Fate/Novus Ordo Seclorum

Chapter 15: Cuchulainn's Medicine

FATE/NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM

"New Order of the Ages"

Chapter 15: Cuchulainn's Medicine

The heroes continued northward along eastern America, passing by Georgia and the Carolinas before reaching halfway through Virginia. They had to stop and fight the occasional pack of Celtic warriors and/or a few strong monsters that scouted them out, but the fighting was nowhere near as intense as back in the war zone. Fia-Leanbh was extremely familiar with the area since it was her former hunting ground, so she guided them through pathways that made it difficult for the enemy to find them.

Ituha was starting to show signs of strain however, so the party decided to take a short rest before moving on. Ever since they breached the forest, a whole day of nonstop running and fighting had passed. The young Archer did her best to keep up without asking for any breaks, but she was reaching her limit of endurance.

She sat on a fallen tree and allowed Nightingale to examine her vitals. The nurse reported, "No signs of fever or disease anywhere. Your leg muscles look rather sore though. If you were in such pain, you should have asked one of us to carry you."

"I didn't want to slow anyone down," Ituha shook her head.

"Nonsense. I carried Rama around everywhere, and he was certainly no burden for me."

Rama rubbed his forehead and grumbled, "Please don't remind me of that..."

"It's no trouble for us to rest a bit," Diarmuid said. "Let's have Ms. Nightingale heal Miss Ituha for a couple of hours while we plan our invasion strategy."

"Good idea. Ever since we saw Gae Bolg, we've been running like headless chickens. The fact is, we need a solid plan if we're going to take on Medb and the Holy Grail. Ituha, can you tell Fia to scout ahead for us?"

"Sure," the child said and made the request to her other self. Without a word, Fia turned northward and rushed into the forest. It only took seconds for her small form to disappear within the foliage. Rama and Diarmuid gathered some firewood, and Ituha lit up a campfire with her magic so they could relax and warm up.

"So, how are we going to do this?" Rama wondered. "It's obvious that Medb is expecting the South Army – that is, us – to ambush the White House and try to kill her. The thing is, while our strategy is apparent, I am wondering if she's aware of which Servants are in each army. Can you tell us anything, Diarmuid?"

"Hmm," the Lancer pondered. "I am confident that Queen Medb would know how many of us are with Edison, as well as most of our identities."

"'Most' of our identities? You mean she doesn't know everyone?"

"She would obviously know about Edison, Helena and Karna, along with you from when Cuchulainn nearly killed you. Then there's myself and Scathach, and how we recruited Miss Fia. From my understanding about the failed assassination attempt, she would know about Robin Hood as well."

"So that leaves Elizabeth, Nightingale and Ituha."

"Pretty much. She never had any contact with those three Servants."

Rama glanced over at Nightingale and Ituha. "That means Medb doesn't know how two of us fight. I'll bet that goes double with Ituha since there are no records of any Servant possessing her abilities."

The Archer then suggested, "What about that Li Shuwen fellow?"

"Oh, him!" the Saber exclaimed. "He's been entirely unaccounted for in this whole war. There's also the possibility of other Servants being summoned who will assist us. Even so, I don't think it's a good idea to rest our hopes on those who may or may not show up. It's best to pool what resources we have available and utilize them to the fullest."