Fer’s smile slowly returned as he remembered his younger brother.  Always devouring books and always imagining things.  He was often bullied, even by their own father, for being [i]“too smart for his own good.”[/i]  The young hero looked up at the big cathedral like building.  No doubt it was full of books and knowledge.  One day he should return here and walk the halls if nothing else as a sort of avatar for his younger brother’s spirit. 

He turned that smile over to Auriel.  The fathered warrior always a sight that brought a smile to his face.  Not only was the girl nice to look at, having her as a companion was enjoyable and it appealed to his sense of family.  A family he was very much missing.  

[color=0054a6]“Well, then may be you should have had extra arms instead of those pretty wings cus keeping us out of trouble may be more than two hands can handle.” [/color] He joked but in the back of his mind, the logical and tactical part of his brain told him that he was not too far off the mark.  Cole seemed to be their main damage dealer, with Auriel as secondary and Fer as little more than support and cheer squad. 

The young shield turned to his male companion.  Stress and the burden of leadership easy to see if you were paying attention.  The young man was not much different in age to Fer.  The only thing that kept Fer from pissing himself was that he had lived the battlefield.  He had seen death.  He had taken life.  It never go any easier.  It was a long time but he could somehow understand what Cole was going through. 

[color=0054a6]“Alright boss, we are ready. Lead us on to victory.” [/color] He joked trying to lighten the mood.  He walked with his partners.  A trio of young fools thinking they could shoulder the woes of the world.  Still, the young hero would not have had it any other way. 

On the way to Marcino, Fer questioned the holy warrior wondering what she had discovered and to see if there was a way to perhaps enhance his shield.  The rest of the world faded into a blurry background.  The only thing that mattered to Fer was his two friends.  He enjoyed their time together.  After all, who knew what awaited them.

*******************************

The mood had changed a little when Marcino joined the group.  Fer figured it was not the old gladiator’s fault.  After all, when your life consist of eviscerating and rejoicing in the spilt blood of your foes, a funny bone is not something you retain.  So the talk turned more to harsh lessons of life from the old man and planning out their attack. 

When the mercenary left, Fer was able to breathe a bit easier.  Still he valued the man’s skill and the young man knew that having Marcino about would greatly increase their chances of survival.  This became abundantly clear when the three younger members of the raiding party sat pondering the best way to overpower the guard. 

Fer smiled as Cole dispatched orders of engagement and a quick and dirty victory speech.  The lad would definitely be considered a great leader.  It was a shame that other adventurers or people had not joined their cause like Auriel had.  With Cole in the lead, it would be easy to lift people’s spirits. 

The young hero nodded his acknowledgment of his assignment.  It was pretty cut and dry.  After all, there was not much he could do.  Still, l he could at least show support for his friend.  He placed a hand on the other lad’s shoulder as he noticed him taking deeper breaths than normal. [color=0054a6] “You know I will always be here by your side friend.”[/color]  

He then turned towards the cave.  Just before they trio charged in, the guards in front of them dropped dead.  Fer of course did not know where the sniper was, but he wondered if that was the gladiator’s passive aggressive way to tell the kids to get a move on. 

He readied his shield. [color=0054a6] “Morph Shield: Tower.” [/color] The shield morphed into a larger replica of the Roman scutum with a flash of green.  He had seen a very tall shield at the weapon’s merchant.  It may have been no more than a decoration for it would have taken a man that was about seven feet tall to maneuver that thing.  Still, it had left an impression on Fer.

Even more impressive, was that his shield morphed exactly to the dimensions he envisioned.  The Shield was almost as tall as he, covering from lower shin to just below his eyes.  It was wide enough for him and half a person.  In his mind, he had figured that this would be the best way to limit ranged attacks and funnel any would be melee fighters towards the sharp ends of Cole and Auriel’s weapons. 

[color=0054a6]“Ok, well guess I’m ready.  Lets give them hell” [/color] Fer smiled wickedly.  If his shield was able to morph into what his mind’s eyes could think of, then he wondered what the possibilities were.