Psst! Please read the AN at the end!
…
Ike ran his hand through his hair. "Okay. Not as bad as it could have been. And what's the report for the Greil Mercenaries?"
"There were no deaths and no injuries beyond our capability to heal," Soren reported. "We have some healing and repairs that will need to be taken care of before we're fully ready for battle again."
"Thanks, Soren," Ike said.
"So," Micaiah began. "We've weathered the first attack. The fort is in good shape, except for the main gate. I can order repairs unless," she glanced at Soren, "we agree that it would be better to leave this fort and occupy another one."
"Do you have another one in mind?" Ike asked.
"No," she declared. "There aren't a lot of defensive positions along this border, because we never expected to be attacked from this side. Also, the desert and these mountains provide a good natural buffer." She tapped her fingers against the map. "The point is, this fort is one of the only ones where we could deploy our cavalry outside; the other locations are too high in the mountains, with narrower passes."
"That makes them more defensible, though," Soren murmured. "This one, guarding the Serpent Pass, looks especially difficult to bypass."
"So what do you think?" Sothe asked him.
Soren raised a sardonic eyebrow. "Will you listen, even if I contradict the Queen?"
"We didn't hire you to ignore your advice," Sothe pointed out, refusing to rise to the bait. "I remember how well your tactics work."
Soren was quiet for a moment, staring at the map on the table. "Crimea's cavalry will arrive here the day after tomorrow. This fort is the last place before Daein proper where we can put them to good use." He closed his eyes briefly. "Get the repairs started immediately, and make sure the watch stays sharp, obviously. We've repelled the first attack but we haven't yet been able to get a count of their full army. They could mount another attack in the next day or two, to finish this fort while it's weakened. I think we should stay here, but be ready."
He opened his eyes. "Ike, and Sothe, choose the watchmen and position them well. Tibarn, send some of your people to get figures on the Ketaran army. Queen Micaiah, Ranulf, please remain here — I'd like to go over our plans for when the other armies arrive. If we're going to take the risk of staying here, we have to make the Crimean cavalry count."
Most of the room's occupants left. Soren looked up at the Queen of Daein. "There's one more thing," he said.
"That magic," she guessed.
Soren nodded briskly. "Have you ever seen anything like it?"
Micaiah shook her head slowly. "I haven't. It didn't seem to be anima, light or dark."
"Are you talking about how they broke down the gate so easily?" Ranulf asked.
"Yes," Soren answered. "And you must have noticed them fighting with magic, as well."
"I did," the cat replied. "I noticed the same thing Micaiah did; and also, those spells seemed to have unpredictable results." He shrugged. "Kind of reminded me of Ashera's Judgment — but that's impossible, isn't it?"
"Interesting," Soren murmured. "I don't like it, but it looks as though we'll have to wait and see. In the meantime…"
…
"No problem, Boss," Mia said breezily when Ike asked her to take a watch. She sprang to her feet, then paused and put her hand on Rhys' shoulder. "Don't push it," she warned him.
"I'll be fine," he assured her, his staff glowing a gentle blue over an injured soldier. "Don't worry."
"'Kay, then. See you later." She scampered off to the western wall of the fort, where Ike had told her to stay. She arrived and found the captain of the Daein archers already there. She recognized him from the Judgment War — Leonardo, a marksman, not wearing white and clearly not her archrival — and smiled brightly as she joined him.
"You alright?" she asked. "Get through the first battle okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine," he nodded gravely. "And you?"
"I'm great," Mia responded. She leaned against the top of a crenellation. "As good as anybody can be in a war. But hey, this is sort of what I do for a living."
"Me, too," Leonardo sighed. "Sometime — like now — I do wonder what I've gotten myself into."
Mia glanced at him, running her fingers idly over the hilt of her sword. "Well, you defend your country. And the people you care about. That's what it's really about, isn't it? I mean, we have our jobs, but at the end of the day, we don't fight for the money. It's because we believe in it."
Leonardo shot her a surprised look. "I thought you were a mercenary."
"I am," Mia said, straightening proudly. "One of the Greil Mercenaries. That's one of the reasons I stick with them, is because we don't take jobs that we can't support."
Leonardo inclined his head. "Right. Sorry. I forgot."
Mia shrugged, forgiving easily and moving on, the way she always did.
Their watch was supposed to be two hours long. But two stretched into three when no one came to switch with them. Mia didn't mind much, but she did take a quick break to do some acrobatics and a couple basic sword forms. She wasn't one to sit still for very long. Two hours was testing her limits.
"Mia," Leonardo said suddenly.
"What is it?" she asked, immediately stopping her form and rushing to the edge of the wall. Leonardo pointed, and she followed his arm to a cloud of dust in the distance — getting closer pretty quickly.
"Stay here and keep and eye on them," Leonardo muttered. "I'll go get Micaiah and General Ike."
Mia didn't realize until several minutes later that she'd never sheathed her sword: she still had it in her hand as she watched the dust cloud get closer. She thought about putting it away, but didn't, because she could see people-shapes at the bottom of the dust cloud now. It wasn't a desert wind throwing sand, it was definitely a small army.
"How far are they?"
Mia glanced behind her. "I'd say, at that rate, a couple hours," she told the Queen. Her hand flexed around the hilt of her sword.
To her surprise, Micaiah smiled. "Good."
"You know them?" Mia asked hopefully.
Micaiah nodded. "It's Queen Nailah and her wolves. And I believe she's accompanied by Stefan, and all those from his colony who can fight. I sent them a message a week ago."
"Whew," Mia sighed, relaxing. "Stefan, huh? He's a good one to have fighting for us, that's for sure."
Micaiah nodded — then her gaze slid past Mia, staring into the middle distance. Mia looked at her strangely, and Sothe took her arm to steady her. A moment passed. The trueblade raised her eyebrows at Sothe curiously, wondering if this was normal. He ignored her. That, at least, was pretty normal. Finally Micaiah sighed and closed her eyes.
"What is it?" Sothe asked instantly.
Micaiah rubbed her forehead. "Two days. There will be another attack the day after tomorrow — a force like today's. They won't send their whole army to us just yet. Soren was right: they're still testing us out, aiming to take the fort while it's weakened."
She looked up grimly. "Queen Nailah and Stefan will be here in time. Elincia and Sanaki will have to hurry. Mia, will you please keep watch here, I'll send someone to relieve you in a moment. Sothe, come on, we need to tell Soren and Ike, and send one of the ravens with a message to our allies. They have to hurry — and in the meantime, our defenses have to hold."
…
…
Author's Note: I was reading something else and decided that it annoyed me how the notes were at the beginning and seemed to interrupt the story, so mine will be down here from now on. Just fyi.
Well, that ending was a little abrupt there… I'm trying to get this up before midnight. Sorry. Maybe I'll revise later if I come up with something cleverer.
Thought we'd take a tactics break, then go back into battle from someone else's perspective next time. Could be Elincia or Sanaki — might end up being Sothe. Unless you guys care to review and convince me that I should try somebody else! Open to suggestions, here.
On that note, thanks guys for the reviews, especially GSFEfan25 for the tactical advice, and to Kiiroi Senko: I definitely accept the offer of tactical help from whoever. And, if I continue to miss anything from the game, please let me know (can't seem to work up the energy to write this and play the game for the umpteenth time…)
See you tomorrow! Back on track, hopefully for good this time!
PS: yes, I admit that I just watched The Two Towers, and the amazing cavalry of Rohan is inspiring me. My turn to try: coming soon. Fingers crossed for me.
Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem. (duh)