing.
I cannot let this be the end, thought Ike. We have far too much riding on our shoulders to fail. His arms were trembling and burning with each swing of his sword to attack or parry a blow, yet he couldn't allow himself one moment of weakness for the Daeins to exploit. Not… yet! Ike went for a stab, felling a soldier. Yet another took his place.
All of a sudden, a booming roar sounded out around the castle. A cat laguz rushed through one of the entrances, killing each soldier with its razor sharp claws. She jumped over Ike to deal with any more soldiers. Ike fell to his knees in response, dropping his bloodied sword and sighed in long, labored, breaths. "Th…thank you…" he managed to say; though it was his extension of gratitude to the cat, it was also to his departed father, for he may have had a hand in keeping an eye on them.
The entrance protected by Titania and Soren ran out of soldiers as well, them meeting the end by a blue tiger. Titania backed from the tiger, letting him pass, knowing he must be from Castle Gallia. Soren moved out of the way as well, but with a look of sheer disgust in his eyes.
The tiger and cat met up at the southern entrance where Boyd, Mia, Malin and Ilyana were quickly losing their strength. The four saw the two laguz and immediately retreated. They were relieved at the help, knowing there was no way they would've lasted much longer. Boyd and Mia were taking heavy breaths, while Malin shook his arms. Though pulling light arrows was an easy task, doing it nonstop took its toll with a burning sensation. He was surprised he had a few arrows left in his quiver. Ilyana was the least tired, but it didn't help with how cold she was in the rain. She was hungry, too, though, her hunger matching that of a lion remained unbeknownst to the group until later.
It all seemed to be over in an instant due to the swiftness of the cat and the ferocity of the tiger. They let none live, knowing that letting even one soldier retreat would be tantamount to the failure of Gallia's security.
xxxx
When all Daeins were taken out, including the commander of their forces, the Greil Mercenaries and the Gallian warriors, later known as Lethe and Mordecai, went back inside the castle. Some roaring and magic spells were heard, but there was no bloodshed.
Malin found the convoy Ike recently employed at the end of a hall, reminding himself to stock up on more arrows. The door was partially opened, welcoming any who had need. He pushed the door and let himself in. What he saw was a modest smithy, with a small amount of chests and barrels that he assumed held forging materials.
The first one to approach him was a middle-aged burly man, assumed to be the blacksmith, who was balding but had a great, brown beard.
"Greetings, friend!" the man said with some enthusiasm and slapped a calloused hand on the archer's shoulder. Malin almost collapsed from the weight, as the blacksmith towered over him in stature. He paid it no mind and introduced the convoy. "My name's Muston; I'm the man for the job if you need weapons." Charmed. "The young lady here is Aimee," Muston nodded to a black-haired woman. Malin took note of her with a nod, to which the woman smiled and winked. "She takes care of any necessities."
Muston motioned for the archer to follow him to the other side of the room. Not turning around to see if he followed, Muston introduced the two brothers at the end of the room. Oddly enough, they were playing a game on top of two barrels with a board and figurines. They also had a pair of quills and parchment. Muston let out a warm, hearty laugh at them. "Still going at it, you two? We've got a customer!"
At that, the two stopped their little game and stood up from their small wooden chairs. "Ah, excellent!" the blonde brother said smiling and in a confident voice. He got up from his seat, as did his brown-haired companion. "Name's Jorge, this here," motioning towards his sibling, "is my brother Daniel. I'll buy anything you don't want out of your hands."
Daniel spoke up but with a softer voice. "I'm a craftsman and I specialize in made-to-order items."
Malin nodded. "I see. My name's Malin and I'm just trying to get by in this whole mercenary deal. That said, I've got something you can take off my hands right this minute," the archer said, changing his mind on simply purchasing more arrows. He showed him his small bow and the small amount of iron-tipped arrows in his quiver.
"Great!" Jorge responded. He went over to a nearby table and used a weighing scale to determine how much it all was worth. It ended up being worth a few pieces of silver. The blonde handed the small amount of silver to Malin, the archer accepting the meager amount.
"Thanks," Malin said. He went about-face and walked up to Muston, who was polishing a forged broadsword. "Muston, I'll need something more than the short bow I had before. What's the best you have?"
The smith put down his work and said, "Well, we can provide you a steel-"
"Say no more," Malin interrupted. "That'd be perfect."
Once departing from the makeshift smithy, the archer had in his grip a newly-forged steel bow, a quiver filled with steel-tipped arrows tied to his waist and a lighter pocket. The bow was bigger and heavier than the short bow he used before, but the tradeoff was more power with each nock of an arrow.
"Already taking advantage of the convoy, are we?" Mia asked while walking up to him.
Malin simply nodded in response.
"I've been meaning to tell you something," the girl said, her usual contagious grin turning into a thin frown. The pair was already back where Malin slept the night before. This girl has no sense of privacy… the archer thought. He immediately shook the thought away.
"Something up? You're not usually this serious."
"It's what you did when we were fighting off the Daein soldiers; isn't it obvious?" Mia asked, resting her hands on her hips.
"Must've done something stupid if it's got you worked up," Malin said with a shrug.
"I'm not worked u-… Forget that. You ran after Ilyana like you didn't care about your own skin. You should at least tell me if you're gonna run after somebody like that!"
"So you can remain attached to my hip?" Mia had a bigger frown at her friend's response, but she didn't say anything. Malin continued. "Look, I'm sorry, Mia. I guess that was dumb of me. But of course, our side was devoid of soldiers wanting to cut us down at the moment. Oh well. We got a new recruit and nothing bad happened…"
"…Until the commander and his men took after us! That was a close call, you know?"
"I'll stop acting without thinking then. Happy?"
The young woman's frown lessened. "Remember what I told you when we just got hired by Crimea before all this?" Mia asked.
Malin asked a question in return, "After you just decided to befriend somebody and picked me? I know I'm handsome, but-"
Mia shoved a finger into his torso and he coughed. She lightly chuckled. "Now I know you're joking there!"
"Oh, I'm so hurt," the archer said melodramatically, one hand on his forehead and the other over his heart.
Mia shook her head at his sarcasm. "Anyway, I told you I'd protect you, seeing as you were just a lone archer! I meant it that day and I'm not going back on my promises!"
"How sweet," Malin said in more thick sarcasm. "Kidding. I remember you saying that, but I just thought that's what anyone would say if there were an archer beside him, and in your case, her."
"You're my friend, Malin. Even if I didn't make that promise, I'd still protect you!"
Malin gave up on his usual sarcasm and sighed. "…Thank you, Mia," he said. She smiled in return.
A moment of silence followed until the purple-haired myrmidon broke it with a change of subject. "I'd still like you to train with me, though."
"…I really thought I could've opted out of that."
End of chapter.
xxxx
(Author's Notes): My apologies for the delay; I hit quite a "bump" in writing, but this is my addressing it. I'll do my best to make sure it doesn't happen again.
Notes can be found on my Livejournal. As always, feedback is appreciated. Thank you for reading.