10. Distant Blade/Fort Rigwald

Introduction: Eirika chooses to travel by sea to the theocracy of Rausten. Her search for a ship leads her to Port Kiris in Carcino. Carcino is a young nation ruled by a council of merchants, and it is an ally of Frelia. Carcino council leader Klimit, a staunch opponent of Grado's imperialistic actions, has pledged Carcino's support to Frelia in this Conflict. Prince Innes also intends to pass through Carcino on his way to Jehanna. Eirika believes there is nothing to fear in Carcino, but she is wrong.

Story Start: En Route to Port Kiris

A quartet of pegasi, each with two riders, had flown overhead shortly after Eirika's group left Castle Frelia; Innes and an escort as he made his way to speak with the council of Carcino before continuing on to Jehanna. So it was a bit of a surprise when an hour into the journey a fifth pegasus flew overhead then immediately turned and descended. Even more surprising was the fact that Princess Tana was the rider.

As the two horses and Naruto reached where she had landed, Eirka looked at her friend in confusion as she asked "Tana? What are you doing? You were supposed to remain in the palace."

Tana crossed her arms and pouted as she said "You guys all left so abruptly, without any warning or farewell. You and Ephraim have only just arrived, and already you leave on another quest? Well, I'm your friend, Eirika, and I won't let you go into danger without me."

Eirika frowned at that and asked "Does King Hayden know of this?"

Tana gave a slight humph and said "No. He'd just say 'I forbid you to go on this foolish errand' like always. But I'm so worried about you."

Eirika gained a small smile as she said "Thank you, Tana. I appreciate your concern, but King Hayden would-"

Tana interrupted her with a slash of her right hand across her left elbow as she said "You and Ephraim, my father and my brother...You're all fighting together, fighting for a noble cause. I cannot be left out. I will not be left out. Please, Eirika."

Eirika bit her lip and looked over her group for a moment. After that moment though she sighed and looked back at Tana and gained a small smile as she said "Oh, all right. I never could refuse you anything. Come on. Let's go, Tana."

Tana gave her friend a beaming smile and said "Thank you, Eirika, you won't regret this, I promise!"

As Tana turned her mount back down the road they had been traveling Naruto mused to himself 'Heh, another royal inviting themselves along during an escort mission, that's a new one for me. At least she brought her own mount so that she can keep up. And it's always handy having an extra flier in the group.'

Time Skip: Arrival To Port Kiris

Eirika at some point had wound up dozing on the way to the port. Not that Naruto could blame the princess given she hadn't had a chance to get any sleep since before the attack on Renvall. She wasn't the only one either, Natasha having closed her eyes at some point and not opened them again as well. The pair of ladies had their chins resting on Seth and Franz's shoulders as the group reached the port, the pair of knights still fully alert thanks to their vigorous training allowing them to go on for longer. Likewise Naruto, being the stamina freak even among other shinobi that he was, was still fully alert even after his mad dash from Renvall to Ephraim's group, the run up to Frelia with Sakura, and then the 'leisurely' run from Castle Frelia to the port.

As the three horses and Shinobi came to a stop at the town center, Seth and Franz both gently shrugged the shoulder their passengers were snoozing on causing the pair to open their eyes and let out yawns. As Eirika blinked the sleep out of her eyes, Seth stated "Your Highness, we've reached Port Kiris. If we can obtain passage across the North Sea, we will reach Rausten in 10 days."

Eirika hummed at that and looked around as she said "It smells of the tides...This is a busy place, isn't it?"

Seth nodded and said "It's a trade center. Peoples of all nations pass through here. Do not become so enthralled with the sights and sounds that you forget your mission."

Eirika slid off of Seth's horse and nodded up at him as she said "I won't. I'm a mercenary by the name of Erina. I'm traveling to Rausten to receive a commission."

Seth nodded back and said "Let us look for a ship then, Erina. The docks are this way."

Seth gestured in the right direction and when Eirika looked in that direction, her eyes widened a little before she said "Seth, Naruto, that woman over there? Is that..."

"The one we saw after taking out the monsters in the Za'ha forest? Sure looks like it." Naruto said before looking back to Natasha as he finished helping her slide off of Franz's horse.

Tana cocked her head as she eyed the greenette and her two escorts and said so softly under her breath only Naruto caught it "There's something familiar about her..."

'Another mark on the 'Probably incognito Royal or High Priestess' board if the Princess of a country thinks she knows her.' Naruto mused to himself with an amused huff.

As the greenette came closer they heard her say "Oh, these dainty sugar pastries! They're delightfully scrumptious! Flavorful without being overwhelming, refined without being banal..."

Her large axe carrying bodyguard Dozla let out a loud laugh as he said "Gwah ha ha! Right you are, Lady L'Arachel!" The next moment he took a large bite of his own treat, taking half of it in one go and happily chewing.

Eirika stepped to the front of her group as she said with a polite smile "Greetings again L'Arachel, well met."

L'Arachel gave a happy gasp and said "Oh, I remember you! We met in that forest after you and your friends dealt with those dreadful creatures! A wonder and pleasure that we should meet again so soon! It is providence!"

Her other bodyguard, Rennac, scoffed and muttered "Bad luck is the only thing the divine has ever provided you!"

Either L'Arachel didn't hear him or chose to ignore him as she proffered a pastry towards Eirika and said "Oh, and if you have not yet tried one, these pastries are also divine. Would you care for one?"

Eirika blinked at the pastry a foot in front of her face and said "uh, thank you..." She reached up for it only to blink and shook her head as she said "No, wait...That's not why-we're actually on our way to the Theocracy of Rausten. We're rather in a rush and need to find passage on a ship..."

L'Arachel gained a troubled look and said "Oh, dear. I'm afraid you'll find none to assist you. No ships are leaving port."

There was a collective blink from Eirika's group and the princess asked "Pardon?"

L'Arachel nodded and explained "You see, I find myself heading home once more to my beloved Rausten as well! And actually, I'm quite well known with the powers-that-be here in Port Kiris. So I ordered them to ready the finest passenger vessel for me. But both merchants and passenger ships alike are too frightened to set sail. It seems a giant ghost ship has been sinking every ship it finds...Would that I could confront it, I could stop its foul villainy in a moment. Alas. It's such a shame."

As L'Arachel spoke Naruto made another mark on his mental board. But then the greenette said the words 'Ghost Ship' and he couldn't help the shudder he gave, Natasha catching the motion and giving his shoulder a reassuring pat, the priestess guiltily glad to know that something could unsettle the otherwise seemingly invincible shinobi.

Eirika, meanwhile frowned and said "That is indeed troublesome. Still, I must get to Rausten somehow."

L'Arachel gestured grandiosely as she said sagely "You needn't worry too much. After all, if the sea is closed to you, simply follow the overland route!"

Eirika's frown grew a little as she asked "The overland route? I've heard that's a terribly roundabout path to travel."

L'Arachel nodded and said "Oh, it is, but don't you see? The hardships of the road, they are truly blessings! They will toughen you and strengthen your resolve when you need to face great evil. For example, I have been tasked with a great trial in order to better me. I understand my path, O unknowable forces of providence! I, your faithful servant L'Arachel, shall overcome! With faith and divine strength!"

'And that's a mark for the Priestess side of the board.' Naruto thought to himself. Then he belatedly remembered that Rausten was a Theocracy and added it to the Princess side as well.

Rennac gained a scowl and said "Now, listen, L'Arachel! You might be thrilled about going the long way, but-"

L'Arachel talked right over him as she said "Come now, we're leaving. Dozla? Rennac? Don't fall behind!"

And with that she smoothly mounted the horse who Rennac had been holding the reins of then quickly moved around the group.

Dozla laughed and said "Gwah ha ha! Wait for us, Lady L'Arachel! Come on, Rennac! We run 'til we drop! The first one to collapse from exhaustion is the winner!"

As the large man charged after the female of the trio, Rennac gave a defeated look skywards and muttered "Why is this happening to me?" A moment later though he put a determined (though still resigned) look on his face and took off in a sprint.

Eirika's group watched them until they reached the end of the street and made a turn. A turn that had Eirika frown as she said "Uh, Seth? Isn't Rausten in the other direction? Aren't they heading toward Frelia?"

Tana snickered and said "They are, what funny people!"

Seth meanwhile shook his head with a small sigh and said "It's nothing you need concern yourself with, milady. Our only concern now is to decide our next course of action. An overland journey would be very long. However, it seems that may be our only choice at the moment."

"Not necessarily." Naruto said, and when the others looked towards him, he continued "If Lady Tana is willing, we can use the stasis scroll trick and she could fly her and me to Rausten."

As the others looked to Tana she nodded and said "That's probably the best idea since we need to make haste to Rausten."

Naruto reached for a scroll but instead pulled out a kunai and buried it into the street ten feet away in front of a green haired burly man with a large axe on his right shoulder startling the others as Naruto said "That's far enough pal. I don't know why you were looking at our commander so intently but whatever you want you can say from there."

The man grunted before looking at Eirika and said "You're Eirika, the princess of Renais, ain't ya?"

Eirika's group all stiffened at the question, Eirika's eyes widening as she asked "What?"

Seth snarled as he and Franz drew swords and said "Dastard! Away with you!"

The man held up a hand and said "No need to get personal! You know, there's a pretty price on your pretty head. Sorry, but I need that gold."

"Too bad you're not getting it." Naruto said with a glare before he shot forward and slammed a punch into the man's gut. The man folded over the hit, eyes bulging in pain before he was launched ten feet away. As he flew back, Naruto's foot attached to the kunai in the street with chakra and flicked upwards. Naruto caught the flying blade and immediately threw it. The man hit the street and started screaming as the kunai buried itself into his right shoulder.

His screaming was matched by a few more as the people around them saw the violence and quickly ran into the buildings to hide. However, only some of the people ran to hide. About thirty others were running towards them, all of them armed. The apparent leader of the group reached up and tore the kunai out of his shoulder, tossing it away before pointing forward and shouted "Get them!" The next moment he was on his feet and retreating.

Naruto sighed and asked rhetorically "Why do they always try to run?" A moment later he flicked his hand and a pair of kunai buried themselves into the back of the retreating leader's knees sending him crashing to the floor with a pained curse. Naruto was over him in an instant, fist smashing into the back of his head and knocking him out for later questioning. A moment later Seth and Franz charged past him towards the rest of the apparent mercenaries and Naruto made eight shadow clones to join them in keeping the majority of the enemy away from the three ladies (half of the clones going for the four archers in the group first) while he reclaimed his kunai and secured the leader with ninja wire before dragging him back towards the ladies.

Eirika nodded at Naruto as he approached before looking back to where the fight was happening, rapier out and ready to defend Natasha from anyone that got past her knights and the clones. Tana was keeping her mount on the ground next to her, holding a javelin in her dominant hand ready to throw and a heavier lance in her other hand ready to use once she had thrown the javelin.

The pair of princesses didn't need to get involved however, the knights and the clones proving far superior combatants to the mercenaries. The three to one fight was short but brutal and it wasn't long until the knights came back with bloody weapons as the clones began dragging bodies out of the street, both those dead by the knights' hands and those with disabling wounds made by the clones.

Upon reaching them, Seth dismounted and said "Now then, let's get some answers. Natasha, if you'd please wake this man."

"Yes General." Natasha said with a bow of her head. She cautiously stepped close enough to rest the end of her staff against his head. The healing staff lit up for a moment and as the leader began to stir she quickly pulled away.

Once Natasha was clear, Seth rolled the man over with his foot. The man squirmed for a moment in his bonds only to go very still when he saw the sword that was dripping blood right next to his head. Seth had a hard look in his eyes as he said "I suggest you start talking about who put a price on my lady's head before I decide you no longer need your own."

"P-Pablo! It was Pablo of the Carcino Council of Elders! He promised 5,000 gold for anyone who could bring her in!"

"Councilman Pablo?" Seth asked in surprise.

"That doesn't make sense!" Eirika said, giving a quick shake of her head as she continued "Carcino and Frelia are allies. Why would they target me?"

The leader shrugged the best he could while tied up with ninja wire and said "Don't know, could be they've decided Grado's going to win and they want to be on the winning side. Heard that some of the other councilman opposed Pablo, but he had 'em all silenced but quick. That's all I know though, I swear."

"Much obliged." Seth stated before his foot lashed out knocking the leader unconscious again. Cleaning his sword, the general sighed and said "We were careless, we should have seen this coming. Carcino's a young and ambitious nation ruled by power-hungry merchants. And Grado grows more powerful with every passing day. So it's no surprise Carcino's merchant lords would throw in with Grado now."

"Not all of them. The guy did say that others opposed this Pablo guy." Naruto said before crossing his arms with a frown and said "Too bad he took them all out for it. Would have been nice to have some support from some of the locals."

Seth nodded at that only for everyone to look at Eirika as she said "Wait! Prince Innes, was to pass through Carcino on his way to Jehanna...If Carcino's Councilmen have betrayed us, then he ran headlong into enemy territory..."

"And none of his escorts can pull off Naruto's multiplication trick." Franz said with a heavy frown.

Naruto looked over to Tana and asked "I don't suppose you know if he planned to link up with anyone else on the way to Jehanna?"

Tana shook her head and said "If he did plan to acquire reinforcements while here he didn't tell me."

The universe apparently loved dramatic timing. For at that moment there was a rush of wings overhead as a pegasus flew past before abruptly turning around and descended as the rider called out "Princess Eirika! I bring dire tidings!" Upon landing, the Pegasus Knight did a startled double take at the sight of Tana's presence but quickly shook her shock off as she said "Princess Tana, Princess Eirika, Prince Innes is in danger! Carcino's merchant army struck and cut through over half of our men. The prince is trapped in a siege. He has no means of escape, and-"

"Enough!" Tana said at the same time as Eirika ordered "No more!" The friends looked at each other and Eirika nodded to Tana who nodded back before she turned to her fellow pegasus rider and said "Hurry back to Frelia and deliver your message to my father."

"What of Prince Innes?" The messenger asked.

"Leave my brother to us, we'll see him to safety." Tana said, Eirika nodding her agreement as Tana pointed towards Frelia and said "Now go!"

"Yes Princess!" The messenger said before spurring her ride to take off.

Eirika turned to Naruto and ordered "Naruto, send clones to scout from the air ahead of us. Have them look for any large groupings of combatants."

"Yes ma'am." Naruto said with a nod and made a cross symbol. A moment later there was a brief fog bank of smoke in the street before two hundred orange blurs shot up into the air. As they left Eirika and Natasha quickly mounted behind Seth and Franz again as Eirika continued "We must hurry!"

As the group took off away from the coast, a figure watched them leave. A moment later, Rennac hummed to himself as he looked at the devastated mercenary group they had left and mused to himself "Certainly a lot of excitement around that group." He then shrugged with a grin and said "Not that it's any of my business. Ahh, I'm finally free! No more getting bossed around by that witless ninny! I think I'm just gonna wander about for a while, see what fortunes come my way."

/

Introduction: Ephraim begins his march south toward Grado from Castle Frelia. Upon conquering Renais, the Grado Empire has set its sights on Frelia. However, Innes and his troops met the invaders at the water's edge. Against all odds, Innes halts the invasion, keeping Frelia's border intact. Ephraim coordinates Frelia's troops in an effort to advance the front lines. Unbeknownst to Ephraim, Grado forces are waiting for them at Fort Rigwald. They've fortified their positions and plan to wait out Frelia's siege. Undaunted, Ephraim remains determined to root out Grado.

Story Start: Outside of Fort Rigwald

"There it is, Fort Rigwald." Orson stated. Narrowing his eyes, he continued "It has stood unconquered for generations. Its defenses are legendary. It is the jewel of Grado's fortifications, and its walls have never been breached."

Ephraim hummed from beside him and said "And if we don't capture it, any attack on the capital will be pointless." He then grinned and said "Thankfully for us, no gate nor wall can keep out Sakura."

On Ephraim's other side Sakura grinned and punched her right fist into her left palm.

"Indeed My Prince." Orson said with a nod before he continued "However, once inside the enemy will still have the advantage of terrain and numbers."

Ephraim gave a nod of his own before he cocked his head and said "But I wonder if they hold the same when it comes to morale?"

Orson blinked and asked "Do you suspect the soldiers may be unwilling to fight?"

Ephraim gave a slight shrug and said "Anything's possible. This war is a sudden thing, but Grado and Renais had long been friendly. Before these hostilities, our nations were allies...no, closer even than that. This is the emperor's war, but the hearts of the people are not so swift to change. For example, General Duessel, one of the Imperial Three they call Obsidian...He was the one who taught me what I know about fighting with the lance. Duessel's sympathies are sure to remain with Renais-and with our cause. He is loyal to Grado, yes, but he has no love of war. I'm sure he will speak with me if we were to meet on the field of battle."

"It wouldn't be the first time I've seen an enemy turned into an ally." Sakura noted.

Orson glanced at her before looking back at Ephraim as he continued "And more than that, Prince Lyon has been my friend for years. He can be timid at times and perhaps was unable to oppose his father in this. But I'm sure he detests this fighting and shares my opinions."

"My Prince..." Orson said, but trailed off, uncertain what to say. After all, the friendship between Grado's Prince and Renais' Twins had been known far and wide in the west half of Magvel before this sudden war.

Ephraim shook his head and said "There must be some Grado soldiers within that castle who do not want to fight. If we can rush the fort and seize the throne room, I believe they will surrender."

Orson looked back towards the fort and said "Optimism here may be deadly My Prince. Still, it's a far better plan than challenging the main army face-to-face."

"So more knocking down walls then?" Sakura asked with a smile of anticipation.

Ephraim nodded and pointed to where a large set of stairs were that allowed access from the surrounding grounds to the first level of the fort and said "If I remember right from the time Lyon showed me around ten years ago, if we take away the outer wall and one more at the end of the hallway we'd be breaching at the throne room is a straight shot past those stairs." Ephraim turned to look at everyone under his command and said "Eirika is on her way to Rausten to help end this conflict. We cannot afford to wait here for much longer. We must take this fort and then press on to the capital itself. Kyle, Forde, guard Orson's flanks. Once again, we'll be right on Sakura's tail. Once we're in the throne room I'll deal with the commander while you three and Sakura deal with any soldiers in the room."

Forde gave a salute and said "You got it My Prince."

Kyle mirrored his salute as he said "As you command."

Ephraim turned his gaze to Garcia and said "Master Garcia, I want you to lead everyone else in after us. Your job is to secure the new entryway to the throne room against the remaining Grado soldiers. Do your best to keep the body count down but don't take any chances with your own safety."

Garcia nodded and said "We'll watch your backs Your Highness."

"Yeah, ain't no one getting past us!" Ross said with a grin by his father.

Ephraim nodded and turned to mount Orson's horse behind the paladin. Brandishing his Reginleif towards the castle, he said "Let's go!"

Sakura was off like a shot, shooting across the distance separating Ephraim's group and the castle at a speed just above the gallop speed of the knights' mounts. Orson gave her a three second head start then spurred the sides of his horse sending her after, Kyle and Forde on either side. Upon reaching the stairs Sakura put on a burst of speed and reaching the top leapt at the wall with her right fist chambered for a punch as she cried out "Shanaroo!"

The wall exploded inwards from her punch, leaving a hole easily wide enough for five knights to ride their mounts side by side with some room to spare. The Grado soldiers who were unfortunate enough to be near the wall at the time and yet fortunate enough to survive having the stone of said wall launched at them had no time to realize what happened before Sakura was past them, darting down the hallway with eyes narrowed at the second wall. They hadn't even managed to begin getting up when Ephraim's group charged through the hole after her. It was only as Garcia came charging through with Ross by his side that they managed to begin recovering their wits.

Before Garcia's group had arrived though Sakura had already knocked another, albeit slightly smaller hole into the wall of the throne room. She took a bare instant to sweep her eyes around the room before she pounced on the nearby startled priest, ripping a Sleep staff out of his still slack grip and turning to bean the shaman in the room with it in the head. A quick finger flick to the head with a touch of medical chakra had the priest knocked out cold and then Sakura threw a kunai at the bowman who was fumbling to notch an arrow. The kunai went right through the bow causing it break into two pieces. The bowman stared at his ruined weapon for a moment before he looked up. By that time though Sakura was in his face and he quickly joined the other two in falling to the floor unconscious.

The Knights had charged in right after their kunoichi vanguard and Ephraim leapt from the back of Orson's mount with a fierce look of determination as he sprinted to the throne where the massive Warrior with a Killer Axe was scrambling to his feet. Ephraim deflected the commander's first hasty swing only to have to back step to avoid the swing of an Iron Axe in his own hand.

As Ephraim started dancing about the castle's commander, the three knights charged for the door of the throne room where a pair of foot soldiers with Axereavers were. Orson's Silver Lance batted one of the specialty lances aside before he lunged forward and laid the soldier out flat with a blow to the temple from his gauntleted fist. Kyle and Forde double teamed the other soldier, Kyle deflecting the lance thrust with his sword before slicing its head off and Forde coming in with a swing of his lance butt to the head to knock him for a loop. Forde quickly dismounted as the knight tried to recover and rammed his forearm into his chest, slamming him into the wall next to the door. When Forde stepped back the soldier slumped to the floor and the blonde stepped through the doorway ready to take on anyone who tried to enter the throne room that way.

He had to blink though when a blond haired girl no older than his younger brother (Maybe even a year younger) ran up with a lance, arms shaky but gaze determined. Almost skidding to a stop in front of him, the girl took a stance and shouted "Have at thee Frelian cur!"

Forde blinked, and despite the situation, found his lips twitching up in amusement as he asked "Are you really going to try to attack me with that stance? You'll either drop your lance that way or fall, maybe even both."

"Shut up!" The girl shouted before lunging forward to attack...and wound up tripping and falling to the floor with a pained "Oof..."

"Told you so." Forde said, taking two quick steps to put his foot down on the girl's lance. The girl let out a yelp when Forde reached down with his free hand and grabbed her shoulder, easily hoisting her up with a cheerful "Up we go now."

"Unhand me Frelian dog, I won't be a slave for you to use as you want!" The girl shouted, struggling in his grip.

She stumbled backwards though as Forde easily let her go. Rolling his eyes, Kyle said "Okay, first off, I'm from Renais, not Frelia. Second, we don't treat prisoners like that." He then gave her a rogue smile and wink as he said "Even if they are cute girls like you."

"Eep." the girl, well eeped, her cheeks immediately dusting.

His rogue smile turning into a more genuine one, he asked "What's your name kid?"

Now well and truly confused at what was happening, the girl said "Um, its Amelia. Amelia of Silva."

Forde nodded and gestured to the wall by the door as he said "Well then, Amelia of Silva, why don't you do me a favor and just sit against that wall for now. Hopefully the rest of the soldiers stationed here will give up once Prince Ephraim finishes dealing with the commander of this fort."

Amelia swallowed, looking down at the lance still under Forde's foot then back up at him. Giving a small nod, she moved around him to the wall and sat down, arms around her knees. Forde gave her a warm smile and said "Atta girl." A moment later he kicked up her lance, holding it so that the pointy end was behind him and stood ready for any more soldiers coming his way.

Back in the throne room Ephraim performed a deadly dance with the hulking Warrior of a commander. Blows were deflected by each side and Ephraim's footwork was put to the test as he dodged what he couldn't deflect. But then the commander overextended with his killer axe and Ephraim's lance scored a direct hit on the shoulder of that arm. The commander let out a shout of pain as his hand dropped the axe. Ephraim leapt back from the retaliatory blow from the Iron Axe, Reginleaf spinning around his body before he launched forward and his Reginleif punched through the Warrior's armor and into his heart.

As Ephraim quickly pulled back, his defeated opponent dropped to his knees. With wide eyes, he muttered "Th-that's not poss-" He didn't finish before he finished falling to the ground, blood forming a puddle underneath him.

Ephraim gave a single nod to himself before he turned to where his troops were holding off the other Grado soldiers and called out "Soldiers of Grado! Your commander is dead, and the Throne Room is ours. I ask that you drop your weapons and surrender peacefully, and promise that you will be treated fairly!"

There was stunned silence for a moment and then there was the sound of a weapon falling to the ground. That was the catalyst and the rest of the soldiers began dropping their weapons as well.

Outside the throne room, Forde gave a small sigh as he looked over the three knocked soldiers in front of him and said "Well, that's that I suppose." Turning around, he slid the rope tied around his lance over his shoulder and used his now free hand to pull Amelia up to her feet. Amelia stiffened as she was lifted up but her expression became confused as Forde handed her lance to her and said "Here you go my dear."

Amelia blinked and asked "Wh-what? Why are you giving this back to me? Aren't I a prisoner?"

Forde smirked and said "Well call me crazy, but I don't think I have to worry about you using it anymore." Gently turning her around, he nudged her through the entrance to the throne room and once the pair were inside he gave his horse a fond stroke before taking his reigns and following Orson and Kyle as they rejoined the rest of Ephraim's troops.

Half an hour later, Orson walked into the throne room and said "Prince Ephraim, the castle is secured, and Sakura has finished treating all of those injured in the battle."

Ephraim withdrew his lance from where he had just finished swearing the kneeling Amelia into the ranks of the Renaisian Army. (Forde was convinced she'd be a good fit once she was trained up a bit, and who was he to deny one of his faithful men?) Giving Orson a nod, he said "Bring me one of the higher ranked prisoners. I have a question I need answered."

Orson gave a quick half bow and said "Yes, My Prince."

As Orson left the room Ephraim offered Amelia a hand and she accepted it, looking like she still couldn't believe what had happened today. Ephraim gave her a gentle smile before he looked to Forde and said "I believe you should take this time to give your new student her first lesson."

"Sure thing My Prince." Forde said, clapping a hand on Amelia's shoulder as he continued "Come on my new protégé, allow your wise mentor to show you the ways of the knight."

As the pair walked out of the room Kyle joined them with a snort as he asked "Wise, you? Surely you jest Forde."

"Oi, that hurts Kyle." Forde said with a laugh and Ephraim's lips twitched upwards at the byplay of the two Cavaliers.

His face turned serious a moment later though and when Orson returned with the prisoner gave the soldier a calm but determined look as he stated "I'm going to ask you a question. If you've no wish to answer, remain silent. If you wish this conflict to end quickly, however, you will cooperate."

The soldier was silent for a long moment before he asked "...What do you want?"

"What has Grado invaded Renais?" Ephraim questioned.

"...I can't say. This war began on the emperor's orders. Soldiers like me haven't the foggiest idea what he's after." The soldier stated.

Ephraim's eyes closed for a moment as he thought 'So much for getting an answer to that question the so called easy way.' Opening his eyes, he asked "Then tell me this: where is General Duessel?"

The soldier blinked once before he said "In the capital. The general's been opposed to this war from the start. He's been pleading with the emperor for days now, but the emperor ignores him. They say some are questioning the general's loyalty. He's putting his standing-and his life-in danger by being so vocal."

"Is that so..." Ephraim said, a look of relief on his face as he continued "Well, it appears that General Duessel remains the same true man I knew before. What about Prince Lyon? Where's he been through all of this? Why didn't he do anything to temper is father's aggression?"

The soldier grew uncomfortable, shifting on his feet for several moments before he said "...According to rumors...Emperor Vigarde was convinced to start this war by none other than the prince himself."

Ephraim's eyes widened as he asked "What did you say?" Eyes narrowing, Ephraim gained a fierce frown and said "That's ridiculous! I know Prince Lyon well. No one hates fighting more than he does. He would never do anything to trigger all this bloodshed!"

Orson had a large frown on his face as well but his voice was neutral as he said "My Prince, please calm yourself."

Ephraim took in a deep breath before he said "You're right, until we can confirm, they're just rumors. I shouldn't have lost my composure like that."

Ten minutes later, Orson and Ephraim were walking outside the castle, joined by Sakura. As the trio walked, Ephraim said "We'll leave the prisoners and the fort to the Frelian troops. I'll make sure their commander knows I expect them to be treated well. As for us, I intend to press on toward the capital. At some point, I expect we'll find either Duessel or Lyon. I'm sure we can convince them to join us in stopping Emperor Vigarde."

Orson nodded and said "If anyone in the highest hierarchy of the Grado Army would side with you, it would be those two My Prince. However, even with your past history with them, they are still men of Grado. If we are forced into conflict with them, they may choose to put their country above their comradery with you."

Emphraim made a sound of discontent and said "It won't happen that way. Duessel was my teacher, and I know he is a man of character. And I've known Lyon since we were children. He, Eirika, and I are old friends."

Orson remained silent and Sakura said softly "It's good to trust in friends Your Highness, but please don't be too trusting either. This is a war after all, they may not have a choice in the matter."

Ephraim nodded and said "I understand your concerns you two. If worse comes to worst and steel is drawn, I will not hesitate. I'll fight and take out anyone who thinks to oppose me. Are you satisfied, Orson?"

Orson bowed his head and said "Yes...I apologize for my rudeness My Lord. Your father is gone, and that means that you are king of Renais, even if it will not be 'official' until we retake the country. There is still no other to take the position, not with your sister giving you her full support. But because of that, I must ask that you not throw yourself into needless danger."

Ephraim nodded and said "I hear you. The decisions I make affect more than my own life. Once this war is finished, I will rebuild Renais with Eirika. That is my mission."

END

Author's Note: (Happy Sigh) I love how quickly I could write this chapter. This only took me Sunday and the nights of Monday and Tuesday to write the rough draft. Shinobi really do make things much more efficient don't they?

Just in case it wasn't clear by my writing, I wanted to point something out about the fight at Port Kiris. To anyone who wants to go 'Oh, he's keeping the women safe' it was actually the two princesses keeping Natasha safe since she (for now) doesn't have any offense or defense skills, just her healing staff. That'll change in two or three chapters but for now she needs a bodyguard and the tactics of the situation meant that Eirika and Tana were the best ones to do that, mainly because Eirika isn't mounted and so not as fast movement wise as the knights and there were archers in the group so it was best for Tana to hang back since she doesn't have a Fili Shield. (For those that don't know, Fili Shields keep flyers from receiving extra damage from bows)

Also, I decided to have Tana join Eirika and not Ephraim for three reasons. For one thing, it gives Eirika's group a dedicated flyer unit, which is always useful. Second, I think Tana would believe that Eirika could use the most help. Sure Naruto has his shadow clones, but Eirika still only has two knights and a Cleric making up the rest of her party while Ephraim has not only the remainder of the combined groups but also the Frelian troops backing him up. Third and finally, I just didn't like the idea of Tana being captured and made a damsel in distress again. It's one thing for her to be captured at Fort Mulan, she was waiting there for Eirika when the fort was seized by Grado troops. It's another thing entirely for her to miss the entire Frelian army at the border and be captured by the Grado. I'm sorry, but how could you miss an army group, especially one with pegasus units that would be in the air? No, I don't buy it.

Now in regards to Amelia joining Ephraim's group over Eirika's: I have no problem admitting that I ship Franz x Amelia, both in them getting married and having the two operate as paired units every time I replay Sacred Stones. However, having her join Eirika's group is...unattainable in this story. In Distant Blade she was with a group of Grado soldiers and with Naruto teaming up with the knights the fight ended long before said soldiers would have gotten word of it. She also doesn't have her own mount so she'd be one more person having to catch a ride with one of the units who do have a mount. True, I could have retconned her having a horse but that seemed a bit in poor taste. And while it's true that she can be recruited in Hamill Canyon, that wouldn't give her much time to be trained to handle the latter challenges. There's no training against monsters in towers in this story after all. So I decided to have Forde take her under his wing. I foresee much amusement from him in the future when the two groups reunite and his student meets his brother.

That's all for me, so until next time, this is Tac signing out.