AN: We're back, and it's great to have you back for a new chapter, readers old and new! Get ready, because this is a chapter I've had cooking in my head since the beginning. Took me a while on account of figuring how to adapt actually going through the normal Tam-Tara Deepcroft and make it interesting, plus some other things. Hope it's to your liking.

Disclaimer: The following is a fan-based writing, Code Geass belongs to Bandai Entertainment, Sunrise, MBS, Crunchyroll, Goro Taniguchi and Ichiro Okouchi. Final Fantasy 14 belongs to Square Enix with major props to Naoki Yoshida/Yoshi-P and his dedicated team at Square Enix's Creative Studio III for its continuous great quality. Please support the official release.

Chapter 11: Friends Made in Abyss

Limsa Lominsa

"Ready to 'ear about that job, then?" Baderon asked as Lelouch and Kallen approached him. "Like I said, the request comes from our sister guild in Gridania."

"For the job to remain after a few days, there must be something significant to it." Lelouch commented. "Can you tell us anything about it?"

"I'm afraid that's all I know." Baderon answered. "But whatever it is, the two o' ye get asked to do, I some'ow doubt it'd pose any trouble fer the 'venturer duo as survived the bedlam in Sastasha."

"From that, I'm guessing word's traveled about that?" Kallen asked. "I get fighting our way through a pirate's hideout sounds impressive, but it doesn't seem that uncommon here."

"If you're counting the Yellowjackets and Maelstrom, Kallen, remember it is to be expected given their roles in this city state." Lelouch spoke up. "Adventurers like us are basically contractors."

"...And new faces too, yeah, I get it now." The redhead added with a sigh. "So, I guess we're taking it?"

"If the two of ye are interested, ye'll want to 'ave words with Mother Miounne, me counterpart in Gridania." Baderon said and after the pair each gave their agreement to take the job, added, "Good luck, mates!"

Gridania

The Earth born pair arrived at the forested city-state minutes after thanks to teleporting to the main Aetheryte. From there it was just a short walk to The Carline Canopy. As they made their way to the guild, a thought came to Kallen.

"Wait, wasn't Mother Miounne one of the people Rai mentioned helping him out?" The redhead asked.

"I believe so." Lelouch answered with a nod. "Reassuring to know that regardless of the guards' reputation, the guildmaster sounds to be a decent sort."

The former prince's impression would prove true as the two of them approached the front desk and were greeted by the Carline Canopy's Proprietess, an elezen woman with short dark gray hair and hazel-colored eyes who looked to be in her thirties.

"Take a seat wherever you like, friends." She greeted the pair in a warm and welcoming voice. "Our waitress will come to take your - -"

"Uh, actually, we're not here to order anything." Kallen spoke up.

"Oh? Not here to dine?" The proprietress asked in reply and a hopeful look came upon her face as she took a closer look at the two newcomers. "Dare I hope that you're the adventurers Baderon sent word about?"

"That would indeed be us." Lelouch answered.

"You are!? The Matron be praised!" The proprietress exclaimed with a look of relief. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Miounne, and the Carline Canopy is my place. With regard to the task in question, there is a fair bit to tell. Let me know when you're ready to hear the details and I shall brief you."

After the pair did so, Miounne was about to give her explanation when a male voice suddenly spoke up from behind Lelouch and Kallen.

"Beg pardons for interrupting, Miounne, but our need grows ever more pressing. Have none stepped forward." The speaker asked, prompting the proprietress to turn in his direction.

"And good evening to you too, Bowlord!" Miounne greeted the newcomer. "Your need must be pressing indeed for you to honor us with a visit. The good news is: your journey hasn't been wasted. I'm pleased to report that we have volunteers at last, and both come highly recommended, at that."

Lelouch and Kallen both turned to the speaker as he came forward and they saw that he was hyur man dressed in a red and brown hunter's outfit and feathered hat, clearly an Archer by the ornate but clearly well used bow he had at his back and on the upper part of his face was a simple black mask with eyeholes cut out of it.

"My thanks for answering the call, friends." The archer said in a friendly tone as he regarded the pair. "My name is Lewin Hunte, and I lead the men and women of the Gods' Quiver. Now, time is of the essence, so I shall proceed directly to the heart of the matter. We wish for you to nip a potential threat to Gridania in the bud."

"Well, Baderon did give the impression that this job would mean dealing with something of great significance, even if he wasn't privy to the details." Lelouch noted. "So, what does our task entail?"

"Beneath the Central Shroud, there lies an underground burial site called the Tam-Tara Deepcroft." Mother Miounne explained. "That place was once a Gelmorran settlement, but we Gridanians have long interred our dead there."

"Gelmorran?" Kallen asked.

"Gelmorra was the underground settlement that preceded Gridania before an agreement was made with the Elementals to allow people to settle in the forest itself." Lelouch spoke up before giving his companion a smile. "In between our practicing with what we learned from the Dutiful Sisters, I've been reading some of Gridania's history, though mostly that pertaining to the Conjurers' arts and it came up."

"An underground settlement, huh? If you find any good books on that, let me know." The redhead said with clear interest, to which the other acquiesced with a nod, before turning to the two job givers. "Still, since this job involves an underground graveyard, I'm guessing the problem is some kinda horror story in the making, right?"

"Possibly, for of late, shadowy figures have been seen skulking about the Deepcroft, and with ever-increasing regularity." Lewin explained. "Based on the accounts of various witnesses, we suspect that these individuals belong to the Lambs of Dalamud, a doomsday cult which sprang up prior to the Calamity. These zealots have proven themselves dangerous in the past, and we leave them to their own devices at our peril. Ordinarily, I would have dispatched my best men to scour the Deepcroft with orders to flush the cultists out."

"I assume there's a shortage of available personnel." Lelouch guessed and the bowman nodded.

"Alas, the Calamity decimated our ranks, and the limited forces at my disposal are constantly required to keep the Ixal at bay." Lewin said gravely. "The birdmen have grown restless of late, and I fear a storm may be brewing. In anticipation of this, I have been compelled to spread our forces throughout the Twelveswood, lest we be taken unawares."

"Rai mentioned something about that when we were in Gridania a while ago." Kallen said. "Is he one of your men?"

"He is a part of the Gods' Quiver, yes." The bowman replied. "Rai would be one of Luciane's pupils, and quite an accomplished one at that, both in talent with the bow and also in how he was able to help resolve a conflict between two fellow members of the Archer's Guild and with their help capture a notorious criminal. Actually..."

Lewin stopped before making a call on the linkpearl he had on him. After a quick conversation, he resumed speaking with the three.

"We may be able to afford you a little assistance in this." The Gods' Quiver leader said to the adventurer duo. "Only a small amount as with the situation so being, we must turn to others to deal with the Lambs of Dalamud. Can we rely on you to undertake this task, friends?"

After each giving their affirmations, the pair was directed to the location of the Tam-Tara Deepcroft's entrance with instructions to speak with the guard stationed there. After well wishes from both Lewin and Mother Miounne, Lelouch and Kallen made their way to the ancient tombs.

The Black Shroud: The Central Shroud

Lelouch and Kallen quickly arrived at the settlement located in Central Shroud of Gridania's forests known as Bentbranch Meadows, which functioned as both a trading post and a ranch for raising chocobos. After attuning to the settlement's Aetheryte, the pair followed the directions they had been given and headed south until they came upon the cave housing the entrance into the old catacombs.

Upon entering the cave, the Earth born pair were greeted by a sight that was strange even by their relatively new standards: in the center of the circular cavern entrance were several very much animated skeletons, some of them standing and others just pacing around. The strange part was there were other occupants in the cavern as further ahead was a large metal door, securely shut and with three guards posted at it and none of them looked the least bit bothered by the skeletons, and it appeared the regard was mutual as none of the walking bones came close to the guards. To be on the safe side, the two adventurers walked around the skeletons to get to the guards awaiting them.

"Lelouch Lamperouge and Kallen Kozuki, I take it." One of the guards, a bowman from the Gods' Quiver, asked the pair and after their affirmations a look of relief came upon his face. "Thanks for helping us out, friends. No doubt the Bowlord has already informed you, but your task is to enter the Deepcroft and purge it of the Lambs of Dalamud."

"Are they the reason for the skeletons over there?" Kallen asked with a backward gesture at the weirdly docile undead.

"Maybe, though there are certain areas of the Twelveswood where something can reanimate a corpse or two, usually related to the accursed voidsent and there are a good many stories of the Lambs of Dalamud summoning them in their dark rituals of blood sacrifice." The Gods' Quiver Bow answered. "In case you're unfamiliar with them, the cult emerged shortly before the Calamity put an end to the Sixth Astral Era."

"We got a brief explanation from your boss." The redhead said, glad she'd learned from Momodi that in Eorzea Astral Eras were considered the good and peaceful eras and the Umbral Eras were the bad and chaotic kind. "Did they worship that dragon that was in that moon or something?"

"No, the cultists took the lesser moon, Dalamud, for their god, believing that it would deliver them from the devastation." The bowman explained. "And so they were rather disappointed when Dalamud exploded into a thousand flaming pieces before it could complete its descent."

The latter statement got a chuckle from Lelouch before he said, "I take it that didn't cause much of a crisis of faith for the cult, otherwise we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"Indeed, having seen their god turn to ash, one would think that the cultists might feel moved to question their faith. On the contrary, it served only to stoke the flames of their fanaticism." The Gods' Quiver bow replied humorously. "The Lambs of Dalamud are convinced that 'heretics' - - that is to say, everyone but them - - interfered with the coming of their lord and savior, and that it's now their sacred duty to avenge him."

"Well, mental gymnastics to justify things aren't unusual for cults." The former prince commented. "Though that's usually to justify their existence after the founder dies; this is the first time I've seen it where the deity itself dies."

"Don't most cult founders claim to be the deity though?" Kallen asked.

As Lelouch conceded that, the bowman guard gave a quick cough to get the pair's attention before saying, "Whatever it is they're doing in the Deepcroft, you may be sure no good will come of it. For the sake of Gridania, and Eorzea at large, put an end to their madness."

"That is the job we were given." Lelouch said and then realized something. "I take it this is a team effort sort of assignment?"

"Yes, but I've already received word that one of ours and another adventurer are on their way to assist you." The Gods' Quiver Bow answered. "If you like, you can wait for them outside."

That advice got Kallen to look back at the skeletons before she asked, "Do we need to be worried about them?"

"They won't attack unless provoked." The guard replied nonchalantly and noticing the looks on each of their faces could guess the next question. "If you're about to ask why we're just leaving them alone and not tried dealing with them in any way is because we've tried. The skeletons just put themselves back together after a short while no matter what damage we do to them and trying to move the bones before that only resulted in them reassembling and then walking all the way back here."

"That must have been a sight to those unaware of the circumstances." Lelouch commented lightly, only to see a weary look come across the man's face.

"Yes, after giving the people a good fright walking through the streets of town and disturbing the chocobo ranch on their return journey, it was decided to just leave the skeletons alone." The guard sighed. "And so, our task is not only making sure this entrance is secure, but also make sure this cavern's new occupants don't cause any trouble."

After giving the guardsman some sympathetic comments at the unusual circumstances of his job, the pair made their way around the guards' skeletal charges and exited the cavern to wait. As they did, they noticed a familiar trio standing not too far away in the form of Dolorous Bear, E'manafa Kett and Kikina Kifu.

"So we meet again!" Dolorous said jovially as Lelouch and Kallen approached them. "I cannot say I'm surprised to see you here."

"Did you guys also take a job dealing with cultists?" The rebel turned adventurer asked.

"Indeed, though from what we were told we shall be going into the Deepcroft through a different entrance than yours and are simply waiting for an assigned Wood Wailer to guide us to it." The roegadyn swordsman then gave them an enthusiastic smile. "You two took the prize back in Limsa, but this time we will give you better sport or I am no true adventurer!"

"Hey, don't take this the wrong way, but could you guys not make that a priority when you're down there?" Kallen asked and then lifted her hands in a calming gesture while looking at them seriously. "I don't have any problems with a friendly contest but trust me when I say you shouldn't underestimate guys who have dug themselves into an underground base. Considering they're a bunch of crazy religious people, they're probably going to fight tooth and nail to keep you out."

"There's also the fact that the cultists have been in those catacombs for a good while from what Lewin Hunte told us." Lelouch added. "That means they'll be more familiar with the place, and very much inclined to use that knowledge to their advantage in a fight such as defense or ambush tactics depending on the layout of the tombs."

Dolorous folded his arms as he considered the advice both had given him before saying, "My thanks, I shall keep that in mind. Hopefully, circumstances will prove the caution unnecessary."

"Maybe we should also keep an eye out for any of those too." E'manafa said with a nervous glance at the skeletons in the nearby cave. Noticing all present adventurers were giving her attention at those words, the eyepatch wearing miqo'te gave a sigh of frustration. "Gods, I hate mausoleums… It's not right to disturb the dead in their slumber..."

"Don't think there's anyone here that would disagree on that." Kallen remarked before giving her fellow redhead a reassuring smile. "Besides, no one with any brains would blame you for being at least a little unsettled about possibly dealing with the freaking undead."

"If it makes you feel better, Miss E'manafa, then know that the ones who did the disturbing first were the very cultists we'll soon be fighting." Lelouch suggested. "If the departed have any grudges, then perhaps they'll direct it solely to them

"That's assuming the dead will even care." The redheaded lancer said with a shudder.

"Think of our goal, sister!" Kikina spoke, her tone a mix of reassuring along with her enthusiasm for the coming job. "One day our adventures will be the stuff of song, and it will all be worth it!"

A few more words were exchanged among the five adventurers before the Wood Wailer assigned to Dolorous Bear's group arrived and they followed him to their destination. Minutes later, Lelouch and Kallen's assigned company arrived, one of whom the pair recognized as Rai. The other was a nondescript but eager roegadyn man who had taken up adventuring after some time in the Marauders' Guild in Limsa Lominsa.

"I was notified by Mother Miounne and the Bowlord that you'd arrived to help deal with the Lambs of Dalamud's incursion." Rai said after greetings and introductions were exchanged. "If you'd have me, I'll gladly assist you, Lelouch, Kallen."

From there, it was decided that the Eager Marauder would take point as the one to draw the enemy's attention, Kallen and Rai were to be the team's main attackers and Lelouch would be the party's healer. Kallen opted to switch to her knuckles as a Pugilist so as to not get rusty with that set of skills. With that, the party of four made their way to the doorway to enter the ancient catacombs that were the Tam-Tara Deepcroft.

As the door was shut and locked behind them, the party of four made their way through a rocky and torch lit corridor. Within a few steps they reached an opening, but they were also greeted by a pair of spear-bearing men wearing aged and rusted chainmail. Wordlessly, the two figures came at the party, hefting their polearms ready for use. Yet despite their silent willingness to attack, the two spearmen's charge could barely be called that and more like a light jog.

"Ashkin." The roegadyn marauder said grimly as he got his axe ready for combat and the rest of the party followed suit.

It wasn't a very long fight; the two spearmen's attacks had power behind them but were surprisingly clumsy in their combat with the spear thrusts easy to either avoid or parry and the mail they were wearing proved to be as durable as it looked for the eager marauder's strikes easily rent through the rusted metal rings. The attackers quickly went down to the combination of axe swings, Kallen's fists, Lelouch's casting of spell Stone and Rai's arrows, the only noise to come from them was the clattering of their weapons and armor as they fell to the ground.

"Sorry if this sounds dumb, but what's an ashkin?" Kallen asked.

The one to answer the Japanese pugilist's question wasn't Lelouch, like she was half expecting, but Rai.

"Corpses reanimated through some outside means." The silver haired bowman explained. "When something interferes with a being's passing, be it a person or monster, it can lead to a walking corpse like what we just fought or change it into something else. Something more monstrous."

"Zombies, then." Kallen sighed, a closer look at the fallen undead showing the discolored and rotted flesh one would expect. "Do we need to worry about..."

She stopped as she noticed Lelouch step past her looking upwards with a concerned look on his face. A look in that direction revealed why: a large glowing dark purple sphere was hanging in the air high above with four blue beams of light connecting to it, each from somewhere far below.

"I take it that dark orb up there isn't a natural occurrence?" The raven-haired conjurer asked Rai as he pointed up at glowing phenomenon.

"No, it's not." The silver haired bowman answered as he frowned at the glowing thing above them. "I wouldn't be surprised if it has something to do with the cultists."

"Then what are waiting for?" The Eager Marauder spoke, gesturing at the path leading further into the catacombs.

With that, the party of four continued down the pathway, stopping only to deal with more of the undead known as "ashkin" and the local wildlife, most of them large insects, with a hostile response to newcomers. Eventually, they got to the origin point for the first of the blue beams tethering to the dark sphere above. It was a small glowing orb of pale blue resting atop an altar and standing at that altar was a hyur man in red robes whose back was turned to the advancing group as he chanted at the orb. Sadly, this man who was unquestionably a member of the Lambs of Dalamud, wasn't alone as a pair of pale imp-like creatures were fluttering along behind him and they quickly spotted the adventurers.

The two imps let out a series of chittering cries before advancing upon the adventurers. As the roegadyn marauder drew their attention and began attacking the creatures, the cultists turned around.

"Who dares disrupt the right!?" The Dalamud priest demanded only to see none of the four were particularly interested in answering his question. With a muttered curse, the cultist made to cast a spell to aid his imp-like underlings.

That was prevented by a casting of Stone by Lelouch, and a well-timed arrow loosed by Rai. As the cultist fell in a heap, Kallen and the Eager Marauder swiftly struck down the two monsters.

For a brief moment, it seemed the fight was over…until a dark circle of aetheric energy suddenly appeared from below the fallen Dalamud priest. The corpse vanished before a black shape rose up from the circle, carrying a scythe in its right hand. A pair of bat-like wings flexed from the newly arrived creature's back before it took to the air and charged at the party.

Fortunately, the roegadyn marauder was quick on his feet as he charged forward, intercepting the black beast with his battle axe, to which the creature countered with its scythe and free clawed hand. Lelouch quickly cast Cure upon their axe wielding defender while Kallen and Rai made their attacks. The redhead made her way behind the scythe bearing monster and struck with Bootshine, followed by True Strike and Snap Punch. What finished the creature off though, came in the form of a streak of red light that shot from Rai's bow and caught the monster in the head. The creature toppled to the ground and lay still.

"Another one of those voidsent things?" Kallen asked as she took a closer look at the now dead surprise foe.

"It does look like one of the flying variety I dealt with back in Limsa Lominsa, only this one seems a bit hardier." Lelouch commented as he too looked at the downed creature before turning to Rai. "Do you concur?"

"I've seen enough lunatics summon voidsent and cause trouble in Gridania, so you have no arguments from me." The silver haired bowman replied. "It is a bit concerning that these cultists seem to have a way to summon them as a sort of death curse. I'll need to make sure command is informed when we get back."

"At least we now know to keep an eye on any Lambs of Dalamud priests we encounter even after they expire." The former prince said, and then turned to look at the altar with the glowing blue orb tethered to the larger dark one above. "Now, about that…"

After the party moved to inspect the altar, said inspection did not last very long. The moment they were close enough to touch the pale blue orb, the glowing sphere suddenly took to the air and shot upwards, following its aetheric tether into the dark orb above and disappeared within it. An audible rumble echoed throughout the catacombs for a few minutes, but after it quieted down, nothing else occurred.

"That…couldn't have been a good thing, right?" Kallen asked rhetorically, only to get a trio of short agreements before the party decided to move further down the path ahead.

As expected, what enemies lay ahead were more of the ashkin. large bugs, and arachnids as the latest addition to the hostile wildlife were several enormous spider-like creatures. Soon they found themselves approaching the next of the strange, tethered orbs, and like the previous one it was atop a wooden altar overseen by priest of the Lambs of Dalamud, guarded by three of the imp-like creatures. This time, the party made a more aggressive attack as the previous encounter had shown them what to expect.

As the cultist was cut down, he gave a manic grin at his attackers despite the wounds they had each inflicted before declaring, "I smell fresh blood!"

Like before, upon collapsing to the ground, a black circle appeared beneath the man's corpse and the death summoned voidsent took its place. Prior experience had these four adventurers ready for it this time and the monster didn't even have time to use its scythe before it was eliminated.

With that round of fighting done, Lelouch made a more careful attempt to examine the glowing orb. Yet try as he might, the moment that the former prince got close enough to begin to get a good look at the hardwood altar's main attraction, the glowing sphere shot up along its tether and quickly disappeared into the dark sphere hanging far above them.

"At least we have two more shots at figuring out and preventing whatever these cultists are up to." Lelouch commented as the subsequent rumbling subsided before looking at the remaining two tethers. "Though given how close together the last two appear to be, it may only be one."

Rai stepped forward past the raven-haired conjurer until he was practically at the edge of the cliff that the altar had been placed on. Like Lelouch, he was looking in the direction of where the two glowing tethers led downward and leaned forward slightly to try and get a better look.

"You see something?" Kallen asked.

"I think Lelouch's guess may be right, it looks like the cultists have set up a larger altar down at the bottom level." The silver haired archer answered, eyes narrowing as he turned his gaze sideways. "Wait, if I remember right, that should be…"

"What is it?" The former prince gave his own inquiry, glad that Rai could get a better view of what was ahead of them, likely due to his skills at archery.

"I was informed of the layout of this part of the Deepcroft by my superiors." Rai explained. "So, I'm pretty sure the cultists' last altar is near the tomb of King Galvanth of Gelmorra." Noticing the questioning looks on both Lelouch and Kallen's faces, he added, "As the name implies, Galvanth was a famous king of the ancient Gelmorran settlements and a renowned master of the lance."

"Can you think of any reason why the cultists would be interested in the tomb?" Lelouch asked. "The only ones I can think of is grave robbery or perhaps making another addition to the undead we've been fighting."

"Perhaps, but both don't seem worth taking over the Tam-Tara Deepcroft for." The silver haired bowman stated as he considered things. "King Galvanth's tomb is one of the few old tombs given any kind of care by the city-state out of respect for the historical figure; if any artifacts of his could have been used for a weapon it would be stored somewhere more secure. The Lambs of Dalamud also have little interest in money, so it's very unlikely they would want anything for monetary value either."

"I'm guessing even if this royal dead guy was a strong fighter in life, he wouldn't be that impressive as a zombie, right?" Kallen spoke. "I mean what we've fought down here so far look like they were soldiers in their day, but they don't seem to have kept any of their fighting skills."

"I don't really know much about necromancy and the like, other than it's a forbidden art of magic for obvious reasons." Rai replied. "Still, you are right about why going this far for that doesn't make much sense."

"Pardon me, but whatever the cultists are doing shouldn't we continue on?" The Eager Marauder spoke up as he pointed down the pathway. "Won't help us if they accomplish things while we were talking, eh?"

After each conceded at the axe wielder's point, party continued onwards down the path. Naturally, more large bugs and undead were in their way, but dispatching them was only a matter of time rather than difficulty. Soon they reached the bottom of the catacombs and the path forked with one going straight forward and the other going to the right. Yet in the case of the latter option, it would have if not for a glowing purple barrier with circular symbols in the center barring the way. A couple of the ashkin stood guard near the barrier, but the party quickly struck them down.

"This is as far as you'll go, heretics!" A haughty male voice declared from the right, and in response each of the party turned to see the speaker was a hyur man standing behind the barrier and in between the two altars each bearing a glowing tethered orb. While clearly a cultist of the Lambs of Dalamud, as expected, his robes were noticeably finer than his now late comrades. "Use whatever impotent magics or brute strength you have, but you shall not breach the seal that I, Octavel the Unforgiven, have placed!"

"You certainly seem confident in your barrier." Lelouch commented casually as he walked up to the purple wall of aether, as if to inspect it. "Tell me, is it confidence in your skill with magic or your faith in your non-existent god?"

"Both." Octavel said confidently with a sneer as his eyes shifted left and back to the right, as if to regard all four of them. "You and your lot may try all you like, but you'll never get through to interfere with the ritual. Also, nothing you say will get me to lower it, for my faith is absolute!"

"Good for you." Lelouch said in a casual, but clearly false, congratulatory tone before gesturing with his conjurer's wand down the path. "Would you mind telling us what's down that way?"

The cultist twitched slightly as he made a reflexive glance in said direction, but quickly said, "Nothing, but your deaths, which you're welcome to walk towards! No matter what you do, you-!"

"Thank you for confirming something important is down there." The raven-haired conjurer interrupted the declaration with a clever smile. "I'll admit you covered up that first reflexive look well, but not so much the second time."

As the party proceeded away from the barrier, Octavel cried out after them, "May the Ashkin tear you to pieces!"

"Thanks for warning us on what's ahead, dumbass!" Kallen called back, which earned a stream of screamed curses as the reply, which faded as she and the others continued forward.

The four soon came upon a chamber that some worn markings identified as the "Ak-Mena Tomb". Within, there stood four of the undead Ashkin soldiers around the base of a stone altar carved from the back of the cave wall. While more elaborately designed than the previous altars, like them there was a glowing orb placed on it, yet this one wasn't tethered to anything. After a brief discussion, the party began their attack.

Rai began by unleashing a flurry of arrows at the Ashkin, while at the same time Lelouch cast the wind spell Aero on the first closest one before quickly casting Stone at the next closest. With that opening attack getting the undead soldiers' attention and prompting their advance, the Marauder charged at the closest and began chopping at it and drawing the other three zombies' attention. Meanwhile Kallen began attacking the more initially damaged of the Ashkin, the one that had taken her Britannian associate's Stone spell, and brought it down with a combo of Bootshine and True Strike.

The Japanese pugilist looked to see which of the undead remained to complete the combo on and saw the one that the Eager Marauder was engaging was nearly down and both Rai and Lelouch were targeting what was soon to be the last of the active undead. With one Snap Punch, the remaining Ashkin was put down.

With this particular tomb cleared of enemies, the party turned their attention to the glowing orb on the stone altar. Given he was the most knowledgeable when it came to magic, Lelouch was the one to examine it. Yet almost as soon as the former prince reached out a gloved hand towards it, the glow faded to reveal a beaded pendant that bore a strange resemblance to the kind used by one of the offshoots of Judaism, though the designs all over it were far from what one would expect to find on a religious item. Not one that was at least trying to present itself as benevolent, anyway.

"Kinda looks like those symbols on the barrier." Kallen noted. "Actually, is it still up?"

After Rai and the marauder took a quick look and confirmed it was, Lelouch said, "Perhaps this 'Cultist Rosary' is meant to act as a key of sorts…"

"Only one way to find out." Rai commented and with that the party made their way back to the barrier.

Ignoring the glaring cultist that was waiting for them, Lelouch held out the rosary so as to compare it with the symbols on the barrier. The moment he held it over the largest one in the center, there was tremor throughout the barrier before it began to fade away.

Octavel cursed before backing away to get closer to one of the tethered orbs before signaling the four imp-like creatures hovering around him to be ready. He then returned his gaze to his four incoming foes.

"You're too late! The ritual is complete and the mighty voidsent we've called is on its way!" The cultist leader announced triumphantly. "Through it the dead King Galvanth shall arise and the great dream of Dalamud shall be-!"

He was cut off as Rai quickly loosed an arrow that struck the crazed man in the stomach and knocked him back and onto the stone floor. Using that as the signal, the party began their attack on the imps that moved to intercept them. Meanwhile, Octavel lay where he was, bleeding out from the arrow wound. Feeling his life force draining to summon the voidsent connected to his death curse, the cultist gave one last contemptuous look at the ones who had come to foil his order's divine purpose.

"The master…will be pleased…" Octavel the Unforgiving uttered his last words before darkness took him.

It was as the last of the imps was brought down that the now fully expected scythe bearing voidsent emerged. After a brief struggle, the marauder managed to cut it down with his battle axe. Almost as soon as that happened, the tethered orbs shot upwards and into the large dark one above, only this time the sphere of dark aether began to descend towards a circular platform up ahead that the party found they were cut off from by the fact that there didn't seem to be a bridge to it anywhere.

"I can get us across!" Rai said as he rushed to the side near one of the altars and pressing his hand on a panel near where the floor ended.

The sound of shifting stone came from below and began to echo throughout the catacombs. A quick look revealed that the sound was coming from rising stone platforms that sequentially came to a stop at the supposed dead end of where the cultists had placed the wooden altars.

"That platform ahead is the Eternal Calm; it's only used on rare occasions for ceremonies to drive voidsent away." Rai explained.

"And it looks like the creepy nutjobs hijacked it for the opposite." Kallen commented as she began using the Meditate technique to have enough chakra ready.

That was proven to be a good idea a moment later when the rising stone platforms fully connected to the Eternal Calm platform ahead, for the sphere of darkness proceeded to plunge downwards and into the platform floor below. It pulsed as it struck before beginning to dissipate and a tall humanoid figure could be glimpsed moving within.

"Who summons me from the void to reside within this crude vessel?" An inhuman voice demanded before the aether vanished to reveal the speaker as a tall and robed figure brandishing a jeweled scepter in its right hand. Around its neck was a gold necklace to accompany the gold crown atop its head, which was the foremost indicator of its being a voidsent. Its head was a likeness of a squid from its triangular finned top, bulbous black eyes and around its mouth protruded four lashing tentacles.

"So, this was their plan with the late King Galvanth." Lelouch surmised and glanced at Rai. "I can see why necromancy is a forbidden art, even with the name implications aside."

The creature seemed to hear at least some of that as it spoke with its monstrous voice, "Galvanth… yes that was the vessel's name…" It then regarded the party standing across the bridge. "If you come to do me homage then prostrate before me, if you come to oppose then fall before Galvanth the Dominator!"

That was all the party of four needed and the marauder charged forward with the other three close behind. The axe wielding roegadyn made a mighty strike at the tentacled abomination, scoring a hit to the chest, and yet the creature did little more than snarl as the attack mainly seemed to draw its attention. The Eager Marauder was experienced enough to take advantage of that so as to get his enemy to turn and focus his attention on him so that his associates could make their attack.

The first to do so was Lelouch, casting Aero followed by Stone as he knew this was the best window of opportunity to deal some damage before the battle would inevitably make it so he would need to concentrate on healing his companions. Rai concentrated on firing arrows into the monster's starting with one that emanated a noxious purple aura followed my concentrated shots at its legs and arms. This left Kallen with an opening to rush at the unnaturally arisen creature's back and hit it with a Steel Peak.

This combined offensive caused Galvanth the Dominator to stumble before raising its wand. An aura of pale light suddenly flashed around it and the arrows Rai shot came to a stop mere inches from their target and the marauder's axe strikes seemed to bounce off something. The creature then lashed at the axe wielder with its free hand, causing the man to groan under the surprising force of the blow.

As Lelouch cast Cure on the marauder, Kallen made one experimental punch at the tentacle faced thing and her thoughts were confirmed as her strike bounced off.

"This thing's got some kind of barrier up!" She shouted in warning to her other three companions.

As Lelouch made ready to cast another spell, he took a good look at the unnaturally resurrected Galvanth. There was an odd shimmer around the creature's body and something seemed to be trailing off from it. Following that, the former prince then saw movement in the air near the edge of the platform and he quickly spotted an imp like the ones from before flying about with the tether ending at it.

"Rai, one of those imp creatures is connected to the voidsent!" Lelouch called out to the bowman as he cast Aero at the winged creature to better reveal it, along with causing some damage. "Shoot it down and we may get rid of the barrier!"

The silver haired archer gave a quick affirmation as he spotted the imp, took aim and took the shot sending an arrow emitting red light at it. The shot struck true, and the imp fell with a cry before bouncing off the edge of the platform and into the darkness below.

Lelouch's guess was proven correct as the Eager Marauder gave a jubilant cry as his axe once again found its targets flesh and Galvanth the Dominator gave a snarl of frustration. With that the group resumed their combined attack on the undead abomination.

As it was struck time and time again by its foes, the bound voidsent raised its hands and its wand began to glow. Once again a shimmer came around it, signaling a protective barrier, and two aetheric threads appeared, connected each to one of the imp-like creatures that appeared as if summoned.

This time the four knew what to do and as the Eager Marauder kept the monster occupied, Kallen and Rai each targeted the imps while Lelouch alternated between assisting them and keeping the roegadyn healed. At first it seemed like things would proceed as before as the first of the flying monsters was dispatched by a shot from Rai, yet Galvanth the Dominator took advantage of the brief window of opportunity its minion's death granted and raised its wand again. Several insect like creatures and skeletons appeared and charged at the party.

As Kallen was too preoccupied with the imp, Rai and Lelouch shifting their focus to aid her and the marauder swinging his axe at the monster's barrier in an attempt to draw its focus. The circular orange tell that appeared around it went unnoticed by the Earth born pair long enough that by the time they did it was too late for either to give warning to their roegadyn ally.

There was a sudden burst of yellow energy around the cephalopod headed voidsent and the Eager Marauder was caught in it. The roegadyn gave a pain filled cry as he ceased attacking and dropped his axe. His hands clutched at his head as he began to scream of the pain to it.

Lelouch wasted no time in focusing his healing spells on their downed teammate, while Kallen quickly dispatched the imp and began shifting her attacks to the monsters Galvanth the Dominator had summoned. Rai did similar, but also kept his eye on the greater voidsent and noticed it raise its wand towards their roegadyn teammate as he made to pick up his axe and rejoin the battle. Taking a chance, the silver haired bowman shot an arrow at the monster's hand which held the wand and was rewarded as the arrow knocked the wand from its wielder's hand and it broke into pieces as it hit the stone floor.

Galvanth the Dominator recoiled from Rai's lucky shot and turned a baleful gaze towards the silver-haired bowman. In a sudden burst of speed, the cephalopod headed monster charged at the archer, its hands seizing the young man by the throat and lifting him up. While the marauder was getting to his feet, Lelouch was moving forward as fast as he could while preparing the healing spell for both the roegadyn and Rai, hoping he'd be able to cast Stone at their enemy fast enough right after. Kallen was furiously striking down the bug-like creatures and skeletons that stood in between her and the unnaturally arisen monstrosity. The two Earth born adventurers then saw the telling orange radius emerge around their foe once again but could do nothing as it unleashed it upon their grappled companion.

This was their last conversation. Somehow Rai knew that as he regarded the figure in front of him. He could barely make out features, but he was certain this person before him was a girl his own age and she was his friend. Both his friend and… a blank space seemed to blot out that line of thought. He then tried focusing on the obscured girl's face, hoping to find something, anything, that could trigger a name or more than just this vague familiarity.

Short hair…he couldn't tell if it was cut that way or tied back. He couldn't even begin to guess at a color. The only part of her face he could see was her mouth as she kept speaking to him, yet whatever she was saying was so obscured somehow he couldn't make them out and he could barely hear the voice. She would pause, clearly to hear whatever it was he was saying in reply…yet Rai could not remember the words.

As he focused on trying to remember those words, Rai began to recall his feelings around this moment…this conversation. A mixture of happiness and sadness. The reason for the latter was obvious: the girl was going away, and he didn't want her to leave. Yet the former feeling seemed directed at her, and judging from the clear smile on her face as she spoke this was something that she had wanted and seemed genuinely excited for. Was he holding this personal wish back for his friend's sake?

Pondering this led to an almost immediate affirmation in his mind. He knew if this person was their friend he wouldn't stand int the way of something they really wanted. Yet as the thought came through his mind, he noticed the odd part of it.

(Wait, 'their' …'our'…) Rai began to feel a growing pain in his head as tried recalling who this 'other' was that had strayed into his thoughts. He returned his gaze to the friend he was struggling to remember only to see her turn away and begin to leave.

He was about to call out in an attempt to get this first fragment of his lost memory to remain in hopes that he could recall more. Before he could, though, the girl stopped and glanced back at him. Rai willed himself to move closer as he saw the girl's lips move, and as he mentally strained to try and hear her words, the efforts were partially rewarded.

"…promise…see you again…" A jovial yet unrecognizable female voice could be heard.

As the figure began to leave his sight, Rai felt a growing need to call out to her even though he couldn't remember her name. He was about to do so with any word but stopped as a sudden pain ran through his head. As it did so, his vision began turning red and a sense of something being behind him began to manifest. The subsequent move to turn around and see was tempered by a sudden sense of foreboding, as if some part of him didn't want to see.

Rai found himself struggling between the two feelings as he tried forcing himself to look. Foremost was to see even a hint of any of the memories he had lost, yet second was this strangely powerful hesitancy, as if there was a feeling that he would see things that maybe were better off forgotten. That perhaps this new life in Gridania was a better one than he had wherever he had originally come from, and he should just accept it.

The pain in his head began to intensify, and Rai found himself wanting to cry out a single word. Whether it was at the pain, the departing friend, himself at his desire to see or at the hesitancy to do so, he couldn't tell. A tightening around his throat was preventing him, but he did his best to force the word out.

"S-stop!" Rai managed to croak out, feeling a strange burst of energy run through him that came and was just as suddenly gone as the word left his mouth.

Suddenly he felt himself drop and suddenly stop as he hit the hard rock floor. Struggling to his feet in a daze, the silver haired bowman looked up to see the monstrosity known as Galvanth the Dominator standing over him, staring at him in a strangely empty gaze save for an odd glint in its eyes.

A closer look was prevented as the creature was suddenly knocked over by a combined attack from the Eager Marauder and Kallen as they both struck it from behind with their weapons. Rai suddenly felt a sense of relief and fading of pain, indicating the casting of a healing spell on him. The sound of approaching feet caused him to turn to see it was Lelouch, who quickly helped him to his feet before insisting they put some distance between them and the fallen mollusk headed monster.

As Rai readied his bow, Lelouch turned back to look at Kallen and the roegadyn marauder, preparing to cast a healing spell only to see that wasn't necessary. Apparently, the joint back attack had really knocked the wind out of Galvanth the Dominator as the voidsent empowered being was still lying where it fell as the party's two direct attackers continued attacking it. Just to ensure the creature's loss of consciousness remained, the raven-haired conjurer cast Stone while willing it towards the enemy's cephalopod head. While doing so, he couldn't help but notice there was a strange gleam in the creature's eyes.

Whether this was indicative of Galvanth the Dominator trying to cast one last spell or not, Lelouch wasn't sure, but that question was proven moot as the squid headed monster finally succumbed to its mainly dealt injuries with a sudden spasm before its body suddenly darkened. Kallen and the marauder quickly stepped back and away from the monstrous corpse as dark aether began to stream out of it like smoke. Seconds later, the cadaver suddenly burst like a popped balloon, for no gore or other viscera spread out as a result, merely whisps of dark purple aether that floated outwards before fading away and leaving behind only empty air.

With the Lambs of Dalamud's experiment in undead horror slain, and no remaining members of said cult in sight, the majority of the party's attention was then turned to its archer.

"I'm fine, thank you for the concern." Rai said in a voice that was a mix of grateful and sheepish, before a thought came to him and a troubling one as could be seen on his face as it did. "Well, there is something, but… I think it would be better discussed elsewhere."

With that, and after a quick inspection of the area in case the cultists had left anything behind, the party returned to the surface. After a few words with the guards posted at the entrance, they made their way back to Gridania via teleportation.

Gridania

"So, you're starting to remember something?" Kallen asked Rai.

They were seated at a table at the Carline Canopy along with Lelouch and Mother Miounne. The report for the job completion had been done and their marauder companion, after seeing all was well, had collected his payment and left. The proprietress had noticed something seemed to be bothering the silver haired bowman and so, after having one of the senior staff take over for her, directed the three to a table in a more private area of the tavern to discuss the current topic.

"Barely, though I still have no idea who I was talking to. I can't even begin to think of a name." Rai answered with a sigh of frustration. "Given this was probably before the Calamity, I don't even know if this girl is even still alive."

"Let us pray to the Twelve that she is." Miounne said to Rai in a reassuring voice. "I understand this may not seem like much, but as with contributions, great or small, they count for something. At least you're starting to remember someone who was dear to you, given the idea of parting saddened you."

"I guess so." The silver haired bowman acknowledged before taking a brief moment to think. He had only told them about the girl, what had happened after with the strange foreboding he felt almost compelled to keep secret, so he instead chose to voice a different lingering question. "Not sure why that monster's attack of all things caused this, though."

"Given your experience, along with our roegadyn associate having quite the nasty headache from taking that attack before you did, that could be an indication that it was some sort of assault on the mind." Lelouch surmised, and a thought came to him. "Speaking of which, was it just me or was there some odd glint in that thing's eyes before we killed it?"

"Dunno, I was a little too focused on the whole killing the squid headed voidsent zombie thing." Kallen said with a shrug.

"I noticed it too, after it let me go when you stunned it." Rai offered, inwardly feeling like he got the order wrong but mentally quashed it as the alternative didn't make any sense. "Maybe it was trying to cast some other spell."

"That's what I thought." Lelouch agreed. "Well, at least it was dealt with before it could do anything worse." He paused as a thought came to him and he looked in Mother Miounne's direction. "Given the cultists were using the remains of King Galvanth to create the thing we fought, should we have checked the late king's tomb before we left?"

"I'll be having the report on what happened sent to Brother E-Sumi-Yan shortly." Miounne answered. "Both the tomb and what parts of the Deepcroft that can be safely reached will need to be purified to keep it from being taken over by more voidsent."

"I take it that's going to take a while for him to do." The former prince supposed and at the proprietress' affirmation, mentally sighed at circumstances postponing potential advancement in the healing arts for now.

"The way you said it sounds like there's more to it." Kallen noted and remembering the seemingly bottomless abyss that stretched out from the platform they'd fought on couldn't help but feel a little curious. "How far down do the crypts go?"

"I'm afraid that any records mapping the entire Tam-Tara Deepcroft were lost even before the Calamity." Miounne answered. "Some have proposed clearing collapsed tunnels that go deeper downwards, but they have been largely vetoed due to potential dangers and damages to the currently used tombs should a collapse occur."

"That and there's no telling what else could be lurking further down." Rai added before giving a lighthearted smile to ease the mood. "It's actually a popular subject for scary campfire tales."

After a few more words, Rai took his leave to deliver his report to the Twin Adders, but not before promising Mother Miounne he'd get some rest afterwards. Lelouch and Kallen then followed the proprietress back to the main area of the Carline Canopy to ensure all records for the finished job were completed.

"I'm glad to know your foray into the Deepcroft was a success. Nor did I expect anything less." Miounne commented with genuine appreciation. "Baderon's ringing endorsement left me in little doubt as to your capabilities. Even so, both of you are to be commended. Bowlord Lewin asked me to pass on his thanks."

After the pair gave their acknowledgments to that, the proprietress added, "I must say it's something of a relief to call upon such capable adventurers."

"Are guys who can handle stuff like this really in that short supply?" Kallen asked. "I mean, the other guilds we've been to didn't look like they were lacking new members."

"I would assume that it's the number of experienced adventurers that's on the lower end." Lelouch surmised.

"That would be only part of the problem." Miounne replied, a regretful look coming across her face as her head lightly bowed. She looked to be considering her words before turning to Kallen. "Sadly, death has become an ever more common occurrence within our fraternity as of late. Time's being what they are, the guild is constantly inundated with petitions, and we are hard pressed to find enough hands to deal with them all. While this means no shortage of work for able souls such as yourselves, it also provides ample opportunity for the inexperienced to overreach themselves - - with predictable consequences."

As the proprietress finished her sentence, there was the sound of vocal commotion from the Earth born pair's right. A look in that direction showed it was coming from three figures, one of whom looked familiar to Lelouch and Kallen.

"Ah... as if to illustrate the point…" Miounne commented gravely.

"Avere's gone, and it's all your fault!" The elezen woman shouted at the conjurer in a grieved but no less accusatory tone. "If it hadn't taken you an age to heal him, he'd still be alive!"

The conjurer gave a sob before lifting their head to regard the other, and Lelouch and Kallen quickly recognized her as Edda, before stammering, "B-But I tried! He bolted out of range before I could finish the spell! He shouldn't have been so hard pressed in the first place… We should've done more to lighten his burden…"

"Bah! To hells with this pathetic excuse for a party!" The lalafell suddenly declared in an angry and frustrated voice, his outburst clearly catching both women off guard, before regarding the two. "I'm leaving and it'd be too soon if I never see your faces again! Good-bye, and good riddance!"

As the lalafell stormed off to one of the exits, the elezen archer watched him go, the hurt expression at those words quickly turning to anger as she turned back to Edda.

"I'm leaving as well. I doubt this comes as any surprise, but I never liked you. I only suffered you for your healing, but you couldn't even do that one thing right. Cruel though this may sound you brought this on yourself." The elezen woman declared contemptuously before pointing at the bag Edda was clutching. "Oh, and by way of some parting advice… get rid of Avere's head! Bury it, cremate it, do whatever the hells you like with it - - but for gods' sakes, stop carrying it around!" A pained expression came across her face as she looked at the bag. "It's… it's just… Just get rid of it all, right!?"

With that, the now disbanded party's archer turned and made her way to the main exit, her quickened pace making it clear she wanted to get as far from the place as possible.

"W-Wait! Don't leave me alone! Please!" Edda cried out piteously at her departing former teammate, only to lower her head and begin to sob. "I'm so sorry, Avere… Please forgive me…"

The despondent conjurer was about to turn and take her leave from the place as well, in hopes that putting some sort of distance between herself and where everything had just suddenly fallen apart would make things better but was stopped by a familiar male voice calling her name. A look in that direction revealed the speaker as Lelouch, followed closely by Kallen. Both were looking at her with obvious concern.

Meanwhile the former prince found himself at a loss for words after calling out to the brunette. He gave a mental sigh as he considered what had just happened on his end; the berating Edda had received from her former teammates had been an unpleasant enough thing to witness but something about seeing her crying out in misery as the two just left her to her fate had brought up more than enough bad memories. Too many reminders of how emotionally devastated Nunnally was at the combined loss of their mother and subsequently being cast off by their father in genetics only. Too many reminders of his own inner turmoil at the time that he had swallowed to put on a brave face for his sister's sake, for no one else would. That onrush of memories ended up prompting a more recent memory to come up.

('…ye'll have to find yer own code to uphold.') The advising words of Jacke Swallow echoed in Lelouch's mind.

That had been enough to prompt the former prince to give a quick excuse to Miounne, who looked like she had something to say on the matter, before making his way towards Edda. It was only after calling out to the unfortunate conjurer that he found himself considering what more to say to her. Fortunately, Kallen resolved that.

"Hey, we heard… what just happened." The redhead said, some awkwardness coming to her voice at the latter part. Seeing the ashamed look coming across the brunette's face at that, the rebel turned adventurer glanced to the secluded area she and Lelouch had been sitting to find it vacant before continuing with a gesture in that direction. "If you want to talk or just want us to sit with you for a while, we can head over there."

"I…thank you…" Edda replied, her voice catching at the unexpected kindness. She was about to follow the pair to the secluded table when she remembered the bag she was carrying and its unfortunate contents and gave a pained look. "I…I know this is…"

"It's fine, Edda." Lelouch said, not needing to put any effort into sounding reassuring. "Avere clearly meant a lot to you, and no one can or should fault you for trying to in some way save a loved one. Even in part."

The brunette's eyes widened at the other's understanding words and fresh tears started welling up in them, causing Edda to reflexively look away as she began to sob, "That's…that's right…why…why couldn't they…?"

That was enough for the two Earth born adventurers to direct the distraught conjurer to the table. There Edda took her seat and as the full weight of her situation came upon her began to openly weep. The apologies she tried giving in between cries were met with reassuring words from Lelouch and Kallen; both aware from personal experience that as uncomfortable as this may be, this was something Edda needed.

For a while, the three just sat there with the Earth born pair each occasionally giving a few words of support. Eventually, Edda did calm down and began to wipe at her face with one of the napkins for the table as prior ones had served as impromptu handkerchiefs already. She then gave a start as her awareness of Lelouch and Kallen's presence prompted a thought.

"I-I'm sorry, I'm sure I look a mess right now…" The brunette said awkwardly, not needing a reflection to know how she likely looked currently.

"No worries here." Kallen replied casually, and upon a glance outside of the tavern became aware of how much time had passed since their arrival from the job. "By the way, given the time are either of you hungry?"

"I don't think I…" Edda's negative reply was cut off by the groaning sound of her stomach, causing her face to flush with embarrassment before she bowed her head with an awkward apology.

"I'll go make the order." Lelouch said, and noticed the brunette conjurer look in his direction. Anticipating what she was about to say, the former prince put on his best 'no arguments' expression he would utilize as Ashford's student council vice-president (usually reserved for overbearing club leaders or Milly) before saying, "Do not even think about offering to pay for this; that's the salient point of the gesture. Now, please let me know what you want."

Making the order ended up taking him to where Mother Miounne was also standing.

"From what it appears, I can assume you two know her." The elezen proprietress commented, with an approving look.

"We did a job together recently, and she was a very effective teammate." Lelouch replied, trying to keep the tone simple while feeling slightly uncomfortable under the other's knowing look, even if it was a benevolent one. "At the very least I felt I should return the favor."

"Be that as it may that girl is fortunate to have friends like the two of you after such a loss." Miounne said as her expression turned regretful. "Scenes like hers have become all too common. That makes a dozen times in half as many days…"

Whatever reflexive correction Lelouch was going to give was tempered by Miounne's count, and his eyes widened in surprise at the number.

"That… would be about four groups a day, and that's not accounting for how many losses each group took." The former prince mentally shook off the idea to ask for specifics. "I suppose the close call we had with Rai would count as a grander blessing in that context."

"Now you see why I'm grateful for adventurers of your, and Kallen's, experience." Miounne said. "I can send men and women like the two of you on a mission without worrying that you might not return…" She paused as a somewhat apologetic look came across her face. "…well, not so much, at any rate."

After a few more words, Lelouch returned to the table and as he informed both girls of the orders being made. Not surprisingly, the news of coming food had done little to improve Edda's understandably saddened mood. Yet there seemed to be something else to it besides the sudden loss. The raven-haired conjurer considered voicing this observation for a moment and, seeing that for the moment Kallen didn't seem like she would, decided to do so after a careful consideration of his words.

"Pardon me, Edda, but I can't help but notice that you seem bothered by something else." The former prince commented. "If it's something either of us can help you with…"

"Oh, no, no! It's not…" Edda gave a nervous start before calming down and answering, "I'm sorry, Sir Lelouch. You and Lady Kallen have been so kind to me, both now and before, and I…" Her eyes lowered. "…I don't deserve it. This was all my fault, and…"

"Whoa, hang on, that's going way too far!" Kallen exclaimed, only to then realize how hasty and forceful her words had been at the other's startled expression. "Sorry, Edda, I… look, I know we weren't there, but it just doesn't feel right that the blame for this is put all on you. Not by your old teammates or yourself."

"We ran into a crowd of cultists and fought them, and I was trying my best to keep everyone healed." Edda replied, her tone heavy as if this were more a confession than an explanation. "I was casting a spell to heal Avere when one of the cultists he brought down suddenly turned into a fiend. The spell wasn't completed before he charged at it and… that monster raised its scythe and…"

The brunette stopped and looked away as the traumatic memory came to her, which prompted the redhead to speak.

"It's okay, Edda, you don't have to say anymore." Kallen reassured, pausing for a moment so the grieving conjurer could settle. "Though I still don't think it was your fault."

Edda was briefly silent as she contemplated the redhead's words before saying, in a voice filled with hesitancy to believe what she'd heard, "How? It was my responsibility to keep everyone alive, but… I couldn't cast the spell quick enough! I did my best and I still wasn't good enough, so how…?"

Lelouch could see Kallen wasn't sure of the right words to Edda's question, at least for an answer that wouldn't make things worse, so he spoke up.

"I believe what Kallen means is this sounds like a case of tragic misfortune." The former prince said, giving a meaningful glance at the Japanese pugilist. This wasn't untrue, even omitting the main factor being the leader of Edda's party was a complete and utter imbecile. He then continued in a reassuring tone. "I'm not saying this to downplay Avere's death, but sometimes a completely unexpected factor can bring tragedy no matter how skilled one might be. In this case, were any of you aware priests of the Lambs of Dalamud cult could become voidsent upon death?"

Edda paused as she considered that, and after some thinking found she couldn't remember any of the Twin Adders or the one Avere had accepted the job from mentioning it.

"No." The brunette conceded.

"Neither did our team when we were sent in." Lelouch said. "In fact, one of them nearly died when we had to deal with a greater voidsent the cultists summoned. We just got lucky in our attempt to save him. My point is, don't take on the burden of a loss you had little if any part in. Your former teammates' words were likely born of their not wanting to accept that you were all victims of circumstance."

Edda appeared to accept his words though she didn't look much less troubled. "But even so…it happened so suddenly, and so easily…"

"I get it, and I hate to say it, but losing friends so randomly is something you don't get used to." Kallen added somberly, briefly remembering members of her cell, many of them people she had known growing up, that had died to things like lucky shots from Britannian police, guards or soldiers. "Then again, getting numb to that isn't something I would want either…"

"I see… I understand now…it's like how the Calamity took both our families…" Edda said, likely meant for herself as she seemed to realize she'd spoken out loud and blushed with embarrassment before looking back at Kallen. "Thank you, and…I'm sorry you went through that…"

"It's fine…well, it's…don't worry about it…" The rebel turned adventurer replied quickly, not wanting to consider how the other took her words along with the frustration of not being able to talk the brunette conjurer through this as well as she would have liked. It wasn't so much envious of Lelouch being able to do it so easily, the guy seemed to naturally have a way with words, but rather comparing with how her brother Naoto was able to talk anyone in the cell down no matter how bad things got. She then pushed the latter thoughts aside; this wasn't what was important right now.

That turned out to be well timed as by then the waiter arrived at their table with the food and the three began to eat after a few words. Edda found herself a little surprised that she didn't need very many words of encouragement to begin the meal; being in the company of the two adventurers she and Avere had admired was surprisingly comforting.

Later, after the meal was concluded all three had gone to the guild's inn to retire for the night. Both Lelouch and Kallen gave Edda the location of their rooms, with the Japanese pugilist's being the closest.

"If you need anything, even just to talk don't hesitate to come to either of us." Kallen said, glancing at Lelouch, who gave a subtle nod.

"Or if either of us is out for some reason, you can speak with Mother Miounne." The raven-haired conjurer suggested. "Even if you don't feel like speaking to her, you can at least have her know you're waiting for us."

"Thank you, both of you, I really mean that." Edda said, the gratitude evident and the ghost of a smile began to show as she regarded the pair. "You really are as good as Avere saw you as." At the questioning looks each had, she said, "You may not have spoken to him much, but to say he remembered you would be an understatement. He would sing your praises from dawn to dusk. He saw you for what you are, you see - -a pair of adventurer's adventurers - -and swore that he would be like you one day."

"I see…" Lelouch said and gave sidelong glance at Kallen, who gave a subtle shrug. He decided the best course of action was changing the subject. "Do you have any plans from here?"

Edda looked down at the bag holding the sole remains of her late betrothed, and her smile vanished.

"I…I suppose I'll be returning to the village we grew up in." She said in gloomy tone. "I'm sure Avere would want to be buried there."

"Why not hold that off until tomorrow, Edda?" Kallen suggested. "Get some rest for now. No one can blame you for needing that after the day you've had."

The brunette conjurer seemed to take those words to heart, thanking Kallen before bidding the both of them good night. The Earth born pair watched her head to her room and after she went in and closed the door behind her, they turned to each other.

"Am I right in assuming you also think Edda may have misinterpreted Avere's regard for us?" Lelouch asked in a low voice.

"Is the Emperor a bastard?" Kallen asked in reply, her voice equally low, and found herself appreciating the other's smile at it. "Anyway, let's just drop that first question; it's not like it matters now." As the two walked away in the direction of her room, a thought then came to her. "By the way, thanks for helping with talking Edda through all that."

"You're welcome." The former prince said simply. "Though you weren't doing so badly yourself."

"I wasn't sure what to say about what broke up Edda's group." Kallen admitted. "The plain truth would've just made things worse. You, on the other hand, managed to talk around that easily."

"It's simply a matter of practice at verbal subtlety." Lelouch shrugged and noticed what looked to be an annoyed expression come across the other's face. "What?"

"It's not you, not completely." The redhead gave a sigh as she mentally considered how to best put her next words. "You're just… the second person I know who has this way of being able to talk people through anything. …It's just the other guy's way more of a natural at it."

"Oh?" The former prince reflexively raised an eyebrow in interest, but he could tell from the slight look of discomfort on the other's face that this wasn't someone she wanted to give specific details on, at least for now. "Well, even if he has a natural talent with people, your friend would still have needed some experiences to develop it, so my point still stands."

"Maybe…" Kallen trailed off. Even though their time in Eorzea had been enough for to cautiously not dislike this guy, it wasn't to the point she'd straight up admit her older brother was the leader of her resistance cell. She decided to just change the subject. "In any case, and don't take this the wrong way, you did give me a little surprise being so quick to help Edda back there."

"I guess Jacke's advice ended up…" Lelouch stopped as he realized what he'd let slip. "I mean, it seemed like the appropriate thing to do." So the other wouldn't inquire further, the former prince brought up a slight change in subject he had intended to anyway. "That reminds me, there's something I'm considering, though that will depend on if you think it's a good idea, Kallen."

"Depends on the idea, go ahead." The redhead had a feeling there was something behind the first part of the Britannian conjurer's words but was more curious as to what he had in mind.

The next day had come, and Kallen had soon found things had taken an unexpected turn in Lelouch's idea. The first part had been a check with the Conjurer's Guild to confirm that Brother E-Sumi-Yan and most of the senior conjurers would be unavailable on account of purifying the Tam-Tara Deepcroft, especially Galvanth's defiled tomb and to see if any of those who had gone in to secure the tombs for the had found Avere's body. Fortunately, they had, and the only matter was getting a coffin for it, which prompted a visit to the Carpenter's Guild.

That had proven to be a start in the unusual, for the guild didn't have any coffins on hand, but were willing to make one if the starting materials were provided. In this case the material was lumber made from maple, and to make things go faster it was suggested that Lelouch and Kallen try their hand at preparing the wood as potential new members and under the guild's Timebermaster, with some odd advice from the guild receptionist, a hyur man named Corgg, to resist the urge to run away. Said guild leader was a tall elezen man named Beatin Mainrocquet with light brown skin, spiky hair and sporting a pair of glasses. To call the man a perfectionist regarding wood craftsmanship was an understatement, but upon taking up the saw and wind crystals and following his instructions, both were able to have the lumber ready with little trouble.

After taking a moment to examine the fruits of the pair's labors, the bespectacled guildmaster spoke.

"Yes… I feel it. The wood tells all." Beatin spoke in a sage like tone. "There were no careless cuts. Saw and carpenter moved as one, as if dancing."

Lelouch and Kallen reflexively glanced at each other and each gave a subtle shrug. They'd just done as instructed; it wasn't anywhere near as grand as the elezen master carpenter had put it in their eyes.

Beatin hadn't noticed as he looked at the adventurer pair before gesturing at the lumber they had produced and asked, "Do you see the grains, how on each piece they flow softly, like syrup? Durable, yet pliant, suitable not only for bearing the dearly departed but also for weapons and armor both - -this children, is maple."

He paused to point at a specific spot on one of the pieces of maple lumber before continuing.

"Trace the grain with your fingertips and memorize the lines." Beatin advised as he moved his finger along one of said lines. "Consider every characteristic when choosing your materials. That is what it means to know the wood."

A bead of sweat ran down Lelouch and Kallen's heads at that statement; their morning had now taken a turn from unusual to just strange now. For the rebel turned adventurer this was just plain weird, and for the former prince it was that with the addition of this being a new area of odd for him. This was far different from any of Milly's eccentricities. Also, none of Ashford's arts and crafts club leaders he'd dealt with had been this passionate about woodworks, and being a well-versed speaker himself he could tell every word Beatin said had been genuine.

"The maple lumber you have brought me is…acceptable. You have passed the first test." Beatin completed his evaluation of their work. "I shall see to the building of your casket and have a message sent to the Carline Canopy upon completion. Yet, know this…" His glasses glinted as he regarded the pair seriously. "For all it has grown, your knowledge is still lacking. You must needs learn more - - a true carpenter knows the qualities and uses of every tree in the forest. When you know the lines of maple better than those upon your hand, return to me. I shall have another test for you. Until then, children."

With that, Lelouch and Kallen made their way back to the tavern, opting to walk off the odd job they'd found themselves doing.

"Okay, not as weird as the thing with V'kebbe's sandwich, but even so…" The redhead commented before looking at her Britannian associate. "Have any of the other non-combat guild leaders you've met been like that?"

"Wawalago from the Fisherman's Guild is comparable, though Sisipu is pretty good at keeping him in check." The former prince answered and then remembered. "Speaking of which, how's your time with the blacksmiths and armorers going?"

"Fine, though for now I mainly just know how to make some ingots and smaller stuff." Kallen admitted. "It's probably gonna take a while till I can craft some useful equipment. You can probably guess what for…"

"Well, we simply 'needs learn more' as our new instructor put it." Lelouch said lightly as they neared the Carline Canopy. "It's only a matter of time."

Upon their arrival at the tavern, Lelouch and Kallen found Edda waiting for them near its main entrance. The brunette's eyes seemed to light up as she saw them approaching her.

"You did come back…" She said with a relieved sigh, which got each of the Earth born pair to try very hard not to wonder just how bad her time with her party had been if she was seriously concerned about them just leaving her without a word.

"Of course, we would." Kallen reflexively said, trying to not sound a mixture of surprised and a little outraged at the idea.

"We were simply seeing to some important business." Lelouch spoke in a casual manner. "Speaking of which, in doing so we were able to make some arrangements that…at the very least can help alleviate things for you, Edda."

From there the two explained how Avere's body had been found and that a coffin had been procured for the late amateur adventurer's remains. Both couldn't help but notice a worried look came across the brunette's face as they finished, though.

"Is something wrong?" The former prince inquired.

"Oh, no it…it's not what you think!" Edda said hastily. "I was just thinking of the journey; our village is in Abalathia's Spine, you see…" A thought then came to her, and she looked at the pair with a determined expression. "Please don't offer to hire the wagon, you've both done so much for me, and I shouldn't take advantage of your kindness any further. I have the money to pay for it, I'm sure…"

"Excuse me…" The voice of Mother Miounne came from behind the three, causing them to turn to see the proprietress approaching them. "My apologies, but I couldn't help but overhear your conversation. Edda, would you mind telling me the name of your village?"

Edda did so, and upon hearing the name Miounne gave a sigh before saying, "I was afraid of that… I take it the reason the journey home worries you is because you know it may be potentially dangerous."

"Dangerous, how?" Kallen asked as the brunette nodded at the proprietress' question.

"Because it's located very near to Ishgardian territory; in the days before the Calamity that wasn't so bad a thing as the village did well as something of a trading post with the knights stationed in that area. Nowadays, though…" Miounne turned back to Edda. "As I understand it, your village was hit hard both during and after the Calamity to the point the road to is used by those leaving it or the occasional trader confident in their hired escort to risk traveling that area."

"Yes, that's how Avere and I left; a trading caravan offered to take us along in exchange for us assisting the hired escort during the journey." Edda nodded. "I know there's risks like monsters and bandits, but… with the gil we saved up, surely it could pay for this, and I can use the aetheryte to come back."

Miounne asked the brunette conjurer how much she had and upon hearing it shook her head.

"That would be enough to cover a normal transportation but given the rumored troubles in Ishgard territory involving dragons any hired wagon will insist on an escort and that will cost more than this." The proprietress said with clear regret, noticing the crestfallen look began to show on Edda's face.

"Would we be enough?" Kallen asked, indicating herself and Lelouch.

"I take it any hired transportation would want at least a standard party of four, correct?" The former prince spoke and at the proprietress' affirmation added. "How much more would it cost to hire additional help?" He then glanced back at Edda and, with a victorious smirk, said, "If you're going to insist on paying for the transportation, then I reserve the right to cover for this."

"Count me in too." Kallen added, before the brunette could voice an objection.

After Miounne told them the price, which was considerable but between the two of them wasn't enough to make too much of a dent in the gil Lelouch and Kallen had earned over the course of adventuring. Upon the two agreeing on the price, the proprietress volunteered to arrange the transportation along with the job posting.

"Why…? Why are you doing all this?" Edda asked in a trembling voice as she tried to keep herself composed, pausing to hastily wipe at her eyes before adding. "I'm not ungrateful for your helping me like this, truly, but… you all barely know me or Avere, and yet… and I…"

"Because it's the right thing to do. Do we need any other reason?" Kallen answered and realizing that might not be enough of an answer continued. "I mean… I've seen more than enough horrible crap happen to people and not been able to do anything about it. Right now, I can so that's what I'm going to do."

Seeing the brunette's gaze reflexively turn to him, Lelouch did his best not to look uncomfortable under her emotion filled look as he gave his answer. "I…would say Kallen summed it up well enough." Regaining his composure, the former prince quickly fell back on an adage he remembered off the top of his head, "Better to not be haunted by the guilt of all the good we didn't do."

Kallen glanced at her Britannian associate, sensing that weird discomfort he seemed to have from time to time again. She didn't get a chance to see if she was right, though as another voice came up.

"Well put, Lelouch." Mother Miounne approved with a nod and looked at Edda. "I'm truly sorry to say that situations like yours aren't as uncommon as you might believe, Edda. Our guilds try our best to send adventurers on jobs they look to be ready for, but that can only do so much in preventing tragic outcomes and even less so in dealing with the aftermath. If I can help put even one case to right, I will."

"I see…thank you…" Edda took a moment before taking a breath and then looked at Lelouch and Kallen with determination. "But please, include me in anything else that needs to be done. Avere is…. was my betrothed, and as his only remaining family I… I should see to his… final rest."

After the pair gave their acknowledgments, all three proceeded to one of the tavern's tables to discuss just that.

It was the next day by the time a chocobo drawn covered wagon had been commissioned for the journey to Edda's village. The coffin had since been secured and stored a respectful distance away from several crates of goods the driver intended to sell or trade at their destination. Prior to leaving the inn, Lelouch had opted to switch his equipment to that of a thaumaturge so as to stay in practice with that field of magic's spells. Waiting for Lelouch, Kallen and Edda were the additional hires for the escort and for the Earth born pair, they turned out to be familiar faces.

"Well, this is a happy coincidence," Dolorous Bear said in greeting as he saw them approach. "After the job with the tombs ended with those madmen collapsing the tunnel we were headed down to try and take us with them, a simple escort job with good company is welcome."

"At least this one won't mean fighting anymore undead." E'manafa said with clear relief.

"I'm surprised that you're more relieved of that than narrowly escaping being entombed with them." Kikina commented lightly to her teammate.

As the eyepatched redhead miqo'te began replying about her obviously being relieved at that to her friend, Lelouch nodded at the roegadyn swordsman.

"I hope you were well compensated for that." The former prince said.

"Yes, but not as much as if we had brought an end to the cult's insidious plans like we've heard the two of you did." Dolorous remarked, his tone still friendly despite it being clear he wished he and his team had accomplished that.

"Wasn't just the two of us, and it wasn't easy either, just so you know." Kallen commented.

"I didn't mean to put it that way, my apologies." The green haired roegadyn replied, in a genuine apologetic tone. "I will admit some jealousy, but I'm sure opportunity to better spread our name will come sooner or later."

"Look at it this way, even normal jobs like this one help build a reputation if completed successfully." Lelouch offered. "It might even open up opportunities later."

"Indeed." Dolorous gave an approving smile before looking at the trio. "In any case, do you know when the client is supposed to arrive? I was told the cargo had been loaded into the wagon and is ready to go…"

"I…I'm the client." Edda spoke up, clearly trying to keep her voice from wavering. "We're taking my late betrothed, Avere, to our village for… burial…"

"Oh, my apologies, miss." Dolorous said quickly, showing guilt at his prior words potentially making light of the loss. "I was not aware of the seriousness of our task. You have my condolences for your loss, of course."

As E'manafa and Kikina voiced similar reassurances, Lelouch found himself feeling some relief at seeing Edda taking their words well. He reflected on how earlier, the brunette had been reluctant to part with the bag containing Avere's head so it could be reunited with its body in the commissioned coffin. He could sort of understand, in all likelihood just doing that only made the reality of the loss and the finality of the separation that entailed all the more apparent to her. The former prince then glanced over at Kallen and wondered what was going through her mind at this, only for that to be interrupted as the wagon driver called out to them to inquire of their plans to depart.

Abalathia's Spine

The journey had taken more than a day, with the wagon having to stop and make camp in an area the wagon driver knew was safe so long as there was someone on watch. Fortunately, both the first day and the night had passed without incident and as it was nearing midday, Edda began seeing familiar landmarks as they rode along. Strangely, she couldn't help but find the mood of the day not as somber as she had thought it would be despite the whole purpose of this journey back. Perhaps it was the good weather or the friendly company, but she found it easier to speak with her impromptu traveling companions and not just Sir Lelouch and Lady Kallen.

Out of curiosity Dolorous, E'manafa and Kikina had asked her a few questions about Avere and Edda had answered and doing so wasn't as painful as she thought it would be. She would later assume it was because she was focusing on happier memories, talking about how the two of them had been childhood friends, having been introduced as a result of their two families being close, and how that eventually led to their engagement being arranged just prior to the Calamity.

"…and that was what Avere said he intended to do after finding his fortune as an adventurer." Edda explained. "Restore our village to its former glory from before the Calamity."

"That indeed sounds like a worthy goal, rebuilding what was lost in that great tragedy." Dolorous commented approvingly. "Truly unfortunate that a man willing to leave his hometown and brave danger unknown to better help its surviving people is no longer with us."

Edda thanked the roegadyn swordsman; while Avere had never mentioned the latter part, it went without saying. There was no way Avere's dream was just to become rich and famous, that… just wasn't like him.

"I really hope things get better for you." E'manafa spoke up before her right eye moved to the side as she awkwardly added. "I mean…I know a loss like that must have been horrible, but…"

"It's fine…and thank you…" Edda said, her voice equally awkward as she was not sure how to feel about the miqo'te adventurer's words.

E'manafa gave a nod and her eyes strayed over to Dolorous, trying to ignore the uncomfortable thought of what she'd do if she were in the brunette's situation and suddenly lost the roegadyn adventurer she'd harbored a crush on since even before they officially formed a party. She felt a light touch to her shoulder, and looked to see it was Kikina, the reassuring smile from the blonde lalafell telling she had an idea of what was going through her best friend's head.

Meanwhile, Kallen had noticed the look on Edda's face, and seeing her glance in the direction of where the coffin was stowed, decided to call out to the grieving conjurer to improve her mood.

"Hey Edda, it alright if I ask you something?" The Japanese pugilist asked, almost immediately getting the other's attention.

"Oh, of course." The brunette answered.

"Well, since you told us- - ," Kallen's words were cut off as the wagon suddenly began to slow as the driver gently coaxed the chocobos pulling it into a stop.

"There's no need to get out, this won't take long." The driver called back to them, his voice meant to sound reassuring, but there was clearly some nervousness to it. He then got off from his seat before reaching for a large bag that was stowed to his side. As he hefted the bag over his shoulder, the contents made a series of heavy clinking sounds. The driver then proceeded to walk forward.

Noticing this, Lelouch looked at Kallen and with an unspoken agreement, they each moved a hand to their respective weapon to be ready to use it if things suddenly took a dangerous turn before turning their heads to get a look at what was ahead that prompted the wagon driver to stop.

A tall figure was standing a good distance away, underneath the shade of a tree. Thanks to a combination of the shade and the lower hanging foliage, neither of the Earth born adventurers could make out much of this stranger. The only thing they could clearly see was this person's outfit was a dark shade of blue.

Within a couple of minutes, the driver reached the obscured figure and after a brief conversation handed them the bag. A few more words were exchanged before the driver turned around and made his way back to the wagon. Upon his return, he wordlessly got back into his seat and gave the chocobos a louder urging to move forward than he had back when they had started in Gridania. Not surprisingly, this caused the large yellow birds to pull the wagon along noticeably faster than they had before.

As the wagon passed the figure under the tree by, the combination of speed and the foliage once again prevented both Lelouch and Kallen from getting a good look at them. Yet they each couldn't help but feel this blue clad individual's gaze on them. A look at their fellow wagon occupants showed they all had only mild curiosity about the whole thing.

Before any questions could be asked, there was a series of sharp cracking sounds mixed with the sounds of rustling plants a short distance to the right. A look in that direction showed there was either something very large or a large group moving around within the forest, but whatever it was did not emerge as the wagon continued along.

Lelouch waited a few minutes, until their odd stopping point was well out of sight, before moving towards the driver's seat and asking, "Was that some sort of toll for safe passage?"

"In a sense," The man answered quickly. "Wasn't bandits, if that's what you're concerned about. In fact, do not ask anymore about it and we'll all here be better for it."

The driver's words, plus the unease at whatever they had missed encountering more or less dampened the mood and the remainder of the journey proceeded largely in silence from there.

It was in the midafternoon when they arrived in Edda's village, and upon getting out of the wagon and looking around it was clear the village had indeed seen better days. A large number of what had been houses and other structures were in ruins that were far along in being reclaimed by the elements, and some of the buildings that were still occupied were showing disrepair with only mild attempts at fixing. Fortunately, the town's inn was still in decent condition, and the innkeeper was ready to see to any visitor's needs.

While the driver proceeded to have the wagon unloaded, which Dolorous Bear and E'manafa helped with while Kikina saw to her party's rooms, Lelouch and Kallen ended up being asked to watch over the coffin while she went into town to make the funeral arrangements. After giving the pair an assurance she'd be fine doing at least this, the brunette left the inn, leaving the pair to converse near their unfortunate cargo.

"So, did you get a look at whoever that was the driver paid off?" Kallen asked. "I didn't see much aside from they were wearing some kind of blue coat."

"That would be about all I saw too." Lelouch answered, pausing to consider something before continuing. "Though speaking of which, I'm pretty sure whatever was in the driver's bag as his part of the transaction, it wasn't gil. It sounded larger than a bunch of coins when he was hauling it along."

"Yeah, and it didn't sound like metal, so I don't think it was anything like gold or silver." The red head considered that moment. "In fact, it kind of sounded like heavy glass…maybe it was those crystals with aether in them like we've used with crafting, but maybe a little larger.

"Perhaps, there is some monetary value to a large amount of them." The former prince nodded, and a thought came to him. "Come to think of it, from what I've read on the process the crystals' aether provide not only their respective elemental effect on the material to properly shape it, but also provides the power necessary for the portable workstations to function. Now, what does that remind you of?"

"Sakuradite, but that's only…" Kallen paused as she considered it. "Well, it's mainly used as a fuel source and for explosives, but it does start out as a crystal. One problem with the idea that sakuradite are aether crystals, though…"

"If aether is a thing in our world, then why isn't magic?" Lelouch asked and the other nodded. The raven haired thaumaturge thought for a moment on the matter before continuing. "We were able to pick up manipulating it fairly easily, so it does indicate that at least some humans should have the innate ability to do so as well. The simplest answer would be ignorance of how on a planetary scale, but that has problems if you think about it."

"You mean like how we've had so many stories of people using magic or doing superhuman stuff, this could be like some kind of basis for all that?" Kallen asked in reply and then gave a sigh. "Can't believe I'm even considering something that sounds like BS from the tinfoil hat wearing club."

"That was something I didn't need to be reminded of." The former prince felt a headache coming from at the mere thought of the Paranormal Investigations club as any dealing with them meant having to listen to its leading members ramble on about the importance of their uncovering proof of extra-terrestrial life or similar nonsense. Kallen had her first experience with that more than a week ago when she had assisted him with the approval paperwork for that club wanting a day trip to a 'suspected site'. Sadly, irritating as it was, many of the club's members were the children of minor nobles, so disbanding it was more trouble than it was worth.

Their idle speculation continued from there until they saw Edda coming back, accompanied by a small number of villagers. With clear reluctance on her face, she directed them to Avere's coffin which they proceeded to lift and carry off into another part of the village.

"You aren't going with them?" Lelouch asked, seeing the brunette conjurer wasn't following them.

"There's a rite that needs to be done before the funeral because of how Avere…passed on." Edda answered, her voice taking on a strain as she ended the sentence. "I was told it would be best to wait until it was over, and I couldn't…"

The grieving conjurer lowered her head, her face showing a mixture or frustration and shame at not being able to bear seeing her late betrothed in such a state.

"You aren't wrong to feel that way." Lelouch said without thinking, and upon realizing his words inwardly cursed himself as he tried not to show his surprise at it. Knowing he couldn't take back what he'd said, he looked at the brunette before giving a sigh. "I know you want to honor him in some way, but forcing yourself to be reminded of Avere's death isn't how to do it." Unwelcome memories of going over what parts of his mother's autopsy reports he could access in an attempt to investigate the murder came to him then, coupled with remembering how traumatized Nunnally had been at having actually witnessed it, but he quickly pushed those aside. "It also may not lead to any closure; it may even make things worse."

Under normal circumstances, Edda might have asked the other how he could know that, but the pained expression that came across the raven-haired magic user answered that for her. This was someone speaking from experience of losing someone dear to him, and it was clear the loss still pained him greatly.

"I see… it still doesn't feel any less awful…" The brunette's eyes were downcast for a moment before looking back at him. "Does it get any better?"

Lelouch was silent for a moment as he considered his answer, partially because he wasn't sure how to answer, but also out of caution due to Kallen's presence. He'd been letting too much slip out today and yesterday, and regardless of his liking the rebel turned adventurer as a person he couldn't afford to let anything vital out.

"In some ways, I suppose…" The former prince vaguely admitted. "I may not be the best example for you; our two circumstances are incredibly different."

"…Who did you lose?" Edda asked on impulse.

Lelouch looked hard at the brunette conjurer, but it was clear she'd asked him without thinking and was already stammering an apology. He briefly considered just leaving it at that, but decided he could answer, as either way his Japanese associate's attention was drawn to the subject. Also, it was on his and Nunnally's records that both their parents were deceased anyway.

"My mother." He answered simply, before adding. "Don't take this the wrong way, Edda, but I would appreciate if you didn't ask any more about that."

As Edda agreed, followed by thanks for answering her, Kallen couldn't help but notice Lelouch glance at her during the latter statement. She understood that meant Edda wasn't the only one his words were meant for, but all the same this bit of information was a lot to think about regarding her Britannian associate. While a look she had made not too long after this sudden weird partnership started showed that Lelouch and Nunnally didn't have any living relatives, and it would make sense neither of them would bring up their parents if the loss was a tragic one, there was one thing she couldn't help but notice. Lelouch only brought his mother up as a tragic loss, yet his father hadn't come up. That could easily be because the man's death had been at a different time, but…Kallen mentally shook that line of thought off as it was starting to mix in with her own family issues, which she did not want to dwell on.

The next day came, and within hours the funeral and burial of Avere Bravearm had been done. A modest gathering of the village's people had come, and the grieving Edda at least had a good number of people she knew offering words of comfort as they paid their respects. Lelouch and Kallen had attended at Edda's request, but aside from some thanks from a few of the villagers for helping the brunette conjurer weren't as involved.

With all that done, the three reconvened at the village's inn. A message the innkeeper had taken for the Earth born pair revealed that the wagon would be making its return trip to Gridania the next day.

"So, what do you plan to do now, Edda?" Lelouch asked, after the innkeeper left.

"Well…I have been offered a place to stay for a little while, but…" Edda paused as she considered her answer before looking not just at Lelouch, but also at Kallen. "I want to start again as an adventurer. I had considered giving it up, but when I think of the two of you - - of all that you've achieved and all you've done for me - - I find that I'm inspired, just as Avere once was."

"That reminds me, Edda…" Kallen spoke up. "I didn't get a chance to ask you a couple days ago, but why did you want to become an adventurer? I know you were following Avere, but I'm sure you had a reason of your own besides that."

"I…" The brunette looked away, a shy expression coming across her face. "Are you sure you want to hear it? Avere would always joke about how simple it was."

"We won't know until we hear it." The redhead replied and gave her a sympathetic look. "If you're worried we might laugh at you about it, we won't, I promise."

Kallen didn't even feel the need to look at Lelouch over that. Whether he had to pretend or not, she'd been around the guy enough to know he had better manners than that.

"I…want to be a great healer." Edda answered and feeling the need to better explain herself, continued. "After the Calamity, there were so many injured and I learned what I could of the healing arts to help the people in our village and save lives. When Avere decided he wanted to become an adventurer, I thought maybe I could do the same, not just for him and our friends, but for whoever else needed help on our journey."

"That sounds like a pretty good reason to me." Kallen said.

"Indeed, it does." Lelouch agreed. "In fact, that brings things well into what I would like to ask you, Edda. If you really do wish to continue as an adventurer, then how would you feel about traveling with us as a party?"

For a good moment, Edda Pureheart just stood where she was, stunned at what she had just heard. The validation of these two adventurers that she had grown to admire first through Avere and now through their own deeds was one thing, wonderful as it was, but to then be offered to join them as a party member was truly unexpected.

"Are…are you sure?" The brunette stammered. "I mean… Sir Lelouch, you're already more than familiar with being a conjurer, and I was intending to start training again. Why would you want me?"

"I'm still training myself, there's a good chance having a fellow practitioner to learn alongside may help in improving both our skills and there is something I'm learning all this for that will require the aid of several skilled conjurers. Having one in the party already would help for at least convenience's sake." Lelouch explained. "Also, from what I've been able to assess of your skills when we were working together in the Sastasha caverns, you aren't that far behind me, Edda. I believe some time learning alongside me in the Conjurer's Guild will close the gap rather quickly."

"If you're worried about keeping up with us during a job, don't be." Kallen added. "From my experience, underground fighting is best if you don't rush it, and…" She felt a smile creep onto her face as she glanced at Lelouch before gesturing at the raven-haired thaumaturge. "…if I can learn to work with this guy, I'm pretty sure we can learn to work with each other."

"That is the advantage of adaptability, Kallen." Lelouch commented with a sardonic smile.

The former prince was about to say more, but was prevented as Edda, after considering the pair's words, spoke.

"Could I have a little time to think about it?" The brunette conjurer asked. "Just a few days, and I'll have an answer for you." She then looked at them apologetically, "I'm sorry, please don't think I don't appreciate what you are offering me, but…"

"Edda, it's fine." Kallen said reassuringly. "If you don't think you're ready to yet, then…"

"It isn't that." Edda shook her head, pausing briefly in hesitation before continuing. "This is probably going to sound ridiculous to you both, but… it just feels wrong for me to just leave Avere behind like this. I know it's what needs to be done, but it still doesn't feel right. Like I'm abandoning him somehow..."

"It takes more than a few days to get used to losing someone close to you, Edda." Lelouch said with clear sympathy. "In some ways, I…" He stopped and quickly decided to say something else, partially out of not wanting to potential secrets slip, but also because his own grim view of the aftermath of his mother's death wasn't what Edda needed to hear right now. "I would say you should consider that while Avere may be gone, at least he had someone who cared enough to give him a funeral."

"Does it…really count for that much?" Edda asked in an unsure voice.

"It's more than some people have, unfortunately." Lelouch replied, trying not to let his inner clash of wanting to be evasive and give the grieving conjurer as close to an honest answer as he was comfortable with show. "Not to mention with a proper funeral, one at least can say some form of farewell."

The former prince looked away from the brunette as he tried not to mentally dwell on how much of a farce Marianne vi Britannia's funeral had been. The casket had been closed the whole time and the barest minimum of ceremony given with the few speakers clearly rushing things to get it over with. Undoubtedly it was due to pressure from the emperor and likely other higher members of the court to ensure the whole matter was buried as quickly as possible in every sense of the word.

Meanwhile, Edda pondered Lelouch's words and quickly saw the merit in them. As awful as losing Avere was, there was some relief knowing that he had been treated with respect and dignity in the end. She couldn't fathom being able to accomplish that on her own, and yet Sir Lelouch and Lady Kallen had made it happen.

"I understand, thank you, Sir Lelouch." Edda said with a grateful smile before turning to Kallen. "You as well, Lady Kallen. I know I must be saying it a lot to you, but…all that you both have been doing these past few days…it truly means a lot to me."

"Hey, it's fine, really." Kallen replied, blushing under the brunette's gratitude, and trying to push the reflexive wish in the back of her mind that she could have this kind of effect on some of her own people in Japan. "We're just glad you're doing all right now…and don't think that means you need to join us to pay us back or anything. It should be your decision."

The Japanese pugilist gave a subtle glance in Lelouch's direction and found no sign of opposition to what she just said. Not even a slight look of frustration. That was enough for Kallen to decide to speak with her Britannian associate once their conversation with Edda was over.

After a few more words, Edda took her leave to where she would be staying in the village for a few days before giving the pair her answer. Upon the conjurer's departure, Kallen turned to Lelouch and made it clear they needed to talk, and now. The two made their way to a secluded area near their rooms.

"I think I have a good idea of what you want to ask." Lelouch commented with a bitter dryness to his voice.

"I'm not going to ask about your mom, not yet anyway…" Kallen paused as she considered that before asking, "Would you have even given me much of an answer if I'd asked?"

"Honestly, no… not yet anyway…" Lelouch gave her an ironic smile as he repeated the latter part of her initial statement. His thoughts briefly drifted to what a full answer on that could mean: while it could potentially convince Kallen to bring him into the fold of her resistance cell, it could also backfire given it was so close to the subject of his and Nunnally's true heritage. What further consideration of what Kallen's reaction to that could be was interrupted as he then realized what the former part of her words implied, and his expression turned curious. "What did you want to ask me, then?"

"Look…I don't know if you're just trying to hide it or something, but when your part in helping Edda comes up you start acting a little bit… 'off' I guess. Why?" Kallen was about to leave the question hanging, but then a thought came to her. "I mean, it's clear claiming deserved credit isn't a problem for you, Lelouch. I've seen it both at school and when we're doing jobs; is it because this is more personal or something?"

The former prince was silent for a moment as he took in the other's question, alongside feeling a little vexed that he'd been so easily read.

"I suppose so." Lelouch said, trying not to sound evasive before giving a sigh. "Can I just say doing what I did makes me feel better, and we can just leave it at that?"

"If you were just doing it for that, you sure did way more than you had to." Kallen commented sarcastically. "Is it hard to admit you just wanted to help Edda or something? …And don't tell me it's just because you wanted a guaranteed healer for that ritual to heal Nunnally. If that was the case, you wouldn't have let Edda have a choice; you could've just told her why you needed her and let her feeling like she owes you plus being guilted into it do the trick."

"If my answer to that question was 'yes', what would…?" Lelouch began in a defensive voice, but trailed off as he realized his reaction had more or less given her the answer. With a frustrated sigh, he decided to explain. "Tell me, do you remember that parting advice of sorts Jacke gave us after we finished that business with the Black Sarcophagus?"

"Yeah, something about us finding our own codes to follow… you even mentioned something about it earlier…" The redhead replied. "So, what does that have to do with this?"

"A long time ago, I… was in a situation a little similar to Edda's." The former prince admitted before silently considering how to best explain things from there.

It turned out, he didn't have to as Kallen took that moment of silence to ask, "So what was the difference?"

"Unlike our unfortunate conjurer, there was no one to help." Lelouch found himself averting his gaze from the other with a grimace. While the redhead's replying question had given him the opportunity to skip specifics, it did little to prevent unpleasant memories and feelings to come to the surface. "Not even from people who one might normally expect help from…"

Swallowing the foul mental combination, the former prince looked back at the rebel turned adventurer and gave a bitter smile.

"So, I decided to take a bit of Jacke's advice, figuring that doing the opposite of what those people did was a good start to a code." Lelouch finished. "Mental spite over a bit of childhood trauma I suppose but as I said, it makes me feel better."

"Does it have to be just that?" Kallen asked, noticing the other flinch at that question before another one came to her. "This happened back when you were still living in Pendragon, right?"

After the raven-haired magic user gave a wary affirmation, the redhead gave her reply.

"Then if you ask me, doing the opposite of your typical Britannian from that shithole of a city sounds like a damn good start to a code." She said frankly.

Lelouch's expression softened at the other's words and a wry smile came upon his face.

"On that we can agree on." The former prince admitted with clear amusement. He felt tempted to continue the conversation but wasn't sure if he should. Not to mention said conversation and the day's events had made for a tiring combination. "Anyway, we should probably get some rest considering the wagon will be leaving early tomorrow..."

After a few exchanged words, Lelouch turned and headed to his room and Kallen watched him go as she considered what she'd learned about her Britannian associate today. Ever since agreeing to team up with Lelouch in their visits to this strange world, she'd been seeing moments that were definite proof that he really was a good sort for a Britannian. The past few days demonstrating it was more than the raven-haired magic user cared to admit, for some reason. While certainly not a bad thing, it brought two complicated things to consider to the surface: what to do about it when the time came to reveal this whole Eorzea thing to Naoto and just what was her impromptu ally's deal? She had a feeling she should find out more on the latter subject before making any solid plans with the former.

Gridania

The wagon trip back to the wooded city-state passed without incident and in fact had taken less time than the journey to the village they'd departed from. Apparently, the wagon driver knew a quicker and safer route for the return journey. Dolorous Bear and his two companions collected their earnings for a completed assignment before each giving Lelouch and Kallen their thanks and compliments. From there the trio took their leave, planning to rest for a couple of days before heading to Ul'dah for further work.

True to their word, Lelouch and Kallen waited in Gridania for Edda for three days, only really leaving the city to return to Earth for their own businesses to attend to. That didn't mean the pair had been idle as during their time in Eorzea, as they'd come across Rai, who had been given some leave to rest and recuperate after the incident in the Deepcroft and the cultists driven out of it. The silver haired archer had introduced the Earth born pair to the Archers' Guild and had shown them the basics of archery alongside its guildmaster, an elezen woman named Lucianne Corne and a miqo'te woman named Leih Aliapoh. An elezen man named Silvairre also provided some assistance too but was preoccupied with helping to secure the Deepcroft to prevent a possible future incursion.

It was late evening of the third day and the pair were in the Carline Canopy, having just received word from Mother Miounne that a job request from Ul'dah was available for them.

"Well, the day's almost over." Kallen commented as she and Lelouch finished discussing how they were going to accept the job but go to Ul'dah early the next morning. She glanced at the main entrance for a certain familiar face, and not seeing any sign of Edda turned to Lelouch. "There's still time I know, but we probably should consider she might not come."

"It was always possible." Lelouch admitted. "Edda did mention wanting to retrain as a conjurer at her village, and I can understand wanting to be in a familiar environment in light of things."

"It's her choice." The redhead shrugged before giving the other a more serious look. "Also, if she doesn't have the resolve to do something like this, it's probably for the best she doesn't. This adventurer thing is a dangerous profession even if it has its rewards. Almost as dangerous as…" She stopped as she realized what she let slip and saw her Britannian associate raise an eyebrow in response. "…well, you can probably guess what."

Lelouch was about to reply, but stopped as he noticed a sudden movement coming from just outside the Carline Canopy's main entrance. He'd spotted said movement because it had come from a figure whose familiar white robe and hat contrasted with the fading daylight outside.

"Tell me, Kallen, are you one for placing bets?" The former prince asked with amusement before gesturing in that direction.

The rebel turned adventurer turned in the direction the other had indicated just in time to see none other than Edda Pureheart come into the guild hall. The brunette conjurer looked a bit winded as she stopped in the entrance way, indicating she likely ran from the greater aetheryte to the Carline Canopy.

"Yeah, but not really on the money front." Kallen answered as she and Lelouch waved to make sure the arriving conjurer knew where they were.

"I'm sorry I'm late." Edda apologized between labored breaths as she approached them. "There were more things I had to arrange before I left than I thought there would be."

"Easy there, Edda," Kallen said before gesturing at a nearby empty table. "No need to rush things, let's just sit down and talk."

After the three took their seats and the brunette had enough time to catch her breath, Lelouch spoke.

"Before you say anymore, Edda, you don't need to apologize regarding the timeliness of things." The former prince said reassuringly. "Understandable reasons aside, we probably should have given you a link to our linkpearl so you could have contacted us."

"Oh no, it isn't your fault, I don't have one anyway…" Edda said quickly only to trail off as an embarrassed look came across her face at what she'd admitted. "Avere said I wouldn't need one since I was to be at his side when he needed me anyway."

"It's fine, nothing that can't be easily… arranged." Lelouch gave a diplomatic reply, at the last second choosing that last word over 'corrected'. He hoped he wouldn't find out more details on his late self-proclaimed rival's stupidity and had the feeling the deceased dunce would have struggled to outsmart what the former prince would consider easy chess opponents.

"Just to make sure, you are joining us, right?" Kallen asked, of similar mind to her Britannian associate regarding Edda's now dead and buried betrothed, and figured changing the subject would be best.

"Oh…of course!" Edda said, her voice becoming determined at the end as she did her best not to reflexively lower her head and keep her gaze in the pair. "I…I would like to join up with people I know I can trust, and you've both done more than enough to have mine, Sir Lelouch, Lady Kallen… I hope I can prove myself worthy of yours."

"I can say you'll be a welcome addition to our team." Lelouch said before looking at Kallen. "Though I do believe there's one condition to your joining we can both agree on…"

The redhead found herself giving a light smile of acknowledgment before turning back to the brunette, "…Yeah, please drop the whole 'Sir' and 'Lady' thing, Edda. I get you're being polite and all, but you don't need to go that far."

"Are you sure?" Edda asked.

"Well, we are going to be working together for the foreseeable future. Not to mention sharing knowledge regarding conjury." Lelouch answered. "That more or less makes us colleagues, so wouldn't it make more sense that we address each other as such?"

"That and it'd be pretty awkward otherwise." Kallen added. "I can't imagine calling any of my friends or the people I work with that."

"If that's what you want, then." Edda gave a nod of acceptance while trying her best not to look overwhelmed as she considered her new situation. These two great adventurers hadn't just offered her a place in their party but were even offering their friendship too.

As both Lelouch and Kallen offered their hands to shake on this new arrangement, the brunette couldn't help but think back to her thoughts over the past couple of days. She had considered just remaining in her village to retrain, let the comfort of familiar sights help her along and strengthening her resolve so near Avere's final resting place might also honor him and his dream in a way. Yet she couldn't help but feel drawn to Lelouch and Kallen and their offer. From her gratitude to them to how inspiring their simple acknowledgment of what she wanted as an adventurer was. It was like seeing the comforting glow of a campfire or fireplace at night and wanting to get closer to it.

"However long you need me, I'll follow you wherever you go, Lelouch, Kallen." Edda said in earnest as she shook their hands. "I promise to do my best for you."

AN: And with that we bring this chapter to a close! Man, does it feel good to have this part of the story done and out, but I'll explain why in a little bit. First, if you like enjoy a few deleted scenes, the first two were supposed to be during the Rogue arc, but since I wanted Edda's joining the party to be a surprise (and it functionally just gave more reasons to have "RIP Bozo" on Avere's tombstone) I decided to just put them off until now and only hint about the second one taking place in Chapter 10. I might make a reference to them happening at a (much) later point, so consider them canon still.

Deleted Scene # 1: Milala's First Encounter

*takes place at the end of Chapter 9*

Milala Mila was finding the day to have taken a less than ideal turn since her meeting with and issued challenge to the Rogues' Guild. While interacting with that guild of scoundrels coupled with the disappointment of seeing such promising adventurers led astray by said guild would dampen one's mood as expected, it was the events following that which only added to it.

Upon returning to Aleport, she was contacted by the Maelstrom that her levy was to help them with getting the rescued prisoners of the Jolly Merchants seen to before arrangements to return them to their homes were made. The biggest issue was they were short on immediate healers to see to the victims' health while waiting for the more experienced ones of the Grand Company to be mobilized. While the rest of the Yellowjackets under her saw to other tasks, Milala was to speak with any adventurers who could use healing magic in the area to ask for assistance. Naturally, the first stop would be the town's inn and a word with the innkeeper directed her to where she could find any guests who could provide the help she was looking for.

This was where the Yellowjacket captain found herself hoping the day would get better, as her first stop had brought her to speaking with the leader of an adventuring party that did have a healer according to the innkeeper. Said leader was a young hyur man, Bravearm according to the inn's registry, who looked to have just entered his twenties, and from the looks of things had probably been aroused from sleep at her arrival. It was also clear to Milala from the man's surly disposition and how he kept rubbing his head with barely contained groans as he heard her explanation that he'd had more to drink the past evening than he could handle.

"…So…what do ye need us for, then?" Bravearm asked in weary tone. "Ain't those prisoners been rescued already? Doesn't sound like there's anything for us to really do…"

Trying not show her irritation at the other's obliviousness, Milala explained, "As I was saying, a number of the victims of those foul pirates need to be seen by a healer, and while we await those from the Maelstrom, we could use the assistance of any who can use the healing arts to make sure any who are seriously hurt or ill are taken care of until then. I was given to understand you had a healer in your party and would ask for their assistance."

Bravearm blinked a few times as he took in what the lalafell bluenette had to say.

"I guess I can get her, but are ye sure?" He asked. "She's not that good at healing…"

Unsure whether or not this particular adventurer was being truthful or was just saying that as an excuse to go back to sleep, Milala forced herself to remain calm before giving her reply. She had seen the condition of some of those rescued from the now defunct pirate crew and the idea of help for those unfortunates being delayed on account of the latter made her blood boil.

"Be that as it may, even a lesser skilled healer can at least provide assistance." She explained in an attempt to not sound too condescending, almost as if to an unruly child. "Would you please bring your healer here?"

"Fine, then. I'll…" A thought then came to Bravearm and he looked back at the other. "Will we get paid for this?"

"Yes, you'll compensated, now if you please…" Milala said shortly, now not bothering to hide her annoyance.

She only had to wait a few minutes before the man returned with the healer in tow. Said healer was hyur girl in her late teens with brown hair tied back and in a typical white conjurer's robe. While she looked like she'd dressed in haste, she was clearly more awake than her party leader.

"Go do whatever the guard lady says, Edda, and make sure I get a look at the gil she gives you whenever you get back." Bravearm said offhandedly, to which the girl gave a quick affirmation, before turning and sauntering in the direction of his room to return to sleep.

Milala watched the man go with an irritated look, partially because of his manner but also because she did not want to admit to herself that the rogues she'd encountered earlier came off as better by comparison.

"I'm ready miss, er…maam." The girl, Edda, spoke awkwardly. "Avere said that there was someone hurt, and you needed my help, so…I'm ready to do so in any way I can."

The bluenette turned to regard the conjurer. Despite the girl's nervousness, there wasn't any reluctance to doing this like with her party leader.

"It's actually more than one person and you'll be assisting other healers." Milala explained in reply, giving a brief summary of what was needed before giving the other instructions on where a member of the Maelstrom would be to further direct her.

As Edda left in the direction she was given, the Yellowjacket captain felt a little better from how this arrangement started as she moved on to the next place the innkeeper indicated. That girl was at least taking the situation seriously even before hearing the full context and looked eager to help. Both then and after hearing how Edda had done well at using her healing magic to help, Milala hoped the young conjurer would end up working under a better party leader.

Deleted Scene # 2: Milala's Second Encounter

*takes place during the late part of chapter 10*

Getting up from the bed that she had been lain onto so the healers could attend to her, Milala proceeded to give thanks to each one present, both out of personal gratitude and for helping any of the other injured in the fighting with the Reformists. It was while doing this that she spotted a familiar face among them.

"Captain Milala, I'm happy to see that you've recovered." Edda Pureheart said with a relieved smile.

"Thank you, and it's good to see you're still putting your skills to good use." Milala commented. "I do wish our meeting again were under better circumstances."

"I do as well, but at least it appears things are going well for the Yellowjackets and fewer are coming in injured now." The brunette replied in a positive tone.

The Yellowjacket captain nodded and then a thought came to her and she asked, "By the way, are any of your party present?"

A troubled look came across Edda's face before she answered, "Yes, but they went to join the guardsmen in the fighting… Avere said I would work better here."

She didn't want to mention how Avere had lightly added a joke at how she'd only slow them down in a fight like that. While it was obviously just a harmless little joke, it still bothered her as it made her wonder if she'd ever be able to keep up with her teammates and not be a burden to her future husband.

Milala noticed the somber look come across the girl's face, but unsure of why decided to change the subject. Given the current situation, she asked the first thing that came to mind.

"By the way… you wouldn't happened to have seen any from the Rogues' Guild come by?" She inquired. "Maybe one of their newer members: a young black-haired man named Lelouch, or a red-haired Doman girl named Kallen."

"Sir Lelouch and Lady Kallen are helping you in this?" Edda asked, her face lighting up at the other's affirmation. "Then I'm sure things will turn out well now. I'm sure Avere will also be glad to hear of this if he and my friends haven't run into them already!"

"I wasn't aware you knew each other…" Milala noted, glad the news had cheered the brunette up. A part of her did want to inquire further about that, but she was aware her presence among the Yellowjackets was likely needed now that she'd recovered. So she bade Edda farewell before heading to the Aftcastle.

Deleted Scene # 3: The Hint

*Not in the main sequence of this current chapter since I felt it might detract from the dramatic flow of things, and also the hint feels a little too on the nose/obvious to anyone familiar with what I'm referencing. My only excuse for using it is I just happened to be listening to the audiobook of it at the time*

"By the way, back when we were talking to Edda, it sounded like you were quoting from something." Kallen noted as they made their way back to their rooms.

"Sort of, though it wasn't the exact thing he said," Lelouch replied with a shrug. "Then again, as I wouldn't consider robbing a member of the Britannian royal family to be theft, the same can be said of plagiarizing them."

"Really? So why haven't I heard anything like that at Ashford?" The redhead asked with a raised eyebrow. "The teachers tend to jump at the chance to use any quotes from one of the Emperor's children to try and make themselves look good."

"This is from a different Emperor's reign, but there are a couple of reasons he isn't brought up much, if at all." The ex-royal turned adventurer answered. "First, he was an infamous hedonist that would put even Japan's current viceroy to shame."

"I find that hard to believe." Kallen scoffed with bitter humor. "So what's the second reason?"

"Because his time as an honored member of the royal line came to an end when he beheaded his closest brother in a fit of insanity." Lelouch answered simply, but with a smile that told all of how he felt on the subject. "Because this took place before the Emblem of Blood period made the royal family murdering each other fashionable, said upper class tried pretending the culprit never existed after his execution with limited success for the common folk did not get the memo for it. As a result, it made quite the popular subject for horror stories."

"Now that's some Britannian history I'd be interested in." Kallen returned the other's smile. "Got any recommended books or movies?"

"Yes, though all of them are banned from being in Ashford's library or used in lessons; fortunately I have my own copies to lend." The former prince offered. "Just...take the ones involving the haunted painting with a grain of salt."

"Haunted… painting?" The rebel turned adventurer asked with incredulity.

End Scene

AN: And with that we finally have reached the end of this chapter. Now that we've reached this point, I have a little more to say about this chapter as it's kind of a personal milestone for me. You see, Edda becoming a party member was one of the starting concepts for this fic, even before it ended up being a crossover story with Code Geass. We all have characters from both series that catch our interest and inspire us to create fanworks about them (for recent examples we have Dawntrail's Bakool Ja Ja and with Code Geass, we have Catherine (and some nameless red shirt mech pilot) from Roze (and before anyone asks I haven't watched it yet, but probably will eventually after I make the time to watch the new Grendizer anime) and in my case one of those characters was Edda. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the blend of tragedy and horror her storyline and connection to the Palace of the Dead had (kind of fitting this chapter was ready in October), but all throughout I couldn't help but wonder just how things might have turned out if the Warrior of Light had reached out to her and she'd become a companion and eventually joined the Scions. There's plenty in that storyline to suggest she had potential to be a great White Mage, plus she unlocked the Reaper class way before any of us did, so that plus the opportunities for character growth had me interested in making a fic with that concept. Eventually, circumstances inspired me to write a Code Geass crossover fic, and the two ideas came together. As some may have guessed by now, that was the reason why I covered the entire Rogue job quest prior to this, it was so Lelouch could have some character development to start taking a more proactive approach to helping people that hopefully feels true to his character.

Speaking of guessing now that we've reached this point, let me give kudos to Jack Lycan (and FYI, you're the reviewer I indicated in Chapter 8's starting AN) and on AO3, Minaly22 and Hellwyrm, for correctly guessing what I had planned.

Also as some may have guessed, I am skipping over the Archer job quests by implying Rai went through it and shows Lelouch and Kallen the basics off screen. The reason is the story for it just isn't interesting enough for me to adapt and it doesn't really come back in any interesting way. That doesn't mean I'm not adapting the Bard quests later though, rest assured I have plans for those.

Anyway, the other reason it's a relief to have this chapter finally out is it has been a pretty hectic couple of months, to the point that I was worried I wouldn't have this chapter out till November. From helping out with some family issues and the sudden announcement the literal day after it was resolved from my landlord that they were going to sell the place I'd been living at, which led to finding a new place, fortunately finding one and then getting ready to move there. Suffice to say, I'll be glad once everything's settled.

On a lighter note, I have enjoyed some good stuff even before things got crazy. Deadpool and Wolverine was a fun watch, I finished up watching Kamen Rider Geats up to its latest movie and I can see why that's so well regarded. The characters were all memorable with really good arcs for the main cast, the action was great all around and while the fast-paced story does make a marathon watch a little exhausting it was still really good. Also pretty sure someone on the creative team is a Warhammer 40K fan, as aside from Michinaga making a pretty good live action portrayal of a Chaos Space Marine for a good portion of the show, the fact his final upgrade basically gives him the Talon of Horus is a pretty big indicator. From there on the Kamen Rider front I've moved on to Gotchard and having reached about the halfway point… I'm not sure why so many people seem to hate it. I find it a good watch so far. Maybe because it starts out more kid friendly than Geats, but I'd say it finds its footing around episode 11.

On the Sentai front, I'll say the official bluray release of Geats starting with an advertisement for it and Donbrothers had me check out the latter out of curiosity coupled with hearing quite a few people talk about how weird it was for a sentai show and having watched about half of it…I can see what they mean. Still has been a really funny watch so far, be it the crazy character interactions or the slapstick comedy. Actually, a few random thoughts on it so far: 1) Taro kind of reminds me of TTS Rogal Dorn at times. 2) The opening reminds me of Persona 4 PS2's opening. 3) In some alternate reality, someone had the unenviable task of adapting Donbrothers into a Power Rangers show and I can't help but wonder how that might have looked.

Also, I have started watching King-Ohger and have gotten to episode 10, and yes I can see why this series has garnered so much praise. The world building and design has been really good and its characters have all been enjoyable, especially in how each of our royals is their own brand of delightfully crazy. I'd say my favorite so far would be Rita and…wait, a minute…is the name a coincidence? Will definitely take my time enjoying this one. As for another random thought, it is a funny coincidence that the Sentai show goes for a bug theme while the Kamen Rider show airing alongside it went for an animal theme (and yes I am aware Kamen Rider ditched the bug theme a while ago, but still…).

Anyway, the other thing I've ended up watching, mainly because I managed to get the bluray at a good price, is Space Sherrif Gavan and I must say it's been a surprisingly good watch while trying to make time to take it easy with the coming move. Maybe it's because its monster of the week format makes for a strangely relaxing watch (or how soothing its ED is), maybe its because of how well acted its title character is as this all around pleasant and likable guy from space or maybe its because of how well it's making for an October watch. The show has some episodes that do a good job creating a surreal and/or unsettling atmosphere when the situation calls for it, especially in episode 27. Has me curious to see how the rest of the Metal Heroes series is.

Well, I'd say I've rambled more than usual. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter and a Happy Halloween to all! Take care and stay safe out there and I'll see you again when the next chapter is ready!