Ballad of the Brothers: The Lion

Chapter Eleven

It was a few hours past noon, and they had stopped to camp by a lake Gwah floated idly with her arms on a log, taking in the scenery, and Reuben sat on the shore, sewing some white sheets together. He appeared to be making some kind of gown. "Shark or not, it just doesn't seem right for a girl that walks on two legs to scramble around naked." was the reasoning he gave, and while it was true, the others could see that he was used to tailoring, and in fact even seemed to enjoy it.
"That's some deft needlework." Shen commented.
Reuben wriggled his moustache. "Yeah, I used to be a tailor's apprentice back where I'm from. That town was popular among aristocracy from all around, cause we knew how to make silk."
Caiaphas raised an eyebrow at this. "Oh? I've always wondered where that stuff came from."
Reuben snorted. "To put it bluntly, a worm's ass. Sometimes from spiders too, but we make sure not to make any distinguishing comments when we sell the stuff. Spider stuff is secondhand, but it's actually the bulk of our 'authentic silk'."
Caiaphas laughed. He wasn't sure if he was joking or not.
He began to sew on the hood segment, having finished with the rest of the crude gown. It was like a makeshift version of what travelling clerics wore. There wasn't any decor on it, because it was a rush job. He wanted to get moving again soon. Being in the wild was really grating his nerves.
Caiphas, meanwhile, was binding a blank book made out of some crude leather and some parchment scrolls that he cut. He wanted Gwah to be able to communicate with them. Shen was drinking and standing guard, and Gaol was playing with the fox, which she affectionately refered to as "Bubby". It was regaining control of it's movements, but still fell over when it tried to stand. That didn't stop it from trying, though.
Reuben spoke up. "Alrighty, it's done. I used a big hood in case she ever wanted to hide her identity, perhaps with a mask. Sorry for the rough job, but we don't have the time for me to make anything too fancy. It does it's job, though."
Gwah emerged from the waters, shaking herself dry. She walked over to Reuben, bowing with her hands together as a sign of gratitude. She then slipped it on, instantly looking more human with clothes on.
Caiaphas handed her the book and pencil, along with an extra satchel to carry them in. "If that's everything, we'll be off now." He announced, slinging his packs across his back. The others followed suit, and they began to walk around the lake.

That night, they saw a couple of torches in the distance, as well as a campfire. They excitedly continued on towards them. They were halted by a hooded man with a war scythe*, and the sound of two crossbows being loaded nearby. The man's single pauldron glistened on his left shoulder, and his cheap half-chestplate had a diligently polished luster about it. He seemed to be a watchman of some sort, an observation confirmed by the emblem on his brooch.
"Halt. State your name and business." a naggingly young and familiar voice called out.
Caiaphas and the others had their hands up in the air. A cloud of chilled breathed issued out as he sighed. "I am Caiaphas, a travelling Seer, and these are my bodyguards, Shen, Gaol, and Gwah. I have come to this town to speak with an old friend, as well as stock up supplies."
"Ah, so that's why you were armed to the teeth…and who is this old friend you speak of, Seer Caiaphas?"
"Are you familiar with a man named Brando? Brando Langley?"
"That I am. In fact, he is the leader of the Town Watch. But, how do you know him?"
"He and I used to go to the same monastery, the one in Jagd Sanguine. His brother was there too, but he wasn't training to become a seer with the rest of us. I believe his name was, Godfrey?"
"And what was this...Godfrey like?"
"Well for one, he was very bad at acting." Caiaphas grinned.
The two pulled back their hoods and began to laugh, slapping each other on the back. The other watchmen lowered their crossbows, and all the tension left the air. "Man, it's been five years. How are you holding up? Did you finally get ordained?"
"I'm doing pretty well for myself. It was a tough journey making it to the Vatican, but it was worth it. I'm not a Paladin, per se, though… They decided I was more fitted for the rank of Inquisistor. More power, more authority, but even more responsibility. Seemed they were a bit eager to get rid of me, though…They assigned the Eastern Empire to me. Try not to let the word get around, though. I'm not trying to hide anything, rather, I want to play around a bit more before I reveal myself to everyone officially. What about you, though?"
Caiaphas was genuinely surprised, but he did admit that Godfrey was definitely a good candidate for Inquisistor. "Damn, Inquisistor? That's pretty cool. For me, though, I'm on a mission from the Archseer. I'm sure you and your brother had experienced the recent psychic... interruptions? No, rather, interference. Then, weird creatures started popping up. They don't seem like they belong in this world…So I've gotta go to the Temple of Memories and talk to the Guardian of Mementos for information on what's going on. From there, I have to find a way to end it."
"Creatures that don't belong here…I actually fought a couple on my way back here, with some assistance from the Watch. They seem rare, luckily. I've never fought anything so terrifying in my life."
"Godfrey was afraid of something…I never thought I'd see the day. Enough about me, though, aren't you going to introduce me to your friends? They seem a bit confused here." Caiaphas gestured to the nervous watchmen.
"Ah, where are my manners. These are actually two paladins-in-training that I took under my wing. They are Siegfried and Sieglende, twins that were unfortunately named after a certain infamous legend from the old world…They're a bit shy, but they stick together when things are tough. The taller one is Sieglende," Godfrey began.
Sieglende pulled her hood back, and offered her hand to Caiaphas, who in turn shook it. She looked slightly dazed, afterwards.
"And this one in the bulky armor is Siegfried."
Siegfried waved enthusiastically.
"Sieglende, Siegfried, this is Lord Caiaphas…or rather, he's the next heir to Jagd Sanguine, which is in turn ruled by Dark Lord Adrian, one of the church's most famous Blackguard Paladins, and father to Caiaphas."
Caiaphas hurriedly added, to the awe filled twins, "But there's no need to address me so formally. Just call me whatever you'd like. I'll introduce you to my companions as well. This is Shen, and his sister Gaol. Shen's basically my second in command, and Gaol is our medic. This is Gwah, a cryomancer. She is very friendly, don't be intimidated. This is Reuben, our Quartermaster and numbers man. Now that introductions are finished, do you mind if we join you, Frey? We've brought our own camping gear."
Godfrey nodded. "Yeah, I was hoping you'd ask. Feel free to."
After getting set up,  Caiaphas and Godfrey sat up talking, while Shen was telling stories to the Siegfried and Reuben. The girls, meanwhile, were gossiping, telling stories of their own, and fawning over Bubby. Siegfried and Sieglende turned out to be very young, being 16 years old.
Siegfried was short and muscular, with shaggy silver blonde hair, and had heterochromia; His left eye was a luminous deep blue, and his right eye was grey. He lugged around a giant double bladed axe, and was in fact very aggressive after he opened up to a person. Sieglende, meanwhile, possesed both grey eyes. She was very tall, in fact she was taller than Reuben. She had an overall soft looking body, not chubby per se, but more like still managing to be athletic while having a bit of fat on her body. She kept her hair in a long, single braid, with a few locks of hair hanging down in front of her face. She used a great, flanged mace as if she was simply swinging around a stick. They had been raised by veteran Paladins, Siegward and Greta, and it showed. The two had proud, noble faces, but their faces also looked too cute to take very seriously.
Godfrey, on the other hand, was much more boyish looking. He had light brown curtains and a ponytail, framing his long face. He was around Caiaphas' age, but was slightly younger. While Caiaphas looked like some sort of bony crossdresser, feminine and graceful but still noticeably male, he was more manly and offical looking. His polearm was always tediously sharpened, his armor meticulously shined (or blackened, depending on the mission.)
"So, how'd this town handle the battle five years ago? It's a border town, but I heard it still got affected pretty bad."
Godfrey nodded solemly. "We lost around 500 people; that's an entire fourth of the population dead at once. All the buildings and most of the fields were burned down, so we had to destroy the rest of it…but under Brando's guidance, everything worked out. We're recovering, and life is returning to the soil. In fact, trade has already resumed. The market these days are filled with other people from other settlements and sometimes even countries…but there's bound to be a few bad apples. Big bro knew this, so he set up the Town Watch and began to regulate entry and exit ahead of the time. Thanks to his clairvoyance, too, they were actually able to take in a few Alliance saboteurs in disguise about a month ago. They're still in the town jail as we wait for Lord Gareth to finish negotiations. Speaking of him, he was actually able to muster enough men from all of the caravans in the more devasted towns near the capital and begin to raise an army. Sure, they're mostly farmers and blacksmiths, but they're willing to die to prevent history from repeating itself, and that's formidable in itself." Godfrey was carving a piece of wood as he spoke.
"Ah, so everything is on the upswing. Brando always WAS a perfectionist. And what about you yourself? How was your journey up north to the Vatican?"
Godfrey snickered. "It wasn't easy, I'll tell you that. All I had was a chestplate made out of pot metal, this here scythe, and whatever else I could scavenge along the way. It didn't help that necromancy was so popular up there…I had to keep making detours just to slow the flood of suicide rushers trying to disturb my sleep. Still, I'd do it again in a heartbeat.  I've learned so many things, seen so many sights. Speaking of sights, you'd enjoy the Vatican, and the countries up north. They're so…different. Lots of blues, lots of greens, lots of colors in general. A change from constant sand…from constant ash."
Caiaphas chuckled. "As much as I want to go there, I'm also dreading the moment I have to. Not because of bandits, not because of the long journey, but because I might meet…you know who."
Godfrey grinned a Cheshire cat grin. "What, you're afraid of your own bride to beat-I mean, to be? Some of us have it pretty difficult to even find someone that won't run away when you look at them, let alone a wife. You're lucky. She is, as they say up north, Exceptionally Thick and Full of Vigor. ETFV, man. It's a way of life."
"I wish that I could give her to you, just to prove you wrong. It isn't a way of life, it's a way to die. She's nice and all, but I'm pretty sure that sooner or later I'm going to get her so angry that she rips me in half."
They both exploded into laughter at this.