-Throne Room-
"So, someone wearing a dragon bone mask using a power that's specific to the bloodline of Plegia attacked you with the intent to kill you last night." Pheros frowned. "But you think it wasn't a Grimleal?"
"Yes, Empress." Robin said. "I'm not saying that it's impossible. That theory does make the most sense – it's someone who's been trained by the Grimleal and has come back to wreak vengeance upon me. However … I don't think that's the case. My intuition is telling me something else."
"Hold that thought." Pheros said. "What I'm more concerned with is something else – you say that this assassin fought you to a standstill?"
"…That's – that's not quite what happened." Robin stammered. "I was weaponless at the time and-"
"Excuses?" Pheros blinked. "Quite unlike you, Robin."
"Yes, indeed." Robin frowned. "Perhaps it's a function of the fact that I've started to question myself more often. Regardless, I wasn't fought to a standstill, I was caught off guard."
"Interesting distinction. Also, I'm not sure which one is worse."
"I won't be caught off guard a second time, Empress. I don't repeat my mistakes." Robin assured her. "Once I had a sword in my hand, the fight was mine. Ravena herself might have been able to fight him to a standstill."
"Yet he destroyed your home, and that was with both you and Morgan were fighting him."
"Another unfortunate casualty." Robin gave a small smile. "But I spent five years away and I never had trouble sleeping at night because I missed that bed. I'll easily survive the loss of that mansion. It shouldn't have happened, but he surprised us with a certain spell. And another reason to suspect he isn't Grimleal."
"The spell he used to destroy your house. It wasn't Bolganone?"
"It was Flare, actually." Robin said. "Not a spell accessible to just anyone. Ylisse has access to it, thanks to a certain someone, and the Wolfguard have access to it as well, but last I checked, Plegia does not. Not to mention that their brand of magic is dark, and there happens to be a tome which is strong enough to match Flare in the Grimleal repository."
"Robin, please, I beg you." Pheros sighed, massaging her temple. "The next sentence you utter had better not give me more questions than it does answers and so help me if it makes my current headache worse. Though I'm glad to see that you've spent the last five years learning a few things. Why, again, could that one not have been someone in a Grimleal bone mask using forbidden techniques? In fact, the most likely explanation is that this is an unknown son of Validar."
"I never said he couldn't. Merely unlikely." Robin said. "I heard tales of a tome in a Grimleal treasure trove called Grima's Truth, a spell most powerful, that would have been used. Thankfully, even they've lost the secret to its creation. And for Grimleal to have gotten their hands of a Flare tome seems … unlikely."
"There are people who could still get their hands on Flare, people of exceptional skill." Pheros said. "I mean, it's quite the bard's tale, but have you considered that this is a half-brother of yours?"
"That's unlikely as well." Robin frowned. "My mother's bloodline, from what I understand, was uniquely suited to passing down the Grimleal bloodline. While it's certainly conceivable that Validar had other children to keep the bloodline alive for future use, no evidence of such children has been found by any of our spies. In addition, even if they did exist, they wouldn't have access to the power that I have and would be hiding away."
"Well, given all that, perhaps it's Dant." Pheros sighed in exasperation. "After all, if anyone could get their hands on a Flare tome hidden, it's her."
"That is, unfortunately, a possibility."
"I was joking." Pheros stared at Robin. "Are you being serious?"
"I'm too good of a tactician to ignore the possibility. She is an assassin, after all. She might view attacking me as a challenge, and it would make sense that the Grimleal would hire her." Robin smiled. "But, yes, I'm joking. I don't think Dant would do something like that."
"Well, speaking of her, do you know how to get into contact with her?"
"Not in the slightest. I first ran into her by chance during a siege on a Chon'sin fortress. And now she's all but disappeared. I didn't even hear any rumors about her when I traveled. Odd, really." Robin shrugged. "She might return someday, or she might never. It's hard to tell with types like her."
"You really don't know anything more about her? That's a bit … unlike you."
"Dant was very secretive and protective of those secrets. I didn't want to lose her as an assassin." Robin shrugged. "I made a simple judgement, and judged that discretion was better."
"Robin …" Pheros frowned as she stared at him. "There's something … different … about you, I think. You've changed since I've seen you last."
"With all due respect, Empress, that was the point of my self-imposed exile." Robin said. "If I came back exactly the same, what would have that accomplished? Of course I would change somewhat?"
"Yes, but…" Pheros shook her head. "The last time we talked, you referred to me by my given name. And I can't help but think that you would have wanted to talk to me as soon as you could have. I hope that it's not my vanity which is saying that to me, but at the least, we were … we were close, Robin. I know we were close. Weren't we?"
"Of course." Robin smiled, a bit uneasily in Pheros's opinion. "Empress, forgive me, but I'm not the type of person that is so good with relationships, especially not repairing the complicated ones. I may have returned, but you have to understand – it's not so easy for me to step into these shoes and resume exactly where we left off."
"I didn't want you to resume exactly where you left off. But I didn't want … this. Again, you call me Empress. Robin…" Pheros said, pausing. "Is it just me, or have you grown cold to me this we last talked? Is there something you're hiding from me that you don't want to talk about?"
"Of course n-"
"Please don't lie to me." Pheros said, her face falling. "Robin, what have I done to have lost your trust?"
"…You're right, of course. You're always right." Robin looked down. "There's … yes, there's something that I'm keeping hidden from you. But I can't tell you it without having you knowingly exposed to something I don't want to affect you. I'm working myself on solving the issue as fast as possible."
"And this is aside from the assassin?"
"…Anything's possible I suppose." Robin allowed. "But, no. If the assassin knew about the secret that I'm keeping from you … well, let's just say that he wouldn't be bothering with what he's doing now, and would be trying something else."
"Robin, what is it?"
"It's nothing to be concerned with, Empre – Pheros." Robin said, correcting himself. "I'll have it handled before the Grand Imperial Celebration can occur. I suppose you could say that it's just a little bit of housekeeping that I need to attend to beforehand. I'll tell you all about it once I've sorted it out."
"I see." A thin layer of ice had regrettably crept its way into Pheros's voice. "Thank you for coming, Robin. And, please, don't be a stranger to me. You're welcome to come to talk with me anytime that you need."
"Thank you, Empress." Robin bowed. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've an assassin to hunt down. Two of them, in fact, because I do think that having Dant back around would be very helpful."
-Vermillion City, Spymaster's Quarters-
"I'm finding him." Ravena said, stubbornly. "And when I find him, I'm the one who's going to hunt him down and capture him."
"Not that I'm objecting to what you're saying, but how exactly do you plan to do that?" Robin said. "He could be anywhere."
"No. He could be anywhere in this city. He failed, and that means that he's going to try again. And he's also going to be somewhere near us." Ravena said. "We mustn't forget to include various camps around the city or outlying villages, of course. But there's only so fast this Grimleal could move, so that will help eliminating people."
"Do you know how many people are in this city?"
"Vermillion?"
"Yup." The fire mage dropped a heavy tome onto a nearby table, alongside a hefty map which he unrolled. The map covered the table, to which the mage placed paperweights, before opening the book and flipping through it. "Roughly … 468,986. At last count."
"Is that…"
"A map of the Vermillion City." Vermil said proudly. "We've mapped down every road and street we could, as well as all the inhabitants. Not to mention that we've agents everywhere and the ability to check everything."
"You've put the entire city under surveillance?"
"As much as we could, yes." Ravena gave a guilty smile. "At least a third of the Empire's entire spy network is present in the capital right now. Possibly more, depending on how you classify snot-nosed informants and the other like-minded rats."
"…Oh." Robin realized why exactly that such a system was already in place. "You've been busy, little bird. You knew I would come here, and you had a system in place in order to find me once that happened. And you've expended a fair amount of resources to do so."
"Not to brag, but we-" Vermil started, only to get stared down by Ravena. "Actually never mind me."
"No comment." Ravena smirked.
"Pheros probably wants you to take over the position of Battlemaster." Robin said, slowly. "But I'm willing to guess that someone like you has realized that in an era of world peace, someone who fights battle out in the open isn't needed. Looking to take over Aversa's position as the Spymaster of Valm?"
"No comment."
"What name do you use as an information broker?" Robin asked.
"Aversa uses the name Avarice, a fitting name for her I suppose. She is an information broker who seeks information and power, a greedy thief in the darkness." Ravena said. "I've taken the name Malice as my own. I'm no information broker. I deal in the business of vengeance."
"You're Malice?" Robin said. "Huh. That … that certainly does explain a lot."
"Admit it – you suspected." Ravena accused.
"No comment." Robin smirked. "So, you really think you can find him, do you?"
"Someone with a Grimleal mask is suspicious – very suspicious." Ravena said. "Anyone wearing one would have triggered an alarm. That said, even someone without a mask can be tracked. The Grimleal was hit by that Superior Jolt of yours, wasn't he?"
"Yes…"
"That means he was injured." Ravena said, closing her eyes. "Vermil, take down this list of conditions. Typical signs of suspicions, injured by a lightning blast or any other injury that could be used to cover for it, possessing a Grimleal bone mask or a protective case so that such could be concealed safely, able to have been in the perimeter of Robin's estate last night. Furthermore, the target is a powerful fighter, skilled in the blade and a powerful mage as well. Target was male in appearance, not necessarily male but at least one capable of passing off as male, medium build, and no higher than six feet but no shorter than five and a half. Unfortunately, I just don't have enough information on the hair to know how real it is or isn't, so that's a wash. Pass the description around."
"Aye, Dant." Vermil said, scribbling on a sheet of paper. "Should I check any of the traps?"
"Our Grimleal isn't going to be dumb enough to check into an 'anti-Imperial' sympathetic rest spot." Ravena said. "Those are only good for a certain quality of idiot."
"That's not for me, is it?" Robin said.
"What? No." Ravena blinked in surprise. "It's just that this place is also a hotspot for anti-Imperial sentiment. I mean, do you even know how many assassination attempts have been planned on key Imperial figures?"
"Roughly seven hundred plans of various degrees of complexities. Range from two blokes saying 'hey, let get that guy we don't like' to a cabal of several dozen infiltrating and taking over an entire cooking wing of a duke's mansion to poison the noble living in it." Robin replied. "Aversa gave me a lecture this morning on my safety when she found out that I got attacked. She also wants to accompany us out of safety concerns."
"Yay! Sleepover!" Ravena cheered.
"Are you ever going to grow up?" Robin sighed. "No, Ravena. I don't think that's a good idea. I don't mind the company, and I understand people wanting to be close to be, but I'll be fine by myself. I've had a number of assassins come after me during my hiatus and I've developed quite effective ways of dealing with them. Ways that you don't know about. And amateurs are dead weight."
"Dang, that's brutal." Ravena shivered. "Fine, Father. I'll be here, tracking your Grimleal down."
"Thanks, Ravena. You really don't know how much that means to me." Robin said. "I've no doubt that you'll do a fine job."
"Anything to help you, Father."
"Just do me a favor, alright?" Robin said. "Once you find him, leave him to me. Please."
"Of course."
"No, Ravena, when I say 'leave him to me', I actually mean that. Not 'charge off on your own like an idiot and get yourself in way over your head', understand?"
"Are you implying that I'd handle it myself because I didn't want that bone-headed freak to trouble you anymore and that I can't tell when I'm in over my head?" Ravena asked innocently.
"No, I said it quite explicitly."
"Don't worry, I promise I won't do anything stupid."
"I will hold you to that." Robin said. "I need to go put my office back in some semblance of order. Then I'm spending the rest of the day with Aversa, and hopefully the two of us should be able to puzzle out what's happening."
Robin left the room, closing the door behind him. Ravena turned to Vermil who was busy scribbling on a piece of paper. Vermil looked up. "That was uneventful."
"Yeah, I thought he'd take the time to batter you senseless about dating me. Because, like an idiot, you decided to tell him. I told you to let me handle it." Ravena said. "Guess he doesn't care about my romantic life."
"Which is good. I prefer this version." Vermil said. "He threatened me about it once. It was kind of creepy."
"Oh, don't be scared, dearest Vermillion." Ravena made her voice as saccharine as she possibly could. "I'll always be there for you."
"Why does that make me even more scared?" Vermil shuddered. "So, when we get the report, I'm going to send it to Robin, right? I mean…"
"Vermillion." Ravena said. "Does the look on my face say that you're going to send it to Robin?"
"Ravena…" Vermil protested. "Robin said not to do anything stupid."
"Well, then it's rather fortunate for us that I'm not the kind of person who does stupid things, isn't it?"
"Fine, but I'm coming along."
"Sure." Ravena said, drawing a dagger and casually spinning it about. "Sparring room, you and me, one on one. I'll only use this dagger, and you get any sword, spear, or axe that you want. Last more than thirty seconds against me, and I'll let you come with me."
"You know I can't do that."
"Then you haven't cleared the necessary requirement to be facing an opponent of a Dire Wolf caliber." Ravena said. She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Look, Vermil. You know I respect your abilities as an unparalleled mage. But I don't want to lose you, either. If you can't hold off an opponent like me at close range long enough for reinforcements to arrive, then I can't have you with us."
Vermil sighed.
"Oh, cheer up." Ravena said, brightly. "Worst case scenario, I accidentally stumble upon some horrible conspiracy, accidentally set it off, and we all die horribly."
"Seriously, there's something wrong with you."
"Says the one dating me." Ravena pointed out.
"Yeah, because you're the last girl in the Empire I haven't asked out." Vermil scowled. "Don't get a swelled head about it."
"You're cute when you get angry." Ravena smiled. "So, you'll send out that letter and tell me, and not my Father, what happens, alright?"
"It's fine that you want to be protective of me, but I get to be protective of you as well. If you want personal vengeance, that's fine. I can break a few rules for my girlfriend's personal vengeance. But you did say that you not the kind of person who does stupid things." Vermil looked at her. "How many Dire Wolves are you bringing along?"
"I was thinking half a dozen. Should be enough."
"Make it more than that. At least a dozen, more if you can get them."
"I don't need to be babysat, Vermil."
"Make it more, or I'm going to burn up the report." Vermil said. "I will do it. I burn things at the slightest provocation, and I'll have more than enough reason."
"Alright, fine. If you're going to be like that, I guess I really don't have a choice. I'll do it." Ravena sighed and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "Thanks for looking out for me, Vermillion, even if it is going to give me a headache. I'm off to get 'as many as I can get', then."
"I'll have it waiting for you when you come back." Vermil promised. "And, assuming this all goes well, I heard a rumor of a certain favorite teahouse of ours getting a shipment of rare blends."
"Don't count your chickens before your eggs hatch. But I do like that train of thought."
-Tavern, Slums-
"Oi! Dragon-bone-mask dastard! Are you in here, or am I going to have to check another tavern!?" Ravena kicked the door open to the tavern. The occupants stared at the small woman framed by the incoming light and started to draw their weapons but stopped as she stepped further into the room. Her signature looked served to help cow the tavern. Everyone knew she was Ravena, the daughter of Robin.
No one wanted to annoy her, and especially no one wanted to annoy Robin. It frustrated her that Robin's reputation still dwarfed Ravena's, but she was willing to use every tool she had. Slowly, the inhabitants of the tavern started putting back their half-sheathed weapons and looking around for the said 'dragon-bone-mask dastard'. One person didn't react, someone in the tavern's back corner, who had a face shrouded in a deep hood. A strand of long white hair peeked out from under it.
"You, in the back!" Ravena whirled her spear off her back and pointed it at the figure. "You're in the presence of nobility, you know. I'm the heir to my father's estate. Lower that hood and show your face!"
"But my face isn't what you're looking for, is it, Ravena Obsidian?" The figure stood up and removed the hood. Shock white hair flowed out of it, but the face was obscured by a simple blank bone-white mask. "It's the mask you want. Forgive the simplistic version, but the full dragon version would attract attention. You've searched quite hard to find me."
"Yeah, well it wasn't like you were trying to stay hidden. We found you easy enough." Ravena narrowed her eyes. "If I had to guess, this is another part of your plan. You knew that we'd try to track you down if your plan failed. This is some kind of trap."
"One you willingly entered."
"Well, someone had to do it." Ravena said. She set her stance, aiming the lance at the figure's body. "I'm not an idiot, you know. This is a trap for Robin. And while I'm sure you could pull some kind of trick on me; you don't want to. See, I know a thing about assassins and tricksters like you. Your type has a tendency to play your cards close to your chest and you hate exposing them."
"So far, so good." The Grimleal said. "But why do you care so little about the trap you just walked into?"
"If you pull off all the stops, you'll be able to beat me. Maybe even kill me, though obviously I doubt that." Ravena said. "But that's only if you play all your cards, and you'll never be able to defeat Robin once you've gotten into that position. Neither one of us win if that happens. You know that, and I know that. And that means we're at an impasse. So I have a deal for you."
"Very bold of you!" The Grimleal laughed. "Your reputation does not do you justice, Ravena Obsidian! It is both true that I have a trap here in place, and that if I fought you all full strength it would cause significant problems for me later down the line. A full clash between us would be, as you say, a lose-lose situation. But what makes you think that scales of the negotiation platform are tipped in your favor?"
"The two dozen Dire Wolves surrounding this building." Ravena smirked. "Citizens, clear the tavern."
At the mention of the force that was the equivalent of a fully mobilized army, the patrons hastily listened to her advice. They scattered through various exits, clearing the room until only two people stood in it. The Grimleal made no move to make any kind of action to take them hostage. At that moment, six figures entered behind Ravena, the lead four holding weapons, one staying behind with a tome, and the other holding a staff at the ready. They all bore the device of a wolf's head on their armor. The other eighteen weren't seen, but that didn't mean they weren't there. Too many fighters would cramp the room, after all. The rest of the Dire Wolves would be covering the other exits.
"Two dozen Dire Wolves under my command is the equivalent of the full assembled might of the Shepherds. Even my father would have difficulty defeating all of us, assuming he even could, and he's the strongest man on the continent. So let's make this clear." Ravena continued. "If we decided to turn this into a full out brawl between us, you will lose. We might lose a bit as well, but we're soldiers in line of service. We're fine with loss and we've made peace with death. But you won't suffer loss as well as we can."
"Clever. Even if you aren't telling the truth about your willingness to die, you are correct in your observations – I cannot take losses well. I'm afraid that I've shown up to this round with far less resources to gamble than you have." The Grimleal said, after a pause. "I must admit, this is far from the ideal situation I pictured so out of respect to your abilities, I shall hear you out. What deal do you propose?"
"A simple deal. Take off your mask, and I'll let you walk out of here. You have my word, and I do not lie." Ravena said, keeping her spear in place. "I'll give you thirty seconds to decide."
"AHAHAHA!" The Grimleal broke out into laughter. "So you've decided that you'd rather information than any other currency? Quite a bold move on your part, Ravena Obsidian! And a gamble as well! I may not have a face of any interest to you beneath this mask, you know."
"Doesn't matter. At the very least, you can't hide once I've got posters with your face on it everywhere." Ravena said. "But I'm willing to bet that there's a good reason why you're hiding that face. There's something there you don't want people seeing. And maybe not me seeing, but I'm willing to bet that there's someone, somewhere, that you want to keep your face hidden from. Or am I wrong?"
"No. You are not." The Grimleal said. "But I'm not going to tell you anything further than that right now."
"That's fine, you haven't made your final decision yet. Ten seconds left, by the way." Ravena said. "Tick-tock. Willing to bet you can handle all twenty-five of us when you had trouble with both myself and Father last night?"
"You are correct in your assertion that it may prove a tad too difficult." The Grimleal said. "Would you permit me two minutes to consider, Ravena Obsidian?"
"I'm not letting you stall! Five seconds!"
"Come now, be reasonable. It is not a real decision if you don't let me consider it." The Grimleal said. "Be aware that this will turn disastrous if you do not allow me proper time to consider."
"I'll give you one more minute, then." Ravena whirled her spear and set it in guard position. "But once that's over, either the mask is off, or we attack."
"Ah. So you are familiar with choices and their consequences. Good, that saves us some time." The Grimleal asked. "So, let's talk some philosophy, shall we? Should I refuse this deal, what means are you willing to go through to stop me?"
"I'm not going to hesitate to kill you."
"Yes, well, I'm not convinced about that." The Grimleal said. "Regardless, it's not me you have to be concerned with. Did you know this city has a long and storied history? This tavern for instance, was chosen for two reasons to be my hiding spot. The second is because indeed there are plenty of rats who live here that would sell their own mother for a pocketful of copper, let alone a stranger. The first is because this use to be the sight for execution, and in fact, there is a mass grave beneath here. Full of convicts, killer, thieves, ruffians. Terrible people, really. But why not give them a shot at redemption?"
"He's springing his trap! Minute's up, go in and attack!" Ravena said. "Don't let him get the spell off!"
"Light rune!" The Grimleal gestured, and a barrier of light appeared around both Ravena and the Grimleal, blocking the rest of the Dire Wolves for a few seconds. Ravena grit her teeth – that would only buy him a few seconds from the rest of the Wolves and he could have blocked her out as well. She couldn't shake the feeling that she was being tested by this Grimleal.
It pissed her off.
"You'll regret that!" Ravena lunged, performing the fastest spear thrust she was capable of, aiming right for the Grimleal's heart. "Battlemaster-style spearcraft: Rapid Red Thrust!"
"Chon'sin-style blademanship: Iaijutsu." The words were spoken simply, the accompanying action was not. Ravena's spear thrust was deflected by a lightning fast sword draw. The Grimleal held a curved Chon'sin sword in his hand, easily falling into a defensive stance. "That was skilled, if brutal. But I'm afraid that it's not skillful enough if you want to kill me. Though I have to ask: do you want to kill me?"
"Stand still and you'll find out." Ravena shot back. There was a series of impacts on the Light Rune wall behind her as the Dire Wolves started pounding their way through it. Ravena attacked the Grimleal again with a flurry of blows. "I'm the adopted daughter of the greatest man to ever live! You can't take me in a fight."
"Mmm. I must disagree with that assertion, and with that, it seems that you still have a ways to go. I'm afraid my interest in continuing this fight is over." The Grimleal's blade danced among her spear strikes, expertly batting them all aside. "You have much to learn, little one, if that's truly what you think. Our time here is over. And, besides, I was never supposed to be your opponent here."
Ravena didn't see his finishing move coming. She went in for a thrust, only for the Grimleal to assume a two-handed grip and deflect the spear past him. Suddenly, he stepped in far faster than she thought he should have been able to and got within her guard, his sword riding along the edge of her spear. She kept her grip and use the spear to prevent him from getting off a clean swing of his sword, but the Grimleal simply dropped the sword, drew his right arm back, and delivered a clean and powerful blow to the middle of her stomach.
The blow sent Ravena staggering backwards, the wind completely knocked out of her. She dropped her spear, but on reflex drew twin daggers and went into a guard position as she tried to catch her breath. She realized what was going to happen but couldn't shout a warning as the air was knocked from out of her lungs.
"Darkest light falls from the skies, the darkness grows as all light dies, they'll crave your heart and your demise," the Grimleal took a step back and thrust a hand up, "by my black hand, the dead shall rise!"
Floorboards exploded as Risen started crawling up thought them just as the Light Rune shattered. The Dire Wolves leapt back, hesitating and forming a defensive line. The light rune disappeared as the Grimleal looked at Ravena, who had finally recovered. She got the sensation the figure was smirking beneath the mask.
"It's time for me to go, yet sadly the lingering magic will enable the Risen will keep coming even after I'm gone, so you've a choice to make." The Grimleal said. "You aren't my quarry, so I won't go after you. You, however, may go after me when I run. But if you do so, you'll leave the poor people around here at the mercy of the Risen – they're quite mindless and they'll go after anything living."
"I know that."
"Let us talk choices, then. Go after me and you may stop me. You may not. If I escape, I may kill a great deal of people, or kill Robin and thus cause a great calamity. I may not. But if you leave the Risen alone, they will kill people – no unknowns or randomness when it comes to them." The Grimleal held out his hands like a scale, moving them like they were balances. "Whichever one shall you pick?"
"Wolves, hear my orders!" Ravena called. "Focus on killing the Risen. I'll handle the Grimleal! He's not going to get the drop on me a second time."
"Sorry, little tactician, but that wasn't one of the options!" The Grimleal drew a green tome from his robes and blasted down, raising himself and blasting through the roof. Ravena scowled – even if she went after him, it'd take far too many Dire Wolves to track him down and anyone else would just get in the way.
"Belay that. I'll focus on killing the Risen too." Ravena sighed and casually decapitated a Risen as the room exploded into full out combat. The Dire Wolves surrounding the building would quickly respond to her orders as well and let the Grimleal flee, focusing on keeping the Grimleal contained. "He got away. Father is not going to be happy."
A/N: Next chapter is going to be really fun. I hope y'all have been paying, 'cuz once this stuff starts, it's going to be a wild ride.
