My nightmares from before had all but dissipated. Try as I might I could only recall the vaguest picture from the dreams that plagued me before waking up. The confusion, the dissonance, the two friends...
I actually have a hard time remembering the fine details of my first night, exciting as it was. I've come to realize that whatever was wrong with my memory wasn't the sort that made my head extra-empty to pack with dreams. Entire portions of my mind were locked away, and though I could quickly unearth and rediscover skills and interests, sometimes new experiences were hard to sink in.
Until the tremors started, everything was a haze. After said Tremors, even to this day, everything is as clear as if it had happened yesterday. The long night began. Before the night was over I would soon meet the Risen.
The trail lead to a steep incline, which in turn lead to a large wooded valley. In the distance, above the trees and hills, there was a white city. It was too far away to procure any exact details, but the castle was clearly visible even from the distance.
"That is Ylisstol," Chrom began. "And if we make haste... we should get within the city limits by the end of the day." Somehow Robin doubted that.
The day had already grown slightly dim in the few hours since their incursion at Southtown. Robin estimated no more than three hours of daylight remained. Lissa turned hopefully to Frederick atop his horse.
"Chrom and Robin are good runners, unlike me..." She inched closer to the horse. "So if we really wanna be quick..." she began, before being cut off with a wave of Frederick's armored hand.
"Your uniform denies it, Milady." No doubt he was talking about Lissa's crinoline. Robin couldn't imagine any possibility of Lissa riding without that steel-cage of a skirt somehow being removed. "For the sake of decency there will be no horse-riding for you. Besides, I can't fathom Gwendolyn allowing anyone else atop her back on such short notice." Once again, Lissa groaned.
The descent into the valley was thankfully uneventful. Frederick took point and lead the way, with the three of them trailing behind. Robin's thoughts were on what little belongings he had on him. He had paged through his magical tome. The runes were faded and worn, many of the pages had been lifted clean of any magical power. He found the tomb stuffed and littered with folded pages from other books. Most of these pages were from manuals for strategy and books on the art of war. Dispersed in between these were short, handwritten notes. These he quickly deduced were not his own. Come to think of it, he was positive he had nothing to do with the creation of this book. Perhaps he lifted it from someone else?
But no, there on the inside of the cover, on both sides, a small name was lovingly written in fine ink; Robin. The name was embroidered with swirling leaf images and flower petals, and it was obviously penned by whomever had scrawled the notes scattered within. He knit his brow. Somebody gave this to me at some point, he decided. He also decided to not bother asking who. It was redundant. He already hardly knew his own name.
It also occurred to him that he was supposed to be listening to Lissa, who had been speaking to him the entire time since they entered the woods.
"...So that was when Maribelle said I should be a cleric 'cause its easier to train than as a Troubadour. Buuut unless I take a sage course when I'm done I won't be able to properly use magic, that is if I don't take the War Cleric class - which I don't think is going to happen because, well, no upper-body strength for me...!" She finished that last bit with a mocking curl of her arms; thin as branches. Robin did his best not to reply with an endless barrage of 'ah-huhs.'
"You never know till you're training is done, right?" he began. Frederick, still ahead of them and Chrom, trotted solemnly forward on his horse, never once looking back at him. He decided this was a relief as he had grown weary of the Knight glaring daggers into his back during their approach on Southtown. Here however, he found Frederick's behavior rather odd.
Every once in a while the Knight would reach for his lance and swipe at the ground. Robin looked for an animal or something that would provoke the knight into doing such a thing, but found none each time.
Frederick once more readied his lance and struck at the ground, this time bringing it upwards. The swipe delivered a small item into Frederick's free hand, which he regarded for a moment before stowing away in his saddle. Robin studied the entire event. Did he just stash a pebble in his bag?
"Yeah but you know right at the start what clerics will become fighters at the end of their training just by looking at them," Lissa responded despondently. "You can hardly tell them apart from the guys... big arms and all... they were probably raised on a farm too. Not that I'm complaining, I just don't wanna end up like Sully. Have you seen Sully? Probably not. You'll know her when you see her, she's got muscles 'cause she trains all the time. I guess it's good if she wants to be tough and all but it must get in the way of her and boys. Every boy I know is scared of her one way or another. Except Chrom of course, but he's not really supposed to be, what with her being a knight and him being the pr-"
"Lissa, do you think you've educated Robin enough, or perhaps you want him to know everything about you and your friends?" Chrom called crossly back at them. Lissa's cheeks puffed.
"Well excuse me mister, for sticking out for the guy with amnesia! I thought I'd save him the trouble of learning everything the moment he gets to Ylisstol."
"Does that exactly count if he never knew them in the first place?"
"I- You don't know that!"
Robin swallowed. "I don't mind hearing it really, I just-"
"Lissa, if the Shepherds knew a sword-mage wearing a Plegian Cloak with a gift for tactics, I'm sure one of us would've heard about it already," this time it was Frederick who called back, sharing Chrom's exasperation.
"P-Plegian?" Robin held up his cloak's sleeve. The black leather was onset by gold trimmings that ran all the way up his arm and down the back. Was it that telling?
"Quite the actor indeed..." Frederick grumbled. "To have no bearing on such matters. Wouldn't surprise me at all if he in fact hailed from Ple-"
"Frederick, enough please." Chrom spoke quickly. "I'd like to challenge Frederick the Wary to keep his worries to himself for the rest of the day. If he's capable, of course." Frederick said nothing. "And Lissa, you're allowed to talk to your new friend, but can you make do with something less incriminating?"
Lissa crossed her arms. "Tells Frederick not to worry but when I say something 'incriminating' he has to shut me up..." she grumbled. Robin said nothing as well, and for a while longer the group continued in silence.
I don't mind hearing about people... As of now I only know three. Why is Chrom so uptight about how these two treat me? Robin didn't want to doubt Chrom's good intentions, but he couldn't help but wonder if the dark-haired noble thought he had something to prove by helping him.
"I told you Chrom!" Lissa called as she pointed up at the sky. "It's gonna get dark soon, look! The sun's setting." Chrom followed his sister's gaze and nodded. The drone of insects gradually grew louder. "And now there'll be wolves, and bats, and bugs crawling all over the place." Lissa looked over her shoulder and started fidgeting. "Disgusting bugs that buzz and crawl all over you and bite when - hurk!" Lissa broke mid-sentence and started hacking. "Wah gohp ihn ma moud! Wah gohp ihn ma moud!" Robin ran over to Lissa and held her shoulders as she coughed, but Chrom only smiled and laughed.
"A little hardship builds character, Lissa." He turned around and surveyed the area. "That clearing up ahead should do for the four of us I think..." Lissa's head jerked upright, eyes vacant.
"It's gone..."
"Will do perfectly Milord," Frederick agreed. "Now then, who wants to set up a campsite?" he asked, feigning enthusiasm as he turned to the other two. Lissa stared ahead blankly.
"But I didn't spit it out...!" Lissa coughed again in a panic. "Did I swallow it?"
"Frederick, why don't you let Lissa unpack your horse while the three of us work on firewood and the like?"
"It's gone..." Lissa hung her head, dejected. "I swallowed it..." Robin silently gave his sympathies to the young noble.
Frederick dismounted and led his horse to the clearing, the other three following.
"Lissa, unpack Gwendolyn, mind the weapons of course. In one saddlebag there should be tools and in the other there are three-"
"I remember Frederick," Lissa interrupted. "Three bundles that serve as both our pillows and mattresses because packing extra sheets would make camping too easy! And I should pick up sticks like a ten-year old for spending money because camping in the woods is fine but sleeping on sticks somehow isn't. Did I miss anything?"
"No, just that there are four of us now and someone may have to surrender their bundle for our new friend." Frederick said with a smile. It was a cheap shot at Robin's expense, but Frederick didn't sound nearly as cross as he had before. Lissa groaned again and got to work.
"I-I can use my coat!" Robin offered. "I don't need a bundle. Pretty sure I slept on the ground before... if how you met me was anything to go by..."
"We'll worry about all that once we've finished," Chrom said quickly, driving his sword down into a clear patch of earth. "Lissa, when you're done would you like to come with me and look for firewood?" Lissa looked up from the saddlebag she had opened, already carrying a dark bundle of cloth in her hands. She didn't look amused.
"No thank you!" She said cheerily, despite her frown. "I've had enough hardship for one day, thank you very much!" Chrom let out a sigh and shook his head.
"Milord, I could take Robin and we could handle the firewood," Frederick offered. Robin wasn't sure how he felt being left alone with Frederick, but Chrom seemed receptive to the idea.
"Sure, sounds good."
"Actually, I'd be more concerned about food..." Robin interjected. "I don't know about you guys but I'm starving. And I literally can't recall when I last ate." This garnered a giggle from Lissa. Chrom nodded and looked to Frederick.
"Sir Frederick, your spear please?"
"Of course Milord." Frederick stepped away to his horse, undid the massive silver lance, and tossed it to his liege. Chrom snatched the massive rod of metal out of the air as naturally as a boy playing catch. "If you spent as much time training with a spear as you did hunting, you could wield one as naturally as a blade." Frederick observed. " 'Twould make for a good variety in your combat should the need arise."
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Chrom didn't seem too concerned with Frederick's suggestion. "Be back in a few." And with that Chrom vanished into the trees.
"...Does he mean to stab an animal and have us eat it?" Robin asked incredulously, more from amazement than dread. "On his own?"
"He very much does." Frederick answered as he started in a direction. "He'll insist on it if you ask him, in fact. This way. I saw some withered trees on our way over that would make for good firewood."
"Um... Frederick?"
"Yes, Sir Robin?" Frederick replied as flatly as his voice would allow. They had already found a dead tree and Frederick was making quick work of its branches with his silver axe.
"Is there anyway I could help? I mean, I've kind of just been standing here and watching." He felt completely out of place watching the Knight diligently at work. He was quick and efficient, hardly wasting any movement.
"You could help me carry this when I'm done. I doubt we'll need that much wood however, depending on what Milord bags of course."
"Um... I could help somehow..." Robin eyed the withered branches. "What if we just carried the whole tree back?" Frederick eyed Robin curiously. "We could chop it up at camp..." Frederick seemed receptive. "And then I just hit it with my thunder magic and presto! Easy campfire." Frederick rose his eyebrows.
"Indeed." He conferred. "...Instant forest fire." Robin deflated.
"Ah.. well... I suppose that could happen. I just thought I could-"
"You apparently think better in the heat of battle," Frederick concluded glumly. "The old-fashioned way will do for now. If you really wish to help, you can start with these." He drew back his axe and kicked multiple logs Robin's way. Robin sighed and started on his first load of firewood.
Shortly thereafter Frederick accompanied Robin back towards camp, both of them carrying wood, though Frederick somehow managed to carry nearly twice as much.
"So... about who Lissa was talking about," Robin began.
"Milady likes to gab. It's a sign she feels comfortable around you. Heavens know why she chooses to speak on end to show it," Frederick answered.
"Right, but the people. Are they just her friends or are all of them under your banner?" Frederick set down his wood near the clearing.
"Yes, as of now there are eight other Shepherds. Chrom is their captain."
"Eight? And are all of them nobles like Chrom?"
"Most of them are of good breeding yes," Frederick started sorting the wood. Arranging them by size? Gods he's orderly. "I can only think of two that aren't. Most were chosen by Chrom himself, but two are of my own discernment. I held a training program for Knights worthy of Chrom, and only two made it out." Yikes. If how he handled those bandits is anything to go by it must have been brutal. "I've no doubt Chrom will spend the night considering whether or not to you recruit you as well." Frederick added, looking upwards as he worked, eyes disdainful. Robin cleared his throat.
"You're awful involved in all this."
"I am the second-in-command and his chosen Knight," Frederick stated matter-of-factly. "It's my duty to keep him safe. I live for no other purpose."
Robin laughed. "Surely you don't live entirely for one noble?" He asked nervously. Frederick eyed him.
"You doubt my loyalty to Milord?" He challenged. Robin threw up his hands.
"I-I meant nothing by it! I'm just... impressed is all I guess." Frederick eyed him for a bit longer before resuming his work. "Well, like... What do you in your off-time?"
"Off-time?" Frederick asked incredulously.
"You know! Like what do you do to relax?"
"When I'm not by Chrom's side - which is rarely - I have a small estate in the country where I'd spend the summer. We raise horses for the Royal Family there," he stated as he rose to carry wood to the clearing. "But for times such as now, and I find myself with nothing to do... I enjoy searching for mushrooms."
"To collect?"
"To eat, Sir Robin. Ylisse is home to many mushrooms good for eating. It takes an expert not to poison oneself of course." Either he's boasting or he's physically incapable of relaxing.
"Er... Anything besides that?" Robin had reached down to carry wood, and realized by Frederick's expression that his patience was waning. Perhaps asking question after question wasn't a good idea. He must feel like I'm interrogating him.
"I enjoy keeping myself busy," Frederick stated. "Managing campsites during long marches, such as now. During said marches I like to keep the path clear of rocks. Wouldn't do to have my lieges trip."
"Oh. Here I thought you just liked collecting pebbles."
"Pardon?"
"N-Nothing! Look, Lissa's got the spot cleared out for a fire."
"He'll come back... He won't... He'll come back... He won't..." The sun started its descent lazily, casting light through the window that gradually warmed the room with its glow. The young lady stared out at the distance as she sat, flower sans petals in one hand. She wore dark leather armor. To each side of her lay a small pile; one pile of flowers, the other of their petals and empty stems. Her breastplate and arm-guards lay neatly in a pile in the corner of the room. Her pale hair fell nearly to her waist as it hung from behind the chair. The girl turned once more to her flower, much to the chagrin of the woman doing her hair.
"He'll come back... He won't... He come back... He won't-"
"Sumia! I'm worried about the captain too, but your hair will never be presentable if you keep squirming with each pluck of those infernal flowers of yours!" The woman, no older than the first, sat on a stool behind the other, brush in hand. Her hair was done in long ringlets that hung at her shoulders. Her lofty tone and rolling Rs contrasted hard with the dingy setting of the fort they rested in. "Somebody is bound to bring news soon. You should relax, dear."
"Oh... I can't help it..." Sumia sighed as she carefully resumed.
A new voice entered the room as the door swung open.
"Yo! Patrol's all done, Maribelle!" A young man called as he entered. His bright hair was tied upwards into a spiky bushel. He wore nothing aside from a set of pantaloons, boots, and a long leather arm-guard. "Came back to report, just like Chrom said when... The hell's with all the flowers?!"
"Easy, Vaike. Sumia's heart is out for the Captain's safety," Maribelle said as she stroked with her brush. "She was promised he would be back by today and the sun's already setting. I'd be worried too for my dear Lissa, if it weren't for Frederick. All should be well if he's with them."
Sumia sighed. "I just can't help it. It's different when he's here on business, but when he's all the way out there..." Her eyes widened as an idea entered her mind, prompting her to rise to her feet, eliciting a surprised yelp from Maribelle. "What if something happened to him? What if he ran into bandits again? What if he drove his sword into the ground - you know, the way he always likes to... and it got stuck?! And he got blindsided by some bandit?! Oh I can't even bear to think about it..."
Both of her companions were quiet, no doubt marveling at the girl's imagination. The young man, Vaike, tried to wave her words away.
"E-Easy does it sister. We all know Chrom's a bit of a showoff... but there's no way he'd let himself die like that. Have a little faith in your captain." Vaike surveyed the room quickly. "And by the by, don't s'pose either of you have seen my axe?" Maribelle let out an incredulous laugh as she tried to goad Sumia to sit down.
"You just came back from patrol and you've already lost it? And what makes you think it found its way up here?"
"...Didn't hurt to ask."
Maribelle turned back to Sumia. "And if it makes you feel any better darling," she began. "Sully herself said she'd take off if there wasn't a sign of the captain by sunset. And sure enough, I heard her leave not an hour ago."
"...Oh." Sumia paused, looking down at her flower. She let out a deep sigh and resigned herself to the chair.
"And now whats with that?" Maribelle asked. "You almost seem more worried than you were with that little fantasy of yours! Honestly girl, it would do you good to relax every once in a while!"
"I know, I know..." Sumia once again plucked at her petals, though this time she kept her specific wishes to herself.
The sun descended lower and lower till there was hardly a glimmer left. Maribelle was already making quick work of her companions' hair and had started to braid them. Vaike rested against a wall, dozing, until the sunset caught his eye.
"Well, the captain oughta bee setting up camp right about now." He stretched out his arms and let out a yawn. "Maaan, sleeping in the grass, hunting for meat and roasting it over the fire... The Vaike be jealous! Haha!"
Sumia shook her head. "No, that's no good! He can't only be eating meat every time he camps!" She reached for another flower, much to Maribelle's annoyance. Sumia started plucking rapidly. "Meat, veggies, meat, veggies, meat..." the last petal was plucked, and Sumia quickly held it to her heart. "Vegetables..." she said with relief.
"What, bear meat again?!" Lissa was incredulous. Chrom hadn't bothered bringing the whole creature back to camp, but he returned with enough cuts to feed their small party. They lay atop burning logs, simmering in the heat, cooked gradually by the beast's own fat. The captain had already started on a piece, tearing out bites as if it were a large piece of jerky.
"Dig in, Lissa," he said after he swallowed. "It's good for you."
"Hard pass, Chrom," she grumbled. "You can't expect me to eat this stuff? Why couldn't you bag us a normal animal that normal people eat for once?!"
"I suppose the half a million farmers and countrymen that kill these things and make due with their kill don't count as normal," Chrom replied flatly.
"You know what I mean!" Lissa retorted. "It's wrong! We're messing with the food-chain! This is disrupting the balance of nature! Right Robin? Er... Robin?"
Robin stared blankly at Lissa, cheeks puffed full of meat. He swallowed loudly. "Sorry what was the question...?"
"Nevermind..." Lissa groaned. "I suppose if I was born yesterday I'd love the stuff too."
"Every experience makes us stronger, Milady," Frederick said as he cleaned the blood off of his lance. "Even the ones we don't enjoy." Lissa eyed Frederick warily, eyebrows set in a hard line.
"Then why aren't you eating any of Chrom's catch?" she asked slowly.
"I had a late lunch." Frederick answered curtly before returning to the spear. Lissa scoffed.
"Right! Like the time I made that pie and you had a late dinner. Or that time it was Sully's turn to cook and you had a late lunch. Come to think of it, every time you didn't want to eat something the first thing you say is-!"
In a surprising act of clumsiness, Frederick's spear exited his hand and struck the fire, sending sparks crackling into air. The slabs of meat hissed loudly as their surfaces were struck by tiny sparks. Lissa yelped and leaned back, sentence forgotten. "Well, excuse me. I don't know what happened there..." Frederick leaned forward and retrieved his spear.
Diversion; the first rule of strategy. Clever, Frederick. Robin finished his slab of meat and started tearing blank pages from his tome.
"What do you intend to do with those?" Chrom asked as Robin started arranging the pages as if he were to wrap a parcel.
"I want to save some of this for later, if that's alright with you," he said meekly.
"By all means. We have two shares that are going to go to waste otherwise." Robin set to work on wrapping a piece of bear meat. "I suppose we could send the Shepherds over to retrieve the rest of the bear in the morning," Chrom concluded. "Or maybe some lucky countryman will make use of it."
The Fire started to die down along with the conversation. The moon climbed higher into the sky, and the party gradually began to lie down to sleep. Frederick sat up, spear close by, as his lieges rested. Lissa lay close to Chrom, atop her single mat. Chrom slept with his hands behind his head, having dozed to sleep as he observed the stars. Robin rested on the bare earth which had been warmed by the fire, rolling up his coat as a makeshift pillow. A loose, sleeveless shirt hung off of his frame. He carefully set his belongings to the ground on his side opposite of the fire. He paged through his tome once more before setting it down, and turned to examine his worn blade.
It was dull, and had obviously seen better days, but it was still reflective and shiny. He examined it from multiple angles, searching for another memento or clue from his previous life, but found none. Something caught his eye; a flash of white in the blade. At first he assumed it was the moon, but he realized that it was a reflection of his own face. He poised the blade to catch his reflection, and for the first time beheld himself since waking up in the field.
He wore a pale complexion, as if he had hardly stepped outside in his life. His skin was embarrassingly smooth, like a maiden's; hardly any wrinkles or marks were upon his skin. His hair was stark white, down to the roots. He gripped his head and clutched at his mop of silver hair, and the Robin in his reflection did the same. Hesitantly, he brought his sword up to his head and carefully cut off a small bit of hair. He held up the strands in the moonlight, and sure enough, they were stark white.
He knit his brow. This seems wrong. My coat is mine, it just feels like a part of me. But this person in my reflection is a stranger. Had I never seen my face before waking up in the field?
"You don't mean to tell me you've never used a mirror?" Frederick's hushed voice startled Robin and he nearly dropped his sword, dropping his strands of hair. The knight rested against a nearby tree, one eye closed as he surveyed the camp.
"I... I suppose not..." Robin stammered. Frederick's eye stared hard at him in the dim light of the dying campfire. Robin cleared his throat. "Frederick, is there anything I can do to make you trust me?"
"Robin, this isn't a matter of trust. I have nothing against a new member of the Shepherds, or a new friend for my Lieges. I have everything against a threat to their safety however, and unfortunately for you, there is some egregious overlap in that regard." Frederick settled himself again. "So as a matter of fact, yes you can do something to earn my trust. Don't harm my lieges and everything will be fine." Robin let out a long sigh as he looked up at the sky.
"Duly noted," he conceded. Even if I were some sort of spy, does he think I'd honestly want to challenge him?
The wind grew cold as the stars started shining. Robin set down his blade and set himself down on his bundle. Maybe there's a cleric in Ylisstol who could help me... Or maybe there's someone who could give me a lead on where I came from (even though all facts point to me being some sort of immigrant crossing the border from Plegia). Maybe after they show me around Ylisstol I should just move on and not trouble them anymore. Robin turned over and observed the two nobles, sleeping peacefully on the other side of the campfire. Chrom's blade shone brightly in the moonlight as it lay stuck in the ground.
Chrom, I appreciate your help, but I'm not sure if I can guarantee joining your Shepherds. His thoughts became more and more laden with fatigue, and finally Robin surrendered himself to sleep and dozed away.
He was awoken by the last thing he expected; a tremor. At first it came as a gradual rumbling in the earth, but it soon picked up speed and shook the entire forest. Trees trembled and waved, but no birds flew from their branches. No insects sang in the dead of night. There was only the deafening rumble. Robin gripped his head and willed the tremors to stop; imagining this were some sort of nightmare, but his wish went unheeded.
He must have somehow fallen asleep again, as he was awoken by a sharp jab in his side. He grunted and shot up from his sleep to see Frederick towering over him. In one hand he carried his silver axe, and in the other Robin's bronze sword. "Up," he said sharply. Robin obeyed and rose to his feet, shaking off his jacket and donning it. "Where are Chrom and Lissa?" Frederick asked. What?
Robin peaked behind Frederick to see Chrom and Lissa had left their bundles. Chrom's sword was gone as well, leaving a small crack in the earth. Did they vanish during the tremors? Were they even here when they started? He swallowed hard.
"I don't know! I was asleep the whole time!" Frederick took a step forward and regarded Robin thoroughly. He looked back towards the forest. Maybe it's nothing to worry about... maybe they just took a midnight stroll... right after a giant tremor... and we may be the only living things within a fifty mile radius... He decided not to voice these concerns out loud. The last thing he wanted was to make excuses in front of Frederick; the man who regarded him with an axe in hand.
"...Very well. If you really don't know anything, then I'll go to find them..." Frederick abruptly tossed Robin's sword at him. Robin reached and just managed to grab the handle before it clattered to the ground. "And you're going to help me. Grab your things. None of us are resting till they're found."
Gods why me?