Disclaimer: I do not Fire Emblem or anything associated with it.

XXXXX

The next morning…

After a rather empty sleep, Aracho woke up feeling only slightly rested after the events of last night. Sighing, he looked over to Matthew, laid in the tent with a content look on his face. Rolling his eyes in irritation, the blue-haired teenager gathered his daggers, his bag and a wind tome he had taken to reading last night. Exiting the tent with all his things, he found it great that the sun had risen high enough for him to read using the natural light. Sitting down outside of the tents, he opened the book of wind anima and began where he left off.

"A simple exercise for those beginning in the arts of the wind anima magic would be the leaf exercise. This task entails floating a leaf between the palm of the mage's hands until it can be done without any sizable effort or struggle. The next stages of the exercise include adding the number of leaves to the rotation. When one can rotate ten leaves at the same time, then they may try to add a cutting motion to the wind, creating a light blue/green hue that shows the successful imbuing of magic. Exercise extreme caution as a magic overload can sever a finger, hand or entire arm, leading to irreversible damage, or death."

"Well, isn't that nice? At least they tell you that you can die," Aracho sarcastically said to himself as he walked to a nearby tree. Picking ten leaves off of it, he made his way back to his sitting spot before beginning the exercise with eight of them, which is where he left off with Ursula. Putting them in his left palm, he calmly willed his magic to begin spinning the leaves, which is what happened. Taking his other hand, he slowly added one leaf to the eight, finding it hardly any different than spinning eight. After holding the rotation for about two minutes, give or take, Aracho added the final leaf, successfully rotating all ten at the same time in a controlled radius. Continuing the processes, he breathed deeply as he slowly poured more magic into the spin.

Almost instantly, the spinning became violent, almost causing Aracho to lose control. Exerting more mental force on it, Aracho found that it wouldn't work and quickly jumped away at the last second. As he jumped back, he saw a miniature cyclone the size of his arm gobble the leaves in a powerful display of blue glowing energy. "...I must've missed something in that book," he muttered to himself as he picked the text back up.

"Wind is much like fire in its volatility, yet completely different. Fire seeks to spread and thrive, yet wind is an expression of freedom. Freedom to think. Freedom to live. Freedom to blow wherever it please. While fire is the moving energy of the sun, wind is the moving expression of the sky. It refuses to be controlled or expressed. Its only pursuit is freedom."

"It's only pursuit is freedom...So I need to think of freedom?" he asked aloud. Problem was...he was free. He could move, leave anytime he wanted, wasn't under the command of anyone and didn't have to adhere to the normal society's rules and guidelines. Exactly what part of him wasn't free?

Before he could continue his thoughts, Hector, Marcus, Lowen and Merlinus, the merchant they rescued last night, all appeared at virtually the same time. Simply watching, he didn't say anything until Hector walked up to him, sleep still evident in his movements. "Aracho, we should be leaving very soon."

"...Alright." Getting up and stretching lightly, he put the wind book in his bag before heading over to his tent, where the thief was still 'sleeping.' "Matthew, get up, it's time to set off."

"Not even a good morning? Surely you know better manners than that?"

"I wonder if this tent is fireproof…" Aracho said suddenly, seriously debating whether or not to set the structure on fire with the spy inside of it. It seemed that his words had the desired effect as well.

"Okay, time to get moving! I'd rather not end up as smoked meat!" the thief joked, exiting the tent within the second. Smirking lightly, Aracho found himself in a much better mood as he and the rest of the group quickly packed up the campsite for the day. Before he knew it, they were already in Laus territory, only a proverbial hop, skip and jump away from the castle proper. "Lords Hector and Eliwood, would it suffice if we scouted ahead? Perhaps we could find out about some of the...conditions of the surrounding area."

"Matthew? ...Very well," Eliwood hesitantly agreed after receiving an expectant look from Hector.

"Thank you, milord! We won't be long," the Ostian promised, before tapping Aracho's shoulder.

'He wants me to go with him?' he mentally shouted, not ready to see that. Not wanting to cause a scene, the teen merely raised his hood and started walking with the spy away from the group. When he was sure they were out of earshot, he started his questions. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why'd you want me to go with you?"

"If you won't tell us anything, the least you could do is use your other...talents to assist the group."

'I wonder how much he's already told Hector about me,' the Black Fang member asked himself. "Yeah, sure, whatever. Let's just get this over with." Going into a small pub, the two split up to gather information. "Hey, you," he called to some random middle-aged man. "Got a second?"

"What do ya want, kid?"

"Is Marquess Laus really planning a war?" he asked, feigning an innocent appearance. "My mom doesn't want to move, but...we wouldn't be safe if conflict broke out." In response, the man humphed and sat up slightly in his chair.

"In that case, brat, tell her to get packing. They're nearly done by the looks of it, and I'm rounding up at the earliest call for mercenaries. I'll be bathing in gold!"

"...I see...Thanks." Leaving the table, the kid then walked straight up to the barkeep, before snapping in front of his face.

"Hey, don't rush me! You'll get your order when I say-"

"Shut up and listen," Aracho interrupted, giving the man a piercing stare into his eyes. "I want to order the Blue Crow special, with extra berries on the side. The kinds from Ostia and Pherae, specifically. Blue and red." Before he could finish, Matthew started walking up to him. "...and a small canteen of water to go."

"...Gotcha, coming right up." Right as the barkeep left, the Ostian took the seat next to him.

"Ordering water on the job? ...What info did you get?"

"War is imminent. Laus is almost done and the mercenaries are already excited to fill their pockets."

"Figures. Lines up with what I heard," he shared. By that time, the barkeep came back with the water requested by the teenager.

"Thanks." As he got up to leave, he was stopped by the man who gave him the drink.

"Hey, you gotta pay for this."

"Put it on my tab. It'll follow me around, won't it?"

"...Yeah, it will," he said begrudgingly, before going to tend to someone else.

"Alright, let's get out of here." Without any protest, the two quickly returned to the main group, who had made a great amount of distance in their absence. "We're back!" Aracho announced when they got there.

"What did you find out?" Hector asked quickly, with narrowed eyes.

"War is imminent. We'll probably see signs very soon," the turquoise-haired mage said.

"This is more serious than we thought...We must press on quickly."

"Matthew! Keep an eye on anyone who may come to us."

"Marcus, would you accompany him as well?"

"Yes, milord!" the paladin agreed at once, setting off with Matthew. Continuing deeper into Laus territory, they quickly found that Aracho's assessment was accurate. Looking around, they could see the occasional soldier moving supplies or a small pack of bandits moving about, preparing...just...preparing.

"Look around...They truly are preparing for war," Hector told Marquess Pherae's son as Castle Laus started to come into view. "What is that Marquess Laus scheming?"

"..." Eliwood didn't say a word, simply looking at the castle with a forlorn expression on his face.

"You don't much look like you want to go to the castle," his friend noted.

"If we go and learn the truth...we may very well have to go to war."

"That's fine with me!" Hector loudly proclaimed, much to the irritation of the Black Fang assassin. That kind of attitude is what allowed so many innocent people to suffer in silence while noblemen played their petty games of knights and land. Even then, he held his tongue, not wanting to draw attention to himself. His opinion of the Lycian noble definitely dropped to a new low, however, and made sure he'd report that to Ursula.

"I...I've no love for war," Eliwood finally responded, taking the mage out of his thoughts. "If I concentrate on the foe before me, I'm fine. If I picture families, innocents caught up in our foolish politics? If I...Then I can only hope that we come up with a peaceful solution." Once again, Aracho found himself completely shocked by the redhead's behavior. Unlike his bull-headed friend, Eliwood actually thought of someone before himself...again!

'This one really is an outlier,' Aracho said to himself, shaking his head to prevent an oncoming headache.

Just then, Marcus returned to the Lycian lords with his ever-present serious look on his face. "Lord Eliwood! A knight has ridden forth from the castle!"

"A lone knight?"

"Yes, my lord," the paladin confirmed. "It seems to be Marquess Laus's son, Erik. He is asking to see you." Instantly, Aracho was suspicious of the whole thing. Why would someone who knows they're being searched for ride up to the people searching for them? ...Not to mention the few people that he heard readying their weapons. It seemed more like an ambush than a friendly visit.

"I will see him. Bring him here," Eliwood said with a serious expression on his face.

"I'm leaving," Hector announced quickly, hefting his axe. "I never could abide him. I'm going to check our surroundings." Just as the Ostian left, the child of the ruler of Laus came into view of the rest of them. He seemed like the very definition of corrupt noble to Aracho; even his smile seemed completely and utterly devoid of any emotion.

"Hello! It's been a long time, Eliwood!" the noble greeted warmly. Or at least as warm as a cold noble could be, anyways.

"Erik...What is your business?" Eliwood asked cautiously. Nearly instantly, the "happy" look of the noble turned into a nasty sour expression.

"My business?" Erik continued, acting as if he were actually hurt by the question. "What do you mean? I heard my old friend was passing through Laus. I merely thought I'd ride out to greet you!"

'Greet a whole friend with a spear on you? Jeez, even Linus lies better than this guy,' Aracho thought sourly. And for reference, Linus couldn't even hold the truth about Aracho's 10th birthday party past the morning.

Well, when Legault, Jerme and Ursula are your life coaches, most things don't stay secret for long, but that's neither here nor there.

"So tell me friend," the Laus child started again. "What brings you to Laus? ...Are you perhaps...on your way to Ostia?"

"Hm...What would make you think that?" the Pheraean asked suspiciously. He had mentioned nothing of the sort.

"Well, you always were good friends with Hector," the knight explained. "He and I...never got along very well. For a noble, his behavior is crude, and his manner of speech...You would have thought him a peasant at first glance."

'Don't kill him, don't kill him, don't kill him…' Aracho mentally repeated, resisting every urge to throw the strongest fire spell he could muster at the pompous nobleman. Two things he definitely didn't like: liars and those who looked down on other people because of where they come from. This guy was both of those negative traits into one very punchable face.

"You're still friends with Hector, aren't you?" Erik asked, with a twinge of bitterness coming into his tone. "When did you see him last? How do you communicate?"

"Erik...You're after something," Eliwood bluntly noted. "What is it?"

"Pardon?"

"Everywhere I look, Laus prepares for battle," the red-head plainly said, not buying his former classmate's phony display in the slightest. "What are you and your father thinking? I will know the truth!" As soon as Eliwood's demand left his mouth, a sinister smirk appeared on the face of Laus' heir.

'Aaaaand there's the evil noble stereotype personified,' Aracho said to himself, rolling his eyes as he casually put an upper level fire tome in his hand.

"Eliwood, how I've always despised you! How I've always longed to smash you and your pathetic morality into pieces! I've dreamt of this day, and here it is at last!" Erik proclaimed, finally grabbing the lance at his side and raising it high.

"Too bad you won't see the end of it," Hector threatened, coming back into the picture with his usual unhappy expression on his face. Marquess Laus' offspring seemed shocked at the Ostian's appearance, clearly unaware that the two were traveling together. "Eliwood, this mongrel has troops lying in ambush all around us. Laus regulars, every one of them. We're in for a rough time."

"There's little point in fighting," Erik said arrogantly, thinking he already had the battle won. "You're trapped! My forces will overwhelm you, an unending torrent of soldiers! Laus' elite knights are ready as well...How long do you think you can survive?" Laughing evilly, the knight galloped back to the castle under the cover of plenty of Laus soldiers that blocked the route after he came.

"Eliwood...Your friends are trashy," Aracho insulted before chanting a spell. Spotting a nearby myrmidon, he pointed his hand in the direction. Following the flow of his energy, the crackling mage morphed into a condensed blue fireball that exploded in a pillar of flames upon contact, killing the swordsman.

"Trust me, Aracho, he is not a friend," Eliwood added, before looking around. One thing the wretch hadn't lied about was the fact that they were surrounded; Laus lackeys were on every side they could look. "Could you go warn the villages?" the redhead asked him. "I know that amidst our conflict, bandits will look to ravage anything they can."

"No problem! I'll take care of it." Going off, Aracho took off slightly to the north, in the direction of a village above a small chain of hills. As he approached the village, a crackle of thunder caught his attention. "Another mage?" he wondered, putting an extra bounce in his step. If it was an enemy, he'd have to take care of them as soon as possible, considering that he was the only magic user in all of Eliwood's group.

Readying a spell, Aracho reached the top of the hill to see a lone mage with a burgundy cape and blue shirt protecting the village against a combination of Laus soldiers, with some bandits incoming from further down. "...Wait...Erk!" the assassin called out.

Just as he suspected, the purple-haired mage turned around, his eyes widening upon seeing who called him. "If it isn't Aracho! What are you doing here?"

"Traveling with Eliwood and Hector," he quickly answered, before blasting a ring of blue fire at some soldiers. "You?"

"I'm on escort detail for someone. However, I have been separated and must return to my client. You are with Lord Eliwood of Pherae, correct?"

"That's what I said."

"Would it be too much trouble if we joined for the time being?" the purple-haired mage asked.

"No problem!" Aracho agreed, smiling. "Go get your escort, I can take care of these people for you. By the way, be careful; Serra's in the group, as well." Erk's expression soured immediately, as was expected.

"Great...Well, thank you, Aracho. Be careful!" he warned before leaving to retrieve his client.

"You think you can take us by yourself?" a soldier from Laus taunted. In response, Aracho again chanted, throwing another pair of Elfire spells in their faces. Not giving any reprieve, the Black Fang member snapped his right hand above his hand, before bringing it down through the air.

"Eruption!" To the surprise of the soldiers and brigands alike, two fireballs formed above them, before dancing around each other in a circle towards the ground. The moment it impacted, a small explosion of fire engulfed the entire group, reducing them to either dead or soon-to-be dead corpses. Panting slightly, Aracho still took guard over the village before he felt something touch his forehead. Wiping it off, he looked on his hand to see...water? "Oh, please don't tell me…"

Just then, a large downpour began, with a large group of passing clouds blocking the sun and drenching him. "Why does it always have to RAIN!?" the teen complained, deciding to go tell the village to close the gates since the soldiers would be delayed as the ground turned to mud. "Sir! Close the gates!" he said to the first person there.

"You are the one assisting Erk against Marquess Laus? We'll we're on your side!" a middle-aged man supported.

"Cool, but really you need to close the gate! The rain won't keep them away forever." Nodding, the man quickly went to close the gates as Aracho returned to see a small line of bandits heading south, most likely to find the nearest village. "No thank you," the mage said, chanting a spell as he put his fire book to his side. Extending his hand towards the sky, he called his magic to summon a lightning bolt that struck the nearest bandit. Repeating the process two more times, he looked over the hill to see Eliwood and Hector engaging against Erik, the wayward son of the Marquess. Deciding that everything was alright from his side, he carefully made his way down the now wet slopes, being careful not to fall victim to any last-ditch ambushes from the enemy. By the time he reached the Lycian lords, they had already restrained their former classmate.

"Erik, you must tell me," Eliwood demanded, with an irate Hector at his side. "Where is your father? The entire castle has been searched. There's no one there."

"D-don't be ridiculous!" the bounded-up noble rejected. "My father would never abandon...No! He'd...never...Ephidel!"

"Ephidel? Who's that?" Eliwood asked, his eyebrows furrowed. Aracho wanted to know as well.

"...Speak cur!" Hector yowled, pulling the boy up by the arm. "Do you want to die here?"

"Hector!" Eliwood said in a reprimanding tone. Begrudgingly, the axe fighter dropped Erik, letting him go. "Erik...You must tell us everything you know. I...I just want to know where my father is."

'Seems like he wants to know, as well,' Aracho thought, seeing the clouded look in the noble's eyes.

"...Ephidel….He appeared at the castle one year ago. He came...and my father changed. Ostia's position had always bothered my father...He felt Laus deserved to rule all of Lycia...But he had never gone so far as to speak of rebellion."

"Did you say...rebellion?"

"Yes, he did. Listen!" Aracho quickly hissed, gaining a shocked look from all three Lycians. He didn't particularly care at the moment what they thought. If this Ephidel character came around the same time Sonia started messing things up, then there had to be a connection between the two.

"Ephidel had something…" Erik continued, returning to his recollection of events. "With it, he convinced my father to set his plan into motion. My father then sent envoys to several other marquesses. Marquess Pherae, he approved of the idea." Both Hector and Eliwood's eyes widened in shock, while Aracho's narrowed in suspicion.

"What!?" Hector shouted.

"Never!" Eliwood joined, in complete agreement of their denial. "My father would never agree to such a thing!"

"Believe or disbelieve, that is your choice," Erik shrugged. His body language showed that he clearly didn't have anything left to lose, or hde. "First was Marquess Santaruz. Then Marquess Pherae's reply arrived. Marquess Pherae visited six months ago to seal his approval."

"That's not...possible…" Eliwood denied, clearly in shock over the revelation.

"My father and yours argued vehemently that day. Marquess Pherae always distrusted Ephidel. He tried to convince my father to send Ephidel and the Black Fang assassins out of Lycia. My father would not be persuaded, and Marquess Pherae left the castle. As you know, he then disappeared...I doubt he's alive."

"No!" Eliwood shouted, closing his eyes. Snapping his fingers, Aracho jolted Erik with a small bolt of lightning, making him convulse on the ground. Before anyone could react, the teen squatted down and forced the tied-up noble to look him in the eye.

"Don't you ever talk about someone's family that way," the assassin hissed, before throwing the noble back into the dirt.

"What? Eliwood said he wanted to hear everything. My father...he is but Ephidel's puppet. He'll listen to anything that villain says. Even watch his own son die...These are the people you're dealing with! Marquess Pherae betrayed them. They would not let him live!" he shouted, breaking out into a sadistic laugh before he was promptly knocked unconscious courtesy of Aracho's dagger to the side of his head.

Fortunately for him, the other two Lycians seemed too wrapped up in what they just heard to care about his rather rough action. Leaving them to talk about whatever they would, Aracho entered the castle to see everyone else gather in front of the throne room. "Aracho, are Lord Eliwood and Lord Hector well?" Marcus asked

"They're...not taking what they heard well," the assassin explained. "Apparently, that Erik character had a lot of things to say…"

"I see...I will keep watch on them. Thank you," the paladin curtly said, before going on to do as he said.

XXXXX

That night…

Laying in a room by himself, Aracho quietly turned a page in his book. Despite his ease and experience of being able to keep watch and tell when someone was approaching, neither Eliwood or Hector wanted to let him outside to go on watch, which meant that Matthew told one or both of them something that made them keep a tight leash on him. Then again, it probably wouldn't be helpful of him to jump to conclusions, but it was a plausible scenario. Jumping off of the bed, he clipped his daggers and left his book on the bed, making his way to the throne room. Making his way down the unnecessarily lavish hallway, Aracho simply looked up at the ceiling until he arrived at his destination, where Eliwood, his retainers, Hector, Matthew and Serra all stayed.

"Aracho, are you feeling better?" Marquess Pherae's son asked him as he walked up to the group.

"Um….yeah," the mage/assassin drawled out. "Why do you ask?"

"Just concerned, that's all," he answered. "Erk explained to us that the level and intensity of the magic you've been using would be enough to tire any mage out, so I thought it best to leave you to rest."

"Wow...umm….thank you," Aracho stumbled, not expecting that answer in the slightest. "I'm all rested, now, though. I'm good and ready to go."

It seemed that fate would want to slap him with a tree for saying that comment, for as soon as the sentence left Aracho's mouth, Oswin came into the room. "Lord Hector! We're under attack!" Everyone snapped into action, getting their respective weapons ready for battle.

"Is it Marquess Laus? They've come to take back the castle? Perfect!" the Ostian said.

"No...It's not him. The attackers aren't a regular army," the knight noted. "Maybe they're mercenaries hired by Laus…"

At that moment, Aracho's eyes lit up in recognition. Unfortunately for him, Matthew saw it and had to say something.

"You know anything about who it could be, Aracho?" the spy asked.

"Yeah, they're probably Eubans's mercenaries," he answered, finding it better to answer and get it out the way. "Their specialties are surprise attacks like the one we're probably about to end up getting."

"Yes...My father said something similar," Eliwood added. "Their group is said to be extremely loyal to Laus, and their lightning-quick attacks are legendary."

"Hm...this could be interesting," Hector noted. "Protect the throne! We won't lose the castle!"

"Someone needs to go warn Erk and the others that aren't here," Eliwood added, seeing that he, Guy and Priscilla were unaccounted for.

"I'll go at once, milord!" Lowen volunteered before bolting off inside the castle. No sooner than the young knight left, a batch of hard-faced men started swarming around the throne room.

"Arachy, where is your tome?" Matthew asked as he pulled his dagger out to do battle with the oncoming group before them.

"In the room...Don't worry, though. I don't need them to do most of my spells," he eased. He would definitely be sleeping for a long time after the conflict, though, since doing higher leveled spells like Bolting without a book was simply hellish compared to basic fire and thunder spells.

"Good! Then you can bolt away anyone that tries to come near the throne!" Hector said before running forward to cover the back entrance along with Eliwood and Marcus. Oswin stayed nearby, acting as a more direct defense of the throne room with his hulking figure and orange armor.

Without a work, Aracho started the chants to the spells he memorized so long ago, holding his two hands together and closing his eyes. By the time he finished, a mercenary was right in front of him with his sword ready to cut him down. Stretching his hand out, he just barely managed to blast the man away with a really strong blast of fire, leaving a smoked corpse on the ground after it hit the wall. "Could you do it any faster?" Matthew asked while in combat with a myrmidon.

In response, Aracho simply snapped his fingers before dropping Matthew's opponent to the ground like a fly with a very potent thunder spell. "Happy? They make me more tired than actually chanting the spells, just so you know." If Matthew heard it, he sure didn't show it as he bolted towards an enemy thief, presumably towards a storage room of the escaped Marquess's domain. Rolling his eyes, the turquoise-haired teen began to chant as a small group of three lancemen came directly towards him, more emboldened now that Matthew left. "Chain fire," Aracho muttered, making three spheres of magic that formed in the shape of a triangle. Swirling his hand in a circle, a group of arcane symbols between the magical spheres, before three blue fireballs came out of them, striking each one of the enemy mercenaries.

Before they could recover and attack him as a coordinated force, Aracho performed a Bolting snap spell, killing one on impact. Taking out his daggers for the first time of the night, he rushed forward to directly engage the other two quickly, killing them with well-placed strikes to the throat. "Chain spells as well? Your magical prowess never ceases to amaze me," a voice sounded. Turning around, he saw Erk and Guy standing there, ready to fight. "We heard fighting outside."

"Ah, thank goodness. I was worried I'd be drained to death after tonight." It was at that moment that Erk noticed what the fellow magic user was talking about.

"You did all of that without a tome!? You are risking magic exhaustion!"

"Umm….What is that?" Guy asked, lost in the conversation.

"Unpleasant," Aracho simply answered, swirling his dagger before seeing three or four...maybe more fighters starting to head straight to the throne room from the back hallway. "There's more of them! They're coming from behind!" he warned, snapping his fingers and attacking them with a Bolting spell.

Guy went forward to engage them directly, while Erk and Aracho gave assistance in the form of magic. Unfortunately for them, every fighter they killed was replaced by another one, which severely irritated the Black Fang member. "I'm sick of these people!" the kid yelled, reaching a breaking point. Snapping his fingers, he poured a large amount of arcane energy around him, creating a circle of symbols on the ground around him. "Eruption!" he called for the second time today. Twin fireballs arose in the air, before swirling around each other in a circular shape.

"Guy, get back!" Erk shouted. Thankfully, the myrmidon got the message and joined the other two just in time to see the group of fighters get utterly fried in a wild explosion of blue fire.

"Jeez, that's hot!" the Sacaean noted with large eyes, feeling the sheer heat that emanated from Aracho's spell. "Tell me the next time you try that, won't you? I don't want to get cooked!" He then saw the teenager panting slightly with his eyes closed. "Hey...are you alright?"

"I...Yeah...I'm fine," he staggered, doing his best to get himself together. "I just need...sleep."

"Come with us to the throne room. Hopefully the lot of them will be gone," Erk advised. Agreeing, the three went to the place, where everyone else stood, probably waiting for Hector and Oswin to finish sweeping up.

"Archy, you don't look so good. Pulled a hamstring?" Matthew teased, earning a stink-eye from the mage.

"Ha-ha, funny. I'm too tired to deal with you right now."

"Did something happen?" Eliwood cut in, curious.

"He used quite a few high-level spells without having any tome," Erk explained. "It's extremely taxing, even for the most expert of mages."

"Wow…" Just then, Hector came back from his side, with Oswin coming from the front around the same instance.

"Woo! We survived!" the Ostian noble shouted with a smile, like a kid who just won a game at a fairground.

"The rest of the enemy units have already begun their retreat," Oswin informed. "Most of them are already gone. This must have been part of their plan."

"Blast! ...You have to admire their efficacy, though," Hector continued, earning a mental nod from Aracho. The tactics of Eubans' where extremely efficient, to the point where it even inspired a few Black Fang formations between he, Uhai, Ursula, Legault and Lloyd provided something got out of hand. "Eubans's mercenaries...I won't forget them. We'll likely cross paths again someday...Then there's the assassins I fought in Ostia," he muttered, seemingly spacing out. Aracho's eyes hardened upon hearing that; did the Black Fang try to attack Hector before he met up with Eliwood?

'Screw it,' Aracho quickly concluded about the new information he received. 'I'm too sleepy to think about it right now.' Even then, he most definitely would be asking Ursula about that matter. Turning around, he started the walk to his room before Hector saw him leaving.

"Aracho! Where are you going?"

"To sleep."

"We need to leave and pursue Marquess Laus!" he rejected, severely irritating the mage at the moment.

Aracho definitely understood why someone would try to kill Hector at this point. "I'm. Going. To. Sleep." Without another word, he kept walking, needing as much rest as possible to get over his strained magical reserves.

XXXXX

A/N: And that's it! This chapter came out quicker than originally thought, which is actually because my chemistry exam got postponed until Monday, which is a LIFE SAVER. But yeah...next chapter, things start to heat up quite a bit, so stay tuned (also, not sure whether to make one gigantic chapter or split it into two smaller chapters...We'll see, I guess.)

Blizzard, out!