Chapter 18: Whereabouts Unknown
Ike went to the training grounds attempting to once again attempt Wallace's manual. Lifting swords with weights added onto them. He put off following the manual until recently. At any rate, the contents were questionable (AN: Apparently, his manual is full of horrific contents), but Ike barely minded. Somehow... In any event, some last-minute training before leaving to Valor would be ideal. The group went ahead to Badon several days ago for the Arena to obtain enough funds. Hopefully, Rath, Guy, Raven, and Lucius would make things work. Priscilla would be kept busy for for awhile with the four. Erk and Heath decided to remain with Ike in the castle, the former studying and the latter awaiting further orders.
Ike needed to stay behind to wait for the Eliwood and Hector to arrive to hopefully also accompany them at the recommendation of Hausen, who received a letter that stated they would join them as soon as Ostian forces occupied Laus. Apparently, Uther's hands were tied and delayed as the recent newly appointed head of the Lycian League and Marquess of Ostia. So they were forced to wait out their arrival.
"Ike!" A heavily armored man called out. "Good muscles you're building!"
Ike turned to the direction of the voice. It was Wallace.
"Wallace." Ike voiced. "Yeah, I'm practicing my swings with more weight."
Over a hundred pounds worth of weight strapped onto the blade, making it very... imposing to the average knight. Combined with the weight of the blade itself, it would be arduous to swing. But Ike kept swinging away the thing as a routine, breaking a sweat as he swung.
Wallace chuckled to himself. Seeing Ike's earnest effort in training himself, he held a nostalgic expression.
"Hahaha... You remind me of myself training when I was a young lad." Wallace laughed to himself as he explained. "When I was ten or so before entering knighthood, I was a squire. Was so puny and slight that I was called a girl."
Ike raised his eyebrows in response.
"That's hard to imagine..." He replied.
"Believe me, the man whom I called teacher was also a mercenary in the service of Caelin. Renault the Impervious, they called him. He had no fear of death, and his bravery was well known. Wanted to meet him once more but he may not be of this world anymore..." Wallace explained with a reminiscent expression. He continued his tale: "Learnt much about fighting from him. I even made promise to him... I told him I would fight always for the sake of the people. I told him I would never use the skills he taught me for evil. I want to tell him that I have kept this promise..."
Ike stood silent as Wallace spoke. Somehow, he could related to Wallace. He promised himself he would be a great mercenary that will help the people.
"You're trying to become a great mercenary as great as your father. I know you're well on the path to that, Ike." Wallace spoke with a reassuring tone. "You'll be a renown and stalwart mercenary across the land whether it be Tellius or Elibe, lad."
Ike smiled at Wallace's boasting of himself. His thoughts were cut short in the next moment.
"Commander Ike! The Lord Eliwood of Pherae and Hector of Ostia are here!" A soldier announced.
Just as Ike headed to the office, he noticed Matthew in the hallway. As if waiting for him.
"Matthew." Ike called out. To which Matthew gave a grin.
"Ike, it's been awhile." He replied.
"How's the life of a spy?" To which Matthew shrugged to himself.
"Always on my feet. Dangerous life and all that. Thinking about settling down and all that." Matthew replied. Ike somehow believed him, didn't think Matthew had it in him.
But that is besides the point.
"Matthew, I just want ask, you were accompanying Hector the entire time, right?" Matthew raised his eyebrows at Ike's inquiry.
"Yes..." Matthew spoke truthfully. There was no reason to elude the truth of the matter.
So it wasn't him who left the note. It could have been one of his fellow spies.
"Did any of your fellow spies end up in the castle? In my quarters to be exact to deliver a note." Matthew kept an even expression, not betraying his expression to prevent a leak to the enemy.
"Can't say. We also got attacked by the Fierce Eagle's men awhile ago in Laus. Not to mention, we received word a few days ago that Caelin was attacked. We couldn't leave until Ostian forces arrived to protect the Laus. Lord Uther was avoiding as much eyes on himself for the rest of Lycia." Matthew surprisingly explained to Ike. Just to inform Ike of the things that would likely come up in the discussion. "Good job on defending the castle by the way. You sure you're not up to being a general or noble of a house?"
Ike chuckled to himself and shook his head. The thought of putting on fancy clothing or be praised as a general of a house would make him feel itchy.
"I have no use for the honor of being a noble or under the service of a house or lord." He explained. "Keeping up with noble customs and all that looks painful. It'd make me all antsy. No wonder Lyn kinda hates it."
Matthew found himself laughing at the mere idea of Ike putting on noble clothing. He wasn't the sort to enjoy that kind of thing. Just his lord Hector.
"You remind me of Lord Hector, I think the both of you will get along." Matthew responded.
'Is that so?' He thought.
In any event, Ike had to meet the lord pair in the office. Time to get acquainted he supposed. But not before his thoughts went to Raven and Priscilla.
"One last thing..." Ike spoke with curiosity in his tone. "Can you tell me about House Cornwell and a knight under your house that seemed to be a vassal there?"
Matthew stood silent. He heard reports of Erk inquiring about the issue awhile ago. But it was not his place to decide. That was Oswin and his lord's decision to make. Just as he ready to decline to answer, heavy footsteps could be heard. Their attention turned to a middle-aged knight with red armor and brown hair.
"I believe I will answer that, Matthew." Oswin spoke out. Turning to Ike, he continued: "Pardon me, I am Oswin, knight of House Ostia. Pleasure to meet you, Ike of the Greil Mercenaries."
"Likewise, so, are you able to tell me about the former vassal to House Cornwell?" Ike inquired. To which Oswin nodded in response.
"You are looking at him." Ike blinked incredulously at Oswin's response. "I have all the answers Lord Raymond and Lady Priscilla seek. They are now under your employ, yes?"
"Right... They're ahead in Badon. You might be able to see them when we depart." Ike replied. To which Oswin closed his eyes.
"Thank you. I spoke to Erk just briefly as they wished to find the answers behind House Cornwell. I will not hide the truth from them... and I will not hide our shame from them." Oswin explained as he opened his eyes. "I wonder if it is fate, with both of them reunited like this... and I meeting them once again after all these years... and you being the one to bring us all together."
Ike stood silent at Oswin's assessment. He was only a mercenary, looking out for his men. Suddenly their thoughts were interrupted by the rapid sounds of footsteps reverberating across the hall. It was Erk, running past them. He stopped to look at Ike.
"Ike! I should have gone with the others to Badon! Don't let Serra find me!" He voiced out before sprinting.
"Oooooohhhhhhh Eeeeeeerrrrrrkkkkkk!" Serra's shrill voice resounded across the hall. Both Matthew and Oswin shivered upon hearing her voice. They shared the same sentiments it seemed.
Erk would have reunited with her in Badon, regardless. But it seems like he would avoid her at all costs.
"Well, I'm retreating with him. See ya, Ike!" Matthew spoke while leaving Ike and Oswin to themselves. Kindred spirits it seemed.
Serra appeared to Ike and Oswin a moment later.
"Oh Ike! It's good to see you! Is Brother Lucius with you?" Serra greeted to him. To which Ike shook his head.
"He's in Badon because of an errand I had most of the group do. You'll be able to see him when we depart." He explained.
"Oh how wonderful! Well, I have to greet Erk, he must be so shy to see me." Serra voiced out.
And with that, Serra ran off in the same direction Matthew and Erk. An awkward silence permeated the vicinity.
"Oswin... are most nobles like Serra?" Ike asked.
"To my knowledge and experience... no. She certainly proclaims and thinks of herself as one." Oswin remarked. To which both chuckled to themselves over Serra's antics.
Ike was in Hausen's office, debriefing what he knew of the Black Fang. Some of the Lycian Lords had their knowledge coincide with Ike's.
"So... Nergal is controlling the Fang with Sonia, the leader's wife. So that is why for the past year, their scope of operations changed. And one of his cronies, Ephidel, is going around Lycia attempting to incite rebellion." Ike surmised. To which Hector and Eliwood nodded.
"According to our spies, he and Darin went to a place called the Dragon's Gate in Valor..." Hector pointed out before putting his hand on his head. "Just wish it wasn't there."
"What kind of place is it?" Lyn asked. To which everyone's attention went to her.
"It is a place of no return some say. That, and the trek there is perilous. Most sailors would avoid to journey there." Eliwood explained.
"But still, your father is there." Ike pointed out. "I'm planning to hunt after Darin to stop him. And get some answers about the Black Fang."
He will have to work together with the Lycian lords to achieve their goals. At any rate, they will accompany one another as a single party.
Eliwood and Hector smiled at Ike.
"I like your enthusiasm. You really managed well against the Laus army. Wish we could have helped you out earlier." Hector spoke with a pleasant tone.
To which Ike shook his head.
"You guys had your hands full after we had to leave Laus. We wished we could have stayed to help out the villagers more there but there was no time. We should be the ones apologizing for leaving you to the mess." Ike explained. To which Eliwood shook his head.
"No. No. We would have likely encountered the same issues as you upon entering Laus." Eliwood replied.
Hector added onto his best friend's response with his own: "Besides, it was Erik and his Father's responsibility to tend to his territory and protect their people, not waste away the civilians taxes on war."
He then gritted his teeth upon mention of what they did.
"Bah." Hector spat out. "Even the villagers revolted against them. Darin's own army didn't amount to much in the end, so what good was continuing this farce and hightailing it out to Dread Isles?"
Grumbling at Darin's foolishness as it made a whole mess of trouble for Lycia. His brother was the leader of the alliance after all, Bern could invade upon witnessing instability. This time Hausen interjected.
"In any event, Darin has escaped and will probably once again attack. We also need to find Elbert in the Dread Isles, I know him, and he's not the type for rebellion. He may very well be in danger. For that purpose, Ike and his band of mercenaries will once again take a new mission." Hausen clapped to which Reissmann brought out bags of gold. "A total of 60,000 gold for your journey."
Ike widened his eyes at the amount.
"I can't... you need that money for Caelin after the attack." To which Hausen held up his hand.
"This is the combined money from Eliwood and Hector to safely escort them to find Elbert as well as the reward for defending Caelin and minimizing the casualties. You earned this money, Ike. Please, take this money along with Kent, Sain, Wil, Florina and Lyndis along in your journey. The rest of the knights and Wallace will protect Caelin." Hausen explained. With his granddaughter nodding with him. "I trust that you will bring them all back safely, well-deserving of your reputation and to slay Darin, who has gone too far with his ambitions."
This time, Lyn stepped up to voice her thoughts.
"Darin must be stopped. Otherwise, he might target my grandfather again. I want to fight alongside with you, Ike." Turning to Eliwood as she spoke, she continued: "I also wish to help Eliwood's father. Losing a parent… It's an unbearable pain. That's why I want to help Eliwood in that regard." Eliwood smiled at the sentiment from Lyn.
"In any event, we received war funds from my brother after reinforcements from Ostia came to take over Laus. You'll have to arrange for us to leave for Badon to the Dread Isles, after all. That said, it would be difficult to find a vessel that is willing to sail to Valor. We got our own funds to maintain our own troops." Hector explained.
Ike's thoughts went to the Davros. Fargus would be willing to take them. Although, he doesn't know his rates...
"I do have one crew in mind... but I'll wait until we exhaust all options in Badon out of consideration." Ike explained to Eliwood and Hector. The former seemed to catch onto what he may be speaking of. He was informed of Rebecca's brother, after all.
Lyn held a worried expression for a moment, before nodding at Ike. He was being considerate of her. But she had an inkling they will choose the Davros in the end. Wil's friend, Rebecca, spoke kindly of the crew. She hardly minded the pirates of the Davros.
"Well then, we'll be ready to depart for Badon tomorrow. It will be nice working with you, Ike." Hector held out his hand with a grin. Ike smiled at his lack of formality. It was more his style as well.
"Likewise, good to work with you and Eliwood, Hector." Ike replied, shaking his hand as he spoke.
This time, Eliwood also held out his hand, but was elevated and the rest of his digits pointed upwards and thumb pointed towards himself.
"It will great to work alongside you, Ike." Eliwood voiced out.
Ike grasped the hand that was held out to him. Their hands tightened in a friendly gesture in comparison to Hector's. Showing he wasn't the type to always engage in formality.
"Don't worry, we'll find your father, Eliwood." Ike reassured to the man in question, who nodded.
Marquess Caelin and Lyn looked upon this scene fondly while Hector laughed. All the while Chancellor Reissmann held his temples over the lack of manners being displayed. The Lycian Alliance may be geared towards a shaky future he thought to himself.