Fire Emblem
Against the Odds, Part 1 of 2
"Last nail!"
The sound of a nail being hammered into wood was heard as Lyre held up some bright, festive garland.
"Finished. That should be the last of it, for here at least. Thanks again Miss Lyre."
"No problem," Lyre happily responded to the man. "It's the least I could do while staying here."
The cat Laguz slid partially down before she jumped off the ladder and gracefully landed on her feet. The innkeeper followed suite but, obviously, climbing down instead of jumping.
"C'mon inside miss and I'll get you something warm to eat on the house."
"Thanks! I'm not one to turn down free food!" She suddenly blushed as her stomach growled. "I was starting to get hungry anyways."
The two set the ladder down and out of the way before entering the warm and cozy inn. Lyre took a seat at the bar as she shook some of the snow off of her. It was about midday and the inn was bustling though mostly with people taking a load off before heading back out to work. Whether that was "work-work" or working to continue setting up for the winter festival, Lyre didn't know. All she knew was that the inn's owner cooked up some mean fish and she could smell it already. When her food was ready, she was practically drooling a new river.
"Here you go Miss Lyre."
"Thanks! It smells so good Flynn."
"So how much longer do you plan on staying in Meldachi? You've been here a few days now haven't you," the middle aged man asked.
"Not for to much longer. I'm just waiting for my sister to meet me here. She's coming from the Gallian capital so it was going to be a few days before she got here."
"Were you meeting here for the festivities? Meldachi is known for them after all."
Lyre's shaggy hair swept side to side as she shook her head.
"Maybe a little but we were heading up to the Crimean capital city and meeting our friend for theirs."
"I will admit the capital throws a good festival. But we definitely have a good one if I do say so myself. Well I'll let you eat. Give me a holler if you need anything else."
The innkeeper turned to help someone else as the hungry Laguz began to eat her; her tail swishing happily behind her. She had not been enjoying it long when the inn's door was opened loudly.
"I'm looking for someone named Lyre. I have a letter to deliver," a Beorc woman in some kind of uniform said hastily.
Lyre had turned around when she heard her name; the fork in her mouth as she ate another slice of her meal. She raised her hand and the messenger hurriedly made her way to the counter.
"Message from your sister," she explained while reaching into a satchel. "Wanted me to deliver it to you since I was passing through."
Lyre took Lethe's letter, fork still in her mouth, as the messenger made a quick bow.
"If you'll excuse me I must be off. Have a good day ma'am."
The uniformed Beorc left and could be seen mounting a pegasus before the door closed. Lyre suddenly realized she had a fork in her mouth and at the fish on it before putting it down and opening the wax sealing. Lethe didn't write much. She only mentioned that her and Mordecai would be about a day out from Meldachi when she received this letter. She also mentioned Mordecai said, "Hi," and they both hoped she had been doing well.
"I've been doing as good as anyone can be after all that nonsense," Lyre thought. "I'm glad to see you again though, Lethe."
It had been sometime since the two had seen each other after the incident. About 5 years worth of sometime. She still wasn't 100% after all that but she always felt good when telling stories about those who saved the day. She enjoyed traveling around as a sort of bard.
Lyre shuddered as a chill went down her spine, "Hate thinking about how that could have all gone wrong." She looked at her rapidly cooling meal and picked up her fork. "I'm gonna eat up, warm up, and see what all needs to still be put up. Then I can wait for Lethe and Mordecai to show up so we can see Queen Elincia. I wonder what her kid looks like? I bet he or she is so adorable! Wish I could have seen the little bugger's birth."
…...
The evening was rolling around the townspeople of Meldachi were getting ready to put up for the day. Most of the large town was ready for the time of year and Lyre was around the inn's hearth with others. She was spinning tales of the Greil Mercenaries and other heroic deeds she saw and was told about during the goddess' punishment of Tellius. Someone soon came bursting in: a young lass with brown hair and matching eyes.
"A caravan just got waylaid! People and supplies were both taken!"
"When?" an elderly man asked.
"Not that long ago apparently. Maybe about an hour out, close to the Gallian border."
Someone ushered the girl in and sat her down to tell more about what she heard. Apparently a slippery and smart group had been evading capture around the general area. An outrider who managed to escape the attack said they were definitely well equipped and capable fighters.
"What do the guards plan on doing?" a young man asked.
"I would assume they'll go after em' in the morning. At this time, and with heavy snow fall on its way, it wouldn't be smart to go tonight," Flynn responded.
"Well that shouldn't be a problem right?" the first young man asked. "We've got one of the heroes who saved Tellius right here!"
Lyre's breath caught in her throat as others who had been listening agreed.
"And some of the old boys in the guard are tough as nails and as strong as a wyvern! Like Markus over there."
People's spirits raised a little before Lyre spoke up, "Now hold on a minute. I'm not a hero I can't help you all even though I want to."
But didn't you help free us all when we got turned to stone?"
"I was there but I wasn't any help! My sister and Captain Ranulf are who you want. I wasn't anywhere near their levels of strength and I was more trouble than I care to admit," Lyre tried to explain.
Hearing a so called hero of Tellius say this put some people off. Lyre sulked a bit but she didn't want to lie to anyone.
"That's why I try to tell all the stories I can about the others. So everyone knows who the strongest really are."
After a moment of silence, a muscled older man with a greying black beard and bald head broke it, "But yet you were spared from becoming a statue. Do you know why that is?"
Lyre shook her head as she was unsure, "Right place, right time I guess. Though it's kind of weird to say that."
"You don't believe that counts for something?"
The Laguz sighed and looked uncomfortable, "I don't know. But I know this: my sister should be here tomorrow. She's really strong and brave and she'll be able to help you like nobody else! Her friend Mordecai is coming too. He doesn't like fighting but he'll do anything to help people who are hurting or in trouble."
She stood up and felt like her collar was strangling her.
"Just wait for them and those people will be here safe and sound. I wish I could help but I'm just not strong enough."
She could feel eyes following her as she said a quick goodnight and hurried up to her room. Her door slammed a little to loud on accident and she couldn't stop old emotions from resurfacing. She began to shake while sliding down to the ground.
"Useless," she muttered.
…...
Lyre didn't sleep well as she woke up smelling various breakfast foods from the inn's kitchen. She groaned a little as she sat up in her bed and rubbed her eyes.
"Hopefully Lethe gets here to help. That's their best bet to help those people." She began to put her shoes on get into a fresh change of clothes. "Just who do those bandits think they are? Thieving and kidnapping when it's getting close to the festivals!"
Lyre made her way down to the inn's main floor and picked an empty spot at the bar. Flynn saw her made his way over to her.
"Good morning Miss Lyre. Can I get you something?"
Lyre took out some money and placed it on the counter.
"Eggs with extra bacon and sausage if you got it please."
He nodded and went to the kitchen. Lyre saw snow was falling outside, though not as heavy as it was in the middle of the night. She couldn't help but overhear some people talking.
"They went a few hours ago right?" one of the three asked.
"Yes. Markus led the squad," a second replied. "Tough son of a gun. Fought against Daein in both conflicts, Begnion, and even Laguz bandits. We're lucky we got him in the guard when he left the military."
"I was hoping they'd be back by now. It's almost eleven and they left at about six right?" the third chimed in. "How many went in?"
The second responded, "From what I heard it was about ten including Markus. The guard leadership didn't authorize many of them."
"Only 10?"
"Yeah. I heard there was about twice that who attacked the caravan. Do you think that's enough?"
"Goddess I hope so."
Lyre's attention was pulled when Flynn delivered her food.
"Is something on your mind?"
Lyre looked at her plate and then the innkeeper, "Did they really head out?"
Flynn leaned on the counter as he answered, "Yes. They didn't mobilize the entire guard obviously but I figured they'd do more than 10. They went out early this morning but we haven't gotten word back from them."
"I knew they should have waited!"
"Now hold on miss. I can see how you might be worried and, I am as well, but we can't lose our heads. They have to track through fresh snow and even seasoned hunters have trouble with that." He tapped the bar counter near her plate with an assuring smile. "Eat up and keep calm. Things we'll turn out just fine, I'm sure of it."
Lyre ate her food but she had a gut feeling from her past experiences. Something wasn't going right and she didn't feel like Lethe would arrive in time to help. She didn't realize her nails had dug into the wood until she had made a few long scratches in it.
"What would Lethe do?" she thought. "What can I do?"
..….
The snow was still steady but not heavy as Lyre trudged through it. She had gotten information as to the location of the ambush but found nothing. Flynn made mention of an old fort that rested near the border. When looking at a map and being told where the ambush was at, she felt that could be at least a short term set up for any bandits if it wasn't in use anymore.
"Why am I doing this? I'm not strong or powerful like the captain is or Lethe. I don't have the strategy skills of that Beorc boy who paled around with general Ike."
A faint sound caught Lyre's attention and she froze in place. Her ears twitched as she heard it again. It stopped and she headed towards it.
"Sounded like someone going through the snow. Could be just an animal?"
Though it wasn't her forte, Lyre was surprisingly stealthy. She picked up on the noise again before coming across a small site that seemed to have seen battle. She waited until she didn't hear the noise again before taking a quick look around.
"Some of these trees have cuts in them," she said as she ran her hand over what seemed like a sword gash. "That one over there has an arrow and…here's some blood. I don't like the looks of this."
The faint noises her keen senses picked suddenly picked up in pace and sounded like it was heading in her direction. It was joined by something new.
"We've got em' now! Get after him William!"
Lyre pulled back and hid behind a large tree. The movement noises were getting louder and soon were upon her. She peered around it when she heard breathing and the sounds of someone falling down. She saw a man in battered white armor, that had blood stains along it, struggling to pick up a much smaller person holding a bow. He had a spear and shield and barely blocked an arrow that came flying out of the woods. He didn't have a helmet and she recognized the man as the one who questioned her a little the night before.
"We've got ya now!"
A burly man came charging and barged into the town guard. He held up alright but the other was knocked down. He hurled his shield towards his attacker and cuffed him in the head.
"Leave him alone!" Lyre shouted.
A bright flash of light cascaded across the area as a animalistic roar echoed throughout the forest. In a blur of motion, Lyre sprinted and pounced at the axe wielder. She was knocked off but left a number of slashes on his arms and armor. He swung out with an axe but the Laguz sidestepped and moved right past him as she sighted an archer.
"Where did that come from-…ahh!"
Lyre pounced on the archer, who was shocked at her appearence while the guard stabbed out with his spear. The smaller archer dodged to the side and made Lyre's claws rake across a tree. She missed again as he dodged her and an arrow.
"Fall back! Micah, we'll get em' later!"
The axe wielder was clutching his side after booting the guard in the chest. Lyre tried to tackle him but she was knocked out of the air with the flat of the axe. The young archer with the guard shot a few more times and nearly caught the retreating bandits with some arrows.
"They're not gonna be happy to hear about this!" one of them shouted.
Lyre laid winded on the ground as she shifted back. The archer was checking the spearman as she tried to catch her breath while leaning against the tree she was slammed in to.
"If he had hit me with the edge of that axe, I might have been done for," she thought while feeling her ribs.
She winced as she got up before making her way to the guardsman sitting up.
"You're from the inn last night. Are you okay?" Lyre asked.
"I'll make do. I've taken much worse before," the soldier replied. "How are you doing Jon?"
Lyre got a better look at the smaller archer: he was thin but seemed lean enough to handle a bow like he did. He had curly, dirty blonde hair held tightly in a ponytail and green eyes.
"I'm doing alright Markus. That was some quick thinking on your part. I just hope the others won't be hurt." He turned to Lyre and held out his hand to shake, "Thank you for your assistance ma'am. We were lucky you happened to be coming by."
"Yes. Why the sudden change of heart? I thought you said you couldn't help," the older man said with a never changing, stoic expression.
"I came to try and convince you all to come back. I heard you left and had a bad feeling when they said it had been a few hours. What happened?"
The halberdier, Markus, was assisted to his feet.
"Most people wouldn't even do that after making a scene like you did last night."
"Captain, please!"
Lyre's eye twitched, "I didn't make a scene! You know you could be a little more thankful like your friend since I could have just stayed in town."
Markus crossed his arms and remained militaristic, "Don't get me wrong, I am glad you showed up. But you flipped on not wanting to fight by showing up. How quickly will you turn tail and run?"
Lyre felt hot under her collar, "Stubborn old codger! I told you all to wait in the first place! But noooooo, you people gambled and failed. What happened anyways?"
"These weren't run of the mill bandits. They turned out to be one of the more notorious gangs roaming Tellius: the Free Drakes led by a man name Dutch Lindeholm. We should have scouted first and prepared more. At least we should have had more soldiers," Markus answered.
Lyre looked around the site of the skirmish, "It seems like they got the drop on you."
Jon spoke up, "We were blindsided. They beat us and intended to ransom us with the others. Markus managed to fool them into a false sense of security when we were being held in their base. We managed to take back some weapons and bolt but I think we were the only two who managed to escape."
"Well that just means you need to go back and get reinforcements!" Lyre exclaimed.
"I had another plan in mind."
"Markus? We really should listen to her."
"Listen to Jon over here. Get more people and wait for my sis-…"
Markus interrupted, "Your sister sounds swell and powerful, and I would love a 'hero' of Tellius' help, but we are at the advantage. We can't afford to lose it."
The sharpness of how he said "hero" stung Lyre a bit but she held her cattiness back. Jon had a quizzical look as he asked the veteran how they held an advantage.
"Simple. While they know there are only three of us out here, they don't expect us to come at them with our current numbers. Expecially while they are in a fort. I don't believe they intend on moving anytime soon but they don't want to risk a larger force attacking. If we strike now, harrie them a bit, we can take them down."
"You're crazy!"
"I've heard of worse plans that succeeded where they should have failed. And I've been in my own share of lop-sided scrapes." The older soldier picked up his spear and shield. "The only question is if you'll help me or turn back. If you two do then make sure you tell them who you're dealing with. They are not to be taken lightly and I'd want you to tell the numbskulls in charge that they need to listen to strategy more than whatever is ringing around their brains."
With that said, Markus began walking towards the direction the bandits ran in.
"What are you going to do…Jon was it?"
The young man ran his fingers along the bow string as he thought.
"I can't let Markus go alone. He's crotchety but he's a good man. He cares for the others taken and he wants them rescued. But it is foolish to just go off like this."
Lyre adjusted her cloak, "He doesn't seem like a stupid person. Why do you think he'd just go off on this fight?"
"He wouldn't go if he didn't think he'd win. In all likelihood, we aren't sure if the gang would pick up camp. They could be gone by the time we return. They're known to never stay in one place for to long." He sighed as he check an arrow in a tree. "I need to back him up. Despite my better judgment. I won't force you to come. Just…good luck miss."
The young archer started to walk after his compatriot as Lyre stood in the falling snow. The personalities and thinking reminded her of some of the people she fought with. The confidence in Markus reminded her of her sister's bravery. But that wasn't the only thing she saw of her in him: she recognized stubborn pride masking a protective and caring nature. She took a deep breath and shivered, though it wasn't because of the snow.
"I can't keep running from things. But we should go and get help," she thought while staring at the sky through the tree branches. "He may be right though…and those people need help. Lethe would want to help but what should I do?"
She stood as the footsteps grew fainter. She suddenly became reminded of Mugil and how she was ecstatic to help with the infiltration.
"The old Lyre would jump at this to try and help…no. Not the old Lyre. THE Lyre."
She turned to the two and started to run after them, "Wait up you two!"
She caught up to Jon and Markus.
"Thank you," Jon said reassured.
"Hmph. Remember the question I asked you last night?"
Lyre just stared at him confused.
"Give me an answer when we're through here. I want to know why you believe you were spared from becoming a statue. Now lets move out."
A/N: Here is my Christmas Fanfic for 2018. I plan on getting a part 2 up to finish and it will be our heroine and her two comrades combating a gang to rescue some poor, waylaid people. I plan to edit this of any grammar mistakes so don't worry about that. Point them out to me if you see them (I know they've got to be there!) and I will look to fixing them ASAP. I know this is a little different in a way but I wanted to try something a little grounded. Perhaps this might branch into something new but I have to work on my other projects first of course. Work ethic, thy name is not mine. Well enjoy and, whether you did or not, have a Merry Christmas, future Christmas, and happy holidays if you don't celebrate it. Have a good day/night!