Port Baden, aboard the Davros…
"U-um… excuse me?" Rebecca cautiously approached one of the pirates she had seen earlier. It had been difficult to track him down, especially since it was so crowded below the deck. "D-dan? Brother?"
"Huh?" The pirate turned around. "Yer talkin' to me?"
"Oh...uh…" Rebecca began to second guess herself upon seeing no reaction from the pirate. "Well… I… uh…"
"You must've mistaken me for someone else, missy." The pirate shook his head. "M'name's Dart! Mate of the Davros, vessel of the feared pirates of Fargus!"
"I'm sorry… from behind, you really did look like my brother who ran away from home."
"Sorry, guess yer out o' luck."
Rebecca took one last uncertain look at him, before apologizing and leaving.
Elsewhere...
"The area here sure is murky, isn't it?" Lissa muttered out loud.
"Yeah…" Chrom frowned as he gazed into the horizon. Unfortunately, due to the heavy fog, he could barely see the surface of the water a mere ship length or two ahead of him. "Certainly makes me glad we hired some professionals to do the navigating."
"Let's just hope we can reach the island sooner… this moisture can't be good for my skin…" Lissa complained as she rubbed her cheeks.
"Well, you'd better get used to it." Robin chuckled. "There's no guarantee that it'll be any better on the island."
"If you're so concerned about it, why don't you go wait below the deck like the others?" Chrom suggested.
"Pass!" Lissa promptly exclaimed. "It's kinda crowded down there… and the pirates… they kinda stink…"
"Careful…" Robin looked behind him. "We wouldn't want to upset our benefactors."
"Oh, give it a rest! I can't help it if it's the truth!"
"You sure act like your usual spoiled self when Lon'qu isn't around…" Robin muttered.
"What was that!?"
"What was what? I didn't say anything."
"I wonder… what will we find on that island?" Chrom asked as he let out a sigh.
"No idea… but if what we've already gone through is any indication, I'm sure it'll be nothing but trouble." Robin shrugged.
"Maybe it'll be a forest full of demonic creatures…" Lissa suggested. "Or maybe skeletons and zombies and all sorts of undead monsters…"
"Wow Lissa… have you been visiting the library?"
"What's that supposed to mean!? You're not the only one that knows how to read!"
"But seriously though," Robin suppressed his chuckles. "I wouldn't mind it. It's better than slaughtering other humans, after all."
"So you think it's a possibility?" Chrom asked.
"Who knows?" Robin shrugged. "There must be a reason why everyone is so scared of the Dread Isle. Maybe it really is infested with monsters of some sort. I wouldn't say I'm expecting to run into anything, but I sure as hell won't count out the possibility. After all, no one would believe in the Risen until they actually see one of them, right?"
"Gotcha." Chrom nodded. "You make a good point."
"Oh… how long is it gonna take?" Lissa complained. "Why can't we sail any faster?"
"If we sail any faster in the fog, it would be dangerous…" Robin explained to her for what seemed like the hundredth time. "We could lose our direction, or run into something we'd prefer to avoid… like a rock, or a fallen tree or maybe even another boat. There's really no telling what could happen, especially since we're still technically in shallow water."
"I know… I know…." Lissa conceded. "It's just… pretty boring, so I need something to complain about."
Chrom and Robin rolled their eyes at Lissa's response.
"...Hey what's over there?" Lissa asked. "It looks like they're pulling something aboard…"
"There seems to be some sort of commotion…" Chrom sighed. "Shall we take a look?"
"Mhm… let's go." Robin nodded.
Meanwhile…
"Oh man… it's way too stuffy down there…" Hector walked up the stairs onto the deck. "Hm? Eliwood?"
Hector looked around. He knew Eliwood wasn't downstairs, but he couldn't find him above deck either.
Hector saw a few figures he recognized as Chrom and Robin standing near the bow of the ship. They seemed to be having some sort of conversation, but clearly, Eliwood was not over there.
"If you're looking for Eliwood, he's talking with the captain." Lyn offered. She was leaning on the gunwale, resting her cheek in one hand.
"Oh." Hector crossed his arms. "Then I won't bother him."
Sensing that Hector hadn't walked away yet, Lyn reluctantly turned around to face him. "...Do you need something?"
"I'd like you to stop pouting." Hector replied. "This pirate ship is the only way for us to get to the Dread Isle. I thought you understood that. Was I mistaken?"
"How I feel or what I think is no concern of yours!"
"Eliwood told me...about your parents and those bandits." Hector continued cautiously. "But these pirates? They don't seem like bad fellows."
"It wasn't just my parents! My entire tribe! Everyone was killed!" Lyn exclaimed. "They poisoned our drinking water! My people were in such pain, they could hardly stand! That's when the bandits attacked! They waited until we were defenseless!"
To that, Hector had no response.
"My father put me on his horse, and I escaped... Just me. My poor father... The pain must have been terrible. He lifted me up...his arms shaking... ...with his last breath... " Lyn sniffled. "Now do you understand? I was found unconscious by another tribe...and I awoke ten days later. When I awoke... The bodies of my people had already been buried. I never even had the chance to say farewell. My last memory of my father... He was...broken...dying... I can still see the axes rising and falling..."
Hector walked to Lyn's side and stared towards the water.
"...Hey… what are you doing?"
"You're a strong woman, Lyndis." Hector replied. "It's just… I thought you wouldn't want me to see you cry."
"You're such an idiot!?" Lyn asked as she wiped her eyes in embarrassment. "If you think that's what I want, then just leave!"
"I… also lost my parents." Hector admitted.
"...huh?"
"It was an illness that took them." Hector sighed. "Nothing like what happened to you… Still, when it happened, I wanted nothing more than to cry like a baby. But for some reason, I couldn't… at least, not in front of others." The Ostian lord met Lyndis's gaze. "I thought it might be the same for you."
It was Lyn's turn to be speechless.
"Ahoy! There's a small dory adrift to port!" During the silence, a cry from one of the pirates snapped them out of their conversation and back to reality. "Someone's on board! Tell the captain!"
"Let's go see what's going on?" Lyn asked.
"Yeah." Hector nodded. "After you."
As they went towards the commotion, Hector saw Eliwood approaching with Fargus.
"Hey Eliwood! Are you done talking to the captain?"
"Hm? You saw us?"
"Nah… I just heard about it from Lyndis. You learn anything?"
"...We can trust him." Eliwood replied after a moment of hesitation. "I think we got really lucky finding him."
"Well, if you say so…"
"Hey you two!" Lyn beckoned them over. "Come here! They've pulled the dory aboard!"
"Oy! Help us out a little!" One of the pirates called.
"Me?" Lyn turned towards the pirate.
"Er… yeah… The person on board… give us a hand, will you? We don't know where to grab her…"
"...Ok." Lyn, and Lissa who had also come over, helped pull the unconscious girl from out of the dory.
"Such a gentleman…" Hector chuckled.
"Stow it!" The pirate glared at the Ostian Lord before helping his comrades push the dory back into the water.
"Robin? What's wrong?" Chrom asked. By chance, he had noticed a look of disbelief on his tactician's face. It was clear that he recognized the girl.
"Ninian!?" Lyn, likewise, also recognized who it was. "Ninian? Open your eyes!"
Lissa quickly began to check her for injuries and cast healing magic. After a few brief moments, Ninian was slowly able to open her eyes.
"... Ah?" Ninian, upon realizing there were so many people crowded around her, fell into a panicked state upon waking up.
"Ninian?" Lyn continued. "Are you well? Why were you on that boat? And… where's Nils? Why isn't he with you?"
"Ah… ah…" Ninian continued to make some sounds that were incomprehensible.
"Lyn… there's something wrong with her…" Robin replied gravely. "Let's have Lissa continue to take care of her… maybe she'll recover with a little help."
"Yeah…" Lyn agreed. "Sure."
"Captain!" The pirate known as Dart called. "Pirate ships approachin' from the Northwest!"
"Eh!?" Fargus pushed one of the pirates out of the way as he made his way over. "What flag are they flyin'?"
"Not sure, captain… never seen it before!"
"Pirates with no name, and they dare attack Captain Fargus and the Davros!? They must be mad!"
Suddenly, the ship began to shake violently.
"Water!" A pirate exclaimed as he burst out from below deck. As if following his lead, everyone else began filing out as well, making it seem particularly crowded on board. "We're taking on water! The hull's been breached!"
"Breached?" Fargues looked genuinely surprised. "Those scum are more dangerous than we thought!"
"Everyone, below deck!" The same pirate called. One by one, pirates began descending, holding buckets or tools for fixing the ship.
"Take care of it!" Fargus commanded as two ships began to pull closer to the Davros. "I'm gonna carve these scallywags some new gizzards!"
"It's bad, captain!" Dart called. "We might need you below deck as well! The water's up to the galley. We really might sink at this rate."
"Grr…" Fargus was clearly not happy about this piece of news.
"Don't worry about it, captain. You can leave the situation up here to us." Robin told him.
"Yeah." Chrom nodded in agreement. "While we know next to nothing about maintaining a ship properly, we can definitely hold our own in a fight."
"We'll deal with things up here!" Hector agreed wholeheartedly.
"Yeah, you can leave the enemy to us." Eliwood chimed in as well.
"Fine!" Fargus made his way towards his crew. "The deck is yours! We'll be back as soon as we've plugged the breach in the hull!"
"Lissa, take Ninian somewhere safe." Robin commanded.
"Leave it to me!" Then, with a much gentler tone, she began to direct Ninian away from the impending battle.
"What do we do?" Eliwood asked.
"Well, normally I'd suggest creating a few choke points on the ship, and kill off the attackers one by one…" Robin frowned. "But there are only two ships… and I'm concerned that we won't actually have enough fighting space."
"So we take the fight to them!" Sully cracked her knuckles. She wasn't mounted. Like her, Stahl and Frederick were unable to bring their mounts onto the Davros, and had left them in town. Still, it didn't mean they were incapable of fighting.
"Right… I think that's actually a feasible strategy this time." Robin nodded in agreement. "Just be careful… we don't know how many people or what traps or gimmicks they might have on board. Not to mention, this fog makes it difficult to see clearly."
The shepherds began to organize themselves into two groups for boarding the enemy ships. Lyn, Hector and Eliwood began to do the same, but were stopped by Robin.
"I appreciate the sentiment, but you'd better leave this one to us this time." Robin suggested.
"What!?" Lyn exclaimed. "And what do you mean by us? You don't think we're capable enough, is that it?"
"No, you're wrong." Robin shook his head. "Listen, not everyone should be attacking… that would leave the Davros unprotected. When it comes to defending our current location, I think you and everyone else is just as capable as the rest of the shepherds… but when it comes to boarding an unfamiliar vessel, I think it is safer to leave that to us Ylisseans. They're combat training is far more intensive than what you've probably been through."
"But you don't know that!" Hector began to protest as well. "We can easily keep up just as well!"
"There will definitely be enemies that will try and slip through while we try and rout them." Robin explained. "So there will be an opportunity for you to fight as well. Also… please take care of Ninian for me."
"..."
"..."
"We'll do it your way." Eliwood was the only one among the three of them with an open mind. "Come back safely. We'll hold the ship until you're done."
"Thanks." Robin nodded. "I'll leave it to you then."
Having said what needed to be said, Robin went to join the second of the two groups, the other being led by Chrom.
"Marcus, please be vigilant." Eliwood broke the silence after Robin had left. "We're going to go take a look at Ninian."
"Of course, milord." The knight bowed.
"So who is this girl?" Hector asked as they made their way to Lissa and Ninian.
"Well, we rescued her when I was trying to make my way to Caelin… Robin and Eliwood were both there." Lyn replied.
Lyn began to tell Hector the story of how they originally met Ninian while Eliwood approached the girl in question. Ninian, cautious as ever, clung onto Lissa's arm.
"How's she doing?"
"She seems to be confused, and probably a little scared." Lissa explained. "Something bad must've happened to her recently."
Eliwood furrowed his brows. "Ninian? Do you remember me at all?...Well, it doesn't matter, you just need to know that we're your friends. You don't have to be scared."
Though Ninian still didn't respond with words, she cautiously nodded, showing that she could at least understand him.
"Is there something you can do to help her?" Eliwood asked.
"I'm afraid not." Lissa shook her head. "I already did everything I could… she's not physically injured anywhere. Unfortunately, my magic does not extend to healing mental wounds."
"Milord! Enemies approaching!" Though Eliwood couldn't see Marcus from his current location, he could definitely hear him.
"Let's go…" Eliwood gestured to Lyn and Hector. "Lissa… you can go below deck with Ninian… it's probably safer."
"Nah, we can't do that." Lissa shook her head. "We'll just get in the way of the repairs."
Eliwood looked like he was about to protest, but was stopped by Lissa's next words.
"I may be a healer, but I'm not defenseless, you know…" Lissa tapped the butt of her axe, which was leaning against the side of the ship near her. Eliwood, who had been concerned about Ninian, didn't even notice the weapon until now. Actually, he had seen it before, but hadn't realized that the weirdly shaped weapon was actually used by the innocent looking healer. "We'll be fine. If anyone approaches us, they'll definitely regret it. And of course, if it's a situation I can't handle, I just have to call for help, right? I do have a pretty good set of lungs… or so I've been told."
"Well, all right then. I'll trust you on this one." Eliwood turned and ran to catch up with his other companions.
With Robin…
The first thing Robin did when he reached his group was cast flux towards the sky. Cordelia, Sumia and Florina were flying relatively high in the air, and had lost track of the Davros through the thick mist. The flux was used as a signal flare, to indicate to the pegasus knights the location of their ship.
In his group were Gaius, Olivia, Henry, Brady and Noire. While it seems that his group would be easier to deal with, simply being led by Robin decreases the possibility of being ambushed because he would be able to detect them before it happened with the help of his Hekseer. Therefore, it made more sense for the more and better armored shepherds to go with Chrom. Even if they run into something unexpected, they'll be more likely to be able to escape unharmed.
Although the ship they were assigned to didn't have many warriors, they had to deal with a steady onslaught of dark magic. Fortunately, their skill was not exceptional, and in order to cast a spell that even had a remote chance of hitting someone, they had to wander into the killing range of a bow.
Furthermore, the fog that their assailants had thought would be to their advantage was actually a massive hindrance to them. The Shaman couldn't see very far in front of them, but under Robin's guidance, Gaius, Olivia and Noire shot arrows through the mist. Of course, their accuracy was far lower than normal, given that they couldn't see the targets they were shooting at, but at the very least, they could hit someone once in a while.
Dark magic was cast at them less and less as the battle drew on, as the Shaman were brought down one at a time. After it became clear that there were no enemies left, Robin did a final check before signalling for Gaius to move in.
The former thief cautiously made his way across the gangplank, stepping over the corpses of dead fighters, and checked out the surroundings. Seeing that there seemed to be no survivors, Gaius returned and made his report.
Robin and his group slowly crossed over to the enemy ship.
"Let's hurry. It sounds like a large battle is breaking out on the other side." Robin whispered.
"The other ship must've been filled with soldiers then…" Gaius surmised.
"I-if so… then shouldn't we be more cautious?" Noire asked.
"I don't think this ship is the same as that other one." Robin shook his head. "There's too much metal clashing against metal, and not enough magic being thrown around. That actually might be a good thing for us, since Chrom's group would have a bit more trouble against an army of mages. If my guess is right, the best thing we should do is to clear the ship and then go help Chrom and the others. Of course, we'll still be careful…"
As they wandered through the ship, their group was able to pick off a few more opponents. Robin had detected a stronger magical presence, and they began to slowly make their way towards it.
"He should be in the next room." Robin whispered. "My guess is that it's the leader, or at the very least a particularly strong soldier. We're watching the rear, just take him out like the others."
Gaius and Olivia nodded before darting into the room. There was a cry of surprise then a muffled scream, then a gurgling sound quickly followed by the noise of something hitting the ground, and then silence.
"It sounds like they were successful then?" Henry shrugged. "Huh!?"
The surprised noise he made was the result of Robin roughly shoving Brady to the ground. Dark magic struck the location he had been crouching at a moment before. Slightly off balance, Robin had no choice but to bear the brunt of the attack. Fortunately, the magic fizzled out harmlessly upon striking his cloak.
"More Shamans…" Robin gritted his teeth as he dusted himself off. "Everyone get into the room!"
The four of them rushed in after the two assassins into what must've been the captain's room. Inside, they saw Gaius and Olivia combing around, with a lifeless body lying on the floor.
"Is something wrong?" Gaius asked as he looked up from his work.
"We're surrounded." Robin clicked his tongue. "More magic casters."
"Well, we at least found some useful information…" Olivia handed something to Robin. "It appears that the guy we killed was a man named Zoldam… apparently he was ordered to kill anyone trying to reach the Dread Isle…"
"That is useful information…" Robin received the scroll from Olivia and skimmed the contents. "Right. But we have to make it back safely in order to relay the information. We probably can't exit without being bombarded by now. So I'll go first. Their magic shouldn't be able to do much to me. Fire your arrows immediately afterwards."
"Will ya really be alright?" Brady asked, still slightly shaken up from almost getting hit earlier.
A scythe materialized in Robin's hand. "It's no problem. Unlike most magic casters, I can still put up a fight in hand to hand combat."
"I m-meant, taking the magic attacks head on."
"Well, if that last attack was any indication of their strength, I don't think it's going to be a major problem at all."
"Well, we'll just have to make sure he doesn't take that many hits." Gaius shrugged as he strung up an arrow. Noire did the same, with a determined look in her eyes.
Robin stook by the side of the door with his weapon. He held up three fingers with his free hand, and brought them down one by one.
When that hand turned into a fist, Robin rushed out. The shaman that had been waiting in expectation all cast their spells at once. All the flux converged on him, and Robin brought up one arm to block his face, since the rest of his head was blocked by his hood.
Having survived the first wave of attacks, the weakness of the shaman was fully exploited. Their target, unexpectedly, did not fall from their magical assault, and instead rushed towards them with a sharp weapon in hand.
The nearest Shaman didn't stand a chance against him in close combat. The longer cast times of dark magic ensured that they would not get another spell off before they were cut down. However, it was clear that their opponents had prepared for this scenario, as there were several others spread out in such a way that it was impossible for Robin to take them all out before a second volley of spells was prepared.
Unfortunately for the Shaman, their attentions were all focused on Robin. This made them unprepared for Noire and Gaius when they shot arrows from the doorway. As there was not that much space, Olivia opted to run out and assist Robin. Once she got within range, the pinkette tossed a well aimed knife at one of their targets, striking them in the chest.
The shaman that survived cast another wave of fluxes at Robin, and realizing that he was not taking damage, began to panic and retreat.
"Nuh uh~" Henry grinned as consecutive blasts of his Waste tome cut off their retreat. This bought enough time for Robin and Olivia to catch up, and the remaining survivors were quickly disposed of.
"Was that all of them?" Brady asked as he peeked out from the doorway.
"It looks like it." Robin replied as he wiped some blood from his weapon. "But it doesn't matter even if there are. We've already killed their leader. Regrouping with everyone is much safer."
"Yeah I'm ready to get off this ship." Gaius scowled.
Cautiously, they made their way back to the Davros, where the battle was mostly finished. It turns out, Chrom's group had run into the bulk of the enemy forces, and had turned back and regrouped with Eliwood and the others. As a result, the three young lords and the other Elibeans were able to give them a helping hand. Robin couldn't help but praise Chrom's decision making skills, as a year or two ago, he definitely would've continued to muscle his way past everyone and everything.
"Hey, I guess things went well on your end as well?" Chrom asked with a grin on his face.
"Yeah… where's Fargus?"
"The pirates finished fixing the boat." Chrom shrugged. "They're cleaning up the battlefield. Or, to put it another way, they're looking for supplies that they can claim. Honestly, I'm guessing most of it is just the armor and weapons from the people we killed. There were too many people to sustain on that ship. My guess is they must've come from that island."
"I agree… we found evidence that seems to make that same conclusion." Robin nodded. "Say… where's Eliwood?"
"Hmm? Oh, I think he went to go talk with the girl that they fished up."
"Is that so? Come to think of it, I haven't checked on Ninian yet, perhaps I should do so as well."
"You seem to know that girl…"
"Yeah, from the last time I was here in Elibe."
"Is she a friend then?"
"Er… what do you mean by that?"
Chrom blinked a couple times. "Nevermind… let's just go see how she's doing."
After searching for a few moments, they finally located Ninian, who was sitting in a corner, being tended to by Lissa and surrounded by the Elibean lords.
"How is she?" Chrom asked.
"Not hurt at all…" Lissa shook her head. "But still shaken up."
"Ninian?" Robin knelt down next to her. "Ninian, do you still remember me? Are you all right?"
"Robin?" Ninian whispered. "R-robin is that you?"
"Yeah… yeah it's me…"
"Robin! Please! You have to save Nils!" Ninian suddenly exclaimed, surprising everyone around them, and even drawing the glances of pirates standing several meters away. "He's still being held on the island by those… those men!"
"On the island?" Eliwood frowned.
"...Those men?" Hector scratched his head.
"Robin!" Lyn exclaimed as she made a realization. "Could it be the people in dark robes? The ones we ran into before! I hadn't made the connection before, but I'm pretty sure that they must've been a part of Black Fang, right?"
"Now that you mention it…" Robin furrowed his brows. "I think you might be correct. And if you're right…"
"Then Nils is being held captive by the Black Fang!"
"...Can you… will you help him?" Ninian pleaded with her eyes.
"Yes. Of course we will." Robin reassured her. "Actually, we were going to have to fight against the Black Fang anyways. Saving Nils won't be any trouble at all. But… it might be dangerous on the island. Although you might not like it, it's probably better for you to stay on the ship with the pirates and wait for our return. It might not seem like it at first glance, but they're good people."
"No!" Lyn instantly protested. "Ninian is coming with us!"
"Um, now hold on a sec…" Chrom chuckled nervously. "Maybe we should…"
"The pirate ship isn't safe for her either! What if the Black Fang attacked while we weren't around to help?" Lyn asked. "The pirates already had their hands full repairing the ship! Even if they were able to defend against a raid, they wouldn't have had the manpower to protect Ninian as well!"
"...Also, the pirates would be reluctant to let her stay aboard anyways." Eliwood added. "They think she might be cursed, you see…"
"Cursed?" Robin asked.
"Yeah, well I'm not one for superstitions, but it's hard to convince a pirate otherwise."
"Would it really be that much of a hassle to bring her along?" Hector asked. "From what I've seen, our little group of soldiers seems to be the safest place on the battlefield…"
"I can't disagree with you on that one…" Chrom chuckled, which was seemingly able to break some of the tension in the air.
"Well, when you put it that way…" Robin sighed. "I guess one extra person can't hurt too bad."
Just then, the sound of multiple large objects landing came from one of the nearby enemy ships.
"More Black Fang!?" Lyn asked, as she reached for her Mani Katti.
"Relax…" Robin chuckled. "This time they're friendly… Although…"
He frowned. Through the mist, he could make out the figures of four pegasi, which was one more than he had been expecting.
"Excuse me… it looks like something came up… Lissa, please continue watching over Ninian."
"Leave it to me, Robin!"
Chrom nodded in acknowledgement to Hector and Eliwood before following after his tactician.
"Whew, it's hard to see through all of this fog…" Robin heard Sumia's voice as the two of them approached. She didn't seem to be stressed at all, which was a good sign.
When they got closer, Robin realized that the fourth rider was a girl with aquamarine hair. She seemed to be quietly sniffling, and holding Florina in a hug. Knowing Florina's personality and country of origin, Robin surmised that the two of them must be relatively close, or at least know each other to some extent.
"Well, is everything fine?" Robin asked.
"Yeah…" Sumia nodded as she stroked her pegasus. "The island is just up ahead; we're really close now. I already told Captain Fargus, so the pirates shouldn't be sailing directly into it at full speed."
"Who is the new girl?" Chrom asked.
"That's Fiora." Sumia replied. "She's Florina's older sister."
"Older sister?" Chrom looked confused. "Tears of joy then? No… that doesn't seem quite right either…"
"She's… grieving." Cordelia explained. "Apparently she was hired as a mercenary to scout out the situation at the Dread Isle, but they were ambushed by the people on the island. She's… the only survivor."
'Ah, so that's how it is…' Robin sighed. He could understand why Cordelia looked so empathetic of Fiora. After all, back in Ylisse, something very similar had occurred to her as well. "You stayed safe, didn't you? I see some new scratches on your armor, Cordelia."
"You're… able to notice?" Cordelia pulled back in surprise.
"We're perfectly fine." Sumia let out a chuckle. "We stayed far away and threw magic. Those new marks are the result of Fiora suddenly appearing through the fog. It took even Florina a moment to recognize her, and try to stop the two of them from fighting."
Sumia leaned in closer to Robin and Chrom. "Actually, Fiora is quite skilled. She was able to survive Cordelia's attack with nothing but light wounds. In addition, she managed to hit Cordelia's armor as well… but not enough to injure her, of course."
"Do we need to go fetch Lissa?" Chrom asked.
"I already took care of it." Cordelia shook her head. "She's perfectly fine now."
"Wow Cordelia…" Robin smirked. "Are your skills a little rusty? I didn't know it was still possible for someone to match you in aerial combat."
"She had the element of surprise." Cordelia crossed her arms, clearly not amused. "And I was trying to protect Sumia, which made things harder as well. How would I know if there were more of them in hiding?"
"Relax…" Sumia smiled. "He's clearly joking."
"I know he is…" Cordelia pouted. "But it's still irritating."
"Well then let's talk about the important stuff then." Robin replied, turning serious. "What does she want to do now? Can she still fight?"
"Well her mission isn't technically finished yet…" Sumia shrugged. "And, since she probably would want to avenge her dead comrades, I'm guessing it won't be too hard to convince her."
"We could always use some more help in the air." Cordelia added. "Although the two of us are strong, controlling the sky is much more difficult without Cherche. And…"
Cordelia turned to make sure the two pegasus sisters weren't listening in on them. "Although Florina is hard working and devoted, her skills really aren't anything worth mentioning. Fiora, on the other hand, may be helpful for us."
"Really?" Robin smiled. "That's high praise, coming from you. Now I'd like to see her in action myself."
"Just leave the convincing to us. In the meantime…" Sumia gestured towards the Davros with her head. "It sounds like the pirates are done. You should probably get going as well. We'll meet on the island."
After Chrom and Robin returned to the ship, the pirates took a few more moments to complete the checkup on their ship to ensure everything was as it should be. From there, the Davros sailed for a short while before it stopped near the shore of the Dread Isle.
Since there wasn't a dock at the Dread Isle, the shepherds had to board the island by dinghy. And because the Davros wasn't supposed to be a passenger ship, they had to make multiple trips.
Chrom and Robin were among the few to stay behind and they patiently waited for the final trip to the island.
"By the way… there's something I remembered just now…" Hector spoke up as he looked towards the island.
"What is it?" Eliwood asked.
"Before I left Ostia, Matthew and I were attacked by some men in dark robes… Do you think it has anything to do with the Black Fang?"
"You were attacked?" Robin's interest seemed to be piqued.
"What!?" Eliwood also seemed to be surprised. "Why didn't you say anything before?"
"Many people hold grudges against Ostia." Hector waved them off. "So I didn't think it had anything to do with this. But now… we've been attacked by a group that looked kind of like them, and I guess Lyndis and Robin had a run in with them a while ago as well…"
Robin made eye contact with Chrom. 'Naga did send us here for a reason, after all... It looks like things are not as simple as they once seemed… there has to be something bigger going on.'
"What's the matter, Robin?" Chrom chuckled. "Want to share your thoughts? It's kinda creepy when you just stare at me like that without saying a word."
"It… doesn't matter. Whatever we find on that island, we just have to destroy. It's not like we'll find Grima there or anything."
"Right." Chrom's hand moved to his Falchion. "But still… I get what you mean… I feel that a decisive battle is coming up."
"...We'll wait two weeks." Fargus interrupted their conversation as he made his way towards them. "Finish up by then."
"Thank you very much!" Eliwood bowed.
"That'll be more than enough time!" Hector agreed.
"Oh, and also…" Fargus took the pipe out of his mouth. "From what I understand, there'll be more of those bastards on that island, won't there?"
"We're not certain, but we assume so." Robin nodded.
"Well, they've attacked the Davros, which makes them enemies of Fargus and his crew." The captain continued. "And they've killed two of my mates in that attack. We'd like to plot our revenge, but chances are, they might be finished by the time you get back. We can't let someone else fight all our battles for us... Dart!"
"Here captain!" A familiar looking pirate popped around the corner.
"I want you to follow them onto the island." Fargus turned to address him. "Help 'em out in any way you can. If nothing else, put an axe through more of those bastards' skulls, y'hear?"
"Aye aye, captain!"
"Are you scared of the island?"
"No captain!"
"Good." Fargus turned towards Robin. "His only redeeming feature is his sturdiness, but maybe he'll still come in handy."
"Aw c'mon, captain! I'm better'n that!" Dart complained.
Fargus let out a chortle. "Come back safely… all of you. No one's done it before, but I've got a good feeling you'll be the first group to do so."
"We can't thank you enough." Eliwood smiled.
"Then don't do it." Fargus replied. "Come back alive and in one piece. That'll be the only thanks I need."
"All right. Farewell then."
"We'll be back before you know it!" Hector pumped his fist into the air.
"Robin! Are you guys coming? The last boat is ready to leave!" Lucina called towards the four of them, who were still conversing with Fargus.
"Don't let me waste any more of your time." Fargus urged them to continue. "Off you go!"
Robin, Chrom, Hector, Eliwood and Dart climbed into the dinghy.
Robin sat down between Lucina and Anna, who each gripped one arm as soon as he was finished getting situated.
'Calm down… I'm not going to disappear…' Robin sweatdropped.
Still, he had to admit that things had been fairly abnormal recently, and his time spent alone with the two of them have been relatively limited, or even straight up non existent. There wasn't any reason for him to push them away, so Robin decided to indulge the two of them for the time being.
The short trip to the island was mostly quiet.
"You'd better make it back alive Dart! Th' whole reputation of the Davros is at stake!" One of the pirates rowing the dinghy said to Dart as he was getting onto dry land.
"Don't do anything that'll make these landlubbers laugh at us!"
"You can't get out of doin' yer job by buyin' the farm. We'll go to hell an' drag you back if we 'ave to!"
"Forget it! I'm not steppin' a foot on that damned island!"
"All right, all right, I get it you dingbats!" Dart finally protested. He turned around and made a fist. "Gonna make it back alive, but not before I pay 'em back for Crazy Eyes and ol' Scar Face!"
"Aye!"
"...I guess there are some good people among pirates…" Lyn admitted as she watched the dinghy row back towards the Davros.
"Yeah…" Hector agreed. "But I highly doubt that Fargus and his crew are your average pirates. Uh… Eliwood?"
Instead of looking backwards at the Davros, Eliwood was staring directly into the forest. "Somewhere over there is the Dragon's Gate… somewhere over there, is my father."
"No matter what it takes, we're coming back with your father!" Hector boldly declared.
"...We'll surely find him." Lyn agreed. "Everyone will do their best to make it so."
"You're right!" Eliwood nodded. "Let's go find Robin, and make preparations to enter the forest."
New Characters:
Fiora (Pegasus Knight, 22): HP: 60% Str: 50% Mag: 10% Skl: 65% Spd: 65% Lck: 50% Def: 30% Res: 50%
Dart (Pirate, 22): HP: 110% Str: 75% Mag: 0% Skl: 30% Spd: 55% Lck: 40% Def: 50% Res: 15%
Author's Notes:
After what might have been the longest hiatus so far, I'm finally back! Unfortunately, I have had very little to no time for writing, as the amount of spare time was somewhat limited these past few months. The only solid chunk of time I really had was the Fall recess (Thanksgiving), and I was unable to complete the chapter in time, which is why it got delayed until now. (Sorry about that.)
As a sidenote, the reason why Fiora appeared now instead of in the next chapter is because I'm making a slight adjustment to the storyline. However, it won't affect the flow of the story that significantly.
Now, with classes done for the year, I'll hopefully have some time to relax (and write) in the upcoming month or two, so it shouldn't take as long for the next chapter to get posted. I'm not certain whether or not I'll get to post another chapter by New Year's so I'll just say it now: 2020 has been a crazy year full of adjustments for everyone, so I'm even more grateful for the support and interest that has been given to my writing. If you're reading this, seriously, thank you.