Chapter 9
Bad Decisions, Worse Outcomes
(Terence || Terentius Aurelius || Septimus Terentius Aquilius)
This is a…rather compromising situation. Naga wasn't kidding when she said I am multiple people. While it's fine if you all agree on a singular course of action, or when one of you begrudgingly accepts the decisions of another, when you all disagree, and strongly…things go wrong.
[I || We || They] just so happen to have reached this impasse, and it fucking hurts [my || our || our] head. What happens to the be the situation that [we || we || they] cannot solve? It pertains to that fucking [revenant || beast || undead] that just wretched [my || our || their] carefully planned fortifications. [We || ? || ?] aren't supposed to be facing these things yet! They're a mid-game enemy, not an enemy that [we || ? || ?] can face in the beginning of the damn game!
We all agree that this is fucker is dangerous, and definitely needs to be dealt with, but:
|| I cannot tell her right now! Doing so would ruin any chance I have to control the spread of information from the game to the people here! Why the hell are revenants here anyway!? ||
|| This is a new enemy that is incredibly powerful, and we need to inform everyone else of this incredible discovery. Knowledge is power, and we need all the power we can get to destroy them! ||
|| I have no idea why they are fighting each other instead of fighting the enemy. The enemies of Rome and all civilisation attack us, and still, they are bickering in our mind instead of butchering the enemy! ||
As you can see, a rather large impasse. Although, number three is [just bloodthirsty || being impatient || being realistic], so [we are || we are || I am] [ignoring him || ignoring him || being ignored].
At least we can agree on Robin needing to get out of here as fast as physically possible. She is only going to [get hurt || be hurt || get in the way] of the battle that's going to be happening here in but a moment. Why? [Vespasian || Vespasianus || Avis Vespasianus] has just told me that a bunch more [revenants || beasts || undead] heading our direction, and I would rather not have her [be hurt || be hurt || get in the way]. Argh, it's rather annoying when it feels like your mind is splitting into three parts! And even worse when only one person has an inner voice! Only I do, for some reason! Argh! Fuck, it hurts!
[ … || So? What do you think we should all do? I hate to say it, but it appears you're the primary consciousness here. || …]
[ It's not like either of you are going to listen to me when I suggest something… || … || Oh come on, why does the craven get to be the primary consciousness!?]
[ Look, I didn't want this position. I'm happy with staying in the background || Shut up, number three, your opinions are irrelevant. Grow up first. || …]
[ A bit harsh, Terentius…? || … || Fuck off, I can't believe I got softer in the harshest place in the universe.]
[ Ok, that was probably— || I'm not softer, I'm just more mature you glory-seeking adolescent! || …]
[ Oww…my head…can you guys please just— || … || Adolescent? At least I have some sort of spine, unlike the both of you! ]
[ I hate my life sometimes…would they just— || Spine!? I have a spine, I just know how to fucking compromise— || I don't take orders from a—]
[ SHUT. THE. FUCK. UP. BOTH OF YOU! || … || …]
[ WHY ARE WE RESORTING TO WORTHLESS MUDSLINGING? WE ARE THE SAME FUCKING PERSON! || …I think you need to retract your statement about Terence being craven, number three || …fucking hell…]
[ I || Terence || …] shake[n/a || s || … ] [my || our || …] head to try and clear our mind. It's imperative that [we || we || …] keep a calm mind to be able to fight effectively.
[ WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE HELL WE ARE GOING TO DO RIGHT NOW, NOT BICKERING OVER MEANINGLESS SCRAPS! || … || … ]
[ SO THE TWO OF YOU BETTER GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER AND ACTUALLY PULL YOUR SOME WEIGHT AROUND HERE! || … || … ]
[ … || … || Oh, so I'm not the one pulling my weight around here, huh? Where do you think you get your spells from, huh!?]
[ I certainly don't remember you being especially magical… || Oh shut it you adolescent with delusions of grandeur. I'm the one who actually knows how these spells work, not you! || … ]
[ Ow! Fuck! How did I get back to square one? || … || Adolescent? You're the one who got all mopey in hell and decided to fuck all of us over with your depression! ]
[ Shit! Gods…augh! || Nurgh…You little shit—! || Agh…this isn't…fuck you! ]
[ I || Terence || That idiot] decide[ || s || s ] to smack the side of our head, setting a rattling noise through our shared space. [ I || Terence || He ] think that I'm getting closer to having total control of m—m—my [ augh! Can you let me finish my damn sentence? || … || It's not your fucking body, you asshole! ] body—no matter what the others say. At the very least, I have near full control of my body—AH! Fuck you, dude!
What just happened is number three decided to send a spike of pain straight into our brain. Oh, he felt it too, don't get me wrong, but he seems to enjoy the rest of us being tortured more than he hates his own pain.
[ Argh! What the hell, man? || Jupiter Optimus Maximus, what was that for? || … ]
I respond with a swift slap to my forehead. Apparently, the body is fine with that, but it jostles the people inside the mind a lot. Not me, though, since my feet are physically anchored to the actual, physical ground.
[ … || Graecus culus! What the hell did I do? || Fucking—do you really want to go?]
Of course, the little bitch [ … || … || I am not a 'little bitch'! ] decides to send another pulse of vertigo into my face.
[ Shit! You started this, man! || Did you really just—I swear to Mars, I'm going to murder you! || … ]
Out of the corner of my eye, I notice another Risen attempting his best to climb out of the trench system and trying to reach me. Damn, not the best time for this. I pull out my [All-Purpose Tool] and point it at him, a spell already manifesting on the tip of the weapon, but—
"Gah! This isn't—"
[ … || Get back here you little scoundrel! || If you want to catch me, then why are you so slow? ]
Another spike of pain, if it's on purpose or on accident I am not sure, suddenly slams into the front of my mind. Unfortunately for me, that means my spell suddenly goes wide at the last possible moment, sending the bolt of gold-orange flame shooting off into the sky to land Jupiter knows where.
[ Would you two can it!? I'm trying to fight over here? || I've got you now you little— || Imma bite you if you grab onto my fucking crotch! ]
I try to get my other two mental companions to stuff it but to no avail.
Shaking my head, I try again, The Risen still hasn't gotten out of the trench so—
[ Guys I'm— || Try it! I dare you! || Alright, I'm going to try it! ]
I suddenly feel a force on my brain as if it's trying to escape through the side of my skull, and that pain causes me to nearly lose my grip on my [All-Purpose Tool], and the recoil of the bolt of fire makes my arm go wildly off target.
[ Could you two please stop fighting for TWO MINUTES? || Ha! I told you that wouldn't work! Try again and actually hit me this time! || Fuck! Shit! ]
I'm completely unable to focus on the purple-skinned undead right in front of me and getting closer by the second as multiple pulses of pain, nausea, and discomfort hit my brain like a sledgehammer.
It gets so bad that I have to cover my mouth and move away backwards to avoid throwing up and getting in range of the Risen's axe. Not optimal. The unsettling taste of stomach acid fills my mouth as I cough quietly into my leather gloves, but thankfully I manage to not hurl the contents of my stomach onto the ground.
I am barely aware of something swooping down from the sky. That's…probably Vespi flying down from the sky…but…what is he…
Oh, he's attacking the Risen that is attacking me.
A bolt of blue force slams into the Risen's neck and pushes the Risen back. A low guttural groan marks the undead's attempt to swing his axe and hit the flying machine, but the hand-eye-muscle coordination of a Risen isn't good enough to come even close to being able to hit something moving so fast.
[Are you two done? We're currently in the middle of a fight! || Oh no you don't! Get back here you little— || I have you now! Gahahahahahaha! ]
I flinch as another pulse of pain radiates from my head. Despite this, I raise my weapon and attempt to blast the Risen barely two metres in front of me with a spell. Thankfully, I manage to keep my hands steady enough for the shot to land home, and it smacks into the Risen's left leg. As soon as it contacts the grey flesh of the undead, the flame bolt ignites. The heat being thrown off of the spell at such a close range causes me to flinch, and I have to stumble backwards. Unfortunately for me, it appears that a Risen can still live after having its entire left leg and part of its lower torso blown off and still live, and it too stumbles forwards, the axe in its hand swinging wildly.
I appear to have run out of luck as a particularly painful pulse sends my senses reeling. My sights go blurry, a ringing sound fills my ears, and whatever sense of balance I had left completely falls apart as vertigo slams into my brain stem like an icepick. By the time the pain subsides, I find myself on the ground, eyes staring at the sky. I lie there for a moment, taking in the view. My breathing slowly calms itself, but—
That view is immediately ruined by a flash of movement. With a yelp of surprise, I roll to the side as my instincts kick in at the last moment. I can feel the air moving around the axe blow. I quickly get to my feet, breathing ragged and barely able to keep up with the demands of my body.
I then realised that was probably the last blow that Risen was ever going to get in. Without its leg, it can only crawl around, way too slow to even catch up with an old man.
Shaking my head and trying my best to cope with the splitting headache and the fact that my senses were going in and out of connection with my brain, I step on the Risen's neck as hard as possible. With a rather satisfying crack, I manage to separate the connection between the beast's head and body.
I then promptly evacuate the contents of my stomach onto the floor.
"Gah…fucking…gods damn it…" I cough. "Could you two just…stop fighting for a moment…"
The two do not stop fighting.
Shaking my head, I manage to get some semblance of control back to my body.
This is bad. This is really bad. I don't see a way out of this.
I chuckle to myself bitterly. I'm…not scared of dying. At the very least, the two idiots in my brain prevent me from fearing death. That's the only fucking they bring, I swear. Anyhow, there's probably another quarter dozen revenants on their way, not to mention normal Risen. My defences are good, but they're not that good.
I cough a little and see yet more greenish-yellow acid being removed from my stomach and into the air. I grunt in pain…but can't get up. Great. I'm just…this is just…
I shake my head again. I hold back a laugh—if I do laugh, I'm just going to throw up more.
It's great, isn't it? Laughing in the face of death? There are so many ways I could die right now, all because your head isn't your own. I could be crushed, bitten, slowly taken apart…Then again, if my mind was completely my own I doubt I could last as long. I'm certainly not a fighter, and the incoming horde of Risen is sure to make rather quick work of me.
I cough loudly again. The roaring of blood in my ears is making it difficult to judge volume, but I'm incredibly certain that if there were any Risen nearby they'd be rushing towards me right now. You have alerted the horde and all that. Damn, how old is that game now? It's probably old enough to drive in most countries and it's still great.
"Randy…come over—argh! Gods damn it! Fuck!" I roar out as my eyesight goes blurry again. I decide that standing and falling over onto my face is not a risk I want to have looming over my head like a proverbial Sword of Damocles hanging over my head. I decide to sit down next to what used to be a support pillar and lean against the cemented rock.
Thankfully, it appears that Randy understood what it was I wanted him to do, and he lumbers over to my location and stares at me with those red arachnid-like eyes of his.
"Set to…mrrrrrgh…set to defend. Current location," I pant out despite another spike of cerebral pain crashing through my body.
Moments later, a crackle of energy signals the FET's—Force Entrenching Tool—activation. Walls of blue light shimmer into existence around me, and a thin ethereal barrier wraps around me and covers me in warm blue light.
Not a moment too soon, it seems, as a cracking noise rings out not too long after, followed by a spout of purple miasma venting into the atmosphere from the dark magic's impact site.
Randy responds moments later with a long burst of sticky flame, and the mage falls silent. Well, more silent than they were already. Risen don't really talk, except to give random bits of foreshadowing. Strange, really. Wonder how that works.
[ … | I've got you now, you slimy bastard! | Shit! Too close! ]
How in the nine hells and the eternal planes of Tartarus are these two still fighting!? Rather, how has one not already caught the other yet?
Another pulse of pain and nausea causes me to black out momentarily, and I miss what happens next, but I know that Randy fired and whatever it was didn't die, because the next thing I know an arrow is coming straight towards my face.
I'm pretty sure I've sweated more sweat than I've ever sweated before in my life in that one moment as I barely managed to dodge the arrow, the iron tip cutting through a couple of locks of my hair and biting into the remains of the stone pillar behind me.
And they're still going at it! What the fuck, guys? Seriously, we're literally in mortal peril and the two of you are duking it out because…why again? Did someone start to mudsling? I honestly can't remember anymore. Head hurts too much.
I growl in pain as I hear Randy go off again, this time with more success. A small cloud of purple smoke clears the trench line and enters my line of sight.
[Can you two please sort yourselves out? Please? We're going to die! | Come over here and get me yourself, you moron! | Get back here you bastard! ]
I give up on trying to get my other cranial occupants to quiet down. Too bad there's no building manager to complain to. I swear, the number of noise complaints I'm going to file against these two…
Soon enough, however, a low moan signals the worst of my fears. Then a second one, slightly further away, ushers in the worst-case scenario. Moments later, two lumbering figures approach the thoroughly destroyed defences set up before them and just walk right over them and into the courtyard.
Hmmm…according to my calculations I have around about six seconds before the first one reaches me, and around about eight more to live.
Randy tries his best to burn through the first one but they have so much health that the beast simply accepts the loss of his left arm and keeps on going. The second one decides to kick Randy as hard as his rubbery flesh allows, sending the small machine careening into the trenches. I wince as I feel the mental link between machine and creator strain beyond its breaking point and almost snap entirely. Well, I found a new mode of failure for Randy, being kicked by something much bigger than him. Or generally being thrown. If I survive this, I have to make him bigger. That way, I can also stick a cannon onto him.
Being able to survive is a big if, though. I might have an insane constitution rivalling that of dragons, but I'm pretty sure that even a dragon can't survive being ripped to shreds.
With Randy currently in a ditch with half of him in a different ditch, the FET has obviously stopped working, which means even that little tiny bit of defence is gone.
I calm my breathing as I see the first Revenant start to swing his arms down. I close my eyes—not that they were much use to me in the first place. The pain had caused my vision to become all misty and cloudy anyhow.
It also prevented me from seeing my life flash before my eyes, since my brain didn't even know it was in danger. That meant all previous trauma from either of the three lives currently stuck within this body won't be shown! Double win!
It should have lasted an instant. Those massive claws should have turned me into five separate chunks. But they didn't. Not at first, at the very least.
A sudden and intense force pushes against my chest and I let out a loud groan of pain. No ribs broken, but it still hurt bad.
My eyes were still closed, so I couldn't see what had happened, but the next thing…I didn't need to see. Because it was broadcast straight into my mind. In an audio form.
[You shall not harm my master, you foul beast! Begone!]
I feel Dawnbringer roar into life while still being strapped to my chest. The hot blade probably would have skewered me alive had I not been wearing a plate of enchanted mithril over my chest. Instead, I believe it caught the Revenant's next strike because I hear a howling sound from right in front of me.
[I take it you have been afflicted with a mental condition of some sort. Do not worry, for my creators have thought of this exact scenario and provided an adequate cure.]
I feel the heat from Dawnbringer starts to move. First, it enters the admittedly thin mithril plating separating her from my body. It then flows through the woollen gambison underneath and finally into my body. The heat is…warm, but not burning. The warmth of a pleasant summer's day in a place where the sun isn't a deadly laser, like Virginia or Denmark.
It seems like the warmth is trying to search around for something, and eventually, it does find that something. My spine. I gasp a little as I can feel the warmth travel up my spinal cord and up towards my brain. It's a thoroughly strange sensation. Once it does reach the place where the logic happens, it suddenly and quickly engulfs my entire cerebral area with a calming warmth that seems to burn away the pain from earlier. The sounds of fighting first fade away then stop entirely, and then are replaced with the soft chiming of brass bells and the sound of a woman whispering.
||| —| Oculi Tui Do Tibi |— |||
—I return your eyes to you—
Within moments, my eyes shoot open, the pain from before completely evaporating into a mist. In fact, my senses are clearer than ever, and even my perception of time has sharpened, allowing me to react at speeds that I couldn't before.
I reach for my spellcasting weapon as Dawnbringer's blade retracts back into her hilt. Remembering that Dawnbringer has healing spells as a gift to its wielder, I use the remaining spell slot that I have to cast a spell.
Which is an upcasted fireball, because humans are nothing if not creatures of habit. What, it's literally the perfect time to use it!
A catastrophic explosion of crimson and yellow erupts before me, and the ground shakes with the sheer power of the spell that I unleashed. The rearmost Revenant is simply vaporised on the spot, his body not even able to return to that purple miasma that Risen usually crumbles into. The frontmost Revenant is seemingly less affected by the blast, but when it's a fireball being cast, that means nothing. Even if he dies in a slower fashion, he still dies, collapsing into a cloud of acrid purple smoke.
I cough loudly as ash and shards of stone slowly rain down from the explosion that just occurred. Looking skyward, I see a column of smoke rising higher and higher into the air. That…will probably be seen for miles.
[Glorious work, Master. Fire is an incredibly effective way to purge the unclean.]
"Thank…you…gack…Dawnbringer…" I whisper softly.
[Now, Master, let us destroy the undead together. Please, my blade wishes to destroy the unholy and the unclean.]
I gulp loudly. I'm not sure what exactly happened to the two other inhabitants of my brain, but I'm sure as hell glad that they're no longer clamouring to get us killed. But…
No. Bad thoughts. Focus on not dying first. Vivo, Ambulo, Pugno, Cogito, and all that.
I consider Dawnbringer's plea to use her…she's honestly right, all things considered. I just…well, considering these things don't even look remotely similar to human beings…I think this is alright…right?
Mustering up my courage, I unclasp Dawnbringer and send a mental command to inform her of my decision.
[Good afternoon, Master. I see you are now back to a normal state of mind. Do be warned, however—there are undead around.]
Danwbringer's tone of voice changes dramatically from one phrase to the next. Damn those sun elves, sarcasm in a talking sword isn't the best thing to add, you know?
"Duly noted, though I think I've already realised that. That's exactly why I need you right now. We need to win this fight," I whisper.
[You should have woken me up earlier. There are monsters to be destroyed. Come, master—let us purify this world from the stain that is necromancy! Praise the sun!]
Dawnbringer re-ignites with more force and enthusiasm than she normally does. I might be seeing things, but I also feel like her blade is longer, brighter, and more erratic than normal. She really, really wants to purge the undead, huh?
"Praise the sun indeed!" I can't help but be encouraged by her enthusiasm despite the earlier tortuous experience I just went through. What can I say, Dawnbringer is a great motivator. "Dea lo vult!"
[I have no idea what that means, but praise the sun—the holy lady!]
(Robin)
I have to say, teleportation has not left a good impression on me. The first time I did it was a rather unpleasant and unexpected experience. The second was done without my consent and was probably worse.
When I finally reappeared in the real world, I found myself surrounded by the shepherds, who were rather surprised to see me. Terence managed to teleport me right into their current battle line, which is rather impressive, I suppose. Well, it would have been more impressive if he hadn't dropped me off around Chrom's height above the ground, which meant that when the spell finally let go of me and I started to fall, I fell a rather large distance.
Why such a specific measurement of height?
Because it just so happens that the reason I was teleported into the air in the first place was because Chrom's head was the position I was teleported to. Yeah. That didn't end well.
"Hey Chrom, there's a—oh Naga—Robin—?" The first person I see and hear when I finally regain the ability to see in colour and hear anything other than swirling water is Stahl. I only see him for a moment, barely enough time to even register that I've seen him before gravity yanks me down.
I smash into something—er, someone—and I end up in a tangle of twisted limbs that isn't pleasant for all parties involved.
"Ow! Naga, that hurts," I mutter as my eyes have been swung up towards the blue sky.
Rather suddenly, I realise that the thing that I just fell on is much warmer than anything non-living has any right to be.
"Oh, hi Robin," Lissa pops into my field of vision. "Nice of you to pop back in. But ah…where's Terence?"
"Shit! I need to—" I try to stand up, but I quickly find my legs wholly unresponsive.
"Gah! Robin! That's—face! Face! Face!" I suddenly hear Chrom's voice from somewhere in the general vicinity of below me and to the right. I try not to move my foot anymore, but I honestly can't tell where my foot is in relation to Chrom's face.
"Oh, I'm sorry Chrom, but uh…how exactly…are we going to get up from this situation?" I try to push myself up with my arms to realise that my left arm is under…one of Chrom's legs.
"I'm as stuck as you are, Robin," Chrom sighs. "Some help here, Stahl?"
"Oh no, Captain. I think you two can figure this out," I can hear Stahl's smug grin. "After all, the tactician and the Prince can probably figure out how to stand up, right?"
"I swear to Naga, I am going to put Dragon's Breath Spice into his next meal," Chrom mutters. "Lissa? Could you…?"
"If you say please," Lissa grins cheekily.
"Gods…why me? Why like this?" Chrom continues to mutter to himself.
"Lissa, could you please help us out?" I look at Lissa.
"Maaaaaaybe?"
"Please?" I make the most pleading face I can muster up. "Pretty please?"
"Aww! Alright!" Lissa giggles. "Come on, Stahl. Robin, your foot is sitting on Chrom's chin. You gotta tuck it back in!"
It takes a while for us to untangle ourselves from each other. By the end, I was getting a bit anxious.
When we did finally separate and stand back up again, there was only one thought on my mind. Terence had teleported me here with the intention of not having me fight, but that means that Terence is out in the castle fighting off multiple…whatever they are.
"Hey, Robin, where's Terence?" Lissa asked a question that I was wholly unprepared to answer.
"Yeah…where is he? Actually…why are you here, Robin? I haven't seen the second flash of light yet," Chrom frowns.
I gulp a little, unsure of what I should say.
"Well…we face a…rather large issue—"
"Shit! Is he still there fighting by himself?" Chrom suddenly leaps to the correct situational assessment almost immediately.
"Y—Yes—"
"Frederick! See if you can contact Terence in the castle! Everyone! We need to get to the castle as fast as possible! Our friend's life depends on it!" Chrom roars out instructions to the rest of the shepherds while patting himself down. "Robin. Give me a run-down of what happened in there that made Terence teleport you out."
"Uh—alright," I nod my head quickly. I wasn't expecting such a hurried response, and definitely not from Chrom.
Around us, the Shepherds' positions have shifted considerably. While originally in a rough semicircular primarily concerned with killing as many Risen as physically possible, we seemed to have formed into a tight spearhead formation pointing straight at the castle that I was so rudely teleported from earlier.
"We were doing quite well…well, Terence was doing well, I was already out of spells…anyway, a massive creature that Terence described as a 'levelled-up form of Risen' crashed through the main gate and Terence started…acting strange. He managed to blow a hole into it and it died, but he insisted that I needed to go for safety reasons, and teleported me out of there," I explain.
At the mention of a 'levelled-up form of Risen', Chrom's face contorts into a grimace.
"Naga…you two face one of those too?"
"Wait, too? You guys fought one?"
"Yeah, thankfully only one," Chrom shakes his head. "Frederick was able to keep it relatively distracted while we pelted it with everything we could. Took the better part of ten minutes to take it down."
I can feel my panic rising. Terence said that there were six of these things heading towards the castles. Sure, he was able to kill one with a single spell, but he has been running relatively low on spells. He was 'relying on cantrips' and 'saving spell slots for healing', whatever that means, but considering the power of the spells he was throwing out reduced quite significantly, I don't think it means anything good.
"We need to hurry," I grit my teeth and urge Chrom to move faster. "Terence said there were six of those things heading towards the castle."
"Six!? Naga help us, I don't think Terence is able to survive that," Chrom's eyes widen in shock and worry.
I shake my head and focus on pushing through the Risen standing between us and the castle. Please, Terence, be safe!
(Terence)
[Ahahahahahaaha! Do you see your weakness, scum? Do you now know the power of the graceful sun? Gahahahahahahahahaha!]
"You're really enjoying yourself, Dawn," I shake my head as I return to a rest position after decapitating a rather unfortunate Risen. "I know I have weird hobbies, but purging the undead has to be a weirder one than fixing machines."
[Master, this excitement is not due to a simple love for the destruction of such fiendish creatures, but it has been imbued into my very essence! It is my purpose! It is my reason to exist!]
"Well…" I grunt to myself as I parry another strike from an axe-wielding Risen and slab the tip of Dawnbringer's blade through their skull. "At least one of us is…enjoying themselves…"
I cough a little before returning to lean on the pillar that has served as a crutch for me the past couple of minutes. I might be healed somewhat, but it's not the physical strain keeping me down, it's the mental one. Although the pain isn't nearly as bad as before, it's certainly not optimal. It's like fighting with low blood sugar. I would liken it to a hangover…if I knew what that feels like. I'm a teetotaller, not a single drop of liquor passes these lips.
[I would think you would get more enjoyment out of this, Master. Culling the undead was your speciality in the depths of hell, after all.]
"Well, it would certainly be more thrilling if I didn't have a raging headache," I mutter. "Sure, the idiot and the person who argued with the idiot are both silent, but I feel they're still having a wrestling match on my optical lobe."
[That…would make fighting difficult. I do not believe removing the occupants in your brain is something that is possible with my powers.]
"Yeah, they're embedded into my soul…I think. It's really weird," I sigh. "At the very least they aren't parasites…"
[Or a pair of Mind Flayer worms.]
"Uegh," I shiver. "Don't mention that. Don't ever mention that again, please."
[As you wish. A pair of undead, one with an axe and another with a sword. Three hundred fifty-two degrees.]
I respond to Dawnbringer's words with a short cast of [Fire Bolt] that incinerates the Risen with the short axe before stumbling forwards to deal with the sword wielder.
As I get closer, training drilled into this body kicks in. My legs get wider apart, my steps get springy, my senses heighten despite the pain, and my breathing calms. Before the Risen can even think to strike, I've lept forwards like a mantis and stabbed Dawnbringer through his abdomen.
His ruined flesh hisses and screams as it burns into motes of golden light, and the body of the Risen crumbles into dust. Like all undead destroyed with radiant magics, nothing is left but a pile of golden ash. Good result. Whatever that purple smoke is, it cannot be healthy to breathe in.
"Great…" I groan as another flash of pain sends my hands up towards my face. "It's starting again…"
[Do you wish for me to…]
"No…need. It's not…as bad. Plus, you only have three charges every day," I grunt.
[As you command. How are we going to get out of this predicament that we've found ourselves in?]
"Honestly? I'm not sure either. At this point, I would have called Augusta to pick us up, but Augusta is probably a couple of dimensions away. We also don't have wizards to cast [Dimensional Door], so it's a moot point anyway," I grab the stone pillar again for support. "It's hard to think of a plan when you feel like you've just bashed your head against a wall."
[Hmmm…I am not sure of how that feels. I am a living weapon, remember? If you smash me against a wall, nothing will happen to my mental state.]
Ah, that's right. It's hard to remember that Dawnbringer is a sword sometimes.
"Well…I'm not sure how to describe it then. I'm guessing you don't know what being incapacitated feels like, huh?" I click my tongue. "You also don't get sleepy or tired, so there goes that analogy…where is Rufus when you need him? He's probably the only person who can relate to you."
[Even then, his core needs recharging. I was built before him and by beings much more technologically advanced and thaumaturgically superior, and thus I need not the same charging process that he needs.]
"Also true," I sigh. "More Risen coming up through the trenches. Vespi says that there are also some Revenants marching our way. How many of these fuckers are there?"
[The dead shall always outnumber the living. That is the truth of every world.]
"Fair enough. I just didn't think Grima could summon this many."
I know my complaining isn't going to get anywhere, but it really is strange, you know? In the game, Risen groups were a couple dozen strong at their largest, and maybe only a squad or so in size at their smallest. Not the massive hordes that we're facing. I probably should have realised that something was amiss when they first started coming down from the sky, but even so, it's not like I can actively deal with them.
Gah, pain! Seriously, I'm starting to think that it isn't even the two dudes in my head who are causing all this pain! What the hell!
[Never underestimate the amount of foul creatures that a single necromancer can conjure up.]
"I…don't remember Sir Magnus ever doing something like this…"
[…He was a necromancer? I need to do a serious recalibration of my attitude towards him if that's the case.]
"He's a librarian. He knows every single spell in existence. Don't know if he actually raised any undead, though."
[I see…I must ask the Holy Lady to investigate this further. That cabal is already on shaky ground with that disgusting soul they call Decimus.]
"Eh. He seems like a nice dude. He's an ethical necromancer."
[There is no such thing.]
"He's leagues better than Bephegor, that's for sure."
[Comparing someone to a demon is not usually a good endorsement of their moral fibre.]
"Yeah, but how many other necromancers do we know?" I grunt. "I'm pretty sure that's your fault, Dawn."
[…I concede the point. There's also more undead coming.]
"Yeah, I noticed. If my body would actually start working properly for once, maybe I can deal with them before they get in our faces," I click my tongue in annoyance. It's going to be a long, long afternoon.
(Robin)
I don't think the ground is supposed to shake like this. I definitely know that a massive fireball followed by a rather large pillar of smoke isn't good either. When one happens after the other with the epicentre being the castle where Terence is currently at it makes me rather distressed.
"Woah! What the hell was that!?" Vaike nearly stumbles onto the ground as the earth itself seems to tremble.
"Whatever it was, it can't be good," Chrom hisses. "We need to be moving faster!"
"Faster? Are you kidding me? Half of us are still lagging behind! We're going to be split into two groups at this point!" I snap back to calm Chrom's more fiery tendencies.
"Grrr…you have a point," Chrom growls. "But still need to get there as soon as possible!"
"Temper, temper," Frederick rides up to us. "It won't do Terence any good if we reach him with half of our forces dead or dying."
"Yes, but at this rate Terence is going to die in there!" Chrom spits. "Why can't we get through faster?"
"Because there are just so many Risen around," Frederick replies dryly. "We're having trouble getting them to move out of the way. Also, Milord, you have been practically bolting from the moment that Robin informed you of this rather unfortunate situation that we have found ourselves in. Not everyone can run as fast as you can, especially those on foot. I am surprised that Robin is able to keep up at the current moment."
"Oh, I'm sure that I'm going to regret this sudden burst of stamina later," I grumble. "You are honestly a lot faster than you think you are, Chrom."
"R—Really…? Damn it, we can't be this slow, though!" Chrom slows down his pace and even stops for a moment, but quickly resumes his march towards the castle. "How long do you think it will take for the others to catch up?"
"A lot longer than you'd think," I do a little maths inside my head. "Around five minutes, in fact."
"That's way too long. Who knows what's going to happen in five minutes…" Chrom shakes his head in frustration. "There has to be another way…Robin, do you have the device that Terence used to teleport the two of you into the fort in the first place?"
"I don't," I shake my head. "Terence still has it."
Chrom curses under his breath. We slow to a stop for a couple of moments, before a voice surprisingly far in the distance catches our attention.
"Oy! Are 'ya tired already, Chrom? Teach is already so far ahead of ya!" That's Vaike's voice, and he's…
Well, the fact that we can see the valley that he managed to carve out of the Risen horde from here is probably testament enough to the distance he managed to travel away from the main group.
"How did…Vaike! Wait for us!" Chrom blinks in surprise before suddenly sprinting off at full speed. Frederick follows soon after.
"I swear, Vaike, you're going to break my legs one of these days," I mutter under my breath and use some…choice words to describe the blonde-haired axeman that just feels wrong to say out loud outside of that specific context.
I rush after them, finding the cavity that Vaike has managed to drill out through the mass of undead…surprisingly empty. The Risen don't seem at all in a rush to fill the gaps that Vaike has left behind, and those who do are either stupid enough that they don't notice us or immediately flee. Strange. Incredibly strange.
By the time I catch up, panting through my teeth in exhaustion, Vaike has already started to cleave through the next mass of Risen who are unlucky to get in his way, with help from Chrom, Frederick, and Stahl, of course. Sully would have been here, but I sent her back to make sure the people who were a little slow getting here wouldn't be left behind. I should have probably sent Stahl, all things considered, but eh, it doesn't matter all too much.
What is incredible, however, is the speed at which Vaike just seems to carve through Risen. He seems untouchable, whatever weapon he's using but a silvery-blue blur in my vision, occasionally shimmering blood red and spitting out a miasma that didn't seem to affect us but is devastatingly powerful to the Risen. Each one that the mist touched seemed to revive a piece of their more animalistic side, specifically the part that felt fear. And they certainly started feeling it.
A lot.
I've never seen Risen before, but it doesn't take a genius to realise that staying away from Vaike like he carried the plague isn't normal for an undead being.
With that, the road ahead became…somewhat more smooth. Sure, this seemingly omnipotent Risen-repelling axe could keep the Risen that were hit with its aura frightened, but there were so many Risen in between us and the castle that even that ability only sped up our speed by one or two times. Mind you, we were barely making any progress before, so it's very welcome, but one times three is still only three.
What was I doing all this time? Barely keeping up. Fighting with Terence had already gotten me so tired that it was all I could do to just keep moving forward after the team of three people who were ahead of me and occasionally dodged an arrow or two. I had no more magic left in me, not after I tried to fry a Risen who got too close without a tome and ended up almost burning my arm off. Even if I had any more magic left, I wouldn't dare to try and use it. But hey, I managed to finish off a Risen that Stahl had missed while charging ahead, so I'm not totally useless!
As for my other duties…trying to keep the group together in anything resembling cohesion would have been a tough job at the best of times and in the best of conditions. Now? I'm pretty sure trying to wrangle a flock of spooked pheasants with your bare hands would be easier.
Having to send a rider, namely Sully, who is not at all happy with her new role, back and forth between the two segmented groups just to know where and what each other was doing would be bad enough, but the occasional explosions in the distance didn't help at all with everyone staying calm. That includes me, as well.
Yeah, I know I've already broken the first thing that the Tactica says: The commander must retain a level head in any situation. But hey, occasional explosions every so often aren't something I've trained for, so cut me some slack!
Yeah, I've been reading that book that was lodged oh-so-firmly in the wall outside of Terence's room. It's…rather enlightening. I'm sure that I had my favourite books on tactics and war before I lost my memories, but I certainly don't have a feeling that I've read anything like this. There were barely any actual tactics in the book that was marketed as an instruction manual for a tactician, which sounds dumb, but it really isn't.
The book is mainly focused on logistics and the more mundane parts of war and explains them in excruciating detail. It's a very good read. I'm thinking of shoving down Chrom's throat when I have the chance. He violates the principles of the books so many times, and that is usually the primary cause of my migraines.
Another explosion in the distance reminds me that I should probably catch up with the rest of the group. Grunting, I pray to Naga that I have enough endurance in these legs to make it all the way to the castle.
(Terence || Terentius Aurelius || Septimus Terentius Aurelius)
For once, an explosion next to me wasn't caused by me. Progress!
Unfortunately, this really isn't the time to talk about how I'm using less destructive combat techniques since I'm currently stuck in an imprint—oh fuck that's—ow! Fuck!
Damn it, that hurts bad. I think I broke something in my left arm…
Right, as I was trying to say before gravity rudely pulled me down onto the ground, I was stuck in an imprint of myself on the wall after being flung halfway across the courtyard hulk style by one of the revenants. I have broken many bones. No, I have not kept count.
Thankfully, the biological processes that allow my right arm to move seem to be intact, which means that I'm able to pop a healing potion from my belt that survived thanks to being made with teflon-coated aluminium instead of glass. Every other potion that was made using glass bottles were either already used or were currently spilling their contents onto the dusty soils surrounded by glass shards. Uncorking the metal container with my mouth, I chug the entire pot in a couple of seconds.
It's…rather dull tasting, in all honesty. You'd think a liquid containing the distilled essence of life would taste more…I dunno, lifebringing? Though I'm not sure what difference there is between 'the essence of life' and the primordial soup is, so this could just be an approximation of prehistoric ocean water with some magic pixie dust sprinkled over it. I dunno what potions actually are, I just put alchemical oils in a machine, bottle the products, and don't think too hard about it.
The liquid works as advertised, however, and I immediately start to feel the warmth flow through my body along with all the wounds that I've received in the past couple of minutes stitching themselves together, pain-free! Oh gods, I'm so glad that I don't have to use a stave to fix these wounds, that would probably feel terrible.
I wipe away some blood that had managed to settle onto my face and feel my bond with Dawnbringer snap back into place. She's practically frothing at the mouth, so I've elected not to mention what nonsensical things she's saying in Shakespearean English. Otherwise, we're going to be here for the better part of an hour. Or two. Yeah, with all the translations necessary I'd probably be here for at least two hours.
I turn back towards the problem at hand, which is in the shape of two lumbering Risen about to rip me into ribbons of flesh. The obvious solution at the current moment is to try and dispose of these two beasts by destroying them…but well, like most things, it's much easier said than done. Looking at my tattered body and lack of spell slots, I think the chance of me actually being able to take these things on is…quite small.
Oh well. So is life.
Well, if I do manage to survive this encounter, I'm going to need to remind myself that I need to bring along magical tools as well as potions. That necklace with fireball-creating jewels sounds rather enticing as of now.
Shaking off the lingering haziness from the potion, I ready my now-healed left arm and tightly grip my [All-Purpose Tool]. As fast as I can possibly manage at my current rate of fire, I hurl bolts of frost and fire down at the Revenants.
For those of you who don't know, [Ray of Frost] halves the speed of any creature who gets hit with it. And [Fire Bolt] is the most damaging cantrip outside of [Eldritch Blast], which I won't ever get access to since I'm not a Warlock. Both spells are rather invaluable for me at the current moment since I most certainly don't want to get into melee range, no matter what Dawnbringer might be yelling into my mind at the current moment. Hey, I don't mind too much, it's not headache-inducing, which is honestly all that I care about now.
A streak of crimson bashes its way into the Revenant's flesh, burning a rather artificially-looking perfect circle in the monster. The next streak of aquamarine coats the Revenant in a thin layer of whitish-blue, and the sudden deceleration of its comrade nearly causes the rearmost Revenant to crash into him.
I try my best to keep up a relatively fast pace of spellcasting, hitting the foremost Revenant with bolts of ice and the rearmost Revenant with bolts of flame for fear of decreasing the two spells' effects. They're…not as effective as I'd hoped they would be. Where most common—one might say mob-like—Risen fall to a single blast of a cantrip, or at worse two, these Revenants seem to shrug off everything I throw at them.
Sure, I'm whittling them down. Every single spell does some damage…but it's not enough. It's nowhere near enough.
A massive arm slams into the stone ground, the rotting muscles and bone connecting it to the rest of the undead's body being burned through with a couple of blasts of flame. The Revenant that it was connected to doesn't seem to even register that it's now one-handed and keeps slowly trudging towards me.
I click my tongue in annoyance and calm my breathing as they get within striking range. I've learned through painful experience now that those arms contort and stretch to give Revenants a deceptively long reach. Even though I'm more than five metres away, I'm still within reach of their long arms.
As expected, a twitch of the foremost Revenant's shoulders barely gives me enough time to duck and roll out of the way of what to the Revenant must feel like a light jab. A light jab that can cave in rib cages and shatter skulls, mind you. You would not want to get hit by that.
I feel the wind eagerly move out of the way of the speedy arm-limb thing of the Revenant above my head as I get back on my feet, spellcasting focus on my belt and Dawnbringer in both hands.
While I'm strong for a human, Revenants are just on a different level. No matter how strong you are, you don't want to wrestle a giant, and the same reasons apply here. Trying to block that blow would have cost me multiple body parts. Losing a single, non-redundant body part is already bad for your long-term health, and losing multiple is definitely not recommended.
Seeing as the revenant's arm is still close enough to me, I take a swing at it. Dawnbringer cleanly cuts through the first couple of layers of the beast's arm before it shakes its limb back and forth, forcing me to back off. The revenant still howls in rage and maybe pain, and the wound is smouldering with white smoke wafting up into the air.
My eyes dart back and forth between the Revenant in front of me and the slightly scorched one still lumbering its way towards my location.
I don't want to get stuck in the corner of the courtyard, and I want to save my last remaining teleport for something actually serious, which means I'm going to have to run out of this rather tight situation at some point in the very near future.
I duck as the Revenant in front of me attacks again, this time at a closer range. It's still far away from me, and I dodge it relatively easily.
Once again, I attempt to counterattack, but due to the closer range, I'm only able to manage a shallow cut into the beast's arm before it retracts their arm back. Why the Revenant is only using its left arm…I'm not actually sure. Its right arm seems just as capable of slamming me against a wall as its left.
Ok, that one's getting a little too close…if I can just…
Clicking my tongue and bouncing a little on the balls of my feet, I dash forward in between the gap between the two massive lumbering undead and towards a different corner of the room, where I intend to repeat the process of blasting them with spells again. I know kiting is usually frowned upon in combat, but I tried to face them in a one-on-two earlier and that ended with me being slammed against a wall with a very Terence-sized imprint still visible in the southwestern wall.
I think I may have caught them off guard this time around, as the first Revenant decides to swing at my previous location as I run off. The second Revenant…seems to have paid more attention and decides to stand his ground and swing, but the extra movement boost that my boots provide is able to get me clear of the Revenant's swing and in between its legs, where I slash upwards in a cheeky attack as I get away.
So, that Revenant is apparently female, since the strike didn't elicit too much of a feeling. If it was male…Well I think we would all know what would happen.
I keep running until I get as far away as I can from the pair of Revenants, who are in the process of turning their bulky bodies around and start hurling spells in their direction. The same pattern as before arises, just swapped, with the previously foremost Revenant now rearmost and getting a face full of flame, while the previously rearmost Revenant was not foremost and had his feet slowly frozen to the ground.
They still manage to turn around and head for me, and my damage output with just cantrips isn't enough to kill them outright…which means they are within melee range of me, causing me to put away my spellcasting tool in favour of Dawnbringer. We go for a couple of rounds of melee combat before I slip away and run towards a corner to repeat the process all over again.
It appears to be working. By the fourth pass, the Revenants are noticeably damaged compared to what they were before. The first one has a rather painful-looking gash in its torse from repeated [Fire Bolt] blasts tearing out successively larger chunks of rotten flesh, and the second one has joined its brethren in losing a forelimb.
However, I must have gotten either a little careless or tired, because during the sixth pass…
As I begin my dash, my body suddenly screams at me to move out of the way of…something. It takes me a moment to realise that one of the Revenants had not only pre-empted my escape by swinging its arm in that direction, but it had been rather accurate with its guess. With a yelp of surprise, I throw my body as hard as possible to the left, but it's already too late. I feel something impact first with the aura of protection that my rings grant me, and the sudden shattering and hot feeling on my fingers announces their failure to stop the beast's attack.
And then I feel something smash against my back, instantly knocking the wind out of me. My vision blacks out as I feel myself being thrown forward against my will. When my eyes do reopen all I can see is the world spiralling around me. I'm only dimly aware of the fact that I am rotating rather violently as I'm flying through the air over the massive waves of pain coming from my back and lower torso that threaten to knock me unconscious.
Right, this again. Thankfully, I prepared something for just this occasion. As quickly as I possibly can, I find and crush a bottle of blue liquid in my hand, flinching at the slight pain as glass shards bite and cut into my skin. However, the potion does its job immediately and I feel the air resistance that my body provides suddenly and sharply increase, slowing me down significantly. Not slow enough to avoid injury, but I'm probably only going to get a sprained ankle from the speed I'm going.
Weirdly enough, the slowing down of my horizontal velocity has seemingly no impact on my vertical position, so to an outsider's perspective, I must be falling in slow motion, even though to me I'm falling at full speed…just slowly. Relativity, everyone! Still don't know how a slightly photoluminescent liquid being poured onto my skin allows me to break the laws of physics, but hey I'm not complaining.
The Revenants seem just confused as they turn around and stare at my falling body for a split second before they start to move. Good for me, I suppose.
I do a little shimmy with my torso so I can land on my feet instead of with roughly my knee-thigh area. The impact is…a little jarring, but it feels like jumping off of a high ledge instead of being thrown halfway across a room. I'll take a small amount of damage over having to completely rebuild half of my skeletal system every single day of every single week.
Turning around, I pull out my little tool to start blasting. However, it quickly dawns on me that the Revenants only threw me across half of the courtyard, and if I want to avoid a repeat of what happened just a couple of seconds ago, I'd better move back.
That…well, I wouldn't know that would be a bad decision when I took it, but in retrospect…yeah, it was probably a good decision if I hadn't known what I know now.
The moment I take a step back, I feel something in my left knee give way, and the next thing I know, I've gotten a concussion from the back of my head slamming into the stone ground at some speed.
Fuck.
(Robin)
These past couple of minutes have had to be the most stressful moments of my life. Well, it probably wasn't a couple of minutes, but the pounding of my heart has completely screwed with my sense of time.
Vaike managed to cut a straight line towards the castle, and Chrom and Frederick managed to widen it significantly. That let the rest of the shepherds pour in towards the building in the distance without much resistance from the horde of Risen.
Speaking of the horde, its composition is…weird. As we got closer and closer to the castle the density and size of the Risen rose nearly exponentially. We even faced another one of those 'Leveled-up' Risen that Terence was talking about, and that thing managed to hold off Vaike, Chrom, Frederick, Stahl, and myself for a good while. Even now, just thinking back to that giant…thing…gets my heart beating erratically and a thin sweat starts to appear on my forehead. The effects of its appearance are…complicated. On the one hand, it significantly lengthened the time it took for us to reach the castle, but on the other hand, it let the other Shepherds catch up with us.
That last point was supposed to make a big deal…but as we got to within hearing distance of the castle, the number of Risen suddenly fell off of a cliff. Sure, there were signs of fighting—broken weapons, random scraps of leather and metal, and the occasional still-decaying Risen body—but nothing more…concrete. It's as if someone had already cleared out this area of any Risen. Odd and strange.
What's more strange and more concerning than the lack of Risen is the lack of any sound coming from the castle. Now, this could be because Terence has already beaten back all of the Risen in the surrounding area, but it could also mean that Terence…that Terence…
I shake my head. No, I can't be thinking about that right now. Not…right now.
Still, even Chrom commented on the eerie quiet that seemed to surround the stone structure. It unnerved him. It unnerves me. It unnerved everyone.
We soon reached the entrance and found it relatively abandoned. The trenches were filled with more bodies than when I left, and even more traps had gone off. The ground was an off-putting colour, probably due to the acid and poison reacting, and a putrid smell wafted up from the dark-purple liquid that seemed to ooze from the ground and stuck to every surface that it touched.
Vaike commented on the smell, and even though a few didn't agree with the phrasing that he used, we could agree with the sentiment. It was a truly awful odour.
What was slightly relieving was the lack of crimson blood spilt on the ground. Terence hadn't been hurt enough to bleed, at least not here.
What was extremely concerning, however—
"Guys…?" Kellam interrupts the up-to-that-point quiet searching around the ramparts and trench line with a concerned voice. "I think…you all should come and see this."
It takes us a moment to pin down exactly where the invisible giant of a man was, but once we did…
Kellam was standing next to a deep trench, and within that trench was the tell-tale shine of bronze and iron. They were in clumps, mangled bits of metal entangling with each other and contorting into strange shapes. Whatever this was, it had taken a large hit.
"Does anyone know what this is?" Chrom asks the question everyone wants to ask. "I want to say it belonged to Terence, but honestly I'm confused as to what exactly this is…"
"Interesting…high-quality metal…extreme shear stresses…a secondary explosion…" Miriel mumbles to herself, but something catches my attention.
"A secondary explosion? What do you mean by that?" I ask.
"Most fascinating…I must investigate this fabrication process in more detail…" Miriel continues to mumble.
"Robin, why are you so worried?" Chrom suddenly speaks up.
"Well…Risen don't usually explode after they're hit…right?"
"I would think not…what are you thinking?"
"Whatever this metal thing was, it wasn't a Risen. While I don't want to rule out an outside party, it makes me want to think that this was one of Terence's contraptions. And only a few of his machines could fit this bill…"
Chrom blinks at me, the gears in his mind slowly grinding to understand what I've just thrown out there.
"It…can't be…no, it makes a lot of sense…Randy?" Chrom looks at me for affirmation.
I nod.
A lengthy pause follows, only interrupted by Miriel's continued mumbling as she starts to mentally and physically dissect the mangled remains of the destroyed machine.
"Everyone, spread out!" Chrom roars. "We need to find Terence, now!"
A good decision, even if it was a bit risky. I know Terence and I cleaned out the entire castle earlier, but that doesn't mean that Risen couldn't have gotten inside afterwards. Still…there really isn't much of another option if we want to be able to find Terence at any speed.
The Shepherds fan out in a roughly circular pattern and start to sweep through the structure. Miriel is still rather entranced by the corpse of the machine that used to be Randy, but Chrom pulls her away from the mangled clump of bronze soon enough.
I decide that looking up is probably a better idea than just sticking to the courtyard. If I know anything about Terence, it's that he has an incredible grasp of tactics, and my tactical sense is screaming for me to use the higher ground in this situation.
My heart starts to beat harder and harder as I approach the stone doorway leading into the keep of the castle. The door…is intact, which is always a good sign. My eyes have to adjust to the sudden drop in light levels as I move from the afternoon sun to a dimly lit room. Once my eyes get used to the darkness, I return to the first floor of the keep I was in not too long ago, with perhaps a couple more pieces of furniture knocked over from the force of those explosions that rocked this place a couple of moments before.
A cursory glance reveals nothing that could be linked back to Terence's presence, and the lack of change gives me little hope that he's actually in the keep. I still decide to check the upper levels, however, and turn towards the staircase.
A crimson splatter, no bigger than a person's fist, stains the first step of the wooden staircase. It's still wet and reflects some of the window light back at me with a white-yellow sheen.
I inhale suddenly and work to calm my heart. This is…this wasn't here before! Is this…I wasn't hurt…Terence…he…
"C—Chrom! Lissa!" I yell. "Come here!"
I deliberate for a moment whether to go on ahead without them. On the one hand, each second lost means a lower chance of Terence surviving. On the other, I can't help at all once I get there. My sword arm is dangling by my side lamely and hurts as if I've been stabbed with a red-hot poker if I try to move it, and I'm right out of spells. I'm not a cleric or priest either, so I can't heal Terence either.
Hold that thought…
Using my left hand, I fumble a little bit with my numerous coat pockets until I manage to fish out the bottle of glistening scarlet liquid that Terence forced onto me before the battle began. This is a potion…whatever that means. I just hope it works as advertised…
Gulping down my panic, I bolt up the staircase up to the second level and its attached balcony. Each thump of my feet against the staircase increases my heart rate until I'm breathing so irregularly that I start coughing. My muscles, already enduring the most stress that they have ever in their lives, scream out in pain. I force them to keep going, though, and carry one despite the pain.
The moment I enter the room, my heart rises then drops like a rock. He's not here—
No. What's that over there?
Metal. Shiny, silver metal.
I extend my shaking hands.
One step
Two steps
Closer
Closer
It can't be—
He can't be—
His hair, stained with crimson flakes.
His head, drooping downward, his face hidden.
A spearpoint juts out of his chest.
His shiny armour crusted with dried blood.
An empty bottle sits on the floor next to his hand.
I bite back a scream. I try not to scream.
My hands shakily open the bottle as I kneel down on the floor to be level with his face. My hands are shuddering wildly, the precious scarlet liquid sloshing around within the container and threatening to escape the glass vesicle that Terence has trapped it in.
I manage to bring the large vial up to Terence's mouth. As I do so, I almost drop the vial as I realise that Terence is still breathing. I almost drop it again when I realise what that means.
I grit my teeth and steady my hand as I press the edges of the bottle to Terence's lips…only to realise that he can't drink anything in this position, especially not while unconscious.
I curse silently as I put my hand on his forehead and slowly lift his head up. It's then that I can finally see his face.
His grey eyes are closed, though sometimes his eyelids flutter slightly. Good, more signs that he's still alive. There are many splotches of dark red on his face, but there doesn't seem to be any actual signs of damage there. His complexion is slightly worrying. Is it healthy to be this pale? It can't be, right?
I bring the vial up to his lips again and pour it down his mouth. I hold my breath as I see the level of liquid in the flask slowly decrease until it's all gone.
I think it worked. His complexion has gotten a lot better.
Suddenly, his eyes open.
"Terence! You're ok! Oh, gods!" I release the breath that I've held for the past couple of moments.
"R…Robin?" He whispers, his voice nothing more than a raspy attempt at aspiration. He looks incredibly confused. "What…what are you…doing here?"
"Gods, Terence, there's a spear stabbed in you!" I realise that the spearpoint coming out of his shoulder has impaled him to the wall. I try tugging at the shaft to get it out, but the broken weapon is more stubborn than I realise and I fail.
"Oh…that…" Terence grunts softly as yanks the broken spear out of his chest and sets it down on the ground next to him. The wound bleeds for half a second before closing on its own, probably due to the potion still coursing through his veins. "Don't…worry about it…too much?"
"What do you mean don't worry about it?" My voice cracks from my panic.
"I used it…to steady my…torso…since my abdominal muscles…weren't responding…" Terence leans back and closes his eyes again. My heart lurches as I think he may have slipped from the realm of consciousness again, but a laboured grunt reassures me that he's still here.
"You were paralysed? What happened?"
"I got…thrown halfway…across the courtyard. I think…a…disk got knocked…out of place."
"Then—"
"Don't worry! I fixed it….I think…"
I simply stare at him in shock. I don't know what it means to have a disk get knocked out of place but I can't imagine that it's pleasant—to have it knocked out or putting it back in place.
"How did you—never mind, why did you stick a spear in yourself?"
"I…already told you…to stabilise myself…to fix the slipped…disk…" He grunts. "I know, not very medically…sane…or, really practical…but…I'm out of spells…"
"What did you do?"
"Oh, I shoved it back into…place and poured a potion over it," He shrugs with what little strength he has in his arms. His breathing is returning to normal, so that's good at least.
At that moment, Chrom and Lissa come rushing up the stairs. I hear Chrom suddenly stop in his tracks and a loud gasp escapes from Lissa's mouth.
"Oh hi! Is everyone here…ack…hear already?" Terence swallows…something that comes up into his mouth.
"Lissa…is that…normal?"
"What. Happened?" Lissa marches up to Terence, staff in hand, and all but ignores Chrom's question, leaving the prince to stand dumbly at the door.
"How long of a history…do you want?" Terence sighs. "I don't think…I have enough…breath to give you…much."
"A history? No, never mind," Lissa shakes her head and points her staff at Terence. "Ha!"
The blonde-haired man winces and groans in pain as his body is engulfed in a warm green light. I hear creaking and cracking as—I think—his spine is placed back in position.
"There. That should be most of it. Now what you need is lots of bed rest for your body to recover its natural mana," Lissa huffs. "Naga…you scared me, Terence! How did it get this bad?"
"I was being thrown around. A lot. Into multiple walls," Terence gestures to the southwestern wall that has a rather suspiciously-human shaped indent in it.
Lissa grimaces.
"Um…Lissa, is he going to be alright?" Chrom finally decides to come and join us and fills out the small semi-circle around Terence.
"He…He should be. He's going to need a lot of rest, though…" Lissa takes a step back and takes a deep breath. "Oh, gods…how much blood did you lose, Terence?"
"I'm not sure," The man in question replies with a frown. "Potions have blood-restorative properties, so I can't be sure…how…much…blood…shit…"
I feel my blood go cold as Terence suddenly slumps forward, prompting all of us to cry out in surprise and catch him. I don't think I've ever been so afraid before…
"Robin…you're still here…" A voice draws me out of my stupor as I look to the entrance of the makeshift hospital tent. "He's going to be fine, you know?"
I see the short stature of Lissa looking back with a slightly worried expression on her face.
I look back at the man who is currently lying on the bed, occasionally frowning or shaking his head, and sometimes—more rarely—even shaking with jolts of sudden movement.
He's been like this since we half-carried, half-dragged him here. He went in and out of consciousness, but during the times where he was cognizant of his surroundings, he seemed like he hadn't just sustained multiple life-threatening injuries.
When he got here, however, all of that energy seemed to immediately evaporate into the air as he simply collapsed and didn't wake back up.
I've been here the entire time. I don't want to leave him here, not again. The sad look on his face when he teleported me away…for some reason, I think he knew this would happen. That he would be severely injured like this—or worse, dead. I…I don't understand why he would go to such lengths to ensure my safety. It doesn't make any sense! I'm only a nameless tactician, a nobody that Chrom found barely a month ago! Why is he wasting his life on me!?
I realise that Lissa is looking for an answer to her question as she closes the tent's flap and moves into the tent and grabs a stool to sit on.
"I…I know," I bite my lip. "But…I want to make sure that he's alright. I can't believe that this happened during the first mission that I've been the tactician of…"
"Don't worry…" Lissa pats me on the back. "He's fine, right? You didn't do anything wrong, and everyone is still alive after everything."
"Y—Yes…but…"
"But what?"
"But…argh, if I just followed Terence's plan, then none of this would have happened!" I shake my head vigorously. "Why? Why did you think that my plan would be better than yours? You're the one with all the experience!"
That was directed more at me than the unconscious man sleeping fitfully in front of me.
I feel pathetic. Useless. W—Was this supposed to be a test for me? F—For him to see…how well I planned? If so, I've completely bombed it! I failed in my first assignment.
"Hey. Robin," Lissa turns away from my gaze to look at Terence. "You'll be alright, ok? I'm sure that Terence has faith in you! You are a great tactician! We were just…in a bad spot…"
"Y—Yeah…" I nod. "I certainly didn't know…that those things would show up…"
I bite my lip. Whatever those large Risen are, they are dangerous and totally unexpected. If we had to face those constantly from now on…I don't think we're going to last very long. Even Terence looked surprised when they showed up. Honesty, that was when everything started to go wrong—
"Grah! My—y…Augh!"
Lissa and I are both startled by Terence suddenly moaning in pain, his body subconsciously clutching his forehead in pain.
"Terence? Are you alright?" I ask quietly, not realising he's still asleep.
"There isn't…I can't…no…please…"
"Terence! What's wrong!?"
He spasms a little before sinking lower in the bed and returning to a more silent sleep.
Lissa and I stare at him before the two of us let out a deep breath.
"R—Robin, what was that…?"
"I…I don't know…he started acting like this after he saw those large Risen at the castle. I was wondering if you knew what was going on…"
Lissa looks down and shakes her head.
"I was trained for physical wounds, not…whatever this is. I think you'll have to ask him when he wakes up…"
I rub my temples and sigh.
"Hey, Robin. Big bro wanted to tell you that dinner service is going on right now. Are you…do you…?"
"I'll go…see if I can't bring some food here if he wakes up," I sigh and stand up from the stool I was sitting on.
I have to get better at this tactician business, I chide myself. I can't let something like this happen ever again.
I swear, I will make sure that nobody within the shepherds will ever get close to dying.
(Terence || Terentius Aquilius Aurelius || Septimus Terentius Aquilius)
I find myself in a room cloaked in white light. It's…oddly familiar. I'm expecting a certain overgrown lizard with a light green colour scheme to come in at any time.
Ah, there she is. Wonder if she's mad at me or not.
I sit down on the…floor? What even is this material…it's kinda…spongy, but it's also kind of firm? Probably would make a good insulator.
"I see you are already observing the world we find ourselves in," Naga says as she shakes her head with a smile. "How did it go, Farseer?"
"Eh…worse than I hoped, better than I feared. Not much else really…" I grunt. "Robin got out with barely a scratch, but I was temporarily paralysed, as well as having my soul split into three pieces."
Naga blinks at me with those green eyes of hers.
"Oh, that's not good."
"You're telling me. I'll heal overnight as I've always done, but I doubt Chrom will allow me to fight at Longfort," I mutter. "I'll try to do what I can, but if it's as you say…"
Naga just seems confused. Oh well.
"Well, we might be fucked."
"Did you lose a limb?"
"No…? Why do you ask?"
"Then it should be fine. I am much more worried about your soul."
"Oh, you mean how two other voices appeared in my head? I mean, it hurt like a spear through the brain but otherwise, it's not too bad."
"Not too bad…do you know what it means to have your soul start to split apart?"
"Huh? Is that actually happening? I was being sarcastic—"
"Do you hear more than one voice in your head?"
"Well, yes—"
"Do these voices try to get you to do other things?"
"Also yes, but—"
"Do they fight against your decisions?"
"Alright, they do, but I don't—"
"Be careful."
"What?"
"Be careful. Don't let your soul fully separate."
"Wait, are you being serious?"
"Yes." Naga looks at me blankly. "Do not let your soul fully separate."
"What does that even mean?"
"You will know when it starts to separate. Believe me."
"O—Ok…but is everything still going to be alright?"
"I…I am not sure. I have little experience in this sort of magic. I must ask someone more knowledgeable."
"Like who? Forseti?"
"I supposed Forseti would…where did you get knowledge about Forseti?"
"I played Genealogy. I guess that would also make me a historian?"
"I…I am unsure of what 'Genealogy' is and why it matters that you played it."
"Eh, don't worry too much about it. I know my history, and I know what Forseti did back then."
"I suppose that is an acceptable answer. Nevertheless, be careful. Sort out yourself."
"If you say so…is that everything, Naga?"
"Yes."
And with that, the white room disappears, leaving me in a dark tent. I groan. I yawn. I probably fell asleep, but I don't remember too much of what happened afterwards, so I'm only guessing.
Well, at the very least I got through this episode. There won't be Risen for a long time yet, which is a small blessing.
Oh, I should probably prepare warmer clothing, Ferox is cold, even in the summer.
AN: Hello there! Acardia here! A little shorter than I'd like this chapter, but hey other than that I feel like it's quite alright. We finally have an explanation of what's going through Terence's mind, and both Terence and Robin's arcs are kicked off. Hurray, traumatic experiences!
Anyhow, releases beyond this point are probably going to be sporadic. I'm really tired, and I think I'm going to go on a small writing break for a couple of days and work on animation instead. The next chapter will be finished when I can get it done. Maybe October? I'm not really sure.
Alright, it's review time! Lots of reviews this time around, so let's see them all!
Louie Yang: You might be on to something there. Think about it a little harder.
Dragon of Blazing Stars: Cool name! Thanks! Honestly, there's like seven plot lines happening at the same time. It might be more than what I can chew, but we'll find that out together.
kreeft123xx: Don't worry. Naga has someone to complain to. And argue with. And possibly turn into a servant. Poor Forseti...
Guest(1): Honestly, I get that. Hopefully, this chapter with the insanity-inducing beginning didn't hurt too much.
Lonosic: Well, you can't have character development without hardship. Furthermore, it's in Terence's character to bottle stuff in, and well, it all just came out. He's going to have to do some soul-searching, both literally and mentally.
Freekillm249: What's going on is what happens when you put someone from a Romeo-steampunk world into Fire Emblem, and add in a dash of D&D. Also known as insanity. Don't worry too much about it.
Gabriel Costa1: Keep thinking about it. I would love to see what you think.
Gunzablazein: Great name, dude. Thanks!
DarkAres12: That's it...? That's the entire review? Could you be a bit more constructive and actually tell me what you think is cringe? Or like, read until the latest chapter?
Guest(2): Thank you!
Alright, folks, that's going to be it for this week (and probably month).
Valete, omnis!
Acardia out!