Chapter 10 – Shifting Sands

Jensen drug his feet along in the sand as Lucina walked next to him almost unfazed the hot sun beaming down on them from a cloudless sky.

"Pull yourself together Jensen!" Lucina snapped

"I'm not used to this kind of heat…" Jensen said slowly moving forward. "Especially so soon after Ferox."

Lucina kept going on showing no signs that the heat was affecting her.

"Christ, you're inhuman aren't you Princess?"

"I'm fully human."

"I mean that this heat isn't bothering you. I'm superhuman and I feel like I'm dying." Jensen said as he began to change his clothes glowing and then thinning into a lighter cloth material. His coat melting away into a baggier loose shirt with his typical leather armor on his chest, back, forearms and legs.

"That better?"

"Little bit. Still not great I'm not suited for this kind of heat. I should try to rendezvous with the Shepherds soon. They could use my help and I'm not the same kind of liability you are."

"They should be somewhere in this desert but it's huge you will have to find them in the capital."

"Found them."

"Where?"

"No, I sense Dark Magic. And that's bound to be trouble and that's the only place to find Chrom."

"That's at least a start." Lucina said turning around finding Jensen gone in a line of light. Lucina sighed to no one. "Good luck." She called out annoyed.

Jensen arrived at a ruined village and he felt his spirit sink as he began to investigate the desert town. He found the well to be tainted with curses agitating his skin as he cupped it in his hands to inspect it. He saw corpses in the middle of a purple ritual circle he could sense it slowly pulsing, but the purpose of these things still eluded him. He found a few town guards deceased at their posts but no other military. Jensen figured that whoever did this was very thorough to not leave any witnesses. He searched around finding very few signs of struggle this happened quickly. The destroyed town was merely for show, but what was it hiding? Jensen began closely examining each building until he ran his hands hand down the rough broken wall and felt that it was quite hot. As if it there were a fire. He examined the rubble and saw some limbs poking out from under rubble. Jensen channeled energy to lift the heavy rubble to examine the body. He found what he'd describe as a cultist wearing the burnt remains of a purple, black and gold robes. He found the mark of Grima everywhere on talismans and stitched many times into the man's clothes. Jensen looked carefully at how the building was damaged. He saw strains on the supports as if something large was here and then a hole in the ceiling. Jensen's mind only came to one conclusion: Dragon. Was it Grima? Or some other Dragon? Were there other Dragons? He knew Naga was a dragon. Jensen examined around the building finding disturbed sand of where someone went. Were they running or chasing something? Jensen did one pass over the village and found something that disturbed him. The corpses in the ritual circle had turned grey and were shriveling, becoming husks as they were reduced to skeletons and then ash as he watched the circle fade and became inactive. Jensen began to follow the tracks he found in the sand as he left the shade of the village and into the full wrath of the beating sun.

Nowi ran for her life. Those who had come to use her for dark magic had destroyed a town to catch her. Now an older one with red hair was after her.

"Don't be afraid of Gregor little one you are safe now." Gregor said chasing the small manakete.

"Get away!"

"Gregor does not mean to hurt you like bad men." Gregor protested.

"Some how I doubt that. Now then I have a few questions for the both of you. So, surrender and you will not be harmed." Jensen said appearing out of thin line of light disturbing the sand around where he appeared. His mask on concealing his face.

"He's trying to kill me!" Nowi said fleeing to behind Jensen

"Gregor not trying to hurt little girl. Though Gregor doubts you able to back up your big talking."

"So, I take it you chose to be harmed. Have it your way. I'm not good with accents."

"Gregor not have time for this."

"I'll make this quick." Jensen said drawing his sword and Gregor calmly pulled his own.

Jensen surged forward in a small beam of light before reappearing shocking Gregor briefly before he easily parried Jensen's untrained strike. He rapidly kept swinging Gregor immediately being put on the defensive by the sheer amount of strikes. Easily blocking them waiting for an opportunity to come and sure enough it did, and he struck Jensen in the gut with the pommel of his sword. Jensen staggered back.

"Not bad." Jensen commented sweat beginning to drench his hair from the heat.

"Boy you certainly are quick, but you are not trained like Gregor. Besides we don't have time for this."

"I've got tons up my sleeve still."

Jensen begin rapidly firing balls of light from his light sending him backwards a little further. As they flew towards Gregor he began deflecting the wild shots with his sword sending them into the sand even though he was off guard. As Jensen grew increasingly frustrated. He surged back into another sword fight wasting more stamina as he began to swing wildly and hard knocking Gregor back with each strike.

"GOD DAMN RUSSIAN BASTARD!" Jensen vented energy surging from his body recklessly as he pivoted into a sharp kick to Gregor's chest which was caught sending Jensen into the sand. Sending his sword away. Jensen began to fight unarmed as Gregor just stepped back dodging the wild strikes with little effort.

"This is bad…" Gregor said a tinge of worry in his mouth

"Finally got you on the ropes, huh?" Jensen said cockily

"No boy the bad men are here to kill all of us." Jensen stopped for a moment looking and seeing the grimleal approaching. Jensen panted and was hunched over clutching his chest the pain still fresh. As he stared at the twenty or so grimleal approaching. "Well this should not be hard you take ten on left I take ten on right."

"Fuck you I'm taking eleven."

"That is spirit."

"You three!" A voice interrupted. "Are you friends or foes?"

"Hi Chrom…" Jensen groaned embarrassed to be the one found beaten up.

"Please don't tell me you're gonna make me finding you beat up a habit Jensen and what's with the mask?"

"Old habits I suppose." His freehand on his chest and the other holding his sword.

The Shepherds sprung into action as Chrom talked to Gregor and the significantly less fearful manakete. Jensen was sluggish and was relying on brute force to take down the grimleal rather than skill. Cleaving through their weapons his blade crackling with golden energy as he took down the cult.

"HE'S JUST ONE MAN! TAKE DOWN THE INTERLOPER! THE LEADER COMMANDS IT!" the leader of the Grimleal; Chalard screamed at his followers as he began to cast Nosferatu aiming it at Jensen who was desperately trying to keep up with two other cultists attacking him. As the spell shot forward it stuck Jensen true in the chest as Chalard felt a rush a rejuvenation surge through his body. He felt better than he ever did in years. Jensen was on his knees coughing up blood with an unnatural purple tinge as he grunted as the two cultists drew their blades. As a giant draconic figure flew down from the sky burning them to ash before landing kicking up sand and turning back into the little girl Nowi.

"Well…" Jensen said before stopping in pain "…that solves one mystery…" as he pulled himself back to his feet.

"This power…." Chalard said looking at his hands "It's incredible, I will take you all on!"

"You're drunk off power that isn't yours." Jensen said coldly the anger welling up inside of him his energy beginning to crackle around his body again disturbing the sand around his feet before suddenly stopping entirely. Chalard begin to laugh at the seeming misfortunate of Jensen before his eyes widening in pain as he felt a sharp pain in his gut as he collapsed onto Jensen's shoulder for a moment before pulling back to his feet. Screaming in anger as he began to swing wildly Jensen dodging with little motion seeming almost ethereal.

"TAKE THIS!" Chalard screamed as he cast Nosferatu before seeing Jensen's hand on his wrist and then a sharp pain as he crushed the mage's wrist in his hand the only thing Chalard could see was his own reflection in Jensen's eyes as a sharp strike to his neck sent him to sleep forever. As Jensen continued to beat on the body before Robin came firmly grabbing his shoulder. It felt cold and he could feel Jensen moving to attack him before seeing him and snapping back to reality.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Robin demanded

"I don't know I think I lost it for a minute there…" Jensen said looking at his hands

"Are you okay Jensen?" Robin asked still firm

"Yeah, it won't happen again." Jensen got up and began to clean the sand out of his clothes and boots.

Robin looked at the maimed corpse of Chalard. A pang of familiarity in his brain that was quickly pushed aside as he noticed frostbite on the corpse. He made a note of it feeling that it was likely a side effect of Jensen's energy.

The Shepherd's marched for a couple more hours before taking refuge in a large cave outside of the Plegian capital. Where they held a small meeting lit by lanterns.

"So, that's the strategy." Robin said finishing moving the pieces on the board.

"Jensen, I'm curious, did you find anything out while you were gone?" Chrom asked interrupting Robin

"No, I was trying to track down Marth, so that I could talk to her, but she always stayed a few steps ahead of me. As soon as I found out Emmeryn was in danger I came this way I never should have left."

The meeting went without further hitches as Jensen got back to his tent and began washing his face. He felt terrible, he almost snapped again today. He had to be careful because if he let himself get out of control again he could have some issues.

Jensen was eating his supper as Lissa lurked around. A frog hidden in a bag which she snuck up behind Jensen who was eating his first good meal in the desert and shoved a frog down the back of his shirt. Jensen's eyes widened, squinted and then he reached behind his shirt pulled out the frog and tossed it back at Lissa hitting her square in the face.

"Ew Ew Ew!" Lissa shouted as she swatted the frog off her face and hopping away.

"Sheesh, don't dish out a prank you can't take." Jensen said with an overconfident smirk on his face.

"It was only on your back!"

"I'm sorry all right, no need to get really angry, besides I don't want the healer mad at me."

"I will get you back for that so watch your back."

"I'm sure you will."

Next Chapter: Chapter 11: The Exalted Echo