Chapter 5
After another day's travel, the shepherds had finally arrived in Regna Ferox. Greeted warmly by Flavia and Basilio, the rest of the group wandered about the castle while Nathan, Chrom, and Frederick went with the two Khans to discuss the situation at hand.
Standing around the Feroxi war strategy table, which was covered in maps and miniature models of soldiers and warships, Nathan finally spoke up to the Khans.
"So, we've heard a fair bit about what we're dealing with here, but can you fill us in a bit more?" He inquired, raising an eyebrow.
Flavia smiled. "We would, but we have someone who can explain the situation much better. You may know him…"
Nathan, Chrom and Frederick spun around to the door to see a familiar blue-haired archer walking in, dressed in his familiar frilly white and blue clothing. A pink haired woman walked in behind him, clad in black and grey armour.
"Greetings again, friends! Allow me to introduce myself! I am Virion, the archest of arch-"
"We know who you are, Virion." Chrom grunted.
Virion chuckled at the prince. "You think that you know me, but truly, you do not! Now then, as I was saying, I am Virion, the archest of archers, but ALSO I am an important, powerful noble from the country of Rosanne!"
Nathan frowned. "Right. And I'm the king of Renais." He retorted. Chrom and Frederick laughed slightly, while Virion frowned.
The pink haired women then stepped forward. "Virion does not lie, I am, or was, his vassal, and can vouch for his story."
The tactician raised an eyebrow. He then turned to Frederick. "You're oddly quiet, and normally you're the first to talk if something smells fishy. What do you think?"
The group turned to the Great Knight, who was staring at the pink haired woman. He was taken slightly aback when she locked eyes with him, before his face turned red as he noticed the entire group around the table all watching intently, with Chrom and Nathan forming smug grins on their faces, realizing what was going on.
"Er, uh…apologies Milord, It seems as though I…zoned out for a moment there!" The great knight laughed awkwardly, his booming voice filling the silent room. "Well then, um…I see no issues with the matters presented here. Virion is a shepherd, is he not? And he has brought someone who can back his story…I'm sorry, but your name is?" The man blushed again, nodding slightly to the Woman, who smiled brightly at him. "Cherche, Milord." Frederick nodded clumsily before continuing, "…So, I think we can trust what he is saying."
Basilio grunted, turning his head to Virion. "Now that that's done with…why don't you tell us what happened to you in your home country? And how you wound up on this pile of rock…"
The archer cleared his throat and struck a familiar pose before he began, while Cherche rolled her eyes beside him.
"Allow me to begin my tale of woe and peril, and heartbreak…" The man announced. "As a wealthy noble in Rosanne, my life was perfect. My days were spent in leisure, discussing current political events with my fellow esteemed members of the upper class, with the occasional practice of my archery skills as a personal hobby of mine. In the night, we would often celebrate our royalty together-"
"Is this going anywhere?" Flavia snarled impatiently. Virion frowned, raising a finger to the Khan.
"Hold, Milady! My tale is not one that can be divulged so quickly! You must truly know of my lifestyle in order to understand my pain!"
Cherche rolled her eyes again, finally stepping in front of the blue-haired man. "Walhart, the man who is in Valm now, launching warships against you, showed up on our shores one day and took over our country through force. Virion fled to Ylisse for fear of his life, while I stayed in the country for as long as I could before joining him. The man is extremely powerful, and in short, he conquered our land, and now seeks to conquer yours."
Chrom nodded in thanks to Cherche before turning to the others. "Well, that explains that." He declared.
"Any more you can tell us about this…Walhart?" Nathan inquired to Cherche.
"He is powerful. Very powerful. None who have fought him have lived to tell the tale."
Basilio grinned. "We'll see about that when I bring my axe down on him…"
The group stood in silence for a moment before Nathan leaned down, putting a finger on the map. "This is the main port on the edge of your kingdom, is it not?" He asked. Flavia nodded.
"It's where we expect them to land, judging from their current course."
"Well then it's where we're headed. From the reports you've given me, comparing the number of ships you've scouted to the vast Navy the country of Valm has at it's disposal, plus the amount of warriors this 'Conqueror' Walhart has in his army, this is more than likely just a welcome party as opposed to an assault."
Chrom picked up on Nathan's point. "Better to hit them head on and stop the bleeding at the port so they can't harm civilians…" He added.
Basilio nodded. "We'll leave at first light tomorrow morning. That should give us enough time to arrive there before they do."
Nathan gave the bald warrior a confused look. "Tomorrow? Why not now?"
The man laughed. "Ever so eager to get to the fight, eh runt? Well, Flavia here thinks that since you're our guests, we should give you proper hospitality before we take up arms again, so we have a bit of a 'special feast' for tonight!"
Flavia nodded in agreement. "It's only fair, considering the fact we tried to put our lances through you the first time you showed up at our gates…"
Nathan turned to Chrom, who shrugged. "How can we refuse?" He conceded.
Basilio bellowed, "Now you're thinking, boy! Be sure to dress nicely tonight, you two, although I'm sure your wives will make sure of that…"