In Antei they had managed to evade Imperial attention by hiding out in various casinos around the city, and now Ronnie and her crew found themselves just a few miles north of the Lorimar border checkpoint. Ronnie had told herself long ago that she would never have a reason to return to that region, but something deep within her being was calling her back. It was her homeland.
"If the lot of you are bandits, why isn't there enough of a brain between you to bandit yourselves a good horse and carriage, at the very least??" Pauline complained as they walked. She had a valid point, but Ronnie didn't feel like boosting the girl's in-no-way fragile ego at the moment.
"There was no time for that, and stealing such a thing is extremely conspicuous." Ronnie replied, "So be quiet."
"Hmph."
"Jaoullin?" Scotch said. The 'knight' scratched his short black hair and cocked his head to one side, shading his eyes from the sun.
"What?"
"You might wanna consider washing that armor sometime soon..." Scotch said bluntly, making a face. Jaoullin responded with an obscene gesture.
"Grow up, man." Norman said in such a way as Ronnie couldn't tell if he was joking or not.
"Everyone, just settle down. We're almost to the Fortress of Lorimar, and from there it will be smooth sailing." she said.
"Except that it's another Imperial checkpoint, and I somehow doubt that posing as soldiers again is going to work." Eyesoar pointed out.
"I realize that, but...with the mandate from the Warriors' Village welcoming bounty hunters, I'm sure security there is more relaxed. After all, some mercenaries are quite peculiar-looking." Ronnie responded. "Besides, agents from the Northern Checkpoint couldn't have beaten us to Lorimar. We made great time."
"They could if they were on horseback, which we would be too if anyone here had any sense at all." Pauline sniffed. Ronnie glared.
Must...not...strangle...
"Everyone quit worrying!" she said, exasperated. "We'll make it just fine! We look enough like mercs to make it through, and besides, I lived there, and I'll severely hurt anyone who attempts to prevent my return."
"I believe it..." Jaoullin muttered. She heard him, but decided to ignore him. It wasn't worth it.
******
Nestled in its own little area between the tall blades of grass, the creature laid in wait. Shuffling around, it shook a few dewdrops off of its fur. Suddenly, rustling in the underbrush! Danger!
Scurrying away along the ground at lightning speed, the beast was off! Eyes glinting with malice and fear, it bounded across the vast plain, bent on escape. Kill or be killed!
It was in sight, and on the move. The man knew that at any moment, the beast within the sea of grass could shoot into the air and strike with deadly accuracy, mutilating any unsuspecting foe---or worse. He pulled out his crossbow. It was kill... or be killed! He realized that it was too far away now, and pursuit was necessary. Grabbing his supplies, he scrambled into action!
Thump-thump-thump! Thump-thump-thump! The creature's heart seemed ready to burst. It knew that the pursuer was gaining every second. There was no escape! The beast had no choice but---but wait! More humans! It would leap amongst them, and gain sanctuary from the devilish hounds of hell that nipped at its heels---if it had heels, that is. It leaped.
Sharply inhaling, the man nearly lost his composure as he glimpsed the beast leaping from the rippling field towards its intended victims. He had but one shot. He took it.
******
"I don't want to hear about it." Ronnie said severely. "Do us all the favor of explaining your sexual escapades elsewhere."
"Oh, please, Ronnie, it's nothing major!" protested Jaoullin. "It was only---"
"Ronnie, duck!" Scotch said with alarm suddenly. A Bon-Bon came sailing out of the tall grass and soared over her head. She abrubtly ducked, though the monster was feeble, and she had no more than blinked before a crossbow bolt whizzed through the air and nailed the tiny fuzzball. Squeakily, it flopped to the ground, dead.
"What the hell?!" Ronnie gasped, looking around wildly.
"What kind of idiot shoots a crossbow at a Bon-Bon, especially into a crowded group of people?!!" Norman marveled. The culprit bowed.
"Cornelius Anterra-Lobel, hunter of men and beasts, at your service." the straggly-brown-haired kook introduced once more, "Mercenary and bounty hunter extraordinaire. I never b---"
"Never break a contract, we know." Ronnie interrupted, more than a little annoyed.
"What possessed you to shoot at us, you maniac? You could have killed m---us!" Pauline exploded.
"How ingrateful you are." Cornelius sniffed. "I saved your lives, you know. The beast was striking!"
"That's a Bon-Bon, you dumbass." Jaoullin said bluntly. "It probably couldn't even bruise a housecat."
"Harumph!" Cornelius insisted. "I believe I have had much more experience in the field of the hunting of men and beasts than you have, lad. I've seen a Bon-Bon take down half a herd of full-grown cattle!"
"What have you been smok---" Eyesoar started in, but Ronnie silenced him.
"Enough. What are you doing here, anyway, Cornelius?" she demanded accusingly. "You left with Jewel and Montague."
"I was merely engaging in a little sport before I move on to my next big job. I'm very in-demand, you see. And worry not, those two lovebirds are quite safe." the bounty hunter said cheerily.
"I wasn't worried." Ronnie spat.
"What's this big job?" Scotch inquired.
"Vampire-hunting, of course! It's one of my favorite pasttimes, though it saddens me to admit that I've really not had the chance to meet very many vampires that needed hunting in the past." Cornelius proclaimed.
"Really." Ronnie said, giving the matter some thought. If Cornelius had the same goal as them, it might be beneficial to join forces. Unless, of course, it was a big mistake and he would only hinder them. He had some real skills, though, as Ronnie had witnessed.
"We're going to do that, too!" Eyesoar announced. Oh well--so much for negotiation and subtlety.
"Oh?" Cornelius said with a competitive glint in his eyes.
"We're not in it for the money." Ronnie said quickly. "At least, I'm not. This is for personal reasons." The merc relaxed.
"Good, good. I'd hate to have to kill you over something silly like money!" Cornelius laughed, as if he was discussing the weather. "I suppose we could make use of one another, then. I have a great many skills!"
"We're not completely inept ourselves, either." Jaoullin said a bit defensively.
"Ahem. I'm the leader, so if there's any deals, kindly allow me to seal them. Shall we cooperate, then?" Ronnie interjected.
"Sure, whatever makes ya happy, honey." Cornelius said with a shrug, stroking his stubbly chin. Ronnie nodded happily, and then delivered the man a blow where he would remember it the most.
"Good." Ronnie said cheerfully. "First things first, then. Don't call me 'honey'."
Cornelius' muted moan signaled his agreement.
******
"Commander Mendor, there are some more mercenaries wishing passage through the fortress!" the sentry at Lorimar barked. Mendor cursed inwardly. If there was one thing that he could not tolerate, it was mercenaries.
"Tell them to turn back. We have too many in this region as it is." Mendor ordered icily. Somewhere deep within his blackened soul, he took a sinister pleasure in forcing them to go all the way back to where they came from.
"I'm sorry, but the commander has decreed the border shut." the sentry declared, looking down at whoever it was at the gates. There was an outcry of protest from the ground below. At the top of the wall, Mendor smirked inwardly.
"That's not fair! This is an emergency!" came a sultry female voice from below. The icy commander abruptly went to the edge of the wall and peered down. From what he could see, among the usual mercenary riffraff, there were at least two ravishingly beautiful women.
"Just a moment, private." Mendor said silkily, gliding over into view of the group below, "You must have misunderstood me. I said to let them in at once."
"But Commander, you said---" the sentry protested. Mendor backhanded him viciously.
"Don't talk back! Do as I say! And I said to open that gate!"
"O-open the gate..." the sentry passed on.
Ronnie watched suspiciously as the gates of Lorimar Fortress opened slowly. Most Imperials were rats anyway, but the commander of this base seemed to be especially bad. She wasn't sure why he had suddenly let them in, but she had a bad feeling about it.
"Ah! Glad they had a change of heart. I'm looking forward to getting down to some good old-fashioned hunting!" Cornelius said exultantly, stretching.
Ronnie surveyed the fortress. It was filled somewhat sparsely with Imperial soldiers. There wasn't nearly as many as there had been in the Northern Checkpoint, and the ones that were here looked worse for the wear and fatigued. All except Commander Mendor, that is. He rushed down to meet them with something of a spring in his step, fresh and aware.
"Ah, hello. I trust that you are the mercenaries who have come to liberate this realm from the unholy terror that faces us all." Mendor said poetically. Ronnie noticed that all the soldiers stared at him behind his back as he said it. So, the poetry wasn't his usual character, but what was it then?
"You could say that. I'm a former resident of Warrior's Village, and I'd like to help in any way I can." Ronnie said.
"Is it true that vampires are attacking the area?" Cornelius said, shoving forward to introduce himself. "I'm Cornelius Anterra-Lobel, hunter of men and beasts, at your service."
"Have your men found any way to neutralize, even temporarily, these vampires??" Norman asked curiously. Mendor regarded him coldly.
"No. That's the job of the mercenaries. Our purpose is to protect the citizens of the Empire as far as we are able. But we're not trained for such fantastic... creatures." the commander said darkly, sneering.
"Well, we'll just be on our way, then, if you don't mind, commander..." Scotch said, sensing the same vibe that Ronnie had. This man was not someone they wanted to waste their time on.
"Commander Mendor." he said haughtily, taking it as a cue to introduce himself. He bowed deeply before them, kissing Pauline's hand with something akin to a hunger. "I would be pleased if you could stay a bit longer..."
"Sorry. We're obviously in a hurry. You know what we're up against, so I'm sure you'll understand." Jaoullin said curtly.
"Wait!" Mendor objected. "You'll need...special passes to signify your positions within the Lorimar territory. We can't have unlicensed bounty hunters running around, now can we?"
"Yes we can." Cornelius said, as he obviously found nothing wrong with that notion.
"It'll only take a few minutes. Come with me." Mendor said, gesturing to his office on the second floor.
"I'll handle this, if you don't mind." Ronnie said firmly. Mendor shot her a look.
"What do you mean?"
"I wasn't born yesterday. I'm the leader of this group, so I'll get a pass for all of us. There's no way that every single merc passing through this gate has been issued an individual pass. Most bounty hunters wouldn't stand for all the red tape. I mean, look at him." Ronnie said. She pointed at Cornelius, who was making several soldiers near him nervous by making a show of sharpening his sword and talking loudly about how many men's throats he had slit.
"Very well." Mendor conceded, shrugging. He walked off towards his office. Ronnie turned to Eyesoar.
"Keep a sharp watch. I don't like this guy." she told him.
"Sure thing, Ron." the Winger agreed.
******
The supposedly required mercenary registration passed without event, however. Ronnie, with some force, had gotten Commander Mendor to issue them a group license for the Lorimar region.
Personally, she thought it was a pile of bullshit. It should have been perfectly legal for them to pass through to Lorimar without any stupid bureaucratic paperwork. What if they had been merchants, or vagabonds, or anything else? Just because they were "mercs" (in this situation, at least), they suddenly needed permission? Ronnie figured that this whole thing was nothing more than a way to make the already bigheaded Mendor feel more important.
"Now, then. I'll just need to get this approved, and you'll be on your way." Mendor said grandly.
"Approved? What does that mean? I thought you were the commander here." Ronnie said, not very pleased with where the conversation was going.
"Ahem. Of course I'm the commander here!" Mendor said tightly, "But if you're to be helping in the vampire-hunting effort, then I'm obligated to double-check with the Warriors' Village elders. They don't need any more riffraff than already lives there."
Ronnie clenched her fists. This was her hometown he was insulting, to her face! He was asking for it... but after the Northern Checkpoint close-call, she figured he wasn't worth it. For now.
"Very well, commander." she said through teeth she happened to be grinding, using 'commander' in the most insulting tone she owned.
"You and your...people...I suppose they can remain here until this clears. It's not far to the village, and we have swift messengers, I assure you."
"I'm aware of the distance, thank you. I guess we'll wait here, then." Ronnie said tersely, storming from Mendor's office.
Dammit! she thought. My home is being destroyed bit by bit, and this guy wants me to wait for a KILLING LICENSE. She was beginning to see the appeal of some of Cornelius's ideals.
"So then, I sucker-punched that dumbass fairy, and made a clean stab right through 'er neck! I mean, fairies are great and all, but if the contract says they die, then they just gotta die, y'know?" Cornelius was telling a soldier who appeared to have turned green.
...Then again, maybe not. Ronnie thought, shaking her head.
******
"What's taking so long?" Pauline huffed irritably. "I'm used to SERVICE when I ask for it!"
"Henpecked servants are slightly different than Imperial soldiers, Pauline," Norman said casually. "Besides, it's only been a few hours. Be patient."
"Hmph. ...If I must." she said, flipping her hair. At least she was making an effort. And despite what Norman had said, it had actually been several more than 'a few' hours.
"I don't like this, Ronnie." Scotch said. "For all we know, this could be some stall tactic so Lione's men can get here."
"Who? Someone after ya??" Cornelius interjected. "For a fee, I can take care of what's ailing you, if you know what I mean. I did save your asses during that freaky-tweaky butler convention."
"Thank you for reminding us, but..." Ronnie said. "No. Just...no. We appreciate the thought, but the last thing I need right now is you going and assassinating the Emperor and proudly holding up a contract with my name on it." She frowned.
"You exaggerate, my dear. I wouldn't show everyone." Cornelius insisted, sharpening his sword some more. Well, Ronnie figured, at least the fact that every soldier stationed at Lorimar was keeping his distance from them was one advantage of having the bounty hunter with them.
"I don't like it either, Scotch," Ronnie said, turning back to her second-in-command, "But I really don't think there's any way that Lione could have conveyed that particular information to this fortress so quickly. We arrived first, after all."
"The longer we're here, the better opportunity there is for us to get caught, too." Norman pointed out with his usual droll tone.
"I hope those elders aren't stalling or something on purpose. You never know---some of them could be on the payroll of this Mendor guy..." Jaoullin said sourly. Ronnie didn't want to think that they would be, as it was an uncomfortable notion, but she knew it very well could be true. As it was, she just nodded slightly and sat in silence.
Two more hours passed before she was finally fed up.
"Is anyone else here starting to feel like a mouse in a trap?" Ronnie said, voicing her concerns irritably. "I think I'm going to go talk to that infuriating commander. Whaddya think?"
"Good idea." Jaoullin said gratefully.
"Uh, sure, but...don't get over your head, Ron, 'kay? No incidents..." Scotch said delicately.
"I'll 'incident' you." Ronnie said, sticking her tongue out. But she was smirking slightly as she turned and made a show of storming over to the stone staircase leading to Mendor's second-floor office, mostly for the benefit of the soldiers watching them.
Reaching the commander's door, Ronnie raised her hand to knock, but then thought better of it. She was not in a particularly courteous mood, and besides---going right in, she would have a better chance of finding out exactly what Mendor was up to without him hiding it.
Ronnie burst into the office, and was appalled at the sight before her. Had she the opportunity to think things out clearly, she would have known immediately that trapping the bandits was the last thing on Commander Mendor's mind. However, the circumstances before her did nothing but fill her with utmost fury.
Mendor was forcing himself rather violently on a much-much-younger girl who was clearly not enjoying herself. Tears streamed down her dirty face, and she was pressed awkwardly against a wall in a compromising position, her skirt askew and her legs sprawled out at odd angles. Her crying was not fazing the commander, who was grunting and had not even noticed Ronnie enter.
Worst of all, Ronnie knew who the girl was. She was older now, of course, in her teens, but Ronnie recognized her face. She had only been six years old when Ronnie left the village. Her name was Clara, if she remembered right. And this...this was unacceptable. Commander Mendor was about to have an accident, by Ronnie's reckoning.
"You...you slimebag..." Ronnie fumed. There was already a fireball in her hand. Mendor, startled, scrambled to compose (and cover) himself. Ronnie aimed to make it so that he wouldn't have anything left to cover.
"Stay out of this, woman!" Mendor snapped, "This is none of your business! What I do behind closed doors is MY business!!" Apparently this guy was still high off of his power trip of teenage-girl-domination, but she was not about to take any of it.
"This place IS my business, you dirty lowlife..." Ronnie thundered. "This is my home, and these are people I care about, and you've made the mistake of sticking that thing where it doesn't belong for the last time, I'd say." She glowered dangerously at him.
Unfortunately, before Ronnie could introduce Mendor to her fun friend Castration, a fire arrow whizzed through the open window behind Clara and lodged itself pointedly into Mendor's desk, setting it alight. Shouts of surprise and terror came from outside.
"Commander! Commander, the vampires!!" came a frantic voice.
"The vampires are attacking in force---gaaagh!"
Ronnie had a terrible feeling the license issue was about to become moot.
******
The Fortress of Lorimar had erupted into pure chaos in an instant. Arrows were flying all around, and the soldiers were trying desperately to restore enough order to their ranks to stand a fighting chance. As scores of pale creatures swarmed over the south walls, Bell's Bandits went for their weapons.
"What's going on?!" Pauline shrieked.
"It looks as if the vampires decided to give us a welcoming party." Jaoullin said sarcastically.
"There's so many of them!" Eyesoar said, half-awed, half-panicked. "I've never fought one before, what do I do?"
"Get them!" Cornelius said, as if this explained everything. "Oh, and watch out. They bite."
"Really. Thanks so much for that insight." Norman said bitterly, rolling his eyes.
"I feel so enlightened..." Eyesoar added.
Inside the burning office, Ronnie's first instinct was to run, but she had to help Clara. She cursed, knowing that Mendor would likely slip away in the confusion, but dashed through the smoke to the corner where Clara was cowering, shuddering with sobs.
"...Clara?" Ronnie said as gently as she could manage under the circumstances. The girl looked up, afraid.
"W-who are you? How do you..." the teen inquired, but Ronnie put a finger to her lips.
"Never mind. Let me help you, okay? We have to get out of here." she said, taking the girl's hand and leading her towards the door. Clara allowed herself to be led. As Ronnie made her way across the office, she noticed that she had indeed lost track of Mendor. And when she reached the other side, she knew why.
"He...he locked the door! That fucking bastard!!"
Outside, Jaoullin found himself parrying a blow from a vampire who had come at him with a spear. He noticed that most of the attacking force appeared to be male, though there were certainly a few women-vampires among them.
"Norman, check it out!" he said between blows.
"What is it, Jaoullin?" his best friend asked, under attack himself. "I'm kinda busy."
"Those vampire-babes are SO hot! They've got the whole skimpy leather outfit going on! Mmm, boy! I wonder if they'd be willing to negotiate some kind of peace treaty??" he said eagerly. Norman found the time to give his buddy a concerned stare.
"You have a problem, J-man..." he sighed, dodging a swing by a vampire maceman. Fortunately for Jaoullin and Norman, the Sunshine Knight's remarks so put off the attacking male vampires that they were completely unprepared to defend against Cornelius's patented "Stab Them Brutally" technique.
"Wither, beasts! W-I-T-H-E-R~!" Cornelius cheered.
"...I need some new friends." Norman mumbled under his breath.
******
"Stand back!" Ronnie shouted as she blasted away at the window with a barrage of fireballs, just in case some stupid vampire happened to be hovering outside it. Clara hacked and coughed; the room was entirely filled with smoke now. Ronnie went to the window and climbed out onto a tiny ledge that extended for some way along the side of the main building inside the fortress walls. Clara wouldn't be able to jump from this height, so they would have to shimmy up to the roof and then hope to find a staircase.
She extended her hand and carefully helped Clara onto the ledge.
"Careful, now..." she cautioned. It was enough trouble trying to keep her own balance maintained. Inch by inch, the two women made their way slowly across the outcropping, to an area where Ronnie surmised they could get a good enough grip to climb the few feet up to the top of the roof.
"Here goes nothing..."
Eyesoar was somewhat put out by the fact that several of the vampires appeared to be able to fly as well, but it didn't stop him from flitting around with a giant stick he had picked up, whacking any vampire who was troubling him.
He dove down and saved an Imperial soldier from impalement purely by instinct. For some reason, it felt okay, even though helping Imperial soldiers out also felt rather strange. He supposed they had no choice but to stick together in this. Waving his mini-Barbarossa flag, he moved on to the next harrassing vamp he saw.
Wheeling around in the air, the young Winger suddenly noticed Ronnie and another girl working their way along a tiny, tiny ledge. Surely it would've been easier to be flown to safety, he figured. So, in an effort to help them out, he flew towards them.
But suddenly, out of nowhere, he was hit...
Sailing across the battlefield against a suddenly-appearing backdrop of rainbow-colored drops and sparklies, an exquisite rose sprinkled with dewdrops struck Eyesoar squarely in the chest, hitting for some reason much, much harder than any rose should have. Gasping, the Winger fell from the air and crumpled to the ground.
"Halt!" an enchanting voice rang out from somewhere above them all. To everyone's surprise, or not, everything actually halted.
Ronnie cried out as she saw Eyesoar go down, horrified that he had been shot with what she thought was an arrow. But her attention turned immediately to the figure descending before them all.
It was a man, a glorious man. He was very, very pale, like porcelain. He was very tall, slim, and handsome-seeming---one might even say he was pretty. The man had an angular face with dark, narrow eyes that starkly contrasted his pale skin. Fangs protruded from his lips. He had snow-white hair that fell to his waist, loose but somehow perfectly arranged. A single strand fell just over one of his eyes. He was garbed in a black, rich-looking suit with a flowing cape and dress shoes. Bits of lace could be seen spilling from the cuffs of his sleeves and from his collar. Who on earth was this creature?
He descended, though still floating, to the ledge where Ronnie and Clara stood, and ever-so-gently caressed Clara's cheek with his long, slender fingers.
"Harm not this vision of beauty, villain! By the moon, how could the thought cross your mind?" he said, indicating Eyesoar, who was laying on the ground, rubbing his very-hurting chest.
"You...you stupid androgynous idiot!" Ronnie sputtered. "What do you think you're DOING? You just shot my friend with an arrow, unprovoked!!"
"Nay, lady... remember, the stars sparkle with providence. 'Twas but a rose, a bloom of nature, that I did toss!" he declared. "Mind you now, a rose does indeed possess thorns, which, when touched, may sting. Such is life, Moon Maiden!" Overwhelmed by the excitement, Clara proceeded to faint, and before anyone could grab her, she fell two stories to the ground with a resounding crash.
"Oh! Well, I can see you're doing a wonderful job of everything. She probably broke her neck from that fall, thanks to you! And is the knowledge that you stabbed my friend through the heart with a FLOWER supposed to be more comforting than him being shot with an arrow?!" Ronnie replied bitterly.
The pale man, had he been but mortal, would likely have been described as slightly flustered at the moment. However, all that was far beneath his beauty and dazzling excellence.
"Ugh...I...think I'm okay, actually..." Eyesoar said. "I was just kind of surprised, I guess..."
"I'm confused. Who the hell are you, anyway?" Jaoullin said with his usual bluntness. The pale man brightened, eager to make this known to all.
"I am the Herald of the Night, RENALDO!!!" he proclaimed, as a theme song floated in from nowhere, along with fluttering rosepetals. He rolled another rose between his fingers, before throwing it with sheer excellence.
It hit an Imperial soldier smack dab in the jugular vein, causing him to bleed all over himself. Some roses, those were.
"Whoopsy, missed." Renaldo mumbled, regaining his composure with a dramatic flip of his majestic cape.
Ronnie was primed and ready to be extremely pissed off again, but with some measure of self-control, she managed to stop herself from making the floaty cretin explode where he stood. Er, floated.
"Listen, you flying prettyboy, I'm not sure whose side you're on, but---" Ronnie began. Renaldo graced her with his answer.
"Why, the side of JUSTICE, of course!"
Well. THAT explained everything.
"How DARE you, Renaldo! Making a big show of introducing yourself to these lowlifes?! Why, that's MY job! I am, after all, better in every way!" came a voice from beside Renaldo. Mostly because the owner of the voice had just teleported there.
It was a pale, gaunt man, not at all pretty-looking like his counterpart. He was decked out in flamboyant reds, greens, and yellows--and had more feathers on his outfit than a duck had altogether. Seeing his glinting fangs, Ronnie made an educated guess that he was a vampire as well. Of course, he was floating, too. But...apparently, this was not all. Oh no.
"Humans! Vampires! May I present...myself! I am the Bearer of the True Fire Rune!" the gaunt man announced. The collective humans present all gasped in horror, including Ronnie and her gang.
True Fire Rune?! There was no way they could defeat him if that was accurate!
"You do not, you big phony!" one of the vampires shouted abruptly, to the surprise of most of the humans.
"Nonsense! BURN, non-believer!!!" the crazy new vampire shouted, effectively incinerating the outspoken vamp in a shower of giant flames. He cackled insanely as the flickering flames were reflected in his eyes.
"Enough, Tefra, enough...!" Renaldo urged gently. "You'll never earn the respect you crave acting that way. You must be firm, but gentle!"
Ronnie glanced over at the soldier who had bled to death due to a rose through his neck, and begged to differ, but smartly decided to just keep her mouth shut.
Renaldo, meanwhile, gazed deeply into his counterpart's eyes. It looked to her almost like a look of deep yearning.
"Ah, Tefra...but I can give you all the respect you shall ever want..." Renaldo murmured. The entire battlefield was still frozen, watching them like a diehard fan watches their favorite soap opera. Renaldo moved his slender hand to caress Tefra's cheek.
"Back up, fruitcake. I'm not averse to burning YOUR face off, too! BURRRRNNN! Mwhaahahahaahahahahaha!" Tefra cried shrilly, gnashing his teeth.
There was an awkward pause before battle broke out again. Making the decision that Renaldo and Tefra were wildcards that she did not want to depend on, Ronnie shrugged and jumped off the ledge of Mendor's still-burning office to the ground. It hurt, as it was a bit of a fall, but she tried to ignore it and attend to business.
Business at the moment happened to be Clara, who was lying on the ground in a near-invitation to have her vital fluids consumed by certain fanged attackers.
"Clara...Clara? Can you hear me?" she hissed, kneeling next to the Warriors' Village girl. There was no response, but she could see that the teen was still breathing.
Damn that scumbag Mendor! When she got her hands on him, there wasn't gonna be anything left of him at the end. She was about to stand up and look for him when a rose whizzed by, scraping her arm.
Great. The next rose nearly hit her in the head, AND it was on FIRE. Tefra was laughing maniacally, while Renaldo was aiming his next rose. Frankly, she had had enough of their sideshow.
"Go to hell." she muttered, surprising them both by firing off several fireballs with her Hate Rune at them. Renaldo neatly absorbed the fireball into his elegant cape without so much as a wrinkle, while Tefra was sent into a smoking tailspin and fell sprawled onto the roof. He jumped up and shook his fist.
"I AM THE BEARER OF A TRUE RUNE!!" he shrieked. "WHERE IS YOUR RESPECT?!!" Ronnie gave him the finger--respectfully, of course.
Tefra seemed ready to leap down onto her in his rage, but all was interrupted by a shrill whistle from one of the vampires.
"The Black Lady has ordered a retreat for now!" he called. Several vampires seemed disappointed---after all, they appeared to be winning---but most were relieved. Within a minute, all the vampires had either retreated over the south wall, flown away, or vanished completely.
"That's it, Tefra. Time for us to go..." Renaldo said with a swish of his cape.
"WHAT?! But I just got started here! I want to burn it down!" Tefra whined. "Besides, we don't even work for her, anyw---"
"Sssh, you fool! Savor the mystery! We're MYSTERIOUS." Renaldo hissed, whispering to his flamboyant partner.
"But---" Tefra said with overly large eyes brimming with the desire to set stuff aflame.
"Mystery!" Renaldo said with finality. "If you read a good mystery novel, you wouldn't want to reveal the juiciest bits, would you?!" There was something in the way he said 'juiciest' that made it seem naughty, but Tefra was oblivious.
"If I found a good mystery novel, I would set it on fire with my TRUE FIRE RUNE!" Tefra pouted. "But fine, fruitcake. If you wanna leave now, then...I guess we'll just... leave!"
With that, the two vanished, leaving a flaming rose as a token of their appearance.
Ronnie and her crew would have cheered, but they were far too bewildered by the day's events. The Imperial soldiers began cleaning up their dead, and the few fallen vampires. Luckily, as it looked, there wasn't a great deal of losses on either side. If that was truly lucky, Ronnie wondered---after all, despite how everything had turned out due to events beyond their control, when it came down to it both the vampires and the Imperials were her enemies, now.
"You all right, Ronnie?" Jaoullin asked, walking over with Norman and Pauline. Scotch was checking to make sure Eyesoar was all right, while Cornelius was tallying his personal "score" of the battle.
"I should be fine." Ronnie said dismissively. She picked up Clara in her arms. "This one needs the attention. I think we'd better take her back to Warriors' Village."
"...What happened to her...?" Pauline asked. Ronnie shook her head.
"Something very bad. I'll leave it at that. Did anyone see where that rat-bastard commander slithered off to?" Ronnie said.
"Sorry, nope." Jaoullin said, scratching his head. He squinted at Ronnie. "Your arm's bleeding."
"I told you I was fine." she insisted. Gazing out towards the south gate, she sighed. "We'd better get moving as soon as possible. I don't need the Imperials regrouping and deciding to detain us."
"Next stop, Warriors' Village?" Jaoullin quipped.
"I suppose it is."
Ronnie gathered up her crew and walked through the southern gate of Lorimar Fortress into the land she had left a decade earlier. There was a tangible difference in the air. She could feel it.
I wonder how much it's changed...the people, the village... she thought to herself. More importantly, she wondered if she was strong enough to face up to it, no matter what happened. It filled her with excitement and dread at the same time.
Some things, like alliances with Imperials, changed from day to day. Towns changed with time, she knew. But that would have to wait for tomorrow---tonight, Ronnie just kept walking, leaning on the things that never changed as she weakened: the men beside her.
...And the rose kept burning, savoring the mystery.
