Chapter 17 The First Mission
Today was the long-awaited day. The Golden Deer's first mission. To say that Isaac was nervous would be an understatement. Not that he was afraid of some bandits, he's fought worse, but he was more concerned of his role as a leader to a group he was still getting to know. After the Mock Battle, Isaac has been rather concerned with his group's cooperation. Mainly Lorenz, but there were others that weren't innocent in disobeying orders. But at least in the Mock Battle, the worse that would happen was humiliation and disappointment, which in a way, he could deal with. Now? One screw up and someone could die.
During the Golden Sun quest, Isaac did indeed come to some close calls, but aside from one certain incident, he and his friends were always able to stand together and overcome them. This group, while they most definitely had the potential to become an unstoppable force, had certain roadblocks that would prevent that from being fully realized.
Isaac sighed. No point in procrastinating. Isaac dressed himself in his old outfit from back home with both a steel sword and the Sol Blade strapped to him. Once he was dressed he headed to the cafeteria for breakfast.
When Isaac got his food, he saw Byleth dressed in her mercenary outfit, leave and he followed her. She sat outside in the garden with her father. When Jeralt saw Isaac, he gestured him to have a seat.
"So, today is the big day huh?" Jeralt asked
"We lead our students to our first real mission." Isaac said
"I'm sure you both will do fine. Just remember what I taught you, though I do have one more piece of advice, especially for you Isaac." Jeralt said getting their full attention.
"Keep calm and focused. A leader needs to be strong to keep their group together. If you're nervous, they will be nervous." Jeralt said. "And you do know that, right Isaac?"
Isaac sighed. "Yes, I did. During my journey in Weyard, I was able to keep myself calm for the most part, but…"
"You've been worried since the mock battle, and I understand, but you need to keep a level head out there. If your students act up and disobey, keep them in line. I know you are strong, and I have faith you will do fine, but just remember to keep your guard and order up." Jeralt said
"I will." Isaac said with determination.
"Byleth, I will admit, you are doing much better than I was worried about. You did great in the mock battle, but don't get arrogant. And remember that this time, you are on your own. Me and Isaac won't be with you." Jeralt said
"I know father." Byleth nodded. "But I do have my class."
"Oh, that reminds me. Take this." Isaac said reaching into his pocket and pulling out a Psynergy stone. "I only have two of them, but you can take one."
"Maybe it would be better if you kept it." Byleth said
Isaac shook his head. "You need one. Just in case. As I taught you, Psynergy may recover on its own, but I wouldn't rely on that in a battle."
"It would probably be wise if you took it." Sothis commented inside Byleth's head.
"All right then. Thank you, Isaac." Byleth said pocketing the stone.
"You remember how to summon?" Isaac asked
Byleth nodded. "It's been a while since you taught me, but I remember how it's done."
"Do use it if you find yourself in a pinch, but be careful. Summoning Mercury or Venus is a more basic summon, but it can till take a toll on you if you aren't careful." Isaac said
"You do realize that Dimitri and Felix will ask you to teach them if I do though." Byleth pointed out.
"Yeah, I know Claude and Lysithea would jump on that. Marianne maybe." Isaac sighed. "I do plan on teaching them next class. We should be fine for now though. The Black Eagles mission is supposed to be more of a recon mission and ours have us to deal with that."
"Any summons I can pull off with Dimitri's Djinn added to Claw?" Byleth asked
Isaac shook his head. "Out of all the summons I know of, there isn't one that can be called upon by a Mercury and a Venus Djinn. Or even by those two alone in general."
"I see." Byleth said
"There is the Zagan summon I can teach if Felix manages to find a Mars Djinn though." Isaac pointed out.
"Might want to hold off on that one though. Those two can get pretty excited if not careful." Byleth said
"Speaking of which Isaac, there is supposedly a merchant coming to the monastery that apparently has some goods not found normally in Fodlan She should be arriving in a few weeks." Jeralt pointed out.
"Cool. I'll have a look when she shows up." Isaac said
"Well, it's about time. We better go meet up with our classes." Byleth said standing up.
"Good luck to the both of you." Jeralt said
"Thank you." Both Isaac and Byleth said as they headed out.
"Professor. A word please?" Seteth said as Isaac walked by.
"What is it?" Isaac asked
"I wanted to inform you of some rather…changes in news." Seteth said
"Good or bad changes?" Isaac asked
"We are unsure. The most recent group of solders we sent out to stake out for your mission, we haven't heard from them lately." Seteth said
"What?" Isaac asked
"We dispatched a group of solders ahead to the missions assigned to each house to give some support if needed. They send frequent letters to update the situation, but we haven't heard anything in three days." Seteth said
"Maybe they were held up?" Isaac asked
"We thought of that at first, and that may be the case, but I just wanted to inform you of it. Still, for them to grow silent all of the sudden is rather strange. We just sent a small group of knights ahead yesterday to see what's up. They should already be at the village you are assigned to. Please rondavue with them as soon as you get there." Seteth said
"I will. Thank you for the information." Isaac bowed. Seteth nodded and left.
A group of knights not reporting? That's strange." A voice said. Isaac turned to see Claude approaching him. "The knights have a good record of keeping up to date on their searches."
"It is a bit strange I suppose. But we'll just have to be careful out there." Isaac said
Claude nodded. "Well anyway teach, the class is all set and we are waiting on you." Claude said
"Very well. Lead the way." Isaac said as he followed Claude to the rest of his students.
"There you are professor. We've been waiting for you forever!" Hilda whined
"Actually, it's only been about 5 minutes." Ignatz pointed out.
"Sorry about that. Seteth pulled me aside to give an update on the situation." Isaac explained. "Now for our mission. Recently, there have been attacks by a group of bandits called the Night-eyes. They attack at night, steal, and flee before solders and fully act. Our job is to find their nest and take them out."
"Apparently the group the church sent out to scout the situation, but they haven't been heard from for a few days." Claude added the new information that was recently given.
"That's strange. The Knights are usually good at keeping up to date on this stuff." Lorenz said
"So, maybe we shouldn't go?" Hilda guessed, hoping for a yes.
Isaac shook his head. "We are still going, but I will take point. I'll use my Psynergy to help scope the situation out. It's probably minor, but if things escalate, I want you all to withdraw." Isaac said
"A nobleman should not run from a problem." Lorenz pointed out.
"A nobleman should also not recklessly throw his life away. You can't help the people if you are dead Lorenz." Isaac pointed out. "Either way, we are to report to the village and get an update from the recently sent out knights. Any questions?" Isaac asked
No one said anything.
"All right then." Let's head out." Isaac said and the Golden Deer headed out.
On the Road:
"Ugh. How much further?" Hilda whined
"We should be arriving soon. The village lies near the mountains that divides the Alliance territories from Charon in the kingdom territory." Ignatz said.
"Joy." Hilda groaned
"Hey come on now. All you need to do is find something to distract yourselves from all the walking. Like playing a game or something." Claude said
"A game? Claude this isn't a road trip." Lysithea said
"I know, but it doesn't hurt to relax a bit." Claude said
"Can we at least take a break? We've been walking for hours." Hilda complained
"I suppose a few minutes won't hurt. Very well." Isaac agreed.
The village in question was in the northern area of Daphnel territory within the Alliance. However, instead of crossing through the bridge and heading north, Rhea said that there was a hidden passageway through the mountains that can get them there quicker with the use of Psynergy. How Rhea knew that, Isaac didn't know, but it did make it even more clear that Rhea knew more about Psynergy than she let on. Still, the path itself was actually pretty similar to paths Isaac traveled in Wayard. Crossing through the mountains, the group exited near Gloucester territory, and their target was just a simple hike away.
With Isaac's okay for a break, everyone took it easy.
Raphael approached Ignatz.
"Hey Ignatz, I need to talk to you." Raphael said
"Oh uh, sorry Raphael but, I need to check the equipment." Ignatz said worried
"Okay, are you seriously going to keep running away every time I try to talk to you?" Raphael asked a bit annoyed
"What? I'm not running away!" Ignatz protested
"Yes, you are! Every time I talk to you, you make up some excuse to get away from me!" Raph argued before his voice calmed down. "What's the matter? You were a lot friendlier when we were kids. Every time I came to visit, you were so excited to show me all the neat stuff you had. We played hide and seek with my little sis, draw picture, all that fun stuff."
"Things…can't be that the way they were. It's regrettable, but it's the truth." Igntaz said sadly
"Regrettable? What's there to regret?" Raph asked
"I mean, you know. Your parents…" Igntaz said "My parents are the reason your parents died."
"What are you talking about? My parents died in an accident while traveling for work." Raph said confused
"Maybe so, but they were taking over for mine since my parents. They had another job that day and couldn't go, so they recommended your parents to go instead." Ignatz said.
"Huh. I didn't know that." Raphael said a bit surprised. "But what does that have to do with our friendship?"
"No, but see, I…" Ignatz stuttered
"Oh, I see." Raphael realized. "But we're done talking about this. You have gotta stop beating yourself up over it. It was an accident." With that, Raphael walked away.
"He's just putting on a brave face. No one is that forgiving." Ignatz said as he went to the equipment, figuring that checking over it would get his mind off it.
Isaac overheard the whole thing. 'So that's what's going on? I wonder though…' Isaac's thoughts drifted to someone else. Felix.
'The people of Prox got along with Felix so well, and that Krast woman too. I wonder if Saturos and Menardi were Felix's friends as well. Dose he actually hate me for killing them?' Isaac thought. After the two groups met up again, Isaac and Felix never really got a moment to talk by themselves.
Meanwhile:
Lysithea was wondering the forest area for a Djinn. Isaac didn't mind as long as she didn't get too far away.
"What are you doing out here?" Claude asked behind her causing her to jump in shock.
"Wha! Claude! Don't sneak up on me like that!" Lysithea yelled.
"Sorry. But what are you doing out here? Looking for a Djinn?" Claude asked
"Yes. I want to experience one for myself." Lysithea pointed out.
"If that's the case, you could just ask me and I can let you barrow Swift." Claude offered
"I would rather find my own, thank you." Lysithea said walking off.
Claude just shrugged and went back.
After a few more minutes, Isaac had the group continue to move. Isaac had Flint go scout ahead for any trouble, though soon he returned.
"There's something up ahead that you have to see Isaac." Flint said.
Flint lead the group to the side of the road and what they saw was absolutely horrifying.
Before them was the corpse of a man, or rather what was left of the man as his body was covered in some kind of liquid that was dissolving his corpse.
"Wh-What could have done something like this?" Lysithea asked shocked
"What even is that stuff on him?" Ignaz asked taking a closer look.
"Don't get too close to that!" Isaac scolded causing Ignatz to back away.
"There was no way that this was done by a person." Leonie pointed out.
"So is there monsters in the area?" Hilda asked
"I did hear there have been creatures known as Demonic Beasts, but was this the result of it?" Isaac asked
"I don't think so. I mean I know there are quite a bit of variety of Demonic Beasts, but this doesn't look like the remains of a victim." Claude said observing the body. "I'm guessing that the substance covering the body is some kind of acid. I know there are some beats that can use posion, but I've never seen any like this before."
"What are you saying Claude?" Lorenz asked
"I'm saying that this isn't a Demonic Beast, but rather something else. And with how the body was left her like that, I have a feeling that it was done intentionally." Claude said
"Like those bandits at Remire that had some Dire Wolves with them." Isaac realized
"Right. It could be possible that they have a pet of their own." Claude said
"Then we better get to the village quickly and make sure it's still even there." Leonie advised. The others nodded and ran towards the village.
The town itself was thankfully unharmed. Heck, the new soldiers were there as well.
"Ah, there you are professor. We've unfortunately been unable to locate the soldiers sent before." One said
"We found one of them murdered down the road." Claude pointed out.
"What?" Another soldier asked
"Whoever did it wasn't human. It's possible that these bandits have gotten some rather strong creatures under their control." Isaac said.
"I see. We should inform the Archbishop. Please wait here for the time being. According to the villagers, the bandits haven't come to town as of late." The first soldier said as they rode off.
"Well, now what do we do?" Lysithea asked
"Let's ask around and see if we can get some information on these bandits. Everyone pars up. Lysithea, Raphael, and Ignatz is one team, Leonie and Lorenz is another, and Hilda and Marianne are the last. Claude, you're with me. Understood? I don't want anyone to leave the village." Isaac ordered
Everyone nodded.
"Good. Let's get started." Isaac said
"Isaac?" A familiar voice asked
Isaac turned in shock to see not only Kraden, but his own father.
"Dad?" Isaac asked in shock my to his students surprise.
Before anyone says anything, yes! I do know that there is the Crystallux and Azul summons that use both Venus and Mercury, however, Isaac and friends don't have access to them yet.
And that's a wrap!
Yeah, I got rid of the poll. I was curious if you guys wanted to get Byleth's mission done with and out of the way first, or see what I had in store for Isaac, but then I got started writing and well, here we are.
So the first mission has finally began, and boy do they have their work cut out for them.
As for Kyle, don't forget that he and Felix's Parents were there at the summit of the Mars Lighthouse like Isaac and Felix's group. As for how he's still alive, (For those who don't know) It will be explained soon.
Next time, Isaac gets reunited with his father and gains more information of what is happening.
Anyway, be sure to follow and Review and I will see you guys next time.