Chapter 12- Pax Adrestia, End.
Disclaimer: Apart from my OCs, I don't happen to own anything.
Next chapter: Claude investigates the fallout of murder.
Dorte winnied loudly when Byleth climbed aboard the majestic mount, her arms reaching around Ashe's waist as she did so.
"There there," Byleth tried to soothe the frightened warhorse, but even she gagged at the smell of smoke emanating from Ashe.
"Hurry Professor," Ashe whispered, his voice weak. "Ingrid…"
"What happened?" Byleth asked, snapping Dorte's reins hard as the horse hesitantly moved along the road, avoiding the downed wyvern that Ashe had brought with him.
"Magical assault," Hubert called from next to them, his own warhorse nervously stomping its feet against the dusty ground. "I see wounds that indicate arrows, but the majority of the damage indicates a surprise attack from a magical source."
Hubert's words gave Byleth pause as she watched the long road ahead of them, one side dark green with heavy fields of corn that spread as far as her eyes could see, and the other a parched forest that reminded her far too much of the one they had just escaped from. There were no other units around the road, and their cavalry would have difficulty moving through dense terrain regardless.
But that meant that there would only be the three of them riding to help against a foe they knew little of, and it felt like she was riding into a trap once more.
And yet at the same time, Byleth could not simply stand idly by as her students came to harm, especially when only Ashe had escaped the ambush, whereas Ingrid and Hapi had not. That meant they were in danger, and Byleth loathed the idea of leaving them to fend for themselves more than death itself.
So she pushed Dorte forward, doing her best to ignore the horse's nervous whinnying as they rode back along the hot, dusty road.
It was a difficult ride, but faster than before given that only Hubert rode with them, and even so a fair distance behind them, though paranoia ran through Byleth with every step forward until Ashe signalled for her to stop.
"Professor," Ashe called, pointing at something in the distance Byleth could not see. "I… I see a body."
Byleth slowed Dorte and dismounted, and she grimaced at the sight of another dead man, this one dressed in the violet livery of House Varley, his uniform dark with spilled blood and his lifeless face contorted in a scream that suggested his death had been equal parts drawn out and terrible.
Byleth stepped forward quickly and closed the man's eyes before she tore a long, battered sword from his hands.
"A blade for you," Byleth said to Ashe as she took a look around the body, shivering despite the summer heat. Something was very wrong, like a crushing weight had been placed on her shoulders.
They were somewhere fairly close to the Oghma Mountains which loomed far off into the distance, but the vast corn fields around them had no sign of any kind of soldiers, not friendly, nor hostile, and that made Byleth uneasy.
They had brought a small army to march against Varley territory, almost the entirety of Garreg Mach's garrison, and yet, the roadway was empty, as if nothing had passed it for weeks. There weren't even farmers or birds in sight, just endless rows of corn to one side and a dried, dying forest on the other.
"We stop here," Byleth said as Hubert, still struggling with his horse, stopped next to them. "We have a body. A Varley soldier. There may be more in the fields."
"Then we will search through them," Hubert said with a nod, moving to tie both his warhorse and Dorte to a thick, sturdy tree. "Lead the way, Professor."
"Professor," Ashe interjected, testing the blade in his hands as his eyes darted from side to side. "My memory is hazy… but I do believe the fields are where my attackers are hiding. We must be careful."
Byleth turned away from the two men and looked at the corn fields around her, feeling a sense of creeping paranoia run through her limbs. Immediately, she could see how the endless rows of green could hide an ambush from above, how the countless bushels of corn that towered over even Hubert would make a ground-based ambusher invisible from high above until it was too late. Even moving forward on the ground was difficult at best, and each stalk of corn, in battle would act as a single, thin tree, nullifying whatever magical assault Hubert could launch.
For a moment Byleth thought of setting the field ablaze, to drive out the enemy, but almost immediately she felt a sense of deep, burning shame that broke her will to act.
The thought of flickering fires rushing through the dry field brought her back to the nightmare that had been the siege of Fhirdiad, and the starving women and children that the siege left behind. She was forced to think of them, huddled in muddy tents in the Tailtean Plains, entirely reliant on the Empire's limited food supplies, and that meant that burning out the ambushers wasn't an option either, for the cost was too great.
"Professor," Hubert's voice cut into her thoughts. "What are your orders? Ashe is correct in that we must be careful, but we cannot stand idle if the enemy is close."
"How far are we from the front lines?" Byleth asked, watching the corn fields carefully, almost expecting a screaming assailant to burst through the stalks. "If we can, we should mobilize our reserves and find the enemy."
"Understandable," Hubert said. "But to move the anvil as the hammer falls would be foolish. Our forces are spread thin as it is."
"Ingrid and Hapi will be in danger," Byleth reminded Hubert. "And our cavalry will find it difficult to fight through the fields."
Hubert paused, his face hard and his eyes unreadable. "You believe there to be more than a single enemy force waiting in the fields?"
"We know there is at least one out there," Byleth said. "And we cannot work in tandem with the others."
"Professor," Hubert said. "May I dissent on your opinion?"
Byleth blinked in surprise at the words as her mind raced, trying to find a flaw within her theory, but finding none. Still, she nodded to Hubert to continue.
"It would be odd for a small enemy force to operate out of Varley territory," Hubert said. "To engage in hostile activities less than a day away from Garreg Mach would be unthinkable. Madness even."
Byleth frowned at the words. Hubert had a strong point. For any army to operate so close to Garreg Mach was suicidal. And yet the evidence suggested otherwise, given the slaughtered Varley staff.
"What do you believe is happening then?" Byleth asked.
"It is only logical that their forces are fleeing Varley territory," Hubert said. "And we have merely interrupted their evacuation."
"But Ingrid…" Ashe started, though his voice trailed off.
"The horse they killed tells us that they were in a hurry to flee," Hubert continued as he nodded to the corpse of the Varley soldier before them. "But they also sought to slaughter whatever witnesses they left behind."
"Varley's household," Byleth muttered. Already, she could see the scene playing out in her mind. The majority of The Verrat's army pulling back from the Imperial army while small bands of their rearguard cut down Varley's household. "So Ashe…"
"You think we ran into one of these… teams?" Ashe asked, his voice nervous. "A force out to slay witnesses?"
"Certainly," Hubert said, pausing before he continued. "Professor, if the enemy was delayed by Ashe and the others, I believe that they may have yet to catch their quarry. If we move quickly…"
"We could find surviving witnesses to what they were planning," Byleth finished. "Very good."
"Ashe," Hubert barked. "Take the lead, and if you see anything, let us know."
"I understand," Ashe said, brandishing his sword slowly as he stepped by the corpse, his head darting from side to side as he disappeared into the forest of pale green corn.
"Professor," Hubert said with a nod. "I will follow behind. If there is an attack from behind, they will not find us unprepared."
Byleth took care to avoid stepping on the dead Varley soldier, noting with some horror that his face looked even worse with his eyes closed, as if some sort of immortal monster had slaughtered him in his sleep. Instead, Byleth looked around the field, finding, much to her increasing discomfort, the field seemed to trap her, the stalks of pale green creating a maze that reduced her to shuffling awkwardly behind Ashe.
It was only when she looked up, beyond the reach of their green prison, that Byleth saw the beautiful, cloudless sky, only to be suddenly reminded by how Ashe had described the initial ambush. With not even a single cloud high above to cover their descent, Byleth could only imagine how vulnerable Ashe, Ingrid, and Hapi had been in the sky, watched by hostile eyes hidden in a sea of green. All it would take, she realized, was one strike for each of the three, coming from an army of phantoms hiding in a sea of green. It was a chilling thought, and Byleth stopped mid-step to check the cornfield around her for any signs of the enemy still watching them, but apart from a slight breeze that made the long rows of corn wave, she saw nothing moving.
"Professor?" Byleth heard Hubert's voice say. "Is something the matter?"
Byleth grimaced, suddenly realizing how far behind Ashe that Hubert saw the need to speak up.
"Nothing," Byleth replied, rapidly increasing her pace to move forward, but quickly finding that Ashe had disappeared deep into the field. "I… I might have lost Ashe."
"Unfortunate," Hubert said, his tone neutral despite his obvious disappointment. "It would be unwise to call for him, but we have little choice in the matter."
"Ashe?" Byleth called into the sky, her body tense as she wondered who else may have been listening in.
"Is something wrong, Professor?" Ashe appeared suddenly from the row of corn a significant distance away. "It looks like a dead end here. There's nothing to be found. We should head back to the main road."
Byleth was tempted to agree with Ashe. There were few signs that anyone else had moved through the corn field, and the dead soldier had seemed to be an outlier, possibly a member of a rearguard unit.
"I agree with Ashe," Hubert said finally, his voice neutral but still evidently disappointed. "The corn here appears to have not suffered any damage."
"Which means that there hasn't been anyone passing through then," Byleth said.
"Someone may have passed through, yes," Hubert replied. "But retreating through a cornfield with a hostile force in pursuit will result in crop damage, and we cannot see any."
Byleth nodded at Hubert's words and looked to the sky again, beyond the endless fields of corn that trapped them, watching as a single dark bird rose from a distant field.
"There," Byleth said, pointing to the dark speck rising into the sky. "We can search there."
"After the crow?" Ashe sounded skeptical, even confused. "Are you sure, Professor? Crows will eat anything and everything. To chase after one bird…"
"It does seem foolish," Byleth admitted, remembering what little she knew of birds. Yes, Ashe was right. He was the only one of them who had the lived authority to advise them on the subject.
And yet something within her, an instinct, one that urged her to keep going. To chase the crow in the distance.
"Professor?" Hubert's voice was cold, but it had a certain strength that made Byleth take pause. "What would cause a crow to land in that particular spot?"
Byleth frowned at the question, and she looked over to Ashe for an answer, noticing how his lips were now pressed into a thin line, almost a grimace.
"Ashe?" Byleth asked, trying to keep her voice neutral, at least in contrast to the harsh tone Hubert was using. "Do you have an answer?"
"Almost anything," Ashe admitted after a second, his eyes dark. "Loose grains, spilled food, and yes, carrion."
"All potentially signs of a struggle," Hubert said. "Of battle."
"And slaughter," Ashe added, his eyes hard now, his posture hostile. "Professor, I think it would be best if I head up alone. It will be dangerous, and if anything were to happen, we cannot afford to lose you."
"And what would you have us do?" Byleth asked.
Ashe paused, his fingers tapping on the hilt of his sword. "Stay in the fields behind me. I will ensure the area is secure. If the birds could lead us to something… I will send a signal."
"And if there is an enemy?" Hubert asked.
"Run back to your mounts," Ashe said with a shake of his head. "If there's a full group here, then… I'll do what I can."
Byleth clawed at her blade when she heard Ashe's tone, her lips drawn to a thin line as she considered ordering a retreat. They were alone in a dangerous area, and running blind, into potentially a kill team of The Verrat's men. All her training told her to fall back, to return with more soldiers, enough to fight the kill team on equal terms.
"We go on," she hissed through gritted teeth, suddenly remembering Hapi and Ingrid, and the mysterious sword the former carried. All of them were important, all of them were pieces the Adrestian Empire could not afford to lose, all of them former students Byleth would never abandon on the battlefield. "Ingrid and Hapi are still out there."
Ashe nodded slowly before he turned away, his sword drawn as Byleth took a careful step through dusty ground, following Ashe's measured steps and gesturing for Hubert to follow.
But despite her best efforts, Byleth felt like a clumsy novice following Ashe, who moved with such grace through the dusty, uneven field that he resembled a dancer more than a common thief, while Hubert was openly stumbling now, his knees covered in a fresh layer of sand-coloured dust.
"Professor," Ashe called from ahead, his voice hard but otherwise even. "It seems like we've found the rest of the rearguard. All dead."
Byleth let Hubert catch up before she moved next to Ashe, who now stood vigil over a scene of carnage, a scent she recognized all too well with only the slightest change of the wind.
They all stood upon what Byleth could only describe as a massacre, almost a dozen bodies sprawled out in as many metres, their faces contorted in silent screams, or what was left of them, since the carrion birds had gotten to the dead well before they did.
"Professor," Ashe's voice was cold, professional, in a way that Byleth had never seen from him before. Clearly, he was uncomfortable in some form, either through the slaughter or the continued risk of an ambush, given that he clutched a small hunter's bow so tight his knuckles were snow white. "Perhaps we could find some clues by looking around."
Byleth nodded at his suggestion, and she took in the scene before she noticed something strange, for one of the bodies was a significant distance away from the others, the fallen soldier's stance suggesting that he had been running when he was killed.
So she left the primary scene of the slaughter and moved on, kneeling next to the dead man, noticing that the man still clutched a long, kite-shaped shield in one hand and a long spear in the other, and unlike the other victims, the man had a clear cause of death in a snapped arrow that had punctured through his throat, unretrieved by the man's killers.
"Crossbow," Ashe's sudden voice explained from behind, startling Byleth. She hadn't heard him slip next to her, and his shadow hadn't crossed her field of vision. "The angle of entry suggests it was fired at very close range."
"The rest of them died quickly," Hubert called from the bloody scene at the crossroads. "Their weapons are still in their scabbards."
Byleth stood up, taking care to avoid the phantom that Ashe had suddenly become. He was on edge, and his steps had made almost no sound, even when she was trying to listen to them, and while she was relieved he was taking their security seriously, the intensity of his commitment to silence disturbed her.
But what disturbed Byleth more were the bodies that the birds had feasted on, and how each body had, apart from the gruesome wounds of the birds, suffered only a single fatal wound. It was as if each of the dozen men had been cut down seconds after each other, each by the same blade, as if they had been part of a carefully choreographed dance upon a stage, one performed by a master artist.
"Hubert," Byleth internally winced at how shaky her voice sounded. "What do you make out of… this?"
"Two identical blades, in the hands of a skilled user." Hubert said, pausing for a moment. "Used quickly, otherwise there would be footsteps of blood left behind."
Byleth glanced down at the dusty road and the large, undisturbed pools of dark blood that had all but dried. Indeed, had there been any resistance, the lone assailant would certainly have been forced to step into the lifeblood of an earlier victim, but she could not find a single mark suggesting it happened. That meant the attack had only taken a minute, likely less.
"As for the blades themselves," Hubert said finally, his voice low. "They would have to be short. The bodies fell too close to each other for a longer weapon to be effective."
Looking at the wounds of the dead, Byleth could see no flaw within Hubert's argument, though the mental image of the short blade had formed into something she never wanted to see again.
"Like Kronya's dagger?" Byleth asked out loud.
There was silence from both Hubert and Ashe until Byleth looked back up again.
"Like Athame, yes," Hubert said, nodding slowly. "But that is for another time. We should hurry, for our time grows short."
"Our odds are slim as is," Ashe said, his voice cold. "If we are correct, then this is the last of Varley's guards, and they have been dead for some time. That spells ill for Varley himself."
Hubert nodded at the information. "And that is why we must hurry. Perhaps if we are fast enough, the enemy will not have time to escape."
"Our cordon alone should be enough to stop them," Byleth said, raising her hand to stop Hubert's inevitable retort. "But we cannot be steady if they possess a skilled assassin."
"Correct," Hubert said. "Our archers will be ill-prepared to fight such a threat head on."
"Which is why we need to cover more ground," Byleth concluded, pausing for a moment to consider their options before she spoke again. "Ashe, head west. There is the most ground to cover there, and I trust you to stay concealed."
Ashe nodded. "And if I find anything-"
"Retreat," Byleth replied. "This assassin of theirs cannot be taken lightly."
"Professor," Hubert said a minute later, when the ghostly shape of Ashe disappeared into the cornfield to their left. "We will head east then?"
"The most likely direction Varley may have fled once his escort was killed." Byleth pointed out. "He may have hoped to find our forces moving along the main road."
"Doubtful," Hubert replied, his lips almost curved into a smile before falling back to his standard frown. "We did not encounter him at any point during our ride, did we?"
"No," Byleth shook her head. "We did not, but the kill team led by our… assassin is the only culprit capable of bringing down Ashe and the others."
"I cannot fault your logic," Hubert replied after a moment of silence, turning away to the cornfield to their northwest before he spoke. "Very well, one of us should cut through the fields, and the other along the main road."
"Your magic would be of limited use in a dense field," Byleth pointed out, heading over to the field that would eventually lead back to the main road to Garreg Mach. "Stay along the road, and I will go into the fields. If you find anything, shout."
"So as you command," Hubert replied with a nod and a bow before he headed down the road.
Byleth wasted no time heading into the field before her, but she was still careful. She doubted the enemy was still in the area, but paranoia had its advantages, particularly when she had seen the bloody handiwork of their foes.
So Byleth advanced slowly, taking careful, measured steps and constantly looking around the fields around her, ready to parry any blow that came.
But as she passed through the corn, finding that something before her had caused the stalks to thin, she came under no attack, no sudden flash of blades or roar of an arcane assault. Instead, her nose picked up the stench of something awful, and Byleth paused to say a prayer when she glimpsed what she was looking at.
When she emerged from the last row of corn, it only took Byleth a few short seconds to identify the contents of the clearing, and a few more to gag and force herself to look away.
She had found Hapi and the mount she had been flying, sprawled on her side away from her position, three sharp arrowheads jutting out from the back of her leather bodysuit, each tinted a dark red that had almost turned to rust.
Byleth gritted her teeth as she walked forward, battling the tiny spark of hope inside her that Hapi might have somehow survived the arrows that jutted from her back, but upon turning Hapi over, Byleth recoiled.
She had been wrong about the number of arrows Hapi had taken in her final moments. Instead of just the three arrows that had pierced her belly and run her clean through, two more arrows, one to her heart and the other lodged inside her throat, snuffed out what little hope Byleth had for finding her alive, her dead eyes wide, her lips parted in surprise, and perhaps most notably, the mysterious sword she had brought having been torn from its scabbard.
She said a small prayer again, the words feeling like acid in her mouth as she cradled Hapi's lifeless body, before she used her hand to shut the dead woman's eyes for the last time, and as she stood, she wrapped her coat around Hapi's waist, hoping to preserve the dignity of her fallen student.
It hurt to rise from the ruined field and look up to the ruthless sun above, Byleth thought as she turned her back to Hapi for the last time. In just two settings of the sun, both Hapi and Lorenz were dead, and with every moment the peace she had thought won at Fhirdiad felt more and more empty, as if the ending of Rhea's reign of terror had been but a meaningless token.
It was a bitter, hollow feeling that consumed her, one that gnawed at her will to keep going, and one that she could not fight back. Instead, Byleth focused her will around the silent promise she made to Edelgard, the night before the war had begun again, using the memory as a core of strength to hold back the despair that assailed her like crashing waves against an unmoving barrier.
But as a gust of chilling wind ran through her hair, Byleth heard the corn around her rustling, and she shivered as she looked around, her hands gripping her blade as she tried to discern the green fields around her from the certain death that an assassin would bring.
"Professor?" Ashe's voice came suddenly from behind her, and Byleth spun around, her heart jumping into her throat until she found Ashe's concerned face, less than a metre from her own.
"Ashe," Byleth gasped, taking a careful step to the side, putting distance between her and the unnaturally quiet man, gesturing to Hapi's broken body in the dirt. "Hapi…"
"I see," Ashe said, his voice quiet but cold, his face hardening for a second as he looked around the field. "I discovered Ingrid's mount toward our west, but she is… missing."
A tiny spark of hope, of warmth, rushed up within Byleth, but the spark was crushed the moment she tried to put her mind to it. Ingrid very well could have been taken alive, but at no point could Byleth see a reason for the enemy to keep her alive.
And the weight of her own crushed hope dragged Byleth even further into the hollow despair.
"What are your orders?" Ashe asked, his body tense even as he kept a respectful distance. "They should be heading south, and we should follow."
"Our cavalry forces are moving through the south," Byleth reminded Ashe. "They are the hammer to the anvil of our northern lines."
"Perhaps," Ashe said, his lips pressed into a frown. "But our cavalry will find it difficult to chase the enemy through a field, and even more so if they are to fight in one. And I assume we want to take the assassins alive, yes?"
Byleth had to concede that Ashe had a point, and she rose to her feet slowly, rising with Hapi's lifeless body. "Walk with me, Ashe. We should find Hubert before going further."
To her surprise, Ashe only nodded, and took point, cutting through the fields before them with a quiet, elegant grace, his steps light and his movements smooth, though he remained carefully close to her, never leaving her line of sight until he passed onto a road and disappeared behind a sea of corn.
Byleth passed through only a few seconds later, before she gently set Hapi onto the dusty road and took stock of their situation.
Ashe still stood a decent distance away, his stance guarded and the bow he took from the dead Varley soldiers in his hands, an arrow carefully nocked within, though he had not pulled the drawstring back to fire.
"Ashe," Byleth called out. "Is there anything you see?"
"I hear something," Ashe replied, pulling his drawstring back as he raised the bow, pointing it at something within the field before them. "Could be dangerous."
Byleth drew her sword too, but she also tried to isolate the sounds that came from the field before her. Slowly, she could make out the sounds of a pair of running feet, and a tiny scream, followed by the whoosh of an arrow.
"Ashe?" Byleth broke her concentration off in time to see Ashe sling his bow over his shoulder and draw his sword, his movements cold and deliberate as he advanced on the field.
"Who goes there?" A familiar, hostile voice called back.
"We found Hubert I see," Ashe muttered as he lowered his blade again, taking a small step back as Hubert emerged from the field, dragging behind him a small, terrified looking girl.
"A servant girl," Hubert said as he turned to face Byleth, pausing for a moment as his eyes fell onto Hapi and a grimace crossed his face. "I found her hiding in the fields, next to the bodies of Count Varley and his consort."
"Doesn't look like a servant girl to me," Ashe cut in, a frown on his face. "No servant could find cloth like that, or afford it, for that matter."
Byleth looked over to the girl, and to her surprise, found that Ashe was correct. Indeed, the girl wore a long, colourful dress, one that Byleth had never seen on a servant. It was not something that looked out of place had they been in Enbarr or Garreg Mach, but in a remote fiefdom, the dress was clearly different in some way.
"She may have stolen it from the Varley household," Hubert said. "They're dead, both of them. Looked like they were tortured before being killed."
"What else have you found?" Byleth asked Hubert.
"Little else," Hubert said, shaking his head. "There's little left to be found... except for her."
"Evidently they were sloppy," Byleth pointed out, looking at the woman before them. "What is your name?"
"I-" the woman started. "Irina, but I'm not one of them…"
Byleth frowned at the explanation as Hubert cleared his throat. "You are not of Varley's household, yet you were fleeing alongside them. Why?"
The woman licked her lips slowly, her eyes darting around, as if looking for an escape.
"Tell us what you are doing," Ashe growled, raising his bow, an arrow already pointed at the nervous woman. "Or I will shoot you dead."
"Ashe," Byleth warned the silver haired man. "Lower your bow."
"We cannot be too cautious," Ashe replied, his body tense. "Now, Irina, speak."
"You," the woman hissed, her face turning to a mask of rage and a hiss escaping her lips. "You would not want to fight my superiors. They will kill you."
There was silence for a moment until Byleth saw Hubert move. Before she could even react, Hubert swept the legs of the small woman out with a powerful kick, his foot landing heavily on the throat of their suddenly defiant captive.
"You will tell us what you know," Hubert growled, his foot pressing harder into the captive woman's throat as she clawed furiously at his leg. "Or we will make you."
"I will shoot if you try to run," Ashe added. "And I won't miss."
Byleth watched silently as Hubert took his foot off the woman's throat, and she looked away when he kicked her hard, though she could not mistake the sound of his foot connecting with the woman's body and the cry of pain that emanated.
"How many of your employer's men are here?"
"None," Byleth heard the woman gasp. "They're gone."
"And why are you still here?" Byleth turned back to the woman, settling into a crouch, taking a careful look at their prisoner. "Surely you would have escaped with them."
"They're not going to the same place as I am," the woman spluttered. "I- I was supposed to go back to Enbarr."
Byleth frowned at the information and looked up at Hubert, his face blank, but his eyes expressing no shortage of concern.
"And where were they supposed to go?" Ashe asked.
"They're long gone now," the woman spluttered. "Up into the Oghma Mountains."
"Who leads them?" Byleth continued her questioning. "How many of them are there?"
"I don't know!" The answer came in a panicked burst. "They left me behind!"
Byleth grimaced when Hubert's next kick sent a cloud of dust and grit into her teeth, and she spat out the foul taste into the field next to her.
"You must have seen something," Hubert said. "Who was it with the knives?"
"I didn't see her face! But they were all heading north when I last saw them!"
"Her?" Byleth shared a glance with Ashe. "Did you see anything?"
"I-" Ashe started, shaking his head angrily. "I must have hit my head. I don't recall."
"What can you tell me about this woman?" Hubert growled. "Apart from the knives?"
"Professor?" Ashe spoke up. "We have company."
Byleth looked up in time to see Yuri behind Ashe, his face hard as he walked by Byleth, and falling to his knees next to Hapi's body, his hands trembling as they touched her lifeless face.
"Yuri?" Byleth asked after a moment of silence, the prisoner forgotten. "Is there something-"
"Our blockade to the north was destroyed," Yuri said, never turning away from Hapi, not even moving a muscle. "The soldiers there are dead, and we suspect they're marching through the Oghma Mountains."
Byleth nodded at the news as her mind found an answer. "If we can confirm this is their main force, then we can cut them off before they reach the other side of the mountains, but only if we can deploy through Garreg Mach quickly."
That plan is not feasible at the moment, Professor," Yuri said quietly. "Something has happened with Garreg Mach."
"What's going on?" Byleth asked, suddenly concerned at how Yuri's voice changed.
"Our information is limited at the moment," Yuri said, rising from Hapi's body as he spoke. "Reports are fragmented, but the town is being evacuated."
"Why?" Byleth asked.
"There have been a number of explosions witnessed around the Officer's Academy," Yuri explained. "We have limited information as it is, but it may very well be that the situation is under control."
"Professor," Hubert said, his voice hard. "I do not trust these reports. It seems like an attempt by The Verrat to distract our attention while we have the opportunity to strike a serious blow against them. We risk losing their entire task force if we cannot move swiftly into pursuit."
"Ashe?" Byleth asked, turning to the silver-haired man. "What are your thoughts on this?"
Ashe paused for a moment, his eyes downcast. "I cannot say for certain. Hubert is right that this report has questionable timing, but if something really did happen at Garreg Mach, we would need to be there to stop it."
"Professor," Yuri said softly. "Whatever your command is, we will follow."
AN: Chapter complete at 4am! Poll time!
Note that the poll, while it would change some elements to how the story plays out, will not result in a different end to the plot. See my page for details.
