Of Wyverns and Brands
Chapter 20
The next morning, the mercenaries were already getting ready to head out again as I come out. Why can't we ever have an extended rest? At least two days, people.
As I reach the group, Greil approaches me with Ike and Soren. "Princess Elincia has safely reached Gallia, and your duty is finished. However, Gallia cannot provide her the protection or resources she needs, so we are now escorting her to Begnion. What will you do?"
That's not a given? "Follow, of course. I may not be much, but I'm sure every hand helps right now. Besides, I won't be very welcome here in Gallia on my own."
Greil nods in agreement. "Beorc may look down and hate the branded, but the laguz even loathe their existence, so I would not recommend staying, either. So I have a proposal. Join our mercenary group for the time being. You will be free to leave when something else comes along." Soren almost chokes at this statement, which is quite funny to me.
I…kind of thought I had worked my way into the group, but I guess I never did officially join. Does this mean I get a paycheck as well? But why would Greil specifically want to hire…oh. "You want to have me close if I receive any more visions and to report them."
"Frankly, yes," Greil admits. "Acting on your own like you did the other day will get you killed, but if you let us work with it, we could get a lot more accomplished. But if you do join, I want no secrets kept. We work as a team."
"Understood. I accept then." Duh, duh! I'm an official mercenary!
Greil nods and moves off. Ike shakes my hand while Soren glares at me. "Welcome to the group, Drake," Ike replies.
Elincia soon joins us, and she seems surprised to see me. "My lord Drake? Why are you here?"
"Um…getting ready to head out with you guys?" I thought that was a little obvious.
"You will be going with us? What about your own plans? I do not wish to place more on you than I already have," Elincia says, looking worried.
"I don't have many plans of my own, and I don't plan to stay in Gallia anyways. Besides, I'm an official member of the Greil Mercenaries, so I go where they go now." I still can't decide to use more formal speech with her or not.
Elincia sighs, appearing relieved. "I am glad, then. I did not wish to ask more of you after all you've done, but knowing that you'll be continuing to help gives me a sense of peace. Thank you, again, my lord Drake."
And now she's curtsying to me. That might have appeared more elegant if she wasn't dressed in her set of peasant clothing again. Should a princess really be curtsying to a commoner anyway?
We leave Gallia's palace behind and head back toward the border. Which means marching, again. I so didn't feel grateful enough for motorized vehicles back on Earth. Even a wagon would be nice, as Anna demonstrates as she waves from the back of one. It doesn't help that I think Mist is avoiding me for some reason.
It isn't long before I decide to get back up on Midnight and begin to try and understand that tome again. The main problem is that so many of these symbols look identical. Plus, I don't even know if they translate letter for letter into English or not. Why couldn't it be Anglo-Saxon runes instead?
When we had passed the tower the next day, I decide to finally give in and ask Soren for help.
"Hey, Soren. How's it going?" I ask, using my biggest smile as I come up to him and Ike
Soren glares at me, while Ike just raises an eyebrow. "What do you want?" Doesn't seem to be in the best of moods, but I'm not sure if Soren has any 'best of moods'.
Using all my experience from being an only child, I start in with some flattery. "I simply wanted to make a request of our amazing tactician." That gets a chuckle out of Ike.
"I don't deal with sarcasm." Funny. I thought every other statement you made was sarcastic.
"Look, I know we've gotten off on the wrong foot, and you probably hate my guts more than most of the others, but that doesn't mean I necessarily hate you as well. I mean, you do get under my skin at times, but I don't really hate you."
"What's your point?" That's one solid wall of resistance. Ike seems to be enjoying our conversation greatly.
Guess I'll just go as blunt as Ike. "Teach me magic."
That takes Soren aback for a moment. Bet he didn't see that coming. "No."
"Why?"
"You said it yourself. I hate you."
Don't give up, yet, Drake. Time to make a deal. "What if I showed you this?" I pull out the small fire tome and wave it a bit.
"Where'd you get that?" Soren asks, narrowing his eyes at me.
"Killed a mage in the last fight. He helpfully dropped this after setting himself on fire."
Soren sighs. "That's one of the other reasons I won't teach you. Magic is a tricky art. If you just make a haphazard attempt, you'll get yourself killed. Literally."
"Is magic really that hard to learn?" Ike asks, finally joining in.
"One must spends years studying if they ever want to be able to use it in combat efficiently," Soren explains. "You have to have a solid grasp of the ancient language, know the flow of the spell, and understand the mysteries of the element you wish to call on before you can cast even simple spells. Plus, each person has different limits on what and how much they can cast. If it was easy, everyone would use magic."
Ike looks as lost as I am. "And that's why you were visiting the capital before the war, right? To study your magic?"
Soren nods.
"What the mysteries of the elements?" I ask, my curiosity piqued.
"Learning how each element works and their essence. Without such learning, spells will have little power, and higher level spells can't even be used."
So…chemistry or physics? "So, like how fire combusts and needs oxygen to survive, or how wind is simply the moving of particles and such?"
Now both Soren and Ike look confused.
"Sorry. Just some things I learned back home," I add, shrugging.
"I have never heard of what you've said. Maybe it would be worth going over," Soren remarks, finally seeming interested.
I grin, unable to resist. "Bonding time!"
"Or not," Soren mutters, even as Ike cracks up. Some of the earlier hostility between us does seem to have lessened, though.
-o-
It was another four days of walking before Ranulf brought up the topic I was waiting for.
"There's a castle we might want to make a stop by in a few hours," Ranulf comments as we get ready to start marching for the day.
"If I'm correct, you're referring to Canteus Castle, right? Why would we want to stop there?" Greil questions.
Ranulf grins and spread out his arms dramatic. "Why, there is a very special reason. See, the Daein army captured this castle right after the capital, and reports have told us that this place is now serving as a prison camp. I've even heard that there are a number of Crimean soldiers held captive within its dungeons."
"What? Are you certain?" Elincia asks, now worried.
"I'm hurt, princess!" Ranulf replies, holding a hand over his heart. He's quite the actor. He's like Sain without the flirting. "My information can be nothing but reliable.
"My lord…" Elincia begins, turning to Greil.
Greil thinks for a while. "I am not sure if that is wise. For now, we would have to mount an attack on a well-built fort against unknown numbers. Any troops we rescued would also probably need treatment before being able to help us, which would slow us down for any pursuers. Soren? Titania?"
"Right now, we have the advantage of stealth," Soren points out. "The last thing Daein will expect for the princess to do is risk returning to her lands even temporarily, so the enemy can't be expecting us. If we give away our position now by attacking the castle, we risk giving ourselves away as well as casualties. We also have no siege options at our disposal, so we would have to rely on our two flyers to open the gates from within on their own."
I wouldn't want to really try that. Doesn't the map start in the dungeons, though? The walls and stuff were never addressed in the game.
With Soren finished, Titania begins her side of the debate. "Those prisoners are most likely militiamen captured during raids." Yeah, Daein didn't capture many of those. "They might join and bolster our forces, but…I believe we should rescue them for more than just how it can benefit us. These men were willing to risks their lives for their country. They deserve a chance of rescue."
Ranulf just stays quiet as he watches. And he's watching rather closely. …Is this a test of sorts?
After thinking it over a little more, Greil finally shakes his head. "We'll have you take us around, Ranulf. We don't have the forces to risk such a move at the moment, and our first priority is to get the princess safely to Begnion."
…
What? That's it? This is the prison they attack, right? We can't just leave Nephenee and Brom down there! Nephenee is one of the best units!
"Um…" I step forward, but then realize that I don't really know what to say as every eye turns toward me. How do I get them to raid the place?
"What is it, Drake?" Greil asks.
"There is someone down there we need to rescue."
"You know someone locked up there?" Titania asks.
Well there's Lehran down there, but should I tell them that? Is Lehran even the name he's using at the moment? Guess I have to tell them, though.
"There's a Begnion Senator held captive, though he's in disguise, so Daein doesn't know that, yet."
That gets everyone's attention. "A Begnion Senator? Inside Canteus Castle?" Titania exclaims, surprised.
Greil gives me a level stare, while Soren begins to contemplate the information. "If we rescue a senator, it would put our company and the princess in a better light when we reach Begnion." He's not going to question how I know this?
"We'll scout out the castle, then, and see if attacking is be an option. Lead on, Ranulf," Greil orders.
Ranulf gives me an appraising look, but begins to lead us to the castle. And that makes more questions for me to answer in order to keep everything smooth. Just think of what would have happened if I hadn't been here, though! …Oh, yeah. Ike would have immediately gone for it since Greil wouldn't be here.
It isn't long before we reach the castle. It's a pretty small castle, but a proper one at least, unlike Gallia's palace. There is no village or town nearby, though. An old outpost or noble's manor then?
"It isn't manned very well," Ike comments, staring at it from a good distance. How can he tell from just a glance?
"Three sentries along the top, so in total, there must be…what's that?" Soren stops his tactical analysis to point out…something in the air above the castle.
"Another frilly pegasus rider," Shinon remarks. Just how good is your eyesight?
"What is a pegasus rider doing with Daein?" Titania murmurs, trying to see it herself. I don't remember any flying units here either.
"Well, since they're shooting at her, I don't think that's the case," Shinon says offhandedly. He smirks as the comment begins a panic amongst the group.
"Good gravy! We have to help!" Marcia shouts, preparing to take off.
"Wait. We have to-"
Soren is cut off as Marcia charges into the air on her pegasus straight toward the castle…in broad daylight…with archers in sight.
For once, I can feel Soren's pain as he sighs. "Drake, this problem is escalating. If all they have is three archers, it might be best to take them out. If there are more within the walls, get those two idiots out of there before we have casualties on our hands. Go quickly."
Soren is already turning to give orders to others as I get on Midnight and take off. We're not too far from the castle, but I flinch every time an arrow flies at the pegasus rider. Marcia reaches the rider first, and…starts talking to her? In the middle of a battle? Move already!
I urge Midnight to go at top speed. Marcia's arrival distracted the archers, so none of them notice us until Midnight flies right into one and on past, violently shoving the surprised man right off the wall. The man's scream is short-lived as he hits the ground below. One down.
"Move it!" I scream to the others as I pass. I don't know if they heard me, but I have to focus on this now.
There are about ten or so soldiers in the courtyard, but I don't see any archers among them. Or mages. Don't want that either. Midnight flips around for her next pass, and I notice that the archers' attention is now torn between the dead soldier, the pegasi, and Midnight. Let's show them who they should be focused on.
Midnight's next target realizes his imminent doom and tries to run…and forgets that he's on a narrow wall. One misstep, and he goes over the side as well, leaving only one left to deal with.
The last archer tries to fire off an arrow, but it goes wide, though I'm not sure if it's because of how bad his hands are shaking or if he's just that bad a shot. Midnight lands on the wall next to him and grabs him up in her maw before flinging him over into the main castle building itself, his body slamming into the structure and falling to his death.
Below, a few of the soldiers are running toward the stairs, as though Midnight can't simply fly off the wall. I have to hold back my anger as I look up and see the pegasi still in the air, where Marcia is talking to a young girl riding the other pegasus.
A javelin suddenly clatters halfway up the wall, and I look down to see a rotund general below. "Look who's come to play in my little box of fun. A wyvern and his rider. You'll almost be as fun to toy with as that pair of pegasus knights above. Won't you come down and play?"
Is he sick in the head or something? "I don't think I do," I reply.
"But you see, once you become my prisoner, then you'll be able to enjoy the eternal bliss of my dungeons! It's marvelous!"
Either he really is a sicko, or he was cleverly buying time as he men ran up the stairs to try and reach me. I didn't forget about them, though.
"Make sure to take my new pets alive!" the general calls out.
As they finally reach the far end of the wall, they fall back into the courtyard as a pair of arrows thud into them. That must be Shinon and Rolf. With them taken care of, I have Midnight launch off and into the air. Now, what to do with our other problem?
"What are you guys doing?" I ask them, irritated. "You could have gotten shot hanging around here!"
"Emma here was telling me about her plight! You don't have to get all tomato in the face about it," Marcia says, sounding exasperated.
"My friend is down in that dungeon," the girl responds. "I was trying to free her, but then they started shooting at me. I forgot that there might be archers."
This so didn't happen in the game. And this is definitely an NPC, too. Why is she here? Is our timing messed up from the original timeline? Does she die before Ike arrives normally or something?
This isn't the time to be wondering about this, though. "Look, we're going to have to go with Soren's earlier plan. There's only a board keeping that gate shut, so I'll land and open it real quick. Keep the soldiers distracted until then, Marcia."
"What about me?" the girl asks.
"Just stop trying to get yourself killed," I yell as Midnight dives toward the gate.
The gate of this castle is small and wooden, probably just large enough for the caravan wagons. A thick board sits in a holder to brace it and keep it closed.
The remaining soldiers immediately begin to head toward me as I jump off Midnight. I hurry to the gate and try to lift the board. Okay, that's a lot heavier than I thought it would be. Midnight roars as the soldiers get close, her snapping jaws keeping them back for the moment.
Putting all my strength behind it, I push against the board until it finally lifts up and out of its holder. The door opens slightly now that it's free, and the mercenaries open the door completely in the next moment.
The soldiers stop as they see the mercenaries swarm in, suddenly finding themselves outnumbered.
"Fight! Don't let all these precious subjects get away! Fight, men!" the general shouts, moving them to action once more.
The fight lasts but a moment longer as the soldiers are quickly wiped out. With the fighting over, Marcia and the girl land to be promptly scolded by both Soren and Titania.
I head over to Midnight and find a nasty cut along her face. And she doesn't take to vulneraries too well, either. "I'm going to have to patch that up, okay, Midnight?" Despite my attempt at trying to smooth it over, she still growls when she sees me pull out the vulnerary bag. I sigh, not exactly wanting to risk putting my hand so close to her mouth should she try to snap at me again.
"I can do it." Looking back, I see Mist approaching with staff in hand. "She shouldn't mind my staff." After a moment's focus, the wound seals right up.
"Thanks, Mist," I say, putting my vulnerary back on my belt.
"You're welcome," she replies, looking down at her feet. "Um…about before." She's most likely talking about the fight inside the fort.
"Yeah?"
"Thank you for protecting. Um…and sorry…about trying to fight and stuff. I think I know what you meant, now." She's still staring at her feet, as though I'm going to scold her.
"You're forgiven. We all make mistakes, so don't let it get to you," I say, trying to cheer her up. "If you want to make it up to me, then you should teach that lesson to that girl over there." I point at the young pegasus rider by Marcia, directing Mist's attention that way.
"Soren! Titania! Ike!" Greil's voice grabs their attention immediately. "We're going in to deal with what's left and to the prisoners out. I want the rest of you to stay on watch for any other soldiers that might be in the area."
As they head into the castle, I follow Mist over to the girl, curious. If I had to guess her age, I would put her about as old as Rolf or Mist. She has her light brown hair tied in two small braids on the side, with a large ponytail in back that was tied by a large red ribbon.
She had on a white dress with blue trim, but no armor and only a single lance as a weapon. Did she really think she would take this place by herself? She does seem pretty worried, though. I wonder who her friend is that she would be willing to go to such lengths.
"I'm Mist. What's your name?" Mist asks.
"I'm Emma. Will they bring my friend out safely?" She keeps nervously glancing toward the entrance, worried.
"Of course, sugar!" Marcia says cheerfully. "They'll bring your friend out all safe, and you two can be together again." I wouldn't say that, Marcia. I'm pretty sure prisoner deaths were implied in the game and…please tell me we're not too late to rescue the others! I didn't think of that at all!
My fears are relieved, though, when Greil returns with an entourage in tow. There's Nephenee, Brom, Kieran, and Lehran or what's-his-name. All accounted for, then. Good. Though it does take me back for a moment when they all come out in peasant rags, rather than already in armor like the game has it. Makes sense, though.
"Nephenee!" Emma goes dashing across the courtyard and tackles Nephenee to the ground. Literally. The prisoners don't look tiptop like in the game. Greil was right when he said we'd have to help them.
"Emma…sweet'un, that hurts," Nephenee slowly says, grimacing.
"Emma! It's mighty nice to see you again!" Brom exclaims, a smile gracing his exhausted features. So she's connected to Brom and Nephenee then. Maybe we really did just save another person who would have died in the game.
"Let's get back to cover quickly. I don't want to be here when any troops show up," Greil says.
We head out to the edge of the forest, where Ranulf, Elincia, and Oscar are waiting. Elincia smiles as we approach. "It is good to see you are all well."
"Even though some tried not to be," Soren mutters under his breath.
"Princess!" The small bundle that was Emma suddenly charged forward and leapt up into Elincia's arms. Though looking quite surprised, the princess seems unfazed by the attack as if used to the all-on tackle. "I can't believe I found you!"
"Lady Emma! Why on Tellius are you here?" Elincia asks, setting the girl down gently. Wait…she's connected to the princess as well?
"I came to rescue Nephenee. She's from my village," Emma explains.
"You know this child?" Ike prompts.
"Yes. She is the apprentice of our pegasus trainer," Elincia explains. "The two of them were out with our pegasi when the attack came. Where's Lady Salomi?" Well, that explains why she didn't ride off on a pegasus to escape the attack.
Emma's happy demeanor suddenly wore off. "We got attacked by some soldiers, so she distracted them so I could get away. She…didn't make it."
"I'm so sorry, Lady Emma."
"Oh, but I do have Lady Amelia's pegasus!" Emma suddenly exclaims. "I was keeping it nearby while I tried to rescue Nephenee. I'll go get it. I'm sure you'll love to see her again!" You're kidding. Where did this character suddenly come from? And is she referring to Elincia's pegasus? Elincia doesn't get a pegasus until we're marching into Crimea with a whole army.
My thoughts are overruled, though, as Kieran then proceeds to prostrate himself before Elincia as Emma flies off. "MY HIGHNESS! YOUR MAJESTY! PLEASE, FORGIVE THIS WRETCHED CUR! FOR I HAVE DISHONORED THE CRIMEAN KNIGHTS IN NOT FULFILLING MY DUTY IN PROTECTING YOU!"
STOP YELLING!
"Sir Kieran, was it?" Elincia says, not flinching at his loud voice. "You were in my guard during my flight from the capital, no? Please, do not humble yourself before me, for you and your fellow knights laid down their lives to protect me. You have not dishonored your title in any way."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Kieran's voice is much softer as he replies. He slowly moves to a kneeling position. As he raises his head, I can see tears starting forming in his eyes. "Would you grace this poor knight with the opportunity to serve you once more?" So he does have an indoor voice. Wow.
"I would be honored, Sir Kieran."
"THANK YOU, YOUR MAJESTY!" And there goes the indoor voice. He is very loud.
"What about you three?" Greil asks, turning to the other prisoners. "Will you join the princess in helping free Crimea? The choice is yours to make."
"I'm just a simple farmer and all, but if Emma trusts her, then I'm willin' ta fight for her," Brom says. "I might not be much, but I don't want Daein ta take my land and family away."
"I'm with ya, too, if'n you'll have me," Nephenee says. "Emma is one of my friends from the village, so I'll fight too." And Emma's status as an NPC seems to be growing quickly.
"I'm sorry, but I'm just a simple, traveling monk, not a fighter," Lehran says. "I am Sephiran." So that's the name he's using. "I was just helping some of the wounded militia men when Daein soldiers captured us. They weren't picky in who they took."
"I've heard the name of Sephiran before," Greil comments as his eyes narrow at the monk.
"You don't believe me?"
Greil gives him the signature 'mercenary stare' as I'm now calling it, before letting it go. He's probably already pegged him after what I said earlier. "Well, we're on our way to Begnion now, if you would like to travel with us," Greil offers. "Traveling around Crimea right now isn't the safest occupation at the moment."
"Thank you for the offer, but I think I still have things to do here. You do have my thanks for rescuing me." And with that, the genocidal heron left on foot. How does he ever reach Begnion before us, anyway?
"OSCAR! YOU DASTERDLY DOG!" I groan as Kieran finds Oscar, and I'm not the only one.
"Princess!" Emma's shout is barely heard over Kieran's rant. I look up to see Emma landing with her pegasus, another one in tow. "I brought your grandma's pegasus!"
Elincia is smiling as she walks over to the white, winged horse and begins rubbing its side. It's armored with the unicorn horn and everything. It really is her pegasus.
This isn't good. Stuff is already hitting the fan.
-o-
AN: And an extra long chapter just because I wanted to stop at a certain point.
Double points to whomever actually know of Emma. Emma is another multiverse character, serving different roles in each verse. But she's also a Fire Emblem Cipher original character! In Tellius, she is simply recorded as joining the liberation army, and then joining with Crimea in RD. So I've filled in how she fits into canon, with an actual plot reason as to why she's here in Drake's world as compared to the game…a reason you'll have to wait for until Drake himself finds out. Bwahaha!
If you want to see an image of her, just google 'Emma Cipher' and she'll come up.
Until next time.
AN (9/26/17): Corrected the fact that Elincia's pegasus was her grandmother's: Amelia.
Update: Corrected some grammar, etc.