[center][h3][color=6B8E23]Malboro, Hero turned Highwayman[/color][/h3][/center]

There was no joy in Malboro as he watched Gaius leap from the parapets to a likely death.  With Dylan after him, there was little chance that the tactician would become a red smear on the ground.  [i]Heroes,[/i] the bandit thought grimly as he looked out at the blue between the acrid smoke, [i]They always find a way.[/i]  Once, he had been one, but no longer.  Coughing violently, he crouched low to the wooden planks and began inching his way to the edge of the tower.  He knew by now that his men must have been slaughtered, and that the Reclaimers were waiting for him down at the bottom.  Still, Malboro thought he'd rather die by the blade than by burning.  He was nearly to the edge, his tunnel vision absolute, before he accidentally discovered Syrena, still with him.  Very surprised -hadn't she just been carried off by the pegasus rider?- he jumped to his feet, instinctively reaching for an axe, but discovering instead an arrow lodged in his upper back, an inch away from his neck.  It had only just arrived, and his adrenaline had dulled the pain.  “Where...did that come from...?”

Then his nerves were shot and failed him, his body crumpled and falling in shock.  As he fell backward, the arrow was driven farther into his body.  Malboro gasped, spasming feebly, as the fire reached the top level.  The smoke was constricting and the roar of the fire deafening, but above it the dying man managed to make himself heard to Syrena and probably Kel.  “Ah...damn heroes.  Never woulda thought...I'd go like this...”

Immediately after, the young girl was saved, lungs stung by smoke but still conscious, by the wyvern rider.  They returned to the earth to stand alongside their allies and watch as the burning guard tower was incinerated, leaving only a loose shell of stone behind.

[center][h3]Mission Clear![/h3]
[b]Death toll: 21 bandits
Level Up: Hugh, Lilith, Jakobe, Sanguin, Nickolas, Syrena, Kuur, Habeen, Gaius, Jeane, Kel, Marcus
Alliance: Taene
Boss defeated: Malboro, Hero turned Highwayman, final blow struck by Kuur Salcair
Heroes: Habeen and Kuur
[/b][/center]

Some time after the last embers had gone out, and after making sure that the wounded were attended to, Hugh approached a couple of villagers that spoke for the rest.  “Is everyone okay?  We were unable to protect two of your buildings.”

One of them shook his grizzled head.  “Our losses are a tragedy, but they would have been far more had it not been for your platoon.  We have little to offer you other than a night's food and shelter, but you're welcome to them.”

Hugh bowed gratefully.  “Thank you.  Since you offered, we still stay the night to make the little repairs that are the bane of all armies, and to rest and try to unwind after such a horrific day.  We will not intrude upon your hospitality, and be gone in the morning.”

[center][h3][color=DC143C]Sanguin, Westroad Village[/color][/h3][/center]

So, that was it.  A day of tiring travel and tiring bloodshed.  Sanguin felt oddly satisfied by the role she'd played in the battle, but she knew that she shouldn't.  War, even little wars against petty thieves and murderers, was something meant to shake the human soul, not to fill her with warmth.  Removing her mask, Sanguin breathed deeply before seating herself by the convoy, which had been brought into the village, to clean and mend her weapons and armor.  The dead had been dragged from the village and burnt in a nearby ditch, so only the faint, lingering smell of death disturbed what promised to be a refreshingly peaceful evening.

[center][u]New Supports[/u]
[i]Hugh & Jakobe
Lilith & Sanguin
Lilith & Gaius
Sanguin & Jakobe
Franky & Syrena
Nickolas & Marcus
Kuur & Habeen
Syrena & Dylan
Gaius & Jeane
Jeane & Habeen
Kel & Taene[/i][/center]