Fire Emblem: A Quest for Glory

He smiled and nodded. "A smart inclination. And right up my alley. Intimidation is most of what mercenaries end up doing anyway. I'll even waive my fee, seeing as we're going to be going into business together. Where can we find the man?" The healer seemed to have a good head on his shoulders, that was a plus.

Archron

The young lord was surprised at the swordsman's offer. A bit flustered, it took him a moment to gather himself.

"Well.. well I'm not sure if.. That is.. well.." Archron stuttered, before regaining control of his tongue.
"If this issue becomes a regular one, I'll need fighters like you. But, I'm afraid that, given the fact that I have no source of income, I cannot promise you regular payment. I can, however, offer you an even share of the spoils of war, as you have received today."

Archron was going to wait for an answer, when he was met with two other offers. After thinking for a moment, the young lord looked up and called to the entire group.

"If anyone wishes to travel with me, to fight brigands and free the people, or at least for the spoils, then you are welcome to. I cannot promise regular payment, but spoils of war will be distributed fairly. If you wish to join me, simply say so."

After announcing this, Archron quickly made his way to follow the Wyvrn rider. Walking alongside it, Archron called up to the rider,

"So, where do you hail from, mighty rider?"

~~~~~~~~~~
leon

As soon as the lordling made his announcement, Leon began weighing the options. He could either travel alone, with no companionship or source of income, and with no little protection, or he could join him and be safe, well fed, and have some consistent social activity. In the end, the only logical decision was to join Achron's little band. Besides, this would give him the opportunity to practice his strategic skills.

"Count me in." He called to the young lord as he walked away. He was going to follow them, when he noticed that the new healer and swordsman began walking a different direction. He heard part of the conversation, and didn't really care for what it entailed. Nonetheless, he would not get involved unless things got ugly. So, he followed at a fair distance, far enough away not to be noticed.

Tycho

He looked down to see the young lord was following him after making an announcement that they were all welcome to follow him for one reason or another, he did not seem to care. And then he had to go and ask the one question that made him wonder which one of them could put the past behind them. The boy was not his father, but Ylisse and Ferox in general left him uneasy.

"Plegia born and bred" he answered, trying to keep any of those feelings down and let what little pride he had for his homeland into his voice. Drasil couldn't help but look at his rider though, trying to gauge whether he could do this or not.

Esria

Esria eyed Tycho, and followed him and stood by him, interested in the conversation. Plegia? Wasn't it that country that had once been ruled by The Mad king, Gangrel? He voiced this to Tycho, keeping her tone and position nuetral. She had no feud with either Ylisse or Plegia, and wanted to make that very clear. "Well...i am Esria. Manakete from farther north of Plegia." She stated to Archron. "In the unruled territories.I am neither from Ylisse or Plegia. Pleasure to meet you." She said, tone formal.

Archron

The young lord glanced up at the rider when he said that he was from Plegia. That place had a long history of evil rulers, but Archron had to constantly remind himself that the people did not share the sins of the rulers. And unless this man was a Grimleal, which he doubted, he was most likely innocent of the evils that were committed in that country.

"Plegia, eh? I see. How goes the rebuilding? Last we knew the people were recovering splendidly, but that was before they closed the borders."

As he waited for a response, the young woman spoke up about her home. Confused a bit by her statement, Archron questioned her.

"Unruled territories? To the north of Plegia? I'm afraid your information may be outdated. Anything to the north of Ylisse and Plegia is owned by the Ferox. Much of it is uninhibited by them, however. Add to that the fact that they have suffered from internal strife of late, and I cannot blame you for not knowing."

Tycho

He didn't know whether the young lord was being sincere or not, his father was a better man than his grandfather ever was, but Plegia had given him every reason to hate the nation, with no attempts at a real sense of peace until after the fall of the grimleal. The manakete, Esria, just seemed to be after information, though it was of a man he could never truly say if he respected or hated him.

"Aye, Gangrel was my king. And depending on who you ask, the best or worst thing to happen to us before his successor Validar took the throne," he practically snarled the name of the high priest of the grimleal. His mere ascension sent Tycho to Valm, as he wasn't about to be a pawn for him or his dark dragon. But the mad king and the priest king were gone, now there was simply that blood thirsty war lord.

"As for our reconstruction yes, we were doing well, up until a few years ago when we got a new tyrant. That war monger declared himself the new ruler and closed off the borders as soon as he could and started rebuilding the army as soon as he could. Not all of us want anything to do with him though, so we fled, and we've been trying to figure out how to deal with him ever since."

Alexander turned to the villager and smiled, though no one would mistaken the smile for friendly. He rested both hands causally on the hilt of his sword.

"I'd recommend you return the healers money right now boy. For your own sake primarily, I don't take kindly to thieves." He eyed the kid, and wasn't too worried by what he saw. He was probably about the same age as Alexander, but the myrmidon highly doubted the boy had any kind of experience. He looked strong, but that wouldn't count for much against Alexander's blade.

Archron

"Gangrel," Archron spat the name. He had grown up on the stories of his father's quests, and his early ones were consumed with that man. In fact, neither Chrom nor Lissa would speak of the man, or the battles he was present for. It mostly up to his mother, Sumia.

"How anyone could think that man was a good king is beyond me. All he desired was revenge, and while that is at least somewhat understandable, the fact that he would risk his own people in war is not. Not to mention his idea of revenge was killing my aunt, a woman who sought to atone for her father's sins in any way that she could. And in the end, she did. It's because of that man's lust for blood that I never got to meet her." Said the young lord darkly. Then, remembering the rider's statement about Plegia's new leader, he raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"It is interesting that you have such animosity toward the man. From what we heard, once he gained control the people were doing relatively well. The economy was strong, development was on the climb. Really, unless he declares war on Ylisse or Ferox (which he may be planning for all I know), the people will be fairly well off.

Tycho

"Revenge drives men to do horrible things young lord, King Gangrel was all the hate and vengeance of Plegia given form one might say. Maybe it did blind him to what really mattered, and murdering your aunt was the darkest deed he performed during his reign, but the 'crusade' of your grandfather, no matter how justified it was regarding the grimleal, left us barely able to pick ourselves up from the aftermath. I may have only grown up during the healing phase of it, but I still saw the effects, and none were spared from that war, or its effects."

Maybe he was trying to paint Gangrel in a better light than most saw him, but after everything they had gone through, up until the murder of the exalt, Plegia had simply shown Ylisse that they were done being pushed around. And while everything the young lord had said regarding the warlord may have been true to some extent, you don't just hang on to a title like warlord after you've reconquered a nation and plan on going back to peace.

"He may be helping Plegia rebuild, but a warlord doesn't keep building the army past what is necessary unless he is planning for another war. He's driven members of the army out because we don't want another war, your father already smashed us once when he killed Gangrel and not long after when he ended the grimleal as a power." He knew many of those men, they were men who swore to defend Plegia with their lives, they wouldn't turn on their homeland without a good reason.

"War isn't what we need, not now, we've had more than enough of it under the influence of that dark dragon. I don't want our first actual chance to rebuild without his servants trying to use us to be marked with another war." The conqueror didn't make it happen, but his dream of a Plegia free of Grima had come true, he didn't want to see them shattered for a third time in such a short time.

Villager
The villager had no idea what was happening. He'd only planned to watch out for the travelling healer long enough for his friends to return and together impress him into leaving the matter alone. It was barely 20 gold coins after all, not even enough to raise the watch over. Basically harmless, right?

But now, well, the supposedly harmless healer had some muscle with him. A tough, battle-scarred type with an athletic build and a sharp sword. And his hands were already on the sword. The villager took in their expressions, and slowly reached into his tunic to reveal a fistful of coins.
"H-" He breathed out, in, and tried again. "Here it is, sirs, please-"

"And the rest." The healer barked. He dropped the coins, about twenty in all, and stepped back as if to turn and start fleeing. "Is that all?" The thief froze. He looked at the Myrmidon again. Then he cautiously emptied a purse onto the floor before backing away from the tent. He didn't stop until he was well out of sight of any mercenary.

Leon

The young tactician scowled at the display and approached the two men as the medic packed the tent. He may not have had the same pure as snow upbringing that Archron likely did, but he still had standards. Crossing his arms, he stood before them, silent for a moment before speaking.

"I recognize that that was a thief, and I realize that there are more violent means you could have used to get that money back. But you seem to forget: you aren't working for yourselves anymore. If your going to work for Archron, your going to have to play by his rules. If he is anything like his father, do you really think he is going to take kindly to your threatening his subjects? If you had taken a moment to look at the boy, you would have noticed that he was strong, but moulnourished. Chances are, he was going to use that gold to feed himself, or his family. Im sure not all of the families here did well under the brigands' rule. Now I'm not saying that justifies stealing, and it is possible that he was stealing out of greed. But the point is this: when you work for a lord, you don't hire muscle, or be muscle, to threaten his subjects. Not without his permission."

Alexander hesitated for a moment at Sebastian's offer. He wasn't a fan of robbery generally, but the victim had robbed a healer first. If anyone deserved it, it was him. Finally, Alexander nodded and smiled. "Sure, half and half seems fair. Pleasure doing business with you my friend."

He looked up warily as the tactician approached, then sat stewing as he began scolding the two men.

"He took from Sebastian. We took it back. That's justice, nothing more." Alexander was irritated, but tried to keep his voice calm and level. He took a step towards Leon and narrowed his eyes all the same. "I'm following Archron, not you. So don't lecture me."

Esria
She listened with interest to Arcrhon and Tycho eager to learn more about the events that had transpired within the last few years, especially to Gangrels exploits. "Mmmm, i see. And what do you plan to do if this warlord does indeed start yet another war? She asked both Tycho and Archron. She shifted something in the back of her robes even though her hands were i n plain sight.

Archron

The boy listened in silence as the man spoke, and they came up on the Inn. The Homely House it was called. Quaint. Turning back to the others, he responded to their statements.

"I do not argue that the last thing Plegia needs is a warlord, I was just surprised because most of the people we had spoken to, before the closure of the borders, seemed to approve of him. I do fear, however, that he too seeks revenge against Ylisse, or perhaps simply another land to conquer. As for what I would do should war begin, lady Esria, well, I would fight. I would do what was necessary to protect my country and it's people." Turning back to the Inn, he motioned toward it.

"Shall we go inside?"

~~~~~
Leon

The young man stood with his hands behind his back as the swordsman leaned threateningly toward him. He stood his ground, though to be honest, he was somewhat intimidated by the man. Though, if he was to truly be a tactician, then he could let intimidation stop him.

"And who said I wouldn't accept his offer? I plan to join his merry band of adventurers as much as you do. And you seem to miss the point of what I've been saying. I'm not arguing justice. I'm arguing the fact that you are acting without your captains approval. That may be a dangerous game to play if you want to keep your job. But us arguing may be pointless. Why don't we go ask him?"

Tycho

"What do I intend to do if he starts another war? My comrades and I have been preparing for this even since we left Plegia. We all want a chance at the warlord, and I'll bury my axe in his neck if I get the chance if it means saving Plegia from another war. We've had to deal with being on the losing side of war twice with barely a generation separating them, and that's ignoring everything else we've had to deal with."

He didn't even notice they had arrived at the inn until the young lord motioned for them to go inside. He dismounted Drasil, the reins still in hand, and began to lead him toward the stables. "Go on ahead, I've got to get him situated."

Esria frowned thoughtfully, thinking. "You make it sound simple, yet such a war could take the lives of thousands. And it possible may be just as, if not more bloody than the last wars. It it comes down to it, i hope you have a way to finish it quickly." She said to Tycho with a sigh. She gently patted Drasil on the snout, and followed Archron inside,

"This has nothing to do with him, and more importantly nothing to do with you." Alexander grumbled. "But fine. If it will make you happy, we'll talk to him."

He reminded himself to keep his temper under control. Try not to think about it. Alexander knew his short fuse was the main reason he found himself without a mercenary company to work with more often than not, but this man just had to come here, and speak down to him, tell him what to do...

Luckily Sebastian showed up then, and presented a fairly eloquent defense that managed to derail Alexander's brooding. Without another word he stalked toward the inn, without bothering to see if Leon was following him. The sooner he got the tactician off his back the better.

Leon

Lean turned to the healer before he left and gave a calm response.

"And yet a vulenary both heals better and hurts less."

With that, he began to follow the swordsman back to camp. As he did, he began to think about his attack towards the man. Sighing, he stepped closer to speak to him.

"I must apologize if I was... offensive. My attack was a bit too zealous, perhaps. I suffered my share of bullies and threats growing up, and that reminded me a bit too much of it. Nonetheless, I must stand by my point. I believe that in the future, we should consult Lord Archron before making such decisions."

~~~~~
Archron

The young man turned to the young woman as they walked in.

"I too hope that the war would be swift, my lady."

He approached the innkeeper, who looked ecstatic at seeing them, and asked how much he charged for rooms.

"Charge?" The rotund man laughed, "For you and the rest of the men that fought, my rooms are free, and you may choose any you wish!"

Giving a surprised thank you to the man, Archron turned and grinned to Esria.

Alexander's first instinct was to make a snide remark or something of that nature, but he bit it back. The boy was making an effort, and if he meant to join Archron too they couldn't be at each others throats. At least not this early. The boy was clearly a bit raw.

"Fair enough. Just in the future this type of issue would be between me and Archron, ok?" He paused. "And, uh, sorry about that back there. Lost my temper a bit." Despite his best efforts that last sentence lacked conviction. Alexander was still fairly certain he had been in the right.

Tycho

He glanced over in Sebastian's direction to confirm that someone was indeed in the stables with him before he continued settling his Wyvern in. Despite having done this numerous times before, Drasil never seemed to get used to the size of the stall, but that's what happens when stables made to accomodate more than a horse are a rarity outside of castles. Still, there was no better security for your things than a Wyvern just itching for a reason to get out of an uncomfortable place. The only bag he removed from Drasil's saddle was the one that held what few personal items he carried with him, shouldering it along with his axe as he walked to the in.

He entered just as the innkeeper was enthusiastically telling the young lord that he and the rest who had fought the bandits would be allowed to have their pick of the rooms free of charge. He took one that gave him a decent view of the front from the window it had. It was slightly bigger than he was used to, the smell was still there, but it was still better than nothing. He left his things by the bed and made his way back to the bar, figuring he may as well get to know his new comrades, and maybe get something to drink or eat

Lucas

He followed the young lord and the others to the inn. He was a bit suprised that the innkeeper is letting them stay free of charge but seeing that they did save the village from bandits, it made sense that the innkeeper would do such a thing. He wandered off and chose one of the smaller rooms since he didn't have much with him and didn't need the extra room. He then headed back down to his comrades to formally introduce himself and get a bite to eat

Esria smiled and nodded politely at the innkeeper, and glanced at Arcron."I shall go find a room. I shall retuen shortly." She said. and went upstairs, and found a rather small room she could sleep in. She liked enclosed spaces, and was unsure why. Maybe it was because she had lived in a cave for some of her life.She shrugegd mentally, and went back downstairs to find Archron.