"That's the end of him, thanks to you we carry the day" …Have I heard this before? "We can rest easy now." Ugh… my head feels like it's about to split open. "what's wrong, hey-" wait a minute, what did I just do? O-oh my god, my hand it's… sparking! Chrom, he's… oh no no no. "this is not your-your fault. Promise me, you'll escape from this place…"

"Chrom, we have to do something!" There's that name again…

"What do you propose we do?" Is that him then...? "Ah! I see you're awake now. Come, there are better places to take a nap then on the ground you know. Give me your hand." This is the man I saw in my dream… Do I know him? And what's with the tattoo on my arm? Maybe I'm some kind of artist…

As Robin stood to his feet, he wobbled for just a second. It was clear he had been sleeping there for quite some time. Some blue hair and a white cape. With those regal looks he as to be some sort of royal, with what appears to be his retainer. And his maid? This place doesn't seem to have a castle around here.

"hellooooo. Anyone there?" the "maid" started waving her arms in front of Robin.

"Ah, apologies. I guess I must have been asleep for a long time? I'm not really sure." As he said that the royal's knight gave Robin a thousand-yard stare.

"You're not sure?" The armored one inquired.

"That is what I said, yes." As Robin replied the blue haired royal spoke up.

"Hey Frederick remember what I spoke of before? We can't just go distrusting everyone we meet along the road."

"And as I've said milord, it is my duty to distrust anyone who starts speaking with you." So those two have a history but what about her? The way she does her blonde hair in twin tails definitely looks like a maid, but she doesn't have that traditional maid outfit. Come to think of it, she doesn't look like a maid at all! And then there's the retainer. The expression he has on his face suggests he doesn't trust me. I guess that iss a natural reaction. The armor he wears suggests that he's also probably a knight. Either way communicating with him doesn't look like it'll be easy. Ugh, thinking this much is giving me a headache. And that burning smell does not help... Wait!

"Uh, guys?" "Yes frien-Oh, oh," As the royal began to look back, he began to see the rising plumes of smoke coming from the village just near them. "Frederick, mount up. We're going in. Lissa, stay behind me." "Right, of course but what about our little stranger here?" "He's going to have to follow us. Can you fight?" he says as he turns to Robin. Let's see I've got a sword and a thunder tome. Guess we can rule out being an artist.

"Seeing as that I happen to be carrying a sword, I guess I must know something about combat" As Frederick gave robin a weird look, he turned to Chrom who simply shrugged his shoulders. "Good, then just stick close, we're going to need all the help we can get."

I'm only seeing three really big smoke plumes. Must be a smaller raiding party. We can catch the bandits off guard if we strike sooner rather than later. Judging by the damage, it seems they've made a beeline to the town hall, likely to get the civilians.

"Chrom…" The maid said.

"I know Lissa, it doesn't feel right." As the party walked through the town it was total silence. They have not caught a single bandit in the town yet.

"Chrom is it? They are most likely going for the town hall. This doesn't look like a typical bandit raid. There isn't enough destruction here…" As Robin said this Frederick began to look at him with that same stare.

"Nonsense, these ruffians are here for one thing and one thing only. Money. They're obviously in the merchant's district."

Robin shook his head as he looked up at the stalwart knight. "Frederick, right? I know you have good reason to not trust me but look around here, the damage here was kept to a minimum. If they were merely just after the money here, they would have caused way more damage to the town. Innocent lives are at stake here and if what I'm predicting is correct, then the merchant's district will be empty."

Frederick pondered his words for a minute as he sat there on his mount. What he said did make sense but if he were working with the bandits… "Either way it's not my call to make." He said as he gestured to Chrom.

"I, for one, will trust this stranger. He hasn't done anything to make me warry and he looks like he knows what he's talking about." Heh… I quite like this Chrom guy.

"Alright then, judging by the minimal damage it looks like we still have some time to save people. Frederick you're on horseback so I'm going to have you go ahead. Ride back if you find the enemy. Chrom, you and your maid are with me for now."

"woah woah woah, for starters, I am not a maid! Second, who put you in charge? Are you some sort of tactician or something?" Hmmm that does seem more plausible now that I think about it. Maybe I was a career officer?

Chrom looked down to the blonde and explained"Lissa let's trust him for now. I'm not sure why but I feel like he's done this before" well, it does seem familiar. "I guess as long as you say so…"

"Right then you old geezer, if you don't tell me where them brats are I'll just get my boys to gut everyone else here!" A brute of a man had begun to wrap his melon of a fist around an elderly neck as his subordinates stood by.

"Oi boss, look at what I found! This'll sell for a pretty coin back home!" One of his men said while holding a pristine looking lamb in his hand.

"Leave it, with the money boss is paying us just to kill these villagers, we won't need to loot anything for a whole month!"

As the elder heard this he began to plea "No please! I'm sure whatever your employer is paying you we can work that off."

The chief looked back at the old man. "Oh, did I let that slip? Oops." He proceeded to shove him to the ground again as the senior scurried back into the town hall where the rest of the townspeople were holding out.

Nearby, Robin and the rest of the party were listening in. "Those dastards. Just say the word and I'll charge in there friend." Chrom murmured. Strange. Those bandits had a different accent than Chrom and the villager. And what was that about their "boss"?

"Patience Chrom, we need to know what we're up against. If we go in now, there is a huge chance we'll get surrounded. Frederick, you seem the most equipped here to handle multiple targets. Do you think you can handle two-on-one?"

"Hmph, it shall be child's play." He answered with confidence.

"Then I'll leave you the two to the west. Chrom, and uh, Lissa was it? You two are coming with me. We're going for the head."

"Got it stranger. I've got you covered!" The younger one said. "Right, whoever you are, I hope you can keep up."

"Alright then let's go!" Frederick soon came out of hiding blazing through the town center as he rode straight for the two near the bandit chieftain.

"Right then who's this git? You don't look like a villager at all! I suppose you're looking for a beating then."

As Frederick kept the others busy, Robin and Chrom soon moved in for the chieftain. Chrom's sword and the chieftain's axe soon locked with a metallic clang as both combatants stared each other down with Robin still catching up to his assailant. My new friend is faster than he looks. Damn, is that another bandit? Chrom is too focused on his fight to see him. And I'm too far away to intercept. Well then, time to check out my magic skills. As Chrom and the Chieftain continued to trade blows, Robin shouted, "Chrom! Heads up!" A jolt of lightning struck the ground between the two as a layer of dust soon kicked up from the projectile.

"Alright you damn hero, where did you run off to…" The head brigand growled.

"Right behind you!" As the chieftain looked back Robin soon locked his bronze sword with his axe.

"A plegian coat? I knew this job was too good to be true." Plegian? Is that where I'm from? The way this fight is going I don't think I'm going to get any answers from this guy. As the two continued their fight the dust soon cleared as it was clear who won the battle this day. Frederick, after cleaning up the two he was fighting soon came barreling towards the chieftain and with his powerful cavalry charge, impaled the chieftain with his silver lance.

After Chrom finished the last bandit Lissa jogged over to him while taking out a staff. "Aw geeze Chrom you're bleeding let me take a look." Pointing the staff towards the wound gave off a faint glow as the cut gradually closed right before their eyes. A healer eh? That might come in handy later.

"Now with all that is said and done, stranger, I apologize for doubting you. Not only were you right about the bandit group, but you also saved my lord's life." Frederick said.

"Well now friend, not only did you save the town, but your quick wit also saved countless lives. You commanded us like you knew us for years, yet I don't even know your name." Chrom explained.

"Thank you. It's Robin by the way."

"Frederick, Lissa and I were headed to the capital. If you want, I could really use your help for something." Chrom explained.

It's not like I've got anywhere else to go. Free lodging in a castle sounds like a far better deal than getting a room at an inn from a recently rummaged town. "Sounds like a plan to me. Let's go."

And that's a wrap for chapter one! So I've been kicking around the idea of writing one of these for my favorite game ever since I first started reading fanfiction. Since this is my first story I'd like your honest opinion. Do you think I'm a terrible writer? Please tell me! I want to hear your opinion whether it's harsh or not so harsh!