Dawn of Darkness Chapter 10

Chapter 10: The Forest of Hope

Thanks to Lisa's guidance, Ike and Elincia made it to the edge of town faster than they originally anticipated.  Although they were forced to go through old, damaged buildings in older parts of the town due to militia reinforcements showing up roughly half way through the journey, Lisa's sense of direction did not fail to lead them down the safest paths.  Ike and Elincia heaved sighs of relief upon reaching the outskirts, finally able to take a rest and get Ike on his feet properly again.  Once Lisa's horse came to a final halt, Ike carefully lowered himself out of the saddle and onto the ground so as not to worsen his injury even more.  Lisa followed without hesitation.

"Alright, we should be safe here," she informed them.  "Let me see your foot now.  I was right in guessing it was your ankle, correct?"

"Yeah," Ike confirmed.  "How'd you figure it out?"

"The way you didn't move it much, of course," Lisa explained as she reached for a healing staff.  "I am a healer after all, so I must know how to tell one injury from another, no?"

"Ah, yes," Ike remembered, knowing that was the same knowledge Mist had to have.  "My sister is the same as you, a Valkyrie, so she's told me some stuff."

"I see.  Your name is Ike, isn't it?" Lisa inquired.

"That's right.  I'm glad to see at least one person not act like it's the greatest thing in the world," Ike replied.

"Yeah, I've heard about you and so have others from my area.  I'm the only one I know who isn't surprised to see you in our lands," Lisa explained as she focused her staff on Ike's lower leg.

"Oh?"

"Yes indeed.  From what I've heard, you sounded like the kind of guy who'd enjoy exploring."

"I certainly do."  

It only took a minute for Lisa to finish letting her staff glow long enough to have repaired the sprain in Ike's ankle.

"Alright, that ought to do it," she declared and rose to her feet again, having to kneel and bend over in order to reach Ike's foot.  Ike moved the once damaged extremity around some more to be sure he could properly use it again.  Unsurprisingly, it felt as good as new.

"It feels like it was never injured. Thanks a lot," Ike voiced in satisfaction.

"My pleasure," Lisa replied with a smile.  "And this young lady here is…?"

"Elincia," Elincia introduced herself.  "By the way, do you know a knight of Talgria named Leona?"

Upon hearing her ask that question, Ike figured Elincia thought Lisa could be the Valkyrie Leona had been talking about earlier.

"Why, yes I do.  She used to be my apprentice before deciding she was more interested in combat than healing," Lisa confirmed.  "Why do you ask?"

"Well, it just so happens that she said we should bring Ike to you for exactly this purpose," Elincia said with a slight laugh.

"Oh well, how about that?" Lisa laughed with Elincia in her response.

Deciding to see how Leona was fairing these days, Lisa stayed to wait alongside Ike and Elincia for their group to escape town.  Silence spread through the area as the trio awaited their comrades' safe arrival.  One thought came to Ike's mind as they waited, and that was how many different ways there could be to leave a town such as this, what with the number of alley ways and streets there were.  It was certainly possible for Azura and company to end up taking a different route, not knowing Ike and Elincia had gone elsewhere to escape.  That would delay their departure which, given the mood of the villagers, could prove fatal.

Ike could only hope for the best and that they found one another no matter which way they went.  Once he brought up the thought to Elincia as well as Lisa, it began to remind Ike of a certain similar situation that had occurred in Tellius when he was aiding Ranulf and the Laguz Alliance.  They were attempting to retreat from Begnion and go back to the beast laguz nation of Gallia after General Skrimir, Ranulf's commander, had been defeated by Begnion's General Zelgius in a personal duel.  They had come to a place called the Kauku Caves, which had been a very treacherous and deadly route to pass through.  It was torturously hot inside, and lava flowed through the cave's trenches. In fiery rivers that expelled small meteorites in deadly liquid flame.  However, it was the group's only choice if they were to get away from Begnion's troops supporting the Imperial Senate's cruel plans.  These caves had two separate exits, one leading to Gallia, and the other leading to the dragon laguz nation of Goldoa.

Unfortunately, the group had ended up in Goldoa, the next worst thing that could happen to them.  Goldoa was a neutral nation in all affairs and forbade foreigners from entering their land.  And, the might of the dragons made intrusions into their territory foolhardy if not suicidal.  Although Reyson, a heron laguz from Serenes, being in the party had convinced King Deghinsea to allow the two dragon laguz Ena and Nasir to safely lead them to Gallia's border, it was still a close call for them all.  There would be nothing to worry about if Azura and company reached Ike and Elincia whether they went through a different exit or not, but if they were to take a long time, whether or not to be concerned would become questionable.  Too long a delay would mean having to choose between running the risk of being overrun by the hostile villagers or leaving the others behind and that was a choice Ike felt he could never make.  Not to mention the possibility that too long a delay might mean that the others wouldn't be coming at all.  By now, Ike had been so deep in thought about the matter that he almost didn't hear a voice call out to him.

"Ike! Elincia!" the voice exclaimed.  It was Ranulf's. Ike shook his head upon hearing the cat laguz's voice, snapping out of his trance.  Ranulf was followed by Azura, Marc, and Morris, but Skye and Leona were still nowhere in sight.  This posed a new problem for everyone.  The group must have somehow been separated while choosing routes to take.

"Hey!" Elincia responded when she took note of the partial group.  "Where's the rest of the group?"

"Yeah, I don't see Leona or Skye anywhere," Ike added in concern.

"I have no idea…" Azura admitted, looking behind her in curiosity.  "They must have gotten forced to fight back there.  Oh, I certainly hope no one is dying!"

"Ha!  For once, there's no way she can say it's my fault!" Marc chuckled, glee in his voice.  "One of the larger causes of our bickering is her always thinking she's a perfect little angel and I'm the troublemaker."

"Well, I have to admit, Leona did blame you earlier…" Azura recalled.  "Oh, and who might she be?"  She noticed Lisa standing to Elincia's right.

"Oh, my apologies.  I'm Lisa," Lisa greeted.  "I was the one who led Ike and Elincia here."

"I see," Azura responded.  "That horse and staff in your hand…  Did you heal Ike too?"

"I certainly did.  In fact, I'm the very same Valkyrie Leona wanted you to bring him to.  I heard the story from Ike himself."

Before Azura could say another word, the sound of horse hooves echoed in the distance.  Within seconds, Leona appeared in the opposite direction from where Azura, Ranulf, and the others had come, followed by Skye.  Skye lagged a bit behind, but struggled to keep up regardless.

"Gosh, I'm so sorry we're late," Leona apologized when she brought her horse to a halt.  "We had gotten cornered in an alley way after wandering into a dead end.  If Skye and I hadn't decided to stick together, we'd have never gotten out of there."

"You can say that again," Skye seconded.  "Those villagers are persistent.  I'll give them that much."

"You didn't kill anyone, did you?!" Azura frantically wondered.

"No, thankfully we only had to give them a few small injuries in order to escape," Leona confirmed.

"Good.  It'd only hurt us more if we started killing other Talgrians," Azura pointed out.

"Agreed," Leona replied.  "Hey…  Lisa, what are you doing here?  I thought you had gone back to Kolah."

"This isn't Kolah?" Elincia asked in surprise.

"No, it's not.  I was in Kolah," Lisa explained.  "But someone from here asked me to come and heal some injured people since enemies hadn't yet been seen up north.  Bandits had stolen all their staves, so there was nothing else they could do.  I've stayed here since to cover for them."

"Oh…" Leona replied with a frown.  "That's no good.  I guess you have to continue aiding this town then, right?"

"Yes, unfortunately, even though your group could use my help," Lisa confirmed.

"Indeed, we could," Ike stepped in.  "We did recently pick up a good stock of supplies though, so as long as we don't run into serious trouble, we should be fine until we reach Eraghoa."

"So that's where you're headed," Lisa noticed.  "If you're not sure how to get there, just continue heading in this direction and it should be easy to spot.  I pray that your journey is a safe one."

"Ah, thank you! I was just about to bring that up.  We'll certainly try to make it that way," Azura replied.  "May we meet again, Lisa!"

"May we, indeed!"

After the remainder of the group bid their farewells to Lisa, they continued their journey to the mysterious Forest of Hope.  The forest seemed to live up to the name as the party was filled with thoughts of hope actually shining upon their travels.  Eraghoa was currently the only place Azura and company had to turn to for aid against the Red Claw, and if they could do nothing, the consequences would be unthinkable.  Along the way, as both the hostile villagers and the chance of pursuit fell far behind them, the warriors held friendly conversation to pass the time by as they moved farther and farther north within Talgria's borders.  Ike was the first to speak, wondering about Elincia's comfort in how much traveling they've been doing.

"Elincia…" he addressed, breaking what seemed like a never ending silence.  "I'm concerned about how you're taking this.  Are you sure you're fine with moving around so much?  I do recall that you're used to riding a mount rather than walking."

"True, I did get quite attached to the Pegasus," Elincia admitted.  "But I'm just fine.  Besides, I find I prefer fighting on foot to fighting on a mount."

"Just like me," Ike observed with a smile.  "If you're alright with this, then I guess I have no reason to worry."

"Exactly, you worry wart," Elincia playfully teased.  "Calm yourself."

"Yes, your majesty," Ike replied in a similar tone, punning Elincia's previous position in Crimea.  Elincia's only response was a playful glare.  Ike simply smiled proudly of his joke.

"Haha, nice one, Ike," Ranulf complimented.  Elincia still said nothing, but this time quietly took hold of Ranulf's tail, as she was walking behind him, causing it to pull and Elincia to ruffle some of the fur up.

"Ouch!" Ranulf exclaimed, almost toppling over.

"Serves you right," Elincia taunted with a giggle.

"Very funny!" Ranulf retorted, smoothing out his tail fur.  "Messing with my beautiful tail like that.  Of all the unappreciative people! Hey General Ike!  You're supposed to handle disciplinary action!  Make her wash dishes or peel potatoes or something!"

Elincia simply laughed again, partially at the accent Ranulf used.

"I hope you aren't horsing around back there, you guys," Azura warned from ahead.  "You might lag behind."

"Don't worry, we're not slowing down," Ike promised, gesturing towards Elincia and Ranulf to be sure.  Both gave him agreeing nods, though Ike had to slap Ranulf's hand away from Elincia's hair and cut short a retaliatory tug.

The day rolled along into mid afternoon as the group finally approached the edge of the Talgrian Forest of Hope.  The goal was to cross the border by nightfall so as not to risk getting lost in the woods.  At night, the forest was much darker than the plains and the dense canopy of leaves blotted out the guiding moon, rendering it more difficult to navigate.  Azura, as well as Ike and the others knew this all too well and were pleased to arrive at their destination while it was still daylight.  The trees on the outskirts stood tall and mighty along various dirt paths running into the forested area ahead.  They were as green as ever in the bright sunlight and a near symphony of songbirds scampered amongst the branches serenading merrily for the new arrivals.  It was truly a beautiful forest, and Azura couldn't resist taking a moment to admire it.

"Gosh…  This place is prettier than I'd imagined," she murmured, awed.

"Yes…just as beautiful as I remember it," Marc added.  "My dad has told me that its beauty is part of what influenced the beorc and laguz to be at peace.  They once battled here, near this very site that we stand on.  This forest was beautiful to them as well and they did not want to end up destroying it, so they set aside their differences."

"Really?  I did want to ask you, Marc," Azura recalled.  "Could you…possibly tell about your trip here?"

"I don't see why not," Marc agreed.  "I don't remember a whole lot, but what I do may be helpful.  I was here with both my parents long ago.  They took me for a short walk to show me something.  Something about…our heritage."

"Your heritage?" Azura wondered.

"Marc, are you saying your family is descended from the people who battled the laguz?" Ike wondered.

"Exactly.  At least that's what my parents think. I don't really want to call it that, though," Marc replied.  "I'd rather say I'm a descendant of the warriors who made peace with the laguz.  Those same warriors, from both races, pledged to ensure the peace would endure and that their descendants would do the same.  Those descendants are, nowadays, called the Oathsworn."

"Yeah, that's understandable," Ike agreed.  "It's like me wanting to say I saved a nation rather than killed hundreds of Daein soldiers in a war."

"Marc, you should be proud of that," Leona complimented.  "There are many beorc and laguz who highly respect those descended from the peacemakers."

"Yeah, I know.  Being an Oathsworn is one reason why I gained knighthood," Marc recalled.

"What?  I thought the General only accepted you because he had a small shortage of axe knights," Leona taunted.

"That's not true!" Marc retorted hotly.  "Well, he did say that, but that doesn't mean he would have rejected me otherwise."

"I suppose."

"Well, I'm glad to see you two finally playing nice," Skye commented with a hint of a smirk as he listened to the conversation.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Marc inquired suspiciously.

"He means you're starting to show your love," Azura explained in a flirty tone.  Neither Marc nor Leona replied right away, but instead froze in their places in the middle of the woods.  Ike and Ranulf, as well as Morris, were busy trying to hold back their laughter. Elincia giggled alongside Azura, to no surprise.  Skye shot Azura a sign that said perfection behind his back.

"What? Th-That's ridiculous!" Leona babbled in retort.

"Really now, Leona?" Morris replied, giving her a wink.

"Actually, Leona, now that they mention it, I'm starting to think the real reason you get on my nerves is because you do like me," Marc teased, folding his arms with a smile.

"Vice versa too, Marky boy," Ranulf added.  After this statement, neither him, Ike, nor Morris could keep to themselves any longer and burst into laughter.

"Touche," Elincia agreed, still in a giggle.

"Ha!" Leona exclaimed, now her turn to smile.

"N-Now that's going too far!" Marc protested as he became red as Leona was.

"Oh, is it?" Azura wondered in a sarcastic voice.  In no time at all, the whole group save for Marc and Leona was caught in the hilarity of it.  Marc and Leona themselves didn't look anything more than embarrassed, even though they knew their comrades were simply having fun with them.  Ike was the first to bring his laughing to a halt, only suddenly have his mirth replaced with alarm.  No one noticed it at first, but unknown to them was that Ike had a very good reason for stopping so suddenly.

"Wait, quiet!" he commanded urgently, putting a hand out to silence the group.  Without hesitation, everyone grew quiet as quickly as they had become noisy and listened to what Ike claimed to be hearing.  It only took seconds for the sound of faint voices and footsteps to echo throughout the forest somewhere nearby.  Azura and Ike motioned the group to follow them quietly to figure out what the commotion was.  No one made any hesitation to comply, as the voices did not sound like that of allies.  Instead they were the deep gruff voices they had been hearing quite often from the mouths of bandits.

"I knew it!" Ike quietly snarled when the group finally spotted who the voices belonged to.

"Blast it…  They did follow us here after all," Azura realized.  "Are we ever going to be rid of these goons for good?"

"I can't say," Ike admitted distantly.  "…Hold on, listen. They're talking again."  With that, everyone eavesdropped into the bandits' conversation while staying hidden behind the trees.  A few of the bandits were standing around in the middle of a large clearing in silence while another was talking to who appeared to be the group's leader.  As usual, the bandits carried axes, but there was no telling if others who used different weapons were hiding elsewhere in the woods.  Despite this, the words coming from the bandits were what the group had to be most concerned about.

"Argh!  Ya better not be wastin' my time, ya whelp!" the leader sneered at his underling.

"But the girl an' her lackies had to've gone here!" the bandit protested.  "With the Red Claw all over the south an' mountains, they got no other choice."

"Then why do I see no girl?"

"I dunno!"

"Bah.  We're gonna stick around 'ere anyway an' wait fer the other boys who're takin' the east," the leader decided.  "Who knows, maybe the girl'll show 'er face.  She obviously ain't goin' nowhere else."

"Har har!  I'll be lookin' forwerd to it!"

On that note, the conversation ended.  Everyone remained silent for the next few moments, however, analyzing what they had just heard.  Azura was the first to speak up several seconds later.

"So they've been setting a trap here," she realized.

"Yeah, too bad it's not going to work," Ike replied.  "Still, I wonder what they meant by 'taking over the east."

"So do I, but now's not the time," Ranulf pointed out.  "We need to decide what we're going to do about baldy over there."  He had taken note of the bandit leader's partially balding head.

"True.  We could launch a surprise attack, but considering how few men they have here in the clearing, they're likely to have more waiting in ambush," Azura said.  "Any ideas, Ike?"

"Hmm…" Ike brainstormed.  "What would Soren say…"

"Ah, his strategies always work," Ranulf remembered.

"Oh, you mean that one friend of yours who used wind magic?" Azura inquired.
"Exactly," Ike confirmed.  "…Ah! I've got it.  This area doesn't appear to be easily navigated, am I not correct?"

"Yep, Ike is turning into our very own Soren!" Ranulf joked upon Ike's tone, which did indeed sound something like Soren's.  "All you have to do now is grow your hair out, dye it a very dark green, and act even ruder!"

"…Ranulf, just shut up and listen," a glaring Ike demanded.  "Anyway, the forest looks thicker and darker near here, so the bandits could not have stationed hidden men very far, otherwise they'd likely get lost."

"Hmm…good point," Azura concurred.

"So, I suggest a majority of our group split up and surround the clearing as best as they can, wiping out any hidden enemies as quietly as possible," Ike continued.  "Meanwhile, the remainder will pretend to launch a surprise attack on the few men standing directly in the clearing and distract them from the rest of the action."

"Ike, I've gotta hand it to you.  You're getting good at this," Ranulf complimented.

"Why thank you, but I'm not finished yet," Ike responded, then continued.  "Our diversionary party will be myself, Azura, and Elincia.  Azura and I are the bait since I have the pendant and she's the target.  Elincia, it'll simply help to have an extra sword around, plus I know you're still rather new to fighting in woods."

"Unfortunately.  But I'll do my best," Elincia assured him.

"Leona and Skye, seeing as you two are the most vulnerable in this fight, I'd like you to avoid direct combat," Ike continued.  "However, if you have a javelin or some other weapon that can attack from a distance, Leona, I have an alternative."

"Well, you're in luck.  It just so happens that I bought a spear in Narcoss," Leona replied with a smile.

"Ah, even better.  Then, you and Skye stay hidden and give our foe some surprise strikes if you find any bandits we can't see," Ike suggested.

"Understood," Leona complied.

"You can count on my arrows," Skye promised.

"As for you, Ranulf, as well as Marc and Morris, you circle the area and cut down any baddies you see," Ike finished.  "Ranulf, your speed will be good for this.  Marc, axes are strong.  Use the best one you've got.  Morris, your heavy armor should be good defense against these guys, with your sword topping off the advantage.  Put those to good use.  Just beware of hammers."

"You got it, Ike," Morris replied with assurance.  "I'll surely show them true fighting prowess!"

"You can count me in too," Marc seconded.

"And I'll certainly do my part!" Ranulf stepped in.

"Excellent.  It's dark in some areas here, plus it's getting close to dusk, so this won't be an easy fight.  We have no way if these guys are used to fighting at night, but we can't take that risk anyway, so we have to make this quick.  Now let's put this strategy into action!" Ike declared with a smile.

With that, everyone broke up and headed in the proper directions.  Leona and Skye headed left while Marc, Morris, and Ranulf began to spread themselves throughout the opposite direction.  Ike, followed by Azura and Elincia, quietly stepped into the clearing, but remained in shadows of the mighty trees to prepare for their "surprise assault" on the bandits.  Still unaware of the presence of any of their assailants, the bandits themselves still aimlessly wandered through the clearing, looking bored and ill-prepared for any tough battles they could face.  Or rather, which they would face.

Ike motioned Azura and Elincia to wait for his signal before jumping into action.  Azura was to go first, since the bandits were looking for her and her appearance would arrest their attention, and then Ike and Elincia would soon follow.  After the next few moments, Ike gave the signal, and Azura began to make her move.  She instantly bolted into plain site, startling the bandits right away, sword in hand.

"Hey, meatheads!  Looking for me?" Azura shouted at them to get their attention.
"You!" the bandit who had been conversing with the leader earlier exclaimed.  "See, boss, I told ya she'd be here!"

"But she's alone…" the leader pointed out, a meager step above his underlings in intellect.  "That ain't right."

"Doesn't matter.  You're still dead meat!" Azura claimed.

"Are we?  We know more than ya think, lassie," the first bandit retorted.

"Ya dope!  Don't tell 'er!" the leader snapped.

"Oh yeah…"

"I wouldn't care if you maniacs were the most intelligent creatures to walk this land," Azura replied.  "I will not lose to the likes of you."

"Ain't that cute?" the leader asked sarcastically.

"Oh, it's cute alright," Azura assured.  She then secretly pointed a thumbs-up in the direction of Ike and Elincia, signaling their move.  They instantly bolted into the light on either side of Azura, drawing their swords in preparation for any combat that arose.

"That is, if you're referring to us," Azura finished.

"Aw, no way!  We've been duped!" the leader exclaimed, a shocked look on his face.  "The girl ain't alone after all!"

"Honestly, did you really think I'd be that stupid?" Azura retorted with a laugh.

"Errg…that does it!  Come on out, boys!  Let's show 'em we got stuff up our sleeves too!" the leader commanded.  However, nothing happened except for a temporary silence.  It was a silence so quiet; it was like tumbleweed careening across the desert on the wind.  The leader's shock only grew more acute as he aimlessly looked to his left, then right, only to see his expected reinforcements fail to appear as planned.  The few other bandits had also grown quite confused, and more than a little alarmed, at the predicament they'd found themselves in.  Ike, Azura, and Elincia simply exchanged happy glances with one another, with Ike raising a hand as another signal.  Seconds later, Marc, Ranulf, Morris, Leona, and Skye emerged from behind the trees surrounding the clearing on all sides.

"What the-?!  What's goin' on 'ere?!" the leader screeched in barely restrained panic, looking at the surrounding warriors.

"Well, well," Ranulf replied.  "Sorry to spoil your parade, but we felt like going after more, let's say, hidden prey."

"Argh!  They musta sniffed out our whole trap, boss!" the first bandit realized with dismay.

"That they did, matey," the leader admitted.  "But don't forget. We have a whole couple dozen er so reinforcements waitin' by the ruins, just as a sweet lil' back up plan!"

"Ohhh, yeah!"

"…Now I did not see that coming," Ike admitted, now wide-eyed with disbelief.

"More ruins?" Azura wondered aloud.

"Catch us if ya can, suckers!" the leader shouted, then motioned the remainder of his men to follow him.  They bolted off into the darkened woods ahead, which would only grow darker as the sun set.

"Well, what choice do we have?" Azura asked rhetorically.  "We must give chase!"

"We almost had them too…" Ike groused.  "Damn it! My best strategy yet, thrown out the window!"

"Ugh, Ike, save it for later…" Azura annoyingly retorted.

"Right, of course.  Sorry."

Unbeknownst to Ike, Azura, and the rest of their party, who were now following to hunt down the fleeing bandits through the forest, another pair of figures had hidden themselves behind the trees.  They were positioned slightly farther back from where Ranulf and his team had made their secret assaults from the clearing.  One of these two was a teenage lavender haired girl in a purple cloak.  Accompanying her was an older girl with shoulder length purple hair and carrying a healing staff.  They had been observing the events before them the entire time Azura and company had been conversing with the bandits.  The younger girl was the first to speak about it.

"Raela!  Did you see that?" she blurted, unable to keep the shock out of her voice.

"I did.  Quite unusual," Raela replied, cupping her chin meditatively.  "That was the girl we heard the Red Claw speaking of back at home.  Remember, Lily?"

"I thought so!" Lily exclaimed, recalling the event Raela just mentioned.  "This is bad. We should go investigate.  We can't just wander here forever!"

"I agree we need to get out as soon as possible, but we mustn't stick our noses in places they don't belong."

"But sister!" Lily protested, very nearly bouncing up and down with eagerness.  "The girl and her group have no healer!  Or mages!  And we still have a score to settle with those bandits!"

"That's true, but did you hear them say how many reinforcements they had waiting? It's too dangerous for us."

"Yes, but…if I don't fight, how is my magic going to get stronger?"

"I know you want training, but we can't just jump right in," Raela reasoned.  "I'll tell you what, though.  We'll follow in the same direction and see how the battle plays out.  If the girl and her group appear to be struggling, we'll aid them.  If they handle it on their own, we'll wait until the battle is over and then ask if they can help us escape from this maze."

"Sounds good to me," Lily agreed, grinning widely.  "C'mon, let's go!"