Marianne and the Forbidden Codex: A Fire Emblem Three Houses story

Refuge

Holst and Claude estimated to reach the Monastery in three days since they had to go around the Monastery a bit through the mountains to go unnoticed. They were already in the fourth due to the snowstorms that devastated the area adjacent to Fódlan's Throat. Hilda and Claude were worried.

While they had enough food for the caravan, the wyverns they carried probably would have to miss the journey. "We could perfectly well have crossed the Throat and avoided this cold," thought Claude constantly, who hated low temperatures.

Leonard was a bit off. Although the mountainous area was somewhat colder, snowfalls like that were not usually seen at this time. Something or someone was facilitating the weather conditions. It couldn't be ruled out that it was magically summoned from the Monastery itself. He decided to keep these ideas private, preventing any disproportionate reaction from arising in the group.

Marianne was looking out of her wagon, but visibility was minimal. They knew they were still on the road and not down the mountain, only by the torches of each chariot at the front. As far as the girl could see, the horses were tired and cold. The woman couldn't get closer to listening to their hardships, although it was what she would have wanted to encourage them.

Opposite her sat Leonard. She didn't know why they weren't together like always. Marianne felt that he was avoiding her and felt more secure when their eyes met, and he returned a warm smile, something different from the ones he had offered her before. The girl remembered what happened in her room. Immediately her face turned red, to later hide it by looking down.

His partner tried to maintain his composure so no one would notice, as if that would work out. Almost everyone knew that someone had haunted the halls of the Fódlan's Locket fort around dawn. It was likely one of the two in some nighttime skirmish.

They were already relatively close to the Monastery, but the snow was worsening. They must arrive before nightfall. Otherwise, they might lose their animals and troops. Fortunately, before the sun went down, they spotted a building.

Leonard had warned everyone that they would receive a poor reception. Therefore, they would be stationed first in a refuge about ten miles from the monastery. Then only the companions of the Golden Deer class, the Empire group, and Mercedes, Ingrid, Sylvain, and Felix, who had agreed to collaborate with the expedition, would go to the monastery, partly at Dimitri's request.

That place was an abandoned post. It had marks on the outer walls. Everyone thought it had been attacked and left after a rather exhausting battle. Only Marianne could deduce that it was the place where Leonard had gone through that traumatic event he told her about.

Marianne confirmed it when she saw some slightly inclined wooden rods at the entrance. "I hope those horrible memories don't come back to your mind for being here, Leonard," she thought, feeling discomfort in her chest.

Once inside, they all used their torches to survey the place. There were all kinds of abandoned gear. Most would have expired by now. To everyone's surprise, Raphael had found some jarred preserves that could be useful if cooked properly, as well as dried meat and fish sauce. That would save everyone from having to spend from the group's supplies.

They lit some fires in the largest room for the group to sleep around since the cold was brutal. Many were not used to these temperatures, especially those who did not come from colder regions like Faerghus. They took advantage of entering the animals to leave them in one of the most remote rooms. Marianne gladly volunteered for the task.

The light blue-haired girl could withstand the cold somewhat since her spells were based on said element. Despite this, those low temperatures also affected her. The woman saw Leonard around one of the campfires, helping Raphael cook.