Chapter 17X: Storm into the Castle!
After dealing with the "delightful" entourage of the Black Fang on Valor's shores, everyone now prepares for their next plan to enter the Dragon's Gate.
The three lords and two of their retainers engage in a short conversation that is of less interest to their tactician, so he decided that it would be best that he left them to their own business.
Lucas started to think, it had helped immensely that the fog had lifted but something was telling him that something was wrong. He thought to walk around and check with Merlinus to see which items were lacking and how the stock was. After slowly entering the tent to see the said merchant checking on everything and listing everything down in some parchment.
"Merlinus, how are our supplies? Is everything in order?" Lucas straightforwardly inquired, unintentionally disturbing the merchant from his thoughts.
"Oh sir Lucas! Everything is in good condition and ready for the incoming battle," the peddler replied. "Is there something that you would need?"
"Thank you, I am just around to ask if preparations are adequate for everyone," Lucas bluntly replied. "However, I must ask for confirmation: why did you choose to join our journey? Surely, even a merchant like you must've realized that the road we are taking is not only treacherous and life-threatening but could change everything we know of history. A civilian like you is obviously going to stand out in the midst of our army, regardless of how helpful you may be, thus endangering your life, so answer me this, why?."
From that response, Merlinus composed himself and thought for a few minutes before he gently answered the tactician.
"Sir, initially, I confess that it is a huge honor and position to be able to stand alongside two nobles of Lycia. Three, including her ladyship Lyndis," Merlinus admits. "But, to see the saddened look upon Lord Eliwood's face concerning his father, and how hard they've fought throughout the battles we've been through, I just couldn't say no to it! I am willing to be of use to aid Lord Eliwood in this journey, even though my life is at risk. Although, having lived the life of a merchant, risks are always bound to be met," he jests.
Lucas nods and takes his answer to account. "I see….So that is your reason…"
"Why yes. I may not be a fighter, but at least I can be who I am with your company here," Merlinus smiled and huffed with pride as a peddling merchant and manager with a strong salute to his chest that he choked himself from the pain, making Lucas weakley chuckle.
"Alright then, carry on, Merlinus."
After leaving the merchant to his own devices, he had left to decide on which person to give the Orion's bolt. The Orion's bolt was an item meant for the most swift and the most precise of archers. Those who were able to shoot a sparrow down from 2 lengths of a field. Or so the mentors in his youth had taught him as he was still learning the way of tactics back in Etruria. And considering that he had a few archers in comparison to what most people were. There were either Wil or Rebecca, it wasn't really a hard choice really. After a long inner debate with one himself on the pros and cons of each pawn's result, he decided to give the Orion's bolt to Wil, since one, he was more effective and efficient as a sniper and two, he simply had more experience with the job than Rebecca. He was about to give the said bolt to Wil when he saw Fiora passing by with a spear in tow.
"Miss Fiora, mind if I have a word with you concerning one of your sisters," Lucas bluntly calls out, making the eldest pegasus rider flinch and look at him. She immediately composes herself before formally asking the tactician.
"Ah why of course, sir Lucas. What is it that you inquire?"
"Okay, first of all, Don't call me sir, Lucas is fine. Second, you seem on not-quite good terms with your second sister. What gives…?" Lucas asks with his arms crossed, waiting for her answer.
"Hmph, it was a dreadful experience I must say: I was on my way to finish my mission, until I heard that my sister Farina, got into danger in the middle of a practice maneuver, forcing me to abandon my mission to help and assist her. In the end, I was penalized a massive termination fee and lost my honor as a pegasus knight," Fiora answered briefly, yet concretely.
"No wonder why she seems to be on bad terms with her," Lucas thought out loud. 'And why she needed both the arena prizes and extra money,' he thought to himself upon realization as multiple thoughts had come ever since the entire conversation started.
"Not only that, she rebuked me for coming out of my way just to save her from her awful predicament, that ungrateful sister of mine," Fiora groans in frustration.
"..." Lucas didn't respond as he momentarily glanced upon Farina, who was chatting with her Lord and his armored aide.
"After that, we barely had time to just make amends and our usual means to just reach each other is through our youngest, Florina," Fiora opens up.
'Wow, so she had it tough the entire time,' Lucas looks to Florina, who happens to be hiding behind Lyn to avoid Sain's flirting again. He faced her and decided to ask one of the many thoughts that had spawned due to the conversation. "I see...And who was it that made you lose your honor?"
"Who else other than that reckless lass of a sister Farina…" Fiora bluntly replied.
"I meant the noble Fiora, the noble. Because it wasn't Farina's fault that you were disgraced. It was the noble's. Now answer me, who was the noble?"
"The noble? Hmph, the nobility are barely involved with military affairs. It is my superiors that have penalized me, although they have once thought of me being a thorn in their side, so I just leave it at that since it is just childish of them to do so," Fiora briefly explained.
"Typical Nobles…." Lucas mumbles before cursing in a loud manner. "Alright. I am going to restore that honor of yours, but that may mean working with us and your sisters. So are you willing?"
He reaches his hand out to the newly refreshed and encouraged senior pegasus knight, letting her accept his offer and take his hand.
"Great, welcome aboard, Fiora. And don't worry, We will talk about this with my teacher." Lucas says, almost smirking at the thought of meeting with that teacher again.
"Your teacher?" Fiora wonders.
"Yes. He couldn't seem to beat me in chess, no matter what he did. He even tried to cheat once and I still won." Lucas smiles at the memory of his teacher and him playing some chess together. "However, he taught me practically everything I know, and to this date, he is one of the few nobles I respect."
"Is that so? Would it be rude if I asked you to tell me who this noble is?" Fiora wonders.
"Now, if I told you, that would ruin the surprise, won't it, Fiora?" He answered back, taking Fiora aback. "We may not even meet him on our travels together."
"Oh well, so be it then," Fiora shrugs.
Lucas then walks away until Matthew and Leila show up with news.
"Sir Lucas, the battle is about to start. The enemy has appeared now, armed and ready," the two thieving spies replied.
"Alright then, Leila, Matthew, call for Hannah and ask her for her fortune, pay her the gold that we took from the Black Fang." He orders the two to go off and to see what the fortune teller has in store. "We may be able to see now, but I fear that reinforcements are afoot because of our 'landing.'"
"Fiora, I need to see the battlefield on higher ground, so could you prepare your pegasus?" Lucas requests Fiora, who immediately leaves to prepare Dorte, her pegasus, for the sudden request of the tactician. After a few minutes he was on Fiora's mount with her in order to take to the skies to be at an adequate height for scouting the battlefield, with the help of his enchanted spyglass.
Over the mountains on the other side, he spots a small base that is occupied by several magi with a flock of pegasus knights found meters away from the base that happen to be on standby as guards of a lone sage, blocking the path to their destination: the Dragon's Gate. After, Lucas asks Fiora to fly over the open plains to see the view from above with his spyglass. It is going to be a tedious fight as he spots the number of scattered magi that are led by a lone shaman, accompanied by several armored knights, wielding heavy steel lances and javelins that can cover a lot of ground to defend. On the far side of the plains where the forests are located, bandits are poking out to survey the battle, and are also deemed to be hostile. WIth that, Lucas asks Fiora to return to the camp after having surveyed the battlefield and meet with everyone for the battle plan.
"Young Lucas," Hannah calls out.
"Well, what's the situation?" Lucas bluntly inquires quickly.
"On the open plains: I sense a great field of magic in the air, be careful with who you send into battle," Hannah warns.
"I see, anything else?" Lucas asks again.
"I sense a disturbing omen that can change the tides of battle, but how you see fit will tip the scales. That is all I can see," Hannah ends her augury.
"Thank you for the information," Lucas replied.
Lucas then thinks for a little bit as he took into account all the information from where he had scouted and Hannah's predictions before deciding to do the one thing that everyone did not expect him to do.
"We hold our ground as we slowly push forward. With armored units and riders on the forefront, they should take most of the blows and with swordsmen and magic users on the flanks. Archers, pegasi riders and healers on the back as support for those on the front lines. Shoot down any archer, mage and pegasi rider that comes toward us. And when the remaining enemies have charged in and have spent most of their forces and time coming towards us, we charge in and destroy any semblance of an attack and turn it against them. Any questions?"
"Well, while you were busy surveying the area, we happened to chance upon a stone village on our six. What should we do?" Leila asks from her and Matthew's own scouting efforts on ground.
"When the rest are charging in and going on the offensive on the enemy, I want both the thieves and pegasi riders to go off and check on that village."
"Roger!" Both Matthew and Leila responded with their killing edges ready.
"Well, shall we start, Lucas?" Lyn asks with the Mani Katti sheathed at her side, standing beside Lucas, along with Hector and Eliwood.
"On my command." Lucas replies, making the others into position.
Now the army marches into battle and slowly engages with a trio of scattered mage troops in the open plains. One of them starts opening fire, but were totally blocked by the impenetrable armor of Oswin, with one of them slain by his heavy javelin. The other two magi kept their distance to use thunder spells and hurls bolts of thunder on Oswin and the steadfast Marcus.
"Priscilla, Serra start healing the knight and paladin, wait for the enemy knights to charge first before we engage." Lucas commands as he sees more knights come forward in the distance.
"Roger!" Both healers say as they start healing the knight and Paladin so that they can live and potentially take up more damage. As soon as what seemed to be most of the enemy forces had arrived and were about to surround and attack. Lucas raises his spear and yells out.
"Now, charge!" Lucas rallies with his emblem spear raised.
"Now!" Kent rallies with Sain and Lowen as they rush in with their lances and kill the two other magi with their might.
"Watch out!" Lowen warns Sain, making him dodge the thrusting lance of an armored knight.
"Have at thee!" Sain yells as he thrusts his steel lance through the knight's armor and pierce his heart, making him bleed and die on the grass.
"Pull back! You're going too far from the group!" Lucas commands, making the cavalry trio retreat behind Oswin and Marcus.
Soon, the lone shaman rallies the other armored knights to engage with the frontlines. The shaman starts chanting and summons a dark magic circle below Oswin, only to be disabled so easily by Lucius' light magic.
"I can't allow you to do that. I ask that you retreat," Lucius sternly advises as he summons holy bolts of light and then hurls them swiftly towards the shaman before he could respond, killing him instantly.
Oswin then engages in combat with a pair of armored knights wielding a javelin and a steel lance whereas he with a steel axe. Apparently, it was easy for Oswin to subdue them as he hurls the heavy steel axe towards their chest plates, smashing through them like ceramic and killing them from the strong blunt force before retracting the axe back into his hand with a heavy chain.
"I never regretted giving Oswin that knight crest," Lucas laughs to himself as he stands by Lyn's side, staying vigilant for any possible ambushes that may happen outside of his calculations. "One of the best decisions in my life."
Suddenly, as the army marches on the open field, a large bolt of thunder strikes the ground, leaving a huge cinched crater in front of Oswin.
"If I were to be struck, I would've been roasted on the spot," Oswin nervously jests.
"Dammit, someone has a Bolting tome on the enemy side," Lucas curses. "Everyone, stay on guard! Tread carefully! I wouldn't want anyone to have that kind of experience."
Lyn lightly chuckles because of the response then suddenly drops to a frown, remembering what happened to Lucas in the past.
The cavaliers along with the swordsmen and ranged units easily subdued a large remainder of the knights and mages that are trots away from the Dragon's Gate.
"Alright, now, we split and take out the remainder of the enemy." Lucas commands as he rallies the group to him as he prepares his spear but stops as he notices the temple from afar.
"Wait, I feel… a great disturbance," Erk warns.
"Oh? And what's that?" Lucas asks.
Erk then tries to summon a candle flick on his palm, only to feel nothing warm over his hands.
"Erk, what's going on," Lucas asks out of concern.
"I don't exactly know honestly, but what I do know is that my magic is blocked for some reason at this point," Erk replies while keeping his cool.
"Oh dear, my staff isn't glowing!" Priscilla cries as she tries to cast her healing magic on Oswin's light injury.
"Hmmm, wait, I believe that we took out most of the mages on what I scouted, so why…" It was then he remembered that there were unexplored places here. The temple and the village.
"All healers and mages fall back immediately. Ren, take charge of the assault, I want to see something." He says leaving Erk and the others to check on the temple if there is anything going on.
"W-w-wait, what? Why m—" Ren tries to ask, only to notice Lucas has gone away with Erk, while the magic-users and staff-users stay protected by those that can fight.
Now, Lucas runs towards the temple as they both make their way to visit the residents that reside from within. As they quickly stepped in, they were met by a stern gaze from a bishop, seeming to be leaving the village monastery with his gilded staff to meet with visitors.
"Who are you people? You don't seem to be affiliated with those dark-robed men," the gray-haired, middle aged, church father wonders with his staff and tome in hand.
"We aren't." Lucas deadpans. "We just want to figure out what is going on with our magic casters. It seems that their magic isn't functioning."
"Ah I see, but unfortunately, I do not know what may have caused it. I have heard rumors of such magic-sealing powers, but never personally knew or experienced such," the bishop briefly explained before turning to Erk. "Young man, try casting your spell now, if the effects have worn off.
Erk then tries to summon his magic and swiftly manifests a fireball in his palm.
"My powers have returned. Something really is strange when we try getting close to that place," Erk replies before halting his spell.
"Agreed, we must make haste and warn the others," Lucas replied before turning to the bishop. "Thank you, Your Grace, for your hospitality, but we must take our leave, farewell."
"Hold for a moment," the bishop pleaded before taking a small goddess icon of the late Saintess Elimine, wrapped in silk cloth. "Take this with you, and may your journey be filled with fruition."
Lucas politely accepts the icon with two hands, showing his respect to the bishop with a hint of gratitude. "Thank you, Your Grace, and take care."
With that, Lucas and Erk rush back out of the village and bump into Sain and Kent, who happen to be waiting outside of the village, startling Lucas and Erk in the process.
"Gaaagh—gods! Kent! What are you two doing here?!" Lucas lightly screamed as he thought that the two of them were enemy reinforcements.
"Milady has sent us to fetch the two of you," Kent bluntly replied.
"What for? What happened back there?" Lucas asks.
"The battle is won, and we were waiting for you, especially Ren and her ladyship," Kent answered. "Climb aboard, we'll get there quicker."
"You better be careful with where you're trotting, or so help me," Lucas sighs and groans as he climbs aboard Kent's horse while Erk climbs on Sain's before trotting back to the Dragon's Gate where everyone is located.
"Lucas is back!" Wil calls out from yonder upon seeing the cavalier duo with Erk and a pale-faced Lucas in tow.
The tactician quickly dismounts from Kent's horse and laid on the ground on all-fours, recollecting himself from motion-sickness.
"Ughh, always hated horseback," Lucas groans while holding his sick stomach.
"Lucas," Lyn comes close to the ill tactician and carries him on her shoulder, grasping on his arm for leverage over her feminine back.
"Sorry, again," Lucas apologizes for his current predicament. "What happened in my absence?"
"Come, Ren has a lot to say," Lyn replied, helping and guiding the worn out Lucas to Ren, seeing the strange look on his face.
"What is going on now Ren," Lucas asks.
"Got somebody for you to see, but I wouldn't wanna have you fight him if I were you," Ren answered, walking past behind the Dragon's Gate, leading Lyn and Lucas to a small valley.
The atmosphere felt dreadful and dead, the mana filled in all plant life were depleted, causing the themat to rot and decay at a certain level in the vicinity . At the epicenter, there left a handful of indescribable monstrosities, humanoid by appearance, yet imbued with supernatural attributes. Two of them are donned in heavy metal armor, wielding heavy silver lances with javelins as their sidearms, whereas two others wield silver longbows, which obviously looks intimidating for any normal human to clash with.
"Elimine above what are those things?" Lucas says, somewhat horrified with what he is seeing right now.
"Lucas, now stay calm, and watch me," Ren advises, getting a nod from Lyn and a shaky one from the tactician before walking up close to the monsters' range.
'If they make a move on him, I won't be lenient with them, even if they could crush me easily,' Lucas thinks as he slowly regains his composure and wields his emblem spear and his worn-out silver lance as his sidearm, alongside Lyn with her Mani Katti ready.
The monsters slowly reacted towards the lone unarmed swordsman that walked right up in front of them. One of the armored giants readies his silver lance for a downward thrust on the short swordsman, only to be halted by whoever they were guarding behind them. A hooded person, draped in his blood red cloak, covering his pasty skin and half of his face, emerges from behind the armored servant of his.
"Hey, we come in peace, but would you mind staying out of this," Ren pleads.
"..." The hooded man stood there silently.
"Can you, please leave?" Ren asks kindly, before noticing and dodging a magic circle of teleportation beneath the man's feet, surrounding him and his aides before vanishing into thin air. "Ummm sure?"
"So, he must be the cause of blocking our magic-wielders' powers," Lucas replies, walking back to meet with everyone at the Dragon's Gate. 'So, this is my opponent…' He thinks to himself.
"I doubt we'll ever see him again though," Ren answers back, following Lucas and Lyn back to the group.
'I doubt it.' Lucas thinks as the trio slowly meets up with the rest.
"Is everyone well?" Eliwood asks.
"Yes, somehow," Hector replied.
"Eliwood, I apologize for my behaviour earlier, it isn't becoming of me," Lyn apologizes, making the tactician wonder what could have happened while he was preoccupied with other things.
"No, I was shouting without thinking. I'm in the wrong. Forgive me," Hector apologizes, making Lucas curiously uneasy about what happened back then before the battle started.
"No, it was my fault. If I hadn't…"
"Hadn't what exactly?" Lucas interjects, startling Hector and Lyn from his previously hidden presence.
"L-Lucas!?" Lyn yelped.
"It is nothing important really, just a small struggle earlier before the battle started," Eliwood answered. "And no one's at fault here. There has been an eerie presence here, but—"
"It's gone now, all taken care of," Ren interjected.
"You, I have been quite annoyed around you lately, regardless of how close you are with my allies," Hector walks up to Ren, looking quite imposing to the unflinching swordsman. "You better tell me now or else: who on Elibe are you, and what is your link with those assassins?...!"
Lucas just remains silent at the accusation, He wanted to make sure that Ren was safe but there were way too many questions around what had happened when he was gone for those years.
"Alright alright, I was expecting Leila to at least open up to you and your brother Uther, or so I heard," Ren complained. "Anyways, to make the long story short, I was a member of the Black Fang, now exiled and being sought out for my head because of some disagreements. Everything else concerning Eliwood's father is beyond my knowledge, I swear upon my sword," he swore, keeping out too much of the extra important details.
"Ren, we promise you that we mean you no harm, and treat you as our friend, so no need to swear formally," Eliwood replied with concern. "Thank you for being trusting with us, and enlightening us with what you have to say."
"Can you at least tell us about who those monsters were?" Lucas asks out of the blue, making Lyn uneasy from the sight they've seen earlier.
"I also do not know what they're called, but they don't seem to be too hostile. And the person that caused the great disturbance, he did not intend to cause "too much" harm, I think," Ren tries to answer. "His power however, helped us slay the last of the enemy troops without their magic powers," he adds, keeping a silver card, dropped by the enemy's commander.
"Maybe they came when you left." Lucas says pulling out some parchment and scribbling down somethings and keeping the paper on his satchel.
"I've seen greater horrors from the Black Fang, but none of them are where that guy was involved, if my memory serves me right," Ren reminisces.
Suddenly, Ninian, under Eliwood's care, feels an uneasy presence emanating from inside the Dragon's Gate.
"Ughh," Ninian groaned, getting Eliwood's attention.
"Ninian, is everything alright?" Eliwood asks with concern.
"There's no time to waste now, pretty boy," Lucas replied. "We came this far to dispel this controversy concerning your father, so get to it," he adds, pointing to the entrance of the Dragon's Gate, getting a nod from Eliwood.
With that, the army of the three lords, led by their tactician, enter the dreadful Dragon's Gate, venturing to the unknown of what lies from within. What they do not know is that it may be the beginning of greater problems in the near future.
Chapter END