Eight Intertwined

16 - Cobbleston

The path up to the cave where the bandits were staying was littered with rocks and ratkin. Luckily for the group, they functioned well as a unit, and Olberic felt like a natural extension of everything that Cyrus, Ophilia, and Tressa had already put together prior to his arrival in their lives. Olberic had explained his story to them as well, introducing himself as 'Berg', the hedge knight defending Cobbleston. He was in search of Philip, a young boy who had been taken hostage by the brigands when they invaded Cobbleston. 

Cyrus was, to be quite honest, confident that there was more to this story than met the eye. Olberic fought with much more gusto and confidence than any hedge knight he knew. Olberic's skills were refined, but he remained humble despite this, certain of his actions but never allowing his power with a blade to push him into the territory of believing that he was immune to downfall. He was impressive, in other ways, but Cyrus was sure that there was more to Olberic than he had been told initially. The name 'Berg' fell uncomfortably from his tongue, and Cyrus was confident that it was a lie. He didn't know what the truth of the situation was, but he was sure that he would figure it out soon enough. 

"I hope that we're able to get there in time..." Ophilia whispered. Ever since she had first appeared in Rippletide, her bleeding heart had become clear. She simply couldn't bring herself to turn her back on a person in pain, whether it be Tressa, the occupants of Rippletide, Olberic, or Philip. Her eyes seemed to shine with a special type of nobility whenever she assured the client of the hour that everything was going to be alright, and her gentle smile only allowed the point to hit closer to home. It didn't matter what the task was; if Ophilia though completing it was going to help people, she would follow through with it. 

"I hope so as well," Olberic murmured under his breath, his voice notably tense and strained. His sword had become stained with the blood of ratkin over the course of their journey, but he barely seemed to mind, too focused on the task at hand to even give his foes a second glance. His determination was as endless as it was terrifying, and Cyrus would have been lying if he said that he didn't admire Olberic's dedication to their current course of action. 

The group fell into a lapse of silence after that, but it wasn't long that they were bathed in quiet. A small rocky creature appeared out of the corner of Tressa's vision, and she turned towards it with a stab of her spear. From there, the magical barrage of attacks that came from Ophilia and Cyrus seemed to take care of the monster, and Olberic dealt the finishing blow without even batting an eyelash. He was moving again a moment later, and Cyrus spared a glance with Tressa, who still appeared to be rattled from the sudden battle, before moving on. 

The sound of voices reached their ears soon afterwards. Olberic was quick to put his arm out so that the group would remain quiet. Cyrus recognized the heavy accents as being similar to the methods of speaking that he had found in the voices of the pirates of Rippletide. Tressa and Ophilia seemed to make the same connection, and it wasn't long before Tressa's expression had become twisted with bitterness as she reached for her bow, undoubtedly because she was raring up for another inevitable fight. 

As soon as Tressa had primed her bow, Ophilia and Cyrus reached for their staffs. Olberic's hand rested on the pommel of his blade, and he began to walk towards the group of bandits. There were five of them, all bickering and laughing near a torch outside the cave's entrance. They were so caught up in themselves that they didn't even notice the arrival of Olberic and his companions for a few moments. 

When one of the bandits did notice, he stepped forward with a lopsided grin that was twisted with cruelty at the edges. "Look who's come! Have you lost somethin', hedge knight?" he asked, his voice mocking. The rest of the brigands joined in on laughing with him a moment later.