Chapter Text
This Raid was dragging on longer than any of the Remdragon knights had expected. They received orders from King Rueben to eliminate all the monsters that had overbred within the forests all across Wedon.
It had become an issue since the previous year Wedon had focused all their efforts on ending the army of the undead.
What they originally thought would be a two to three week raid was now going on five weeks.
The raid was also being lead by sir Ursuline Ricaydo.
Riftan Calypse, the commander of the Remdragon knights, chose to stay in Anatol due to his wife Maximillian Calypse being nine months pregnant with their second child.
The Raid consisted of ten junior knights, five squires, Hebaron, Garrow, Gabel and five other older knights of the order.
Ursuline had been driving the men crazy. Commanding them to ride and hunt monsters all day often without rest, taking them well into the night.
Gabel thought perhaps Ursuline was just eager to keep the kings favor.
At the end of another day they had reached a small village of mostly farmers and decided to spend the night there.
One of the farmers agreed to lend them their barn for them to sleep in.
Gabel lead his horse to the stable along with the other knights. He counted the arrows and secured all other bags attached to his saddle before removing it off his horse.
When his steed was taken care of, he made his way over to the small fire one of the squires had started.
Hebaron then walked over and knelt down next to him.
He pulled out a flask from his belt, and took a swig before holding it out towards Gabel.
"This raid has been quite a pain in the ass, would you not agree Lachzion."
Gable nodded and sighed, "The biggest pain, since both of the fucking dragon campaigns."
Hebaron nodded once, "yeah well those fuckers will always be the worst though. It dosnt help that this time our leader is the highly esteemed and gallant Ursuline Ricaydo."
Gabel smirked, "indeed indeed."
Night swiftly approached.
The men enjoyed dinner around the fire.
Thanks to the farmers they were able to have something other than just jerky and wine.
It was quiet, the only noises to be heard were the soft sounds of the crickets chirping and simple conversations of the knights around the fire.
Suddenly a heavy galloping sound rang through the air. Gabel whipped his head up towards the sound.
Coming into the small village was a group of knights, one of which was holding a flag with the crest of Loverne.
An older knight with blonde and silver hair jumped off his horse and announced himself.
"You boys were hard to find! I am Commander Philip Weston of Loverne. I was sent here to speak with the Commander of the Remdragon knights."
Ursuline stepped forward and spoke confidently, "I am sir Ursuline Ricaydo and I am commander of the Remdragon knights in Sir Riftan Calypse's stead. I will speak with you."
He gestured for the knight to follow him, and they walked to the barn to speak.
The fifteen or so other knights from Loverne slowly made their way over towards the fire, where the Remdragon knights were lounging.
Hebaron stood and crossed his arms.
"You think these fools were sent here because the king thinks we are taking too long?"
Gable glanced at the knights, "Perhaps. King Rueben may be growing tired of hearing about the village attacks. Our commander will not be happy to hear that the king thinks we need help."
Hebaron let out an amused chuckle and shook his head, "Some help these bastards will be, I bet even our Squires would be a match for them."
Gabel smirked at his vice commanders insult.
Roughly fifteen minutes hade passed when Ursuline and Phillip came straight out of the barn. Gabel noticed Ursulines face seemed more displeased than usual.
When the blonde haired knight reached Hebaron and Gabel he spoke firmly as he reached for his flask. "The king has sent us reinforcements. Apparently the monsters have spread even more than we originally thought, and he does not wish for this to drag out much longer."
Ursuline took a swig of his wine and wiped his mouth. "I must say it is a good thing that the Commander it's not a long this time. I fear this gesture would be received as an insult."
Hebaron laughed and rubbed his head as he spoke, "This is an insult dammit. We don't need these bastards help."
Ursuline shot a warning glare at the giant man.
"Lower your voice Nirtha."
Gabel scratched the back of his neck, closed his eyes and let out a pained sigh.
This already taxing raid was no doubt about to get even more unpleasant.
A moment later Ursuline called for a meeting and all the Remdragon knights gathered in the barn.
"Alright men, we have received an order signed by the king."
He told them that they would be joined on their raid by the Loverne knights. Not a single knight took this news well.
Gabel looked around at the angered faces of his comrades.
Working with another order was not ideal. Often times it would bring conflict.
Since it was an order from the king, Ursuline reminded them to keep their mouths shut and just focus on the job.
Hebaron jumped in at the end and added, "The sooner we kill these damned monsters the sooner he can go the hell home."
When their meeting concluded, Gabel walked over to his bedroll and laid down.
Thankfully since the barn was small, the Loverne knights had to sleep outside by the fire since.
The last thing he wanted to do was sleep next to another order of knights, with whom he was not familiar with.
He turned his over and glanced at his comrade Garrow, who was nearby.
It was a great blessing that Ulyseon Rovar was not along this time. Riftan had selected a few knights to stay behind in Anatol, and Ulyseon was among them.
If Ulyseon would have come, Gabel knew he would have an even harder time falling asleep for the young knight had a special gift of running his mouth all hours of the day and night.
He crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the ceiling. Within only minutes he closed his eyes and fell asleep.
The next morning at dawn and the Remdragon knights rose and started preparing for the day. They saddled their horses, sharpened their weapons and filled their flasks with wine. Gable lead his horse out of the stable and walked over to were Hebaron and Ursuline were standing.
Ursuline was in conversation with Loverne Commander Philip Weston. Both men spoke sternly about how the day should go. Once reaching an agreement Ursuline commanded that the joint march begin.
Mage Ruth did not come along due to Maximilian Calypse being nine months pregnant. Riftan wanted him to stay with them in case of emergency. This meant there was no mage traveling with the Remdragon knights.
After two hours of following monster trails and not coming across any monsters, the men grew agitated.
The Loverne commander Philip Weston rode his steed forward and called out, "Enough of this, send Elara up here. This is what she was brought for."
Gabel watched as a chestnut brown horse with long black hair emerged from the back of the Loverne Oder. On top of the horse sat a cloaked figure. The cloak was a beautiful gray color and stood out from the color of the steed. When the figure reached the head of the knights, Philip Weston turned his head and motioned something. After nodding, the figure jumped off the horse and walked ahead both orders of knights.
Philip Weston then called out to the Remdragon knights, "Since I know you do not have your mage with you, I'm going to use mine. She is an expert in search magic amongst other things."
The figure slowly pulled back the hood covering its head. Long black straight hair cascaded down from the hood. The figure then turned revealing a beautiful face.
Silence grew over the knights.
The beauty of this woman was other worldly.
She had dark features paired with faire skin. Her eyes shined a beautiful light golden.
Gabel was unable to remove his eyes from her face. She knelt down and put her hand on the ground pouring her mana into the earth. A minute later she raised her head and pointed to the direction of the monsters her magic picked up on.
Philip Weston spoke firmly, "Good," then motioned for her to mount her horse. The girl turned and walked back to her steed where she gracefully mounted. Not bothering to put her back up her hood she grabbed the reins and began to follow behind the Loverne knights.
The Remdragon knights also advanced following the direction she had pointed out. Even while moving forward Gabel could not tear his gaze away from her.
No doubt seeing this, Hebaron jumped in, "Who knew we would be blessed with such a beauty aye? I must say it's been awhile since I last had some fun with a lass that fare."
Gabel smirked and nodded.
"How about a friendly bet to keep us from dying of boredom? What say you Lachzion?."
Gabel cocked his head, "You want to see who can win her favor first?"
Hebaron smiled widely, "Yes that's it. What say you?"
Gabel turned his gaze back to the beautiful dark haired girl riding ahead of them. Without tearing his eyes away he spoke, "Okay Nirtha, I accept."
Hebaron let out a short laugh, "Ha! Very good!"
Ursuline then slowed his steed down closer to them. "You two imbeciles must have no honor. You're already thinking of ways to pray upon this girl you do not even know. I will not have either of you embarrass our order, or bring any kind of disgrace upon us. Do you understand?!"
Gabel rolled his eyes but nodded his head.
Hebaron's smile grew even wider, "Calm down Ricaydo, you can join in if you are jealous."
Ursuline let out a frustrated sigh and practically shouted, "Enough you Oaf, I will hear no more! Keep to your job and keep your hands to yourself. That goes for you too Lachzion! None of your little games, got it?"
The blonde knight turned his head and beckoned his steed faster, moving away from them.
Only minutes pasts in the direction that the Loverne Mage had pointed towards and they found several monster lairs. After wiping them out with ease they set out to find a place to camp for the night.
Gabel was helping to set up camp but stopped in his tracks when he spotted the beautiful Mage unsaddling her horse.
She threw her cloak off and grabbed the saddle. Then she began to lead her horse to the makeshift stable that the Loverne knights made. Not only was her face striking but her body was beyond what he had imagined it would be under that gray cloak.
She wore brown leather armor over a dark green tunic that hugged her body tightly. Her pants appeared to be made of black leather and also grabbed her body in a way that made it hard for him to keep his thoughts pure.
She was breathtaking, more sensual than any girl he has ever laid his eyes on. It seemed even the way she walked was calling his name.
working up the courage he started walking her way.
Just then a large hand pulled him back by his shoulder. Hebaron strode past him and smirked.
Gabel watched as the orange haired knight walked right up to the beautiful girl and took the saddle from her.
To Gabel's surprise the girl frowned and took the saddle right back.
Hebaron just stood there scratching his head.
"What just happened Nirtha? Did you already upset our girl?" He asked while approaching the giant man.
"All I did was tell her to let me carry that for her. She said no thanks and ripped it from my hands."
Hebaron then smiled and continued, "This one will be a challenge, but I do enjoy challenges."
Gabel shook his head. Hearing this made him happy but also discouraged him. He thought he would likely receive the same courtesy from her. Deciding he better wait for the right moment he turned around and went back to help set up camp.
The knights stuck to their orders.
Loverne knights sat on one side with their own fire and the Remdragon knights with their own. Several knights from each order were selected for night watch and the rest went to turned in. Gabel got up from the fire and started heading back to his tent. He stopped in his tracks when he spotted the beautiful girl sitting at the Loverne fire. She was alone gazing into the flames as she tossed in a small twig.
Fuck she was breathtaking.
A moment later she stood up and turned to head towards her tent. As if sensing something, she stopped and turned her head, meeting his eyes.
Gabel blinked in shock but was unable to look away. Her head tilted down, running her eyes from his feet back up to his face.
A shiver ran through his body.
It was like she could see right through him.
She ripped her gaze away, and continued on to her tent.
Gabel released a heavy breath.
He made his way back to his tent and laid down. Though it had been an exhausting day of travel, he could not sleep. His mind kept picturing the girl's beautiful face.
Unable to shake the way he felt when she looked at him. The way she looked through him.