-1Chapter Three X: Predator and Prey

As Eirika continues on her way to the Grado border, her brother continues his one-sided struggle inside it. Now Valter, the deadly Wyvern Knight general of Grado, hunts him down. With enemies hot on his trail, Ephraim finds himself running low on supplies, and at Karson the tactician's suggestion he stops in a small village to obtain more.


A small farming community in central Grado, the village of Silva did not often receive word from the rest of the Empire. Thus, when Ephraim and his companions waltzed into town, the people did not realize that public enemy number one was standing in their midst.

Karson frowned at the people in their rural setting, then scowled as her black robes were muddied by the dirt road. Brushing her red hair from her face, she turned to scowl instead at Ephraim. "I blame you for this."

The Prince sighed, glancing at the strategist. "We need food and weapons, so we have to come here."

"Can't we forage?"

"You'd rather eat bugs and possibly poisonous berries than store bought food?"

"Fine, fine. But weapons?"

"Well I COULD sharpen a stick into a lance, and maybe Kyle and Forde could find rocks to throw."

Karson grumbled, but fell silent. Myrrh was looking around curiously. Orson, riding beside her, smiled down at her. As the days went by, he only appeared to become sicker, his face become more and more skull-like, but his smile wasn't particularly ghastly. "Never seen a village before?"

Myrrh glared up at him. "Of course I have! But I've just never seen THIS village before! It's not like you've been to Silva countless times in the past!"

Orson blinked, taken aback. "I didn't mean to be rude…"

Ephraim clapped his hands, turning to Forde and Kyle. "You two start looking for supplies."

Kyle raised his hand. Ephraim scowled, but pointed to him. Kyle then pointed at a passerby. "May we slaughter the denizens of this village and loot their corpses and homes for goods?"

"What?!" Ephraim shouted, aghast, "No! We're going to buy the supplies! Dear heavens, Kyle, what the hell is wrong with you?!"

Kyle shrugged. "Just a suggestion, my prince." Forde sidled away from him.

Ephraim shook his head. "Anyway, split up, people! And no killing whatsoever!" Kyle and Forde saluted, though Forde did a sloppy one on purpose before slumping over and steering his horse away.

Ephraim then turned to Orson. "You scout around, tell me if you see any Grado troops approaching. The moment you do, find me. Got it?"

Orson nodded. "Understood, my prince." He rode off.

Ephraim turned, and realized his mistake. He was now stuck with Karson and Myrrh, who were already glaring at each other. Ephraim swallowed nervously. "I guess we-"

Karson cleared her throat. "As tactician, I will make the decisions."

Myrrh scoffed. "As your savior, I will make the decisions!"

"Our savior? We saved you, shorty!"

"Well I'm GOING to save you people from the spreading darkness, lady!"

Ephraim sighed and walked away, muttering something about finding a place for them to sleep in the local inn.


Into Silva rode a small contingent of Grado soldiers, led by a man with styled brown hair on a large horse. At his side was a man with a large spear, but armor too light to be that of a knight's, running to keep up with the horsemen.

The leader stopped in front of the small city hall of the village, turning his horse to face the people that were quickly congregating. "Citizens of Grado! I, Lord Tirado, have come to make this announcement: The Grado Empire has offered a large reward to anyone who catches the rogue Prince of Renais, Ephraim, who is currently terrorizing the people of our fair country! Should you have any information, bring it to me immediately!"

The lord, then dismounted to enter the hall and speak to the town magistrate. Meanwhile, the spearman nailed a Wanted poser to a tree. The poster had drawn images of Ephraim, Forde, Kyle, and Karson on it.

Karson herself, hiding near the back of the crowd, had pulled up her hood as soon as she saw the platoon enter the village. She pushed through the crowd, careful to keep her face hidden, to examine the poster. With a curse, she then shoved her way back out, but not before gaining the attention of Tirado's companion.

She found Ephraim at the inn. The prince groaned at the sight of her, but she grabbed him by the collar and moved him into the corner fast enough that he couldn't protest. "We have a problem. There are soldiers here, and pretty soon this entire village is going to be looking for you."

Ephraim swallowed nervously. "What do we do?"

"There's a wanted poster with our faces on it, but for some reason Orson's not pictured. We'll have to get him and Myrrh to find Forde and Kyle. You and I need to get out of here."

Ephraim scowled stubbornly. "No. I'm not leaving without my knights. They would never abandon me."

"You sure about that?" Karson scowled at him, shaking her head, "You could do with being a bit more ruthless, Prince. But since your father would fire me if I let you get killed, I guess I'm stuck with you for now. Come on, we need a disguise for you…"


Inside city hall, Tirado had sat down at a table with the magistrate when his spearman burst into the room. "My lord! Prince Ephraim is here!"

Tirado turned, then smiled calmly, everything about his face perfectly controlled, "What good fortune. I knew it was wise not to ignore this village, no matter how small and insignificant it is. Where did you see him, Elroy?"

"The inn, my lord. With that red-haired woman, the tactician. I didn't see his knights, though."

"Very good. Have our men surround the building posthaste. Make sure to check everyone you find in the area. The Prince is said to be a clever one, and even if that is untrue I've heard that the tactician is the best in Renais. They'll undoubtedly try to disguise themselves and sneak out."

The magistrate piped up in a frightened, squeaky voice. "My lord! You can't do that to my people! They have rights as Grado citizens!"

Tirado turned his false smile on the man. "As their liege, I have the right to do whatever it takes to hunt down criminals. That being said, I will not allow this criminal to slip from my grasp. The sooner I find him, the sooner I can teach that arrogant Valter who is the real brains behind the Empire." Tirado stood, motioned for Elroy to follow.

"Elroy, I want you to make it your personal mission to bring me Ephraim. Alive, if it is possible. The tactician is more useful alive as well. But of course, if you cannot retrieve them alive, then they are still useful bargaining tools when dead."

Elroy saluted. "Understood! I'm glad you are entrusting me with such a duty at last, my lord!"

"Well, you have proven yourself useful in the past. And you ARE one of a kind, in a sense. Now go, and do not fail me. The royal brat of Renais must fall here."


"I look stupid."

"You always look stupid. If anything, this is an improvement."

"Oh hah hah, that's REALY funny. I just hope no one recognizes me in this…"

"They won't." Karson led the disguised Ephraim out of their room in the inn and then out of the building. Once outside, she cursed again. "We're surrounded."

Grado troops blocked both ends of the street, and the side alleys as well, checking every person that wanted to pass. Karson looked both ways for an escape route, but found nothing. "We aren't getting out of this. Come on, back to the inn."

She dragged the Prince back inside, looking around. "There has to be a back way…"


Beyond the line of Grado soldiers, Forde was busy snoring. Kyle came upon him, grimaced at the sight of his companion, and proceeded to kick the sleeping knight off his horse. Forde hit the ground with an "Ouch!"

"Quit sleeping on the job, Kyle! You're an embarrassment to the knights of Renais!"

Forde made a shushing gesture. "No need to shout what we are to everyone, nitwit! I hear they're looking for the Prince."

Kyle turned to see the line of Grado soldiers blocking the way to the inn. "You don't say…"

Forde remounted, then saw someone leave the inn and quickly run back inside. "That looked like Karson and… could that have been Prince Ephraim?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Forde! Ephraim is a MAN."

Forde shrugged, then rode around to the alley of a nearby building. Once through, he found himself on the next street. He then rode to the building just behind the inn. Kyle was right behind him. "Forde! We can't abandon our liege!"

"I'm not. I'm looking for another exit to get the Prince out."


Myrrh stood, surrounded by people, behind another blockade of soldiers, though on the other side of the inn from where Forde had been napping. She tried to shove past the armored men, but they knocked her back. "No one is allowed through!"

Myrrh snarled at him. "I need to! My, um, house is over there!"

The soldier sighed, then indicated an alleyway. "That'll take you to the next street over. Just go that way."

Myrrh glanced over, sighed, then started in that direction. The soldier shook his head, wondering why a child that apparently lived in Silva wouldn't know another way to her own house.

Meanwhile, a few feet away, Elroy shook his head in frustration. "Where is he? He must not have come out… Alright men! Move to the inn! We check every nook and cranny!" The soldiers converged on the inn, pushing past people.


"What to do, what to do, what to do…"

"Karson, can I take off this stupid disguise now?"

"No! If nothing else, at least you'll be able to escape. Though I'd prefer if I were the one to get out of this unscathed myself… There has to be a backdoor somewhere!"

Karson stopped when she noticed a door labeled 'Cellar'. She glanced around for anyone watching, then dragged Ephraim though, just in time. As soon as she shut the door and locked it, she heard the sound of marching footsteps on the other side.

The Prince and the tactician made their way into the cellar, and found themselves at another dead end. Karson stamped her foot. "Damn these Silva people and their lack of back doors! There's no way out of this place!"

Someone tried to open the cellar door. When they couldn't, they started banging on it, demanding that whoever was inside open up. Karson and Ephraim looked up in fear, then started running deeper into the small cellar.


Forde and Kyle explored around the building and found the space between its back and the back of the inn. There was no back door to either. "I guess these people aren't much for backyards…"

Myrrh sudden ran at them. Forde glanced over and noticed that she seemed to be digging. "What the heck are you doing?"

"I sense Ephraim beneath me… He's underground, somewhere…"

Kyle and Forde exchanged a glance, then rode to the front of the house. Without even considering knocking, Kyle had his horse knock the door in and he rode inside. The woman within shrieked in terror, throwing rolling pins and frying pans at the two knights as they stampeded through her kitchen to what appeared to be her cellar door. Kyle kicked it in, then tried to ride through. Forde rolled his eyes at his companions' attempts, then dismounted to walk in with his sword.

At the bottom, he found Ephraim and Karson, wandering around in the dark. "Looks like there's a backdoor after all."

"Prince Ephraim!" Kyle shouted from the house above, "Could you please hurry? This crazy woman is trying to kill me!"


The two knights, with Kyle significantly bruised, Ephraim, and Karson left the house in good spirits. Said spirits evaporated when they ran right into a knot of soldiers. Their leader was a soldier in odd armor with an inordinately big lance.

The leader grinned. "Hah! I, Elroy, have captured Prince Ephraim and his posse!"

"Posse?"

Kyle raised his hand. Elroy blinked, then pointed at him. "Are you a Halberdier?"

"Why yes, I am."

Kyle raised his hand again, and Elroy again indicated him. "Aren't Halberdiers only in Tellius?"

"Uh, well…"

"So really, since this isn't FE9, you shouldn't exist."

Karson waved her hands frantically. "Stop! Stop breaking the fourth wall!"

Elroy blinked, then looked downcast. "Crap, you're right." His cool armor and lance quickly melted away into the generic equipment of an average soldier.

Ephraim smiled at Kyle. "Your logic and meta-reference have made this MUCH easier!"

"Your welcome, my Prince."

"Unfortunately," Karson pointed out, "He's still a level twenty. And dammit, there I go breaking the fourth wall."

Ephraim drew his lance and attacked Elroy, who easily parried and stabbed right back. The two cavaliers charged at the other soldiers, running over most of them, but forced to trade lance blows with the rest. Myrrh and Karson backed away from the conflict.

Ephraim ducked a jab from Elroy, and had his own jab ducked by his opponent. The Prince jumped forward to surprise the has-been Halberdier, but ended up running into his lance. Ephraim choked, pulling away before it stabbed too deeply, and fell to his backside.

Elroy crowed in triumph. "No one can defeat me! Now, prepare to die, Prince Ninny!"

"That's Prince SISSY!" Orson shouted, and rode right over Elroy. The soldier let out an "Oomph" as he was flattened. The other soldiers ran away as Kyle and Forde managed to defeat them.

Orson helped Ephraim up. "Sorry, my prince. I killed somebody who was worth quite a bit of experience."

"Dear heavens," Karson said, shaking her head, "We've been making meta-reference this whole time, haven't we?"

Ephraim smiled at Orson. "That's alright. You saved my life. And look at that, the blighter has a nice spear." The prince approached and picked up Elroy's weapon, a lance with a scarf of some kind wrapped around the head, which was made of thicker steel than the usual lance. The word 'Reginleif' was inscribed on the haft.

"An impressive weapon, my prince," Orson commended.

Karson sighed, "Yeah, great, now let's go, before the Grado find us!"

Forde nodded, then turned to Ephraim in a double take. "Um, Prince? Why are you wearing high heels, makeup, and a dress?"

Ephraim flushed. "...Karson made me do it!"

The tactician smirked, and Myrrh giggled.


"Lord Tirado, our scouts encountered Ephraim's party leaving Silva. They were unable to detain him."

Tirado sighed, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, sitting in his throne in the fortress of Renvall. "As I feared, he slipped between my fingers. It seems I will have to be more diligent. Now that that scum Valter is searching for him, the hunt has become a race to the finish."

"Perhaps you can double your glory and capture two prizes."

Tirado turned to the speaker. "Oh really?"

"Princess Eirika is on her way into Grado as we speak, undoubtedly searching for Prince Ephraim. With one as the bait, it would be child's play to net the other."

Tirado pursed his lips thoughtfully. "True… all that remains, then is to capture one. I will contact you when my plan is formulated. Already, ideas float through my mind. Stay in touch."

The other nodded, before leaving the room.

Tirado turned to the window, smiling. "That fool Valter… above me only due to his military ranking. Once I capture the twins and hand them over to the Emperor, I shall be viewed as the greatest military commander in Grado."