9:01 PM

Dorcas had always felt more at home outside. The house he and Natalie shared was comfortable enough, and he loved her more than he ever could the outdoors, but tonight, all he wanted to do as the sky grew dark was sit on the ground outside the gates of Fort Feran and look upwards. The forests, the mountains, the buildings changed from place to place; but the sky was the same. It gave him some comfort to know that at this moment, far away, Natalie was under the same sky, watching the same sun cast its last rays over the land as twilight laid claim to the heavens.

Still, those rays covered a great distance to reach them both at the same time. He was so far from his wife tonight. And this night...

"Ah!" a voice interrupted his thoughts like an ax breaking into a brittle log. "So good to see you up and about, friend Bartre! Might I sit and speak with you a moment?"

Dorcas looked around to see a large pile of robes topped off with a human head coming towards him. The man had a book slung under one arm, and what little light there was glinted off what Dorcas assumed was a monocle. He knew this man, although not very well.

He cleared his throat. "I fear you've confused me for my friend, Canas."

The scholar paused for a moment, studying the sitting figure more closely, before letting out an exclamation and continuing forward. "Ah! My apologies—er, Dorcas, was it? You are built much the same as Bartre, and it's quite dark out here."

Dorcas looked up at the night sky. "I know. You needn't worry about it. If you wish, you may still sit a while."

"Thank you," the scholar sighed as he sat down heavily next to Dorcas. "I must say, I've been quite busy tonight. I want to make sure everything's ready for the battle tomorrow."

Dorcas arched an eyebrow at him. "You're helping Jeff with the tactics?"

"Indeed!" Canas seemed exuberant that Dorcas was showing interest. "As I said when I first joined you good folk, I've been quite fascinated with the Dread Isle for some time now. The last time we were there, I was certain to take detailed notes. Obviously, Nergal's forces will be marshaled in much greater force and numbers than before, but I have a good idea of the layout and geography of the island, and I think I can help Jeff devise the best positions for our units to try and take out the enemy with minimal casualties." He paused to take a breath, and smiled to himself. "I must say, that youngster certainly knows his stuff. He must have had an excellent master to teach him so much of the tactical arts at such a young age?"

"I doubt that," Dorcas said passingly.

"Hm?" Canas looked at him. "Why is that?"

"Hm? Oh, well..." Dorcas took in a breath. "Years ago, when Lady Lyndis was trying to reclaim her throne, she and her knights ran afoul of some bandits I was working for in the mountains."

"Bandits?!"

"It's a long story. At any rate, Jeff was with them then, and he was... anything but an expert. I think his tactical proficiency now comes only from all the experience he's had on our journey here."

Canas reflected on that a moment. "Hm. You would think that Lords Eliwood and Hector would want someone more... experienced to lead a force like this one."

Dorcas shrugged. "Perhaps, but when they started out, they didn't realize they'd be fighting off anything but bandits, and by the time we discovered how deep the conspiracy went, Jeff had proven himself." He shrugged. "Besides, beggars can't be choosers—and ours isn't a very choosy army, in case you hadn't noticed."

Canas nodded. "That's certainly true. Quite an assortment we have here, eh?" He sat back, looking up at the ever-darkening sky. "But I can't complain about the results. Motley crew though we be, we've gotten this far, right? And Jeff's been with us the whole way." He smiled brightly at the twilight. "I'm sure we'll get through tomorrow all right, too. After all, I need to see my wife again."

That piqued Dorcas's interest. "You're married?" he asked.

Canas laughed. "I assure you, sir, I am not nearly as young as I may look—or act. I know that my curiosity can sometimes lead me to a rather... boyish enthusiasm regarding new pursuits. But nevertheless, I am indeed married."

Dorcas leaned back. "Hm. And here I thought I was the only one."

"Ah! You, too?" Canas exclaimed, looking over at him.

Dorcas merely nodded in response.

"Hah! I knew I couldn't be the only one in this army who was tied down!" He paused. "There's no other feeling in the world like it, is there?"

Dorcas smiled. He and the scholar may not have a lot in common, but there was at least one thing they could agree on.

"Bartre has spoken about you, but he never mentioned you were married," Canas went on. "He told me you were in the mercenary business for money, just like him."

"Did he, now?" Dorcas asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Oh, my apologies. I wasn't prying or anything, he was simply making idle conversation. I have an excellent memory—well, most of the time, anyway—so I was able to recall it. But I suppose you were trying to raise money for your family, now that I think of it."

Dorcas nodded. "It's just my wife, but yes. I'm trying to raise as much money as I can for her. That's how I got mixed up with those bandits. I'm lucky I was able to find work with Lyn instead."

"I see, I see." Canas fell silent for a moment; when he spoke again, it was somewhat apologetic. "Erm... not to seem rude, but was it not possible to find work near your home? I'm sure there are ways of raising money that wouldn't take you so far from your wife—or put you in so much danger."

Dorcas shook his head. "I'd like to, but we need more money than that sort of work could ever give us."

Now Canas was intrigued. "What for?"

Dorcas was quiet.

"I mean... if I'm not being too rude by asking..."

"No, it's all right." Dorcas shifted in his seat. "Natalie... her leg is... hurt. It's a sickness she's had since childhood. I became a mercenary to try and raise enough money to get a doctor to have a look at it, and try and cure her." He sighed. "Actually, my retaining fee should be enough to cover the costs by this point. But now it's a matter of getting the money back to her."

"Well," Canas said, "After tomorrow, you'll be able to."

Dorcas didn't respond; he only wished he shared Canas's optimism. Instead, he changed the subject. "What about you?" he asked. "What lured you so far from your wife?"

"The same thing that has guided me for as long as I can remember," the scholar replied. "Curiosity, and a burning need to satisfy it. I've never been quite able to put my mind to rest, even after I fell in love with the most wonderful woman this planet has to offer. And so I set out in search of answers."

"Answers to what?" Dorcas asked.

"Anything. Everything." Canas let out a sigh. "Sometimes, I wish I could curb it, yet I always thirst for more knowledge. And I do hope to learn all I can. It's just..."

"You miss her," Dorcas surmised.

Canas lowered his eyes from the darkened sky. "Yes. Yes, I miss her. We were united by our love of knowledge, but now, to be separated by it..." he shook his head. "My appetite for learning may never be sated, but my appetite for adventure certainly has by now. I believe, after tomorrow, I will return to Ilia and spend the remainder of my days with my wife. There are still many questions, but if the answers are to be found, we will find them together."

Dorcas smiled. "Together," he echoed.

A sudden light in the twilight caught Canas's eye. "Ah!" he called. "The morning star!"

Dorcas looked up and followed the scholar's gaze. "Um... wouldn't that be the evening star?"

"Actually, my research indicates that the morning star and evening star are actually the same celestial body."

Dorcas raised his eyebrows. "Really?"

"Yes. It has to do with their relative positions to—ah, but there I go again," Canas said. "I must apologize, Dorcas. I find beauty in how the world works, and have made it my life's goal to seek out as much of that beauty as I can. To be able to look as something and deconstruct it in your mind, analyze it, find out what makes it tick..." he trailed off.

Dorcas shrugged. "You don't need to look that deep for beauty, you know," he said, leaning back and looking up at the stars that began to appear. "All I have to do is stand atop a mountain to wonder at it."

"Yes, true," Canas conceded. "Yet I also cannot help but wonder about how the mountain got there..."

Dorcas paused for a moment, then shrugged. "Well, at any rate, there's one thing we can both find beauty in."

"What's that?"

"Our wives," Dorcas answered. "Our families."

Canas was silent for a moment, then leaned back and looked up at the stars, just as Dorcas was doing. A smile crept across his face. "Our families," he echoed. "Therein lies beauty, indeed."