CHAPTER 4: BREAK THROUGH THE GATES!

We arrived at Renvall early that morning. The area was heavily guarded with Grado soldiers and a new invention was introduced to us. The Ballista; a device that could shoot large arrows at long distances with great force. They were placed all over the area. When the battle started, me and Colm killed off an enemy archer who was riding one of the ballistas and got little Neimi in one. I remember how she shot an arrow at a soldier who was almost a mile away and killed him with a single shot. That's the moment Neimi realized she was a trigger happy lunatic. She shot rapidly at the enemies, never giving them time to recover.

"She's about as bad as Darian when she's around a bael." Joshua noted as we watched her laugh evilly as she took down another soldier.

"Geez! Is that really Neimi the cry baby?" Colm asked as she ruthlessly assaulted another soldier, laughing menacingly while doing so. "Remind me to not make fun of her anymore!"

Neimi's ballista was placed on the right side of the area. She had that side covered but we still had the left side of the battlefield to worry about. An enemy archer had already stationed himself on the left side's ballista and he was making good use of it. The worst part of it was we had to go over there in order to get to the castle. I hesitated to move any further but I managed to force myself to keep going. Ahead of me was one of our guys. A heavily armored knight named Gilliam. I had never talked to him before due to the fact that he was kind of scary looking. He always had this angry expression on his face that sort of said, "You come near me and I'll devour your soul." I'm not really sure he would say that or not, but that was the impression I had.

I was about to go over to him, but then I saw the archer on the ballista launch an arrow at him. "LOOK OUT!!" I shouted but it was too late. I watched as the arrow was deflected off his armor.

The arrows can't penetrate Gilliam's armor... I thought to myself. Then a grand idea came to me. I ran behind him and stayed close. Every step he took, I would take as well. It must have been an odd scene, but I honestly didn't care.

"What exactly are you doing?" Gilliam asked when he finally noticed me.

"Did you know that you make the perfect human shield?" I asked.

"I would prefer it if you didn't use me as a shield." I don't think he was too pleased by this.

"And get shot? You can't be serious!"

Gilliam didn't bother fighting with me. Instead, he continued marching towards the castle. "That's right!" I shouted. "You keep going Mr. Tank!"

"What's a tank?" He asked.

"A grand complement to you, my tankish friend." I replied. Seth's stallion ran past us. His horse dodged every arrow with elegance. Seth then threw a javelin at the archer on the ballista that killed him instantly. He then made his way over to the one leading the enemy army. The enemy leader was a cavalier and he was the only thing blocking our way into the castle.

Seth stabbed him with his sword but the cavalier was still standing. That's when Gilliam the Tank speared the guy with his lance right through the stomach. The cavalier went down and that was the end of that skirmish.

Colm began rummaging through the fallen cavalier's bags of equipment. "Colm, leave the dead guy's stuff alone." I said.

The blue haired thief pulled out an odd looking item. "I wonder what this is..." He said as he examined it.

"That's called a knight crest." Seth explained. "It's an item that allows cavaliers and knights to class change."

I gave him a puzzled look. "What's class change?" I asked.

"That's when we are promoted to an upgraded class that's more powerful than our last." The paladin tried to explain but I think he realized that I was still confused. "I'll explain this all to you some other time." He continued. "But right now, we must rescue prince Ephraim."

And so, we rushed through the castle gates and into its dark corridors. We were immediately greeted by another paladin. "Princess Eirika. And...is that you, Seth?" The paladin asked.

"Sir Orson..." Seth replied. "Why are you here and not with Prince Ephraim?"

Orson explained that he and Ephraim were captured by Grado forces and were held as prisoners in the castle. He managed to escape his cell but he said Ephraim was still in one of the deeper cells. He then lead us through the corridors to the where the cells were. As we walked, Eirika, Seth, and Orson talked with each other about some important stuff. I talked with Colm and Neimi.

"Hey, Darian, you want to hang onto this?" Colm asked as he handed me the Knight Crest. "I can't use it and it'll only weigh me down."

"Sure. I guess." I said as I took it from him and shoved it into my pockets.

Just then we stopped and Orson fled from us. "What's going on?" I asked. Not like I had to ask, the general in red armor standing before us answered that question.

"I am Tirado." He said. "Loyal and talented aide to Valter, general of the Grado army."

"Where is my brother?!" Eirika demanded.

"He's not here." The general replied. "The coward fled Lord Valter's pursuit. Somehow, he escaped the castle." He rambled on about some more stuff. Like how he told the villagers that they had captured him and his troops, and this was all a trap to get Eirika's bracelet. Then they destroyed the bridge, our only path to escape. Now we had no choice but to fight.

Our army charged forward and began attacking any enemy soldiers that got in our sights. I ran through a hallway that no one else had bothered to go to yet. It probably wasn't the smartest idea I had, especially when I saw most of the army heading off into another direction and no one followed me. I didn't think much of it though and continued my stride.

Just then, a warrior in a red jacket jumped in front of me and began swinging a sword at me. I blocked off his sword with my axe and pushed him back. I had a chance to look him over. He had short silver hair, red eyes, and he was much taller than me. (But I'm short so you can't use that as any form of measurement.) I would guess he was about the same age as me. Maybe slightly older.

While I was distracted, the guy pulled out a knife and threw it at me. The blade drove into my shoulder and I roared in pain. I pulled the knife out and chucked it back at him. He defected it with his sword and charged for me once again. Our weapons clashed against each other over and over. I had guessed we were on the same level of strength. Then he kicked me in the stomach, knocking the wind out of me. I fell to the ground, gasping for air. I looked up to see him raise his sword into the air, ready to bring it down on me. Just then, I heard the cry of a horse from behind me. I turned to see a white horse charge towards my opponent. Startled, the warrior backed away from the new attacker.

The odd thing about this horse was that it had wings. A Pegasus knight. I thought to myself. The rider of the Pegasus was a woman, no older than me. She had white armor and long green hair, tied back in a braided pony tail. She drove her lance towards my enemy but he managed to dodge the attack.

I quickly recovered from being kicked in the stomach. I took up my axe and charged at the silver haired warrior once more. He jumped back before I could properly chop him in half but I still managed to knick him across his gut. He fell to one knee and held his stomach were the cut was.

"KAEDE!!" I heard someone cry out. From the darkness of the hallway, I watched as a recruit rushed to the silver haired warrior's side. The recruit wore a red chest plate and shoulder pads but those were the only armor he had. His hair was of a light green and was short and spiky. "Kaede." He repeated once more. "We need to get you out of here."

"I'm fine." The warrior named Kaede said sharply. "I can still fight."

"You're going to bleed to death if you keep this up." The recruit protested. He helped him up and pulled him through the hallway. "Let's go!"

"Alright." Kaede snarled, finally realizing he was defeated. He then turned to me. "This is far from over, kid." The two disappeared into the shadows of the corridor.

"Thanks for saving me back there." I said to the pegasus knight.

"No problem." She replied. "I don't think I've introduced myself to you. I'm Vanessa, a knight of Frelia. You're that kid from the other world, right? I think you're name's Darian?"

I nodded. "Yep, that's me." Now that the introductions were made, it was time to continue the fight. I began running through the hallway once more. "Come on!" I called behind me. "Don't want to leave you in the dust."

Vanessa flicked her pegasus' reigns. "Let's ride, Titania!" she shouted. The pegasus neighed loudly and galloped beside me.

I took a sharp turn into another hallway, but I wound up crashing into someone else. We both were knocked down. I leaped back up and readied my axe, preparing to fight off another soldier if I had too. The person in front of me was a guy with short blue hair, blue armor and a black cape. He also took a battle stance with his lance that he held tightly in his hands. "Who are you?" He asked sternly. "You don't appear to be one of the enemies."

"One of the enemies...?" I repeated.

"Prince Ephraim!!" Shouted a cavalier that rode through the hallway. The cavalier had curly green hair and green armor. Another cavalier followed close behind him. This one had red armor, blonde hair that was held back in a pony tail, and looked like he was half asleep.

"Prince Ephraim? Are you alright?" The green cavalier asked.

"Yes, I'm fine, Kyle." The man I bumped into replied.

The red armored knight let out a yawn. "Hmm...I feel sleepier than usual." He said.

"Forde!" Kyle yelled. "Stay awake or I swear I'll-"

"Yes mother." Forde said with an annoyed yawn. "God forbid I get another scolding from you."

"You're Prince Ephraim?!" Vanessa cried out, ignoring the two cavalier's discussion. The prince nodded.

"This is great!" I said happily. "We're with Princess Erikia's army. We're here to rescue you. Eirika's going to be overjoyed!"

"Eirika's here? Take me to her!" He commanded. Vanessa and I lead them through the hallway, and back to the room where the battle first started. But the room now was completely deserted.

"Which way did they go?" I asked Vanessa.

"I don't know." She replied. "I saw you run off on your own and I thought you might need back up. I didn't pay attention as to where they went."

I started running down one random hallway. "Let's go this way!" I shouted.

"You can't be serious." Kyle said with growing irritation. "You can't just go through some random corridor and hope to find them."

"Do you have a better plan?" Forde asked. Kyle said nothing in retaliation.

The pain in my arm was beginning to worsen and a slowed down my stride as I gripped my aching shoulder.

"Don't slow down!" Ephraim shouted as he ran past me.

"Easy for you to say." I replied. Vanessa saw my exhaustion and pulled me onto her pegasus, Titania.

"Are you all right?" She asked. "The wound you sustained from that warrior's knife looks deep."

I wish she hadn't brought it up. I had tried pushing back the annoying stinging sensation that ran through my shoulder each time I moved my arm. "It's nothing." I said. She gave me a look that indicated that she wasn't convinced but she dropped the subject after that.

Kyle reached into his saddle bag and took out a roll of gauze and tossed to me. "Here, wrap yourself up with this before you bleed to death."

"I don't think it will hurt to slow our stride just a little." Forde said. "Surely you're getting worn out too, my Lord?"

"I am a little." The prince admitted. He began to slow down but still kept a quick pace.

I turned to Ephraim's two cavaliers and said, "I have a gift for you guys." They glanced over to me and I tossed Forde the Knight Crest I got from Colm.

"A Knight Crest!" Forde said excitedly. "Too bad I have no idea how to use it."

"Are you serious?!" Kyle asked in a peeved tone. I was starting to get used to that. "That was one of the first things we learned when we joined the army."

"Ah...I must have been absent that day."

"No. You were asleep. Just like always."

"That explains it then." Forde said with a chuckle.

"How do you use a class changing item, Kyle?" I asked.

"It's simple." The green cavalier explained. "All you really have to do is wish for it's power. If conditions are right, it will promote you to a stronger state."

Forde seemed bewildered. "Really? All I have to do is say "I wish I could class change." And then- Poof! I'm a paladin?"

"Well...Yes." Kyle replied. "That's about it in a nut shell."

Forde smiled. "Alright then. I wish I was a paladin!" There was a brilliant flash of light that engulfed Forde and his horse. When the light faded and I could see properly again, Forde's armor had changed. It looked heavier and more durable. And shinier. His horse also changed from brown to a white color. I was a bit confused by all of this.

"Hey! I feel a hundred times stronger!" Forde exclaimed.

"I think it's funny how you don't question why your clothes changed, or how your horse magically changed colors." I murmured.

"Forde!" Kyle cried out. "You aren't suppose to use them for just any moment. It should be when you feel absolutely ready."

"I did feel ready." Forde mocked.

"And class changing items only have one use! You may have just wasted it!"

Forde just shrugged. The two argued with each other for some time until we reached the end of the hallway. When we entered the new room, we found that it was a large area whose roof extended several feet off the ground. At the back of the room was a throne and sitting on the throne was the general, Tirado.

"What's our battle plan?" I asked.

"Kyle! Forde! Charge!" Ephraim commanded.

The two charged forward at the general. Tirado thrust his lance at Kyle and knocked him off his horse. Forde threw his javelin to try to distract Tirado from attacking the fallen cavalier.

"Darian! We're going to fly!" Vanessa said as she flicked the reigns of the pegasus. Titania neighed and flew into the air. There was enough space in the room for Titania to fly fairly high. Vanessa threw her javelin at Tirado but he knocked it away with the armor on his arms.

"He's got a tough hide." I said. It reminded me of the fight we had in Serafew. It took several of us just to take down the enemy leader there. We defeated him by breaking his armor and attacking his new vulnerable spot. I wasn't sure if we could pull that off again.

As Titania flew over the general, I leaped off of her and slammed my axe into Tirado's shoulder. Tirado screamed in pain and pushed me off. Titania did a loop in the air and dived down on him. Vanessa plunged her lance into the wound I had inflicted.

The general fell to one knee and gripped his injury tightly. I walked over to finish him off. As I lifted my axe, he threw his lance at me. Eprhaim pushed me out of the way just in time.

"Be careful." He said. It was stern but at the same time it was like a friendly warning. I smiled and the two of us moved at full speed. I slashed at the Tirado's chest but my axe was deflected by his armor.

"Fool!" The general laughed. "Did you honestly think you could penetrate my armor?"

"You're the fool." Ephraim said as he ran his lance through the General's exposed back. "Your armor leaves your back completely exposed. Then you turned all your attention to Darian. Never take your eye's off of your opponents. General Duessel taught me that important lesson."

Tirado fell to the ground, dead. Another victory for us. "We make a pretty good team." I said to the prince. "Same with you guys." I added as I turned to Vanessa, Forde, and Kyle.

"We should try to find the rest of our group." Vanessa said.

We heard the sound of battle in one hallway. We headed there and sure enough, the Renais army was finishing off the rest of the enemy soldiers.

I spotted Eirika and pulled Ephraim over to her. "Eirika!" I shouted excitedly. "I have a surprise for you! Merry Christmas!!" I practically threw Eprhaim at her.

"Brother!" She cried out as the two hugged.

"Eirika. I'm glad to see you safe." He said.

I felt some one whack my head. "Where'd you decide to run off to?" Ross asked. Joshua, Colm, Natasha and Neimi joined us.

"I went off on my own." I replied.

"Did you learn your lesson?" The journeyman asked as he pointed to the blood stain on my shoulder.

"Yeah, totally." I replied. Natasha gasped when she saw the injury I obtained and quickly went to work on healing me. I turned to watch Eirika and Ephraim's happy reunion. I couldn't help but feel happy too.


"I won again, Darian!" Ross said excitedly. We decided to settle down in the Renvall castle that night so we would be well rested for the march tomorrow. We were heading to Frelia to discuss our next plan of action. Our little group was hanging out in one room of the castle. I was sparing with Ross and once again it was a failure on my part.

Joshua sighed. "I don't get it. You can take down almost any enemy in front of you but you can't beat a twelve-year-old."

"Pretend he's a bael." Colm said with a snicker. But then he stopped and had a look of horror on face. "Wait! I take that back. Don't pretend he's a bael."

"Why?" Artur asked.

"I think Garcia wants' his kid to live through this war." Colm replied.

"Or not get killed by an ally." Neimi added.

"Would you guys just drop the spider thing, already?!" I screamed.

"You know they won't let you live that down." Lute said with a faint smile.

I sighed. "Yeah. I guess I should just get used to it..."

Vanessa and Forde walked over to our group. "I just heard that a lot of the soldiers managed to retreat." Forde said.

I shrugged. "Let them." I replied with little care.

"What about that silver haired warrior?" Vanessa asked. "I have a bad feeling about him. He sounded like he was out to kill you."

"Great job, Darian. Making enemies with everyone you meet."

"Shush Joshua!" I said. "Let him try. Bring it on! That's what I say to him."

"Let's not wish for un-needed danger." Artur advised.

I had to agree with Vanessa though. I had a feeling that that wasn't going to be the last time I saw that silver haired warrior, or the recruit that was with him. But next time I see them, I'll be ready for them.