Chapter 2
The Curse
"The scouts have confirmed the town is under siege," Frederick said, "A rough estimate of thirty armed Risen, yet no obvious leader among them."
"Thirty?" Lissa said, a tinge of fear creeping into her voice.
"This will not be easy." Lon'qu sighed.
Robin kept his eyes on the trails of smoke in the distance. The Shepherds blazed down the southern road and were now closing on their destination. He'd wait to see the battlefield before working out last minute preparations. Even so, several strategies were being formed with the troops he had. Eight soldiers against that many Risen? Would that even be possible? We'd have to find a choke point, and then…
Doubt began to set in where excitement had been only yesterday. To abort the mission now would be dooming all the people within. Robin took quick glances at his allies around him. He grimly realized the exact thoughts were on everyone's minds. Chrom caught his glance. With an unspoken agreement, they kept walking.
Ludwig was a small town bordering the southern sea. Even though it didn't touch the sea itself, the river that flowed straight through the town was a valuable passage from sea to land. In its center was the tallest building the town had, a temple to Naga. The humble harbor was familiar to Robin, as it was the very first battlefield he'd shared with Chrom. As they approached the entrance, it didn't look much better from the first time he had paid a visit.
It was worst. Instead of the raging fires and chaos Robin had expected, the smoke that rose from the quiet streets were only the embers from already demolished homes. Unmoving bodies lay strewn about, either burnt or surrounded by dried pools of red on the gray cobble floor. Ravens scavenged the destruction in droves, the only sign of life in the area. Below the street level, the gutters guiding clear blue water swept past a broken watermill wheel wedged in the stream.
Chrom waved the convoy to stop, drawing his falchion before continuing. Everyone followed with added caution. The pungent stench of rotting meat hit Robin like an arrow piercing into his nose. He made toward one of the bodies with a sleeve to his face. A trio of crows squawked, echoing through the silent town, and flew away from the wrinkled woman on the ground. Robin needn't even kneel to examine. What he was looking for was very apparent, giving him both disgust and a dozen questions.
He found everyone had been watching him. "What is it?" Chrom asked.
Robin removed his sleeve shield. "This corpse… it looks like it's been decomposing for at least a week."
Vaike hefted his axe onto one shoulder. "De-com what'n?"
"They've been dead for several days." Frederick remounted his horse from also examining a corpse.
"B-but how can that be possible?" Mirabelle said. Her horse uneasily buckled from under her.
Frederick only shook his head. "I do not know. Either misinformation, or…" He trailed off in worried thought. No one was able to finish for him.
Robin ran a hand through his hair. He didn't know how to even begin rationalizing this, unless this elderly woman was a risen herself. That seemed unlikely… and what of all the others lying here? Something was amiss.
Tharja whistled, a rare occurrence, and marveled at the destruction before her. "Guess we were too late for this one. The whole town's deserted. Let's leave before the stench sticks to my robes."
"No." Chrom continued walking. "We're not leaving until we find survivors."
An audible 'tch' resounded from the dark mage. "If there are any survivors."
The band of soldiers followed their leader into the decrepit ruins. For every home still standing, two were piles of black lumber. The roof in the middle of town alluded that the temple was still standing. They made toward the structure, sure that anyone left would've held up there. They had been right.
Lissa stifled a gasp as the Shepherds rounded a corner to see the open courtyard leading to the temple. The building before them was still standing, windows smashed and boarded up, but in relatively good condition compared to its neighbors. However, it was also surrounded by what seemed to be a writhing mass of armored and naked flesh. The risen hadn't been roaming the streets because they were all congealed here, clawing at the stone that separated them from what they were after.
Chrom turned to him, a bead of sweat running down his forehead. "Any ideas, Robin?"
It was worse than he'd imagined. There would be no opportunity to pick any off without drawing all of their attention. All at once, he needed to defeat them all at once. His eyes wandered to the small bridge connecting the courtyard to the temple. He'd never lost a soldier before, and he wasn't about to today. "We'll move as close as we can. Stop at the bridge and hold that line. Frederick, Lon'qu, and Vaike will be the frontline. Lissa and Mirabelle, you support them as much as possible. Tharja and I will attack from behind the front lines. Chrom, you switch in with anyone who needs it."
They listened intently to their orders. No one questioned the tactician's judgment, and accepted their roles, even Chrom who knew he'd been put in the safest position. When all preparations were finished, they got into formation. "Ready?" Robin asked.
Chrom nodded. Frederick and Mirabelle sped down the courtyard toward the bridge, parking their horses behind a market stand holding rotten fruit. Robin led the footmen into the open ground, ducking down behind barrels and stands. The closer they got the more red eyes Robin could see glancing toward them. The mob didn't move however, not yet. The small band was only a few steps away to the bridge. Robin gave the signal.
"Chaaaaaarge!" Vaike cried out, brandishing his axe as he rushed the bridge. Lon'qu followed the barbarian, out sprinting him to plant his feet in the middle of the bridge. Frederick was a blur as he kicked his stead into action. Robin ran as fast as his legs could take him. He took his position behind Frederick, glancing behind him to find all the Shepherds in place. But when he turned around, a chill ran down his spine.
Dozens of red eyes stared directly at him. The Risen had barely made a move. They only stared, unbreathing as statues for only a split second more, before an eruption of ragged shouts passed through each of their dusty throats. They lunged forward in varying speeds, the least decomposed rushing forward with rusted swords.
The first were dealt with quickly. Frederick's armor reflected a weak swing with little damage before he stabbed his own weapon deep into the Risen's torso. Lon'qu side stepped the vertical strike of a longsword and cut the wielder in half. Vaike merely took the hit with gusto, returning the favor with a crushing strike that sent the opponent spiraling off the bridge. Robin kept a watchful eye on every move, swing, and dodge. These Risen were less combat effective than others they'd previously fought, but that only granted them a chance at victory. He knew the true obstacle of this situation: sheer numbers. Three had been slain, and three already took their place.
"Arcfire!" Robin shouted. A ball of fire flung from his hand to engulf the soldier in front of Frederick. It fell to its knees, grasping toward the sky before collapsing to the floor. On the edge of his vision, Robin caught the green hue of a healing stave treating Vaike's wounds. The struggle raged on, the Risen slowly pushing them back by their sheer combined strength. Robin put a hand on Frederick's horse, as if that would stop it from inching back in fear. At some point, Lon'qu had become injured and was being tended to by Lissa. Chrom now stood in his place, valiantly chopping down the endless waves of undead. The line was slowly retreating back into the courtyard. Fatigue would soon set in, along with wounds that simply couldn't be healed fast enough. They needed a fast victory.
An idea struck him that was both obvious and practical that Vaike had already demonstrated. "Toss them off the side!" Robin shouted against the clatter of iron on iron. The three men on the frontline shifted their eyes behind them to see if their tactician was serious. Chrom and Vaike smiled.
"You heard 'em!" Chrom yelled. He flattened his falchion, stabbing just to the side of some Risen. With a loud grunt he shoved several Risen just to the bridge's edge. The bundle of twisted soldiers clumped together in a tangled mess.
"Class…" Vaike wound his axe. Chrom ducked just before the brutal swing. "…Dismissed!" He collided with the Risen, severing many in half and sending the rest plummeting to the water below.
Frederick followed his lord's lead, sweeping his spear sideways like a sword strike. The Risen lost their balance, either falling off the edge or to the bridge floor. Robin hurled another fireball to roast the prone soldiers. The satisfying plops of water below told of an effective strategy. With the majority of the forces under them, the Shepherds pushed forward. The last of the Risen mob consisted of walking or crawling bodies that put up little resistance.
The fighting came to an end. They stared down at the dozen or so undead moaning in the water below. Cheers passed through the exhausted Shepherds. Robin instead let out a long sigh of relief. He stared carefully at the bodies that now rag dolled on the bridge. These Risen could have easily surrounded them, had they been able to push them out into the courtyard. This knowledge of barely surviving, like after many battles, kept Robin from fully celebrating. It didn't stop others, however.
"Woooo!" Vaike cheered. "Chrom, that was some serious team work back there! One-two punch and we sent them back to their watery graves! Haha!"
Chrom returned the gesture with a less boisterous tone. "I'm pretty sure it was Robin who had planted the idea in our heads. Good work everyone. Let's see if we can get in this temple."
"Yea but… I did it first…" Vaike grumbled. Lon'qu put a less than sympathetic hand on his comrade's shoulder.
The Exalt was just about to go to bash the boarded door when a voice came from within.
"H-hello?" The crackly voice called. "Who's out there?"
"Hello." Chrom said. "I'm Chrom. It's safe to come out now. How many of you are there?"
He and the survivor inside kept talking, and Robin was glad to leave diplomacy to the expert. The tactician sat on the wall's edge, staring at the Risen that clawed at the stone from where they floated on the still water. They looked different from any he'd encountered before. Their gray skins, the strange armor (even for ancient Risen) were foreign in these lands, and their boney frames lacked muscle of any kind. They were Risen, but not in the same vein.
Lissa bent over the edge to look down with Robin. She didn't dare sit. "Uh… do you think it's safe to leave them like that?"
"Maybe." Robin said absentmindedly. He was mentally tossing all the knowledge scholars had been able to gather on the monsters over the months.
"Robin?" Lissa said. "You have a nick on your cheek."
Robin shook his thoughts away and got to his feet. "Oh, I hadn't noticed." Lissa brought her staff and waved it about, releasing it's magic to swirl around him. He instantly felt better, revitalized from the exhaustion of battle. "You don't need to waste your stave on such a minor cut."
Lissa giggled. "We have plenty in stock, worry-wart."
Robin noticed Chrom had stopped talking, and joined him in front of the temple. The large wooden barricades creaked open, the head of a wary young man poking out from the shadows inside. The bags under the poor boys eyes told of restless nights and little sunlight. When he recognized them as who they said they were, he swung the doors fully open. Chrom slowly stepped into the dusty air. Robin followed, adjusting his eyes to the dim light. Dozens, no, a hundred people sat curled among each other on the temple benches and floor. Every one of their gazes pointed to the tactician and their ruler entering from the blinding light outside. A pit grew in Robin's stomach, an emotion which he couldn't quite pin down welling inside him.
"W-we've been in 'ere for days. I thought Gilligan road outta town to warn someone… what took you so long?" The young doorman asked. The man was more happy and curious than angry, but it didn't stop Robin from becoming frustrated at not knowing the answer.
2
"A week?" Chrom exclaimed. "That's impossible. Your messenger arrived only yesterday, and we departed soon after."
"These poor people…" Lissa said. The two healers went to healing as many wounded as they could.
"But it's the truth!" The young man said. "We ran out of food just yesterday. Please, have you any to spare?" With a limp arm, he motioned to the many kids and mothers. There were little men, and no elderly to be seen. Robin wondered just how many families have been torn apart.
Chrom immediately ordered Frederick to retrieve rations. "We'll escort you to the capital. Everyone's going to be ok."
The people gave no resounding cheer, but a wary relief passed through the crowd. They gathered what little belongings they had and began filing out into the courtyard. Robin watched as each face became illuminated by the bright rays of sunlight, their hands usually rising to their eyes to shield them. Many of them bore the indented cheeks of a starved beggar. They really had been in here for more than a few days.
"We're going to need more sta— what the?" Lissa shook her head from where she knelt above an unconscious boy.
Mirabelle looked over. "What is it?"
Robin walked over to where they were. "What's wrong?"
The blonde girl clutched her stave and recoiled from the boy she had been tending. On the child's chest was hideous mass of twisting veins under the skin. They were like roots, with the stem being a single point where the veins joined right above where the heart would be. Robin thought this alone was frightening, but soon put together why Lissa was so panicked.
"I- I couldn't heal it." She stuttered.
Mirabelle waved her own stave, releasing green aura to cover the boy. It did nothing to erase the nasty flesh. "What? There isn't a physical ailment in this land that a healing stave can't cure!"
"Maybe it's a birthmark…?" Lissa said. She stood up, inching away from the boy.
Robin's mind raced. He'd never seen a mark of this nature. Was this a disease? If so, was it contagious? Were we all infected the very moment they entered this temple? What if…
He rushed back outside. The blinding light topped off the headache that the growing questions had brought him. A hundred people stood about the courtyard, all of varying ages and states of health. Frederick handed out the last of their rations to as many people as he could, Chrom just a few feet away safely guiding citizens across the small bridge.
"Chrom!"
The blue haired prince turned from the urgency in his voice. "Robin? What's happened?"
Robin felt a sudden hesitation. He had to see it for his own eyes, had to be sure that Lissa wasn't right in that it was just an isolated marking on a poor child. The tactician grabbed the young man who'd open the door for them, apologizing as he ripped open the tattered shirt. "Hay, what're you-"
Just as he feared. The same marking, almost identical in shape, position, size, and color clung to the man's skin like a fleshy leech. Chrom only looked confused. "This. This exact marking was on another person." Robin spoke through quick breaths.
His friend was only more confused. "What are you saying? What is this?"
"I don't know. I think it's a disease, it could be contagious. We can't let them into the capital." Robin said.
"A disea- A mark- What? We're taking these people back to the capital, they need food and shelter." Chrom said. Robin occasionally cursed his friend's wits. Now was one of those times.
"Don't you see? This isn't natural. Lissa and Mirabelle couldn't even heal it. If this gets into the capital, who knows if it will spread?"
The white skin on Chrom's began to flush red. "I don't, and neither do you. This 'disease' could be anything. We'll worry about it once we get back, or even when we make camp but-"
"Uhh… Prince, sir." The doorman said, desperately covering his naked chest with the torn flaps of the shirt. His wary voice broke the spell the brewing argument had cast over Robin. He found many of the town's people staring at them, along with the Shepherds. He gulped down a knot in his throat. Perhaps they should've found a more private area. "That mark the white haired guy found… it's on most of us."
"Where'd it come from!?" Robin and Chrom spoke at the same time, remnants of frustration in their tone.
The man straightened up. "I-it started appearing when the Risen came! First only a few had it… but then more and more people just sort a… found it on themselves. No one's died from it, we don't think. It's just… there." He patted his heart. "… We're going to the Halidom, right?"
"Yes" Chrom assured.
"Chrom…" Robin said.
"My decision is final, Robin." Chrom said. Robin knew that stern look well. There'd be no more words that could dissuade him once his mind was made.
Frederick emerged from the crowd, his hulking armor almost shoving some off the bridge. The few undead that floated still moaned from below. "Milord, I agree with Robin."
"Thank you Frederick, but not… huh?" Chrom said. Both men stared at the third, not sure if they heard correctly. Robin wasn't able to remember the last time he'd heard those words from the knight.
Frederick sighed. "I apologize. If you order it so, I shall follow you. But you must understand this does not just concern these villagers. If our tactician is right in his guess, it could endanger all of Ylisse's people."
Murmurs rippled throughout the townspeople. Chrom became silent. The Risen moans were slowly drowned out by the crowd as the prince pondered. Shouts began to ring out.
"You can't leave us!"
"What about my child?"
"We're gonna die out here!"
Robin grabbed Chrom's shoulder, and in a low tone that sank below the shouts, "We'll leave the convoy with them, equip the remaining able-bodied. We have to investigate why all of this is happening, and I think we both know where to look."
Chrom said nothing. The crowd continued to grow more and more agitated. Frederick only stared at the prince. Lon'qu and Vaike stood on the outskirt, unaware of what the commotion was for. The undead moans mixed with the pleading shouts to create a symphony of voices that filled the air as the Exalt opened his mouth.
A crack of lightning burst out. Robin flinched at the flash of light that was birthed just to his flank. Silence blanketed the courtyard. The moans of the undead were gone. Tharja strolled back from where she had cast Thunder below the bridge. She closed the tome, hugging it to her chest as she leaned against the temple's wall. When the mage seemed to realize all eyes were on her, she gave a simple statement. "They were noisy."
Robin peeked below to find several bodies of both Risen and fish floating lifeless just above the still water. The villagers were quiet as Chrom began to explain the situation.
3
Robin stepped off the small barge that had transported them. No trees stood on the small island. Its rocky coastline blurred into the soil of a grassy plain with no definite end or beginning. The land sloped steadily up to the only hill that gently rose from the flatness. On it, planted firmly on the round peak, was the stone structure and its luminescence ring that lit the grass around it: the Outrealm Gate.
The Shepherds hiked the short trail to the base of the towering gate. "Welcome to the Outrealm Gate. Care to visit another world?" The familiar red head said. Chrom gave a look to Robin.
"Yes…" Robin began. "Have there been any new realms recently?"
Anna tilted her head. "Yes, in fact. How'd you know?"
Robin frowned. "Doesn't matter. Could you open the gate to there? I think it's causing some problems in the mainland."
Anna's bright smile didn't falter. "No time for pleasantries? My, it feels like it's been ages since my favorite business partners visited me."
"Every second might count." Robin replied. Anna went to fiddling with the gate, its blue light pulsating against the waning night. Behind him, the Shepherds readied themselves for whatever might be on the other side. Further in the distance was the thin strip of land that was Ylisse. Only the silhouettes of trees in the distance against the evening orange sky could be seen. The waters in between him and the country he'd recently taken to calling home were as still as the horizon, as if it were all only a painting of the actual thing.
Robin faced the gates once more, Anna smiling and gesturing a welcome invitation to step inside. Chrom sighed next to him, "I hope we can fix this," And stepped inside. In no particular order, they warily marched in to disappear into the light. Robin followed, fixating on the brightest point in the center of the swirling blue. It expanded with each step, encompassing his world with blinding white. The aquatic blue receded behind him, along with his world. Robin needn't walk anymore, he merely floated forward at a terrifying velocity. A speck of black pierced the light. Darkness grew just as the light had, expanding from the single point until it replaced all light. For a moment, Robin couldn't see anything. He stared ahead, hoping to not lose sight of where he would land, floating limply in the dark abyss until he finally saw something akin to floor tiles speeding toward him. Robin emerged into this new realm: A land of Risen, convoluted history, and everlasting dragons.
