In the aftermath of the battle, the town welcomed the Shepherds with open arms, promising them a good night's rest so that they could enter Plegia. Additionally, the merchant they saved, a woman named Anna, promised to sell her goods "at a discount" as she put it. Robin analyzed the weapons she offered, and seeing an improvement compared to what the Shepherd's offered, recommended that they buy the new blades for their upcoming battles. Chrom exchanged the coin with the merchant and received the weapons as promised. Then, as quickly as she appeared, Anna disappeared off to her next destination. Robin was insistent on updating their supplies, as is his duty of the unspoken quartermaster title, but Chrom requested that he took a break instead.

"You work too much," Chorm told the tactician. "Asides from the time when you were injured just this week, I cannot recall anytime when you took a break and relaxed."

"Chrom, may I remind you that I am planning a war," Robin replied. "I can't afford to take breaks."

"And we can't have our best tactician exhaust himself and make a mistake," Chrom pointed out. "Just half a day, then tomorrow, you can get back to work."

Robin sighed out once Chrom was out of earshot. While it was glad to see his friend less worried about his sister and concern for his friend at once, he had work to get done and little time to waste. The role of a tactician one was costly and took up any free time he had. He tried his best to interact with the Shepherds as best as he could, but overall, their safety and survival in battle was more necessary than free time for himself.

While Robin wanted to get back to his planning, he was certain that if he, Chrom would just order him to take a break.

Robin decided to respect the wishes of his friend, even though he never really had any hobbies he enjoyed. With what little free time he had, he read books, of which he was out to read at the moment, and played chess. Usually, it was against himself, but occasionally, he had the opportunity to play against Virion, the one Shepherd that was better than him. It was enough to get him thinking so that his mind did not wander. At the inn, he tried to find the archer to challenge him to another game, but found him right as he was leaving to go on a hunt. The tactician recalled that Panne hunted whenever the Shepherds were in town, and knew that Virion's declaration could not be a coincidence given they fought today. He sighed, hoping his friend would not be killed in his romantic pursuit of the tanguel.

With no one to challenge him mentally, Robin thought about training himself physically. With Lon'qu acting as Lissa's bodyguard, it was hard to find times to spar, but given that they were in town, he figured now would be as good of time as any. He found the two in town center, but neither of them were alone. A crowd gathered around the warrior, who fought against Vaike. Strangely enough, the fighter was yelling about Lon'qu being his squire, earning a sigh from the tactician. Lissa was in sight, sitting on a bench and talking with Maribelle. He was confident that if anyone threatened the princess that Lon'qu would be able to break through the crowd to stop it with ease.

With no other options, Robin found himself wandering down the streets aimlessly. Truth be told, he hated how he was currently doing nothing productive. Even if he was stressing himself with a war, he was getting something done. Now, he was accomplishing nothing, and it was killing him. He needed to do something other than walk around.

When he round the corner to enter the merchant's square, an answer presented itself to the tactician. Among the traders trying to sell their various wares was Gaius, seated behind a poorly built stand with a grin. His arm was up in a sling, but according to Lissa, he would be patched up by tomorrow morning. On the stall and spread out behind him were various goods and trinkets that the tactician had never seen before. Now that he thought about it, he was also confident that the thief was no merchant. He saw no reason in checking in on his friend, both on his well being and his current scheme.

"Gaius," Robin greeted when he approached the stall. "Good to see you're up and about."

"Princess told me I only needed to lay off my arm for the day," Gaius told him. "So, I'm takin' it easy today."

"By running a stall?" Robin asked with a raised eyebrow. "I never thought of you with a merchant."

"Oh, sure. I like to get out, meet the common folk, sell the odd trinket," Gaius explained and started to motion to his wares. "Speaking of which, see anything you fancy? I've got smallclothes from exotic ports, genuine leather belts, and top-quality figs among other things."

"Do you have any books?" Robin asked, coming up with an idea. "Strategy books, specifically? As always, I'm hoping to expand my tactical knowledge to better serve the Shepherds. And since I am to take a break from my planning today, I might as well have something to read."

"Just a moment!" Gaius shot up from his seat and dashed off. "I got what you're looking for!"

"Gaius, where are you going?" Robin called out.

Gaius did not answer Robin, heading to another merchant stall and talking to a middle age man there. He was unable to hear the words exchanged but it was clear to tell that there was a deal going on. The thief reached into his cloak to pull out a bag and discreetly handed it to the merchant. The man nodded, and motioned to a crate at the corner of the stall. He grabbed it and made his way back to his own stand, struggling to do so with his one good arm. He set it down on his stand, which heaved from the weight. The crate was opened, revealing stacks of books within.

"Take a gander at this lot," Gaius told his friend. "Tell me if any of 'em tickle your fancy."

"This crate is full of books, Gaius," Robin commented, pulling out one tome and flipping through the pages.

"Here, they're yours," Gaius pushed the crate towards Robin. "My gift to you! But that makes us even about the whole 'wink-wink' thing."

"Gods, you are a pighead," Robin sighed out and slammed the book back into the crate. "For the last time, Gaius, I am not blackmailing you! Now please, take your books back."

"Oh, so books aren't good enough for you?" Gaius questioned sharply. "Still holding out for something better?"

"Sometimes I wonder why I even try," Robin sighed, his eyes drifting over to a familiar sight behind Gaius' stand. "Gaius, hand me those robes you have."

"You like them?" Gaius reached over for the robes. "They're yours."

"I don't want the robes," Robin told him. "You seriously don't see it?"

"Guess not," Gaius shrugged, handing the robes over. "So, what am I supposed to see, Bubbles?"

"This," Robin took the robes and unfolded them.

Robin's eyes were quick to notice the familiarity of the design, which became apparent once he held it up at his side. Although perhaps a size too large for him, the color scheme was almost identical to his signature robes. It had long sleeves and a hood, and although the shade of purple was a lighter color, it had the same markings of his own pair. Inside, it was laced in fur, most likely to protect the wearer from the cold. Gaius' eyes drifted from the tactician, then to the robes, then back to his friend before the realization finally hit him.

"What a coincidence," Gaius commented. "They match. I guess that means you should take them."

"Gaius, where did you get these robes?" Robin asked. "The exact location?"

"You see, a merchant traded it over in exchange for some of those smallclothes," Gaius answered. "Said it originally came from Plegia, but he modified it to accomodate for the cold of Feroxi. Pretty useful, huh?"

"Plegia," Robin muttered.

"Plegia," Gaius nodded. "Say, it looked like you just saw a ghost there, Bubbles."

"Gaius, you don't understand," Robin folded the robes back up. "I don't remember anything about who I am or where I'm from because of my amnesia. My robes are all I have of my past life, the only clue I've had. I have yet to see such a design in Ylisse or Feroxi. Now, I'm finding out that the robes I wear could be from Plegia, who we are currently at war with."

Robin's past was an unspoken concern that he had little time to worry about. His identity and who he was was something he questioned back when he first joined the Shepherds, but when the war escalated, his priorities changed. The sight of the robes were enough to get him thinking about where he was from once more. How would the rest of the Shepherds act if he was Plegian? Did he have any family back in Plegia? Could he have been part of the Plegians pretending to be bandits to strike over the border, hence how he ended in Ylisse? His mind was filled with questions that he was unsure on how to get the answers to.

"Bubbles, now is not the time to think about you invading your possible birthplace," Gaius snatched the robes and threw them behind him. "We have more important matters to discuss."

"Gaius, I doubt that even you could get my mind off of this," Robin told his friend kindly.

"Give me a moment, Robin," Gaius searched through the crate of books. "In the meanwhile, I don't recall any of the Plegians wearing something like that."

"Most of the Plegians we've met were soldiers in armor," Robin reminded him.

"My point stands!" Gaius declared, pulling out a book. "Here, we're going to worry about matters of the heart now! The good news is you're making good progress with Cordelia."

"Is this your way of explaining the next step in your ridiculous plan?" Robin asked, now thinking of Cordelia rather than his origin. "What am I on? Step four?"

"Step three still," Gaius still held the book. "I want you to read this and talk to me tonight."

"What's this?" Robin took the book and read the title out loud. "How to Make Him Fall For You in a Fortnight? GAIUS!"

"Before you make a scene, I'd like to say that I've heard from a trusted source that this is Cordelia's favorite book," Gaius assured him with a grin. "Now, get reading, Bubbles."

Robin was prepared to call Gaius out, but something held back his tongue from doing so. Hesitantly, he pocketed the book into an interior pocket of his robes. He gave it a swift pat and glanced about his surroundings. The thief gave his friend a wink and shooed him away to start reading. The tactician sighed, but given that he knew how Gaius worked, knew it was best to read it before he was forced to. Without taking a glance back, he quickly made his way away from the merchant's district, ready to get to reading.

A/N: After several battles, I decided it would be best to get back to the supports. I plan on going about with the supports for another chapter or two given how it's nice to see the Shepherds interacting outside of battle.

Warrior of Six Blades: As confirmed in this chapter, you were right about the woman being Anna. And Robin only sending out ten to face the bandits was because of the limitations of the game. It was good to use the characters I have on the bench though, even though most of their hard work was in the background.

Anonymous: Glad to hear it. I will be keeping up the writing, but for now, something came up that requires my full attention. I'll be back April 9, ready to continue the support conversations.

Until next time.