Argh I had the hardest time writing this. There really isn't much information given about Rogue in the game, so I had to make up a bit of it myself. I also don't recall it ever being given a place on the map. To me, it seems like a place with Tiberoan culture--Tiberoa obviously has several coastal communities, like Rogue is, and Haschel looks like some of the other random Tiberoans you see in the game. So that's where I set Rogue for my fanfic. However, if anyone can provide information that either supports or denies my thoughts on this, let me know. I can't really change it for my fic now, but it'll be helpful to know for future reference. Thanks.

EDIT: Yes, I am now aware that I've pretty much put Rogue on the wrong side of the continent. At this point, I can't change that, but I will if I do any future drafts of the story. I'm sorry if this offends anyone's sensibilities, please just bear with me and my mistake. Hopefully it's the only major one I make in the story :).

-----

"What kind of name is 'Coen,' anyway?"

"A perfectly fine Serdian one."

"Talk about weird."

"Oh, if you want to play that game, 'Reezy' is a rather odd name."

"That's because it's not a name, it's a nickname."

"What kind of name would 'Reezy' be based on?"

The Northlander said a string of words Coen couldn't even begin to decipher. "It means 'Song on the Breeze' in your language. Niira told me so when I first met her. And then she just shortened it to 'Reezy' and now that's what everyone calls me."

"What kind of name is 'Song on the Breeze'?"

"A Northlander one, of course."

Alakyl sighed, rolling her pale eyes skyward. The two men had been picking on each other like this almost since they left Bale.

"It was given to me because I'm a musician."

"I thought you were a priest."

"That's what a warrior-bard is, where I come from."

"A fighting, singing priest. Great." Coen said that with far less sarcasm than he would have a week ago.

"Don't you forget it." Reezy stumbled on a loose rock. As the group had crossed over the mountains, the terrain had become too treacherous for the horses, and they had left the animals behind at the last village. There was no sense in getting slowed by an animal who had lamed itself by slipping down the rocky slopes. "How far away is this Rogue place now, anyway?"

"Can't be far," Coen replied."

"That's not very helpful."

"Sorry. I've never been to northern Tiberoa before. I've only seen the maps, it's a totally different thing to actually cross the land."

"So wait, you've never even been to this country before?"

"Yes I have. Just not the northern part."

"What's so interesting about the south?"

"The capital city."

"You humans have such strange cultures."

Coen just ignored that, concentrating for a moment on finding a safe path up the next hill. "Besides, Rogue isn't exactly part of Tiberoa, it's like...an island community that isn't really connected with any particular country. Tiberoa's just the easiest way to get to it."

They finally crested the hill. Before them lay a long, flat beach, with a few hazy islands visible in th distance.

"Rogue's on one of the further islands," Coen commented.

Alakyl barked excitedly a few times, her long tail waving back and forth.

"What're you going on about?"

"She likes the ocean," Reezy said. "Her race lives on islands. She hasn't been near any for a long time."

"Huh." Sometimes, I wish I understood more of what's going on with everyone in the Northlands. Coen started down the hill, careful not to slide down the pebbly slope. Alakyl raced past him, her four feet giving her a much more solid footing. She didn't stop when she reached the bottom of the hill, running for the ocean. In a few minutes, she was a mere reddish smudge against the pale sands as she played in the breakers that pounded on the coast.

"How exactly do you intend to get to the island?" Reezy followed Coen's cue, finding the studier stones to step on.

"Not sure."

"You are horrible at planning these kinds of trips, you know?"

"There's got to be some ship in one of the coastal towns willing to take us there. We just need to look around a bit."

"Do you always do things so haphazardly?"

"Usually."

"And yet you're some important military guy."

"That's the reason I'm allowed to keep my post."

"What, stupidity?"

"I prefer to call it a...lack of applied common sense."

-----

Coen was right in that they could find a ship in one of the towns. A merchant was making a run to a port in the northeast of Mille Seasau, and he would be passing close enough to the islands that moving a few leagues closer to them for Coen's sake wouldn't be much of a problem for him, for a price of course. They couldn't leave until the next morning, though, as that was when the tide would favor them. This minor setback frustrated Coen, but he resigned himself to the wait.

He managed to find a room at one of the inns for himself and the Northlanders, and they retired there early that evening. At least, they tried to. Alakyl was not allowed in due to her sand-laden fur, so Reezy (she still didn't trust Coen) had to spend quite a while helping her get her fur clean again. Once they were in for the night, Coen ended up surrendering his bed to Alakyl, as he was too edgy to sleep. Even such a small wait such as this one worried him. He had no idea how much longer King Albert could hold on, whether it was months or weeks or just days.

Coen was sitting outside before the sun rose. He had no idea how long he had been out there, but his muscles protested with stiffness when he moved to stand. Should go get Reezy and Alakyl, I guess...

But Reezy was waiting at the front door of the end. "You know, it'd be nice if you didn't just disappear randomly in the middle of the night."

"Is that a touch of worry I hear in your voice?"

Reezy scowled.

"I was just coming up to get you."

The Northlander shrugged. "I wake up early. I was under the impression that you didn't."

"I don't." Coen did in fact rather like his sleep, although he tended to get precious little of it.

"So, you skip sleep like this often?"

"Sometimes."

"Why?"

The knight didn't answer him, instead heading upstairs to collect his few supplies and Alakyl.

Within a few minutes, the group was making their way back to the docks, where the merchant awaited them. The man's ship was not terribly large, but it would suit their purpose well enough. Coen wished, though, that they could approach Rogue with a bit more protection. But I guess asking for the whole damn Queen Fury would really cause a lot of commotion. I wonder if we could have gotten the use of her if Albert asked... Coen found himself distracted by this train of thought.

It took him a while to realize that Reezy was no longer walking with him. Pausing to look around for the priest, Coen saw him hanging back, eying the merchant's ship with clear distaste. "Come on."

Reezy didn't move.

Coen sighed. "What's wrong?"

"I'm a cat. I hate water."

"It's a ship. You won't be in the water, you'll be on it."

"Exactly." Reezy shuddered.

"How'd you get over here from the Northlands?"

"Flew on Kitty."

"Oh. Right. Well, you can always just wait here and we'll contact you after we figure out what happened in Rogue."

"No, I'm coming. I just thought you might want to know about my hydrophobia before-hand." Reezy reluctantly stepped up the gangplank.

-----

The trip to Rogue was shorter than Coen had expected. Even still, Reezy kept himself locked below decks, refusing to eat anything and constantly complaining about "slimy, cold, nasty water." Coen, on the other hand, spent his time leaning against the deck rails, looking out across the water. He had never been on a ship before, and while the feeling of rolling across the water was interesting, he decided early on that he preferred his solid ground.

One late afternoon, the merchant walked over to him, smiling and humming to himself. "Your friend's not so fond of the water, huh?"

"Not really."

"It's not for everyone, I suppose."

"I can see why." Looking at nothing but the same water and distant islands for days straight was certainly enough to drive anyone mad.

"Say, what brings you two to Rogue anyway? Not many people go there."

Oh shit. Coen was never good at coming up with cover stories on the spot. Even if he had time to prepare, his stories never seemed to work. "Just...visiting an old friend."

"Uh-huh."

Coen knew that tone of voice. He had failed once again. Of course that story wouldn't work, why would anyone 'just visiting a friend' be carrying weapons?

"Well, like I said, not many people go there. Not much of anything comes and goes from that place. Always quiet."

"Really?" the knight said slowly, trying to think of how to get out of this conversation...or possibly press the merchant for information about what happened. "I was told...we haven't heard from our friend in a few months, and it isn't like him to just stop communicating unexpectedly like that."

"Now that you mention that..." The merchant sounded thoughtful, as if he had just remembered something.

Coen tried not to get his hopes up too much.

The man leaned closer to him. "Word around the towns is that nobody's heard from the whole community of Rogue in many months. They say strange things happen near there. Those who go to the island don't return. Even King Zior sent a small detachment of knights there...and they were never heard from again. Or so the rumors say." The merchant looked out across the water, his face sad. "This friend of yours must be very special indeed if you're willing to take such a big risk."

Coen's blood ran cold. "He is," he said, in a voice that sounded hollow to his own ears. Great Soa above...what have I gotten myself into? What on earth made Albert think a single knight and a couple companions could face this? Has he gone insane? Have I gone insane? He grimaced.

"Well, I hope he's all right. Hope it's just an issue of not being able to leave the island for some reason, and nothing else."

"Me too." Any god who cares to listen, please let the Moon Gem's replacement be safe.