02x01 - The Brokenhearted Mage

[bunniefuu]

All right. Damn it! Want to go

again? Are you cheating? What? No.

Are you sure about that? Oh, please. Here. Watch me do it.

Oh, it's just my lucky day. Sorry.

You've got to be cheating. Yeah.

Oh! Put up or shut up! Just take it.

You'll get me next time for sure.

Okay. We can't with this guy look.

Like that. What's with you? You've been heaving

sighs like that since we left the capital.

Sorry about that. So what brings you this far up north?

With all due respect, why do you care?

The northern territories are dangerous. And though you're traveling solo,

you don't exactly strike me as the adventuring type, major.

Not. You are still a kid, right?

Hey, sorry, but there's no reason I need

to answer any of your questions.

Okay. What's your freaking deal, kid? She's trying to be nice.

No, Sarah, it's not like she's just

like. He's just a little blunt.

I know, but you've been worried about him since yesterday, Suzanne.

And now he's acting like you're harassing him or something.

Search and rescue. My mother was a victim

of the mass teleportation and photo.

Yeah, well, whatever. I still don't have to be so.

What's your plan? The northern territories are huge.

You're not going to find her stumbling around.

I suppose you're right. One step at a time, I guess.

Do you have a lead? I could give

you a quick primer on the northlands

while we're on the road, if you like.

Oh, yeah? Well, if you're offering. Sure.

All right. Now, pick the wax out of your ears.

And listen up, kiddo. You may have noticed

most countries in the Northlands are poor,

but the three great magical nations all do pretty well for themselves.

The Kingdom of Rinoa is known for the University of Magic.

The Duchy of Neris produces great magical implements,

and the Duchy of Basharat specializes in arcane research.

We're actually on our way to Basharat now.

Anyway, those three pulled their knowledge and formed an alliance,

and now they're the dominant power in this region.

With me so far.

Hey, the g*ng's all here.

I'm b*at. Let's get going already. I want to take a bath.

It's freezing here.

Excuse me. I'd like a room for a month.

You got it? Just a second. And I'll need your signature.

Great. You'll be on the third floor,

far end of the hall. As for pay. Huh? Huh? Huh?

I miss you.

Stop it.

You're not traveling to get over Eris. You're here to find zenith.

I hear the pay is great, though. Oh, yeah.

Whoa! It's a little kid. Must be a newbie.

Yeah, right. Or he's just playing me.

Who's this little guy? What's he doing here? Alone?

Looks like a pushover to me.

Excuse me. Would you mind helping me

officially disband my party? Oh, sure.

Sir, I.

Sorry. Here. This will only take a moment.

Oh, man. Do you think? Yeah. Sounds

like his party got wiped out.

I can't imagine what that's like being the sole survivor.

I'd like to take this job. Huh?

Oh, but what about your party? I'll do it alone, huh?

But this isn't a ranked job. Doing

it yourself.. Would be harping.

And just give me the details already.

What's up? Arguing about something? I wouldn't call it an argument. No.

Sure, sure. Didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I did.

Your old party was wiped out. But you

need money to look for your mom.

That's why you want to take this job by yourself, right? Well.

Doesn't look to me like you're up for it, though.

Kind of looks like you don't even

care whether you live or die anymore.

So that being said, how about this?

Why don't we take it on together?

I don't know.

We don't usually go for outside help,

but we're all on unfamiliar turf right now,

so at least until we get our

bearings here. Couldn't hurt to team up.

No thank you. I'd rather work alone.

There's only so much you can do by yourself.

The one thing you need above all is help, kid.

And if you ask me, the best

way to get it is by joining parties and staying alive.

Tell him I'm right, you guys. Mm hmm.

You agree, don't you, Sarah? Yeah, sure.

So that's it. Of course she doesn't

want my help. She just pities me.

Now, you do look pretty young still,

but I'll bet you can hold your own. What are your specialties?

I'm good at supporting melee fighters with

magic. Usually stick to the rear.

Do you? Perfect. We were just talking

about how our party could use someone else on the back line.

Okay, then I'll go. Great. That settles it.

So let's spend the rest of today

getting ready and plan to meet at the North Gate tomorrow morning.

We can work out whatever the updated

formation will be on the road.

Sounds good. Oh my gosh, are you still sulking?

You are such a big baby. Will you shut up already?

Even more like her than I thought.

Okay. Let's go. Yeah. This should be a pretty good payday. Yeah.

Let's get it over with and have

a drink. Haven't you had enough yet?

Just got my hands on some Orson wine.

Congratulations. Now focus on the job. Please.

I've got this. I could take on the seven

great powers right now. Check this out. Boom! Flicks.

Hey. You're early. You didn't seem too excited yesterday, so I wondered.

I just happened to wake up early. Mom.

My name is Rudeus Grant. I'm

a mage and I can cast spells without incantations. Oh.

Rudeus. Good to have you.

Mm.

My name is Suzanne. I'm one of our frontline fighters. And

counter arrows. Illustrious Subleader..

Subleader. You're not the one in charge.

Nah, I keep everyone on the same page,

but I don't give the orders.

Right. That would be me. I'm Timothy, long range magic attacker.

And despite all outward appearances, the actual party leader.

Nice to meet you. I'm Amir. I'm the party's main healer.

The name is Patrice. I fight up front

with Suzanne. Obviously. Go on. Your turn.

My name is Sarah. I'm a mid-range archer.

And just so we're clear, I don't want you here at all.

And I never did. Okay? I'm only

putting up with you because it was Suzanne's decision.

So if you screw it up and get

someone k*lled, I'll make you regret it.

Okay. Give it a rest, Sarah. But look,

someday we might go our separate ways.

And you might have to join a new party full of strangers.

Wait, what? Are we going to disband?

It's a possibility. You could afford to be picky

about your teammates back in Basra,

but that's not going to fly from here on out.

So you'd better learn to work with people other than us.

Oh, so it wasn't just pity. I'm also a teachable moment.

We're going to wait for the sun

to set before going after those lustre grizzlies. Sound good?

Well, because they don't see too well

in the dark. Is that why? Oh, exactly.

And since you brought it up, let's review our strategy

first. As soon as we spot the enemy,

Rudeus will stall on the outskirts. And Timothy will..

Thin the herd with magical att*cks while they charge.

Patrice and I will handle the ones

that manage to close the distance,

work out the rhythm in the moment,

and Sarah will.. Back you up. And if one of us gets hurt

fighting up close, then.. I'll be right there to heal you.

Simple and clean. You got all that rudeus?

Yeah, but what is it? I don't think I'll have much to do.

Should I shift to mid-range support once you two engage? No.

You don't have any idea how the fighters move yet.

Then after I delay them, I could help Timothy thin them.

Everyone knows you need to conserve mana in a drawn out fight.

Stick to stalling them. That's all we need from you.

Okay, but if needed, I could join in at close range.

Do you want me to sh**t you in the back?

You're not actually a member of this party, you know?

So shut up and do as you're told.

Right. She really is just like her.

Sarah, don't make things uncomfortable. Right before we get to work.

Sorry.

Sorry about that. What? Sarah's attitude.

She's not a bad kid, but she's getting a bit full of herself.

The last silent caster I knew was

a teacher back in my school days.

You must be quite a mage to pull off that technique.

For all the good it's done me.

Not like that skill is going to bring my family back.

What have we got, Sarah? About . All sleeping.

Do you think we can take him out?

Well, yeah. Duh. Don't you?

Good. Let's get started then.

Let the great protection of fire converge where thou seekest.

Oh raging inferno! Deliver us a blazing bounty. Explain.

Let the great protection of fire converge with our secrets.

Extra flame.

Let the great protection of fire converge.

Wow! Piece of cake. At this rate,

we won't need to get up close and personal at all.

Let the great protection of fire converge with thou seekest,

O raging inferno, deliver us a blazing bounty aflame.

The great protection of fire. Converge with thou seekest raging inferno.

Deliver us a blazing.. Axe of flame.

Are those black grizzlies?

It's mud.

They're covered in mud. Hey, Timothy. Retreat, retreat!

Too late. We're dead. Unless.

Forget it. I'm sick of this. I've already lost everything anyway.

I can keep them busy. You guys run right now? No.

I'll stay too. You won't even slow them down. Damn! We're surrounded.

You're too much for one person. If you stay, we all stay.

He's right. Let's do it then.

Suzanne. But this divine power be rich and nourishing.

Offering those who strength has been lost.

The strength to rise again. Healing.

There, staring death in the face. But they won't run. Why?

Why is my heart pounding so hard?

Why am I breathing so heavily? And why

do I find this so exciting?

Right.

Of course I remember. Now. There's a reason people stand their ground.

Can't believe I ever forgot it.

What are you doing?

Leave this to me. I'll be okay.

Guess we owe you one. If it hadn't

been for your help, we'd all be dead.

I'm just glad you agreed to bring

me along. Thank you very much.

Okay, let's go home. Yeah.

Oh. Thanks for the save. I do owe you one.

Great. It's the outsiders.

They think they're hot.

sh*t. That was barely even a real job.

Yeah, I wish they'd get lost already.

My party and I are celebrating our first successful job here tonight.

So next round's on us, everybody.

Listen up, you guys. We may be new here,

but you better remember our names.

All right. We are Cantarero and Rudeus.

Rudy. Us. Rudy. Us. Rudy. Us. Rudy.

Us. Rudy. Us. Rudy! Us. Rudy. Us.

Rudy. Us. Rudy. Us.

Ow! My neck!

I'd completely forgotten. To get serious about living.

What the hell is wrong with me?

Shh.

Of course, you haven't lost everything you borrowed.

A guy touches the X. Said Kyra, I..

Remember when you first came into this world.

Remember, Roxie. Remember the day she took

you outside? She taught you so much.

And you can't betray those lessons now.

Monsters. I haven't lost everything. Not by a long sh*t.

Sure, I lost something that I cared about very much,

but that doesn't mean I have nothing

left to live for. I have all of them.

I can't fall to pieces. We may be

far apart, but I'm not alone.

And things still suck. But I've got

to remember, I've had it way worse.

But I'll keep moving forward and I'll

do what needs to be done. Master, please guide me.

La la la.