Author's Notes: I've decided to include growth rates for characters, since it was a large part of the game. Because of that, there is a footnote that is longer than usual at the end of the chapter. Most of the growth rates will be the same as the game, but some are slightly changed, which favor some characters 'choosing' the more 'controversial' class change path. For example, Lissa's growth rate in strength is slightly higher than the game in order to favor her becoming a war cleric instead of a sage (it's the canonical class change, even if sage would make more sense.)
If you don't care, you can skip the footnote, but if you do, it's also there for you.
Here's chapter 13:
The shepherds were marching along side the Feroxi soldiers with a grim look upon their faces. According to the Feroxi spies, Ylisstol has fallen and their Exalt has been captured by Plegia. She was to be publicly executed in three days.
As they marched, Robin was tossing some numbers around in his head.
"Chrom." He tapped the prince on his shoulder. "We have a problem."
"Hmm? What is it now?" The prince asked.
"If the execution is in three days, we might not make it in time." Robin began. "The only way to get there fast enough is if we go straight there. We can't make a pit stop at Ylisstol, or the journey will be too long."
Chrom gritted his teeth. "So we're to march to Plegia without Ylissean soldiers? What would that look like to Regna Ferox?" Robin sighed. "True, but time is of the essence. Let's take a break so we can talk it over with the khans."
Chrom agreed. He motioned for everyone to stop and rest. The khans, thinking something was up, approached the pair.
"Why are we stopping?" Basilio asked. "I thought we were in a time crunch."
"We need to discuss something of importance." Chrom began. "If the execution is in three days, we won't have time to make it to Ylisstol first. We'll have to march straight to Plegia."
"And is that a problem?" Flavia asked.
"Only if it is to you." Robin responded. "We weren't sure how you'd feel about fighting Plegia without a large amount of Ylissean troops to help. We have the shepherds, but there's only so many of us."
"Hah! That's what was bothering you? Worry not! It just means more fighting for the rest of us!" Basilio laughed. "If going straight to Gangrel is what we need to do, then do it!"
Chrom smiled. "Thank you, West Khan."
With that, Chrom signaled for everyone to start marching again. They began to head in the direction of Plegia.
They marched for several hours. Pretty soon, they had left behind the snowy landscape of Regna Ferox and the fresh spring atmosphere of Ylisse in exchange for the dry, arid deserts of Plegia.
They began to move much slower, because the horses were unable to find proper footing. To make things worse, the wind was blowing sand in their faces as they marched.
Robin turned around and saw Lissa walking closely behind Lon'qu, allowing the myrmidon to shield her from the blowing sand. He smiled. Even though Lon'qu had a crippling fear of women, it hadn't really affected him in battle, much to his relief. Recently, he'd even been fine with being in close proximity with Lissa. He knew if anyone would keep her safe from a potential assassination attempt, it was Lon'qu.
Pretty soon, everyone began to grow tired. Even the Feroxi soldiers were exhausted. After all, they were people too. Chrom decided that it was time to take a rest. Sumia and Cordelia flew to the Feroxi commanders marching nearby to inform them of a short break.
Chrom turned to Robin. "I'd like to think that it was our cunning that got us this far without being spotted, but we've seen no Plegian soldiers whatsoever. Whatever trap Gangrel has planned, he's in no hurry to spring it."
Robin nodded. "I thought it was weird too. I've been keeping an eye on my Hekseer, but with the wind blowing sand everyone, it's hard for it to get a good reading. I haven't spotted anyone unusual as of right now, though." he scratched his head. "But that honestly doesn't mean too much. Even Cordelia and Sumia would be able to spot enemy soldiers than my Hekseer right now."
Suddenly, Frederick ran up to the two. "Milord, Sumia has reported seeing some manner of engagement downfield."
Chrom nodded. "So I guess we're finally seeing some Plegians then? Get everyone ready to move."
With that, the shepherds stopped resting and went on the move again.
A short distance ahead of the shepherds…
A seemingly young girl ran across the desert sands, as if desperately trying to get away from something. Finally, she stops a moment to catch her breath.
"Have I… *huff huff* lost them?" she wondered to herself.
Suddenly, an older man ran up behind her. "Wait, I say! Why you no comprehending, wee little one?"
The response the man received was a scream. "Ahh! GET AWAY! Everyone just leave me ALONE!" the girl shrieked.
"Please!" The man begged. "Be keeping down with the voice! Is giving away position. Very bad!"
The girl ignored him. "My throat is dry, my shoes are full of sand, and some big weirdo is trying to KILL ME!"
The man looked extremely hurt. "Oy, you break Gregor's heart! Why you treat like villain?"
By this time, Chrom and the shepherds had gotten into hearing distance of the girl's screams.
"You there, fiend! Keep your hands off that maiden!" The Ylissean prince yelled.
The man turned to the newcomers and yelled back. "Who is fiend? You mean Gregor? No, you are making the mistake. Gregor is friend, not fiend!"
"Yeah right!" Lissa interjected. "Creep!"
The man, Gregor, put a hand to his forehead. "Oy! This day has been nothing but insults and the punches to groin. And for doing good deed too! Listen friend, Gregor only want-"
He was interrupted by a third party. "Gotcha, ya slippery scamp! Prepare for a dose of Grima's wrath! No one can escape from the clutches of Chalard!"
"Oy! This is most terrible." Gregor turned back to Chrom and the shepherds. "You be with the seeing now? They make with the catching of us."
Chrom frowned. "Why are you all after the girl?" he asked.
Gregor facepalmed. "All? Who is all? Gregor is not one of all! Maybe you don't see from far, but Gregor has innocent baby face!"
"Hmm…." Chrom looked in though. "Well…" Lissa muttered. "I don't know if I'd describe it as baby like…." Robin added.
"Look." Gregor said in desperation. "Never be minding. Gregor is trying to help here. You must believe!"
"This is making my head hurt." Chrom finally said. "We'll sort this out later. For now, our priority is to protect that girl."
"Y-you're going to help me?" The girl asked.
Chrom nodded. "We'll do everything in our power to keep you safe. Just hold on until we can reach you, and we'll drive them off!"
With that, the shepherds began to move rapidly in their direction.
"So, what's the plan?" Chrom asked as they ran.
{Cordelia, take Gaius and fly to the southwestern village. Warn them of the fighting that might be going on. Sumia, take Ricken and fly to the southeastern villages and do the same thing. They don't seem to have any archers, but try to stay safe and out of range of the opponent's mages.}
The four people called by Robin immediately set off to complete their tasks.
{Calvary units and Kellam, try to stay close, I know it's difficult. Protect our backside from any potential enemy reinforcements. Donnel, Lon'qu, Chrom and Vaike will be our frontline for this battle. Our general strategy will be very similar.}
They steadily moved forward. A myrmidon ran towards Gregor and the girl. "GET AWAY FROM ME!" she screamed before pulling out a dragonstone. She was enveloped in a bright light, and when it faded, a colorful dragon took her place.
"What in the blazes? That girl's a dragon!" Chrom exclaimed in surprise.
"By the gods, she's a manakete!" Robin also exclaimed. "I read about this, but I didn't think any actually existed! Hm…." He paused in thought. "Maybe she doesn't need our help as much as we need hers…"
The girl in question breathed a bolt of magical energy towards the myrmidon, causing the man to scream in pain when it hit. "No one ever messes with Nowi!" she screamed in a higher pitched roar. However, after expending a large amount of strength, the girl reverted back to her human form. This gave a brigand an opportunity to charge at the weakened girl.
"Get back!" Gregor exclaimed as he dove at Nowi. He grabbed the girl and tumbled out of the way of the opposing axeman's swing. "Oy! Is the wee little on OK?" he asked, patting the now known to be Nowi on her head. "Y-yes, thank you." she replied.
The brigand did not falter. He continued to run at the pair. Gregor picked up his steel sword, and engaged the axeman. It was no contest. Gregor was clearly higher skilled, and coupled with the weapon advantage, easily killed off his attacker.
Meanwhile, Chrom and the shepherds were assaulted by a few Plegians while they marched forward. However, they did not have a capable tactician like Robin, and so their movements were not synced together. The Plegians approached them seemingly one at a time, which gave the shepherds the ability to take them out handily.
Vaike knocked an already struggling cavalier off their horse so Donnel could stab the man in the chest. Lon'qu slashed up a dark mage that got too close. Chrom engaged a myrmidon and won with the support from Virion's arrows.
Robin didn't turn around, but he saw on the Hekseer that Stahl, Sully, Kellam and Frederick were engaging a couple of Plegian axemen to their rear. It would have been pretty smart of them to try and circle around the Ylisseans, since they were busy rushing towards Nowi and Gregor. However, Robin was able to make use of the otherwise useless cavaliers in the desert sand in order to prevent that.
Soon, they reached the pair. They were still holding on. Gregor proved to be quite capable, taking down anyone that challenged him one on one. Although he received a few minor wounds, the same could not be said for his dead enemies. Whenever multiple Plegians rushed them at once, Nowi consumed some energy from her dragonstone and blasted them from close range. The short time frames where Nowi was not in dragon form were covered by Gregor, protectively standing over her.
A Plegian dark mage ran into position, completely unhindered by the desert's sand. He aimed an Elfire tome carefully, and launches it directly at Nowi.
Nowi had just reverted back to her human form. She was beginning to feel exhausted. By the time she saw the spell hurling towards her, it was too late for her to dodge. "Ahhh!" she cried before shielding her head with her hands. "Argh!" she heard a grunt. She expected the spell to hurt… a lot. But instead, she felt nothing.
Upon opening her eyes, she found Gregor with a large burn wound over his chest. He clearly had jumped in front of the attack that was meant for her. She looked up to see a couple of Plegian axe fighters running towards them. However, unlike the multiple times before, Gregor was down and unable to protect her. She began to cry.
Fortunately for Nowi, the shepherds arrived in time. Chrom, Donnel, Vaike and Lon'qu dashed past the manakete kneeling before a fallen Gregor and began to engage in the enemy. Miriel and Virion stopped and got into position around them, and got ready to retaliate with ranged attacks.
Maribelle and Lissa rushed over to the fallen mercenary, and got to work healing the burn wound. With two talented healers working together, the wound quickly healed. Even Gregor's painful expression disappeared from his face. "Th-thank you!" Nowi gratefully exclaimed "Thanks for helping me." Tears of relief fell down her face.
She felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see the compassionate brown eyes of the Ylissean tactician looking back at them. "You've done plenty already. Take a rest. The shepherds will handle this." Nowi numbly nodded in agreement as the tactician ran off to help Chrom and the others as they charged towards the oasis that the rest of the Plegian's were standing upon.
"Ho ho! *grunt* The wee little one is safe, no?" Gregor managed to get out with a lot of effort. "Yes. Although your use of language is somewhat abhorrent, I must admit that you acted in an extremely chivalrous way." Maribelle responded to him as she continued to heal his wounds.
"Yeah!" Lissa agreed. "Maybe you aren't a creep after all. Sorry about that earlier."
Gregor grinned. "It is not of a problem." he said. "Gregor is just making with the helping of ones in need." With that, he stopped talking and let the two healers continue treating him.
On the combat side, the shepherds were still steadily advancing. They plowed their way through the Plegian soldiers, and made their way towards their leader, Chalard.
The dark mage in question didn't even panic. Instead, he cackled and pulled out a dark purple tome. Channeling for a few seconds, Chalard aimed a spell at the charging shepherds.
Lon'qu barely had time to move out of the way, before the ground he was standing on was decimated by a dark spell. The few plants that were growing there withered and died, and faint trails on energy returned to the caster.
"What the?" Lon'qu wondered, having never seen a spell like that before.
"Watch out! That's a Nosferatu tome! It'll drain your life energy away." Robin called. Even with his warning, Vaike was unable to dodge the second spell that was thrown his way. He simply was not fast enough. Fortunately for him, Robin dove in front of the attack, placing his back towards the spell.
"Robin!" Lon'qu exclaimed in both anger and panic. Having been on the receiving end of a dark spell, he knew just how destructive they could be. Hearing Lon'qu's cry, Lissa also looked up and gasped at the sight.
Chrom gritted his teeth. When the dust settled, Robin was lying face down in the sand.
"Ha ha! One spell, one kill!" Declared the triumphant Chalard. "Nothing can withstand the might of Grima!"
"Robin…" Nowi echoed the cries of many of the shepherds. Even though she hadn't known him for long, she already felt that he was far more friendly than any of the men on Plegia's side.
After a brief moment of utter silence, Robin picked himself up and dusted himself off. "That was it?" he asked aloud. "I was expecting a lot more from a dark mage." He turned around to face the Plegians, who were also in shock that Robin had lived. The shepherds got a glance at Robin's backside, and found that the patterns weaved into his cloak were glowing purplish red, but was otherwise no different than before he took the hit.
"Honestly, the reason I stayed down wasn't because I was hurt." Robin continued. "I was just in utter shock at how pathetic your attack was." he taunted. His eyes began to glow the same purplish red color.
"W-wait… where have I seen him before?" Chalard muttered to himself. "This… He can't be a Ylissean!"
Robin began to charge the dark mage. Chalard turned to the few dark mages next to him. "What are you all doing? Attack!"
The mages began to fire spells at Robin. He slashed through every one with his scythe, the spells harmlessly fizzling out after being cut through by Naglrath. When he had an opening, he slashed his scythe, which was glowing purple at some of the mages. A blade of dark magic flew through the air, tearing through his targets and killing them.
When he got within melee range of Chalard, his scythe all of a sudden changed color. Instead of glowing purple, it turned red. Robin plunged the blade into the chest of the dark mage. The life slowly began to fade from his target's eyes. Robin had a menacing grin on his face.
"The...the prince… why…. he was supposed to be...?" Chalard muttered, before falling down, dead. No one besides Robin heard him though.
The nearby Plegians, seeing their leader fall, all turned and ran back in the direction of the capital.
Chrom approached Robin. "So, would you mind explaining to me how you're unharmed after being hit by that spell?" "Yeah!" Vaike chimed in. "Not that I'm not grateful, but how th' hell are you still standing?"
Robin stopped and coughed up some blood into his hand. "In truth, I was hurt by it. But I played it off that I was completely fine. I don't know, it felt like all of a sudden I was a completely different person."
"When I got hit by that dark spell, I almost died." Lon'qu stated. "You were hit directly by a stronger spell, and yet you seem to have taken less damage. Why is that?"
"I believe I have a feasible solution to your conundrum." Miriel interjected. "My conclusion, based on the evidence of Robin's glowing attire is that his clothes have been sewn with anti-magic silk."
At this, Robin nodded his head. "Ah yes, I think I read about it somewhere. But isn't that supposed to be a myth?"
"Aptly put. I shared the same initial conclusion. And yet, it is difficult to refute such fascinating and concrete evidence right in front us."
Chrom chuckled. "Ah, Robin. I guess you just keep surprising us. Do you need medical help?"
Robin put up his hand. "It's dark magic. Regular staves will be pretty ineffective. I'll go around the Plegian corpses, and harvest what energy is left in them. It should be enough to get me to a fairly healthy state."
Chrom nodded. Just as Robin left to go do just that, Cordelia and Sumia landed with their passengers next to Chrom. "Captain! We've successfully warned the villagers." Sumia declared, with Cordelia nodding in agreement.
"Good job." Chrom praised. "Now fly to the adjacent Feroxi troops. Tell them we were held down by some Plegians, and we will require a little bit of time to regroup. After we rest, we'll continue marching."
The two Pegasus Knights nodded, and flew off to follow their orders.
A few moments earlier…
Cordelia wasn't pleased with her assignment. For one, she was given the job of a glorified messenger, and to make things worse, she was assigned with Gaius. Ignoring temporarily the fact that he used to be a thief, and a wanted criminal in Ylisstol, he also looked a mess. But for now, she had to tolerate it, because it was what she had been assigned.
As they approached the village, they saw a brigand approaching it.
"I got him! Let me down!" Gaius exclaimed. Cordelia gladly obliged. When her pegasus drew closer to the ground, Gaius leapt off of her mount, and charged the Plegian brigand.
He quickly darted around his opponent, dodging a couple strikes from the Plegian. Eventually, he saw an opening and darted in, slicing his opponent's throat. Simultaneously, Cordelia landed next to him.
"Not bad, eh?" Gaius asked the Pegasus Knight. "Your form could use some work, and you darted around him too excessively." The Pegasus Knight critiqued. Gaius rolled his eyes. "Alright, I'll work on it." "And…" Cordelia continued. "You really should watch your appearance. Cut your hair, wash your clothes maybe…"
Gaius furrowed his eyebrows. "And why does it matter to you?" Cordelia's eyes grew extremely wide. "You're one of Chrom's allies, so your appearance is a reflection of him. When you look like you were rolling around in the garbage, it leaves people with a bad impression of Chrom. I can't have that." Gaius rolled his eyes again. "Okay Mother. I'll work on it."
Cordelia sighed. "Good. Now let's go warn the villagers." With that, she left Gaius for the village. The thief shrugged, and followed after her.
Back to the present…
Nowi was currently on the edge of a breakdown. "This is the WORST day EVER! *sob*"
"Ho oh! Wee one!" Gregor tried to comfort her, already feeling much better. "Do not make with the crying of the tears. The bad people are dead, no?"
Nowi dried her tears. "You… you're right. Thank you for saving me earlier, I never thanked you for that. And I'm sorry I was so mean to you earlier. You were just going to help me. I just get nervous when I'm around people… outside my age group."
"You're age group?" Gregor laughed. "Gregor is much closer to your age group than others here!"
"So, um… Gregor, was it?" Chrom interjected. "Gregor, do you mind looking after her? We must press on."
Gregory pondered something for a moment. "Hmm… Gregor is mercenary, yes? Perhaps you hire Gregor instead. True, Gregor just finished killing former employers, but they were very bad. Gregor still is very reliable. So long as you do not hurt little girl, Gregor no hurt you! Also…" he scratched his head nervously. "Gregor need steady income. ... Many angry former employers."
"You're a sellsword?" Chrom asked. Gregor nodded. "Yes! Very swell sword! Cost performance very high! You have Gregor's word."
"But… but what about me?" Nowi asked in desperation. "I WON'T go back to the auction block!"
"Wait…" Lissa interrupted. "You've been sold? Like a slave?"
Nowi nodded. "Uh huh. To men more despicable than you can imagine. They made me transform for them… they drank and laughed… and *sniff* called out tricks…"
"What scumbags would sell a little girl?" Lissa exclaimed angrily. "Even if she CAN turn into a dragon…"
"She may look young, milady." Frederick interjected. "But do not be fooled. Manaketes can live for a long time."
"Really?" Lissa wondered. "How old are you, Nowi?" "Oh, I dunno." Nowi said as her eyes rolled up while she thought about it. "A thousand… something? But look, no wrinkles!"
Frederick nodded. "The dragonkin are known to be more resilient than man. Nowi would make a strong ally. Besides… we can't risk her falling back into the arms of the Grimleal."
"Beg pardon, but what are the Grimleal?" Robin asked, as he returned.
"Followers of the Fell Dragon, Grima." Frederick told him. "He is the god of destruction and chaos, and the patron deity of Plegia. There are some that still pine for his return."
"Much like how Naga is the god that Ylisseans follow, Grima is the one that Plegians follow." Chrom explained.
"So… since I'm from Plegia, does that mean I used to be a Grimleal?" Robin asked worryingly.
"It's definitely possible." Frederick told him truthfully. "Your cloak and weapon both have symbols of Grima on them. But it's also possible that you weren't. After all, there are still Ylisseans who don't worship Naga, but have symbols and icons of her for good luck or something of that sort."
"Well, I see you have something that you needed to take care of." Flavia said as she approached them. "Don't worry. The Feroxi are here because of you. We'll follow the shepherds on this one. We've already ordered everyone to rest until you guys are ready to march. Take your time, we'll need all our strength soon."
Chrom nodded. "Alright, we'll take a little bit of time to recuperate. Then we'll continue."
The shepherds did just that. They took a break, rehydrated, tended to their wounds, before continuing to march on towards the capital of Plegia...
Robin: HP: 70% Str: 60% Mag: 95% Skl: 65% Spd: 55% Lck: 25% Def: 25% Res: 75%
Tharja: HP: 80% Str: 20% Mag: 80% Skl: 40% Spd: 60% Lck: 40% Def: 45% Res: 30%
Henry: HP: 85% Str: 40% Mag: 65% Skl: 60% Spd: 55% Lck: 40% Def: 50% Res: 30%
Chrom: HP: 85% Str: 60% Mag: 10% Skl: 60% Spd: 60% Lck: 70% Def: 45% Res: 25%
Lissa: HP: 60% Str: 45% Mag: 50% Skl: 45% Spd: 50% Lck: 55% Def: 30% Res: 50%
Frederick: HP: 110% Str: 65% Mag: 10% Skl: 55% Spd: 50% Lck: 40% Def: 55% Res: 25%
Sully: HP: 85% Str: 65% Mag: 10% Skl: 60% Spd: 60% Lck: 60% Def: 45% Res: 25%
Virion: HP: 80% Str: 65% Mag: 15% Skl: 75% Spd: 60% Lck: 40% Def: 35% Res: 30%
Stahl: HP: 95% Str: 65% Mag: 10% Skl: 55% Spd: 50% Lck: 50% Def: 45% Res: 40%
Vaike: HP: 105% Str: 75% Mag: 10% Skl: 65% Spd: 50% Lck: 45% Def: 50% Res: 10%
Miriel: HP: 50% Str: 10% Mag: 80% Skl: 60% Spd: 60% Lck: 50% Def: 25% Res: 40%
Sumia: HP: 55% Str: 45% Mag: 45% Skl: 70% Spd: 70% Lck: 60% Def: 30% Res: 40%
Kellam: HP: 100% Str: 65% Mag: 15% Skl: 55% Spd: 45% Lck: 35% Def: 70% Res: 35%
Donnel: HP: 105% Str: 75% Mag: 15% Skl: 65% Spd: 70% Lck: 100% Def: 65% Res: 40%
Lon'qu: HP: 80% Str: 55% Mag: 20% Skl: 75% Spd: 75% Lck: 55% Def: 30% Res: 25%
Ricken: HP: 75% Str: 10% Mag: 75% Skl: 50% Spd: 50% Lck: 65% Def: 35% Res: 35%
Maribelle: HP: 65% Str: 10% Mag: 70% Skl: 50% Spd: 50% Lck: 80% Def: 15% Res: 55%
Panne: HP: 100% Str: 60% Mag: 15% Skl: 70% Spd: 75% Lck: 40% Def: 50% Res: 40%
Gaius: HP: 85% Str: 60% Mag: 20% Skl: 70% Spd: 70% Lck: 35% Def: 30% Res: 20%
Cordelia: HP: 90% Str: 60% Mag: 10% Skl: 60% Spd: 70% Lck: 45% Def: 45% Res: 35%
Gregor: HP: 105% Str: 60% Mag: 10% Skl: 65% Spd: 50% Lck: 45% Def: 50% Res: 15%
Age: 32
Class: Mercenary
Nowi: HP: 120% Str: 65% Mag: 40% Skl: 50% Spd: 50% Lck: 65% Def: 65% Res: 50%
Age: 1000+
Class: Manakete
I know it's a lot of numbers all at once, and if you don't really care, don't worry, it won't have a large impact on the story. It's just some extra information that, in case you do care, you have at your fingertips. In the future, there will only be the stats given for newly introduced characters.