Chapter 19 - The Mountain Path II

Somewhere on the Killers mountain range, Nespia, Therian Continent

"Hyah!" Julie grunted. An icicle shot out of the tip of her staff and hurled across the cave. She'd targeted the enemy's mage, who waited in the back with a disgusting look on his face. A flick of his wrist and his mage shield shattered the ice into millions of tiny particles. Being this tiny, they quickly broke down into water and rained down on the mage. His blue robes were wet with the droplets of magic.

"Water technique: freeze fire!" He countered by flawlessly copying the spell, only adding an incantation to increase its power. Julie didn't flinch at this petty provocation, standing still and waiting for the icicle to arrive. At that point, Ingram moved first, his blade slicing the projectile straight down the middle and sending each half into a different wall. He twirled his sword stylishly and then winked at the girl before advancing.

Ulfric, still with his pistol in hand, focused his attention on another enemy. The swordsman was staring at the dead body of his friend on the floor, and so Ulfric fired at him mercilessly. The first was blocked by a mage shield at the last second, which shattered under the impact. Of course, this meant nothing unless he could keep it up. Five shots down and the enemy was overwhelmed; his final shield broke and a bullet slammed between his eyes, sending him soaring off the cliff. Ulfric's revolver gave a click as it moved to an empty slot.

Two swordsmen, seeing the apparent advantage, rushed Ulfric side by side. Both furious, they lacked coordination compared to the hardened killer who grew even more so with each of their allies dead. Ulfric was ready, taking a more traditional sword stance in sensing the inexperience of the enemy. They grew closer and closer. A breath in, and a breath out. From his perspective, though they were enhanced by magic, they moved slowly.

A blade was deflected with such power that it spun around and embedded itself in the cave ceiling. Ulfric countered the second incoming attack and used the same momentum to slash at the body of the man reaching for his ceiling blade. The blade caught on a ribcage and the man spat blood. The flesh clung to the sword as Ulfric drew it free, and another enemy was down in an instant. He grabbed the sword from the ceiling and went to work.

The last enemy was on top of him already. He deflected the blow and pushed forward with his second weapon, pressuring the enemy until his back hit the wall. There, a flurry of blows ensued until they were both bloody and cut, their clothes being gradually torn to shreds by shallow slices. Five seconds passed, then in an instant was the decisive blow. Ulfric struck his sword through the man's neck, pinning his body to the wall with the sword he'd stolen from his dead friend just moments before.

Ingram's target was the mage. His slice moved impossibly fast, breaking through the mage shield and only getting caught in the wood of the mage's staff. The man gritted his teeth and shoved Ingram back. They briefly wrestled over the staff, at which point Ingram's strength dominated that of a mage; he pulled it free and spun it around smoothly before whacking the man on the side of the head with it. His consciousness waned, and he stumbled backward, moments from falling over the edge until Ingram caught his collar.

The reason he did this was the burly man at his side, who'd just managed to get to his feet. His wounds were closed, probably from some sort of healing magic. Brick was angry, missing an eye, and clearly more than willing to gouge Ingram's heart out where he stood. But now Ingram had leverage. Brick's teammate's fate hung in the balance, quite literally. His terrified face didn't dare to look below as his body protruded at a ninety degree angle, his feet barely clinging to the edge.

"Brick. The not so savvy mercenary," Ingram said.

"Just kill him," Brick said plainly. "We mercs don't care much for our own kind."

Ingram tilted his head in confusion, then turned to see the mage's reaction to this sudden betrayal. Much to his surprise, the man was already tumbling; along with him was Ingram's arm below the elbow, still defiantly clinging to the collar despite being severed from the main body. Brick's incision had been instant and decisive in the moment of indecision. Blood began spraying out like a hose. Ingram's eyes widened, and tears forced themselves out. Suddenly he couldn't see anything through a cloud of adrenaline. He faltered.

Ulfric dashed forward, sword at the ready. Brick made the finishing move, but not nearly quick enough. Ulfric would make it in time to save his brother, his eyes filled with hope. Behind him, Julie struggled around with her staff, yelling something unintelligible. With three people gathered around, it was impossible to fire a spell that wouldn't hurt them all. She froze, unsure of what to do.

A thought danced across Ingram's mind in that instant. Why was it that he was so weak? Was he truly going to let his reg brother save him again? No matter how talented, Ulfric was a reg; regs were supposed to be weak. Even so, he'd already had his life saved by Ulfric once, and now he was about to die to some nobody mercenary? What a joke, he thought. Not me. Not me. Determination rose up in his core, pushing every muscle to the absolute limit. His neurons fired as magic overflowed.

Ingram's arm didn't even move, it simply appeared at the destination. Brick's blade was deflected in a brilliant shower of sparks using only a single hand. It would be ok, though, after all he'd have about a second to prepare a counter to the next attack. This, however, was not the case. Similar to the first time, Ingram's hand and sword simply appeared in the next location as if teleporting. He thrusted forward, burying the blade right in the center of Brick's gut. Fatal, but not fatal enough to render healing magic useless.

The mercenary coughed blood into the snowstorm and keeled over against the wall. His sword fell to the ground with a metallic cling. He clutched his chest and slowly fell to his knees. Now, as Ingram stood over him, Brick appeared almost sorrowful. Of course, actions like begging for mercy were ever so common in a business such as this. Ingram had seen it all before. He raised the sword above his shoulder and took a breath in, thoughts racing through his head. In an instant, the sword was brought down.

* * *

Brick was awake. From the ceiling, a single droplet of water struck his forehead and shook him awake. Restrained, his body was held against a wall by a sheet of earth that neatly wrapped around him, clearly formed by magic. His eyes adjusted to the light, and water ran down his face. The cave was dark and gloomy, the fire long gone out. At the very instant he realized the situation, he was overcome with fear.

Three people stood over him with glaring eyes. The lady mage, and two men. Ingram's arm had the bleeding stopped and had been dressed with bandages since the fight. Ulfric brandished a sword, practically begging to strike down the defenseless man. It seemed that, at the very end, Ingram had struck Brick over the head with his hilt. He'd been unconscious for about half an hour, moving further into the dead of night.

"First, you ask to guide us through the mountains. Next, you show up in the night and try to kill us. What's your deal, mercenary? Is it because of the academy?" Ingram scratched his scruffy chin and made a puzzled look. Sure, them being students was the possible cause, but to him it seemed a little bit surface level. Perhaps there was some other cause that he was missing.

"Go to hell, kid. Merc's code. Live and die by our info. Live and die by our blade." Brick, seeing the desperation of the questioning, seemed to regain his courage. He'd been a mercenary for twenty years, and he'd seen this exact scenario more than once. He wouldn't have his will broken by a bunch of kids.

Ulfric stepped forward. Even more than the other two, Brick knew that this kid was the most vicious out of the group; he had no doubt that his bizarre sword technique would prevail a second time if it came down to it. Ulfric crouched in front of him, and they were face to face, with Ulfric breathing hot breath on him, smelling of jerky. They both made angry faces at each other, waiting for the other to break.

"You misunderstand your situation," Ulfric said. "You know, to me you're nothing more than dirt to be trampled on. These two may have reservations about killing someone who's restrained… I do not. You ought to work with me here, or I'm going to do my best to make it painful and slow."

Brick shivered. Ulfric, at eighteen, had an impossibly powerful aura. Even though he had no reason to trust these words, somehow he knew that Ulfric meant every single one of them. He had no reservations about killing. He was telling the truth. A familiar feeling clutched at his chest and rumbled his stomach. This was pure, unbridled fear. The boy's glaring eyes didn't lost contact for even a moment.

"You…" Brick trailed off and looked away, trying to compose himself. "You don't scare me, kid. Gonna have to do better than that."

"You're lying. Heart rate increased… Sweat on your forehead. Jaw chattering." Ulfric shrugged. "Maybe, if you're really not afraid, I'll just start cutting?" He thrust his dagger forward, and just like that Brick's ear was gone. The dagger was embedded in the cave wall, with blood running off of it like wet paint. A sharp pain overtook the side of his head, and he bit his tongue to prevent himself from crying out.

"Gah!" He finally let it slip. A pained expression overtook his face. He was practically foaming at the mouth like a diseased animal.

"That's more like it. Julie, heal him." Ulfric clapped twice in satisfaction and then brought his hands apart as if saying it's just that easy. "Right. You get my point now, I'd assume? I don't care for this tough guy act. Next one goes between your eyes."

Ingram's face was concerned. He'd been standing with his arms crossed, hugging his own body and flinching whenever Ulfric made a move to harm the mercenary. Even from the outside, this was hard to watch. "Hey. When did my little brother become so ruthless?" He asked.

Julie shrugged. "The years of neglect he describes… I can't exactly say I'm shocked. Kid's got some pent up rage." She held her staff out and cast a spell to stop the bleeding on Brick's head.

"Right…" Ingram chuckled nervously. "Don't people like that usually get help instead of taking it out on prisoners?"

Julie just glared at him. It was a look that said she agreed, but also told him that she didn't care to get involved.

"Hey Ingram?" Ulfric's ears perked up, and he looked back over his shoulder. "If you're scared of getting your hands dirty, just say it. Pussy." There was not a hint of playfulness in those words, only undiluted venom. Ingram's body gave a physical reaction.

"Alright, man. Whatever," Ingram said. He thought to say more, much more than that at least. Instead, his lips were firmly sealed. Besides, Brick's terror told him that his little brother's techniques were getting the job done.

"Stop it already," Brick cried out. "I don't even give a shit anymore. I'll tell you. Crazy bastard!"

"Heh." Ulfric bounced to his feet. His expression didn't deviate even a little bit. Doing something such as this was a menial task to him. "Tell me what? Go on."

"We didn't come after you because you were students. If that were the reason, I'd have spilled the beans ages ago."

"Now we're getting somewhere. Chair me, Julie." Ulfric leaned back with complete faith, falling into a chair that was instantly created beneath him with earth magic. He reclined and crossed his legs, patiently waiting for the story to be told. Brick grew even more nervous with each passing moment. For a minute, the room was silent as if he was waiting for approval to continue. "Continue," Ulfric said.

"Right." Brick took a breath to regain his composure. It seemed at long last that he was finally getting his dues. I'm sorry, dad. I'd rather not die here. "I was sent here by the principal of Lancaster Academy. He said to look for Ulfric Englund."

"Hm? Could it be some sort of preliminary test?" Ingram asked.

"I don't know! I just do what they pay me to do!"

Ulfric tilted his head in confusion. "And the Rion information network led you to me?"

Brick frowned. This, he was forbidden to say. "Yes. You've left quite the trail, as it turns out."

Ingram set a hand on Ulfric's shoulder. "Is it just me, or is that answer a little…"

"Anticlimactic?" Ulfric finished. "Yeah, definitely. Julie, release the magic."

Brick slid down the wall and hit the floor as the bindings were released. He made no attempt to move or fight. He'd been thoroughly subdued. Now that he'd given up the mission details, there was no purpose in completing it. If the kids revealed it to Rion, his license would be toast anyways.

"What do we do with him, then?" Julie asked, her arms crossed, looking unimpressed.

Ulfric raised a brow, looking at the pathetic man on the floor. "Honestly, I hold no grudge against a mercenary who was just trying to do his job." Knowing that Brick wasn't after a personal score changed things. He'd taken a contract to kill someone without knowing who they were, and seeked to fulfill the contract. It was a forgivable deed.

"A deal, then. Mutually beneficial." Ingram reached a hand out to Brick before giving his proposal. "You help us cross the warzone, and we don't reveal this transgression to Rion Merc?" He asked.

"Eh? I suppose with his livelihood on the line, then maybe…" Ulfric started.

"I'll do it." Brick grabbed Ingram's hand and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. "As an apology, I'm even happy to pay the healer's fee for your arm."

"I'll take that bonus," Ingram said. "Believe it or not, this isn't my first time losing a limb."

"Happens all too often in the business," Brick sympathized. 

Ulfric recalled that high ranking adventurers often had healing magic in their arsenal good enough to heal limbs. When they reached Lancaster, it would be extremely easy to find a healer for both Brick's eye and Ingram's arm. Why was it that this healing magic couldn't heal scars, though? This was a topic worth further studying, or asking Julie about.

"And through conflict, friends are found," Julie mocked in the background. She was shocked that Ingram, who hated mercenaries with his whole being, had decided to give Brick an opportunity to travel with them. If they were betrayed, Julie swore to herself then that she'd be the first to leap forward and finish the job. In the background, Ulfric's thoughts were roughly similar.

"Morning will come soon." Ingram ignored Julie's comment. "If you're good enough to move, we should leave promptly." He spoke as if speaking to a child. It was only underneath layers of facades that Ulfric finally understood. Ingram clearly had some sort of ulterior motive to this behavior. Perhaps he intended to deliver the principal's assassination attempt to his feet? Ulfric didn't think that even Ingram would do something so rash.

 After all, it wasn't a ridiculous idea to test Ulfric's merit. These were amateur bounty hunters, so beating them could be considered the standard of attending the academy. Truthfully, he couldn't bring himself to blame the principal for wanting to test a reg, seeing how one hadn't attended there in something like a thousand years. It was a little bit scary though, imagining the influence held by the academy, and that the principal was friends with even someone like the final grade mage Rion Aganata.

"Good to go. This guy and his crew got me all warmed up," Ulfric said.

"No kidding," Brick said. "That's an impressive sword technique there, lad. Is it your own?"

"It is," Ulfric affirmed.

"Then I'm sure there's a pretty penny to be made selling it off."

"I wouldn't." Ulfric shook his head.

Brick nodded. "I don't blame you."

"Sword technique?" Ingram asked.

Ulfric went slightly red. Anyone who'd seen it had died; Brick was supposed to be included. It was not yet time for his siblings to learn of the technique. "Another time," he said.

"Right then."

They moved to get ready. Ulfric had taken his boots off before passing out against the wall, so his socks had been soaked by the time he rushed into battle, completely unarmored. He picked up his boots with a sigh, slipping them on as well as his shoulder guards. After that were the rings from his backpack, and then the backpack itself. Belt next, and there he hooked on the dagger which had a sort of hinge on the end of the hilt as if intended to latch onto a belt. He strained his hair back into a ponytail once more, and stomped out to the entrance.

Ingram and Julie had fallen asleep mostly in full gear, so they were patiently waiting for him to get ready for about five minutes. Brick, of course, was also ready. They stood near the cliff, making idle and extremely awkward chit-chat. Ulfric was hesitant to approach. He'd defeated Brick without allowing him to use even a fraction of his power; if they were to rematch, the outcome would certainly be massively different, perhaps not in a manner favorable for Ulfric.

The blizzard had miraculously subsided by then, and the day grew clear. Down the cliff, all was visible. The forest of spruce ran for miles, but eventually hit the grand walls of Alterion, which were impressively visible and imposing in the distance. It was about ten kilometers out, and would be quite easily reachable within the day if they were to leap from the cliff and nullify the damage with shields. This wouldn't make a difference, Ulfric knew. As Ingram had said, reaching the wall was meaningless if it wasn't near a gate.

Finding the gate would require passing through the growing warzone that was active once again to their left. Those with magic seemed to be perturbed by the presence of immense mana in the air. Ulfric could do nothing but read the mood and watch the fireballs be hurled in the distance. The journey was about to get a lot more difficult from here no doubt. For now, it was the best they could do to vacate the campsite before another round of travelers arrived, assuming more travelers were stupid enough to walk this path.

Ulfric dipped his bloodied hands in the snow and used it to wash his hands off. While Brick was unconscious, he'd done the duty of tossing bodies from the cliff. Likely, they'd provide good food for the ecosystem below. That being said, there were some things you couldn't clean all that well, like missing bullet casings or smeared blood on the floor. The next group to arrive would not only smell the massacre, but see it too.

As for Brick, he was impartial. In the business, you saw comrades die almost daily. He claimed repeatedly that it was alright. He'd only been with that group for the sake of the job, he said. They were a bunch of dimwits, he said. Ulfric had no reason not to believe him. Usually, when multiple mercenaries caught wind of a single job, they'd opt to band together; these were the kinds of setups that, stereotypically, led to betrayals over money and such. It couldn't be helped. Going after a job alone was usually an even worse idea than trusting some no good mercs.

Ulfric stomped forward and joined the group. In washing the blood off of his hands, he felt somehow relieved of the sins. After all, it was only self defense. He gave a respectful nod to Brick and the others. They stood there silently, waiting for someone to acknowledge the situation first. Ulfric cleared his throat and spoke up.

"We're good?" He asked.

"I think so," Julie replied. She seemed a little anxious with a new member.

"We're good," Ingram said, looking at Brick, who gave a polite nod. "Julie. Lead the way."

"Alright then." The girl stepped to the front of the pack with her map and compass. "We're off."