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Chapter 9 – A Grim Reunion
"You're sure we can trust him..?" Rei asked for the third time as she stood with Lyn on the freezing cobbles outside Kathelet, rubbing her arms to keep warm. The weather had taken a turn for the worse over the past day and a half since the battle against Yogi, and she was glad to have left most of the legion in the foot knight's castle. Only Kent and Sain stood with them, holding their horses by the bit.
"Yes, I'm sure, Rei. I don't understand why you don't like him." Lyn sighed. "He seems nice enough, and he is helping us."
"I suppose so." Rei trailed off as she saw him approaching, a grizzled-looking older man leading a horse beside him and wearing full armour. "Something about him just gets on my nerves." She finished quietly just before the two Pheraeans came into earshot.
"Wait here a moment, please, Marcus. I did say you don't need to come out with me." Eliwood told the older cavalier before moving towards the group. The horseman gave a long-suffering sigh and reached his other hand over to take Eliwood's horse and waited as asked.
"Eliwood! Do you have news?" Lyn asked, meeting him half-way. Rei moved forward at the same time, standing just behind her friend's shoulder.
"Indeed. Caelin's neighbours have all agreed to stay neutral in this dispute. Unfortunately, this means I can't help you either." Eliwood smiled, though he looked a little worried about them. Rei tried not to think uncharitable thoughts, but part of her couldn't help but think he only looked worried because it would be on his head if they did fail.
"I'm sure we'll be fine. You've done more than enough already." Lyn mirrored the smile, hiding any unease she might have felt expertly. She was the very picture of confidence.
"Well. Good luck. I'm sure you'll win. Invite me to the celebration?" The redhead's smile turned into a grin that must have broken more than a few hearts.
"Haha! Of course." Lyn grinned back, and Rei let herself smile as well - though she realised that the strange pang she felt was dangerously like the jealousy Florina had been displaying since joining the group.
"I'll see you then. Good luck." Eliwood held out his hand, turning and walking back to Marcus after Lyn had shaken it. As the two left, Lyn looked back over at Kent and Sain.
"Right. Lets head back. What's the fastest route to the castle? We've lost so much time over this..." She asked.
"From here, it would be directly south, through Commander Yogi's lands and then into General Eagler's estate." Kent said after a moment's thought. "Eagler should be sympathetic, but he has family at the castle... we may have to fight our way through."
"How much time will we lose if we avoid him?" Rei asked, mounting up.
"Two, maybe three days. If Lord Hausen's as ill as the rumours say, it could be the difference between life and death for him." The knight replied, and Rei suppressed the urge to curse.
"Alright. Lets go, then. Every minute counts." She waited a moment as the others mounted up and turned their horses. "Lyn, you're faster than the rest of us. Go on ahead, don't wait up. Ideally we want the Legion ready to travel by the time the rest of us arrive."
"Alright. Try not to get too far behind." Lyn nodded, wheeling Hunt around. "Kele." She murmured to the horse, the Sacaean word for run. The mare broke into a ground-eating canter almost immediately, Lyn crouching low over her neck. Rei and the Cavaliers turned their own horses about and urged them to move on as well, though as Rei had said, their chargers were bred to carry the weight of an armoured knight, not run long-distance. Like Petal, they would cover the ground more quickly at a brisk walk than a forced canter that would require them to rest more often.
When they arrived, Lyn had indeed got the whole force ready to move. If Serra was a little dreamier than normal, anyone who noticed was too busy being glad she was quiet for a change to notice. Erk seemed almost happy, and considering that he was riding beside her, that was a miracle! Lucius seemed subdued, coughing occasionally and riding in silence beside Raven, who looked across at him occasionally with a worried expression when he thought the monk wasn't looking.
After four hours riding, a line of low, rocky hills came into view. The temperature had continued to fall as they passed through the reaches of the Eagler Estate, and now thin tendrils of fog were writhing across the ground almost as though they were alive.
As the Legion approached the gap in the ridge the road ran through, a large, lone figure stepped out of the rocks into the middle of the path. He wore heavy plate armour and carried a spear... as they approached, he set it against them and removed his helmet.
"Bring my Lyndis." The man demanded, his voice several degrees below freezing. "Bring me the one who claims to be Madelyn's daughter."
"Who is that?" Lyn asked quietly, signalling for the army to stop where they were.
"That's... General Wallace!" Sain exclaimed, urging his horse forward. "General! You don't mean to say you believe Lundgren's lies! He's poisoning the Marquess!" He declared loud enough for half the estate to hear him.
"I will judge for myself. Bring my Lyndis!" Wallace told him, firmly, voice still icy.
"What are your intentions towards her?" Kent asked, moving forwards. "If you mean to harm her, we'll have to stop you."
"You? Ha hah! You've got a long way to go yet. If I do not like the look of her, I will take her." Wallace told him, levelling his spear two-handed.
"Enough. I am Lyndis. I've had just about enough of your foolish postering, so either get out of the way or prepare to be gotten out of the way." She told him, eyes flashing as she dismounted and walked up in front of the two knights, her hand on the Mani Katti's hilt. Wallace stared at her for a moment, before meeting her eyes. Suddenly, his expression softened and he smiled.
"Such beautiful eyes..." He murmured, and three mouths fell open - Lyn's, Rei's, and Florina's. "No-one with eyes as clear as yours is a deceiver." Wallace finished, then nodded. "And such spirit... I like you, girl. Hah! Why, yes, I think I'll even join your little band of mercenaries." The spear tip rose, span once, then the butt end slammed into the ground as the knight stood to attention.
"What? Why are you..?" Rei stammered, moving forward. Wallace's eyes flicked over to the islander, and there was suddenly a strangely tender look in his eyes.
"This old warrior's sworn himself to Caelin, Kanhi-dono. I'd never let a usurper on the throne, even if I am meant to be sowing seeds. Lets waste no more time on talking. Together, we ride!" Turning, he whistled, and a moment later a huge, shaggy warhorse stepped out of the rocks. The beast was easily half as tall again as either Kent or Sain's thirteen hand destriers, and wore heavy barding almost as thick as Wallace's armour. It didn't even flinch as the massive man swung up onto its' back. Within moments, the army was on the move again.
As the fog rolled in, Rei ordered torches lit and sent Wil and Matthew ahead on foot as scouts. Within an hour, it was thick enough to slow their progress almost to a halt as they were hard-pressed to see a bowshot in front of their faces. The fog created strange echoes, and shapes started to appear in it, faint and indistinct. It seemed that at any moment, they could have been passing through a military camp... the whole Legion remained silent, the only sounds the soft clop of hooves on macadam and the occasional clink of armour or tack.
Suddenly, an eddy of wind cleared a small patch of fog for the barest of moments, revealing that they were mere yards from Eagler's chateau. Unfortunatly, Rei and the Legion were not the only ones to notice this. A cry went up in the castle, and after a few moments a full calvacade rode forth, led by a distinguished-looking cavalier wearing ornate armour similar to that of Eliwood's guard, Marcus.
"General Eagler..." Sain muttered, and Rei sighed. She'd been hoping to avoid confrontation entirely.
Strangely, from the look on Eagler's face as he drew up his battle-line, so had the paladin. He even gave Rei time to organise Lyndis' Legion into formation, Wil, Erk, Lucius and Serra, Kent and Sain at the back and Wallace, Raven, Dorcas and Lyn in the front rank. The half-box wasn't ideal, but without more melee warriors there weren't enough of them to form a full square. Rei just hoped that Eagler wouldn't call on any troops he had hidden in the fog behind them.
"You too, Cleod?" Eagler said, riding forward of his front rank. "I'd hoped it wouldn't come to this..."
"If your course is set, Ernest, then at least let mine be the blow that finishes you." Wallace replied, gruffly. "Who is it?"
"Sara... Lundgren has her. I'm sorry, old friend." Eagler told him, and set his lance. "It was good, you know. I enjoyed it while it lasted..."
With those words, the Paladin led the last charge of the First Caelin Mounted.
As promised, the last thing Ernest Eagler saw was Cleod Wallace's lance as it pierced his visor.
"The way is clear, now. Tomorrow morning, we should be at the foot of Roland's Chair. Castle Caelin is on the other side of the mountain." Kent said, stiffly. The fog had lifted the moment they had left Eagler's estate, suggesting that it had been a magical construct rather than any natural weather patterrn. Erk agreed with the concept, though he knew no spells powerful enough to cover that large an area.
"You don't have to hide it, Kent..." Lyn spoke softly, for his ears only. "I know that you must be as affected by Eagler's death as Sain and Wallace... from what I understand, you were close."
"When we were new to the Knights, Eagler was our captain. He was honest, steadfast, honourable, loyal... the perfect knight. All of us strove to be like him. He was... no. It's not my place to even try and describe him. You should ask General Wallace. I didn't know before, but... they were shieldmates. I don't know how long for, or when it started, but..." The knight trailed off, looking away. "It's my duty to stay strong. That way... the others can mourn him without guilt. It's what General Eagler taught us... one man will always have to take the fall for the others, since it is the only right thing to do. Today... it was General Eagler's turn. I think... he went without regrets."
"I see..." Lyn whispered, half to herself. She had never seen it in that light. "I just saw that... you had lost a father-figure... I didn't think about what his feelings might have been. But even so... it's alright to mourn. You don't always have to be the strong one. I'm here for that. So are the others." She paused. "Go to them, Kent. Go, mourn with the others." She leaned forward and whispered to Ventérre. The horse flicked its' ears and looked at her, before turning against its' riders' will to walk back to where Sain and Wallace were riding in silence beside each other. When he saw them riding so close, the walls Kent had built against his emotions started to crack for the first time in years. Seeing Eaglers' helmet on the saddle horn of Wallace' horse was the final straw, and tears began sliding gently down his cheeks.
Author's Note: Some of you may have noticed that I've been using Mercedes' Lackey's Shin'a'in language in place of trying to come up with anything new. It just didn't seem right to me that Lyn, who grew up on the plains among plainsmen, would speak nothing but purest english! As I use words, I'll try and remember to post translations at the end of each chapter. For now, 'Eya' (from last chapter) is a battlecry, and 'Kele' literally means 'Go onwards'. From back in chapter six, 'Jel'enedra' translates as 'little sister'.