Colan IV

It had been five days since they'd reached Volantis, and Colan could tell that the group was on edge. Da was most obvious, with his back and hair standing straighter than usual, his eyes sweeping back and forth as they moved throughout the city. It was how he always looked when he knew that something dangerous was going on. He'd seen it enough when they'd been alone to know that he was clearly on edge.

Emiya, the one he'd been with the second most, was also clearly agitated. It had taken him time to figure it out, but Emiya tended to keep at least one of his blades out when he was on guard, not exactly in hand, but clearly at his side. Considering his magic, it was not necessary, he could just call Kanshou or Bakuya to his hand, but it was likely meant to demonstrate that he was armed.

Lady Nitocris was a bit harder to see than the two men of the group, but he had managed to catch the fear in her too. True, she was frowning, but she already did that a lot. No, it was her second pair of ears. He had found the jackal-like appendages to be quite unusual, almost cloth-like, but he'd known that they were actually able to hear. And they also reacted often quite like a dog's ears, so when they stood up straight, he was able to tell she was nervous and listening around. He had meant to mention it to the dark-skinned woman, but part of him wondered if she had any kind of control over them.

Then there was Lady Xuan.

"You broke another melon?"Da said, as Colan looked over at the monk, her plum eyes twisting away for a second as he asked the question. He then saw the merchant staring at them, his arms crossed in indignation. Da shook his head, and pulled out a small silver coin, and tossed it to the merchant. He then looked back at Lady Xuan, before Cu sighed, "Come now dear, you must know to control your own strength."

They had decided to abandon the outer town after their first night there, and used some of the money they'd taken from the bandits up in the mountains to rent a room in an inn on the Western side of the town. They had holed up there for a full day, everyone else whispering among themselves as they discussed everything that they had learned so far. Only after that full day did they go out, and always in at least a pair.

Colan would only go out with his father and Lady Xuan, who had taken the same roles they had had as a fake couple on the ship into New Ghis. If anyone asked about Colan, they just had to explain they were travelers who had met up, and had a child. It had been nice to finally get out of the room, but…

"What's gotten into you?" Da let out a growl as they walked away from the stall, "That's the third piece of produce you've broken since we left an hour ago," Lady Xuan looked down in no small amount of shame, "Five more melons and we'll only have enough silver for eight nights more and not nine," he shook his head, "And if anything else goes wrong-"

"I understand," the Lady grumbled, "If we are not able to find our," her mouth twisted for a moment, "Comrade tomorrow night, "We will have to stay here for another six days so we can find her," she grumbled to herself, "No matter how much time that would waste on ou-"

"How would that be a waste of time?" his father asked, as the three of them continued to walk down the busy street. They had primarily stayed on Volantis's west side, better understood as the foreign half of the city, and that meant they could move freely without too much fear of the Old Blood deciding to pick him off, even if they still remained as groups for their own safety, "Are you suggesting something about our little bit of burnt french toast?"

Colan ignored the strange food that his Da had described, and instead took a moment to look up at the Great Bridge. They had been able to cross the bridge, and it had been as wondrous as Colan had imagined when he had first heard of it. They had moved quickly, however, and once they had made it to the other side, Da had made a point to Colan that at least two slavers had been following them along the bridge, particularly focused on Colan, as a young boy with strange red eyes.

"I am merely saying," Lady Xuan began, "That if she is able to be a leader here, perhaps it is safer to move on to another servant, and try and find one who isn't," he closed her eyes, clearly trying to find the calm words that usually came to her so easily, "engaged in such unseemly-"

"Unseemly," Da said, Colan noticing his right eyebrow raise, "Sorry Xuan, but if you want to talk about unseemly, you probably shouldn't be walking next to me right now," he flashed the smile he always would when he was talking about a particularly gruesome story from the war, "Either in this lifetime, or the last," he put both his hand behind his head, "I've killed enough good men in both those lives to probably equal everyone our little Jalter has burned to death in the last six months, and let me tell you, most of them aren't as willing as what we're hearing about these pyre people."

That had been the strangest thing they'd learned about the next Spirit since they'd arrived. The old man hadn't been wrong. As they had asked around, what they had found was that each group of six had gone willingly, that while they had drunk potions, it did seem that those who burned had been honest in their belief in what they were dying for. One woman who had lost her sister to one of these burnings two months ago, had said that she had been told over and over again that once the ritual had been complete, Azor Ahai would appear, and the Walls of Volantis would fall, ending the bondage. Yet that woman had not been a slave, but merely a fishmonger, and the composition of the groups had been eclectic like that, with a mix of free lower class, foreigners, and slaves.

"Yet you do so only in battle," Lady Xuan spoke up, her cheeks getting a red hue suddenly as she spoke, "You do not send people to burn for their faith."

"Not if you count sending them to hell for fighting for a rotten king," Colan winced. Da would often describe stories from his time in Robert's Rebellion, the great war that had been fought in the Sunset Kingdoms. But he had never gone on too much about the details of the conflict itself, other than he had personal reasons to hate the former Dragonlords, "But that doesn't matter. I've killed plenty of people, and Nitocris is from of family of filthy slavers, so really neither of us are any better than our witch, so don't act like there's some moral reason you are asking us to move on," Lady Xuan's eyes snapped over at Da, "You just want to leave because you really don't like Jalter."

Twas a strange name. When Colan had first been told that the witch the elder had spoken of was their target, he had been alarmed, but understood. The previous two spirits had been a pit fighter and, as Da had just said, a slaver, so it wasn't like there wasn't precedent for strange and dark people being these allies. But the description of her as Jeanne Alter…he had been forced to ask if Alter was her name, or whether she was a disguise put on by a woman named Jeanne. That had just resulted in Emiya declaring it too difficult to explain to Colan without context, and instead agreed to call her Jalter as a faster way to say her name.

"Okay fine," Colan noticed that Lady Xuan's cheeks had puffed out slightly, "I don't like her, and think Chaldea would be just fine without her," she then looked over at Da, who didn't react, "Aren't you about to say something?"
"What?" Da shrugged, "Not exactly my opinion, but not necessarily wrong either," he whistled, "Believe me, there are some servants I'd be okay without."

"Mebd?"

"You are as wise as your Bhudda," Da said, before shaking his head, "So no, I really don't feel like I can judge you on this," he stared off, before leading them to the next little stand full of sea spiders, red claws sticking up into the air, "And I can't necessarily say that your view is really that unpopular," he raised up one of them, "Hey, can you eat this?"

"No," Lady Xuan shook her head, and then Cu groaned, before setting it down, and leading them further, "Thank you for considering my diet in this shopping," she bowed her head, "I know it is something to deal with when feeding five people."

"It's just what we're going to have to do when we are having to stretch out our coin," Da shook his head, before reaching another small cart, this time with a large number of tubers and roots, "Though to get back to the whole Jalter thing," he smiled, "I can at least say you aren't the only one to have a negative opinion of her."

"I know that," she took one of the roots and placed it into the small basket that they had brought, smiling as Da began to pull out money for the man, "I think it's far rarer to find someone who actually likes her," she shook her head, "Most of the servants she copied for her little reverse harem stunt will tolerate her, yes, but they aren't really her friends."

"Well," Da tapped his chin as he finished filling up the food basket, smiling as he knew they'd gotten their little trip done, "Let's see, after our last summer vacation," Lady Xuan seemed to flinch, "I can pretty much say that Ushiwakamaru likes her quite a bit."

"Very strange," Lady Xuan nodded her head, "Though you are correct. Ushi does seem to like her now."

"Yeah, and like Ushi there's a couple of others from that summer incident, Atalante's girls do seem to look up to her too, so there is them" he turned back to the way they'd come, and stroked his chin, "Then of course, there's her sister."

The way Da had said sister caused Colan's ears to perk up.

"Jeanne is a very good person," the monk nodded, "Yet that only makes her toleration of her…"sister" more infuriating," she shook her head, "It's not like this is her only sister anymore either. The little one is adorable and incredibly sweet, yet that holy woman only barely contains the witch," she shook her head, "Perhaps just different perspectives from our faiths."

"Eh, with my relationship with the divine, I can't comment either way," Da admitted. Colan had noticed that Da simply didn't mention the Gods as much as he had used to, and he had hardly been a religious man to begins with, "Still, I can imagine that Jeanne was desperate for someone to connect with, and Jalter probably seems as good as anyone."

"Well, I'd say there isn't, but she wouldn't listen to me anyway," Xuan shook her head, before saying, "and then there is…"

"Master."

Colan cringed. He really didn't like hearing about this Master. Sometimes they just used the name Ritsuka, but they would often get in the habit of calling him that name, and after everything Da had told him, he could barely accept that his powerful father would refer to someone with such a title, much less follow a man who used it. Slavery was wrong, one need only look around to the suffering around them here in Volantis to see that. Yet Da and the other Spirits continued to call this Ritsuka by that title.

"I honestly don't see it," Lady Xuan cut him off from his thoughts, "He is such a kind and wonderful young man," Colan suddenly felt his fists tighten for some reason, "Yet despite everything that woman has put him through, he still treats her," she looked away, "Like she's something worth particular attention."

"I'd make a guess why?" Da laughed, and Lady Xuan threw her eyes directly at him, though he just didn't seem to care, and he continued to laugh anyway, "Oh come on, you know what a young guy like him is like?"

"The sins of man are always lurking," Lady Xuan sighed, before reaching out, and grabbing Colan by the arm. She pulled him closer, and Colan couldn't help but blush as he nearly ran into the woman from her pull, "Colan this way, we must move quickly so we can have the food for Emiya. He must have time to prepare a proper meal."

"Yes Lady Xuan," Colan said, trying to keep himself from ramming into her and…well, the soft parts of her. After he managed to regain control of his motion, and they began to walk forward, Da came up beside them, and gave Colan a look. Colan felt his shoulders sag at the look, and turned his head softly away from Da, who just shook his head for a moment.

"Yeah," Da coughed, following alongside them, "Sin all around us."

They continued down the street, passing the many different shops and booths littering the pathway along the west side of the city. There were certainly slaves on this side, the image of several men with wheels and horse heads tattooed on their cheeks gave that away, not to mention the several large pleasure houses with pretty girls in…outfits enticing customers to come in, but it was less than it had been on the bridge, and certainly less than the wall to wall slaves they had seen on the East side of the city. It was about the same as New Ghis…though if the freer side of Volantis was as full of slavery as New Ghis, then that said nothing good.

That thought was only emphasized by the inn they were staying at. The Merchant's House was to the buildings around it as an elephant to a herd of horses. The Fat, gray building bulged along the waterfront, with every second someone coming in or out of its front door. It had been their choice when they had been looking for a place to stay, and its supposed excellent locks had been a must after their time in Qarth.

Just as they entered the main common room, however, they saw Emiya and Nitocris out there, sitting at the table. Da blinked for a second, and noticed that they were speaking to one of the staff. The man was looking between the two, and slowly playing with a few silver coins in his hand. Da looked over at them, and waved for Colan and Lady Xuan to follow.

"I thought we decided against spending money?" Da asked, an eyebrow raised, and Emiya looked back with his own raised eyebrow.

"Well this man," he gestured toward the staff member, who was shiftily moving his eyes around, "has agreed to help us without predicament?"

"Oh," Da placed a food on a stool, causing the staff member to wince. The stools had been generally clean, though Colan would have to imagine this was because of the amount of work the staff put into keeping it clean, "Really then?" he looked the man, a mousy figure up and over. Colan looked at him too, and noticed that there was a strip of skin missing from his right cheek, a symbol of a man who had managed to escape slavery, "Does this guy happen to have an in with our little arsonists or…"

"No," the man spoke up quickly, shaking his hands, "I…I think that there is a certain madness with this," he then leaned closer, so no one would hear, "They may have a few people here, so don't speak too loudly."

Da and Xuanzang looked around, and then leaned forward, Xuan pulling Colan into the meeting too. The man nodded as sighed, before shaking his head. He grabbed up the cup in front of him, pulled it up for a sip, before setting it down.

"I can't get you with the cult now, but I can get you a meeting with someone who can tomorrow," he then stopped, "Are you su-"
"Yes," Emiya groaned, "We are sure."

"...fine. Have you heard of the Widow of the Waterfront?"

The night had passed very slowly. None of the adults had been able to get much sleep, and because they hadn't been able to sleep, Colan hadn't been able to sleep much either. All of them kept fidgeting, or talking about plans. It had been frustrating, especially since he wasn't
magical as the others were.

"So where shall we meet the Widow?" Colan yawned, only to receive a pat on the shoulder from Da. They had walked into the main common room of the Merchant's House, and were surveying the many small tables dotting the sides of the room, "Sorry."

"Our fault," Da coughed, and Colan could see the faces of the other servants covered in a similar apology.

"To answer your question," Emiya pointed over to a table at the very corner, on the opposite side of the main door, and Colan's eyes immediately locked onto the singular occupant of the table. It was an old woman, with very thin white hair and a visible scalp. Her back was laid directly against a stone wall behind her, and her eyes were hovering over the inn. She finally landed on them, and stopped, before starting up once more, though…

"She's trying to act like she didn't see us," Cu spoke up, and Colan nearly burst out into a grin on realizing he'd caught the same thing as his Da had. This woman was crafty, as if it hadn't been for years of training, he wouldn't have been able to make the catch, and she'd chosen the best possible seat for herself, at the back, in the shadows, with her back facing a stone wall.

"Well," Emiya said, beginning to march towards her, a scowl on her face, "Might as well go introduce ourselves," he then held up a small bag, "Don't worry, I got what we need to have this go our way."

It took only a moment for the group to make it to the table. The old woman continued to lean backward against the wall, and her eyes seemed to dart around as they took seats among the chairs. Colan followed her eyes, and saw several armed men standing around them, the "Widow's Sons". They weren't actually related, but rather armed men who were on her payroll, which Colan understood was massive, a gift from her late husband.

Colan looked at her face, and saw the scars and old burn beneath her right eye, a mark that she had been one of the lucky few to escape slavery in Volantis. That she had risen so high, even with the help of her husband, spoke to her ability. There were more than a few on all edges of the city that would aim to bring her down, and yet she lived to appear as a withered crone.

The Widow, having made sure that she was protected from this group, held out her right hand. Emiya smiled, and pulled out a jewel. Colan winced, as that jewel had cost all the money they would have used to pay for their room for the next six nights. They were almost completely broke now, so this was going to have to work, or else they may have to do something really drastic to get his Da's comrade. Though much of the trepidation disappeared as the woman nodded with the jewel in her hand, pulling it back.

"What is it that you need assistance with?" her voice was soft, almost as if it was hiding as much as the Widow was, "My man you were speaking with only said you were foreigners who needed to speak to someone about the witch's hour."

"Well," Emiya leaned forward, his eyes fixed on her, "That is a very basic understanding of what we are hoping to accomplish," he then smiled at her, "We are looking at possibly going to one of these ceremonies, and we had heard you might be able to provide us an in to the event before it happens."

"Pfft," the witch chuckled, "And what does that girl mean to foreigners such as you?"

'She isn't even bothering to hide she knows our target,' Colan noticed. This was a move to establish her power in this conversation. That she knew what they wanted to know, and unless she was treated with the proper level of respect, she wasn't going to work with them. Emiya, however, didn't move an inch, simply continuing to stare at the old woman.

"The witch is our concern because she has been burning people for the past few months, and even if they are accepting that fate willingly," he managed to cut the Widow off with that, "That doesn't mean what is happening is acceptable. This needs to put a stop to it, and we need to get this woman to stop hurting other people."

"And what gives you the right to judge her?"

Emiya blinked at the question. As did Colan and from what he could see, the rest of the group. Xuanzang in particular looked as though the widow had grown a second head. The widow simply continued to glare at them looking for an answer. Just as Emiya was about to speak up, he was cut off by her once more.

"Don't think I haven't met foreigners like you," she looked between them, "Or that I don't know the Hound of Winterfell when I see him," her finger pointed directly towards Da, whose eyes widened at the accusation.

Emiya stopped, and looked back at Da, who seemed to shrink at the mention of the title. All the other members of the team looked back at Da too, and he only seemed to shrink further. Colan had known his father had been well known, but this was one of the first times it was being brought up by someone on their own, rather than him using it to get a better deal with a contract. It wasn't something Da seemed to be happy with, if his eyes were any indication.

"How do you know that?" Da finally spoke up.

"A tall blue haired man with red eyes and a little munchkin with him," Colan nearly spoke up at the term, but stopped when Xuanzang held up a hand in front of his face, "Or that you are wearing armor showing your greatest conquest," Colan looked, and saw the hounds surrounding the massive bull. It was a story that Da had always told him that he'd go over some other day, "And of course, I spoke with the Black Knight."

Da blinked, before his face settled into a small frown. His eyes seemed to be gazing on a far off place before he nodded, and placed a hand on the table. He focused his eyes into those of the widow, and then forced his frown into a smile.

"So how's the bastard doing?"

"I have not spoken to him recently," the widow leaned back as she said that, though her eyes seemed to scan around, "Was probably two, maybe three years ago," she placed her hand in her chin, "Was in here, asking about information of the most recent spat between the sisters over the disputed lands," she then managed to pull up a smile, "Then spent most of the last period doing what he and the True Knights always do."

"Would have thought he'd piss off someone so much they'd have killed him by now," Da offered, and the widow snorted.

"No you wouldn't," and Da nodded, almost chuckling, "Though he managed to get on the bad side of Tyrosh's archon," and Da winced, "He set free some captives rather than let them be turned into product for the merchants, and so a bounty is now on for his head," she sighed, "Fool's currently holed up along the Orange Shore, right outside Sar Sanshol."

"Who is this Black Knight?" Emiya finally asked, and Da smirked.

"A contact who we might stop by," before sighing, "If we need to," he then smiled again at the woman, "Of course, we aren't going to be going to see him until we've gotten that witch," his smile turned into a glare, "And if you know as much as you say you do, you'll know I'm not leaving without dragging her from this place."

"And I'll ask again," the widow responded, whatever connection she had gained with Da disappearing again, "What right do you have to take her."

"She's been determined by our client," Da pushed forward, and only now did Colan notice the look of shock on Emiya's face. This was perhaps the first real time in their time traveling that Da had taken the lead on negotiating or having a conversation, and he was likely trying to understand how to deal with this change in role, "to have a certain value to our group. We have been sent to retrieve her, as well as a group of nine other individuals."

"And how," the woman crossed her arms, "Might you know that the witch is the woman you are seeking?"

"Gray hair," Emiya cut in, waving his hand over his own head, "Like mine, but more like ash," he continued, "Pale skin," his hand waved across his face, "Yellow eyes?"

"Ha," she threw her head back and laughed, before returning her eyes to meet Emiya's, "You really aren't from around here," Emiya blinked at it, and then the woman continued, "If you were, you'd just call her an Ash Valyrian."

"Ash Val-"

"Those of Valyrian blood that's normal silver hair has become ash gray and whose amethyst eyes have transformed into gold," she rubbed her own silver hair, "Very rare, perhaps one in a million of those who would normally have the Valyrian Look have been made of ash," she frowned, "There is debate whether they are blessed or cursed, all that is known that they only began to appear after the Doom, and are very rare."

Her eyes seemed to gaze beyond them for a moment, "Some say, they are the dragons that died in the Doom, reborn in human flesh, and that one day, they might regain their wings and take to the skies. Others claim they are the smoke of the Fourteen Flames, and their blood shall burn you if you let it touch you."

"But the witch does match that description?"

"She does," the Widow nodded, not seeming to mind that she had been pulled from her tangent by Emiya . The group looked between one another, before nodding, and leaning forward. The Widow raised her eyebrow at them, and then sighed, "So you all mean to meet her, and then…what? Drag her away so you can hand her over to your client?" she nodded her head at the word "client", and from what Colan could gather she was implying a very different word, that seemed to cause Da's hair to bristle.

"Hey, this isn't an enslavement thing," Cu slammed his head down.

"Then what would it be?" she waved her hands around, "Volantis, the cities, the whole of this wretched continent is dedicated to slavers and their product," her black eyes fell to the table, "Of course, being a slave again would only be a return to that poor girl's previous life."

"Ah damnit," Da cursed under his breath.

Colan saw a sudden change in the attitude of the group. Da seemed to want to spit something out of his throat, and Nitocris's nose scrunched upward, new lines formed on her forehead. Emiya sighed, rubbing the back of his head for a moment. Lady Xuan's shoulders fell and she looked down for a moment.

'Did they not realize that Jeanne Alter would likely have been a slave if she was part of this religion?' he thought, before realizing, from a sudden emergence of shame, that they were probably kicking themselves about that too, 'Or…perhaps they were hoping she hadn't been a slave after all?'

"I remember the day I met that girl, the one to become the Witch of Light," the Widown continued, not really paying attention, "It was about five years ago, no six. The rest of the city was in a buzz about the Palace Pyre, yet I couldn't have given a care for it. Three Triarchs died, but three more were elected, and they didn't act any differently."

"But during that day, on the river bank, I saw a girl floating in the Rhoyne, bare to the water and the sun," she pointed out towards the river, and Colan almost gagged about the thought of swimming in the Rhoyne. Like most rivers around a city, the amount of sewage that flowed into the river had given it a very foul smell, "Well, some of my sons fished her out, and we brought her to a healer. I made sure to look after her, after all," she tapped the burnt skin beneath her right eye, "I would have wished the same done for me were I in her place."

"Ah fuck," even Colan winced as he realized exactly what kind of slave the witch had been, his Da's words expressing that outloud. For a moment, Colan couldn't help but imagine that his mother, or the image of his mother, leading around a group in robes, people burning all around her. He felt his spine shiver.

"Well, she was breathing, so I had the markings burnt off," the widow folded her arms around her chest, "all three tears-"

"Oh heavenly Buddha," Lady Xuan caught her face in her hand and shook her head.

"Yes, she was one of the most fortunate to be given three tears," the widow glared at Lady Xuan, who sighed, and leaned back, "I had them removed. But she was…she was what one would expect from a girl who had lived that life," she shook her head, "I was blessed beyond measure. My husband loved and freed me. But I saw what other girls with the three tears went through. They would enter a palace, marveling as any young girl would at the wealth around them. Then three months later, their bodies would be piled with the other refuse," her eyes black eyes widened, "And those were the lucky ones."

"How is-"

"They died fast."

The table was silent again.

…

"So, it took nearly a month for her to start to be able to move about normally. By that time, no one was really looking for her," the widow said, "Never gave me a name, but considering what she'd been through, she probably was happy to be rid of it," she sighed, "I had hoped to hire her on as a dancer or something, maybe working tables. Yet she almost immediately began to seek out more of the followers of R'hollor," she placed a hand on her head, "She would go for hours speaking about the things she saw in fire."

"Anything you can tell us about these visions?" Emiya leaned forward, "We have worked with her before, and maybe having so-"

"How would you have worked with him before," the widow glared at all of them, "This motley crew of windswept fools," she waved her hand over the five of them, "Why should I tell you any more? Why should I arrange for you to go to the ceremony tonight? You haven't told me why you wish to meet and take this girl awa-"

"You want the truth," Nitocris pushed herself forward, causing the widow to sit back. She'd been so quiet during the meeting, that obviously the widow was thrown off by her entry, "fine. She's a magical woman who was wrongly born after a strange magic took her away from our master, and now we are on a quest to bring all of them back home. Does that answer your question?"

…

"Wha-"

"Good lady," Emiya leaned forward, a sudden smirk on his face, "Have you heard of Asshai."

The Widow's eyes widened. Colan remembered he had told Emiya about the details of that dark place during their journey to Astapor. Cu had accused Emiya from coming from there and the Shadowlands around it, and he'd asked Colan to explain the details he had known. Colan had told him what was commonly known about Asshai by the Shadows, about the strange magics and necromancers and warlocks. And now, Colan realized, Emiya was about to use that knowledge to hit the target Nitocris's outburst had set up.

"Around thirty years ago," Colan saw Da nod at that, and he remembered that all of these heroic spirits would be about thirty years old, "one of the most powerful Warlocks was experimenting in a strange magic in Asshai, hoping to manage the conquest of death itself. He and fourteen of his finest students," he stopped, and waved his hands to the rest of the group, "Were tasked with performing the spell. It went strange though, and thirteen of his humble apprentices died," he then raised a finger, "Or so we thought."

"What actually happened," Nitocris cut in, smiling, realizing they were beginning to push this woman to help them, "Was that the thirteen of us were taken from our bodies, and scattered around the world as newborn infants," she then brought her hands together, and when she pulled them apart, a new dark black smoke appeared between her hands, "Our minds restarted anew, but our souls still having memories of who we were, allowing access to magics and skills you would not believe."

"And it was only recently that Master and I," Emiya placed his hand to his chest, "Were able to discover that. Now, our Master is far too," he winced, "Incapacitated to come to gather up his old apprentices, so I was sent to gather them instead," he gestured his head to his right and left, "I've reawoken three, and and found the fourth here."

"So the girl?"

"Is one of our missing souls," Nitocris declared, smirking as she twisted her arms around her chest, "And we are going to take her back to our master, one way or another."

"..." the old woman just stared at them for a moment, blinking several times, he black eyes wider than Colan had thought possible. Then, she brought her hands up to her face, and sighed, "Tis truly an awful day when I believe you."

"Oh thank the gods," Nitocris nearly fell out of her chair, and that caused the old woman to snort. The dark skinned girl's ears seemed to flop to the sides of her head as she tried to right herself, "What made you believe us."

"Besides your conviction," The widow spoke, rubbing her temples, "You all changed from High Valyrian to Westron Common at least twice during this conversation," she smirked as Colan saw the four adults blanch, "I suppose that must be a spell of tongues, to allow you to switch between them based on the last words I use. I at times use words from one while speaking the other, and the spell must have caught it like that."

"Ah," Emiya rubbed the back of his head, "That…might need to be fixed up a bit."

The widow snorted. Colan thought back for a moment, and then stopped. He…he couldn't have told the languages had been changing at all. To him, it had been only the a constant stream of the same tongue from the beginning to now. Had he not been paying attention…or was it possible the spell that was affecting the Heroic Spirits was beginning to touch him as well?

"So, you do have a care beyond this girl being a menace then?" the widow looked them over, "And I can guess from your reactions that there will be no chains for the girl under this master."

"Master might let her put h-ack!" Cu coughed as Lady Xuan elbowed him in the stomach. The Widow raised an eyebrow, before shaking her head. For some reason, the monk's face was red, though if it was anger or embarrassment, Colan could not guess for sure.

"Has been a long time since she and I spoke about the things she saw," the Widow finally continued the conversation once more, "What I can tell you was that she said she knew how to reach Azhor Ahai, that she would all him, and then he would smash the Black Walls to pieces."

"Anything else?"

"One other thing," the Widow's eyes seemed to look away in shame, "She said…at times it was as though she was in the flames herself, that she would look up into the sky, as the smoke and heat began to choke her," she looked away, "I worry…that she may soon think she must go to the pyre herself to full fill her goal. That she must burn to bring back Azhor Ahai."

"Well then you need to help us get there as soon as we can," Emiya looked around, and the others nodded. The Widow of the Waterfront nodded back, and then snapped a finger.

Suddenly, from the table right behind them, a man got up from his seat, and walked over next to the Widow. Colan blinked, realizing that the guards in the open had perhaps only been a small part of the men who had been there to protect the lady. The man leaned forward, and the woman spoke to him. He nodded, and then marched away quickly, keeping his eyes from looking directly at them. Da kept his eyes on the guard, while the rest continued to look at the Widow.

"He will be able to get you to a grouping place, they will be leaving from an abandoned fish shop a few blocks down by midday. One of five or so places they go out from. I'll be able to get you there, and have them told you will be among the sacrifices," before they could say anything, she continued, "You won't have any way of hiding among the whorshipers themselves, but we can probably convince them you wish to be sacrifices."

"What th-"
"That'll be fine," Emiya nodded, and the Widow nodded back. Slowly, the group got up from the chairs, though both Da and Nitocris were glaring at Emiya. Lady Xuan was looking down for a bit, shaking her head, "Thank you for your help, we greatly appreciate it."

"Deary," she shook her head, "If anyone's going to need help," she got up, and left alongside two of her "sons", "It's going to be you all."

Colan gulped as several men began to surround them. The men all had adopted as stone a face as they could muster, though more than a few seemed to be shocked by the heroic spirits. The man that the Widow had originally spoken to waved his hand out towards the front, and Emiya nodded. The group moved, out, though Da made sure to put Colan in the middle of the crowd, so anyone who passed by would have to get through all the spirits to get to him.

They soon pushed out of the front door of the Merchant's House, and into the streets of Volantis. The men continued to guide them, and as they did so, almost everyone seemed to give them space. Likely, it was only the threat of what the Widow might do to them if they disrupted her business, though perhaps they also sensed that this was a group about to be sent to their deaths.

"Why the hell did you volunteer us to go and burn," Da growled into Emiya's ear. Emiya sighed, before giving him a quick look back.

"I had to make a decision to get us to Jeanne Alter as quickly as possible," the bronze man said, "That meant taking whatever we could get. Besides," he looked around, "I don't mean to tell you that I think that unless they are packing magic, the four of us can handle a bunch of robed cultists pretty easily."

"But what about Colan?"

"The kid's smart enough to know to stay around us," Emiya then smirked, "He has far better sense than his father."

"That is true," Nitocris spoke up, and Da shot her a glare, causing her to look away and begin to whistle. Colan felt a hand lay on his shoulder, and looked up to see Lady Xuan smiling down at him. He felt heat along his cheeks, and looked away for a moment.

"And what makes you think us killing her weird cultist friends is going to get her to remember who she was," Da seethed, "It takes forming an actual memory to get that connection, and killing a bunch of people is only going to get her to double down."

"That's why I'm going to do this," he then pulled out the gray tube from the time on the boat, and instinctively, Colan brought his hands to his ears. The sound had caused them to ring for nearly the whole rest of the day. Emiya quickly pressed the button on top of the cylinder, and then said, "Need back up. It's Jeanne Alter."

Zkkkt

"Shit," he cursed, before returning the tube to his pocket, and then smiling, "Okay, that should be enough."

"Really?" Da raised an eyebrow, "Not saying having a fifth servant won't make this easier," he looked around, as the men around them seemed to be staring at this strange group of mad men and women, "But how does that convince her-"

"Because I told them it's Jeanne Alter," Emiya said. When Colan saw the other three spirits look at him, he shook his head, and continued to explain, "It will take them a bit of time, because we weren't able to have a full conversation," Emiya said, "But they now know who we need help with, and so they will probably send down a servant that has a connection with our witch. Which means-"

"Which means Jeanne D'Arc herself," Lady Xuan's smile almost completely covered her face, "Yes, excellent," she then looked down to Colan, and answered the question about he was about to ask, "Jeanne is Alter's…sister for lack of a better word," she then punched a fist into her open hand, "She is a mighty servant, with a powerful set of abilities, who shall prove to be very helpful in knocking some sense into our witch."

"Not only that," Nitocris was rubbing her chin thoughtfully, a smaller, though not less bright, smile on her own lips, "She has healing abilities, so she might be able to assist with any kind of damage either we or the cultists take if we must fight them," she then added, "And, if we can keep her, it will mean less danger of another Arash incident."

"She is pretty strong," Da was nodding as well, his frustration seeming to dissipate, "And she certainly can talk her way out of problems too, and we can always use someone with a less ugly face as our speaker," what surprised Colan was that Emiya didn't throw a punch at Da, but simply nodded along.

"And best of all," Emiya smiled, "There isn't a single better servant for talking down Jeanne Alter," Colan felt a sigh of relief, "They have most of the same memories, and Jeanne has known Alter long enough to know how to get through to her. And then there is another thing," he smiled, "If you think about it, we are dealing with a personality cult rather than a normal religious one, so if anyone can talk down a bunch of religious cultists down, it's Jeanne herself," he folded his arms together, and nodded, just as they seemed to be coming up to their destination, "I've been thinking this through most of the night, so we should be in the clear."

Colan smiled to himself. It was good to know they had a plan. He then looked around, and then up at Emiya.

"But Emiya, ser," the bronze man looked down, "When will this Jeanne arrive?" Emiya looked down at him questioningly, and Colan continued "Didn't Lady Vinci say it would take time for our assistance to arrive?"

"That's why I've done this with over six hours of time," Emiya pointed to the rings around Colan's finger, "Those rings you all are wearing will be a beacon that will get Jeanne right to us, and with six hours our time, that should be about," he stopped, as though he was counting in his head, "About twenty minutes or so there time. That should be more than enough to figure out the message, get Jeanne called up, and then have her sent down here."

Colan nodded, and felt relief flush the worry from his belly. They had an actual plan after all, and they would be fine as long as it went as they were expecting.

His belly was now bursting with worry.

"Lord Emiya," Colan was staring as the sun was beginning to fall beneath the disputed lands. Around them dozens if not over a hundred cultists in dark robes were dancing around a massive wooden pyre, with a small set of them talking amongst one another as they surveyed the massive pile of wood and the bottles of oil lying near it, "Jeanne still hasn't shown up yet?"

"I know," Emiya said through gritted teeth.

They were now over six miles up the River Rhoyne from Volantis, far outside the city limits and the immediate reach of any guards. The walk had taken most of the afternoon, as they had been stopped multiple times by different groups of cultists, who met with the ones that had taken them in earlier, to discuss the plans, and to show them off. They'd only spoken in whispers, but Nitocris had been able to tell everyone that they were always asking about why there were only five of them and why they were dressed weird. The Widow had provided them the story of traveling Mummer's who had been moved by the words of the Witch to become sacrifices, and somehow the cultists had believed that.

Once they'd arrived out this far, they saw the pyre begin to be put together, with massive piles of wood being stacked up in a crossing manner. Colan had to guess, from the sheer amount of wood, that it was twice the size of the pyre they'd seen that night from the far off town. Perhaps it was this large because it was easier to gather this much wood farther out from the city. Probably why they'd chosen to go out this far this time.

'Or mayhaps,' Colan looked over a slight bit, and saw what looked like scorch marks beneath some of the wood, 'they have returned to the sight whence this all began.'

All of the spirits were fidgeting, though Emiya was clearly doing so the most. While the others were likely getting ready for a fight, he was anxious that his plan wasn't working yet. He clearly needed this Jeanne girl for the negotiations to work, and without her, well, there might be real danger of failure.

Just as the sun was halfway between the sky and the earth, the chanting and dancing stopped. They all turned towards the pyre, their faces hidden beneath their robes, and stared as the leaders of the cult, seven of them in bright red robes, stood in front of the wood. And then the middle one stepped forward, and removed their hood, and Colan realized he was looking at the witch.

She was…strange.. Right beneath her right eye was a patch of burned skin, exactly like the Widow, though the rest of her skin was pale like milk. Her hair was indeed ash gray, much like the piles of ash they had seen while traveling down the Demon Road, blown from the hills of old Valyria to that gods forsaken pass. Her eyes were golden, and they did seem like a dragon's in the rays of the twilight, shining, seeing the whole world around her. She looked exactly to be Da and Nitocris's age, not like Lady Xuan, meaning any chance that she was already on their side was gone. This was going to have to be a talk, and as Colan continued to look around, he saw no Saint or Sister there to talk this witch down.

"Friends," the witches voice carried far, and any remaining movement ceased, "Tonight is the night," she raised her hands up to the sky, and her smirk turned into a cat's satisfied grin, "We have finally finished the ritual, and tonight, he shall be here," she then began to laugh, "Azhor Ahai shall come tonight!"

"YEAAAAAAGGGHHHHHHHHH!"

The crowd roared, and Colan pushed himself between the rest of the team. He needed to be prepared if this turned into a fight, and no matter how strong he was, he was merely eleven name days now, and he couldn't afford to get involved with hundreds of perhaps knife holding manics. The witch's eyes turned toward the group, and looked at them as a dragon to its gold.

"Our new heralds of Azhor Ahai have agreed to serve as the final sacrifices," she then smiled and snapped her finger. In a moment, a torch was produced, and sat on the pyre. Then oil began to be poured along the sides of the pyre, and soon the whole massive structure was ablaze, "In just a few minutes, you shall be placed on that pyre, the last si-"

The witch stopped, her eyes surveying Colan and the spirits. Colan, recognizing the way her mouth moved form when Da had at times been counting certain things, maths never being his strong suit, stopped, and then surveyed them again. Then, he could see a small vein begin to appear on her head, before she turned back, and yelled.

"WHAT IDIOT ONLY BROUGHT FIVE SACRIFICES!?"

"Oh, we insisted on that," Emiya stepped forward, somehow already calling forth Bakuya and Kanshou. The witch turned, and her eyes widened at the weapons, "Don't worry, the sixth member of our party is coming," he then raised the black blade, "But none of us is burning tonight."

"Oh," Colan felt his stomach drop, as the witch's anger seemed to…well, not go away, but transform into the cat's smile once again, as she looked down at them, "It does appear that our sacrifices are here to interrupt the calling of Azhor Ahai," she then let out a laugh, before pointing behind her, "Well, that shan't be too much of a problem. Tis more than enough of us to toss you into the fires, and watch you burn as a final calling. We even have five minutes before we must have you a light for the final calling. The Witch's hour is nigh, yet has not quite arrived."

"That won't be happening," Emiya raised his blade, and then Colan felt the square around him form. Lady Xuan formed a stance to fight with her hands, Nitocris had managed to summon a small purplish magic orb in one hand, and Da had summoned Gae Bolg.

'As much as I hate that thing,' Colan thought, looking over at the red demonic spear, 'Still better to have it pointed at them.'

"Besides," Emiya jumped back, forming the full square around Colan. Emiya looked back and nodded, and Colan nodded as well. The older man then turned his attention to the witch, who was glaring at him, "We will have a sixth member here, and once they arrive, not even Azhor Ahai will be able to keep us from taking you."

Everything remained quiet. The smirk on the Witch's face fell into a frown. She gritted her teeth, and then threw her hand directly at the group, a finger pointing at them.

"Take these heretics, these heathens, and toss them into the pyre!" she declared, "Once we have done that, I sha-"

BOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM

The sound of thunder roared above the riverbank. A flash of light temporarily blinded Colan, who shook his head, and blinked, and then suddenly felt himself be knocked from his feet, and then felt a cloud of dust and sand spread over him. He then quickly felt a hand reach down and grab him from the back of his shirt, and lift him to his feet, the dust falling off. He twisted his head, and in the direction of the explosion, he turned, and saw…

A small steel box in the middle of crater. Twas not a large crater, but there had clearly been an impact. He wondered for a moment if any had been beneath it, though from what he could see, it was just inside the ring of the cult. For a moment, the steel box just laid there, steam from the arrival just wafting off of it.

'Is…,' Colan asked himself, as he stared at it, 'Is that a coffin?'

And then, more steam began to shoot from it. A weird whizzing sound was beginning ring across the riverbank, and mixed witht eh crackling of the pyre fire.

'The Pyre,' Colan looked back. The pyre was still going, though it had been partially put out by the dust cloud. A few of the leaders of the cult were spreading more oil on the thing, while the witch stared at the coffin that had disrupted everything.

"What sorcery is this?" the woman demanded.

"Why, it's our sixth member," Emiya smiled, before pointing the one blade at the Witch, and the other at the box, "Inside there is the one who will end this madness. Once Jeanne's here," the witch's eyes glowered down at him, "We are going to get you-"

"Welcome to Planetos!"

The top of the coffin swung open suddenly, with steam still coming out. Slowly, a left hand reached out from the steam, and caught itself on one side. And then a right hand did the same. For a second, Emiya just stared at the box, something clearly having caught his eye. And Colan, looking at the right hand, saw what it probably was.

'What strange red tattoos.'

And then the figure fully lifted itself from the coffin.

It clearly wasn't Jeanne. Jeanne was a girl's name, and despite the slight build, this wasn't a girl. Rather it was a boy, likely a good bit older than Colan, but not too much older. He had a black fabric shirt on, with a gray strap of fabric across the top. His face was boyish, with a mouth twisted in confusion, a soft nose, and sea green eyes. And on his head was a mop of unkempt black hair. He rubbed his head, and then looked up, and his confusion disappeared with a massive smile.

"HEY GUYS!" the boy shouted, waving his hand.

Colan looked back, and stared at the four servants around him. Emiya's jaw had nearly dropped from its hinge, as clearly his plan hadn't worked as he'd hoped. Nitocris was resting her head in her hand, massaging the bridge of her nose, and he could almost feel the exasperation flowing off of her. Lady Xuan was waving wildly back in excitement, nearly bouncing on her feet as her arm moved back and forth quickly. And Da was openly laughing, shaking his head as he rested Gae Bolg on his shoulder, his body completely relaxed. All at once, they called out to the boy, though in their own special way.

"MASTER!"