Chapter 14: False Friends Part 2
"Oh man... I need to catch up with the group... I hope I don't get lost." Guy spoke with a sense of nervousness when entering in the village. He separated from his partners after going straight to an armory for swords. Their haul from the pirate forts were rather hefty. 15,000 gold or so after accounting weapons to sell. Once that was done, he immediately went into the village in the South. He was eyed by that knight near the armory and vendor for some reason...
Anyways, he was looking for Raven and Lucius or perhaps meet the village chieftain to tell them the good news. However, as Guy got into the village...
"Um... are you lost?" A feminine voice called out.
"Huh?" Guy voiced out. He turned to the direction of the voice.
Within Guy's eyes, he saw a short red-haired figure with green eyes. She had a green sleeveless shirt adorned with a transparent shawl that covered her shoulder. With a mid-length white skirt, brown boots and long white gloves that covered all the way up to the upper arm.
To the girl, all she saw was a lost Sacaen, unlikely to be a Laus soldier. To Guy, she appeared to be a dainty girl.
"U-um," Guy stammered a bit before recollecting himself. "You know where the village chief is? Our group just dealt with pirates down East from here."
She nodded. She was aware given how she was hidden away for a moment because a pair of mercenaries came into the village. But since the misunderstanding went away, she quickly came back out. She was still waiting for Erk, who left to find help, but this may have been her chance to leave Laus.
Just as she was about to lead Guy, a heavily armored man who appeared to be a general came out from the gates. He looked to be within his 40-50s with a pronounced nose and purple slicked-back hair cladded in yellow armor. Behind him were his knights.
"So, have you decided to come to our castle, Lady Priscilla of House Caerleon?" The man inquired. To which the girl gave an immediate shake of the head.
"I said it once, I will not change my decision. I refuse to enter your castle. I am no trophy to behold, Marquess Laus." Priscilla promptly refused.
All the while, Guy wondered if he was caught ended up in something complicated. He scratched his head over this mess. For now, he remained silent.
"Hahaha. You'll make for a fine bride of mine..." Ignoring her protests as Darin spoke. To which both Guy and Priscilla held disgusted expressions. "House Caerleon should be indebted for such a gracious offer."
As if they'd be happy marrying off their daughter to a late-middle aged man. Although they adopted Priscilla, they treated her as their own. They loved her enough to let her go off to find the truth of House Cornwell and to find her brother. They would not be appreciative to see a man hold their daughter hostage in a village.
Darin turned to Guy and narrowed his eyes: "Who are you?" To which Guy raised up his thumb and pointed to himself.
"I'm Guy of the Greil Mercenaries, we were just done dealing with pirates from the Southeast." Guy reported while keeping his vigilance and less-excited tone in front of this... scumbag. Priscilla glanced at the boy for a moment at the name of the group he was in. But she couldn't voice herself at this moment.
"Hmph, my son and knights reported to me how the villagers hired you and your rather young leader. They should devote more of their taxes if they had money to hire a bunch of children." Darin remarked. Guy fought off a retort to the Marquess. Raven and Lucius were not there with him and there were too many men. They can't fight in the middle of a village.
The Greil Mercenaries... Darin held his chin for a moment to remember. Was there a slight wave from that name a year ago involving House Caelin? No matter...
Turning to his guards, he gave his orders: "Tell the villagers to not give further aid. Also, no food to be given to her until she finally accepts my offer." The guards saluted and went to the villager chieftain.
Priscilla glared at Darin who only smirked.
"I'll be waiting in my castle, Lady Priscilla..." Darin went off while chuckling to himself. The pair only shivered at his reminder. Soon, after all the knights and the marquess were gone, leaving Priscilla to be silent.
Guy only looked at the girl who held her head down. At any rate, he wanted to help her but he needed to report to the rest of the group first. Just as Priscilla was about to request for Guy to help her, another figure appeared. A man with matching red hair as hers and with a dark blue trench coat. His hardened gaze glanced to her slightly softened for a moment before returning to an ever-present glare to his comrade. Accompanying him appeared to be a blonde woman who was affiliated with the church, who was honestly more beautiful than she. But based on Erk's description, this person was a man. If this was the Greil Mercenaries...
"Guy. Get ready to meet with Ike. I'm taking this girl out of Laus." Raven ordered.
~Few moments earlier~
"Haah... I bet he got lost." Raven complained as he sighed.
"Maybe we can meet him at the entrance?" Lucius replied. "He was dealing with alot of loot from the pirates..."
At any rate, they've informed the village chieftain of having dealt with the pirates. There was a guard or two near the village they entered. With that force available, they might as well have been doing their job right by protecting the populace. Plus, he inquired about the state of Laus, the villagers were anxious over the preparations of Laus to attack other territories in Lycia, most likely to usurp Ostia as the ruling house of Lycia (not that Raven would have cared). But that was besides the point, their actions could cascade in the rest of the territories, especially those in Caelin and Pherae. Not to mention if Bern felt it was right to invade while Lycia became vulnerable. They needed to know where the Laus forces may invade.
Anyways, their work was done and they had to regroup with Ike. Moreover, if Ike was feeling generous, he'd end up redistributing some of the funds between the villages. They've racked up a good sum, through arenas and raids against ruffians. Lucius and Rath performed surprisingly well, after Ike purchased more occultic scrolls for the pair. Then he'd have to do some bookkeeping like he's done to assist Ike and Lucius for the past year.
It was tough work being in the company, but it kept himself busy. Although he made no progress in finding out about House Cornwell, being busy took his mind off revenge, even just slightly...
Suddenly, the pair heard sounds of armor clanking off in the distance. It was coming from near the entrance of the village. The pair nodded to one another and hid behind a house away from the sight of the gathering... they observed what was happening between what appeared to be Guy and red haired girl with who appeared to be Marquess Laus. No other villager present due to their fear of their lord's forces.
Raven's eyes widened at the girl. It's been ten years... she's grown from the girl who used to cling to her older brother and happily accept being married to him. Albeit, it was a non-serious promise at the time. Why was...
"It looks like Guy finished... and who's that girl he's with?" Lucius questioned.
"Priscilla..." Raven whispered out. Lucius turned to Raven with his eyes widened.
"Priscilla? Was she not under the care of House Caerleon? Why is she here all the way from Etruria?" Lucius prodded to himself. Those were also Raven's thoughts as he observed the situation.
As the pair continued to eavesdrop while the rest of the villagers remained in the confines of their homes. As they listened, Raven's curious gaze soon turned to furious, and finally murderous. Even Lucius was aghast at Darin's intentions. Every word he spoke to Priscilla made him grip his axe at his side ever so tightly. In any event, whatever the marquess had in store will only end terribly for Darin.
The marquess and his men left the village, off to return to their castle leaving the pair at the entrance. Raven and Lucius decided to come out of hiding. Raven already made up his mind. He was going to take her out of there, one way or another.
"W-wait!" Guy stammered. "I want to help her out, too! But shouldn't we wait for boss?"
Raven shook his head, "I'm getting her out of here. Ike will just have to wait. I'm taking a job on my own, I'll even pay for it."
Ike had a sister of his own. He'll understand. He already knew about Priscilla anyways.
"Raymond..." Priscilla immediately took notice of Lucius's mention of Raven's real name. Her eyes widened as Lucius continued: "Laus has guards outside of the village. They'll try to stop you."
"Let them, I'll cut them down if I have to. Lucius, make sure to meet with Ike along with Guy. This is of my own actions, they might not link whatever I'm going to do with the rest of the group. Pretend to not know me, if you must." Raven told to Lucius. Who only showed disapproval and shaking of his head in response.
This time, Priscilla called out: "Raymond... big brother..." Guy immediately became surprised upon her words and pointed his finger back forth between the two, as if attempting connect the dots. Lucius briefly whispered into Guy's ears to which he nodded after being told of the relationship.
Raven gazed at her before looking away. He remained silent for a moment, until he finally spoke to her: "Get ready, I'll take you back to Etruria." Only for her to shake her head.
"N-no! You're here right in front of me! Not after I came all this way to see you again, Lord Brother!" Priscilla pleaded to Raven. Only for the latter to shake his head in refusal.
"You were sent away to Etruria for adoption. You are no longer affiliated with House Cornwell. Go back to House Caerleon... I'll make sure that you at least leave this place safely."
Her pleas fell on deaf ears, her tears began to well up wanting to refuse her brother. She only wanted to be reunited with him.
Just as Guy and Lucius wished to interject, they heard clanking off from a distance. Soon, they heard a voice.
"Lord Erik! Some men are attempting to have Lady Priscilla escape!" A knight called out from outside the village.
Raven clicked his tongue, taking out his axe and shield, he went outside the village.
"Ready your things! Keep her safe! If worse comes to worst, take her to Ike!" Raven called out while leaving the village.
He trusted Ike that much to keep her safe. Guy and Lucius looked to one another and were ready to go out with him, with their sword and tome in hand.
Lucius turned to Priscilla and spoke, "Lady Priscilla, we will assist Lord Raymond. If you can, please escape to the North village, our leader may still be there."
Guy also added: "Just ask for Ike or Rath! He'll help you out!"
With that, both of them went after Raven in tow. Priscilla stood silent for a moment, before recollecting herself. Her eyes became determined, and went to her quarters to get her mend staff. She needed to go to the stables as well.
Just as she was about to leave, she saw a middle-aged man with a mustache approach her alongside other villagers.
"Priscilla. We overheard you talking with those mercenaries. Take this to them." Handing her a bag of gold about 5,000 and some vulneraries. "They tried to refuse, but I'd rather they take our own tax funds than that lousy marquess." Priscilla stood silent before accepting it.
"Thank you all. For giving me asylum when you could have turned me over." She replied. The man just waved her off.
"Don't fret over that. None of us are overly fond of the marquess. He's always threatening us. He treats us like slaves. All of these war preparations? We want nothing to do with them. We may be divided into territories, but we're Lycians one and all. We may be invaded by another country one day, but why does he want to start a war here at home? None of us understand what he is doing." He explained. "Just go with your brother. He and the other two seemed pretty skilled to deal with the pirates that have been plaguing us."
"Thank you all..." Priscilla smiled to the villagers as she bid them farewell.
Just as Raven finished off the armored knight from outside, he spotted two cavaliers galloping where he was with one of them holding a sword. Gripping his axe and shield tightly, he prepared to counterattack, only to hear a voice behind him.
"Oh guiding light of life! Shine a ray upon my path and strike my enemies!"
Shine
Lucius's spell hit the one with a sword with a burst of light, knocking him off his mount and killing him.
Soon, another figure dashed right past Raven with blinding speed, his blade already been winded behind him pointing to the enemy, and thrusting forward with his blade.
Lunar-
His blade hit the steed, causing the horse to stand up on its rear legs startling the rider. It was Guy, and he wasn't finished. Pulling out his sword from the mount, he bent slightly with his sword held horizontally, and propelled himself upwards, spinning himself with the blade in hand.
-Eclipse
An attack that ignored enemy defense upon a strong thrust, and launched an upwards spinning strike with their blade (think Shadowfall from Sekiro). This is an attack Guy came up with on his own while training and gaining inspiration from Ike's Luna. Needless to say, it was a league of its own and certainly made everyone's eyes widen upon witnessing it in a arena. The names unbeknownst to Ike and Guy were also the names of dark magic spell tomes and another skill belonging to a certain armored knight in Tellius.
The cavalry fell backwards, his steed in tow, having been hit with multiple slashes. Guy dived back down, once again ready to face the Laus forces.
Raven sighed and spoke: "I thought I told you two to protect her or take her to Ike."
"I will always be by your side, Raymond..." Lucius replied readying his Shine tome in hand. "We'll fight together!" His determined expression facing the Laus forces coming out of the castle in droves.
"Besides, Boss will notice and join in the fight in the end. You think he's going to leave you to fend for yourself?" Guy pointed out.
Raven shook his head and sighed before once again readying his axe and shield. At any rate, they are all enemies of the Laus forces. As his thoughts drifted to the situation, he heard a feminine voice speak out behind him.
"Fragments of Healing!"
Mend
Raven's wounds suddenly recovered. He turned to see the source of the spell. His eyes widened upon seeing his sister on a horse with a staff.
"Priscilla! Get out of here! We'll either cut you a path or head to the North village for safety!" He ordered. To which she shook her head.
"I will not leave you, Lord Brother!" Priscilla responded. "I'm trained in the use of staves. Please, allow me to heal your wounds in battle!"
Raven bit back a retort. It was clear his little sister would not listen to him. She was dead set on accompanying him to battle.
"...Fine... you win, Priscilla. Stay behind me and Guy. Lucius, stay beside Priscilla and attack from a distance. Use a Heal staff if we receive too many wounds. Actually... Lucius, give Priscilla a spare Heal staff as well. Mend staffs should be for emergencies." Now Raven felt like Ike when issuing orders. For some reason, it didn't feel bad.
"Are you all ready?" Raven called out.
"""Yes!""" They all responded. Their staves and weapons at the ready.
There was no turning back, they will fight against Laus with just the four of them (six if Rath and Ike come quickly). Despite the numbers, Raven still held a grin against the odds.
Erik who noticed the trio coming out one after the other from the village in the South clicked his tongue. 'No matter, they can still deal with those sellswords,' he thought. Then, Lady Priscilla... his new stepmother... also joined the fray.
It seems as though they planned to take her out of Laus. What would make them want to help her? That fool that was beside her from the beginning was no where to be seen. Did he really get help for her?
He went back to the castle, there was still 12 of his men. He could leave rest assured. There he saw his father and... Ephidel. He remained in his dark cloak with golden eyes and a strand of wavy hair on his right side peering out beneath his cloak.
"What's going on, Erik?" Darin asked.
"It seems as though someone hired some other mercenaries to escort Lady Priscilla out of Laus." Erik responded to his father.
"Tch... Hurry up and end those mercenaries. Greil Mercenaries, was it?" Ephidel eyes flickered at Darin's mention of the name. "There were only a few of them."
Indeed. When they first heard news from their lookouts spotting a couple mercenaries and Erik approached the leader. There was nothing suspicious or out of the ordinary and some of their men legitimately went to deal with pirates off in the coast as well as bandits in the mountains. They let them go about their business.
"We also received word that Eliwood and his forces are still beyond the hill, and within a few hours at any rate." Erik responded. To which Darin appeared dumbfounded.
"This is no good, we were to ambush the Pherae whelp. We need to end those mercenaries as fast as possible." Darin spoke nervously. "Erik, quickly defeat those mercenaries and take Priscilla back into our castle safely."
"Yes Father." Obeying his father, he left the two in the castle.
Ephidel already reported to the pair of Marquess Santaruz after Eliwood was first spotted. Those mercenaries needed to die in order to entrap the heir. Erik returned to the battlefield to deal with the rest. Only for his eyes to widen at the situation.
Half of his men already died! He had only 6 men left. The enemy forces barely budged. His own remaining men, nervous and lacking morale at their foes.
"Call for more reinforcements!" With that order, a dozen more men emerged ranging from soldiers, cavalry, mercenaries, nomads, and myrmidons. To the North, he gritted his teeth upon seeing the leader and that wavy purple-haired brat together.
"They're in league with those Mercenaries from before! Cut them all down! Leave just Lady Priscilla!" Erik ordered as he readied his silver lance.
Rath quickly took to the trees skillfully maneuvering past the trees in the forests, while firing his arrows at the enemy. Many of the enemies fallen or staggered as Ike quickly rushed to end the downed enemies. Erk was not idle, as he began his chant towards the cavalry rushing towards them.
"Oh power of the wind! Sharpen to blades to quell this quarrel."
Wind
And a gust of sharpened air came towards the cavalry, causing the horses to stand on their hind legs upon being hit with blades of wind at the front. Their riders having fallen off their steeds. Their downed opponents quickly received an arrow or Ike's blade.
Erik's forces were slowly dwindling and the enemies in the south remained strong and cutting down all their forces. At any rate, they would lose.
"Blast! They're stronger than I had supposed! To the castle! I want all the reinforcements available, and I want them now!" Erik suddenly felt rain as he announced those words.
Aside from the nomads, their mounted units were impeded greatly. And they amounted to about more than half of their forces.
""Lord Erik is struggling! He requests reinforcements! They only amount to seven people yet they have already cut down half of Lord Erik's forces!" A soldier called out. Darin's face turned ashen.
"What? Ready the men." Darin announced. It seems as though those mercenaries were not to be trifled with.
Ephidel only shook his head: "Unbelievable… These numbers cannot stop them." He decided to walk away in another direction, as if to leave. "You cannot deal with seven people? What makes you think you'll be able to take on Eliwood and his company?"
Indeed, he did not foresee the Greil Mercenaries with their meager numbers defeating Laus forces to this extent. Something to report back to Lord Nergal.
"Ephidel? W-Where are you going?" He nervously asked.
"It seems that conquering Lycia might have been too much to ask of you after all." Ephidel chided at Darin. "I must inform my master. The Black Fang will be leaving at once."
Darin shook his head in fear, "No! You… You can't abandon us! Not at this stage!"
Ephidel turned to him and responded: "Who was it that said Ostia mustn't learn of our plans? Wasn't it you, Lord Darin? The Marquess of Laus himself?"
"Y-Yes, it was. There's no turning back for me. Not now! P-P-Please!" Darin stammered as he begged. "One more… Give me one more chance. I assure you, I will not disappoint Lord Nergal!"
Ephidel smiled at the display. Hook-line-sinker. Regardless, he would have just killed Darin there if he gave up. His quintessence will be quite useful.
"Very well… Assemble your men. We will regroup elsewhere." Ephidel ordered.
"Eh? You can't mean… My son…my home… Am I to abandon them?" He questioned with reluctancy.
"Would you fall in disgrace along with your son? Our master, Lord Nergal, is offering you the throne of all Lycia…Surely a few sacrifices are not too much to ask?" Ephidel explained with tempting words.
Darin stood still for a moment, only shook his head "Yes… You're right. My destiny is greater than this. I was born to be king of Lycia." Standing up, he agreed with Ephidel.
"And as for an heir?" Ephidel turned to Darin, "You're still young, my lord. You will have time. You must not let a moment's sentimentality cloud your judgment."
It was clearly a lie. He was way to old to remarry or have children again. In any event, the marquess held no further doubts and shrouded himself in delusion. He remained silent and only accompanied Ephidel with him.
Back to the battlefield, the mercenary forces were barely impeded by the rain, the Nomadic Trooper on their side kept pelting the Laus forces with arrows and sometimes switching to a blade whenever an enemy got too close. No enemy could touch Rath.
Three soldiers attempted to approach the purple haired mage and corner him. They all stepped into the puddle created by the rain to which the mage narrowed his eyes. Pulling out a yellow book from within his clothing he quickly chanted:
"Wrath of the heavens, descend to the earth and strike those who have sinned!"
Thunder
"Aaaaaahhhhhh!" They cried out.
The soldiers who surrounded Erk were struck by the lightning from the spell, the puddle allowing them to be easily electrocuted with the rain along with their metallic armor. They became scorched and fell. All the while, Erk remained safe from their clutches.
The hero and the myrmidon fighting against the soldiers in the south stayed vigilant, cutting down anyone in their path. Their wounds remained minor and manageable. Their bishop backing them with spells and healing at opportune moments. Lady Priscilla who was imprisoned also assisted in mending their wounds (outside of a mend staff).
Every civilian peering out beyond their gates and confines observed that the few people who fought against the bandits and pirates for them survived and remained strong. Their original forces that were outnumbered by several times were now greater in number to the men led by Erik's forces. How on earth did these mercenaries defeat this many?
"Where are my reinforcements? Why haven't they come?" Erk panicked. "Tch! I've no choice. I must attack! You!" Pointing his lance at Ike. He galloped towards Ike on his steed.
"Laus is the true throne of Lycia! Taste my lance!" He yelled out. Ike slightly leaned out of the way of Erik's lance, and quickly grabbed with his left hand onto it while slashing at the horse with his sword hand to startle it. Erik lost his balance with Ike's tug of the lance and his horse harmed. Falling down and losing his grip on his lance, he was disarmed and without a steed. His horse ran off into the distance. Ike quickly grabbed the undershirt beneath Erik upper armor.
"Unhand me! I am no one's prisoner!" He protested.
Ike sighed and winded his head back, in the next moment, he head-butted into the nose of Erik.
"Gwaa!" He cried out.
Erik, now sporting a broken and bloody nose, looked up at Ike who remained undaunted. He cowered before Ike's furious face.
"Your little stint with that girl ends. My men have just decimated your entire forces. So you better think twice before even retaliating unless you want to lose further." Ike threatened Erik, who now grew fearful. It was true, he was the only one remaining.
"You… You peasants… You can't treat a proper noble like this!" He cried out. Only for Ike to roll his eyes. "Those villagers will pay for even hiring you in the first place!" Just as he was ready to punch him for those words, he heard the sound of knuckles cracking behind him. It was Raven who was no longer wounded from his encounters after being healed by Lucius and Priscilla.
"Now... where is your father, Marquess Darin?" He asked. Erik's eyes widened. "The entire castle was empty, save for some girl who cried out for her grandfather and no other soldiers."
Erik shook his head, almost in tears.
"D-Don't be ridiculous! My father would not abandon… No! He'd never…" Erik panicked as he was in denial. Raven took Erik off Ike's hands.
"Looks like he's left his only son behind to fend for himself..." Raven pointed out, causing Erik to whimper further. "Now where did he go off to with the rest of his forces?"
Ike was surprised that Raven asked the important questions. It seems as though Raven wanted to make up for taking the initiative to save his sister.
"Where were they planning to attack? He was preparing to go to war and take over the rest of Lycia. So he might have just decided to go on without you..." Raven surmised. "Now tell us, you cur! We all know you traitors wanted to set up for war!"
Upon Raven's threatening tone, Erik stood still out of fear. Taking a moment to recollect himself, he finally spoke.
"C-Caelin..." Erik whined out. The other who soon joined with them eyes widened at Erik's mention of the name. "There was plan to start with Caelin first..."
That meant, the rest of Laus forces are likely marching on their way to Caelin as they spoke. Raven let go of the wretch, who was on his knees, still in disbelief.
"Oh no... Lyn and the others..." Ike voiced out. Turning to the rest, he announced to the rest of the group. "Get ready! We have to rush to Caelin immediately!"
"""Aye!"""
The others went to the armory and vendors to restock. Leaving just Raven and Ike in the vicinity with Erik. Soon, they left him to wallow in his misery. As the group was ready to leave Laus, Ike noticed the pair, Erk and Priscilla attempt to stop the group.
Erk stepped up with Priscilla in tow, "Ike, allow me and Lady Priscilla to accompany you." Raven's eyes widened. "She has requested to assist the Greil Mercenaries so long as her brother is there."
Just as Raven wanted to object, he fought back the urge to do so, knowing it would be fruitless. His sister was too stubborn at any rate. He'd have to keep Priscilla within his sight in battle.
"Very well, welcome back, Erk." Ike congratulated. Turning to Priscilla. Offering his hand out to her to shake, "Welcome to the Greil Mercenaries, Priscilla."
"Much obliged." She replied with a smile as she shook.
