Dinner confirmed that Robin had no oppositions to their plans—but Lucina assumed that word had already been sent out, since Chrom had ample time to confirm beforehand. The next day, Lucina, Morgan, and Owain were heading to the Shepherds' old garrison, which was the Mini Shepherds' usual gathering spot since most of them lived west or north of Ylisstol. Owain would, occasionally, attempt to go ahead or behind the royal siblings; but so long as Lucina reminded him that he was their guard until they met with the closest Shepherd, he wouldn't actually act on it.

Cynthia, Kjelle, and Brady lived the closest, whereas Laurent moved around with his mother in accordance with what she was studying at the time. Kjelle still tended to be the last Mini Shepherd they met up with, however, as Sully's family was in charge of maintaining the garrison. After they all came together, Lucina provided a more detailed explanation of their mission, and they were off to Regna Ferox.

The winter chill of Ferox wasn't necessarily welcome by the Mini Shepherds, it seemed. They hadn't even crossed the border when Cynthia said, "W-why d-d-did you th-think thi-i-is w-was a g-g-g-good i-i-idea?"

"We're not even in Regna Ferox yet," Lucina pointed out simply. "I assure you, it will get much colder. It may be best if you went back now if you're having a hard time staying warm; we have extra coats but not much else. There's no reason to stay here if it's harming you."

"I d-d-don't w-want to ju-u-ust l-l-leave y-you guys," Cynthia replied, beginning to rub her arms for the sense of extra warmth. "I'll b-be f-f-fine once w-we g-g-get a f-f-fire g-going."

Lucina would be lying if she said she wasn't a bit worried, but she knew that they would be reaching their meeting point with Basilio soon. She had adjusted to the role of leader quite well, which included the good and bad things most leaders possessed. Lucina always had a commanding presence, and after becoming the leader of the Mini Shepherds she had grown to be more concerned when one of the people in her command had any kind of issue. In the several months that the Mini Shepherds had operated, she had offered or threatened them all at least once to return home for their own sakes. People would look at her and think she naturally took after Chrom, when in truth it's taken this long to develop such thinking.

It was dark and snowing by the time they met Basilio, who had agreed to take them to Arena Ferox. Outside of missions, Lucina was the only one who had ever gone this far into Ferox—even though she had been accompanying Chrom when he would visit the khans for official matters, they still had someone to guide them. The area wasn't quite like Ylisse, after all, and it was therefor foreign to the Ylissean group. They stayed relatively close to the wall that separated Regna Ferox from the bordering countries, but as expected the group was never silent. Basilio always had a story to tell—whether it was about his own 'daring' exploits or something about Chrom or Robin that even Lissa wouldn't share with ample persuasion—and all of the Mini Shepherds were eager to hear them.

The group had settled into a place to camp for the night, nearing the end of their third day in Regna Ferox. Basilio, quick to fill in the silence whenever it fell, at some point chuckled and said, "Cold enough for you Ylisseans?"

"I-I was f-f-freezing earlier," Cynthia admitted. "B-but the f-f-fire's nice…"

"Your parents had to fight in this weather," Basilio pointed out. "Everyone was from Ylisse or Valm at that point. You know the tale of their battle at the Longfort, Lucina?"

Lucina nodded. "Sumia rescued my father from the archers, if I remember correctly. They fought Raimi, a knight of Ferox, and after the victory they were escorted to Arena Ferox by the same person."

"Oh! I remember that story!" Cynthia declared, now happily situated very close to the fire. She seemed to have warmed up in the few moments she was silent. "Mother swooped down and saved Chrom! Then at some point when they were at Arena Ferox she accidentally punched him!"

"Ah, yes; the punch!" Basilio said with a laugh. "Flavia was talking for days about it. That was around the time I was taken off the throne of the ruling khan and Flavia's been sitting smugly on it ever since!"

They continued talking about something else for a while afterwards, and as per usual Morgan was the first to bid goodnight. His departure led to the more reasonable people—being Laurent, Kjelle, and Cynthia—to head off to their tents shortly after, while Brady and Owain stayed up for a little longer. Lucina didn't go to her own tent until everyone else had left, arranging with Basilio to alternate who stayed up to keep watch.

The night passed uneventfully and the morning came without issue. The group set out yet again once everyone had eaten some form of breakfast, and they still maintained conversation. Lucina found it fortunate that such loudness never attracted any brigands; although given that the loudest voice came from Owain as he spouted fantasy, most people probably decided it best to avoid them. It suited her well enough, as the less opportunities she had to use her sword, the better.