The bandit who was hit with Felix's sword fell backward, dropping his axe in the process. He lay on the ground groaning and clutching his head. An instant look of fury crossed over Brax's face. If he was smart, he would have turned tail and fled them. But unfortunately for him and his crew, he wasn't. "You son of a bitch." Brax growled. "Kill them both." He ordered his men, fury making him forget about the money they could make selling the girl instead of killing her. At this point that didn't matter, it was more a matter of pride now.

The three remaining bandits advanced, Brax still hanging back to let his men do the work. Two of them focused on the boy, while the last went for the girl. The two attacking the boy lunged at him from either side, hoping to overwhelm him. The one attacking the girl raised his axe high to cleave her in two. As his men attacked, Brax circled around, hoping to attack from another angle while his men kept the two busy. The scout, having yet to get his signal, remained where he was.

So much for their attention being on the wagon. And for a peaceful resolution, for that matter, Felix thought to himself as he was flanked. However, he had no interest in dealing with a pair of bandits on either side, especially since he had a job to do. He darted backward quickly, preferring not to be surrounded. Besides, the bandits' aggression in this was a boon. They were less attentive than they should have been. True, one of the bandits had aims on Katherine, but they made the mistake of targeting both Felix's charge and his best friend.

Instead of engaging the two who were encroaching on him, Felix doubled back, aiming for the bandit who was moving for his friend. "Yeah, gonna have to ask you not to do that!" He said, swinging upward from the ground at the bandit's side.

Katherine chuckled at Felix, "Aw c'mon. I know you're supposed to protect me, but I can handle one bandit!" Seeing as he was taking care of the one attacking her, she decided to go after one of the bandits that had attempted to attack Felix. She thought about going after Brax in hopes of ending this battle, but if she wasn't able to take him down quick they would have even more men attacking them at once. Besides, keeping Felix and herself safe was the higher priority. They could deal with Brax together after they dealt with his goons.

She flung a Lightning spell at the poor bandit's face, hoping to blind and burn him to allow for a follow up spell, assuming no one attacked her and got through Felix, that is.

The bandit who had been attacking the girl found himself engaged with the boy instead. He brought his axe as quickly as he could and managed to block most of the boy's attack, turning what would have been a fatal blow into a wounding one. He grit his teeth and endured the pain, returning the attack with one of his own, a small, sweeping, sideways attack. The boy was fast and would be hard to hit, but if he could land a blow, the boy would slow down and thus be easier to handle.

The two who had been attacking the boy momentarily found themselves without an opponent. They tried to engage with the boy once again, but only one was able to go and help. The other had a Lightning spell coming for his face. Out of pure instinct the man brought his axe up to block the attack. Sparks danced across the metal of the blade. The man stared at it in shock for a moment, before what had just happened registered in his brain. "She's a mage!" He cried, before turning and running.

The other two bandits, who were engaging the boy immediately stopped. Magic wasn't something that they came across very often, but they knew the damage that could be caused by it. Though they managed to keep hold of their axes, they too fled after the their companion. Leaving only Brax, the scout, and the man who still lay on the ground with a possible concussion. Brax's face was turning red with fury. "You cowards!" He screamed after his fleeing men. "If I ever see your faces again, I'll put my axe through them!"

With no other option left, Brax gave the hand signal to the scout, but was surprised when the man suddenly stood up, giving away his position. He held his hands out in a peaceful pose. "Sorry man, you don't pay me enough to deal with magic, I'm out." With Brax left alone, the scout knew what the outcome of this battle would be. He turned to the two they had been previously attacking and bowed to them. "Have a nice evening." He said, before he too turned and fled.

At this point, Brax was furious, and not thinking straight. All he knew was that these two who should have been an easily catch had just disband his entire crew with a single spell. With a cry of rage he rushed the two of the them, swinging his axe in a huge, but extremely powerful, arc. He no longer had the mental capacity to care what the outcome would be. All he was thinking about was restoring his lost pride, so that he could go hunt down his former crew and kill them.

Felix quickly turned his blade down to hook the axe. While it was enough to slow the sweep, it did make a glancing blow, which didn't break through his light armor, but was definitely enough to leave a bruise. Felix grimaced as he swung a thrusting kick forward at the quasipinned bandit. He moved to engage the other, not caring for being surrounded, when suddenly the two bolted.

"Well, that's a bit pathetic..." Felix mumbled as he saw Brax charging forward. In spite of the pain from the axe blow, Felix moved forward to intercept the raging bandit leader. He raised his sword, not to strike, but rather to intercept the larger man's strike before he could put a lot of power behind it. When the blows clashed, Felix coughed from exertion. "Look, just back off, will you? We have important things to do, and you picked a mark way outside your pay grade..." He spoke, gritting his teeth.

Katherine watched them all run away, her eyes wide. "Are people that afriad of magic? -- Er, I mean YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT YOU BETTER RUN! I'LL STEAL YOUR SOULS AND EAT THEM FOR DINNER! MUAHAHAH!" she shouted after them, mocking an evil sorcereress. Although, something about it wasn't quite right. She supposed she didnt't have the tone quite right.

She turned back to Brax and Felix, and rushed to help. She sent another Lightning blast at Brax's face. More to blind him momentarily than really hurt him. "Well, technically he's not paid anything, Felix." she said before addressing Brax, while he was hopefully reeling from her spell, "But regardless, can't we just stop this nonsense now? Please, you must calm down. You're still alive and that's what matters. Not your pride. Live on to redeem yourself instead of dying in shame!"

Brax's axe blow was intercepted by the boy, and before he could attack again a magic spell was flung in his face. The enraged bandit staggered back, left hand going to his face, while his right managed to keep hold of his axe. They both spouted off meaningless words. Trying to tell him that giving up now and living would be better. But they were wrong. He had no crew anymore, which meant he had basically lost all respect in the bandit community. Not to mention the fact that even his own daughter had left him. He would rather die now in battle than give up and die somewhere else down the road, alone.

As soon as his vision returned, Brax was on the attack again. "If you want to live, then you'll have to kill me!" He roared, throwing everything he had in a sideways axe swing. People had told him that the road he had chosen, the life of banditry, would lead to an early death. He had always known they had been right. At least he had got to see his little girl grow up.

"Or, and here's a thought..." Felix planted his sword into the ground to intercept the strike, the crossguard hooking into the weapon to hopefully stop the swing. Of course, for his plan, Felix didn't need his sword. All he needed was one good strike. He stepped in quickly, right hand curling into a fist. He rammed his fist to the bandit's abdomen as quickly and with as much force as he could. "Stop talking, you idiot!" He said as he did so.

No matter what he did, Brax couldn't defeat these two. They had looked like such weak and easy prey. He had never misjudged anyone so badly before. His next attack was blocked again and the boy slammed a fist into his stomach. The blow knocked the wind out of him and drove him to his knees as he tried to suck in air. The boy may have been strong, but he was a coward, avoiding the killing shot. "Just end me, damn it." The man wheezed between breaths. "You've taken everything else, you may as well take my life." He didn't even bother to try and grab for his axe, which had fallen out of his grasp when he had dropped to his knees.

Katherine dashed over and snagged Brax's axe, making sure to keep it away from him, "To what end? And those are funny words coming from a theif...perhaps now you know how your victims feel." she shook her head, "No, you're going to live. Becuase you can do better than this, and I think everyone deserves a second chance."

She knelt down next to him, making sure his axe was too far for him to grab, and healed him, she then offered him her hand to help him up, "For now, why don't you take a little break from pirating, banditry, or whatever, and think about your life. What you want to do with it? What's important to you? I want you to think about all that stuff....and perhaps, not right now, but in the future some time. I could use your help. Felix mentioned that we were on an important mission and it's true, and I know I can't do it alone....But that's a matter for another time."

Kathy smiled and raised her hand closer to him, "So. Do you accept? Oh, my name's Katherine by the way."

Felix quietly sheathed his sword. It wasn't his decision what to do with the bandit, and he wouldn't have objected with whatever Katherine's decision was, even if he didn't agree with her choice to heal the man, but it didn't matter. Their fight was done, and, even though he'd sheathed his blade, if the bandit tried anything funny, he would not hesitate to retaliate with lethal force. Though for Katherine's sake, Felix hoped that the bandit wouldn't act up.

"Kathy, you sure you should be giving him your name?" Felix asked, before shaking his head. "What am I talking about? I guess everyone in the country will know it soon enough," he sighed.

Brax was speechless. Not only would these cowards not kill him, but the girl actually healed him. All the aches and pains from this battle just completely melted away. Then the girl started giving him life advice. Like she had any right to talk to him like that. She had no idea what he had been through. What he had done. Brax smacked the girl's hand away, not as harshly as he could have, but not exactly gently either. "You cowards won't survive long in this world if you aren't willing to kill one man." He said in an almost fatherly scolding tone.

Brax rose to his feet, turned around, and started walking away. He didn't bother to grab his axe again. With or without it, he'd be dead soon anyway. Those cowards who had left him would be after him soon, one of them taking the title of Bandit King. He paused though after only moving forward a small amount. "One last thing. If you meet a girl with silver hair... Please, spare her like you did me." With that, the man turned around again, and this time didn't look back.

Katherine shrugged, "Why not? My name doesn't mean much yet." she thought a moment, Kathy wondered if her father even gave her a name. Did he even know about her? It made her a little sad, actually. But she was snapped away from her thoughts by Brax slapping her hand away. She retreated it, holding it close to her chest. "But...it's more that there's no point to it..." Not that he was listening to her. She watched him walk away before turning to Felix.

"Shame. No regrets though." she smiled at him, before healing him. She knew his shoulder got bruised a little, "A girl with silver hair, huh? That shouldn't be too hard to spot."

Felix took a deep breath as he was healed. "Well, best we can do is keep moving forward." He admitted. "I guess I was just a little concerned is all."

Felix went back to the wagon, motioning the horse pulling it to carry on. After they were a bit of the ways down the road, and once sufficient cover found, the two made camp. "Still, wonder if that guy will be surprised when he finds out just who you were." He chuckled. "Although..." He seemed slightly bothered. "I just hope you made the right call. Kate, no matter what decisions you make, I'll support you, just... Try and be safe, okay?" He asked.

The two set off once more as morning came, and by midday, they'd arrived at the manor. Felix was somewhat awestruck by the sheer scale, his mouth agape as he looked at the huge building. "Jeez... This is ridiculous... And this guy's just the governor for our little town? How the heck is his house so big? ... I'm kinda scared to think how big the castle would be!"

Katherine smiled at him, "I beleive I did, if that means anything. As I said, no regrets. And isn't that what you're here for?" she chuckled, pulling on his sleeve.

---

She came to a stop beside him, "To be fair, this manor houses more than just him. It does seem a bit excessive, though. There's people out there starving, barely making it through the day, and then there are nobles that eat feasts and wouldn't know what a hard day's work is. Not that I have anything against nobles...I just wish they did more to help people with what they have."

Kathy shook her head, and straightened her dress. It was one Emmerich had provided for her. It was made for travel, and nothing too fancy, but definitely more elaborate than her cleric's robes. Also white. She wondered if he planned that. It was also a little tighter in the...bosom and midsection than her robes. She supposed if it weren't it might fall off though, considering it left her shoulders bare. She turned to Felix, "Are you ready, Captain?" she smiled at him, "Come on, straighten that back! Close that jaw!" she chuckled at him.

"Err... Ah. Right." Felix scratched the back of his head, closing his mouth as they approached the gate. He was still shocked by how big the building was, though he did his best not to betray it.

"State your business," A guard holding a halberd spoke, motioning to the two.

"We're here to see the Lord of the manor," Felix said, his voice cracking slightly. "Commander Emmerich has already sent word of our arrival." He explained.

The guard looked to another on the opposite side of the door, motioning to him. The second guard entered the manor. "You two wait here, and don't try anything funny," the first spoke. "My partner will verify with the Lord."

Felix nodded, then mumbled to Katherine. "Could these guys be more stiff?"

Katherine shrugged at him, "With the state the country is in, I guess it's understandable. I'm not sure what kind of funny business a knight and a cleric could get into though.... Wait, do I still look like a cleric?" she asked, looking down at herself, and turning a little for him. She supposed it was the most...scandalous dress she'd ever worn. Not that that was saying much. "Maybe I should've stayed in my robes. Oh well. Too late now."

She clasped her hands in front of her as they waited, although her fingers twitched a little. Kathy had to admit she was a little nervous.

"You look nice," Felix said, looking off to the side, his face slightly red. "It's just something to get used to, isn't it?" He asked. They sat there for a few minutes, and before long, the gate opened again. A man in richly clothes stepped out with the guard. "Ah, so my guest has arrived. Honestly, I do apologize for my guards' impudence. I'd had to keep your situation a bit quiet, as it were."

The guards looked to the lord slightly uncomfortable.

"Milord," Felix bowed, only to be completely ignored.

"Well, men, I'd like to introduce you to the one who will rightfully ascend to the late King Alphin's throne, Lady Katherine." The lord spoke, bowing to her. "I am Lord Stefan. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Katherine smiled at Felix, "Why, thank you! And I guess you're right. I'll just have to get used to it."

She turned back to the doors as the lord opened the door. She gave him a cursty, "Yes...it's nice to meet you. And it's quite alright. I think we'd prefer to keep my existence quiet for now anyway." she gestured to Felix, "This is Felix. One of Emmerich's captains and my best friend since childhood." she said, smiling at him. Feeling a little less uncomfortable while looking at him, before turning back to Stefan. "I wish we had more time to talk, but I fear time is of the essence and we must prepare for our trip and be off... Commander Emmerich sent a letter of this, correct?" she said, trying to sound authoritative.

"Hmm..." Stefan said, acknowledging the fact that Felix existed, but not much else. "Well, it seems the commander's lackey did well enough getting you here safely." He said with a smile. "I do understand your sense of urgency, Lady Katherine, however, a rush isn't needed in this case. I've not quite had the time to prepare your supplies yet, nor to have a troop prepared for your escort. Besides, scouts told of some bandit activity on the road here, and I'm guessing there was a high chance you were, if nothing else, inconvenienced by it. Some time to rest may do you some good."

Felix frowned. The guy gave him the creeps.