DISCLAIMER: FIRE EMBLEM AND ITS CHARACTERS BELONG TO NINTENDO.
A/N: Here it is, the final chapter in the Sage's Hamlet Arc. It's a nice action packed chapter to end this part of the story with a bang! Enjoy!
Sage's Hamlet 4
The Shepherds and Sages were gathered around the center of camp. They had been made aware of the enemy presence within the forest. Bora lay in the medical tent, his condition critical.
Robin strode over towards the campfire at the center of the crowd. "Okay everyone, we need to act fast. There's no telling how many of them there are and when they'll come back. We've only got around 60 men on our side, so stick together. Let me make it clear that I prohibit aerial units from taking off. They have numerous archers at their disposal, and if you hadn't notice, the treelines aren't that far away from the village and we're surrounded by it. As soon as you take off, you can be immediately shot down by them."
"So we act as cavalry like last time?" Cordelia asked.
"Right. Pegasus Riders join up with Frederick, Stahl, Sully and Cherche, if Minerva can manage on the ground." Robin confirmed.
"Minerva owns the skies, but we can make do down here as well so long as we're able to glide off the ground a bit." Cherche said with a nod.
"Very well, just don't ascend any higher than the houses and keep moving." Robin agreed. "Mages, no fire magic if the enemy is between you and the forest or the village. If we start a fire here, the village is as good as gone. Use wind magic and form a line to repel any arrows they fire over to us. Also, everyone be sure not to follow them into the forest! That's their turf and there's no telling what traps they could have set up. We wait for them to head out into the field and do the fighting there. Despite this, their archers are going to be a real pain in the rear. They're sure to remain in the cover of the forest, trying to pick us off from a distance. If we don't deal with them, it'll cripple the rest of our forces. I'll need a skilled team to slip into the treeline and take them out."
Gaius raised a hand. "I heard the word 'skilled'? I'm your guy."
"I'll go too" Anna said.
Olivia and Lon'qu also joined the small team.
Robin clasped his hands together. "Perfect. Shouldn't be a problem for you four. Still, I urge you to take caution as to not alert them of your presence. The forest is where their troops are stationed. If they find you, escape or you'll be overwhelmed. Your targets are only their archers. After you've taken out enough, join up back with our main force and notify them so our fliers can take off."
"Won't be an issue, Bubbles. After we take down a few, we'll don whatever uniform they've got on and blend right in."
"Taking a page from the Resistance, eh?" Say'ri smiled.
"Yeah, sounds fun." Gaius smirked.
Robin agreed to the plan. "Chrom takes lead of our main force as usual. Their goal is some 'treasure' at Bora's place, so naturally they'll be drawn to that area. Everyone take a moment to prepare and meet at the western end of the village."
The group scrambled to grab their weapons and armor.
Robin moved through the shifting crowd as he headed back to his tent to grab his sword. "Robin!" He turned his head to see Lucina frantically running up to him.
She grabbed his arm and inspected it. "How is it? Severa told me you were hit by an arrow." Lucina found the hole in his sleeve and rubbed over the area his wound once was.
"It's fine now. It didn't get in too deep and we patched it up fast. More importantly, did Maribelle have any news about Bora?"
Lucina clenched her jaw. "No, he's still out. His breathing... it's getting shallower."
"...Let's focus on neutralizing the threat." Robin said walking ahead.
"Robin..." Lucina said with concern. She followed right behind the man.
"...I'm fine. Are you geared up?"
"Yes, I'll stick by you this time around. You said their aim was Bora's house correct? Whoever's leading them is sure to be there. Take out their leader..."
"That's right, but let's not assume anything just yet. They're bandits after all. Even if their leader falls, I doubt they closely adhere to any organized hierarchy to begin with. He may call the shots, but after he's through, the spoils in town are fair game for anyone among their ranks."
"Then we wipe them out."
"If it comes to that, yes."
They followed the trail to the far side of camp where Robin's tent was set up. When they arrived, Robin motioned for Lucina to come in. She glanced around the room. She saw dozens of papers with magical symbols and maps scattered across his small desk. A certain book caught her eye. She went over to the desk and reached for it, observing the cover and flipping through its contents. Memories rushed through her head as she finally realized why the book had caught her attention. It had been one of her favorite books her mother had read to her as a child. She smiled as she reached an illustration of the princess hugging the heroic knight who had just saved her from the evil wizard. She remembered reenacting scenes from the story several times as a child. She often dressed up as the princess, laughing while she ran around the castle as her father, dressed as the wizard, chased her through the halls.
"Having fun with that?" Robin spoke.
Lucina felt guilty for allowing herself to reminisce during such an urgent situation. "I apologize. I remember my mother reading it to me as a child."
The smile that graced her lips when he caught sight of her was enough to confirm the book held some importance to her. "It's funny, it was Sumia who gave it to me. You can hold on to that if you want. I've read through it already."
"I-I couldn't possib-"
"It's fine. Who knows, maybe you'll be reading it to your own child one day." he said as he put on his favorite coat.
Lucina smiled softly at the thought of one day living such a normal life. "Thank you. Another reason to save the world, perhaps?"
Robin chuckled. "Alright, I'm all done here."
"Let's hurry back." Lucina set the book back on the desk. "I'll pick it up after."
"Right." Robin held the flap of the tent open for Lucina to walk out.
They jogged back, ignoring the trail and cutting through the field, straight for the village. Robin held out his hand in front of Lucina. "Wait... Do you hear that?"
Lucina stopped and halted her breath, trying to locate the sound Robin meant. She heard the sounds of footsteps towards town. Cicadas were chirping all around. She heard the sound of flapping. It was much too large and numerous to be any nocturnal bird or bat. She closed her eyes, trying to zero in on the sound. The soft flapping grew louder and louder until a unmistakable shriek pierced the night sky. "Wyverns." she gasped. Lucina broke into a sprint for the village.
"Wyverns?" Robin asked, catching up. "What kind of damn bandits do they have here in Valm?"
"Valm's home to countless wyvern nests and promontories. It wouldn't be too off to assume that even average people here have grown accustomed to the beasts." she breathed.
"We have to alert the others. Our mages need to direct their attention skywards before they can do any damage." Robin said sprinting ahead.
The sounds of the wyverns grew louder, a whole pack of them judging by the chorus of roars. The sound grew louder until they were right overhead. The group of over 10 riders flew towards the Shepherd's camp, attempting to pick off anyone illuminated by the light. One rider descended downwards towards the circle of tents.
"Like I'll let you," Robin spat as he readied his tome. He fired of a Forseti towards the beast. The wyvern was hit by blast of wind, and rolled across the air. It quickly recovered from its mid air tumble and flew back into the sky.
Robin grit his teeth. "Damn it... So this is the limit of Forseti's range."
Lucina heard whistling and looked up to find another rider dive bombing towards Robin. The bandit had found their position after Robin fired. "Robin, above!" she yelled.
Robin spared no time to look up, firing a second blast upward. The rider barrel rolled around the blast of wind, swooping into an arc to run down the Tactician. As the beast glided towards him, Lucina threw her Falchion into its side, sending the beast skidding across the grass.
She sprinted for the bandit trying to dismount. "Lucina!" Robin yelled to her as he tossed his Bronze Sword. She caught it then flipped into the air, slamming it into the bandit before he could escape.
"Nice one." she said, pulling out her Falchion from the wyvern's corpse. She tossed Robin his sword.
Robin caught it, shaking off the blood. "Thank Naga for that Falchion."
"Dragon slaying is its purpose after all."
Several more whistling sounds filled the sky. They looked up to see the rest of the wyverns now circling above them. The horde of beasts flew down one after the other, aiming to take out the two who had noticed their presence.
Robin decided it was about time to test out Mjolnir. He waited until they drew close.
"Robin, hurry!"
"No, not yet."
The wyverns dove down at tremendous speeds. Robin finally took aim, but before he could fire, several bolts of lightning ripped through the sky, cutting through the descending swarm of terrors.
The wyverns pulled back into the sky, those that had been fried, plummeted to the ground around them.
Robin looked towards the source of the assault. Four Sages ran towards them. "Hurry to the others, you're ripe for the picking standing out here in the open. We'll hold them off." a Sage said.
"Are you certain you can manage?" Lucina asked, unsure.
"Have some faith in us. As frail as we appear, the same cannot be said about our magic." the Sage said with a grin before turning her attention back towards the night sky.
"Lucina, let's go!" Robin said as he tugged on her arm.
They dashed across the field, sounds of the Sages blasting the wyverns echoed from behind. Robin peeked back to see the enemy units crashing down to the ground. But there were far too many. The Sages fired off continuously, trying to keep up with the enemies. They took out about half before another group of riders joined the fray. The Sages were swarmed and taken out.
"Shit..." Robin grimaced as he heard the sounds of his comrades crying in pain as they were torn up by the enemy. The wyverns swooped towards them, having dealt with the Sages.
Robin looked across the field. They had a lot of distance to cover. Perhaps their little shortcut had proved to be the longer route. He ran up to Lucina, grabbing her arms and setting them around his waist.
"What are you doing?"
"Just hold on." he said, stuffing away his Mjolnir and reaching for the other. Lucina tightened her hold on him as they ran.
Robin aimed his arm backwards at an angle. He fired Forseti, jetting them across the field. They flew over in large bounds, Robin firing another shot downwards whenever they descended to lift them back into the air.
A wyvern caught up to them, poised to slash at the two. Lucina grabbed her Falchion. Robin use for Forseti to blow them towards the beast at it cocked its head back to bite at them. Lucina slashed out at it. The Falchion ripped across the wyvern's face, causing it to shriek in pain and yield.
They sailed through the air over the houses of the village. With a final blast of wind downwards, they landed at village's center, in front of the others.
"Were you just flying?" Gaius said in shock.
"What the hell happened to you two?" Vaike asked.
Vaike's question was answered as a group of the pursuing wyverns soared above the town.
"They've got dragons too?" Chrom asked in frustration.
"Splendid. Perhaps Minerva can find a suitable mate among them." Cherche smiled.
Frederick shook his head. "This is hardly the time to be playing such games, Cherche. They're the enemy."
Virion took an arrow from his quiver. "Have no fear. Even the largest of beasts fall to my pin point accuracy." he said proudly, pulling back on his bow and taking aim at whatever poor soul was caught in his sights.
"Oy! We've got a whole bunch of those dastards pouring in from the west!" Sully yelled.
"Everyone, get in positions! Be vigilant, they're coming from the west now, but another wave could easily catch us from anywhere in the forest." Robin ordered.
The Shepherds moved over towards the western end of the town to fend off the assault, the mages trailing behind, shooting down the wyvern circling above.
Lucina turned to Robin. "We're headed for Bora's," she reminded.
"That's right."
"We're coming along." a voice demanded.
Owain, Severa and Kjelle stood by, fully equipped for battle.
"Are you sure? Your parents are out in the field." Robin stated.
"What? You think they can't handle themselves? We're going to avenge Bora whether you like it or not." Severa said.
"We can fight along our parents later. You two are going after that dastard behind all of this right?" Kjelle asked.
Owain gripped his blade. "It is for that reason we must join you. That vile miscreant Gecko... He shall rue the day he set foot in this peaceful village. M-my... sword hand... it demands... JUSTICE!" Owain yelled, anger burning in his eyes.
"Alright, we can use the help." Robin said, headed towards Bora's cabin.
The group of five walked the dirt road between the lines of houses. Owain stopped. "Halt. I believe they've already made their way into town." he said, pointing towards the roofs.
Robin looked above the houses to find numerous silhouettes crouching above the rooftops. He pulled out his sword and tome. He scanned around and found a house with only three foes sitting atop. "Owain, how would you fare against three?"
"That's hardly enough to satiate my needs..." Owain said, hand trembling on his sword's hilt.
"The house to the south, you're up." Robin said getting behind him and readying his tome.
"By gods, am I going to fly?" Owain asked with a hint of excitement that betrayed his serious demeanor.
"Yeah, stick the landing though." Robin said as he blasted Owain up and over to the roof.
The three Bandit Assassins had no idea how to react to the young man now flying towards them. Owain landed on the slanted edge of the roof, shingles coming loose. He slid on the shingles down the side of the roof towards the three men. The Assassins pulled their blades up, preparing to strike at the man when he slid by. Owain kept his hand on his sheathed sword's hilt, analyzing the enemies' stance as he inched closer and closer. The Assassins raised their swords. 'Now!' Owain thought as he slid between the men. He drew his blade into a spinning slash, cutting all three down before they could even bring down their own swords. Owain stabbed his sword into the rooftop and held his ground. The three assassins fell to the roof tilings and rolled off into the ground below. Owain hopped onto another nearby roof.
The other Assassins, upon seeing three of their own taken out in an instant, leapt off the rooftops to attack the four below.
"Here they come." Lucina said as she got into her stance, the tip of her Falchion pointed forward.
Two Assassins charged at the princess. Lucina trained the Falchion's tip on her target and sprung forward with her immense leg strength. She zipped past the Assassin at the front and skewered the other behind him. She pulled her Falchion out from her crouched position and swung it into a large arc behind her. Like she had predicted, the surviving Assassin had turned around and leapt at her as she killed his ally, but jumped straight into her counter attack. Lucina hopped up to her feet.
Robin was sidestepping the controlled slashes of his foe, waiting for a change in his attack pattern. The Assassin struck with rapid, precise blows with a single hand. As soon as he pulled his blade back and gripped it with his other hand, Robin rolled forward and slashed him with an upwards swipe. Another came running at Robin from the side but was speared by a Steel Lance. Robin looked over to see Kjelle grinning. "Behind you!" he yelled.
Kjelle snapped her head back to find an Assassin in the air, ready to bring down his blade on her head. She turned to her side, leaned over and raised her shoulder, taking the blow with her armor. The Assassin's blade bounced off of Kjelle's thick shoulder plate. Kjelle grabbed the man by his collar. "That's the trade off when you train to be so damn sneaky. You lack real strength." she spat as she pulled back her other arm and slammed a heavily armored fist into the man's jaw. The man exhaled from the force and crumpled to the floor.
"Kjelle!" Lucina called as she tossed her back her lance. She caught her weapon and went to deal with another bandit.
Severa was reflecting the strikes of her foe. She found her back pressed to the wall of a house. The Assassin pulled his arm back, and cut into a horizontal slash. Severa ducked underneath it, the Assasin's sword embedding itself into the home's thin walls. Severa kicked forward from her crouched stance and hit the man in the groin. The man doubled over. "Say goodnight, you pig." Severa said angrily as she stabbed into his back.
The enemy platoon was dropping like flies. The remaining three foes retreated down the dirt road.
Robin pulled out his Arcthunder tome and fired. The bolt struck in between the three men, frying one and sending the others crashing onto the ground.
Owain jumped off the rooftop and buried his sword into one, while Severa followed up on the last.
Severa pulled her bloodied sword out in disgust. "And just where were you while all this was going on? Think you're a hotshot 'cause you got the first three kills?" she asked Owain with irritance.
"I was taking care of all the ones up there!" Owain said pointing to the top of the houses.
"Hmph, so you'd rather spend time with a bunch of bandits than fight alongside me?" Severa asked as she glared at him.
"Y-you can't be serious... Fine, I shall make it up to you by offering myself, as your personal elite guard for this mission. Rejoice, my dear friend, for a hero of my standing will surely render all enemies paraly-"
"Ahh, save it." Severa huffed, walking over to the others.
Owain sighed, sheathing his Killing Edge.
"That was quite the ambush. But still, I suppose we should count ourselves lucky that their Wyvern Riders are occupied with the mages." Lucina stated.
"Let us do our best to remain out of their attention. Quickly now, Bora's house is just up the road." Robin instructed.
The Shepherds and Sages clashed with the bandit forces pouring out from the forest.
Within the cover of trees, four figures silently creeped through the enemy lines.
Gaius, Olivia, Lon'qu and Anna moved through the forest, sticking to the cover of the many trees and bushes, homing in on where they could hear bowstrings being released. They stopped behind some shrubs to spy a group of six Assassins taking aim for the Shepherds on the field.
"Alright, we're in luck. Six dead bandits means enough disguises for us to stop sneaking around." Gaius whispered, as he readied his sword.
"Everyone pick a target. We take them out at once. I've got the two on the far left." Anna ordered, creeping closer.
"...I guess I'll take the one beside them." Olivia whispered.
"I'll take the one next to that." Gaius said, getting ready to quietly climbing up the tree to a spot above the enemies.
"The remaining two are mine." Lon'qu said as he readied his own bow.
"Shall we begin as soon as Lon'qu fires?" Olivia asked.
They nodded in confirmation and readied themselves.
Lon'qu pulled back his bowstring, two arrows loaded in, and aimed for the targets on the far right. '1, 2, 3!' He released and the arrows flew and dug themselves into the Assassins' backs.
The other four Assassins turned to their fallen comrades but were immediately pounced on by the three Shepherds.
"Hee hee, that was easy." Anna smiled, as she patted the dead bandits down for any loose change. She found a pouch of bullion and stuffed it into her small bag.
"And it's about to get easier." Gaius smiled mischievously as he wrapped the cowl and cloak of a fallen Assassin around him.
The other three followed suit, observing one another.
"Keep your hoods up and that should do the job just fine." Lon'qu noted.
Now donning the clothing of the enemy, they picked up the enemies' bows to complete the look. The group of 4 ran through the forest, scanning for another team of archers.
They came across 5 more, taking aim at a group of Sages.
"Let's see how well these disguises work." Lon'qu said walking up to the group, Anna right behind.
One of the Assassin's turned around at the sound of footsteps. He saw Lon'qu and Anna approaching them. "What're you two doing? Don't tell me the rest of your team's been taken out?"
Lon'qu nodded as he and Anna crouched behind them.
The Assassin scoffed. "Now I've gotta babysit too." He mumbled in annoyance, turning his attention back to the battlefield.
Lon'qu looked to Anna. Anna smiled toothily as she pulled out her blade. "Cha-ching!" she said with delight as she cut down the four men from behind with two swift slashes. As they fell to the ground, she once again searched their pockets for gold. "This is gonna make me rich!" she squealed.
The small infiltration team, now having confirmed their disguise's effectiveness, scoured the forest, eliminating all enemies while in plain sight.
The Shepherds fought valiantly against the enemy. Chrom led through example, fiercely cutting through a mob of bandits. He stood above the crowd of fallen enemies, gazing at a single hulking man, slowly trekking up the hill towards him. Chrom readied his blade.
"Leave this one to me, Chrom!" said Stahl as he rode past him. Stahl galloped straight for the Berserker, his Silver Lance ready to spear him.
The Berserker glared at Stahl, gripping the massive hunk of steel in his right hand.
Stahl thrust his spear for the man's chest. The Berserker lifted his mighty Imposing Axe into the air, and brought it down with both hands, slamming the lance downwards and burying it into the ground.
With his lance trapped beneath the axe, Stahl was left weaponless. The Berserker pulled Stahl off his mount, stomped onto him. Stahl cried in pain as the Berserker's foot slammed into his face. Stahl looked up, vision a blur, making out the man lifting his foot once more only to bring it down once again. Before the foot could meet his face, the large man grunted as a sword pierced through his midsection.
Chrom tried to pull the Falchion out, but the Berserker, showing no sign of dropping dead, spun and backhanded the prince.
"You little shit!" the Berserker roared, groaning as he pulled the sword from his body. He breathed heavily before looking back at Chrom, who was shuffling to his feet. "Nice sword you got here. I'll make sure the last time you see it is when it's goes right for that neck of yours." he yelled as he charged.
Chrom reached for his Rapier that he kept as a side arm. He waited for the man to come close, Rapier held at the side of his head, pointed forward.
The Berserker swung the blade upwards from the ground and into a horizontal slash. Chrom merely lifted his knee into the blade's path. "Your leg is mine, boy!" The Berserker bellowed as he pulled the slash through.
The Falchion made contact with the armor plating on Chrom's leg. However, instead of cleaving through the armor like it normally would have, Falchion merely slammed into and bounced back off the leg, Chrom only stumbling slightly from the impact.
"What kind of piece of shit sword is this?" the Berserker yelled as he recoiled from the reflection of his blow.
Chrom dashed at the hulking man. "The kind that dulls in the hands of scum like you!" he yelled as he shoved his Rapier through the man's neck.
The Berserker gurgled, the blood flowing freely down his throat.
Chrom pulled his Rapier out of the dying man and retrieved his Falchion. After feeling his blade had regained its original strength, he ended the Berserker with one final strike.
"...Thanks...Wouldn't want my daughter seeing her dad's face anymore messed up... " Stahl wheezed as he walked up with his horse. He had a large cut above his right eye, blood dripping down his face.
"You're injured!" Chrom said, helping his friend back on his horse.
"Heh, this? Nah, it's just a small gash." Stahl said cheekily.
"Ride back towards Libra or Maribelle and get that fixed up." Chrom ordered as he ran to help Say'ri with a grounded wyvern.
Down the hill, Miriel who was busy destroying the wyvern's above, had unknowingly wandered a distance away from the other mages. A wyvern swooped down to pounce on her, but she repelled it with a blast of Wind. The wyvern was pushed backwards, but before it could assume a position to strike again, Miriel had expertly swapped tomes for the more superior Arcwind and fired only mere seconds after her first attack. The blade of wind ripped through the air and sliced into the wyvern's vulnerable midsection, its flapping wings going limp as it fell to the ground. She adjusted her glasses as she observed the now motionless enemy.
She was suddenly tackled to the ground, and gasped as her back slammed onto the grass. She looked up to see the underside of another wyvern zoom right over her. She was pulled up from her laid down position and fell into someone's chest. She looked up to find Vaike grinning. "I say, that's hardly anyway to be treating a woman you musclebound behemoth." she said as she brushed the grass from her back. She looked up to the man and smiled. "But thank you, Vaike..."
Vaike let out a chuckle as he readjusted her favorite hat on her head. "Ya really shouldn't be out here by yourself."
Miriel looked around to discover the group she was with at the other end of the field. "I... I apologize." she said.
Vaike ran back towards the battle, looking back at her. "Better not get yourself hurt out there!" he yelled. His eyes widened as he saw Miriel take aim right for him. "M-Miriel? What're ya doin'?"
Miriel fired an Arcthunder. 'You fool.' The lightning whizzed straight for Vaike who had no time to react.
Vaike, who was panicked by the action did the only thing he could; Close his eyes. The sounding of lightning drew closer and he heard it explode violently. Yet he was untouched. He heard a pained roar behind him followed by a thud. He opened his eyes and turned to find a dead wyvern. He redirected his attention back to Miriel who smiled slyly at him. Vaike waved in thanks, laughing awkwardly as he went his way.
Miriel smiled softly at the man before heading back towards her own group.
Across the field, Cherche and Minerva were consumed by the heat of battle. Minerva swept her tail across the field, swatting away three Bandit Myrmidons. Cherche caught sight of an Assassin who had leapt back from the tail whip and swapped his sword for a bow. Before the man could adjust his aim, she threw a Tomahawk which cut deep into the man's chest.
Cherche grinned, but nearly fell off her seat on Minerva as a wyvern crashed into them.
"Minerva!" she yelled. Minerva recovered from the bash and stood straight up, before launching her long head towards the enemy. She bit into the enemy wyvern's shoulder, resulting in a thunderous roar. The enemy wyvern lifted one of its legs and attempted to pry off the hold Minerva had on it. The two beast fought for control over the other, pushing each other back and forth in between several snaps of their jaws. Cherche released the reins on Minerva and crawled up behind her scaly neck, Silver Axe in hand. In between the flurry of wyvern heads snapping to and fro, she could make out the enemy rider tugging on his mount's reins.
She ran up Minerva's neck and leapt onto the opposing wyvern rider's seat. The man gasped as he saw Cherche fall from above. Cherche swung her axe around and sliced the man's neck. She pulled it out and drove it into the base of the wyvern's neck. The wyvern's head straightened upwards as it cried in pain.
Minerva cocked her head back before lashing out and crunching into the enemy wyvern's exposed throat. The beast went limp in Minerva's death grip.
Cherche hopped off and ran her hand along the dead wyvern's rough skin in sympathy before mounting Minerva once more.
"The archers are down!" a voice yelled. She turned to find Gaius and the others had returned to the battlefield and were now alerting their forces of their team's success. Cherche smiled and petted Minerva. Minerva spread her wings and with a powerful beat, took to the air to reclaim the skies.
Outside, Bora's house Robin's team of future fighters were repelling the forces that leapt out from the forest. Like he had guessed, they were after the 'treasure' Bora possessed. Robin put one and one together and believed that said treasure was the Holy Weapon Mjolnir which was now in his possession. Although the risk of it being stolen was neutralized so long as he himself lived, he knew that Bora's house was packed with valuable knowledge on magic, which in the wrong hands could be a danger to anyone in the countryside.
Robin faced off against a Bandit Barbarian, who took a moment too long to lift and bring his Steel Axe down. Robin capitalized on the powerful yet slow strike, and circled the man with precise footwork. Robin effortlessly cut through the man's back and immediately focused on the 2 Myrmidon closing in. He sheathed his Bronze Sword and pulled out two tomes.
The Myrmidons dashed at the Tactician from opposite sides and slashed, but with a blast of green wind, found their blades literally cutting into air. They looked up to find Robin above them. Robin thrust the tome in his other hand forward and blasted the two below with an Arcthunder.
As he sailed back down, he swapped Arcthunder for his Bronze sword, and blasted Forseti once more behind him as he touched the ground. The green wind drove Robin forward and into a Berserker meters away. Robin pierced the man in the heart, and fired his Forseti at the skewered man. The blast of wind slid the Berserker's body out from around Robin's sword and flying into the field.
"For a guy a who's main job is cooking up strategies, you're one hell of a fighter." Kjelle said to Robin as she slammed the side of her lance into a Barbarian.
Severa stabbed the downed man in the chest. "I'll admit you could handle yourself in a fight... BUT don't get cocky." she said with a grin.
Robin narrowed his eyes at Severa. "Why does it feel like I'm being talked down to by some kid..."
Severa flushed. "I'm NOT a kid! I'm only a few years younger than you in this timeline!"
Robin paid her no heed as he blocked an incoming axe strike. With his sword locked against the axe's blade, he slipped his body underneath his sword and to the side of the Barbarian. He pulled his sword away from the lock, the Barbarian who had been pressing down on the now gone sword fell forward from his own force. Robin buried his sword into the base of the man's neck, killing him.
A wyvern rose from the trees and headed towards Bora's house. "I could use a lift!" Robin heard Lucina yell from behind him. She dashed straight towards Robin and took to the air above him. Robin fired his Forseti from beneath her, launching her straight for the Wyvern.
Lucina pierced Falchion into the beast's side, and pulled herself up with the embedded sword. Catching the rider by surprise, she grabbed and pulled him off. The wyvern was spazzing out from the loss of its rider. Lucina pulled her Falchion out of it and tugged on its reins, urging the beast towards a group of five bandits. As they struggled through the air, slowly flying towards the the group of enemies, Lucina slammed the tip of her sword deep into the wyvern. It cried out and ceased its flapping. The large beast fell out of the sky and crashed down onto the enemies below. Lucina slowly got up, recovering from the force of the impact.
Kjelle let out a laugh and looked to Robin. "You've got a ways to go until you're at that level though."
Severa smiled haughtily at him.
"Like she could've done that without me!" Robin yelled lamely, rewarded with laughter.
Lucina regrouped with them. "It's as if there's no end to them." she said, referring to the seemingly endless waves of enemies rushing from the treeline.
Robin chuckled. "Come on princess, don't get tired on us now. Your friend's over here think I can't keep up and I can't prove them wrong unless you're actually fighting."
Lucina raised a brow at the sound of a challenge. "And they're right to think so." she said with a smile.
"Heh." Robin muttered with an annoyed smile.
"Hey, where the heck's Owain?" Severa asked with concern.
A man clad in a black cloak wandered Bora's home. He managed to slip in undetected as his men threw themselves at the group on guard outside. He shuffled through a stack of tomes on a table. He read over the patterns on each's cover, tossing aside the ones that didn't match the image in his head. "Where the hell did they go and hide it?" he spat to no one in particular as he opened a few cabinets.
As he threw out the contents on the shelves inside, he heard the sound of a foot crunching on the many papers scattered across the floor. He instinctively dropped to the ground and avoided a lethal chop that ripped through the cabinet doors.
He whipped to his feet, spinning around with his blade to meet the gaze of a blonde haired man glaring into his eyes.
"Gecko..." Owain breathed. He had blocked the man's attack, leaving them at a stand still.
"Ha, you're that lunatic kid who wouldn't shut up about all that storybook nonsense." Gecko grinned mockingly.
"Bora, he deserved none of this! No one in this village did!" Owain yelled, pushing his blade.
Gecko pushed back. "Oh? None of your fanciful speak? Seeing as you finally want to talk like a big boy, let me tell you something kid. They did deserve it. Why? They were arrogant. Arrogant and greedy. They must've thought themselves as real pieces of work with their magic and what not, but they don't even do anything with it! All powerful Sages, yet all they do is sit around being 'good hosts' for whatever sucker prances into this stinkin' dump? Please. We've got the Valmese wrapping their hands around us like they own the place and these people aren't doin' jack squat about it! I'm takin' this power they've got hidden away for myself and puttin' it to some real use. I'm not the bad guy here kid. I'm just appreciating that power the gods bestowed upon us mortals."
Owain shoved his blade forcefully. "That's a load of shit if I've ever heard any. You just want to take advantage of its power to plunder more helpless settlements."
Gecko smiled. "Bwa ha! I'll admit, with all the damages your people are doing to my gang, we just might have to get a town or two to reimburse us. But that's your fault, not ours."
"SILENCE YOU SLANDEROUS WRETCH!" Owain boomed. "You wish for me to believe that you're merely trying to set right the wrongs these Sages have allegedly done? Spare me your twisted words you heartless villain, for if it is justice you seek, I shall be the one to hand it to you!" he cried as he slid his blade past Gecko's and ran towards the side.
"There it is, that terrible condition of yours." Gecko scoffed as he hopped backwards.
Owain ran across the small room, leaping off of the walls and slamming his blade into Gecko.
Gecko blocked the strike, quickly unlocking their blades and thrusting forward at Owain.
Owain sidestepped, the blade only slightly grazing his ribs. He shot a hand out towards the desk beside him and grabbed a vase, tossing it towards Gecko.
Gecko pulled his sword back and sliced the incoming object. As his view of the vase split into two, it revealed Owain closing in with a downward slash.
Gecko was slow to react to the follow up, earning his left arm a deep cut. He gasped in agony, but retaliated with several blind slashes at Owain.
Owain slowly backed up to the wall, Gecko advancing towards him. With one final strike, Gecko swung his sword into Owain's and kicked forward, foot slamming into Owain's thigh, pinning the young man against the wall.
Owain grunted as the heel of the foot pressed deep into his leg. He killed the strength in his legs, causing his weight to drop him to ground. As Owain fell, he slid his free foot across the floor and swept the single leg Gecko had been supporting himself with.
The two fell to floor, but with Owain having done it intentionally to drop his foe, he recovered quickly and stabbed his blade down onto Gecko's face.
Gecko pulled his head to the side, away from the blade as it dropped and dug itself into the floorboards. Gecko swung his sword at Owain who jumped back from the strike and onto the wall, kicking off and flipping to the other end of the room.
Owain grabbed one of Bora's swords that was leaned against the wall.
Gecko got up and pulled Owain's Killing Edge out of the ground, training his two blades on the man.
Owain analyzed his surroundings as Gecko crept forward. As Gecko ran in to strike, Owain kicked the coffee table in front of him towards the bandit leader. The table slid across the floor, its edges colliding with Gecko's shins. Gecko yelped at the stinging pain in his legs, wincing.
Owain ran forward, leaping off the coffee table and kneeing Gecko in the face. His knee slammed into Gecko's nose, the blow to his head sending him reeling back to the wall. With one final thrust, Owain piercing through Gecko's heart with Bora's sword and into the wall behind.
Blood sputtered out of Gecko's mouth as he dropped the weapons in his hand. Strength left his legs as he slowly collapsed, being held up by the sword through his heart.
Owain dropped to his knees and reached for his Killing Edge as he panted heavily. He looked around the room, taking in the mess he had made of Bora's house during the fight. He could only hope Bora would forgive him if he helped clean up.
After having caught his breath, he slowly got up and headed back outside.
The Shepherds and village Sages had turned the the tides, less and less bandits were running out onto the field.
"Those fiends are all grouping together near Bora's house! We've got them on the defensive, finish them off!" Chrom yelled. Sumia swooped down and let Chrom onboard her pegasus. They took off as they led their forces towards the bandits.
Lon'qu and Virion kneeled side by side, launching arrows at the retreating figures. The mages stood beside them, firing off a hail of spells in support.
The Shepherd's cavalry ran down the enemy as Cordelia and Cherche shot down those who dove out of the way with their Javelins and Tomahawks.
All forces on the battlefield were now gathered around Bora's home.
Sumia and Chrom landed by Robin and the Future Children. "So this is where you were." Chrom said, as he lent them a hand with taking down a troublesome Berserker.
"Owain managed to take out their leader," Robin breathed as he ducked under the Imposing Axe that attempted to cleave him in two. He fired his Forseti at the brute who had lifted the massive axe back over his head.
As the Berserker tried to resist the fearsome wind, Chrom dove in front of Robin and into the Forseti's stream. Chrom was blown forward into the large man and sliced across his chest. "Then it's only a matter of time before they retreat." Chrom said as he got up.
"I wouldn't be so sure just yet." Robin said as he spotted a black mass ascending from the forest. The sound of dozens of familiar, yet dreaded beats echoed across the sky.
"You can't be serious! How many of those blasted things do they have?" Chrom yelled.
"He he, Gregor no find this cute anymore." Gregor laughed nervously.
"Ch-Chrom? Robin? What do we do?" Lissa gasped.
Donnel adjusted his pot helm as his hands shook. "Aw hell, I don't reckon no amount of scarecrows'll be enough to fend all of those winged vermin."
"Oh my, if only this weren't a battle, Minerva would have just too many new playmates." Cherche noted.
A massive wave of over forty wyverns made way for the battlefield.
The Shepherds and Sages took sight of the cloud of enemies and hesitantly backed up.
"Everyone fall back into the town! If we're near the houses they can't just come at us from every direction!" Chrom ordered. Their forces slowly moved back into town. Chrom saw Robin headed to the field, towards the advancing air troops. "Robin! I ordered us to pull back!" Chrom yelled.
"Don't worry, I've got something up my sleeve." Robin said confidently, his march unwavered.
"Robin, don't be stupid! What are you doing?" Lucina cried, running up to him.
"They came here for the Sage's treasure, so I'm giving it to them." Robin pulled out the mighty Mjolnir, gripping it tightly as he aimed for the center of the wyvern swarm.
The wyvern's were nearing closer to them. The Shepherds did have a chance at victory despite the odds, but with the sheer number of enemies descending upon them, the amount of possible casualties even with a win, was not something Robin wanted to accept.
Lucina looked up at the cloud of beasts that blotted the sky. "Robin, now?"
"Now." he said as he unleashed Mjolnir's power. The tome glew brightly with a vibrant yellow aura. The light increased by the second before vanishing in an instant.
Lucina clenched her fist at the outcome. "What was tha-" Her words were interrupted as a large, thunderous boom, cracked through the sky, overtaking the sound of the wyvern's beating wings.
The sky lit up with a brief flash, then in complete silence, a single massive column of lightning fell from the heavens towards the center of the enemy fliers. The single giant bolt alone struck nearly ten of them, before the otherworldly amount of electrical energy created a deadly chain that lept from wyvern to wyvern, annihilating every last one.
All forces on the ground, both Shepherd, Sage and Bandit, looked up at the veritable spiderweb of electricity in the sky, in awe.
The forty wyverns proved far too little to contain the immense energy of Mjolnir, electricity leaping out of the wyverns at the ends of the formation and scattering across the sky.
After the show of lights died down, the smell of burnt flesh filled the air as the enemy units dropped to the ground in a hail of thuds.
Whatever bandits remained on the field thought it wise not to pursue this village any longer and retreated into the forest.
Robin stared down at Mjolnir to notice the pattern on its cover glowing with the same yellow light as before. A few lines of the pattern on the ends of the cover grew dim and faded into nothingness. As the book returned to normal, Robin inspected the cover to find that not only had the glowing lights on the outer section of the book had disappeared, but the actual line of patterns which lights died out had completely vanished from the book. 'Could this signify the amount of uses?' Robin thought to himself. He had pondered why Forseti was not restricted in such a way. He came to the conclusion that it to be for the best. Such a weapon was tempting to abuse and what more, after observing the nature of the attack, Robin judged that few situations would allow its use without collateral damage. He slightly shuddered at thought that had Mjolnir been any more powerful, it's unbridled electrical energy may have bore its fangs towards the Shepherds as well. This was definitely not a spell to be taken lightly, Robin decided, agreeing with the fact that it has earned its spot among the 12 Holy Weapons.
As Robin snapped out of his reflective state, he realized his deep thought had blocked out the chorus of cheers now surrounding him.
The Shepherds all reached out to their Tactician, shaking his shoulder, patting his head and back, as they praised him for pulling through on the clutch.
The cheers died down as a certain man, shambled across the fields to the crowd.
"Bora! What are you doing? You're in no condition to be moving about!" a Sage yelled as he ran to the man's side.
Bora coughed, spewing out blood. The crowd parted as he slowly made way to Robin.
"...Robin..." Bora coughed out.
Robin ran forward and helped to hold the pale man up.
"..Robin... you keep that with you... I trust you won't... take it's power for granted..."
"Bora... we'll talk more later. We need to get you to bed." Robin said with concern.
Bora removed Robin's arm from around his shoulder and shook his head. "No... My time here is almost up...I can feel it." he said, pressing a hand to where the deep cut in his chest had been. "It hit... something.. vital...it healed up but... the damage is already... done." he wheezed.
Owain, Severa, and Kjell cut through the crowd to meet their dying friend with anguished faces.
"Bora... I'm sorry.." Owain sniffed.
"...It's none of your faults... Be strong, young ones... you're all too important... to the future to have something... like this keep you down..." Bora said with a smile, before falling to his knees.
"Master..." a Sage breathed, tears streaming down her face.
Bora turned to his fellow Sages. "...Friends... fight... Defeat the forces that... wish to steal Valm's... freedom... Freedom, our way of life... earn it..." he said with one final smile, before the light left his eyes.
Robin caught Bora as he fell forward, lightly setting the man down on the ground.
Kjelle and Severa sobbed quietly, Owain wrapping his arms around both of them.
Bora had taken up practicing conventional weaponry, only for the purpose that Kjelel had another person to spar with.
He took all of Severa's rude remarks in stride, merely patting the girl on the head as they carried on with their conversations.
He had entertained Owain's theatrical outbursts, only feeding the man's curiosity with ancient texts depicting legends of old.
In the year and a half the three 'children' had been here, Bora had given them a place to call home.
The crowd silently lowered their heads, paying respects to all of their comrades who had lost their lives during the battle.
Robin sat in his tent, staring down upon the two tomes Bora had given him. The village Sages, in compliance with their leader's dying wish, would align themselves with the Resistance and Ylisseans against the Valmese. Even if they had chosen to stay, as soon as the Shepherds left, it was only a matter of time before their village would once again be ravaged by the surviving bandits.
There was no celebration of victory, for the battle itself held no meaningful purpose for their side. Death merely swept over the Sage's peaceful village that night, a swathe of it's inhabitants lost to the greed of the invaders. He felt grief infest his body, all his movements sluggish. He had to pull through this. For everyone. For Bora. He would not let their lives go to waste. He had gained yet another reason to winning this war. He vowed to defeat Valmese to help the surviving Sages secure the freedom they cherished so. He resisted the dark thoughts creeping into his mind.
"Robin?" a voice called from outside the tent.
"Lucina? Come in."
She slowly peeked through the flaps before stepping inside. "I came here... to retrieve the book." she said, casting her eyes down as she finished. She had realized how insensitive it was to barge in for such a reason considering all that has happened.
Robin sat up straight. "Oh, yes. It's right where you left it."
Lucina slowly walked over and picked the book up. "Thank you. Get some rest." she said as she turned to exit.
"...Lucina." she heard him call. She halted and turned to him.
Robin looked down at the floor in a daze. "I... I don't really remember the ending to that book all too well... Do you mind refreshing my memory?" he asked softly.
Lucina heard it as more of a plea. She guessed at thoughts he battled with and sat herself down by the desk, cracking the book open to the last chapter.
Robin smiled gratefully as he lay down on his side, slowly shutting his eyes.
Lucina stared at Robin's face for a moment before beginning. "The hero's long journey had finally come to an end. Reunited once more with his beloved princess, the two made haste back to..."
A/N: Done! Longest chapter of this story to date. I hope all the action filled those of you craving for it.
Robin showed off his Forseti and pulled off the finishing blow to bandit's reinforcements with his Mjolnir. I realized the strength of the spell was ridiculously strong in that scene, so I made its tome among the only few items in this story to have a very limited amount of uses. (other one probably being the Rescue Staff). I reversed the whole lightning-thunder scenario, where lightning strikes, then thunder booms, to kind of show how the power that the spell crafted by the gods defied the normal flow of the world.
Despite Robin's power up this Arc, I pitted Owain against the bandit leader, Gecko, as this Arc was based off of his paralogue. A nice little close quarter combat scene.
The Sages have assimilated into the Ylissean forces, so expect their knowledge to help out the other Shepherd mages as well.
Some small Lucina/Robin segments revolving around the book Robin received from Sumia in Sage's Hamlet 1.
Next up will be their migration to the battlefield at the base of the Divine Mila Tree.
Thank you to all the readers and reviewers out there!
I look forward to bringing you the next chapter!
Til next time!