Between Caelin and Araphen…
"Damn, is it like that every day?" Matthew asked quizzically. He was watching Robin train Lyn and the knights as he held his elbows and rested his arms on his head.
"Pretty much." Erk responded. "At least, from what I have seen. But Robin's always busy. He's either training them or helping me with my magic during our time off."
"Huh… so you're telling me… that this Robin guy… not only is he strong enough at swordplay that Lycian knights would seek him out for help, but also adept enough at magic that a student of Count Reglay would study under him?"
"H-how did you-"
"Serra told me." Matthew grinned mischievously. "In my line of work, remembering details are extremely important."
"Ahem, well…" Erk cleared his throat. "Yes, you're right. I can say without a doubt that in this group, the last person you'd want as an enemy is Robin."
"He gives me the air of a foreigner…"
"Well, yes. I believe he came from a distant land."
"Interesting…" 'Perhaps this is something worthwhile to report to Lord Uther. Maybe tagging along with that woman won't be a colossal waste of time…'
"Oh Matthew! Erky!" A female voice called from behind them. "Would you mind fetching everyone? Dinner is about to be ready."
"Sure, whatever." Erk sighed. "Who's still missing?"
"Uh… besides Lyn, Robin and the knights… just… just Rath and Wil." Florina informed them. "I-I think Rath went somewhere to practice his shooting, and Wil m-might've gone with him."
"Got it." Matthew smirked. "I'll go find the archers then."
"Then I'll try and convince Lady Lyndis to take a break…" Erk sighed. 'Why am I always stuck with the difficult tasks?'
The Following Day…
"Where are we Kent?" Lyn asked.
"This is Kathelet." Kent replied immediately. "Once we pass through this village and head due South, we'll pass into Caelin."
"From here, I'd say we'd arrive in around ten days." Sain added. "Of course, that's assuming no delays of any sort."
"Ten days…" Lyn murmured. Part of her was anxious to quickly arrive in Caelin, but part of her was also hesitant about meeting her grandfather. What if he rejected her just like the marquess in Araphen?
Just as Lyn was in the middle of pondering these unpleasant thoughts, a young boy with blue hair being pursued by two masked men came running at them.
"Help! Please! Help!" The boy frantically begged as he ran towards Lyn and her group. Although he was several meters ahead of his pursuers, he really didn't have much more than a few moments before they would catch up to him. He decided to take the risk and ask this group for help. After all, they did have weapons on them.
The boy immediately regretted his decision.
"Ah!" The boy cried out in shock, and possibly fear, when he laid eyes upon Robin. "N-Nergal!?"
Robin, on the other hand, was equally as surprised, although for an entirely different reason. 'This boy… is he a Manakete?'
'Yep. Looks like it.' Grima confirmed in his head. 'He's pretty young, and not to mention, weak, but that's a bona fide Manakete all right.'
'I didn't realize there were any in this land.'
'There's much you do not know about foreign lands. To be fair though, I do not know much either when it comes to this subject.'
Regardless, in the brief moment of hesitation, the pursuers caught up.
"Heh heh… finally caught up to you. Now it's back to Lord Nergal you go." One of the men said to the boy.
"Don't get your hands dirty with business that doesn't concern you." The other told Lyn's group. "Turn the boy over to us, and we'll be on our way."
"And what do you plan on doing with him if we do?" Lyn asked the masked men.
"That's none of your business!"
"Then I'm sorry. We refuse."
"Just remember, we gave you an out." One of the men lunged at Lyn with a knife. However, she was able to dodge out of the way in time. Drawing her sword, Lyn slashed the man's arm off. Without a moment of hesitation, Rath drew an arrow from his quiver and shot it into the man's chest.
The second bandit was even more unfortunate, and as soon as his ally was killed, Robin began a spell of his own, and burned the bandit to death before he could choose between attacking or retreating.
"S-sorry…" The boy fervently apologized. "I mistook you for Nergal at first… your auras looked so similar…"
"If you can see auras, then you must have good eyes." Robin smiled gently at the boy.
"Nergal… those men said that name too? Who is he? Is he the one chasing after you?" Lyn asked. "Also, what should we call you?"
"M-my name is Nils." the boy responded. "Nergal is… yes, he is the man chasing me. Me and my sister, to be specific."
"Your sister?" Sain asked. "Where is she now?"
"Those men! They took Ninian! Please, you have to help me!" Nils pleaded.
"Your sister has been accosted!?" Sain looked flabbergasted. "Milady Lyndis, surely we must help the boy!"
"Sain!" Kent reminded him. "Remember, we still need to hurry to Caelin! If Marquess Araphen was correct, Lord Hausen is extremely sick! There isn't a moment to lose!"
"But-" Sain protested. "-you're right."
"Kent, I want to help the boy." Lyn stated. "I know we should hurry to my grandfather… but if we turn a blind eye to such a young child… that would not sit well with me."
"...as you wish, milady." Kent did not try to persuade her any further.
"Your sister's name is Ninian?" Lyn asked Nils. "Do you know where the bad guys are keeping her?"
"Yes!" Nils replied immediately. "They're keeping her in the fortress near the mountains! I can lead you over there!"
"No, no, no…" Lyn shook her head. "You will not be at the front. By all means, direct us over there, but you need to stay where it's safe."
"I promise I won't be a burden!" Nils earnestly replied.
"Let's not waste any more time." Robin suggested. "Since we're going to help Nils rescue his sister, we should hurry. No offense, but we have something we also need to do as well."
"...excuse me…" An androgynous voice called to them.
"Yes?" Lyn turned towards the voice.
For a second, Robin thought that Libra had somehow found him. However, only for a second.
"Excuse me. I never meant to startle you." an androgynous monk bowed their head and spoke with an equally androgynous voice.
"Those robes… are you an Elimine Bishop?" Lyn asked.
"No… I'm only an acolyte… and Elimine monk. My name is Lucius."
"That's a man!?" Sain blurted out, only for Kent to smack him over the head.
"Do you have business with us?"
"Well, I was in the inn when I saw the young boy ask for help." Lucius explained. "No one responded to his pleas. And although I would like to help, I know my power is far from sufficient on its own. If you're going to try and help the boy, I'd like to lend a hand."
"Oh, is that so?" Lyn smiled. "Well in that case, we'd be happy to have you."
Since she was preoccupied, Lyn did not see the ball of dark energy hurtling towards her.
"Watch out!" Dorcas dove in front of Lyn to take the shot for her. When the magic connected with his back, he grimaced in pain.
Wil, being the first to react, shot an arrow towards the enemy shaman who had cast the magic. The injured shaman could not run away very fast, which bought enough time for Lucius to finish his chants. The shaman was blasted with holy magic, and was finally brought down.
"Serra… could you-" Lyn began.
"It won't work." Robin interrupted. Serra shook her head in agreement, and he knelt down besides the groaning Dorcas.
"That was dark magic, milady." Erk informed her. "Aside from being extremely potent, the damage caused by those spells are extremely difficult to heal through normal means. That's why their usage is heavily frowned upon… in some places, you could be arrested for even possessing a copy of a dark tome. However, they are favored by many criminal organizations."
"Then what… how can we help Dorcas?" Lyn inquired.
"Don't worry. He'll be fine." While Erk was explaining, nobody was focusing on Robin's healing. He got up and wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. "He's going to have to take it easy for a while, but otherwise he should be fine."
"But… I thought dark magic couldn't be healed that easily?" Florina asked, feeling quite puzzled.
"You… don't need to know the details... but basically... my method is very different from Serra's." Robin explained, slightly panting. "It's much more effective… but is also much more exhausting…"
"Will you be able to fight then?" Sain asked. "It would be much more difficult if both of you have to sit this one out."
"I can still fight." Robin insisted, to which Dorcas nodded in agreement. "In fact, I actually should fight."
"Don't push yourselves too hard." Lyn reminded them, a shred of concern in her voice. "However, if you're able to, that would make things much easier."
"So… what's the plan then?" Matthew asked.
"Give me a second." Robin began an analysis of the terrain. "We'll have to walk the long way around to reach the fortress Nils told us about. There are many bandits in the way, but most of them shouldn't be too difficult to deal with. The only problem is…"
"What's wrong?" Lyn asked.
"They have many shamans guarding the fortress." Robin sighed. "So if we run into them without a plan, we'll sustain heavy injuries."
"So… what do we do then?" Wil asked.
"The only one that can take the shortcut over the mountains is Florina." Robin began. "If she drops me off in front of the fortress, I can take out the shamans, no problem. The rest of you will fight your way through the normal way. We'll rendezvous at the entrance. Is that all right, Florina?"
"Uh… yes… I mean, I think so." Florina clearly felt quite nervous.
"Don't worry, you don't have to do any fighting… I'll do all of it myself."
"That… wasn't what I was concerned about…"
"But, then we won't be able to communicate with you if we have some trouble, right?" Lyn asked with concern.
"Oh that's right, I've never utilized the Hekseer fully." Robin pointed at his head. "If you need something, just direct your thoughts towards me. I'll hear it, and reply to you with the help of this device."
"Direct… my thoughts?"
"It might be a little abnormal since you've never tried anything like it. And don't worry, I can only read what you purposely direct towards me."
'Can you really read my thoughts?' Lyn wondered dubiously.
'Yeah, I wouldn't lie to you.' Robin answered in her head.
Lyn blinked a couple of times in surprise.
"So don't worry. I don't envision any problems for you guys, but if something does pop up, just let me know and I'll give you my best advice."
"W-wait!" Lucius exclaimed. "Let me go with you. My light magic is formidable against the dark magic wielded by the shaman!"
"Uh… I'm not going to lie, I don't think it's necessary. And besides, Florina can only carry one person at a time…"
"Even if you know you're that capable, it doesn't hurt to take him along… as a safety precaution." Lyn suggested.
'Yes, but it's removing someone from your group.' Robin thought in his head. 'That's like taking money from your right hand to pay your left… or something like that.'
"Fine, but I should go first." Robin finally conceded. "Lucius… you can wait here. Florina can come back and pick you up again after I've made it across the mountain… Can you do that?"
"Uh… yes! Yes I can!" Florina replied confidently.
"Then it sounds like we have a plan." Robin nodded. "Let's go."
Robin and Florina mounted her pegasus and flew off into the sky. Meanwhile, Lucius stayed back and watched as everyone else began the journey around to the other side of the nearby mountain. He began to pray for everyone's safety.
With Robin…
After a short flight across the mountain, Florina landed in the clearing near the fortress.
"Will you really be all right?" Florina asked. "No one will be close enough to help you if you run into any trouble."
"I'll be fine." Robin reassured her. "And besides, once you get back with Lucius, I won't be alone anymore, right?"
"Then I'll have to return quickly." Florina nodded with determination. "You can count on me!"
"Fly safely. You don't need to push yourself too hard."
Florina once again took off into the azure sky.
"Now then…" Robin turned around to see a group of dark clothed shamans moving towards him, evidently due to the fact that they witnessed a pegasus land and then take off from the distance. "My scythe arm has been feeling a bit rusty…"
With Lucius…
Although he had been waiting for a few mere minutes, to Lucius, the time felt like hours. Even though he was not familiar with Lyn and everyone else in her party, they were still valuable allies who risked their lives to help the young boy. To Lucius, there wasn't any more admirable of an attitude than that.
To his relief, he soon saw the familiar figure of a descending pegasus, with its lone rider returning along with it.
"Lucius!" Florina called to him as she landed. "Come on, let's hurry!"
"What!?" Lucius felt quite alarmed. "Is- Did something happen?"
"What?" Florina was slightly surprised. "No, no. Nothing bad happened. Well, at least not yet. But the slower we are, the more time Robin spends alone. I meant we should hurry to his side so that we can help him."
"Ah, you're not wrong." Lucius agreed as he got atop the pegasus along with Florina. "Then let's hurry."
Once again, Florina took off, and the two of them began flying in the direction of Robin.
A few short minutes later, they landed and Lucius immediately got off the pegasus to prepare himself for combat. However, the scene that greeted him was extremely alarming. In his field of vision, there were more shamans than he could count on the fingers of his two hands. However, Lucius did not feel threatened at all… because they were all dead.
"Oh my god…" Florina brought her hands up to her mouth in shock.
Not only were the shamans all dead, but they had massive gashes and cuts across their bodies. What's more, their skin was unnaturally pale.
Cautiously, Lucius brought his hand closer to one of the corpses. Feeling no heat, Lucius touched the corpse's skin and found, to his surprise, that the skin was completely cold.
"How can this be?" Lucius muttered to himself. After all, Robin had only been here for around ten to fifteen minutes at best. How fast could he have killed them to cause their bodies to be completely cold by the time the two of them had arrived?
"These bodies weren't here when you dropped Robin off, right?" Lucius asked as he looked back towards Florina.
Florina didn't respond with words, and merely shook her head, as if in a numb state.
'That's what I thought…' Lucius sighed. 'Then these shamans were all killed by Robin himself. Maybe he wasn't arrogant after all…'
"Come, let's go find Robin. I know, I know, I'm quite shocked as well, but let's find him first."
"O-ok…"
It didn't take them too long. Robin was sitting on the slope of a hill facing the fortress. He seemed to have a carefree and relaxed expression, and all traces of his earlier exhaustion could not be seen.
"Oh, hey. You've arrived." Robin casually greeted them.
"You- Those shamans back there, did you kill all of them?" Lucius asked.
"Yeah." Robin nodded.
"I see… I mean no offense, but you're quite the monster then." Lucius closed his eyes. "The scene back there, combined with Robin's relaxed expression… there must have been a slaughter earlier. They look like they were torn apart by wild animals…"
"Wh-what do we do now then?" Florina asked. After all, the plan had gone smoothly… too smoothly, actually. Robin had single handedly completed the objective that Lucius and Florina had thought to be relatively difficult.
"There is some time before Lyn's group arrives." Robin explained. "I'm just observing the fortress from here. At this distance, their arrows cannot reach us, so in order to harm us, or run away, the people inside need to come out. But if they do, I can just kill them from here with magic. Until Lyn and the others arrive, we can just wait. After all, this is the only way to leave by land. Unless they have flying mounts, everyone in the fort is stuck for the time being."
"I… see." Lucius nodded. "We're not attacking right now?"
Robin smirked. "As confident as I am, I do know my limits. In closed corridors of a fortress that I am unfamiliar with, I can get overwhelmed extremely easily, even if their skill levels are not high individually. Florina also would have a really difficult time, as we don't know how much space there is for her pegasus once we're inside. Given the circumstances, there is no need for us to take any unnecessary risks."
"You're right. I merely jest." Lucius conceded. "So, we wait then…"
"U-um… Should I fly to Lyn to let her know?" Florina asked. "Or to fly more people here?"
"No, anyone you pick up would mean the original group becomes less safe for the rest of them." Robin explained. "If you planned on dropping them all off one by one, then there was no need for them to set out in the first place."
"Y-yeah… you're right…" Florina made many fidgeting motions with her hands and fingers.
"I understand that you are concerned for Lyn's safety." Robin sighed. "But don't worry. I'll know if they run into any serious trouble. If that happens, you can always fly me to them. And in reality, Lyn has become a lot stronger. I'm certain that with everyone else by her side, she'll have absolutely no problem fighting her way here safely. Just relax and save your energy for when we storm the fort. Everyone else will be more tired, so we'll need you to pick up the slack."
"Y-yes. You're right." Florina finally sighed and dismounted. "Just relax… just relax…"
With Lyn…
It had been between half an hour to an hour since Robin and Florina had split up with them. So far, although there have been a couple of skirmishes, Lyn had yet to encounter any large group of enemies. Even if they were to sustain injuries, Serra was there, ready to heal at a moment's notice. However, due to the lack of fighting, Serra might as well have been on a sightseeing tour.
Make no mistakes, they were definitely heading towards the right direction. All the men they've fought so far seemed to be wearing extremely similar clothes that were probably not due to some recent fashion trend. Furthermore, they seemed to be running into enemies a little more frequently than when they were further away from their destination. Lyn constantly reminded herself that just because they didn't see many enemies, it didn't mean there weren't many enemies. Robin and Florina going head first into these dangerous men's stronghold couldn't be very safe, no matter how strong Robin might be.
"Lady Lyndis!" Kent drove his horse in front of her as an arrow flew towards them. Thankfully, the arrow hit a particularly thick part of his saddle, which did not result in any injury for him or his horse.
"S-sorry…" Lyn apologized sheepishly. "...I got distracted."
"I understand, milady." Kent sighed. "You're worried for them… we all are. But the best thing we can do for them is fight our way there as fast as possible to lend our support. If you get injured on the way there, it would not do them any good."
"Yes, Kent." Lyn sighed. "You're right."
"We're almost there!" Matthew called towards them from a short distance ahead. "I can see the fort! It's just a little further after this bend!"
"Thank goodness." Wil chuckled. "I was beginning to run out of arrows."
"Well, can you use these?" Matthew picked up the quiver of arrows that the enemy archer, who Wil had shot, left behind. He threw it at Wil once the archer, and everyone for that matter, had caught up to him.
"Hm, they're a little lower quality than what I would like…" Wil said after inspecting one of the arrows. "But they're still usable. Beggars can't be choosers after all."
"How do you think Robin is doing?" Sain asked.
"I don't know, but knowing him, he should be fine." Erk confidently said.
"Didn't he say you could direct your thoughts at him or something?" Serra reminded them. "Why don't you just ask?"
"Great idea!" Lyn's eyes instantly brightened. "I don't know why I didn't think of that!"
"I think half of us forget, I'm not going to lie." Wil chuckled.
'Hey Robin… can you hear me?' Lyn asked, trying to direct her thoughts towards Robin as hard as she could.
'Yeah, loud and clear.' Robin replied back in her mind. 'What's up?'
'Uh, I just wanted to check to see how you were doing…'
'There's no problems on our end. In fact, we're just waiting for you guys to group up with us.'
'That's a relief.'
'Just hurry up. We don't want to keep waiting here for much longer… it's getting boring… what's taking you guys so long?'
"Whatever!"
Lyn didn't realize that she had yelled that last part out aloud. She also didn't realize how easy to read her annoyed expression was.
"From the looks of it, they're fine?" Kent asked. He and Dorcas seemed to be the only ones completely composed after seeing her display. "Safe and sound, at the very least?"
"Safe enough to make some snarky comments, at the very least." Lyn grumbled as she stormed off ahead. "Honestly, I don't know why I even worried about him in the first place."
The fuming Lyn was naturally not paying as much attention to where she was walking, which caused her to become extremely surprised when she stepped on what felt like a body. She hurriedly picked her foot up and looked at where she was stepping.
"Oh. My. God." Serra held a hand up to her mouth and leaned on Matthew in surprise. "What in the world happened here?"
In front of them laid more than a dozen corpses, all slashed open with unnaturally pale skin.
Dorcas, reading the situation, placed his hands over Nils's eyes. The young boy protested, but thanks to the Fighter's actions, Nils was protected from the unsightly scene.
"A massacre." Matthew gulped. Even he felt a little shaken upon taking a look at the dead bodies. "How in the world did they even die? Normal slash wounds don't cause the corpse to end up looking like that."
"Robin didn't have a sword with him, did he?" Sain asked.
"No." Kent confirmed. "And these slash wounds would not have been able to be caused by Florina's spear. Maybe it was Lucius's doing?"
"Do you honestly think an Elimine monk would practice magic that specialized for killing? Not even mages with military training could have done that!" Matthew exclaimed.
"Well, I think wind magic would be able to cause those injuries." Erk suggested. "If one is good enough, they could fashion a blade of air, well, out of thin air. He might have a spell that could do that. Still… that would mean he possesses yet another rare spell…"
"Does wind magic also make the corpses so pale?"
"Um… I don't think so. But it's also possible if he's using one that I'm not familiar with."
"Matthew, I'm just going to close my eyes." Serra latched onto the thief's arm. "If I see them one more time, I'm probably going to vomit."
"Good thing we didn't have lunch yet?" Wil chuckled nervously.
"Let's… just hurry up and get away from here." Lyn used her hands to shield the sides of her vision so she wouldn't see the corpses out of the corners of her eyes anymore.
Fortunately, they were soon distracted by a voice calling to them from atop a small hill.
"Lyn! Over here!" Florina waved at them from above. "Come on! You're almost there!"
"Now I've been waiting quite some time to hear someone say that." Sain chuckled as their group began the final stretch of their journey around the mountain.
"So, what's the plan now?" Lyn asked when everyone was grouped up once again.
"I've been observing their movements." Robin explained. "It looks like the bandits are preparing a defense. They realize that escape is not an option anymore."
"So… what do we do then?" Wil asked.
"We attack them of course." Robin shrugged. "Just because they'll be ready for it doesn't mean they are prepared."
"I… don't follow."
"Well, they can see that we're about to attack. But that alone doesn't prevent us from securing a victory. If they lack the necessary means to defend our attack, even if they know it's coming, they can't do much other than wait for their inevitable doom."
"But, it's their stronghold, isn't it?" Lyn asked. "Shouldn't it be well defended?"
"Actually, we've already cleaned up many of their men just by getting here." Robin explained. "Although they still have more warm bodies inside, their fighting force is largely diminished already. As long as we are cautious, we should be able to secure a complete victory."
"You… sound overly confident… is what I want to say." Lyn admitted. "And yet, somehow, because I know it's you, I know you're probably right."
"Why thank you." Robin grinned. "Now let's go raid a stronghold."
Nearby…
"What's taking him so long?" A boy in his late teens with reddish brown hair scowled as he paced around the room. "He should have been here hours ago! Typical Hector... always late."
Bored out of his mind from just sitting and waiting for his friend to show up, the young man walked up to the window. Contrary to his expectations, it was dead silent outside. There was not a single figure walking along the streets. Despite the fact that Kathelet was a small village, there were still enough people to ensure that it was never completely quiet outside. The fact that not a single person dared step a foot outside was usually a sign that something foul was afoot.
"Milord Eliwood!" A voice called to him. Eliwood turned towards the voice, and found the familiar face of the knight tasked with accompanying him staring back.
"Marcus! Good timing! Do you know what's going on outside?"
"I'm… not quite sure exactly, milord. But there seems to be some sort of commotion coming from the mountains… the townsfolk seem to be staying home as a precautionary measure. Out in these parts, it isn't uncommon for conflicts between different groups of bandits and criminals to affect civilian life."
"From the mountains, you say?"
"Yes milord."
"That sounds like it could be exciting… better than sitting around here doing nothing, I guess."
"Milord! Surely, you don't mean-"
"Don't worry, Marcus! I just want to go take a look is all."
"Then I shall accompany you, Lord Eliwood."
"No, no. I won't do anything dangerous. And who knows when Hector will show up? He'd be awfully confused if there was no one here waiting for him, despite his tardiness. Worse, he may think that I got tired of waiting and just left. That's why I need you to stay here, so that Hector will know I'll be right back."
"...Understood. Then I shall wait for Lord Hector here on your behalf."
"Don't look so tense, I'll only be gone for a few moments. Nothing will happen to me, I give you my word."
"Layton! Bernard!" The knight known as Marcus barked as soon as Eliwood departed.
"Yes, Sir!" The two knights in question instantly replied to their superior.
"Follow after the young lord."
"S-sir… won't Lord Eliwood be upset?"
"Don't worry, I will stay here and wait for Lord Hector on his behalf. However, the two of you should help him if he gets into trouble. If he questions you, just tell him you were ordered to follow after him."
"Yes, Sir!"
Entrance to the Stronghold…
"Are you sure about this?" Lyn asked. Even though she had seemed quite confident just a few moments ago, she was clearly second guessing herself. And frankly, no one could really blame her. It seemed that besides Robin, no one else believed that the success rate of this raid was a hundred percent.
"Don't worry. In these narrow halls, our opponent's numbers are unable to overwhelm us." Robin reassured her for the umpteenth time. "As long as we stay in the right formation, we cannot be defeated."
"Uh, and may I have a reminder what that formation is?"
"Kent and Sain will lead." Robin sighed. "Directly behind them will be me, Erk, Will and Libra. Behind them will be Nils, Serra and Matthew, with Lyn and Dorcas taking up the rear. Florina and Rath will stay outside and guard the entrance, as their mounts will not have much maneuverability inside the fort. From the center of the formation, we'll be able to both hit enemies with arrows and spells, and heal any injuries using Serra's staff."
"Libra?" Serra asked.
"Sorry, I meant Lucius." Robin facepalmed. "I meant no offence, Lucius… it's just, you remind me a lot of an old friend of mine."
"Er… none taken…" Lucius let out an awkward chuckle.
"Nils, not to sound insensitive, but are you familiar with the inside of the stronghold?" Robin asked. "Would you be able to lead us to the place where your sister is being kept?"
"Yes!" Nils replied confidently. "I can take you there!"
"Then we're counting on you." Robin nodded. "Leave the fighting to us, just give us the directions. Also, Matthew... "
"What is it?"
"Make sure you take any valuables you find. This is a bandit's stronghold, so they probably have some goods stored away or something. Money, rations, weapons, anything is possible. As long as we have room to take it, don't leave it behind."
"You know, I think I'm beginning to have an extremely good impression of you…"
"First, we have to head down this hall…" Nils gestured in the direction of the main hall. "Be careful… the room that this leads to… usually there are many guards."
Although there were a few men clothed in black and tried to assault them, Robin and his compatriots easily handled them all. The more agile thieves or assassins couldn't seem to get past Kent and Sain's defensive stances, while the armored opponents were melted down by magic. Opponents that wore little to armor, such as the mages and shamans were easily killed by Wil's precise shooting.
There were a few bandits that attempted to sneak up on the party by using the walls and layout of the interior of the fortress as cover. However, they did not realize that Robin was just as aware of their presence as any of their compatriots.
With a snap of his fingers, these bandits in hiding became the victims of various elemental spells. Many opponents were killed before they could even appear as a threat to the other members of Robin's party. As a result, their movement through the halls were largely unhindered.
"... their movements are weird…" Robin suddenly muttered to himself. 'It's almost as if… we're not the only people they feel threatened by. There's no way they don't realize we've breached their fortress. Could it be… no, Rath and Florina are still fine outside…'
"Yeah, I agree." Matthew frowned. "Something feels off. Aren't there too few enemies? I thought this was supposed to be their stronghold. Even if we've already killed many people outside, I feel like we should be running into a lot more people."
"Now that you mention it, the resistance we've been running into hasn't been too strong." Lyn agreed. "Shouldn't we proceed with caution?"
As Lyn said this, Kent and Sain turned the corner to find a body lying on the ground. There was a deep stab wound in the center of the dead man's chest.
"What the-" Sain had to quickly stop his horse before it accidentally stepped on the body.
"Have we… been going around in circles?" Kent asked.
"No, that man was not killed by any of us." Robin shook his head. "The wound is too deep and narrow to be caused by Matthew's daggers or a lance… and even Lyn's sword would have caused a wider gash in the event she chose to use it as a stabbing weapon…"
"So then…" Lyn seemed to have reached a realization.
"Yeah, there's probably a third group of people in here with us." Robin nodded.
"Isn't that good for us?" Serra asked. "They seem to have some beef with these men in black as well. Less work for us, right?"
"Yeah, but how do you know they'd be friendly towards us?" Wil countered. "I think we should still be wary."
"Wil is right." Robin agreed. "However, this is undeniably a great opportunity for us. Even if this third party is not friendly, we can borrow the extra pressure they assert to quickly save Nils's sister and get out of here. Nils… let's pick up the pace. You guide us."
"R-right!" Nils nodded vigorously. "They should be this way, just a short distance further!"
The group hastily made their way through the fortress with the assistance of Nils. Along the way, they spotted a few more corpses. Some of them had the same stab wound, while others had wounds similar to those caused by swords or lances.
"Here we are!" Nils proclaimed triumphantly once they reached a room located extremely deep inside the fortress. "This should be the place they're keeping Ninian… be careful, the person in charge of this fortress, Beyard… apparently he's really skilled with a sword."
"We'll be the judge of that." Sain replied confidently. "Matthew, if you please…"
"On it." Matthew began fiddling with the lock on the door with his set of lockpicks. "Damn, what type of criminals are they to have this sort of lock for their security?"
"Can you open it?" Lyn asked in concern.
"Yeah, yeah… but it'll take a few more moments than usual…" A bead of sweat formed on Matthew's brow as he worked. True to his word, he managed to unlock the door after a few minutes of hard work.
'Hmm… I only detect one presence inside… and it seems to be hostile…' Robin thought to himself. 'However, there also seem to be a few other presences nearby… I guess we break into the room first, then we'll figure the rest out.'
Dorcas slammed the door open and Lyn lunged directly into the room. Inside, there was just a single man in the center of the room.
"Surrender." Lyn brandished the Mani Katti at him. "Answer our questions, and we might spare your life."
"...failure… means death…" The man mumbled to himself as he fished a small pill out of his breast pocket. Before Lyn could even slash at him, the man quickly popped the pill into his mouth. The effect was almost instantaneous. The man clutched his throat as he began foaming at the mouth. Within seconds, he keeled over and died.
"What!? Poison?" Lyn exclaimed. "He… he took his own life!"
"These are no common brigands." Kent furrowed his brow. "This man was trained by a well organized group…"
"Damn, first we had those bandits chasing us, and now we run into organized criminals?" Sain sighed in defeat. "We just can't seem to avoid trouble…"
"Ninian!" Nils frantically searched the room. "Where's Ninian? Ninian? Can you hear me? Where are you?"
"Damn! Could they have moved her somewhere else?" Wil asked.
"Are we too late?" Lucius asked in concern.
"No! This can't be! Ninian! Please, answer me!"
"... are you looking for this girl here?"
"Who's there?" Lyn and the rest of her party turned towards the voice.
A young lord with red hair flanked by two knights approached them with the body of a young girl in his arms.
"Ninian!" Nils ran up to the man. "Ninian?"
"She's fine." One of the knights assured him. "She's just lost her consciousness."
"Who are you?" Lyn reiterated.
"My name is Eliwood, of Pherae." The man with red hair replied. "My father is the marquess."
"The marquess's son…" Lyn nodded in understanding.
"She was with a band of ruffians. She seemed upset, and in need of help. Was I wrong to involve myself?"
"No, you've saved her life." Lyn shook her head earnestly. "Thank you. My name is Lyndis… I'm from Sacae… I'm Marquess Caelin's granddaughter…"
"Marquess Caelin?" Eliwood turned to one of the knights next to him in surprise, before refocusing his attention on Lyn again. "Could you… elaborate?"
"I'm sure Lyn doesn't mind sharing…" Robin interrupted. "However, we are still in the middle of enemy territory. It would be troublesome if reinforcements arrived while we are still sitting here idly."
"Yes, Robin is right." Lyn agreed. "Let's make our way to a safe location first..."
Outside…
Lyn explained her story to Eliwood as both parties made their way away from the fort. Ninian, as she had still not woken up yet, was carried by Kent.
"...and that's my story." Lyn concluded. "I know, it's not an easy tale to believe…"
"No, I believe you." Eliwood assured her.
"What?" Lyn seemed surprised.
"At first, I will admit, what I saw was a daughter of the plainsfolk… but now I see it. You have your grandfather's eyes."
"You… know my grandfather?"
"The marquess, Lord Hausen, is my father's good friend." Eliwood explained. "And… I know the proud people of Sacae tell no lies, this is true, is it not?"
"Yes… thank you." Lyn smiled. "I would not have expected for a Lycian noble to be so courteous to a Sacaen nomad."
"We're not all bad people." Eliwood chuckled in response. "Sure, there are a few lords out there that are a tad too arrogant, but there are just as many decent folk here in Lycia, I assure you. By the way, you seemed to be in trouble… is there some way I can assist you? I'll be in the area a few days longer. If you need any help from me, just let me know. Lyndis… I'm on your side."
"Eliwood… thank you… thank you so much!"
"Well, I should get going now. If I keep Marcus waiting too long, I'll get a long scolding… oh wait!"
"Hm?"
"Um… Robin, was that you name?"
"Uh, yeah, that's me." Robin nodded.
"From Lyn's story, I can tell that your contribution is an extremely large reason why she's been able to make it thus far… I can tell you're not a very simple man. If you ever find yourself in Pherae, please stop by. I'm sure my father would be thrilled to meet someone like you."
"All right, I'll definitely keep that in mind." Robin gave a wry smile.
"Well, I really have to be going now."
"Thank you Eliwood, safe travels!" Lyn waved at him as he rode off with his two knights in tow.
Coincidentally, it was at this moment that Ninian woke up. Naturally, Nils was the first to notice.
"Ninian! You're awake?"
"Hmm?" Ninian rubbed her eyes. "Nils? Is it really you? You're safe?"
"Uh huh!" Nils smiled. "These people helped me. They helped me save you as well!"
Seeing as she had recovered, Kent dismounted and gently set her on the ground.
"Um… Wh-who are they?" Ninian bashfully asked, seeming to realize that she'd been carried the entire time she was asleep.
"I'm Lyn." Lyn introduced herself. "I'm glad you're feeling better."
"Milady Lyn…" Ninian elegantly curtsyed. "Thank you. I'm… Ninian. My brother and I… we are traveling performers."
"Both of you?" Lyn asked. "Your brother is a musician… and you are?"
"I'm… I dance." Ninian replied.
"Ho ho! A dancer!" Sain excitedly interrupted.
"Sain!" Lyn glared at him. "Later, please."
"Uh… yeah… right." Sain scratched the back of his head. "Sorry."
"Your clothes… um… you don't look like a dancer?" Florina (who had reconvened with them by this point) observed.
"Ninian dances to honor life." Nils replied. "It's a special dance… sacred you could say."
"Y-yes…" Ninian nodded. "It is as my brother says. "H-however, I twisted my ankle when they caught me…"
"I see." Lyn nodded in understanding. "Then… it's probably difficult for you to travel very far on it, right?"
"Then, would it be too much for us to travel with you?" Nils asked.
"I can't allow that!" Lyn protested. "It'll be far too dangerous! We're being hunted, you know! We never know when we'll be attacked!"
"We won't be a hindrance, I promise!" Nils pleaded. "In fact, we might even be able to help you! Right, Ninian?"
"Nils is right… we can't help fight, but we can sense when danger approaches." Ninian explained. "But that's all we can do… we can't actually defend ourselves, despite knowing it is coming."
"But you're warriors!" Nils exclaimed. "If we warn you ahead of time, you'll be able to defend yourselves, and defend us as well! It'll be good for both of us!"
"Such a skill… does it actually exist?" Wil asked doubtfully.
"I've never heard of anyone with that ability." Rath nodded in agreement.
"Robin? What do you think?" Lyn asked.
'Since they're both Manaketes, it would not be too out of the ordinary for them to have some sort of sixth sense or something of the sort… although… their skill has limited utility for us, since I can already detect danger ahead of time as well… Still, with a couple extra eyes, the burden on myself is a little less, not that it was bothering me in the first place…'
'So you're just gonna let two Manaketes out of your sight?' Grima countered inside Robin's head. 'What do you think they are? Rabbits? How many do you think you'll find if you searched the entire continent? That's probably why those criminals were after them anyways.'
'So, wouldn't bringing them along cause even more trouble for us?'
'Yes, but you can handle it easily, can you not? And besides, Maybe Naga sent you here knowing you'd find these Manakete children.'
Robin sighed, which was interpreted in multiple ways by his friends as they weren't aware of the internal turmoil he was having. 'You're right… perhaps it'd be better to take them along…'
"I believe them." Robin finally voiced aloud. "Perhaps it will be a symbiotic relationship to bring them along…"
"Then that's what we'll do!" Lyn clapped her hands together, as if waiting for this response. And just like that, the matter was settled.
"A moment please…" Lucius interrupted. "I heard from earlier that you were running into some trouble trying to return to your homeland... "
"Er… yes, something like that." Lyn chuckled.
"Seeing as you are all kind individuals, I believe it would be best for me to lend a hand to help shoulder your troubles. If you'll have me."
"That would be great!" Sain exclaimed. "The more the merrier, after all!"
"Then I'll be in your care." Lucius bowed his head.
Seeing as Ninian still had an injured ankle, she sat behind Kent, much to the chagrin of Sain. Lyn offered Nils a spot behind Sain, but Nils refused. He could walk just fine on his own, and he didn't want to be more of a burden than necessary. Once again, the group set off from Kathelet towards Caelin…
New Characters…
Lucius (Monk, 18): HP: 50% Str: 10% Mag: 90% Skl: 60% Spd: 65% Lck: 75% Def: 15% Res: 75%
Nils (Bard, appears 14): ?
Ninian (Dancer, appears 18): ?