A/N:
Yeah, so I know we have two side chapters pretty close to each other. Shut up. At the pace I'm going, I think there will be about... 20 main chapters, so I feel a bit warranted in putting a few side chapters close to each other. Don't worry, I won't go overboard with them. Anywho, I've been playing a few of the GBA Fire Emblems on my own time and being really confused to all hell because I'd been playing so much of FE1 (which made me think inventory was smaller), and Fates (which put a ranged weapon triangle into my mind). So yeah. Anywho, enjoy. Yada yada. Word Count (1246)
"Yes this is the right route, how do you think I managed to smuggle myself into Archanea in the first place?" Their hunter posed, crossing his arms.
Iris looked around noting the thick woods surrounding their worn path. This area was known to be patrolled by bandits. Raids happened frequently. "There are other ways…" She suggested.
Kaiser just kept leading their group deeper and deeper onwards. "I thought you wanted to get to your brother as fast as possible?"
"Yeah, but…" There was a moment of hesitation in her voice. The princess just kept looking around nervously. "I mean, we don't know what's out there for us, right?" She laughed nervously at that point. "Hey, Em, you got the height advantage. Why don't you, uh, scout out for us."
The pegasus knight never asked any questions of her friend. "Of course, milady." Though the title was something she never addressed Iris with on their own, and was said in such a mocking manner.
Iris breathed a sigh of relief when Aemilia took off, though when she looked back at her comrades, she was met with suspicious looks. "What?"
Celeste, quite unused to seeing this side of the princess asked the thought which plagued her mind. "Why are you so nervous?"
"Ah she's just afraid of the woods at night." Rufus answered, quite proudly, earning him a quick smack to the back of his head by Algar.
"Oh, so our little princess is afraid, eh?" Kaiser taunted.
"I am not!" Iris declared with a stomp of her foot. Though it was the rustle of the branches overhead that sent noticeable shivers down her spine. "Okay, so maybe I've had a few bad camping trips with Harold in the past. But that doesn't mean I'm afraid!"
The sound of pegasus wings signaled the return of their little scout. "I've spotted some campfires not too far out from our position. I dunno how many bandits there may be, but one of them was definitely not a bandit encampment."
"So who is it?" Iris asked.
"Hey, you're the leader of this party." Aemilia said, sticking her index at Iris' chest. "You make the decision."
Iris looked to Diana for guidance. The halberdier didn't give a verbal answer. She merely nodded, indicating Iris make her own decision on this. When the wind picked up again, Iris decided it was time to press on. "Well, they aren't bandits, so perhaps they could be allies. We won't know until we see." So the princess pressed forward.
Of course Aemilia was right for once in saying the camp wasn't too far ahead of their current position. Usually she was so vague, it was hard to tell. It was a man with short black hair, sitting in front of what looked like an arms tent, eating some roasted hare. He looked up, seeing the approaching party and actually waved them over. When they came close enough, the man stood up, offering a greasy hand to Iris. "Hey, good to see some honest folk out on the road for once."
Iris didn't accept the hand, but she did give a smile to the man. "Indeed." She agreed, warily eyeing him over. "What are you doing out here on your own, sir?"
"It's Jake." He said. "And I'm transporting goods for my fiancée's shop."
Diana took the moment to step into this conversation, putting herself between the man and her lady. "That is most dangerous work. And you are aware of the dangers on this road in particular, yes?"
Jake just waved the woman off. "There's danger everywhere these days. And with my girl, time is money. Might as well take the quickest route."
The woman crossed her arms, finally ceding to the man. "Interesting logic you have there."
A glint caught Iris' eyes, taking her attention away from the rest of the group. She took a few cautious steps forward, jumping back at the sound of a snapping branch. "Um… I don't think we're alone here…"
"You're just being paranoid, Iris."
Fwip!
An arrow landed right by the boots of their newfound friend. "Everyone, to arms!" Iris commanded, before anyone could even flinch.
Now thankfully Iris had an iron sword with her at that moment. The brigand which rushed out could have cleaved her in two, and Iris was none too fond of being patched up again. She countered his charge easily, moving around the man and striking at his side. She hadn't killed him right there, but he would bleed out eventually, and there were things just a little more attention worthy than mercy kills at this moment. For example: the archer who was lining up his shot at the merchant.
These woods were not easy to move through, but she had to protect that man and the rest of her party. Iris slashed her way through the brush, managing to tackle the archer to the ground just as he made his shot. The arrow whizzed by Jake's head, and he hit the ground hard in order to avoid any other things like this.
Iris, meanwhile, plunged her sword through the archer's chest, looking out for any other bandits that might be out there, but by the gods was it impossible to see through this darkness. She could hear her comrades fighting out there, but some backup of her own would sure be nice.
A light pierced this dreadful dark. Iris made her way towards the light, finding another one of these damned bandits. Of course, he saw her before she did him. The axe thrown at her was none too welcome. It actually grazed her left thigh. She'd live of course, but the initial sting was enough to take her mind off the battle for a split second. That's when an arrow managed to graze her cheek.
The beat of hooves from behind was accompanied with a flash of green, and Algar, moving into the clearing ahead, cut down this pain of an archer, leaving Iris free to deal with that brigand she had a vendetta against.
One after another, they crawled out of the darkness towards their group. For a while, it seemed like this would never end, but their leader showed his ugly face. The silver hair of an elder man, looking them down with his blinded eye. The scowl could pierce anyone's armor all by itself. "And here I thought we could make out rich today!" He growled.
Iris groaned to herself. At least they had Abner with them now. He'd been invaluable in these last few encounters. They could take that bandit. So she led the charge. Iris struck first, moving enough away for Celeste to cast one of her curses upon the man, and rounding back to take the man from behind while he was focused on the pesky knights who kept throwing javelins his way. All together. That's how they could accomplish anything.
The sun peeked out from behind the trees, and the forest was clear.
The group met back up with that man they were so eager to protect, and he was certainly thankful. "Great to have people like you to protect me. Hey, mind if I stay for a while?"
"But don't you have goods to deliver?" Iris asked.
"Well I'm sure travels will be much easier with someone like me around. Besides, traveling with you, I'm sure I'll find Anna that much sooner!"
Kaiser covered his face with his hands, seeming to cry into them.
A/N:
I'm pretty sure most of you are aware of how Jake is one of those recurring characters in this series along with our dear RNG Goddess Anna. Sure, he doesn't make appearances as often, but he's still there in a lot of games. I was gonna put Anna in charge of the convoy, but she's already on the save screen, and secret shops. So yup, Jake's the convoy! To be fair, I barely used him when he was playable in the Marth games. He was and will forever be a subpar unit.
Anywho, I hope you enjoyed.
As always, be sure to leave a review, follow, favorite. Stuff stuff stuff.
This is your lovable Squishy wishing you all a wonderful day! :D
