Author's Note: I do normally try to avoid cliffhangers if I can, but I didn't really have anything for Wallace to do last chapter, so his part turned into a lead in for this chapter. Sorry about that! I'm also posting this chapter a couple days ahead, because this week is going to be insanely busy for me. I don't trust myself to be on at all for the rest of the week, so you get a chapter today.
The additional chapters from Hector's story I'm noting aren't hugely important or overly interesting, but I still like having them to complete the story as a whole. Besides, this chapter gets to cameo another character I like but never get to use in the game since you get him so late!
For those that have played the game, you know who I'm talking about. So anyways, as I like to say, please review if you get the chance. You may think you're saying it's cool or fun may not be very interesting, but it always gives me a little kitten smile on my face.
Chapter 43: Talons Alight
An excerpt from Lord William's journal:
Merlinus' proof is more than enough to establish my mother truly was Marquis Helman's daughter. Even though I still feel no personal connection to the man, I must admit it makes me a bit sad knowing I could have saved him if I had known about him sooner. Much like how Lyn saved her grandfather. Lately, I've been discovering a lot of strange parallels between Lyn and myself. It is… off putting to say the least. I'm not one to believe in destiny, but our meeting seems to carry more and more weight the more I learn about the world.
Hector plans to send all the information to his brother to present at the conference. What they do with it, he doesn't know or won't say, but I hope it will be returned to Merlinus afterward. It must've taken a lot of resolve to speak to us like that.
Will was interrupted in his latest journal entry as he heard a loud explosion that seemed to rock the floor beneath him. That couldn't be a good sign. He had warned everyone in Eliwood's Elite and the nearby villages about the mine, which left only one possibility: an enemy. This theory was quickly reinforced by Wallace, who came rushing in from the corridors and made a beeline to him. "We're under attack."
"Could it possibly be Lord Darin?" Will asked. "Has he come back to take the Castle? I doubted he would, but it was certainly a possibility…"
"No, it's not him." Wallace said. "It sounded a lot like a band of mercenaries to me. Perhaps they were hired by Marquis Laus, but…"
"Mercenaries?" Eliwood asked, coming over with Hector. They had seen Wallace approach Will and had no doubt figured out the situation had turned dangerous once more.
"Their movements are coordinated." Wallace explained. "After the mine exploded they regrouped very quickly. They've likely already made their way inside the castle walls."
"If that's the case, they're good, even for mercenaries." Will said. Not a single scout had reported these enemies until they were already on top of them. That meant either the scouts had missed them or had been killed without his knowledge. However all the scouts had reported in on time so he doubted the latter was true. He looked at Eliwood, whose arms were crossed in thought. "Eliwood, do you have any ideas?"
"Maybe." Eliwood said. He was drawing upon knowledge he barely remembered, so he chose his words carefully. "I think I remember my father telling me something about a mercenary troop that was extremely loyal to House Laus. Their leader's name was… Eubans, I believe. Most people refer to him as the Hurricane. They became famous for their surprise attacks. They could finish an enemy and vanish with lightning-swift strikes."
"Then our course it obvious." Hector said. "We need to protect the throne. Thrones symbolize Lycia's strength. We must not let it fall to these mercenaries."
"Got it." Will said. "Let's get to work."
The mercenary troop was indeed the same one lead by the mercenary Eubans, but he wasn't the one leading the battle against Castle Laus. That honor belonged to a rough looking man with dark green hair. One may even think he was Sacaen, but no one in Euban's mercenaries concerned themselves too heavily with one's origins. He used both a steel bow and a long bow, and spoke with a rather gruff tone despite his high pitch.
Approaching him was a young man with green hair, a tuft of silver covering the right side of his head. His armor was royal blue in color, and he was sporting a steel lance. Outside the castle walls his wyvern no doubt awaited his return. "Sealen."
"Is that you, Heath?" Sealen asked. He rarely saw the man unaccompanied by his wyvern, so seeing him without his faithful partner was an odd change.
Heath nodded. "I've secured an escape path, just as Commander Eubans ordered. If anything should go wrong…"
Sealen sighed. "I don't need you to tell me that, Heath. If we lose the element of surprise, we'll be sure to pull back."
"I've heard there are Ostian Knights among the enemy forces. They also seem to have a crafty tactician. That mine from earlier has likely cut operation time in half. Watch yourself, Sealen." Heath said, before turning and leaving.
"What, are we supposed to be friends now?" Sealen scoffed as the man vanished from sight. "Worrying like that about a complete stranger… you weren't made to be a mercenary, Heath." He turned to his men. "Our goal is the throne. We attack from here while sending another unit around to pincer any enemies inside. We want to drive them into chaos. The other ambush units are still concealed as planned, despite that minor setback at the back entrance. When the enemy splits its forces, we strike them down."
"Will, we're gonna need to split our forces." Matthew said, interrupting his planning meeting with Eliwood and Hector. So far his entire strategy had been revolving around fortifying their position and waiting out the rest of the night, which would likely force their enemies to retreat.
"Why?" Will asked. He knew Matthew wouldn't have spoken without good reason, but he still needed to know what the thief was referring to.
"The treasury." Matthew elaborated. "I took a peek in there earlier, but I didn't take anything at the time since I thought we'd have time to address it in a couple days. There's some dangerous stuff in there."
"Dangerous how?" Hector demanded.
"Silver axe for one." Matthew said. "I also saw another mend staff, which could be handy for Serra since she's been making do with healing staves for a while now."
"I see." Eliwood said. "If they get into the treasury and acquire those items, our position may become even more precarious. Especially due to the rarity of those weapons."
"Then we've got to send a team." Hector agreed.
"Problem is, even if we send a team, they likely won't be able to get back. We'll have to hold them off on two fronts." Will sighed.
"The throne room is harder to protect." Eliwood said. "It has three entrances. One of the east walls is in danger of breaking and likely will. There's a door to the west they can break through or pick and there's the front doors which are unlocked and open even now."
"The treasury?" Will asked, looking to Matthew.
"Only one entrance, and there's no danger of breaking walls." Matthew reported.
"Okay." Will said, closing his eyes. He placed a finger to his forehead carefully, knowing he had less than a minute to plan. Our forces are stretched thin as it is, but we need someone to get to the treasury and hold it down… mend staff and silver axe, among whatever other bits are there… Defensible position, range support, swap out, two healers… got it.
"Wallace, Bartre, Priscilla and Erk! I need you here right now!" Will shouted. The four in question hurried over. "I need you four to get to the treasury room. It's out the front doors and to the left, down the corridor. Once you get inside, barricade it. Wallace, you guard that door. Bartre is to switch with you if you get tired or injured. Priscilla, you're their healer. Erk, you provide the long range support. Hit anyone you can and take them down. I want all four of you back here alive, got it?"
"Got it." Wallace said, pounding his chest. "Come on team. Follow close behind me. I'll cut down anyone who gets in our way!"
"Everyone else, gather round and listen closely, we don't have a lot of time." Will said. The rest pressed in. "Marcus, Eliwood, Hector and Oswin are at the front entrance! Oswin and Hector are to use javelins and hand axes to support from range. Eliwood and Marcus are to handle the front!"
"Got it." Eliwood nodded.
"Nothing to worry about then." Hector grinned. "We'll keep these dastards away."
"Lowen and Rebecca, guard the west wall. If it breaks, Lowen is to take the enemies and Rebecca is to back him up. Focus on getting them to retreat, killing isn't necessary if you don't want to." Will said.
"Right." Lowen replied. "I'll handle it."
"I'll be fine, don't worry." Rebecca said, gripping her bow.
"Guy, you're on the east door. Matthew and I will back you up." Will finished. "Dorcas, I need you on the throne with Hannah and Merlinus. Keep it safe just in case."
"Can either of them fight?" Dorcas asked dubiously.
"I have a sword, Milord, but it's best I not try to use it." Merlinus said shakily.
"I'm an old woman. Fighting is something I lost the ability to do some time ago." Hannah cackled.
"Then I'll make sure you won't have to." Dorcas said with a soft smile.
"So, teamed up again eh?" Matthew grinned to Guy.
"I think we're just the only ones leftover from the other teams." Guy muttered. "Either that or Will is trying to get me annoyed in combat."
"Oh you'll be fine." Matthew said. "I'll leave the bugging for outside the battlefield, promise."
"I'll handle ranged support." Will said. "I had Merlinus pick up a lightning tome so I should be able to use it to attack and distract. If I tell you to close your eyes, do so."
"Got it." The Nomad and Thief replied. With their assignments all given out, the group quickly went about their business. It was going to be a long night.
"Move!" Wallace shouted roughly, shoving an enemy mercenary aside as they barreled through the hallway. The lance holder smacked into the wall, his helmet barely stopping him from falling unconscious.
"Not the best way to deal with a threat." Erk muttered, summoning a fireball and throwing it behind them just in case the mercenary decided to give chase.
"Worry about that once we reach the treasury!" Wallace barked. Priscilla kept close to Erk, while Bartre brought up the rear. Within a couple minutes, they had reached the door to the treasury. Conveniently, Matthew had left it cracked open for them.
"Careful, there may be enemies inside." Erk muttered.
Wallace touched to door softly, before pushing it open as fast as he could. He raised his axe, but there was nobody inside. The team breathed a sigh of relief. "Get inside." Wallace said. "We'll block it from there."
The four quickly got inside the room, before Wallace grabbed the nearest weapon rack and shoved it under the door handle. With the door closed and the knob blocked, any enemy that wanted inside would have to break through the door.
"Bartre. Take this." Erk said, tossing the silver axe to the man. "Will obviously sent us here so we could equip ourselves. Lady Priscilla, can you keep track of this extra mend staff?"
"Of course." Priscilla said with a nod.
"I'll fill up a small satchel with some of this gold." Erk said. "Will may not like it but I think us having it is better than the thieves that will descend upon this place soon enough."
"True." Bartre said. "Though none of these other weapons look like they'll be any help."
"Two is better than none." Wallace said. "Now we wait. I'll keep guard in front of the door. If any of you are tired, now's your chance to get a small amount of sleep. The attack likely won't end until dawn."
The attack on the throne room began simply enough. The front doors were first assaulted by a knight, a mage, an assassin and an archer. Oswin, foregoing the back row to deal with the knight, made short work of him with a powerful lance stab to the abdomen. His strength was clearly superior to the man's armor, as it failed to protect against the knight's attack.
Hector threw his hand axe at the mage, who dodged to the side. The axe boomeranged back and Hector caught it with a grin. His attack had sent the mage straight into Eliwood's path and he knew his friend wouldn't pass up his chance. Eliwood quickly stabbed through the mage's spell book, before delivering a swift stab to the man's shoulder and dropping him to the ground.
Marcus took on the assassin, though he was sorely regretting that his horse was stuck in the stables. He only hoped Takuda remained safe, as well as Miss Priscilla and Lowen's horses. Lowen's horse Strawberry (it was just like the boy to name his horse after a food item) was particularly frightened without her owner around and from what Marcus had learned of Donald he was a much calmer steed, but the stress of Priscilla's time in Laus had likely not worn off yet.
He struck out with his silver lance, piercing his opponent even as the assassin stabbed his dagger into Marcus' hand. Marcus grimaced in pain, but a moment later he fell over as an arrow struck the weak point of his armor near his knee. "Argh!"
"Marcus pull back!" Eliwood shouted, rushing over to protect the paladin. Oswin turned and threw his javelin, piercing the archer's shoulder straight through the bow, which broke and fell to the floor.
Marcus managed to get to his feet, staggering over to Serra who began to tend his wounds. First she applied a bit of Vulnerary to his leg, before jerking out the arrow in a quick decisive motion. Marcus hissed in pain, but clenching his teeth kept him from shouting again. Serra immediately began to close the wound with her healing spell, but he wasn't sure he'd be able to rejoin the front line. After she tended his knee a bit, she switched to his hand, making sure to check for poison. Luckily, the assassin hadn't been using poison coated daggers.
The second wave got a little dicier. While Eliwood, Hector and Oswin battled with a few sword wielding mercenaries, the east door was broken open by enemies. A mage, mercenary and archer riding on a horse were behind the now open door. "Let's go." Will muttered.
Matthew leapt into action over the other two, swiping at the mage and pushing him away from the other two. Guy quickly locked swords with the mercenary, while Will took aim at the horse rider. His first shot of Lightning missed and he nearly got an arrow in the shoulder. Thankfully he dodged just in time, the cloak Lyn had given him swishing behind him. Will shut his eyes, concentrating his energy into his hands, which were gripped at his chest. After a split second, he threw out his left arm and felt the blast of light magic leave it, exploding in the archer's face and dropping him from the horse. The horse became spooked and galloped away down the corridor.
Matthew quickly rolled out of the way of the fire spell. The mage was firing them in quick succession, but Matthew was a blur of movement himself. Every time the fire spell missed, he swiped at the mage. The cuts were adding up, and after one fire spell which did hit Matthew in the arm, he slashed the mage's chest open with his other dagger. The mage fell to the ground, and Matthew grimaced angrily. "I'm heading back for treatment!" He called to Guy and Will.
Guy jumped back as the mercenary's sword smashed down into the tile flooring. The man had thrown it up in the air before grabbing Guy's sword arm and smashing his shoulder into Guy's gut. It was only Guy's battle sense that made him leap back just in time as the mercenary leapt into the air to catch his blade and bring it down upon him. "You're skilled." Guy said with a grin.
"You're dead." The mercenary responded. The two locked blades once more, but Guy knew this time he was being overpowered. The blow the mercenary had landed earlier may have injured his sword arm. He couldn't afford to draw out the battle anything longer. As the mercenary swung at him, Guy swung his blade as well. He parried the sword strike, but his attack wasn't done. Using the momentum created as the swords struck against each other and began to recoil, Guy swung his sword just as quickly in the other direction. The mercenary was unable to back away as he received a huge gash on his chest. He fell to the ground, his sword clattering to the floor.
"You okay?" Will asked, hurrying up to Guy.
"My sword arm may be bruised." Guy said. "I don't think Serra's healing can handle that."
"No, Priscilla's mend staff is meant for injuries like that." Will grimaced. "Can you still fight?"
"Of course I can." Guy growled. "I'm not leaving you to fight alone."
"Fine, but retreat if you have to." Will said.
"Right." Guy replied.
The third wave turned into complete chaos. They could hear the sounds of a couple mercenaries trying to break down the door to the treasury, while new enemies appeared at both doors. Worse still the wall to the west broke as an axe wielder leapt through. Rebecca's shot brought the man to his knees immediately, while Lowen brought his iron blade down to end the man's life. Luckily apart from the fighter there seemed to be no others coming from the west.
Another mercenary and myrmidon appeared at the front, Eliwood and Oswin engaging them. Eliwood's swordplay outdid the myrmidon, and the one blow the myrmidon managed Eliwood's armor protected him from. His rapier struck through the man's throat, ending the threat. Oswin overpowered the mercenary, taking a sword to the armor which merely bounced off before his lance delivered another fatal blow.
Hector upon seeing the east door being pushed back rushed over to help. He arrived just in time to save Guy, who was panting heavily as a cavalier rose his lance to strike. Will's lightning spell blinded the man just long enough for Hector to push the Sacaen out of the way, taking the blow to his armor and slashing out with his Wolf Beil. The axe took out the rider's horse, and as it fell the rider's leg became trapped underneath its carcass. Will stepped forward and delivered another lightning spell to finish the attacker.
"Guy, get back to Serra." Will commanded. Guy begrudgingly began to retreat. "Hector, you ready for a dangerous mission?"
"Always." Hector growled.
"We're going to take out their commander. I heard him giving orders from down the hall." Will said. "We're going to have to be fast and show no mercy. If we can take him down, I think the enemy will retreat."
"Let's get it done." Hector said, putting Wolf Beil onto his shoulder.
Erk's fire spell shot through the door, creating another temporary break from their attackers. They had begun to break down the door with a makeshift battering ram, but there weren't many mercenaries outside. Wallace guessed there were only four or five of them, but they still hadn't managed to get a single one. Erk had taken to using his fire spell to get them to back off, if only for a moment, but he hadn't hit them.
"Let them come." Bartre said, hoisting his new silver axe. "We'll take 'em out all at once."
"I'm more worried they have a mage behind the door waiting to attack." Wallace growled. "My armor might not protect me so good against them."
As if on cue, the door was bashed again and the rack holding the knob gave way, breaking as it fell into a heap on the floor. "Set it on fire!" Priscilla shouted.
Erk followed her request without thinking. As Wallace took a few steps back and the door burst open, three enemies started running into the room. As they did, Erk's fire spell hit the wood beneath their feet, instantly going up in flames. The men began to scream in pain as the fire spread quickly to their garments, and Wallace bared them from getting into the room.
"Thunder!" Priscilla commanded.
Once more Erk followed her command, reciting a quick incantation before unleashing a bolt of lightning which struck the men who were on fire. All three of them fell to the ground, dead. "Well that's that." Erk sighed.
"Not yet!" Bartre roared, charging through the fire. The bits of flames that licked his feet didn't keep contact long enough, as Bartre threw himself at an opponent the other three hadn't seen. "Gotcha!"
"Ah!" The frail voice of what was likely a mage shouted from behind the wall. A few moments later, Bartre appeared on the other side of the fire, giving them the thumbs up.
"Get back to the others!" Wallace shouted. "Let Will know we'll need the fire to be put out after he's repelled the attackers and get those feet treated!"
Bartre nodded before hurrying off, though he limped slightly as the burns caused by the fire began to sting.
Hector and Will first happened upon another cavalier. While the horses made their enemy tall and harder to hit, their movement was heavily impaired inside the castle walls. Add in Will's use of magic, and the second cavalier met a nasty fate. Will's shine spell blasted the horse out from underneath the rider, and as he struggled to get to his feet Hector brought down his axe into the man's shoulder. His scream of pain followed by unconsciousness alerted the leader just around the corner. As Will and Hector rounded it, they found themselves face to face with their opponent, who was pointing a bow directly at Hector.
"Down!" Will shouted, jumping forward and pushing Hector with all his might. Just in time Hector's body moved, the arrow whizzing just past his cheek. He quickly regrouped, throwing his hand axe at Sealen before charging with Wolf Beil. Will threw out a shine spell, the bullets of light making Sealen's horse rear.
"Very well! I meet your challenge!" Their opponent cried. He smacked away the hand axe with his bow, which surprisingly held, before quick drawing and firing another arrow at Hector. Hector stopped in his tracks to block the blow and Sealen took the chance to switch to his longbow before firing three arrows at Will. Will clenched his teeth, firing another shine spell into the air above him. The bullets of light knocked away the arrows, but another arrow had followed, barely missing his side. As it was, he felt a small cut open and quickly backed away.
"You're done!" Hector shouted. His Wolf Beil slashed one of the horse's legs, bringing the beast of burden down. Sealen toppled off the mount, but he rose to his feet almost immediately as he fired off two arrows from his steel bow. Hector blocked one, but the second grazed his leg.
Sealen smiled. Both his opponent had taken a hit, but he had lost his mount and means of escape. As he drew his bow, he mused "so this is the death of a mercenary."
A flash of light blinded him, and though he fired one more arrow, he could hear the lord approaching. Hector's axe was swift, the mercenary commander not feeling a thing as his life came to an end. Hector collapsed to one knee, holding the arrow protruding from his stomach. "Damn… I wasn't… careful enough."
"I've got you." Will said, supporting the larger man from behind. "Somehow you're easier to carry then push out of the way. We'll get you to Serra and all patched up. You did good."
"You too." Hector said. "For not getting along, we sure seem to make a good team."
"Oh, we weren't getting along?" Will asked. "And here I thought I'd at least passed the acquaintance phase."
"Hah! Get me through this one and I may consider it." Hector chuckled, before wincing in pain. "Agh, shouldn't laugh with an arrow in me."
The battle had come to an end. With their commander defeated, the few remaining mercenaries had escaped. They must have had a path out of the castle planned beforehand, otherwise they never would have vanished as quickly as they had come. Euban's Mercenary troop deserved its reputation it seemed, even if their attack had failed.
Will had gotten Hector to Serra successfully, though she grumped that everyone was getting themselves injured today. Guy, Matthew, Marcus, Bartre and Hector all needed serious treatment, while Oswin had sustained some minor injuries from the blows against his armor. It became a lot easier after he and Dorcas had put out the fire in the treasury room. Luckily aside from the weapon rack and door there was no wood for the fire to spread, so aside from some minor smoke inhalation the three inside the treasury were alright.
Priscilla joined Serra in treating the injured and they actually made a pretty good team. Serra was especially good at treating the cuts, while Priscilla handled the bruises. Soon enough, only Hector and Marcus required a bit more treatment and rest before they would be on their feet again. "We survived." Hector said incredulously, laying back on the cot Serra had him resting on.
"The enemy retreated." Will said. "Pursuing them won't be possible. They seemed prepared for this attack for quite some time."
"Blast." Hector growled. "You have to admire their efficiency, though. Euban's mercenaries… we'd best not forget that name. We may run into them again." Hector sighed.
"The Black Fang is around too." Will said. "We've got to be careful and precise in our movements and actions."
"So nothing new." Hector sighed. "Tighten our belts and get ready for the storm. It appears we'll have more than just one enemy to deal with. Oswin!"
"Lord Wallace, Dorcas and I will see to the defenses at once. We'll make sure they've gone for the time being." Oswin said, saluting before moving out.
"I grow weary of defending ourselves." Hector growled to Will. "I want us to get on the attack. If we can pick up Lord Darin's trail, we can put him on the defensive instead."
"We're doing everything we can." Will said. "We'll find him soon. Of that I have no doubt."