Before we begin, I want to thank everyone for the incredible reception the last chapter got. I think it was the most reviewed chapter this story has had yet, which was amazing to see. I appreciate you all so much for your feedback; if not for all of you I don't think this story would have lasted this long.
With that said, I hope you enjoy this update!
Chapter 33: The Veteran
I don't see Severa, Diana, or Lumír again before The Shepherds depart for Plegia. The most news I receive about them is a letter from Christoph assuring me that he will happily look after Lumír. Well, Lumír is a side note if anything; most of the letter is about a project he's been working on in regards to some new instruments he's building. Still, if he says he'll look after my son, I have little doubt he'll do so.
Reactions to Severa's sudden departure are varied, but all ultimately negative. Thankfully Cordelia and I are able to explain the situation to Chrom before breaking the news to the rest of the Shepherds. His support goes a long way towards smoothing things out, even as Robin pulls his hair out at the news that one of the Shepherd's best fighters has left us at such a critical point. It doesn't take long for the general reaction to shift from surprise to teasing remarks about my picking up more kids.
I can't wait for the rest of them to learn about all this time travel business and fall apart from the shock of it all. Even if I'm basically guaranteed to have the most kids of any of the Shepherds at this point, I'm reasonably sure I've handled the reveal better than most of them will… weird fainting spells notwithstanding.
For the time being though, it remains a secret, even if of those few Shepherds in the loop I'm easily the least reluctant to hide the truth. Both Cordelia and Chrom are ultimately very trusting people. They lack my appreciation for pragmatic use of dishonesty. I've convinced them to hold off until the war with Plegia is over though. Once it's over I doubt I'll be able to stop them from bringing the truth up, but until then it's not something any of us have to deal with.
Which means I have that much more time to spend worrying about my girls. If it wasn't for this stupid plan of mine I think worrying is all I would be doing.
Unfortunately I simply don't have that luxury. My letter idea seems to have already fallen apart, since It's been a few weeks with no response. Not sure what I expected. I gave my best guess on where to send the stupid thing, but getting a letter delivered there was no easy task, and I'm not even sure if the person I need to talk to would even be there when the letter arrived. Let alone whether the recipient would have any interest in responding. Well, it was a longshot anyways. I have plenty of backup ideas.
Of course on top of all the plans and backup plans I need to puzzle through, there's plenty of work I need to do on myself. The easiest way to make sure my plan succeeds is to make sure I'm on the front lines to enact it, after all. Unlike in game, the healers won't be anywhere near the site of the execution when the time comes; they'll be near the back with the main Feroxi army. So if I'm stuck guarding them again then the plan will be over before it starts.
Training properly is no easy task though, since the Shepherds have begun our march into Plegia. My schedule of training and study has become impossible to maintain. The few aspects of my daily efforts not disrupted by long days marching across desert sands have been disrupted by the work of setting up and taking down camps.
There's also been an adjustment period concerning my wardrobe. Most of my clothing from earth has been left behind in Gelida Dominus, being completely unsuitable for desert heat. Only my shirt remains safe for wearing, with the rest of my wardrobe now consisting of much lighter clothing, which keeps my skin covered while not making me overheat. Many of the other Shepherds are the same in that regard, having been forced to abandon much of their usual combat gear so that the heat won't prove fatal. And outfitting the Feroxi army for this trip was a logistical nightmare, judging by the stories Anna's told me.
Long story short, all this travelling is completely fucking up all my self-improvement goals. This isn't a surprise in any way, shape, or form, but it's still a goddamn nuisance I'd prefer not to deal with.
Thankfully, a certain secret weapon I've discovered allows me to keep my training up even in the disgustingly sweltering Plegia weather. Miriel's spell for staving off the cold weather has proven equally useful in staving off the heat. Since its aim is to hold the body at a healthy temperature by regulating the flow of thermal energy in the body, it means much of the Plegian heat isn't even allowed to get in. Though the side effect of using the spell for such a purpose is a bit alarming at first glance.
Whenever the heat gets to be too much and I activate the spell my body radiates heat like a damn oven, to the point that the air appears to warp around me like a mirage. When I first tested the spell Lissa thought I was about to literally ignite. A brief explanation to her and Miriel later and now everyone in the Shepherds is periodically flaring up as they come to those few of us who can cast the spell.
"Hey Chuckles, sorry to be a bother, but…"
I look behind me and see a very flushed looking Gaius trudging up to march next to me, rousing me from my musings. Case in point.
"No worries dude, let me just grab my spellbook." I nod, fishing it out of my bag and clapping a hand to his shoulder.
Gaius practically sags in relief as a rush of heat blows my hair back. "Oh man, that's the stuff. 'Preciate the helping hand there, Chuckles. Don't know why this is affecting me so badly."
"I remember reading somewhere that redheads have it way worse because they have naturally paler skin tones." I shrug. "Cordelia's been coming to see me a lot too, and I know Miriel's been using this trick like crazy since I realized it would work.
"Oh?" Gaius gives me a mischievous grin. "You know, now that I think about it Red has been coming to you pretty much exclusively for this treatment."
"Has she? I hadn't noticed." A blatant lie on my part. I'd figured it out by the third time she came to me. Hard not to notice when a woman that beautiful keeps looking to me for help. And only me. I keep having to remind myself that she's still fairly new to the group and doesn't really know the other Shepherds yet, save for Gaius and Sumia. After years spent alone I think I'm starting to read a bit too much into pretty innocuous things.
"Yeah right!" Gaius chuckles. "I've seen the way she keeps running over here. Guess you could say she's 'in heat,' huh?"
"Dude…" I frown at him disapprovingly.
"Okay yeah, that was kind of sleazy." Gaius grimaces. "That's my bad. I guess a part of me is still used to travelling with… well with shittier people. A few comments like that used to go a long way towards getting on their good side. And you did not want to be anywhere but on their good side. I picked up more than a few bad habits in those days… and some bad jokes too, I guess."
I'm still a little bit ticked off by the comment, but the joke was out of character enough for Gaius that I figure there's plenty of truth in his claim and decide to give him the benefit of the doubt. "Well you seem to be doing alright with the Shepherds now. I know Chrom seems to be getting along well with you. And Frederick and Maribelle aren't scowling as much these days."
"Blue's alright." Gaius nods in agreement. "A bit too caught up in himself, but not nearly as much as most nobles I've met. If we all live through this I'm thinking I'm going to take him out on the town when we get back to Ylisstol."
"That'd be good for him." I nod along. "Other than battles the only time I ever see him loosen up is with Sumia."
"Tell me about it." Gaius nods. "Anyways, I've gotta go. Robin wants me to scout ahead. One more cooldown for the road?"
"Sure thing." I place my hand on his shoulder and watch the air twist as the heat rushes off him. "Just remember to keep your hood up. I can stop you from getting heatstroke, but you'll still get sunburned if you stay exposed too long."
"Right, that 'radiation' thing you were telling Specs about." Gaius nods, "Still doesn't make a bit of sense to me, but I'll be careful!" He darts ahead to the front of the line, speaks briefly with Frederick, and darts away, completely unbothered by the difficult terrain the way most of us are. He should be gone until evening.
Travelling through Plegia with the Shepherds has been all in all very different from what the games showed. I can see all too easily how the war Chrom's fuckass of a dad waged failed so completely. Many of the greatest military strengths of Ylisse are completely removed from play by the climate alone. Travel by horse is impossible save for a few select roads running throughout the country, and anyone stupid enough to wear the heavy metal armor of an Ylissean knight in this heat would literally be cooked alive. In a Plegian desert the Ylissean army is reduced to lightly armored soldiers, mages, and Pegasus Knights. It's little wonder the majority of Gangrel's maneuvers until now have resulted in such devastation to the Pegasus Knights; he's been systematically destroying the part of the Ylissean military best suited to counterattacking him.
If we didn't have Regna Ferox assisting us then our cause would be completely and utterly hopeless. The majority of the Feroxi people have darker skin tones that leave them much better suited to the desert heat, and their fighting style barely suffers at all in this climate. They're certainly not comfortable here, being far more used to colder climate, but paradoxically they handle it far better than the Ylisseans.
Or rather, they did before I decided to start playing with magic again. Thank god I did too, for a while there I was getting almost as grouchy as Robin was last winter. I deal with heat about as well as he deals with cold. Casting the heat spell was really more of a desperation move than anything. I was probably a day or so away from collapsing of heatstroke myself.
Speaking of which… "Need another cooldown Cordelia?" I ask, spotting the redhead approaching from my right.
"I certainly wouldn't be opposed." Cordelia replies, giving me a grateful smile. "Though I'm actually here on Robin's behalf."
"Robin, huh?" I look over my shoulder to where the tactician is looking through one of his many notebooks. "What's he need?"
"He said he wanted to talk to you about a change in formation." She replies, sighing in relief as I cast the spell. "Thank you Ben, that feels wonderful."
"Any time." I grin. "Now let me just go see what Robin wants."
Robin nods to me as I approach, looking frustratingly unbothered by the desert heat. "Ah Ben, you certainly wasted no time."
"Cordelia said you needed to talk about changing my position." I shrug. "It sounded important enough that I figured I shouldn't wait."
"Yes, I suppose it could be." Robin nods. "Before I say anything else, let me just say I'm intending this as a precautionary measure more than anything else, so if you think there will be a problem I'm open to hearing you out."
"Okay…" I reply hesitantly, hearing the word precautionary and immediately thinking that he's about to ask me to play it safe on the back lines.
"Simply put, I've been reassessing our formation since so many of the Shepherds can't fight at their best right now." Robin explains, gesturing to the front. "If it's alright with you I'd like to ask that you switch places with Kellam."
"With Kellam?" I blink in surprise. "You want me on the vanguard?"
"Without his armor I worry about putting him so far forward." Robin nods. "I've seen the way Kellam normally fights, and I can't help but be concerned that he might have picked up some… bad habits."
"…Like ignoring attacks that would normally glance off his plate." I reply, understanding. "So you want me up front because I'm used to fighting with less protection."
"Exactly." Robin says. "I should also note that I'd like to have somebody on the front lines who can cast that heat spell, just in case. I never did find the time to learn it last winter, and didn't see the point afterwards, until now of course. The only other frontline fighter with magic training who currently has a spellbook is you."
"Makes sense. I'll do it." I nod eagerly.
"You're sure?" Robin asks, looking nervous. "I'd understand if you refused. I know you're still adjusting from what happened in Ferox."
"Positive." I grin. "Frankly, I've been trying to come up with a way to talk you into sending me to the front anyways."
"Have you now?" Robin asks dubiously.
"Damn right." I affirm, becoming serious. "Robin, you know better than anyone the work I've put into becoming more than just a damn benchwarmer around here. I train more than anyone else in the Shepherds, besides Sully and Frederick."
"I'm not really concerned with your physical capabilities at this point." Robin says, visibly fishing for a tactful way to touch on the same problem everyone else in the Shepherds has been dancing around for months. "I'm just… well, how do I put this?"
"I know what you're about to say. So don't. I get that you're looking out for me, and I appreciate it. I really do. But I need to face this." I cut him off. "If you keep me on the back lines forever I'll never be able to move past what happened to me. So if you think the front lines are where my skills are more useful, then that's where I'm going."
"As long as you're certain…" Robin mutters, still sounding concerned.
"I'm going to the front now, Robin. I'll send Kellam your way." I reply flippantly, jogging away before he can change his mind. That was too close. Looked for a second like he was going to talk himself out of it. Can't have that happen; this was exactly what I was looking for.
Front lines! Just like that, I have what I needed, and I barely needed to beg for it. Nothing better for a job like this one; the chaos of the battlefield will be essential if I'm going to slip away to enact my plan.
"Oi, Kellam!" I call out blindly, advancing to the front. "Robin wants to talk to you. Formation change!"
"I'll be right there!" He calls out from somewhere in front of me and to the right. Without all that armor I'm even worse at spotting him than usual. Put him in leathers and he could practically out-sneak Gaius.
"Ah, hello Ben." Frederick greets me as I start keeping pace with him. "Robin has finally decided to place you on the front lines, has he?"
"Yup." I nod. "I'm officially on the vanguard."
"Ha!" Vaike scoffs from Frederick's other side. "Just try not to slow us down. I don't need you getting your ass knocked out by the first Plegian we run into."
"I think I'll manage just fine." I roll my eyes. "Maybe you've forgotten, Teach, but I've got more scars than you do these days. I can take a hit."
"You wanna bet?" Vaike turns around at me, growling. When I tap my chest as a reminder his rebuttal visibly dies on his lips. "…Whatever. Just don't cause any problems."
"When you two are quite finished." Frederick interjects irritably. "We may have trouble. Gaius is returning early from his scouting trip."
I peer out in the direction Frederick's pointing, but it takes me a moment before I spot our scout. He's barely visible, a head bobbing in the air, with the heat of the desert obscuring everything closer to ground level. "…Doesn't look like he's rushing. That said, he's only been gone for a few hours."
Frederick nods. "At the pace he's moving, it seems safe to assume that he wasn't discovered. Still, no sense in taking chances." He snaps out a gesture for the rest of the Shepherds to halt. At another gesture Sumia hops into Arella's saddle, ready to take off at a moment's notice. The poor Pegasus looks ready to take off immediately, much preferring the cooler temperature of higher altitudes. Unfortunately the two stand out too much in the air to allow for anything more than low altitude flight outside of battle. Even now her primary task is to relay messages back to the Feroxi army, which can't keep the same pace as the Shepherds for obvious logistical reasons.
It takes several more minutes of waiting in anxious quiet before Gaius reaches us, reporting to Frederick directly. "Trouble up ahead." He calls out as he approaches, "Though I guess you all picked up on that already."
"The Plegian army?"
"Worse, Grimleal." He shudders as he gestures. "They're not waiting for us though. Looks like they're searching a village up ahead for somebody."
"Who are they looking for, exactly?" Frederick asks curiously.
"Some girl, from the sound of things." Gaius shrugs. "Not sure what they need her for though. Hell, didn't want to know. Whatever those crazy bastards want I'm perfectly happy having nothing to do with it."
"That would certainly be the most pragmatic way to approach the situation…" I reply. "But do you really think Chrom would be okay with that? Even if it makes the task to come more difficult he's not going to turn his back on a kid in trouble." Left unsaid by me is the fact that this girl has the potential to be well worth the investment.
"Seriously, why are we even talking about this?" Vaike snaps irritably. "Let's just go kill the bastards before they find that kid! No way in hell is The Vaike gonna let those Grimleal assholes do whatever they want!"
"I'm inclined to agree." Frederick nods. "Dangerous though it may be, I have little desire to simply allow the Grimleal to run rampant. Gaius has spotted Grimleal activity." He calls over my shoulder, and I turn to see Chrom and Robin have arrived at the front.
"We heard." Chrom nods. "You said they were chasing a girl, correct? We'll have to move quickly to ensure her safety.
"Hold on, before everyone gets all worked up here!" Gaius waves his arms to get everyone's attention. "If we're going to get involved with whatever these Grimleal are up to, can I suggest we not go in swords drawn and spells blazing?"
Chrom and Frederick look at each other dubiously, clearly not used to handling things in such a manner. "I assume you have a reason for saying as much?" Frederick asks, squinting at Gaius suspiciously.
"Maybe you've forgotten, but Grimleal aren't just a bunch of creepy bastards around here. They're sort of… the state religion. Somehow." Gaius says, gesturing vaguely. "If we pick a fight it could lead to trouble with the locals."
"A good point." Robin frowns. "Still from what I've read, the Grimleal religion doesn't have much of a following amongst the common people anymore. It mostly persists due to its deep rooted political power in Plegia."
"Mostly, but not completely." I point out, mentally going over the worst case scenarios. "We have no idea how the people in this specific part of Plegia may feel. And even if there's only one or two citizens who follow the Grimleal faith, if they get tangled up in everything it could cause a chain reaction. It's not likely, mind you, but still worth considering."
"All right then…" Chrom muses. "I assume if you're bringing this up, you have an alternative suggestion Gaius?"
"As a matter of fact, I do." Gaius nods. "Gonna be risky, but if we play our cards right, we should be able to get in, find the girl, and get out without anyone being the wiser."
Gaius' plan turns out to be very simple. A small group sent in to infiltrate the village while the other Shepherds hold position. Said small group sneaks in, tracks down the kid, and gets out.
If that plan sounds vague, that's because it is. It's very vague, and I'm honestly not sure how Gaius managed to talk the others into agreeing to it. I'm even less sure as to how he talked me into joining him on this infiltration team. Of the other two members of our group, Lon'qu looks every bit as confused as I feel. Vaike on the other hand insisted on joining himself, feeling too restless to just sit around and wait for us to do everything. Still that leaves the vast majority of the Shepherds having signed off on a plan that has little to no details, with most of the team not sure how.
I guess Gaius is just a very charismatic person. That or everyone in the Shepherds is a fucking sucker.
… Might be a bit of both, really.
"So I can't help but notice you never mentioned to the others how you plan to find this mysterious hidden girl." I say, pulling the hood of my cloak further up as we approach the outskirts of the village.
"It'll be fine!" Gaius waves a hand dismissively. "Trust me. I'm a thief, I know all about hiding."
"That does not inspire confidence." Lon'qu grumbles from beside me. "Is this really our best plan?"
"Define 'best'. It's the plan least likely to piss off the locals." I shrug.
"I imagine catching a group of foreign invaders would improve their mood, yes." Lon'qu sighs.
"Did you just crack a joke?" I look over at the swordsman curiously. "You're usually a lot more… stoic than this."
"I find the current company to be far more agreeable than what I am usually forced to tolerate." Lon'qu grumbles, looking uneasily over his shoulder, back the way we came. "There are far too many women in the Shepherds for me to relax."
"Ah, right. That phobia thing of yours." I muse. "You really should start working on that, you know. Speaking from experience, leaving such trauma be can lead to… problems."
"I am aware." Lon'qu nods. "Such problems have plagued me for years now. I have been unable to surpass this weakness on my own though."
I find myself suddenly recalling the first conversation I ever had with this guy. "Is this about that thing you said you lack way back when?"
"One of several things." Lon'qu turns and regards me. "I have come to realize my shortcomings are more extensive than I realized in my time as a Shepherd."
"Huh." I reply, rather eloquently if I do say so myself. "Well… I guess that's good then?"
"Is it?" Lon'qu asks, his usual grim silence giving way to an expression of open (if still rather grim) curiosity that looks out of place coming from him.
"Sure. It's like that saying goes: the first step is admitting you have a problem." I muse. "I mean, I'm pretty sure that's meant to be about addiction, but I think it still applies here. Gotta know what's wrong if you're going to make a proper effort at fixing things, right?"
"Sound reasoning." Lon'qu nods. "I will think more on this then. Later though. We're falling behind."
"Good call." I nod, quickening my pace to catch up with Gaius and Vaike, who are sneaking into a gap between two houses on the outskirts of the town.
"All done chatting?" Vaike sneers as I slide past him. "Sure you don't want to stand around in the open and talk some more? Maybe sing a few more of your dumb songs while you're at it?"
"What's the matter, feeling left out?" I reply in a low voice that barely hides the scorn I feel at the comment. "I could hold your hand if you like. I know you must get so lonely."
"Shut up, asshole." Vaike grumbles, running a hand absentmindedly over his sweating brow.
"You first." I sigh, pulling out my spellbook. "You need to cool your head. Literally." I slap a hand to his shoulder and wince as the heat flares off of him. Thought he was acting more irritable than usual. "Speak up next time, we can't have you passing out on us."
"Please. A little heat's nothing to the Vaike!" Vaike replies defensively, even as he shows visible relief at the more comfortable temperature.
"My mistake then." I roll my eyes at Gaius, who chuckles under his breath as he leads us forward.
"So, you do have an actual plan, right?" I ask Gaius quietly as we approach the road.
"Sure I have a plan!" Gaius grins good-naturedly. "It's simple, Chuckles. See, the thing about these Plegian towns you have to realize: they're the only chance most folks have for survival in these parts. Trying to get by in the desert between them is damn near impossible. And travel between them is difficult as hell too, often deadly."
"Yeah, that's rather obvious." I nod along. "Unless you have a proper supply line like we do, with the numbers to maintain it, just walking through the desert is going to lead to nothing but misery."
"Yeah, which means that right now the Grimleal essentially have this kid trapped." He leads us down the road along the edge of town, eyes darting about for any signs of Grimleal. "They won't be able to leave town on their own, since that'll get them killed as surely as the Grimleal probably will."
"Okay, so they need to find a good spot to hide and wait this out. Nothing we didn't know already."
"Or," Lon'qu interjects, "The girl could find some sort of transportation."
"Bingo." Gaius nods, pointing at the two of us. "With four of us we'll be able to cover our bases. Just need to find a good vantage point… hold up!"
We pause, listening in absolute silence for a moment. Then Gaius curses under his breath, shooing us hurriedly to the side of the road. We rush into another gap between houses, hiding behind some stacked barrels. The reason why reveals itself a minute or two later; a pair of Grimleal followers, travelling down the road in silence, features hidden entirely behind their dark cloaks. The purple eyes on their sleeves seem to glare at us as they pass our hiding spot. Thankfully their real eyes, hidden beneath their hoods, fail to as much as glance in our direction.
Another minute later and the cultists have passed us by, and Gaius elects to lead us between the houses instead of the road. "You notice those creeps have a pretty similar getup to that coat Robin is always wearing?" He asks uneasily after a minute or two of silent travel.
"I noticed." I reply with a shrug. "It's pretty obvious. Those eyes are kinda distinct."
"I guess so." Gaius frowns uncomfortably as he peers out into the next street. "Never really made the connection before now."
"Doesn't look as sinister when Robin's wearing it." Vaike nods.
"Don't think Robin's really capably of sinister, honestly." I chuckle in agreement.
"Robin should be told, if he doesn't know already." Lon'qu says. "He likely wages war against his homeland. That is not something he should be allowed to do blindly."
"I feel like him and Frederick would have pieced that together a while ago." I muse. "You're right though, we should definitely check with him when we get back. How much further, Gaius?"
"Looks like we're about a block away from the main road…" Gaius muses. "We need to make our way to the town square. I imagine that's where everybody's going to be right now."
"Where's that from here?" Vaike asks, looking down the street.
"Northeast." Lon'qu replies, gesturing. "Where those trees are. A town in the desert lives and dies by its water supply. They'll have built centered on that oasis."
"Yeah, let's keep our heads low though." Gaius nods. "I'll bet the closer we get to that part of town the more Grimleal we'll fi- shit, back!" He jumps back behind the house he was passing by and holds out an arm to stop us from stepping out. "Think I saw a hood pointed our way. Keep quiet."
The four of us wait in nervous silence for a while, but there's no further sound. After a few minutes have passed Gaius dares a glance around the corner. "Okay, looks like he's gone. Not sure if he moved on or is getting reinforcements. Let's not wait around to find out."
"Sounds like a plan." I nod in agreement. "Maybe we should hop the wall over there and use it for cover?"
Gaius mulls it over for less than a second. "No dice. Sorry Chuckles, but you and Muscles here don't really have the grace to clear a wall quietly enough for my liking."
"You saying we're clumsy?" Vaike asks indignantly.
"You're not clumsy, but you're not thieves either." Gaius shrugs. "If the Lone Swordsman here didn't have quiet as his default personality trait I probably wouldn't trust him to do it either."
"It's well within my skillset." Lon'qu snorts. "You aren't the only streetrat in this group."
"What he said!" Vaike agrees hotly. "I may be good at hitting things hard, but I had to steal for a living for years before I joined the Shepherds."
"No shit?" Gaius blinks, looking at the two in surprise. His gaze flickers to me. "You're not about to tell me you're used to robbing folks blind too, are you?"
"Sorry, pampered city boy through and through." I smirk. "That said, it's not like I don't know how to move quieter than most."
"You sure you can handle it?" Vaike asks, his expression torn between amusement and genuine concern.
"I'll be fine." I reply with confidence I don't entirely feel, not wanting to be outdone. "Here, just watch."
"Uhh Chuckles? Ben? Might want to stop and think about things before we just jump in like this." Gaius asks, looking suddenly panicked.
"I'm telling you, I got this." I say, checking around to make sure there aren't any hooded figures in the area. All clear. I run for the wall before the others can stop me.
I can already tell as I start moving that this isn't my brightest moment. Chalk it up to my deep-rooted self-esteem issues I guess. I'm not fond of the idea of being the weak link in this group. I may not have the background for sneaking around that these people do, but I do know a thing or two about sneaking around. When I grew up I had none of the bulk I do now, and often had to rely on being fast and agile instead. That lasted until I was about twenty years old and I hit my second growth spurt and my build suddenly went from scrawny to broad practically overnight…
Point is, I've got some knowledge of this stuff, but I'm not really built for it in the way I used to be. I am presently in the best shape of my life though, save for the occasional stiffness from scarring. So hopping a wall shouldn't be too much trouble for me. I hope.
And… it actually isn't a problem! I grab the top of the wall, leap, and vault myself cleanly over it. The landing is almost a mess, but I manage to use Frederick's training to fall into a proper roll that blunts the impact enough to stop me from crashing. It's not silent, but it's a hell of a long way from noisy.
I let out the breath I was holding and chuckle to myself in relief. A moment later Gaius lands next to me in absolute silence, an only slightly strained smile on his face. "Gotta hand it to you Chuckles, that wasn't too bad! I have a few notes, but I honestly expected a lot worse than that."
"Oh ye of little faith." I reply with a grin as Vaike climbs over the wall in near-silence. "Told you I could do it."
"Landing sounded pretty messy." Vaike critiques, "But at least them hooded bastards didn't notice it."
"If that's all you can find to say about it, then I guess I did a better job than I thought." I tease.
"Oh fuck off." Vaike sighs, rolling his eyes. "Let's just keep moving."
He walks past Gaius and I to the corner of the next house, peering around it. He blinks in confusion, reeling back, then comments in bewilderment, "Wait, what the-"
It's a complex gamut of emotions that flies across Vaike's face in a very short amount of time. Confusion, realization, alarm, surprise, fear, defiance, outrage, and finally hesitation, which is the expression he's still wearing as a blur of brown and red hits him. His face flickers between all of it in barely a second, but the way his face seems to flicker sticks out in sudden clarity.
Processing Vaike's fascinating degree of emotion is about all I have time for before Vaike is incapacitated. I've barely thought to get to my feet before I hear his arm wrenched from the socket with a loud pop. Vaike's eyes bug out, and he inhales sharply, before a blow blurs across his chin and he falls to the ground stunned, without even the time to cry out.
Gaius landed in a better position than I did, and is a hell of a lot faster than I am, so by the time I'm getting to my feet the thief is already throwing a knife. Our attacker wastes no time, bringing a buckler to block the blade with a noisy clang that makes everyone present wince. The attacker hurriedly drops the buckler aside as Gaius throws his second knife. Instead of blocking the knife, the attacker weathers the blow against a shoulder protected with thick leather. He winces in pain as it hits him, but there's little doubt the brunt of the damage was stopped by his armor.
A lightbulb goes off in my head as the man moves in on Gaius, and I make a sudden decision as I finally regain my footing. Instead of moving to back up Gaius, I hurl myself to the side, past him and towards the corner where Vaike was taken out. The man attacking us gives an alarmed cry as I move, and gives chase after hesitating for a split second.
I look around the corner and get the briefest glimpse of green and blonde hair. I start to inform Gaius that this guy's got the girl we're looking for. But he tackles me before I can finish, meaning all I manage to actually say is: "He's got the- GUORGH!"
Because holy shit, he does a thorough job of it. I'm caught in a full body tackle that hurts more than that time I fought Chungus at Kidnapper's Keep. It's not like this guy has anywhere near the kind of mass that oversized troglodyte did, but he definitely knows how to throw his weight around perfectly in a way that makes him hit like a man ten times his size.
Not surprising considering who we're dealing with: mercenary veteran Gregor. In the game he wasn't anything special, a fine physical unit, but with a role that could be better played by plenty of other characters in my experience. His backstory listed some absolutely crazy feats though, so a part of me has been curious for a while to see what he's made of in this world where Shepherds aren't held back by game mechanics. This is a guy who nearly beat Khan Basilio in single combat after all, if the stories are true.
Judging from how he decimated Vaike in five seconds, and the way his tackle makes me instantly want to curl up and die, I'd say he's made of pure fucking badass. Holy fucking shit I feel like he just cracked my ribs with that one! That was ridiculous, he barely even had momentum to put into that hit!
I hit the ground hard next to Vaike, and grab at my chest. My lungs heave for air, trying to push me to cough, and I barely manage to wheeze in enough oxygen to regain my bearings. It proves just enough that I have the presence of mind to get my arms up in a hasty guard, which crumples like tinfoil under the heavy punch Gregor follows up with. My right arm goes numb, and I lash out blindly with my left in the hopes I can drive him back before he can do worse than wind me. From the feel of things I manage to pop him pretty well in the nose. I finally get a moment to breathe as Gregor falls back with a grunt, and sit up just in time to see Gaius rush the guy.
Gaius is skilled with knives, but apparently Gregor has seen most of these tricks before. Gaius' opening is similar to the time he fought me the night he joined the Shepherds; a knife thrown at the face to drive the opponent back. I managed to swat the attack aside when he tried it on me, by no means an unimpressive feat if I do say so myself. Gregor puts me to shame by catching the blade out of the air and throwing it back in a single motion, pinning Gaius' cloak before he can start the erratic movements that he prefers in combat.
"Normally Gregor is not killing for free." Gregor mutters as he finally draws his sword. "But for sneaky kidnapper folks, may be making exception. Will be special deal for girlie."
Gaius frees himself too late. He has no time to react as the sword bears down on him. I've regained my footing, but I'm still dizzy from the brief but brutal beat-down Gregor just gave me. Neither of us can do anything to stop the experienced mercenary from tearing Gaius apart.
Luckily Lon'qu is faster than either of us. His sword clashes with Gregor's just before Gaius gets split down the middle. The two expert swordsmen trade what feels like a dozen blows in a few seconds before Lon'qu finds himself disarmed with Gregor's sword at his throat. And Gregor finally stops for the first time in this stupidly one-sided fight.
"Oi. Aren't you being Basilio's little swordling boy?"
Lon'qu blinks in shock, still stunned at his swift defeat, so it takes him a moment to finally respond. "You know me?"
Gregor frowns. "I am hearing much from Basilio about his new sword boy last time we are drinking. Why is Ferox sword being with Grimleal? Tell Gregor quickly."
"We're not Grimleal." I say hurriedly. "We're Ylissean! Or rather, allied with Ylisse. Have you heard of the Shepherds?"
Gregor turns to regard me suspiciously, and I notice with a brief swell of pride that my punch bloodied his nose. "Shepherds… Ah yes, Gregor remembers. Princeling boy's toy soldiers… Sword boy, is this being true? Tell Gregor, quickly."
"It's true." Lon'qu says gruffly. "We were travelling south to save the Exalt when we heard of Grimleal activity in the area. The four of us were sent to investigate."
Gregor squints down at Lon'qu, who meets his gaze evenly. Then turns to regard Gaius, myself, and Vaike each, as we wait in suspense.
The change in Gregor's demeanor is about as swift as his beat down of the four of us. He claps a hand to his head and moans in grief, sheathing his sword with his other hand. "Oi, Gregor was almost making with the huge mistake! That was being dangerous for new Ylissean friends."
"Tell me about it." Gaius mumbles shakily, slumping against the wall of the house. The rest of us finally take the chance to recover from that fight as well. I shake my arm out to get the blood flowing properly again, and watch as Lon'qu sets Vaike's shoulder back into place. He grits his teeth and hisses loudly as the bones visibly shift, but retains the presence of mind to keep from shouting. I can't help but be impressed.
As we're doing this Gregor claps his hands together, bowing his head in contrition. "Gregor is being very sorry for misunderstanding. Was not expecting to find new friends in such place. Grimleal folks hunting Gregor and girlie all over town. Gregor has been very tense today!"
"Understandable." I nod, helping a still dizzy Vaike up off the ground. "We're sorry for surprising you. If we'd known you were hiding here I wouldn't have been so hasty to jump the wall like that."
"Ah, so you are being one who lands like drunken bear!" Gregor chuckles. "Very noisy! Not good for sneaking."
"I like to think I was brought along for my sharp wit more than my sneaking, yes."
"It was mostly because I wanted somebody with that cooling spell along, actually." Gaius mutters with a grin, still leaned up against the wall.
"Go fuck yourself." I reply cordially.
"If we're all done here?" Lon'qu cuts in, voice urgent. "We need to move. Now. There's no way the Grimleal didn't hear that fight of ours, and we've been sitting here chatting without a care for too long. I'm not looking to experience their dark magic any time soon."
"Ah, swordling is being correct!" Gregor hisses. "Come, come! There is good house nearby for hiding. Nowi!" He moves next to me and calls to the girl with an urgent whisper. "We must make with the hiding again! Come meet Gregor's new friends so we can be going!"
"Aww, again?" Nowi sighs, running around the corner and making a big show of pouting so everyone can see her. "This sucks! Can I please just burn all those jerks now?"
"Oi! Gregor is telling you many times why this is bad idea!" Gregor grumbles, walking past our new companion to check over the wall.
"Yeah, yeah." Nowi rolls her eyes and sticks her tongue out at Gregor behind his back. Then, seeming to only just remember that she has an audience, whirls back around to the rest of us. "Hiya! I'm Nowi! Are you guys here to help me?"
"That's right!" Vaike says with a grin. "We heard the bad guys were trying to catch a girl here in town, and came here to save the day!"
"Wow! So you're all like, heroes or something? That's awesome!" Nowi gasps in awe, clapping her hands excitedly.
Vaike continues to show off, despite still being a little wobbly on his feet. A part of me is immediately annoyed by his showboating, until I remember that he doesn't know what Nowi is. The Grimleal are chasing her because she's an incredibly powerful Manakete; a thousand year old dragon in human skin. But to Vaike, this is just a kid in trouble. And while Vaike may often piss me off to no end, he's great with kids and knows it. This is just him doing his usual performance to help what he sees as a little girl feel better about the shit situation she's in.
And Nowi seems to be loving it. Probably because all evidence points to her having the maturity of the average child. A part of me wonders if this was the real reason he wanted to come along on this trip.
"Coast is being clear!" Gregor says, getting everyone's attention. "Let us make with the haste!"
"Are we seriously working with this guy now?" Gaius groans as I help him to his feet. "He damn near killed all four of us!"
"Lon'qu, he's a friend of Basilio's, yeah? You know anything about this guy?" I ask curiously.
"I might…" Lon'qu says hesitantly. "Basilio told me once that a man named Gregor once fought him for the position of Western Khan. He is certainly skilled enough to be that man."
"And can he be trusted?"
"I'd sooner trust him than the Grimleal."
"Fair point." I nod. "And thank fuck for that, because I don't like the idea of trying to fight him again. Even if we aren't being ambushed I don't like our chances."
"Me either." Gaius shudders. "Alright, consider me convinced. We'll make nice with the super-soldier."
"Keep workshopping those nicknames." I chuckle drily, watching as Vaike and Gregor help Nowi over the wall.
"Yeah, I'll come up with something better once I'm not fearing for my life."
"You guys wanna move it already?" Vaike snaps impatiently at us. "Thought we established already that this ain't the place to be chatting!"
"We're going already, don't get your panties in a twist." Gaius rolls his eyes at me, and we head for the wall.
Before we can take two steps Lon'qu stops us. "Quiet!" He says urgently, "Don't make a sound."
I take his advice immediately, freezing in place. Beside me Gaius does the same. And without footsteps or our voices to mask anything we hear what Lon'qu caught the slightest trace of.
Voices. From in front of the house we're hiding behind.
The three of us share a panicked look, and immediately spring into action. I can't jump that wall without drawing more attention, so I duck around the corner and flatten myself against the wall. Lon'qu follows suit, pausing only a moment to retrieve his sword from where Gregor sent it earlier. Gaius shows a better head for this sneaking thing than either of us, as one would expect, and quickly pulls his cloak from his shoulders to sweep it across the sand. Hardly the most convincing job, but it does a passable job of hiding our tracks. Across the wall I see Vaike ducking out of sight, gesturing frantically to Gregor and Nowi as he does so.
And as Gaius settles in next to Lon'qu and me, we wait. The voices grow louder bit by bit, though I still can't make out what they're saying.
A minute passes.
Then two.
The three of us are standing in the direct sunlight, and the heat is growing more stifling by the second. I eye the shadows along the wall enviously, but dare not move for them. The only cover from the sun available would leave me more exposed to these Grimleal were they to approach this side of the house.
After another minute they round the corner. I can tell only because their voices become so much clearer.
"-around the back maybe? It's not like they'll be running around on the main streets." A man's voice rings with sudden clarity. He sounds young, no older than Donnel judging by his voice.
"Makes sense… assuming you really heard anything to begin with." The second voice, an older woman, responds.
"I'm telling you, there were definitely weapons clashing over here!"
"So you've said. At least a dozen times. And I have yet to see or hear anything!"
"We know they have to be somewhere in town though! The watch saw them entering nearly half an hour ago!"
"You can go a lot of places in half an hour, Adam. That's why we pulled so many guards on this end! So the Ylissean bastards could get plenty far into town before we start tightening the damn net!"
"I know what I heard!" The voice replies petulantly, suddenly becoming all too clear as a hooded figure walks around the corner directly next to us.
My hand snaps to the hilt of my sword immediately, but Gaius grabs me by the wrist before I can draw. I look back at him and see him silently shaking his head. He holds a finger to his lips, a throwing knife hanging loosely from his hand. I look back to the Grimleal, and suddenly understand. Those damn hoods they wear have given the man tunnel vision. He hasn't spotted us yet.
We watch the man with silent tension, ready to explode into action at a moment's notice. He seems to be examining the corner where we had our fight with Gregor. The sand is still messy there, but thanks to Gaius' hasty cover job it's not particularly telling on its own. A thoughtful hum comes from beneath the hood. And slowly his head turns towards us, running along the wall. Gaius' hand raises, ready to put a knife into that hood the moment it turns our way…
The other voice huffs from around the corner. "Enough of this. I'm going back to my post."
"What!?" The hooded man whirls around in alarm… to his left. The three of us quietly sag in relief as he rushes back out of sight. "But what about-"
"Not another damn word, Adam!" The woman replies angrily. "I'm getting back into the shade before this heat kills me. You said you heard weapons clashing, but I haven't seen so much as a speck of blood since we came to investigate, let alone an actual body!"
Gaius' grip tightens on my wrist, and I look in confusion. He's staring at a spot on the ground, and when I turn to follow his gaze I see a bloody spot directly in the hooded man's footprint. It probably dripped there from Gregor's face. He stepped on it without noticing!
"Maybe they cleaned up after the fight was over?" The voice replies pleadingly, starting to fade away. "I'm sure they're around here somewhere!"
"Maybe they are, maybe they aren't! As far as I'm concerned, somebody else can deal with it. Let that asshole Chalard worry about springing his own damn trap!"
The voices become incomprehensible once again as the two Grimleal move to the front of the house. They leave far quicker than they arrived, their voices fading into silence. None of us dare move until we can't hear a trace of them anymore. Once we're sure they've left Gaius and I collapse in relief, gasping for breath we hadn't realized we were holding. Lon'qu remains standing next to us, but takes his hand from the hilt of his sword to steady himself against the wall.
"Holy shit, dude." I wheeze.
"Holy shit!" Gaius nods slowly in agreement, shoulders heaving.
"We need to be more careful from here out." Lon'qu mutters. "We should never have allowed the situation to get so dire."
"That was being close one, yes!" Gregor proclaims, head poking back over the wall. It would look almost comical if his expression wasn't so grim. "But we are not out of the dangerous spot yet. Should be making with the moving now!"
"Right…" I say, getting back to my feet. "Right. Let's go to that hiding spot of yours, Gregor."
Then maybe we can figure out just how fucked we are.
Looking at support conversations, it's made kinda clear that Gregor is not a man to be fucked with. His support conversations with Lon'qu make it clear that he's way beyond what most of the Shepherds have reached in combat power. He acts like a lighthearted goofball, but I could easily see him being the most powerful member of the Shepherds, at least at the point he joins them. You don't take on Basilio in a duel without being one of the biggest badasses around.
Next time I get to write a scene that I've been looking forward to for a long time. And for once, I'm not talking about inflicting emotional damage! It's going to be a fun one people, so look forward to it!
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