Castle of Santaruz…
"What!?" An elderly man who happened to be the marquess of Santaruz exclaimed. "Eliwood is here?"
"Yes." A hooded man with golden eyes responded. "He has set up camp on a hill just south of here… he seeks permission to enter Santaruz. He seeks an audience with you."
"Could it be… Do you think Eliwood's come to ask of his father? If that's the case… I… I know not what to tell him."
"That's not a problem, Lord Helman." The hooded man chuckled. "Just tell him you know nothing, and he'll be on his way."
"Yet… I know young Eliwood well." Helman sighed in defeat. "His father, Elbert, and I are old friends. I've no children of my own, and I've always treasured Eliwood… I do not believe I could look him in the eye and… I could not lie to him. I could not."
"Then we've no choice." It was now the hooded man's turn to sigh. "Let us chase the boy away for you. If you do not speak with him, then there is no need for you to tell him any lies."
"Wait!" Helman exclaimed. "Do you mean to harm Eliwood?"
"Not harm... frighten." The man corrected. "A scratch or two will leave no scars. He will run home to Pherae and be done with his adventure. He is, after all, all that Pherae has left…"
"... I see… do what you must…"
Outside of Santaruz…
Eliwood and company were waiting respectfully for Marquess Santaruz's reply. Though he was sure there would be no problem if they just entered, due to his close relationship with Lord Helman. However, Eliwood decided to play it safe this time. This decision was made mostly due to the presence of Robin and the shepherds. Though he was convinced that they mean Lycia no harm, Lord Helman does not know them at all, and would probably not be so quick to trust them.
Earlier, Robin and Chrom had a small meeting with Eliwood and Marcus, and together, they decided that the best course of action was to pay a visit to Santaruz before heading for Laus. Perhaps Helman would be able to give them some monetary assistance at the very least, even if he didn't know anything about the disappearance of Eliwood's father.
However, now they were currently waiting with not much to do. Some of them took advantage of the opportunity to converse for their fellow comrade in arms.
"U-um, excuse me?" Rebecca cautiously approached the orange haired man.
"Hmm?" Gaius turned his head. "What's up, sugar?"
"C-could you teach me how to shoot like you do?" Rebecca asked. "I'm trying to be more useful to Lord Eliwood, you see… and I figured if I could be a better shot, then I wouldn't be holding anyone back in battle. I saw how accurately you could shoot in that last battle. Could you give me some pointers?"
"Er, if you want some pointers on archery, I'm probably one of the last people you should ask." Gaius replied, not bothering to remove the lollipop he was working on from his mouth. "It's up to you whether or not you want to believe me, but I've recently picked up archery in the last year or so… in fact, if you've been hunting your entire life, you're probably the one that could be teaching me a thing or two."
"No way!" Rebecca exclaimed.
"It's true." Gaius smirked. "You know what the difference between you and me is? Confidence."
"Confidence?" Rebecca asked, feeling somewhat lost.
"I've already been conditioned." Gaius explained. "If I don't shoot the guy running at me, then he's going to mess me up. It's something I instinctively know by now. So there's no hesitation. Just aim and shoot. Easy as that."
"Really?"
"Look, I'm willing to wager my entire stock of sugary goods that I've killed far more people than you have. Killing another human is not the same as hunting forest animals that can't fight back. The fact that you hesitate is just a sign that you still have your innocence. It's not a bad thing. Although, if you keep fighting, it's something that will eventually go away."
"I… see. Also, I didn't really get to properly thank you before, but… thank you very much for saving me back there…" Rebecca lowered her head.
"Er… it's no big deal… You don't have to-"
"No, I'm serious!" Rebecca swooned. "When I was most in need of help, you leapt in like a hero and swept me off the ground with your arms into safety… Your bright red cape was fluttering in the wind as you handily defeated the barbarian coming after me… Y-you're my hero!"
"Uh, your memory must be a lot better than mine, because I don't remember anything like that ever happening…" Gaius turned around. "Er… hold on. I lost track of Robin… I'm sorry, but I gotta go find him again."
The sweet toothed thief ran off to find his liege. It wasn't clear if he was really concerned about Robin's safety, or if he just wanted to avoid the conversation. Quite possibly, it had a little to do with both reasons.
Rebecca, though slightly disappointed that she was being somewhat cast aside, quickly noticed that the knight from earlier, Lowen, was by himself.
'Honestly, he was pretty heroic too…' Rebecca thought. 'Maybe I'll go try and talk to him…'
Meanwhile…
Robin wasn't exactly hiding from Gaius. He was currently catching up with Dorcas.
"Here we go again… just like old times, eh?" Dorcas chuckled.
"Yeah, I guess we'll be working together once again." Robin smiled.
"So these are your friends, huh? No wonder. All of them seem dangerous in their own way. I get the strange feeling that even the cleric girl could give me a good beating if I got on her wrong side…"
'Yup, seems about right…' Robin agreed in his head.
"So you found more work in Lycia? What happened to Natalie?"
"Natalie? Oh, she's staying in Pherae… we… I decided to move here."
"Oh? And why is that?"
"Well, I realized on my way home that there are much better opportunities here than in Bern. There's more work for a mercenary like me. In Bern, you can only get paid well if you join the army. But then I wouldn't be able to take care of Natalie…"
"So you moved her here?"
"Well, also, the bandit problem is getting worse and worse." Dorcas sighed. "I, as well as a few others, couldn't take it anymore. We decided to move ourselves and our families to Lycia, and start anew. That Fighter… Bartre… he was one of the ones that came to Lycia with us. To tell you the truth, with Natalie's leg, there was no way we could've left Bern… it's all thanks to you… thanks to you, she can now live an easier life here in Pherae..."
Robin could feel the large man becoming a little emotional. "Thank you so much, Robin. From now on, if there's something that you need from me, just let me know. As long as it's within my powers, I'll do it. I've a long way to go before I've repaid you and your kindness."
"No, no… it's fine. I didn't heal her leg and expect to get something in return… really! I was just concerned that she might be worried for you!"
"I was able to go tell her before we left for Santaruz… she knows I'm working for you this time, so she's not worried at all." Dorcas made a fist in the air. "Guide my axe Robin… just like old times…"
"Yeah… just like old times…" Robin grinned.
Unfortunately, the reminiscing couldn't last very long.
"wait..."
"What's wrong?"
"Get ready… I'll tell the others, but there's enemies incoming…"
Dorcas nodded, completely trusting the judgement of Robin.
With Eliwood…
"Did you have something on your mind, Marcus?" Eliwood asked.
"Hmm? Oh, Lord Eliwood… I was just thinking… who are these people, why did they offer us aid at this time? Forgive me, but I just think that it is too much of a coincidence…"
"Hmm, you might have a good point… but my father has been missing for over a month… it's not like they showed up as soon as we realized something was wrong…"
"It just makes me a little uneasy, milord. Should they become our enemies, I've no confidence that we'd be able to beat them, especially since the knights of the realm all disappeared with Lord Elbert."
"I've faith in Robin. I believe he's not lying about trying to help us."
"If you say so, milord… Lord Eliwood! Beware!" Marcus leapt protectively in front of Eliwood. Though he was dismounted, it didn't mean he was unarmed.
"Hehehe…" A shady looking man followed by a few of his lackeys approached Eliwood and Marcus. "Noble sirs… Alms for a poor villager."
"Poor villager?" Marcus chuckled. "You look nothing like an honest man. Clear the road."
"Clear the road? Sorry, I'm afraid I can't do that." The man grinned. "Someone wants the boy in an early grave. A shame if you ask me, but he'll die here today. C'mon boys! Earn your keep!"
The men flanking him brandished their axes and charged towards Eliwood.
"Milord! Behind me!" Marcus stood in front of Eliwood protectively, and drew his sword. However, against so many enemies simultaneously, he wasn't optimistic.
"Chrom!" a voice called out.
Before Marcus, the ground turned black, like ink was spilt across it. From within the darkness, Black spikes rose up, crisscrossing and forming a forest of thorns Eliwood's assailants couldn't cross. The bandit that was the furthest forward got impaled from multiple angles. Unlike a standard stab wound from a sword, there was no way to remove his body from the wall of dark magic without tearing away more flesh; he was stabbed from too many different angles.
Fortunately, the man died almost instantly.
A man with blue hair charged past Marcus, straight towards the spikes. Just when it seemed that he was going to impale himself against the magic, the wall disappeared, like it was only an illusion. However, the corpse of the man that fell to the ground with multiple holes throughout his body proved that this was not the case.
Eliwood watched as Chrom dashed fearlessly across the field of black. His strange sword glowed orange as he raised it over his head.
His first opponent raised his axe overhead defensively. This would have worked if Chrom was working with bronze, iron, or perhaps even steel equipment. However, the Exalted Falchion, a weapon that could shred through even plate armor like it was paper, cut through the wooden handle of the axe like it wasn't even there. And there was no reason for the blade to stop. It continued, ripping through the bone and flesh of the unfortunate brigand, until he turned into two clean cross sections.
Marcus, though equally as surprised as Eliwood, recovered far quicker than his liege, and charged forward to help Chrom.
"Bah! Ephidel didn't tell me the lordling had such powerful bodyguards!" The brigand leader gnashed his teeth.
"What do we do now, Zagan?" One of his lackeys asked, slightly panicking.
"Kill the blue one first. He can't defend himself from all sides!"
"But he'll kill us all!" Another brigand protested.
"How is that any different than being turned into one of those lifeless puppets?" Zagan spat back. "I think I'd take a quick death over something like that! Now get in there!"
Zagan's words seemed to have steeled his men's courage, but at the expense of morale.
Two bandits circled around Chrom and came at him from both sides.
Chrom didn't even flinch. He lashed out at one opponent, cutting the man down instantly. Immediately, he brought his sword up defensively to the other side. The result was something that mirrored his earlier attack, and this time he was on the defensive.
Though he would have blocked the axe's downward swing under normal circumstances, his Exalted Falchion cut through his opponent's weapon as it was brought down, severing the head of the weapon from the shaft. The axe head, with it's downward momentum, cut into Chrom's shoulder as it continued to fall to the ground behind him.
However, Chrom did not falter in the face of his injury. Despite his wound, Chrom brought his sword behind him. The weapon glowed brighter than before as he swung it at his now defenseless opponent.
Robin had to stop in his tracks when he saw Chrom's sword connect with his opponent. It looked eerily similar to when his Naglrath cut into his victims. Robin could see the life energy being pulled out of the brigand and into Chrom's own body, healing the wound he just received.
"E-Everyone! Attack!" Zagan paled. "Screw the ambush! Attack! Attack!"
Bandits began to pour down from the mountain to their right at Zagan's exclamation. However, Chrom and Robin had bought enough time for the other shepherds to get ready. Stahl, Sully and Frederick rode forward and prevented the bandits from advancing towards Eliwood while everyone else got into position.
"What the hell was that?" Robin asked as he caught up to his friend.
"You know, I wasn't sitting around doing nothing while you were gone." Chrom grinned when he saw Robin's expression. "I picked up a trick or two myself. We've been tentatively calling that one Aether."
"Aether?" Robin asked. "That sounds fitting… I like it! I like it a lot!"
As Marcus felled another opponent, he had the time to turn around and check on his liege. Eliwood had drawn his rapier, and was beating back an enemy axeman. Marcus didn't have a single doubt in his mind that his liege could win in a one on one. He's trained with far stronger axe wielders before.
What Marcus was concerned about, however, was that Eliwood would be caught off guard by multiple enemies. However, even though he didn't have complete vision of the battlefield, his experience and intuition told him that their new allies had formed a protective circle around Eliwood. Although it wasn't a tight circle, the number of enemies that could break through and harm him was minimal. In addition, help could arrive at his side in a split second, should something disastrous happen, as even the two ladies flying in the air were hovering protectively over him.
Marcus's intuition also told him that this was not by coincidence. Either this group of people are extremely experienced as a whole, or the one calling the shots was extremely talented. Or perhaps both. The Paladin felt a mixture of admiration and suspicion for his recently acquired allies.
Still, he had to admit that without their help, they would be in a severely disadvantageous position right about now. The two fighters that joined, and were apparently not with the others, weren't professionally trained, and the less that was said about the female archer's experience, the better. Even Lowen hadn't been prepared enough to come to the aid of Eliwood right away. Yet for some reason, these new people, these... shepherds, they were ready for combat at the drop of a hat. Though they were currently allies, Marcus knew Eliwood would be in serious trouble if the status quo ever changed.
As it were, the bandits were being slowly pushed back as they began to lose on all fronts, despite having the initial element of surprise. What's more, their enemies seemed to have fallen into a massive state of disarray.
"Hmm?" Marcus narrowed his eyes. In the distance, there seemed to be a couple figures smashing through some soldiers as they made their way towards Marcus. One of them had a peculiar shade of blue hair.
"Heh, looks like this battle is as good as won."
Earlier…
"...Hey, what's going on over there?" A young lord with blue hair asked. "Looks like some rough business. You! Soldier! Are you going to just stand there and watch?"
"Hmm?" A Santaruz soldier turned towards the noise. "Who do you think you are? The affairs of Santaruz do not concern some random passerby."
"I believe I'm going to have to disagree with you." The young lord clenched his fists. "You see, that man they're attacking happens to be a good friend of mine."
"A friend!?" The soldier turned to take a better look at who he had been talking to, and paled when he realized who it was.
Hector didn't wait for a further response. He smashed his Wolf Beil through the soldier's armor and moved on. "Sorry, I'm in a hurry."
"I cannot condone resorting to force so quickly…" An armored knight voiced his disapproval from behind the young lord. Behind him was a thief and a cleric.
"Chastise me later, Oswin." Hector responded. "First, let's deal with these brigands. Come, let us help Eliwood!"
"Help Eliwood?" Oswin asked. "That sounds like a convenient excuse for more violence…"
"Oswin!" Hector exclaimed, not bothering to even turn his head as he barreled ahead.
"Yes, yes, I'm coming." Oswin smirked as he leveled his lance and followed after him.
"Matthew! Find a place to hide Serra until this is all over!" Hector commanded as he rushed forward.
"Yes, milord…" The thief sighed as he dragged Serra away from the impending conflict.
Hector knocked aside soldier after soldier as he made his way towards his friend. He raised his axe and was going to bring it down on a blonde axe wielder.
"...Watch yerself!" Hector's strike got blocked by what seemed to be a young boy wearing a pot on his head.
"What the-" Hector, for the first time, felt that he was being suppressed by a common soldier, or perhaps even a militiaman.
"Hey, thanks, Donnyboy!" The axe fighter gratefully smiled as he continued to fight.
"...Hey… yer not with them bandits, are ya?" Donnel asked as he got a better look at his opponent. "If yer not with 'em, could you please stand aside? We're tryna fight a battle here, y'see? Wouldn't want to hurt nobody, 'less I had to."
"What?" Hector was confused. "No, my friend's over there. I'm here to help him."
"Yer friend?" At this point, Donnel had disengaged his sword from their deadlock and the two were standing a small distance apart. "Ya mean his lordshipness Eliwood?"
"You're with Eliwood?" Hector asked. "Are you a mercenary?"
"Er, I guess y'could say that…" Donnel awkwardly chuckled. "Well if ya want to help, please just kill the bandits. Everyone that's not one of them bandits's also with his lordshipness."
Hector finally took the time to actually survey the battlefield in detail. He noticed that there were actually many people fighting on the side of Eliwood. More than what Pherae could've had, considering their circumstances. However, Hector didn't question it. He nodded to show he understood and began to be more selective with his targets.
It seemed Oswin also made a similar realization, and was careful about who he chose to run through with his lance. He, unironically, asked each of his opponents whether they were allies, which was mildly humorous to watch. However, it was clear that he was also a cut above all the bandits he was fighting, so he was never in any real danger.
The bandits, who were only expecting Eliwood to have a couple knights as guards at most, were easily routed by the combined forces of Eliwood, Hector, and the shepherds.
Zagan, after seeing that the situation was irreversible, decided to take one last attempt at accomplishing something. He waited for someone that seemed important to turn their back on him before rushing towards them.
The target he chose was Hector. The young lord had been paying more attention to Eliwood. He knew his heavy armor would protect him from almost everything, but he was concerned for his friend a lot more. The light armor he wore would not protect him from the swing of an axe if he got hit.
Unfortunately, this meant he did not see Zagan coming at him from behind.
"Watch out!" A female voice cried out from above. Hector felt an extremely strong wind blow over his head. Turning around, Hector saw Zagan get knocked to the ground by the powerful wind magic. Out of reflex, he brought his axe down, killing the bandit leader.
"I swear… those Illians are getting crazier and crazier…" Hector muttered to himself as he glanced towards the sky. "They have pegasus knights that use magic now?"
Afterwards, it was only a matter of time before the bandits were all defeated. The bandits were already in disarray, and the loss of their leader quickened their demise even further.
Hector was finally able to find an opportunity to speak to his friend once the area was cleared out.
"Hector!" Eliwood exclaimed. "Where did you come from?"
"Well met, Eliwood." Hector chuckled.
"Yes, but… what are you even doing here?"
"You wound me!"
"How do you mean?" Eliwood asked.
"You're looking for your father, right?" Hector asked. "Why didn't you send word?"
"Your brother was just named Marquess Ostia. He's going to be very busy setting up his court council. Lord Uther must need your support. You are his brother, after all."
"My brother is not so weak." Hector scoffed. "Oh, he has mentioned some things in public, but…He knew exactly what I was planning, and he let me go."
"Is that so? Well then, it would be unwise to refuse his kindness! It does me good to see you, Hector. Thank you."
"By the way, I was meaning to ask you. Who are these people? Are they Pheraen knights? I heard most of them went missing with your father."
"Oh, I should introduce them to you. Give me one second." Eliwood immediately ran off to find Chrom and Robin, leaving Marcus with a very confused Hector.
Moments later, Eliwood returned with the two of them in tow.
"This is my friend Hector." Eliwood told Chrom and Robin. "He's the younger brother of Marquess Ostia, the leader of Lycia."
"Nice to meet you." Hector grinned at Chrom. "I saw you fighting earlier… your sword is very impressive. Makes me want to hire the blacksmith that forged it!"
"Why thank you." Chrom chuckled. "It IS a very special sword to me…"
"This is Chrom." Eliwood introduced. "He's the Exalt… er, that's kind of like a Marquess… of Ylisse."
"Ylisse huh?" Hector furrowed his brows. "Never heard of it before. Is it somewhere in Bern?"
"Not quite." Chrom responded.
"Anyways, and this is Robin, also from Ylisse."
"...Wait… did you say Robin?"
"Remember the incident in Caelin last year? He was the guy who helped Marquess Caelin's granddaughter put an end to Lundgren's madness."
"...N-nice to meet you!" Hector's attitude did a one-eighty as he bowed in politeness. "I'm the younger brother of Marquess Ostia, I hope we get along!"
Eliwood and Marcus glanced at each other, somewhat confused. However, neither of them commented on Hector's odd behavior.
"...Anyways, they've agreed to help me find my father." Eliwood continued. "If you're going to help me as well, then I don't think anything on the continent can stand in our way."
"Yes, yes, I think so as well." There was a grin on Hector's face. "Ylisse was it? I'll remember that name well from this day forth… would you mind if I asked you some questions about your homeland in the near future?"
"I don't mind." Chrom chuckled as he glanced at Robin.
"I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to chat." Robin nodded in agreement. "I'd like to know more about Ostia and Lycia as a whole as well. But let's hit the road first. Based on what we've just encountered, I'm a little bit worried about Santaruz."
"Yes, yes, a logical plan." Hector agreed immediately. "...that reminds me… on my way here, I saw some Santaruz soldiers standing around watching. They seemed to realize that you were being attacked, Eliwood, but weren't doing anything to help."
"Then the situation might be more dire than I had thought." Robin narrowed his eyes. "I had thought that Santaruz might just have a bandit problem, but if what you're saying is true, then it's possible that it was Marquess Santaruz who had wanted Eliwood dead in the first place."
"...you think Marquess Santaruz sent these brigandes?" Eliwood asked.
"It's possible that someone else ordered it, and he just gave his approval, or perhaps he was threatened into giving his approval. Regardless, we won't know the truth until we meet him ourselves."
"Right." Chrom agreed. "If Marquess Santaruz is trying to stand against Eliwood, then there's also a high probability that he knows something regarding the disappearance of his father."
"...and so the logical thing would be to seek an audience with him." Robin concluded. "Though, my guess is, we won't be able to do so without some more violence."
"We're prepared." Eliwood said with conviction.
"Then let's go." Chrom suggested. "I'll let the others know."
"All right, I know the path. Let me lead the way." Eliwood agreed immediately.
"...Commander Marcus, is something the matter?" Lowen whispered to his commander when the important figures all dispersed.
"Hmm? Oh, it's you, Lowen… it's just… I find it odd. In all my times I've seen Lord Eliwood interact with Lord Hector, the young Ostian Lord has never been so formal or polite with anyone, nevermind a couple of complete strangers… Something tells me he knows something that we don't…"
"Er… I mean, probably…"
"Let's hope that whatever he knows isn't extremely dangerous for Lycia…"
With Eliwood…
"Hector, is something wrong?" The young, red-haired lord asked.
"Hmm? Why do you say that?"
"Look… I know you… you're not even that polite to your own brother… do you know them?"
"Er… I know OF them."
"Pardon?" Eliwood had a confused expression on his face.
"Come here…" Hector dragged the smaller lord in and draped one arm around Eliwood's shoulders. "Look… that other guy… Robin… he was the one that helped Lyn of Caelin last year, right?"
"Uh, yeah, that's him."
"Did you ever see him fight before?"
"Um, I guess a little bit… he's a very impressive magic user. Though, I will admit, I'm not exactly an expert on the subject."
"Well, you don't know half of it. One of our spies was in their group on their journey to Caelin… and believe me, this guy does not exaggerate often. That Robin guy is very dangerous. He defeated half of Caelin's troops by himself…"
"You really think that isn't an exaggeration?"
"The way he described it, I'm pretty sure it wasn't. It's either that or someone clearly doesn't want their job anymore..."
"Ok, fine. Let's assume it's not an exaggeration… can't an extremely skilled magic user defeat many opponents with a single well-aimed spell? If he truly is an exceptional mage, perhaps he's on the same level as Count Reglay of Etruria, and it wouldn't be the most surprising thing I've heard."
"But the thing is, he didn't kill them using magic…"
Hector let that sink in for a minute.
"...what does that even mean? You're saying he used his bare hands?"
"No. Apparently, he used a weird weapon that resembled some sort of farming tool… and he hacked Caelin's soldiers to pieces with his own two hands. According to my spy, some of the remains couldn't even be identified as humans after he was done with them."
"...some sort of farming tool? I've never seen Robin use anything but magic before…"
"And that's why we should be on our guard." Hector explained. "Apparently he's just as good with cold weapons as he is with magic. We really need to be on his good side. Not just we as in you and me… I mean LYCIA needs to be on his good side."
"You're pulling my leg… aren't you? He's… is one man really able to threaten all of Lycia?"
"Well here's the thing… apparently, his role in his home country is that of a tactician… this means that at the very least, the soldiers of Ylisse are capable enough to satisfy a monster like him… enough for him to agree to lead them in combat, instead of focusing on fighting himself. And the fact that he leads them in battle indicates that his intelligence is probably frightening as well... This is one of the few things that my brother and I agreed on: we cannot let Lycia become enemies of that man and his homeland."
"I… see…" Eliwood frowned. "I wasn't aware of that. Thank you for telling me."
"Just… be careful…" Hector suggested to his friend. "At least, until we are sure of their intentions."
"...I got it…"
New Characters:
Hector (Lord, 21): HP: 100% Str: 75% Mag: 5% Skl: 40% Spd: 50% Lck: 50% Def: 70% Res: 30%
Oswin (Knight, 28): HP: 120% Str: 75% Mag: 0% Skl: 40% Spd: 30% Lck: 45% Def: 75% Res: 30%