Fire Emblem: Onyx

You intervened between the two, and told them that their bickering would not do any good. You even added that it would be better if they simply got along for this one instance, and have the three of you get going to do what you planned to do. To support your suggestion, you expanded a bit on why they should do just that, presenting a few pros and cons to each one of the two - who were silently listening as you voiced out your opinion.

Calvin nodded, and puts his arms over your shoulder and Maria's, dragging the two of you closer to him. "I agree!", he said. "The more, the merrier!"

Maria, however, swatted away Calvin's arm and stepped away from the cluster. "You two can go, I'm staying here.", she looked a bit upset.

Hoping that it would convince her to come along, you told her that only she knows the location of the flowers she was talking about yesterday. However, she simply kept her part of the bargain - by telling you about the flowers called hibiscuses, which included their appearance and where one could find them. You tried to invite her again, emphasizing the fact that it was her idea to pick the flowers, but it seemed like her decision has been made.

You got out of the town's gates with Calvin, and left for your destination, passing through the bridge and towards a small, abandoned hut. On your way there, Calvin was trying to lighten the mood, reassuring that Maria will understand your point after a while, and even told you that she would be coming after the two of you sooner or later. You hoped his words would be true, after all, a small disagreement shouldn't crumble your friendship with her.

After a while, you eventually reach the location of the flowers. Calvin suggested it would be best for the two of you to split up, which would allow the two of you to search the grounds for the flowers faster - you agreed with him, and began to explore the area, probing some shrubs here and there to find what you were looking for. After about an hour and half has passed, you regrouped with Calvin. It would appear that you've gathered a fair amount of hibiscuses to make it pass as a bouquet, though you think you would have obtained more if Maria was here.

You asked Calvin if the two of you should keep searching for more. He was about to give you an answer, but his eyes spotted something in the distance - smoke. Lots of it. Confused, you turned to look to the same place he was looking at and to your surprise, Calvin was looking at the very town of Larton.

From the distance, you could still see a few of the taller structures in the town, and smoke were rising within their vicinity. Lots and lots of smoke, as if the entire town is burning. After seeing this, there was only one thing you could do - you shouted to Calvin to get his attention, and it didn't take a moment for the two of you to start hurrying back to town, leaving the gathered flowers behind.

---

The horrific image of a burning town is what welcomed you as you returned back to Larton. All you could hear was the cacophony made from various cries and wailing, the noise of structures crumbling, and the cackling of numerous fires that have taken over the town. A sudden chill runs up your spine as you enter the town, and see the wreckage closer than you wanted to - from the seared corpses that lay around, the burning helpless who have abandoned hope, and the fading cries that abruptly come to a halt.

As you go deeper into the ruins of the town, the sky darkens, and once you look up you only see the only plausible explanation for the destruction you have seen.

A gigantic creature coated in black scales, with wings that bend the very winds to its will.
An ancient terror only known to have existed in myths and legends.
A black dragon.

It briefly allows its presence to be recognized by flying around the wreckage it has caused. After a few seconds, it sounded off a terrifying roar before rising to higher skies and disappearing amidst the clouds.

Once it was seen no more, Calvin rush deeper into what remained of Larton. "I...It's not too late. It's not too late!", he uttered, bumping you as he passed by. "I can still save them!"

You were unable to react quick enough to stop him. As you walked slowly, witnessing the crumbling of your hometown and about to lose hope, Calvin's words resonated to you.

You're not too late! You can still save...

Without hesitation, you...

[] Run towards your home. It's deep within the town's premises, but if you are fast enough, you might still be able to save your mother! If she's still alive, that is.
[] Run to Maria's home. It's close to the where town gates were, if you're lucky, you might arrive just in time to get her to safety! If she's still alive, that is.
[] Write-in.

You ran to Maria's home. With it being closer to your proximity, you had a better chance of arriving on time. Still, you hoped your mother would last longer, and that when you get to her she'd still be waiting.

The travel to your destination didn't take long, despite the numerous debris and fires that were scattered all around the town. Once you get there, you saw the state of Maria's house - which was an absolute wreck. The roof has collapsed and crumbled, and it almost had no walls left, with the few that remained about to fall apart like ash. Most of the flames that fell upon it had been whittled down to smaller instances, so traversing through the wreckage was easier than you expected.

After a few minutes of scouring the ruins of her house, you saw several small patches of her clothing accompanied by some charred strands of her hair - it didn't take a while for you to figure out where she was.

You found her body under a pair of seared corpses, which were certainly once her parents. You dug out the rubble and carefully removed her body from the remaining debris, revealing a few grazes she had received and numerous burn marks scattered all over her. Immediately, you checked if she was still alive - and fortunately, she was still breathing, although it was faint. You could easily tell that she needed medical attention.

However, before you could carry her you heard noises not far from your location.

The sound of footsteps, and metal clinking. After a while the noises stopped, but were immediately followed up by voices.

"We're lucky we got delayed.", one of the voices said. "We would have gotten caught by the dragonfire if we were on time."

"Still, it was right!", another exclaimed. "We could now predict where and when the Black Dragon will strike! The Kingdom be unstoppable with such power"

"But that does not ensure everything will go as planned.", a deeper voice spoke. "Make sure the town is clear. There must be no survivors who are to witness our arrival - even a single one could notify the Empire's army. Our mission's success relies on it."

"Yes sir!", the rest spoke.

It was evident that these voices were intruders - and dangerous ones at that. After the voices stopped talking, the footsteps and the clacking of armor continued, but the sounds seemed to go to different directions, others fading - except a single one.

Closer, and closer the footsteps sounded. Until eventually, you could tell it was just outside the house's broken entry.

The steps seemed to have synchronized with your heart's accelerating beating.

Step...
..step...
And another step...

You could easily tell that after the next step, you and the unconscious Maria would be seen - since the shadow of the figure was in plain sight.

Step.

Left with no choice, you...

[] Charge onward, and tackle the figure. Maybe a preemptive attack would catch him off-guard and disarm him in the process.
[] Keep quiet and try to hide. There's not much room for stealth, but hopefully the figure wouldn't pay much attention to his surroundings.
[] Pray to the skies and hope you and Maria are left unnoticed. Perhaps whatever divine beings watching over this land would answer your desperate call.