Near the coast of Valor
Ninian was shivering something horrible, as Sera and Priscilla used their staves to cure whatever it was that ailed the light blue haired maiden. Raja and Lyn had wrapped her tightly in whatever blankets had been brought up from below decks, though it seemed as if Ninian still believed she was in the freezing waters around the Darvos. All the while, Jace and Cyrus were looking out to sea as the coast of the Dread Isle loomed closer.
"What in the name of Naga was she doing all the way out here?" Jace asked, as he drummed his fingers along his upper forearms.
"Do you remember how we discovered Ninian and her brother Nils?" Cyrus asked his younger brother.
"They were being hunted by the Black Fang." And then it fit together. "The previous year, the Black Fang were after the two. Ninian being out here this close to Valor, must mean that the Black Fang must have captured them once again. Perhaps Eliwood's father Lord Elbert set Ninian and Nils free."
"A pleasant thought brother." Cyrus replied as he absentmindedly ran a hand along the haft of his newly aquired axe. He was not used to the weapon as he was with his saber. He was not the only one who had to get used to new equipment. Sain had donned a heavier set of armor, and had a new axe the same as Cyrus. Florina was being shown by Lyn how to properly wield a blade, and while not as proficient as the Sacean Swordswoman was, she had a surprising amount of skill with her new weapon under Lyn's mentorship. Oswin, like Sain had an even heavier set of armor than before, and was also wielding an axe like both Sain and Cyrus.
The Darvos made land falll not soon after. Fargus had said they would wait two weeks for Eliwood and their company to return, yet had asked if the young Phearan noble would take along a member of the pirates crew who wished to go exploring the Dread Isle. Dart, while a bit foulmouthed in Jace's mind, did seem to have a loyal nature and a good heart. Fargus had insisted that Ninian also accompany them, worried that she might be bad luck, and did not want her aboard the Darvos during the time Eliwood's company was on Valor.
Eliwood's company trudged through the thick forests that took up the majority of the island for what seemed like hours, finally coming to a rest in a large clearing. While relieved at the chance for a brief reprieve, everyone was still on edge due to this place being the Black Fang's chief base of operations. Florina's Pegasus came to land in the center of the large clearing, with his rider astride her.
"Did you see anything?" Jace asked, as Florina dismounted Huey.
"Nothing but forests for miles." Florina replied. "No sign of any buildings, ruins or otherwise."
"This does not bode well for us." Jace said. "We could become lost very fast, and Lord Elbert may not have-" A rustling of leaves near the edge of the clearing, cut Jace off in mid-sentence. His right hand soon had his blade gripped tightly, and he was not the only one whose weapon was in hand. Sain and Cyrus had both drawn their axes, Wil and Rebecca had arrows notched in their bows. Raja's dark golden blade was nothing more than a golden blur as it cleared its scabbard. Zephyr, while not having drawn his long single-edged blade, had formed the seething orb of dark energy that was his Goetia spell. Everyone was on edge, as whoever it was who had found them came closer. Moment after tense moment passed, until someone stumbled into their clearing.
"Leila!?" Hector exclaimed in surprise.
The Ositan spy looked up at Hector, gave a small relieved smile, and collapsed to the damp earth of the forest clearing.
Eliwood, Hector, Lyn, and Jace rushed to Leila's side at once. She looked a horrible mess to Jace. There were long cuts on her arms, and her skin was pale. Probably due to the blood she must have lost, he thought as he looked at the cuts along her arms. These were made by short blades of some sort.
A numb stinging pain on his left hand tore Jace from his thoughts. The tactician looked at his hand, to find it slick with Leila's blood. But blood doesn't sting not unless… "Oh Naga, her wounds are poisoned!"
The three lords attention snapped from the injured spy, to the tactician. There was a mix of horror and worry etched onto their faces, and a moment later, Hector had called for both Sera and Priscilla, while Lyn had Jace's hand in a vice like grip.
"You need a healer Jace." Lyn said, as her eyes looked from Leila's blood on his hand, to his face as if wondering if whatever poison was in Leila's blood was affecting her tactician.
"Not as bad as Leila does Lyn." Jace replied, wincing as Leila's poisoned blood continued to sting his hand. "She's lost a lot of blood, and there is more poison in her than there is on my hand."
The sapphire of Priscilla's staff came to rest against Jace's fingertips, and a bright light enveloped his hand. The stinging numbness vanished almost at once, and Jace let out a sigh of relief also not realizing that he had been holding his breath.
"Thank you Priscilla." Jace said, looking at his now poisoned blood free hand.
"It was no trouble Lord Jace, but it is going to take far longer with Lady Leila." Priscilla said, turning her staff and attention to the heavily injured spy. "She's lost so much blood, and there is more poison in her system than there is blood."
Hours later, saw Matthew sitting on a stump of a once great tree in the clearing, with his face buried in his hands. That was where Hector found him. The blue haired lord frowned, as gruff and blunt as he was, Matthew's behavior troubled him.
"Matthew." Hector's voice brought the thief out of his thoughts, and Hector nearly jumped in surprise. The rims of Matthew's eyes were red, and his eyes were still shining with tears.
"I was going to ask her to leave this life behind when her mission was finished." The thief croaked out. "And now that is never going to happen…"
And that's when it all clicked in Hector's mind. "Matthew, Leila is going to survive."
Matthew's shining eyes widened. "What?"
"She'll live Matthew. Though it'll be some time before she will be on her feet. There was more poison in her blood than there was blood."
"You're not helping Lord Hector." Matthew said.
"I'm not so good when it comes to comfort. Just go be by her side."
Matthew ran off to Leila's side, passing Raja who was in conversation with her three sons, and the two remaining lords.
"I've never seen a poison like that before." Raja said scowling.
"It's not Plegian." Zephyr said. "Our county's poisons work far too fast. If that spy had a Plegian poison in her system, she would have been with Naga in a manner of seconds."
"It's definately not Bernese either." Cyrus said, consulting a small book on poisons and antidotes Erk had given him while Sera and Priscilla had attended to Leila. "Most of them, even in small doses work just like the poisons from Plegia."
"What about the poison that Lundgren used on my grandfather?" Lyn asked, the thumb of her left hand tracing circles upon the hilt of the Mani Katti. They were all absorbed in their conversation, they did not notice the figure looming over them at the edge of the clearing, until it was far too late. The figure grabbed Lyn, and held a blade up to her throat.
"Lyn!" Jace cried, as he drew his blade.
"If you wish her dead, than by all means please step forward." Came the voice belonging to the person who had taken Lyn hostage. Jace was surprised that her hostage taker was a Sacean like she was. He wore the crest of the Black Fang on a bandana like Rath's. As the large Sacean spoke, he pressed his blade ever so slightly against Lyn's neck to emphasize his point.
"Who are you?" Jace asked, attempting to keep his voice calm, even though his fingers tightened on his blade.
"I am Uhai the Soaring Hawk." The man named Uhai said, in response to Jace's question. "I have been sent to retrieve the girl, and kill the traitor."
"What girl?" Jace asked, his eyes darting around the clearing. Damnit, we're surrounded.
"The girl hiding behind Lord Elbert's son." Uhai said, nodding in Eliwood's direction. Sure enough, Ninian who had woken up during the time Sera and Priscilla were busy tending to Leila, was cowering behind the red haired lord.
So Lord Elbert is here. Jace thought, as a plan formed in his mind. "Why do you want Ninian?"
"I do not ask questions. I go where I am commanded to go." Uhai said.
"What about the poison that nearly killed Leila?" Hector asked, as he made to reach for his axe. Though Jace placed an arm across his broad chest, to prevent the larger lord from drawing his weapon.
"Don't, he still has Lyn." Jace said in a commanding tone, before turning his attention to Uhai once again. "But my esteemed colleague raises a good question. What about the poison that was used on her?"
It was a moment before Uhai spoke again. "I will tell you should you best me." He then shocked everyone, by taking his blade away from Lyn's throat, and shoving her forward.
"Why did you release me?" Lyn asked shocked, even as she drew the Mani Katti from its scabbard.
"Taking a hostage is shameful." Uhai replied. "Now will you rise and challenge me? Or will you hand over the two women and leave? I strongly suggest you take the later option."
Zephyr scoffed, and swiped his blade into the leaves near the clearings edge. There was a moment of silence where all those present, Uhai included, marveled and the swordsmanship of the eldest Ebonhart brother. Then several soft thuds reached their ears, and four heads rolled into the clearing. Each severed head had a bandana like Uhai's that bore the crest of the Black Fang.
"There's your answer." Zephyr said pointing his long single edged blade in Uhai's direction. "If you want the women, then you will have to best us."
"Circle up!" Jace called out. "Form ranks! Armor in front, archers behind!"
The ensuing battle lasted several hours. While Uhai's forces had them surrounded, they could not penetrate the defensive wall Jace had orchestrated to defend Ninan and Leila. Marcus, Sain, Kent, Hector, Dorcas, Bartre, and Oswin were immovable objects who felled enemies that came too close. They were supported by Wil and Rebecca, who fired arrows at enemies who were outside the range of swords, lances, and axes. Lowen, Eliwood, Matthew, Guy, Florina and Raja stood in reserve. Ready to step in if need be. Jace, Cyrus, and Zephyr stood side by side deflecting blows that came their way, and retaliating when they could. If Rebecca and Wil were preoccupied with another foe, they fired spells of their own. Twice the Ebonhart brothers came close to hitting Uhai with a powerful spell, but the large Sacean was very fast despite his size. Their forces had gained another member, a Pegasus knight like Florina, who from what Jace could understand over the sound of combat, was Florina's older sister.
"Brother down!" Zephyr called in warning to Jace, as the familiar dark chill that signalled danger ran up Jace's spine. Jace was then pushed further back into the formation, as Zephyr stood where he did moments before. Jace was caught by Lyn, who both stared at the tactician's eldest brother in confusion. Zephyr swiped his sword up, and what looked like an Elwind spell shot from Zephyr's long blade, and split the arrow that had been aimed at Jace in half. When the tactician looked past Zephyr, he saw Uhai with a bow in his hands, and a disappointed expression on his face.
"What sort of blade is that?" Jace asked, though he knew that now was not the right time to be asking, he could not help but be curious about the special ability of Zephyr's blade.
"It's a Wind Sword." Zephyr replied, as Uhai lowered his bow, and drew the blade he had threatened Lyn with. "And it looks like Uhai has decided to join the fray."
"Oh good." Jace replied, odd and uncharacteristic bloodlust filling the tactician. "I've been meaning to introduce him to my blade ever since he threatened Lyn."
Jace broke the formation, and headed straight for Uhai, who matched his pace. The two brought their blades together, and the sound echoed around the clearing. In that one instance, Jace registered one thing. He's stronger than I originally thought.
It was all Jace could do to keep up with Uhai's bladework. Yes he had trained with Lyn, so he was a step above most swordsman, but Uhai was on a whole other level. He'd gotten Jace on the defensive ever since their initial clash, and it was all Jace could do to either block or dodge out of the way of Uhai's strikes. Of course, that proved to be a bad idea as well, as the last time Jace moved away from Uhai's blade, the large Sacean's boot connected with the tactician's chest. The blow send him flying back, causing him to land in a heap, his blade landing several feet away.
Uhai stepped forward to finish Jace off, but found his path blocked by Zephyr. The raven haired man stood between Uhai and Jace, with his blade pointed at the large Sacean, his body language saying: 'I'm your opponent now'.
The two then launched into a duel that put Zephyr's battle with Cyrus back at Castle Caelin to shame. The two struck, blocked, and counter struck at one another with little effort on their part. Both combatants ducked or leapt over one another's strikes when they had the chance, or no other option but to do so.
It was either luck or skill, when Zephyr's boot caught Uhai in the chest. Perhaps in retaliation for Uhai kicking his youngest brother in the same spot. But it did create separation, and it was the separation and the opportunity that Zephyr needed. He swiped his Wind Sword up in a diagonal manner, and the Elwind like spell shot from the blades long edge. Uhai brought his blade up in an attempt to block, but Zephyr's enchanted strike effortlessly sliced through Uhai's blade, and deep into the large Sacean's chest.
"Well… Done…" Uhai groaned, coughing up blood. He stumbled back against a tree, dropping what remained of his blade as he slumped to the ground, leaving a trail of blood along the bark of the tree. "As promised… The assassin uses a poison… Made from the berries of the Mistletoe plant…"
Zephyr signalled for Sera and Priscilla, but Uhai groaned out in protest. "No… It is too late for me… But listen… I have one more reward for you… Our hideout… Head west from here… Turn north at the rotted tree… You will find the Dragon's Gate there…" With that, the light faded from Uhai's eyes, and his head fell forward. The Soaring Hawk had passed on.