Fire Emblem Fan Fiction ❯ Rennac's Tales of Turmoil ❯ Looming Darkness ( Chapter 3 )

"I'm getting paid back for all the crap I ever did in my life!" Rennac told himself. "Karma is biting my ass good." The trio had been on the move for three days straight. Not once had they stopped for sleep. Rennac was about to collapse but L'Arachel and Dozla just kept going.
"Do these guys' energy tanks ever run dry?" He asked himself quietly. L'Arachel was gung-ho about destroying evil. She claimed that monsters were spawning from Darkling Woods. They had been traveling for three days now and not once had he seen a single "monster". Except for the two people he was traveling with...
It was late at night, but L'Arachel insisted on continuing. Rennac's eyes ached and his body felt weak and exhausted. He stumbled about as he tried to keep up with his companions.
"L'Arachel. I need to take a rest." He pleaded. L'Arachel had her horse come to a halt. "Alright." She said. "My horse could use a break as well."
Rennac laid against a tree. He let out a long yawn and fell asleep within a few minutes. L'Arachel glanced at a map. "It looks like there's a village near by. We can rest up there. Dozla, Rennac, let's get to that village!" She then noticed Rennac, fast asleep against a tree. She tried to shake him awake.
"Mmph...Go away." He grumbled.
"Rennac, there's a village just up ahead. Wake up." She said.
"You're waking me up so I can go sleep somewhere else...?"
"Yes, now get up!"
"Fine." he said in an annoyed tone. He would just have rather slept against the tree. He was quite content sleeping anywhere at this point.
The three marched into the village. "Hey, you guys hungry?" Dozla asked. "Because I am."
"Great idea Dozla. I'm Starving!" L'Arachel exclaimed.
"I could eat a horse." Rennac added.
"A horse, eh?" Dozla asked. "Princess L'Arachel has a horse but I'm not sure she would appreciate you eating it."
"YOU'RE NOT GOING TO EAT MY HORSE!!!" L'Arachel cried out.
"I'm not going to." Rennac said, feeling his irritation build. "It's a figure of speech, so just calm down."
L'Arachel shot him with a death glare. "I'm keeping my eye on you, Rennac." She cautioned. "You...You horse slayer!"
Rennac sighed. This wasn't the first time she had taken something he said literally. He tried to watch out for similes and figures of speech. Sadly, Dozla was about as bad as L'Arachel except he didn't get as excited as she could. L'Arachel led them to nice little restaurant that, conveniently, was next door to the inn. The three walked into the restaurant and took a seat at a table with four chairs. A waiter came over to their table with a pencil and paper in hand. "May I take your order?" He asked them.
"I'll have beef please." L'Arachel said politely.
"Steak for me." Dozla said. Then he pointed at Rennac. "And this guy here will have horse."
"HORSE SLAYER!!!!" L'Arachel cried out.
The waiter was starting to look a little scared.
"Just give me chicken." Rennac said. He felt like he was going to get a headache with all of L'Arachel's screaming.
"Alright..." The waiter said. He still looked a little startled. "What can I get you to drink?"
"Water." Both L'Arachel and Dozla said.
"The strongest ale you have." Rennac said. "I need a little buzz tonight.
"You're not having alcohol." L'Arachel said.
"Excuse me?" Rennac asked.
"You're not going to have alcohol." She repeated firmly. "It's a corrupt beverage. I simply will not allow it."
"What? It's not like I'm an abusive drunk or anything."
"It doesn't matter. It causes impure actions. An evil substance such as that is forbidden on this quest."
"What isn't forbidden around here then?" He asked angrily.
L'Arachel seemed bewildered. "What do you mean?"
"First gamboling, then stealing, and now drinking?!" Well, he understood the stealing part. It was just something he was naturally good at.
"They're all bad things, Rennac."
"Why should you care? I'm just you body guard."
"I care about you. You have no morals, no respect, and you constantly make bad choices that will lead you down the path of ruin and despair."
Rennac slammed his fist against the table. "I've heard enough." He roared. I'm outta here."
"Calm yourself, Rennac." Dozla said.
"Don't tell me what to do, old man." Rennac warned. He stood out of his chair and stormed out the restaurant. He completely ignored the odd glances people were giving him. They were the least of his cares. He walked though the village with no real destination in mind. He just muttered a string of curses. For three days he had to put up with L'Arachel nagging at him and rambling on about justice. It was enough to make anyone sick. He decided to leave the village and head back out into the forest.
"I was a fool for taking up this job." He muttered to himself. "It's caused me noting but trouble. That obnoxious, good-for-nothing, little--"
He stopped short when he heard a low growl. It came from behind a bush. He figured it was just a stray dog. The growl grew louder and he became a bit fearful. He drew his sword and readied himself into a fighting stance. "Alright you mangy mutt, show yourself." He ordered.
The creature jumped out from behind it's hiding place. It looked like a wolf, but Rennac had never seen a wolf like this one before. It's fur was black with stripes of red on it's back. It also had a mane just like a lion.
"What are you?!" Rennac shouted in surprised.
The wolf creature let out a howl and charged for Rennac. Rennac swung his sword at it, but the wolf evaded it with little effort. It snapped at Rennac with it's razor sharp teeth. Rennac just barely managed to dodge its fangs. He swung his blade on more time at the creature. The sword cut though the wolf's neck, killing it instantly. Rennac sheathed his sword and began to walk away, until he heard more growls. Six more wolf creatures appeared from the darkness of the forest.
Rennac felt a chill run down his spine. "Dear God! One of you was bad enough." He said.
The wolves barked and snarled at him. Their yellow eyes seemed to glowing in the darkness of night.
"Um...Good doggy?" Rennac said nervously.
The wolves howled and charged for him. Rennac turned and ran as fast as he could, but the wolves were much faster. One of them leaped on top of him and pinned him to the ground. The other creatures rushed over to the fallen Rennac and bit and scratched at him. When he tried to pull out his blade, they would just bite his hand. He let out cries of pain and tried to throw them off but they just kept coming back. Just then someone swung what looked to be a giant battle axe at the creatures and knocked them off of him.
"Dozla?" Rennac asked weakly.
"That it is, lad." Dozla confirmed.
Rennac heard galloping and L'Arachel cry out; "Rennac, are you all right?"
"L'Arachel. Dozla. You guys saved me...Why?" Rennac asked surprised.
"We couldn't let you go off on your own. It's too dangerous." L'Arachel answered.
"...Thank you?" he said, although it seemed more like a question than a statement. He picked up his sword and helped Dozla kill the wolves. With the two working together, they were able to defeat the creatures in just a few minutes. When the chaos had ended, the two warriors put up their weapons.
"Glad that's over." Rennac said. He turned to his companions. "Just what were those things. Do either of you know?"
"They're monsters." L'Arachel said grimly. "Agents of evil. Brought to life from darkness. Here to kill us all."
Well that sure didn't sound fun.
"As warriors of justice, we must destroy them and preserve peace in this world."
Here we go again. Rennac thought to himself. More about justice and peace and all that crap. Time to tune her out.
"We're going to run into many monsters of lore on our journey. We will destroy each and every one of them to save Magvel."
"Hold on a second." Rennac interrupted. "No one said anything about fighting monsters."
"Your my body guard, correct?" L'Arachel asked.
"Yeah."
"And as my body guard, you shall defend me from harm, correct?"
"Yeah."
"Then as my body guard, you shall defend me from being harmed by these monsters."
Rennac realized he had been defeated. "Okay, fine. But since I'm your body guard, I demand being paid on this journey, not just when we return to Rausten."
"Alright then, it's a deal." L'Arachel said. "Now let's head back to the village and get some sleep."
FINALLY! SLEEP! Rennac felt like he was about to collapse right then.
"By the way," L'Arachel said as they walked back to the little village. "Did you sustain any injuries from your battle with those fiends?"
"Yeah, a few..." He said, trying to push aside the thought of the many bite marks and scratches all over his body that stung greatly.
"I could heal them for you, if you'd like." She said.
"Thanks, I'd really appreciate that." He replied. Maybe she's not as bad as I thought she was..."Just show them to me and I can use my magic to fix them right up."
Rennac began to take his shirt off.
"W-What are you doing?!" L'Arachel asked nervously.
"Taking my shirt off, what's it look like?"
"CAD! BEAST! PERVERT! DEVIL!" She screamed. "I simply will NOT allow you to take advantage of me in my confused state." She then ran away as fast as she could back to the village. Rennac just stood there, confused. "But, L'Arachel...What about my wounds?"