Fire Emblem: A Quest for Glory

Baruk

The Barbarian grunted as the hand axe flew past the youth, missing him completely. Sure, the fact that they could be thrown made this particular axe variant very useful, but it was incredibly hard to aim with. As the mercenary shouted out at him, the man winced. There weren't many men in the world that Baruk feared, but Keron was one of them. The swordsman had found Baruk some months back, in a small village he had under his "protection". The Barbarian had challenged the newcomer to a fight. Who ever lost would work for the victor. Now, Baruk had never lost a fight in his life. But this newcomer knew exactly how to beat those whose strength outmatched his own. Within moments the mercenary had won, and Baruk found himself the servant of another. Nonetheless, he had done very well for himself under Keron's command. Jobs were plentiful, and his coin purse was full.

But these warriors, they might actually be a challenge. There were many of them, and the seemed pretty tough. Indeed, as the Lordling and Keron continued their duel, Both the dragon they had come to hunt and the Wyvern Rider attacked him. However, this allowed him a certain opportunity. As the tail swung toward him and the Wyvern drew near, he jumped backwards and to the side, hoping to cause the dragon to strike the Wyvern or it's rider. At the same time, he threw one of his hand axes at the Dragon's flank, glad that this would be a much easier target to hit.

Norog

The Fighter watched as his "friend" barely avoided the enemy attacks. The man had the strength of a bear, but was about as agile as one. Norog hefted his bronze war axe and prepared for a fight. Though he was the newest member to the group, he already had earned Keron's respect. His strength was tempered by his caution. With a deep breath, he charged the nearest enemy, who happened to be a cavalier. When he was upon his foe, he swung his axe low, at the horseman's legs.

The two knights were the most experienced of the regular gang members. As the barbarian was attacked, one moved in to strike the dragon, and the other moved through the hole left by the Wyvern rider to strike at the archer.

Barlon

The horseman backed his horse away slowly, grinning to himself as the various soldiers fought. The fact that most of his men were dead didn't bother him one bit. He had never cared about them. The prince's head was all that mattered to him now. It did not concern him that the others might all die. Indeed, it did not matter if they all attacked him at once. The could not pierce his thick armor, nor could the resist his silver blades...

LUCAS

The expression on his face quickly changed from joyful to serious. Within minutes his life had went from meek and peaceful to dangerous and eventful just in Libra's story. Real dragons and rallying under young leaders, it was like he always dreamed but he couldn't let his guard down or it would spell the end for him or the he now fights alongside. Taking notice that the horseman was backed away from the the fight grinning. Lucas took it as a chance for him to get close as he could and target the horseman

Tycho

The axe wielding bandit dodged him, a frustrating event if nothing else and could have been easily corrected, if not for the fact that the bandit had dodged for more than just to escape his axe, as the tail of the dragon soon revealed. The tail slammed into Drasil and sent the pair flying into a stall, collapsing the roof on them. The bandit was smarter than the rest, maybe this group was indeed an actual threat, and perhaps a bit of a challenge.

"Been awhile since we had a decent fight" he began cutting the cloth roof open to get them out, Drasil groaning as the wyvern tried to stand back up. "Then again we had the others with us, and you weren't this tired 'old man'" he chuckled as the wyvern snarled, starting to get back on his feet once they were out. "Alright then, lets see just how much you've still got left in you!" they took off once again, keeping their distance from the dragon while looking for an opening they could use.

Leon

Leons head was spinning, so much was happening so fast that he could not process. Warriors of all shapes, sizes and talents were gathering around them, including a dragon. His mind was trying to remember all the tactics, calculations, facts and figures that he had spent his life pounding into his head. He froze there, sword in hand staring at the fight as it unfolded around him. Unable to grasp at anything and try and control the chaos that had appeared before him.
"I..."

Esria
She snarled at the cowardly act by the brigand and , after making sure no more allies were near her, stomped after the bandit, teeth bared in a snarl. She was, literally, going to tear him limb from limb! She was still having trouble controlling her rage while in her dragon form, but she would work on that later.

Vic

Vic too a long look at the three remaining brigands. The wyvern and the prince seemed to be doing their fair share against them, they would soon be down for good. But the one that could be a potential problem, the armored Knight. Hardly anyone getting close would be able to get in a critical strike while he was on his guard. People would get hurt or worse die, before getting the opening needed to kill him. He decided he would intervene and provide said opening, taking great aim, right at the helmet of the knight. Whether it entered the eye socket or not did not matter, the shear force of the blow would throw off his concentration hopefully long enough for someone to take advantage.

He fired his shot.

Archron

The duel continued much as it had, with neither gaining the upper hand. They had, however, moved away from the main group, allowing them each more room to maneuver. Archron used this to his advantage. Although the mercenary was stronger and more experienced, the prince was young and agile. In this more open space, and without having to worry about more interruptions, the boy was able to dodge and evade most of the man's strikes, blocking and parrying the rest. Although it was wearying, Archron could tell that Keron was starting to lose his confidence. The older man could not keep up with the speed of the youth, and he himself was growing weary from the continually missing strikes.

Baruk

Ogre's teeth! His hand axe had failed him once again... and this time it would prove fatal. The Barbarian's eyes filled with dread as the beast charged him, bringing it claws down to crush him. He whipped out his last axe and swung, but too late. The crushing blow snapped his neck as he was pounded into the road, but his swing carried enough momentum to strike her anyway, should she not move in time.

A chest key can be found on the man's body, if he is searched.

The knight who had attacked Esria had not expected her to move so quickly, and his strike missed. Rather than attack her again, he moved past the dragon to strike out at the Wyvern rider, using the reach of his lance to thrust at the man, while raising his shield to protect himself from the Wyvern.

Barlon

As the fighting commenced, Barlon noticed what seemed to be a mage moving apart from the rest of the group to attack him. Fool. The Great Knight rode forward quickly and struck out at the man with the butt of his lance.

Tycho

Any more proof he needed that the dragon was as powerful as the stories said they were was given to him when it struck the bandit with its claws, killing the man instantly. That attack had also saved the dragon from the spear of one of the knights, who was now coming straight for Tycho. Despite the wounds they had received he was not going to run from these bandits, and urged Drasil forward, the wyvern charging at the knight while Tycho readied his axe. The wyvern collided with the knights shield, unable to do anything more than gnash its teeth and try to shove the shield aside, while Tycho tried to shift to the side to avoid the lance, the pain of it piercing his side shooting through him, one hand going to the wound while the other brought the axe down on the knight with all his might.

The knight's helmet was badly damaged by the blow, and would not likely survive another. After the axe struck him, the shield was torn from his grasp by the Wyvern. With his defenses all but gone, the knight pulled his lance from the man's side and stabbed it down at the Wyvern's neck with all his might.

At the same time, the knight who charged Vic had been struck in the head by an arrow. It did minuscule damage to his armor, but the force behind the blow was enough to disorient him for a moment. Whether that moment was well utilized by the warriors remained to be seen.

Tycho

A solid hit, and Drasil had ripped the shield the knight's grasp, robbing him of all but his armor for defense. He was bringing his axe back for the next blow as the knight stabbed at Drasil's neck. The riders free hand shot off from his side and to the reins, jerking them sharply to the side, aiding the wyvern as he moved to avoid the attack. They were still too close to truly avoid the attack, only make sure that he hit somewhere else. The stab struck the side of the wyvern, piercing him, but his scales had seen more than enough battle, so it did not go as deep as it might have.

The wyvern howled with pain as its rider swung once again, his strength hampered somewhat by how quickly he had to react along with the desperation to end this quickly.

Realizing that the man he was going after has spotted him and moving in fast. The young mage tried to dodge him but was struck in the shoulder by the butt of thd horseman's lance. Thrown off focus and balance, he shot off a stray blade of wind striking the man's horse

Esria

She snapped her jaws, satisfied, and turned to see Tycho in trouble, struggling with his foe. She snalred and stormed over to the knight, and, making sire she was clear of the wyvern, took a swipe at him to take its attention off of the wyvern rider. She stayed fixed upon her target, trying to draw him away, or even better, destroy him.

He gave a long suffering sigh when he saw the lord enter a duel with the mercenary. It would be very hard to make a good impression while the Lord was off fighting his own battle, and Alexander knew he would anger him if he intervened.

Alexander's eyes darted around the battlefield, looking for where he'd be most helpful. The street was in chaos, bodies and overturned stalls littering the pavement and individual battles still raging like wildfire. It didn't take long for ALexander to identify the area of greatest need. A lone mage was squaring off with a heavily armored knight a few yards away, and had just been struck down. Hefting his blade, Alexander took off.

It probably would have served him to consider the situation. The odds were steeply against the young myrmidon. The knight was mounted, better armed, and judging by his age (certainly more than Alexander's paltry 18 years) probably more experienced. But Alexander did not like considering situations.

With a snarl he charged the man, swiping at the head of his horse, hoping to incapacitate the knight.

He did not give the knight any respite as he rushed forwards. The time to hide in the shadows was over, he needed a better shot. He needed to save that rider.

After the shot was fired he was already moving, the knight was caught off guard, and loosing his shield would help Viuc immensely. He crossed most of the courtyard and now had a greater potential for hitting one of the knights weaker spots, or even in the eye....Vic took another shot at the knight.

Knights

The knight fighting Tycho was quite unfortunate. Caught between the Wycern rider and a Dragon, he ended up with an axe lodged in his chest and a dragons claw through his back. He was dead within moments.

The one fighting Vic was unlucky as well. The arrow passed straight through his visor, piercing his skull and killing him almost instantly.
~~~~~
Barlon

The Paladin laughed while the two attacked him. While the wind harmlessly struck the horse's flank, barely shifting the armor, the rider deflected the swordsman's strike with a swing of his lance. Swinging his horse around, Barlon rode away from the group. After about twenty feet, he turned back around, calling out mockingly, "Go ahead and kill all my men before you have a go at me again. I like a good challenge!"
~~~~~
Norog

The fighter had his swing avoided by the horseman, but his second strike knocked the horse off of his rider. Deciding that there were greater threats to deal with, Norog instead turned and charged at the Myrmidon, swing his axe in for an overhead strike.

Tycho

He raised his axe in triumph as he saw the knight fall from the combined efforts of Drasil and the dragon. All that remained was a single fighter and the paladin that had lead the bandits, the latter of which may indeed require everyone assembled to deal with, for while he was indeed an outlaw, he possessed the skill and power of someone who had seen many battles and come out of them both the victor and alive. He turned to the dragon, praying that it would understand him. "I don't know if you even know what I'm saying, or if you're even willing to trust me, but don't go after that man on the horse just yet, he's the most dangerous man in his entire band of outlaws. If we're going to have any chance, we're going to need everyone to take him down."

With that he directed Drasil towards the fighter that was currently going after the myrmidon, the wyvern flying as fast as it was able to, while Tycho brought his axe forward in a sweeping motion at the fighters back.

He was about to charge at the cocky knight, his warnings be damned, when the fighter rushed him. The man was large and muscular, but he attacked with a noticeable lack of finesse. Alexander made like he was going to block the powerful overhead blow with his own blade, then slid to the right at the last second, darting his saber at the fighter's throat with a quick slash. He couldn't stand men who fought like brutes.

The mage dusted himself off and hung his head in disappointment about his failed attempt to take on the paladin. As he grabbed his book, he noticed the myrmidon swiftly counter the fighter that attacked him. Lucas hesitantly opened his tome, not sure if he should help or stay out of the way.

Esria
She eyed him, then snorted and did as instructed, falling back, not turned her back, but slowly walking backwards, eyes fixed upon her foes, tail twitching as she eyed them, then her eyes darted to the lordling, who was locked in battle with who she assumed was a high ranking member of the enemy forces...or at least one of the leaders.

Norog

The fighter was unlucky. As the Myrmidon slashed through his throat, the Wyvern Rider cut a gaping wound in his back, severing his lower spinal cord. His last thoughts were of the family he had left to join this group, in order to send them some gold to buy food...

~~~~~
Leon

The young man snapped out of his daze and looked about. The battle was nearly won. Without him. How could he have let himself be so disoriented? He had trained himself for these situations, why had it overcome him? Resolving to not let it happen again, he took a quick stock of the battle. Only two enemies remained, the Paladin and the man dueling Archron. Given that Archron would frown at anyone interfering with his honorable duel, Leon decided to focus on the Paladin. He was powerful, that much was clear. And his equipment was of considerable quality. He would be a dangerous foe. The only way they could defeat him was by working together all at once, and even then, it could cost some of them their lives. Raising his sword, he called out to the other soldiers,

"Hold here! We must regroup and attack him as one!"

~~~~~
Barlon

The Paladin sneered at the soldiers gathered before him. So weak, so foolish. They dared attack him? He had seen battles that they could only dream of. He had faced combatants that could single-handedly destroy the lot of them. He had served Grima himself! And now these impudent pups dared challenge him. They would know whom they faced, and then they would die.

"So, you dare face me in battle? You are stupid, ignorant fools if you think you can hope to defeat me. I will crush every single one of you beneath my feet! Even should you face me all at once, you will all die! I have fought wars in my time. I have faced opponents that would make children like you shake in your boots. I have served as a general in the armies of Grima himself! Only one battle have I lost, among the hundreds that I have fought. Only one, and that was to an enemy more powerful than you could ever hope to even comprehend. A man so great, that he was in the battle against Grima himself! No, you have no hope of defeating me no hope-"

The man's words drifted off as he looked past the soldiers and to the outskirts of the town. There, to far to see very clearly, was a man in blue armor riding atop a warhorse. But Barlon did not have to see his face in order to know who it was.

"You!" The Paladin shrieked, drawing his sword. "How can you be here!? I'll kill you!" With an oath the man charged past the makeshift party and quickly made his way the the Great Knight. Barlon swung his sword in a powerful swing at the Knight's chest. Having drew his own sword, the stone faced blue knight deftly parried the blow, and with one swift, accurate swing, beheaded the Paladin.

The corpse fell from the horse, and hit the grass with a dull thud. The Great knight looked for a moment at the body, before turning his horse around and riding away.

~~~~~
Archron

The duel had gone on for long enough. The fighters were evenly matched, and both were growing quite weary. Blow after blow was exchanged, each parried, blocked, or dodged. But finally, Archron slipped. His tired muscles didn't move quickly enough, and the mercenary's blade drew accross his should, cutting him badly. Biting back the pain, Archron drew his blade back for one more thrust. The mercenary had made his own mistake as well. When he had finally drew blood from his foe, he had let his guard down for but a moment. As the blade entered his chest, he realized that that mistake had cost him his life. Archron watched as the man sank to his knees, gripping the blade in his chest as he stared at it in disbelief, he looked up, and Archron met his eyes, watched as the life slowly ebbed away. The body fell, pulling the young lord's blade from his number hands. He himself stood in disbelief, his pain forgotten, as he stared at the body of the first man he had killed.

He watched the knight depart as quickly as he had come with some curiosity. The man had fought with a skill and decisiveness Alexander had not seen before, and he had fought in the company of some great mercenaries. He was going to make a move to loot the body when he saw the young noble standing stunned. The thugs body was crumpled up at the lords feet luckily, but the young man wasn't moving. And the contract had to be the first priority.

Alexander approached the young man and gave a concerned nod at his shoulder wound. The noble's face looked more stunned than he'd expected. "That's bleeding quite a bit, m'lord. I can have it bandaged up in a moment if you'd like."

Tycho

Satisfied with the fall of the fighter, and with the young lordling dealing with the apparent leader of these bandits, Tycho could focus his attention on the paladin, who would require the full might of all those gathered to deal with given the likelihood of being a veteran of many battles. As if to confirm this, the paladin began boasting of his accomplishments, one of them being how he had only lost a single battle in service of Grima. The mere mention of the fell dragon boiled Tycho's blood, that monster was nothing but trouble for Plegia these past few decades, leaving them with nothing but bodies and a nearly broken country.

He began to urge Drasil forward to do battle with the paladin when the arrogant horseman found something else to fight, but was quickly dispatched by whatever it was that had grabbed his attention. His leader followed shortly thereafter, but managed to wound the young lord before passing, leaving a young lord to be treated as the only one injured in their wake. Maybe this is the sign we've been waiting for, that we might finally strike back at the warlord that seeks to ruin Plegia once again. He looked down at Drasil to find that fatigue had finally caught up to the wyvern, who had landed due to being so tired from their patrol and jumping right into a battle, and that was ignoring his wounds.

Tycho dismounted inspected the wounds on his mount. He could spare a few minutes to check on the others, maybe see if the bandits had anything useful on them, but if he didn't get his wyvern some held soon, there would be problems. "Easy there" he rubbed the sides of his wyvern, who gave a low growl of discomfort as he tried his best to relieve the pain on his own. "You've survived worse, you big lump of scales, you can go a bit longer" the wyvern snarled weakly, but knew his rider did not truly sound as uncaring as he may have sounded. "I'll check on these others, then we'll get you some help, and maybe get you something a little 'religious.'" The paladin might make a decent meal for Drasil, who seemed to agree judging by the weak, toothy smirk he gave.

With his wyvern alright for the moment, Tycho made his way towards the young lord and the myrmidon who was attending to him. "How bad is it?" he asked a few paces from them, scanning the market place for any one else that might need aid.

Lucas breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the paladin fall. He didn't know who the man that took out the paladin was but he knew that if they crossed paths again he was going to thank him. Lucas walked over to dead paladin's body and searched for any items that may be useful to them. After patting the body down and finding nothing useful, Lucas headed over to the others and noticed that the young lord they rallyed behind was injured. "Is he going to be okay?"

Archron

The boy looked up at the concerned men slowly and shakily. At the mention of his shoulder, Archron looked down to see the blood running down his arm.

"I- I don't- I don't kn- know. It doesn't.. doesn't hurt. Oh by the gods, the look in his eyes..."

The young man began shaking all over, and uncontrollably. This was the most action and death he had tasted, and as usual, it left its mark.

~~~~~~~~~~
Villagers

People slowly began to exit their homes as the battle cleared and the enemy fell. Once they had determined it was safe, a large group of people surrounded the soldiers and began cheering, praising them for freeing the villagers from the gang.

One older man with a graying beard noticed the injury Archron had sustained. He had also noticed the medical tent set up just outside of town. Rushing away from the crowd, he made his way to the tent and entered. Seeing the man with a staff in his hand, the elder spoke quickly.

"There is an injured man in the town center! Please, please help him, he helped save us!"