"Finally, the castle," Hector said as he looked up at the castle that towered many yards away from the small group. Eliwood didn't say anything as he glanced up at the castle and let out a quiet sigh. "Are you alright, Eliwood?"
"No, I'm worried. What if this turns into a war?" he asked, glancing up at Hector, who grinned.
"I'd defeat them all!" he said and Eliwood would've rolled his eyes and laughed if he weren't so worried.
"Innocent lives for our silly politics? I want to end this quickly, not start another whole problem," he said quietly and Hector didn't say anything as he patted his friend on the back.
"Lord Eliwood!" Marcus said as he rode up to the two lords on his horse, for he had been up ahead, surveying the area. "A knight has ridden forth from the castle."
"Is he alone?" Eliwood questioned and Marcus nodded.
"Yes, he's asking to see you. I believe he is Marquess Laus's son, Erik," he said and Eliwood hesitated for a moment before nodding.
"Bring him here," Eliwood said and Hector groaned loudly as Marcus turned back around, riding off.
"I'm leaving, I don't want to see that annoying bastard again," he huffed and before Eliwood could say anything, he clambered off. Oswin chased after him and the two had a brief conversation before splitting up to survey the area. Meanwhile, the small group of comrades were all standing behind Eliwood and glancing around their surroundings. Marcus joined the small group moments later and he ushered for them to cross the bridge behind them, giving Eliwood and Erik more privacy.
"Eliwood, my old friend, how have you been?" Erik asked, giving him a fake smile as he got down from his horse.
"What are you and your father planning?" Eliwood asked Erik and he looked taken aback, expecting Eliwood to be less wary.
"Hmm, I had hoped to wait until you'd told me of Ostia, of whether or not you've spoken with the Marquess," he said and Eliwood's eyebrows bunched up in confusion. "Eliwood, I've always despised you," he spat. "And finally, the day comes, when I get to defeat you!" he said and laughed. As Eliwood took a step forth, opening his mouth to say something, Hector walked up next to him, glaring at Erik.
"Too bad you won't live to see the end of it," he hissed and Erik stiffened.
"H-Hector! Wha-have you spoken with Ostia already?"
"Maybe we have, maybe we haven't," Hector said mysteriously, smirking slightly. "Eliwood," he said, looking down at his friend beside him. "There are soldiers everywhere. They're hiding and waiting for an ambush."
Erik laughed again. "You don't stand a chance! You and what are me?"
"That army," Hector said with a grin, jabbing his thumb behind him. Erik looked at the small army and burst out laughing.
"You've got to be joking! I thought that was a circus!" he said, snickering, and Hector let out a wordless growl, stepping closer to Erik. He quickly stopped laughing and gulped nervously before jumping back up onto his horse. "You will die!" he shouted as tugged on his horse's reigns and it raised its front legs, neighing. He quickly turned around and dashed back to his castle, where his knights were assembling. Hector and Eliwood looked at each other before turning around and dashing off to their small group.
"Get your weapons!" Hector shouted as he ran into Merlinus's small blue tent, lifting it up by accident as he stood up. Hunching over and putting the tent back down, he walked out with his trusty Wolf Beil in hand. He let out a loud yelp as an old woman stood in front of him, her purple cloak hiding most of her grey hair.
"You scared me, old woman!" Hector huffed and she laughed quietly.
"A world of trouble you've landed yourself in, eh?" she asked in a raspy voice.
"Leave," he said, trying to shoo her off and she refused to move. "You'll die if you don't leave! Then again, you don't have much time as it is," he said as Eliwood walked up to him.
"Hector!" he said sternly and Hector pursed his lips as he looked at Eliwood. "There's no need to be so rude. I am Eliwood," he said, turning to look at the old lady with a charming smile. "I'm the Marquess Pherae's son. How may I help you, milady?" he asked and Hector snorted.
"My, what a polite young man," she said, giving him a smile that showed her teeth, or, at least what was left of them. "I'm Hannah, a fortune teller. I've come to help you."
"We don't need any fortune telling!" Hector snapped. "All of that's nonsense!"
Eliwood gave Hector a stern look before looking back at Hannah. "What kind of fortune telling?"
"I can tell you what weapons to take into battle, as well as who should wield them. Things of that nature," she said with a small shrug and Eliwood nodded thoughtfully.
"I see."
Hector gave Eliwood an exasperated look. "Don't tell me you believe any of this."
"We'll just have to see. Lady Hannah, you may stay with Merlinus," he said, gesturing toward the blueheaded merchant. She turned around and walked off toward him, and he allowed her into his small tent. The groups started to pass the bridges, split up into the two groups that Jasmine had split them up into.
"You better not mess up this time, Jasmine," Hector said as he glanced down at her and she didn't respond, looking away and ordering Dorcas to go down South. "Okay?"
"Okay," she murmured, still not looking at him.
"At least there's no fog," he said as he glanced around. "Maybe you won't mess up."
"I didn't see the snag," she mumbled quietly, but loud enough for him to hear.
"You're the tactician, and it's your job to make sure that we don't get a surprise attack from behind!"
"Well I'm not a perfect tactician, okay?" she grumbled, glancing up at him, looking a bit annoyed and frustrated with herself. He raised an eyebrow, expecting her to be angry at him, not at herself.
"Okay, okay, my bad," Hector said, lifting his hand that wasn't holding his ax. "Nobody's perfect, and you've been doing a pretty good job so far. Now, let's go kick some ass," he said with a grin, turning around and shouldering his ax. Laughing, she nodded and they walked off.
"Erk!" Serra squealed as she noticed a familiar purple-headed mage. He turned to look at her and he paled.
"Serra?" he asked as she bounced toward him, dodging an arrow that whizzed by her. Laughing, she pounced on him, giving him a hug and he grumbled a few words underneath his breath as she let go of him. "You're the last person I wanted to see."
"Aw, how sweet, you wanted to see me again!" Serra squealed and Erk rolled his eyes. "Hey, how about you join us?"
"What?"
"I'm sure Lord Hector and Lord Eliwood would appreciate it! Come on, I was your employer at one time!" she said, putting her hands on her hips. An enemy Cavalier rode toward them, lowering his sword down toward Serra. She looked at him and as she opened her mouth to scream, Erk raised his tome, murmuring a few words. The Cavalier let out a shriek as a thunderbolt jolted through him and he plopped off his horse.
"I'll join under one condition," Erk said as he faced Serra. "My current employer is in a village down South. If you rescue her, I'll join."
"Perfect!" Serra said with a big smile before latching on his arm. "Now, you're going to protect me," she said, earning a loud groan from the mage.
"Serra!" Hector shouted in his booming voice and she turned to look at him in front of a fallen Eliwood. Without another word she dashed off toward them, tightening her grip on her staff. Erk started to go down South before meeting a knight, who tried to stab him with his lance. Dodging it, Erk raised his tome and he murmured a few words underneath his breath as he continued to dodge the attacks. As the knight raised the lance again, he screamed as the thunderbolt hit his head.
"Erk, is that you?" Jasmine called out from behind him as she exited a village, an iron blade in her hand. He turned around to face her and he raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"Jasmine?" he said as she started to walk toward him.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, her eyebrows bunching up in confusion as she reached him. As he opened his mouth to answer, she pulled down on his cloak and ducked, forcing Erk to duck with her. An arrow that was aimed toward them hit a rock, falling flat to the ground and the two stood back up. "Sorry, you were saying?"
"Maybe we should talk later," he said as he turned around, ducking a swing from a Cavalier's sword.
"Good idea," Jasmine said as she glanced around her surroundings.
"Oh," he said suddenly, glancing at her over his shoulder. "My employer is in a village down South. I need someone to go and get her," he said and he raised his tome, followed by a murderous shriek. Jasmine nodded before walking backwards, trying to get a better view of the landscape and the enemies.
"Marcus!" she shouted and as she started to run toward him, a raindrop fell on her head. Pausing for a moment, she looked up at the sky with a frown only to have another raindrop fall on her forehead. This one was followed by others and she looked back down to see Marcus looking at her expectedly.
"I need you to go to that village down South," she said, pointing to it. "Ask for someone named…" she trailed off, glancing back at Erk to see him battling an archer. "Ask for someone that Erk works for?" she said, sounding unsure of herself as she shrugged and Marcus nodded before pausing for a moment.
"Who's Erk?"
"Oh, that's Erk," she said, pointing to the purple-headed mage. "He's a mage, and he's going to join our group only if we get his employer."
"And his employer's the one that's in the village?"
"Yes," she said, nodding and Marcus nodded, turning around and riding off. Staring at the iron blade in her hand, Jasmine started to walk back toward Merlinus's tent to hand it to him.
"Where are my reinforcements?" Erik shrieked as he dodged a swing from Bartre.
"I don't know, my lord, there must be a problem," a Cavalier said as he swung his lance down, hitting Oswin on his armored shoulder from behind. As he turned to look at the Cavalier, Lowen came rushing forward and struck the enemy right beneath the armor. He shrieked as Lowen pulled the lance out and blood gushed out and onto the grass below.
"Good one, Lowen!" Oswin said with a smile and the teal haired boy beamed.
Hector raised his ax and ran forward, jumping up as he brought it down toward an enemy archer's head. The archer dodged it and Hector's ax, once again, got stuck down into the grass, which was now getting slimy from the rain. The archer took a few steps back as Hector struggled, putting his arrow on his bow and pulling his arm back. He fell over, an arrow sticking out of his neck before he could have the chance to let go. Rebecca smiled and put the back of her hand to her forehead, sighing in relief.
"Jasmine!" Marcus shouted as he battled a pirate. "Jasmine!" he shouted louder and the tactician ducked a swing from a hand ax before turning to look at him. "I need some help down here!" he shouted as he dodged the pirate's ax. Nodding, Jasmine turned to look at Guy and Matthew.
"Guy, Matthew, I want you two to go help Marcus," she shouted over the pouring rain and the two nodded, quickly finishing off the enemies they were battling before running down South. Guy nearly slipped on some mud, earning a laugh from Matthew as the two made it to the pirates and Marcus.
Eliwood slashed his sword forward and the archer took a step back, dodging the attack. Eliwood took a step forth, slashing his sword diagonally and the archer dodged it once again. Grabbing an arrow, the archer took steps forth, ducking the attack from Eliwood and he attempted to stab the lord with his arrow. Eliwood quickly slashed his sword through the arrow and it broke in half, falling to the ground.
"Eliwood, watch out!" Hector shouted and Eliwood turned to see Erik's silver lance swinging for his head. He ducked quickly and Erik stopped his horse, pulling his lance back. Eliwood quickly stood back up and stabbed the archer in the chest. Pulling his sword out of the fallen body, he turned to block the attack from Erik.
"Ha, you think we're still in school?" Erik said as he easily dodged Eliwood's attack. "I see you didn't learn much, judging from your attacks!" he said with a grin as he dodged another swing and he urged his horse down, for it's front legs had been up in the air, dodging the attacks. Swinging his lance down, Eliwood barely dodged it and he didn't have any time to dodge the next attack, hitting him in the arm. "First I'll kill you, then that bastard Hector!" Erik said as he swung his lance down once more but it was blocked by a side of an ax. Pulling back as Hector jumped up in the air, he was hit on the head by the side of Hector's ax. He fell off his horse and lay in the muddy grass, unconscious. His horse neighed before turning around and running off, a hoof stomping on Erik's back. Matthew laughed at the motion as he walked up to the rest of his group, Guy, Marcus, and Priscilla following.
"Serra!" Hector shouted as he noticed Eliwood's bleeding arm and she rushed over a few moments later.
"Nice one, young master!" Matthew called out as he looked down at Erik and his eyes widened at the silver lance, which had fallen down with its owner. "Ooh, that looks nice," he said and walked over to Erik, ducking a swing from an axe man. He grabbed the silver lance, examining it and smirking.
"What are you going to do with that? You can't use a lance," Hector grumbled as he heaved his ax onto his shoulder, glancing down at Matthew. Eliwood was fully healed and he stood back up, thanking Serra.
"I could give it to Marcus or Lowen. Probably Marcus, this thing's pretty heavy," he said before shouldering it, grinning at Hector. He rolled his eyes and snorted.
"C'mon, we don't have time for this."
"We're almost done," Matthew said in a matter of a fact tone, gesturing toward the only enemies left. Dorcas and Oswin were battling the axe man whilst Rebecca and Lowen were battling the Cavalier. "There's only a Cavalier and an axe man left. Oh, make it just an axe man," he said as the Cavalier fell off his horse. "The axe man should be easy to defeat," he added and Hector nodded.
"Yeah, I'm sure-hey!" he glared down at the thief. "Not all axe men are easy to defeat, especially not me!"
Matthew snickered. "That took you a moment."
"Are you calling me stupid now?" Hector huffed and Matthew only grinned before dashing off. "Hey! I'm talking to you!" he said as he chased after him.
The axe man fell as both Oswin's lance and Dorcas's ax pierced through him. Finished with the enemies, everyone regrouped near the entrance of the castle before going inside, dragging Erik inside as well. They searched the castle for Lord Darin, and in the end, never found him.
Erik groggily sat up, holding the back of his head and wincing. He groaned and he placed his hands on his back, feeling the pain his horse had left. Hector heard him and turned to look at him.
"Ah, you finally woke up from your nap," he said with a grin and Erik looked at him, his eyes widening as he stood up.
"Hector! What are you doing here?" he questioned, glancing around his surroundings. "Get out, this is my castle!"
"Tell me, Erik, where is your father?" Eliwood demanded as he walked up to the two, standing beside Hector. "We've searched the entire castle, and nobody's here."
Erik's eyes bulged. "Don't be silly! My father would never abandon…Ephidel," he muttered, looking away and Eliwood furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.
"Ephidel? Who's that?"
Erik didn't respond and Hector took a step forth, his eyebrows furrowing. "Speak, you vermin! I'll kill you right here and now if you don't!" he snarled, balling up his hands into fists, and Eliwood put a hand on his friend's armored chest.
"Calm yourself, Hector," he said and Hector let out a wordless growl, shrugging Eliwood's hand off as he took a few steps back. "Erik, you must tell us everything you know."
"Ephidel…he came a year ago, and my father…" he was hesitant and looked like it pained him to speak of this. "Changed. Ostia's position had always bothered my father, but he'd never go so far as to speak of rebellion."
"Rebellion?" Eliwood said, his eyes widening as did Hector's.
"Ephidel had something, and with it, he convinced my father to set the plan in motion. He sent many envoys to the other marquesses, and Marquess Pherae approved."
"What?" Hector said as he raised his eyebrows and Eliwood looked utterly stunned for a few moments before shaking his head vigorously.
"My father would never do such a thing!"
"I don't care whether or not you believe this. It's the truth," Erik said with a shrug. "Your father came months ago to speak with my father. They argued that day. Marquess Pherae didn't trust Ephidel, and he tried to convince my father to have Ephidel go back to the Black Fang. My father refused and Marquess Pherae left the castle. I haven't seen or heard of him since. He's probably dead," he added with an evil smirk and Eliwood furrowed his eyebrows, taking a step forth.
"My father is not dead!" he said and Hector put a big hand on his shoulder.
"Shut up, Erik, Marquess Pherae is still alive!" he snapped, glaring at Erik.
"Eliwood said he wanted to hear the truth, and I gave it to him. I doubt Marquess Pherae is alive. He betrayed them, and they wouldn't let him live!" he said and laughed loudly like a maniac. Eliwood stood limp for a moment before turning around and dashing off, slamming the double doors open as he ran outside.
"Eliwood!" Hector shouted, chasing after him. He ran out of the castle to find Eliwood's back to him, his fists clutched by his side.
"My father is alive," he said in a strained voice, turning around to face Hector. "He supports rebellion…there must be a reason…there has to be," he mumbled, running his fingers through his hair.
"I know," Hector said gently. "We'll find your father and discover the truth. We'll talk to my brother after that."
"I'm sorry," Eliwood murmured, looking down at the ground, looking like he was on the verge of tears. Hector put his hand on his shoulder.
"I don't want any apologies! I came here to help, and I'm helping!" Hector said with a reassuring grin. "Your father's alive, and we're going to go get him!"
"Yes," Eliwood said, managing a small smile as he glanced up at his friend. "Thank you, Hector."
"What else are friends for?"
"It's so nice to have a castle all to myself," Serra chirped as she sat down on the couch beside Erk. "I could get used to this." Erk sighed and rolled his eyes, standing up and starting to walk away. Serra quickly stood up and chased after him.
"Leave me alone, Serra, I just want to read," he grumbled as she caught up to him and he looked at her.
"You read too much! Your head's going to explode from too much reading!" she huffed and he rolled his eyes.
"My head can't explode from reading too much."
"You never know," she said, waggling a finger in front of his face.
Grumbling a few words underneath his breath and tightening his grip on his book, he started to run. Serra tried to keep up and Erk took a sharp left, opening the first door he saw and he walked in. He quietly and quickly closed it, his back against the door as he listened for Serra with closed eyes. She was calling for him and as he heard her footsteps walk by, he held his breath. Once hearing the footsteps get farther, he let out a deep breath and opened his eyes only to have his jaw drop. Shelves surrounded him, books on every single one. Erk took a few steps forward, glancing around at the many books. He grabbed a number of them before plopping down on the sofa in the middle of the room. He put the pile of books on the table in front of the sofa, grabbing only one. Smiling, he opened the book and took a whiff of it. He quietly thanked Serra in the back of his mind.
The newest addition to the small army took a sip of her tea before gently putting it back down on the table. Rebecca sat next to her, eating an apple.
"It's a beautiful day today, isn't it?" Rebecca asked, glancing over at Priscilla beside her. She nodded, smiling.
"Yes, it is."
"Do you want to go play outside?" she asked, her eyes gleaming in excitement.
Priscilla shook her head, her short red hair swishing. "No thank you. I'm a bit tired."
"Oh, okay," Rebecca said, still remaining cheerful as she stood up. Lowen walked into the room, not even seeming to notice the two as he rummaged through the cupboards and he pulled out a couple of bananas. Peeling one and putting the others aside, he turned around and paused for a moment as he noticed the two girls.
"Don't mind us," Priscilla said and he took a bite of his banana.
"Do you want to go outside with me, Lowen? We can do whatever you want!" Rebecca asked excitedly and he smiled, nodding as he chewed his banana. Grabbing his handful of bananas, he followed Rebecca outside from the door in the back, by the kitchen. Moments later Marcus walked into the kitchen, his eyes scanning the room.
"Excuse me, Priscilla," he said and she turned to look at him. "Have you seen Lowen?"
"Yes, he just went outside with Rebecca," she answered and he mumbled a few words underneath his breath before turning around and walking off. Priscilla sighed quietly, putting her elbow against the table as she leaned her cheek against her hand.
Oswin, Dorcas, Bartre, Guy, Merlinus, and Matthew were all playing a game of cards together. Bartre groaned, grabbing onto his head as the cards continued to fling toward him.
"There are too many cards!" he huffed as he grabbed the handful that was waiting at his feet and he passed them to Matthew beside him. Matthew quickly traded a card with another before quietly grabbing a spoon from the middle. Unaware of this, the others continued to play the game. Dorcas noticed after a few moments as he handed Oswin a card from the deck and he grabbed a spoon. Guy grabbed one, followed by Oswin and Merlinus. Bartre paused for a moment, frowning.
"Why did you guys stop handing me cards?" he asked, lowering his hand that held his four cards to look at the five. Noticing that there were spoons in each of their hands, he groaned, throwing his cards to the ground, crossing his arms across his chest.
"You lose," Matthew teased with a grin and Bartre glared at him.
"This game is stupid!" he huffed, standing up and walking off.
"It's his loss," Matthew said with a shrug as he collected all the cards, putting them in the deck and shuffling them. "Let's see who loses next."
"What are we going to do? It's been days since we've been here and we don't know what to do!" Eliwood said to Hector, who could only shrug.
"Darin couldn't have gone far."
"Surely Lord Uther would've heard of this news! Why hasn't he showed any action?" Eliwood questioned, looking up at Hector curiously and confusedly.
"I'm sure he has his reasons," Hector said. "He has other concerns tying his hands right now."
"What do you mean?" Eliwood asked, frowning slightly.
"It's Bern. The King's been acting up lately, and we're worried about it. If he sees something wrong, he might invade. My brother's only recently become Marquess and head of the Lycian League. He can't allow another country to see any weaknesses."
"Hector, you're his brother. Won't people find it strange that you're not with him?"
Hector snorted. "I'm well-known as the lout. If I were at court, they'd sense something wrong," he said with a laugh and Eliwood gave him a small smile.
"You're not so proud of that reputation, are you?"
Hector shrugged. "Not in the least, but hey, I'm not going to change myself to please some royalties. I am who I am, and they just have to deal with it," he said with a large grin and Eliwood chuckled.
"Good, that's the Hector I know!" he said and there was some loud knocking on the door. "Come in," Eliwood said and Marcus burst into the room, a bit red-faced.
"Lord Hector! Lord Eliwood!" he said franticly as he rushed up to them.
"What is it, Marcus?"
"I've got news! A messenger from the East tells me that Castle Caelin has fallen to a surprise attack from Marquess Laus!"
"Caelin?" Eliwood repeated, his eyebrows jutting up and Hector shook his head.
"That bastard."
"Is Lord Hausen alright?"
"We have no news on Lord Hausen or his granddaughter, Lady Lyndis," Marcus said with a sad shake of his head.
"I never expected them to attack Caelin…" Eliwood murmured.
"What should we do?" Marcus questioned, looking at the two.
"They must be alive, right? There's only one thing we can do!" Hector said.
"We ride to their aid! There must still be time!" Eliwood said as he walked out of the room, Hector and Marcus hot on his heels. They quickly walked down the long staircase to find their comrades socializing by the fireplace on the sofas.
"We're leaving!" Hector shouted loudly and everyone turned to look at him. "Gather all your supplies!" he shouted as he reached the bottom of the stairs and the group quickly split off into the castle, into their rooms to gather their belongings. Hector, Eliwood, and Marcus followed suit, running into their rooms to gather their supplies.
Everyone gathered outside, putting most of the supplies onto the horses. It was only noon, giving them some time to march.
"We head to Caelin!" Hector shouted before turning around and Jasmine froze, her eyes widening.
"Caelin?" she said in disbelief, running up to the two lords in the front. "Why are we going to Caelin? Is something wrong? Did something happen?" she asked quickly, dashing up beside Eliwood, looking at the two lords as they faced her. They continued to walk on as they spoke, their comrades behind them.
"Caelin's been attacked by Marquess Laus," Eliwood said as gently as he could and she paled.
"What? Lyn-is she alright? What about Sain? And Kent? Wil and Florina?" Jasmine questioned desperately, looking at Eliwood for answers, her eyes pleading.
"I'm sure they're all fine," Hector said and she glanced up at him. "We have to hurry, though, and your questions aren't helping!"
Her gaze stiffened. "I'm worried about my friends, okay?"
"Well your worrying isn't helping them or us!"
"Hector's got a point, you know, Jasmine. We need to get there as fast as possible, and worrying isn't going to help them," he paused for a moment, giving her a gentle look. "I know you're close with Lyndis and all those others, but if we want to help, we must hurry," he said and Jasmine slowed down, separating from the two lords and instead getting mixed with her other comrades. Jasmine closed her eyes for a moment, stopping in her walk to take a deep breath. Opening her eyes a moment later, she continued to walk with her comrades and murmured something.
"Please be safe."
Lyn's coming up in the next chapter or two! I'm excited!