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Part Six

Word spread quickly about Queen Lymsleia's request to see Daunte in person, and the HQ was filled with excited chatter. There seemed to be no doubt about what Falena's Queen would decide—it had to be positive. Otherwise, why would she have invited Daunte all the way back to Falena?

Well, she did the same to Bearyl Lutis. At the same time though, she was testing Bearyl when she invited him, and he failed. I'll have to make sure that I don't fail.

It was still early in the day, but the planned assembly was scheduled for the following afternoon, so Caesar proposed that they leave as soon as possible. Daunte agreed, and began formulating the party to take with him for the trip. Caesar would have to come, of course, but who else would he take?

Of course, he had several volunteers.

"I've always wanted to see Falena," Felicity said. "And I haven't seen Surya in such a long time. Can I come, please?"

"I want to see Surya, too," Roen said. "A-And I'm curious about the Dragon Horses. They have then in Falena's capital, right?"

"I think it's a good idea to bring them along," Caesar said. "On a political level, it would be advantageous for Prince Surya to see more familiar faces. And on a personal level, it will do them some good to get away from fighting for a little while."

"Can I come too?" Arin pleaded. A refusal immediately rose to Daunte's lips but his little brother tugged on his hand. "I want to see Surya again too! I-I was sick for the entire time he was with us, but I do remember him! He's a really cool guy!"

"I see no harm in bringing Arin," Caesar told Daunte. "The change of environment would do him a lot of good, considering he's been shuffled between the Dark Chasm and an army headquarters."

Daunte did want to bring Arin along with him, but he was concerned about something. He pulled Caesar aside to speak with him quietly. "I'd be more than happy to bring my brother with us, but what if Queen Lymsleia thinks I've brought him along to milk sympathy from Falena? Like how Bearyl Lutis tried to use me to milk sympathy?"

"This is an excellent point," Caesar agreed with him. He seemed pleased that Daunte had noticed the implications of bringing Arin with him. "But I wouldn't worry about it. Unlike Bearyl, you have the advantage with the political bargaining with Falena after you took part in saving the entire royal family. Not to mention the fact that the purpose of our visit is to try and convince Falena to take in the Dark Chasm refugees. You don't need to "use" Arin for such a feat when you are walking evidence of the monstrosities of that place."

Daunte breathed out a sigh of relief. "So there's not a chance they will think I'm using Arin to gain an alliance?"

"Oh, there is a chance of someone in Falena believing that," Caesar said. "But it's highly unlikely that Queen Lymsleia would believe it, so there should be no harm in bringing him along. I think a change of environment would do him some good, don't you think?"

Daunte nodded. They returned to the group and he looked at Arin. "If you can go and pack quickly, then you can come with us."

"Thank you, Big Brother!" Arin gave him a quick hug and hurried out of the war room. Roen and Felicity also ran off to pack their things.

"Is there anyone else you would like to bring along?" Caesar asked.

"We're coming, too."

Daunte looked towards the door. Shou came inside, pulling Oboro behind him by his sleeve. "This really isn't necessary," Oboro said. "What are the chances that they'll be in Sol-Falena?"

"Our Army has been formally invited to the capital," Shou told him curtly. "They will be there." he looked to Daunte. "My Lord, we're coming with you too."

Daunte looked between them for a long moment. "Your…mission coming here was to bring Oboro home. Are you both leaving the Army?"

Shou scoffed. "Do you think my parents would allow me to come home after I pledged myself to your cause? Especially before you've even achieved victory? No—I'm dragging this old man home to prove that I have been looking for him. And I know he would simply slip away to come back here, so we won't leave the Army."

"I swore to help you see this through to the end, Lord Daunte," Oboro said, fixing his collar. "But…I suppose it would do some good to see my employees and my family."

"You've been gone for nine years!" Shou reminded him harshly. "You better believe you're going to see them!" he looked back at Daunte. "I won't be attending your audience with Queen Lymsleia since I've already met her before. But we'll stay within the city limits while we're there."

Daunte nodded. "I'd be happy to bring you both home. And if you both decide to stay with your families, I won't hold it against you."

"My Lord, I just told you we won't be staying! When it's time for you to leave Sol-Falena, we're going to be leaving with you!"

"Your loyalty is heartwarming," Caesar added. "So we have a fighter in Shou, but Oboro—"

"I don't kill anymore," Oboro told him.

Anymore? Daunte thought.

"So we need one more combatant," Caesar said, looking at Daunte. "Who would you like to bring along?"

"I'll volunteer out of this," Gunther said. "I was with you guys during the last visit, so I don't want my presence to do anything to remind them of our last visit."

"But I went with you guys too," Daunte said. "So did Caesar."

"But you're our leader," Eamon pointed. "There's no way you can't go. Not after the Queen herself invited you."

"And Lord Caesar is your strategist," Allise pointed out. "He has to come with you too."

"In that case, I will also stay behind," Varnaz said, shifting uncomfortably. "I did not exactly have a welcoming presence when we were last there."

"That's true enough," Gunther muttered, earning him a glare from Varnaz.

"I would like to volunteer," Keiran said. "However, as I'm still new to the Liberation Army I still need to build my repertoire and convince everyone that I can be trusted. I think that's better suited here than in Falena."

"Wait," Daunte said, looking towards Caesar. "Reis. Did she say she was from Falena?"

"She is," Oboro said bluntly.

"Then why don't we bring her along with us?"

"That should work," Caesar said, shrugging. "So we have our entourage. Our boat is being prepared as we speak, so let's hurry and get ready."

To Daunte's surprise, Reis wasn't particularly enthusiastic about going to Falena. However, she did get excited about the prospect of being in the Sun Palace and voiced no further complaints. Daunte did not know how long they would be gone so he only packed a week's worth of clothes. Once he finished packing he counted out the bits he had. Then he remembered that Falena had a different currency.

Right. Well, off to see Eliasen.

Daunte gathered his entourage, but before leaving the main building he stopped by to see Viki. "Would you be able to teleport us to Sol-Falena?"

To his surprise, Viki shook her head sadly at him. "My Blinking Rune doesn't have the power to travel large distances. It's only capable of teleporting you within a country's borders." Daunte didn't quite understand the logic of that—after all, Viki had teleported into Nagarea from outside the country, right? So why couldn't the Rune simply teleport them outside of the country?

But…she DOES seem to have a pretty poor grasp of what her Rune is capable of. She doesn't seem to have full control of it, and where it can take her—and us. So maybe I should play it safe and not risk being teleported somewhere I don't know.

Daunte took his entourage towards the southwest building. Eliasen's shop was in one of the two large rooms on the second floor, and greeted the group warmly. Daunte was positively stunned to find that his currency conversion shop was filled with sacks of Potch that rose straight to the ceiling. Daunte stared at this pile, absolutely stunned, for several minutes in silence. What? How…Where did he get all this Potch? I'm pretty sure this wasn't in his wagon!

"I've heard that you all are traveling to Falena," Eliasen greeted them. "I will be more than happy to convert your bits into Potch. When you return, I'll convert it back to bits. But remember—10 bits equals 1 Potch."

"R-Right," Daunte said, hurrying over to his counter. He pulled out his wallet and emptied his pockets. "I'll convert everything I have into Potch."

"Are you sure, my Lord?"

"Yes. I'll just convert it back when I come back." He emptied the contents of his wallet onto the counter. Eliasen counted out and the total came to 50,000 bits. Daunte's heart sank when Eliasen counted out exactly 5,000 Potch for him, but he forced a smile at the older man. "Thank you."

Everyone else got their currency converted as well and they left the conversion shop. Daunte's unease at his savings amounting to a meager amount in Potch disappeared slightly however when he saw how excited Arin was for the trip. Well…I'll try to make the most of this. And with any luck I won't absolutely blow it.

Most of the Army and the healthier children from the Dark Chasm had come out to say goodbye to them. They were aware that the purpose of the trip was to ask Falena to take them in. Daunte saw that many of the children were very apprehensive, but he also saw a few of them look angry. He knew what this had to look like—that it looked like he was abandoning them.

But I'm not capable, at least at this given time, of giving them the help that they need. If Falena agrees to take them in, I know that they can give them the help that I can't provide to them.

"Right," Caesar said, looking out over the Army. "As Viki cannot teleport us directly outside of Nagarea, we're going to take a ship up the underground cavern towards the Northern Wharf. We'll send word about how our conference went with the Queen." He looked to Daunte. "Anything else, my Lord?"

Daunte then realized that with both Caesar and his departure they did not have a leader to oversee the Army while they were gone. He knew he would have to assign someone. He thought of assigning Keiran, as it would no doubt show everyone that his defection to the Liberation Army was sincere, but he also knew that there was a chance that no one would follow his orders. No…he needed long-time veterans of the Army to maintain the Army in their absence.

But I don't want to play favorites. Who should I choose?

After deliberating it for a long moment, he nodded. "While we're gone, I'm leaving both Varnaz and Gunther in charge. In the event of an emergency, follow their orders as you would follow mine."

The Army shouted their acknowledgements, but both men in question looked stunned. Daunte knew that he was taking a risk leaving them both in charge, considering they still did not necessarily get along. But at the same time though, Daunte hoped that this experience would allow them to settle their differences.

And they will do what's best for the Army.

"You."

Several people shrieked in alarm when Yuber suddenly appeared beside Daunte. Arin cried out and clung to Daunte's waist. It took every ounce of willpower for Daunte to not flinch at his sudden arrival, and to meet his cold gaze unflinchingly. "Yes, Yuber?" Daunte asked him.

"It is not in my nature to stand idle," Yuber told him. "And it is not wise of you to leave me behind. Without you around to give me orders, I may be prone to act…impulsively."

Daunte recognized the threat in words, even if his tone did not sound threatening. He squared his shoulders and looked Yuber right in his unfeeling, heterochromatic eyes. "Then here's my order for you—while I'm gone, you're going to defend every member of this Army with your life. If there is a threat to any of the men, women, and children who serve under me, you will defend them from it. Do I make myself clear?" he made sure to use a sharp and commanding tone of voice.

Yuber stared back at him in silence. The tension was thick in the air; it made everyone on edge. Finally, Yuber leaned his head back slightly. "Fine." And just as quickly, he was gone.

All around Daunte people let out loud sighs of relief. Daunte was also relieved but he kept a cool mask on as he turned to Caesar. "Are we ready to leave?"

"Whenever you are, my Lord," Caesar told him.

They headed down into the underground cavern while the Army above them cheered and shouted goodbyes. A large boat was waiting for them, as was a soldier with a Water Rune. Once they were loaded onto the boat they took off sailing into the darkness of the cavern. Daunte saw torches that were hanging on the walls on either side of them, and he was glad that his Army had lit the way up the tunnel. Even though the cavern was wide, he felt a little claustrophobic being down there.

The tunnel was long and winding, with no branching paths. Daunte thought it was odd that the water was flowing north, as opposed to south, but it did make sailing that much easier. But it was still a boat ride that lasted for several hours. But they encountered no monsters down in the cave, so it made the trip that much more leisurely.

By the time they exited the cavern and reached the Northern Wharf, it was already dusk Daunte was stunned that their travel had taken so much time, and he was mindful of the fact that their assembly with the Queen was less than a day away. Remembering how long it'd taken them to sail up the coast, it was agreed upon that they not stop for breaks unless absolutely necessary and keep sailing. The soldier operating the Water Rune was thankfully understanding.

They were sailing up and away from the Northern Wharf and northeast towards Falena when it happened. Daunte was idly watching sun set on the ocean's horizon when a bright light rose high into the air. It startled him and he sat up. He seeing a light like that before, when they had gotten back to Nagarea from Falena, though he'd had an argument with Bearyl after seeing the light and so hadn't been able to ask about it. He grabbed Caesar's arm and pointed. "What is that?"

Caesar watched the light descend over the water for a moment before shrugging. "That's a rune cannon."

"W-What?!" Reis exclaimed, immediately perking up.

"I'm joking," Caesar said blandly. The researcher immediately deflated at each this. "Actually, that light is coming from the direction of a small island due north of Nagarea. There are rumors that an inventor lives there. He fled Nagarea to avoid being arrested for his "unlawful experiments"." His fingers wiggled in quotations marks as he said this. "So the inventor moved to an uninhabited island and does his work there instead."

"D-Do you think he would be interested in joining us?" Roen asked.

"Another time, I think," Caesar said. "For right now, let's focus on Falena."

"I agree," Daunte said.

They sailed all night towards Falena, though they drifted for a few hours while they allowed the soldier to rest. Dawn was starting to break on the sky when Daunte recognized the coastline of Falena and they turned inland and followed up the river.

"By Nagar, look at this place!" Felicity shouted with amazement at the greenery of their environment. "Falena surely has a lot more trees than Nagarea does!"

"Daunte, look!" Arin said, leaning over the side of the boat to look into the water. "Look at how clean this water is! I can see straight through to the bottom!"

"This is the Feitas River," Oboro said. "It runs to every corner of Falena. We're quite proud of it, you know."

"It does look a lot like Golden River," Roen observed.

It had turned into morning when Daunte recognized a wide space of water that resembled a small lake. He'd remembered that this was where the Falenan boats had met them to escort them to Sol-Falena. Sure enough… "Halt!"

Daunte stood to attention as the familiar, larger ships surrounded them slightly. "Greetings!" he called up to them.

"Oh!" the captain at one of the ships shouted. "It's you!"

"We from the Hersheville Naval Base welcome you back to the Queendom of Falena, Lord Daunte!" another shouted down to them.

Eh? This…is a different reception than we got before. He looked at Caesar, but the strategist shrugged.

"Please, allow us to escort you straight to Sol-Falena," the first captain shouted. "We'll get you there quickly and safely!"

"They're certainly friendly," Felicity said.

"Why would they be?" Oboro asked.

"They treated us with a little more…suspicion the last time we were here," Daunte said.

"Well, we're here with you," Shou said. "Not to mention the fact that they already know who you are. It'd be stupid to treat you with hostility, right?"

"Maybe it's because you're the leader now, Daunte?" Arin asked, looking at him. "They know they can trust you!"

"…Sure, let's go with that," Shou muttered.

Their boat was escorted alongside the other boats towards Sol-Falena. Despite the warmer welcome (and the fact that the soldiers recognized Daunte on sight) he was still nervous about how this assembly was going to go. Maybe Queen Lymsleia would accept their proposal, but…what if she thought their proposal was a manipulation tactic?

I don't want to manipulate them into being my allies. I do want them to care for the children of the Dark Chasm. But I…after how Bearyl Lutis behaved the last time we were here, I wouldn't be surprised if they did sincerely believe I was trying to manipulate them.

He felt a tug on his hand, and he looked towards Arin. "Are you okay?"

"I…" Arin gulped before continuing. "I-I'm sorry, Big Brother."

Daunte blinked. "Why?"

"I was angry with you. I thought, when you decided to send the children of the Dark Chasm here, that you were ditching them. But…look at this place!" he gestured to their surroundings. "This place is beautiful! And the air feels good here too! I get it now! I get why you want to send the children here! They'll definitely recover a lot quicker here than at our headquarters!"

"Well let's not get ahead of ourselves yet," Caesar said. "We still need to convince the Queen to take the children in."

"I agree with Arin," Roen said. He was positively grinning. "I was worried before, but I think sending them here would help them get better a lot faster!"

"If the Queen will agree to take in over 300 injured and malnourished kids," Reis muttered.

It was late morning, almost noon, when they finally arrived in Sol-Falena. Arin gasped aloud when he saw the massive capital city, and Daunte himself was overwhelmed when he saw the city, even though he'd seen it previously. Along the docks he saw the dragon horses and he tensed reflexively. Arin even hid his face in Daunte's arm. Roen, however, looked delighted to the see the dragon horses and waved to them.

They reached the main docks, and Daunte recognized Cius waiting for them there. He slowly stood up as their boat came to a stop alongside the dock. Falena's soldiers stood to attention, but Cius broke away from them and hurried towards Daunte and his entourage. As Daunte climbed out of the boat, Cius seized his hand and shook it vigorously. "Daunte—excuse me, Lord Daunte! Welcome back to Sol-Falena! And…" he looked at the rest of the group and his eyes went wide. "Oboro! A-And Shou and Reis! You all joined the Liberation Army, too?!"

"Long time no see," Oboro greeted him. "W—"

"Enough," Shou interrupted, jumping out of the boat. "Are they here?"

"O-Oh, are you guys the reason why the Oboro Detective Agencies boats are parked on the other side of the harbor?" Cius wondered out loud. "It's been years since I've seen all the boats together, but they all just suddenly arrived this morning! All five of them!"

"Good luck, my Lord," Shou told Daunte. He then grabbed Oboro roughly by his arm. "Let's go."

"Shou, there's really no need for—"

"Let's go," Shou said in a harsher tone and dragged the other man away.

"Oh, drat!" Cius sighed, slapping a hand over his eyes. "Per protocol I should've confiscated their weapons!"

"But you know them," Reis pointed out to him. "Didn't Oboro fight with you guys during the Civil War? Why would you confiscate his weapon—if he had any?"

Cius shook his head and looked to Daunte. "Thank you for arriving early, Lord Daunte. We sent word ahead to the Sun Palace that you have arrived, but as you're undoubtedly aware your assembly with the Queen is an hour away."

"I understand," Daunte said. "Would it be all right if we look around the city?"

"Oh, yes!" Felicity gushed. "I want to see Sol-Falena!"

"Daunte, can we go to the shop where you got me that figurine?" Arin asked eagerly, tugging on Daunte's hand. "Pretty please?"

Daunte shrugged and smiled at him. "Sure, why not?"

"I definitely need to stretch my legs," Caesar said, rubbing at one calf.

"I can't believe I have to waste an hour before getting into the Sun Palace," Reis grumbled.

"I'll be your escort," Cius told them. "But before we go any further, please hand over your weapons. They will be returned to you when you are ready to depart the Queendom."

The group handed over their weapons without fuss. Cius nodded and grinned at them. "I'll take you all into the market. We'll stop by Mr. Mooney's shop first and foremost. Once we're about fifteen minutes before the start of the assembly, I'll escort you all to the Sun Palace."

Roen wanted to stay down at the docks with the dragon horses, but he didn't want to lose track of the group and reluctantly followed them. Daunte was a little amused by it (though he hoped Roen didn't give in to temptation to bring an egg back with them because he sincerely doubted Sharon had experience with dragon horses).

As it was now the afternoon, the market of Sol-Falena was crammed with people. Most everyone was in high spirits, and nobody treated them with suspicion. On the opposite side of the city, he did see five unique boats docked and there was a group of people wearing the same uniform that Shou wore. He couldn't see Shou or Oboro and decided not to give it another thought as Cius led them into Mooney's shop.

"Oh, Cius!" Mooney waved to them from behind the counter. "You've brought me quite a few customers! And—oh! I know you!" he pointed to Daunte. "So these are the dignitaries from Nagarea?"

"Yes," Cius said. "Right now they're shopping before the assembly. T—"

"I don't believe it!" Caesar suddenly shouted. He was hovering over the case Daunte remembered contained figurines of heroes from the Second Fire Bringer War. He looked up and stared stunned at Mooney. "That's me! I'm in this case! Who are you?! How did you get my likeness so accurately?!"

"Oh, so you're a hero of the Second Fire Bringer War?" Mooney asked. He came out from behind the counter and approached Caesar. He looked at him closely and yelped. "O-Oh my goodness! You're Caesar Silverberg! The Caesar Silverberg!" He grasped Caesar's hand and shook it. "It's an honor to meet you!"

"Y-You're only charging 500 Potch for my figurine," Caesar said. "That's insulting, considering I was the Chief Strategist during this war! I mean, you've got Nadir's figurine here at 2,000 Potch! All he did was put on these crazy plays!"

Mooney flinched and laughed feebly. "Ah…you see; these figurines don't sell as well here in Falena. Nadir is quite renowned for—"

"He once put on a rendition of Romeo and Juliet and casted a MAN play Juliet!" Caesar snapped. Daunte burst into laughter, unable to help himself, and the rest of the group soon followed.

Mooney shifted uncomfortably where he stood. "Since this is you we're talking about; you can have your figurine on the house."

Caesar shook his head furiously. "No! I'll pay full-price for my figurine!" he dug into his pocket angrily.

"Daunte, look!" Arin exclaimed. He was standing at the case in the center of the room. Daunte remembered that these were the best sellers. It was five figurines in a row, portraying five teenage boys. It was strange…staring at them, Daunte felt a kinship to them. Even though they were simply figurines in a case.

"Oh, we have a special on those five," Mooney said. He took Caesar's figurine (and money) behind the counter. He deposited the Potch into the cash register and wrapped the figurine. "Those are the Tenkai Stars of each of the five wars featured in this shop. Prince Freyjadour is the last one in the row."

Daunte's head snapped up, and he heard Arin gasp. Tenkai Star? Leknaat…she said I was the Tenkai Star. So I'm not the only one? These five are also part of the Tenkai Star? He looked back down into the case.

"Oh, that's Lord Thomas!" Caesar said, pointing to the figurine in the middle of the five. "He didn't necessarily lead the Army, but it was his castle we used as our headquarters."

"They generally run for 10,000 Potch apiece, but since they're on special they're only 1,000 Potch apiece," Mooney said. "I would highly recommend buying Prince Freyjadour's figurine as quick as possible. His always sells out the fastest."

"He's right," Cius said, looking at Daunte. "I've seen people who already own Prince Freyjadour's figurine come back just to buy another."

Arin was looking at all five of them with awe. Daunte counted his money and remembered that he had converted it, and he had exactly 5,000 Potch. He nodded and looked up at Mooney. "I'll take all five of them."

"Really?!" Arin exclaimed happily.

"Really?" Reis asked in a dull voice.

"That…That is most kind of you," Mooney said.

Daunte shrugged. "They're heroes after all. And you like them, right Arin?"

Arin nodded happily and Daunte nodded to Mooney. Since they were the Tenkai Star, just like him, he definitely wanted to have them. And Arin wanted them anyway, so that was another incentive. Even if it would leave him with an empty wallet. "So, 5,000 Potch right?"

"Spending all of your money on toys," Reis huffed, shaking her head as they left the shop. "You really are a child, aren't you?"

Daunte shrugged. "I'm a teenager, actually."

"Daunte, thank you so much!" Arin was positively gushing, hugging all five figurines to his chest. "Now I have six of these!"

"Seven," Caesar said, shoving his own figurine into Arin's overcrowded arms.

"Wait, but that's your figurine isn't it?" Cius asked him.

"What am I going to do with it?" Caesar asked, shrugging. "It was an impulse buy. Perhaps next time he'll charge over 1,000 Potch for it.

"But that's a lot of figurines he makes, isn't it?" Roen wondered. "I mean, it's heroes for five wars right? It'd be impossible to have the complete sets!"

Daunte shrugged. "We're off to a pretty good start."

"We still have some time," Cius told them. "Why don't I take you to our trade shop?"

Daunte nodded. "Thank you."

They followed Cius towards the shop in question. Arin trailed behind them, looking at each of the figurines he held. He looked at Caesar. "Hey, Caesar?"

"What is it?"

"Why is Lord Thomas so much smaller than everyone else?"

Caesar paused at hearing this, and then burst into laughter.