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Chapter Four: The Distant Plains (Part 2)
"Well, 'ere ye go." Erickson said as he handed out their itinerary scrolls—three sheets of parchment with written directions one side and a topographical map on the other; it labeled Pherae, Laus and Etruria's capital, Aquleia. Meanwhile, Lissa made her way downstairs with her tote bag and stopped by the door. "Who's the fella that planned ye' trip? Seems pre'ey particular of these things."
"That's Anna for you." Mark replied. The two men chuckled.
"Is this ye honeymoon or somethin'?" He asked with a mischievous grin. Mark lightly scratched his cheek in embarrassment.
"Kind of but not quite. I owe my wife a lot of things, so this vacation is my way of repaying her." The innkeeper snorted. "Though it's still her choice that we visit Sacae first."
"That's good of ye. As long as ye keepin' 'er happy. Believe me, it does wonders." He said, patting Mark's shoulder. "Oh, a piece of advice: be sure to watch out for 'em thieves down at the bazaar." Erickson warned. "They might take a pickin' to yer wife, being from Bern and all."
"Thank you for the warning, Sir Erickson." Though he politely smiled, Mark let out a quiet sigh. How many times did people think that Lissa was Bernese?
"Just call me Erick." He smiled and made a shooing motion after noticing Lissa's impatient stare. Mark customarily bowed and left the counter. "Now don't keep 'er waitin'."
"Ready, dear?" She asked gleefully. Mark handed over their scrolls.
"We're in for a busy day in Bulgar." He said, reaching out to hold her hand. After Lissa stashed their scrolls into her purse, she reached for his hand and their fingers intertwined. "Shall we embark, milady?"
She smiled. "Why yes, my dear!"
Bulgar's bazaar was the lifeblood of eastern Elibean trade and its diversity proves its value to the East. Every single merchant—whether they were young Ilians or old Bernese merchants—lined the secondary wall surrounding the city's central plaza, wherein lay Bulgar's seat of "government", a grandiose manor where the city's governor presided. But shops were not the only attractions that lined the entire stretch of the wall. In each district lay a central plaza that linked all roads and avenues towards the bazaar. At the same time, this was the ideal location for bards and actors to set up shows and sights. The convenience of being in the merchant's district was being close to the local actors guild. A young boy handed out pamphlets for a play at an intersection of their street and the merchant's plaza. All the while shouting and advertising the guild's show.
"Gentlemen, ladies—young and old!" He bellowed, grabbing Lissa and Mark's attention as the couple crossed the many trade shops that lined their street. "Join us in our journey to spread the glory, the honor, and the beauty of Hanon—the mother of the plains!"
The couple approached the boy and Mark was given a pamphlet. Out of kindness, he handed out a gold coin to the boy to which the latter customarily bowed and returned to his duties.
"Oh, Mark! A play about Hanon!" Lissa said after reading the pamphlet. "I've always wanted to know how one girl like her could make a nation like Sacae. Especially with the whole 'Eight Generals' thing."
"Wait, wait." Mark stammered in surprise. "I don't recall telling you about Elibean legends at all. You know about them?"
"Just a little bit." She said, pursing her lips as she tried to recall as much as she could. "I kind of remember reading Roland's adventures with Elimine and Hartmut when I was a kid." Then Lissa sighed dreamily. "Ahh, Roland was a dreamboat. Saving Elimine like it was fate..."
"The same way you thought Lucina was a dreamboat?" He teased.
"Hey! That's our niece, you dolt!" She nudged him with her elbow. "She was wearing a mask! Either way, I'm still impressed that she could play a man convincingly."
"It's true that she can be pretty...gutsy." Mark shrugged. Little does Lissa know that he developed an unsettling feeling when the topic of the conversation was Lucina. Granted, it was due to her seemingly omnipresent ability in the army. Although his mild apprehension towards his niece was more on the fact that she threatened his life. But that was mostly remedied after seeing Lucina's head bow to her aunt, whose fiery tirade and sermon knocked the crown princess a few levels down. "So do you want to watch the play before we head off shopping?"
"There are two plays going on and the next one isn't until late-afternoon. Let's go around town for the time being."
As the pair walked the streets of the bazaar, Lissa once again drew the eyes of Sacaeans as they perused through the marketplace. Alongside the polite greetings and compliments came the wolf-whistles and curses of some men, shouting about Bernese crimes. Lissa paid no heed to the latter yet it mainly irked Mark. Despite all of this, their visit remained positive. Lissa was amused by two children from different shops, clamoring to grab her attention and pitching something for her to buy. Mark stood by, watching his wife calmed the children down, promising to go to both of their shops and buying something. In a kind gesture that truly mirrored her elder sister, Lissa bought from their stores, coming out with an ornate necklace and a small hat that they would give to Owain.
"Sooner or later you're going to give Chrom and Emmeryn a run for their nest egg." Mark laughed, earning a modest blush from his wife as she looked down on her feet.
"I'm really not used to this kind of attention." She timidly replied. "I don't think I'm matching up to them, though. Maybe it's because, here, I look Bernese or something…"
"Hey, the fact that you drew that much attention means you're on par or even better than them." He assured her, pulling her closer by wrapping his arms around her shoulder. "You just radiate that much more."
Lissa huffed. "And for that, you deserve a reward." With a quick peck to his check, she released herself from his hold and instead clung to his arm. She pointed her finger forward and uttered a firm command. "Now spoil me. Don't keep this princess waiting!"
Mark did well to oblige to his wife's wishes. Once deeper into the busier sections of the bazaar, the attention stopped once the number of people increased. While Lissa began checking the wares of every merchant that sold jewelry and clothing, Mark stayed and even suggested which ones suited her and ones that did not. Even though most of his choices drew sighs from his wife and laughter from the shopkeepers. Nevertheless, the day was enjoyable for the pair, especially with the high hospitality coming from the Bernese and Djute shopkeepers. It seemed that the Bernese had done a lot more for the city than they should be given credit for. And that usually meant dealing with fewer problems in the long run.
Yet little did Mark and Lissa know they would fall victim to such a petty crime. It was executed subtly; a running man shoved his wife away, seemingly in a rush. Lissa shrieked and stumbled onto a shopkeeper's counter.
"HEY! Watch it, you bloody fool!" Mark cursed under his breath; he simply turned his back for moments after a small book piqued his interests. "Lissa, are you alright?"
"Yeah I'm fine—hey! My bag!" Lissa shouted as the thief hauled away with their tote and a sack of wares in a sluggish sprint. It wasn't until a man on horseback appeared and picked him up that the situation became that much more serious. Lissa shouted: "If it's one thing I can't stand, it's thieves!"
"Blast!" Mark shouted for the guards to help but Lissa took matters into her own hands.
"I'm going to go get everyone else's stuff back!" With one swift motion Lissa pulled her Arcfire tome from her robe and uttered a rapid incantation, enchanting her arms and legs. She launched herself onto the wall and began chasing the men on horseback from a high vantage point. Streaks of fire surrounded her legs and arms; each step she took was more powerful, giving an illusion of her floating like a feather on a stream. The motion surprised the townsfolk below and especially Mark. This is what worried him the most. Danger never really seemed to get away from them.
"Lissa wait—! Oh gods don't do anything—graaah!" And he proceeded to chase them on foot, following the orange bursts of flame and the blonde streak that ran on the wall. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't keep up with them. The fact that the thieves had a head start and horseback while Lissa used an enchantment did not help his case. He cursed how stupid he was for leaving Thoron at the inn. Then again, it was his fault for letting his guard down. He should've anticipated and prepared something for this, especially with the fact that they were in foreign land. Suddenly, a muffled boom came from the wall and saw Lissa dart onto a rooftop and resumed her chase.
"Was that the tribal district? Oh damn this all." He could curse as much as he wanted yet his body could not keep up. He began heaving and his pace slowed to a forced jog. Maybe skipping weeks of Frederick's Fantastic Fitness Fridays was really detrimental for his own sake.
At least there was some sort of godsend when he heard hooves colliding with the cobblestone streets. The guards had finally arrived. Yet he didn't expect to be hauled and forced to ride pillion with one. He noticed that the rider wore Kutolah summer garb and a short bow was strapped to his right side.
"Thank you—" The man looked back and Mark's eyes widened in pleasant surprise.
"Mark! I wish our meeting would be in better circumstances but we must make haste." Dayan said, cutting him off. His serious tone was music to Mark's ears. But as much as he wanted to say hello, there was an urgent matter. "There will be more of them soon. I do not think that mage girl can handle the men on her own."
"What do you mean?" he asked, now visibly concerned. "There were only two on horseback."
"A group of thieves on horseback have been ransacking the bazaar as of late. They don't look like much but they seem to cooperate well with each other." The three horses stopped at a central plaza, having lost her trail.
"Curses! She is too far ahead—" Dayan shouted. He turned his head to Mark. "Were you able to see where they went?"
"Keep going straight and take a left on the next two blocks. I think. If those thieves were heading towards the district, they might me trying to escape and not fight." Mark pointed out. The guards snapped their horse's reins and began moving again. "And that 'girl' you were talking about? That was Lissa."
Dayan turned to him with a raised brow. "Oh, your wife is a mage? She must be an Etrurian cleric then."
Mark sighed. "I guess we could go with that…"
"Move out of the way!" The thieves yelled from their horses. One of the riders began purposefully tipping stacked barrels and tearing shop tarps all in the process of delaying Lissa and her determination to get their stuff back.
"Oof!" She huffed and made sudden jumps and dodges from the obstacles around her, all made fluid by the spell she cast on her body. Yet she had to be very careful, knowing that no matter the enchantment, one touch on a burlap tarp can create an uncontrollable blaze. "Sorry—! Excuse me—! Coming through—! Whoopsies—!"
Pedestrians and bystanders jumped out of their way, some leaping over their shop counters to avoid getting trampled. The thieves mumbled about their plans until they noticed Lissa closing in fast. They began pushing their horse faster and faster, taking narrow turns, and hidden alleyways in the district. They shuffled and they panicked, all the while still holding onto their loot. It wasn't long until their horse felt the fatigue and Lissa to vanish from their trail. They sighed in relief until a spellcaster's circle formed and spewed molten rock, startling their horse. It launched its riders and their cargo from its back and ran away. When the thieves came to, they stirred on the main avenue. A crowd gathered to see the commotion only for them to clear out of the way as three more horses with two men on each, jumped off. Weapons dangled from their sides while their horses were loaded with various items and sacks.
"Blasted wench!" The rider shouted and drew his sword from its scabbard. The other men asked what was going on and what's taking them so long. "Forget that! Come on, let's get out of here!"
"You're not going anywhere with all those other people's things!" Lissa stood in front of the men with her open Arcfire tome nestled on her left hand while flame spheres formed on her right. She made it her priority that no one gets hurt in the process, but when push comes to sword, she was not one to hold back. "Now just drop the things you stole and we can all walk out of this without kindle on your butts."
"Really?" One of them shouted, unclipping his axe from its chain. The men laughed loud yet Lissa did not falter; her posture remained aggressive. A large man his way towards her with an overconfident smirk. "All from a little mage girl? Hey lass, how about you put that tome down and—whoa!"
Lissa surged the energy from her palms and sent off a short warning burst of flame, forcing the man to stumble onto his bottom.
"DON'T MESS WITH A GIRL AND HER THINGS, CHUMP!" She shouted. The men began to unsheathe their weapons and surround her. But their uncertainty dictated their movements, making them step backwards; their fingers trembled against her. "Now give them back!"
"W-who on earth did you steal from?!" One of the thieves said, mumbling to the man that held Lissa's tote bag.
"I-I don't care if you're a bloody mage!" He shouted, rallying his group as he tossed the tote aside. "No one messes with us! Get her!"
The thieves charged fiercely but did not anticipate that two wars from a distant land turned the once gentle cleric into a formidable and noteworthy sage. Lissa was surrounded and outmanned yet she maneuvered as if she was fighting Shepherd volunteers. Men crashed their swords and axes down only to collide with each other. Flames on her arms acted as shields when a strike was near and she immediately parried with a blast that knocked the wind from one of the thieves' lungs. She mostly kicked her adversaries, keeping her hands to her tome at all times. She used her flame enchanted legs to jump high enough to dodge attacks and to run circles around these men and used her free right arm as a fiery shield.
But never had she dealt with so many opponents in one sitting. The thieves fought recklessly yet worked better together. The rhythm of battle slowly changed; each thief functioned as bait, all for the sake of throwing the princess out of her pace. Lissa enchanted for another blast of fire but in the heat of the battle, fumbled in her incantations causing nothing to happen. Without knocking one of them away, she was grazed by one swing of the thieves. One miscued spell and the fatigue that came with spellcasting would be disastrous to her. The battle immediately quickly turned to their favor, with her on the defensive. She blocked and jumped away yet she could not find an opening that would not result in an accidental blaze. A coordinated blow knocked her tome away from her hands, rendering her powerless.
"Heh." One of the men said as they cornered her to a wall, stomping on her tome. "You'll make a fine penny once we're through with you!"
"This is payback for our embarrassment." One of the thieves she chased approached her, his knife slowly approaching her throat. "Prepare yourself—GUAH!"
"Wha-wha?" Suddenly, the thief dropped his dagger and began writhing on the ground in pain. An arrow stuck out from his shoulder, cleanly penetrating without a second to spare, another streak passed, narrowly missing their heads.
"A-an arrow?!" The thieves shuffled and stayed away from Lissa. To her delight, a familiar grey horse ran behind her and two other riders encircled the battlefield. A mysterious rider had his bow primed and ready to fire another shot at the thieves. The horse nuzzled her head on Lissa's shoulder.
"Oh, it's you Hanna!" She gleefully replied. Han'na grunted. "My hero!"
"…You know of my horse?" The mysterious man asked. Long green hair stuck from under his bandana, the hilt of his scimitar nestled on the sleeve of his belt. He released the tension of his bow and drew his sword.
"I'll never forget that adorable gray mane anywhere!" The man dismounted and Han'na rushed at the thieves, driving them away. The opening allowed Lissa to reach for her Arcfire tome. "Thanks for helping me out."
The man kept his gaze toward the thieves who began shuffling back to their horses, leaving their injured comrade on the side. "Let's take care of these scoundrels."
"Right!" One swift incantation brought back Lissa's enchantments. Fire began swirling on her arm as the rider charged at the thieves with his sword drawn. "Jerks! I'll be taking my stuff back!"
"R-r-run!"
It wasn't long until Mark and Dayan reached the main avenue of the tribal district. The two dismounted from their horse and had to weave through the crowd that gathered around. After breaking through the huddled mass of people, the first thing that Mark saw was a group of men tied up next to a seemingly intimidating old horse and some tribesfolk. There were scorch marks and scuff marks that appeared to only occur in a tight circular area. An arena of sorts. His eyes immediately scanned for his wife, who was sitting on top of several sacks of items with her tote bag already nestled on her shoulder. Her legs swung with childish fervor.
"Lissa!" Mark immediately rushed to his wife embracing her and lifting her off the burlap sacks. "Oh by the gods! Don't do something reckless like that! Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Mark." She smiled; her face was riddled in sweat and faint marks of caked dirt. "Look! I can still hold my own against a couple of bandits."
Mark looked at the thieves and back to her. "They didn't hurt you did they?"
"Well, getting hurt was part of the job, right?" She showed him a mild gash on her arm with a prideful smile. It drained the color of Mark's face yet a peck to his cheek calmed him down. "Don't worry. I'm fine thanks to the nomads here, especially this long haired guy. Boy was his timing just right!"
The rider approached the pair. No words escaped his lips yet Mark's eyes widened in surprise.
"…"
"R-Rath?!" He shouted. To Mark, Rath had indeed changed in appearance. Ridges began to form on his forehead. His hair had grown longer, and now his garb was well suited for the summertime. "Well met! It's been years!"
"Do I know you?" At first he was confused. How did this man know him? That was until his green cloak reminded him of someone long ago and Dayan's holler stirred an old memory.
"Ah! Lissa! I'm glad you're safe." Dayan greet the trio and looked at the thieves they captured. "It looks like you were able to take care of them with a bit of help." Dayan turned to Rath. "Great job, my son."
Rath looked at Dayan, puzzled. "Father? You know of this man?"
"Well, yes." Dayan said matter-of-factly. "I met Mark and his wife onceHan'na took a liking to them for some reason. I assume you might now them, then?"
Then it came to him. "M-mark?! Is it really you?"
"Dayan is your father?" Mark quickly switched his eyes between Rath and Dayan. "I thought your father was the Silver Wolf of the Kutolah. If that's the case—." And then he became flustered. "E-excuse me to my prior rudeness, Chief of the Kutolah!"
"No need for formalities. Your wife has helped dozens Sacaeans today and for that we owe you both a debt of gratitude." He turned to Rath. "So this Mark is the famed tactician you spoke of fondly?"
"Yes, chief." He replied.
"Rath," Mark bowed in a firm angle. "Words cannot express my thanks for saving my wife."
Rath shook his head. A soft smile appeared on his face, a rare expression from the silent nomad. "During our battles together, I believe I owe you for saving my life against a dragon." Rath stuck out his hand and Mark returned it for a firm handshake. Suddenly, he pulled him into a brotherly hug.
"I guess we can call it even—" Mark chuckled, letting go of the hug.
"Ahem?" Lissa faked a cough. "You know it's rude to leave a lady out of your conversations. And not introduce me!"
"A-ah, sorry dear." Mark scratched his head. "Lissa, this is Rath of the Kutolah: an old comrade and dear friend of mine."
"Pleasure to meet you." He bowed.
"Likewise, Sir Rath." Lissa giggled. "Thanks for knocking that thief out for me. Any later I'd be sliced onions."
"Now we have all of those things settled." Dayan interjected. "Lady Lissa, I give my thanks for helping the people of Sacae, despite being a foreigner. As Chief of the Kutolah, I would like to invite you and your husband to accompany us on our travels."
The couple was definitely were astonished by the offer. It was rare for a tribe, let alone the Kutolah, to open up to foreigners like them. Mark and Lissa whispered among themselves and came to an answer in a short time.
"With all due respect, I think we might have to decline your offer for the time being." Lissa said. "We will be leaving tomorrow to Pherae. Is it alright for us to spend a little bit of time together, just the two of us?"
"I have no intention of interrupting your travels, thus I respect your decision." Dayan smiled. "Just to remind you, we leave Bulgar when the sun sits above the Eastern Taliver Mountains. Do come if you so wish to travel with us. Rath! Khassur! Mi'nah! Come! We must see to these thieves for their crimes."
The two riders tended to the thieves and tied them to their horses' saddle. The injured one rode with Rath, his wound dried over bandages and fabric. Without another word, the Kutolah horsemen took their leave. Eventually the crowd dissipated and the two were left alone, the streets returning to a semblance of normalcy before the commotion.
"Sooo…" Mark began. The two looked around the city and began walking back. "We have all of our things back. And we might just have enough time to catch the interlude of the play when we get back. Do you still want to go?"
"Well, I am pretty beat…You know, running around the city. But hey, why not?" Lissa sighed and subtly collapsed on her feet. Mark twitched forward, instinctively trying to catch her. Instead, she got back on her own and dusted her pants. "Whoops! I'm okay now—Mark?"
He stood in front of her and knelt down. "Hop on."
Lissa smiled. Mark stood up with his wife riding piggyback. Though she jokingly screamed to put her down, she eventually just went along with the ride towards the merchant's plaza. She was definitely excited to see Hanon's play.
"Sorry about making you worry like that." She said, feeling a small amount of guilt.
"No worries. I know you could handle those yourself, but don't be too careless." He shrugged. She wrapped her arms around his neck, letting off a soft giggle. All in the while, she held on to her tote bag a little tighter.
Just in case.
Another new day began for their travels across Elibe. Once the sun rose over the Taliver Mountains, the couple gathered their things from the inn and prepared to leave. Erickson saw them off with his family and staff by his side. The couple gave their thanks and waved goodbye.
"So where are we going again?" Lissa asked as they walked to the public stables. Mark read the written instructions on the scrolls and flipped back and forth to the map.
"Well, before heading to Pherae, we need to visit the Shrine of Spirits." Lissa oohed in wonder.
"Where and what is it?"
"It's not in the itinerary, per se." He explained. "But it is Sacaean tradition to visit the shrine and pray for safe travels. And that's why we're joining the Kutolah for the next three days before they head to the northern plains. And it gives us an excuse to not go through the Bernese border."
With their supplies replenished from the night before and after strapping it to their horses, the couple left Bulgar's ornate walls and were once again greeted by the vast plains. Members of the Kutolah were waiting for them by the gates of the city, already prepared to leave as well. Rath and Dayan personally introduced them to the clan, including Rath's newborn daughter.
"Her name is Sue." Rath said stoically yet he could not hide the prideful look on his face.
"Ohhh, she's beautiful." Lissa cooed and gently touched the infant's cheek while Rath carried the child in his arms. "And I can tell she's going to be a healthy and strong girl."
"Trust me Rath," Mark said. "Lissa might be a good sage but she's an even better cleric. And what she says is always true."
Rath chuckled. "I will take your word for it."
"So what brought you back to Sacae?" Rath began as a short breeze passed by the group in their travels. "Don't tell me you're taking the job for Bern?"
"No. I was hoping to have a peaceful vacation around Sacae and Lycia. It's good that the public no longer recognizes who I am but it seems that I still attract some form of trouble." Mark chuckled nervously. Rath nodded in understanding. Meanwhile, Lissa talked with Dayan and began learning about customs that the Kutolah performed. Rath examined his friends' wife. "Hopefully, no one noticed of my return or it will truly be an inconvenience for my wife and myself. "
"I did not know you married a Bernese woman. That's an impressive feat." He smirked.
"Oh for the love of—she's not Bernese!" Mark sighed exasperatedly, having enough of her mistaken nationality. "She's Ylissean, darn it!"
"Ylissea? I believe I have not heard a nation so ridiculously named!" Rath chuckled and began laughing. Mark began rubbing his temples. At least, he thought, his story would be too ridiculous for anyone to take seriously. "Nevertheless, I do not judge, my friend. It seems that one thing has not changed about you; still flustering over your 'accurate information'?"
"You've changed a lot, too, Rath." Mark nudged with the latter giving him a cold stare. Mark shrugged his shoulders in apology. "Look at you now, following your father's footsteps, a family of your own. You've been busy since I last saw you."
"Very busy…" The nomad looked up and smiled. "Very busy indeed."
Mark and Lissa were treated to an impressive expression of Kutolah culture and mannerisms, one that Lissa often noted extensively in her journal. From their complex tribal dances to the cuisine, all aspects of tribal life wowed the Ylissean princess. In honor of her help, some of the tribeswomen gave her a traditional dress to keep. Never in her life had she met a foreign group of people so accommodating to those who were considered friends. One more day passed and eventually, an old temple began to loom over the horizon, a greenish tint colored the sides of its stone walls due to the moss that grew on its surface for centuries.
"Mark, is that the shrine you were talking about?" Lissa rode closer to her husband. Lissa and Mark rode ahead and stopped in front of the tribe. The couple dismounted and approached the Chief and his son. "Looks like we're here."
"I believe this is where we must part ways." Dayan dismounted and shook both Mark and Lissa's hand, eventually giving way to a big hug. Rath followed suit, yet was not as affectionate as his father. Lissa, out of gratitude, kissed Rath in the cheek. The former bowed in respect. "I wish safe and fruitful journey upon you, my friends."
"It was great meeting you all." Lissa smiled and though Mark sighed with a smile, she took out one of Anna's snapshot tomes. "One last thing, if it's alright with you and your clan, is it okay if we all have a group snapshot?"
"What is this 'snapshot'?" Dayan inquired, a little fearful yet curious about tome she held. "I'm not too keen with magic tomes."
"It creates an almost perfect portrait on this blank book. There's one bright flash but it's nothing serious." She explained. Though wary, the Kutolah were happy to oblige. Mark stood next to Rath and Lissa clung onto her husband's arm. The rest of the Kutolah gathered around as Lissa tossed the tome forward and it began to flip its pages to the very first.
"Smile!" She shouted. With a bright flash, the portrait was created. With another exchange of bows, the couple finally left the care of the Kutolah as the clan began to set up camp by the riverside. Rath smiled as he dismounted from Han'na, watching as Mark and Lissa made their way to the shrine.
"Mark, treasure your wife. Just remember that." He said, out of earshot. With one deep breath, his voice echoed commands to his tribe to stop and prepare for their stay.
Past the Shrine of Spirits and Taliver Pass, their Sacaean travels came to an end as they crossed the border into Araphen's hilly and forested domain. Thankfully, without any delay or encounter with any bandit groups. The pair stopped near villages near Araphen Castle and allowed their horses to take breaks.
There was silence between them as they performed their travelling chores: washing their clothes, preparing food and the like. And most of their activities were just like those during their time as Shepherds. Mark checked their itinerary once more and noted a town not far from where they were. With their horses fully rested, they resumed their journey to an inn with a better bed than muddy earth. As they rode along the caved paths and occasional stone road, Mark recounted his tales from his time in Elibe.
"And personally, I was curious if Lyndis returned the sacred sword back." Mark chuckled. "At least the Mani Katti was returned to its home."
Lissa giggled. "Did you guys steal it back then?"
"Oh gods, no." Mark sighed. "The Mani Katti is like the Falchion, except way more pickier than you when it came to bear meat."
"I can eat it." She puffed her cheeks. "Doesn't mean I'll ever like it."
Time passed and Lissa returned to her book. During that time, Mark began thinking of the reasons why Lissa picked Elibe. Yes, it was an enjoyable journey, yet why did she pick it? In the end, he could never come up with any conclusion. He took one short breath and asked his wife for the answer.
"Hey, Lissa." Mark called her attention.
"Yeah?" She said as she went over her notes from Bulgar. "What is it?"
"I'm just kind of curious," He scratched his head as Lissa kept her eyes on her book. "Of all the places we could go to, why Elibe? Why not Magvel, or Tellius even?"
"You wanted to go somewhere else?" She said without looking at him.
"No—I mean—" Mark began to stammer and lose track of the conversation. Lissa sighed.
"Ohh, silly!" Lissa began, finally closing her book. She smirked at him. "You think I'm going out of my way for you because, well, I love you and stuff, aren't you?"
"Well, yes—I mean, no! I mean—UGH." He sighed as he rubbed his temples. Suddenly, Lissa gave him the motion to stop the horses. "Wait, what are—" And without giving an answer, Lissa got off her steed and linked its reins to Mark's saddle. With a little jump, she got on the same horse and embraced him from behind.
"You're such a worry wart." She said, burying her face on his large cloak and nuzzling it. Mark quickly changed glances between her and the horizon, his cheeks feeling red from the confusion and her ticklish movement.
"W-w-wait! I seriously don't understand what's going on."
"Remember what we talked about on our very first night when you proposed to me?" She said, peeking her head over his shoulder. A catty smile appeared on her face.
"Well, you were seriously denying that I actually proposed for half the time..."
"Not just that!" She groaned. "I had to be sure you didn't do something to my stuff—Anyway, I'm talking about how we did things between us. I think we both agreed that we can't make the other happy when it's on either of our expense, right?"
Mark nodded and Lissa continued. "I mean, I know you'd be comfortable travelling here. But it's not like I'm disinterested in this place, either. In fact, I liked this continent after reading about it. Now I love it after meeting the Kutolah! It's just that I need to make sure that both of us are the ones happy. I don't want you or I going out of our way all over again. It's just going to be one complicated mess."
Mark was speechless and smiled. It had been a year since it was just the two of them together. He shouldn't have to worry about it at all, he thought.
"Alright, I just needed to know." He looked at his wife endearingly and was planning to lead it into a kiss. Yet his wife took it the wrong way.
"You're just there staring at me. Is something wrong?" She calmly replied but suddenly fidgeted and looked around her. "Oh gods, don't tell me there's a bug. Is it on my cloak?!"
"Wait—no! Not at all." And as fate would have it, an insect landed on Lissa's cloak.
"I swear to Naga if you're lying and-EEEK! It's a praying mantis! Oh!" Lissa froze as the mantis climbed from her cloak up to her shoulder. Mark did his best to stop the horses and tend to the terrifying insect that brought tears to the princess' eyes.
"Hold still! You're just going to provoke it!" He reached for the mantis yet raised its forearms threateningly, pulling on a strand of Lissa's hair. "How on earth are you paralyzed by a bug and still be able to fight eight brigands?!"
"Eeeeeeeeeeeee!" She cried. "They're completely different things!"
Author's Note:
And there we have it! How did you all like the Elibe crossover? I hope I was able to remain within reason about Bulgar's location, a little bit of my own personal perspective on the lore, etc. And I hope I managed to keep Rath and Dayan within reasonable character limits. I think that eight years after Nergal was taken out and Rath returned to the plains, I viewed him more to be just as cool and quiet, but a little more open to Mark and his comrades who decide to visit. Dayan was the hardest part actually, since I've never really touched FE6 and I based his character from reading his supports, I could try to interpret him as some sort of "Wise Har-Har-Har Uncle" type character, mostly because this was peacetime and Kutolah were not exterminated.
I do recommend listening to the Unexpected Caller from the Fire Emblem 7 game rip when Lissa got her stuff stolen and when she began fighting the brigands. Also, yeah. Lissa's one heck of a sage. Also, for the her doing random enchantments on her body with Arcfire, I mean. Why the heck not? A spellbook that thick can't just be used to launch fireballs, non?
Writing battle scenes are my weakest point, so if it seems clunky, my apologies. I can't seem to get it fluid and organized enough.
Anyway, I hope this chapter entertained everyone! Read, review and have a Merry Christmas!
- SRA