Chapter 1: The New Recruit
Thankfully, the journey back to the palace proved to be a peaceful one. Amy took the opportunity to take in the sights, sounds and smells of Idon, noticing how different they were to anything she was used to. Loren took the time to ask her various questions, ranging from Phenia's social practices to her work as a mercenary, the majority of which she answered, only leaving the more personal questions without a response. Before she knew it, the palace was right in front on them, towering over them. From the outside, she had never seen anything so impressive.
"Well, here we are," said Loren. "Castle Idon. My home."
Amy was struggling to find words that could express her thoughts about the palace, but eventually managed, "This is… incredible. I've never seen anything like it."
The entrance was guarded, but Loren calmly walked up to one of the guards and started speaking. Amy couldn't hear from where she was stood, but it was clear he was explaining to the guard that she had been invited, and as such was not to be stopped by security. The man nodded, and the three of them continued into the castle.
The building was no less impressive on the inside than it was on the outside. Paintings hung from every wall, light poured in from perfectly oriented windows, and everything was spotless. It was clear that the servants didn't want to let the royal family down.
As they progressed through the rooms of the castle, Amy was unable to take her mind off how huge the place was – it had rooms she could see no obvious use for, but she kept quiet so as to remain respectful.
Eventually, they reached what she guessed was the inner sanctum. A set of enormous double doors were in front of them, and the room they were in had two other exits besides the one through which they had entered. Amy guessed that the double doors led to the throne room, and this was confirmed when Loren spoke.
"Could I ask you to wait here a moment?" he said. "I must meet briefly with my father."
"Of course," she replied. With those words, Xand opened one of the doors, and both Loren and the knight walked through.
Alone for the first time since arriving at the palace (with the exception of the guards at each exit), Amy was finally able to appreciate where she was. She'd never had any kind of contact with any royal family before, although she had been employed by some of the ruling governors of her home country. As such, she knew how the ruling class of Phenia lived, and had not expected such a huge difference in Parolt. Clearly she had been mistaken.
The tranquillity of solitude did not last long, and she had been waiting barely five minutes when a young girl entered the chamber. She looked about ten years old, with her blue hair tied back in a ponytail. She gave Amy a strange look.
"And who might you be?" she asked, her speech very eloquent, although Amy could tell there was a hint of a patronising tone to it, as though she were looking down at her.
"My name is Amy," she replied. "I came here with the prince. I'm currently waiting for him while he meets with the king. And who are you?"
"Such ignorance!" snorted the girl. "Is that really how you're going to address a princess?"
It took a moment for the words to register, but Amy quickly realised the mistake she'd made. It seemed this was harder than she had thought. "I-I apologise, milady," she replied. "I'm afraid I lack experience at this sort of thing. I beg your forgiveness." She stepped forward and performed a small curtsy.
"Hmph!" huffed the girl. "Ignorance is no excuse. The next-"
"Honestly, Marne, are you really going to make our guest feel uncomfortable and insecure for the entire duration of her visit here?" interrupted another voice, coming from the direction of the double doors. Amy had not noticed them open, but they clearly had, for now there was someone stood in front of them. She looked slightly older than Loren, maybe twenty-one or so years old, and like her siblings, her hair was also a brilliant blue, though unlike her sister, she kept It short.
"But Lily…" protested the younger girl.
"Would you like it if someone else made you feel that way?" asked the older woman.
"N-No…" The arrogance and patronising tone had now left the girl's voice, which now had the tone of someone who knew she was wrong.
"Why don't you go for a walk or something? It'll be better than just standing there tormenting this woman."
Without another word, the girl turned and left the room. Once she had, the princess turned to Amy. "I apologise for that," she began. "Marne needs to learn that she can't treat everyone as though she's above them – it would be a disaster if she treated the populace of this country like that."
"There's no need to apologise, milady," replied Amy. "She was merely acting the way she has been brought up."
"For a Phenian, you're quite accepting of different cultures," remarked the princess. "I almost expected you to refuse to treat her differently to anyone else on account of your country having no hierarchical system."
"As a mercenary," began Amy, "work would be very hard to come by if I looked down on cultures that were different to my own, milady. One of the most important things I've ever had to learn was how to accept other societies and cultures as they are, and to try and fit in with them."
"I suppose that's true," replied the princess. "Forgive me, I have not yet introduced myself. My name is Lily."
"It's both an honour and a pleasure to make your acquaintance, milady," said Amy, repeating the curtsy she had done for Marne.
"Your name is Amy, correct?"
"That's right."
"My brother has just been talking about you. He seems to think very highly of your skills. For that matter, so does Sir Xand. The two of them are meeting with my father right now to discuss the possibility of hiring you permanently."
"Permanently?" asked Amy, surprised by the statement.
"Correct."
"Loren didn't even mention to me that was what he was doing. I'm not even sure whether I'd be suited to the job."
"That may be, but he felt it would be better to get approval first before offering you a position, so as not to get your hopes up in case his request was denied."
"Then why are you telling me now?" A look of realisation came across her face. Lily smiled.
"It looks like Father is coming around to Loren's way of thinking."
As she said that, the huge doors opened again, and both Loren and Xand stepped out. Xand walked over to Amy and handed her a small pouch with some coins in it.
"Your payment for the last job," he explained.
"And I have a proposition for you," said Loren. "I am in charge of a small group of six men known as the Posayan Legion." He paused, noticing Amy's expression, but not realising it was the result of her never having heard the name before.
Luckily, Xand understood where the confusion was. "Posaya was a great hero is our nation's history," he explained. "He was a prince who served to protect the defenceless, fighting injustice wherever it occurred. It is said he died in battle, but he truly did shape this country."
"And so, as defenders of justice and the people, the prince's army has ever since taken his name," continued Loren. "Back to the original point, I was wondering if you would consider taking a job as our strategist."
"Of course, it's not that simple," said Xand. "As neither a noble nor someone of any military rank, our king has requested that you first be tested. He wants to put your skills up against one of our military commanders."
"Wow. That's quite the offer," replied Amy. "I suppose I wouldn't get very far as a mercenary if I turned down every job that presented itself to be. I think I'll take you up on that. So what do I need to do?"
"I will lead you to a meeting room where one of our generals awaits," said Xand. He will test your skill with a game of military strategy. Should he deem you worthy, we will be able to hire you on the spot."
"Alright. That sounds reasonable."
"Then if you'd like to follow me." He turned as the two of them exited the room, bowing to the prince and princess. Amy followed the gesture with a curtsy before following him.
As the two of them walked down the various corridors and hallways of the castle, it became clear to Amy exactly why the building was so large. Not only did it need room for servants' quarters, but parts of the castle also housed some of the higher-up military generals. She guessed that the barracks for regular soldiers were not to far away, either.
They stopped as they reached the end of a corridor, which culminated in a single door. Xand gave it three knocks before stepping back and waiting for a reply.
"Who's there?" asked a voice from inside the room.
"It's Xand. I'm here with a request from His Majesty."
The door opened, and the man stepped out. He was physically imposing, standing well over six foot and with very large muscles. Amy guessed he was one of the instructors for the Paroltean army. Xand handed him a letter bearing the seal of the king, which he proceeded to read.
"Very well," he said. "Consider it done." He nodded to Xand, then turned to Amy. "It seems the king wants me to test your skill as a tactician."
"That's correct, sir."
"Well, step inside, then. I'll have you know I used to act as a part-time strategist myself."
"Used to?"
"Before I became an instructor. I usually teach swordplay, but, on occasion, some of the recruits ask me to teach them some strategy." He cleared some room on his desk before taking out what was clearly a game board. "This is my main method of doing so," he explained.
"So I'm to play this game with you to test my abilities?" asked Amy.
"Correct."
It didn't take long for the instructor to set up the game board and explain the rules to Amy. Once he had, they were able to start.
"And that…" said Amy, making the final move of the game, "is game."
The instructor was astounded. Never before had he been beaten at this game. And yet Amy had not only done so, but she had done it with minimal cost to her own side.
"That's… incredible…" he said.
"You didn't expect me to lose, did you?" asked Amy. "This is how I earn my living."
"That may be, but I still did not expect to be so soundly beaten. In case you have not realised…"
"The game's rigged, right?" asked Amy. "I noticed. Not only was I outnumbered, but my pieces were out in the open. Would I be correct is assuming you use a rigged game to give your trainees some chance of beating you?"
"That you would. But even taking the weaker side, it is rare that I am defeated. But you… You're on a completely different level. I cannot truthfully say that you are not skilled enough for the position the prince has offered you."
"So… does that mean I passed?"
"Of course." The instructor searched around his desk until he found some parchment to write on, then pulled a quill out of its bottle and began writing furiously. When he had finished, he folded the parchment and stood up.
"If you don't mind waiting here momentarily, I must go and give the results of your test. Until then, please remain here." With that, he stepped out of the room.
Alone again, Amy finally had time to contemplate how unusual her situation was. Apart from the fact that she had never had to undergo a test before being able to take a job, it was rare that anybody ever hired a mercenary for more than a job or two at once. Add to that the fact that the job involved working for someone with a social status that was completely non-existent in her own country, and the whole thing was really new to her. Still, it was a good idea to take work when and where it came, because she never knew how long it might be before she found someone or somewhere else.
She wasn't kept waiting long, and the instructor returned after at most twenty minutes. "If you'd like to come with me," he said.
The instructor led Amy back down the castle's various corridors, until eventually the two of them reached the central room again. This time, they continued on in the other direction, until the eventually reached their destination. The door to the room was metal rather than wood, and it looked rather heavy.
"This is where I must leave you, Lady Tactician," said the instructor. "I wish you the best of luck with your new position."
"Thank you very much," replied Amy, as the instructor turned and left. Amy took a deep breath and pulled the handle of the door in front of her. It was surprisingly easy to open given its size and apparent weight, she noted.
The door led to what appeared to be a barracks of some kind, in which five men were standing. Amy recognised Loren and Xand, but she hadn't seen the others before. One was dressed in red armour that matched the colour of his hair, while the same could be said about one of the others replacing the word 'red' with 'green'. The last man was not quite so heavily armoured, and he had a quiver strapped to his back, signifying that he was an archer.
"Ah, Amy," began Loren. "Looks like you passed the test that was set for you. I apologise for that, it was not my idea. Anyway, welcome."
"That's the new tactician?" remarked the green-haired man. "You said she was a woman, commander, but you never mentioned how pretty she was!"
"Do you honestly think idle flattery is going to get you anywhere, Hammond?" asked the red-haired man. "You should know by now, no woman in their right mind is going to respond to it well." He turned to Amy. "I apologise for my… friend's behaviour, ma'am. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Karr, and I'm a cavalier working for Prince Loren." He extended his hand in greeting, and Amy shook it.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," she replied. She looked at the other two men. "And what about you two?" she asked. "What are your names?"
"My name is Hammond," said the green-haired man. "And might I say, my good lady, that it is such a great honour to meet someone as skilled and as beautiful as you are!"
"Uh… and I'm Ronal," said the archer, his voice sounding rather nervous. "I… um… I'm an archer, and… well, it's nice to make your acquaintance."
"The prince has told us great things about you and your skill at strategy, ma'am," said Karr. "I must admit, the idea of having a tactician seems an odd one, but if you're as good as he says, I can't imagine any problems with arise."
Amy blushed a little at that. "Don't you think you've… overstated my abilities a little?" she asked Loren.
"Not at all," replied the prince. "You forget, I've witnessed your strategies first hand. Anyway, we've been called out to deal with a disturbance at a nearby village. We're just waiting for one more member of the army."
As he said this, another man entered the room, though from a door at the opposite side to which Amy had entered, which appeared to lead directly outside. Unlike the others, he was wearing no armour at all, and was instead dressed in a cloak. He was tightly clutching several books.
"Apologies for my lateness, sir," he said. "It took me a while to gather all of my tomes." He looked at Amy. "And you might this be?"
"This is Amy," explained Loren. "She's a tactician. She helped Xand and I earlier, so I've decided to hire her."
"A tactician?" the man repeated, surprised. "Well then, it's nice to meet you, ma'am," he said.
"You're a mage, right?" said Amy.
"That's correct, ma'am. My name is Eld."
"Well then, Eld, let's get one thing clear. You have absolutely no need to address me as though I'm your superior, because I'm not." She looked around the room. "This goes for the rest of you, too. I'm not here to give orders, because I don't have the authority to do that. What I'm here to do is give advice. So please, when you address me, just call me Amy, okay."
"As you wish," replied Eld.
"Wonderful," said Amy. She turned to Loren. "Shall we get going, then?"
"I suppose we should," replied the prince. He turned to everyone in the room. "Alright, let's move out," he said. "I'll ride with Xand, Ronal, you go with Karr, and Amy and Eld, you two go with Hammond."
The seven of them left the barracks out of the door Eld had come through. Sure enough, it did lead outside, and the first thing Amy noticed was the stables that were right next to it.
"Have you ever ridden a horse before?" asked Hammond.
"I'm afraid I haven't," she replied.
"Just hold on tight, then," he smiled, as he mounted his horse, and both Amy and Eld got on behind him.
When they arrived at the village, Loren's army quickly realised something was amiss. Normally, a call to defend a village implied that it was being attacked by bandits or brigands. However, here, it appeared the attackers were military men. They were wearing armour, and the majority of them carried lances. Most surprisingly of all, they were flying a flag, which displayed a crest with several stars on it. Amy recognised it as the national flag of the Reonian Empire.
"What could Reonian soldiers be doing here?" asked Hammond.
"Does it matter?" asked Loren. "We're here to get rid of them, not to find out why they're here."
"Actually…" said Amy. "Knowing what they're here for could allow us to prevent other attacks. That is, if they aren't simply a unit who have disobeyed their commanders."
"We can't just go up to them and ask, can we?" said Karr. "They'd kill us on the spot."
"True," replied Amy. "We'd lose our biggest tactical advantage. But if we can reach whoever's in charge, the task should be much easier."
"Speaking of tactics, Amy," said Loren, "what would you suggest here?"
The tactician gave the surrounding area one last glance, then turned to Ronal. "See that soldier over there?" she said, pointing to the closest foe to them. "What are the odds you can hit him from here?"
"Uh, it's a fairly easy shot," replied the archer, "so whatever the odds are, they'll be very high."
"Great. And what about hitting him, but not killing him?"
"Uh, not killing him?"
"Right. We can't protect the village from them if no one knows we're here. That means we need to confront them head on, so I need someone to make some noise to attract them."
"In that case, I'd say the shot is an almost certain one."
"Excellent. Whenever you're ready, then."
Ronal pulled an arrow out of his quiver, then nocked it onto his bow. Pulling the bowstring back tightly, he held his weapon up and took aim, then fired.
The arrow hit its mark perfectly. Breaching a hole in the man's armour, it struck him in the side, causing blood to come rushing out of the wound it had made. At the same time, the soldier let out a tremendous scream in pain.
Clearly, Amy's plan had worked, because the other soldiers nearby all turned and focused their attention on their comrade. A few moved closer to him, until they could see the cause of the wound. Knowing that an arrow must have come from somewhere, they turned their gazes until they were face-to-face with Loren and his army.
"Alright everyone!" shouted Loren. "Form up!"
It seemed their enemies had been given orders to deal with any interferers with no regard to strategy at all, because rather than regrouping with the rest of their squadron, they simply charged towards Loren's group, five of them in all. Loren and his army were about to move forwards to meet them, but Amy motioned with her hand.
"Wait," she said. "Let them come to us."
It seemed her decision was a smart one, because the soldier closest to them reached them rather quickly, thrusting his lance towards Karr and his horse. Fortunately, the attack had been too clearly telegraphed, and Karr knocked the lance away with his own, before proceeding to impale his foe.
The other three Reonian soldiers were faring equally badly. One was knocked to the ground, having been charged by Hammond's horse, before he was struck dead. Xand had managed to completely disarm his opponent, knocking his lance several metres away, before sweeping his own lance at the soldier's feet, knocking him down and allowing Xand to deal the finishing blow.
The last of their foes had the misfortune of having to deal with both Loren and Amy at once. Despite his weapon giving him far longer reach than either of their swords, his was outnumbered, and the two were able to parry his strikes before responding with their own, slashing huge wounds in his flesh.
With their immediate enemies gone, the group took a moment to assess the situation and decide on their next course of action. As they did, however, an arrow flew through the air directly towards Loren. Eld was the first to notice it, and began chanting. Before the arrow could hit its target, an enormous gust of wind hit, blowing it completely off course.
As the others turned to see where the arrow had come from, Eld cast another spell, this one causing a ball of fire to appear at his fingertips. As he finished the incantation, the ball hurtled in the direction the arrow had come from. A scream confirmed that it had hit its mark.
"You have my thanks," said Loren. "You saved me."
"Anything for you, commander," replied the mage.
"So what's next?" asked Hammond.
"We need to find their general," replied Amy. More than likely, if we get rid of him, the remaining soldiers will withdraw."
"You think so?" asked Loren.
"From the looks of things, this squadron has been tasked with pillaging the village," she replied. "I'm not sure why, but for a mission like that, I doubt the rank-and-file soldiers will know either. If we get rid of their leader, they won't really know what they're doing, and will be forced to retreat. The other possibility is that they've gone rogue, in which case, they'll be following only their commander, in which case ridding them of him should cause them to surrender."
No one was going to argue, so the group began searching the village for any signs of the army's commander. They had to avoid a few soldiers here and there, but Amy reckoned that was a good thing – the commander would want to be somewhere he could oversee the whole mission, so the closer they were to other soldiers, the closer they were likely to be to him.
Her hunch was proven correct when they overheard several soldiers conversing. Hearing terms such as 'sir' and 'commander' was enough for them to realise the enemy general was among them, so all that remained was working out the best way to strike.
"We want to keep the element of surprise as much as possible," started Amy. She turned to Ronal and Eld. "So I'd like the two of you to initiate our assault. Being able to attack from a distance, you'll be able to strike before they've even noticed us.
Once they do notice us," she continued, turning to the three horsemen, "I want the three of you to charge head on and break through their line. You'll have support from Ronal and Eld, so you should be fine."
"What about those archers?" asked Karr, motioning towards the soldiers towards the back of the enemy camp, who were holding bows. "If they see us, they'll shoot us down before we can get anywhere near."
"That's where Loren and I come in. The two of us will head around the back of their camp, and we will engage the archers so that they can't threaten you. We'll also be able to take some of the attention of you, which should give you an easier time."
With the plan worked out, the remaining members of the army waited for Loren and Amy to get into position. Once they had, Ronal let an arrow fly from his bow, and Eld chanted his fireball spell again. Both attacks hit their marks, causing the Reonian soldiers to turn towards them, seeing the three cavaliers charging towards them.
"What are you waiting for?" shouted one of the soldiers to the archers, making it clear he was the commander. "Shoot them!"
Loren and Amy took that moment to strike. As the archers prepared their weapons, the two of them appeared from seemingly out of nowhere, swords drawn. The archers had very little close-quarters fighting experience, and thus provided little resistance.
At the other side of the battle, the soldiers were putting up more of a fight, but they were still no match for Xand, Karr and Hammond, and, combined with a volley of arrows from Ronal and some spells cast by Eld, a path was soon opened up into the camp.
Once they had been spotted Loren and Amy were targeted by some of the melee soldiers as well, and though Loren was able to defeat them with relative ease, Amy's combat inexperience meant the same could not be said for her, and eventually she had three soldiers surrounding her, ready to strike. At that moment, a loud neigh sounded out, and Xand appeared behind them, knocking two of them off their feet with a sweep of his lance. In the confusion, Amy was able to gain the upper hand against the remaining soldier, eventually scoring a direct hit that caused blood to flow in massive quantities as her foe fell to the ground, dead.
"You have my gratitude," she said to Xand, who had just finished off the other two. "Knowing my own inexperience is one skill I have yet to fully develop."
"Don't worry about it," replied the paladin. "Combat skills take time to learn. Your skills will be greatly improved before you know it."
Regrouping with the others, Amy noticed that the only enemies left in the camp were the general and the soldiers close to him. Soon, both armies were facing each other.
"Curs!" shouted the Reonian commander. "Fall before the might of the Reonian Empire!"
"Why are you here?" shouted Loren.
"Why? Is it not obvious? We are here to collect the spoils of war!"
"The spoils? What are you talking about?"
It seemed the Reonian general was done talking, because instead of answering, he simply sent his men after Loren and his army. One of them threw a javelin which struck Hammond firmly in the leg, while another, clearly a mage, cast a spell which caused a bolt of lightning to appear. Amy was barely able to get out of the way before it struck.
The Parolteans knew they had to strike back, and fast. While Hammond withdrew to apply a bandage to his leg, Xand and Karr rushed forwards, taking out the javelin thrower and one of the ground soldiers. Ronal fired an arrow, which hit the mage dead-on, killing him instantly. Amy, meanwhile, was engaged in a fight against a myrmidon. Her confidence was growing as she parried his thrusts, and eventually she spotted a gap in his stance which allowed her to slice, tearing open a wound in the man's flesh, from which blood poured very quickly.
Amidst the commotion, Loren and Eld had been able to close in on the enemy general, and were now confronting him. He was wearing the same basic armour his men, but was clearly far better trained. He blocked a cut from Loren with his lance, then jumped out of the way of another of Eld's fireballs. Creating distance between himself and the mage, he then proceeded to engage Loren in a one-on-one fight, which he appeared to be dominating thanks to his weapon's longer reach and greater power than Loren's.
As his lance clashed against Loren's sword, however, Loren quickly took a step back. Having pushed against the sword with all his might, the commander found himself falling forwards slightly. Slightly was all that was needed, as Eld was then able to hit the ground by his feet with a powerful blast of fire, knocking him to the ground.
As Loren stood over him, the Reonian commander smirked. "You think you've won, don't you?" he said mockingly. "Well, you'll soon see that no one can match the power of the Reonian Empire! I hope those worthless soldiers of yours back at your palace are able to withstand the might of our army!"
The realisation hit Loren like a hammer. The soldiers they were fighting were simply decoys, intended to draw men away from the palace so an invasion could take place. Knowing that he needed to end this quickly so that he could get back and protect the castle, he wasted no time in plunging his sword into his foe, killing him.
"The general is dead!" shouted one of the remaining soldiers. "Retreat!" As he did so, the other soldiers, who were currently engaged with Amy, Xand, Karr and Ronal realised that they really had no choice but to flee, and turned and ran.
"Should we give chase?" asked Xand.
"No," replied Loren. "We have to get back to the palace. It looks like they're planning a major attack. This was a trap to lure us here."
No one else needed to say anything. They all understood the urgency of the situation, and immediately they regrouped, each of them getting onto one of the horses before hurrying back to the castle.
Next time:
Loren and his army arrive back at the castle just in time to help stave off an invasion. But their foes are very strong and they're vastly outnumbered. Can they pull off a miracle to protect their country?
"Defend Your Castle" is coming soon.
