As you see from the update, there's a bit of extra goodies this week. I hope you enjoy them along with this chapter.

Part Four

"Sheikh Ramiro Lažov, this arrived from Baltas just now."

From her position at the door, Thea watched as the Sheikh took the letter from the messenger and read it. His dark eyes quickly scanned the two pages before crumbing them in his fist. "Tell the mayor of Baltas that I don't care. Put that in writing."

The messenger nodded and left without saying a word, but Thea didn't miss the anger in his face as he quickly left the Sheikh's office.

"What was in the letter?" Lažov's second-in-command stepped forward, and Thea felt tenser being alone with these two men. For whatever reason, Lažov had requested his own brother-in-law to be his second-in-command, and though the man had almost no military experience or rank his request was granted.

"Oh the mayor of Baltas is complaining again Tazwir," Lažov huffed, throwing his hands up. "He says that the higher taxes imposed upon his town are "unfair". Can you before the gall of that worm telling ME that I'm unfair?! That idiot being the same person who lost one of the Falenan royals?! And that whole messy affair with that foreign woman!" Lažov scoffed. "He weaseled his way out of that mess, but he broke Article Four and you know how I feel about Article Four!"

"Quite well," Tazwir responded emotionlessly.

Thea swallowed a snarl. She had never had a good opinion of Ramiro Lažov or the family from his second marriage. His first wife was convicted as an adulteress and she was executed, along with her whole family save her younger brother Varnaz (who joined the Liberation Army). Thea understood that the law was law and there had to have been some evidence that existed for his first wife to be convicted. But she also thought it highly suspicious that Lažov married his second wife three months after his first wife's execution…and a baby was born from his second wife five months after their wedding.

Keiran Umed joined the Liberation Army, and took a considerable number of good soldiers with him. He was by far the greatest Sheikh that was currently governing. Now our country is stuck with the worst Sheikhs; a violent sociopath, a fumbling child, and two self-serving egomaniacs. Our province is stuck with the most hypocritical boot-licker I've ever met, who cares more about himself than the people he's supposed to serve.

"Let's do roll-call," Lažov said abruptly, standing up. Thea stood to attention and follow the Sheikh and his second-in-command out of his office. A few minutes later the soldiers of the Garrison were lined up outside, including Thea. "I'm getting annoyed with the complaints coming in from Baltas," he announced sharply. "From now on, no messengers or visitors from Baltas are permitted on Garrison grounds. Anyone who violates this order will serve a punishment of running twenty kilometers around the perimeter of the Garrison three times a day for one week. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir!" The soldiers shouted in reply.

"Good," Lažov responded. He then turned his attention to Thea. "Private Thea, fall in!"

"Yes, sir." Thea kept her face blank and her motions professional as she marched up to the Sheikh. "Private Thea, reporting."

"You were once a Corporal," Lažov said, his tone mocking. "But you lost that rank, Private. Why?"

Thea felt a surge of anger that she successfully kept at bay. Here we go again, she thought with dread. "Because I was an accessory to violating Article Four, sir."

"Yes, you were," Lažov spat. "You were the bodyguard of the harlot the mayor of Baltas kept. Both your compatriot and you were very lucky to have only been demoted instead of being sentenced under Article Four."

"I agree, sir," Thea said, though she answered quicker than she would've liked. This was not a new occurrence for her. Whenever Lažov became upset about anything he sometimes called her out in front of the other soldiers and publicly humiliated her by reminding everyone of the crime she had committed with her fellow soldier Nigel. They had been following orders, but they did help the mayor of Baltas hide Priscilla from his wife and the authorities. She was not necessarily surprised that the mayor had put the entire blame on Priscilla and only she was charged.

The mayor got away with it. Nigel and I were demoted. And Lady Priscilla was sentenced to death.

But she knew that Priscilla had gotten away before her sentenced was carried out, so Thea took solace from that. That and Nigel was reassigned to Sheikh Tamara Nuori still in a good position. Knowing that both Priscilla and Nigel were better off than she was made Thea feel better.

"So because you are a soldier who lacks morals and respect," Lažov announced loudly. "You are going to clean every latrine in the entire Garrison. Scrub them until they're shining. You have until sundown to complete this task, or else you'll be running twenty kilometers around the Garrison in lieu of eating dinner. Understood?"

Thea's brow upon hearing this, and she glanced towards the sky. Sundown. Sundown is in approximately two hours. I will not be able to clean all of the latrines spotless in two hours.

"Do you object?" Lažov snapped at her.

"I do not, sir," Thea said emotionally. She saluted. "Thank you, sir."

"Well everyone, stop standing around and get out of my sight!" Lažov snapped before leaving with Tazwir.

Thea did not reveal anything in her demeanor as she turned and headed towards the supply storage. She heard a few soldiers mutter apologies and sympathetic words towards her, which admittedly made her better. But not by much. I will try, but I may as well conserve my energy for running this evening.

She frowned deeply and ducked her head forward. Nigel…Lady Priscilla…I hope you both are doing okay.

When Daunte and his party returned to HQ, Yuber immediately shoved the supplies he held into Roen's already full arms and teleported away. Thankfully none of Felicity's surivivng belongings broke and a few Army members helped them with the objects. Daunte took Leknaat's items from her and dismissed her from the group. "Where should we bring these, Felicity?" Daunte asked her.

"I'll organize everything in my room," Felicity said. "You have to make a debriefing, right Daunte? You should go on ahead."

"Your room is on the way though. We can drop these off there."

They dropped everything off at Felicity's room, but Felicity allowed Daunte to keep the urn for appraisal. Then the party dispersed and Daunte went up to the war room with Silvano for the debriefing.

"So you found them," Caesar said, smiling his usual smile. "The last surviving Elves of Nagarea."

"There were only eight of them," Daunte said grimly. "Their leader's name is River, and he has a wife named Clover. I didn't get the names of the other six Elves."

"I just…cannot believe that the Theocracy was responsible for the Plague," Keiran said, hugging his arms slightly. "I was a Corporal when that happened. My father was the Sheikh. If he had known what had happened, then he…" he shook his head. "My father would've condemned it. I know he would've."

Daunte felt terrible at seeing Keiran in discomfort but also couldn't hide his own amazement. He was a Corporal 12 years ago?! B-But that would've made him a preteen, wouldn't it?!

"It's sadly the truth," Caesar said. "It's something we suspected back when Bearyl Lutis was our Commander, but it was confirmed by Oboro during the course of his investigations. They released the Plague to kill off the Elves but the Plague was a lot stronger than they anticipated and it unintentionally spread to the nearest human settlement, Farna."

"Sheikh Faakhir's second-in-command is from Farna," Eamon spoke up. Daunte tried not to flinch. "Do you think he knows the about all this?"

"Any person who serves Sloan Faakhir cannot be one with high morals," Varnaz scoffed.

"That is not necessarily true," Keiran responded. "There are plenty of good soldiers that serve under Sloan Faakhir who do not agree with him. I know I've had plenty of soldiers ill-repute who served under me. And I'm certain our Liberation Army has had a few—"

"We have," Caesar interjected gently. "But not recently, thanks to our Commander."

Daunte flushed when he heard everyone agree with Caesar and raised his hands. "Please, don't give me too much credit. We're all in this together and it's through our combined work that we've made it this far and have forged the alliances that we've have." He became more flustered as he saw how pleased everyone was with his words. Is it really abnormal for a Commander to praise his soldiers?

"One thing that has me concerned though," Surya said suddenly. "Is that the Nagarean Elves have taken residence in a forest that is too dangerous even for them. Silvano told me that they all were nearly killed by a monster. But they continue to live in this forest."

"We wanted to help them, but they rejected us because most of us were human," Daunte said. "They said they will attack us again if we return to the forest."

"But yet they live in a forest where they cannot handle the monsters," Gunther said. "If the elves are not careful, they'll be completely wiped out."

"While they have good reason to not trust us, Gunther is right," Allise said, shaking her head. "So now we have another problem. Lorik Varra refuses to trust us even when his people and him continue to suffer. And now this River and the elves refuse to trust us even when they're at risk of total extinction. We have two groups where we nothing but the best of intentions for, and they want nothing to do with us."

"At this point, if they don't want to join us I won't be too upset," Daunte said. "It would be in their best interests to join us because the Theocracy is after both groups, but I don't want to strong-arm anyone into joining us." he looked at Caesar. "I haven't spoken to May yet, but I want to bring food to Lorik Varra and his people. If necessary I'll throw in my share of the food so that no one else misses out—"

"You're not going without food, Lord Daunte," Varnaz said sternly, stepping forward. "We will make do like we always do."

"And you have nothing to worry about," Caesar reassured him. "We have food to spare. May's gardens have been flourishing here and we've brought back good meat."

"I'm glad to hear that," Daunte said, nodding. He looked out over the group assembled. "I have a lot that I still need to do before the war campaign, so after I bring the food to Lorik Varra I'll go to rest early and continue on tomorrow."

"Excellent idea, my Lord." Caesar clapped his hands together. "There is still a lot we need to put together in the meantime. Now then, let's go get the food for Lord Lorik…"

Lorik Varra and his people greatly appreciated the food and fresh water Daunte brought with him. It wasn't a lot of food but it was enough for at least a fortnight. Roen, Felicity, Gunther, Allise, and Caesar all helped wi the distribution of food. Zander didn't mouth off to him this time, but Daunte had a feeling that was more of fear of Yuber than anything else. He made a mental note to not bring Yuber back the next time he came to see Lorik and his people.

The next morning Daunte was up early as he usually was, but he set about finding people to participate in Nāṭaka's play.

Three men, two women, and one child. I suppose I will have to be one of the men, even though I've never performed in a theater before. He swallowed hard upon thinking of this. I'm not even good at making speeches to the soldiers. How can I "act" in front of a group of people?

"The weather looks to be sunny today!" Bax announced cheerfully over the pipes. "I don't sense a storm coming!"

"Bax, I was wondering something," Sanji said suddenly.

"Oh, what is it?"

"Do all Nay-Kobolds come from Nay-Kobold Island, or is there other settlements across the world?"

"Huh? Well—I don't know exactly. I only know of Nay-Kobolds on Nay-Kobold Island."

"Gertrude, do they have any Nay-Kobolds in Kanakan?"

"None that I've seen," Gertrude responded. She did not sound hungover this morning. "It wouldn't surprise me if all of the Nay-Kobolds in the world only came from a place called Nay-Kobold Island. Isn't there a village in the Grasslands called Duck Village where only Ducks live? Or are there other Duck settlements elsewhere?"

"I just find it intriguing," Sanji said thoughtfully. "How there are tribes of Elves, Dwarves, Kobolds, and even Wingers around the world but other species only have a singular settlements. Why is that?"

"Whatever the reason may be, I'm sure they'll find humans at fault," Gertrude scoffed.

"But aren't humans at fault anyway?" Bax asked, but in a completely sincere tone.

"Shh," Sanji said, his tone joking.

"Brother, is Yasaka sending up breakfast or are we going down to pay for it again?" Arin asked Daunte, leaning his elbows against the table.

"It was nice of both Tidur and later Yasaka to send me breakfast every morning, but it's fairer for me to pay for meals like everyone else," Daunte said. He waved Arin towards his bedroom door to leave. "You don't mind, do you?"

Arin shook his head and smiled. "Oh no, I like eating with everyone else!"

"I have to find some people who would be willing to participate in a play," Daunte said as they left his room.

"A play?" Arin asked excitedly. "C-Can I come and watch?"

"Sure," Daunte said. She said I need one child. Maybe…

"I would love to see you in a play, Brother!" Arin gushed. "I'm getting better with reading, but I'm still not too good."

"I think you're doing fine."

Arin looked pleased at the praise but said, "If we put on plays here, can I help? I think I'll be awesome once I can read better!"

Daunte knew then that Arin would be more comfortable watching instead of participating at that time so he nodded. "Absolutely." I'll have to look for another child then.

They left the main building and headed towards the northeast building to the restaurant. There was already a line out the door for breakfast, but the moment the soldiers in line saw Daunte they immediately stepped aside again. Daunte tried to protest but the soldiers wouldn't listen and simply pushed Arin and him to the front. Farzin was at the front of the line giving his order. "Oh, L—"

"Go ahead, I can wait," Daunte said, waving a hand.

"Thank you, my Lord." Farzin turned back to the counter. "Ah, do you have ful mudamma on the menu this morning?"

"We do!" Yasaka called from the back. "It's 500 bits!"

"Then I'll take that, please."

"Would you to be in a play?" Daunte blurted out.

Farzin jumped slightly and turned around fully to face him. "Pardon, my Lord?"

"Daunte's going to go recruit a lady who puts on plays!" Arin said cheerfully. "But she won't join until Daunte puts on a play with her!"

"Ah…" Farzin rubbed at his head slightly. "I—suppose I have experience being up in front of other people, considering I'm a Cleric and all. And admittedly I participated in play productions about the Scriptures until the High Clerics banned them. I'm not exactly as stellar actor, but…I agree?" he phrased it as question.

"Okay," Daunte said, deciding for the moment to ignore his uncomfortable tone. "Go ahead and eat your breakfast. I'll come for you when it's time to leave."

"Yay!" Arin cheered, clapping.

Farzin got his food, and Daunte decided to also get ful mudamma for breakfast. While he was eating he saw Esther enter and approach the end of the counter. "I'm here to pick up an order for my mom."

Daunte frowned. Nāṭaka said I needed a child. Esther is old enough to wear veils so she may not count for the child role. Wait! Ciana might fit that part!

"Take your time," Daunte told Arin as he quickly got up from his seat. He hurried over to Esther as she got her order and paid for it. "Esther, I need a favor. Can I come with you and speak to your sister?"

"Oh, Lord Daunte!" she looked surprised to see him. "You want to speak to Ciana? Did she do something wrong?"

"No, not at all," Daunte said, shaking his head. "But I'm currently doing a recruitment quest and may need her help."

"…Okay," Esther said, her brow raising as she picked up her order. "Are you both done with breakfast? I'm heading back now."

"I'm done!" Arin said cheerfully, hurrying over to them and taking Daunte's hand.

"Yes, we're ready," Daunte said.

"A play?" Ciana asked stoically, her solemn eyes widening slightly.

"Only if you want to," Daunte said, looking between Tidur, Ciana, and Esther while they ate breakfast. "Nāṭaka said I need a child to fill one of the roles. How are you with reading?"

"Ciana's very good with reading," Tidur said proudly. "But I'll only agree to this if Ciana is comfortable doing this. And if she is, then I'm coming with you."

"Me too," Esther said excitedly. "I would love to see Ciana onstage!"

"Why not ask him to do it?" Ciana asked, pointing to Arin.

"I wanna watch," Arin said before Daunte could respond.

Ciana was silent for a moment before she gave a quick shrug. "Okay, I guess."

"Brother, that's great!" Arin exclaimed, tugging on Daunte's hand. "How many more do you need?"

"I need one more man and two women."

"Would it be all right if I simply watch instead of participate?" Tidur asked. She looked at Ciana. "Is that okay for you, Ciana? If you would like me onstage with you, I'll agree to fill one of the women parts."

"I'll be okay," Ciana said bluntly

"Okay, then." Tidur smiled at Daunte. "Please come and get us when you're ready to leave. We'll be ready then."

"Of course. Take your time with breakfast." Daunte and Arin left, but as they left he heard Esther squeal, "Ciana, I know just the dress you should wear!"

He remembered the memory he had seen in Farna and his stomach squirmed in discomfort. I recruited them because I needed them and I wanted to protect them from Sloan Faakhir. But I still don't understand how that man could hurt this family in such a way. Why did he do it? Daunte shook off the questions though because he could feel himself getting more upset.

Daunte left the second floor and re-entered the first floor bar area. He hadn't paid attention to his surroundings when he entered the building with Esther, but now he could see there were a few people in there. His eyes lingered on the large stage towards the back before the sound of laughter drew his attention. He looked towards the door and saw Priscilla and Allise standing there having a conversation. He quickly hurried over to them. "Excuse me."

"Oh Lord Daunte, good morning," Allise said cheerfully.

"It's a little early to be looking for a drink, isn't it?" Priscilla said teasingly. "Although you are too young to be drinking…"

Daunte quickly explained his offer to them and though Priscilla looked highly intrigued Allise made a face. "A theater producer? You're looking to recruit a theater producer to the Army?"

"I'm hoping it will be fun for the troops," Daunte said. "And if Nāṭaka is a Star of Destiny then I'll definitely need her."

"I'll gladly participate," Prisiclla said, smiling. "I probably would have become an actress instead of a soldier had Razril had its own theater. It would have done me better too," she muttered to herself.

Daunte noted that she was still wearing the scarlet clothes she had been clothed in when she was convicted of being adulteress. He briefly wondered if it was a good idea for her to go to Farna in such clothes but shrugged it off. "If you both would like to participate, then I'm glad to bring you with me."

"Done," Priscilla said smoothly.

"Okay, I'll do it," Allise said, but she raised her finger. "On the condition that you do not ask Gunther to participate."

"Oh go easy on the poor man," Priscilla said, though her tone was still teasing. "He worships the ground you walk on, you know."

"He worships the ground any woman walks on," Allise retorted sharply. Priscilla gave a tilt of a her head as though she were thinking about it and simply nodded in reply.

"Okay, done," Daunte said quickly. "I need one more man and I won't ask Gunther to do it."

Allise beamed at him. "Thank you."

"Oh, there's Luciano," Priscilla said, pointing out the window. "That man is a lovely conversationalist and has quite the collection of tea. Whenever he speaks I hear the most pleasant music on the breeze."

"Wait, you hear music too?" Allise asked. "I thought I was going crazy!"

Daunte looked out the window and indeed he saw Luciano near the back of the main building practicing swings with his sword. Daunte was immediately impressed with his gestures, as they looked effortless and quite sophisticated. He was obviously proficient in swordsmanship.

He did seem very…dramatic in Toran. I guess he could be a good actor. Still…will I have to hear that accordion if he's in the party with me?

Later after Daunte grabbed all of the scripts that he currently had did he go to Caesar to assemble his acting party of himself, Farzin, Luciano, Allise, Priscilla, and Ciana. Arin, Tidur, and Esther tagged along with them as supporting party members. Ciana was the only one in a new outfit of a bright red dress. Roen and Felicity declined to go back to Farna even as supporting party member and Daunte didn't blame them. Everyone seemed to be in good spirits when Daunte's group went to see Viki. She sent them to Farna, where to Daunte's dismay he saw that the town was still gray and sullen even with a cloudless sunny day.

I feel so horrible for the people here. And I don't know if their finding out the truth of the Plague will make things better for them.

Farzin was quietly praying as they headed towards the tavern, and Tidur was holding onto both of her daughters' hands. "Sloan wouldn't let me come back here even after the Plague had left," she said quietly. "I can see why now."

"We're not still in danger of getting sick, are we?" Esther asked fearfully.

"No," Daunte reassured her. "The disease is completely gone."

"Mr. Adalgiso is from here, isn't he?" Ciana asked bluntly.

"Yes, he is," Tidur said, but she spoke in a quiet tone as an indicator to Ciana to lower her voice.

"R—That man told me about this place," Priscilla said, hugging her arms. "This is worse than how he described it."

"This town is part of my ex-husband's province," Allise said grimly. "Why am I not surprised that he has done nothing to help these people?"

"Well, hopefully the play can make everyone feel better," Daunte said.

The group entered the tavern and saw Nāṭaka standing in the same spot she stood yesterday, holding up a play script as she addressed the few patrons that were there. "Please! I am only trying to help you all!"

"We'll help you," Daunte told her.

Nāṭaka turned to face him. She looked over his party and gasped loudly. "Three men, two women, one child! You did it! You have the right actors for my play!"

"How much time do we have to study the script before the show starts?" Farzin asked.

"Oh, I wanted to start in one hour," Nāṭaka said cheerfully.

ONE HOUR?! Daunte quickly looked at the others and they looked equally concerned. Before he could say anything though Nāṭaka was quickly waving to them. "Come with me! I'll assign your parts and we'll go over the lines before the show!"

Daunte and the group chosen to be actors all shared a look of brief panic before they resigned themselves to their fate and followed Nāṭaka towards the stage. I…may be in over my head.

"Good afternoon!" Nāṭaka announced from the stage. "I am happy to bring to you my production of the wonderful play 'The Emperor's New Clothes'!"

"Hooray!" Arin, Tidur, and Esther cheered from their table. The other patrons looked impassive.

"Does everyone have their programs?" Nāṭaka asked. She didn't wait for an answer. "Now, on with the show!"

"What part does Daunte play?" Arin asked, looking closely at the program in his hands.

"Lord Daunte is listed as 'Swindler'," Esther told him cheerfully. Arin made a face. "What's a swindler?"

"Shh, it's starting," Tidur said as they saw Farzin appear on the right side of the stage. The former Cleric did not look nervous being onstage in front of an audience, but he didn't necessarily look enthusiastic either.

"Once upon a time," Farzin began, his voice stretching out across the bar. "In a kingdom far away there was an emperor who cared more about spending money on new clothes than on public matters. So lavishly did he spend, that a foreign swindler could not help but want to make a quick fortune with very little effort."

The lights came up on the small stage, revealing Luciano standing in front of the closed curtains. Luciano clasped his hands dramatically to his chest and sighed. "Oh! When will my new clothes be done?! I want to show them off to my people!" thankfully, the accordion that followed Narcissists did not fill the air.

Daunte walked stiffly and quickly onto the stage. He quickly glanced at the audience and began sweating when he saw everyone looking at him. He saw Arin frantically waving both arms at him and looked at Luciano. "Luc—I-I-I mean, Your Majesty." He bowed stiffly. "Y-Your clothes are finished!"

"Oh!" Luciano squealed so abruptly that Daunte almost reflexively burst into laughter. "Please! Show them to me right now!"

"R-Right!" Daunte's motions were stiff as he reached behind him and whipped his arms forward, holding nothing in his hands. "H…Here it is!"

"Ah…" Luciano reached for the empty air with one hand. "W…What is it?"

"It is an i-i-invisible robe," Daunte sputtered. "Unseen to the eye of stu—stupid people. Those with an i-i-intelligent mind will clearly see that is the most mag—magnificent robe." He stammered out.

Luciano took the "invisible robe" from Daunte and hugged his arms to his chest. His eyes seemed to shine. "It…It really is a magnificent robe!"

"But the emperor did not know that he was being swindled," Farzin continued as the lights went down again. "He did not know that the Swindler did no work, and then rode off into the sunset with his new fortune. Then the emperor decided to show off his…new clothes, to his people."

The lights came up again, revealing Priscilla, Allise, and Ciana standing in front of a cityscape in the background. Tidur and Esther clapped when they saw the little girl on stage. From stage right Luciano strutted onto the stage, stripped down to very expensive long underwear. The sight caused the patrons to burst into laughter, and Tidur audibly gasped.

"That is the emperor's new clothes?" Allise said stoically, her brow arched as she observed Luciano.

"It is said that it is invisible to stupid people," Priscilla said in a low drawl, smiling amusedly.

"Then it is the most wonderful clothes I have ever seen," Allise responded.

"I agree," Priscilla responded.

"No," Ciana spoke up suddenly in a most dull and uninspired voice. She stepped forward in front of Luciano and pointed at him. "The emperor is not wearing clothes!"

Her complete and utter lack of enthusiasm at reciting her lines, and Luciano's utterly hammy reaction of gasping throatily and covering himself, caused the bar to patrons to shriek even louder with laughter.

"She is right!" Allise gasped, pressing her hands to her cheeks. "His Majesty wears no clothes!"

"What a fool!" Priscilla said a little more convincingly.

Farzin's closing monologue could not be heard over the hysterical laughter. The laughter did not let up when the curtain call happened, and Daunte and his companions came back onstage to bow. Arin, Tidur, and Esther however gave a standing ovation and try to cheer over the sound of laughter.

"T—That was the stupidest thing I've ever seen in my life!" One patron sputtered, slapping a small bag of bits into Nāṭaka's hand. "Encore! Encore!"

Other patrons also gave rather rude responses to the play that was put on, but surprisingly gave Nāṭaka money for the performance before they either took off or went back to eating and drinking.

"Ciana, you did a wonderful job!" Tidur cheered, rushing over to her youngest daughter and hugging her. "I'm so proud of you!"

"Brother, you played the bad guy!" Arin said excitedly. "That was so cool!"

"That was a lot of fun," Priscilla said.

"That was…embarrassing," Allise said softly. "But at least the people in this bar were laughing about something for once."

"Ahhhh," Luciano sighed, and at that moment the familiar accordion filled the air. "What a wonderful experience! Thank you so much for deeming me worthy of this task, my Lord!"

"Did you see the joy we brought?!" Nāṭaka gushed to them.

"They were laughing at us," Ciana pointed out. Tidur shushed her.

"Look, my Lord!" Nāṭaka showed Daunte the money she got. "Our performance made 1,000 bits! I've never made this much money from a production before! And it's all thanks to you!"

Daunte reached into his bag and pulled out all of the scripts he had found on his journey. "I have more if you want to look at them."

"Oh my goodness!" Nāṭaka squealed and hugged the scripts to her chest. "I am eternally in your debt! Whatever you need, I will deliver!"

"Could you join our Army?" Arin asked her. "Then everyone could be in the plays!"

"It would be funny to see Gunther in that one play 'The Three Little Pigs'," Allise said amusedly.

"Oh, I would love to play the wolf in that play," Priscilla laughed.

"If I can spread joy to your Army then I would gladly join you," Nāṭaka said. "You have a stage, yes?"

"Yes we do, and it's larger than this one," Daunte said. He held out his hand to her. "Welcome aboard."

Nāṭaka shook his hand eagerly. "I will set up a stage production the minute we get back! If there is anyone you are not currently using for quests, they can act in my plays! But be careful when selecting actors, because it will mean the difference between the play being a hit and the play being a flop!"

"…All right," Daunte said slowly. He looked at his party. "We're done here. Let's go back to HQ."

Later that evening, Daunte was sitting at the table in his room drinking tea with Caesar. As promised Nāṭaka immediately assembled a cast for 'The Three Little Pigs' for a performance before the evening meal. It had been a short (and rather horrifying) performance, but even hours later people across HQ were laughing about it and quoting the play.

"That was an…interesting take on 'The Three Little Pigs'," Caesar laughed. "The plays were popular during the Second Fire Bringer War. So popular were they that I think the soldiers spent more time on the stage than on the battlefield!"

"Well if it helps with morale then I can't complain," Daunte said.

"And if the performance is good enough people will give money towards it," Caesar added.

Daunte looked down at his cup of tea for a long moment before looking up again. "Caesar?"

"What is it?"

"The Rune of Restoration…showed me something yesterday," Daunte said. "When we were at Adalgiso's house."

"Oh, that's interesting," Caesar said with genuine curiosity. He leaned his elbows on the table. "What did you see?"

It was more difficult than Daunte expected to talk about the memory, but Caesar didn't prod him when he started babbling. When he finished, Caesar looked thoughtful. "Now it makes sense."

"What does?"

"Adalgiso has a reputation for being a consummate professional and an honorable man," Caesar said. "It was puzzling to me why he continued to stay by Sloan Faakhir's side in the face of everything he has done. Knowing that Sloan prevented his suicide attempt and helped him to keep on living makes his unwavering loyalty to the Sheikh make a lot more sense. He's stayed by Faakhir's side even after Tidur, Esther, and Ciana left him, because the Sheikh saved him."

"I'm—conflicted," Daunte said softly, gripping the teacup. "I want Sloan Faakhir to pay for what he's done. He's hurt Tidur and their daughters and he's killed so many people. But I-I can't help but want to know why he's doing these things. Why he transformed into a monster."

"It's a form of closure," Caesar told him. "You need to know the "why" because what he has done is so senseless that you need his reasoning to make sense of his actions. Your feelings are completely rational, my Lord. But I must warn you that you may not get this answer, and you may not get your closure."

Daunte looked at him then. "That…makes a lot of sense. Thank you."

"I can't take all of the credit," Caesar said, shrugging. "You can thank an ancestor of mine, Eleanor."

"Eleanor?"

"Eleanor Silverberg. She was exiled from the Scarlet Moon Empire and my family line disowned her from the family tree, but I was always intrigued to find out more information about her. I found out she served as a strategist during the Islands Federation War. Eleanor is believed to have died in an explosion at Fort El-Fal, but she left personal effects behind. Including a diary." Caesar leaned back in his chair. "She was abrasive in her entries, but many of her entries were about Graham Cray, her former apprentice and the chief antagonist to the Islands Liberation Army. She kept pondering why Graham was doing the things he was doing, and how much she wanted to know why."

Caesar shook her head. "I don't think she got the satisfaction of finding her answer. Graham Cray was essentially scrubbed from history as they don't talk about him in textbooks, but I don't believe he would have given her the satisfaction of revealing his motives. You should take this as a lesson, my Lord. It's okay to want to know why, but you shouldn't let the "why" drive your cause."

"I understand," Daunte said. "I want to know why, but I want him to pay for everything he's done."

"And you will succeed," Caesar said. "But one thing at a time. We'll worry about Sloan Faakhir later. For now, let's keep our focus on Tamara Nuori."

"Right," Daunte said. "Where is her current location?"

"Our sources say she's in the capital, but she will be leaving there soon…"

Kader's jail was not very large; ten cells at most for a town of ten thousand people. But Dylan had never been in the jail in his entire life, and sitting in a jail cell scared him deeply.

He stood up from his bed and stormed to the door. He grabbed the locked door and rattled the bars. "HEY!" he shouted.

A glaring guard quickly materialized from around the corner. "What do you want, brat?!"

"Why did you arrest me?" Dylan snapped.

"I've told you a hundred times, kid! You were trespassed from the Sheikh's offices! You trespassed and thus were arrested!"

"The Sheikh said she wanted to see me!" Dylan shouted back. "How was I trespassing?!"

"Search me, kid! That was a direct order from Lady Imbuka herself that the Sheikh ordered your arrest if you returned to her offices!"

Dylan felt so sick that he thought he may vomit. Tears stung his eyes as he gripped the bars and clenched his teeth. "…Where's my dad?"

"Your dad?" the guard made a face. "You mean the brute who beat his wife?"

"My dad is innocent!" Dylan shouted. "If you want to jail me, put me with my dad!"

"That violent thug is being kept elsewhere for the safety of everyone else," the guard said sternly. "And he will get his just desserts in due time!"

"Take me to my dad! I want to see my dad!" Dylan's shouts and the rattling of the bars filled the entire block.

"What an annoying brat," the guard scoffed.

"Hey." A second guard emerged from the corridor. "Get your keys. The boy's mother is here to get him."

"Oh, finally," the first guard sighed, reaching for the key ring on his belt. Dylan however quickly backed away from the door as Caoimhe came down the hall. Her arm was still in a sling but the bruises on her face…they didn't look right to Dylan. They looked like they had shrunk since the trial just a couple of days prior.

"We're letting him out now, ma'am," the guard said reassuringly to Caoimhe, and he opened the door. "Come on," he snapped at Dylan. "Mind your mother and get out of there!"

Caoimhe looked at her son then. "Dylan, you have been causing a lot of problems. Now come out of there and apologize to these nice men for wasting their time."

Dylan pressed his back against the wall, narrowing his eyes at her. It took a moment to gather his courage and he gulped loudly before he asked, "Why did you lie?"

Caoimhe didn't visibly react to his question, but the two guards made noises of disgust. "Excuse me?" Caoimhe asked darkly.

"Y-You told the Sheikh that Dad hurt you! But that was a lie! You always said lying is bad, so why did you lie?!"

"Yes, lying is bad," Caoimhe responded calmly. "And I am not lying."

"You ARE lying!" Dylan shouted. "Dad didn't hurt you, Mom! You didn't have any of those injuries when we left home! I was with Dad the entire time we were traveling, so he couldn't have gone home to do that to you! So why are you lying?!"

Caoimhe closed her eyes and then inhaled and exhaled sharply. She was getting angry. Dylan could see that. After a long moment she opened her eyes and glared at him. "I love you, Dylan. I'm your mother, I must love you. But your defense of your father hurts me more than these injuries. You do not understand what I have been through, and what I have—suffered from your father. I did well to hide the bruises from you for a long time, but I will not do that any longer. He has hurt me and now justice will finally be served."

"Dad never hurt you!" Dylan protested. "You hurt him!"

"Have I?" Caoimhe asked coldly.

"I never saw Dad hit you! But I saw YOU hit HIM plenty of times!"

Caoimhe flinched then, but the second guard laughed incredulously. "A—Are you serious, kid?! I've seen your dad! Do you expect any of us to believe that giant of a man was a victim of abuse from this delicate woman?! His wrists weren't even bruised from the shackles we put on him! I've never heard anything so ridiculous in my life!"

"I spoke to the Sheikh," Dylan said hotly, glaring at Caoimhe. "And she promised me she would look at Dad's case! S-She said she would call me as a witness! And when she does, I'm going to tell them everything! I'll save Dad and expose you as the liar you are, Mom!"

Caoimhe turned on her heel and walked away. "I changed my mind. I'm not picking him up right now. I'll be back in three days."

"I don't blame you one bit, ma'am," the first guard sighed as he snapped the gate shut. He glared at Dylan. "See what happens when you run your mouth, brat."

Dylan waited for the three of them to leave before he burst into tears. He pressed both hands to his face and slid down the wall until he was sitting on the wall. He didn't understand what was going on or why any of this was happening. He knew his parents didn't have the perfect marriage, but his dad had always seemed happy. He had seen Caoimhe yell at Virgil a lot and even hit him sometimes, but he never hit her back. And when Dylan had seen these incidents happen, it was Virgil who had reassured him that everything was okay.

But everything isn't okay! Mom lied, and now Dad is going to be whipped 100 times!

"Are you all right, son?"

Dylan lifted his head and looked towards the cell on his left. There had been only one other occupant in the jail with him; an older gentleman in his late fifties, wearing a tawny cloak who stood at the bars that separated their cells.

"It looks like you've been having a terrible time of it lately," the man said. His black hair fell into his kind dark eyes. His smile was also kind, and Dylan suddenly felt himself at ease. "A boy your age shouldn't be under the stress you carry."

"I-I can't help it," Dylan said pathetically, scrubbing at his face. "M—My dad was accused of a crime he didn't commit by my mom!"

"And you know that your father did not commit his crime!"

"He didn't!" Dylan snapped, scrambling to his feet. "Dad is innocent, I swear it!"

The man nodded solemnly. "I believe you, son. I am sorry though that no one is taking you seriously."

"W…" Dylan hugged his arms and squeezed his eyes shut. "What am I going to do? How can I save my dad?"

"I think you need to calm down and get ahold of your emotions. They will not listen to you when you have outbursts. They extended your time in here at the say so of your mother. Save your anger for when you can do something about it, because your time in here will not do you any favors when the Sheikh calls you to testify."

The man had a point, but Dylan couldn't help but feel angry and sick. "…Why did she lie?" he asked in a small voice.

"I can't speak for your mother. Only she can answer that question."

Before Dylan could reply, the first guard reappeared and moved to the man's cell. "You're free to go." he unlocked the door. "We apolgize for the misunderstanding with your identification book, Mr. Daredare. You'll get your sword and identification book back at the front desk."

"Thank you, sir," the man said courteously. He nodded to Dylan. "What's your name, son?"

"D-Dylan."

"Best of luck to you, Dylan." he held out his hand through the bars and Dylan accepted the handshake. "Take care of yourself, and take care of your dad."

The man followed the guard down the corridor. Dylan raced to his door and grabbed the bars. "Wait!" he shouted. The man stopped and turned to face him. "Who are you?"

The man smiled and gave a slight bow. "I'm no one in particular."

Dylan shook his head. It was after they were gone did he realize that he was holding something in his hand. He looked down at his palm and saw a small ball of paper. He quickly looked up towards the empty corridor. He gave me a note! Dylan quickly unrolled the note. It was simple, but it gave him hope.

"I'll help you both out. Please be patient.

- Georg Prime"

—

The Three Little Pigs

The Cast

Narrator: Keiran

The Wolf: Sierra

First Pig: Lanny

Second Pig: Roen

Third Pig: Gunther

—

"There once was a family of three pigs who left home to start their own lives," Keiran said, looking out over the audience. Though he hadn't ever expected to perform in a play as part of his duties as a soldier, he nonetheless took his duties very seriously. "They made their own settlements. One pig made his house of straw, another made his house of sticks, and the third made his house of bricks.

"But," Keiran said dramatically. "The serenity of each pig was interrupted by the arrival of a big, bad wolf."

The stage lights came up, revealing Lanny standing underneath a flimsy stage prop that looked like a house of straw in front of a green countryside background. He was visibly blushing from embarrassment. "I—There is no finer house than a house of straw!" he spoke his lines so quickly that a few members of the audience didn't understand him.

Sierra breezed onto the stage, her feet barely touching the ground. "Little pig, little pig, let me in." she spoke in monotone but there was a strange allure to her voice.

"N-N-Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin!" Lanny squeaked.

"You don't have hair on your chinny chin chin!" a soldier from the audience shouted to the stage, causing an outbreak of laughter. The laughter quickly died though when the audience saw Keiran glaring at them.

"Then I'll huff and puff and blow your house in," Sierra said matter of factly. She flicked her finger against the house prop and it immediately fell down.

"The first pig's house was blown down and he was eaten by the wolf," Keiran said as the stage lights lowered. "But the wolf was still hungry, and so he traveled, and found the second pig's house."

The stage lights came up again, revealing Roen standing underneath another stage prop that looked like a house of sticks. He planted his hands on his hips and squared his shoulders. "My house of sticks is the best house there is!"

Sierra came back onstage so quickly that Roen yelped in shock. "Little pig, little pig, let me in."

"Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin!" Roen said dramatically.

"Then I'll kill you like I killed your brother," Sierra said dully.

"I don't think that's your line, Old Girl!" Nash called out cheerfully from the audience. Sierra ignored him and flicked her finger at the prop house and also immediately fell down.

"And so the second pig's house was blow down and he was eaten by the wolf," Keiran said as the stage lights lowered. "But the wolf was still hungry. And having had his fill of two pigs, he traveled to see if he could find another pig to eat."

"Yeesh, how hungry can a wolf be after eating two pigs whole?" Sharon wondered out loud. Futch hushed her.

The stage lights came up again, revealing Gunther standing underneath another stage prop that looked like a house of bricks. "My house is a mighty house!" Gunther proudly declared. "No foe can withstand the—"

While he gave his speech he accidentally swatted the side of the house prop, and it immediately fell apart. Gunther cursed, and frantically tried to quickly reassemble the "house" whilst the audience laughed loudly.

Sierra returned to the stage, arching a brow when she saw the destroyed set. "Little pig, little pig, let me in," she droned.

"Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin!" Gunther shouted, holding up a piece of the prop house in front of himself like a shield.

"Then I'll huff and puff," Sierra said, leaving the line hanging. She pretended to swat at the house and Gunther flinched behind the flimsy board. "Wow," she said blandly. "Your house is too mighty for me wait I will climb in through your chimney."

"Sierra, slow down!" Nash laughed in the audience.

"The wolf did climb down," Keiran said dramatically as the stage lights came down again. "But what awaited the wolf inside was a giant pot of boiling water. The wolf fell in and the third pig threw the lid on, and when the wolf was all boiled up the pig ate the wolf."

The audience abruptly screamed in disgust. "He ate the wolf?!" Gizli shouted.

"Pigs don't eat wolves!" Ichirou shouted.

"That wolf ate the other two pigs though!" Freyr gagged.

"That's like cannibalism, isn't it?" Shou asked, looking at Oboro. "I…don't know," Oboro answered in an uncharacteristically helpless tone.

Keiran's brow rose when he saw the volatile reaction from the audience to the ending. He looked at Nāṭaka sitting next to the stage, who was scribbling furiously on her script. "I'll need to change the ending before the next show…"

At the back of the bar/theatre, Allise was leaning against the wall laughing. "That was better than I thought it would be."

The plays from Suikoden III are my all-time favorite mini-game in the entire series, so I definitely wanted to include them here.