-The Great Mila Tree-

"To what pleasure do I owe the Battlemaster visiting my humble personage?" Cervantes asked him. "Perhaps you'd like advice on growing a magnificent mustache such as myself? I've never lost a battle with whiskers like mine, and you'll never lose one either, if you grow them. It's science!"

That is not what science is. Not in the slightest.

"Thank you, General Cervantes." Robin said. "But I'm actually interested in the tree itself."

"Brie chiseled?" Cervantes frowned. "I do like a good Rossanean cheese, but I think Brie is the soft kind, and you can't chisel it. Not that it's what food you would need to grow a mustache. You have white hair, so I'd recommend drinking milk. Or possibly Feta. But not Brie."

I'm fairly certain that Bree is actually a foreign country populated by small creatures of legend, short of stature but brave of heart. Robin blinked. Wait, hold on a second. What? "I'm not interested in cheese right now."

"Yes, I suppose we must be on the lookout for the blight, but I can't see how crows would go about transferring it." Cervantes rumbled. "But thank you for the warning."

"What." Robin narrowed his eyes. No one's hearing is that bad. No one. He's doing this on purpose. "Do you want to tell me how you misheard 'now' as 'crow'?"

"I may not have good hearing, but I would never mix up 'bow' and 'throw'." Cervantes said. "Now, what was it you wanted?"

"I give up. The tree." Robin gestured to the gigantic Mila tree that Cervantes had a post guarding. "I want to go up the tree. TREE."

"And what a tree it is!" Cervantes chuckled. "Of course, climbing it is forbidden without express authorization of the Conqueror. Regardless, it's nice to see that you've stopped by to check on my garrison. And who is the lovely lady accompanying you?"

"My name is Morgaine." Aversa said, wearing dark cloaks in a manner reminiscent of the shamans of the days of old. She'd selected it as her new moniker, given that Aversa was supposed to be dead, after a crafty witch of ages past. "I'm the Black Witch to the Crimson Tactician. With the beautiful Say'ri gone from his side, helping to unify Chon'sin within the Valm empire, he needed someone like me to watch him. And to take care of the lesser threats that don't meet his standards."

"Mmm." Cervantes said. "I hold a similar position myself, being a general in the grand army of Valm. It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Morgaine."

"Wha…" Robin stared, looking back and forth. "You understood all of that, but nothing of what I say?"

"It's been nice seeing you, but if you need to go away, I understand." Cervantes nodded. "I'm sure the Battlemaster has things to do."

He's definitely screwing with me. Robin frowned. I have officially decided that I don't like it when people do that. Still going to do it to others, though.

"Here." Robin thrust a bound paper scroll forward, complete with the Conqueror's seal on it.

"Ah! The seal of Walhart itself." Cervantes took it and unwrapped it. The seal was legitimate, even if the orders weren't quite as legitimate.

An old spymaster trick was to write in invisible ink and have the recipient heat it up to make the letters appear, thought Robin went a bit more crafty. In his case, he wrote a request to allow him to inspect the defenses of the Mila tree in invisible ink, then heated the paper to reveal the message. Then he added a sentence at the end of the paragraph, amending the orders by adding "You will also allow him to inspect the interior, and climb to the top as well, unaccompanied" in invisible ink as well. He showed the request to Walhart, got it sealed, and then lightly heated the paper using magic for precision. Now he had a full set of orders, all in the same ink.

"These are … unique orders." Cervantes said. He might have been frowning, Robin couldn't tell behind the beard. And he wasn't going to give the blasted man more words to mishear. "So, you wish access to the tree?"

Robin nodded. He was done talking to this one.

"Unaccompanied?"

Robin nodded and gestured to Aversa.

"Mmm, sorry, m'boy." Cervantes squinted at the paper. "It clearly says 'unaccompanied'. It appears that Walhart would like the secrets of this place to only be seen by your eyes, and your eyes alone. I can guarantee that there's nothing up there that would hurt you, but you will have to go alone."

"I'll go it alone, then." Robin sighed. Next time, I won't write something that can be misunderstood like that, but it's not a bad trade off if I have no one monitoring me up on top of the tree. "Morgaine, I'll have to leave you here. Do a garrison check for me. And figure out why you can talk with him while I can't."

"As you wish." Aversa smiled. "Have a good time."

-Mila Tree, Branches' Apex-

The top of the tree yielded Robin a sight he'd never seen before, one so lovely he almost didn't believe it would be possible. Sunlight danced between the leaves of the tree's topmost leaves, giving the impression of forest glade, but the path underfoot was smooth bark, curled into a large spiral pattern where the stairwell let off, creating an enormous platform high up in the sky. The air smell faintly of the spices Robin associated with tree - nutmeg, cinnamon, and a hint of clove.

The platform was laid out like a room, furniture (all wooden) set in the far corner, but the entryway was clear of such clutter. And, at the far end was flower petal, twice the height of Robin. The petal itself was closed, despite the sunlight streaming on it. But there was no one else there. Robin looked around, confused.

"Isn't she supposed to be here?" Robin walked, looking around. There were no signs that anyone had lived here recently from the furniture, though it was stocked with food. Robin remembered reading from a report on Cervantes garrison that they kept Tiki supplied with food, so he supposed that was why it was there. They probably throw it out when it goes bad, too. Literally throw it out, off the side, probably, considering how thick the branches are at this height.

Robin checked everything before he approached the flower petal. When he was a few steps away from it, it reacted to his presence. The flower petal abruptly dissolved, sliding in on itself in a flash of silver and green light. Robin blinked.

When he opened his eyes, the flower was gone, and a gorgeous woman was standing in its place, yawning. She had a red dress with boots to match, and pale green hair and pointed ears. But Robin recognized the brooch she wore on her head as the Mark of Naga almost immediately. Lady Tiki.

"Visitors?" The pale figure yawned. "It's been so long, since I've had them."

"Visitor. Singular. Unfortunately." Robin introduced himself. "I am Robin, Lady Tiki. The Battlemaster of Valm. And I've humbly come to request an audience with you."

"Oh?" Tiki stretched her arms and sat down on one of the chairs nearby. It looked very comfortable. "Perhaps … after I nap. I am tired, after all."

"You just woke up." Robin blinked. "Didn't you?"

"Deep sleep exhausts me." Tiki said, yawning again. "But there's not much else to do now that Walhart's decide to guard my tree. But you should know that, shouldn't you?"

"…Is this your way of saying you don't want to speak with me?"

"Hmmm." Tiki studied him as her eyes opened. Robin felt her emerald eyes shoot through his body as she overlooked him. Robin was intelligent, but he knew there was a wisdom which was only obtained by living. And now someone with two thousand years of that wisdom was applying it to him. "Curious. You have power… like mine."

"What?" Robin blinked, startled by the statement. "What do you mean…"

"Pay it no mind. Maybe I'm wrong, and my mind is a bit dusty." Tiki shook her head. "But I can see you are unique, even among Valm. You even remind me of an old friend. Very well. I suppose that I can have a brief chat with you before I take another nap. What does the second-highest ranked Valmese want with the Voice of Naga?"

"I have one request in that capacity." Robin said. "But I'd rather save that for last. Right now, all I want is guidance. Of the spiritual kind."

"Just a simple pilgrim?" Tiki smiled. "Well, I haven't had one of those in a while. This should be fun. How can I help you?"

"I visited the cairn for Emmeryn on the outskirts of Ylissotol when I visited there." Robin said. "You accompanied her ancestor, right?"

"Marth Lowell." Tiki smiled fondly. "Dear Mar-Mar."

"Can you tell me about him?" Robin asked.

"Why do you want to know?" Tiki asked. "Is it because you wish to learn about the legacy of a woman who you have the utmost respect for? Or is it because you want to know what your enemies are thinking?"

"More of the former than the latter, I hope." Robin said politely, unsure how to react to the sudden barb. It seemed that the manakete had teeth behind her nonthreatening exterior. He also wasn't sure how she knew about Emmeryn's legacy, seeing as Valm felt no need to keep her informed of the going-ons of the world. Though it was probably for a good cause that she had a moniker of 'The Voice of Naga'. Robin shelved further thoughts about that subject.

"Very well." Tiki said. "It doesn't hurt to tell you, at any rate. Marth was a man of dedication and belief. He wasn't particularly strong, but he had a strength of his own in his conviction. It's very notable that most of his army was his enemy at one point or another before he recruited them to his vision. But he carried his own weight as well – burdened by choices he was forced to make, and people he failed to save."

"I see." Robin said.

"Overall, I'd say you and him-" Tiki trailed off, considering. "-have nothing alike, not even in the slightest. You seemed confused in your beliefs because you've let yourself be ruled by your pragmatism. And all you care about are the results you can achieve. You aren't bad, especially considering that the results you want are good for everyone, or at the least what you consider to be the best for everyone involved. But you are no Marth either."

"I don't understand." Robin frowned. "How else would you act, if not by seeing what you can achieve?"

"Simple." Tiki smiled. "Start with what you believe your perfect world should be and move as close to it as possible. Instead of being pragmatism guided by ideals, act with ideal guided by pragmatism. The difference is subtle but exists nonetheless. You can likely realize it by simply adjusting how you act."

"Very wise, Lady." Robin said. "Thank you, for the advice."

"In that sense, you remind me of Katarina. That was the old friend I spoke of." Tiki said, absently. "She was very kind at heart, but even I could see the sadness in her eyes after she joined us."

"Katarina?" Robin frowned. "I've never heard that name."

"Hmm?" Tiki frowned. "Ah, yes. Kris had all the records of her erased from the pages of history. I'm not sure why, but that's what he did. You do remind me of Kris too, but it's more of an echo. Katarina was the tactician of Marth's army. And Kris was a good friend of Marth's, but you won't find him in any history either."

"I see." Robin said. "A tactician? That does sound like me."

"It's not the tactician part which remind me of her." Tiki said. "It's the fact that you still aren't sure what to do, or what you're doing is right. Katarina also had a few problems."

"It's not so easy for me to just wake up tomorrow morning as an idealist." Robin frowned.

"No. If it was, then heroes like Mar-Mar wouldn't need to exist. It wasn't easy for Katarina either." Tiki agreed. "But she eventually came around. Do you wish to know anything else?"

"Yes." Robin said. "Would you mind showing me Verdant?"

"You know I have it?" Tiki frowned. "But why would you want it?"

"I had an odd reaction to one of them. The one Walhart has." Robin said. "I'm curious as to what another one would do."

"Nothing more than the first. And don't ask me why." Tiki said, yawning. "Dragon magic is complicated. And I don't feel like explaining it all to you."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, if the reaction was even caused by the stone in the first place." Tiki said. She considered, then shook her head. "No, I shall not show you the gemstone. The gem was given to me to safeguard for the Lowell bloodline, so that it may be put on the Fire Emblem. Not so that the tactician of Valm could satiate his own curiosity. Even for Katarina."

"Gah. I suppose my curiosity will have to remain unsatiated." Robin said. "So, for a second request. Would you, and hear me out before you reflexively shoot me down, consider joining the Valm Empire?"

"Absolutely not." Tiki shook her head. "My status as a Divine Dragon and my mother's emissary is not to help your swollen and corrupt Empire. I know you mean well, so I shall spare you from my wrath, but understand this. As it stands, I cannot help you. I'm sure you have good reasons, but I shall remain impartial when the Lowell family is not involved."

"Understood." Robin said, swallowing. "I expected nothing less. I suppose that I shall take my leave now."

"Wait." Tiki said. She walked to the cupboard and removed an old, dusty tome. Tiki blew the dust off, frowned at the cover, and removed a different one. "Ah, I knew I had it in here somewhere. Katarina left it with me."

"A lightning tome?" Robin asked, examining the book. "Seems unique."

"Supposedly, it is." Tiki yawned. "Of course, I haven't used magic in a few hundred years, so I can't try it out right now, but seeing as though you remind me of her, I suppose it's only right that you have it. I've no use for it at any rate."

"Well, thank you." Robin said, genuinely surprised. "Thank you very much."

"Now, let me sleep."

-Parise, Rosanne-

"Tea? It is only natural that I offer, as the rightful host?"

"I prefer coffee." Robin said. "Black as night. And you aren't the rightful host, I am, now that this land is mine."

"I see. I suppose a tactician would do well to be used to the taste of bitterness."

"Fresh milk is hard to come by and sugar is a luxury, when you're out on the battlefield." Robin raised an eyebrow. "Also, honestly, I have no taste for sweet things. But why would you read so much into how I take my coffee, Viscount Virion?"

"Ah, but you must call me Virion! Since the loss of my homeland, I am noble no longer, and I would be remiss to pretend otherwise." Virion said. "And you may be the legal owner of this land, but I am certainly still the rightful owner. Unless you wish to claim morality?"

"Still harping on that, eh?" Robin smirked. "Why don't you make my coffee, then?"

"I must confess, you've confused me. The first impression I had of you was that you were just a nastier version of Excellus, yet you've persuaded Cherche to your side." Virion said as he got up and headed to cart on the side that seemed to have been prepared for such a purpose. "I see we are running low on coffee. I apologize, your cup may be a bit weak."

"That's my fault, I apologize." Robin said.

"Are you also accepting responsibilities on the world's evil, or perhaps you are just acting on reflex?"

"No, as it happens, it's actually my fault." Robin rolled his eyes. "I was kind of worried about coffee shortages, since it's the main drink of my army and it's slightly addictive. So I made sure that no one would be able to cause any by buying coffee."

"When you say that, you seem to be implying that no one would be able to buy coffee." Virion frowned.

"Yes." Robin said. "That was the idea."

"That would mean you…" Virion trailed off. "You… you… actually did it, didn't you?"

"I bought all the coffee. Literally, ALL THE COFFEE." Robin nodded. "And the fields. And the workers. And have standing orders on every single import currently available on all the docks, with agents shipping me coffee from across the ocean. ALL OF IT. You get the idea. Or maybe not, I'm not sure you're used to thinking on a scale like that. But I have to, now that I'm the Battlemaster. Unfortunately, civilian drinking of it has been hit somewhat hard, but that's why tea exists. And alcohol."

"You are truly a depraved individual." Virion shuddered. "To rob an entire nation of coffee like that, just to satiate your army's desire for stimulation?"

"What can I say? I'm a man of culture." Robin said. "It also drove recruitment up. We estimate that at least fifty thousand soldiers joined for that guaranteed cup of java. Which definetly was part of my plan as well."

"I'm sure it was." Virion's eyes narrowed.

"Come now. It doesn't behoove a tactician to only play on one level, you know. I always have plans beneath my plans. And one of those is a plan with the means to thwart Walhart." Robin said. "Which is why I wanted to meet with you. Though I could have done without the face-to-face."

"Indeed?" Virion raised an eyebrow. "You'll have to forgive my skepticism, especially when I'm certain that you aren't going to tell me what it is."

"It's a task of immense difficulty." Robin explained. "You surely didn't expect that I could just tell you upfront about it, did you? No, Virion, we both know that to defeat the Conqueror requires plans subtler and a bit more long-form than just open rebellion. And those plans can't see the light of day, even after they're successful."

"And you'd like me as an ally?" Virion raised an eyebrow.

"Pawn." Robin corrected. "If we're having this conversation, I might as well be frank about it. It's also why I'm being frank about my desire to dethrone Walhart - you'd never be believed about it if you spread rumors."

"Could you not be so frank then? My ego is a fragile thing." Virion said. "What do you have to offer me?"

"Three things. The first is vengeance. The second is money. The third is the safety of Rosanne."

"I'm intrigued by the first, unaffected by the second, and the third is what I really care about." Virion frowned. "Shall we talk about this over a game?"

"You'd play me in chess?" Robin asked.

"Not at all." Virion said. "Are you familiar with Wargames, by any chance? By which I mean the game, not the tactical exercise."

"Familiar, yes, but it can't quite replicate the pure chaos of battle." Robin said. "Nevertheless, shall we?"

Virion withdrew a large wooden box and offered the selection of fields to Robin. Robin closed his eyes and selected one at random. It was the lake field, a map with the terrain split on either side of a single gigantic lake. Robin took the pieces to represent a standard Valm unit, considered, and decided to keep them. Virion took a Rosanne unit makeup himself. Virion closed the box and set in lengthwise across the board so their view was blocked from each other and they could set up their armies in peace.

The lake map was interesting in Wargames, mostly because it represented a battlefield that few would ever willing fight on. Because of that, it wasn't as analyzed as the traditional boards, meaning that both Robin and Virion would be performing strategies on-the-fly, rather than by-the-book. The lake mechanic was also interesting, as it provided the rare chance for auxiliary units to be helpful.

Now, how to do this? As if I don't already have a plan. Robin considered. His Valm force was made of cavalry for the heavy hitting, and knights to serve as walls. He had a few flyers for harrying, and he'd made sure to take a helping of archers and mages to keep Virion's wyverns from smashing through his lines. It's obvious that I'm not going to use the lake, unless… Robin grinned. Well, I did say that I have a certain plan in mind from the outset. Not much of a point unless I perform it.

"Ready." Robin said.

"Ready." Virion replied, carefully lifting the box.

As Robin expected, Virion used a very simple counter formation. His main army of wyverns were spread on the front edge of his side of the lake. Infantry had assembled at the sides, forming barriers, with mages and archers ready to provide ranged assistance. The main body of his camp was placed on the edge of the shore, with his auxiliary units set on the edge as well. His handful of elites were still in the encampment. Virion's play would be to hold the sides and scatter his wyverns across the lake, forcing Robin to spread his archers too thin. Then he'd build ships and use his elites to attack the weak point, trying to crumble Robin's line. It was a decent plan. Robin gave it four out of five.

"My word…" Virion trailed off. "What are you thinking?"

Robin's archers were clustered by the edge, guarding his auxiliary forces as well. The sides were composed of knights backed by cavalry on either side, but Robin hadn't bothered to give them adequate amounts, instead keeping the main body by his encampment, on his side of the lake as well. Robin was ready to play Virion's game and was willing to reinforce the sides and force the conflict over the lake, forcing the conflict into clearly non-advantageous territory.

"Shall we play?" Robin asked.

"As you wish." Virion started moving his wyverns over the lake, moving to raid Robin's troops while keeping his lines steady. "As for your offer, I cannot deny I seek vengeance, but money holds little appeal to me, particularly when it's tainted with blood. I am curious, however, what you meant when you said, 'the safety of Rosanne'."

"I have no plan, nor will ever have a plan to destroy the Valmese Empire." Robin said, starting to make counter-moves. He clustered his flyers and prepared a light screen of them while his auxiliary forces got to work on his secret plan. "The consequence would be too great. However, I believe it may be possible to subvert the will of Walhart and makes steps to accept the rest of Empire into more than just Valm, if you take my meaning."

"A grand Republic, hmmm?" Virion kept his plan. Robin's flyers didn't outnumber his own, so he kept the pressure mounting. "Is that your idea of a compromise?"

"Hardly, it's my idea of reality. Walhart cannot be killed, not by me, at any rate, so I must turn his Empire to my own favor." Robin said. "Incidentally, my fire mages scorch the surface of the lake and my wind mages blow wind across the smoke. The entirety of my side of the lake now is considered misted, and consequently, cannot be seen."

"Clever." Virion said. Robin's move now allowed him to write his moves instead of playing them on the board, and then reveal his moves to Virion. On the flip side, Virion was also allowed to do it. They would now track unit positions by stabbing markers on the underside of the table on their turn. If their markers overlapped, combat would occur. "Sadly, I cannot agree with you. It is my utmost desire to see Rosanne returned to its pristine glory, and your Empire is one of conquest. Even a Republic would be unsatisfactory, as I don't mean to hold myself sway to others."

"Then you are either a fool or merely shortsighted." Robin moved his fliers in a tight group and charged into where the largest cluster of Virion's wyverns had been. "Contact. I'm engaging your main wyvern squadron with mine."

"Why would you- mutually assured destruction!?" Virion said. "Have you no need for your fliers?"

"I only need my fliers to kill yours." Robin replied. "My army will win in direct confrontation – you're the one who needs them to win."

"But this early in the conflict, to just sacrifice all the fliers you have?" Virion said. "And you will not destroy my fliers, just deal equal losses among us."

"My archers can deal with the rest."

"I think not, my ships won't be ready for another four turns, and neither will yours." Virion said. Robin could see the wheels turning in his head, as Virion tried to figure out if Robin was willing to chance using skiffs. While skiffs could be made fast and carry multiple troops, a single wyvern could just rake claws through the wood and tip it over. Virion growled and moved in the rest of his wyverns to deal with Robin's fliers. "Your reputation did not make you out to be willing to perform these kinds of stratagems."

"My reputation is a lot of things. Yours, my friend, just makes you out to be a philanderer. A clever ruse to disguise your true self." Robin said, continuing his flier assault, as well as working with his auxiliary forces. "And if you truly were clever, you'd accede to my request. Or have you been spending too much time with idealists?"

"None of your business." Virion frowned. "And I see no reason to work with you."

"Then you believe Ylisse can defeat me when war comes?" Robin asked. "Even with Feroxi muscle, their army pales in comparison. And I have met your tactician. She cannot defeat me. Viscount Virion, you've two options. The first is to work with me and help me achieve most of your goals. The second is to oppose me and lose all you hold dear. I will crush your holdings and salt your fields, should you decide to cross me."

"Pride before the fall." Virion said, moving his infantry forward on the side of the lake. "No one's that good. You can be defeated, you know."

He's mad at me. Good. Robin smirked. "I'm not going to say I cannot be defeated. But I will say I cannot be defeated by the likes of you. My wind mages cast once more to dispel the fog."

"Wait…" Virion frowned. "They can only do that if they're in the fog."

"They are." Robin smirked. He slid the notebook of moves to Virion as he casually started setting up the bridge pieces necessary to his plan.

"Pontoon bridges?" Virion's already pale face went paler as he read Robin's moves. "You can't mean!"

"I do." Robin said. He had his engineers build three parallel pontoon bridges into the lake, forming a mock land bridge that his archers had run onto while Virion's fliers were focused on his own. The rules for Wargame were incredibly large and complicated, but certain aspects were, as Robin had discovered when Ravena started playing against him, completely overpowered compared to their real-life counterparts. "Well within the rules."

"Are you kidding me!" Virion said. "You can't do that in real life! You're just supposed to use those rules for river crossings!"

"Yes, but we're playing a game. And, unlike real life which is nasty when you try to do things, games have well defined rules for what happens which can be easily exploited to achieve victory. Real life, of course, isn't like that. There are no shortcuts, no cheats, no way to just whip up the victory you'd like as opposed to the victory you'd get." Robin shrugged. "My archers cut your wyverns to ribbons, by the way."

"I noticed." Virion scowled. "Are you satisfied?"

"I'll be more satisfied when I extend the bridge across the lake and capture your command center in a cavalry charge." Robin said. "Unless you want to pull back and defend – in which case my knights will just encroach while I move my range units to back them. Either way, I box you in and slaughter you."

"You're good at this." Virion scowled. He shoved the board. "I see playing anything against you is futile?"

"Want to know the trick?" Robin asked. He drew another board from the box. "Lake. Huh, what do you know? What are the odds of drawing two Lake maps in a row? Especially since there's only supposed to one of each kind."

"They're all Lakes, aren't they?"

"They are all Lakes, yes. I had them replaced. Your love of the game is well known, and Cherche was thrilled for a chance to lower your ego a few notches. You lost the moment you challenged me to a game." Robin said, sporting a grin. "So, fancy another round?"

"You're a bastard."

"That part is probably true." Robin agreed. Well, given that Aversas says I'm half-Plegian, and Lucina says that I was Plegian nobility. "Regardless, what does that have to do with this?"

"My help." Virion narrowed his eyes. "What do you want with me?"

"I want you to publicly support the Valm Empire."

"Oh, is that all?" Virion said sarcastically. "Why don't you just ask for my castle while you're at it?"

"Because I already have it." Robin said. "I've also got your loyal maid as one of my sworn vassals too. And before you ask, that was my adopted daughter entirely, not me. All I did was save her life. Ravena is the one who convinced her to switch sides."

"After you stabbed her." Virion said. "Cherche told me the full story. Regardless – NO! I will not have you turn me into some kind of puppet for the Valm Empire. I do believe you are in fact genuine about that, but I have standards, and they will not be lowered."

"Some kind of puppet. Funny choice of words." Robin slid a document across the table. "So, if you don't want to be a puppet, then how about one of our governors?"

"Seriously?" Virion asked. He looked at the document. "Indeed. It seems you are serious."

"I would have had Say'ri be one too, but she refused, as she's already my sworn sword." Robin frowned. "I feel like she uses that excuse far too much. Anyway, just sign on the dotted line, and you'll be able to take care of your people once again. Tell you what, I'll even throw in some free mansions in the new Rosanne quarter in the capitol. You can send your trusted men there, and help set them up, for Rosannean prosperity."

"My people will hate me and think I'm a traitor."

"So? They already think that. And don't pretend like you care about the means to the end. You and I are similar in that regard - except I happen to be a great deal better than you at this game." Robin said. "And, honestly, I don't care if you back to the Shepherds when or if war breaks out. Right now, I need help and allies, and I can count on you not betraying me to Walhart. For the time being, we've got each other's best interest in mind. So … we have a deal?"

"..." Virion stared at Robin with blank eyes. "For now, yes."

I guess this is what Walhart felt like when he promoted me. Robin grinned. "Welcome to the plan, Viscount."

-Rosannean Countryside-

"Well, that went well." Robin said, sitting in his carriage. "Wouldn't you say?"

"It seems, from your smile, that you've gotten the results you wanted." Aversa said. "I know that at the very least, though I can't speak for the rest, as I wasn't there."

"If you'd been there, it just would have been awkward." Robin said. "You were responsible for Exalt Emmeryn's death, after all. And while I know enough to not hold it against you – she was the enemy leader during a time of war – we can't expect others to see it that way."

"Well, I do thank you for your understanding." Aversa said. "But I wonder, what exactly are you planning? I imagine you told Virion you seek to bring down Walhart, but how would you go about that? What are you really planning?"

Robin laughed at that. "My dearest Morgaine, what makes you think I'm going to tell you just what I'm planning? There's dozens of plans going on beneath my head right now."

"And you can't share any? How selfish."

"Tell you what…" Robin trailed off as the cart slowed down. He frowned. "What was that?"

"We're stopping." Aversa looked out the window. "Oh. Them. Well, it was only a matter of time, really."

"Them?" Robin said. "Who are you…" A loud shout interrupted his sentence as his driver howled for his life. Seconds later, the sounds of combat could be heard outside. "Assassins?"

"Hardly. They form unruly mobs and attack targets of opportunity." Aversa sniffed. "Just bad luck they went for us. Well, I'm going to help your guards. I haven't killed anyone in at least a week, and I'm getting withdrawal. Would you care to join me?"

"We're going to have to work on your bloodlust." Robin said. "And, sure, why not? I could use the exercise. On three?"

"Three." Aversa kicked open one of the carriage doors and walked out, blasting away with her darkgifted dark magic at targets in the distance.

Robin kicked open the door on the other side, drawing a silver lance and charging forward with it. His guard had formed a line in front of the carriage where they were fighting the assailants. They were humans, but something seemed inherently off about them. The gait they used wasn't any Robin had ever seen used on human legs, they swapped between lumbering slowly or moving inhumanly fast. They favored steel and iron weapons as a whole and didn't even seem to pay attention to wounds or their comrades.

Robin charged through his own line, ignoring the faint cries of protests from his guards. His lance caught one in the throat, felling him instantly. They die from normal wounds. Robin spun the spear around, slicing the attackers that where within range to open up a gap. He noticed a magic explosion where Aversa blew through their lines. Robin set his feet and thrust, running through to connect his gap to the one Aversa caused. With a gap cut within the mob, that gave the soldiers at the front more room to shove the monsters back.

Robin held his ground as his guard pushed forward, clearing through the monsters. And in seconds it was almost entirely over, with the monsters falling on droves to superior tactics, numbers, and teamwork. Healers were already moving onto the battlefield to help the injured. Robin turned to look around the battlefield when he saw the leader standing alone at the back. Easily a head taller than the rest of them, he started moving toward Robin's forces. Robin raised his spear and pointed in at monster, invoking one of the sacred cries of warriors and champions, passed down throughout the generations. "THAT ONE'S MINE!"

Evidently the creature agreed with him, because no sooner had Robin made his challenge it turned to him and bellowed at the top of its lungs, sending the foul odor of rotten flesh across the battlefield. Then it charged Robin. Robin spun his spear and prepared, gauging the distance and the speed. Their eyes locked as the monstrous being rose up and prepared to slice down with a massive axe to cut Robin in two.

Heh.

Robin ran a step forward and stabbed the butt of the lance in the ground as he might against a cavalry charge and darted backwards. The being impaled himself on Robin's spear, held firm by the ground and ran himself along half its length.

It's not dead! Robin blinked as the creature roared, trying to get at him. Having absolutely none of it, Robin drew his sword and lopped the creature's right arm off, then his left for good measure. But the thing didn't bleed. Instead, black smoke drifted from the holes. Robin stared, then got a look at the creature's face and recoiled in horror. That's even worse than Excellus!

A face-mask had been sown onto the thing, which, upon closer examination seemed to be an already-dead human corpse. The face-mask than proceeded to roar at him. Not quite dead. Robin blinked.

"You know, I don't normally do this. But I'm going to take a leaf from Vermil's book." Robin withdrew Bolganone and summon forth a cone of the most intense heat he could manage with it to burn the monster to charcoal. "DIE, YOU UNHOLY ABOMINATION! KILL IT WITH FIRE!"

"Well, I don't like them either, but that's seems excessive, even by my standards." Aversa commented.

"They're already dead!" Robin said. "What if killing them a second time isn't enough? I will burn them to cinders, and scatter those cinders to the four winds, then take those winds and-"

"It is." Aversa said, interrupting Robin's tirade. "We have them in Plegia. And Ylisse. And Feroxi. It was only a matter of time until they came here, really."

"WHAT ARE THEY?" Robin said. "And I was in Ylisse! I didn't see them at all."

"You flew around Ylisse on a pegasus, and they routinely patrol the inhabited areas to keep them dead." Aversa rolled her eyes. "Of course you didn't see them. Would've thought your spy might have mentioned it, you know?"

"I will be sending her a letter inquiring about them." Robin grit his teeth. "Now, again. WHAT ARE THEY?"

"Remember Thabes? The necromancer?" Aversa said. "Well, he discovered an interesting type of bug which would attach themselves to the faces of corpse and reanimate them."

"So the mask-thing was a bug?" Robin said, suddenly intrigued, despite himself.

"Don't be silly." Aversa said. "We distilled the magic necessary years ago, and now it's just a dark magic ritual you can use to reanimate dead corpse to use to kill people as mindless brutes. Very useful, under the right circumstances.".

"…" Robin blinked once, mulling the information over. "Zombies?"

"They aren't zombies."

"They are reanimated corpses which try to kill living beings." Robin said. "They are, in fact, zombies. You may try to convince me otherwise. But it's not going to work. Because they're zombies. Wretched abominations that must die. With fire. Lots of fire."

"You seem fixated on this." Aversa commented.

"I'm sorry, how would you react if you had undead abominations attempting to kill you on top of literally everything else." Robin scowled. It was only then he noticed that he was still burning the corpse of the monster. He shut off the flame, and to his great relief, the monster was now just black ash, falling off a hopelessly melted spear. "That's all I need. Undead assassins."

"Oh, they aren't assassins, nor are they after you in particular." Aversa clarified, seeming remarkably calm for someone explaining the undead plague they had a hand in creating. "No, that's just the result of our spell going haywire and running about, burning excessive magic. They're just everywhere and killing everything now."

"…Your spell?" Robin turned to her. "YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THESE THINGS?"

"Well, I didn't know it was going to become this at the time." Aversa frowned. "It was just supposed to plague Ylisse, but it kept on going, far longer than I expected. It must have found some naturally occurring source of dark magic to fuel itself, but it'll burn out."

"So." Robin blinked. "So, it'll just keep generating these things, all over Valm."

"The long and short of it, yes." Aversa inhaled sharply. "Ah, it's not my fault. And, even if it hypothetically was, there were other people who were willing to perform the ritual, so I really can't be blamed."

Robin was silent in response. Aversa looked at him, only for Robin to start chuckling. The laughter grew until his whole body was shaking and he was laughing like Plegia's own Mad King.

"Robin? Are you okay?" Aversa said. "Ah, you aren't mad at me, right?"

"No, I'm not mad. Bygones be bygones, no one can change the past, etcetera. Not going to help to blame you." Robin's eyes grew wide. "But this gives me an idea. An awful idea. I have a wonderful awful idea."

"Tremble, world." Aversa commented.

"Tremble, indeed." Robin's eyes gleamed. "I now have the perfect excuse to begin the Wolfguard Initiative. Take notes, Aversa. This marks the start of the fall of Walhart."

"Did he actually take me seriously? I mean, he looked like he did, but you can never tell with those tactician types. I mean, I think some of the advice I gave was good, but I can't make head or tails of half of it. But I suppose if he's worth his salt he'll be able to get information." - Tiki.