The Dragon's Gate…
"Shame on you, Marquess Pherae…" A Dark Druid wearing what looked like a turban sighed as he paced back and forth. "You freed the boy AND the girl?"
"I will not let you go unopposed!" A man that looked like the older version of Eliwood replied.
"Wh-what shall we do, Lord Nergal?" Marquess Laus appeared quite nervous as he stood behind the Dark Druid. "With both siblings gone… we won't be able to hold the ceremony!"
"How many times must I tell you, Lord Darin?" Marquess Pherae gritted his teeth. "You're being used by this man! By helping him bring dragons back to this world, you are helping him destroy mankind! Don't you understand?"
As usual, Marquess Laus only responded with laughter. "Destroy mankind? Dragons may have been a threat to humans in ages past, but with Lord Nergal's power, we have nothing to fear! After all, Lord Nergal can control dragons!"
"Lord Darin…" Marquess Pherae shook his head and sighed in dejection. "It looks like you're already lost…"
"I'd planned to start a war in Lycia." Nergal murmured to himself as he stroked his beard. "The large number of deaths would generate a large amount of quintessence in one move. Our plans have to be slightly altered, but no matter… Ephidel, Limstella!"
Nergal turned towards a dark corridor. "My beloved morphs, my beautiful works of art. I've new jobs for you, my pets. First, Limstella. You will go to Bern and contact Sonia. I want you to arrange a meeting with the king. Ephidel… take this man, Marquess Laus, and go. I need you to exterminate the mice that have landed on this island. If your own forces are insufficient, ask the castrate for help."
"Understood." A beautiful woman with golden eyes bowed.
"Yes, master." Ephidel, similarly, copied the motion.
"And that leaves you, Marquess Pherae…" Nergal chuckled. "You know, the mouse that interfered with my conquest of Lycia is a pup named Eliwood… Perhaps he should be congratulated for making it this far…"
"Eliwood!?" Marquess Pherae gasped. "My son is here!? Stop! Do with me what you will, but let my son be!"
Nergal only laughed in response. "Remember the siblings you've freed? The girl is here too. In fact, she is with your son, Eliwood. Quite a delicious twist of fate, wouldn't you say?"
"..This… can't be…"
"Eliwood will die in these woods." Nergal continued. "The girl will be returned to me, and the ceremony will take place. And you… you will be a perfect sacrifice, along with your son."
With that, Nergal disappeared into the darkness.
"Eliwood…" Marquess Pherae sobbed. "Take the girl and flee… Please… this is not a battle you can win…"
Nearby…
"I can't believe it has come to this…" Leila gritted her teeth as she eavesdropped on the conversation between Nergal and Marquess Pherae. "I must inform Lord Hector of these events… if I hurry, I may be in time-"
Leila suddenly flinched as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She slowly turned her head to find herself gazing into two magnificent golden orbs.
"Oh, Leila…" Ephidel purred. "What are you doing here?"
"L-lord Ephidel... I was just patrolling the hallways… and I…"
"You overheard, didn't you?" Ephidel chuckled. "And to think… I had such high hopes for you… I suppose it doesn't matter anymore… Jaffar!"
"...The punishment for traitors is death." Was the last thing Leila heard before she was swiftly assassinated.
"M-matthew…" Leila croaked as she lay dying on the ground, before everything turned dark.
"Impressive…. Your powers are beyond comparison, Jaffar…" Ephidel complimented. "Take this woman's corpse and leave it in the forest. Let it serve as a warning to those fools."
"..." The assassin didn't say anything, but did as he was told.
"So… I heard you're tasked with eliminating the mice on the island…" A plump figure chuckled after Jaffar left with the body. "Shall I give you a hand?"
"Why, if it isn't Lord Excellus…" Ephidel bowed upon realizing who was talking to him. "Your assistance would be greatly appreciated, if you're willing, of course."
"At least someone here understands the pecking order around here." Excellus cackled. "This is why you're my favorite out of Lord Nergal's morphs."
"What type of help can I expect to receive, milord?"
"Say…" Excellus rubbed his hands together. "Did you know Uhai of the Black Fang has a younger sister?"
Ephidel smiled. "No I did not, milord."
"Well, you can be sure that he'll do his utmost to ensure that our master's plan does not get disturbed… heeheehee."
"I see you're still up to your usual schemes, milord."
"Well, you can save the thanks for later… I must be going now. There are still quite a few things to do on the Bern side, you know?" Excellus waved his hand. "Ta-ta now…"
With that, the plump sage finished a teleportation spell and disappeared.
"Well then…" Ephidel murmured to himself. "Time to eliminate the intruders…"
Elsewhere on the Island…
"It feels impossible to know where we're going…" Lyn muttered to herself.
"Honestly." Hector agreed. "The trees are already bad enough, but we have to deal with the fog as well? Give me a break!"
"Are you well, Ninian?" Eliwood asked, slightly behind them.
"...erm… yes, yes I'm fine." The young dancer nodded.
"...Hey Chrom? What's that over there?" Lissa asked.
"What's what?" Her brother responded.
"That thing over there… is… is that a body?"
"I'll go take a look…" Hector volunteered as he strode forward into the mist.
"...what is it?" Eliwood called after Hector when a significant enough amount of time had passed since he left.
Hector didn't respond, but he came back with a somber expression, holding the dead body of Leila.
"Leila!?" Eliwood gasped. "No…"
"She's… dead…" Lyn murmured in shock.
"Th-this can't be!" Hector's usually confident, or one could even say over confident, voice finally cracked. "She's… Leila was one of our best spies!"
"Gaius… take a look at this…" Robin gestured for the assassin to come over and inspect the wound on her neck. "Do you think-"
"Yeah." Gaius nodded gravely. "She would've died instantly. ...Probably didn't even get to see the assailant. Whoever did this to her is extremely skilled in killing… possibly even more than me."
"...Well, that means her death was painless at the very least, right?" Hector sighed. "Matthew… I'm sorry."
"...Why do you apologize, milord?" Matthew asked with an unreadable expression. "Leila blundered… that's all."
"Matthew…"
"After this mission, I was going to ask her to put this life behind her... Waited too long, didn't I?" Matthew let out a chuckle. "Milord… would it be all right… if I give her a proper burial?"
"...Of course."
"I'll go with you…" Lyn offered, but she was stopped by a firm grip on her shoulder.
"Let them be alone…" Eliwood shook his head. "There's nothing else we could do."
"Blast!" Hector slammed his fist against the trunk of a tree once Matthew was out of hearing range. "They put her out here for us to find like this!"
"Unforgivable!" Lyn agreed. "This is… a foul deed. No, beyond foul."
"The foe is somewhere in this forest." Eliwood said with resolve. "We must stop them before anyone else dies!"
"Stay alert everyone, keep an eye on the person in front and behind you." Robin reminded them. "It's really easy to get lost in the fog."
Moments later…
"U-uhm, Lucina? It looks like we're starting to move again..." Noire murmured to her friend.
"Th'guy's back from buryin' th' body." Brady added.
"Hmm? Okay… got it."
"What are you even doing?" Anna asked. She was feeling rather bored, as they didn't have a caravan to take care of. Frederick, Vaike, Sully, and some of the stronger members of their group were carrying backpacks filled to the brim with their essential supplies, so all she had to do was keep an eye on Lucina, as befitting of her position.
"I'm trying to keep my shoulders loose." Lucina explained, as she finished doing some stretches. "My muscles feel pretty tight from sitting on that ship, with me doing nothing and all... And with this fog, it won't be clear when a battle is about to start. It would be bad to get a cramp in the middle of battle… so it's better to be warmed up in case anything happens."
"Rather vigilant of you…"
"That's what it was like all the time…" Noire informed the redhead. "Y'know, back in our own time. We'd have to sleep with one eye open, so to speak, because the Risen could attack us at any time."
"All right, c'mon." After adjusting the Parallel Falchion that was attached to her waist, Lucina began to walk towards the rest of the group, where Robin was doing a final checkup to make sure they hadn't lost anyone.
As she waited, Lucina couldn't help but notice Lyn and Lissa taking care of Ninian, and the three of them seemed to be having a pleasant conversation. The young bluenette was busy drinking from a canteen, which Lyn had provided her. She seemed much more relaxed than when Lucina had seen up to this point, and it looked like the three of them were close friends who had known each other for years. Lucina even saw Ninian giggle from something Lissa had said.
A smirk appeared on Lucina's face.
"She is rather cute when she's not looking so anxious…" Anna noted after following her gaze.
"...What? No, that wasn't what I was thinking about."
"Oh, then what's with that look? Did the voices in your head tell you a funny joke?"
"I'll tell you some other time." Lucina chuckled. "But for now-"
Adrenaline coursed through her body as Lucina realized something was barrelling towards them from somewhere within the fog. She dashed forward, drawing her Falchion while moving towards Ninian and Lyn.
"Lucina!?" Anna reached out with one hand towards her.
Hearing Anna's cry, Lyn realized something was wrong. Her warrior sense caused her to instinctively shield Ninian with her own body.
A mounted horseman lunged out of the fog and reached a hand out, attempting to grab Ninian. However, he was ultimately unsuccessful, as Lyn was in the way, and Lucina's sword also swung down, narrowly missing him as he pulled his hand back.
"Back off." Lucina growled. "Next time you'll lose that arm."
"...Impressive." The horseman nodded in approval.
The commotion drove the rest of their group into high alert, as everyone got ready for a conflict to occur.
"You're… you're Sacaen, are you not?" Lyn asked.
"That is correct." The man nodded. "I am Uhai of the Black Fang, formerly Uhai of the Djute. I've been sent to capture that girl… and to kill the lot of you. However… if you were to hand that girl over and depart the island at once… I shall grant you your lives."
"And if we refuse?" Lyn countered.
"You know nothing, little lord." Uhai replied. "Nothing of Nergal's might. Nothing of his terrible power. You are ignorant, and so you hope to oppose him. You are simply insects railing against the heavens, and your actions will change nothing."
"The Djute!?" Lyn asked. "How could a man from such a proud tribe stand to live a life as an assassin?"
"I… sympathize with Brenden Reed's ideology." Uhai hesitated before answering. "He was like a brother to me. He wants to help the weak, to break the overly proud... Discussing this philosophy with Brendan and his sons, training together, getting stronger together... For me, the Black Fang was the first place... that felt like home."
"Well, you seem nostalgic about it." Lyn muttered. "Wait a minute… 'felt'? Is that feeling gone?"
"The Black Fang has changed after that woman came." Uhai gritted his teeth. "And it's not just that woman that's pulling the strings from behind the curtains."
"You sound like you don't agree with the current Black Fang." Lucina interjected. "Why not help us then? We're a lot stronger than you might expect."
"That is a luxury I do not have." Uhai shook his head. "I must bring back the girl, or die in the attempt."
"And why is that?" Lucina asked.
"...I cannot say." Uhai shook his head. He dropped his bow and his quiver, and instead drew a sword. "If you do not stop me, I will take the girl from you."
"I see… Uhai of the Black Fang." a voice Uhai didn't recognize replied. "Gaius…"
An arrow flew at him from somewhere he couldn't see, striking him in the chest and knocking the nomad off his horse. The fact that he didn't resist seemed quite odd to Lucina.
As Uhai began to draw his last few breaths, he saw Lyn kneeling down next to him, with a look of pity on her face.
"Huh?" Lyn flinched when Uhai grabbed one of her hands.
"L-listen… a final gift from me… From here, go south. Turn… turn at the rotted tree. From there, head… west. There lies the path… to the Dragon's Gate."
Lyn didn't let go of Uhai's hand until the man died.
Meanwhile, the shepherds were assaulted from all sides by several men, mostly on horseback. However, their numbers were few and they clearly had extremely low morale. The result of the skirmish went exactly as expected.
"What was that about?" Hector asked, clearly confused.
"He must have been blackmailed." Robin explained as he stood over the dead Sacaen's body.
"Mhm." Lyn nodded in agreement. "He reminded me of General Eagler…"
"Well, do we trust him?" Hector asked skeptically. "It could be a trap for all we know…"
"He was a Sacaen." Lyn reminded him. "He would not lie. At least… I choose to believe him."
"We really don't have any other leads." Robin nodded. "Even if he leads us into a trap, it doesn't mean we'll instantly be defeated. It's better than wandering around in the woods with no idea where we're going anyways. We didn't bring too many supplies, so we should take every lead we find."
"Well, if you're so confident, I think we'll be fine." Eliwood shrugged. "Let's go then. To the Dragon's Gate!"
An hour or two later…
"All right… let's stop for a break." Robin motioned for everyone to rest.
"We're not continuing?" Hector asked, feeling quite puzzled. "I still feel full of energy, and this is much shorter than the marches we've done in the past. Let's continue while we still can; the life of Eliwood's father is still at stake!"
"I understand the hurry." Robin shook his head. "But since we know the enemy is in this forest, moving forward is not the same as our usual marches. We constantly have to keep our eyes and ears peeled for an ambush, which puts a lot of mental strain on all of us. If we charge ahead too quickly, we could rush into a trap while being completely exhausted."
"But-"
"I know we're in a rush, Hector. But you can think of it this way, if Eliwood's father is still alive after all this time, then he'll probably still be fine once we get there. On the other hand, if we all die before making it to the Dragon's Gate, then everything is pointless."
"He's right." Eliwood placed a hand on Hector's shoulder. "I'm worried about my father too… believe me. But we only have one chance at saving him, so we'd better get it right the first time."
"Gah…" Hector ran a hand through his hair as he sat down, clearly agitated.
"Honestly, he looks more worried about Marquess Pherae than Eliwood." Lyn chuckled to the side.
"He cares about his friend." Chrom nodded with his arms crossed. "It's admirable."
"Still, Eliwood is lucky." Lyn grumbled. "At least he still has parents to worry about…"
"Heh... you could say that again."
Lyn felt the conversation beginning to go down an unpleasant path. "...Did you… lose your parents as well?"
"Lose? No. ...Well, I guess. My father was a real tyrant. He waged a brutal war against our neighbor, Plegia, leaving both countries in ruin. And so when he kicked the bucket, nobody was too upset. He was hated by many, and I don't blame them for it. But, I… no, my sister was left with a broken realm to take care of."
"I...I see. Wait… Plegia… I've heard that name somewhere before..."
"Oh?" Chrom raised an eyebrow. "Maybe from Robin perhaps? That's the country he was originally from."
"Oh… that's right!" The pieces fell together in Lyn's head. 'Only, I had heard about it from Anna, and not Robin.'
"Well if we're gonna throw a pity party, then that guy might have it the worst out of all of us when it comes to parenting."
"Huh?"
"It's true." Chrom nodded. "He lost his mother at an early age, but the real issue was his father. He was raised with the sole purpose of serving as a sacrifice to their god. Just like a calf raised for slaughter."
"What?" Lyn was taken aback. "Who would do such a thing?"
"No half decent human, that's for sure." Chrom chuckled. "It's a good thing we found him when we did."
"I didn't know…"
"It's something that either Robin doesn't like talking about, or something he doesn't really care enough to talk about anymore. Regardless, that's all in the past now."
"Oh… uh, by the way, are you related to Lucina at all?" Lyn asked. "Are you maybe her older brother or something?"
"Eh?" Chrom chuckled nervously. "Is there a reason you're asking?"
"Well, I've noticed how you and her have the same shade of blue hair… and it's a rather unusual color. At least, I've never seen it very often."
"Hector has blue hair as well." Chrom pointed out.
"Yes, well it runs in the family, so I was thinking that perhaps it's something similar for you and her as well."
"I see… well, the simple answer is, yes, we are related."
"And the complicated one?"
"You… don't want to know."
"I think I do!" Lyn crossed her arms.
Chrom felt cold sweat forming on his back. Fortunately for him, he was saved by a nearby explosion.
"...What was that?" Lyn asked, turning towards the sound.
Chrom and Lyn ran towards the noise, and found an area on the ground blackened from some form of attack.
"What happened here?" Chrom asked.
"Nya ha! A lightning bolt fell out of the sky!" Henry giggled as he replied. "It's a good thing I didn't get hit."
"You DID get hit, you big moron!" Lissa sighed as she healed the Sorcerer. "Fortunately, not directly. But it's going to take some time to fully heal his arm."
"It tingles… I can barely feel a thing!"
"Yeah, genius, that's not a good sign!"
"You need to calm down, it's not even my dominant hand! I can still use magic."
"Do you have any idea what sort of attack that was?" Chrom asked Robin as he approached.
"I'm not sure… I didn't see it either."
"Please pardon the intrusion, but I believe that was caused by a Bolting tome, sir,"
"Hm?" Robin turned around. "Oh… er… Canas, was it? Bolting you say? Hm… I suppose it does fit the bill."
"What's Bolting?" Chrom asked.
"It's an extremely long range thunder spell." Robin replied, utilizing Grima's knowledge to formulate the answer. "I don't believe we've run into this particular spell yet."
"Is it dangerous then?" Chrom paled slightly.
"Well, if I may interject, while Bolting does possess the longest range of any magics that I am aware of, it's not a particularly powerful spell." Canas explained. "From what I understand, it is only slightly stronger than Elfire in terms of potency. In terms of raw strength, there are many Elder tomes that pack a bigger punch. Though, keep in mind, this knowledge is only from second hand experience."
"Canas is correct." Robin nodded. "What makes it dangerous is its range. A spellcaster can deal damage to someone they cannot even see with this spell. However, the accuracy is much more limited, which is it's only drawback."
"That, and its inherent rarity." Canas added helpfully. "Bolting is an extremely difficult and troublesome spell to manufacture. The small number of tomes that exist, if you can even call them tomes, are but a few pages long. Not even the Sorcery General of Etruria should have the funds to use it like a common thunder spell."
"Well that's good news at the very least." Robin smiled. 'I feel like Miriel would get along really well with someone like him… too bad she stayed in Ylisse this time around.'
"We won't need to withstand a constant bombardment of thunder magic then… still, the fact that we were attacked means the caster is somewhere nearby, in a broad sense of the term."
"Robin!" Overhead, Cordelia circled her pegasus around a few times before landing next to him. "There's some ruins on the other side of the mountains. It seems to be heavily guarded by armored troops."
"Well, there's no guarantee that's the source of the Bolting, but at the very least, it's a good direction to start in…" Robin mumbled. "Get everyone ready for battle. We don't have a caravan this time, so the arrangement will have to be a little different… Those that are carrying our gear will stay towards the back with the healers. We'll need to mostly rely on our more nimble fighters and magic casters to break through this time."
Hearing Robin's words, Lyn clenched her fist in anticipation.
As they inched forward, a wall of soldiers appeared out of the mist. They leveled their lances and advanced towards the shepherds, who ran forward to meet them.
In Combat...
"Hyaa!" Guy swung his Killing Edge at the Armored Knight. However, due to the heavy iron plating his opponent possessed, the Sacaen Myrmidon failed to even leave a scratch. He dodged out of the way before going back in for a second attempt, failing just like his first.
Guy parried his opponent's stab and knocked the lance aiming at his chest off course. However, this made him ill prepared for the follow up sweep of the lance. He was knocked off his feet and fell onto his back.
Guy closed his eyes and flinched, expecting the fatal blow to happen at any time. However, that attack never came.
After getting up, Guy found Lon'qu standing over the dead body of that very same Armored Knight.
"How'd you do it!?" Guy yelled in frustration as he pounded his fist onto the ground. "Your weapon doesn't seem much stronger than mine, so why is it that you killed someone I couldn't defeat?"
"Hm?" Lon'qu seemed to notice Guy lying on the ground for the first time. "Oh. It's you. Did you want to learn how to beat heavy armor?"
"Yes!" Guy pleaded. "Will you show me?"
"Then stay there." Lon'qu leveled his own Killing Edge. "And watch closely."
Guy observed Lon'qu as he ran towards another Armored Knight. He tried desperately to not blink, as he was afraid to miss whatever skill Lon'qu was about to show him.
However, that decisive blow never came. In fact, Lon'qu didn't seem to be striking the Knight at all with his sword. Sure, he danced around his opponent, but it was completely defensive seemingly without any attention to attack.
"Could it be… that knight is suppressing him?" Guy wondered to himself. "But… that's not right… he doesn't seem to be struggling to hold on…"
Guy puzzled over this enigma for a few more moments before a female voice snapped him out of his thought process.
"Lon'qu, coming your way!"
A lightning bolt flashed across the air before striking the Armored Knight in the helmet. The Feroxi swordsman, who had been given a heads up, deftly dodged out of the way as the attack struck.
The result spoke for itself; the Knight crumbled like a puppet with their strings cut, and didn't get back up.
"Did you see?" Lon'qu turned his head back.
"But… you didn't even defeat that knight!" Guy protested.
"I didn't." Lon'qu admitted. "But the end result is still the same. The enemy is dead, and we are all alive."
"That's great and all, but how is that supposed to help me grow stronger?"
"Part of being strong is knowing your limits." Lon'qu explained. "You and me, we're fast. But we're not strong, at least compared to the other soldiers. Our attacks are meaningless against enemies with heavy armor."
"So you're saying there's no way to overcome someone wearing armor?" Guy asked, feeling dejected. "We're just useless then?"
"Not useless." Lon'qu growled. "Even if we cannot score a kill, we can occupy their time. The mages cannot be everywhere at once. So our job is to buy time. If the knight is attacking us, they can't be attacking our allies."
"But…"
"Enough." Lon'qu patted the swordsman's shoulder. "I've already wasted enough time. Stop fighting like a lone wolf, and you'll realize how easy it is to deal with them."
With that, Lon'qu went off to find another target.
"OK… Guy, you can do this…" Guy took a deep breath as he leveled his own Killing Edge and sought out another one of the charging knights.
This time, he tried to imitate what Lon'qu had done, roughly. Instead of attacking, Guy stayed on the defensive. He dodged spear thrust after spear thrust, and danced around his opponent. Still, the fact that he was giving up every opening for attacks was a difficult pill for him to swallow. Nevertheless, Guy persisted, and vowed to hold onto the knight's attention.
"...Hey you… the one over there!" A voice from somewhere behind him called. Guy didn't react, as he tuned out his surroundings to focus on his own fight. "Oh… what's his name again? Nya ha, whatever. I guess I'll just have to aim extra~ carefully."
A purple cross of dark magic enveloped Guy's opponent, and the Knight's leaked out a scream of terror as dark magic ripped him apart from inside his suit of armor.
When the knight was dead for certain, Guy took a look at the palm of his hand.
'Though I wasn't the one to kill him, he didn't kill anyone either. Though I didn't score the final blow, he is dead because of my actions. How is it any different than if I had killed him with my own two hands?'
He didn't even know the identity of the mage that scored the kill. But it didn't matter. What mattered is that there are allies behind him, and all he had to do was wait. Wait and not die.
"This isn't so bad after all…" Guy chuckled to himself as he looked for another target.
Meanwhile…
"One more!" Lucina leapt out of the way as Anna fried an Armored Knight with her Levin Sword. She smashed the hilt of her sword into the back of another Knight's head.
Normally, the force of the blow would be enough to completely knock out or even outright kill her target. However, the thickness of the helmet made her attack far less effective, and only served to knock the soldier off balance. Fortunately, with a well timed kick, Lucina was able to knock the Knight onto the ground.
Climbing on top of the fallen knight, Lucina attempted to plunge her Falchion through the gap between their helmet and breastplate. Though her Falchion, which had not completed the Awakening process, wasn't as strong as her father's, it was still a sword strong enough to cut through the weak points in heavy armor.
The knight desperately grabbed onto the blade of her Falchion with both hands, but was ultimately unable to prevent the sword from piercing his neck.
Lucina let out a sigh of relief before getting up and pulling out her sword.
Things seemed to be going smoothly so far. Lyn, Hector and Eliwood were nearby, and between the three of them, they could easily handle any single Armored Knight. If nothing else, Hector's brute strength was enough to smash through the weaker parts of the armor, as long as he was being covered by the other two Elibean lords. Eliwood's rapier was also a menace to anyone that didn't have their vulnerable areas covered.
A short distance away, she could see Sully and Stahl defending their supplies with a few others. Although they did not have their horses with them, their combat strength wasn't too low as they've received adequate amounts of training in things other than riding. Still, Lucina could tell that they didn't seem as comfortable with the situation as they usually were.
'Now that I think about it, the Elibean knights seem to be struggling somewhat…' Besides the Paladin, Marcus and Oswin the Armored Knight, the others seemed to be constantly bogged down by the enemy.
It would seem that Robin noticed far earlier than she did, and allocated several of their mages towards supporting them. But they also didn't have unlimited resources, so if one area required more attention, that meant other areas received less.
"That bastard…" Lucina muttered under her breath. "He really doesn't care if I'm left out over here by myself, does he?"
She shifted her sword arm and charged towards another target. 'Still, perhaps it means he thinks highly of me… or maybe he's willing to put his trust in Anna…"
Regardless of which one it was, Lucina really didn't mind.
A blast of fire flew past her peripheral vision, nearly singing off Hector's eyebrows. Lucina suppressed a chuckle at the Ostian Lord's yelp of surprise.
"Mages." Anna warned, though it was probably unnecessary. "Directly in front of you. It seems they're using the trees for cover."
Lucina snuck a glance over at Lyn, and found that the Sacaen girl looked to be thinking the exact same thing as herself, eyes brimming with bestial hunger. It would seem that, like herself, Lyn began to find that playing a mere decoy was not enough satisfaction.
The greenette said a word or two to Eliwood and Hector before taking off, charging towards the line of mages. After only a slight delay, concentrated magic began flying out from their side, covering her with suppressing fire.
"So that's how it is…" Even without explicit instructions from Robin, Lucina could grasp his intentions at this point based on the actions he employed during combat. It would be difficult for him to give everyone orders one by one, especially after their traveling party grew, and especially since his workload increased. Lucina clicked her tongue before running in after Lyn. "Well, whatever. Let's see who can take the most kills."
Though there was a close call or two for Lyn, Lucina was able to advance smoothly without getting hit by a single spell. As soon as she closed in on the group of mages, Lucina whirled her sword, quickly slashing two hostiles to death. Although there were quite a few of them, Lucina was too close for any mage to mount an effective counterattack without running the risk of getting cleaved in half. Adding on the constant danger of being hit by the shepherd's offensive spells, there was little that the Black Fang mages could do to dig themselves out of their predicament.
Lucina cleared the field at what she thought was an extremely quick pace. After all, there weren't many mages that could stand up to more than one or two of her strikes, provided that they hit, of course.
Still, she found herself shocked when the last mage that she was about to attack suddenly found themselves disemboweled from behind, courtesy of Lyn's Mani Katti.
When she withdrew her sword and the mage crumpled to the ground, Lyn's gaze met Lucinas. For a split second, Lucina saw a look of confusion on the greenette's face, but was quickly replaced by a victorious glint in her eyes, and an almost smug-like grin.
The two of them nodded at each other in acknowledgement, before leaving in opposite directions to hunt for more mages.
'I guess Lyn's speed is truly astonishing…' Lucina thought to herself. After weaving through several trees, she could make out another group of mages nearby. Without a moment's hesitation, she leapt forward and cleaved an enemy magician in two. 'At this rate, Robin may start to depend on her more than me for these types of things…"
"Well, I guess I can't let him down then…" Lucina smirked as another enemy came within the reach of her sword arm.
Midway through slaughtering her second platoon of mages, Lucina began to feel that something wasn't right. Even though she should have a major advantage over them in close combat, things should not be going as easily as it was.
"Wait… when was the last time I saw one of them preparing to cast magic?" Lucina frowned as a mage slid off the end of her sword. "Did they just give up? ...And, now that I mention it, when was the last time I heard magic at all? Did something happen behind me?"
Feeling somewhat confused, Lucina tried to contact Robin through her connection with his Hekseer, only to find no response whatsoever. Lucina felt a chill run down her spine. Something couldn't have happened to him while she was immersed in slaughtering mages, right?
"...Lucina! Lucina?"
At this moment, Lyn's voice called out to her from somewhere nearby.
"Over here!" Lucina replied.
After a moment or two, the two swordswomen found each other and reunited.
"Hey… so you know the thing Robin uses to talk to us?" Lyn asked, pointing at her temple with an index finger. "Did it suddenly stop working?"
"What do you mean?" Lucina asked.
"Well, a few moments ago, Robin was telling me exactly where to go to find more enemies to kill, until his voice suddenly cut off in the middle of a sentence." Lyn explained. "I haven't heard anything from him since."
"That's strange…" Lucina furrowed her brows.
"So you don't know either, huh?" Lyn sighed. "I hope this doesn't mean something happened to him…"
"Me too… maybe the thing broke?"
"One thing's for sure, we're kind of separated from everyone else at the moment." Lyn looked around at their surroundings. "I think the best thing to do is to try and regroup with the others, what do you think?"
"Yeah, that's probably for the best." Lucina nodded in agreement. "Then maybe we can figure out what happened."
"I just hope we don't get even more lost…" Lyn chuckled nervously.
In the air…
Since it was difficult to see much from in the sky with all of the fog on the island anyways, it is difficult for Robin to give detailed instructions to the pegasus riders flying above. Therefore, they were given a certain degree of autonomy, and could fight as they see fit.
As the person who was objectively ranked the highest, and the only one who preferred to fight from a distance, Sumia was naturally the perfect candidate to lead them. Still what she could do was limited, as she didn't want to accidentally hit one of her allies with one of her spells.
In fact, even Cordelia struggled to keep up with the battle happening on the ground, and as a result, the four pegasi were stuck in a somewhat awkward position.
Florina, as the youngest and least experienced out of the four of them, were sent to survey the surrounding area.
Sumia sighed. There wasn't much for her to do other than throw an occasional wind spell to blow away some of the fog. Knowing how hard her friends were fighting made her even more uneasy.
"Chrom… you'll be OK, right?"
Just then, another one of the freak lightning bolts crashed down a short distance away from her. Sumia listened closely, and it would appear that no one was hit, much to her relief. However, since she couldn't actually see the location of the strike, there was no way to know for sure. After all, if someone were to get hit, there wouldn't be a cry for help or a scream of agony if the attack knocked them out or, even worse, killed them.
"Lady Sumiaaaaa!" Florina's urgent cry snapped her out of contemplation.
"Florina? What is it? What's wrong?"
"Another group of people appeared near the ruins!"
"Another? Reinforcements?"
"I'm not sure…" Florina admitted. "It's possible that we just didn't notice them before… But still, there's a man in a dark robe… I can't put my finger on it, but something about him really creeps me out…"
'Oh Robin, what have you done to freak this little girl out?' Sumia chuckled in her mind.
Suddenly, an eerie feeling that washed over her caused Sumia's smile to instantly disappear.
"What was that just now?" Sumia blinked a couple of times. She swore she saw something spread out across the island from the direction Florina had just flown from.
"What was what?" Florina asked, seeming to have a question mark floating above her head.
"You… didn't feel that just now?"
"Um… I don't know what you're talking about."
"Robin? Something's happened." Sumia tried to contact their tactician, but there was no response whatsoever. "Robin? Can you hear me?"
With no other information to go off of, Sumia pulled out a tome with a dreadful feeling. Her fears were proven true when she tried calling the spell, and received no response.
"A magic barrier?" Sumia muttered. "I've never heard of anything like this before…"
"Is...is something wrong?" Florina cautiously asked.
"Call Cordelia and Fiora." Sumia told the young pegasus knight. "We need to descend and find Robin."
"Descend!?" Florina gasped. "B-but… he told us we should always fly high enough to stay out of arrow range! There's no telling where a shot could come from!"
"Yes, but there's an emergency situation." Sumia patiently explained. "For whatever reason, our opponents have utilized some sort of spell that stops magic. We need to let Robin know as soon as possible, and in order to receive further instructions from him, the only way is to land, does that make sense?"
"Y-yes!" Florina nodded vigorously.
"Good. Now go find the other two, I'm going to look for Robin."
"Y-yes, of course!"
Nearby…
"Commander Aion! Your thunder magic is simply unrivaled!" A footsoldier showered praise upon his commanding officer.
"Haha! Bolting is quite formidable, isn't it?" The Sage in charge of eliminating Eliwood and his friends laughed heartily. "Still… too bad I cannot constantly cast it… I'll have to use it sparingly from now on."
The sage began channeling for another cast of Bolting. "But before I do, I need to send that whelp a message!"
Aion began to feel the completion of the spell, before it fizzled out all of a sudden.
"Wh-what!?" In desperation, Aion tried to use some other forms of magic other than Bolting. "I...I can't use any of my magic! Why is the magic seal here? I hadn't foreseen that this good for nothing… curses! "
"What do we do sir?"
"Send the reinforcements! I want all soldiers under my command mobilized! We can leave the defence of Dragon's Gate to the others." Aion commanded. "Our fighting strength is greatly diminished if we can't use magic."
"Right away sir!"
"Let's just hope this magic seal is as much of a nuisance for them as it is for us…" Aion sighed at his subordinate's retreating figure.
Rear of the Shepherd's formation…
"Damn, why are we always stuck here in the back?" Bartre complained, as he watched their bags with Vaike and a few others.
"That's what we get for being the most muscular." Frederick informed him. "Since we carry the bags, it's also our job to defend them."
"Heh, well if you put it like that…"
"Still, this is boring the hell out of me." Vaike grumbled.
"You can say that again!" Sully cracked her knuckles. "We should be over there, in the middle of the god damned fight!"
"Calm down, Sully. We don't even have the horses… it's not our moment this time." Stahl mumbled as he munched on some baked pastries. "And besides, this job isn't THAT bad. It has its perks at least, that's for sure."
"Give it here." Sully held out a hand towards her husband, and Stahl tossed her one of his baked goods. Sully begrudgingly began to chew on it, while still grumbling about getting assigned a less eventful role.
"I do not mind guarding the bags." Dorcas said simply as he sat down and had a drink of water. "Easier than fighting. That being said, I do not mind fighting either."
"Well, it looks like your wishes are getting granted." Frederick muttered. "There are enemy soldiers headed this way."
"Finally!" Sully got up and drew a short axe. "Let's get this party started."
"H-hold on… I'm almost done." Stahl hastily stuffed a few more snacks into his mouth before picking up his sword.
Dorcas sighed as he also got up and drew his hand axe. "Well, I guess break time's over…"
With Robin…
'The area's clear over here.' Robin heard Lyn tell him through the Hekseer.
'All right, there should be another group of mages just over the small hill to your left. If you climb over it, you should be able to get the drop on them.'
'Got it. How many of them are there, and do they have anything I should worry about?'
Robin smirked. In the past, Lyn wouldn't have cared about these sorts of details. But for whatever reason, she's been extra conscientious and vigilant in the past few battles. Perhaps this was a sign of personal growth.
'There are six of them in total. Four with standard fire tomes and one using thunder. There's one in particular that you have to watch out for, since they have a-'
Robin flinched, as he felt the Hekseer connection disappear. It wasn't due to Lyn's actions, since she wouldn't have been able to 'hang up' on him one sidedly. It was as if the Hekseer had stopped functioning altogether.
"Hey, what happened?" Henry had a rare frown on his face. "My magic stopped working."
"Same over here." Erk furrowed his brows.
"Not just you, dear. I think everyone's having the same issue." Maribelle shook her head. "Even the healing staves aren't responding at all."
"Do you have any idea what this might be?" Robin turned to Canas, since he was also a magic caster and the closest one here to a native of the area.
"Um… I have never heard or seen anything like this before." Canas admitted dumbfoundedly. "Honestly, I wasn't aware that something that can inhibit magic in such a wide area could exist."
"So I think we're guessing the same thing." Robin nodded. "This is troublesome…"
"What about Lyn and Lucina?" Lissa asked. "And the pegasus knights! Does this mean we can't communicate with them anymore?"
"I'm afraid so…" Robin responded gravely. "The worst case scenario is that our opponents knew of our communication methods ahead of time, and inferred that a magic seal would prevent us from using it… in that case this could be a trap used to set us up… they could be aiming for those of us separated from the rest of the group."
"Then you're saying they could be in danger!?"
"Keep yourselves safe." Robin told the rest of the magic casters nearby. "I need to personally deliver information to the other groups. Stay here, and wait for everyone to come to you."
"Nya ha! I never thought I'd see the day where I'd have to resort to this…" Henry giggled as he pulled out a dagger from within his robes.
"Fear not." Maribelle smirked. "Anyone who dares get too close will have a taste of my parasol-fu."
"This seal really is annoying…" Robin muttered to himself as he ran off. "I cannot even access the astral plane, so I'll have to borrow another weapon…"
Stopping next to a dead soldier, Robin picked up a lance that seemed to be in decent condition. Thanks to Grima's knowledge, he is able to wield a lance well enough as a temporary substitute.
'Where are we going?' Grima asked in his mind.
'Frederick's location.' Robin responded. 'If they group up with the mages and healers, they'll all be relatively safe.'
'Then?'
'I'm still working on it. By the way, have you had any previous experience dealing with this type of magic interference? Any information could help.'
'I've no clue.' Robin could visualise the figure of Grima shrugging when he replied. 'Never dealt with it before.'
'Damn, so Grima never encountered this before… this has got to be state of the art then, whatever it is…'
Frederick and the other people guarding their bags were understandably surprised when they saw Robin arrive, carrying a lance of all things. However, after a quick explanation, they seemed to understand the gravity of the situation, and immediately began to move. After a short while, Robin was able to reconvene with the magic casters, with a new group in tow.
Fortunately, by the time Robin got back, most of the others had already regrouped. Chrom and many of their frontline fighters realized something was wrong when they stopped experiencing both the onslaught of magical attacks from in front of them, and the supportive magic being slung from behind them. The Ylissean Exalt rightfully called for a retreat, and most of them didn't wander too far away from the group.
Sumia and the other pegasus knights also landed safely, and were tending to their mounts. They had nervous expressions on their faces, but at the very least, no one was shot by a wayward arrow on their way to the ground.
"So is everyone here then?" Robin asked.
"I have everyone from my group." Frederick reported.
"And mine as well." Chrom nodded.
"The mages never moved from this spot, so we're all here." Maribelle chimed in.
Just by a visual glance, Robin could tell all the pegasus knights were present.
"Um… we're missing Lucina… and Lyn for that matter." Anna reported sheepishly. "Lucina had some sort of weird battle fervor, and ran too far ahead. I… lost track of her in the woods, with the fog and all of that. Since my Levin sword also stopped working, I decided to retreat."
Robin looked at Anna's apprehensive expression and sighed. The redhead looked like a child that had done something wrong and knew she was about to be scolded.
"It's fine. Of course, Lucina and Lyn could be in danger right now, but they're both strong and extremely good at what they do." Robin assured Anna. "Still, it'd be best if we found them as soon as possible… take Gaius and Olivia with you… and Matthew, if you please. I think the four of you are probably the best we have in terms of moving through the forest efficiently and without drawing too much attention. Find the two of them, dead or alive, and bring them back."
"But hopefully alive." Hector chimed in.
"Yes. Hopefully alive."
"Hey." Sully called towards Anna. "You ain't going out there again without a damned weapon, are you?"
"Huh? Oh… I guess I probably should..."
"Take this one." Sully handed her a Silver Sword with the point facing the ground. "I can manage with some other weapons, but I'm guessing without that Levin Sword of yours, you can't really fight at all. Bring it back to me though, that's one of my favorite swords."
"Right." Anna nodded. "Thanks, Sully."
"So what's the plan now?" Chrom asked,
"I'm not sure." Robin admitted. "I… just don't have enough information."
"How about the ruins then?" Sumia offered. "Florina said she saw a weird group of people over there… perhaps if we defeat whoever is commanding their troops, this magic seal will disappear."
"That sounds like a sound argument." Robin admitted. "However, isn't it a little difficult to pull off? We'd have to fight our way there in the first place."
"I guess we'll have to advance at a snail's pace, since we can't do what we've been doing so far." Chrom grumbled. "Hm… I see the problem…"
"What if we flew you over there?" Cordelia suggested.
"What!?" Hector exclaimed. "That's crazy! We're just going to drop a few of us directly into enemy territory?"
"Hm…" Robin looked like he was contemplating the idea. "It does possess an extremely large amount of risk… however, it's not too unreasonable… since we can't use magic, it also seems our opponents can't use magic either."
"So you're saying whoever goes doesn't have to worry about being attacked by magic?" Chrom asked.
"Yes. That's correct."
"Wait… it'll be a piece of cake!" Hector grinned. "Just send me and Oswin to do the job. If they don't have magic, they can't stop us."
"Calm down Hector." Eliwood sighed. "Who's gonna fly you there?"
"It's true." Sumia nodded. "I'm afraid it'll be troublesome to fly someone… wearing such heavy armor… long distances. I'm afraid not even Cordelia is able to carry you."
"And I'm concerned they could remove this magic seal whenever they want." Robin added. "In that case, you'll really be stuck behind enemy lines. There's no escaping in that hunk of metal once the mages start opening fire on you. For that reason, we cannot consider sending you, Oswin, or even Frederick."
"But it sounds like you're still considering the plan?" Chrom asked.
"Right." Robin nodded. "It's probably the most efficient way to get to the Dragon's Gate, even if it carries some risk. After all, there is always risk just by standing on the battlefield. Chrom… you're probably the best candidate for this job…"
"I'm going." Chrom replied immediately. "I've told you before, even if it puts me in danger, I don't mind as long as it's a plan you've thought out."
"Thanks." Robin grinned. "Well, unfortunately, Lucina would be another really good candidate, and so would Lyn for that matter, but they're both not here. We have four pegasi, so the other three people will be Donnel… Lon'qu… and myself. I think this group would give us the best chance of victory, while at the same time being able to guarantee a successful retreat if needed."
"What should the rest of us do then?" Eliwood asked.
"Start making your way over to the ruins." Robin replied. "But do it slowly, and stay as a single unit. Gaius and the others should be fine, as long as they know the general location you're going in. And as long as we're successful, I can easily find them once my Hekseer starts working again. When Sumia and the other pegasus riders return, they should be able to lead you in the right direction."
"I see."
With a plan set in motion, everyone began preparations. The four people tasked with the search for Lyn and Lucina vanished into the forest, while the pegasus knights prepared to take off once again.
Chrom, naturally rode with Sumia, and Lon'qu rode with Cordelia, since it was the least awkward among the remaining three for him to pair up with. Since Florina was more familiar with Robin, she chose him instead of Donnel when given an option, which left Donnel with Fiora.
The eight of them quickly ascended into the air and flew towards the ruins around the mountains.
"So… what do you think?" Wil asked as the remaining group began to slowly march.
"It's… difficult to fight off horseback." Kent admitted. "Still, Lord Eliwood's knight seemed to be managing pretty well... What about you?"
"There's a girl with some crazy accuracy." Wil leaned in. "I couldn't believe it myself. She was able to shoot arrows through the slit in the helmets of those soldiers."
"Really?" Kent chuckled. "That's really impressive, actually."
"...Do you think lady Lyndis is safe?" Wil asked.
"I'm sure she'll be fine…" Kent furrowed his brows. "At least, I hope so…"
Somewhere nearby…
"These woods are so disorientating…" Lucina muttered as the two swordswomen trudged along.
"You can say that again." Lyn grumbled. "It's difficult to determine which way we're headed."
"No kidding… I feel like we've been walking around in circles…"
The two of them continued walking, trying in vain to find their allies. However, the dense forest and thick fog weren't doing them any favors. Although they didn't want to say it out loud, both of them had a sneaking suspicion that they were wandering further and further away from the rest of the group.
"Hopefully things are going well for everyone else…" Lyn sighed. "Honestly, I feel kind of strange not running into anyone after constantly being in combat. Hey, do you think-"
Lyn inadvertently let out a yelp as she felt herself being shoved by the bluenette.
"Hey! What's that about-" Lyn turned towards Lucina angrily, and was about to reproach the Ylissean princess when she realized there was another figure brandishing a dagger. With a chill, Lyn realized that had Lucina not knocked her away in time, the assassin's dagger would've slashed the nape of her neck.
Unfortunately, due to the irregular terrain caused by the writhing roots of all the trees, Lucina slipped and lost her footing afterwards, spraining her ankle. As a result, the bluenette let out a cry of pain when her foot landed and she fell to one knee.
"Out of the way." The assassin kicked Lucina in the chest, right between the collarbone, and knocked her onto her back. "I've no orders to eliminate you, so if you stay out of this, I won't have to kill you."
Lyn hastily drew her Mani Katti and assumed a battle stance.
The assassin drew a second dagger and charged.
Fortunately for Lyn, her opponent, having lost the element of surprise, was no match for her, especially considering the range advantage of her sword compared to a couple daggers. After she cut down the assailant, Lyn went over to check on Lucina.
"Hey… are you fine?"
"It… hurts." Lucina admitted, still lying on the ground. "I think I hit my head, but I don't feel dizzy or anything…"
"Can you still stand?" Lyn asked as she helped the bluenette to her feet. "Well, it looks like you're not bleeding, so that's a good sign I guess."
Lucina winced when she tried to take a step. "My ankle…"
"Here." Lyn allowed Lucina to wrap an arm around her shoulder. "Let's take it slowly. One step at a time. I know you probably don't want to move around, but we really should get as far away as we can. If there is one assassin, there might be others. We have to really try and find the others as soon as possible."
Lucina nodded in agreement.
The pair slowly made their way through the forest, with Lucina hobbling along, leaning against Lyn for support.
"Come to think of it, I wonder why that assassin was only after me?" Lyn whispered, breaking the silence. "He didn't even seem interested in you."
"I… don't know…" Lucina winced constantly as she responded. "Maybe… because they know… you? If they're… Elibean… they might… know who you are… but not… me."
"Maybe…" Lyn scowled. "You might be right. If they're from Laus, they would certainly know about me, but not you. He probably thought you were just an attendant of mine or something."
Lucina let out a chuckle at that.
The two of them stopped when they reached a small stream.
"Let's stop and rest for a bit." Lyn suggested as she helped Lucina sit down next to a large tree. "Afterwards, we can follow the water, so we won't get lost. You wait here… I'll go check to see if the water is drinkable. I'll still be within vision of you, so if anything happens, yell for me."
Lucina nodded numbly. She leaned back against the tree and closed her eyes. Since they were in the middle of combat earlier, she was beginning to feel the tiredness creep up on her. And even though the air was humid, the constant movement was starting to make her feel thirsty as well, so she was grateful for the break, and grateful for finding the stream.
After seeing how clear the water was, Lyn decided to take a drink. The water was tasteless, which was a comforting sign. After rehydrating, Lyn came back and helped Lucina over so she could get a drink as well.
"Slow down…" Lyn chuckled as Lucina took a massive gulp of water. Afterwards, the bluenette washed her face before drying off with the back of one hand.
"I'm really glad we found water." Lucina admitted. "But at the same time, I don't think we passed any streams on our way here? This is, in a roundabout way, a pretty bad sign…"
"Maybe, but at least we won't be able to get any more lost." Lyn shrugged. "It might take some time, but we'll find something soon… After all, there can't be much freshwater here, and the island is only so big..."
Lucina stared at Lyn for a moment.
"Is… is there something on my face?"
"You can leave me behind, you know?" Lucina reminded her. "You don't have to stay with me and try to curry favor. It'd be faster for you to go off on your own and bring help back."
"Excuse me?" Lyn's expression grew intense. "Is it wrong for me to stay with you and help? The reason why your ankle got hurt was because you saved me, y'know? And besides, it wouldn't look so good if I were to go back alone, would it? What if something happened to you while I was gone?"
"You… could just pretend we never ran into each other." Lucina suggested. "It wouldn't be that unlikely of a story. And even if something did happen, wouldn't it be a good thing for you?"
"Forget it." Lyn instantly shot that idea down. "If something were to happen to you, I'm guessing Robin would be extremely upset."
Chills went down the greenette's back as she recalled that night when Robin went berserk, and hugged her when he realized that she was OK.
"...And…" Lyn's voice became as quiet as a whisper. "I don't want to see him upset. Even if it's because of another woman."
"I see… how admirable." Though Lucina's tone had a hint of sarcasm to it, in reality, she could sense the sincerity of Lyn's words and applauded them internally.
"Even without bringing Robin into this, at the end of the day, you're still my comrade. I can't leave you behind, no matter what. So please don't suggest it again."
"All right, I get it, I apologize." Lucina chuckled.
"It's good that you understand." Lyn returned a smile as she got up and planted a stick into the ground. "Now c'mon, let's make our way downriver… if we reach a dead end, we can backtrack. This stick will help us indicate when we've passed the place we started. I'm sure we'll find something one way or another."
"Sure. Sounds good to me." Lucina held out her hand, and Lyn helped her get up. Together, the two of them began traveling again, one step at a time.
With Robin…
"We're almost there!" Robin heard Cordelia scream over the sound of the wind.
"This is good enough!" Robin yelled back. "Let's not fly too close, since they might have archers in hiding."
Florina immediately began to descend, an action which was quickly followed by the other three pegasi. The young Pegasus Knight blushed in embarrassment. Of the four of them, she should be ranked at the very bottom, but currently, the other three are following her movements just because she was carrying Robin. This put a lot of mental pressure on Florina.
After they reached the ground, Robin, Chrom, Lon'qu and Donnel dismounted, and the four pegasi took off once again.
"Stay safe!" Sumia called towards her husband as she ascended into the sky once again.
"Let's go." Robin nodded towards the others. "We should be as quick as possible. If the seal gets removed, the first order of business is to retreat. In other words, if you see magic, your first instinct should be to run away."
"Got it." Donnel nodded.
The four moved out, staying somewhat close in a loose formation, but far enough apart so that no more than a single person could be hit by basic spells at a time.
It would seem that the Black Fang guarding the ruins were unaware of their somewhat stealthy approach. This turned out to be rather convenient for the four shepherds, as the Armored Knights were unable to mount any resistance before they were upon them.
Unfortunately, only Chrom and Donnel possessed weapons capable of killing the Armored Knights, but Lon'qu and Robin were able to work together and bring them down as well, albeit at a slower pace. As long as Robin was able to pierce the helmet with a powerful strike of his lance, they weren't a huge problem at all.
After the four of them tore through the line of Armored Knights, they only had to run a short distance before running into Aion and his squad of mages. Contrary to the previous fight, the mages could offer no resistance whatsoever before they were cut down. Even Aion, who could normally be confident against Brenden Reed himself, couldn't do anything except wait for his death.
"Well that was certainly unexpected." Donnel wiped some sweat off his brow. "Hoo-wee! They ain't puttin' up no resistance!"
"Yeah… I guess they couldn't use magic either." Chrom surmised.
Robin nodded in agreement, before jerking his head backwards.
"What is it?" Chrom asked.
"The magic seal…" Robin murmured. "It disappeared…"
"What?" Chrom asked. "So this Sage was behind it then?"
Chrom kicked the dead body of Aion.
"Hard to say." Robin shrugged. "The timing certainly fits, but if so, then why didn't he fight back?"
Robin inspected Aion's collection of tomes. "He seems to be a rather capable mage… why didn't he remove the seal so he could cast magic?"
"Uh, maybe he can't?" Donnel suggested.
"Hmm… but if that's the case, is this magic seal a third party then? Or perhaps… if it truly is something never seen before in the magic world, maybe this Sage was used as some sort of experimentation on its implementation…"
"Well, we can ponder those things later." Chrom suggested. "The fact that the Sage couldn't fight back is lucky enough as is. Since you should be able to use magic now, why don't you contact the others. We can coordinate better and meet up."
"Yeah, I really should do that." Robin agreed.
"I'll leave it to you then." Chrom sighed as he sat down on a rock to take a break.
Nearby, Lon'qu and Donnel did the same.
Author's Notes:
This chapter is a little bit more off script, combining two chapters into one. I'm thinking something similar might happen for the next one as well, considering there's a hidden map that I don't really want to dedicate an entire chapter to, but also don't want to skip entirely.
Still, I think one of the most interesting mechanics in the fire emblem series is Kishuna and the magic seal. It was always funny to beat a boss that couldn't even fight back (and fam experience off of him).
A bit of a longer chapter this time, as I found myself rambling on with consecutive side perspectives. Happy new year everyone, and be sure to follow and like!