Author's Note
Sorry this took so long to upload; I've had some serious writer's block problems. I also spent a week away on vacation, first at Mazinaw lake (the setting of chapter one) and then I spent a day at FanExpo 2013. I met Nathan Fillion. It was awesome. Anyway, that is all irrelevant. Here is the long overdue Chapter 18.
Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me.
Chapter 18
The Market
I woke to the oh-so-pleasant feeling of a boot in my side.
"C'mon, get up! It's past breakfast!" Al yelled. I opened one eye and started to roll off the bench I slept on, and I could just distinguish the blurry outline of a leg drawn back for a second wake-up call.
"Alright I'm up, I'm up!" I cried, snapping awake and shooting to my feet. Al halted the second kick just short of my shin. "What the fu-" I stopped myself, noticing Elincia seated at the suite's table just a few yards away. "Why'd you do that!?"
"Hey, I'm just following orders. Yours, actually, from the last time you overslept," Al explained with a grin. She put on a voice I assume was her impression of me. "'Oh man, Al, I'm really sorry I didn't get up in time, wake me up the next time I oversleep.' Bet you weren't expecting me to wake you up that way!"
"Nope. Still, it's not the worst awakening I've ever had," I yawned, doing my best to look thoroughly unimpressed. Al looked at me quizzically, as if she were about to ask 'What could be worse than getting kicked in the ribs?' I really only needed one word to explain. "Soren."
"Oh. What'd he do?"
He dumped a bucket of cold water on me. "I'm not telling. Don't wanna give you any funny ideas."
"Sir Adam, the food is getting cold!" Elincia called from the table. Something over there smelled very good, and I was surprised that the servants who'd brought the food had not awoken me. I meandered over to the table, grabbed a piece of bread from the tray and leaned against the wall as I ate.
"Just toast today? I'm disappointed," I commented idly. I mean, it was great bread, soft and smooth but still dense enough and with just a hint of honey, but for a princess? Usually the kitchens here put a little more variety in Elincia's meals.
"There were fruit and berries as well," Elincia replied. I glanced at my plate, but to my dismay there was no sign of any fruit.
"And the fruit is... where, exactly?" I asked hopefully, my stomach rumbling loudly.
"Oh, I did not eat it all," Elincia said innocently, nodding towards Al.
Al shrugged and offered a mischievous grin. "Hey, if you want the good food, then I guess you'll need to wake up in time from now on," she said.
I glanced around for something else to eat or drink, silently cursing her name, but found nothing. It did occur to me, however, that there was still one place where I could find more food... "Well princess, by your leave, I think it might be time for a, ahem, security inspection of the east wing's kitchens," I chuckled as I hastily bowed and left for the kitchens on the first level.
It had now been almost two months since my arrival in Begnion. Ike and the mercenaries came and went on missions for the Apostle, but I remained stuck in Sienne, protecting Elincia. After my interesting conversation with Duke Hetzel, we stepped up security and started bringing more guards with us wherever we went. The guard detail assigned to us by the Apostle was very good at their job and could lock down a building or street in minutes, sometimes less, but despite the many powerful lords who opposed Elincia's request for aide there were no overt threats or attempts to breach our security, and the extra efforts proved unnecessary.
The meetings continued unabated, although at my insistence none of them were with Duke Hetzel, and slowly but surely the opinions of Begnion's nobility began to sway in our favor. A nice bonus came when a Senator who'd openly sided against Elincia, one Duke Oliver of Tanas, was exposed as a slave owner and trader. Many of his followers, eager to keep themselves clear of the ensuing scandal, quickly realigned themselves with Elincia and condemned his actions, swinging the balance of support quite heavily in our favor. In short, things were going very, very well in Sienne.
As for the other mercenaries, they just had one bit of business to wrap up before the Apostle would give us her full support; A heron laguz from the royal family of Serenes, a people thought to have been wiped out by Begnion twenty years ago, was purchased by Duke Tanas just before the mercenaries showed up to arrest him. Both the Duke and the heron reportedly escaped into the wasteland that used to be the Serenes Forest while the mercenaries fought off Tanas' soldiers. At the Apostle's behest, Ike led the mercenaries into the withered forest after them with orders to rescue the heron and kill the Duke. It was now a week since they'd begun the search, but Ike's last report, delivered three days ago by a messenger bird, indicated little of note aside from a few minor skirmishes with Duke Oliver's troops.
I returned from the kitchens, a bowl of grapes in hand and eager to rub it in Al's face and share absolutely none of them. The day guards were just arriving for the shift-change when I got to the fifth floor, and I absentmindedly nodded a greeting to a few as I passed. I hardly took notice of guards anymore, but something made me take a closer look at one this time. One of the guards standing in the hall just outside of Elincia's room was looking around at the rich tapestries, paintings and drapes with a wide-eyed awe, his youthful face darting this way and that as if each little object were a new and incredible discovery. As soon as I came within a few paces of him he jumped as though startled, and snapped what would have been a crisp salute had he not, in his excitement, lost his balance and nearly knocked over a vase. This of course made him squeak in surprise as he hurriedly steadied the vase before snapping himself back at attention, but by that point I was several strides past him, still staring in sheer bewilderment as the poor fool realized that there was no longer someone there to salute and relaxed. A few seconds later a chambermaid walked by him, and he repeated the ridiculous process, this time nearly falling over when the girl giggled at his antics. I was about to enter Elincia's room when the guard-captain came and pulled me aside.
"Mornin', Captain Varus," I greeted him. His squad had been on our daytime protection detail from the start, and he was very good at his job. "Grapes?"
"Sure," Varus said amicably, taking a small handful from the bowl I held out. "Just got a message from Commander Sigrun; The Empress is leaving for Serenes this afternoon, and she wants Princess Elincia to accompany her."
"Thank you captain, I'll let her know," I replied. Good, the mercenaries must be close to wrapping things up there. Varus looked like he was about to excuse himself, but I had to ask about the ludicrous boy on guard duty. "Captain, who is that guardsman there, to the left of the door?" I asked quietly, pointing to the unfamiliar face. Varus turned, saw who I was pointing at, and scowled.
"Oh, him. One of my men took ill, and we got sent some fresh recruit to fill in until he recovers," the guard-captain lamented, his brow furrowed in frustration. "I don't know what they were thinking, sending me some green boy for guard duty. The kid's barely out of training, and he's got no experience whatsoever."
"He seems a little... odd. Can he do his job?" I asked. The recruit was now busy gazing at the chambermaid from earlier as though he'd never seen a girl before. It was almost adorable.
"Apparently he was one of the best from this year's batch of recruits, but all I see is a buffoon who can't stand still!" Varus growled. The recruit finally noticed us looking in his direction and stood at rigid attention, his eyes wide with fear but still sneaking occasional glances at the cute chambermaid. Varus just shook his head. "If this is the best they have to offer, then I'd hate to see the worst!"
"Look at it this way captain; now he gets to learn from the best," I offered with a smile before continuing on my way. Varus' unhappy grumbling was cut off as the door to Elincia's suite closed behind me.
"Gods, you've been gone for ages! Did you get lost or something?" Al asked when I entered.
"Nope, I was just talking with Varus," I explained. I turned to Elincia and bowed slightly before relaying Varus' message. "The Apostle's leaving for Serenes this afternoon, Princess, and she wants you to come with her."
"Oh, so we'll be meeting up with the Greil Mercenaries, then?" Elincia reasoned, her face lighting up in genuine joy. "It will be so good to be back with Lord Ike... and all the others, of course."
"Yeah, it will," I agreed, ignoring her telling remark. No sense in teasing the woman who pays you. "But Serenes isn't exactly gonna be a picnic, Your Highness. Ike's reports say that place is crawling with Duke Tanas' remaining troops."
"Sweet, we might finally get some action around here! I've been practicing my archery, and if they get close... AIYAA!" Al crowed, miming a spear thrust. We were both getting a little restless, and even I had to admit that a fight might be a nice change of pace.
"Well, we shall find out when we arrive," Elincia said. "In the meantime, it would seem we have nothing scheduled between now and this afternoon."
"Gah, more sitting around! I'm gonna go shoot some targets," Al groaned, getting up from sofa she'd been reclining on and heading out to the balcony; She'd set up several targets at one end a few weeks back, and had since been using it for archery practice with varying degrees of success.
"Actually, I was speaking with Captain Varus yesterday and he mentioned that all the farmers are bringing the harvest to the markets today, and apparently it is the best time of year to visit the markets. I thought it might be fun to go look around, since we have the time," Elincia proposed. Al overheard, and grumbled something about how she hated shopping.
"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea," I said. I loved markets back home; there was always so much cool stuff to see, not to mention amazing food. Plus, I had been meaning to look for better equipment since we'd arrived in Sienne, but until now I never had the time.
Elincia smiled, evidently pleased that I agreed, and added "I was thinking that perhaps today we could take only a few guards with-"
"Absolutely. Only a dozen, plus myself and Al," I replied. Elincia's smile vanished.
"No, that would make it impossible to get through the crowds. You and Lady Alarice should suffice," she corrected me.
"Nuh-uh. Eleven guards, and we'll push and shove if we have too," I said firmly.
"Three."
"Ten," I reluctantly allowed.
"Three."
"NO!"
"Alright, four."
"More like nine."
"Still too many," Elincia said pleasantly. "You're far too protective, Sir Adam."
"Ugh! Eight, final offer," I declared, determined not to give into her demands. Elincia just looked at me with raised eyebrows and a sweetly confident smile.
A short time later, we arrived at the market with six guards in tow. It would have been just five guards, but Al - who'd been none too pleased about the shopping trip to begin with - had chosen to stay behind and give her spot on the security team to a certain fresh recruit. He'd been very eager to serve, so eager he was practically begging us for the opportunity, so Al stayed behind to 'look after the couches or something.' The recruit now marched stiffly in the middle of our procession, just a few steps behind Elincia and I, as Captain Varus led us into the main square of Sienne's enormous market district.
The square was overflowing with people, and there were so many stalls that even the streets nearby had become little more than an expansion for the massive sale. Indeed, the busy market had drawn all manner of people looking to sell their wares; Hunters sold hunks of venison and whole racks of rabbits, craftsmen showed off their works to potential customers, artists and jewelers displayed fine beads and necklaces, and travelling armorers and armsmen had brought their finest swords and chestpieces. Elincia looked like she was in heaven, taking in the sights and crowds that her isolated childhood had kept from her with an almost permanent expression of awe. She seemed particularly interested in books, and stopped at every stall or store that carried them.
Footsteps directly behind me alerted me to the approach of one of the guardsmen, and I turned my head to find the new recruit barely a foot away. Up close, I could see that he was even younger than I'd thought, probably no older than fifteen or sixteen. The boy jumped when I turned around, and promptly fell back into his assigned position. I faced forward again to hide my smile, and then slowed my pace so that I was walking beside the recruit.
"We haven't met, guardsman...?" I asked quietly, trying not to alarm him. I failed, and the kid's eyes bugged out as he stammered incoherently.
"J-Jeb, sir, guardsman Jeb," he finally answered. "I-I'm new here, fresh outta training."
"I kinda guessed that. I'm Adam," I said cordially, holding out my hand. Jeb shook the offered hand - a good, firm handshake, I noted approvingly - and seemed to relax a bit. "Captain Varus tells me you were one of the most promising recruits this year. What're you trained to do, exactly?" I asked. I wanted to get a feel for this kid's abilities, and while he seemed pretty nice, his twitchiness did not exactly inspire confidence in his fighting prowess.
"H-he said that?!" Jeb gasped, his mouth dropping open in amazement. "About me?"
"Yeah, something like that," I replied, keeping Varus' opinion of the boy to myself. "I have to admit, I'm curious how you got assigned to this detail."
"W-well, I was the best fighter this year, trained in armed and unarmed combat. Oh, and I'm a good shot with a crossbow too! The training sergeant said I could make captain or at least sergeant in a few years," Jeb replied with a touch of pride, puffing his chest out and standing a little taller. It actually looked kind of ridiculous, considering the boy was swimming in his armor. "Well, if I learn some discipline, that is," he added sheepishly.
It was a reasonable explanation, and if they wanted him to learn discipline, putting him in Varus' squad was a good choice. I was about to rejoin Elincia when Jeb cleared his throat nervously.
"So are you one of the Crimean mercs I heard about, then?" he inquired.
"Heard of us? Where?" I asked, surprised that he'd heard of the mercenaries; Elincia was the famous one, not us.
"Of course I've heard of you! It's all they're talking about in the taverns; The adventures of the Greil Mercenaries, with Commander Ike and Boyd the Great carving a path through legions of Daein brutes to save the princess!" Jeb exclaimed. I snorted with laughter, and a suppressed giggle from the princess told me she'd heard that as well. I guess Boyd's been doing some creative storytelling.
"Anything about me?" I asked once I could breathe again. If there's anything embarrassing here, I'm going to kill Boyd.
"Not specifically, no, but you are one of them, right?!" I nodded in response, and Jeb practically fell over he was so excited. I made a mental note to smack 'Boyd the Great' for not including me in the stories, though. The recruit finally contained his excitement enough to speak again, and unleashed a barrage of questions. "Have you been with them all the way from Crimea? What's it like being in a battle? Did you fight next to Boyd the Great?! Does the Daein King really breathe fire and have horns on his head?! How many-"
"Okay, whoa! Slow down!" I exclaimed. Geeze, talk about exuberance. No wonder he annoys Varus. "You really believe everything you hear in a tavern?" Jeb nodded vigorously, and I rolled my eyes in exasperation. "Of course you do. Well, in answer to your questions; yes, terrifying, yes, and I guess I haven't seen him face to face so... probably not. Any other questions?"
"Uhhhhhh..." Jeb was clearly having a little trouble remembering all the questions he'd spewed at me in the first place, and he scratched his head for a few seconds before giving up. "No?"
"Thank goodness. So are Boyd's little stories the only ones in the taverns right now, or are there any other fantastic stories about fire-breathing kings?" I asked. If people were willing to believe Boyd's ridiculous tale, I was dying to know what other crazy stories were out there.
"Well, there is one other good one I've heard a few times, but..." He lowered his tone conspiratorially. "...most people think it's kind of crazy. I don't, but everybody else does."
"Sounds interesting. Go on," I said, only partly mocking him.
"Well, the rumor is that there's this group of assassins right here in Sienne. They wear hoods and masks so nobody can tell who they are, and they strike down anyone who-"
"Oh, for the love of Ashera, this again?" one of the other guardsmen groaned, overhearing us. "You wouldn't shut up about them this morning, and I'm telling you it's all a bunch of crap someone made up to scare little recruits."
"Is not! They're real! They've been killing people all over the city for years now!" Jeb yelled indignantly.
"Oh really? People die in Sienne all the time, boy! How do you know it's these so-called 'assassins' who are responsible?" another guard chimed in. "Have you seen them doing it?" he asked, drawing snickers from the others.
"Of course not! Nobody sees them and lives to tell the tale, everyone knows that!" Jeb exclaimed, as though the answer should have been obvious. Even I had to laugh at the glaring flaw in that reasoning.
"So where exactly do all these stories come from then?" I chuckled. Jeb opened his mouth to answer, and then stopped as his expression turned to one of confusion and his face turned a deep shade of red. I felt bad for making fun of him, so I smiled and clapped him on the back. "Don't believe every rumor you hear. People like to exaggerate. A lot, in Boyd's case."
"So that stuff about Boyd the Great was..." he said sadly.
"Mostly made up. Don't get me wrong, Boyd's pretty damn tough, but the only person who calls him 'Boyd the Great' is himself," I explained. Jeb sighed in dismay. "Tell you what; once the other Greil Mercenaries get back and I have some time off, I'll tell you as much as you want about how we really got out of Crimea."
"Really? That would be great! Wait, does that mean I get to meet Boyd the Great too!? Oh Goddess, that would be soooo amazing!" Jeb exclaimed, practically squealing with glee. I excused myself before his voice got too high pitched and moved back up beside Elincia.
"Well, the new guardsman is certainly excitable," Elincia commented.
"He's quirky, that's for sure," I muttered. I noticed that she'd accumulated quite a few books while I'd been talking with Jeb. "I take it you've found some good stuff?"
"Oh, there are so many interesting things for sale, it's just amazing. I love markets, but this one is just so incredible!" the princess exclaimed joyfully. She began holding up books from the bundle in her arms. "Look, I found copies of some philosophical texts from the time of the first Apostle, and here are a few military treatises from Begnion and Daein, and this is a copy of one of my favorite plays, the story of Knight Commander Seth and Princess Eirika. Oh, and Captain Varus says that there is a great book merchant on the other side of the square, so we're going there next!" She pointed to the far side of the square, in an area where it was much less busy. "Oh, and after that, I thought we might look for a blacksmith's workshop. After all, you need better armor, do you not?"
"I do milady, thank you," I said, more than a little surprised that she remembered, considering she had so many other concerns. "Now why don't I take some of those books before you drop one," I added, taking and handful of books from her to lighten the load.
"That is most gracious of you, but will it not make it difficult for you to perform your duties as a bodyguard?" Elincia asked, raising a valid point. I would not exactly be able to draw my sword with both arms full. Despite her protest, though, I could see she was having a much easier time carrying just half of the stack of books. An idea suddenly occurred to me.
"You have a point." I turned to the new recruit behind me. "Jeb! I have an important job for you!" The recruit, ever eager to please, was right beside me in an instant, and I wasted no time dropping the stack of books into his arms. I answered his disappointed look with a mischievous grin. "Don't drop them."
"Your Highness, we've arrived," Varus called from the front of our little procession. Sure enough, just ahead was a small shop. The building was modest, but well cared for, with clear windows and a new sign above the solid oak door that read "Renatus' Tomes and Texts." Varus sent two men inside to make sure the building was safe, and after only a couple minutes they emerged and exchanged a few quick words with the Captain. He gave some orders I did not hear, and then came over to Elincia.
"The building is secure, Your Grace! My men will establish a perimeter, and make sure no one disturbs you," Varus announced. I gave him a grateful smile; It was a polite way of saying 'no one gets in or out without your say-so,' and it made my job much easier.
"Excellent. Let us go, then!" Elincia replied as an excited grin spread across her face. Varus bowed and went to go set up the perimeter, and I waved Jeb over.
"C'mon, Jeb, we'll have more books for you to carry," I said as he hastened to join us. I led the way inside the shop. An old, bespectacled man in voluminous robes greeted us as we stepped through the door.
"Welcome, welcome my dear Princess!" the old fellow exclaimed, strands of graying, greasy hair flying behind him as he skittered over to greet us. "I must say, it is quite the honor to have someone of your fame visit this little shop."
"You are too kind, good sir. Renatus, I presume?" she asked, gazing around at the marvelous store. The place was packed floor to ceiling with shelves, each one filled with books of all shapes, sizes and genres, and I could see three other men moving about through the store, arranging and organizing the books. The shelves were packed so densely that the only light in the back of the store came from some flickering candles. "This is an amazing collection you have here, you should be proud!"
"Ah, yes, thank you very much," the old man said simply, somewhat less enthused by the compliment that I expected. He probably heard that a lot. "Now, is there anything in particular you were looking for? Just say the title and I will help you find it."
"Yes, actually I was really hoping that you might have..." Elincia launched into such a lengthy list that even I couldn't keep up, but the merchant nodded and led her deeper into the store. Jeb ambled along after them to pick up anything she decided to purchase. One of the merchant's assistants came over while I watched them.
"Anything I can help you with, sir?" he asked. I almost dismissed him, as I was still not quite comfortable reading Tellian script, but it occurred to me that there might be something of use in here.
"Sure. Elincia mentioned that some other merchants here had Daein military treatises. You wouldn't have anything like that, would you?" I inquired. After all, we were just weeks away from having an army to invade Daein, and it would help to know as much about them and their armies as I could. Finding the Daein equivalent to The Art of War or De Re Militari would definitely help me to understand the enemy.
"Ah, Daein. Yes, we have many books concerning them..." the man said, leading me to a group of shelves just to the left of the door, on the opposite side of the store from Elincia. "Could you be a little more specific?"
"Tactics, typical troop composition, command structure, logistics - Anything and everything," I said. The man looked a little uncertain, but he finally picked one book off the shelf.
"Here. Daein Rulers and Government. That is what you were looking for, yes?" the assistant asked uncertainly, holding out a rather thin and frayed book to me.
"Not exactly..." I replied slowly, scanning the shelves myself. After a few minutes of searching, I saw a cluster of books with the Daein crest on their spines. I went closer to sound out the titles. "Here, I think these look better. Concerning the Deployment of the Daein Army, Military Reforms in Daein... Oh, and Siegecraft; A Guide to Siege Warfare written by King Ragnar III of Daein. Yeah, these look good."
"Ah yes, those. I must have missed them..." the assistant said uncertainly. It struck me as very strange that this man had not known of those books. In fact, it was rather strange that a small shop like this would have three assistants working, but then it was a busy day.
"Missed them? Don't you work here?" I quipped, turning back to the assistant as I pulled one of the volumes off the shelf. It was not the assistant that I noticed when I turned around, however. There was a large window just behind him, and when I looked that way I noticed that Captain Varus and his squad were conspicuously absent from the front of the store. Varus was always where he was supposed to be. Right away, alarm bells started going off in my head; something was wrong here. The assistant noticed where I was looking and moved to stand between me and the window.
"My apologies, sir. I was just hired recently," he said disarmingly, but I could see beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
"You know, I don't think I have enough gold to pay for these," I said, replacing the book on the shelf and heading back towards Elincia, all while doing my best to act normal and avoid raising any suspicions.
"But you haven't even seen our prices yet. Surely there is no need to leave them here!" the man exclaimed, following closely behind me. Too closely. He knew he'd been made.
"Well, let me just ask my employer for some extra gold-" The slight ring of steel was the only warning I got. "ELINCIA, IT'S A TRAP!" I yelled.
The man thrust his knife at my back before I'd finished the warning shout, but I was already moving, pivoting back inside his reach and deflecting his wrist with my forearm. I chopped the blade of my right hand down hard on the side of his neck as I drove his knife away, and he let out a chocking gasp as he fell back against a nearby shelf. He kept his wits despite the momentary disorientation and whipped the knife defensively in front of him, and I was forced back a step. There was no room or time to draw my sword, so I waded back in before he could fully recover from the initial strike. He tried to stab me in the gut as I approached, but I trapped the knife arm with both hands and slammed it against the shelf. He dropped it as his wrist turned with a sickening crunch, but threw me back with his other arm and turned away, scrambling after the lost weapon. I was on him again in an instant, wrapping one arm around his neck and bracing the back of his head with the other, tightening the choke-hold to strangle him into unconsciousness.
From the other side of the store, I could hear thumps, grunts and cries of pain. Elincia's voice was among them, as was Jeb's, and I knew that I needed to get over there fast. The man was still struggling beneath me, and I realized that I would not have time to choke him out. I grimly readjusted my grip, grabbing his chin for extra leverage. He felt it and tried to cry out, whether for help or for mercy I would never know; there was no time for prisoners. I twisted his head sharply to the side, and the body dropped to the floor in a heap.
A dozen hurried steps carried me to the back of the store just in time to see Jeb cave one killer's head in with a massive hard-covered volume while the last killer rushed Elincia and knocked her to the ground. His dagger plunged down towards her chest, but she deflected the strike into the floor and countered with a heavy punch to his jaw. He was stunned just long enough for me to yank the man's head back by his hair and drive my own dagger up under his jaw. That left only the false merchant, who stood at the back of the store muttering incoherently. For a second I thought he'd lost it, mumbling to himself without even looking at us, but then I noticed that his hands were moving discreetly.
"He's a mage!" I yelled, grabbing Elincia under her arms and dragging her behind a shelf. Jeb was faster, toppling a shelf over to intercept the spell. A dark void opened up on that shelf, contorting and shrinking the falling wood and books before collapsing in on itself and sucking half the shelf with it into nothingness. Jeb screamed and leapt over the crumbling bookshelf, unsheathing his sword in a lightning-fast swipe. Even his speed could not prevent the mage from casting one last spell, but the spell that he cast was not offensive. Instead, there was a flash of light and a sharp 'POP!', and I peeked out from behind the shelf just in time to see the mage, surrounded by a very familiar ring of runes, begin to fade away into thin air. A split second later, Jeb's sword cut through the space where the merchant's head had been, but the man had already escaped. The danger past, for the moment at least, I turned my attention back to Elincia.
"My lady, are you all right?" I asked breathlessly, inspecting her for wounds. Her knuckles were bloody and she had a shallow cut on her forearm, but none of her injuries were life-threatening.
"Y-yes, I'm fine," she said, slowly getting to her feet. She was shaking, but as far as I could tell it was just nerves.
"C'mon, we need to get you out of here," I said. "Jeb, go look for a back door, I don't think the front entrance is-" I glanced towards the windows at the front of the store, and the first thing I noticed was that the area just in front of the store was suspiciously clear of pedestrians, almost as if it were being cordoned off. I felt a surge of hope as a figure wearing familiar armor moved into view; it was Varus!
As I watched, though , my relief turned to shock and horror as several armed men, a few of whom wore the distinctive robes of mages, pushed their way out of the crowd and made straight for Varus. They had the look of mercenaries, and they drew their weapons as soon as they got free of the crowd. Rather than fight them, the guard captain yelled something and pointed towards us, and the killers followed his lead as they converged on the store.
It finally hit me - It was Varus that wanted to go to the market, Varus that told Elincia of the store, and Varus who declared the store safe. We'd been betrayed. "Jeb, we need an exit, NOW!" This day just keeps getting better and better.
"Through here!" he called right away, running out of the store's back room. "There's a back door, looks like it goes to an alley!"
"Perfect!" I exclaimed, pulling Elincia along behind me as I ran for the room Jeb had indicated. It was just a small, dark storage room, but there was a back door there with a sliver of sunlight showing at the bottom. Swords drawn, Jeb and I led the way through the door and out into the alley, but as soon as we stepped outside we found ourselves face-to-face two very surprised crossbowmen. Jeb acted first, impaling the first crossbowman before he could bring his weapon up. The second tried to draw a bead on Elincia but I slashed his arm, making him drop the crossbow. I didn't give him the chance to pull another weapon, I just ran the unarmed man through.
"Stay here, I'll check the alley," Jeb said breathlessly. I took advantage of the brief pause to shoulder one of the fallen crossbows, just in case we needed it. Now that I had a moment to look around, I could see that the end of the alley where we stood was partially enclosed by a tall wooden fence, and it was littered with old, tattered and rotting books as well as - Oh, lovely - a pair of corpses that I could only assume were the real owners of the store. Jeb moved to a gap in the fence and peeked out into the main part of the alley. The muted boom of an explosion came from the store behind us, and the back door shook with the force of it.
"We clear, Jeb?" I asked tersely. These guys, whoever they were, weren't messing around.
"All clear!" Jeb replied, his voice audibly relieved. He stepped out into the alleyway and motioned for us to follow. "C'mon, before th-" Suddenly, a crossbow bolt shot down from a neighboring rooftop, and with a spray of blood and a muted shriek the boy fell to the ground. Elincia cried out and moved to help him, but my brain registered the danger and without thinking I pushed her back protectively against the fence.
"Get back, get back!" I yelled, my horrified gaze locked on the young guardsman. He'd been shot in the throat, and blood spilled from his mouth as he cried out in pain and fear and his fingers scrabbled helplessly against the cobblestones. Elincia was yelling something, but there was nothing I could do for him. Another fireball exploded in the store, blowing the back door right off its hinges, and I pushed Elincia further behind me.
"We can't stay here!" Elincia yelled over the roar of the explosion. I looked around in a panic for some other way out, but the only escape from the men behind us was down that alley, right through the hidden crossbowman's kill zone. In the alley ahead, Jeb had stopped struggling, empty eyes staring blankly at me as a pool of blood spread out from his corpse. I shouldered my new crossbow and moved as close to the gap in the fence as I could.
I peeked around the end of the fence, scanning the rooftop where I thought the shooter was holed up. I had the wrong one, but I still caught a glimpse of a human form silhouetted against the sky, practically right above us. I ducked back into cover, and a second bolt bounced off the cobblestones barely a foot away.
"Run, before he reloads!" I shouted, and I led the way as we ran down the alley, crossbow trained straight ahead in case any other killers showed up. The alley turned sharply just ahead, and put us safely out of the crossbowman's sights. "Don't stop!" I called back to Elincia. We had maybe a minute before the men in the store figured out where we'd gone, and I wanted to be long gone by that time.
I rounded the corner first, my crossbow aimed straight ahead. Not far down that alley were three armed men, more hired swords sent to cut off any escape. I snapped off a shot, catching one man in the leg, but the other two charged. I dropped the crossbow and drew my sword, deflecting the first man's blade to the right. Elincia unexpectedly came to my aid, driving a dagger (she must have taken it from one of the dead men in the store) into his chest and freeing my weapon to fight the next sellsword. He locked blades with me, but I braced one hand against the flat of my blade and pushed him back against the alley wall. A quick twist smashed the pommel of my sword into his jaw, stunning him and giving me ample opportunity to open his chest with a quick slash.
The last man finally regained his feet and limped towards us, taking a heavy swing at me. I exchanged a handful of blows with him, but he finally put too much weight on his wounded leg and stumbled, giving me just enough of an opening to deliver a sharp kick to the crossbow quarrel embedded in his calf. He fell to his knees, but I didn't bother finishing the fight; Instead, I grabbed Elincia's arm and ran off down the alley as a chorus of yells from behind us heralded the arrival of the men from the store. They wasted no time taking up the chase.
The area behind the market square was a mess of alleys and small side streets, and we wound our way through them as fast as we could, making random turns in hopes of losing our pursuit. It seemed to work at first, the cries of our pursuers fading the further we ran, and once they'd stopped altogether we finally allowed ourselves to stop and catch our breath. I had no plan yet beyond escaping, and as we sat there gasping for breath I wracked my mind to think of some way to get back to the cathedral, or at least someplace safe where we could lay low until the danger passed.
My mind was still reeling from the shock of Varus' betrayal and loss of Jeb, but the obvious solution finally hit me; Nedata's bar was much closer than the cathedral, we'd actually passed it on our way to the market, and once we made it there we would have the protection of the notorious privateer and his deadly crew. There was only one problem; I knew the way from the market to the bar, but after our panicked rush through the alleys, I had no idea which way to go. I was about to ask Elincia if she knew which way it was when a man about my age entered the alley. He didn't notice us at first as he ambled along, happily bouncing a small bag of coins in his hand, and he almost passed us by without incident. He did finally notice us, however, and when he saw Elincia his eyes widened in recognition.
I stepped between him and the princess, placing my hand on the hilt of my sword. The stranger wore rough clothes, but had a nice sword belted at his waist; He looked like another sellsword. My first thought was that he was another enemy, but he made no move to draw his weapon.
"Y-you're El- I mean princess Elincia!" he gasped. My sword started to come free of its sheath, but Elincia stopped me.
"I don't think he's one of them," she cautioned me.
"I didn't think Varus was a traitor, either." I whispered back. The guy saw my sword and held his hands up in a non-threatening manner, palms out.
"Whatever you think I am, I promise you I'm not," he said. "I'm Matt, just a local mercenary." Despite his claim to be a local, I finally noticed that his accent was definitely not Tellian. Curious. He must have noticed our battered condition, because he made the right assumption. "You're in trouble, aren't you?"
"Yes," I replied tersely. As if to emphasize the point, the shouts of our pursuers started up again, much too close for comfort.
"Your enemies?" Matt asked. Elincia nodded. "Where do you need to go?"
"The market, for starters," I said. Helpful though he may seem, I wasn't going to tell him the whole plan.
"Follow that street," Matt replied, indicating a fork in the alley. We all turned in the direction of the shouts as they grew louder and louder. "Hurry, I'll keep them distracted."
I had no better ideas, so I nodded my consent. Elincia turned a grateful smile towards our mysterious helper. "Thank you, Matt. We will not forget this," she said before we ran off. We were just getting out of sight when the shouts reached Matt's position.
"Did you see anyone come this way?!" a voice shouted. I peeked back around the corner to see Matt pointing down the wrong alley. Grateful for the distraction, Elincia and I ran off in the direction he'd told us to go. Matt, whoever he was, was true to his word, and I sheathed my sword to avoid drawing too much attention as we once again reached the crowded market square. I quietly explained my plan to seek shelter with Nedata, as well as the correct route as we made our way across the square, using the crowd to hide us from prying eyes. Fortunately, most people were too distracted by the burning book store to notice us, and we were able to cross most of the square unhindered.
We were perhaps fifty feet from the side street I'd been aiming for when things went wrong again. I glanced back into the crowded market, just to see if we were being pursued, and when I turned around I almost walked right into one of Varus' guardsmen. For a second we stood frozen, but then he recognized me and went for his sword. I threw a heavy punch into his jaw, knocking him back and sending waves of pain shooting up my arm.
"SHIT, RUN!" I yelled, realizing that the other members of Varus' squad were all nearby. Elincia took off down the side street and I followed closely behind her. The click of crossbows being fired rang out from behind us, and bolts skipped off the cobblestones around our feet.
"In here!" Elincia yelled back to me as she ducked into an alley. I followed her, but just before I got out of the street I felt a heavy impact on my lower abdomen. I tried to dismiss it as nothing, but a second later my brain registered the blinding pain shooting through my body and I staggered into a wall. Elincia noticed that I was lagging behind and started to turn back.
"Keep running! Don't look back!" I yelled, forcing my legs to carry me after her. Each step felt like a knife to the gut. "I'm right behind you!" To my relief, she didn't notice my state and kept going.
I glanced down at my side as I ran, and I could see the head of a crossbow quarrel sticking through my armor, with a red stain growing ever larger around it. I didn't need a doctor to tell me the severity of the wound; I was losing blood, and losing it fast. The wound screamed with every step, each jolt tearing it open just a little more, and I realized that I would never make it to Nedata's tavern. I stopped running just meters from the end of the alley, my mind going blank except for that terrifying realization.
"Adam, what are you doing?!" Elincia cried, whirling around in surprise.
"Do you... know the way?" I asked, my breath coming in short, labored puffs. Four of Varus' guardsmen reached the other end of the alley, and a wave of despair came over me; now there was definitely no way out for me.
"Y-yes, you told me where to go-" she replied uncertainly. Her face was a mask of concern mixed with more than a little fear. I focused on that puzzled and impatient expression, and grimly reminded myself of my duty. My survival was not important, only hers.
"Then go," I said, straightening up and drawing my sword. Her face fell as she saw my wound and realized my intention.
"No! I will not allow this!" She exclaimed, taking my arm and pulling me towards the street. I just shook my head and waved her away, but she persisted. "You cannot expect me to-"
"GO!" I reiterated forcefully.
Her voice took on a desperate edge. "I am your liege and I am ordering you-"
"No, you're not! Get the hell out of here!" I yelled. The longer she stood there, the harder it got to stay brave. She looked absolutely horrified, but she did not budge. "I can buy you a few minutes, but you have to leave NOW!"
The clatter of armored boots on the cobblestones grew louder behind me, and I turned slowly to face the traitorous guardsmen. They stopped a few strides back, seeing the sword I aimed their way.
"Go, Your Highness," I whispered. "You have to live."
Reluctantly, Elincia nodded and left the alley, running off down the street while I blocked the traitors' way. With her gone and safe, my fear at last melted away to be replaced with a cold rage, a rage I focused on those traitorous bastards. These men betrayed Elincia, betrayed me, left Jeb to die, and in that moment, for the first time, I relished the thought of killing. My one regret was that Varus himself was not among them.
One of the guards, Varus' second in command, stepped forward. "Stand aside, Adam. She's the one we want."
"That's not gonna happen, and you know it," I growled. I could stand straight, but my sword was getting heavier by the second.
"Fool! You cannot hope to survive this!"
"You'll die too," I promised him.
"Have it your way." The lieutenant turned to his men. "Kill him."
All at once they rushed me, Varus' lieutenant leading the way with his spear aimed at my chest. I swiped my sword across prematurely, and he tugged up on his spear to keep it from being knocked out of line. The parry was a feint, though, and as soon as his spear was up I redirected the half-hearted parry into a strong thrust, driving the point deep into his chest. The effort cost me, though; the bolt in my gut twisted, and I nearly dropped my sword as I doubled over in pain.
The others were on me in an instant, and the only thing that kept them from surrounding me then and there was their dying leader, who stubbornly held his feet even after I withdrew my blade from his chest. He unwittingly bought me a few seconds as two of his men scrambled to get around him, and I was left facing just one guard. I straightened up and attacked him as aggressively as I could, knowing I had only seconds before his comrades finished me off. I accepted a cut on my left arm, welcomed it even, as I rushed recklessly inside the reach of his weapon and slammed the pommel of my sword into his chest. I yelled a battle cry and whipped my sword up above my head as he staggered back, but even as the sword descended, I realized I was too late.
A spear pierced the back of my leg, and my scream turned to one of agony as I was forced to my knees. I struggled to rise, swinging my sword helplessly as the man in front of me retreated just out of my reach. The spear was torn out violently, and I pitched forward on my hands knees as blinding pain burned through my body. I forced myself to straighten up, to at least look my killers in their eyes, and what I saw made me wish I'd stayed down and died quietly. Down the alley, past the guard who was once again approaching me, I saw Elincia being dragged back out of the street by a pair of sellswords, and I realized that I had failed. A wave of despair worse than any pain these traitors could inflict threatened to crush me, and I hardly noticed as the guard I'd nearly killed planted his boot on my chest and pushed me back contemptuously.
The world spun around me, and suddenly I was staring at the sky as my head landed heavily against the cobblestones. Another wave of agony tore through me as the impact forced the crossbow bolt through my gut, and I felt the warm, wet patch on my shirt grow rapidly. I tried to raise my sword in one last struggle, one last chance to free Elincia, but my arm would not obey my commands, the hand merely twitching weakly before my numb fingers let go of the sword altogether. I looked away from the weapon, looking back towards Elincia to see that she'd been dragged well into the alley and away from prying eyes, and now one of her captors forced her to her knees while his partner raised a sword.
An armored boot blocked my view, and I looked up to see a guard standing over me, his spear pointed at my heart. I let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding, and focused on the eyes of my executioner. I saw no guilt, no remorse in those eyes as the weapon descended, but just before it would have pierced my chest the guard jerked, then stiffened as his face went blank.
The spear fell harmlessly to the ground, and the guard toppled over me, revealing for a split second a hooded figure, his or her face covered by a cloth mask and a bloody dagger gripped in their hands. The figure was gone in an instant, rushing out of my sight as the other two guards fell with little more than a grunt of pain. I looked over at Elincia, praying to whatever deity might be listening that this was not a hallucination, a wishful thought brought on by Jeb's fantastic stories of assassins striking down the wicked, and my prayers were answered as two more figures emerged from the shadows. Blades flashed from hidden scabbards, and the men holding Elincia barely had time to register the assassins' arrival before they joined the guards in death.
Gentle hands took me under my arms, and I felt as though I were floating up away from the ground and over to where my employer waited even as my vision began to darken around the edges. A carriage blocked the alley's entrance, though I did not recall seeing it pull up, and our rescuers bundled us inside. The next thing I knew, I was sitting next to Elincia on a soft bench, facing a familiar but very unexpected face.
The sight of that man shocked me into brief awareness, and I struggled to speak, to ask for some explanation of what was happening. I managed one word; "You..."
"I told you before, I am not your enemy," Duke Hetzel replied as he pulled the carriage door closed. I struggled to rise, but he held me back with a gentle but surprisingly strong grip. "Rest easy, soldier. I will not let Ramon's daughter come to harm."
I could not deny the sincerity in his eyes, despite my many misgivings, and I sank back against the cushions. The surge of strength was fading fast, and I once again felt weak and tired and so cold. The darkness in my vision spread, and this time I couldn't fight it. I let go, and all at once my pain was gone, just gone, and the world went dark. The last thing I heard was Hetzel's surprised yell.
"Driver, go faster! He's running out of time!"
Author's Note
Well, that chapter took way longer than it should have. Well, at least I got it done before classes started, eh? Please leave a review, I always love hearing what you think (good or bad). I know there may be a few things that don't necessarily make sense, but it will be explained over the next few chapters.
Also, **minor spoiler alert** I thought I should mention that the guy to appear and help Adam and Elincia in the alley was BritRecon's OC, Matt. Told you guys I would get get more of them in this fic. **end spoilers**