Disclaimer: Don't own it. If I did, I'd have made Merlinus able to at least set mines or something. But no such luck. Ah well, his lack of fighting ability works out well in this chapter. I suppose I do own Dusk, the tactician, though.
Dusk: Elimine help me...
Me: Quiet, minion. -whacks him over the head with her imaginary bow-
Me: Oh yeah, be aware of possible OOC-ness. Thing.
The thief formerly known as "Hurricane" was at a loss, and a little depressed, not to mention disappointed. It was about an hour or two after dawn, and he was sitting in the mess tent, sipping a mug of coffee.
Merlinus had just started cooking, and the tent was filled with the scents and sounds such action entailed.
Apart from Legault and Merlinus, the stoic nomad Rath and the irrepressible archer Wil were there as well, sitting at a table near the door, the archer chatting the Sacaen's ear off.
Seeing no one else to speak to, Legault rose and strode over to Merlinus.
"Hey," he said by way of greeting. "How goes the cooking?"
The merchant shrugged. "As well as can be expected. Here, try this." He shoved an apple in the thief's direction.
"...Thanks," Legault muttered, accepting the fruit. He ate it slowly.
"So, what's bothering you?" Merlinus asked, viciously beating something that Legault assumed was pancake batter.
"Uh, sorry?" Legault stammered, caught off guard by the perceptive remark..
"Well-" he'd moved on to some frying bacon now, "-usually people don't talk to me unless they feel, you know, bad about something, but they really just want me to listen, because I'm sort of timid around large groups and don't say much."
"Oh... Well, actually there's this man, and I was trying to just be friendly, because he looked pretty on edge, but I think I went about in the entirely wrong way, and he really didn't seem to appreciate the gesture," Legault explained in a bit of a rush. He wasn't sure why he felt so miserable though. Maybe because he'd already witness the organization he believed in crumble under corruption and evil, so this was just another disappointment – no, failure – on top of a tall pile?
"Hm. Maybe you should take it easy for a while, give him some space, then try again?" suggested the merchant, attacking an apple with a large and sharp-looking knife. In seconds, it was reduced to eight identical slices. Legault sweat-dropped a little.
"Yeah... D'you think Dusk would let me hang around and guard the supply tent during battle?" Legault asked.
"Oh, sure, as long as you don't mind hanging around Nino and Jaffar," Merlinus replied, dumping some scrambled eggs into a bowl.
"...Sure, it's fine," muttered Legault. He didn't care for Jaffar or his company, but he quite liked the green-haired girl that followed the assassin around. "Thanks." He tossed his apple core into the garbage pile and walked out to the supply tent; he needed so go get some new swords.
Heath was an early riser, usually not asleep past sunrise, but today was different. He'd been up late, troubled by Legault's casual conversation. The thief was formerly of the Black Fang after all, so he probably couldn't be trusted anyway, but at the same time he felt he was being overly paranoid about the whole thing. There were genuinely friendly people out there. But most of them weren't thieves/assassins.
The wyvern lord shook his head and rubbed his eyes. This was just... too much. He wasn't even sure what bothered him so much!
Wearily, the man climbed to his feet and stumbled out of his tent, blinking in the early morning sunshine. He estimated it to be about 8 o'clock, so he hurried to the mess tent in the hopes of still snatching some semi-warm food.
He could have expected the outcome, but it still annoyed him when he got there and the only free spot was at Legault's table.
With a resigned sigh, Heath got his food and sat down beside Jaffar.
Of the people there, (Jaffar, Nino, Legault, and, oddly enough, Canas) the only person he'd actually spoken to during this campaign was Legault and, very briefly, Nino – she'd asked him where the supply train was during a battle several days ago. He tried to keep everyone's face and name memorised, to prevent any unexpected attacks, which was why he knew their names.
"Hello," Canas said, more out of courtesy than any desire to actually engage him in conversation, which suited Heath just fine.
Jaffar gave him a slight nod before returning to his conversation with Nino and Canas – if one person listening while the other two prattled on over each other could be called a conversation, but to each his own, Heath supposed.
"Hey," Legault said briefly, much to the wyvern rider's relief.
The green-haired man ate in silence, and left soon after he was finished, mumbling a farewell to the others at the table.
He was almost out when their tactician, Dusk, stalked in.
"Meeting," the man growled at Heath, who followed him back in.
"All right! I've just got the reports from our scouts and it doesn't look good!" Dusk yelled over the general hubbub. Everyone quieted immediately. "Farina has informed me that the pass we need to take through these mountains is blocked by enemy soldiers, mainly sword masters and myrmidons-" here he was cut off by Karel's loud, joyful shout. Dusk blinked several times and continued, "-so we need to be extra careful. I believe they're under the command of a Black Fang hero named Alyster.
"As well, Florina told Farina, who told me, that a sizeable force of magic-users is marching towards us from behind, so we'll have to be extra careful! Got it?!"
Karel cheered again. Everyone else murmured their assent.
"So, I've already made basic plans, and decided who's going to take part in the upcoming battle, as well as who's going to fight the magic-users should the need arise," Dusk continued, glaring at Karel. He produced a roll of parchment and began to read.
"Front line: Lord Hector, Oswin, Sain, Kent, Wallace. Second line: Wil, Rath, Canas, Raven and Lucius. Reinforcements, rescuers, plunderers, healers, etc...: Eliwood-" Dusk paused and muttered, "Elimine knows what he'll be good for!" so only Heath could hear, before continuing, "-ahem, Legault, Heath, Fiora, Serra and Karel." He stopped and looked up expectantly. Heath groaned inwardly, hoping Legault wouldn't try to strike up a conversation again. He was quite content being a loner-type.
"Aw..." Karel muttered, disappointed. No feast for Karel.
Dusk glared at the sword master. "It should be noted that I will not tolerate any of those in the back row exchanging spots with those in the second row! It undermines my authority and I find it personally offensive!" He looked pointedly from Lucius to Karel. Someone, possibly Matthew, snickered.
"Continuing on... Oh, that was for the fight at the pass, by the way. Right. OK, here's the second group, in case the magic-users do catch up to us: Front line: Raven, Lowen, Pent and Canas. Second line: Rebecca, Louise, Lyn and Priscilla. Reinforcements, plundering, blah, blah, blah...: Matthew, Guy, Jaffar and Nino. Oh, and Marcus will be guarding the supply train, i.e. Merlinus. Because he's annoying and ugly," Dusk added under his breath, again only audible to Heath.
Everyone sat in silence until Dusk barked, "Well?! Hurry up! D'you think those magic-users are taking a nap?! No!! They're trying to catch us on all sides, so HURRY IT UP!!" And he stalked off in a fit of tactical rage, his deep blue cloak fluttering impressively behind.
"..." said Jaffar and Rath in unison.
Heath shrugged and walked out to ready Hyperion.
His wyvern greeted him fondly, and he slipped it some left over bacon.
"He seems to like you a lot," someone observed. They wyvern lord glanced in their direction and saw it was Nino standing there.
"Yeah, we've been through a lot," Heath responded, moving to check how tight the straps of his saddle were. "It was usually just us, even when I joined Eubans' group. Can't trust too many people, you know?"
Satisfied with his saddle, Heath moved on to check whether he had his Delphi Shield and a vulnerary.
"Wow, that looks complicated. Can... may I pet him?" Nino asked hesitantly, studying the wyvern intently.
Heath cast a glance at Hyperion. In truth, the beast didn't mind other people, but Heath was tired of the conversation, afraid he'd already said too much about himself. "Actually, he doesn't really like anyone but me," he lied.
"Oh." Nino sounded disappointed. "All right. Well, I guess I'll see you around, then. Bye, Heath." She waved and scampered off to see Jaffar.
Heath half-heartedly raised his hand, then returned to examining his weapons. "Javelin? Check. Still about fifteen more uses, I'd say... Killer lance? Hm, almost broken. I'd better go get an iron or steel lance in case it does break," he mumbled to himself.
Kent rode up moments later. "We're moving out in fifteen minutes," he announced. The cavalier was, of course, already geared up and ready to leave.
"Ok, thanks," Heath answered, nodding.
Kent gave a salute - for reasons that escaped the other man – and rode away to inform the others of their imminent departure.
Heath hurried to the supply tent, passing Dusk and Eliwood who were having an argument behind a tree several tents from the supply.
"-don't see why you have to be so critical!" the red-haired, utterly useless Lord was saying to the black-haired tactician.
"Look, Lord Eliwood, you can't baby someone when they're in an army!" Dusk growled back, dark grey eyes showing all of the tactical rage he was feeling towards the stupid Lord. "I mean, sure, it's a nice gesture, but it's impractical--"
"You didn't have to make her cry! Ninian's very sensitive..." Eliwood snapped back. "Anyway, I was 'babied' as you said, and I turned out fine!"
Dusk's expression said all too clearly how much he agreed with that statement. "It's not like I told her to stop dancing, I told her to stop following you around on the battlefield! And if you want my job, be my guest. "
Eliwood scowled. "But you're in Hector's employ."
"Exactly. Now go do you job so I can do mine!"
Without waiting for a reply, the tactician stalked off, as he seemed to do rather frequently. As he passed Heath, he winked.
Slightly disturbed, he continued on his way to the supply tent.
"Oh, um, yes? Why do you need, sir, um..." Merlinus mumbled timidly.
"Heath. Could I have an iron or steel lance?" he replied, somewhat impatiently. The argument between Eliwood and Dusk, though entertaining, had put him a bit behind.
"Um, all right." Merlinus disappeared into the tent, emerging several moments later with both a steel and iron lance. He held them out for him to choose.
"...Iron," Heath muttered, taking said lance. "Thank you."
"...Any time..."
Heath hurried back to his tent, uncomfortably aware that he still had to disassemble his tent and pack up his bedroll.
Hyperion, sensing the pre-battled tension, was waiting expectantly for its rider. Heath secured the newly acquired lance onto the wyvern's saddle and began to quickly pack up his things.
The trumpet call that signalled that group was moving out blasted through the air, although most people still hadn't even take down their tents.
Dusk strolled the lines of tents, gleefully screaming at everyone who didn't have their tent pack up yet.
"What's that you say?!" he could be heard bellowing at some poor soldier. "You didn't have enough notice?! What, are you carrying around all the swords of the people you've killed or something!? You should be ready to move out at all times!!"
Some random shouting, punctuated here and there by the words 'no' and 'feast', in that order, could be heard following Dusk's words, so Heath assumed it was Karel,
He stuffed his bedroll into one of Hyperion's saddle bags, but found he couldn't fit the tent as well. Scowling, he realised he'd just have to leave it with Merlinus today. He mounted Hyperion, impatiently urging him to take flight.
The wyvern gave two flaps of its bat-like wings and rose into the air. Its rider relaxed somewhat, but still remained on the lookout for archers and magic-uses, even if his Delphi Shield did protect him from the former.
"Land here," Heath muttered, urging the winged beast down near Merlinus' tent.
"Need something, um, more, sir Heath?" the merchant questioned nervously, eyeing Hyperion warily.
"Yeah, here's my tent," Heath explained, handing Merlinus the bag containing his rolled-up tent.
"Very good, sir Heath," Merlinus said without stammering timidly even once, despite Hyperion's sometimes fearsome presence!
"Yeah, uh, thanks." Heath nudged Hyperion gently, causing the wyvern to rise quickly in the air.
He wasn't sure how long the battle had raged. His arm ached, and he'd long ago lost track of how many enemies he'd killed. The weapons he'd started out with were all broken, and he'd had to return to Merlinus for another weapon. He'd lost his Delphi Shield and had been healed two times.
The enemy troops had been at least three times the number that had initially been reported and it had seemed like the torrent would never end, but miraculously, they seemed to have won.
As Heath glided over the battlefield, he noticed a group of four surviving myrmidons and two sword masters about to launch an attack on the supply train, but Merlinus would be fine, Marcus, and Eliwood, whom Dusk had assigned there upon seeing the enemies numbers, were guarding him--
But the two Pheraens were nowhere to be seen. Heath bit his upper lip anxiously, expecting the two to pop out of the bushes or something and ambush the advancing sword fighters.
"Damn it!" he spat out, urging Hyperion into a dive as the first myrmidon attacked...
Legault ducked a clumsy swing from a heavily bleeding myrmidon and darted in for the kill, slashing the soldier's throat with a practiced motion.
Dusk had ordered him to steal a Delphi Shield from their leader, Alyster, which was now tucked safely into his pouch, but the thief had been caught between two lines of enemies along with Karel, who'd been sent along to 'escort' Legault.
It was, the thief concluded, largely due to the bizarre swordsman that he was still alive, but that was probably the point. Dusk might not always seem like it, but he was actually a brilliant tactician, which let him get away with most of his stunts with Eliwood. He just had (according to some) a horrible personality, but that was generally due to his bluntness.
"Hey-" Karel said casually as he separated another sword master's head from his neck with a smooth, graceful motion, "-if you ever become an assassin, I think I would want to fight you." Another foe dropped as he clutched futilely at the gaping cut that spanned his stomach as his lifeblood flowed through his fingers to stain the ground red.
"Er, right then. Whatever gets us through this stupid battle," Legault replied, kicking some sand into a soldier's face, then slashing his throat.
"'Stupid'?" Karel echoed. "I wish I could do this everyday!"
As if on cue, his iron sword broke as he stabbed another opponent viciously.
"...Here." Legault quickly handed him the silver sword he'd also managed to acquire form Alyster. "I can't use it anyway."
"Thanks!" Karel literally bounced away, a steadily growing pile of corpses behind to mark his passage.
"...Right then. OK," Legault muttered, looking around for any lurking enemies, when a shadow passed over him.
He glanced up, but it was just Heath, diving towards the supply train. But wasn't it being guarded by Eliwood and Marcus...?
Legault ran as fast as his could, springing over bodies and around horses, yelling, "Merlinus is being attack, Karel!!"
"Help! Sir Marcus! Lord Eliwood!" cried Merlinus desperately as a myrmidon slashed at him. He ducked and the sword missed, although it did slice easily through the thin blue material of his tent. The sword fight sneered and raised his sword again, only to be impaled on Heath's lance.
"To your right!" the wyvern lord exclaimed as he blew past.
Merlinus ducked away automatically, but that was what the grinning sword master had wanted. He threw the torch he'd been clutching in one hand straight into the open tent moments before Fiora cut him down.
The others had already been taken care of by Legault and Karel, but the tent was already up in flames.
"Someone put that fire out!! Salvage as much as you can! Serra, go see if Merlinus is all right!!" ordered Dusk in a bellow. "And where the hell are Marcus and Eliwwod?! Elimine, you leave for one second and everything collapses into chaos...!" he grumbled as Canas, Oswin and Lucius attempted to use Pure Water, and (in Canas' case) a Flux tome (another experiment) to extinguish the fire.
Legault and Karel, who were the fastest units there, darted in as soon as the fire was put out and grabbed all the useful things they could carry.
It should be pointed out here that Legault's and Karel's idea of 'useful' differed greatly: the thief grabbed a steel sword, an elixir and some extra lock picks while the swordmaster snatched up two killing edges and a mine.
Legault scowled when he discovered he couldn't carry the picks and the Delphi Shield, so he decided to give it to the first flier he saw.
That flier happened to be Heath. With a slight shrug, he tapped the man on the shoulder.
"Huh?" Heath turned. "What do you want?"
Legault pursed his lips. "Oh, very polite. Here, I thought you might need this." He handed the Delphi Shield to the wyvern rider and walked away.
Author's Note: Yes, excellent. Much longer than the prologue. -cackles-
So, comments, thoughts, concerns? Maybe some constructive criticism? All that is appreciated.
By the way, did you like Dusk? o.O;; I need to know, cuz, well... I dunno, I like making semi-evil characters that bash the useless units that sometimes appear on games.
Anyway, thanks for reading and all that. Kudos to you! ;)
QS
