Hello! WHAT!? I did not update on Saturday?
Sorry about that, in film class we're shooting shorts all month and have to work on at least two, the one I worked on was shot Friday, Saturday and Sunday (I went the last two days), On saturday I left home at 10am and got home by midnight while yesterday I left at 9am and got back around 11pm somethin, tired, feet aching
But I finally got around to it and here is chapter seven! look at it this way, slightly less time till next Saturday :D
Enough of my life story!
Chapter Seven
Rotric Trail
"Honestly, Fistivus! You need to stop telling every single traveler you come across about that glass weaponry story! I imagine everyone who passes through Corelis, Malsean and Euto has already heard it!"
Fistivus laughed at fellow merchant Lune's comments. He just finished reciting the story Soren and Mia heard on the Otrobort Way to Mikel, Wayu and Lyle.
Lune was an older woman but just as tough as any, she had a blue shirt covered in a dark green cloak and while old Fistivus carried his important gear on his back, she had a side bag and a pouch. The two were a lot alike in that they loved telling trading stories, however when together they competed over the strangest and funniest stories with their charges being forced to choose.
"Certainly that trader has something loose to try and sell glass ornaments as weapons!? Right?"
Mikel nodded "I'm with you on that old timer! Who was that guy anyway?"
Fistivus waved him away "I forgot most people's names if I don't regularly see them."
"No, you forget most people's names because you are old!" Lune yelled from her carriage at the old man.
Soren, Mia, Wyre, Mikel, Lyle and Wayu rode with Fistivus and Lune down the Rotric Trail, a path west of Malsean that is a direct route to Euto the Proud Worker's Dale, called such because the populace are some of the hardest workers in Anondye, caring for the land, for each other and managing various businesses. Euto is also close to an abandoned War Fort that was a prime location and well-defended during the warring ages. It has mostly fallen into disrepair as Euto moved on from being Proud Warriors.
The company passed through the Cross Kingdom Path with little issue, reaching Malsean fairly quickly, Soren and Mia stopped by Oscar and Rolf's again for a quick chat and status check.
They also met with Ulmeihn quickly who stated he sent word to his former colleague a few days back, ask around and they'll get a fairly quick answer from the others at the research center who know her.
The Rotric Trail has been fairly smooth, several other caravans have passed through heading for Malsean, but no serious problems as of yet.
"OK! Here is where we are…approaching the Rotric Fork. The northern path will take us to Euto and from there the research center is a hop, skip and a jump."
The group nodded to Fistivus as he swung the reins and the horses began moving again.
Soren wanted to do nothing but keep his attention on the road ahead, but being in Lune's carriage with Wayu and Mikel, he felt he needed to introduce himself to his ally in more detail, having done little of that up until now. He would also like to know more about Wayu, develop a trust should they face dire situations together which he was almost certain would happen.
"Wayu." She snapped out of her thoughts and turned to Soren, smiling nervously "Yes…uh..Soren…sir…"
Soren shook his head "Just Soren. Where did you get your experience with that spear and the armor?"
Wayu glanced over at her spear then back at Soren "My great grandfather was a soldier for Anondye's forces, with the whole peace thing he went from spearing men to spearing fish and my family has since grown accustomed to it, living along Corelis Bay for several generations…I'd like to think of myself as a skilled fisher but a fighter…that man at the dock was the first human I've ever killed…"
Soren noticed Wayu had a habit of staring at nothing; she has been lost in thought a lot of the trip, obviously still thinking about the man at the docks. He was impressed that she didn't break down or show it any other way.
"For it being your first person, you aren't taking it as bad as I expected…I'm actually quite impressed."
Wayu smiled and looked down "He was threatening that friend of yours…Wyre…I couldn't just stand there and let him die…I don't think I could live with myself if that happened…"
Mikel glanced at Wayu "You sure know how and where to act, lass…if you keep that up you'll be hardened and ready for anything by the time this all wraps up."
"Being serious for once Mikel?" Soren stated with a grin.
The warrior shrugged "I've taken a few guys out in my time…the first didn't do anything for me but doesn't mean I should be insensitive."
Soren put a hand on Wayu's shoulder "When things come down to it, we all want to know you'd be willing to do things for us…we won't let you get hurt, Mia and I have done this…a few times."
Wayu smiled and nodded "Thank you, Soren…Mikel…"
Wyre sat silently as he stared at Lyle and Mia's conversation. He glanced between the both of them but spent most of his time on Lyle. He wasn't one who was paranoid and distrusted people easily but he knows next to nothing about Lyle, Soren has told him a lot about Mikel but Soren doesn't normally fraternize with Lyle, he is just someone his wife…or rather…Mia works with on a daily basis. Wyre turned to look out of the carriage and shook his head with a grin.
"And this is the school that I teach kids the art of the sword." Mia stated before turning to Wyre.
He nodded and then glanced at Mia "It's a nice quiet place you chose to live close to…"
She smiled "Yeah…these years here have been fantastic…of course Soren and I don't let that throw us off our game."
Wyre nodded "There are some things I'd like to ask about your life together."
Mia raised an eyebrow "Soren and I?"
"Yes…you two are perfect together…I know this is very personal but…well, you are old friends, the uh…wedding…"
Mia blushed and laughed nervously "We aren't…we aren't married."
Wyre turned "What?"
Mia looked down and started twiddling her thumbs "We aren't…married."
"Oh…I just assumed…because…I'm sorry, that was idiotic of me."
Mia shook her head "No, it throws many people off…it's just…"
"I know this isn't any of my business…I actually got married about a year and a half before I left Hitenticul…"
Mia looked up at him "Really? I didn't know!"
Wyre removed one of his gloves and showed her a ring "Proposing is harder than fighting the Order of Rein, that's for sure…but things worked out…"
Mia smiled "I'm glad they did…"
"I tell Klein about it every day…he was a dear friend and I'm always visiting his grave and talking to him…"
Mia and Wyre stood there in front of the school a short while before heading back to the home.
"It'll be alright for the two of you…for all intents and purposes, you are married."
Mia smiled, she knew that in her heart and may not need a wedding for them to prove how much they loved each other, but it is still something she'd like to experience. Especially considering that Shinon and Uhnie were getting married soon, realizing that she didn't know if things were going to be fine by then she was worried she might miss it.
"Wyre, let's stop by the Post again! I need to ask Pira if anything came in!" the thunder sage nodded and followed Mia.
"Wow Mia, sounds like you've been in unbelievably perilous situations…" Lyle stated.
Mia nodded "The Yakaan fight was something I needed Soren there for…the two of us are invincible together but Yakaan really tested our mettle…sometimes I can't help but wonder what would've happened if Shinon didn't show up when he did."
Lyle shook his head "I'm sure you could've gotten out of it somehow."
The three turned when Fistivus announced they approached the fork.
However, the ground in front of the caravan exploded with a large square pedestal extending out of the earth. A single, red robed, earth mage with his hands held up glared at them as several bandits leapt off the pedestal.
Fistivus pointed at the odd gear the bandits wore "It can't be! Lune! Are those…are those-"
"Korgans!" Lune screamed.
Soren, Wayu and Mikel jumped out of the carriage followed by Mia, Lyle and Wyre, all arming themselves as the seven bandits armed with blades and axes approached.
"Prepare yourselves for low visibility!" Soren raised his hand and with a quick palm to the ground, dispersed Arcwind, uplifting the dust and covering all the warriors and the caravan.
Lyle turned seeing Mia disappear into the dust before looking back towards the direction the bandits were coming from. "What are these guys even doing here?"
An axe flew towards Lyle but the green swordmaster effortlessly jumped over it, however he was followed into the sky by two swordsmen. Quickly swinging his blades, he deflected their attacks as Mikel took to the sky, spun and brought his axe into one of the bandit's chests, dragging him back down into the dust.
Mia deflected another axe attack before spinning around and cutting another swordsman that landed across the back. As he tried to reach for his wound she finished him off with one more strike.
As the axe bandit picked up his discarded weapon, Wayu emerged from the dust and jammed her spear at him. He countered the attack and made several swings at her but the girl dodged them as she continued to step back.
Wyre Reh avoided several flying axes before sending a bolt into the dust, narrowly dodged by a bandit, the sage retreated further back, attracting the bandit.
Soren emerged from the dust as the earth mage landed in front of him, the two engaged in a magic fight, hurling jagged rocks and sending sharp slicing gales at each other.
Lyle rolled through the dust and peered as far as he could see, he noticed two moving shapes.
He ran towards them, passing Mikel as the man dug his axe into another bandit's shoulder.
Losing her spear, Wayu ducked behind her shield as the bandit slammed his weapon on it, Lyle shot out and cut the man across the neck.
With that bandit down it left three more in the dust with the group, Mia dove aside as the sword bandit wildly swung trying to hit her, she bumped into Wyre who nodded to her, the pair ducked and turned avoiding a sword and axe strike, moving on opposite sides, Wyre sent a bolt into the sword bandit while Mia rammed her blade into the axe bandit's gut.
Wyre finished with an electrically charged spin kick to the head, snapping the bandit's neck.
As Soren leapt over several pieces of earth that jutted out attempting to gore him, the earth sage continued to move away at an astonishing pace. Soren noticed that the mage's feet were encased in dirt and he was sliding across the floor.
Mikel tore his axe out of the bandit, as the dust died down he turned to face one last bandit, however Wayu came from the side and impaled the man. Falling to his knees, Mikel silently finished him off with a blow to the head.
Removing her spear, Wayu was breathing hard as the others gathered around. Mia turned and saw Soren still going at it with the earth mage and took off to help.
"Check on Fistivus and Lune!" she yelled back.
Soren used his arcwind to create a powerful tempest, drawing the earth mage closer to him. With all his might the mage force a giant section out of the ground, throwing himself into the air.
Soren watched and with a quick spin sent a slicing gale into the mage.
The foe's body landed with a thump as Mia skidded to a halt. Soren nodded to her "These…" he trailed off as he noticed another earth mage explode out of the ground near the caravans, with a mighty push, the earth shifted and the caravans along with their allies fell over the cliff.
Mia quickly ran over and beheaded the last mage as Soren stood at the edge of the cliff looking down into the Ore River.
Quickly he and Mia jumped down to examine the wreck, Lyle and Mikel emerged carrying Fistivus and Lune followed by Wyre lending Wayu his shoulder.
"Cowards! Using such an underhanded tactic to set us back…" Mikel spat.
"How far back are we?" Soren asked.
Lyle put down Fistivus who coughed several times before looking at the sage "We were supposed to take the northern route, higher elevation…the southern route continues and descends…we fell off the cliff and near the Ore River…these jagged cliffs make for a tough climb for us old folk. We'll have to move along the southern path and reach Euto past the old fort that is down here."
Wyre groaned "Of course…this must have been their plan…maybe they figured out what we were up to and our trying to delay our arrival in Euto."
Mia shook her head "Who are they!? This is really starting to frustrate me!" Soren put a hand on her shoulder as Lune stood up.
"The Emerald Hold was a powerful defensive fort back in the day…as well as a prison. It has been empty for many decades now though…we can wade across the Ore River easily enough and it'll be about a two day hike along these cliffs to get to the hold."
Mikel emerged from the ruined caravan with two horses that survived the fall.
"Looks like we are backpacking it…grab as much of the necessities as we can all carry ourselves, we should be able to find some packs that aren't ripped all to hell." The warrior called out, receiving nods from the rest of the group as they got to work.
A few hours later, the darkness of night rolled in and caught the troop on the opposite shore of the Ore River. They approached the cliffs and began hiking, Soren assigned camping duties and after about an hour they set down their gear and built a small camp for the night.
"We'll hit the road hard tomorrow, try to clear these cliffs and by the next day we should see Emerald Hold before nightfall." The archsage announced as Lyle succeeded in starting a fire.
Mia sat down next to Wayu who was holding onto her spear and watching as Fistivus and Mikel began cooking some of the fish she caught from the Ore River.
"You alright?" Mia asked as she placed her hand on the younger girl's knee.
Wayu gave a small grunt, the flames reflecting brightly in her eyes, she ran a hand through her pink hair and sighed.
"I keep thinking…maybe I shouldn't have come…"
"You haven't been around long enough! Give yourself some time Wayu!" Mia quickly countered.
"I know…but…I spend most time running from conflict and I hesitated in stabbing that guy that almost got Mikel…he finished the job for me…"
Mia sighed "It's alright, Wayu, even if you don't help us fight; you are doing a great job at keeping us alive! Look at all these fish you caught! None of us will starve thanks to you."
Wayu smiled slightly and Mia moved her hand from the knee to her shoulder "Look at the bright side…you do well where it really counts…I for one am glad to have you along."
Wayu blushed a little and nodded "Thank you, Mia."
At around midnight, Soren's eyes opened. Most likely his Branded senses were on high alert. Someone who shouldn't be here was nearby. Soren slowly moved Mia's arm off him and stood, glancing around the tent quickly, his eyes briefly stopping on the sheathed Ein'Tosen.
As he moved out of the tent quietly his thought about the conversation he had with Mia about the black sword.
"If things to get bad, I would feel much better if you had it in your hands." Soren stated.
Mia glanced over at the blade on the wall "I suppose…but…it reminds me constantly that I'm not…"
Soren looked at the blade as well before turning back to Mia "Branded."
The trueblade nodded as her expression saddened, Soren embraced her before walking her over to the blade.
"We'll figure it out eventually. Ein'Tosen is yours and whether or not you use it on this quest…it would ease my conscience as long as I knew you had it with you."
Mia stopped looking at the blade and then met Soren's eyes and nodded "Alright…but someday…we will figure this out…"
"Soren!" the sage turned as Lyle approached him; apparently the swordmaster was on watch. Brilliant.
"What do you want, Lyle?"
"I thought Mikel was replacing me? What are you doing up? Where are you going?" Lyle asked folding his arms across his chest.
"Use your imagination and…" Soren grabbed Lyle's arms and moved them back to his sides "…stop that…"
The sage turned and walked away as the swordmaster clenched his teeth and turned, kicking the dirt.
Soren stopped and looked up at a higher cliff, the large man on sitting up there was no illusion.
"Meloi. What do you want?"
The man shrugged his shoulders before jumping off and landing in front of Soren, he pulled off his hood, revealing his face which was terribly scarred along the left side.
"I have common sense…I realized a long time ago that you and your friends over there knew nothing about what my group and I are up to…you know, us red robed soldiers and the Korgan bandits hanging out with us. So…you have my word, the attacks stop now…return to Corelis and live out your life…"
Soren stared into Meloi's brown eyes, it seemed truthful but at the same time, Meloi's left hand was gripping a book in his cloak.
"Somehow, you are able to revive people that we've killed already and kill people by igniting their insides…whoever you all are and however you got the supposedly extinct Korgan's on your side…I know that if I let you go, I'll regret it."
Meloi smiled and jumped away, back onto the cliff he was sitting on moments ago. He pointed at Soren and spoke "Very well…I look forward to how this all works itself out."
Soren nodded as Meloi vanished "So do I…"
The next morning found the group traversing the Cliffside, occasionally on very high ground they spotted the old Emerald Hold, a large fortress building that might have had a brilliant green color during its career, now it sat old and covered in growth, forgotten by all but nature.
"Lune, you said those bandits that attacked us at the Rotric Fork were Korgans right?" Soren asked the older woman riding one of the horses.
"Well…I screamed it but yes…they were undoubtedly Korgan. The other bandits you told me you encountered seemed run-of-the-mill but these were Korgan."
Fistivus laughed "Tall tales! That old clan was wiped out by Joltam a long time ago…everyone knows this!"
"Everyone also knows what a Korgan looks like! Are you ignoring your own eyes, Fistivus?"
The other merchant waved her off and remained silent.
"How about those red robed troops that attacked us multiple times as well?" Mia followed up.
Lune scratched her chin "No one like that lives in Anondye…but you did mention that you saw bandits and the reds revived, or rather, you killed the same men as before."
Soren and Mia nodded to which Lune sighed.
"Then they must be the Dune Guard…a group of fallen royal guards that served the hierarchy of Sarhara, the Western Desert Nation."
Wayu turned "Dune Guard?"
Wyre Reh, who walked next to her, turned as well "Do you know them?"
"I've heard of them…the older generations of soldiers in my family were part of campaigns into the secretive Sarhara nation. The Anondye army…joined with the rebel Dune Guard to try to overthrow and end Sarhara during the warring ages."
Fistivus sighed deeply "A sanctioned army working with another nations' terrorists…war does unspeakably ugly things…"
As the sky began to darken and threaten to rain on them, the weary troop reached the outskirts of the Emerald Hold, now able to see the massive building in all its glory. The outer wall was broken in several locations and the outer gate fell and rusted long ago.
"Some vacation home…" Mikel commented, Lyle turned to him with a questioning look but the warrior just waved him off.
Wyre Reh walked up next to Soren and Mia "Should we go inside to shelter from the storm or…"
Soren didn't feel too good about setting foot in there. His recent encounter with Meloi left him unsettled.
Lyle smacked Soren in the back "It'll be fine, we can handle it!" he turned to Mia, smiling "Right?"
She nodded "I'm fairly certain we can…we just have to make sure to stick together."
Mia turned to Wayu, Mikel, Fistivus and Lune who all nodded then she turned to Soren. "Shall we?"
Soren sighed and took her hand before agreeing, the troop then moved into the Emerald Hold.
Emerald Hold is heavily inspired by another ruined vacation home I've had the "honor" of running through about six times, can anyone guess what?
As of now I just completed my 4th playthrough of Fire Emblem Awakening, 3rd time with a male tactician, 3rd time on Normal / Classic, next playthrough will be Female Tactician #2 and Hard / Casual
I've already got 250 hours on that game and I'm planning ahead at least 3 more playthroughs!
The Future Children mechanic is really awesome
Anyway, Ymarkteg OC Sheet #3 will go up when the group reaches the Euto Research Center and it includes Mikel in his Warrior outfit and Wayu in her Diver outfit
Until Saturday!