It didn’t take long before the Younisian forces began to push the battle across the border. It seemed that they were much better prepared for the Brerratic knights’ attack this time. Crow tensed, watching closely as some of the Younisians forced their way through the line and headed into the forest, where he and the other thieves were waiting. As the knights ran towards the village, he managed to intercept some of them by catching them by surprise, but there were already too many for him to stop alone.

“Damn it,” he muttered, glancing over his shoulder as he saw the Younisians heading deeper into Brerratic territory. He quickly brought up his dagger to block the sword of another enemy who tried to take advantage of his momentary lapse in focus. Swinging his other blade, he cut the man across his torso, forcing him to drop to the ground. The thief backed up, making his way towards the village before any other knights could come after him. He lifted his fingers to his lips and whistled, signaling to the Alistair and Simon to fall back as well. At the rate the battle was going, it wouldn’t be long before the rest of the two kingdoms’ forces ended up fighting in Grimsby as well. They needed to hurry if they were going to protect the villagers.

With no eyes on him in the current moment, Crow turned his back on the battle and sprinted back to the town. He felt a rush of panic as he saw that the villagers were already locked in combat with the Younisians that had made it through earlier. Bodies of peasants were already beginning to fall. He gritted his teeth in anger. The Younisians were just slaughtering the innocent people of Grimsby! They had no reason to be attacking them so viciously.

Letting the turbulent emotions fuel him, the thief charged at the closest knights, two Younisians that were overwhelming a group of villagers, and ran them both through from behind with his daggers. As they fell, he moved on to the next, managing to catch many of the knights off guard, since they were only looking out for enemies in armor. As he looked around the battlefield, he saw that Alistair and Simon seemed to be having just as much success. So far, the Brerratic knights appeared to be adhering to their rule. He felt relief wash over him. With only the Younisians to watch out for, it was going to be a little easier on the thieves to defend the village, even though this battle was especially bad for the knights of their kingdom.

Having finished his assessment of the fight, Crow dove back into it, taking down a few more Younisians as they went after the villagers. He received a few injuries—a cut to his back and a stab to his right forearm being the worst of them—but managed to avoid taking any wounds that would force him to fall back. It was starting to look like they would be able to hold off the knights after all… until he saw a Brerratic knight cut down a villager on his way to attack a Younisian.

Crow narrowed his eyes and made his way towards the knight, weaving between individual fights as he crossed to the other side of the village. He clenched his daggers tightly in each hand as he approached the man from behind, ready to strike as soon as he got close enough. However, he faltered slightly as he saw something else that caught his attention. Standing between the Brerratic knight and a Younisian was a small figure with round, frightened eyes.

Landon.

The thief felt his heart leap into his throat as the knight began charging towards his Younisian target, paying no mind to the child in his path. With no time to spare, Crow sprinted after him. Being free from the weight of armor, he was much faster than the Brerratic knight, and he managed to reach him just in time to intercept his sword with both of his daggers. The knight turned sharply to see who had gotten in his way, and the thief’s eyes widened slightly in recognition. It was Layth, Penelope’s older brother.

“Back off,” Layth spat, drawing back his sword.

Crow stepped back, standing defensively between the knight and the child as he eyed him critically. Layth was glaring at him hostilely, but there was no sign of familiarity in his eyes. The thief blinked, [i]He doesn’t recognize me.[/i]

“I said,” Layth curled his lip, raising his sword threateningly. “Back. Off.”

“No,” Crow returned his look with a cold glare. He caught sight of a nearby peasant man and called to get his attention, “You! Get this kid out of here before he gets hurt.” The man turned to him and nodded before running over and picking Landon up to carry him back to the evacuees’ camp. With the boy out of danger, Crow focused his attention back on Layth, “Leave these villagers alone, and then I’ll ‘back off.’”

“I’ll leave them alone when they stop interfering,” Layth snorted.

“They’re just trying to protect their home,” Crow snarled.

“Then they’re fools,” Layth replied unsympathetically. “And they will die.”

“Heartless bastard!” Crow snapped. He lunged at the knight. In that moment, he didn’t care that Layth was Penelope’s brother. Anyone who threatened the safety of the villagers was an enemy to him and would be treated as such.

The sound of clashing metal rang out as Layth blocked the thief’s attack with his sword and they began to fight.