Private Tales Farmer’s Only

[Elijah]

Elijah ate with the others though kept himself somewhat apart; in his experience citizens were never really comfortable around a man who had killed. There was just an atmosphere around soldiers they didn't like. They never really fit in. Still, he enjoyed it enough and the food more than enough to have a second bowl before excusing himself to go and get some rest. There was a certain type of sleep that soldiers adopted when out on campaign that nobody else would actually call 'sleep'. He was aware of what was happening the whole time he sat with his back up against one of the fences and his sword over his lap. The bed was too far if something happened, it was best to be close to the action when it happened.

He dozed for perhaps an hour at the most before one of the scouts he had set gently shook his shoulder. The lad was young but more importantly small and quick. He'd run from the trees a bit further out to let them know of the raiders approach.

When they finally broke from the treeline the farmers Elijah had roused were ready. The Gods only knew where Ichika was but he didn't have time to worry - if she stayed in her bed it made his job of protecting her easier.

"Hold," he murmured quietly as the torches from the raiders raced towards them. Horses hooves pounded against the earth and Gypsy stomped her own in anticipation but he held her firm with his knees. "Hold," he murmured again as the farmers shifted, sweating. Finally the raiders hit the spiked hedge. Two horses gave pained screams as they were impaled in the dark. From the rest of them angry shouts went up as the horses galloped round looking for an entrance to the village. When they found it there was a shout of triumph as they thundered on down the funnel towards the farmers.

"Hold," Elijah said again just before the first three horses went toppling into the first trench. Riders yelled, horses cried out, some managed to jump only to fall into the second or third trench. "NOW!" Eli shouted and the archers among them loosed their arrows into the chaos.

 

[Ichika]

Several seconds passed as Ichika tried to adjust to the night. Regain her bearings, understand exactly what was going on. Eventually she recognized the direction of the torches and the gathering of people that she knew as Eli and the farmers.

Hand firmly held onto the hilt of her blade she rushed towards them and joined up at the mob as soon as the call to fire escaped Elijah’s mouth.

Arrows flew through the air, colliding with far off figures down the narrow passage before them. Ichika could make shouts and commands and most horrifying of all, screams. The missiles were finding the occasional mark despite the inexperienced farmhands. It seemed like hunting game had prepared them aptly.

Within several moments it appeared that the archery wasn’t going to be sufficient. Raiders, armed with blades, axes, and shields, rushed towards the line. The villagers armed with melee weapons of their own held for a few moments until, without orders, Syric screamed bloody murder and charged forward with his scythe in hand.

Ichika didn’t hesitate, she saw one of the villagers rushing to face the threat and she wouldn’t let him face it alone. She drew her katana and sprinted behind him.

 

[Elijah]

"Fool," Elijah swore as the line broke and the farmers rushed after their friend towards the enemy. He was left with a few ragtag men and women who had decided their chances were better if they stuck closer to the experienced Captain. They weren't wrong. Syric went down with an axe buried in his back and another went down with a scream under the hooves of one of their war horses. This wasn't the plan. But then, when did war ever go to plan?

"With me!" Gypsy reared as he drove his heels into her flanks and then she shot forward, wings outspread towards the foe. One of the raiders unfortunate enough to have lost his horse gave a yell as her wing took him out and her hooves trod him into the dirt. His sword took another rider off their horse writhing in agony. The fighting turned into chaos. People were spattered in blood, clutching wounds on the ground, and still they fought on and on tooth and nail. He couldn't help but feel a little pride for these farmers even if their numbers were dwindling.

 

[Ichika]

Syric died before anyone else could get close to him and Ichika's eyes widened at the sudden violence. She could recall her days of training and competition, the bouts were always ended in an instant. One person's bamboo sword would make contact against a padded shirt or mask and the round was called. On a theoretical level she understood why, she recognized what that contact represented, but seeing the violence first hand was... jarring.

There were several raiders before her and in her shock she'd halted her own steps as more farmers raced past her. Most of them died just as swiftly as Syric. One or two screamed in pain as non-lethal injuries left them on the ground. Her first instinct was to walk over and help them but just as quickly as their voices rang out they were cut down by the attackers.

Ichika was trained for single combat. She couldn't fight all of these foes at once. No one could.

Finally, after standing in shock, one of the angry men drew near to her. He clutched a large cleaver-like blade in one hand and a flimsy looking whicker shield. His teeth were bared and his hair was curly and wild looking. Training took over, this was just like any of her previous kenbu sessions, she moved with the grace of a dancer.

Quickly towards his left as if she were water, sidestep back towards his right with a sharp step, and then the strike.

A scream. This time it wasn't a farmer's voice it was the attacker who had picked the wrong person to go after. Hot blood sprayed on her face as the training subsided and Ichika returned back to reality, her katana buried deep into his midsection. With a grunt of effort she pulled the blade out, it was far harder to pull than she had imagined and even more blood covered her as the raider crumpled downwards.

Death wasn't pleasant, Elijah had been correct. The woman's grip on her hilt tightened and she eyed the growing number of assailants who started moving towards her.

 

[Elijah]

Elijah was in the thickest throng of the fighting. The raiders, whilst not clever enough to have realised the trap before it was too late, were at least clever enough to have realised that he was their biggest threat. They swarmed over him like cockroaches; when he cut through one another appeared to fill its place. At one point he had been pulled from his horse and now fought tooth and nail on the ground beside her. People often forgot that pegasi were weapons unto themselves. They could break bones with their wings and had killed with their hooves. A few unfortunate raiders discovered both the hard way.

He stood panting, drenched in blood and watching ten more foes approaching with wary intent. They had seen what he had done to their friends and they were not as inclined to jump into the fighting as they had been before. It gave him a moment to look at how the rest of his 'soldiers' as they were were doing. He caught sight of the bursar fighting valiantly with a group of other women each holding their own well; he spotted the blacksmith hurling his axe like a maniac keeping people at bay out of sheer luck and madness than skill; and he was Ichika with her katana.

Too few left.

Magic took a toll on the body even when it was used through magical objects but now was the time to use it.

Taking a deep breath he activated the vanbraces that adorned his forearms. Intricate, ancient glyphs lit and suddenly a whip of pure radiant light shot towards his foes. They didn't get a chance to react as it sliced through the air. For a moment a shocked look registered on their faces and then their heads slowly slid from their bodies.

 

[Ichika]

More came and Ichika retreated backwards, keeping her eyes focused on the attackers in front of her. They were being pulled away by something, or someone, off to the side. Were her attention broken she'd have realized they were rushing to assault Elijah but her focus remained trained on the three assailants in front of her.

She couldn't fight all three at once, they'd overrun her. Luckily, the first man who wielded a large club charged head first towards her. A step to the side forced the heavy weapon to sink deep into the ground and in a flash of steel her blade ended him.

Once she looked back at the other two they were missing as well. One was running away, the other charging towards Elijah. But the royal guardsman was not only holding his own he was besting them with a brilliant string of light. Ichika surged forward and sliced the upper thigh of the raider that was charging Eli.

He let out a scream but with the rest of his compatriots now dead or fleeing there was no one to help him.

"We can find out where they come from," Ichika said over the cheers of farmhands. She knew those cheers would be short lived as the dead were tallied up. They were going to need to address the root of this raider problem at its source to ensure a lasting peace endured.

 

[Elijah]

The vambraces extracted their price swiftly.

Elijah's sword arm shook with the effort of keeping his blade aloft and sweat poured down his face like tears. When he glanced round to see the raiders fleeing or dying he let out a relieved sigh and drew his hand down his face: he hadn't been sure how much longer he could have gone on for. Especially at the rate the farmers had died. It was only because there had been less of them that the raiders bodies outnumbered theirs. Wearily he pushed his sword into the ground and leaned on it as those alive cheered and hugged, accepting tearful thank you's when they were thrown his way with a modesty that would have pleased a nun.

Ichika's words broke through the veil of tiredness though and his eyes settled on the man at her feet writhing in pain. His face twisted into a grimace: torture was never something he had agreed with.

"I suppose you're right."

 

[Ichika]

"I'm not telling you shit," the captive spat whilst blood continued to run down the cut in his thigh. His hands tied to a post above his head.

It was a small shed that Elijah, Ichika, the bursar, and their prisoner all shared. Away from the epicenter of the town where farmers were nursing their wounds or tending to the dead. They couldn't carry out an interrogation in the open. Tensions would likely flare and Ichika doubted the prisoner would live long enough to tell them anything if left to the devices of the villagers.

"Be reasonable. You're going to be hauled off to Dornoch and your cooperation will bode well for your sentencing." The short-haired woman didn't know how true any of that was. She had assumed that at some point the raider would be taken back to the capital to face judgement but it was entirely possible that the bursar may subject the man to a form of frontier justice.

With a look of disdain the bushy haired prisoner shook his head. "Fuck Dornoch. Timur is going to raise that city to the ground."

An eyebrow shot up as Ichika eyed the other two. Who was Timur?

Her nose scrunched and brow furrowed as she tried another go. "Where are the rest of your people hiding? Why are you raiding the village?"

Silence filled the room until the muscular woman who served as the farming village's leader picked up a club. She inched her way slowly towards the prisoner, patting the bat into the palm of her hand rhythmically, and Ichika didn't have to guess what was going to happen next.

Although, she did turn her head as the screams started.

 

[Elijah]

Elijah made himself watch.

After all, by not stepping in and condemning the action, he was in a sense condoning it instead. He would live with the guilt. However, he couldn't bring himself to participate in the bursar's methods of persuasion. Instead the Captain kept to the back of the room where he had been leaning against the wall listening to the information the prisoner unknowingly gave them. A name was everything. As was the way he was passionately defending his leader.

Raider's didn't usually do that.

Eli scratched at his beard thoughtfully as another sickening crack echoed through the room. Perhaps this could be the start of something more than simple raids. He would have to ask about the nearby towns; had they been attacked too? Or was the ire of this band focused on this one in particular?

The screaming dissolved into a sobbing moan.

"Tell us about Timur," Elijah murmured and stepped forward.

 

[Ichika]

The first born of the Tsuri family dared to look back at the bloody mess of a man once Elijah posed his question. Their prisoner’s sobs and moans still rang through her head as Ichika beheld his battered form.

“T-Timur is, he’s the khan who’s,” he sniffled through a broken nose while the bursar glared him down. “Timur is going to unite the f-fringe tribes. You’ll know him before,” the captive’s words trailed off as he seemed lost in thought. Distracted almost.

He whimpered as the muscular village chief neared him, club pulled back and prepared to strike. “No! Stop, please. I’m telling you all I know.”

Ichika took several quick steps forward. She knew this bursar must’ve been letting off steam, wanting to get answers above all else, but she couldn’t allow her to beat this man into a coma. Or maybe she just didn’t have the stomach for this sort of work and didn’t wish to see him hit again at all.

”Where is this Timur?”

“I,” he hesitated, “don’t know… I swear. His tribe is nomadic, more so than mine.” He cowered back as much as he could with his hands bound to the rafters above.

 

[Elijah]

The Captain scratched his beard thoughtfully once more.

"The Dynast must know!" The Bursar rounded promptly on him and for a split second he wondered if she would use the club on him until he agreed. Of course, every Bursar out there trying to protect her village wanted the Dynast involved as soon as a little problem reared its head. It was her duty. It was why her family had been chosen to rule the sprawling Dynasty in the first place. It had been her ancestors who had come up with the idea to unite and fight against threats exactly like this one.

It was her duty to protect them.

"She will," he soothed and offered a reserved smile. "This is a bigger problem than information led us to believe initially so it will require more forces," meaning he needed actual soldiers and not farmers with best intentions. But first...

"I need to scout out this... new band of raiders and get a feel for their strength. I don't think they will be attacking your village for a while so your crops can be regrown whilst I go look."

 

[Ichika]

”I’m coming with you,” she stated quickly following Elijah’s quip about re-growing crops. ”I can work my magic when we return. Once we know what to report.”

Ichika was nearly positive she wasn’t actually in charge of this operation. She also didn’t have a pegasus of her own so if push came to shove he’d just leave her here and that would be that. But if it were to occur it wasn’t going to happen without a fight. She had come this far, been in her first real fight, and taken a life. Now that there was even more useful work to do she wasn’t going to leave it to Eli while she restored crops like it was all she was capable of.

”I can help. You’ll need someone to watch your back.”

Her illumination could temporarily blind someone. Could be useful to distract any potential adversaries for a quick get away if the pair needed it. ”When do we leave?” Ichika Tsuri was going to do all in her power to prevent the Guard Captain from refusing her demand.

 

[Elijah]

The Bursar gave an indignant snort.

"You are more likely to get both of you killed than be of any help, child," she said it in the way grandmothers often spoken when they didn't want to hurt someone's feelings but knew that only direct words would work with the stubbornness they saw before them. "Stay here, where your magic can be of use. That's what you were sent here to do after all," she continued and even offered a little smile though it looked a little patronising.

Elijah wisely chose not to say anything as the two women spoke and instead watched the man before him weep silent tears.

"Does this Timur have other villages he hits regularly?" the man jerked and looked up as though he had forgotten he wasn't alone and then hung his head again.

"Klampa, five miles ride from here. On the edge of the salt lake."

 

[Ichika]

The wind in Ichika's sails deflated almost instantly.

There wasn't any refuting she could do. The bursar's words made sense and the daughter of the Tsuri family was smart enough to realize it. It wasn't her lot in life to go out chasing rogues and fighting. Or at least, it wasn't supposed to be her lot in life.

"Fine," her throat was taut and her words terse, "I'll go." She heard the weeping prisoner mention the town. Klampa. Five miles. Edge of the salt lake. She committed the words to memory before leaving the shed in a huff.

It would only take an hour or so to repair a bulk of the damage. Then she'd be permitted to rest, gather her strength, and recover her magic for use the next day in order to finish the job. If she skipped sleep though... she could secure a horse and make her way to help out. Prove her merit on her own terms.

 

[Elijah]

The Bursar allowed herself a smug little smile whilst Elijah resisted the urge to put his head in his hands. Another problem to deal with. He settled for just running his head through his hair instead and standing.

"Give him food, water," he said absently to the stern woman who looked at him with shock and disapproval. "It doesn't help us if our only source of information dies of starvation and the Dynast will want to serve her justice," that seemed to at least appease her and he quickly stepped out before she could change her mind or suggest some other form of torture.

Gypsy met him outside and he dragged her fingers through her mane with a sigh.

"Now... will that girl try and corner me and demand to be taken anyway or will she quietly stalk me through the forest and end up getting herself killed by one of the bandits?"

The Pegasus' whinny sounded like a laugh.

 

[Ichika]

Near the most damaged portion of the crops she found the field covered with the ashen remains of mirchi. They'd clearly torched this area a few times and the damage spread outward in a wide circle from the epicenter where Ichika currently stood. She took in several steady breaths and closed her eyes to concentrate.

This would take a lot out of her and she needed to be strong enough to follow in the shadow of Elijah as he headed towards this Klampa village.

A bright light radiated from her body and up towards the heavens. It fully illuminated the two huge moons of Arethil and caused the center of the field to look as brightly as if it were midday. In a blur the shrubs and branches of the plants that surrounded her shook rapidly until they started to grow. Across the entire field they kept growing and growing until they were about a week's time from being fully grown.

"Good enough," she muttered to herself. Ichika felt more exerted than she had planned but she still had the energy to march onward.

And that was precisely what she did the minute she noticed Elijah and Gypsy take off towards Klampa.

 

[Elijah]

Gypsy gave a huff when Elijah kept her feet firmly on the ground.

"She won't be able to follow us if we're in the sky," he patted the white horse's proud neck and scratched beneath her mane in the spot that made her forgive him for all his trespasses. Her ears flicked in response to his comment but she didn't snort at him; the only sign said scratches worked. The Pegasus practically gleamed in the moonlight making her a beacon even through the dense forest. He had no doubt she would be able to track them as long as they kept to a sedate walk. Of course, he could just round on her and let it be known he knew about her intentions to follow him but women were prideful creatures and he thought better of it.

Besides, this gave him a chance to inspect the trail the other riders had left.

Sure enough it did take them in the direction of Klampa. By the time the moons had set and the sun was beginning to peak its head above the horizon, showering the town below in the soft pink hues of early morning, Elijah was cresting the hill above it.

Gypsy flexed her wings and set about removing the odd leaf from her feathers as Elijah inspected the bandits milling about the town below.

 

[Ichika]

"Near the salt like. Five miles."

Ichika muttered under her breath as she snuck as stealthily as she could manage through the brush and the trees. Whether Elijah knew of her presence of not didn't' matter to her. For her whole her mother had treated her as an immature girl and then swiftly changed to measure her against the greatest minds in Dornoch. She was levied with all of the criticism but none of the responsibility or tools to prove herself.

And now, on what was supposed to be yet another menial task that she had performed for years harbored the opportunity for her to prove that she was more than just that immature girl her mother used to view her as. Prove that she was capable of more than just casting the family's hereditary magic to fix crops for the Dynast. She'd run the port one day and it was opportunities like this that would prove to the matriarch of the Tsuri house that she was the one most qualified to do so.

Surprising even herself she only snapped a few twigs during her pursuit. Gypsy's majestic gleaming made it simple to follow behind and she couldn't help but think that her constant praying was the only thing that kept Eli from going skyward on the Pegasus.

A single yawn escaped once they reached Klampa. Ichika partially hid herself behind a boulder once Elijah peered over the overlook at what she assumed was the village they had sought.

 

[Elijah]

The town below slowly stretched into wakefulness. Smoke went up from one or two chimneys Elijah would hazard a guess belonged to the bakers and blacksmith. They were always the ones who rose with the sun in towns even as small as this. What interested him more, however, was the odd group of tents on the other side of the towns earthen walls. They were too vast in number to be simple merchants.

Gypsy snorted and pawed the ground with impatience forcing him to handle his reins well.

"You can come out now," Elijah called over his shoulder as his mount frisked to one side and flared open her wings in preparation to fly. It had been hard to keep her on the ground for the duration of the journey but now, on the edge of a cliff, it was difficult to keep her from doing what she was born to do. The better Ichika came out of those woods and got on her back the quicker they could be getting on.

 

[Ichika]

Ichika stepped out from behind her cover with a pout on full display. "How long did you know?" She had thought herself to have been stealthy enough but obviously that wasn't the case. Had Elijah known of her presence since they left the farming community?

Regardless of the circumstance she accepted her fate and just held onto the hope that the royal guardsmen had allowed her to come this far. That meant he was less likely to scold her. Maybe he'd even teach her a thing or two.

She hoisted herself up onto Gypsy to join the captain of the guard. As much as she hated flying, and as much as her stomach was already working itself into knots, she wasn't going to protest the flight that awaited the duo. At least, she wouldn't protest unless the man planned to take her back to the boring farming settlement they had just left.

A gentled hand patted at the back of Gypsy's neck in a vain attempt to draw some sympathy from Eli's pegasus.