"So, you're a mercenary?" The question Ross asks breaks me out of my thoughts more than his running jump onto the convoy wagon I'm sitting on.

"Yeah, kinda." I reply as he sits down next to me. Kid, you really shouldn't be wasting your supports on me.

"How far have you traveled?" He asks. "Got any stories to tell?" He grabs a canteen from behind me, and takes a swig.

I smile. "I haven't traveled far, actually." I admit. "Most of my work kept me on this side of Magvel. As for the stories, I made more money delivering packages and letters than I did hunting bandits."

Ross looks a little disappointed at this revelation. "Oh. Well, see ya-"

"I said I made more money doing it!" I exclaim, not having the heart to see the kid lose faith in me. "That doesn't mean that I was never attacked on the road! You try transporting a Wyvern egg from Grado to Carcino without people trying to take it from you!"
"You ran Wyvern eggs?" Ross asks, now interested.

I shake my head, partly to keep up the charade, and partly to chide myself for going so far. "Egg. Singular. One time, and not alone. But yeah."

"Did anything happen while you were transporting it?" Ross asks, taking another swig.

I nod, fully committing to the lie now. "Ran into a little trouble with bandits near Adlas. They thought we were just another convoy running along the mountain. Just imagine the looks on their faces when two sages start making tornadoes run up the side of the mountain!"

Ross sprays water out of his mouth as he laughs. "That's amazing!" He keeps laughing. "Tornadoes?"

I start laughing. "Yeah. I told them it was overkill later, but they just smiled and asked, 'Would you charge a convoy with two sages guarding it?'"

Ross stops laughing, takes one last drink from the canteen, puts it back, and jumps off. "See ya later." He says.

I go back to my thoughts. It was weird. L'arachel didn't show up at all yesterday. Surely just being here wouldn't cause the timeline to screw up that badly?

I don't get far in my contemplations before Eirika walks up. I give her a hand to come up onto the wagon.

"How's the march treating you?" I ask.

She sighs. "It's monotony."

I nod. "The waiting has always been what I hated about travel in general. Too much time to think about what'll happen at the destination. You make plans, then break them, then arrive and nothing's like you thought it would be."

She nods. "I keep running this whole thing through in my head. Why would Grado invade?"

I shrug. "I don't know. I mean, we've been friends with Grado for years. A sudden invasion like this just wipes all of that away." I look at her. "There is one thing I know for fact, though."

Eirika looks at me. "What's that?" She asks.

"When all of this is over, Renais will need to rebuild, and she needs someone like you to help rebuild it."

Wow, I didn't know a face could change colors that quickly. "I-I'm nothing special." She says quickly. "Besides, if we keep looking forward to the future, we'll miss the opportunities to make that future happen here in the present."

I shrug. "Not having a plan for the future means not knowing what actions to take here in the present."

She nods. "We're about to enter Serafew." She says, changing the topic. "Ephraim and I used to pass through here on our way to Grado. Back when walls didn't divide our people, and soldiers didn't patrol them. Serafew was a symbol of the trust between two countries."

"And now it rests firmly under Grado's rule." I say this as our convoy enters the city itself. "It doesn't seem like Grado is very interested in patrolling the city, though. We just got waved through. They didn't even check the whole convoy."

Eirika nods. "With Castle Renais under their control, they must think that everyone has lost heart in Renais."

I nod. "If we keep our heads low, we might be able to pass through here without any harassment."

"Excuse me?" A voice calls out. "Could I ask you a question?"

I look out behind the wagon to see who's asking and there's a Saleh walking behind our caravan.

"Ask away." I respond.

"I overheard you talking." He says. "You said you're coming from Renais?"

Before Eirika can overreact, I answer. "Yes. We're part of the security detail for this medicine convoy. War's not going to stop trade, and it's not right for people to suffer just because their leaders fight."

Saleh nods. "I see. Well, have you seen a young girl with indigo hair on your travels?"

I shake my head. "No, not that I'm aware of."

He sighs. "I see. Thank you."

"Daughter?" I ask.

He shakes his head. "No, but I am her guardian."

I nod. "I'll keep an eye out for her. What did you say your name was?"

He smiles. "Saleh. And your name?"

"Andrew." I reply.

He nods. "Well, Andrew, I appreciate it. Sorry for intruding."

I shake my head. "Not at all."

He walks away, and I turn to Eirika, who's smiling.

"What?" I ask.

"Did you mean that?" She asks.

"Well, of course." I say. "The guy's obviously panicking about losing the kid. Why wouldn't I keep an eye out?"

Eirika shakes her head. "Not that. The other part, about-"

"Catch her!" A voice cries out. "Don't let her escape!"

Suddenly, a woman in religious garb rushes past our wagon's rear, blonde hair trailing behind her. She trips and falls, dropping her staff.

I catapult myself into the trio of soldiers that follow close after, knocking them to the ground.

"OOF!"

"ACK!"

"SHIT!"

"Damn it!"

I recover quickly, and get back up on my feet. "Ah, shit." I say, helping the soldiers to their feet. "Sorry 'bout that. Got kicked off my ride."

The soldiers ignore me, and go back to cornering Natasha, who has her staff again and looks like she's about to try her luck with running again.

"Traitor Natasha!" The lead soldier in the group says. "Surrender peacefully. If you come quietly, then you will have a chance to explain yourself before His Majesty."

"Please!" Natasha cries. "You have to listen to me!"

The soldier motions for the other two soldiers to move forward. "Take her." He says.

"NO!" She cries. "The Emperor is not himself! You must be able to see that!"
"Decry Vigarde at your own peril! We have orders to execute you if you offer any resistance, but your words condemn you!" He pulls a whistle out of his pocket, and blows a sharp, shrill note, probably as a summons for the rest of the guards. I move forwards, a plan already forming in my head. I check my surroundings, confirm that no reinforcements are within range, and execute.

I tap the soldier on his shoulder. I give him a powerful right hook as he turns to face me, hopefully hitting his temple hard enough to knock him out. "First off, I prefer the concept of innocent until proven guilty."

Good, next guard's charging, axe out. Slide to the right and clothesline the guy, wince as his head hits cobblestone. "Second, I'm pretty sure that sentencing a member of the clergy to death seriously ruins your chances of a nice afterlife."

I look up to the last guard, who's CHARGING ME OH SHIT DODGE! Roll away, up, pivot, sword out, spin lance down, stomp down on it, breaking the shaft, turn and look menacing. "Third? If you wanted a girl so badly, go to a pub and find one." Punch his face with off hand and I think I broke his nose. Yep, he's holding it and moaning. Hit his head with my sword's pommel and knock him out. Wow, didn't realize I was a combat snarker. Or that I was that good. How many levels have I gained since starting this thing?

By now, the rest of the group is rallying with Seth, but Eirika is still with me, looking surprised. I try to ignore her as I help Natasha to her feet. "Are you alright?" I ask.

She nods. "Yes, thanks to you. Thank you..."

"Andrew." I supply. "I'm from Renais."

"Then I have something that I need to tell you!" She exclaims. "It's important!"

I nod. "It'll need to wait. We're not out of danger yet. You're a cleric, right? Can you use that staff?"

She nods. "Yes, I'm trained to heal allies."

I nod. "Good. It'll help to have another healer." I'm already running through how the hell I'm going to recruit Joshua. It's going to be tricky, since I can't exactly tell Seth not to kill the guy if the guy's trying to kill Seth.

I close my eyes and consider what I know about this map. Bandits will be a problem. Joshua might be, it depends on how I handle it. When I open them again, everyone's looking at me and Seth. I guess that settles it. I'm officially on the planning team.

"What are the troop concentrations that we know of?" I ask.

Vanessa points to the square where the arena is. "Mixed forces, all infantry. Archers, axes, spears, and one swordsman. There's a side street with a lighter troop composition, and an alleyway around that, but I couldn't get a look into the alley. Buildings were in the way."

I nod. "Seth, take Lute, Artur, and Moulder through the alley. Try to flank them. Garcia, you and Gilliam take the side street. Eirika, take Neimi and Ross and move in through this entrance to the square. Franz, Natasha, Colm and I can handle the other side."

"What about me?" Vanessa asks.

I turn to her. "These villagers are about to get caught in a crossfire. I don't want that to happen. You're the only one who would be able to warn them fast enough. Just make sure you watch out for their archers."

She nods. Everyone moves out. I go with Franz, Colm, and Natasha to where I know bandits will start appearing pretty soon. I look ahead. There's a stand of trees in front of a large stairway up into the square. I can already hear the sounds of combat drifting in from elsewhere.

I look back ahead and there's the stupid bandits that are going to try to pillage their way through this town, and Grado's not going to give two shits.

"Great." I hear Colm mutter. "More problems."

I nod. "They get the same treatment."

Up ahead, it's just two bandits, but now there are also a spearman, an axe fighter, and a shaman coming down from the square. The lancer hangs back, takes a javelin, cocks his arm, and throws right at ME OH SHIT DODGE! Duck away, watch as the javelin impales a bandit straight through the chest. The other bandit here takes a flux sphere from the shaman, straight to the gut, and the flesh there begins boiling. While he's clutching that wound, the axe fighter slams his weapon into the bandit's chest, caving in his chest.

What the fuck?

"Not that I'm not grateful, but what the fuck?"

Mister Javelin comes down, and retrieves his weapon. "It's not right for people to suffer just because their leaders fight." He says, looking right at me.

I blink, then smile. "No. No it isn't."

"Not everyone in Grado believes in Vigarde's war." He says, looking at Natasha. "I-"

I tackle the guy to the ground as a hand axe whizzes past, cutting through the space he previously occupied. I look up to see two axemen and Joshua the Myrmidon approaching.

"You guys handle the axemen." I say to Franz and Colm. "I'll handle the swordsman."

"Wait." Natasha says. "I recognize the swordsman."

"You mean you've met him before?" I ask.

She nods. "Yes, earlier, while I was running. He seemed... genuine."

"You think he'll listen to reason?" I ask.

She nods. I nod back. "Alright. Let's do this."

We move forward, physicals flanking us, mage in the rear. Franz and Colm both branch off to handle the axemen, leaving me with Joshua. He draws a very deadly-looking sword and twirls it around a bit. The item portrait for a Killing Edge really doesn't do it justice. The thing's a good three feet long, with a smooth, gentle curve from tip to hilt, reminding me of a katana.

We don't charge. I draw my own weapon and start circling him, looking for an opening.

"Has the week been as interesting for you as it has for me?" I ask him.

"Eh. Depends on how interesting your week's been." He replies.

We close the distance, and DEAR GOD HE'S FAST! Keep up, keep up! Block, parry, dodge, strike, thrust, back!

"Well, so far, I've beaten up bandits, Grado soldiers, and fucking monsters." I say.

"Really?" He asks. "Monsters?" Shit he's FAST! Dodge, parry, cut, thrust!

"Yeah." I say. "Just north of Serafew, actually. Skeletons, animated corpses, and giant floating eyeballs."

"Well, that does sound like an interesting week. I think you have me beat. I've just been hopping around from town to town, and got stuck with guard duty here. Then, the one time I head into the arena here, I lose all of my hard-earned gold!"

Another clash of metal, rings out from our swords. Shit, my Slim's going to break at this rate.

I nod. "So, you're a mercenary too?"

"That's right. Been hopping around Grado for a while now, trying to make a living."

"And you're a gambler?"

"Mhm."

"Care to make a deal?"

Our two swords freeze right as they're about to collide again. "Go on."

"Neither of us fight for the rest of the battle. We just watch the results. If my side wins, you come with us. If your side wins, I'll go with you."

The battle is still raging around us. The Grado turncoats seem to be holding their ground against their former compatriots. Eirika, Ross, and Neimi have joined up with the group, and are helping as best they can.

"Deal." He says. "But we're going to have to sham this battle for a bit longer."

He smacks my sword with his. The metal rings, and I smile. "Well then, let us dance!"

We flynned for about five more minutes before the battle finally started going our way. At that point, Joshua stopped.

"What?" I asked.

"It's obvious now that I'm going to lose this bet, so let's just get back into the fight, shall we?"

I smile, and nod. "Let's go!"

The battle moves quickly now. Our side pushes hard for the victory, charging forwards towards their commander. We brush past the few remaining enemy troops, bolstered by the arrival of Seth and Gilliam and their groups. Finally, all that's left is their commander, but he ends up as no match for the force that our numbers provide. We finish him off with ease, and silence hangs over the battlefield.

"That was a tight spot." I say.

Natasha nods. "Yes. Thank you for helping me. I doubt I'd be alive had you not intervened. I don't know how I'll be able to repay you for your kindness."

"You're from Grado, right?" I ask.

She nods. "Yes. My name is Natasha. I served at the Imperial Temple, at the capital."

"Then why the trouble with their soldiers?" Eirika asks.

"A few days ago, my mentor was arrested without warning. They accused him of betraying the crown, and he was executed."

"I can't believe that a man of the cloth would simply betray his country." I say.

"He didn't." Natasha replies adamantly. "They killed him to keep him silent."

"Silent?" I ask.

Natasha nods. "My mentor said that Grado seeks to destroy the Sacred Stones, one by one. This is why he has invaded your homeland, Renais, and he will not stop until each and every one has been crushed."

"But legend says that the Sacred Stones are the only things that keep evil at bay!" Seth exclaims.

Natasha sighs. "I can't begin to guess his motives for doing this. He used to be a kind, gentle man. Now he's changed."

"Grado's stone is already gone, then." I say. "We just fought monsters in the Za'ha woods north of here. It's starting."

Seth nods. "We should go now, before reinforcements arrive."

I nod. "Let's go!"

A/N:

Andrew's Support List

Eirika – C

Ross – C