I'm cutting it too close with these releases. I only wrote this one on Wednesday. Gotta stop getting distracted.
Anyhow, this one's mostly filler, but it's necessary.
Chapter 61 – Keystone (Red Wolf Moon)
"I must say I am impressed," said Sothis as Byleth and the students finished patching themselves up from their battle with the Golems. "You managed to overcome these guardians without using my power once. But perhaps it is more appropriate to congratulate your friends, especially that merchant. She is an uncanny one."
Byleth looked at Anna as Sothis said this. The redhead merchant was still moping over her broken Levin Sword. Byleth made a small frown of exasperation at this, and then turned to look at the others. Despite how deadly the battle had been, no one had been too severely injured. Ingrid had taken the worst of it, but she was now conscious again and had been bandaged up by Mercedes. Leonie also had her arm in a sling for the moment, having popped it back into place before letting anyone heal her. Byleth had to admire the Sauin girl's grit.
"Everybody good?" asked Hapi. "Okay, good. Let's see about where this thingy goes."
Hapi raised up the keystone she held as she spoke.
"Probably goes into one of those statues," said Claude. "Only question is, which one?"
"We should take a close look at each of them," said Dedue.
"Agreed," said Hubert, who had just finished having his leg healed by Linhardt. "Surely there must be a clue so we can determine which one is correct."
The students made their way to the statues to inspect them. The five statues stood on a flat stone podium, and each had four different Crests etched into them, but otherwise looked identical.
"Uh, don't suppose there's anything written down here anywhere?" asked Dorothea.
"Nothing besides these Crest etchings," said Ashe as he took hold of the keystone. "A lot of them are familiar, though."
"Great, so which one do we pick?" Caspar asked in annoyance. He then growled and said, "I'm no good at puzzles like this."
"The Crests etched onto these statues must be the key," said Edelgard. "Perhaps some combination of them is the answer?"
"Yeah, that makes sense," said Ashe. "Look at this one." As he pointed at the middle statue, he added, "It's got the Crests of the Four Saints on it. That's got to be it!"
"Makes sense to me," said Annette.
"Who else but they could've set up something like this?" said Hilda.
Ashe then walked over to the middle statue and placed the keystone into it, and then he stepped back. For a moment, nothing happened.
But then, to the alarm of the students, several small holes began opening in the podium and began venting out a violet gas, which immediately began to choke the students.
Byleth didn't wait for the poison to reach her before time froze.
"Looks like I spoke too soon," said Sothis. "You had best come up with a good reason not to pick that one, my friend."
The gas swirled back into the small holes as the students choked in reverse. The holes sealed up while Ashe stepped back toward the statue and took out the keystone. He moved backwards to where he had been before his ill-fated choice.
Time resumed just as Hilda had finished speaking about the Four Saints.
Ashe took a step toward the statue, but stopped as Byleth then said, "Wait a second, Ashe."
"Professor?"
Everyone turned to Byleth at this time.
"That one has to be a trap."
"How can you be sure?" asked Dorothea.
"It's far too obvious."
"What kind of answer is that?" said Leonie.
Byleth hesitated to answer Leonie. She had to be sure not to give any hint of her power to them, and she had to ensure the students didn't pick a wrong one. She needed time before she could use the Divine Pulse again.
"If you think about it, the Professor may be right," said Linhardt. "I don't believe this was made by the Four Saints, after all."
Byleth did not show her relief at Linhardt saving her an explanation.
"Well, how about this one?" asked Marianne as she pointed at the fourth statue. "It has the Crest of Seiros on it, and so did those guardians."
"I dunno, I'm getting the same sort of 'too obvious' vibe from it," said Anna.
Edelgard, Dorothea, Claude, and a few of the others nodded in agreement to this. They then spent the next half-minute pondering which of the statues could be the correct one.
Dorothea looked at the second statue. The Crests that were etched upon it were completely unfamiliar to her. They weren't of the Saints or Ten Heroes.
She then remembered what Aelfric had told them about the legend.
"Hey, what about this one?" Dorothea asked as she pointed at the second statue.
"I don't recognize any of those Crests," said Lysithea.
"Yeah, why that one, Dorothea?" asked Ingrid.
"Remember what Aelfric told us? He said something about the Chalice of Beginnings being used in some ritual by Saint Seiros and four… what was the word again?"
"Apostles?" asked Linhardt.
"Yes, that was it! Well, what if these four Crests belonged to them?"
"How are you so certain that these Four Apostles even had Crests?" asked Lorenz.
"I'm… not. But the other statues all have recognizable Crests on them, while this one doesn't. And Aelfric said these Four Apostles were the ones who sealed this place."
"She's got a good point," said Yuri.
"Well, Professor?" asked Edelgard. "What do you think?"
Byleth was hesitant to approve of Dorothea's choice. It made sense, but she didn't want to take an unnecessary risk while the Divine Pulse was still unavailable to her.
To her own surprise, Byleth said, "I think she's right."
"Well, then, let's give it a try!" Dorothea said as she snatched the keystone from Ashe.
"W-Wait a second, Dorothea!" Ashe stammered.
Edelgard then said, "Dorothea, maybe we should give this some more–"
But it was too late. Dorothea had already placed the keystone into the slot in the statue.
The singer stepped back from the statue as Byleth hoped she hadn't made a fatal mistake, feeling she should have stopped Dorothea to give herself more time.
The ground began to shake as the podium began to shift, forcing the students to step off it. A complex shifting of the podium's surface began to unveil an opening from which a small altar began to rise, atop which was an ornate dome made from an unknown metal. Emblazoned on all four sides of the dome were the same Crests that had been etched on the second statue.
"Hey, it worked!" said Raphael.
"Good call, Dorothea," Hilda said in praise.
"I'm just glad we didn't set off some trap," said Bernadetta.
"As am I," said Edelgard. "Well, what do you make of this, Linhardt?"
"This looks like some kind of container," said the sleepy student. "Those same Crest designs are on it, though I have no idea how we would open it."
"Maybe it requires the power of the Crests of the Four Apostles?" said Ferdinand.
"Great, so four Crests that no one's seen in who knows how long," said Claude. "And I doubt trying to smash this thing open will work."
"We'll see about that," said Balthus as he stepped forward and readied one of his glowing gauntlets.
"B, hold on," said Hapi. "What if trying to break it sets off a trap?"
"Then the rest of you can just stand back for now. If I set something off, it'll only get me."
"Not gonna happen, Balthus," said Yuri, who strode up to the brawler.
Balthus took a step toward the dome, but this prompted Yuri and Hapi to rush up and grab him, attempting to pull him away. However, Balthus was physically far stronger than the two combined.
"B, don't do something we're gonna regret!" said Hapi. "Coco, give us a hand!"
"I surely can do nothing against Balthus' might, but if you insist that I must aid you, then so be it," Constance said gloomily.
Constance stepped over and feebly tried to help the other Ashen Wolves stop Balthus from punching the ornate dome. Even with Constance's help, however, the brawler was too strong, and amid his struggles he managed to place his palm on the dome.
The second he did, the dome began to shimmer brightly, surprising everyone.
"Oh my, what's happening?" said Mercedes.
"It's reacting… to Baltie?" said Hilda.
"Ehh?" said Balthus as he stopped struggling for a moment to look at the dome. The sight prompted the other Ashen Wolves to stop as well.
"Well, that's interesting," said Yuri. "Hapi, Constance, put your hands on it."
"What? Are you serious, Yuribird?" asked Hapi.
"If I must," said Constance.
The four Ashen Wolves touched the dome, each one touching a Crest design. As each one lay their hand upon it, the dome began to glow brighter and brighter. As it did, four Crests began to shimmer above the heads of each of the Ashen Wolves, each one matching the Apostle Crest designs. The dome then let off a blinding flash, prompting everyone to shield their eyes.
"Ah! What's it doing?!" Dorothea said in alarm.
The flash of light faded, allowing everyone to see. The Ashen Wolves removed their hands from the dome as it began to whir and shift in shape, intricately shifting parts into the altar to expose what was within.
As the dome completed its shift back into the altar, the students could all see a golden chalice on the altar.
"Is that…" said Balthus as Constance picked up the chalice.
"You would know best," said Constance. "It is beyond my ken whether this is the chalice. Curse my ignorance!"
"Answer the question, will ya? Is it or isn't it?"
"My apologies. I have caused you undue vexation by speaking so incomprehensibly. Were I to venture a tentative guess, I would say that this is, indeed, the Chalice of Beginnings."
"You could have just said, 'This is it, all right!', you know!"
"What an impressing… umm, impressive sight," said Petra.
"So, that's the Chalice of Beginnings?" said Dorothea. "It's smaller than I thought."
"Appearances can be deceiving," said Anna. "There's definitely something magical about it, though."
"Forgotten Crests resembling those of the Four Apostles, depicted on a sealed dome…" Linhardt said as he pondered aloud. "Objects that resemble holy armaments and a chalice that gathers magic all on its own… I don't know of any other legends that cover all of that, so this must be the chalice we're looking for."
"Leave it to Linhardt to come up with a complex explanation," said Caspar.
Constance then said, "A thousand thank-yous for covering my own inadequacy with such a competent explanation."
With a look of exasperation on her face, Edelgard said, "I'm still not used to hearing you speak in such a manner…"
"Me neither," said Mercedes, while Ferdinand nodded in agreement.
"Forgive me, Your Highness," said Constance. "If I have displeased you, please take my life as a small gesture of atonement."
"Wait, what?" Bernadetta said in total confusion.
Then, in a mocking tone, Claude said, "Oh, Your Highest of Highnesses, I doth humbly beg of thee to find forgiveness within your royal heart."
Dorothea couldn't help but laugh at this as she said, "Who knew you were such a theatric, Claude? Oh, mine own dearest Edie, doth showeth mercy to one as miserable as her!"
This brought out several laughs from the students.
"S-Stop fooling around, you two!" Edelgard stammered as she blushed. "And, Constance, I assure you, there is nothing to forgive."
After the students laughed for a moment longer, Anna then looked to the Ashen Wolves and said, "So, are you four gonna tell us how you all have Crests no one has seen in centuries?"
Confused, Dorothea said, "Huh?"
Everyone turned to look at the Ashen Wolves as Yuri said, "Heh, guess the cat's outta the bag on that one. Yeah, we each bear one of the Forgotten Crests."
"When were you gonna tell us this?" asked Claude.
"Preferably, we weren't. It wasn't a need-to-know thing."
"I dunno about that," said Leonie, clearly annoyed by being kept in the dark.
"Hey, we trust you guys, we just didn't trust you that much. However, seeing as you all helped out in finding the Chalice…"
It was at that moment that the students heard a distant rumbling from the sky. They looked up and saw dark clouds beginning to form overhead.
"I hear thunder," said Dimitri. "Rain is soon to follow."
"We'd better head back to Abyss before the storm hits us," said Yuri. "Come on, we'll talk about our respective Crests on the way back, okay?"
As the others nodded in agreement and began making their way back toward the entrance tunnel, the clouds soon covered the sun, blocking out its light.
And as the sun vanished from sight, Constance's mood immediately changed.
"Ugh! It happened yet AGAIN!" Constance hissed angrily. "Why must my good intentions always lead to such embarrassment?!"
"Oh great, you're back to normal," Dorothea said sardonically. "I liked it better when you were more pessimistic than Marianne."
"Be silent, you wanton thespian! If I hear you belittling me for my condition again, I will not hesitate to incinerate you!"
"Okay, okay, enough of that, Coco," Hapi said irritably as she and the others got inside the entrance tunnel. "Get back here before you two get–"
Before Hapi could finish, another crash of thunder was heard overhead. Constance and Dorothea both looked up just in time to see a deluge of rain coming down at them. And they were the only two left outside.
Both girls shrieked as they ran for shelter, but by the time they got inside they were already soaking wet. This prompted numerous chuckles at their bad luck.
As she swept some water out of her eyes, Constance growled furiously and shouted at Dorothea, "If I become ill because of you, I will ensure you pay, Arnault!"
Dorothea's reply was a loud, "Can you just SHUT UP?!"
It's hard coming up with eloquent dialogue for Constance to use whenever she insults Dorothea. Shoot me some ideas, please.
This definitely differs from the actual scene in-game, and there's no super-Golem that's going to be chasing them. I always felt that Golem was just something out of nowhere meant to spur on the battle it appears in. Couple that with me not using Phantom soldiers, and its presence would be outright awkward.
Of course, the students aren't out of the woods yet. Stay tuned!