CHAPTER 2

Soon after, Leonardo the archer arrived to see the trio. He wondered why the brigade was facing off the bandits by themselves. Micaiah answered, saying that the villagers could not take on the bandits by themselves. She insisted that Leonardo help them fight.

"Alright." said Leonardo. "I'll play along."

"So, who do ya think you people are?!" asked Pugo as he walked over to the group after catching Bri. "The Dawn Brigade or something?"

"First of all, they are the Dawn Brigade, you nasty bastard." said Bri.

"Hah! Funny." said Pugo. "Well, now is the time I kill ya all!" Micaiah then spoke again in Ancient Tongue. Pugo wondered what she said.

"It was a spell in Ancient Tongue, you whitty little bastard!" said Bri.

"Bri! The language out of you!" said Leonardo. "Remember: There are children here! And that would be us."

"Hah! Sorry… haven't matured enough from three years ago." Bri said.

"You know what, these people feed their families mere scraps!" Micaiah said. "And now you come and steal what little they have earned?! Think about it!" yelled Micaiah.

"Shut your goddamn trap, kiddo!" said Pugo. Micaiah later cast a Light spell in Ancient Tongue.

"Gah! My eyes!" said Pugo. He later suffered from the bright light of the magical spell. The young boy Nico and the lady he was with thanked Micaiah for getting rid of the disgusting bandits.

"No problem, little boy." said Micaiah.

"Oh, my name's Nico. I wanna grow up to be like you someday!" Nico said as he introduced himself to Micaiah.

"...Children these days." said Bri.

"THERE THEY ARE!" said a voice. "The wretched Dawn Brigade is right there!"

"Damn it, Begnion soldiers!" said Bri. "Excuse my language, but still."

"We've gotta run!" Edward said as he and the rest of the Dawn Brigade ran for their lives.

"Hey! Where do you think you are going?!" asked a Begnion soldier. He was then asked by a Halberdier in purple armor who he was yelling at. The halberdier in the purple armor was named Jarod, and Begnion soldiers wondered what time he showed up at.

"Shut it, maggot. I want to know who you were yelling at!" yelled Jarod.

"S-sorry sir. We as Begnion soldiers suspected they were from the Dawn Brigade." said the Begnion soldier.

"I see…" said Jarod.

"They strut around like heroes!" said another Begnion soldier.

"Yeah! That damned Dawn Brigade! They steal stuff! Wretched idiots…" said another Begnion soldier.

"Yeah! What he said!" said the third Begnion soldier. "And they have a light magic-wielding piece of shit on their side. A bitch known as the Silver-Haired Maiden…"

"Hey, don't call her a bitch!" said another Begnion soldier. "Call the other girl a bitch! The wolf-riding girl!"

"So they have a girl that rides wolves?!" asked Jarod in shock.

"She fought in the Mad King's War, Jarod." said the soldier of Begnion.

"I see, I see…" Jarod said. "Very well. And also, speak of this Silver-Haired Maiden." ordered Jarod.

"Very well, sir." said the Begnion soldier. "She can lay he hands on any injury and heal it. Townspeople call her a savior, sir."

"A savior eh?" asked Jarod. "What have you been doing about these wretched fools?"

"A few days ago, we stormed their hideout. We found a girl that looked like the Silver-Haired Maiden herself, sir." said the Begnion soldier.

"And I said this, sir: 'If it's the fortune-teller, we'll be heroes'". The Begnion soldier said as he quoted what he said a few days ago.

"Sir, their cunning and cautious. We lost them as we were trying to persecute them." said a soldier of Begnion.

"Oh, I'm beginning to understand something." said Jarod.

"What is it, Jarod, sir?" asked a soldier.

"I'm beginning to understand how incompetent you all are!" Jarod yelled harshly. "How about this instead: I stab your ass so that blood leaks into the streets of Daein!" Jarod did just that to the Begnion soldier. Blood spilled into the Daein streets. Jarod then ordered the other two remaining soldiers to find the Dawn Brigade and make the villagers talk about them.

"Y-y-yes sir!" said a Begnion soldier. "Anything you say, good sir!"

"OK, I really don't care who these soldiers are." said a Begnion knight named Alder. "The more kick, the more fun for us. What do you think, sir?" asked Alder to Jarod.

"Uh… precisely, Alder." said Jarod. "Honestly, this dusty old town needs a game out of me."

Back at the Dawn Brigade hideout during the next day, Micaiah wondered how she could explain the previous day to Sothe and Nolan. Leonardo then said that she had to tell them that the townsfolk had to be saved from dirty and disgusting bandits. Leonardo also said it was unfortunate that they were spotted by Begnion soldiers.

"Would you honestly do it all over again?" asked Bri to Leonardo.

"No!" said Leonardo.

"Alright, stop it! Both of you!" said Micaiah.

Suddenly, during the conversation, two siblings, an older teenage girl named Beata and a young tween boy named Brycen, stopped by to see Micaiah. "Hey, Micaiah." said Beata. "Glad to see you're safe."

"Hey, Beata. Hey, Brycen." said Micaiah. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine." said Brycen. "We just finished our duties, and we wanted to see what you guys were doing."

"Oh, Leonardo's blabbering on about Begnion troops again." said Bri.

"Bri!" said Leonardo in exclamation.

"Haha! Sorry." sad Bri. "So, what were we saying?"

"What I was about to say was about Begnion troops." said Leonardo. "Surely, they can't find this hideout."

"...What's wrong, Edward?" asked Micaiah as Edward got up out of his seat and walked away from it.

"I just do not get our case here." Edward said. "This is our country. And we are being forced to live like prisoners."

"You know what, Edward?!" asked Bri. "It's bad enough my homeland of Daein lost the war, and I was on Crimea's side! Avenging my family, that is! This is not a country anymore! End of story!" yelled Bri. "Ashnard killed my family, and now I am…living in depression because of that crusty old bastard!"

"BRI!" yelled Leonardo. "Enough of this!" Bri breathed heavily.

"I…I'm sorry…" apologized Bri.

"It's alright that you were avenging your family and fighting your own king, Bri." said Micaiah. "It was completely alright for your standards."

"I know, Micaiah." said Bri. "I only did it to avenge my family. But end of conversation, and end of argument altogether!" hollered Bri.

"Well, here's the thing." said Edward. "Crimea walked away right after winning that wretched and bloody war. Therefore, they have been leaving the Begnion dogs of demonic death to march around this 'country' like it's their frickin' homeland!"

"And nobody dares to stop them." Leonardo said. "Right?" asked Leonardo.
"That's correct!" said Edward.

A voice then said that the neighboring country of Crimea did not have any resources to rule another country. Micaiah, wondering who it was, went to the other side of the hideout. Surprise for her, Nolan and Sothe made it back in one piece.

"Finally, the Dawn Brigade is present." said Bri.

"Unusually, Bri, they were late." said Leonardo. "So, what happened?" asked Leonardo to Sothe and Nolan.

"Our fame, people. Begnion's troops are patrolling everywhere now." Sothe said.

"Oh, no…" Bri said.

"I have never not ever seen much Begnion activity in the area before…" Nolan said. He then asked if there is something the Dawn Brigade should know. Micaiah walked away from the conversation. Leonardo then told the truth about everything that happened with Micaiah, Edward, and Bri.

"I see, I see…" said Nolan. "You had a run in with bandits…"

"Even worse, Begnion soldiers spotted us as we attempted to make an escape." Micaiah said.

"We were even that careless…" Bri said. "We are terribly sorry for what we did."

"Bri, it's not anyone's fault." said Sothe. "But we'll worry about that later." He later asked Micaiah if she was seen using the Sacrifice skill.

"On my honorific words, I am afraid I was seen by Begnion soldiers with the skill." said Micaiah.

"Micaiah, Micaiah, Micaiah… I have told you this before, but it looks like I have to say it again." Sothe said. "You cannot allow anyone to know about your Sacrifice skill. Healing without tomes or staves is a rare gift indeed. Almost unheard of, as a matter of fact." Sothe explained. "And if anyone saw you using the skill, you'd be given away immediately, and I don't know if I can keep you safe!" Sothe later yelled.

"Sothe…" Micaiah said.

"You shouldn't yell at the girl like that!" hollered Bri.

"Sorry…" said Sothe.

"No, no…" Micaiah said. "It's fine. I already know."

"Micaiah," spoke Sothe, "I know you know, but you constantly keep on doing this action! Listen, I have a declaration for the Dawn Brigade itself." Sothe later said to the entire group. "This place is no longer safe. We must leave at once."

"But wouldn't it be nice to at least eat in peace?" asked Nolan. "I mean, I am starving for something around here!"

"Shut up, Nolan!" Sothe said as he shook Nolan.

"I'll admit, that was surprising." said Nolan.

"Now come on." Sothe later said. Everyone later packed up and left the hideout. Bri later mounted her wolf mount, and gaited across the way with the Dawn Brigade.