Elliot and Levi sat on the wall, their minds locked on what they heard from the Baren, yet their eyes told them something different. Gulping at the sight of the small, frail-looking creature gave Elliot an uneasy look. Mulling it over in his head, something jumped from it he turned to Levi.
"Can you contact the others?" Elliot asked Levi, looking from the village to her and seeing her thinking over his question.
"No, we have to wait for them to single them with this." Levi pulled out a single scroll. Elliot looked it over and then looked at her, "It's a fire scroll. I can't cast spells so Vlex handed me it to say when we were in passion."
"So, they won't attack without seeing this." Levi nodding answered Elliot's question, "We don't have much time, let's go find the others and...."
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Screams emanated from the village, the small huts were on fire with the frail goblins running about in fear.
"Wait, they should have waited until I...." Levi stopped turning to Elliot, seeing him stare into the fire with shock and horror, "Elliot, what's wrong?" No answer came and he just looked out, seeing many of the goblin try to put the roaring fires out to no avail. The screams pulled what the old woman had shown him to the forefront of his mind and here he was, on a wall watching the fires ravish the village with many of them deciding to head for the wall. Their frail arms struggled to pull themselves up with what little strength they could muster.
"Get the vile creatures!" a familiar sounding voice cuts through the screaming and before Elliot a large battle axe cleaved two goblins in half as they were running from them. Elliot's stomach sank hearing the glee of his party member enjoying the attack and his body moved before his mind could think.
"Elliot!" Levi screamed out watching him step off the wall, falling towards the ground. Snapping out of it when Levi's voice finally reached him and yet his body acted faster than his mind could yet again. Pulling out his sword, he sank it into the wall and used it to slow himself until he reached the ground. He felt his ankle turn under him, but now wasn't the time for that and so forced a run through the burning village.
"Where is he?" Elliot said his hope of getting Bradly to listen to him and stop this was fading with each second he saw the bodies of the goblin, mangled and in pieces with each looking to have been slain within minutes of the raid starting. Their blood stained the ground and Elliot's boots with each step he took, the smell of flesh burning pooling in his nostrils and forcing Elliot to take a moment to not haul from the sights he saw.
"Where were you?" A calm, annoyed-sounding voice from behind him and Elliot saw it was Clove walking in her cloak looking at him, "Getting a quicky before battle"
"N-no," Elliot said wincing and panting, not knowing how much he had run since getting down but the throbbing pain from his ankle said he had been pushing it to its limit in this state. "W-we climbed up a tall wall and were scouting when we saw....." Clove turning from him said something he had not thought about. He looked around the burning village and then at her, "You knew about the village state, didn't you?"
"Of course," Was all Clove could say, hanging her head, "After all, the ones who built it were."
"What are you two doing?" They turned to see Heldric walking up, a short sword drawn and blood dripping from it, "We're in the middle of a battle and you two are just talking like a day at the market."
"This is a battle?" Elliot asked more in shock at Heldric's calm nature and looked him in the eye, "They aren't even fighting back."
"Because we caught them off guard." Heldric swiftly spun in place and sank his sword in goblin, the goggled blood before falling limp on the ground and Heldric turned to look at Elliot, "Grow thicker skin if you want to help us save the world." Clove hung her head as she and Heldric walked down the street, book in hand as she cast more fire spells to blow away houses in their way. Burning bodies rained around them with some warm blood splattering on Elliot's cheeks.
"Elliot!?" Levi called out to him as she had joined him in the village, "Have you seen the others?" No answer came from him, making Levi slowly walk around to his front and gasp seeing his face covered in blood.
"This isn't a battle, this is slaughter," Elliot spoke slowly, his voice cracking and choking on the smoke bellowing from the village, "D-did you know they would be doing this?"
"N-no, I'm as shocked at this then you are." Levi's tone was calming as Elliot took a moment to feel what she spoke was the truth and a sigh escaped from saying he did believe her.
"There you two are." The voice was bold and calm drawing their attention, seeing a blood-soaked Bradly walking to them. His broad sword in hand and so caked in blood it looked to be crafted from ruby, his arm matching with it and he honestly looked as though a demon from the Eather was walking towards them.
"Bradly, we need to stop." Elliot said stepping towards the imposing prince, "We were tricked by the Baren and killing innocence."
"Goblin's innocence?" A laugh cut through the fire and Elliot turned to see Vlex walking to the ground, his robe clean of any blood, and a smile spread across his face, "these creatures were made to spread chaos and so need to be shown the order conquers over them."
"And we need the Baren's aid to stop the lich." Bradly said looking at Elliot who was still in shock at everything they had done this day, "Sometimes you need to do what is really needed and not what you think is right."
"They're not even fighting back," Elliot said looking at them, the fire burning around them with his mind still locked on The Great Raising, "Have any of you seen any archers or arrows that attacked us?"
"I'm not sure why that matters?" Vlex said his brow arched and looking at Elliot who stared at Bradly.
"Then either it's all fake by the Baren or others are out there, and they sure at hell would want blood for this." Elliot finished with the others looking at him, silence filled the area with Elliot watching them.
"Ahhhh!" A screaming Levi pulled Elliot's attention to see Clove holding her arms behind them and a fist forced into his stomach knocked the wind of Elliot.
"Damnit Bradly, why do you have to get a smart one?" Heldric's voice joined them.
"Ay, you were meant to find a follower, not a thinker," Bolten said standing over Elliot, still stunned from the sudden attack by the prince, sweat dripping from his face. The party all turned to Levi being held by Clove.
"You were supposed to seduce him and keep him obedient." Bradly spoke coldly stepping towards her.
"I tried, honest sir but..." A slap from him stopped any words from escaping her, blood dripping from her lips thanks to his gauntlet, and his eyes sliced into her, taking out any and all resistents by her.
"Then why aren't you two joining in the battle?" Heldric asked his arms crossed with everyone turning back to Elliot, having reached his knees and looked at them with a glare.
"You mean killing those who can't fight back?" Elliot's question didn't need an answer, "or listening to a cruel that uses you as tools for whatever gain he wants." Silence came from the party with Elliot slowly getting to his feet and looking at Prince Bradly just in time to nearly lose his head with a sword.
"Elliot, you really need to learn that sometimes it's best to listen than think." Bradly spoke with a calmness that unnerved Elliot who reached and drew his sword. "Drawing your weapon on me, squire?" Bradly asked with Elliot holding his hilt firmly and looking at the Prince.
"I was told to fight what was right," Elliot said with a series tone, "And if that means raisng my weapon against you then so be it." Elliot stood straight, his sword ready to defend what he knew he had to only for a collar to appear around his neck.
"That's enough nonsense you heretic." Vlex vile tone echoed with a magical glow from his hand and Eliot's body dropped to his knee, his sword to the ground and hands firmly on the collar.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Elliot wailed out, his hands pulling on his collar and the smell of his burning flesh joined the rest of the village. "W-what.....i-i-is..." Try as he might, Elliot failed to truly ask, falling in a heap yet the burning pain kept him awake.
"All-Father Collar, they make heretics listen to reason," Vlex spoke looking down at him with Bradly grabbing him by his hair, forcing Elliot to look into his eyes.
"Sware to follow my orders without question, and I'll remove it." Elliot couldn't really think the pain was overriding anything Bradly had said, but nothing Bradly said would change his mind.
"G-go to Eather." Elliot spat out through gritted teeth, getting a stomp on his stomach by Bradly's blood-soaked boot, and coughed up blood from it, but the collar kept the pain from it really getting noticed.
"All you had to do was listen, idiot." Bradly said stomping on Elliot's stomach again, forcing him to cough up even more blood, "Just listen and you could have gotten enough money to live like a king." Elliot groaned and mumbled things through his teeth. "What was that?" Bradly dug his heel in and Elliot winced, continuing to mumble with Bradly leaning down over him, "I couldn't hear you..."
'Ptui.'
"Ah, you bastard!" Bradly shouted pulling back, covering his mouth from the feel of the spit in his mouth as the rest of the party remained shocked. Even with his body burning in pain, Elliot forced a smile with a forced smile. The others watch their leader lock eyes with Elliot and soon Elliot's teeth were smashed in with another kick by the boot. "You piece of shit, spitting at your prince like that, who do you think you arm? Huh? Huh!?" Bradly screamed out a tantrum, stomping on a new spot for Elliot's body and the team watched with the sound of breaking bones echoing through the village. Vlex stopped his spell when Bradly forced Elliot up again only to strike him in the face with a punch, followed by another, and another. Each blow cut into Elliot's face and head, blood dripping from his face like a Summer shower.
"Bradly, I think he's learned his lesson," Heldric said, speaking with the others watching and the look Bradly gave made their blood each run cold.
"Y-you think so?" Bradly panted, looking at the bruised meat that was Elliot's face, blood covering it with teeth missing from it, "Well Elliot, do you want to play ball with us?" Elliot didn't look at him, his left eye swollen from the blow and his right cut to piece, effectively making him blind in it. A ringing in his ears made Bradly's question made answering impossible and with what little strength he could muster he reached up and pul his hand on Bradly's.
"'Gargling sound.'" Elliot tried to speak, but no one could understand him.
"You touched me." Bradly said picking up Elliot's sword with his free hand and letting go of Elliot, then grabbed his right hand and with a single swing, liberated his hand from his body. But there was no yell of pain, a scream of help, or begging for mercy. There was nothing and Bradly looked down to his broken former Squire, panting with the party's eyes all on their leader, "Coterize his hand, we bring him back to face judgment with the Baren, and get any remaining goblin and put them down." They all nodded and watched their leader head off with Clove finally releasing a restrained Levi, leaving her there with the broken body of Elliot. She slowly moved to him, seeing his beaten frame before her, and knelt to him, taking care of his injuries best she could, all with the smoke and fire raging on into the early afternoon.