Author's note: Because this battle is taking up probably three chapter total, this means there aren't any extra chapters in between. That makes me a little sad as those are a little more fun to write, but I really did want to make this battle a more novelized version of the one that takes place in the game.

Also, this may not be received well, but I think Lyndis' Legion is pretty awesomely badass. Even when the members lost, I tried to really get that across, both in last chapter and this one. After all, this small group does take down a small nation in game. They've got to be pretty awesome to do that.

Chapter 24: The Battle for Caelin

Erk threw his cloak aside as it caught fully on fire, having blocked several fireballs in a row for him. Mage's cloaks were worn to ward off spells, and by swishing them to the left or right while blocking a spell one could often repel them entirely. While fighting multiple mages, however, this tactic failed to produce good results due to the sheer volume of spells being sent his way. As he chanted, he threw another fireball, this one finally hitting the mark. The mage he had been targeting all this time final fell to the ground with a face full of fire.

The other three, however, were no less practiced than the first. The first was just the mage he had happened to hit with his first attack, and that had decided his attack pattern. This uphill battle was quickly going against him though, and now with his cloak in ruins he had no real way to prevent the spells from hitting him. With three mages, they could easily flank him, and indeed that was what they were trying to do.

"All I wanted to do was get Serra to Ostia and get my pay." He muttered to himself. If only Serra hadn't been so easily swayed by the story of a lost grandchild and reclaiming a homeland he would be well and safe right now. Then again, these group of people would possibly all be dead. He supposed that was worse than having to fight a little harder.

He pulled out a tome he had been trying to save, since it cost a good deal more to make than a normal fire tome. It was also more powerful. Opening it, Erk let the pages flip momentarily before allowing himself to smile. The tables had now turned in his favor. "Elfire!" He shouted, and one of the remaning three caught instantly on fire. Though the mage tried to shed the burning clothes, she became unable to remove the sash to her tunic in time and fell to the ground, trying in vain to roll and put the flames out in the mud.

The two other mages recoiled. The fireballs they had been summoning fizzled out as their concentration broke. "Perfect." Erk said with a smile. Plans could sometimes fall into place. He supposed he owed Will a tiny amount of respect for that. The second elfire hit another mage with a burst so strong the body hit the ground only a second after the attack. The final mage, now in a panic, attempted to make his way to any of the other groups. Beofr he had gotten ten steps, Erk's Elfire hit it's mark for the third time, finishing off the group.

"That was more exhausting than I thought." Erk breathed, falling to his knees as he attempted to replenish his magical abilities. "I've been training with it but Elfire still took more than I was expecting." He breathed in, glad he had this fight to himself. Just imagining Serra talking into his ear while trying to fight opponents as difficult as these was not something he ever wanted to experience.

Dorcas tackled his first opponent to the ground before burying his axe in their chest. He didn't have the advantage of cover to use for his fight, so he would have to use pure strength and out maneuver his enemies. At the very least, he had a good headstart by taking out one of the lance users with a single attack.

"Natalie, I…" Dorcas said, shuffling his feet side to side. He hadn't expected this to be so difficult for him. He was a man of few words, but he always chose the words that counted. Now however, as he looked into her face, words failed him.

"What is it, Dorcas?" She asked, with that smile he loved so much.

He gripped his hand axe tightly in his free hand as he dragged his axe out of the body. The other three had quickly recovered themselves and set up a two-one formation. The Axemen were blockading his progress while the lanceman was ready to poke through the middle or sides should Dorcas try to take on either of the axe users. Pure strength it was. He threw his hand axe with all his might, aiming for one of the axemen while charging straight at the other.

Dorcas still couldn't find the words. Natalie, who had been waiting patiently, began to get worried. She tried looking into his eyes, but Dorcas foolishly looked away in his embarrassment. "Do you… hate me?"

Dorcas looked up in surprise. "I know being with me can't be easy for you. You're so strong and caring that you felt you couldn't leave me alone. But dealing with a woman who can barely walk, let alone run, who causes you nothing but worry, must be painful, right?"

"You've got that wrong." Dorcas said, more to himself than his opponent. The hand axe smashed into the first axeman's guard, and broke through. It stuck into the man's head, ending his life. Dorcas was currently locked with the axemen in a battle for control. Even as he felt the lance pierce his side, he didn't back down.

"No." Dorcas said, grabbing the much smaller woman by the shoulders.

"Huh?" She asked, in confusion.

"I could never get tired of being with you." Dorcas said. The sheer honesty in his voice, and the way he said it, made Natalie blush deeper than he had ever seen. In a way, it made him happy to know she cared so much for his opinion. It made asking so much easier.

"Will you marry me?"

His axe overpowered his foe, and with a quick downward strike he ended the second axemen. All that remained was the lance user. Holding his side in pain, Dorcas held his axe firmly with the other. He was going to finish this. The lance user took a few steps back, trying to gain the distance to use his lance to its full effect while keeping out of Dorcas's range. This would've been the best method if the fighter hand been anyone else. Dorcas happened to take pride in his aim with the axe. It was one of the few things he claimed pride in.

"No matter how slowly you need me to walk, no matter how many times I need to wait, no matter how much work I'll have to do to cover your share, I won't mind." Dorcas said. "And someday, when we find a way to treat your legs, I'll be there. I want to spend my life next to you, no matter what stands in my way."

Natalie was crying. He knew they weren't tears of sadness, and in truth they threatened to stop his speech. He could be rather emotional when trying to speak from his heart. It was not something he did often, and Natalie was the only one he did it for. She couldn't stop her tears, but she nodded enthusiastically, raising her head to meet his in a kiss that had been a long time coming.

"No matter what, I will stand by your side."

Dorcas's axe hit true, splitting the lance in half and burying itself in the man's arm. The man screamed, falling to the ground. Dorcas retrieved his hand axe, before going over to the man. He pulled out his axe, and debated with himself. "If you have a family that loves you, then patch yourself up and go home." He said, throwing a spare bandage at the man. "If you get to a healer, you should survive." Dorcas turned, and staggered away. His side was beginning to ache more fiercely than ever before, and he needed to get back. Natalie was waiting.

"This fortress is great for archers," Wil remarked to himself as he clambered through the rubble. "Not only are the ramparts well-fortified, but the rubble makes it much easier to change position after every shot. Will really does think of everything eh? I guess some of those old maps had uses after all." He chuckled as he spotted the Pegasus brigade. Luckily he had caught them before they began to move or take part in the battle. Perhaps Lundgren had told them not to move until they were approached, but Wil somehow doubted that was actually the case. He took careful aim, knowing his first shot was going to be the most important one.

"If only I could fire more than one arrow at once. Or like, have five of me at once. That'd be awesome." He muttered to himself, before letting his arrow fly. The Pegasus knight closest to him dropped from the winged horse to the ground with a sickening thud. As the Pegasus flew off in an agitated state, the remaining riders quickly scattered. They managed to confer with each other rather quickly, as once Wil reached his new spot they had already identified where the shot had come from. One of them had even thrown a javelin there.

"Good thing I didn't stick around… better make this quick." He said, firing off shot number two. This one caught the peagsus' wing, sending it and the rider toppling to the ground. With two remaining, Wil went back on the move. When he reached the third spot, a Pegasus rider was already there, and Wil had to quickly retreat. Thankfully there was more than one way to navigate the tricky hallways of the fort to reach sniping positions, and he quickly lost the Pegasus knights as he continued to move. Eventually, he reached the top, and quickly fired and arrow straight into the Pegasus flying overhead. They had probably been waiting for him to emerge from the fort to strike him, but he had been just a click faster. The rider also fell, landing hard and smashing her head into the craggy remains.

The last Pegasus rider leapt from her Pegasus onto the ramparts, charging at Wil directly. "Yow!" He shouted in surprise, ducking back into the fortress. He tried his best to lose her, even firing a couple of arrows back at the young woman who continued to charge at him, but failed. Evetually she managed to corner him against the wall.

"I've got you now." She growled menacingly, approaching slowly with her spear. Even now she was on the lookout for tricks, so finding a way around her was going to be a bit more difficult than he had hoped.

"Look, I'm sorry about your friends." Wil began. "If there was any other way I would have taken it, but Lundgren doesn't exactly play fair."

"Shut up." The woman demanded. Wil obliged, holding his hands up.

"See? I'll even put down my bow and all that." He said, laying it on the ground.

"You're coming with me." The woman demanded once more.

"Oh geez… this is not good…" Wil said. The woman tied his hands behind his back, before poking him in the back with her lance.

"Lundgren will be very happy to meet you, I'm sure." She said, the venom in her voice clear.

"I'm sure he will…" Wil said as he began to walk. Sorry Lyn… Will… I messed it up big time.

Sain readied his lance as the reinforcements Will had thought were coming did indeed appear. He felt a profound sense of sadness at fighting what should have been good friends of his. What made it worse was he could tell all of them were very young. He wasn't that much older himself, but none of the approaching cavaliers were his senior, and the youngest looked to only be fourteen at most. "Conscripted fighters… damn. My least favorite to fight against." Sain gripped his lance and sword before rearing Harry to face them. "Let's go."

A young man in green armor stood proudly in a line of new recruits, his chest puffed out with pride. General Eagler strode before them, glancing at each of them in turn. When he reached Sain, he paused. Sain grinned at him. "You think something is fun here, kid?"

"Huh?" Sain asked in confusion. "No sir, I'm just glad to be here."

"Glad? Knight training is not something to take lightly, kid. Treat it like that and you won't last a day, let alone a week." Eagler said, staring him down.

Sain recognized what this was. The older commanders were always supposed to break down the new recruits, to make them afraid and understand that they weren't there to play games. Sain knew this, but his grin only grew wider. "Yes sir, I understand."

"Then stop grinning at me." Eagler demanded.

"I can't sir." Sain said.

"And why is that?" Eagler asked. Sain knew he was perhaps digging himself an unnecessary hole at this point, but he knew it would be even harder to stop smiling.

"Because sir, I believe my job as a knight is to help the people. Right now I am no great fighter, so all I can do is smile and show them everything is alright." Sain said with a salute.

Eagler snorted. Sain wasn't sure if the old general was amusing or pissed off, but a bit of snot did land on his cheek. It wasn't a very pleasant sensation. Eagler then turned and walked away. Of those gathered knights, only Sain and Kent had become fully fledged. Even more surprisingly they had been given the important task of finding Lyndis as one of their first real duties.

As the recruits charged, Sain twirled his sword. His first swipe disarmed the frontrunner, and eager young man whose shining face turned to horror at the loss of his arm. The second wielded a spear, but Sain's own proficiency far outstripped the young woman's, and he dismounted her rather unceremoniously before stabbing her in the leg to ensure she did not get up and continue fighting. The third and fourth attempted to flank him, and he smiled a bit at the memory.

Sain put an arm around Kent, laughing. "I didn't expect you and I to make such a good team!"

"Neither did I." The stoney faced Kent had been even worse back during training. Sain could swear he never saw the man crack a smile even back then.

"Don't be proud of yourselves, kids." Eagler said. "That was a training dummy. All you managed to do was perform a basic flanking maneuver and hit the enemy on both sides like I instructed you to do."

"Yeah but the others didn't do it right on the first try." Sain pointed out. "That's something to be happy about, right?"

Eagler sighed. Sain was constantly trying to put a positive spin on things, but he had been distinguishing himself almost constantly in training. Kent also sighed. "If we were to perform that in combat without prior indication, then that might be a true accomplishment."

"Aw come on Kent, we're still in training right now." Sain said, annoyed.

"Yes… however," Eagler said, as he stroked his chin thoughtfully. "You two do make a good team. With some polish, you may even have a chance. I'll be pairing you together more often. Count on it."

Sain gave a happy smile, but Kent sighed again. He really was too serious for his own good.

Remembering that also helped Sain remember the very easy counter to the move he had thought was good a while back. When done by knights that knew each well, it was actually a great tactic as the enemy couldn't know which side would attack and would often attack one only to be pounced by the other. However, General Eagler himself had defeated this tactic himself only a few days ago, and while Sain was nowhere near his level, he could handle a couple of fresh recruits.

His sword clashed against the first knight's sword, and he clapped the sides of Harry, who immediately bucked out behind him, hitting the oncoming second knight's horse with a powerful back kick. The knight fell into the mud, his horse crushing his left leg, and Sain was free to bring his lance swinging around, stabbing the final knight's exposed arm and sending her tumbling from the horse as well.

"Sorry kids, but you weren't ready for the battlefield." Sain said, a rather serious frown on his face. "I promise to get you the best treatment I can when this is all over."

Kent galloped into the fray, slashing out with his sword several times as he passed through the group of cavaliers. None of them fell, but several gained cuts and one a major gash across the leg while Kent had managed to avoid getting hit once. Wesley neighed bravely, ready for a second pass. The four cavaliers were all facing Kent, ready for his second pass as well. He had to admit this was the worst battle he'd seen yet, even worse than the fight where Will had almost gotten himself killed against Mark. He supposed it was inevitable. Lundgren commanded all of Caelin's forces, while Lyndis only had a small band of people who put their faith in her tactician. He admitted the two shared a strange bond, one he couldn't completely understand. It wasn't just because they were of the Lorca tribe, or that they had saved each other's lives many times. It was… more.

"Sort of like him… huh." Kent mused.

"With him, General Eagler?" Kent shouted, slamming his hands on the table. "Why him?"

"You two work well together, Kent." Eagler said. "I don't mean to be rude, but natural compatibility in battle is very difficult to find. You two may pass on that alone."

"But he's always laughing like an idiot, and hitting on women! That's not how a knight of caelin is supposed to act?" Kent said angrily, clenching his fist.

"Kent." Eagler said, looking at the young man with a strange sadness in his eyes. "Who are you to say what a knight of Caelin must be? I have never once told you to be a certain way. Knighthood is different for every person. For some, it is a means to protect their country. For others, it is to feed their family. For you, it is out of a sense of duty, for Sain… I shouldn't say." Eagler then ended their conversation. He often did that, and it always aggravated Kent to no end.

The second pass came. Kent clashed fiercely, and managed to take down one of the cavaliers with a surprise strike from his lance. He had also gotten a rather painful gash on his lance arm for the accomplishment though, and he dropped his lance as Wesley came to a stop, preparing for the third pass. The knight's seemed more confident than before, perhaps because this time they had dealt him a rather devastating blow. He gripped his sword, and pinched Wesley's side to indicate the third charge should begin.

"This is…" Sain said, his voice failing him. The two were traveling the breathe of Caelin for their final examination, to see how the realm was with unclouded eyes. They had happened upon one of the furthest villages, and had found only ruins.

"What happened here?" Kent couldn't help but ask, as they began to sift through the wreckage.

"Bandits, most likely." Sain said. His voice had lost it's cheery tone, and for the first time Kent could see a true hint of anger in his eyes. "The cowards likely burned the place to the ground. I hope the poor villagers gave them nothing."

"Yes, I doubt they got what they wanted, so they took it instead." Kent said sadly. He saw the remains of several homes. This was nothing like he had expected.

"Let's figure it out." Sain said.

"What?" kent asked.

"Get all the information we can from here and the neighboring villages. We need to make a report about this. We won't let people suffer because of them any longer." Sain growled.

Kent nodded. "Let's go then."

The third pass went in Kent's favor. Even with one arm, the rather incompetent weapon play of Lundgren's men shone through. Being unused to weapons, the knights were still afraid of them, and mostly swung for Kent's own weapon instead of actually attacking him. It was a common mistake among inexperienced fighters. With a massive clang he managed to lock two of their swords against each other, before using his injured arm to dismount on rider forcefully while cutting the sword arm of the other. The final horseman panicked and fled back to the castle gates. A moment later Kent saw the man unceremoniously thrown out, and an arrow plunged into his skull. "Lundgren…" Kent growled, but the pain of his injured arm took over. Thankfully, he quickly remembered the plan Will had laid out. Turning around, he quickly made for the base camp. He only hoped Will and Lady Lyndis could finish their groups without him.

Lyn felt a strange determination that she had felt before coursing throughout her body. It burned stronger than ever as she faced down her group, consisting of three swordfighters and a knight in heavy armor. She would defeat them and Lundgren. She would save her grandfather from certain death. She would deliver the antidote to Will and save his life. She would ask about his past and listen to his story. And most importantly, she would ask the question she had been trying to ask for the past few weeks, but always seemed to fail when she tried. These thoughts drove her actions, and kept her a full step ahead of her opponents.

When the swordsmen attacked all at once, Lyn knew what was coming. The first swung horizontally and she ducked under in a graceful lunge, her sword striking the man's sword arm and then severing it completely. The Mani Katti shone just as strongly as her resolve. The second sword fighter swung at her vertically, and she danced to the side before jabbing his leg, and sending him to the ground. The third sword fighter swung diagonally as Lyn jumped backwards and out of the way. The Knight continued to stand there and watch as the two squared off. Lyn realized this could work against her if the third swordsman dragged out the fight too long. She quickly prepped herself, and as the swordsman attacked she countered, striking through the man's hand before his swing could be completed. Then she slid in, removing the sword, and hip checked the lightly armored individual. Before he could recover Lyn sheathed her sword, grabbed his injured arm, and flung it and the rest of him over her waist, slamming him to the ground.

With all three defeated, Lyn stood up, drawing her Mani Katti once more as the armored knight approached. "You're strong." A female voice emerged from the helmet. The woman was so armored that Lyn could not even see her face, though there were still several joints that were easily targeted. "I suppose you must be Lyndis? I've been told you wield a shining sword."

"Would it matter if I was?" Lyn asked in return, deepening her stance.

"Well, if you weren't Lyndis I wouldn't really want to fight you since you're so strong, but since you are Lyndis…" The Knight swung her axe around on its chain menacingly. "I get the big reward for taking you down."

The axe was thrown, and Lyn marveled at the range this knight possessed despite being nearly immobile. Her axe smashed into the ground where Lyndis had been, but before Lyn was able to rush in the chain was already being retracted, and the axe was prepped for another attack. The axe smashed down a second time, and this time it came much closer. Lyn had dodged out of the way again, but somehow the knight had predicted her escape path and thrown the axe at an angle to attempt to hit her while she was dodging. This was making things much worse much faster for Lyn. Looking around, Lyn tried to find anything she would be able to use to her advantage. The chain retracted once more as the axe was prepared for a third strike.

Out of the corner of her eye, Lyn spotted it. The rain, which continued to fall even now, had created several puddles of mud around the field. While this made things more advantageous for the heavily armored fighter she was facing, it also created a lot of mud. What she had spotted was a particularly deep looking poo, of mud, and if she could manage to get the woman to throw her axe there she may yet have a chance. As Lyn leapt over the axe, which came only an inch or two away from nicking her feet, she fell into the puddle of mud with a splash. For a moment, as she heard the chain retracting, Lyn panicked.

"Got you now!" The woman shouted, throwing her axe for the fourth time. Lyn slammed her hands against the muddy side of the pool, and pushed upward with all her might. Her shoes were lost to the mud, but she escaped just in time. The axe came splashing down into the pool, and inevitably got stuck. Lyn rushed for the knight, knowing the axe could not remain stuck forever. The woman tugged and pulled, desperately trying to get the axe out of the mud as Lyn got closer and closer. Just as Lyn got there, she could feel the mud give way and with a huge tug the axe came free. A moment later it clattered to the ground, as the woman keeled over. Lyn withdrew the Mani Katti from one of the facial slits in the helmet. It had been a close call, but she had pulled it off.

Her momentary sigh of relief was cut off when she heard a cry. From behind her, she could see the group Will's team had been fighting was still standing. "Will!" She cried, dashing towards the final group.

Will's plan had actually gone great at first. Step one had been of course for the four of them to get the enemy's attention. That had gone off without a hitch thanks to Serra. She had shouted "Hey, you soldiers don't even know how to capture on little girl? How lame can you be?" This had apparently been enough to drive them into a bit of a frenzy, and the battle had begun.

Step two had gone decently. Each of the four needed to distract a different member. Nils and Ninian, thanks perhaps to their training in the musical arts, danced and dodged along with the best of them. Will, though he was far less proficient than the mage he was facing, was managing to have a rather decent magical duel against the man. Serra, bless her soul, had even knocked her opponent unconscious when he had tried to grab her, screaming about 'how to handle a lady.' Eventually, Will had managed to close the gap and stab the man with his sword, finishing off half of their opposition.

Step three (Or step two point five if you'd like to call it that) had been where everything had gone wrong. Will and Serra had joined Nils and Ninian, making the fight four on two. While this should have put them at an advantage, the lace woman dodged Will's fireballs with ease while the axeman continued to harass Serra and Ninian without batting an eye at the screeching cleric. Will was just about to fire off another fireball when he felt a violent coughing fit hit him. His fireball fizzled away as he collapsed to the ground, coughing up a large quantity of blood.

"Will!" Nils had cried, but quick as a flash the Lance woman had grabbed him, holding the young boy up with the shaft of her lance.

"Damn it!" Serra cursed. She and Ninian continued to back away from the advancing axeman, but now they no longer had a real chance of winning their fight.

At until the lance woman suddenly let go of Nils. A moment later she fell to the ground, Lyn's Mani Katti shining through the leg that had been stabbed. A moment later Lyn was on top of the axeman, and with a swift strike she slashed open his throat, ending his life. With the fighting over Lyn quickly sheathed her sword and ran over to Will. "What happened?" She asked.

"He suddenly started coughing up blood and collapsed!" Serra said. "It must be the poison! We need to get him back to the base camp. I'll try to treat him there. We need to regroup anyway, right?"

"Right." Lyn said. "Ninian, help me with him."

The two slung an arm over their shoulder each, and began to trek back to camp, Nils and Serra following close behind.

Florina no longer found it difficult to admit when she was scared. As she had taken to the air, gazing at the man she would have to face, she felt a trickle of sheer terror down her spine. She knew it was important for this man to be taken out, or at the very least occupied, but she wasn't sure she was ready. Will had placed his trust in her though. It was something she felt wasn't deserved, but he had placed his trust in her. That simple thought alone began to make her feel warm as strength filled her body. She would just have to find away.

Taking up her javelin, she threw one with all her might at the Wyvern's flank. Unfortunately, that area was well armored and her javelin merely bounced off of it. The wyvern commander took noticed of her though, and a smiled crossed his face as he brandished a rather nasty looking axe. Florina gulped as she closed her eyes momentarily, but a soft whinny from Huey once more renewed her resolve. Reaching into her pouch, she grabbed her second javelin.

The wyvern began to fly towards them, one beat of its powerful wings closing the gap by a much bigger margin than she was expecting. The second javelin sailed over the man's head due to this miscalculation, and by the time she had the third javelin ready he was almost upon them. She aimed more carefully with this one, knowing after this she would have to use her fighting lance. With a deep breath, she let it fly. This one managed to hit, piercing the wyvern's foot and causing it to dip as it roared in pain.

Florina prepared her lance as the wyvern recovered and the man growled angrily at her for hurting his friend. Well, she couldn't be sure the man considered it his friend, but most rider's all had to have some level of rapport with their animal companion. In some cases, Pegasus knights would retire after their mount died because the strain of losing close friends after fighting with them for so long would wear on their desire to continue fighting. Pegasus approximately thirty-five years, twenty-five of which were viable as mounts of knights. She quickly shook her head to rid herself of those thoughts. She wasn't about to lose Huey today. Her lance flashed, and she clashed with the commander. Huey seemed to realize they were overpowered, and quickly retreated to safety. They next tried an overhead strike, flying high into the air and attempting to use the sun to their advantage. The strike went better than she had hoped, injuring one of the man's riding legs as he dodged. However, the handle of his axe was shoved painfully into her side, and she nearly fell off of Huey, managing just in time to grab onto his mane.

Huey whinnied in pain as they began tumbled in the air momentarily before managing to recover. Moments like that were absolutely terrifying, but after recovering Florina felt like she finally had a way to win. She bent down and began whispering to Huey. "I need you to do a dive, okay?" She asked, reinforcing the idea with a light jab from her left spur. She felt like Huey nodded to her in understanding, and she patted his mane lightly. She'd need to get him some nice carrots later as thanks.

They rose once more to meet their opponent, who merely grimace d angrily at her. She felt happy to know now that he no longer scared her, as her every thought was filled with winning this fight. He charged, spurring his mount forward as he raised his axe to strike once more. "Now!" Florina shouted, jabbing Huey's left side again. Huey dived under the swipe, and as he did so Florina Jabbed upward with her lance with all her strength. Her attack connected with the uncovered underbelly of the beast, and it screamed in pain. Her momentary feeling of victory was suddenly crushed as she felt the lance fall from her hands, the wyvern coming down upon both her and Huey as they tried to get away. The group tumbled through the air, the man screaming and seemingly unable to unstrap himself from the wyvern, while Huey and Florina struggled desperately to get out from the underside of the beast, Florina feeling the blood covered her backside as she desperately used what strength she had to try and push the wyvern off of them. Finally, she felt the weight shift, and the wyvern fell, Huey pulling free just in time to prevent the two from hitting the ground hard. As it was, Florina toppled off Huey to the ground, and Huey also had some trouble righting after landing roughly on the mud.

"Well well…. Another present right into my lap." Florina could hear the rough laughter of a gruff sounding man. She only had moments to act.

"Huey, fly!" She shouted, and despite being tired from their fight Huey immediately took to the air, flying off back towards the camp. Florina knew he would make it there. She, on the other hand, had just met their main enemy.

Lundgren growled as the Pegasus flew away. He didn't want to waste any arrows on the beast. Besides, without a rider it was useless to the little liar's company. "Tie her up, and put her with the others. Bring me the one that brought me their archer. I need her to deliver a message to these fools."

At the base camp, Lyndis' Legion was in worse shape than they had hoped. Wil, Matthew and Florina had not returned, and most of the others were bearing injuries. Wallace's back, Kent's arm, Dorcas' stomach, Erk's burn damage just to name a few. All the while Serra had been trying to stabilize Will, who still had not awoken. The small comfort the Legion took was with the rain, which had finally ceased. They could even see the sun beginning to poke through the clouds. If their battle had begun in the morning, it was now past noon.

Lyn slipped on a backup pair of shoes. Aside from her, Rath, Lucius and Sain were in good condition. Nils and Ninian were tending to the injuries Serra could not with vulneraries and bandages, but it was no substitute for the healing Serra offered. She was beginning to wonder what had happened when she spotted a lone figure on a Pegasus making their way towards the group. For a moment, Lyn's heart soared, but the next instant it dropped like a stone as she realize the person was holding a white flag, but also possessed distinctive red hair that was clearly not Florina's.

"State your business." Lyn said, drawing her sword as the woman approached. Lucius had his spellbook at the ready, and Rath also had an arrow pointed at the woman as she approached.

"I am to deliver a message." The woman said. "Lord Lundgren has captured three of your allies. You are to deliver the usurper to him by sundown or he will have the executed."

"How do we know your words are not merely Lundgren's lies?" Sain asked.

The woman nodded, before retrieving a bundle from her Pegasus. She handed it to Lyn. Lyn nervously unwrapped it, and nearly attacked the woman in anger. Inside was Matthew's trademark red cloak, Wil's handmade bow, and a chunk of lavender hair.

"Lundgren is waiting inside the castle gates. If you accept our deal, two of you are to accompany the usurper to retrieve the prisoners. If not, battle will resume shortly, I presume." The woman bowed respectfully, before climbing back on her Pegasus and Flying away. A few minutes later, Huey returned. The lack of rider once more hit Lyn like a ton of bricks, but she did her best to calm and feed him before tying him up.

"We can't… wait for sundown…" Will coughed. Lyn turned, immediately rushing to his side. "We'll have to… take a chance."

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"If sundown comes, the poison will have done its work. Without a tactician, tomorrow will go very differently." Will managed through ragged breaths. "Not only that, but I highly doubt Lundgren will keep his word. He wants all of us dead, no exceptions."

"Then what do we do?" Sain asked.

Will closed his eyes for a moment. What he said next surprised even Lyn. "We accept his offer. I've got a plan. I'll be honest, it's not going to be an easy on either. We'll only have one chance."