"Pay attention to your surroundings. A single missed detail can turn a victory into a massacre."
If Byleth had to choose a single piece of advice his father had taught him over his years as a mercenary, this would easily have been the most important. He had seen these prophetic words come true time and time again. Byleth had seen groups of bandits to entire villages obliterated from negligence of the minutest details. Even their own mercenary group had run into rough patches due to ignoring Jeralt's statement.
Thus, Byleth had been trained ever since he was a child to watch his surroundings and take in any information he could from them. Even now as Jeralt and he scouted their next target, he was studying the location, trying to glean details. The pair were situated in a small alcove of trees and brush about a mile from their target. Byleth quickly squatted down searching for tracks or any footprints. If their targets frequented this alcove they would need to move before they were caught. The enemy in question was a small group of thieves that infiltrated a nearby town and had taken off with a load of food and supplies. Jeralt had tracked them to a small plateau several miles from the now starving village.
Satisfied that the area was devoid of footprints, Byleth quickly turned to the foliage around them. While the majority were still green, the edges of some of the plants had begun to wither and wilt. Most likely the area had experienced a lack of water. He quickly used a gloved finger to dig at the soil below. The dirt crumbled to his touch and digging deeper produced similar results. No rain for at least two weeks then…Jeralt's horse would have no trouble with slippery or muddy terrain. However, the humidity in the air was high, and the smell of rain was thick in the air. If they were going to make a move, they would need to do so without delay. Jeralt settled back from his position and held a small telescope out to Byleth.
"Start at the western end of the camp and sweep east." Byleth immediately complied, placing the spyglass to his right eye and closing his left.
"I see two guards: one with a sword, the other a spear," He muttered keeping his voice down. "No secondary weapons on their belts."
"Probably inexperienced." Jeralt commented. "The villagers reported that the group's attack was uncoordinated and imprecise. They broke into three storehouses before finding the one containing food. This group might have formed recently or have taken on a large number of new recruits." Byleth nodded before continuing his observation.
"They have a few defensive structures, shoddily made." It wasn't an understatement, if the ground was as hard as he had observed, those posts couldn't have been buried far in. Furthermore, it looked as if the contraptions would fall apart with a single sword swing. "Temporary base?"
"Most likely." Jeralt agreed. "They probably escaped and made their way here before realizing they were trying to carry too much to travel efficiently. From the way they are acting they are most likely trying to use up the excess before moving on." Byleth nodded in agreement, watching as several bandits hooted and hollered drunkenly. They were certainly celebrating their apparent victory. Finally, his vision reached the far side of the camp. There the plateau ended in a vertical drop, but that wasn't what attracted Byleth's attention.
"A weapon's cache?" Byleth's question wasn't directed at Jeralt. It was more one of confusion.
"Correct," Jeralt nodded. "They seem to have stored all their excess weaponry on the far side of their encampment. While a few of the men still have their weapons on them, many have decided to store them for the duration of their celebration. Their numbers peak at around mid-twenty to thirty." He gave Byleth a wide grin. "Think you can take them all on by yourself?"
"Hn," Byleth's only response was a grunt as he continued to gaze at the enemy camp. His father gave a sigh.
"That was a joke, would it kill you to laugh a little?" Byleth only grunted again, eyes not leaving the target. "So, what do you recommend as a plan of attack?" This was normal enough. As part of his training, Byleth was always asked to give his suggestion, and Jeralt would make comments on any areas that needed improvement and so on.
"The west entrance to the camp has posted guards and barricades. A frontal charge would have little effect as they would see us before we could even begin to attack." Jeralt nodded urging him to continue. "To the north is a wide field giving us little to no cover whatsoever. Archers could pick us off one by one. East of the camp is a vertical wall of rock that is impassible. Finally, to the south is a hill with a slight incline but has by trees and other foliage blocking the way. We could use them hide our approach, as well as possible shield if we are detected."
"Couldn't have said it any better myself." Jeralt gave a rough chuckle. "We have an hour till nightfall. We should wait a couple hours and then we can spearhead the camp from the south. If all goes well, we can take them by surprise and…" Jeralt trailed off and Byleth lowered the spy glass questioningly.
"Is everything all right?" All Byleth got in response was an outstretched hand beckoning for the telescope. Upon handing it over Jeralt immediately looked back at the plateau.
"Shit… I guess our plans just changed." Byleth immediately looked back to the camp at his father's exclamation. It was far but he could just make out that a group of people were coming up the hillside. It was hard to make out but, he could make out three colored specks, ascending the hill along with another group of bandits. One red, one blue, one yellow.
"Are those…?" Even before saying it, Byleth had come to the correct conclusion. Hostages, plain and simple. People the bandits were sure to use as human shields if things went south. Jeralt was right, the situation just got a lot more complicated.
"I recognize those uniforms." Jeralt gave a sigh before lowering the spyglass, "It looks like they've been led to the east end of the camp. We need to get them out of there as soon as we can. Without casualties." Byleth internally cursed, closing his eyes as his mind began working overtime. Three hostages being held with their backs to a hundred-foot drop. If they wanted to get the three out alive, they would need a better strategy and fast.
"Do you think our captives will be any good in a fight?" Byleth asked, as he sorted potential plans in his head. It was more of a place holder than anything, as he didn't really expect a favorable answer. To his surprise Jeralt laughed.
"Quite honestly, I think they might be better than some of our mercenaries." Jeralt stated, "They seem to be from the Officers Academy, which is basically a military academy. They'd certainly know their way around weaponry." That…was a pleasant surprise, if Byleth was honest. With that new piece of information an idea slowly began to form. If he didn't need to defend them then…
"I think I have a plan," Byleth said opening his eyes. Jeralt eyed his son warily.
"That was… rather fast." Jeralt said slowly. "You did think this plan through, right? None of the prisoners are going to be injured?" Byleth shrugged.
"Absolutely, but I am going to need you and the other mercenaries to cause a distraction at the bottom of the plateau." Jeralt quickly began to massage his temples to combat the oncoming headache. It seemed it was going to be one of those missions.
-Ω-
"Well this is rather unfortunate." The cocky attitude along with the smirk that Claude gave did little to increase Edelgard's mood. This apparently simple venture away from the monastery, had turned into a disaster upon being separated from their group. To begin with, being separated from the group had been a solid indication of how their situation would play out. It had taken a sharp turn for the worse when they had encountered the bandits. Then Claude had tried to bail on Dimitri and her, fleeing into the woods. In desperation, they had chased after him, only to be cornered between their pursuers and a lake. The trio were then subsequently captured and dragged to this plateau. Which eventually lead to their current predicament. Hands and legs tied in some goddess forsaken bandit camp in the middle of nowhere.
"If you didn't run away like a coward, we could have held the line." Dimitri argued struggling against his bonds. Despite his valent efforts, he only earned rope burn on his cuffs where the line greedily chafed his exposed skin. Edelgard had paused the fruitless activity in favor of examining her surroundings. But aside from realizing that her two ways out were either through a camp of bandits or down a hundred-foot drop, she had yet to discover anything crucial.
"Shut up both of you!" Edelgard hissed. "If you have time to argue, then put that effort into something useful." To validate her claim, she once again struggled at her bonds. The effort was as futile as before, the knots only becoming tighter as she struggled. She could feel the desperation mounting deep in her chest. Their outlook were rather bleak, and no amount of hope was going to save them.
"Someone's in a bad mood." Claude gave a small chuckle. "I mean considering the circumstances, you're the last one they are going to throw off. Several of the bandits looked quite pleased with your arrival." Edelgard shot him a glare and Claude quickly shut his trap.
"How disgusting," Dimitri spat, sending Claude a frown of his own. "This is not the time for your disgusting jokes." As ill-mannered as the joke is, Claude's statement rang true. Edelgard could feel her stomach churn at the likely possibility of a drunken bandit coming to get her for… nightly activities. She had gotten one or more lecherous glances when they entered the camp. Not for the first time did she wish that she had worn less appealing attire. She was shaken from her thoughts as the sound of heavy, uneven footfalls approached the three.
"Hey, new gurl." The slurred words are quickly followed by the appearance of an inebriated man, his cheeks rosy from a night of drinking. He struggled to make his way to the trio, and as he grew closer Edelgard could smell the alcohol coming off him in waves. "Imma gonna be taking yer fur' a ride tonight." The man chuckled clearly finding the situation far more humorous than Edelgard. Without waiting Edelgard began to once more desperately struggle against her bonds. The bandit's laughter only increased seeing her depression. "Lookie her', I gets to hav' me a feisty one tonight."
"Get away from me!" Edelgard tried to move back but with a vertical drop behind her, she had nowhere to run.
"Nowher' to run luv," the man leaned in close and Edelgard almost vomited from the stench invading her nostrils. "Don't yer wor'y, it'll feel gud soon enuff." Anything else the man was going to say was lost as an armored hand, of all things, emerged from beyond the cliff's edge. The group froze as a second hand joined the first, then with a grunt a man emerged from the cliffside. Edelgard could only stare wide eyed as the green haired man hoisted himself up. As he straightened himself, his azure blue eyes quickly darted around taking in his surroundings. For a second his piercing gaze locked onto her and she shivered from the intensity.
"Wha-" the bandit was having a difficult time keeping up with the series of events, especially with his alcohol-encumbered brain. "Who a'e y-"
The stranger didn't waste a moment, and quickly drove a dagger into the criminal's throat. With a single bloody gurgle, the man folded. Withdrawing the dagger in one fluid motion, the stranger quickly disposed of the body, tossing it from the cliffside. He eyes then landed on the trio once more.
"Hands and feet." Edelgard blinked at the man in confusion until she realized he meant to cut them free of their bonds. She quickly twisted giving the stranger access to her hands bound behind her back. As he worked on the ropes, he informed them of the situation. "My father's mercenary group is going to gather at the base of this camp shortly. You are all in a good enough condition to fight, correct?"
"I suppose we could fight," Claude said with a small smirk, "but we are going to need some weapons."
"Understood," The man nodded, motioning the students to follow him. "The bandits have a storage tent nearby. It should have all the weapons you could need." The group quickly departed keeping low and sticking to the shadows. The sun had set, but the firelight still illuminated a large area of the camp.
"May I ask your name?" Dimitri was the first to speak as they snuck through the tents. The man gave a single look back before answering.
"Byleth." The trio waited for more, but the man remained silent. Seeing how focused he was on the operation it made sense. Or maybe he didn't talk much.
"Well," Dimitri tried again, "allow me to thank you for-" Byleth quickly held up a hand effectively silencing Dimitri and causing the students to stop moving. After confirming they had frozen, Byleth spoke.
"Wait ten seconds, then follow." He then crouched low and dashed out of sight. A few seconds later a wet slicing was heard along with dulled thump. Once the allotted time had passed Edelgard crept forward the others following. Byleth was disposing of another body as they arrived, and he nodded to a nearby tent. "Get your weapon of preference and then we can go over a strategy. Quickly, we are short on time." The three dove into the tent and came out half a minute later equip with an axe, a lance and a bow. The equipment wasn't well-maintained, but it was better than nothing.
"How many do they number," Edelgard asked trying to peek around a tent at the gathering of bandits.
"About thirty to forty, if we include of the group that brought you here." Byleth responded tightening his gloves. "Most are weaponless, which is why they will come rushing here when our allies begin the attack." The trio nodded. They would be guarding the weapons depot, thus any bandit that did make their way there would most likely be unarmed and easy to kill.
"So, we splitting up?" Claude asked quickly notching an arrow, "each of us taking a direction to defend?" The mercenary shook his head.
"No, stay here. I will be attacking the main force and-"
"Absolutely not." Dimitri broke in. "I will not allow you to fight a group of forty men alone."
"I agree," Edelgard voiced stepping forward. "Even if you told us to stay back, I would still follow." Their declaration was met with an expressionless face. It was almost unnerving how unreadable he was. Finally, after a few seconds, Byleth sighed.
"Then I have a new plan. Listen closely."
-Ω-
Kostas laughed as he finished another mug of ale. While their raid hadn't been flawless, they had gotten more than enough supplies to last them for a while. Food and drink had been their main targets, but they also taken many of the villager's products. Clothing, blankets, and small sculptures had all been thrown in a bag to sell at the black market. Not to mention the handfuls of gold they had stolen. The real cherry on top had been the three prisoners that hand managed to capture. He didn't know their origins, and he didn't particularly care, but they were certainly dressed well enough to be worth something at market.
"Kostas!" one of the bandits guarding the front had coming running into main camp. "We have movement at the base of the camp.
"Are they hostiles?" He asked wiping the excess drink from his lips.
'We don't know sir. That's why I came to get you." Kostas could only groan. Being the leader of the bandit camp certainly had its perks, but he could do without babysitting the morons. Grumbling he got up, slowly making his way to the front. Hopefully it was just some wild animal and he could go back to celebrating. Upon reaching the crest of the hill he squinted into the darkness trying to perceive what had spooked the guard. His eyes immediately locked onto the shifting shadows; the guard quickly pointing them out. It looked harmless enough, seeing as whatever it was looked to be staying at the bottom of the hill. Most likely deer or some sort of animal.
"Give me your bow. Maybe we can scare them off." Kostas said grasping for the guard's weapon. In moments, the arrow was released and flew off into the dark. Kostas wasn't really concerned with accuracy at this point seeing as any wild animal would flee at the noise the arrow would make. However, his stomach sank at what happened. The sound of a horn echoed throughout the hillsides and the shadows began to charge the hill. He stared wide eyed for a second until it finally clicked. Those shadows were people and they were under attack. He drew in a breath ready, to shout a warning.
"ATTACK!" before Kostas could bellow, another scream pierced the air. One from within the camp. Immediately Kostas turned, running back into the site, where the screams and shouts had begun to escalate. His jaws dropped at the chaos that had ensued. Several men lay scattered, bloodied and broken, while others tried to fight the intruders to the camp. His eyes fell on the trio they had captured just an few hours earlier. The boy dressed in yellow was firing arrows with deadly precision, hardly taking any time to notch the next arrow before letting it fly. The boy in blue wielded a lance like a monster, using both the tip and the handle to deal damage to his disorganized crew. Then there was the girl in red, who despite her lithe frame wielded an axe, crushing and killing his men like they were rag dolls.
However, there was one more and he was easily the most dangerous of all. His sword moved like water, tearing through the bandits like a hot knife through butter. He never stood still, always taking out the enemies with precision and focus. It was unnerving that even through all the blood and screams his expression never changed.
Three bandits charged him simultaneously, and he had met their charge without hesitation. He ducked low under the first swipe of a sword and delivered a strong strike to the gut sending the man stumbling back. Another stepped forward, trying to strike at the man's head, but the green haired man twisted avoiding the strike by inches. A knife was pulled from his belt and found its way into the attacker's throat. The last bandit lunged, his spear striking at the chest, but was thwarted when the intruder deftly deflected the spear with his sword and then followed up with a slash to the chest. The man finally returned to the first bandit who had yet to recover from the blow and finished him off with a single swipe.
It was too much to take in. All Kostas knew was that man was killing his soldiers like flies and he needed to be stopped. Without another thought, he charged, and his blade was met by the young man's. They stood there for a second, blades locked in a contest of strength, his snarl opposed by the man's indifference. With a shout, Kostas pushed forward trying to unbalance the man. However, the move had been expected, and the stranger leapt away before Kostas' attack could be effective. Still Kostas refused to let up, chasing the man and assaulting him with a flurry of swings and slashes. The man stood his ground parrying and dodging the attacks. It was then that Kostas made a mistake, overextending into one of his attacks. The man countered immediately, sidestepping the blow and lunging with his sword at Kostas' head. He tilted his head as far as it could go but the blade still sliced his cheek.
"You bastard!" Kostas growled grasping his wound. "You'll pay for that." His opponent remained stone-faced watching him with sharp eyes, his sword at the ready. This was bad, by now the attack group from the front of the camp would be there in moments and half if not more of his group was dead. He needed a way out. Both east and west were out seeing as one had an army and the other was a cliff. North would give him no cover so the forest to the south was his best bet. Now all he needed was a distraction.
Said distraction was another foolish bandit trying to take his opponent on from behind. The man immediately reacted dodging the strike before cutting him down, but that was all the time Kostas needed. He fled south to the waiting bosom of the trees. Yet even as he approached another obstacle stepped in his way. The girl in red blocked his path, wielding her axe menacingly. He didn't have time for this. Kostas met her head on, and they quickly exchanged blows. She was skilled, he would give her that, but his weapon was superior. Seconds into their small fight, his luck came through. Her axe's handle snapped from overuse, leaving her defenseless. With a grin, Kostas stepped forward to deliver the final blow when the young man from before appeared shielding the girl from the attack. It made no difference to him, and he brought his axe down with glee.
-Ω-
"Are you an idiot or just plain stupid?" The voice was familiar, and it took Byleth a moment to match the name to it. He opened his eyes and there sat Sothis, the girl within his dreams. Once more he was within a completely dark world. As always Sothis was seated on her throne. However now she was looking at him with eyes of contempt and disgust.
"I asked you a question," Sothis spoke again, her expression growing cross. "Why the hell did you think that jumping in front of the girl would be the best choice of action?!"
"My father said that we had to protect the-" Byleth started before Sothis snapped.
"There were hundreds of ways you could have protected the girl if you have been using the brain in your head!" She yelled. "But instead you used the brain between your legs and decided to play the part of the heroic sacrifice! When will you learn! When you die, I die and that is unacceptable!" With her tirade at an end, she stopped taking deep breaths to calm herself. Byleth took the chance to speak.
"So, what do we do now? Am I dead or is this just some last conversation before the inevitable?"
"I have stopped the hands of time," Sothis explained. "But yes, as soon as I allow time to flow again, you will die. Which is not really a great option." Byleth quickly thought about the situation he was in. His was facing the bandit which was a good start however his sword was too low to bring up in time. No matter how he tried to dodge the blow, it would be fatal or heavily crippling at the least. The harder he racked his brain the more impossible it seemed, much to his frustration.
"If only I had more time…" he lamented. "then I could defend us from the attack."
"More time…" Sothis echoed taking a thoughtful stance. "Perhaps it could be possible?"
"What could be possible?"
"Giving you more time," Sothis answered. "I could turn back the hands of time. Not by a large amount, but certainly a couple of seconds. Would that be enough for you to avoid our fates?" Byleth quickly nodded.
"Yes, that would be more than enough."
"Very well, then," Sothis said with a smile. "I will turn back time. Please be more careful this time all right?" With that Byleth felt the world pulse and watched in slow motion as time seemed to rewind itself. Then it was over, and he was sprinting at the bandit full tilt. Instead of trying to stop the attack however he rammed the bandit at full force sending the man flying back.
"You all right?" Byleth asked keeping his eyes on the recovering bandit. It wouldn't do to lose focus again. He had no idea if Sothis could pull off the same miracle twice.
"Ye-Yes, thanks you," the girl responded, clearly still shaken from the encounter. The bandit had finally gotten to his feet, but instead of attacking he fled into the trees. The girl moved to follow, but Byleth caught her by the shoulder. At her questioning gaze, he simply shook his head.
"Pick your battles." It seems Jeralt words of wisdom never ran dry and after a moment the girl nodded and gave him a small smile.
"Byleth!" Jeralt came ridding up on his horse, examining the camp for any remaining threats. "Are the students ok?" As if on cue, the other two prisoners ran up smiles wide.
"That was amazing!" the boy in yellow laughed. "I can't believe we won with those odds."
"I would have to agree." The boy in blue spoke up. "And we owe it all to Byleth. Without his tactical planning, I doubt we would have done as well as we did."
"Indeed," the girl in red nodded. "Not to mention he was the one to free us from our binds." She paused here, expression growing thoughtful. "But where did you come from? There was a vertical drop behind us and you couldn't have climbed that in armor…" She trailed off, looking at Byleth for a response.
"It was the best option." He replied with a shrug. "I needed to free you all as soon as I could, and they would never expect an attack from the East. It was killing two birds with one stone." The trio stared at him in shock. Byleth gave them all a blank stare. He hadn't said it was easy. The climb had been brutal with all that weight, and he had to be nearly silent to not blow his cover. But perhaps he would keep that part to himself.
"All right, I think we have all been through enough today." Jeralt quickly stepped into the conversation diverting the attention away from Byleth. "why don't we all head back to the village and-"
"Stand down evil doers! The knights of Serios have arrived!" A man in glaring white armor stormed up the hill, a small group of knights following behind him. Byleth sighed, it looked like their night was far from over.
-Ω-
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In regards to my other stories, New Beginnings and Embark, I unfortunately can't give any promises on updates. My time is rather limited due to work and that is simply the reality of the situation.