[✍️EDITING] Children of Legend | Fire Emblem Awakening

⚜Lucina Chapter 3⚜

Chapter Three

The man, whose name was Hosh, prevented the archers on the roofs from shooting Lucina and her group and instead led them down the street, through the mist and towards the harbor. Gerome instructed Minerva to take to the sky and wait for his call. Lucina couldn't help but flinch as the black dragon took the air-in the eerie stillness, the leathery flap of her wings sounded too loud.

They paused when they reached the central market, a large cobblestoned square surrounded by dozens of abandoned, dilapidated market stalls. Some looked to contain their original merchandise, as if they'd been left behind at a moment's notice.

But the main problem was the half a dozen Risen wandering around the square, their groans sending chills up Lucina's spine.

Hosh cursed-he was holding Nico to his chest with one hand, his sword in the other. "They're a lot more restless than usual today," he said. "Usually there's only two or three out here that we have to pick off."

Lucina wondered if it was because of Grima's passing over the region.

"Should we dispatch them?" Laurent whispered. "We'll back you up, of course."

The rest of Lucina's group nodded, but Hosh shook his head. "We operate on stealth, here," he said. "You don't fight unless you can't avoid it, especially since the noise could attract more of these monsters. Let's try to go around." He nodded to one of his archers, who beckoned everyone to follow him. They ducked behind the market stalls, creeping through the misty shadows around the square. Lucina had to plug her nose as she passed a kiosk holding a basket of fish-the meat had long since rotted, attracting a swarm of buzzing flies.

"Amazing," she heard Laurent mutter as he crawled behind her. "The Risen should sense our body heat or at least smell us. Perhaps the stench is keeping them at bay?"

They reached the other side of the market without trouble, ducking behind and overturned wagon before any of the Risen could spot them.

"How much farther?" Gerome asked.

"Not far," Hosh assured him. "We're nearly there."

A few more Risen plagued the streets, walking mindlessly in no particular direction, but they were easily able to avoid them by ducking through buildings and taking alleyways behind the streets. Before long, a set of meager wooden walls rose in the distance out of the fog, spreading before a bare stone clearing. A couple of lit braziers lined the walls, and Lucina thought she might have seen men walking along them, armed with arrows and other weapons.

"Hey!" Hosh said, making everyone flinch as he cried out. "We're back! We've got Nico!"

A fierce snarl suddenly ripped from somewhere up ahead-the fog parted, and a Risen lunged at Hosh, wielding a deadly lance with a pointed end. Lucina and Gerome surged forward, prepared to put down the beast, but the monster suddenly jerked and collapsed, as if it had been cut down from behind. A black-clothed figure with long hair stood behind it, wielding two curved swords.

"Move!" the figure yelled through its mask-a boy. "Get to the gate!"

More snarls echoed from the recesses of the fog, along with the shouts of men. It must have been more of Hosh's people, fighting the Risen.

"Quickly," Lucina urged Hosh, pushing the man forward. The rest of them hurtled after the man, with the mask-wielding boy bringing up the rear. Lucina held her sword at the ready, and was glad she did-Risen rose out of the mist like demented ghosts, leaping at Nico and his father. Lucina beheaded two before they could claw the man to shreds, and then strong-armed another that lunged from her right with a sword. She turned, suddenly lost in the mist. She searched, found the glow of the burning brazier high above. The gate was that way.