(Terence || Terentius Aquilius Aurelius || Septimus Terentius Aquilius)
It's getting colder. The temperature has dropped around six to ten degrees in the past couple days. That combined with the increasing speed of the wind is enough to warrant me changing out of my comfortable tunic and gambison and into a thicker windbreaker. It's not enough for me to wear the thick mammoth-wool coat that is currently in my go bag, but it's certainly making those who haven't decided to bring any winter clothes regret their decision. Lissa, in particular, has been feeling terrible lately. That dress, however warm it gets in the temperate and arid climates of southern Ylisse, is nowhere close to insulating enough up here.
Robin isn't faring much better either. This might seem strange as she's wearing an absolutely massive coat, but remember that the purple travelling coat of Grimleal construction. You know, the people who habitually live in a desert? And worship a god of death? Yeah, that coat is more about keeping out the sun and the sand, not so much the cold and the wind. She's also suffering from the chilly wind cutting at our skin.
Strangely enough, Chrom doesn't seem to mind all too much, even with that hole in his shirt on his right shoulder. Does being a descendent of Naga grant you a higher temperature range to normal people?
Then again, I really shouldn't be saying anything. I'm getting a bit stuffy in this windbreaker, despite the obvious lack of fluff or down coats woven into the jacket. I'll probably take it off later.
I take a moment to stop and look at the moor around us. My breath forms small clouds of water vapour as the air is cold enough to force the water in my breath to return to a liquid form.
Frigia…huh? A fitting name, considering the lack of…anything, really. The only vegetation here are low-growing grasses and small brown bushes. We must be getting rather close to the Feroxi border, since that's the only place where it snows even in the summer. Wonder why, though…
Anyhow, I shake my head and chuckle to myself as I return to walking through the cold dusty upland. I've…never really been to places like this, and neither has Terentius, for that matter. Well, that's a lie…Mongolia is similar to the current landscape around me. Terentius differently hasn't seen anything like this before, though.
Speaking of my other headmates, how the hell should I even be referring to them? They're both named Terentius, for gods' sake! Actually, aren't they the same person, just a decade and a half apart? I really don't want to ask them, they usually throw a fit when I do that. I'm happy when they just—
Oh, fuck you!
I stumble on air as one of my hands shoots up to clutch at my temple. One of my mental co-inhabitants appeared to have disliked one comment or another on their life and sent a care package of pain and migraine to my brain. Thank you so much!
I notice that Lissa is standing right next to me with a concerned expression on her face. It takes me a moment before I realise that she's asked me a question and is expecting an answer.
I put my hand to my ear to signal to her that I didn't hear what she asked.
The princess responds with a sigh and a shake of her head.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm…not not alright, I guess?"
I give an intentionally vague answer. It doesn't seem to dissuade the young princess-slash-cleric, however.
"So you're not alright."
"No, I am. I'm just not…doing fine."
I take a deep breath and shake my head.
"Nevermind me. Are you not cold?"
"Oh, don't remind me! I'm freezing! Why does Frigia have to be so cold!" Lissa snorts.
"Because it's more north than Ylisstol is?" I raise an eyebrow, not knowing if she wants me to answer that question.
"I know that…but why does it have to be this cold! Oh gods, Ferox is going to be worse, isn't it…"
Lissa shudders at the thought of having to go to an even colder place.
"Don't look at me. All my clothes are the wrong size," I raise my hands up as the blonde princess turns to look up at me. "Actually, I don't think there are people in the Shepherds who have clothing your size. Hope you have enough money to buy extra clothes."
I stifle a laugh as Lissa's face contorts into masks of varying emotions, all of them negative, as she seems to cycle through the different possibilities of the future ahead of her.
"Why did we have to come here again!?"
"To borrow an army to deal with the Risen threat."
"Oh. Right."
Lissa goes silent for a moment, letting me return to my own thoughts.
The first train of thought barely leaves the station before Lissa bites her lip and looks down at her feet.
"Hey…I'm…sorry we could get to you in time…" She says in a quiet voice.
It takes me a moment to realise what she's trying to say.
"Oh, don't worry about it. I've gone through a lot worse," I reply with a smile.
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you can just shrug it off!" Lissa huffs. "Physical harm is still physical harm!"
"Yeah, yeah, I know," I chuckle. "I'm just telling you to not beat yourself over it. Getting injured is inevitable in my line of work, whether that be from an accident with a machine or getting stabbed by an enemy soldier."
"Ugh. You should learn to take care of your body better…"
"Hey! I am in peak physical condition! Look at these muscles!"
"H—Hey! That's not what I meant!"
I laugh. Teasing Lissa will never get less funny.
I laugh hard enough that I don't realise the convoy in front of us has stopped and I run face-first into Virion, who promptly falls over from being pushed by someone of my mass. Hey, I'm not fat! Virion is just fragile! Also, I'm wearing armour that weighs more than a toddler. That should count for something!
Apologising to the archer, I help him up and ask him what's happened in the front. He doesn't have a good answer, so I leave my conversation with Lissa and make my way to the head of the convoy. All of the pack animals that is required to sustain a large travelling group are basically all in front of me, preventing me from reaching the front, so it takes some time to squeeze through a veritable lake of oxen and horses.
When I squeeze through to the front I see something that is rather…humours.
"Gods, what did I—augh!"
Chrom is trying his best not to get bitten by a pegasus as the majestic animal seems hell-bent on attacking the Ylissean prince. Everyone else is watching with a mixture of concern and humour.
"What…exactly is going on here…" I ask the nearest shepherd, which turns out to be Kellam.
"Oh! Terence. Ha, this is…well, we managed to run into a pegasus—not sure what she's doing out here—and the captain tried to calm it down. This—"
He gestures to the scene unfolding in front of us.
"—is the result of that attempt."
"Pfft…what did Chrom do to piss her off?"
"Well, I'm not sure about pegasi, but I'm pretty sure you don't touch their noses when you're trying to calm them down."
I blink a couple of times as my brain registers what exactly Kellam means by that, and I break into peals of laughter.
"He did what?"
"I know! We all warned him not to do it, but…hehehe…"
Kellam giggles at the sight. Chrom is currently trying to get the animal to stop trying to steal his belt and undress him. I laugh loudly, joining the rest of the Shepherds in the loose semi-circle around Chrom.
"Oh come on! You guys are laughing at this, really?"
"Sorry cap, it's really funny!" Stahl grins while giving the blue-haired prince a thumbs up. "She's going to get your belt!"
"What—No! No! Get off! Please get offffffffff!" Chrom wails.
"Go get'm, lass!" Vaike hollers. "Ya' got this!"
"Why are you cheering for the pegasus!? I'm the underdog here!" Chrom moans as he ducks away from the angry horse-like animal. "Can someone please help!?"
I consider helping. While this scene is incredibly funny, this is supposed to be Sumia's scene. I don't want to take it away from her just because Chrom is being stupid.
But, a part of my—and only my—mind says. It is incredibly funny.
I really can't argue with that logic. It is very funny.
I take so long deliberating on whether or not to help Chrom that Robin manages to squeeze her way through the crowd of people gathered behind us and pops in by my side.
"What's the hold up—huh?"
"Good morning, Robin. Glad you could join the communal embarrassment of our dear leader."
Robin raises an eyebrow at my comment before she realises what is happening in front of her. She giggles loudly.
"Hey! I heard that, Terence!" The dear leader in question stops trying to not get bitten by a pegasus
"Don't let her nip you, Captain!" Kellam warns the blue-haired prince as his temporary distraction—me—nearly cost him losing a couple grams of flesh off his buttocks.
"Huh? Shi—gha! Away! Away!" Chrom narrowly misses getting his hair bitten by the pegasus. "Robin! Please! Help!"
"What am I supposed to do here!?" Robin responds. "It's not like I can just convince the pegasus to stop biting at you!"
"Argh, you're right…but…gah! That's my—noOooOooo!" Chrom's voice cracks as the pegasus manages to bite at Chrom's pants, and is now not letting go of her newfound purchase. "Someone please do something!"
I sigh. While it would be rather hilarious to let this keep happening, I think it's best for me to try and calm the pegasus down…or at the very least get her to stop trying to eat Chrom as a protein-filled snack.
Rummaging around my bag, I take out a heavy-looking pendant and drape it over my head. As the silver locket at the end of the chain touches my chest, a strange sensation washes over me. It's not an unfamiliar sensation, but it's certainly not one that you could get used to.
Gradually, the snorts and neighs of the pegasus morph into scattered words and then into coherent sentences. This locket allows its wearer to cast the [Speak with Animals] spell at will, and…uh…I may or may not have modified it to cast it indefinitely. Hey, I was experimenting with orichalcum, alright? I didn't know that it would have such a massive effect!
Come back here you little shit! I'll teach you a lesson about hurting a lady!
The pegasus's words are shoved directly into my brain, and I wince slightly as the noise rattles around in my head, causing all sorts of minor problems.
Though…is the pegasus…hurt?
Clicking my tongue, I slowly approach the winged horse.
Oh, that's it! When my leg heals, I'm going to—you!
The pegasus's gaze suddenly snaps to stare directly into my eyes. I stop moving forwards.
Take one more step and I'll tear your funny-looking head off of your shoulders! Oh, what am I even doing? This weird-smelling human can't understand me anyway…
…alright, I just got insulted by a horse. This is personal now.
A voice in my head—my own, not either of the two Terentiuses (Terentii?)—reminds me that I've been insulted by many animals, including but not limited to dragons, lizards, ents, demons, and a particularly dirty-mouthed hawk. This isn't anything new…
But I'm still insulted.
"Alright, Ms. I-Can't-Catch-An-Idiot, I'd like to see how you're going to try and bite me, much less my 'funny-looking' head. Also, I don't smell. That's just your scent glands fucking off to wherever the last of your braincells went."
I'm not sure who's more surprised by my words, the shepherds or the pegasus. Chrom looks at me as if I'm just sprouted wings and horns in front of him, Kellam looks nervous, Robin is completely and utterly confused, and I think Stahl is currently debating whether or not to get Lissa.
On the other hand, the pegasus just looks at me dumbfounded. I don't think she was expecting to receive a response.
"What, Carthaginian got your tongue? You were quite gung-ho earlier," I mutter as I take one more step towards the winged horse. The pegasus doesn't even realise and does not, in fact, bite off my 'funny-looking' head.
Me? You're talking to me?
The Pegasus haphazardly drops Chrom on the ground, and the prince scrambles away from the winged horse to avoid any further retaliation from the mythical creature.
"Who else could I be talking to?" I snort. "I don't know anyone else here who called me 'weird smelling'."
How are you…?
"Magic," I raise my hands to be in line with my face and flutter my fingers. "No really, it's actually magic. Look…I'm not sure what my friend here—we are friends, right Chrom?"
The man in question looks incredibly confused at my sudden question, but does nod in confirmation.
"Right, I'm not sure what my friend here tried to do to you, but I can assure you he didn't mean to harm you in the process. He's rather…how to say…careless with his strength."
Chrom does a half-pout before sighing and standing back up. He doesn't approach the Pegasus, however.
What are you…why are you doing this?
"Because I kind of have to go through this road? We'd really like it if you let us keep moving."
Why should I listen to you?
"Because I asked nicely?"
As if that would be enough to convince me.
"Alright, how about I give you a carrot?"
Since you've been nice to me, I won't kick your teeth in for assuming I can be tricked like some common horse.
Alright, was not expecting pegasi to be racist (speciest?) towards normal horses.
"Alright, if you don't want a carrot, what about…hmm…what if you move after I heal your wounds? Is that a good choice?"
And let you get close to my sides? Nice try!
"Ok, if you're going to continue being a bad sport, I'll start with the stick side of things rather than the carrot. Move."
You think you can threaten me?
"Oh, I don't think I can. I know I can. Now get out of the way." I grumble, having lost all of my patience. I rummage around my bag for something that can cast [Hold Monster] or something similar to that spell's effect.
"Hold on! Terence!"
I blink as I hear another feminine voice behind me that was decidedly not from a pegasus or another non-humanoid creature. Turning my head around, I see Sumia rushing up through the crowd, just as I grab an amulet that would have allowed me to hold the pegasus in place.
Ah, right on time, I see.
Wait, why the hell was I going to cast [Hold Monster] on the pegasus again? This pegasus is going to become Sumia's pegasus!
Gods damn it, what was I thinking—
Shit, hyperventilating. Huh, I managed to catch it this time around.
Right, one step at a time. I'll try and sort out my mind situation after Longfort. Right now, I think I'll just let Sumia do her thing.
Huh—?Who is this—what are you trying to pull, human!
I'm not sure if that was directed towards me or Sumia, but the pegasus changed her mood instantly as soon as Sumia started approaching her.
"Hey…hey…don't be scared…he's not going to hurt you…" Sumia manages to get so close that she pats the pegasus on the neck without the winged horse moving.
Woman, he literally was threatening to threaten me!
I remain silent. This is supposed to be Sumia's time to shine, after all.
I…this…
"Shh…you'll be alright…"
Yes…I'm going to be f—fine…yes…mmmm…it feels nice…
Alright, that's bullshit. Why does she get to be so good with animals?
"W—wow…how did she calm it down so quickly…?" Robin says in disbelief.
"That's incredible, Sumia!" Lissa grins brightly while bouncing up to the blonde-haired pegasus knight, only to get scolded by said pegasus knight for getting too close.
"Lissa!" Chrom quickly pulls his sister back into the rough semi-circle after the pegasus gives the young princess a dangerous glare. "Don't do that! Still…I've never seen anything like this, Sumia…"
"Hehe…I guess I've just always been good with animals," Sumia giggles.
"I'll say…" Chrom whistles. "Are we all good to go, then?"
"Hmmm…You all go ahead. That wound looks really bad. I'll catch up when I can."
"I can patch her up if you want me to," I raise an eyebrow and reach for my [All-purpose Tool]. This earns me a snarl as the pegasus stomps on the ground.
Put that away!
"Or…I can get her a potion. Either one works."
"Hmmm…I've never heard of a vulnerary working on a pegasus before…"
"This isn't a vulnerary, Sumia. It's a potion. I think Robin vouch for its effectiveness."
The tactician in question nods her head vigorously.
"Alright then. Toss it over."
I carefully throw the jug of dark crimson liquid over to the pegasus knight who carefully pours the contents on the injured leg of the pegasus.
Instantly, the wound closes, and the pegasus shudders in relief as the stinging pain that must have filled her leg instantly disappears.
"Alright! You're all nice and healthy, Mina!"
"Mina?"
"I've decided to name her that!"
That…is a good name.
I blink, then shrug. Who am I to judge? It is a rather good name.
"Everyone! Let's get moving!"
At once, the entire column begins to move again. I smile as another plotpoint—no matter how small—has been resolved.
I also forget to take off the amulet that lets me talk to animals, so around three o'clock in the afternoon, I accidentally was a non consenting witness to a snake seduction. Oh gods, is there mind bleach?
Snow.
It's one of those things that you love until you get lots of it, and then you hate it. Even though I'm a northerner, I've lived in more temperate—one might even say tropical—latitudes for most of my life. I used to love the idea of snow…playing in it, making snowmen, creating snow angels, you know, all the stuff you see in children's books. Then I moved up north again, and my childhood ideals of winter shattered around the first november. That childish wonder fully died the first time I had to shove out a car from under two metres of snow.
Thankfully, it's the middle of summer, so instead of being covered in snow, there's barely a light flurry of the frosty stuff falling down from the sky, melting instantly once it hits the ground. That's good.
It's still really cold, though, especially for summertime. What the hell, weather?
Even Sumia—a Frigia native—confesses that it shouldn't be snowing in the middle of summer. Honestly, that's kind of self-explanatory. Snow and summer don't mix very well.
Anyhow, it's like minus seven degrees outside, and people are suffering.
Not me, though. Around two days ago, I switched my outfit from a fall temperature to a warm winter one. A comfy ushanka sits on my head and protects my brain from the cold. A white coat made from a completely waterproof fabric stuffed with insulating mammoth wool covers my upper body, while a pair of black pantaloons made from similar materials covers my waist and legs. A pair of soldiers' boots cover my feet, and a layer of woollen socks keeps frostbite from my toes. Warm gloves made from devilstrand that have palm and finger pads for traction cover my hands.
All in all, I am completely prepared for any kind of winter temperature. Mammoth wool is incredibly warm after all.
Once again, Lissa is the worst affect out of all of us. She would have died from hypothermia already if Chrom hadn't bought her a winter dress two towns back. It's remarkably similar to her current dress, though, which is rather strange.
"Brrr…it's so cold…" Robin pulls her coat closer to her body as she shivers. "Why is it so cold?"
I don't really have an answer for her.
"Look!" Sumia calls out. "Isn't that…?"
"Yup. That's the Longfort," Chrom responds with a nod. "The massive set of fortifications along the border between Regna Ferox and Ylisse."
"…Why?" Robin asks with a frown.
"The Khans who rule Ferox have grown quite wary of foreigners," Frederick answers from his high horse. "Still, don't mistake a lack of hospitality to open hostility. This simply calls for a bit of diplomacy."
"Negotiations…aren't my strong point," Chrom sighs for a second, slightly dejected, but he quickly rebounds with a smile. "But I'll do my best. Remember, everyone—your actions here reflect back upon Ylisse!"
"Understood!"
"Yes!"
"Got it!"
All around, the Shepherds respond with cries of affirmation.
"Brr…Frederick! I'm free—free—freezing!" Lissa shivers, leaning more against the Great Knight's steed.
"Come closer, Lissa. My horse can cover you from the wind."
I see Robin mutter something under her breath. She's freezing as well, but nobody is offering her anything—is what I think she's thinking.
I hope that's what she's thinking. If she's annoyed at something else, me offering her a jacket will probably piss her off more. Oh well, I can't stand her here shivering away because she didn't know Ferox would be this cold. Even Vaike packed fur coats.
"Robin?"
I ask her if she was cold, to which she shoots me an annoyed stare and responds by saying that of course she was cold, and that if I couldn't tell I should get my eyes checked. Ouch. That hurts.
"Well, do you want something to help with that? I don't think I have any coat that—"
"Yes please. I am freezing. Even a pair of mittens would be extremely helpful," Robin immediately takes up my offer.
I rummage around in the clothing section of my bags and toss out a jacket, a pair of rather thick pants made from lizardhide, and a pair of mittens.
Robin simply puts those articles of clothing over the ones that she is already wearing. As she fiddles around with the zipper—something that hasn't been invented, it seems—and finally zips up the warm grey jacket, she sighs with relief.
"Are we…?"
"Yes. It's very warm, Terence. Thank you," She smiles brightly in thanks.
Something in my heart shudders. I'm not sure why. I shrug it off. It's probably nothing.
||—||
Walls. Walls are cool. They're used to keep something outside from coming inside, or something inside from going outside.
Why am I saying that?
I…really don't know. I just felt like doing so.
Oh, the massive wall in front of me is probably a reason, no?
Anyhow, I really don't have much to say about the Longfort. It's true to its name, being a fort…and is rather long. Again, humans aren't really that creative when naming things. There's probably a thousand towns who are named some different words for 'river' or 'town on the river'.
It's not that impressive, honestly. The Ming Dynasty sections of the Great Wall of China completely overshadow this defensive structure, and Terentius—actually, that's not him. I think it's an innate feeling that I'm feeling—and it's telling me that this wall is mostly likely of mediaeval construction—that is, the bricks are held down by gravity and not by mortar, which means that explosives would very quickly lead to a collapsing Jenga-tower situation. Not an ideal way to construct anything that is supposed to receive lots of damage.
As we get closer, I'm able to make out the rough figures of the Feroxi soldiers in the background. They're…dressed more than I would have expected. Hey, they all look like half-nude berzerkers in the game!
As I'm enjoying examining this architectural wonder, Chrom suddenly appears behind me and calls my name.
Blinking, I nod my head in response.
"I hate to say this, Terence…but…" Chrom bites his lip. "Can you…sit this one out?"
Ah…so here we go.
"There's really no need, Chrom," I shake my head. "I'm not injured anymore."
"Yes but…" Chrom shakes his head. "You nearly got paralysed! You need more rest!"
"No, even without that potion, I wouldn't have been paralysed. Restoration Serum is too good for that to happen," I shrug. [Lesser Restoration] is able to heal any non-magical disease, which includes paralysis.
"Still…" Chrom sighs. "It doesn't feel right to throw you from one fight to another with barely a week of rest—if the march could even be considered rest."
"Then—" I lightly punch his shoulder. "—make sure it doesn't devolve into a fight."
"Haha…" Chrom chuckles. "I'll try my best."
"What's this all about, anyway?" I frown.
"Ah…right. The Feroxi guards are mobilising. While we don't yet know what their intentions are, Frederick and Robin both say for us to get ready for a fight. Robin insisted that you should be left out…and I was tasked to tell you."
Ah, that's why.
"Well, tell her that I have fifteen more years until my retirement, and that I can blow a hole in the wall at her command," I reply with a slight wry smile.
"A—Alright. Are you su—"
"Gods above, Chrom, I'm sure! I feel fine!"
This seems to finally discourage the blue-haired prince, and he goes back to Robin to tell her the (presumably) bad news.
Oddly enough, nobody else tries to convince me not to fight. That's all right—as much as I don't want to kill, I might be the only person to not actively try to kill people, which probably means less casualties in total.
We slowly get closer and closer to the fortress.
Ooh, that is Raimi. I always thought she was a dude before looking at the Fire Emblem wiki.
"Halt!" The Feroxi general shouts down at us once we get close to the gate. "Who goes there!"
"You're up."
I elbow Chrom in the side, and the prince sighs before putting on the best stern face he can manage.
"In the name of House Lowell of Ylisse, I seek an audience with the Khans!" Chrom responds with a slightly shaking but overall strong voice.
Raimi, as per usual, just laughs.
This causes Chrom to frown and approach the fortress.
"Not another step, bold lad! I've got lancers at the ready!"
Wait, lancers? Where the hell are the lancers? In the fucking snow?
I mutter something to that effect, unfortunately catching Chrom's attention.
"What…?"
He shakes his head and returns to dealing with Raimi on top of the fortress's walls.
However, Frederick beats him to the punch.
"Hold, milady! We are not your enemy!" Frederick calls out. "Exalt Emmeryn herself sent us to discuss matters of mutual interest!"
"Ha! My only interest is to keep you out of Regna Ferox, brigand!"
"W—Wait, brigand?" Frederick recoils. "Now listen here—"
"You think you are the first 'Ylisseans' to try and cross our border?" Raimi laughs. "I have the authority to fell such imposters where they stand!"
"How dare you! You are in the presence of Prince Chrom, the exalt's own blood!" Frederick growls.
"Ha! Yes, indeed—and I'm the queen of Valm! You do realise impersonating royalty is a capital offence, yes?" Raimi laughs. "Hmmm…then perhaps—"
I roll my eyes. Honestly, this part of the game I disliked the most.
"Hey, lady! Are you blind!?" I yell, cutting the Feroxi general off and stunning both sides of the argument. "Can you not see the glaring and rather unmistakable brand on this man's exposed shoulder?"
Chrom turns around and looks at me, stunned.
I walk up to him, grab his shoulders and spin him around to show his exposed shoulder to the Feroxi guards.
"As if this same trick hadn't been repeated before!" Raimi snorts back. "Great tattoo artist, I must admit."
The reply I get makes me frown a bit. Now, if this was Lucina—or her sibling, whoever that may be—this would have been a lot easier. It's one thing to get a massive tattoo on your shoulder, it's another one entirely to get one in your eye. Alas, we're dealing with a large marking on a very tattooable area of the body. Honestly, even if it was on the belly I would have had more luck.
Seeing as I have the man with the third most information on the brand right in front of me—if a bit, no, incredibly confused—I simply ask him if there was a way to check if his brand is genuine.
After a moment of confusion, Chrom informs me that the true brand has a texture similar to dragon's scales, and sure enough, after rubbing my hand over his brand, it does have a slightly rough texture to them. I wouldn't go so far as to say that it's dragon-like, since dragon scales are either incredibly rough—most chromatic ones—or incredibly smooth—the metallic and gem ones—and this is somewhere in the middle.
Chrom gives me a weird look that I don't understand.
"You can come down and check his brand if you want! I haven't heard of a tattoo artist that can change the texture of the skin yet," I yell back.
"If you're trying to lure me into a trap, know that this is an absolutely terrible way to go about it," Raimi snorts.
"Who ever said that I was leading anyone into a trap?" I raise my eyebrow in confusion, though at this distance I doubt she can see my confusion. "I'm being serious here, this man is the real deal."
"Uh huh. Do you really think I'm a fool?"
"Of course not! I am simply informing you that there is information that you are not privy to. This man is the 3rd most knowledgeable person when it comes to the Brand of Naga."
"Enough of this! Turn back now, or we will force you to turn back!"
"Hey, aren't you being a little bit unreasonable—"
"Archers, fire!"
Oh, there goes that plan. One of the Terentiuses (Terentii?) is laughing extremely loudly while the other is looking at his younger self and questioning his previous life choice. Classic Terence behaviour, all in all.
Wait a moment. I'm in between Chrom and the wall. And in—
OH SHIT.
SHIELD GO GO GO GO—
As arrows and javelins start to rain down on me, my body's reflexes are able to act faster than my brain can command it, grabbing my spellcasting focus and casting a hasty [Shield] spell. A translucent blue film springs up in front of me, and most of the arrows either miss or slam into the magical shield and clatter to the ground, their energy depleted.
The Javelins, however…
Well, I didn't pay too much attention to the javelins since a sudden whoosh of wind behind me accompanied by a rather cold gale behind me causes me to turn my head around and see Sumia carrying Chrom to safety.
Leaving me to face the brunt of the Feroxi's firepower. Alone. Great.
Oh, right, the Javelins. They still exist. Uh, I really hope my shield can hold up.
Something slams hard and fast into my head. I grunt in pain and thank the gods that I put on my mithril helmet before this.
My body is launched backwards from the blow of the javelin embedding itself into my greathelm. More concerningly, however, is me slamming my head hard into the ground…and then losing consciousness. Great.
(Chrom)
"Archers! Fire!"
My head swings skywards as I feel my heart skip a beat. I see the glint of arrows and javelins rain from the sky above at the two of us.
I hear Terence curse creatively as a brilliant blue light flares into existence. I was going to question the wisdom of flashing some pretty lights at the enemy while they're raining down rather real projectiles, but I quickly understand what the bright blue film is supposed to do when the arrows that were going to hit Terence simply bounce off of the magical shield and clatter uselessly to the ground.
I curse internally. When he decided to speak up, I wasn't too sure what Terence was trying to accomplish, but now I realise he saw me failing and tried to take matters into his own hands and solve the problem at hand. While he did fail in the end, he certainly did do much better than I did. He was actually conversing with the Feroxi general, while I was just flailing around like a toddler.
I grit my teeth. These past couple of days have been rather…long and painful reminders of how poorly I make decisions and how unready I truly am to face the world. Seriously, first Robin completely thrashes me in tactics despite me reading every single tactics book I could get my hands on, and now Terence shows me up on diplomacy! At the very least, I should know more about diplomacy, since I'm a damned prince! The first in line for the throne, even!
Still…I…
An arrow wizzes past my head. Having not hit Terence's magical shield first, it was still moving quite fast. I curse again, this time out loud, as I duck closer to Terence to prevent myself from getting skewered.
Shit, right. Focus on what I can do now to improve myself for the future. And right now, I need to not die!
I tap Terence on the shoulder in an attempt to get the taller man's attention, but either due to the stress of holding the shield, the thickness and dampening of his armour, or more realistically a mixture of the two, he doesn't respond to my inquiries.
I would have tried again, probably with either slapping his shoulder—which, in retrospect, was probably not a good idea all things considered—or yelling really loudly, but that choice was taken from me as I felt something wrap around my waist, and then, gravity letting go of my body as something else yanked me skywards.
Now, I would love to say that I stayed calm, that I simply took my newfound freedom from the grips of gravity and winged it—literally and figuratively. However, that would make me a liar, and as both of my sisters can attest to, I am a terrible liar. As such, I won't even try to say that and tell you all the truth: I screamed. Really loudly.
"Captain! Please, calm—eugh—down!"
Wait a moment. Wait just one moment.
I know that voice!
"S—Sumia!?" What was supposed to be a normal question comes out as a high-pitched half-scream as she suddenly swings me over the body of her Pegasus and sets me down behind her. "What—what are you doing…!?"
"Hold on, Captain. It's going to get…rough…"
I glance downward. This turns out to be a bad decision as I quickly look away. Not only is that drop fucking high, but those arrows being shot at us make me immensely uncomforttable. I'm not sure how many of you know this, but Pegasi do not like to turn, at all. Most flying things that are this size can barely turn as well as a Pegsus can, and that's saying something when the average Pegasus becomes unresponsive at any substantial speed.
All of this means that we are incredibly easy to hit, especially flying this far above the ground.
Sumia, being the excellent Pegasus Knight that she is, urges her Pegasus—sorry, Mina—to turn and spiral towards the ground as fast as the winged horse can. I…don't realise that she's making the manoeuvre until my stomach suddenly bottoms out and I feel my body being contorted as my vision suddenly tilts to the left.
"Gaahahahahahaa! Whaooaoaoaoaoaoaoa!"
"Captain! Hold on!"
"To what!?"
"Um…ah…My shoulders!"
"W—What?"
"Grab my shoulders!"
"I—I can't do that!"
"Well, you're going to fall off if you don't!"
She makes some really good points.
I grumble some apologies under my breath before grabbing onto Sumia's shoulders. Her shoulders suddenly stiffen when I put pressure on her shoulders to get my bottom back onto the centerline of the Pegasus, but we were able to get over the embarrassment rather quickly. Good thing, too, since not a moment later I have to hang off of her body to dodge an arrow that got way, way, way too close for comfort.
"Sumia! Over here!" I hear Robin call out to the two of us from below, but I don't see her. Sumia obviously does, as she suddenly enacts a counterclockwise corkscrew in order to get us to where we need to be, causing me to almost fall off. Again.
I'm tempted to kiss the ground when we do finally reach the ground, far enough away from the walls that we're no longer in danger of being hit with the Feroxi's surprisingly accurate missile fire.
"Chrom! Are you alright?" I hear Robin's voice behind me, but I raise an eyebrow even before I turn around to face her. Something's…off…about her breathing. It's a bit more rugged than normal.
I turn around to face her. She's…walking with some strain, and she's carrying something that's a bit dark greyish-blue on her back. Whatever it is…she's rather concerned about it, as she's trying to shift it as little as possible.
"I'm fine. That arrow didn't come anywhere close—oh what the fuck happened—?" I blink as I realise that the 'thing' that Robin's half-carrying, half-dragging over her back isn't a sack of weapons as I originally thought, but the unmoving body of Terence.
"Javelin got him in the head," Robin winces. "I'm…not sure what else happened, I dragged him here since…well, I don't want him to be in any more danger."
"Lissa!" I call out. "Terence's hurt!"
"On my way! Just hold on!"
As I wait for my sister to rush over here, I take a better look at Terence now that Robin's set him on the ground. At once, I notice the biggest problem: a large javelin in his forehead. Well, I think it's stuck in his forehead, but I'm not sure how much it's stuck…well, into his face. He's wearing a low-brimmed helm, with the metal of his helmet ending right below his eyebrows, so the entire javelin is stuck in that helm. His face is curled up into a grimace, but there doesn't seem to be any blood marrying his facial features. I would like to think this means the javelin wasn't able to penetrate the helmet that Terence is wearing after smashing through his magical shield.
I was looking for signs that Terence was still breathing when Lissa finally got here.
"What's the issue—gah! How—! I—!" Lissa makes a couple of retching sounds before she narrows her eyes.
"Is—is he going to be ok?"
"Hold on…I don't think…" Lissa puts her hand on the javelin. She tugs on the wooden shaft of the throwing weapon, and the entire missile comes out of the deceptively thick helmet without much fuss.
"W—What? How could…how can—"
"I think he's just got a concussion from getting hit in the head too hard…phew…I thought it was…much more serious…"
"Y—Yeah…me too…" Robin nods her head.
"How do we…uh…wake him up?"
"A shot of a vulnerary should do the trick. Here, just a little sip…and…"
Lissa squats down and pops open a vial of the sweet herbal concoction before gently bringing it up to Terence's lips. It doesn't take too long before Terence's grey eyes suddenly open.
"Ack! I'm awake! I'm awake!" He says as he coughs up some of the vulnerary that still managed to escape down the wrong pipe.
"Are…Are you alright?"
"I appear to be fine, though I just did get hit in the head with a javelin…"
"Do you feel anything else wrong? I need you to be honest here."
"Right…uh…a little discomfort in the neck, but other than that, nothing else I can feel."
"Are you sure? An arrow didn't pass through and nick you in the side, and you just think that it doesn't need mentioning?"
"Lissa, look at the armour on my flanks. I don't think an arrow is going to do much against this," Terence snorts, gesturing to the plates of overlapping metal that protect his sides.
"I…right."
"So…uh…why are we just standing here? Was I out for the entire battle?"
"Well, no. It's only been a couple of minutes since they started attacking us."
"Alright, I'll repeat my question then. Why are we just standing here? Don't we have a battle to fight and win?"
"Er…we haven't figured out how exactly we're going to…win…said battle…"
I swear, Terence can be quite annoying when he wants to be. He rolled his eyes at me! And he's giving me a look that just screams: and you're asking me how to fix it? Aren't you a Prince? It's rather infuriating.
"Well, I think you two should get started on that," Terence stands up with a sigh, staring at Chrom before quickly switching over his gaze towards Robin. "We don't have that much time."
"He's…he's right. We need to find a strategy…"
"Hey, Robin…I know that look. You've just thought of something that could work."
"I…I'm not sure, Chrom. How well it works will depend on a number of different factors. Terence, I want to know your opinion—"
"I'm going to have to stop you there. I don't want my opinions messing with your through process."
"Oh come on! My thought processes need your opinions!"
"Uh huh. And who's the person here who has any semblance of common sense?"
"I…that's…wait, doesn't Chrom have common sense?"
Terence barks out a laugh that makes me chuckle slightly in shame.
"Well, Robin…uh…what I think Terence is trying to say is that you're the person with the most level head."
"Oh, and what good did that do? The last time we followed someone with a level head Terrence almost got killed!"
"Robin," Terrence's voice drops to a growl as he grips Robin's shoulders. "Don't say that. Do not. Say that. What happened was an accident and an oversight on my part. You acted perfectly. You fulfilled your role beautifully. What went wrong was purely my fault, and I don't want you to be blaming yourself for it. Do you understand?"
Robin flinches as Terence's usually cheerful voice becomes quiet and serious. The fact that the blonde engineer has also shoved his face so close to Robin's own that their noises are almost touching isn't helping, and that face that Terence is showing her…well, it certainly helps prove that Terence really did fight with an army. I've seen that face before…in old, tired soldiers…
"I…I understand…but—"
"No buts. Now, what is the plan that you've cooked up? Oh man, do I get to use my explosives?"
And almost immediately, the cheer pops back onto Terence's face as if it had never left. Really, it's all incredibly unsettling.
"I…that…explosives?"
"Yeah. Stuff that goes boom when you heat them up or hit a button. Uh…do you guys know about black powder?"
"…that sounds like a drug."
"What, black powder?"
When Robin nods in affirmation, Terence gives her a stare that seems to be a equal mix of confusion and apprehension.
"You…you truly believe that? You know the most you're going to get if you inhale black powder is lung cancer and a rather fucked up lungs on account of the powdered charcoal that's inside it?"
"Well, I didn't know what black powder was! Back me up, Chrom!"
"Huh?" I say lamely. "I mean, yeah, I guess it sounds…sort of like a drug? Maybe?"
"Ugh. Nevermind then. Just know that I can blow something up if you need me to."
"Again, what does that mean?"
I think it's at this point that my mind started to drift. Seriously, I had no idea what these people were talking about, at all! At one point, Terence handed me a small brown box-like object with a big red button on it.
"When Robin or I give you the signal, place this on the lock of the gate. Press the button, back away at least three body lengths, and count to five. If it doesn't blow up by the time you count to five, yell for me as loudly as possible and get as far away from it as physically possible."
"Huh? Um, alright…?" I blink as the deceptively heavy box is all but forced into my hands. "What…exactly does it do…again?"
"Were you not paying attention when I explained it the first time?"
"Uh—no…?"
"Gods above…" Terence mutters, shaking his head. "Chrom, we're discussing very important strategy here. The fact you have no idea what the past five minutes were about concerns me."
"I know. And I love you guys for it. But uh…there's a reason why I got you two as my tacticians—"
"No, I'm not a tactician. Robin's your tactician."
"Right. There's a reason why I got Robin as my tactician, and that's because I suck at strategy. The only thought in my mind right now is simply charging the walls."
"I…I mean, that's…pretty terrible."
"I know, right?"
"Well, at the very least I can tell you what this little thing is. Originally, it was simply the 'Explosive Breeching Device Small Mark IV', but Jugen had the bright idea to name it the 'TDOD'—Traumatic Door Opening Device."
"Traumatic?"
"For the door, yes. It's a small shaped charge that should be able to burn through six centimetres of Mithril, which means for the steel or brass locking chambers we're dealing with, it will be more than enough."
"Uh…could I get a simpler explanation?"
"I wasn't even—fine. This thing explodes, and opens a door. Don't stand too closer to it or—"
"So it's a big single-use lockpick that works on any lock?"
"—it'll burn your face off—I mean, yeah?"
"Great. Keep up the good work."
"Good work? Oh, the good work is being done by our resident tactician, not me," Terence gestures towards the ground where the white-haired girl is busily scribbling into a notebook of hers. Somehow, in the time I had spaced out, she and Terence had managed to not only create the tactical plan, but also the entire line of battle with six or so contingencies.
Terence insists that it was all Robin's doing, but I caught him amending Robin's notes when she wasn't looking. They work quickly, a comprehensive yet simple plan springing forth into action in mere moments.
The only thing left to do is…well…to enact said plan.
(Terence || Terentius Aquilius Aurelius || Septimus Terentius Aquilius)
I can't remember which 19th century philosopher said that 'a chain will break at its weakest link', but it's a far more important proverb in engineering than it is in life. After all, the easiest mode of failure will always start with the least structurally sound part. That's why it's so important to conduct massive amounts of testing, especially when the device in question is supposed to withstand massive amounts of stress.
Say, I don't know…a wall.
Why do I say that?
Well, it appears that the Feroxi forgot that proverb. Oh, sure, I'm sure that they did the necessary testing for this wall, and they probably thought that most conventional methods wouldn't be able to breach it. They even went so far as to bolt steel plates into the doors leading into the fortress to make it difficult to forcefully breach through those locations.
But they forgot something…rather important.
The wall might be strong…but the soil…
Well, it's certainly passable? It's solid enough to support a large building like this one…but…ah…let's just say the speed at which I was able to dig under the wall was alarming.
Oh, yeah, did you guys know that gunpowder is stupidly easy to make when you have an alchemical compendium? Well, fortunately for the Feroxi, I currently have no more gunpowder on me. Unfortunately for the Feroxi, that's because all the gunpowder I did have is now several dozen pounds of aerosolized potassium carbonate and a small pressure wave formed from carbon dioxide and water vapour.
I look on in glee as the earth suddenly heaves upwards, stone bending and crumpling under the shear force of the sudden bulging of the ground before the earth bows back inwards, gravity recommending control of its domain. Fortunately for the Feroxi, I had placed the explosive barrels under a portion of the wall that didn't have any people standing above it. Some soldiers are shaken off their feet as the entire structure wobbles dangerously, the shockwave doing more than just collapsing a portion of the wall.
"S—Spectacular…" Miriel mumbles under her breath as she scribbles furiously in that notebook of hers. "A spontaneous combustion of flammable material in a sealed container leading to an explosion leading to a pressure wave to disrupt the homogenous nature of packed earth…"
Well, what she just said. She sure knows a lot about physics without knowing any Newton…
"How…what just happened?" Frederick blinks.
"I shall repeat my observations. A sp—"
"I blew the wall up. With a barrel of explosives," I cut Miriel off and explained in much more understandable terms.
"I see…why?"
"Hmmm? Cuz I couldn't get the door to open, even after trying to pick it. I'm too lazy to use the [Knock] spell."
"You mean to say that you dug a hole while people were actively throwing javelins at you in order to place a heavy barrel at the bottom of the fort's wall to blow the fortress wall up…instead of casting a spell…because you're too lazy to cast a spell!?" Kellam asks me a question that I'd honestly really want to ask myself.
"Well…when you put it like that…" I chuckle nervously. Kellam certainly has a point. Not one that I'd personally liked to think about too hard, mind you. The past fifteen minutes were an exercise in the dangers of a lack of self-restraint. "Well…we have direct access to the top floor now…so…yay?"
The collapsing rubble conveniently formed a rather scalable ramp up to the top of the fortress, as collapsed stone tends to do. I gesture for Frederick and Kellam to try to climb up it. As much as I trust this Mithril plate with my life, the lightness of Mithril actually works against me here. I'm heavily armoured, but a single javelin will probably send me careening off the side of the rather bumpy ramp. Despite my many assurances that it would be safe, though, both of the heavily armoured men refused to climb up the impromptu ramp.
After some back and forth, punctuated by the occasional arrow or javelin thrown at us—the Feroxi weren't just going to let us stand there unmolested—I finally convince Kellam to climb onto the ramp and start heading up, with me being in the centre and Frederick—dismounted, of course—bringing up the rear.
Of course, the Feroxi pay no attention to the absolutely massive hunk of metal encasing the already large man that is Kellam and target the person that they see is next in line: me.
The moment the Feroxi archers are able to get a good shot against me, I'm swarmed with a veritable ocean of arrows that seemingly sprout like some kind of strange plant from the broken rocks around me.
Thank the gods (Vulkan in particular) that I decided to bring a shield along with me this time around. Putting the adamantium-plated in front of my body so that it blocks the arrows raining down like a sheet of rain, I slowly make my way up the ramp. I'm forced to keep both hands on the shield to prevent the arrows from just knocking it from my grip. Seriously, how do the Feroxi have so many and such strong arrows? Just looking at the number of arrows currently embedded in this thing gives me chills!
I curse when I feel another javelin slam into my already pincushioned shield. By the time I get up the wall, I have to toss the shield to the side, to be collected later. I'll probably have to melt it down and make a new shield with the adamantium; there are more small punctures on that shield than if I had taken multiple 4-gauge shotguns and sprayed them at it.
Thankfully, by the time I'm up the wall, Kellam has already started his armoured—and invisible—rampage through the top of the walls. Most of the archers had been rather alarmed and surprised when a massive invisible thing smashed into them, knocking them around like an adult throws around children. Meanwhile, Frederick remounts his horse and starts absolutely terrorising the enemy infantry population. I'm not sure if that sound coming out of his mouth is closer to manic laughter or intense screaming.
Not that one is better than the other, mind you. He must have really hated how the Feroxi treated Chrom…huh…
Not that you need to, but please please remind me to never mess with Frederick. He's really scary.
What about me, you say? What was I doing all this time?
Not much, actually. I summoned Randy sporting a new and improved flamethrower-force cannon hybrid and had him blast some flame and eldritch projectiles at those who escaped the wrath of Kellam and Frederick. Needless to say, that number was very small.
Soon, though, I hear the next signal. Through Vespi's senses, I see a bright flash followed quickly by a rather loud boom as the TDOD (hey, it has a nice ring to it) went off. After the limited amount of smoke clears, I make sure that all the friendlies hadn't been caught within the explosive device's range before moving on to the next stage of the plan.
"Breech! I repeat, Breech! Stage two is a go!"
Immediately, Kellam and Frederick change their movements as our reinforcements come dashing up from the rubble ramp.
"We'll take it from here! Go get that whore and teach 'er a lesson about messin' with Teach's best friend!"
"Language, you crass monkey! Go on, we can handle this!"
"Affirmative. Group three has arrived on scene. Your responsibilities have been transferred."
Vaike, Sully, and Miriel take the spot and role that Kellam, Frederick, and I had taken respectively. This free the three of us up to do more important roles. Frederick, seeing a gap in the enemies line, charges head-first into the vulnerable flank of the Feroxi defenders as they attempt to push back Chrom and Robin's group. Kellam and I beeline for the Feroxi general as a distraction from the main push against the gate.
Ah, Aggripian tactics. Every move is a part of a greater whole, and the failure of one piece does not mean the failure of the whole. Too bad Terentius would have died a full two centuries before such brilliant combined-arms tactics would be invented.
"You!" I hear someone yell from up ahead. "How dare you ignore me like this!"
"Me?" I stop and point at myself, trying to find the person who called out.
"You, obviously!" Someone snarls. It takes me a while, but I finally find the person that had called out to me earlier. "You have the gall to ignore a duel! I thought you Ylisseans were supposed to be honourable!"
She's…well, it's hard to describe her since she's encased in some eight centimetres of steel plate. How she's managing to carry the weight of a small sedan on her back is beyond me. It's Raimi—that's her name, I think—and she doesn't seem to be too happy that I'm up here.
"Ignore you? I'm sorry, but were you talking to me before?" I raise an eyebrow. Look, we're supposed to be a distraction. If I can be as distracting as possible, then mission accomplished. So, I'm talking in the middle of a battle. "And sorry to disappoint, but I swore off duelling after Jugen accidentally punctured my throat. I'm not the type of person to go back on an oath. Also, I'm not Ylissean. I'm Roman. Sorry to disappoint."
I give the pissed general a snarky grin before turning straight around and casting a grease spell around some Feroxi soldiers that were attempting to reinforce their rapidly deteriorating western flank. Suffice to say, hot grease is a very good lubricant, and the dozen or so pikemen who were walking along that walkway all stumble to their feet.
"I'm not done with you yet!"
I frown. That sounded like—HOLY FUCK—
I duck as a lance goes shooting over my head, the air rippling around my hair. Instinctively, I curl into a roll and get out of striking range, turning my [All-Purpose Tool] around to blast the Feroxi General with a couple bolts of fire.
Which, considering the slab of steel between the [Fire Bolt] and her skin, didn't do a whole much. What it did do was make her curl her mouth into a slightly concerning—for me—smile.
"Ha! So you can duel! Let our battle sound out the truth of your words!" Raimi cackles.
"I never said I wanted to duel," I grumble. "And seriously, you still don't believe me after Chrom has already ripped your right flank multiple new assholes?"
"Bah! I have to retrain them at a later date. First, we fight!"
"I really hope that we includes more than just the two of us—"
"Huh?"
"—Randy! Go! Smokescreen!"
A popping sound accompanies the deployment of a thick haze of blackish-grey smoke from the back of the robotic war machine—oh, did I mention that I added those too?
Yeah, after the debacle at the river crossing I think these upgrades are more than necessary. Yes, the force cannon haphazardly mounted on top of his chassis isn't…the best way…to mount that…and the autoloader sticking halfway out of the metal casing is probably going to get caught on something and explode…and that motor is going to kill itself eventually trying to drive the entire azimuth carriage…but it'll have to do for now. I don't have the supplies or time to rebuild a chassis to properly incorporate all of these additions…so jank it is!
In all seriousness, I think the azimuth carriage is smoking up. I should really fix that.
Using the smoke from the smoke launchers—not the broken motor—I make my escape. Raimi tries to turn me into a kebab by stabbing wildly into the smoke, but I'm out of there faster than Jugen leaves the moment maths enters the conversation.
"Kellam! Can you deal with her?" I call out as I reposition. I need someone to keep that rampaging general company so I can keep my attention on observing the battlefield. What, I might be above stabbing someone with a sword, but I'm not above blasting them with a bolt of eldritch energy. The latter is more survivable, for one.
"No problem!"
Moments later, Raimi yelps in surprise as Kellam slams into her, knocking her off balance and causing the Feroxi general's attention to be firmly focused on the new threat. Or, from her perspective, whatever the fuck just ran into her. Seriously, how do you guys not see Kellam? He has all the stealth of a freight train!
"Salutations. Are there any areas of importance that necessitate my direct intervention?"
"Huh? Oh, hi Miriel. Uh…not really…" I scan the battlefield with a frown. "I think everything's going to plan…somewhat. I don't want to invoke Murphy right now, but…well…it's going a little too well."
"Murphy?"
"Ah. Murphy's Law. Uh…everything that can go wrong will go wrong?"
"Interesting. I have never heard of such non-specific legal documentation."
"It's…not a legal law. It's a law of…well, not physics, but it can basically be thought of that way…"
"Quiry: What is Physics?"
"Ah…right…I'm guessing Geometry and Algebra haven't been separated yet?"
"…Al Gebra?"
"Yeah, no, don't worry about it."
Miriel and I stand in silence for a while as I try to find a place where additional magical bombardment would be needed…but really, it's not. Vaike and Sully are an excellent distraction and are easily keeping two to three squads of soldiers pinned down at a single location without much support, Kellam is duelling Raimi and winning, Frederick has managed to break through to the main group and is currently assisting them, and speaking of the main group, I have never seen such a powerful and effective frontal charge.
They've managed to get from outside the gate up through the guard tower and onto the wall in around two minutes, and are currently battling to get to our location. Chrom is a whirlwind of blue hair and silver falchion, and anyone who gets too close quickly gets chewed up and spat out with a dozen or so new scratches and bruises and a fair bit of blood loss. Robin is right behind him as a tactician should be, tome ablaze with sparks of golden-yellow light that takes care of anyone that Chrom can't cut to pieces. Stahl is acting as a forward guard, using the speed of his horse to outrun anyone who tries to chase him, but overpower anyone who gets too close. Up above, Sumia is darting in and out of the frightening melee, picking off those she can get to without getting too stuck in. As always, Frederick is in a league all on his own, practically being a one-man-army and ploughing through basically anything and anyone who gets in his way. Lissa is somewhere behind…tending to Virion's wounds. Again. Seriously, what is with Virion and getting injured?
Speaking of injuries, other than the archiest of archers, the only other casualty is a rather peeved horse. Sully pushed her horse a tad bit too hard and they had a tumble. I wasn't aware that horses could be annoyed, but I've had my eyes opened wide today.
Hey, we might actually manage to win this without too much difficulty.
(Robin)
How exactly…did we…win this?
No no, seriously, how did we win? We shouldn't have won. We faced off against a massive garrison of soldiers who were well trained to the extreme despite having less than two squads' worth of men. They should have walked all over us! With ease!
And yet…hold on, let me catch my breath…and yet…we managed to…actually pull off a win! We won! I think.
"Then…cough…your claims…were true…" The blonde general coughs into her mailed fist. She's grimacing from exertion, sweat pouring down her head in waves, slicking her face in a thin transparent film.
"Yeah…I am…actually…Prince Chrom…" Chrom and I aren't in much better shape. Kellam tapped out for us a while ago when he got too tired and we only barely managed to keep up with the general. Was she holding back against Kellam? Seriously, how did she fight so well against the two of us when she struggled to keep track of Kellam. Wait…
"A thousand…apologies, I cannot…we should speak…"
"Inside an actual room and not on the ground? Preferably after a good rest and a shower?"
"Y—Yes. A most wonderful idea…oathbreaker."
"I never…oh, what the hell," Terence grumbles. "Robin, Chrom, are you two feeling alright? You guys look like you're about to pass out."
"I'm…fine…I think," Chrom grunts before standing up to his feet. The air is cold enough that the sweat on his head is already starting to freeze in his hair, giving a strange sheen to the cobalt-blue strands. "Just need a minute…to catch my breath."
"Water?"
"Thanks…where'd you get it?"
"I think you should stop questioning where Terence gets anything at this point," Kellam's chuckle makes me jump a little.
"Whoa! Kellam, where'd you come from?"
"I've been here…the entire time?"
"Er—right. Sorry."
"No worries, Chrom. Terence, are you alright? You took a nasty hit there."
"I'm…relatively fine? I think?" The blonde man shrugs. "My sense of pain is different from everyone else's, so I'm not completely sure."
"You should get that check out, though…"
"I should, but Virion and Stahl need it more."
I wince at Terence's astute observation. Virion got hit in the shoulder with a javelin and would have bled out if Lissa wasn't standing right next to him when it happened. Stahl got surrounded and knocked off of the wall and landed on his foot the wrong way. I…well, let's just say I wasn't prepared to look at a person's broken bone from the outside. Ugh, just thinking about it makes me want to throw up.
"Are you alright, Robin? You look uh…not in the best shape I've ever seen." Terence raises an at me.
I shoot him a slight smile before trying and failing miserably to stand up. Oof, my everything is so sore…
"You need a hand? Or six?"
"Just one…" I grumble as Terence chuckles and helps me up to my pair of wobbly and definitely unstable feet. "Still…you look…alright?"
"I…maybe?" Terence frowns and looks down at his feet. "I…no, it's nothing."
"Hmmm? Are you sure it's nothing?"
"I'm sure. Positive. Missing multiple electrons from my valence shell."
"I…sure—achoo!" I blink as I sneeze with a shiver. Terence and Chrom glance at me with amused expressions, and I grumble a little under my breath. I've caught my breath and now the full brunt of the Feroxi…well, not winter, but definitely not summer hits me with all its might.
"I think we should get inside," Chrom muses with a chuckle. "I certainly don't want my tactician turning into a popsicle."
"Well, neither do I! Lead the way, Chrom!"
We make our way down into the bowls of the fortress. While I was already impressed by the size of the building when I was staring it down from the outside, I'm doubly impressed by it now that we've gotten into it. The Feroxi are obviously used to living in cold temperatures, and their torch positioning makes it very clear that the bright orange flames are used for heat rather than light. Still makes for a rather bright interior, and that's very nice.
Chrom and I make some small talk as we get deeper and deeper down into the fortress. It's concerning how quickly my mind travels away from the events of the past few hours. After a few minutes, Chrom and I are laughing at a story of his. Maybe that's why I didn't notice Terence's expression change, but I didn't think it would be that serious.
By the time we got to a dining hall-turned-meeting room, the atmosphere had changed considerably. For some reason, Vaike had managed to grab one of the few Feroxi soldiers that were outside at the time and had chatted him up so much that their laughter had nearly caused Sully to punch the blonde axe-wielder in the face. Stahl and Sumia were talking quite happily, even if the latter was shooting rather obvious glances at Chrom all the while. Lissa was trying to bandage Terence's wound while the grey-eyed man tried desperately to not get bandaged. Even the Feroxi had changed their attitudes significantly, with many more smiles and not the side-long glances that I had prepared myself for. Really, it seemed like the Feroxi were alright with us just showing up and beating the shit out of each other.
I guess the claims that a bar fight and Feroxi diplomacy weren't all too different.
Once we got to the meeting room, the atmosphere once again turned chilly. Side conversations stopped as we all sat down. Obviously, nobody sat at the head of the table, though I did catch both Vaike and Virion looking at the empty chair with some longing. Chrom and Raimi sat at the centre of each of their respective sides, as they should. Meanwhile, Chrom managed to get me to side at his left while Frederick took his well-worn spot at his right. I figure that Chrom would have wanted Terence in my spot if he hadn't just vanished like Kellam does every so often the moment we arrived into this room. But, he did, and so I am. Speaking of, I'm not sure where he is after he vanished. Lissa tells me that he had tried to get away from her many times earlier, but I doubt that he would leave just because he doesn't want the young princess to wrap a single bandage on him. Still, Chrom doesn't seem to be overly concerned when I brought it up to him, so I'm not worrying all too much.
"If I may, Prince Chrom," Raimi begins the impromptu meeting. "I have to ask. Where did you find that rash and unreasonable blonde man?"
"Huh? Vaike?"
"Whuzat? What about ol' teach?"
"No, not him. The other rash and unreasonable blonde man."
"Wait, are you talking about Terence" I ask with a frown. "Grey eyes?"
"Yes."
"I found him in a field near the outskirts of Southtown? Why do you…ask?"
"No, nothing. Do not mind it."
"Ok?"
"Lady Raimi, I apologise for our actions today. I understand if we have been improper, but—"
"Hey, big man. You the Prince's right hand man or something?"
"If you mean protector, then yes."
"Sure. Whatever you say. Tell me, do you know how Feroxi diplomacy works?"
"They say that the Feroxi prefer to be direct in their discussion…? I am unsure where this conversation is leading, Lady Raimi."
"I'm telling ya to cut the fucking crap! Tell me why you're here, and quit beating around the bush!"
"Frederick, maybe…let me handle this?" Chrom winces.
"As you wish, milord."
"So, uh, my sister, the Exalt, wanted to see if we could find allies in the Feroxi."
"Ho? Seeming rather ambitious."
"Yes, but—"
"And something that I can't say for sure will even happen. Hell, I don't have access to nearly the amount of strings you'd need to hit in order to get things done."
"I…see…"
Hitting strings, huh? A weird morphing of pulling strings, though it fits the style of diplomacy that the Feroxi seem to enjoy. Still, hitting strings?
"Fortunately, a person who does should be here any moment now."
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah, we called the Khan back when you guys showed up. Actually, I should probably see to that right now. A moment, Prince Chrom."
"The Khan…back?" I frown as Raimi leaves. "Chrom, why would the Khan be away?"
"For training, I'd wager. The Khans of Ferox prefer battle to politics. Or rather, battle is their politics. You could probably tell, yeah?"
"A warrior ruler, eh? I can picture him now… A giant of a man of unparalleled thew, his broad chest covered in hair, heheh…" I chuckle lightly.
"I wouldn't…say that's true…" Terence mutters with a slight smile, suddenly appearing behind.
"Gah! Terence! Where were you!? And why do you say that?"
"I was here the entire time? Anyhow, she's coming in now. Prepare…to be surprised."
"Wait, she—?"
"Well well well…Am I now?" A loud, booming voice emanates from the hallway that Raimi went down. "Please, do go on! I am rather amused!"
Let's just say that I'm surprised my jaw is still attached to my face and not on the floor.
AN: Hello there, Acardia here!
Whew. What a...busy time. Life is pain and suffering and is meaningless (smile). Anyway, existential crisis and painful amounts of stress aside, we're here and we're alive! Hurrah! When was the last time I updated this, anyway? September? Holy shit. Sorry guys...
Right, Reviews! Let's get started!
kjkawesome: Hey! Thanks man, I find it compelling and rewarding that there are so many people with my interests.
Guest(i, ii, iii): I have no idea if you guys are all the same person, or are actually different people, but thanks nonetheless!
Gabriel Costa1: (Is there a Gabriel Costa2?) That's for you to figure out in later chapters! Thanks!
Bob of the A: Thank you! I find it hard to not give lore to a character, even if it's an SI, so the already skilled part is unfortunately inherently baked into any characters I write. Writing a person that is a blank slate is...difficult for me. Anyhow, Terence is a fully-fledged and developing character, which probably helps. Thanks!
Louie Yang: You'd be surprised, actually. Anyhow, I'll dive deeper into Grima at a later date, with Foresti and Claymore. Don't you worry.
That's all for this week/month/6th of the year. See you...whenever I have more time...urgh. So sorry everyone.
Valete, Omnis.
Acardia out!