The Bladesaint

I rushed to the scene of the disturbance, doing my best to move quietly through the undergrowth. Leo? Rill’s voice echoed in my mind, What’s wrong? I can tell you’re worried about something.

We were both still struggling to figure out how to keep our thoughts and feelings separate from each other, and it seemed I had inadvertently lapsed for a brief moment. I’m not sure, I thought back, but something’s going on out here. I’m going to check it out.

Be careful, she cautioned, a concerned tremble coursing back to me through the connection.

I will. Just sit tight for a bit.

Not like I can do much else! Ugh, I hate not being able to do anything useful.

Crouching down behind a bush, I examined the scene laid out on the road before me. As I had expected, a group of five bandits faced down a lone fellow wearing familiar white armor and shouldering a large claymore. The man grinned at his foes as they picked themselves up off the ground, keeping a cautious eye upon him while clutching their various injuries.

“What’s the matter?” He taunted, his voice deep and sonorous, with a distinctive edge to it, “I thought you were going to teach me a lesson?”

I fixed the image of the man in my mind, sending it to Rill with the thought, Hey, what’s your opinion of this guy?

Moments later, a twinge of recognition followed as she sent back, A man seemingly in his early forties, with short black hair that’s greying at the temples, and an eyepatch…that guy matches Nora’s description perfectly! He’s got to be their captain, what was his name again?

Before I could respond, the man called out, “I know you’re hiding back there. If you meant any harm, you had your chance. Now come on out, before I flush you out.” 

I looked up, only to see that the fight was already over, with every one of the bandits having been cut down while I was too distracted talking to Rill in my head. I’ll have to work on that, moving forward, I thought to myself, and raised my hands, moving out into sight.

“That was pretty impressive,” I told him, gesturing to the slain bandits that littered the area, “but if I might ask, how did you know I was there?” I’m pretty sure I was completely suppressing my aura, so he couldn’t have picked up on that.

The man laughed as he wiped his bloodied sword on a discarded rag. “True, you don’t really give off a presence at all. If I had to say, it was intuition. I just had a vague feeling.”

Intuition? So, he didn’t actually know I was there after all? “You got me,” I sighed with a chuckle, “Though you would’ve looked pretty silly if I hadn’t been hiding there, you know?”

“True! But then there wouldn’t have been anyone else around to see, either.”

I eyed up the motionless bodies and admitted, “Fair enough.”

Returning his blade to the scabbard strapped to his back, he asked, “Well? You don’t seem like one of them. You a refugee from Layhaven? If so, I’ve got some questions. I hear something strange went down there.”

“Not exactly a refugee, no. But I was there. My name’s Leolyn.”

The man eyed me curiously for a few moments before extending a hand, which I took. “Greetings, Leolyn. I am Julius Rembrandt.”

That’s it! That’s his name! Rill exclaimed excitedly.

Would you get out of my head already? I shot back, and was greeted by the image of Rill sticking out her tongue at me.

It’s not like I’m trying to listen in, you know. Why don’t you keep your thoughts to yourself?

I heaved a sigh of frustration. Being able to communicate was handy, but it was also unbearably annoying to have someone else listening in on your every thought. I fervently hoped that we would be able to get the hang of keeping our minds separate sooner, rather than later. To Julius, I said, “It’s a pleasure. Before we go on, I’d like to confirm something. Do you know a fellow by the name of Lassan?”

Julius’ single visible eye widened in recognition, before he scowled suspiciously. “You know him? Any idea what’s happened to him or his group?”

“Last I knew he was doing just fine, along with Nora and Tark. But we got separated in Layhaven, and I’m not sure what might have happened after that.” Regarding the bodies around us, I added, “Well, I can’t imagine you want to stand around here forever. Let’s get off the road and back to my camp. We can talk properly there.”

The man seemed hesitant to trust me, with us only having just met, but it seemed that my mention of the others had been enough to convince him. “Very well. Lead the way, then.”

You’re bringing him back here? Rill wondered, with a twinge of trepidation, What if he turns out to be an enemy?

The others spoke highly of him, and trusted him explicitly. I can’t imagine he’s a bad guy, and if there’s a chance he might be an ally, we should at least try to show him some hospitality. Besides, he has a right to know what happened.

She went quiet then, having accepted my decision, and I led Julius through the brush back to the alcove where Rill and I were staying. Even though I did not yet know the lay of the land by heart, I could sense roughly where Rill was at all times, her presence like a beacon burning in the back of my skull. Whatever I had done whilst trying to save her life seemed to have had consequences I could have never foreseen.

I waved to Rill as the cavern came into view, and introduced her as we closed in on the space. “This is my companion, Rillesia.”

Julius regarded us for a short while, his eyes lingering upon the wooden swords we had standing against the stones nearby, before he broke out into a sudden fit of laughter. Seeing our puzzled expression, he explained, “I see, it all makes sense now. A red-haired sword prodigy and a shapeshifting dragon…that’s you, isn’t it? The duo Marik’s become suddenly enamored with?”

On instinct, I spun around protectively in front of Rill, my free hand half-reaching for my sword. He knows! I watched him with sharp eyes, waiting for him to make a move. However, the man simply held up his hands defensively.

“Relax. Your friend is definitely human, right? And you can clearly be reasoned with. I won’t attack without good cause, you have my word. Especially since she’s injured. Although, if what I’ve heard is true, you’re lucky to have made it out at all. How about you start by telling me what exactly happened in that town?”

He's right, Leo. Calm down, we didn’t do anything wrong. Just explain what happened.

I forced down the growl that had been rising into my throat, and stood up straight once more. You’re right. He just caught me off guard there for a moment. To Julius, I carefully recounted everything that had happened, from our very first meeting with Lassan’s group, to the point where we had parted ways. When I was finished, he nodded approvingly, and crossed his arms.

“Hmm. Your story matches with everything I’ve heard. Alright, I believe you.” He took note of my sideways glance and added, “Don’t worry, I don’t care if you’re a human, a dragon, or a demon; any enemy of the Bandit King is a friend of mine, as long as we can get along. Besides, it sounds like I owe you for looking after my subordinates this whole time. Lassan might just be looking at a promotion if we manage to make it back alive.”

“So, what’s your plan? Are you going to look for the others?”

Julius sighed heavily, and plucked a slip of parchment from inside his armor, staring at it for a moment before saying, “I wish it were that simple. If it were up to me, I’d do just that and get the hell out of here. But, it isn’t up to me. By chance, did Lassan tell you the purpose of our mission?”

I shook my head. “He mentioned you were doing reconnaissance, but not much else. Why?”

The man’s face turned grim, and he said slowly, “We were tasked…with assassinating the Bandit King.”

Rill and I gasped in unison, and I exclaimed, “That’s ridiculous! The man’s practically invincible!”

Julius simply nodded. “Aye. And I had intended to tell the Pope just that, but unfortunately our lines of communication got disrupted after we got jumped, before, and I never got the chance. So, in his infinite wisdom, he opted to send us a reinforcement. And not just anyone, the Wisteria Knight; a strong, skilled warrior and a contender to take my place among the bladesaints after I retire. She also just so happens…to be my niece.”

I understood his predicament. I did not know what the consequences might be if he defied his orders, but they would likely be quite severe, and he might also risk dragging everyone else involved down with him. But he understood the threat Marik posed, and if it would put his own niece in harm’s way, he might just be willing to risk it.

“I’ve trained the girl since she was old enough to hold a blade. She’s certainly capable, but she’s still young. Inexperienced. Even with her aid, I estimated our chances at absolute zero, but I’ve now stumbled upon a dragon and a girl who is supposedly handy with a blade. If the four of us jump him together…well, you’re the ones that actually fought him. What do you think?”

I shook my head instantly. “No way.” Keeping in mind the various comments Lassan and the others had made during our travels, I estimated that Julius was likely close to as strong as myself in human form. Even if his niece was at a similar level, I simply could not see any path to victory.

Rill suddenly spoke up behind me, suggesting, “What about if we asked Jensen to help? Marik was on his way there anyway, right? If he’s going to have to face him eventually, I’m sure he’d rather do it with backup.”

Julius cocked his head in recognition at the name. “Ah, the King of the Seas! I’ve heard about what happened up in Lakeside. With his help, maybe…”

Again, I disagreed, “Even if we assume we are all more or less as strong as each other, the best we could do is to make Marik break a sweat, and he’d just brush off any kind of sneak attack. Even in my dragon form, he tossed me around like a ragdoll! I’m telling you, there’s no way we can put up a fight against a monster like that!”

Before the man could argue any further, the screech of a hawk came from overhead. He held out an arm, and the large bird alighted upon it, carrying a tiny glass vial tied to its leg. Julius carefully removed it and retrieved the rolled-up parchment from within, his lone eye quickly scanning its contents. Then, his face was split by a devilish grin.

“Well, I think I’ve just found someone who can.”