2nd of Great Tree Moon, Imperial Year 1185

Western Wolfkrone, Bandit Hideout

The green-haired woman felt the lash of the whip strike her once more. She couldn't see it, but it hardly mattered when it whistled as it did through the air. Her leader was an old man in a blue vest with a long, white beard. He was only known as Greed, and he was very, very angry with her.

"You absolute moron! How hard is it to accost a group of travelers who didn't even expect to hit land?!" Greed screams.

"The fault is mine," she said calmly. She had expected this when she returned. Greed was her major rival in the organization, something he, as leader, did not care for.

They were part of a gang of thieves, rivals to the famed Manji Clan, who built an organization whose rank was determined by the amount you obtained. Miser knew being unable to get anything meant a significant drop in rank that Greed was likely reveling in.

Greed finally gets the rage out of his system and places the lash aside, "You're lucky I even let you in this organization in the first place, Miser. You were nothing but a failed priestess when I found you, discarded by your precious tribe. And yet here you are, the second in the team. Yet here you are with a failure as significant as that fool, Fiddler. This is not a minor misstep… You will be demoted from Number Two to Number Five. I'd put you lower, but with those new recruits unproven, I doubt you're worse than them."

A fib, the woman known as Miser knew. If he could've reset her position to Eighth, he would've, but such an act would've been a blatant power grab on Greed's part, and the others would mutiny. Greed hands her kimono back and she accepts it. He considers taking the dual-bladed dagger, but a glare from Miser tells him that would be a step too far.

Greed scoffs and turns away, "Get out of my sight."

Miser takes her weapons and leaves, rejoining the other members of the hideout. Each hideout was led by a member of the thieves group, all except Miser, who was kept here so Greed could keep an eye on her.

However, just under the cover of the tree line, the Magvelian warriors had managed to track her and were now waiting for the chance to strike.

Lute watches, "I see her, and this is definitely a bandit keep."

Gerik considers the approach carefully, "If they're located here, then there must be civilization nearby. Bandits like to be far, but not so far that they can't take advantage of trade routes."

Innes rolls his eyes, "So what's our approach oh fearless leader?"

Gerik smirks and turns to Cormag, "The direct one."

It takes a couple moments, but once it was set, Cormag flies out with Joshua riding shotgun on his wyvern.

The bandits look up in shock, as if many had never seen a wyvern before. One of them turns to Miser, "You never said they had a monster!"

Miser turns to the man, and waves her hand in front of her face.

"Oh, right… Blind," the man corrects himself.

What came next, was far more apparent to Miser, due to the flames and screaming that come from Lute shooting arcfire from her tome, engulfing the man standing near her. Joshua also makes a dramatic entrance as he flies off the back of Cormag's wyvern and lands in front of Miser. The two draw their blades and ready for a high-speed duel.

Greed comes out, wielding twin daggers of some sort as he looks at the battle now unfolding. Innes fires a shot that goes wide, his bow already prepped for another shot, for his bow was a legendary weapon of his royal line. Nidhogg, the serpent bow. Before Greed can respond, Cormag lands with his wyvern, forcing Greed to stare down the drooling maw of a beast straight out of his world's folklore.

Miser and Joshua begin in earnest, copper clashing against steel as the legendary Audhulma seemingly begins to freeze the blade Miser was holding, forcing her to break the clash and retreat a bit, tossing her dagger at the same time as it rips into Joshua's shoulder.

Joshua groans, but L'Arachel rides in on her majestic white horse and raises the staff of her people, Latona, up high, "Worry not! I'll heal your wounds!"

Joshua smirks as his cuts knit back together thanks to the staff's magic, "Ah, thanks Ms. Priestess. I owe you a drink!" He then comes back at Miser, who meets his blow as her dagger returns to her other palm, "You know, I can tell you're already injured. On top of that, you're keeping pace with me despite having those pearly whites. What's your secret, huh?"

Miser growls, "I need not reveal anything to a dead man."

Greed is knocked back by Cormag's lance, but as he crashes against the wall, he moves his head just quick enough to avoid two more arrows from Innes, "For an old man, he's deceptively quick!" Innes shouts in frustration.

Greed growls, "You have no idea, boy…" He then springs into the air, tossing one dagger at Innes while using the other to deflect an incoming strike from Cormag. Despite the midair counter, Greed couldn't actually match his strength and is knocked back into the ground. The cloud of dust allows Greed to slip past the wyvern and grab his other dagger, which had missed Innes, but barely. He then rushes through the carnage, looking for a hostage to levy for freedom and spots the same girl Miser had spoken of in her report, Lute.

This time though, Lute is ready and channels magic in her palms. Lightning crackles at her fingers as she pulls her new tome out. The skies seem to darken further as Greed's eyes widen. A crack deafens the area as light untold strikes from the heavens above onto the murderous old thief.

For a moment, there is silence, and even Miser had been knocked off her feet, looking on at the skeleton of Greed, still smoking from receiving the full might of Mjolnir. Soon, even that skeleton turns to ash in the smoking crater caused by Lute's new magic.

The other thieves turn tail and run at the sight of these demons. Soon, it's only Gerik, his crew and Miser, who is quickly surrounded. At first, Miser closes her eyes, preparing for her seemingly inevitable execution, but is instead surprised by the sound of Joshua extending his hand out to her, forcing her to ask, "..Why? Why do you not punish me?"

Joshua smiles a bit, "C'mon, I'll turn no blade of mine on a woman. Misguided or not. Besides, it was obvious that those assholes weren't exactly treating you well. What's your name?"

Miser hesitates, but sees no other options, "Number 5, Miser, the Breaker…"

Gerik sighs, "Damn, these guys just number their members?"

L'Arachel sighs in turn, "Despicable. Such ruffians deserved the justice they received."

Miser is frankly amazed, "Who… Who are you people? The spirits, the wind itself, it swirls around you as if you're completely pure… Are you gods of this world?"

Eirika chuckles, "No, we aren't gods. We are people like you, and given your talents, we'd rather ask for your help than imprison you."

Miser looks down, "I… I am not a good person. I've killed a lot of people just as kind as you. I am not deserving of such mercy."

Joshua's expression hardens, "Bullshit."

This causes Miser to be a bit alarmed.

Joshua clarifies, "Your speed was enough to kill any one of us back in the clearing, but you went for Lute. you may have mistook her for the weakest, but if you see magic or spirits or whatever you call it, you would've known she'd be the strongest person to beat. You held back from instantly killing anyone, focusing on taking someone hostage to extort us, huh?"

Miser's silence is telling.

Joshua continues, "That's how you see, isn't it? Despite your blindness, you can feel magic."

Miser silently nods, "I… I was born to a tribe of wind worshippers. But I was half foreigner and born blind, so I was sent away. That man, Greed, took me in… He treated me like a slave, despite how hard I worked for the group… I was not lying, I have killed many who would've done the same as you... Would you still take a chance on such a monster as myself?"

Eirika takes her hands and helps her up, "The fact you see those actions as monstrous is proof that you're someone we can take a chance on. Miser, welcome to the team."

Miser, finding herself letting her guard down for the first time in her life, began to cry, and Eirika hugged the young woman, comforting her. This tender moment, however, is interrupted by the sound of numerous calvary marching towards them, as a red banner with a silver wolf emerges over a nearby hill, and the long, blonde hair of Siegfried Schtauffen emerges, wielding a blade nearly as large as himself, as he addresses the group.

"In the name of Wolfkrone, state your names and allegiances."

Meanwhile… In Castle Renais…

Ephraim paces around the throne room. It had been nearly a month since his sister had checked in, and he was worried something was seriously wrong. Tana and Seth were out making a statement about the voyage in town, but Ephraim couldn't help but feel it may already be too late.

"Young King of Restoration… You are deeply troubled," a mysterious voice said from the shadows.

Ephraim immediately leapt over his throne, taking hold of the lance of his people, the legendary Siegmund lance, "Who are you?! How'd you get in here?! More importantly, what do you want?!"

The voice chuckles as the man steps from the shadows. He is dressed in white and gold robes, his skin darker than any Ephraim knew of in Magvel, and one of his eyes replaced with a golden orb. In his hands was a large silver scythe that reflected the light of the moon through the windows, "You ask all the wrong questions… But I understand why you would ask them. Very well, my name is Zasalamel, and I am not of your world. I entered by magic from my homeworld. As for what I want… I want to help you, as doing so helps bring me closer to my goal."

Ephraim, relaxing a bit at the stranger's apparent openness and lack of hostility, rises, holding his lance still though, "Why should I believe you, and what is your goal?"

Zasalamel smiles, "Ah, much more astute questions. You learn quickly, young King. you should believe me because I can help you through your mental anguish…" He pauses as Ephraim processes his words before continuing, "-And my goal is to rid this world of a demon."

To Be Continued…