Chapter 4: False Friends Chapter 6: Whereabouts Unknown
So much banter in this chapter. Not to mention Wil becoming Doge. Oh dear. Yay, Lyn is back! And the rest of the boys! Let the awkward love triangles commence! Heehee.
One more for tonight! I’m very close to a total of 40,000 words, although this particular story is still only around 15,000. I’ll probably try to get 50,000 on this story and that will fulfill my NaNo… uh… 50,000 words on one story goal. Or something.
Listening to the FE9 soundtrack, because it’s not so bad once you get past all the stupid reverb they added to hide the fact that they’re using synthesized instruments. An overkill of overcompensation.
Chapter 5: Noble Lady of Caelin.
“Who are the intruders?” was Hector’s first question as he and Eliwood charged into the throne room, where Ceniro was already setting up defences. Under the tactician’s direction, Bartre and Dorcas upended the heavy wooden dining table and set it across the door.
“Not sure,” Ceniro said. “Rebecca says they’re too irregular to be knights, but she thinks she also saw a wyvern.”
“Could still be mercenaries,” Oswin said. “Some wyvern riders go mercenary rather than serve in their military.”
“So it’s not Marquess Laus come to take back his castle or rescue his son,” Hector said. “Damn.”
“I’ve sent Matthew to scout their progress,” Ceniro said. “The farseer’s having trouble reading unit types in the dark and stone.”
“Will we have trouble fighting?” asked Eliwood.
“No,” Ceniro said. “Lowen found plenty of torches in the storage, and already set them up where we’ll need them. We’re going to fight almost entirely defensively until I can get a hold of what forces they have. Unless anyone wants to volunteer for a flank attack.”
Hector immediately held up his hand, followed by Oswin and Bartre. “Oswin, you can’t flank; you’re too noisy.”
“And you’re not, my lord?”
“I can’t send both you and Bartre. Can I send you, Guy? Guy, Dorcas, Matthew, and Erk. Sorry, Hector, I need you here.”
Hector shrugged. “As long as I get to do my part.”
“Erk, hold off on casting anything unless you can do it and remain undetected,” Ceniro said. “Matthew, what does it look like?”
“A lot of archers for a castle infiltration,” Matthew reported from the window. “Good thing we don’t have any flyers. Mostly lancemen and axemen, otherwise, which means we should be all right, if you need my two cents. They are, indeed, very, very good. I suspect they are part of Eubans’ Company, a mercenary group very loyal to House Laus.”
“We’ll be all right,” Ceniro repeated. “You’ll lead Guy, Dorcas, and Erk to where you can flank the enemy and catch them unawares.”
“What about injuries? Do we have enough vulneraries?”
Ceniro looked at Priscilla. “Do you want to go, too?”
“I can go. I’m not afraid.”
“Don’t underestimate them,” Matthew warned.
“I won’t,” Ceniro promised. “Once you get close, I can direct you better. I’ll keep you safe. You better get in position now, though.”
They nodded and slipped back out the window.
Ceniro took a deep breath and pointed the others to their places. Now to wait.
The battle was short, but fierce. Eubans himself did not appear to be in attendance. As soon as they figured out that Eliwood’s group was prepared for them, they were already retreating.
“We can’t stay here long,” Hector said when they had regrouped in the throne room again. “We have to take the fight to Marquess Laus!”
“Patience, Hector,” Eliwood said. “We don’t know where he is. And the castle is the most defensible place, even if we don’t have enough men to properly occupy it.”
Hector huffed. “Well, he better hurry up and give us a sign! Matthew, you didn’t manage to find out where they might be going, did you?”
“I did not, my lord,” Matthew said. “I was too busy trying to stay alive and make sure everyone else did the same. And anyway, there’s no guarantee that Eubans is with Marquess Laus at the moment.”
“True,” Hector said. “Well, I’ll take next watch. Go to bed, all of you.” He glanced at Ceniro. “If that’s all right.”
“Yes, just call me if there’s any danger,” Ceniro said, patting the farseer’s pouch.
Five days went by, and Hector grew more and more antsy as they went on.
Eliwood tried to calm him down on the fifth day as they were walking outside on the green fields. Grass was already growing over the military paraphernalia scattered across the plain. “Hector, it’s not going to do anyone any good if you pace the castle into sand. Why are you taking this so personally?”
“Eliwood, aren’t you concerned about how dangerous this man is? With half his army, that’s still enough to do significant damage to the Lycian League, especially if another Marquess joined him. Santaruz will soon have a new lord, one not having anything to do with this rebellion, your father’s missing, you’re incorruptible, my brother can’t exactly rebel against himself… but what if Araphen joins him? Or even Worde or Khathelet?”
“They can’t go against Ostia’s might,” Eliwood reminded him. “Ostia has enough military power to control half the League by force if absolutely necessary. As you like to remind me when I beat you in a dual.”
“Pfft, sure,” Hector said, and snorted with a smile. “All right. But we’re still sitting on a time bomb, here.”
“I’m worried too, Hector. I just… it’s not going to help by fretting. Worry patiently, please.”
“Heh. It’s just not my style.”
“I know. On the other hand… I was also wondering what your brother is making of all this. The death of Marquess Santaruz… Our attack on Laus Castle… These are pretty important events in Lycian politics. Why has he not made any action yet?”
“I’m sure he has other concerns. It’s not just the League tying his hands right now.”
“What do you mean?”
“Bern’s on his mind. King Desmond has been acting erratically over the last few months, and we’ve received certain disturbing reports of increased military activity.”
“But Bern is already the most powerful country in Elibe…”
“That’s true, but in Ostia we’re worried that he’ll take any sign of weakness as an invitation to invade wholesale. My brother’s new to both being Marquess and the head of the League. He can’t show any sign of weakness, even if it means seemingly ignoring the murder of a Marquess and the mad, rebellion-infused flight of another. Not just every Lycian canton, but every country has a host of spies in Ostia right now, assessing his every move. If he so much as coughs funny, they’ll be at him.”
“You’re his brother… would your absence be taken as ‘something wrong’?”
Hector laughed. “The marquess’s brother is a well-known lout. If I were at court still, they’d definitely think something was wrong.”
Eliwood cracked an amused smile. “And how proud are you of that reputation?”
“Proud? I’m still not certain if the answer is ‘very’ or ‘not at all’.”
“Well, maybe you’re finally maturing,” Eliwood said, reaching over to punch his friend in the arm. “Hey… what’s that?”
A while speck was soaring erratically through the sky, coming fast in their direction.
“That’s a pegasus knight!” Eliwood gasped. “And she’s hurt!”
“Get out of the way!” Hector shouted, and shoved Eliwood over, just in time to catch the tiny, lavender-haired girl.
Her pegasus followed a moment later.
Hector groaned from under the pile. Eliwood was somehow now holding Florina, kneeling to support her, and the pegasus was floundering to its feet, blood from an arrow wound trickling from its flank.
Ceniro had seen it from where he had been sitting, writing, a short way back. “Is she okay?”
“She’s unhurt,” Eliwood called back, as the tactician came running up as fast as he could.
“What about me…?” Hector grumbled, gasping for air. “Oh geez… I think I broke a rib. Get that Priscilla girl for me, would you?”
“Serra’s closer,” Ceniro said, mercilessly practical. He turned to the castle and waved, and soon familiar pink pigtails were bobbing up and down as their owner hurried along the road to them.
“Florina?” Eliwood said. “Can you hear me?”
She slowly opened her large blue eyes, and gasped. “L-lord Eliwood! I-I-”
“Take it easy,” Eliwood assured her. “You’re safe. Your pegasus is safe.”
“You’re lucky you landed on top of me,” Hector said. “And then I was unlucky, because your blasted pegasus did too!”
Florina scrambled to her feet, shrinking away from the blue-haired giant. “I-I-I’m so s-sorry! I- Th-thank you for saving my life!”
Hector waved it away. “A bale of hay would have been more useful.”
“Well, I also owe you,” Eliwood said to Hector. “I wouldn’t have been able to catch either of them!”
“C-ceniro!” Florina said. “You’re here! Oh, thank goodness, you can come save us!”
“What’s wrong?” Ceniro asked urgently. “You were attacked?” He pointed at the arrow-wound in her pegasus’s flank.
And then Serra arrived. “What is all this? Omigosh, Florina! So good to see you again, girl! How is dear Lady Lyn and her boys?” As she spoke, she healed the arrow wound.
“That’s the thing,” Florina said, talking a bit more confidently now that Serra was around. “We fell under attack yesterday from Marquess Laus! Lord Hausen sent Lady Lyn out of the castle, and sent Commanders Kent and Sain, and Wil and me, to protect her. Lady Lyn is waiting for a chance to re-assault the castle, but she agreed to let me come find you here first. But you must hurry! Please, help us!”
“Lyndis is what?” Eliwood exclaimed. “She’s as brave as ever.”
“Assaulting a castle with five – four soldiers?” Hector said. “I’d say she’s crazy. Did she pick that up from you?” he asked, turning to Ceniro.
Ceniro shrugged slowly. “I don’t know. Maybe. She’s never been one to back down. She wants to destroy the Taliver Bandits single-handedly, so I would say it’s mostly her.”
“We will certainly come and help,” Eliwood said to Florina. “Is Lord Hausen still alive?”
“Yes, I think so. At least, we hadn’t heard that he’d died when I left them…”
“Everyone, pack up and assemble on the castle lawn,” Ceniro said into the farseer. “We have an urgent mission in Caelin.” He turned to Serra. “Hector was injured by Florina’s pegasus. Would you…?”
“Oh! Yes, of course,” Serra said, and raised her staff again. “How did that happen?”
“You don’t want to know,” Hector grumbled. “…Bloody thing sat on me.”
“I’m so sorry!” Florina squeaked.
They were gone in half an hour, beginning the trek across the green lands to the east. They would have to pass through the orchard fields of Laus, the hills on the Laus/Caelin border, and Caelin woods before they reached the castle. To make things go faster, everyone with a mount took another rider. Florina took Serra, and Priscilla took Rebecca. Merlinus carried a great many people in his cart, crammed in around his boxes and bags of supplies – including an increasing number of weapons, since he was now serving a pair of lords on a mission.
They reached Caelin in record time, for their group, at least. Florina kept her pegasus grounded so they would not be seen coming.
“What does it look like, Ceniro?” Eliwood asked. “Are we in time?”
Ceniro, up on a little hill so he could see in person as well, frowned at the farseer, glanced up at the distant castle, and down at the farseer again. “I can’t tell. There are certainly hostile units in the field, or at least units with Laus uniforms, as well as mercenaries. I see no sign of Lyn or of any struggle, not yet. And no real sign of a recent one, either.”
“She’s not on your device? How did you see Erk in the last battle?”
“Erk was already on from last year, when I was working with Lord Pent. Lyn is from before that. Well, there’s not much we can do to find out the truth except move in and retake the castle.”
“Remember, if they don’t attack us, we don’t attack them,” Eliwood said to Hector.
Hector rolled his eyes. “This is Marquess Laus we’re talking about. You honestly think his men won’t attack us on sight?”
“There’s always the chance,” Eliwood said mildly.
“Florina, whereabouts would you say Lyn might be?” Ceniro asked.
“She’s obviously not going to be on the northern fields. She might be in one of the villages, but she’d prefer not to put innocent civilians in danger, you know? So I think she might still be in the forest south of the castle. Would you like me to fly up and see?”
“No, that’s too dangerous. However, if you were to fly up once we’re ready to move, we can support you if their archers shoot at you and also she might see you if she’s there. Stand by, okay?”
Ceniro turned and lined up his fighters. “Take your hydration, and get ready to fight. We’re going to attack the castle in five minutes.” He turned to Eliwood. “Eliwood, Hector, Marcus, let’s make a plan.”
“Try not to get shot down again, will you?” Hector said to Florina as he passed her. “I don’t wanna pick you up again.”
“I-I-I-!”
There were nearly fifty soldiers patrolling the fields to the west of the castle. None dared go near the forest to the south. “I suppose the rest are inside the castle?” Ceniro said, checking the farseer.
“A reasonable hypothesis,” Marcus said. “Lord Darin has no real reason to expect our coming.”
“Good,” Eliwood said. “Perhaps we can catch him before he slips away again.”
“If we charge across the plain, we’ll get caught in their arrows,” Ceniro said. “I think… yes. Here’s what we’ll do.” Eliwood, together with Marcus, Serra, Dorcas, Rebecca, and Guy, would head directly east to the forest to find Lyn, spending as little time in the open as possible since most of them were fairly fragile fighters. The rest would draw the Laus forces towards a trap constructed around a hill and an abandoned tower that stood on top. Erk and Hector would be the bite of that trap; Matthew and Florina would be the bait.
“Sounds good,” Hector said. “Let’s move out!”
Ceniro turned on the little hill to address the rest of the group and tell them the plan to their faces, rather than inform them by disembodied voice. For some reason, his shyness left him when he was giving battle plans. Perhaps it was all the confident faces looking up at him, faces that were losing their travel-weariness as adrenaline filled them instead.
“One thing,” Eliwood said as they prepared to move. “Which group will you be in?”
Ceniro hesitated. “I’d love to be in your group. It’s been so long since I’ve seen Lyn and the rest. But I think I should co-ordinate the trap personally. You’ll be fine without my direct presence.”
“Let’s go!” Hector yelled at the soldiers in his group. “We have to get in position before Laus gets here! Florina, Matthew, move it!”
Ceniro stifled a chuckle. “Don’t yell at Florina, she gets stage fright when you do that.”
“How does she even fight?” Hector muttered in his ear.
“You’re in for a surprise,” Ceniro told him. “She’s brilliant with a light lance. She just can’t interact with men.”
“Is that what her problem is? I had so much trouble figuring it out.”
Serra, walking past, whacked Hector with her staff. “You have such problems with women, Lord Hector! You’re never getting married.”
Ceniro did laugh. “Relax, guys. There she goes.”
Matthew was sprinting out in front of the rest of the group, Florina soaring gracefully above him. When the Laus soldiers began looking up, and pointing their bows at Florina, Matthew was there, stabbing the first archer in the throat and whirling along their line, dodging their return attacks easily.
When he finally pulled away, three archers were dead. Matthew waved cheerfully at the rest. “Come get me, suckaaaaz!”
“That’s good, Matthew,” Ceniro said. “If I don’t see you juking in the next three seconds, you’ll be a pincushion.”
“I’m good, just keep Florina up where she is. This is close enough for her.”
“Erk, be ready.”
“I’m ready.”
Eliwood gave a startled yelp, and Ceniro heard the sounds of crashing foliage for a minute or two. “We found them, Ceniro!” One by one, new avatars appeared on Ceniro’s map, for Lyn, Kent, Sain, and Wil.
“Oh, Lady Lyn!” Serra squeaked. “It’s so good to help out a dear friend.”
“A-a dear friend?” Lyn asked. “Eliwood! What on earth are you doing here? Did Florina-? Hello, Dorcas, good to see you.”
“Fairest Lady Serra,” began Sain, and stopped abruptly. “Don’t do that, Kent!”
“We’re here to assist you, Lady Lyndis,” Eliwood explained. “I fear that Marquess Laus may have attacked Caelin because of our actions in attacking Laus. So we are here to help if we possibly can. And yes, Florina came to get us. You will be happy to know that Ceniro is here, co-ordinating the attack.”
“Thank you for coming! I must speak with him as soon as possible.”
“H-hi,” Ceniro said, a bit shyly. “Look, this end of the battlefield is about to get sticky, so you guys – one minute.” He tuned out that group as Matthew ducked inside the tower. “Erk, now.”
The mage rose from behind cover and sent three fireballs whizzing out in rapid succession.
“Lowen, Hector, Florina, now.” The three executed a three-way pincer and the unfortunate archers were demolished.
“As I was saying,” Ceniro said. “Once we’ve successfully split the Laus army in two, your group should have enough strength to take the remaining twenty or so and make it inside the gate before they know what hit you. We’ll catch up as soon as we can. Marcus, Kent, make a plan. I’ll check in when I can.”
Twenty minutes later, their end of the field was looking decidedly empty, and there was beginning to be a flicker of action on the other end of the field.
Ceniro checked to see who was currently not in action. “Sain, what’s going on? We’re heading to you.”
“Some arrogant twerp in heavy armour is guarding the gate,” Sain said. “Wait, how can I hear you?”
“Magic. I’ll explain later. I meant what plan did you make.”
“Uhhhh, basically Wil and the green girl are arching the enemy mages, while us cavalry are going to take on the enemy cavalry as soon as they’re done. Mages can’t see them, haha.”
“And the rest?”
“Sending Dorcas against the lance soldiers, sir,” Kent said, obviously listening in. “Lady Lyn, Lord Eliwood, and our Sacaean ally will be attempting to take down the armour knight, since he is slow and they are quick.”
“But he’s using a lance, isn’t he?”
“If he can hit me, I’ll be bloody surprised,” Lyn growled. “There’s the last mage, Eliwood. Charge!”
Ceniro put the farseer away and concentrated on running.
Florina swooped down near him. “Ceniro, do you want a lift?”
“That would be fantastic, thank you, Florina.”
“Hey, how come you get a lift?” Hector asked.
“Catch a ride with Lowen, if you want one,” Ceniro called back, and concentrated on clutching Florina around the waist. “Ahhhhhhhhh I’ve never flown before ahhhhhhhhh!”
Through the muffled farseer, he could hear Sain snickering. “Stop laughing, Sain!”
Florina touched down behind the friendly lines. Ceniro slid off and pointed at Guy, being menaced by a lance-wielding soldier much bigger than he was. “Go help him out, quick.” She was alight again in a moment.
Wil was at his side in a moment. “Ceniroooo! We missed you!”
“Thanks,” Ceniro said. “Shoot that man, will you?”
“Such business,” Wil said. “Wow. Many shoot.” He shot the soldier before he could surprise Serra, who was healing Marcus.
The rest of the group began straggling in to the conflict one by one, and Ceniro pointed them in the best directions.
Lyn took a moment to glance at them, and smiled at Erk. “Hello, Erk! Good to see you! I thought you had gone to finish your studies?”
“A pleasure to see you as well, my lady,” Erk said, casting a thunderbolt at a particularly threatening knight. “I’ve joined Eliwood’s company for the time being, as my master is on sabbatical. I can explain more later.”
And then she caught sight of Matthew, slinking along to stab a soldier in the back and disappear. “Hey! I saw that!”
“You saw nothing,” Matthew rejoined, trying to hide behind Oswin. “You got the wrong fellow. Bye.”
“Hold it right there, Matthew!” Lyn hollered, and Hector, on Ceniro’s other side, grinned.
“I like her already,” he muttered to Ceniro, who nodded.
Matthew stopped dodging and walked to stand in front of Lyn, grinning sheepishly. “Saw right through my disguise, didn’t you, Lady Lyn?”
“What disguise?” Lyn cried. “You’re not disguised at all! I’d swear you’re even wearing the same rags as last year!”
“Well, I, uh… I had to try. Being memorable is not great for a sp- thief. I totally said thief.”
“Matthew! You were our ally and friend, stop being ridiculous. What’s all this about?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Sure you can.”
“No, I really can’t.”
“Would you have your tongue cut out if you told?”
“Yes, exactly. You understand.” Matthew shot a playfully terrified look at Hector, who was not looking, and Lyn missed the significance of the look.
“Well, if you have any trouble, you come talk to me, and I’ll deal with it, okay?”
“Lyndis,” Eliwood said, “would you help me with this captain?”
“I’m right there!” Lyn answered, and ran off before Matthew could reply.
“Ah, Lady Lyndis,” Matthew said quietly, grinning, “I think you are currently the one in trouble. You’re either generous to a fault, or…something else altogether.”
“She’s something else, I think,” Hector agreed, coming up behind them. “Why didn’t Eliwood invite me?”
“Ladies first, my lord,” Matthew said.