Author's Notes:
I don't actually have that much to say this time. I apologize if this chapter seems a little rushed (especially the latter half), but I promise that there will be some clarifications in the coming chapter.
For now, here is chapter 35:
Slaver's Warehouse…
"How was it?" Chrom asked his friend and strategist. "Everything turned out fine?"
"I guess you could say…" Robin sighed. "It could've gone better, but it also could have been a lot worse."
"Then let's be optimistic." Gaius suggested.
"Yeah, I suppose you're right." Robin conceded. "We did save some lives after all. How did things go on your end?"
"We took down their leader, and captured those two." Chrom gestured behind him, and Robin saw Vaike and Frederick holding onto two struggling men. "They aren't fighters, and according to documents that we found in the warehouse, they seem to be operatives working for the Valmese Black Market. My best guess, they're probably here in order to buy the slaves that these people have captured. And that's not even the worst part: you'll never guess who else is involved in the market."
"Who?" Robin asked, feeling quite intrigued.
"Excellus." Chrom revealed.
"Excellus!?" Cordelia exclaimed in shock. "You mean, the short, fat, sage that worked for Walhart?"
"Aye ma'am." Say'ri let out a sigh. "The very same. Just when I thought there was no way that pig could be any worse of a human being, he just had to go prove me wrong."
"And my uncle... " Robin continued. "Did Walhart know about this?"
"We don't know for certain." Chrom shrugged. "But on the other hand, we have no evidence that he encouraged this either. The documents never refer to Walhart a single time, but Excellus was in all of them. It's possible that it was something he did on the side, and Walhart was in the dark about the whole thing."
"That's probably how he was able to fill his pockets then." Robin surmised. "I looked into him, especially since we don't know if we'll run into him again at some point. He wasn't born into a wealthy family, nor did he have a high paying occupation, but nevertheless, Excellus mysteriously accumulated a large sum of wealth from somewhere. It's possible that this black market is where he got it all."
"Regardless, these two people are making me sick just from looking at them." Cordelia spat, gesturing towards the two captives the shepherds gained from the whole operation with her lance. "Can I kill them, please?"
"Pardon my intrusion," Frederick interjected. "But methinks that these two we've captured could potentially have valuable information. It would be prudent of us to try and question them to try and get a better understanding of the situation."
"Yeah, but the problem is that these guys' jaws are clamped tighter than a bear trap." Vaike sighed. "I don't think we're gonna get anything out of them."
"Not with your style of questioning." Gaius chuckled as he pulled out a dagger and began cleaning it. "All you did was ask them a few questions. They don't have any… incentive to start talking. But let's say we start lopping off parts of them that they don't need… maybe start with the fingers…"
The black market operatives paled slightly, but did their best not to show it.
"That's enough." Chrom stated. "No matter how desperate we are to find out, I will not allow for the shepherds to do such a thing to a captive. We cannot allow ourselves to stoop to the criminal's level."
"Yeah, you're right." Gaius conceded. "Sorry about that one, Blue. I was just jokin'."
"I think I might have a solution." Robin suggested.
"And what might that be?" Chrom asked.
"You just let me handle the questioning of these guys." Robin gestured towards their captives. "Meanwhile, as our leader, I think you should go see the captives yourself. Maybe give them a word of encouragement or two… and possibly a means for them to return home and such…"
"Yeah, I'll get to it." Chrom agreed. "Seems a lot easier than interrogation at least."
With that, Chrom gave Robin a pat on the shoulder for good luck as he went inside to see the captives for themselves.
Robin slowly made his way towards Frederick and Vaike. "Now let's see what we have here…"
"We aren't gonna tell you anything, so you can stop wasting your time!" One of the operatives confidently told him.
"Oh I wasn't planning on asking you anything." Robin gave them a smile that sent a shiver down everyone's spine, including the shepherds who had seen him.
"W-what are you talking about?" The other one asked.
"Oh you'll find out." Robin told him as his hands began to glow with purple energy. He grasped the head of each of the captives with one of his hands, placing his palm on their foreheads. His victims felt a surge of electricity coursing through them as Robin began to scan their memories. Having some better control over the situation, Robin was able to only look at memories from the two that were relevant to what he needed to know.
"Yes…" Robin almost purred. "You two have been quite useful…"
With Chrom…
Chrom had attempted to steel himself for what he was about to see. After all, these were victims of human trafficking that he was about to see. However, he found that even with his mental preparation, it was nowhere near enough to stop himself from being disgusted.
"Father!" Cynthia ran up to him as soon as he approached the slaves. "We found Noire! Noire is here!"
"Wh-who?" Chrom sputtered, completely caught off guard by his energetic daughter.
"Noire!" Cynthia exclaimed. "She's one of our friends."
"Ah." Chrom nodded in understanding. "W-wait… if she was here, then that means…"
"Yeah…" Cynthia nodded. "But don't worry, she said she was only here a couple of hours. She does seem to be in better shape then most of the others."
With that, Chrom was approached by a young, blonde who was being ushered towards him by Brady.
"U-um… hello… sir." Noire told him meekly. "M-my name is N-noire… my mother is… Tharja and my father is… Libra…"
"You're… Tharja's kid?" Chrom asked, slightly dumbfounded. "Nevermind. I'm sure you're dying to meet your parents again. They're probably back by the entrance. Lucina is over there too."
"T-thank you sir!" Noire bowed, and immediately took off to find her mom and dad. Cynthia and Brady followed closely behind her.
Once Noire had left, Chrom turned to the rest of the captives. "I cannot even begin to imagine what all of you have been through. And although we'd like to help, we also need to worry about our own coffers. I'll offer each and every one of you one thousand gold pieces, which can hopefully cover the cost of going home."
The captives turned and looked at each other. It was clear that many of them had doubtful expressions on their faces. For many of them, it had been months since anyone had shown them a shred of decency, much less kindness. Many of them had begun to feel that other people, especially men, were incapable of treating them with anything other than abuse.
Finally, one of the captives spoke.
"I beg your pardon, milord." A brunette clumsily prostrated in front of Chrom.
"There's no need for that." Chrom sighed as he kneeled down and tried to get the girl to get up. "After what you've already been through, I would feel ashamed if I accepted that gesture from you. Instead, could you tell me who I am currently speaking to?"
"My name is Kayla milord." The brunette told him. "I am one of the girls that have been held here the longest. And from what I know, the story is pretty much the same for each and every one of us. I think I can speak for everyone here that the gesture is greatly appreciated, but the truth of the matter is, it really doesn't matter how much you give us, almost none of us have a home to return to anymore."
"And what do you mean by that?" Chrom asked gently.
"Ezra… he's the man behind all of this." Kayla explained. "He and his men find and track girls who have few remaining family members. As an example, my parents are both dead, so it was just me and my husband. But when he suddenly died of illness, I was left a widow with no further connections. I ran out of money and was forced to sleep in the streets, which was when Ezra and his men kidnapped me."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Chrom said sincerely.
"And that is just my backstory." Kayla continued. "There are some of us here who had a single grandparent, or a distant relative. When Ezra and his men found out, they murdered their remaining family member and captured them. In one case, they even made the murder seem like a tragic accident, and pretended to take in the surviving girl. In another case, they bribed this other girl's father, who had been in poverty, to sell his daughter for some personal gain. But the easiest targets for him to rake in were orphans. They were usually extremely young, and from what I can tell, make him the most money…"
"Stop." Chrom closed his eyes and put up his hand. "I mean no disrespect towards what you all have been through… it's just… I don't think I can listen to another word. This Ezra sounds like a disgusting man, and although we've sent him to the depths of hell, I'm afraid there is no other way for us to help you then."
"Well I've got an idea." Cherche interrupted.
"And what might that be?" Chrom asked.
"Well, as you know, Virion's land has been given back to him." Cherche smiled, like the idea of returning to Rosanne pleased her greatly, which of course, it did. "But I'm afraid that besides me, none of his maids or household staff remain at his side. Many have died due to the invasion, and the others we've lost contact with. So as you can see, there seems to be many vacant positions, all of which I think I can offer to these girls."
The ex captives began to whisper to each other once again. Although getting hired meant they would have a place to go, they were still inherently suspicious about strangers.
"And you of all people would be fine with that?" Chrom asked. "I'm sure you know better than all of us how much of a philanderer Virion can be."
"It's fine." Cherche giggled in a surprisingly carefree manner. "My dearest Minerva promised that she would help me… discipline him if he were to stray from my side. And as much of a philanderer he can be, I doubt that he would swoop as low as to seduce victims of human trafficking. He'll be more than happy to help out some women in trouble, but I doubt he'll do anything that would… upset Minerva."
She turned to the ex captives. "Well girls? What do you think? I haven't seen what's left of my fiance's treasury yet, so I can't say exactly how the pay would be. But I can guarantee that if you accept the offer, you'll have a warm bed to sleep in and food in your stomach. At least, until you find something better."
"Virion… you mean duke Virion!?" Kayla asked.
"The very same." Cherche cheerfully said.
At this, there were some more murmuring among Ezra's victims. However, this time, almost all of them seemed to be optimistic about the offer. Even the most doubtful girls seemed to seriously consider it. Kayla turned around and joined in the murmuring as well.
"Wow, it seems that Virion has quite the reputation around these parts." Chrom chuckled.
"Mmhmm…" Cherche agreed. "Say what you want about him. Even though Virion is a man of many faults, he always has put his people first. Before the invasion, he spent many of his days delivering food to starving villages and creating jobs for the lower class."
"I wouldn't have guessed." Chrom chuckled. "Looks like I could learn a thing or two from him. That's something I never thought I would say."
Finally, the murmuring came to a stop. Kayla once again, as the chosen spokesperson, gave Cherche their unanimous answer. "We've discussed amongst ourselves, and the consensus is that we'll all be happy to accept your offer… mistress."
With that, all of the girls gave Cherche a bow or a curtsy.
"My, my." Cherche covered her mouth with one hand. "This was something I'd never thought I'd experience. I guess I am moving up in the world."
"Well that's settled then." Chrom chuckled. "We might not be far from Virion's estate, but I doubt that these girls are in the condition to march at the same pace as us. I'll go find Anna, and see if we can't find an empty carriage in our convoy for them to sit in while we march."
"Thank you sir!" Kayla exclaimed once again. "Thank you to all of you! We can't even begin to show enough gratitude for all you've done for us." Tears had begun to fall from her face.
"You've been too accustomed to being wronged." Chrom shook his head. "That's why I can't accept your gratitude. We're just treating you like human beings, which does not deserve any praise at all. So don't think too much of it. We'll get you to your new home by day's end."
With that, the Exalt left to return to his tactician's side.
"If only… if only all men were like him…" Kayla murmured under her breath.
With Lucina…
Lucina was too captivated by whatever it was that Robin was doing that she let her guard down. Which was why it came as a surprise to her when she suddenly got tackled in a hug. The startled princess reflexively reached for her Falchion, but calmed down once the culprit began to speak.
"Oh Lucina!" Noire sobbed. "I've missed you so much! I've missed everyone so much!"
"N-noire!?" Lucina asked in disbelief. "Is that really you?"
"It sure is!" Cynthia replied as she arrived a short moment later.
"Oh, Naga above, were you one of the captured slaves?" Lucina asked in worry as she turned around to face her friend.
"Yes, Lucy." Noire sniffled. "But I wasn't harmed… at least compared to everyone else, I really got lucky. I was captured just earlier today."
"Then it looks like our timing was perfect then." Lucina brushed away a strand of hair from Noire's face. "I'm sure you miss your parents too. They're here. Why don't you go find them?"
"Y-yes!" Noire seemed to suddenly remember that they had gone to the past and that they could once again meet their parents. She quickly ran off to do just that.
"So that's another one." Cynthia walked next to her older sister. Meanwhile, Brady, who had just caught up, was busy catching his breath. "Who knows? Maybe we'll all be reunited sometime soon!"
Lucina smiled as she watched Noire find her parents.
"Father! Father!" Noire sobbed as she dove into Libra's arms.
"You've mistaken, young lady." Libra told her. "Although I am a member of Ylisse's religious order, I am not yet qualified to be referred to as such."
"No, that's not what I meant!" Noire protested as she continued to cry. "I mean, you're my real father! Oh, how I have missed you!"
Libra seemed justifiably confused by the whole scene, until she saw Lucina, Cynthia and Brady looking towards him. He then seemed to understand the situation.
"Then it seems you've been through quite a lot." Libra returned the hug. "My daughter."
"Who is this?" Tharja hissed when she turned around to see Libra hugging an unknown young girl. "Aren't you a priest? I thought you were better than this, Libra."
"Eek!" Noire squeaked. "M-mother!"
Lucina couldn't help but giggle at her friend's reaction. That's always how it's been. Noire was extremely cautious of her mother, especially since Tharja would use her as a guinea pig on her new spells, and as a result, has grown to be extremely close to her father instead.
"Mother!?" Tharja snapped. "What delusional wench did you find!?"
"W-wait!" Noire fumbled at her necklace. "My talisman! Where is… there!"
Suddenly, her whole demeanor seemed to change.
"I AM BLOOD AND THUNDER!" Noire declared with a menacing expression. "I AM A RIGHTEOUS FURY! I AM YOUR FUTURE DAUGHTER! IF YOU REQUIRE FURTHER PROOF, I CARRY YOUR RING WITH ME!"
Noire presented Tharja with the jewelry in question, but Tharja didn't seem to care all that much.
"Ah, my ring." Tharja shrugged. "Nice. Now let me see that talisman." She grabbed it from Noire's hands.
"B-but wait!" Noire protested, returning to her usual, meek self.
Tharja took the time to examine it. "Ah… the future me… is very very good… and very very bad! Ooh… I can't wait!"
Then she let out a cackle that chilled everyone, including Robin, to their very core. Noire whimpered from Libra's arms.
There was an awkward silence among everyone, which thankfully didn't last long because Chrom had returned from within the warehouse.
"So, Robin." The Exalt asked. "Any results?"
"Of course." Robin smiled, which confused the black market operatives. They hadn't said a word after all. "This Valmese Black Market was founded by Excellus and is organized by a small group of individuals. They then commission other brigandes and criminals and pay them for acquiring illegal goods, such as drugs, wyverns or people. These criminals are then compensated for their efforts by being paid a portion of the profits that the black market gains from auctioning the goods."
He then went on to reveal the entire market structure, as well as the chain of command, being able to name a few key people in the process. The shepherds who had seen Robin's 'interrogation' were two parts impressed and one part concerned, and the rapid paling of the operatives' faces was a clear indication that Robin's information was true.
"Now then, I believe I've extracted as much information from them as possible." Robin declared after he had finished. "I believe that means these two are no longer of use to us. Do we have permission to dispose of them?"
"Y-yeah… sure." Chrom nodded numbly.
"Great!" Robin snapped his fingers. "Now I believe this should be on a first come first serve basis. Since Cordelia had indicated she would like the honor, why doesn't she be the one to kill them off?"
"With pleasure…" Cordelia purred as she reached for her lance. She ignored the whimpers and cries for mercy from the pair as she ran them through with her spear.
At this point, everyone present had been rather accustomed to killing, and the fact that these operatives were despicable human beings made it a lot easier. There was not a single voice of dissent to the double execution.
"Well then," Chrom spoke again. "Cherche has offered these people's captives a place in House Virion as servants. So we'll be taking them with us. According to her, we should be really close to his estate. We should definitely reach there by day's end. I'm thinking that, since these girls haven't been given a proper meal in who knows how long, we should cook up a feast for them. Virion should have a decently sized kitchen in his household, I'd imagine. Do we have any volunteers?"
"I'll do it." Robin raised his hand, much to the delight of everyone present. "It's been a while since I had a kitchen shift after all. Although, I should check with Cherche to see if there are any markets in the area."
"I was hoping you'd say that." Chrom smiled. "Now once the girls are ready to move out, we'll head back to the convoy. Anna, if you could find some place for them to sit so that they won't have to march, it would be great."
"Yeah, no problem!" Anna exclaimed quickly. "Just leave that to me!"
"Oh, and by the way, Robin," Chrom continued. "Feel free to spend as much as you need on ingredients tonight."
"Um… what?" Robin blinked a few times, not thinking he heard correctly.
"I promised the girls one thousand gold each in order to help them get home, but seeing as they won't be needing it, we may as well put it towards tonight's dinner. It's for them, after all. I highly doubt that you could spend more than that much even if you tried."
"I'll see what I can do then." Robin smirked. "It won't be a disappointment."
And so, the shepherds dispersed in order to get ready to move out. Robin, seeing Lucina busy in conversation with her friends, decided not to bother her and went looking for Cherche.
Moments Later…
Robin was currently sitting in an empty cart. It was being pulled along by Stahl and his horse. Overhead, Sumia was flying on top her Falicorn. They had rode on ahead, because there was an extremely good market near Virion's place of residence, but by the time the rest of the shepherds marched there, they might already be closed. Therefore, Miriel had come up with the idea to let a much smaller group march on ahead. With far less people, they could afford to travel faster, and go longer without taking breaks. Naturally, Robin would be part of this group since he would be doing the cooking. Stahl and Sumia had volunteered to help him, which Robin gladly accepted, especially since they were both competent in the kitchen.
"Beautiful day, isn't it?" Stahl chuckled as he looked back towards Robin from atop his horse.
"Yeah, I'll have to agree with you on that one." Robin nodded. "Makes you forget we're even marching. It just feels like we're out on the countryside, enjoying the weather."
"Sully doesn't really enjoy these types of things, so she shouldn't be that upset that I volunteered to be part of this whole thing." Stahl absentmindedly said.
"And why do you bring that up?" Robin asked.
"Oh, I think you know." Stahl turned around and gave him a wink. "Don't tell me you weren't paying attention to Lucina's reaction. Did you see her? She looked like she was about to throw a childish fit when it was decided that you would be going on ahead. I'd bet good coin that she's sulking and dragging her feet along as we speak."
"Stop it." Robin chuckled.
"What can I say?" Stahl shrugged. "Must be those teenager mood swings or something, I guess."
"You and I are not much older." Robin countered.
"Yeah." Stahl chuckled. "Still kinda comes as a shock, doesn't it? Here we are, with ol' Chrom's fully grown daughter, who happens to be just a couple years younger than us… and to think she has already accomplished so much already…"
"Well, I won't try and discredit what Lucina has been through." Robin nodded in agreement. "But, we also can't be too harsh on Chrom either. He hasn't even hit twenty one yet, and he's already won two major wars as Ylisse's Exalt. That's pretty impressive in and of itself."
"Yeah, you're right." Stahl conceded. "By the way, what's for dinner tonight?"
"Hmm…" Robin cupped his chin with one hand. "I'm not certain yet. Rosannese food is quite delightful, though I am not an expert at making it. Rosanne is a land where they grow a multitude of herbs and spices, so we can definitely get some at a reasonable price. As for the main dish, I'm thinking of making a curry of some kind, but maybe not something too spicy… I don't know how much spice everyone can take… and as for the side dishes…"
Smoke practically flew up from Robin's head as he brainstormed ideas to himself.
"I'll let you worry about it then." Stahl chuckled. "Whatever it is you're planning, I'm sure it will be good. And I get to help make it too… I can smell the wonderful aromas already!"
They marched for another half hour in relative silence. Suddenly, Sumia descended towards the ground and landed near the pair.
"We're just about there." The Dark Flier declared. "It looks like there are still people shopping, so that's a good sign."
"Right." Robin immediately got a notepad as well as a quill pen from the bag at his side and began to scribble some ingredients onto the paper. "Here's what I'll need the two of you to get… this one is for Stahl…" Robin ripped out a sheet and handed it to the cavalier. "And this one is for you, Sumia." Robin ripped out another and handed it to her as well.
"These are all meats." Stahl looked at Robin as he read his ingredient list.
"And mine are vegetables." Sumia said after reading hers.
"Right. I will get the seasonings as well as everything else." Robin nodded. "But I'm sure the stuff I'm asking you to buy are all things you've bought before. By dividing it up this way, we can be most efficient. Once we have everything, we might be able to get to Virion's estate before everyone else, and begin cooking right away."
At this point, they've reached a small, bustling town where merchants were selling their product from roadside stands. The three of them split up, and began purchasing the necessary ingredients. It was a rather trivial task, at least for Sumia and Stahl, because Robin had written down approximately how much of each ingredient he needed. Soon, they were finished and met back at their cart.
"Would you look at all of this!" Stahl exclaimed as marveled at everything in the cart. "Oh man, are we eating good tonight! My stomach is dying from anticipation!"
"Calm down, Stahl." Sumia giggled. "You have to help make it too!"
"It IS a pretty good haul." Robin agreed. "And we actually spent less than expected, which is a plus. I guess all that's left to do is head over to Virion's place and begin cooking!"
Sumia and Stahl wholeheartedly agreed. The three of them made their way over as fast as they possibly could.
Cherche was correct. The market was extremely close to where Virion lived. And there was no way Robin was at the wrong place either. There wasn't a single building within eyeshot of this mansion that was anything like it. They found that, although the others hadn't arrived yet, the doors to the mansion were open. Inside, it was clear that no one had lived here for quite some time, and cobwebs covered everything. However, there were also no signs that it had been completely ransacked either.
The three cleaned off the kitchen area, and began their cooking.
With Noire…
Under her friends' suggestion, Noire decided to ride in the back wagon with the rest of the freed girls. They had argued that she had been through enough for one day, and there was no reason why she should have to walk with the rest of them. Noire felt a little uncomfortable by it, but agreed to it nonetheless.
She quickly found herself the center of attention by all the other girls in the caravan.
"So do you know these people?" Kayla asked her.
"U-um… yes I do." Noire told her meekly. "They're… basically my family. I… got separated from them a while ago."
"Wow…" Kayla looked almost jealous. "By the way, I never found out YOUR name."
"Oh, it's… Noire…" Noire told her.
"Was this group formed by Duke Virion after Rosanne was invaded?" Kayla continued.
"It must be!" One of the other girls chimed in. "Duke Virion probably made this group for the sole purpose of winning back Rosanne from Walhart!"
"A-actually… he's not." Noire told them. "C-chrom is… he's the blue haired man you all talked to."
"Oh." Kayla said in mild surprise. "So is Duke Virion, like, the second in command then? He must have some sort of high rank right?"
"U-um… from what I know… he's just a shepherd… like everyone else." Noire informed them.
Murmurs of disbelief could be heard from within the wagon.
"You mean to say that any one of them has the same rank as Duke Virion!?" Kayla asked in disbelief.
"That's correct." Noire sighed. This all was pretty common knowledge for her, but everyone in the wagon stared at her like she just revealed some new discovery. "They're all… good people. And strong too…"
"Well, we don't doubt that." Kayla agreed.
"I'm… feeling… tired." Noire admitted out loud. "I think… I'm going to sleep… for a little bit."
"All right then, you do that." Kayla replied. "I'll wake you up when we get there."
"Th-thanks…" Noire muttered before closing her eyes. The gentle bumps along the road lulled Noire into a deep slumber. She was actually extremely tired, so it wasn't difficult for her to fall asleep at all. In fact, she didn't wake up until Kayla nudged her awake once they had reached Virion's mansion.
With Lucina…
Lucina was in a grumpy mood. She was SUPPOSED to have been able to walk alongside Robin for the past couple of hours. They could have had a pleasant conversation while the warm sun shined down on them and the gentle breeze blew across their faces. But instead, Robin had been sent on ahead in order to buy food. She had never been the best at hiding her emotions, so her discontentment was clearly displayed across her face as she walked.
Lucina was too busy grumbling to herself to see her friends laughing at the sight of her. Even some of the shepherds began to snicker at the pouting Lucina.
Finally, Anna couldn't help herself anymore. "It's only an hour or two away now." The redhead told Lucina. "There's no need to look so glum. You'll be reunited with your prince soon enough."
Lucina, realizing that Anna, and possibly others, had just seen right through her, began to blush a crimson red. "That's-"
"Save it, sis." Cynthia giggled. "You'll only incriminate yourself further if you try and argue."
"Ugh…" Lucina covered her face with her hands in order to try and mask her embarrassment.
Eventually, they did reach their destination. As they approached, the shepherds could smell the delicious aroma of food being made. Specifically, the aroma of Robin's food being made.
"They must have already started cooking." Chrom surmised.
"Can't we go ANY faster?" Lissa asked. "I'm beginning to starve over here!"
Once the smell hit Lucina's nose, she instantly changed her mind about Robin leaving her in order to go buy ingredients. Her new conclusion was that it was worth it in the end. After all, the hard part was over. Now she'd get to reap the benefits of eating some delicious food much earlier than the alternative.
"Ah, home, sweet home." Cherche sighed at the nostalgic sight. "We'll probably have to do some renovations… and a whole lot of cleaning… At least there will be things for the girls to do."
"So where should we set up?" Chrom asked. "I know you showed Flavia and the other soldiers a large, open area for them to set up for the night, but what about us?"
"The mansion, normally would be able to house all of us." Cherche replied. "However, I don't trust its current state. It's probably better if we set up camp around it instead. As for dinner, I think it would also be best to eat outside. Although, I'm not sure the regular mess tent will be able to seat everyone."
"We could have a picnic!" Nowi exclaimed. "Let's not even bother setting up a food tent then! Everyone could just eat outside on the grass!"
"I suppose that is acceptable." Cherche agreed.
"Now then, while Robin and the others are finishing up with dinner, let's set up camp for the night." Chrom turned to give orders to the shepherds.
The shepherds began to set up camp at Chrom's command. However, many of them were unable to put all of their effort into it because the smells coming out of the kitchen windows was a severe distraction. Although it took longer than usual, eventually the shepherds managed to finish setting up for the night.
The timing could not be more perfect, because right when they finished, Sumia declared that dinner was ready to be served.
Gaius flew over immediately to grab a bowl and get in line, which was somewhat understandable. The shepherds would always jostle for a better spot in line whenever dinner was expected to be really good after all. However, this time, Cordelia grabbed him by the back of his collar, and pulled him away.
"Hey! That's not fair!" Gaius protested.
"Mind your manners!" Cordelia retorted. "We have guests tonight, remember?"
"I finally got to be first in line too…" Gaius mock cried.
After an excruciatingly long wait for poor Gaius, he eventually did get a big bowl of curry and rice. Lifting the limit on how much Robin was allowed to spend had some extremely obvious results. The food was more delightful than anything he had cooked for the shepherds before.
Many of the people who tasted it, including Noire, were moved to tears. And it was no exaggeration either. For Noire, it had literally been years since she had a proper meal, and even those could not lift a candle to what she was currently eating.
The big surprise was when Virion got up from the carriage he had been lying in, and came over to eat with everyone else.
"Feeling better?" Ricken asked when he saw the Sniper walk over with a bowl of food.
"Well enough to stand, at least." Virion replied. "To be honest, I could use a few more hours of rest, but 'twould be a crime to not eat when there is food as marvelous as this!"
The people sitting around them laughed, as they could not easily refute the statement. Virion was surprised with the addition of so many people, but Cherche explained the whole situation to him. Once he got a grasp of what had happened, he welcomed his new servants with open arms. In turn, they flocked around him. Once they saw him, all doubts in their minds were erased as they knew for sure that this man had to be Duke Virion.
Even after making three times the usual amount of food, everything was eaten in record time. Dishes took longer than usual, but Robin, as usual, received a large amount of help on that front.
Virion's new maids had their first free evening in quite a long time. They spent it admiring their surroundings and simply relishing their new freedom, much like how a caged bird might react when it is finally set free.
Soon evening passed and it was nighttime. Cherche showed the new maids to their future rooms, and although many of them were dusty and disorganized, none of them minded at all. The fact that they had a mattress to sleep on was a luxury that most of them had forgotten about. Their new sleeping conditions could not even be compared to falling asleep on the cold, hard ground with no blankets. They only had the heat released from the other captives to keep them warm.
Many of the other shepherds retired to their tents for the night after an understandably exhausting day. Robin, however, took the opportunity to lie on the grass and look up to the night sky. Lucina was just about to head to her own tent when she noticed him. Seeing the perfect opportunity for a moment alone with him, she walked over and sat down next to the stargazing Robin.
"Looking at the stars?" Lucina asked.
Robin turned to look at her. "Oh… yeah. But it's much worse than up in the Mila Tree. We're kind of close to a few towns, so there's some light pollution. You can't see things as clearly here."
"It… looks the same to me." Lucina admitted as she laid down next to him and rested her head on his arm.
They stayed there in silence for a few moments.
"Hey Robin?" Lucina asked.
"Yes?" The tactician responded.
"What's over there?" Lucina pointed towards their south. "It looks like there are some lights over there… but it doesn't look like a town. And some of the lights are blinking through the air as well."
"Now that you mention it, that does seem rather peculiar." Robin furrowed his brow. "My best guess is, there must be a festival or something. Those lights in the sky could possibly be people riding pegasi or something."
"I wonder what they're celebrating then…" Lucina said. She shivered as a cool breeze flew by them. Lucina let out a soft sneeze.
"Are you getting cold?" Robin asked. "Maybe we should retire for the night."
"N-no!" Lucina protested. "I'm fine. Really. Let's stay out here a little longer, please?"
"That's fine by me." Robin told her. "Just don't catch a cold."
"I won't as long as you're here." Lucina told him as she lifted Robin's arm and shifted closer to him. She rested her head on top of his chest. "Because you're warm."
The usually unfazeable Robin seemed startled by Lucina's sudden boldness. He let out a chuckle of amusement.
"W-what's wrong?" Lucina asked. "Do you… not like this?"
'There it is.' Robin thought to himself.
"No, no, it's fine." Robin assured her. "I was just surprised. That's all."
"Oh my." A new voice said, interrupting the couple's intimacy. "You lovebirds are not asleep yet?" Although she could not see it, Cherche's comment caused Lucina to once again become flustered.
"You're one to talk, Cherche." Robin responded, not bothering to look up. He had recognized her voice after all. "What are you still doing? I don't think you're on guard duty tonight."
"No, I'm not." Cherche agreed. "I just finished showing all the girls to their rooms. I was heading back to my own tent."
"Ah, that makes sense." Robin nodded. "By the way, do you know what's going on over there? Is there a festival or something?"
"Hmm? Festival?" Cherche looked towards where Robin was pointing. When she realized what was happening, her face paled.
"That's not a festival, Robin…" Cherche said shakily. "That's Wyvern Valley! And if there are people there this late at night, it could only be poachers! We have to stop them!"
"How far is it from here?" Robin asked as he sat up in alarm..
"On foot, it might take an hour to get there. If we ran." Cherche replied.
"That's no good." Robin gritted his teeth. "Still, if we don't start heading over, there would be nothing to stop anymore. Lucina, go wake everyone up and tell them to head towards Wyvern Valley immediately."
"Right." Lucina replied and immediately got up to go do just that.
"Cherche, we should get there as soon as possible." Robin continued. "Could you fly me over to Wyvern Valley?"
"Of course." Cherche replied immediately. "Let me go wake Minerva."
She immediately ran off towards the stables, with Robin closely tailing her.
Minutes Later…
Although it takes a long time to get to Wyvern Valley by foot, it only takes minutes by air. Robin sat right behind Cherche, holding onto her waist in order to prevent himself from falling off. He could see just how many wyverns were flying around as they approached. It reminded him of a swarm of bats from a distance.
As Minerva began to descend into Wyvern Valley, Robin could see many Wyvern Riders and Wyvern Lords flying around, cornering the native wyverns and netting them.
"Over there!" Cherche called, and pointed towards two Wyvern Riders who seemed to be in the middle of combat. "Probably fighting over who gets the larger share of their profits or something. Disgusting."
"Wait a moment," Robin patted Cherche's shoulder. "Listen."
"Stop it, you scoundrels!" the voice of a young man called as he swung his axe at another rider. "These wyverns are not meant for you to capture! They deserve to be free, and should be allowed to live their lives here in peace!"
"What madness is this!?" The other rider said. "Wyverns exist to be tamed! How much of a hypocrite could you be? Telling us they all deserve to be free when you're riding one yourself. Now get out of our way. You'll reduce the number of wyverns we can capture."
"Over my dead body!" The young man replied as he swooped in for another swing. The two locked axes, and although the masked young man seemed to have the advantage, a Wyvern Lord swooped in from above. It was clear who the newcomer was aiming for.
"Thoron!" Robin called. He launched a bold of intense electrical energy from his right hand at the dive bombing Wyvern Lord. The bolt struck the Wyvern in the neck and passed right through its body as if it were paper. The Wyvern Lord let out a blood curdling scream as he lost control over his mount. Both wyvern and rider plummeted towards the bottom of the valley. Soon, a loud thud could be heard as the pair, most likely, met their death once they hit rock bottom.
Suddenly, Cherche and Robin were the center of attention. All the animosity from the poachers were suddenly redirected towards the two of them.
Cherche let out a nervous chuckle, but Robin acted as if he didn't even care.
"Damn, I'll have to work on my aim." Robin mused to himself. "I was trying to just hit the guy riding the wyvern. Looks like my accuracy is much lower when I don't use a tome to cast a spell."
He had reacted instinctively, and did not have enough time to pull out a tome to assist in his spell casting. Furthermore, his entire hand began to feel numb from the spell cast, much like when circulation is cut off to a specific area.
"You there!" The masked man pointed his axe in their direction. "Are you with these poachers?"
"Heavens no!" Cherche exclaimed back. She couldn't see clearly, but she swore she saw him flinch when he heard her. "We're here to stop these poachers from taking away all of these cute, darling wyverns!"
"I… see." The masked young man eventually replied. "In that case, we're here for the same reason then. I propose a truce for the time being. Not that it would be anywhere close to enough."
Cherche immediately agreed as many more of the poachers began to close in on them.
"What do we do now?" Cherche asked.
"Hey young man!" Robin called out. "What's your name?"
"Gerome." The man replied quickly.
"Right, Gerome." Robin nodded. "How fast is your wyvern."
"Just as fast as yours." Gerome replied.
It was an unexpected way for him to answer the question, but Robin brushed it aside. He tapped Cherche on the shoulder. "You head back. Rally the other fliers and have each of them fly someone else over. Prioritize archers and mages."
"What about you then?" Cherche asked.
"I'm gonna hold them off with Gerome." Robin replied as he pulled out a tome from his cloak. "Catch me!"
With that, Robin jumped off of Minerva's back. Gerome's reaction was pretty good, even though he didn't understand what was happening at first. Robin secured himself right behind Gerome as soon as he landed.
"I'll be back soon!" Cherche promised as she flew away.
"Don't let her escape!" One poacher called. "She's probably getting reinforcements!"
A few of the Wyvern Lords attempted to follow her, but Robin shot them down with blasts from his Thoron tome. He was able to stop most, but not all of the ones following Cherche.
"Keep them distracted." Robin told Gerome. "You don't have to worry about fighting; just let me take care of it. All you need to do is make sure they can't swarm us. We'll kite them with my magic."
"You got it!" Gerome exclaimed. Although he wasn't certain, he had an extremely good guess on who this mystery man riding behind him might be. And if he is right, then it is very good news for him.
With Cherche…
Cherche flew back towards the shepherds, and began to descend when she saw their familiar marching position near the ground.
"Chrom!" Cherche called.
"What is it?" Chrom called back.
Cherche landed, and hopped off Minerva immediately. "Enemies! Wyvern Lords right behind me!"
Hearing this, Miriel immediately fired an Arcfire spell through the night sky, illuminating the area above them just enough to see three Wyvern Lords flying towards them. Virion, having practiced this method of attack before, instantly fired arrow after arrow from his silver bow. The sound of arrows hitting their targets could be heard through the air, back to back to back. Afterwards, they heard the sound of three thuds as their opponents hit the ground, dead.
"Fare thee well! The archest of archers is back on form!" Virion proudly declared.
"What's the situation?" Chrom asked the out of breath Cherche.
"Poachers." Cherche replied. "Robin's still back there, fighting with a young man we met. He sent me back in order to get more fliers. They're to each take an archer or mage as a passenger and fly to Wyvern Valley immediately!"
"Got it." Chrom immediately gave out the orders to the rest of the shepherds. "Anyone not flying, we have to hurry there on foot!"
"Naturally, I will be riding with my darling Cherche." Virion declared.
"So that means I'll ride with Cordelia." Gaius smirked.
"I'll take Miriel." Sumia added, and the bespectacled Sage immediately walked over to her.
"Tiki and I count too, right?" Nowi asked.
"Are you able to maintain your dragon form for that long?" Chrom asked in concern.
"As long as we don't expend our energy on attacks, we can stay in dragon form as long as needed." Tiki reassured him.
"Great! I'll take Henry then!" Nowi declared.
"U-um… I think I should go too, right?" Olivia stammered.
"Yes, you may ride on my back." Tiki smiled.
"E-eep!" Olivia squeaked. "I-is that… is it really all right?"
"Sure!" Tiki chuckled. "Why not?"
"I-I would be honored, milady." Olivia bowed, before walking to her side.
Off to the side, Lucina was busy arguing with Cynthia.
"Please! Take me! Noire just got back!" Lucina protested.
"I… I can fight!" Noire assured her.
"I know you're worried about your darling Robin," Cynthia shook her head. "But remember, he said we needed to bring archers and mages. That means the combat will be primarily ranged. Possibly in the air too. You'll only slow him down if you show up and are unable to participate. Just follow dad like everyone else!"
Lucina, although unhappy about it, had to concede that Cynthia made a good point. She reluctantly walked away and grouped up with the rest of the shepherds.
As soon as everything was sorted out, the fliers immediately set off for Wyvern Valley.
"What did you mean by Lucina's 'darling' Robin?" Noire asked as she rode behind Cynthia.
"Oh that?" Cynthia giggled. "That's because they're DATING now!"
"Dating!?" Noire gasped. "Really?"
"I know, right!?" Cynthia laughed. "I can't wait to see Owain's and Inigo's reactions when they find out! We'll never run out of things to tease her about ever again!"
"I think it's sweet." Noire giggled at Cynthia's antics. "I'm happy for her."
"Sure, I am too!" Cynthia replied. "But that doesn't mean we can't tease her about it either."
"I know…" Noire conceded. "Just be sure not to take things too far, though."
"Yeah, yeah." Cynthia quickly brushed it off. "Get your bow ready. We're almost there."
When they arrived at Wyvern Valley, Cherche found that there were significantly fewer poachers left. However, there were still a lot of them, and they were still following Gerome and Robin around. Seeing Robin casting Ruin over and over again, Cherche surmised that his Thoron tome must have been expended.
"Quick!" Cherche urged her allies. "We have to help him!"
Sumia started things off by imitating what Miriel did earlier. She fired an Arcfire spell through the air, illuminating their targets for the rest of them. Miriel and Henry followed up by launching a Rexcalibur and Arcwind at the poachers. Virion, Gaius, Olivia and Noire also opened fire on the wyverns chasing Gerome and Robin.
"That must be our reinforcements." Robin breathed a sigh of relief as he wiped his brow. "We should go regroup with them."
"Got it." Gerome replied as he flew towards his new, or perhaps one could say old, friends.
"You shouldn't overwork yourself." Sumia told Robin as he approached.
"I was just keeping busy, that's all." Robin chuckled.
"OMIGOSH!" Cynthia exclaimed. "It's Gerome! Hi Gerome!" The Pegasus Knight began to wave frantically at her friend.
"Great…" Gerome grumbled as he rolled his eyes. "Of all the ones I could meet up with, it HAD to be you…"
"It's Gerome?" Noire peeked out from behind Cynthia. "It really is him! Hi Gerome!"
"Noire?" Gerome recognized this voice as well. He waved back.
"Hey!" Cynthia exclaimed. "How come you greet her and not me!?"
"Finish things here first, then talk." Gerome simply said.
Cynthia grumbled, but did just that.
They all fought for another half hour. The poachers, having already invested so much into capturing the wyverns, decided it was too late for them to fold and tried everything they could possibly do in order to kill off Robin and the others. In the back of their minds, they knew that the more of their companions died, the larger their share of the profits would be, and so none of them cooperated with one another. This meant that it was extremely easy for the shepherds to kill them off.
The people who claimed the most lives by far were Miriel and Henry. While the archers certainly were effective in killing flying enemies, shooting down one rider at a time cannot be compared to wiping out an entire group with an Arcwind or Rexcalibur spell. The only other person who could give them a run for their money was Robin, but he had a head start over them.
Soon, the cliffs and bottom of the valley were littered with the corpses of the poachers and their wyverns. Robin and the others landed on some of the cliffs in order to take a break.
"Hey, guess we didn't even need ol' Blue and the others." Gaius joked.
"Maybe not the fighting, but it's still good that they're on their way." Robin smiled.
"W-why is that?" Olivia asked meekly.
"So we can loot their bodies." Robin replied. "If they're working illegally, then they probably have made a fortune. That means their equipment is probably top tier. And with their owners dead, they won't be doing anything except gathering rust here anyways. We could add them to our armory, and either repair or sell them."
"Hey, hey." Gaius waggled a finger at him. "Don't tell me you've been sleeping with Red recently. Blues Jr. will be so mad when she finds out."
"And Blues Jr. the second will bash your head in if you ever say something like that in front of her sister!" Cynthia threatened, leveling her lance at Gaius.
"Cynthia!" Sumia exclaimed in shock. "Put your lance away!"
Gaius raised his hands defensively. "Woah there! It was only a joke! A joke!"
Robin seemed to ignore all of their antics though. "And there's something about these people… I can only hope my hunch is incorrect. But for now, let's just take a rest. We'll wait for Chrom and the others to get here first before making our next move."
"Right." Multiple voices replied simultaneously as the shepherds resolved to do just that.
Gerome: HP: 90% Str: 75% Mag: 20% Skl: 60% Spd: 55% Lck: 30% Def: 45% Res: 20%
Class: Wyvern Rider
Age: 16