Chapter seventeen: Plegia Courtyard Campaign

7/17 Tuesday: Morning; Ylisse Street

Finding the best time to launch the campaign was hard.

Thanks to reports by Frederick and joint calculations by Miriel and Virion, they determined they had a month before they ran out of time as previously predicted. Of course they had never reached a point where the Shepherds actually ran out of time but it was better not to know. There was, after all, a real prospect of the world being swallowed up by darkness.

But everyone knew it was impossible to launch the campaign as quickly as possible when they had piles of homework to do! As it was made clear during the study session at the public library, trying to prepare for finals and doing homework made it difficult to schedule. Even Robyn herself had priorities.

Each passing day felt like winter came closer and closer, even though it was midsummer.

At the very least Robyn was able to present the strategy while they gathered at Marutama Ramen last time. This was Robyn's position: an ambush was to be expected from where they would appear; everyone except magic wielders would have difficulty navigating because of sand; and securing the wall was critical. As a result, Robyn and Robin assigned Henry and Tharja to secure the wall, while Ricken, Miriel, and Lissa would clear the road ahead with Chrom and Cordelia to back them up. Gaius, Virion, and Cherche were to act as reinforcements, and the rest would guard the entry point.

There was the whiff of summer heat which had hit on July 4 though the heat was short-lived, owing to the lack of daylight hours. Although the first week of the month had been free from homework, Robyn and Robin used the time to get more studying done because everyone else was too busy to join the campaign.

Then the homework came into full swing when the final projects were launched on July 9. And that meant the whole week was full of project meetings – literally. Even that weekend was nothing short of meetings full of planning and research at the public library.

In fact, procrastinating the campaign got so bad that Robyn really had to force everyone to decide on a date before it was too late. Worse still, on July 16 – a week later – Robyn and Robin's project meetings made them return home late before they started a homework assignment due the following morning. So that meant pulling an all-nighter!

Which brought them to Tuesday morning, when the morning show on the radio that they would normally listen to when it ended, started playing. And they were burned out from the endless hours of homework from the previous night.

Before long, they realised the campaign deadline was only ten days away as they walked down Ylisse Street towards school. It was dark like wintertime outside and it felt like the sun would set before they knew it. Even the relatively low temperature for a summer agreed.

"We need to launch the campaign tomorrow," Robyn said.

"I agree," Robin replied.

7/18 Wednesday: After School; Goldenrod Square, Theatre

And so it came to be. The harbinger of imminent doom in less than two weeks' time meant that the Shepherds had to set aside priorities for one evening in order to focus on saving the world. So after school, Frederick had Vaike, Virion, and Cherche come with him to the roof to retrieve everyone's weapons. Two enormous boxes made of toughened plastic – the same kind used in the first campaign – were brought to the roof so they could throw the weapons in them.

Soon enough, they met Robyn and Robin at the school gate so they could catch the local shuttle bus to Iris-shi Station. They were only a group of six and looked somewhat unsuspecting when the bus driver allowed them in. Soon enough, they met Henry and Tharja at the station, where they took a different bus to Goldenrod Square. There, they would meet the rest of the Shepherds.

When they finally did meet up, they went to the back of the theatre. They all had to make sure that no eyes were around to witness what they were about to do. They were, after all, dealing with the supernatural realm. At the very least, they weren't exactly in the public eye, and for a July afternoon, it was getting really dark. That also helped to stay out of sight. Henry and Tharja, first off, opened the plastic box and grabbed their tomes, and Robyn grabbed her sword and tome as well as the Fire Emblem from her bag.

"Okay, let's get started," Robyn said. She threw the Fire Emblem forward when it became superheated to create the pillar of flames that allowed entry to the Halidom. She entered first after picking up the Fire Emblem. The rest followed.

7/18 Wednesday: After School; The Halidom, Plegia Courtyard

The instant that Robyn set foot on the sandy ground beneath her, she was met with an arrow that pierced the ground beside her, nearly hitting her foot. Alarmed, she shouted, "Take cover! To the wall!"

Her ability in the Halidom immediately warned her that there were Risen archers lining up the wall firing at them from above. The ambush was expected and really the only safest place was against the wall so the archers couldn't shoot them. To provide cover fire, Robyn opened her tome and cast fire magic upward to intimidate the Risen. Robin, Chrom, Henry, and Tharja came out next and quickly rushed to the wall.

Henry looked pleased to be in the battlefield. As arrows continued raining down on the space near the flames (of course they couldn't pass through them), he remarked, "Someday, I want to die a horrible, bloody death that's completely painless… I don't like ouchies."

Robyn facepalmed. Of course she would expect Henry to say something like that. "That's kind of contradictory. Anyway! You and Tharja-chan–"

"Call me Tharja, Robyn. That kind of has a bad ring to it," Tharja said automatically. As per strategy earlier, she took out a wind-based tome to prepare scaling the wall with Henry (who also did the same, taking out a wind-based tome). "You want your horrible death, Henry-kun? Try falling from above for size."

"Aw, Tharja-chan… No wonder we're teammates! We're basically besties!"

"You say one more word like that and I'll hex you."

Robyn had to scoff. They really could get some banter done amid a life-and-death battle, couldn't they? Soon enough, the pair had fired wind magic to launch themselves off the ground and to the wall. As they did, Ricken, Miriel, and Lissa advanced carefully to clear the road ahead, with Chrom, Cordelia, and Robin not too far behind. The reinforcements would come much later, and the rest camped where they came from.

And to ensure their safety, Henry and Tharja went quickly to work, blasting with flames and curse spells to keep archers from sniping below. There were a lot to handle, as made evident by the moonlight illuminating from above. Come to that, it was so bright that the sky around it looked above the same as an early sunrise. Robyn wondered what it would be like if it was completely bright.

As planned, the advance party on the ground led by the magic wielders cleared the Risen with scores of fire, thunder, and wind. That was helpful as it meant the Risen couldn't get too close. Yet somehow they were able to move more quickly on the sand than the advance party. No matter. Once they were able to get to solid ground, the reinforcements would take it from there.

When they got to the watchtower, which was a lone structure facing the corner of the fortified wall, Robyn had an idea. Why not use that watchtower as a staging ground? It would be enough to keep the Risen at bay.

"Camp here," she ordered Ricken, Miriel, and Lissa to remain at the watchtower while directing Chrom, Robin, and Cordelia to get into position. The sentry posts were in sight, and… Robyn could sense the next Gemstone. It was close – a point made loud and clear by Henry.

"Robyn-chan!" Henry shouted and waved from the corner of the fortified wall. Apparently he and Tharja had dispatched many of the Risen archers on that side of wall, along safe passage to areas beneath it. "I can see the enemy inside! There are lots of them!"

Yeah, Robyn could already tell there were a lot in there thanks to her ability. If they already noticed Henry and Tharja taking out the archers from earlier, then no doubt they would be waiting for them to arrive. The problem was that there would be stiff resistance expected at the sentry posts.

Worse still, enemies were pouring out of the courtyard. Mounted Risen on flying beasts – wyverns, to be exact – began guarding the sentry posts. Robyn was not expecting that. With their speed and strength, they could easily go on the offensive and strike without time to counterattack. They were supported by Risen casting magic in front.

Before they could advance, Robyn picked up a gold coin lying about near the watchtower. Seemed like this might be enough to last her and Robin for a week or two of funding. Then she drew out her sword and pointed at the sentry posts. "Attack!" she shouted.

As reinforcements, Chrom, Robin, and Cordelia went forward while the others recovered at the watchtower. The wyvern riders were carrying lances, which would not be a good match for Chrom, so Robyn thought it best if Cordelia and Robin advanced first. Using a tome, Robin cleared the Risen ahead by sending blasts of wind to keep them away. Cordelia, with her expert use of a lance herself, went to finish them off while Chrom went to deal with the sentry posts with Robyn. Using Falchion, he was – for lack of better word in Robyn's view – overpowered. Falchion was not to be underestimated, clearly.

Right when they dealt with the sentry posts, they realised how many hostiles were waiting for them in the courtyard beyond the fortified walls. There were a lot. The leader, a heavily armoured Risen armed with a lance in one arm and an axe in the other, commanded a cohort of Risen waiting to attack whoever came in.

"Yikes," Cordelia remarked.

"Robyn-chan! I see enemy reinforcements!" Henry said from above. "They're attacking the camp!"

Robyn paled. There were more? And they were attacking the rest of the party at the starting point! Using her ability, she could see Henry was speaking true. Wyvern riders had spawned near the corner of the fortified wall and were bombarding the others with attacks. She could even tell Gaius and Frederick attacking, with Virion sending archery support.

Turning their attention to the courtyard, Robyn knew she had to retrieve the Gemstone before more enemy reinforcements arrived. "Let's move!" she ordered. Now that the advance party was away from the sand, they could fight more effectively with solid footing. Chrom, Cordelia, and Robin were slashing away while Robyn attacked with a tome. Henry and Tharja were sending support from above.

Robyn could sense the Gemstone was really close when she stepped into the courtyard. Somewhere within, the presence of the Gemstone was near. If the first wave of Risen was meant to keep them out, there was a second wave waiting inside to defend what was probably the Gemstone. Thankfully, there were mainly axe-wielding and sword-wielding Risen here, so Cordelia, supported by Robin and his sword, was able to clear a lot of space.

That left the leader to deal for Robyn and Chrom to deal with.

"Sssssscum," the leader croaked.

Robyn gripped her tome tightly. Like the previous campaign, this leader talked to her.

"Rrrrrob…"

And the way it talked also spooked Robyn. Was it about to say her name? Robyn didn't want to know. Instead, she went forward to press the attack with a blast of fire magic to surprise the leader. Chrom did the same with Falchion. However, the leader's heavy armour meant it was able to withstand the slashes and flames. Robyn didn't need to rely on her ability to know how tough it was.

"Killlll meeee… Feed… the rage… The chaaooooo…"

Something about that didn't sit right with Robyn. Why would it wish for its death? No matter, she and Chrom went forward to clash blades with the leader, but they were disadvantaged. The leader, in addition to having heavy armour, knew how to use his lance well and easier parried their sword strikes. The range it had also nearly struck a lethal blow to their necks too.

Shoot. I forgot about axe-wielders, Robyn thought. She should have added someone like Vaike or Frederick to the lineup as reinforcements. No matter. They could make do with magic for now. Henry and Tharja were slaughtering countless numbers of Risen above (and judging from Henry's maniacal laughter, he sounded like he was enjoying it). Robin was covering Robyn's flank with magic, keeping Risen out with fire and sword. She tried pressing the attack, but the lance was too powerful. Even Chrom's Falchion was struggling to match its strength.

And as if to answer Robyn's wish, he also sent a thunderbolt in her direction to distract the leader. The bolt actually struck the leader leaving it stunned, which allowed Robyn and Chrom to close in for an attack. They both slashed the leader at the same time, and its body disappeared. The armour fell to the ground with a crash.

"We're clear!" Chrom shouted. "Cover us!"

Henry and Tharja understood. The group below had gotten past the biggest obstacle and all that was left was to find the Gemstone. They saw Robyn take the Fire Emblem from her bag as using it to detect where it might be. Together with Robin and Chrom, they went further into the courtyard.

"There are more coming," Tharja said to Robyn calmly, despite the distance between the height where she stood and Robyn on the ground below. "Don't take too long." In the horizon, more wyverns appeared and it looked like they would overwhelm the starting point at some point. For now, the camp was being held off by Frederick with his axe, Virion with his bow, and Sumia with her lance. Lon'qu was protecting the starting point itself. How much longer would they last?

Robyn knew there wasn't much time. She dashed forward with Chrom so they could search the courtyard. The Gemstone had to be near now. It had to be. With the Fire Emblem in her hands, she began a sweep and hoped for the slightest shudder from the shield. Robin was holding out Risen from the front to keep them out with sword and tome. Henry and Tharja provided him cover fire from above.

As Robyn went to the edge of the courtyard, the towering cliff above had blocked out the moonlight, leaving her in pitch black. No matter. Her ability was able to guide her around. The question was: where was the Gemstone?

But by the time she got to the edge, she found it. Or rather, the Fire Emblem did. It was nestled in the ground of the courtyard. Like a star in the night sky, it gave off a brilliant red that was a beacon in the dark of the courtyard. If Argent was like the warmth of the sun, this was like a burning flame, hence the ruby red on its surface.

The Fire Emblem started shaking in her hands as if reacting to the orb, just like how it was in Southtown. Robyn picked up the red orb and looked at it closely, momentarily forgetting about the world around her.

"Gules," she whispered. That was the Gemstone's name. With Gules at her fingertips, she brought it close to the Fire Emblem, where it then flew into its place on the shield. For a moment, Gules glowed a bright red and Argent flashed a blinding white.

And just like Southtown before, a force like wind blasted from the Fire Emblem and shook everything from the ground beneath the Shepherds' feet to the fortress walls and then to the cliffs above. After everything had settled, Robyn could feel the Fire Emblem pulsing with energy, as if it were alive. Then again, the Gemstones must somehow be powering the shield.

As the fighting continued, the sky became a little brighter as if foreshadowing the comping of dawn. It also seemed like the wind-like force had caught the Risen off-guard and it allowed the Shepherds to make an immediate counterattack before the Risen could regroup. Of course, the fighting wasn't over: the Shepherds still needed to escape from this place.

Robyn put the Fire Emblem away in her bag (did it get heavier? It sure felt like it) and noticed a set of wooden stairs in the courtyard corner which led up to the top of the fortress wall. She cast a fire spell at the fortress entrance to create a wall of flames. Then she made a dash for the stairs.

"Okay! Let's go home!" Robyn ordered. "Get to high ground, and cover our flank!"

It seemed like that in light of the Fire Emblem acquiring Gules, the Risen had also weakened. About half of them were only able to pass through the flames, and those that did were sliced by Chrom, Cordelia, and Robin, wouldn't let them get closer so as to cover the flank. Still, there were a lot of them. More and more of them poured into the courtyard and the party knew they had to make a break for the stairs to regroup with Henry and Tharja.

As Robyn ran up the stairs, she analysed the map in her mind with her ability to ensure no one was left behind. Risen reinforcements were arriving and were pouring into the courtyard. Miriel, Ricken, and Lissa were still at the watchtower and needed to be covered to make their escape back to the starting point. It was a good thing that they had control of the fortress wall now and didn't need to worry about Risen attacking from below. But the wyverns… That would be another story.

Now that Miriel, Ricken, and Lissa were in sight below, Robyn fired a shot of flame high in the sky to get their attention. It was a little far to shout to them but at least they were able to see Robyn, in the moonlight, wave to them to retreat. With that signal in the air, the trio below began to advance back to the start point. Armed with only their tomes, they constantly pushed back against the Risen who were trying to overwhelm them.

Thankfully, Gaius, Virion, and Cherche provided much-needed relief for the former three who were already tired out from taking on the Risen. With a sword, bow and arrow, and axe respectively, Gaius, Virion, and Cherche repelled the incoming Risen who would otherwise have crushed Miriel and her party. Plus, they had cover fire from above, with Robyn, Henry, and Tharja raining down spells of different kinds to assist in the retreat. Their flank was covered by Chrom and the others, who made use of the relatively narrow space of the fortified wall to control how much Risen could attack them.

Gradually, they all got closer and closer to the start point, where the rest of the Shepherds were waiting for them. They too were engaged in combat, fighting against Risen from behind and above them, and defending the camp for as long as they could. They knew that if the camp fell, there was no chance of easily escaping the Halidom unless they were to make a long trek back to the Northroad. That would be a last resort.

And it looked like they wouldn't need to head to the Northroad after all. Frederick noticed Lissa and the others retreating and, in the moonlight, could also see Robyn on top of the wall. It seemed like it was time to go.

"Okay! On the ground!" Robyn said to those with her on top of the wall. Jumping off wasn't practical since it might risk breaking their knees.

However, she paused. She clearly hadn't thought this through, that she hadn't thought about how to scale down the fortified wall. Getting up was one thing (made possible with wind tomes), but getting down was something Robyn didn't think that far. Perhaps she was expecting to have retreated on the ground only. She wasn't counting on being cornered here on the fortified wall.

"Uh…" she muttered.

"It's alright, Robyn-san! I've got your rescue covered!" Lissa said.

She had a staff in her hands which she used to instantly warp the entire party on the fortified wall to the ground below. It happened in the blink of an eye, because Robyn could see she, Chrom, Robin, and Cordelia were also at the camp.

"Wow! Thanks!" Robyn said brightly. Now with the Fire Emblem in her hands, Argent and Gules gleaming in the moonlight as she did, she threw it at space where the point of entry was to create the pillar of flames. Beyond it, she could see home. "Alright! Let's go!"

One by one, the Shepherds escaped from the Halidom as some stayed to cover their escape (Robyn included). Naturally, the advance parties including Lissa, Miriel, Henry, and Tharja had to go first since they were tired out. Then Gaius and Cherche went next, followed by the rest. Robyn had to do a quick survey of the map to make sure no one was left behind before she went through the portal herself, and safely away from the Risen that would have killed her.

7/18 Wednesday: Evening; Goldenrod Square, Theatre

It came as no surprise that everyone was tired and sweating as they reappeared at the back of the theatre. Unlike the Southtown campaign, which ended up as a pileup of the Shepherds on top of one another, this time they were safely able to return to the world on their feet.

Judging from the way they held their weapons and that they were in the back of the theatre, an unsuspecting passerby would have thought a street brawl was about to happen. After all, they were armed to the teeth. It was fortunate that this area was particular private and no one would suspect something like this would occur behind the theatre.

"I'm tired…" Lissa yawned.

"So am I," Chrom said. He turned to the rest of the group. "Let's call it a night. It's only Wednesday. The week isn't over yet."

Everyone agreed and went their separate ways. Some of them, like Robyn and Robin, went to the bus stop to catch a ride back to Iris-shi Station, while others had other means of transport. Chrom and Lissa, for instance, had their private driver pick them up.

7/18 Wednesday: Late Night; Robin's Residence

Morgan had already gone to bed by the time Robyn and Robin got home. Robin did feel a little guilty, since he didn't let her know he would be out late. Would she be worried? It was hard to say at the moment.

He and Robyn were also hungry and they knew they probably wouldn't have enough time to complete their homework, unless if they risked pulling an all-nighter. Well, they could always make up for it in the library later. But for now, rest came first.

Robyn put away the Fire Emblem in her room. Too tired to talk or speak, she and Robin shared some leftovers in the fridge (which was a hearty vegetable soup that was reheated and served). Then Robyn showered first before hitting her bed. Robin's shower was even shorter and he too went to bed. Who knew saving the world was so much work?