"Barring any obstructions, we should reach Castle Santaruz by tomorrow afternoon." Eliwood's retainer Marcus said, as they rode through a small mountain pass that connected Pheare and Santaruz.
Jace nodded only half listening to what the paladin had said. Something about what had been said during the conversation the day previous, was still bothering him. If Lord Elbert had rode to Lause with a war force, then why was it that nobody had word of there whereabouts for the past month? Not even an open declaration of war from Marquess Laus.
"Eliwood." Jace began slowly. "Forgive me for asking this, but what is the likelihood that Lord Helman has something to do with your father's disappearance?"
"None." The Phearan noble replied a little too quickly for the tactician's taste. "Lord Helman and my father have been friends for a very long time. He simply cannot be connected to this."
Jace nodded, running a hand through Brego's maine. "I'm just making sure we look at all the angles when it comes to your father's disappearance. Leave no stone unturned, and explore all the options we-"
The tactician felt a shiver go up his spine. He was mid-sentence, when the sensation hit him. Almost as if on instinct, Jace reached out and pulled Eliwood off of his horse, and onto Brego. It was not a moment too soon, as an arrow flashed through the space that the young lord had occupied a moment before.
Blades were drawn, as the small company came to a full stop. Their path was blocked by a group of rough looking men. Some with swords, others with axes. The largest one who had to be their leader, stepped to the space between his men, and Eliwood's group.
"A real shame." He said in an almost bored tone, as he hefted a large axe onto his shoulder. "You should have let him die. You could have spared your own lives… Ah well, too late now. Kill 'em boys."
Several of the ruffians charged. Rebecca let loose an arrow, only managing to catch the man in the shoulder. Jace gathered a small amount of magical energy in his hand. He did not wish to over-exert himself, as he was still recovering from his Thoron spell a year ago.
"Elfire!" A fireball of substantial size launched at the charging ruffians. It was strong enough to incinerate two of the ruffians, but their friends were upon them. Eliwood, blocked and parried to the best of his ability, finally able to pierce the man's neck with his rapier. Lowen who was the light green haired knight took on two men at once. Or rather attempted to, he did not possess the skill of Kent, nor the zeal of Sain. He would have been taken down sooner, had Marcus not stepped in, and taken one man's sword arm off at the shoulder. Lowen had gotten extremely lucky, by getting in a good and deep slash across the man's chest.
The ruffian leader had fallen back, trying to put a smuch space between himself and Eliwood's group. He did not notice a large battle axe being raised behind him. The large axe was brought down into the man's back, severing his spine. He dropped to the ground, and Jace let out a gasp of surprise. It was the large blue haired man from his dreams.
"Hector!" Eliwood exclaimed in a tone of surprise and relief. "What brings you here!?"
"Killing bandits Eliwood." Hector replied hoisting his axe onto his shoulder. "What about you my friend?"
"It's quite a long story." Eliwood started, but was cut off when more ruffians approached them. "Of course, I could explain after the battle is over."
Drawing his blade, Jace was about to spur Brego forward, when a voice reached his ears. "Jace, there you are!"
The tactician's eyes widened. That was Dorcas' voice. He spun around, and sure enough there was the large axeman urging a rather large steed forward. He was accompanied by another axeman, on a steed who was very similar to Dorcas'.
"Dorcas, what in Naga's name are you doing here?" Jace asked clearly shocked.
"Still trying to make money for Natalie's leg." The axeman replied.
"And your friend?" The tactician asked, nodding his head towards the second man.
"This is Bartre. His heart is in the right place, despite his abundance of energy." Dorcas replied.
"Alright then Dorcas, you and Bartre come with me. We're going to flank these Naga forsaken sons' of bitches."
An hour later, the ruffians were dead. Jace had taken another swig of that bitter tasting elixer. Eliwood had agreed to hire on Bartre and Dorcas, though he had agreed to pay the latter man a more substantial amount once Jace had told Eliwood about his wife.
"Right then Eliwood." Hector began. "What's going on here?"
The Phearan noble took a deep breath, and began to explain everything since his father had vanished with nearly all of Pheare's knights a month previous. Hector in Jace's eyes, while seeming brutish, listened closely to everything his friend had said.
"And you're heading to Santaruz for answers?" Hector asked, drumming his fingers along the haft of his axe.
"At least I hope to find answers there." Eliwood replied.
(A/N) Alright short chapter yes, and I am sorry for that, but my brain is not working at the moment. I know I did not include Dorcas and Bartre in the last chapter, and that was because I had completely forgotten about them joining in chapter eleven.
Next, I wanted to explain a little more about how I view Jace and his family casting light magic. the way I view it at least, is like casting a Patronus charm in Harry Potter. A dark wizard who tries to cast a Patronus would be consumed and killed by the spell, as its a spell meant for benevolent wizards. Raja never learned, nor taught her sons light magic due to her worry, that due to her being a former Grimleal, and also what Jace is, that they would be killed the moment they attempted to use light magic.
Thirdly, and I hate myself for saying this, but I'm going to hold out to post the next chapter until I can get a few reviews on my previous chapters. Just questions or concerns that I can answer in future chapters. Or even if it's just to say 'good Job' or Naga forbid 'you suck'.