Author's Corner:
Ugh, last time since I last updated, and I sincerely apologize for that. Finals took up the majority of my time, so updating went out the windows. However, finals are now over, so… That means more time for updates and new chapters! Which means I have to start thinking about deviating possibilities for this fiction again.
DotDotDotMan – I'm glad you enjoyed the way I put together the previous chapter. It was the first time I did a multiple viewpoint chapter covering so much ground.
Lao Who Mai – Thanks!
The Idealistic Dreamer – Bartre IS subdued because I haven't fully explored his character yet. Reason being that the previous chapter had way too many people to introduce, many different entrances, so on and so forth. Gradually, as less and less 'new' people show up, I'll be able to delve into character personalities. You get a cookie for identifying Cecilia from FE6 first.
Rookie – Same thing with Bartre applies to Sain here. I'm still in the transition mode of getting a proper 'feel' regarding how much character personality input I should be adding. If anything is overdone, let me know immediately! Thank you!
Paladin2007 – Read and review, and thou shalt receive more chapters.
Hammer of Terrascars – Chapter 8
Of Merchants and Myrmidons
March 26th, Castle Santaruz,
Congratulations, I managed to survive one lousy year without drawing attention or getting into some inconsequential scrap. Of course, with my luck, I managed to land myself back as a tactician for not one but two lords on some crazy adventure. Yes, the gods mock me indeed. Though Lord Hector seems to have picked up a girl for a tactician as well. Maybe I can delegate most of the work to Cecilia, since she was so worked up about the tactician job. Unfortunately, I have a sinking feeling that harboring any such notions will undoubtedly land me the heaven-sent job of plotting future bloodbaths. Ah, the glories of being unemployed…
"Are you sure we should approach the castle like this?" Hector asked.
Eliwood frowned, that was the third time Hector had asked that question, and Hector never doubted his course of action, "Why not? Marquis Helman is a good friend of my father and Pherae itself, there is no reason to…"
Cecilia sighed, "Lord Eliwood, I understand that doubting Marquis Helman may be slightly paranoid, but I'd rather err on the side of caution. Those who are prepared are not prone to make hasty mistakes."
The three of them were situated near the foothills beside a Santaruz settlement. Over the rise, the tall spires of Castle Santaruz could be seen proudly flying the House Santaruz banners. Marcus and Oswin, being the senior retainers of Pherae and Ostia, were just within earshot of the conversation, though outwardly the two were on alert for potential dangers. According to Drake's suggestion, Rebecca and Dorcas stationed themselves atop the hill to scout for incoming trouble from Castle Santaruz. Bartre was currently engrossed in a 'friendly' game of poker with Serra despite the fact that the cleric was taking this month's pay from him with amazing ease.
"I wish Drake was here," Eliwood sighed, "He'd probably take my word regarding Marquis Helman's honesty."
"Heh," Hector grunted, "Eliwood my friend, you didn't witness the nonchalance of the Santaruz soldiers, we did. As Cecilia said, there is no harm in being prepared."
Drake, with Matthew in tow, had ventured into the nearby village in hopes of gleaning some information or rumors. Matthew had literally begged to tag along, desperate for any chance to delegate Serra to someone else. Given that neither of the pair was particularly adept at sticking out in a crowd or well known, Drake and Matthew mingled easily into the common folk.
"Drake," Matthew said happily, tossing an apple into the air, "You don't know what it feels like to be free of that infernal chatterbox. It's like…"
"Releasing a demon from its shackle around your neck, I know," Drake sighed, "That's only the third time you've said that."
Matthew grinned sheepishly before turning a serious face towards Drake, "What do you think about that rumor concerning the marquis' recently acquired questionable acquaintances?"
"I'm not sure," Drake replied thoughtfully, "Though from what I garnered from Lord Eliwood, Marquis Helman usually doesn't mingle with someone of questionable background. So one must wonder where Marquis Helman met this man."
"Laus?" Matthew supplied.
"Highly likely," Drake said as he thought back to where they had pilfered that rumor. A soldier with a loose tongue, claiming to be Marquis Helman's bodyguard, had blurted out that the marquis had been meeting with the marquis of Laus during a drunken ramble, "Unfortunately, that still doesn't give us a fix on who this mysterious person is."
"Hold," Matthew whispered, gesturing towards a villager and a soldier, "Listen!"
Drake pressed his back against a wall before leaning around the corner while Matthew squatted behind a barrel. A villager and a common spearman, apparently siblings, were conversing loudly while the villager was tending to the soldier's wounds.
"Yowch, go easy! That blasted mercenary guarding the southern pass had a wicked blade!"
"Heh, to beat you this badly, I'd bet he had some skill too."
"Argh, that he had," the soldier admitted grudgingly, "Guy was his name, and an ever funny one at that. Those Sacaens always come up with interesting ways to name their children!"
As the siblings' roaring laughter ended their conversation, Matthew and Drake wandered away. Drake was measuring a possible degree of skill of this Sacaen myrmidon when Matthew interrupted his thoughts, "Hey, Drake, when we meet this Guy, let me handle him."
"Alone? Are you sure?"
"Aye, I have a sure-fire trump card," Matthew grinned evilly, "Guaranteed one-hit kill!"
"Frankly," Drake observed dryly, "I think you've been spending way too much time around Serra," he pointedly ignored Matthew's horrified look, "Let's return to the others."
Rounding the corner of a nearby house, the two of them barely managed to catch sight of a horse-drawn cart speeding towards them. Diving to either side, Drake and Matthew narrowly averted being crushed beneath its wheels.
"Wah! I'm late! I'm late! Oh, woe is me!" The man onboard wailed as he urged the horse to move faster.
"Hey wait!" The innkeeper came running outside with a bag in hand, "You forgot one of your bags!" By then, the cart was merely a cloud of dust further along the road.
"Rats," the innkeeper muttered, "What would I do with this junk?"
"You could give it to us!" Matthew said, dusting himself off.
"You?"
"Yeah, we're friends of that man who just left," Matthew said with a dramatic sigh, "We're his business partners, but he's always late with his shipments. Oh bother…"
I see why he's a spy in service of House Ostia, Drake thought, those acting skills would land him a job in any theater across Elibe.
"Oh, in that case, please hand this to him," replied the innkeeper, handing over the bag, "Last I heard, he was muttering something about heading to Castle Santaruz."
"Ah, much obliged," Matthew said as the innkeeper went back to tending his shop.
"You never change, do you?" Drake asked.
"Hey, once a thief, always a thief."
Drake sighed again, "Anything of use inside?"
"Let's see," Matthew said, rummaging through the pack, "The usual: torches, a few random keys, a lock pick set, and… What the hell is this?"
Drake turned to look. Matthew was holding up a small round object carefully wrapped in soft velvet with a paper attached. Snatching the paper, Drake read it out loud, "MINE-PROTOTYPE. Exercise extreme caution when using this experimental item. Heavy impact or the act of stepping on this item will cause the KA-BOOMING of an area three meters in radius. KEEP AWAY FROM FIRE."
Drake looked up to see Matthew's expectant eyes, "Hell if I know what this is, but it appears to be worth something."
Matthew's eyes lit up, "Score!"
Meanwhile, back with the main group, Rebecca came running back to the two lords and Cecilia, "Lord Eliwood, soldiers are leaving the castle!"
"Destination?" Cecilia asked.
"Headed in our direction," answered Rebecca.
Eliwood and Hector exchanged a look and mutually grimaced. Marcus and Oswin, hearing the report, went to rally the others. Bartre, after a profound round of cursing at his rotten luck, was only too happy to abandon his dismal round of poker with Serra. Serra, though a little peeved at being interrupted in the middle of her overwhelming victory, congratulated herself at winning a comfortable two-month's worth of pay from Bartre.
"I hate it when I'm right," Hector grumbled, "Every time I make the correct assumption, something bad always happens."
Eliwood didn't reply, silently praying that the Santaruz soldiers were merely performing a routine patrol. However, from the numbers that Dorcas had just reported, this was no ordinary patrol squad and more like a war host.
"Trouble?"
"Drake!" Eliwood said as he turned to see Drake and Matthew join them, "I'm afraid so, soldiers have just emerged from Castle Santaruz headed towards us."
"We're deploying for battle at this moment," Cecilia added, "And, Sir Drake, if I may…"
She wants to prove her skill to the lords, Drake nodded, very well, this battle is yours.
Cecilia beamed despite Hector and Eliwood's surprise. Eliwood, trusting Drake's judgment, entrusted the battle to Cecilia after receiving Drake's confirmation. Hector was another story altogether, since it took the combined persuasive might of Drake, Cecilia, and Eliwood to convince him they had not just fed the sheep to the wolves.
"There is an alternate route to the castle," Drake added, "North of Castle Santaruz, the river narrows, permitting a small infantry force to wade across."
"In that case," Cecilia said after a moment's thought, "Drake, you take Bartre and Dorcas around in order to take the defenders in a pincer movement. If the soldiers are not hostile, then we'll meet you at Castle Santaruz without a fight."
"Understood," Drake replied, "Might I offer a word of advice?"
"Speak freely," Cecilia said.
"Do not rely solely on what the books tell you," Drake admonished, "Tactics are alive, susceptible to change at any given moment. Textbook examples are dead, and blindly following what they say will get your comrades killed."
Cecilia angrily huffed, "I'm sure I can distinguish between the two of them!"
Drake smiled, "My apologies, I'm a little paranoid these days." With that, Drake signaled Dorcas and Bartre to move out.
"I highly doubt they are friendly," Oswin remarked after Drake had left, "Though I suppose a peaceful solution is far better than a violent one."
Hector fixed Oswin with a frosty glare, but held back a retort. Eliwood and Marcus chuckled lightly before Cecilia brought them back to the situation at hand.
"At any rate, a large river separates our camp from Castle Santaruz," Cecilia said, "In order for either of our forces to meet, we must pass through the Lorson Bridge to the south of here."
"Is fording the river a possibility?"
"Unlikely," Rebecca said, "The river currents are too powerful during late spring, and anyone wearing heavy armor would easily lose their footing in the river bed."
"And we can't remove the armor to tempt a crossing with potential hostiles surrounding us," Marcus added, "The bridge is the most logical choice, but the most heavily defended as well."
"Form up," Cecilia instructed, "Cavalry first, then infantry, followed by support units. From Rebecca's report, the enemy lacks heavy cavalry support, so Marcus and Lowen should be able to plow through them with ease. After their ranks are disrupted, we'll be able to pick apart the disorganized mass."
"Well, didn't that sound official," Hector whispered to Eliwood.
"Of course it did," Eliwood whispered back, "That's almost straight out of Basic Stratagems of Warfare, but I'm willing to bet you slept soundly through that class."
Hector made a face, "Hey, it's not my fault the professor was droning on and on."
Under Cecilia's direction, Marcus and Lowen formed the spearhead of the charge. They were followed closely by the two lords, the four of them responsible for breaking across the bridge as quickly as possible. Once a toehold had been established, Oswin and Matthew would bring Rebecca along to solidify their position.
As the war party approached the Lorson Bridge that separated them from Castle Santaruz, they came upon a curious sight. A lone sentry had been posted on their side of the bridge, with a deadly blade sheathed beside him. The minor technicality was that this diligently deadly guardian was fast asleep, his bandanna pulled down to cover his eyes. Matthew smirked widely at the sight of this wayward guard, and motioned that he would handle this alone. Tip-toeing lightly up to the oblivious swordsman, Matthew took a deep breath…
Then smacked the unfortunate sleeper in the back of the head, "Wake up, sleepyhead!"
The myrmidon screamed like a little girl.
"I'm blind! I'm blind!"
Matthew raised an eyebrow before pulling up the myrmidon's bandanna, "Behold, the light is restored to you."
"Much thanks, stranger…" the myrmidon took another look at Matthew's face and screamed again, "By Father Sky, restore to me my beautiful dream and banish this hideous thief from my sight!"
Matthew looked offended, "Hey, I'm not that ugly, don't scream like that! Is that a way to greet old friends, Guy?"
Guy scowled, "Friend? Last time we met you nearly got us killed!"
"Sure," Matthew said nonchalantly, "If I hadn't fed you, you would be dead of starvation."
"That's besides the point," Guy said furiously, "You then forced me to aid you in stealing the treasury of a merchant's house!"
"Yeah, so?"
"So, you ask?" Guy raged, "Stealing maybe, you didn't tell me I had to deal with two dozen guards!"
"Hey, we got out alive, we got the gold, and I treated you to the most fabulous meal of your life," Matthew counted off his fingers, "So what are you complaining about?"
"Argh, you're hopeless. Now go away, I'm supposed to be watching for enemies headed to Castle Santaruz."
"Would they happen to be in the form of two young lords, one a redhead and the other blue-haired, leading a crew of mercenaries?" Matthew asked.
"Shaddup," Guy said, then stopped and gazed at Matthew, "Wait, how did you know?"
Matthew jerked his thumb behind him towards Hector and Eliwood, "You have to be the worst sentry in the history of Elibe."
Guy blinked, "You have to be kidding me…"
"Since you're so hopeless," Matthew sighed, "It's up to your old buddy to bail you out again."
"Bail me out?" Guys wondered, "You? I'm better off throwing myself into the river and drowning!"
"In that case, since you have nothing better to do, you're coming with us," Matthew replied.
"What?"
"You heard me, you owe me a few favors," Matthew said, "So now's the time to pay up. Come along, I'll introduce you to Lord Hector and Lord Eliwood."
Maybe we should adopt this manner of recruiting in Etruria as well, Cecilia noted as she watched Matthew drag a protesting Guy towards them.
Across the bridge, a Santaruz knight was marshalling his forces. Scouts had reported the approach of the Pherae lordling, though the sentry had given no warning. Boies, typical of most Lycian knights, held the Sacaens in low regard, and his attitude towards their latest recruit was no different.
"Bah, all he was interested in was filling his belly," Boies scoffed, "Little wonder he abandoned us after the filth we fed him."
"Well, our rations are pretty bad, I'll admit," one of the archers said.
"Regardless, he is a traitor, and will be dealt with accordingly," Boies said, "Rally the fighters and send them to Lorson Bridge!"
"Yes, sir!"
After the man had left, Boies smiled, "After I kill those whelps, Lord Ephidel had promised me a handsome price, and maybe even a lordship as well. Finally, Lady Luck is smiling upon me after neglecting me for so long."
Lorson Bridge, named after a kind-mannered Santaruz marquis many generations ago, stood between the two encroaching armies. Though weather-beaten, its stout timbers still supported the crushing weight of armored horse or hay-filled wagons drawn by oxen. Here, many a desperate battle was waged for the fate of Santaruz, and today was no different.
On Eliwood's end, Cecilia had finished dispatching her orders to the host. Marcus and Lowen, closing the visors on their war helms, lowered their lances in rest before thundering across the narrow bridge. The rickety wooden planks shuddered lightly upon their crossing, but supported their weight. Following closely on their heels, Eliwood and Hector crossed, weapons bared in preparation for combat.
A dozen swordsmen and half as many archers awaited them on Santaruz' side. Flanked by a cavalier on either side of the line, the soldiers charged forward to meet the rush. The cavaliers spurred their horses to meet Marcus and Lowen's charge, but they were slow to react, encumbered by the river mud. Unfortunately, Marcus and Lowen had the momentum of their charging steeds built up from their charge across the bridge, and the jarring crash of lance upon shield soon proved that the Pherae horsemen had the mastery. After two jabs, Marcus' lance passed clean through his opponent's chest, felling the warrior in a splash. Lowen, though having a slightly harder fight on his hands, managed to trip his adversary's steed, throwing the enemy cavalier headfirst into the water. Rebecca, watching the combat through her clear green eyes, finished off the downed soldier with a well-aimed arrow.
Dismayed by the loss of their cavalry, the Santaruz swordsmen nevertheless pushed forward. The same difficulty that the Santaruz horsemen had encountered now plagued Marcus and Lowen. While they possessed the height advantage, the riverbed was now a muddy track that greatly affected a charging horse. Unable to build up to a galloping speed, Marcus and Lowen managed to hack their way back to where Eliwood and Hector arrived off the bridge. Seeing their opponent's congregated, the Santaruz archers moved forward to pincushion the quartet.
Seeing the danger, Cecilia turned to Matthew and Guy, "We are out of time, the enemy archers have moved forward. I need the two of you to cross the bridge in a hurry."
Matthew nodded, but Guy muttered underneath his breath, "Figures, wherever Matthew goes, my luck drops to nil."
"Did you say something?"
"No, nothing at all," Guy lied.
As they were crossing the bridge, Matthew reached into his cloak pocket and withdrew something. Guy, though curious, did not bother asking the thief what the time was. At that moment, several arrows flew over where Eliwood and Hector were, moving towards where Matthew was standing.
"Curses," Matthew bit out, backing up.
"What?" Guy asked, bumping into the thief.
Twisting to dodge the incoming arrows, Matthew was unprepared for the untimely collision. Knocked off balance, he dropped the item in hand and could only watch helplessly as an ill-timed arrow struck it.
"Oh, crap…"
"What now?" Guy asked as he helped Matthew up, only to have the thief grab him and head off the bridge, "Where are we going?"
A thunderous explosion answered his question. Behind him, the mine had detonated, the explosive powder and magical runes activating upon impact of the arrow. The venerable bridge could handle a few arrows here and there, but not the might of an explosion in its middle. Fire licked hungrily as the Lorson Bridge collapsed asunder, leaving a ten-yard gap between the two remaining pieces of the bridge.
Cecilia whirled on Matthew, "What in the gods' name was that?"
Matthew looked sheepish, "Drake and I found a prototype mine of some sort that said it'd go boom upon impact. I didn't think it'd do so much damage when I dropped it on accident."
"With the bridge destroyed and half of our forces stranded on either side," Cecilia said bitterly, "They will be overran on Santaruz' side. We have no way to cross with the Lorson Bridge utterly destroyed." Certain words came to mind as she said this. Do not rely solely on what the books tell you, tactics are alive, susceptible to change at any given moment. Textbook examples are dead, and blindly following what they say will get your comrades killed. A certain older and evidently wiser tactician had warned her, back when she had refused his advice in her pride. And now I may pay with the lives of my friends, she thought.
Seeing victory in sight, the Santaruz squad leader called one of the archers to him, "Inform Sir Boies that our foes are within our iron grip. They fight desperately, but they will be overwhelmed. And get the northern patrol squad over here; their lances will easily pin the knights down while we remove the lords." The archer scurried off to obey the command while the captain resumed command of the battle.
The captain drew his sword and summoned the other mercenaries, "Come, let us finish this rabble and win our golden prize." His men cheered as they threw themselves into battle.
Yet the quartet could not be conquered so easily. Back to back they stood, a deadly ring of four fighters refusing to throw in the towel. Sword danced, lances thrust, and ax smote all who moved within their range. Shield and armor alike shattered to dust before their blows, though sooner or later fatigue would defeat them. Already exhausted from defending themselves from countless near-fatal blows, the reactions of the besieged were already dulled.
"We can't carry on like this without reinforcements," Lowen remarked as he wounded a mercenary's arm.
"If Cecilia can't find a way to get Matthew and the others over the ruined bridge," Hector growled, "Then we'll just have to take as many as possible with us to Hellgates."
Eliwood and Marcus remained silent, letting their weapons do the talking for them.
At length, the four were surrounded in a ring of mercenaries. Several they had felled or wounded, but few have they killed. It was difficult to finish a downed foe when one always had to guard against another enemy aiming to thrust his sword in your back. Out of the dozen swordsmen that had taken the field against them, four were wounded and one had perished, but the wounded had time aplenty to staunch their wounds and return to the fray. The continued harassment from the mercenaries, coupled by allied arrows, was more than sufficient to keep Eliwood and company from tending to their own injuries. Eliwood sported a gash on his sword arm, and was forced to switch hands. Hector was wounded earlier in the fight by a sword thrust in the thigh, and thus moved more sluggishly. Both of Lowen and Marcus' horses were faint from carrying their fully armored masters for so long. Another charge would end it, and everyone on this field knew it.
Matthew was about to give them up for lost when he spied several large tree trunks floating downriver. Puzzled, he asked Cecilia what could've caused this.
"Must be lumberjacks from the village upriver," she replied, then suddenly her eyes grew wide, "Wait a minute…"
"What is it?"
"We can save our friends!" Cecilia said excitedly, "Matthew, Guy, we can form a makeshift passageway using the fallen trees by bracing them across the foundations of the bridge!"
Realization dawning in a flash, Matthew scurried off to obey, followed by Guy after a moment's hesitation. Pushed by the current, the two trees were stopped by the remains of the bridge foundations. After a moment's maneuvering, Matthew managed to produce a temporary bridge to ferry them across. Without another pause, Matthew, Guy and Rebecca hurried over to the other side and struck at the mercenaries surrounding Eliwood and Hector.
The Santaruz captain cursed, "Damn, they're over the bridge. Forget them, slay the lords!"
The archers were notching arrows to their bows when the captain turned to one of his subordinates, "Where are the spearmen patrolling the northern flanks? We need them here!"
Abruptly, an arrow struck the man the captain was talking to in the back of the neck. He died with a surprised gasp, as if unable to believe there was an arrowhead lodged in his throat. Furious, the captain turned around and screamed at the archers, "You nitwits! Aim your damnable arrows!"
He stopped as he saw two fighters wielding large axes scattering the archers. Two arrow-flingers were dead on the ground, whereas the other four were scattering, headed towards Castle Santaruz. Behind him, Matthew and Guy were slashing through the other mercenaries like hot knives through butter. Serra, aided over the bridge by Rebecca, was tending to the wounded.
Glowering with rage, the captain swore and drew his own sword before rushing towards Hector, who was by the river extending a hand. The captain was almost upon the unsuspecting lord when an armored gauntlet clasped the proffered hand and a fully armored knight hauled himself over the riverbank. The captain skidded to a stop when the knight pointed a sturdy lance at him.
"I normally dislike violence," the knight boomed, "But any who presumes to harm my liege lord shall feel the wrath of my lance. Prepare to die, craven!"
The swordsman had no choice but to give battle. If he could make it past the knight in a hurry, there was a possibility he could still bring down the wounded lord behind him. Screaming a war cry, the man hurtled himself against the knight, trying to sneak around the ponderous armor.
A sweeping lance blow caught him right in the stomach, and he doubled up with the wind knocked out of him. The knight towered over him, lance at ready, "I am Oswin of Ostia, foolish sellsword. You shall not circumvent me so easily."
The mercenary hacked, "You will not win so easily. We have fifty spearmen stationed to the north, and they will be arriving soon!"
"Actually they were more half a dozen," a young man remarked as he arrived with the two fighters.
"Drake!" Eliwood said, "You made it!"
"And a wimpy group they were," Bartre scoffed, "Even if you had fifty of those pansies, Bartre the Brave would send them crying back to their mothers." Bartre hefted his bloody ax as he said this.
"Or at least those who survived," Dorcas said quietly.
The mercenary, still gripping his sword tightly, struggled to his feet and lunged at Eliwood. He got no further than two steps before Marcus and Lowen speared him down.
"Well, now that this battle is out of the way," Drake said calmly, "Only Castle Santaruz awaits us."
"Your timing couldn't have been better," Hector said as he limped up, "Those archers were certainly a pain in the ass."
"Agreed," Eliwood congratulated Drake, "But we best hurry to Castle Santaruz before they close the gates."
"That would be unlikely," Drake said, "Given that a certain overconfident knight had nearly emptied the castle in order to bring the two of you to an early end. Only a lone Santaruz knight was guarding the castle gates. Dorcas and Bartre made sure that he would not hinder our progress."
"How did you make it across the northern crossing so easily?" Matthew asked, "We surely had a rude welcome, and you were outnumbered three to one up there!"
"That wasn't extremely difficult," Drake explained, "Mind, they do not know our faces since we weren't accompanied by a lord, so we merely posed as lumberjacks clearing the land. We were also aided by the fact that three of the spearmen were sharing a flask of mead and were hardly fit for battle. Our disguise got us close enough for an ambush to slay them all."
"How the bloody hell did you manage to demolish the bridge?" Bartre asked.
Matthew and Guy looked at one another, "Let's not go there…"
After the group started towards the castle, Cecilia hung back to speak with Drake alone, "I confess that I made a royal mess of the southern crossing," she said miserably.
"You did quite well," Drake said, "I don't see any of our friends lying in a pool of blood on the ground."
"I almost did," Cecilia said in a small voice. She then explained what had happened when the bridge collapsed.
"Oh, the mine," Drake laughed, "That was a situation beyond your control, and you adapted well by making another bridge out of the trees."
"Thank you," Cecilia said, relief flooding through her at the praise, "Wait, how did you know about the trees? I only mentioned the bridge giving away."
"Err…"
"You sent the logs into the river, didn't you?" Cecilia asked.
"Ach, I'm caught," Drake confessed, "While we approached the spearmen in our disguise, an archer came with orders to aid in the slaying of two trapped lords. He mentioned briefly that the bridge had fallen apart, and the targets were easily within reach. We used that opportunity to fall upon our distracted foes, then pushed the logs we used as a bridge into the river."
"It appears I still have much to learn," Cecilia said.
"We all start somewhere," Drake answered, "I was a rookie sometime as well. Now, let's hurry, they must have reached Santaruz by now."
"Yes," Cecilia said, though she stopped him, "I was wondering… If I could learn from you…? Lord Eliwood seems to trust your abilities, and mine I find sorely lacking."
"…" Drake stopped, his back still towards her, "Being a tactician involves planning the death of mortal men, Cecilia. If you can steel yourself against the guilt you attach towards yourself, then I shall tutor you as much as I can during the time we have."
"I will."
Then you are far stronger than I, Drake thought as they walked towards the castle, or far more naïve. I dream of the blood on my hands every night, nor do they cease to plague me every waking moment.
With all the defenders fallen at the Battle of Lorson Bridge, Castle Santaruz could do little to stop Hector and Eliwood from marching straight within its walls. Hurrying through its halls, Eliwood and Hector finally located Marquis Helman sagging weakly on his throne. He was coughing up blood as a slender dirk could barely be seen protruding from his stomach. Whoever tried to slay him had thought the dagger would be sufficient, never guessing the old man could hold out so long.
"Marquis Helman!" Eliwood cried out as he hurried towards the old man.
"Eli-Eliwood?"
"Marquis Helman, hold on, a healer is coming!"
"N-no time…" Marquis Helman coughed, "I… I must apologize… Y-your father…"
"Father?" Eliwood asked.
"If," Marquis Helman continued, "If I had never told him about… About Marquis Darin…"
"Darin? Darin of Laus?" Hector asked.
"The very one," Marquis Helman gurgled as blood seeped through his lips, "Beware…"
"Of what?"
"The… B-black… Fang…" Marquis Helman knew no more as the darkness consumed him.
"What happened here?" Drake said as he entered the throne room with Cecilia, "It appears we missed the entire event."
As Eliwood filled Drake in on what had happened, Hector approached Cecilia.
"You did a fine job at the bridge," Hector said.
"T-thank you, milord," Cecilia stammered.
"Do you happen to know the Black Fang?"
Drake turned pale at those words, but Eliwood didn't notice.
"Excuse me?"
The four of them turned when a balding man entered the room, twirling his small moustache, "I am Merlinus, a merchant without equal throughout Elibe. I came seeking the patronage of Marquis Helman, but my interview has long since passed," he noticed the marquis' rather unhealthy amount of blood on the ground, "By the gods! The marquis has been murdered!"
"As our eyeballs can clearly see," Hector growled.
"No! This cannot be!" Merlinus groaned, "My dreams of prosperity and servitude for a noble house! Gone!"
"You said you were a merchant, correct?" Eliwood asked.
"Yes, I am," Merlinus replied.
"Well then, you can come with us."
"Eliwood?" Hector asked, astonished by his friend's suggestion.
"Our journey has just begun," Eliwood explained, "Along the way, surely we will meet more friends or allies, and our equipments would need a trustworthy connoisseur to look after."
"A journey fraught with danger?" Merlinus squeaked.
"Indeed," Hector replied, "Many appear to be after our lives, despite that Eliwood is the next lord of Pherae and I'm next in line for House Ostia."
"Ostia? Pherae? Two of the most prominent houses in the Lycian League?" Merlinus gasped starry-eyed, "To have such noblemen as my benefactors! The gods have favored me!"
"Eliwood," Hector asked, "Are you sure this is a good idea?"
"Positive, he seems trustworthy enough."
"Fine, I have some luggage he can carry anyways," Hector said, "Serra!"
"Yes!" Matthew crowed, "No more whining and complaining!"
"What are you talking about?" Hector asked, "I just want her to deposit all of her excess items with Merlinus. She's still your responsibility." He ignored the ear-splitting groan that Matthew emitted at that.
"Of course!" Merlinus replied happily, "Whatever you give, Merlinus will keep!"
Drake and Cecilia both raised an eyebrow at that, "I think…" Drake began.
"We'd better have Matthew keep an eye on him," Cecilia finished.
I really, really, didn't want to devote a chapter to Merlinus' introduction, so there you have him! Review if you have the time! I'll update more frequently now!