Back again! Wow I feel like this week went by super slow...btw I'm writing Chapter 40 right now, NO JOKE

Chapter Fifteen

Sandtrapped Village, Sendusk

Standing atop a keep surrounding the defensive wall of Treige are three figures.

One, the Ethereal Man that the group encountered a few times was tapping his foot, if he had facial features they would display a tense, impatient and angry face.

"Roltz…what did you do with him?" one of the people, a man next to him asked.

"Took him to Meloi, the big guy can keep him in one place till I figure out what went wrong in the mine…"

"Nothing went wrong, Murawk just lost it…I'm not surprised he was overwhelmed…while they certainly lacked in strength against him, that tactician isn't regarded for nothing." The other person, a woman said before grinning.

The Ethereal Man places a sharp clawed hand on his head as if to ease a migraine before turning to the other two.

"We need to keep doing what we're doing…or rather, what we aren't doing yet…where is Jyuugo?"

The two glanced at each other then back at the glowing man as wings made of a black aura sprouted from his back.

"Jyuugo is doing what he was assigned to do…he is in Regalshin, we are about to leave for Pozem…though I'm not too sure about leaving these people to the Dune Guard and Korgans again." The man stated as the Ethereal Man turned in the direction of the northern nation.

"Neither am I…but it was a huge risk popping in there to rescue Roltz…the imbecile nearly compromised everything…we will remain in the shadows of the night until things truly begin…"

The woman coughed, the Ethereal Man turned to him once again absence of a face did not hide that he was annoyed and wanted to know what the other two were thinking.

"Why must we always act around midnight? It is very, very inconvenient."

"He likes it that way…remember, that is who and what we are…alright you two, off to Pozem with you, this mess is entirely under Meloi's jurisdiction."

Nodding to each other, the pair watched as the Ethereal Man flew off into the night. They turned to each other and nodded, raising their hands as a black lightning bolt hit them and they vanished.

Iltar'Elm stood in the middle of his Chief Station as the travelers settled. Soren walked over to him "You know the easiest way to get to where we are going…I'd rather hear this from a local."

Iltar'Elm grinned "The archives with all the information you require is up north in the capital of Sarhara…near the Sarharan Palace is the Western Archive. Home to much of the information, not just of Sarhara but of what the nation gathered from the others during the intermittent periods of peace and since the beginning of all this peace and as the old apothecary you met mentioned, it has been maintained for generations."

Soren nodded "Alright…once we figure out who we're looking for, we can find them and put a stop to whatever this is before it begins."

Iltar'Elm sighed "Why exactly is this so important to you? Not that I don't appreciate it but…"

"They took the first shot at us before we were even aware something was happening." Mia cut in, walking over to the pair. Soren acknowledged her as she crossed her arms and faced Iltar'Elm.

"Despite the fact that we aren't the Greil Mercenaries any more, we fought for much more than ourselves during our travels. I suppose this is like one last extension of that journey."

Iltar'Elm turned to the double doors leading to his personal room before facing the pair again.

"Alright, I truly appreciate the actions you are taking…and even if part of it is personal, I extend my thanks from as much of Sarhara as I can…now, it is not ideal to travel in the dark, there aren't as many landmarks in the Sarharan deserts as the forests of Anondye. In the morning I'll tell you a bit more about this place, help you all get ready and you can begin the first part of your quest to Shuize the Crown City."

After Iltar'Elm bid them farewell for the night Mia walked over to where Orgoth, Leena, Fistivus and Wayu were and pulled aside the knight from Euto.

"What were you and Lyle doing exactly?" she asked.

The knight shrugged "I'm a very careful person Mia, I know he is your friend but Lyle just never sat right with me…turns out, all he does in some cities is leave to speak with old friends he met while traveling…I supposed my suspicion was misplaced."

Mia turned away and thought over for a while before noticing Lyle speaking with Mikel, Lune and Wyre then she looked back to Orgoth "I see…I suppose it's good to know he wasn't up to anything…strange…"

Orgoth nodded "Sorry Mia, I'm not trying to make you doubt yourself about him or anything…"

She shook her head "I've been through enough to know not everyone trusts instantly…heaven knows that we've dealt with enough traitors and such over the years."

Deciding to lighten things up, she joined Orgoth as he continued to speak with Wayu, Fistivus and Leena.

Soren sat on the middle of the floor in the room given to him and Mia for the night. His eyes were closed as he tried to focus on one very specific thing.

"Come on…I know you're there."

"Where?" standing and turning, Soren came face to face with Ashnard again. This time he didn't back down as the larger man stood from a chair and smiled at Soren.

"I certainly didn't expect you to come looking for me…seeing as how you…well…fled so quickly last time."

Soren glared at the Mad King "I will admit, seeing you after so long and learning what I did…terrified me…but I see this as an opportunity to…"

Ashnard laughed as Soren began to think of what to say "I hope you aren't going for 'bond'…you learned that I was your father…I'll do you one little thing right now…I myself didn't know who you were even as you came alongside Ike to fight me in Melior all those years ago. I knew you were Branded and that there was something there…but in the end, at least at the time, I would kill you all, so I decided to forget about it."

"Why do you care now? Who am I to you?"

Ashnard took one step towards Soren, the sage backed away as the man grinned "No. I can't tell you any of that…besides…do you want to be the new Mad King? Speaking to a phantasm of your past like this is certainly a good way to go about doing it."

Before Soren could speak again, the door opened and he was sitting on the floor again looking up at Mia.

She raised an eyebrow at him as he stood "Meditating?"

"Something like that." He responded.

In the morning the group stood outside as the sun beat down on the village. As opposed to the lighter more free and comfortable wear of Anondye, the clothing style here seemed to be very white and short. Most people were fairly brown from the sun and as hot as it seemed to be, they walked around unfazed.

Sarhara was covered in three massive deserts with some patches of earthy land between them. The Viridian River that ran from the Emerald Falls continued into Sarhara and pooled into an oasis west of Sendusk.

They followed Iltar'Elm as he led them to the village chief's home, after a short conversation he returned with a map of the desert nation. He pointed to some places between Sendusk and Shuize, specifically a 'route' between the two.

"This generally traveled path isn't beaten into the ground like Anondye, it is just natural for people traveling from one place to the next. The Craw Desert Route leads through a dip surrounded by cliffs of sands and eventually comes out into a caravan rest where most traveling parties stop."

Mikel whistled as he looked at the map "How hot does it get out there?"

Wayu shook her head "I'd rather not know…I'm already sure it's hotter than it is now."

Iltar'Elm smiled "Indeed…"

"Where is the next city? Or is there nothing between here and Shuize?" Leena added in.

The sniper looked down at the map "There is a small settlement, not at all a city like Euto or Treige or even like this humble village of Sendusk. The reason for it being so small is-"

"It was near the Dune Guard's hideaway…" Soren added in, noticing the spot marked on the map.

Lyle moved in closer to get a better look "We avoided the Korgan's hideout…then again, it wasn't exactly on the route…I imagine we'll have to be very careful going through here."

Mikel scratched his head "Why? They-"

"If they attack us, the settlement might get caught in the crossfire. As small as it is, we don't want to be responsible for making it smaller." Wyre stated from behind Mikel.

Fistivus and Lune walked up to the group, the old man cracked his back "Got lots of water, definitely going to need it for this trip…though I'd rather you all watch it anyway."

"That goes double for you Mikel." Lune quickly added pointed at the warrior who held his arms up in defense.

The group thanked Iltar'Elm for his assistance; he turned to Fistivus and Lune and offered to give the group more food. Fistivus wasn't too sure but Lune convinced him to accept the Sarharan's offer.

The group got into the merchant carts as they began moving out of Sendusk.

Iltar'Elm waved after them, as they crossed the bridge over the quicksand he let out a long breath. He had to admit he still doubted a lot of what Soren and Mia told him and Ottenz. He realizes there was an attack in Treige but that could mean many things. Regardless he was in no position to move on his own, stopping his out of control train of thought he sighed again "This conflict…if it is truly as they say…what could it mean for the whole of Ymarkteg?"

He turned to look at the rest of Sendusk as the population continued their daily activities, "Soren, Mia…if I didn't have a responsibility to these people, I would join you…I wish you nothing but success in your quest."

E3 is next week...apparently a trailer for Smash Brothers 4 will be shown during Nintendo's first E3 Direct, I really can't wait :D