Water was a precious resource in Plegia. Rainfall was infrequent and unpredictable, and though some entrepreneurs in costal towns were bottling distilled seawater for consumption, most Plegians' access to freshwater was tentative at best. Underground aquafers were the most common way Plegians hydrated themselves, their livestock, and their crops. Thus, the well or fountain that stood at the center of every Plegian village was treated with almost sacred reverence. One could meet every Plegian in town if they stood by the well long enough, and the whole of the community seemed to be based on the common quest for water every person made every day to their local well.
It was by this well that most residents of the small village the Shepherds approached gathered, even with the noise of hundreds of feet marching, the murmuring was loud and clear from the populace, though it was too faint to make out exactly what was being said. Chrom and Robin had seen such sights before, and their experience over the past month or so trekking through Plegian villages had given them a confident familiarity with how this situation was to be addressed. Both of them signaled their army to hold, and, walking alone toward the center of town, they made their way to the crowd. Lucina and her fellow Shepherds never particularly liked this practice, of their Exalt walking alone with only one (albeit a very competent) ally at his side. Nevertheless, it could not be denied that both men were perfectly capable of defending themselves, and the most elite soldiers in the world stood within sight just behind them. The Shepherds had long ago calculated that the chances of a random Plegian civilian making a successful attack of opportunity was minimal. Though, Robin had to pessimistically note, it was never zero.
To the surprise of everyone, two Plegians walked out of the crowd by the well and directly towards the Exalt. Cordelia noticeably tightened her grip on her lance, and Lucina placed her hand on the Falchion. Most villagers said nothing until Chrom had introduced himself and his intentions. It seemed the villagers of this town were not going to be so passive.
Of the two men, one was very tall; so tall, in fact, that Robin questioned how he had not noticed him before. He stood at least a head taller than anyone else in the village, and only Gregor and the tallest soldiers among the Shepherds could hope to match him. His shoulders were broad, and draped over them was a black vest with pockets sewed on it, partially concealing a plain white shirt and black pants. His face was square and serious, a short head of dark brown hair completing the picture.
Despite his imposing figure, he stood a full step behind (and constantly glanced at) the second man, who stood at virtually the same height as Robin and Chrom. His hair was longer, and in the same basic style as Robin's, but black, brushed just out of the way of his deep brown eyes. His outfit was simple, black pants and white shirt, just like his tall associate, but complimented by a long black coat of thin wool with a hood he left hanging behind his neck. A knife was clearly visible in his belt, but he made no effort to conceal it. Contrary to Robin's initial expectation when he saw its handle, it was not a dagger or focused weapon, but rather a common workman's knife used in all sorts of occupations.
The four men stopped when they were about a yard from each other, the shorter one still standing just before the tall one, and Robin standing just behind Chrom.
"Greetings," Chrom began, "I am Prince Chrom of Ylisse. We are the Shepherds. This is my tactician, Robin." The shorter one's brown eyes shifted briefly to Robin before returning to Chrom. "As you may have heard, we are attempting to track down the Grimleal and their current leader, Validar. We mean no harm to your village, and do not intend to deprive you of your peace or property. Indeed, we are simply passing through on more pressing matters, and have no intentions to stay in your village or your country any longer than necessary to stop the Grimleal."
The tall one looked at the shorter one, as did many of the civilians standing silently behind them, but the shorter one said nothing, still looking at Chrom with narrowed eyes. Chrom also regarded the man, before continuing to speak. "If any of you have any information concerning the whereabouts of Validar or his followers, my fellow Shepherds and I would be more than happy to trade provisions for it. Furthermore," he said, now looking at the crowd, "if any among you wish to join us in our fight to defeat the Grimleal, you will welcome to come along. You will receive pay, food, and the protection of your fellow soldiers, with the condition that you assist us in defeating the men who have plunged the world into chaos, and help restore order to our continents."
The shorter one finally broke his gaze with Chrom, looking to the taller one, who offered only a blank expression. When he finally returned to looking at Chrom, his head was slightly cocked, and the corner of his mouth turned upward in a slight grin. "Join with you?" he finally said. He spoke to Chrom, but loudly, expecting everyone in the vicinity to hear him. "Join with the man who helped start the last war? Spilled the blood of hundreds of young men from our villages without concern or remorse?"
"If you have anyone to blame for that," Robin said, "You can blame your former king."
Chrom eyed Robin from the side. What he said was true, but responding to accusations with accusations was rarely conducive in tense situations.
"My king," the shorter one said, "your king, or whatever you call it over there, the 'Exalt,'" he now eyed Chrom, "all the same to us. Whether we died to your sword or his, what difference did it really make in the end?"
Chrom took a breath, "I can understand your hesitation given the circumstances," he said. "What is your name, sir?"
The shorter one paused for a moment. "Lloyd," he said.
"And who are you?" Chrom said, now looking at the taller one. The man opened his mouth to speak, but seemed to close it back up, and, with a rather nervous expression, looked back to Lloyd, who even without turning his attention from Chrom, could seemingly feel his gaze.
"Llewellyn," Lloyd finally said. "His name is Llewellyn."
"Lloyd," Chrom said extending his hand. Lloyd looked at it suspiciously, before finally extending his own and gripping Chrom's hand. Chrom let out a brief smile before turning his attention to the taller man. "Llewellyn," Chrom said.
Llewellyn said nothing as he stared at Chrom's hand. There was a pregnant silence for a moment, before Lloyd let out a small sigh and said, "just shake his hand, Ell." Llewellyn began to raise his left hand to grab Chrom's, before Lloyd let out a simple "other hand," and Llewellyn hesitantly corrected his mistake, and grabbed Chrom's hand. Chrom was surprised as the gentleness in Llewellyn's grip, given his size and stature.
Chrom returned to his original position. "I would never threaten you with death if you did not join us," he said, "I am not like Gangrel. And rest assured, I will not hold any ill will toward you or your village if that is your decision."
Lloyd looked at Chrom up and down, and after a moment, his lips curled back up into his grin.
"You'll have to forgive me," Lloyd said, "I've never actually been in the presence of nobility before. I half-expected to feel some…divine glow or aura just looking at you." Lloyd took a step closer, to the concern of everyone. Robin prepared his mind for a spell and took a firmer stance, through Chrom kept himself still and composed. With Lloyd this close, Chrom finally guessed that Lloyd was about the same age as him.
"Yet," he continued, "all I see is another man."
"I take it you are not a fan of royalty?" Chrom said.
Lloyd shrugged, still grinning. "Two bad kings in a row. Kinda leaves a bad taste in the mouth." Lloyd turned his back on them as he took a step toward Llewellyn. "What do you think of them, Ell?"
Llewellyn said nothing, through he opened his mouth like he wanted to say something before nervously closing it again. Lloyd turned back around, his arms crossed and his stance casual and slanted. "Tell me," he said, "let's assume you find Validar and defeat him." He nodded his head behind him to indicate the crowd and village. "What does that mean for us?"
Chrom could not help but raise his eyebrow. "I beg your pardon?"
"What," said Lloyd, emphasizing each word, "does that mean for us?"
Chrom lightly cleared his throat. "Validar is attempting to resurrect the Fell Dragon-"
"Yes, yes," Lloyd interrupted, "I know all about it." Both Robin and Chrom glanced to each other. Perhaps this was who the scouts meant.
"You do?" Robin said, somewhat incredulously.
Lloyd's grin faltered. "I can read," he said, "There's a rare trait in a Plegian I'm sure. My father used to be the administrator for this village. He would let me look over his letters and books." Lloyd's mouth finally went straight. "I know about the Fell Dragon," he said.
"Then you understand our urgency," Robin continued.
"Not particularly," Lloyd said. "The Grimleal spend so much time researching the Fell Dragon, its power, its resurrection...But, they've never gotten any closer to figuring out how to do it. They know they need something called a "Fire Emblem," but that's all they know. Given your friend's robe's here, I imagine you know that magic is rarely so simple."
Robin could not help but glance at his robes before speaking. "How do you know so much about this?"
Lloyd's grin returned. "I read."
Seeing that neither Chrom or Robin had a look that showed they were convinced, Lloyd let out a breath and paced toward Llewellyn. "My father was the administrator of this village like I said. Held the position for years. Collected taxes, did the census, all kinds of things."
Lloyd's hands went behind his back as he walked back to his original position. "Yet, somehow, in their infinite wisdom, King Gangrel and his Grimleal friends decided that, along with half the population of this village, he would drag my father along to fight his stupid, stupid war." Lloyd's face turned to stone. "They took a man who had never held a weapon in his life, put a spear in his hands, and sent him out against a squadron of Ylissean soldiers."
A pregnant paused passed. "No one who left this village ever came back."
Chrom maintained his gaze, but some of the Ylissean soldiers shifted. It was uncomfortable to remember that the soldiers they had cut down so effortlessly had people at home waiting for them. That many of them did not get a choice to fight. Ylisse's army was the only one made wholly of volunteers.
"Still, you would be amazed how much mail a dead man can get. I guess they were so eager to put bodies in the ground, they didn't stop to actually check if any of them were still alive after our…'glorious king,'" Lloyd said, his voice laced with venom, "was dethroned."
"They told you about the Fell Dragon," Robin said, "Through your father's letters?"
Lloyd grinned and wagged his finger. "Now you've got it," he said, "letter after letter of victory, telling us how they'd found the Fire Emblem, telling us they were *this* close to bringing about the Great Awakening."
Lloyd finally let out a quick chortle. "Then, not a week later, offered rewards for any books brought to them about the Awakening or the Fell Dragon." Lloyd's chortle turned to a full-on laugh. "All that effort to get the Fire Emblem, and they don't even know how it works!"
Llewellyn finally joined Lloyd in his laughter, and sizable portion of the Plegian civilians joined in as well. The Shepherds looked at each other, many of them in the back who had not heard much were confused at the laughter, those in the front were debating whether to remain stoic or try to join in.
When Lloyd finally stopped laughing, he looked Chrom up and down once again, and his hands gripped the lapels of his jacket near his chest. "So," he finally said, "I hear you're willing to trade information for provisions, is that correct?"
Finally seeming to be getting somewhere, Chrom answered affirmatively. "Yes, of course. Anything you or your fellow villagers need that we have on us."
Lloyd breathed deeply, as if he was mustering up courage. "How about," Lloyd said, "something you can't give us now, but would be able to give us later."
Chrom and Robin looked at each other. "Go on," Chrom said.
Lloyd looked to Llewellyn, who looked back at him with an excited smile, and Lloyd returned his gaze to Chrom with a smile. "You see, Validar has no clear successor as the King of Plegia. And…given that our last few kings have been disasters, I was thinking…why bother with a king at all this time?"
….
Lucina heard that sentence and could not help but cock her head a bit. What was this man saying? A kingdom without a king?
Sure, such a thing did happen due to war or infighting; Regina Ferox was apparently quite infamous for its civil wars before the current arrangement came about some years ago. But, now Lloyd was advocating that once Chrom had defeated Validar, no one would take his place?
"I am not sure I understand," Chrom said, voicing Lucina's thoughts.
"I guess I wouldn't expect you to," Lloyd said, his face still displaying that smug, stupid grin that was grating on Lucina's nerves. Chrom was always humble in his dealings, but to spoke to so irreverently, as if his achievements meant nothing!
"What I am suggesting," Lloyd said, "is that, rather than a king, we decided on a sort of…council to oversee Plegia." Lloyd broke his gaze, moving his hands around, as if trying to stir up his thoughts or illustrate the concept. "Every village and town would send somebody to the capital, they all meet together in a room and talk, and if any big laws or changes come, they cannot happen without a majority vote."
'What a strange idea,' Lucina thought. Would this "council" of everymen be their own army? Did major cities with thousands of citizens only get to send the same amount of people as tiny villages like this one? And who would be sent to collect taxes or maintain the roadways?
"I ask that you help make that idea reality," said Lloyd.
"That's quite a proposal," Robin said, "though I can already see some…logistical difficulties."
"Oh, I don't doubt that," Lloyd said, looking at Robin "I have no illusions it will be perfect. Though, you seem like a smart enough guy, surely you can help work something out once Validar is removed from power."
"I have little experience in government," Robin said, "my expertise is in tactics."
"All the more reason to try," Lloyd responded, "you won't be on your own. And you or someone else trustworthy among you could help keep the nobles from ruining everything with their power plays."
Lucina could see Lloyd was being serious; that despite having no great ideas of how to make this council idea work, he wanted something other than a king. She supposed she understood that, given the destruction the last two reigned over. But, could it be done?
"I appreciate your sentiment, Lloyd," Chrom said, "though I I do have some hesitation in making such a...bold plan after only one suggestion."
"Rest assured," Lloyd said, "though my own experience is limited, I know I speak for my village when we call for something new. I know thousands across Plegia are tired of seeing bad kings reign and bitter nobles fight over an empty chair once they die." He took a determined step forward. "Plegia is ready for something different."
Robin was nervous. Chrom would not really promise something so revolutionary just to get some information out of this man, would he? Though Lloyd had been knowledgeable so far, what details could he possibly provide that could be worth such a gamble?
Chrom seemed to at least share the feeling. "What is it you can offer us that is worth such an…ambitious promise?"
Lloyd's hands returned to his lapels. "You're trying to track down the Grimleal right?" he said, "To find their base of operations?"
"That is correct," Chrom said.
"Well," Lloyd said, "what if I told you I know exactly where to find one?"