Time for more stuff centered on OC's. I hope you don't mind.
Chapter 17 – On Leave In Enbarr (Guardian Moon)
The mansion of the Raziya family wasn't much to look at compared to other noble manors in Enbarr. The family wasn't that rich or influential, and it likely would've dissolved had its current heiress, Ersha von Raziya, not become a member of the Black Eagle Strike Force. But thanks to her role in the elite brigade, she had managed to get House Raziya some clout back.
Ladislava thought it ironic, then, that Ersha had squandered her opportunities twice now.
The pink-haired spellcaster was sitting in her bed, cradling her infant daughter in her arms while the baby suckled at her enormous right breast. It was her second child now. Her first child, a one-year-old boy, was fussing in his crib as one of the maids tried to calm the toddler. In both cases, Ersha had no idea who the father was, but she was sure it wasn't the same man.
Ladislava knew Ersha had no one to blame but herself for sleeping with so many different men. Thanks to her pregnancies, Ersha hadn't been part of the strike force for almost two years now. But she wasn't about to fault Ersha for her choices in life.
After briefly smiling at her daughter, Ersha said to Ladislava, "I'm sorry I wasn't there in Fhirdiad when you needed me, Aerin."
"Don't worry about it, Ersha," said Ladislava. "You've got a family to look after. I couldn't ask you to put yourself at risk."
"I guess I should be glad you're still in charge of the force, then. Salia certainly wouldn't give me a break." Ersha laughed at this.
Grinning, Ladislava said, "No, she wouldn't."
The sound of a bell echoed through Enbarr at that moment. It was getting late in the afternoon.
"I'd better get going," said Ladislava.
"Good luck out there, Aerin," said Ersha. "Take care."
Ladislava made her way out of the Raziya estate and into the streets of Enbarr, where Fenix waited patiently for his rider. The ruby-scaled Wyvern gave her a brief snort as she stroked the reptile's head.
"Let's go, Fenix."
Sweeping herself onto Fenix's saddle, she urged the Wyvern into the air. The pair soared over the rooftops of Enbarr as Ladislava watched the city below. Soldiers were marching in columns across the streets as the citizens went about their day. The capital was far enough south that there wasn't any snow, but it was still cold enough to prompt the citizens to dress warmly.
As she flew over toward the center of the city, she spotted a crowd gathered on one of the bridges over the canal. They were looking at something going on in the water below.
Ladislava groaned in annoyance and said, "Not again…"
The Crimson Warrior steered her mount down to land near the bridge, startling a few bystanders as Fenix landed. Dismounting, Ladislava went to a nearby ladder that led down to a stone path that ran alongside the canal, intended to allow people to climb out if they somehow fell in or to allow workers to clear away any trash that built up in the canal. She walked toward a set of bubbles that were coming up from below the surface of the water, knowing the source of the disturbance.
Ladislava watched as, within seconds, Trauare Wrede surged out of the canal with an exaggerated gasp for air, clearly meant to draw attention to herself. The blue-haired Falcon Knight was dressed only in her racy underwear, with her clothes in a pile nearby on the canal pathway, letting everyone get a look at her curvy body. A magical bubble of air around her head dispersed shortly after she had resurfaced, one that allowed her to breathe underwater for minutes at a time.
Seconds later, Trauare realized Ladislava was glaring at her and said, "Oh, Commander! Weren't you supposed to be at Ersha's place?"
"I was," Ladislava answered crossly. Then, with a sigh, she added, "What have I told you about swimming in the canal, Lieutenant Trauare Wrede?"
"Oh, lighten up, Ladi." Trauare pulled herself up out of the water with a stylish flip and said, "It's not a big deal, so don't make it one."
"I would berate you if I felt you would listen. But could you please put some clothes on? People are staring."
With a sultry smile, Trauare posed for the crowd and said, "I've got no problem if they wanna ogle. Besides, look what I found."
Trauare presented a rusted steel blade to Ladislava before she could scold the swimmer any further.
"Another one?"
"You'd be surprised how much junk you can find down there. It just needs some polish, and we'll have another soldier armed and ready to fight."
Ladislava wanted to berate Trauare further but relented with a frustrated sigh. If it weren't for her finding discarded weapons and other valuables down in the canal, Ladislava would have punished the blue-haired ace a dozen times by now.
"For the war effort, right?" Ladislava said in annoyance.
"Doing my part, just like you," Trauare said with a wink.
Sighing, Ladislava took the rusted weapon and said, "Well, go dry yourself off already. I'm surprised you aren't freezing."
As she ran a towel over her body, Trauare replied, "This? This is nothing. You should feel how cold it is out at sea at this time of year."
At that moment, the two heard the crowd on the bridge were clamoring with concern over something. The citizens were looking somewhere in the middle of the city. Seconds later, the two Black Eagles could see smoke billowing toward the sky.
Knowing there was trouble, the two aces immediately rushed to find out what was going on, with Trauare hastily dressing herself.
…
A merchant screamed in terror as a burning support beam in the market pinned him to the ground, with nearby flames threatening to consume him. His salvation came when Ladislava rushed over and grabbed the support beam, lifting it just enough to allow the merchant to pull himself free.
"Go, get clear!" Ladislava shouted as the merchant fled.
"A thousand thank-you's!" said the merchant as he escaped.
Ladislava turned back to the raging fire that had spread across the market bazaar in the center of the city. Trauare was busy readying a water spell to try and put out the flames. Other guards were helping to get people clear of the raging inferno around them.
As the fire threatened to spread to some of the nearby buildings, Ladislava turned and shouted, "Trauare, any time now!"
"Almost done…" Trauare said as water swirled around her. "All set!"
"Everyone, clear out, now!" Ladislava shouted at the guards.
As the guards and soldiers got clear of the flames, Trauare shouted, "Regenschauer!"
The water swirling around her surged skyward as a cloud was created over the inferno. Within seconds, torrents of rain washed over the burning bazaar, putting out the flames.
As smoke continued to wisp from the formerly burning market, the crowd of civilians nearby began to cheer for the guards and for the two Black Eagle aces.
"Another job well done," Trauare said haughtily.
"Not yet," said Ladislava. "We still need to find out what caused the fire."
For the next several minutes, Ladislava and Trauare questioned the locals. To their disappointment, no one had seen the cause of the fire, having been too busy with their own affairs.
After their questioning, Trauare asked, "So, do we write this one off as an accident?"
"This was no accident, Wrede," said a familiar voice, one that a startled Trauare yelped at.
Ladislava turned to see Setiawati emerging from the shadows of a nearby alleyway.
"Seti, stop scaring me like that!" Trauare snapped.
"You would not be scared if you were more vigilant," said Setiawati.
"Setia, did you see what caused this fire?" asked Ladislava.
"Not 'what', but 'who'. It was a group of pencuri… thieves. They stole from a military wagon and set the fire as a distraction."
"And you didn't stop them because…?" asked Trauare.
"I knew there would be others. I tracked them to their persembunyian… their hideout."
"How many of them did you see?" asked Ladislava.
"There were at least ten men, but there are likely more. I could not determine how many without being spotted."
"So, do we call in the guards for this? We're supposed to be on leave, after all," said Trauare. This earned her a glare from Ladislava, so Trauare added, "I'm just saying…"
"We'll check out the situation first," said Ladislava. "Setia, show us where the hideout is."
Setiawati led the other two Black Eagles toward the eastern side of the canal and into the slums of Enbarr.
…
Ladislava scowled as she saw the thieves' hideout. There were few places where one could enter without being forced into a chokepoint, and the many rooftops meant an air attack would be too vulnerable to archers. Several men were at each entrance trying to blend in, but she could tell a thief when she saw one. She also still had no clear idea how many thieves would be in the hideout and had no idea if there would be any hidden escape routes the thieves might use.
"So, still don't think we might need some backup?" asked Trauare.
Ladislava didn't answer this. A second later, she squinted as she looked at one of the thieves guarding the entrance. He bore a tattoo on his left arm that she recognized.
Ladislava then said, "Let's find Zola. Setia, stay here and keep an eye on them."
"As you command," said Setiawati.
"And where would Kill'em-All Zola be at this time of day?" asked Trauare.
Ladislava had to frown at this question, not wanting to answer it.
…
Zola smirked as she arm-wrestled with a burly taverner, letting out a laugh as she finally pushed his hand down against the table. Those who were watching the contest cheered at Zola's victory as the former bandit grabbed her flagon and drank down half a pint of beer in seconds.
Slamming down her flagon, Zola then shouted, "Barkeep, what the hell did you put in this, donkey piss?"
The others laughed at Zola's opinion on the poor-quality drink, though the barkeeper knew better than to get angry with the murderous Black Eagle ace.
The door to the tavern swung open as Ladislava and Trauare entered, with several of the men whistling and catcalling at Trauare upon catching sight of her.
The barkeeper saw the two and said, "Not more of you Black Eagles… Your friend here's already bleeding me dry."
Ladislava said nothing to the man as she walked up to Zola, who took a few seconds before realizing Ladislava was there.
"Oh, hey there, Ladi," said Zola. "Didn't realize my drinking time was your business."
"We've got a situation, Zola," said Ladislava. "You can get back to your booze when we're done."
"Oh, piss off. We're on leave. Let the guards handle it."
Tersely, Ladislava grabbed Zola's wrist as she raised her flagon and said to the blonde, "One of your prison friends is involved, Axberg."
Zola suddenly seemed to sober up as she said, "Is that right? Well, shit. What'd they do now?"
"We'll discuss it outside. Come on."
Zola scowled at this as she got to her feet, with the other bar patrons clearly displeased that she was leaving.
The barkeeper then said, "Hey, she hasn't paid yet! And she still owes me a big tab!"
The man's protests were ignored as the aces left the tavern.
…
"So, it's here?" Zola asked as she surveyed the hideout.
"Yes, the pencuri are still within," said Setiawati.
"I know this spot. You've got your hands full if you're gonna raid this place. Loads of ways into the sewers, and a lot of spots where they could funnel you into a kill zone."
"Any weaknesses?" asked Ladislava.
"Yeah, the north wall's not the sturdiest. You could bust through there, but you'd have to work fast to catch them off guard."
"And I assume it'll take more than the four of us to get the job done," said Trauare.
"What? Hell, we could take them."
"Maybe so, but I'd rather not let them slip through our fingers," said Ladislava. "Zola, Setia, keep watch on the area. We'll return with some backup so we can cut off their escape."
"Fine, fine," said Zola. "What a pain in my ass…"
"So, are we off to find Salia?" Trauare asked with a smirk.
"Probably," Ladislava replied.
…
Much to their expectation, Ladislava and Trauare found Salia at a local bookstore, deeply engrossed in one of the books. The look of keen interest on Salia's otherwise stern face was all the indication they needed on what she was reading.
"Fascinating…" Salia said to herself as she poured over the words.
"What is, Sally?" Trauare said flippantly, startling Salia.
"Trauare! Ladislava! What are you two doing here?" Salia said as she hastily tried to calm from her surprise.
"Just checking in on our stern and serious second-in-command. What're you reading this time? Tricks on how to finally get yourself a man in bed?"
Salia's face went red as she said, "Y-You are such an ignorant simpleton, Trauare! For your information, it's a book on the history of Tellius!" Scoffing, she then added, "As if I'd need help from a book to get–"
"Salia," Ladislava said commandingly, stopping Salia from embarrassing herself out loud. "We've got a situation."
Salia stood at attention before her and said, "What is it, Commander?"
"We'll fill you in on the way. Come on."
"Aren't we supposed to be on leave?"
"Plans change. You know that, Salia."
As Ladislava turned to leave, Trauare took a moment to snicker at Salia for nearly humiliating herself in the bookstore.
"What's so funny?!" Salia hissed at Trauare.
"Oh, nothing. Just that it's so easy to rile you up, Sally~"
Salia growled angrily at this but said nothing more.
…
An hour later…
Several members of the city guard had arrived around the thieves' hideout and were now positioning themselves to blockade the area. Some had also gone down into the sewers below to cut off any escape routes the thieves had, with Zola showing them the best spots to cut off anyone who fled.
The guard captain then turned to Ladislava and said, "My men are in position, Commander."
"Good. Tell them to hold their ground. Capture anyone who attempts to escape from the area."
"Yes, ma'am!"
"My team will assault the enemy through the north wall of their hideout. We suspect at least twenty hostiles inside, likely more."
"Just the five of you?"
"We've faced worse," said Zola.
"It will not prove a problem for us," added Setiawati.
"Just keep your men at their posts and we'll handle the rest," said Salia.
"Surely you don't need to do this yourselves," said the guard captain. "My men would be more than able to–"
"Your men would more than likely take heavy casualties if they were to assault the hideout," said Ladislava. "Besides, these thieves stole from the Imperial Army, and they decided to pull this stunt during our time off. I take issue with that. We'll call you once we've subdued them. For now, just keep their attention directed toward you." She then turned to the others and said, "Black Eagles, move out!"
"Yes, ma'am!" the other four aces said in unison.
Ladislava couldn't help but smile for a moment at this. Despite all their differences and quirks, she knew she could depend on them.
Kind of a slower chapter here, but I hope it'll at least get some of you invested in the Black Eagle Strike Force.
Ladislava is someone I really wish was playable in the game, but she dies in all four routes. Such a shame.
I know I'm only making female OC's, but I just don't do nearly as well with males. I dunno why.
Finally, to mister jackass reviewer, you were warned. New guest reviews will no longer appear anymore without my approval. Log in if you want other people to read your bullshit, so we can see who you are.
If you can't say anything nice, you don't have to read my story. But I'll leave your last review up so people know you were being incredibly rude.