Chapter 36

As it happened, Chrom was correct. While heading back to Ylisse, the Shepherds ran into even more of the 'future children', each in different precarious situations. Once the shepherds managed to bail them out somehow, and they saw their parents, it was easy to sway them into joining their cause. Along with Gerome, the shepherds met Inigo, a philandering mercenary and child of Virion and Olivia who was quite the flirt like his father, Yarne, a Taguel with the fear of going extinct, who was Panne and Ricken's son, and Brady, a priest with crude slang and a mean-looking mug, although he was quite harmless, who was the son of Lon'qu and Maribelle. When they returned to Ylisstol castle, they were surprised to find the rest of the future children had made it there upon hearing of the shepherds' victory over the Valamese army. Laurent, who appeared to have inherited nothing but his hair colour from his father due to his extremely level of intelligence, was the son of Miriel and Vaike. Nah was there as well, a manakete dragon who, like her mother, looked extremely young for her age, the daughter of Donnel and Nowi. Kjelle was overjoyed to see her parents, Sully and Stahl, and vowed to one day become as strong as the two of them. Noire was a bit of a strange case, a timid archer at times, and at other times she seemed as though she was a raging demon. She was the child of Tharja and Gregor. Lastly was Severa, a bit of a brat to her parents even though it was clear she cared about them very much deep down. Cordelia and Kellam were her parents.

Upon the reunion of all the shepherds with their children, Nathan and the others had some time to rest at the castle while Frederick roamed the lands with a group of Ylissean soldiers, searching for the final Gemstone needed to complete the Fire emblem.

The tactician spent most of his free time up in his room, reading through a large stack of books for information on the possible whereabouts of Sable, the gemstone they had sent Frederick off to look for. He was taking a break to write out a cryptic message meant for the person who had given him that mysterious note all the way back after the fight in Demon's ingle when Morgan burst into the door.

"Hey dad!" She cheerfully greeted. "I'm going out with Yarne to see the town, we'll be back before sundown. Okay?"

Nathan quickly folded up his note, stuffing it into one of the many pockets on his robe, and turned to his daughter. "Yarne? Yarne is a boy, is he not?" The tactician teased. "And you're going 'into town' together, yes? Are you trying to tell me that you're going on a date with that young lad?"

Morgan blushed heavily. "Er…well…no…"

"Do you like him, then?"

"Well…I…you can't ask that, daddy! That's not a fair question!" Morgan complained, flustered as her face had gone completely red. Nathan smiled at his daughter.

"I'm your father, I reserve the right to know these things." He retorted. "Now then, I suppose I'll have to have a chat with Ricken and Panne about this, discuss the terms of your dating arrangement…Yarne seems like a good kid, though."

Morgan glared at her father. "I'm not sure if I should be appreciative or angry right now," The girl huffed. The tactician laughed in reply.

"I'm just teasing you," Nathan told her. "I mean, I would have a bit of a problem if you were trying to date that Inigo boy, I swear, all he does all day is flirt with women…"

Morgan snickered. "He does, doesn't he…and he gets turned down nearly every time, too! Gotta admire the commitment!"

Nathan got a good laugh out of his daughter's comment, before Morgan said her goodbyes and ran off to go find Yarne.

"I suppose I should go and find Ricken, actually, and talk with him about this…" Nathan muttered with a frown. He finished writing the note he had stuffed in his pocket before heading out to look for the sage.

Ricken was down in the training grounds, testing out his powerful new Forseti tome that he had gotten from the treasure stores in Valm. It was quite the bit of magic, tearing the training dummies it hit to shreds.

"Quite the spell, eh?" Nathan called to the man as he approached. "Walhart had quite a few goodies stored away for himself…"

Ricken smiled back to Nathan, panting a little as he took a seat with the tactician, leaning up against a castle wall. As they did, Nathan slipped the note he had written into a tiny crack in the stones they leaned against.

"Anyways, you probably know what I came to talk to you about…" Nathan muttered.

"Yarne and Morgan?" Ricken guessed. "Yeah, that kind of came out of the blue, didn't it?"

Nathan nodded. "Morgan certainly works fast…I've hardly said a word to any of the future children we've recently met, and here she is trying to date one!"

"Ha! Blink, and you'll probably miss their wedding!" Ricken joked. The two laughed together before spotting Inigo, the son of Virion and Olivia, wandering over to Lucina, who was training on some training dummies nearby.

"Oh, this looks like it could be good…" Nathan muttered, as he and Ricken did their best to act inconspicuous while they eavesdropped on the mercenary and princess' conversation.

"Aw, no smile for your old pal Inigo? There's a shocker." The mercenary muttered as Lucina spotted his presence.

"I'm sorry, what?" Lucina replied, wiping the sweat from her forehead with a towel.

Inigo laughed. "You're always so darn grim. I mean, don't get me wrong, I like all women, including determined ones, but all day, every day is a bit much, yeah? It's bringing everybody down."

"Yeah, you tell her Inigo!" Nathan yelled with a bit of a snicker, unable to hold himself back. Ricken stifled a laugh in surprise, turning to the tactician.

"I really don't think we should get involved in this…" Ricken muttered.

Lucina looked over at them, raising an eyebrow at her Uncle Nathan, before turning back to Inigo. "I suppose…if others think it would be good for me…it wouldn't hurt for me to lighten up."

"Look," Inigo told her, "I don't mean to offend you or anything, I just figured I'd point it out before it became a huge problem."

"I see…"

"Well, like, you're one of the leaders out here, y'know?" Inigo rambled. "And for the rest of us from the future, we all look up to you."

"Huh," Nathan mused from his seat nearby. "He's got some points, actually. The kid is smarter than I gave him credit for, I will admit that."

"…You sure about that?" Ricken questioned. Nathan looked back up to see Inigo grabbing Lucina's cheeks, trying to raise them to form a smile.

"Gah! RET GO UH MAH FAFE!" Lucina managed to mumble, smacking Inigo in the head to get him off of her while she giggled at the man's antics.

"Haha, mercy, Milady! I'll leave you alone! My work here is done!" Inigo cheerfully told the woman before he waltzed off out of the courtyard.

"Well, Lucina definitely inherited that whole slapping technique from her father…" Nathan chuckled, rubbing his head in the always-sore spot where Chrom, Lissa, and Frederick always seemed to hit him.

The antics with the children continued on for a few days while the shepherds patiently awaited news from Frederick on the whereabouts of the final gemstone. Nathan was taking some time to walk about the castle when he wandered off to the barracks to check on the weaponry. Upon entering, he spotted Chrom, who appeared to be deep in thought, rubbing his chin and glowering at the floor.

"I recognize that face," Nathan mused, "Dueling with some unpleasant thoughts?"

Chrom nodded. "You know me well."

"I try to keep up with what you have going on." Nathan retorted jokingly. He looked about the barracks, filled with weapons and crates. "Hey Lissa brought me here, the first time I came to the castle. I met all the shepherds back then…what a tiny group we were! In a way, that's one of my first real memories…"

"Heh, I suppose so." Chrom replied, cracking a smile on his face. "I wish all of the memories since then could have been just as joyful, but that's not the kind of life we're in."

Nathan nodded in agreement back to the man. "I hate to admit it, but we never would have made it this far without you to guide us, you know."

Chrom smirked. "Funny. I was just about to say the same thing about you."

"Quite the team, aren't we? Two halves of the same whole…" The tactician retorted, before changing the subject. "Anyways…what's got the 'unpleasant thoughts' swirling in your head?"

The Exalt sighed. "I've been reading more into the Awakening ritual. It seems that when I attempt the rite, I must brave Naga's fire. If my body and spirit can manage to survive, I'll be blessed with the dragon's power. Otherwise, I'll…"

"…Die, I'd assume." Nathan finished for the man. Chrom nodded grimly.

"What?" Lucina cried as she walked into the room. "Er…that is…Father, must you really attempt this?"

"Eavesdropping, were we, young lady?" Chrom asked his daughter.

"Forgive me, father, I didn't intend to…" Lucina apologized. "I came to speak with you but couldn't find the right moment, and-"

"It's all right, Lucina. And yes, I must attempt this. For the good of us all."

Nathan smiled at the Princess. "He'll be fine. Your father doesn't die easy."

"…Alright. If that is what must be done…" Lucina conceded. As she did, Frederick marched into the hall, a grim look on his face.

"Did you find the gemstone?" Nathan asked eagerly. The great knight nodded.

"It is in Plegia." Frederick explained. "King Validar has extended a personal invitation to Lord Chrom, as he says Plegia has been personally guarding Sable, and now he wishes to personally return it to you."

"Ugh, not that crazy old man again…" Nathan complained.

"They sent word to me, Milord." Frederick continued. "They must have caught wind of our search…in any case, you've been asked to visit Validar in person. Perhaps it is needless for me to say, but I don't like this one bit."

Chrom rubbed his chin in thought. "Neither do I…at best, it's a selfish political maneuver at a time the world can ill-afford it. At worst, our run-in with the risen at Carrion Isle was no accident…but we will meet him, regardless. Send word at once."

"Are you sure this is wise?" Lucina questioned.

"We don't have time to be certain." Nathan replied.

"That being said, we won't be walking into this blindly." Chrom declared. "Make certain everyone is armed to the teeth. Even if Validar doesn't give us the stone, we may be able to get him to at least reveal where it is…"

"If you're so insistent on going, milord, then perhaps you should leave the Fire emblem back here in Ylisstol?" Frederick suggested.

The Exalt shook his head. "That's what Validar would hope, so he can send thieves here to steal it while our best men are all away…it's safest with us, for now."

The others nodded in agreement.

"Gather the other shepherds." Nathan muttered to Frederick. "We'll leave at first light tomorrow. Time to learn the truth of Validar's motives…"