Two Arisen and their pawns coursed the Western Gransys fields. A girl of honesty and courage, and a man of mystery and vagrance. In front of them were two expressionless beings. One, a young woman of wonder and selflessness. The other, a man of duty and loyalty. The monsters in the plains watched meticulously as they walked their lands. Arya stared at her sword, still sharp and well-kept. She glanced at Ace's daggers, which were ridden with chips and notches. She smiled, "Now that I think of it, I was always a neat person," she thought to herself. A crackling sound was heard, almost like ice breaking.
-crrack-
Arya looked down at bottom-half of her shield as it lie stabbed into the ground. She looked back up at her comrades who all had their weapons drawn.
Ace took a breath, "Whew. False alarm. Holy- Arya what happened?"
Arya stared blankly at the heavily damaged halves of her shield. After a few moments, she gasped, "We're under attack by invisible sword masters!" Ace smacked his forehead.
Kairo chuckled, "It may be time to replenish your gear, milady."
Arya paused, "That makes more sense. But without a shield, how do I defend myself?" She looked at her comrades again, who all shrugged seemingly at the same time.
"None of us use shields," said Ace.
"Or swords," Kairo input.
They continued in the open fields, the pleasant weather fueled Arya's tread. The cool wind blew around them, and the sun warmed their backs.
"Hey, does anyone know what that is?" Asked Arya, pointing toward the cliffs.
"It's a cyclops," said Ace, still walking. The group continued for a bit before he suddenly stopped, "It's a cyclops!" The giant beast turned toward them, approaching quickly with a troupe of hobgoblins.
Arya drew her sword, "I got a plan! You guys distract him, and I'll climb his back and strike his eye!"
Ace turned toward her, "Are you joking? That's a terrible idea."
Ceres drew an arrow, "What should we do? Their numbers are overwhelming." Ace looked at Kairo and nodded. Only seconds had passed when the humongous monster was in front of them, 30 feet tall and 15 feet wide. It's skin was a greenish shade of gray and it smelled of bones. The cyclops swung its huge club. Ace grabbed Arya, carrying her over his shoulder. Kairo did the same to Ceres. Kairo ran around the hobgoblins, knocking over any that stood in his way. Ace ran around the other side, and dashed toward the cliffs. "Criminy, Arya you need to lose some weight!"
She pounded his back, "Shut up!" Ace and Kairo jumped from the cliff and slid down the ledge. It was a rough ride for Arya. Ceres stayed creepily calm during the descent. They reached the bottom with a tumble before landing. Kairo stood up, dusting himself off. Ace sprung up quickly with a grin, "Job well done!"
They high-fived each other, Ceres stood up. "What are we to do about those saurians?" There was an awkward moment of silence as Arya got up, "What's wrong?" She asked.
"Crap crap crap!!" Ace ran ahead of the rest of the party, leaping over boulders and oxen.
Arya dodged a spear, "I'm really starting to ill-like saurians!"
Ceres ran casually, dodging the flying spears with ease, "Well, there's no reason to dislike the species, Arisen. They're actually more territorial than they are volatile."
Arya ran faster, "Not the time, Ceres!"
"Quick, hop in!" Yelled a man from a carriage. He had long eyelashes and short black hair. Ace jumped in the back. Kairo, Ceres and Arya joined shortly afterward. The man whipped the oxen, causing them to run forward. After a while, the saurians went back to their nest.
Arya sighed, "What a relief. Say, what's your name stranger?"
"I am called Reynard. Pleasure to make your acquaintance."
Ace raised an eyebrow at the slightly feminine man, but shrugged it off. "Hey man. We're armed and numerous, what makes you think we won't rob you blind? You've got some good stuff back here."
Reynard smiled, "Go ahead. If you don't protect me, I'll get robbed in a few minutes anyway."
Kairo's eyes widened, "What do you mean, ser?" Ace elbowed him.
Reynard continued, "We're coming to a bandit fort."
Arya spoke up, "Yeah, we'll protect you!" Ace smacked his forehead.
They approached a old, battle-damaged fort. It was covered in foliage and flora. From a distance, it was a beautiful site. However, it was surrounded by bandits, armed to the teeth. As they came closer to the fort, Ceres stood up and aimed her bow. Arya smacked her thigh, "Ceres, stop!" The pale-eyed pawn looked down, "But Arisen, these bandits could prove to be a thr--"
"I said, stop!"
Reynard only glanced back at the two. Ace flicked a gold coin at Arya, "What do you suggest we do, then?"
She stood up, "I think we should make peace with them!"
Kairo raised his eyebrows, "I like this plan."
Ace folded his arms, "Guys, that makes no sense! These people will kill us!"
Ceres raised her finger, "Arisen, I've formulated a plan!" Minutes later, the carriage was stopped.
A masked man with white eyes approached them calmly, "Alright you know how this goes."
Reynard chuckled nervously, "Well you see, I..." The bandits' numbers increased slowly.
Ceres stepped out of the carriage with her Brigandine Jerkin slightly unfastened, "Oops.."
The first bandit's white eyes widened, "What the..?"
Ceres leaned her back against the carriage, raising her leg. "I hope you're not here to... take my goods." She looked to the left, slightly blushing.
"Well damn it, Ceres," groaned Ace as he struggled against his bindings. Arya shoulder-bumped him, "Shut up, pervert. First off you probably loved it, secondly she did her best. What we need to focus on now is escaping and rescuing Gayn- I mean Reynard." Kairo looked over, "Did you just--"
"Anyways, we still have our legs. I can take these thugs," assured Ace. While the bandits gathered around Reynard's goods, Ace stood up and slowly stepped to the side. From the shadows a man with a shining-bald head stepped out, dealing a fierce straight kick to Ace's chest.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
The other bandits turned around. Ace planted his feet in the dirt, barely saving his fall, "Alright then, bring it on. One kick each!" He leapt into the air, spinning multiple times. "Take this!" A bandit with wild hair appeared in front of him, catching him with the palm of his hand, and pushing him to the ground. Ace stumbled back, being caught by another bandit and cut loose.
"If you want to fight, fight Basilard."
Ace loosened his shoulders and cracked his neck, facing the bald man. "It should be easy to knock down old gramps here."
Basilard laughed, "I'm 32. Also, I can get on my feet from any position! Hitting the ground won't end the fight for me." Ace raised his brow and assumed a stance.