Linde Xe' Almna's Story

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As the discussion and negotiations between the Bandit Leader and Kyero as he was known continued to a crescendo, the shrine maiden remained on alert, but she felt something rising in the pit of her stomach. And it wasn’t the fact she was hungry. Was it dread? Fear? As it was decided that she and a few others would fight for the livelihood of this town in such desperate odds, Okumi couldn’t misplace it. Twenty men, and to be divided evenly, that would be four or five each. Sure, she had fought off the occasional stray bandit or mugger in her time, but that was individually. She was practically self-taught, and by no means a professional. Instinct and quick judgement was all she had, and these men fought, murdered and pillaged for a living. She had no doubt that the warriors could handle their own, but if she fell here, would that ruin everything and the bandits would launch the all out attack? Who even knew if they’d keep their word even after this ludicrous fight?

It was at that point that Kyero and Linde turned to her and the other two warriors, apologising, but making a final plea for their assistance. At that point, there was no turning back. Giving a simple nod before holding her hand up, Okumi made a simple ‘Okay’ signal, leaning down to remove her travel bag, retrieving her Naginata and making a few steps forward into the street as her wooden sandals clacked on the ground. Undoing the clasps and string holding the sheath around the blade, Okumi tossed it back behind her towards her bag. Planting her staff, Okumi made a short but silent prayer with her hands. If this was to be another test by the gods, she would just have to find a way to meet it. Opening her eyes and pulling her Naginata from the ground, Okumi spun it twice through her hands, once again becoming accustomed to its weight. Compared to her burdens, it was light as a feather. With the pointed end pointed towards her enemy, she lowered her body, ready to face the bandits to the end. No matter what happened, this would be a defining moment of her life. It was time.

The shout of the Bandit leader to finish them rattled Okumi, and it was only then that she realised her leg was trembling. That brief moment of hesitation to glance back was almost the end of her, an arrow ripping through the air just narrowly missing her head, making her eyes widen in fear and surprise. Recoiling back as if she’d actually been hit, she barely managed to keep her footing and correct herself in time to see the two men coming at her, a longsword on one and a handaxe and shield for the other. Her hesitation was giving plenty of time for the archer and his companion with the crossbow to notch up and prepare another shot, and at this point, the last man with his pike was simply standing back and smirking. Did they not take her seriously?

“Look at this one, she’s shaking like a rabbit.” The swordsman spoke, and as the two got closer, they began to circle around her, staying wary of her range advantage over them. They knew she was scared, but they also knew that didn’t mean they could completely let their guard down. Inching about as they circled her, Okumi continued to glance between the two, while simultaneously trying to keep an eye on the three at a distance. They could fire again at any moment, and if she made a careless advance or step that could be her end. “Shame we have to mess her up. But maybe we can still have some fun if she’s not dead by the time we’re done with her?” The brute with the axe spoke that time, and made a despicable face Okumi wouldn't soon forget.

The swordsman or the axe wielder? Which would move first? Seconds later, she got her answer as the man with the blade attempted to rush forward. Immediately, Okumi adjusted her naginata, but as the man moved to the side she quickly came to the realisation that this was a feint. Attempting to turn as quickly as she could, she choked up her spear in a bid to increase the turn speed, but it was far too unwieldy to get back in time. The horizontal slash was interrupted as he caught the shaft, and in that moment, she knew he was upon her as the axe was bearing down on her shoulder. Dropping her Naginata and ducking to the side to avoid the brunt of the blow, Okumi cried out in pain as the man swiftly brought his knee into her face, sending her sprawling into the dirt as she fell back. Mocking laughter came from the man, who simply tossed her naginata to the side.

“You lost girl. Just surrender peacefully, and I’ll make sure it’s not so bad for you. It’ll be fun, trust me.” Okumi winced as she remained on the ground, glancing around her. By now, the three at the back were practically holstering their weapons, and the swordsman was letting his friend take command. Just like that, she’d already lost. She’d let everyone down. Trembling still, her hands clenched into fists as she attempted to push herself up off the ground, but she could only give out a sharp cry of pain as she was wrenched up by her hair, now looking deep into the brigand’s face as he eyed her over. Instinctively, her hands had moved to claw at the ones on her head, but she froze as she saw he’d tucked his axe into his belt and was now reaching towards her mask. “Let’s see that pretty face of yours-”

“..!” All at once, the adrenaline began to hit Okumi and her body moved. With her left hand, she lobbed a cloud of dust into his face, staggering him a moment. Next, she followed with a kick to his stomach. It wasn’t particularly strong, but it distracted him long enough for her to flick her sandal off. It was a move born of desperation, and the bandit never saw it coming as his handaxe was knocked into the air. Catching it with her right hand, Okumi swiftly switched to a reverse grip as she brought it down into his throat with a desperate war cry, punching the sharp side into a lethal cut as she fell forward with his body, the bandit’s hand going limp as she was released. Rolling forward with her momentum, she could hear the cries of alarm and swearing from the other Bandits, so she only had a few seconds to take advantage of the confusion. Getting up into a pirouette she leapt, and with surprising precision, the handaxe flew through the air, striking the man with the crossbow in a shoulder gash - not enough to kill by any means, but for now, he was incapacitated.

Her breathing heavy, Okumi continued her spin as she reached her weapon, spinning in time to look up at the swordsman approaching her. “You bitch!” He swore at her, but in his anger, his approach was predictable and he hadn’t noticed that she was once again armed. A quick thrust was all it took to pierce through his stomach, Okumi grimacing at the blood, but quickly retrieved her Naginata as she turned to look at the remaining three, now scrambling to take her down. An arrow was loosed, but Okumi was ready, her arms moving just in time as the shot became entangled between her long sleeves. The outfit was a bit ruined, but that was the least of her worries now. Both sandals lost to combat, Okumi was now sprinting up on the pike wielder, and like her, he’d moved to hold his ground and let her own momentum work against her. The difference was that Okumi knew her own weapon’s weakness, and learned from her mistakes. As he planted himself to deal with her assault, Okumi shifted, instead taking a berth around him as she didn’t stop, closing in instead on the ranged attackers of the group. Seeing Okumi so close before he could draw another arrow, the archer already had his short sword out, and charged to meet her. In this sort of scenario however, she had the advantage. Before he could get anywhere close to striking her, there was a flash of steel as the Naginata cut through the air, slicing at his torso.

Not content to stop there, Okumi was moving to follow up on the crossbowman, who was bringing his weapon to level against her despite the pain from the axe that had struck him. At this sort of range, there was no avoiding his shot, but- Crying out in pain as the bolt ripped through her shoulder, Okumi fought through the injury as she closed in for another decisive slash, stumbling a bit as she took him down. Skidding across the dirt, panting, sore and exhausted, she forced herself back up again to look at the last enemy. Raising her Naginata, she couldn’t stop her gasp of agony as it felt like a fire had been lit in her shoulder. Damn, she couldn’t wield her weapon properly with that sort of injury. Shifting her weapon to her non-dominant hand, Okumi knelt for a moment to recover before making her approach at her last adversary, her injured arm trailing somewhat limply behind her.

Reaching the final soldier, she knew she wouldn’t be fast enough to outmaneuver his pike in a joust, nor was she strong enough to brute force it away with her Naginata in her weakened state. As she closed the range, her Naginata dragging slightly along the ground in front of her, the Bandit gave his own war cry as he thrusted straight at Okumi’s core. And then, the clang of metal as it was dragged to the side, Okumi unable to stop herself from smiling behind her mask as her plan came to fruition. Using the the hook on the back of the small hand axe she’d concealed behind her, she’d managed to drag his shaft out from hitting her, even with her injured arm. Unprepared for such a close range attack, the bandit could only cry out as his final breath left him, Okumi having choked up her Naginata once more for close range stab to his neck.

As his weight fell against her, Okumi twisted and pulled her weapon free, taking a step back to let him drop to the ground as she panted, dropping the handaxe to her side. She was injured and bleeding in various places, but she was alive. And she’d won. Staggering slightly back towards the group, she felt a little dizzy, but was stable for now. Faintly, she realised she could taste blood in her mouth, likely from when she’d took that knee to the face. She’d need a new mask. Using her weapon as something of a walking stick, while her other arm clutched her shoulder, Okumi made her way towards the alleyway, stealing a glance towards her other comrades to see how they were fairing. Hopefully better than she had gone. Finally, as she reached the alleyway, she gave the faintest gesture. 'V for Victory'.

The battle had begun with the words "Finish them quickly!"

Kyero, keeping his gaze on the leader, didn't move a muscle as five large and well-armed men rushed at him. What followed was almost like watching a ballet. Kyero, keeping his left foot rooted in the same spot the entire time, spun, ducked, and leaned out of the way of all five as they went sailing past him.

They all spun and turned to face him again, only to hear a 'CRACK' behind them as one of them fell to the ground holding his jaw and growling in pain. They looked up and saw that Linde had just retaken her stance with hands up ready to fight.

"Take my word for it. You're nowhere near his level. So try me instead!" She goaded them.

The bandits looked to each other, looked to their comrade who was in the process of getting up revealing a now broken jaw, and then back to Linde as they all cried in rage and rushed her at the same time.

Linde quickly backpedaled away from them to keep the distance safe, and waited patiently until she saw what she was looking for.

Don't ever let multiple enemies spread out around you. It's a losing situation. Try to move until they start lining up behind one another in their desperation to reach you. It's safer, and you deal with fewer enemies at a time. Their momentum and positioning both work against them.

Linde skidded to a halt as three of them lined up with one another while she had been turning to the side, and slammed the heel of her boot in a spinning kick into the lower abdomen and upper groin of the first in line. She quickly used his momentum to spring launch backwards into a backflip, landing gracefully on her feet, and watched as they fell onto one another in a pile.

The other two, however, had gone around and were now on top of her.

Linde rushed to parry the blow of the one on her left, but received a sharp punch across the face from the one on her right sending her sprawling to the ground and skidding across the dirt. The impact and friction tore off a small layer of skin over her left cheek and forced her to bite the inside of her mouth causing blood to begin seeping inside. She spat out a mouthful of red liquid and tried to stand, but was pushed down onto the ground by the one who punched her. He straddled her, his groin above her posterior and his hands holding hers on the ground.

"How now, girlie? Still all full of that bravado, eh?" He asked.

Linde struggled to gain some form of leverage, but it was no use. The other bandit walked up beside her as the others stood up to watch with sick smiles on their faces. The one who walked up beside her kneeled down and grabbed her hair, forcing her head up so he could look at it.

"Damn. We fucked her face pretty good already."

"Well, now we're just gonna fuck her. Sound like a fair trade?" The one straddling her asked.

They started laughing and both picked her up off the ground and made moves to take off her clothing. But in doing so had to release one of her hands, and that was all she needed. The instant her hand was set free she reached up and back over her head to grab the hair of the one holding onto her and pulled his face into the back of her head, breaking his nose and staggering him. He let go, and Linde was 100% free as she ducked down and punched into the other man's groin as hard as she could. She felt something give way beneath her fist, which was rather sickening, but didn't stop there. She launched herself up and drove both fists into the underside of his chin and extended her fingers to rake his throat.

Her nails dug in deeply and slashed open eight long, neat lines of flesh along the throat which were instantly red and bloody as he staggered backwards holding his groin. As he staggered, she spun around kicking across his temple which resulted in his being knocked out. The other was just now starting to recover, and the other three were rushing in as well. She had to move fast!

She rushed to the one who was recovering and pulled his dagger from behind his back, slamming it all the up to the hilt into his kidney before pulling it free and doing so again into his lung. He would not last long, now. She pushed him forward towards his companions who went around brandishing their own weapons against her. Two swords and one double-bladed axe.

Linde jumped back to avoid the axe swing, and parried one sword stab off to the side. But the third swung down hard at her head forcing her to attempt another parry. But he was too strong and put too much force into it. The sword pushed down against her dagger and dug into her shoulder about half an inch before she managed to get control and stop him. With his blade now in her shoulder, she was free to take the dagger under his arms and slash his throat. He staggered back, gripping the now gaping wound and choking on his own blood, and fell to the ground.

Linde pushed the sword free, but was too late to stop the other sword user from slamming into her and knocking her to the ground once again. She turned and saw him aiming to stab straight down into her chest, but all she could do was roll to the side to avoid a direct blow. But he still managed to get part of the blade to slice down through the flesh of her shoulder blades causing her great pain. She rolled onto her stomach and tried to stand, but was kicked onto her side by the axe wielder who stood off to her right and aimed to decapitate her with a downward swing. Linde swiftly lurched her body sideways, scraping her fresh shoulder wounds against the dirt opening them slightly farther, and reached up to grab his groin.

He froze as his axe hit the ground next to her. She squeezed hard for all her worth until she felt two pops in her fist. She let go and rolled to her feet before pushing him around and in front of her as she sensed a stab coming behind her. She was right. The sword impaled the bandit she was using as a shield, but still managed to puncture part of her lower abdomen by about an inch or two. Linde let the two of them fall to the side after pulling herself back and off the blade, and as she tugged them both off balance she picked up the axe, held it high above her head, and drove it down into the spine of the final sword wielder.

Both men went still after a few moments, and Linde dropped to her knees panting deeply and hissing through her teeth at the pain she was in.

...

It was over.

The leader was dumbfounded and left gawking at the results.

"How-... How could this happen?"

Kyero's smile beneath the hood never left. It only grew.

"I believe we had a deal." He said, approaching the leader with both orichalcum blades drawn.

Not only was orichalcum the strongest metal on Earth and nigh indestructible, but if it was forged properly an orichalcum blade could slice through even other metals as if they were nothing but paper. A human body stood no chance.

The leader was still in shock, but he looked up at Kyero and drew his own blade to defend himself. He rushed at Kyero, and in a blink he had raised his weapon high above his head and came down aiming a slice down Kyero's middle. But for Kyero, the attempt was laughable. He simply turned his body and stepped slightly to one side, and the man's blade struck nothing but air and dirt as it embedded itself into the ground.

The leader looked up at Kyero, who pulled back his hood revealing his face, his raven black hair, and his glowing red eyes for all to see.

The leader's face went pale as a sheet, and he stammered incoherently as Kyero raised one orichalcum blade up to his throat.

"All businesses fail eventually. It's just a matter of how? And the how for you... Was hubris."

The orichalcum blade was then pushed forward with great speed force, slicing through flesh and bone before emerging behind his neck and being pushed skyward. Kyero had guided the blade through all of the soft tissues in his throat and in between the vertebrae of his spinal chord to make the cut that much cleaner. The leader's head slowly fell from his shoulders and rolled to the ground at Kyero's feet, who turned towards the others with a deadly glare.

He held the bloody orichalcum blade up and pointed it at them.

"Let this be a warning to all of you," he said loudly as he pointed his second dagger at the leader's body. "This man led you to murder the innocent for nothing but pleasure. There is no business here. Wealth comes with a price, and the price for him was death."

He turned the blade he pointed at them, blood still dripping from it to the ground.

"What will the price of whatever wealth you have accumulated be?"

The other bandits had also gone pale as sheets not only because of Kyero's eyes, but because their leader was now headless and very, very dead. Almost all of them had followed this man because he promised them wealth as part of his "business." But now... Now he was dead. And they were face to face with the Red-Eyed Demon. Sure he was just one man, but he was also the legendary assassin of their time. Even in a group of five or six they would stand no chance. Not against those orichalcum blades, and not against those eyes.

The bandits all turned on foot and on horseback and began to flee the village, disappearing beyond the buildings as they raced back to whatever hole they crawled out of.

Kyero sheathed his blades and walked over to Linde, helping pick her up and brush her off.

"The female warrior needs your help at once. I'll get started on the others."

Linde nodded, and rushed over to Aetrius.

"Just hold on miss. Keep the pressure there. I'll be right back!"

She raced to the medical tables, and thankfully her tools were all still there. She quickly gathered them all, throwing them into a bag and raced back to Aetrius' side as she began to tend to her wound.

Meanwhile, Kyero approached the others slowly and with a calm and as non-threatening an expression as he could muster. He was well aware that many of them, if not all of them, either feared him or loathed him for his reputation and the stories about his exploits as a "demon assassin" who was as evil as the creature which inhabited his body. Reputations aren't everything, but for many people they were the only impression of him they had.

He looked over towards Okumi.

"That bolt needs to be removed, carefully... Will you let me?" He asked her.

That bolt was the priority here. The other wounds received were not life threatening, but that bolt to her shoulder could be if it had either nicked or severed her brachial artery.

Linde hurried to use a small knife to cut open the clothing around the bolt. She didn't know if the bolt was designed to tear the flesh on the way out, so she had to test it. She gently used only the friction between the shaft of the bolt and her hand to see if it would stick against the inside of the flesh or if it would start to slide out. Thankfully, it was starting to slide out. So it was not barbed. Good.

The woman asked what her name was, and she smiled down at her.

"My name is Linde. Nice you meet you. Now, lie still." She cooed.

Despite her shoulder injury, Linde worked with great precision. She carefully used the tip of her blade to create two small incisions alongside the barb's tip. She carefully pulled the barb free from Aetrius' body, and, as fast as she could, applied a small pasty numbing agent to the wound to help relieve the pain. With that done, she began the real work.

Aetrius was bleeding profusely from the wound indicating either organ damage or damage to veins and soft tissues. She gently held the wound open to inspect inside, but through the swelling it was difficult to make anything out. She was forced to make the incisions longer so she could open the wound farther and peel the soft tissue back to get a better look inside. When she saw inside, she saw it was soft tissue damage for the most part. One popped vein, but that alone would not be fatal and it was already closing on its own due to clotting. The soft tissue damage was the main concern now.

Linde rummaged through her pack and found another bottle with a pasty substance inside. It was a mixture of her own design which she called Tissent, and it functioned like a natural adhesive for all soft tissues. She applied it inside the wound wherever she saw the damage, carefully aligning the tissues and muscle strands so as to allow maximum efficiency upon healing. With the paste applied and her flesh and muscles well aligned and prepared, she closed the wound and sewed it shut.

She grabbed a small bottle of blueish liquid and held it up to Aetrius' lips as she lifted the woman's head.

"Drink this. It will help clear your head and give you some energy back." She urged.

Kyero observed Okumi carefully, his eyes narrowing at her gestures.

"If you mean to tell me you're all right, you're not fooling anyone. If that bolt isn't removed it will become septic, and you have given too much to these people and this village to allow that to happen."

Kyero flipped his hood back up just in case any villagers came back, not wanting to cause a stir. But he stepped forward and scooped Okumi into his arms and carried her over to Linde who was finishing helping Aetrius with her wound. He set Okumi down, and Linde shared her tools with him. He carefully cut the fabric of Okumi's outfit around the bolt and applied the same tactic Linde had. Applying a bit of numbing paste and creating two small incisions to remove the bolt before inspecting it for tissue and arterial damage before sewing it shut.

Linde was fast running out of supplies though. But with Okumi's most significant wound treated for the time being, Kyero helped her to her feet and looked to the others.

"We don't have enough supplies to treat all of your wounds. You should head to the local clinic. It's just down the South Road."

Linde had just finished helping Aetrius as he made the announcement.

"You won't come with us?"

He shook his head.

"It would be unwise for you all to be seen with me, regardless of what we accomplished here. You and the local doctor can finish this without me."

"Okay, but will we see you again?"

He nodded.

"I intend to follow those bandits to see where they went and what they're planning to do. They retreated for now, but there's no guarantee my threat will keep them away. I need to be sure."

"Then wait for me. I wish to be sure of that as well. Once I have seen to their injuries, and my own, I will come with you."

Kyero was clearly hesitant to take her up on her offer.

Lonán’s head was swimming at the moment. He felt the area where his head was struck swell, making a good lump on his head and making the pain feel like his head got hit by a wagon. He caught glimpses of the other fights but it seems by some miracle, they survived the onslaught, and the hooded man began his assault on the leader as he promised to do. The short work of the leader and the sudden fear in the now broken gang made it clear this man was no ordinary human. In fact, all the rumors and ghost stories began to flood in his head, though it ached his mind so.

About a man with red glowing eyes. If this man had them, then Lonán knew he was in the presence of someone who could kill him and end his Clan Line without even a second thought.

Then the Angelic Knight and He began to help others, the masked woman being the more seriously injured being tended to by the former and the spear wielder being approached by the latter. Lonán needed a drink, but his flask was in his saddlebag. Hooking his good arm around his blade handle, he gave two sharp whistles to signal Hawk it was safe to come to him. He watched as Hawk came out of the hiding place, leading the Mare he had been instructed to protect, causing him to sigh in relief. ”Hawk. Come.” he simply said. The sooner the drink came the sooner he can take the edge off his headache and concentrate on his other injuries.

Hearing the Hooded man talking to the mute woman, who almost told him to tend to the red haired warrior first, caused a chuckle to come out of Lonán. ”I’ll be fine, A good drink and a little visit to a doctor will fix me up...and cost me a bit from my gambling purse..” The latter part he muttered to himself as he watched both The Angelic Knight and the Red Eyed Demon fix up the two women.

Then the Demon announced his intentions and next instructions and Linde almost interjecting her insistence to go with him. ”Some of those wounds on you need rest to fix. And plus, I’m in this as much as you both are now Milady. Allow me to accompany you whilst he scouts ahead. If he is who I think he is, he can handle himself for a while.” He said, trying to intercede and come with a better plan of action, one that gave a bit more strength in their numbers as well as a second opinion. ”It’s just a thought-ow my brain box...” Hawk seemed to whinny a chuckle, causing his owner to glower at him.

Someone was not getting sugar with his oats tonight, that was for certain.

---

The man eyed her over, and Okumi felt like he was appraising her somewhat. Either that or her curious mannerisms was leading him to become more scrutinizing. Okumi wasn’t aware that what Kyero was actually doing was working out how to deal with her. It seemed he was determined to assist her, so she’d simply have to get her parchment roll and spell out why that wasn’t a good idea. As he flipped up his hood and stepped towards her, Okumi’s thoughts raced as she tried to work out what he was doing, as she’d only just started kneeling towards her bag. “..!!..” Moments later she felt her legs swept out from under her, and found herself somewhat embarrassed but equally surprised how firm he felt as he carried her across the street. Firm… But still gentle. Not wanting to fall, and not quite knowing what to do with herself in being treated in such a manner, Okumi held on until she was set down nearby Linde and the other woman, the warrior who seemed in worse shape than she was.

Now seated, Okumi could only watch as Kyero set about getting the tools he needed to remove the crossbow bolt. Taking the time to look him over herself, she could tell he was indeed greatly concerned, but what she was more concerned with was the presence of any cuts or injuries on him. Seeing none, despite her initial embarrassment she reluctantly relented, turning her body to allow him access to her main wound. Even with the numbing paste, it was a painful extraction. The process was uncomfortable, not the least of which was after he’d cut into her maiden’s outfit she was forced to slide it down her arm, leaving her shoulder and an uncomfortable amount of her side showing, her chest bandages apparent to keep her dignity, as did the way she held her arm. Still, he was respectful enough in treating the wound, and Okumi couldn’t deny she was grateful. The white of her outfit was stained a deep red from blood, and Okumi was aware that she didn’t have too much else to change to; especially with her travel bag. She’d have to acquire cloth and dye and make herself something new when she returned to her little abode.

Once he was done and helped her to her feet, the shrine maiden took a loose strip of cloth from her sleeves, tying it tightly to hold the shoulder of her outfit up and into place to reduce her amount of exposure. Turning to Kyero, Okumi made the same gesture she had before to indicate thanks, however, his attention was diverted to Linde and the others, and she self-consciously stopped herself from doing anything more to distract him. The talk moved to following the bandits, of which Linde and Lonán planned to accompany Kyero when given a chance. Depending on which way that lead them, she might be able to provide them some modest accomodation at her shrine. Still, if she was going to be attending another clinic, she’d have to make preparations. Retrieving the long roll of parchment in her bag, she unfurled a small portion, writing out a simple message dictating the danger of her blood before tearing along the base and rolling it up. Tying it with a simple rope, she cut that with her Naginata in a practiced motion. Seemed she wrote stuff like that regularly.

For now, she was set as she’d ever be, but even as they meandered towards the clinic, Okumi’s thoughts turned to the people she’d met. Who was Kyero? Was he really that notorious figure, the red-eyed demon? And what was his connection to Linde? If he was a demon, why had he been so kind to her and the people of the village? She had a lot of questions playing across her mind, but she’d become so used to her solitude and remaining silent she didn’t really know how to speak and ask them anymore. So instead she’d simply follow. Maybe she’d get her answers if she remained with them a little longer. After all, she did miss company. And if she could aid and thank them for that by allowing them to stay at her place on the mountain road, that would make her happy. For now, she wandered to retrieve her sandals and the other bits of belongings she held before they completely left the area.

Kyero and Linde nodded to one another before turning to the others. Kyero walked away, disappearing around the corner of a nearby building while Linde faced everyone.

"Please follow me, everyone. The local clinic is just down this way."

Aetrius, as she was called, was initially reluctant. But with a little friendly persuasion Linde managed to convince her to accompany Lonan to the stables nearby to tie their horses while they came to the clinic.

Once everyone was present, Linde and the local doctor got to work. They dressed their cuts, applied basic pain killers to some water or tea, whichever was preferred, and had them drink, etc. Other wounds which were more serious were dressed with antiseptic paste, sewn if need be, and given pads and medical bandage wraps.

In total, tending to all four of them, Linde included, took about two hours. But once everyone was fully taken care of they all remained in the clinic in their medical beds to rest and relax.

By early evening, they had all woken up from a group nap and had gathered at the inn just across the way. They shared a series of rooms joined by a central meeting room, usually reserved for VIP guests such as nobles or royals, but today the massive suites had been conveniently rented for them by a 'friend.'

Linde faced everyone with a smile, hoping to break the ice, and stood up to bow to everyone.

"I suppose a more proper introduction is in order." She said, clearing her throat.

"My name is Linde Xe' Almna. I hail from the capitol city here in Cre' Est, and work in the Almna Apothecary and Clinic which I founded four years ago. Since then I have both been running the clinic and doing volunteer work in situations just like today, though usually it had less of a violent ending... It's a pleasure to meet you all."

She sat down, looking to her right where Lonan was seated.

The nap Lonán had at the Clinic was well deserved. The treatments helped his injured limbs, head and side. The lump on his head has gone down a tad and now he, along with the other defenders were in a meeting place with the other defenders, minus the man in the hood, whom he had suspicions about his identity but didn’t care at the moment. There were bandits to find and kill obviously. They were scared off but who knows where they went?

Linde got up and felt the need for proper introductions. Lonán silently nodded as she introduced herself completely. Nodding as she explained what she was doing here and what she usually does. Then she sat down and turned to him, to see if he would like to introduce himself. There was a moment where he almost was lost in her gaze for a moment before clearing his throat.

Standing up with a nod he began with, ”Greetings. I am Lonán Arzura. I’m an adventurer of sorts. I wander the continent looking for work from repairs to escorting trade caravans or provide security for when disasters such as that storm several days ago.”

Heaving a sigh he braced himself for the more personal facts. ”I am from Saharan, where I was born to a powerful Clan of Warriors. My Grandfather was rather famous before retirement to try his hands at blacksmithing. If you’ve heard of tales of a person called ‘The Iron Wolf’ that’s him. I picked up skills from both his jobs, but am always willing to learn new sword skills or learn about new metals, to potentially improve my weapons of course. I came here, as I’ve said, hoping to help the town any way I can.”

He sat down with a small, yet sheepish grin waiting for the next person to speak. There was no need to poke into his past just yet. Better to wait until he knew everyone first, and become friends with them first before sharing his life tale.

---

The doctor had been highly accommodating, especially when Okumi shared the parchment explaining her condition. Thankfully, she’d been gifted a few masks - a fresh one to wear, as well as a few spares should she find herself needing them again. Her wounds were patched up carefully, the doc taking care to remain clean and wear gloves while handling them before disposing of the dirtied material. Unfortunately, there were no fresh clothes for Okumi, so she had to make do with her tattered shrine maiden outfit for now. The rest she had after did her a lot of good, as did the food she received; and thankfully, she was able to get some privacy to consume it and did not have to worry about her illness spreading.

When the group reconvened to stay at the inn, Okumi had initially been hesitant, but with the light beginning to fade, it would be quite dark before she got home, and the maiden could only hope that it hadn’t been ransacked by the bandits by this point. Not only that, but she wasn’t in the shape to fend off anything dangerous, so it seemed to be the safer judgement to remain for now. Sitting with the others in the meeting room, she listened to their introductions in full despite fumbling around her bag. Those that bothered to watch her found that she retrieved a somewhat sizeable length of parchment before getting to work writing on it, looking up only to nod and express interest in what they were saying. By the time Aetrius finished her little speech and looked away, Okumi was done.

With everyone’s eyes on her, Okumi lifted and flipped the parchment, absolutely beaming behind her mask as she got to show her work. The parchment read with two words: ‘Okumi Chrysanth’. The handwriting was quite fancy, but the shrine maiden really had gone the extra mile, drawing a small flower to further symbolise her surname, as well as a small very simple caricature of herself. Just in case anyone wasn’t sure what the name stood for, she’d also drawn an arrow pointing from the name up to her face relative to how she was holding it. Setting that parchment aside, Okumi retrieved the next one, but rather than hold it up as a presentation, she instead passed it to her left and let it go around the group, as it was more formally written on and explained more about who she was.

‘Local Shrine Maiden. I came to assist in honouring and burying the dead. My home and shrine is out of town within the mountains if you wish to stay on your travel from here. It is not much, but it is all I have to offer in thanks.’ As the parchment went around, Okumi watched and waited for any questions. She probably could have covered why she wore the mask and why she didn't speak, but alas, it didn't really occur to her. For now, she simply gave a pleasant wave as a further greeting to her companions.

Linde nodded to Lonán's greeting, smiling sweetly for him as he made his introduction. After he was finished, she gave him a quick, "Well met, Lonán."

Aetrius was next, and Linde repeated her "well met" greeting to her as well. However Linde was somewhat put off and concerned by her dismissive and distant tone. It seemed she didn't seek any kind of companionship, nor want it. And for Linde this was a rather foreign concept. However she seemed polite enough when she wanted to be, so Linde gave her the benefit of the doubt, being a bounty hunter who had just gone through a tough battle and gotten hurt.

And finally there was Okumi, who was absolutely adorable! Linde could hardly contain her amusement and how cute she thought the girl was with her name and drawing. She made an audible "awwwwwww" sound which rose in pitch to the end as she beheld the little doodling on the name presentation.

The information about Okumi was passed around, and Linde gave her a "well met" greeting before the parchment was returned to the girl.

"Seems we all share a desire to help when needed. I am grateful for that. Had you all not been here today things may have ended up very differently. And not in a good way."

She slowly looked around the circle.

Upon being introduced to everyone, and mentally ‘awwing’ Okumi’s drawing skills, Lonán listened to Linde’s thanks for helping out. The young swordsman only nodded. ”Well... I expected to fight them eventually anyway, just later then sooner. This was a surprise.” He said. These bandits decided to come back. Usually bandits don’t come back. And what war was the former leader talking about?

Lonán wasn’t sure. He didn’t catch a rumor of war in his travels, either it was recent or he was dead drunk when the news reached his ears.

”We should also thank our now mutual friend, who is scouting out the rest of them. Not sure if they’ll be back but it’s nice to know where they’re roosting and cut out the problem at its source if possible. Question is, what do we do know?” he asked that part, avoiding the main subject. He didn’t want to ask directly if the man in the hood was the red eyed demon. if the daggers and the red eyes weren’t proof enough, Linde’s words might.

He took a look around the Hotel suite he was in with everyone, and a small bit of nostalgia hit his mind when he joined his grandfather on weapons delivery as a child. He couldn’t help but mentally laugh. It was a reminder of his life before he was on his own. Maybe being with this group was a sign from Heresta to not be on his own, and join up with this group. He’d follow Her will when he felt it was so.

But Heresta help him if it leads to trouble! ”What I mean is if there is a definite plan?” He corrected himself.

Linde nodded as she listened to Lonán.

When he spoke about everyone's "mutual friend" being "out scouting," she nodded and said, "I agree. He should be returning any time now." She said.

She nodded quietly as he asked if there was a definite plan.

"I am certain there will be a plan, but sadly I don't know what it would be yet. However, one thing I am certain of is that it will involve attacking them where they are least protected. Given their numbers, there's not much other option."

Lonán nodded at Linde’s assurances that there was a plan. Then Aetrius spoke about what will happen, for when they came back. Lonán’s scarlet brows furrowed in a slightly annoyed way. It wasn’t because she wasn’t speaking the truth, she was speaking it.

But saying the town isn’t safe anymore would mean defeat. He narrowed his eyes and simply said, ”That last point is precisely why they need to be dealt with sooner then later. To wait for them to come back is lunacy. To say this town doesn’t have a hope for survival means defeat, and for this occasion, that is blasphemous. Heresta did not grant this victory to give false hope.”

He sat up to his full posture. ”We find them, and strike fast and hard. Hard enough for them to scatter into the winds or to fall to the earth, their bloodshed proof that the Goddess smiles on our prowess.” he added, giving an air of confidence in his statement. But the confidence was his shield. Shielding his anxiety, that would often crop up at a monent’s notice. But the anxiety did come. It made him stare at the table and not at anyone directly in the eyes. He had to keep calm and fake the looking in the eyes for awhile..

He had to if he could win their friendship so he can look at them in the eye for real.

Linde looked back and forth between Aetrius and Lonán as they exchanged words about the bandits and the situation at hand. Her face contorted slightly as she drew her hands in towards her stomach and slumped ever so slightly while looking to the side. She kept her eyes on the ground for a moment, the gears turning in her mind. And finally she looked back up to the others.

"I must agree with Aetrius that this village is no longer safe, but not for the same reasons."

Her voice was soft and calm despite her somewhat despaired expression.

"Those bandits lost their leader today, and for men like them who follow no creed or any laws but their own are unpredictable enough as it is. Kyero took their leader's head in a single stroke, and they all fled in response. But that retreat means little if there is nothing to ensure it sticks."

She took a breath and let it out on a sigh.

"However, striking hard and fast against numbers like theirs when we have only the four of us is a death sentence. All of us barely fended off five each today, and there are still well over seventy of them left out there. Even with Kyero by our side I doubt we'd survive any kind of blitzkrieg assault against them."

Lonán was humbled by Linde’s talk, as he realized he was talking out of his convictions of battle. But he had to calm down from his momentary bout of anxiety and think rationally about the situation. Then Aetrius again spoke, and through the cynicism he picked up on what she was trying to say.

Find a way to get the people somewhere safe. But that potentially would hurt the local economy...would it? It was then he realized he hasn’t had a shred of sustinence! He now realized why his anxiety was on the rise. He needed food to take the edge off. Old Wolf always told him that if he got hungry, his mind would lose its focus. He needed supper. A great big helping of supper, and the quicker and most filling, the better. He would have voiced this to everyone when Aetrius made the offer, which was two birds in one stone indeed.

It gave him quite a lot to do and gave more opportunity to at least be social with everyone, hopefully he didn’t screw it up. So he stretched in his chair, popping a several vertebra into order.

”Well, I feel I can think better with some drink and food, in fact I think I’m as hungry as a horse, no offense to mine or yours.” he said as he stretched his legs and winced a bit at his hurt one. He then nodded to himself before moving to join Aetrius and whoever else would be joining them downstairs for drink and more pleasant conversations.