Fire Emblem: Children of Light

Chapter 18: Angelica

  "Is something ailing you Aurelio?" Galatea asks, resting her hand on his shoulder.

  The group sat in the central room of Arcelia's small fortification on the outskirts of town. Casey had found his bottle and was passing it around, letting those who wished to drink from it. There was a sort of stagnant feel in the air. Everyone was growing fatigued and their nerves were overwrought, causing a sort of restless tension that hung in the air like a stink. There was a literal stench wafting through the room as well for no one had had a proper bath in quiet some time, save for Maude, Galatea, and Arcelia, who were accustomed to the bitter cold and had no problem climbing down the old scaffolding and down to the fishing pier for a quick dip in the icy waters. With her queen gone Maude's fighting spirit was beginning to dwindle and with his father dead and cousin next in line Anselm wasn't to fervent either. All and all, no one really felt like celebrating as an air of sickly gloom sat upon them like a pestilence.

  "I'm fine." Aurelio's breath was uneven and he felt faint, but he tried his best to push through it. "Just tired..."

  He lays back against the wall with a sigh and starts to drift in and out of consciousness. Maude looks over, suddenly alarmed.

  "Don't let him fall asleep!" She exclaims, rushing over. "Galatea, pull of his cowl, he's hypothermic."
  "Hypo-? Aurelio, why didn't you tell us you were sick?" Galatea asks worriedly as she begins to undress him, peeling off his wet shirt and cowl.
  "I-I-I'm not-" He stammers weakly. "I-I'm fine. J-Just sleepy..."

  As Galatea begins to swaddle Aurelio up in a dry shirt, a sort of sickly, sleepy haze befalls upon him. His eyelids, cold and leaden, fall shut. When Aurelio comes back to, he could faintly hear a fire crackling in the distance. He was laying on an old musty cot, haphazardly dressed in a new outfit. Groggily he lifts his head and looks around. He was in a small wooden building, though it wasn't Arcelia's fort. Aurelio's nose twitched. The room smelled strongly of pine, a smell he couldn't stand. Sitting in a small chair next to him was Galatea, though she was asleep. Casey sat on a stool in the corner next to the door, his feet propped up against the wall.

  "You awake?" He looks over and asks.
  "Mm." Aurelio groans. "Where... where are we?"
  "An abandoned outpost at the bottom of the mountain. The others are sleeping in the next room over."
  "The bottom..? You guys went down all that way?"
  "We had to get you outta the cold." Casey says and stands up. He walks over to Aurelio and hands him the bottle of brandy with a smirk. "Drink it, it'll help, just don't tell Ian alright?"
  Aurelio takes the bottle and eagerly quaffs from it. "Thanks."
  "Mm." Casey sighs. "But don't pull a tough-guy stunt like that again alright? If you're sick you gotta tell us. You coulda died you know."
  "I thought it was just a chill... I didn't want you guys to worry."
  "Well you did a poor job of it, Ian's practically worried sick. She was too." He points over to Galatea. "Insisted on being here with you the whole time. They're both keepers, she and Ian, it'd be in your best interest to keep people like them close."
  "Do you have anyone like Galatea? A-A close friend I mean."
  "Mm? Why do you ask?"
  "Just curious. All the stories I've read of you show you off to be like a lone wolf, but you don't seem like kinda guy. Someone's gotta watch your back."
  "I did, but that was a long time ago..." Casey sighs and takes the bottle back from Aurelio. "Rest up and rest good, we're heading to the Altar of the Gods the first chance we get."
  "The Altar? What for?"
  "You wanna get this over with, don't you?"

~~~

  Having had a chance to rest their fatigues and clean both themselves and their wounds in the nearby river, the group begins to make their way towards the Altar. Anselm insisted on leading the way, as the path to the Altar is hidden within the ruins of Oxalis, a place he knew well. With everyone--save for Arcelia, who decided to stay back in Vibestia--well rested and accounted for, they follow Anselm into the dark depths of the forgotten forest kingdom.