Taking Leave

The door to the inn opened with a crash, snapping Andreas out of what had been a peaceful meal. He was down on his luck, and between jobs at the moment. He'd come to Pherae in hopes that he could find a job here, but had been unlucky as of yet. Besides the internal strife caused by Marquess Pherae's recent disappearance, most of Pherae's knights had disappeared as well, meaning bandits rode unchecked. Not many opportunities to find employment.

"Bandits!" The man said with a huff, confirming Andreas' suspicions. "Close the gates!"

Andreas stood and grabbed his sword – an ornate steel hand-and-a-half – and started walking towards the man who'd just barged in. Something in him had just clicked.

"You said bandits?" Andreas said.

The man turned to him. His hair was an odd teal, his armor that of a cavalier.

"I did." He confirmed, eying the sword warily. "Who are you?"

"I'm Andreas. Sort of a drifter in between jobs, but the sword's not just for show if you intend to fight those bandits off."

The cavalier nodded. "Any help you can lend would be appreciated. Please, come quickly!"

Andreas followed the cavalier out of the village on his horse. The cavalier was traveling with a girl, he noticed, but Andreas wrote her off as either a traveling companion, or otherwise someone else recruited to help fight.

They rode south into a valley, where a pair of men awaited them. Andreas immediately recognized one of them as Eliwood, the son of the missing marquess. "Lord Eliwood!" The cavalier cried. "Co-Commander Marcus! I..."

"Lowen!" Marcus snapped. "Calm yourself!" He wore the armor of a Pheraen paladin. "A knight must be in control at all times." His face was hard, and he seemed used to criticizing the younger man.

"The village is under attack!" He explained. "It's bandits!"

"What? Bandits? Here?" Marcus stammered.

"Are you sure, Lowen?" Eliwood asked.

Lowen gestured to the green-haired girl who had been riding with him. "She has more details."

The girl stepped forward. "My lord Eliwood? I'm the daughter of the village magistrate." She said. "My name is Rebecca." She looked right at Eliwood. "The bandits came without warning! They're stealing everything, killing those who would stand against them! Please help us, I beg you!"

Eliwood nodded. "I see." He turned to Marcus and Lowen. "We must help them!" He said.

"Yes, lord Eliwood!" They said.

Eliwood turned to Rebecca. Andreas decided she looked young, maybe fifteen. She had blue-green eyes, and wore leather clothes. Her hair was green, split by two pigtails, and she wore a pale green bandana.

"Rebecca." Eliwood said. "Stay here, out of sight."

She shook her head. "I would rather fight, my lord. I hunt daily, so I'm a good shot with a bow."

Eliwood nodded. "Very well. Just be careful." She nodded.

Lowen stepped forward. "Lord Eliwood, this man also volunteered to help us." He said, gesturing to Andreas. Eliwood turned to face him, and he frowned.

"I beg your pardon, sir, but have we met before?"

Andreas frowned, and shook his head. "Not that I can remember, milord."

Eliwood continued to look at Andreas, then shrugged. "My mind must be playing tricks on me. My apologies."

Andreas shook his head. "Not at all."

A small group of bandits waited to the north. Lowen and Marcus charged forwards, breaking up the body of the group, allowing Andreas, Eliwood, and Rebecca to pick off the stragglers. The remainder of the bandits fled north, seeking refuge, but only finding a pair of axemen. Eliwood brightened up when he saw one of them.

"Dorcas!" He called out. The man waved, and threw an axe into a bandit, killing him. Andreas charged forwards, taking advantage of the chaos their appearance had caused to strike out at a bandit occupied with Dorcas. Andreas' sword went through the bandit's arm, shattering the bone underneath and eliciting a scream from the bandit. A second strike through his heart ended his suffering.

The bandits in the area taken care of, Eliwood turned to the axemen. "Dorcas, it's good to see you alive and well!"

The axeman nodded. "And you, Eliwood."

Marcus frowned. "Milord, you know these two?"

Eliwood shook his head. "Only Dorcas. He was with Lyndis during the Caelin dispute last year."

Marcus nodded, a thin smile on his face. "Ah, yes. If my memory serves me correctly, your mother was rather livid when she found out that you'd gone into a warzone unescorted."

Eliwood smiled. "Come now, Marcus! I replaced the vase!"

"Yes, but I never did fully regain the use of the ear." He pointed out.

Eliwood laughed, and turned to the other man, who was wearing a light blue tunic and a headband. "Who might you be, sir?"

"Batre." The man said, putting out his hand. Eliwood took it firmly.

"Glad to have you with us." He said.

More bandits approached from the west, from near a large estate. Rebecca fired on the approaching bandits, wounding several, as Lowen and Marcus charged the bandits, breaking the mob that they had formed. Once broken apart, Andreas, Eliwood, Dorcas, and Batre had an easy time picking off the remaining foes.

Andreas found himself engaged with an enemy swordsman, weapons flashing in the afternoon sun. The enemy was decent, and Andreas was rusty, but the end result was the same, albeit with a few more nicks than Andreas would have gotten otherwise: a clean strike from Andreas' hand-and-a-half into the swordsman's shoulder, breaking the clavicle and driving into the torso. The swordsman collapsed, and blood poured forth from the corpse.

Soon, the wave of bandits stopped, and the group reconvened.

"To the south is the magistrate's estate." Rebecca said. "My father is there, being held captive by the bandit's leader."

"Then we've no time to lose." Andreas said. "It looks like there aren't that many of them down there. Our best bet would be to simply rush them. No niceties."

There was no disagreement, so they moved quickly. Below was a walled enclosure, the walls too high to climb. At the gate was the bandit leader, a green-haired man with a beard and carrying an axe. The group moved towards him, Rebecca firing arrows at bandits that approached. A few made it through easily enough, but they were quickly cut down by Dorcas and Batre. Soon, the group stood before the leader.

"What's this?" He taunted. "A pack of children and their overseer come to stop me?" He laughed. "You think you can challenge me?"

"Not children!" Marcus called. "We are Pheraen knights, here to put a stop to your pillaging!"

The man's laughing caught in his throat. "Pheraen knights? But that's impossible! They're all gone!"

Andreas and Eliwood moved forward, approaching the man in tandem. The brigand faced Andreas. "You will fall!" He bellowed, and lunged at him. Andreas sidestepped the attack, and brought his sword around to strike the man's back. He growled, and turned to lunge at Andreas again, but was struck by Eliwood's rapier from the side, the thin blade punching through his neck. Eliwood flicked his wrist, and the blade tore free. The man clutched at his wound, and dropped to his knees. There was a gurgle as he drew his last breath, then he collapsed.

"You must be Lord Eliwood?" The magistrate said. "I must thank you for coming to the aid of our village."

Eliwood raised his hand. "Please, think nothing of it. It's the duty of a lord to protect the citizens of his land."

The magistrate shook his head. "The villages of Laus know no such protection, I'm afraid. Their marquess, Lord Darin, is too busy polishing his ballistae to care about the complaints of his people."

Andreas frowned. "You mean to say that Marquess Laus prepares for war?"

Eliwood's eyes widened. "Are you sure?"

The magistrate nodded. "I'm no liar, my lord. My brother lived in Laus until a few days ago, when his house was torched, and he fled here. According to him, Laus could go to war any day now. These days, the people of Laus talk of nothing but this."

"Lord Eliwood." Marcus said, "If Laus prepares for war, then..."

"They must be preparing to attack another Lycian territory." Andreas finished.

Marcus nodded, and turned to Eliwood. "Perhaps this is linked to Lord Elbert's disappearance."

Eliwood frowned. "My father and Lord Darin? That seems to be a stretch, but it is as good a lead as any we have. To Laus, it is!" He turned to the magistrate. "Thank you." The magistrate nodded, and they prepared to leave, but stopped when Rebecca began to argue with her father. They left quickly, not wanting to intrude.

"Thank you for aiding us, Andreas." Eliwood said. "Where are you headed next?"

"Well, I'm actually unemployed at the time." Andreas admitted. "Not really sure what to do next."

"If you have no plans," Eliwood said, "Perhaps you'd consider traveling with us?"

"Of course." Andreas said. "I do have a question, though. Why are you so far from Castle Pherae, and with so few vassals?"

"I'm looking for my father." Eliwood admitted. "He and many of his knights disappeared a month ago. I didn't want to take too many men, as that would leave my mother without guards, and my country defenseless."

Andreas nodded. "I do not know where our road will lead," Eliwood continued, "but with you in our company, we'd be that much stronger."

"Then with you I will gladly travel!" Andreas said.

"Splendid! Thank you!" Eliwood said. "You won't find a reason to regret this!"

Rebecca emerged from the estate with her father behind her. "I'm coming too!" She said. "My father's given me his blessing, and wishes us all the best of luck!"

Eliwood looked at the magistrate. "Thank you, sir. We'll return her to you safe and sound."

He nodded. "Thank you, Eliwood. Elimine bless you all."