"You five!" a man who looked like a knight called to us on our way up the road. "Who are you? State your business here." His emblem indicated he was from Rentolt and behind him were four others all riding horses. They didn't have their weapons drawn but were on guard.
"We're adventurers," Carl replied.
"Lies!" the knight drew his sword and pointed it at us. "If you come from Sasren you must be spies."
"Spies?" Carl flinched, "No we're not spies. We came from the forest and tried to get into Sasren but were turned away."
"The forest is dangerous even for experienced knights, why should I believe you?"
I stepped forward. Something was going on here and I needed to know what. This was no time to play around. I took out the Heroes emblem and tossed it towards him,
"We're the Heroes and have been travelling in the forest to train," I said as the Knight caught and inspected the emblem. "Can you tell us what's happened? The guards in the city said they were from the Miltis Empire but there shouldn't be any empire here."
The knight finished his inspection and dismounted from his horse. He bowed to us,
"It is an honour to meet the Heroes. My name is Kent Filbert one of the knights who served in Sasren." He gestured to his companions who copied his actions. "Please come with me and we'll explain the situation."
The Heroes looked between us confused but for now I ignored them and followed the knight. He led us over a hill top and on the other side, rows upon rows of tents had been set up. In between them were hundreds upon hundreds of armoured men and women. All of them were wearing Rentolt's colours. It was clear however it wasn't an army. From their appearance, and their set-up, they were too disorganised to be a proper force.
The knight Kent took us into a larger tent that looked to be their command. More knights were inside and appeared to be discussing something,
"Captain, the Heroes have come," Kent bowed and handed over our emblem.
The captain was surprised when he saw us, "I didn't expect you to arrive so swiftly in our time of need," he bowed, "I'm one of Rentolt's Knight Captains Antonio Banders. I was charged with protecting Sasren."
"A pleasure to meet you, however it was just a coincidence we were passing through. Still, we'll do what we can to help," I replied. "I am Davios Flint, these are my companions the other Heroes." They introduced themselves as well.
"I'm surprised we didn't see you pass by. We've blocked all the roads towards Sasren to protect any travellers."
"We came from the forest but that doesn't matter. Right now I need to know what's going on here."
The knights in the room expressions became complicated and anxious.
Their Captain frowned and answered, "Our shame. All the men and women you saw on your way here are the guards and knights who pledged to protect Sasren. Last night a foreign force invaded our city and the result is as you see here." His fist tightened and then all at once he slammed the table in frustration. The Heroes were shocked and not sure what to do. They looked at the knights and each other with wide eyes, eventually looking towards me.
I let out a sigh, "I want you to tell me exactly what happened and any information you've gathered since last night."
Captain Banders regained his composure, "Understood. It started yesterday evening. A large ship we hadn't seen before came into the harbour. They claimed to be from the Miltis Empire. We've had small amounts of trade with them before and following proper procedure we let it dock but had guards posted while we inspected the contents. I myself was one of the men who came. It looked like a normal enough cargo ship however while we were preoccupied smaller boats slipped into the city as night began. Just as we started to become suspicious of the ships interior there was an uproar within the city and we immediately sent men to investigate. During the confusion soldiers wearing unknown colours burst from hidden compartments within the ship. I don't know where they were hiding but within minutes we were suddenly fighting hundreds of fully armed men. We called for reinforcements but just as we began to take hold of the situation at the harbour, we were forced to lay down our arms."
"What do you mean?" Carl asked from behind me.
The Captain's voice shook in anger, "They took our Lord and his people hostage. Hundreds of the people we had sworn to protect were tied down with explosives beside them. We had no choice but to accept their demands. In the end we were rounded up and thrown out from the city."
"Well at least you weren't rounded up and killed," Gary said trying to cheer them up.
"No, if the guards and knights were attacked there would have been a riot," I said to the Heroes. "The enemy knew that. It was in there best interest to evict their opposition and keep the hostages under control." I turned back to the Knight Captain. "What about their numbers and strength?"
The Captain replied, "Since last night we've spotted two similar ships enter the harbour and from our Intel, there numbers add up to approximately two to three thousand. Their soldiers are about the same level as our own guards but there were men who appeared to be as strong as us knights among them."
"How about reinforcements?"
"Unknown for the enemy. On our part, we've contacted the Capital and a reinforcement of knights will be here by morning."
I rubbed my chin in thought as I stared at the map on the table. It was a layout of the city and its surrounds with the approximate position of the enemy forces and civilians. It matched up somewhat to what I had sensed from the city earlier.
Sayuri tapped my shoulder, "Dave, what should we do?"
I faced her and the Heroes, "We can't act rashly. They have tens of thousands of people as hostages. It would be best for us to wait for the other knights to arrive and act in accordance to their commander's wishes."
"We really can't do anything else?" Alicia asked.
"Unfortunately even as Heroes we have to be careful. If we charge in and try to get rid of them, all the deaths on either side will be our responsibility. We can't just do whatever we want."
The knights in the tent darkened. With our appearance their spirits had been lifted but we weren't gods.
Gary laughed and slapped a nearby knight in the back, "Don't get so down. We're still the Heroes, we'll show you the best result for everyone!"
Captain Banders let out a tired smile, "To think we would rely on a group so young, but, you have my thanks." He stood at attention and saluted us. His fellow knights did the same. "We have a space nearby where you can set up camp. If you need anything please ask us."
"We'll be in your care," I stepped forward and shook his hand.
Sayuri:
It was the middle of the night when I woke up. Several hours had passed since we set up camp. We were a small distance away from the guards and our identities had been kept hidden for now. Alicia was to my left sprawled out across her bedding. She moved around way too much when she slept. We had gotten used to each other by now but the first few times I found her cuddling up to me during the night.
My throat was parched but the flask of water in our tent was empty. Slowly I rose and left the tent. It was cold outside and not too far away I could see the bright fires of the encampment. After travelling around and helping people I thought I had become kind of used to being a Hero but a situation like this was entirely different, thousands of lives were at stake. Would we really be able to fight them? If we did, death wouldn't be something we could run away from. Dave had been saying we might have to kill someone eventually but each time all of us just brushed it away. I shivered but forced myself to be optimistic. We had Dave on our side, if it's him everything would end up alright.
I took a drink from our supply and looked towards the boys' tent. It was open. Surprised and curious I peeked inside. Carl was sleeping in the middle and on one side Gary was spread out just like his sister, on the other side however, there was a blank space. I stepped back in a fever of thought. He couldn't have? No, it was just like Dave. Every time something big happened he always disappeared and took everything on himself. That idiot! I wanted to scream at him. There were no tracks leading away from our camp but knowing him, he didn't really need to make tracks. Not this time. This time I'd help him. With that thought I equipped myself and ran towards the port city Sasren.
There were soldiers from the Miltis Empire positioned along the wall keeping a vigilant look out for anyone approaching. Fortunately for me I had an innate ability to stay hidden. Dave had called me an enigma and even he couldn't explain why it was so hard to detect me using magic. If you try hide too much you become an empty space in a room full of water, don't try hard enough and you stick out like anyone else. Apparently I sat at the perfect level. However that didn't mean that I could hide from sight or become soundless, to that end I had been training myself.
Silently and quickly I made my way to the wall and in between the guards. I was nothing more than another shadow in the night and getting past them was easy. Now I was inside the city, the real work began. Where would Dave be and how could I get there? From the map on the knight's table, the lord's residence should be towards the centre but not too far from the port. If the enemy leader was at all the kind of person to flaunt around, he would be there.
I laughed inside as I snuck around the patrolling soldiers. Back home I would never think about doing this. It was like I was a ninja. Still, even though we'd had a lot of practice, I'd never fought another person seriously. Just thinking about it sent odd shivers down my spine. Would I be strong enough to win? Could I resolve myself to hurt them? I took a deep breath, I needed to calm down.
There was a clink and a glass bottle rolled across the street I was moving through. I jumped away into a nearby alley as a child ran past. He was holding something to his chest and had tears streaming down his face. A clamour of sound rose up and light appeared down the street.
"There he is!" a man screamed and a rush of soldiers ran towards the boy. The boy turned around in panic, his footing slipped and fell to the paving. The soldiers were upon him instantly. "Got the brat."
"Let me go!" he screamed. He threw out his fist, "I said let me go!" His fist clanked against their armour.
"Tch, this brat is annoying," a soldier slapped him down. As he hit the ground the package he was holding fell and from it a small bottle slipped out. "Hmm what's this? Medicine?"
"Give that back!" the boy screamed and tried to snatch it but was forced back down. "Give it back! I need that for my sister!"
"Your sister?" the soldier smirked and held the bottle towards the boy. "Is she sick?"
"Yes, please just let me give it to her," he began to cry.
The soldier's smirk turned to a hideous grin, "Nope." The bottle was crushed and the contents leaked to the ground.
"You bastard!" he tried to rise again but all he could do was squirm.
A soldier holding him down looked up, "What should we do with him, should we take him to the others?"
"That sounds like a pain," another one said. "We have plenty of hostages, let's just kill him." The boy's eyes grew wide in fear. Someone drew a dagger.
"Hold it!" I jumped form the alley.
The soldiers looked at me in surprise, "Who the hell are you?" There were six in total. Fighting them was an option but with the boy being held, I couldn't do anything risky. If I said I was just a normal person would they believe me? No, I was wearing armour and even had a katana. A spy? Then I'd be dragged away. I needed to get closer to their leader.
"I said who the hell are you!?" the soldier gripped the boy tighter and placed the dagger at his neck.
I could feel sweat build up on my forehead. I gulped and stood straight, "I am one of the five Heroes of this land. I demand you take me to your leader."
"What?" the soldiers looked at me like I was crazy.
I pulled out my emblem, "This is proof of who I am."
They looked at each other, still holding the boy, "What should we do?"
The one who crushed the medicine pointed at me, "Who cares what she is, grab her." They took my arms and held me firmly in place. If I tried I could easily break free. He stepped closer to me and placed his hand under my chin. With a rough jerk he forced me to look at him. "Oh, this girl is quite the beauty. Hero or not, the general would love to see her," his words oozed slime and I involuntarily grimaced.
"What about the kid?" one asked, still holding the blade at him.
"Take him with us. I get the feeling if we let him go the girl will resist." And like that the boy and I were forced along the street. At least with this I'd get closer to the general.
Sayuri end: