Warnings: Emotional blackmail

Chapter 26: The Founding of the Alliance Part 2: An Unexpected Visit

There was a chorus of somewhat reluctant confirmation. "I suppose we've put that off for as long we could…" Aranella sighed, her gaze now on her hands which she had rested on the table before her.

Tani glanced around at everyone. "But is there really anything more to talk about?" she asked. She shrugged as she elaborated. "We all saw what happened, and no one has any idea who that guy was or he why he wanted Pugnacious' kingsbond."

"There is more actually," Roland assured her. "But let me get to it."

"All right." She rested her head on one hand. "Let's hear it then."

He lent forward, placing both arms on the table. "First, let me reiterate what we know so far. We know this Ali Bi character broke Pugnacious' heart in order to weaken his kingsbond so that he could – as he put it – "harvest" it. Now we don't know why, but we figure it's not likely to be for anything good. And depending on what he wants it for, it's pretty likely that he won't be happy with just the one."

"Right," they chorused in agreement.

"But here's the thing; That assumes that he will go after other kingsbonds." He spread his hands. "What if he already has?"

They straightened up sharply, and Lofty who was on the table stepped back, as the higgledies shouted, throwing up their arms. "Higgle pig!"

"What do you mean by that?" Tani asked.

"I believe the incident in Goldpaw has opened up the possibility that Mausinger, and by extension Zip Vector as well, are acting the way they have been because they're broken hearted. And that if that's true, then Ali Bi is likely to be responsible and will – needless to say – also affect how we're going to deal with Mausinger upon our eventual return to Ding Dong Dell."

"Broken hearted…?" Aranella mumbled to herself, one hand raised to her chin and her expression a pensive frown.

"Could he really be…?" Evan asked himself, unconsciously mirroring Aranella.

"Why not tell us more about him?" Tani suggested. "Maybe we can help you figure that out?"

Evan and Aranella exchanged looks. "Well?" Aranella began, resting her hands on the table and lacing her fingers together. "As much as I would like to say that it's quite apparent that I never really knew him that well. The truth is…" she dropped her gaze a little and her expression became mildly pained, "we weren't actually friends to begin with. Rather, we were more acquaintances. Raising Evan and my other duties took up most of my time, and with Mausinger's position as Lord Chancellor…"

"'E were a busy man-er… mouse? 'Imself," Batu finished.

"Yes," she nodded. "He was. But still, I'd always thought of him as being kind and polite, if a little distant." She sighed and shook her head. "If only Ratja was here, she would know; Her duties meant that she would often serve him directly, so they talked a lot, and he always seemed to find the time for her as well. But then Ratja's a mouse like he is, and after his announcement the other day, it seems quite clear that he's been harbouring some resentment towards humanfolk as well."

"It sure looks that way," Roland agreed.

"What about you, Evan?" Tani asked.

Evan swallowed and dropped his gaze to the table. "I, um…"

"I appreciate that this is going to be difficult for you to talk about, considering what he did," said Roland. "But we need to at some point."

"I-I know. I, um…" His lowered his gaze and his eyes watered as he hesitated, but when Tani squeezed his hand he looked up meeting her gaze and she gave him an encouraging nod. He swallowed, nodded back and pressed on, but his tail swished slowly back and forth, betraying his anxiety. "I really liked him and thought of him as being like an uncle, b-but… after what happened, I suppose I've realised… that he didn't exactly feel the same way about me. He was kind and polite like Nella said, and he always treated me well, but um…" His ears drooped.

"He kept his distance?" Aranella prompted.

He nodded. "Mmm…"

"In his defence, even I had noticed how incredibly jealous the ministers were over his friendship with and – by extent – influence over King Leonhard. It's no exaggeration to say that they hated him and consequently treated him very ill, so… I would imagine that was probably why."

Evan's ears perked up in alarm. "Wait really? I know they didn't like him very much and weren't very nice to him but…" he shook his head, "but hated him, Nella? I wouldn't have said that."

"That may be because it became less obvious as the years went by. When he first took office as Lord Chancellor, they subjected him to a lengthy campaign of harassment in an attempt to bully him out of the castle, but his fortitude proved to be more resilient than they anticipated." She frowned. "That must've irritated them to no end."

His ears dropped again. "Gosh… I had no idea…"

She folded her arms and her frowned hardened. "I feel for him in that respect, I truly do, but," she shook her head, "that doesn't give him the right, or the justification to take out his anger on King Leonhard, or the grimalkin people in general."

"Did King Leonhard know this was all going on?" Tani asked. "What did he do about it?"

Aranella looked surprised and her arms fell into her lap. "What did he do? He did what he could. It wasn't just one or two ministers, or even most, it was all of them. So it would have been no simple matter to fire them all for their actions in order to make way for new replacements, as that would have left him with a cabinet of inexperienced ministers. With his hands tied in this respect, he punished them in other, more creative ways; Menial labour around the castle in order to "better appreciate the work of the servants", or, community service in the city in order to "better understand the common people", that sort of thing. Eventually they got the message and the campaign of harassment lost its momentum. But," she hung her head, "they've been treating Mausinger coldly ever since."

"If King Leonhard's cabinet were bein' comprised o'ministers what be'ating the mousefolk, I can't be imaginin' that were bodin' well fer their quality o'life," Batu observed with a concerned frown.

"They've had a better quality of life under King Leonhard than any other Tildrum," Aranella countered. "Besides appointing the first mousekind chancellor in Ding Dong Dell's history, he also opened up the castle to them, thereby allowing mousekind to take jobs in the castle for the first time, and allowed them into the military, which was another first."

He raised his eyebrows. "Ah. That be good te'ear. 'E always did be strikin' me as a good man."

She smiled. "Yes. He was."

"And it's a right shame his life ended so soon, mun," Lofty added. "I'm sure he would've done more if he could."

"Yeah," Tani added with a smile and a nod. "What they said."

"Thank you, Batu, Lofty, Tani," Evan sniffled.

"But it wasn't a shame," Aranella objected, emphasising her anger by thumping the table with one fist. "That was Mausinger's doing. He slowly poisoned King Leonhard over a number of months so that to everyone else, it appeared to be a rare disease for which no cure could be found."

"Ah," said Lofty simply. "So that's what happened."

Batu frowned. "Then'e weren't be takin' advantage o'the situation at all, 'e were creatin' it in the first place." He folded his arms and his expression hardened. "That be castin' things in a different light."

Tani laid a hand on Evan's shoulder. "No wonder you reacted to his appearance in the Trials the way you did." Evan hung his head. "I would've done the same you know."

He looked up. "Really?"

She nodded. "Definitely."

Lofty placed his hand on his hips. "I would say we should go give that Mausinger rotter what for, like," he said. "But if he's broken hearted then…" He shrugged. "Well it won't be as straight forward now, will it?"

"From what Aranella's said, it sounds like it's entirely possible for this all to have happened without any outside interference," Roland summarised. "Nor does it sound like it was necessary for his heart to have been broken for it to happen. Although with that being said, if it is true, that he is in fact broken hearted, at the moment it's a moot point. Because either way he's still an enemy of and threat to our kingdom, and we'll need to continue viewing him as such." They all hummed their agreement. He placed a hand on the table before continuing. "But this leads me onto the subject of why we founded this kingdom in the first place-or at least, one of them. We were going to be looking at gathering allies in order to march on Ding Dong Dell and free the people from Mausinger's tyranny. But after the incident in Goldpaw, we will need to reconsider. Because if it's true that Ali Bi is responsible for the recent unrest in Ding Dong Dell, then this will mean that Mausinger's kingsbond is being targeted, as well as confirming that other kingsbonds are too. But if he isn't responsible, he would very easily be able to take advantage of the unrest in order to claim Mausinger's kingsbond, if indeed that's his goal."

"Yeah and if he's doing what we think he's doing, which is making a Kingmaker stronger than any other so he can take over the world, then we'll need to come together to fight him," said Tani.

"Which is precisely why I'm now suggesting that instead of gathering allies to take down Mausinger, we gather allies to unite against Ali Bi and his – at this point – hypothetical Kingmaker." He glanced around at everyone. "All in favour raise your hands." They all raised their hands, even the higgledies. "All right then," he fixed Evan with a pointed look and folded his arms as he continued, "so how is Mausinger going to fit into the picture, Evan?"

Evan dropped his gaze and clasped his hands together in his lap. "Um…"

"Is he going to be one of our allies? Or are you going to arrest him and put someone else on the throne of Ding Dong Dell?" Evan bit his lip as his eyes began to water, and his tail began twitching in agitation. "Someone who'll be more to your liking, right? Who will agree to becoming an ally, and maybe some other things you want them to do as well? Or are you going to remove Mausinger from power and then leave Ding Dong Dell to sort out its own problems?" Evan clasped his hands together tighter, and his ears were slowly flattening against his head. "What if Ding Dong Dell burns itself down to the ground before that happens? What if he's replaced by someone worse?" Evan burst into tears.

"Evan," the others chorused as Roland sighed, his shoulders sagging. Tani and Aranella moved to console him.

"I don't know," Evan sobbed. "I don't know w-what I'm going to do."

"It's all right, Evan," Aranella soothed, gently stroking his hair. "You don't have to know the answer to that question right away."

"She's right," Roland agreed with a sigh. "You don't. But listen, Evan. If it turns out that Mausinger was broken hearted after all, then you've seen first hand how it can affect people, and you're going to need to decide how that changes things, as well as how you want to proceed if he isn't. Do you understand?" Evan nodded while sniffling.

"'E'd be better able to make such a decision if 'e were bein' able te find out fer certain if that be the case," said Batu.

"Well… Goldpaw is our most obvious – and only choice – of first ally. But after that I'd like to follow the trail to Broadleaf. If they agree to become our allies, we'd hopefully then be able to use their technology to investigate Ding Dong Dell and find that out."

"But'ow?" Batu asked. "We'll not be gettin' there by skimmer as I were sayin afore."

Roland assumed a thoughtful posture and hummed. "Bradley mentioned a shipyard called Capstan-upon-Hull. Maybe we could commission a boat there?"

"Where would we get the money?" Aranella asked.

"Is the question," he frowned in agreement. "A ship is probably gonna be thousands of guilders, and I'm guessing you guys don't have nearly that amount."

"Ye'd'ave te check with Gerel'ow much we be'avin, but aye," Batu confirmed with a nod. "I don't be imaginin' it'd be nearly enough fer what we need."

"We might have to borrow money from Goldpaw, if they'll let us. I guess we'll see."

"Either way, mun," Lofty declared. "It sounds like we've got ouerselves a plan!"

"So it's back to Goldpaw?" Tani asked.

"Right, but not just yet," Roland replied. "If we're going to form an alliance with Goldpaw we'll first need to draw up a treaty for them to sign. Evan, are you… you all right now?" Evan nodded even as he wiped his eyes with a sleeve. "Then are you ready to forge ahead with that? Or should we take a break first?"

"Umm," Evan replied, raising a hand to his chin.

"It should be getting close to lunchtime," said Lofty.

"You would know that," Tani snarked.

"I think we should take a break first," Evan decided.

"All right," said Roland. "Then we'll reconvene after lunch."

"Higgle pig," said Frumious.

"He wants to know what they should do, since they don't eat," Lofty translated.

"Uhh, you guys can do whatever you want," Roland replied.

"Why not take Frumious on a tour of the kingdom?" Aranella suggested.

"Higgle pig pig!" Runcible and Wiff-waff exclaimed. They grabbed Frumious' hands and dragged him out of the tent.

"It seems my suggestion was a success."

"Looks like it," Roland agreed.

"Let's go eat, mun!" Lofty prompted.

"Let's tell Gerel what we've decided first," said Tani. She raised her fists in excitement. "I can't wait to see the look on her face!" So they left the tent and tracked her down in order to give her the news.

"Me, Yer Majesty," she said taking a step back, her hand flying to her chest. "Minister o'Finance?"

"Yes, that's right," he replied. "Batu and Aranella both agree that you're the best person to take on the role."

"Well that bein' very kind o'ye te be sayin', Chief, Aranella," she said, looking from one to the other. "But I'm not so sure on me agreein' with yer assessment."

"From what we've been told it pretty much seems like you were already Minister of Finance for the Sky Pirates, just not in so many words," Roland observed.

"Really?" Gerel blinked. One hand went to the side of her face. "Do that be so?"

"Yes," Aranella nodded. "As Minister of Finance, you will be responsible for overseeing and managing the distribution of our wealth. So you see," she spread her hands, "it is not so different from what you were doing previously for the Sky Pirates."

"Aye, I do be seein' that," she agreed. She placed a fist on her chest. "And ye can be assured o'me bein'onoured te be considered fer the role, Yer Majesty."

"Do you accept?" Evan asked.

"Aye," she replied with a nod, and then add. "I'll do me best at the very least."

"Perfect," said Roland. "This makes you our first officially appointed minister."

"Congratulations, Gerel!" Tani hugged her.

She chuckled as she returned the hug. "Thank ye kindly, Tani."

"Ye'll be makin' a fine minister te be sure, lass," Batu added. "Or should I be callin', ye Minister Gerel now?"

She grinned and placed a hand on her hip. "That do be'avin' a nice ring to it, I must admit." There was a chorus of agreement.

"We're still in the process of getting everything set up, so don't expect anything about what you're doing to change until we are," Roland added.

"Aye, aye," she replied.

"Now can we go eat, mun?" Lofty asked.

"Well actually, while we're on the subject of appointing ministers, Batu here," Roland gestured toward him, "has yet to be officially appointed as Minister of Defence," he reminded them.

"Oh, gosh!" Evan exclaimed. "I'm ever so sorry, Batu, I completely forgot."

"No worries, Yer Majesty," Batu replied.

"Then I hereby officially appoint you as Minister of Defence."

Gerel grinned. "Then I'll be'avin' te call you Minister Batu from now on, won't I?"

"Indeed ye will, Minister Gerel," he replied with a hearty grin, hands on hips and his chest puffed out in pride. "An I be lookin' forward te workin' with ye as a fellow minister."

"Likewise, Chief."

"All right, so now can we go eat, mun?" Lofty asked.

"Yeah, all right," Roland relented. "Let's go eat."

"Tidy!" So they followed their noses to where the food was being cooked.

"Why, Your Majesty. I see you have returned safely."

"Old Tom," said Evan. "Qadan told us you arrived a few days ago."

"Indeed I did," he nodded, "and quite contrary to their reputation, the pirates have been most welcoming. Or at least they were after our initial encounter."

"Perhaps we should've have warned you," said Aranella, gesturing apologetically.

But he dismissed the unspoken apology with a raised hand. "No harm no foul as they say, though I must confess to being most surprised to discover them in the place where you had instructed me to go and did initially wonder if I had inadvertently come to the wrong place, but then they spotted me. Quite understandably they were wary of my sudden appearance, but the matter was swiftly resolved when I explained that you had sent me, King Evan, and they were most glad to hear that you had safely arrived at the Forest of Niall. After that, as I already said, they have been most welcoming, and I have been pitching in where I can."

"Good. I'm glad to hear you've been settling in," said Evan.

"Indeed. If there's anything more I can do to contribute, Your Majesty, do not hesitate to let me know."

"I will, Old Tom. And thank you."

"Very good," he bowed, "then I will take my leave."

After lunch they reconvened in the throne tent and spent the next few hours hashing out the beginning of the new treaty. They took another break and reconvened again to polish it into what Roland pronounced to be the Treaty of Alliance.

"This probably still needs some more work, but it'll do for a preliminary version at least," Roland declared.

"Does that mean we're done?" Tani asked. She propped her head up with one hand. "I think my brain is turning to mush."

"Mine too," Evan agreed.

"And mine," Lofty added. As if to emphasise this fact, his posture was slumped.

"This will do for now," Roland assured them. "We'll let Pugnacious and Ya Ya read over it and see if they have any suggestions or alterations."

"Righto, mun! It's party time!" Lofty declared, straightening up with renewed vigour.

"Party time?" Aranella asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"That's right! Evan's making his announcement over dinner, remember? And it's nearly dinner time."

Her expression shifted to realisation. "Oh, of course. I didn't realise it was that late."

"Ye can always be countin' on our Lofty te be knowin' when it be time fer eatin'," Batu remarked.

"You sure can!" Lofty agreed, standing proudly with his hands on his hips.

"Once again," Tani gestured toward him dramatically as she snarked, "the mighty Kingmaker of the Cradle of Light, everyone."

"Perhaps it is this that is his true power," Aranella suggested. "The power of always knowing when it's time to eat."

"You won't be complaining when it keeps you all well fed, like," said Lofty. "You'll never go hungry with me around!" He added, pointing to himself.

"He's right there," Tani conceded.

"Indeed," Aranella agreed.

"Come on, you lot!" He beckoned. "Enough gabbing; We've got a party to get started!"

A sea of pirates had dutifully assembled in the eating area by the time they arrived. The low murmur of conversation died away when dinner time officially arrived and Batu bellowed at them to pipe down and let Evan speak.

"Everyone! I am very pleased to announce that I have finally thought of a name for our kingdom. From here on out, we are the Kingdom of Evermore!" The pirates let out a thunderous cheer.

"To Evermore!" Someone cried.

"TO EVERMORE!" They shouted back, raising their flagons high above their heads.

"Now listen up you lot!" Batu shouted, raising his voice above the racket. "We still be'avin' a lotta work te be gettin' on with, mateys, so let's not be gettin' too carried away this night." When they grumbled, he added. "We should be plannin' te'ave ourselves a proper celebration when the work be done." They conceded the point and the celebration ended up winding down around midnight with everyone slowly retiring to their tents.

Roland got to his feet. "All right, I think that's it for me." Evan and Tani had been carried off to bed a couple of hours prior, along with the other children. And then Lofty not long after.

Aranella rose from her seat. "Yes, me as well."

"We got a lot done today or… yesterday, but there's always more to do. I'd like for us to return to Goldpaw at our earliest convenience, but since we'll have to plan for it first, that might not be happening tomorrow, but…" He shrugged. "I guess we'll see."

"Aye," Batu agreed. "We should be discussin' it tomorrow mornin' o'er breakfast."

"Sure," he replied and turned to leave.

"By the way, Roland…"

He turned back, his expression one of mild surprise. "Yeah?" He asked as Batu scratched the back of his head in a sheepish manner.

"About what ye were sayin'…" he continued, looking everywhere but directly at Roland. "About yer folks an'… an' yer people an'all that… Now, I don't be wantin' te get yer hopes down, but… well…"

He raised an eyebrow. "Go on?"

"Well if it be turnin' out… that there be no bringin'em back after all-" he raised his hands in an appeasing gesture before Roland could object,"-and I don't be thinkin' that they can't be now, but… I were just wantin' te say… that ye'all always be'avin' a place'ere, with us… if ye'd like…"

He blinked before smiling. "Well, thank you, Batu. That's very kind of you to offer."

"Of course we understand that you would wish to return to the ones you love," Aranella added. "And we do hope that turns out to be possible. But as Batu said, there is always a place for you here," she gestured for emphasis, "if nowhere else."

"And I appreciate that."

"You, Evan n'Aranella," said Batu, now able to look Roland in the eye. "Ye've all done so much fer us in only a short space o'time. It might not bein' as obvious te you, but te me, the difference be as clear as night n'day." He looked away to the rows upon rows of tents, where the pirates where now sleeping. "They're'appier now. An'with the threat o'the wyverns naught but a distant worry, it be as if a weight'as been lifted from their shoulders." He looked back. "Fer all o'that, ye be practically one o'us already. An' we'll be missin' ye, when the time comes."

"We all will," Aranella agreed.

"Yeah, likewise," said Roland. "Although… any chance of that happening is still a long way off, so we've still got time. But that also means that we have a long road ahead of us as well."

"Aye," said Batu.

"Then we had best get some sleep," said Aranella. "For the day ahead." They bid each other goodnight and retired to their sleeping tents. Unlike the tents they had been camping in on their trip down to the Forest of Niall and then to Goldpaw, these tents were essentially a small room and were tall enough to stand up in.

Roland stepped inside and buttoned the flap covering the entrance closed. When he turned around Ali Bi was standing in the middle of his tent and was in the middle of casting a spell. As the rune pulsed and disappeared, Roland whipped out his pistol and aimed it at the man's head. "What the hell was that?!" He demanded. "And what the hell are you doing in my tent?!"

Ali Bi raised his hands in a placating gesture. "Roland, please. I mean you no harm."

"Oh yeah? Then what was that just now?" He demanded, gesturing with his gun.

"It was a spell to prevent outside ears from overhearing and… interrupting our conversation. I understand that you have cause to be wary of me from our previous encounter, but I only ask that you to hear what I have to say."

Roland glared down the sights as he considered the man's request. On the one hand this could be an opportunity to gain some much needed information but on the other hand it could be some kind of trick. Perhaps you should… hear him out? Even the voice in his head sounded uncertain. "All right," he said at length. "Talk." He did not lower his gun.

"First, allow me to introduce myself." He placed a hand on his chest. "My name is Doloran and I am the last King of Allegoria." Allegoria? He didn't recall seeing the name on the map… So perhaps this was the name of the kingdom he was building?

"And you know mine obviously. I guess you overheard?"

"I know more than just your name, Roland. I know you do not belong here in this world," he said with a dismissive gesture, "that you come from another." Roland frowned but said nothing. "And you must wish to return to that home, do you not?" He placed a hand on his chest again. "I can send you back."

Oh yeah sure, he thought bitterly. Like he really believed that that was going to happen. "No thanks. I'll find my own way home."

"I am not offering, Roland, for you see I cannot afford to have you around." He began to draw the casting rune of another spell in the air with one finger, one that looked like the symbol for omega.

Panic immediately flared in Roland's chest. "Wait-wait!" He shouted, holding up his hands in a placating gesture. "You don't understand! I can't go back!"

Doloran stopped and the rune dissipated. "What do you mean?"

"My world has been destroyed. There's nothing to go back to."

"How do you know this?"

"An… entity who calls himself the Conductor told me, or rather showed me."

"Then he is deceiving you, Roland."

He frowned. "Oh yeah? How'd you figure that?"

"Our two worlds are connected."

"So I've been told."

"Then do you not see what this means?" He asked, gesturing as if beckoning him to comprehend. "If one world ends, so too does the other. Yet this world lives on."

Roland froze. "Wh… what're you saying?"

"That your world cannot have ended if this world still lives. The Conductor must be lying."

A feeling of dread began to settle over him. The Conductor had set him on a path that saw him helping Evan in order to heal both worlds, thereby restoring his own. He hadn't really thought about how that was actually going to happen beyond a 'you do x for me and I'll give you y' deal, likely because at the time he couldn't bear thinking about the alternative. But now he was finally thinking about that alternative. He had been told about their two worlds being connected, in fact he'd heard it from Aranella first. So what if he was supposed to fix his world, by helping Evan deal with everything that was going on in this world? Fix one, fix the other, save one, save the other. So wouldn't that mean that it worked the other way around as well? Destroy one, destroy the other. That would mean what Doloran had said was true. That it couldn't be possible for his world to have been destroyed because here he was in Evan's world, and nothing of the sort had happened here. If that was the case then… He clutched his head with his free hand. "… Then why am I here?"

"I do not know," Doloran replied with a shake of his head. "But I can return you to your world if you so desire it. You do desire it do you not?" he asked, gesturing towards him. "To see your home again? To see your son?"

His hand fell away and he looked at Doloran with alarm. "… How… how do you know about Will?"

Doloran shrugged with an air of dismissal and annoyance. "What does it matter, except that you will see him again?"

"But the explosion that sent me here wasn't made up! I saw the city burning with own eyes!"

"Has anything of the like happened here?"

"Well…" Roland frowned deeply and his eyes darted left and right as he tried to recall anything of the same magnitude happening in this world, but there had been nothing on Leafbook besides the coup. "Not that I'm aware of?"

"Because it has not." Doloran gestured towards him. "Which clearly demonstrates that you were mistaken regarding the scale and severity of the explosion."

"I…" He frowned and looked off to one side in deep thought once again, as he thought back to the impact. He'd been swallowed up by the explosion almost immediately, so it wasn't as if he'd had the opportunity to properly assess the damage. So… was it possible? That it wasn't as bad as he'd assumed? It'd been a nuke though, hadn't it? "I…" He clutched his head again as a dull ache began to throb deep within his forehead.

Doloran took his lack of protest as permission to begin drawing the spell again and Roland watched, doing nothing to stop him. Instead his mind was whirling. Was it really true? Was he really going to see Will again? To see his parents? His friends? Everyone alive and well?

Doloran finished drawing the rune, but instead of pulsing and activating, it sputtered and shattered. He reacted with surprise. "What the-?" Followed by resignation. "…I see. It would seem the Conductor does not wish for you return to your home, Roland. But I cannot have you here, either. You must come with me."

He shook his head. "I'm not going anywhere with you until you explain how you know about Will."

"I will explain everything to you in Allegoria, Roland. Every question you can think of will have an answer." He held out his hand. "You have my word." Roland frowned and did not take the hand, but nor did he resist when Doloran took his arm instead. He felt a gathering of energy, but just as the previous spell had inexplicably failed, so too did Doloran's Travel spell and the gathering of energy abruptly fizzled out. Doloran sighed in frustration as he released his arm. "So that is the way it is to be, is it? Very well."

He placed his free hand on his hip. "You gonna answer my question now?"

Doloran sighed again, hanging his head in resignation. It seemed that he had no choice but to resume the conversation here in Roland's tent. "I know many things about you, Roland. Because you and I are the same. We are soulmates."

"Soulmates?" He repeated with a snarl, face contorting in rage. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You see-"

"You think we're meant to be together?"

Doloran seemed genuinely surprised by this question. "What?"

"You think I would have any interest in someone like you?" He aimed his gun at Doloran's head once more. "Get the hell outta my sight!"

Doloran raised his hands, alarmed by the sudden shift in Roland's demeanour. "Roland! Please!You do not understand-!"

He cocked the gun. "Get! Out!"

"… Very well," he relented, allowing his arms to fall to his side as he realised that there was no more reasoning with Roland while he was in this state. "Perhaps when you are in a more reasonable mood we will continue this discussion later."

"Don't! Bet on it!" Doloran hesitated. But as there was nothing more he could do, he reluctantly disappeared in a flash of purple. Roland shakily lowered his gun before dismissing it. Oh god, could it really be true? The Conductor, lying? And what the hell was all that about them being soulmates just now? His head was spinning and he felt sick. And even if he didn't, it was far to late to assemble the others for a meeting right now. There was nothing for it but to go to bed as he had originally intended. He struggled out of his greatcoat, polo neck and boots and crawled under the covers, and tossed and turned fitfully until sleep eventually claimed him.

"Why, hello, hello once again!"

Roland raised his head, not surprised to find himself back in the Presidential Office, and the Conductor seated before him. "You," he growled, his face becoming an expression of displeasure. "How did I guess you'd be the one showing your face this time?"

He shrugged. "Naturally. After all, Doloran levelled quite an accusation against me, so I am simply here to defend myself." He held up one hand with his index finger extended as he continued. "Everything I have shown and told you is true. And as you have no doubt already deduced, it was I," he placed a hand on his chest, "who was the one who pulled you from your world and into Evan's, precisely," he gestured with his index finger for emphasis,"for the reasons that I explained previously. Let me assure you that you have made marvellous progress in that respect, but, Roland. You simply must trust me, and continue the work that you have already started."

"Why?" He demanded flatly. "Why should I trust you?"

The Conductor tilted his head. "Then assuming I am lying, Roland, what will that mean? Will you abandon Evan? As you abandoned William? As you abandoned your wife?" The words pierced Roland's heart like a knife and he jerked, as if the Conductor had physically struck him. "He still needs you, Roland. They all do."

Roland's eyes watered fiercely and his throat constricted. He clutched his tie as he whispered hoarsely, "That's not fair."

The Conductor folded his arms. "Isn't it? You wish to refute that accusation? You feel it unjust? You gave your family the requisite amount of care and attention and at no point," he shook his head for emphasis, "did you ever put your work, nay chose your work over their emotional wellbeing? You never once neglected them?" Roland covered his eyes with one hand and choked back a sob. The Conductor shrugged as he asked, "So what will you do?"

"All right. Fine," he relented at length, his hand falling away. "Fine. I'll stay. I'll keep helping Evan."

He nodded, satisfied. "That's all I ask. And when you have finished this task, I promise. That you will see your son and your home again." All Roland could do was let out a heavy sigh. "We will see each other again another sleepy time." As his surroundings began to fade out to white, he heard the Conductor speak again. "And Roland, I am sorry for utilising such a dreadful tactic against you, but too much is at stake. You will come to understand this in time." When he opened his eyes again, he was back in his tent and his face was wet with tears.

A/N: Plugging up a plothole where Doloran, despite knowing that Roland is his soulmate (presumably from encountering him in Goldpaw), does nothing about it until the end of the game. A mysterious force is now protecting Roland from Doloran's magic, thereby preventing Doloran from sending him away. And what that force is will be revealed in time.

Also rather than have Evan form the Declaration of Interdependance right away, I've moved it to a post game goal that Evan will be working towards once the main campaign has been concluded. The Treaty of Alliance is a stepping stone, and/or perhaps even foreshadowing to this end.

And as for Roland grinding on Evan's feelings regarding Mausinger, this is because it's important for there to be some kind of driving force behind Evan's eventual forgiveness of Mausinger. It makes sense for it to be Roland, cos it sure the hell isn't going to be Aranella.