"My brother is somewhere inside of that castle."

I shake my head. Below us, the so-called castle seems more like a prison. Sitting on an island in the middle of a large lake, Castle Renvall's only entrance was a well-defended set of bridges, and the path to those bridges was a winding one, traveling through a pair of valleys, one of them heavily wooded. I suppress a shiver. Bottlenecks and chokepoints galore. Seth's earlier briefing to us rang in my ears. "A natural stronghold," he'd called it, "easy to defend and difficult to assault."

He rides up to us, and I turn to face him. "The terrain here is a damned effective force multiplier." I say. "We'll need some careful planning if we're to get through this unscathed."

Seth nods. "I took the liberty of talking with the locals. Grado has deployed a pair of ballistae in defense of Renvall, and reports are confirmed that a band of Renais soldiers has been taken captive."

"What aren't you telling us, Seth?" Eirika asks. Wait, what? Seth's withholding info?

He sighs. "The locals say that five fighters were taken captive."

I count on my fingers. Traitor Orson, Ephraim, Forde, Kyle... shit that's four. "Who's the fifth?" I ask, confused.

Seth shrugs. "All that I've heard from the locals is that she's proficient with knives and magic."

I frown. Knives and magic? Thief mage? What, like an Awakening Trickster? "Odd."

Seth nods, and turns to address me. "Andrew, your thoughts on the battle ahead?"

"A blitz." I say. "Fast attacks, with little opportunity for the enemy to rally themselves to defend. Do we know where the ballistae are located?"

"One is directly north of us, but that position sits empty." Seth explains. "We arrived to quickly for them to send someone to man it. The other ballista lays on that wooded plateau east of Renvall. I expect that one to be manned."

I nod. "We send Neimi and Vanessa north to overtake the ballista, with Neimi manning it and Vanessa spotting. Gilliam, Joshua, and Natasha will remain behind to guard the convoy from reinforcements. The rest of us will make it a rapid forward march, advancing quickly to prevent any sort of concentrated defense. Once the plateau is within sight, we'll want to disable the ballista as quickly as possible. You and Franz will be our best assets there. Lute and Artur will be our best bets for taking care of those knights at the bridgehead, assuming that Neimi hasn't taken care of them first. From there, a straight shot up the bridges and to the rescue."

And then Orson will spring his trap, the bridge will be blown, and we'll be fighting in the keep. As we turn around to ready for battle, I sigh inwardly. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

With the troops rallied and the plan explained, we set out. The first batch of resistance, a pair of swordsmen. Franz and Seth make quick work of them, and we continue forwards. The next batch of resistance, slightly more problematic. Cavalier, axemen, and a mage. The cavalier charges in, and gets a solid-looking hit in on Garcia with his sword. Allister diverts to handle the cavalier with his brother. Meanwhile, Charsi and Lute are more than holding their own against the enemy mage. I move up against one of the axemen, and find my rhythm.

Dart in, swinging high and from the right in a hack at the left shoulder. Oh shit he's charging in! Sidestep, try to keep him in my range, cut at him as he passes. There's a jolt as he blocks with the axe. Fine. Thrust, thrust, slash, let him parry as I close, that's fine. I'm not trying to cut you yet. SMASH! There's an unusual satisfaction I'm feeling from that, I realize as I hack into his right shin, breaking it. Not from the fighting or the maiming, or the killing. I'm doing my best to keep my head on straight right now, without having to worry about that kind of thing. No, it's because I'm holding my own. I've come this far, and it shows.

Despite the urgency of the mission, getting through the forest is slow going. Climbing over trees, under trees, around trees... stupid trees. I don't envy Seth and Franz, having to guide their horses through this. If it weren't for my greaves, I'm pretty sure that the thorns currently trying to find purchase on my shield and shoulders would be ripping my shins apart.

I come out of the forest first, surprisingly. More surprisingly, Seth and Franz thunder out right behind me, rushing north to deal with the ballista. So, I move west.

Wow.

Neimi really went to work on them, didn't she? Three corpses, the two knights and a soldier. The knights got two shots each. The soldier only needed one. The meter-long, steel-tipped bolts drove a shiver down my spine. It's the kind of lethal efficiency I should probably expect from a hunter.

With that out of the way, it's onto the bridge. Cavaliers wait on the other side, near the gate of the keep. Two of them charge forwards immediately, brandishing... oh shit! Those are axereavers! Really glad it's the cavalry leading this charge, not our axe fighters. It's a quick exchange of blows from lances, one that I quickly bypass with Garcia and Colm as we move towards the gate.

I'd often wondered what it was about halberds that made them so effective against cavalry. Longswords, or Zanbatos, or whatever, those make sense... kinda. They're really big swords, probably for killing the mount outright. Horseslayers... I'd seen them up close. They look perfect for, again, killing the mount outright, only there it's probably a cleaner kill.

But watching the way Garcia used the halberd, everything kinda clicked. Murray (Seth told me that was his name earlier, on the march) charged Garcia, which was probably the exact wrong thing to do, considering it put his horse's legs within striking distance of Garcia's weapon. He swings, not at the rider, but under. There's a series of loud shrieks from the horse and disconcerting cracks from its legs, then it topples, bringing its rider with it. Then, Colm rushes in, steps away from Murray's sword, and drives his knives into Murray's mail, the slender points easily piercing the metal rings.

"My brother must be here somewhere." Eirika says. It's been about forty minutes since the start of this fight, give or take, and we're still keeping our momentum. We'd reconsolidated, and pushed forwards into the castle keep, after finding its gatehouse deserted. That was my first hint, and I think it was Seth's as well.

Whoa! Whatsthat! I draw my sword and go right into a fighting stance. Orson staggers out of the shadows, hand on the wall, no armor, no weapons I can see. Then, he collapses onto the ground.

"Orson!" Eirika cries, rushing forwards. Even Seth moves forwards to help him. If I didn't know that this guy was acting, I'd be convinced in a heartbeat.

"Milady, who is this?" I ask, feigning confusion as I sheath my sword.

"This is Sir Orson of Renais." Seth says. "My second-in-command. He is one of the people who was with Prince Ephraim." He turns back to Orson. "Sir Orson, why are you here? Where is Prince Ephraim?"

"We were captured." Orson says. "All of us. I just managed to escape my cell. It was my hope that I would be able to find my way back to Renais, to acquire aid enough to return and free His Highness..." He's good. I'll give him that. "A chance to escape. It's all that I could pray for."

"Sir Orson, are you well?" Eirika asks. "Your face is so pale, and your hands are shaking." Her voice hardens. "Don't tell me Grado's men have-"

Orson shakes his head. "No, your Highness, it is nothing. But enough worry for me. I left to get help, and here it is. You have companions?" He asks, looking at me.

She nods. "This is Andrew. He is a mercenary who has been accompanying us this last week in our quest to rescue you and Ephraim. We have others, as well."

Orson nods, and smiles what I swear is a genuine smile. "Good. There's still a presence in the keep itself. We'll need all of the help we can get." He straightens up. "Do you have a healer with you?"

Moulder gave Orson a quick heal with his staff, and he led the group quickly down the hall, and over a bridge. The group came to a halt at the far end of the bridge.

"Sir Orson, if I may ask, how long ago were you taken prisoner?" Seth asks.

Orson frowns. "Some two weeks past, I believe. Without the sun, I cannot be exactly sure, but the passage of meals seems to indicate it."

"Did you learn anything from your captors in that time?" Seth asks.

Orson shakes his head. "No. Our meals were brought by people from a nearby village. They were given strict orders not to utter so much as a word. We heard nothing from them." Orson's face shifts. "The war. Tell me, Seth, how does Renais fare?"

"Renais has fallen." Seth says. "King Fado... His Highness is dead."

Orson's eyes go wide, then his face falls, twisted like a knife in his heart. "Dead... My king..." Orson looks to Eirika. "Milady, I have failed you in my duties as a Knight of Renais."

Eirika shakes her head. "No, Orson. You're not to blame for that. We can't dwell on the mistakes of the past..." She trails off.

"Milady?" Orson asks. "If I may, why the sizable entourage?"

Eirika comes back to herself. "The Grado Army has hounded us at every turn. They hope to acquire my bracelet. That's why they were so earnest to capture my brother, as well."

Orson frowns. "Bracelet?" He closes his eyes. "Yes, I remember now. The Prince still has his bracelet." He opens his eyes. "Milady, if Grado is after the bracelets, perhaps you should entrust them to someone else."

Eirika frowns. "Perhaps you are right... but-"

Orson continues. "Milady, we shall ride to Ephraim's rescue, then we can take the bracelets to Frelia, to King Hayden. If the Empire wants your bracelets, then you are in great danger for as long as you have them." Orson's eyes flash. "Milady, please, for your safety. The Sacred Stone of Renais mustn't fall."

Eirika nods. "I understand what you say and why you say it, Sir Orson, but-"

Seth moves forwards. "Sir Orson, I do apologize for this, but I must ask you to relinquish your weapons."

Orson frowns. "Seth, I've been imprisoned here for the past two weeks. You think they'd let a prisoner have weapons?"

Eirika moves forwards. "Seth, what is the meaning of this?" She demands.

"If I am mistaken, then you shall have all due apologies." Seth says, ignoring Eirika. "However, there are too many questions that I cannot answer: why did no reinforcements emerge from the castle during our battle outside; why did you escape alone, leaving Prince Ephraim and the rest of your group in chains; why have we yet to be attacked by enemy soldiers that should be searching for an escaped prisoner such as yourself; how do you know of the tie between the bracelets and the Sacred Stone of Renais?"

Orson's eyes go wide. Busted. "Seth, there is a misunderstanding here. I-"

Seth shakes his head. "And why... why are you concealing a blade within your doublet?"

Orson smiles a sad smile. "Commander, you never miss a thing."

"Enough." A voice says. "You've done your part, Orson." A man in heavy, well-maintained armor walks forward, flanked by soldiers. "You've delivered my prey to me."

"I've done your dirty work, Tirado." Orson spits out. "Tell me where you've put my wife!"

Tirado smiles, and I go pale at his next words. "You'll find her corpse in an unmarked grave in your hometown."

"YOU BASTARD!" Orson screams, pulling a knife from its hidden scabbard. He goes quickly through the two flanking soldiers, only to be impaled on Tirado's spear. There's a scream and a yell from Eirika and Seth, then Orson slumps to the floor.

"I suppose they'll get to be together after all." Tirado says. Then he looks up to us. "My name is Tirado, loyal and talented aide to General Valter of the Grado army."

Seth's glare looks like it could melt lead. From fifty yards. On a cold winter day. In Antarctica.

"You're that monster's-"

"And you are General Seth of Renais, yes? Funny, I'd thought to catch a minnow in my net, and it seems I've landed a shark."

"Where is my brother?" Eirika demands.

Tirado shrugs. "Not here. He escaped Valter's first trap and fled the castle, leaving an injured paladin behind. His tenacity is quite an annoying characteristic." He smiles. "It was my cunning that turned that blunder into a boon. I spread the rumors myself, making the villagers think that the prince was a prisoner. The perfect bait for his sweet little sister."

"My brother escaped?" Eirika asks.

Tirado shrugs. "Regardless, any touching, emotional reunion of yours will have to wait for the afterlife. But first."

My arms shoot out to either side as I steady myself. The sudden shaking is accompanied by a horrendous wrenching sound behind us, and a loud series of splashes as an entire section o the bridge collapses into the lake below.

Tirado turns and walks away, as soldiers begin flooding into the area. I draw my sword, and take one last look at Orson's bloodied corpse. A sad smile appears on my face, and I kneel to close his eyes.

"May your soul find peace in the life beyond." I whisper.