Author's Notes:
So it's been a while, at least by my standards, since I've last posted a chapter. However, it's not really realistic for me to post a chapter every couple of days in the long run. As the chapters begin to go deeper into the game, there will be increasingly more things to write about in every chapter, which will probably mean it will take a similar amount of time to post a single chapter.
That being said, I get the feeling that the next chapter will contain a little bit of fluff as well as the procession of the plot.
In the meantime, enjoy chapter 9.
Inside Ylisstol's Castle
Chrom and the shepherds had just returned to Ylisstol. They first stopped at the shepherd's garrison and Chrom dismissed most of the shepherds. Most of them were eager to have some well deserved rest. After asking Sumia and Stahl to find an empty room for the new shepherd, Donnel, the prince led Frederick, Lissa and Robin to the castle. However, Frederick and Robin have elected to wait outside the throne room as Chrom went to give his report.
Emmeryn greeted them when they entered the throne room. Chrom grinned, and announced that Regna Ferox will forge an alliance with Ylisse.
Emmeryn's lips also moved up slightly in a smile. "Then Regna Ferox will support Ylisse? Thank you Chrom. I knew sending you was the right choice."
Chrom scratched the back of his head. "Well, I wouldn't have been able to convince them without the help of the shepherds, and especially not without the help of Robin."
Suddenly, the captain of the Pegasus knights, Phila, ran in urgently. "Your Grace!" she began, before noticing Chrom as well. "Milord! Forgive me, but I bring alarming news."
Emmeryn didn't panic. "Phila, slow down, please. What happened?"
"Plegian soldiers have been spotted inside our southwest border!" The blunette replied. "They attacked a village in Themis and abducted the Duke's daughter!"
Lissa thought for a moment. "The Duke's daughter? But… that would be Maribelle!" She turned to her brother. "Chrom! We have to do something!"
"There's more." Phila continued. "King Gangrel of Plegia claims that Lady Maribelle invaded HIS country. He demands we pay him reparations for this 'insult'."
Chrom shook his head. "And we're to believe a dastard like the Mad King of Plegia?"
Emmeryn held up her hand. "Peace, Chrom. We must keep our wits about us. All Gangrel wants is to provoke us as much as possible."
"We should put a sword in his gut and be done with it!" Chrom continued. "The Mad King has been trying to provoke war with Ylisse at every step! He won't stop until he drags this whole continent to hell with him!"
Phila nodded her head. "I agree with the prince, Your Grace. We must show the Mad King that his actions have consequences."
Emmeryn sighed. "I understand your feelings, Chrom. Truly I do. But if we give him the war he wants, then we lose, no matter what the outcome. Our last conflict nearly ruined the halidom. It left Ylisseans homeless and starving. We cannot repeat that mistake."
She furrowed her eyebrows in resolve. "I will offer parley with King Gangrel. We will meet with him tomorrow, at the Border Pass."
"Please reconsider, Your Grace!" Phila protested. "He can't be trusted to act in good faith!" "So then we are to just leave Lady Maribelle to die?" Emmeryn responded. "No, I cannot accept that."
Phila nodded. "Forgive me, I spoke out of turn. However, if you are going, allow my Pegasus knights to accompany you."
"I'm going too!" Chrom interjected. "I'll have the shepherds armed and ready, in case Gangrel tries anything."
"And I want to be there for both you AND Maribelle!" Lissa added. This brought a smile to the Exalt's face. "Thank you all. Your strength will be mine."
As Chrom and Lissa walked out, they were greeted by both Robin and Frederick.
"So how'd it go?" asked the tactician. "You were in there for a long time. And we saw Phila run past us. She seemed to be in a hurry to report something."
"We must inform the shepherds that we are going to be following Emmeryn when she parleys with Gangrel tomorrow." Chrom informed him. "Long story short, Gangrel kidnapped Maribelle but claims she was trespassing."
Robin frowned. "I guess we are expecting a fight then? I'll try to find a strategy that will give us the best chance of winning. Do you mind showing me a map of where we are going?"
Chrom nodded. "Yes, that is for the best. I will show you as soon as we get back to the garrison."
"If you'll excuse me, milord…" Frederick began. "I know your mind is already occupied right now, but as Robin and I were waiting outside, some of the palace staff informed us of a rumor circulating, about how there is a bounty of milady Lissa's head."
"M-me!?" Lissa stammered. "W-why?" Chrom shook his head. "You're royalty. That enough is a reason. I'll look into it and assign someone to guard her then. But for now, we need to make our way back to the shepherds.
"So how come there isn't a bounty on YOUR head?" Lissa protested to Chrom, only to find that he already began to walk away. "Hey! You big jerk! Get back here!" she angrily huffed after him.
Robin chuckled, and followed suit with Frederick. They began to head back towards the shepherd's garrison.
At the Shepherd's Garrison
Chrom had just informed the shepherds of their plans for tomorrow. Robin was in his room, studying the topography of the location and thinking of a plan, and Lon'qu was in his own room but other than that, everyone was present.
Aside from Vaike and Sully, who were excited about the prospect of another fight, no one really took the news too well.
"We just got back!" Stahl protested. "And we already have plans tomorrow?"
"I must admit, this would put my research behind quite some time." Miriel nodded in agreement.
"We have to do it for Maribelle, though. She's one of us!" Lissa interjected. This was met with murmurs of agreement and eventually, everyone conceded.
"Take the rest of the day off, everyone." Chrom said with resolve. "But be ready to march at a moments notice tomorrow."
As everyone left, Frederick approached Chrom. "Milord, I have finished talking with Lon'qu. He has agreed to accept your request."
Chrom nodded. "Excellent. Thank you, Frederick." The Great Knight bowed. "It is my duty to serve, milord. My only concern is if milady Lissa will have an issue with it."
Chrom laughed. "Knowing Lissa, I'm sure she'll be completely fine with it. Come, let's see if Robin has come up with a strategy yet."
The two made their way to Robin's room. Chrom knocked on the door, but received no response. Chrom walked in, and saw Robin sitting at a desk. The tactician was working hard, scribbling furiously on a piece of parchment.
He walked up to Robin and placed a hand on his shoulder. "So? How's it been going?"
Robin tapped his forehead a couple of times with the end of the quill pen. "Pretty good actually. The main thing that needs to be done is to conceal the shepherds at the beginning of the parley. This would allow us for maximal protection of the Exalt while not necessarily sacrificing the immediate trust of the Plegians. Let them believe we are really there to converse peacefully, but be ready in case they go back on their word."
Chrom nodded. "That is a good idea. I don't think I would have been able to come up with it had I been the tactician."
"But that's not all." Robin continued. "If the books I read here are correct, Plegia has multiple regiments of wyvern riders. Arrows and magic are good against them, but things will be a lot easier if we also have wyrmslayers and the like…"
"My falchion can easily cut through the hide of a wyvern." Chrom offered. "It was made to be able to damage dragons."
Robin let out a sigh of relief. "Well, I did not know that. It's extremely good for us, and it makes our chances of winning shoot up. Still…. I think it'd be good to check our armories. If we have one laying somewhere, we might as well bring it along."
Chrom nodded. "Right, I'll make sure Frederick does a sweep for us."
Robin smiled. "Thanks. That will be really helpful. I'll go around later and talk to everyone about their assigned tasks. Are there any special arrangements I should be aware of?" Chrom frowned. "Special arrangements?" Robin nodded. "Yeah, like anyone that you would like me to keep together in my strategy?" Chrom placed a hand on his chin in contemplation. "Oh, that's right. I assigned Lon'qu to be the personal bodyguard of Lissa." It was now Robin's turn to frown. "You gave that job to Lon'qu? He just joined the shepherds. You really trust him that much?" Chrom smiled and raised his hands defensively. "Look, I remember what we talked about. But I think it'd be weird to ask someone with us for a long time to look after Lissa specifically. And besides…" he continued. "If the West Khan was correct, Lon'qu is a very capable fighter. He'll keep Lissa safe."
Robin sighed in exasperation. "I guess having trust is what makes you such a great leader…." Chrom bumped his tactician's shoulder with his fist. "That might be, but we'd be nowhere near as effective without the guidance of a capable tactician." Robin grinned. "I guess you could say we are two halves of a greater whole." Chrom smiled back at him. "Yes, I suppose you can say that."
Later that night…
It was getting late, and almost everyone had retreated to their rooms for the night. Robin made sure to talk to everyone individually after dinner to give them their assigned roles for the following day.
Chrom was just about to return to his room at the Shepherd's garrison for the night as well. He found that sleeping here instead of at the palace put his mind at peace right before a long day's march. Suddenly, a short, male mage approached him.
"Captain! I'm all packed, we leave tomorrow morning, right?" the boy asked.
Chrom turned to face him. "Ricken? How did you…." he shook his head. "Well unpack your things. You're not old enough for this mission."
"But captain!" the boy protested. "You know my skill with magic! You know I can handle myself!"
Chrom sighed. "Yes, but I'll feel… safer knowing you're here, protecting the garrison." with that, the prince turned around and began to leave. "Be good!" he said as he waved his hand dismissively.
Once Chrom was out of earshot, Ricken began to pout. "Be good?!" he muttered to himself. "Well I'll show him just how good I can be!" With that, he went back to his own room to get a good night's rest. After all, if he woke up too late and missed everyone leaving, he would also miss his chance to prove Chrom wrong.
With that, the final two shepherds made their way back to their rooms. Despite the potential for war breaking out the following day, everyone slept soundly.
The very next day…
Chrom, Lissa and Emmeryn walked up to the Border Pass in plain sight of the Plegians. What the Plegians could not see were the shepherds stealthily tailing them from a distance in the heavy woods. The Plegians lying in wait licked their lips at the prospect of an easy assassination of the Exalt.
King Gangrel was the first to speak when the Ylisseans drew near. "What's this? The exalt herself in all her radiance? I fear I must shield my eyes!" He proceeded to laugh maniacally.
Emmeryn ignored him. "King Gangrel, I've come to find the truth of the unfortunate incidence between our two nations." She calmly replied.
An ebony woman with white hair spoke before the king could open his mouth again. "The truth? I can give you the truth."
Emmeryn frowned. "Perhaps milady could first share her name?" In response, she simply got a scoff. "You may call me Aversa."
Emmeryn nodded. "Very well, Aversa. Is Lady Maribelle unharmed?"
"Who?" King Gangrel frowned. "Oh, yes, the little blonde brat." He made a gesture towards someone behind him. A brigand nudged Maribelle forward a few steps. Her wrists were bound by rope. "Unhand me, you gutter born troglodyte!" she yelled in protest.
"Maribelle!" Lissa exclaimed when she saw her best friend. "L-Lissa?!" the girl in question stammered in surprise. "Darling is that you?"
"This girl crossed the Plegian border without our consent." Aversa continued. "And what's more… she wounded the brave, Plegian soldiers who sought only to escort her home…."
"LIES!" protested a furious Maribelle. "You speak nothing but lies, hag! Did they not teach you the meaning of the word 'truth' in wretched-crone school?"
Aversa shook her head. "You see? No manners at all. Such a nasty little bird just had to be caged…" Gangrel nodded in agreement. "Such a violent temper speaks of her guilt. This must call for a weighty punishment. And if she were to later confess to be a Ylissean spy?" he pretended to fan himself at the thought. "My goodness! It would take an act of CONSIDERABLE good faith to repair our relations."
"I have done nothing wrong!" Maribelle protested once more. "It is they who should confess! They are the ones that invaded Ylisse! They razed an entire village! When I attempted to intervene, they took me and dragged me across the border. Let the plundered shops and charred homes of the village serve as my proof!"
Gangrel only shook his head. "That only proves that Ylisse has a bandit problem… something I hear oft of late." He nodded in fake conviction. "But indeed, tonight I will weep salty tears into my pillow for your dead villagers."
"Your Grace, Please!" Maribelle begged.
"Peace Maribelle, I believe you." The exalt replied. She then turned to Gangrel. "I request that you release this woman at once. Surely you and I can handle these affairs without the need of hostages."
Gangrel only scoffed. "Without so much as an apology? Why should I even bother with a parley? I'm within my rights to have her head this moment and be back home by supper."
"You black hearted devil!" Chrom finally yelled. This caused the Mad King to snarl. "Control your dog, my dear, before someone gets hurt." he then recomposed himself. "Now, I'm thinking we can arrange a trade? Just give me the Fire Emblem, and I'll return this wench here in one piece."
Emmeryn frowned. "You would ask for Ylisse's national treasure? But why?" At this, the Mad King began to laugh. "Because I NEED the emblem!" He waved his hand dismissively. "You don't need to know the details, but it's one more part needed for my plan to come together."
"The Emblem is meant to save the world and its people in the hour they need it the most." Emmeryn replied. "I cannot give it to you."
"Plegia has not forgotten what Ylisse has done to them." Gangrel continued. "Someday, we will return to her what she has done to us, tenfold! Now give me the Emblem!"
With that, several Plegian soldiers rushed forward. Chrom slashed the first one that ran at Emmeryn down. "Stay back! Otherwise you all will suffer the same fate!"
Gangrel laughed as his soldiers began to surround the three Ylisseans. "Now that's a declaration of war if I've ever heard one! A big, messy war that will bleed you Ylisseans dry! Tell me, what do you plan to do? You can't win against all my soldiers; you're just three helpless people." He raised his sword in the air. "Charge! Kill all three of them!" His soldiers responded by cheering as they ran towards the seemingly unprepared Ylisseans.
The Mad King laughed. "I have my war! Captain Orton! I'm returning back to the palace. Stay here and kill as many Ylisseans as you can! You can expect reinforcements from the forts." With that, the king left, with Aversa in tow. The soldiers rallied around Orton the wyvern rider and prepared to follow his lead.
Suddenly, a trio of cavaliers rushed out from the woods to the Plegian's right. The Plegian soldiers were caught off guard and two axemen were immediately killed by Frederick's silver lance. Another was stabbed and slashed by Sully's iron lance and Stahl's new wyrmslayer. (Frederick had rummaged through the entire royal armory to find it.)
On the Plegian's left, Kellam seemed to appear out of nowhere and slammed his shield into an unsuspecting lancer. This bought enough time for Donnel to run in and stab the soldier through the chest, killing him instantly. Nearby, Vaike cut down another axeman while being supported by Miriel from afar. A few steps away, Sumia pulled her lance out of the chest of a Plegian mercenary trying to run at the blonde axe fighter.
Arrows flew out of the woods at the soldiers charging head on towards Chrom. As many of the Plegian soldiers drew close, two figures ran out to join the blue haired prince in the defense of Lissa and Emmeryn. Robin whirled his scythe around, easily dismembering an enemy mercenary. As the blade cut through the Plegian's arm, the flesh around the wound began to turn pale. Robin finished the soldier with a clean slash across his throat. Meanwhile, Lon'qu's killing edge was a blur, felling two enemy axemen in the matter of seconds.
In the chaos, Phila was able to fly in on her pegasus and she promptly escorted the Exalt to safety. They landed a few hundred meters away. Her pegasus knights, unfortunately, were unable to contribute too much, other than distract the majority of the wyvern riders. Although pegasi have a speed advantage, wyvern's are, in general, much tougher and durable than a pegasi. All it takes is one good swing from an axe and a pegasus knight would fall to her death, whereas several strikes with a lance might barely scratch the tough hide of a wyvern. Nevertheless, they did relieve some pressure from the rest of the shepherds.
Chrom looked at the organized Ylisseans beating back the Plegians and looked up at Orton with a smirk. "Helpless, am I right?"
A few moments earlier….
The shepherds were all lying in wait, watch Robin for a signal to attack. Many of them heard Gangrel and Emmeryn's conversation, and couldn't help but feel angrier and angrier. Stahl had to hold Sully back because the redhead was about to explode in frustration. Frederik was in a similar position, feeling quite unsettled by the way Gangrel was talking to the royal family.
"Hold on for just a bit longer." Robin whispered to those around him. "We have the advantage in the sense that Gangrel doesn't know we're here right now. If we utilize the advantage of surprise, we can take down many of them before they're organized enough to launch a counterattack."
Although it was difficult, the shepherds listened to Robin's advice. They clenched their teeth and held on.
Robin felt quite confident that his plan would work. He already knew the general location of Maribelle because it was displayed as a green unit on his Hekseer. They would take down the Plegian force first, and then go straight for Maribelle. What he did not notice was a second green icon waiting just a short distance from her location...
Finally, Robin saw the Mad King leave as waves of Plegian soldiers began to run towards Chrom, Emmeryn and Lissa.
"Now!" he shouted. "Remember what you've been assigned!" With that, the shepherds instantly mobilized, and began to move in a pincer formation. Robin ran towards Chrom with Lon'qu tailing close behind him and began to engage the enemy.
Meanwhile…
Ricken was extremely impressed with himself. He managed to find out Robin's plan by simply bribing Stahl with some food. He realized that the shepherds were supposed to stay hidden, and used this information to sneakily move around both the shepherds and the Plegians.
Finally, he ended up about a hundred meters away from Maribelle and the brigand assigned to guard her. He patiently bided his time, waiting for Robin and the others to make a move first.
Finally, the Plegians began to stir. 'Robin must have made his move.' Ricken thought to himself. He heard the brigand guarding Maribelle muttering something to himself about "not getting to have any fun."
Ricken took out his Elwind tome and prepared to cast a spell. "Take this!" he yelled, startling both the Plegian and the girl he'd been guarding. He threw a blade of wind with perfect accuracy, ripping through the pectoral muscles of the guard, instantly killing him.
"Ricken?!" Maribelle exclaimed in disbelief. "What are YOU doing here?" Ricken simply laughed. "C'mon, we can talk about it later, let's get out of here first!" He drew a small knife he'd kept from breakfast just for this moment. After cutting the ropes binding Maribelle's hands, he grabbed one and pulled her towards the direction of Chrom and the shepherds.
Back with Robin…
They had been fighting for about fifteen minutes now. The shepherds, having fought off the primary wave of the Plegian assault, had extremely high morale as they grouped around Chrom, Lissa and the Exalt.
"What do we do now?" Chrom turned to Robin. "Now…" Robin began as he fished out his Hekseer. "We send Sumia with Chrom to… here?" He looked at the map displayed by Hekseer in confusion.
"Something wrong?" Chrom asked. Robin shook his head, not believing what he was seeing. "Someone already beat us to Maribelle." Most of the shepherds froze at the revelation while Lissa blanched.
"N-no… not Maribelle…." Lissa whimpered as tears began to form in her eyes. "Damn them!" Chrom gritted his teeth.
"N-no!" Robin stammered. "I didn't mean it that way! I was surprised there was someone that I didn't account for. It seems to be a male mage proficient in wind magic that got to her first. He's really short though."
At this, the shepherds deadpanned. "Ricken." Sully stated. "The guy you're describing has to be Ricken." No one noticed Stahl look away guiltily.
"S-so… she's-Maribelle's all right?" Lissa sniffled. Robin nodded. "As of right now, yes. But there are some wyvern riders coming in from the north. We have to get to them first." At the confirmation of Maribelle's safety, Lissa launched herself at Robin in a hug, nearly making him drop his Hekseer.
Chrom cleared his throat, and Lissa pulled away sheepishly. "So then, what's the plan?" the prince asked.
"Although certainly not expected, this is actually pretty good for us. Sully, Stahl, Kellam and Frederick, your two pairs will ride north and meet with Ricken and Maribelle. Go!" The four in question instantly mounted up. Robin noticed Vaike stifling a chuckle out of the corner of his eye at the sight of Kellam and Frederick on top of the same horse.
Ignoring the axeman, Robin turned to Chrom and Sumia. "Next, you two will fly up and rendezvous with them as well. You should be able to arrive first. Don't try to engage the wyverns in the air, as they have an advantage over pegasus knights. Instead, try and bait them towards the ground where Chrom will have an easier time dealing with them." The two nodded, got on Sumia's pegasus and flew off.
Robin then turned to address Virion and Vaike. "Vaike, you have the important task of escorting Virion towards them. Once you're there, shoot down as many wyverns as you can." He made eye contact with the blonde axe fighter. "This is an important job. If Virion gets injured, our chances of success go down dramatically." Vaike grinned. "You can always count on ol' Teach!" The two rapidly went off after the cavaliers.
"Next," Robin turned to the remaining shepherds. "We have the task of guarding this location. If the Plegians take this point, we will not be able to leave the mountain unless we kill all of the Plegians. If we secure Chrom and the others a way out, we can leave with possibly no casualties." Everyone nodded. "Lon'qu, Donnel and I will serve as our frontline. Miriel and Lissa, support us from behind." Everyone scrambled into position.
A few Plegian soldiers ran at them from the West. Lon'qu took the lead and slashed the throat of an oncoming brigand. Robin followed suit and cleaved another one in half. Donnel stabbed at a mercenary. "Git away!" the farmboy shouted as he brandished his weapon. Although he wasn't quite strong enough to finish the Plegian off, Miriel gave him some assistance by blasting the mercenary with a fireball.
More Plegians ran at them, but under the lead of Robin and Lon'qu, the few shepherds were able to hold them off. As Lon'qu pulled his killing edge out of the corpse of another brigand when we heard a shout of alarm from Robin. He turned his head and noticed a Plegian dark mage aim a spell at Lissa. 'No!' the former Feroxi champion thought as he raced towards the mage.
He dove in front of the flux spell that was meant for Lissa and immediately cried out in pain. "Lon'qu!" Lissa shouted in alarm. Lissa and Robin both raced towards Lon'qu's location from different directions. While Lissa's intentions were to heal Lon'qu, Robin's was to remove the dark mage from the picture.
Due to the innate difficulty of using dark spells (and possibly the lack of skill from the user), the mage was unable to fire off a second spell in quick succession. As he began the incantation for a second spell, he was beheaded by a quick swing of Robin's scythe. The last thing he saw was nothing.
"It's not healing fast enough!" Lissa yelled in despair. The flux spell had hit Lon'qu directly on his shoulder, burning through his clothes. The flesh around the wound had begun to turn purple.
"Here." Robin said as he knelt down. "Cover us, Donnel and Miriel!" was the last thing the tactician ordered before kneeling down before the fallen myrmidon.
Robin placed his head over the wounded shoulder and a faint glow of energy began to emanate from his hand."W-what are you doing?" Lon'qu asked in confusion. "I'm using quintessence to heal your shoulder." Robin explained. "Staves have been known to not work as effectively on wounds caused by dark magic or poisons, but quintessence can bypass that." As he spoke, the wound began to slowly disappear, and the flesh began to return to its natural color.
"The downside is… *pant* using quintessence to heal drains me pretty quickly." Robin explained. "Then why'd you do it? We need you to command the shepherds." Lon'qu scowled, but sat up feeling much better.
Robin waved his hand dismissively. "You're a better fighter than I am anyways. And besides, I can always find a safe place to direct the battle." He pointed at Donnel, who was busy engaging a Plegian spear fighter. "He looks like he could use your help." With that, Lon'qu got up and ran to help the struggling farmboy.
"He dove in front of that spell for me… didn't he?" Lissa whispered. Robin opened his mouth to speak, but Lissa didn't give him the chance to. "If only I were stronger, I could defend myself. I couldn't even heal him when he got hurt. I wish I weren't so useless!"
Robin wrapped an arm around the sullen princess's shoulder. "You're a vital component to the shepherds." he promised. "And besides, we all help each other out. Where would Chrom be if you hadn't healed him when he was shot by that Risen archer?" At this, Lissa's expression softened. "You're right. Robin." she smiled sweetly. "I'll continue to help by doing what I do best!" she got up, and readied her staff, in case someone else got hurt.
Meanwhile, Robin was feeling light headed from healing Lon'qu. So he decided to sit tight and pull out his Hekseer in order to check on Chrom's group.
With Chrom
Chrom flew towards Maribelle and Ricken atop Sumia's pegasus. He saw the young mage blast one wyvern out of the sky after another using his wind magic. The pair flew past the bewildered mage and troubadour directly towards an oncoming wyvern rider. The blue haired prince jumped off the pegasus and allowed Sumia to rapidly elevate into the air. The wyvern lifted his head towards the pegasus, but was instantly killed by a slash across its throat by the dragon slaying Falchion. Its rider quickly met the same fate.
"C-captain?!" Ricken exclaimed in surprise. "I must admit, you did a good job here." Chrom said, addressing the boy. "But don't let your guard down, we're not out of the woods yet." Ricken nodded in affirmation as he readied another Elwind spell.
Chrom engaged a brigand running towards him, which he easily killed. Ricken launched a spell at an oncoming myrmidon, but his opponent was too quick. The Plegian dodged the wind spell and almost reached his target. Almost. He was not able to dodge the silver lance that impaled him from the side.
"Frederick! Kellam!" Ricken exclaimed. "Even Stahl and Sully, you all came too!" The Great Knight nodded. "Under orders from Robin. Stay towards the back." "But I can fight too!" Ricken protested. "We know you can." Came the reply from Stahl. "But you've already done enough already. Let us share in the heavy lifting." Sully smirked. "Wow, that didn't sound like Stahl the meek at all!" This was met with a cry of protest from the viridian knight.
Under the guidance of Chrom, the larger group of Shepherds easily held off the oncoming Plegians. When Vaike and Virion arrived, it was no contest. The wyvern riders were shot out of the sky before they could even close the distance between the two groups. Sometimes it was due to Virion's arrows, and other times it was because of Ricken's wind tome.
The only soldiers that had any luck closing in were the footsoldiers. However, they were pretty much massacred as soon as they got close. No one was able to get past the wall that was Frederick, Kellam, Sully, Stahl and Chrom. Sumia even threw in a javelin from time to time.
Pretty soon, Orton became extremely frustrated by how things were going. "Bah! What a useless group of morons!" he muttered to himself. "Must I do everything myself?"
He began to fly towards the unsuspecting shepherds.
It was clear why Orton was able to become a captain. His skill on wyvern-back was a level above his soldiers. He weaved past the arrows and spells launched at him, and rapidly closed in on the shepherds.
"Chrom!" Sumia cried in alarm. "That wyvern is getting close to us!"
Chrom ran to meet Orton head on. The Plegian captain cleaved the air in front of him, expecting to hit the Ylissean prince, but Chrom just rolled out of the way. Chrom tried to slash at the exposed underbelly of Orton's mount, but the wyvern quickly elevated out of reach due to Orton's quick thinking.
Sumia threw a javelin at him, hoping to catch the Plegian off guard, but Orton easily knocked it away with a swing of him axe. He ordered his wyvern to swing its tail around, lashing out at Chrom, and knocking the prince over.
He prepared to descend and land the finishing blow, but was intercepted by Sully and Frederick. "You are so dead!" Stahl yelled as he rode in with his wyrmslayer. He slashed at the wyvern's wing, tearing the leathery membrane apart with a single swing. The wyvern descended slightly, which enabled Chrom to drive his Falchion into the neck of the beast, killing it and causing Orton to fall off.
Orton got to his feet, but was cut down instantly by a combination of Kellam's lance and Vaike's axe. Virion even shot an arrow through the Plegian's chest.
"This… matters not…" The Plegian captain said with his dying breath. "Soon… the war will be upon…. your soil…" With that, his body went limp.
"Come on," Chrom motioned to the shepherds let's head back to Robin's location. As they began to move back towards the others, he heard Robin talk into his mind. {It looks like things are almost done on your end. Hurry back, and let's head back home.}
Chrom urged the everyone to hurry up, and before long, the two groups were reunited at the foot of the mountain.
Chrom wondered, but didn't say anything when he saw Robin leaning on Lon'qu for support, especially since the myrmidon had a patch of clothing missing from his left shoulder.
"Great work everyone, the plan was executed extremely well." Robin complemented the group.
"What happened?" Sully asked what everyone else didn't. Robin waved his hand dismissively. "It's nothing, I just need a little rest and I'll be right as rain." For the most part, everyone was content enough with that explanation, although some still had their suspicions.
The group made their way back to where Phila and the Exalt were waiting. They were, for the most part, laughing and sharing tales of their heroics during the last fight. The one person that was not in such a good mood was Maribelle.
"I'm sorry I made trouble for all of you…" Robin heard her murmur. The rest of the shepherds responded with various versions of 'it wasn't your fault', or 'it was no trouble'. Robin even heard someone, presumably Vaike, say 'it's not like we had anything better to do'.
Overall, however, the mood was pretty light. It wasn't until they were just in front of Emmeryn before everyone calmed down and became more serious.
"Forgive me Emm, I acted rashly." Chrom apologized.
The exalt shook her head. "It's all right, Chrom. King Gangrel is the one at fault here. You were only protecting me."
"The Mad King will be rallying his forces, if they are not already mobilized. " Frederick interjected. "We should make haste for Ylisstol, so we can discuss a strategy."
"Of course, sir Frederick." The exalt agreed. "It seems war is upon us. We must protect the people of Ylisse at all costs."
With that, the shepherds began to head back to Ylisstol. The mood as they marched back was not as light hearted as many of them realized the severity of what had just transpired. Suddenly being at war is not a feeling most of them were accustomed to. It was barely midday, and yet the events that had occurred that morning made it feel as if at least two days had passed. The shepherds didn't talk much, often creating large moments of awkward silence. Vaike tried his best to break the silence, and everyone was thankful for the effort, but the mood just wasn't right.
Once they got back to Ylisstol, the shepherds were dismissed to go rest for the day. Chrom and Frederick remained at the castle to attend some emergency meetings due to the sudden declaration of war.
Most of the shepherds immediately headed for the shower house or their own rooms. Lon'qu and Lissa, however, helped Robin return to his room, and assisted him in laying down on his bed.
"Thanks again for today." Lissa said with a smile. "I…" she turned to Lon'qu for a second. "We really appreciate it." This earned a grunt of agreement from the myrmidon.
Robin smiled as his eyelids began to become unbearably heavy. Reluctantly, he closed his eyes. "Sweet dreams!" was the last thing he heard from the Ylissean princess before he succumbed to the urgent beckoning of sleep.
By the time Robin awoke from his nap, it was already nighttime.
Maribelle: Age: 17
Class: Troubadour
Ricken: Age: 16
Class: Mage
