EDIT: One of the challenging things about novelizing a turn-based strategy game is that real life isn’t turn-based, so one has to adapt it from a TBS to an RTS. Which everyone probably already realized, but it’s easier to realize when you’re actually writing it. : P
Chapter 5: Blood of Pride Chapter 7: The Black Shadow
Chapter 6: Siblings Abroad
When the last dark mage had fallen to Lucius’s light magic, Ceniro explained to the group that Florina had seen a fortress to the south that seemed to have more members of the same sinister group that had attacked Nils just now, and asked her to lead the way.
There were some high hills and a small river in their way, so they were not as quick to reach the fortress as Ceniro had hoped, but after a few minutes of quick marching, a small castle appeared on their right. It did not seem particularly heavily guarded, but still there were only twelve of them, counting Nils, Ceniro, and Serra, who had no combat abilities.
“I hope this is the right castle,” Wil said as they approached. “It would be kind of silly to attack it only to find it belongs to someone completely unconnected.”
“It’s the right castle,” Nils said a few moments later. “That’s… that’s the leader of the men after us. He must know where Ninian is! She must be in the castle!”
“We’ll capture it, then,” Ceniro said. “Florina, did you see any archers when you were scouting?”
“No. Um, no archers. I think there were some magic users, though.”
“Fly past the front gate and get their attention, then. Let’s draw them out a bit before we storm the front gate.”
“Don’t want to check for a back gate?” Matthew asked.
“I don’t think a castle this size has one. Besides, I can brute-force this.”
“Brute-force with only ten fighters against a fortress,” Dorcas said in wonder. “You have confidence and skill.”
Ceniro looked around, but the others seemed to agree. “O-okay. Well, anyway, you go, Florina, and I’ll set up everyone here for your return.”
“R-right!” She took off in a flurry of white wings, and Ceniro gave quick orders, pointing his people in the directions he wanted them.
He was almost enjoying himself, he realized. If this had been another mock battle like in his training, he would be enjoying himself. But… even though he knew he could do this without losing a single one of his highly-skilled friends, the stakes were higher, and people were going to die. The fact that the people who were going to die were all against him and trying to kill his friends didn’t change the fact that they would be dead because of him. That alone removed his excitement, leaving him with only adrenaline and cold satisfaction.
Florina returned at high speed. “Eeeek!” Lightning bolts followed her, and Ceniro told Lucius to get back. While the monk was effective against the shamans, the dark mages, he was vulnerable to elemental magic.
“Don’t panic!” Ceniro called to the pegasus knight through cupped hands. “Wheel around, now! Rath’s got your back!” Rath had been sent forward, since he could retreat quickly if necessary, and he was now targeting the mage who had foolishly chased Florina. With him were only a couple swordsmen, and Erk and Wil were dispatched to deal with them. They were getting closer to the walls of the fortress, and Ceniro frowned at it, but the rest of the enemies inside seemed to be staying put. Probably wisely, but still… it would have made his job easier if they were stupider.
That was only his back-up plan, anyway. “Florina! How much weight can you take on?”
“Ehhh!?”
“Can you give Lyn, Dorcas, and Wil a lift up to the walls? Nils will help you out.”
“I-I suppose…?”
“Do it! Erk, Lucius, blast those gates with as much magic as you have! Kent, Sain, stand by to charge; Rath, you’re behind them. Serra, move up, I don’t think anything will attack you. Matthew, stay with her, just in case. Everyone, your priority is that shaman leading these men! Stay alive and take him out!”
The members of his band sprang towards the fortress, ready to assault it on two fronts. Ceniro wished he could ride with Florina and see how many defenders there were, but it didn’t matter. He trusted his people to fight well.
The gate splintered under Erk’s rain of fireballs; while the splinters and fire would make it difficult for the horses of the knights, they would be past it too quickly to take much injury, and if Lucius widened the gap a bit more… Yes, that would do. “Kent! Sain! Rath!”
“Look out ahead!” Sain cried cheerfully as he set his lance in his elbow. Ceniro gestured to Serra, Matthew, and Nils, and they hurried in the wake of the cavalry.
An explosion rocked the castle, and Lyn gave a cry from where she was fighting on the wall; some stones fell from the walltop, almost hitting Ceniro. The tactician clambered over the gate into the yard of the castle and immediately turned to the walls, trusting Erk and Lucius to watch his back. “Lyn!”
Dorcas, Wil, and Florina were holding off a small force of swordsmen and lancemen, but Lyn, who had been fighting on the other side, was confronting the shaman leader. There wasn’t a lot of space to move up on the wall, and Lyn was caught in a dark magic spell. She was struggling, trying to cut at the spell with the Mani Katti, but although the enchanted blade sliced away the spell, the spell was regenerating itself and she was growing weaker before his eyes.
“You thought you would rescue the boy’s sister, did you?” said the shaman, tugging at the tendrils of his spell. “Were you not warned that anyone who gets close to the siblings is rewarded with death? Learn this lesson now and die in despair!”
“Lyn!” he yelled again and launched himself towards the stairs, forgetting everything else. The only goal in his mind was to get close to that shaman and punch him off the walls. He missed his staff.
Fortunately for him, his friends had clearer heads at the moment. A brilliant flash of light magic knocked the shaman off-balance, and Florina came swooping down, screaming bloody murder, and her lance caught the shaman in the chest, knocking him off the wall. Between the gaping wound in his chest and the crunch he made as he hit the courtyard, he wouldn’t bother anyone again.
Ceniro dashed to Lyn’s side as she collapsed on the wall. Pieces of wall were missing beside her, testimony to the force of the dark magic spell. “Lyn! Lyn! Are you- Are you all right? Serra! Quick!”
“I-I’m all right,” Lyn said, although she accepted his arm to pull herself upright. He found that once he was supporting her, he didn’t want to let her go, even when it was clear that she could stand by herself. “Is everyone else all right?”
Ceniro turned to scan the area quickly. “Looks like the others have it under control. Everyone! Break into pairs and search the castle!”
Serra was at their side. “Ooh, dark magic is nasty when used on a person. Hold still, please! You’ll be right as rain in a few moments, thanks to my talented healing powers!” She twirled her staff, and Lyn blinked and stood up straighter as the blue glow left her.
“Your healing is truly marvelous, Serra,” she said gratefully. “Thank you. Come on, Ceniro, let’s search the castle. Where’s Nils?”
“Nils!” Ceniro called. “Come search with Lyn and Serra and me.”
They turned the entire castle upside down, but there was no trace of any girl there. Nils was close to tears. “They must have taken her somewhere else! Oh, where could she be!?”
“Excuse me,” Kent said as they regrouped in the courtyard, “but we have a visitor.” There were two knights with Pheraean heraldry just outside the gate, where Dorcas and Rath had removed the smouldering remains of the gate, and there…
“Are you looking for this girl here?” a man’s voice rang out, and a young lord stepped through the gate, carrying a girl with seafoam-green hair and pale, frilly clothes. She almost looked like a fairy or other mythical being, fainted into the arms of a red-haired prince.
“Ninian!” Nils cried, rushing forward. “Ninian! Is she all right? Oh, Ninian!”
“She’s unharmed,” the lord assured Nils, kneeling beside him. “She’s only fainted. You’re her brother?”
“I am. Thank goodness she’s all right,” Nils said, and then Dorcas was there to cradle the fragile-looking figure and take her to a quiet corner of the yard to rest with her brother.
“Thank you so much,” Lyn said to the lord. “We’ve been fighting for this boy, Nils, but you’ve done what we couldn’t. Who are you?”
“My name is Eliwood of Pherae,” said the lord, smiling at Lyn and Ceniro with kind blue eyes. Something about his calm, open demeanour seemed to make everything better, as if everything was going to be all right just because he was there. “She was in the company of some sinister-looking men, and she seemed upset. Was it all right to involve myself?”
“Yes, definitely,” Lyn said. “You’ve saved her life. Ah, I’m Lyn of the Lorca – well, Lord Hausen’s granddaughter.”
“Marquess Caelin? Truly?” Eliwood said, with eager interest.
“Yes… it’s a bit of a story…”
“I have time. But shall we sit down? Let’s be comfortable.”
“I like that idea,” Lyn said, and they found chairs, and Lyn explained everything from the beginning, how she had met Ceniro and set out from her home, and met Kent and Sain and turned her course to Caelin, and finally how she suspected Lundgren of attempting to assassinate her twice.
“I know it’s not easy to believe,” she finished, but Eliwood nodded.
“I believe you. You have honest eyes, and you remind me of your grandfather. I also know that the people of Sacae tell no lies. Lyndis, I would like to ask, is there any way in which I may help you?”
“Thank you, but I’ll deal with Lundgren on my own. This is my problem, and I don’t want to get anyone else involved.”
“I see. If you change your mind or think of anything, I’ll be in Kathelet for a week or two, catching up with my good friend in Kathelet Town. I’m on your side!”
“Thank you, Eliwood,” Lyn said, and bowed to him as they rose. “I’ll remember your kindness, to Ninian, and to me.”
“I hope she recovers soon. Tell her I offer her my best wishes.”
Florina came to tell Lyn that Ninian was waking, so Lyn went to meet her. Ceniro would have followed, but Matthew nudged his elbow for his attention. “Hm? What is it?”
“Rushing to her rescue, eh?” Matthew asked with a cheeky grin. “Very daring of you, master tactician.”
Ceniro flushed red. “She’s my friend. Shouldn’t I?”
Matthew only grinned more and winked, before walking away.
Ceniro shook his head, both at Matthew’s implications and to try to clear his blush, before following Lyn over to Ninian.
Ninian was even more pale than Nils, but she had the same scarlet eyes. “Ah… you are Lady Lyn? Thank you so much for helping Nils and me.”
“You’re welcome, but the one who really saved you was Lord Eliwood of Pherae,” Lyn said. “He already left, but he hopes you are well and offers you his best wishes.”
Ninian smiled shyly. “I don’t really remember much… there was a red-haired man and two others, fighting my captors… but I’m grateful, I truly am. Maybe someday I’ll be able to thank him myself.”
“I’m sure you will,” Lyn said. “Now, would you two share your story with me? Why were those men hunting you?”
The siblings looked at each other. “Well,” Ninian began.
“They want us for our power,” Nils said.
“Your power?” Lyn asked, tilting her head to one side.
“We, um, we can sense danger,” Ninian said. “I know it sounds vague, but between that and our abilities to invigorate our allies… We’re just traveling minstrels, but these people want to use us…”
“I see,” Lyn said. “I’m happy that you’re safe for now. You’re going to be all right in the future, right?”
“I think so,” Ninian said, smiling sweetly.
“I know!” Nils cried. “Why not let us come with you?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Lyn said. “I’m going to see my grandfather, but his brother wants to kill me to secure his silly inheritance. It’s going to be very dangerous.”
“That’s all right!” Nils replied. “We won’t be a hindrance! We can sense danger, remember? We’ll repay at least part of our debt that way! We can’t actually prevent the danger, but you’re all amazing fighters, so you’ll be fine.”
“It’s an idea,” Lyn said. “You’d definitely be safe from the people chasing you, even if it makes Lundgren a threat to you. Let me confer with my escorts…”
Kent and Sain were brought over and explained to. “I think leaving them behind would cause my lady more anxiety than if we brought them along,” Kent said when he understood what Lyn intended.
“And we can’t ignore a lady and her brother in need!” Sain said. “I vote yes.”
“I thought you might,” Lyn said. “Welcome, Nils, Ninian. We’ll take you all the way to Caelin.”
“Thanks very much!” Nils said, smiling brightly. “It will be wonderful.”
“There… is… one other thing,” Ninian said hesitantly. “When those men grabbed me, they took… It’s such a little thing, but they took my ring. Lord Eliwood didn’t say anything about finding it, did he?”
“Not Ninis’s Grace?” Nils cried. “But you need that!”
“What is it?” Lyn asked.
“It’s magic,” Ninian explained. “It helps me dance. And… it was a keepsake from our mother. I know it’s probably gone forever and there’s nothing that can be done… I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
“I see,” Lyn said. “Where were you when Eliwood rescued you?”
“I’m not quite sure, but I should be able to find it.”
“There’s always the chance that one of them survived and escaped with it,” Sain said. “But in that case, Matthew can find them. We’ll get it back, fair Ninian, don’t you worry!” Kent glanced at him, and Ceniro knew he was thinking of what Lundgren might do in their delay, but he said nothing.
“Truly?” Ninian asked. “I will be in your debt forever…”
“That’s fine, right, Ceniro?” Lyn asked. “I’m so sorry, I keep forgetting to ask you what you think, and you’re always right there, at my side…”
“It’s fine,” Ceniro said. “Whatever you need me to do.” …Stupid, he told himself. Lyn liked people with opinions, not tongue-tied doormats. “I mean, even if there are survivors, we can handle them.”
“Then it’s settled,” Lyn said with a smile.