Phill, Andrew and Talbot were lucky not to anger the prince, and he even offered help, he truly was the only one worthy to be king of the desolate land of Plegia, apart from the current king, that aside, Phill took the salve and dismounted Andrew, he took a piece of leather from his reins and gave it to Talbot, "Talbot, this will hurt, and I'm not one fore delicacy but, Ambra is nowhere to be found and we should treat you right away, bite on this" Talbot still looked lost and in pain so Phill helped him down from Andrew and tore Talbots robe to reveal the full extent of the burn and jammed the leather in his mouth as he first poured water from his pouch to clean his hands and the sand from the wound, then he began to apply the salve to Talbots arm, the man tensed up and bit hard on the leather, Phills hands, even without armor were rough, fines wasn't his strong suit after all. "Bear with me, when I finish we'll find Ambra and have her patch you up good " Phill's mind drifted a little, were Silas and Talbot ok? They were archers and had the upper hand but, that didn't mean they were prepared for battle, even he dashed outside without much armor but his breastplate, passing his hand too firmly through Talbot’s arm caused him to come back to the task at hand as Talbot expressed his increased pain accordingly “Just a bit more friend, after this get on Andrew and I’ll protect you, well find your friends”

Neo picked up Ambra slowly, trying not to move her too much. “My magic doesn't include healing unfrotunately. I'm going to get her inside the in. My good man” he said, turning his head towards Armin. “Over by the tree where all the mounts are tied up is my horse Gaia. She holds an elixer with two uses left inside her left front satchel. Bring it inside please. We'll be at the first table indoors. Also, put this wyvern over with them.” he requested, giving the reins to the man. Then he turned to Vellia. “Milady, could you please defend us on the trip inside? I wouldn't move her unless I knew I had a fine warrior such as yourself protecting us.” he began his brisk walk toward the inn, hoping for a clear path, even if the distance wasn't too far. There were times in between horses that he used to carry Trin around, so this wasn't unfamiliar to him. Without the wyvern he was able to see the battlefield clearly. Most of the big bouts seemed to be finished. The defenders had done a good job protecting themselves, although both the stable and the side of the inn, plus the streets where the battle was fought were all in worse condition. Leon came riding by when he finally saw his brother. “Where's Trin?”

“She jumped off to help out some fighters.”

“Well get her! And any injured should be brought into the inn. I've no idea where the closest healer is, but there should be a concoction or something in there that can be used.” he grumbled the last part out, not bothering to show how furious he was with Leon for losing his daughter mid-battle. It seemed to be her own idea though... I may need to speak with her about that.

---

“Don't need any-” Trin bit her tongue, about to blast him with the magic she'd been building up for an attack, before releasing it on the Pegasus rider who threw the javelin at them before. The rider flew backwards through the air and into a tree, nearly hitting the loudmouthed prince that wasn't too far away as well. Instead the wind was rough enough near him to cause his robes to lift up and if he didn't move. Taking the soothing sword into her free hand she allowed its magic to flow through her then, making standing much less difficult.

“Well, sorry for helping such superior, self serving male from being torn asunder by javelins and spears.” she said loudly in Zaino's direction before turning back towards the battle away from him. Her legs still wobbled for a moment, causing her to use the iron sword as a tripod to keep herself standing. Catching her breath for a moment, she was delighted to see Leon riding back over to her. As delighted as she could be in the current state.

---

Trotting over to his niece Leon put on his most discouraging voice. “No jumping off to save people again, alright? It causes our little family too many emotional problems.” he said with a grin. “I hope it was worth it.” Seeing her expression said it wasn't the case. Putting her blades away Trin took his hand and made her way on top of Talvin. Turning the horse around, he found himself facing a Dark Flier, obviously the captain of the troops her. “Oh... shit.”

“All of the Shepards present, drop your arms and turn yourselves in! All of the helpers of the vigilante force should also surrender for questioning. Our main contingent is on its way here to collect these traitors and we will take them home!” In holsters on her side there was a killing lance and spear, along with crackling fire from her right hand. Whoever she was and whether or not the army closing in was a bluff, she was serious about collecting heads. “This is becoming a very dangerous vacation.” he said, mushing Talvin hard to the side, not wanting to face this lady with Trin on his back.

Well, who the bloody hell did this guy think he was?! The man just called him a dog! Not only him, but the rest of the Shepherds as well. He would have yelled at the man who called himself a prince if it wasn’t for the pain that radiated up his arm and back down again. His eyes narrowed. Remind me, Natalia, that if I ever become ruler of a kingdom to not act like I’m the best man that ever graced the earth with his footsteps. he spoke to his deceased lover in his mind, heaving a sigh in the process and rolling his eyes. I’m pretty sure if he gets any more full of himself, he’ll explode!
The thought of speaking to his lover comforted him. He dreamed about her; about inhaling her scent again, one of honey and pine; about feeling her skin under his hand, as smooth as a rounded pebble; about looking into her beautiful eyes, large chunks of emerald. Every dream made him ache for her more, for her voice and hardy personality. And yet, when he promised to be there for her, when he promised to protect her… she was killed. Now all that remained was the bits of the love letters he wrote to her. I promised her a good life, he thought, biting the inside of his mouth. And all I did was let them take it away.
His mind was stopped from wandering when he felt a horrible burning sensation on his arm. Talbot cried out in pain but, taking the leather Phillip had given him, bit hard on it. The words that passed through his lips were muffled by the leather. Yet one could expect what he said. The words were colorful and rude, and he bit harder on the leather. His anger only increased when he realized what the cavalier had done. Had he… ripped his robes?! His robes! Those were expensive robes! he growled at Phillip, his eyes narrowing dangerously.
Now, Talbot, he could hear Natalia say, He’s just trying to help…
”But he ripped my robes!” he cried out loud, the leather dropping from his mouth. It was only then that he realized how loud he had said it. Flushing, he looked at the horse and grumbled under his breath. The pain still came but he held his breath and dealt with it. ”Hurry up.” he barked lowly at Phillip.

---

The pain continued on for what seemed like an eternity. It would come, wash over her scalp, and down to her neck, even. It felt like she was being trampled over and over again. She rather die than suffer this pain. And over and over again, the woman begged for her demise. She was useless- truly the Shepherds would be less burdened by one less archer. Ambra felt tears sting her eyes, and she began to weep. The water streamed down her cheeks and mixed in with the blood and sweat. Maybe it’ll just be easier if I go to sleep… she sighed. I won’t bother anyone anymore.
She was jolted from her thoughts when a green haired figure bent down near her. Her blue eyes flicked up to Silas, the other archer. He seemed to be concerned for her, as was the other man that she didn’t know the name of. ”I’m so tired… I want to go to bed.” she told them. Now that she thought of going to sleep, she felt very drowsy and cold. Her eyes closed and she smiled. ”But I know that I can’t. If I do I might not wake up, right?” her voice was very flighty and weak. Of course, she was a very weak woman. Yet, before she knew it, she slipped, falling into unconsciousness.

Seeing the rider he assaulted crash to the ground with a sickening 'thunk' and a bone chilling 'splat', Laius looked quite pleased with himself. Another Ylissean sent to the depths of hell. His magnanimous presence was surely needed elsewhere on this hellish street. It brought him great sadness to see an area of his beloved capital so distraught, painted with blood and bodies and reeking of fire and iron. But now was not the time to dwell on carnage. Now was the time to cause more! There were not that many enemies left to challenge he or these Shepherds whom found themselves betrayed by the wolves within their flock. With his Thoron tome clutched in hand he managed to spot a lovely blue haired woman being hoisted up onto a horse. Her knees seemed quite weak. Curse his mouthwatering good looks. Making the women quiver at such a time would be disastrous! Perhaps he needed to tone down how incredibly handsome and charming he was. If only there was some way to do so... Snapped from his ego stroking spiral, the prince spotted a black pegasus in the skies hovering above the girl and the rider who came to help her. The captain of this unit, no doubt. As the supreme authority figure present, he could not allow he barking demands to go unpunished! He would challenge and defeat this woman and rout the remaining forces!

His luxurious robes fluttered in the hot desert winds which graced the capital's streets. Sparkling blue eyes focused in on the knave who thought she would DARE demand a prince of Plegian descent to surrender to the likes of her poorly trained brigade. He looked to the man who rode upon the horse. "Go, friend. Take this beauty to safety. I shall handle this ill born rat." He proudly proclaimed. With his chest puffed out and his stride filled with confidence few could boast he raised his voice so that it might be heard by one who hid so high in the skies to think herself powerful. "You fly your troops into my city and expect the mercy of surrender? Nay, you Ylissean filth will not get the pleasure of my pity. You were as good as dead the second you set your sights on my home!" Hubris aside, the prince did acknowledge the resistance that pegasus mounted tended to hold for magics, so as he so audaciously addressed the leader, he swapped his yellow Thoron tome for a bright turquoise one. Rexcalibur in hand, he chanted mightily before unleashing a whirlwind which erupted from the clear air below the rider.

"FOR PLEGIAAAA!" The fearless prince cried, refusing to back down even with the possibility of a better trained fighter at the end of his spell. For he was born of proud royal blood, blood strong enough so that no man or woman of Ylissean or other descent would dare strike him down.

It was funny, she barely knew the man, yet he addressed her as a "fine warrior." Maybe it was simply his personality, or maybe it was flattery. She couldn't tell which, and she didn't care to react on it. There were priorities. "If that's my job, then I'll do it," Vellia said, more to herself than anyone else, as she drew her sword. Her axe had taken enough of a beating today. She had already been scanning the skies, and everything seemed fine for a moment, but not for long. A group of pegasi soon came into view, headed their way. Three... four...

"Five pegasus knights, huh? This may be the most fun I've had all day," she grinned. She allowed a bit of distance to form between her and the man carrying the girl, and quickly thought of her strategy. Things would have to get messy.

She jumped up as they dropped low to attack, and she literally nearly tackled the front-most rider from her saddle. The pegasus was urged to its left, and the lowered lance of the nearby stunned companion drove into the winged horse's hide. Vellia turned the knight into a kabob, withdrew her blade, and jumped from the mess before both riders and pegasi ended in a large, mangled heap. Now, she clung to the leg of the next knight as her mount attempted to ascend. "No! Don't do that!" Vellia heard the girl shout to one of her companions. "Just let me do this!"

Vellia barely had a grip on the other woman's leg as the knight tried to find a way to use her spear to dislodge her unwelcome tag along. The blunt shaft of the weapon thumped against her back, but Vellia wasn't about to let go. She managed to swing her blade up and stabbed the chest of the pegasus before releasing her grip so she fell to the street. A nearby clatter made her realize that a poorly aimed javelin had just barely missed her. Glancing around, she knew she was on the other side of the two she was to protect, but if they were to fall into danger, Vellia was close enough to know.

The two flying knights circled back around, but before they reached her, one was felled by a series of wind gusts. The other was directly in front of her. She threw her blade into the air. Then, following its path, she leaped up, grabbed it in a two-handed reverse-grip, and descended on the pegasus rider with a shout. Her blade sliced into the flesh of the girl's lower neck, embedding itself in her collarbone. The strike would prove to be lethal quickly, though it was by no means a decapitation.

Then, in a moment, the world began to spin as a powerful gust of wind struck them. It was the doing of one of the mages, and the pegasus was not keeping its balance well with extra weight and unstable wind. Vellia heard, and felt, the pegasus crashing into the ground, felt herself tumbling and bouncing between air and rock, and she finally came to a stop after what felt like ages, but couldn't have been more than a few seconds. She was lying on her stomach, and each breath was searingly painful. She tried to push herself to her feet, which took far too long, which brought to her attention the fact that her right arm had been dislocated.

Well, she thought. A fractured rib or two, a dislocated arm, and a few bruises and scrapes. I guess that could have been a lot worse. A few agonizing stretches later, and her arm popped back into place. She limped over to the deceased body and its dying pegasus, drew out her sword and used it as a support as she returned to the not-so-far-away side of her new companions.

“All of the Shepards present, drop your arms and turn yourselves in! All of the helpers of the vigilante force should also surrender for questioning. Our main contingent is on its way here to collect these traitors and we will take them home!” The apparent leader of the Ylissan riders cried out as Alicia thrust her lance through another Pegasus Knight's throat, causing the poor rider to gurgle out blood as she died. Whipping her lance back around, Alicia prompted Bellerophon to charge straight towards the Dark Flier, screaming a battle cry as she did so. Had the leader been riding a wyvern, fear and trauma would have lead Alicia to leave her to someone else to fight, but the captain rode a pegasus. Alicia was chomping at the bit to challenge an experienced knight, and this captain fit the bill perfectly.

~BGM~

The Dark Flier noticed Alicia's charge and pulled back the reins on her black pegasus, sending it hurtling through the sky as Alicia and her mount chased after her. Both pegasi flitted across the sky as their riders clashed, the Dark Flier's Killer Lance slicing into Alicia as their mounts dashed past each other, causing Alicia to drop her lance from the pain. Whirling around, the Ylissan captain laughed as she saw the results of her attack, and began hurling fireballs with her other hand as Alicia desperately had Bellerophon speed off, the Dark Flier chasing after her.

Fireballs whizzed past Alicia's head as she clutched her side with one hand while gripping the reins of her pegasus with the other. At the rate this was going, Alicia knew that she had to take a risk. As good a flier as she was, the Ylissan captain was just as good, and she couldn't dodge those fireballs forever. Gritting her teeth in desperation, she forced Bellerophon to fly faster, goading the Dark Flier into chasing after her at full speed. As the Dark Flier closed in on her, Alicia pulled on the reins of her pegasus, causing it to rear back and rise, coming to a stop as the captain and her mount sped past her. Grinning, Alicia reached down, drew one of the two Javelins strapped to her mount's side, and hurled it at her opponent. Unfortunately, the Ylissan glanced behind her and veered her mount to the side, narrowly avoiding Alicia's thrown Javelin.

"Damn!" Alicia swore, scowling as she drew her second and last Javelin before chasing after the Dark Flier, their roles now reversed. However, just as the Dark Flier hadn't been able to tag her with a fireball, Alicia couldn't hit her with a throwing spear while her foe was flying at that speed. And unlike the captain, Alicia couldn't just throw spears willy-nilly like the Dark Flier had with her fireballs, since she only had one Javelin left. But just then, a whirlwind erupted around the Ylissan captain, who drew a tome of wind magic and surrounded herself with it, desperately trying to offset the effects of the spell. Unfortunately for her, the difference between her magic power and the opposing caster's was great enough that the whirlwind pierced her veil of wind, albeit striking with reduced damage. Still, the Dark Flier screamed in pain as blades of wind tore through her and mangled her pegasus' wings. And even worse for her, being struck by the whirlwind had slowed her enough that Alicia managed to throw a perfectly accurate Javelin, and a spear erupted through her back, finishing her off.

Bellerophon swooped down, and Alicia snatched the Killer Lance out of the now-dead captain's hands as payback for making her drop her own. With the captain dead and their own numbers heavily reduced, what Ylissan fliers that were still alive sounded the retreat, frantically fleeing from Plegia's capital. Alicia's smile of victory was marred by a wince from the wound in her side, and she maneuvered her mount back down to the ground next to the man who had cast the wind spell. Landing in front of him, Alicia gave a bow of thanks from atop her steed.

"Thank you, sir. Without that spell, I might not have been able to defeat that rider. Might I have the courtesy of knowing the name of the one who saved me?" She smiled, looking the man over and thinking that he was rather handsome.

Though the battle was coming to a conclusion, Zaino wasn't finished. Even as the remaining fliers turned to flee, he refused to let them escape, pursuing them and caught a Wyvern Rider just as he had prepared to take off into the sky, tossing his sword to the side. He clung on to the wyvern's wing as it began to struggle when it reached ten feet from the ground, beginning to descend slowly. He propelled himself up enough to grab hold of the rider's leg with both hands, pulling the rider from his mount. As the two plummeted to the earth, Zaino again pulled the rider downward so that they would absorb the sheer force of the fall, shifting his hands to grip their armor as they made their landing.

The rider screamed as his back met the ground, bones crunching and blood splattering around his body in a splotch. Zaino, seeing as the man was immobilized, quickly rose to his feet and nearly tripped as he reached for his sword. Seeing this, the man made a vain attempt to plead for his life, barely able to raise his hand in a motion for Zaino to stop. "St-stop... I've got family.. they'll starve!"

"I had a family too," Zaino replied, using his free hand to remove the rider's helmet to reveal the man's youthful, frightened face. He was not amused at the man's display of tears, raising the sword up as the man continued to beg.

"But Lant-" was all the rider was able to say before the edge of Zaino's sword crossed the man's throat. "But clearly, you didn't seem to care then, did you?"

Zaino looked above to see that the wyvern had flown away freely from the scene along with the rest of the surviving fliers, unable to keep himself upright for any longer. He couldn't tell if he had reopened any of his former wounds, and he was sure that he had gained new ones. Some of the bandages around his body had lost their tightening, allowing blood to flow from whatever wound did open. Biting his lip, he cursed himself for being in the same position as he had been last time when he collapsed.

Talbot's words made Phill laugh, who was he even talking to? Andrew?, well, he took some of the edge of Phills mind " I'm sorry for tearing your robe friend, I didn't think it meant that much to you". Phill finished the treatment as best he could and turned towards the inn " To make it up to you, we can train and even spar together, if you don't have anything else in mind" he laughed " of course I'd buy the drinks and food afterward, and maybe you can tell me who you were talking to, was it Andrew? "

Right then they heard the riders signaling retreat, looks like the battle was over, Phill looked towards the battlefield and saw Zaino Killing a last rider "that there is a hard bastard" he tought, recently recovered and still able to battle like that, Phill was impressed, yet it was obvious he reopened some, if not all his wounds. "Talbot, I'm going to help that asshole, I suggest you go find Ambra, she'll know what more to do, Andrew, you keep him safe" Andrew put his head next to Talbots and moved left to right huffing, showing that he liked the sorcerer.

Reaching Zaino he stopped a few feet from him, sensing imminent hostility "Hey, shepherd bandit, don't be an ass and lets get you some help before you collapse and Andrew has to carry your sorry but again! " he said in an annoyed tone.

”But I don’t-“ before Talbot knew it, Phillip walked away to Zaino. ”-spar… the sorcerer huffed loudly, lowering his arm and glowering at the floor. He knew that Phillip was just trying to be friendly. The Plegian cavalier was a good man, loyal and kind. Yet, he seemed to be aloof at times. There seemed to be many aloof people here… he winced when the horse nudged him, and he looked up at his steed. He seemed friendly. Rubbing the horse’s nose with his good hand, he walked toward Silas and Neo, who were standing over a body.
The body was a red haired woman who slumped on the warm ground was bleeding heavily from the head. Talbot sucked in a breath and noticed it was Ambra. What would happen if she was gone? They’d have no healer. His brown eyes flicked back and forth over the scenery, looking for the blond hair of Helena or the dark hair of that Shepherd bandit. He decided that he was just going to stick with the name of “Shepherd Bandit”. It fit him perfectly. He looked cunning, strong, and very… shady. If he was a Shepherd, why would he act as if they didn’t belong to the same faction?
His eyes looked back at Silas and Neo. ”What are you two doing standing around and gawking like bloody idiots?” he hissed, very frustrated at their stillness. ”We have to get this woman on a horse and leave this place.”
“Leave?” A shadow flitted near them. He looked up to see the Wyvern Lord woman land near them, the dragon growling as his taloned feet touched the ground. The woman was a beauty; long, golden hair, with piercing green eyes. Yet, her personality deemed her appearance useless. Talbot wanted nothing to do with a woman who stunk of liquor. “Tell me, little lambs, where are you to go? You are in the wolf’s maw now, and his teeth have clamped down. Did you know that there is a camp of Ylissean soldiers that is not two days from here?” her eyes cut through them. The wyvern growled again, and she leaned over to stroke his scales on the ridge of his nose sensually. “And I once thought you were smart.”
”I-“
“You’re Shepherds, I know. I can tell. I was one too.” she interrupted. “You may call me Lumara. Mind if I tag along?
Talbot narrowed his eyes and looked over the woman and the wyvern. He didn’t trust them… ”Your wyvern will eat all of our rations in an hour.”
Lumara snorted and actually looked offended. “Caius knows how to hold himself back. He takes food from my lips every time I allow him to. And he’s the smartest person I know. He can fly ahead a day or two and come back to tell us if there’s any enemies nearby.” she replied coolly. “I’m telling ya. You’re closed in. If you want to leave you can try to. But…” she let the last word roll off of her tongue slowly, curling a finger around her hair.

Laius was rather surprised to see another rider engaging the leader of the force, especially after he had claimed the fool for his own. His eyes kept a rather on the wild aerial chase, javelins claiming the sky. He kept a close hold on his wind spell, out of fear that he might strike the white rider during one of the instances the two closed in on each other. He found an opportunity to strike just as it seemed the Ylissean captain was to take the victory for her own, his spell striking true. She seemed to try to counter his spell with her own, but the strength of his magic easily overpowered the captain and his gale butchered the pegasus' wings. This seemed to leave the opening that the other rider needed to take the win. Laius followed the captain as she plummeted to the ground to join her comrades in the afterlife. The cowardly Ylisseans who remained scattered when they saw their leader fall, leaving Laius to chuckle at their feebleness. As was to be expected of such lesser troops, scattering before the might of Plegia.

The prince's vision was then graced by the fair haired knight whom he has assisted moments before. He summoned up a dazzling smile to the woman as she thanked him for his intervention. "It was my pleasure to assist such a graceful warrior in combat." He assured her, before continuing with his introduction. "I am Laius of Plegia," He bowed his head slightly "Might I ask your name? It would be a true crime to not find out more about such a beautiful woman. Especially one who holds such talent with a lance." There was nary a wrong time to feed a compliment or two to a woman. True, speaking with the other Shepards was probably a good idea about now, especially considering he had overheard the wyvern rider of the bunch mentioning Ylissean troops positioning themselves around the capital, but it could wait until he got to know this rather fine young woman a bit better.

Of course, the man playing knight in shining armor comes to my 'rescue'. What luck.

"Call me Shepherd bandit again, and you'd better learn how to sleep with a sword at your side." Zaino barked, fed up with this so-called knight. When his wounds were to be fully recovered and he was able to fight at his full strength, he made sure that this was the first person he would kill. He forced himself to sit upright, glaring at Phill and spitting on his feet, clearly 'being an ass.' "You'd be smart to watch how you talk to people like me. I can kill you in ways that you could spend a lifetime figuring out and never learn."

Zaino groaned as he used his sword as leverage, careful not to apply too much weight onto his weapon in fear of damaging it further and standing on his feet, albeit barely. He turned over to Phill's horse, and scoffed as he observed its shoulder for a moment before turning back to the man. "You know, I could go for some basashi right now. It's a fairly traditional Valmese dish that I like."

Aiming to incite the man through the mention of his horse being food, Zaino shoved Phill with his shoulder as he limped past the knight, his movements akin to that of an old man walking with a cane. He unintentionally found himself among the rest of the group, seeing a bunch of new faces among them. He fumbled over his sword and accidentally fell into Talbot, quickly holding himself up so he himself wouldn't fall to the ground. Regardless as to whether or not Talbot fell over as a result, he spoke to him. "Where's that one archer... Ambra? Dead?"

What are you two doing standing around and gawking like bloody idiots?"

Silas turned his head suddenly, finding himself caught between gawking uselessly between Talbot and Ambra. He'd failed to do a single useful thing the whole encounter, and it just dawned on him that his little venture to this corner of the battlefield had yeilded nothing good for anyone. Without the words to speak, he instead forcefully applied his palm to his face, in frustration. He gave Ambra another look-over, a tight pain in his chest. He came to try and help, and all he's done is... Well, nothing. gods damn it all, he was so useless as-is. If only he'd had the patience for magic, of some sort, he could at least have given a try at healing. Although, the one time he did give it a try, the wound only widened, so...

Silas cringed at the memory, only recovering as a new voice joined in. Lumara, as she introduced herself, reeked of alcohol and dried blood. And yet, in the midst of all the fumes, she seemed incredibly sober. Shakily, Silas stood himself up. Ambra seemed to be keeping herself awake, and he prayed she kept that up until they could find proper help.
"..Lumara, is it?" Silas questioned, jabbing Talbot in the side with his elbow. He gave his friend an edgy glance, deciding that any help was good help, at this point. He looked back to Lumara, still in awe of her alcohol tolerance. "...If we're surrounded, I sure hope you know a way out of this." Slias gave a quick glance back to their injured companion, again, awash with concern. "Preferrably with the least number of casualties."

Talbot continued to frown down at Ambra, only glancing up when the wyvern grunted and growled. The beast seemed completely interested in the unconscious female, as his nostrils flared as he drew in deep breaths. His black haired was blown around some more due to the lizard’s breath. Its large amber eyes were wide and unnerving as he struggled to keep his attention on Ambra. The blood stopped, much like a fire smothered by its own ashes. She had bleed so much that the blood hardened and clotted around her face, not allowing any more of the liquid of life to spill from her pale face. He sighed and bit his lip, his dark brow furrowing slightly.
Someone stumbled against him, and he turned to let out a snarky comment. His eyes rested on the black haired man that leant against him. Blood blossomed under his bandages and ran down his body. He smelled of herbs and blood and sweat. Zaino. Why was he hanging on to him? He stayed stiff, until he realized that he was not going to harm him. ”She’s not dead. But if we keep on standing around, she’ll die.” he raised his eyes to the man and frowned. ”Shepherd Bandit, we have to get this woman on a horse and get her to a healer. Mind helping?”
Someone else jabbed his ribs, making him grunt and glower upwards. The familiar green hair of Silas appeared in his vision, and he scowled. ”No!” his voice cracked, and he swallowed to moisten his throat. His face, which wavered, regained its composure and hardened once more. He was so thirsty… he would drink his own piss if he couldn’t go on anymore. He wasn’t able to drink water in his short time at the inn. ”No-brain, how do we even know she’s a Shepherd? Why would one be in the spotlight in Plegia’s capital city! Think for once, will you?”
“There’s a route all the way to the west of the city where bandits sneak through when they’re being chased.” Lumara replied coolly, her green eyes flashing down at the two men. A frown crossed her features as she looked at everyone. “Your men need aid. I suggest that all of you decide what you wish to do before that pretty little thornless rose bleeds out and that rugged yet handsome man passes out.” she looked between Ambra and Zaino accordingly. “And… before I pass out from alcohol poisoning and bleeding out as well.” with that, she offered Silas a grin. “What do you say, sexy?”

"Call me Shepherd bandit again, and you'd better learn how to sleep with a sword at your side." Zaino barked
"How the hell am I supposed to call you, you Idiot, you never gave me your name, or is ashole your name?" Phill responded in annoyance, if the man wanted a fight, a fight he would get, and with great pleasure would Phill kick his ass all the way to Yllise and back, the man may be skilled and stuborn as an old goat but Phill was too.

Zaino scoffed as he observed its shoulder for a moment before turning back to the man. "You know, I could go for some basashi right now. It's a fairly traditional Valmese dish that I like". Phill dind't know what Basashi was, he'd normally just eat food, not wondering were it came from, so he just assumed it was ill meant and just glared at him. Andrew on the other hand, as soon as he heard those foul words huffed in anger, and as soon as Zaino got close, when Talbot looked the other way to Silas, stomped on Zaino's foot. Phill, already back to where everyone was, halfheartedly and disinterested scolded Andrew "Oh no, bad Andrew, you shouldn’t have done that, noooo" Phill at the ready to defend his horse.
He noticed that the other men who just appeared on the scene were there too, he saw Silas being seduced by the drunk dragon lady in her beast, a wounded lady, and Ambra, AMBRA!! by the gods! She was severely wounded and barely alive by the look on her face. It didn't matter how she got that horrible wound, just how to heal her but, she was the only healer in the team, and everyone else looked clueless on the matter, except for the man holding Ambra, he's concentration and serious tone held innate authority in them but, the best chance was a healer, he turned to his prince " My magnificent Prince, I have two favors to ask of you if I may" He knelled and looked at his prince straight on with great Plegian pride "could you please spare a healer from the guards for this woman, I'd go fetch him right away, with your permition, and " he hesitated for a moment " may I join these fine people in their noble cause? I feel as if I am needed here!"

"Knight captures rook, check." Lantus moved a black chess piece forward, eyes narrowed as he surveyed the board. With nothing else to do until his reconnaissance patrols returned, he had challenged Darrian to an impromptu match of chess, seeking to take the man's measure in strategy. And then Lantus had found him wanting. The Exalt was utterly terrible at chess. His play was impulsive, eagerly trading pieces with Lantus for no reason while leaving the rest of his pieces exposed. Soon enough, Darrian's king was left dangerously open, the majority of his pieces decimated.

"If I may, my lord," Lantus kept his tone light and conversational. "If you are intent on repeatedly putting yourself in danger on the front like this often, would it not be prudent to marry and ensure that you have an heir soon? You are a skilled warrior, Exalt, but ill fortune could strike anyone on the battlefield," Lantus gestured towards his eye patch as Darrian moved a rook forward to capture the knight that had taken his other rook. But that left him open for the end. "Should the worst come to pass, the exalted blood must be preserved. What say you, Your Majesty?" The general moved a black bishop forward and threatened Darrian's king, which he had just left open by moving his white rook. The white king was completely hemmed in, with no safe spaces left to move to. "Checkmate."

___

Alicia was rather flattered by the man's compliment, but kept her composure as befit a noble of her station. "You honor me, sir. I am Alicia of Westshire." She replied, referring to her father's lands as her origin. However, something the man before her said sparked her memory. Laius...wasn't that the name of Plegia's crown prince? She had heard it both in passing and in her foreign relations lessons, but to have the crown prince of Plegia be such a shameless flirt was stretching the imagination. Still, there was no harm in asking. "Laius of Plegia...is that not the name of Plegia's crown prince?" Alicia inquired.

Darrian was horrible at chess.
He constantly tried to be on the offense, but Lantus' defense and strategy was too much for him. His little "army" turned to sand under his command. Pawns, rooks, knights... no matter how hard he tried to pick off Lantus' army, he just... couldn't. Before he knew it, he was in check. Growling under his breath, he moved another piece before he was in checkmate. Darrian looked down at his king. For some reason, he pictured it as himself, and the thought unnerved him. Glancing back up at Lantus, his brow furrowing, he spoke. "I have no interest in choosing a bride so soon." he explained, taking the king in his fingers and looking at it. "Why would I want a heir? It's just going to be a brat. A bundle of nonsense wailing for a nursing. Then comes the training, and then the watching. It's the watching you have to have to take seriously."
He expected Lantus to understand what he meant. His eyes watched him coolly. "When the whelp grows to his teens, it's when you have to be careful. I felt the same way when Lucina was Exalt. I waited for so long for her to die. She was weak. I knew that I was going to do better than her. I was tempted to carry out the deed, but I didn't. What makes you think that the brat will be an angel?"
Darrian sighed in frustration as he lined up his pieces again. The pawns in the front, the king next to the queen. "I know that there must be a heir to the throne. But what kind of woman is worthy of marrying me?"

Laius continued to smile charmingly. "The honor is all mine, lady Alicia." He purred at the pegasus mounted warrior. Westshire sounded familiar to him, but frankly he didn't pay much mind to the foreign lands of the world. It was probably in Ylisse, considering she rode upon a winged horse instead of a wyvern. Her armor seemed to signify the same thing. Beauty, skill and nobility. Quite the illustrious guest he had amongst his midst. One who caught on quickly to his position amongst his fellow Plegians. He nodded his head when she asked if he was the heir to the desert country's throne. "Why, of course. I am indeed the prince of this fine country you find yourself in n-" It was then that Laius heard a voice talking over his. Someone had marched up to him and decided, rather than let him finish talking to this delightful young woman, they would march up and start demanding something of him.

"Pardon me for a moment." Laius directed to Alicia, before turning to the cause of such a RUDE interruption. It was the fool from early, bowing down to him like the ill mannered filth that he was! Interrupting a man whilst he charmed a fine woman! A pitiful excuse for a Plegian this man was. The fury which built upon Laius' face would shake even the most stalwart of generals. The sheer rage inside him nearly manifested as a tangible aura of pure terror. The irritated royal opened his mouth, hissing a bone chilling 'Goooooooooo' at the foul cavalier as he groveled. He didn't even hear what the sod had said to him, but he honestly didn't care. Once his death bringing whisper had left his lips, he turned back to Alicia, his face just as pleasant and pleased as it was when he first began talking to her.

"Right, as I was saying, yes, I'm the crown prince of this fine country. I'm assuming you're a tad surprised, but I quite often walk the streets of my people. I don't so often cut down Ylissean soldiers, but they don't march into my capital all that often either." He continued from where he left off, as if the SCUM that was Phillip hadn't come before him with such a meek request for aid. The nerve of some people, to pull his attention away from the finer sex. The nerve.

Before...

After getting something to eat and something to drink, Tihlas had gone back to the room to rest. He thought he had seen some familiar faces, but quickly shrugged it off, thinking that he may be the only Shephard to escape the massacres back in Yllisse. He lay in the bed, trying to figure out what he should do once he was healed. Darrian was lusting for more power, and the Shephards were the most immediate threat at the time. Tihlas kept thinking through what he had to do next, but he would need allies to do anything, and to warn the Plegian people about what was happening. While thinking on this, he had drifted off to sleep.

---

A Little Later

Tihlas woke to the sound of combat, and instinctively reached out to where his gear would normally have been, and grasped at air until he remembered that he wasn't at the camp. He stood and moved to his gear in the corner, quickly putting on his armor as he heard crashing noises outside. It sounded like it might have been riders fighting, but he couldn't be sure just yet. Finally donning his helm and grabbing both shield and lance, Tihlas made his way down and out the inn's side door.

What he met outside was a mess of iron, steel, and magic. It was indeed pegasi and wyvern riders attacking, did they come to track him down? No, it likely wasn't just him, else there wouldn't have been such fierce fighting. A couple of the riders noticed him come out and immediately targeted him, a pegasus and wyvern rider, one of whom threw a rather poorly aimed javelin that Tihlas easily deflected with his shield. Next came the rush, the wyvern from the right, and the pegasus from the left. Shame, really, that they weren't very well trained, otherwise they would have come at him in such a way as to attack at the same time, but they didn't, and the pegasus rider was the first within his range.

The poor guy was still trying to hit him with javelins, and was unfortunate to run out too close and couldn't get out his lance in time. Tihlas cut the side of the pegasus' neck as he sent his own lance into the chest of the rider, forcing him off his mount and then sliding from the lance to the ground, dead. The wyvern rider was next and came at him with axe in hand, Tihlas would have trouble with this one, especially since he was already weakened. They charged at him just a foot off the ground as he braced himself. The wyvern's jaws came first, just missing his left arm and going past, then came the rider. The rider brought his axe down at the same time Tihlas sent his lance forward, causing them to meet in the middle.

His lance was already battle worn, and had started to break as soon as the axe came down on the shaft, and confident he was victorious, the rider's momentum caused him to drive his necked onto the lance. The broken in remained as life immediately left his eyes and the wyvern, unaware that Tihlas was now weaponless, turned in fear to flee with a corpse on its back. Tihlas would consider himself lucky, until the wyvern's large tail slammed into him with enough force to launch him off the ground and send him through a window in the inn. His back hit something and everything suddenly went black.

---

Now

Leaning up against an upturned and broken table, somehow out of sight of anyone inside because of the table, Tihlas came to. He wasn't fully aware of his surrounding, though, as his was disoriented and darkness was at the edge of his vision. He couldn't get his body to move,other than bend a leg and scrape his foot noisily against the wooden floor. He let out a quiet groan at the noise and movement, as it seemed to make his whole body ache, especially his head.

The cute little sorcerer made a sound that sounded much like a huff. He seemed like a good guy, but his brown eyes held skepticism and caution. The other man, an archer and even cuter than the sorcerer, seemed to have blanked out and not answered her question. Too bad. Lumara Knew that they had to leave. They were coming and she believed that something worse was going to happen other than a passed out red haired girl and wounded men. Her mouth opened to speak again before she caught sight of a gaping window, broken shards of glass clinging to the frame of the window. Hmm? she wondered what might have gone through it. Her brows furrowed as she drunkenly slid off Caius, who perked and set his amber eyes on Lumara.
Her boots crunched fragments of glass, making her curse and look around the inn. Everything looked normal, except for a man that was on a broken table and moving slightly. He groaned quietly, and she gripped her Killer Lance tightly. Walking over, she held out her lance and pressed the tip against his chest. "Who do we have here?" she drawled, a smirk coming across her lips. This man was weak and he would not be able to fight. She slid the point of her lance to his throat, setting one hand on her hip. "Tell me, are you a straggler? A Ylissean soldier?" she watched him closely, her emerald eyes narrowing.
Even though she was drunk, Lumara was just as aggressive as any other Shepherd- and just as deadly as any Ylissean guard. If the man made any fishy move, she could just put pressure and the sharp tip of the lance would go through flesh and tendon, splitting his spine. "Go on!" she barked, the pressure increasing a bit more on his throat. "Cat got your tongue?"

No less but much more, Zaino felt as if the name and reputation of the Shepherds had been consumed with the flames that scorched all eight of their barracks. These people claimed to be them, but they were nothing more than a ragtag band of liars and idiots, the lot of them. He could tell just by looking at the scandalously promiscuous woman and the other idiot who had already shifted to flirting when there were people wounded; these people were worse than Xanxus. Holding the sword by his scabbard and straightening himself, he gave both the mage and the woman a disgusted look as he was promptly requested to help, with the addition of the phrase that he had clearly advised the second idiot loud and clear to not speak. Clearly, these people were not the brightest in the world.

"Piss off," Zaino whacked the mage in the back of the head with the end of his scabbard as the other woman left for the inn, reattaching it to his waist. It was then that he remembered that he had left his shirt and upper body clothing inside of the room because it had still been stained with blood, and had charged out of the inn to confront his pursuers half-naked and covered in bandages. He began the journey towards the inn, momentarily turning back to the mage before entering. "Why don't you quit standing there like the rest of these idiots and you do something? I thought you called yourselves Shepherds, but clearly I got the wrong idea."

Already, Zaino had had enough of these people. He pushed past the 'worried' innkeeper and returned to the room where he'd been treated, slowly trailing over to his pile of clothing and resting it on his shoulder. Putting on his gauntlet and shoulderguard, he looked to the bed where several stray bandages sprawled around, sighing and picking up a few. Just as he prepared to leave, he stopped to see the drunken woman threatening someone, a familiar scene replaying in his mind from the days before. Xanxus, hovering above one of his friends with his sword at their throat, simply leaning his right arm inward as crimson sprayed about...

"Stop!" Zaino shouted, briefly ignoring the limitations that his wounds imposed and running towards the scene, shoving Lumara away from the man with a wild look. Like a guardian, he stood over the man and extended his arms backwards, as if to shield him. He stood there for a moment before blinking, the sudden act of defense dissipating along with his limiters. He looked at Lumara and the man once before looking down at his feet in confusion, exiting the inn without any other words to say.