Chapter 23

"Friends! We have come to bring assistance to you!"

Tristan and Henry had just stepped out of the fort they were assigned to capture when they were greeted by a pair of figures approaching them. One was Nowi, who smoothly transformed out of her shimmering yellow and green Manakete form as she neared the pair. The voice that called out to them belonged to the mercenary Gregor. Gregor was one of the few Shepherds that stood taller than Tristan and his broad build and gruff facial features gave him an intimidating countenance. His personality didn't match his appearance however, as he was an overly friendly and somewhat goofy presence when interacting with the rest of the Shepherds. Tristan hadn't had much to do with Gregor since the older man joined the Shepherds as he found Gregor's loud and peculiar speech, as well as lack of concern for personal space, slightly off-putting.

"Tristan!" Nowi shouted as she dove face first into Tristan's midsection, wrapping her arms around him in a hug.

Tristan looked around uncomfortably and tried to pry the manakete's arms off of him. "I, uh… don't think a battle is the best time for this Nowi."

Nowi reluctantly withdrew her vice-grip much to the relief of her target. "You're no fun." She sighed.

"We have come to assist in taking of fort." Gregor explained once everyone was settled.

"You're a little late for that big guy. Everything in that fort has been thoroughly exterminated. It was quite a show if I do say so myself." Henry grinned, recalling his recent exploits.

"This is true?" Gregor asked looking at Tristan.

"Uh… yea." Tristan responded lamely.

"So, you say that Gregor was too old and slow to be of help? The quickness has left his bones and Gregor should retire?" Gregor dramatically lamented, attempting to illicit sympathy through an unsuccessful sad puppy dog look, which gave off vibes of indigestion more than anything.

Tristan stood mouth slightly agape for a moment unsure of how to respond to the older man's display. "No, I mean I'm sure you could still help us with… some other stuff…" He trailed off still uncomfortable.

"Ha! Gregor is merely pulling leg. Come, we press onward as team and meet with allies at next fort." The mercenary smiled wide and slapped Tristan on the shoulder, which staggered the younger Shepherd a bit. "You too, strange white hair boy. We learn of each other through combat as team."

"Hey, as long as it means I get to kill more guys I'll go wherever you want." Henry said falling in step with Gregor as he set out to lead the group in search of more opponents.

"You are strange, but Gregor likes your enthusiasm." Gregor said with a laugh, seemingly unaffected by Henry's unconventional obsession.

"Alright, why don't you two head over and take out that group to our northwest. Nowi and I can hit that smaller group to the east and then circle over and support you." Tristan mounted his wyvern as he proposed the strategy.

"Yay! We'll be the perfect pair!" Nowi cheered. She took a few running steps and then leapt into the air, taking on her Manakete form in a flash of light.

"Plan sounds good to Gregor." The mercenary nodded, resting his broadsword over his shoulder and taking off in the direction of his opponents. Henry chuckled and followed after him.

Tristan spurred his mount into the air, following Nowi towards their next set of opponents. A group of 4 Risen shuffled around near a cliff in front of them. One of them was an archer that seemed to be taking aim at some of the Shepherds that were fighting in the valley below.

"See if you can take out that archer first!" Tristan called out to Nowi over the winds of their flight.

In response Nowi beat her powerful wings a few times to gain height before entering a nosedive. As she neared the ground, she opened her jaw and unleashed a brilliant yellow fireball with a roar. Her shot directly impacted the archer, completely incinerating it. The fireball burst on the ground, spreading fire onto the other three risen. Despite the flames licking at their clothes and skin they seemed fairly unfazed. Before the dust could settle from Nowi's attack Tristan landed his Wyvern right in the middle of the trio of undead. Before they could react Gandr smashed one with his tail, launching it over the side of the cliff. Tristan speared one through the head, quickly drew his spear back, and slashed at the last enemy. The risen soldier managed to get its sword up and bat Tristan's attack away with surprising strength. It then countered with a slash of its on. Before the attack could make contact, Gandr sprang back into the air with a powerful leap. Instead of taking to the sky he crashed back down on top of the risen, pinning it to the ground beneath his talons. This made it a simple task for Tristan to stab downward and finish the opponent off.

"Good move buddy." Tristan muttered, leaning down to scratch his companions' neck.

He looked up to see that Nowi had already taken off to assist Gregor and Henry and quickly took off after her. Once he got up in the air, he could he see that 5 enemies still remained engaged with Gregor and their new ally. Gregor looked like he had been fighting a pair of them but was now quickly running in the opposite direction. Tristan thought it was somewhat strange for the big man to be retreating as he didn't look injured until he noticed Nowi. The Manakete had dropped low and once Gregor had gotten clear unleashed a stream of fire on the unassuming Risen below. Her strafing run was quick and devastating. She completely obliterated two of the enemies and left the other three heavily burned. A manic laugh could be heard ringing out from Henry as he witnessed the devastation.

"Wow! That was so great!" He clapped as he stared at the flames. Perhaps attracted by the noise, one of the risen emerged from the smoke and flame and stumbled towards Henry emitting a low groan.

"Wow, you guys are really something. A human would just be rolling around screaming at this point. But not you guys, you just keep going. It opens up so many fun possibilities for killing you!" Henry extended his arm towards the approaching undead and soon dark energy began coursing towards his hand. A moment later he unleashed what looked like a blade of dark energy towards his victim. The blade sliced through the Risen's waist, completely severing its legs from its body. The monster's torso fell to the ground with a dull thump. It laid there still for a few moments before once again raising its head in Henry's direction and resuming its march, this time by dragging itself forward with its arms.

"Nyeh-heh-heh, you guys really don't give up do you?" Henry asked walking up to the figure on the ground. He laughed as it swiped at his ankles with its claws before delivering a series of brutal stomps to the back of the Risen's head, not stopping until there was a cloud of dust at the mage's feet.

While Henry brutalized his opponent, Gregor rushed forward to take care of the last two Risen before they could recover from Nowi's attack. He dispatched each of them with powerful and precise strikes from his sword. His technique reflecting the years of experience he had. By the time Tristan landed the area was clear and Nowi and returned to her human form.

"Well, that wasn't too bad. Nice job guys." Tristan commended as he dismounted and walked over to the other three Shepherds.

"Yea that was great! You guys are a really fun group! Especially you, dragon girl, I really liked how you lit those guys on fire. Very brutal." Henry said with his ever-present grin.

For the first time since Tristan had met her, Nowi seemed slightly uncomfortable. Potentially due to witnessing Henry's execution of a Risen earlier. "Oh, uh thanks. Are you… joining us then?"

Henry's enthusiasm didn't waiver despite Nowi's clear discomfort. "Gee I hope so! You guys seem like you'll get into all kinds of action. But don't worry, I may like killing, but I won't kill anyone unless I'm told to. I don't want to cause my new friends any trouble."

"I guess you'll have to talk to Chrom about that then." Tristan said, trying to end the conversation.

"Ah, Chrom is good man. Gregor is sure he will allow interesting stranger to be Shepherd. He let Gregor join and Gregor was not always such good guy." Laughing Gregor clapped Henry on the back.

"True, anyway it looks like we might have finished this fight. I see Chrom and some others over on that bridge up near the end of the canyon. I'll fly over and make sure we're not needed anywhere else. You guys just start heading over there on foot." The other three Shepherds nodded in response to Tristan's suggestion and Tristan hoped back on his wyvern. As he neared the bridge, he saw Chrom and Robin finishing of the Risen chief. Robin had just hit with a lightning spell and Chrom rushed in and finished it off with a brutal chop down the center of the beast.

Tristan landed just off to the side of the bridge, placed his weapon in a holder in his saddle, and started walking over to his friends. Robin and Chrom were talking with their backs to him, weapons sheathed. He neared the pair and overheard Robin mention that all of the forts had been cleared out successfully. He was about to call out to them but was stopped by an uneasy feeling. He looked around to see if someone was watching them but saw nothing. He took another few steps and then looked up. A faint purple light flickered high above the bridge. That light looks kind of familiar…. Wait! Tristan broke into a sprint, panic in his eyes.

"Chrom look out!"

As the words left his lips the purple light landed right behind Chrom revealing a risen assassin. It raised its blade ready to strike the prince, who was off balance and mid-turn. Without thinking Tristan dove forward, colliding with the monsters back and wrapping his arms around its waist. The assassin swung at Chrom but the impact from behind caused it's swing to miss. The Risen stumbled to the side, trying to regain its balance, but soon ran out of room on the bridge. Tristan remained clung to the assassin as it reached the edge, leaned precariously over the side for a moment, before finally tumbling over the side.

"Tristan!" Chrom and Robin yelled, making a lunge to try grab their friend. They were too late however, and could only watch as Tristan entered freefall, still clutching the assailant from behind.

Shit, this isn't good. Tristan thought as he peered around the Risen to see the ground rapidly approaching. The wind buffeted his face, drawing tears from the corner of his eyes. It also pushed the decaying sent of the Risen right into him, causing him to recoil slightly. With little time to think he readjusted his grip, grabbing a bunch of the Risen's tunic near the shoulders in his fists and bracing the rest of his arms down it's back he attempted to use the monster to cushion his landing. He looked down once more and saw a gathering of Shepherds at the base of the bridge looking up at him. He grabbed on a little tighter, closed his eyes, and grit his teeth. The impact was sudden and incredibly forceful. Multiple snaps and cracks could be heard, and Tristan couldn't tell if they were from the Risen's body or his own. The Risen stuck to the ground and force from the landing was sent up through its body and into Tristan, sending the Shepherd bouncing off his unwilling cushion and landing in a heap a few feet away. At first, he felt nothing, but pain soon came flooding in from his arms, back, and neck. He groaned and struggled to look up at the Risen. His eyes widened in shock when he saw the monster slowly getting back up. He tried to move his limbs, but they wouldn't respond to his commands. The Risen rose up to its full height and Tristan braced himself for an attack. It never came though as the Risen instead disappeared in another flash of light. The tension left his body and the pain once again rose to the top of his mind. He heard voices approaching him from a slight distance. He tried to look in its direction, but darkness was seeping into his vision. The pain rose in a violent crescendo before unconsciousness blissfully created a calm silence.