Fire Emblem Valiant Dawn
Author's note:
Oh my gosh it has been so long since I've updated. Sorry, but life got really, really busy. Way worse than all the other times I said life got busy. Midterms lasted three weeks, I had a road test, a martial arts test, several events to attend, a birthday, and of course I had to get ready for Halloween. So yeah, glad that's all over. I can finally get back to writing.
This is part two of three of Port Toha. Hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: Everything that is from the games belongs to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems. Star Wars belongs to George Lucas. Firefly/Serenity belongs to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy (Fox sucks reaver nuts for canceling it).
Chapter 8
The Streets Run Red
Rank upon rank of black clad soldiers marched through the city gates, a column of heavy horse at their head. The crowded market had gone completely still, the once lively crowd silent as heavy footsteps rang in my ears. In what seemed like one precise movement, a block of soldiers split off from the column and formed up in front of the crowd.
"I'm going to see about moving up our departure. Be back in a few minutes," Ranulf whispered to Ike. Checking one last time to be sure his hood covered his distinctive ears , he slipped away. Slowly, the other mercenaries made their way through the crowd and began to gather around Ike as the Daein commander rode to the front of the block of soldiers in the marketplace.
"Former citizens of Crimea! I am Commander Makoya of the Daein Occupation Army, and as of this moment I am placing Port Toha under martial law," he bellowed, standing up in his stirrups. "I order all of you to return to your homes while we search the city for Crimean insurgents. Cooperate, and you will not be harmed. Resist, and the consequences will be dire indeed." This declaration was met with much grumbling from the crowd.
"Ah, why can't you just let us be?" one annoyed voice called.
"Do we look like bloody insurgents to you?" another added sarcastically.
"We got no quarrel with ye, but we'll lose profits if we close down the markets an' docks..."
"I have a family to feed..."
I almost couldn't believe what I was hearing; I had seen the apathy of these people, but now they were being occupied and all they did was bitch about lost profits. Daein killed their king and countrymen, for fuck's sake!
"I am ordering you to disperse! I will use force if I must!" Makoya shouted, his face going bright red with anger. A few people left but most of the others continued to complain. By now, all the mercenaries were gathered, and they exchanged worried glances. This could turn ugly real fast.
"Alright, it looks like one way or another we'll be losing the cover of the crowd any minute now," Ike said, keeping his voice even and calm despite the danger. "Titania, are the supplies taken care of?"
"We've purchased everything we need, and it's all been loaded on the ship," she replied, casting wary glances toward the angry crowd gathered in front of the Daein commander. They were getting increasingly agitated, and it looked like the situation would be escalating if one side didn't back down.
"Alright, then we're ready to leave once Ranulf convinces the captain to leave early. If all goes well, we can head to the docks together along the main road when Ranulf returns."
"And if we're spotted or things get violent?" Soren asked. From the look on his face, it seemed he considered battle a foregone conclusion.
"We split up and take different routes to the ship to confuse any pursuit. If it comes to that, then remember that our's is the old Firefly-Class merchant ship on dock seven."
"Wait, Firefly-Class?" I interjected. I hope I heard right...
"Yes. It's not exactly a warship, but it will get Elincia to safety," Ike replied.
"Hehe, epic," I chuckled to myself, trying to take my mind off the whole imminent death thing. Too bad it's not actually a spaceship... but still, it's a Firefly ship. Oh, how I wish I could tell everyone back home about this. Soren just gave me the 'you're such a tool' look.
"Anyway, everyone just try to act normal until Ranulf returns," Ike continued. "And for the love of Ashera, don't kill anyone," he added, looking pointedly at Ilyana.
"Oh, don't worry. I only needed to kill the one guy," Ilyana replied innocently. Ike just rolled his eyes. Around us the market was gradually emptying, the threat of force enough for many of the shoppers. The merchants, however, were getting angrier by the minute and began yelling and complaining to the Daein commander. Makoya ignored them and rode off with his cavalry, leaving a line of Daein troops to keep the people from rioting. Unfortunately the crowd was almost at that point, and only a few minutes later the soldiers moved into the crowd and began forcing them to leave. Luckily, Ranulf returned at that moment.
"Good news; Nasir says he's ready to depart as soon as you're all aboard. He's as eager to leave as we are."
"Good, let's get going," Ike said, looking quite relieved. It seemed we would be able to get out before Daein shut down the docks, which meant no fighting. After all, no matter how good our company was, there were hundreds of soldiers in the city.
"Everyone, follow m- OOF!" Ranulf fell to the ground as a girl rushing to get home slammed into him.
"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed.
Ranulf stood and brushed himself off. "It's quite alright, miss. Just please be more careful from now on," he said politely. I suddenly noticed, as did the girl, that his hood had fallen down. The girl's eyes went wide with shock.
"EEEEEK! SUB-HUMAN!" she screamed. In an instant a knot of people gathered around Ranulf, shouting and carrying on. Seeing the disturbance, the Daein troops in the market began to converge on our location. Ike rushed to stand beside Ranulf.
"Leave him be! He has done nothing wrong," he said, trying in vain to defuse the situation before the soldiers could push their way through the crowd.
"He's a sub-human!" someone yelled, as if that were all the reason they needed to hate him.
"It's a Gallian scout! They're going to invade!" another cried. Idiots, they were already being invaded!
"Get out of my way!" the closest soldier shouted as he shoved his way through the crowd. He shoved one last person out of the way, and saw Ranulf. Realizing he was a laguz, the soldier tore his sword from its sheath and charged.
"Oh no you don't," Ike snapped, one long stride putting him in front of the charging Daein. In one motion he drew his sword and knocked the surprised man's weapon out wide, then brought the blade down hard into his opponent's chest. There was a moment of stunned silence as the soldier slumped, then all at once the crowd scattered. Screaming, panicked people ran every which way, causing no end of confusion for the remaining Daeins. Unsure of who was friend or foe, the soldiers began attacking and subduing whoever happened to be nearest.
"RUN!" Ike yelled above the din of the crowd. I didn't need to be told twice.
I made a run for the nearest stall, and several people slammed into me as I tried to get away from the stampede. Dodging one particularily fat merchant, I ducked behind a produce stall and took a moment to gather my wits. Back in the middle of the market Ranulf had transformed and was drawing several of the enemy away to the south, but I caught no sign of the others . The market was getting emptier by the second as the crowd rolled towards the exits, but there were still many opportunistic people and looting the unattended stalls while the remaining Daeins chased them. It was absolute chaos.
Ilyana, Boyd and his brothers ran past me, and I knew I was running out of time to escape. Darting from cover I joined up with them, and together we made a beeline for the bridge we'd crossed to get to Chalmun's just an hour before. There were still many Daeins in our way, but the confusion made getting away much easier. Boyd caught one Daein with his back turned and broke his neck, while Ilyana dropped a second soldier with a point-blank thunder spell. Ahead, I saw another man grab Nephenee, but Mordecai charged in, his powerful jaws clamping down hard on the man's neck. Oscar led the way across the bridge, his heavy mount and lance knocking aside the few remaining Daeins who stood in our way. I glanced back at the chaos in the market as our group crossed the bridge, hoping to see some sign that the others had made it out as well. I thought I saw Ike heading down a side street, but I soon lost him in the crowd.
"Come on, the way is clear!" Oscar called, bringing me back to more immediate concerns. We ran down the street, keeping our weapons sheathed and doing our best to act like all the other people fleeing the market. We weren't very successful; Mordecai had shifted back to normal after killing the one soldier, but even so a man of his stature certainly stood out. Add to that the fact that Oscar seemed to be the only person around on horseback and we stuck out like an open fracture. Worse yet, I recalled that this was the street the vigilantes/laguz hunters used in the game. It seemed we would be in for another fight.
Sure enough, the vigilantes I had seen earlier at Chalmun's were coming down the street towards us, shouting and carrying on about "gettin' me a beast-skin rug" and other horrid things. Boyd and I tried to hide our faces, but it was no use.
"Hey! It's them sub-human lovers from the tavern!" the leader shouted upon seeing us. The men around him moved to block our path and the crowd cleared the street, cheering on their beloved vigilantes as they left.
"Let us pass. We don't wish to harm fellow Crimeans," Oscar declared, taking charge as he was the most experienced warrior among us. A few of the vigilantes took a step back as Oscar drew near, his imposing destrier stealing some of their bluster.
"Well, I wish to harm them four," the leader snarled back mockingly, encouraged by the number of men around him. He gestured rudely at the four of us who had turned down his offer in the bar, drawing jeers and taunts from his fellows. "And that large fellow there, he's got stripes on his face just like one of them sub-humans," he added when he got a look at Mordecai. I noticed the blue-haired man who had joined the vigilantes in the bar moving into position right behind the leader. A swordsman with blue hair, why is that familiar? ... Oh right it's Zihark, how could I forget that?! Wow, I am the least helpful and most stupidest all-knowing gamer of all time. All forgetfulness aside, this was good. As I recalled, Zihark liked laguz so he would probably help us, and he was right behind that bastard leader...
"Let us pass, or there will be bloodshed," Oscar replied firmly, surreptitiously reaching for his lance. I loosened my sword in its sheath, Boyd brought his axe off his back, and behind me I heard the distinctive crackle of thunder magic being readied. At this point, a fight was all but inevitable.
"Oh, there's gonna be bloodshed all right!" the leader snapped. "Get'em, boys!" The vigilantes eagerly surged forward, hooting and hollering. Never one to be left out of any loudness, Boyd screamed like a banshee and charged headlong into the first available enemy. Oscar dispatched a few vigilantes with relative ease from atop his horse, the height of his mount and reach of his spear giving him all the advantage he needed. Mordecai tore into the vigilante who was coming for me, but the leader moved in while he was distracted, swinging a large jagged sword at the laguz's side. I lunged forward, sword extended to intercept.
"Coward!" I snapped as I blocked the cowardly strike. "Try fighting someone who doesn't have their back turned."
"If you insist," the leader sneered.
I rushed into the fight, putting all my strength into an overhead, two-handed strike. After the last few skirmishes I was pretty confident that I could take one man one on one; I couldn't have been more wrong. The blades crashed together, his easily holding mine in place despite all my efforts. The leader pushed back, and suddenly I was stumbling backwards, off-balance and very vulnerable. This man was no lazy prison guard or poorly equipped archer conscript; He was an experienced warrior, and a whole hell of a lot stronger than me to boot. I backpedaled frantically, blocking the next strike but losing my sword in the process. I threw myself back as the leader reversed his swing, the sword tip just nicking the leather armor I wore on my chest. I landed hard on my ass and the breath went right out of me, but I kept the presence of mind to roll to the side. The next strike sank into the dirt where I'd been just a second before, and my roll carried me close to my lost sword. I grabbed it and stood, sucking in a breath and trying to regain my balance. I started to back up, but my back hit the wall of a building. Shit, I hadn't realized the fight had taken me there.
"Still wanna fight?" the leader taunted me as he extracted his sword. "'Cause all I see you doin' is running away like a little bitch."
"Fuck you," I spat. I really had nothing else at this point. I had both underestimated him and overestimated my own abilities, and it had cost me. The leader raised his sword but suddenly froze, an expression of intense pain on his face. An instant later the tip of a sword tore through his chest. He slumped, sliding silently off the blade. Standing over the corpse, Zihark ripped his sword free and turned to engage a pair of vigilantes intent on avenging their leader.
"Traitor!" they screamed, outraged.
"Ignorant, racist pigs!" Zihark shot back, easily parrying their attacks. "You people disgust me," he snarled as he ducked a clumsy swing and delivered a precise slash to the man's throat before stepping back inside the reach of the next attacker. One quick thrust put an end to that man as well. With no leader and a traitor cutting them down with brutal efficiency, the rest of the vigilantes broke ranks and scattered. We let them go, more concerned with the unexpectedly helpful swordsman.
"Thank you for your assistance, but who are you?" Oscar asked our new ally, clearly perplexed by the sudden betrayal.
"I am Zihark, a traveling mercenary and friend to the laguz. I was with these men in the hopes that I could stop them from killing any innocents, though I must say you seem to have taken care of that problem quite handily."
"Well we'd love to stay and exchange thank you's, but we're getting out of here before Daein can catch us," Oscar replied. He considered Zihark for a moment, then added "You're welcome to come along, if you want. You'd be paid, of course."
"Certainly. Any friend of the laguz-" He was cut off as ball of fire suddenly exploded not five feet to the left of our group. It startled Oscar's horse, who reared and nearly threw him off.
"Mage! Get to cover!" Boyd screamed as he dove behind an abandoned wagon on the side of the road. Zihark tackled Ilyana to save her from a second fire spell, and a third passed no more than a few feet over my head, sending me diving behind cover as well. I leaned around the edge of the wagon to see a formation of Daein soldiers marching down the street towards us, a fire mage in their midst. It was hard to tell how many, but they had us outnumbered by a lot.
"Quickly, down the alley! We'll be slaughtered if we stay in the open," Oscar ordered as he regained control of his mount, indicating an alley right next to the wagon.
Rolf hesitated while the others rushed to the alley. "Are you sure? It could be a dead-end!" he shouted. "We'd be trapped."
"Better than staying out here to be roasted," I replied. Naturally, Ilyana's stomach rumbled loudly. I gotta be more careful with what I say around her. Boyd pushed Rolf ahead of us, keeping himself between his brother and the mage as we all ran off the street. Behind us, a ball of fire tore into the wagon.
The four of us took the rearguard, Ilyana casting as she ran. The others were barely halfway down the alley when the Daeins reached the entrance. Ilyana and Rolf fired blindly behind them, more interested in slowing our pursuers than actually harming them. The alley led to a side street that looked like a promising escape route, but by the time we reached the alley's exit it was plain that we would have to turn and fight; The soldiers were too close for us to get away. Ilyana and Rolf kept firing while Oscar directed the rest of us to form up in a semi-circle around the alley's end, creating a nice bottleneck for the Daeins. The first few soldiers reached us soon after, but because of the bottleneck they could only attack with a few men at a time. I blocked the attack of the first man to come at me, and simply held his lance in place while Nephenee stabbed him from the side. The others fell just as quickly, as our formation allowed us to attack with two of us to each one of them.
Seeing their disadvantage, the Daeins retreated into the alley to make room for their mage to drive us back. Fireballs began to fly in our direction once again, and we all took cover as best we could. Rolf loosed an arrow and brought down one of the soldiers next to the mage, then went scrambling away as a fire spell exploded where he had stood just moments before. Boyd, Nephenee and I flattened ourselves against the wall to one side of the alley, while Ilyana and Rolf took cover opposite to us. All of the others ran across the street and got to cover behind a low fence unharmed except for Mordecai, who suffered a nasty burn along his front leg. It seemed there would be no escape for us unless we could kill that mage.
"Where is the mage?!" Ilyana called as she finished casting a spell. She stayed hidden around the corner of the alley, sparks of electricity dancing between her hands as she waited for her chance to strike.
Unwilling to stick my head out to check, I rubbed the blade of my knife on my pants to make it shiny enough to use as a mirror, then stuck it around the corner. It took a few adjustments, but I was soon able to find the mage. Unfortunately, he found me as well and a ball of fire just barely missed the knife.
"OWWW, gorramit!" I yelled, holding my singed fingers. "He's on the left side in the first rank!" I stuck the knife back out to see if Ilyana was successful.
Ilyana nodded her thanks, stepped out into the alley's entrance and unleashed her spell just as the Daein mage began to conjure another fireball. The lightning bolt struck the flames the mage held and the two magical attacks merged, seeming to fight with each other for a moment.
"Uh-oh," Ilyana said.
"That can't be good.." I managed, just before all hell broke loose.
The Daein mage had just enough time to gaze at his hands in horror before the mixed spells detonated, their force magnified exponentially by the combined magic and the tight space. The soldiers disappeared as flames and debris shot out of the alley, their screams silenced by the mighty roar. A shockwave went ahead of the flames, blasting through the mercenaries and throwing us all to the ground.