Chapter 20: Philistine
AN: Hello Readers! Sorry about posting the wrong chapter. It was getting late and I was tired. Thank you to the reviewer who pointed it out.
AN 2: In my desperation to post the correct chapter, I didn't notice the last minute addition of a AN was incomplete and wrong.
Sorry.
The Burning of Fhirdiad, some weeks prior.
Douglas grimly gestured for the second wing to advance, pausing for a moment to watch Ashe taking up their rearguard.
"You sure the church will be safe anymore?" One of the archers whispered as he reached his position, eyes glancing nervously at the burning buildings along the streets.
"It's made of stone." Nora shot back. "Get moving Kevin."
"Sheesh." The man muttered as Ashe broke off the rearguard, the ambush force moving quietly through a side street as they aimed to stalk Catherine and her band of calvary.
"Where did those Indech Sword Fighters go?" Nora asked quietly.
"Probably dead." Douglas snapped. "Be glad that you don't have to face them. Now do your job."
At the words, one of the archers hurried out of the church. "No good boss. One of the wood beams is already collapsing."
"Not a problem." Douglas replied. "Head to the second floor. Staircase to the right."
"It's smokey as hell in there." The man said as he coughed.
"Good." Douglas snapped. "Anyone who tries to flank our position is going to choke."
"You heard the man." Nora muttered as she passed through the front of the group, a hand over her nose and mouth as she darted through the building.
Slowly, the rest of the warband slipped into the building, each followed by another.
"Hold still until we can all fire as one unit." Douglas snapped to the soldier before him. "Pass it on."
Ashe hurried past Douglas into the church as the older bandit shut the door they had used to enter the building behind him.
"Ashe!" Douglas snapped, grabbing at the young man.
Ashe shrugged off the hand of his second, his eyes burning with murderous intent.
Douglas swore as he followed his leader, taking the time to cover his face from the choking smoke.
"Bastard." Douglas muttered to nobody in particular as he reached the staircase to the second floor of the church.
The name rang clear through his head as he stormed up the tower, the voice of his father's murderer becoming ever louder.
"On my command." Douglas snapped, rallying the warband behind him. "Three bows on each target. The arsonist belongs to Ashe alone. Got it?"
The group didn't respond for a moment, but Ashe felt a slight relief against his chest when the man next to him chose to point his bow at one of the other knights rather than against Catherine.
For a long moment, Ashe watched the woman who had cut down his father and handed his brother in for execution, choosing to pull an arrow from his quiver as he watched her.
Her throat or her head?
A joint in her armour or her horse?
To kill or to torment?
And then the choice was made for him.
One of the other knights pulled from somewhere in his uniform a small flask.
Ashe waited as he focused his rage on the small flask, undoubtedly a vulnerary or elixir.
Then he let the arrow fly.
"Fire!" Douglas roared beside him, a dozen arrows raining upon the band of knights below.
But the arrow he had let loose struck first, the glass flask shattering upon impact, it's precious contents spluttered over the ruined street.
And then Ashe looked upon Catherine again, her eyes meeting his for the first time in five years.
Her face twisted in rage as Ashe tore another arrow from his quiver, his eyes already focused on her knee, the armour there having been lost during the fighting.
And then Ashe let the arrow fly, ignoring the shouts around him as he steadied himself for the kill.
The second arrow plunged through the air, and despite a last minute attempt from Catherine to dodge the arrow, the arrowhead nonetheless plunged into her knee.
A ghoulish grin spread across Ashe's face as he levelled a third arrow at the unprotected face of Catherine, now glaring defiantly back at him.
This arrow however, failed to find it's mark as a knight threw himself in front of his crippled master, the arrow bouncing harmlessly off his armour.
A scream of agony roared through the air as a blast of magic unseated one of the nearby knights, the man sprawling to the ground as a corps of mages turned to finish the calvary regiment.
"It's von Vestra." Douglas muttered as Ashe climbed over the barricade.
"Ashe! What the hell are you doing?" One of the other archers asked, stunned.
Douglas swore as Ashe disappeared into the street. "Nora! Take a third of the unit! Cover Ashe! Rest of you! On me!"
If Ashe had heard the words, he didn't show it, landing with a roll and a hiss and storming forward, yet another arrow slipping into his bow.
Catherine roared as she tried to stagger to her feet, one leg bloodied and crippled by the earlier arrow.
Ashe replied with a single arrow up high, the arrow plunging into Catherine's neck.
Catherine gagged as she staggered back, her fingers clawing at the arrow lodged in her throat.
But he wasn't done. Not yet. With another growl, Ashe stormed forward, slamming a foot into the armoured plate of the dying woman.
Catherine, weakened by battle and her injuries, sprawled back to the ground, a gasp of pain escaping her lips as she fell to the tiles of the burning city.
"Ashe!" Douglas shouted. "She's dead! We need to go on!"
For a long moment, the figure of Ashe paused and stopped, illuminated by the fires burning around him.
And then Ashe brought his bow down.
"By the gods." One of the archers muttered as he turned away.
"Guards!" Douglas snapped. "Cover him!"
The words of their leader snapped the warband out of their stupor, the assembled group hurrying past the pale form of their leader, his maddened face splattered with the blood of his victim.
"This is for Christophe." Ashe whispered as Douglas took a position just before him.
Douglas grimaced as the sound of Ashe's bow smashed into Catherine.
"Look alive." Douglas reminded his group. "No distractions."
"And Lonato."
Smash
"How long until it's over?" Percival asked with a wince.
"When the Immaculate One dies, the rest of the troops here should surrender." Douglas explained quickly, glancing at Ashe as he spoke.
Smash
"Not what I meant." The man muttered, hands shaking as he raised his bow higher.
"Just do your job." Douglas hissed as he turned back to face the street before them.
Smash.
Douglas pressed his lips together as a knight staggered away from the mage corps, the archer rising from his position to fire an arrow against the knight, the projectile barely missing the man.
Perhaps seeing that he was under attack from two sides, the man staggered against a nearby house, only for the charred wood to give way.
Douglas winced as the house collapsed entirely, a pile of wood and straw burying the knight alive, leaving only his kicking legs visible as the upper half of his body disappeared under the collapsing house.
"Hail." The voice of Hubert von Vestra called out, stalking through the flames alongside a small group of mages.
"Thunder Catherine is dead." Douglas explained quickly in greeting.
Hubert glanced at the scene behind Douglas and nodded, his face grim.
"Very well then. I'll take Thunderbrand into my possession and… leave you to it." Hubert offered as Ashe unleashed another blow onto his victim.
Douglas nodded as he rose from his position, hurrying along to the other side of the dead Catherine, the man grimacing as he took up the weapon in his hand, the blade practically twitching within his hand as he hurriedly turned the blade over to Hubert.
"Nasty thing isn't it?" Hubert asked as he placed the blade over his shoulder. "To think of the blade turning against you in your darkest hour. Monstrous."
Douglas nodded.
"I'll take my leave then." Hubert said as he turned away. "There are other enemies within this city who must fall. Try not to take too long with the dead."
Smash
Ashe gasped when the red haze lifted from his vision, his breathing laboured.
"He's done." Douglas said from behind him. "You two, help him up."
Ashe choked in a gasp, the air an unmistakable mixture of blood and smoke.
"Wha-?" Ashe asked as the shield of his bloodlust faded, a great pain returning to his hands.
"You're hurt." Douglas said grimly. "Sit down."
Ashe swallowed as he nodded, watching the scene of carnage unfold.
"Douglas." Ashe whispered, breathless. "Just… what happened?"
Douglas shook his head. "That's for another time. We'll need to patch you up for the fight ahead."
Ashe shook his head. "I… I don't know what just happened."
"Good." Douglas said grimly. "Nora. Patch him up. Percival. Help me out."
"On it." Nora said as she led Ashe away from the butchered form of Catherine, still lying in the street.
"Where are we dumping her?" Percival asked, his face contorted in disgust as he kicked the dead body.
"You saw the knight buried under the house over there?" Percival asked, gesturing to the crumpled form of the building.
"We dump her there and drop something on top?"
"Read my mind." Douglas muttered as he crouched down, his hands seizing the dead woman's ankles. "Ready when you are."
Percival grimaced. "Did she-"
"Just do your job Percival." Douglas growled. "Nobody will know if the body is burnt to a crisp."
"Thunder Catherine. What a way to die."
"Just do your job Percival." Douglas hissed. "If you were so concerned for her dignity, you could clean the corpse up after we win the battle."
Percival nodded, though he was still a deathly pale, as he hoisted the dead woman by her arms, the flames of the burning town illuminating her face as they crossed into a well lit part of the street.
"Fuck." Percival muttered. "First that, now this."
"She killed his father and turned his brother in for execution." Douglas snapped. "I think she got off lightly. And that's not even counting how many people she burned to death tonight."
Percival nodded as he turned his head away from the woman's brutalized face, his eyes lost in the fire of Catherine's funeral pyre.
"Where in the world is the gold?" Yurius asked as he stepped into the empty vault, his eyes taking on the bare walls, as if there was a trap door somewhere leading to the treasure.
"It- it should be here!" Ignatz protested. "Surely there was gold here before we left?"
"There was." Lorenz muttered. "There's no gold left here."
"What about the guards at the door?" Yurius asked. "Do they know anything?"
"There were guards at the doorway?" Leonie asked, her voice surprised. "Didn't see any on my way down."
"There's something wrong here." Lorenz muttered. "The gold we needed to pay the debt with is gone!"
"What?" Leonie asked, her voice in rage. "How are we going to find food here?"
Lorenz gave Leonie a look of exasperation. "We are at a crisis like this, and you think of only your drinks."
"There are good beer places here!" Leonie protested. "Why shouldn't I want to have some before we leave?"
"We need to look around." Lorenz said grimly. "Let's talk to the guards at the doorway."
"Agreed." Yurius replied. "They would have been able to see anyone who came in or out, unless there's a secret door somewhere?"
Lorenz shook his head. "There is a door out, but it's too small to have anyone to carry out a large amount of gold without notice."
"Hold on." Ignatz said. "You think someone is out stealing gold?"
"Yes." Yurius, Leonie, and Lorenz said in unison.
"Alright alright!" Ignatz proclaimed, his hands raising in surrender. "Should we be worried for Maya or Evi?"
"Only if they insisted on buying more dresses." Lorenz muttered.
"Are they interested in buying more dresses?" Yurius asked out loud.
The group paused for a long moment before Lorenz nodded. "Most likely."
"Damn." Leonie muttered. "Just our luck then."
"At least Mortis is still sleeping on top of whatever gold we have left." Yurius laughed as he began his trek up the staircase to the tower.
"She is?" Leonie asked.
"She didn't sleep well last night, so she's making up for it here." Yurius explained. "They'll have to tear the gold from her cold, dead hands."
"Am I that loud?" Leonie complained, scoffing at the man.
The three men stood silently for a moment before Leonie turned to each of them.
"Oh go to hell." Leonie muttered.
"Even Hilda used to complain that you snored through the walls." Lorenz offered.
"She did what?" Leonie muttered. "That's rude!"
"Where do you think we should start?" Ignatz asked, changing the uncomfortable subject.
"Sheriff's office." Lorenz said. "They'll probably notice anyone slipping in and out of the vault building. Plus, they're probably the only place still open at this point."
"Sheriff's office it is." Leonie said with a groan. "Let's get it over with. I need a drink."
"Don't think any bars will be open at this hour." Yurius muttered as he turned away from the rest of the group, strolling into the night as he stretched his arms.
"May I ask a question?"
Myson glanced over at the form of Aranea standing over him, frowning as he nodded.
"Is my brother-"
"We aren't sure." Chilon explained. "Our radio to him… broke."
Aranea grimaced. "I see."
"Sorry if that wasn't the answer you were looking for." Myson explained.
"I don't suppose you know what happened to Mortis then?"
"His apprentice?" Myson asked. "No, I don't."
Chilon joined the other man with a nod of the head, though he froze midway through the second nod.
"You may ask your brother those questions yourself." Thales said as he approached the group. "We will soon return to the surface, and from there, we will only stay a short while before we return for Shambhala. Only long enough to ensure our presence there will not be noticed by potential pursuers"
"How far off are we?" Chilon asked. "From the camp of course."
"Not far now." Thales replied. "The room we currently stand in was once a small outpost operated by the forces of Old Agartha. Rest assured, there are maybe a handful of hallways before we can reach our hideout."
"Good. I need a shower." Chilon offered.
"Is there any information on Bias or Pittacus?" Myson asked.
Thales turned to the lesser mage with a long look.
"Right." Myson said as Thales turned away. "We're in Zahras. Nothing gets in or out of Zahras, certainly not news."
The sheriff behind the desk glanced up and grimaced at the four figures standing before him.
"Ah. General, I-"
"I do not wish to be rude, but we have little time for pleasantries." Lorenz said quickly. "The contents of our vault are missing."
The man nodded as he slipped back into his chair. "Right. I suspected that might have happened."
"What happened?" Ignatz asked.
The man grimaced. "While you were away, there was a riot at the base of the tower. The town guard couldn't stop the looters."
Lorenz nodded. "I see. Do we know who the looters were?"
"Residents on the Alliance side of the bridge." The sheriff said grimly. "Nothing short of violence would have stopped them."
Lorenz shook his head. "It would have been disgraceful to use violence against civilians. I must speak with my father. Then perhaps we can come to an agreement.
The sheriff let out a slow sigh before he nodded. "There is something else that I must tell you."
"What is that?" Ignatz asked.
"Your father's forces are firmly on the side of the rioters."
"How so?" Yurius asked. "Isn't the Adrestian Empire paying for their services?"
Lorenz shook his head. "My father has only kept his personal Huscarl guard. He is unable to keep upkeep on many of his less professional forces."
"And this force of Huscarls is hostile to us?" Yurius asked.
"When a regiment of Imperial infantry attempted to arrest a group of looters, your father's men prevented them." The sheriff explained. "There weren't any fatalities, but the Imperial garrison was furious."
Lorenz paused before he shook his head. "I'll negotiate with my father then."
Yurius grimaced. "How long will this take?"
"That's right, you need to be on your way quickly." Lorenz admitted. " Perhaps a day at most. If I can convince my father to refund you the gold that we owe, then I believe we can part ways."
"So just the four of us then?" Leonie asked.
"What about Mortis?" Ignatz asked.
Yurius shook his head and practically hissed. "No. Mortis would only make our trip worse."
"She is a skilled rider." Lorenz pointed out.
Yurius scoffed. "I meant it in terms of diplomacy. Mortis is too reliant on fear and violence to get her way. She got that bit from her mentor."
"I see. Very ignoble." Lorenz said with a grimace. "Very well then. Just the four of us. Ignatz, do inform Maya and Evi about where we are going. We don't wish for them to be worried."
"I'll tell Mortis what's going on." Yurius said quickly. "Should we meet up somewhere at, say daybreak?"
Lorenz nodded. "Very well then. Daybreak at the Alliance end of the river then?"
Yurius nodded as he turned away, starting his trip to the carriage at the edge of the river, still with Mortis inside.
"Mortis?" Yurius asked as he knocked on the door to their carriage.
"Yurius?" Mortis asked from within, her voice groggy.
"Sorry to wake you, but I'll be headed on some business with the others."
The door swung open as the tired face of his partner came into view. "Why? Where are you going anyways?"
"Turns out the gold the others were trying to get back wasn't there." Yurius explained. "Some rioters came and stole it all."
"Bastards." Mortis muttered. "Still, we don't exactly need the gold."
"It would look suspicious if we were so flippant about the gold and not getting it back." Yurius pointed out.
Mortis sighed as she stepped from the carriage, forcing a hand through her unkempt hair. "Very well then. I suppose I'll be in an tavern somewhere within the town. You want to say anything to Spite? Ask about anything?"
Yurius swallowed. "Yeah, ask him about the rebels for me."
Mortis nodded in turn. "Alright then. How long should this whole detour take?"
"A day at most." Yurius said. "If I'm not back after two days, go on without me. I'll catch up."
Mortis nodded. "You bringing your sword with you?"
Yurius frowned. "I don't know. On one hand, if things become hairy, then I'll be defenseless, but if the rioters see the sword, they might get the wrong idea."
"Better be safe than sorry then." Mortis said as Yurius tied his blade to his belt.
"You going to stay here or are you going to head to a hotel?" Yurius asked.
"I'll stay for the time being. Too early for anyone at the hotel to be awake. Maybe I'll try and see if Spite is awake on the radio."
Yurius nodded. "Stay safe."
Mortis scoffed as she slipped back into the carriage. "You too."
Edelgard groaned as she opened her eyes.
For a moment she could only see the dark sky above her and the long grass along her head.
Slowly, Edelgard wondered if she had done the right thing sleeping outside, though she frowned at the weight on her chest.
She sat up slowly, frowning as she realized Byleth's cloak had been draped over her body, her eyes drifting suddenly to the blue haired professor, whose fingers had found hers over the night.
"I see you've- oh." Hubert muttered, flushing red at the prospect of interrupting an intimate moment.
"It's alright Hubert. I'm awake." Edelgard said quietly.
Hubert nodded as he walked close to Edelgard. "We should be ready to move shortly."
Edelgard nodded. "Will the trip be more difficult now that we'll be going uphill?"
Hubert shook his head. "The incline of the ravine is not steep. We should reach Fort Merceus before nightfall."
"And how far is that from Garreg Mach?" Byleth asked.
Edelgard flinched at the sudden voice of her professor. "I thought you were asleep."
Byleth shook his head as he sat up. "I woke up earlier. I just enjoy lying here and holding hands."
Edelgard flushed ever darker than Hubert, who hurriedly glanced back at the main convoy.
"Right." Hubert said quickly. "There'll be a bit of food across the river. Watch your step over the stream."
Edelgard nodded weakly as she watched Hubert walk away.
"No bad dreams today?"
Edelgard shook her head as she stood up. "Let's get some food."
"I wonder what they have to offer us." Byleth replied.
"We shall see." Edelgard said firmly as they stood.
"What are you thinking of?" Byleth asked as he took a second more to rise to his feet.
"I'm not sure. Edelgard replied. "I-argh!"
"Edelgard!" Byleth shouted as Edelgard fell back, her hands over her head.
"Lady Edelgard?" Hubert asked, rushing over.
"I'm fine." Edelgard replied. "The water in the river is cold though."
Byleth winced and looked down at Edelgard's bare feet.
Edelgard blushed heavily. "I-"
"El." Byleth chided gently. "I know. You told me back at Garreg Mach, all those years ago."
Hubert opened his mouth to say something, but frowned as rays of golden light blinded him.
"Oh look." Edelgard said softly, a smile breaking out across her face. "The sun is rising."
"We've recovered the body." A grim faced soldier offered as he approached the group of generals standing by the central square.
Ingrid nodded in thanks as she gestured for the rest of the group to move.
"Let's get this over with." Sylvain said as he rose to his feet, having previously sat on a nearby fountain.
"Ashe, you coming?" Caspar asked.
"Leave him." Felix snapped.
"I'll come." Ashe interrupted.
Felix glared at Douglas. "Hold him in place. We don't need him seeing all of this."
"Has the body been identified?" Ingrid asked the soldier, still standing to the side of the group.
The man shook his head. "The body has been- well, damaged would be a gross understatement."
"Is it her?" Ingrid said again, more firmly this time.
"We believe so. The body was exactly where they said it was, and the armour on the corpse matches eyewitness accounts."
"So be it." Sylvain said with his face dark. "Let's get this over with. We don't want another riot."
"I don't get it." Caspar muttered. "All this for a dead guy. What was so important about him anyways?"
"In one ear, out the other." Felix groaned. "How many times did we have to explain this again?"
The soldier looked troubled. "I'm not quite sure what's going on either. Can someone explain?"
Ingrid exchanged a look with Felix, Sylvain and Douglas before she sighed.
"We've located the corpse of Fhirdiad's Arsonist." Ingrid said. "We're going to destroy it before someone else finds out and causes a riot."
The soldier's jaw fell. "That- thing…"
"Yes." Douglas said firmly. "That thing oversaw the burning of Fhirdiad."
"Damn." The man muttered. "Shouldn't we like, you know, put it on display somewhere?"
Ingrid shook her head. "We are not monsters. Not like them. We aren't going to plant a head on a pike."
"The body put on public display would likely incite another riot." Douglas added. "Even with the burning of Fhirdiad, there's likely to be a number of loyalists still present within the refugees. Idiotic bastards can't seem to tell between the guys feeding them and the ones who torched their damn city."
The man nodded. "And the armour?"
"Bury it with the body." Felix snapped. "We don't want anyone to know what happened to it. Or have it melted down and cast into coins. It doesn't matter."
"I-" Ashe said after a long moment of silence as he stood up. "I want in. I need to see this through."
Sylvain and Felix exchanged a glance before the two of them forced Ashe down.
"Nuh uh." Sylvain said, waving a finger in Ashe's face. "You aren't going there. You're infamous enough already."
Ashe swallowed as he sat down. "But. I, well, I don't remember any of it."
"Douglas has told us about where the body was dumped. That alone is enough for us." Felix said. "We don't care that you shot her full of arrows."
Douglas and Ashe exchanged a glance, the eyes of the latter widening.
"You didn't tell them?" Ashe asked, his voice stunned.
"Wait." Sylvain snarled as he turned to Douglas. "You're telling me that this guy lied to us?"
"What's this about a lie?" Douglas asked, arms firmly crossed against his chest. "I told you the truth. Ashe killed Catherine in single combat, and we dumped the carcass in the remnants of a burning house."
"How did she die?" Felix asked as Ingrid arrived.
"Arrow to the throat." Douglas said with a shrug. "Clean shot. She would have choked to death in minutes."
"Would have is an interesting set of words to use when describing such a thing." Sylvain observed as a stretcher was brought before the group.
"That's it." The soldier said, a finger pointed to the stretcher. "Took a bloody long time to get the armour off."
"That's enough." Ingrid said, silencing the man with a wave of her hand. "Once we're done here, there's a mass grave close to the camp. We'll leave the body there. No reason to give the Arsonist of Fhirdiad a full burial"
The soldier nodded as he waved the stretcher carriers away. "Should we give you privacy then?"
Ingrid nodded. "Please do."
"Spite?" Mortis asked as she slipped on the headphones that came with the radio, quietly hoping for a clean and quick call.
"Hello Mortis." The voice of her mentor greeted her from the other side of the radio. "I trust you have been well?"
"I'll cut to the chase." Mortis sighed. "Yurius is off on a wild goose chase with the three idiots."
"How so?" Spite asked.
"The gold. Turns out the treasury we were promised was empty. Someone robbed it while the three idiots were away."
"Ah." Spite said. "Then Yurius has offered to assist them with taking the gold back?"
"Yes." Mortis said. "Sounds like a fool's errand."
"Probably is." Spite replied. "Still, as I understand it, your idiot friends spent a great deal of your gold in the process of your journey."
"That's correct." Mortis said.
"Well, it would be rather strange to them if you forgave such a large debt overnight then." Spite reasoned.
Mortis sighed. "I guess you're right."
"Regardless, I'm sure you'll find some way to pass the time." Spite suggested.
"A long bath does sound nice." Mortis admitted after a long minute. "Hopefully the water isn't scalding hot."
"Yes, that first bath cleaning up after Cornelia was certainly something to remember." Spite said with a chuckle.
"It's a lot more work than Shambhala." Mortis grumbled, working to expunge the memory from her brain. "But yes, I've grown used to having a tub of hot water over the years."
"Bathing outside Shambhala can be a chore sometimes." Spite suggested casually. "Such primitive systems, burning wood for hot water."
Mortis laughed at the comment before a thought came up inside her head. "What happened to the traitors?"
"The lead traitor was turned on, I suspect by his peers." Spite said. "Six stab wounds. All of which could very well have been fatal."
"You aren't worried?" Mortis asked.
"No. I watched them do it after all." Spite said with a chuckle. "They were very considerate to let me watch the light fade from his eyes."
"Who was it?"
"Bunch of youngsters who weren't thinking straight." Spite replied. "They won't be a problem in the future, as far as I can tell. Their leader wasn't the sharpest weapon on the rack, nor a very well connected one. Regardless, not something worthy of concern on my end."
Mortis nodded as her stomach growled. "I'm going to head out then. Maybe find some food and a bath at a tavern."
"Very well then." Spite said, taking a moment before he continued. "How long do you believe you'll be delayed?"
"Yurius said one day. I told him I'm willing to wait for two days before I dump him."
"That's understandable. Delays happen." Spite said. "But be quick regardless, the less time you are out in Fodlan, the less chance you will be noticed by someone who is a threat to our operations."
"Of course." Mortis said. "I'll head for breakfast then."
"As you wish." Spite said. "Enjoy your free time while you can, you might not get much of it once you reach the trail of Thales."
"Ashe." Felix said with disgust in his voice.
"What the hell did you do?" Caspar blurted out. "Is that even human?"
"It's human alright." Sylvain muttered. "But that's even worse than anything Miklan did while on his rampage."
Ashe stood silently over the demolished carcass of Catherine, his eyes wide as he stared at the scene in horror.
"Ashe. What did you do?" Felix asked, his face growing pale. "Did you do this to her?"
"Enough." Ingrid snapped, silencing the three men. "We aren't going to get answers by shouting at him like this."
Douglas glanced at the men before he spoke. "Alright. Fine. What is it that you want to know?"
"Is that Catherine?" Caspar asked. "It barely looks human."
Douglas glanced at the body at his feet before he crouched down, his fingers reaching for the neck of the corpse.
"Isn't this an arrowhead?" Douglas asked as he tore a piece of metal from the charred flesh of the dead body. "Like we said, arrow to the throat."
Caspar looked pale. "I think I'm going to be sick."
"This body is burned. You don't want to deal with bodies that aren't." Douglas shot back in annoyance. "Trust me, Miklan couldn't even stand an open grave."
Sylvain narrowed his eyes. "And when did you have to deal with open graves with my brother?"
"Grave robbing." Douglas replied with a shrug. "People bury lots of shiny and useful things with their dead."
"That's enough from the two of you." Ingrid interjected. "We aren't here to fight over the past. We're here to bring closure to Fhirdiad. If you can't get that into your head, then get back to camp and leave us here to work."
"Alright." Sylvain said, glaring at the woman. "Fine. I'll stop. Happy?"
"I'm not." Ingrid shot back. "Now, tell us what happened that night."
"First of all, does Ashe know what happened that night?" Felix asked.
Douglas looked at Felix for a long moment. "No. Ashe doesn't remember much from that night."
"But you do." Felix said.
Douglas shrugged. "Miklan was very much willing to back up his threats with violence. I'm rather used to the bloodshed that would follow up his threats."
"Right." Ingrid said. "What happened that night?"
"Ashe, do you want to hear this?" Douglas asked, turning to the young man.
Ashe nodded. "I do. I have to know."
Douglas sighed. "When you sighted Catherine in the church, you entered a rage. None of us could get to you."
Ashe swallowed. "Did I fire the shot that killed Catherine?"
"It wasn't the shot that killed her per se." Douglas replied. "After you fired the shot, you personally charged Catherine."
"I- I charged Catherine?" Ashe asked, his voice tinged with disbelief.
Douglas nodded with a sigh as he peeled away more of the cloth covering the dead woman, eventually coming to point at Catherine's injured knee. "You fired a shot into her knee first, then fired the killing shot into her throat when she couldn't fight back anymore."
"And then?" Ingrid asked, her face pale.
"He bludgeoned her." Douglas replied, raising both hands over his head to demonstrate. "Brought his bow into her face until the bow broke. Then used his hands to continue until he got too tired to continue."
Ashe had grown a deathly pale as Caspar took a slight step back, his face filled with horror and disgust.
"But- but why?" Caspar spluttered at last.
"Caspar, what did Catherine do to Ashe over the years?" Douglas asked, turning to the younger man. "You saw it firsthand. You know better than all of us."
"Wha?" Caspar asked. "The only time I saw Catherine with Ashe was with- oh."
"Lonato." Sylvain concluded, understanding dawning on his face.
"And why did Lord Lonato conduct his rebellion?" Douglas asked in turn, turning his gaze to Sylvain.
"Christophe." Sylvain replied. "But what does that have to do with anything?"
Felix grimaced and gritted his teeth in discomfort. "Sylvain, you never heard about what happened between Christophe and Catherine?"
Sylvain blinked at the words of his friend. "No. What am I missing?"
"Catherine personally turned Christophe in for execution."
Sylvain turned to Ashe before his gaze fell on the battered corpse of Catherine. "Oh."
"Moving on." Douglas continued. "Caspar, did Catherine not slaughter her way through Lonato's forces?"
"Yeah." Caspar said. "She didn't hold back. Just hacked right through- ah."
"The people Ashe had grown up around, those who he must have known every day of his life." Douglas finished.
Caspar swallowed but failed to answer, his gaze turned to the battered body lying before him.
"So let me ask you this." Douglas snarled. "Who is it that Ashe had every right to hate in Fodlan?"
The air fell silent as one set of eyes after another fell upon the lifeless corpse on the ground, until only Douglas didn't have his eyes upon the lifeless body.
"Generals!" A voice shouted, breaking through the silence. "There's trouble!"
"What's going on?" Sylvain said as he turned around, coming face to face with the soldier.
The man paused as he stopped his run, his face a bright red. "Duscarians."
"There's another riot brewing?" Felix snapped, rising to his feet, hand at his sword.
"There's an army to the west of our camp. They're demanding to see whoever is in charge." The messenger explained. "Our scouts estimate a core group of potentially over one hundred calvary."
"Did they say why?" Sylvain said.
"No." The man said. "They just want to talk, or so they claim."
"I'll go." Ingrid said, rising from her position crouched next to the body.
"Nuh uh." Sylvain said, firmly putting a restraining hand on Ingrid's shoulder. "I saw how you avoided Dedue like the plague, even when the guy didn't do anything. You won't be of any help. Stay here."
"I'll go too." Felix said. "Caspar, go to the camp, rally any soldiers you can. If this gets ugly, we'll need any support we can get."
"Should I go too?" Douglas asked, his face serious.
Felix paused before he nodded. "If Ashe doesn't need you then you're free to come with us."
"Douglas." Ashe whispered.
"Yes?" The man asked as he turned to the man still looking at the corpse of the dead woman.
"Go with them." Ashe commanded. "I want to be alone."
"No." Douglas said firmly. "You aren't going to be alone."
"I'll be with him." Ingrid replied as she sat next to Ashe. "The three of you go ahead."
The light of the early day had barely come over the horizon before the portal to Zahras opened, leaving a gash into the darkness open for the group to spill out.
"It is good to be back in the game." Aranea said as she stepped forward from the portal, a half dozen lesser Shambhalan soldiers ready to greet the party.
"That it is." Chilon said, nodding at the party. "Has there been any news from Bias?"
The lead soldier flinched and took a step back as the rest of the dark convoy left the shadows, the still living body of the last condemned remaining broken in the darkness.
"He asked you a question." Thales said quietly. "Speak."
"Three members of Pittacus' warband arrived this morning. She fell in combat against the Lord of the Lake. Their group was slaughtered while on the retreat."
Thales nodded. "So be it. She will be replaced. Aranea."
"My Lord?" The woman asked, turning to the leader of Shambhala.
"Forget the name Aranea or Cornelia, for you have ascended common lies. You are now one of the Septet. You will take the name of Pittacus. There is much work to be done."
"And what of Bias?" Chilon asked, his voice hard.
"A message came through while you were away." The lead soldier stammered. "The Wind Caller had challenged Bias in single combat."
"And?" Chilon asked, furious.
"She was slaughtered. Her forces were slaughtered to the last man."
"If they were all dead, then how did the message come through?" Chilon asked, furious.
"We believe it must have been the Wind Caller himself." The soldier explained. "He- he said that-"
"He said what?" Solon barked.
"He said that he would be coming for us."
AN: Dundundun. Chapter 20 done.
Slight revision for my timeline (at least relating to Ashen Wolves): The first chapters where the Ashen Wolves will appear will be pushed back to the 24-25th chapters. This was previously promised in chapters 21-22
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Where demons hide.
When in doubt, use violence.
Highway robbery.
Bath time.
Legion of the damned.