Author's Note

Ok things will be picking up a bit in this chapter, I promise. This starts right where the last chapter left off. Why not just include it in the last chapter stupid author, you ask? Goodness readers, you ask such silly questions. I did not include it because... I felt like it? I don't know... I just didn't. I changed the layout of the castle dungeon area thingy from the game, just cause I wanted the place to be bigger and have more hallways and such. Anyway, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 5

Dungeon Break

"Haha that's funny," Boyd said in response to my volunteering.

"I'm serious." So maybe I'm in over my head, but I was always good at Splinter Cell games. Just stick to the shadows, and channel my inner Sam Fisher. Not too difficult, right? Too bad I don't have Grimsdottir or Lambert. Or a gun. That would help.

"If they catch you, you'll be facing a lot of guards," Ike warned. "I'm not certain that you could survive that..."

"Consider it extra incentive not to be spotted," I suggested.

"...Alright. Anyone else?" Ike asked

"Oh what the hell, I'll go," Boyd said. "We need at least one good fighter."

"Good, get any gear you need and get going. We'll give you a half hour head start. Good luck, and be careful."

Boyd and I said our goodbyes (just in case) and retrieved some dark cloaks from the stores, leaving behind trinkets, armor and anything else that would make too much noise. Once we were ready, we set off at a jog in the direction of the castle, slowing only once we could see it through the trees. Using some bushes at the tree line for cover, we surveyed the defences.

"Looks like it was a nasty battle to take this," I commented. An entire section of wall had been destroyed by artillery, and the burned remains of seige towers littered the field. Some ladders were propped against the walls, and a ram sat abandoned next to the shattered gates. The moat had been almost completely filled in to allow infantry to advance, and was now little more than a shallow ditch. There were bodies, too. The Daein dead had been gathered and buried near the gates, their swords marking the graves, but the Crimeans got no such treatment. Their bodies had all been burned in one great heap, and several heads were stuck on spears above the gate. "Poor bastards."

"Such nice, friendly folk these Daeins," Boyd commented dryly, eyeing the severed heads.

We began looking for a way in. The broken wall looked promising at first, but upon closer inspection I could see soldiers in the courtyard. No good going in through there. Movement on the eastern side of the castle caught my attention. Looking over, I saw a sentry emerge from a postern gate about one hundred meters from our current position. The soldier looked around warily, then turned to the wall to relieve himself. You gotta love it when guards get complacent.

"Hey, Boyd. Got a possible entrance, but we gotta move fast," I whispered, pointing to the postern. With his back to the field, we would likely not get a better shot at getting in unseen. We ran across the field, using the ruined seige towers to stay out of sight until we reached the moat. We stayed in the moat to close the rest of the distance, and hunkered down to wait once we were close enough. I grabbed a good sized rock, thinking it would be quieter to simply knock the guard out than to kill him.

Once the soldier was finished, he went to the door and called softly. It was opened by a second guard, who stood in the doorway for a second chastizing his friend for drinking so much the night before. They laughed and started to go back inside. Knowing it was now or never, we ran silently up behind them. I whistled, drawing the first man's attention, and smashed my rock into his face as he turned, laying him low before he could even cry out. His friend spun at the sound of the impact, but was silenced as well when Boyd bulled into the door, crushing him against the doorjamb. We paused, waiting for the cries of alarm, but none came. No one had seen or heard us. We both let out a sigh of relief, then slipped through the door. I made sure to leave my rock in the doorway, keeping the postern open so the other mercenaries could use the entrance if they had to.

Inside, the (now unmanned) guard post had two doors: one large one leading to the courtyard, and a smaller one leading to a stairwell. We went down the stairs, assuming the prisoners would be kept in the lower levels. Below, we found a long tunnel going in the direction of the keep, no doubt a way to bring soldiers surreptitiously to the postern. The first few rooms we found were unguarded and contained supplies, although distant footsteps told us that guards were on patrol. We crept along, keeping to the shadows as we searched for any sign of prisoners. After only a few minutes, we came upon the first guarded room; A lone guard sat at a table, and I could just barely see bars behind him. We crept as close to the doorway as we dared, being careful to stay out of the torchlight that shone from within, but footsteps down the hallway sent us scrambling back for cover. Fortuately there were alcoves in the walls that were just big enough to hide in. I drew my dagger, but kept it against my arm so the blade would not reflect any light. The footsteps drew closer and a patrolling guard came into sight, but he took no notice of us. I started to motion for Boyd to let him pass, but before I could get his attention he stepped out and swung his axe, splitting the unfortunate guard's helm and skull. His armor clattered noisily as he fell.

"That you, Will?" a voice called from inside the room. There was a scrape of wood on stone as the guard stood up, followed by heavy footsteps approaching the door. Reacting quickly, Boyd wrenched his axe from the dead body and threw just as the man got to the doorway. The axe nearly decapitated him, and he died with little more than a gurgle.

"Dude, what part of 'stealthy' did you not understand?" I whispered as we stashed the bodies in the alcoves.

"Hey, no one heard and now we can release the prisoners. I'm stealthy and effective," he gloated, obviously pleased with himself. I just rolled my eyes and went back to searching the bodies for keys. Sure enough, the man who had been guarding the cell had a few keys on his belt. I took them all and went into the room. There were several cells along the far wall, but only one was occupied I tried the keys until I found one that worked and swung the door open as quietly as I could. The sole occupant of the cell, a priest by the looks of it, exited cautiously. He looked familliar. Oh right, it's that Sephiran dude.

"Thank you, young man. After I was arrested by those Daeins I feared that I would never leave this place," the priest said.

"No problem. Mind my asking what you're doin in a prison for captured soldiers? Seems a strange place for a priest," Boyd inquired.

"I am in here because I was healing Crimean soldiers. Our Daein hosts did not take kindly to that."

"You were with soldiers?" I asked. There were no other prisonners here, and I worried that there might not be any soldiers left to rescue... "Were they captured too? Or killed?"

"The soldiers I was with were captured, yes. They were taken down the corridor from this room, but I did not see where they went after that. I know not if any still live, though. The screams I've heard from down there..." He shuddered. "Only dying men make such a sound."

"Thank you. If any are still living, we'll find them. Follow the hall that way until you find a stairwell, take the stairs up to the first level and there is an unguarded door that will get you to safety. Oh, and leave the door open, we have friends coming," I said.

"Thank you again, boys. I will not forget your kindness."

After he was gone, we continued along the hall. It split off into two corridors not far from where we'd freed Sephiran.

"Well, which way do we go?" Boyd asked me, looking back and forth between the two halls.

"Hey, since when am I the one in charge?"

"Since you volunteered first. Which way?"

"...Alright, well there's not much time 'till the others show up, and I'd rather be done before any alarm is sounded or any more prisonners are killed... we gotta split up. Take the right fork, meet back here in ten minutes or less." Boyd started to go, but I stopped him. "And Boyd, remember; We're here to rescue prisonners quietly, not kill every guard we see. Be careful."

"Sir, yes sir!" Boyd said, saluting mockingly before trotting off. I just chuckled and shook my head helplessly.

I walked carefully, keeping close to the wall and checking every corner. Fortunately the only torches down here were in the rooms occupied by guards or carried by patrols, so there was ample shadow to conceal me. The hallway I had chosen had rooms on each side at regular intervals, most of which just held supplies. Once again the room with prisoners, or at least cells that once held prisonners, was the only lit room. Flat against the wall, I approached the door and peeked in. There was only one tired-looking guard, but he seemed to be guarding nothing; All of the cells looked empty. I was about to leave when a shadow in one of the cells moved. I paused, wondering if it was just some trick of the light, but it moved again and groaned. This time I could see it clearly enough to tell that it was human.

I immediately began to examine the room, looking for some way to eliminate the guard without making too much noise. There was a torture rack near the door (no doubt the source of those screams the monk was talking about) that could provide some cover and allow me to close the distance. The guard was wearing little armor and his spear was leaning against the wall a few feet to the side, so I would have little difficutly killing him. I just needed a way to do it quietly... I was in luck; As I sat there planning the guard grew tired of the noise the prisonner was making and wandered over to their cell.

"Hey quiet down in there! I was trying to catch some sleep," he griped. Seizing the opportunity I snuck up behind him, dagger drawn. Here goes, I thought. Time to pay some Daein scum back for leaving me stranded here. No mercy. Strange how after surviving two battles I still have not killed anyone. As I approached, though, I couldn't help but think that it was wrong. Killing someone in battle is one thing, but this man is no threat to me; I'm going to cut his throat when he doesn't even have a weapon, and why? Because he has a key ring on his belt that I need? No, it's wrong, completely wrong. I'm willing to kill in battle, but I'm no murderer. There has to be another way, a way where I don't have to kill him. I could take him alive, get the keys and lock him in a cell. Gag him so he can't call for help. Yeah, that's what I'll do. Quick and clean, no bloodshed.

I came up behind him fast, clamping one hand over his mouth to keep him quiet. I could see his eyes go wide with fear as I pulled his head back and pressed my knife against his throat. "Don't move or try to talk," I whispered in his ear. "Open that cell, and I'll let you live." He nodded as much as my grip allowed, and slowly retrieved the loop of keys from his belt as I pushed him closer to the door. He reached for the lock, and I took the pressure off the dagger ever so slightly so I could club him with it once he'd unlocked the door.

The guard suddenly lurched forward, throwing the keys into one of the cells. I reached out desperately, the fingers of my hand just brushing the loop as it sailed out of my reach and past the bars. Without my hand over his mouth he started to call for help, but was cut short. I felt a warm wetness on my dagger hand as the guard suddenly became dead weight, sinking to the floor.

I looked down, stunned by the blood on my hand. No no no, I didn't want this. I was gonna spare him, keep him alive. No bloodshed, no killing. And now he lay choking on the floor, one hand at his throat in a vain attempt to stop the flow of blood while the other reached out to me, a desperate plea for help. His eyes stared right at me, accusing me I thought. I did this, I need to finish it. There is still time for mercy. I knelt down next to him, bracing one arm against his shoulder while I placed the tip of my dagger under his arm, aimed right at his heart. We locked eyes.

"I'm sorry," I said, and pushed the dagger in. He jerked once, then lay still.

I pushed aside my horror for the moment, knowing I had little time before someone came to investigate that cry. I approached the cells, only to see that the keys were in a locked and unoccupied cell, out of my reach. I began looking for anything that could help me break into the cell, but there was nothing. There was rust on the lock though, which meant the tumblers in the lock could be rusty as well. Having no better ideas and absolutely no time, I jammed my knife into the lock and hammered it with my fist. The tumblers shattered loudly after the second blow, and the door swung wide. Well, If no one heard the guard die, they definitely heard that. I need to get out of here fast. The prisonner shied away from the open door, seeming kinda groggy and not quite sure what was happening.

"It's okay, I'm here to help. I'm gonna get you out of here, but we gotta go." The prisonner cautiously came out into the light. Oh great, it's a girl. And she's pretty, despite being very malnourished. Oh great she's wearing a really short skirt, because apparently no one wears pants in Tellius. Nooo, that would be too damn practical. Ugh, this is going to be awkward. Don't stutter, don't stutter. Fortunately (well, kind of fortunately) the sound of many guards coming our way brought me back to more pressing matters.

"C'mon, move it!" I snapped, gabbing her by the arm and practically dragging the poor girl out of the cell as I made a dash or the hallway. She stopped for a second, but only to grab the spear her dead guard had left leaning against the wall. We ran out of the room and the into the relative safety of darkness just as a group of guards came charging around the corner. They went straight for the source of the noise that had alerted them, which gave me time to lead the girl back down the hall towards the exit. We hadn't gotten far, though, when I heard more guards coming from that direction. Having no other options, we ducked into the nearest storage room to hide. The two groups of guards met not far outside of our room.

"There's been an escape from the other prison. Commander Danomill is looking for them and sent us here to check on this one." Shit, Boyd's been spotted too.

"You're too late, she broke out and killed her guard. Split your men up and help us check the rooms, she can't have gone far."

We looked all through the room for an alternate way out, but there was only endless shelves of grain, arrows, torches and various other things that would be useful to anyone but me. Still, it was a big room and the containers were clustered close together, making for some decent hiding spots. I pushed the girl between some containers, but there was no room for me. I looked around and spotted a promising place several meters away, but I ran out of time as a pair of guards entered the room with lit torches. I ducked behind the nearest cover and drew my knife. After what just happened a few minutes ago I wasn't eager to kill again, but these guys were armed and more than happy to kill me so at least there was no moral dilemma.

As the flickering light of torches drew nearer, I realized that I would die if I tried to stay hidden. I needed to take them out first. I slipped around the pile of containers that hid me to get a better view. The two guards had split up and begun searching both sides of the room, hoping to cover more ground quickly. Their first mistake. I timed my movements to stay out of the light as I first snuck past them, then circled around to come behind the one that was getting too close to the girl. He reached the containers she hid behind as I came at him from one side, along a row of sheves that paralleled his route. It looked for a moment as if he would walk right by her hiding place, but his friend called out to him and he stopped right next to her.

"You find anything? 'Cause I've got nothing over here."

"Nothing so far."

"She's not here. Let's just go."

"I want to finish the sweep, just to be sure. Commander Danomill will have our heads if we let any of his prisonners escape."

He started to move on, but his torch must have come close to the girl because she let out a gasp, thinking she had been discovered. The startled guard turned and looked closer at the pile of crates she hid in, and would have seen her had I not chosen that moment to strike. This time there was no hesitation as I grabbed him, stabbed him in the heart, and pulled him back behind the shelves I had used to cover my approach. He struggled for only a few seconds before dying. His buddy must have seen or heard something because he started to come over to investigate, but just when he got close the girl suddenly burst out of the pile of crates and thrust the tip of her spear up through the bottom of his jaw. He was dead before he hit the ground.

"Good job," I whispered. Damn, that second guy would have had me. That was sloppy.

Wasting no more time, we snuck out of the room and back towards the exit. We almost made it out without being spotted.

"There they are! After them!" And the chase was on.

We bolted down the hallway, but the girl was in no shape to outrun them. Turning and fighting was really the only option. Shit, this whole infiltration plan is totally FUBAR. We rounded the first corner and I motionned to the doorways in the hallway. We hid on opposite sides and I threw my dagger down the hall, hoping the clattering would lead them to believe we were still running. Surprise would be our only advantage here. The first few ran by before we struck, the girl tripping a man with the butt of her spear and stabbing him in the troat when he fell. I rushed the next soldier from the side, knocking aside the lance he aimed at the girl and drawing my sword along his stomach, disemboweling him. I cut down the next man as well, my blade cutting into his neck as he ran into his dying friend. The girl managed to kill a few of the men who had passed us but as the initial surprise wore off we found ourselves fighting back to back, able to do little more than parry and delay the inevitable.

A chorus of grunts and thuds came from behind me and I feared for a moment that I was alone, until the girl called out to me over the noise of battle.

"It's clear ahead. C'mon, run!"

I didn't know how that could be, but I didn't care. With renewed energy I launched a flurry of attacks against the man I was fighting, driving him back under the hail of blows. Then, instead of pressing the advantage, I simply disengaged and ran. Sure enough, the men she had been fighting were down and dead, some with cut troats, others with stab wounds in their backs. A shadow brushed by me, seeming no more than a slight breeze, and suddenly all the torches behind me went out. There were shrieks and gurgles as I ran away, then silence. Somehow, our pursuers were gone, allowing us to reach the intersection where Boyd and I had split up with no further incident. Much to my dismay, though, there was no sign of Boyd.

"Follow that corridor, it will lead you out," I told the girl when we had stopped.

"Aren't ye comin' too?" she asked.

"My friend's not back yet. I'm gonna find him, then I'll follow you out." I started down the corridor I'd sent Boyd down. I really hoped that I hadn't sent him to his death.

"I'm comin' then. Some o' me friends were taken that way." I wasn't about to argue; She was pretty good in a fight, and the look of determination she wore told me she was coming no matter what I thought.

"Alright. Let's make it quick." I retreived my dagger and set off at a jog down the hallway. There was no sign of guards, dead or alive, but I had a wierd sense that I was being followed. I kept looking over my shoulder, but all I saw was the girl. I turned back to see three shapes emerge from the darkness ahead.

"Adam! You're still alive!" It was Boyd, bloody and limping but very much alive and escorting two more Crimean prisonners. What a relief.

"Shit man, what happened to you? You look like you took on the whole garrison."

"Pretty much. Killed the commander and a whole bunch of the guards, but there was this like, I dunno, shadow or something that killed the worst of them for us. We found entire patrols dead on our way out."

"Same here. Wierd, huh? These all the prisonners?" Boyd nodded in response. The girl looked dismayed. I guess not all of her friends survived. "Good, let's get out of here."

We made it all the way back to the postern without finding any guards or the mysterious shadow that had saved us. We did, however, find the Greil Mercenaries; They had gotten in through the postern and were raising all kinds of hell in the courtyard. By the time I got everyone outside a large portion of the surviving Daeins were running out of the front gate, trying to escape. Yet more had locked themselves in the keep, prefering to leave their friends in the courtyard to their fate rather than face the Mercenaries. Ike and the others did not bother to press the attack and pulled back to the forest once the prisonners were safely away. The Daeins, having been thoroughly owned, did not try to pursue. We all regrouped at the wagons where Elincia, the monk and the merchants waited.

"Is everyone here?" Elincia asked.

"Just waiting on one more person..." Ike said. Waiting for who? By my count everyone was there, including the three new recruits and the monk we'd rescued.

One of the prisonners, a burly man in his forties, spoke up. "Say, umm thanks fer rescuin' us and all, but... who are ye? Just like ta know who I'm thankin'..."

"You didn't tell them?" Ike asked incredulously.

"I didn't really think to..." Boyd said.

"Probably would've been a good idea," I admitted. Wow I can't believe I forgot to mention the whole 'We're guarding the Crimean Princess' thing. That was stupid.

"So you just dragged them out of their cells without even a basic introduction? Smooth," Ilyana muttered.

"I didn't drag anybody..." I muttered back while Ike handled the introductions. Behind me the girl I'd rescued cleared her throat. "Okay, so maybe I did drag her a little bit, but there was no time for introductions. I was just, y'know, being hunted by a swarm of bloodthirsty Daeins. Kinda puts a rush on things." Ilyana just laughed at me. Ugh, she was trolling me. Successfully. I hate that.

Surprisingly, Soren said nothing despite the fact that I had been kinda stupid. In fact, he hadn't said a word to me since the meeting last night. Curious... I had expected him to be all like 'He's stupid and useless and I don't like him. Please please pretty please kick him out Commander Ike,' or something like that. But he remained silent. Sweet.

Off to my left, one of the new knights was scrutnizing Oscar rather closely, making the poor guy uncomfortable.

"AHA! I'd recognize that dastardly squintiness anywhere! You're Oscar, Crimean knights twelfth regiment," he accused.

"Uh, yeah I was. How did you...?"

"How did I know? Do you mean to tell me that my sworn rival did not recognize me? Gah, curse this helmet of mine!" With some rather comical struggling he managed to remove his helmet and throw it to the ground. He assumed a heroic pose. "I am Sir Keiran, valiant knight of Crimea, champion of all that is good, glorious protector of General Geoffrey at the battle of the crossroads where our princess was lost, and sworn rival of Sir Oscar!"

"And keeper of the great ego, apparently," Soren added. Ah, he's back. That's it Soren, focus your doucheyness on Keiran instead of me.

"Wait, you were with Sir Geoffrey? Do you know what became of him?" Elincia interjected, eager for any news of her friend.

"By the Goddess! Princess Elincia can it truly be you? We thought you lost to us in the ambush. Oh happy day! There is hope for Crimea after all! Oh dear, where are my manners? I apologize for missing your glorious presence 'til now, Your Eminence! I was distracted by the vile cur over there." He gestured rudely at Oscar. Oh my God, this guy is a complete nut job.

"Yes, umm thank you," Elincia said. "What about Sir Geoffrey?"

"Ah, yes he survived the battle, and was able to escape along with several of his men. I'll wager they're laying low, waiting for the opportunity to strike a crippling blow to Daein. Alas, your most stalwart knight (myself) suffered the shame of captivity. But we are reunited! Such emotion... *sniff*"

"Geoffrey... he is alive! Ah how those words drive off the shadow accross my heart. Thank you Keiran... thank you," Elincia said, visibly relieved. Ike looked at me with raised eyebrows, and I just smiled and mouthed 'I told you so.' Now they know my predictions are the real deal.

"Well, we all know where he stands. How about the rest of you? Will you fight for Princess Elincia?" Ike asked the rest of the prisonners.

The man who'd spoken earlier answered first. "Look here. I'm Brom and this lass here is Nephenee. We're just a couple of miltiamen, so we don't know much about all this war and kins and nobles and such. But that King of Daein is no friend to us Crimeans, an' I'm worried what could happen to my familly. Oh, my poor girls must be so scared. Yes, I'll fight for you."

"Will ye return Crimea to how it was before Daein came?" Nephenee asked.

"On my life I swear I will," Elincia declared. Brave sentiment, I hope she lives long enough to see it through.

"Then I'll fight for you," Nephenee answered.

Ike turned to the monk, but the monk did not wait for him to ask. "I am not Crimean, and there is little a simple pilgrim can do to help men such as yourself. I am sorry my friend, but I must walk my own path."

"Why help Crimean resistance fighters then? You put yourself in a lot of danger to help those you claim to have no ties to..."

"Why indeed? Men such as us, we do not hesitate when we see a person in need. Even in dangerous times such as these, we would heal the wounded or, in your case, rescue prisonners from a heavily guarded castle. Virtue, my friend. That is why."

"...You are right, I believe you. Safe travels to you."

"And you, my friend. I daresay you will need it more than I." With that, he was gone.

I felt someone brush by me and suddenly a man was standing in front of Ike. Wait, that's Volke! Cool. He dropped several heavy bags at Ike's feet, clinking as if they held coins. A lot of coins.

"Here's the castle's treasury. I already took my share, plus a few hndred extra for saving your people in the dungeons." Wait, that was Volke that killed all those guards? Holy shit, that guy is deadly! I bet his coin purse says 'Badass Motherfucker' on it. "I was thinking of travelling with you for a bit. You might have need of... intelligence. If you'll have me."

Titania seemed to be disagree due to Volke's dubious nature, and said as much to Ike. Soren began to argue with her, saying that his talents would be useful. I caught Ike's eye and nodded emphatically. We gotta keep Volke around. He's too powerful to pass up.

"You may come along if you like, Volke," Ike decided.

"Excellent. Call me if you need me." He took a few steps into the forest and just seemed to vanish. Ooooooh, so cool. I gotta learn how to do that.

Beside me, Boyd was chattering away excitedly about his exploits in the castle, while Ilyana made fun of the both of us for needing Volke to save us. Much as I wanted to join in, I wanted to talk with Ike and Elincia. I had some good news.

When I approached Ike, Soren's eyes went wide and he huriedly excused himself. Oh man, I really fucked with his brain when I mentionned the tattoo thing, didn't I? I'd feel bad, but he deserved it for being douchey. Muahahaha.

"Hey Commander. About that monk..."

"Yeah? You know something about him?"

"Let's just say things are going to go well in Sienne. That was Lord Sephiran, Prime Minister of Begnion."

"Are you serious?" Elincia asked. I nodded. "Oh, this gives me much more hope."

"What was he doing in Crimea?" Ike asked. Honestly, I don't remember.

"Sorry, but this time your guess is as good as mine. I'm sure it was something helpful to Crimea." Sephiran is a pretty nice dude, at least as far as I know...

"Well, we'd best get moving. Have you seen a healer, Adam?"

"Oh, I'm fine just got a few scratches parrying." Elincia looked at me in shock, prompting me to take a look at myself. Oh jeez, I was covered in blood.

"Not mine. Aterial spurt. I'll just change when we make camp."

"You're sure? Alright. Get ready to depart, I want to be far away from here when General Petrine learns of what happened here."

"Yes, Sir." I went back to my friends to help get our wagons ready to go. Time to get the hell outta here. Goodbye creepy castle, I won't miss you.

Author's Note

Sorry that chapter took so long, but I was busy again, and I was having problems with writer's block.

In other news, I have allowed guest reviews. That means that even if you don't have an account/aren't logged in, you can still review. Naturally, I would encourage you to do so. These reviews are moderated by me, so no flames. I will not remove concrit or genuine concerns though.

I know I got a little risky with Adam's character in this chapter, making him decent at sneaking and okay at fighting, but the truth is that I can be kinda stealthy in real life, and Adam was only able to kill when he had surprised people. And he will be having some difficulty coming to terms with those kills, particularily that first one, in future chapters. Overall, I don't think that counts as Stuism, but I want to be sure and don't trust myself enough to be the judge of that. If you think the character is a Stu, please let me know. I realize I may sound paranoid, and that's because I am, but hey better safe that Stu. Anyway, review PM me or whatever, I'm always happy to hear from readers. Seeya next time.