Welcome to this novelisation of FE7! This will be a twenty chapter long novelisation, following Eliwood's (and partly Hector's) story from Chapter 11 (In the game) to the end.
If you're wondering why I left Lyn's story out, it's because I did not think that it was important. I mean, come on, it was only there in the game to teach you the mechanics of the game, and half of it was just bandit killing boredom. The main character of the story is obviously Eliwood, and putting in Lyn's story would just be distracting. If you read the first chapter, you will find I have essentially summarised Lyn's story in a single paragraph, there's no need for more.
This brings me to my next point. There is no tactician in this novelisation. The reason is kind of important. The tactician is a character built into the game that interacts with the player, allowing the player to be immersed in the game. Here, the story is told through a narrator (me), making the tactician's job utterly redundant.
Without further ado, let's get on with the story-telling, sit back and enjoy!
o0o
o0o
o0o
Prologue: Aenir
Once, dragons and humans co-existed.
They shared a peace forged in wisdom,
a peace that lasted many generations.
All that was lost when mankind disrupted
this balance in a sudden onslaught.
Man fought dragon in a savage war
that shook the foundations of the world.
This war was called the Scouring.
Defeated and humbled,
dragons vanished from the realm.
In time, man rebuilt and spread
his dominion across the land and
on to the islands beyond.
- Ostian history book
It was a stormy night when three people entered the ancient temple. The temple itself was over five hundred years old. Moss has grown around the edges of the walls, while animals played around in its courtyards. It was here that three people, a man and his two children, a girl and a boy, decided to stay for the night. The man was in his late fourties, while the children did not look older than 10 years old. Both the children had silvery green hair and bright red eyes. The man was carrying his two children on his back and was out of breath. They looked like three people running away from somewhere.
The man put his children in a courtyard, squatted down in front of the children. "You two hide here," he said. He then took out a bag and opened it. "There's food and water in this pack. If you ration yourselves, it should last about ten days." The girl looked at him with a heavy heart. She knew her father was leaving, perhaps for good. Their mother, Aenir, went missing that morning, and their father woke them up early and has been running with them ever since. Now, with the prospect of leaving their father as well, they could not help but feel sad.
"What about you, daddy?" asked the girl. "Are you going away, too?" The man nodded.
"Daddy has to go and get Aenir," he said. "I'm going to go and get mummy so we can continue living as a family." The children looked at each other curiously. Was their father really going to bring back their mother? If so, why did he speak with such a mournful tone, like he'll never see them again?
The girl asked: "Mummy? Where is she?"
"Some bad men took her away," explained the man. "They could not have gone very far, though, the Dread Isle is an island, after all. I have to go after them and save mummy. You two children wait here for ten days, if daddy is not back after those ten days, take your brother and go to the other side. You're a clever girl, you know the way, right?"
So their mother was taken by some thugs and their father wanted to save her. The little girl knew her father stood no chance. If they can kidnap their mother, what chance, did their father stand? Their father studied dark magic, and was reasonably adept at it, but his power was nothing on their mother's. Knowing that their father was not coming back, the children hugged their father and cried. Their father was trying his best to put on a strong face, all his reluctance and sadness to part with his children was hidden deep down.
"You're good children, both of you," he said in an uneven tone. "I'll come back for you, I'll come back... I promise." At this, he swept his cloak and walked away. His children watched as he became smaller and smaller, until he vanished from sight.
o0o
A thousand years later, a tall, cloaked man would arrive at the temple. He wore a turban that covered his right eye.
"What is this place?" he said to himself. "I was supposed to be at the Dragon's Gate. Why am I here?" Looking around the place, he could not help but feel a certain familiarity. Like trying to fish a precious ring from a deep well, he digged deep into his memories.
"Ah, now I remember," he continued. "I was here a long, long time ago. During the Scouring, I studied dark magic here. I left something here..." Again digging into his memories to try and remember what he left behind, his head started throbbing from the strain. No matter how hard he tried, he just could not remember what he left behind. Blurring images came to his mind, but none of them clear enough to allow him to decipher anything.
Finally, he gave up. "Bah," he spat. "It must not have be worth much if I never bothered returning for it. I have power now, nothing else matters. I will open the Dragon's Gate and get even more power, the power to defeat anyone. Power..." As he finished musing to himself, he disappeared. Little did he know the things he left behind were very precious indeed.
o0o
o0o
o0o
Chapter 1: A Thousand Years later and the Young Man on an Adventure
The city of Pherae was usually a busy place, a place where merchants came and went. While not as busy as the nearby city of Ostia, it was hard to find a day where business was not present. However, the past few days was different. The Marquess of Pherae, Lord Elbert, had disappeared, along with a hundred of his best knights, and because of this, bandits started raiding villages and people did not dare to go outside. Without its head, Pherae had descended into a state of fear. It was in this chaos that a young man with flaming red hair decided to go outside and leave his home.
The young man was Eliwood, the only son of Marquess Pherae. He was reasonably built, nor tall, not short, not fat, nor skinny. His bright blue eyes brightened his facial features. In fact, if he did not wear the clothes of a lordling, one would easily mistake him for an ordinary, albeit handsome peasant.
"Lord Eliwood," said a purple haired knight next to Eliwood. "We leave on your word." The knight's name was Marcus, a veteran. He spent most of his time serving Eliwood, so he was not amongst the knights that disappeared along with Lord Elbert.
"I see, thank you, Marcus," acknowledged Eliwood. He then turned to a beautiful, purple haired woman.
"Mum, it is time for us to go." After hearing that his father has disappeared, Eliwood became incredibly worried. He would pace around his room for hours on straight, always pondering on where his father could have gone to. One day, he had had enough, and decided to go out and search for his father himself. While his mother disagreed at first, Eliwood was finally able to convince her to let him to for Lord Elbert. Even though young and naïve, Eliwood's abilities were above average and could defend himself with a sword very well.
"Eliwood," his mother said with a tone of reluctance. "Promise me that you will return home safely. I'm worried about your father as well, but if anything were to happen you, my only son, I would not be able to live with that sorrow."
Eliwood, itching to go out on his first adventure, assured his mother: "I know mum, please do not worry. Dad is alive, I know it. I promise that I will find him and we will be a family again. Isadora," he turned to a blue haired female. "I will entrust my mother to you in my absence." The woman nodded in acknowledgement. Eliwood turned back to his mother. "Mum I will return, please rest easy." With this, Eliwood and Marcus marched off into the distance. After walking for a few kilometres, Eliwood turned his and looked back, his mother and Castle Pherae was just dots on the horizon. He could not help but feel a sense of emptiness.
"Well Marcus," he said. "It looks like it's just the two of us now."
"Not so, my lord," replied Marcus. He explained that his student, Lowen, is also travelling with them and was sent to a nearby village. Marcus did not want to leave Pherae without a larger team to accompany Eliwood, but Eliwood made it clear that he did not want to take any more knights away from Castle Pherae. He was concerned about his mother's safety and did not want to overuse the castle resources. Without any choice, Marcus told Lowen to find some mercenaries from the nearby village. After walking a little further, a young man with messy green hair and a teenage girl with green pigtails wearing a bandana approached them. The young man was Lowen.
"L-Lord Eliwood, C-Commander Marcus!" he seemed to be out of breath. "The village ahead... it is being attacked by bandits! This girl has more details." The girl introduced herself as Rebecca and was the daughter of the village magistrate.
"Lowen, Marcus!" called Eliwood. "We have to help the villagers!" Unlike numerous other lords, Eliwood was a righteous man. He would always go out of his way to help the needy, even if it meant risking his own life. While admirable, his mother had always disapproved, not due to intent but to the fact that she did want to see her son hurt. "Rebecca, you should stay here and stay out of sight," he added to the girl.
Rebecca was a rather tomboyish girl who loved to go out and hunt. Her skills with the bow and arrow were exceptional for her age. Hearing Eliwood order her to go an hide, she felt rather disappointed. Seeing her expression, Eliwood asked: "What's wrong? We're going to help your village."
Rebecca replied: "It's nothing, if it pleases you, I would rather fight alongside you. I go hunting almost every day, so I can use a bow quite efficiently." Eliwood did not think there was anything wrong with this, an extra hand in the battle is always good. "Just make sure if the fighting starts getting heavy, go and hide, okay?" he told her.
As they started marching towards the village, two men wielding large axes approached the group. One was plain looking with chestnut hair and small eyes, while the other looked rough and was wearing a headband. Fearing that they were bandits, Eliwood told them to stay armed and be on the defensive. The men put their axes on the ground and came with their hands in the air, showing that they did not harbour ill intentions. The rough looking fighter came forwards to greet Eliwood.
"Good day, Lord Eliwood, I am Bartre the Brave!" he said. Pointing towards the other man, he continued. "This is my mate Dorcas, I believe you've met him before." Eliwood looked at Dorcas and did think there was something familiar about him, but he could not tell what.
Dorcas smiled. "I was one of Lyndis' Legion, we met during Caelin's leadership dispute," he explained. Eliwood gasped in recognition. Lyndis, or Lyn for short, was a girl Eliwood met about a year ago. Lyndis was the granddaughter of the Lord Hausen, the Marquess of Caelin, another nation in Lycia. Born in Sacae, the land of the nomads, she discovered her heritage after chancing upon a pair of Caelin knights by the name of Sain and Kent, who were sent by Marquess Caelin to bring her back from Sacae. Her mother, Madelyn, was the daughter of Marquess Caelin. She fell in love with a Sacaen nomad and eloped with him. Enraged, Marquess Caelin disowned his daughter. However, the marquess realised his mistake many years later and sent Sain and Kent to Sacae to reconcile with his daughter, not knowing that Madelyn, her husband, and her entire tribe, were massacred by bandits. Only Lyn survived. At the time, Marquess Caelin's brother, Lundgren, tried to poison him and assassinate Lyn so he could take the throne. In the end, Lyn was able to fight her way into Caelin, kill Lundgren and reunite with her grandfather. Eliwood was the one who made sure no other Lycian nations were involved in the affair.
"Please to meet you again, Dorcas," said Eliwood courteously. "Your help is much appreciated."
After the pleasantries, Eliwood and his company moved towards the village. Chaos reigned. Houses were torched while people were fighting the bandits as best as they could. Eliwood and Marcus immediately ran into the battlefield and started killing bandits. Bartre rushed alongside them, chopping down bandits with his axe, while Dorcas protected Rebecca, who was firing arrows at the enemies.
"This child is amazing," thought Dorcas. "I wonder how she compares to Wil of last year." Wil was an archer in Lyndis' Legion.
Although numerous, the bandits were only effective during chaos. They lacked discipline and organisation, something which was easily preyed upon by Eliwood and his group. The fact that Eliwood and Marcus carried swords was also a huge advantage against the bandits as well. Within an hour, with the help of the villagers, every bandit was killed, including their leader. 'This should set an example to all the others trying to prey on the innocent,' thought Marcus.
Seeing their village saved, the people all went and thanked Eliwood for his help. The magistrate walked up to Eliwood.
"You must be Lord Eliwood, yes?" he greeted. "Our deepest thanks for your coming to the aid of our fair village."
Waving his hand, Eliwood smiled. "Speak nothing of it, magistrate," he said. "It is a lord's duty to protect the citizens. Your daughter is a fantastic archer, by the way." Rebecca blushed at his compliment.
The magistrate smiled at his daughter, but looked pensive after that. "If only that were true, my lord," he sighed. "The good folk of Laus know so such protection. Their marquess, Lord Darin, is too busy preparing for war and ignores all complaints of bandits and thieves."
Eliwood was shocked. As well-mannered and noble as he was, he still lived in the castle for most of his life and was quite naïve to the outside world. "Preparing for war?" he gasped with wide open eyes. "Are you sure?" He knew the son of Lord Darin, Erik, and while Erik was rather rude, he found it hard that his father would be preparing for war.
"I would not lie, my lord," continued the magistrate. "My brother lived in Laus until just a few days ago. His home was torched and he had no choice but to flee and come here. According to him, Laus could go to war any day now. It's all the people of Laus are talking about." Eliwood was horrified. He had never heard of any noble do this to his citizens. To him, this was possibly one of the greatest crimes a noble could commit.
"Magistrate, could you please prepare a messenger to tell my mother, Lady Eleanora, this," he ordered. "Tell her to have people prepared if Laus decides to invade." The magistrate nodded and set off at once.
"Lord Eliwood," started Marcus. "If this is indeed true, the situation is a grave one. If Marquess Laus is readying for war, his target is most likely another Lycian territory. This may be connected with Lord Elbert's disappearance."
Eliwood raised his eyebrow. "You think so?" he asked surprisingly. "My father and Marquess Laus, it's a tenuous connection, but it's as good a start to any, I suppose. Let's go to Laus, we need to learn more." Marcus nodded in agreement. They set off to leave.
As they were leaving, Rebecca wanted to follow them, but was stopped by her father. "Rebecca!" he called. "Where do you think you're going, young lady?"
Rebecca stopped in her tracks and turned around. "Dad," she said quietly, as if scared. "I want to go with Lord Eliwood."
Incredulous, the magistrate went forward to hold onto her hand. "Don't be ridiculous, girl!" he implored. "Lord Eliwood is not going on a picnic, he's riding into danger!" His son had already run away from home five years ago and he still had not fully gotten over it yet, now his daughter wanted to leave as well.
Rebecca however, smiled back. "I know, dad," she argued. "That is why I want to go. We owe him our lives, and I want to repay him. Although I'm not the best archer around, I can at least him! And..." she paused for a second, trying to think of how to say what she wanted to say. "...I may find Dan somewhere. You're the village magistrate and have responsibilities. This is all I can offer. Come on, dad, let me go!"
Touched by her chivalry, the magistrate could only shake his head. "Dear me," he sighed. "You're as stubborn as your mother was... alright. You must bow to Lord Eliwood on this matter. If he consents, then you may go." Delighted, Rebecca thanked her father and ran off immediately. "Rebecca, come back, I haven't finished yet," called the magistrate. Kneeling down to look Rebecca in the eyes, he put his hands on her shoulders. "Lord Elbert has always been kind to us," he continued. "Follow his son with a true heart, Rebecca. Serve Lord Eliwood well, like I have with his father." Nodding in acknowledgement, Rebecca hugged her father goodbye, grabbed her bow and followed Eliwood to the horizon.
o0o
In the nearby Lycian nation of Santaruz, the marquess Lord Helman, was pacing around in his room agitatedly. He had just received a message from the son of his friend, Lord Elbert. Since Eliwood decided to head to Laus, he needed to cross Santaruz to get there. He was looking for clues on his father, so the more people he talked to, the better. So, he decided to seek an audience with his father's old friend, Lord Helman to try and gather up information.
"You seemed rather troubled, Marquess Santaruz," a cloaked figure from the corner of the room spoke in a cold voice. Although his face cannot be completely seen, what was visible was creepy enough to make anyone shiver. His face was ghastly pale, had blood red lips and cat-like golden eyes, which carried malignant auras to them.
"Eliwood is here..." whispered Lord Helman. "Master Ephidel, are you sure?"
Rolling his eyes, Ephidel sighed. "Yes, Marquess Santaruz," he said in a bored voice. "He has set up camp on a small hill south of here. He seeks permission to enter Santaruz Castle and seeks an audience with you."
Shaking, Lord Helman looked guilty and worried. "Could it be..." he stuttered. "Do you think Eliwood has come to ask about his father? If that's the case, I don't know what to tell him..."
'This old twit is truly stupid,' thought Ephidel. 'The obvious answer is right in front of your eyes and you are blind to it...'
"Tell him you know nothing and be on his way," he replied. He closed his eyes in disgust as he saw Lord Helman shake his head.
"I know young Eliwood well," explained Lord Helman. "I am old friends with his father, Lord Elbert. I have no children of my own and so I rather like him. I don't believe I have the gall to look him in the eye and lie to him."
Snorting, Ephidel rolled his eyes again. "We have no choice then," he said rather impatiently. "Let's just chase the boy away. If you don't speak with him, then you don't need to tell lies."
Lord Helman seemed shocked. "Wait, you're going to harm him?" he stammered.
Ephidel smiled maliciously. "No, Lord Helman," he said silkily. "Not harm, just frighten. A scratch or two will not leave any scars. He will run home to Pherae with his tail between his legs and be done with his little adventure. After all, he is the only one that Pherae has left."
Lord Helman did not know whether he was able to trust Ephidel, but what he proposed seemed to work out. "I trust that you won't hurt him, Master Ephidel," he said finally.
o0o
About ten kilometres away, Eliwood and his group had set up camp. They had sent a messenger to the marquess of Santaruz, requesting his audience. Marcus had decided that entering Laus with such a small contingency was not wise, especially when the nation was preparing for war. They planned to ask for Marquess Santaruz's help as well as ask him about clues about Lord Elbert's disappearance.
"Lord Helman..." Eliwood had told them. "He's not only my father's friend, but I've also known him since I was a child. I'm sure he will be able to help us." So, as they stayed on the hill, they hunted for animals and set up camp, waiting for a return message from Lord Helman. After a few hours on the hill, they saw a rough looking man walk up to them.
"Noble sires," he called. "Alms for a poor village, please!" Eliwood was about to step in and help the man when Marcus suddenly pulled him back. Giving him a scolding look, Marcus wagged his finger, signalling Eliwood to stop what he was doing. He then stepped forward to confront the man.
"Poor villager?" questioned Marcus. "You look nothing like a honest man. Clear the road, step away quickly or..."
The man raised his head and laughed. "Step away quickly?" he retorted. "Good advice, maybe you're the one who should follow it!" He stepped forward to throw out a punch at Marcus, who quickly dodged it. Marcus was about to strike back when the thug moved back out of the way.
"Someone wants the boy in an early grave," he told them. "A shame if you ask me, but he'll die here today. Come on boys, earn your keep!" With this, about fifteen armed assassins jumped out from the nearby shrubs and closed in on Eliwood and his group.
"Lord Eliwood, watch out!" Marcus cried as he shielded the lordling from the front with Lowen, with Bartre and Dorcas taking the back. Rebecca stayed close to Eliwood and started shooting arrows at the enemy. Although they were outnumbered, Eliwood and his friends' fighting styles are relatively defensive, allowing them to fend off the enemies. The fact that Marcus and Lowen fought on horseback helped their cause as well. Eliwood's sword style was an elegant one, it was rather pretty to look at from afar. He would thrust forward, then quickly twirl around and slash it to the side, all the while skipping around with nimble feet, making it extremely difficult for the enemies to catch him. The leader of the assassin group was standing next to a tree with his axe slung over his shoulder, watching with great interest.
"Hmph, he puts up a good fight for such a pampered noble pup," he snorted. "Come, let me show you boys how it's done!" Brandishing his axe, he also leapt into the fray.
At this moment, a young, blue haired man wearing clothes and armour fit for a lord and holding his own axe, marched towards Eliwood and his group. Seeing a soldier standing on the side waiting for his chance to pounce into the action, he quickly nudged the man on the shoulder.
"Hey you, soldier," the young lord asked. "What's going on over there? Are you just going to stand there and watch, fool?"
The soldier looked surprised. "Who do you think you are?" he demanded. "This is Santaruz. What occurs here is no affair of any foreign lordling!"
The young lord laughed loudly. "I believe I'm going to have to disagree with you," he said with a smile. "You see, the man your friends are attacking happen to be a friend of mine."
The soldier gasped. "What? A friend?" he stuttered, as the blue haired lordling moved with surprising speed toward him, and in one swift stroke, he was killed when the axe struck him in the forehead. The young lord brushed the corpse aside. "Sorry, I'm in a hurry," he said quickly.
From behind him, a high pitched scream came. "Ewwwww!" yelled a girl with pink pigtails with her mouth wide open. "Look at that! How terrible! I loathe violence!"
From behind her, a brown haired young man rushed forward to the lord and gave him a high five. "Nicely done, Lord Hector!" he cheered. "You're a fighter born!" Hector grinned. As he was about to walk off to help Eliwood, a serious-looking knight pulled him back.
"Lord Hector," he called. "I cannot condone resorting to force so quickly."
Hector snorted. "Chastise me later, Oswin," he said impatiently. "Come on, we need to help Eliwood!" Shaking his head, Oswin could only sigh.
"Help Eliwood?" he moaned. "That sounds like a convenient excuse for more violence." Irritated, Hector threw his axe at the knight, who promptly jumped out of the way.
"You coming or not, Oswin?" Hector asked Oswin, who promptly nodded and obeyed.
"Matthew!" Hector called the brown haired man. "Take Serra and find somewhere to hide!"
The man named Matthew moaned when he heard this. The girl, Serra, was infamous for being an annoying loudmouth. "What?" he complained. "I don't want to go with Serra!" Serra was also angry that Hector had cast her aside. "No!" she yelled angrily. "I want to go with you two!" Hector slammed his face into his palm. "Look," he ordered, losing his patience. "You'll just slow us down. Oswin, come with me, you two stay back otherwise I'll stick this axe up both your asses, AT THE SAME TIME." As soon as he finished speaking, he walked off briskly with Oswin to join in the fight.
Eliwood and his group were at a deadlock with the assassins, neither side being able to break through. While Eliwood's group had the defensive stances and formations to keep the assassins at bay, they did not have the offensive strength to push them back or injure any of the opposition. After about half an hour of defending, they were starting to get tired. 'How many are there?' wondered Eliwood. 'If this continues, we'll eventually get tired and lose.'
The man leading the group of assassins was also thinking the same thing. "You're not bad for a pampered little pup," he sneered. "But you will die here. Eventually you'll lose your energy and we'll overcome you, hahaha!"
Suddenly, an axe out of nowhere and struck him in the head, killing him instantly. 'What the?' thought Eliwood. Turning around, he saw a young blue-haired lordling and a powerful looking armoured knight rushing into the action.
"Hector, Oswin!" he called. "What are you-?" Hector paid him no attention and picked up his axe to continue his assault on the assailants.
With their leader killed and being flanked by Hector and Oswin from behind, the assassin group went into disarray.
"Charge!" called Marcus as he steered his horse toward the enemy, stabbing them with his spear. Within two minutes, Eliwood, Hector and the others had cleared all the assassins.
"Whew," Hector breathed a sigh of relief. "Is that all of them?" Hector was Eliwood's best friend, and they had known each other since they were children. Delighted to see his friend come to his aid, Eliwood can only smile ear to ear.
"Hector!" he called. "When did you get here? What are you doing here?" Hector snorted and patted him on the back.
"You wound me!" he complained. "You're looking for your father, right? Why didn't you send word to me?"
Eliwood felt a twinge of guilt, but recovered quickly. "Your brother was just named Marquess Ostia. He's going to be very busy setting up his cabinet. You're his brother, he'll need your support."
Hector shook his head. While he was Marquess Ostia's younger brother, he had no interest in politics. While his brother handled all of the major affairs in Ostia, Hector spent most his time down at the local pub, hanging out with all sorts of characters.
"This is what you call real politics," Hector had always said. "Talking to the people, not sitting up in your castle and playing polo with other nobles." Due to his eccentric nature, Hector's brother Lord Uther decided to just let him be and do whatever he likes, but took away any voice that Hector had in his government, not that the younger one cared. Although Hector was a bit of a rogue, he was very kind at heart, and fiercely loyal. While he did not care about the bigger picture, he would never hesitate to help out a friend in need, even if it meant risking his own life to do it. When he heard that Lord Elbert had disappeared, he pleaded with his brother to send troops to find him. However, unlike Hector, Lord Uther had his eyes on the big picture, and thought it would be a waste to send out his troops to look for the lord of another nation. It would also weaken Ostia's defenses somewhat, and could pose a vulnerability. Frustrated, Hector decided to go and help Eliwood himself. Concerned for his safety, Lord Uther sent Matthew and Oswin to guard him, much to Hector's annoyance at being treated like a little child. Hyperactive as she always was, Serra followed them, making Hector even more angry.
"My brother isn't weak," explained Hector. "And he certainly won't want my help even if I offered it to him. He knew exactly what I was planning and he let me go." Eliwood seemed more relaxed after he heard that Lord Uther had given his permission.
"You know Oswin, don't you, Eliwood?" Hector continued, signalling for Oswin to come forward. "Well met, Lord Eliwood," he greeted. "Lord Uther was worried about Lord Hector travelling alone. I've been ordered to keep a close eye on him."
Eliwood laughed. He knew Hector's behaviour was usually questionable. "Of course! Good to have you have with us."
"Lord Hector!" a girl called with annoyance in her voice. It was Serra. "Why didn't you tell me that the fighting was over?" Turning around and seeing her run towards him, Hector hit his head with his hand again.
"I'm sorry for the interruption, my lord," Matthew apologised as he chased after Serra. "She escaped from my clutches and I couldn't restrain her any longer!"
Eliwood was watching in interest. "Are these your friends, Hector?" he asked.
Hector let out a long sigh. "I suppose you could call them that," he groaned. "One might have hoped for better ones, though."
This triggered a high-pitched "Whaaaaaaaaat?" from Serra. "That was uncalled for!" she hollered. "I can't believe you just said that! Matthew, did you just hear what he said about you?" Matthew did not seem worried. "Me?" he asked. "I thought he was talking about you!" Before Serra could open her mouth again, Eliwood decided to step in and change the topic.
"Hector, why don't you introduce us?" he asked.
Hector agreed. "The noisy one is Serra," he introduced. "Believe it or not, she's actually a cleric. The young man here is Matthew. He does a lot of sneaking around." Eliwood was confused.
"Sneaking around?" he asked. Matthew smiled and explained: "Well, I er... gather information, open doors, chests and that stuff. I've got nimble fingers."
Eliwood raised his eyebrow. "That sounds like a thief's work..." he mused, shaking his head. Hector, however, did not mind.
"Don't let it worry you, Eliwood," he assured his friend. "This journey... I suspect it will be harder than you imagine. You may have to accept things like this if you want to survive." Hector roamed the streets of Ostia and came into close proximity with many dodgy people, which made him a lot more street-wise than Eliwood, who spent most of his life in the castle. Matthew once worked as a thief with Lyn a year ago. Seeing his talents, Lord Uther decided to employ him as a spy for House Ostia. Hector was originally suspicious of Matthew following him, but eventually grew to trust the young thief.
Hearing Hector say such a thing, Eliwood started becoming suspicious. "Why do you say that Hector, do you know something?" he asked.
Hector shook his head. "Nothing specific," he started saying while pacing around. "There are rumours flying around, though. A league of assassins from Bern are moving around in Lycia. Experienced bounty hunters and mercenaries are vanishing."
As he heard Hector narrate his suspicions, Eliwood tried putting the knowledge he knew together. "That reminds me," he murmured. "One of the men that attacked us said something odd." Hector looked up.
"Lord Eliwood, if I may?" Marcus butted in. Eliwood nodded his approval. "The apparent leader of that gang of thugs indicated that someone was watching Lord Eliwood and that someone wanted him dead."
Hector scratched his head. "That is troubling..." he mused. "Actually, as we arrived, a knight of Santaruz, was merely watching the fight. I think he was planning on watching you die."
Eliwood's eyes went wide open. "What?" he gasped. "But Lord Helman... surely he wouldn't. Could it be that the Santaruz military was outside of Lord Helman's control? Had something happened to him?
"We need to go and see Lord Helman," said Eliwood. "All our information point to him at the moment, the assassins, the lack of response from his troops, we need to see him and get him to answer our questions." They all agreed that this was the best cause of option, and so speedily marched toward the capital of Santaruz with worry in their hearts.