Chapter 11 - The Night Owl's Watch - Part 2
Robin kneeled down next to the stump of a fallen tree. He placed a narrow, orange object on the stump, then stepped back. The object's color was lost in the darkness of night. However, its color was not its strength as a signal. Taking a tome from his robe, Robin found a certain page and mouthed some words. A gentle breeze spread through the trees. Robin then waited, hoping his spell carried the signal with it.
Robin was not alone. Lon'qu had found the location and thought it had enough space in the forest for the Shepherds to meet, which Robin approved. Vaike was leaning on a tree, looking at the moon's reflection on the blade of his axe. Chrom was sitting on a log, his fingers intertwined as he waited. Next to him, Sumia was also sitting, so as to avoid tripping over anything and, more dangerously, nothing. Nowi was crouched down, rocking back and forth. Gregor was leaning on a tree, his eyes closed for either a nap or some deep meditation. Olivia, Lissa, and Maribelle were all gathered together, holding hands so they didn't stray away in the darkness. Virion was admiring the moonlight shining through the trees and casting light on the three ladies. Finally, Tharja was staying behind Robin's back. All of them were maintaining silence, and communicating through visual signals or subtle sounds.
Robin gazed at the moon. It had taken a position high in the sky, indicating the time was far through the night. Beyond the waters of eastern Ylisse, Robin surmised that it might be morning already. Robin would've thought more on the nature of the subject, an interest he shared with Miriel, had his thoughts not been occupied with the current mission.
A sudden rustling in the brush some distance away caused the entire group to look up. Hands smoothly moved to the hilts or handles of many weapons. Robin couldn't see much, but he could see Lon'qu ready to both draw his sword and slice in half anything that moved, all in one motion.
"I could smell you man-spawn a mile away."
Robin was shocked. It was the first time he had seen Lon'qu startled. Lon'qu jumped and uttered a "Geh!" as Panne walked right past him and toward the tree stump in the center of the group.
"This really wasn't necessary. I'll be eating this, though," Panne said, picking the carrot up from the stump.
"Of course," Robin said. Panne started eating the carrot. "What's your status report?"
"We encountered one patrol. Four soldiers. We dispatched them," Panne said, finishing her carrot. "The rest of my team is about fifty paces behind me. They should be here any moment."
"Excellent," Chrom said, standing up to join Robin and Panne. "And no one else is around?"
"No. Just us. Not for two miles, I would estimate," Panne said.
"You're an excellent scout, Panne," Robin said. "You're very stealthy and tricky. I bet you could be an excellent thief."
"Hmph, you people always have to put beings in classes. I am Panne. I am a taguel. You don't need to classify me."
"I'm sorry. I hope I didn't offend," Robin said. "Just, I admire your skills."
"Very well," Panne replied neutrally, taking another bite from her carrot.
"Milord." Frederick came trotting up on his horse. Sully and Stahl followed behind him. Frederick dismounted and walked to Chrom. "We intercepted a bandit patrol. Four people. We eliminated them with no injuries on our side."
"Good job, Frederick," Chrom said. "I'm glad everyone's okay."
Frederick reached into a pouch hanging from his horse's saddle. "One of them was carrying this map. I believe it is their patrol route." Frederick handed it to Chrom, who looked at it briefly before handing it to Robin.
"Hmm. This basically confirms their hideout's location," Robin said. "It should be within an hour's walk. They won't be able to hear us, but I suggest we still keep talking to a minimum. And no torches."
"Right. When everyone's come back, we can head out," Chrom said. "Who're we waiting for?"
Miriel, Ricken, Donnel, Anna, Libra, and Gaius joined all of them. Cordelia was the last one to arrive, huffing a bit while holding the reins of her pegasus. She caught her breath, then sighed. "I really don't care for these long jogs," she said to no one in particular.
"Ah, Cordelia, glad to see you're okay," Chrom said, walking up to her.
Cordelia immediately stood up straight and at attention. "Lord Chrom! Of course! I mean thank you!" Chrom patted her shoulder and continued walking. Robin followed behind Chrom and stopped to talk to her.
"I'm sorry, Cordelia," Robin said. "I know you're not a fan of running, but I don't want flying pegasi to alert the bandits of our presence. Once we start our attack, though, you and Sumia will be able to take flight."
"Worry not, I am a soldier after all," Cordelia said. "And the running wasn't so bad. There was this voice in the back of my mind that kept me going, kept encouraging me. I… I think perhaps it was Chrom's voice, echoing his leadership and love for us all," she said.
"That was me, though," Kellam said from somewhere.
"Well, anyway, we'll be moving out," Robin said, pointing at Chrom.
Chrom walked up and stood on top of the tree stump, in the center of the Shepherds. "Everyone. Let's end this all tonight. And when the morning sun comes to greet us, it will shine on a land that is at peace. A land at peace with its neighbors, and a land at peace with itself. For Ylisse!"
"For Ylisse!" the Shepherds said, with passion, but with controlled volume as Robin beckoned to them to keep their voices down.
'Ugh, why do I have to be the one to rain on the parade,' Robin thought to himself.
The Shepherds were all gathered before an opening in the forest, where a tower keep had been built hundreds of years ago. After hundreds of years of weather, the keep had been reduced to a few standing walls of stone and debris. There were a few crude renovations done to the keep, like thatched roofs and wooden platforms. There were also some new inhabitants, which Robin was waiting to learn more about.
"Hey, Bubbles." Gaius jumped out of some bushes and landed next to Robin. "Yes, I'm okay, and no, I wasn't seen," he said, before Robin could ask.
"Gaius? Is that a pink lollipop?"
Gaius removed a pink watermelon lollipop from his mouth and examined it. "Yeah, what of it?"
"You left with a red one in your mouth," Robin said.
Gaius looked at Robin, then back at the lollipop. "Let me once again stress that I'm okay and I wasn't seen. And the bandits have one less piece of candy."
Robin massaged his temples for a moment. "Whatever. Can you add to this map?" Robin handed Gaius a large paper, which had an incomplete sketch of the keep's layout. "Over there, we have a command center set up." Robin gestured behind him, where Miriel had cast a few magical lights.
"Sure thing," Gaius said, taking the paper and walking back.
"How many bandits did you see?" Robin asked, as Gaius started working on the map.
"Seven of them," Gaius said as he sketched. "Three with axes, two with swords, and two with bows."
"Hmm. With Anna's report, that brings their numbers to sixteen. That's manageable," Robin thought aloud.
"That's a lot of archers, though. I don't know if we should bring Sumia or Cordelia in," Chrom said.
"Lo-Lord Chrom! No archer will stop me!" Cordelia insisted. Chrom had walked off to speak to Sumia, though. Cordelia sighed.
"I'm sorry, Cordelia," Robin said. "You know, if you mastered a sword and shield combination, I'm pretty sure you'd be unstoppable."
"I can fight with that. But I'd probably miss my pegasus," Cordelia said.
"A sword and shield, too?" Chrom had overheard the two of them talking. "That would be amazing. Wouldn't it, Sumia?"
"I'll try this training immediately!" Cordelia said, not allowing Sumia to respond.
Robin had stopped listening to them for a moment. He was analyzing the sketches that Gaius and Anna had provided them. "We have the advantage of numbers, and the element of surprise on our side. I think this will be a straightforward battle."
"Arrogance is the folly of any tactician," Frederick said.
"Always so wary," Robin commented. "But correct as well, I know. So if you have any objections to this plan, let me know. Here's what we'll do."
The bandits had erected a wooden platform to act like a watch tower. The platform was located in front of where the keep's entrance had been in the past, though now it was just several piles of stones. One archer was on the platform, with two guards standing idly by at the base of the platform. The archer was the most alert of the three of them. However, he had been awake for several hours into the night. So it was, when he caught some motion in the corner of his eye, he was unsure of what it was.
"Oy. Did you see that?" the archer asked. The guards below him didn't respond. "Oy!"
"Huh? What?" one of the bandits said, leaning on his sword..
"Was that a white wolf or something?" the archer said. "It just ran past, into the trees over there."
"Well, who cares?" the swordsman said. "It ain't comin' in here."
"Wait, wait," the other bandit guard said. "That could be some dinner that just ran past."
"Wolf meat? You like wolf meat?" the swordsman asked.
"Aye, and them furs. The white furs are a rare one here. Hold on, I'm going to try to catch it." The bandit jogged off toward where the archer pointed to.
"Shouldn't you go with him?" the archer said to the swordsman.
"Eh. Let him deal with it. And I'm supposed to be guarding this here entrance, anyway," the swordsman said, pushing off his sword and then leaning on the wooden platform's foundation. "Just lemme know if you see anything else." The bandit closed his eyes to rest for a moment. He enjoyed the quiet for a moment.
"Oy!" the archer shouted.
The archer's noise brought the swordsman out of any attempts at napping. "Hey, what's all that? You see something or something?"
The archer just gargled some sounds.
"Speak words, man!" The swordsman walked away from the platform to see what the archer was doing above him. The archer was rolling back and forth on the platform. "Oy, what's this?" the bandit said, his concern growing exponentially. He quickly turned around just in time to see a javelin approaching his chest. He was about to shout, but the less-visible arrow pierced his throat before the javelin pinned him to the ground.
A horse trotted up to the dying swordsman. "Say what you will of your dandy words and clothes, but you are deadly accurate with a bow," Sully said, looking at the struggling person on the ground before her.
"My, a compliment is even lovelier coming from a beautiful lady like yourself," Virion said, riding on the same horse as Sully. "Perhaps you have finally fell for me-oog." Virion's words were cut off as Sully pushed her hand into Virion's face.
"Not now," she said.
"Oh! Then the future, perhaps?"
"Not ever!"
More Shepherds came running up to join them, now that the bandit lookouts had been eliminated.
"Excellent job, everyone," Robin said.
Panne casually walked up to them, with blood splattered on her clothes. "You man-spawn and your obsession with our animal skins. It sickens me. Ugh."
"I'm sorry, Panne. I… I actually don't know…" Robin began.
"You're right, Panne," Chrom said. "We can do more about this poaching business."
Panne raised her hand. "A talk for later. I just needed to voice some displeasure immediately."
"Thank you for your understanding," Robin said. He looked around. "Okay. You have your assignments. Clear your targets."
The twenty-four Shepherds divided into groups. Sumia and Cordelia flew around the keep's perimeter to ensure no one escaped. Frederick, Sully, and Stahl remained outside to patrol the outdoor areas of the keep. Lissa was riding with Frederick, acting as the emergency healer. Gaius and Anna were also patrolling outside, and would be called on should any door need to be unlocked. The remaining Shepherds went into the few intact or recently constructed indoor areas.
Robin followed Chrom with Lon'qu, Vaike, Maribelle, and Olivia. When the Shepherds were scouting the keep, they had found a part of the tower intact and with a sturdy roof. Robin figured this was either where the leader stayed, or where they kept their stolen goods. There was a guard posted at the door, which suggested to Robin that there was something important inside.
Robin quickly peeked around a wall to check on the guard. The guard was slouching, fairly unaware of his surroundings. Next to the guard was a bell, probably meant to alarm everyone about a threat. Robin hid back behind the corner and looked at his group. He pointed to Vaike, and with a series of hand gestures, indicated there was one guard and asked Vaike to take the guard out. Vaike nodded and grinned as he removed a throwing handaxe from his belt.
Vaike traded places with Robin. He also peeked around the corner and at the guard. Next to him, Lon'qu prepared to run out to finish the guard off if Vaike didn't. Vaike closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then, he opened his eyes, stepped out of cover, took aim, and threw the axe.
The bandit noticed the movement. Before he could react, however, the axe buried itself under his collarbone. Unfortunately, Vaike had missed the throat, allowing the bandit to shout out and warn everyone. Fortunately, Lon'qu was faster than the bandit, and a moment later, the bandit wasn't capable of any movement or sound.
They quietly jogged up to the dead guard. Robin carefully cut the bell off the rope and placed the bell on the ground, to prevent it from being rung accidentally. Chrom quietly tried to open the door, only to find it locked. He looked at Robin, who turned and looked at the dead guard. Lon'qu searched the body, then looked up at Robin and shook his head. Robin cast two gentle wind spells, and a few moments later, Anna came running up. She removed some tools from her belt and started fiddling with the door's lock until it clicked. She then slowly opened the door, bowed, and beckoned for the group to enter. Robin gave Anna a thumbs up as he passed, which Anna responded with a wink.
The room used to be a meeting room. There was a large space, with tables and chairs, though most of the tables and chairs were broken down. The room had been converted into a storage room, however. There were several chests and boxes. Anna's face lit up at all the potential merchandise.
Chrom gave Robin a look, which Robin translated as, "Can I speak now?"
"Just keep your voice down," Robin said aloud. Chrom exhaled in relief.
"Okay. Anna, these might be the property of Ylisse, so don't get excited thinking you can plunder them for yourself."
Anna deflated. "Right, right. I don't want to deal with stolen merchandise, anyway." She stood up straight. "We sisters do hold a high code of ethics, after all!"
"If there aren't any bandits here, then their boss must be in one of the smaller buildings," Robin said. "Let's go. The others might need us."
"Right. I feel like I haven't helped at all," Chrom said.
"You're just not used to stealth missions, Chrom." Robin looked at the group. "Lon'qu, Vaike, you stay with Anna while she opens up these chests," he said.
"Understood," Lon'qu said.
"You got it, Robin!" Vaike said.
Robin turned to Chrom and nodded.
"Let's go," Chrom said.
"And back to silence, until the fighting breaks out," Robin said.
They exited the tower. Frederick was standing guard outside amongst piles of stones and fallen roofs, an indication that a hallway or barracks used to stand where Frederick was now. He nodded to the group as they jogged past. To the right, Robin saw Gaius letting Panne, Donnel, Miriel, Ricken, and Kellam into a building. Gaius had scouted the building out earlier, and figured it was the bandits' dining and possibly meeting place. He had only reported two guards, while other bandits were sleeping. Anna and Gaius had reported that most of the bandits were sleeping, so Robin hoped that stealth would allow them to secure the area without alerting the bandits.
A ringing bell crushed Robin's lofty dreams. On the opposite side of the keep, Robin saw Virion run out of a building. Virion stopped briefly to fire a few arrows. Tharja and Nowi rushed out next. Nowi transformed into a dragon and launched a fireball into the doorway, followed by a blast from Tharja. Finally, Gregor and Libra backed out of the building, trading blows with two bandits.
"Let's go!" Chrom shouted, pointing Falchion at the building and running.
"Gregor! Libra! Keep them at the doorway!" Robin shouted. 'Our numerical advantage can use all the open space outside, while they'll be stuck attacking one at a time from the doorway,' he thought to himself. On the other side of the battlefield, he heard Miriel launching some fire magic. His eyes turned to Nowi, who was behind Tharja. "Nowi! Set fire to the building!" Robin shouted.
Nowi turned to Robin and smiled. "You got it!" she said, transforming again. Nowi took to the air and launched a fireball at a thatched roof. The fireball punched a hole in the roof, but didn't set the place ablaze.
"Not enough," Tharja said, followed by a, "Hmph." She stepped forward, toward Gregor and Libra, and removed a doll from somewhere under her cape. She then whispered some words and poked the doll with a needle. "Nowi, hit the man. And cleric, I would fall back if I were you."
"What's that?" Libra asked, guarding from a swing from a bandit.
"Libra! Three steps back!" Robin said. "Nowi, now!"
Nowi fired another fireball at the bandit that Libra was fighting. The fireball engulfed him, and stayed with him as if he were made of kindling. He started screaming.
"Naga, strengthen my heart," Libra said to himself.
"Gregor, push him back in!" Robin said.
"Aye," Gregor acknowledged. He ran forward and pushed the bandit back into the doorway, using his sword as a small barrier from the flames. The bandit, under some horrible hex, maintained Nowi's fire and spread it into the rest of the flammable roof. Libra then closed the door, and Gregor pushed some stones in front of it.
"Nice hit, Nowi," Chrom said, as his group joined them.
"And Tharja, excellent hex," Robin said.
Tharja looked excitedly at Robin. She opened her mouth, and stuttered for an unusually natural moment. "Th...Thank you," she said in a higher pitch than usual. She placed a hand over her mouth and giggled. Her giggle was a pleasant, feminine giggle, that contrasted her dark demeanor.
Robin's eyes darted around, a little uneasy with Tharja's uncharacteristic thanks. "You're… welcome," he said. Motion at the building's entrance brought his attention back to the fire. He raised his hand to warn the others. "We have some enemies coming," he said, bringing his hand back to a tome within his cloak.
As if on cue, the door exploded open from a fireball. Two bandits ran out, covered with fire. They fell a moment later, writhing on the ground noisily and helplessly. Following the two poor victims of Nowi's vicious fire attack, a tall, pink-haired, dark-robed mage stepped out, surrounded by a magical force field that protected him from the fire. Robin examined him briefly. 'A sage person, despite being a bandit. He'll be difficult,' Robin thought to himself.
The force field extended into the building. It started to retract, but not before another person emerged from the flaming building. A silvery blue-haired woman followed the pink-haired mage. She held a sword and a shield, and looked to have been a hero in the past, before she became a bandit.
"Pink hair…" Robin turned to see Virion pondering something.
"Virion! Back to the battlefield!" Robin shouted.
"Pardon?" Virion said, looking around. Finally, he snapped back into current events. "Oh my, but of course," he said, nocking an arrow and letting it loose at the bandit woman.
She knocked it away with a skillful movement of her shield. She moved quickly, but Robin caught sight of a grin on her face. He then realized that, behind her shield, she had unclipped a throwing axe from her belt. Time had slowed down to a crawl as scenarios and numbers marched through Robin's brain. 'Virion is not at his best right now, and with that bandit's strength and skill, chances are Virion's going to get hurt,' Robin thought to himself. A fraction of a second later, the bandit began to lower her shield slightly as her other arm reeled back to throw the axe. "Virion!" Robin called, as the axe left the bandit's hand. Robin turned to anticipate the axe's trajectory, which led right to Virion's position.
Robin's eyes found Virion no longer present. The axe embedded itself harmlessly in the soft ground behind Virion's former position.
Sully's horse trotted a few more steps away from the axe before Sully unceremoniously dropped Virion onto the ground. "This is why I train all the time, Ruffles. To save your sorry rear."
Virion stood up and brushed off his clothing. "My stunning Sully, so your training is all for me, then? Never again shall I dismiss the necessity of your training..."
Sully ignored Virion and turned to Chrom. "Captain! I'm ready to kick butt!"
"Great, Sully!" Chrom said. He turned to Robin. "We have the numbers. Should we rush them?"
"We will definitely have a victory today," Robin said, looking over the situation. "But I want to avoid even the slightest injury. Let's proceed carefully."
Chrom nodded. "Of course. What do you suggest?"
Chrom and Robin looked at the two bandits. "See their stance? It's an effective defense. They will not yield that position without getting some hits in." Robin closed his eyes. He could feel the land giving off a magical energy. "The land is a natural fount of healing energy," Robin said. 'Maybe that's why they built a fortress here, so many hundreds of years ago,' Robin thought to himself. "It's focused right where they're standing. If they maintain their position, the land will keep healing them."
"So we strike fast?" Chrom asked.
"We strike fast," Robin said. "All right, let's form up."
"Sister!" the pink-haired sage called to the other bandit. "Be on guard! They're maneuvering now. Very smoothly."
"This will be difficult," the blue-haired bandit responded. "But I have been through much worse in the battlefields of Rosanne. We both have!"
"Yes, just be on your guard. I sent a message to our patrols. Hopefully, they will return in good time." The sage raised his tome up in preparation for a spell. "We could definitely use the heroics of your past right now."
"Hah!" the ex-hero bandit chuckled. "That's all I needed to hear." The woman watched as the Ylissean forces formed a semi-circle around her. 'Just out of my throwing range, too,' she thought to herself, feeling one of the throwing axes on her belt.
One of the soldiers stepped forward. He wore a blue shirt with gold trim, suggesting that he was a high-ranking officer. He also wore one pauldron on his shoulder, with a white cape attached to it. "Excuse me, might we parlay?" he asked.
"We can parlay with our blades!" the ex-hero shouted. She was angry at just the concept of yielding, but she controlled her anger and clenched the handle of her throwing axe. As much as she wanted to embed an axe in the man's face, she knew he was still out of range.
"Please. We just want peace," the man said.
"Excuse me, Ylissean, but I believe you are a royal," the pink-haired sage said, putting a hand on his sister's shoulder. The man stiffened a bit. "We have experienced peace. A peace filled with starving, cold people, while the nobles slept comfortably in beds with pillows and blankets. We have seen peace while the leaders would run away at a moment's notice. No, there will not be peace for us. There will be survival for ourselves and our friends."
"It doesn't have to be one or the other," another one of the Ylissean band said. He was also dressed royally, in a clothing style and hair color more familiar to the bandit than the dark-blue haired royal.
"Is… Is that…" the bandit hero began.
"It doesn't matter. Brace yourself," the bandit sage said.
"Virion…" Robin said quietly, watching Virion talk to the bandits. Virion turned around and walked away. He saw Robin looking at him and shook his head sadly.
"Let's be quick about it," Virion said.
Robin turned to Chrom, who looked at Robin and nodded. "Positions," Robin said.
Nowi and Tharja stepped forward quickly. Tharja released a dark spell on the bandit hero while Nowi transformed. The spell hit, and was followed up by Nowi's fireball. The hero, weak against magic, was impressively still able to throw a handaxe at Tharja. Nowi was able to take the hit with her thick, strong manakete scales.
"Nowi…" Tharja said, spinning to prepare another spell.
"Don't worry about it!" Nowi said.
"Oh, I won't," Tharja said, extending her arm again for another attack. "But I will demand some compensation. Hah!" She released another Nosferatu attack on the hero.
"Nowi, take care!" Maribelle shouted, pointing her staff to heal the hovering manakete.
Robin saw the sage healing the hero. Robin allowed himself a smile, knowing that the sage would have difficulty switching from his healing staff to a magical tome. He stepped up next with Chrom. "Take this!" Robin shouted, launching an Elthunder attack. He wasn't going to be conservative with his inventory like he had against the bandit cleric a few hours earlier. His attack came only a few fractions of a second after Nowi had launched a fireball.
The bandit hero, already damaged from Tharja's and Nowi's attacks, had impressively thrown two handaxes. Robin blocked the axe with a magically-reinforced tome, but the axe still managed to bounce off and hit Robin's leg.
"Robin!" Olivia shouted. "Maribelle, go!" Olivia was helping Maribelle treat Nowi. Maribelle saw Robin kneel on the ground from the bandit hero's counter. Maribelle managed to finish healing Nowi before starting on Robin.
Robin's attack made the bandit hero reel back briefly, giving Chrom an opening to cover the distance and slash at the bandit hero. Through all the magical damage and pain she felt, years of experience enabled her to maintain her posture. She braced herself behind her shield as Chrom's sword crashed and slid off the shield. She had even managed to take an unthrown handaxe and swing it at Chrom. After Chrom's sword slid off the shield, he retracted and raised it in anticipation of a riposte. He caught the handaxe with the blade of his sword, and redirected it. He pulled at the hooked part of the axe, pulling the bandit hero closer. Pushing Falchion away from the axe, Chrom stepped forward, toward the off-balance hero.
"You nobles are all the same!" the bandit shouted, spitting on the ground, right before Falchion reached her neck.
"No!" the other bandit shouted as he replaced his staff with a combat tome. Before he could release a spell, he raised the book in front of his neck, right before an arrow pierced the book. The sage was now holding a tome, with an arrow sticking out of it. The arrow didn't disrupt any of the spells, as he raised his hand toward Virion and started to mutter some words.
"Ain't letting you wait!" Sully shouted, closing the distance and slicing into the sage's robes with a steel sword. The sage, not as strong against physical attacks as the hero, fell back on the ground. Sully ran up to finish the sage off, but the sage managed to throw an Elfire spell at Sully. "Ahhh, crap," she said.
"Naga, guide me!" Libra shouted, taking the brunt of the magical attack with a well-timed step to the front of Sully's horse. He breathed in, then exhaled as the flames disappeared around him. Not waiting for another chance, he raised his axe and attacked the sage. The sage was impressively able to block the strong axe swing, but not without being thrown to the ground again.
The sage started to raise the arm holding his tome, when an arrow pierced his arm and pinned it to the ground. He exhaled, more out of tiredness than pain. He looked up and saw Libra step up to him. "Hurry up," the bandit sage muttered. "Grima. Naga. I'll relay best wishes to both."
Libra sighed, raised his axe, and let it drop.
Chrom walked up to Libra and put a hand on Libra's shoulder. "Sometimes it's necessary," Chrom said.
"I know," Libra said.
"Gentlemen. We're not done yet," Robin said. He pointed to where the other Shepherds were. A quick moment later, Frederick came riding up to them.
"Milord!" Frederick called. "One of the bandits was able to escape our reach! He's escaping with an Ylissean treasure!"
"They won't escape," Robin assured Frederick. "We have backups."
A bandit thief ran out of the stone keep and toward the tree line. He collapsed for a moment to catch his breath. As he breathed heavily, he pulled his treasure bag in front of him to examine and admire the contents again. There were very few sources of light outside, but some moonlight was able to shine on the edge of the tree line and onto some gold bars inside the open treasure bag.
The bandit smiled. "A shame 'bout them others, but I'll be appreciating their sacrifice. I'll drink to them!" he said between breaths. He stood up and closed the treasure bag with a rope. He turned to resume jogging, when a long, narrow stick appeared in front of him.
The stick was wobbling, before finally settling into a static position. The bandit walked up to it and examined it. His breathing stopped for a moment, when he realized it was a javelin.
"It's not often that I miss." The bandit turned to see a beautiful, red-haired lady on a bright-white horse. While in any other situation, the bandit might have offered the woman a drink or a good time. The steel lance in the woman's hands made him think otherwise.
"You… You want gold?" the bandit asked, removing one gold bar and offering it to the woman. "You probably deserve it more than I. More than these blasted nobles, who pro'lly pay you dirt and even less appreciation. They must be trash, making a beaut like you to work so much, eh?"
An almost invisibly quick swing of a lance knocked the gold bar away and drew a gash on the bandit's forearm. "Do not speak of my lord like that!" the woman shouted angrily.
The bandit didn't need much more encouragement to move. Keeping one hand over the bleeding cut on his arm, and the other hand holding the sack of gold, he bolted away from the woman. "Your horse ain't gonna catch me in these trees!" the thief shouted back, confident in his running abilities. A new shadow briefly passed the moon and over the bandit, causing him to look up. He saw nothing in the sky. When he returned his sight to eye level again, he saw the woman on her mount, this time with wings fully extended. "A pegasus," he muttered.
The pegasus suddenly shot forward, a lance extended beyond its head. The bandit tried to deflect the lance with his iron sword, but was neither fast nor strong enough. He was thrown a few meters away, with a large wound in his body scattering blood everywhere. He stayed lying down on the ground, his blood soaking the dirt underneath him. He gazed through the trees at the bright moon. Suddenly, the moon was blocked by the shape of the beautiful but deadly woman.
"My loyalty for my lord cannot be bought by gold or words," she said. The bandit couldn't respond, because his blood was pooling around his throat. A well-placed lance to his heart ended his consciousness quickly.
Cordelia wiped her brow before removing her lance from the bandit. She looked around for a moment, then gathered the gold bars that had scattered when the bandit fled and dropped his bag. "Maybe Chrom will appreciate this!" Cordelia said to herself, before smiling and giggling.
Another pegasus swooped past, before turning around and landing next to Cordelia. "Cordelia!" Sumia shouted.
"Sumia!" Cordelia still had a smile on, though the meaning behind the smile changed slightly. "I hope after this, you won't have any conflicts to interfere with your wedding," Cordelia said.
"Hah! I know! But let's get back. Robin has given the all clear."
The Shepherds had all gathered in the keep's meeting room. "Shepherds," Chrom began, looking at all of them. "The information we've gathered suggests that we have eliminated the organized bandit threat around the border." The Shepherds started to cheer. Chrom smiled and allowed the cheering for a moment, before raising his hand to silence them again. "Yeah, agreed. We all deserve a good cheer. I know some of you will want to celebrate, but it is late. And there will be plenty of celebrating later."
Vaike and Gaius were rolling a barrel of wine out of a storage room, creating some noise.
"And remember, we need to make sure these materials go to the proper owners. We are, of course, not going to plunder our own people."
Vaike stopped for a moment from Chrom's words, causing Gaius to walk into the barrel. He stumbled for a moment before pushing himself up straight and giving Vaike a look. He followed Vaike's gaze to Chrom, and then retracted his arms from the barrel and folded them behind him. Gaius bowed slightly and gestured with his hand for Chrom to continue.
"Let's get some well-deserved sleep," Chrom said. Many Shepherds cheered. Chrom sat down and Robin stood up. The Shepherds had started to get up and leave, when Robin suddenly spoke.
"All right, now all the information we've gathered, and all the observations we've made, and history might suggest that we are safe for miles and for hours," Robin said. "But we'll still have night watch shifts. Here's the plan."
Robin was sitting on a sleeping bag in a private room. The fallen stone walls were replaced with wooden beams and cloth. He had a book in his hands, but his reading was constantly interrupted by yawns and his own heavy eyes gradually shutting closed.
A knock on one of the wooden beams brought Robin's attention to a pink-haired lady at the door frame entrance to his room.
"Robin?"
"Olivia…" Robin said, stifling a yawn. "Come. Is it… my shift?" he asked.
"You don't have a shift!" Olivia said, leaning forward aggressively from her energetic response. She looked around, then nervously scurried to Robin's sleeping mat. "I… I just wanted to check how you were."
"Oh, no shift? I must really... be… tired," Robin said, another yawn escaping his mouth. "I'm sorry, Olivia. Usually your presence is energetic enough, but… but…"
"Robin, you've been up for a day. We all have. I think we can all understand," Olivia said.
"Thank you, Olivia," Robin said. "I… Yeah. You must be tired, too. You should…" Robin yawned again. His head began to nod up and down as he fought his sleepiness.
Olivia looked at Robin. His eyes were barely open, and only open for a few seconds at a time. His head kept leaning forward. "I… I thought…" Olivia looked at the pastry she had prepared to surprise Robin. She looked back at Robin, who was leaning forward uncomfortably. Olivia giggled, placed the pastry to the side, and stepped forward to help Robin lie down in a more natural sleeping position. "You're helpless," she said.
"Mmmf. Thanks. Olivia… Best." Robin was barely getting coherent words out of his mouth. His consciousness was fading quickly. The last thing his conscious brain registered before he fell asleep was a gentle, feminine humming. "Your voice," Robin mumbled. "You... So beautiful... Peaceful."
A/N I will be honest. The final part where Robin drifts to sleep completely reflects me as I wrote it. My eyes were closing, and I was nodding asleep, right around when I was writing how the Shepherds all gathered in the meeting room. So tomorrow, when I review the chapter with a more conscious mind, who knows, I might completely change the last few paragraphs because they don't meet my fully-conscious standards. I don't know. I really wanted to get this chapter out tonight.
The first half of this was actually written a week after the last chapter. And then I just added piece by piece, week by week, because, admittedly, Fallout 4 has kinda absorbed most of my conscious, non-work hour time.
Anyhoo, please read and review! Be merciless. I'll be curious if my sleepiness shows in my writing. And as Frederick may say, arrogance is the folly of any writer. Or something.
pkmn2112, thank you for the review and the explanation! When you are praising me, please feel free to be as redundant as possible. I do sincerely appreciate the specifics you provide in your review.
Monkeystump, I hope your essay was of excellent quality. Brevity is a skill. And I remember my essays and reports would always flirt with the minimum length requirements. Good times.
Greyjedi449t, thanks, and I hope this chapter lives up to your forward-looking! Ugh, I was hoping to get it to you earlier... but then nope. A month passed. So yeah, while I will of course tryyy to get these in faster than a month, it's kinda looking like maybe an update a month is pretty accurate.
Zash101, always good to have an alrighty. Which is making me think of Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. Which makes me wonder if that movie is a dated reference...
potatoman098, yeah, I know. Come onnnn, Robin. Man up! But I have an idea on how to cure Robin's non-love-doctor-ness.
Read/review/follow/favorite/PM/recommend to others! Blah, I really gotta update my other story(ies), too...