The dark abyss that Subaru found himself trapped in, blurred through a wide variety of flickering images. Subaru’s restless spirit wandered through strange alien landscapes and beheld the lives of thousands of people. Most came and went too fast to even be appreciated, much less identified. Subaru sensed that he was briefly many different people, from all races and different walks of life. Some good, some evil, some both, some neither, but none that made any lasting impression on him.

Finally, Subaru felt the world take shape around him again.

Subaru found himself sitting in a huge tent that reminded him of Crusch’s command tent. Several men stood around him dressed in what looked like Roman Centurion uniforms.

Subaru still wasn’t in his own body, this body was taller and thinner. He wore a long purple cloak and a similar type of armor to the others although his was much more ornate. An jeweled diadem sat on his head.

“Imperator, the men are angry,” One said in a worried tone. “They are poised to mutiny. They haven’t been home in nearly two years and now that you’ve sent home the elderly and the cripples, the men are all demanding to go home.”

Subaru shook his head angrily. “After all that we’ve been through together, to see it come to this…”

“Lord Helios, it might be wiser to withdraw for the moment until the men calm down,” A gray haired veteran said.

Subaru gave the speaker a cold glare and the man bowed his head, blushing like a school boy that had been scolded.

“Is the platform built?” Subaru asked calmly.

“Yes, your majesty, but-” The first said.

“Then let us deal with this matter!” Subaru said decisively. He marched out of his tent with his officers hurriedly following after him.

Subaru marched through a huge camp reminiscent of Crusch’s army but far bigger. It was a veritable city of huge, elaborate tents.

Subaru realized that any number of people were all watching him as he marched through the camp. The many looks cast his way ranged from adoring to hostile, hopeful to fearful, but Subaru paid none of them any mind. A cold determination gripped his heart and drove him forward.

Subaru marched onto a crudely constructed wooden stage in the middle of the camp. Standing just outside the army camp was a field of towering metal statues that stood at least fifteen feet tall. They were shaped like powerfully built men with sharp faces and metal beards. As Subaru climbed on top of the stage, he saw the statues turn their heads and look at him with glowing cobalt eyes.

Those aren’t statues! Those are robots! Or… at least something similar. They probably work off magic rather than machinery but the idea is the same. Golems?

That is fucking amazing! What I wouldn’t give to take one of those apart and see what’s inside! What kind of machinery makes it run? How does the magic integrate with the machinery?

“Fall in!” Subaru roared.

The Roman-looking soldiers standing in the surrounding field began to approach. Some grumbled a bit but they obeyed. They all approached the platform. Some stood at attention and some turned their faces away. Many of the soldiers at attention were discretely watching their sullen comrades with concern. The reticent soldiers stood there with arms folded, looking up darkly at Subaru.

Subaru took a deep breath. “I want to begin by saying that my words are not intended to prevent any of you from returning home.”

The rebellious soldiers looked surprised.

“As far as I care,” Subaru continued, “You can go wherever you wish!”

The dark looks returned.

A lot of these men look ready to start trouble but my host is either unaware of it or he doesn’t care.

“But before you leave, I want you to know how I have treated each of you. And how you have all behaved towards me,” Subaru proclaimed. “When I found you, you were farmers and herdsmen, struggling to make your livelihood on the slopes of the mountains. Growing crops and raising animals that you could not protect. The barbarians came every year and it was always your homes that they burned, your food that they stole, your women they raped. Under my leadership, you have all gone from being slaves and chattel to becoming rulers over those very barbarians who once plundered your lands! Look at you now! Instead of herdsmen and farmers, you have begun living in cities! With good laws and good customs to govern you!”

Subaru scowled down at the soldiers who had now given him their undivided attention. Even the formerly rebellious men were rapt. “The Easternlings! They used to terrify you! Well, we rule them now. The Southern Hordes, who were always looking for any excuse to come to your lands and loot and plunder? Today, they no longer demand tribute from you but depend upon us for their protection!”

Subaru shook his head, his expression twisted with disapproval and disgust. “All of this was great enough on its own, but small compared to what you have gained from me during this campaign!”

The soldiers began to look at one another uncertainly.

“We took Ionia and Miletus by siege! We defeated the great satraps of the Aegeus. The rest of the lands surrendered willingly and all of their wealth became yours! At your feet have been laid the gold of Tyrei and the jewels of Taocs. And yet some of you accuse me of hoarding the riches that should rightly be yours.”

Subaru paused and glowered down at the the soldiers.

Subaru spread his arms wide. “Where are these riches, then?! What do you accuse me of withholding from you? What have I held back for myself aside from this purple cloak and crown? Nothing!” Subaru roared.

The soldiers were silent, looking up at Subaru in awe.

“Nothing!” Subaru repeated with contempt. “No man can point to my riches, only to the things that I hold in trust for each of you!” Subaru pointed accusingly at the soldiers.

The soldiers bit their lips and started to fidget like school boys being scolded.

Subaru leaped down from the stage, walking heedlessly among the army of heavily armed men. “And what would I do with wealth, anyway?!” Subaru demanded. “I eat what you eat!” He snapped in a soldier’s face. The soldier flinched back. “I get no more rest than you!” Subaru snarled to another soldier who looked terrified. “Many are the nights that I have stood the watch, so that each of you could sleep soundly!” Subaru whirled around to face the soldiers, his face livid.

Several soldiers visibly flinched back.

Subaru raised his chin imperiously. “Who among you thinks that he’s worked harder for me than I have for him?” Subaru demanded, looking all the soldiers in the eye.

The men looked at one another guiltily.

“If you have scars, strip and show them to me! I’ll show you mine!” Subaru said defiantly. “There isn’t one part of my body that doesn’t bear a wound. And yet here I am, still leading you as conqueror of land and sea. As the Emperor that foreign potentates have openly begged to come and promise them protection against their terrible foes! When I found you, you were not knights or soldiers but herdsmen and farmers! I trained you to be warriors and heroes of the land. When men questioned if peasants could endure the rage of war, I defended you! I told them that these men will endure any hardship and face any foe to ensure the safety of their homes and families!”

The soldiers trembled.

Subaru shook his head in disgust. “I have cared for you as though you were my own sons! I’ve paid off your debts, without asking you how you got them, although you’re all paid well enough and you pillage every town that we take! Many of you wear golden laurels, badges of courage and valor gifted to you by me! Any one of us who died in battle, we buried with full honors! Many of them now stand immortalized in our country by bronze statutes. Their families are honored and pay no taxes in tribute of their sacrifice. Under my command, not one man has been killed for fleeing the enemy or for cowardice in battle! And now, I want to send some of you back, who have become crippled or grown old in my service, to be welcomed home as heroes. But since you all wish to go, then I say to all of you: Go!” Subaru pointed imperiously into the distance.

The very air in front of them ripped wide open and a hole appeared in thin air that led to another place. Through the portal, Subaru beheld the distant vision of a wondrous city of polished stone and metal.

“Go back and tell the people that your Emperor, conqueror of the barbarian tribes, who marched over the Inari Kush and the kingdom of Mercia, who crossed into the desert of Valeria where no man had ever led an army, I’d have crossed the Stygian River as well if you hadn’t all cowered in fear at the sight of a few savages! When you get home, tell them that you abandoned your Emperor and left him under the protection of the very foreigners that you conquered! That you left him alone with only the IronBorn giants that I crafted for your protection! Perhaps this report of yours will seem glorious in the eyes of men and worthy in the eyes of the Gods!”

Subaru glowered at his men for a moment. Their fury had been quenched and these mighty veterans trembled like children, filled with shame and guilt.

“Be gone!” Subaru proclaimed, leaving his stage and marching back to his tent as the men murmured guiltily behind him.

Subaru was followed by his officers who were also murmuring.

God! That was an amazing speech! Hell, if he pointed at me right now, I’d be ready to pick up a sword and start marching. This guy turned a group of mutinous soldiers into cowering little boys. They all seem ready to beg for his forgiveness. This guy is unbelievable! Who is he?!

I’ve never heard of any of the places he mentioned. Is this the old world? The ancient world that existed before the Witch of Envy destroyed most of it? How far back am I? Is this man also the wielder of the Authority of Pride? He seems to have the power to create portals with a gesture. That is freaking amazing!

And he claims that he built those Golems? God, I wish I could sit down and talk with this guy for a few hours!

The whole world broke apart under his feet and Subaru fell screaming into the black void once again.

Subaru opened his eyes and realized that he was throwing up.

He bolted upright in bed, desperately looking for something to vomit into. Luckily, Anri was standing ready with a bucket in her arms.

Subaru bent double as he spewed into the bucket, not food but a thick, black sludge. His stomach cramped horribly as it tried to force the nauseating substance out of his body.

The sludge was thick as bread dough and Subaru’s muscles ached as they slowly squeezed it out of his body.

Finally, Subaru was done and he fell back on the bed, gasping for breath.

Wow. Now I know how a tube of toothpaste feels…

Anri held a bucket full of rancid smelling black sludge that was streaked with red. She looked both impressed and disgusted by the quantity that Subaru had regurgitated.

Anri gingerly carried the bucket away, trying not to spill a drop of the foul substance. Subaru noticed uncomfortably that whatever he’d thrown up appeared to be congealing like wet cement.

“Where am I?” He asked weakly as Anri walked to a nearby window and simply dumped the disgusting mess into the bushes. It made a heavy thud when it hit the ground.

“You’re in Iruk,” A beautiful woman said, looking down at Subaru with disdain.

“Who are you?”

“My name is Victoire,” She said shortly. “I’m the most amazing woman in Gusteko if not the entire world.”

Subaru squinted at her. “Are you kidding me with that?” He asked incredulously.

Victoire scowled at him and left the room without a word.

Anri sighed. “You’re not at your brightest, first thing in the morning, are you?” Anri said, matter-of-fact.

Subaru coughed. “Sorry, it’s been a long couple of days,” He sighed, trying to sit up.

“Are you feeling any better?” She asked, sitting down on the bed beside him.

Subaru slowly caught his breath. “I… don’t know,” He said honestly.

Anri shook her head. “I’ve never seen a person so contaminated by witchcraft, much less one who lived. The Black Water got you bad, Subaru.”

Yeah. It was all the Black Water that contaminated me… There was no other witchcraft in me whatsoever.

Subaru frowned for a moment and triggered Reason and Judgment.

Anri froze in place.

Hm. Interesting. Whatever was wrong with your ability seems to have addressed itself. Your power is restored. That’s one fewer problem to worry about.

A worried voice whispered from the depths of Subaru’s mind. Wait. What if the Authority really is damaging me like Mili said? What if my body was just too fragile to use it anymore and Reason and Judgment being disabled was my own body trying somehow to protect me?

There is absolutely no evidence of any of that, The other voice immediately dismissed. This is your power. The Authority submitted itself to you. There is no reason whatsoever to conclude that it’s inherently toxic. Remember, even something like working out will increase the toxic byproducts in your muscles. This is a simple function of getting stronger. You overused the Authority at the slaver’s camp and battling the Black Water so you required medical attention due to that overuse. What dedicated athlete has not similarly over-trained at one point or another? Your body has recovered and is doubtlessly now stronger than ever. There’s no cause to worry about this any further.

Over time, you and the Authority shall become increasingly well-suited to one another. After all, what well-tailored raiment need not be fitted to he who wears it?

Subaru exited Reason and Judgment feeling reassured but a thin seed of doubt lay in his mind.

Fitted to the wearer? Maybe… but who’s wearing who?

Anri continued to speak, unable to notice the pause. “You came within inches of dying.”

Subaru sighed as he finally pulled himself upright on the bed. “I seem to be doing that a lot,” Subaru admitted.

Subaru glanced at his left side and gasped. His left arm was shriveled and stunted, the skin a burnt orange. Subaru had never been muscular but now his left arm was nothing but skin and bones. It almost looked like the arm of a twelve year old boy.

Subaru tried to move it and discovered that while he could still move the arm, it seemed to have barely any strength.

Anri winced. “It’s really not as bad as it looks,” Anri said soothingly.

Subaru looked at her in shock. “It almost couldn’t be, could it?!” He asked incredulously.

Anri sighed. “A lot of your muscle tissue was destroyed but the basic muscle fibers are still sound. Your arm should recover its strength pretty quickly. Just keep exercising it, eat plenty of meat, and don’t put it under too much strain. I gave it some healing magic and I’ll give you more tonight. You should be back to normal in a day or two.”

Subaru stared at his arm and just shook his head in disbelief.

Anri held out a bundle to him. “Your clothes,” She prompted.

Subaru suddenly realized that he was sitting naked in front of Anri and turned bright red.

He grabbed his robe and quickly pulled it over him, giving himself some privacy. Then he started to pull on his pants and shirt under it.

“Where’s Emilia?” He asked.

Anri glanced away and looked uncomfortable.

Subaru swallowed hard.

“Hey,” She said slowly. “Come with me.”

Subaru followed Anri down the hall and into another bedroom. And in the bed…

“Emilia!” Subaru shouted, springing to her bedside.

Emilia was unconscious. Her face was deathly pale and her stomach had been tightly bandaged. Subaru might have thought that she was dead except for the shallow movement of her chest.

Subaru knelt beside her and desperately grabbed her hand. It was ice cold.

Subaru squeezed his eyes tightly shut. He took a deep breath. “What happened here?” He growled.

Anri gave Subaru a pained look. “Alright. So my real name is Princess Kai-”

“I don’t fucking care!” Subaru said flatly. “What happened to Emilia?”

Anri looked momentarily shocked at being spoken to this way but she simply bowed her head. Anri looked helpless and ashamed. “Emilia… was wounded in battle. She fell protecting all of us from a terrible foe.”

“Who?!” Subaru demanded.

Anri sighed. “Elsa Granhiert. The Bowel Hunter.”

“Elsa?!” Subaru gasped in horror. “Then this wound-”

“Is poisoned,” Anri interrupted, her voice careworn. “Left untreated, it will not heal.”

Subaru clapped a hand over his mouth.

Oh my God. How did I let this happen?! I was sleeping like a baby while Emilia was attacked!

Subaru took a slow ragged breath. “Where did she go?” He hissed.

Anri blinked. “Huh? Where did who go?” Anri asked in confusion.

“Elsa. I’m going to run her down and I will make her talk,” Subaru grated. “If there’s an antidote for her poisons, she must know what it is.”

“Subaru,” Anri said. “Elsa Granhiert is dead. Emilia won the fight and she killed the Bowel Hunter.”

Subaru stared at Anri in shock.

“Mili fought to protect all of us!” Anri assured him. “She won a battle against a villain that has murdered hundreds! Emilia is a hero, Subaru!”

Do you really think that’s what I want to hear right now, you little idiot?!

Oh my God. What if Emilia actually…

“If Elsa is dead…” Subaru whispered. “Then that means that there’s no one who can tell us what the antidote is…”

No. I can’t think like that.

I can do this. I can do this.

Think. Those healers in the capitol saved me and my cut was a lot bigger than Emilia’s is.

I just need to find those healers and learn what they did.

Shit! I don’t know who any of them were! I never asked Reinhard and he certainly won’t be willing to tell me now!

“We actually do know an antidote,” Anri said, cutting off Subaru’s panicking thoughts.

“You do?!” Subaru asked, grabbing her shoulders and staring her in the face.

Anri nodded awkwardly, looking uncomfortable with Subaru’s nearness. “We do but… we’re having trouble finding the ingredients.”

“What ingredients?” Subaru demanded.

Anri sighed. “We have everything that we need except for wyvern oil.”

“Wyvern oil?” Subaru repeated. “We need to get that to heal Emilia?! Where are we going to find a wyvern?! Does anyone sell the oil?”

Anri had a helpless expression on her face. “I don’t know! The type of poison that Elsa uses is mostly only used by mercenaries so civilian pharmacies never see the need to carry the antidote or its ingredients.”

“Alright, what about military supplies?” Subaru demanded.

Anri nodded. “Yeah, they’d have it. I could requisition some from Siros but I’ve got no way to get back there! Siros is under attack right now and I’m deep in enemy territory.”

Subaru shook his head. “Fine! What territory are we in right now?”

“Sanshi. I know that the local Sanshi garrison would have the oil-”

“Perfect. I’m going to go and borrow some oil from them!” Subaru asserted, walking out of the room. “Keep Emilia safe until I get back.”

Anri gaped at Subaru and then hurried after him. “Subaru, you can’t be serious!”

Subaru turned to glare at her. “Do I look like I’m serious?” He said in a deathly quiet voice.

Anri shook her head in disbelief. “Subaru, they will never give you the oil just because you ask! And I can’t order them to cooperate with you because they’re my enemies!”

Subaru bared his teeth. “Then it’s your lucky day, Anri, because I may need to convince your enemies of the urgency of my quest!” Subaru snapped.

Anri stared at Subaru incredulously.

“Anri, where can I find an army camp?” He asked, opening doors in the hallway and looking for the exit.

Anri bit her lip. “You can just follow the river north. It will lead you to an army camp,” Anri said uncertainly. “Patrasche is tied up right outside the church.”

“Great!” Subaru said through clenched teeth.

Subaru and Anri entered the kitchen where Victoire sat at the table. Victoire glowered at Subaru.

Anri hesitated. Then she sighed. “Subaru, I’m going to go with you.”

“What?! No fucking way!” Victoire shouted.

“Yes, I am!” Anri yelled back. “Emilia has saved my life twice now, once at significant risk to her own! I am going to heal her!”

“Princess,” Victoire said, clearly fighting for patience. “The elf-witch-”

“Call her that again, Victoire,” Subaru whispered in a deadly tone.

Victoire glowered at him, showing no fear at all, then turned back toward Anri. “-Fought to save this jackass! She wasn’t trying to protect you! You don’t owe her a fucking thing!”

“My heart says otherwise,” Anri said firmly. “Stay here, Victoire. Keep dosing Emilia with that blood replenishing draught. That will buy us a little time while we locate the oil. You ready, Subaru?”

Subaru glared at Victoire and strongly considered hurting her. Then he dismissed it as a waste of time. “Anri, why don’t you stay here. You can take better care of Em-”

“I’m going with you, Subaru,” Anri said firmly, picking her rapier off the kitchen counter and buckling it around her waist.

Subaru sighed. “Fine. Do you actually know how to use that sword?” He asked as they left the church and walked out into the early afternoon air.

“Yeah. I’m actually pretty good with it. Not that it matters much right now. I have a broken arm, remember?”

“Great. I’m taking a cripple into a potential fight,” Subaru muttered as they approached Patrasche.

“Yeah, well your arm looks to be no great shakes at the moment either, you know,” Anri muttered.

Subaru glared at her. Anri folded her ‘arm’ across her chest and looked back defiantly.

Subaru sighed and keep walking.

The dragon was tied up to the fence outside the church. As soon as Patrasche saw Subaru she perked up and started clucking with great excitement. She pulled as close to Subaru as her reins allowed. The moment that Subaru got in range she began to nuzzle him.

“Yeah, it’s good to see you too, girl,” Subaru muttered in a tired voice. “I’m glad that you’re alright. Have you been fed today?”

“Yeah, I took care of that,” Anri answered.

“Great,” Subaru said, untying Patrasche.

Subaru tried to pick up her saddle but immediately dropped it. His left arm just wouldn’t cooperate.

With one arm, Subaru struggled to pick up the saddle and place it onto Patrasche. He reached down to clinch it but without his hand on it, the saddle started to slide of.

Subaru made a desperate grab for it and caught the saddle but he knew that if he let go it would slide off again.

He stood there wondering what to do.

Anri sighed. “You hold, I’ll tighten,” She muttered, kneeling down.

Subaru nodded with a long sigh. “This mission is off to a great start. We only have two good arms between us!”

“Yeah,” Anri replied. “If we have time on this trip, maybe we can go out and buy a pair of gloves.”

Subaru shook his head and almost chuckled as Anri tied the saddle.

“Alright,” Anri said, straightening up. “That ought to do it.”

Subaru struggled with only one arm but he managed to pull himself up into the saddle.

Subaru looked down at Anri and bit his lip. “Maybe you should come over to this side,” He gestured toward his good arm. “That way I can help pull you up.”

Anri rolled her eyes. “I’m fine!” She muttered. She set her foot in the stirrup and quickly climbed up.

“Ow!” Subaru shouted. “You crushed my toes!”

“Come on! Don’t be such a baby!” Anri snapped back, settling behind Subaru on the dragon.

Subaru growled at her and shook his head. He nudged Patrasche forward. “Alright, where are we going-” Subaru actually looked at the village for the first time and his eyes widened.

Every house in the village was covered in a sheet of ice a foot thick. It was clear that great effort can gone into knocking holes around the doors and windows. Gigantic icicles like tree trunks jutted from the ground pointing up at the sky. The center of town was covered in a field of delicate, beautiful frost flowers.

A few of the locals were gathered outside and they pointed fearfully at Subaru and Anri.

“What the fuck happened here?!” Subaru demanded.

“Emilia happened,” Anri said shortly.

Subaru scowled. “Oh, this is just great! Word is going to get around about this real fucking fast!”

“Oh, you think?” Anri asked mockingly. “That’s why we should hurry up and find the antidote for your lover so that we can all get the hell out of here,” Anri added meaningfully.

Subaru sighed. “I don’t think that we have that kind of time,” Subaru muttered. “Can Emilia be moved safely?”

Anri thought for a moment. “Yeah. I mean, within reason. We can’t bump her around in a dragon saddle. The few wounds that she’s managed to mend will reopen.”

“So we need to use a wagon,” Subaru replied.

“I don’t have-”

“I’ll go shopping. Someone in the village must have one,” Subaru replied.

Anri nodded slowly. “Alright, I’ll start packing everything up then. Since an assassin showed up here, I’m guessing that House Griest knows all about this place. That means that we probably can’t ever come back here anyway. We should grab anything useful that we can carry. We have enough Blood Replenishing potion to last us several days if I bottle it. I’ll pack whatever medicinal herbs I can too.”

“Sounds good,” Subaru replied. “I’ll find us a wagon and see if I can buy some food.”

“Subaru, are you planning to take her back to… there?” Anri asked meaningfully.

Subaru shrugged. “It’s the only safe place that I can think of right now.”

Anri nodded. “OK,” She walked back into the church.

Subaru found the town’s only store without much effort. It was really just a large house with lots of produce set out on the spacious front porch.

The house was covered in a coat of ice. Subaru got the impression that the food had only been set out this morning out of a desperate need for normalcy at any cost. The unnatural weather that had struck the village was staggering and people were clamoring for anything that reminded them of more peaceful times.

The area in front of the store was crowded with people who were all talking nervously. As Subaru approached, they all dispersed, pulling away from him.

This is weird. I wonder what tipped them off that I’m with Emilia. Maybe they saw me exit the church with Anri?

The only one left on the porch was a trembling old woman in a shopkeeper’s apron.

“Do you belong to that witch?!” She squeaked.

Subaru glowered at her. “I just want to buy some food,” He said, ignoring her question.

“Take whatever you want but please don’t hurt us!” She replied, shrinking back.

Subaru had to restrain himself from slapping the old woman as he gathered three small bags of food that lay on the ground in front of the porch. It was a large handful to carry, especially with only one arm, and Subaru struggled to juggle it all as he reached into his money pouch and pulled out three golden coins.

This has got to be at least ten times the price of these food bags but I don’t have any smaller coins. Besides, we did kind of… mess up their village.

Subaru extended his hand to the woman with the gold coins in it, careful not to approach any closer.

The old woman stared at him and shook her head. “Please just leave. We have nothing you or the witch could want. Please just go away,” She whimpered.

Subaru’s face twisted in contempt and he let the gold coins fall into the mud at his feet.

Then he turned on his heel and stalked away.

An older man spat on the ground. “That witch wrecked our village. She broke our houses and froze our homes! Are we really going to let her and her cultists get away with this?”

“Do you want to be the one to try and stop them?” Another villager grumbled.

The old man looked awkward. “The soldiers are already on their way. All we need to do is stall them for a bit and then the soldiers can take care of them.”

The old woman looked down at the three gold coins that lay in soft mud in front of her. This was nearly the equivalent of a full month’s sales. She hesitantly reached out for the coins.

A tall man quickly grabbed her wrist. “Martha! Are you crazy? The witch will have put a curse on those coins! They’ll make your whole body putrefy or turn you into a box elder, like as not.”

Martha sighed. “True,” She said reluctantly.

Martha quietly pushed the three coins deep into the soft, muddy earth and then covered them up with dirt.

As he walked back toward the church, Subaru found an old man wearing a straw hat and chewing on a piece of grass, sitting in a rickety old wagon.

“Hey, how much for your wagon?” Subaru asked.

“It’s not for sale, ‘specially not to the likes of you. I’ll have no truck with Witch Cultists.”

Subaru drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I need a wagon. Five gold coins for it.”

The old man looked at him thoughtfully as he chewed the grass. “Ten,” He said flatly.

Subaru rolled his eyes. “Done,” He growled, holding out the coins.

The man took the coins. “Pleasure doing business with ya!” The old man said sarcastically. He spat on the ground as he walked away.

I feel a strong urge to smash this old man against the wall and break him open like a rotten fruit…

Subaru took a moment to master his temper. Then he whistled for Patrasche.

The black dragon came racing up to Subaru quickly. However, when she saw the wagon, she recoiled.

She gave Subaru a look of such incredulous betrayal that he almost laughed.

“I’m sorry, girl,” Subaru said, rubbing her face. “It’s an emergency.”

The dragon sighed, not looking especially mollified but she tolerated Subaru harnessing her to the wagon.

Subaru drove the wagon back to the church and climbed out.

He went to enter the church when Patrasche interrupted him with an anxious cluck.

Subaru smiled and patted her head. “Sorry girl, can’t unharness you yet. We’ve got a ways to go.”

The dragon sighed. Subaru stood for a moment, stroking the aggrieved dragon. He found that he could hear raised voices inside the Church.

Subaru entered the church. He walked into the kitchen and straight into an argument.

“Abso-fucking-lutely not, Princess! No way in hell! You can’t just go and attack a Sanshi-

“And perhaps I wouldn’t have had to if you hadn’t done that!” Anri said in a clipped tone.

“Oh, fuck me, Princess!” Victoire protested. “What was I supposed to do?! Die for a witch?!”

“She is not a witch. Moreover there is almost no chance that you would have died from your wound,” Anri said coldly. “But that’s neither here nor there. Now we need to go find more medicine.”

“Let him do it, Princess! Being around him just puts you in more danger! Let the little cocksucker go off with his elf and find the cure! We need to get out of here! You associating with those two is not doing you any good!”

“I’m not so certain. Ignoring my debt to them, I actually think that we might get a lot out of it. Beyond that, we will be leaving immediately,” Anri replied. “But we are going to the army camp for medicine. You are going to go to the dropbox and deliver the missives-”

“Oh fuck, no!” Victoire protested immediately. “I’m your last remaining bodyguard! You’re not going without me-”

“You have to go, Victoire!” Anri said forcefully. “When he finds out what you did, he will kill you!”

Victoire snorted. “Believe me, Princess, I can handle that prick. I may very well be the most amazing person that you’ll ever meet!”

Anri rolled her eyes. “Under any other circumstances, your ego would make me laugh but not right now.”

“Princess, I can not fucking let you to do this! You’ve already been through at least three assassination attempts on this trip! Now you want to just go off and wander the country side unescorted?!”

“‘Let?’” Anri repeated in a dangerous tone. “Victoire, you are one of my family’s Shadows. That mean that you are under my authority. You will follow my instructions.”

“Princess, I know for a motherfucking fact that your uncle and grandpa would be shitting bricks if they knew that you were doing this!” Victoire said firmly.

Anri glared at her coldly. “My grandfather is the Patriarch,” Anri said very formally. “He reigns over the Church, not over me. My uncle is Regent. He does not wear the crown. I do! I intend to repay my debt to Lady Emilia by curing her of this poisoning. I will depart with Subaru. You will deliver the missives I wrote to the Shadow network as I have instructed. Our safe-house here is no longer secure and all the Shadows must be made aware of this. My uncle and grandfather must also be appraised of our status. You will attend to these matters and I will meet you at the safe-house near Stoneybrooke in a few days.”

Victoire looked aghast. “Come on, Princess, at the very least, let me fucking come with you! You can’t just waltz off into danger all alone!”

“I won’t be alone,” Anri replied. “I’ll have Subaru and Emilia with me.”

Victoire slapped her forehead. “So you’re going off into danger with a mother-fucking elf in a comma and a skinny, pasty, little runt, who looks like he’d need to get naked just to count to twenty one! You think thats going to make me feel better?!” Victoire sounded like the mere thought disgusted her.

Subaru clenched his fists.

“Enough,” Anri said formally. “Your feelings are not my primary concern as long as a friend of mine is currently in critical condition. I do not care to discuss this matter further. You have been given your instructions. Carry them out.”

Victoire stood there for a moment looking livid then she turned and walked out of the church with a set of letters folded under her arm.

She looked murderously at Subaru as she passed by him. Subaru returned the glare.

Victoire closed the door on her way out.

Anri sank into a chair, looking exhausted.

“Trouble with the household staff?” Subaru asked, struggling to sound flippant and not succeeding.

Anri sighed. “The Shadows are completely loyal to House Ithil but they don’t take orders very well. They’re expected to have a large degree of independence and act on their own initiative so it’s sometimes hard to rein them in,” She said, dropping her formal tone.

“You want me to slap her around a little?” Subaru offered, only half kidding.

Anri shook her head. “No. She’ll do what she was told now. I’ll meet her in Stoneybrooke once Emilia is better. Besides, I know how sensitive you and Emilia are about people knowing that you’re staying in that village so I couldn’t let her come with us anyway.”

Subaru raised an eyebrow. “Well, thanks.”

“Did you find a wagon?”

“Yeah. And some food.”

“Perfect. I’ve packed all the medicine and anything else I could find.”

“Great. I’ll help you carry all the stuff into the wagon. We’ll move Emilia last.”

Despite working with only two arms between them, Anri and Subaru packed the wagon quickly.

Finally, Subaru and Anri worked together to carry Emilia out of bed and into the wagon. They laid her down carefully in the wagon, swaddled in blankets and cushions.

Subaru gently stroked her hair but she didn’t respond.

“Alright,” Subaru sighed. “Let’s get out of here.”

“You’re not going anywhere,” A tall man with a long face called.

Subaru looked up and realized that the cart was being surrounded by villagers with bared teeth. The villagers were carrying pitchforks, shovels, pickaxes and any other weapons that they could find.

Anri drew herself up as straight as she could. “Please listen to me. We have no quarrel with you,” She said in a loud clear voice. “We were just leaving anyway. Simply let us depart in peace and you will never see us again.”

“And what? All’s forgiven, just like that?” The man demanded. “What about the damage to our homes?”

The crowd shouted angrily in agreement.

Subaru thought about it. They do have a point, I guess… “I could offer you gold in compensation,” He suggested.

The man didn’t even seem to hear him. “What about the crops that failed last year?”

Subaru blinked. “What the hell does that have to do with us?”

“Did your witch put a curse on our crops?! What about Meg’s baby that died of the pox last season? Did the witch steal her life?”

Subaru scowled. “Now you’re just being ridiculous,” Subaru said coldly.

“You two aren’t going anywhere!” The man shouted. “The authorities are on their way and they’ll deal with you witches and cultists good and proper.”

The crowd growled their agreement.

Subaru closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

More than anything, he wanted to just unload all of his rage and frustration on these villagers. But he knew in his heart that, despite their ignorant attitudes, these peasants were innocent of what had happened to Emilia.

But he still wanted to smash them into pieces. He held back by sheer willpower.

“I’d like to raise a small question if you don’t mind,” He said in a barely controlled voice. “What exactly makes you think that threatening a witch and her cultists is the smart thing to do?”

The crowd was dead silent.

The tall man seemed momentarily nonplussed. Then he said, “We ain’t afraid of you!”

“Really? Because you don’t sound very convincing,” Subaru said, his voice like ice.

The man bit his lip. “Your witch is out cold!”

The crowd rumbled in agreement, their voices threatening.

Subaru’s eyes narrowed dangerously. He reached over to Anri and deftly drew the startled girl’s rapier.

The crowd muttered in fear and drew back.

Subaru swung the rapier through the air where it made a chill whistle. “Listen to me very carefully,” Subaru said in a deathly whisper. All eyes focused on him. “This woman is the only thing that I have left in this entire world. She is everything to me. If you want to try and take her away from me, you’re going to have to do it the hard way.”

Subaru walked slowly toward the crowd and they started to stumble backwards, tripping over each other as they hurried to get out of his way. “Is there anyone here foolish enough to try their strength against mine?” Subaru whispered. “Honestly, after the week from hell that I’ve had, dealing with you wretches would be fucking therapeutic. Would anyone like to challenge me? Anyone at all?”

The crowd shrank back from Subaru, trembling.

He stared them down with an icy expression for a long moment.

None of the villagers seemed willing to make the first move.

Subaru shook her head. “Wise choice,” He murmured, climbing onto the wagon where he was quickly joined by Anri.

Subaru snapped the reins and Patrasche started pulling the wagon out of the village.

Anri surreptitiously looked behind them. “They’re not following us.”

“Good,” Subaru grumbled. His rage, having been awoken by the villagers was slow to go back to sleep. He handed Anri her rapier. “Although, honestly, I do wish that I’d been able to knock at least a few of them around. At the moment, I have a fuck-ton of pent up rage and there’s nothing I can do with it…”

Anri gave him a sympathetic look.

Subaru sighed. “Alright, so I don’t know the way back to the village from here. I’m guessing that you don’t either so we’ll have to take the long way around and go back through Rixum. I know the way to the village from there.”

Anri’s expression was pained. “Subaru, I’ve been thinking. That’s not going to work,” Anri said reluctantly.

Subaru waved her objection aside. “Look, we won’t go through Rixum. We’ll just go near it and pick up the forest trail there. I don’t want to get jumped by the locals again any more than you do.”

“No! What I mean is, we need to find the antidote for Emilia.”

“I know that,” Subaru said, trying not to growl and mostly failing. “We’ll leave Emilia in the village where she’ll be safe and then go search for the cure.”

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you! That won’t work!” Anri snapped. “Emilia is stable but she’s not out of danger. We can leave her alone for an hour or two while we go to try to find the antidote but we can’t leave her alone for a whole day! We’ll have to take her with us while we go to find the antidote.”

“What?!” Subaru demanded.

Anri shrugged. “That’s just the way it is. Don’t kill the messenger.”

Subaru let out a long hiss. “Fine. Which way are we going to find that army camp?” He grumbled.

“You want to head northwest from here. Follow the river,” Anri answered.

Subaru pulled the reins and Patrasche did as instructed.

“Alright,” Subaru grumbled. “Catch me up to speed. What did I miss while I was asleep?”

Anri shrugged. “Honestly, I think you already know most of the details,” Anri answered. “You were poisoned by the Black Water and we needed to go somewhere that I could make the antidote. Iruk was the closest place that my family had a safe-house so we went there.”

“Your family?” Subaru grumbled.

Anri sighed. “My real name is Kairei vas Sirosse an Ithil.”

Subaru waited but Anri didn’t continue. “Cool. That’s a real nice name, Anri, or Kairei, or whoever the hell you are, but it doesn’t mean a whole lot to me.”

Anri grumbled something under her breath. “Call me ‘Anri!’ And the point is that I’m the Princess of Siros.”

“Neat,” Subaru said shortly.

Anri glowered at him. “Subaru. Are you trying to be difficult?”

“No, I’m just not impressed!” Subaru shot back. “I’ve spent the past two months with nobility of all kinds. I even had a title myself for a bit. That means I know exactly how meaningless titles really are!”

Anri fumed. “Believe me, I completely agree with you about that but do you want to know what happened to Emilia or would you rather keep taking cheap shots at me?”

Subaru didn’t answer right away. Finally, he let out a sigh that sounded more like a growl. “Alright, talk! I’ll listen. Why do you have a safe-house in Iruk?”

Anri sighed. “OK, so my family has an organization called the Shadows. They guard the Grand Archives and they work as spies and infiltrators and occasionally assassins. Because of this intelligence network, my family has safe-houses all over Gusteko and even some in the southern kingdoms. They’re used by operatives to meet up, resupply, and hide out. Grandfather taught me where most of the safe-houses were, in case I ever needed to use one.”

“And you needed one on this trip?” Subaru asked.

Anri rolled her eyes. “Did I ever! House Griest is trying to kill me to improve their chances of taking the Holy Throne. Not to mention ending my line and claiming our lands. My party and I were ambushed on our way back from a conference in Pardochel. Beyond that, House Griest has laid siege to my lands. I was trying to get to Iruk to sync up with whatever Shadows had escaped the massacre and then try to get home. Unfortunately, it looks like Victoire was the only survivor…”

Anri looked off into the distance sadly for a moment. Then she took a deep breath and shook her hear. “Anyway, I knew that we had medicine here so when you were poisoned, Emilia and I brought you here to nurse you back to health. It was going well until Elsa showed up…”

Subaru trembled violently and then started biting off sulfurous curses under his breath.

Anri stared at him in concern. “Subaru, what are you doing?”

“Nothing!” He snapped. “What happened then?”

Anri frowned. “Victoire was injured in the fight but Emilia fought off Elsa,” Anri said slowly. “She managed to kill the Bowel Hunter but she took a bad wound in return.”

“Wait, Victoire was injured? Why isn’t she bleeding out then?”

Anri didn’t respond.

“Anri,” Subaru growled.

She sighed. “We only had a single dose of the antidote. I was going to gamble that half a dose each would save their lives. But by the time I got back to the church with Emilia… Victoire had drunk the entire dose…”

Subaru trembled like a restless volcano. “Brilliant! Really fucking spectacular! I knew I should have ripped that sanctimonious bitch apart when I had the chance!”

“Please, don’t. She’s the only Shadow I have left,” Anri sighed. “Look, I know that what she did was real scummy but what did you want her to do?!” Anri demanded. “Accept that she needed to die so that I could save Emilia?!”

“Well, it certainly would have made my life a whole lot easier!” Subaru shouted.

“Oh, give me a break, Subaru!” Anri said flatly. “Look we still have plenty of time. Emilia won’t be in critical condition for at least a couple of days as long as keep medicating her with the Blood Replenishing Potion every few hours. If we give her the antidote in that amount of time, she’ll be fine.”

Subaru growled. “You better be right about all this.”

“Is that a threat, Subaru?” Anri asked quietly.

“What do you think?!”

“Fuck off, Subaru!” Anri spat. “I’ve had just about all that I’m going to take today from a selfish, spoiled brat like you! I’m here to help you make a cure for Emilia because I care about her not because I give a rat’s ass about you! It’s obvious that you just need a person to be angry at right now and you’ve picked me, when the people that you’re really angry at are Elsa and yourself!”

Subaru stiffened and bit his lip.

He couldn’t think of a way to respond so Subaru turned his head and focused all of his attention on following the twisting river that was leading them north.

“Look, Subaru,” Anri said in a more conciliatory voice. “Emilia getting hurt wasn’t your fault.”

Subaru snorted. “How was any of this not my fault? The only reason that we were in Iruk in the first place was because I was dumb enough to let the Black Water grab me in a fight. And then I was sleeping like a baby while my fiancee was fighting for her life!”

Anri raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Actually, you were near death and recovering from an almost mortal wound,” Anri replied.

Subaru barely heard her. “I can’t believe that I let this happen. These past few weeks have been all my fault.”

“Wait, how does that work?” Anri said in confusion. “Emilia didn’t tell me about anything like that.”

Subaru sighed. “Because of me, everyone wants Emilia dead. Her own father was ready to kill her because he thought that Emilia put a spell on me. Now it seems like the whole world is after her. This includes two Great Spirits, the Sword Saint, and the entire Lagunican army! None of these people would consider the rumors of a witch hiding out in the forest to be worth their attention if it wasn’t for her association with me! I’m putting Emilia in danger just by being with her!”

Anri frowned, trying to follow Subaru’s reasoning.

Subaru bowed his head. “Emilia told me to leave her yesterday,” Subaru whispered.

Anri nodded. “I know. She told me about that. She felt terrible about that fight…”

“I was furious,” Subaru muttered, not really listening. “After everything that we’d been through together, she wanted me to leave! I couldn’t take it. Without Emilia, I didn’t even know what I would do with myself. Since almost the day that we met, I wanted to build my entire life around her. If she wanted to leave me, I’d have nothing left. I was terrified when she told me to leave. I said… horrible things to her,” He whimpered. “But she was right. If I hadn’t been with her, none of this would have happened. She’d be safest if I would just leave her alone but I was selfish and I couldn’t bare to be parted from her. And now she’s lying in this wagon barely alive,” He finished in a broken voice.

Anri squinted at him. “Subaru. That doesn’t even come close to making sense!”

Subaru looked at her in confusion.

Anri scoffed. “The Black Water would have ravaged the region whether you’d been there or not! It likely would have devoured the entire Elior forest and several of the nearby villages before the alarm was even sounded, much less before the monster was killed. You saved hundreds if not thousands of lives by confronting it, including Emilia’s! She never could have fought it off alone. And Elsa wasn’t even aware that you and Emilia were in the building when she attacked. She came looking for me. You had nothing to do with any of this.”

“Yeah? Well, it sure doesn’t feel that way right now,” Subaru muttered.

Anri shook her head. “Boy, you two sure do have a lot in common,” She whispered under her breath.

“What did you say?” Subaru asked.

“Nothing,” Anri muttered. “Hey, Subaru, what exactly is your plan here? How are we going to get the oil out of that army base?”

Subaru sighed. “No idea yet!” Subaru admitted. “We’ll have to check the place out and then see what we can come up with.”

“So basically, we’re headed toward an entire fortress of professional soldiers with no strategy whatsoever,” Anri said sarcastically.

“Don’t worry, Anri,” Subaru growled. “Nothing is going to keep me from getting that medicine!”

Anri and Subaru laid flat atop a small cliff, overlooking the army camp. The sun was setting but there was still plenty of activity down there.

Patrasche, Emilia, and the wagon waited nearby.

Anri was holding his hand and trying to mend some of the damage to his arm. “Alright, Subaru, we’re here,” Anri whispered. “Now what?”

“I’m thinking,” He said shortly.

Anri called it a camp. I was expecting something much smaller. This thing is the size of a village. It’s minuscule compared to Crusch’s army camp but that’s still a lot of soldiers and because we’re in the middle of nowhere there aren’t any civilians coming and going. That means that we can’t just try to blend in.

The army base was a large encampment just outside the north-westernmost edge of the Elior Forest. It was a dense maze of tents and a huge collection of wagons inside a heavy log palisade. There were also a few large, square buildings without windows. The center of the camp was overtaken by a simply massive pole that looked almost like an old fashioned television aerial. The thing must have been eighty feet tall and the aerial rods jutted out twenty feet from the shaft. The rods weren’t thin, they were the size of tree trunks and arranged vertically up the pole in alternating positions.

What is that? Some kind of lookout tower? Why is the thing so frigging big?

“Anri,” Subaru muttered, “Any idea what that tower is for?”

Anri squinted. “I think it’s wyvern roost,” Anri replied. “Wyverns probably stop there regularly, delivering messages and supplies. But I have no idea why this one is so big. This camp is pretty out of the way. That tower looks like it can host a dozen wyverns at a time!”

“Interesting,” Subaru mused, staring hard at the camp. “But probably not relevant right now.”

Subaru considered trying to mug some soldiers for their armor and uniforms but he quickly dismissed the idea.

I know that always works in the movies but in real life, people notice that your uniform doesn’t fit. They notice that they’ve never seen you around here before. They notice that your clothes are bloodstained because people bleed when you kill them.

“Anri, how many men do you think are down there?”

Anri thought for a moment. “I don’t know. Maybe a hundred?”

Subaru sighed. “Well, I’ve dealt with worse odds,” Subaru admitted.

Anri raised an eyebrow. “I’m not sure if I’m impressed by your strength or appalled that I’m actually following your lead here, Subaru,” Anri murmured.

Subaru gave her a dirty look but ignored the comment. “Anri, do you have any idea what this camp is here for?”

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

“What do you mean?”

“What’s its purpose?”

Anri struggled with the question and then shrugged helplessly. “To support the Sanshi army, I guess! Why are you asking me why it’s here? Malcolm an Griest doesn’t exactly trust me with the intricacies of his schemes!”

“Touche,” Subaru sighed. He studied the camp intently. “OK. So this isn’t a camp, it’s a fortress. There’s a huge wall surrounding it and there are tons of sentries on that wall. I don’t think that there’s any way that we can sneak in.”

“I think that you’re right.”

“Maybe if there was a distraction?” Subaru suggested.

“You want me to run around screaming or something?” Anri suggested dubiously.

Subaru gave her a steady look. “Thanks for the offer, Anri, but I don’t think that would work. To empty this fort, I think we’d need something like a dragon. Or an army of mabeasts.”

Subaru suddenly thought about the mabeasts that he had put Pridebreaker on. The mabeasts obeyed me when I told them what to do. At least they obeyed at the time. Should I try going back into the forest and gathering up a horde of mabeasts?

Subaru thought about it and finally shook his head. Maybe as a last resort. Emilia told me that they refused to attack her because I ordered them not to but maybe that was her imagination and they just thought that Emilia was too tough for them. I don’t really know if I can still control them or how far they’ll follow my orders. This isn’t the best time to experiment. Besides, the mabeasts are a double edged sword. If they find a way to slip my leash, they’ll kill me quicker than they’d kill the soldiers.

Subaru bit his lip. “Alright. Try this one on for size. If stealth is impossible then we go for boldness.”

“Meaning what?”

“We drive right into the camp and beg for help,” Subaru said.

Anri stared at him. “Are you serious?!”

“Dead serious,” Subaru said firmly. “We tell the soldiers that my wife was injured by the Bowel Hunter when she attacked Iruk. We’re here looking for medicine and we’ll trade what we know about Elsa’s movements in exchange.”

Anri looked dubious. “Is it wise to mention Iruk?”

Subaru nodded. “It’s very important. The camp will hear about the attack soon, if they haven’t already. When they do get that news, they’ll consider it confirmation of our story. It’s the perfect recipe. Two parts truth to one part lie. Mix it carefully and they’ll swallow the whole thing.”

“Maybe,” Anri muttered. “But I’m more worried about how they’ll react when they see who Emilia is. Or rather, what she is. Marrying a demi-human is illegal in Gusteko, you know, and Sanshi is the most xenophobic, arch-conservative province in the Kingdom. They might react violently.”

Subaru gave her a sour look. “Lovely country that you’ve got here.”

Anri scoffed. “Hey, don’t blame me! The Hierocracy were the ones who outlawed interracial marriage!”

“Whatever,” Subaru sighed. “We’ll let the blankets and pillows cover most of her face. Hopefully no one will inspect Emilia until we talk to the doctor. They maybe we can talk our way round him.”

“This is very risky, Subaru,” Anri muttered. “Why not just attack the camp?”

Subaru stared at her in disbelief. “You want me to attack a hundred soldiers in a fortified camp, head on?!”

“I’m serious! You fought the Black Water singlehandedly! Breaking into this camp should be a snap for you!”

Subaru sighed. “Yeah well, there’s a few problems with that. I don’t have time to get into all of the details right now but my power is a little… unpredictable. The power that I used against the Black Water only pops out once in a while. I can’t control it.”

“That’s seriously disappointing,” Anri sighed.

“Yeah, tell me about it,” Subaru agreed. “Look, fighting is probably in our future. We’d have to get seriously lucky to be able to get in and get out with the medicine without anyone catching wise. If we need to fight our way out then that’s one thing but if we have to fight our way in, Anri, then we’re probably already dead.”

Anri looked chagrined. “Alright. That seems like an accurate if grim assessment,” Anri muttered.

Subaru thought for a moment. “You need to get out of those clothes.”

Anri gaped at him. “I beg your pardon?!”

Subaru chuckled. “I mean that those clothes aren’t something that a peasant girl would wear. Go into the bushes and get changed into that robe that Emilia was wearing.”

Anri nodded slowly. “I did wash those robes. And her dress.”

Subaru laughed again. “How about that? A princess who does laundry!”

“Hey! A princess should do whatever needs to get done!” Anri said firmly as she walked back toward the wagon. “I’ve studied everything I can: Swordsmanship, medicine, military tactics, economics, diplomacy. When I sit on the throne I want to be ready for whatever problems life throws at my people!” Anri grabbed Emilia’s robe out of the wagon and vanished into the brush nearby.

Subaru shook his head. “Man. This girl sure has her act together. I’ve got to be at least a couple of years older than her and my life is still careening out of control.”

Anri returned a few minutes later in Emilia’s hooded white robe.

“Better?” She asked as she knelt down beside him.

“Almost,” Subaru replied,picking up a handful of dirt. “Hold still.”

He proceeded to rub the dirt in her face.

“Hey! What the hell are you doing?!”

“Sorry, Anri but you’re just a bit too clean to be a peasant girl. Don’t worry, you’ll get to do me next,” Subaru said.

Anri’s dirty face glowered at him. “Hold on, let me try to find some big rocks,” She muttered, picking up a handful of dirt.

They slowly drove the wagon toward the army camp’s entrance.

“Anri, is anyone here likely to know what you look like?” Subaru asked.

“No. And even if they did, I doubt that they’d recognize me like this,” Anri replied, touching her dirty face.

Subaru nodded. “Good. Take your hood off,” He whispered.

“What?! Why?”

“Because you don’t want to look like you have something to hide! Keeping your hood up when you talk to people just makes them suspicious. Put your hood down and they probably won’t look at you twice.”

Anri lowered her hood with a sigh. “Well, you sound like you know what you’re talking about. I sure hope that you actually do.”

Yeah, me too.

They rolled up to the front gate. Two armored soldiers stood guard beside it.

“Halt!” One of the soldiers said firmly. “What’s your business here?”

“Your Honor! I need help!” Subaru said in a desperate voice. “My wife! She was attacked by the Bowel Hunter! We need medicine!” Subaru tried his best to imitate the accent of an ignorant yokel.

“What?!” A soldier exclaimed.

“The Bowel Hunter?!” Another shouted.

“Hey. What’s with all the hubbub?” An older man with iron gray hair and a mournful face said as he approached the gate.

“Colonel!” One of the soldiers saluted. “This man claims that his wife has been attacked by the Bowel Hunter.”

“The Bowel Hunter?” The Colonel said sharply. He turned to look at Subaru. “What can you tell me about her?”

“She attacked our homestead near Iruk. Your Honor, please! My wife is in danger. Can we take her to the doctor? Then I’ll tell you whatever I can!”

The Colonel scratched his cheek and then nodded. “Suppose that’s fair enough. Hendrickson, you take this man to see the healer and then you bring him straight to me.”

“Yes, sir!” The soldiers snapped a salute.

“I hope that your woman recovers,” The Colonel said in a neutral tone before walking away.

The soldier gestured. “Bring your wagon this way!”

Subaru nodded and snapped the reins against Patrasche’s back. The wagon slowly trundled into the camp.

“That’s a strange dragon to use for pulling a wagon,” The soldier said, easily keeping pace beside the wagon.

Patrasche gave Subaru a dirty look.

“She’s a fine dragon, your Honor,” Subaru replied. “And the only one we have. We found her wandering in the woods.”

“Really?” The soldier said. “She’s a good breed. Strange that you found her out in the wilds.”

“She’s one of my best friends, your Honor. She’s a tremendously loyal and faithful companion.”

Patrasche clucked, looking slightly mollified.

The soldier laughed. “You sound like some of our cavalrymen. Never understood the appeal of earth dragons myself. They smell like old leather!”

Patrasche gave a muted growl.

The soldier led them to a large tent near the back of the camp. “Alright. This is the medical tent. You’ll find Burns inside. He should be able to treat your wife. That,” The soldier said pointing at a much grander, more ornate tent. “Is the command tent. You’ll find the Colonel there when you’re done. He wants to talk to you.”

“Yes sir, thank you, sir!” Subaru said.

The soldier nodded and walked away.

Subaru and Anri climbed out of the wagon.

“Alright, so far so good!” Anri whispered.

“Yeah. We’ve already gotten further inside the base with this plan than I expected,” Subaru said as he and Anri gently lifted Emilia’s unconscious body out of the wagon.

Anri stared at him incredulously. “You know, you’ve got a real knack for instilling confidence, Subaru,” Anri grumbled.

The medical tent had numerous beds but none were occupied. A smug-looking, middle-aged, and almost emaciated man was standing beside one of the beds, taking notes in a small book.

“What’s this?” The man demanded as they carried Emilia into the tent.

“This is my wife, sir. She was badly wounded by the Bowel Hunter and is in desperate need of medicine!” Subaru said as they laid the heavily swaddled Emilia down on the bed.

“The Bowel Hunter?” The healer said slowly. “I’ve heard that she inflicts bad wounds but we can get her stitched up, no problem.”

“Sir,” Anri said diffidently, “The wounds are poisoned. She needs a wyvern oil potion to neutralize the venom.”

The healer glared at her and folded his arms across his chest defensively. “And just who are you who thinks that she knows so much about medicine?” He asked in a petulant voice.

“This is my sister, sir,” Subaru stepped in quickly. “She works as a country healer in our area.”

“Pah! In my experience, folk medicine kills as much as it cures,” The healer sneered. “All we need to do is bandage her wounds. She’ll be fine,” He said dismissively.

Son of a bitch! Of all the problems that I’d foreseen encountering, it never even occurred to me to wonder what we would do if the doctor was just incompetent and didn’t know how to treat her!

Or maybe he knows that Anri is right but he doesn’t want to waste any medicine healing a peasant woman?

Subaru coughed. “Sir Healer, while we’re here, I wonder if would consider selling us some medical supplies. We’d pay you well and my sister is in dire need of more ingredients for her potions. She’s responsible for the whole community, you see.”

Anri nodded fervently.

The healer looked darkly at them. “I do all the healing around here, bub, and don’t you forget it!”

Subaru sighed as the healer reached down and pulled back Emilia’s blankets revealing her face.

The healer looked staggered. “What the devil is this?” He whispered.

“My wife, sir,” Subaru said calmly.

“Your wife? Is that supposed to some kind of sick joke?!” The healer demanded, marching right up into Subaru’s face. “What kind of god-fearing man would stick his dick into a dirty elven cunt?!”

Subaru ground his teeth. “Sir, the Colonel and I made a deal. You heal my wife and I give him some important intelligence.”

“I’m not wasting a single bandage on a dirty demi-human whore,” The healer snapped. “You wait here! I’m going to talk to the Colonel! You’re a filthy race-traitor and by god you will not be permitted to disgrace us! You will all be brought up on charges!”

The healer tried to push past Subaru but Subaru slammed his one good fist into the healer’s belly as hard as he could.

The healer doubled over as the breath whistled out of his lungs, his face pale and turning blue.

Before the healer could even take a breath, Subaru grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against one of the beds.

“Why did you have to do this?” Subaru whispered to the healer who fought desperately to pry Subaru’s hand off his throat so that he could breathe. “All you had to do was heal Emilia. That’s it. Was that really too much to ask?”

The healer struggled to loosen Subaru’s grip but his lack of breath weakened him and raw fury lent Subaru strength.

“Why did you have to do this?” Subaru asked again. “All you had to do was show a little compassion, a tiny bit of empathy to another living, breathing person. Was that really asking too much? We all could have walked away happy. Now, you’ve forced us both to come to this and I have to kill you. Slowly,” Subaru rasped in a whisper. “I can’t kill you fast because it’ll make noise or leave a bloodstain that I have no way to hide. Instead, I have no choice but to just fucking stand here,” Subaru whispered through clenched teeth, “And fucking squeeze the fucking life out of you with my bare fucking hand!”

The healer was whimpering and choking as his wild eyes rolled up in his head. He shook his head in furious negation.

“Why couldn’t you just do your job, huh?” Subaru grated. “Taking care of the sick? You know, that thing that you swore to do when you took this job? But no. You had to be an asshole and talk about ‘race traitors’ and bullshit like that. So now, I have to stand here and squeeze your neck until it fucking breaks! Now, I’ve got to stand here and look you in the eyes as you die and breath in your rancid fucking fear-sweat that smells like burnt onions!” Subaru hissed. “Why did you have to make me do this, huh?! Why? Why? Why?!” Subaru whispered shrilly.

There was a crunching sound and the healer went limp.

Subaru dropped the body on the ground, panting for breath.

Subaru looked at Anri. “Find the wyvern oil,” He whispered, sounding utterly exhausted.

Anri was just staring at Subaru in shock and horror.

He sighed and managed to put a little more bite into his voice. “Today would be good!”

Anri jumped and darted into the supply shelves looking for medicine.

Subaru shoved the healer’s body under one of the cots and made sure that the sheets were untucked and touching the floor so that the body was shielded from casual view.

Subaru saw a water faucet nearby and began to feverishly wash his hands.

Subaru washed off at least three layers of skin but he still didn’t feel clean when he finally walked away from the faucet.

Anri was still searching the shelves for the medicine.

Subaru returned to the cot that Emilia lay on and buried his face in his hands.

“Subaru! I found it!” Anri said excitedly a few minutes later.

Subaru quickly pulled himself back together. “You found the oil?” Subaru asked.

“No! Better! I found the medicine! We don’t even need to cook it!”

“Perfect,” Subaru said, fighting off his exhaustion.

Anri thought for a moment. “I think maybe we should try to get out of here before we treat her. If anyone comes in here and sees me treating her instead of the healer, they’re going to ask a lot of questions.”

“Good plan,” Subaru said. “Help me carry Emilia!”

The pair worked together to carry Emilia back out to the wagon then Anri darted back in to grab the medicine and placed it in the wagon beside her.

They climbed up onto the wagon and Subaru gently snapped the reins and Patrasche started moving.

“Subaru,” Anri whispered, “Are we going to go talk to that Colonel guy or should we just try to make a break for it?”

Subaru hesitated. “We should probably try to talk to him, I guess. The soldiers might have been instructed not to let us leave without his permission for all we know.”

“But what are we going to tell him?”

“I plan to use an ancient mind control technique known as ‘lying,’” Subaru grumbled. “I’ll spin him a story. Just let me do all the talking and try not to look surprised by whatever I say.”

“I’m a goddamn politician, Subaru,” Anri said sounding offended. “I know how to control my face! But what about the doctor?”

“Hopefully nobody will notice him missing for a while.”

“And if they do?”

“Then we’ll improvise,” Subaru said shortly.

Anri didn’t respond as the wagon trundled up to the command tent. They parked just behind the enormous pole that held up the wyvern roost.

Subaru saw that the Colonel was already outside his tent talking to a group of officers.

Subaru hopped down from the wagon, giving Anri a wordless look that she sound stay put.

He stood there, patiently waiting for the Colonel’s attention.

Finally, the other officers dispersed and the Colonel turned to look at Subaru, hands clasped behind his back. “Son, we just got a report that the Bowel Hunter and a Witch attacked the village of Iruk. You said that was near your home?”

“Yes, sir.”

He already knows about Iruk. On the bright side that makes him more likely to believe my story. On the other hand, I’m not sure what’s he’s been told about Iruk so I’ll need to tread carefully.

Also ‘The Bowel Hunter and a Witch attacked Iruk?!’ What the fuck?! Elsa would have slaughtered the whole village if Emilia hadn’t been there to stop her but the Colonel makes it sound like they were working together!

The Colonel continued. “You people are damn lucky to have gotten out of there alive. Few folks meet the Bowel Hunter and live to talk about it. What happened?”

“I wasn’t there personally, sir,” Subaru explained. “My sister and I were off buying supples. When we came back, our homestead was a slaughterhouse. My wife told me that the Bowel Hunter came out of nowhere and started killing people.”

“How did your wife escape?”

“Sheer luck to be honest, sir. The Hunter cut her pretty good,” Subaru said mournfully. “But she said that Big Zeke and Lars tried to rescue her and while the Bowel Hunter was distracted, she managed to hide in some bushes. We found her there when we got home.”

“Any idea where the killer may have gone?”

“It looked like her tracks led toward Iruk, sir. But I didn’t dare follow them very far.”

“No, I don’t suppose that you would have,” The Colonel agreed. “Alright. We’ll send out scouting parties to try to locate her. We may need to inspect the tracks at your homestead, how can we find it?”

“It’s pretty far off the beaten trail, sir. The easiest way is to start in Iruk and then follow the river south. Follow the left fork for an hour and you can’t miss it.”

The Colonel nodded.

I have no idea if the river even has a fork but I doubt that the Colonel would know that either. And if I tell him to go to Iruk first that should buy me some time.

“Wait,” A rusty voice from inside the tent muttered. “What fork in the river?”

A man in dirty, ratty clothes came out of the command tent. He looked at Subaru blankly and then looked up at Anri.

His eyes grew huge and his face paled.

“That’s the girl with the Witch!” The peasant screamed. “The one that I told you about!”

You have got to be kidding me!

Soldiers all around them jumped to their feet, looking around and trying to figure out what was going on.

One soldier reached into the wagon and pulled back the blankets shadowing Emilia’s face. He saw her hair and ears and gave a shrill scream.

Anri awkwardly drew her rapier with her unbroken arm. She slashed the air and sent the soldier staggering back.

The soldiers were running every which way.

Subaru quickly stepped back and stood next to Anri and the wagon, beside the pole.

“Fall in!” The Colonel roared.

For a moment the camp was dead silent and then the soldiers obediently darted into ranks, weapons and shields ready.

That Colonel runs a tight ship, Subaru thought grimly.

The Colonel ignored Subaru, looking up at Anri with a dark expression, “Princess Kairei vas Sirosse an Ithil.”

Anri’s face went pale.

“I honestly didn’t recognize you,” The Colonel said, sounding furious with himself. “Now I find out that House Ithil is so desperate to undermine the traditional Gusteko way of life that it even resorted to consorting with demi-humans Witches!”

The Colonel shook his head. “Disgraceful. There’s a reason that Ithil was a House accursed and it should have remained that way! Siros needs to be put to the sword for this treason and the earth salted so that no fruit so foul may ever sprout again!”

Anri bit her lip. “If I surrender to you, will you let them go?”

“Anri!” Subaru objected.

“Nobody is leaving here,” The Colonel said firmly. “Your choice is simply to surrender and live or resist and die.”

This is too many men to fight! Especially if I’m trying to protect Anri and Emilia at the same time! Even I might not walk out if I had to fight this many!

Only one card to play: Bluff!

Subaru seethed and marched forward throwing back his hood. He declared in a great voice: “Your choice is either to stand aside and live or get in my way and be obliterated! I am Subaru Natsuki the Invincible! With my own hands I have slaughtered hundreds of Gusteko soldiers, killed trolls, defeated Sin Archbishops, and hunted down and slain the White Whale!”

The soldiers were all silent for a moment and then they started to murmur to one another.

“Subaru Natsuki?”

“The Merciless?”

“The Butcher of Arlem?”

Huh. Lucky me. I guess my reputation really does extend over the border. I knew that letting those Gusteko soldiers in Arlem live was a good idea. Anyway, these soldiers look like they’re now having long gloomy thoughts about mortality. They won’t get involved.

Subaru lifted his chin. “My lover is in dire need of medicine that I came here to acquire. You may stand aside and I will depart without troubling you further. But understand clearly that if you attempt to oppose me, none of you will live to see the sunrise.”

The Colonel glared at Subaru in disgust. “You admit to butchering hundreds of my countrymen and you expect me to simply let you walk out of here?!” He asked incredulously.

“I am walking out of here, Colonel,” Subaru responded in a flat voice. “The only question remaining is how many of your men will join the dead before I do!”

“I have a hundred men at my disposal! All seasoned veterans and capable fighters!” The Colonel retorted.

Subaru looked around at the stupefied soldiers. He briefly stepped in and out of Reason and Judgment. “Your men are all wearing mismatched armor and their weapons have rust spots on them. Your men are here to guard supply lines in friendly territory from bandits because they were judged unfit to go to the front!” Subaru said matter-of-fact. “I’ve faced far worse odds than this, Colonel, and lived to talk about it. The princess and I are departing right now. Decide if you think it’s worth your men’s lives to delay that for a few extra minutes.”

The Colonel scowled at him. “I’ve heard all about your slaughter! But you’re all alone right now. You don’t have an army to throw at my countrymen this time!”

Subaru blinked. “Army?” He asked Anri.

Anri shrugged helplessly.

Subaru looked back at the Colonel. “I didn’t have an army at Arlem. And I don’t need one now.”

“You must think that I’m a fool!”

“I’m coming to that conclusion real fast,” Subaru growled.

The Colonel sneered at Subaru. “You’re the fool! You walked alone into an enemy fortress with nobody to help you but a scrawny princess and an unconscious witch. You will die here. You should have been more careful!”

Subaru snarled and placed his hand against the massive pole in front of him that held up the wyvern roast. It was thick as an ancient oak tree. “Oh, I’m being real careful, Colonel,” Subaru hissed. “See, Anri and me are on this side. And this thing is going to fall that way!” Subaru shouted, triggering Indomitable and shoving the pole as hard as he could.

The massive pole snapped at the base and started to tip over like a colossal tree. The soldiers just gaped at the massive object falling toward them for a moment and then scrambled to escape but they were in tight ranks and couldn’t scatter.

The pole’s aerials hit the ground with a sound like thunder. The roost must have weighed twelve tons easily and the soldiers were reduced to a mushy paste on impact.

The Colonel stood there trembling in shock. He’d had a hundred soldiers under his command. Now he had less than twenty trembling, horrified men who looked desperate to flee.

“So, Colonel,” Subaru called in a low tone. “Feel like standing in my way anymore?”

The Colonel’s face was a caricature of both fear and rage. He wrestled with both for a long moment. “Princess Kairei!” The Colonel snarled.

Anri jumped. Subaru mentally shrugged and let the Colonel speak to her.

That Colonel feels weak and helpless now. Because he is. If letting him throw some shade at Anri will let us get out of here without anymore fighting, then by all means!

“Rest assured,” The Colonel continued. “I will reveal your treachery to the entire nation. You have sought an alliance with Lagunica against your own countrymen. There is only one fit punishment for such treason. Death!”

Anri grew pale.

OK, maybe that wasn’t a great idea.

“We’ll be leaving now,” Subaru shouted, reclaiming the Colonel’s attention.

Subaru climbed back into the wagon and scowled at the few remaining soldiers standing between them and the exit. The soldiers instantly panicked and scattered.

“Prince Malcolm will hear about this!” The Colonel shouted.

“Great,” Subaru called back, not bothering to look at the Colonel. “Give him my best!” He snapped the reins and Patrasche pulled the wagon out of the camp and back on the road.

Subaru glanced behind him and saw the soldiers mill around the camp, shell-shocked like survivors of some natural disaster.

Anri just stared at Subaru, biting her lip.

Subaru pretended not to notice how frightened she looked.

“Anri,” Subaru said. “Do we need anything else to give Emilia the medicine?”

Anri kept staring at Subaru in shock. Then she blinked, realizing that she’d just been asked a question. “I don’t need anything. I can give it to her right now. I… should also give her another dose of Blood Replenishing Potion,” She mused.

Subaru nodded. “Alright, why don’t you do that? I’ll keep us moving,” He said.

Anri climbed into the back of the wagon and started to fuss with the unconscious Emilia. “Subaru, where are we going now?” She asked in an unsteady voice.

“We’re going back across the border for starters,” He replied. “Something inexplicable tells me that the locals probably aren’t going to be very happy with me and Emilia once word gets out about all this.” Subaru shook his head. “Perfect. Now I’ve got two kingdoms determined to hunt me down!”

“Are we going back to the forest?”

“Right now, it’s just about the only place that I can think of for us to hide,” Subaru admitted. He thought for a moment. “Where are you going to try and meet up with Victoire?”

“Stoneybrooke. It’s a village a good ways east of here,” Anri said as the wagon reached left the road that led to the camp behind and reached the King’s highway.

They approached a fork in the road. Subaru hesitated and brought the annoyed Patrasche to a halt. “Anri, I don’t think that we can get this wagon through the forest. Could we carry Emilia on Patrasche?”

Anri frowned and thought a minute. “I think that we could carry her tomorrow but it would be dangerous to try that right now. Her wounds are barely mended.”

“Right,” Subaru sighed. “Well, we need to get back across the border so we’ll need to circle around the forest since it’s directly due south of us. What’s the shortest route back to Lagunica, east or west?”

“East,” Anri said with confidence. “If you go west of the forest you’ll run smack into the Gusteko mountains. That’s why House Griest got so wealthy. Until my parents cut the passes through the western mountains, there was no way into Gusteko except through Sanshi lands. Or passing through the Elior forest.”

Subaru scratched his chin. “Could we use your family’s passes to go south?”

She thought about it. “Well, I suppose you could,” She said doubtfully. “But they’re a long way west. The closest one is all the way at the Kararagi border. Besides, last I heard, Griest was holding the passes against us.”

Subaru sighed. “I guess I’ll take that as a ‘no,’” Subaru turned Patrasche east and started back the same way they had come.

“You know, it’s going to be a really long trip back if we have to go by way of Rixum. That’s all the way at the southern edge of the forest,” Anri warned him.

“Yeah, I know. We definitely won’t make it tonight. You OK with camping out?”

Anri snorted. “I’ve been doing that for days! Besides, I managed to grab a pair of sleeping rolls from the safe-house. Emilia should be fine as she is. She’s all bundled up anyway.”

“And we have food at least,” Subaru added. “We just need to find a place to camp with some water for us and Patrasche.”

“Once we sneak around Iruk, we can follow the river south, all the way to Rixum,” Anri said.

Subaru nodded. “Then we’ll hide the wagon somewhere and go back the Emilia’s village on Patrasche. I remember the route we took last time. Let’s get on the other side of the border first. Then we’ll make camp. We’ll go the rest of the way tomorrow.”

Obviously, the border wasn’t marked out in the country and Subaru wasn’t certain if they’d crossed it or not.

They ate some fruit from the food bags as they went.

Subaru followed the river road south until it was full dark and Patrasche started complaining about wanting to stop.

Subaru led Patrasche into a small grove of trees just outside of Emilia’s enchanted winter and unhitched the wagon.

Subaru struggled to make a fire. Anri had given him some flint from her pack but Subaru still couldn’t make it work, forcing Anri to take over and build a small fire. The night was warm and balmy but they wanted some light.

Then Anri changed Emilia’s bandages. Subaru had tried to help but as soon as Anri heard him gasp at the look of Emilia’s deep, seeping wound, she ordered him to go away.

Subaru, seeking something else to keep busy with, tended to Patrasche. It was obvious that the earth dragon felt put upon and humiliated by the day that she’d had, so Subaru made a point of stroking her head and praising her while she ate.

By the time she had finished eating, the riding dragon appeared somewhat mollified and she curled up on the ground to sleep.

Subaru returned to Emilia just as Anri finished changing her bandages.

“Is she… OK?” Subaru asked, sitting down beside Emilia and the small fire.

Anri smiled at him. “She’s great!” Anri said, bundling Emilia up in her blankets again.

Subaru looked at her skeptically.

“No, really! The wound looked a lot worse than it was. It was deep but it didn’t hit anything important. And it’s mending now.”

Subaru sighed in relief. “God. I can’t wait to just get back in the forest and disappear. I came so close to losing her, I…,”

Anri looked at him sympathetically. “It’s OK. She’s going to be fine, Subaru.”

Subaru leaned over to gently stroke Emilia’s face. To his surprise, her face slid into a smile.

“Anri!” Subaru snapped. “She felt me touching her! Is she waking up?!”

“Nope but she’s not sleeping as deeply anymore,” Anri said.

“When do you think she’ll wake up?!” Subaru asked excitedly.

Anri made a face that suggested she was thinking very hard. “Hm. I think that she’ll probably wake up… just as soon as I stop giving her sedatives every few hours,” She chuckled.

“Wait, you’re keeping her asleep?! Why?!”

Anri rolled her eyes. “Come on, Subaru! I know that you’re anxious to talk to her but take a second to try and imagine the pain you’d feel if the Bowel Hunter ripped your stomach wide open.”

“I don’t have to imagine it,” Subaru said flatly.

Anri blinked. “Oh. Right,” Anri said awkwardly.

Subaru sat by the fire, looking down at Emilia and stroking her hair.

“Subaru, give me your hand. I’ll try to mend your arm a little more,” Anri said.

Subaru put his hand in hers and he felt his arm beginning to tingle as Anri called upon her magic.

The pair sat in silence for a time, staring into the flames.

“Say, Subaru, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something,” Anri said slowly.

“Is it about what happened at the army camp?” Subaru sighed.

“Well, yeah. Kind of,” She hedged.

Subaru shook his head. “Do yourself a favor, Anri, just forget that the whole thing happened.”

“Huh?!”

“The upshot is that I have a lot of power that’s only marginally under my control,” Subaru explained. “Any more questions than that will leave you feeling unhappy. You don’t want to know what it is or where it comes from. Mili and I just need to disappear now…”

Disappear? Is that what I’m really shooting for now? What about rescuing Puck and Beatrice?

Anri gave him a hard look. “Subaru,” Anri said in an annoyed tone. “Did anyone ever tell you that you are profoundly self-centered?”

“Huh?”

Anri looked annoyed. “I’m not really interested in talking about this power of yours or how you got it,” Anri grumbled. “I’m a whole lot more worried about what’s going to happen when folks in Gusteko find out that you’ve been helping me… and when they find out that I’ve been seen with someone they think is a…” She gestured helplessly at Emilia.

“What’s the problem?”

Anri sighed. “There’s no law against making alliances with southerners but that old Colonel had a point. It’s against tradition and Gusteko is a very traditional country. House Griest could use this to turn other Houses or even the Hierocracy against me. And if they reported that I had made an alliance with a Witch…”

“Is this the same House Griest that reported that I slaughtered hundreds of innocent soldiers who just happened to wander into Arlem by mistake?” Subaru asked in a bored tone.

“Well, technically it was Voivode who reported that. Griest is just fanning the flames of the incident to play up people’s xenophobia for their own reasons. What are you getting at?”

“Look, Anri, I get the very strong impression that Griest’s credibility doesn’t go all that far. The only people likely to believe Griest’s accusations are people who already wanted to oppose you anyway and were just looking for whatever excuse was on offer.”

Anri frowned. “I guess you have a point,” She admitted.

“The only people who could report you for anything are folks who are loyal to House Griest which is already at war with you. I think most people who hear these accusations would assume that it’s just propaganda.”

Anri thought for a moment then she smiled. “You’re right! Who would believe them without evidence?” She asked in relief.

“Exactly,” Subaru said, gently lifting Emilia’s head so that she rested in his lap.

They were both silent for a moment.

“Actually, Subaru, there’s something else that I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Yeah?”

“What are you and Emilia planning to do now?”

“Go back to the forest, I guess,” Subaru shrugged.

“And after that?”

Subaru sighed. “Our partners are still missing.”

“Partners?”

“Emilia and I both made a contract with a Great Spirit. Puck and Beatrice. They were stolen from us before we came to the forest. I need to find them and rescue them.”

“I’m… so sorry,” Anri said in a somber voice. “I can’t even imagine how you must feel. Spirits are considered people in Gusteko-”

And yet, demi-humans aren’t, Subaru thought to himself darkly.

“-And to have them taken away from you like that? You must both be heartbroken.”

Subaru nodded. “Puck was like Emilia’s father and Beatrice was kind of like my adopted sister,” He said.

Anri hesitated. “And what about Emilia’s curse?”

Subaru started. “How do you know about that?”

“She told me.”

“And… you believed her?”

Anri shrugged. “Hey, why shouldn’t I?”

Subaru hesitated. “Wow. This is just… really refreshing,” He said.

“Are you still going to try to cure Emilia? I’m guessing that she won’t really have her father back until he can remember who she is. From what she told me, being with her father might even put her in danger.”

Subaru sighed. “Yeah… That’s probably true. Unfortunately, after trying to come up with ideas for a solid week, I’ve got to admit that I have absolutely no theories for how we can break the curse…”

Anri took a deep breath. “Subaru, I wonder if you and Emilia would consider doing something for me.”

“Like what?”

She hung her head. “My last message from Grandfather said that Siros was in a desperate situation. They’re blockaded from the trade routes and supplies are running short. They’re already hard pressed by the Sanshi army and Grandfather thinks that a second column is going to be headed that way within just a few days. We’ll never be able to push back forces of that size.”

Subaru squinted at her. “Just want are you asking us to do?”

Anri drew herself up and looked Subaru in the eye. “I need you to help me save my people.”

“What?!” Subaru demanded incredulously.

Emilia flinched at the noise and moaned before settling back into drugged sleep.

Subaru looked down at her guiltily. “What? Are you serious?” Subaru repeated, much quieter but equally disbelieving.

“I’m desperate, Subaru. I need help,” Anri said simply.

Subaru shook his head in disbelief. “Look, Anri, I like you! Emilia and I both owe you big time! You’ve saved each of our lives, at least once. Maybe more than once, I’ve sort of lost track lately given how much I’ve been unconscious,” He admitted sardonically. “But we can’t fight off armies-

“Wait,” Anri held up her hand. “Before you answer, I want you to know that I can make it worth your while!”

“What do you mean?”

“Come on, Subaru, be honest,” Anri said knowingly. “You don’t really want to live in the Elior Forest. What would be there for you?”

Subaru looked offended. “Emilia!” He said shortly.

Anri rolled her eyes. “Right. Sorry. Let me rephrase. Obviously, you’d be willing to live in the Elior Forest if that was the only way to keep Emilia safe. But once Emilia was safe, I think that you’d get pretty bored in there real quick and start looking for new projects. You don’t strike me as the kind of man to let the grass grow under your feet. What if I offered you something better than hiding in the forest forever that still resulted in Emilia being protected?”

“Like what?” Subaru asked.

“Come back to Siros with me.”

Subaru stared at her. “Are you crazy?! Anri, do you really think I’m going to take Emilia to Gusteko?! Have you not been paying attention to the kinds of garbage people that we’ve met up here?”

“Hey!” Anri protested, looking offended. “Hold up! That’s my home that you’re talking about. And all of Gusteko isn’t like that! We’re in Sanshi territory right now and they’re the most reactionary, xenophobic province in the kingdom!”

Subaru frowned, scratching his chin.

Anri took a deep breath. “Subaru, Gusteko isn’t like Lagunica. It’s not culturally homogeneous,” Anri explained. “Siros is very different than Sanshi. It’s not Kararagi but it’s not Pardochel either! And even if you did bring Emilia to Kararagi, what then? Do you think your problems would end when you crossed the border? There will always be people who look at Emilia’s hair and ears and think that they know everything that they need to know about her. You’ll never escape human ignorance. But if you come to Siros then you’ll have a comfortable, stable life and you’ll both be safe!”

Subaru thought about it for a moment. “Aren’t you worried about the political blow back? Your enemies would probably like to make something out of you consorting with a pair of foreigner witches.”

Anri sneered. “Tell them to bite me! I’m the bloody princess, Subaru!” Anri snapped. “I’ll consort with whomever I damn well please!”

Subaru burst out laughing.

“Actually,” Anri continued in a more composed tone. “Although I would like to keep you both close simply out of friendship, candor compels to me admit that… it has not escaped me that the political situation would greatly benefit from my publicly declaring you both as my advisers.”

Subaru frowned. “I don’t think that I followed that.”

Anri shook her head and sighed. “My people’s future prosperity depends on trade. We need to not only keep the trade lanes open, we need to expand them. Xenophobia and isolationism has brought Gusteko to the brink of economic ruin countless times over the centuries. We need to get over it. Before this mess started, the Kararagi merchants were coming north but not in the numbers that we needed. I realized a while ago that I needed to make a big public statement to reassure the southerners but I wasn’t sure how.”

“Reassure them of what? And what does that have to do with us?”

Anri leaned forward excitedly. “If I make a public showing of declaring a demi-human and a foreigner as my chief advisers, I’m signaling to the whole world that Siros is a progressive society ready to leave the dark ages behind. It wordlessly assures foreign and demi-human merchants that, if they’re willing to come to Siros to trade, their rights will be respected and protected. That there are people in authority who will listen to them if they run into problems. If I give them that surety then the merchants will come north in great numbers and my people will thrive!”

Subaru scratched his chin. “Seems like you put some thought into this,” He admitted.

“I’m a princess, Subaru. A princess is supposed to think about ways to make her people’s lives better,” Anri deadpanned. “A few of us even bother to do it.”

Subaru chuckled.

“I can also help you recover your spirits,” Anri continued. “Whether the Hierocracy is generally in my corner or not is immaterial. As soon as the Hierocracy goes back into session, Grandfather can bring the matter to the floor. If Lagunica really is holding those spirits captive without charging them with a crime, which we both know is what’s going on since Lagunica considers spirits ‘things’ and not people, then the Hierocracy will be enraged.”

“Really?”

Anri nodded. “Without question. Spirits are considered people in the north and the kingdom is holding them prisoner, without charge, for the actions of another. There’s no faction in the Hierocracry that would object to taking action under those circumstances. The Hierocracy will use every kind of soft power possible to force Lagunica to set the spirits free.”

Subaru thought about it. “Do you really think that would work?”

Anri shrugged. “If Lagunica wants to keep trading with the northern kingdom it will! It helps me out too, an embargo with Lagunica might push House Griest into bankruptcy.”

Subaru frowned, thinking it over.

“And the last thing I can offer you,” Anri murmured reaching under her collar. “Is this,” She pulled out a large, ornate metal key, hung on a chain around her neck. The metal seemed to flicker with a lambent purple light.

“What’s that?”

“It’s the key to the Grand Archives. My family’s greatest treasure,” Anri said with reverence. “We’ve been its caretakers since before the breaking of the world.”

Subaru squinted at her. “What are those?”

“The Grand Archives are the greatest collection of knowledge in the world! We even have records and manuscripts dating back to the days when the Witches still walked the land! If there’s anywhere in the whole world that you could learn about Emilia’s curse and ways to cure it, it would be there!”

Subaru’s eyes locked onto the key.

“My grandfather,” Anri continued, “Is one of the greatest scholars of the Old Kingdom in the land. I’m sure that he can help you find the cure.”

Subaru sighed. “Alright. I can’t act like you don’t have my undivided attention now.” He thought for a minute. “You realize I can’t make any decisions until Emilia wakes up, right?”

“Of course!” Anri nodded.

Subaru stared into the fire. “Say, isn’t it kind of risky to just carry that key around like that?” Subaru asked, mostly to give himself time to think.

Anri chuckled. “It’s fine, Subaru. It can’t be stolen.”

“What do you mean?”

“This key belongs to me. It’s been heavily enchanted. It can’t be stolen or even taken from me under duress. If either of those happen, then key ceases to work until it’s given back to its rightful owner. Access to the archives can only be given willingly!”

“Nice feature,” Subaru admitted.

Anri smirked, tucking the key back under her collar. “I always thought so! It’s actually safer with me out here in the wilds than if I had just left it in a safe in Siros or with my Grandfather. The key can be stolen from whomever I give it to but not from me. The magic doesn’t allow it.”

They sat in silence for a moment.

“Anri, if me and Emilia did decide to help you,” Subaru said slowly. “What would you want us to do?”

“I don’t know,” She admitted.

Subaru stared at her incredulously. “Well jeez, Anri. Thanks for making these negotiations so simple!”

“I don’t know!” Anri replied helplessly. “My home is in desperate danger! But you managed to defeat an entire brigade of Sanshi soldiers effortlessly! I even heard that you once managed to kill a troll with your bare hands!”

Subaru sighed and buried his face in his hands. “That story is going to be engraved on my tombstone! ‘Subaru Natsuki, Troll slayer.’”

Anri grinned at him. “Call yourself ‘Trollbane.’ It sounds more macho.”

“Good idea. Thanks,” Subaru chuckled.

“And that doesn’t even get into the stories of the machines that I heard that you made. With your help, Siros could become the economic powerhouse of the continent!”

“Yeah, Anri, that’s all well and good,” Subaru murmured. “But I meant more immediately. How do you think I could help you fight against Griest?”

“I don’t know,” Anri said honestly. “I am completely out of ideas and before we met, I was getting ready to surrender just to protect my people from further destruction. But I watched you and Emilia do incredible things in just days! Emilia slew the scourge of the continent! You defeated the Black Water and destroyed an enemy camp! I would have needed a full regiment of soldiers to even hope to do either of those things. You both did them singlehanded. Subaru, I think that if you would turn the full force of your brain to saving my people, we might have a chance!”

Subaru thought about it for a long time. “I’ll think about it,” He promised.

“Thank you,” Anri replied.

Subaru frowned. “You said that you needed supplies right? What kind of supplies does Siros need?”

Anri pulled a letter out of her pocket and handed it to Subaru. “Grandfather sent me this,” She said.

Subaru scanned it. “Food, medicine, weapons… Damn, you guys are running short of just about everything, aren’t you?”

Anri bowed her head. “As I said… we’re desperate. You can keep that list, if you want.”

Subaru nodded and tucked it into a pocket.

If this is accurate than Anri’s friends in Siros are likely just this side of starving…

Subaru scratched his chin. “If we only had a way to locate merchants who’d be willing to ship goods through a warzone,” He mused. “Hey, Anri, Siros can pay for goods, right? I mean, we don’t need to worry about finding merchants willing to ship goods on credit, do we?”

“House Ithil is very wealthy, Subaru!” Anri said, sounding offended. “We’re not looking for charity!”

“OK!” Subaru said defensively. “Forget that I asked!”

“Subaru, give me your hand,” Anri said. “I’ll heal the muscles a little.”

Subaru complied. Anri took his hand and Subaru felt a pleasant warmth radiating through his arm. “Anri, if you can heal my arm why can’t you heal your own?”

Anri chuckled. “Like I told you, the damage here isn’t nearly as bad as it looks. I’m a really bad mage, Subaru. I can mend torn flesh but not broken bones.”

“Huh,” Subaru mused.

They sat there quietly for a bit while Anri tried to heal Subaru’s arm.

Anri yawned. “Alright. My mana is all used up. Should we take turns keeping watch tonight?”

Subaru shook his head. “You should just try to get some sleep,” He replied. “I don’t think I could sleep right now if I tried. Besides, I slept until this afternoon anyway.”

“Alright,” Anri said, pulling out her rapier. “If you’re going to stand guard, why don’t you hang onto this? It’s not going to do me much good at the moment anyway.”

Subaru took the rapier from her. “Thanks,” Subaru said. He admired the beautifully crafted sword.

“It was my Mother’s,” Anri said fondly.

Subaru nodded. “I’ll take good care of it.”

Anri squinted at him in confusion.

“What?”

“You’re not… holding that right,” Anri said, sounding baffled. “I’ve heard all kinds of stories about what a dangerous warrior you are. Didn’t anyone ever teach you how to use a sword?”

“Nope,” Subaru admitted. “Every time I was in danger I just kind of… blundered my way through, I guess.”

Anri stared at him incredulously.

“When does Emilia need her next dose?” Subaru changed the subject.

“Not until dawn. We’ll change her bandages again and see where we are,” She yawned.

“OK. Why don’t you go to bed.”

Anri nodded. “Good night, Subaru,” She said, stepping away from the fire and curling up in one of the blanket rolls.

A few moments later, Subaru heard her quietly snoring.

“I guess she really was tired,” Subaru murmured to the sleeping Emilia resting in his lap. “No big surprise. I’d guess she hasn’t been sleeping much for the past few days. Too busy taking care of us…”

Emilia didn’t respond except to smile slightly as Subaru stroked her hair.

He sighed. “Mili, I just don’t know what to do anymore,” He whispered. “When I first got to this world, I thought that I could do anything but now… it just feels like everything is spinning out of control and now it’s falling apart faster and faster. We’ve only got each other now. It’s just you and me…”

Subaru shook his head. “What the hell are we going to do? Anri asked us to help her save her people. I can’t act like we don’t owe her one. It might even get us a new home if she was telling the truth. I know that staying permanently in Gusteko wasn’t exactly in our plans but if decide that Siros just doesn’t work for us, we could always move on to Kararagi…

“She says that she could even help us rescue the spirits and find a cure to your curse. It sounds perfect,” Subaru looked down at the Emilia dreaming on his lap.

“So… why am I hesitating… Because she wants us to help her fight a war? That is going to be pretty damn dangerous but I bet I could manage. Give me enough time and I can probably invent a canon or a bomb or something similar.”

Subaru shook his head and lowered his voice. “Emilia, something else has been bothering me about all this. It’s about Anri. She shows up in the forest where nobody ever comes, just a day or so after we do. That’s the same day that the grove with that weird door in it was destroyed. The same day that we found Patrasche. The same day that someone left us that forged note. Anri just… shows up. She shows up right in the nick of time when we needed a healer and when I got poisoned, she knew right where to bring us to find medicine for what must be a pretty rare condition.”

Subaru’s voice grew uncertain. “How could… Mili, I like Anri… At least, I think I do… But how many of those events could all be coincidence? Something has to tie them all together but I don’t know what. I like Anri but… I’m not so sure that I trust her…”

Anri’s breathing was deep and even on the other side of the campfire.

He sighed. “I guess it doesn’t really matter right now,” Subaru admitted. “Look at it anyway you want. We don’t have a choice. Anri is our only hope to figure out how to lift the curse on you so… let’s play this out and see how it goes.”

He looked down at his lover. “Emilia, I’m so sorry that I let all of this happen. I can’t believe how close I came to losing you because of my own carelessness. I dragged you through fights with the Sin Archbishops, a run in with Reinhard, a fight with the Snow Blight, the Black Water, and even Elsa.”

Subaru shook his head. “You were right to tell me to leave you, Mili. All I’ve ever done is put you in danger. But I get it now. I finally understand. From now on, you won’t have to worry about anything. I’m going to take care of you and make sure that you have a happy, stable life. From now on all of the problems and the violence are going to stay far away from you, Mili. I’ll be your shield against the world. I promise. Promises are important and I must keep my promises.”

In a large, well-furnished room in the Griest castle in Sanshi, a beautiful, dark-haired young woman sat a small table. She was dressed in a thin black and green robe that was decorated with drawings of large purple butterflies. Across from her sat a towering young man with sandy blond hair in a gray knight’s uniform. He was built like an ox and his eyes were penetrating.

They both stared at the chessboard between them. Their hands gently caressed under the table.

The woman finally smiled and moved her rook. “Check!” She said triumphantly.

The man smiled. “Excellent move, Lady Deann.”

The man moved his bishop in response.

Deann smiled impishly. “I keep telling you, Duncan, your technique is always defensive. That’s a weakness,” Deann said to him as she advanced her pawn to continue the attack.

Duncan smirked. “Your father has often said the same thing. And as I’ve always told him: Just a difference in style, Lady Deann,” He replied with aplomb. He moved his queen with flair and then leaned back, looking very pleased with himself.

Deann scowled down at the board and then looked up at Duncan. “You always make the ickiest moves!” She complained with a pronounced pout but she made no move to remove her hand from his.

“Can you ever forgive me, Lady Deann?” Duncan asked in an amused tone. “I assure you, I am willing to work diligently in whatever fashion you dictate in order to regain your favor.”

She gave him a winsome smile. “Truly? I must warn you, Sir Duncan. My favor is not easily secured.”

“Anything worth its value is worth striving for. You will find me to be a most dedicated pilgrim on this quest, Lady Deann,” He whispered, caressing her hand.

Her smile deepened into an amused smirk. “I suppose I could give you another chance. After all, you have greatly impressed me with your… ‘diligence’ in the past.”

“I have no higher aspiration, Lady Deann, than to be considered worthy of your esteem,” Duncan assured her.

She sighed and stopped playing games. “I certainly consider you worthy, Duncan. In a perfect world, that would be enough.”

“We do not live in a perfect world, Deann,” Duncan admitted seriously. “But any world that offers me a path to remain at your side is more than satisfactory to me.”

Deann smiled at him but before she could respond they heard the sound of heavy footsteps approaching.

They shared a resigned glance and reluctantly let go of one another’s hands.

A moment later, the door opened and an enormous man wearing a gray knight’s uniform entered the room. He had a short and neatly trimmed black beard. The man had a hulking musculature and looked as if someone had sneaked a bear into uniform. Today he wore a dour expression as if everything had gone wrong for him all at once.

“Father,” Deann murmured.

“Greetings, Prince Malcolm-” Duncan began.

Malcolm ignored Duncan and turned his full attention to Deann. “Poppet, I have received the most dire news!”

Deann furrowed her brow. “What is it?”

“The village of Iruk and the military camp at Trolleheim have been attacked by Lagunica!” Malcolm said gravely.

Duncan and Deann shared an incredulous look.

“Father, that makes absolutely no sense!” Deann said.

Malcolm gave her an annoyed look. “Daughter, you may tell those soldiers just how nonsensical you think it is. We’re still counting up the bodies!”

Malcolm walked over to a shelf that had several bottles of liquor on it. Malcolm quickly poured himself a shot of hard alcohol and downed it instantly.

Deann spoke incredulously, “Father, Lagunica has no king, the pact with the dragon is now in doubt, and rumors claim that they have recently experienced a pitched battle with the Witch Cult. The kingdom attacking foreign lands would be a ridiculous decision.”

“And yet, it happened!” Malcolm growled, pouring himself another drink.

“What have you learned?” Duncan asked.

Malcolm gave Duncan a foul look before answering. “A witch attacked Iruk!” Malcolm said, tossing back his glass. “She fought an enemy there and managed to kill it. There was significant damage done to the village. Then her associates attacked Trolleheim. It was a massacre! The few survivors who managed to escape are traumatized.”

“Casualties?” Duncan asked.

“Almost a hundred soldiers,” Malcolm replied.

“What about civilians?” Deann asked.

“At Iruk? Apparently none,” Malcolm admitted.

“Sir, I’m confused,” Duncan mused. “How does Lagunica factor into this?”

Malcolm growled. “According to the Iruk peasants, the witch brought someone sick into the village with her. The peasants reported that they heard her refer to him as ‘Subaru.’ The survivors of Trolleheim confirmed the same name was born by their attacker.”

Duncan frowned in thought. “Subaru… Where have I heard that name?”

Deann stared at Malcolm. “Father, are you suggesting that it was Subaru Natsuki?”

Duncan started. “The Butcher of Arlem?!”

Malcolm threw his shot glass across the room with a curse. “Yes! A royal candidate of the nation of Lagunica has attacked one of our villages and our armed forces! This isn’t some maverick noble acting independently like Vlad an Voivode, this is a sign of open hostility from the Dragon kingdom!”

Duncan and Deann shared an incredulous look. “This is ludicrous!” Duncan protested. “Why in the world would Lagunica seek to start a war now?!”

“Perhaps it’s simply retaliation,” Deann mused.

“Retaliation?” Malcolm asked in surprise.

“Do you recall the matter of the Voivode last month?” Deann murmured.

Malcolm pinched the bridge of his nose. “Daughter, I have a few too many things of actual importance to occupy my mind without worrying what Vlad and his band of bloodthirsty fools have been up to recently.”

Deann gave her Father a skeptical glance. “The Arlem incident we just mentioned?” Deann clarified.

Malcolm frowned. “Ah. Now I remember. Vlad an Voivode sent his men to raid Arlem to test if the dragon’s pact was still binding.”

Duncan nodded. “He interpreted their successful arrival as a sign of the pact being in abeyance and has been rallying Gusteko to march south for pillage and plunder ever since,” Duncan added. “I can’t imagine what he expects to gain out of all this.”

“Probably just more blood of his slain enemies to dip his bread into,” Malcolm said dismissively.

Deann looked sick. “Father, are those rumors true?! Does he really…”

“I wouldn’t put it past him,” Malcolm admitted. “But we have more important matters than Vlad’s peculiarities to analyze right now. Namely, how will we respond. This might finally be our opportunity to regain Ganaks!”

Duncan and Deann exchanged a worried glance. “With all due respect, Prince Malcolm,” Duncan said deferentially. “I would recommend that we simply accept it.”

Malcolm glowered at him. “A hundred good men have been slaughtered and you would urge us do nothing?” Malcolm said in a disgusted tone. “Those soldiers were good men! They were loyal servants to my house and their deaths cry out for vengeance!”

“Father,” Deann broke in. “I agree with Duncan!”

Malcolm snorted. “I’ll try to conceal my amazement,” He grumbled.

Deann’s eyes narrowed. “Father,” She said in a dangerous tone. “Please, consider this situation carefully. From Lagunica’s perspective, they were attacked last month by Gusteko.”

“By Voivode!” Malcolm argued. “We bear Lagunica no malice!”

“Voivode and Griest are allies!” Deann shot back. “Don’t act like you didn’t know what Vlad was doing!”

Don’t act like you didn’t sign off on it, she means, Duncan thought.

“The fact remains that House Griest was innocent in this attack!” Malcolm protested.

Deann shook her head. “The southerners have never been willing to acknowledge the difference in our houses. From their point of view, they were attacked by Gusteko and now they have attacked Gusteko in turn.”

Malcolm frowned thoughtfully.

“This was all Voivode’s fault,” Duncan grumbled. “If the Hierocracy had stepped on Vlad firmly when the incident first came to light, that could have been viewed by the southerners as evidence that Vlad was acting on his own and in defiance of the rest of Gusteko. Instead, the Hierocracy and the other Houses did nothing. How could Lagunica view this as anything other than evidence that Vlad was acting with the full permission and approval of Gusteko?”

Malcolm gave Duncan a withering look. “So that’s one vote for appeasement then,” Malcolm grumbled sarcastically. “I do not intend to permit a direct attack against my own people to stand unchallenged! We must respond with force!”

Deann looked alarmed. “Father! Voivode ordered a quick raid on Arlem and now Lagunica ordered a quick raid on Trolleheim. The dragon kingdom has gone out of its way to make its reaction a proportional response. Arguably, they tempered their response by attacking a military camp instead of a defenseless village. They even dispatched the same champion who routed the prior incident to ensure that Gusteko could not misunderstand their intentions! Now would be the ideal time to hold negotiations with Lagunica and restore normal relations before things deteriorate further!”

Malcolm shook his head. “Under normal circumstances you would have offered sound counsel, my Daughter. However, this is not a normal situation. I fear that we may have no other alternative… than to consider war with Lagunica.”

Duncan and Deann were speechless. “Declare war on the dragon kingdom?!” Duncan gasped. “House Griest alone does not have the strength to oppose Lagunica!”

“And we are already at war with Siros!” Deann added frantically. “Father, only a fool fights a war on two fronts!”

Malcolm gave Deann a cold look. “Your father is not quite an old fool yet, Daughter. I have a plan to bring the other Houses into the fight, both against Lagunica and Siros. Our House will finally reclaim all of its lost glories!”

Deann stared at Malcolm incredulously. “Father,” Deann said slowly. “You said that under other circumstances, my words would have held wisdom. What is different now?”

Malcolm sighed, rubbing his forehead. “We have it on good authority that the attack on Trolleheim was done in the company of a girl who was positively identified as Kairei vas Sirosse an Ithil!”

“The princess of House Ithil?” Duncan asked. “What was she doing with Subaru Natsuki?!”

Deann’s face was grave. “This only has one explanation,” She whispered. “House Ithil is forming an alliance with Lagunica.”

Duncan gaped at her.

“Exactly,” Malcolm said with a grim smile. “I always thought it odd that Lagunica hadn’t taken action to capitalize on Gusteko’s state of disarray due to the war between Sanshi and Siros. It seems that now they have.”

Deann frowned. “They have sought out the losing party in this war and made them an offer of aid and support,” She mused. “A sensible strategy. I would make the same decision if I were Lagunica.”

“Err,” Duncan muttered. “Lady Deann, why wouldn’t you seek to ally yourself with the victor?”

Deann gave him a patient look. “Because Sanshi doesn’t need Lagunica’s help. If we were even willing to accept aid from the south, we would put strict limits on what we would permit from Lagunica and what we were willing to offer in exchange. House Ithil is in crisis. Siros will collapse in a matter of weeks and they know it. No matter what Lagunica demanded in exchange for aid, Siros would have no choice but to accept.”

“Very perceptive,” Malcolm complimented her. “I’ve feared that this day would come for a long time,” He admitted. “The southerners are attempting to intervene in Gustekan internal politics. They seek to create proxy wars in the north. We can only speculate what were Lagunica’s demands for Siros before they would offer any assistance but given how desperate Ithil was, I think that is is safe to say that Regent Radu and Princess Kairei are now nothing more than puppet rulers, their trade and foreign policies dictated by the Lagunican sages’ council. They can in no way be considered sovereign over their own territory any longer.”

Duncan looked pained. “Prince Malcolm, that seems… most unlikely,” Duncan objected. “What House would willingly become a vassal of Lagunica?”

“A House that faces its own extinction in a matter of weeks,” Deann said quietly. She shook her head. “Then we truly have no choice. We need to rally the rest of the Houses and prepare to attack Lagunica.”

“What?!” Duncan demanded.

“Duncan,” Deann said firmly, “Think carefully. If Lagunica succeeds in its gambit to gain control over one of the Great Houses of Gusteko, how long do you think it would be before they try it with another House? Why would Kararagi and Vollachia stay out of the game? They could organize proxy wars in the north to their hearts content without putting their own nations at risk.”

Duncan bit his lip as he thought that through. “Prince Malcolm, I say again as I’ve said for months, let us send envoys to Siros. We have a solid advantage right now and the war is effectively over. Siros should have no choice but to sue for peace on your own terms. We should cut off this conflict before it has a chance to spiral out of control!”

Malcolm snorted. “Do you really think that Siros will be anxious to negotiate after concluding an advantageous alliance with a powerful neighbor? They will laugh in our envoy’s face!”

Deann sighed. “On the bright side, Siros’s attempt to involve foreigners in a domestic dispute is tantamount to treason.”

“Exactly!” Malcolm shouted. “Finally all of Gusteko will be forced to unite behind us in our dispute with Siros and with Lagunica! This is a propitious day in the history of our line! I could almost thank Kairei for her treason!”

“Hold on!” Duncan protested. “Treason?! That’s a rather big step, don’t you think?!”

“No, I don’t,” Deann said sadly. “Father is entirely right, Duncan. If Gusteko doesn’t unite in response to this outrage then it will continue to happen over and over again. The southerners must be taught a lesson.”

Duncan looked dubious. “Opening a second front in the war?” He whispered to Deann.

“Needs must when the devil drives, boy,” Malcolm said grimly. “We must prepare for war immediately before Lagunica has time to reposition its forces further.” Malcolm shook his head angrily. “They moved entire armies to northwestern Lagunica, not far from our southern border while claiming they were fighting the Witch Cult! I never even questioned their story!” He cursed himself.

“Father, you must rally the other Houses immediately,” Deann said. “House Griest alone has no chance whatsoever against Lagunica.”

Malcolm pinched the bridge of his nose. “We’ll need to convince the other Houses to join in our war against Siros and a retaliatory strike against Lagunica. This is not going to be easy…”

Deann sniffed. “Ask the other Princes if they’d like Lagunica to be a player in their own next disputes,” Deann said calmly. “That ought to get them motivated.”

Malcolm nodded. “Excellent point, my daughter. And there is a bright side to all this, this conflict will prove that House Griest once again is honoring its responsibility as the guardian of order and purity in Gusteko. This should a significant boost in our attempt to once again claim the Holy Throne. Odglass was a fool to give such an honor to the decadent House Ulgo.”

“How is your campaign going, Father?” Deann asked in concern. “You told me that you had a brilliant plan to put Canmore on the throne that you could not discuss with me. I can’t recall the last time you did not seek my counsel before taking action, much less when you last kept secrets from me.”

Malcolm shook his head. “Learn this lesson well, my Daughter, to achieve victory a leader must often do… questionable things. Accept that the burden of such duties is simply part of the price of leadership and then be prepared to take a long bath until you feel clean again,” He said with distaste.

Deann and Duncan looked at one another in confusion.

“Prince Malcolm,” Duncan said slowly. “Even with all the Houses united, both Siros and Sanshi have been exhausted by the fighting. I fear a war with Lagunica would be beyond our current strength.”

“Have no fear, boy,” Malcolm said coldly. “One day your balls will drop.”

Duncan closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to remain calm.

“Father…” Deann threatened.

Malcolm glanced at his daughter’s cold face and muttered something under his breath that possibly could have potentially been considered an apology.

Deann took a deep breath. “Father, Duncan raises a very valid point.”

“We’ll need to strike hard at first and then adopt a defensive posture and wait,” Malcolm replied.

Duncan looked at Malcolm with loathing. “Wait for what?” Duncan grumbled.

“For Vollachia to become active on the Lagunican southern border,” Deann finished.

Duncan blinked. “What?”

“If Lagunica moves significant forces north to attempt to contain Gusteko,” Deann continued. “The Vollachian empire can’t help but take advantage of it. Lagunica’s forces will be split between the north and south. This should give us ample opportunity to reclaim the disputed borderlands and perhaps acquire some new territory.”

“Ganaks!” Malcolm said triumphantly.

Deann sighed. “Yes, Father. Ganaks as well.”

“I must depart for Pardochel immediately. By the way, Poppet, have you seen Canmore today. I would like to speak to him before I depart,” Malcolm mused.

Deann smiled. “I believe he was reading in the study. He is a very studious boy,” Deann replied fondly.

Malcolm sighed. “We need to get him out of that damned library! It is my heir’s destiny to be a warrior! Not some… bookworm.”

“I dare say that the two are linked,” Duncan commented. “The mind is the sharpest weapon in any arsenal.”

Malcolm gave Duncan an annoyed look. “Stop corrupting my son,” Malcolm grumbled. “I directly blame your influence for Canmore’s fascination with reading and study!”

Duncan looked up at Malcolm, seeming almost flattered.

“Father,” Deann said slowly with a concerned glance at Duncan. “What about Lord Gael?”

Malcolm snorted, looking out the window. “That fool is no threat to anyone! I denounced him as an unworthy knave when I first set eyes on him and he has more than proved me correct. He is nothing short of a degenerate now!”

For the first time in the conversation, Duncan’s fists clenched and he ground his teeth.

Duncan started to rise to his feet but Deann grabbed his hands. She gave him a steady look and Duncan slowly sank back down into his chair. His face was still frozen in a snarl.

Malcolm turned around, having never seen Duncan move. “I will depart this very night to call for a conclave. Daughter, you must gather our forces and prepare for the march when I return. The forces of House Griest and two Acolyte Knights should be ample to handle any challenges. I hope to return with promises of more support from the other Houses.”

“I will be ready to depart at dawn, Father,” Deann nodded.

Malcolm gave Duncan a look of resignation. “And may I assume that you will be accompanying us?” He grumbled.

“Why, thank you for the kind invitation, my Lord,” Duncan replied in a near growl. “I believe that I will. I’m certain that this will greatly aid my study of the wartime arts.”

Malcolm shook his head. “You have been my daughter’s protege for nearly eight years now,” He grumbled. “Do you ever expect to become a fully qualified Acolyte Knight? Most Knights complete their novitiate in a matter of months. You may well go down in history as Gusteko’s slowest student.”

“Such comments would be unfounded, my Lord,” Duncan replied, his voice softening slightly. “Your lady daughter is a jewel among women and her tactical mind is a wonder. With each and every day I find new facets to study and new depths to explore.”

Deann’s eyes glowed.

Malcolm growled at Duncan. “Daughter,” Malcolm grumbled, not taking his eyes off Duncan. “I spoke to Lord Huntington this afternoon. He remains eager for your engagement to be established. He wonders when you will have the time available to deal with this matter.”

Deann nodded. “As soon as possible, Father, naturally. I believe that Duncan is making leaps and strides in his studies. I am optimistic that his education will be completed… eventually,” She replied.

Malcolm looked at his daughter with clear annoyance then walked away, shaking his head as he left the room.

The pair looked at each other with concern.

“Deann, do you think that this is wise?” He whispered.

“I’m not certain, Duncan,” She admitted. “Say what you will about my father, he is decisive, able to take his own counsel and dare great risk at need. His strategy is both high risk and high reward.”

“I’m well aware of that. But I wonder if this time he risks too much. If relations between Lagunica and Gusteko flame into a war, House Griest will suffer the most. It is even conceivable that the other Houses might wash their hands of you and force you to fight the dragon kingdom alone rather than become involved in a war that they see as not their problem.”

“I have my doubts that they would do that,” Deann replied. “Southern imperialism would threaten all the Houses, not just ours.”

“Agreed, but it is possible.”

Deann frowned and thought it over. “True but you realize that the die is already cast, do you not? Father never changes his mind.”

“I know it well, Deann,” Duncan said dryly.

She flashed him a rueful smile. She shook her head. “Then there is nothing to be done. We must gather the assault force tomorrow and hope for the best. I expect that we’ll be living rough for the next few weeks.”

“I refuse to consider long days and nights spent in your divine company to be ‘rough,’ Lady Deann,” Duncan replied.

Deann laughed.

“On the bright side, I believe that despite our early start tomorrow morning, we do have ample time to finish our game,” Duncan added.

The both turned their attention back to the game and their hands once again found one another under the table.