Chapter 4: Into the Lion's Den

[Kossage]

In the city of Eest Horacio Wizzentromp, who had been the High Justicar of Aison before Yamato invaded the country, was reading a book about battle strategies. He knew many strategies already, and he was one of the few Aisonian leaders who managed to keep Yamatian forces at bay. Other such figure was Josiah Amdusias, Master of the Magestar. Horacio's legions had managed to defend the city against the enemy, because his forces knew the strategic defense points of the city, and they had enough manpower to keep the Yamatians out. The enemy would have to send more soldiers to capture Eest, but Horacio knew that most of the Yamatians were laying siege on the Magestar and wouldn't be able to go to Eest for the time being.

Although many of the legionnaires tried to hide it, Horacio sensed that they were afraid. They were afraid of Zarnagon, afraid of the sheer number of the Yamatians in Aison, afraid of the nightmares Distreyd sent every night, and afraid of the deaths of their loved ones. Horacio knew that eventually the solders would start to panic, because no one could resist the horrible nightmares for long. That's why he and his followers had to act quickly before all was lost.

At times Horacio even felt that he was the only person keeping people brave enough in Eest and around it. Many believed in him, and there wasn't anyone strong enough in western Aison to take his place as the commander of the legions in case something happened to him. Horacio smiled: he had grown a lot during this war, and he had become more courageous than he used to be over two years ago when Aison was still peaceful land. Maybe his importance to the resistance was why he had so many people guarding him in the most heavily defended area of the city.

So, Horacio simply lounged back in his chair continued reading. Even though he was getting older, he knew how to fight. He turned a new page in his book. The chapter was about setting an ambush to an enemy who would think that he would be safe until he would finally realise that it wasn't so and that it would be impossible to escape. It was quite an interesting chapter, and Horacio kept reading.

Suddenly Horacio heard something. He looked at the door but didn't hear anything. If something had happened, he was sure his guards could deal with it. As he kept reading the chapter about setting an ambush, he wondered why his enemies hadn't tried anything as elaborate as the traps mentioned in the chapter to get rid of him. Then a thought struck him like a lightning and he stood up, looking at the door. That sound he'd heard, what if it was... Horacio had to act quickly if what he feared was for real.

The door creaked open a moment later. It was dark inside the building, and only candlelight illuminated the room and the corridors. Horacio noticed a tall dark figure entering the room. The figure had the emblem of the clergy of Mardük on the robe, and there was a carved, emotionless mask on the cleric's face. How did that cleric get here? Surely the cleric couldn't have killed all the guards.

Another cleric entered the room. This one wasn't as muscular as the first cleric, but otherwise their outfit and masks looked identical. The first cleric held a sword in his hand, whereas the other seemed to carry daggers of some sort. The first cleric turned to look at his companion, and Horacio stayed hidden in the shadows, waiting.

"He should've been here, Venom," the first dark cleric whispered. "Where has he gone to? Master Dante won't be pleased if we let Wizzentromp get away."

"Silence, Shamshir. Our prey is somewhere nearby: I can sense his presence. We need to hurry before guards get here," the other cleric stated with a cold, emotionless voice. "Guard the door while I search this room. He hasn't left yet so I'll find him soon."

Horacio blinked. The clergy of Mardük had sent them to assassinate him! He had to get out of the room, but the only exit was the door which was guarded by Shamshir. And Venom was getting closer and closer. Horacio had to set up a bait to lure the clerics away from the door so that he could make a run for it. And then he'd use his innate ability and keep running, because thanks to his ability he could literally run for hours without getting tired. All he had to do was to get out of the room, and then those assassins wouldn't be able to catch him anymore. The only way to lure these clerics where he wanted them was to use himself as a bait. And so Horacio Wizzentromp stood up so that both of the assassins could see him, and he waited for their next move.

Venom spotted Horacio first. "Ah, High Justicar Wizzentromp. It's the end of the line for you. Your forces have caused enough trouble, and we've come to take care of that. Any last words?" the assassin whispered and pointed his daggers at Horacio. At the same time Shamshir noticed Horacio and walked closer to the High Justicar.

Horacio stared at the assassins. "Gentlemen, I'm afraid you won't have the pleasure of killing me today. You see, you made a mistake!" Then he ran as fast as he could to get out of the room. Venom stayed far behind, and Horacio was certain that Shamshir would be as surprised as the other cleric about Horacio's sudden burst of speed.

But then Horacio tripped when he was hit by some spell. So, one of these assassins knew magic. He should've known that his enemies had more tricks on their sleeves! He stood up even though his body was aching, and he tried to get to the door, but he realised it was too late. The two clerics were at opposite sides and surrounded him.

"You won't get away so easily. Prepare to die," Venom said and attacked. He threw a fireball, but Horacio managed to block both the fireball and the daggers with his sword. Shamshir attacked, swinging his sword in the air, and Horacio had trouble defending himself. Horacio might be able to fight against one assassin, but he realised that he couldn't defeat two skilled assassins.

Horacio couldn't reach the door anymore, and these assassins were driving him into one of the corners. He thought bitterly how he had walked into a trap simply by staying in this heavily defended building. The false feeling of security where the prey thinks he's safe until he finally realises it isn't so and can't escape anymore... this was a classic example of such a trap. He should've known better. Horacio didn't know if guards would get here in time, and he knew time was running out.

The High Justicar blocked a few more hits, but then a few bolts of lightning sent by Venom hit his body with such force that he almost fell down. The next thing Horacio felt was Shamshir's sword penetrating his chest. He fell down on his knees as Shamshir pulled the sword out of him.

"There's no hope for anyone anymore. The time of heroes has come to an end, and now everyone shall witness the dawning of the Age of Chaos," Venom whispered as he looked at his dying prey. "This world will never be the same, and darkness will consume everything. Think of this in the bottomless darkness of the abyss." He nodded at Shamshir who raised his sword, aiming it at Horacio.

With his dying breath Horacio Wizzentromp, the High Justicar of Aison and the leader of the Aisonian resistance forces in Eest, thought of only one thing. <i>Hope is lost.</i> A few seconds later darkness swallowed him, and all that was heard in the dark tranquility of the room was the soft sound of his decapitated head falling on the floor.

#

A Yamatian messenger rode closer to the burning fortress near Folsworth Woods in Remon. He sighed. It seemed that this Fellowship had won even though it shouldn't have been possible. However, now he had a purpose, and he'd do his duty. Maybe Sarillius would be a sentimental fool, but even if he wasn't, it'd still harm him. Well, he'd find that out soon enough.

Before he got any closer, two elves approached him. The messenger spoke: "I've come here to deliver an ultimatum to the rebel Marcus Sarillius. I wish to speak to him immediately."

The elves looked at one another and then agreed to escort the messenger to the makeshift camp of the Fellowship. "Your Majesty, this Yamatian messenger has come here to deliver an ultimatum," the elf said.

Marcus Sarillius turned and was a bit surprised when he saw the elves and the Yamatian. The messenger was surprised to see how young the rebel leader really was. "What your minions say is true, so hear what I have to say. The bard Leon Alcibiates has been caught and is kept in prison in Remonton. As dear as he is to you, my lord, he's going to be executed soon for committing treason," he explained. "However, there's a way to save his life: march to Remonton with your forces and surrender, and we might spare Alcibiates's life. If you don't agree, you won't see him again."

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! Let's just kill him and get this over with!" Alessandra, one of the female warriors near Marcus, growled.

"I'm only a messenger, and the Council of Regents wants to know what your answer is, Sarillius. If the Council doesn't see me in Remonton soon, it'll think that you haven't agreed, and Alcibiates will be executed. It's your choice," the messenger stated.

"Don't do anything yet, Alessandra. He might have a point," Marcus said and sighed. "Send a few soldiers to search the area to see if Leon is here or not. I want to make sure this Yamatian isn't lying."

Soldiers searched the battlefield around the fortress, but didn't find any trace of Leon. "It seems either this Yamatian is right or then Leon died during this battle," Malthar stated. "However, the latter option is unlikely, because I personally checked every body before we piled them inside the fort. I did not see the body of Leon Alcibiates there. In fact, I did not even see a glimpse of him after we had left from Sanae."

"But how could this have happened without us knowing it? How did Leon get to Remonton? And why would he even travel to Remonton without letting us know?" Marcus asked, surprised. "Unless... no, it can't be true. Before we left Sanae, a soldier came and informed me that Geraud had seen a kestrel flying towards Remonton and that the kestrel was made into a kestrel by the power of magic. If that was Leon, has he really betrayed us? But why was he caught then and put to prison? This doesn't make any sense."

"All we know now is that Leon is gone and that Geraud saw a kestrel flying towards Remonton, and we found out that Leon is in a prison in Remonton, ready to be executed," Malthar sighed. "It seems this Yamatian has not lied to us, but we can always make sure that Leon is still alive by going to Remonton."

Marcus nodded and turned to look at the Yamatian. "Now listen to me carefully. Ride back to your masters and tell them this: I have many of their high-ranking officers as my prisoners, and we can let them free if the same is done to Alcibiates. Officers are much more important than one single bard. We'll also march to Remonton soon, and then we can have a negotiation there to figure out how to avoid this bloodshed. And once we get to Remonton, I want to see Alcibiates alive and well so that I know you're not lying." The King of Remon turned to look at the elves. "Escort him out of this camp. He'll deliver this proposal to the Council of Regents, and we'll keep our word and march to Remonton soon."

The elves did as told and escorted the messenger out of the camp. Marcus sighed again and massaged his temples, but he was punched in the face by Alessandra two seconds later.

"What the hell are doing? Didn't we talk about this already? First you almost got yourself killed so that you could act like a fucking hero and save a soldier, and now you're willing to free all our valuable prisoners and give our enemy an advantage, or you do something even worse and surrender, and for what? To save some bloody bard whose life isn't nearly as important as yours! I didn't think you were the smartest fucker around here, but give me a break!" Alessandra yelled. "You're a bloody idiot if you even think that you're going to--"

"Please listen to me, Alessandra. You know how much Leon means to me, and I'm not going to let him die if I can do anything to prevent it. After all, he was the one who has been guiding me for these past months, even before I met you," Marcus explained, interrupting Alessandra. "We'll save him, but we also have to do it so that we don't have to surrender. I just bought us some more time so that we can decide how to do it. Maybe Leon had his reasons for going to Remonton, but it doesn't matter: he has helped me out in the past, and now it's my turn to help him out. We have to go to Remonton sooner or later anyway, and I'm sure we'll figure out something while we're marching. But tonight we'll rest before we do anything else. We'll talk more about it tomorrow, and then you can yell as much as you want. But right now I'm tired, and even kings have to sleep at times." After saying that he walked away, thinking about many things.

The woman was about to punch Marcus again, but she was stopped by Raphael. "I think we'd better let him clear his head. We can talk more tomorrow," the old man suggested.

Alessandra punched at him, but Raph managed to evade it just in time. "Shut up," she murmured and walked towards a nearby tent. Raph sighed and followed her.

[Lynx]

Pratt whistled, or tried to. Birds in a nearby tree squawked in horror and fluttered off into the sky. The young man frowned as he shifted on his seat of a broken carriage. He still really couldn't whistle and he was betting he never could. It wasn't a cheering thought.

Nor was the thought of being here, so close to the ruin of the Yamatian fort. In the rising dawn, the ground was a mixture of light and darkness; snow, grass, and blood. The wreckage of the fort stood out on the landscape as blackened stones, outlines of the terrible tragedy the day before. A heady stench hung heavily in the air and clung to the young man's clothing. It was death. He was dying for a bath.

It seemed to him, too, that the alliance that was formed to stop the Yamatians at Folsworth was dying too. The Mar Sulais camp was across the rubble of the fort and had yet to make formal introductions with Sarillius's camp. Their conversation was awkward silence. The Myrdosins were thankfully a friendly bunch, but had so far only interacted with the elven host within Sarillius's camp.

"Us humans, we're a bunch of strangers. We don't talk easily, do we," the failure asked himself. He had taken a tent with a few older men near the outskirts of Sarillius's camp, close to the ruined fort. He didn't like the sight nor the proximity, but he felt it was somehow appropriate.

One of the men grumbled in his sleep, shifting in his covers. "I haven't even talked to you two yet. Funny to be sharing a tent, then, isn't it?" He smiled sadly, thinking his race doomed if there could be no communication.

He stood up, stretched his legs, and walked off towards the Mar Sulais camp.

[Citizen Bleys]

Leon stirred at the light. It couldn't be a meal, it hadn't been long enough. They were coming to "interrogate" him again.

The Yamatian regarded him with an unreadable expression, and opened the cell. "Get out."

Numb, Leon obeyed.

The guard at the gate looked uncertain. "Ryoji, are you sure that this is a good idea?"

"It's got to stop, Katsuo."

Katsuo sighed. "The bakufu's going to shit a gold brick."

"One more thing, Katsuo," said Ryoji. The guard looked up, perplexed. Ryoji's fist met his gut, and the guard dropped to the ground, unconscious. "I can't let you be implicated. The responsibility for my actions is my own." Turning to Leon, he tossed a Yamatian-style kimono. "Put this on. I'm taking you out of here."

Leon was stunned. The idea of escape seemed impossible. He was sure that he was going to die here. Again. Quickly, daring to hope, he composed himself and threw the kimono on over his torn tunic. He tied the obi around his waist as he'd seen Kazuya's Red Tigers do. Ryoji tossed him the Book of Kagetsu. "This seems important," he said, "You'd better take it with you."

Together, they stepped out into the dawning of a new day. The survivors of the battle of Folsworth Woods were just starting to return. Nobody had time to notice a lone samurai and his companion going the other way. In time, some would question what had happened, but now they were too preoccupied.

As they rode away, Leon spoke a single word: "Why?"

"We are Yamatians," growled Ryoji. "Such dishonorable conduct is unbecoming of true samurai. It's got to stop."

#

Geraud sighed disconsolately. The King's decision seemed foolish to him. Alcibiates could very well be a traitor, and they were going to risk the whole Alliance on him. Nevertheless, in spite of Kagetsu's independent actions in granting Maar Sulais citizenship to some of the defectors, Marcus Sarillius remained in overall command of the Alliance forces in Remon. Geraud had sent his instructions to the Eroean in the care of Richard Bradley de Talarin--the one messenger Geraud felt absolute confidence in. Bradley was the one who had told Geraud of the sense of community that had grown up in the Resistance forts that had sprung up in the Maar Sulais countryside after the fall of the capital. For the first time since the original Empire, Maar Sulais men and women were calling communities other than the capital "home." For the first time, a Maar Sulais did not automatically append "de Maar Sul" to their name. In that, Geraud felt a profound sense of hope. Perhaps, once this war was over, his nation would face a brighter future.

First, though, the Yamatian Shogunate had to be turned back. Once the enemy had executed Alcibiates--as surely they must if the bard were truly loyal--Marcus Sarillius had to be convinced to recapture the city. Once the capital was taken, the Yamatians in Remon didn't stand a chance--they would be driven from Remon.

If only capturing the city were so easy. Geraud studied his intelligence reports once again. Remonton was a besieger's nightmare. Even if the Eroean were succesfully able to forbid departure by sea, the city had an ample supply of underground water, and the walls were formidable. The gates themselves could withstand anything that the Alliance had to throw at it. Once the gates were breached, they'd have a chance, of course--but first they had to get in.

If only there were some way to get a force inside the city! Geraud dismissed the notion. While he was wishing, he might as well wish for a way to attack from the sky. The days in which Maar Sulais engineers were able to make airships had gone with the end of the First War of the Andain, when Kagetsu the first had been defeated by Taliesin in the skies above the Golden Lake from which the House of Aurelac took its name.

No. It was useless to even think about such things. All the heroes able to accomplish such great feats were long dead. Despair threatened to overwhelm Geraud. He'd have to go see Kagetsu. Kagetsu could always cheer him up.

[Kossage]

Amandil, king of the elves, looked at the funeral pyre. He and Malthar had checked every body to see how many people they knew had died. Amandil had been pleased when he had noticed that the two Korath brothers, Egendaul and Firion, had also died during the battle. He remembered how the three brothers, Maiyr, Firion and Egendaul, had been traitors to the elves, although he hadn't understood it until it was too late. Egendaul had been the first to leave so that he could serve Mardük, and Maiyr had disappeared soon after. Firion had remained loyal, but in the end he had been revealed as a spy who was plotting to assassinate Amandil and the other elven leaders. Maiyr, however, had become something even worse: the clerics of Mardük had altered his body with some magic, and he had become the horrible Beastmaster who could control animals around him.

Amandil had been shocked when he had later on found out that Egendaul and Firion had sacrificed their own brother and made him a monster just to get rid of the Fellowship and the elves. It only proved to Amandil that the clergy had to be stopped before it was too late. Now all the Korath brothers had found peace in death. They had been mere puppets of the leading figures of the clergy. This war had brought suffering to so many, and Amandil knew this was only the beginning. But whatever happened, the clergy had to be stopped. If Mardük was released, this world would be doomed to everlasting darkness. The Grand Alliance would be the world's only hope to stop Distreyd and his minions.

The elven king turned to look at what the hassle was about in another part of the camp. He heard some bits from what soldiers talked about, and it seemed a woman named Bunya had wanted to cook something for someone. The soup she'd made had been given to prisoners, and many of them had died because of food poisoning. Now this Bunya had been taken away so that she couldn't cause more trouble even though she'd been sincere in cooking something. Obviously this Bunya was some extraordinary character, a witch as some said, who was working for the Fellowship for whatever reason.

Amandil shook his head and turned to look at the funeral pyre. It was a crazy world out there.

#

As Marcus was walking towards his tent to rest, he suddenly remembered the letter Malthar had given him earlier. He took the letter and read it. To his amazement it was written in blood, and it was very short. It had to be some kind of code language the clergy used, considering it had been meant for Egendaul. And because a Carpie had carried the letter, it had come from Aison, and in that case only one person could've sent the letter: Zarnagon. Marcus would need help to figure out what the letter meant, and he knew he'd need help from the clergy of Mardük. And he knew of one cleric of Mardük who was kept as a prisoner. Marcus immediately rushed to the area where prisoners were held, hoping that this letter would give some useful information which might determine the outcome of this war.

As Marcus entered the temporary prison area of the camp, he noticed the merchants Jeremiah and Nicodemus and Rune the black mage near the captured cleric of Mardük. "I need your help, gentlemen," Marcus stated as he stepped forward with the letter in his hand. "I want this cleric to translate this text to me. It was meant for Egendaul who was one of the clerics of Mardük leading this battle, so it must be something important, considering the letter came from Aison and possibly from Zarnagon himself."

"Did you hear that, nephew?" Jeremiah asked the cleric. "We both were shocked when we met after all these years and especially because we were fighting on opposite sides, but I know you don't want to turn your back on your own uncle, so please help us, or at least help me, Jacob. We both want this war to end, and maybe that letter King Marcus is referring to might be about something important."

The cleric Jacob turned to look at Jeremiah. "And why would I want to do that, uncle? My loyalty lies with the clergy, and nothing you say or do will change my mind. I've chosen my path, and you have to respect that," he murmured. "You can torture me all you want, and I still won't tell you anything. You can kill me too, and I wouldn't care. I won't betray my brothers in the clergy."

Rune smiled and looked at the letter. "I've studied some scriptures of the clergy in my youth, and this definitely is some language only higher-ups in the clergy use. I could translate ordinary scriptures, but this is written in a much complex form which I'm not familiar with," he stated and turned to look at Jacob. "However, I'm sure this fellow knows how to translate it, considering he was one of the leading clerics in this attack force and was a senior lieutenant of Egendaul."

"How do you know that?" Nicodemus asked.

The black mage shrugged. "Remember that I was kept as a prisoner in the Yamatian camp before Peter Shyrain, may he rest in peace, helped me get out. During my time as a prisoner I heard many conversations and put the pieces together. That's how I found out about Jacob's role in the attack force," Rune explained. "I also know that there are certain spells which even these foolish clerics are afraid of. And I happen to know a few, so I'm sure I can make him talk if you just let me use my magic on him."

Marcus nodded, and Rune stepped closer, smiling.

Jacob's eyes grew wide open. "You wouldn't dare! I thought we were--!"

Jacob never managed to finish his sentence when Rune put his hand on the cleric's forehead. The mage whispered some words, and it seemed like Jacob's eyes would pop out of his head. Then the cleric screamed. Marcus and Jeremiah were shocked about this. Rune looked at them and shook his head, meaning that he didn't want anyone to interrupt this at the moment.

After a minute Rune took his hand off, and Jacob stopped screaming. The cleric was panting and his eyes were filled with tears. "You can't..." Jacob whispered but couldn't continue. His body was trembling and it seemed like he could faint at any moment.

"What did you do to him?" Jeremiah asked, concerned.

"We mages have our secrets. Let's just say that I forced him to see certain things he didn't want to see. As brave as these clerics claim to be, they all have their weaknesses. You just need to know where to look, that's all," Rune smiled. "He's all yours, Marcus. If he tries to lie, he knows what will happen to him." He put his hand on Jacob's head, and the cleric shivered.

Marcus nodded and moved closer to Jacob who turned to look at him. "I need you to translate this," he said and let Jacob look at the letter.

The cleric read the letter through and then spoke. "It is confirmed: Big D is coming back, because the Superior gave him certain orders. Once you get rid of the Fellowship, follow the plan closely and drive the lion out of its den. Failure is not an option," Jacob whispered. "That's it, I swear. There's nothing more." He looked at Rune who smiled at him.

"He's not lying. I could sense if he was," the black mage stated.

"Big D... if Zarnagon was the one who wrote this letter, who is he referring to? And what is this plan?" Marcus murmured. "Maybe you know what this means, Jacob. If so, you have to tell me."

Rune glared at the cleric. "You'd better do as he says unless you want me to persuade you again," he hissed.

"How can you do this? You're a bloody trai--!" Jacob yelled, but then he screamed again when Rune touched his forehead.

The black mage took his hand off a few seconds later. "I warned you. Stay on topic, cleric, and no tricks, or you'll suffer."

Jacob breathed heavily and nodded. "No more. I'll explain. Big D is a codename we use for a certain cleric named Dante Albrigant. He's the cleric of Mardük in charge of Remon, although he lets the Council of Regents take care of most matters. He's Lord Zarnagon's rival, and he has done some experiments in his tower which is situated in a hidden valley near Fragnar. It seems he has succeeded in creating something powerful, something which might even threaten our lord. Dante travelled to Yamato to meet Distreyd some time ago, and he was obviously going to show his ultimate weapon to Distreyd. Zarnagon contacted us a while later, giving us orders what to do: we were meant to take care of your Fellowship first and then, once Dante got back to Remon, we would go and... dispose of Dante," the cleric explained.

"The plot thickens. So, Big D is Dante, and the Superior is Distreyd, and now that Dante's coming back, you were ordered to assassinate him and probably steal his research from his tower," Marcus said and saw Jacob nodding. "I thank you for telling me this, Jacob. You'll be treated well, and I might need your help later on. If Dante has gone back to his tower, things get more complicated. It won't be enough to capture the Council of Regents anymore, because Dante is the superior commander in this land and might rally people against us. We also need to capture him so that we can finally end this nightmare in Remon. But first things first: we have to take care of the Yamatian council in Remonton before we can go after Dante. We'll talk more about this later, gentlemen. We'll decide our next move in a meeting that will be held tomorrow." After saying that Marcus marched out and headed towards his tent.

These recent news had given a new twist to this whole campaign, and now Marcus had to think things through carefully. There were many things to be done before Remon could finally be free. As Marcus continued walking, he hoped Leon would be all right.

[Citizen Bleys]

Twist time!

As Leon rode behind his unexpected rescuer, he read from the book that he had taken from Remonton. Much of Kagetsu's Lore made more sense to him now--he hadn't been prepared to understand it when the tome had first been discovered by Hiroshi during their battle against Taro Ofuchi. Much of it, he hadn't even been prepared to understand at the height of his power, when he wielded the Three Laws of the Andain to their fullest. Now he understood why Hiroshi had been able to apply the First Law even without any power in him--how anybody could apply the First Law, or indeed any law, if they grasped the true meaning behind the seemingly ordinary words.

There's power in paradox.
Should a Sage's word fail, so too shall their power.
Seek, and you shall not find.

These three laws Leon had comprehended in their fullness. With the First Law, Hiroshi had killed Taro Ofuchi. By violating the Second Law, Leon had defeated Taliesin and thus made Kagetsu's return to the world possible. By forgetting the Third Law, Leon had precluded himself from discovering the one who would bear the Silver Branch, even though the proper person had been right in front of him.

But the most stunning truth that the book had opened Leon's eyes to was the Law of Unintended Consequences. In recalling Leon from the dead, a rift had opened up in the barrier between the world of the living and that of the dead. A small rift, but a rift nonetheless. Because Leon had had aid, he had been able to return to the world with his memories, in a copy--surely a copy--of his own body. But others in the land of the dead had no such assistance. The only way that such a person could return to life would be to claim a living host--in essence, to steal a soul. No good and well-meaning person could possibly take such a course of action. The heroes of the past would not be returning to life through that rift.

The villains, however...

Leon was suddenly stopped by an unpleasant thought. Hurriedly, he sifted through the book, trying to find any information on what would happen if an inimical being were helped through the rift, as Leon himself had been helped. He almost fell out of his saddle in shock.

If such a person were to return to the world, they would have the power to command the armies of the night. Creatures of horror that had been called forth from Hell during ancient wars between Gods, and since forgotten and dismissed as myth by the descendents of the living. Daemons, ogres, trolls, the undead...

Leon prayed that no such inimical person had been recalled from the dead. Surely anybody who would lend such assistance would be mad! But nevertheless, if it were to happen, Leon knew that it was his own existence that had enabled it. The armies of the night, though unintelligent in their own right, would be a devastating force if commanded by intelligent foes--such as the Clergy of Mardük.

Of course, whether or not any of this is used will be up to the Council, I've not the skill to RP such an "inimical being" effectively.

[eternal_essence]

Reven stood on the small hill, staring out over the dormant battlefield. The smoke trailed out of the flaming fort, covering the field in a black smog of death. Slowly people started to head away from the burning pyre. Even now only a few grieving family members remained. The commanders had headed into tents, no doubt discussing the fellowships next course of action. Reven assumed that this battle was only one of many to come. Come to think of it, Reven doubted whether they would have barely a day or two before the fellowship were marching again.

He sighed and slumped onto the grass. His body ached from the battle and his head was a blur. He started to calm his thoughts and take in the last couple of hours events but just as he was relaxing Satrian nudged him in the ribs with his foot. Reven stared up into his face “What?”

Satrian threw a glance over his shoulder then stared back down at Reven “I thought I’d come and save you, Serenity is getting impatient and if you let her brew in her own juices for a few more minutes you’ll have a nice staff shaped imprint on your forehead.”

Something in Satrians face made Reven take him seriously and he slowly climbed to his feet “What do they want to do?”

“Well Shauna says that girl should be brought to some white mages. Says that she’s stable for now but hasn’t seen something like this before. Thinks it may come back, or still be infecting her.”

“Ok then, we’ll find a medical tent. I’m sure they would have set up something temporary.”

Satrian nodded “I’ll go tell the others.”

*

The tent was full of injured soldiers, some wounds more brutal than others. Some people were unconscious and the white mages were rushing from bed to bed, trying to help all the people.

Reven, Serenity and Satrian wandered out of the tent, Shauna had stayed behind to offer her services. As the trio walked through the field Serenity and Satrian started up another argument. Reven was too tired to worry what it was about. “I hate to depart from you two bundles of fun but my body won’t let me stay awake for much longer.”

The two momentarily broke away from their argument and waved him off but continued their heated discussion as soon as he turned his back. Reven walked towards a fellowship soldier who was directing people towards tents. He walked up to him and asked where he could get a bed. He was then directed to a tent which had some inhabitants inside already. Reven was too tired to pay any attention to who they were and merely stumbled into his bed and fell asleep.

[Kiuru]

"What a day!" Satrian sighed and went to bed, with his boots still on and dirt and mud all over his clothes. Well, he was the one who had to sleep in the dirty bed, and Serenity couldn't have cared less. She was tired and annoyed, her eyes were probably blood-red and she was hungry - but she was way too tired to go out and get something to eat. She just went to her own narrow bed and closed her eyes. "You know -"

"Shut up", she mumbled.

"But why?" Satrian asked, and she turned to face him angrily. He looked at her like a retarded, and she sighed and nodded, letting him continue, and he smiled happily. "I can't believe we survived!" he laughed. She frowned and wondered if he had lost it completely.

"Well, I'm glad that you're happy and find it amusing", she murmured and turned away. "Please, let me sleep now. I'm tired and my body is aching because I had to run after you all the time and make sure you wouldn't get killed -"

"Now, that's not fair -"

"Whatever but it's true!"

And she fell asleep, listening to Satrian's everlasting complaining.

[Nic]

I'm not sure where the hell we are. Is it morning yet? If so, treat the stuff that happens in this post as a flashback or something. I got kinda confused. And here's a barfbag in case anyone needs one. *holds one out*

Viirsa couldn't help it. She chuckled.

"Either I'm seeing things or you're blushing, Hector."

Hector cleared his throat. "Probably just seeing things. Blood loss does funny things to people sometimes."

Viirsa raised an eyebrow. "Indeed," she said, gently laying her good hand on the bare skin of his shoulder. "All the more reason you should be careful from now on. I only have so much blood, you know."

Truth be told, she felt a bit lightheaded. Whether it was from the blood still dripping from her hand, the battle earlier, or simply being so close to Hector, she wasn't certain. Perhaps a combination of the three. Quietly, so as not to alarm Hector, she tore another strip from her cloak and wrapped it around her hand in a hasty bandage.

"Let me see your hand, Viirsa."

Startled, Viirsa looked up to find Hector staring at her over his shoulder. She bit her lip, then meekly held up her uninjured hand.

"The other one."

Viirsa grumbled under her breath, but obliged. "Oh, fine."

With a surprising gentleness, Hector took her hand in his own and carefully unwound the cloth. "After what you just did, the least I can do is make sure you're bandaged properly."

She leaned her head against him and nodded into his shoulder. "Do your worst."

With soft, reassuring movements, he retied the bandage securely. Viirsa felt his strong fingers interlocking with hers a moment later. She squeezed his hand gently, ignoring the sharp pain in her palm.

"Thank you," she said softly, head still resting on his shoulder.

"You're welcome."

She sighed. It was a good thing Shyralis wasn't here to witness this.

Shyralis. The thought of the half-elf brought her back to reality. Hector's companionship made her happy, she couldn't deny that. But this was...this wasn't a good idea. She was a soldier of Yamato. She was...

Confused, that was what she was. It had seemed so simple at first. Find this so-called Fellowship, kill their leaders and whoever else posed a threat, return to Aison. So simple.

She gritted her teeth and slowly pulled her hand away. Ignoring Hector's confused gaze, she stood up.

"I suppose I should go get some sleep," she sighed, mustering a small smile. "You need your rest too."

Hector nodded, his expression unreadable. "Guess it wouldn't be a bad idea."

Simple. Right. Pushing away her doubts, Viirsa bent and pressed her lips to Hector's in a soft kiss. She lingered there for a moment before breaking away and silently heading for the door of the tent.

"Good night, Hector."

-----------------------------------

Shyralis woke up with a start and bolted upright. Immediately, she regretted doing so. With a soft gasp, she let herself fall back to the ground, too exhausted and dizzy to sit up any longer.

"I need to...Sarillius. There is still work to do..."

A cool, soothing hand settled on her forehead, and she calmed slightly. "Be still, my lady. You are safe here. Just rest for now."

Shyralis did as she was told and closed her eyes. Even in her current state, she could see that there was sense in the half-elf's words; she was in no condition to return to the Fellowship just yet. Rest...would be good.

-----------------------------------

"Horse shit."

Ax muttered under her breath as she kicked at the wood in front of her. Just a short distance away was the largest fire she'd ever seen, and she couldn't even get a simple campfire started.

She had found a quiet spot away from the destroyed fort and the main camp of the Fellowship, feeling it would be best to be by herself for a while. As exhausted as she was, she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep tonight. She'd considered going to one of the tents set up to treat the injured, but had decided against it. Her injuries were nothing compared to what many of her comrades had suffered. She'd be fine until morning, at the very least.

She glanced at the camp, wondering how many within those tents wouldn't be so lucky. The mages were working fervently to treat the injured, but they could only do so much. How many had died today? How many would die before it was all over? She knew this was only the beginning.

Only the beginning. It was one thing to think it. Quite another thing to say it.

"Guess we're in it for the long haul now, Ax."

It took a moment for the implications of that to fully sink in. For over two years, Ax had been on her own. Going where she wanted, doing what she wanted, no one to worry about but herself. And now, to not only be with this Fellowship, but to feel like a <I>part</I> of it...

Responsibilty. Sacrifices. Killing. Watching her friends die. Perhaps dying herself. It was a lot to think about. Somehow, though, being here with these people felt...right. She couldn't quite explain it, but something had changed in her over the past few weeks. The sense of belonging, the sense of <I>purpose</I> she felt here...any hardship or inconvenience she might suffer was worth it for that.

And Dalthas' words had finally sunk in. Seeing the old man give everything he had, just to try and give the Fellowship a bit of an advantage...that had stirred something within her. Something she thought she'd lost years ago.

A sudden burst of yelling interrupted her thoughts. Even from this distance, she recognized it as Alessandra's voice, though she couldn't quite make out the words. Shaking her head in amusement, Ax stood up and began heading back to the camp. If something was up, it would be better to know now rather than later.

By the time she reached the camp, Alessandra was nowhere in sight. Ax paused for a moment, wondering what could've gotten her fellow warrior so worked up.

Of course. Marcus. Ax saw the weary man heading for a nearby tent, and hurried to catch up with him.

"Your Majesty?"

Marcus seemed to perk up a bit when he saw her. "Lady Ax. It's good to see you're well."

In spite of everything around them, Ax smiled. "Same to you. I couldn't help but uh...overhear some things. Maybe it's not my place to ask, but what's going on?"

"You are free to ask anything you wish, my lady. It's...a bit complicated," Marcus said, his eyes suddenly filled with worry. "Leon has been captured, and is currently being held in Remonton. We are to surrender our forces, or he'll be executed."

Ax frowned. "We're not actually gonna...do it their way, are we?"

"Of course not," Marcus sighed. "But something must be done. Leon is a close friend, I'm not willing to leave him there to die."

"You've considered the possibility that this might just be another goddamn scheme of theirs, right? Or even that Leon might be a..."

"Yes," Marcus said quietly. "I know. We will not risk the entire Fellowship just to save him. We'll figure something out."

Ax pursed her lips. "A rescue mission, huh? I'm not an expert on this sort of thing, obviously. But maybe it'd be best to send a small party after him, coupled with some sort of...distraction?"

Marcus nodded wearily, raising a hand to the flap of his tent. "We'll discuss it more tomorrow. For now, I think it'd be best if we all got some rest."

"Right. And...Marcus?"

"Yes?"

Ax caught his gaze and held it, feeling a bit nervous about her next words. "Know that I'm here of my own accord now. As someone who believes in this cause, not as a mercenary. I'll follow this path wherever it leads us."

[Strider]

Hector watched Viirsa leave quietly before he realized he'd forgotten to breathe out. He exhaled loudly, mustering a half-chuckle before looking around to make sure no one had been watching.

Now, the tent was completely quiet, and Hector felt like sinking into a puddle on the ground. Was that all real? It really happened, right? He couldn't remember the last time he thought about so many different things at once, but he'd never had to deal with such a woman before.

And then, almost just as quickly, a small battle began to rage in his mind.

"Now what?"

"That doesn't mean you can trust her more than you can trust anyone else!"

"It doesn't? Where does it say that?"

"You're going to forget the shady introduction?"

"I feel like I'm getting to know her now."

"Do you know that? For all you know, it could be just--"

"Stop it! I'm not a fool, am I?"

"You could be. You can't trust her!"

"Yes, I can!"

"You saw how she changed before she left, didn't you? There's gotta be something there."

"Shut up, it's just hesitance! I don't know about her, but I--"

"I?"

"I... am I?"

"You tell me."

"Am I... falling in love?"

It felt strange to think, harder to say. As it was, he could barely manage a whisper while looking back to where Viirsa had left just moments before. He was just a man doing what his country had asked of him, and now this was happening?

"Not just that, she saved my life. I can trust her," he said aloud to himself, "Sooner or later, I'll have to see if I'm alone on this..."

[Lynx]

Pratt stopped in his walk, and suddenly did a little jig, complete with song.

"Let's do the time warp again!"

[Bahumat]

Desh wandered around the battlefield. He was dissapointed in the quality of the opposition he had encountered during the battle. he had thought the cerics would have put up more of a fight, but nooooooo, they just screamed and ran.

"Weak. They're all weak."

He wished someone would tell him what the next thing to do was, but he assumed that he would need to find out for himself. So, he wandered off to find someone he knew, preferably Refan or Skye, but Allesandra or Marcus would do just as well.

[Kossage]

The night was over surprisingly quickly, and there wasn't much of the funeral pyre left in the morning. Birds were singing as they announced the beginning of a new day, and Pratt was walking towards the Maar Sulais part of the camp while performing his jig. Georges was already awake and smiled when he saw what Pratt was doing. The young man wasn't bad with that at all, and Georges was happy to see him alive.

Georges walked to Pratt. "Hey. How're you doing?" he asked.

Pratt shrugged. "I'm okay, I guess. You?"

"Doing fine as well. I'm going to see what's happening in that big tent over there," Georges replied and pointed at a nearby tent where many people seemed to have gathered. "I've spotted many leaders there, so something big is up. They're most likely discussing their campaign and what to do next. I'm curious about that, so I decided to go and check it out. Would you want to come with me?"

"Sure. I'm going to the same direction anyway, so I can accompany you for a while," the young failure answered, and Georges led him towards the tent.

#

Refan opened his eyes and tried to look around. He seemed to be in some kind of a tent where many white mages were running around. What had happened? All he remembered was some Yamatian attacking, and the next thing he remembered was falling down. It seemed he'd been injured and had been taken to this medical tent. He felt better already, and he was certain the white mages had tried to heal his wounds.

Then the thief remembered Skye. Was she all right? Was she dead? He sat up although his back was aching, and the next thing he noticed was Skye lying on a nearby bed. Refan also recognized the white mage taking care of her.

"Shauna, is Skye all right?" Refan asked and coughed. His throat was sore.

The white mage saw Refan and didn't know whether to smile or not. "Good, you woke up. You'll be fine, don't worry. I'm not sure about Skye, though. She seems to have some poison in her and even though we managed to take the poison out of her system, she still seems to have an illness of some sort. No white mage has ever seen anything like it, and this illness is of unknown origin. We'll try to find a cure for it, and we can make her walk again, but we don't know how long we'll be able to keep her somewhat healthy before the illness takes its toll," Shauna explained.

Refan nodded and grimaced. The Shadow had succeeded in its task after all by poisoning Skye. And at least the white mages could keep Skye healthy enough for the time being, but this illness would take over her body eventually and maybe kill her. Refan wouldn't allow that. He'd find a cure one way or another.

"How about Aramien? I heard she was with us during the battle, so do you know where she is now?" Refan asked and tried to describe the elfess to the white mage.

Shauna sighed. "Oh, her. We gathered those who had fallen into a big pile and burned them to let their spirits free. The elfess you mentioned where one of those who had sacrificed their lives in this battle."

Refan's eyes grew wide and he couldn't breathe. Yet another person dear to him had died. But at least Aramien had been fighting for what she had believed in, and Refan hoped her spirit would find its way to the land of the dead. Refan was sad too, because Aramien had promised to tell him more about his father once this battle was over. Now he'd never find that out unless his father came and told him everything himself. The thief stood up and was happy to see that his legs carried his weight. The wound was wrapped in bandage, and he could move easily.

"I'm going to go outside for a moment, because I need some fresh air. Please take care of Skye while I'm away," Refan stated.

The white mage nodded. "Don't worry, she'll be fine for the time being, By the way, I heard the leaders were going to a big tent nearby to discuss what they're going to do next. I think it might be interesting, so you could stop by and hear what they have to say," Shauna said.

"All right, I'll go and see what's going on," the thief replied and walked out of the medical tent. He saw a familiar shadow mage stepping closer to him.

Desh looked at the thief. "Hey, Refan. Feeling any better? I heard you were injured during the battle."

"I'm all right, thanks for asking," Refan replied and touched his leg. "This should heal soon enough. I was about to go to a nearby tent where the Fellowship leaders and some others are gathering, and they'll discuss some important matters there. Maybe you're interested in finding out what's going on too?"

"Why, certainly. I've been anxious to know what we're going to do next, so maybe the leaders can provide me with answers. I'll come with you, if you don't mind," the shadow mage said and smiled.

"Very well. I'm sure the meeting's already started, so let's hurry up," Refan stated, and so they moved on until they finally entered the tent where many others were already.

#

Marcus looked around and saw many Fellowship members in the tent. There were leaders, officers, soldiers... many of them had familiar faces, and all were interested in hearing what this army would do next. Some of them knew some things already, but others were plain clueless because they weren't used to this kind of warfare. The king of Remon took a general map of Remon and put it on a table for all to see. Then he took another, more detailed map and placed it next to the other map.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we've won a battle, but the war is far from over. We need to act quickly before the Yamatians can recover and strike back. I'm sure many of you have also heard news of the capture of the bard Leon Alcibiates and how the Yamatians will execute him unless we surrender. Leon is my friend and I don't want him to die, but we won't surrender either," Marcus said. "Our priority is Remonton, the capital, where the Yamatian Council of Regents resides and where Leon is kept in prison. Before we move on to the city itself, though, we have something else to do. Prince Regent, feel free to continue."

Geraud placed a new map on the table. "It's important that we secure the docks of Ravensworth before we move to Remonton. Once we control the port, no enemy vessel will be able to get in or out. The Eroean can forbid departure by sea, but we need to send a detachment of troops to take care of the city even though we won't find much resistance in there, because most if not all Yamatians of Ravensworth fought against us here," he explained. "Once Ravensworth is secured, we all should head to Remonton and besiege it. The problem, however, is that Remonton is a besieger's nightmare. There's a supply of underground water, and the wall and gates are strong and can deal with much damage. The only way to capture the city would be to get inside and open the gates, but how to get into the city? That's the problem."

Jonathan Ferron stepped closer. "Actually, there is a way into the city, but only a few know a secret passageway exists. You see, the clergy of Mardük wanted to have a way out of the city if it ever got captured, and thus such a passageway came to be. It's near the eastern wall of the city, facing the river and hidden well so that it can't be spotted unless you're really close to it. You need to know exactly where it is or you'll never find it." He pointed at the map. "I know the location of that passageway, so I can guide you to it. It's easy to get into the passageway, but real trouble begins after we get out, because the passageway leads into the city square. Our enemies will spot us easily even at night unless we use a disguise."

"And why should we do that? We could lead many soldiers into the passageway and enter the city that way, and then we can wipe out those Yamatians with our sheer number of soldiers," Aro, the new king of dwaves, protested.

Ferron shook his head. "There are clerics of Mardük in the city, and some of them might know of the passageway. The problem with your plan is that the passageway is so narrow that two men can't walk side by side when going through it. So, if someone sees us getting out, they can easily alert mages and keep us pinned in the passageway. Besides, we need the element of surprise or else the Yamatians might execute Leon right away if they find out what we're doing," he sighed. "We did capture some clerics of Mardük, so listen to what I propose. We take their robes and disguise ourselves as clerics. We should only send a small group, 20 people at most, to infiltrate the city, because if our enemies see too many clerics walking together, they might suspect something. 20 clerics or less shouldn't look suspicious, especially if we divide our team into smaller groups. We should have a wide variety of people with us in case we get in trouble, so some warriors, mages, thieves, and such would be welcome."

"That might work, although it is risky. If we can send a group disguised as clerics to infiltrate the city, the group could do various things while it's in the city. The first thing would be to find and free the bard Leon before he is executed. The second thing would be to open the gates so that our main force can get in, and maybe the group could also try to find and capture the members of the Yamatian council if possible. After all, once we have the members of the council as our prisoners, it should help us win this war in Remon faster," Amandil stated. "But what if the group meets some clerics of Mardük? You need someone to help you out, because I doubt any of us knows the customs of the clergy. Also, how would you be able to infiltrate the palace where Leon and the council can probably be found? You would need someone who knows the architecture of the building well."

"Well, that's easy. Remember, we have a cleric called Jacob Seneron who provided us with valuable information. He should be willing to help us with this if we persuade him enough, so he'll deal with the clerics we might come across during the mission. And it's quite easy to navigate in the palace if we need to go there, because I've worked there before the Yamatians invaded Remon, so I know the locations of all the corridors and rooms, not to mention dungeons," Ferron replied and smiled. "As you can see, everything is quite simple. However, the group will need something to distract the Yamatians once the group is in the city."

"That shouldn't be too hard. We just put our siege weapons and such close enough to the city and then demand a negotiation. So, we can fool the Yamatians into thinking that we're ready to barter for Leon's life by letting the Yamatian officers go, and I'm sure the Yamatians will send someone to either negotiate with us or give us another ultimatum," Rene explained. "In case the negotiations don't go as planned, we can demand that they show Leon so that we know he's still alive. That should give us more time, and hopefully you'll be able to free Leon before that happens. And if everything else fails, we'll just begin the siege and keep the Yamatians busy when they're concentrating on us, which should give the group enough time to do what's necessary."

"This seems like the only option, and it gives us a chance of capturing the city, but that also means that the group sent into the city will be in great danger throughout the mission. If something went wrong, they'd be in trouble. However, there seems to be no other way, so some brave individuals will have to go into the city," Marcus said. "Ferron and the cleric Jacob Seneron will go, because they're both crucial for this mission to succeed. Who else is willing to go? Remember that if you go in, you might not get out alive. I don't want to force anyone to go, but this mission might decide the outcome of this war, so we need people to infiltrate the city. Please, do it for Remon."

Kage stepped forward. "I'm a nightblade, and I'm willing to help you out. My sword is yours to command, and I'll go into the city."

Marcus nodded and smiled. "Good. So, who else will go?" he asked and looked around, waiting for people to answer his call.

People, it's up to you whether you want to be a part of the commando group or not. I'm just trying to figure out who'll stay with Marcus and the others and who will enter the city later on once the army gets to Remonton. So just say to Marcus if you want to infiltrate the city (no need to say anything about it if you won't be going into the city, though).

[Nic]

"I'll go," Ax said firmly. "But uh...well. I usually ain't one to whine, but could I get a little white magic over here before we leave?"

[Agent Proto]

It was his time to shine, for being quiet most of the time, a slanky tall man stood up and stepped forward. "My lord, I am Kline Omar. I have been mostly silent ever since I've joined a group in Aison to return to Remon. I have fought bravely while taking no recognition for my deeds. I will like to join the group that will infiltrate Remonton if you like. I have other reasons for doing this besides to free Remon. "

[DocFrance]

Abel had been on a few adventures with Leon, albeit brief ones. He felt this was the least he could do to help a friend, as well as the Fellowship. Besides, there were a few things he had left at the Fool's Haven years ago that the Yamatians might not have already looted.

Abel stepped up, kneeled in front of Marcus, and said, "My spear and I are at your command, Your Highness."

That sounds bad. I really wish I hadn't given Abel such a penisy weapon.

[MoonZapdos]

In the previous episode...

After the Yamatian forces left Torrent, Sparky and the dog left the cave.
"Look at the destruction... they burnt the Inn and killed the farm animals...", Sparky said.
The dog barked at Sparky, and he praised him.
"At least I have some company... I haven't gave you a name yet so I think I'll call you... Spooky! That's it! For now on, you shall be called Spooky!", Sparky happilly said.
The dog once more happilly barked at Sparky and they both left Torrent, headed for Maderas Woods.

Sparky was on his trip to Maderas alongside Spooky, his new dog when he found a yellow spear on the floor.
The dog barked at it when it emmited a strong light.
"A spear. Might be of some help. Wait, it has an inscription on it... It says 'Einherjar'." Sparky said.

Einherjar is a holy spear made from the souls of the ones that died in Ragnarok. Check a norse mithology encyclopedia for more.

After a short while, Sparky and the dog found themselves near the entrance of Maderas Woods.
The dog smelted something wrong in the woods.
"What's wrong, Spooky?" Sparky said.
The dog backed off a few steps and suddendly, a wild wolf attacked Sparky.
"Back off you stupid wolf!" Sparky yelled.
Sparky tried to hit the wolf with his Dragoon Spear but the wolf bit it, and the end broke.
"Just great. My spear is broken and I can't go back to the mountains to get another. Wait, I'm gonna try that spear I found." Sparky said.
Sparky drew the Einherjar and the wolf backed off.
"What the!?" Sparky said.
Suddendly, the spear emmited a strong light and headed thowards the wolf and pierced his body, killing him.
"Such a power! What the!?" Sparky said at the same time Einherjar lost her light.
"It's a one-time use legendary spear." a strange voice said.
"Who's there!?" Sparky said.
"Enter the woods." the voice said.
Sparky, frightened, followed the voice's order and entered the woods.
Magically, he warped to the other side of the woods, like if the woods were under a spell.
"What the!? I'm in the other side of the woods! Hey wait, where's Spooky? Spooky!" Sparky yelled.
Unfortunatelly, the dog didn't appear in half an hour.
"Spooky... I'm sorry." Sparky said.
Sad, but confident, Von Trigger headed to Paraiso, hoping that he would find a boat to Remon.

[Lynx]

Drop the spear, move on, and quit godmoding. Refer to [godmoding] (http://www.encyclopediadramatica.com/index.php/Godmoding) if you don't know what that is. Having magical weapons appear out of nowhere falls under that. Especially dumb ones.

Pratt raised his hand. "I think you could use me. After all, if we're walking through secret passages, who else can make shadows act out Charades to pass the time?"

Everyone looked at him blankly.

"I mean, I'd like to be a hero. ...I can fight?"

Marcus smiled and nodded. "Always in need of a willing soul. You're in."

[eternal_essence]

Reven sighed, why not. He hated to be out of the loop. "I have fought with the aisonian travellers and will offer my services....if you take them, is up to you, your majesty."

[Citizen Bleys]

Time warm dance!

As dusk approached, a Maar Sulais sentry shouted an alert. Two riders were approaching the camp in Yamatian clothing. The lead rider held a white rag aloft.

"A Yamatian soldier with a flag of truce?" murmured Geraud.

The riders came to a halt at the outskirts of the Allied camp.

"I've brought back your stray bird," said the Yamatian with the flag.

Kagetsu looked perplexed until Leon pulled his hood down.

Leon felt a wild surge of hope as he looked into Kagetsu's eyes--the same eyes he had seen in Despard Silverbranch so many years ago. With an intuitive leap, Leon knew that his presence here had made the return of the brothers possible as well. "Yo," he said.

Mishima Ryoji turned his horse around and started to ride away.

"Wait!" Leon called. "You can stay with us. The Bakufu won't like what you've done."

Ryoji called over his shoulder. "I freed you because I am a Yamatian, and Yamatians value honour. I will not commit treason. There is no excuse for treason."

Kagetsu replied, "There is--if you win."

"You won't," Ryoji shot back and rode away.

Leon sighed. "He might be right. We're not going to have an easy time of this. The Tairo of the Yamato Bakufu in Remonton has a shard of Krystallopyr."

"It'll be hard enough to take Remonton as it is, even if Marcus's plan works," replied Geraud.

Leon pulled out the Book of Kagetsu and handed it to Geraud. "This is something you should have. It belonged to one of your ancestors."

Geraud's eyes widened as he recognized the book. The House of Aurelac had thought it lost in the Explosion.

"One more thing, Gr..Geraud. If we do take Remonton, once it's secure, there's somewhere I have to take you. It's important."

Geraud heard the hesitation. There was something else Leon had almost called him, something that called out to his memory of a strange dream he and Kagetsu had shared not too long ago, when it seemed that the ghosts of the past had called out to them for help. The name of the spirit that Geraud had agreed to help had been named Grady. But how could this bard possibly know about that?

[Raistlin]

<i>"Come on, you slow bastards! Move your asses!" The shadowy man shouted from the rooftop. Leading his company of archers that had scaled the walls of the castle, the man then turned and lead them across the balcony. "I don't like those damn Cardians, but I sure as hell ain't gonna let them show us up!"

"Sir," his lieutenant said, running up to his side. "Our scouts have witnessed fighting at the gates."

"It's begun," he replied. "We have to get down there now, and take him from behind."

During this conversation, another man had been watching from the shadows cast by a large tower, listening in on the conversation. And that last statement from the archer general, the hidden man smiled. He sent a telepathic signal to his men behind the doors leading into the castle, and immediately they were banged open and a swarm of men ran out.

"What the hell - how did they...?" shouted the invading leader. "A trap! Charge!"

The hidden man raised his hand and pointed a finger at the leader. Speaking a soft word, a small beam of light shot out, striking the invader between the eyes. The man immediately keeled over, dead. His dagger bounced from his dead hands, glittered in the moonlight, and fell off of the wall. </i>"


"There you are!" Came a voice from behind. "We are leaving, servant."

The protege turned around. "Yes, master. I will be with you momentarily."

"Good. We must be at my tower by tomorrow." And with that, Dante turned around and left.

Dante's protege stayed a moment, looking out at nothing. He had had this vision before, among others. What did it mean? Who was that invader, and why did his face stick out in his mind - the face, and the dagger. He had the feeling that these visions were of events, but they spoke of things that he had not heard of before. After one last ponder, the protege turned and obediently followed his master. He would follow, for now. He had the feeling that once he knew what the visions meant, nothing would be able to stop him.

[Raistlin]

In the middle of the conversation Marcus and the others were having, a black ball fell out of the sky and landed on a conveniently placed pillow. A black-robed figure scrambled incongruously to his feet and looked around in a daze.

"Who, wait, what now?" Raine asked looking around. "Whatever it is, I'll go."


Kossage insisted I get Raine involved. This is his fault. :P

[Nic]

Ax cleared her throat and stepped to the front of the crowd.

'"Fucking hell, do we intend to take the entire army? Let's get on with it already!"

[Kossage]

The first part happens before Bleys's post and the second and third part take place after Bleys's post.

Scarecrow raised his hand and grinned like a maniac. "I'll be going with you guys too. There's no way I'd stay out of something as fun as this," the drunk ninja said boldly.

"You will need some sharp elven eyes, so I will accompany you in this valiant effort. My bow should be of use once we enter the city," the elven archer Jhain stated.

"If you guys are going, I'll go too. The more, the merrier, eh?" Armeas smiled and stepped forward.

Refan nodded. "I'll be going along too. I know some alleys of Remonton, so maybe I might be of use."

Marcus looked around and smiled when many people told him that they were willing to join the commando group. It was good to know the members of the team beforehand so that one could evaluate its strengths and weaknesses. "Good. We seem to have a decent number of people in the group. And don't worry, Lady Ax, the rest of the army will distract the Yamatians so that the group can get work done once it enters the city. I'm glad so many of you want to do this. People of Remon will be grateful to you," he said. "I think this covers it for the time being. We'll continue healing people and reorganize our forces before we march to Opeth Forest to get some wood to build some siege weapons. With the help of mages we should be able to speed up the process, but we don't have to worry about it right now. So yes, dismissed. We have a whole day ahead of us."

As people left the tent, a white mage approached Ax. "I'll take care of your wound, Lady Ax. Just come with me to the medical tent and I'll see what I can do." The mage escorted her out and to a nearby tent where many white mages were tending the wounded.

The leaders discussed the strategies a while and then left the tent and went back to their respective areas in the camp.

If anyone else wants to join the commando group, just post a flashback in which your character says he or she wants to join the group. I'm moving on.

#

The day went by surprisingly fast, and as dusk approached, Marcus was walking around the camp, nervous. Luck had been on his side all this time, but he wondered how long it'd take for it to turn against him. He hoped it wouldn't happen anytime soon. If the Fellowship captured Remonton, the heroes would gain an advantage in this war.

Suddenly Marcus heard something. It was a familiar voice, and he blinked. That voice belonged to Leon, but the bard was in prison in Remonton. Still, Marcus felt hope in his heart and he walked to the part of the camp where the voice came from.

After walking for a while Marcus stopped and gasped. He saw Leon talking to Geraud and Kagetsu. The bard was alive (well, sort of) and he had escaped the city somehow! Marcus felt a warm wave of happiness flow through his body as he approached his good friend. The bard noticed him and nodded to acknowledge his presence.

"Leon, I'm so happy to see you. I was worried that the Yamatians had killed you by now. How did you manage to escape?" Marcus asked. He didn't feel like mentioning that some people had suspected that Leon had betrayed the Fellowship. He was also curious of why the bard had left the Fellowship and went to Remonton, but this wasn't the right time to ask that. He and Leon would talk about it later.

"A Yamatian helped me get out, and he escorted me here before he left," Leon replied. "I've also found out something terrible: the Tairo of the Yamato Bakufu in Remonton has a shard of Krystallopyr in his possession."

So, the Council of Regents had a piece of the most powerful weapon in history in its possession. If the tairo learned how to harness its power, the Fellowship would be in trouble. Marcus wondered how many of these shards existed in the world. Daven had one, and so did Distreyd. Apparently the two clerics of Nergal, Rastus and Hamish, had given Distreyd another shard, but the shard the tairo possessed might be one of the two shards Distreyd now had. Nevertheless the sooner Daven would figure out a way to nullify Krystallopyr's power, the better.

"Well, at least you're safe now. The Yamatians can't barter with us anymore, and now we can proceed with the original plan of besieging Remonton. First we need to march to Opeth forest and build some siege weapons, and then we'll head to Ravensworth and Remonton, and also send a team to infiltrate Remonton. You've been away so you probably haven't heard of the plan the Fellowship leaders have been planning. I'll explain it to you soon enough. Now come, let's go and find you a tent. We need to talk about many things sometime soon, my friend."

Geraud and Kagetsu went back to the Maar Sulais part of the camp, and Marcus escorted Leon to the nearby tents. The king of Remon was glad that his friend was walking by his side.

#

Shyralis woke up in the shelter and looked around. How much time had passed since she had last been awake? It had felt like an eternity. She noticed Izael who was close by, watching her. The white-haired half-elf almost blushed when he noticed that Shyralis was looking at him. It was quite odd, considering Izael hadn't usually showed his emotions, at least not around Shyralis.

"Before you ask, you were asleep for quite some time; it was a side effect of the herb I gave you. A day passed, but your wounds have healed by now, although a scar will remain. I didn't take advantage of your body, and I kept you safe," Izael stated calmly as he looked into Shyralis's eyes. He continued before the half-elf managed to speak. "While you were asleep, I did a bit of scouting and managed to eavesdrop some Fellowship soldiers talking about their campaign. Apparently they'll send some of their forces to Ravensworth to capture it and to secure ports. The main force will continue to Remonton, and then they'll infiltrate the city somehow. It's unfortunate that the death of the dwarven king Arisol didn't lower our enemy's morale, and they're more determined than ever. Even if the elven king Amandil himself was killed, the Fellowship would move on. The driving force is Sarillius, although he's nothing more than an icon. Others help him plan strategies, but he's the person everyone sees and he's the one who the soldiers respect. If we can crush Sarillius, the Fellowship will have a hard time staying together. I can't explain it, but Sarillius has something in him that makes all these races and nationalities work together. Maybe the Gods themselves work through him."

"So, Sarillius and his forces will besiege the city. It'll be harder to kill him when he's surrounded by soldiers," Shyralis muttered.

"There is a way, my lady. If the army of the Fellowship manages to get into the city, all hell will break loose. During the ensuing chaos everyone will concentrate on fighting, and very few, if any, will look after Marcus Sarillus. Then will be a good time to strike, during the chaotic battle when the army fights on the streets of Remonton. There are enough dark alleys where to lure Sarillius, and we can finish him off there," Izael suggested. "If you still want to get rid of Sarillius, let me help you accomplish that."

Shyralis looked at Izael, pondering. "But you have already helped me. Why should you do so again now that you've paid off your debt?"

Izael put his hand on Shyralis's and moved closer. Shyralis blinked and looked how Izael's body glowed eerily in dim, white light. "I'm ashamed to admit it, but I'm attracted to you, my lady. Your eyes... they're beautiful, and your presence makes me shiver. It's been a long while since I've talked with a female cleric, and you're half-elven, just like I am, so I feel like I'm with someone I've known for a long while. When one has been alone so long, sometimes one just needs company to keep the heart alive. Clerics aren't supposed to feel like that, and Lord Zarnagon told me to hide my emotions, but being with you has awakened something in me. It's stupid, I know, but being with you has made me remember things I didn't think I even remembered anymore. I'm grateful for that, and it gets harder and harder for me to resist--," he whispered but never finished his sentence. He moved closer and kissed her, passionately.

Lying in this shelter with her had truly made Izael remember some forgotten memories, and he felt like a dark cloud was moving away from him and letting the sun shine into the depths of his heart. He could see some glimpses of him, running around the streets of Ravensworth when he had been young, and he saw a familiar, smiling face that seemed to belong to a friend of his. That face resembled Refan's a little, but was much younger. He also saw an elderly figure who had always supported him. He remembered a name... Sullena.

Izael opened his eyes and saw the shocked expression on Shyralis's face. He pulled her closer, not letting her resist, and he felt her heartbeat. He looked into her beautiful and yet mysterious eyes and he touched her hair. It had been too long since he had last kissed someone. The last kiss had happened a lifetime ago, or so he felt. He'd never kissed a half-elf, and for the first time in his life he felt something burning inside of him. It was passion, he could feel it, and he wanted to share it with this beautiful half-elf. He felt he truly lived and the dark shroud almost disappeared when he let Syralis know how she had waken up something inside of him. Something wonderful.

After a moment which had felt like an eternity and still just a fraction of a second at the same time, Izael felt how darkness invaded his soul, and he realized what he had done. His mind was filled with terrible images, of dark cleric chanting, and he could see two flaming white eyes. And there was the voice... so chilling and so horrible. He didn't want to listen to it, but he knew no matter what he did, he could hear the voice in his head. He always heard it when he had tried to remember things he weren't supposed to remember.

Love is for the weak. Compassion is for fools. There is only hatred and suffering and power. You will be a servant of Mardük forever. He could hear it over and over again, and he tried to remember where he had first heard those words, but it was too painful to remember. He almost screamed and then he looked into the beautiful cleric's eyes and pulled himself away from her.

Izael breathed heavily and looked at Shyralis. What had he done? He shouldn't have shown his emotions. He didn't know why he had acted this way even though he had been with her only for a short while. He had failed his master, and he had disgraced her. He had let passion control him, and he wasn't an obedient servant although he should've been. He felt nauseous. He noticed his body was glowing: it was the ability he had always had, and right now he was ashamed of it. Shyralis would probably think he was a freak, a ghost or something worse. He was used to people calling him names because of him glowing and thus resembling a ghost. But for some reason it felt bad to think of Shyralis saying the same things.

Izael bit his lip and felt blood coming from it; he had bit it too hard. He could still taste her kiss in his mouth, but the taste of blood replaced it a second later. He looked at his companion and didn't know what to say. There was no need to apologize. Every cleric knew what would be done to those who disgraced the other cleric, and Izael was certain Shyralis would be so furious about this that she'd punish him for sure. He remained silent and waited for the inevitable to happen.

[Lynx]

"Y'know, a dagger might be a better weapon for you." An older soldier stated under his dented helmet. He had been watching Pratt practice his halberd skills for the past half hour, as the younger man prepared to leave on the Remonton mission.

Pratt rattled his halberd in disgruntlement. He was attached to it, despite its association to his exile from the Mediocre Fighters' Academy. It was his. But he may as well pretend to care about what this guy had to say.

"Why is that?" He arched an eyebrow in what he thought was a concerned manner.

"You have the wrists for it." The veteran licked his lips, moistening them.

The young man felt a hot flush suffuse his face, and he suddenly felt too warm for his clothes. He reached up and quickly undid the clasp of his cloak and suddenly found his arms trapped at his sides by the older soldier. It felt too good to be true. And it seemed all the clothes and armor had melted away from both of the men, with Sargeant Arthur's lips becoming increasingly close to his own parted ones.

And it seemed so very wrong.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Pratt bolted upright, slipped off the rock he had been napping on, and felt into the snowy grass. He panickedly twisted from being facedown to sitting upright and was relieved to see no older men of the soldierly persuasion near him.

It must have been another damn nightmare.

But maybe he'd take up using a dagger. After all, he did have the wrists for it.

[Bahumat]

Desh stepped through the crowd and walked up to Marcus.

"I'm heading to the Ciry, but not with your group. I have something to attend to. I'll be there if something comes up, and you've got to be bailed out or need a diversion, but that's gonna be it until I'm done. I'll be able to travel faster by myself anyway."

He turned and dissappeared into the crowd, to find where Skye was being treated. he had heard that she had been attacked by the Shadow, but didn't know the details. He hoped to use some of his knowledge of the creature and it's kin to identify exactly what was happening to her.

[DocFrance]

Abel heard screaming from outside the camp. He ran out to see what was the matter, but only saw Pratt sitting against a rock, breathing hard. "What's wrong with you?" he asked.
Pratt jumped a bit, but replied, "Oh, I guess I just had a bit of a nightmare."
"Well, that's not unbelievable, especially after such a grim battle. Things like that tend to affect you." Abel reached out his hand to help Pratt up. Pratt grabbed his hand while Abel pulled up. Abel remarked, "Hey, you've got some pretty strong wrists there."
Pratt let go of Abel's hand suddenly, fell backwards, and ran off screaming into the woods.

[Agent Proto]

Enelya was working in a tent where injured soldiers were located before being sent to carriages to be follow the rest of the army. She noticed that Pag was among the still injured. She walked towards Pag and paused for a second to see if it was actually Pag. It was. His face was cut up badly with dry blood. He seemed to still have his conscience... He moved his head to see who it was that's visiting him. "...Enelya?" He said softly with his torn voice.

"Pag..." the white mage said with a tear on her face. "Are you alright?"

"I was too careless..." the young bard said. "I almost died, but a dwarf aided me back to camp to stay safe..."

He coughed up some blood before continuing. "...I still haven't been seen by a white mage..."

Enelya leaned on Pag's bedside, and sombered for awhile. "I'm sorry Pag, I was kept very busy helping other injured soldiers. I wasn't aware you were among them."

Pag held his hand up to caress Enelya's tender face. "...It's ok. You're here now. That's all that matters."

"...Pag, I want to heal you now." the white mage said. "But I heard from the chief white mage that we're not allowed to heal before while we're travelling."

"...Well, are you going to obey the chief white mage?" Pag asked Enelya.

"For you, no..." The white mage said as she stood up to prepare healing Pag. "I would rather see you out there with the rest of the Fellowship. Marcus and several others are preparing to head out to take Remonton from the Yamatians. However, I want you to help the others that are left behind in the next battle. I know you can do it."

"But I'll only get in the way." Pag said... as he started to feel a little better.

"Nonsense Pag." Enelya said as she continued to use her healing powers on Pag. "I believe in you."

Soon, the white mage finished, and Pag was feeling a lot better. He stood up from his bed and stretched his arms out. The white mage smiled with joy and she gave the bard a surprise. A kiss. This surprised Pag, but he enjoyed the moment with Enelya, as she whispered to him. "Pag, go out there and show them what you've got."

Pag nodded and got off his bed. He then looked around and then back to Enelya. "Um... so where are my weapons and stuff?"

"They should be in one of the chests." Enelya said with a big smile. "Go get 'em tiger."

***

[Kossage]

Moving on. If you want to have Shyr and Izzy do something, Nic, feel free to post about it in a flashback or something.

Morning came, and Refan woke up. He wondered how days went by so quickly nowadays: it was as if magic was involved. Warping back and forth in time, that was a fascinating concept. The thief didn't think it was possible, and he figured that he was just imagining things. So many things have happened these past few days, so it was understandable that he felt that days went by so quickly. He shrugged, stood up and went to see how Skye was doing.

Refan noticed that the preparations for the coming journey were already going on. All around him people were packing up, placing the remaining injured soldiers to carriages, tents were taken down to pack them up for the journey, and officers were running around, trying to keep everything in order.

The thief entered one of the remaining medical tents and noticed Desh, the shadow mage, talking to Skye. Shauna was with them, and she smiled when she noticed Refan.

"She woke up just a few minutes ago. It seems the illness has stopped from spreading for the time being, so she should be all right," the white mage said cheerfully. "Desh came here to see that Skye was alright, and he stayed here throughout the night. He was trying to figure out what this illness really is, because after all he knows shadow magic and should know more about the Shadow's attacks."

"That's great," Refan said although he was a bit ashamed that he hadn't been with Skye when she had awakened. He walked closer to Desh and Skye. "Feeling any better?"

Skye looked at Refan and hear eyes shone with happiness. "I feel fine, Reffie. When I was in the dark, I heard your voice calling me. That kept me going on, and I managed to drive the darkness away," she smiled and stood up. Before Refan could do anything, she moved closer and kissed him and whispered: "I love you."

Refan held her in a soft embrace, feeling guilty. It was because of him that Skye had suffered. If Skye hadn't been so close to Refan, the Shadow would've ignored her, but because she was important to Refan, the Shadow had used her as a bait. This was all Refan's fault. If he and Skye hadn't become lovers, she would've been all right and wouldn't have this strange illness. The thief wondered how long it'd take before the illness would take over Skye's body again, but in any case he hoped it wouldn't happen anytime soon. He wanted to enjoy this moment, keep her close as if this war had never happened and they'd been just ordinary lovers with nothing to worry about. If only life was so simple.

The thief let go of Skye and looked into her eyes. Skye looked back and seemed to know what he was thinking about. However, her eyes told Refan that they shouldn't worry about the future: they'd find a cure for the illness someday, and for now they'd help Marcus and the Fellowship.

Desh smiled a little as he approached Refan. "She'll be all right. I haven't been able to figure out the exact details of that illness, but I might have a clue. I just need more time to figure out the necessary information," he explained.

"Thank you, Desh. I appreciate it," Refan said and took Skye's hand in his. "Well, maybe it's time we go out and get ready for the journey, eh? It'll take us some time to reach Opeth forest, and if there are Yamatians left in Opethburg, we'll have to capture it as well, because it'll serve as a temporary headquarters while some of our forces build the siege weapons by using the wood of the forest."

Refan, Skye, and Desh stepped outside, and Shauna and the white mages continued doing the final preparations before helping the Fellowship soldiers take the tent down. The trio saw Pratt coming from somewhere, trembling, but they decided it would be best not to ask what had happened to the young man. Maybe he was just nervous about the coming journey like some others were.

#

An hour later the Fellowship was already marching towards Opeth forest and the town of Opethburg. A plan had been made to travel through the town and dispose of any Yamatians who might still be there. Once there, the Fellowship would send many people to the forest to gather the necessary wood for building siege weapons. Mages would help speed up the process. But first the army had to reach Opethburg, and it'd take them at least a few hours to get there.

Bunya waved at Marcus while she was driving one of the carriages. "Hey, cute boy, get over here. I want to have a word with you," she said.

Marcus approached the carriage hesitantly. "What is it?" he asked.

Bunya smiled, or maybe she grimaced, it was hard to tell. "I heard you were talking about infiltrating the big city Remonton once we get there. I was wondering if I could join the group and--"

"No, absolutely no," Marcus interrupted and shook his head. "No can do. The group has a decent size already, and we wouldn't have too many people going into the city. It might endanger the whole mission, because the more people there are, the more noise there they'll make."

"Aww, you're no fun. I was hoping to get some action once we got into the city. I'm sure the Yamatians would appreciate my dancing moves. Maybe you'd like to see?" she laughed and winked at Marcus. She was about to stand up even though the carriage was moving, and her arse was already shaking.

"OH DEAR GOD NO! RUN, MARCUS, RUN!" Luan yelled in panic and galloped as far away from Bunya's carriage as possible while screaming in terror.

Marcus's eyes grew wide open. "What in the name of Cardia...?"

René waved at Marcus to get closer. "It's better you stay away from her when she attempts to dance, and you should avoid looking at her. Poor Luan watched the whole show in all its glory, and he had such a trauma of it that he'll never be the same person again," he muttered. "Let's just ignore her and keep going."

Marcus was confused but nodded. He didn't really care to find out how well a woman such as Bunya could actually dance, anyway.

#

Zarnagon admired Norash'bador, the Dark Tower, which had been built near Castle Myridium in the city of Myridia. The tower was beautiful. It made Zarnagon's presence known for everyone who lived in the city and for all the travellers who came to Myridia. The tower had so many protective wards cast on it so that it was practically impossible to destroy it unless Zarnagon himself let it happen.

The sorcerer stepped into the palace and followed the stairs to the royal throne room. From there he followed a passageway to the tower itself. Some people had tried to sabotage the construction of the tower, but they had died a slow, painful death. He followed the stairs into the highest floor of the tower. The room had a single huge and round window letting light come in. There was another, darker throne and some bookshelves. There were paintings of Zarnagon decorating the wall, and it made him feel comfortable. The painters had done a good job.

Zarnagon looked out of the window and saw these insignificant people running around, doing their chores and whatnot. Because the tower was so high, it looked like those people were mere ants, and Zarnagon realized it was so: these people were nothing compared to him and he could crush them like a man crushes an ant when he steps on it. That thought made him smile.

The sorcerer heard the door opening, and he turned around. Richelieu came in, and two dark figures followed him. Zarnagon smiled. The assassins had returned.

"My lord, we bring good news. Wizzentromp has been executed, and the resistance in Eest is crumbling. Captain Demoon is leading the forces there now, but he isn't as respected as Wizzentromp was. Eest will be ours soon," Richelieu said.

The two dark figures stepped closer, and one of them took something from a bag he was carrying. He took out Wizzentromp's head which was on a silver platter. "Mission accomplished, sire," Shamshir stated.

"Ah, you took my orders quite literally," Zarnagon chuckled as he saw the head. "Very well. You've done well, and your services won't be required for the time being, so you can return to your master."

Venom nodded. "We shall depart immediately, sire. Once our services are required again, we shall come back," the assassin said and bowed. Then he and Shamshir left the room, leaving the head and the silver platter behind.

"Richelieu, take that head and show it to these Myridians and tell them that the same thing will happen to them if they dare to oppose us. Once they see their beloved High Justicar dead, they realize that we're not to be trifled with," Zarnagon ordered. "Also tell them that if they stay obedient, they shall be rewarded. Everyone who helps the rebels will be a traitor and shall be punished."

The cleric opened his mouth. "But my liege, shouldn't we--"

"No, Richelieu. We'll do things my way, and I want to show that we'll give them no mercy if they dare to challenge us. Even though Mardük wants to break the chains put on people by Cardia, it doesn't mean we allow these people to mock us or take part of this rebellion," Zarnagon said. "Once we've captured Eest, we'll move all our forces to the Magestar. Those pathetic mages can't hold on for much longer, and soon the fool Amdusias will be begging for mercy, just wait and see. Now go!"

Richelieu put the platter and the head on the bag and rushed out of the room.

Zarnagon turned to look out of the window in the Dark Tower. He touched the shard of the Dragon Diamond in his pendant, and the shard was glowing in eerie white light. The dark sorcerer smiled. The war was far from over, but things were going according to plan. Dante and his protege had travelled back to Remon and would be dealt with once Egendaul and Izael got everything sorted out. Egendaul should write to Zarnagon soon, and then a powerful rival, Dante, would be crushed. And eventually Distreyd would be taken care of too, and Zarnagon would finally claim his rightful place as the High Cleric of Mardük. And then, only then, would he put his final plan in motion. The Dark One would awaken once more, and they would rule this world together.

[Lynx]

They blew right into Ravensworth, churning the ground behind them. They flew through the streets, causing vendors, shoppers, and children to scurry out of the way. A small company of soldiers in red and black swiftly passed down the main thoroughfare, pausing only for carts they couldn't swerve around. The people in the street either got out of the way or suffered the fright of their lives as the horsemen swarmed around them, hooves violently pounding the cobblestones.

Kaizoku rode like a madman at the head of them, still covered in the grime and blood of battle. His men reflected that image, too, as they followed their leader through the city, heedless of the cries of shocked citizens. The Myrdosin horses that Kaizoku's men had stolen served them well, covering the vast tract of land between the port city and the desolate battle ground of Folsworth. He and the men that had escaped with him (he counted just over a hundred) had ridden without rest, fearing to pause and give their pursuerers a chance to catch them.

And pursued they were. When the admiral's six hundred savagely attacked the Myrdosin elves and taken their mounts, the elves screamed out vengeance. Their kin died in front of their eyes and the horses that they so lovingly brought up were maimed or stolen. Half of Kaizoku's men died on the field merely trying to seize mounts. The rest broke in half, one group to escape with their elven leader, the other to brook any pursuerer's path and make one last stand. Any Tiger or Hunter that stayed was slaughtered.

The ones that made a run were chased by a large group of elves bent on no escapees. Kaizoku had early on in the pursuit thought to slow down enough to engage and kill his harriers, but soon learned the error in that, when the elves' arrows gained more accuracy as the distance closed. The elves were stopped some, though, when the Hunting Tigers exacted their revenge in closer quarters. Once Kaizoku's men had caused the elves to withdraw in disarray, the elven lord had called his men to return to their escape. The contingent of elves took the time to regroup and followed.

Kaizoku headed for the docks.

[Citizen Bleys]

The messenger saluted smartly as he handed Kagetsu the envelope. Kagetsu recognized the seal--it was a peculiar spell devised by the Maar Sulais Inner Court mages designed to incinerate the message if the wrong person tried to open it. He pressed his signet ring into the seal, keying the spell to dissipate.

The letter read,

My dearest son,

I wish I had fair tidings for you, but matters are getting worse everywhere. As you know, I returned home because Aison does not have sufficient strength to repel the invaders. Here in Maar Sul, too, the Yamatian forces have begun vicious pogroms in retaliation for our alliance with Remon. We've had to abandon our plans to retake the capital, as it's all we can do to protect the civilian populace.

News from Libaterra is darker still. Elflike creatures calling themselves the Faerfolc have invaded and are rampaging throughout the countryside, killing for the sake of killing. Réin is doing everything in her power to contain them, but cannot throw them back. Even the Yamatian invaders in that country have joined with the locals and Maar Sulais forces to protect themselves agains the Faerfolc.

Ultimately, events overwhelm me. The fate of Maar Sul now rests on your shoulders. You must succeed in Remon. After that, it will be up to you and King Marcus to decide where to turn next. The need is great in Aison, in Libaterra, and here in Maar Sul. May the Gods ride with you.

Your father,

Remy Aurelac de Maar Sul

[Kossage]

Nicodemus moved closer to Rune. "We have to talk. Now."

The black mage looked at the young merchant. "I was about to say the same thing. The moment I saw you I recognized you. It's been long since we last met."

"Yes. You probably remember Dorjan, right? He used to do business with Dante," Nicodemus stated.

"Of course. He was the one who rescued you, correct? You and I are much alike, Nicodemus. Dante had his experiments and he did horrible things to us. Dorjan helped you to escape, but I wasn't as fortunate," Rune whispered. "I remember when we two were together in the prison beneath the tower. We talked, and I enjoyed our conversations. Your green eyes are the result of the experiments Dante did on you, I presume. I... well, let's just say Dante sent me out, but I'm planning on getting rid of him. I pretend to serve him, but when the right time comes, I'll get rid of him. I don't want him to cause any more suffering than he already has."

"Yes, my green eyes are the result of the experiments. Thankfully I was saved. I owe my life to Dorjan," Nicodemus replied and looked around to make sure no one was listening to their conversation. He turned his voice into a whisper. "I assume Dante sent you here to spy on us? If so, why are you telling me your plans? You know I could tell Marcus and the others about this, and they'd kill you instantly or do something worse."

Rune shrugged. "I know I'm taking an awful risk by telling you this, but I trust you and I expect you not to tell anything about this to the others until the time is right. You were the only one who has ever understood me when Dante tortured us. Our conversations were nice, and I remember how we talked for hours. I hate the mage as much as you do, and I want to help you get rid of him. Dante thinks I'm still on his side as he sent me here to gather information about this Fellowship, but he doesn't know I've switched sides. I understand you'll have a hard time trusting me, but you must understand that I've yearned for freedom more than anything else, and as long as Dante's alive, I can never be free. I can't defeat him alone, and that's why I joined this Fellowship," he explained. "I know the way to Dante's tower, and maybe you remember it too. Once the Fellowship has captured Remonton, we'll have to talk to Marcus and the other leaders and help them in any way we can."

"I don't remember the way to the tower that clearly, but I'll help this Fellowship in its quest for peace. As noble as your intentions seem to be, I have a feeling you're not telling me everything. Please, Rune, if you still think you're my friend, tell me the truth," Nicodemus stated.

Rune sighed. "Very well. I might've found a way to nullify Krystallopyr's power. However, I'm not completely sure about this piece of information yet, and that's why I need to get my hands on a certain tome in Dante's tower before I can say for sure whether the plan might work or not. And that, my friend, is another reason why we should get to Dante's tower when the time is right. Until then I'll keep this piece of information to myself."

Nicodemus looked into Rune's eyes and after a moment of silence he nodded. "I see. You're an enigmatic man, Rune, but maybe I could trust you for old time's sake. We haven't talked for ages, so maybe this would be a good time to talk about stuff again. We could have nice conversations like we used to have in Dante's tower."

For the first time during the conversation Rune smiled a warm smile as he looked at the merchant. "Indeed, my friend. Indeed," the black mage replied.

#

After Kagetsu had explained the contents of the letter to Marcus, the King of Remon began pondering about what he had just heard. So, the Faerfolc were in Libaterra, wreaking havoc there. Marcus felt guilty, because the Faerfolc would never have awakened if the Fellowship hadn't entered the Crystal Catacombs in Tes Pellaria in the first place. In fact it had been surprising that the Fellowship hadn't been killed there. Marcus was surprised of how many days had passed since they had left Tes Pellaria. Nevertheless this was grave news. How could the Faerfolc be stopped? If the Fellowship would get them as allies, Distreyd and the Shogun would be crushed easily. But it probably wouldn't work. Why were the Faerfolc slaughtering people anyway? Marcus didn't know, but he hoped he and the Fellowship would be able to prevent the destruction of Libaterra one way or another.

Marcus felt that it might be the wisest decision to go to Maar Sul first, because the Maar Sulais had been very helpful and without them the Fellowship would've been defeated a long time ago. It'd only be fitting to pay the debt back by helping Maar Sul in turn. He decided he'd talk with Kagetsu and Geraud about this sooner or later. King Remy was wise and his forces would be of great use later on once Maar Sul was liberated. And from there the armies of the Grand Alliance might sail to Libaterra and from there to Aison, and maybe to Yamato if the Fellowship was victorious. Nevertheless this wasn't the right time to think of this. Right now Marcus had to take care of Remon. First to Opethburg to build siege weapons, then to Remonton to capture the Council of Regents and then the attack on Fragnar and maybe to Dante's tower, wherever it was located. Marcus was certain he'd find out the location of the mage's tower sooner or later. But now he had to concentrate on capturing Opethburg.

The army marched on, and soon the town of Opethburg could be seen in the distance. Marcus wasn't sure how many Yamatians would still be defending the town, but no matter how many or how few there were, the town would be captured one way or another. The army approached the town, ready for battle.

[Citizen Bleys]

Remy Aurelac de Maar Sul studied the reports once again. No crown adorned his balding head--this meeting of generals was informal. There was no luxury for pomp and ceremony at Caer Goddard this day.

"This is certain?" he inquired.

Lord Rhinehart nodded. "There's no question. Distreyd Thanadar leads the siege force personally."

Remy massaged his head. He supposed that would explain why the nightmares around Caer Goddard were getting worse. Somehow, Distreyd had found out that Remy was here, and had come personally to finish his old enemy off.

The siege was wearing the caer down. Food and water was harshly rationed, with new supplies sneaking through the besieging army only sporadically.

"Well," he said cheerfully, "This could work out very well for us in the end. All we have to do is hold out until Lord Straun's forces arrive. They'll hit Thanadar's army from the rear and crush them against the caer's walls."

At one stroke, the Clergy of Mardük would lose its leader, and Dokubaraken would return at long last to the posession of the House of Aurelac. The only question was whether the caer could last. Reports of the Struan army's whereabouts were few and far between, and at last report, they hadn't been making good time at all. In fact, they seemed to be hitting every Yamatian patrol and strongholt they possibly could in their mad dash to come to Remy's aid. Nevertheless, Martin Struan de Maar Sul was an old friend of the House of Aurelac. Remy knew that if anybody could make it in time, it was him.

Hurry, Martin, he thought to himself, We can't hold out forever.

[Kossage]

Lander started singing a battle hymn as the Fellowship army charged at the town Opethburg. Griffin decided to sing along, presenting his own variations of the theme. Lander didn't like the idea of Griffin trying to ruin his song, so he sang louder, and Griffin didn't like the idea of Lander singing louder, so Griffin sang even louder, which in turn forced Lander to sing even louder etc. And as the army sang this battle hymn, Lander and Griffin had a personal battle of music. It was hard to say when the harmonic nature of the song turned into a discord, but nevertheless that melody was enough to scare whatever Yamatians were left behind in Opethburg.

The town of Opethburg wasn't heavily defended, and its only purpose for the Yamatians had been a resting place for their troops and an area where they could use wood to build siege weapons. Most Yamatians had left Opethburg to join General Watanabe's army which was later on defeated near Folsworth Woods, and that left the town itself relatively undefended. These Yamatians, however, were stubborn ones and would fight to their last breath even though the Fellowship outnumbered them.

Kagetsu's forces and Elphraim's cavalry entered the town first. All Yamatians who tried to resist were swept aside. Alessandra, Raph and many other warriors entered battle and killed their enemies efficiently. Black mages bombarded the already scattered Yamatian troops with devastating spells, and white mages did their best to protect the Fellowship soldiers with defensive spells. One could even argue that this wasn't really a big battle and it was only a skirmish, but in any case the Yamatians were defeated surprisingly quickly, and very few of them were taken as prisoners, because most of them died defending the town.

As Refan entered the town, he looked around and grimaced. He hated this: to hear the cries of the injured and to see the empty look on the faces of the dead. He hated battles, and he wanted to get out of this mess, and yet for some reason something inside of him was thrilled to be a part of this slaughter. He wasn't the young thief he had used to be; he had become a killer. Was this what Ferron had warned him about? Would he become a monster or would he remain sane after the war was over? He hated seeing people wasting their life fighting while the ones pulling the strings were safe from harm. Why couldn't everyone live in peace? Why did the Gods do nothing to stop this madness? He sighed and continued walking. Maybe he'd feel better later on.

The battle was over, and the Fellowship had had only a few casualities. The Yamatians in the town had been crushed, and Opethburg had been captured. Refan heard how some Fellowship leaders sent quite a few soldiers and mages towards Opeth forest to chop down wood. It seemed Marcus and the others didn't want to waste any time and sent these people to build the siege weapons which would be needed once the army arrived at Remonton. Building the siege weapons would take some time, but luckily the mages would be able to speed up the process a bit. Opethburg would become the Fellowship's base of operations until the siege weapons were ready.

#

A few hours later the bodies of the fallen had been taken off the streets, and the Fellowship had set up tents nearby. The townsfolk of Opethburg weren't hostile to Marcus's army and instead greeted them as liberators: apparently some members of the former Remon Corps had told them that Marcus wasn't the tyrant and it had only been a clever plot of the Yamatians to frame Marcus for something he hadn't done. Some warriors were taken to the houses while others wished to sleep in tents.

In the mayor's house the leaders of the Fellowship were planning what to do next. "We need to divide our forces so that we can save time. We need to capture the docks of Ravensworth, and the sooner we have them under our control, the better. According to Sergeant O'Brien of the Remon Corps most of the Yamatians left Ravensworth to help General Watanabe's army, so Ravensworth should be relatively easy to capture. Of course capturing the city won't be as easy as capturing Opethburg, but it's still easier than capturing Remonton," Kagetsu stated and pointed at the map of Remon. "Your Majesty, I propose that we send some fast units such as the Myrdosin cavalry to Ravensworth so that we can capture the city as quickly as possible. Once Ravensworth's secure, we don't have to worry about Yamatian forces getting into Remon or getting out."

Marcus nodded. "I agree with the plan. Capturing Ravensworth will be essential if we want our plan to succeed. Lord Elphraim, are you ready to take your cavalry to Ravensworth? The Myrdosin horses are fast enough and should get to the city sooner than most cavalry units."

Elphraim, the lord of the Myrdosin elves, smiled. "Of course, Your Majesty. My forces shall be ready to depart in half an hour."

"Excellent. Some people might want to join you and the Myrdosin cavalry, and they can go if they want. Most of us, however, will stay behind and build the siege weapons. Then we'll march to Remonton, and I expect your forces to follow us once you've secured Ravensworth," Marcus stated.

Elphraim nodded and left the room. Marcus turned to look at the other leaders, and they continued talking about strategies.

#

Dante and his protege reached the hidden valley after their long journey. One could only enter the valley by magic or by dragon, and dragons wouldn't go to the valley, so magic was the only option left. The two dark figures walked to the tower located in the valley and were greeted by their servant, a dark elf whose eyes were blank and had no emotion in them. The elf had once looked handsome but his years as a servant had made him look older than he really was. The elf still had his sword and his armour, but he also had a dark cape similar to the one the clerics of Mardük wore. He lived only to serve nowadays.

"Greetings, master. Did your journey go well?" the elf asked as he saw the two mages approaching.

Dante gave a hint of a smile. "Let's say the trip wasn't a waste of time," he replied and entered the tower with his protege. "Any recent news I should be aware of?"

The dark elf followed the two mages as they walked to the lower levels of the tower. "Our spies have heard news of the rebel leader Sarillius being victorious. Apparently he crushed the Yamatian army led by General Watanabe and Admiral Kaizoku Yousei. The Council of Regents in Remonton has been informed of this, but we're not sure what the Council is going to do now. Last reports we heard were about Sarillius and the Fellowship marching towards a small town called Opethburg. We suspect the army will most likely move to Remonton and maybe send a detachment to capture Ravensworth."

Dante nodded. He didn't care about the names of the Yamatian leaders: they were insignificant and would be dealt with. However, Distreyd had been right: Sarillius was more of a threat than the Clergy could've imagined. Maybe the Council of Regents would be able to stop Sarillius from capturing Remonton, but if Sarillius succeeded... Dante had to think things through. What if those pitiful heroes decided to come after him once Remonton was captured?

The mage glanced at his protege and smiled. If the heroes somehow found a way to the tower, although it was nearly impossible, it'd give Dante a chance to test the powers of his protege against the Fellowship. Sarillius and his minions would be crushed soon enough, and this time Sarillius wouldn't just face Yamatian warriors: he'd face powerful mages who wouldn't be defeated so easily. Nevertheless Dante had to be prepared if things didn't go as he planned.

"You may go now. I'll call you when you're needed," Dante said, and the dark elf nodded and left. Dante smiled to himself as he and his protege proceeded through the passageways of the tower to one of the study rooms.

[Lynx]

The dagger twisted and flashed in the sunlight. He flicked the blade into the air and caught the weapon by its blade, between two fingers. Hands clapped together and kids laughed and cheered. Pratt was impressing the few children that had gathered in the town's square, in what he considered practice. In reality, it probably passed as goofing off.

But it lightens these kids' hearts, thought Pratt. They've had to live through experiences they never should have. It's good to get their minds off anything they may have seen. The small posting of Yamatians in the town proved to be a cruel foe, pitting the heroes against their enemy in a town full of innocents' lives. Thankfully, losses to both the Opethburg populace and the Fellowship was quite low.

Pratt grinned at the kids and sheathed his dagger. It was a good weapon, despite its lack of reach, but it seemed light as a feather when compared to his halberd. He turned his attention directly to the kids and asked them to gather around. They giggled and complied, pushing at each other for the best seat on the ground in front of the crouching young man.

"I am about to tell you one of my many feats as a hero." They hushed. "It happened right here in Opethburg. I swear." The kids gasped; there was a story that had their town in it! "You guys knew about the fight today, yeah?" Nods. "Well, I was one of the guys fighting the bad dudes." Eyes went wide. "I know, but someone has to do it. Okay, so, I had just beaten this bad dude with a huge sword. I had tripped and thought I was a goner. Huge Sword Dude had had his sword cocked back, ready to chop me in half, and I thought he would have for sure when I fell. Not so; Huge Sword Dude had made a horizontal sweep with his sword and hit the house beside me." Pratt pointed and kids' necks twisted to see where his finger aimed. "That house right over there. See where that plaster is busted? Totally Sword Dude's fault. But, anyways, I didn't get hit 'cause he slashed across and not down. And because when I fell, I stumbled forward and clipped his legs out from under him. From there, I climbed on top of him and did a quick one-two and bam!" He exclaimed that last word for emphasis as he mimed a punch combo. The kids jumped. "Huge Sword Dude didn't have a chance against me. Oh yeah."

The kids cheered. It felt really good.

***

Loading crates and supplies sucked onto a ship sucked. Especially when you had to teach half of your crew what to do and how to do it. But he chose to, because a strong crew knew what it was about, and he wanted every single man able to do what was needed when the time came. Because of this, Kaizoku had to do some of the physical labor himself.

And so he was. While the remnants of his old crew took the senior positions, overseeing and helping with the loading, the newly joined Tigers took the basic crewmen positions, ready to learn the ways of the sea with vigor. Kaizoku would have to go amongst them and learn their talents and if any of them had held rank in their army, but he had to finish carrying his personal crate of rum to his cabin.

As Kaizoku stepped over tarred ropes and across the main deck, a cry from above reached his ears. "Captain! Watch out!"

The elf dived forward and tumbled with a crate digging into his gut. It was a small price to pay, however, as an extra spar crashed down where he had been walking moments before. Kaizoku grunted and climbed to his feet, angry and put out. Liquid seeped into his clothes; the rum had busted.

"Oh, fuck! Nooooooooooooo!" The elf sank to his knees and cried out over the loss of his treasured liquor. It would be a long trip without something to drink. He looked up to see the man who would pay for the breaking of the rum.

Shuu waved happily from the main mast, where several other workers looked mortified at what had occurred. "Oh, you are so dead when I get my hands on you, ye damn fox!" Kaizoku shooked his fist towards the mischievous (and probably the one behind the loss of his liquor ever since they had come ashore in Remon) young man and then shouted at everyone else for good measure. "And get back to work, men! Nothing to see, no captain splat, nothing! Finish loading and servicing the ship. I want to be out of here before nightfall, so we don't end up riding onto a reef and gutting our fair lady!"

They'd be off before sunset, Kaizoku knew. But he wondered when his title once again became captain instead of admiral? The elf shrugged off the question, knowing it had to do with the idea of switching from a navyman to a pirate. Again.

[Kossage]

Ic used his axe in the forest to help the soldiers of the Fellowship. There were many lumberjacks and mages too, and everyone did their part to chop down wood and put them on carriages to take to the place where wood would be used to build siege weapons. Ic was sweating, but he was happy, because he knew he was doing the right thing: helping people. However, sometimes it felt odd, because he helped Marcus Sarillius, the King of Remon, and Marcus was a paladin. Ic didn't like paladins because he thought all of them were corrupt. It was hard to think that Marcus would be any better, but so far Marcus had proved to be a righteous hero. Still, Ic wasn't convinved. He'd figure out what Marcus really was like sooner or later.

Ic heard some noise and recongized it to be coming from galloping horses. He noticed quite a few elves and some others galloping north. The elves were those odd Myrdosin freaks, and apparently some humans accompanied them as well. Ic had heard some soldiers talking about a plan of sending some of the Fellowship's forces to capture Ravensworth, and he figured these guys were probably going there. He decided to stop thinking about it, because he had other stuff to do. And so he continued doing what he knew best and used his axe.

#

Heirthyr Fullthorn was really excited. He usually wasn't liked that and wanted to keep things to himself, but this time he had every reason to be excited. He had searched for engineers who could guide him, and now by an odd twist of fate he had been introduced to one of the most legendary engineers in recent history: Daven. The man was really famous, and Heir was stunned to talk to a person like Daven. Well, it was odd in a way: this young elven girl Nalaen served as Daven's spokeswoman because Daven was a mute. In any case the conversation went by surprisingly well as the trio had the conversation in a nearby tavern.

Daven was quite friendly and was willing to answer questions. He had told Heir so much about what kind of skills engineers should have and how they could improve their work and more information like that. Heir still couldn't believe he was sitting next to the man, and they had a good time.

After some time had passed, Heir decided to ask something he'd been curious about. He'd heard that Daven had a magical stone and that Daven tried to translate the hieroglyphs on it to understand how the stone should be used. "Have you been able to figure out what it says on the stone?" Heir asked. The young engineer felt a bit ashamed asking it for some reason, but he really wanted to know. If someone could succeed in such a task, it'd be the legendary engineer Daven.

Daven shook his head, and Heir sighed. It seemed it'd take some more time before the great engineer would succeed in solving the mystery. Heir looked at the stone when Daven took it out of the pocket and placed it on the table. It looked surprisingly insignificant and the only thing worth noting was some ancient writing on it. Heir had heard that it was the language of the Lefein, and Daven was maybe the last surviving Lefein in this world. Once Daven was gone, there might be no others left to translate the text. It was hard to translate the text even for Daven who knew the language, so Heir guessed the text had many riddles which needed to be solved before the mystery of the stone could be revealed.

They continued talking, and it was getting darker outside. Some members of the Fellowship would sleep in taverns and houses that were given to them, and the other members would sleep in tents. Night was coming soon, and Heir hoped it wasn't foreboding the destiny of the world and the fate of this Fellowship. He didn't want to live in a world where there was only darkness and no light. He hoped that this world would see a new dawn after darkness had been driven away. Only time would tell, he thought.

#

Michael Daren smiled. It had taken a few hours for Admiral Kaizoku's new crew to get everything sorted out before the ship finally left the docks of Ravensworth behind and headed for the sea. It had been hard for the man not to laugh when he had seen Kaizoku's antics with the rum, and he wondered how this goof had managed to survive so long. Maybe Lady Luck thought that the admiral was sexy or funny enough to be kept alive? Michael shrugged. It didn't matter, because soon Kaizoku's luck would run out.

Michael, or Peg-Leg Mike as he was called by some (he had a wooden right leg because a shark had bitten it off some two years ago), had been with Admiral Kaizoku for quite some time. The 30-year-old pirate had been around to witness the final pirate years of Kaizoku, right before Kaizoku and the crew had been caught by Yamatians and forced to serve the Shogun. However, the foolish elf didn't know that Mike had been a double agent all this time, working for rival pirates who wanted to see Kaizoku dead. Things had gotten a bit complicated when Kaizoku had been given a Yamatian navy to command, but now that Kaizoku had lost so many of his men and had more landlubbers than experienced sailors in his crew, it'd be child's play to attack the lone ship and humiliate and kill the elf.

Yes, there were still some pirates around. Even though the Yamatian navy ruled the seas, a few pirates terrorized certain areas, and the most infamous of these pirate ships was the Bloody Heathen. Two notorious pirates were leading this pirate crew: the dashingly masculine swashbuckler Decanus Tafford and the quiet, fearsome captain Aden the Mighty. Decanus was known for his sword-fighting skills and Aden for his intelligence. The deadly duo had had quite a reputation and had survived through many hardships. These two individuals had something more in common other than just being pirates: both had been defeated by Kaizoku Yousei in the past during the time when pirates had fought against each other and Yamato hadn't conquered any lands. When the two had started working together, though, they had realized that by combining their strength they'd be able to defeat Kaizoku who had humiliated them. And Michael knew that now was the perfect time to crush this so-called admiral.

So Peg-Leg Mike looked around to see that no one was watching him, and then he released a dove which would deliver a letter to the Bloody Heathen. It'd be only a matter of time before the dove reached the ship which was sailing somewhere nearby, and then those pirates would come and show Kaizoku what real pirates were capable of. Mike was certain the coming battle would be a clash of titans: the Bloody Heathen versus the Aozora, both being legendary ships. He smiled. All he could do was to wait and serve Kaizoku Yousei - for the time being.

[Nic]

First part is just wrapping up the Izzy/Shyr stuff from last time, I imagine it should be considered a flashback or something. ;| And I apologize. I'm horrible at writing cheesy stuff.

<I>"I'm ashamed to admit it, but I'm attracted to you, my lady. Your eyes... they're beautiful, and your presence makes me shiver..."</I>

Izael's words echoed in her mind, overwhelming any logical thoughts she might've had a moment before. Beautiful. He found her...beautiful?

Shyralis looked at the half-elf, feeling a sudden blush sweeping over her cheeks. "Izael."

"My lady, I am, I...words cannot express how sorry I am, my lady," Izael stammered, his eyes full of shame. "I had no right. I have shamed you, I...I am a..."

Slowly, softly, Shyralis raised her hand to the half-elf's face and layed a gentle finger on his lips. "Hush."

Their eyes met once more, and Shyralis fought the urge to look away. What had just transpired between them was...<I>wrong</I>. They were clerics. They had duties to fulfill. The consequences of their actions would be dire, should they be discovered. And yet...right now, looking into Izael's eyes, none of that seemed very important.

"It's been so long...since anyone has shown me kindness," she whispered. "You have nothing to apologize for."

Izael seemed to calm a bit, and the white glow surrounding his body faded slightly. It was an odd thing to watch, but Shyralis couldn't say she minded it. His eyes seemed so startlingly blue against his pale skin and white hair, and the pale glow only served to enhance the effect. He looked...strangely beautiful.

"I suppose we should get moving soon," she sighed. "I've rested long enough. If you're certain you'd like to accompany me, any help would be appreciated. We can talk more later."


Dadadada, insert a few days of traveling or whatever to catch up to present time. Opeth Forest is where they're getting wood, right?

"So they really do intend to attack Remonton..."

Shyralis narrowed her eyes, sinking back into the trees a bit. She was using her magic to conceal herself and Izael, though she doubted it was necessary. The Fellowship members chopping wood nearby didn't seem all that bright.

"Hey Bryan, ya reckon Remonton's got hookers? Been a long damn time since I've gotten a good piece of ass!"

Shyralis shook her head. "Let's get out of here. It would be pointless to bother with these idiots."

Izael nodded, and the pair retreated into the trees. After a few minutes of walking, Shyralis paused; there, embedded in a rock in front of her, was a large green jewel. A strange warmth seemed to emanate from it.

"How peculiar," Izael muttered.

"Indeed." Shyralis crouched and tentatively ran a hand over the jewel. A piece of colored glass with some sort of spell on it, nothing more. As she peered closer, she realized there was a bit of writing beneath it. She squinted, struggling to make out the words.

"Do...not...touch," she read. She looked up at Izael and smirked. "Some young elf's idea of a joke, perhaps. Just a piece of glass. There seems to be an enchantment upon it, though I doubt it's anything we need to be concerned about. Let's continue on."

Izael nodded hesitantly. "As you wish, Lady Shyralis. I must admit, though, I have a strange feeling about this."

Shyralis stood up and brushed herself off. It was a lovely day, really; even in the shade of the forest, it was pleasantly warm. She undid the clasp of her cloak and shucked it off, happily wagging her tail.

Her...tail?

"AHHH!" she yelped. Or tried, anyway. It came out more like a "BAAA!"

Izael gaped at her in horror, unmoving. "My lady, I believe you're...growing a beard!"

"A beard? A beaaaaa?!" Shyralis cried, raising a hand to her face. There was indeed a beard. She reached up to the top of her head and felt...horns. Panicked, she tried to wrap her fingers around the horn and yank it out.

Except now, she didn't have fingers. She held her hands up in front of her and gasp-baaed. Hooves?

Izael gave a soft cry of disbelief as she disappeared into her clothing, rapidly shifting and shrinking. Less than a moment later, all that remained was a trembling lump of clothes.

Eyes wide, he pulled at the clothes and flung them away until the female cleric stood before him, naked. "Oh, Shyralis..."

Shyralis stomped with a dainty cloven hoof and tossed her horned, bearded head. She twitched her little stumpy tail. She opened her mouth, her snake-like fangs even more noticeable against her flat, wide teeth.

"Baa," she said.

[Strider]

Hector crouched and stared at the barren tree in front of him. Despite the hustle and bustle of work in the forest, he'd kept mostly to himself. It wasn't by choice; he guessed most of the other soldiers were intimidated by his size. Or maybe it was the fact he could shear through trees like they were paper, several powerful slices able to get the job done.

Whatever the cause, it didn't matter at the moment. Everyone was working, which was most important.

"Hey, Bryan, check out that fine specimen over there! Woooooo, baby!"

Well, almost everyone.

He'd set out to shape a battering ram for the Remonton gates. Chances were that it'd be easier to break through than climb, but it took Hector time to find a piece of wood that he thought wouldn't break from repeated impact. It was just a matter of making it level.

He pulled his shirt out from within his belt and wiped his brow. Even for a big man, work was still work, and he'd sweated from the exertion just like everyone else. It was that point he remembered how that might be another reason people distanced themselves. They don't wanna look bad to their pieces of ass, he thought, chuckling at the idea.

He stood up and grabbed a saw, striding over to a part of the tree that was slightly bigger than the rest. Carefully, he slid the blade underneath the lump, carving it off in a matter of seconds. It was looking better and better with each cut.

He knelt down again, examining his work. Obnoxious voices continued to chatter a short distance away, but one particular pause was replaced by the echo of a goat's bleat. He turned his head, noting that it came from deep within the forest, but didn't pay it much mind. They have goats this far north? Interesting.

"Hey, baby," the obnoxious horny bastard called out, "Hey, hey, where're you going? Gimme some of whatever you got!"

Hector shook his head and laughed, "Men."

"Don't I know it," a familiar voice replied from behind.

He turned around to see Viirsa on her feet, holding some flask in her hand and clearly eyeing him. "Maybe I should be the one hooting and hollering right now, Hector," she said.

"That's up to you," he said, smiling and getting to his feet, "What do you have?"

"Just some water. I'm not strong enough to be cutting up trees like you, but the least I can do is help you keep your strength."

Viirsa held out her arms, allowing Hector to take a swig. He didn't realize how thirsty he was until he began dribbling water down his chin, to Viirsa's amusement.

"Thank you," Hector replied, bowing politely, "Are you making rounds?"

The young woman shook her head, "No, thankfully. Most of the soldiers here seem to be a lot like that jerk back there. And I thought you could use some company."

"Actually," he said, stepping aside to allow Viirsa a better look at his creation, "I want to see if you think this battering ram looks alright. I've been working on it for a few hours."

She stepped to his side, running her hands along the smooth surface, "It's remarkable. You did all this yourself?"

He nodded and Viirsa made her way around the entirety of the project, hands on the whole trip, examining it jokingly. When she approached Hector again, she shook her head.

"It's missing something," she said, smiling slightly.

Hector frowned a little, unsure of what she meant. She knelt down and pulled a small dagger from her boot, flashing it in front of him before beginning to etch into the wood. He stood back a few feet, allowing her to stand over her piece of work. After a minute of scratching and brushing, she stepped away to let him see what she'd made.

VY + HB

He laughed aloud. "Are you really sure about that?"

Now, it was Viirsa's turn to frown. "What do you mean? You don't like it?"

"No, no, it's not that," he answered, resting his hands on Viirsa's shoulders, "This is going into battle, you know, and it's going to stick out like a sore thumb."

She looked away for a moment, letting go of a sigh, "Listen. I don't know about you, but..."

Hector could guess what she was going to say, "You don't care so much about that now."

"I got more than I bargained for when I joined you and your friends. War, confusion, all that kind of thing. You, though, you've made the whole thing... bearable."

"I was going to say..." Hector trailed off, suddenly frozen, "I don't even know how to say it. Back in the tent, Viirsa, there was a lot I wanted to say and--"

She pressed her fingers against his mouth, smiling, "You're repeating yourself, Hector."

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, "What if I were to tell you that I... I, uh..."

When he opened his eyes again, at a loss for words, there she was as beautiful as ever. Her head was tilted expectantly, white hair falling over her shoulders. And those eyes... he could get lost in them.

With nothing immediately coming to mind, he pulled her close to him and kept her in his arms. "Hell with it," he finished.

And so they shared a second kiss. As big and powerful as he was, Viirsa made him weak in the knees. A third kiss: The two spun around so he could lean against the suspended tree, letting her fall as completely as she could into him. A fourth kiss: Her soft hands dropped from his and began to trace along his chest, a strange sensation if there ever was one.

Finally, Viirsa leaned back slightly in his arms and looked up at him. It was impossible for Hector to interpret what she was thinking, mostly because he had a million thoughts racing through his own mind.

After a moment of silence, he spoke up. "Do you see what I mean?" he asked, somewhat harried from the sudden flood of passion, "I... and you... I'm..."

"You'd better just show me," Viirsa replied, trying to catch her breath.

He pulled her shirt over her shoulders, letting it fall to the ground. Viirsa was nearly as white as her hair, beautiful in his eyes, and he let go of his reservations as the two lovers fell further into intimacy, careless of the world around them as they fell further into love.

[eternal_essence]

ok, it’s not the most original idea but a post is a post and it saves me having to rp with a limited weapon

The bright sunlight and smell of freshly chopped wood hit Reven’s senses and woke him with a slap. He shot up in his bed, hair a frizzy mess and eyes caked with sleep. As he blinked in his surroundings he thought his brain seemed to scream mercy, obviously a few more hours sleep would have been nice. He ignored the pleading of his mind and swung one foot off the bed- WHAM. His foot had smacked into the corner of a long box which was propped against his bedside table. An old lady hobbled in “Is everything ok? I heard a noise.” Reven pasted a smile on his face as he stared at the lady who had given him shelter “everything is fine, I’m sorry I disturbed you”

“You need anything and you let me know, we’re very gracious to your little party, damn Yamatians trampled my vegetable garden” The lady hobbled off muttering about common decency and Reven’s gaze snapped back to the box leaning next to his bed. It was polished wood and a small lock was holding the lid to the base. Reven reached to pick it up but then he noticed something else, carved into the middle of the box. An ‘F’ with two swords crossed over it and a banner underneath it was etched into the wood. Reven immediately recognized the sign and suddenly the entire situation became clear. He reached into his pocket and retrieved a small key, then slotted it into the lock. He turned the key and the lock clicked open. Reven had been expecting this ever since his letter. He opened up the lid and stared into the box. Inside was a long sword. It’s blade had been recently polished and small writing of a foreign language was etched towards the base of it. The hilt was wrapped in leather and a small gem was clasped at the end. the base of the blade was crafted in a wave type jaggedness which smoothed into a perfectly squared blade all the way to the sharp tip.

The blade was resting on its sheath and on the hilt was a small note on card. He plucked it off and looked at the two words on it- happy birthday.

[Kossage]

Alright, we'll skip about a week ahead in time, so the preparations have been done and the army moves out. If anyone planned to have some scenes following the events taking place earlier, feel free to post those as flashbacks.

After a bit of hassle everything had been sorted out, and the army had managed to build some good siege weapons: battering rams, trebuchets, ballistae and such. People had done a good job in a short amount of time, and the army was now ready to leave Opethburg. The Fellowship had stayed in the town for a week to build the siege weapons, and the wounded had regained their strength and could once again march thanks to the white mages who had tended them during their recovery time. The rest of the army had rested as well, and now everyone was eager to move on to Remonton. Nothing had been heard from Ravensworth, and people thought that the Myrdosin elves and volunteers were still fighting there or had trouble securing the docks. Everyone was certain that this detachment would join the main army later on and help Marcus capture Remonton.

The preparations had been made, and the army of the Fellowship marched once more. This time the destination was Remonton, the capital. The Fellowship knew that capturing that city was essential if Remon was ever to be set free. There were many challenges awaiting the heroes, but everyone would do their best to save the world from darkness. People of Opethburg wished the Fellowship luck, but deep in their hearts they weren't sure whether this Fellowship would be able save Remon or not.

When the army had marched for a while, it saw the Myrdosin cavalry approaching it. The leaders saw Lord Elphraim leading the Myrdosin elves, and the elven lord was smiling.

"We have managed to capture Ravensworth, and the <i>the Eroean</i> helped us in this task. There weren not many Yamatians in the town, and those who we encountered were dealt with, but it took us some time to position our men to guard the docks and to secure the town," Elphraim explained. "Now that the town is ours, we were able to leave a detachment behind and move the rest of our forces to meet up with this army. We are at your service once again, my lords."

After a few more words had been exchanged, the army continued its journey to Remon's capital. The heroes were getting closer and closer to the river which had to be crossed if they wanted to get to Remonton, and the real challenge would be to get the siege weapons across. Some Yamatians could be guarding possible bridges and fords, but the heroes would be prepared to fight to get across if such thing came to pass. After a few hours of marching the army could see the river in the distance, and the Fellowship knew that after the river had been crossed, it wouldn't take long to get to Remonton itself.

#

Marcus was worried. If the tairo of the Council of Regents truly had a shard of Krystallopyr as Leon mentioned, how could the tairo be captured? Once the commando group got into the city, what if the tairo confronted them? If the tairo knew how to use the shard, he could easily defeat the group that tried to capture him. But would the tairo know how to use the power of that ancient weapon? Marcus didn't think the tairo knew how to do that, but it could be possible in some twisted way, because people were surprisingly resourceful at times. At least one council member had to be captured alive, because a council member was needed to acknowledge Marcus as the king. That would give everyone the message that the vision of the return of the king had been real and Marcus was blessed by the spirit of Agarwaen.

The king had let the infiltration group know that the Yamatian council should be captured alive at all costs. First of all it served the purpose of acknowledging Marcus as the new king, and it'd also show the world that the Fellowship didn't want to kill its enemies but rather wanted to capture them instead and keep them alive if possible. It'd give people an impression of a good king, a man who used violence only as a last resort. Sure, Marcus had acted hastily every now and then, like how he had executed the unarmed Colonel Mitsuda, but that had happened in the past, and now Marcus was certain he could be more lenient. The King of Remon rode on, pondering many things.

#

"We've been surprisingly lucky lately when we've won these battles and all," Refan said and looked at Leon as they moved on. "I wonder if the Gods are involved in this. Like, could Cardia be helping us?"

Leon shrugged. "Who knows. Gods work in mysterious ways, so it might be possible. From what I've learned, though, Gods don't usually care about what's going on in the world," he replied.

Refan nodded and sighed. Over two years ago he hadn't even heard of the Clergy of Mardük, and now he had been involved with this war against that very Clergy and its allies such as Yamato. It was too much for Refan, and he couldn't understand what difference he could make in this war. He knew only one thing: he'd find his family and confront Zarnagon. It was like an obsession, and he both liked and hated that feeling. It was one of the paradoxes in his life, and he just had to get used to it.

"What were you doing in Remonton anyway? Many of us were worried about you, and if you hadn't escaped, the bad guys would've used you to force Marcus to surrender," the thief stated.

"Would Marcus really have surrendered just because of me?" Leon asked, avoiding the question Refan had presented. It seemed that the bard didn't want to talk about what had driven him to Remonton, at least not for the time being.

"I'm sure he would've done it. You two have been through a lot together and share some kind of a bond, it seems. He would've risked everything to set you free. Remember that he galloped out of Folsworth Woods just to rescue Ax even though he could've died on the battlefield. That's how Marcus acts, and he cares for others. I'd say that's both his strength and weakness," Refan explained.

Leon nodded. Refan wondered what the bard was thinking about at the moment. Was he concerned that Marcus had been willing to sacrifice everything just to save him, or was he worried that the army would travel back to Remonton where the person who had imprisoned Leon would be waiting for Leon? Refan hoped that if Leon ever needed to talk about stuff, he could always come and see Refan. The thief would gladly talk about many things like they had used to talk when they'd been travelling around Fragnar. In a way Refan thought he and Leon were alike in some ways, and he felt calm when he was near the bard.

The army moved on, getting closer to the river.

[eternal_essence]

Reven was walking forward with the rest of the fellowship, new sword by his side and a new black cloak draped over his shoulders which he had purchased with the money from selling his hammer. It had pained him to part with his weapon but he new it would happen one day. He remembered his father showing him the sword and telling him that when the time was right it would be his. Reven had not paid any attention back then because of his hate and contempt for his family but the words still hung in his mind “you cannot hide from heritage Reven, it will find you.”

When he had picked the sword out of its box it had glowed in his hand and the blade hummed with a purple glow. Unfortunately there was no novelty in this. The sword held no special powers, merely recognized Reven’s family heritage.

“What say you Reven?”

Reven snapped back into reality and looked over at Ferron and Heir who were staring at him “huh?”

“We were just discussing our chances of taking over Remonton. How do you think this will unfold?”

“Well this time we will be entering a battle prepared. Back in Folsworth we were drawn out of favourable ground. Here we will have an upper hand and the first move. Surely these are better odds than we are used to.”

“Indeed, but it does not ensure victory.”

“Yeah, but I think we want it more.”

The two men looked over at him puzzled and he blushed “Um, sorry. In sport, the team that wants it more usually win and I was just making reference to the battle..”

“This is hardly a sport Reven.” Then the two turned ahead and continued walking.

Though he had just turned eighteen Reven didn’t think he had ever felt so childish. He doubted his ability to take these sort of things seriously until he was really in the thick of it.

[DocFrance]

The army had timed their arrival perfectly - the sun had dropped below the horizon, and the moon was covered by the shadow of the Earth. It was pitch black, and the defenders that were actually awake wouldn't even see them coming. Before the assault, Marcus held a meeting to discuss the tactical details.

The king mulled over a map of the city. "We'll need someone to climb the walls here and open the gates to the city. It's a bit of a climb, so..."
Without hesitation, Abel punched his right fist into his left palm, and said, "I'm your man. But I'll need someone to come with me in case I have trouble with the guards. And a bit of rope so they can climb up after me."

[Lynx]

"I thought we were going to use the secret passage the clerics mentioned," Pratt said in a voice that wasn't conductive to sneaking.

As one, the rest of the group shushed him by going, "Shhhhhhh!"

***

Kaizoku eyed his opponent across the table. He seemed amused, and that annoyed the elven captain. He wanted this match at an end. The elf made his move, then, certain of imminent victory.

"Do you have a...three!?!"

"Go fish." Shuu grinned over the cards in his hand and gestured that the captain take a card from the deck.

"Fuck!" He fumed, took his card, and waited for his foe to ask for something.

"I'll take your Ki--" Shuu's answer was cut off as the cabin door slammed open. The new first mate, a clever and small man by the name of Riang Jong, stood in the doorway, outlined by the bright sun and blue skies. Kaizoku didn't necessarily like or know him, but the guy knew his stuff.

"Oi, oi, we have c'mpany, Cap!" Riang waved that his captain should follow and headed out towards the port railing. The elf, never one to laze about when danger apparently lurked, flipped backwards out of his chair, tumbled, got up and rushed out. Shuu had beaten him easily outside, as he was closer to the door and more graceful.

"Cap!" Riang handed Kaizoku a spyglass as he was joined by the duo at the railing. He pointed to the northern horizon. "No clue wherit came from 'n no clue what it's about. Looks like a mean pisscutter, I say."

Kaizoku's vision blurred, overfocused, and sharpened to clarity as he looked through the glass. He swept the northern horizon to where the first mate pointed. A ship came into view, and a pisscutter indeed did it resemble. The water sprayed gratuitiously as the darkwooded ship sliced through it, its sails fully extended, with dark shapes scurrying over its decks. A red flag flew from its mast, and the prow was decorated with a carven skeleton.

Pirates, Kaizoku thought. Exhiliration flushed through his veins, clearing his mind of the lazy joy he felt when he took back to sea. He had thought that his escape to sea may have been much like retirement, but pirates might prove otherwise.

Shuu interrupted Kaizoku's small reverie. "Looks like pirates." The kitsune didn't need the spyglass; his golden eyes were keener than a human's or elf's. "I'd say, if we kept our course, going southwest to deeper seas before heading south, we might be able to get enough wind to outrun them." The original charted route involved heading south and then west, under Remon, and then northeast to the Yamato archipelago. It was a route that had seemed sound and had seemed safe. "Well, we know you chose best, Yousei-sama, when you said we go south."

Kaizoku shooked his head. Something inside of him roared for combat and, this time, victory. He shouted his orders. "Men! We got company! Seems like we're the target of some pirates." The emphasis of the word made the Aozora's more experienced crew laugh and jostle each other. "Why don't we show 'em just who they're messing with? What say you?" Roars of agreement came from all the crew, the Red Tigers always seeming eager for a fight.

"Then let's turn this bitch north and show 'em that the Aozora ain't one to cross!"

[Kossage]

The army had set camp close to the city and yet far enough so that it couldn't be attacked from the city in case someone spotted the army. The pitch black night was perfect for an infiltration mission such as this. The city of Remonton looked very beautiful (well, at least the parts of it you could recognize in the dark), but the walls protecting it looked grim, maybe foreboding what was about to happen.

During the meeting, Marcus has discussed many details about the mission with the group that was about to enter the city. A few leaders were in the meeting too, observing and giving suggestions. Ferron had proved to be a valuable asset as he knew many things about the city plan and could point out certain locations in existing maps and give some information about which places to secure and so forth.

Two groups were needed: group one would find and capture the Yamatian councillors, and group two would open the gates to the city and keep the gates open so that the army of the Grand Alliance could get into the city.

After Abel had volunteered to be part of the second group, Raine nodded. "I'll go with him. The group will definitely need a mage to protect them, especially if enemy mages spot us. And I can easily teleport to the other side, so you don't need to worry about me climbing," the mage said arrogantly.

Jhain stepped closer. "I will go with Sir Abel too, because he will need someone with ranged weapons in case things get rough and the Yamatians spot us. I am a skilled archer, so I should be of use in this mission."

"I'll definitely go into the palace with Ferron. I'm a nightblade, and I know what to do in stealth missions such as these," Kage stated.

"Hey, there's no need for everyone to announce what group people want to be going with. We don't have much time, and the sooner we get into the city, the better. I'm sure Lady Ax agrees," Ferron stated, smiling. "I hope everyone has decided which group to choose. I'll lead the first group, and Sir Abel will lead the second group. There's one more thing." He pointed at cleric robes that were nearby. "I want at least the first group to put these on, because we have a better chance of sneaking around if we look like ordinary clerics of Mardük. There are many clerics wandering around the palace, so Yamatians shouldn't suspect anything when we enter it. I don't know if Sir Abel's group needs these robes, but they might find them useful, so I'll let his group decide whether they put on the robes or not. All right, I think it's time to get moving."

Marcus nodded while many members of this commando group put the cleric robes on. "I wish you luck on your daring mission. If you should fail, we'd have a very long siege ahead of us. May Cardia be with you all."

After a few farewells had been said, the group finally left the camp and headed for Remonton. They walked as quickly as they could and when they got closer to the city walls, they tried to make it so that the guards wouldn't hear them coming. Soon the group stopped, and Abel and Ferron looked at each other.

"Well, this is where we go our separate ways. Good luck, Sir Abel. You're going to need it," Ferron said.

Abel nodded. "The same to you. Now let's go. We can talk more once this is over with."

Ferron's group headed right and Abel's group headed left. Both groups were in a hurry and wondered whether they'd succeed in this mission or not. Only time would tell.

#

Abel and his group soon reached the part of the city wall where they couldn't hear any guards patrolling.

"We have to act quickly and get to the other side, before the patrols reach this part of the wall. Sir Abel, take this rope. I hope you and Raine can manage it up there and then help the rest of us to climb up," Jhain stated and gave the rope to Abel.

Raine gave a hint of a smile. "Oh, Abel and I will do just <i>fine</i> up there, don't worry," he said. "Alright, it's time. After you, Abel." He pointed at the wall and got ready to teleport while Abel got ready to do his part.

#

After a few minutes of walking Ferron led the group near the part of the city wall that was facing the river. He moved closer and waved at the others so that they'd follow. It was dark but he managed to see in the dark somewhat well and spotted something which the others didn't notice. Ferron touched the wall and then looked down. He crouched and found a big stone plate on the ground.

"We need to lift this and we have to do it without making much noise," Ferron explained.

Refan, Jacob and a few people came closer and helped him lift the stone. An entrance was revealed, and it seemed to go under ground.

"Alright, time to step into the lion's den, eh?" Refan smiled. He saw how Ferron and Jacob entered the underground passage, and he followed them. The others came after them, and soon everyone was inside the tunnel.

It was, if possible, even darker in the tunnel than outside. However, Ferron cast a fire spell and suddenly a torch lit up. "These kind of tunnels always have torches. Grab a few so that we can see what's ahead of us. I hope your cleric robes are comfortable, because you'll have to keep them on for some time," he explained. "Our friend Jacob will deal with whatever clerics we might encounter, because he knows the current customs and how to greet a fellow cleric. And if he doesn't co-operate, my dagger will give him a nice reminder of what will happen to him if he tries to betray us." Jacob shivered when he heard Ferron's words, but he continued walking.

A few minutes passed, and then the group finally seemed to reach the other end of the tunnel. Jacob and Ferron touched the wall and soon found a lever and grabbed it. A screeching sound was heard, and the wall moved, revealing a dark alley in front of the heroes. Jacob and Ferron stepped outside and looked around to see if anyone had noticed them. To their relief no one was in the alley, and soon everyone got out of the tunnel. Jacob touched a nearby torch holder and the wall went back into place as if there had never been an entrance to a tunnel there.

"Alright, listen up carefully. We'll have to divide into smaller groups of two or three once we get into the palace. It saves us a lot of time if each subgroup searches a different area of the palace. Some will have to go to the lower levels and pass through the dungeon to get there, some will search through the middle floors and the rest will go to the upper floors. So yes, choose your partner and get ready to hunt," Ferron stated. "Remember that some council members might not be in the palace at the moment, so we might have to search for them elsewhere. Also try to capture the councillors alive if possible, because they're far more useful to us alive than dead. It's an order given to you by your king, so you should do as he says and capture the bastards alive. You might have to fight them, but there are plenty of ways to disarm an opponent without killing him. Any other questions? Good, let's go then."

As they walked on, Scarecrow got closer to Ferron. "How do we know who the councillors are? What if we capture the wrong guys?"

"Didn't you listen when Ferron and I explained who the councillors were? The Yamatian general Watanabe who we had as captive told us the names of the Yamatian council in Remonton. The councillors are Toranaga Misamoto, Akechi Shingen, Matsudaira Takeshi, the second-in-command Hojo Nobusada, and Ofuchi Hideyoshi who is the leader of the council or <i>tairo</i> as the Yamatians call him," Jacob explained. "Note that all councillors know how to fight, and they should be your toughest adversaries ever. It's not easy to defeat a councillor in combat even if two people attacked a single councillor, at least that's what Watanabe told us. That's why we have to try to sneak and attack by using the element of surprise before the councillors can defend themselves. Most likely at least some of you won't be able to take some councillor down by surprise and have to fight a councillor to capture him, so be sure to work like a team when you attack."

"And remember that you probably won't be able to find Ofuchi himself, and he also possesses a Krystallopyr shard, so you wouldn't stand a chance if you attacked him. However, we should be able to locate the four remaining councillors in the palace or somewhere in this city. We'll begin our search in the palace and if we have to, we'll also search through other areas of the city. If clerics of Mardük or Yamatian soldiers try to stop us near the palace gate or inside the palace or somewhere else, just stay calm and tell them you're clerics going to some chapel to pray for Mardük or something. Just stay calm, and you'll do fine," Ferron said. "We get to the palace when we walk three blocks to the north and two blocks to the west, so it shouldn't take long to get there."

The group kept moving, getting closer and closer to the palace.

Yes, leave Ofuchi out of your hunt list, because there are plans for him. Feel free to search for the four remaining councillors and capture them instead, though. Just remember that capturing the councillors isn't a piece of cake, because they're skilled fighters. Try to use the element of surprise, and you might have a chance to capture them alive.

#

Aden smiled as he saw how the <i>Aozora</i> moved closer. "Men, get ready. Soon we'll witness the naval battle of the century, and then we'll finally see whether the <i>Bloody Heathen</i> or the <i>Aozora</i> is stronger," he stated.

The pirate's second-in-command, Decanus Tafford, grinned. "Soon I be using me cutlass t' cut t' elven faggot's stomach open. Then we be keelhauling his corpse and let t' sharks dispose o' it. Finally we be having revenge and see t' faggot die a painful death."

"Remember that Captain Kaizoku is almost a legend among pirates. He might be the next Kuro Tori for what we know. We should give him respect even if he dies. He's a worthy pirate, and it'll be a pleasure to challenge him," Aden reminded.

"Ye and yer stupid honour. We be doin' this me way and get rid o' that elven faggot once and for all. I be challengin' Kaizoku t' a duel and dye his ship red with his blood. Just wait and see, this day be long remembered," Decanus chuckled. "Alright, ye bilge rats! Get ready for some swashbucklin' action! Arrr!"

<i>The Bloody Heathen</i> moved closer, and the crew got cannons and men ready for the battle. The clash of the titans was about to begin.

[DocFrance]

Abel and his team crept up to the side of the wall. Jhain handed him a rope, which he tied to his belt. He knelt down, chanted a quick, quiet incantation to strengthen his legs, and lept up to the top of the wall.

However, Abel didn't expect to land at the top face-to-face with a Yamato soldier. "Hold it right there!" the soldier yelled, shoving a pike in his face. "How the hell did you get up here? What are you doing here? Who are-"

The soldier was cut short by the fact that he seemed to be expanding rapidly. Not half a second later, the soldier literally exploded, sending guts and blood flying. To Abel's surprise, Raine was standing where the soldier was a second ago, covered in various bodily fluids and scraps of organs. Abel brushed a kidney off of his shoulder and looked at Raine in bewilderment. Raine looked back in disgust. "That's... a little teleportation trick I learned... one that I'm never, ever using again."

While Raine cleaned himself off as best as he could, Abel helped the rest of his team climb the wall.

[Bahumat]

"Sounds like it's started."

Desh got up from his seat and looked out the window towards the outer walls.
"So they're doing a sneak attack? Good plan, but they had better hope they can get the gates open quickly. I had better get ready......Crap. I still haven't found a cure in my library......I'll have to resume after we take the city.

He opened the doors and slipped out to where the servant was waiting.
"Thanks for keeping the place clean in my absence"
"That's what you pay our family to do, Master Deshwitat"
"Indeed. Open the armoury up. I have some.....things that i need."
"At once, Sir"

Desh followed the servant to the basement of the house, and passed by a door with a pentagram on it.
"Wait here a moment. There are some other......items I need from here."

He opened the door and walked past his arcane library, which was funny, because he couldn't use the majority of the knowledge anyway. It always failed for some reason. He then passed the Summoning Portal, which he had used to transport himself into the city. He stepped up to a large case and pulled a large box from inside. He pulled multiple objects from it, and they dissapeared into the folds of his cloak. He pushed the box back in, and walked past the shelves grabbing more items, before leaving through the door.

"Arming up, are you sir?"
"You could say that."

They continued to walk t the next door and the servant opened it. They stepped inside and Desh smiled.

If the Yamatians knew how much stuff was down here, they would probably cry. Racks of swords, barrels of arrows and bolts, whole rooms of armour plate and leather armour. Scores of spears and pikes lined the walls, and bows and crossbows were stacked neatly beneath them.

"I know I told your family to use the money from the treasure to buy a lot of weapons, but isn't this just a little overboard?? I could outfit a small army with this stuff!!!!!"
"They said that, knowing you, you would need them. Besides, before you dissappeared, weren't you going to declare war on the Yamatian Clergy?"
"Yes, I was......Well, did you manage to find any of the special weapons I wanted?"
"A few, but not many. They aren't special for nothing."

The duo walked to the end of the subterranean armoury, to a door that looked subtlely different from the others.
"This'd be it, I assume?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good, now listen well. Things are going to get hectic from here on in. Stay out of sight until it quiets down, then come back here. I still need you and your family to stop this place from falling knee deep in dust."
"Understood. Good luck."
"Good luck, Yourself. And thank you."
"look after yourself, master. After all the stories my great-grand parents told me about you, you had better not die during my time looking after the house."
"Haha."

The servant left then, and Desh opened the door. he looked inside and saw a set of weapons hanging on each wall. Two swords, one his own, of darkness, and the other of opposite power-Light. Desh knew he could never weild that blade even before he touched it, so he simply wrapped it in cloth and belted it onto his right hip, opposite his sword. He was happy that it had been recovered after it had been lost during his imprisonment.

Next he turned to his left, and pulled a massive, fearsome black mace with a heavy, spiked head off the wall. He slung it onto his back with difficulty, as it was nearly as tall as he. He could feel the power of this weapon, and the cost it could take on an unworthy bearer.

Finally, he turned to his right, and pulled a scythe off the wall. He strapped that to his back as well. He had hoped to never to need this, but the time seemed right for it to go out into the world again, during this time of war.

Weighed down by all this weaponry, he turned and stalked heavily to the door, and closed it behind him. He walked to the front entrance, and slipped out into the night.

"I hope this isn't a huge mistake on my part....."

[Citizen Bleys]

It had been Miyuki Ofuchi that had made Leon see the need to survey the outer walls of Remonton. The King didn't ask anyone to interview you about the layout of the city, she had said, That would make too much sense. Nevertheless, if I'm going in, I want to know everything I possibly can about the layout of the city.. If the interior was important, Leon reasoned, so too was the exterior. He had prevailed upon Kagetsu and Geraud to accompany him with a small band of Maar Sulais to scope out the terrain outside of the city.

Thus it was that they encountered Mishima Ryoji on a routine patrol.

"You shouldn't have come back, Leon," he said. "I told you when next we met, we would be enemies." Ryoji rushed at Leon. Kagetsu leaped to the bard's defense, turning the blade aside, and engaged the Yamatian soldier. But although Kagetsu had studied under the finest of Maar Sul's swordsmen, he lacked combat experience. All of the training in the world didn't prepare him to meet a foe of Ryoji's caliber. As the Maar Sulais engaged the remainder of the Yamatian patrol, Kagetsu fought a desperate defensive battle against an enemy of superior skill.

Ryoji's blade darted and flickered back and forth, drawing blood again and again and again. "Pah," he muttered, "This is the so-called Warrior Prince of Maar Sul? Amateur. Time to put a stop to this."

Kagetsu panted and readied himself to face a serious onslaught from a foe whom, up until now, had merely been testing his strength...but then a familiar voice sounded inside his head. The conduit is here, it said, Let me help you.

Kagetsu opened up his mind, permitting the owner of the voice access to the depths of his soul. Channeled through Leon, a familiar presence entered his body as Ryoji let loose with a vicious lunge that Kagetsu couldn't possibly parry it.

And yet, it was parried. Not by the amateur Kagetsu Aurelac, but by his hand guided by the spirit of King Lysander's Champion, Despard Silverbranch.

Ryoji's eyes widened briefly. "You've been playing with me? Very well. Let us see who is the finer."

Kagetsu fought back, attacking now, calling upon all of his training and all of the battle experience that he now drew upon from Despard's memories. The combatants were more evenly matched now, but time was of the essence. There was a chance that Yamatian reinforcements would be sent to find out what had happened to their patrol. Driven by the need for haste, Kagetsu abandoned his own defense and pressed an all-out attack. Kagetsu drove his blade at Ryoji, missing the samurai's heart, but driving the sword into his side. Simultaneously, Ryoji's blade entered Kagetsu's chest. Ryoji stumbled backwards as Kagetsu collapsed.

"Modotte!" barked Ryoji, commanding the withdrawal of the Yamatian force.

It wasn't until the foe had disengaged and fled that Geraud saw his brother lying on the ground.

"Kagetsu!" he cried out in anguish, rushing to his brother's side. He threw all of the magic he knew into healing his brother, but he knew it wouldn't be enough. "No," he moaned. "Kagetsu! Oh, gods, I'm a Black Mage. I don't know enough about healing!"

Kagetsu looked up at his brother and croaked, "Grady does. The conduit is here."

Geraud looked into his brother's eyes. "Kagetsu...no...Despard." He nodded, and reached out, seizing Leon's shoulder. "Help him." He opened up his mind as Kagetsu had done, seeking out the voice that had come to him months ago, at roughly the same time that Leon had been called from beyond the grave by the last of the Silverbranch line. Geraud examined the wound with Grady Silverbranch's eyes and called forth magic he had never studied before, closing the wound up.

"It's getting dark," he muttered, "We have to get back to camp."

Kagetsu blinked. "Dark? Geraud...your ability..."

Geraud frowned. It was true. with innate True Sight, he had never had any trouble seeing before. Darkness was something he knew only from Grady's memories. "It would seem that there is a price for the help we've had today."

Kagetsu nodded. "My innate ability seems to be gone as well. I suspect we cannot accomidate the souls of our friends at the same time as innate magic."

Leon looked into the eyes of the brothers. "So, now are you Kagetsu and Geraud, or Despard and Grady?"

Together, the brothers replied, "We are both."

Geraud added, "It's going to take a lot of getting used to."

[Kossage]

Sounds of battle were heard in the distance while Abel helped the last team member climb the wall.

"It seems we have lost the element of surprise now that there's some battle going on outside the city. We have to hurry if we want to get the gates open before more Yamatian patrols arrive. Now that the rest of this group have climbed up the wall, we need to locate the gates and try to figure out how to open them. We also need to be careful if we want to engage the Yamatian patrols," Jhain said.

Abel nodded. "Alright. Let's go then!"

The group proceeded towards the area where the gate was located. The heroes were happy to notice that there weren't that many Yamatians around. Unfortunately at one point the group noticed five Yamatians in one spot. Luckily the Yamatians hadn't spotted them yet, because it was dark, but if the heroes moved any closer, they'd be spotted.

"Now what? If we try to sneak past those guys, they'll notice us, and if we attack them, one of them might get away and alert other guards," Armeas murmured.

"It seems we need to devise a strategy," Raine whispered. "I'm not going to use my teleportation trick anymore, though. The last time I did that was unpleasant enough, and I don't want that kind of thing to happen again."

Jhain observed the guards who seemed to be chatting. "I could be able to kill one or two of them with arrows, but that would still leave three alive. If we were to attack, we would have to do that very quickly and as quietly as possible, but I do not know if we can succeed in that without letting at least one of the guards escape."

"We have to keep going somehow. We heard the sounds of battle outside the city. Whatever happened, the Yamatians will soon find out that the army is out there, and then they'll double the guards, which will make our mission harder," Abel stated.

"Hey, didn't Pratt say that he could manipulate shadows or something? A guard there has a torch, so maybe Pratt could do his trick and thus distract the guards long enough so that we sneak behind them and take care of them before they know what hit them?" Armeas suggested and looked at his companions. "Can you do it, Pratt?"

Everyone turned to look at Pratt who seemed to be surprised to be at the centre of attention all of a sudden. "Well, I, um, you see, I--," he staggered, trying to figure out what to say.

If anyone thinks of a better idea, go ahead and make your idea happen. I'm just giving you an option.

#

As Ferron's group continued walking towards the palace of justice in Remonton, the heroes suddenly stumbled upon a group of dark clerics.

"Oh shit, we're screwed," Scarecrow whispered.

"Remember that we're disguised as clerics and it's dark outside, so they'll think we're fellow clerics. Just stay calm and let Jacob handle this. Right, Jacob?" Ferron asked gently and moved his dagger closer to Jacob's back so that Jacob could feel it.

"Of course," Jacob murmured and looked at a nearby cleric.

"Ah, greetings, fellow cleric. Aren't you Jacob Seneron by any chance, because you look so familiar?" one of the dark clerics asked and glanced at Jacob who nodded. "You and your companions are coming from the chapel, I presume? We just found out that some holy books of Cardia have been found in one of Mardük's chapels, and we're going to investigate who might've brought such unholy books into the chapel. I'm sure rebels are behind this, and they're everywhere, even in this city, and there's no telling when that fool Sarillius and his army get here."

"Very few clerics managed to escape the carnage that took place between Opethburg and Folsworth Woods, and that annoying Sarillius slaughtered many of our brethren. My acolytes and I managed to escape unharmed, but others weren't so lucky. Let's hope that the rebel dogs are crushed soon. The Yamatians might be stupid enough to let the rebels into this city, but as long as we clerics are around to guide the foolish soldiers, this city will remain safe," Jacob answered and smiled.

The cleric chuckled. "Indeed. Without us the Yamatians would never have gotten this far. They might have the muscles to do all the hard work, but we, my friend, have the wits to lead these soldiers. I'm sure Lord Richelieu will be able to figure out the necessary information to set Mardük free, and then we can get rid of those filthy Yamatians once and for all."

"Richelieu? You mean he's actually progressed with his studies? I heard rumours that he had found a way to break the seal, but I thought he's been busy with administrating the clergy in Aison," Jacob stated, surprised.

The cleric nodded. "Yes, I heard this from another cleric just a few days ago. I'm sure Lord Zarnagon will do anything he can to help Lord Richelieu to achieve this goal. Chaos shall roam free once more, and this world will finally be purged of all this filth. But now if you'll excuse me, I have an investigation to do. There are rebels to be caught and tortured."

"Very well. Happy hunting," Jacob grinned.

The clerics left. After a few more seconds had passed, Ferron looked at Jacob. "Well done. Now let's move; we don't have much time left. I hope everyone has chosen their partner by now. Once we get into the palace, we'll divide into smaller subgroups. If we encounter some guards, just stay calm and move on, and everything will be fine."

The group continued walking. The heroes saw the palace in the distance, and they knew that soon they'd face their greatest challenge.

#

Sorry for the song rip-off, but I couldn't resist including it now that there's a good spot to do so. xD

Peg-Leg Mike tried to stay calm but he couldn't. It wasn't because of the anxiety for the coming battle between the <i>Aozora</i> and the <i>Bloody Heathen</i>, but Mike had something else troubling him. He could hear Kaizoku Yousei's words "Then let's turn this bitch north and show 'em that the Aozorap ain't one to cross!" over and over again in his head. Then he realized what it was. <i>Aozora<b>p</b></i>. Of course, it all made sense now. That would be a perfect title for a rap song.

You see, Mike enjoyed this interesting artistic form known as rap. He had first heard it in Aison many, many years ago, and later on he had heard it in Libaterra. This art form wasn't supported by elitist musicians who thought rap was a disgrace of music. Some common people and especially youngsters seemed to like this new form, because they could rap even though they couldn't sing. You could even be tone-deaf and you'd still be able to rap, and that's what made rap very bizarre and at the same time fascinating. Indeed, "Aozo-rap" would be a perfect title. Now that Mike had the name ready, he just had to perform it and captivate his audience. He decided he'd let the crew hear this masterpiece first.

Mike stepped forward. "My fellow shipmates, may I have your attention, please? I know we'll have a bloody battle soon, but I thought I'd try to cheer you up by performing this rap song. So, I'd just like to--"

"Get on with it! We wanna hear!" one of the crew members stated loudly.

Mike coughed and nodded and started to rap.

"Yo, yo, Aozo-rap! What do you do if you're gonna get zapped?
Feeling good like we always do, don't mess around and your dreams come true!
Yo, yo, Aozo-rap! I'm singing this tune 'though I should be slapped!
Crazy songs will make you laugh; if not, you are a... jackass!
Yo, yo, Aozo-rap! This ship kicks ass, and I see many rats!
Our cap'n wants to rule the seas: well, he had better be at ease!
Now sing with me and feel the groove, and I will give you a new clue
Sooooo.... yo, yo, Aozo-rap, I say yo, yo, Ao--!"

"Boooo! Boooring!" someone yelled, interrupting Mike's masterpiece. The peg-leg pirate looked at his shipmates and wondered whether they belonged to that group of elitist musicians too because they didn't seem to like this rap.

Joe, Mike's parrot, glanced at his master and then at the crew. "Ye know what, we be trying somethin' else! Let's try another song!" he stated. Mike had taught the parrot to speak, and Joe was a good learner and could already communicate quite well. The parrot might've been even cleverer than Mike had given him credit for, and the parrot learned new words constantly.

"Does Polly want a cracker, eh?" a Red Tiger laughed.

Joe gave a sharp glance at the man and then started to sing.

"Yo ho, yo ho, a parrot's life for me!
We chirp and we sing, we repeat everything
We talk and squawk and squeal.
We gossip and chat, we chew the fat
And have crackers at every meal.

Yo ho, yo ho, a parrot's life for me!
Take it from a bird, don't believe what you heard
Not every rumor is true.
Our feathers flap, while we yap, yap, yap
'Til our beaks are turning blue

Yo ho, yo ho, a parrot's life for meeeeee!"

To Peg-Leg Mike's amazement those crew members who were listening to the song were whistling and humming along and cheered after the song had ended. Joe gave an expression that seemed to be a smile, if parrots could smile, that is. Mike shook his head and didn't know what to say. So, these barbarians liked catchy tunes instead of clever, artistic rap? Oh well.

"Shiver me timbers! That be a catchy song!" someone shouted in awe.

Another crew member nodded. "Aye, that song does have potential. What if we replaced some words with other words and make the song tell people about pirates' lives instead. We could call it 'A Pirate's Life for Me' or something like that."

"That might be a good idea. The melody should remain the same, obviously. By the Powers, this might become the next hit song, who knows!" a fourth crew member stated.

The conversation erupted in a laughter, and Kaizoku Yousei arrived at the scene to see what was happening. "What the fuck do you think you're doing? We have a battle to fight, and there's no time to sing! Now get back to work, you scurvy dogs!"

"Aye aye, cap'n!" came the uniform answer, and the crew got ready to face the pirate ship that was getting closer and closer.

[Agent Proto]

The group approached the palace, walking as calmly as possible so that they won't be looked at suspiciously. The groups have been mostly decided. Kline Omar, draped in this disguise, was partnered with the now sober half-elf, Scarecrow. Scarecrow was usually drunk, but at the moment, he was adviced to not drink because of the mission at hand. Kline gave off a weak smile towards Scarecrow, and then talked to him softly. "Seems like we're partners."

Scarecrow was intimidated, but he nodded. "Yeah. So you came from Aison?" Scarecrow asked Kline.

"Sure, but Remon is my native home." Kline answered. "I've been in trouble with the law plenty of times, so I know my way through the prisons of Remonton. There is a passage in the palace that leads to the prison. Do you think we should visit the prison to see some friends of mine?"

Scarecrow shrugged because he didn't know what to say. "Well, it's up to you. We are supposed to capture some important people..."

"Think of it as this." Kline said as he tried to explain what he's planning. "We go to the prison, take care of the guards, and free the prisoners currently being held. The way I see it, most of the prisoners are probably innocent of whatever crimes they may have committed, because of Yamato's current rule. We free them, and it may cause some sort of distraction."

Scarecrow listened to Kline, and nodded and whatnot. He kind of agreed with what Kline was going at. "Have you told anyone about this?" He asked.

The thief shook his head. "Of course not. It's my dilemma. However, you're teamed up with me, so I thought I tell you beforehand, because we're going to work together on this."

"...Rather interesting." Scarecrow said, as he sighed. "Oh, how I wish I had a drink now."

"I know of a great place to have a drink." Kline said with a smile. "We can go there when we finish."

[Lynx]

There was something definitely up with that Peg-Leg guy, Kaizoku thought to himself. Making a mental note to question the guy later, the elven leader focused at the task at hand. A battle was to begin and he had an inexperienced crew. It was time to address that.

Pulling out a case of purple bottles, Kaizoku handed out the bottles to every new crew member. "These are potions of awesomeness! If you drink this, you shall become as awesome as me! This is my secret to awesomeness! I need, like, a crew of awesome for this battle and you won't do! But a crew of yous, in awesome-mode, will do! Drink!"

And they totally owned the other ship, killed everyone, and raped a chicken they found. ...All awesomely.

Kaizoku took to the upper deck and stood at the railing overseeing the main one. His pirates and samurai scurried to and fro, readying cannon, securing lines, and adjusting the furl of the sails. Some with nothing to do readied bows and sharpened their blades, eager for closer combat.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar!"

Kaizoku's bellow (which are notoriously hard for elves) got the attention of everyone on board. Even the cook, Slim Jim the Whim, directed his eyes upwards as he stood in the galley, preparing his (what he thought to be) last meal. Not that this lat bit mattered. What mattered was the captain's speech.

"D'ye see that ship right there? That bloated tugboat bearing down in front of us? It wants a fight. We're going to give it one. But not one that it wants. We're at a loss, here, with some of you new and unskilled in the ways of the sea. So if we did any traditional sea battle, shooting grapeshot and catapulting fiery bits while circling each other, we could lose. Possibly. I am Kaizoku Yousei and this is the Aozora, but even legends can die. WE AREN'T GOING TO, THOUGH!" This last bit he shouted out as loud as he could and punched his fist into the sky. Shuu and Riang, who flanked the pirate captain, gave their roars of approval and imitated him.

Drawing his rapier, he pointed at the enemy ship that was drawing closer with every minute. "Those sea suckers are ours! They want to bear west and fire as they pass us, and expect us to use that tactic as well, but I ain't going to let 'em have the pleasure!"

Kaizoku spun to face his pilot. "RAM THIS BITCH INTO THEIR HULL! We're going to board them and screw fighting on the sea! No one catches me with my pants down! If I can't win a naval battle, I may as well make it a melee battle!"

The pirates cheered and roared in approval, with some moving cannon up to the prow of the ship.

Riang whispered to Shuu. "Isn't fighting melee on a ship still a naval battle?"

***

Pratt squinted his eyes focusing on the shadows behind the guards, feeling them become his and watched for a moment as the shadows of the guards nodded, a test of his ability. Seeing them obey him, he slowly made all but one of them dip to the walkway, so as not to draw the attention of the guards. Then, sliding the shadows as a puddle underneath the soldiers, he moved them against the opposite wall. (Luckily, the ramparts were high enough for this kind of thing. Of course.)

"Alright, ready to distract," whispered Pratt. "You guys better be ready." He imagined the party behind him nodding and leaning on the balls of their feet.

Pursing his lips in concentration, Pratt lowered himself to a knee as he focused. The shadows slowly writhed up in a knot, causing anyone watching to wonder what exactly it could be emulating. Behind them, the lone shadow stretched out and out. Then, it became clearer and clearer as the shadowed mass rose up the wall that it was in the shape of a woman bellydancing. The guards, who had been idly chatting and glancing over the walls like good guards do, noticed the bellydancing shadow and stared appreciatively for a few seconds.

The party began its thing (which Pratt had no idea of, as his eyes were too squinty and he was too focused on his shadows).

The guards realized that a shadow is normally projected by something, so they twisted around, expecting to see a well-endowed lady swinging her hips. They were greeted by the sight of shadows of them scratching their heads. And then the shadow of a boulder ran over them from one direction of the wall.

They all swung that way. It was the opposite direction of where the intruders were.

omg omg kill them killllllllllll them11

[Kossage]

Abel pointed at the guards, giving a signal to the other members of the group to attack. When the guards turned and finally realized what was going on, it was too late. One of them was knocked on the head by Armeas who then attacked the remaining Yamatians furiously. Some of the team members had heard of the cruel fate of Armeas's family in the hands of the Yamatians, and Armeas wanted to kill every Yamatian he could because of what the Yamatians had done. He killed a nearby Yamatian almost instantly, and the other Yamatians backed away to get better fighting positions.

Jhain didn't give the Yamatians time to think, though. He used his bow like an expert would, and soon an arrow found its way to a Yamatian's throat. Meanwhile Abel used his spear to fend off some Yamatians while Raine cast a spell that slowed down the Yamatians' movements.

Pratt noticed that he didn't have to continue his shadow play and joined the battle. He almost tripped when he didn't notice a dead Yamatian lying close by. Meanwhile Abel finally managed to finish off one Yamatian, and Armeas distracted the remaining Yamatian long enough for Jhain to kill the man.

The battle was over soon, and to the team's amazement it hadn't been as noisy as they would've thought.

"We'd better get rid of these bodies. More patrols will come and if they notice what has happened here, we'll be in trouble," Armeas said while he thrusted his sword through the the unconscious Yamatian's skull. "I wanted to make sure that this guy won't be able to speak anymore. I suggest we throw these bodies off the wall to the outside, and this darkness will hide the bodies for us."

The group did as told, and together the heroes managed to dispose of the bodies even though the bodies were heavy. Only soft, distant thumps could be heard as the bodies hit the ground outside the city walls, and then the group continued walking towards the gate.

"There is no telling whether the enemy has mages somewhere nearby or not. In case some mages attack us, you had better be ready, Raine," Jhain whispered as the group moved on.

Raine nodded. "Yes, leave that to me. These amateur mages won't stand a chance when they see what I'm made of."

"The gate should be somewhere close. We have to avoid fighting as long as necessary so that we can try to get the gate open. Once we have opened the gate, the tough part will begin when we have to keep the gate open long enough so that the main army can get inside to help us," Abel stated.

Pratt looked at his companions. "But how does the army know when the gate is open? It's pitch black outside."

Jhain smiled. "Do not worry, young Pratt. Once we have opened the gate, I will use a fire arrow as a sign. When the army sees a lone burning arrow in the sky, they will know that the gate is open."

"And what if you die before you get to do that? Who's going to send the signal then?" Pratt asked.

"I think I will stay alive long enough to get that done," Jhain chuckled. "After all, these Yamatians need better warriors if they want to crush me or any one of you. Now let us keep moving. The sooner we get to the gate and open it, the better."

#

Ferron's group got to the palace entrance and saw two guards. "What business do you have here?" the guard asked.

"We're here on behalf of the clergy of Mardük, and we wish to enter the palace so that we can have a conversation with the bakufu. There's something important the council must know. Something terrible has happened, and we need to inform them so that they know how to act," Jacob lied and felt Ferron's dagger touching his back. Ferron kept the dagger close to make sure Jacob wouldn't tell any Yamatian the truth of why the group really wanted to get into the palace.

The guard looked at the group of hooded people behind Jacob. "What grave news do you have that could be of such importance that you want an audience with the council so late at night, cleric? It'd be better if you came back tomorrow. And who are you?"

Jacob shook his head. "We're sorry, but the council has to hear this piece of news right now. If we wait till the morning, it'll be too late. And besides, we can't let anyone else than the council know of what we have to say, because if we did, rumours might spread and then we'd all be in danger. And I'm Jacob Seneron. You might've heard my name somewhere, but if you know Baron James Seneron of Libaterra, I'm his son." He felt Ferron's moving the dagger a little, thus pointing out that Jacob had done well and could keep his life for the time being.

"Oh, Seneron's son? Yes, you do look like your father. One of those clerics of yours, Egendaul I think, talked about you when he last visited the palace a few months ago. Very well, you may enter. I doubt the councillors are awake, but if what you say is true, we'd better go see Lord Hojo. Lord Ofuchi gave orders that he shouldn't be disturbed no matter what happened, so Lord Hojo will hear what you have to say. Follow me," the guard stated, and he and the group entered the palace. As they got in, the guard pointed at two guards that were nearby, and one of the guards walked out to take the other guard's place as the entrance guard.

"These guys are dumber than I thought, letting us in when we act like the world's going to end," Refan whispered.

"I don't think they're that dumb, really," Kage murmured, making sure the guards didn't hear him. "Look how many guards there are all around us even though we just entered the palace. If the other levels are as crowded with guards as this level, we'll have a hard time getting out of this place alive. This guard knows that even if we were assassins, we'd never be able to capture or assassinate the council without fighting dozens or maybe even hundreds of guards in this palace. The bakufu seems to know how to protect itself."

"Where, exactly, do the councillors reside? Are all of them in the palace, or are they somewhere else?" Jacob asked as the group followed the guard.

"Usually they reside in this palace. Lord Hojo's quarters are in the upper levels, and that's where we're headed. We'll soon come to a hall which leads to the upper and lower levels of this palace. This place is quite a maze if you don't know the right way," the guard chuckled. "Even I don't know all the rooms in this palace, and I'm only told where Lord Hojo resides. It's understandable, because in case some assassins got in, they couldn't rely on guards to find the councillors and they had to figure things out themselves."

They entered the hall, and surprisingly enough there weren't any guards there.

Ferron frowned after he had heard the guard's words. "I see. It seems this won't be that easy then. I thank you for your co-operation, but you're not needed anymore," he whispered, and when the guard was about to turn around with a puzzled expression on his face, the hilt of Ferron's sword hit his head. The guard fell down, unconscious. "Take him somewhere before people come here and see what's going on."

The group found a room that seemed to serve as a storage of some sort. They put the guard there, and Ferron and Jacob tied him up and put a cloth in the man's mouth so that when the man woke up, he couldn't call for help and stand up to get out of the room.

"So, we're in, but all we know is that councillor Hojo resides in the upper levels. It seems we'll have to find the rest of the councillors on our own. This is where we divide our group into smaller units and search through the palace. Avoid the guards if possible, and attack only if it's absolutely necessary. Use shadows to your advantage, and remember that the councillors are skilled fighters. That's all. Happy hunting, and get moving: we don't have much time!" Ferron hissed, and the groups split up, each one going to different corridors.

#

"Cap'n, the <i>Aozora</i> is coming straight at us!" one of the crew members of <i>The Bloody Heathen</i> yelled in awe. "It seems they're going to ram us!"

"What? That's not what's supposed to happen! It's against all the rules of naval battle!" Captain Aden roared and then calmed down. He looked out to the sea and saw how the enemy ship was getting closer and closer with surprisingly fast speed. It would reach this ship very soon. "It seems this isn't going to be a traditional battle at all, and we don't have time to move this ship around, so get ready! If that fool thinks he's going to sink this beauty, he has to think twice, because we're only going down if we take him with us! Move what cannons you can to face that blasted ship and give Kaizoku Yousei a <i>warm</i> welcome!"

"Aye aye, cap'n," the shipmate said, and soon the crew was working hard to get everything ready for the battle.

"I be challengin' Kaizoku personally once the battle begins, so no worries. I be killin' that son o' a biscuit eater soon enough with me rapier," Decanus chuckled and readied his rapier for the coming duel between him and the elf.

The ships moved closer and closer, and soon the <i>Aozora</i> rammed the hull of <i>The Bloody Heathen</i>. Some pirates fell to the sea because of the sheer force of the impact, others managed to stay up somehow. Everyone got their weapons ready. Pirates from both sides roared their battle cries, and everyone knew at that point that the battle had finally begun.

[Lynx]

Pratt snuck in the shadow of the wall's teeth, flitting here and there as the party progressed down the length of the wall, searching for the gatehouse. He was learning that he was quite good at this sneaking bit and that his ability to control shadows helped it a fair deal. The others simply sidled one side of the wall, kept low, and walked like normal human/elf beings.

As they continued their path, the darker outline of a building rose up in front of them. It looked imposing; a bloated tower built into the wall to further the impressiveness of the wall's defensibility. It had to be the gatehouse. The party, stopped, and conversed.

"I always thought it'd be a house, for some reason," the young failure whispered to Raine.

The wizard shook his head. "A house on a wall? In a wall? When does a house and a wall make sense?"

"I was just saying. Anyways, where will we find the gate mechanism? Up top here, up ahead, or do we have to go down and search every floor of the..." His eyes flitted to the short, sturdy tower. "...house? I don't know gatehouses, so I don't know where people put opening...things."

Abel shook his head. "Why are we even talking? Why don't we just go in and find out? We fight if we have to; there won't be much hope for sneaking in there."

They agreed and moved on. The distance between the party and gatehouse wasn't far then, and there were no guards in sight, so they quitely ran to get to their destination. No alarms rang or shouts of surprise. They were unspotted. The door that they stood before was old yet thick wood and bounded by iron. It would have been a bitch to get into, but Pratt's quick probings proved that the door was unlocked.

Pratt thought this was all very unsettling.

***

Cannon roared in conjunction with fighters and sailors as the both crews charged one another, trying to take the battle to the other's deck. The end result was carnage, as leaping men took cannon shots to the chest and flew backwards, slamming into their own decks as bloody piles of gore, their flailing weapon arms often creating a lethal backlash at their fellow mates. Some pirates collided with one another and impaled themselves unintentionally on their enemy's sword, or else fell between the space between the ships. The ship themselves lodged and unlodged from each other with the waves, causing a kind of meat crusher to be formed as they continuously slammed into each other.

Both captains roared orders. The few mages Kaizoku had remaining fired blasts of magic that arced over into the deck of the Bloody Heathen. The few mages that Aden had bought and recruited did the same and caused destruction on the deck of the Aozora.

As the crews joined in on furious battles on either ship, a voice shouted, "Ai, we surren'er! Ai, Kaizoku Yuusay, surren'er to the wondris cap'n Aden of the Bloody Heathen! Ai can't compare to his swashbucklery, brillance, or his awesome ledarship! Ai'd be glad if he let mai crew on, 'coz he's a bedder cap'n than me!"

Kaizoku Yousei was at a lost. At the time that announcement rang out, he was climbing the rigging to make a daring and dashing swing out to the other ship. He wasn't talking. He had already given orders: kill everyone you can, and when the battle was over, anyone whom you had mistakenly not killed, kill. Also, the language was more atrocious than Kaizoku's was ever. But it was almost definitely his voice otherwise.

Luckily, no one heeded the assinine order, as the Bloody Heathen's men were giving no quarter or chance to give up. As Kaizoku reached up and unsecured a rope, he was glad to see his men still going at their art at will, the Red Tigers proving that they were aptly named, with Riang Wong showing to be an excellent first mate. The battle was yet decided, but Kaizoku had faith in his men. Plus, Shuu, who was hiding behind the wheel, was weaving some wonderful magic.

Fires, which have always proven to be a big factor in a battle, were springing up on both decks as the results of both mage groups trying to slay each other. However, on the Bloody Heathen, there were more fires. Or there appeared to be. As the far side grew into a blazing inferno, more men tried to jump onto Aozora, only to be met by another wave of cannon fire.

Kaizoku grinned in approval, knotted his lip into concentraction and leapt out from the rigging. He aimed for the highest deck, at the back of the ship, where Aden's mages stood. The elven pirate startled one mage completely by scooping the poor man off the ground by connecting his feet to the mage's head. The poor wizard was knocked into the sea, concussed, and drowned. And eaten by sharks. Kaizoku dropped to the deck on the backswing and flourished both his magic-nullifying field and rapier. The gathered mages were at a loss as their magic died as they tried to destroy the invader. Two went down, quickly and the remaining fled. Except one, who, well, remained.

That one mage seemed to like the appearance of the elf. He stood straighter and shrugged off the robe he had been hiding under. He was a large, muscular man, with an eyepatch, a look of danger, and weapons happily gripped in his hands. As the beautiful sun shone on those polished cutlass and knife, the man spoke. In Kaizoku's voice.

"Ai don't think tha' went over good, did ye? Ai tried hard, but there ain't no speaking like a prissy elf!"

And Kaizoku's mind clicked. "Oh! A fan, are you? I was wondering about the eyepatch and stuff! I use a rapier, though. Nice cutlass. Oh, and the knives should be throwing knives. And plural."

"Ye fool! Ai be Decanus Tafford! And ai shall have my revenge, Kaizoku Yousee!" The other pirate's face grew red and puffy, like a real man's.

Kaizoku laughed and the opponents began to circle each other. "Could have fooled me!"

[Kossage]

Armeas glanced at the door. "Well, maybe the Yamatians just forgot to lock it up. In any case they couldn't have known that we had allies who knew how to get into the city via secret passages," he stated.

The others nodded, and they all entered the gatehouse. It was dark inside, and Raine cast a spell to make it a bit easier to see in the dark, although the light wasn't as bright as it would've been had they used torches.

"There are no guards, and the door is unlocked. I never thought the Yamatians would be this careless. Maybe they have become too confident," Jhain murmured as the group continued walking.

They followed the staircase to the upper levels of the tower. They searched through different rooms, and they didn't spot any Yamatians. Then, as they opened one of the doors, they saw a room which was illuminated by two burning torches. On the other side of the room they could clearly see a mechanism which could open the gate. There were many doors leading into the room and out of it, and at one end of the wall there was a hole which served as a window from which one could see whether the gate was open or not.

"Well, it seems this is it. Let's go and check it out," Abel stated.

"Doesn't anyone think that it's been a bit odd that we haven't encountered anyone in this gatehouse? There should've been at least one guard. It's as if the Yamatians let us find this room," Pratt said.

"Hey, why would our enemies allow us to go into this gatehouse? If they wanted to get rid of us, they could've just killed us, because that would've been easier for them. Come on, there's nothing to be afraid of," Armeas replied and marched into the room.

Pratt looked at the black mage. "Raine, is there anything unusual in this room? Like, any possible magic traps or something?"

Raine shook his head. "No, I don't sense anything. And look, Armeas stepped into the room and nothing happened. If there had been a magic trap, we would've seen him get hurt. Now let's get this over with," he grinned.

Everyone entered the room, and Pratt was the most hesitant. However, when he saw that nothing happened when others entered the room, he followed them. Maybe the Yamatians had been careless after all. The group walked towards the mechanism. It wouldn't take long to open the gates, and then Jhain would hurry to the nearby window and fire a burning arrow to the sky to signal the Fellowship army to attack.

As the group gathered around the gate mechanism, Pratt saw a shadow of some sort projected to one of the walls which was illuminated by a torch. The young failure looked around but didn't see anyone who could've cast a shadow on the wall in that particular place. He concentrated and tried to control the shadow to see if its owner, whoever he or she was, reacted. To Pratt's surprise the shadow <i>resisted</i> the young failure's attempts to manipulate it.

Pratt's eyes grew wide and he tapped Abel on the shoulder. "We have to get out, now! This isn't a safe place to be in, because I think we're being watched."

Abel looked at the young failure. "What do you mean by that? We didn't see anyone in this room, and Raine didn't sense any magic, so how could anyone--" The dragon knight's sentence was cut short, when a loud zap voice was heard in the room.

Raine turned around, cursing under his breath. "Mages!" he muttered. "We're trapped!"

"What the hell?" Armeas stated angrily as he saw the doors leading to the room opening and Yamatians stepping in, followed by mages. He jumped ahead, trying to attack a nearby soldier, but a loud zap was heard, and he flew backwards when some invisible energy threw him back.

"It's no use trying to break the barrier and use the mechanism. We have mages holding the barrier up, and we also have ways to prevent you from using the gate mechanism. You can't escape," a Yamatian sergeant stated firmly.

"Shouldn't you have spotted a trap like this, Raine? You said you were the most powerful mage in the world!" Armeas yelled angrily.

Raine shrugged. "Well, they obviously used some form of black magic spells I haven't been able to study yet," he replied. The mage didn't want to tell the others that it had been a basic spell, but he hadn't learned it, because during his time in mage school he thought it'd been a waste of time to study spells like this. After all, a powerful mage such as he would never get into a trap anyway, so there had been no need to study these kind of spells. Now he realized that maybe he should've paid a bit more attention to the instructor back then.

"You have done well, sergeant. I suspected some foolish minions of Sarillius would try to get into the city because they had a few clerics of Mardük helping them, and the clerics know secret passages like I do. By leaving this gatehouse unprotected we lured these fools right into our trap, and this proves that there is at least one rebel group in this city," an icy voice said, and a shadow with fiery red eyes stepped out of a nearby wall. Pratt gasped when he realized that this creature had been the shadow he had tried to control earlier.

The sergeant blinked. "If there are other rebel groups in this city, the bakufu might be in danger. We have to alert the soldiers and send word to Lord Ofuchi and Lord Hojo that these rebels might try to infiltrate the palace and--"

"Leave that to me. I am the Shadow, and I will be able to reach the palace faster than you do," the creature interrupted. "In the meantime take care of these rebels and interrogate them. They might provide us with useful information, and I am sure Dante Albrigant will be happy to have them as his new test subjects once you have interrogated them enough." After saying that the Shadow disappeared into the darkness surrounding it.

"You there, go and inform the captain of the guard that we've caught some rebels. Tell him to send more mages here and inform him of the possibility that there might be more rebel groups like this in Remonton," the sergeant ordered, and a Yamatian soldier nodded and got out of the room in a hurry.

Armeas looked around. He saw six Yamatian soldiers, three mages and the sergeant. It'd take some time for the messenger to reach the captain, so for the time being these guys were the only ones who knew of the infiltration group. The mages were concentrating on keeping the barrier up, so if the heroes could interrupt them somehow, the heroes might have a chance of breaking free. However, it seemed Raine could only use his spells inside this magic barrier and not outside, so the spells were useless. Armeas was desperate. How could they ever be able to get out of this trap?

#

Decanus Tafford was angry. The elf was more and more annoying every passing minute, and he even dared to mock the mighty Decanus and point out something Decanus was ashamed of. Yes, Decanus had one weakness: he couldn't tell the difference between a cutlass and a rapier. That's why he usually mistakenly referred to his cutlass as a rapier. <i>Kaizoku had obviously hinted at that when he had mentioned how fine cutlass I had</i>, the pirate thought. He'd show this annoying elf what he was made of.

The dashing pirate yelled a war cry in a good old pirate fashion and lunged forward. It could've looked like some random move, but in fact it was very sophisticated beneath its crude exterior. Decanus wasn't a good swashbuckler for nothing, and he knew that the key to victory was to lure your opponent into thinking that you were worse fighter than the opponent was. Then, once your opponent became confident, it'd be a perfect time to launch a counterattack, thus surprising the opponent and thus giving you a few precious seconds which would be crucial if you wanted to win the battle.

As the combatants' weapons met, it was clear that this wasn't just any random duel. It wasn't a battle between two rival crews, a duel between two skilled swashbucklers, or the battle between good and evil (so to speak). No, it was something far greater than any of those things mentioned. It was a duel which would decide which weapon would be the ultimate weapon a pirate should have: a cutlass or a rapier. It was a duel of weapons, a duel between strength and agility. Cutlass was powerful if you knew how to use it, and rapier was good for thrusting but less useful for cutting. These weapons required a different approach when you used them, and they'd never been pitted together to figure out which one would truly be the superior weapon. Now two skilled swashbucklers fought, and both of them knew how to use their respective weapons in a way that would make any other pirate ashamed.

Kaizoku strafed left as Decanus attacked, but the pirate suddenly changed his strategy and jumped forward, forcing Kaizoku to retreat. The elven admiral fought with grim determination, trying to search for a weak spot in Decanus's attack patterns. However, it wasn't easy, because Decanus changed his patterns all the time and used slight variations of basic movements, so Kaizoku had to adapt to new attacks and didn't have time to concentrate on finding a consistent pattern in these supposedly random attacks.

"Ye be walkin' th' plank real soon, elf!" Decanus taunted his opponent and grinned. Then he raised his cutlass and made a fierce move to the right and suddenly moved to the left, making Kaizoku confused just for a few seconds, but that was enough. Before the elf managed to do anything other than to defend himself with his rapier, Decanus kicked him to the left leg as hard as he could. Kaizoku stumbled back, trying to regain his composure, but Decanus didn't give him enough time for that and attacked.

Decanus knew this was his chance of killing Kaizoku Yousei off once and for all. He readed his cutlass to chop the elf in pieces, but suddenly a young man with golden eyes and a staff attacked Decanus. The pirate was surprised by this sudden aggression and turned right to confront this new attacker. Surprisingly enough when Decanus slashed his cutlass down, he noticed it went right through the young man's body. His eyes followed the man and saw that the man was unharmed, grinning.

"What foul play be this, ye scurvy dogs?" Decanus yelled in anger, and then he realized what was going on. He saw another young man with golden eyes concentrating on chanting something. So, the other young man Decanus had seen had merely been an illusion cast by this young man to distract Decanus long enough so that Kaizoku would be able to get back in action. It had been a clever move, but it wouldn't stop the inevitable defeat of Kaizoku Yousei and his pathetic crew.

Decanus grimaced and decided not to bother with the young man. The sorcerer could do any illusions he wanted, but Decanus had a prey he didn't want to get away. He'd deal with that annoying boy later. Right now there was an elven faggot to be chopped. The pirate turned around and attacked Kaizoku once again when he saw the elf nearby. He would kill Kaizoku Yousei if it was the last thing he'd do.

While Kaizoku and Decanus continued their duel, Aden's pirates were fighting fiercely against Kaizoku's crew. Aden himself had joined the battle, slaying anyone who stood in his way. He had managed to defeat a couple of Red Tigers and a few of Kaizoku's mages, but he knew that this kind of battle wasn't what he was used to. Many members of Kaizoku's crew weren't real pirates; instead they were skilled soldiers who knew how to defend themselves better than pirates did. And they had armour too.

Aden knew a few tricks how to slow them down, though. He had ordered some of his mages to cast ice spells, and soon certain parts of the <i>Aozora</i> became slippery for a short while, but it was enough to make a few enemy soldiers fall down so that Aden's pirates could finish them off. Other mages set a nearby mast on fire, which would force some of Kaizoku's pirates to move elsewhere unless they wanted to be crushed under the mast once it fell down.

The pirate captain smiled to himself. Kaizoku and his crew were worthy opponents, and he'd definitely spare their lives if they decided to surrender. They might be valuable allies, and if Kaizoku himself was alive at that point, Aden would show him mercy and let him serve in the ship as a servant. Of course if Decanus found Kaizoku first, the elf might not live to see the day when his crew surrendered. This was truly a worthy battle for pirates such as Aden. This was what he loved, and he knew in his heart that this day would decide the fates of many people.

[Citizen Bleys]

Without Despard's memories, despair might have crushed Kagetsu's soul. Now the Yamatians in Remonton knew that the King's armies were here, and sent out frequent sorties to try to break them. Marcus had ordered the siege begun, and the fighting had started in earnest.

Kagetsu was also unused to the looks of newfound respect from his men. When he fought, he now fought as a seasoned soldier would. Dressed in a simple brown jerkin and a plain soldier's sword, he did not look a bit like the Warrior Prince which people were now calling him. Despard had preferred to go into battle in plain dress as well. The battle experience of the King's Champion had saved him several times.

Kagetsu mastered his despair once again. After all, things had looked just as grim during the Battle of Scundor, when Khasra Mallorein had somehow managed to form an army of Scuns of all things into an effective resistance force.

A commotion attracted Kagetsu's notice as a man in Maar Sulais military dress was escorted to him. Kagetsu recognized him immediately--it was Ademar Wisteria, an elder son of the Duke Urbal. Although the House of Wisteria had begun with Draco, an Andain who had once challenged Kagetsu I for the mastery of the Andain, since the explosion, they had become the House of Aurelac's staunchest ally. There had been so much intermarriage between Aurelac and Wisteria that they had, within the past generation, come to be considered as cousins of Aurelac. Draco notwithstanding, Urbal's loyalty was above question--his wife Keiwhin had been Kagetsu's favorite aunt before she married into Wisteria.

Kagetsu was brought back into reality by the shattered look in Ademar's eyes as the man went down to one knee, where custom required only a bow for a Prince.

"My lord King," began Ademar, "I've sad news..."

Kagetsu's heart shattered.

[Agent Proto]

Kline and Scarecrow nodded at Ferron as he instructed the groups to seperate to hunt. Soon after, Kline led his partner down the hallway. After walking, they came upon a door. This door happened to be locked at the moment. "Damn. It's locked." Scarecrow said, disappointed.

"Don't worry. I'm skilled in opening locked doors." Kline said as he pulled out a pin that he uses to unlock locks.

He inserted the pin into the lock, and twisted it around to unlock the door. After a short while, after a few unsuccessful tries, he was able to unlock the door, which was indicated when a soft click was heard. "Success." Kline said as he smiled. "This door leads into the stairs that lead into the prison. I bet it was locked for a good reason. Come on Scarecrow, we must act fast."

Scarecrow nodded as the two went down the stairs. And down they went. As they went to the bottom, they soon encountered a prison of sorts. It was rather quiet, with the prisoners in their cells minding their own business. Kline and Scarecrow walked down and examined the cells. As they walked down, they caught the eyes of the prisoners. Some got up and were at the bars of their cells, perhaps crying for help. "Help us... We haven't done anything bad... We've been wrongfully jailed..." were some of the cries that the two heard.

Kline looked around to see if there were any Yamatians taking care of security. He looked and noticed no one. "Odd," Kline said to himself. "Usually there's at least three guards looking over. I suppose the Yamatians don't care about their prisoners to guard the prison."

He then called for Scarecrow, who was talking to some of the prisoners. As he went to see Kline, they saw an empty room. Maybe that was the room with the keys to the prison cells. They entered the room and began to search around. They looked under the table, in the drawers, and on the chair. Just their luck, they found a set of keys still on the hanger. The two smiled and Kline grabbed the keys and tossed them to Scarecrow. "Hold onto the keys. I will talk to the prisoners." Kline said as Scarecrow nodded.

The thief went back into the prison hallway and began to talk. "Everybody. We are here to free you all! But first you must listen to me." Kline said, as he continued to walk around the hallway. "I am sure that each and every one of you were imprisoned wrongfully, so we're going to free you. Why are we doing this? You see, it's for your freedom, and also for Remon's freedom. We believe that freeing everyone from this prison will create a diversion so that those of us who are trying to free Remon from the Yamatians can have an easier time. However, I cannot guarantee that you will be safe. However, you will be free. You are free to join me and my fellow comrades in joining the fight against the Yamatians to free this city and the kingdom as well. But in the end, I will guarantee that once you are free from this prison, that the reign of Yamatian terror will eventually end. Slowly but surely, it will end."

Kline's speech moved the prisoners and a loud roar of cheering erupted. That was the sign. Kline gave the signal to Scarecrow to unlock the cells to free the prisoners.

"Oh, and by the way. The safest way out of here is through the sewers. Be safe and live free. Some of you may join us to find the councilors within the palace."

As Scarecrow unlocked the cells, the now freed Remoners ran to the nearest door which led into the sewers. Some stayed wanting to join Kline and Scarecrow, and a few were dumb enough to go through the door that lead into the palace hallways.

One of the prisoners that stayed was a dwarf. A bald dwarf. "Ah, I'm finally free. The stench was getting to me." The dwarf said. "By the way, the name is Leiknir."

"Leiknir?" Kline asked.

"Yes. Leiknir, travelling blacksmith and part time merchant." The dwarf said nodding. "Besides, I've been in my share of past problems with those Yamatians. They sent me here because I won't sell pornography to them."

"How disturbing." Kline said.

"Aye."

"So, you want to join us?" Scarecrow asked the dwarf.

"Sure thing mates."

And so a dwarf joined the two and they went back up the stairs and back into the hallways. It looked pretty deserted, so it was deemed safe to continue.

[Kossage]

Marcus looked at Kagetsu and walked closer. He hadn't heard what Kagetsu and some man had talked about, but the usually stout warrior looked as if someone had just ripped his heart out. Something terrible had happened and Kagetsu had lost someone dear to him, Marcus was certain of that even though he hadn't heard the conversation. Although he was king, Marcus was unsure of how to react in this situation. That's why he just decided to act like he had when he'd been with other students of Graves Hall long ago. He put his hand on Kagetsu's shoulder. Kagetsu turned to look at Marcus, and the man's eyes were full of sorrow which he tried to hide.

"I know that it's painful to hear sad news. Many of us lose our families and friends, and sorrow is unbearable. I'm not talking to you as a king, but I'm talking to you as a friend. This war will cost many lives, and the only thing we can do is to fight back to drive this spreading darkness away," Marcus said. "We can honor the memory of those who have fallen by fighting for what they believed in and by showing to the world that we've not forgotten how it feels like to see the sun shine again after a long night. Come, let's show these villains that we'll never give up no matter what happens and that we'll always fight for our loved ones and for the memories they've left behind!"

Kagetsu nodded and focused on the attack at hand. Marcus would've wanted to say something more, but he thought it would be better to finish this battle before doing anything else. Kagetsu had to have some time on his own to think of what had happened. He left Kagetsu with the Maar Sulais. <i>Kagetsu will come to me if there's something he wants to talk about</i>, Marcus thought as he hurried to his command post. Marcus was worried about the groups he had sent into the city now that the siege had begun. He hoped the groups could finish their tasks on time, if the group members were still alive.

Marcus waved at a nearby group when he saw a familiar gigantic man among the warriors there. "Sir Hector, or should I say Captain Blackwell, may I have a word with you?" he asked while a nearby trebuchet sent great balls of fire flying towards the city walls. The battle would take quite a lot of time unless the army managed to get into the city somehow.

Hector smiled and stepped closer. "Of course, Your Highness. What is it?"

"I heard you talking about your brave deeds you did back in Myridia when Yamato invaded Aison and how you were promoted to a captain in the Aisonian army. Once our army gets into the city, we'll need some officers who have fought in urban areas before, and I immediately thought that you'd be the perfect man for the job. Many of our soldiers aren't used to fighting in city alleys and such, so we need people like you to lead them once things get rough," Marcus stated. "I'd appreciate if you could gather a group of skilled fighters and enter the city once we get the city gates open. Your group would obviously be one of the first ones to enter, and I know it won't be an easy task, but I think you could manage it."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about me. I've been in worse situations during the battle of Myridia, so this battle should be a piece of cake once we get into the city. I'll see if I can find some suitable warriors for the job," Hector laughed and nodded at the king.

Marcus smiled in response. "Thank you, Sir Hector. I appreciate that. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to contact a few of my advisors to plan the next move in this battle. We can keep bombarding the city walls for months, but it wouldn't do any good. I don't know if the groups we sent inside are still doing their job, but in case they aren't, we'll have to devise a new strategy to get into the city." After saying that the king walked off to meet René Iscariot and a few other advisors.

#

"I can't believe what I've heard. You speak the truth after all now that I've heard reports of a patrol finding a few rebels in the gatehouse. However, I still have my doubts about your true intentions. Creatures of the night such as you can't be trusted," Nobusada Hojo stated calmly, but if one looked closely enough, one could see that he was almost furious. His hand rested on his katana, and if he had wanted, he could've easily drawn it out and killed the one he was talking to in mere seconds. However, this time Hojo wasn't sure if he could defeat his opponent who didn't look like an ordinary human being. Hojo didn't like those glowing red eyes he saw behind the dark cleric's mask.

"There is no need for me to lie to you about these rebels. They are rather annoying, and the sooner we get rid of them, the better. They would have succeeded had I not intervened, so remember that," the Shadow replied. "However, I do not care about these rebels. All I am interested in is a special sword. Lord Zarnagon has given me the task of bringing that sword to him, and I will not let him down."

Hojo looked at the creature. "I don't understand what's so special about one sword. Nevertheless I shall think of what you've said to me and take action if need to. Maybe the dark lord knows more than he lets us know, but even then we shouldn't play this elaborate game with the rebels. There's too much at stake here if the rebels win."

"Trust me and do as you are told, and you shall see how much you will gain in the process. You can deal with these rebels at any time, because you have enough manpower to challenge them, but I might not have another chance at getting the sword. Let our enemies think we are more foolish than we really are, and then we will show them what we are capable of," the Shadow assured the councillor and then vanished into darkness.

Hojo stepped forward and looked around, but the creature was nowhere to be seen. The councillor went back to his desk, sat on a chair and sighed. He hoped things would turn out fine in the end.

#

"Shit, hide!" Ferron hissed when he noticed a group of four guards entering the corridor he and Jacob were in. They hid into the shadows of a nearby corner, and they saw the guards running past them. "I wonder what has happened. All of a sudden it seems like there are twice as many guards here than before, and it's like everyone's panicking. We've heard news of the siege and some prisoners escaping, but has it really happened? Has someone realized what's going on, and is our army in trouble?"

Jacob shrugged. "Who knows. Maybe some of your friends have been captured, and the Yamatians found out what we're doing here. That way the Yamatians might've heard about Marcus's army, I guess. And it seems some other group decided to free the prisoners, so that should serve as a distraction for the time being."

Ferron didn't like this at all. "Well, in any case we'd better get moving. We've been running, walking and sneaking through these corridors, and we should reach Lord Hojo's quarters soon," he stated, and the duo continued walking. Soon they saw a door which was guarded by two Yamatian soldiers. "I assume this is where the bastard lives. We need to distract the guards somehow. Any ideas, friend?" Ferron pointed his dagger at Jacob who glared at him.

"Well, obviously we can't just attack, because that'd give the councillor inside enough time to react even if we managed to finish off the guards. There's no telling whether they know we're real clerics or not. As you can tell, I have no idea," the cleric murmured.

"I've been a cleric, and you're still one, so we shouldn't have a problem with that. We can always use some spells if we have to," Ferron chuckled. "Well, it seems we just have to improvise and see what happens. You first, Jacob."

They started walking towards the door.

[Citizen Bleys]

Need to get this going again. I haven't got much, but at least it might get things moving...

When the next sortie came out of the city walls, Geraud was barely able to mask his shock. Instead of pouring out with swords flashing, covered by arrows from atop the city walls, the sortie force marched a group of Remonian civilians in front of this.

The Yamatian captain called out, "Rebel curs! We've had enough of this nonsense. We require the surrender of your forces. Until we receive it, we will be killing one civilian per hour. Should you attack us, we will slaughter this group wholesale and our brothers inside the gates will continue to kill once civilian per hour. You have one hour to decide. As a token of our seriousness..."

The captain roughly hauled a small child out of the Remonian group by his wrist and lifted his sword into the air. The Fellowship was frozen by shock..and then the Yamatian captain sagged to the ground, an arrow protruding from his back.

Mishima Ryoji angrily returned his bow to his shoulder and shouted "Yamatians! What do you choose? The Shogun--or honour?"

Though the majority of the Yamatians shouted "Loyalty!" and converged on Ryoji, enough chose honour to keep him and the civilians alive until the Fellowship forces could close the ground and route the Yamatian sortie.

"Good gods," muttered Geraud to himself, "I hope the gate team acts fast. Now the entire population of Remonton stands hostage."

[Lynx]

Pratt Staunton thought quickly, his thoughts racing. He first thought that he was being redudant, that the panic that he was feeling was causing him to try to organize his thoughts at an ungodly pace and that only caused him to really go over the same few thoughts over and over, instead of coming up with something new and innovative to save his party's paltry skins.

He had nothing.

So he quickly pointed to the far wall, shouted, "Watch out behind you guys!" as he gathered up shadows in the shape of a group fearsome warriors hiding around a corner, and ran.

Into one of the many guards who hadn't moved more than their head to look. It was going to be one of those days.

***

He got kicked in the knee again. It hurt like a bitch, but Kaizoku struggled on to parry the increasingly wild and powerful attacks of Decanus. It was hard, however, because while the former admiral spun his rapier to intercept his opponent's blades, he was trying to gauge the progress of the rest of the battle. From what he could tell, it wasn't good.

Both ships were on fire and plenty of hull damage was being caused while the two ships slammed harshly against on another and cannon discharged from both decks. Rigging fell from the masts, turning into burning snares that killed any who roamed beneath them and the flood of warriors facing each other was utter chaos.

So while Kaizoku was taking this all in, his knee was kicked.

[Kossage]

Armeas didn't know whether to be angry or scared. He clenched his fist when he saw the Yamatians grinning now that they had caught the heroes. If only those mages could be dealt with. One of the Yamatian guards seemed to be in the magic field because Pratt ran into the guard. Suddenly the guard vomited near Pratt, and the young failure moved away just in time.

The nearby Yamatian mages suddenly looked like they were about to faint. Their faces turned pale and they shivered. That reminded Armeas of the time when his companions had eaten mutant bunnies and how they had become sick. Armeas concentrated on the mages and hoped to see them throw up. All of a sudden the mages' faces turned even more pale (if that was even possible), and Armeas realized that his ability had something to do with making the Yamatians sick.

All of a sudden Armeas heard something, and he noticed that the slight distortion in the air wasn't there anymore. It seemed the magic barrier was down because the mages couldn't concentrate on keeping it up while they were being nauseous. Abel and the others looked around and noticed how their enemies were groaning as if they had a hangover. The heroes immediately took action when they saw that their enemies were distracted.

Armeas and Jhain reached for the gate mechanism while the others attacked the Yamatians. Even though the Yamatians weren't in the best shape, they managed to defend themselves. The elf figured out how to operate the mechanism and soon he and Armeas used it. Armeas looked out of a nearby window and saw that the gate was now open. All they had to do now was to give a signal to the Fellowship army so that it would know when to get into the city.

Jhain took his position near the window and placed an arrow on his bow. Raine immediately noticed what was going on and cast a fire spell on the arrow and then concentrated on attacking a nearby Yamatian soldier. A moment later Jhain shot the arrow out of the window to the night sky. Now it would be Marcus's turn to act.

Armeas looked at the elf and smiled. "We've done our part. Now we should--," he said but couldn't finish his sentence when a fireball hit him, and he stumbled back. Jhain looked around and saw a Yamatian mage nearby. The mage cast another spell and sent a fireball to Armeas's direction. Before Jhain could react, the fireball reached its target and the fire spread all around Armeas's body, setting the man on fire. Jhain shot multiple arrows at the Yamatian mage who fell down a few seconds later. The elf looked at his companion. It was too late to help Armeas who was now lying emotionlessly on the floor, still burning.

Jhain sighed and turned his attention to the other Yamatians who were still there fighting against the other heroes. The elf placed an arrow on his bow and looked for a good spot to aid his allies.

#

Marcus spotted a lone fiery arrow in the sky. "Alright, that's the signal. The gates are open, and it's time to get into the city. Let's move out!" he ordered. "Now we'll need Sir Hector's group to secure the gate and Geraud, Kagetsu and Alessandra's units to help him. Cardia, may your light guide us in this darkness and let us triumph over evil!"

The Fellowship army advanced towards the city gates, knowing that the Yamatians would do anything in their power to prevent the Fellowship from entering the city.

[Nic]

Just me, but I think we really need to get the Remon chapter over and move on. Enough is enough. Compared to past chapters, I don't think any of us have been writing that well lately. Second page in particular was excruciating to read, and I include my own posts in that. We're being sloppy, lazy and just plain boring.

I'm too lazy to write up a decent flashback post, but I don't like my characters popping up out of nowhere, so here's a summary of shit that's happened to them since...uh, my last post:

- Viirsa and Hector fucked. Yeah. I guess you could say they're going steady now.

- Izael and Goat-Bitch decided to rejoin the main group and have been staying away from people who would suspect them of anything. Big army, no one cares much about a weird dude and his goat fetish.

- Ax is PMSing. Marcus telling her that Libaterra is being pwned by Faerfags + being stuck with a dope like Reven for a partner = bitchy Axxy.

I guess I'll include a bit of flashback sort of stuff, actually. I wrote this first bit a few weeks ago, but never got around to posting it.

<I>A few nights before the arrival at Remonton:</I>

It was late, and it was cold. She should've been sleeping. She didn't care.

The young warrior gritted her teeth and stabbed viciously, her blade connecting with nothingness. Again and again she attacked, locked in a mad dance with an opponent only she could see; to anyone watching, she must've looked insane.

Perhaps she <I>was</I> insane. Between this and the "voices" she so often spoke of, Marcus couldn't help but worry. They would reach Remonton soon, and she had a job to do. He stepped out of the shadows and called to her.

"You should rest, Lady Ax. The coming days will be trying for all of us."

"Can't sleep," she grunted, slashing at the air again.

Concern, mixed with not a little guilt, flashed across the king's features. "This isn't healthy, Ax. You need your sleep."

Ax lowered her sword and turned to stare at him coldly. "I'll be fine. I know my limits. You're the one that should be sleeping, <I>Your Majesty.</I>"

Marcus sighed. "Perhaps I shouldn't have told you. I just felt you had a right to know, that's all. But this behavior isn't helping anything, Ax. You can't help Libaterra if you get yourself killed."

Ax narrowed her eyes, but said nothing.

"Please. Just get some rest."

Finally, she nodded. "Alright, fine. Let's just get this over with. The sooner we're done in Remonton, the sooner we...<I>I</I> can get to Libaterra."

I apologize for how lame this next part is gonna be, but I'm kinda out of practice. I'm just focusing on Ax while I try to get back into things, so meh. Also, I'm not too used to Reven yet, EE, so if you want me to change anything, just let me know.

"This robe smells like piss," Ax muttered.

"What?"

Ax stared blankly at Reven, then turned away with a sigh. This kid was such a drag. "Nothing. Let's get this guy tied up before he wakes up again. Refan and Kage should be back soon."

Together, they flipped the man onto his stomach and lashed his hands behind his back. They had gotten lucky; this council member had been too groggy to put up much of a fight. A knee to the groin and a hilt to the head, and it was over.

"This is...Toranaga Misamoto, then?" Reven asked nervously.

"I guess. Bastards all look alike, if y'ask me."

Reven shifted uncomfortably.

In spite of the situation, Ax chuckled. "You're too tense, kid. Try to relax, just concentrate on the task at hand. Don't let your nerves interfere with what we have to do."

Reven took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah. Okay. So what do we do next?"

Before Ax could reply, the door swung open. A large Yamatian man, hands tied and face twisted in an angry scowl, stumbled in. A moment later, Kage and Refan stepped into view.

"Akechi Shingen," Kage said. "Put up quite a fight, but we got him. Now what?"

Ax eyed the new man, then the man on the floor, who was beginning to stir. "We need to get moving again. We're running out of time, and we don't have the manpower to drag all the councillors along with us, so...hmm. It would probably be best to throw them all in one room and post a guard--"

"But this whole place is crawling with Yamatians!" Reven blurted.

"Doesn't matter. We've got a little more time before the entire building is on alert," Ax assured him. "So here's what we do. We throw these bastards in a room for now, maybe that little library on the ground floor. It has a pretty sturdy door, and no windows, so it should be easy enough to defend. We leave a guard or two. Any Yamatians happen upon the room, we kill them, and make it clear that we'll kill our hostages too if necessary. Everyone got that?"

They all nodded.

"Good. Let's move!" she ordered. "We're heading for the library on the first floor, let's try to do this as quickly and quietly as possible. Kage, I want you to go first and make sure the coast is clear. Refan, Reven, keep your eyes on our prisoners at all times."

She kicked Toranaga in the ribs, eliciting a groan. "And you, on your feet. <I>Now.</I> Try anything funny, and I'll slit your throat. Understood?"

The man stood up awkwardly and shook his head in contempt, but said nothing.

"Very good. Let's get moving, then."

A few minutes later, the group arrived at their destination. [OOC: Wow, I told you I was lazy today.]

Ax surveyed the room, satisfied. It didn't appear to get a lot of traffic. Shelves of musty books lining the walls, a large, bare desk in the middle of the room, and a thick layer of dust covering everything in sight...this would work well.

"Okay. Reven, Refan, will the two of you stand guard for now? Kage and I will keep searching. It would probably be best to find Scarecrow and Kline first, we haven't heard from them in quite a while."

Refan nodded. "Good luck. Please be careful, you two."

"Same to you. Don't let the kid there get in too much trouble," Ax said, ignoring Reven's annoyed glance. With Kage at her side, she stepped out into the hall.

[Mr. Graves]

Marcus was strolling with the army, his hand on Dusk's hilt. All hell had seemed to break loose inside......somewhere. He couldn't make out where, hard as he tried to. In Marcus' mind, this meant that either one of the groups fell in a "so much for being subtle" moment, or some people were drunk. He had led the army pretty well thus far, and he felt that, for once, he was actually starting to enjoy being a king. A wry smile coursed his lips.

If Leon was a spy, than surely he could do alright as a king. Although his help would be useful in the future (assuming, of course, they live through this rather large skirmish), he wasn't needed. In spite of these thoughts running through his mind, he had hoped, in his heart and soul, that Leon was just lucky. His story seemed a bit farfetched, but as long as he was willing to aid in the battle. His mind had also been on Libaterra. In part, he felt responsable for the crisis there, and he wanted to try to fix it, somwhow.

Not much, but it's something. Dunno what to do about the hostages, and I have class in a bit.

[Nic]

Meh. This post is mostly to get Shyralis stuff caught up, and hopefully get the infiltration bullshit close to finishing. It's lame and rushed, and I apologize, but let's get this over with already. :| Koss, yell at me if I need to change anything here. :x Same to you, Pr00t. I still feel weird controlling characters that aren't mine.

It was a strange sight, to be sure. High in the Remonton palace, in the middle of a room filled with books, a young half-elf stood bending over his goat.

"Hold still, my lady," said Izael, squinting at the open book in his hands. "I believe this is the one."

He knelt and placed his hand on Shyralis's head, then took a deep breath and uttered the words of the spell. The changes began immediately. A few seconds later, a very annoyed, very <I>naked</I> half-elfess stood before him.

Izael quickly averted his eyes. "It is good to see--I mean...ah...it is good to have you back, my lady," he stammered. Still looking away, he handed her her clothing.

Shyralis dressed quickly and turned to him. "That's much better. You have my thanks, Izael."

"You're most welcome, Lady Shyralis," Izael said, smiling nervously. "I was a bit worried for a moment there. All these books..."

Shyralis looked around. "Quite an impressive library, yes. So much knowledge contained here...it's a pity we don't have more time."

"Don't you think you've wasted enough time as it is, cleric?"

That voice. Shyralis turned around calmly, her gaze coming to rest on the masked creature that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. If not for the burning red eyes that stared back at her, perhaps the creature could've passed for a fellow cleric.

"I see no reason to hurry anything, my lord Shadow," she said coolly. The creature always filled her with a sense of incomprehensible dread, but she'd be damned if she'd let it show.

The Shadow moved closer, his face just inches from hers. "Such arrogance, for one so foolish. It is time you made yourself useful, Lady Shyralis."

Shyralis allowed a wry smile to touch her lips. "I have been foolish, yes. But rest assured, Shadow, I won't let my master down. Now, don't you have matters of your own to attend to?"

"The thief is near," the Shadow growled. "I can sense his presence, but there is something strange about this building. I'm unable to pinpoint his location."

"Ah, I see," said Shyralis, nodding. "You want our help."

The Shadow laughed quietly. "Don't be an idiot. I will find him, with or without your assistance. However..."

"However, our assistance would make things much easier," she finished dryly. "Very well. I'd say we both need to redeem ourselves in the eyes of our master. Let us go forth and make Master Zarnagon proud."

-----------------------------------

Ax couldn't shake the feeling that something was horribly wrong. Empty hall after empty hall, no sign of anything living. No sign of anything dead, for that matter.

"Bit spooky 'round here, ain't it?" Leiknir said, his voice echoing throughout the hall.

Ax grunted in agreement. She didn't know what to think of the dwarf yet, who was tagging along with Scarecrow and Kline, but he seemed brave enough. She and Kage had (quite literally) run into the trio a few minutes before, Ax and Scarecrow nearly knocking each other out. They definitely needed to practice this sneaking thing.

"The battle outside must've started," Kage realized. "It would be best to find Ferron and get out, I don't think we're going to find the rest of the council members here."

Ax frowned. "I guess. But something's just not righ--hey, what the hell? Heads up, men!"

A bit further down the hall, a door creaked open. Ax grabbed her sword, motioning for everyone else to do the same. Silently, weapons at the ready, the group advanced on the door.

A small, cloaked figure stepped out into the hall, hands held high in surrender. "Axikasha? Ax? Is that you? Come quickly, we've captured another councillor!"

<I>What the hell? Viirsa's merchant friend?</I>

Ax felt even more uneasy now, but nonetheless hurried forward. She exchanged a worried glance with Kage. Something just wasn't right here.

<I>No time to worry about it now, Ax. She's here, and we've got another councillor in the bag, that's all that matters...isn't it?</I>

Another robed figure appeared in the doorway, this one dragging a bound man. "According to the guards, this is Matsudaira Takeshi," he gasped, clearly out of breath. "Ofuchi...is somewhere in the city. We saw him exit the palace earlier."

After a moment of hesitation, Kage and Scarecrow went forward to help carry the man. It was Kline who finally asked the question that was on everyone's mind.

"Would someone mind telling me who these two are, and how the hell they got into the palace?"

The smaller of the two threw back her hood and held her head high. "He is Izael, and I am Shyralis. I believe the Lady Ax there knows me," she smiled. "We are black mages of the Fellowship. With the chaos outside, it was quite easy to slip into the palace."

<I>Izael? Why the hell does that sound so goddamn familiar?</I>

Ax raised an eyebrow. "How convenient."

Kage nodded, his brow furrowed in worry. All around, mutters of skepticism could be heard.

Finally, Ax stepped forward. "Let's get back to Refan and the others. I don't know what the hell's going on here, but we still have a job to do. Just...keep a close eye on them."

And so, the group continued on their way. Ax still couldn't help but feel that something was wrong.

[Bahumat]

Desh hoped that the infiltration team had done it's job, and had gotten the hostages they needed. He had debated trying to catch up to them, but decided that they were better off without him.

'Then maybe they need a diversion......and I want to try out some of these cool new weapons I got.'

He muttered a quick incantation and faded to a black silhouette. He swiftly travelled to a the gate nearest the approaching Fellowship army, and pulled a black ball from his robe. Unseeable to the guards, he walked up to the rear of the portcullis that clocked the entrance and placed the ball in a cranny nearby. Instantly a set of spikes popped out, drilling into the stone and holding the ball in place.

Desh walked back and forth along the wall, setting more of these little balls into the stone. He was setting the last in place, when he heard a voice.

"Hey, what are you doing there?"
Crap! A guard! the spell must have worn off.
Desh spun towards the guard and lifted his arm up.
"Death Beam!"
A small ray of indigo energy cut off the startled man's outcry, slashing through his throat.
'Damn' he thought. 'That'll have alerted the rest of the guards. Time to leave this area......too late.'

He was surrounded.

"Sorry boys, but as much as I'd like to play, I've got places to be. But before I go, let me leave you a gift."
He reached into his robe and drew out a little figurine. He threw it on the ground, and instantly it began to glow a hellish red. It began to grow and expand, becoming larger, until it was over 7 feet in height. It had the head of a boar and held a flaming axe in it's hand. It roared at the guardsmen, and charged them. Desh slipped off into the night.

"That'll slow them down. Now, onto the next bit of the plan."

<font size=1 color=#00e0ff>EDIT by Raistlin: Watch the god-moding. Your character just did some powerful magic without any apparent effort, and that needs to take some effort. Summoning the hell-demon or whatever was a bit much. Also, "death beam" is just lame. It made me wince. </font>
<font size=1 color=#00e0ff>Edit by Bahumat: It was a slow day. I'll watch the magic use in future......</font>

[Citizen Bleys]

I'm in agreement. Time to finish this and get ready for the next chapter. Whether the story moves to Aison, Libaterra, or Maar Sul, I'm ready. I'm confident WesLY or Koss will be able to find a satisfactory edit if I carry things to far ahead...

With the gates opened at last, the city erupted into chaos. Along the way, Leon had picked up a sword. He didn't know how to use it, so he just held it out and tried to look dangerous while he searched the castle. He had to find the shard of Krystallopyr. It was too dangerous to leave at large.

The Great Hall was curiously quiet. Leon saw no guards posted as he pushed the huge oaken doors open. Perhaps they'd all been sent out to fight.

Hideyoshi Ofuchi waited inside. He had a surprised look on his face.

"Leon Alcibiates, is it? I was expecting that fool of a 'King.' All in good time, I suppose. I'm very impressed that you were able to subvert Mishima. I'd thought his outdated concept of 'honor' would keep him in line."

Leon's heart filled with dread, but he advanced anyways. He knew what it felt like to die, and he was not eager to repeat the agony he'd experienced at the hands of Arawn Losstarot. Nevertheless, the stakes were too high, and he had sworn a vow to see Marcus Sarillius on the throne in Remonton, and he also had a duty to find a bearer for the Silver Branch.

Bonus points to anyone who can name what this next section is based off of...

"Regretfully," continued Ofuchi, "You won't be permitted to see my forces crush your King. You've served your purpose, and it's time for you to be eliminated. I assure you, however, that once I have eliminated your Fellowship, we will throw you a most elaborate funeral."

A purse of money landed on the ground between Leon and Ofuchi. Miyuki Ofuchi's voice came from the corridor as she strode out into the light: "If it is a funeral you would have, dear brother, I suggest you buy yourself a coffin."

Hideyoshi sneered. "You would share Father's fate? Come on then, let's see what pathetic moves he's taught you." Without transition, Hideyoshi's katana cleared its scabbard and he rushed Miyuki.

As brother battled sister, Leon cast about the room. It had to be here somewhere. A familiar presence seemed to settle on his mind, and he knew where to look. There, resting atop an ornate pedestal, stood the shard of Krystallopyr. Remember the first law, came the familiar voice of Hiroshi Hayabusa, which had guided him to fly here not so long ago. Leon cupped his hands around the crystal, careful not to touch it. "Krystallopýr!" he whispered.

Hideyoshi Ofuchi's eyes widened. "Fool!" he shouted, "Without knowledge--!"

The distraction was all the opening Miyuki need. With a practiced lunge, she drove her katana into her brother's heart. Blood gushed out of his mouth. "If you awaken Mardük," he gasped, "You will wish I had won."

As the lifeblood poured out of the Tairo of the Yamato Bakufu, Leon concentrated on the crystal. Power in paradox, he thought. Hiroshi had been able to use the power of Krystallopyr to achieve what no normal mortal should have been able to do. Without conscious understanding of what he was trying to do, he reached inward, to the part of him that was a god, as he'd done so many times before--

--and an answering power burst within him, almost as it had been in the previous Age, when the Andain walked the earth, Leon amongst them. Arcane words came unbidden out of his mouth and a bolt of argent power lanced forth from his hands, not only shattering the shard of Krystallopyr, but utterly destroying it, leaving not a single atom behind.

In his mind, Leon extended his power outwards, to see the progress of the battle. What he saw was confusion. Mages died at swordpoint as their magic had inexplicably ceased to work. Men and women who had passive, everpresent innate abilities foundered as their power, for the first time in their lives, vanished.

It's the same everywhere, whispered Hiroshi's voice in his head. Your link to the underworld made this possible, but the power you draw is too great for the conduit to sustain. Your claim on your power has caused magic to fail, everywhere. This is why the dead seek you. Your existence is too dangerous to tolerate.

Urgently, Leon pushed the power away, willed the part of him that was a god to once again become quiescent. It drained away, and he went from feeling more alive than he had in a thousand years to simple...normality, or at least as close to normal as a revenant could come.

Miyuki panted with the exertion of her battle with her brother. "What the hell just happened?"

Leon couldn't answer. "I...I had better stay away from such things in the future. I very nearly did a horrible thing."

Together, Leon and Miyuki left the Great Hall. To his relief, Leon saw spells in operation once again, their casters puzzled by the brief absence of magic, but determined to make up for it now that their powers had returned.

So this is it, he thought to himself, In order for the world to be safe...I have to die.

#

With the Tairo dead, many of the Yamatian forces in the city surrendered. Bereft of their support, the clergy of Mardük began to flee. Although in places the battle still burned on, there was no doubt that the city was won, that King Marcus would posess the capital at last. The leadership of the Grand Alliance met in the boardroom of the Home Guard, near the center of the castle.

"There's much work to be done," began Kagetsu. "We're victorious here, but securing Remon is only the beginning. There's still enemy occupation in Aison, in Libaterra, and in our home of Maar Sul. King Marcus, I can understand the desire you have to remain here and consolidate your power, but I urge you to appoint a suitable regent--one of our Elven bretheren perhaps, to cement the friendship of the Remonian races--and continue to support the battle worldwide. I can understand your feelings because I share them--my heart tells me to return to Maar Sul at once and take formal posession of the throne--but it's necessary to remain mindful of the bigger picture. I counsel an expidition towards Aison, while the locals still resist the Yamatian occupation and can be of aid to us."

"In that case," murmured Geraud, "There's the matter of appointing a regent to take care of the home fires in Maar Sul as well...Réin is absent, Kagetsu, and you and I will be needed by the Alliance."

"Already taken care of," replied Kagetsu. "It's not necessary for a regent to be in the direct line of succession. As the Prince Royal--now yourself, and the Princess Regent Réin are not presently available, I've appointed Ademar Wisteria as the Regent in my absence. His ship has already departed for Maar Sul."

Leon, up until this point quiet, cleared his throat. "There is one other matter I wish to raise before we choose how to continue prosecuting this war. My Lord King, as you are now recognized as ruler here, do you consider my vow of allegiance fulfilled?"

Surprised, Marcus nodded, "You've certainly fulfilled your duty as well as any, and I'd be glad to take you on for as long as you wish to stay."

"I'm afraid that's not possible. I do have one duty which predates all others, a duty to Ayna Silverbranch who summoned me from beyond the grave to accomplish one difficult but greatly desirable task. Due to the recent failure of magic, it concerns me that the White Seal guarding the Isle of Yggdrasil may be down, and time is pressing. I must deliver the staff to its rightful bearer before others make landfall on the island and take it."

Marcus simply nodded.

"My Lord Geraud Aurelac," said Leon formally, "as you presently bear the soul and memories of Despard Silverbranch who originally crafted the staff, you seem to be the logical choice to bear it. Will you accompany me to the Isle of Yggdrasil, to claim the Silver Branch and wield it in the name of the Alliance?"

Geraud sputtered, "But I don't even know where the Isle is! The world has changed so much since the Explosion..."

Leon interjected, "Don't worry, I can find it."

Kagetsu looked doubtful, "If what you say is true and the White Seal has failed, you will be carrying my brother and heir into danger."

"Then let me take my Red Tigers along," chimed in Miyuki Ofuchi, now acknowledged by the Yamatians as the last and true Redeemer of the Ofuchi name. "Yamatian defectors from the city should be able to support the Alliance in Aison or Maar Sul. We would be honored to protect a mission of such importance."

Leon nodded gratefully.

Ryouji Mishima, looking uncomfortable at being labelled representative of the Yamatian defectors, added in, "I wish to be present on this journey as well. I know little of the battle which His Majesty intends to prosecute, but I consider Leon Alcibiates to be a friend, and as an individual I do not wish to abandon him. Another can represent those Yamatians who chose honor over the Shogunate."

Leon nodded his acceptance. "Well, my Lords King? Does that satisfy your requirements? I hardly need go on about the importance of such a powerful tool for magic."

As pensive faces regarded him, Leon felt the urge to add in the last reason for the trip to the Isle of Yggdrasil. It was there that he had been summoned, and it was there that his death could repair the damage that had been caused by his passage into the world of the living.

Cheer up, Leon, he thought to himself, Soon it's time to die.

[Nic]

Time warm dance!

Figured we should at least take care of the loose ends. Koss and EE said to wrap this up, so ah...here we go. ;| Mostly my post, with bits from Koss here and there. Takes place before and during the first half of Bleys' last post. Koss, EE, or Pr00t, let me know if you want me to change anything.

Refan sat. There wasn't much else to do, really.

As he sat, he thought. The flickering light from the single lamp on the desk was oddly soothing, but it did nothing stop the worries and doubts from flooding his mind. Ax and the others, Skye, the battle outside, the Shadow...so many things to--

"Refan! Refan, your sword is..."

Startled, the thief snapped to attention. He looked at Reven questioningly, then down at his hip as the familiar glow caught his eye. With a trembling hand, he unsheathed the Emerald Blade and held it before him. It seemed to shine brighter with every passing second.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Refan muttered.

The thief looked at the tied-up councillors and Reven, and then he looked at the sword again and wondered. What could be causing this reaction? Surely Zarnagon wasn't around, and most Yamatians and clerics of Mardük were outside fighting against Marcus's army. This was very unsettling.

From somewhere outside the library came the sound of approaching footsteps. Refan and Reven exchanged a glance; if their friends had returned, it would be time to rouse their hostages and move on. If not...

Gripping Smaragdos tightly, Refan turned to the door and prepared for the worst.

-----------------------------------

Ax threw open the library door and stepped inside. She felt strangely proud as she found herself held at bay by not one, but two blades.

"I see nothing gets past you two," she quipped.

Refan seemed puzzled, his eyes darting from person to person uncertainly. "Ax. I'm glad to see you're safe, but--are you...is there any chance that someone could be following you?"

Ax shook her head. "We haven't encountered anyone else."

Refan frowned.

"Truth be told, this place gives me the creeps," Ax muttered. "Anyway, we've got what we came for. No reason to stay any longer." She turned and waved her companions forward. "Let's get our councillor friends up and moving, eh?"

Refan still looked uncertain as the group filed in, but said nothing. Ax, Kline, Scarecrow, Kage and a bald dwarf came forward and hauled the hostages to their feet, aided by Reven. Two hooded figures stood at the doorway, eerily quiet, the last councillor held in place between them.

The thief turned to Ax, an uneasy feeling settling over him. "Ax, who are--"

A loud bang cut him off. And then, darkness. Murmurs of confusion filled the room, panic threatening to overtake them all as they scrambled around wildly, helplessly.

A burst of flame illuminated the room suddenly, then the quiet glow of the lamp returned. Reven's handiwork, of course. Sword raised, Ax scanned the room, taking in what had just happened. The door had slammed, the lamp had went out. Nothing more. Everyone looked shaken, but otherwise fine; Refan was just a few feet away, kneeling over Matsudaira, Reven was standing near the lamp, Scarecrow and Kline were holding up an annoyed-looking Toranaga, Kage and Leiknir had a firm hold on Akechi, Izael and Shyralis were--

Gone. They were gone.

"Bastards!" Ax sprinted to the door and grasped the knob. They couldn't have gone far.

She paused, frustrated. No matter how hard she pushed, the door refused to budge. Struggling to keep calm, she turned to the others and shook her head. "Dammit. That bitch must've done something to the goddamn door."

"Easy, Ax," Kage said soothingly as he stepped forward, grabbing the knob himself. "Let's try it again together, alright? Maybe it's just stuck."

After nearly a minute of grunting and shoving, they gave up. Ax sagged against the door, cursing herself. There was no use denying it: They were trapped, and it was all her fault. What the hell had she been thinking, letting Shyralis out of her sight?

Oh well. It was too late to worry about that now, she decided. They still had the three councillors, all they had to do now was find a way out.

She turned to look at Matsudaira. The councillor was staring intently at the wall, eyes wide.

Ax followed his gaze, reaching for her sword as a shadow on the wall caught her eye, much darker than any of the surrounding shadows. She grabbed Kage and pointed, and the two watched in horror as the shadow grew darker and more defined, then finally <I>stepped out of the wall</I>. Fiery red eyes peered around the room as the shadow-creature chuckled quietly, dark blades growing from its hands. "Waste your strength on that door if you wish, fools. But I can assure you, it's not going to open."

Refan was the first to react. "You again, Shadow! I should've known," he hissed, training his blade on the creature and starting forward.

The Shadow's laughter grew louder. "I have been waiting for this moment, thief. Tell me, does the girl you hold so dear still cling to life? Surely her suffering must be terrible by now."

Refan lunged forward with a cry of anger, but the Shadow knocked his blade aside effortlessly. He stepped back and narrowed his eyes. "You've come for me, right? Let my friends go, they have no place in this!"

"Oh, I think they might come in handy," the Shadow crowed. It turned to gesture at Ax. "That girl there, for instance. Wouldn't it be <I>lovely</I> to see her head rolling across the floor?"

Refan cried out, but it was too late. The Shadow charged across the room with unnatural speed, drawing one hideous claw back as it closed on Ax. The young warrior raised her blade, as if to shield herself, and braced herself for the impact.

And then strong hands were shoving her away, and she was sailing through the air and slamming painfully into a shelf, dizzy but unharmed. Disoriented, she staggered to her feet and looked around wildly. Her gaze landed on Kage.

Or what was left of Kage, anyway.

"Oh...Gods..."

With a disgusting <I>slurp</I>, Kage's cleanly-severed head slid backwards and tumbled to the floor. His body collapsed a moment later.

Ax stared, unmoving. She half-noticed that the others were now desperately defending against the Shadow, the cramped space hindering their efforts, but she didn't rush to join them. Seconds dragged on, and all she could do was stand there, staring.

<I>He saved me. He saved me, and it cost him his life.</I>

Finally, something snapped within her and she sprang forth to aid her companions. The Shadow paused; even with his increased strength, it just wasn't practical to take them <I>all</I> on.

Growling, the creature barreled through the group and knelt beside Matsudaira. A blade flashed, and the councillor's bonds fell away. He needed nothing more. With a lithe roll, he snatched up Kage's Ebon twins and entered the fray.

Seeing the new threat, the group of heroes split. Ax, Refan and Reven surrounded the Shadow in a wide circle, while Kline and Scarecrow turned to take on Matsudaira. Leiknir, not wanting to become a hindrance, had decided it best to keep an eye on the two remaining councillors.

On and on they fought by the flickering light of the lamp, splattering blood and sweat upon the dusty books and tearing countless gouges in the wooden floor. The three swords slashed through the air, blindingly fast, yet the Shadow remained unharmed.

From the corner of her eye, Ax saw Scarecrow fall to one of Matsudaira's blades. She fought the urge to run to him; whether he was alive or dead, she had problems of her own to deal with. She backstepped, taking a moment to wipe the sweat from her eyes, then immediately regretted it. She gasped as a dark blade nicked the side of her neck, but gave herself no time to feel the pain. With a cry of determination and anger, she launched herself forward with a vicious stab, exulting as her blade slid into the creature's stomach.

The victory was short-lived, however. The Shadow growled and tossed her sword away, then advanced upon her, ignoring Reven and Refan completely. Almost casually, he drove a blade deep into her stomach before turning to focus on Refan. Reven charged, sword held high, but the Shadow knocked him to the ground easily. The thief was on his own.

Ax staggered towards her sword, knowing full well she wouldn't make it in time, but refusing to give up just yet. "No! Refan...damn, someone do something!"

Grunting with the effort, Reven hurled a ball of fire into the Shadow's back. The Shadow paused, cackling, as the flame spread across its body. Finally, the last of its burning cleric robes fell away and its true form was revealed.

Strangely, the only thought that came to Ax's mind was, <I>Huh...I wonder if it has a penis.</I>

She shook herself mentally. Now was <I>definitely</I> not the time to be thinking about penises.

The Shadow turned to Refan once more, a horrible grin spreading across its face. "You're mine at last, you fool."

It raised a blade for the killing blow...then stopped. Stopped <I>completely</I>, arm frozen high in the air, body unmoving. The creature seemed as baffled by this as everyone else present.

Reven raised a hand to unleash another fireball, only to find that he couldn't. For the first time in his life, his magic failed to come when he called.

Ax sank to the ground, blood loss finally catching up with her. "Refan! Finish it! Finish it <I>now</I>!"

The thief didn't need to be told twice. He rammed his sword hilt-deep into the Shadow's chest and retreated. With a piercing scream, the Shadow fell to Refan's blade for a third time. This time, however, there was no dark explosion; it disintegrated rapidly, leaving only a strange chill in the air.

"Much stronger than...last time," Refan panted, dropping to his knees.

Ax raised a heavy hand to her stomach, distantly alarmed at the amount of blood flowing from the wound. In spite of this, she smiled faintly. Matsudaira's dead body lay a few feet away, and Kline seemed to be uninjured. Refan would be fine. Reven was at the door now, and Ax was pleased to see that it opened easily. Relief washed over her as she saw Ferron and Jacob peering in, motioning that it was safe to come out. The battle had been won.

Ax closed her eyes.

[Lynx]

"That was a low blow, ye ape," cried Kaizoku, as he wrenched himself foward, ignoring the pain in his knee. Blades flashed as the elf furiously tried to turn the tide against Decanus, to force the brute man to be defensive. Time and time again, Kaizoku's rapier was repelled and his dagger blocked, but in his rage, the elf was succeeding and numb to the joy that it should have brought.

He wanted to make that gorilla pay in the worst way and Kaizoku couldn't spare another minute battling Decanus when his men and ship were in danger.

***

A thrust was twisted aside and sideway slashes parried. Decanus thought he was doing an admirable job of defending himself and kept his eye on the chance to go on the offensive again. Worryingly, he noticed that his chance was taking a bit to come and he still had no hint as to when it may be. He swung his cutlass and dagger hard, metallic blurs as he knocked every attack that came his way aside. The elf was focused, but he also looked tired.

Cannons and spells still fired around them, but both men were too focused on each other to know what was going on around them. The deck shuddered underneath them and they adjusted their footing, still engaged in a twirl of blades.

Suddenly, Kaizoku broke away and skipped a few paces back. Decanus grinned and opened his mouth to taunt, but the elven pirate's hand flashed forward and the large man had to twist his head out of the way. Kaizoku's dagger embedded itself in the back of some nameless pirate in the background and that's the last bit of information Decanus's brain took in before Kaizoku's boot connected with his nose. The pirate reeled in pain as blood blossomed before his eyes and the elf moved in for the kill.

Using his own voice, Decaus called for help. "Mateys! Get tha elf!" His head spun and he felt sharp pains in his wrists. That would have been his opponent slicing his wrists, Decanus knew, as he dropped his weapons and stumbled forward. The basket of the rapier bounced off Decanus' temple and the butt of the dagger clipped him in the ear. He felt a few more blows and then it all went black.

***

Aden heard Decanus' call for help, but was busy on the main deck trying to repel the Yamatians that rushed to board. He kept low, as the Yamatians had brought their cannon to the foredeck and fired at indiscriminately. The men he had left at the gunwales did much the same and the space between Bloody Heathen's mast and Aozora's head was bloody carnage. That wasn't to say it was empty, though. Men still fought in the midst of the firing, some dying due to cannonfire and their opponents continued on. To Aden's disappointment, most of the survivors were not his own.

The battle was nearing a close. Aden knew this as first his cannon, and then Aozora's, ran out of shot. Spells became infrequent and then stopped. His own pirates were a dwindling force and soon only was a small mob of men around him.

Suddenly, his mob of men weren't his. They were Red Tigers and all of them had a blade drawn and ready to cut him a million different ways.

Magic! I was tricked! thought the tactician pirate, utterly amazed that he could be so fooled. But where was the mage that pulled off this trick? His eyes darted around as he raised his arms in defeat. He saw a young man sitting on the demolished railing of Bloody Heathen, waving and grinning.

Aden was quite for a bit, in his circle of executioners. Then he spoke, firmly and steadily. "I wish to parley."

Groans and sheathing of weapons went about.

"Maaaaaaan!"

"I hate that fucking word!"

"That's Maar Sulais, isn't it?"

"Those fucks eat frogs, y'know."

A dark, swarthy Yamatian walked through the ring of Tigers, parting them like Jose did the Blue Sea. He threw his fists on his hips and declared, "I, Riang Wong, take you prisoner; the captain shall see you when he's done saving a ship. These fires won't allow for the time to talk now." He paused for a moment, seeming to judge his next words. "You fought well...Captain."

Aden nodded and sat guarded as soldiers and sailors rushed to deal with the threat of the fires. He noticed that, thankfully, a good deal of his men (maybe a quarter) were captured and alive, with others left to float in the water (of course some jumped ship; what are you to do some times?) 'til they surrendered or drowned.

***

Time passed by, fires were put out, a ship was sunk and the portions ripped off one were used to fix the other, and blah blah blah.

[Kossage]

All right, time to wrap this up so that we can get ready for the next chapter. Chronologically this takes place after Bleys's post.

The death of Ofuchi and getting the city gates open had been the turning points of the battle of Remonton. Most parts of the city had been captured relatively quickly, and although there were still some small pockets of resistance, they wouldn't hold out much longer. Even though the tairo and another councillor had died, the group which had been sent into the palace had succeeded in its mission by capturing the remaining councillors alive.

The leaders of the Grand Alliance had gathered at the boardroom of the Home Guard near the centre of the castle and had talked about what to do now that they finally had Remonton under their control. The bard Leon stated that he had one more quest to do and after explaining the situation he waited for the others to agree with his proposal to lead certain people to the Isle of Yggdrasil.

"I agree, my friend, and I hope you and Prince Geraud do what you must. We can't let the staff fall into evil hands, not now when we're so close to liberating Remon," the king said. "I wish I could go with you, but I'm needed here. We can talk more once you get back," Marcus stated. "Now that the docks of Ravensworth are ours, we'll be able to give you vessels which will take you to the island. Time is racing against us, and the sooner you get to the island, the better."

"It's settled, then," Aro, the dwarven king, said. "We still have Fragnar and its Yamatian militia to deal with, and there's the issue of where to travel after that. Also, who will become the temporary regent here when you leave this kingdom, my lord?"

"We need a wise leader to help us cement the friendship between the races. The elven king Amandil is old and experienced and thus suitable for this job," Marcus answered. "We should also leave behind some representatives, both men and dwarves, so that all races will have a foothold in the politics here and help Amandil guide Remon to a bright future."

Amandil nodded. "I thank you, my lord. As much as I would like to accompany you and your brave Fellowship to foreign lands, I understand that my work here will be as important as yours when you are out there restoring order. I will do everything I can to make Remon prosperous again."

Marcus turned to look at the other leaders. "If we leave enough regiments here, they'll be able to capture Fragnar and force the remaining Yamatians to surrender. I suggest we move to Maar Sul next," he said. "Kagetsu and Geraud helped us during our war here, so we should help them reclaim their homeland from Distreyd's forces. Once we control Maar Sul, it'll be easy for us to move on to either Libaterra or Aison."

Elphraim had a puzzled look on his face. "What about an expedition to Aison? We would be able to gain some valuable allies if we sent some scouts there to find out how many Aisonians are still fighting against the Yamatian occupation there."

Georges cleared his throat. "My lords, I think we should send a small team on a reconnaissance mission. It'd be preferable to have native Aisonians leading the group, because they know where to go and where they might find allies. Maybe people like Sir Hector, Sir Abel or René Iscariot could gather a group of skilled individuals and take them to Aison, because I'm sure they're familiar with the Aisonian landscape," he suggested.

Kagetsu nodded. "We just have to find people who are willing to go on such a daring mission, but we can worry about that later," he stated. "But what about Dante Albrigant? We had heard of him being in his tower, and once he finds out what has happened, he might take over the remaining Yamatians and plan a counterattack. He must be defeated, because we can't leave such a dangerous foe behind."

"There is still time to think things through, lords," Krisler reminded. "We have a good enough basic plan, and we can discuss more of this later once we have this city completely under our control. Dante will be taken care of one way or another."

Murmurs of approval could be heard, and the conversation ended - for now. There were many challenges the Grand Alliance would have to face, but its members were confident on being able to overcome anything as long as they worked together.

#

Refan knew he should've been happy now that Marcus and his army had captured the city, but yet he felt uneasy. He had seen his friends Scarecrow and Kage die. It wasn't just the deaths that troubled Refan but the fact that they could've stayed alive if the Shadow had never attacked. If the thief hadn't been involved in the mission, Kage and Scarecrow might still be alive, and Ax wouldn't have been hurt.

The thief looked at Ax who was lying on a bed. The wound she had was a nasty one, but she had survived. Now she just had to stay in bed for a while to fully recover from her injuries, and white mages used their spells to speed up the process.

Relief washed over Refan when he saw the warrior opening her eyes for the first time since the battle. "Hey there. Are you feeling any better?" he asked kindly, touching her hand.

Ax groaned when she tried to move, and Refan motioned that she should stay still. "I've been worse," Ax finally replied, giving a faint smile.

The thief smiled back. "You'll be glad to hear that it won't take long for you to recover. For a moment there I-- we thought you wouldn't make it, but you surprised us all," he stated.

"Well, you know me: I'm not going to give up easily," Ax said. "By the way, did anyone manage to capture the two mages who locked us in, forcing us to fight against the Shadow? They're Viirsa's merchant friend Shyralis and some guy named Izael."

Refan shook his head. "I'm afraid they got away during the battle, and no one found th--," he muttered but then stopped all of a sudden, and his eyes grew wide. "Did I hear the name 'Izael'?"

Ax's eyes narrowed as she noticed the change in Refan. "Yes, Shyralis introduced him to us. Does that name sound familiar to you?"

The thief hesitated a little but then nodded. "Yes, I know him: he's a dangerous cleric of Mardük. You might have seen him as a captive in the elven city in Folsworth Woods. If what you say is true, he has managed to escape and is working with that... Shyralis," he explained. It was better not to tell the whole story, and only revealing half of the truth would suffice for now.

"If Shyralis is working with him, could that mean that she's a cleric too?" Ax muttered mostly to herself. Refan managed to hear what she said and nodded.

"We may have more traitors in our ranks, so we should be careful. I'm sure the clergy has spies everwhere," the thief sighed. "Well, I appreciate what you told me, and now I know Izael is somewhere out there. I think I'll go and get something to eat now, because I hadn't eaten since I walked into this room some time yesterday. Viirsa should come here soon to take my place. We can talk more later."

"You stayed by my side all night long?" Ax asked, surprised.

Refan smiled as he stood up. "Well, that's what friends are for. And isn't the Fellowship one big family, after all? Anyway, there had been others here too, so I wasn't the only one who was worried about you," he replied softly and walked towards the door. Before he left the room, he turned to look at the woman one more time. "It's good to have you back, Ax." After saying that he moved out of the room and closed the door behind him.