Disclaimer: Tout le contenu, les personnages, et l'histoire ci-dessous appartiennent à Nintendo. Bilingualism!
Chapter 26
New Allies and Old Enemies
There was little doubt that I was screwed. The Queen was dead, as were most of the common soldiers and knights. It had been a brutally tough fight and I committed everything I had to it, but I never stood a chance; the enemy was stronger, smarter, better in every way. At every turn I was outmaneuvered; every plan, every defense, every counterattack was foiled and shattered against the unstoppable tide of dark figures.
I put my head in my hands, taking a few seconds to breathe and collect myself. This truly was then end; the battle was lost, there was not an ounce of hope left. I could still resist, I could keep up the fight... but what was the point? Better to let it end now than to continue this futile effort. The enemy could see this, plain as day, and knew as surely as I did that my defeat was near.
Reluctantly I reached out to turn my king on his side and admit defeat. Across the table, Soren's bored, unimpressed expression remained unchanged, and I could feel his judging gaze on me. Already I could hear his coming admonishments, telling me I had no business in command of even such a small unit if I could not keep up with these lessons on tactics and strategy.
I stopped, just as I was about to end the game. Soren's king was just a couple spaces away from mine, and one of my remaining pawns was close by...
"The game's over," the little tactician said impatiently. Inwardly, I smiled. Time to change the game; no rules on the real battlefield. I looked up at him, shrugged, and moved my king right next to his.
"You can't do that," Soren said condescendingly, as though he were speaking to a small child who didn't understand even the most basic rules of the game. "You can't make a move that will kill your king."
"Why not? Battle's lost, but I think my king would rather go down fighting," I countered. "See? You can take my king, but if you do then my pawn can kill your king as well. Everybody loses."
"No, because it was an illegal move in the first place," Soren replied impatiently, still looking at me like I was an idiot.
"Really? You said this was an exercise in tactical thought, and that seems to be a decent tactic to me," I reasoned, secretly glad to have finally gotten some small victory, however futile it was.
Soren just shook his head. "If only you were as smart as you are stubborn, you might actually be of some use as a leader... The lesson is over. Now get lost, I have business to attend to," he said curtly, putting the board away and waving me out of the tent. I was more than happy to comply.
As someone who disliked other humans almost as much as he disliked laguz, Soren's tent was as isolated as it could be in our temporary forest camp. He was still close enough to Ike's command tent to help out the general and keep the army running smoothly, but was nonetheless quite far from any campfires; he claimed the noise of the soldiers gathering around a fire was too much of a distraction. As such it was very cold in his tent, and the fact that I had hardly moved for the past hour made that even worse; my teeth were chattering loudly as I made my way to a warmer part of the camp. The cold never seemed to bother Soren, but then he probably had some kind of magic to keep himself warm. Lucky bastard...
"Sir!" Jarod's voice called from my left, making me jump in surprise. The sergeant jogged over to meet me, chuckling under his breath at my fright. "Didn't know you were so easily scared, captain."
"I was just, uh, getting myself ready in case it was an ambush, sergeant," I stammered, trying in vain to save face. Jarod just rolled his eyes, prompting me to grumble "Oh, shut up!"
"Didn't say anything, sir," the sergeant deadpanned.
"Yeah, sure. Anyway, what'd you need?" I asked, changing the subject before he could poke fun at me again.
"There's hot stew on the fire; most of the unit's eating lunch, and I thought you might like to join us. You know, get to know the men a bit better."
"Sounds good. Not sure if I'll be much good for conversation, but it can't hurt," I said. Despite being in command of the small group for several days, I had little opportunity to socialize with the troops. Soren discouraged that, saying a leader should always be ready to send a soldier to his death, but then again there was no way I would follow Soren into a barfight, let alone a battle. "Lead on."
"Umm, Sir..." Jory, one of the younger spearmen in the unit, said cautiously about a half hour later. I was seated at a cookfire with about a dozen men from my unit, and every one of them was looking at me in bewilderment. "We weren't talking about clothes. I mean, what is a necktie anyway? Some fancy thing you nobles wear?"
"Okay first, I'm not a noble; I was a merc up until a month ago. Second, this is not something you ever want to wear!" I laughed. A few of the others chuckled nervously, but most remained silent - they were still a little unsettled to have an officer eating and trying to joke with them.
"I don't understand what you're getting at either, sir," Jarod said. He looked like he was starting to regret his decision to bring me here.
"You guys have no faith!" I exclaimed dramatically. Some of the older soldiers had been messing with the younger ones, telling them stories about the horrible deaths that awaited them. Disturbing though it was, it quickly turned into a game of who could come up with the most disgusting one, and boy did I have a bad one. "Trust me, a Colombian necktie is way worse than what you guys were talking about," I chuckled evilly. "Y'see, what they do is they slit a guy's thr-"
"Deputy Commander!" Jory hissed, and suddenly everyone at the cookfire sat up straight, and I stopped my description right away.
"And that is why it is very important to hold on to your weapon during a battle!" I said in a loud, authoritative voice as though I were teaching something very important to the unit while I surreptitiously watched Deputy Commander Titania pass by our fire. "Wouldn't you agree, Ja- Sergeant Jarod?"
"Yessir, very important. If you drop your weapon, there is a very good chance that someone will kill you and-"
"She's gone," Jory whispered. Instantly we all relaxed.
"Thank the Goddess, I really had nothing else," Jarod said. "Seriously, 'hold onto your weapons'?"
"I had half a second," I replied defensively before leaning in and picking up the conversation where I left off. "So anyway, they cut the throat, but not just to get the veins..." and I launched into a vivid description of all the grisly details, drawing a mix of horrified looks and incredulous laughter, especially when I got to the part with the tongue.
"No way! That's insane!" Jory exclaimed. I just smiled and nodded. "Alright, someone's gotta be able to beat tha-" he trailed off, his face going blank as his eyes fixed on something behind us.
"Afternoon, youngsters," a voice suddenly called from behind us. Jarod and I both spun to face it, fearing we'd just been busted by some high-ranking officer. Instead, we found a winged figure standing right behind us. Jarod let out a startled yelp and grabbed for his spear, while my hand instinctively went to the hilt of my dagger.
"Whoa, easy kids, I just need some directions," the stranger - a young-looking blond man - exclaimed, holding his palms out in a non-threatening manner. I noticed his wings were brown, not black, and began to piece things together.
"You must be from Phoenicis," I said after a few seconds; reinforcements from the Hawk Tribes had been delayed by the storm, but they must have just got in today. I nudged Jarod with my elbow and whispered tauntingly "Didn't know you were so easily scared, sergeant."
"Oh, shut up," he grumbled back, but he relaxed noticeably. "Sorry. Guess I've run into Kilvas' corsairs a few too many times," Jarod offered apologetically, setting his spear back down. He pointed at the man's wings. "Learned to dread those years ago."
"Damn crows are giving us a bad reputation," the newcomer grumbled. "Trust me, Pheonicis has nothing in common with those swine. I'm Janaff, by the way," he added, extending a hand towards Jarod. "This is what you beorc do when you meet, right?"
"That's right. I'm Jarod," the sergeant said, taking the offered hand. "I'll, uh, try to keep myself under control when you're around."
Janaff chuckled. "And I'll try not to spook you. Now, I'm supposed to find some guy named A-damn. Some kind of knight; you young'uns wouldn't know where I could find him, would you?"
"That'd be me," I said, standing up and making a conscious effort not to correct him on the pronunciation of my name. "What do you need me for?"
"Dunno, but General Ike wants you to meet him at the command tent," Janaff explained with a shrug.
"I'll be right there," I said, emptying my bowl of stew quickly. Janaff nodded and excused himself, and the conversation at the campfire started up again. In seconds one of the soldiers remembered a death even nastier than a Colombian necktie, and those present erupted in incredulous shouting yet again.
Ike's tent was unusually empty when I got there. The only people present aside from the General were Soren, Titania (who'd woken up that morning and resumed her duties despite Rhys' protests), as well as the Pheonician King Tibarn and some of his retainers. I recognized Janaff, and assumed the other two were Ulki (he was a tall, severe fellow) and the Heron Prince Reyson (he was not nearly as tall, but looked far more severe). It looked like Ike and Tibarn were discussing troop deployments - nothing that really concerned me.
"Deputy Commander," I greeted Titania quietly as I entered and stood beside her. "Good to see you on your feet again."
"Thank you," she said with a faint smile. She looked uncommonly pale, but I made a point not to fuss over her any more.
"Thanks for the reinforcements, King Tibarn; hopefully the extra aerial scouts can keep Daein from catching us off guard again," Ike was saying to the Hawk King.
"Hey now, don't write us off as just scouts!" the King objected. "My men can tear through any enemy you need them too, and with half the effort it would take from your beorc soldiers!" he proclaimed proudly.
"I'll keep that in mind," the General replied, before turning to address the Heron prince. "I have to say I'm surprised to see you here, Reyson. I thought herons weren't suited to the battlefield."
"I owe you a debt, both for rescuing my sister and for helping restore the Serenes Forest," the prince replied, his expression firm and determined. "And I can handle myself on the battlefield just fine, so do not concern yourself with that."
"I tried to keep him from coming, but I would've had to knock him out!" Tibarn laughed. "When Reyson gets an idea in his head, there's no stopping him."
"Alright, then," Ike said. I could plainly see he was pleased with this news. "Well since you're here, I might as well make use of you."
"What do you need?" Reyson replied grimly.
"One of the prisoners we took at the last battle was a nobleman's son, and Soren thinks he can give us good information on the enemy. Only problem is that he won't talk, so I thought you could help with his interrogation," Ike started. Reyson looked repulsed, but Ike hurriedly explained the rest of his idea. "If you were to use your seid magic to calm him down and make him feel safe, then we might get him to talk."
Reyson tilted his head to the side and considered this for a moment before responding. "Yes, I will assist you. But I will have your word that this man will not be harmed."
"We don't torture prisoners here," Ike reassured him. "The prisoner isn't far, Soren will take you there," he added, moving to the tent flap and holding it open. The others left, but I stayed behind for a second to speak with the General.
"What do you need me along for?" I asked, confused at the special summons. "I'm no interrogator."
"If this works and he does talk, I want you to listen and see if anything he says matches what you know," Ike explained.
"What I know isn't exactly accurate, Ike, you know that," I pointed out cautiously.
"But some of it has been accurate. If you can confirm even a small part of the information, then I can be more confident that he's telling the truth," Ike countered earnestly. "I am not walking into another trap because we don't know our enemy, but I don't want to be fed bad information either."
"Alright, I'll see what I can do," I agreed, and followed Ike out of the tent.
We caught up with the other's just outside the makeshift prison; the prisoners were kept in a series of large tents, tied to wooden posts driven into the ground. Most of the low-ranking soldiers had been stripped of their equipment and released - they were local levies who would rather return to their families than to the army - but a few officers were still bound and under guard.
The young nobleman who was to be interrogated had been moved to a separate tent, and everyone except Reyson was waiting patiently outside. The flap was closed and I could not see what was happening within, but a few soft notes reached my ears as Reyson sang some kind of galdr to the man within. I had to suppress a chuckle, thinking how absurd it must have looked to the prisoner to have a random laguz come in and sing to him, but I noticed that even the few notes I heard had a very calming effect on me. These galdrar were indeed potent. After several minutes, Reyson poked his head out of the tent.
"I have done all I can to calm him. You can enter, but I suggest only a few of you; too many people might spook him," the heron prince called quietly. Ike waved Titania and I over, then stepped into the tent.
Inside, a young man - he looked about my age, twenty or so - was reclining on a wooden chair. Despite the fact that his arms and legs were bound, he was looking around lazily at the cieling with a content smile on his face.
"Jon, these people need your help," Reyson said quietly to the man. He looked over at us, his relaxed, semi-lucid expression unchanged.
"Sure..." he said slowly. "It'd be rude not to help people who need it."
"Just how much did you relax him?" Ike asked, watching in mixed shock and amusement as the prisoner's head lolled about, the stupidly happy expression still plastered across his face.
"I might have overdone it, but I've never tried anything like this before," Reyson admitted. "Not to worry, though; you should find him very cooperative and suggestible for the next few hours."
Ike strode over and knelt down in front of the prisoner. "You were with the Daein army until a few days ago," he started. "What can you tell me about them."
"Lots. My father's really important, so I got told lots of stuff about them," the prisoner said, his gaze roaming around the tent. "It's really nice in here."
"How many soldiers are in the army?" Ike asked, being more specific.
"Uhhmm... hold on I know this! ...I think around five thousand?" Jon replied finally. "Yeah, that sounds right."
"What kind of troops do they have?" Ike asked.
"Mostly infantry and longbowmen. Several hundred cavalry too."
"What about mages? Wyvern riders?" Ike asked; these kinds of units were far more dangerous.
"No wyverns, but we have a few mages. We're saving them, though; don't wanna lose them all early on in the war."
"And what about General Shiharam? When are his wyvern riders going to join the battle?" Ike asked. Shiharam was Jill's father, and led a significant force of elite wyvern knights. We'd suspected he was the one leading the enemy army, given how skilled their commander was, but this seemed to prove otherwise.
"He's still in Talrega with all his men. Not sure why, but the Commander's planning to retreat there if we can't stop the invaders... Say, aren't you guys the invaders?" the man asked uncertainly, frowning. He considered us for several tense seconds, then shrugged and smiled. "Nah, you seem too nice for that."
Ike glanced at me, and I nodded; what he said about Shiharam matched what I remembered. Ike turned back to the prisoner. "So who's leading the army, then?"
"Josh; he's really nice, and he's my friend. See? Told you I'm important," Jon answered. He suddenly looked around at us as though he'd just come to a major realization, and for a second I worried that he'd figured out we were the enemy. "Hey, you guys are my friends too, right?" Jon asked after a second.
"Sure we are," Ike replied in as friendly a tone as he could manage. "Now why don't you tell us what you know about this Josh?"
"Oh, yeah. He used to be one of King Ashnard's retainers, but then he got too badly wounded in a battle years ago. Apparently he couldn't walk anymore, and he lost one of his arms!" Jon exclaimed, trying to gesture with his own arm but instead nearly tipped over the chair he was tied to.
"So the army's being led by a cripple?" Titania asked incredulously as she steadied the young noble.
"Oh no, don't you guys worry! He's walking again, and you'd never be able to tell he was wounded in the first place... well, except for the arm. Still only has one of those, but he says he met this fortune teller girl who fixed his back, so now his legs work!" Jon explained. "Crazy, innit?"
"Is he any good at running the army?" Ike asked, trying to lead him towards some more useful information.
"Yup! He's really smart and strong, and I heard that Petrine's tactician - Ana, Eenee, something like that - handpicked him for this job, which just makes sense since he was trained by his father," the young man said as though that explained everything.
"And who is his father?" Titania asked.
"I didn't tell you? Silly me; he's the oldest son of General Tauroneo! His father used to be one of Daein's Four Riders!"
I gave Ike a surprised look, and waved him aside. Ike nodded, and stood up to leave. "Thanks Jon, you've been a great help." The prisoner beamed up at him, and Ike quickly turned and led the way outside.
"That last thing he said shocked you," the General said as soon as we were outside. I nodded in response; Tauroneo was supposed to be recruitable, but now his son was involved too...
"General Tauroneo's one of your father's old comrades," I explained. Ike looked unsurprised; he'd probably guessed that bit, considering he just recently found out his father used to be one of the Four Riders as well. "From what I know he's supposed to join us, but now that his son's involved..."
"One of the Four Riders would make a powerful ally," Titania commented. "Perhaps we should try to take his son alive if we get the chance."
"We can try, but not if it will put our people in unnecessary danger," Ike agreed cautiously. He frowned and considered his options for a moment. "It would be nice to have him as an ally, but that's not worth losing one of our own."
"And what about the army? Sounds like they're a lot smaller than us," I inquired. If what Jon said was true - and we really had no reason to doubt it, at least not as far as I knew - then they would be no match for us in a field battle.
"Five thousand men can still do a lot of damage to us in a battle," Titania cautioned Ike. The General nodded thoughtfully.
"They can, but better to get a quick victory than to let them keep slowing us down and picking us apart with these little skirmishes," he said after a moment. "I'll need to meet with Soren, Tibarn and Tanith to discuss this, but I think our best bet is to push ahead and catch them before they retreat to Talrega. That's all for now, you two are dismissed; go eat and get some rest, we'll be marching soon." It looked for a moment like Titania was going to protest, but Ike stopped her. "Go get some rest, Titania, you look terrible. I can manage without you for a few more days." With that they were gone, and I was left alone in front of the prisoner's tent, wondering how in the hell we were going to deal with Tauroneo and his clever son.
"Hey, where'd you guys go?" a sad voice called from inside the tent.
"Go to sleep, Jon!" I yelled back at the dopey prisoner.
"Okay, bye!" he replied. Seconds later, loud snoring sounded from within the tent.
A/N
So this was a really random and kinda short chapter. Hope you enjoy it, please drop a review and let me know what you think. I have already started on the next one and will continue writing even though I'm in the middle of one last essay push, so with any luck I can get another chapter done before the end of the month.
In case anyone is wondering, Josh is actually a character from the games, and his backstory is from Tauroneo and Rolf's support convos (minus the part where he gets healed by... someone important and proceeds to lead the defense of Daein. I added that bit).
Review Response
Tom-Ato13: Oops, I was stupid and listed Astrid as a casualty. She wasn't actually supposed to die, I just suck at proofreading. I went back and fixed it, so thanks a million for pointing that out!