Chapter 2

Saleh sat up in his bed and glanced at the window. It was pitch black outside, which led the sage to assume that it was late at night. His stomach felt great, as if the whole pie incident had never occurred. But usually, after getting sick on food, it would take several days to recover. Therefore, Saleh found it odd that his stomach was feeling normal. On the other hand, he had a feeling that he just couldn't put a finger on. Something just felt...wrong.

And as such, Saleh decided to get up and look around. He stepped into the living room; his heart skipped a beat as he saw Ewan and the band from Jehanna standing in the center of the room. Ewan stood in front with a flute in his hand. Tethys stood beside him with her long scarf. Marisa stood behind her with a harp, and Gerik stood in the back with bongos.

"Ewan...what are you doing with a band at this hour!?" Saleh asked.

"This is my band," Ewan replied. "I know how hard it is to teach me magic with your busy schedule and all. And because you're so great, I'm gonna treat you to a funk concert!"

"You mean right now? Ewan, it's the middle of the night. You should be considerate of those who are sleeping."

"Bah, they won't be bothered," Gerik threw in. "I'm sure everyone would enjoy our beautiful music."

"Is everyone ready?" Ewan called. "One, two, three, four!"

Everyone played on their instruments while Tethys danced to the sounds. However, what they were playing certainly did not sound like music at all. They played their instruments chaotically, filling the room with indecipherable noise. Saleh cringed at the sounds, just waiting for the elder to come in and start screaming at them to quiet down. Oddly enough, that never happened. After a moment, the noise stopped.

"Well, what do you think, Teacher?" Ewan asked.

Saleh was at a loss for words. Truthfully, he hated it, but he didn't want to tell Ewan that. Plus, it still felt wrong...wrong that no one had come to quiet them down. Instead of responding, Saleh turned and left the room.

"Teacher?" Ewan called. "Oh well. Let's play it again! One, two, three, four!"

The band resumed their awful noise.

Saleh stepped outside the house. He looked around the houses within the mountain peaks, which were illuminated by the moonlight. Then something caught his eye that clearly wasn't right. A large castle in the back of the village...a large, familiar castle. Just like the one in Grado.

How can this be? Saleh wondered. What is Grado Keep doing here in Caer Pelyn?

But then again, perhaps this wasn't Grado Keep. There was only one way to find out. Saleh headed over to the castle to investigate.

Upon his entry, the castle appeared to be empty at first. Saleh moved in deeper, eventually spotting a purple light radiating from the back of the hall. Saleh followed the light, descending down the stairs into the dungeon. In one of the prison cells, he found Amelia with another familiar face, and a shaman who had traveled with them during the War of the Stones.

Prince Lyon? Saleh thought. But I was sure that he died...

He kept his distance as he listened in on their conversation.

"Watch closely, Prince Lyon," Amelia said. "I will now show you how to resurrect your father with the power of the Dark Stone."

"This is great!" Lyon exclaimed. "Just imagine what I could do with this stone! I could heal wounds and undo destruction. I could remake the world over, into a better place!"

"Prince Lyon, Mistress Amelia," the shaman said. "I would advise against this. If we make the slightest error in handling the Dark Stone, it will only lead to disaster!"

"We won't let that happen, Knoll," Lyon said. "Mistress Amelia knows what she's doing."

This is...impossible! Saleh thought. Prince Lyon is alive...and Amelia is fooling with the dark arts. I must be dreaming. Yes, that's it. I'm dreaming!

Saleh could feel his heart pounding. He suddenly realized that he wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. He fled from the dungeon and started down the halls to the main door...but then a voice called out to him.

"Sage Saleh!"

Saleh stopped in his tracks. The voice was coming from the throne room.

Has Grado chosen a new ruler? Saleh wondered as he reluctantly approached the source of the voice.

A blue-armored knight with blonde hair sat upon the throne. Saleh recognized him as another soldier who had joined Eirika and Ephraim's company during the war.

"You...you're Cormag, aren't you?" he asked.

"That's 'Emperor Cormag' to you," the knight responded. "You were trespassing."

"I...I apologize," Saleh said. "I shall remove myself at once."

"Not so fast. I have a mission for you."

"A mission...for me?"

"Yes. Go to Castle Renais. You will learn more when you arrive."

"Renais? Why?"

"You would dare question the orders of your emperor?"

"But...I'm not part of your empire."

"You trespass in my castle, you're mine."

Saleh paused. As much as he hated it, he could see Cormag's point. He still wanted to leave as soon as possible. Perhaps the easiest way would be to accept this "mission."

"Yes...sire..." he finally responded.

Saleh took a bow and calmly left the castle.

What could be happening in Castle Renais? he wondered.

There had been a lot of strange occurrances already tonight. There was no doubt that something strange was happening in Castle Renais as well. Saleh's curiosity got the best of him, and he left the village to travel to Renais.