Chapter 2: Bird of a Feather Chapter 4: False Friends
Will start the next chapter, but probably won’t finish it until tomorrow. Still, we’re trucking along, here. And I am going through way too much chocolate. XD (Oh Cadbury, you are both delicious and affordable.) Also roasted seaweed. (mmmmm.)
Despite the battle being a pain to write, I actually enjoyed large parts of this chapter. Also I cracked (in total wordcount) over 30,000 words, so we’re in great shape.
Next chapter! Ceniro’s little brother! Erk! Conspiracy! More fighting, because this is a strategy game! Erik is a dramallama! And more!
Also tomorrow I am going to go hear Les Choristes sing at lunchtime, because Jen Moir’s choirs are great. (She should totally start a website called Jen Moir’s Choirs. I think it would be a hit. 😀 )
Chapter 3: In Search of Truth
Five hours later, they had travelled far north into Santaruz. The castle was about due west of them, and Eliwood called a halt for food. There was an inn by the road, as was normal everywhere in the heart of the cantons, and they went there.
“Mr. Ceniro, you said you grew up somewhere around here?” Rebecca asked.
“Yes, my parents and siblings live a couple hours south. We didn’t pass especially close to the town, so I didn’t think it necessary to mention again.” He added that she didn’t have to call him mister, and she nodded.
“What’s your family like?”
“I have an older sister and a younger brother. He wants to be a knight; he’s probably in Santaruz’s employ now. Anlie, though, she’s always been very kind to me. If she’s not married, she’s probably still at home. My father’s a… well, he’s a carpenter.”
“No need to be embarrassed about that,” she said, smiling at him with her huge green eyes.
“Oh, well, in my line of work, most tacticians are nobles. I was the token peasant boy at the Academy…”
“Did they pick on you?” she demanded.
“A bit.”
“Hmph! Well, good thing Lord Eliwood is a good lord. He won’t think any less of you just because you weren’t born rich.”
“I’m glad. I met him briefly last year, and he seemed like a very kind person. But that wasn’t the only reason they picked on me; it’s also because when I’m in combat, I can be completely, insufferably rude.”
“What? I don’t understand.”
Ceniro smiled ruefully. “I get caught up in everything, and I forget to refer to all those of higher rank by their honorifics. Which, in my case, is everyone. Which is partly why I’ve only had two jobs, in addition to being poor and young.”
“But Lord Eliwood doesn’t seem to mind?”
“I don’t,” Eliwood said, who had not been eavesdropping, not really, but who came to join their table. “It’s kind of nice when people aren’t afraid of me.”
“It’s not that I’m not afraid of you,” Ceniro said. “But I am worried that you might think I don’t respect you.”
“Respect what? My heritage as my father’s son? Although I am a lord, I’m a man just like you, and the only difference is that I have different responsibilities to shoulder.”
“Yeah, what he said,” Hector joined in. “A lot of people don’t respect me, ’cause I don’t respect them.” He snorted. “I couldn’t care less, honestly.”
“I respect everyone,” Ceniro said. “I just… am not always polite about it. And I don’t mean to be impolite, I just, uh, forget. And I feel bad about it-”
“Don’t feel bad,” Hector told him. “If you’re comfortable calling lords by their right names to their faces, good on you! I like that. In fact, if you don’t do that, I’ll knock you down whenever you try to pull any honorific crap on me.”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Eliwood said. “But you talk to us however you like. We’re in your hands.”
“Thanks,” Ceniro said, blushing, and wishing he could pull up his hood and hide. They weren’t mad, he reminded himself. They were even… pleased. But it was still embarrassing. And the knights, raised to be so proper, especially General Marcus, wouldn’t like it.
Rebecca went back to an earlier topic. “You said you didn’t know if your sister was married. Why not?”
“I’m always travelling. I don’t have much contact with my family.”
“It’s hard to send you mail, huh?”
“Very much so.”
“Perhaps when we return this way, we can visit your family.”
“Perhaps.”
Rebecca looked at him oddly, but didn’t comment. Eliwood and Hector were no longer paying attention, instead discussing sparring techniques.
They still had another hour before they reached the castle, and although it would be some time yet before sundown – summer was great for travelling – Eliwood clearly wanted to get their as soon as possible.
They had just struck out on the road to the castle when an armoured man stepped into their path. “Lord Eliwood! You will come no further!”
“I must speak with Lord Helman,” Eliwood said, his hand moving to his rapier – the soldier looked far too hostile.
“Who are you?” Marcus demanded. “You don’t look like one of Marquess Santaruz’s men.”
“Who am I? You should worry about your own selves, lordlings. You’ll be worm food soon enough!”
“I think my axe will change your mind about that?” Hector growled, unhooking it from his back and letting it thud into the ground in front of him.
“The cub thinks he’s a wolf, huh?” sneered the man. “Does your bite match your bark? We’ll find out if you make it to the castle!” He waved, and between them and the distant white castle, figures sprang from hiding, dotting the landscape.
“Miss Rebecca,” Eliwood said. “Please send this fellow a message with your bow.”
Rebecca sent an arrow past the messenger’s ear.
“We’re not messing around,” Hector said. “And we have like three military geniuses here, so you lot might as well clear out.”
“Three? Against our might?”
“I was giving you fair warning,” Hector said, and shrugged. “What’s up, Ceniro?”
“Do you think they’ll threaten the villages?” Ceniro asked.
“Probably not,” Marcus said. “However, bandits could take advantage of the confusion. It would be wise to warn them to close their gates until the furor dies down.”
“Thank you,” Ceniro said, pleased that Marcus didn’t seem to be glaring at him as much as before. “In that case, Lowen, you’re going to be point. Take Matthew; the two of you can travel light and fast and possibly unseen.”
“Or at least we could, if he didn’t have bright green hair and yellow armour,” Matthew muttered, but only Ceniro and Hector caught his words. The thief swung up onto Lowen’s horse, and Ceniro pointed out their targets.
“We’ll have to fight our way across the river, and there’s only one bridge.” Ceniro chewed his lower lip for a moment, then pointed. “Marcus, Oswin, take the right. Your armour will shield us from the arrows they’re sure to send against us. Dorcas, Bartre, on the left; the hills might hide bandits.”
“Do you always explain all your tactics?” Hector asked.
“He does,” Serra said. “He likes to know we know why we’re doing what we’re doing, so we can do it better!”
“Yes,” Ceniro said. “Serra, you stay with me.”
“Oh thank goodness,” Hector mumbled.
“Rebecca, you go behind Oswin. Try to get off a few shots. Hector, Eliwood… you’re in the middle. Now we’re ready.”
He looked to Eliwood, who nodded and began to jog forward, in the direction of the bridge, trusting in his soldiers to shield him from hidden attack.
Matthew popped up in front of Ceniro, seemingly out of nowhere, and passed him a strange lumpy object. “I’m told it’s called a ‘mine’. And that it explodes. You can hang on to it, I don’t need explosions.”
“According to all the spy penny-serials I’ve read – which are admittedly few – you are incorrect,” Ceniro said. “But I’ll hang on to it.”
“Also, we have a new ally. Guy! …Guy?”
A young man climbed out of the bushes behind Matthew. “I’m here. Why did you insist on dragging me through all that…”
“Ignore his complaining,” Matthew said. “He’s here because he owes me his life.”
“I don’t understand.”
Matthew rolled his eyes. “Let’s try that again. He was hired by these villains to fight, but I convinced him to join us. Sacaeans, you know. Great sense of honour.”
“I know,” Ceniro said. “Ah, battle’s joined. You’ll be needed up front. Guy, your name is?”
“Yeah,” the young man said sullenly.
“I’m sorry everything’s confused right now. Thank you for joining us. Please go fight with Dorcas and Bartre over there, and we’ll sort you out later.”
The weather was so fair, the sun shining down on the little groups battling each other. It was so strange to think that conflict could rise so easily in such a beautiful land. And for better or worse, it was his homeland.
He gave orders, and foot by foot, they fought their way across the bridge and to the foot of the castle, staying out of arrowshot. It was actually a lot faster than foot by foot once they crossed the bridge; Ceniro finally had room to execute some manoeuvres, though on a miniature, single-soldier, personal scale – the scale he liked best. Battle for him was not the grand clash of armies – although the adventure with Lord Pent had proved he was capable of that as well – but the chess-like strategic placement of individual fighters.
Eliwood and Hector fought well together – although Hector was far more enthusiastic than refined, and Eliwood had far more finesse than strength. But Ceniro, although he wasn’t himself a fighter, could see their potential. If this journey went on for any length of time, they’d both become far more accomplished than they already were.
At least they were nobles he wasn’t afraid to put in the line of fire. That said something for the training they’d already taken. And with Marcus training Eliwood, and Oswin training Hector, their continuing education was in safe hands, too.
The apparent leader of the enemy forces was a balding, green-haired man in heavy armour.
“Well, we’re here!” Hector said. “Your goon back there thought we wouldn’t make it. I think he’s dead.”
“He’s dead,” Ceniro confirmed.
“Ah, but I’m quite a bit tougher than those cheap sell-swords you’ve been facing. I can take down any three of you together!”
“So… we should send four of us at you,” Hector said, smirking.
“Where is Marquess Santaruz?” Eliwood demanded.
“I imagine by this point he’s on his way to a better place!” The man laughed, and spat in the dirt. “He’s a fool, you’re fools…”
“And what makes you say that?” Eliwood said.
“You’re on a fool’s errand! You may be strong enough to get here, but you won’t win. Not in the end!”
“He doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” Hector said in disgust. “Can I kill him?”
Ceniro jerked his hand, and their new recruit, the swordsman Guy, leapt up and took the villanous knight’s head off faster than anyone could blink.
“Sorry, I thought he would be more effective,” Ceniro apologized. He turned to the farseer, trying to find out if they could approach the castle safely.
Hector shrugged. “Who is this guy, anyway?”
“My name is Guy,” Guy said defiantly.
“From Sacae?” Eliwood asked.
“That’s right.”
“It’s all right,” Ceniro said. “None of us are… prejudiced. I don’t think.”
“Is that why he’s being bitchy?” Matthew asked. “He thinks we’re going to be racist?”
“Lycians are always racist,” Guy muttered. “And if you’re gonna kill me now, you have to talk to that bastard over there.” He pointed at Matthew.
“Ooh, I think that was racist,” Matthew taunted him. “Are you a racist, Guy? What are you even doing in Lycia?”
“…No work in Sacae.”
“Sir Guy,” Eliwood said, ending the argument between the two young men, “my name is Eliwood of Pherae. I don’t know what your situation is. But if you are looking for work, we can pay you to travel with us and assist in our battles. You are obviously very skilled.”
“Like, Lord Eliwood? Son of the Marquess?”
Eliwood nodded.
“All right,” Guy said. “I’ll come with you. I have to work off my life-debt, anyway.”
“Matthew, what did you do?” Hector asked.
“I didn’t do anything!”
“Is that so?”
“Why are you guys just standing around?” Serra demanded, turning away from the conversation she’d been having with Rebecca at a distance. “Men! All they wanna do is fight or talk.”
“Yes,” Eliwood said. “Ceniro, does the castle look hostile?”
“No, actually,” Ceniro said, which was what he had been waiting for. “The farseer just finished looking. I think the enemy were all deployed in the field against us. I think we should still go carefully; I don’t like what that man said. But quickly.”
“I hope Lord Helman is all right,” Eliwood said, and walked swiftly towards the gate.
They were met by a frantic steward in the main hall. “My lords! Lord Eliwood, Lord Hector! Come quickly! Lord Helman… it’s dreadful!”
They followed him at a run to an upper office, where an old man lay sprawled on the floor in a pool of blood. People were gathered around him, guards and healers. One look proved that the lord was too far gone to be healed. The blood was from a stab wound in his chest.
Eliwood knelt beside the old man. “Lord Helman!”
Lord Helman coughed and opened his eyes slowly. “Is that you… Eliwood?”
“Yes, my lord. Who did this to you?”
“I’m so sorry… Eliwood. It’s… all my fault…”
“I don’t understand.”
“If I hadn’t told Elbert… about Darin’s plans…” He coughed again, and blood was in it.
“Hold on, sir!”
“You… must go to Darin… make him tell you… everything… then… you can save… your father…”
“Lord Helman…”
“Beware… the Black… Fang…”
His body jerked once, and was still.
Eliwood was also very still.
Hector stepped up beside him and offered a hand. Eliwood took it and stood up firmly, his lips pressed into a grim line. “What could have caused this? Who would murder him? Who could murder him?”
“Blast it all,” Hector agreed, looking down at the body. “I don’t know what he was mixed up in, but he didn’t deserve this. He was a good man.”
“Probably why he told my father whatever he knew, so my father could help stop it. We must go to Laus and get the truth from Lord Darin.”
“You’re right,” Hector said. “We should leave quickly. I’m not sure how far we can get with what’s left of today, but I certainly can’t sit still now.”
Eliwood glanced at the others, hovering in the door and the wide corridor outside. “We’ve fought two battles today. You may not be tired, but the others are. We’ll set out at first light.”
“Fine.”
The steward looked to the two lords beseechingly. “With our Marquess gone, what are we to do?”
“First, give him a proper burial. After that, the Lycian Council will certainly have to meet. Defend the castle until you hear from my brother,” Hector said.
“I understand and obey,” the steward said, bowing. “I will prepare rooms for your party for tonight.”
“And now we seek answers for Marquess Santaruz too,” Hector said as they left the room following the steward. “See, this is already turning out to be far more serious than I thought.”
“Hector… you’re not telling me something.”
“You’re right. Later. Just you and me. And Oswin, Matthew, Marcus, and that tactician of yours. Ceniro. But for now… we’ll honour Lord Helman.”
“Lord Helman…” Eliwood murmured. “May you find peace.”
The six men met in Hector’s room later in the evening, after the sun had set. Hector closed the windows and the curtains.
“You’re acting a bit paranoid,” Eliwood commented. “It’s making me jittery.”
“Well,” Hector said, “you won’t blame me after you hear what happened in Ostia just as I was setting out to join you. Matthew was there; he’ll help explain the parts I can’t.”
“I’m sure you can explain it just fine, young master,” Matthew said drily.
“I was telling Uther… uh, I was yelling at Uther… for about the third time-”
“-that week,” put in Matthew. “Which at that point was three days long.”
Hector glared but continued. “-about how your father was missing, we needed to help, what good was being Marquess of Ostia if we couldn’t keep other Marquesses from disappearing into thin air, and, uh, what good was being Marquess of Ostia if we couldn’t brow-beat obviously-shifty Marquesses like Lord Darin into telling us what they knew about your father’s disappearance.”
“It was quite the row,” Matthew said. “Still, I did as he bid and brought him supplies and his axe, and arranged for his departure.”
“And he packed enough for Serra and Oswin as well, as if he knew they were coming…”
“I’m not sure why he trusted me to do that, seeing as he apparently trusts me much less far than he can throw me…”
“Well, I sure didn’t after you gave up bugging me to let you come way too easily… but then I saw someone skulking in the shadows of the – you know the hall on the ground floor of the residential wing? The one with all the pillars?” Eliwood nodded. “There was someone there. I knocked him down, and he wouldn’t tell me anything, so I, uh, I killed him.”
“Such forward thinking,” Matthew said. “Of course, then you tried to kill me, as well.”
“Yeah, that was fun.” Hector grinned. “How did you put it? You said something witty.”
“You said ‘I thought you were one of them!’ and I said ‘Well, I’m not! I’m one of me! And I’d like to stay only one of me!’” Hector and Matthew laughed, and Eliwood joined in. Marcus and Oswin looked pained, and Ceniro knew he looked both confused and amused.
“Why did you come back?” Marcus asked Matthew.
“Because those assassins were good at sneaking, though they were second-rate at fighting, so I knew they wouldn’t show themselves until Lord Hector was alone,” Matthew answered.
Hector nodded. “Once they revealed themselves, I made Matthew carry the bags while I cut down all the intruders in my path. He had tricked the guards into leaving the back gate unguarded so I could slip out unnoticed…”
“Although it wasn’t that effective,” Oswin remarked. “Everyone could hear you shouting.”
Hector glared. “If that’s the case, then why weren’t you there sooner?”
“Lord Uther required my presence.”
“Uther was in on the whole thing, wasn’t he?”
Oswin shrugged eloquently and made no answer.
“That’s why Matthew packed for four! …Anyway, they were pretty pathetic. There was a moment where I thought I lost Matthew, but fortunately he was still in one piece, and I swore him into my service instead of my brother’s, and then we hauled ass onto the highway. Unfortunately, Oswin and Serra caught us a short ways out of town. Obviously sent to babysit me, by my brother.” He glared again at Oswin. And sighed. “At least he’s letting me do my thing.”
“Well, it is certainly a comfort to have their skills,” Eliwood said. “I wasn’t expecting there to be so much fighting, and both the extra strength and the healing abilities will make things much easier.”
“Vulneraries can only do so much,” Oswin agreed. “And Lord Uther knows how headstrong Lord Hector can be.” Hector rolled his eyes.
“So who sent the assassins?” Eliwood asked. “That seems to be the important point.”
“I don’t know,” Hector said. “But the last one I cut down muttered a name as he fell. Nergal, or something like that. I don’t know if he’s connected to this Black Fang, or to your father, but I have a sneaking suspicion he might be.”
“So if we encounter anyone named Nergal… they will probably be trying to kill us,” Ceniro guessed.
“You said there were rumours of an assassin’s guild from Bern infiltrating Lycia,” Marcus said. “Could that be the Black Fang? Could it be the Black Fang was targeting you?”
“It’s plausible,” said Matthew. “As the resident espionage expert, I would theorize that the Black Fang is behind Lord Elbert’s disappearance. Why, I’m not yet sure; to keep him from interfering with their plans, which we don’t know what they are yet. Obviously, they want him to remain hidden, so they have set up obstacles for Lord Eliwood. And Lord Hector’s… impetuous loyalty to his friends is well known, so they attempted to assassinate him before he could join the hunt. This Nergal is probably the leader, although last I heard, the leader was a man named Reed. Additionally, the Black Fang has a reputation for deposing irresponsible or cruel lords, of which Lord Elbert is neither.”
“Well, that doesn’t add up,” Ceniro said.
“My information is probably outdated,” Matthew said. “It’s quite normal. Perhaps Nergal took over from Reed and is taking the group in a more sinister direction.”
“Hang on,” Eliwood said. “Remember last summer, when I ran into your group? There were assassins chasing those children as well. Marcus and Harken and I saved the girl from them. Do you think they’re related, too?”
Matthew spread his hands. “Anything is possible at this point. I was there, and I can say they definitely looked similar, but I wouldn’t say for certain they were the same group.”
“Well, that’s in the past. We need to worry about the present,” Marcus said. “We should move quickly to Laus on the morrow. I do not think we can stand against an army, but perhaps we shall not have to.”
“What do you mean?” Eliwood asked.
“As of yet, I mean nothing,” Marcus said. “I must admit I am not at all comfortable with your course of action, Lord Eliwood, for they seem to lead to certain destruction, and yet I can see no other way to go that will serve your needs.”
Eliwood smiled at his knight. “Thanks for understanding, Marcus.”
“And this is obviously big,” Hector said. “It’s a conspiracy spanning Lycia, if not Lycia and Bern. If we’re the only ones on to it, it’s our job to find out as much as we can and stop it.”
“Well said, Master,” Matthew said. “Now, how about some rest before we try stopping anything?”
“Do you think it’s safe here?” Eliwood asked uncomfortably. “Your tales of skulking assassins has somewhat unnerved me.”
“Sorry,” Hector said, and grinned. “It’s the atmosphere, isn’t it?” He gestured to the darkened, candle-lit room.
“I think it’s safe,” Matthew said. “I took the liberty of scouting out the castle before supper and there did not seem to be anyone around who shouldn’t be. You should be safe to sleep in your own bed, tonight.”
“Thank you,” Eliwood said. “Now that you mention it, I am really tired. I shall go to bed. Good night, all of you.”
“And you,” Hector said, waving idly.