Feroxian Wall, 9:15 AM.
A group of 11 soldiers walked along the wall, trying to go back to the entrance and report that yet again, nothing had happened, this patrols were never a thing before and now it's daily, among them there were 3 sword users, 2 Knights, 2 Archers, 2 healers and lastly 2 Mages, each holding a bird cage, you can never be too careful they said.
However their great issue was not having to do this all the time, tensions were high these days after Khan Basilio's death along with Exalt Chrom's own demise, so it was necessary to always keep an eye out, their issue was more along the lines of…
"Why in the hell it's always us the ones that have to freeze their ass off!" the leader of the group, a mercenary that looked to have seen his fair share of battles complained to the rest of the group, "We are literally the only 3 people that know how to use a sword on the garrison and it's not like the rest are sick" he kept complaining to his companions who while tired of him talking, couldn't help but agree.
"It is what it is Murphy, Commander Raimi hates our guts so we just have to tough it out, at least the guys are most likely already preparing to something warm to eat and drink" one of the archers answered, a look of want on her face as she thought of the simple pleasures that a hot soup brought after this hellish march.
"You guys can do that, i'm going to sleep the second we arrive, i'm tired of the freezing floor" one of the Knights answered this time, his posture sagged and just wanting to rest properly for once, "I hear you, this last week has been absolute hell, specially after one of the tents broke so we had to sleep in rather….. Cramped spaces" one of the clerics commented while holding her robe close to her body hoping for some warmth.
Hearing all those comments one of the 2 myrmidons turned to the other "Conroy, how much until we get to the entrance?" Conroy pulled out the map of his backpack and started to trace their steps, "If the map is correct and that tree pierced by a Javelin is the one I believe it is, 127 meters more or less" he said, making the rest of his team cheer in relief.
At this everyone started marching with renewed vigor, wanting to escape the cold, they kept marching until they saw the closed entrance and started running towards it, "Commander Raimi, we are back!" Murphy screamed with a smile as the wind kept running, his face glued to the top of the wall. A few seconds later the rest of his squad catched up to him and waited for the door to open, but there was no sound from anyone.
"Maybe they are still asleep?" the second Archer said while looking to his leader before his eyes widened at seeing something beyond the gate, "What is it Ivan? I know you want to go back as much as we do but we cannot do any….." the voice of Murphy trailed off as he realized what his friend saw, on the floor in an unconscious state, with blood pooled below her, there was Commander Raimi.
"DAMN IT!" he turned to the rest with a desperate look, "Do any of you know a way to get inside!?" he screamed but no one answered, until one of the Mages put down the cage they carried and walked to the door, pulling out his Elfire tome, he finished the chant and held out his finger, a flame coming out of it.
"What are you doing Viktor?" the other Mage asked towards Viktor who kept a focused expression while doing this, he used to flame to heat up some part of the gate, starting to cut when applied to those parts, sweat starting to gather at his forehead at the amount of energy he was using at the moment, he stopped when he cut a hole good enough for everyone to pass.
"Done" *pant* "hole made" *pant* "everyone inside please" and with that he collapsed, not used to having to output so much concentration for a spell, seeing this one of the Knights picked him up while the rest of the group readied their weapons and walked inside, the moment they were in one of the healers started to work on Raimi, trying to find a pulse, putting her gloves off she tried the wrists, meanwhile the other one did a check up on Viktor, wanting to make sure he was alright, turning to Murphy he started, "It seems he only needs to rest from that output of magic so he should be fine, i'll need to put him on a bed to make sure" he said with a relieved voice, glad that it wasn't anything mortal for the mage.
Hearing this, Murphy nodded, "Ivan, Conroy, Maria, go with Daniel and Vladimir and help them secure Viktor, we don't know if whoever did this is still here, the rest stay with me and do not wander" he said kicking into what his companions labeled as "Proper leader mode", with their orders received the group started to walk up the steps to the balcony and the walkway, when they were out of sight Murphy turned to his remaining soldiers.
"Alyona keep an eye out on the gate, we don't want wild animals or soldiers here" to that the Archer nodded and walked until she was a few steps away from the door, enough distance to hurt whoever tried to enter and stay out of harm, kneeling down to Raimi he looked towards the healer trying to save her, "Inessa, will she live?" to this the Cleric raised her head with a conflicted look.
"She's very injured sir, the wound is too deep, but somehow she's still alive i already used my stave along with some Vulnerary i had on me, but i cannot guarantee her survival" to this Murphy sighed in relief and put a hand on her shoulder, "Whatever happens you did your best girl, keep that in mind" standing up he started to search for something on his belt, pulling out a canteen he tried to take a drink out of it, only for it to be empty.
He was about to curse until he heard a scream, putting out his sword he looked at the knight who nodded and followed him up the steps ready to help their friends, but what they found was a hideous scene, before him and his friends were the corpses of the whole garrison, some burned, some cutted up and some were crushed in ways that shouldn't be possible, he almost threw up there and then.
Turning to his squad he saw them in the same state, shellshock at the scene before them, with all the strength he could míster Conroy turned to the ones that were still down, "Alyona, Tyrell, don't let Inessa up here no matter what!" a sentiment that everyone else up here agreed on, with a grimace Murphy turned to Daniel and Vlad, "Go and put Viktor to rest on a bed, once you are done i want Vlad back here, Daniel you go and prepare something to keep ourselves warm, the rest with me to the supply room" nobody asked the why since they understood what they needed from the supply room.
Today just got way worse than any other day had, but It wasn't time to lay down just yet, first they will bury the fallen, then they investigate what had happened here.
—-
Royal Chambers, Ylisstol Castle, 9:03 AM.
Outside of a door, a girl could be seen seated against it, her eyes were teary, yet again she was shunned away by her sister, she knew what her sister was going through, she knew what had happened, yet why did she act as if she was the only one in pain?.
Hearing footsteps she looked up and saw her cousin holding a tray of food to her, "I didn't see you on the dining hall so I knew where to look for you" he said while she took to the food, with that done he sat down beside her, letting her eat in silence.
Once she finished she put the tray on the side and the silence resumed, until Owain asked the one question she didn't want to answer "She opened the door didn't she?" he asked in a silent voice, high enough that only she could hear it, she nodded not trusting her voice, seeing that her cousin made a face of anger and stood up, grabbing her hand he started to walk away, dragging Cynthia with him.
"Owain, what are you doing!?" She was surprised by her cousin's sudden action but that didn't mean she was going to follow him. Lucina needed her sister after all, so she stopped, almost making her cousin fall due to the sudden change of speed, turning around and looking at her "Why did you stop?" he asked with confusion as to why she stopped.
"Owain, Lucina needs me, i cannot just leave her because you tell me to do so" she said turning around, ready to go back at that door and wait for her sister, "And i understand what you say Cyn but right now she doesn't want any of us around, she's hurt now but she will get better" he said trying to reason with her and set her away from this fool's errand.
Hearing this Cynthia turned around and looked at him with tears in her eyes, "I know that, I know that she doesn't want me around, that she wants to be alone, but has she ever thought of how i feel!?" She asked her cousin who looked dumbfounded at her reaction, seeing that she fell to her knees and started sobbing "Everyone just keeps saying poor Lucina, How's Lucina doing? I hope Lucina gets better. This week nobody has even turned an eye at me. Nobody cares about the one that isn't next to the throne because she isn't worth the hassle. You didn't even think that I was hurt and I'm sick of it!" she said between sobs, and Owain realized how much of a big mistake he did, he tried to say something but Cynthia beat him to it, "Just go away please" was the last thing she said before wiping the tears and getting up, walking to that door.
Owain tried to reach to her, before retracting his hand and turning away, thinking of how to fix this mistake, he suddenly remembered something or rather someone that could help him, so he began to run and searched for him, the one that without doubt could help Cynthia out of this plight.
—-
Barracks, Ylisstol Castle, 9:12 AM.
Owain walked along the row of words trying to find someone that could point him towards his target, opening the door he thought was the correct one he was greeted with his master peeling a potato with the unusual sword he carried on him, the golden gleam of the sword being slightly dampened by the carcass of the potato, both looked at each other trying to find the right words to use, until Owain found them, "Wasn't this Inigo's room?" his master looked at him straight in the eye and said, "Next one to the right, but he's on the training grounds right now, Olivia is teaching him how to wield a sword properly" he answered fast, hoping that his student would walk away, which he did.
Leaving behind that curious interaction Owain turned to the direction and began walking away, deciding to forget that interaction completely.
—-
Training grounds, Ylisstol Castle, 9:23 AM.
Inigo parried a blow from the wooden sword of his mother before using his own to strike at her, Olivia seeing the counter-attack gracefully ducked under it, "Down!" spinning around Inigo and striking on the back of his knees, receiving the impact he fell to the floor, his legs giving up under the blow.
Olivia walked towards him to make sure he wasn't too hurt, seeing him get up on his own made her smile as her son got himself on his fighting stance again, "You are getting the hang of it, how to hold the sword at least, but that's what training is for, left side!" She screamed as she dove with the intent to strike at the mentioned place, so Inigo held his sword stopping the blow there and then.
"Up!" she instructed as she used her agility to jump above him twisting herself on the air in a way that would impact his head if he didn't block, to her relief he did, and she landed in an awkward position with her leg moving slightly more than it should, making her slip up just enough for her guard to break, seeing his chance Inigo tried to strike, thinking that this round was decided.
Only for Olivia to recover in an instant, parrying the sword to the side and putting the place where the pointy part should be to his neck, "Advice from the veteran, sometimes your opponent can trick you making you believe they made a mistake, always keep a close eye on the way they fight" she said lowering her sword and smiling to her son who smiled back.
Turning to her other child she looked at Morgan who was trying to canalize an Archunder tome, "Morgan are you sure you don't want me to ask Ricken or Miriel for help, i'm pretty sure Henry can help you as well or even Tharja if you really want" to that the pink haired tactician just smiled and without any effort *ARCTHUNDER* she impacted the dummy with her spell, making it explode due to the energy impacting it.
"It's not necessary mom, I already mastered this one, I was just wondering if I could use it for anything else!" she exclaimed while holding the tome and showing no sign of being tired even though this was considered an advanced spell for many, Inigo looked at his sister and smiled, even if it didn't reach his eyes, nobody noticed.
Olivia walked to her daughter and hugged her, being proud at her for mastering such a spell so quickly, "You are so much like your father, i'm sure one day you will be as strong as he was" she said to the future-tactician who smiled and nodded, "And i will kick Plegia's butt!" she exclaimed to the heavens while holding the tome.
Inigo for his part looked to the sword he was holding, then to his family and with a smile he turned towards the training dummy and started striking at it, not really trying to improve but rather to hit something.
At that moment Owain made his arrival, looking over the multiple people there until he saw the one he was looking for, "Son of The Seer of Light and The Beauty of the Frozen Land i require your aid on an urgent matter!" hearing the bombastic voice of the prince made Inigo smile as he turned around towards the blonde.
With a bow he followed his friend's lead, "And what would that be Chosen Hero of Darkness, for you to not be able to complete it on your own" to that the prince smiled before remembering the situation at hand and why he was here, "Jester of the Many Faces i'm afraid to inform you that the Heroine of Justice has befell with a curse i cannot remove even with my most powerful magic" so Cynthia was not in a good place, he could understand why, but he wasn't sure if he could help her.
Knowing his friend was trying to be inconspicuous he followed with play, even if he was a little peeved about Owain almost exposing him, "While your plight is a great one indeed, i do not believe my abilities are up to the task, for even i have succumbed to this curse at some point" he made the message clear, he just hopes Owain would pick up on it.
And he did, but he choose to ignore it, "Which is exactly why she needs you, at the very least you should be able to see her and try to dispel the curse afflicting her" it was a plead now, and both of them knew it, if Owain was this desperate and convinced that he could aid, he might as well give it a shot.
Resigning himself Inigo continued "Very well I shall look into this curse, will you accompany me?" he asked not really hiding his words this time, "I'm afraid this task is something only you can do Jester, your way with the enchantments is one that i must not look upon, however the maiden is on the lair of the Blue Demonspanker" Lucina's room, got it.
To that Inigo gave his sword to Owain and started to walk away, when Olivia looked back Inigo was gone and Owain had a pondering expression on his face wondering if his judgment of the situation was the right one, "Owain?, Wh-Where's Inigo?" she asked the prince who looked at her and answered, "I needed him to help me with something, he should be back in a bit" he answered, impressed that the tales of the Jester were even somewhat true.
"I see" was the only answer he got as Olivia started to instruct Morgan on the basics of the sword and Owain left the scene, hoping for the best of the situation he started on accident.
AN: Not happy with this chapter but i can't exactly change what i wrote already, this is the best i can make it to continue as smooth as possible
