"Best Laid Plans"
"No, I refuse to believe Icon has gone evil! There must be some other reason!" Tiny Heart said as the table shook after he banged his fist.
"You have seen it with your own eyes Tiny Heart, and now this news he helped overthrow the Sandorian Monarchy." said Iron Eater.
"Evidence supports the facts. He must be considered a dangerous criminal. Kill on sight." said the President of Bastok.
"No, no, no. He must be given a chance to defend himself, a trial must be held to judge whether he really is guilty or not. Isn't what the Republic stands for, to give justice to its entire citizenry?" Tiny Heart said as he waved off their suggestions. "You cannot give out an order to kill on sight."
The President stood up and banged the table and pointed at Tiny Heart. "You are out of line Tiny Heart. You are disrupting the meeting. You have no place here to question the decision of your superiors. Get out!"
Tiny Heart angrily grabbed his chair and slammed it on the floor breaking it into pieces. The room fell silent as he hurriedly left the room fuming.
"Iron Eater, you had better teach that Galka some manners. Suspend him from the Corp. I do not want a hot head like him in our army. That would be dangerous for our troops." the President angrily said.
"Sorry Mr. President. I will take care of the matter." Iron Eater replied.
"Now Wolferine, please do continue." the President said.
"As what I was saying, Icon helped the King's advisor, Duke Leydon install Prince Trion to the throne. As you have read the intelligence reports we have furnished you over the years. Prince Trion is not fit to rule. He is a known womanizer and a troublemaker." said Wolferine, an Elvaan Beastmaster, who was the leader of the Elvaan exiles in Bastok.
"Yes we have read your reports. It would be a dangerous for Prince Trion to rule Sandoria. What are your companions planning to do?" the President asked.
"The Sandorian resistance group sees this as a perfect opportunity to overthrow the Monarchy. Surely there will be military commanders who are still loyal to the ex king. We can persuade them to join our cause. The Monarchy must end its hold on the people of Sandoria. They have ruled Sandoria for so long that all they do is cause misery to our people because of their ambitions in ruling over all of Vanadiel." Wolferine replied.
"We share your aspirations of a new way of government for Sandoria. But we cannot commit troops to your cause. It will be a sign of war on our side if we do so." Iron Eater said.
"We appreciate the help you have given us all these years. Letting us use Bastok as a base of operations is already a great help to our cause." Wolferine said. "We Sandorians have to take care of this problem ourselves."
"I am glad you understand how difficult it is for us to commit more resources. We do not want to start a war between Sandoria and Bastok. The situation is already tense as it is." The President said. "Commander Mourn, what is the Federation of Windurst's position about the new ruler of Sandoria?"
"The Elder Council has decided it is in the best interest of Windurst not to meddle in the affairs of another nation." Mourn replied. "Sorry Wolferine, we cannot commit any help to your cause also."
"I understand Commander. No need to be sorry." Wolferine said.
"Now to the problem at hand, as evidence shows, Icon may be the Hume the prophecy foretold that possesses the powers of the Shadow Lord. We have seen what he can do and the danger he poses to Vanadiel. What should we do about him?" the President asked.
"We first need to find out where his base of operations is. We all know how powerful he is based on the reports so we also need to form a special group to take him down if the need arises." Zeid said. "Second, we need to know what they are planning to do next. Reports have it Umbra and Icon was spotted with Duke Leydon, the King's advisor."
"How strong a group do we need to make?" the President asked.
"As strong as we can make it. If Icon really is the Shadow Lord reincarnated, we need all the firepower we can get." Zeid replied. "Mourn, can Windurst provide us with some powerful mages?"
"I will take up the matter with the Elder council. I will see what I can do." Mourn replied.
"I can tell my men to gather information about Duke Leydon and his activities. And if Icon is in Sandoria, we will keep an eye on his movements." Wolferine said.
"Okay I leave the formation of the team to you Zeid. Please update me right away if any pertinent information crops up. This meeting is adjourned." the President said.
Zeid approached Mourn as people started to leave the room. "Mourn can I have a minute of your time?"
"Sure Zeid." Mourn said as she followed Zeid out.
-O-
Tiny Heart was sitting at one of the stone bridges in Bastok Markets when someone slapped him in the back. Tiny heart turned to see who it was and saw an old friend. "Hyanmensir! What brings you to Bastok?"
"Tiny Heart how is you? You big fat Galka? I heard about the Quadav attack on Bastok so I came to see what I can do help. What is wrong with you? You seem so glum?" Hyanmensir asked.
"Come I will buy you a drink and I will tell you all about it."
"Sure free drinks now you are talking." said Hyanmensir happily.
They ended up at Steaming Sheep Restaurant and Tiny Heart told Hyanmensir what has happened so far. "Hmmmm... I think you find a way to talk to Icon and straighten things out. Evidence really points to him as the one the prophecy says." Hyanmensir said. "You shouldn't have lost your temper in the meeting."
"Yes it was childish of me to lose my temper. It will not happen again." Tiny Heart replied.
In the corner of his eye, Tiny Heart saw Zeid and Mourn enter the restaurant. They saw them sitting by the corner and approached. Zeid slapped Tiny Heart in the head and said. "You Idiot! Your first meeting with the Bastokan Council and you blew your top. You have been suspended from the Corp by the order of the President. Idiot." Zeid angrily said.
Tiny Heart could not say anything and just kept quiet. Hyanmensir saw Mourn and said to her. "Ahhh it's my lovely Mithra friend Mourn, nice to met you again. You look lovely as ever." Mourn just smiled at Hyanmensir and looked away. Zeid then said. "Since you have been suspended from the Corp, you may as well make yourself useful by doing a job for me."
"Job? What job?" Tiny Heart asked.
Zeid motioned to the barkeep to clear the restaurant. The patrons quickly left and soon we were all alone. "Since you have been suspended from the Bastokan army, the Bastokan government will not help you in anyway if you get captured. Nor will they acknowledge that you are on official Bastokan business." Zeid said.
"Do I have a choice not to go?" Tiny Heart asked.
"No, you do not have that choice." Zeid replied. "Anyway you will like what I have in store for you. And you also Hyanmensir, you will accompany Tiny Heart on his mission."
"Me? Why me?" Hyamensir asked. "I'm just a traveling monk without a home."
"Make yourself useful Hyanmensir. It's for the good of Vanadiel." Mourn said.
"If Mourn says so then I will follow." Hyanmensir said smiling.
"Thank Altana I am not going with them." Mourn murmured to herself.
"Enough idle chatter, let's get serious. Before the meeting even started, Wolferine, I and a couple of others already had a plan in mind." Zeid said. "The plan was to infiltrate Sandoria and find Icon. Since you and Icon are close Tiny Heart. You are the natural choice to go. You have to find out if he is the Shadow Lord or not. If he is, we will have no choice but to take him down."
"And how are we supposed to do that?" Tiny Heart asked. "Did you see what he did to Mourn's people, Sylvaria and Freon? He didn't even break a sweat to defeat them."
"Now that we know how powerful he is we will be prepared this time. Wolferine has contacts inside Sandoria so it will be easy for us to find him if he is there." Zeid said. "Reinforcements from Windurst are coming here as we speak. We should have enough firepower to contain him."
"And if we cannot contain him? What then?" Tiny Heart asked.
"Then Altana help us all." Zeid answered.
Namy stepped inside the restaurant looking for Mourn. She approached and said. "They have arrived Commander."
"Meet up at the Altana's Shrine." Zeid said as he stood up and left.
-O-
There were thirteen of them at Altana's Shrine including Mourn and Zeid. Zeid look at the group and said. "The mission you are about to do is of utmost importance. The future of Vanadiel is in your hands. You are to find icon and learn if he is the Shadow Lord or not. If he is then it will be your duty to stop him. Failure is not an option. I hope you realize the gravity of the situation. I will introduce you one by one. Please step forward when I call you."
One by one they stepped forward as Zeid called their names. Blacknwhite, a male Tarutaru Summoner; Freon, Mithra Red Mage; Chari, a female Hume Black Mage; Whon, a male Hume White Mage; Black Falcon, a Galka Bard; Sylvaria, Mithra Samurai; Tiny Heart, Galka Dark Knight; Hyanmensir male Hume Monk; Wolferine, male Elvaan Beastmaster; Namy, Mithra Ranger;. And Cozar, a Male Tarutaru Black Mage.
"Now you know each other. Familiarize yourself with one another. This mission will be lead by Wolferine. Good luck to you all." Zeid said.
"Sorry I am late." We looked to see who said that. It was Twinki, Tiny Heart's male Tarutaru Ninja Friend.
"Glad you could join us Twinki." Zeid said. "You will be second in command of this party. You will all leave for Jeuno this evening by airship, then travel the rest of the way by chocobo to Sandoria. Good luck."
Twinki approached Tiny Heart and said. "Hi there Tiny Heart, the moment I heard about Icon I volunteered for this mission. Do not worry, we will find Icon and try to help him if he isn't the Shadow Lord."
"Thank you Twinki. I owe you another debt of gratitude." Tiny Heart said.
-O-
"Umbra how goes the preparations for the assault of Jeuno?" the Master asked.
"We are ready Master. We await your command." Umbra replied.
"We strike tonight. If Jeuno falls then we will be one step nearer to our goal, the conquest of Vanadiel." The Master said with a long evil laugh.