~ Chapter 8 ~

Dusk Falls

The sun was already beginning to set by the time Morgan and her companions exited the museum. The city streets were peacefully quiet by then. Only a handful of people remained outdoors – merchants who were busying themselves packing up their goods and closing their market stalls for the night.

Lucina looked around the open streets for some time. Then, realizing that there was little chance of them being overheard, Lucina moved to walk beside Owain, Inigo, and Soleil. "You know, I was expecting the museum to have more to say about the war itself," she began conversationally. "Even those displays modeled after battles from the war seemed more focused on who was where during the earlier parts of the war. I still don't even know what the war was really about."

"That makes two of us," Soleil chimed in, staring at her father expectantly.

Inigo made a face. "I told you, Soleil. Even those of us who fought in the war can't really say what it was about," he said. "The war began long before our time."

"Still, you must have some inkling as to why these kingdoms were fighting," Lucina said.

"If only," Inigo said wishfully.

Lucina narrowed her eyes at Inigo skeptically. Inigo was hard to read, but Owain was looking pointedly away. "Was it truly that complicated?" she asked, staring firmly at Owain.

"Indeed," Owain said gravely, though he continued averting his gaze. "Two kingdoms bound by a conflict so ancient that neither side understood the truth of the war until the very end."

"Then how did King Corrin end up bringing an end to the war?" Lucina prompted.

"Through great sacrifice," Inigo said. "That's why the museum stands. It's meant to help us remember those who fought in the war and paid the price for our victory, not the war itself."

"But it's just as important to remember the war, is it not?" Lucina argued. "Otherwise, history threatens to repeat itself one day."

Inigo gave Lucina a strange look.

"What?" Lucina asked defensively.

A faint smile crept across Inigo's lips, and he shook his head slowly. "Just how much time have you and little Morgan been spending together?" he chortled. "The Lucina I remember wasn't this philosophical."

Lucina laughed, too, blushing slightly. "Quite a bit," she admitted. "Morgan seemed awfully lonely when she was younger."

"Really? How come?" Owain asked.

"You remember how it was when we were little, don't you? Growing up together in the castle, then later on the road… all we really had was each other," Lucina said, her smile fading.

"And so, we were always there for each other," Owain agreed. It was a nostalgic thought, but one accompanied by many painful memories.

"It's not like that for them," Lucina said, glancing over at Morgan; though the young, red-haired girl seemed to be looking around at the city as they went, Lucina knew she was listening. "It's been quite different, watching them grow up in times of peace. Their paths haven't been chosen for them, as ours were for us. They're free to choose for themselves, and only Morgan chose this particular course."

"What are you talking about?" Soleil asked, frowning.

Instead of answering Soleil's question, Inigo, too, peered in Morgan's direction. "Well, they're still young. They may still reconsider," he said quietly.

"I keep hoping she will," Lucina said wryly, her tone suggesting that she thought that possibility unlikely. "War brings about lessons that shouldn't be forgotten, even if we'd sooner forget." She glanced over her shoulder in the direction of the museum, which was slowly diminishing on the horizon. "Strange that the museum had so little to say about the history of these kingdoms and their war. Even in the library, I didn't find many books on the subject."

"Really? That's odd," Inigo said. He seemed strangely insincere, though. "Well, if you'd like, Owain and I could tell you more about our comrades during the war."

"Ooh! Yes, yes, yes!" Soleil squealed excitedly.

Lucina laughed, and though she understood that Inigo was trying to change the subject, she decided to play along. "Sure," she agreed.

"Hmm… let's see," Inigo said thoughtfully. "There was Lord Xander's other retainer, who he chose years before he and I ever met. She was an interesting lass. Most of the castle's servants were terrified of her…"

Just as Lucina had suspected, Morgan had indeed been following the conversation discretely. She had only barely resisted the urge to interject when the discussion had turned to her. She and Lucina were on the same page regarding the museum, though. Not wanting to ruin Lucina's ploy, the younger girl settled for looking away and rolling her eyes in annoyance.

Morgan continued listening in as Owain and Inigo began sharing stories of the people they had known in Nohr. However, it didn't escape her notice that both of them seemed to be trying to dance around the subject of the war itself. Their anecdotes glossed over anything relating to the conflict between the two kingdoms.

These omissions didn't appear to bother Soleil any. She had known many of the faces that could be seen in the museum, but seemed to enjoy hearing more about her father's old friends nonetheless. Sagi, too, moved closer to join in the conversation. Having known little more about these war heroes than the brief epitaphs displayed in the museum, he clung to each of Owain and Inigo's words eagerly.

Before long, Morgan grew tired of eavesdropping. Her attention was drawn to her sister instead. Severa hadn't spoken a single word since leaving the museum's eastern wing. There was a curious, distant look in her eyes, and she seemed to be following the rest of her companions mindlessly.

"Hey, Sis? Are you sure you're alright?" Morgan asked, tugging gently at her sister's sleeve.

"What?" Severa asked blankly, glancing down towards Morgan.

"You don't seem to be yourself," Morgan said. "Was it something we saw back at the museum?"

"I guess," Severa mumbled.

"What is it?" Morgan asked, more insistently.

"It's nothing, really," Severa said, straightening suddenly. "It's just a bit odd to see yourself carved out of stone."

"I suppose," Morgan said, unconvinced. "Owain and Inigo seemed to be alright with it, though."

"Owain loved it, but that's to be expected," Severa said, rolling her eyes. "And Inigo's statue looks so much younger than he does now. For him, it's probably more like looking at someone else entirely."

"But…"

"How would you feel if we returned to Water's Edge to find that the refugees have built a statue of you?" Severa asked.

Morgan winced, feeling the verbal jab keenly, just as Severa knew she would. "That would be a bit weird," she said. "Maybe they'd make me look a bit taller." Though Morgan maintained her carefree tone as best she could, her expression was quite telling.

"Maybe," Severa said, the distant look returning to her eyes.

But not for long, for only a few seconds later, a chorus of frantic screams rang out from further down the road.

"What was that?" Severa asked, immediately snapping back to reality. Her hand instinctively went to the shaft of her lance.

"It came from the library," Morgan guessed uneasily, for the noise had come from the very direction they were headed.

More screams filled the air. A tendril of smoke lazily snaked upwards into the sky, clearly marking the Yato Archive and confirming Morgan's fears.

Without another word to her friends – who were already similarly drawing their weapons – Morgan began sprinting ahead, drawing her sword as she went.

The others quickly overtook Morgan as they, too, raced towards the Yato Archive. They reached their destination shortly after to find a ring of horrified onlookers gathered around the burning building. The vibrant flames danced wildly, as if reflecting the vermillion sunset above.

"Out of the way!" Lucina called out in an authoritative tone. She and Severa burst into the midst of the spectators, who promptly scattered, shrieking in terror.

The view cleared, revealing a dozen men and women standing before the Yato Archive. Many of them carried lit torches, and some had weapons drawn, too. All of them were clad in Valmese plate armor.

Standing beside Morgan, Yashiro brandished his tome, then hesitated. As it was with the marauders in the forest, he wondered if his potent fire magic would only worsen their situation.

Instead, Morgan was the first to strike. A fountain of energy blossomed from Alondite's blade, spiraling forward and sweeping one of the Valmese mercenaries off his feet. The mercenary collapsed, spewing surprised curses as he went. He recovered quickly, though, clambering back to his feet immediately before flashing a wicked smirk Morgan's way. Neither he nor his companions seemed the least bit surprised.

"They knew we were coming," Morgan realized. She sheathed Alondite and drew her father's spell tome instead, deciding it best to keep her distance for now.

"Then they should've run," Severa replied coolly. Setting her lance against her shield, she charged to meet the approaching mercenaries. Owain and Lucina were quick to follow, and the three of them began tearing into the mercenaries' ranks.

Inigo made to follow, but paused just long enough to clamp one hand over his daughter's shoulder. "Keep an eye on Morgan," he instructed, nodding briefly towards the young tactician. Without waiting for Soleil's answer, he, too, joined the fray.

"I'll be fine," Morgan objected discontentedly, gritting her teeth as she began concentrating upon her tome.

"Absolutely fine. I'll keep you safe," Soleil promised, smiling in spite of the chaos around them. She shuffled a few steps closer to Morgan's side, brandishing her sword dramatically at the first enemy to approach them: a particularly burly soldier carrying a heavy, jagged axe in both hands.

Morgan promptly moved away from Soleil for a clear shot at the approaching mercenary. A bolt of lightning erupted from her fingertips, striking the incoming mercenary squarely in the chest and hurling him to the ground. The mercenary laid there, whimpering as his scorched form continued to twitch uncontrollably. "I can protect myself," Morgan clarified.

Morgan began readying a second spell, this time aiming for the three mercenaries that had surrounded Lucina. Yashiro struck first, though. With a quick gesture, he called a fiery orb into being. The flaming sphere descended upon one of the three mercenaries, then blossomed outwards. The mercenary disappeared into the swirling inferno, her cry of agony lost amidst the crackling of the flames.

Lucina recoiled from the heat instinctively, but did not let it distract her for long. She pivoted hard, wrapping around her opponents and chasing after one of her two remaining opponents. The startled mercenary swung his sword wildly at Lucina as she approached, but the Ylissean princess weaved around the attack easily enough. Falchion shot forward, cleanly impaling the mercenary's thigh and eliciting an agonized scream.

Despite their apparent confidence, already, half of the mercenaries had fallen. By the looks on their faces, the remaining mercenaries seemed more interested in escaping than fighting on. Only then did they realize they had been pinned against the Yato Archive with nowhere to run. They retreated a few steps, drawing closer to the flames as they tightened their formations.

A loud crash sounded from above, the ringing, shattering noise of breaking glass. Morgan looked up just in time to see an unfamiliar figure falling from one of the building's second story windows, away from the doorway. The figure plummeted to the bushes below, landing with a soft noise that could barely be heard over the commotion. The bushes, too, had caught aflame, but did not seem to bother the escaping individual.

Morgan studied the figure carefully for a few heartbeats longer. As soon as she was certain that it was neither Helios nor Crescent, she raised her tome and fired again. Her hesitation had cost her, though; her target had already fully recovered from the fall and dove aside, narrowly avoiding the bolt of lightning. Then, without a glance back, the figure began scrambling away, disappearing between the nearest buildings.

"What is it? What's going on?" Soleil asked, for she had seen Morgan's spell but not the fleeing target.

"Never mind that," Morgan said, putting the figure out of mind for the time being. "I'm heading inside."

Sagi, who had thus far done his best to stay out of the way, gaped at Morgan. "You're doing what!?" he gasped.

"You can't go inside!" Soleil protested, shaking her head fervently.

"Hel and Cress are in there," Morgan reminded sharply. Then, ignoring Soleil and Sagi's protests, she darted ahead, squeezing nimbly between Lucina and Owain.

The Valmese mercenaries cried out in surprise when they saw a small figure storming their way. That was the last straw for them, for none of them had the presence of mind to comprehend what was happening. Their formations crumbled, and they began fleeing every which way, throwing the one-sided skirmish into utter chaos.

"Wait! Come back!" Soleil called, scrambling to keep up with Morgan. She, too, weaved through the panicking Valmese mercenaries. Her father tried to reach out and stop her, but Soleil was too quick for him, disappearing into the library after Morgan.

As soon as Morgan entered the building, she caught a face full of acrid, black smoke. After a brief coughing fit, she pressed on, keeping her head low. The stinging smog left her partially blind, but her keen ears quickly picked up the sound of clashing steel, and she began racing towards the noise.

"Morgan! Wait up!"

Morgan recognized Soleil's voice, and could hear the other girl struggling to navigate the debris that had fallen around the entrance. "Get out of here, Soleil!" she shouted back.

"No way!" Soleil retorted. Her protests dissolved into a series of sputtering coughs, but like Morgan, she continued on undeterred, her disheveled hair flying wildly behind her.

Soleil caught up to Morgan a few seconds later, and the two of them pushed their way onwards past rows and rows of bookshelves. Finally, at the back end of the first floor, the two of them across more of the Valmese mercenaries. Three were standing in the hallway beside one of the aisles, hunched low to avoid the worst of the fumes. None of them seemed to have noticed Morgan and Soleil approaching.

Further down the aisle, Helios was battling four more of the mercenaries. They were cramped in tight quarters, for the shelves were only about six feet apart. It should've been to Helios's advantage, but he fought with only one of his two swords. The other rested upon a pile of armored bodies. A terrible gash ran along the length of his right arm, blood dripping with his every movement.

Crescent was carefully poised behind Helios; it looked as if the pair had intentionally backed themselves into the corner. Crouching to one knee, with her cloak wrapped around her nose and mouth to ward off the smoke, she sent arrow after arrow sailing past Helios.

The three Valmese mercenaries at the aisle's entrance exchanged uneasy looks as another of their comrades collapsed. They were then blasted aside as Morgan unleashed another bolt of lightning at their feet. One suffered the brunt of the blast and was thrown down the aisle, where he crumpled to the ground. A second was flung headfirst into the nearest bookshelf, which toppled over.

The third mercenary, through sheer fortune, managed to avoid the worst of the lightning. He spun around, sword drawn, but before he could do anything else, Soleil smashed the hilt of her sword into the man's face.

"Hel, Cress! This way!" Morgan urged.

Crescent's next arrow struck one of the remaining mercenaries in the face, exploding into a blinding flash of light. Obscured by the smoke and light, Helios went into a wild, forward spin, and the last of the mercenaries collapsed, gasping for air and clawing at his wounded abdomen.

Helios promptly sheathed his remaining sword, then offered his hand to Crescent, helping her over the fallen mercenaries. Crescent stooped low as she climbed over the corpses, retrieving Helios's fallen sword as she went. With that, the four of them took off running, racing towards the entrance and pushing their way through the thickening, noxious smoke.

When they reached the entrance of the library, they found the rest of their companions waiting just inside. A large table had been flipped onto its side, forming a makeshift blockade across the doorway.

"What's going on?" Morgan asked, as she, Helios, Crescent, and Soleil moved up to the barricade and crouched down behind it.

"More of the mercenaries wrapped around behind us after you ran inside," Severa explained, her countenance grim.

"Over three dozen of them. Most of them are carrying bows," Lucina added. As if to accentuate her claims, a handful of arrows soared over the barrier. Several more struck the table with a series of clattering noises.

"We can't stay here. We have to get past them somehow," Morgan tried to say, though she accidentally took in a mouthful of smoke, cutting her off.

"There's too many of them," Yashiro warned. "We can't take them by ourselves."

As if on cue, war horns began blaring from just outside the library, loud enough to drown out the sizzling of the flames. The barrage of arrows stopped.

"Those were Nohrian war horns," Sagi said hopefully, as the sounds of fighting reached them.

"If we head outside right now, we'll be caught in the open," Lucina warned, reaching out to catch Sagi before he could rise.

"We could lift the table and bring it with us, like a shield," Inigo suggested uncertainly.

An ominous laugh echoed loudly through the Yato Archive, as if mocking those trapped within. Morgan and her companions turned to find a hooded figure standing behind them, roughly fifty feet away. The figure's silhouette appeared human, but stood fully seven feet in height. He – at least, Morgan thought it was a man – continued to laugh in a high, cold voice.

Flames gushed outwards from the figure, feeding the raging wildfire. The ferocious blaze swept over Morgan and her companions. The barrier, too, burst into flame.

"We can't stay here!" Sagi cried out, flailing about and trying desperately to extinguish his burning clothing.

Sagi was right, Morgan realized. She drew her sword. "Stand back," she warned, before sweeping the burning table aside. Pieces of burning lumber flew every which way, accompanied by a shower of sparks.

With that, the harried group stormed out, each of them batting at their clothes as they went. Another wave of magical flames followed them outside, licking at their heels. The figure within continued to laugh, but the horrid, grating sound was soon drowned out by the crashing sounds of the crumbling library.

There was no sign of the additional Valmese soldiers outside. Instead, the streets around the building were swarmed with Nohrian soldiers clad in their polished, gleaming black armor. Morgan had barely gone five steps before one such soldier separated her from her friends. The armored knight scooped her up effortlessly and began carrying her away.

"Hey! Let go!"

The knight ignored Morgan and her struggling, eventually setting her down beside a nearby tavern. "Stay here," he warned tersely, before racing back to assist his comrades.

As peeved as she was about being treated as a child, Morgan did as she was told. She watched the turbulent throng in front of the library and saw several of her friends being ushered away by Claire's disciplined soldiers. A few of the Nohrian soldiers were otherwise preoccupied, either with keeping bystanders back or with examining the fallen Valmese mercenaries for signs of life.

A load, creaking groan echoed through the streets, drowning out all other noises for an instant. Then, rumbling crashes sounded from within the building as several supporting beams gave way at last.

"Fall back, everyone!"

Claire's voice rang out imperiously, reaching even those who could not see her. The Nohrian soldiers hastened to obey, hurrying anyone still alive away from the Yato Archive. The orders had come at last possible second; more booming crashes rang out from inside the library, and the second floor began to fall away. Burning debris and rubble tumbled outwards, raining down upon the corpses of the fallen Valmese mercenaries.

"Are you alright, miss?" one of the soldiers asked, approaching Morgan.

Morgan looked up at the soldier, vaguely recognizing the man from their journey to Castle Yato. "Thanks, Trevor," she said.

"No worries," the soldier said. He looked surprised, as if he hadn't expected to be recognized or remembered.

The soldier left to rejoin his comrades, leaving Morgan alone. Morgan began scanning the crowd for any sign of her friends; she had seen Lucina, Soleil, and Yashiro being escorted away, but had not spotted any of the others before.

Inigo detached himself from the crowd and moved to join Morgan. "Everyone's fine," he said reassuringly.

Morgan relaxed visibly at that, and settled back to wait patiently for the rest of her friends.

Instead, it was Claire who joined them first, accompanied by three of her soldiers. "Fan out and clear the streets around the archive. Evacuate anyone within two blocks of it, and make sure anything flammable is moved far, far away from the wreckage," she instructed.

The three soldiers saluted and left, leaving the princess alone with Morgan and Inigo.

Once her soldiers were out of sight, Claire's expression softened, becoming rife with confusion and worry. "What happened, Inigo?" she asked.

"I'm not quite certain myself," Inigo admitted. "We were visiting the archive earlier today. Two of our friends stayed behind while we went to see the Scarlet Museum. After we finished touring the museum, we came back for our friends, and instead found those ruffians clustered around the library's entrance."

"Marauders," Claire guessed grimly. "And better equipped than most I've seen."

Morgan and Inigo exchanged worried looks, but neither of them corrected Claire.

"There were more of them than I expected, too," Claire said worriedly. "We chased away nearly a score of them when we arrived."

"There were more inside. More than a dozen."

Morgan, Inigo, and Claire turned to see Helios and Crescent approaching.

"We were looking through some of the scrolls when they approached us," Crescent explained. "They were cloaked and hooded, and seemed out of place. We asked them what they were searching for, but they didn't answer. Instead, they tore off their cloaks, and one of them threw a flask of burning oil into the nearest shelves."

"They set the library aflame on purpose?" Claire asked, aghast.

"It sure didn't look like an accident," Helios replied grimly. "They drew their weapons, then, and moved to block off the main hallway. We fled deeper into the library. They chased after us, setting more fires as they went."

"What sort of scrolls were you looking at?" Morgan asked.

"Old paintings, mostly," Crescent answered. She looked back at the burning archive, a somber look in her eyes. "Some of them were quite nice."

Claire gave Helios and Crescent a thoughtful look, studying their appearances carefully. "They may have noticed your weapons," she guessed. "Though I don't see why they would've been in the Yato Archive, of all places. Or how they dared to attack anyone within the city limits, for that matter."

"I didn't realize carrying a sword could be so dangerous," Helios remarked.

Meanwhile, Crescent seemed to have other concerns on her mind. "Morgan, could you tend to Helios's arm?" she asked. She nudged Helios forward. Helios obediently extended his right arm, wincing in pain as he peeled back his tattered sleeve from the wicked gash.

"Oh! Yes, of course," Morgan said, rummaging through her pack for her staff. As she began tending to her wounded friend, she turned and asked Claire, "Are any of your men hurt, Princess?"

"I don't believe so. The marauders fled as soon as we arrived," Claire said. She continued staring at the ruined archive, her face now creased with doubt. "The Melee has always brought us trouble. We've kept it going for so long nonetheless, hoping that one day, it would pay off. Now this. There were tens of thousands of tomes and scrolls kept here. Centuries of art and history, reduced to naught but ash by these vandals."

"Were there copies of the tomes kept elsewhere?" Morgan asked in a small voice.

"Copies of some of them, certainly," Claire said. "Castle Krakenburg houses a vast archive of its own. I've heard that Castle Shirasagi does the same. Many of the older texts kept here were copies of those belonging to Nohr and Hoshido. Even so, it'll take decades for the scribes to make new copies of all of them."

Morgan fidgeted guiltily. "I'm sorry, Princess," she said.

"Don't be," Claire replied softly. "This was our own doing. We willfully invite trouble into our kingdoms, time and time again, hoping to share the peace we've found with the rest of the world. For that, our people suffer. This is the price of our hubris."

"It's not hubris," Inigo disagreed quietly.

Claire turned to stare quizzically at Inigo.

Inigo's gaze swept across the city, one that he had known once, but had changed so very much in his seemingly brief absence. Though he tried to remain stoic, he couldn't quite hide the nostalgia in his eyes. There was something else, too, Morgan thought.

"Regret?" Morgan whispered to herself.

"You've been to the Scarlet Museum yourself, haven't you?" Inigo asked Claire pointedly. "How many people willingly gave their lives, believing peace to be worth any price?

"Many, but it is that very peace that we, in our arrogance, put at risk," Claire argued. "And to what end? To create more enemies? The wars beyond our lands have raged on for longer than anyone can remember, and show no sign of ending. Our peace is an anomaly – a miraculous gift we've taken for granted."

Inigo paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. "I heard a story once, the last time I visited Nohr," he began gravely. "Supposedly, even after the Nohr-Hoshido War came to an end, there were many on both sides who wished to fight on, unsatisfied with the armistice between their kingdoms."

"I have heard the same," Claire said, nodding slowly.

"There were other heroes from the war, too," Inigo went on. "Heroes who fell in the battles to come, whose names have been forgotten by history. Heroes whose likenesses do not appear beside their comrades' in the museum. While their friends and families grieved and despaired, wondering if peace would ever come, they themselves never doubted it. They died smiling, confident that their deaths would be worth it in the end."

"That doesn't seem possible," Claire said, frowning. "They say the Scarlet Museum was built while King Corrin still lived, and that he was determined to honor each and every man and woman who ever fought beside him."

"The war was so long ago. Who can really know for sure?" Inigo asked, shrugging. "It's just a story. But if it was true, they were right to keep believing, weren't they?" He fell silent after that, letting the story end on that solemn note.

Claire had nothing more to say either, so it seemed. A few minutes passed, and the flames began to ebb. Then several of the Nohrian soldiers returned, accompanied by a number of city guards. "The streets around the archive have been cleared, milady," one of the soldiers reported.

"We've evacuated the civilians living closest to the Yato Archive. It seems we have no choice but to allow the flame to burn out on its own," one of the city guards added. His uniform seemed more decorated than those of his companions.

"I thought as much," Claire said. "With your permission, Captain, my soldiers and I would like to join with your patrols until we're certain that the vandals are truly gone."

"T-truly? Are you certain, Princess?" the guard captain stammered. "Your quarters in the castle have been prepared and await your arrival. Besides, the king and queen were expecting you to join them for this evening's meal."

"We will stay and assist the guards. Excepting, of course, your personal guard," one of Claire's soldiers offered.

Claire sighed, then nodded. "Very well, then," she gave in.

Morgan sidled closer to Inigo, lowering her voice to a whisper so that Helios and Crescent wouldn't overhear them. "Someone was missing from the memorial in the museum," she guessed.

"It was only a story," Inigo said, rather unconvincingly.

"Soleil's mother wasn't there, was she?" Morgan pointed out.

Inigo shook his head. "She was a princess," he replied. "Her statue should be in the Central Wing, along with her brothers and sisters."

"Then yours should've been beside hers," Morgan reasoned.

Inigo sighed. "She never would've wanted a statue," he explained. "Lord Corrin would have known that."

But Inigo had hoped to see such a statue anyways, Morgan realized. She began pacing about idly as she considered her sister's dour mood after their tour of the museum. She had agreed to the visit in hopes of lifting Sagi's spirits, but the tour had had the opposite effect on both Severa and Inigo. Coupled with the Yato Archive's grim demise, it seemed like a complete disaster.

Morgan stopped pacing when a gentle hand clapped down onto her shoulder. She looked up to see Helios standing beside her.

"Let's head back to the inn, Morgan," Helios suggested.

"Yeah. Okay," Morgan said. She looked around and saw the rest of their companions slowly making their way over. "Actually, Sis will probably insist on us finding a proper meal, first," she mused. "She keeps insisting that I'm not eating enough."

"We could eat at the inn," Helios reminded.

"I don't think our inn serves any food," Morgan said, straining to remember the small inn's layout. The common room had appeared quite sparse, as if guests rarely remained there for more than a few minutes.

"Then I'll go find a tavern serving dinner and bring our meal back to the inn. You and the others head back first," Helios offered. "You too, Cress."

"Alright," Crescent agreed readily.

As distracted as Morgan was, that short exchanged rang discordantly in her mind. "Aren't you going with him, Cress?" she asked, surprised.

"He'll be fine on his own," Crescent replied. Her tone was shockingly flippant, considering what had transpired within the Yato Archive. "Just keep your weapons out of sight, Hel. There may be more of those marauders about."

"Duly noted," Helios said dryly, tucking his sheathed swords further within his dark cloak.

Morgan stared at the young couple, bewildered. Their casual banter seemed innocent enough, but terribly out of place. Surely, they must have known that their attackers weren't thugs hoping to steal their weapons. Something else must have provoked the attack.

Something neither of them wanted to talk about out in the open. Morgan smiled as she caught on. "Alright. Thanks, Hel," she agreed, her hopes rising.

Helios returned Morgan's smile, then waved and set off. Moments later, the rest of Morgan's companions caught up to her.

"Where's he headed?" Severa asked worriedly.

"He said he'd find us something to eat," Morgan answered truthfully. "Let's head on back to the inn, first. The rest of those vandals are still out wandering the city, remember?"

"All the more reason for us to remain together," Yashiro said uncomfortably.

"Don't worry about Hel," Morgan said insistently. "He won't be gone long."

"But…" Lucina began to protest.

Realizing they were getting nowhere, Morgan began striding purposefully towards the inn, leaving the others no choice but to follow.