Sigurd carried Esme in his arms, the tarnkappa swirling around them both, as he ran easily towards his goal. There was only one lake in the area and he was mindful of his promise to Brynhildr. As he ran, though, Sigurd pondered what had occurred.

I want to hate her as much as she wants to hate me, Sigurd had felt that emotion from Medea and he even guessed the cause. And yet… Her final action renders it moot. He'd been doomed, he'd felt it as the poisons ate away at him despite Esme's best efforts. That gust of wind had changed everything. I must set it all aside. It was painful as Sigurd remembered Brynhildr's pure misery, but out of fairness and gratitude, he would set aside his grudge towards Caster.

His mind centered and ready to face more unpleasantness, Sigurd arrived at the lake and gently set Esme on her feet. As he did, he considered the time frame involved. The body would have been in the lake for at least five days…

"Esme, can you gather some dry wood while I try to locate the remains?" Sigurd said, knowing it would require magic. Esme nodded, reaching up to adjust the large golden barrettes in her hair. They were in the shape of starfish, centered with very large sapphires and they were actually her defensive Numbers. Any threat would activate them and they were potent enough to give Sigurd plenty of time to reach her.

"I'll get some right away," Esme said with a small smile before scampering into the woods. Sigurd knelt by the bank of the lake and traced a water rune. As he did, he felt an extra depth and potency to the rune. He was still a Saber but now he was also a Caster. Yet, how could that be true?

Pondering the matter… he would need to question Esme about it, and soon… Sigurd searched the lake for taints. He had to move around and sample the water in various locations, but he reasoned the body would be near the shore and easy to find. He was right about that… soon, Sigurd located it and gazed at the corpse with tight lips. It was as unpleasant as he'd envisioned.

Thanking the gods that he was now a Caster, Sigurd employed air runes to lift the body and gather a few errant bits. Where was Esme… ah, right over there, he could see her placing wood. Sigurd quickly set off, the body floating behind him.

When he arrived, Esme's eyes went wide and she put a hand over her mouth. Sigurd regretted not warning her as she swallowed, hard.

"Are you alright princess?" Sigurd asked in concern, quickly going to her side. Esme swallowed again before nodding, averting her gaze from the corpse.

"It's just the smell…" Yes, it was truly awful. Sigurd had encountered as bad, in the aftermath of battle, but never any worse. "I'm fine. Sigurd, does this look good?" Sigurd looked at the pile of wood and was shocked by how much she'd gathered. How could one small girl…? But then a beautiful golden starfish, much larger than the barrettes that were missing from her hair, floated out of the woods with a nice piece of wood clutched in its tentacles.

"It's fine. I wasn't aware those were familiars as well as defenses," Sigurd said, a bit bemused, as Esme took the wood and looked it over for a moment. She flashed him a smile before adding it to the pile.

"They were a commission from my family. I think they were going to be a gift for someone very important but they're mine now," Esme said with pleasure and Sigurd smiled at the thought. "They're very basic though… I have to check all the wood because they can't tell if something is wet or dry." Ah. "But I was able to tell them the right size to bring."

"Yes, it is perfect," Sigurd said warmly before arranging the wood a bit more. He knew exactly how a funeral pyre should be, after far too many times… when it was set to his satisfaction he floated the body onto it, settling it into the wood. "Go to rest with the gods. I am sure you have a place in Valhalla," Sigurd murmured as he traced the rune for fire.

The pyre went up quickly and the smell became much different but even worse, causing them both to retreat as it burned. Sigurd held Esme as he watched it burn, feeling a deep regret in his heart. I'm sorry things didn't go better for you, my beloved Brynhildr. Sigurd felt sadly certain that her Master had been a good person, to remind her of him…

They waited until the fire was guttering and clearly would not spread. Then Sigurd lifted Esme in his arms again, considering where to go. The town? Yes, the town, but only for the purpose of stealing a car, if they could. Sigurd had the Riding skill… wait a moment.

Can I do that? Sigurd wondered, glancing down at Esme. She was gazing up at him with trusting eyes. Princess, can you give me mana? His supplies were crushingly low. Esme nodded and Sigurd felt the change, her mage circuits activating and giving him a gentle flood of mana. Sigurd concentrated on manifesting a Noble Phantasm.

To his shock, it worked. A great horse appeared, a dark stallion with a flowing mane and majestic appearance. Sigurd felt a great warmth in his heart and smiled as the horse snorted and pawed at the earth, impatient to begin.

"Grani, it has been so long," Sigurd murmured. Then he smiled and lifted Esme up, making her squeak. It was the work of a moment to settle her in front of the saddle and then Sigurd pulled himself aboard. "Have you ever been on a horse before, princess?" Sigurd wasn't sure, horseback riding seemed like the kind of thing a magus might do. Esme squeaked again.

"N-No – eep!" Sigurd set his steed off at a slow trot and almost laughed as poor Esme bounced. Well, he knew how to fix that.

"It's all about timing, princess. Let me show you…" Sigurd instructed her as they rode and soon Esme was getting the hang of moving with the horse. It was only for her own comfort, fortunately… she couldn't hurt Grani… but it would make the trip far more bearable. Hmm. "Esme, I seem to be every possible class. How is this possible?" His summoning was fundamentally different than it had been from the Grail. Esme was silent for a moment as they rode.

"When I had the Grail, I needed to use most of the power to free myself from the tower. Sigurd, I did more than that though… I changed the tower so it won't recognize me ever again." Excellent. "And my family too. It doesn't belong to anyone anymore, it's just a death trap." Even better! Sigurd had been worried about the fact that the tower bent time and space. It could be used to cover vast distances quickly. "That left enough energy to tie you directly to Akasha… and when I did that, it provided all of your records." Ah? "I couldn't stop it even if I wanted to… it just pulled out everything and gave it to you." Hmm… interesting.

"I feel like I have much less mana though," Sigurd mused, considering what he was feeling. A thin but steady trickle of mana from a source outside himself and the more direct support of Esme's mage circuits, that were currently maintaining Grani. Esme nodded.

"The Grail gave you more. Now it's just me and the Root… I think the Root would give you more, much more, if there was a threat to Humanity." Sigurd glanced to the side at a movement and saw it was nothing but a bird, startled out of hiding by the intruders in the forest. They were following a small footpath that from what Sigurd should tell, would eventually lead to the road. "But it won't do that just for me."

"But I'm a Caster now, which means as soon as we settle in, I can do it for myself," Sigurd supplied, feeling a deep pleasure at the thought. He could draw on the ley lines now and store the mana within his body, giving himself a vast reservoir, just as Caster had done. And then he could use it to empower his other Noble Phantasms, his Grani and his Gram. "Am I right in thinking I am more powerful this way?" Or was he missing something? Esme turned in her seat so she could look at him, a smile on her face.

"Ultimately you will be but right now we're very vulnerable." That sobered Sigurd because it was true. His mana was so low and while Esme could maintain Grani just moving around, could she do much more? Likely she could let him unleash Grani or Gram just once, but it would leave her prostrated. The support of the Grail had been great. "We have to move quickly to scramble the trail." …Hm.

"Can you give me more Esme?" Sigurd asked, a bit carefully. He did not want to ask for too much. Esme's brow furrowed and more mana flowed into him. Sigurd judged it just enough and used it to unlock something a touch stronger.

Grani's stride jumped in speed yet became impossibly smooth. Esme gasped and Sigurd held onto her gently as trees blurred by, sliding into a road. They ran down faster than most cars could travel, yet with perfect control and Sigurd internally exulted. If they could maintain this for even an hour, they would reach a large metropolis. Then they could glamor and bedazzle their way onto a plane to the isles of Scandinavia. Sigurd wanted the boost to his power that his native land would give him. And then…

Let them give us enough time. Just enough time. If Sigurd could settle into a leyline and build his Territory, anyone the Clock Tower sent would be doomed. But if they struck before that… Let them give us enough time.

Just enough time.

Sigurd realized something was wrong when they boarded the airplane.

Esme knew nothing of the normal world so Sigurd needed to remain materialized, by her side, as they bedazzled and beglamored their way onto a plane. So he thought little of the stares and whispers. Even in his own day, when he'd rode into a strange village, everyone had stared at his hair, his glasses, his demeanor. In this modern world, where humans were bronze instead of silver, how could it be otherwise? So Sigurd thought nothing of it.

He realized his assumptions were faulty aboard the plane.

Sigurd, why is everyone staring at me? Esme's mental voice was the tiniest of whispers as she huddled as close as the airplane seat allowed. Sigurd glanced around, deeply concerned as he realized she was absolutely right. Every eye was upon her and Sigurd could not imagine why. Esme was a pretty girl but she was not striking and alien like Brynhildr, nor a darkly beautiful Queen like Gudrun. And the attention she was receiving was bizarre. Most of the plane seemed to be enchanted with her and many of the women, including the flight attendant, were suspicious of HIM! Several of the young men seemed to think they'd fallen in love, judging from the jealous and calf-eyed glances. But there were also negative reactions… several people changed their seats to move away from Esme and Sigurd saw one old man muttering darkly as he glared at her. What was going on? Sigurd tried to puzzle it out and suddenly remembered. A little girl walking through the Roots of Yggdrasil, absorbing the energy of pure life without a care in the world…

Esme, are you emitting something from the Root? Can you compare yourself to them? Sigurd asked urgently and with a direction to put her mind to, Esme focused on the problem. Sigurd saw her eyes go unfocused as her attention turned to her Numbers.

Oh Sigurd, you're right! Sigurd relaxed a little at the confirmation. If this was the problem they could surely fix it. How did I never notice before? Oh… probably because the shields of a magus would defeat it. Hmm… but did it defeat it entirely or just reduce it? Sigurd's lips tightened as he thought of a reason Esme's family might dislike her. Were they among the repulsed? I'm sure I can do something, let me see. Sigurd waited patiently, smiling gently at the flight attendant as she offered them juice and water while watching him like a hawk. A protective reaction, interesting.

Sigurd knew when Esme found the key. The attention on her lessened, as she became just an ordinary girl to the other passengers. Many of them seemed puzzled, glancing away and back, while a few of the young men were disappointed in the change. And the suspicion against him seemed to lessen, although now he was catching looks of his own. Well, that couldn't be helped. Sigurd was only glad they were looking at him and not Esme.

Is it difficult, princess? Can you maintain it? Sigurd asked as Esme took a tiny bite of a crème cookie they'd been given. Her brows knit at the taste and she shook her head before putting it aside.

It's fine, it's very easy. I just have to lessen my connection to the Root. Sigurd frowned to himself. That would make it difficult for her to access Akasha for extra mana. And it doesn't want to seem to give me mana anyway. It didn't? I think it reacts to urgent need and I don't really need it now.

I see. That did explain why the Root had been willing to supply Esme during the Grail War. She'd only accessed it at the direst of times, as well. Well, we'll be in Helsinki soon. That was where the flight was going. Sigurd had no idea if Helsinki was close to his ancestral homeland, but he suspected any place that considered him an ancestral hero would do. And if he didn't feel any increase in power, they'd go to Stockholm.

Mmm hmm, only a few hours. I have the translation spells ready, Esme said brightly and Sigurd smiled to himself, pleased to see she was enthusiastic. He'd been a bit afraid that his Esme would be terrified of the modern world and she was frightened, to be sure, but she was also enthralled. He'd already stopped her from kneeling so she could look beneath a car to see its innards. Sigurd suspected Esme would soon be devouring books on every sort of subject.

As soon as they left the airplane, departing via the disembarking tube, Sigurd knew they would need to travel no further. Strength seemed to travel up his legs, imparting a power independent of the Root or Esme. So this is regional fame. Sigurd slowly breathed in the air, finding it held an extra richness. I will use this gift well. He just needed to set up his Territory and he would be nearly invincible.

Their first stop was a bookstore in the airplane terminal. Sigurd wanted one thing from it… a map of both Helsinki and Finland in general. His idea was that they'd pause in the city, taking a hotel room – Esme desperately needed rest – then make their way out at dawn. Sigurd would use Grani again and they would trace the leylines until the found a good nexus that was near a town. That was more likely than it sounded, humans seemed to gravitate to such things, even with no knowledge of their presence. Although before they got the hotel room, they would need to find a jeweler to sell the contents of Esme's bag. Sigurd made a mental note before carefully tracing a rune of air, keyed to cause distraction to everyone who might see, before pocketing the maps. He purposefully moved to find Esme and was amused to see she had her nose buried deeply into a book. Hmm, who was Stephen Hawking?

"Esme, we need to go." Sigurd interrupted her reading gently and Esme started, blushing as she quickly put the book away. Sigurd caught her longing glance back as they left the bookstore. "We'll have plenty of books someday," he said to bolster her and Esme nodded with a small smile.

"I want a great library like the one my parents have in their manor." The place she'd lived most of her life, until she'd been dragged to the tower. The tower had only the dregs, the bits and pieces of books that her family did not want. Sigurd smiled a little at the thought.

"I would love that as well." In his day and age, books had been nearly unknown, terribly laborious things. Sigurd could remember the scrolls Regin had forced him to learn from, old and musty things that had been painted onto sheepskin by hand. Sometimes, Sigurd wondered why the old dwarf had taught him that at all. Truthfully, he thought it had just been a reflex… to dwarves, illiteracy was unthinkable. Once he'd gotten the hang of it, though, Sigurd had loved reading. He'd been terribly disappointed when he realized how few scrolls there were in the world. Shaking away those thoughts, Sigurd escorted Esme out of the airport to begin their search for a convenient hotel. There should be some near the airport, Sigurd's knowledge of the modern era told him that clearly. As they walked, Sigurd looked up at the slightly overcast but still pleasant day and felt a warm pleasure in his heart.

They were on the right track now, he could feel it.