Author's Note: And so, with some slight AU-ness and development flying around, we reach the end of the second-arc of the game. At least, to me these chapters always felt like the end of an arc. So in a way I'm treating them like it. Big and important. I'm surprised and hopeful that this arc will end around chapter 65-66, marking the end of it right before moving into the third arc, which will likely put me above 100 chapters by the end, because there's a few more slight changes and additions to the story to come, in combining Eliwood and Hector's into a cohesive whole.

Secondly, forgive the two chapters in one week, but I wanted to post one more as next week I will not be around enough to post. I'll be attending to out of town business through Wednesday and once I get back I'll need to work several extra shifts at my job to make up for it. Hopefully, during my down time this weekend, I can work on more chapters for you all.

Pixelsaber: Supports are supports indeed, but I hope they were represented in a decent way. Also defeating Kishuna is obnoxious in the game, since he vanishes immediately the turn you attack him. So hammering him with everything as hard as you can is all you can do. Thankfully, I didn't need to worry about it for the fic. :P

MashiroNguyen: Serra is awesome. Not only because she's a person with a very clear personality at her front, but all the layers underneath. LAYERS.

Nintend101: Forgetting passwords is always a rough go. As for the legendary weapons, I think I'd like to do that, but it's going to depend on how my research about them goes. How they show up in Binding Blade and Whether Our Heroes could acquire them and all that is very important to me. But I'd saw plan on most of them at leats being mentioned, if not all making their way into the party's hands.

I hope you'll enjoy! Let the battle begin.

Chapter 62: The Dragon's Gate

Laddie,

Time makes fools of us. What was easy for us once, may not be so in the future. What we held so dearly, may be taken away. What we fight for may be called into question. When the world turns against you, can you remain strong? Can you deny them what they want to protect yourself?

I will stand at your side, shout loudly, fight harder and laugh more than anyone else. Because when my life comes to an end, I want it to be without regrets. Will you do the same?

Take care of yourself, especially on the darkest days. Call for me whenever you need. Call for a friend if I'm not around. You'll find there are more than you ever thought possible. Live strong and proud, like a true Sacaen.

Wallace

Found in Tactician William's records.

When I first saw the Dragon's Gate, I could hardly believe my eyes. It's a building unlike anything I'd ever seen. Somehow, I get the feeling even during my time in the Fang I never saw this place. The stonework is like nothing no human could ever make, the castle itself seemingly… waiting. As if its master had simply gone on a stroll and would return shortly. No… these ruins are not man-made. If that's the case, the remaining possibility is…

"We're here." Eliwood stated firmly. Will quickly closed his book, knowing he had no more time to write. "The Dragon's Gate."

Ninian looked upon the giant structure and like Will, seemed awestruck by it. However, unlike Will, she was shivering, as if the ruins brought forth dark memories from the recesses of her mind. Were her and Nils held here long ago? Or recently? Will's doubts about having Ninian accompany them resurfaced.

"Are you alright?" Eliwood said kindly, grabbing Ninian's arm. "You're trembling."

"This place is… frightening." Ninian elaborated, gripping Eliwood's arm tightly. "Something is… there is something dangerous here. Very dangerous."

"Her power again?" Lyn asked. "It's been happening non-stop since we arrived."

"What's with that power of hers anyway?" Hector asked. "I don't understand a dang thing about it."

"Ninian has the ability to sense oncoming danger." Will explained. "Despite losing her memory, it's not as if that power disappeared along with it."

"What is you sense, Ninian?" Eliwood asked.

Ninian shook her head. "I… I shouldn't have come. Something awful will happen if I'm… Ah!" Ninian suddenly pushed herself away from Eliwood, clutching her head as she yelled.

"Ninian!" Eliwood called. "Snap out of it!"

"This place… no… I… I…" Ninian said, her head swinging back and forth rapidly.

"She's getting worse!" Will shouted. "Eliwood, get her out of here and back to Merlinus!"

"You'll not be going anywhere." A soft voice sounded from just behind Will.

Will turned just in time to see Lyn's Mani Katti flash before his eyes, knocking the dagger from the assassin's hand away. She swung a second time, but the man vanished into thin air. So he was able to teleport like Nergal was? What was that ability?

"That little bird has escaped her cage twice." The voice said softly from the shadows. "Now that she's returned, we'll not allow her a third escape."

"Who are you?" Eliwood demanded.

From the shadows, the man emerged, his hood lowered. Will, Lyn and Hector all gasped, though Hector's was quickly replaced with a growl. "You… Mark!"

"Hmm?" The man, his eyebrow raising slightly. "No, my name is Ephidel. I don't believe we've met."

"Your eyes…" Will muttered, glaring at the man. "You're a morph."

"I am." Ephidel said with a polite bow. "The man you speak of, Mark, was likely the source of my Quintessence."

"Quintessence?" Eliwood asked. "What's that?"

"You have no need to know." Ephidel said politely, but menacingly. Will and Lyn felt a familiar shiver run down their spines. "I've been looking forward to our encounter."

"Can't say I feel the same." Hector growled.

"Gallant." Ephidel chuckled. "Of course, we know who you are as well, little Lord Hector. And of course there's Caelin's lovely Princess, Lyndis. And… the Traitor."

The group remained silent. Hector and Eliwood gripped their weapons, ready to draw them at a moment's notice. Lyn held her Mani Katti in a defensive stance in front of Will, who had one hand on his Shine Tome.

Ephidel shrugged, seeing his knowledge wasn't putting them off their guard. "Very well. I do hope you enjoy that present I left you. The dead girl in the forest. Witches and traitors all meet the same fate."

"Monster!" Hector roared, his axe brandishing. "Stay right there while I crush the life from your skull!"

"I think not." Ephidel said, smiling at having drawn a response. "I suppose now I see the full picture though. A spy, sent into the Fang to avenge her sister's murder… how ironic she met the same fate. Don't worry, it only took a single blow."

"Die!" Hector shouted, bringing his axe down upon the black robed man.

"This girl is needed for my master's ceremony." Ephidel's voice sounded from the shadows, before a hand suddenly grabbed Ninian from the darkness.

"No!" Ninian shouted wildly, struggling vainly against the Morph's insane grip. "Lord Eliwood!"

"Ninian!" Eliwood shouted, drawing his rapier. "Let her go, monster!"

He charged, but as he reached for Ninian she vanished from his sight, Ephidel's laugh the only sound remaining in the late afternoon light.

"Blast!" Hector cursed.

"Prepare for battle!" Will shouted. "We storm the Dragon's Gate! Our objective is to save Ninian! And take Nergal's head while we're at it!"

"Lord Ephidel!" The Purple Haired Lord cried in surprise, ringing his hands as the black robed man reappeared. "You found her!"

"Of course I did." Ephidel replied in annoyance. "There was never any doubt."

"Yes, of course not. My apologies." Darin said politely. "Now, the ritual can finally take place."

"Yes…" Ephidel muttered. He turned to Darin. "We have an infestation of mice to deal with, Darin. They should be scurrying in momentarily. They must be dealt with before the ritual can take place. I assume I can entrust this task to you?"

"Of course!" Darin exclaimed happily. "Who do you think you're talking to? I am Lord Darin, Marquis Laus and ruler of this world!"

"Very well." Ephidel said softly. "I leave it to you."

"Ruler… ha. Haha. Hahahahahahahahahahaha!" Darin laughed, as Ephidel led Ninian forcefully away.

"Humans… they are so very fragile. Wouldn't you agree?" Ephidel said, grinning at the frightened girl. She remained silent, determined to say nothing, until Ephidel forcefully led her to a chamber she recognized. A red haired man she thought she knew lay upon the floor. A man, draped in black robed from head to foot stood above him.

"You've done well, precious Ephidel." Nergal remarked. "Much better than that failure you were based on. Shall we begin preparations?"

Ephidel bowed, but the red haired man struggled on the floor, attempting to raise himself, undo his bonds, anything to prevent the black robed man from continuing. "Nergal!"

"Does it gall you, Marquis Pharae?" Nergal chuckled. "It is destiny… there can be no other outcome. Despite all your efforts, all your plots and schemes… the girl was fated to return. She was fated to fall into my hands."

"Where is Eliwood?" Lord Elbert asked through grit teeth.

"Still alive, for the moment." Nergal said, waving his hand airily. "It's only a matter of time now before my forces finish him and his little friends."

Elbert smiled. That, at least, was good news. "Prepare to die!" Elbert shouted, launching from the floor. In his hands, somehow, was a dagger. How it had gotten there or when, Nergal didn't know. For a moment, Nergal retreated. But Elbert's face hit the floor, the dagger clattering to the ground as a silent assassin forced his arm into a lock that Elbert couldn't fight. "Grah!" Elbert screamed in rage and pain.

"Jaffar." Nergal said, breathing the smallest sighs of relief. "Good. Take Marquis Pharae and the girl to the far chamber. I will begin preparations for the ritual in the meantime."

Jaffar bowed his head, before forcing the Marquis to his feet, grabbing Ninian with his spare hand. "Thy will be done."

He led the two from the room. "I warned you not to be reckless." He whispered, under his breath. "There is no way for me to save you now."

Elbert grinned in pain. "I don't care about myself. Only Nergal's death matters right now. He needs to be stopped. Why can't you see that?"

"Because." Jaffar said. "I want to live."

"So you're a coward." Elbert said. "I'm not as surprised as I thought I'd be."

"Most of us are." Jaffar said, his voice barely above a whisper. "When you come close to death… when you know the reaper is coming for you… there's a fear that can never be shaken."

"No." Elbert said, shaking his head. "There are things far worse than facing the reaper's scythe. You'll find that out for yourself soon, surely."

"We've been waiting for you, Eliwood of Pharae." A mounted horseman declared as the group prepared. It seemed just inside were several Black Fang member already prepared for the fight.

"Where is my father?" Eliwood demanded.

"Farther inside." The horseman replied. "You will never get the chance to meet him, though. Even if you break through here, the path you seek is guarded by Marquis Laus. Withdraw and we will cut you down from behind. No matter what you choose, you die here today."

"As will you." Renault muttered, before a blast of light destroyed the horse underneath the rider.

Hector brought down his axe on the suddenly scared rider, ending his life. Will sighed. "Well, he won't be reporting back any time soon. Continue with the preparations. If anyone dares come out, take them down without mercy. We've no time to be generous."

Inside the fort, one of the black robed mages noticed a strange man skulking in the shadows. "Hey, you! What are you doing here?"

The man paused, raising an eyebrow curiously. "What am I doing? Is that any proper greeting for a junior to give his senior? Ah, you must be entirely new, am I right?"

"Uh… I was assigned here about a month ago." The mage admitted.

The man shrugged with a chuckle. "Thought as much. My name is Legault. You've heard the name, I assume?"

"Legault…" The mage mused, "Ah! You mean you're The Hurricane? Second in ability only to the Four Fangs?"

The man laughed easily. "Yes, yes. That's me."

"I… I beg your pardon." The mage said, bowing low. Legault continued to look at him pitifully. "…Sir." He finished.

The mage turned back to his duties. Legault let out a small sigh of relief. "Now then," he muttered to himself, "time to fill my purse with treasure and dump these people. No sense staying on a sinking ship. No sense at all."

"Oh come on, sticking me in the back?" Bartre exclaimed in annoyance. "I can do a lot more at the front!"

"We need to keep the supply lines secure." Will said. "And Leila needs to be kept safe. I'd prefer Merlinus not be killed by a stray arrow, if it's all the same to you."

"Lord William…" Melrinus muttered, tears filling his eyes.

"Save it for later." Will said quickly. "To that effect, I need you to stay here as well, Marcus. I'm sorry to ask, but…"

"I understand." Marcus said. "I will leave Lord Eliwood's safety to you."

"Thank you." Will said gratefully. "Just to our left is a singular room. We need that clear. There's two main paths after that, up through the middle and off to the right. Our main forces will storm through the middle, with Oswin and Wallace taking point. The corridor looks to get very narrow a little ways down, so having them will be key to our strategy."

"Wait Will, slow down." Lyn said. "You haven't said who's taking the room on the left yet."

"Ah, yes, you're right." Will said. "Sorry. Dorcas, Wil, Lowen and Priscilla will take the room. Merlinus, you have some skeleton keys, don't you?"

"Yes." Merlinus said, rummaging in the back. "I've kept them in a safebox for just such an occasion…."

"You should be able to open the door and any chests you find with these." Will said, handing them to Dorcas. "Once you've cleared the room, return anything you can to Merlinus. We'll take anything these dastards have to prevent any of them from restocking during the fight."

"Got it." Dorcas said with a nod.

"What about the door on the right?" Matthew asked. "Did you want me to handle it?"

Will shook his head. "Hand a few extra lockpicks to me. I'll take charge of the strike squad. You'll be needed in the main force in case any new paths appear."

Matthew shrugged, grabbing a few lockpicks from his satchel and handing them over to Will. "They cost a pretty penny, you know."

"Oh please." Will smirked. "You took them off bodies on the island and you know it."

"And here I was going to make you owe me one." Matthew sighed. "Can't slip anything past you, huh."

"Lyn, Dart, Rebecca, Erk and Renault will be with me." Will explained. "I expect trouble inside the right room, but there should be a way through somewhere. If not, we can always break a wall with a small powder blast or magic."

"So the main force comprises everyone else?" Eliwood asked.

Will nodded. "Florina will be there to split the team if any further rooms that need clearing come up. You and Hector need to focus on getting to Lord Darin and stopping him."

"Gotcha." Hector said. "Then let's do it."

It didn't take longer than few moments after entering the corridor for Wallace and Oswin to meet with further cavaliers. Their leader was presumably the man Hector and Renault had dealt with when he had so foolishly approached them. Unfortunately, the shine of their weapons told both of them that these men carried armor piercing spears. Looking at each other, the two nodded.

Wallace charged, raising his axe and swinging it high before bringing it down upon the first horse's neck. The rider tumbled to the ground, but his fellow covered for him, striking out with a sword that slashed through Wallace's armor in a clean stroke. The swords were armor slayers, were they? Another troublesome discovery.

Oswin's lance flashed, stabbing through a second horse, dropping the seated rider to the ground. Once more, a fellow covered for him, allowing the man to get back on his feet while Oswin was forced to sacrifice his left arm to block the blow from the heavy spear. He shouted in pain, but stabbed out with his lance just in time to catch the second mounted horseman, killing him through the abdomen.

Wallace's lance slashed through the man who came in to engage in ground combat, but the armor slayer dealt another devastating blow. His entire arm, his preferred weapon arm, was sliced open as his armor offered no protection against the sword. He grimaced, his axe falling to the ground. The man leapt from his horse, the horse stamping angrily on the flat of the axe, breaking it in two. Wallace grabbed his lance just in time to block the armor slayer, his non-dominant hand ringing with pain at the blow.

Oswin shouted in pain again as the lance stabbed through his abdomen form the man on the ground, but he wasn't about to let the man get away. He grabbed the lance, preventing the man from retrieving it, before bashing the man's skull with the side of his lance. The force of the blow caved in the skull and his opponent fell to the ground.

Wallace's lance managed to overcome the armor slayer, preventing the man from getting another blow before finishing him off. The horse, the only one left, upon seeing the death of its rider, fell silent.

Hector grimaced. "Wallace and Oswin are seriously injured! Serra, get over here!"

Serra hurried over, her staff shining as she set to work. First, she made sure Wallace's wound wasn't life threatening, before turning her attention to Oswin. She began to treat his wound as he drew out the lance, growling in pain as it came out inch by inch. Serra muttered something, but Oswin couldn't hear what it was. Serra refused to look at him. He probably shouldn't have been so harsh earlier. He merely wanted… ah, things were becoming a bit blurry. Maybe he would close his eyes for just a…

"Don't you dare fall asleep!" Serra snapped at him, slapping him across the face. "You fall asleep and you may not wake up at all! That isn't happening on my watch!"

Florina bit her thumb. "Kent, Sain, you need to take point. Hector, follow right behind them. Eliwood, you're behind Hector with Matthew."

"Florina, there's a door." Canas said, pointing to it. "It seems there is another room after all."

Florina grimaced further. Splitting forces, especially after their two front guard were already out of the fight, was not something she wanted to do. However, Will's tactics had called for it, and he was rarely wrong. "Matthew, you'll have to open the door and search for the treasures inside. Any you find need to be taken back to the caravan. Eliwood, you'll accompany him to direct the small force."

Eliwood nodded. He turned to Hector. "I trust you can handle Darin?"

"Of course." Hector said. "I'll be done long before you get a chance to show."

Eliwood smiled. He turned back to Florina. "Who else?"

"Canas." Florina said firmly.

"Not an issue." Canas said, adjusting his monocle.

"And uh… Fiora." Florina finished.

"I understand." Fiora said.

Matthew set to work on the door. "Let's go!" Florina said, as firmly as she could manage. "Our objective is Darin!"

Dorcas nodded. Wil and Lowen were prepared, while Priscilla hung just far enough back to remain out of the danger zone. He turned the key, and pushed open the door. What greeted them was a bow, and the golden eyes of a monster. "Morph!" Wil shouted, firing an arrow just in time. His arrow was split by the one fired from the morph, but it gave him enough time to push Lowen out of the way. Unfortunately, as he attempted to duck himself, the arrows clipped the muscle between his neck and shoulder. "ARGH!" He shouted, falling to the ground.

"Lowen!" Dorcas shouted, rushing into the room. He swung his axe, but the morph dodged. Lowen quickly followed him in, his horse rearing and kicking the morph into the nearby wall. Dorcas followed up, burying his axe into the morph's neck. Just to be sure, Lowen stabbed it as well before allowing Dorcas to remove his axe.

"How's Wil?" Lowen asked, turning to Priscilla.

"I'm treating him." Priscilla said. "I don't know how much damage there is yet. I'm sorry."

"We've got to transport this, Lowen." Dorcas said, bringing the cavaliers attention back to the room. Lowen could see the chest Dorcas was indicating. "There may only be one here, but everything we take from them is hopefully a gain to us."

Will managed to pick the lock with a relative amount of ease, to his surprise. He had thought the lock would be much more complex, but small graces were just that. Pushing open the door, he directed Lyn and Dart to take point, with Erk and Rebecca just behind. When the entered, a single archer looked at them in surprise, before he was cut down by Dart's axe.

Worryingly, Will noticed two dusty doors on the floor that looked like they had been used recently. "More troops may be below." He warned.

"Will." Lyn said softly, pulling him over. "The east wall is weak. If Dart works on it, he can probably break through."

"There may be more enemies on the other side." Will warned. "Have Rebcca and Erk take up positions behind him. They should be able to aim around him. Renault will guard these doors while you and I find something to cover them with."

"Got it." Lyn said, going over to Dart and Rebecca, who were already by the wall.

"You can entrust guard to me." Renault said softly.

It took a few minutes, but Lyn and Will managed to gather enough random junk to block one of the trapdoors completely. The other, though it was a makeshift solution, was held in place by some wood pieces propped onto the very front of the trapdoor, held in place by the wall. Hopefully, it would hold. Assuming there was anyone down there at all.

Dart let out a small cry of triumph as the wall gave way. A second later, Erk's thunder spell whizzed by his ear, catching the cavalier waiting on the other side in the face, dropping him. Following this, an arrow followed suit, piercing the weak armor of a mage mounted on a horse. From the staff that fell to the ground, she had likely been the team healer. That made things easier then.

Lyn and Dart dashed through the broken part of the wall, engaging the two other horsemen. Rebecca and Erk, rushing out behind them, just managed to deal with enemy archer's arrows just in time to help Lyn and Dart. Dart, with his twin axes, brought the first horsemen to the ground and finished him in mere moments. Lyn, Her Mani Katti shining bright, leapt onto her opponent's horse before lopping of his head.

Rebecca's second shot countered another arrow, Erk's fireball following up just in time to set the first archer's horse ablaze. It ran wildly into the nearest wall, throwing the archer against it before the burning horse fell on top of him. The final archer shot an arrow, this one catching Dart's arm. The pirate shouted angrily, throwing his axe into the archer's torso.

"Dart, head back into the room. Rebecca, guard him." Will said. "Renault can begin healing you and Rebecca can take over guarding those trapdoors. The last thing we need is reinforcements for the enemy."

"Got it." Rebecca said.

Dart looked like he wanted to argue, but a twinge of pain convinced him it was a bad idea. Grumbling, he allowed Rebecca to lead him back through the broken part of the wall. "Will, there's another structural weakness here." Lyn said, showing will the wall opposite where they had emerged. "What do you want to do?"

"We'll have to risk it." Will said. "Going up the main path those cavalier traveled may be too much trouble for us. Erk, can you supplement my fire spell? I think with the two of us we can break in."

"Not a problem." Erk said. The two muttered the incantation for fireball under their breath, summoning the best ones they could, before launching it at the wall. The wall took the blow, before slowly crumbling away. The two let out a sigh of relief as Lyn peered inside.

"Well now." The man inside said, catching Lyn by surprise. "A welcome visitor indeed. I must admit I'm thankful your group has come so far."

"You… you're Black Fang, aren't you!" Lyn shouted, raising her blade.

The man made no move for his weapons, silver daggers that gleamed at his waist. Instead, he raised his arms in surrender. "To be accurate, I'm more like Former Black Fang now."

"Former?" Will asked suspiciously. "People don't get to quit the Fang."

"Don't I know it." The man chuckled. "Hey… do I know you?"

"Me?" Will asked. "I don't recall ever meeting anyone like you."

"Yeah… yeah you were the guy that used to hang around with Mark and Jaffar!" The man exclaimed. "Oh, this is too good. Last time I heard you were supposed to be dead! Didn't Jaffar kill you?"

"He did." Will said. "Almost. I was saved mere hours before I would have bled to death."

"Fascinating." The man said. "But I suppose that's neither here nor there now. Would you accept a truce? Let's pretend we never saw each other."

Will contemplated this. "No, I can't agree to that. Especially if Nergal believes I'm dead."

"Well, Nergal doesn't care about any of us one way or another, so I'm not sure why my knowing it matters." The thief replied. "It's not like the bloke has ever spoken to me."

"I meant I would like to offer a truce of a different sort." Will said. "If you aren't our enemy, join our company."

"Me? Help you?" The man said, a small chuckle escaping him. "You would trust a Black Fang member?"

"Not all of the people involved in this are evil." Lyn said, glancing at Will. "We don't grant mercy during battle, but if you have any information that could help us…"

"Surprising." The thief replied. "I'd have thought the Former Angel of Despair much more knowledgeable than me."

"My knowledge is… compromised." Will said. "I have no information about the Dragon's Gate either. Anything you could tell may help us avoid unnecessary battles."

"What, you think you can get through this without hurting anyone?" The thief replied skeptically.

"No." Will answered. "Nergal will die. Anyone that willingly follows his ideas after he's gone will have made their choice."

"We fought a man here." Lyn said, her voice softly cutting into Will's harsher tone. "Uhai. Even now, I can't bring myself to believe he was an evil man. Even if… even if it's foolish, I do want to find a way where we no longer have to fight."

The thief chuckled again. "You make quite an odd pair of ducks. The woman wanting to give people new life and the man seeking to atone for past mistakes… it's quite hilarious, you know." He paused, as if a thought had struck him. "Uhai though… there were very few men like him around." He sighed. "I know almost nothing about the inner working of the Black Fang these days. Nergal cut me off entirely when he took over unofficially. As long as that's fine, I can still guide you around the gate."

"We'll take it." Will said.

"I'm Lyn. This is Will and Erk." Lyn said, making introductions. Erk nodded silently from behind. He had his hand trained on the thief, so the thief knew he had never had the upper hand during their exchange.

"Legault." He said peacefully. "I'll help you as long as I feel safe. Speaking of safe, what would like me to do with these?" He stood, before indicating the chest. Inside, apart from a large amount of gold, was an equally impressive amount of weapons and other valuables.

"Umm… I guess we'll have to take them back to Merlinus." Will said. "We can give you a space to put them in the caravan."

"Splendid!" Leagualt replied, lifting the chest with surprising ease. "Let's be on our way then"

Marcus' brow furrowed. He didn't like being out of the battle again, and Bartre's impatient axe practice was only making things worse. Merlinus, for all his pomp, was on full alert, barely even paying attention to his guard as he continued to scan for enemies. He supposed it was only natural. This was the first time in their journey that the danger had felt so close. It had always been there, but never to the point of breathing down their very necks. He wished he could be on the front, battling by Lord Eliwood's side. Perhaps Will was saving him for the battle with Nergal. If he thought of it like that, Marcus could feel his impatience give way to logic. They always needed people to guard the supplies and double as reinforcements. It made sense to keep good, strong people as that, so they could be sent wherever they needed to go.

"Horseman." Bartre said, catching the Paladin's attention.

"My name is Marcus." Marcus said dutifully.

"I don't care." Bartre replied. "Enemies are coming."

"What?" Marcus shouted in surprise. "How do you know?"

"There's new blood in the air." Bartre growled, spitting onto the ground. "Too much blood is ours, but even more is enemies. But over there… new blood is coming."

Marcus glanced in the direction Bartre was pointing. It was then he spotted Priscilla, galloping back with Wil on her horse. "It's terrible!" She shouted. "There are cavalier reinforcements! Lowen and Dorcas are trapped!"

Bartre growled. "No one beats Dorcas without my say so!" He shouted. "Come Paladin, we fight!"

"Our job is to guard Sir Merlinus!" Marcus shouted, but Bartre was already charging away.

"It's okay, Sir Marcus." Merlinus said firmly. "I could not accept you prioritizing me over the lives of anyone else. Please, save them."

Marcus gritted his teeth. "Very well. I will return in no time, so do not move from here."

"Don't worry." Merlinus said, though his hands were shaking. "I'm no fighter, but I can protect this wagon until you return."

Marcus shut his eyes, spurring his horse after Bartre. The battle was growing far too intense. There were far too many things at stake. Lord Eliwood… please remain safe!

In what appeared to be a throne room, with tattered banners strewn across the floor, Darin chuckled. "Soon, my son… soon I will show you a untied world. One that Daddy has created entirely for you. Haha. Hahaha! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"