The Gaiden Chapters
Chapter 36: Infiltration (Ursula)
"Remind me again why you are tagging along?" Ursula hissed as she roved about the crowd. Beside her, trying so hard to look inconspicuous, was Basilio. He was wearing a cloak to try and blend in but Basilio was huge, his mere height made him stick out like a sore thumb. Not to mention how rare it was to see Feroxi so far inland in Valm, they usually stuck to the coast near to their boats.
"Because we're friends," Basilio said, although the usually jovial tone in his voice when he mentioned that was missing. "We gotta look out for each other."
She wasn't buying it for a minute. "What's the real reason?"
He didn't say anything and neither could bring themselves to look the other in the eye. His silent reply hung heavy in the air 'I don't trust you anymore.' Sighing Ursula focused on the task at hand. Fort Steiger was any tactician's nightmare. Practically impenetrable thanks to brilliant structural engineering it sat in a very important area in the center of the continent. All roads ran through it and it could feed and house a huge army for ten years under siege under the best conditions. Ursula didn't have ten years; she had a few weeks at best. The minute Walhart learned that the Ylisseans had invaded he would send the full brunt of his armies at them and if they were caught flat footed outside of Fort Steiger they were completely screwed.
Her farsight was a bit shaky but she divined that their best shot at success was taking Fort Steiger from the inside. To that end she had organized five teams of spies to infiltrate the fort and begin to conquer it from the inside out. She really, really wished Gaius was here. The ginger thief would have been perfect for this mission but he had decided to return to his job as a fireman after the Shepherds disbanded. They tried to contact him before they left for Valm but they got no reply from him. At first she had initially thought that Chrom would not allow her to be part of the infiltration. His past history dictated that he liked keeping a close eye on her at all times much to her chagrin. Oddly enough he had been fine with it when she explained her reasons for going; she needed to be able to get into contact with the infiltration groups as fast as she could in case the future changed. Maybe getting married had mellowed him out a bit?
Unfortunately for her Basilio had taken it upon himself to babysit her in Chrom's stead. Ever since the storm things had cooled between them. Ursula wasn't sure how to feel about that but whenever she reflected that Basilio no longer trusted her it made her heart painfully clench. Sighing she fiddled with her hood, now was not the time for stupid thoughts. Together, the pair wound around the fortress-city several times making sure no one was following them. Occasionally people would glance at Basilio's odd figure but they never stared long. As the sun began to set Ursula led them to an inn close to the fortress. Cherche and Say'ri had set things up for them; there was a secret passageway they could take into the fort. There were several others like it allowing the soldiers within Fort Steiger to launch surprise attacks against invaders who had taken the city but not the fortress. The rest of the infiltration teams had used these to enter the building unnoticed. Ursula and Basilio would be the last group to get in.
The inn was packed with patrons who were drinking after a long, hard day of work. Avoiding the groping hands of the drunkards Ursula approached the bar. The rotund, bald barkeeper looked up at her "How can I help you?" He was the contact the Resistance had set up. All Ursula had to do was casually comment on insignificant battle axe that hung above the door.
"Two tankards of grog and some soda bread please," she replied. Basilio shot her a quizzical look but before he could say anything she hustled them over to a nearby table.
"What the hell is up?" Basilio whispered.
"I got a bad feeling, my farsight was warning me." Ursula said "Something's wrong." As casually as she could she looked about trying to see if there was anyone watching them.
Basilio sighed and rubbed his forehead "Now what?"
"I don't know," Ursula admitted. She didn't want to jeopardize the rest of the infiltration team but at the same time she couldn't pinpoint exactly what was wrong. "We'll have to find another way or abort the mission entirely." They ate in silence, both of them were thinking as hard as they could about how to fix things.
"Could we wait until everyone clears out before talking to the bartender?" Basilio asked as he finished off the rest of his grog.
"Believe it or not I suspect that the bartender's been turned," Ursula admitted "Everything was going fine until I approached him."
"Are you sure you're not being overly paranoid?" Basilio asked gruffly.
She was a bit taken a back; the khan had never openly doubted her farsight. Sure, he believed that the future was much more chaotic than she claimed but he had always quietly supported her decisions. "I'm sure," she said. Normally this was when she smirked and told him to trust her because they were friends but her mouth stayed set in its grimace while the words soured on her lips.
Basilio looked unsure for a second before sighing "Alright then, time to do it my way."
Ursula quirked an eyebrow "You've got a plan."
He nodded "Yeah but you're not going to like it."
"No." Ursula gazed up at the fortress walls which seemed to rise up into the very clouds themselves.
Basilio was already warming up "You got a better plan?"
She gave him an exasperated look "You seriously think you can climb that?"
"Yep," he said hunkering down on all fours "Get on."
'I can't believe I'm going through with this,' Ursula thought to herself as she climbed onto his back. Yet Basilio had already proven himself to be an excellent climber and if he was confident that he could scale all the way up the wall then who was she to doubt him? Reaching into his satchel Basilio brought out two grapple hooks, the kind used to scale mountains. The wall was made up of a dark colored stone, probably from some nearby quarry. It had pretty spectacular grip and there were grooves in the wall that made it easy to ascend.
It was a moonless night and the lack of light made them practically invisible. Clearly the builders had not expected anyone to be crazy enough to climb the wall, Basilio found tons of footholds making climbing even easier than he expected. The real test was how his stamina held out, this wall was gigantic. It made sense, Roseanne wasn't too far from here and the tall walls would give archers an advantage when dealing with wyvern riders. The hours crept by as Basilio slowly made his way up higher and higher.
'Don't look down, don't look down,' Ursula thought as she clung to his back. She was beginning to get scared at this point. It was like something out of a nightmare; a long, dark climb where even the smallest slip up would send her plunging to her death.
"You doing alright?" he asked taking a small break to shake out the lactic acid building up in his forearms. The last thing he wanted was to lose too much grip strength, thank Naga for all these footholds.
"I'm scared," Ursula nonchalantly admitted. "How are you doing?"
"Kinda torn between scared and exhilarated." He replied reaching up for the next handhold. After a moment he added "We need to talk." Grunting, Basilio pulled his left leg up to a high hold, before rocking his knee over the hold, and used that momentum to reach further with a stronger base. Panting hard he continued "I don't like being mad at you."
Ursula but her lip, she felt the same way but like hell she'd admit it. "You're mad at me?"she asked coldly.
"Yeah," Basilio panted, choosing to ignore her tone. "I don't like secrets, never had, never will. They're necessary at times, but I still think they do more harm than good. I want to trust you Ursula."
"Then trust me," she bit back "Haven't I earned it?" Even though she said that there was a small, treacherous part of herself that was begging him not to. Any trust he placed in her would be betrayed in the end, it was inevitable.
"I can't," Basilio replied "You're hiding something from me and my gut tells me whatever secret you're keeping it's dangerous."
"Do you always listen to your gut?" Ursula asked sardonically. "That's a bit naïve, no?"
Basilio growled at her "Hey! It's never steered me wrong before. I can't tell you how many times I cheated death because I relied on my gut."
The tactician sighed "So we're at an impasse, you want to believe me but you're going to listen to your gut."
"Not necessarily." Basilio said "You could tell me your secret."
"Not going to happen," she shot back. Her weird feelings regarding Basilio aside she would have to be out of her mind to spill her secret now. Ursula rolled her eyes as she imagined how that would conversation would unroll.
"Sure I'll tell you my secret," she said as chipper as she could be "Believe it or not, I am Grima! Yep, that's right. That ancient, evil dragon of destruction that tried to wipe out mankind? She's currently clinging to your back. Hope the fact that I am currently attempting to collect the rest of my scattered body parts to recreate my dragon body and then destroy the world won't cause a rift between us. We're friends you know, can I rely on you to help me tear asunder all that you hold dear."
"Yeah, about that whole friends thing…" With one smooth motion he grabbed her arm, yanked her off his back, and let her fall to her death.
Yeah, that really, really, wasn't an option.
"How about this?" Ursula asked. "What if I promise you that whatever my secret is it isn't dangerous to you or the others?"
Basilio sighed "Fine, I guess if it's something you really can't talk about then a promise is the next best thing."
"Basilio, I promise that whatever my secret is it will not hurt anyone." She lied through her teeth "Naturally that only applies to our allies."
"I guess I have to accept that for now," Basilio said. Pushing the issue into the back of his mind until later he focused on climbing. By the time they crested the wall it was early in the morning. The pinkish light of the sun clashed with dark blue night sky. With her farsight Ursula was able to guide Basilio to a place where the guards wouldn't see them. Rolling over the railing Basilio crashed onto his back gasping for breath.
"Can you stand?" Ursula asked kneeling beside him "We need to get out of here before the patrol comes by."
He tried to push himself up but his elbows buckled and sent him back to the ground. "I…might need some help," he panted.
Grabbing his hand she helped him onto his feet then slung his arm around her shoulder. "This way," she said pointing to the stairs. Her farsight proved invaluable for avoiding the guards, if they were seen the whole mission would be put in jeopardy. Slipping into the fortress Ursula wound her way around the halls until she found a lone room at the very end of a dusty hallway. Inside was a small room with a cot and a window. "Perfect," Ursula said as she stepped inside. Placing Basilio down on the cot she leaned down next to him. "I'm going to get some food and water, stay here."
It looked like he was trying to protest but the moment his head hit the pillow he was out like a light. Ursula took a moment to tuck him in before heading out into the hallway. Quickly pulling down her hood she headed toward the kitchen. As the temple bells began to ring signaling the start of a new day the fortress began to come to life. First came the servants skittering about like bugs completing tasks for their masters. There were breakfast to cook, washtubs to fill, clothes to press, and weapons to clean. Next came the soldiers, the rank and file guys. At first they were draped in nothing but towels heading for the communal bath. Higher ranked officers had bathtubs in their rooms giving them the luxury of privacy. After a rejuvenating bath, a bracing cup of wine, and a few minutes to slip into their armor the soldiers emptied out into the courtyard for the morning drills. While they sweated it out under the merciless supervision of their drill sergeants the officers gathered in the mess hall for quick brunch. Gazing out the window at the soldiers the officers casually sipped their beers and shot the breeze.
Unnoticed by everyone Ursula slipped into the kitchen. The head chef was a bulldog of a man with a pitbull's mean temper. While she watched he grabbed one of servant's by the ear and burned his hand with a scalding hot ladle. Apparently the poor sap had been caught trying to steal some bread. 'Poor unfortunate soul,' she thought smirking. Her hands were like lightning as she swept up what she needed. Everyone was too busy watching the head chef beat the shit out of the thief to see her exiting the kitchen with a large tray laden with food. Anyone she passed in the hallway would have assumed she was getting food for some high ranking officer so they paid her no notice. Guided by her farsight she avoided any trouble and returned to the room. Basilio was completely out of it and he had earned his rest so she didn't wake him up. Instead she ate breakfast, left some food for him as well as a piece of parchment telling him what she was up to. Although she doubted he would be waking up anytime soon it never hurt to be careful. Sticking it to his forehead she left, there was a lot to do with very little time to do it.
First, she needed to check in on everyone and make sure they were alright. It only took one slip up, one spy being caught snooping around, and all their work would be for nothing. Finding them wasn't easy but by dinner time she had gotten into contact with everyone. Luckily everyone had managed to get in undetected and were busy gathering information for her. It was a lot to take in at first; so much so that soon the room Basilio was sleeping in was plastered with rolls upon rolls of parchment detailing it all. There were patrol routes to learn, important officers to note, structural weakness to examine, and much, much more. Somehow Ursula had to take all this information, trim it down to the absolutely necessary parts, and form it into a plan with the clock ominously ticking in her ears.
She might have withered under the pressure but Basilio was there by her side. After sleeping for two days straight he roused himself in the middle of the third day. He said nothing as he yawned; his belly did all the talking for him. Stepping over the ring of papers she had surrounded herself with she served him a hearty lunch. Once he was done eating every scrap of food she had squirreled away for him as well as several pitchers of water he pushed himself up out of bed. "What are you doing?" the tactician asked him placing a hand on his chest. She glared at him "You are still recuperating. If you push yourself too hard you're going to get sick."
He smirked and gently brushed her hand away I'm fine, I've been through much worse. Besides, if there's one thing I hate almost as much as secrets it's lying around like a bump on a log." Plopping down on the ground he sat cross legged and picked up a few scraps of parchment. "So, what do I do next?"
"Nothing," Ursula said sitting down beside him "Getting me into the fortress was more than enough."
"Ah c'mon," Basilio pleaded "You seriously want me just to sit around on my ass all day long?"
"What else can you do?" Ursula pointed out "No offense but you kind of stick out around here." There was not a single Feroxi among either the soldiers or the servants. One suddenly appearing out of the blue would draw quite a bit of attention.
Sighing Basilio lurched back and leaning up against the frame of the cot "Well shit, if I had known that I would be trapped in here I wouldn't have come along." Ursula was about to snap at him but he cut her off "Don't you have some spying to do?"
"Yes, but I have to organize my notes first," she explained grabbing several of them. "If I can't keep everything in one cohesive whole then it's going to be impossible to unsnarl it later."
Basilio look at her for a second before reaching over and plucking the noted out of her hands. "I'll handle this," he said as he pointed at the door "Go ahead and do your cloak and dagger bit, leave the information handling to me."
Skeptical, Ursula raised an eyebrow "Are you sure, it's a lot to handle." Honestly she wasn't sure he could handle it.
"Hey, I'm a khan! Which means I'm well versed in bureaucracy" he assured her.
As it turned out he was right. While she was out gathering intel he was back in the room forming all of it into an understandable whole. The other spies would drop by his room and slip what they had gathered under the door. At the end of the day the pair of them would eat a very late dinner while discussing what they had found and planning what to do next. Ursula found it odd. She liked this, she liked these late dinners and the conversations they had and the thrill of being discovered. It was fun and a lot of that she attributed to the fact that Basilio was here with her.
One morning she woke up and found herself draped across him. He was being propped up by the bed; his head was lolling to one side. She had been cuddling up to his chest while on his arms was casually draped across one of her shoulder partially anchoring her to him. 'Oh…my…' She didn't know how to finish that thought. She really hated Naga but it seemed profane to use her own name in vain. Instead she settled for turning an absolutely delightful shade of scarlet. Her heart began to hammer in her chest and she felt lightheaded. What on earth was going on with her? 'Did I catch a cold?' she wondered. Regardless she needed to get the hell out of his unconscious embrace right this second. That proved to be more difficult than expected. While Basilio was a heavy sleeper moving his arm in order to escape would wake him up for sure. For some indefinable reason the thought of him waking up and finding her in this position made her internally squirm.
'C'mon, think!' she told herself 'You have to get out of this somehow!' As she plotted her escape she couldn't help but notice something. It was a dull, rhythmic pounding. 'What the hell is that?' she wondered looking around the room 'It's distracting me!' It took a bit for her to figure it out; she was listening to his heartbeat. Curious, she pressed her ear up against his chest. She knew what a heart was, she had one for crying out loud, but it was hard to reconcile what she was hearing with the bloody little human organ that was positively bursting with flavor whenever she bit into one. 'How long has it been since I did that?' she wondered off handedly to herself. Not since she had been sealed away by the first Exalt at least.
His heartbeat was thunderous. The sound went straight up through her ear into her brain down into her very chest. Reaching up she felt her own heartbeat which was practically minuscule in comparison. 'No surprises there,' she bitterly reflected 'A small heartbeat for a shriveled heart.' Her train of thought was broken by Basilio waking up. Aghast, there was nothing she could but lie there and pretend to sleep. As he yawned and stretched out he noticed her lying up against him. There was a small moment where Ursula could feel his body tense up.
The he chuckled "Did you have a good night's sleep?" he asked while lightly patting her on the head. "I know you're awake."
Sighing Ursula glared up at him. "Let me go," she demanded while trying to keep from blushing through sheer willpower alone.
He smiled and wrapped both arms around her "And what are you going to do about it if I don't?" Sputtering Ursula was just about to threaten him when he pulled her closer to him. Their faces were only a few inches apart and she could feel her heart beating so fast that she felt like it could possibly explode.
'What is this man doing to me?' she wondered.
Very slowly Basilio brought his face closer and closer until all she could see was the obsidian depths of his eye. And then he did the weirdest thing. He placed his lips on hers and tried to eat her. OR at least that was what she initially thought. In the future she would discuss this phenomenon with Flavia and, as it turned out, this was something humans did. It was called kissing. Apparently it was a romantic action which just seemed ridiculous to Ursula. If she had to describe it "kissing" was when two meat sacks smashed their lips together and attempted to swallow the other whole. What struck her as odd was the fact that using your teeth to rip and tear their flash into proper bite sized chunks was not considered proper technique but it was understandable for both kissers to probe the other's mouth as if trying to discern how they would taste based on the flavor of their inner cheeks alone. This was an utterly ridiculous concept as anyone who had snacked on a human before knew the flavor came in spurts particularly if you bit off their heads, that grey gummy thing inside their cranium was especially tasty. After some reflection it dawned on Ursula she had never actually seen humans eat each other. Flavia also pointed out that her naivety was pretty ridiculous since she had been at Chrom and Sully's marriage but in her defense she hadn't been paying attention to what they were doing.
And so, after initially thinking that Basilio was attempting to eat her for breakfast Ursula tried to bite off his tongue. Quickly realizing that something was wrong Basilio stopped kissing her and started apologizing profusely for being so forward. Thoroughly mortified and aroused, Ursula excused herself from the room claiming that she needed to meet with her spies for some vague reason or another. As she ran down the hallway with her face as red as a tomato she could Basilio cursing himself out for being such an idiot. The last thing she heard before rounding the corner was the sound of water being splashed all across the floor, when she returned to the room later that night she discovered that Basilio had used all their water for a cold morning shower and was not the least bit apologetic about it.