Author's Note: So here we are again, end of the month but still on time! Please keep in mind that I'm not covering every event that happens to Guy and Matt during thier travels. There's alot of time passing and things happening between chapters, so if something doesn't quite jive with an earlier chapter, it's probably this storytelling method at work. Anyway, enough excuses and on with the chapter!
Guy - Sword's Purpose
"So you don't know him?" Guy asked the guardsman as he collected his 'payment' from the townsfolk for his efforts. It was all in supply instead of coin, but Guy was thankful enough for it.
The guard shook his head, "Sorry Guy. The name's not familiar at all, though I've heard of Dame Vaida before at least. Couldn't tell you where to find her, but wherever she is, she's fighting for the Prince, that's for damn sure."
Guy sighed and nodded, having expected as much. Grant was a hard man to find, he hadn't gotten so much as half a lead anywhere he'd been so far. And while the resupply was welcome, he was running low on gold and needed to consider finding some real work soon, whether or not he could locate the Etrurian tactician. With a shrug and a half smile, he bade farewell to the guardsman, "Well, thanks anyway. Sorry I can't stay and help more, but I need to get going then. Take care."
Holding up one hand to delay Guy's departure, the guard added, "Hold on a second. Just because I don't know who he is or where she is doesn't mean I can't help you figure something out."
That got his attention, and Guy nodded him to continue, "Yeah? What do you mean?"
"Well," the guard grinned a bit and inclined his head towards where the bloody part of Guy's recent efforts on the town's behalf had taken place, "skills like yours don't show up that often, and that's the truth. Sacae may be famous for it's swordmasters, but that doesn't mean your lot is commonplace around here, and when you do show up and start winning fights, people talk. If your Grant is working for Dame Vaida, and she's working for the Prince, then if you sign up with one of the mercenary bands fighting for that side, you might get noticed."
Guy considered that, and the more he thought it over the better the idea sounded. Real mercenary work would pay better then what he'd been doing, and it would get him back into real battlefields. Not to mention that if the man was right, Grant might get word of his presence and if he did he'd definitely send someone for him. Nodding to the guard, Guy thanked him for the advice, "That's not a bad plan. I'd be fighting on the same side at the least, so I can't really see a downside." Laughing, he half mumbled, "wish I'd thought of that myself..."
Chuckling, the guardsman gave Guy a friendly slap on the shoulder and a half salute in farewell, "Nobody can do everything. Good luck out there, Guy. And don't worry about us, if those phony tax collectors have any friends who come looking for them I'm sure we can handle ourselves."
With a final wave, Guy turned and started down the road to the next town, inwardly laughing a bit at the thought of more of those thugs making a nuisance of themselves. They looked tough, but they weren't very skilled or even that bright. I think I killed three of them before they even realized I was Sacean...
A few days of following the road and asking at other towns had gotten Guy directed towards a hill where a few different mercenary companies were camping, and rumor had it that they all worked for the Prince's side of the conflict. Well, Guy thought with an inward laugh and a small smile, I certainly don't expect that only some of them are. Imagine camping right next to people working for the enemy. Wouldn't THAT be awkward?
In fact...putting his hand up to his brow and squinting a bit, he could see the very hill in question up ahead now. And sure enough, there seemed to be forms moving around on it...though he couldn't make out any detail on whatever standards were planted from this distance. He'd have to get closer, but he knew the difference between the King's and the Prince's crests, so if saw the former flying he'd just have to leave before he got too close. And if they are the King's and any lookouts spot me, I'll just tell them I'm passing through looking for a friend of mine. That's...not really a lie, right?
Guy kept riding on towards the hill as he struggled with that thought. It was a lie of omission, he couldn't even try and fool himself into thinking otherwise. But saying otherwise would likely get him killed. It was definitely the smart thing to do, but was it a breach of Sacean pride? The pride of his people was in more then just being honest, it was in being cunning and skilled as well. So doing something stupid wouldn't really go with that either, right? Shaking his head as he rode, Guy really began to understand why so few Sacaens ever leave the plains. Life out in the rest of the world was way too complicated.
Bringing his mind back to the moment, Guy breathed a sigh of relief to see that all of his worrying was for nothing. As he had gotten closer, he had come to the point where he could clearly see the Prince's banner atop the hill. He was in the right place. Urging his horse onward, he picked up the pace a bit, now eager to reach one of the lookouts and get on with what he was here for.
He didn't have to wait long, either. As he moved, he could see a man coming down the road towards him from the hill, armed too, so probably one of the very mercenaries Guy was hoping to sign up with.
Putting a smile on, Guy waved at the man as he approached and got straight to the point, "Hey there! I'm a merc looking for work and I got pointed here, could you tell me who I should talk to about that?"
The approaching man stopped in his tracks and just stared at Guy for a long moment.
Guy frowned a bit, having expected a response, but was willing to chalk up the rudeness to simply being on edge. There was a civil war going on right now and all. Riding up a bit closer, he continued his greeting, "The name's Guy. I know I look young, but I promise I've seen my share of fighting before, and I'll be worth every gold I get. You won't be disappointed."
The man didn't move. He stared at Guy a bit longer before saying a single word, in a tone that dripped with repressed anger, "Sacean."
The way he said that made the hairs on the back of Guy's neck stand on end, and he instinctively placed one hand down on the hilt of his blade as he sized the man up. He was strong, that much was clear, for all that he wasn't all that big. Bigger then Guy himself at least, but that wasn't exactly hard. But he carried a large axe across his back, and that said volumes about his power, as a professional just doesn't carry a weapon they can't use easily. But what stood out to Guy the most was the look in his eye. Half-crazed, half-empty, it was a look that Guy had seen before in some of his opponents. The look of a man who threw everything into a battle, barely caring if he lived or died.
The look of a berserker.
Guy nodded slowly at the man, and slid off his horse, just in case, "Yeah, that's right. I'm a swordmaster of Sacae." That's your warning, he thought as he steadied his own breathing, I don't know what your problem is, but don't do anything stupid.
The warning, however, went unheeded. For whatever reason, the man before Guy drew his axe from it's harness on his back and snarled, his face twisted into a mask of hatred and screamed as he lunged, "Sacaen SCUM! I'LL KILL YOU!"
Guy's sword was out in a flash, and with a quick dash forward and a slip to the side, he dodged his attacker's initial rush. Settling into a defensive position, he held his own blow, not taking the opening offered, and snapped at the man, "Hey, is this how you greet people here? What's your problem?"
But the berserker was past reasonable at this point. Recovering his balance, he swung around and charged again, roaring as he came, "I'LL KILL ALL OF YOU BASTARDS!"
At this point Guy's training took over. Whatever sent this man into a killing rage, there didn't seem to be any bringing him out of it. He was intent on taking Guy's life, and while Guy really didn't want to kill him without getting an idea of what the heck was going on, it didn't seem like he had much choice.
Timing his movements, Guy predicted when the swing would come and slipped away, evading the horizontal arc entirely. That was the problem with axes, or so his teachers had always said and his experience mostly proven right. They have power, enough to destroy a man in a single blow, but unless the wielder is of exceptional skill, the swings are incredibly easy to predict. And what you can predict, you can avoid.
Now Guy was at his attacker's right, while the follow-through from the man's mighty swing had carried his weapon off to the right. It was the perfect positioning for the swordsman to score a couple of quick slashes, which the crazed berserker barely seemed to notice, before retreating back to put more room between the two of them. Guy wanted that space right now more then anything. The more space was between them, the more room his assailant had to build momentum and the further in advance he gave away the angle of his attack.
Blind to the pain from the cuts in his side, the axeman relentlessly rushed again, but the nimble Sacaen already had his measure. The swing was wild and reckless, a powerful overhanded blow that would have quite likely split Guy cleanly in two lengthwise had it connected. But as the axe fell, Guy had already moved backwards, evading the attack by a mere six or seven inches of air.
And even as he stepped back, Guy fell into a countering stance, using the backwards motion to coil himself into place to spring forward again. The thrusting point of his killing edge, such as it was, was raised, leveled at where Guy gauged the man's heart to be, and the moment the axe bit into the ground from the force of the attack, he lunged.
His aim was significantly better then his attacker's, and with the force of Guy's surprising strength for his stature and the forward momentum of his lunge behind it, the blade penetrated deep enough into it's target's unarmored chest to come out of his back, covered in blood. Unwilling to trust the kill was clean considering the man's state, Guy wrenched his sword in the wound, forcing the berserker to the ground with the leverage he now had, not to mention the sheer pain of the motion.
The berserker, whoever he was, twitched a few times on the ground but otherwise had stopped moving once he was forced down. The thrust had killed.
Guy exhaled deeply, the rush from the sudden battle starting to leave...until he noticed three women standing on the path where the now dead axeman had some from. Two of them with bows pointed right at him, and the third with a drawn sword.
Wincing at his poor luck, Guy tried to explain what had happened, "Uh, look, I don't know who this guy is or if he was a friend of yours or what, but he just attacked me as soon as he saw me. I was just defending myself, I swear."
The swordswoman did not lower her blade, nor the other two their bows. Instead, she took a few steps forward, still in a fighting stance, "I'll only tell you this once. Step away from your weapon, get on your knees and put your hands on your head. You can tell your story to the captain. Do anything else and the twins here will shoot your horse, then you. Is that clear?"
One of the archers, distinguishable from the other only by the green scarf she wore in contrast to the other's blue one, frowned, "Hey, Aerie, we've been in the company longer then you, why are you the one in charge here?"
The blue scarffed archer nodded, "Yeah, we've totally got seniority over you, you should be taking orders from us!"
Guy just blinked incredulously at the sudden disagreement.
The swordswoman, apparently Aerie by name, growled at her allies, "No arguing in front of the enemy!" Then back to Guy, she added, "You better comply fast. We're not the only ones who heard that fight, so more people will be here soon, and they might decide to shoot first and ask questions later."
Thinking quickly, Guy sized up the situation. His sword was still buried in the berserker's chest, and his horse had back away from the battle a bit once he had dismounted. There was no way to get a weapon in hand fast enough to fight back if the archers started shooting and that woman charged him.
This really is just my luck. Sighing, he stepped away from the man's body and got down to his knees, placing his hands on his head. He didn't really see what else he could do right now besides hope that this captain would hear him out fairly.
"Roan was a friend of mine, you know? Formed the company with me, only one of the originals left besides me." The bald man in heavy leather armor was sitting on a rock and leaning forward, knees on his elbows and chin resting on his folded hands as he addressed his captive.
The man was called Branta, warrior and captain of the uncreatively named Branta's Badgers mercenary company, to which the man who attacked Guy on the road apparently belonged. Standing near him were the four others in the company: Aerie the hero, the twin snipers Teal and Noah, and finally the bishop Piet who was currently seeing to the last rights for the fallen berserker.
Guy glared right back at the man, feeling little sympathy for the group's loss due to the circumstances, and more then a bit of annoyance at the whole situation, "Look, I'm sorry I killed your friend but I already told you that he attacked ME! I was asking him to tell me who I needed to see about hiring on with a company and he just grabbed his axe and rushed me. What was I supposed to do, stand there and let him kill me!"
Aerie practically spat at that, "Again with that? What reason could he possibly have to just attack you out of the blue like that?"
Guy growled back at her, "I. Don't. Know."
"Bullshit." Aerie grabbed Guy's braid and jerked his head back, "Who sent you? You're with the King's men, aren't you? Start talking, and the truth this time!"
Going from annoyed to outright anger, the Sacaean practically screamed at her, "I'm not lying!"
"He's actually not, you know."
The tense situation was broken by the calm voice of Piet as he stepped away from Roan's body and walked back towards where everyone was gathered. Nodding sympathetically to Guy, he then turned and gave his leader a very hard look, "I'm disappointed Branta. You know as well as I do what happened there, and yet you're sitting there letting the girls believe otherwise."
Branta looked away from the holy man, "Roan was my friend, Piet. He had his faults, but he'd been with me through some rough times. You can't blame me for being angry."
Piet shook his head, "I don't blame you for your anger. I blame you for how you let it control you."
At this point, the three ladies and Guy were all well and truly confused. Teal and Noah looked back and forth between Branta and Piet a few times, then asked, "Captain?" "Yeah, what's he talking about?"
Branta remained silent, so Piet stepped in to explain, "After the very first mission the Badgers had taken, they had returned to Branta and Roan's hometown to rest, resupply and try and find someone who could use healing staffs they could hire as they'd taken heavy injuries and a few losses. The battle, I should add, was against a band of Sacaen raiders."
Guy nodded, slowly beginning to understand, "When he charged at me, he was yelling 'die Sacaen scum' and stuff like that."
Piet nodded as well, "Well, that was only part of it. Their hometown is on the border of Bern and the plains, but it's purely Berneese in culture. The nomads traded with them often, but were not really welcome to live there, you see. Of course, where there is trade, there is money. And where there is money, there is violence. Upon returning home, Roan found his entire family dead. Murdered by vengeful Sacaens after his son had killed one of theirs in a dispute over mere coin."
Finally finding his voice, Branta picked up the story, "He was a good man before then. Still was after, at least so long as none of your kind were around. Something in him snapped that day. So long as Piet or I were around, we could keep him from going axe-crazy and butchering every Sacaen he saw, but when he was on his own..." the warrior shrugged, "when I sent him to get some water from the well on the road, we weren't exactly expecting a nomad to come walking up the south side of the hill like that."
"Besides," Piet added with a hint of a sad smile, "the proud people of Sacae tell no lies. Even their raiders and murderers will be cheerfully honest about what they're doing."
Aerie let Guy's hair go, and turned on her captain, "You mean you KNEW he was telling the truth? And you were just going to sit there and let me beat him? What the hell is your problem!"
But before Branta could respond, once more Piet intervened, "Peace, Aerie. He knows he was wrong, what he needs now is time to grieve his friend, not your righteous anger, justified as it may be, heaped on his head."
The swordswoman didn't seem overly convinced, but backed off. She turned around and almost stalked away before Guy called out, "Hey, think you could untie me and give me my sword back?"
"Oh, right," moving back over, Aerie untied the rope binding Guy's hands and handed him back the sword she had taken. Then looking more then a bit embarrassed she muttered, "Ah, sorry about that. I had no idea Roan even had a problem like that, I just thought he was angry in general. But...he was still one of us, you know?"
Still angry himself, Guy wasn't quite in the mood to forgive, just yet, and turned to go get his horse and try his luck with one of the other companies around here, replying with a gruff, "Whatever. What's done is done," to the apologetic heroine.
But as he started to go, the sound of hoofbeats coming up the hill caught his attention. A lone man, in the Prince's colors, riding up the hill right towards the Badgers. Seeing that the man wasn't coming for him at all, Guy shrugged and kept going. Got nothing to do with me.
Murmured voices could be heard behind him, then Branta's voice loudly groaning, "Of all the timing." Then it progressed from a groan to a full shout of command, "Gear up Badgers, we've got work to do. And...you, boy, wait just a moment!"
Guy paused and looked back over his shoulder just to confirm that the man was actually calling to him. Seeing him approach though made Guy's hand slide down to the hilt of his blade in a mixture of irritation and paranoia. Without bothering to hide the bitterness in his tone, he asked, "What?"
Seeing Guy's hand fall to his blade, Branta stopped in his tracks and held up one hand in a gesture of peace, "I'm not coming with a blade drawn here. You said your name was Guy, right? Well no matter who was at fault, thanks to that swordarm of yours we're down one blade, and I don't like going into battle with only two frontliners to protect Piet and the archers."
"Are you serious?" Guy asked with a half poleaxed expression, "After all that, are you trying to talk about hiring me?"
Branta snorted, "I don't like it anymore then you do, but the fact is that I've seen Roan tear a ballista bolt out of his shoulder and club a man to death with it, and you killed him in one clean stab. Can't say I'll enjoy it, but I need somebody strong and you seem like you can do the job."
Guy considered a moment thinking over his option. They seem pretty skilled. And...I can't really blame him for being mad at me too much, I'd be ticked off too if someone killed one of my friends for any reason. Well, if I had any. There's also fewer of them, more chances for me to stand out. This may not actually be a bad idea...
After a moment, he finally nodded and asked the first question any mercenary brings up, "What's the pay?"
Turning around, Branta waved Guy to follow, "Show me what you've got in a real battle instead of a one on one and we'll talk about that when we get back. Grab your stuff and let's get moving."
As they waited for their scout to return, Guy considered the job the Badgers had been given. A small town, Granvide by name, had decided to openly declare support for the Prince over the King. Of course they didn't have the good sense to wait until the Prince's soldiers were there in the town to do this, so it was up to the Badgers to get there and protect from any attempts to reclaim it by force from the King's men until the Prince's people could get a garrison unit there. And since Branta didn't want the fighting inside the town itself, they were going to try and intercept the enemy on the way in.
Eventually, the heroine Aerie returned to the group from her scouting mission, moving straight to Branta to report, "The king's men are definitely camped over in the woods east of town. I saw five lookouts, so we're probably up against anywhere from ten to twenty soldiers."
Branta stroked his chin, "It is getting late. Probably waiting either for sundown to attack, or just going to hit Granvide tomorrow after getting a good rest. Either's not a bad idea. See any signs of wyverns?"
Aerie shook her head, "Not that I could see, but I didn't risk getting that close."
As one, Teal and Noah giggled, "If there are any, they'll wish they stayed on the ground anyway." "Yeah, just leave the flying lizards to us."
Branta nodded, "That's why I hired you. Alright, here's the plan. Aerie, take the new guy and move in first. Get into a good defensive spot and try to provoke them to your position. I'll move in behind you and pick off who I can with my bow before I join the melee. Piet, you stay back with Teal and Noah, keep an eye out for wyverns and help who you need to. Girls, your first targets are wyverns, second any mages that show up and then just pick off anyone who tries to get behind us."
Guy nodded at his role, having fully expected to be sent in first. Grant had often given him similar roles, actually, at least when it wasn't Lord Hector and Lord Oswin who were taking point.
Then Aerie tapped him on the shoulder, "Alright, stay low and follow me. Once we're into the treeline itself, we've got an advantage, so that's our first goal."
Guy half smiled, "Trust me, I know how to fight in the woods. Trust me to do my part."
With a final nod, the heroine let the way in. The pair kept low, moving slowly through the grass towards the trees, keeping an eye out to spot the lookouts before they saw them. Once they were close enough, Aerie signaled Guy to her side and whispered, "How fast can you close the distance in?"
Measuring it as best he could in the fading late afternoon light, Guy thought it over then gave his answer, "Three seconds, five if I'm moving in to attack instead of evade."
Aerie's stare was incredulous, "That's impossible."
"Watch me."
Needing to see this for herself, the woman shrugged, "Alright then. You charge in and get one, I'll cover you."
The plan set, Guy ran one thumb along the back of his blade to focus his mind, and then launched himself towards one of the men on the edge of the camp.
The soldier barely had time to react before he was cut down in Guy's first pass, the Sacaen taking only a second to recover from the attack and continue on towards the trees.
Someone shouted, of course, and the alarm went up. A man on horseback charged over from another point around the perimeter, and began to move in on Guy as soon as he saw him, but was quickly distracted by a handaxe slamming into his horse's side.
Guy grinned as Aerie moved in behind him, charging the off balance cavalier to finish what she'd started. Shield forward as she ran, she knocked his hastily raised lance to the side, pulled her handaxe from the horse and planted it in it's rider's face instead.
More enemies pushed out of the wood to respond to the sudden attack, but while Guy and Aerie moved into their places, Branta and the snipers fired on any of the King's soldiers who appeared. The battle was joined in earnest, and Guy put everything that wasn't his blade and the fight before him from his mind.
Chaos was the rule of the evening as the fight went on, though it didn't last long. No wyverns came, and the one sage who stuck his head out from cover long enough to cast a spell was met by two arrows and a flung axe all at once. Guy, Aerie and Branta all took a few hits, but the other two always moved to cover the retreat of the injured one, and Piet was ready with his staff whenever anyone fell back to his position, allowing the healed fighter to move right back into the fray.
Though there were more of them, the King's men were simply outmatched. The surprise attack and quick seizing of the defensive positions by the Badgers broke whatever advantage they may have been able to get from their numbers. Before long, the battle was done. The last soldier being slammed against a tree and interrogated roughly about what reinforcements might be on the way by Branta himself while the others rolled up their sleeves and saw to the gruesome business of doing something about the corpses...as well as the equally unsavory but practical business of looting them.
Aerie stepped back from the tent she'd just finished setting up, a powerful yawn distracting her from admiring her handiwork at all. After an attempt to shake off the exhaustion from the long travel and the fight after it, she turned and sat down near the swordsman she'd fought with earlier.
Guy was focused on his weapon at that moment, taking a whetstone to the edge to keep it sharp after the use it had just gotten, but he wasn't so absorbed in it he didn't notice someone sitting near him. Still, he offered her only a small nod acknowledging she was there and kept working.
She didn't seem to mind, though, and talked to him anyway, "I have to admit, I'm impressed. I've never seen a Sacaen swordmaster in action before, though I've heard the rumors. It's still something else to see it in person, though."
A shrug was Guy's only response. He still didn't know if he really wanted to stay with this group, or get close to the people in it at all. Probably not any danger of that, even if I do stay. I killed one of theirs on my way in. Even if it was his fault, that's not something anyone can just overlook. Which...is probably for the best anyway. Best to keep things professional.
Aerie didn't continue on, knowing when someone didn't want to talk when she saw it. They sat there for a bit, quietly enjoying the rest and waiting for Branta to get back.
They weren't waiting long. Branta and Piet came walking out from the town, looking almost comical carrying a basket each, which they promptly handed to the twins to sort out.
"Provisions from a grateful town," Branta explained at Guy's curious expression, "Little bonuses like this are one more reason I like to keep the fighting out in the wilderness. People are a lot less generous when their homes get smashed up and lives disrupted, even if we do save their skins."
That made good enough sense to Guy, so he went over to see what he could snag from the baskets while the others talked.
Aerie in particular had a few questions, "So what's the situation then? And what did you do with that last soldier anyway?"
Branta snorted, "Him? I let him go. Good warning for the king's forces. Might give 'em some pause, make 'em go back for more people, which gives us more time for our reinforcements to get here. Got what I needed out of him anyway."
Piet chuckled, "That's assuming he doesn't take this wonderful opportunity to desert. Nobody else in his unit left alive, no reason for them to assume we'd spare one."
Noah smirked, "Well, that's counting on an enlisted man to do the intelligent thing. Small chance of that."
Teal giggled at her sister's joke, but Aerie gave them both a glare, "And what makes us mercenaries any smarter then soldiers? We fight for a living, same as them."
In unison, the two responded, "We get paid more."
"Do you want to hear the assignment or not?" Branta interrupted the bickering with a rather tired grunt. Everyone shut up, and once he let the silence build for a moment, he continued, "So we're going to be remaining here until the garrison unit arrives. I doubt anything will happen tonight so go ahead and get some rest, but tomorrow we'll be splitting up guarding and scouting shifts. Only the six of us to protect a town, so I want to make sure we get the most out of what we've got. That clear?"
Everyone nodded, then Branta walked off to the side a bit, gesturing for Guy to follow him, "Alright, you're good enough, there's no question about that. So what are we negotiating, a payment just for this job, or a cut as part of the company?"
Guy was quiet, thinking it over. But it didn't really take him that long before he answered, "A cut. I'll stay on."
As if he'd expected that response, Branta nodded, "Alright then. We'll talk in the morning. Get some sleep."
Heading back to the camp, Guy finished off what he'd raided from the basket, carefully put away his sword and other belongings, and laid down to do just that. Staring up at the night sky, he wondered if he'd made the right decision. Well it's an interesting group at least. Even if we got off on a really bad foot. Good to be back in the fight, if nothing else.
Author's Footnote: Whee, original characters. I know they're not popular in some circles of the hobby, but I enjoy throwing them in there and they're hardly the focus of the story so what's the harm? Anyway, hope you all enjoyed and as always, reviews, good or bad, are always welcome~