Choco Elite: Death before Dishonour

[Crissen]

(Please do NOT post in this thread to join this RP. We're not accepting members at the moment cause I feel we have enough already - and also because this is now meant to be a private RP. Thanks!)


The Choco Elite are a mercenary group. They travel the border lands between the three warring kingdoms of Condor, Raven and Falcon - where there is lots of conflict, and so lots of work for mercenaries. But one thing sets them apart from other mercenary groups - they include chocobos and other non-humans in their group. And they don't include them as working animals, but as fighting partners.

The reason is simple: every human/non-animal member of the Choco Elite has a special talent: the ability to communicate with animals. Most people believe animals are simply stupid beasts, but not the Choco Elite. Having known animals all their lives, these mercenaries are well aware that most creatures are innately intelligent and can often adapt new ways of dealing with tough situations - if you care to ask for their opinion, that is.

And in a world of swords and magic, pain and suffering, faith and unfaith, this oddball mercenary band soon realizes that they have unwittingly become a beacon of light in a dark and troubled time....

~~~~~~~~~.~~~~~~~~

Group stats
Leader: Ramza Nor'zaer, male human
Second-in-command: Gunna, female chocobo

Fighters
Soul, male elf
Caladriel, female human, shapeshifter
Korndar, male chocobo
Halla, female tiger

Scouts
Tarfleer, male gryphon (part-Fighter)
Prudt, male human (part-Fighter)
Kerisha, female human

Healer
Admira, female human

~~~~~~~~~.~~~~~~~~

Ok, below is a very brief description of the other "have-no-player" characters in the RP. This information is meant for reference to help us along. You can control them as well, but please don't kill them off or anything.


Human characters
Caladriel is a 21 year old human girl with a mysterious past. She is of medium height and rangy in build, with dark gray hair and deep brown eyes. She carries a quarterstaff, fit-on claws, dagger and throwing knives. Her personality is quiet and cold, though she is very loyal and brave at heart. She has other talents of course, but never talks about them; though every animal in the team knows she is not entirely what she seems to be...

Soul is an elf. He is at least a thousand years old, but he never mentions his age and doesn't like being asked about it. He is tall and agile with long blond hair that he ties in a ponytail. He can handle almost any weapon, but usually fights with twin long knives; and he is a deadshot with a longbow. Soul's personality is quiet and a little cynical, but he can be quite conversable and has a good sense of dry humour.


Non-human characters
Korndar is a male chocobo who formerly belonged to a Condor knight. His rider was shot in battle and Korndar bolted for his life. He eventually met Gunna and joined the Choco Elite. At 27 years old, he is larger and older than Gunna, and more experienced. His personality is mellow and calm, except in battle when he can surprise with his unpredictable moves. Like Gunna, he uses metal claw and beak spikes to enhance his fighting ability.

Halla is a sort of enigma in the group. She is a young Siberian Tiger who seems to have forsaken her own kind, though no one knows for sure. Even Ramza doesn't know much about her. She keeps to herself a lot, but she is loyal enough and obeys Ramza - when she wants to, that is. She despises any type of weapons and prefers her natural claws and fangs.

Tarfleer is a young male gryphon who came to Ramza recently, having heard from some gossiping birds that he was starting a mercenary group with non-humans. He is always trying to show that he is mature and adultish, though he is really still trying to find his place in the world. Like Gunna and Korndar, Tarfleer uses metal claw and beak spikes to enhance his fighting abilities.

 

[Crissen]

(OOC> Ok guys, lets go!! Hope this works out well...)


It was night.

A soft wind stirred the grasses, and Ramza lifted his head to let it touch his cheek. Above him, the stars swung over the darkened dome of the sky, and he could just make out the faint sickle-shape of the new moon. He drew in his legs and hugged his knees, watching a few pale wisps of cloud scrub slowly across the night sky.

The group was camping out tonight on a small grassy hill. And Ramza was taking the sentry duty. He was doing guard duty for a reason of course: it was a lovely night, and he wished to think, and to pray. Below him he could see the rest of the band, all stretched out in various positions of sleep. Korndar and Gunna were the largest creatures there, both being chocobos. Their sleeping bulks quite towered over the others, big and feathery....and yellow.

He smiled.

The wind shifted, and Ramza half-turned his head as it caught his hair and turned it messy. He frowned, then froze. There was some sound that didn't carry with the wind and the rustling grass, some...footstep, maybe. He slipped onto one knee for balance, his hand on the saber at his belt. Placing the other hand on the ground, he listened. Yes, no doubt about it, someone was coming up the hill. Ramza was about to move when a dark shape loomed up befotre him. He ducked and rolled sideways to avoid it, and came up with his saber drawn.

But the stranger had fallen onto the ground where he had been moments ago, and a low moan reached his ears. Ramza stiffened as he caught the smell of blood. He sheathed his saber and knelt beside the dark figure. With gentle hands he turned the stranger over. It was a man, and he seemed to be badly wounded. Ramza whirled and directed a sharp mindspeak towards the group.

<<Gunna>>

The chocobo lifted her head at once. Raising swiftly she began to weave carefully through the sleeping forms towards him. The injured stranger reached up and grabbed Ramza's tunic, and spoke in a hoarse whisper.

"Are..are you Ramza? ...Choco Elite..?"

Ramza pushed him down gently and nodded, "I'm Ramza, yes. Be still or you'll hurt yourself..."

"No..too late.." the man wheezed, "For me..but not..village.."

"Still," Ramza passed a hand over the man's chest and stomach, and his frown deepened. Gunna reached them just then. She looked down at the wounded man, and then at Ramza.

<<I'm here. I'll call Admira...>>

<<No>> Ramza looked up at her <<Too late. He's dying.>>

"Please..hear me.." the stranger almost whimpered, "Village...Caltornath...attacked by bandits. Rogue soldiers....you must help them. They'll pay you...they'll.."

He choked, convulsed once, and was still. Ramza bowed his head quietly, and Gunna stood beside him in silence. The rest of the group were beginning to awaken now, realizing that something was wrong. Halla slid silently up beside Gunna, staring down at the bloodied body with ever-cold eyes. Korndar looked around warily, scanning for danger.

 

[Hishandmaiden]

Prudt grumbled as he awoke from his sleep, awoken from his sweet dreams, by the noises around him. He sat up, rather unwillingly and looked around him. The people were mostly awakened, humans and non-humans alike who were now his team-mates. He did not quite like to socialise with those who were humans, and especially so, if they were female. He couldn’t understand why the female humans just couldn’t mind their business contended to stay at home by their husband’s sides.

According to Mr. Bigot’s theory on roles of men and women, women were supposed to be quiet people who minded their business, and who bowed their heads before men, and who talked less and listened more. Mr. Bigot thought that women were made to be for men, and the quieter they were in the public, the better they were. And Prudt kind of agreed with most of what Mr. Bigot said, except the part where Mr.Bigot claimed that women were not human, but sub-human, which the creator of all made for men to enjoy. Prudt thought the creator of all made women to be humans like men, but Prudt agreed with him that women were meant to be quiet. Adventures, Prudt believed were meant for men, not women. If Prudt was the leader, no woman would be allowed to join his team. But he wasn’t the leader, so he would have to bear with these improper women, for now.

Prudt began to straighten his robe, using his hands to remove away the grass from his very precious and elaborate blue robe. When he was done with his robe, he briefly tidied his dark hair, to ensure that it was not messy but straight. He was very particular about his look.

Prudt stood up and walked up to Ramza, the leader of the entire group. Prudt didn’t quite like Ramza, he didn’t quite like to have any leader over him at all, but then, he couldn’t quite figure up either how to operate solely by himself as a mercenary, and he didn’t quite know how to manage a group of people, either. He preferred not to have anything to do with people. He preferred to work with the non-humans, but then, Prudt wasn’t a mind-reader, and even if he was quite familiar with the various outward behaviours of the non-human, he couldn’t quite understand what their minds were thinking about, something which Ramza had no problem doing.

Among all the irritating leaders of various mercenary groups that Prudt had come across, Ramza was the least irritating of all, and perhaps, that was why Prudt chose to join his group. Ramza seemed more credible, more capable than all the other leaders that Prudt had come across and encountered. That was why Prudt chose him. Not that Ramza was great, but that the other leaders were worst.

Prudt walked up to Ramza, and noticed that Gunna was with him. A man appeared to lying somewhere, seemingly in serious injury.

“What happened?” He asked.

Meanwhile, Admira had just woken up from her sleep, and was still sitting down in a daze, uncertain of what was going on around her. Her eyes were heavy, and she was quite reluctant to wake up from her sleep. She sat there, dazed, while the other members of the group were walking to the leader.

(THG Demo 9)

 

[Crissen]

“What happened?”

Ramza turned to Prudt, who had just arrived. He had little opinion of the younger man, except that he was a scholarly fellow with an excellent ability with non-humans - and a seeming disdain of women, judging by how he acted around Caladriel. Like Tarfleer, he was a little immature; but he was knowledgable and did not openly or intentionally cause strife amongst them, which was good enough for him. Ramza indicated the dead man with a tilt of his head.

"Stranger just came in wounded. He didn't last five minutes. I reckon we've just gotten ourselves some work though."

By "work" Ramza meant, of course, that the mercenary band had a new assignment. Soul ascended the rise with Caladriel close behind. The girl went on one knee beside the body, but a glance at Ramza told her that there was no need to check for a pulse any longer. Soul glanced down at the dead man, then turned to trace the route he must have taken through the grass, as shown by faint traces of blood that stood out clearly to the elf's sharp vision. He nodded once.

"This one came from the north."

"Yes," Ramza stood up with a sigh, "Caltornath is north of here, twenty miles away. I know the place."

He glanced at Gunna <<We'll leave at daybreak. That's less than an hour away, I believe. Make sure the others know.>>

The chocobo dipped her head in salute and turned to each non-human member individually as she briefed them all on what was happening. Tarfleer preened his shoulder feathers and nodded. Halla stared thoughtfully at the unnamed stranger, and sat back on her haunches to lick one paw placidly. Ramza raised his hand to catch everyone else's attention.

"I need all of you to gather stones, as many as we can. We'll bury him. I don't want his body left to the birds. Move out."

Halla stared up at him and rumbled softly, her tail lashing around her as she blinked. Ramza smiled wainly as he caught her eye.

<<It's a human custom.>>

She rumbled again, a little deeper, and huffed once. Flicking her tail around her hind legs, she got up and stalked off to do as he had asked.

 

[Hishandmaiden]

Admira stood up, after a struggle to wake up from her sleep and got to the place where Ramza and much of the group were standing around. She was one of the last to get there.
“Stranger just came in wounded. He didn't last five minutes. I reckon we've just gotten ourselves some work though.”

She was there just in time to hear Ramza speaking to Prudt about the situation.

Admira looked at the man that was lying dead on the grass.

Poor thing, he looked so pitiful, I wondered why they didn’t wake me up, earlier, I might be able to heal him, thought Admira to herself. As she got closer to the group and caught a better glimpse of the man lying dead on the grass, she was glad that no one woke her up. His wound was far too serious to be healed. Nothing could be done about his condition, even if Admira was there. It was better that she was not awoken, so that she didn’t have to be there to watch the poor man died.

Still, she felt a sense of sorrow in her heart that the man had to die. Admira always felt sad when someone died.

“Great Father, I commit this man to you.” She uttered a prayer silently in her thoughts, audible only to the Maker of all, and herself. “Great Father, I commit all the people in this group to you. Please… whatever our next task will be, let there be as little casualties as possible, from both friends and enemies. Thank you.”

Admira walked to where Caladriel was standing in the midst of the crowd. Admira thought about the girl that she was walking to. She didn’t quite know her, yet. Being shy, they never seemed to have much of an opportunity to interact, but Caladriel seemed to be a mysterious girl of many secrets. Admira suspected she must be someone special. Admira always felt a sense of closeness to animals; somehow she had a tender heart for them. She couldn’t really understand them, but she loved to be in their midst, and she loved to talk to them, even if they could never talk back to her. Caladriel was different. She seemed to be one with the animal; she seemed to be in… a sort of deeper bond with them than Admira could ever understand. There was what Admira quietly observed.

It seemed that they might be going to Caltornath, gauging from the flow of the conversation. There might be even fights. Admira shuddered at the thought of seeing more dead people in Caltornath. She still had not gotten quite use to seeing the dead bodies of the children of the Great Father, from both friends, strangers and foes alike, even though she was with the group for quite sometime, already.

Admira was glad when she heard Ramza told the group to bury the body. Admira thought that the man deserved it. Admira thought that even if the man was the worst villain in the entire world, he would have deserved the burial. Admira quickly went to obey the instruction of Ramza, following closely behind Halla. She could see Prudt following closely behind her. Admira was not quite sure how she should feel towards that guy. She was impressed by his robe, and she was certain he must be a very smart guy. But she thought that maybe he didn’t really like her that much. Once or twice, she thought she saw him frowning and muttering something to himself while looking at her. She was sure that she made up all that thought about Prudt not liking her. Admira felt bad about the thoughts within her towards Prudt. She was sure he must be quite stressed, and that was probably why he frowned so often, and muttered to himself so often. Admira thought Prudt didn’t quite like Caladriel and Kerisha as well. But again, it must be her own imagination. Admira felt bad that she just must imagined the worst of people, and thought people didn’t like her when they did. Admira was trying her best to shake off her prejudice thoughts towards Prudt.

Admira noticed a frown from Prudt’s face when she turned to look at him.
“Great Father, help me. I really think he didn’t like me, please remove such thoughts from me. Thank you.”

Prudt was trailing behind Admira. They were going to find the stones to bury the man that was dead. Although Prudt didn’t quite like face of the man that was dead, he thought that the man deserved a decent burial. Seeing so many deaths through his life of travels, and reading so many books on wars and death, Prudt was used to the fact that sooner or later, all men would have to die. Perhaps, someone from this group might be the next to die. Most likely, it would be the ladies. Or perhaps, it was that weird elf with the pony tail, who would die next. Prudt still had a hard time accepting that elf really did exist in this world. Much of the books he read talked of them as mere myths, and fairy tales figures. Some books did claim they existed, but the authors of those books couldn’t quite prove their claims. And none of the books he had read so far had ever told him that an elf would have a pony tail.

Prudt shook away the thought of what he might feel inside if one of his team mates should die. He remembered that silly feeling he had when his grandfather passed away. He hated that feeling; he didn’t want it to come back. No, he would not want it to come back ever, but it always did when someone died. Someone he knew. Silly feelings. Why must the Great Father, whom Prudt sometimes called the maker of men, put such silly feelings inside him?

Prudt frowned when Admira turned her head back to look at him.
What was that silly girl trying to do, looking at him so hard like the way she was? Did she have a crush of him?

“These silly girls”, thought Prudt to himself, “they refused to contend as housewives and traveled about as if they were men, and ended up getting themselves killed, and falling over every guy they met along the journey? Ha, and pretending to act mute to gain the favor of men like Admira, or trying to act cool and tough like what that caladriel gal love to do, not knowing their proper places at home. Girls, headaches and problems, why did you, Great Father, have to make them? Ah, anyway, please keep these girls from getting themselves killed, and please watch over this entire troublesome group and please keep us from danger. Thanks. I don’t like to have to feel that way, again, ever in my life, but if the people, especially the girls just refuse to look after themselves, and ended up getting themselves killed, then that feeling… will come back.”

 

[taciturn]

Kerisha was awoken by the voices of those that surrounded her. her yellow sash entangled her in its midst.

upon awakening, she discovered that she had slept through so much and felt rather disgusted at herself. she felt the aura of trauma and pain and called upon the One she knew for strength to stand up and confront all that was happening before her.

 

[Crissen]

Halla flicked her tail as she padded on. The cat didn't really mind Admira following her (so long as she didn't try to grab her tail), but she was quietly watching to make sure Prudt kept his distance. It wasn't that she particularly hated the boy, but Halla was a loner by nature, and she preferred to be left alone. She might make an exception for Admira, who was a very difficult person to dislike, but she would rather have her distance from anyone else in the group.

The tigress found a fairly large stone half-embedded in the ground and dug it out, fussing a little at the dirt on her whiskers and paws. Gripping it firmly in heavy, powerful jaws, she made way back to the hill, grumbling to herself about the taste of earth-buried stone with every step.

Ramza watched as his people starting coming back in dribs and drabs: Tarfleer dragging a heavy rock in one talon, Korndar hefting a large piece in his beak, Caladriel with a small armful. He bent down and pulled the dead man's arms over his chest, a preparation for burial. He wondered, briefly, if he would have to do the same for any of his people soon, or if anyone would do this for him in the future; then shook his head sharply at the thought. As the others brought back more stones he began to pile them carefully and neatly over the stranger's body, working with methodical precision, his face set grim and cold.

Soul stopped by Kerisha on his way back, two rocks clutched in his hands, and nodded down at her, "You're awake. Are you alright?"

Ramza looked down the hill as he caught Soul's voice. He glanced at the horizon, which was growing lighter as dawn began to creep onto the lands. They would have to leave soon.

 

[Hishandmaiden]

While following Halla, Admira noticed that the tigress was a bit cautious of Prudt. In fact, Admira noticed that Halla was cautious of everyone in the group. Admira often wondered why this was so. Admira usually had no trouble making friend with animals of all shapes and sizes, but she had some troubles with Halla. That was a sense of cautiousness and wariness in the tigress that made it hard for Admira to dare to take the initiative to be more intimate with her. Admira respected the tigress’s wish to remain solitary. Even though she loved animal dearly, and will love to stroke the furs of the tigeress, she would never invade the right and private space of the animal against her will. Admira respected the tigress and her wishes to be silent and solitary. She knew that if the tigress trusted her as a friend, and someone that it could relate to, it would warm up to her. Admira was willing to wait for such a moment and such a day to come when she could be close friend with the tigress and all the other members of her mercenary group.

Sometimes, when the tigress turned back her head to keep an eye on her, and in particular Prudt, Admira would try her best to give the most reassuring smile she could to the tigress, and she hoped that the tigress would take it to mean, “Hey, look, beautiful one, you are one beautiful tigress, and I sure hope we can be friends. But I respect your wish to be silent and alone, and I let you decide when you are more ready to open up to me, and to the rest of us in the group.”

One day, Admira hoped she could somehow find out from tigress why she was so unwilling to mingle with the group. Perhaps, she had a reason. Perhaps, it was due to some hurts and pains somewhere in her heart, a scar perhaps, left behind by some trusted friend, or some painful incident that was her secret alone? Whatever it was, that was her secret unless she chose to share it. And being a girl full of secrets herself, Admira respected the secrets of others.


Admira stretched herself back as she looked at the pile of stones that had been piled neatly and carefully over the stranger’s body. She sighed. So that was where this man was to rest from now on. She wondered about the identity of the stranger. Who was this man, did he had a family, was his family still alive or was his family dead? If his family was still alive, were they from the village or were they not, and would they ever find out about the death of this family member of theirs? Questions, after questions flooded into the mind of Admira, questions that she would most likely never had the opportunity to find the answer to. Such was a fact of life that Admira still had troubles accepting.

“Dear Father of all, whoever this man is, I pray that you will give him peace. I pray that you will bring news of his plight back to his family wherever they may be, if they are alive. Thank you.”

Hope shined somewhere in spite of the mess around her. Admira hoped that somehow, things would get better. This man was dead but there were many others in the village that she could help, somehow. Even though Admira was one who was easily saddened by the tragedies around her, she would never let them take away her optimistic outlook in life. With the Father of All by her side, Admira was sure that even the most painful and horrible event was something she could be strong enough to handle.

Admira yawned. Her sleep had not been complete. She was in a midst of a beautiful dream, before she was awoken. She would love to sleep and go back to the dream, again. Yet, looking at the sky, Admira figured that she would most likely not have very much opportunity to sleep. The darkness of the night was gradually fleeing away, running for cover, while the light of the dawn advanced slowly to fill up the sky, making the entire land they were standing on a little brighter.

Dawn. Time to wake up, and move on.

There was much works to do.

 

[Crissen]

If Halla could have known Admira's thoughts about her, she would have laughed. The tigress was a loner because it was her nature to be so. Most cats preferred a solitary lifestyle, and Halla was no exception. The only thing unusual about her was that she had chosen to follow Ramza, instead of staking out a territory and living her own life like a normal tiger would.

As it was however, she asked no one why they did what they chose to do, and did not want anyone to ask her why she had chosen to do what she now did. Ramza and Gunna had both realized this early, and the others followed their cue and left the tigress to her own devices.

Ramza laid the last of the stones on the dead man, and then spoke a quick prayer over him as the others looked on. Soul bowed his head, but Tarfleer and Korndar were already looking northward. Animals, with their tough, dangerous lives, never really saw much in doing final rituals, but they respected Ramza and held their peace. He raised his head then and nodded to them.

"Alright, lets move out. You all know our destination: Caltornath, twenty miles north."

He turned to the gryphon, <<Tarfleer, I want you to keep an eye on us. Whoever attacked the man could still be around. I don't want any ambushes.>>

The young gryphon nodded and flung himself high, spreading his wings with a mighty whoosh as he caught the wind and began to climb rapidly into the sky. Soul and Caladriel both began to pack their equipment onto Gunna and Korndar, who stood patiently for them. Ramza smiled. It was remarkable how much an animal would do for you if you asked instead of forcing. The two chocobos could both carry more than all the humans added together, and they did so willingly.

He raised his hand to signal the rest of the band to gather.

"Spread out as we travel, everyone, but remain in sight of each other. I won't go looking for any of you if you're missing. Admira, you'll travel behind me. Make sure you can see me at all times. Caladriel and Prudt, you'll be in front - stay in sight of each other but not too near. Soul, you'll support Gunna and Korndar. Halla, take up the rear. We should Caltornath by noon. Lets go!"

They started out at a brisk pace, almost a jog. Ramza would have preferred if they really did jog, but he was thinking of Admira and Prudt. They were fairly new to the group and might not take well to much physical exercise too early. He had seen Admira's reactions to the dead man, and knowing that there would probably be many more deaths later, realized that he would have to keep an eye on her. It wouldn't do for her to have a nervous breakdown, and if she really couldn't take the pressure then he might have to ask her to leave the group, for her own mental well-being.

But that was yet to come - only time would tell who stayed or went, and who lived or died. For now he was content to wath the sun rise and keep a wary eye out as they made their way across the open plains toward Caltornath.

 

[Hishandmaiden]

Prudt walked to the front of the group at the command of his leader, and cast a look at Caladriel, a woman he didn’t quite know much about, yet. From looking at her, he could only see that this was a woman who was much acquainted with the tough side of life, a woman that was used to the art of fighting.

Not a kind of woman that Prudt was used to meeting, not to mention, to travel with. And even though Prudt didn’t quite like to have a female person walking at the front together with him, he obeyed the leader and knew better than to express his opinions out loud. Prudt knew enough of people to know that it was best for him to sometimes keep much of his opinions to himself, especially if he was new to a group.

This was something no book could ever teach him, this social skill was learnt through some painful encounters in the past with friends that were not worthy for him to keep because they just walked away when all he was trying to do was to be honest with them about how he really felt towards them and women and the society as a whole.

Prudt was aware even though he was new to the group of the danger that he might be into. Although he didn’t like Ramza, he couldn’t agree better with his decision to send the gryphon to watch up for the enemies. Being not alert in the light of the enemies’ attack could result in heavy casualties for the entire group.

Well, Ramza made a mistake to include women in the group, and even more mistakes to use them as fighters, but at least he had enough sense to include the gryphon to be on a lookout for the enemies.

The leader fared badly in most areas, but he did have some very notable talents in him. Prudt was just outright glad that he chose to stay with this group because it appeared that at least Ramza had some common sense in him. Not that much, but enough for him to remain with the man for the rest of the journey.

Prudt thought that the pace at which they were walking was a bit too slow for his taste. It must be because of the women that Ramza walked at such a pace. Bother the women! If they weren’t there in the group and so burdened the group with their kind of speed, Prudt was sure that the group would have traveled much faster than was their original pace.

Perhaps, it was just as well that Prudt couldn’t read the mind of other people as much as they couldn’t read his thoughts, because if Prudt could find Ramza’s true reason for going so slow, he would be outrageously insulted, humiliated and angry.

And Ramza might be another friend that just walked away from him because this man had poor judgments on the abilities and talents of such a capable and intelligent person like Prudt. As Prudt traveled along in the journey, he could hear Admira humming a song while she stood at the back of Ramza. Obviously, however sad Admira was over the death of the man earlier, she was recovering herself by now, and had even taken it upon herself to hum a song as she traveled along with the rest of the group.

“As the sun rises, as the sun rises,
we will go forth, we will go forth,
to valleys and mountains,
to deserts and streams,
to dangers and toils,
to lands unseen, unexplored,
the sorrows of the world are many,
but there is a maker and where He exists,
hope shines forth.
Move on, move on,
You wanderers,
move on, move on,
the casualties are many,
the evil can be blinding,
but move on, move,
you wanderers,
there is a maker and where He exists,
hope shines forth.”

 

[Crissen]

Caladriel didn't care much for Prudt, or what he thought of her, for that matter. She knew, from watching him in her quiet, discreetly observant fashion, that he was a little disdainful of the women in the group. But that did not bother her in the least. She had no interest in getting too much emotional involvement with this mercenary band.

She had joined them because she needed the money, and there were precious few jobs available in these troubled lands for a warrior-looking person like her. Having a few more people around her for defense was also very useful, since a girl travelling alone was often counted as easy prey. Caladriel could easily have dealt with any bandits of course, but she preferred to save herself the trouble by simply taking up with a group.

She had been on one or two missions with the Choco Elite already, and while she had some money now and hoped to leave after this current assignment, she was growing to like this band. Especially attractive to her was the fact that the animals all didn't mind working with her - which was a rarity in itself, because most creatures grew uneasy just looking into her eyes and realizing who (or what) she was...

Caladriel shook her head, and kept up her pace, keeping track of Prudt's location as she moved but otherwise making no gestures towards him.

Ramza kept an eye on all his members, and he half-smiled at the sound of Admira's singing behind him. He noted that Prudt seemed to be keeping the pace very well - that was good, because he might soon have to get them to move faster if they were to reach Caltornath before noon. He knew, of course, about how Caladriel felt about them. As leader, he made it a point to know the important details of his members' lives, and he did know more about Caladriel than the girl would have told him willingly. But he said nothing about it; he would say nothing until Caladriel herself felt ready to tell him about her secrets.

Tarfleer had apparently disappeared after he took flight earlier that morning, but as the sun climbed into the sky a small speck appeared amongst the scattered clouds, and it soon took the form of the gryphon himself. Ramza called for a halt and a gathering of the whole group as the wingcat circled in to land. He came in and touched ground with a slight thump, bobbing his head in salute to Ramza.

<<Caltornath is but 5 miles away, Sir. I have seen no sign of the enemy, but the fields around the village are strangely quiet.>>

Ramza nodded, <<Well, the harvest is well over by now. Tis' almost winter. But keep an eye out, Tarfleer. We'll enter the village, and after that you can join us. Keep within mind-range so I can hear you.>>

<<Yes Sir.>> The gryphon bobbed his head again, and took off to soar into the sky once more. Ramza turned to the others.

"We're fast approaching Caltornath. We'll keep together from now on. Prudt, act as advance scout. If nothing happens, you'll reach the village before us. Let them know we're coming. The rest of you, circular formation around Gunna and Admira. No more noise now - you've seen what the enemy can do. We don't want any of them to know we're here. Lets move."

He watched as the group resorted itself into the defensive formation, then took his place at the lead. They started out again, and the mood was definitely quieter and more tense than before. Halla looked upset that she had to stay in one bunch with the others, and sulked along at the rear. Korndar huffed at her, as if warning her not to cause trouble, but said nothing. Soul took up a position beside Ramza, his brows knitted into a frown.

"Tarfleer may be a good scout, Ramza," he whispered, "But I fear his inexperience. And Prudt too. Let me run advance scout with him, I'll keep an eye on things."

Ramza shook his head, "He'll have to learn, Soul. And I believe he knows more than we give him credit for. Let him try his wings, this time."

Soul sighed and nodded, though his frown did not cease, and he fingered the blade at his belt.

 

[Hishandmaiden]

Long stretches of grass after long stretches of grass were left behind as Prudt proceeded cautiously ahead of the team, crouching as he moved ahead in a speed that was half-walking and half-jogging, fast enough to go ahead of the team, and slow enough not to make noises to attract the attention of his enemies.

Every once in awhile, Prudt would freeze in his track to carefully pick up every blade of grass, and to carefully wipe off every trace of soil and every form of contamination that he could see gathering on his robe.

“The heart of a man’s character lies in the way he treats his robe,” Prudt mumbled to himself to justify his actions. Prudt was careful, however, to make up for lost time by traveling slightly faster for a few distances, before moving on once again at the same speed in which he originally began his travel.

It was quite some times before he reached village Caltornath. The village was unusually quiet. There were not much activities going on there. The fields which surrounded the village were harvested. At the edges of the village, some of the buildings were in ruins.

A few of the villagers that were out of their house were watching Prudt in quietness. Their faces showed signs of wariness. Two of the villagers, both of them men, approached Prudt, one of them held an axe in his hand. They appeared to be wood-cutters.

“Why are you here?” one of them demanded loudly, raising his axe above his head with his eyes glaring at Prudt like the way Prudt thought Halla would look just before she was to strike at her prey. The other man was glancing around, his eyes scanning carefully through the area where Prudt came from, apparently looking out for something.

These people would make fine bandits, thought Prudt to himself, grouchingly. However, he chose to keep the thought solely to himself and gave the two villages the gentlest smile that he could produce, following the advice of Mr. Artic Friendly in his book on “interpersonal skills with strangers”, hoping that it would somehow ease the villagers down a little.

The villagers only grew more tense and enraged, and even a little fearful.
“Why are you here?” both of them demanded loudly at the same time, the one holding his axe looked even more prepared to strike than earlier while the other villager glanced even more nervously at the surrounding area near Prudt.

Hey, it didn’t work, though Prudt to himself, losing his cool, his mind was a total blank. All his accumulated knowledge seemed to flee him at that instant.

“I meant… meant no harm,” Prudt uttered panicky, “My name is Prudt. I am a member of the Choco elite.” That was the simplest, most simple-minded, most undiplomatic answer Prudt had ever given in his entire life. In fact, even as the words escaped rapidly in a stutter from his lips, Prudt felt absolutely horrified and deeply ashamed deep within that he would ever speak such undiplomatic, unknowledgeable, simple and barbaric words that would mark the end of his career as a scholar if any of the scholars in his hometown were to hear the words that had just fallen our of his lips.

To his surprise, the villagers relaxed when they heard him.
“Choco elite… I see… welcome to Caltornath, if we may have the honor to bring you to our chief?” asked the villager that was with the axe.
“Er… well, of course,” uttered Prudt.

Together, they walked towards the house of the village chief.

 

[Crissen]

Ramza might have laughed if he could see the scene involving Prudt at the village. As it was, however, he was deep in thought, his ears tracking the soft thud of his group's footfalls even as he mused on the tall grasses all around them. Danger was no stranger to the tall brown-haired man; he had walked many miles and many years since he last saw his homeland, and he had lost comrades more times than he wished to count. The Choco Elite was not the first mercenary band he had run with; it was merely the first he had founded. And now, with the cool, almost cold, methodical nature of a mercenary leader, he mentally ran through his options, strengths and weaknesses.

Prudt and Admira, he knew, were the most obvious liabilities in the group, with their relative inexperience. He would keep a close eye on them, try to teach them a thing or two as they went along. But he did not intend to get himself killed trying to save them out of impossible situations, and he did not know if they might survive this next adventure, or how long they would stay in the Choco Elite under the high-pressure life of a mercenary. Tarfleer, too, was young and rather rash at times; and though he was coping well thus far, Ramza alone knew how often the young gryphon had come close to being shot clean out of the sky due to his youthful carelessness. Kerisha was quite new, and Ramza had yet to get a good grasp of her unique abilities and strengths. He hoped to do so soon.

The rest of the group were veterans, old-hands at the harsh life of a warrior. Soul was a good supporting partner to Gunna and him, with his expansive experience, wiry humour and natural fighting skill. Korndar was a solid and bold fighter, not so quick to strategize, but an excellent partner in battle nonetheless. Halla was mysterious, but Ramza knew he could trust her - for when a cat gives her loyalty to anyone, it is a true loyalty indeed. And Gunna, of course, remained his faithful second-in-command, their quick-thinking strategist, with her swift mind and swifter claws.

It was Caladriel he remained a little wary of, though he never showed it. She was a loose member of the group, and though she kept her distance and her cool, detached nature, he knew she could be volatile if severely provoked. He never let on that he knew her secret, her dark secret; but knew it he did, for the animals had told him, and he watched her closely, as did Gunna. He knew she was an honest person, and would never break loose unless she truly couldn't help it; but there remained the fact that if she ever lost control, she was easily the most dangerous person within the Choco Elite. And if that ever happened, he would be forced to take her out, quickly, before she could do anything to anyone within the group.

Such was Ramza's way of working, cold as it might seem. He was kind, as mercenaries go; but he had seen enough suffering to be rid of any hint of romance, and had felt enough pain to be a little cynical of life at large.

He reached out for the chocobos' minds, and mindspoke to them, <<Gunna, Korndar, see anything up there?>>

The response was a negative. The chocobos were the tallest members of the group, and if Tarfleer wasn't around it was always easier to ask them about the surroundings. Korndar rumbled, and then added, <<Well, Sir, Caltornath is in sight. I believe Prudt should have reached it by now.>>

Ramza nodded and focused on getting in touch with Tarfleer. It took him almost a minute to do so.

<<Tarfleer, I told you to stay within mind-range.>>

<<Apologies, Sir, I was trying to remain indistinct, to ahem, be a less obvious target...>>

<<Yes, but that can be done while remaining in mind-range.>>

<<Apologies Sir.>>

<<Tarfleer, has Prudt reached the village?>>

<<Yes, he is going to the main house now.>>

<<Good. Stand by.>>

Ramza nodded as he signaled for the group to pick up speed. Halla huffed as she broke into a slow lope to keep up. She glanced at Soul, and her ears flicked sharply and briefly at him. The elf shifted to the back of the group to act as rearguard with the tigress, his eyes scanning their surroundings with piercing sharpness. They jogged the last mile to the edge of the fields, and then Ramza slowed to a walk as they approached the streets and buildings openly, and the rest fanned out behind him, all senses on alert.

The villagers had all started up at the appearance of the group, but Prudt's coming had given them forewarning of the Choco Elite's arrival, and so they did not move to attack. Besides, it was obvious from the presence of so many free-running animals that this could not be any ordinary armed band, and no other mercenary group was known to have such an odd mix of members. Ramza nodded to the nearest villager, a youngish boy of about fifteen, and spoke in quiet, low tones.

"My greetings lad. I am Ramza Nor'zaer, of the Choco Elite. May I know where is your Chief's house?"

The boy, wide-eyed, blinked and nodded rapidly, "Wh..Why yes. The Chief's house is just up the road. I'll bring ye."

Ramza nodded, a dim smile ceasing his features, "Lead on, then."

Villagers came out from houses to watch them as they passed through the streets, hope and wariness mingling in their cautious stares. The boy swelled to adulthood, trying to walk proudly and strongly in front of the Choco Elite, though he only succeeded in looking silly. Ramza kept his eyes on the road ahead of him, his casual, long-reaching stride never once losing their step. Gunna half-turned to exchange mindspeech with Ramza every now and then, and Soul glanced lightly at the villagers as they went.

Caladriel, however, stared fixedly at Korndar's tailfeathers in front of her. Rarely did the Choco Elite make such a public entrance, and she was uneasy with all the attention. Halla, like the girl, growled softly at all the eyes upon her; unlike Caladriel however, she stared back at the villagers, taking pleasure in how they turned away within a few seconds of meeting her eye to eye. The stare of a tiger is fierce in expression; and Halla's eyes, in particular, were piercing in the intensity of their gaze.

Ramza watched the main house loom up larger before them with every step, and his thoughts were far from the streets in which he now walked. His quick eyes took in the sights before him, mentally noting the weaknesses and the strengths. The village was a pretty ordinary affair, well-built and sturdy; and relatively unfurnished with luxuries, which was normal for towns in this area.

But this particular town barely had any defense, not even a proper wooden barricade to act as a protective wall. There were some beginnings of a fence at the other end, but they were meager and shoddy. A proper defensive wall would be one of the first things he had to look into here, if the town Chief accepted the Choco Elite's services. He communicated his thoughts to Gunna, who mindspoke back with her opinions on how best to go about the task. That was the advantage of mindspeech: your conversations could be as private as you wanted them to be.

The main house was the largest building in the village. It was a simple affair, built out of carved stone and crafted wood, but elegant in its own way. A small crowd of villagers had gathered at the entrance by the time they arrived, and Ramza nodded briefly to them. A young woman came forward as they stopped in front of the open doorway. She was clad in a simple brown woolen tunic; her sharp, quiet eyes were blue, and her golden hair was tied back into a neat bun. She bowed before Ramza and spoke in a voice that, though soft, had the underlying of steel in it.

"My greetings Sir, I am Elena, daughter of Torzin, our deputy chief. Our village Chief is Horn, my distant cousin. He and my father will meet you inside, if you please."

Ramza nodded, "My pleasure, lady. But my men will need accommodation as well…"

Elena nodded, and her golden hair flashed in the sun as she turned to summon a nearby man, “Kosland here will bring them to their lodging. You will find that we spare nothing to see to the upkeep of the protectors of our people.”

“I thank you, lady. I trust that you’ll find us an easy upkeep. We need lodging only for our human members; the chocobos and the others prefer the outdoors, for various reasons.” Ramza turned back to the others, "At ease. Go get settled. But I'll expect you to be standing by when I return."

He followed the lady into the main house, leaving the rest of the group outside. Halla flicked her tail and stalked off towards the edge of the town, and the villagers hastily made way for her to pass. Kosland approached Soul and the remaining warriors of the Choco Elite, and bowed.

“I’ll show you to your lodgings, if you please. You’ll be housed in the inn above our larger tavern. There’s a smaller inn and tavern at the edge of town, but I expect the Dancing Dog will be more to your fancy.”

The elf grinned wryly as he half-turned to Kerisha, Caladriel, Admira and Prudt, "Well, I don't know about you, but a tavern and some good ale sounds like a great bargain right now. Lets go."

He started off after Kosland, followed by a slow Caladriel, and hopefully the other humans as well. Korndar and Gunna came along behind them, still carrying their heavy bundles of supplies and blankets. At the inn, Soul summoned a few nearby villagers to help them unload the bundles, which would be carried up to the room set apart for Ramza.

The rooms at the inn turned out to be small, simple and sparse, but warm and homely nonetheless. Each member of the group had their own private room. Soul dumped his gear in the nearest chair of his bunk and was the first into the tavern below. The others, if they came down to the tavern, would find him in typical form: leaning back in his chair, legs on table, sipping at a large mug of ale. Caladriel was there too, but she preferred a corner seat near the fireplace with a beaker of strawberry cordial. The Choco Elite were off-duty, for the moment, but they were on call twenty-four hours, and few knew it better than Soul and Caladriel, relaxed though they seemed to the casual eye.

Korndar and Gunna returned to the doorway of the main house after the unloading, ignoring the curious glances that the surrounding villagers flashed at them. Gunna took her place beside the doorway with a look of rapt attention in her bright eyes. She could hear Ramza's thoughts from where she was, and was thus able to keep track of everything that happened within the main house.

But of course, it was not necessary for the villagers to know that…

 

[Hishandmaiden]

Admira was glad to be able to have her own private room in which she could have the opportunity to reflect through her journey, and at the same time, spent some time with the one who had made her, who had given her safe passage through the journey. He was the source of her strength in time when she was at her weakest moment, and Admira knew that no matter what would happen to the group or to herself in the future, He would be in ultimate control of it all. It was Him who gave Admira the strength, the courage, the faith, as a young and mild lady in her adolescent years, to step out into this journey, where she got to mingle with people of various backgrounds, who were much more experienced and older than herself.

Although the room was small and simple, Admira was glad to be able to sleep in the room for the night. It had been awhile since she last had access with a human building. The past few days had been spent sleeping on the wild, and ocassionally, in the rain. The small and simple roon in an inn that was slightly bigger than the inn from her own village was a welcoming change to the girl.

Admira had smiled warmly at the comment of the elf, even though she was not the kind of girl who would have anything to do with ale. Usually, the girl would have gone down to join the other members of the group so that she could know them better, but this was a day when Admira prefered to be alone by herself. The journey ahead would be tiring, and Admira knew that she needed the rest, the break to refresh herself so that she could be ready to face the challenges and dangers of the many tomorrows that would be lying somewhere ahead of the group.

In her village, men had left to join mercendary group for various roles and most of them never returned. Their wives and their children would sit outside the homes waiting for them, but they never came home. One such man was close to the heart of Admira. He left Admira and her mother to join a mercendary group, promising to come home as soon as he earned enough money to ensure that the three of them would have enough to live a comfortable life together as a family. That was seven years ago. It was reported that the mercendary group was wiped out by an ambush set by a band of robbers, about a month after he joined the group but the dead body of the man was never found.

"I will find you, daddy. Great Father, please help me find my father. He must be out there, somewhere. I know he is alive..."

 

[Crissen]

Soul and Caladriel were not surprised at Admira's absence. They had rather expected it, in fact. The group had just come from spending a few weeks out on the dangerous, open plains, and it was time to take a well-deserved break. It was likely that every member of the mercenary team had their own sad story to tell, and though neither Soul nor Caladriel knew much of Admira's past, they respected her decision to remain alone in her room. Caladriel, in fact, was considering if she should not do the same in a few minutes, but her stomach was rumbling, and the very thought of properly cooked and prepared food was making her mouth water. Besides, Ramza had told them to stand by, hadn't he? She could probably catch a quick bite in the meanwhile.

Neither Ramza nor Soul, nor Caladriel, were vegetarians. They never used their unique link with animals to ensure a successful hunt, but it made it no easier for them to kill animals for food, for they had to shut their minds while in the act of doing so. When they ran out of rations in the open wildlands, they either dug up wild roots or lived off what Halla and Tarfleer could catch for them.

Soul had been with Ramza and Gunna since the beginning of the Choco Elite. He knew that Halla and Tarfleer held an uneasy truce with the two chocobos, since they were actually natural enemies, predator and prey. But they were united in a common purpose within the Choco Elite. Every one of them had been born in the unruly borderlands between the three kingdoms of Raven, Condor and Falcon. Every one of them had seen the devastation the war between the three countries had wrought on these lands, and often had found their daily lives disrupted or destroyed in the midst of the chaos and suffering. While they had little hope of ending the conflict (short of some great miracle occuring), they each held a burning desire to do something about what they felt and saw and heard every waking moment of their lives in these tortured lands.

And so when Ramza and Soul called on them, they had come; and now they set aside their natural differences in order to settle something far greater than these natural differences alone. Gunna and Korndar were still uneasy whenever Halla came back from the hunt with blood on her whiskers and paws; and Tarfleer still scoffed a little to see the chocobos grazing quietly on the grassy hills. But beyond that they made no attempt to harm or insult one another, and their ability to work together was something even Ramza could not help but marvel about at times: seeing a chocobo tending the wounds of a gryphon, or a tigress standing guard over a sleeping chocobo. It was little wonder that the small mercenary group was becoming known far and wide.

Soul sipped slowly at his slightly-warmed ale, his eyes smiling their eternal smile as he thought of these things. He was by far the oldest member of the Choco Elite, and he knew that the current conflicts between Condor, Raven and Falcon were just the latest in a long, long history of unrest between the three kingdoms. Granted, he hadn't actually been born when the first of these kingdoms took root and began to grow nearly two thousand years ago, but he had certainly been old enough to comprehend the word "war" when the first one broke out between the three restless countries.

The elf did not care much for the affairs of men; immortals rarely did, even when they chose to notice what was happening beyond the borders of their quite-eternal forest homes. That attitude had been prevalent amongst the elves just over a hundred years ago. But after the Catastrophe, it all changed abruptly.

Soul blinked as he stared into the depths of his drink. He was not an elfling, nor a child, but it hurt even him to think of the disasters of the Catastrophe. And for the first time in his long, long life he had understood truly why humans referred to pain as an emotion, rather than simply a physical sensation. He had lost too much to ever recognize himself again; and nothing in the slow, patient wisdom of the elves, nor in their long endless chants of the Great Father's goodness and eternal mercy could help him find the place he felt was gone forever.

So he had left. Left the elf clans and walked out to see the world beyond their forests. Elves often walked a delicate balance between wisdom and cynicism. It was the wisdom of the Great Father that helped them understand why all things had to die while they went on endlessly; the cynicism, however, came from having to watch other creatures die, the beloved creation of their Great Father, Who was supposed to have loved creation so much that He himself came in the form of a human, a mortal, and died for them all.

But Soul knew he had lost that balance, for he was cynical beyond what most elves could ever understand. He still believed in the existence of the Great Father, but half of him wanted to doubt that He had ever come, that He had ever cared, or ever died for them. It was too painful to think of love, when everywhere creatures were dying and hope was flailing lost like a whip in the wind.

But he had to go on, because there was still life in him, and he had to do something, since he was still breathing. So he joined a mercenary group, and not just any mercenary group, but the oddball Choco Elite. The elf had seen many strange and wondrous things throughout his existence within the elf clans; but never before had he seen humans call on animals as equals, or work hand in paw (or talon) with them as partners to try and better the world.

And it was the strangeness of them, the simple fact that their existence flew in the face of the natural world and of reason, that had drawn the elf to come and offer his aid to Ramza. Perhaps, just perhaps, their coming and their existing was a sign that the world was about to change. That things were about to change, even though it seemed absurd that this small bunch of outcast miscreants could have anything to do with the great prophecies that the elf seers liked to proclaim so much. It was a tiny hope, but hope nonetheless, and so fragile that Soul himself did not dare admit that he hoped it. It would be too painful to lose it all again.

The elf glanced up from his drink and his dark brooding mood, and his eyes fell on Caladriel, sitting nearby. All at once the darkness lifted from his eyes and they smiled again, that eternal smile of an elf's eyes. The girl held no particular interest for him, but her just being there had reminded him of where he was, who he was, and what he was supposed to be doing. That was the thing about Caladriel: somehow she always seemed to be in the right place at the right time to do something that had meaning for someone else. Soul respected her for that, as well as her ability to commune emphatically with creatures. Like Ramza, he too knew of her secret. It was an open secret within the group, for it was virtually impossible to keep anything from the animals, especially not something of the nature that Caladriel was trying to hide. The only two who didn't know much of it were probably Prudt and Admira, but to the rest it was almost open knowledge. Except that they never mentioned it, of course, and probably never would.

At the moment, though, he felt the mood had gone a little too quiet around the tavern, and he wanted some noise. He watched as Caladriel signalled the tavern-keeper, and chuckled as he addressed her before the man could arrive.

"Ho Caladriel! A penny fer' your thoughts? You're quiet today."

The girl half-turned at his voice, and she smiled, a firm, somewhat grim sort of smile. She made no reply, of course, nor did Soul expect her to. It was well-understood between the two of them that she did not like speaking casually, and rarely spoke unless there was some need to it, like while getting a job done or asking for food. The tavern-keeper went to her side, and she smiled mildly as she spoke.

"One beef stew please. Make it hot."

The tavern-keeper nodded, and turned around to walk to Soul, who was signalling him as well. The elf had decided he would like something to eat as well.

"I'll like another ale, and whatever it is that's your house speciality for the day. Make it fast though, we may have work to do soon."

The tavern-keeper nodded again and hurried off. Someone else spoke up just then.

"Hey, I know ye: you're with the team right? The ones that just came in?"

The speaker was one of two older men who had entered the tavern just as Soul called out to Caladriel. They slumped into a table adjacent to the girl's corner seat, and were now waiting for the busy tavern-keeper to take their orders. Caladriel startled slightly at the words, as she had been watching the tavern-keeper walking back to the counter. She nodded in reply to the man's queries. The man smiled.

"Ay, I thought so alright. Ye leader's a real regular birdmaster now, ain't he? He ain't just got chocobos, but other types of birds in his flock now!"

Caladriel looked surprised, then frowned. The two man guffawed roughly. The girl was too polite to take up the taunt, but she reddened slightly nonetheless. In the borderlands, the word "bird" was often used as a slang for prostitutes, and she could not ignore the two men's implicit meaning in referring to her as a member of Ramza's "flock". From the corner of her eye she saw Soul sit up, watching them like a lion about to pounce.

 

[Hishandmaiden]

(It had been some times since we last updated. Sorry for the delay. Busy with school.)

“What a small room,” grumbled Prudt in dismay the instant he stepped into the room which he was assigned to in the inn. “And no books.”
Still, it was better than wandering in the wilderness and sleeping in the open space, though Prudt to himself. He was used to the fact that little village like the current one would never be able to truly come up with a room that was up to his taste. Since he had set his heart on becoming a member of the mercenary band, comfort was something he knew would most likely be always lacking from his life.

"Well, I don't know about you, but a tavern and some good ale sounds like a great bargain right now. Let’s go." Prudt was still amazed even though he had traveled with the band for so long that Soul was an elf with a pony-tail. Just before he joined this mercenary band, he had laughed at his scholar friends who actually believed in the existence of elf, because no books he had ever read that wrote about elf could ever prove their claims that elf really did exist. Yet, here was Soul, an elf with a pony-tail that Prudt had traveled together with for quite some times now.

“I love some ale, and I may come to join you later but it really depends,” Prudt replied. Well, looking at the size of his room, it seemed that it might have been good to go down to join the elf in the tavern instead of remaining in a room that was not quite up to his standard.

Soul, however, was still a rather mysterious figure to him. Everyone in the mercenary band was, at this point, still pretty much a mystery to him. Why would this pony-tailed elf want to leave the comfort of his home to travel in the troublesome realm of the mortals? Not that he cared, anyway. He had long since learnt that caring was a no-no if he wanted to live a happier life in this world.

Full of hardness, full of unpleasantness, full of the ugly side of evil, this world was not a place for weaklings, and people who cared were weaklings, in the eyes of Prudt.

“Talla…” That was a silly woman. A silly woman who cared too much. A silly woman who did not know how to keep her place in her house. A silly woman who went against the design of the Great Father for women to be mere housewives and wanted to show off to everyone that she was as good as just about any guy. A silly woman, whose silliness, eventually, cost her that precious life of her.

Prudt blinked away some tears that appeared to form in his eyes. “Ha. Why should I let myself be affected by some silly woman who deserves what she gets, anyway, for wanting to act like she is a guy?” Still, Prudt could not help but rub gently at his abdomen area, where there remained a scar. The only memory left of that silly woman. That was why Prudt hated to see women left their comfortable roles as housewives to take the role of men. Women should be at homes, and not anywhere else. Women were made to serve men, women were made weaker than men, women were made more stupid than men, women would be a liability to any mercenary band that would take them. Ramza was a fool to take women into his group. He would get Admira and Caladriel killed by his foolish act.

Why should Prudt care, anyway? These women deserved it if they did die for not being the housewives they ought to be. Still, Talla… was such a sweet lady if only… pah… why should he care, anyway? Talla brought about her own death. People who cared were weaklings! These water droplets that came out from his eyes, they were so irritating!

Prudt walked into the tavern just in time to see two men making fun of the girl, Caladriel, by indirectly referring and comparing her to a prostitute. Much as Prudt hated the girls for joining the team, he could not tolerate any guy behaving in such a un-gentleman-like behavior towards girls.

According to Theo Theo’s book of how guys should behave, a guy, being the superior being to a gal, must always behaved in a gentleman-like manner towards any gal. Prudt’s hand moved slightly to the sword that was kept in a scabbard he had strapped to his back. A sword he could not really use very well, not as well, as his head, anyway, in his own opinion. For Prudt was ashamed to be a fighter as he felt that being a fighter would tarnish his reputation as someone who used his brain rather than sheer physical power to fight.

However, in times of danger, the sword in his scabbard had been known to taste blood. Still, Prudt hesitated, the two guys might not be teasing Caladriel, and for all her knew, they might really be talking about birds. Prudt’s hand slowly withdrew away from the sword that he always carried around with him, and he felt ashamed of himself for having the first instinct to fight at the first sign of danger. When confronted earlier with two villagers with armed axes, Prudt was still able to keep his calm and never even moved once to touch that sword of his. Why did he react in this manner?

Was it because of that girl, Caladriel? Was it because he had no wish to see any more deaths of the gentler sex? Talla, it been one year since you went back to the hand of the Great Father, why did your shadow still followed me around to this very date? Talla… …

 

[Crissen]

Soul bit back a growl at the two men guffawing at their rough joke. He was an elf and felt little for the stupid jokes of men. But having lived among humans for a while he knew enough of their social ways to be mentally irked at their callousness. Besides, they were insulting a member of his team, and indirectly jibing the entire group as well. He was about to call a retort over the embarressed Caladriel when a movement nearby caught his eye.

It was Prudt. The boy's hand had shifted to his sword, and that was the movement that had caught Soul's eye. The elf raised an eyebrow in surprise: his experience with the lad had, up to now, told him the boy was a rather aloof fellow, and not very personable around the fairer sex. He had sensed, with the usual sensitivity of elves, that Prudt was like Caladriel to an extent - both were grappling with issues of his own, issues that were best left alone until they were ready to express them openly to the rest of the team. But the thought that Prudt might decide to come out in defense of his feminine team-mates had not yet occured to the elf.

Which only reminded him of how much he had yet to learn about these fleeting, whimsical creatures called humans.

But even as he watched, Prudt's hand halted. The boy looked as confused person as he withdrew his fingers without drawing his blade, as if he were not sure about intervening in the situation. However, the two men had already seen him, and one of them turned to stare at him.

"Yo boy! You got something to say about it?" he looked Prudt up and down, "You're so scrawny you probably even bed one, let alone this bird! Come back when when you're a year older..."

Several things happened at once. Caladriel brushed her chair aside as she pushed into a half-crouch, her knife suddenly at the throat of one of the surprised men. Soul stood up, his lip drawn into a grim, straight line. The tavern door swung open with a heavy thump, and Elena the daughter of the Deputy Chief stood in the entrance, her blue eyes disturbed, almost distraught.

All froze at the lady's entrance. Soul and Caladriel looked up in surprise; the two men looked up in shock. Elena took in the scene in one glance, and her distraught eyes suddenly became clear with anger. She stepped forward and spoke with icy sharpness in the silent room.

"I would have thought we could show our guests better manners, considering they are the helpers and protectors of our village. Don't you agree?"

The two men nodded vigorously. Elena smiled.

"Thank you. Now kindly excuse us."

The two practically scrambled out of their seats and out the door past Elena. Caladriel sheathed her knife again, and looked up to thank the lady. But she stopped short in surprise as she saw the lady's face. Elena's eyes were blurred, as if she held back tears. The golden-haired girl blinked twice, and stepped forward as she addressed the elf and the girl in restrained, quiet tones.

"Forgive our callousness, our people can be a rough lot at times."

Soul nodded in polite acknowledgement at the words. Elena continued.

"I had actually come here on a personal query. I...I would like to know something. There was a man, wasn't there, who came to call you to our village? I didn't see him with you when you came in...."

Soul looked at Caladriel, who glanced back at him. Neither spoke. Both remembered the man who had came to them at daybreak. The dying man. The man they had buried on the hillside at Ramza's request before they started out towards Caltonarth. Elena saw the looks they exchanged, and bowed her head. She slumped into the chair beside her.

"As I feared."

Caladriel sighed softly as she put an arm on the lady's shoulder. Soul strode soft-footed over and settled into the chair beside her. He spoke.

"He was important to you."

Elena turned away from the elf as a silver droplet fell to the ground, "He was my brother. Ah, Ekltor, we shall not run under the harvest fields again."

"Lady," Soul's voice was gentle, "We are warriors, but we are not of your followers. You need not hide your feelings before us, we don't judge weakness by your behaviour in public."

A commotion broke out outside. Shouts and screams, and a bell began to toll. Elena jerked up at the sounds.

"Attack! They're attacking the village!"

Soul was at the door almost before Caladriel saw him move. He glanced out the entrance as a small tumble of panicked children scrambled into the tavern. He swore and signalled the girl with one hand.

"Get your weapons lass, looks like they're hitting the town edge!"

Caladriel was already reaching under her table for her long pole. She carried her hand-claws, dagger and throwing knives on her person at all times, as did Soul with his twin blades. She ran to Soul just as he hollared to Prudt.

"Oy! Get your act together and lets get going!"

Without waiting to see if Prudt followed, the two dashed out onto the street. Frightened people were running everywhere: the men were running to barricade their homes, and the women were trying to gather the young and old. A few people pointed out the edge of the town as the two warriors ran by. The attackers, whoever they were, were clearly after the grain barns at the fringe of the village.

 

[Hishandmaiden]

Admira was interupted from her reflections of her past when she heard what she thought was screams and shouts coming from somewhere.

Something is happening, Admira thought to herself.

Immediately, she gathered a few essential herbs and bundled them together with items, which she deemed to be of great importance into a small backpack and hurried towards the direction where the screams and shouts were coming from.

She had hoped to spend her time alone by herself in the inn, but if something was going on somewhere, people might be injured, and Admira might possibly be the help they needed at such a crucial moments.

No, she would not be so selfish to keep to herself in the inn while something was surely going on out there.

Admira quickly got out of her inn and moved towards where she thought the screams and shouts were coming from.

 

[Hishandmaiden]

"Yo boy! You got something to say about it?" That guy had the cheek to say that to him. Here he was, trying to avoid a fight, trying to be nice, and this guy... that's it!

Prudt's hand wanted to move to draw up the sword that he had put back into the scabbard.

"You're so scrawny you probably even bed one, let alone this bird! Come back when when you're a year older..."

Scrawny. Why, you are chicken! And you are, that is it, that it it! No one insult a scholar like him.

According to Sufen's book of what it means to be a guy, a guy who let other people insult him without fighting back is a wimp.

But many things happened before Prudt had the time to draw up the sword from his scabbard. First, Caladriel brushed her chair aside as she pushed into a half-crouch, her knife suddenly at the throat of one of the surprised men.

And then, the daughter of the Deputy Chief, Elena moved to scold the two men who had been rude to them.

Then, suddenly, it seemed that the village was under an attack and Caladriel and Soul were out of the room. Mr. Thumby was right when he theorized that things happened in a spit of a second when a man was angry.

Prudt was angry, offended by the two villagers, and things certainly happened in a spit of a second.

Whoever the attackers were, they came at the right time! Prudt was not satisfied with Elena's apologies. What use were apologies when Prudt was the one being insulted.

An apology was cheap, and yet it was not nice to be mean after someone apologized. Well, whatever he could not do to the two foolish men, he would take it out all on whoever it was that were attacking the villagers right now, giving him just the chance he needed to release some of that anger of his.

Without a word, Prudt followed closely behind Soul and Caladriel onto the streets. Books and their knowledge were useless to an angry man. And Prudt was an angry man, right now.