Preparations has been revised 2020/02/01. Originally published in 2015.
Thank you to randomadorablepikachu for proofreading. And thank you to everyone for the reviews/favs/follows over the last 5(!) years.
Preparations
As the Altean Army was on its way to Aurelis, it was met with surprise: not long after setting foot in the kingdom, they heard what sounded like another army fast approaching. This turned out to be the case, as Marth and his group were quickly met with opposition in the form of Bentheon's forces. Most of their enemy had been routed within a couple short hours, and all that was left were a handful of soldiers and Bentheon himself.
It was a swift victory as Marth slew Bentheon. Though Bentheon had been powerful and his Ridersbane had kept Marth's usual backups of Cain, Jagen, and Abel at bay, Marth had been able to take care of the enemy general with nothing but his rapier. The Altean Army was showered in thanks and gifts of weapons and even gold by the villagers and farmers around the southern castle, for they were relieved to once again be safe from harm. Though he was grateful for their appreciation, he could not help but feel a little embarrassed by their excess of praise.
Upon entering the castle, Marth, along with the small group of Jagen, Malledus, Roy, Cain, and Abel, was greeted with open arms by the castle's elder. In his old, outstretched hands rested a silver sword, one of the most expensive and brilliant weapons a warrior could wield.
"Prince Marth, you have our thanks for liberating the southern castle. Captain Hardin is at the Northern Fortress in Aurelis, protecting lady Nyna and the king. Please deliver this silver sword to him on behalf of us here."
And, with his usual graceful smile, Marth accepted the sword and promised to deliver it to Hardin. Roy was intrigued by the new name—to give someone something as pricey as a silver sword as a gift must mean that they are held in high regard. Knowing this wasn't the time to ask about it, however, he kept himself quiet and only pondered the idea of who this man Hardin might be—though it seemed like they were on track to meeting him soon enough.
The villagers nearby had generously lent the army use of their inns that day. Malledus had decided that using the rest of the afternoon and evening to rest and replenish supplies and energy would be the wisest decision for the group, which is something that all of them were thankful for.
Though relaxing was nice, Roy was still a little bit restless. He was seated on a barrel just outside of the inn as he noticed Marth speaking with the two cavaliers, Cain and Abel. Curiosity set in quickly, and although he had averted his eyes, he still listened in on their conversation. Even though he felt a twinge of guilt for eavesdropping, he couldn't help himself.
"Yes, I've already sent out Ogma and Navarre to find us some more weapons to replace the ones that were broken in battle, so all that we need now would be vulneraries and the like," Marth said.
Both Cain and Abel seemed glad to do the task.
"Do you mind if anyone else comes along with us?" Abel asked. "Since you will not be?"
Marth smiled at him. "I do not mind at all, no. I would come with you myself, but Merric and I have a little bit to catch up on. It has been a long time since we last saw each other, and he would probably appreciate me letting him know about my sister."
Merric—one of the newest recruits, having just joined during the fight against Bentheon—was one of Marth's friends since childhood, Roy found out. From what he had seen of Merric, he was a fairly eccentric mage, maybe even a little bit showy. It appeared he had feelings for Marth's sister, with how he talked about her.
Roy had been deep enough in his own thoughts that he didn't hear Cain's boot steps approach him. "Oi, Roy, would you like to come with me and Abel? We're getting more supplies before we head out again tomorrow."
This caused the redhead to look up to Cain. "Oh, yes, sure," he responded simply with a nod. He rose from his spot on the barrel and Cain smiled at him before heading back over to Abel and Marth, with Roy now following him.
"Thank you, you three," Marth said. "Abel, here is the gold you'll need for the supplies. This should be enough to purchase quite a bit."
Abel took the bag of gold that had been handed to him. "We'll be sure to use it wisely," he responded. To this, Marth only nodded.
"Alright. Well, I shall see the three of you later," Marth said and flashed them all a small smile. He turned and walked away, leaving the two cavaliers and the mercenary by themselves.
". . . Well! Alright," Cain spoke up, causing both Roy and Abel to look at him. "Let's get going and make sure to get what we need."
It had been a couple of hours and the three men were almost finished gathering the supplies Marth had asked them for. Plenty of vulneraries, concoctions and other items had been purchased and were now being carried in two large sacks by Cain. Roy had offered him help, but Cain declined it in his hubris, saying he would be fine carrying the bags by himself—this, of course, had caused Abel to make a noise somewhere between a scoff and a snicker, which made Cain a little red-faced.
Roy found the two of them to be, for lack of a better word, amusing. Both men took their jobs as Marth's knights very seriously, just like Jagen, but they also acted more light-hearted around each other, especially off the battlefield. In a way, they acted very much like brothers, with Cain trying to one-up Abel every now and then and Abel finding him silly for trying to make a point in some sort of imaginary competition. It was a refreshing change from the usual marching, fighting, sleeping, and repeat pattern that the army had fallen into in just the short time that Roy had been with them.
"This should be our last stop," Abel spoke up as they reached an old-looking wooden building. "According to the townspeople, this place might have some rarer items, such as Speedwings, Spirit Dusts, and maybe even a Dracoshield or two…"
Cain quirked his brow. "Really? Well it would be our lucky day if we were to find even one of any of those, especially in a random old shop… let's go check it out then."
Roy held the door open for the two cavaliers as they went inside. He entered after them, quietly shut the door behind him, and looked around the shop.
The shop itself was the size of just one large room, and it was full from floor to ceiling with strange items all along the shelves and gondola units. Patterned rugs covered the aged wooden floors, and the lighting inside was yellowed from the pyramidal bits of old stained glass hanging from the ceiling. Each pyramid contained a small flame that cast just enough light for customers browsing to see what was on the shelves around them. The place felt old and slightly cluttered with only enough room for one person to walk down the aisles at a time, but it wasn't uncomfortable.
Many of the strange artifacts and items grabbed Roy's attention and he ended up wandering slowly around the room, looking at everything he possibly could. Abel had gone straight to the elderly woman behind the counter to ask about a few things and Cain had followed him there, which left Roy to himself. He saw many strange items, from old scrolls to Pegasus bones, which gave his interest a little bit of a surprise, though nothing in particular stood out to him too much. Just as he went around the corner, however, something on one of the old gondolas suddenly caught his eye.
A sphere made of smooth, reflective stone, swirled with colours in an almost prismatic effect, was resting on the second to top shelf. It sat atop a silky cloth not much bigger than a handkerchief, and it was brilliant, even amongst the dingy discoloured shades of everything else around it.
Roy's breath had caught in his throat and his heart skipped a beat as he stared at the object, almost entranced by it. He stared for a few moments before the elderly woman spoke up.
"Do you know what that is?" she asked him like she already knew what it was. Roy blinked a few times and looked to her, their eyes locking, which caused her to tense up in sudden realization.
"Wh… What is someone like you doing in my shop?! Get out of here! I don't want your kind here!" she shouted and hobbled out a few steps from behind the counter to the surprise of Cain and Abel. "Get out, get out!"
Roy blinked a few times, clearly puzzled. "Uh… what?"
Abel attempted to interject. "Ma'am, he's not doing anything wrong—"
"I said get out!" she insisted and jabbed her cane towards Roy, causing him to step back.
Roy, now flustered, muttered a few apologies before he stepped out of the store, but not before he looked to his two comrades, who were both just as confused as he was by her sudden outburst. He closed the door behind him as he left and awkwardly rubbed his left arm.
"That… was odd…" he mumbled.
A few minutes passed before Cain and Abel both came back out of the store. The sound of the door opening caused Roy to look back to it and straighten his posture.
"Did you get what you needed?" He asked politely.
"Yes, we did," Abel responded with a frown, "Are you alright?"
"Oh. Yes, I'm fine," Roy answered. Abel slowly nodded back in response and Roy continued, "Did she say anything to you?"
Cain shook his head. "Nothing. We asked if there was a problem and she just angrily muttered to herself. It was strange. She still sold us what items we asked for, though."
Roy nodded a little and still seemed slightly troubled by the elderly woman's outburst. Abel smiled and put his hand on Roy's shoulder, which caused the latter to look up at him.
"Let's just go back to the inn now," Abel said.
With that, the three walked away from the old shop. Roy casted a quick glance over his shoulder, half expecting the woman to be staring at him as they walked away. Thankfully she was nowhere to be seen, so Roy turned his head forward again, relieved.
"This is a fairly… straight-forward plan, Malledus," Marth said hesitantly.
"It is," Malledus agreed, "But we've not much choice. With the rivers and bridges the way they are, this is really the only way to the Northern Fortress."
Marth, Malledus, and Jagen were all seated at a table in the inn, a map sprawled out on top of it with various marks all over it. Marth's left arm was across his chest and his right hand was cupping his chin in thought as he stared down at the large piece of parchment with calculating eyes.
"Keep in mind, too, Prince Marth, that Captain Hardin will also be there. He may join us in our plight, so our army won't be totally alone out there," Malledus said. Marth nodded at this.
"Yes, I figure Hardin would want to join forces. That does make this strategy a little… less reckless, I suppose," Marth mumbled.
Jagen turned to the prince. "Sire, have you any plan for which of your men will go where?"
"Ah, yes," Marth responded and moved his hand from his chin. He then proceeded to explain who would go where, using Malledus' strategy as his base. His hand pointed at various spots on the map as he threw out ideas. Both Malledus and Jagen seemed to be on board with Marth's plans, at least until he got to the front lines: "… Jagen, Ogma, Abel, Matthis, Roy, and I will be in the front lines, with us splitting into pairs as soon as we pass the first bridge."
At this, Jagen frowned. "Roy, sire? Are you sure he should be in the front with us?"
Marth cast a sidelong glance to Jagen, his head still bowed toward the map. "Is something wrong with that, Jagen?"
There was something about the tone of Marth's voice that caused Jagen to quieten. After a short moment, he shook his head. "No… I suppose not, sire."
Marth straightened his back and turned his head to look directly at Jagen. "I have no reason not to trust him with us in the front. He is strong, even if he may not see it himself," Marth paused before lowering his voice a little. "I am usually one to trust in your opinion, Jagen… but this time, please trust in mine."
Jagen quietened at Marth's words before he hesitantly nodded. The three men went back to planning.
Not but half an hour later, Roy, Cain, and Abel all returned to the inn. Abel led the other two to the door of the room that Marth was planning in and gently knocked on the door. Marth allowed them entry and Abel opened the door and stepped inside, with Roy and Cain following close behind. Marth smiled at them as they entered.
"Welcome back. It seems you found everything we needed?" He said.
Abel nodded. "We did, as well as a few extra things. A Dracoshield, Goddess Icon, and Spirit Dust, to name a few."
Marth seemed surprised. "Wow, a very lucky find… thank you, you three. I'm glad all went well."
Cain nodded and smiled. "Well, everything was fine except for that crazy old woman, right Roy?" he said and looked to Roy, who instantly averted his eyes.
"A… Ah, yeah," Roy mumbled awkwardly. "That was strange…"
Jagen narrowed his eyes quizzically. "Old woman? What was it that happened?" he questioned.
Abel explained the situation with the old shopkeeper to Marth, Malledus, and Jagen. As he told them of her strange outburst, Marth and Malledus seemed to grow more surprised, but Jagen's expression hardened and his gaze shifted to Roy.
"So, she just yelled at you?" Marth asked Roy, and the latter nodded. "That's definitely strange… perhaps she just mistook you for someone else."
"Or she just does not like mercenaries," Malledus added, to which Marth nodded. Jagen stayed silent.
"Well… either way, I think she was just a little crazy," Cain said. "She had a whole lot of weird stuff, so I wouldn't be too surprised if that was the case."
Marth smiled a little. "I suppose so. There's no need to worry about it anymore, though. You got what I sent you out for and then some, so for that, I am thankful."
Roy looked to Marth once again before glancing to Jagen. Jagen's stare was enough to cause Roy to look away again, for he knew that Jagen did not trust him whatsoever.
"We'll be setting out for the Northern Fortress in the morning, so it's best we all get some rest," Marth said. The others agreed and Malledus rolled up the map. Cain set the bag of items with their other supplies in the room and he and Abel left. Malledus followed them, and Roy allowed Marth to leave before he did.
Jagen walked out after Roy and closed the door behind him. He turned his head to watch Roy as he headed down the hall and up the stairs.
". . . Sire, even though you told me to trust in him… I am not sure if I can…" he muttered. With a sigh, he turned heel and walked down the hall to his own room to retire for the evening.
Roy had returned to his own room—one that he was sharing with the aloof Navarre—and had sat down on his bed and removed his boots. Navarre was nowhere to be seen, which wasn't too much of a surprise to Roy as the myrmidon seemed to be more of a night owl. The young mercenary took this time as a chance to open the pouch on his waist and pull something from it: the stone that had fallen from his shirt when he first woke after Marth had found him.
He stared at the stone and slowly turned it over in his palm as he observed it. It was very similar to the stone he had seen in the old woman's shop, but for some reason, his seemed much duller. Roy's brow furrowed as he thought—what kind of stone was it? Marth did not know, and neither did Roy himself. Perhaps he would find the answer eventually.
Upon hearing footsteps approaching the door to the room, Roy tucked the strange stone into his pouch once again. Navarre entered the room and Roy greeted him quietly—Navarre giving him nothing but a quiet "hm" in response— before he rested back on his bed. The old bed creaked under Roy and he exhaled slowly when his head hit the pillow, his body thanking him for finally deciding to lay down. They had quite the long travel awaiting them.