Author's Notes: For those of you wondering about Dycedarg bringing on some torture, this chapter should answer some questions.
***
Daryn eyed the campsite as all of the morning tasks were completed, all too quickly and efficiently for his taste on this particular morning. The post-dawn hour was pleasant; the sun's golden rays gloriously bursting through an early spring canopy, a brisk breeze combating the warmth of the yellow light. On any other day, it would have been the perfect morning. On this day, it was there was far too much unease to make it pleasant at all. On this morning, one decision could alter the lives of five people; alternatively, it could also end those lives.
As the tasks finished, one by one, eyes turned towards the knight. The upturned orbs were silent, expectant in their piercing glares. They were almost accusing in their intensity. Four pairs of eyes stared at him. Alyssa was the only one who did not turn her gaze to their leader. Humming silently to herself, she was crouched at the edge of the clearing, gazing at flowers, oblivious to the tension hanging in the air. Daryn swallowed, the lump in his throat pressing painfully against the air he forced down his gullet. Slowly, the knight met each of his friends' gazes. Clearing his throat, he turned suddenly, and began to place a saddle on Nyran. He meticulously performed his task, being overly cautious in his duty in order to stall the inevitable, just to gain a few more seconds of not having to mouth a decision that he had already come to.
The stillness of the camp was irritating, a palpable tension pervading the air. Eventually, even the blissfully unaware Alyssa caught onto the idea that something that she did not know about was occurring. Daryn saw her out of the corner of his eyeas she stood, turning towards the group. Oh no… He watched her eyes move from one person to the next, each a statue, their eyes all unmoving, each glaring at Daryn. Finally he watched her gaze settle on him, the questioning look she was giving him all too obvious. Please, Alyssa, don't do this to me. Don't do this to yourself, dearest.
He turned back to the group, his right hand coming up to his face. With his thumb and forefinger, he pushed at his eyes, rubbing them. He was so tired. No, he was exhausted. Between the lack of sleep and the pressure that was bearing down on his shoulders, his body fought to not sag under the weight of itself. The time had come. He could stall no longer. He opened his mouth to speak, but Alyssa, bless the child, saved him.
"Daryn?" Her eyes moved to him, and then flicked back to the others, the statues. "Daryn, what's going on? Why is everyone staring at you that way?" The knight faltered a bit, stumbling over himself in an attempt to form an answer for the girl.
Amazingly, it was Tia that came to save him this time. "We're just waiting for his orders, Aly-"
"Don't lie to me!" Daryn blinked in surprise as the cherubic face flushed with anger, her small form turning towards the archer. "You're never this tense! None of you! What's going on?" She quivered a bit, her frustration obvious. Daryn blinked again. Alyssa never acted like this. She was supposed to be soft spoken, naïve, their little angel.
"Daryn, we're just going to have to-" Tristan's words had barely formed before Rikk was in front of him, his form glowering, his face still hidden.
"No. We don't have to. Not ever. Do you understand that, boy? Not. Ever. And if you do, I will make sure that what remains of your life is a living hell." Daryn's friend stood in front of the boy, directly between him and Alyssa. Daryn could hear whispering, though not nearly well enough to make it out. Great.
The tension of the evening had finally come to an apex in the morning light, and the group was about to implode in on itself. Daryn stared in open amazement. Alyssa's flush had disappeared, her anger replaced with a look of sheer confusion. Tia stepped up to the boys. Daryn was grateful for that – she was an amazing second-in-command. "Rikk, maybe Tristan is right. It isn't fair to Alyssa to hide this. She should know." Perhaps Daryn should work with her on her mediation abilities.
Rikk didn't even bother answering. He turned, his hand going to his waist. All he had to do was touch his blade to channel divine energy through it, and he was quick. The entire scene seemed to play out in slow motion before Daryn's eyes, his disbelief leaving him in an immovable state of shock. Suddenly, everything sped up again as Rikk was sent flying several feet, landing solidly on his back, skidding across the loose dirt.
Tia shook her hand, and then popped her wrist. There was a reason that she was Daryn's second. "Disagree with me all you want, Rikk, but don't you ever dare to draw that sword on me. Not ever. Especially not today." Disgusted, she turned away from him. Rikk growled and started to stand as a shout rang through the air, a single word weighted with two voices that seemed to rip through everyone's ears.
"Stop!" The high pitch of Alyssa's voice joined with the commanding growl from Daryn's throat, and all turned their eyes to both of them. Indeed, even they stopped and stared at each other for a moment. Alyssa was the first to break the moment of silence. "What… is going on here? What is happening? Why is everyone fighting?" Her voice trembled, and it was obvious that she was on the verge of tears. Daryn wanted nothing more than to comfort her, to tell her that everything was going to be okay. But he couldn't do that, not now. He couldn't lie to her like that.
"Alyssa…" Rikk shot a glare at him. Somehow, through everything, his hood had managed to stay up, but Daryn could feel the icy touch of Rikk's eyes on him. "Alyssa, we need to talk." Rikk spat on the ground, and pushed himself to his feet angrily. Tia dropped her eyes, and even Tristan looked a tad uneasy. "It's about… what happened yesterday." Daryn hesitated, and looked at the others. His best friend merely turned his back, and both Tia and Tristan were avoiding his gaze. Of course, the burden of leadership, as always, fell to Daryn once again.
He took a deep breath and turned back towards Alyssa. As he opened his mouth, however, a cry of pain rushed through the air. Daryn immediately spun on his heels, his sword and shield materializing into his hands. Tristan had dropped to one knee, his hand clutching at an arrow that was protruding from his shoulder. "Tia!" The girl nodded, and disappeared into the trees. Alyssa began moving towards Tristan, while Rikk and Daryn exchanged glances. The knight could feel the words forming from under the cowl. We'll deal with this later.
Rikk and Daryn rushed past Tristan, ignoring his gasps of pain as blood dribbled down his shirt and onto the grass. The boy was smart, though, and ignored the pain long enough to get his back against a tree while Alyssa moved towards him, crouching through the open clearing to reduce her profile.
Where is that archer? Daryn's eyes searched the woods as he moved, performing a quick counterclockwise scouting circle around the camp. Suddenly, from behind him, a familiar twang broke the air, and a sharp pain erupted in the small of his back. He gasped, but didn't fall; his armor had taken the brunt of the blow. The arrow had probably only barely pierced skin, or so he hoped. There was no time to worry about it now. They had found the archer.
Daryn saw Rikk pointing his blade towards the distance, and an ear-splitting crack filled the air as a bolt of lightning struck from the cloudless sky, and a flash of yellow light preceded a scream of agony and the sound of a body slamming into the dirt. Daryn had little time to react, however, as half a dozen other figures, apparently knights, emerged from the woods. Three of them immediately closed in on Daryn, the other three circling around towards Rikk.
The knight cleared his mind, allowing his skill to take over. Thinking would only get him killed now. He let out a shrill whistle as he brought up his shield, angling it to deflect an incoming mace. With his other hand, he brought the blade directly upward in a swinging motion throwing off balance a wild slash that was aimed at him. As soon as the blades connected, he relaxed his fingers, allowing his sword to roll in his hand, grasping the hilt in a reverse hold just in time to block another sword from the knight behind him.
He had no chance like this. Three of them against his one, and he was surrounded. Defense was great, but it would not win a battle; eventually, one of them would slip through his parries and blocks, and then it would be over. "Rikk!" The holy knight was probably also overmatched. Despite the fact that it was six lesser opponents, it was still thrice their number. Daryn spun, leaving himself open for just a moment as he slammed his shield into the face of the man that was behind him, and then rushed forward, pivoting as he saw Rikk perform a similar move with the hilt of his sword.
The two slammed into each other's backs and continued their defensive maneuvers. A warm feeling rushed down Daryn's back, and he realized that his moment of weakness had caused him a wound; a blade had slipped in between his plates and cut at his sword arm's shoulder. Damn, that would slow him down quickly. Gritting his teeth, he threw his blade upwards, angling it over his head to stop the incoming mace, allowing it to slide down the angle with its own momentum, throwing the attacker off balance. Daryn followed up with a quick kick to the man's knee, but was forced to withdraw the attack as his other two combatants pressed in.
Rikk's belabored breathing filled Daryn's ears, and he knew that they were failing quickly. Come on, come on… The battle had only gone on for about a minute and a half, but he could already feel his muscles tiring, and the blood flow from his two previous wounds was increasing. Several other minor scratches had managed to connect before he had deflected them, and the blood loss was beginning to get to him. His breath came in ragged gasps, tearing at his drying throat. Daryn had only landed a couple of blows himself, and had no idea how Rikk was faring.
Suddenly, an arrow whistled through the air, glancing off of the armor of the knight wielding the mace. Daryn seized the opportunity of the distracted man, slamming his shield into his foe. Daryn spun on his left foot, dropping low to sweep the legs out from under the staggering man, stabbing at another simultaneously as he rose. Two crashing noises came from behind him, and he saw Nyran trotting from the direction of the campsite, sending another wave of flaming earth at one of the knights on Rikk. Several twanging noises filled the air as Tia's bow rained arrows onto their foes. She wasn't doing much more than nicking their armor, but the distraction was enough for Rikk and Daryn to press the advantage.
Daryn stepped forward, his blade working a flurry against one of the knights. An overhead strike, flipped into a switched group, turned into a direct thrust at the stomach. The other knight parried the blow, but Daryn spun with the momentum, bringing his shield into the face of the other knight. A splatter of blood from the man's nose filled the air, and Daryn continued the spin, his sword coming across in a wide arc, slamming forcefully into the still staggering knight's throat. Ducking, he swung himself under the sword to gain better leverage as the other opponent swung at where Daryn's head was. Flipping his hand around the hilt again, Daryn pulled hard on the sword, bringing up his shield to deflect an incoming swing. A counterthrust caused his opponent to bring his shield to bear as well, but Daryn was prepared for that. Sweeping the sword in a wide arc, he sidestepped his foe, the blade coming up behind the man's shield, severing the leather straps that held it to his arm. Daryn brought his own shield arm across his body, then bringing it about forcefully with a mighty backswing, slamming it into the other knight's face. A sickening crack filled the air as his head turned much further than it should, and he slumped to the ground, life draining from his eyes.
Daryn turned to find that the mace wielder had an arrow sticking out of one eye, and that Rikk had managed to dispose of his opponents, although all three held burn marks and obvious bludgeoning damage from Nyran's small meteors. Rikk was dropping his hands from his cowl. Damn. He had probably just put it back up, too. Daryn wiped his blade on the cloak of one of the knights, noting the Hokuten symbol. Well, at least that makes my decision easier. Daryn crooked his arm behind his back, withdrawing the arrow that had managed to slip between his plates. He grimaced as a sharp pain shot through his back again, but it was merely a nick. He would be alright.
The post-battle silence was broken as a shriek filled the air, and then a thump as Tia fell from a nearby tree. Her eyes were open, and she was breathing, but her body was eerily still, despite the fact that one leg was twisted in an odd direction. "Ti-" His words were cut off as his body suddenly refused to respond. Shit, magic.
Judging by the lack of the sounds of movement, he was not the only one affected by the spell as two figures stepped out from behind a thick oak that stood several yards away. One was dressed in well-fitted clothing of a high caliber. A noble, but he was obviously not a fighter. He had only a small dagger at his belt, and no armor. Light silvery hair crested his brow, with piercing blue eyes accenting his fair skin. The other was a female in a simple white robe, with only a dirty rope to substitute as a belt. What skin showed on her was filled with heavy scarring, and a rope was looped around her neck, which led itself to the hand of the noble. She was meek in appearance, her eyes downcast. Were it not for the twisted scar tissue marring her features, she would have been beautiful. Once lustrous black hair coiled down to her shoulders, now unkempt and mangled. It was difficult to discern any of her finer features due to the layers of scarring.
The man studied them for a moment, and then smiled. "I see we have found some of our runaways." He beckoned to the girl, and she flinched before pulling a length of rope from a bag in her hands. "Good. I can have some fun with you. And Dycedarg shouldn't return for quite some time – I could drag this out for a few weeks. As soon as I get you lot tied up, I will go and find the other… two, I believe?" As he spoke, he had taken the rope, moving towards Daryn, pulling out his dagger and carefully measuring the length that he would need. His smile widened and he chuckled in anticipation as he strode towards the unmoving knight.
Daryn's mind whirled. Dycedarg had only killed them. It was this man, the one who had tortured them. Who are you? Well, it mattered little now. They were going to be put under a blade by a pure sadist. His mind flashed back to the sight of the day prior. That was rushed? This was not going to be pleasant. He couldn't imagine what kind of 'fun' this man was going to have with him, Rikk, Tia, Tristan, Alyssa…
Wait, where were Tristan and Alyssa?
A piercing crack filled the air and the man jerked in pain, a spray of red mist exploding from his leg. A piercing cry escaped his lips as he fell to one leg and Tristan materialized from the woods. Daryn heard a soft chanting, and then his muscles began responding, and he wasted no time in rushing at the noble in front of him as Tristan quickly began to reload the pistol in his hands. The noble's eyes grew wide as his plans turned sour at a rapid pace. He turned to his slave. "Bela!" The girl flinched and whispered a few quick words. Daryn's blade came arcing downward…
And slashed into the ground as the two dematerialized. "Son of a bitch!" Daryn yanked his sword from the soft ground, kicking at a rock angrily. What the fuck was going on? "Alyssa, tend to Tia," he snapped, knowing it was her that had freed him from the spell, and was thus nearby. The priestess stepped up to the archer, leaning down. Tia was rolling on the ground, painful moans escaping her lips, her broken leg twitching violently. Alyssa shushed her as she began to work.
Daryn moved off into the woods, grimacing, Tia's screams piercing the air as Alyssa set the bone for healing. It would still be about an hour before they could move. A rustling nearby caused him to turn his head, and he saw Rikk move up beside him. "Not now, Rikk. I have other things on my mind." Rikk didn't say anything. The two stood in silence, listening to the agonized yells of Tia.
It was, indeed, close to an hour later when Tristan moved up behind them. "Tia's leg is fixed. No other major injuries." The boy's voice was cold and calculated, as usual. Daryn gritted his teeth, and then nodded. Without a word, he moved back to the others, spitting on one of the corpses on the way. Eyes turned expectantly towards him, and Alyssa opened her mouth, only to be silenced when Daryn brought up his hand. "Grab your shit. We're going to Orbonne."