FSE

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The air became tense inside the inn. Everyone watched the four combatants stand there, Isamu not even slightly phased against the three bounty hunters.

The lion stopped the stalemate, aiming to wound the cougar. Isamu knocked the lion's weapon out of the way, savagely kicking his groin, forcing the lion to double over in agony, before silencing his enemy by swinging downwards upon the neck, beheading the lion.

The salamander became furious, hissing ever so slightly. The salamander leapt forwards to avenge the lion. Isamu stepped to the side, dodging the swing of the amphibian's weapon, and spun to his right, unsheathing his tant? while he was doing so. When he was close to the salamander, he stabbed the tant? straight through the salamander's heart. But the salamander kept standing, as adrenaline fuelled his body. So, as an extra incentive, Isamu swung his nodachi and cut off the salamander's hands at the wrists. All of the adrenaline was rendered useless, and the salamander fell to the floor, dead.

The ginger cat furrowed her brow in distaste. She stopped tossing her knife, holding it as threateningly as possible. Isamu readjusted himself so that he faced the ginger cat, the tension thickening in the air.

However, the tension shattered.

Fidel tackled the ginger cat while the wolf tackled Isamu. The cat's knife flew out of her paw and beyond her reach while the wolf shoved Isamu's nodachi and threw his wakizashi away. Three more guards flushed into the inn. Two guards took the ginger cat from Fidel, taking her struggling form out and to the cells. Fidel tapped the wolf on the shoulder and motioned him to follow the two guards. The wolf nodded, stood up from Isamu, and jogged out the door to catch up.

The otter guard turned his back to the two corpses, looking at Fidel and Isamu. "Go to the healer's, boys. We'll make sure these two get a proper Pyre." He said before turning back to the corpses.

Fidel pulled Isamu up, making sure to get Isamu's weapons back and quickly wipe the blades clean of blood. Sheathing them, they left the inn and a few structures down was the healer's.

"And why couldn't you do the healing?" Isamu asked Fidel on their way down.

"If I did, then I would've died. The guard knew that." Fidel answered, as blunt as a hammer.

They entered the healer's and immediately wanted to turn back due to the sights of what was on the shelves.

The healer walked over to the front, almost silent in their footsteps. Immediately seeing what's wrong with the cougar, the healer waved both of them to the back, where Isamu's paw wound was quickly patched up and healed. Taking the healer's advice to heart, both of them left the healer's and began to walk back to the inn.

But one thing was nagging at Isamu's mind.

"What did the guard mean with a proper Pyre?" Isamu asked.

Fidel sighed. "In Kespian, the dead are burnt to ashes and their ashes are scattered to the wind. We call this process a Pyre, to represent the spirit's free journey."

____________________________________________________________________________________

With Trygrr:

The cat was yelling obscenities like snowstorms in Sofreze. And they were near constant.

The only time she wasn't swearing or yelling at the guards was when Trygrr 'accidentally' stepped onto her tail, making her shut up for a few precious seconds and giving the guards some respite.

They found a small dirk hidden in her boot and a folded piece of weathered parchment where the corners were ripped off. Curious, Trygrr unfolded it while the guards locked the cell door behind the cat after shaving her claws down to dull.

It was the cougar's face on a wanted poster.

Trygrr, concerned for Fidel's health at this moment, dashed out of the door to the cells, folded poster in paw. When he finally made his way back to the inn, slamming the door open, he saw Fidel and the cougar talking, the cougar washing the blood off of the wooden floor. Trygrr clenched the paw that didn't hold the poster. But he couldn't stop the growl that was coming from his muzzle.

"Hey!" He barked quite suddenly.

The other two looked at him, both curious as to his angry demeanour. Trygrr pointed an accusing finger at the cougar, who looked even more curiously at him.

Trygrr stalked up to him and unfolded the poster once more to the cougar. "Explain this." He demanded, showing the front of the poster.

The cougar sighed. He stood up, turning to look at the innkeeper, a female cougar. "I will finish this later." He said, before snatching the poster from Trygrr's paw.

The cougar threw the poster onto the table Fidel was sitting at and took a seat. Trygrr warily sat down as well, but kept a paw hovering over his axe just in case.

"I have committed none of the crimes printed on this poster." The cougar blatantly stated.

Fidel leant onto the table a bit more, his shell touching the back of the chair. "And how are we supposed to believe you?"

"You are talking to a r?nin. I may not have a lord to fight for, but I had a damn good reason to leave."

"A r?nin?" Fidel asked.

"A lordless samurai, it's the only possibility I'm actually here in the first place. You," the cougar answered, beginning his second sentence by pointing at Trygrr, "should know of how samurai would have pins associated with a certain lord, correct?"

"Whenever my brother-band committed raids into Uslijan, we would always get a few pins but thought nothing of them." Trygrr answered.

"Well, the pin I wore I dug into the dirt. I may have lost nearly everything, but at least I'm not a mindless slave."

Fidel and Trygrr quizzically looked at each other.

"What do you mean?" Trygrr asked.

"Many of my fellow samurai weren't..... particularly loyal to our lord. He was a coward, using manipulation and assassinations to get what he wants and not a straight-up fight. Many of us planned to leave and soon revolt, but our lord found out and soon began to... do something to them and turn them loyal again. But their eyes were glassy and never questioned. The posters are meant for my capture and whatever my lord does to make me a mindless slave to him." The cougar explained, always spitting out kilolitres of venom every time he said 'lord.'

The cougar took the poster, leant back into his seat and ripped the poster in two, looking at both of them.

"What are your stories? Please, I want to know now."

Trygrr motioned to Fidel for the tortoise to start his story first.

"I'm a paladin, but I'm sure you already know that. But I'm on pilgrimage, and I aim to be the first to complete a pilgrimage during this war of ours." Fidel explained.

The cougar nodded and looked at Trygrr, patient in his satiating of his curiosity.

"Last member of a Raider brother-band. Had an insider who killed everyone else except me, so I aim to make him pay." Trygrr revealed.

The cougar leant onto the table. He turned his head to Fidel.

"I'll help you get to the shrines in Uslijan. Many of the other provinces were boasting that they killed supposed 'background spies' ever since the war." The cougar proposed. He turned his head to Trygrr. "And I know I'm guilty of this, but I'll also help you kill this traitor of yours."

"You had a fair reason to betray......." Trygrr began, but realised that he didn't know the cougar's name.

"Isamu." The cougar said, smirking.

"Isamu, right. Trygrr, at your service. Like I said, you had a fair reason to do what you did. And, if you need help, you'll have me at your back."

"You'll have mine as well, as recompense for the completion of my pilgrimage."

Isamu nodded his thanks.

"Now, if you two will excuse me, I have some blood to clean up." Isamu said, going back to his work on the floor.

They had Kaufman pay for another room for one night, which he was more than happy to do.

Isamu kept both of his small weapons on him.

____________________________________________________________________________________

The sun rose over Cranta, painting the tall marble towers in the hues of the daylight hours. When Isamu felt the sun's rays shine upon his fur, he smiled ever so slightly.

The small things in life.

He slowly opened his eyes, blissful. Except at the smallest crack of sight, he noticed something different. His eyes shot wide open, he sat up straight and pulled one of his short blades halfway out of his scabbard. He scanned the room in distress. He looked out of the window, seeing the Cranta rooftops being shone upon. He took a few deep breaths and angrily shoved the blade completely back into its scabbard.

He had this exact same reaction at the redecorated Kespian inn in that village.

He was too used to the roof of Lord Ichotsuke's garrison.

Isamu slowly stood up from the bed, taking the belt for his two small weapons off so that he could fit his hoari over the top, not forgetting to tie the left sleeve into the belt of the weapons. He swiped his nodachi from its resting place in the corner and hefted it over his right shoulder, his paw taking its usual place on it.

He walked into the main room, seeing it full of others and smelling of cooked food enough that Isamu's mouth watered.

He saw Fidel and Trygrr sitting in one of the corner tables, discussing things over a map, their weapons either laid on the floor or resting against the rim of the table. Isamu made his way over to them, leaning his nodachi against the table, and took a seat himself.

Fidel knocked lightly against the table, gaining the attention of the innkeeper, and held up three fingers. The innkeeper nodded and began to prepare breakfast for the three of them. Trygrr was busy studying the map, mainly the two crosses within Sofreze. He placed a finger on top of one of them.

"You do know that this one's on a sacred mountain, right?" He asked.

Fidel's head snapped to Trygrr's gaze. "Sacred mountain?"

Trygrr nodded. "The Severed Peak. It is the only place that is considered neutral ground in Sofreze, due to it being an arena for the men of Jarls or for solving disputes between brother-bands." He explained.

"And why is it named the Severed Peak?" Isamu asked.

"Because the summit is high above the arena grounds, but the stone that makes up the peak has been split in two and forms up the caves and arena, said to have been split by a legend who wanted a place to settle all disputes, and so he used his sword and cut through the mountain in one swing, allowing the many Jarls of ages past to build the arena there." Trygrr answered, his eyes never leaving the cross and his finger never leaving the map.

It was then that a plate of hot food was placed in front of each of the three.

"Enjoy!" The innkeeper said, smiling.

And when she began to walk back to her place behind the counter, her tail flicked up to softly wrap itself around Isamu's neck before removing itself. All three turned to look at the innkeeper quizzically for her behaviour, only to think nothing of it.

It was then that Isamu caught a whiff of Kespian food. And it made his mouth water.

And he could also see Trygrr also restraining himself, but he was staring lovingly at the plate in front of him. Fidel was smiling, most likely at their reactions to the smell. He gestured for them to start.

By the time he was a quarter of the way through his, Isamu and Trygrr had finished theirs.

"I love Kespian food." Trygrr said, his eyes dreamy.

"I have to agree with you." Isamu said, leaning back in his chair.

Fidel chuckled, twirling the fork in his fingers. 'This adventure is going to be fun.' He thought.

____________________________________________________________________________________

They decided to pay a visit to Kaufman's stall after catching Isamu up on the course they would take, astonished to find it so busy so quickly. There were so many that they couldn't even see the stall, let alone the frog who ran it. And so, they waited for the crowd to disperse. Their patience was rewarded because the crowd dispersed, seeing that the stock on the stall-front was near empty and that Kaufman began to restock it. While Kaufman was restocking, the three walked up to the frog.

"Ah, my boys, come to chat again?" Kaufman asked.

"No, Kaufman. We've come to say goodbye." Fidel responded.

"And thank you for the rooms, as well." Trygrr added.

"Bah, you have done me favours that I had to repay. And don't worry about the costs, I've made more from my merchandise than what I've spent here." Kaufman said. "Say, where exactly are you heading off to now, and maybe later?"

"As of right now, we are heading north, towards Sofreze. Then, we head towards Uslijan."

Kaufman smiled. "You boys be safe now. And don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Got two new horses to travel with."

The three smiled and turned, waving goodbye to the kindly merchant frog, and made their way over the courtyard to the north, towards the northern-most gate. After the gate opened and closed behind them, they began their way towards Sofreze, along with a village fondly remembered by one.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile, somewhere in Sofreze:

A huscarl stormed through the dungeons, making checks in each of the cells for the prisoner the Jarl wanted. Their tail flicked in annoyance of the flies every now and then, sometimes flicking in annoyance of not knowing where this specific prisoner is.

The other huscarls placed a closed paw over their hearts as they passed, the first one to do so being the searching huscarl. After another minute, the huscarls finally found who they were searching for. A female polar bear, wearing enough rough pelts to protect her..... sensitive parts..... from the cold. On the pelts that covered her hips were two loops for the haft of an axe to slide in, but the axes were taken from her when she was thrown in to begin with.

The huscarl hit the cell door, resulting in a clang that echoed in the enclosed space. The polar bear, to the unobservant, calmly looked up, but to the huscarls and the observant, she just 'touched' her inner feral.

The Jarl must be concocting something crazy if it meant letting this berserker out of her cage.

"Calm down. The Jarl wants to have a talk." The huscarl announced, not backing down to the polar bear berserker.

The huscarl saw that the ferocity from her eyes vanished, currently realising what this situation now entails. She nodded, and the huscarl produced the key required to unlock her cell. The other huscarls placed a hand on their weapons, just in case.

The huscarl opened her cell door, allowing the polar bear to walk out. The huscarl produced a length of rope and tied the bear's paws together. A rough guiding hand kept her going towards the Jarl and away from her freedom. Although she wouldn't do that without her axes.

A warrior without their weapons are like birds without wings.

Another huscarl opened the door to the Jarl's palace, albeit less spectacular than in Uslijan and Kespian and more for practicality. Stopping just in front of the Jarl's throne, the huscarl shoved the berserker to her knees and drew their sword, making it glimmer in the sunlight that shone through the windows high above them. The other huscarl that was there hefted their Dane Axe over their shoulder, the axe head doing the same as the sword.

In front of the berserker, and in between the two huscarls, was the Jarl. She (the Jarl, that is) was wiser than some scholars, but also as strong as some of the other Jarls or some of the brother-bands that still roam the Sofrezan wastes. Maybe it had to do with her being a griffon herself, her wings folded into her back. She stared upon the berserker, who was staring at the Jarl and was barely containing her feral self.

"Weapons away." The Jarl ordered, still staring at the berserker.

One of the huscarls tried to argue, but a quick glare from the Jarl silenced all opposition. The Jarl turned her gaze back to the polar bear before them, who was shocked out of her ferocity.

"How do you feel like spilling blood on the battlefield for your freedom?" The Jarl asked.

The polar bear took a few seconds to comprehend the request, but once she did, the smile was threatening. "I would like that very much, Jarl." She answered.

The Jarl smiled as much as her beak would allow. "Good."

The Jarl took a piece of parchment and a quill, dipping the quill in an inkwell and writing down something upon it. While the Jarl wrote, the tension grew. When the Jarl was finished, she folded the parchment and told one of the huscarls to fetch something.

"You will go to the Severed Peaks Arena. To earn your freedom back and to relieve you of your crimes against the carls and thralls under my rule, you must defeat twenty-five combatants in the Arena. A contingent of my huscarls will go with you." The Jarl explained. She looked over to the entrance, obviously seeing something of importance. "But first...."

A pair of familiar axes landed in front of the polar bear, who recognised them immediately. They were her axes. She looked up at the Jarl, who was smiling once more.

"... you'll need your favoured weapons." She concluded.

With that, the Jarl stood and brandished a dagger. With it, she knelt down and cut through the bindings in one fluid motion. The bear's paws went straight to her axes, feeling the grooves where her fingers would clench over the hafts. Quickly, to not cause offence, she put the axe hafts into the loops on her hips and looked up to the Jarl.

"When am I leaving?"

She received a chuckle before the answer.

"Tonight."