Author's Note: So we've reached the end of Lundgren's tyranny. Sadly, that doesn't put an end to this first arc. There's a few important things left to take care of first.
Until then though, enjoy this!
Chapter 25: The Usurper
Lungren stood inside the castle gates, waiting. The red haired pegasus knight continued to keep watch over his three prisoners. Next to him was his court mage, the best of his Knights, and two cavaliers that he had pulled back from the battle early on to keep his force bulky enough to take on the Legion. Reports were not in his favor, but not entirely without merit.
The force his he lost on the high left ridge had managed to deliver to him Ostia's little spy. Even that usurper's little legion wouldn't be getting this one back. No, he'd much prefer to use him as leverage against that crafty dastard Uther. He doubted Uther would give in to his demands, but a public execution of one of Ostia's spies would likely spark something within the other members of the Lycia Nation. Ostia had been allowed to keep power from them for far too long.
The second gift was the Legion's archer. Though reports had informed him another Sacaen mongrel had joined them, this archer was the first under that girl's command. He may not have been the best capture, but the Sacaen mongrel in her likely wouldn't let a comrade die in her place.
The third gift, however, all but sealed the girl's fate. A pretty young Pegasus knight had fallen right into his lap. While the Pegasus had gotten away, the little legion she had only commanded one Pegasus. That meant she could no longer attack from the air. All that was left was for her to march in the front gate into his waiting arms. Well, more accurately, straight to her execution.
She would come with two members of her Legion. It was his small gift to them, being able to die together like that. Of course he planned to kill them all after they handed her over, but even if they tried something crafty three people could not handle his five elites alongside himself. The mere thought was laughable. Not to mention it was highly likely the girl's friends were all injured after the battle in the rain. It would be surprising if all of them had escaped unharmed even if his troops were fresh and rather untrained.
He crossed his arms and began to tap his foot angrily as he waited. All this thinking was really not his forte. It was why he had chosen to hire Mark in the first place. The Fang may not have been the most trustworthy of groups, but as long as he paid the money service was guaranteed. Now with Mark off to play with his little bandit troop he was left all alone, and the strategies now fell to him. The hardest part was waiting.
"Are you sure about this plan, Lady Lyndis?" Sain asked, as he held the ropes that bound his liege. "Don't get me wrong, I trust Will too, but in his current condition…"
"I don't have any ideas of my own to try, Sain." Lyn said sadly. "Besides, Will has been my friend and tactician through all of these trials. I will not doubt his word now."
"You two possess an amazing amount of trust." Lucius said, as he held the other side of the rope. Sain's horse was going at a remarkably slow pace to match their own as they trod their way through the battlefield. "I only wish he trusted me as much as you two trust each other."
"He?" Lyn asked, in spite of herself.
"The man I am looking for." Lucius said. "He is an old friend of mine. I wish to protect and serve him. I know that may not be a satisfactory answer, but…"
"It sounds wonderful." Lyn said. "I hope you'll find him."
"I'm sure I will. St. Elimine will guide my steps until then. Though perhaps a small amount of credit should be lent to our own choices as well." A small smile spread across the monk's face as they continued to walk.
"Are we sure Florina and the others are alright?" Lyn asked, as she saw the castle gate approaching. Soon they would have to meet with the man who wanted her dead. It filled her with a small sense of dread.
"Lord Lundgren would keep them alive long enough to see your corpse, milady." Sain said. "That more than anything else would break our spirits. Lundgren doesn't want t just kill us, he wants to break us. To show his superiority to Lycia and claim his rule in full."
"I see." Lyn said. It was a lot to think about, but she thought she had caught most of it. "Then I'll just have to stay alive."
"I certainly plan to keep you that way." Sain said with a reassuring smile. His grip on the rope tightened as Lyn turned back towards the castle gate, his smile falling into a serious frown that one usually associated with Kent. This was going to be the most dangerous plan yet. He only hoped Will would pull through.
"Hmph, so this is she." Lundgren said as the three Legion members emerged from the gate. "I see your tactician did not accompany you. Is he feeling a bit under the weather?" He laughed.
Lyn glared at Lundgren with a ferocity yet unknown to man. So Mark truly did have a hand in all this. Lundgren's own admission was all the proof she needed. That meant Will's deduction had been correct after all. For that, she took a small amount of comfort. "I only came to save my grandfather from your twisted ambitions."
"This is my realm now, Sacaen mongrel. Nobody enters or leaves without my permission." Lundgren growled. He was tempted to end things right there and then, but hasty actions made the fools even worse than his passive brother. He glanced at the members the Sacaen mongrel had brought with her. One he recognized very well. Sain of the Caelin knights. The other was a monk or priest he did not recognize. Either this man… woman? The gender didn't matter, he supposed. Either this was a healer for their hurt comrades or a wielder of light magic. He gave a small nod to his court mage, who took a few steps back just in case. It was time to poke fun at these fools.
Lyn closed her eyes. She was tired of looking at this man. She knew the abuse would continue, but she didn't have to look at his face while doing it.
"A shame Kent the traitor couldn't come with you." Lundgren said. "Did he get himself killed in a fit of compassion?"
Sain still gripped the rope tightly between his hands, but said nothing. Neither did Lucius.
"Ah, sore losers are no fun to be around. You are here to make the trade, right? Come on then." The red haired woman brought over Wil and Florina, throwing them on the ground in front of Lundgren's feet. "You try anything during this exchange and my lance goes through whichever head is closest. Got it?"
The two exchangers nodded. "However, Lord Lundgren, you are only providing two of our comrades." Sain said. "Holding out for a better deal?"
"The thief?" Lundgren laughed. "He is not your friend. Spies of Ostia only have one master. No, best put him to the blade alongside the girl. You will not be getting him back."
The three tried not to let their feelings show through, though Lyn failed spectacularly as her eyes flew open and her glare fixed on Lundgren once more. She longed put an end to this charade Lundgren was putting on, but she knew she no longer had that power. Only one person controlled this play.
"Sain." Lundgren said, addressing the knight. "You were once a very promising knight recruit. I'll tell you what. Join me and serve under me. If you do that, I'll even let you have your pick of the women."
Sain chuckled. For a moment it seemed like the knight had lost his mind, as he laughed at the offer presented to him. "I do not force my heart upon others, Lundgren, but give it freely." His smile fell, and for the first time in a long time Lundgren felt true fear. The look in the young knight's eye was pure hatred, one that could stop a man cold. "You do not know what makes a true knight. And you never will."
"Fool, you could have spared yourself more suffering this way." Lundgren spat, managing to regain his composure. "You and the Crag… traitors all of you. I'll deal with you in time… count on that. Now, the exchange. Bring me the mongrel."
Sain let go of the rope, and Lucius nudged Lyndis forward. Lundgren grinned as his victory walked right up to meet his lance. This moment had been a long time in coming.
The next moment, all he could see was light. When he realized the priest had thrown a light spell in his eyes, he roared in anger and swung his lance in an arc around himself. "Get them!" He shouted to his knights. Before his eyes cleared, he could hear the sounds of battle and screams. He recognized the sound of Pegasus wings landing, and shouting of battle cries and a spell, and the cries of the mongrel saying "Get these off of me and get Matthew! Then get out of here!"
His magnificent victory had just been foiled.
"We'll only have one chance." Will said through some minor coughing. "I hate to say it, but Ludgren's position inside the castle gates is too well fortified for anything to work after this chance."
"So what do we do?" Lyn asked, sitting next to him.
Will closed his eyes scrunched his face before opening his eyes again and releasing, perhaps trying to ignore a spasm of pain coursing through his body. "Lundgren will probably expect us to pull something. We need to play to his expectations as much as possible."
"How do we do that?" Kent asked.
"For one, we'll have to tie you up Lyn. Lundgren won't hesitate to attack if we don't at least look like we're considering playing along." Will said.
"Won't he just realize we aren't anyway?" Kent demanded. "It's an awful lot of danger you're willing to put Lady Lyndis in for this."
Sain however, seemed to catch on. "He'll want to gloat." A small smile broke out on his face. "Knowing he's backed us into a corner even as we try to be defiant will tickle him pink, and he'll just have to get in his jabs before trying to kill us."
"Exactly." Will said. "Lundgren is too arrogant to stop himself. Therefore, one of the people bringing Lyn will be Sain."
"Me?" Sain asked in surprise.
"Kent can't fight in his condition, and with Wallace's injury he isn't going to be in top form for at least a few more hours." Will said. "Aside from them, you're our best fighter, Sain. Not only that, but you've been with Lyn and I the longest. You having to hand over the woman you were assigned to protect on her orders will again be a nice bit of bait for Lundgren."
"I see." Erk said, wincing as Nils applied further bandages to his burned upper arm. "I assume you'll want a mage to be going as well? In that case, I can-"
"No, Lucius will go." Will said. The monk looked mildly surprised, but not at all unwilling. "I appreciate the offer Erk, but you're hurt and you need to heal, just like Kent. Besdies, Lucius will work for this plan much better."
"How so, may I ask?" The monk asked.
"Can you use your lightning to blind people?" Will asked.
Lucius considered this. "I would have to get it directly into my opponent's eyes. To turn lightning into a flash would require reducing the power to almost nothing."
"Good enough." Will said. "When Lundgren tells you to bring the girl forward, I want Sain to hang back. Lucius, you'll lead Lyn over to Lundgren, before springing the surprise."
"That's all well and good," Serra said as she worked on Wallace's back injury with her staff, "but Lundgren has other forces with him in there right? Won't they just attack and kill Lyn or the hostages?"
Will paused for a moment, coughing heavily into his hand. He wiped a very visible trail of blood from his mouth, before continuing. "That's part two. Lundgren will probably do two things: One, he'll keep the hostages in the cage. Two: He'll bring out one or two of the hostages and lay them at his feet to prevent funny business, while keeping the others in the cage."
"So the reason you need me to hang back…" Sain began, once more catching on.
"Is to free whomever is left in the cage. Lucius, after blinding Lundgren you'll need to undo Lyn's bindings and get whatever hostages are at Lundgren's feet to safety." Will explained.
"And what of the other enemies that Lundgren has at his command?" Rath asked.
"That's going to be on you and me, Rath." Will said.
"You?" Lyn said. "No, you've already been hurt so much! You should be resting just as much as the others!"
"This plan doesn't work without an aerial diversion. Without Florina, there's only one of us who even has a chance of getting Huey to listen to them apart from you Lyn. That's me." Will said with determination. "I wouldn't propose this plan if there was a better one I could think of, but right now I don't have time to waste thinking up brand new strategies." He growled stubbornly.
"And me?" Rath asked, cutting off Lyn before she could object further.
"You'll have to circle around the castle gate wall. It's not going to be an easy shot, but your ears should be able to place Lundgren. You'll need to shoot an arrow at him right after the flash goes off." Will said. "This is mostly just to give Lucius and Lyn an extra second or two to get away with the others. Then Lucius and Lyn can turn their attention to the other fighters and take them out. Sain, you'll take the injured and have them escape on your horse. I'm sorry to make you fight on foot, but…"
"No worries." Sain said, waving his hand airily. "I can handle myself no problem."
"I'll fly in with Huey when the flash goes off. I'll make sure to take out the mage Lundgren is sure to have. With him out of the picture, I'm hoping the three of you can manage the rest before Lundgren recovers. Rath, if you're willing to ride in, that'd be a great help too." Will said.
Rath nodded. Lyn still didn't like this, though she understood why Will had come up with this plan. It really did seem plausible, and had the highest chance of everyone getting out of this fight alive. Even so, she had to ask. "How much of this plan… do you think will work?"
"Being honest?" Will said, his voice wavering slightly. "About one fourth of this plan's success relies on luck. One-fourth is an assumption of our enemy, and half is your own skills and determination. So really, this could go either way."
"In other words." Sain said. "you've got nothing to worry about, milady."
Lundgren finally felt his eyes opening once more. The scene in front of him was pure chaos. Somehow, that lousy tactician had managed to ride in on the girl prisoner's pegasus. A sword was resting in the chest of his head mage, and one of the cavaliers was currently having trouble as the Pegasus struck at him from the skies.
Looking down at his feet, he noticed the prisoners were also gone. Glancing over at the cage revealed the thief was gone as well. That dastard Sain must have used his horse to carry them out, because he was still there, battling the knight with sword and lance in hand. The mage the mongrel had brought with her had taken down the other cavalier and was now assisting the Pegasus, while the mongrel herself had subdued the red haired girl before she had even gotten on her pegasus. Fools, all of them.
Lundgren lifted his axe and lance, and prepared to enter the fray himself. At the moment three arrows bounced off his armor. In confusion, he looked around. There couldn't have been an archer among them, he had been exceedingly careful of that. Unless the archer was shooting him from outside the castle walls? But that was impossible! He'd have to know exactly where he was… ah, so that was it.
Lundgren turned to the Tactician, who was leaning against the wall as he coughed heavily. "You dastard… you could see that far ahead? You can see into the future?"
"Think what you like." The tactician spat back between his labored breathing. "Personally I think it's just that you're too easy to read. An open book, really."
Lundgren roared with anger, but his attempt to reach the tactician and wring his scrawny neck was stopped by both Sain and Lyn, who blocked his path forward. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the other archer rounding the gate corner and aiming his bow at Lundgren's back. "CAELIN IS MINE! NO ONE ELSE IS FIT TO HAVE IT!" he roared, charging the Sacaen filth.
"Huey?" Will asked, approaching the winged horse unsteadily. Rath had offered him an arm, but Will knew Huey would be nervous enough as it was without Florina around. It turns out he had been dead right. Huey looked at Will with a surprising amount of fear, whinnying nervously as he shuffled his hooves around in the dirt. Will grimaced, knowing he didn't have much time to get Huey on their side. He needed to send everyone off right away, and if he couldn't get Huey to help the plan was all but doomed.
"It's me, Will. I'm Florina's friend. You remember, right?" He asked, taking another unsteady step forward. The wavering in his voice and unsteady step seemed to do something, as Huey's fear turned to concern. The next whinny he felt like he could almost understand. 'What's wrong? Are you okay?' The small voice seemed to say.
"I'll be alright… but we need to save Florina." Will said, taking another step. "To do that… I need your help." He took another step, and Huey at last took a step towards him, catching Will on his neck as Will staggered and nearly fell. Huey nuzzled him softly as he patted the Pegasus gratefully.
"You'll help us… right?" Will asked. Huey snorted, and somehow Will knew Huey was agreeing to the unspoken terms. Lightly, he untied Huey and led him outside. He paused, for a moment stealing himself for the true difficulty to come. It was true he had flown with Florina before, and in their many talks about strategy, tactics, and lance work Florina had taught him several of the basic pegasus commands, but it felt like all that knowledge was slipping through his fingers at the prospect of flying on Huey alone. Ideally it wouldn't be an occurrence that would happen often in the future.
He placed one leg over the saddle, and found himself situated there, keeping his head low and close to Huey's mane as he dug his heels in lightly to his sides. Huey took a few steps, building up a small stride before spreading his wings. They flapped, and for the first time Will felt their full power as Huey began to take off. With three more powerful flaps they were in the air, and moments later they were so high the camp became a small speck in the sky.
Will swallowed his terror and held off his coughs as best he could, leading Huey to where they needed to go. He only hoped Lundgren's arrogance kept him from looking towards the sky. As long as he could pull off the surprise attack, he knew Lyn could manage the rest. She was the peerless warrior, and he the master tactician.
"You will play this farce to the end, won't you Lundgren?" Lyn said, her Mani Katti pointed to her granduncle's throat. Sain, standing next to her, held his lance in a defensive position. He had decided to forgo his sword for the fight against Lundgren.
Lundgren felt his rage grow. The mongrel dared to call him a farce? When she was the one who had miraculously appeared years after she was assumed dead? After all the work he had gone to hire the Taliver to kill the Lorca tribe? After he had sold his soul to the devil to get what he wanted, he wasn't even going to have it? No. That was not what was to be. No matter what anyone said, Caelin was his. It always had been. "The royal house of Caelin has no need of a Sacaen Mongrel! I will put an end to you here and now!"
"To further your own black ambitions, you have harmed my grandfather and the very land you ought to serve! I no longer have any pity for you!" Lyn said, and she struck. Lundgren used his unwieldy axe to block, before stabbing out with his spear. The Knight repelled his strike, allowing Lyn a second attack. Lundgren blocked this with his axe as well. Perhaps he should have simply brought a shield, but the axe would prove much more useful if he got his chance to take either of them out. He jabbed with his lance a second time, and once more Sain blocked him with amazing precision. He really was a talented one. Too talented for his own good.
Lundgren blocked Lyn's third attack once more with the axe, but this time he lashed out with the blunt side to try and ctach the mongrel off guard. He succeeded, but Sain got in his way by pushing the mongrel down just in time. Only Sain received the blow, tumbling backwards into the castle wall. The other Mongrel started shooting arrows at him like an annoying fly as the mongrel got to her feet. He threw his lance at the archer mongrel without giving it much thought. The mongrel just managed to throw himself to the ground in time. His horse got spooked and ran, trotting on the man's leg as she went. Well, that took care of him easily enough.
Now only the woman could get in his way. The mage had gotten rather rough cut across the chest, but his spell book also lay in tatters from the fight with the cavalier. At least he had been good for something. The Pegasus was now nuzzling the unconscious tactician, who was slumped against the wall. All that movement clearly hadn't helped the poison he was still dealing with. For a moment, he felt his breast pocket. Good, the vial was still there. He still held the fate of this foolish girl in his hands.
"You… you have the antidote!" The mongrel shouted at him. It seems she had seen him check his pocket. Not that there was any particular reason for him to hide it.
"Yes, it was a gift from a friend. In my pocket lies the antidote for your friend there. What, did you what to try and trade for it?" He asked, laughing harshly. The mongrel's eyes flashed dangerously.
"No, I'll not humor your stupid games. I'll kill you and take it afterward." She said. Her stance widened as she prepped her sword high above her head. This kind of stance confused Lundgren. It was always so impractical. With her sword ripe for the taking all he had to do was swing his axe down and…
"Huh?" The confused statement escaped his lips as his arm separated from his body, flying up into the air as the Mongrel passed between his body and now severed arm. What had just happened? In horror, he turned. The mongrel's blade shone with an eerie light, one he had never seen at work before. It didn't help that now his blood coated the blade, making it shine blood red in the setting sun.
"No… not here…!" Lundgren shouted, reaching for the mongrel with his unsevered arm. The mongrel ducked his clumsy grab with ease, before her sword slashed through him again. His leg vanished from underneath him, and he fell into the mud, spluttering as he tried to turn himself over. He could feel tears stinging the corners of his eyes. "The throne of Caelin… is mine!" He spluttered, mud now mixing with the blood pouring from his open wounds as he turned his head to face the mongrel. She approached him without an ounce of pity in her eyes. "I can't lose… not to some… Sacaen… Mongrel…" Lundgren said, spitting at Lyn with the last of his strength. Without a word, Lyn raised her sword once more, and ended the tyrant's reign.
"Did they do it?" Kent asked for what must have been the tenth time, pacing back and forth. He wanted nothing more than to gallop off to their aide, but Ninian had forbidden him and even gone so far as to threaten tying him up if he tried to get on Wesley or leave the camp. Somehow, in spite of her kind demeanor, Kent believed she would do it if he pushed his luck much further.
"I don't know." Serra huffed, as she continued to work on Matthew's burns. Sain's horse had returned as planned, carrying the prisoners. This had helped them know that the first part of the battle had gone off without a hitch. However, that didn't mean much in the grand scheme of things. Florina wasn't any the worse for wear, though Serra had lamented that her beautiful long hair had been cut mercilessly short by Lundgren's forces. Wil also wasn't bad off, though he was relieved to see his bow was back at the camp.
"I just don't feel right with other bows." Wil said sheepishly. "I know it's a bad habit." Matthew had gotten the worst of it. There were cuts and burns all over his body, and Serra was beginning to feel extremely drained from all the healing she had done. She prided herself on her work and wouldn't let the job go unfinished though.
Finally, they could spot Sain running towards them, waving his arms wildly. They weren't entirely sure what this meant. Originally the plan was for them to fire a light spell into the sky if they had succeeded, and a fireball if they needed backup. Otherwise ten minutes after the flash they were supposed to move. It had been fifteen minutes, but they had remained stubbornly in place. Kent cupped his ear so he could hear what it was Sain was shouting.
"LADY LYNDIS HAS DONE IT! CAELIN IS FREED FROM LUNDGREN'S TREACHERY!" He finally made out. The entire camp broke into cheers. When Sain finally reached them, Kent even gave his partner a hearty slap on the back.
"Come friend, tell us the details. Is everyone alright?" Kent asked, a little worried that Sain had come alone even as they celebrated.
"Huey is fine, don't worry dame Florina." Sain said with a little bow. Florina nodded, though she hadn't been all that worried about Huey in comparison to Lyn and Will. She had only just gotten the whole story from Serra, and the plan sounded to her reckless at best for everyone involved.
"Lady Lyndis and I are relatively unharmed. I may have a bruised stomach for a while and a sore back, but nothing was broken when I was hit with the blunt side of Lundgren's axe." Sain said. It was obvious he was slightly proud of this accomplishment. "Lucius received a nasty gash on his chest. Lyndis is treating him with Vulnerary as we speak. His spell book was also ruined in the fight, which is why we were unable to signal you properly."
The others nodded. Sain's explanation made sense, though they hoped the kind monk was okay. "Rath has a broken leg. Lundgren spooked his horse badly and she unfortunately trod upon it as she fled."
"Elimine's graces!" Serra swore. The entire party looked at her in shock. "Well? Hurry up and finish! I'm going on pure adrenaline at this point so you better get me over there after I finish to heal them."
"Uh… right." Sain said, a bit worried. "Lyndis found the poison's antidote upon Lundgren's body. Luckily it was not smashed during the fight. Lundgren's hubris kept it well protected, I suppose. Lyndis administered the antidote, but right now…" Sain trailed off. The rest of the party grew concerned. "We're not sure if we made it in time. Huey's watching over him now."
"Then what are we waiting for." Erk said. "Let's go."
The entire party packed up what they needed. Kent put the unconscious Matthew upon his horse while Sain kindly offered Serra his for the walk over. Any rest they could give her right now would be vital.
When they arrived, they could see Rath, who had managed to pull himself over to the wall, consoling Huey softly. Lyn, who had treated Lucius Successfully, was now trying to figure how best to treat Will. She seemed unsure whether giving him a Vulnerary so soon after the antidote was a good idea, and her panic was clear on her face.
"Step aside." Serra commanded, and surprisingly Lyn did so. Florina rushed over to Huey, taking over for Rath who now had Kent and Sain leaning over him, offering him a Vulnerary and preparing to splint the injury. Serra bent over Will, checking first his pulse, then his temperature and a few other things Lyn couldn't understand.
"He's alive." Serra said. A sigh of relief escaped the party. "But he's not in good condition. This amount of treatment is going to take time, and I can't guarantee there won't be side effects."
"Side effects?" Lyn asked, horrified.
"I've never treated this before so I don't know what they would be. For now, let's get him to the castle. It will be easier to treat him in a warm room than in a cold field." Serra seemed to take an amazing amount of charge, coordinating the Legion into a search and rescue group. Kent and Sain lead the horses with Matthew, Rath, Serra and Will to the castle alongside Lyn, who needed to meet her grandfather. Florina, Dorcas, Wallace, Wil, Erk, Nils, Ninian and Lucius made teams of two to scour the battlefield, looking to bring in any injured or still alive soldiers. Now that the battle was over, she insisted they were no longer enemies and that all of them should at least receive some kind of medical treatment.
The battle may have ended, but their work had only just begun.