“Natravi…what an exotic name, very melodious too.” The lady smiled uneasily glancing at the synonymously shocked expressions of her company. “I will gladly indulge in that discussion however right now, as you can see; I am needed elsewhere. Luvrit, I shall be borrowing your men for some time.”

“They-They are here for your service, my lady,” Luvrit smiled and bowed as she led the two away.

Turning around he found himself wieghted down under the scrutiny of two brown pupils. Caught off-guard he stepped backed on instinct and broke off the stare.

“What is it?” he asked after clearing his throat.

“You’re a huge hypocrite,” she stated.

“…”, his eyebrow couldn’t be raised any higher. “Hmp-*Cough* not everyone adores nobles.”

“True, not everyone adores them. But not everyone is privy to the company of a duke's daughter nor is everyone trusted well enough to be spoken to by name while coming from, as I’ve seen, the cesspool of questionable company and still muster enough anger to silently grimace behind the mask of an obedient dog.”

“Not everyone is as straightforward as you Natravi. What I do, I do for Volvo's...the whole team's benefit. Something you clearly have trouble in. Speaking to a noble with that tone?” He asked, crossing his arms.

"Atleast I had the guts to speak my mind, your welcome."

"...This better not come back to bite us in the back." Luvrit pointed out as he stepped closer.

"If it does it'll be just another mouth to look out for, along with the decayed ones of the dead and decayed ones of...those here."

"That's true," Luvrit huffed amusedly. "A small, powedered mouth among the black and yellow teeth of the men here...Wait, no! I'm not falling for that; you're trying to distract me from what you said. You’ve showed off your true colors...a fallen noble, is it? Why and why now?"

“Perhaps I wanted to test how thick the oil was before I lit it.” Natravi said staring into his eyes.

“And perhaps I have the flint and steel. Or perhaps I have its corrective," Luvrit narrowed his eyes as he raised an eyebrow and closed the distance between them to a mere few inches.

Luvrit's eyes wavered across her face, trying to discern what little emotion they held. Under the foggy sky he couldn't make out much about the dark skinned woman and he doubted that it would've been any different if he had her under the sunlight. Natravi lifted her nose and spoke;

“What a great disparity you have presented me with Luvrit. I could choose to follow through with my plans and light these dark skies with wisps of a dying flames or I could allow the darkness to consume all, ushering an new day of tomorrow.”

This brought Luvrit out of his stupor and he took a step back before smugly saying; “I didn’t think that the Meddling Peddler was something a noble would hold attention over. Someone with your standing would read the leather covers of our little ‘cesspool’.”

Despite the language Luvvrit's voice held not malice it had before.

“Hm, How amusing,” Natravi suddenly leaned forward, her emotionless face mere breaths away. Luvrit reacted in norm and jerked back, flushing slightly. “And I didn't think that anything other than tomatoes could be this red. You are a ‘certified’ mercenary and a...rather struggling practitioner of the noble-tongue Luvrit, so you should know the importance of having knowledge outside your 'bubble'."

"Hmph," Luvrit scoffed. "I may not know what a 'bubble' mean's but I do know that words like 'thou' and 'thee' belong to the northern realms...so that's where you're from."

"I am quite sure I came from the south," Natravi exagerrated examining her dark skin. "Or is it that the cold make's ones skin so brown, hmmm?"

"Ah...I.." Luvrit stuttered. He knew his mistake the moment he revealed his thoughts and scolded himself for getting carried away with his emotions.

"It does not matter though," Natravi waved her hand in dismissal. "You can believe whatever you want to hold belief in, but forntunately for us we won't be seeing eachother after this incident. Uncle Drac will and I will be leaving soon after this...chaos has been resolved."

"What! You can't just leave like that." Luvrit said, shocked. "Look around you Natravi, these people have lost everything in this, you can't just leave them like this. You said it yourself; these people have lost their children, loved ones, they've become widows and widowers...and you just want to leave them like this. That crumbling city out there, that is my home, all their homes and that's been invaded by corpses. It's standing on its last leg, as are all these people here. So once this is over I will help rebuild my home and I will help others get back on their feet, but what will you do, scurry away like this doesn't matter. Sure you may help bury the dead, but what about all the destruction they've caused, all the dead this battle will create. You may not like it but you have a responsibility to these people the moment you decided you wanted to stay and help kill those things."

Natravi stared back at his deepening scowl. If she understood his encrypted message then she showed no indication of it. Luvrit waited in a weighted silence as he waited for her reaction. Finally she sighed and stepped back.

"I shouldn't practice what I condemn," Natravi nodded. "You are right Luvrit, I regret it."

"What?" Luvrit said. The shock had sucked out all emotion he had so his voice sounded very deadpanned.

"If you think this is apology for you, it is not. I am regretfull for forgetting his teachings; 'always leave things better than how you found them.'"

"That...that's good, so you'll help out."

"Yes...if we get out of this alive." Natravi stared at the sky with a hint of solemnity.

"Sure we will," Luvrit reassured. He clapped his hand with her shoulder but she twisted her body and flowed past it, leaving him hanging.

"Dirt and blood," Natravi pointed at the caked glove before returning to staring at the sky. "This here, this situation, it's unnatural, its feels orchestrated."

"What do you mean?" Luvrit asked, intrigued.

“Like I said; we are suspended in a static situation.”

“What’s that mean?” Whether it was their lack of communication or a lack in his knowledge Luvrit couldn’t help get frustrated. Bothered by his irksome mind Natravi continued;

“We cannot do anything, we’re motionless. We are stuck on this hill in a cage of the duke’s house surrounded by the undead who, until a moment ago, were swarming everything in sight. Yet they refuse to give chase to this house, it’s only uphill. We are being played with.”

Luvrit stayed quiet for some time, and in that space of time changed his expressions multiple times before settling on one of defeat, re-enforced with a sigh. “Volvo thinks it’s a necromancer, and if that’s the case-”

“Then this mess can be resolved faster than we expected,” Natravi said with resolute eyes. “Maybe there is a connection of between that girl we met in the alley and the magician.”

“Why do you say that?”

“It would be the greatest of coincidences if the appearance of such powerful people weren’t related, we’re being played with, don’t you agree?”

“Let’s hope you’re wrong,” Luvrit frowned. They waited the remainder of the time in silence until Peter and Fliss returned with Lady Lidia leading the charge. After exchanging pleasantries Lidia waded to the back, allowing the guys to get together.

“Hey,” Peter asked worriedly, noticing the silence. “Everything alright?”

A silent warning hung in that rhetoric which the other blond dismissed with similar methods. Giving a slight nod to the company of the noble he elaborated; “We think there might be a connection between that girl we met last night and this disaster.”

“Come on. I mean aren’t you reading into the stars. There is nothing that connects the two.” Peter said, disbelieving.

“I’m with Peter here,” Fliss said. “Couldn’t this have been a coincidence?”

“What coincidence? Oh, why must I be the unaware singularity in your flow of conversation?” Lidia huffed, demanding attention despite having chosen to wade to the back.

“I am sorry, my lady,” Luvrit bowed. “We believe that the person we met last night is somehow connected to what’s happening now.”

“Is this the same lady whom you suffered defeat from?” She frowned.

“…Y-Yeah,” Peter said. If Luvrit knew his fellow blonde, then he felt equally insulted at the remark on their strength.

“I see,” She said deep in thought. She spent some time in such state before excusing herself in a hurry.

*Sigh* “Glad she’s gone, follow me.” Luvrit said as he led them away. “Now that you’ve calmed down, what was it you wanted to tell me?”

“Like brains said, we’re gonna’ die,” Peter motioned with his hands, tempting Luvrit’s curiosity.

“How do you know that?”

“We overheard their plan,” Peter’s hand motioned nonsensically. “They are planning to have us ram the undead from the front, take the bulk of the attack, stalling them for Light knows how long while they sneak attack whoever is behind this, going around the whole battlefield which happens to be the whole town. How much do they expect us, you know? Its suicide to take those monsters from the front, we’re gonna’ die.”

“That’s it?” Luvrit laughed. He clasped a hand on Peter and gave him a rough pat in goodhearted nature, much to the latter’s annoyance. “If that’s we’re asked to do then it’ll be fine.”

“…”His comrades glared in annoyance, asking for further elaboration. “I mean what else would you have expected? We’re outnumbered and surrounded by mindless monsters, did you really expect to fight without any risks.”

“No, but-”

“It’s an alright plan; draw the enemy’s fire while the best of us attack from the back and take out the one’s behind all this. Perhaps this was the best we could’ve come up with considering our situation.”

“Then why do you sound so unsure,” Peter huffed in annoyance. “And just so you know; it’s not Volvo’s plan.”

“What?”

“I would give it my all if it was for Volvo, and I think you guys would too.” The two returned Peter’s nods. “But here’s the thing you’re still not getting Luvrit; this wasn’t Volvo’s plan and I am not going put their words on the same level as his. It was Humphrey who suggested the plan, captain of that third rate team who can’t do shite in battles. Remember Duurkin’s plains, that was supposed to be a simple extermination over a level field yet his team still managed to get in the way and almost got him killed.”

Peter motioned to Fliss, who nestled his head in his shoulders and shivered at the memory.

“Yeah, I remember,” Luvrit said tracing something on his arm unconsciously. “But Volvo owed a favor to the duke and they were fledglings in the game, I’m sure they’ve gotten better…Enough of this! The duke agreed to the plan, did he not…It must be a good plan is he thinks so too.”

“Listen to yourself; did you not hear what I said?” It was Peter’s turn to grab his friends’ shoulders. “Even you don’t sound sure of the plan, we’re more experienced than them and Volvo’s the best out of them. So there’s no way that’s the best we could do, right? I know, that in that books filled head, you can think of something better than what that bag of gold agreed to!”

It wasn’t until Peter was practically shouting that he realized the attention he was attracting. He eyed Natravi for help but she made it clear that she wasn’t going to interfere by stepping far away, finding interest in the flowers near the wall. Suddenly the wind around them picked up and screeches from unknown sources began filling Peter’s ears, forcing him to cover them. Glancing around, he saw Luvrit in a similar situation but not Fliss, he was twirling his staff in similar direction to the winds and kept murmuring something under his breath. As soon as he stopped chanting the winds immediately died down and his ears popped, they rang from the change in pressure.

“It’s okay now,” Fliss said with a forced smile. “Sorry I didn’t think of that before.”

“Thanks brains, you sure you’re gonna’ be okay though?”

“This is Tier 1 magic, I’ll recover soon.”

Peter smiled back before turning to his blond counterpart. “Like I was saying before, the duke practically ordered everyone to agree to that idiots plan. I’m willing to do anything if Volvo orders it, but I won’t be listening to what that horseshite says. Not after the plains, not after what happened to Fliss.”

The three shared a look of solemnity to which the nods proceeded.

“So, if it comes to it…, when it’s clear we’ve failed” Peter gulped as he glanced from under his messy hair covering his eyes. “I’ll run…but I won’t be running alone. Can I count on you guys?”

Peter held out his hand. Luvrit stared at it before capturing his counterparts’ eyes in a stare. They like that for a long time, Peter gulped, feeling exposed in the eyes of his longtime friend and brother. Eventually, much to Peter’s surprise, Luvrit made his decision. He shook his head and stepped back, before suddenly twisting and giving Peter a jab to the chest. Fliss flinched as Peter stumbled in shock but before he could get his bearings Luvrit covered the distance and grabbed whatever he could, bringing their faces a mere centimeters apart.

“You know, after that incident with the elder lich I believed you truly had changed. But even now you will still abandon him. He took us in when we were orphans; he took in Fliss after his entire village got burnt down. He helped us gain something we never thought possible back then; power, fame and money. We owe him for whatever we are today, he’s our only family and I will not have you abandoning him when he needs us most.” Peter grappled out of his grip and shoved him back.

“No Luvrit, we’re his family,” Peter spat as he squared up. “We’ve been paying off our debt ever since we could kill a goblin. I don’t want to have this fight, but if it means that you’ll finally see through your own lies then I’ll gladly beat sense in that crammed head of yours.”

“Guys,” Fliss whimpered. “Please don’t do this, everyone’s watching.”

It suddenly dawned upon the two that the magic Fliss wove had dissipated, bareing them to the surrounding mercenaries’ attention. The few unoccupied mercenaries showed great pleasure at their disagreement and even moved to surround the three alongside the wall.

“Oh no, please don’t stop on our call,” a man sporting a dirty red bandanna cooed as he made his way front. A series of snickers and snide comments followed soon after.

““Piss off.””

This earned them another series of laughs until Luvrit decided to break it off.

“I don’t plan on giving them the satisfaction, do you?” Luvrit looked at Peter. Hesitantly, the latter too withdrew from Luvrit; announcing the end of their quarrel.

“Leave now, this doesn’t concern you guys,” Fliss stepped forward as he clutched his staff tighter.

“C’mon, we don’t mean any harm… in fact, I’ve gotta question for ya and I think we’ve all been wondering it,” the same man smirked. He glanced back at his friends and they all laughed, as if sharing a private joke. The red bandanna man leaned close and asked in a mock whisper; “How many guys did you in, eh trap? Oy, what you lookin’ at? You wanna’ fight? I will- AAAAAHHH”

A flurry of movement in a fury filled conscience destroyed the mocking atmosphere of the crowd. Everyone, high off the power in mockery, woke to the screams of the man with the red headband. He clutched his left hand as blood spurted from the stumps of his ring and middle fingers. The same blood that trickled down Peter’s drawn sword who looked ready to kill.

“Slander us all you want-,” Luvrit took out his sword.

“-But you ain’t gettin’ away with talkin’ to Fliss like that,” Peter mirrored Luvrit’s movements and took up a stance in front of the crowd.

“You whore sons! You’re orphans, you have no power over us. Your mother was given to your father at a brothel as a war prize, why else do you think he’s not around? Which soldier would admit to fathering a son to a whore? That bitch probably had so many customers that she’d lost count, ha haha. You’re gonna get it now,” the man with the red headband shouted as he took out his sword and attempted his battle stance. However the duo was much faster; Luvrit swung sideways and by sheer strength unarmed the man’s sword while Peter threatened him back with the tip of his sword just below his chin. After taking a step back, however, the man dodged Peter’s progression by leaning off to the side. It almost worked, had Peter not been expecting such a maneuver, he closed in further and kicked the man in the shin to reposition his sword underneath the chin again.

“Please give me a reason, Farthow.” Peter whispered through his teeth.

“…”

“Do we understand each other now?” Luvrit addressed those surrounding them. Each mercenary had secured themselves with a weapon in hand. When no-one reacted Luvrit reached out and motioned for Peter to let go.

“Cowards,” the man spat in spite once Peter had sheathed his sword, but that just cost him a punch to face that sent him staggering backwards. Having lost the cheer-man for their group, who was taken to be tended by his team, the crowd quickly dispersed just as they came, with snidest and mockery. While the rest of the crowd left, their presence was replaced by Natravi. She silently drifted to accompany Fliss in spectating another round of bickering between the two blonds.

“You’re quite disliked,” she stated.

“It was always like this,” Fliss said lost in thought. “They were already a pretty famous mercenary group when they took me in-”

“-and fame meant you had more enemies than friends because you joined so easily,” Natravi continued. “Then…are you people infamous?”

“Ah, no we’re not infamous.”

“Then…something to do with the duke?” Natravi pried. Upon hearing the mention of the noble’s name Fliss’s face darkened and he wiped his face multiple times before calming down. Natravi patted his shoulder and drew him closer in a semi-hug.

“The duke sponsors many team captains,” Fliss said quietly. “The others captains are jealous of how close Volvo is with…that noble, so they’ve spread rumors to abuse us when they can. I guess after what happened tonight that won’t be the case anymore.”

“Yes, you are right. If we fail to stop this nothing would matter anymore.”

“…That’s not what I meant?”

“Oh, then your belief about the teasing ceasing after tonight is wrong.” Natravi replied, but didn’t meet Fiss’s eyes.

“Are you scared Miss Patrishni?” Fliss asked with concern.

“Please call me Natravi,” Natravi awkwardly patted the boy with the enormous smile. “More importantly, aren’t you scared? We’re surrounded by an army of undead and your friends are fighting amongst themselves.”

“I’ll be lying if I said I wasn’t, but those two fighting isn’t something I’m scared of,” Fliss smiled at them. They were both panting in exhaustion from exchanging blows. Everyone was staring at the spectacle from where they stood or sat; the mercenaries viewed it with pleasure and anger while the surviving villagers gaped in horror and despair of the corruption in the mercenary ranks. “They used to fight a lot when I first joined so I know what a fight when it truly matters looks like.”

“Being surrounded by monsters and caged within this place isn’t a matter enough.” Natravi frowned.

Fliss gazed at her face, as if searching for something.

“I guess it’s just how we are in this team,” Fliss frowned slightly. “After facing death a lot of times I’m sure we’ve all become afraid of it more than the commoner, but we don’t let it hinder us enjoying ourselves. ‘As long as you know when it’s time to get serious, you’re allowed to have fun,’ Volvo taught us that. Of course talking about running behind his back is only the most recent thing they’ve been fighting about, last time it was who should cook and clean. Ha ha, in the end I took up the task as the voice of reason between those two.”

“That’s nice,” Natravi said before inspecting the escalating fight between Peter and Luvrit. Natravi leaned down and whispered; “I think it’s time to give them a voice of reason before they end up doing something severe, don’t you think?”

Fliss nodded, frowning at the bloody mess their faces had become. He stepped forward and extended his staff in the middle of the two, stopping them mid-punch and earning the glares from both.

“What?” Fliss glared equally as hard, as if challenging them. “You two have been fighting like this for the past five minutes, don’t you think it’s enough. Think about what Volvo would say when he hears how you humiliated him by making yourselves look like fools,” Fliss pointed to the other mercenary groups staring at them from afar. “We still have an army to fight, so stop it.”

“Fliss-” Luvrit tried.

“No! You guys will listen to me now,” Fliss scowled unnaturally, making the two uneasy. “We’re a family. You said it, so why are you fighting. You said that you’ll follow Volvo anywhere, right? Then why not wait for him and ask him what to do? You are just taking things into your own hands without waiting for him, does all your praise for him only amount to this much?”

It took some time for the two to understand what he meant, during which Fliss kept his glare fixed on them. When their misdoings became apparent a slight pink shade drew itself across their cheecks as they hesitantly apologized.

“…Where’s Natravi?” Peter asked.

“Wait, she was just here,” Fliss exclaimed. They looked around until they found her staring at the gate. Joining her in her observations Luvrit asked; “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know…,” Natravi replied in a barely audible voice, “but something’s coming.”