Chapter 11: Another Flocking Reunion

With the reluctant tactician Lucas by their side, Eliwood and his team quickly rushed towards the border of marquedom of Santaruz and stopped at a nearby village to take this time for catching their breath and refresh themselves after the harsh travels. They ended up making, more like forcing, the tactician ride the horse of the knight Lowen while Rebecca rode on the same horse as Eliwood with Marcus. Lucas was not happy but he knew that time was of the essence, so he did not exactly complain much.

"We should be able to enter Santaruz before noon at this pace. It would be wise that we refresh ourselves in order to continue with caution," Marcus carefully advises as he orders Lowen along with Rebecca to check for goods and supplies that they should take with them in their journey.

Lucas immediately jumps off Lowen's horse and stretches before surveying the land with the spyglass that he got from Ren the previous year. After seeing some civilians that were staying still for some reason, against his better judgement and because everyone else needed a break for lunch, he decided not to mention any of it. Lucas kept the spyglass after a while making Eliwood wonder what he was doing afterwards.

"Lucas, are you unwell? You appear to be um, queasy," Eliwood asks to the tactician.

"Yea, I am fine. However, I suggest that you get your knights ready for anything." Lucas deadpans right away. "Make them check their equipment, their supplies. Everything."

"Okay, but may I inquire why? Eliwood consults.

"Because Eliwood, a good leader, does not just care of the result of a war, skirmish nor the loyalty of his men nor of politics nor strategic marriage. While those are important things. He must care for the well being of his soldiers. A leader does not send his men to die for him without proving that he would die first. Do this and respect and honor will follow." Lucas advises before sighing and moving down from where he was to check up on the rest, seeing a thinking Eliwood from his own words.

"You won't understand the pain of being the tactician until you lead your men without me, not everything will be served to you in whatever finery you were raised in." He says before he keeps the spyglass in his satchel and leaves. After a while Lucas moved down, Eliwood followed him and went towards Marcus. He couldn't ask Lowen since he was distributing meals to all the other members of the group.

"Marcus, there is an armory nearby, would you please check for weapons that can help us last in our journey?" Eliwood asks.

"Understood," Marcus replies as he rides off to the armory.

"Cool! I could use a new axe, wait for me!" Bartre barks gleefully as he follows Marcus.

"Well, at least things are somewhat peaceful for a moment, wouldn't you say so Lucas?" Dorcas muses with how they manage to not bump into any bandit groups recently.

"Well better hope it stays that way. I had enough of the pointless fights and wasting weapons on human-sized pests," Lucas says, taking a bite of the bread in his meal that was provided by Lowen earlier.

Lowen gives Eliwood his meal and soon informs them to take care of other supplies. Eliwood then sits beside Lucas and starts eating the meal that Lowen gave him.

A few minutes later after their conversation, a lone bloated man wandering from the hills, slowly walks to Eliwood and Lucas with a weary voice.

"Hello, good sir, would you care to spare a tired guy some bread if you please?" the bloated man with muscle asks.

Lucas immediately stopped eating and handed him the remainder of his meal, which was about a quarter of the way through, stunning Eliwood with Lucas' strange generosity. "Here you go sir, I wasn't hungry anyways."

"The gods bless you. Thank you, young man." The bloated man thanked the tactician as he devoured the remainder of his meal before gazing maliciously upon Rebecca as she partakes of her meal, ignoring the suspicions of the wary tactician until he broke the awkward silence outrightly.

"Anything else you need?"

"Well uh, I do perhaps, concerning that lovely lady over there–"

"No," Lucas quickly answered as he slowly gets his sharpened lance as a contingency.

"Aw, well that's a shame indeed. Alright fellas! Let 'em have it! Hehehehe," the chubby rogue calls out while brandishing his broad axe and running towards the mountains behind his hidden army of bandits.

"...you wasted food...," Lucas spat as he wields his emblem lance and his axereaver for just in case when he engages against axefighters.

"Too late for that already, to arms!" Eliwood rallies as they get into their positions.

"This will be difficult with our weakness in numbers," Lowen notices as he readies his iron sword for battle.

"Fine by me either way! Let me at 'em!" Bartre roars as he wields both of his axes for battle, making Dorcas hold his face in embarrassment for his rash companion.

Lucas watched the area and cursed at himself as he knew that some things he saw earlier were a bit suspicious. He moves everyone and tells them to prepare themselves as he moved up to the location earlier and tries to find the locations of each of the bandit or attackers and after seeing the position of each and everyone as he analyzed any potential stratagem and outcome before deciding to come down from where the rest were and inform the group about the path that they are gonna take.

—

As the battle rages on for quite some time, a familiar blue-haired noble wearing dark blue armor enters into the scene from afar by Santaruz' border watchers. Upon looking to the battlefield, he talks to a nearby guard as to why he is just standing by while he watches his friend and his allies engage with the enemy.

"Hey you! What are you doing? A fight is breaking out and you are just over here while it continues!?" Hector questioned angrily.

"Wh-what? Who are you? It is not my business to meddle around, I am just minding my job here," the soldier on guard protested.

In the middle of their conversation, Matthew interrupts them with urgency.

"Sire, I am sorry to disturb, but your friend over there looks like he could use some help, so what's the plan?" Matthew asks proudly.

"Oh, I'll show you what I got in mind," Hector answered proudly upon hearing the current situation and wields his huge trusty axe named Wolf Beil.

"W-wait, what are you–"

In the split of a second, Hector chops down the guard with his broad axe Wolf Beil with an overhead vertical slash that completely exposed his bleeding organs underneath his smashed armor before leaving him to die on the grass.

"Hey! What's with all the commotion abou–whoa! Hey!"

"Matthew, take that girl away and call in the others, 'cause we got some company," Hector orders with his Wolf Beil ready.

"Right away, my liege. Come on now!" Matthew answered before barking, dragging at a certain shrilled cleric and calling upon their reinforcements.

"I shall see you later then, my friend," Matthew bids to a familiar swordsman while dragging the cleric away with him.

"Hehe, well, you heard the man, let's go!"

With nimble footsteps, Hector and his horde of mercenaries, consisting of an exuberant swordsman and a free-spirited pegasus knight, along with the trusted armored aide Oswin, joins the fight against the same bandits that were attacking Eliwood and his allies. However, in the midst of battle, unlikely reunions can turn out to likely happen for some other people.

—

Lucas was starting to hate today. First, he was frustrated at himself for not being more vigilant than he already was. Then he told everyone to go ahead so he can fend off two buff bandit axemen with his worn out axereaver, that is already prone to break due to excessive use. He was slowly losing more and more ground, as they had broken the iron lance that he had been given before. As soon as he was about to be attacked, a familiar gray-coated swordsman jumped into the fray and kicked one of the axemen before mincing the other one into a pile of pulsing flesh, bleeding on the green grass with a thin single-edged, two-handed blade.

"...You know you could have just asked." Lucas says slinging his axereaver and changing it to his reliable emblem spear.

"Well lookie here! Didn't know you'd come around," the swordsman jokes to the battered tactician, while Lucas just rolled his eyes.

"...you know some of us hadn't decided to sell his services to a Lord," Lucas replied sarcastically to his old friend before impaling another bandit fighter that he saw before shrugging it off. "Well anyways, long story short, I've been dragged out here against my will from my travels after leaving Caelin, and now I gotta help 'pretty boy' look for his missing father."

"Ho? Since when did you get chummy with your love rival?" Ren teases, making the now angry tactician bluntly retort with a cruel question.

"Was about to ask about your new flying friend over there fighting with you? Whatever happened to your commitment to Florina?" Lucas savagely replies before stretching his fingertips. "And for the record, I had no choice in the matter. Remember?"

"Gyagh–she and I are not like that!? I just happened to find her in an Ostian arena and hung out with her till Matthew came about and recruited us to fight for Lord Hector!" Ren explained before dodging a bandit swordsman's swift slash and steps back to regain his composure until his mercenary "acquaintance" swooped in and got the job done with a diving thrust using her killer lance, brutally impaling the bandit to the ground and churning his guts into mush as he dies.

"Uggh, would it kill you to be easy on your opponents sometime? I don't get how a girl like you–"

"Me? A girl? Hah! I ain't like most girls out there! You shoulda seen my sisters instead Ren!" the boisterous tomboy of a pegasus knight laughs as she flings blood off of her huge killer lance. "So, who is this guy?" she asks Ren pertaining to the tired tactician that's fully healed after using up one bottle of vulnerary.

"Oh this guy? Ahem, okay um, Farina, this is Lucas. Lucas, this is Farina. We accidentally met in Ostia from battling in the arena 'cause she said she needed some gold for some reason until Matthew, as I've mentioned earlier, found and recruited us," Ren introduced.

"...Knight…" Lucas mutters while sizing her up and checking her spear quality.

"Whoa, I don't like the way you are staring at me. Peeping is rude," Farina teases, trying to make the tactician lose his cool towards the tomboy.

"Sorry, you are not my type." He replies savagely, much to the surprise and dismay of the tomboy pegasus rider.

"Whoa, now that's something I don't hear from you," Ren says, noticing the tactician's foul mood.

"Well, you didn't have a crappy day filled with being annoyed by 'pretty boy' and his company." Lucas says, impaling another bandit in the chest.

"Hey, things might seem bad as they'd be. Who knows, maybe we will end up having to return to Caelin eventually," Ren inspires as he kicks and stabs a bandit swordsman at his throat and rips out his artery, making him bleed fervently to death.

"Sure, and next you are going to tell me that the Ostian prince is coming along with 'pretty boy' as we galavant across the country finding his dad." Lucas says, slashing across the bandit's chest with his emblem spear.

"Well, wanna take a guess?" Ren wonders before getting a call from the tomboy Farina.

"Yo Ren! Heads up!" she warns as her pegasus throws a spearman off his feet and into a tree close for Ren to finish off with a good stab through his dented armor.

"Don't bother. I already know. Anyway, who else is here?" Lucas says slinging his spear behind him as the battle was already being concluded by the "crown prince of Pherae," slaying the man who took Lucas's food.

"Well let me see: there's Matthew as I've said earlier, sir Oswin, and Serra," Ren answered.

"Oh gods save me…" Lucas mutters under his breath upon hearing that annoying cleric's name again. "Never let her near the annoying archer, those two will be the death of me."

"Um sure?" Ren agreed, clueless of who Lucas is referring to.

Soon Lucas and Ren hear the voices of their retainers, Oswin calling out for Ren and Lowen for Lucas.

"I guess we can finish this talk later. Now off you go." Lucas says as Ren nods before running off to meet with his current master while Lucas sighs and takes a sip of his drink in a canteen before walking back to his temporary retainer Lord Eliwood whereas Ren meets with the company of his retainer Lord Hector.

—

As Lucas was currently waiting with the young Lord, he still doesn't like it since Lucas hates the nobility. Not to mention, he was ignoring whatever the annoying archer was spouting something about something dumb and didn't know the specifics since he was distracted from his hunger for missing out his meal, that he stupidly gave to the bloated bandit. His mind then wandered to Lyn, wondering how she is doing or if she is safe from any of this madness that is coming. Something was coming to the Elibe, he could feel it in his bones. Things are going to change and he was unsure that he was going to happen. His train of thought was once interrupted by the resident pretty boy tapping his shoulder.

"Is something bothering you? You seem to be lost in your thoughts," Eliwood wonders from whatever appears to be distracting the stoic tactician in his group, from which he reluctantly joined.

"It's none of your concern," Lucas straightforwardly replies, depressing the concerned kindhearted redhead in response.

"You know, you can always tell me if you have a problem, right?" The young Lord says to the tactician, trying to figure him out as the tactician seemingly was thinking about something. "Just so you know, Hector is coming with us. We agreed on it while you were busy thinking, so be prepared to travel with them, alright? Besides, I believe it will become more merrier with the larger group than what we have now."

"Sure hope you are right, It was getting boring seeing the annoying archer crushing hard on you, although it seems that it's rather one sided. Bartre and Dorcas always talk about how to sharpen their axes and I swear Lowen has a hard on for Marcus." Lucas complains, confusing Eliwood involving him while taking another swig from his drink handed to him from Rebecca. "Also, I want my lunch."

From that, Lowen hands Lucas a thin strip of dry beef jerky to satiate his hunger as he ignores the redhead lord.

"I-I see. In any case, let's meet up with Hector and his company. They might be expecting," Eliwood says as he and the rest of his team goes to where Hector's company is located.

"I have no objection to that." Lucas says standing up to stretch as he still grumbles about something about lacking food before following the rest to meet with Hector.

Now that the fighting has ended and the discussions between the two lords and their respective factions of allies are said and done, the seven members of Eliwood's group decide to meet up with Hector's group with good tidings upon their arrival.

"Well, that should be the last of them, wouldn't you agree Eliwood?" Hector wonders with a smile from reuniting with his runaway friend.

"I suppose so, but what are you doing here?" Eliwood asks concerning Hector's sudden appearance in Santaruz.

"Are you serious right now?!" Hector barks, after his journey to Santaruz all the way from Ostia.

"Well, it's just, it's just that your brother was only named marquess recently. That's why I am wondering what you are here for," Eliwood replies.

"Hey, news about your father Lord Elbert reached all the way to Ostia, so as a good friend of yours, I am always obliged to assist a friend in need," Hector replies gallantly.

"Hector...," Eliwood muttered, moved by their strong friendship.

"Hehe. Ah! Marcus! Well met!" Hector exclaims upon seeing the friendly paladin standing by Eliwood.

"Haha, Lord Hector, it's a pleasure to see you once again," Marcus answered politely in response.

"You remember Oswin, don't you Eliwood?" Hector calls out while reintroducing Oswin to the redhead lord.

"It's been a while, Lord Eliwood. I have come to assist on behalf of Milord Uther to watch over his blood-boiled brother," Oswin jokes, getting a nudge from his rash master.

"Hey, whose side are you on!?" Hector barked, making the three people in the conversation laugh at Hector's misfortune but Eliwood was quiet, for something was in his mind.

"Something wrong, Eliwood?" Hector asks out of concern for his friend.

"I do not know my friend. I feel as though that finding my father would be harder than I thought. Especially with these attacks around us that's currently happening for some odd reason," Eliwood looks at him as Hector looks at him with worry.

—

From afar, while the lords and their most loyal retainers have their conversation, the allies they've brought along have their own private talks of various topics, most particularly between those that shared certain memories together.

"So, wait, Ren is here too because he was recruited by you?" Dorcas asks the sneaky Matthew concerning him and Ren joining Hector and his company. "What are you doing with Lord Hector of all people? Got some kind of connection with him?"

"Well I–"

"I'll tell you why. Matthew is a spy for our gracious young Lord Hector." Lucas says walking towards the group, satchel slung over his shoulder and emblem spear behind him.

"Ah, cat's out of the bag. Of course, that's so perceptive of you," Matthew straightforwardly responded. "But I can assure that I did not mean any sort of harm coming to both you and your princess," he adds with a teasing statement.

"..." Lucas decided that it was best to answer back the intrepid thief and glared daggers toward Ren, demanding for Matthew's answer concerning him with a certain lady of Caelin.

"Hey man, dunno if you have really noticed, but some of the legion back then before we split can already tell. We just wanna see what happens next," Ren gleefully admits, making Lucas roll his eyes with how ironically open is his closeness to Lyn before realizing something.

"Wait, who else knew about that…?!" Lucas asked, hiding his nervous panicking with a straight face while breaking a sweat.

"Well let's see, there's Me and Matthew, Florina, Erk, Wil, Sain, Kent and Wallace," Ren answered based on his memory, scaring Lucas as he listens to all the names that he mentioned. "I think I am forgetting someone."

Lucas's eyes widened and his goosebumps appeared before he heard the voice.

"Eeeeeeeek! Lucas! You're here as well!" Serra screams as she sees her aloof friend, well, aloof only to her anyways.

She ran towards the intrepid tactician for a hug, only to be hit on the face with the blunt end of the butt of his green emblem lance, leaving a bruise on her forehead.

"Owie! What's the matter with you!? How could you do that to a noble lady like myself!?" Serra screams while holding her sore forehead, mentally torturing the tactician with her high-pitched voice.

"Glad to see you are alive too," Lucas mumbled before groaning, mentally remembering how much he enjoyed being away from this woman.

"Well, you could-"

"Hey Matthew, do you have anything to eat?" Lucas asks, ignoring the healer. "Gave my food to the bandit leader."

"Oh yes, I forgot to say, this is just another snack I planned on saving for later, but it's alright I guess," Matthew warns.

"Sorry 'bout that," Lucas apologizes as he nearly finishes the loaf, while Matthew smiles slyly, confusing Lucas in the process.

"Gods above, I really do not know how you are still alive staying with her Matthew, that shows how much of a good kind of guy you are." as he compliments Matthew's tolerance to the shrilled cleric's voice while picking his sore eardrums and chewing some bread that Matthew gave.

"Hey!? Are you even listening!? I'm talking to y–"

"Maybe Matthew was barely holding on whenever she's around," Ren deadpans as she muffles her mouth with her own silk shawl.

"Grrhg mrrrph, morph!" Serra exclaims frantically, despite her voice being muffled, making Lucas chuckle along with Matthew's loud laughter.

"Um guys, please stop messing around. They are going to return any minute now," Lowen warns.

"C'mon, let loose for a bit, will ya?" Rebecca replies with a slap to Lowen's hind shoulder.

"B-but sir Marcus would–"

"Is there something you need from me Lowen?"

"Gah! Sir!"

The two lords and the loyal retainers finally went to the rest of their teams after a bit of catching up to regroup. By chance, the blue-haired lord spots the aloof tactician behind his trustworthy spy Matthew, messing around with Serra, Ren, and the rest of both of their companies.

"So this is the one that had guts to fight a marquess?" Hector wonders.

"Technically, the marquess' brother was the one he fought," Eliwood corrected.

"Whichever is still the same either way, but, isn't he a tad, well, skinny to have fought in gruesome combat? It would've been far worse if I were his opponent," Hector joked around.

"Trust me, his will can be stronger than his mind. He's got some sort of supernatural motivation that even I could barely attain," Eliwood complimented Lucas, despite not being a witness of his fight.

"..." Lucas was kind of flattered by what the Lord said but chose not to say anything because of his hatred of nobles despite Eliwood's behavior.

"So um, what are we going to do now?" Ren asks with the huge group they have.

The group then falls to an uncomfortable silence, Lucas sighs and walks up to the two Lords and taps them each on the forehead.

"Are you old, that I have to remind you of what we are to do? By the Gods, I am going to be losing ten years of my life babysitting the two of you. We are going to Santaruz, are we not? Then by the Gods, we are going to Santaruz."

Lucas then picks up his spear and walks ahead in the direction of Santaruz. After a few feet he stops and turns around to face the group and says in a teasing tone. "Don't tell me that you have gone senile. I hate it if it is known that the young Lords are secretly old in mind. Or do I have to hold your hand like children?"

"Wow, sure hope Lyn doesn't see this side of him," Ren whispered to Matthew nonchalantly.

"Ahh, my dear friend, I doubt he would want his dear girl to see him like this. He has an image to maintain after all." Matthew whispers back before following the tactician.

From that point onward, Eliwood's Elite and Hector's Horde continue to venture to the domain of the marquess of Santaruz in order to find the whereabouts of Eliwood's father, not knowing of the hidden evil lurking from the shadows.

Chapter END

A/N: In case anyone may be wondering about the chapter progress, we planned to consistently post monthly. Sorry for the possible dissatisfaction that may occur for you eager readers. Thank you for always motivating us by reading our stories. Cheers and Blessings!