The Beginning
"Man, I really went all out with the drinking last night…"
Light filtered through my… my what exactly? My room doesn't have any windows. How the hell is there any light? Did I leave the lights on …?
Slowly, I opened my eyes to the sun staring right down at me
…
"Huh?!"
Fright quickly overtook my previous headache as I shot into a sitting up position, looking around at my surroundings. I'm… in a field?
"Where the hell am I," I asked no one in particular.
Last time I checked, I didn't live in a field, nor near any. New York isn't exactly known for having huge ass fields.
"Nevermind fields, that's a damn forest."
Off to my right, a vast treeline, nothing I've ever seen before, expanding off to the North and South of my position. To my left, small hills encompassed the fields of grass, stretching as far as the eye can see.
"Where the fuck am I?"
I slowly got back up, my headache coming back, though not as intense as before.
Past one of the smaller hills, I saw what I'm guessing is meant to be a city? I saw small houses, still partially hidden by the hill. Even from this distance, I can tell that something is off; the houses looked old. Like, really old. They don't look like what I've come to recognize as houses at least.
Anxiety and fear quickly replace my previous confusion as I panic to recognize where I was; nothing seemed familiar. Last time I checked, I was in my room after a night of drinking.
"Did I drink something funny? Wait. Is this a dream?!" I pinched myself to make sure… Nothing.
"So not a dream. So where the fuck a-"
"Hello there, lad!"
I looked behind me, as I see a ... farmer? He came up to me.
"An odd place to be sleeping here I reckon friend. I haven't seen you before. You new to the village?" the farmer asked, the welcoming smile never wavering from his expression.
The farmer was clearly older than me, but not old enough to be someone's grandfather. He had black eyes, similar to mine, accompanied by a warm smile and a graying head of hair. He was around my height, maybe a bit shorter, with a small, well-kept beard.
"Ah, no sir. I'm not very sure where I am frankly. I don't recognize this area." The farmer creased his eyebrows with confusion.
"Odd. Where are you from then, lad?"
"New York sir. New York City to be specific." The farmer seemed to get even more confused.
"Haven't heard of that place ever. Is that in Ferox?"
Ferox?
"Sir, where am I exactly. Like, what country, in what continent." The farmer's confused expression turned to worry.
"We're in the Halidom of Ylisse. In the continent Ylisse. Are you alright there?" He reached out to me, placing his hand on my shoulder.
Am I in awakening?
The farmer slightly shook me, waking me from my thoughts. He worriedly looks at my face,
"I'm alright sir, just a bit surprised where I ended up. I'm not from these lands." The farmer, relieved that I finally said something, removed his hand as his previous smile returned.
"Well then, if you're lost I can offer you a place to stay for the night. It's not the nicest place but better than out here." With a chuckle, the farmer started walking back towards a wagon, which I'm going to guess is his. I stood and chased after him.
"So are you from that other continent across the sea?" the farmer asked, attempting at small talk.
"Uhh no sir, much farther away. A land very different from this one." The man glanced inquisitively at me, before continuing onwards.
"You should tell me about it when we get home then. I've always been an explorer." At that moment, a little boy made his appearance. He must've been, possibly 7-8 years old? He couldn't be much older than that.
The kid barely resembled his father, though that can be due to his age. He barely reached my upper body, sporting raven black hair and hazel eyes. He didn't remove me from his eyesight, out of fear or curiosity I don't know. Cute kid though.
"This," he said as he picked up the kid "is my little boy Forest." The kid continued staring at me.
"How you doin'?" I smiled at the kid, as Forest continued to stare at me, a tiny nod being the only indication of him hearing me.
"Now that I think about it, I haven't gotten your name." the farmer said, taking his attention off Forest.
Do I tell him I'm Robin? Is that who I am?
"I go by CJ from where I come from."
"Ahh. Well then CJ, you can call me Pines. Come." he got onto the front of the wagon, placing the kid in the back. "You can tell me all about you over supper. It's getting late." As I climbed up next to him, the kid suddenly tapped me on the shoulder.
"What is this?" he asked, pointing to a tiny scar on my shoulder.
"Ahh. Long story. You'd rather not hear it"
With a 'hmph' Forest laid down onto the wagon, all interest in me gone.
"My my," the farmer chuckled, "someone is popular with kids"
"Can't say I am" The farmer gave a hearty laugh, as we settled down and started progress to the town.
The town resembled something you would see in a textbook about the medieval age. The houses were small, maybe two floors max, with openings meant to be windows on the side, and carved-out doors, most of which were open. Women swept the front of homes, washed clothes, or came back from what seemed to be a market run, baskets filled with miscellaneous foods. Men were going about their business, talking to vendors, manning small shops in front of their homes, or were saying farewell to their family, as they prepared to ride a wagon to god knows where. Children were completely carefree, running around and playing, weaving through the wagons on the street, swiping fruits from vendors, and all-around having a good time. Safe to say that I was enraptured by the view.
"Never seed a village before lad?" Pines inquired, noticing my bewilderment in the new environment I was in.
"Can't say I've seen one like this one before. Very different from what I'm used to back home" I replied, still gazing at the neverending stalls lined on the street.
"Well, we aren't just any old village. You see, due to us being so far north, we have great trading routes with Ferox, so our village is always hustling and bustling. You couldn't find a time when a trader isn't coming and going with goods" Pines proudly said, beaming at his vibrant little town.
"Well, that I can relate to."
After all, New Yorkers never sleep.
"You know," the farmer shifted to look at me "You are a very peculiar person. No offense that is."
"Not at all," I responded, "I've been called worse."
"Haven't we all. Hope you can tell us about your origins. I'm certain Forest would enjoy a good story." With a shift in the wagon, Forests' head pops up behind us.
"I'd love to," I said, smiling at the kid's enthusiasm.
"Perfect! Let's get home. I'm starving for good food and a good story!" With a small whip, Pines spurs the horses into a quicker gallop.
"Home sweet home." Pines proclaimed, hopping off his side of the wagon and going around to the back of the wagon.
Pines's home resembled the houses that we passed by, colorless and small, but one clear distinction was the stall outside instead of the usual fruits and meats that many people sold, weapons were on the stall. Apparently, he's a blacksmith, not a farmer.
"Beauties, eh?" Pines said, noticing my stare at his weapon stall.
"Can't say they're ugly to look at, that's for sure."
The weapons gleamed in the afternoon sun, seemingly polished despite Pines just getting back from Ylisstol, which he told me on the way here. One particularly caught my eye; a beautiful rapier. It was hanging from the top, point facing down with intricate designs on the guard and down the blade. I couldn't quite tell exactly what was on it, but it sure caught my attention.
"Come along. My wife should be preparing dinner" Tugging along his son, Pines made his way inside, me following after him after one last glance at the rapier.
The inside of Pines's home wasn't anything to write home about. To my left was what I imagine a living room must be in this age, a table with 5 chairs around it, two small candles on top, unlit. To my right is the kitchen, containing a smaller table, logs of wood, pots and pans, and a fire with a metal grating on top of said fire.
"Ariel honey! I'm home!" Pines called out, placing Forest on one of the living room chairs.
"About time."
Ariel, or who I think was Ariel, was a stunningly beautiful middle-aged woman with captivating crimson hair and hazel eyes; guess that's where Forest gets his eyes. She was much smaller in stature compared to me and Pines, maybe at a 5' 1, but held the aura of authority, clearly showcasing that despite her height, she could be fierce. She froze for a second after noticing me, but quickly recovered, returning to the kitchen.
"Honey, who might this be?" she asked her husband, grabbing a pot and dumping it into a bucket of water.
"A lost lad I came upon outside of the village. Claims to be from a far off land. Decided to invite him for the night and have him leave in the morning. Can't expect me to leave him to die."
"Your generosity is going to get us robbed one day Pines" Ariel muttered, placing the pot on the grating.
"Well" she turned to look at Pines, "Dinner won't be ready until later. Your daughter went running off again and didn't go to the market. I'll have to go buy myself right now."
I heard Pines slowly exhale, more from fatigue than anger.
"Well, we'll have to wait then. Follow me CJ. Let's go exercise a bit." Pines motioned me to follow him, as he started leaving the house. Confused, I follow him, not completely sure what I was getting myself into.
Walking over towards his stall, Pines removed two separate sheaths from under the stall, tossing one over to me.
"Wait, what exactly are we doing?" I finally asked, panicking as to what I believe he wants to do.
"We're going to spar. I saw you eyeing my sword as we came in. You got fine taste, noticing that rapier before my other swords." Pines started walking towards the side of his home, where a small field, clear of all buildings and grass, was seemingly prepared for an occasion like this.
"No no no. I haven't ever used a sword." I quickly replied, slowing to a stop.
"Nonsense. No matter where you come from, every man knows the way of the sword. It's your job as the man of your household to protect your family." Pines proclaimed, turning and unsheathing his sword. The bronze gleamed from the sun bearing down on us.
"No, I seriously do-"
"I'll wager" Pines interrupted, a smug smile appearing on his face. "If you beat me in a duel, I'll give you that rapier, free of charge. I'll even give you a scabbard to go with it."
"Oh?" I said, the interest quickly overcoming my nervousness. "Now it's getting interesting."
"Haha! Bring it" Pines cheered, going into a defensive stance, moving his left foot back, and shifting his sword to the left.
I quickly go on the offensive, attempting to slash towards his belly. I immediately misjudge how heavy the sword is though, and the blade dips downwards, which he easily parries.
See, I took some fencing classes when I was younger, and my arrogant ass thought this would be similar to those classes … WRONG. This sword is SO much heavier than I remember, and I'm forced to quickly move back and readjust how I am holding it.
Unfortunately for me, that's when Pines goes on the offensive.
With one fluid motion, he stepped up and slashed towards my head. Instinct took over as I raised the sword upwards, barely parrying it, and moving backward, trying to force some space between us.
I tried copying his stance, placing my right foot behind me, and focusing on his movements. Currently, we were circling each other, neither one of us making a move at the moment. He had a fierce grin though; he was enjoying himself.
Once again, I tried moving in, placing my right foot forward and swinging the sword up, much like a baseball player would swing a baseball. Pines dodged and swiftly moved up to my position. Attempting to create distance, I start backpedaling, trying to place my sword between ourselves. He attempted a downward slash, which I barely dodged, but as soon as I feel like enough distance was between us, I felt myself start falling back.
With an 'oomph' I found myself lying on my back, looking up at a triumphant Pines gleaming down at me. He gave me his hand, which I accepted, and pulled me back up, patting me on the back.
"You're very clumsy, aren't you," he asked, chuckling to himself as he sheathed his sword. I felt my face heating up, realizing I ended up tripping over practically nothing.
"Told you I wasn't a swordfighter" I sighed, sheathing the sword and handing him the sheath.
"No, I wouldn't say that," he replied, placing both swords back underneath his stall, and taking out two new ones.
"Did you just see me?" I asked. I noticed that the two sheaths are very different than the ones we just used: much more slender.
"I think what you're using," he said, "is the wrong sword." He tosses me the sheath, beckoning me to take out the sword. As I unsheath it, I immediately notice it being a rapier; much less eloquent as the other one, but nevertheless beautiful. It was also made of bronze, like the swords.
"Come, let's spar once more." he challenged, changing to a defensive stance.
The rapier definitely felt more comfortable, much lighter. With a slight hesitation, and renewed resolve, I lunged forward.
"This is amazing"
"My wife is the greatest cook in the land. A blessing that I found her when I did" Pines muffled, mouth filled with food.
"Hey" His wife slapped him on the head. "Have some manners will you."
Pines energetically nodded his head, not stopping his descent on the food.
"And you!" Ariel suddenly turned to Forest, "Eat your fruits."
Forest, with a defiant look, continued pushing all his fruits to the side of the plate. Ariel stared at him for 2 seconds before standing, going around the table, and slapping him upside the head, similar to his father.
"Eat" she threatened, pointing at the fruits. Forest didn't back down though, continuing to stare at his mother. The stare down kept going for 20 seconds before he begrudgingly started munching on a piece of apple. I found myself smiling at the family antics. Like something out of a slice of life.
"I'm sorry for these two. I feel like I'm eating with barbarians at times" Ariel apologized, sitting back down and continuing her dinner.
"Quite all right. Reminds me of when I was younger and ate with my family" I replied.
"Make it sounds like you haven't done that in a long time" Pines noted, pausing his assault on the food.
"We had a disconnect a while back. Haven't talked since"
Silence ensued, as the three family members and I quietly continued eating. I didn't fail to notice Pines slowing his pace considerably.
"I imagine they miss you. No matter what, family is family." Ariel said, finally breaking the awkward silence and tension.
"I've been wondering something. How far is the capital from here?" I asked, hopeful in getting some information on how to get to the Shepherds. I reckoned I'm off the path for the storyline, so might as well stay in the area they're staying.
"Two days traveling on foot I reckon, if the weather holds" Pines replied, finishing up the last remnants of his dish. "What's your plan?"
"Get a job. It can be whatever, I just need some coin."
"Mmm. That's a good idea. I im-"
Pines gets interrupted by the door opening, a mini Ariel appearing behind said door. The girl was just as tall as her mother, albeit much younger. The same crimson hair as well, but she had her father's eyes. She was unbelievably dirty, mud clinging off her once red pants, some of it already being dried. She had a beaten-up looking scabbard, with an equally old sword, the handle's leather being partly torn off.
"Where have you been?!" Ariel screams, immediately going over and grabbing her by the ear. "Why do you always have to do the opposite of what we say."
The girl simply stood there, unmoving. She didn't seem to register anything her mother said, as she let herself be dragged into the back of the house. Forest got up and after his mother, eager to see action. I glanced at Pines, who simply shakes his head.
"That's my daughter, Mabel. Problematic one. She leaves every day and doesn't come until late, though today is later than usual." he explained, sipping the drink Ariel made for him.
"Any good reason?" I asked.
"Nope. None at all. Honestly, if she so desperately wants to fight, I'd be willing to teach her something. She's stubborn though, and trains by herself for whatever reason."
What a strange girl…
"Best we can do is this" Pines said, indicating a small bundle of straw, the size of a small pillow.
"I've had worse," I replied, content to at least have a pillow.
After dinner, me and Pines decided to spar a little more before heading to bed. Since all the rooms were occupied, I was placed in the storage room in the back. I don't mind though; it's better than sleeping outside.
"Good night" Pines called, extinguishing the lone candle and closing the door.
So what am I gonna do… Evidently, I'm in awakening, no doubt about it, but I'm not where the story starts. So does that mean I'm not Robin, but a different person that's not meant to be part of the story? God this hurts my head. Whatever, I'll head to the capital and see if I can find the Shepherds. I'll go from there…
"Stay inside. Don't try to make too much noise. If they come in, let them take whatever they want, just stay safe!"
I jolted awake, suddenly alert as Pines' voice woke me from my light sleep. I peeked out of the door to see Pines sprinting out of the door, Ariel and Forest moving past me into their room.
"What the hell is going on?" I asked, seeing the fright on Forest's face and Ariel's worry.
"Bandits," she said, gripping her son to her chest and disappearing behind the room.
I sprinted towards the open door, to find all hell breaking loose. People were running all over the place, what I'm assuming bandits chasing them. Multiple people were on the ground, bleeding out, some having appendages removed. Not pretty.
"CJ!"
I turned to see Pines running up to me, his sword out, covered with blood.
"Bandits are attacking the town. Dastards crept up right when the guard was shifting for the night" he gasped, looking beyond tired.
"Mabel ran off!" he continued "I don't know where she went, but knowing her, she went off to fight them! Go find her! I need to defend the house!"
As if on cue, three bandits turned the corner, locked eyes with me, and sprinted towards us, a hungry gleam on their face. Pines turned to face them, already stepping towards them, challenging them to take him on three versus one.
"Take the rapier. I trust that you can find her. After all" Pines lunged towards the first one, cutting him through easily and stepping back. The other two bandits stop immediately, hesitating as their comrade falls to the ground, bleeding out. It happened so quickly, I barely registered his movement. "They're easy pickings."
"Go! She probably went to the town square. Just follow the path we took and take a left the first opportunity you get."
Confident in his ability to hold them off, I grabbed the ornate rapier I saw the previous day and sprinted the direction Pines mentioned. Hopefully, I wasn't too late.
"Bless you Mabel. Just like your father, a hero to the people" one of the countless villagers I saved said, sprinting in the direction I indicated.
If it wasn't for dad grabbing me, I probably could've saved a couple more too. The streets were lined with the dead, mostly villagers. Some of who I knew.
"Damn these dastards. The weak picking on the even weaker." I murmur, still taking in the carnage around me.
The village won't survive either, especially if the fires aren't going to be put out. The fire raged, making the air unbreathable and temperature unbearable. I still have to keep going. I need to save more.
Despite growing woozy, I continued onwards, deeper into what once was the town square, an area full of energy and enjoyment that I enjoyed when I was younger, to one, one would only find in a nightmare.
The smoke was getting bad. Really bad. It covered my vision, forcing me to only see a couple of meters in front of me. The corpses were endless. Men, women, children, bandits, all in different conditions. Some were bleeding out, crying for my help as I passed, others were missing appendages, I even saw one stuck to a wall, an ax protruding from his chest. Brutal stuff.
I had to find Mabel. I can't let Pines down.
I turned the corner that Pines indicated I should turn at, and found myself gazing upon the once beautiful town square.
The buildings all around me were on fire and completely abandoned, some fallen in due to their foundation being charred. The stalls that aligned the walls were gone, replaced by corpses of people who tried to defend their lives. The church in the center of it all was looted, doors were broken down and countless artifacts on the ground, most likely from bandits who couldn't hold everything in their arms. They even took the bell. Dickheads.
I enter the nightmarish landscape when I start hearing a struggle, and the clear ring of metal on metal. I follow it to find the red-haired troublemaker fighting an ax-wielding bandit. He was forcing her back, as I noticed a woman and her child corner in a wall behind said bandit. I put two and two together pretty quickly.
I jog up to where the battle was going on, careful to maintain a safe enough distance to not get slashed accidentally by Mabel.
"Mabel!" I call out, still maintaining distance.
She pushes off the bandit and glances behind her, notices me, and returns her stare towards the bandit.
"What are you doing here?"
"Your father sent me to take you back. It isn't safe"
The bandit took advantage of the conversation to limp forward, an overhead slash towards the petite redhead who simply moved back more. She counterattacked by stabbing at his stomach, but the big guy just swung his ax and parried it. Once again she stepped back. This was getting nowhere.
"Step back, I'll take care of this disgrace," I tell her, moving past her and confronting the bandit.
"Hey, this is my fi-"
"Shut your mouth and listen!." I interrupt. "Your father is worried sick. Take the woman and child, and go back. And so help me if you run off again, I'll DRAG you back"
With a prolonged hesitation, she went past the bandit, who was too preoccupied looking at me, and took the family and ran.
"Not interested in the girl?" I ask him.
"Hmph. There are better prizes than either of those wenches." he grinned back. Clearly, he was arrogant.
"Should've taken advantage. Cause that's the last time you'll see a woman!"
Releasing of my back foot, I charge forward, point centered on his bare chest. He put his ax up and swung. I dodge to the right and stab forward, knicking his shoulder, before stumbling back to position. It took no time for him to recover though, and immediately swung where I was. I jump back, but not before the ax has time to cut me down the chest. It was a shallow cut, but I wasn't in any danger.
I slowly walk around him, looking for any openings, when I noticed his leg. It had a decent cut, deep enough to cause discomfort, but not deep enough to cause serious injury. I decided to take advantage of that and ran forward. This time though, I didn't go at such high speeds. When he raised his ax to swing, I stopped immediately, keeping barely enough distance for the ax to be out of range.
He couldn't stop his momentum with such a massive ax though, and the swing hit the ground. At that moment, I stabbed forward into his already injured leg, deepening the cut, and forcing a holler from him. He went down, screaming and holding his injured leg, ax discarded. He looked up at me, fear replacing the former arrogance.
"Mercy. You wouldn't hurt a m-"
I stabbed him through the skull before he could finish, uninterested in hearing the cries of an animal.
I returned to find work still unfinished.
Mabel and her father were caught up in a struggle with a group of bandits at the end of the street. So far, this portion of the street was relatively untouched, a couple of bandits dead from Pines, but that would change if either of them fell.
Eager to join the action, I started at a sprint towards them.
"CJ. STOP." Pines yelled, stopping me in my tracks. "DEFEND YOUR SIDE. WE CAN HOLD THEM HERE"
I look behind me to spot three bandits making their way to me, laughing as they swung their axes around. They had no worries whatsoever.
Unfortunately for me, I did.
On my way back, I found a couple of lone bandits who I had to take down. Problem? They were in mint condition. It took all I had to take them down, scoring me a couple of shallow cuts, and a deep one down my thigh. I was quickly losing feeling towards that one.
Nevertheless, I stand to meet them, my newly acquired pride as a swordsman overcoming my anxiety and fear.
"CJ!"
I glance back quickly to see Ariel holding out a book, an insignia of fire on it. She beckons me to grab it, which I do, and then goes back inside.
"Fuck am I supposed to do with this!" I call out, not taking my attention off the animals in front of me.
"Envision the spell! Try it!" she responds, her voice fading as she went deeper into the house.
Envision what?
I open to the front page and glance down to see a picture of a rock with fire insignia all around it. There was a singular word underneath the picture.
With a deep breath, I envision the fire rock cruising towards my enemies and drilling a hole into them and yell
"FIRE!"
I feel myself grow tired, staggering a little, as a rock the size of a basketball rocket towards the closest bandit, going through him like a hot knife and butter, and sizzling off two yards from him. The bandit collapsed, ax abandoned and ringing as it hit the ground. The other two stopped moving.
"HA. Didn't expect that you dickheads!" I celebrate, attempting to look confident. In reality, I wanted to fucking die.
The spell took everything from me, and I was barely able to stand as my legs wobbled a bit. I was forced to lower my arm, the one holding the rapier, and put it to my side.
I couldn't hesitate though.
I raised the book again and prepared to use it again, this time envisioning two rocks going at each of them. My vision started blurring, my legs growing even weaker as I tasted salty blood from my wounds.
With a much less renown, and more tired and desperate "Fire!" two more fireballs went hurtling towards the bandits. They weren't as big, and definitely not as fast, but they did the job. Both went down in a heap, soon followed by me, the weakling who couldn't support his own weight.
Wait. When did I get a head injury?
Fucking christ my head hurts. Like someone kept hitting me on the head with a hammer. I open my eyes to find myself on the ground, inside Pines house. Forest was to my right, staring at my face. Spooked the shit out of me.
"How are you feeling?"
Ariel was sitting in the kitchen, looking exhausted. She was sweating profusely, and completely out of breath, a large wooden stick on the table.
"For the most part. What happened to you?" I ask, picking myself up and walking over to her. Her hair was plastered behind her neck. Forest followed along, standing beside his mother.
"Dragged you back here and healed you. Former medic." she struggled to say, placing her head down. "Fine. Just need rest"
"Don't worry. I can take care of her. Help pa" Forest piped up. First time I've heard the kid say something since yesterday.
With a nod, I grabbed the rapier, still covered in red, and left the house. Outside, the melee was still going on, but a new party was present.
A pristine knight galloped laps around a group of unfortunate bandits, ax cutting through flesh as easily as one would bite through an apple. His armor was spotless, not a single splatter of blood found, shining in the afternoon sun. He held the same neutral expression the entire time, no empathy or pity escaping his pale expression, short brown hair flowing through the wind.
Next to Pines was an extra swordsman, Mabel resting next to the entrance of the house. About 5 inches taller than Pines, he wore a blue tunic, outfitted with a black scabbard. He wasn't as efficient as the knight, taking longer to take down a single bandit, but he was clearly trained. He bobbed and weaved to each slash the bandit's ax might bring, counterattacking effortlessly, taking down any who stood in front of him in two to three slashes of his sword. His sword was unique in design, a hole a quarter up from the handle, making the sword unique to a certain character I've come to know.
The last member of this group was a couple of yards behind Chrom, a similar wooden stick found next to Ariel in her hands. She stood multiple inches shorter than me, around the size of Mabel, sporting dirty-blonde hair, and a dress to match. The dress opened up downward, metal being seen underneath the fabric, for what usage unknown to me. She must've been a couple of years younger than me, possibly 17 or 18.
I stood enraptured by the view. I found the Shepherds. I FOUND Chrom! Well, he found me, but still!
"What are you doing lad?! HELP!" Pines hollered, being forced backward by an ax.
"Shit, right"
Rapier in hand, I tried joining the melee. Tried. My dizziness immediately came back to me, the same feeling I had when I passed out earlier. I was forced to stop and hold onto the wall, trying to regain balance. I looked up to see Pines taking on a man twice his size, Chrom trying to get to him, but constantly challenged by a continuing onslaught of bandits. Frederick was on the opposite side of the street, taking on an entire battalion of bandits, too occupied to help.
I noticed the book I had used beforehand on the ground, around where I collapsed, and picked it up, flipping to a new page. This one had a big fire insignia surrounded by smaller ones.
I collected my thoughts and tried to imagine a huge fire symbol killing the nearest bandit, and shouted "Elfire!" A large fireball came out and ripped through 3 separate bandits, sizzling out as it hit a fourth, knocking him over. Pines nodded to me and continued the engage with someone else.
Me, on the other hand, collapsed. The headache grew to higher proportions, continuously beating me on the head, attempting to subdue me to nothingness. The rapier and book fell to the ground, my arms now needed to hold onto the wall, to avoid the imminent collapse of my legs. I could taste the salt in my blood, forcing me to spit the putrid liquid on the ground.
And just as it was getting worse, it suddenly lightened.
The headache started dimming down, soon evaporating, as my limbs regained their strength. I felt new, like someone injected me with a 5-hour energy. I was completely bewildered at the sudden change of strength.
"Better?"
I look towards the source of the words to find Lissa, her staff in hand, warmly smiling at me. She seemed slightly out of breath, but not nearly as bad as Ariel. Maybe she was used to this.
"Did you just heal me?" I ask, still amazed at the powers of a cleric.
"That is my job" she sweetly said, picking up my weapons and handing them to me. "Now go do yours!"
My confidence renewed by the young healer, I placed the book on the ground, wielded my rapier, and joined the melee.
It took a long time, but we finally forced the bandits back. Pines and Chrom were able to hold neutral ground for the most part by themselves, but with me entering the fray, the bandits suddenly started losing more and more numbers. Eventually, only a couple were left from the once huge group. They ran off as soon as they realized they no longer had enough numbers.
"A long and hard-fought victory. Can't thank both of you enough" Chrom said, patting an exhausted Pines on the back. We were all exhausted to be fair, but Pines had it worse. The guy had been fighting for the longest time.
Chrom arrived a couple of minutes after I left, arriving to save Pines from a never-ending onslaught of thieves. He immediately evened the odds, as both pushed them away from Pine's house, but they weren't strong enough to completely get rid of them. Due to the narrowness of the street, they only held an advantage as long as the bandits were forced to fight one on one, two one one at the most.
"No sire, pleasure is mine. I can't believe our prince fought with me on the battleground" Pines said, fatigue gone as excitement replaced it.
"Please, let me host you to dinner tonight. My wife is an amazing cook"
"I wouldn't mind that. We've camped for a long time now. I'm sure Lissa wi-"
"AIEEEEE"
I look behind Chrom and Pines to see one of the escaped bandits raise his ax over Lissa, Lissa putting her staff between the weapon and her. That staff wouldn't help at all; it's just a stick of wood.
"Lissa!" Chrom shouted, sprinting towards his little sister, but it was going to be too late. She was too far away. I look through my pockets, searching for the book to try and stop him and realize I left it next to Lissa when I engaged earlier. I didn't think I needed it!
Desperation took over as I raised my hand towards the bandit. I had to try SOMETHING. I envisioned the rock with fire insignia surrounding it, forcing it to come to reality, to save the girl who didn't deserve to die.
"FIRE!"
A fireball, one the size of a beachball, hurled towards the bandit, quickly overtaking Chrom and smashing into the bandit. The flames didn't go through him though.
They overtook him.
The flames spread out upon contact, racing through his body and capturing him in a fiery prison. He dropped his ax and screamed in agony, his body melting at the extreme heat of the fire. And just as quickly as it began it was over.
Everyone present looked at the barely competent swordsman who just saved the princess of the kingdom from death, who delivered such a quick, yet gruesome death to an animal trying to kill something so young and innocent.
They looked at me.