-1Chapter Three: The Bandits of Borgo

Chasing a thief, Eirika's group is soon very off course from their original plan. But Seth refuses to waver: Something makes the bracelet of prime importance, something of which Eirika is not aware.

This is what you call "plot thickening", if you couldn't tell.

Upon Borgo Ridge, a small and dilapidated fortress watched gloomily over the forests of Renais. Once a military outpost, after Fado called the troops away, bandits moved in and took over.

Bazba, the leader of the bandits (who had a very impressive nose) was sitting on his throne, watching his men drag in booty. Most of the bandits scowled as they entered the room, wondering why Bazba insisted on having meetings in the stronghold's master bathroom.

"So where the heck is Bone?"

One of the bandits scratched his head, thinking. "Never showed up. Guess his party got distracted."

"Pff! I smell conspiracy! Bone must be plotting against me!"

"Don't be ridiculous. He's dead." The burly men jumped in alarm when they noticed a lithe man with long black hair in a ponytail and a sharply pointed beard on his chin suddenly appear among them. He scowled at the bandit grunts, shooing them away, then kicked through the stolen goods to reach Bazba.

The bandit leader recoiled in fright. "M-master Terel! Whaddya want? It's not time for the payment!"

"New orders from our employers, Bazba. I want you on the lookout for one Princess Eirika, of Renais. She has a bracelet that the employer wants."

The bandit blinked, staring at his leader. "What is it, Bazba?"

"It's… your outfit. What happened to the shady robes? You're wearing pink now, and I can actually see your face!"

"The black was getting too cliché. Pink's the new company policy. As a splinter arm, though, your men aren't required to comply."

"Oh good. I don't want to look like a girl!" Bazba laughed uproariously, to Terel's consternation.

"Lovely. Anyway, I'll be staying here for a little while. You make sure to find this Princess and her bracelet and deliver it to me."

"Deliver which? The princess or the bracelet?"

"I said 'it'. That means the bracelet, you moron!"

"Well, you should really be more clear when using pronouns, boss. It gets confusing when you don't clarify what 'it' is."

"Just find the bracelet!"

"But won't that mean finding the girl too?"

"Well obviously…"

"So should we find the bracelet or the girl?"

"Grah! Find the girl, take the bracelet, and give the bracelet to me! And for the love of mercy, unless you're using it, find a better seat then this throne!"

Mathwin shook his head in dismay when they came to the gates of the fort. "This is crazy. We're going to break into this place just to get some stupid bracelet?"

"It's not just a stupid bracelet! That bracelet is vital to the future of Renais!"

Eirika blinked at Seth. "How?"

"Well, um…" The red-haired knight scratched the back of his neck, "Let's- Let's just say it's a secret! Something I'm not supposed to tell you about!"

Eirika rolled her eyes, turning back to the fort. "We're risking our lives and my brother's life for a bracelet of unknown importance? Sounds stupid. But so is going to Grado at all, so I suppose it doesn't matter. Let's get going."

Gilliam sighed, following the others, at his usual snail's pace, when he heard a timid squeak behind him. Assuming it was a mouse, he waved his hand behind him to shoo it off, and accidentally hit someone. "Oh, sorry-"

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"Gah! Calm down! You're not that badly-"

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Franz rode over, staring at the young woman with oddly styled pink hair, sitting on the ground and sobbing loudly. "I think you hurt her!"

Gilliam ground his teeth, covering his ears. "Obviously!"

Moulder and Vanessa strolled over, soon followed by the rest of the group. Vanessa helped the girl up, murmuring comforting words while Moulder checked her for wounds. "That's quite a lump on your head. That Gilliam is often a brute without meaning to be."

Gilliam muttered and walked away.

Eirika approached when the girl stopped wailing. "Why are you following us?"

The girl sniffed, making a noise similar to a sink draining, which caused everyone within a few feet to flinch. "I-I'm Neimi. I'm from a village called Lark that- that used to be near here. And… and my only surviving friend went in there!"

Moulder tugged at his moustache. "Please continue."

Neimi started to tear up as she said in a sudden rush: "Hewantedtofindmymirrorthatthemeanbanditsstolefromemeandhehasn'tcomebackandIdon'tknowwhattodobecausehecan'thandlethembyhimselfandhe'sbeengoneforalongtimeandI'mworriedbecausehe'stheonlyoneleft"

Moulder blinked, rubbing a finger in his ear. "Well um-"

"SomeonehastosaveColmbeforethemeanbanditshurthimbutIcan'tbymyselfbecauseI'mascaredycatandI'mreallyworriedandpleasehelphimhisnameisColmI'msoworriedabouthim!"

Moulder turned to Mathwin. "Did you get any of that."

"Any of what?"

The priest shook his head. "Never mind."

Vanessa patted Neimi's shaking shoulder comfortingly. "We'll find him." Because we just LIVE to serve, Sally Sob Story! We don't have ANYTHING better to do than save your stupid boyfriend!

"Because we just LIVE to serve, Sally Sob Story. We don't have ANYTHING better to do than save your stupid boyfriend." Eirika said.

Vanessa blinked, shocked. Neimi burst into sobs again. Moulder sighed, patting her on the shoulder and turning to Eirika. "We're going in the fort. We might as well look for her friend while we're in there."

The Princess shrugged, then turned to enter. The rest of the party followed, including Neimi. Moulder and Vanessa turned to her. "Young lady," the priest asked, "It might be safer for you to stay out here. I'm sure Vanessa would be glad to stay and protect you.

"Of course." The hell? Stay out here? I don't want to stay out here! I want to go beat up some stupid bandits! Why do I get stuck with the crybaby?

"N-no. My grandfather taught me how to use the bow, a little, so I can help… a little. Please?"

Moulder shrugged. "If you think you can, then we would be glad for your help. Let's go, Vanessa."

"Of course." The hell? Go in there? Can't I stay out here where it's safe? I don't want to fight bandits! They have those stupid axes that snap my stupid little stick lance! Why do I get stuck with the crybaby?

Meanwhile, a certain young man with blue hair with a mess of braids entered the fort, strutting by the bandits, waving to a few. "Hey TGIF!" "Working hard or hardly working, eh?" "Hey Mac, how's the wife?"

The bandits blinked at him, too off-guard to stop him. The thief waltzed right into Bazba's bathroom. "Heya boss, 'sappening?"

The bandit leader lowered his newspaper to glower at the youth. "Colm. What do you want?"

"What do I want? Why, to bask in your radiance!"

"Hah hah, very am- amu- very funny!"

"Alright, fine. I want to cash in for my loot."

Bazba sighed, folding up the newspaper. Colm cried out in horror and shielded his eyes, until peeking to realize that the bandit still had pants on. The youth emptied his pockets, revealing an impressive bounty. "We got a monocle, hairbrush, silverware, glass bowls, DVD, bracelet, eye patch, tiara, Macintosh computer- You know these are pretty nice."

"Yeah, I'd bet- hey wait, what did you say before that?"

"Tiara?"

"Before that."

"DVD?"

"No, after that!"

"Eye patch?"

"Oh for- no, the thing that started with a B!"

Colm blinked, looking down at his stash. He stooped to pick a trinket up, twirling it in his hands. "Oh-ho, this baby. You want this?"

"Of course!"

"I'd be willing to part with this for a… reasonable price."

Bazba scowled, reaching into his pocket and tossing a hefty pouch filled with gold at the thief. Colm cheered, pocketed it, then threw it to the bandit leader. "Oh, and one more thing. A certain mirror that you took from the village of Lark."

Bazba ground his teeth. "You've been holding out on me, Bassie. No matter what I bring, you won't trade for the mirror. If you want this, you'll have to."

The bandit cursed, then took the mirror from his wall. "And it looks so good with the new wallpaper!" He handed it to Colm, who stumbled under the weight of the huge wall mirror. "Now hand it over!"

"Gotcha, one brownie, coming up. Geez, the stuff you people do for sweets."

Bazba snatched the confection from the thief's hand, cackling. "Perfect! This is what Terel wanted from me! Now I'll get my reward, and I didn't even need to deal with the brat who had this!"

Colm blinked, struggling under the weight of the mirror. "Uh, sure thing boss." He turned away. "Heh, sucker. I stole that from a fat old lady! He probably really wanted this bracelet!"

"What's that, Colm?"

"Nothing! See ya later!" With that, the blue-haired youth staggered away. Bazba studied the brownie, but shrugged. He started to sit back down on the throne when several bandits charged in.

"Hey! This is boss's private time!"

"Boss! Soldiers! Soldiers are breaking into the hideout!"

"Say what?! This is an em-emerg-emer- This is a bad thing!"

Eirika looked around after Garcia broke the door, scowling at the rundown building. "What a ramshackle establishment. Can't these bandits hire a maid of some kind?"

Seth sighed. "I doubt they really care that much."

"Well still-"

Moulder cleared his throat. "My lady, we might want to start soon. That girl Neimi is in tears again, and I believe the bandits will be converging on our position soon. We weren't exactly subtle when we entered, what with the whole breaking down the door thing."

Eirika nodded, turning to Mathwin. "Strategy?"

Mathwin rolled his eyes. "Yeah yeah, don't actually bother talking to me until you want something…" He looked around the room, nodding, "Well, those walls look pretty weak. I bet we can smash through them, assault the bandits from multiple directions. So a couple tough guys head that way, and everyone else heading up through that hallway. Oh, and look for keys. I bet those bandits have some phat lewt around."

Seth blinked. "Some what now?"

"Tactician lingo. Don't ask. Garcia, Ross, Gilliam, you break down the wall. Everyone else, northward!"

The troops complied. Garcia's axe made short work of the already collapsing wall, which crumbled onto an unfortunate bandit who happened to be sitting there. Gilliam stumped through, with Ross shoving at him from behind. "Move it, fatso! Geez, you're slow!"

"Obviously, you runt."

Meanwhile, Colm was making his way out of the fort, still struggling not to drop the huge mirror, but also ogling several chests along the way. He thought for a moment, then grinned. "I'm just going to abandon these jerks. Might as well help myself to some of their goods while I'm here. I'm sure they won't miss any of it… too much. Not that I'd care if they did." He leaned the mirror against a wall, then set to picking the chests open.

Eirika's group rounded the corner just then, Neimi near the back, still crying occasionally. When she noticed Colm, she let out a high-pitched squeal reminiscent of the one Tana had made a few chapters ago and ran to Colm. The thief shot up, only to be tackled to the floor. "Neimi! What have I told you about following me?! Honestly, you're hopeless!"

"Colm! IwassoworriedaboutyoubecauseyouwentoffonyourownandIwassureyouwoulddie!"

"Neimi! Space bar is our friend!"

Eirika pointed at the thief. "That's the one who stole my bracelet!"

Seth rode over to him, grabbing him by the scruff of his neck and shaking him roughly. "Alright you hooligan! Where's the bracelet?"

"Yow! What bracelet? I didn't take no- Ow, not the EAR!"

Eirika raised an eyebrow at Seth. "I didn't realize you were so matronly."

Seth scowled at the princess as he twisted the young man's ear mercilessly. "Okay, okay! It's here! Just lemme go!"

The paladin released, at which point Colm ran away, cackling. "Sucker!" He attempted to barge through the door, forgetting that it was locked. After getting up off the floor, he unlocked it, then ran through.

Eirika shook her head at Seth. "Nice job. You extract the valuables BEFORE releasing the prisoner from his torture!"

Seth grumbled, trotting off to a corner. Neimi started sobbing again, then ran to follow her friend, ignoring Moulder's attempt to stop her. "This is just going from bad to worse. I hope the others are having a better time."

"This is just going from bad to worse!" Garcia cried, blocking another axe swipe from a bandit.

Ross was ignoring his father's plight, mindlessly hacking at another weak wall. Gilliam was stumping toward a chest, taking a ridiculous amount of time to do it, as usual.

Garcia finally managed to defeat the enemy grabbing the chest key he dropped. He tossed it to Gilliam with a shout. The knight tried to catch it, fumbled the key, and dropped it. Grumbling, Gilliam tried to reach down and pick it back up, but his thick armor prevented him from leaning over all the way. Thus ensued a comical struggle to grab the tiny object.

With a cheer of triumph, Ross managed to smash through the wall, only to shout in terror when a bandit charged through. Garcia's handaxe slew the bandit in one shot. Then a thief with blue hair and a blue cloak (and if you don't know who this is you clearly haven't been paying attention) leapt through, dodging the three men. He scooped up the chest key as he ran by, opened the chest, grabbed the goods, and ran back the way he had come, cackling.

Gilliam glanced in the chest. "Wow, good thin he didn't actually manage to get anything."

From the new doorway came a howl of "Darnit!"

Vanessa edged through the door, which was rather difficult when riding on a pegasus. Good thing that Colm twerp left this door unlocked for us, or we might have needed to go a different way.

Vanessa yelped as an arrow narrowly missed her, causing her pegasus to frighten and fly upwards, with her still on it. Seth and Franz charged through. Unfortunately, the door wasn't big enough for two horses to charge through, and the two riders became stuck. "Franz you dolt!"

"I'm sorry sir! I thought I was supposed to go first!"

"Well you weren't!"

Moulder put a hand on his face and shook his head. Eirika rolled her eyes. Mathwin chewed on a candy bar, standing very far behind the rest of the group. Neimi was, predictably, crying again.

"This is going nowhere fast…" Eirika drew her rapier and approached Seth's horse. With a whinny of surprise, Seth's horse bolted forward, knocking Franz and his steed to the ground. Seth tried to gain control as his horse stampeded forward, trampling three bandits and one blue-haired thief that you really should be able to identify by now.

Garcia, Ross, and Gilliam (belatedly) made it through the small opening in the wall. "Man!" Ross said, disappointed, "You steal all my fun!"

Seth rode over to where Colm was lying, jumped down, and grabbed him by the ear again. "Now hand over the bracelet!"

Colm struggled on the floor. "Tough cookies, knight boy! I'm not- OW! Not the ear again! Just take the stupid thing!" He reached into his pocket, grabbed the bracelet, and threw it away from himself.

Eirika stooped down to pick it up, then slipped it on her wrist. "Now that we have it, can we leave?"

Moulder shook his head. "From a moral standpoint, we should clear out the bandits here. That way the people of Renais will be that much safer."

Colm chuckled from the floor, no longer in agony from Seth's ear-twisting. "You already killed most of them. Bazba will probably be in his office."

Franz glanced over to the other side of the large chamber they were in. "You mean that throne room?" He pointed to a grand set of double doors.

"No no, in that room over there."

"But… isn't that a bathroom?" Franz's mouth curled in disgust, "Why would he make that his office?"

Colm grinned. "Apparently to save himself periodic trips."

Eirika turned to Mathwin, who rolled his eyes as he finished the bite of candy bar in his mouth. "Well, there's just one room, probably small. I'll bet the bandit leader will be pretty good at fighting. Probably has a nifty handaxe like Garcia's. So we'll need to be careful. Send in swords, I guess."

Ross blinked at Mathwin. "Why swords?"

Franz sighed, patting his 'pupil' on the head. "According to the divine rules of combat, swords have a natural advantage over axes. Swords beat Axes beat Lances beat Swords."

"But… why?"

"You do not question the Weapon Triangle, apprentice! You merely obey!"

Bazba had gone back to reading his newspaper when Terel cleared his throat. The bandit looked up, then grinned. "Hey boss! I got the thing you wanted!"

"Perfect! Hand it over!"

Bazba threw the brownie to his leader, who examined it with a scowl. "Bazba… does this look like a bracelet to you?"

Bazba blinked, studying it. "Oooooooh. You wanted a BRACELET. I knew it started with a B!"

"You idiot!" Terel threw the brownie on the ground and stomped on it.

"Now that's just a waste of food…"

Terel grabbed Bazba by the shirt collar, shaking him roughly. "I need that bracelet, you idiot! Now find it or I'll tear you apart!"

"Okay, okay! Geez, overreact much? Let me just deal with these int-in- these interlopers who have entered our secret fortress without my verified permission!"

"You mean the intruders?"

"That's it! Let me just deal with them, and then I'll find the bracelet!"

Terel shook his head irritably, then turned to leave. As he reached the door, it slammed open, smashing him against the wall. In came Eirika and her entourage, this time one by one so as to avoid anyone getting stuck.

Bazba sighed, folding up his newspaper again. "So you are the in-int- The whatever-you-call-them that have invaded my hideout! Well, I won't stand for it!"

Eirika looked around curiously while everyone else was busy preparing for battle. "My my, who picked this wallpaper? It's hideous!"

Bazba roared with fury, then charged, swinging his axe furiously. Seth glanced at the Princess, who was oblivious to the mad bandit rushing at her. With a sigh, he nudged Eirika aside with his foot, causing Bazba to rush by without hitting her. Instead, he plowed into a wall.

Bazba, dazed from braining himself on a wall, stumbled around to try another charge. Seth backed up so Bazba passed him again, this time stumbling and falling into his throne, which he had left open.

Vanessa rolled her eyes. Left the seat up. Typical man.

Seth walked over and stabbed Bazba with his sword. Ross crossed his arms and sulked. "What a disappointing boss battle! I didn't get to do anything!"

The door suddenly closed, with a very crushed Terel glowering behind it. "That was annoying. Now then, where was- hey, you're Eirika."

Eirika huffed. "That's PRINCESS Eirika!"

Terel sneered. "Doesn't matter. I see you also have your bracelet. I'll be taking that, if you don't mind."

"I DO mind, and I'd like to know why everyone wants this stupid bracelet so much! Seth, kill this ruffian, please!"

The paladin sighed riding over and attempting to kill Terel with his lance. The lithe man easily dodged. "Pah, like some sub-par paladin could actually hit me!"

Mathwin squinted at Terel, then shouted in shock. "This isn't some generic bandit! He's a high-level assassin with TWO killing edges! Apparently, he also has a one hundred percent critical hit chance, which means a fifty percent chance for his instant-kill Silencer ability to activate!"

Eirika scowled. "In English, please?"

"We're screwed!"

Garcia howled, jumping at the assassin, and missing (badly). Gilliam stumped forward, but Terel merely sidestepped him. Franz and Vanessa jumped in between Terel and Eirika, but he slid between them. Ross screeched and charged, but Terel held out a fist that the young warrior ran into, knocking himself out. Moulder stepped aside.

"Well, Eirika, looks like your party of incompetent idiots can't stop me!" He leapt forward, grabbing her wrist roughly.

"Hey! Unhand me you uncouth, unwashed, uncivilized ruffian! Didn't anyone teach you any manners?!" She slapped Terel, but he had already pulled the bracelet off. With a cackle, he threw down a smoke bomb and disappeared.

"You know," Mathwin commented to Moulder, "I've always wondered why they don't just disappear, and instead waste money on those smoke bombs."

Seth cried out in despair. "All is lost!"

Colm was grinning and giggling as he said "Heh, yep, all's lost. Okay see ya- oof!" He ran straight into Gilliam, "MAN I have to get better at this subtlety stuff!"

Seth approached and grabbed Colm's ear. "Easy way or hard way, runt?"

Colm sighed, holding out the REAL bracelet. "Sorry. But hey, at least now I know that you're stupid enough to be fooled by a charm bracelet!"

Seth snorted, grabbing the bracelet and handing it to Eirika. "There, safe and sound," he turned back to Colm, "And if you care about this Neimi girl, you'll turn from this dark path, son!"

Colm frowned. "Geez, now you're my mother?"

Neimi was tearing up again, which caused everyone to cover their ears except for Colm who ran over, jumping up and down. "Don't cry! Stop crying! Honestly, do you have to bawl every time someone BREATHES in your general direction?"

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"I was kidding! Kidding!"

Eirika shook her head, turning to the others. "I think it's time we go."

Moulder turned to Colm and Neimi, one crying, the other comforting. "We can't just leave them here…"

Gilliam gaped. "We can't bring them! The girl will wail the whole trip, and the boy will rob us blind!"

Moulder frowned at the knight. "Have a heart, Gilliam! They are orphans!"

Ross blinked. "When did they say that?"

"Neimi did, when she first joined us? You know, she mentioned how her village of Lark had been destroyed?" Garcia shook his head at his son.

Eirika shrugged. "As long as they don't expect to be paid… Hey, you two! You're coming with us!"

Neimi cut off crying to squeal in delight again. "Really?!"

Colm glared at the Princess. "No way! I don't wanna-"

Neimi was tearing up again. Colm sighed. "Fine, fine. But where are you going?"

"The heart of the Grado empire!" Ross cheered.

"WHAT?!" Colm shouted, "You gotta be kidding me! I'm not- Alright, Neimi, stop with the lip! Honestly, you know I can't resist the lip!"

Ross stifled a chuckle, then whispered "Colm and Neimi, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

Colm glanced over at Ross. "One more word, and I slit your throat and then loot your corpse!"

Franz sighed. "Obviously I'm going to have to teach that thief etiquette as well."

Outside the fort, Eirika approached Seth. "It seems we have much farther to go than I'd earlier imagined, especially considering how long it's taken to get just this far."

Seth nodded. "I only hope I don't lose my mind from being with you."

"Excuse me?"

"Oh did I- did I say that out loud? Oops…"

In the capital of the Grado empire, two of the Imperial generals sat astride their mounts, an armored warhorse and a wyvern. They were joined by Selena on her smaller mare.

"General Selena!" The knight on the horse smiled through his gray and black beard, "How are things in Renais?"

Selena frowned. "Anarchy continues to spread. The emperor's puppet government is proving ineffective. The country is run by the thieves and bandits that ride through the lands."

The older general frowned himself. "Viggy doesn't seem too interested in keep order in Renais. But we can't just ignore this…"

Selena shook her head. "We must General Duessel. We cannot go against his Grace's orders."

The youngest of the generals, a blonde, tan man on a wyvern, sighed. "The emperor has been acting oddly…"

Selena blinked. "How so, Glen?"

"Well uh… I dunno. Just kind of a hunch."

"Oh for the love of- you people are so dense!" The three generals were surprised to see a man in a black cloak approach from the shadows of a doorway. His cowl was up, so only his blue bangs were visible of his hair.

"Master Knoll! What are you doing here?" Duessel asked, going a bit closer, mostly to show how much taller he was then the mage on his horse.

"Last I checked, I live here," Knoll answered nastily, "As I was saying, how can you not notice the strange things that are happening with the emperor?!"

Glen narrowed his eyes at Knoll. "Such as…?"

Knoll sighed, "Well, how about the clicking noise every time he talks?"

Duessel harrumphed. "Laryngitis!"

"And the way he narrates all his actions in the third person?"

"No he-"

Suddenly, a shout came from inside the throne room. "He puts the lotion in the basket!"

"Fine, so maybe he does."

"And how he actually wants to take over Renais, rather than simply raid them? And how he completely lacks emotion? And the recent promotions to certain shady characters?"

Duessel scowled. "Alright, alright, I get it. So what's the cause?"

"That… is still under investigation."

Duessel rolled his eyes, then turned away. "Come, it is time for our audience with Viggy."

The three generals, with Knoll standing behind them, assembled in the audience chamber before Vigarde. He gazed over them. With a sudden barrage of clicking noises, he spoke "Thank you for coming. Your efforts in conquering Renais have been a great success. However, we are far from done. You will continue to follow orders without hesitation."

The three generals nodded. Knoll frowned.

"That being said, I have determined that you three are not enough. It will take the strength of three more generals to conquer the remaining nations of Magvel. Enter."

Into the hall came three other soldiers. One was a red haired man with large, bulky muscles and sunken eyes. He carried a large shield and axe easily. Another was an old man bent so his torso was parallel with the floor, leaning on a thick wooden cane. He had limp red hair and hideously wrinkled features, with large bags under his eyes. Third was a man in black armor on a serpentine wyvern, his long green hair framing a sickly smiling face.

"These three showed special skill and prowess on the battlefield, far outdoing you three. I name these three my new generals, giving Grado six generals to lead it to a new era."

The old man chuckled in a dry voice. "Greetings! I am Riev, named Blood Beryl by his Grace, Emperor Vincent-"

"Vigarde," Duessel pointed out.

"Right, him. I know I am new, but I dearly wish to be friends.

Duessel did not answer.

The muscular man grinned, flexing his arms. "Name's Caellach. Apparently my new name is Tiger Eye. Do you guys have some kind of mineral theme going on? Because it's kind of lame," he glanced over at Selena and grinned. "Hey there, sweetie. Hoo hoo, lucky me, huh?"

Selena did not answer.

The wyvern knight chuckled. "Hello, my former peers. You will remember me as General Valter, but today I take the name of Moonstone. I'm here to make up for how pathetic you lot are. Hello Glen. Miss me?"

Glen snarled. "Valter! You scum! I'll-"

Duessel placed a hand on the blonde wyvern rider's arm. "Peace. We will not strike out at our allies."

Glen muttered, but relented.

Vigarde turned to Selena and Caellach, and the clicking resumed. "You two will invade Frelia. Remember our primary target is that which rests at the top of the Tower of Valni."

Selena paled, but nodded. Caellach simply grinned.

"He turns to Duessel and Riev," Vigarde narrated, "You two are charged with the defense of the empire."

Duessel saluted. Riev chuckled.

"Last, he looks to Glen and Valter," he narrated again, "I have a special mission for you, my Sun and Moonstones. While Renais has fallen, its children eludes my grasp. I still require their bracelets. Glen, hunt down Eirika, who foolishly rushes into our grasp. Valter, capture Ephraim, who foolishly tries to battle us in our own borders."

Valter cackled. "Not a problem, Viggy."

Duessel harrumphed again. "Only I get to call him that!"

Glen frowned, but did not answer.

"Vigarde dismisses his generals and begins to sit."

"Geez," Glen muttered to Duessel, "That gets annoying fast."

As the generals filed out, Knoll approached. "Your Grace, I wished to speak to-"

"He interrupts the infidel and says 'I am not interested in anything you have to say Knoll.'"

Knoll blinked, caught off guard. "Then… may I speak with Prince Lyon?"

"My son has no interest in speaking with you. Now leave me be."

Knoll frowned, then turned to leave. I'll learn what is behind this. I'll find out who is responsible for this… besides myself, of course.