Chapter Thirteen: Drinks and Assassins

Rider, wearing a t-shirt and jeans, had parked his chariot right in the burned out foyer of the castle and was solemn at the sight of the place. Upon seeing Saber and Marrok coming downstairs, and most of the others coming in from the garden, he brightened slightly, hefting a keg onto one shoulder.

"I received word of your great exploits and losses in battle and have come with drink. Nothing finer to ease the sting and extol the victories." he regarded their armored figures quizzically, "Do you greet all your guests in armor? Where are your fashionable street clothes like mine?"

Saber sighed, "We've had a long few days, Rider. We thought the worst of your approach."

"You think me some bonepicker? No. When I face you it shall be at your finest. If I must face you at all. I still believe we can reach a peaceful conclusion despite all the bloodshed so far."

Marrok regarded the King of Conquerors, "I assume you will not be trying to bribe my king into joining you again?"

"Of course not. I know better. I simply hoped for a discussion over beverages as we celebrate the triumphs of the pair of you. Each of you has a victory under your belt and another servant was left without a master in the process. Truly a force I should be speaking with before fighting."

Saber was impressed, "I apologize for underestimating you. You are wiser than you first appeared. Very well. We will sit with you and talk. Despite the fact you have again interrupted a conversation I was having with my knight."

Rider was aghast at the coincidence, "Strange, I never thought of myself as having such bad timing. Forgive me."

"You are forgiven, and welcome to join us in what's left of the estate."

"Pity what happened. It looks like it would have been a bit stuffy for my taste but clearly very sound construction."

"Indeed."

"Do you have a garden that may have fared better? Drinking in such a sight can only sour the wine."

"Yes. It has seen better days, but it is still serviceable for gatherings if you do not mind a few small craters from training."

"Ah-haha! A fine-sounding place indeed!"

Iskandar hopped from his chariot and dispelled it, his master falling out from his hiding spot.

"Stand up, Boy, you are embarrassing yourself."

The lad stood up, dusting himself off, "You could have warned me!"

"Did you assume I would just leave a chariot parked in our hosts' castle? I am rude, but I do have my limits."

Marrok smirked, strolling over to the boy and offering a hand, the boy of course was scared at the idea of an enemy servant coming right up to him, but he nervously took the much larger hand and had his hand shaken.

"I see you have quite the handful here, young one. What is your name?"

"Waver Velvet."

Marrok bowed politely, "I am Sir Marrok Kingshound, retainer to King Artoria Pendragon. Rest assured that as her guest I will ensure your safety unless you yourself prove to be a threat."

"Me? A threat?"

"We have many people here that aren't servants and I do not know your true ability."

"I'm not going to try anything!"

"I'm sure." Marrok smiled, "I did not mean to suggest you would. Come, sit with us."

Artoria meanwhile was sharing some idle chatter with Iskandar, and Irisviel noted there was royal protocol at work. Saber, the king, was making sure the foreign king felt welcome but respectfully reminded whose territory he was in, while Marrok, the retainer, handled the guest's entourage. At the same time, Maiya was with her, keeping her and Sakura behind her while appearing both guarded and casual. She did so without even being told anything. Speaking of Sakura, she was staring at Waver very intensely.

She whispered to herself, though aloud, as she seemed fascinated and strangely excited, "Foreign dignitary."

Irisviel wasn't sure if Sakura had also gotten the same impression or was wanting to play that game from that TV show with Waver. Maybe it was her first crush? The little girl was being difficult to read. She still wasn't totally sure when they were seated to the side in the courtyard and Sakura was chatting Waver's ear off with questions about where he was from and what kind of magecraft he knew.

Meanwhile, Kariya finally showed up, a bit late to proceedings, "Did I miss something? Why are they sitting down with Rider with a keg?"

Irisviel shrugged, "He came over to have a party it seems."

"What even is this war? Straight from karaoke to demon horde, to a drinking party."

In the center of the garden, the three servants had convened, Marrok only sitting when his king bid him to. Iskandar opened the cask with a punch and drunk straight from a wooden dipper. Downing a whole serving at once before offering Saber a cup.

Saber read the friendly challenge in his eyes and drank long and deep, before handing the cup back and showing no ill effects. Iskandar was impressed. He promptly offered Marrok a cup.

He took it, drinking it no problem.

"Ah, fine drinking companions. I was assured this was a stout but fine wine and I find it adequate enough. Maybe we can feel a slight buzz soon, eh?"

"I apologize, Iskandar, but I am not able to get drunk." Marrok bowed, "I refrain in advance from any contests you suggest in that regard."

"That's no fun."

"It cannot be helped." Saber explained, "Sir Marrok is immune to anything that would negatively affect his body. As you can tell, he even has his sanity in the face of a Madness Enhancement."

Iskandar chuckled, "Mostly. I remember the shipyard."

"My king was in danger and my master bid me fight a hated enemy. I make no apologies."

"Nor should you. A fine knight you are."

Marrok turned towards an open path, "And this is when Archer materializes and makes a snide remark."

Saber readied for combat.

Iskandar waved him off, "Peace, Saber. I invited him to our little gathering. Would you deny a dying king a final drink?"

Saber relaxed only a little as Archer materialized, "Do not presume to pity me, Mongrel. I have come to your little gathering as it would be beneath me to be rude and refuse. Pray tell, what beverages have you acquired to compensate me for coming to this pile of wreckage?"

Rider offered a cup.

"Surely you don't expect me to drink after the dog?"

Rider quickly took action before the situation could escalate. It was a simple, but very strategic move. He shrugged, drank the cup and then offered Archer the next one so he would not be drinking directly after Marrok. It may seem like a casual dismissal of Archer's complaint, but it also conveyed wordlessly that he didn't think anything of drinking after Marrok himself, while also possibly making Archer think he was just a simple oaf trying to clumsily appease him. Regardless of outcome, it disarmed the possibility of an angry response from their hosts. It was actually pretty subtly genius.

"Ugh. Did you not even think to bring more than one cup? More than one cask? Here." Archer summoned a horizontal portal, from which descended a golden jug of what had to be wine, in his other hand he summoned three golden cups, "My storehouse has nothing but the finest treasures of the world and drink is no exception."

"Oh, so you're Gilgamesh." Marrok blurted out immediately.

Archer tensed, finding only disdain for a dog calling out his true name.

"The only hero king whose most famous thing was his treasury. That explains the large arsenal of Noble Phantasms."

Rider chuckled, "I suspected as much. All the more with that proclamation of yours, King Gilgamesh."

Archer scoffed, "I made no attempt to hide my identity."

Pouring three glasses of the wine, he passed one to each king and placed the third next to himself, after a brief hesitation, he grabbed the dipper from Rider and poured into it, thrusting it to Marrok, but looking at Saber, "I am not a poor guest, Saber. If you want to feed wine to dogs it is your own business. He too should know of the splendor I hold over all others."

"Cheers then," Rider raised the glass and took a deep swing, though he did not chug it. Such a thing would be rude, "Oh, this is simply astonishing."

Saber glanced down into the cup with a grimace, she didn't want anything to do with Archer, but it was beneath her to be rude to a dying man. She raised the glass to toast with Marrok, "Cheers."

Their glasses clicked and each drank. It was surprising quite amazing. There are no words to describe it justly, as honestly, the species of fruits used to make it have long ceased to be. It was literally a flavor that doesn't exist anymore. It was not quite the level of being compared to the nectar of the gods, but it did certainly live up to Archer's boast. If not exceed it. A philosopher or writer might muse on the possibility that Archer was actually in a bizarre way humble about his treasures, if they all exceeded his boasts this much.

"Truly a fine wine, Archer."

Marrok nodded.

Rider took another sip before starting what he truly wanted to discuss, "Now as I was saying, I was hoping we could come to some sort of peaceful resolution to this conflict. The Grail is said to be fated for the one most worthy of obtaining it. The battle taking place here in Fuyuki is a means by which to decide that, but if it is only a means to discern that then there's hardly a need for more bloodshed. If the Heroic Spirits can simply agree on our rankings, then the matter settles itself."

"Well, Saber-"

Saber lifted her hand to stop him, "I suppose you desire to compare your own rank to my own?"

"Indeed. No offense, but Sir Marrok has already declared himself your knight, so his ranking in relation to you is clear."

"You are mistaken." Saber furrowed her brow, "You assume his ranking as my knight places him below you."

"Oh ho." Rider quite enjoyed that retort.

Archer interjected, "I can agree with Rider on this. The dog should not be in the running."

Marrok growled, "I can agree with everyone that the one who'll be dead any time now should not get a vote."

Archer glared back, "So you agree with me then."

Marrok stood, almost barking at the servant. To the side, Maiya and Sakura instinctively twitched, their wolf instincts nudging them to support the alpha of the pack. Common sense won out though, and Saber motioning for him to stop helped.

"I'm sorry, my king. It's the moon. My temper is a bit short."

"Please, remain silent. I will handle this."

Of course, Rider tried to keep things calm and on topic, "Regardless, second place does not matter in this conflict, so if he is ranked beneath you..."

"Point taken." Saber nodded, "How do you suggest we determine our rankings?"

"Well." Iskandar took another drink from his cup, "We sit and discuss it over drinks. Surely we can pose questions over refreshments and debate our values to determine who is truly worthy."

Archer rolled his eyes, "This is nonsense. The Grail War is a ritual that can only be settled by combat. You know nothing of the rules of magic, Rider. There are clearly defined and set traditions that must be followed."

"Humor me, Archer."

"Tsk."

"I pose the question to you first, King Gilgamesh, what wish will you ask for if you obtain the grail?"

"A pointless question. All treasures of the world are mine. Therefore the Grail is already mine. Anyone who seeks to obtain it are simply thieves trying to steal it. I've no interest in it other than protecting it from those who would dare rob my stores. It's a matter of principle."

"Oh? So I'm curious then. What morals and reasoning are these principles of yours based on?"

"It is the law. My law, which I laid down as the one true king."

Saber started seeming a little lost. Incredulous at the things she was hearing.

"Perfect. Living by ones own law is the epitome of kingship." Rider finished off his glass, "However, I desire the Grail more than anything and it has always been my style to simply take what I want. After all, the great Iskandar is the King of Conquerors."

"Right and wrong are irrelevant. You break the law and I will punish you. Master or not. There is no room for discussion on this."

"So, I suppose there's nothing left to us than to meet in battle."

Marrok tensed... why was Iskandar not talking to Saber anymore? It seemed like he was brushing her off.

The King of Conquerors lifted the jug and shook it, "So, Archer, do you still want us to help you finish this off? Maybe if you aren't dead by then when can settle your claim, but for now there's no point in wasting good wine."

"Indeed. Unless you have complaints about my gift?"

This sounded like an end to all serious discussion to him, so Marrok took great offense to this, and started to step up, but was stopped by Saber once again.

"King of Conquerors."

Iskandar looked up.

"A moment ago you agreed that the ownership of the grail lay with someone else, and that you would just take it by force. What makes the Grail so important to you?"

Rider fidgeted, taking a long drink before sheepishly saying, "Reincarnation."

His master ran over, "What?! Wasn't your goal supposed to be world conquest?"

Rider slapped him gently back, though the boy went flying, "Idiot. As if I would leave the conquering to a cup. Conquering the world is my dream to make true, my wish on the grail is the first step towards that goal."

"Mongrel, you would dare challenge me for my treasure for something so trivial?"

Iskandar gazed at his hand, "Even if the grail has given us physical form in this world we are still servants. I wish to live as flesh and blood in this world in which I find myself. Then, with nothing but my body, I will defy both heaven and earth. Succeeding in that endeavor is the true meaning of conquest!"

Archer smiled, "Remind me to kill you myself. I will take great pleasure in ending your thieving and taking your master to use as the pavement on my own path."

"Of course. It would be a pity if I didn't get the chance plunder your storehouse."

Saber was growing more and more annoyed at this. Not the repeated, perhaps unintentional brushing her off, but the simple matter of, "That is not fitting of how a true king should behave."

Marrok could almost feel Archer scoffing even though he didn't so much as twitch. He only looked at her disdainfully.

Rider was more vocal, "Oh? Let's hear it then. What would your wish on the Grail be?"

"I will wish for the salvation of my homeland. With the omnipotent wish-granter I will avert Britain's destruction."

Iskandar seemed disappointed, maybe even a little angry, "King of Knights did you just say that you would change fate? Are you telling me you want to change events that have long passed?"

"Indeed. Even if it is not something a miracle could do, surely the Grail could do such a thing."

Archer started chuckling. Marrok nearly tried to take his head off but stopped himself.

Rider was the one to speak up,"Um, Saber. Just so I am clear on this, it was back during your time that this country you call Britain was conquered and fell? When it was under your rule?"

"Correct. That is why I cannot allow it. Why I regret it. Why I must alter that outcome. It was my mistakes and no one elses that was to blame."

Archer started outright laughing, so Saber had to physically stop Marrok herself this time.

"Archer. What's so amusing?"

"You call yourself a king... and are praised by all as such? Hahaha, and yet you feel regret? HAHAHA! How could I not laugh at such nonsense!"

Rider was more gentle, "Saber, surely you do not mean you would erase the marks that you yourself have made on history?"

"I do. What of it?" Saber pressed, angry, "My beloved country, to which I dedicated my entire life, was destroyed. Why is my sadness about that strange?"

Archer was not gentle at all, laughing hysterically. Marrok wanted so badly to kill him, "Did you hear that Rider? Did you hear what this little girl that cal-"

Marrok was on him, hands around his collar, surprisingly fast. Murder was in his eyes, fangs were nearly erupting from mouth. It looked as if he might rip Archer in two bare handed. If looks could kill the blast radius of Marrok's would be visible from orbit, "Finish that sentence! Finish that sentence so I have cause to jam the corpse of the master you left to die through your eye sockets and floss your empty skull with it!"

"Unhand me you filth! Unless you want this to erupt into a battlefield!"

"I'll-"

Saber shouted, "Put him down. I want to hear this."

Marrok dropped him right away, and they separated peacefully.

"I want to hear what's so humorous about this. A true king devotes himself to serving his country. No sacrifice should be too great."

Iskandar shook his head, "You are wrong, Saber. It is the country that should serve and sacrifice for the king. You have the very idea of a king reversed."

"I what? Those are the words of a tyrant!"

"Just so. We are heroes precisely because we are tyrants. However, if a king regrets his rule, or the manner in which it ended, he is worse than a tyrant he is a fool."

"Iskandar, your reign ended with all your heirs slain and your great empire broken up in civil war. Do you mean to say you have no regrets about that end?
"None at all. Not if it was wrought from my own actions and the considerable sacrifices of my many retainers. It was inevitable. I shall mourn it, shed tears over it, but I will never regret it."

"But you-"

"Let alone undo it all! To do so would be an insufferable insult to all those that fought and bled and died alongside me!"

Marrok started to reject the notion, but Saber interjected, "Only a warrior finds glory in destruction. Useless is a king that fails to protect the weak! A just rule governed by just laws is the responsibility of a true king."

"So you, the ruler of your realm, area slave to what is right?"

"Of course. Kings are martyrs to their ideals."

Marrok was conflicted there.

Rider looked sad, "That is not the way a person should live."

"I am king. I must live for my people. Whether I am a person or not is secondary. You could never understand, you became a king to satisfy your own greed."

Iskandar threw his cup aside in sudden fury, "A king without greed is even worse than a figurehead!" he calmed, "Saber... in life you must have been truly pure and noble. On the level of a saint. A valiant figure at the very least. But who can truly admire the rough and thorny path a martyr must take in life? Who actually dreams of such an ending? A king... a king must be greedier than any other, he must laugh more loudly, and rage for much longer. He must embody the extremes in all things, good and evil. That is why his retainers envy his very existence and adore him as well. That is why the flames of aspiration to be just as the king is can burn within people. Proud kind of chivalry, surely your ideals saved your kingdom once. However, surely you know what became of those you saved but then were left to fend for themselves."

"What are you saying?"

"You saved them but you never lead them. You abandoned your men when they lost their way and-"

A sword was pointed at Iskandar's face. Marrok's, "How about silence your ignorant mouth before I take your head and shove it up Archer's ass so the two of you can have a face to face conversation?"

"Marrok-" Saber tried to call him back.

"No.:." Marrok replied, resolute rather than enraged, "This must be said because he insults not only my king but every man, woman, and child that bled for you! You know nothing, Iskandar! Who dreams of being a noble knight that puts other before themselves and does the right thing, protecting the weak, living for ideals that might not work in a cruel world but still fighting so that there might be a world that it does work in? Who?"

He looked at the crowd, "SHOW OF HANDS!"

Sakura raised hers right away, and soon after, though Waver last, every human there had. And Marrok too.

"Iskandar, I don't know if you noticed. God knows she hasn't," Marrok turned and point at Saber, "but that's the ideal every human being on earth regards as the right path, the way things should be. The path of the conqueror? There are plenty, and people do dream of being able to take what they please and make all the rules, other people's opinions be damned. But you know what? The people, no matter how much it favors the greedy conquerors of the world, at the end of the day that behavior is something mankind as a whole wishes it could be free off, wishes they could be King Arthur. Don't you spit on chivalry, on Camelot. Her kingdom never died. It lives in the hearts of every man woman and child in the world. The Britain of today prides itself in being a remnant of what she built. The two of you? Nobody fucking gives a shit!"

Marrok was so incensed, so passionate, nobody could do anything but gawk, "Never lead us? Abandoned us? Never cut a figure we envied and wanted to be? Every single one of my brothers in the Knights of the Round lived every moment trying to live up to her! Don't you dare act like we didn't just because we fell to the same fate as your retainers! You say regretting that we suffered and wanting to save us from it is spitting on us? You spit on us!"

It was then that Marrok did something quite unbelievable, he spat straight in Iskandar's face.

"I'LL-" noticing his clothes tearing and claws forming on his hands he doubled over, trying to retain reason, "no... mustn't let..."

Saber rushed to her knight's side, "Marrok! Don't lose control! You're better than that damn madness enhancement!"

Iskandar wiped the spit from his face and stared it disbelievingly for a second. The crowd thought he would be even angrier than he had gotten at Saber, but instead he laughed heartily at what had just happened.

"Well. I stand corrected. You make a strong case. Perhaps you lead them after all, Saber. I apologize."

Marrok started breathing more heavily but the situation defusing help reign the madness in.

Iskandar smiled even harder at that, "So many people I look forward to testing myself against. I suppose our desires for the grail are each too strong to simply surrender to someone else. Though it seems one of us has an unfair advantage in that regard."

Archer seethed, "This entire evening was pointless. It only managed to sour my mood for drink. I am..." all of the servants tensed, "Surrounded."

In that moment, at least a hundred Assassins appeared, all over the nearby roofs and dotting the vast garden.

Kariya was not amused, "Again! How many servants in this war can make armies?"

Rider sighed, "Sadly, the drinking party is over. Now, I would rather not spill blood on my host's property, but if you insist I will answer accordingly."

The Assassins bantered back but Marrok simply ignored them.

He stood up, drawing Secace as he stepped forward weakly, "You are a guest. It would be rude of me to not handle this. I am the king's retainer."

Maiya walked the short distance to him and placed a hand on Secace's grip, which of course made their hands overlap. Saber noticed that with an awkward feeling she hadn't known before but let her speak, "These are mere assassins, beneath a retainer. Allow your assassin to handle this. Let me make up for the last time I used this on their master."

Marrok surrendered the sword, "Quick pointers, don't use all of the speed you get right away. Ramp up since you don't have practice. You'll get a lot since you'll be outnumbered."

"Noted."

"Also, the trick I can't use for cheating the one on one rule in this case is to kill the last few all at once so they never get on even ground."

"Ah... that's quite malicious."

"I know. Thankfully you aren't limited by my origin as much as I am. Go get rid off the trash."

Iskandar watched with great interest at the Noble Phantasm that was shared, and quickly noted that he could not use his own trump card against Marrok if he had that weapon. Regardless, he was confident he could win with just the mounts that qualified him for Rider. Those didn't count as separate things if he was riding them. However, there was another issue as Maiya ran roughshod through the helpless Assassins that had been countered very hard.

"I suppose I don't get to have any fun tonight." He pouted.

And another issue the Kariya pointed out as he came over, making sure Archer couldn't hear, "Won't this free up a master for Archer to contract with? We can't let him leave."

Saber shook her head, "He's a guest. We can always just defeat him normally. I won't demean myself even though I hate him fiercely."

"Kiritsugu would tell you to kill him if he was here."

Marrok spoke up, "You heard her. We shouldn't. We can get him later."

Kariya gritted his teeth angrily and leaned in, "We go after him the moment he's far enough clear of the castle. We need to settle this as soon as possible. I want Tokiomi's servant gone. Understood?"

Marrok nodded. He didn't like going behind Artoria's back like this, but his master was right. Doing this was better in the long run.

It was a trifling matter for the empowered Maiya to finish Assassin, dropping the number of servants to four. The Grail War was inching ever closer to the end. Marrok glanced at the nearly full moon and thought that with one more going out in the same night he might make it in time to keep Sakura from permanently changing into a werewolf. Not likely though. The full moon was the night after next. The thought was pushed out of his mind when Irisviel sat on a bench suddenly and grabbed her head, nearly passing out.

It seemed that soon, many things might be ending.

Next Chapter: Three Remain

Author's Note: In addition to the insinuation that a servant dies next chapter, the previously mentioned full moon scene I mentioned I was super hyped about is within three chapters. We've hit the final arc of this Grail War folks and we're building to the climax now. Don't worry. The end isn't within three chapters. Just the full moon scene. Which will be freakin' great. Trust me, my hype is off the charts in anticipation of finally getting there.