Well, we're finally back to our friends out at sea! Erm, eheheheh, I mean, the ocean... they are pretty much in the middle of nowhere, you know, searching for another land to explore...
Ahm, I should really stop babbling now... oh yeah, and thanks for all the reviews everyone! They really help.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem, if I did I'd have a lot more games being planned
Chapter 3: The Attack
At the same moment King Sothe was seen galloping towards the Oribes, Ike was awakening a day after his dream. He stood up and stretched, staggering a little as the wind and waves buffeted the ship. Before he stepped out of his sleeping quarters he glanced at Soren, still fast asleep on his bunk. Ike felt the corners of his mouth turning up a little; Soren always made himself look stern and emotionless, but in his sleep he looked like any other young boy, sleeping peacefully and resting for the next day to come.
Soren will kill me if he finds out that's what I've been thinking of him, Ike thought as he stepped into the main room to make himself some breakfast.
Stroking his curled mustache, the crude Captain Galldor gazed out of his luxurious cabin window out onto the decks, where his lower ranked men bustled about, transferring supplies from his ship to another smaller one. Then he turned to his desk, where on it a contract was waiting to be signed. After ringing a bell a servant bustled in, looking flustered and fearful.
" Y-y-y-yes C-Cap'n?" the young boy stammered. Captain Galldor stood slowly, allowing his body to stretch to its full height, though he did this to intimidate the young servant more.
" Tell me, boy - are the men ready to leave?"
" Aye, sah. They be ready to leaves, soon," the servant answered, kneading his hands together nervously. Captain Galldor nodded slowly, and then sat down.
" Very well, then," he said after a length. " Then they will not need me for the raid. I must report back to the General back on his ship in the Oribes. Tell Deebuld to harness his wyvern now. I will fly with him there."
The servant boy didn't answer to his orders right away. He gazed up at the captain, confused. " Sah?" he asked in a quivery voice. " Aren't you apposed t' be th' one leadin' the raid? I thoughts ye may bring some prisoners up for interroga - " He was cut off when Captain Galldor sent a fist slamming down on his desk.
" You will not question my orders, boy," he said in a quiet, dangerous voice. " Now get out and do as I said. Oh, and send my second in command here while you're at it."
Frightened, the servant bobbed his head up and down one too many times. " Aye aye Cap'n!" he stuttered, backing away towards the door, and as soon as he reached it he sped outside. A few minutes later Galldor's second in command, Pierre, stepped in.
" You called, sir?" he asked, his voice slightly accented. Galldor nodded.
" Yes," he answered. " I want you to command this boat while I am gone, and make sure that the men on that ship is captured. The General will want to have a word with them." He smiled a little, a smile that sent shivers down even Pierre's back. Pierre bowed humbly.
" Thank you sir. I will uphold this position in your name," he said quietly. Galldor dismissed him and set about grabbing his coat.
There was a sound in the corner of the room, one like someone shifting uncomfortably in a chair. Galldor turned to the small figure sitting in the chair. He smiled unpleasantly at her.
" I hope you are enjoying your time with me," he said in a sickly sweet voice. The girl looked up from her seat, but she didn't make complete eye contact. Galldor added, " You'll be having company soon enough, so enjoy your time. You may be spared from your, ah, current fate."
As he turned for the door, the girl muttered, " I hope your wyvern gets a heart attack and drops dead over the ocean... and you with it."
In a flash, Galldor was at her, and soon she was pinned against the wall with his large hand over her neck. Galldor hissed, " Enough of you and your roguish schemes, Half-Child, or I'll see to it that you're dead soon." Then he dropped her on the floor and left, slamming to door behind him.
The girl limped to her chair and sat down again, despodently, but not without flicking out a dagger concealed in her boot. " One day," she gritted, "one day, I will get you Captain Galldor, and I will kill you, with this very blade." Then she slipped it back in and fell asleep.
Ike had been at the wheel for a while now - the wind was unusually strong that day, and the ship was moving around a rather lot - but he was beginning to wonder where Soren was. Normally Soren could be heard doing his own things from behind, but for some reason it was quiet. Concerned, Ike left the wheel and went inside the cabin.
" Soren?" he called. No answer. He can't be sleeping in, Ike decided after some thought. So he opened the door to the room where they slept in and was surprised to find Soren on his bed, a pillow covering his face. Ike lifted the pillow up. " Soren?"
Soren moaned and snatched the pillow back down, his hands pinning it around his head. " Please, get me out of this unbearable torture..."
Ike groaned and slapped a hand to his forehead. Of all times, Soren had to get seasick. Ike had forgotten that some people where like that, especially on their first voyage out at sea.
Sighing, Ike said, " Soren, I know you're seasick, but if you get some fresh air you'll feel much better."
" What? And walk around breathing fresh air while the floors beneath your feet are swaying all over the place? I don't think so."
" Soren, it will do you some good!" Just stay close to the edges, it'll save me some work, Ike added in his head, but he didn't say it out loud.
After a moment's silence, Soren finally pulled the pillow over his head, taking a deep breath. He nodded and slowly got up. Ike held out his hand and pulled Soren to his feet. " I'll be outside," he told the mage, but Soren didn't answer. Ike shrugged and walked outside, hoping this situation would pass.
Fortunately, Soren felt better as the hours went by, and soon he was back to his normal self. It was Ike's turn at the wheel again, but when he arrived at the front of the ship Soren was staring intently out at the ocean.
" Ike, there's a ship sailing in the same direction as us, and they're getting closer."
" What?" Ike went to the mage's side and looked in the direction Soren's finger was pointing. Indeed, there was a ship in the distance, still miles away but getting considerably closer each minute. It was travelling in a parallel direction, so it went forward but still came close to their ship at the same time. Soren rubbed his temple.
" It's... strange," he murmured, almost to himself. " Why did I get seasick earlier? It was the moment I saw that shape outside this morning... Ike, something big is going to happen, we need to get prepared."
" Huh? Soren what are you talking about?" Ike stared at his friend as he paced the deck. The mage walked back into the cabin, leaving Ike out alone on the ship. Ike felt a tiny drop of water hit his forehead, and soon rain began to fall. The wind was getting stronger.
Yes, something strange was going on. Ike knew that as he grasped the wheel, trying to keep the ship in control. The rain was getting harder, and the wind whistled around him so his came ended up flapping out behind him like a flag. Ike forced himself to glance at his left, and there it was, the ship that was getting closer. Although it was still a ways off, Ike could clearly see that it was not much bigger than their own ship, due to the amount of people that were on the decks.
Soren came out of the cabin, dragging Ike's Ettard with him, the huge blade, marking the wooden decks. " Here," he shouted, handing Ike the giant blade. Ike noticed that Soren had many tomes tucked into his robes.
" I have a plan," Soren gasped to him, gripping the edge of the deck as the boat rocked violently around. " Normally, if we thought they were pursuing us, we'd turn our ship away from them and try to flee. Plus, if you look closely they are armed with a ballista and two catapults, and enough stones to sink our ship. But if we let them get close..."
" They'll think we saw no threat in them. Right." Ike gripped the steering wheel tighter as another wave made the boat lurch. He glanced at the ship, which was getting closer by the minute. He asked, " But we are armed, and yet I don't want to be unprepared. It would be unwise to provoke them."
" Don't worry about that part. We just need to act, and perhaps we'll convince them we're more idiotic than they think."
Two hours later, both ships were side by side to each other, but not too close since the storm showed no sign of lessening, and any closer than they were now would cause their ships to collide. Going over the plan once more in his head, Ike shouted to the other end, " We are travellers, lost out here in the ocean. We wish to speak to your captain!"
One man bellowed in reply, " Come a little closer! Our Captain Pierre will speak to you on your ship!"
Soren retorted, " If you think we're going to do that in this storm, you've got stones and hot air in your brain! To get any closer will kill us all!"
There were a few words exchanged on the other side, then, " The storm will lessen in two thirds of an hour. Keep riding in this direction, and then we will talk!"
Ike turned back to the front, when suddenly a wyvern swooped up in front of him, the rider's long axe barely a fraction from his face. With a cry, Ike tumbled backward, andthe wyvern soared up into the air, preparing for another dive. Soren pulled Arcthunder from his sleeve. " So they use treachery after all," he said calmly. " Well, at least we are prepared."
" Yeah, that's good," Ike answered to him as he stood, holding out Ettard. " The talk was only a distraction. I guess it's time to fight!"
The battle begun. The man at the wheel of the other ship began to turn, and soon both ships were dangerously close to each other. Armed warriors leapt onto their ship, and soon the decks became a battlefield. Only a few men could jump on the boat at a time, and Ike found it easy to take care of that. Soren, meanwhile, attacked from afar, striking down the dragons that flew above, trying to dive down and take a hit. After a while Soren suddenly realized what the enemy was doing.
" Ike, they're not going to kill us," he yelled to his friend as they fought. " If you look not all of them have weapons that would kill us!"
Ike looked more carefully as he fought and found that it was true. Most of the men that went on their ship were armed only with heavy wooden rods or long metal poles. Ike caught a man trying to climb over the decks after taking a fall, and Ike disposed of him quickly. Suddenly Soren let out a cry behind him. For one quick moment, Ike turned around to see what was going on.
More people were climbing in from the other side of the ship! There was a small rowboat there, and people had slung ropes with sharp hooks on their ends onto the deck, so now they climbed in and attacked from behind. Ike saw Soren was casting spells faster than he had ever seen a mage do, now using Arcwind to fend off any more intruders coming over the wooden sides on the decks. But no matter hard their efforts were, soon their ship was swarming with intruders. Now Ike and Soren were pinned in the middle, fighting back to back but the crowd was getting thick, and soon they were seperated, each fighting more savagely than ever.
Soren wished he had more experience out at sea. He may have been Tellius' best tactitian, but that was back on land. Out here in the ocean, and on a ship, Soren's mind was racing to devise a new strategy that would help. He noted to himself that these men were high in numbers, but they lacked skill.
Suddenly Soren found himself in front of a man armed with a long, slim sword. He looked formidable in the long blue tailcoat. There was a sneer in his eyes as he stared at the mark on Soren's forehead, his face beginning to contort in hate.
" You... you are a Half-Child," he spat, lifting his sword higher. Soren took a step back.
" I apologize, sir," he replied curtly. " I do not know what you mean by the term 'Half-Child'. Now, are you going to fight me, or not?"
The man laughed, " Oh no, my boss will not be happy if I kill you, as much as I want it done." His voice had a slight accent to it. Soren took another step backward, only falling straight into the strong arms of a large muscular man. Sniggering, the man lifted his sword till it was level with Soren's face.
" You Half-Children disgust me so much," he sneered. " Imagine, having the blood of two races in your veins! The very thought makes me sick. You taint our dimension with your very existence -" he gave extra stress to the word existence - "and I wish all of you were dead and gone, gone forever from this world!"
Soren began to feel the same way he did many years ago, when the laguz shunned him for being a Branded, and hated him for just being alive. But this... this was worse. The truth was flung head on into his face, and Soren felt himself turn ice cold.
Apparently the man noticed, and he sniggered again. " Allow me to introduce myself," he said none too pleasantly. " I am Captain Pierre, second to the esteemed Captain Galldor." He turned towards the field of battle. " Now, let me get on my business, and then we shall leave."
" Leave? We leave?" Soren struggled to remove himself from the large man's grips, but he was strong in magic, not strength. Suddenly there was a large explosion, and the ship was aflame. Men leapt to the other boat, while others climbed down to the rowboat on the other side. Soren's captor lifted him up and began to drag him towards the boat.
" Ike!" Soren shouted at the top of his lungs. " Ike! Ike, where are you?!? IKE!!!"
The man holding him growled, " Shut up and hold still..."
Pain exploded at the back of Soren's head, and colours danced before his eyes. Then there was nothing.
Whoa... now that was longer than I had wanted it to be... ah well. It was a bit of a wierd chapter but I couldn't think of anything else, so I apologize for some confusion. Please read and review!