Jack felt as if he barely said a word after the news of Princess Timerra's 'incarceration' reached them at Solm Palace. The rest of that day was a blur of hushed and harsh whispers, and hastily preparing for another excursion into the northern Solmic desert. All in all, they barely stayed a day in Serenissima - a shame, but Jack had to agree that they needed to move as fast as possible.
Jack's hand reached up to the left side of his face as night fell and they prepared to huddle up. Jack wondered if Timerra was going through something similar. He hoped whatever God was listening that she wasn't. From what Jacked remembered of Timerra from the game, she was a literal ray of sunshine, with perhaps the unfortunate caveat of being terrible at singing. Still, a charming person.
On the night they left the Solmic capital, the leaders of the army all gathered in the command tent, the campfires from outside causing shadows to dance along its dark canvas like some terrible shadow puppet show. Jack sat in the corner, watching silently as Alear and Fogado discussed what their approach to the Northern Fortress would be. Besides Jac, Fogado, and Alear, there was Veyle, Alfred, Céline, Diamant, and Ivy. Alcryst and Hortensia didn't see fit to attend any longer - or in Hortensia's case, at all. Jack felt as if he'd need to talk to Alcryst again soon, if his brother hadn't already. Which, he probably had, but sometimes people needed a kick in the rear from someone other than family to make a difference.
"It's surrounded on two sides by rocky and craggy mountains and cliffs," Fogado said, his hands against the table as he looked down at the map. Jack could see little from his bad vantage point, but he could make out what Fogado was talking about. He was pointing directly in between two mountainous regions with words written alongside them that he couldn't read. They probably read 'death' and 'do not enter', or other things to keep people from getting near it.
"So, only one way to approach, then?" Alear asked. "And have we gotten anything else from Merrin? She was almost… catatonic when she was done telling us what happened."
"Not much," Fogado replied, all hints of humor gone. "We know she, Timerra, and Panette were ambushed near a village to the southwest, and that the numbers were far too great for it to be a coincidence."
"But why abscond to the Northern Fortress? Other than its location, what value could it possess?" Céline queried.
Fogado scratched his chin. "I've told you all about the Emblem Ring, right? Or did Jack already say something?"
"Makes sense," Alfred nodded, crossing his arms. "Have a heavily defensible fortress along with an Emblem Ring, but without the Divine Dragon or a Fell Dragon to activate it, it'd just be a pretty piece of jewelry."
"Not quite. I recall that one of your first recruits - Yunaka, I believe her name was - was able to hear Emblem Micaiah, even though she had not been summoned," Ivy added. "That still begs the question, and it has been gnawing at me for a while: how did they know to find an Emblem Ring there?"
Jack took in a deep breath. "Another person like me. Another Outlander. Or Outworlder, or whatever you wanna call us."
"It doesn't need to be," Diamant said, stroking his chin. "It could have been a bandit that heard her call as he scavenged the area."
"And this bandit just happens to control completely unknown undead, that I never saw in the timeline I went through?" Jack asked before shaking his head. "I'll admit, there can be coincidences that seem like they're correlated, but there're a lot of coincidences here."
"So, we could be dealing with someone who knows the future," Fogado said, looking down. "Awesome. And here I was thinking this would be too easy."
"As Jack has pointed out, events have changed significantly," Ivy answered, shaking her head. "If he does not know where our path leads now, then neither can this other Outlander."
"It'd make sense," Alfred said, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Yeah, whoever controls these Husks? They knew where Timerra would be, knew she'd have an Emblem Ring, and knew where our other Emblem Ring was. I'm with Jack on this one," Fogado supplied.
"But how? And why?" Diamant asked, hands by his side. "For what reason do they control these Husks? Why have they abducted innocent people? Why go after the Emblem Rings?"
"Not everyone from my world liked this story," Jack admitted, shrugging. "Some people would do anything to get outta a situation like this. I dunno how they got a hold of the power to command an entire army of the undead, but whatever it is, it can't be good."
"Huh. What was there to dislike?" Alfred asked.
Jack stared blankly at Alfred, who looked behind him to make sure Jack wasn't staring at a masked assassin.
"Please don't make me answer that question, Alfred," Jack said quietly. "There were things man was not meant to know."
"I… see," Ivy said, "Nonetheless, this discussion does not bring us closer to assaulting this fortress."
"No, and I don't think there'll be a traditional assault," Alear said, "We won't be able to get siege weaponry across this desert, so we'll need to rely on the Emblems and on magic to infiltrate it."
"Ah, the Solmic way! I like it," Fogado said, before looking around with an eyebrow raised as everyone within the room looked at him as if he had just said something crazy, Jack included. "What? Did you really think we'd focus on siege weaponry while magic exists? I mean, sure, I've seen trebuchets and battering rams, but what's that compared to a giant fireball to a fort's walls?"
"It depends on if the fortress has wards to protect its structures," Ivy said, pacing on her side of the table. "Although I doubt this one has any, as it has been far too long since it has been occupied; they would have long worn off by now, such that a Warp staff could easily sneak someone inside… How many Warp staves do we have?"
"A couple, I think," Alear said, counting on his fingers. "And if we have you, Framme, and Hortensia using them, we could get three people inside the walls to open the doors. That is, if they're even sealed to begin with."
"I could use one as well, Divine One," Céline said, doing a small curtsy. "I have been practicing."
"So, four then," Alear amended.
"Better to be safe than sorry, I guess," Jack said, "Who're gonna be the lucky four?"
Veyle stepped forward to Alear's side. "I'll be one of them."
Jack had almost forgotten she was there, and he let out a deep breath as a new age of bickering followed suit.
"You holding up alright, Pandreo?" Jack asked. The orange-haired priest had been going around the camp like crazy, as if he was attempting to block out any new information that wasn't directly related to their current objective.
Jack would have called it a 'solid work ethic' if he hadn't seen the tactic before; Pandreo was trying to forget the worry by drowning it out in work. The priest stopped in his tracks, turning to Jack with a crate still in his hands.
"Does it look like I am?" Pandreo asked, and judging by the tone, Jack knew he was sincere.
"Not really," Jack replied, "If I had a bottle of gin, I'd share it with you, but I've been trying to stay away from the stuff."
"Mm. That sounds excellent right about now. Awo- nah, I'm just not feeling it…" Pandreo said, a sheepish and entirely fabricated smile on his face. "Actually, could you help me? We have only a few days until we're at the Northern Fortress and I'd rather our supplies weren't completely off by a mile."
Jack nodded. "Sure."
"Your sister is gonna be fine, you know," Jack said, once they were done. Pandreo wiped his forehead as he sat down against the wagon, looking up to Jack with narrowed eyes. "What's that look for?"
"I know about you," Pandreo said.
"I'd be more surprised if you didn't. Everyone seems to know what I'm about these days," Jack replied with a sigh.
"Huh. Fair enough. I could've sworn we met someone like you a long time ago. Someone who claimed to come from some far away land. And when we told him where he was, he freaked out and left, straight out into the desert," Pandreo recalled, shaking his head and lowering it. "I wonder if he's the one behind these creatures. If so, I would have killed him. I should have killed him. It may sound strange coming from a man of the cloth, but that is the truth."
"I don't even know what constitutes a 'man of the cloth' in this world, so I'll take your word for it," Jack said, sitting beside Pandreo. "You'll get no judgment from me, priest man."
"According to the church, only the divine can judge us," Pandreo said, chuckling as he looked to the sky. "I wonder what the Divine One will say to me when my soul passes from this world to the next. I'm curious - you didn't even bat an eye when I said there was somebody who seemed a lot like you. Have you met him?"
Jack shook his head. "I met my sister, but it… didn't end well."
"Uh huh. And not a little bit curious?" Pandreo asked.
Pursing his lips, Jack replied, "Unless you got his name and can remember what he looks like, I don't think it much matters, honestly. If he's the one who's behind all this, there's nothing I can say or do that can justify it. And if he did anything to your sister, by all means, exterminate him."
"Huh. You make it sound so easy," Pandreo muttered. "I was glad when the Corrupted started popping up everywhere like popcorn. It meant I didn't have to use my magic against real, breathing people. The Husks were the same. But the thought of killing - it does sicken me, you know?"
"I can understand that," Jack said, nodding. "They don't deserve your mercy or pity, though. And whatever the Church thinks of you for doing so, they aren't in the same position as you, so for them to cast judgment on you would be… harsh."
"You really don't know a lot about our religion, do you?" Pandreo asked.
Jack shook his head. "Nope. Not a thing."
"And yet you spend so much time with our idol, I'm starting to wonder if it's- nah, it can't be," Pandreo said dismissively. "That'd be too much. Way too much."
"If you're wondering if Alear and I are 'together' then no, we are not. Get your mind outta the gutter. That is certainly sacrilege or something," Jack said.
"Well, not exactly! There's nothing in the holy texts that states that nobody can form such a close bond with the Divine Dragon… granted, they were written when he was still asleep and Queen Lumera mostly helped the other nations rule from Lythos, so it's not as if it's the be all end all of this whole thing."
Jack looked over. "What does the holy book even say?"
Within the blink of an eye, Pandreo withdrew a small pocketbook that resembled a diary; it was held closed by a small clasp and probably wouldn't look out of place in some dusty knickknack store. What set it apart was the iconography adorning it - that of two dragons entwined, breathing fire to the top of the book's cover. And in the middle was inlaid a red crystal or gem.
"Do you have time for a sermon? I could pull up a few quick ones to get you started. This is only the annotated text, but it should work in a pinch," Pandreo said, briefly leafing through the text.
Jack looked to the sky to see the sun high and bright.
"Don't we have something better to do?"
Pandreo shaked his head vigorously, a Cheshire grin spreading across his face. "It's too late now, my friend. All the supplies have been properly stocked, and we aren't setting out for another dozen minutes at least. Plenty of time to get through the Book of Origins!"
"I have made a terrible mistake," Jack muttered, though he appreciated Pandreo's enthusiasm.
There was one more person Jack wanted to see before the army arrived at the Northern Fortress. Even if they were still a few days away from it, the land became rockier and craggier by the mile, and it wouldn't be long before everyone was consumed by the eventual battle and rescue mission ahead.
Fortunately, that meant Alcryst was easier to find.
Jack found him away from the camp, and he nearly ran straight into Lapis on the way there, only avoiding colliding with her by a sliver. Her cheeks were red and her fists were clenched, but she didn't seem angry - on the contrary, she was smiling, and it was a real, genuine smile. Jack wondered what she had been talking with Alcryst about but sorted that thought for later.
Alcryst sat on a small ledge, looking out over the mixture of crags and sand dunes that made up most of the terrain leading up to the fortress. In his hand was a small bottle, and Jack could tell based on the smell what it was.
"I didn't turn you into an alcoholic, did I?" Jack asked, causing Alcryst to jump in place and spin his top half around so severely that Jack winced. "You alright? That looked painful."
"I-I'm fine, don't worry about me," Alcryst replied through gritted teeth, but Jack could hear from the faint crackling sound as well as the curse that he muttered underneath his breath that he very much was not fine. "I should have asked you that question a while ago, and yet I haven't even had the courage to talk to you since your rescue. I really am pathetic…"
"It hasn't even been five seconds and you're already entering self-deprecation mode. Chill out, Alcryst," Jack said, moving forward until he stood beside Alcryst and looked out at the landscape below them.
"I can't 'chill out'. I've tried," Alcryst replied weakly, shaking the bottle in his hands. "Alcohol doesn't work anymore, so I've been trying this Solmic potion that's supposed to forcefully calm a person's nerves. I should've known it wouldn't work, but I was just that desperate."
"It's really starting to affect you, huh?" Jack hummed.
"I don't even know why you're talking to me, right now," Alcryst admitted, placing the bottle beside him. "Not after everything we did to you…"
Jack blinked before looking down at Alcryst. "Sorry, didn't realize that you'd done me wrong. Must've passed me by."
"I'm… talking about your capture," Alcryst was able to get out, though judging by his expression, not without great effort. "If Diamant and I hadn't insisted on going after father, then we'd never have put you in the position to be captured, or-"
"Please. Not another word," Jack groaned.
Alcryst looked up, eyes wide. "W-what?"
"Don't say anything else, alright?" Jack continued. "Listen, Alcryst, so many people have 'taken responsibility' for my capture, I think the list of people I could blame is longer than 'innocent bystanders'. At this point, I don't think anyone is truly to blame for it. It was just something that happened, you know? Just something that happened, and it's in the past now, and there's nothing you or I could do about it. So, you know, it'd probably be a good idea to cut it out with that crap."
"W-well, I…" Alcryst sighed, bowing his head. "Maybe you're right. I don't know anymore. You've already told everyone that your foreknowledge is useless now, right?"
"Essentially useless, yeah," Jack said, rubbing the back of his neck. "At this point, I'm just a more knowledgeable person in the army, no different from one of your retainers. Though sometimes I forget I'm brushing shoulders with royalty every day."
"Sometimes I forget I'm royalty anyway," Alcryst replied with a heaving sigh. "I'm not worthy to be called a Prince of Brodia if I feel the need to take Solmic remedies to try and calm myself."
Jack raised a brow. "What's wrong with Solmic remedies?"
"It could have been a Brodian remedy and I'd still be saying the same thing," Alcryst hastily corrected. "Diamant doesn't need these. Father didn't need these. Grandfather didn't need these. Why do I need them?"
"Because you're not them. You're Alcryst, and considering what Lapis looked like as I walked by, I'd say that's more than enough," Jack said.
Alcryst blinked confusedly. "What? What did Lapis look like?"
Jack's eyes narrowed. "You didn't see the luminescent blush on her face, or the fact she looked like she was about to jump someone? C'mon, Alcryst, you can't be this blind."
"I seriously have no idea what you are talking about. Maybe she's angry with me," Alcryst suggested.
"Angry? Are you- there's no way you're- well, then again…" Jack said, scratching his chin. "You know, Alcryst, you and I are a lot alike."
"How? You're always walking around like you know what you're doing. All I do is mope about and sometimes manage to hit something with an arrow. You even bounced back from being captured like it was nothing!" Alcryst protested.
Jack frowned as he knelt down and let down his hood. "Do you really think I came outta this unscathed, Alcryst? Right now, as you're looking at me, I feel like I'm about to crumble to dust. Just because I'm better at hiding something doesn't mean I'm what I appear to be. Hell, I don't even know what I appear to be. What did you think I was?"
"I-I don't know," Alcryst managed to stammer out. "Nonplussed? Same as always? I haven't talked to you very often."
"Then I guess I'm doing a damn good job at hiding, huh," Jack said, standing back up. "The fact you're here, Alcryst, is enough for me to think you're a good, strong, reasonable person. Let it be enough for you. And if you don't wanna hear it from me, then ask anyone else in the army and they'll tell you the exact same thing."
Alcryst looked up blanky at Jack before lowering his head and letting out a long, heaving sigh.
"I have no choice, do I?"
Jack shook his head. "I've already put a tracking spell on you. If you're not talking to someone by this time tomorrow, I'll know, and I'll find you."
"Y-you know magic!? I haven't even heard of a spell like that!" Alcryst gasped, scrambling to his feet.
"I learned it from my Emblem. Now, go on. Before I split my mouth open."
Jack didn't know if Alcryst actually believed what Jack was telling him, but nonetheless, the younger prince of Brodia quickly ran in the direction of the camp. Letting out a chuckle, Jack looked beside him to see Robin floating there, his arms crossed as he stared at him with a disapproving glare.
"A tracking spell? Really? I don't think those even exist here," Robin said.
"No shame in a little harmless fun, Robin," Jack replied. "Besides, that was so ridiculous, there's no way he could have believed it."
Chrom appeared by Jack's other side, looking at Alcryst's retreating form until he was gone completely.
"I believe he may have taken your words very literally," Chrom admitted, turning to Jack with a concerned expression on his face. "Maybe we should go and clear things up?"
"He needs to talk to other people, guys," Jack said, "and if the little stunt I just pulled gets him to do so, I say it should stay that way."
"Yes, but have you considered what Diamant will do when he hears about this?" Robin asked pointedly.
Jack's expression fell.
"Shit," he muttered, speed-walking toward the camp and Chrom and Robin disappeared. "Shit, shit, shit…"
Jack vaguely remembered the Northern Fortress as a very annoying map, filled to bursting with the Corrupted and with most of its sections purposefully blocked off by doors that either needed to be picked by a thief or smashed open. Standing before its perimeter, looking on at its ruined walls and tall watchtowers, it seemed more like a fortress of doom than something the Solmic would have actually used a thousand years ago.
Then again, Jack rationalized, perhaps it wasn't such a terrible-looking place at one point. No doubt being inhabited by the Corrupted and the Husks had done a number on the ancient fortress. Nonetheless, Jack and Diamant stood ready to enter with the help of Warp staves.
Jack and Diamant would be entering alongside Veyle and Mauvier, at different points within the fortress, to find a way to open the gates; the one thing the games didn't show. Perhaps the Husks had rebuilt whereas in the game, the Corrupted had not, or some other blatantly obvious reason, Jack didn't know. Thankfully, the Husks hadn't spotted them yet, but Jack could see them marching along the fortress' walls. What creeped Jack out the most about them was that, while the Corrupted had exaggerated movements and screamed like banshees, they at least had some semblance of humanity, even if very little.
The Husks? Not so. They truly lived up to their namesake as they patrolled the walls like automatons.
"Alright, everyone knows the plan, right?" Alear said. "Zelkov is already inside, clearing the way. Get inside, find a way to open the gates, and then join us in the assault. Simple, but… please, do be careful."
"We will. I promise," Veyle replied, looking up to Mauvier with a fond smile. "I have a knight in shining armor with me."
"And I have a prince," Jack commented, jabbing a thumb at Diamant who chuckled. "So I'd say we're pretty even, Veyle."
Veyle puffed her cheeks out before crossing her arms and looking away. "I think Mauvier is cooler."
"Oh, did you hear that, Diamant? Are you just gonna take that lying down?" Jack asked.
Diamant snorted. "No. I'm standing, so I will not take it lying down."
"Time has taught you humor, I see," Jack grumbled.
"Are all of you quite done?" Ivy asked, Warp staff in hand. "I hope you do not talk as much when you are behind enemy lines."
"If you were the one coming with me, we might've had a problem," Jack said, shaking his head. "Good luck's on our side, eh?"
"Yes. However shall I survive without you deadpanning my ear off? Truly, my life is but a shell of what it once was," Ivy replied. "Now, come here. Is everyone else ready?"
"Ready!" Hortensia said, striking a pose.
"I am ready," Céline said.
"Been ready!" Yunaka cheered, before shushing herself.
"The mission's yours for now, you four," Alear said, letting out a deep breath before a small smile formed on his face. "Good luck."
In a brief flash of light, Jack felt as if he was floating-
-and a moment later, he was on solid ground again. The lighting had changed; while before, he had been on a craggy outcropping near the fortress, he was in the fortress itself, all within the blink of an eye. Jack rubbed the back of his neck - no wonder there needed to be 'Wards' on things to keep Warp from being too useful. Otherwise, walls would be useless.
Jack looked around. "Diamant? Are you there?"
He nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt a hand on his shoulder, only to turn and see Diamant's armor in the darkness. The prince nodded, and gestured down the corridor.
"We must hurry," he said, "before the others think we were captured."
"I'm not in a hurry to get captured a second time," Jack hissed, keeping his hand on his Flame Lance as they went forward. The light from it was negligible, thankfully, only barely casting a red glow. Still, he did his best to keep it hidden. It only occurred to him that taking it with him might not have been the best move, but hindsight was 20/20, as they said back home.
The duo moved through the eerie dark halls, and Jack could hear a very distant sound, as if someone was speaking. The words were garbled, and he couldn't make anything out of it, and before long, it disappeared. And Jack couldn't tell if it was because of the noise he and Diamant were making, or if it was just some far away, gibbering parrot. That was, if Solm even had parrots.
"We should be getting close," Diamant whispered, "the entrance wasn't far from where we were warped to. Unless something went wrong."
"Diamant," Jack hissed back, "it's us we're talking about here."
Jack moved in front of a perpendicular corridor.
"Something definitely has gone wrong somewhere-"
"Don't move."
Jack stopped in place as he felt heat against the side of his head. He could just barely make out someone's hand, covered in white and red fire, pointed directly toward his skull. He followed it to see-
…I don't believe it.
"Identify yourself," the man said, shooting a glance at Diamant, who no doubt had a hand on his sword. "Keep going, and your friend's head becomes ash."
At first, Jack thought it was Zelkov, but Jack knew that voice. Jack had seen that face and that hair. Swarthy skin, the beginnings of a beard, and kinky black hair - all of it combined with everything else, there was only one person Jack could think of.
"You're human?" Diamant asked slowly. "We don't need to come to blows, unless you are the one behind these Husks."
"Husks? That's what you guys call them?" the man asked, "No, I hate these things. Seadall was run outta this place by those bastards. I came for a bit of payback."
"Then we have a common goal," Diamant said, nodding. "We're here to save Princess Timerra of Solm. Perhaps you have heard of her, or know that she was taken captive within this very fortress?"
"Ah, so that's who that was?" the mage said, though his hand did not fall from pointing at Jack's head. "But then again, who are you? You look kinda familiar, but I ain't too sure-"
"Lio," Jack said, turning to his side. "Lio, it's me. It's Jack. You absolute asshat."
Lionel's hand instantly fell to his side, as his eyes widened. Jack stood up fully, rubbing the back of his neck as he pulled his hood off his head.
"What a way to meet again, huh?" Jack asked, turning his head side to side and feeling the satisfying 'crackle' that followed. "I really hope you're not the person behind these Husks, you know - I don't think I could deal with another-"
Jack was interrupted and began sputtering as he was quickly gathered in a crushing hug. Lionel hissed out a few chuckles before letting Jack go, dusting his shoulders off afterward with the biggest grin on his face Jack had ever seen.
"You're alive!" Lionel exclaimed, "You're alive! I thought I was the only one-!"
A deep, guttural noise reverberated through the fortress, causing them both to fall silent. Diamant came between them, placing his gauntleted hands against their chests to separate them as he moved forward.
"It's clear you know Jack, so I'll forgive you for threatening us," Diamant said, turning around after a moment. "So, will you help us, Lio?"
"My name's Lionel," he replied, fixing his cloak before nodding. "And yeah, I'll help you. Still gotta pay these guys back for nearly killing Seadall."
"Very well, Lionel," Diamant said, "let's go."
Somehow, despite it all, the day had gotten just a bit better. Jack was grateful for that.
Boom. I'll leave you all to munch on that while I take a quick break to finish my school projects. For real this time. I actually have like 6 due by the middle of May so I need to get my ass in gear and stop wasting time writing for something I love lol.
Anyway, here's a link to our Discord server: discord. gg/u89gs745fn
See you guys in a lil' while!