Walf! What was he doing in the battle. Jos stared in shock as he watched the boy fend off a tall, sword wielding, Arian. But Jos couldn't look much longer because, as a sharp pain in his side reminded him, he was in the middle of his own battle. Hoof beets thundered past him as the knight who had slashed him galloped around for another pass. Jos clutched his side where the knight had cut him. It was deep. Blood was pouring out. Angered, Jos threw his sword at the charging knight. It made contact full in the face, killing the man instantly.
Jos sank to the ground, feeling sick. "One more down." He thought. "That means only ten left. Easy." But there was a problem. The last ten weren't going to attack one at a time. One was fighting Walf and the other nine were headed straight for Alex and Logon. Hoof beats thundered in Jos's head as he toppled onto his back. The sun blackened. The hoof beets faded. Jos passed out.
Jos didn't know how long he'd been out, but when he came to, the first thing he heard was Walf.
"Hey guys, I think he's coming around."
Jos opened his eyes. It was blurry for a second and then, everything snapped into focus. Everything, including the sharp pain in his side. "Aarrggghhh!" Jos yelped in pain as he groped vainly for the spear that he thought must surely be skewered in his side.
"Easy now, Jos." Alex was at his side. "Just you lay still now alright."
Jos nodded, gritting his teeth as the pain eventually became bearable. "So, what did I miss?"
Walf smiled. "Not much. But it is great to see you awake. We didn't know if you'd make it there for a while. The last few days it's been-"
"Days?" Jos questioned.
"Yep. If it wasn't for Da- Hmm Maybe I should start from the beginning. Back when we were still fighting for our lives."
Daimyo wrote:"Lord Bjarn, there has been a Cross Knight army, predominantly mounted knights, advancing to the south under Duke Lucius Van DeMorte. We believe they are en-route to our postion at this moment, lord."
BloodVaine wrote:Ready my airship, bring forth Bahamut, call forth the red cross knights.
CLANG Walf dropped to the ground, clutching his wrist. The tall Aryan certainly had a strong arm with the sword. Walf's wrist hadn't been hit, but it smarted from the vibrations of the last blow. The same blow that had knocked the cutlass from his hand. Walf was defenseless now. He knew that the knight would finnish him off before he could even move.
But Walf was wrong. For at the same moment that the blow would have been delivered, something happened. A tongue of black flame suddenly appeared between Walf the knight. This was no ordinary teleharm. The Aryan knelt on one knee. "What is your will, my lord?"
A voice spoke from the fire. "Greetings, Lucius. You and your men have been called to the aid of Orion. Report to the Yellow Castle at once." In a black flash, the flame vanished and Lucius, now turning around, saw that his opponent had vanished as well. Walf had already snuck away.
"Soldiers!" The commander shouted. "Leave these country rabble and follow me. Our lord has need of us. We will converge with the other divisions and head north."
~
"So they just left you?" Jos interrupted. "What about Alex and Urgun? And Logon. I don't see him here."
"Relax Jos." Alex said, returning to with fresh bandages. "Logon is out scouting and hopefully finding some food as well. Now let's see. What happened on our end of the stick after you were hit? Oh yes..."
~
The remaining knights charged for Alex and Logon. It was nine against three if you counted the wolf. "Get up behind me, Alex!" Logon shouted. "If we can't beat them then we'll run."
Alex did as he was told, jumping up on the horse and launching his spear at the nearest knight. It missed. Luck had turned against them. But Logon was resolved not to give up until it was their last choice. They fought a losing battle, however and when Logon saw that they were making little progress, he wheeled his horse and broke away from the knights. Urgun was there too, helping them get away, but just as they were about to escape two things happened.
First they realized that they had lost someone. "Where's Jos?" Alex shouted.
Second they realized that they weren't being pursued. The remaining knights were leaving. Following their commander out the other side of the town.
It didn't take them long to find their fallen comrade. "What do we do?" Alex cried, franticly.
"How do I know?" Logon snapped back. Jos had lost a lot of blood. The two men weren't even sure if he was alive.
Then, Walf was there. "Oh no. Is he... dead?"
Alex shook his head. "I don't think so, but... He might be soon. I'm not really trained in healing. Logon's burns were one thing but this... I think it will require stitching and... Oh, I don't know what to do."
"Let me take a look at him." A voice that no one recognized was speaking. "I can help." Turning around, the three companions stared at the new speaker. It was-
~
"Aargghh!" Jos yelled in pain as Alex pulled back the old bandages. "Easy now. Easy. If we change these now then we won't have to do it again, for a long while."
"Yessir Doc." Jos said with his teeth on edge. In another minute Alex was finished. "Now, where was I?"
"I think you were about to tell me who it was that patched me up."
"Oh yeah, well I suppose you could actually meet him if you like. Although I don't know if it would be wise, considering your current state. Why, he even gave me a start when I first met him."
"Well I think I should thank him if he saved my life, like you say he did."
"All right, but you'd better brace yourself." Alex shouted something to his left and then turned to face Jos. "Here he is Jos." And Jos stared with wide eyes and an open mouth at the ethereal form in front of him. "This my friend, is Dale."
Let us stop for a moment and ponder the signiture...
Ok, enough of that!