Fire Emblem: Crimson Flower

Chapter 65) The Conand Tower Incident

A/N: Just a head's up, this chapter will contain some potential triggering content. I've not written stuff quite as suggestive as this before, and even if it is mild in terms of what you can find on this site, I just want to give a warning beforehand that there will be some implied sexual advances made to the characters in this chapter. Nothing too revealing, mind you, as it's all done through dialogue, but I will leave a summary of the chapter (leaving out the triggering content) in the Comments at the bottom of the chapter in case you don't wish to read the full thing.

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Further away from the monastery, there was an encounter that would shape how the Black Eagles' mission would fare this month. Of course, this meeting would not take place without some sort of difficulty. That would always be the case, and such was the way of life.

It was raining. The weather did not let up. The raindrops continued dropping heavily, pittering and pattering upon the ground until it was almost incomprehensible. This wasn't the best position for Shez to be in, but she had to make-do.

'Where are we this time?' Her friend thought.

They'd been walking a while. To seek shelter from the rain, they found a large bricked tower nearby. Shez was adamant not to fully go inside. In fact, she almost exclusively stayed at the entrance. She had a roof over her head, and that was all that mattered. She refused to go any further inwards within the tower. Even if some stray raindrops landed atop her head, shez was not budging.

"Won't we feel warmer actually being inside the tower? I'm not sure if being out here is a good idea. What if you get a cold?"

Shez shrugged it off. This only frustrated Arval. Before Arval could come back with a witty remark, however, thunder had struck. The two looked around. All that was around them was forest, forest, and even more forest. This tower was the only anomaly there was among the dense crowds of greenery before them. Arval was very adamant to continue venturing inward.

Shez heard footsteps, though. Ignoring Arval's continued berating, she looked ahead. From beyond, a group of men emerged. They went into the tower, not even giving Shez so much as a glance. Shez now finally turned to her spirited partner.

"Seriously," he continued. "If we continue doing things like this, your health will only get worse! Willpower alone isn't enough to prevent a cold."

"I'll keep that in mind," Shez retorted. "But keep this in mind, will you? Take a look at the people who just passed us by. I want you to give 'em a thorough search."

Arval gave a snort. "Why would I? Do you want me to mention how they're smarter than you to be going inside?"

She was reaching her limit. Shez was going to shout, but she held off on it. Now was not a good time to be making any noise. Even if the rain was covering most of what she spoke of with Arval, she knew that just the smallest of alerts could put her in danger.

"This place is Conand Tower. It was meant to be a watchtower for the Faerghus region, but in the middle of development, it was abandoned because of hostile activity from the neighbouring bandits," Shez explained. "That's why I don't want to go in. The place is a spawn point for wanted criminals and fugitives. We'd be lucky if we even made it out alive if we chose to go inside."

Arval finally understood. He only gave a surprised, 'oh', at Shez's explanation. Shez didn't want to get herself into trouble. She did the bare minimum to keep herself safe. As long as she was out of the rain, things would be fine

"But wait- You have that bestowed power from me!" Arval beamed. "With your second sword and Shadow Flashing powers, you could easily take everyone on in there!"