Struggle, But not Alone

Ch. 8

Kindling

Pov: Dutch

I could scarce believe the words as they left my mouth,

"Excuse me, Gentlemen!"

The eyes of the people below turned their attention up our hill. Others appeared as they ran down from the small mountain on the other side to form up with the rest, staring at us just the same. Some appeared as if they recognized us and readied themselves at my announcement. All except for one boy on a horse. His presence was far different than those surrounding him. Behind it was ambition, one not unsimilar from somewhere I have forgotten. Had it been years? Decades? Time was lost for me as I looked on further.

Aside from his glaze, his armor was unique in perspective of what we had seen. His helmet was off, which the object itself could only be described as a sliver head of a bird of prey. With it not being worn by its owner, the art piece was eyeless with dark pits where its eyes would be. It's short beak was left agape as if ready to consume.

The rest of his armor matched the metal cap's color scheme, and with bat-wing like embossed coverings aimed downwards from the front and back of the pauldrons, protecting slightly over his breastplate.

As for his armaments, he was only armed with a cavalry sword. A Saber.

I was well familiar with this blade from the scuffles we had out west from time to time involving the US Army. We almost always got away before a fight happened between us.

Another thing to note was how much the fighting force down below seemed to flock to the man, like a shield from a wrath we could just as easily bring upon them.

I had gathered as much as I could to profile the man that sat on his stallion near Guts. Simply, he was ruthless, he was tactical, and loved by his men. Most of all, as I already saw first, he had ambition, and a goal I had yet to know.

The only critique I could give was his appearance. Too much of a pretty boy in my opinion. Long flowing silver hair, feminine facial features. I had to double take to make sure he wasn't a woman. At least I hoped he wasn't. After all, I had just proclaimed "Gentlemen." Possibly rendering any negotiations null.

Any concern about my hastiness was calmed as he spoke with just as much friendliness, matched with a small unassuming smile,

"Greetings! It's unusual running into you here."

I had just put my foot down at the base of the little valley As he spoke. Before approaching any further, a soldier came forward with a sword aimed right towards my neck. Looking at this one, I could see a fire in their eyes. About the same age as Guts too, and probably a girl for real this time from what their figure showed. She had sunkissed skin and short hair a couple shades darker.

"It's alright Casca. If they truly meant ill intentions, they would have struck without talking. That is If the man before us is the same man he showed himself to be from the castle."

It would be impossible for anyone outside the battle to actually know that. But I think I would remember someone with armor like that.

The rest of the gang caught up with me, and I held my arms up with my palms out behind me. Arthur wanted to test my request to stay back by walking past me, I quickly grabbed him by the shoulder,

"Easy now, I want to help him too."

Morgan gave a half hearted huff as he stepped back to give me room, "I would like to talk things out civilly, but you seemed to have downed one of my men."

"Oh? He's yours? Then what was he doing out here alone?"

"He was scouting the road ahead of us to watch out for bandits."

The leader chortled as he disregarded my insinuation, "Out in the open? In the middle of the road?"

I chuckled just the same, "Didn't say he was good at it. Actually, he was upset about the task himself. Stubborn youth."

He wagged his head as he then sheathed his saber,

"Yes, he did come off as that. He killed one of my own and cut off another's arm, even then I asked him to put away his weapon. Yet he insisted on fighting me."

I couldn't help but smirk at his playfully feigned innocence,

"So you do admit to attacking him?"

"Eventually I did, but neither did I start or order such a thing among my men. That was until the whole thing started."

I looked around them with my eyes sharpened, "Then who initiated it?"

My search among the ruffians drifted to another man on a horse. When my gaze fell on him, he clenched up. The soldier was young, and the features that were shown through his helmet told me he was ugly on the inside as the outside. A common trouble maker. His story was laid out before me without a word, yet his leader confirmed it for me.

"Corkus and his friends thought they could win. Would you like to talk to him about it? He's the only one able to at the moment."

Panic quickly ran through the man I could now identify as Corkus. About as silly a name as Arthur's fake one. As ridiculous as both were, we had other pressing matters before justice.

"Not currently, but we can look over the matter if you allow us to take the boy to the next town to get help."

He didn't answer as he looked down at Guts before saying, "Judeau."

A small framed man in leather armor and blond hair in a small ponytail rushed to check the downed figure of the boy, "Lost a lot of blood! He needs help, Griffith. And the next village might be more than a day away. All the same, they may or may not be able to help him."

The man I could now call Griffith nodded and commanded, "Then we will help him the best we can at our camp."

Gasps and muttering came from the rest of his troops as some started making preparations for the boy.

Griffith then looked up to me, "Would that be acceptable?"

Before I answered, I spent my time looking at the rest of my companions. None of them were truly bothered by the deal, save for Arthur and John. Understandably so. But as they looked at Guts, they knew we had no other choice and gave me the nod of approval.

Now facing the opposing group, I answered, "We'll agree, as long as you allow us to accompany you till he gets well."

He smiled thoughtfully, "Of course. Then we should get moving. Time isn't on our side."

XXXXXXX

So our group became one on that road, and had a destination with a goal. A patched up and unconscious Guts was loaded onto a stretcher, carried by a couple of unnamed mercenaries. By his side watching him was Arthur and Uncle. Judeau was playing the practitioner of medicine, putting on a mixture of plants unknown at the time to me.

Whatever it was, it seemed to help his raspy breathing. The trio stayed close by me, within earshot. As for Bill and Javier, they placed themselves in the back with that arrogant Corkus. The pair made sure to keep an eye on him and his posse. And behind them was that little girl, Sonia. She stayed close to the pair as the lesser men tried shooing her off. Despite how Bill and Javier came off at times, they didn't let any of them approach her within a couple feet. So it was official that she was stuck with us, whether she wanted it or not now.

As for me, I was now on horseback along with John on another horse beside our new illustrious host, Griffith. And at the long haired man's side was his female subordinate, Casca. Griffith provided these steeds temporarily from Corkus and his pals, making them walk the rest of the way to their encampment.

I had to admit, the looks of resentment on their faces almost made me feel giddy as they handed the reins. And the horse was a fine one, young, fit, and well fed. A shame she belonged to a man like him.

As we moved along, we were in silence. That silence gave me time for the next minutes or so to make some questions I had formulated.

"So. Griffith, was it?"

He chuckled, "Yes?"

"May I ask how you came to know of us? I'm assuming you were present at the intersection where the boy fought?"

"You're correct, our Band was up along a balcony close to one you shot at with your hand cannons."

An assumption I silently predicted came bare,

"You were on the other side of the battle?"

"Afraid so. Is that an issue?"

"No, not at all. I'm starting to see a picture now. A priest in the town area told me of a mercenary captain who would see reason to surrender."

Griffith chuckled,

"Oh?! Father Gregory thought that much of me? I'm flattered!"

"Yes. The mayor was less than forthcoming on our arrival, so my band members told me. The giant general wanted a fight from the start. Even the man who hired us wanted a full on massacre! Is that how men in power are around here?"

The young man didn't answer right away, but he looked up when he did a little,

"It's the way the two kingdoms have dealt with each other for the last hundred years, and the end seems nowhere in sight. From one generation to the next, each are taught to hate and despise the other. Using any means to increase their power."

To justify their wages…

Griffith moved his head back in my direction,

"But then there's you. You and your band seem to be an outsider of this whole ordeal. Given your age, it seems near impossible to not have known this."

"Well, my men and I come from a far away land that is cut off from us at the moment. A great discourse led to a schism among our people and split us up."

Next to me, John cleared his throat a little loudly, but I knew it wasn't because of blockage.

"A civil war? Then you have my sympathies. And judging from how you talk about it, I take it that you were in a high position of standing?"

I wanted to laugh at the thought, but we had seen and done things nobody did in our time.

"Yes… We were Nobles."

"So you are 'The Band of Nobles!' Forgive me, but even leaving the castle we had heard tale that it was your small band's name."

"Yes, it was made by that Tudor Knight. He said it in disbelief, whereas we just adopted it."

At the mention of the rotten man, it made the conversation come to a halt. It was the first time I had truly seen the mercenary's face darken ever so slightly. And given my gift, or curse I could never curb, I could already tell what he was planning.

"You mean to go after him, don't you?"

Normally, I wouldn't ask a question like that with one I hadn't known for even an hour. Yet with the time I had, I already felt too much at ease with him! Even when I shouldn't! But he gave off a disarming feeling as the conversations went. Almost like trust, and yet not at the same time.

He answered right after he returned to a semi happy-neutral expression.

"Yes, it's something that needs to be done for Midland. We may be mercenaries, but our loyalty is for our home."

John entered the conversation,

"I can respect that."

"Thank you, but that's another matter altogether. We should focus on getting your friend better. Now it's been three months, but the rest of our forces we had left behind should be encamped not too much farther from here."

It was quiet again as we progressed further through the grasslands, leaving an awkward silence that didn't sit with me. As I was thinking of something, John beat me to the punch of the next question,

"Three months is a long time to wait, makes me wonder how you lasted as long as you did."

Griffith laughed, "That is a story I would save till tonight, I'm sure you're hungry as much as we are."

Uncle from the back perked up at the mention of food, "What do you guys normally eat?"

His question was overshadowed by the girl questioning her boss, "Sir! We don't know what condition our camp is in! They could have packed up and left already."

Instead of scolding the young teen, he showed patience in his handling, "We are all on the same ship now. If we have a food shortage, I'm sure a few of them will be willing to assist.

"But that won't be the case, I left two of our comrades in charge. I trust them."

I grinned under my mustache, smiling at his faith in his people. It was a precious thing to keep.

Silence followed us till we made our way out of the grasslands to another forest. The difference being that this one was not as stuffy or ancient as the other we woke up in. It was full of good lumber, full patches of grass, and a few rocks and stones strewn about. Walking into it, I could feel the life pouring out of it. As close as I could get to feeling like back in our world. Even then I knew it wasn't the same, but I took in the fresh air.

A voice from a mercenary ahead of us called out, "Griffith! I see the camp! A boy is running up to us!"

The captain gave a relieved sign,

"It's Rickert. Stand at ease and let him through."

I looked in the direction of the guard to see a young boy, probably no older than ten. His hair was cut short, and his dark green outfit was somewhat better than we had seen on kids his age. But even then it looked like it had been worn out from constant use.

"Griffith! Your back! Some of the men were starting to lose hope!"

"But they didn't. That's the very reason I put you and Pippin in control while I was gone."

I felt my jaw drop as the words left the man's mouth! An entire division of soldiers, probably the same amount or more with us, under the command of a child?! Quickly, I turned to my own men, those who were in earshot clearly felt the same as me by the looks they gave. Flabbergasted!

Griffith continued, "Speaking of Pippin, is he doing well?"

The young boy answered eagerly,

"Yes! He's been working hard in training with the soldiers to keep them in shape!"

"Good. Now I need you to do something very important. Make some preparation to clear out a tent for a wounded man. Also, tell the camp we have some extra guests, and not to attack them. "

"Y-yes, Griffith! I'll get right on it!"

The little man sped off back the way they came, while Griffith called out to his own, "Take heart men! They stayed true!"

A few pockets of cheers came out, and they were all filled with energy to move forward. Looking on, which I didn't know at the time, I was starting to grow a small fondness of the boy's charisma. Feeling so familiar, yet foreign.

What did he remind me of?

XXXXXXX

Walking into the open ground, we were surrounded by decent sized tents throughout the place. Men in light apparel were busy with whatever their fancy. Eating, drinking, fighting, and even some playing cards. It was this kind of revelry I was familiar with. Difference being that only now I pick up something on the soldiers both with us, and in the camp. Young. Everyone was so young! Not so much as a wrinkle and smooth as a brass cannon ball! That was until we came into the picture.

Crusted ass, hair grayed, hair fallen, and fat conditioned in that order.

And we were more than an eye sore as we gandered about. People started to stop what they were doing to see their leader and us. Whispering as if we didn't know what they said.

It didn't help none when Arthur and Judeau brought in Guts, an unknown along with us, wounded and being tended to. Along with the girl Sonia looking at nearly everyone with wide eye wonder.

Then Corkus was talking with the Rickert lad, and explaining in loose detail what happened, then the dirt bag and his nearby comrades looked at us with anger. Though the boy saw us with curiosity.

Ignoring the eye service, the Van Der Lindes lined up beside me as we stood behind Griffith. He dismounted, and so did John and I as some came to take the rides away. After a clear of his throat, he called to the crowd.

"Band of the Hawk! I commend you for enduring so long for my arrival! And so I bring news, both good and bad!"

A man in the back asked boldly,

"What is it?! Do these farmers need help?"

My old gang and I hung our heads in a heavy sigh. Then the leader of The Hawks explained, "If you allow me, I will tell you…"

He walked up to me and held his hand in the direction of me.

"But first, please introduce yourselves."

I became baffled in my head at such a stupid thing I hadn't brought up. We were complete strangers the entire time we traveled.

Time to remedy this mistake,

"Dutch Van Der Linde."

It went down the line from there,

"John Marston."

"Arthur Morgan."

"Bill Williamson."

"Javier Escuella."

"Just call me Uncle, everyone else does."

"Sonia!"

I looked to the left of me to see the smiling girl looking up at Griffith that equally smiled back at her.

"Is this a joke, Griffith?!"

A man with thick eyebrows and a tall statue had interrupted, he along with many of the Hawks didn't seem to be the friendliest of groups after all.

"If you mean the Girl, I was as surprised as the rest of you. She must be strong to be among a Band such as them!"

Dang boy almost made me choke on my spit, as did others around us trying to keep their head on. Casca terribly hid a chuckle. Even Arthur, who was boring holes in the back of Griffith's head the entire trip, cracked a smile.

"Not that! What's with that family names?! No way they're nobles!"

Soon others agreed with him, nodding along with the logic.

"Looks can be deceiving. They even defeated the Midland base in less than an hour of fighting."

Nobody said a word as almost the entire crowd gathered to arm themselves quickly, I almost did the same and held my hands back to my men to be ready. The only thing left I could do was look to Griffith, he looked at me the same and nodded in reassurance before commanding his people,

"And I'll have you know, none of our men died in the fight."

They paused for a moment until he continued, "Except for Dan, he died after the battle by trying to start something along with Corkus. It's why one of theirs is wounded and being tended to by us for the mercy they showed. So it is important that we treat them well, just as you would any other among us."

After being called out, Corkus proclaimed loudly, "I don't care if they're nobles or merciful or whatever! They're old! I promised myself I would sooner eat pig slop than live under those who would sooner look down on us!"

Griffith looked down in thought and answered his subordinate, "We don't happen to have any pigs, but would it suffice that they help around the camp while they stay here? Some would be free during their normal shifts."

This made the fool think for a moment before sighing in defeat, "Fine…"

Easy to please…

The silver haired man apologized to our group, "I know it's short notice, but it seems that it's the only way the people will tolerate your presence as of now."

I laughed, "It's all fine and fair with the way things have been for us lately."

XXXXXXX

After the excitement died down, all of us assisted with simple tasks around our new camp. Gathering wood, chopping it, cleaning out space to rest. In reality, it was burdenless work compared to what Griffith made it sound like. The only thing we could have done without was the eyes they lorded over.

At the time, we were offered provisions to sate hunger from us. It was mostly dried meat, water, and some stale bread. We ate as we went.

Night was falling, and a group that had gone out to hunt returned with a few deer and small forest creatures. Me, along with Arthur, was tasked with peeling potatoes they had harvested while waiting. We were isolated in a tent, making it the perfect time to talk with him,

"Uncle watching the boy?"

His eyes were distant, not even truly looking at the spud in front of him. I gave him a nudge and he snapped out of it.

"Huh? Oh, yeah… He said I was just gonna worry over the boy. Truthfully, I think he wanted to bail out of the menial labor."

I shook my head, "He's right. Looking at him isn't going to change anything, and we need our best out here showing that we aren't farmers."

"Yeah? Playing housewife sure is doing that."

Wagging my head, I couldn't help but agree,

"It's temporary. Besides, one of us is going to have to help watch tonight. I take it you're up for it?"

"... Fine."

I nodded, "It'll be after dinner, he said he's going to explain how they made it as long as he did."

Arthur snorted, "Think he's gonna play it off like some divine power? I mean his men think so much of him."

"We'll see… He's different, in his eyes I saw light. Like a newborn. A spark."

"I saw fire, fire that would burn anything in its path."

That was the word I didn't think of, yet it fit so well, almost as if I wanted to deny it. But why?

"... Maybe so."

"Kinda reminds me of you in a way."

…

"Come again?"

"Well… It sounds kinda silly. But when you led the gang since I first joined, you were like a fire. Kinda like the one right outside this tent. We brought the wood, and you gave us what we wanted. Warmth, light, and cooked our food for us."

I had finished my pile of potatoes, but I wanted to hear more.

"And now, Hosea was another matter. If you were fire, he was water. He would boil right alongside you, and calm you down when you went past a line or got too strong for your own good."

"When he died, I saw that fire continue to grow and burn.

"It didn't stop. I tried to put it out, so did John and the others. But it had grown so much and so fast, we couldn't do the same as water could."

Arthur chuckled as he thought of something else, "And then there was a Rat that led the fire to all sorts of things to burn and feed itself…"

I looked at the boy, I didn't say anything. He picked up on this as he looked my way with grit, "That young man, he's fire."

XXXXXXX

As we finished up our small tasks, we gathered around a fire that had Griffith and some of his top soldiers sitting on the other side of it. Casca, Corkus, and Rickert. An identified Pippin wasn't present, as he was on guard duty currently. Judeau had taken a couple of bowls, one for himself and Uncle. Both of them now watched Guts as he was weakly breathing.

Griffith chortled as he looked up from his bowl of stew,

"So, where should I begin?"

"How about your strategy? We know you were just biding time before defeat, or unknown reinforcements arrived. That Tudor Noble said you had no resupply in those three months."

"'How did I feed so many mouths for such a long stretch of time?' is what you really want to know?"

Anticipation was felt on my face as I waited for the answer. I would eat my own hat that doesn't exist if he says that he called bread from heaven down.

Or water to wine… Maybe a whiskey.

He gave that innocent smile, "It wasn't as miraculous as it appears. In fact, we did little of anything the entire time. The only thing we provided was advice for the General.

"As I said, we were to hold that spot. And with so many stomachs to fill, it would be impossible. I advised rationing the food to this extent; A raffle was held for one third of the men of the city to eat the rations provided. The rest would be on water. In addition, those who ate the first month would watch the walls. Those on the inside would maintain a fast, being allowed water, reading material, just so long as they didn't tire themselves out."

As he spoke, I tried the food. Which was ironic considering the subject matter. Still, after what we had been through, nobody should blame us. I listened more,

"So we decided our lots by straws. The General had one, I had one, the mayor had another. The shortest one would be allowed to eat."

Javier spoke for the first time in what felt like hours, "Did you get it?"

"It was the General who won the first round. My men and a portion set on my side fasted along with the Mayor and his men."

Arthur wasn't satisfied as the story went, "Wait, that wouldn't explain how you were able to feed so many mouths still."

The tan girl wasn't exactly thrilled by the man's interruption, but Griffith saw no harm and answered, "You're right, it was only a temporary solution. But I was able to convince the General for the second part of the strategy. You say we hadn't any resupply in those three months, well that's not entirely true."

Come again?

He acted like I had asked aloud my internal question,

"You see I convinced Bazuso, as I'm sure you're aware he cares more for combat, to use the gold and silver supply of the city to purchase food and medicine."

Purchase?...

Looking at him, he continued to smile at me, seeing if I would come to the conclusion. His eyes hoping I would,

I thought about all we had learned from the Noble about the situation, and then it hit me.

"The Scouts!"

The fire reflected across the Captain's eyes, "You are correct."

Bill grunted, "I'm not following…"

I laid it out for the gang, "He bought off the Tudor's scouts! They went by on a weekly basis, and the patrol would come by and-… Did you really kill them?"

"No, they played dead. At night, we gathered them up, and sent them on their way, what they did afterwards we don't know. They took money for them, and money for their Backer. Leaving what little supplies they had. With those supplies, we were able to feed two thirds. The mayor and his men lost yet again, and I'm sure you saw the state of the defenders. They were placed on watch most of the month, making it seem like we were starving. Even the supplier bought our trick. But last week we did feed them lentils and such. It's a slow recovery, and many couldn't so much as stand when the fight broke out."

One question was solved, and now a new one took its place. Now there was someone who gathered their supplies,

"Who was the Supplier?"

"That, I'm afraid, I will have to keep silent. It's a precaution on the off chance it slips outside the camp. As you said, we're not done yet. But now that we got that out of the way, tell us about yourselves. The land you come from, maybe?"

I took one last long look at my people, they agreed non verbally to affirm I had to make the story,

"Well… To begin, the place we come from is one of a kind. A vast expansion across an entire continent, ranging thousands of miles. It's filled with anything you could imagine,miles of untapped Forests, mountain ranges, plains, Giant lakes, deserts, marshlands, and swamplands. In the land, it's filled with all sorts of creatures, giant herds of cattle, and horses. Flocks of birds and geese, river fish that would swim up stream for miles to lay eggs. More exists than what I have time to tell you."

Many were skeptical as I went on, as if what I said was a fairy-tale. Some looked on in wonder, Rickert was glued, Griffith listened intently.

"The most important part of it was its people. They came from all walks of life. From the people who originally held those lands, to colonists from across the ocean. From the farmer to the leaders fighting battles unseen. It was a country that should have fallen apart forever many times over. When it did, it came back together stronger than before.

"Our country, our home, was a story always unfolding. And what made it work was that no man was greater from the next."

I moved in closer to the fire, and went on in detail about the place we came from. I had lost track as soon more of the crowd became intrigued by the things I mentioned. Freedom that they never imagined dashed in their minds. Saying what you want, doing what you want as long as you don't harm or kill another. "Sometimes we have no choice," that's what I told myself and the gang long ago. It doesn't comfort me as it once did

And then I said something that caused dissension among a certain trouble maker.

"Everyone was a Noble, from the men in power to the lonesome vagrant."

Corkus scoffed,

"What nonsense! No royalty? No King?! You don't believe this nonsense, do you Griffith?!"

He didn't have time to answer before I heard the voice of Arthur, "Well hold on! Dutch here only gave you the idea of the place. Living it we can say it isn't always what it's cracked up to be."

Javier laughed, "I'll say! Different people like me have been in the face of slander too many times to count for not being native."

Bill added to it while taking his hat off for a scratch,

"And don't forget about the rich folks, they still acted all high and mighty. Bunch of stuck ups in their cities."

Morgan went defensive, "Well not all of them are like that. I've seen plenty of city people trying to do some good."

Well, any pull I had was now on them was gone, crumbled to dust. Anything I would try to grandeur would be silly now. And they say if you can't beat them, join them.

"As I recall, a couple of pauper boys took your wallet."

The man shut his yap and reached behind to hold it up, "And I got it back."

The pretend General put his hat on and perked up, "Hey! Got any money in it?"

He shook his head at his greed,

"No, I gave some of it… Well that doesn't matter, all I got are some pictures."

The sides of my ears twitched, "Pictures?"

All of us turned to Arthur, and he quickly looked around the people at the fire before understanding what I was getting at, "Alright! I can show you, just be gentle with them. They're personal."

From his wallet came a few photos folded and creased, and passed them to me.

The first one was a startle, in the image was Arthur, a twelve year younger me, and most of all, Hosea. My eyes watered my vision, yet I looked away. Not bothering to see any more. It passed down to John who chuckled at some of them, and then Bill who did about the same. Sonia was the first inhabitant of this world to see a photograph. She looked at them, amazed by the detail. Rickert was next to her and was more than amazed himself,

"H-how is that possible?! These drawings!"

"Actually, son, that is a recent marvel to come out of nations like ours. Called a photograph. It's well over my head how it works, but a device called a camera is able to capture a moment in time on paper like that. We don't have one-."

"I do."

It was Arthur, again having more surprises I didn't know. And he blabbed it off without thinking,

"Heh. Well, I didn't know that he had it when we got lost. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Ya didn't ask."

I put my head deep in my hands, tired of trying to pull them in and my old gang shooting me down each chance I got.

"Well, if you want, we can show a demonstration at a later-."

Before I could finish my offer, the blond haired boy gripped a photo and shot up from his spot, shouting in fear!

"A Kappa!"

Is everyone just going to cut me off?!

As bothersome as it had become, I didn't know what the child was on about. What was a Kappa?

He turned the photo around for all to see and a few gasps came from a few in the camp. What I saw in it was a monstrous sized creature that I was too familiar with. An alligator with white scales and chasing down Arthur running like the wind.

The said man shot up in a panic, "Whoops! You weren't supposed to see that. Not my proudest kill."

I laughed, "And when was this?"

John spoke up with a smile, "I have a guess."

My old friend nervously chuckled,

"Well, it doesn't matter. But we call that an alligator, they normally don't grow that big. What's a Kappa anyhow?"

Rickert became a little fearful when speaking, "Legends say it's a water horse that drowns people at the bottom of rivers or lakes. Or that's what I've read."

"Huh. Well, alligators tend to do that if they get a good bite on you. Maybe 'Kappa' is another name for them."

Eventually, the boy handed them to one I'm sure we were less than thrilled holding them. The slimeball looked through them unimpressed, but saw one that made him visibly blush,

"Who's the girl?"

Arthur's face darkened, "That's Lady to you. And leave it at that."

Corkus, in fear of what the older man could do to him, handed the pictures to Griffith.

He looked through them thoroughly, and held up a picture of a dog, "What's his name?"

"Copper. He was a good one…"

The hawk leader nodded and smiled at the next picture, "You mentioned herds of cattle before?"

Holding up the picture, it was a picture of Arthur, John and little boy Jack. Behind it was a major cattle trail that had thousands of cattle moving along the plains. I smiled too, feeling relief that one thing solidified my truth.

"I must say, I'm quite impressed, Sir. Van Der Linde. To even be able to support that many cattle, your nation must have truly made great progress in technology. The same with your weapons."

Smooth…

This is what the discussion was truly alluding to, all of it. Given away by the spark shown in the twinkle of his eyes. From helping Guts, to offering food and lodge. This Griffith had speech skills and patience beyond the average man. Making me wonder if he learned it on his own, or was he taught?

Well, I wasn't born yesterday. We had told Guts we weren't looking to provide our weapons to just anyone. Griffith wanted to acquire us like a collector, knowing what we had would increase his band's strength over others. Whatever his goals were, they were beyond fighting for patriotism.

He wants a piece for himself…

"You're good, son. Almost had me roped in too."

For the first time, I saw something less than regal about him. His smile stayed, but now his left eye twitched in annoyance. I think I was the only one to notice this, and I wasn't going to check on this as I looked Griffith in the eye. But I could at least tell that his people did turn to look at him.

Arthur was right. This boy was fire. It was funny, really. He was like a child that had his toy ruined, and seeing it dangled from him sent him aflame inside. A flame turning everything to ash and still not satisfied.

He was undisciplined like a spoiled child that was never told "No." If the conditions are right, he could cause a lot of harm.

Sad to say it, he was…

Like me.

I made my decision there,

"I'll show ya."

I took out the magazine from my pistol, unchambered the round in it, and handed it down like the photos. The latter was passed to the armor clad girl who looked over them pretending to be disinterested in them. Gazing at some longer than she had intended. I put my attention back on the leader.

"This 'Hand cannon' , as you aptly put it, is a weapon that has revolutionized society as a whole in our country. Capable of making the weak strong, both man and woman. If a man was thrusted upon by a few thieves, they may think twice. If it was a woman, then they wouldn't need to think twice about doing what they will… With a gun, it becomes an equalizer."

Rickert held the weapon with inquisitiveness, feeling the metal in his hands, and tested the slide's movement as the back part moved up in its cycle. Fascinated, he moved to look down the barrel. I nearly jumped up and took it from him. Instead I held my composure and advised him,

"Even if it is empty, it isn't wise to look down the barrel assembled like that."

He took it to heart and moved his hands to look once more at the whole before passing it down to his leader.

Griffith, now less than interested, held the gun. Not disinterested of course by the weapon, but by the owner of it.

I made one point perfectly clear to him,

"We are limited in one aspect for it. The ammunition. Unlike an arrow, it's not made of material that you can easily find and put together right then and there. Take a look."

I passed the unspent bullet in the circle around the fire. Like before, the boy looked over it with fascination. Probably had a million questions about everything we had shown, yet I couldn't even answer a quarter of them.

"How does it ignite? Our cannons require at least embers to light a wick to ignite the gunpowder. But I don't see any igniter on the gun or the ammo.

"They call it a primer, it's that little tab on the back of the round. The hammer of the gun hits a little pin in that version, and strikes it. Pressure builds up in the casing from igniting the powder and the tip is pushed out of its holding through the barrel to hit its intended target."

"So it's all ready to fire when in place… Oh. And that holder… oh…"

He started looking pale as he held the ammo piece in his hands. Imagining the effectiveness of them.

Right… he hasn't seen us use them yet.

"Griffith, if we were all equipped with this, our swords would be nearly obsolete."

The lad saw the value, Griffith did too. Only he wanted complete control of the people behind them. Could the man swallow his pride? This was a test for him. A test of his resolve.

Griffith finally tempered the flame in him and laughed at the boy's brashness, "If anyone among us would know, it would be you… That makes me pose a question for you, Sir Van Der Linde. Knowing how either side is, if you had to choose, who would you fight for?"

A test for a test. But this was one I was going to answer right away, no different than what I intended back from our world.

"Ourselves. To keep the government from lording over everyone's hard work. Allowing everyone to keep finding their own happiness."

"Then I ask you to see if we do just that. We are planning a raid in a few days, one against the very same Noble. Seeing what your people have created, makes me wish for that very thing for ours."

"Maybe, but wouldn't the Noble put a bounty out for us if he knew we played a part?"

The silver haired man shook his head, "People think little of mercenaries like that. Just asking as they don't bail out of a job they were paid for originally, they may do as they wish."

I felt a smile creep up on my face as the words left his mouth, "Then how can we deny such a request from our gracious hosts?"

I felt a hand on my shoulder to see Arthur grabbing it, he looked serious, but gave a nod of agreement.

I stood up slowly and approached the little fire with a hand outstretched, "Then I suppose we agree on it."

Griffith sat up and put on his smile, "I suppose we shall, an alliance between the Hawks and the Nobles."

He accepted my hand and we shook on it, with the man adding more, "And who knows, your ammo situation may not be a problem if more escaped from your country's fighting."

… More?

I hadn't thought of that, but I hoped that wasn't the case.

Little did I know, we would find the answer sooner than we expected. Bringing more kindling to the fire that was brewing…

End Chapter

A/N: Hope it was worth the wait, I wanted to make sure i got this right.