Fire Emblem: A Quest for Glory

Leon

The young man nodded in acceptance of the apology. As they returned to the inn, he thought about what had happened. Why did he get involved? Usually he left people alone in cases like that. They hadn't technically done anything wrong, even if it was somewhat distasteful. Shaking his head, Leon followed Alexander into the in , wondering what Archron would think of the situation.

~~~~~
Archron

After thanking the innkeeper, Archron went upstairs to choose his room. After looking at the available options, he settled on a humble, small room with a view of the town square. He had lived in luxury for so long, he thought, that he could afford to sleep a but more humbly while he adventured. After selecting the room, he returned down the stairs to get to know the various people who had aided him. He sat down at the counter, and ordered a loaf of bread and some water. As he did, Leon entered the room with... What was the swordsman's name? Alexander? Yes, that was it. Noticing that they looked like they had something to tell him, he turned to face the two.

"Can I help you with something, gentlemen?"

He cleared his throat and tried to think of the best way to frame the news.

"He...we thought it was worth telling you that Leon and I had a little run in with one of the villagers a few minutes ago. Nothing major, no blood spilled, he was just holding some goods for Leon and was trying to skim. Couldn't let it stand of course. Leon and I spoke to him, he returned what he stole. Nice and clean." Alexander nodded and added with a mumble. "Thought you should know." Well, it was out there. He lowered, his head, but kept his eyes on the young lord. His reaction would reveal much about his character.

Archron

The young lord listened to the Nan's statement, nodding as he finished.

"It is good that you were able to just talk to-" At this point, Sebastian spoke up. Furrowing his brow at the man's words, he looked at Alexander and Leon. Punishment? How so? Did they hurt the thief? Did the thief try to hurt them?

"Punishment?" Archron asked, looked at Alexander before glancing at Leon.

~~~~~
Leon

The aspiring tactician shook his head at Archron's question.

"Don't look at me, I was hardly involved, good or bad. The healer and Alexander were the ones directly involved. I merely watched."

Tycho

He ordered some food and drink once he found a seat at the bar, leaving him to his thoughts as he waited for it to be brought. One way or another he was going to have to report back to the other members of the 'rebels' if one could truly call them that. If nothing else he had figured out that their neighbors weren't going to lift a finger until it was too late. That meant that they were going to have to make their move before the warlord did, or Plegia was going to bleed once more.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a mage he could vaguely remember as being part of this newly formed band of theirs. He turned and waved for the man to come join him, "come my friend, join me, and let us get to know each other as allies should!"

He gave an exasperated look to Sebastian, then looked back at Archron. "Well...I suppose we did take a bit of a fee. But keep in mind, had we reported him to authorities his punishment would have been far worse than a simple fine for thievery, right? Jail time, losing his hand, who knows maybe even hanging if the local judge is really a hardliner. It was a mercy in a way. He gets to keep his hand and reputation, we make a little cash, everyone comes out on top, eh?" Alexander forced a smile. The logic was sound enough in his head, but he wasn't sure it would seem the same to the Lord.

Lucas

He looked around for his new teammates and noticed the wyvern rider waving him over. He sat down with the man and placed his order. "Thanks for inviting me over to sit with you. My name is Lucas. " the mage extended his hand offering it to his new companion.

Tycho

"Tycho, and don't mention it, we're allies, it's simple courtesy." He replied, shaking the extended hand. This little group of theirs had barely been formed, but whether you were a soldier or not, loners and the anti social never really prospered. "So, why'd you join up with our young lord, I don't think I heard yours, unless you're out for money like our healer and the mercenary friends," the lord wanted to be like his father, the two he mentioned wanted money, and he wanted to save his people, but the mage and the manakete? They were the only ones he couldn't even guess at.

Lucas

He was shocked by Tycho's question. Couldn't tell him that the reason he joined the young lord to prove that he wasn't useless or a nobody. It seemed like a petty reason to join someone's crusade but the healer and mercenary had pettier reasons than him. The thought of telling his new comrade crossed his mind but he decided to go with something close to the truth. "I want to help people. I know all to well how it feels to have something taken from and never being able to get it back. So I want to help spare people from that pain." He thankes the woman that brought his food and returnes to the conversation with Tycho. "Although I don't think help that much during the fight with the bandits."

Tycho

So he joined to help people huh. No different than his own, although he probably didn't limit his to just one group. Ylisse had their heroes, Regna Ferox had their ways of life, and Valm had their armies and rulers, but what did Plegia have? A mad cult that was a shadow of its former self and a broken army that was now being rebuilt by a bloodthirsty madman. He didn't care what the young lord said, he hadn't seen what Tycho had seen, heard what he had heard.

"As good a reason as any my friend," he replied as his own food and drink arrived. He thanked the woman as well before taking a sip of his drink. "You'll get your chance to prove yourself, don't you worry about it. Just because it wasn't this battle doesn't mean it won't be the next.

Innkeeper

The Innkeeper silently cleaned the glasses and plates of the hungry mercenaries as the finished their food and ordered more. Normally, he wouldn't interject on his customer's conversations, but he decided to comment on this one.

"Sounds to me like you ran into young Will. Not surprised that he took some gold from you, his mother was a decent thief herself. Add to that the fact that the two of them have been going through hard times, and I would venture to say the gold was for food. But then, I am just the Innkeeper, so take it or leave it."

~~~~
Archron

The young man stared in disbelief at the healer. Once the bartender finished speaking, he looked forward, at no one in particular.

"Out-robbed by the big bad mercenaries...." He muttered to himself. His resolve steeled and his expression became that of a man who had made up his mind, and planned to stay by his decision. Looking the swordsman in his eyes, Archron stood up.

"That's not us. How much did you take from him?"

Esria noted The wyvern rider, Tycho at the table, and shrugged mentally.She had a bad habit of being somewhat anti-social, and was trying to break that habit. She sat across from him, studying him."So why did you get involved in the lordlings fight?" She asked, abut curious. Tycho was Plegia, and Archron was Ylissean. that alone was odd.

He hesitated for a moment, then emptied his pocket on Archeron's table, with a bit more violence than necessary. "19 coin." Alexander considered saying the full 38, but Sebastian had given him a cut when he hadn't had to, and Alexander didn't want to betray that trust. He looked gravely into Archeron's eyes "All I took. I'll return it after I get myself a drink, my lord." He turned and began walking to the bar. Alexander knew he shouldn't add anything, he knew he had lucked into finding a job and if he ruined it now the odds of him finding another one before he found himself in some prison or hole in the ground was low. But he had a short temper and a long day.

"My lord," He said as he turned around. "You're my employer so I'll do what you ask. I will speak my mind though, and I'm warning you that the world is not a simple place and if you're serious about doing some good in it, you'll find that out very soon. You can't be strict with what you will and won't do if you don'y want to get stepped on." He turned back to the bar and mumbled to himself, "I figured that out young enough," to low for anyone to overhear.

Archron

Archron turned to the swordsman with a frown and furrowed brow.

"Tell that to my father. And I didn't tell you to give me the gold, only to tell me how much you took." He stated grimly as he left the gold on the table and began counting 19 gold coins out of his own pouch. After he finished, he turned to the Innkeeper.

"Where can I find him?"
"I'd imagine he'd be by the old well my lord, near the edge of town. He often goes there when he is upset."
"Thank you." Archron made to leave the Inn, but stopped in the doorway. He turned and looked over his shoulder at Alexander.

"I'll give you a choice, Alexander. Come with me and apologize to the boy, and improve my view of you substantially, or remain here."

--Sebastian Trae--
Apologising to the thief, after all they'd done to teach him about consequences? Perhaps they'd want to furnish him with a lockpick and looting sack too, just to start him off?
"Milord, that is a really stupid idea. But then again, can you imagine how confused he'd be?" He picked up a wine bottle, his second. "Stock up and we'll go?"

"I'll come." He didn't like it, but he'd already l gotten into an argument with his new boss in the space of a few minutes, he had little to lose by following the lord..

He paused when Sebastian made his comment toward Archeron, then simply shot the healer a warning glance. The mocking look on his face was a bit alarming. Healers tended to have a longer leash than most types of mercenaries, but Sebastian was still pushing it quite a bit. Calling a commander's decision stupid was a quick way to find yourself on the street, as Alexander had found out himself a few times. The myrmidon was on thin ice and associated with the healer, and at this point Alexander wanted to minimize damage. He drained his cup and walked out after the Lord. The sooner this humiliation was over the better.

Archron

The young Lord twirled around to face the healer, a stern look crossing his features.

"No, it was a stupid decision to take from him more than he took from you. Especially since you apparently knew that he needed it." He spat angrily. He was almost surprised at his own reaction to them. Normally, he would be more reserved and less demanding. But then, he had never been in charge of men like this before. Archron looked back and forth at the swordsman and healer, addressing them both.

"Do you really think this is about me slapping you on the wrist? Or condoning thievery? Because it isn't. Had you taken back only what was yours I would be fine with it. But the people in these lands will NOT speak of us with fear! No, then we would be no better than our adversaries. We will return to him his gold, and I will advise him to no longer steal, from us or any other innocent. That is what we will be. We will inspire others to be good, not force them. That is why we are doing this." Archron explained grimly. He wondered if his father had to deal with things like this.

--Sebastian Trae--

Oh, he was in trouble. Right. Sebastian opened the bottle.
"I'll go with you, since you ordered it. I'll return all the money too; taking the extra was my idea alone, and I gave Alexander a share as fair payment for his involvement." He took a small sip. A slightly earlier vintage perhaps, and not quite as good as the first bottle. Very cunning on behalf of the innkeeper. "But remember milord, you've already killed people who don't appeal to you and you let the locals support you while you do it."

Lucas

"I guess your right." He smiled at what the wyvern rider told him, he's right. that is nothing to pout about he should be happy that he is alive to fight another day. After eating a few bites of food, he raised his head to ask the wyvern rider something, when he noticed the manakete girl was sitting with them as well. From excitement alone, he whispered to himself. "I can't believe I'm traveling with a real manakete."

Tycho

"I've seen enough to know I'm right. Every soldier has his chance at glory." Esria then decided to join their company and their little bout of questioning one another. With her around, things would be a bit more interesting than they already were in his eyes. "I joined the fight because I believed those bandits to be either a group that my comrades and I had been dealing with lately. Plegian or not, I have no intention of letting scum like them hurt anyone."

As for why he joined the young lord's little band of heroes, he honestly didn't know. He thought that he could have gotten support against the warlord, but that was no longer an option. If nothing else, he would be able to safely rejoin his comrades this way, and guard someone who was bound to be a target of the warlords' wrath.

Esria
She listened thoughtfully, and nodded at Tycho. "Noble perhaps...but what would you do if your life was on the line? Would you risk your own, facing death for nameless people who may or may not car?" She asked, genuinely curious. Plus she enjoyed asking questions like that. It helped give her insight to what a person was really like.

Tycho

Fighting and dying for those who may not care, who would never know your name or even or you theirs. A question those willing to fight for a cause faced in every battle, and he knew them all too well. He stared into his drink for brief time before finally answering the manakete. "I've done it once before, and I can tell you I never regretted that decision or anything that came from it, only that I wasn't strong enough to assure it's success."

He took a drink before continuing his explanation. "I fought for the emperor of Valm when he made his conquests, all because I found a man who was willing to break the shackles that the gods have over us. The grimleal would have executed me, the world would have hated me and the countless others that fought under the banner of Walhart, but I fought regardless, because I felt like it was the right thing to do."

Esria
She smiled at that, nodding her head appreciatively."It is indeed admirable. And yes...it was the right thing to do." She said, pleased with his response, a serene smile lighting up her features. "That was brave...not many would have fought for the common person...at least not without reward." She said.

Tycho

"You haven't exactly been around people much if you are agreeing with me, have you?" he couldn't help but chuckle at her response. "Naga, Grima, all the gods have their worshipers, and people like me are even rarer than those who question them in the first place. It was why I followed the conqueror, and why the world fought him: he had no allies, only conquests, no true compassion or anything of the sort, and yet I followed him because it was better than betraying my people for Ylisse or staying among the cult of that fell dragon."

"And what of you, why would a manakete join up with a group like the young prince's?"