Throughout the continent that was once called "Fódlan," all semblances of order and civility had decayed into a husk of its former self.

"TAKE EVERYTHING!" a raider cried out as he and his compatriots ran amok in a burning village that they themselves set ablaze a few minutes prior. "WHATEVER THAT CAN'T BE TAKEN, TOSS IT INTO THE FLAMES!"

Screaming villagers were fleeing like panicked sheep, leaving those who were too slow to flee to burn, but it was all in vain, for the raiders that had come to take everything from them had outnumbered them and the current Lord who was presiding over their territory had gone off and never returned.

Such is the state of Viscounty of Kleiman.

"P-PLEASE!" begged one man. "HAVE MERCY-!"

He was cut down before his family as their last season's harvests and livestock were taken by the bandits.

"Hey...!" One of the bandits snickered before he handed off the stolen steer to his other cutthroat before snatching a young girl no older than ten by her arm, ripping her away from her mother as she was kicked down the moment she resisted. "Looking at you closer, you're kinda cute."

"NO! DON'T TOUCH ME LIKE THAT!" the girl begged as she struggled in the raider's arms. "MOTHER!"

"PLEASE LET HER GO-!" The mother was kicked into the flames, left to thrash as scream in the bonfire that was once her home, her horrid shrieks causing the daughter to scream in horror and sob.

"... Why?" she wept as she saw her own mother perish in flames. "Why are you doing this?!"

"Why not?"

The girl's eyes widened in horror at the raider's blasé answer.

"The Goddess fucked off right after she made us, so why bother being nice?!" The raider then throws the girl down before forcibly ripping her dress off of her body. "NO MORE THE CRESTS OR THE GODDESS SHALL JUDGE US! THIS IS A NEW ERA! AN ERA WHERE WE FINALLY GET TO DO WHATEVER WE WANT!"

The girl's eyes bore witness to the carnage that was once a village that she called home. Fathers, brothers, and the elderly were cut down where they stood. Mothers and daughters were being ravaged before the corpses of their loved ones. All of their fruits of their generations of hard labor were being looted without distinction.

Her whole world that she knew ever since she was born into was up in flames. Like the depths of Hell were demons like these men called home.

"Now..." The raider than edged his [Steel Sword] before the girl's throat after he stripped himself nude. "... Don't make any sudden movements-"

Then, an arrow strikes true into his back, causing him to choke and cough out blood before he mustered enough strength to turn around to find another group of armed individuals entering their village.

"... Damn you-!"

Another arrow strikes through his head, killing him where he laid as he fell onto the girl that he was about to indulge in, pinning her down under his heavy body.

"EVERYONE, CHARGE!"

A rallying cry was heard by the girl as the stamping of hooves and armored feet drummed across the earth of which its reverberations crept up to the girl's bare back.

Who are they? the girl thought as she could barely see past the corner of her eyes as the sounds of slaughter took place, this time, the screaming of villagers now being sang by the raiders. ... Are they here to save us?

Then a severed head fell before the girl's point of view, causing her to shriek in horror as the sounds of slaughter rang mercilessly like a chthonic cacophony.

"DAMMIT!" one of the raiders' voices cried out. "FORGET THIS! RUN FOR IT!"

"DON'T LET THEM ESCAPE!" a commanding, yet young voice ordered. "BOWMEN! FIRE AT WILL!"

The sounds of arrows being loosened en masse strum like the strings of a bard's lyre, followed up by the relentless thumping of the arrows digging into the meat bodies of the raiders who dared to flee after what they've done.

Soon, the sounds of battle cease as the flames finally die out, leaving naught but the smell of smoke and gore to waft in the air.

"... Another one," a stoic voice sighed out.

"Gather the remaining villagers before we make our return to our base camp," the young-sounding authoritative voice ordered. "... Find any survivors, be they be bandits or villagers."

Realizing that she's safe, the girl lets out a strained groan in hopes that someone can hear her.

"... I heard something!" a young woman's voice remarked as her footsteps drew closer to the girl. "... Ugh, another one."

"We'll help." The several more footsteps came towards her before the gap of light widened, exposing the naked girl to the rest of the open world, causing her to instinctively cover herself with her arms and legs. "WE FOUND A SURVIVOR!"

The girl was then quickly covered up with a cloak, donated by a young woman with braided blond hair that ran down across one of her shoulders. "You'll be okay," she reassured as she hugged the girl tightly. "... You'll be okay."

Then the crowd around the girl parts as a blond young man wearing medium armor and wielding a [Silver Lance] appeared before them, prompting the braided young lady to quickly bow.

"Your Highness," she replied.

"Your Highness?" the girl parroted.

"At ease," the young man declared before he knelt down before placing his hand onto her shoulder. "... You're okay now. It's over."

Finally relived, the girl sobs hysterically as the reality of her current settled into her consciousness.

"Mother..." she wept. "... Father... why?! WHY?!"

"... Your Highness," the braided young woman said. "... Permission to watch over her."

"Permission granted, Ingrid," the young man consented as he walked away. "... Be sure that she sees a healer."

Ingrid hugs the now-wailing girl tightly as Dimitri approaches the captured raiders, all lined up before him Dedue and watched over by the militia of gathered survivors who wished to fight to protect their loved ones that the Prince had saved.

"You are in the presence of His Highness," the Duscurian Fortress Knight revealed. "Behave yourselves-"

The captured raider spitefully spits into his eye, causing Dedue to retaliate by kicking his teeth in.

"At ease," Dimitri ordered before he began interrogating the captured bandits. "So, what compelled you all to do this?"

The raider being questioned scoffs. "Why do you care?" he replied. "Fódlan's dead. You mean nothing to us, Prince."

Just as Dedue was about to discipline the bandit, the Prince raises his hand, signaling him cease. "... So that's your answer, then?" he replied back. "Live what scant years of your lives as animals simply because of one man's words invalidated everything that we have lived for?!"

"Come on, you know that you don't stand a chance!" The captured raider begins cackling like a madman, as did the rest of his compatriots. "YOU GUYS ARE NOT EVEN THAT THREATENING ANYMORE! THAT 'MAN' AS YOU CALL HIM SHOWED ALL OF US THE TRUTH AS WE SAW ALL OF THE CHURCH OF SEIROS DISAPPEAR! COMPARED TO HIM, WE'RE NOTHING MORE THAN ANTS! TICKS! LITTLE INSECTS THAT CAN ONLY CRAWL! SO WHY BOTHER?! WHY BOTHER BEING DECENT WHEN WE CAN NOW HAVE ALL THE FUN IN THE WORLD BEFORE IT ALL ENDS?!"

Dimitri could only sigh in pity and disappointment at their nihilism before walking away. "... Kill them."

Dedue then raises his [Silver Axe] as the captured bandits all gleefully laugh at their inevitable end.

Their sole release from this damned world, and pity at those who still resist.

"LONG LIVE THE BEAST-!"

Ingrid shields the girl's eyes with her body from that gruesome sight. Once the deed was done, Dimitri returns to where the girl was at. "... Can you walk?"

The girl struggles to will herself back up to her feet, stumbling before being caught by Ingrid. "... Forgive me, Your Highness."

Dimitri shakes his head. "... Take her back to the cart with the others, Ingrid," he ordered. "Everyone else, we're returning to camp! Mind any bandits and be sure to keep your eyes peeled!"

"Your Highness." Dedue returns as he wiped his [Silver Axe] of its blood with a cloth. "... Permission to speak freely?"

Dimitri nods as his retainer begins to speak.

"... This is the fourth time I've heard of these raiders mention 'The Beast'," the Fortress Knight explained. "... All of them... seem to answer to that name as if it were their deity."

The Prince mulls over that point of view as the survivors and whatever supplies they could recover from the raiders were being loaded up into carts by Mercedes and Annette. "... You think that 'The Beast' might be some sort of bandit king?"

"It appears that is the most logical conclusion, Your Highness," Dedue replied. "But personally, I don't think they take direct orders from our enigmatic figure. If anything, they see them as a figurehead, an idol."

"Like that of the Goddess..." Dimitri growls as he clenches his hand into a fist, remembering back in [Zahras] at how Karna gleefully tore apart their piety and hope before them like how a school bully would rip apart a stolen doll before the girl he'd stolen from. "I won't let that Devil win. I won't. I swear it...!"

Dedue nods in agreement before thinking about those who've abandoned the cause, like Ashe, Felix, and Sylvain. "... Now if only we were all here."

"Everyone's accounted for, Your Highness!" Annette reported. "We're ready to move out on your command!"

"Thank you." Dimitri then gets back up on his horse as Dedue rejoins the civilian militia guarding the cart. "... Everyone, move out!"

At his command, Dimitri then leads the band back to their base, steadily marching as he himself leads the march, Dedue guards the rear, Mercedes and Annette guards the center, while Ingrid patrols the skies on her Pegasus.

So far, so good. Dimitri's mind was admittedly a mess right now, but he had to remain strong in order to maintain hope.

As long as there are people still alive, there's still hope, he thought as the Prince glanced back at the carriage full of survivors, now nothing but women and children, whose only value to the bandits and cutthroats were their weaknesses. ... I will not submit to this madness that the damned Devil pretending to be a Professor for this past year had brought upon our home!

However, he wasn't naive enough to assume that everything will work itself out. If anything, he knew that he can't save everyone in Fódlan even if all of the remaining students back in Garreg Mach.

In fact, this is part of the reason why they split up across the continent. Everyone had their own homes to go back to, where their loved ones might be waiting in this apocalyptic chaos that has been unleashed.

Lorenz, Ignatz, Raphael, and Leonie set out to Leicester Alliance territory in hopes of finding and rescuing their loved ones and hope that they can reach Claude before the Dustbin can do anything to them while the latter was at Almyra. Ferdinand, Linhardt, Casper, and Petra returned to the Adrestian Empire territory in hopes of fining survivors and secure allies for their cause, especially the help of Ladislava Vernigora, the "Scarlet Warrior," Captain of the Empire Wyvern Corps, and the Empire's most renowned Wyvern Lord, trusted by many, from nobility to commonfolk, as a light of hope in trying times; a true woman of the people.

They all agreed to meet up in the base camp manned by one Ser Gustave Eddie Dominic, now returning to service after years of (needless) self-imposed exile under the alias "Gilbert Pronislav" during his time as a Knight of Seiros, and the one training the rescued villagers how to at least defend themselves from those seeking to take advantage of this anarchy.

It was a solid arrangement, all things considered. Far from perfect, let alone ideal, but still, it was better than doing nothing. "... They will persevere," he muttered to himself. "They will persevere-"

"YOUR HIGHNESS!" Ingrid then descends from above while atop on her Pegasi. "There's a blockade up ahead!"

Dimitri then quickly torques his head back as he spots faint rustling coming from the trees. "GET INTO POSITION! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"

Upon his warning, the forest sprung out several raiders from all sides as Dimitri and Ingrid quickly move in to dispel the ambush as everyone defended the cart of survivors with all they have.

"KILL EVERYONE ON THE ROAD!" a bandit howled with diseased glee.

"YOU SHALL NOT PASS!" Dimitri then smashes the shaft of his [Silver Lance] across a bandit's jaw as he, Ingrid, Mercedes, Annette, Dedue, and everyone who was willing to fight fought the bandits savagely, with neither side showing quarter to each other.

In spite of everything, Dimitri refuses to surrender to despair. For in his belief, where there is life, there is hope.

These coming days of ruin ushering forth this dark conflict without end shall not break him, for that is his vow as not only the Prince of Faerghus, but as a Fódlander fighting for his and his people's right to exist.

Lesson 4: Guided Tour Part Final

Day 20

"I have returned!" The door leading into the manor opens, revealing Aali al-Altair Sahhār coming inside into an empty hall. "... Hm, did my guest wander off elsewhere?"

The Griffin Knight then wanders around the halls of his small manor, with his servant girl Amina being out around this time to shop for groceries, leaving the young master of the place to wonder where his other guest is.

"If I recall, he's on a certain assignment from my Amira..." he thought out loud as he walked into his room, only to be greeted by an unfamiliar person standing and posing in the middle of his chambers. "INTRUDER!"

He then wastes no time tackling down the man before pulling out his knife...

"WHOA! WHOA! WHOA! CALM DOWN! IT'S ME!" The stranger than ruffles up his hair, returning it into a frazzled mop whose spikes were familiar to to Aali. "... It's me, Karna."

The young master blinks before getting off of him and sheathing his dagger. "... Ah," he remarked. "So, what brought you to... terrify me like that?"

"I was role-playing," Karna explained as the two men calmed down while he returned to the writing desk with a half-finished letter written on it. "Specifically, I was role-playing one Mister Lorenz Hellman Gloucester. That bowl-cut of his took hours to get right, mind you."

"... Okay, so why this 'role-playing'?" Aali asked.

"I was getting into his character and real-life personality and development, derived from my time spent as a Professor in Garreg Mach," he explained. "It's one thing to merely 'pretend' that I'm replying to our dear Ameer Khalid. But it's another thing entirely to convince him that everything back at Fódlan is... reasonably fine. Mark my words, the Ameer is sharp in spite of his young age and lack of Almyran politicking of backstabbing and assassinations. If I want his emotions to be like clay, I have to, let's say, 'moisten up' our little lump of malleable earth to better shape his behavior with our hands."

Aali nods in agreement in Karna's logic, roundabout as it may be. "... Okay, so judging by this 'Lorenz's' behavior, I assume that he's full of himself?"

"Eh... not quite, but sort of started that way," Karna clarified. "Viewed our Ameer during his time at Fódlan as a sort-of-rival before developing a begrudging sense of respect to him, all the more compounded by his sudden 'departure' back to Almyra. Now I'm playing the role as him being the next-in-line of becoming the Roundtable's Grand Duke, sort of developing the role of being the 'dutiful son,' with his father sort of softening up upon the complete dismissal of his political rival."

"Ah, so Almyran politicking without the bloodshed," Aali deadpanned. "... Curious, but what are the others of the Ameer's Fódlander entourage like?"

"Well, to give a brief summary..." Karna then racked his brain before giving a quick rundown. "... Hilda is spoiled, but self-doubting of her full potential who looks up to her older brother, perhaps a bit too much. Lysithea is an overachiever bordering on overcompensating for something, but knows that her life is short. Marianne just recently recovered from her depression, but her heart is kind to all life. Leonie is a similar case to Lysithea, but more grounded and headstrong. Ignatz is smart, but his humility rooted from his commoner upbringing holds him back, and Raphael... is simpleminded, almost too simple, but is well-meaning and loyal to his class."

Aali raises an eyebrow. "Hm, quite the diverse lot of characters, it seems."

"Well, now that you know that my work is a delicate operation, I must ask that you leave me be." Karna then shoves Aali out of his own room. "... Realistically speaking, our Ameer's correspondence with Lorenz should take within around 1-2 months, and that's counting his letter reaching Fódlan, the time for said letter to be completed, and said correspondence to be mailed back to Almyra, crossing a network of couriers between two continents, not counting the fact that there will be other letters coming from others that will be factored into this little timeline I have cooked up. Manipulating one person's reality is based on actual reality, and I for one, am prefer to get this done in an orderly manner, so if you excuse me...!"

The young master found himself kicked out of his own room at the same time as the rest of the Dustbin return from their work as the "Eltanin."

"Argh... dose damned jackals bit me in de leg 'ard..." Sorcha groaned before lying face-down on the sofa. "Damn animals..."

"Silver linin' no one else actually died..." Selene then collapsed next to where her twin sister laid. "... So dey can't cut our pay."

Byron nods as they set down their reward of 5,000 telâh. "Exactly ten jackals have been culled, as according to the request."

"... People of Zimourv are safe," Víðarr confirmed as she sat down on one of the other sofas. "We did good work."

"A bit dull for my tastes, but I suppose it's realistic that we're not always going to be dealing with bandits," Cyrus pointed out as he let out a yawn. "After the mess that was Fódlan, we're all basically starting from scratch."

Topaz raises an eyebrow as she looked towards Cyrus after he'd made his remark. "... Are you insinuating that we are to get caught up in another conspiracy while we're already in one?"

"Eh, I'm just resigned to this boom and bust-cycle that we're in." Tsukiko then collapses onto the last open sofa rather slovenly. "... Just wait and see. That's my take."

"I can see that you've all returned," Aali deadpanned. "... And already you're making a mess."

"Excuse them," Topaz apologized on their behalf. "... All work and no play makes them rather dull."

"At least leave some room for me..." Aali sighed as he sat next to Tsukiko. "... So, uneventful as it was, how was your prior job?"

"Exactly what you have described as: uneventful," Cyrus deadpanned before letting out a loud groan. "I knew that working through the ranks would be boring, but what in the actual hell made it so tortuous?!"

"Get used to it. Silver-Rank isn't going to come to you all by itself," Aali pointed out. "In fact, due to the Almyran Military and the Military Office's sellswords competing with each other, jobs tends to vary depending on how much bandit activity are present."

A thought then crosses' Topaz's mind. "... Come to think of it, why is that Almyra is full of bandits despite the soldiers being everywhere?" she asked. "Doesn't a strong military force indicate peace?"

"I don't know, what's say to you back at Brigid?" Aali shot back, causing the Vanguard to glare at him.

"... That's low and you know it," she hissed.

"I'm being serious, just because Almyra has a big military doesn't mean that there are those who are bold enough to challenge the status quo," the young master explained. "In fact, Almyra's military power isn't an objective, but a consequence."

"Consequence of what, exactly?" Selene asked.

"Of the reality of having to unify several nations and ethnicities," Aali explained. "There's a... lesson to be learned from Almyra's Muhammad Dynasty, and that's if you try to please everyone, no one will truly be satisfied. Force alone can only do so much, nor can diplomacy."

"Can't please everyone, it seems," Byron scoffed. "... This place is not that different from Fódlan."

"I know, but personally for me, I just elected to ignore it," Tsukiko pointed out. "... Even as my time as 'Kronya,' I didn't rise past the role of the Seven Sages' attack dog simply because I viewed everyone not Agarthan as an enemy. Oh how funny fate can be, amirite?"

Víðarr grumbles before looking back at his group. "... We strong... together," he pointed out. "We stay... together... together strong... no matter how long... it takes."

Then the door opens with Amina carrying back two large baskets of groceries. "... Welcome back, you lot," she remarked with a hint of displacement. "... And you all reek."

"Meaning?" Cyrus answered before he was pinched by the ear. "Ow...! Ow...!"

"You, and everyone else in here, are going to take a bath!" the servant girl ordered before she turned to her master. "... I'll warm up the tub in a few moments for you, master. I must see to it that our guests don't stink up the place."

"See to it that you do." Aali then walks back upstairs before stopping. "Oh, and don't bother resisting. Her word is law in terms of the house's cleanliness. A bar of soap in your mouth is the least of your worries."

"I am made of metal," Byron pointed out before their [Talos] chassis was spritzed with a floral perfume by Amina.

"THEN AT LEAST MAKE AN ATTEMPT TO NOT SMELL LIKE BLOOD AND SHIT!"

From the young servant's surprising show of strength, she dragged all six of the Dustbin members (the ones with skin and bones) to the backrooms before stripping all of them nude while fiercely pumping water and boiling it and dunking them all overhead with it, followed up by them being scrubbed down from head to toe with imported shampoo (from Rajapushpa; a VERY popular import in Almyra) and soap, until all of them were spick and span as a brand-new porcelain from Shangri-La.

"By the way, what are those armor that you're wearing around your arms and back?" Amina asked as she looked at the [ATA]s that Sorcha, Selene, and Tsukiko had around their limbs and back while washing them down.

"Oh, they're basically magical armor from Fódlan that is permanently grafted onto our bodies," Tsukiko bluntly explained without giving anything confidential away, causing the servant girl to grimace at the description.

As Aali waited, he peeked back inside his own room, now spotting Karna dressed in Amina's clothes (that he gifted to her on her birthday and as a treat for her hard work) while his hair were tied up as small pigtails, role-playing as Hilda while he was working on several "letters" at the same time (concurrent of the timeline of the correspondence).

"... To each their own," the young master remarked as he slowly backed away from the crossdressing Karna. "I am not a judgmental person."

"Don't tell Amina."

The door then shuts between them.

Day 25

"So," Khalid said as he and Khawlah went out to Alhambra's training halls (exclusively for the royal family), the latter carrying a pair of training swords. "... Got sick of waiting for me to keel over and die?"

"Oh, little brother, you and your jokes," the elder Amira deadpanned with a smirk as she looked back. "It must be suffocating to be in your room after all this time."

"Hey, give me some credit," the Crown Ameer snapped back. "I didn't spend my time in Fódlan sitting on my ass all the time, you know."

Khawlah scoffs before tossing one of the wooden swords to her younger brother, to which the latter caught. "Well excuse me if the Almyran sun doesn't agree with your skin, little brother."

"Okay, drop the passive-aggressive bullshit, what do you really want?" Khalid asked bluntly as he narrowed his eyes, to which Khawlah chortles as if she heard a funny joke.

"I admit, I am curious," she answered. "Specifically, how a Fódlander conducts themselves in battle."

Khalid scoffs dismissively. "I'm pretty sure that you learned plenty from the border guards stationed at Fódlan's Throat."

"No, that was our stupid older brother whose mother is still crying over his death after months of his unfortunate departure of his own doing," the Amira replied lackadaisically. "... Derdriu was my first taste at how a Fódlander fought, and really, my current assessment is that while they are not as tested as ours, they make up with heart, I suppose. But even then, do you think I'm satisfied with such a half-baked conclusion?"

Khalid shrugs as he takes his stance, the very same one he learned at Garreg Mach. "... Guess not."

Khawlah does the same, taking a more fluid stance that she'd developed herself through years of trial and error. "Don't hold back, little brother," she warned. "After all, I am here to monitor your progress."

Khalid narrowed his eyes in focus as both he and his sister stared each other down, waiting for the other to make the first move.

Now Playing: "Neon Sunset" from Lost Judgment: The Kaito Files

Her stance is relaxed, but there's something... off about it, the Ameer thought as his mind raced to what move he was anticipating from the likes of her. ... The tip of her blade is pointing away from where she's facing, as if she's goading me to attack her open spots.

So you fight with your blade pointed towards the enemy, I see, Khawlah thought as she observed Khalid's solid stance. Playing it safe, minimizing risks of leaving any openings for your opponent to exploit.

In a blink, Khawlah moves in first, running low to the ground, her limbs tucked in to leave as little of an area to strike during her advance towards Khalid.

She's going for a low uppercut! the Ameer assumed as he then raised his wooden blade overhead before swinging it down towards the Amira.

However, Khawlah counters by parrying the downwards strike with the pommel of her blade, knocking Khalid's attack off-balance before flipping the grip of her blade into a reverse-grip and swinging it towards him.

Khalid manages to swing back into orientation just in time, parrying the Amira's strike before the two were knocked back from each other from the mutual impact.

"Were trying to take me out before I could land a hit on you?" Khawlah deadpanned as she flipped her blade back around. "Bad move, Khalid."

"What? Are you supposed to be teaching me something?" the Ameer snarked back as he reinforced his stance.

This time, Khalid takes the offensive, performing a thrust with his blade as Khawlah dodged by stepping back, to which the Ameer continues pushing the offensive to further corner his opponent.

So the more I break down into what I can see, the fighting style of a Fódlander is rather basic in concept, the Amira thought as she remained on the evasive backfoot from Khalid's offense. No fancy doctrines or philosophies behind each move beyond mere efficiency. A kind of fighting style that anyone can pick up and learn at a reasonable pace, but leaves enough leeway for an individual to customize it to their "own style" when given enough time.

As Khawlah ruminated on Khalid's fighting style, her back then hits the weapon racks near the training hall's edge.

I got her cornered! Khalid then rushes in for the finishing blow, but Khawlah simply rolls under his attack before sweeping the leg, causing him to trip over before she then moved to begin her counteroffensive, with Khalid now blocking her strikes as he was downed.

Khalid, learning from his sister's prior move, parries the next incoming strike with his own before quickly regaining some distance between himself and her.

"... You picked up on that really fast," Khawlah pointed out as she rolled her sword hand's wrist.

"Hey, takes one to know one," the Ameer replied with a smirk. "You know that I can see what you're thinking just by the look of your eyes, right?"

"Oh, is that so?" Then as if to mock him, Khawlah then closes her eyes completely shut. "Now can you read my thoughts?"

Khalid, taking advantage of the fact that his sister voluntarily blinded himself, moves in for the attack, but Khawlah easily dodges his horizontal swing by limboing under the swing before using the bizarre centrifugal motion to deliver a counterattack from a low angle.

The Ameer barely makes his counter swing in time to parry that attack, but rather than be recoiled by the opposing force, Khawlah simply added that momentum into her own, riding with the attack as she flips over like an acrobat, landing gracefully on a single foot before delivering a single-step thrust whose reach was way longer than it appeared.

Shoot! Khalid internally panicked as he narrowly dodges the Amira's counterattack as she uses the forward momentum to then wiggle her blade around like a cat wand, using the messy and chaotic trajectory of the blade's swings to prevent him from raising his blade above chest-level lest his weapon get struck out of his grip. Her movements aren't swordplay anymore! It's more akin to a circus performance or that of a drunkard's movements! I can't get a read on her movements... or I can't predict her next movements because even she doesn't know where she's looking!

Khawlah was, in fact, seeing nothing right now. If anything, she wasn't even hampered by the lack of clear vision.

The nights in Alhambra's rafters were darker than this, she thought to herself as her other senses (touch, hearing, and smell) picked up on where Khalid was at right now, how his body was oriented, and how many steps he took per second.

For her, Khawlah exploited the assumption of Khalid that they were in a "spar" when in reality, Khawlah's mind was somewhere else entirely. She was merely "playing," just like how a cat would toy with its prey before growing bored and killing it.

Those tricks that she was doing? The blind sword-swinging that she is performing to prevent Khalid from raising his sword? She picked that up from a traveling circus troupe when they toured in Alamut, where two acrobats balanced on round balls while mock-fighting with wooden swords (as part of their whimsical performance of playing pirates).

She, in fact, moved her footing as if she were on a balancing ball like said troupe performers, mindful to walk as if the ground below her was constantly shifting and moving, as if the whole world below her feet was the ball she was standing on.

How is she keeping herself upright with those bizarre movements?! Khalid thought as he observed how Khawlah's ankles haven't snapped from the weird angles they were bending over while keeping himself from getting hit. ... You know what? Screw fighting fair!

In a desperate twist, Khalid purposely lets himself fall onto his back to escape Khawlah's swings, with both of them swinging their wooden swords towards each other-

"ENOUGH!"

The bark of one Naqib Nader of the [Janissaries] ends the spar with both siblings placing their wooden swords at each others' throats at the same time, resulting in a draw.

"... The Shah informed me that his wayward daughter took his son elsewhere alone," Nader deadpanned as he looked towards Khawlah. "... Care to explain yourself?"

"I was merely curious of what he learned back at Garreg Mach, Naqib," the Amira explained herself, with her withdrawing her wooden sword as did Khalid, the latter looking more exhausted and haggard compared to the former. "... That and keeping him within his own study most of the time isn't healthy, you know."

Nader sighs at her evasiveness in her tone, the very same kind that she had ever since she killed her first half-sibling in those horrid nights within the palace. "... Leave now, and I'll convince your father to show you some mercy for your little escapade."

"I shall resume my patrols around the city, then!" And with that said, the ever-elusive Amira slips out of one of the open windows of Alamut before disappearing as Nader approached Khalid before helping him back up to his feet.

"Are you well, Ameer?" he asked.

"Could've been worse," Khalid replied with a slight grumble. "... I think there might've been an ulterior motive behind that little spar."

"So why did you accept?" the Naqib asked as he and the Ameer left the training halls.

"Because I know those kind of people, Nader," he responded. "They're the kind of people who won't take 'no' for an answer, and given that she knows the layout of Alhambra like the back of her hand and probably better than the actual architects who built this bloody palace generations prior, I'd rather get her inane requests over with sooner rather than later, lest I literally lose sleep over her sneaking into my room every night I say 'no'."

Nader sighs in exasperation. "... I'll see if the royal engineers could plug up any holes they can find."

"Thank you." And with that exchange over, Khalid walks down the palace halls alone, passing by the room where he could hear the muffled cries of Shahid's mother mourning her dead son, and later alone in the quiet with only this lingering thoughts to keep him company. ... The games from ten years ago aren't over, aren't they, Khawlah?

He then walks over towards one of the royal attendants waiting for him before passing along a request of his own.

"Can you tell my father that I'm going to start searching for my sponsored candidates?"

In the Streets of Alamut...

At the same time, Khawlah had blended into the sprawling crowd of pedestrians as one of the many commoners after making contact with her [Mubashir] agents within the alleyways, collecting information about the whereabouts of her political targets and people of her personal interest as she walked alone with her thoughts.

Khalid's probably onto my intentions. Just as planned. She smirked to herself while pulling up her shawl up to her nose to hide her lips. ... Father is a fool giving me the benefit of the doubt. Then again, I suppose "The Benevolent" would be hard-pressed to just execute anyone without reason lest he destroys his own reputation.

And it's because of that fact that Khawlah had mastered in the art of destroying evidence: by making sure that all of her written evidence are burned soon after and not moving past paper in her methods of collecting information.

He would probably support any of Khalid's attempts of getting ahead of the public's good graces, make him a next iteration of himself, only better, she thought as she sat into a tavern bar before ordering a cup of water after paying a few telâh for said order. I'd say he's getting predictable, but that alone enough isn't to dismiss him as a threat. If anything, a false sense of security will be the death of me and everything I've worked for up to this point.

She then sips her water as she kept her eyes and ears open for anything that can be use of her, with the former wandering over towards a pair of merchants drinking the midday beer.

"Hey, you've heard rumors, right?" one of the men said while partially-sloshed.

"Rumors..." the other mumbled in his partial stupor before his eyes widened in realization. "... Oh! You mean about that monster that showed up?!"

Khawlah listened in from afar, with one ear locked onto the main conversation while the other kept itself open for the ambient conversations happening at the same time within the bar.

"Trade has been suffering..."

"I think a few people vanished..."

"Samaran Region's become a lot more dangerous..."

"Yeah... that monster," replied the merchant before he sipped his beer. "... Some kind of four-legged creature with a... tail that can shoot arrows... like a creature from an old folktale."

"I think that it has taken over the oasis near a certain village..." the other merchant pointed out. "Local military went in to check... but they never came back."

A "monster"? Khawlah thought before she ordered a refill of water. ... And the Samaran Region to boot? The only thing that stretches before its coastal towns are naught but desert sands.

"I mean, we can take the boat around and travel from Mardikh, but boating fees aren't cheap..." The drunk merchant than places his face into the table. "... Not all of us are made of telâh to afford that option."

"I heard one of my business colleagues have sold off their eldest daughter into slavery in order to keep the rest of his family afloat..." worried the other drunk merchant. "... I really wish that my family doesn't suffer the same fate."

And there it was. Khawlah's opportunity: anxiety of the commonfolk.

"Thank you for your service." She then leaves behind a few more telâh as a tip for the barkeeper before leaving.

On her way out, Khawlah navigates through the streets before slithering her way through the crowd and entering a certain alleyway, where she then sits down before a fortune teller's stall.

"Would you like to have your fortune read?" the man asked before Khawlah passes a note to the fortune teller before he read it. "I see."

"I'd like my fortune read on which people should be wary of," she spoke in code, meaning "I'd like to send in an anonymous request to the Military Office the moment that the request's objective has been confirmed."

The "fortune teller" nods in compliance before grinding himself a cup of coffee before drinking it, leaving behind the grounds stuck onto the cup's bottom into a certain pattern.

"... People seem to gather around a certain man after a great tragedy," he vaguely replied as he "interpreted" what the grounds left behind resembled.

Khawlah then leaves behind a few telâh for his troubles before making her way deeper into the alleyways, ending up inside a hidden hookah hut where her agents usually blended in with the seedier crowd among Alamut's populace.

Entering one of the private lounges, she then runs into the madam stationed in this chamber, sitting down next to her before taking a drag from one of the connected pipes.

"I need an envoy sent to the Samaran Region's Sultan," she stated, to which her agent nodded in compliance.

And with that, her next plan was already in motion. Now all she needed to do was to make sure that her little PR gambit revolving around this "monster" could kill two (metaphorical) birds with one stone.

She has to move fast, but thankfully, the [Mubashir] and their noncombative agents specialized in moving fast, just as she designed it as so.

Day 30

The past few days for the Eltanin (the Dustbin in disguise) have been comparatively uneventful, ending their first month spent in Alamut with a whimper of disappointment.

Nothing but a few small-time requests for bounties for certain small-fry crooks and certain predator animals around the Azhdar Region's more remote villages. Granted, they were still being paid for their services, but having to deal with the slog of the administrative process of the Almyran Military Office wasn't their cup of tea.

In hindsight, them being overworked in the most dangerous jobs back in Fódlan was too stimulating for them. If anything, they were expecting too much from Almyra's dangers. But doing local jobs was only a means to an end to not only maintain their cover, but also to let the Professor have both the time of getting into shape (via fighting) and write the correspondence to Khalid as "Lorenz" and the rest of the "Golden Deer."

Right now, the group of eight were walking through the streets of Alamut after the end of their most recent job, of that being retrieving a stolen good from a merchant that ended with the thief's disappointingly-quick death at their hands.

"... I can't believe I'm saying this," Sabiha (Sorcha) yawned to herself before mumbling the following, "but is it just me, or am I getting bored of this shit?"

"To be fair, we are merely Bronze-Rank," Baki (Byron) pointed out. "At least here, our strength determines our worth rather than some unseen and arbitrary system of rules and governance. At least, not as pervasive as our prior occupations."

Kulthum (Tsukiko) lets out a yawn before cracking her neck side-to-side. "... Funny thing, really," she commented. "... But Agartha during the Seven Sages' rule kinda... implemented the exact same system of power governance."

Suha (Selene) blinked. "... Seriously?"

Karim (Karna) chuckled dryly at his former-subordinate/friend did such thing while he was gone (after being dumped into a river that flowed out towards an ocean). "... I swear, both sides were learning from each other in the worst possible way."

"We did... lots of jobs," Vasim (Víðarr) pointed out. "... We did... all the jobs... for our current standing."

"I concur," Taslima (Topaz) agrees. "... Our renown should've gone up at this point."

Ishtiyāq (Cyrus) scratches his head absentmindedly before trying to think of an upside to all this tedium. "... Silver lining, at least I'm learning how to fight better on foot," he commented. "And I think Suha's also getting better at fighting up close as well!"

"Really now?" Karim then lets out a yawn before rubbing his eyes as he and the rest of Eltanin entered the Military Office, where they suddenly found themselves inside the now-more active and buzzing hub, with all of the sellswords swarming around the bounty board. "... Hey, what gives?! What's going on here?!"

"You didn't hear?!" one of the sellsword called out before gesturing the Eltanin to come closer. "There's an emergency bounty!"

"... Emergency bounty?" parroted Vasim as he and the other squished themselves closer towards the bulletin board, spotting the especially-large poster reading the following:

EMERGENCY BOUNTY NOTICE:

WANTED: AN UNKNOWN MONSTER

DESCRIPTION: A LARGE QUADRUPED MAMMILIAN CREATURE WITH A LONG AND THICK, STINGER-LIKE TAIL; HIGHLY IMPLIED TO BE AN OMNIVORE

SPOTTED IN SAMARAN REGION'S SAWM DESERT'S OASIS VILLAGE OUTSKIRTS

65 CONFIRMED FATALITIES WITHIN A WEEK OF ITS DISCOVERY

ALL COMMERCE AND TRADE ROUTES IN THE SAMARAN REGION ARE PROHIBITED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

ALL WILLING AND AVAILABLE VOLENTEERS ARE WELCOME TO PARTICIPATE IN THE EXPEDITION

REWARD: 500,000 TELÂH; ONLY APPLICABLE TO THOSE WHO BRING BACK PHYSICAL PROOF

Karim begins snickering to himself, as he finally found something that he and his group were waiting for.

"An unknown monster?!" one sellsword commented with worry. "What is the Shah even thinking, handing this kind of job over to us?!"

"Yeah! Shouldn't like the Military be the ones to deal with this kind of shit?!" another pointed out with frustration.

"So the rumors about a 'monster' being out there were true..." a third shuddered in fear.

Karim sighs in disgust as he looked back towards the Eltanin before shrugging.

"... More for us?" The entire group nods in unison. "Well, the only we have to worry about are people stealing our prey."

The eight then head towards the front desk, where the receptionist was waiting for them. "... How can I help you folks in these trying times-"

"We're taking the Emergency Bounty." Karim's blunt statement causes the young man sitting before him to sputter before nearly doubling back.

"... You do know that you don't have to take that quest just because it's on the board, right?" he commented after he'd regained his composure.

"We know, and we're bored of taking safe bounties after Khalil 'The Cruel'," he answered. "... And besides, if no one is going to do it, then we will, because someone has to do it-"

"Who are you trying to convince?" Then from the backroom, the old man with an eyepatch comes out and stand behind his young subordinate. "Can't stick to the normal grind to the point where you're going to try and play the hero? Did the little Amira set you all up for this?"

Karim could easily tell that the old man was interrogating him. He simply smiles confidently. "Why, my good man, what makes you assume that we're being... coerced into taking this dangerous road?"

"From my decades of serving Almyra, I learned the hard way that there's no such thing as a 'free lunch'," he pointed out. "Nobody nowadays does anything simply because they can. Usually, they have a motive or a reason for their actions, so what's it to you lot for sticking your necks out for this kind of danger that you might not even survive?!"

"Is that so?" Then Baki steps up towards the desk, their massive frame towering over everyone present. "... Do people here need a reason to do an act of unambiguous good for the greater public? Do people need to be spurred to take risks in order for the others to live their normal lives?"

"... If there is... enemy," Vasim growled. "... We kill it."

"I came to this job to get stronger," Sabiha commented. "I need this kind of opponent to get stronger."

"Me too," Suha added. "... I refuse to let fear devour me like that monster from the poster."

"... I merely wish to see it die," Taslima said. "I must witness it in person."

"And besides, what's the point of living a long life if every day is about playing it safe?" Ishtiyāq pointed out. "If I see and hear the word 'monster,' of course my curiosity would be piqued."

The old man bared his teeth at their brazen disregard for their own lives despite them being freed slaves. "... You have no idea what you're going into!"

"No one is going to know what they're getting into unless someone does it," Kulthum countered, causing the old man to cave. "... Don't look down on us just because we're former slaves. We sooner die free than live another day as slaves, be it our former masters or our fears. That is the promise we've made with each other."

The old man growls before turning around. "FINE THEN!" He then snatches the form of approval before stamping it in rage. "DIE FOR ALL I CARE! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT THAT THE MILITARY HAS DEGRADED TO THE WAY IT IS!"

"Thank you." Karim then takes the slip before he and the rest of the Eltanin left the panicked Military Office. "... Now, where do we find our ride?"

"Need a ride?!" Then descending from above, Aali, riding atop of his griffin, appeared before them. "By the way, the Amira sends her regards for taking the request."

Vasim blinked before figuring out what the [Mubashir] Griffin Knight was implying. "... She... put up the bounty?"

"Technically, but let's not get into the specifics." He then flies further up. "A carriage is waiting for you outside. You'll be informed of the rest when you get to our base camp."

"Thank you." Karim and the rest of the Eltanin follow the Griffin Knight out of Alamut's front gates.

Once arriving, the eight all board the cart before it set course for the Samaran Region, ending their first month with a raised hopes of facing something that was worth their time and attention.

Day 31

"... Father." Khalid sat across the Shah's side of the dinner table in Alhambra's dining hall, partaking in their meals of seasoned grilled lamb with plates of hummus and pita bread served with tabbouleh salad and a complementary goblet of fig wine to wash it all down. "... Have you heard of the rumors pervading the streets of Alamut as of late?"

Shah Mansur raises and eyebrow before returning to his meal. "... I'm listening, my son."

Khalid sighs before sipping on his sweet drink. "... I've heard rumors of there being a monster around the parts of Samaran Region," he pointed out. "... Might be a strange thing to bring up just now, but are you perhaps familiar with Fódlan's Demonic Beasts?"

"Indeed," the Shah replied. "Terrible creatures from your mother's continent, whose sizes can grow large as houses and feasts upon any living thing that can fit into their mouths. If you're worried, my son, then I can assure you, that Almyra doesn't deal with those monstrosities."

Khalid raised an eyebrow at that confident reassurance coming from his father of all people, whose previous words were often weighed down with exhaustion or melancholy. "... Is that so?"

"The only 'monsters' in Almyra are of our fellow man, Khalid," explained Mansur, his dark gaze reflected upon his drink. "Men who would take everything from their fellow men if it meant getting ahead of their competition. Until you are prepared to take my place as Shah and until my last breath, I will protect you from the real monsters that haunt our nation, Khalid. I will-nay, I must atone for my failure to protect you and your mother since you were born."

Khalid sighs before returning to his dinner. "Thank you, father," he replied. "... I will make her proud."

Than as the two ate in silent understanding, the doors of the dining hall burst open, revealing the Vizier marching in with a pair of Wyvern Knights as his bodyguards.

"Your Highness," said the official.

"Can it wait after I'm finished with my meal?" Mansur deadpanned.

"It is an emergency of the most dire precedent!" the old Vizier insisted before the Shah motions him to share his findings. "... Thank you. As my subordinates have unearthed, it appears that our esteemed Amira Khawlah al-Mansur I Muhammad was the one behind the 'Emergency Bounty Notice' that went into effect in Alamut's Military Office last night. As of now, the notice has been distributed throughout all of Almyra's regional Military Office branches. Your Highness, I highly suggest that you let me deal with that delinquent daughter of yours-!"

"Forget it," the Shah apathetically dismissed. "As far as I'm concerned, she's just chasing shadows. Let her make a fool of herself and spare our men the hassle of joining in her wild goose chase."

"... But Your Highness," the Vizier continued to push his insistence, looking a bit more nervous at his Shah's lack of reaction from this alarming news. "... Suppose, what if... what if this 'monster' that the Amira's so worked up about... happens to be real?"

"She can go die in her little 'monster hunt,' so as far as I'm concerned, her losing her life is no skin off of my nose," Mansur coldly replied, so much so that even Khalid was taken aback by his father's utter lack of care at his (alleged) least favorite child. "... Now are you done? Or would you like to join me and my son for dessert?"

The elderly Vizier stemmers to himself before sighing in defeat. "... No, Your Highness," he sulked. "... I shall see myself out."

"See that you do." The doors to the dining hall close shut as the father and son are left alone for their dinner. "... My son, what would you like for dessert? I'm sure that Alhambra's royal chefs can prepare anything that you desire on a short notice."

"I think some hininy would go well with Almyra's coffee, father."

And so, the two spent their time together bonding as father and son, sipping on rich-dark coffee and snacking on small sweetcakes laced with sweet and spicy herbs.

"I shall study up on my Almyran languages and politics before I turn myself in for the evening, father," Khalid informed as Mansur was escorted back to his bedchambers.

"Good night, my son," the Shah replied before walking away, leaving the Ameer to walk back to his room.

But on his way back, he then gestures a young servant to come towards him.

"... Yes, Ameer?"

Khalid then leans over to his ear before whispering the following: "... Is it true that my sister Khawlah was the one disseminating this whole 'monster hunt' taking place at Samaran Region?"

The servant nods. "... The [Mubashir] are known for their speed, Ameer," he explained. "... Also, I've heard rumors that her personal Griffin Knight battalion started out as Almyra's mail couriers."

Khalid blinked at that little bit of trivia. "So when I send my letters to Fódlan..."

"I can't be certain, but it wouldn't surprise me that she might've read your letters at the very least," the servant boy replied, cementing Khalid's next action on what to do about this little ruckus of her making.

"... Say, does Almyra have stories about 'monsters' besides our fellow man?" the Ameer asked.

"I hail from Bahmut, where stories like giant sea monsters and large turtles the size of islands are plenty," he answered. "But yes, Almyra does have many folktales of terrible monsters, like the human-faced lion with a scorpion's tail called the 'Manticore,' or a giant bird of prey who steals cattle and man alike such as the 'Roc'!"

"I see..." Khalid then wanders if Khawlah's "monster hunt" might actually entail an encounter with an Demonic Beast endemic to Almyra. "... Say, can you arrange me a scout to tail Khawlah's movements in the Samaran Region?"

"Will one suffice, Ameer?" the servant boy asked.

"As long as he gets to where this 'monster' was spotted without being detected and as urgently as possible, nothing should come awry," Khalid reassured.

"Then consider it done." The boy bows before making his way towards his given assignment as Khalid returns to his room for his last-minute study before bed, the thought of Demonic Beasts being in Almyra pervading his mind as he read through his scripture.

... Strange, he thought. Demonic Beasts can go wherever they want since they're just like common wild animals, right? So why is it that Almyra in general are so... ignorant of them?

The mere thought of Khawlah capitalizing on the people's anxiety of using a never-before-seen monster to rally support against him and his father disturbed him.

"... I really hope that I can complete my proxy sellswords in time before that happens."

Day 32

Karna lets out a yawn as he and the rest of the Dustbin rested at the base camp en route towards the incursion zone within the Samaran Region.

Unlike Fódlan, where each landmark location could be reached within a reasonable length of a single day, Almyra was roughly three times the size of the aforementioned occidental continent.

For reference, the Azhdar Region alone was about 80% of Fódlan's landmass in terms of sheer size of its topography.

"How could I forget that Almyra was this big...?" Cyrus yawned out as he laid on his side as he and the rest of his group sat around the campfire. "... I blame Fódlan for this crap."

"Beating a dead horse right there-ooh, too soon. My bad." Tsukiko groaned at her own cringeworthy attempt at levity.

"In all fairness, having to mask ourselves as 'Eltanin' under fake Almyran names every time we go out in public is a bit exhausting..." Topaz commented. "... And that's coming from a native myself. Although in fairness, my people in the Kargdan Region never adopted having names until recently."

"I don't blame you in the slightest." Byron then took off their bronze helmet, revealing their cyclopean visage of their [Talos] chassis. "... I for one have read through every single book within Aali's manor twice over. I'm in need of new reading material now."

"Well, excuse me for not being as erudite as you are," the [Mubashir] Griffin Knight deadpanned. "But my duty doesn't leave me a lot of time for me to be a well-read as my parents would allow."

"Watevea'," Sorcha scoffed in Almyran as she rolled around the sand in boredom. "... I just need te wait for de big fight te show up."

Selene then gazed around from a high point of their base camp before turning. "... No movements around us," she informed before sitting down. "So far, it's just us-"

"Guess again."

Then Khawlah appears out of nowhere, standing behind Byron as if she were a ghost.

"WHAT THE-?!"

"And before you ask," the Amira stated before she squeezed in between Aali and Karna after cutting off Sorcha, "no one has eyes on the back of their heads. I simply exploited that fact, combined with the fact that I wear wrappings in favor of shoes."

She then kicks up her feet, revealing her feet wrapped in thick bandages, exposing naught but her toes and heels, causing Selene to groan at this little oversight.

"... Aren't you like a little worried about things... you know, pricking your feet?" Tsukiko pointed out.

"Scorpions and snakes aren't an issue," she also added to her boast. "I've immunized myself through gradual exposure of venom."

"Good to know..." Víðarr commented. "... What are scorpions?"

As the Dustbin spent their night chatting away in various random topics related to Almyra, Karna and Khawlah return to the tent to discuss their private matters.

"So, the letters." The Amira sat across the Professor. "How are they doing?"

"I've already finished Lorenz's correspondence and currently working on Lysithea's, Marianne's, Ignatz's, and Hilda's, while Leonie's and Raphael's are so far, low priority," he explained as he pulled out the finished draft he kept in his clothes before sniffing it and brushing a dry lavender-like branch over the parchment. "... I even regularly apply a rare Fódlander plant sample to throw off the scent in case if it smells too much like Almyra. Although I could use some roses to make it more like Lorenz."

"I'll see if I can procure said roses," Khawlah nodded. "And of the timeline you've proposed?"

"I'm estimating that the first letter be sent around after the first month," Karna explained. "I counted each student's literacy skills, their distance of location and accessibility, their handwriting, and even their behavior and mannerisms along with the concurrent developments in terms of what they're going to write in the first place."

He then hands her the finished letter to the Amira.

"I trust that you hold onto this," he requested. "I don't want it to smell like blood by the time it gets to our little Ameer. As for the other drafts, I've hidden them in my bag stowed within your subordinate's manor. And I trust that your other agents are keeping a general perimeter around our little residence without raising eyebrows?"

Khawlah smirks as she takes the finished draft before stuffing it into her own bag. "My men will deliver it as soon as I return to the outpost in Mardikh and have it be circulated to Alamut in due time," she reassured. "And what of the other letters? When will they be finished?"

"The next four will be finished within sometime in this or next month, followed up by the latter two," Karna revealed. "As long as we're the only ones who know of this operation and what's being put on paper from pen, then things should work out, but I recommend coming up with a backup plan in case we do get found out in Alamut and we'll have to move our operations elsewhere."

"... You're thinking Kargdan, aren't you?" she pointed out.

"I'm... considering it, but let's leave that for the future," Kanna replied. "... Aali's residence in Alamut is his, right?"

"His family were originally from Zimourv before his transfer to Azhdar, and has prior residence as cover for his other hiding spots. And has one in Bahmut in case the former is compromised," Khawlah explained. "I'll keep an eye out on my younger brother. Me and my agents."

"See that you do." Karna then sees off the Amira as she flies towards the moonlit sky on her griffin's back before the former yawned.

"Alright, kiddos!" he announced. "Tomorrow's the big day! Get all the sleep while you can, because the moment the sun rises, we're moving out!"

"What about breakfast?" Cyrus asked.

"Either wake up before the sun rises or go in hungry," Karna stated. "... I recommend the latter, because going in tomorrow with a bloated stomach is going to slow us down. If you're going to eat, then eat light."

"He's right," Aali added. "Large meals are for marches, quick meals are for upcoming battles. Don't tell me you lot eat like pigs every time before you fight!"

The members of the Dustbin glance at each other awkwardly.

"... To be fair," Selene commented. "... We never knew what or when our next meals were back in Fódlan. Or the fact that we barely ate at all save for what can we steal and what the Church throws out."

"I only started eating meat a few months prior coming back here," Topaz commented as she unveiled her jaw structure exposing a carnivore's row of incisors in place of a human being's molars.

"Before we sequestered in the halls of Garreg Mach, Víðarr and I have partook in consuming human flesh at least more than once," Byron commented.

"Agartha served nothing but tasteless vitafluids and blocks of processed worm protein," Tsukiko commented.

"And I've been on a liquid diet sans Dragon meat long before I came here," Karna added. "... My Dragon-only diet fucked up my digestive tracks something fierce that if I eat anything remotely solid, my body is going to reject it."

Aali groans at the Dustbin's horrible eating habits. "... Well, at least you lot aren't picky."

Day 33

"Top of the morning, kiddos!" Karna cried out as he woke everyone up from their slumber. "Sun's out, so get your butts out! We got a monster to slay!"

As everyone that needed more sleep groaned, Byron then walked in before scooping everyone up into their massive arms and pulling them out into the sun, letting the rays hit their eyes to rouse them from their slumbers.

"ARGH! I'M UP! I'M UP, DAMMIT!" Sorcha yelled out as she and the others squirmed in the [Talos]' embrace before they were released.

"Your body language suggests otherwise," they commented before walking towards the cart with all of their equipment while Karna fed the camels pulling their ride with a moist slop of hay and barley with buckets of water. "We leave in five minutes."

"Drink up, all of you!" Karna ordered both the camels and the Dustbin. "The sun punishes the careless!"

Everyone then grabbed what little food and drink they can take from within their reach before boarding their ride.

"Alright, next stop, the Samaran Region!" Karna cried out as he leaned out towards their driver. "Mister driver, follow that Griffin Knight!"

The carriage then leaves the base camp as they set off towards where this "monster" was spotted.

As the sun shone in full glory, the arid wastelands slowly gave away to shifting sands, the once-flat ground now undulating dunes of a vast and sweltering desert.

"Ladies, gentlemen, and that one nonbinary rainbow in-between..." Karna then hopped out towards the driver's stall as he hung out his body while clinging on one side like a simian. "... Welcome to the Samaran Region."

Beyond them lied naught but sand stretched past the blue skies, with the only thing occupying the latter being a few white clouds, the ever-present sun whose rays mercilessly beat down on their heads, and one lone Griffin Knight flying ahead of them.

"Oi...!" Sorcha then pointed towards a bunch of tall, erect, green stalks, the only shade of bright colors in this monochromatic desert. "What are those things over there?"

"That's cacti, miss," the driver explained. "The only darn things that can grow in the sands of the Samaran Region."

"You... from here?" Víðarr asked.

"There's a saying in Almyra," the driver replied. "... 'To travel Samaran, get a Samaran.' My family has braved these dunes for generations, trading salt and pearls to the mainland before the whole Region got annexed. Right now, we're in the first stretches of my ancestors' proving grounds, the Sawm Desert!"

Topaz then looks out of the carriage as did everyone else, looking at the bright sands that stretched for miles on end. "... To think that this is merely one Region," she commented. "... Despite being as desolate as Kargdan, it's somehow... full of life."

"Mind the things living in the sands, of course," the driver warned. "Bunch of scorpions and snakes live here, with the occasional jackal and vulture feeding on any poor bastard that didn't make it through here."

"You've seen a desert before?" Selene asked Tsukiko as her synthetic eyes gazed out into the endless stretches of sand as far as her enhanced vision can see.

"I've seen a few, but this place is especially vast and empty," the Mortal Savant commented. "... I think one of my earlier operations took place in Sreng, but at least the winds here aren't as bad as it was over there."

"Oh trust me, miss, the sandstorms here can get vicious." The driver snickered before sighing. "... Kind of a shame, though. These parts around this time of the year would be full of merchants, missionaries, and other nomadic tribes crossing through these sands. Plenty of oases to drink from and rest our laurels before the next stretch of our journey. That 'monster' is a real thorn on our side, indeed."

"Rest assured, we will see this mission through," Cyrus vowed.

Then then screech of the griffin was heard from above, with Aali flying lower to properly relay the following: "BASE CAMP'S ABOUT A COUPLE DOZEN MORE PACES!" he informed. "JUST PAST THAT DUNE! COME ON!"

And so, the cart rolled over the dune and spots an abandoned oasis village lying below them, now occupied by the [Mubashir] and other sellswords who willingly took the Emergency Bounty.

"Well boys and girls," Karna sighs before smirking. "... Guess we got competition."

At the Base Camp...

Good gods, this place is sweltering... thought the spy as he skulked around the base camp as one of the "volunteers" who was menial help for this operation that he, in his opinion, found absolutely ludicrous. ... A bunch of elite Griffin Knights stationed about in this evacuated village like if there was a war going on... that damned Amira is taking her "warrior goddess" fantasies way too far!

Nevertheless, he continued his work, acting as Ameer Khalid's eyes and ears in this operation. Then, the screech of the griffin was heard approaching the base camp, a signal that someone else was coming.

The spy subtly gazes at the coming cart, with eight people disembarking as they entered the camp full of other sellswords who actually bought this crap.

I have to admit, the Amira has a gift for being a fucking charlatan.

The spy resumes maintaining his cover as the woman of the hour comes up towards the gathered group of sellswords to address them.

"Thank you all for coming on such a short notice," Khawlah greeted the band of gathered sellswords. "As you are all aware, the rumors of there being a 'monster' being spotted around these parts are indeed true. I shall present the evidence."

The spy then sees one of the Griffin Knights bring a bundle before unraveling it, revealing a bunch of dull-black blade-like arrows resembling the tips of a [Javelin] throwing lance.

"What the?!" a female sellsword exclaimed.

"Are those even real?!" a old sellsword added.

"They are indeed real!" Khawlah confirms, something that the spy couldn't still buy entirely. "They've been pulled out of the many victims found through the desert sands in the surrounding oases! They are only hard as steel, but cutting one in half...!"

She then draws her [Shamshir] before hacking one of the spikes across its length, splitting it in two before showing its insides, revealing them to be partially hollow, with sponge-like borders around the crevice akin to that of a bone structure.

... Okay, either those are really good forgeries, or this "monster" might actually be real, the spy thought with a hint of worry. I really hope my trip on a wyvern's back all the way from Azhdar was worth whatever kind of mess I found myself in.

"Here's the general layout of this operation!" The Amira then pulls out a giant map of the surrounding patch of Sawm Desert, with five areas designated into their own areas. "The monster may be fierce, but it's still a living being! As a result, it has turned the area with the most watering holes into its personal hunting ground! These five surrounding areas scouted out by my [Mubashir] prior shall be your designated survey areas! Practice prudence and calm lest the monster devours any of you who are too careless whole, bones and all! As how each of you will engage this monster, that will be entirely up to your discretion! That will be all! Now go!"

The sellswords then all disperse to their designated hunting ground as the [Mubashir] Griffin Knights all take off, acting as this expedition's scouts and eyes in the sky.

"She is really living in her own hype, huh..." the spy deadpanned quietly before choosing which one of the sellswords to tail, spotting their bronze-colored tags glimmering in the sunlight compared to everyone else's silver-colored tags. "... Those guys are easy pickings. They won't see me coming."

And as the group of eight set off, the spy skulked behind them.

However, unbeknownst to said spy, Khawlah had already figured out that this "volunteer" was the spy all along. All she had to do was wait for someone to act out of line to give themselves away while making them think that they were being sneaky, when in reality, she was the only one allowed in the realm called "stealth."

... Either he dies to the monster, or by my hand, she thought as she stopped one of her subordinates from raising an alarm. "Let him go. Knowing my younger brother, I would know better for him to send an amateur spy to tail my operations."

She then smirks as she walks back to her griffin, stroking its chin lovingly as the winged beast chirps reciprocating manner.

"That will be his first mistake of many."

At the Designated Incursion Zone...

With their orders given, the gathered sellswords all dispersed throughout their assigned grounds, the Eltanin took their places in one of the desert roads leading into one of the village borders.

Karim (Karna), Kulthum (Tsukiko), Baki (Byron), Vasim (Víðarr), Sabiha (Sorcha), Suha (Selene), Taslima (Topaz), and Ishtiyāq (Cyrus) all kept their eyes peeled around their surroundings, taking note of spotting anything out of the ordinary.

"So..." Sabiha asked as the Vanguard kept one hand near the handle of her sheathed [Durandal]. "What's the likelihood of us actually finding the damned monster within the first hour?"

"Unlikely, given the amount of eyes they have around this whole area," Karim replied as he turned towards Suha. "... Anything?"

The Griffin Knight (without the griffin) shook her head. "... If there were any tracks, then the winds must've covered them up," she commented to the Grandmaster. "... Or its leftovers."

"In a desert environment where food is scarce? Hardly." Baki dismissively scoffs, the Eligor adjusted their bronze-armor mask strapped around their head.

Vasim sniffs the hair as the he kept his [Armads] axe over one of his shoulders in case of a battle. "... Still... smell of sand and dust," he commented as the War Master kept sniffing the surrounding air, trying to pick up any slight musk of animal fur. "... Hot. Does sun make... smell strange?"

"Speaking from personal experience, it varies," Taslima answered as the Espio kept a stoic disposition, keeping her weapons concealed while her senses flickered underneath her veil and cloak. "... The heat makes corpses shrivel faster, thus making it more pungent, attracting scavengers who are looking for a quick meal."

"And given how many it killed and presumably eaten..." Ishtiyāq hypothesized, the Bow Knight (without the horse) calculating the sheer amount of blood and bile that this "monster" had covered its visage with to feast upon that many. "... Yeah, even if it did drink from the oasis, it would stink to high heaven. Animals are smart enough to not bathe lest they lose their ambient scent to blend in with their surroundings."

"So check the waters of the oases, then," Kulthum pointed out as the Mortal Savant kept one hand around her sheathed [Muramasa] katana. "... Sounds like a plan."

"This way, then." Karim then leads the Eltanin towards an oasis pond the most near them, with the spy tailing behind them all this time, hiding behind the dunes as they arrived at the watering hole.

"Oh!" A female sellsword with a crop-top silver breastplate with a pair of shorts under her half-skirt approached them, carrying a large metal targe and a sheathed [Shamshir] around her back. "... You lot got the same idea?"

"Living beings need water," Taslima commented. "... And you are?"

The sellsword then pulls out her silver tag before greeting them. "Chanchal 'The Brave'!" she introduced as the female Hero adjusted her armored visor worn around her like a sunhat over her shawl. "I've been in this game for over fifteen years, giving the men some actual competition! And I'm gonna make them work for their fame after I take home the beast's hide back myself!"

"Well, in any event, may the better sellsword get the finishing blow," Karim smirked affably before shaking her hand. "... So, the waters?"

"Tried a sip myself, kind of tastes like blood and drool," gagged Chanchal. "... Carnivores are rare around these parts, especially ones big enough to leave that behind."

The Eltanin and the lone sellsword spot a pair of tracks resembling that of a cross between a predator cat and an ursine's paw prints that were each the size of carriage's wheels stamped onto the sandy shores of the oasis, the moisture being enough to at least leave behind a slight imprint and trails of disturbed sand matter.

"... Yep." Karim nodded before Vasim sniffed the tracks left behind. "It was here."

"... It was," the War Master confirmed as he sniffs the air. "... It left just... a while ago... but not too far!"

"Great, then we got a plan!" Chanchal remarked as she pulled out her own map of this place. "You lot take one side while I take the opposite oasis! At least one of will run into the damned creature, and if we're lucky, we might be able to pincer it."

"Doable," nodded Kulthum as she and the rest of her group separated ways from the friendly sellsword.

"Oh! Wait!" Chanchal then ran back towards them. "Never got your names!"

Karim smiles as he and everyone else flashes their bronze-colored tags. "... We're Eltanin," he revealed. "Personally endorsed by the Amira herself."

The sellsword snickers. "Can't tell if you lot are brave or stupid, but I won't pry!" She then runs towards her given direction. "Good luck!"

The group then head towards the oasis laid at the farther end, with Vasim sniffing the air now that he has a better read on what the rumored "monster" smells like.

"Like leather..." the War Master mumbled to himself as he sniffed the desert air.

"So judging by the tracks, how big do you think the monster is?" asked Ishtiyāq.

Karim chuckles slightly nervously as Eltanin slowly approach the upcoming oasis. "... Probably a smaller-sized Demonic Beast," he revealed. "But given that we're on uneven terrain..."

Baki lets out a droning sigh as the sands sink all the way to their shins and knees. "Fighting it isn't our concern, but keeping up with it will."

"We might need to slightly suspend our 'no Fódlander crap'-rule just to kill the damn thing," Kulthum pointed out as she looked over at her [Gespenst] tome hidden behind her back. "Problem is, there are others who are in on the hunt as well... meaning prying eyes and questions should we get... desperate-"

"HEY!" a low, growling voice barked out from up ahead, revealing an old sellsword dressed in old Almyran Military armor underneath his tattered cloak and wielding a [Brave Lance] in one hand and a large tower shield in the other. "WHAT ARE YOU LOT THINKING THAT YOU'RE DOING?!"

"... Discussing?" answered Taslima.

"NEGATORY!" the old man barked like a drill sergeant. "THIS IS AN IMPORTANT COMBAT OPERATION! I WILL NOT TOLERATE ANY DALLYING WITHIN THE RANKS OF GATHERED COMBATANTS, OR MY NAME IS NOT GOHAR 'THE ADAMANT'!"

The Eltanin got the impression of the old man being like the old man from Alamut's Military Office, right down to the old Wyvern Knight's dress that the septuagenarian wore to this day.

... Sheesh, the old man's got some breath left in him, the spy internally snarked as he saw Gohar dress the Bronze-Rankers down out in the open as if he were disciplining a bunch of rookies with nothing more than the sheer volume of his voice alone.

"IF YOU HAVE TIME TO TALK, THEN SPEND THAT TIME SEARCHING FOR THE ENEMY!" scolded Gohar. "ANY TIME WASTED IS TIME THAT THE ENEMY HAS TO GET THE DROP ON US-!"

Then suddenly, the sand dune behind the old sellsword explodes into a blast of kicked-up dust before the Wyvern Knight was snatched up from behind, chewed up and shaken around like a dog's toy.

"AMBUSH!" All of the Eltanin scatter as the old man was crying out his death throes with the sounds of his bones snapping and muscles tearing, until his screams were quieted into low groans before he was tossed aside, letting this unseen monster let out a deep growl.

Where the hell did that come from?! the spy thought as he kept his distance from both the Eltanin and the monster.

Karim pulls out his khukuri knife and flintlock pistol, Kulthum drew her rubicund-bladed [Muramasa] from its white scabbard, Baki pulls out their [Garm] battle axe as Vasim slams his [Armads] into the sandy ground, Sabiha draws her [Durandal] greatsword as Suha cocks her [Arbalest] crossbow with a bolt, Ishtiyāq nocks an arrow back on his [Nidhogg] bow, and Taslima draws her dual [Mani Katti] and [Sol Katti] from underneath her vestments.

Now Playing: "Roaring Sandstorm" from Monster Hunter Wilds

Marching through the fading dust cloud was a massive, hairy, quadruped mammalian beast whose mass was that of a small hut from one of the abandoned villages. It's overall form and physiology was akin to that of a lion's with the bulk and muscle structure of that of a bear's, but the former's head and reddish-brown mane housed a human-like face permanently stuck in a frowning grimace so scrunched up that its creases were making another face on top of whatever human-like face it has underneath. Its maw housed a row of thick and pointed fangs and teeth, each sharp and dense enough to crush bone like twigs and tear apart a human body like paper. But what stood out the most was its tail, being a slithering limb that was wriggling like a worm or a snake, and whose head was tipped with a nesting crown of [Javelin]-sized quills that was the sole (nominal, until now) evidence of its existence.

... Oh my gods, the spy thought as he quietly gulped in terror as he recognized the monster's appearance from the stories he'd heard from a passing storyteller in his childhood alone. ... IS THAT A FUCKING MANTICORE?!

The now-revealed Manticore then lets out a bassy roar that reverberated throughout the sands, echoing its horrid howl through all of Sawm Desert's dunes and oases.

"... Found our monster," Karim chuckled as the monster brushed its frontal paw against the sands, readying itself to charge at its new prey. "SCATTER!"

As the beast charged, all eight of the Eltanin moved to surround the monster from all sides. Wasting no time in choosing its next target, the Manticore lunged towards Karim, leaping up into the air to crust the reed-thin man with its bulk.

The latter quickly dodged before slashing its knife across the monster's hide, but the laceration was about shallow and life-threatening as a papercut to a human's finger, to which the beast itself scoffed before resuming its offense.

"SUHA! COVERING FIRE!" ordered Ishtiyāq as he and the Griffin Knight aimed their bow and crossbow at the monster. "EVERYONE ELSE! GRAB ITS ATTENTION!"

Vasim lets out a feral howl of his own as he leapt towards the beast with his [Armads] raised in the air while Baki charged in with their [Garm] axe wound back. But the beast wasn't a fool to pick and choose one target when it could easily deal with both.

Flickering its tail, the Manticore whips its appendage upwards, firing a quill towards Vasim, to which the latter had to execute his attack early to parry the needle lest it killed him, knocking him out of the sky as the mighty beast stamped its massive clawed paw towards the Eligor, the armored giant wrestling against the Manticore's mighty strength that Baki kept at bay.

The damned beast is about strong as Seiros...! Baki then lets out a bassy whirr from their loudspeaker, slowly pushing the beast back towards where Sabiha was winding back her [Durandal] for a critical swing...

But then, just before the massive blade could dig into any flesh, the Manticore burrows itself deep into the sand like a mole, evading the two-pronged assault.

"THE FUCK?!" the Vanguard cursed. "IT CAN DIG, TOO?!"

"That explains its face..." Karim hypothesized. "... It's meant to keep the sand out-"

A patch of sand before Ishtiyāq and Suha, the Manticore shooting itself out of the arid earth and towards the two backline fighters.

"LOOK OUT!" Kulthum then swings her [Muramasa] as leapt towards the beast's side with her dual [Mani Katti] and [Sol Katti] drawn, altering the monster's jump trajectory just enough to allow the pair to escape, to which the monster immediately retaliates by stamping its large paw before the pair, forcing them to dodge far back as to both not get crushed and blinded by the blast, the latter move being an indicator for it to shoot its quills at the pair as a follow-up.

"That thing's smarter than it looks..." the Griffin Knight grimaced.

"Its a misnomer that animals are stupid when in reality, they're actually smarter than us humans, albeit in a different way-!" The Bow Knight then tackles Suha and himself out of the way from another volley of quills. "... But yes, I understand your concerns."

The Manticore then kicks up a blast of sand by stamping its paws into the ground, blinding everyone before shooting its quills into the dust cloud before the spy spots it running away.

"DAMN IT!" cursed Karim the dust began to settle. "... Everyone okay?!"

Baki lets out a groans as they pull out the quills from their bronze armor, the spy noticing that the needles weren't drawing any blood. ... Is that guy's armor really that thick?

"It's a good thing that I'm rather massive compared to everyone else," the Eligor commented as everyone else each let out a groan. "... And that the beast itself wasn't aiming its shots."

"That's... the thing though!" Ishtiyāq remarked as he pulled out a quill from the sands. "... It wasn't trying to hit us. It was to keep us away."

"Yeah, I think I remember one study where only those with opposable thumbs actually developed the ability to aim its shots," Kulthum commented as she sheathed her katana.

"It's trail is still fresh," Taslima pointed out as the visible trail left behind by the Manticore was present still.

"Meaning that it couldn't have gone that far." Karim then loots Gohar's [Brave Lance] and tower shield, carrying the latter on his back as protection.

"Let's move." Vasim then runs ahead.

"Wait for me!" Suha follows everyone from behind as she carries a bundle of the salvaged quills, loading one into her [Arbalest]'s feed as she rejoins the chase.

Subtly, the spy tails their pursuit, now admittedly a bit excited himself for this hunt of a real-life monster.

And a Manticore, no less. Ameer Khalid better pay me handsomely for this...!

At Another Oasis...

She'd heard the roar echoing through the desert. Chanchal knew that it did not belong to any common animal found in Sawm Desert's environment.

"No one could've not heard that..." the Hero grimaced as she kept one hand around the grip of her [Shamshir] while her round steel targe was already deployed, remembering her first lesson in bounty hunting: "the shield first, the blade secondary; the risk of losing the latter mid-fight is greater than the former."

It was a good thing that she herself was left-handed, a taboo in most parts of Almyra, but Chanchal herself grew up in the backwater parts of Bahmut, which was already a bit of a paradise for cutthroats. She couldn't give two fucks on what the others think of her as long as she could swing a sword and throw a punch or kick.

"I really hope that the others have heard that roar-"

Then the ground below her swells up before exploding, revealing the monster as it pitched her whole body into the air.

Now Playing: "Roaring Sandstorm" (Mount) from Monster Hunter Wilds

"WHAT THE-A MANTICORE?!" Chanchal exclaimed as the beast then flicked its barbed tail at her, to which she blocked it with her shield, sending her towards one of the palm trees before its elastic trunk swung her back, making her land on the monster's back, to the surprise of them both.

Wasting no time, the Hero then burrows her [Shamshir] into the beast's meaty hide, pinning her place on its body as the Manticore began flailing in panic, swinging and violently torquing its body around like an enraged bull, trying to throw Chanchal off of its back.

"SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!" she cursed up a storm while holding on for her dear life, keeping her round shield over her head to not get knocked out unconscious while keeping both her hands around the grip of her [Shamshir]. "SON OF BITCH! STOP MOVING-!"

The beast then comes up with an idea to simply roll over to crush the Hero to death with its sheer weight of its body.

"Aw shit-!"

Quickly, Chanchal lets go of her sword to not get flattened, causing her blade to burrow further into the Manticore's thick body, causing it more pain as it becomes even more agitated.

"Crap, crap, crap-!" She immediately leaps out of the way of an oncoming barrage of quills, blocking few with her shield and jumping out of the way from the rest.

The Manticore grows as it flexes its tail, regrowing the spikes around its bulb at the end of its tail.

"You've got to be shitting me!" Chanchal then sees the monster charge towards her, to which she immediately scales up a palm tree to get elevation in hopes of retrieving her sword, but the beast simply shoots its barrage of quills to impede her efforts, with one grazing her across her arm and causing her to fall right into the Manticore's tail swing.

She successfully blocks it in time with her shield, but was sent flying into the oasis' shores and the waters, the gravelly shore scratching her up and breaking her arm upon landing.

"Aw... fuck!" she cursed as the monster then lunges towards her, mouth open to reveal its row of bone-crushing teeth and fangs. ... Sorry mom. Guess this is it.

Then, an absolutely-feral howl was heard coming from behind, revealing Vasim, careening across the air as he swung down his golden [Armads] down across one of the beast's butt cheeks, causing it to stagger midair and land next to Chanchal, allowing her to hastily retrieve her [Shamshir] from the beast's thick hide.

Pulling it out with one smooth motion, the beast roars back to life, but just as it could retaliate, Baki grabs the Manticore by its tail before letting out an echoing roar as they swung the beast around like a ragdoll, dragging it out of the waters and back onto land, where it was then met by Ishtiyāq and Suha's barrage of arrows, pricking the monster with several fusillades' worth of projectiles.

"How did you get here so fast?!" Chanchal asked as she and Vasim readied themselves for their next engagement with the Manticore.

"Baki... threw me!" The War Master moves in first, clashing his [Armads] against the monster's paw strike. "AND THEN BAKI THREW THEMSELVES TO CATCH UP!"

"Don't ask how." The heavily-armored Eligor then repositions for their next action.

Chanchal then charges in to assist Vasim, punching her shield into the point of impact to knock the Manticore off-balance, allowing Sabiha rake her [Durandal] across the beast's right ribs, followed up with Karim vaulting into the air using the [Brave Lance] he'd pilfered from Gohar to gain an aerial advantage to stake the beast into the same entrance wound of where the Hero's [Shamshir] had once been embedded, causing the beast to roar in agony as it tries to shake off the Grandmaster from its body while Kulthum moved in with her [Muramasa] as Taslima pincers from the opposite end with her dual [Mani Katti] and [Sol Katti].

"I LOVE IT WHEN A PLAN COMES TOGETHER!" Karim rapturously cried out as he offhandedly shoots his flintlock at the tail that was about to flick one of its quills at him, temporarily disabling it while the Mortal Savant and the Espio performed their dual attack from opposing sides of the beast while Ishtiyāq and Suha maintained their fire, the former taking breaks from his shots to retrieve the loose quills of the monster for the latter as her ammunition.

"DID WE EVEN HAVE A PLAN BESIDES 'DO WHATEVER'?!" the Bow Knight pointed out as he resumed fire with his [Nidhogg] bow.

"NOT THE FIRST TIME!" the Griffin Knight cackled out as she reloads her [Arbalest] with the salvaged quills.

Both Chanchal and the spy couldn't believe what they were hearing, especially the latter, who is shocked to see a bunch of Bronze-Ranked sellswords take on a monster that came straight out of a folklore's scripture.

The way they behaved around the monster... it was as if they were used to fighting against such odds.

"Wait a minute...!" the female Hero remarked as she finally recalls what the name "Eltanin" was correlated to. "... AREN'T YOU GUYS THE SAME ONES WHO TOOK OUT KHALIL 'THE CRUEL' AS THEIR FIRST BOUNTY?!"

"The one and the same," confirmed Kulthum as she and Baki then charged in, the former's [Muramasa] parrying the beast's heavy paw swipe as the latter's [Garm] axe slashed across the monster's underbelly, the stream of blood trickling down its fur as it continued thrashing in pain to get Karim off of itself.

"We choose danger over peace, so that we may truly live!" Baki recited as Vasim came up to them before the former threw the latter towards the monster, to which it dislodged its stuck quill in its tail to shoot it at the War Master, knocking him out of the air.

"We... FIGHT!" Vasim barked out as he shook the sand off after recovering. "ODDS... MATTER NOT!"

The spy couldn't believe what he was hearing from them, but somehow, it all made too much sense on why Amira Khawlah would go out of their way to recruit these kinds of people.

"Birds of a feather," I suppose, he thought as he was tempted to leave his mission right then and there, but his intuitions urged him to stick around for a bit longer, feeling that not all of his findings weren't adding up, particularly this question: ... But why are they fighting like that? Their way of fighting... feels restrictive, as if they're not fighting at their full potential.

Chanchal, however, was more receptive at their guts. "... Well's not every day that you find people whose dreams are to fight a Manticore from children's stories of old!"

"SO THAT'S WHAT IT'S CALLED-!" Karim's words were promptly cut off as the beast's roars of pain turned into that of pure rage.

It's bestial movements were slowly becoming more compact and sophisticated, now no longer seeing the nine sellswords present as mere prey, but an active threat. It's roars became louder and louder, until its reverberations causes the sands to quake off of each of their grain, with everyone nearby clasping their ears shut in pain, sans Baki.

"It does not work on me!" The Eligor then charges towards the Manticore with their [Garm] wound back, but then the beast lifts itself upright.

Once the monster stood on its hindlegs, its once quadruped form now bipedal, eclipsed the armored [Talos] by sheer height and width alone.

"... Oh dear."

The now-bipedal Manticore swipes its now-extended claw arm across Baki's armored mask, leaving a massive three-pronged gash across the bronze surface as they were sent flying back by the sheer force of the impact before the monster spun around to grab Karim from behind, toss him into the dirt after ripping his grip off the [Brave Lance] he was clinging onto, and then jumps up to land its butt onto his face.

"SHIT!" The Grandmaster narrowly escapes getting flattened by the monster, now letting out its pain-fueled rage as the flaps over its visage flexed into a demon-like form, revealing its burning-hot topaz-colored eyes that screamed naught but murder and retribution. "Oh fuck."

Karim runs as everyone else resumes fighting, the Manticore now actively engaging the sellswords into a melee altercation.

"I FIGHT IT!" Vasim barked out as he challenged the beast's prowess. "EVERYONE ELSE SCRATCH IT!"

The War Master then confronts the Manticore's claw swipes head-on, parrying each rake with a swing of his [Armads], locking in its attention as the beast registers Vasim as the biggest threat present.

"Hey big guy," Kulthum remarked as Baki stood back up, holding their mask. "... You alright for one more go?"

The Eligor lets out a growl as they slammed their [Garm] axe into the sands.

"Excellent." The Mortal Savant then draws her [Muramasa] as she and everyone else move in to conduct a hit-and-run stratagem against the enraged beast.

As the Manticore engages against Vasim and his [Armads], it notices the rest of the pack converging towards it like a pack ambush.

Reprioritizing, the Manticore slams both of its paws down onto the War Master to knock him back, allowing the monster to swing its tail around to shoot out its barrage of quills to disperse their formation.

Baki uses their armored body to soak up the oncoming fusillade, to which everyone else uses the opening to charge in.

"... You know, I think I'm actually rooting for them now," the spy thought out loud as he then peers back to the present battle.

He saw Kulthum, Taslima, and Chanchal strike te Manticore's sides with their blades, Suha and Ishtiyāq restricting its movement by firing their arrows around the monster's possible escape routes, Vasim engaging the beast in close combat long enough for Karim to recover his [Brave Lance] from its back with a hard jerk, causing it to fall onto its back, allowing Sabiha to slam the flat of her [Durandal] into the beast's head to stun it, following up with everyone to wail on it while Baki picks up their bearded bronze mask to cover up their gray face with one eye-

Wait a fucking minute. The spy then rubs his eyes to see if he was seeing things, only for the Eligor to recover their mask before rejoining the melee. ... Something's not right. I could've swore that I saw that "Baki" guy with a face with one eye without an eyepatch-!

Then his feet steps on something as he was slowly backing away, revealing a badly-mauled and chewed up sellsword whose handsome face was no more, and the bottoms of his shoes now wet with gore and one crushed eyeball.

As the spy tries not to gag, the Manticore could smell that one of its snacks in reserve was being disturbed by an outsider. Already incensed, the monster taps into its rage even further, throwing everyone ganging upon it off by flailing its mighty and thick limbs all over, scattering them about before firing several warning shots with its tail quills.

The spy sees the arrows coming and makes a break for it, but now the Manticore has now locked onto his scent and gives pursuit to him, much to the befuddlement of everyone else present.

"... Is someone else here?" Karim asked.

"Probably another survivor," Kulthum suggested.

"Well what are we waiting for?!" Chanchal then packs in her weapons before running after the monster. "Come on!"

While on the Run...

Now Playing: "Roaring Sandstorm" (Chase) from Monster Hunter Wilds

The spy did his best not to scream lest he wasted his breath. It was an essential part of his job, after all.

Not getting caught means not doing anything that might give his location away, although that might be a tad invalid due to the Manticore chasing after him right now.

So far, his mission has now gone belly-up due to his own intrusive thoughts of remaining to get more concrete proof of there being something off about the Amira's expedition, since now, he has every evidence to back up that her little "monster hunt" was indeed, REAL.

He spots a village up ahead, one of the many evacuated after the (seemingly) bogus notice posted on every Military Office branch in Almyra. The spy immediately elects to go through it, since having no cover was worse than having failing cover.

At least the quills will less likely turn him şiş kebap in the immediate future when there are walls between him and the Manticore.

Speaking said monster, the beast notices that its new prey/the one it assumes to be a scavenger, sees that its leading it into a more tightly-packed location, similar to that of a canyon crevice or a cave without a ceiling.

It's slightly confused as why it remembers such a thing, but that's besides the point when it's meal is getting away.

The Manticore breaks through the gated fences as the spy ducks into one of the alleyways between two adobe huts, chasing after him into said gap before getting its head stuck between the buildings.

"Ha ha, you loser!" the spy mocked the Manticore before the latter flicked its tail upwards, letting loose its quills towards the sky before they fell back towards the ground, narrowly skewering the spy where he stood.

No longer taking any chances, he promptly flees as the beast transitions its physiology back to its bipedal form, using its enhanced forelimbs to uproot the abandoned huts from the foundations they were built up before flinging them aside like how a child would do to their toys once growing bored of them.

As the spy ran for his very life from the Manticore, he slides underneath a low swipe swung from behind before landing face first into a pile of abandoned laundry, allowing the beast to seize the opportunity for a quick kill...

Now Playing: "Roaring Sandstorm" ~Quake~ from Monster Hunter Wilds

"OVER HERE, YOU BLOODY BASTARD!" From behind, Karim clung onto the Manticore's back, driving his [Brave Lance] into the monster's back, catching its attention away from the spy as the beast turned around, swiping its barbed tail into the dazed spy, knocking him into one of the upturned buildings, and himself out upon landing on his head once more. "DAMN IT ALL! JUST GO DOWN ALREADY!"

The monster lets out a roar as it then tries to ram Karim through the other hut that it had previously uplifted, forcing the Grandmaster to let go lest he get crushed upon impact.

"KARIM!" Suha then aims her [Arbalest] towards the beast's underbelly, striking true but doing nil to actually slow it down. "HOW IS IT NOT DEAD YET?!"

Kulthum is seriously starting to consider breaking the whole "no Fódlander crap"-rule now just to end this hunt, but Vasim catches on as he raised the flat of his [Armads] before her.

"... Do not... give up!" the War Master pointed out as Sabiha and Chanchal charged towards the beast, swinging their blades as the latter parried the oncoming attacks with her steel shield to allow the former to strike with her mighty [Durandal]. "... We can do it... with our own strength!"

The Mortal Savant sighs in relief as she removes her hand away from the reach of her [Gespenst] tome stashed away behind her back. "... You're right," she comment as Taslima runs over towards Karim while Suha and Ishtiyāq maintained fire at the struggling Manticore. "... Thanks for talking me out of it."

"Fire in the hole!" Baki then lifts up a massive chunk of the wrecked adobe hut before chucking it into the monster's head at high velocity, stunning it momentarily and allowing the Espio to drag the Grandmaster back to where they were and at the same time, allowing Vasim to rejoin the fray with Kulthum in tow.

But even as blades, arrows, and bludgeons mercilessly battered against the terrible monster of folklore and myth, the Manticore refused to simply lay down and die.

"Just how thick is that thing's hide?!" Ishtiyāq asked as he kept shooting the envenomated arrows with his [Nidhogg]. "ALL WE'RE DOING IS PISSING IT OFF EVEN MORE!"

Everyone then evades the scattershot of quills from the Manticore's tail swipe, to which Karim throws out the tower shield before himself to dampen the barrage. "... I got it."

He then runs back towards the Bow Knight and Griffin Knight.

"You two, I have a plan!"

The Manticore lets out a low growl before recovering, now slamming both of its paws before itself, sending Chanchal, Sabiha, Vasim, Kulthum, and Taslima away from itself. Baki attempts to throw another large debris at it, but the beast catches wise and instead parries the flung projectile with its tail, shattering it and sending the pieces against the five, knocking them back even further.

"WHATEVER IT IS, IT BETTER DAMN WORK!" the Mortal Savant pointed out.

"EVERYONE! MAKE IT FACE ITS BACK TOWARDS US!" Karim then places Ishtiyāq's [Nidhogg] bow before Suha's [Arbalest] crossbow, pulling both strings back as they each nocked back the same quill. "WE ONLY GOT ONE SHOT, SO MAKE IT COUNT!"

Baki then looks back to see what the Professor was planning. "I see..." The Eligor then picks up their [Garm] as the Manticore lets out a fierce roar before charging its massive body at them. "EVERYONE! DON'T LET IT REACH THOSE THREE! GO!"

Baki and Vasim meet the beast head-on, using their combined strength to hold the monster back before clapping both flats of their axes with each other to bash in the beast's face in.

However, at the last minute, the Manticore relaxes its facial flaps back into its mask form, dampening the stunning blow before blowing them off with its headbutt. That however, left its back open for Kulthum, Chanchal, and Taslima to rake their blades across its body like a divine scourge of sharp whips, stinging it all over its body mercilessly, topped off with Chanchal delivering a wicked uppercut with her shield's edge, pitching its chest upwards to force it to stand up on its hindlegs...

"OPEN WIDE, YOU FAT FUCK!"

Sabiha, with the help of the other three, drives [Durandal] into its shallow wound that Karim had cut open earlier, turning the small papercut-like scratch into a grievous wound that elicited a droning cry of pain from the Manticore.

However, it continued to struggle, trying to push itself down onto the four with its sheer weight, but Vasim and Baki join in, the strength of now-six lifting up the beast as they turned its back towards the three...

"Bullseye."

The Manticore's quill fired from the [Arbalest] passes through [Nidhogg]'s rest, envenomating the point as it flew towards the beast's back, and straight into the wound that was inflicted in succession by Chanchal's [Shamshir] and Karim's (originally Gohar's) [Brave Lance].

The divine venom circulates through the monster, causing it to foam at the mouth before collapsing onto its side, slipping out of [Durandal]'s edge and landing onto the arid earth, its body now too weak to move and fight any longer.

"Victory..." Vasim then raises his [Armads] over his head. "... IS OURS!"

With a single slash, the War Master beheads the Manticore, felling it in its final resting place.

"We did it...!" The Hero then hugs Kulthum and Taslima into a tight embrace. "WE FUCKING DID IT, EVERYONE! THE MANTICORE IS DEAD!"

"We'll put in a good word with the Amira and make sure that you get your share," Karim informed as he took out a hand mirror before shining it towards the sky, which was then replied with a griffin's shriek coming from above.

Soon after, Aali lands before them, now seeing the felled monster with his very eyes. "... My gods, you insane bastards actually gone and done it."

Sabiha snickers smugly. "Fuck yeah, we did!" the Vanguard pointed out. "... Can you go get your boss and everyone else to carry this damn thing back to Alamut? Also, can you take Chanchal with you? She can act as our witness."

The Hero didn't have enough time to react as she was then handed one of the Manticore's fangs by Karim, to which the latter had ripped out of the monster's gums. "Don't worry. It's not like the Amira is going to eat you or anything."

Chanchal nervously chuckles as she gets on the griffin's back with Aali in the reins. "... Make sure you lot actually leave a signal for us to spot you, alright?"

"Working on it!" Ishtiyāq then begins striking flint before a pile of dry firewood made of tumbleweed (starter fuse) and branches.

Once the spark was lit, the Bow Knight begins blowing on it to start the signal fire. With that reassurance, the [Mubashir] Griffin Knight then leaves them behind before coming back with reinforcements.

All of Eltanin finally let out a sigh of relief, as they can now finally be themselves.

"... Well folks, this little hunting trip of ours has turned out to be then and some." Karna then sits down before the slain Manticore before observing it. "... Yep, definitely a Demonic Beast."

He then digs his hand in and finds a discolored gallstone the size of an olive, crudely resembling a [Crest Stone], only dark-purple and its mana power fading quickly as a spark.

"... Okay, I thought Demonic Beasts were supposed to be a thing only in Fódlan!" Tsukiko pointed out. "I don't recall Almyra having any Dragon Veins!"

"Until now, that is," Byron pointed out as they began thinking of why there would be an Almyran-endemic Demonic Beast in the first place. "... I have two quick hypothesizes: One, there are indeed Dragon Veins endemic in Almyran borders, but its number is scant compared to Fódlan's, explaining the rarity of Demonic Beasts in this nation in the first place. Or two, the Professor turning all of Garreg Mach into a crater triggered a sort of chain reaction across the rest of the world, causing Dragon Veins to start appearing in places that they shouldn't in the first place."

"Wait a fekin' minute!" Sorcha raised her hand. "Wat about de Demonic Beasts jus' crossin' ova te border like any otha' bloody animal?"

"If that were the case, then the knowledge of Demonic Beasts should be more widespread throughout Almyra then the vague notion of the word 'monster' long before we've entered Almyra," Topaz pointed out. "... This monster may have shown upon a few times in history long forgotten that faded into myth, but if that were the case, then why now of all times? It's too unlikely to be a coincidence."

"One thing's for sure, damn son of a bitch was a tough motherfucker," Cyrus commented as he kicked the Manticore's corpse. "... Even Demonic Beasts back at Fódlan took less beatings than this bastard."

"I'd say," Selene agreed before smirking. "Couldn't 'ave dun it without ye, ya big bastard."

Víðarr then notices Byron's bronze mask fall off of their face. "... Your mask!"

"We're gonna have to come up with a different way to cover up your face until we can repair this thing..." Karna commented as he picked up the damaged mask, the beard of the visage now chipped off and its surface sporting a gnarly-looking tri-scar (and for the latter, he's thinking of filling it in with gold since it looks badass enough to keep around). "... I really hope that Amira Khawlah's plans of taking the throne work with us involved."

But as the Dustbin were talking, the spy heard EVERYTHING.

For the record, he was bilingual, meaning accent from the two McCarthy twins aside, he understood that Eltanin were speaking Fódlander tongue.

Garreg Mach being destroyed. The "Eltanin" being criminals from Fódlan that the Amira had hired as her personal hit squad. And one of them confirmed to be a one-eye.

... I-I HAVE TO TELL THE AMEER EVERYTHING! The spy then ran for his life. THE AMIRA IS GOING START A CIVIL WAR WITH THOSE LUNATICS-!

The spy was then tackled from behind by Topaz, who has got the drop on him before he could even make it out of the village.

"Shh..." The Espio then gags the man's mouth shut with her one hand as she unveils her mouth with the other, revealing an armored mask that covered her entire lower face, its segments cracking open like door, unlocking row of sharp, carnivore-like teeth behind it.

The spy begins to panicking, trying to scream for help, but Topaz wouldn't let him.

Then the Espio speaks in tribal/Kargdan Almyran, her tone delivering the next words with understated malice hidden behind a facade of honey.

"... No one has to know anything."

Topaz then devours the spy from the head-down, his screams utterly silenced as his meat, bones, and skin were quickly consumed like how a snake would swallow a rat whole.

"Hey everyone." The Espio then soon comes back around the campfire as she then throws the spy's clothes into the fire as additional tinder.

"There was a spy tailing us, wasn't there?" Karna deadpanned.

Topaz nods in confirmation before letting out a small burp behind her veil. "Even if he weren't under the Ameer's employee, he knew way too much about us to let live."

"Fair enough." Tsukiko then lays on her back and stares towards the sky, now the sun setting into the horizon. "... What are we going to do about the blood, though?"

"Don't worry, the sands will take care of it," the Espio declared. "And even if it didn't, we can play it off as the Demonic Beast's doing."

As the day came to a close, the echoing sounds of the griffins' cries were heard coming from a distance.

Day 38

"Off to work?" a woman with a pregnant belly asked the eyepatched old man.

"Things may be a bit quieter since those Eltanin have been gone for about a week, but if the Almyran government is paying me to sit around all day, might as well." Then running up to the old man's leg was a young girl no less than seven or eight years old, hugging his leg affectionately, to which she was met with an equally reciprocating rub on her head.

"Be back soon, dad!" the girl said.

"I will," he said back with a smile. "Be good while you're with mom like always, alright?"

The old man then sets off to work, still dressed in his old colors during the time where he served the Almyran Military as one of its famed Wyvern Knights.

Honestly, for him, the only good thing about his current desk job as an administrator of Alamut's Military Office was that it allowed him to see his daughter and second wife. The former's own mother had perished during her second birth that killed both her and the girl's expectant younger sibling.

Then as he and his daughter was searching for a new place to live, a young tavern matron took them in, and the rest was history.

It soothed his admittedly-bitter state of life, but as a man with family, he really couldn't afford to show weaknesses.

Wonder how that old bastard Gohar's been doing... he thought as he walked down the morning streets before yawning.

But just before he could unlock the Military Office's doors, the low and deep rumblings of Alamut's front gates opening was heard from where he stood at.

"... What gives?" he thought out loud as the sounds of the city gates opening caused the early birds to be attracted to what was coming in, himself included.

Approaching the gates were none other than the Eltanin escorted in by the [Mubashir] Griffin Knights, all of them surrounding a massive cart carrying a large object covered in a tarp held down by several bundles of ropes, pulled by the armored giant Baki, whose entire head was now covered completely in bloodstained bandages, indicating that they've been gravely injured while everyone else suffered varying cuts and bruises around their body, as if they've all just returned from a battlefield.

"Make way! Make way!" Aali barked out, the other griffins screeching to disperse the gathering crowd. "Amira Khawlah makes her descent!"

Then as advertised, the Amira swoops down upon her own griffin, landing before her entourage as the latter came to a halt.

Once the crowd was pacificated and everyone in place, Khawlah was then handed a flask of water before clearing her throat. "MY FELLOW ALMYRANS!" she began. "BEHOLD!"

Karim then draws his khukuri knife from his robes before cutting one of the ropes as Kulthum did the same with her [Muramasa], letting the tarp loose to reveal the slain Manticore before the crowd of Alamut, its head placed before its own decapitated body on a short but stout stake.

Panic surged as the public witnesses their controversial war hawk of an Amira presented her macabre trophy.

"I-IS THAT A MONSTER?! A REAL MONSTER?!"

"IT'S SO MASSIVE! LOOK AT THAT FACE! THOSE TEETH AND TAIL!"

"THAT THING WAS WALKING AROUND IN OUR COUNTRY FOR A WEEK?!"

The old man couldn't believe what his eye was seeing, rubbing it to see if he was hallucinating. "... It's real," he muttered in disbelief. "... The 'monster' that the Amira has raised an alarm about was real."

As fear of the possibilities of there being even more monstrosities wandering about within Almyra's borders gripped their collective consciousness, Khawlah seizes the opportunity to sway their thoughts into her favor.

"YOUR EYES DO NOT DECEIVE YOU!" she barked out, catching the crowd's attention. "WHAT YOU SEE HERE IS A MONSTER! THE VERY SAME THAT YOU HAVE HEARD ABOUT IN CHILDREN'S STORIES, NOW HAVE COME TO LIFE AND SEEK TO DEVOUR US ONE MAN, WOMAN, AND CHILD AT A TIME!"

Further panic surged, the crowd's mood being dictated by their collective fear of this unknown that made them listen to the Amira wholeheartedly.

"BUT FEAR NOT!" the Amira declared. "FOR WE HAVE SLAIN THIS FOUL BEAST BEFORE MORE DESTRUCTION COULD BE WROUGHT! THE [MUBASHIR] HAVE SLAIN THIS ABOMINATION! THE SELLSWORDS WHO HAVE COME WITH US HAD FOUGHT AND BLED WITH US! YOUR SAFETY IS REASSURED AS LONG AS YOU PLACE YOUR TRUST IN OUR HANDS!"

The crowd's uncertainty begins to stir upon this revelation.

"I SHALL BE YOUR SHIELD! I SHALL BE YOUR SWORD TO QUIET THESE WAKING MONSTERS THAT DARE TO CLAIM OUR HOME AS THEIRS!"

All according to plan, Karim thought as his eyes peered out towards the crowd, mentally noting their shifting mood and overall behavior. To the people who lived their whole lives within the confines of the walls of Alamut, any recounting of the outside world would grab their attention, superfluous as it may be.

"THE DANGER IS PRESENT AND REAL!" Khawlah continued playing to the crowd's anxieties. "ONLY MY POWERS CAN PROVIDE THE SOLUTION TO THIS QUESTION!"

So, some physical evidence will really get their attention... Karim smirked as the crowd was slowly becoming puddy in the Amira's hands the more they listened to her with all of the evidence backing her up. Now all that's left is to spin the yarn into completion-

"CLEAR OUT!" another voice from above shouted from the sky.

Then, a low braying was heard from above, causing the crowd to part as Shah Mansur's white wyvern accompanied by Nader and his [Janissary] Wyvern Lords descended, landing before Khawlah's entourage.

"It's the Shah!"

Everyone not part of the Almyran Muhammad Royal Dynasty got on their knees and bowed immediately, even the Eltanin.

... Okay, did not see that coming, Karim sighed internally. ... Guess news of this kind of magnitude would rouse the dead fish of a Shah himself. Sorry, Khawlah, but you're on your own from here.

Khawlah did not break her composure before the Shah and his [Janissaries]. "... Father."

Mansur then raises an eyebrow while glancing at the slain Manticore. "... Looks too smooth to be fabricated," he observed. "... So your little 'monster hunt' did amount to something."

"I simply sought to address my people's anxieties in the most efficient way possible," she replied. "All of those dead merchants and travelers crossing Sawm Desert now can rest easy as trade and commerce can resume as originally intended."

"You do know that the Almyran Military exist to deal with such anomalies, correct?" Shah Mansur pointed out.

"And last I checked, the [Mubashir] are part of said infrastructure, albeit semi-clandestine, but nevertheless," countered the Amira. "And my men are competent enough to not get themselves killed while under pressure."

"So sellswords, then?" the Shah replied as he looked at the Eltanin (Chanchal herself simply took her share of the bounty and immediately beelined back to Bahmut).

"Father, you 'democratized' the Almyran Military to allow third parties to take care of 'excess work.' I simply did what your system has intended," she answered without hesitation.

Shah Mansur sighs as he turns his back around before walking back to his white wyvern. "... See to it that you explain the rest in Alhambra," he ordered. "Until then, dispose of that corpse. Last thing I need are vultures carrying diseases flocking the streets of Alamut."

Khawlah smiles as she slyly smirks. "Of course, father."

The Shah and the [Janissaries] all fly back to the royal palace, the tension in the crowd dispersing as everyone went about their day.

"... Well, that nearly went belly-up, Amira," Karim commented.

"I did what I needed to do," she replied with utter confidence. "... Anyway, my father expects my presence. Please head to Alamut's Military Office to collect your reward. As for the body, consider that a sweetener for said reward."

"Cool." Karim then follows Baki back outside the city gates with Aali, the former pulling the dead Manticore back out. "... See you folks soon!"

Then only seven of the Eltanin look at each other confusedly.

"... Get reward before Amina finds us?"

Everyone nods at Vasim's suggestion before doing said idea, preferring to get paid first before they're scrubbed down while Karna, Byron, and Aali go somewhere outside of Alamut and isolated to process the dead Manticore for its parts.

"Is the meat safe enough to eat?" the Griffin Knight asked as Karna handed the pelt to Byron as the latter tossed it into [Zahras] for cold storage.

Both Grandmaster and Eligor look at each other awkwardly, recalling the time where she (pre-corrective surgery) ate an entire Demonic Beast until there were nothing but bones left, and even some of said bones were being eaten until she was "too full."

"... Considering that Topaz eats people, it's an admittedly a low bar."

Day 39

"Nader, can I be honest with you?" Khalid asked as he and the Naqib of the [Janissaries] walked aside him, a full day having gone since the news of a slain Manticore from children's tales has been demonstrated in the streets of Alamut. "... I really wish father hadn't ordered the corpse to be disposed of, even if it were carrying maladies."

"His word is law, Ameer Khalid," he replied. "Your curiosity is a gift, but keeping the city and its inhabitants clean and healthy is paramount."

Khalid grumbles as he wished he could've seen the Manticore up close, the closest thing he has were Khawlah's sketches of said slain creature, which looked like an Almyran child's imagination of what a Duscurian Brown Bear is like. "... Say, Nader, are you familiar with Fódlan's Demonic Beasts?"

"Never seen one in person, but if Judith's tales are of anything of note, I'd be a fool to dismiss their existence entirely," the Naqib answered.

"So why one now?" Khalid asked as he begins ruminating. "... If Almyra never had any records of these 'monsters' sans children's stories and myths, then how come one just... appeared out of nowhere? Come to think of it, how are Demonic Beasts conceptualized in the first place?"

Stranger still, Khalid couldn't even recall the time he spent in Fódlan as "Claude von Riegan" where even once, there was a course of study about Demonic Beasts sans how to kill them.

Blaming Garreg Mach's flawed curriculum aside, something wasn't adding up. What was the one consistency that draws the same conclusion of Demonic Beasts, their creation, and their weird habit of sticking to their lane when they all have their methods of unrestricted travel?

"... Nader, my sponsored sellswords are ready, right?" he asked.

"They are ready to make their debut tomorrow, Ameer," the Naqib answered with a bow.

"Thank you." Khalid then returns to his study to brush up on his Almyran.

"AMEER!" A servant boy then runs up towards him with a letter in hand. "For you! It's from Fódlan!"

Khalid then takes the parchment before entering his room, electing to study after he reads the letter with the seal of House Gloucester stamped on its red waxen seal.

He then sniffs the paper, picking up a faint scent of roses, familiar enough with said scent after visiting his estate more than once during his time in Fódlan. "... Ostentatious as ever, aren't you?"

He couldn't help but smile. It was such a Lorenz-thing to do.

Sitting upon his table, he then unseals the letter before reading the following:

To Claude von Riegan,

I hope you are faring well in Almyra. Last I heard of the place, the sun's rays are merciless and the sands are to get everywhere, but knowing you, I have little doubt that you'll adapt accordingly.

I digress. I am glad to hear from you that even as you are on the other side of the world, you are not dawdling. As expected of my rival.

As for the others, here is what I have heard from them in passing.

Hilda has finally swallowed enough of her self-pity and began training with her brother Holst. I have been informed that she is showing lots of promise, with some claiming that she is to surpass him in short order. I personally, think those singing her praises her being rather rash. Not downplaying her capabilities, but I feel as if all of Fódlan forgets we are merely human, not gods. Not much has changed about her, but I am glad she is at least humoring the idea of taking her duties as a noble seriously.

Marianne has been faring well enough during her legal adoption into House Goneril after her Lord Father's untimely passing. I have heard that her mental health has overall being recovering. Granted, we all have our own inner demons to contend with, but Hilda and Holst's reassurances have proven to be quite the boon for her well-being. As for her future, she is still aiming to be a healer, now with a renewed confidence, and I for one, believes that she will succeed.

As for Lysithea, she is still studying, reading through archive after archive's worth of books. However, I have heard rumors that her demeanor has changed. Rather than studying in desperation, some claim that she is now studying for the sake of slaking her newfound joy of knowledge. I personally, cannot fully comprehend, but I did notice that she is less tense than usual. Maybe its because of that dastard Byron finally graduating along with the rest of the Dustbin? Who knows. But I for one, am not to look at the gift horse in the mouth.

I have heard rumors that Leonie is seeking apprenticeship with Sir Jeralt's Blade Breakers. Learn from the best, I suppose, although it is quite strange to see her slowly mellow her relationship with Professor Eisner, steadily seeing her less as competition, and more as a, you know, an instructor. As for her missing leg, I have heard rumors that she is considering a more sophisticated prosthetic, and I even asked that I pitch in for the cost. She still refuses, of course, not wanting to be "indebted" to me. Guess the adage of one leading a horse to a water but not force it to drink applies here.

As for Ignatz and Raphael, I've recommended the two to my Lord Father to be Knights of Leicester Alliance. I have spoken highly of their skills and experience on the many, many involuntary battles we have been through. The former's confidence is steadily growing, now no longer plagued by doubt and anxiety, or at least, not as much as it was prior to my recommendation. As for the latter, while he still has his rough edges, he is taking every lesson of a Knight's etiquette to heart, learning from every failure, and while he still lacks grace one would see in a Knight, his heart and character are second to none. I will ensure that they will succeed, for I have come to understand and appreciate them a bit more, and by extension, understand your own inclinations of those two a bit better.

Speaking of my Lord Father, he's soon to be take the position as Leader of the Roundtable after Duke Oswald von Riegan's imminent retirement. Thankfully, his policies have become more liberal while retaining his conservative support base within the Alliance nobility. All the while, he himself has been personally tutoring me on leadership courses to mold me into his heir, but a lot less hardheaded about it. Even our discussion of politics and of the Alliance's future has become less contentious than prior to this shift.

I personally think that all of us here back in Fódlan have changed for the better. Here's to you that you become a true leader like yours truly when we meet again not as mere leaders of our own charges, but as true men of character and dignity.

Take care now. And as you said before, Fear the Deer.

- Lorenz Hellman Gloucester

It felt as if a weight off of Khalid's chest have been lifted after a long time. The Ameer lets out a content sigh as he plopped his back onto his bed in relief.

"... Glad everyone's doing okay," he remarked with a hopeful smile on his face. "... Alright! I better study my butt off if I want to see my friends soon!"

As Khalid eagerly returned to his studies, Khawlah was listening in on his steps and sighs from the floor below, picking signs of great satisfaction as she twirled a forged stamp bearing House Gloucester's sigil in her fingers, provided via her instructions given to her by Karna right after their invasion of Derdriu.

That poor, gullible, fool... She resisted the urge to snicker as she slips out of Alhambra like a phantom, not even the mended holes that once served as her secret routes not slowing her down in the slightest.

Everything is going according to her plan. Khalid was now nothing more than a puppet dancing to her own tune.

For that was only one letter. Six more remain until her competition finds himself trapped in the constructed reality of her and Karna's design.

Day 40

The old man sighs as all eight members of Eltanin stood before him. "... As ordered by the Almyran Muhammad Dynasty, in light of your accomplishment of felling a monster that had killed now-88 people, I hereby promote all of Eltanin from Bronze-Rank, to Silver-Rank."

The group of eight were then handed their new silver-colored tags as the rest of the Military Office erupts into celebration at their feat of renown.

"NEVER THOUGHT THAT THOSE BASTARDS WOULD ACTUALLY AMOUNT TO SOMETHING!"

"SORRY ABOUT DOUBTING YOU FUCKERS!"

"K-KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!" the receptionist joined in on the two sellswords' cheers with the crowd. "THREE CHEERS FOR THE ELTANIN!"

"ELTANIN! ELTANIN! ELTANIN!" the crowd of Alamut's sellswords chanted as said group basked in the afterglow of being heroes.

"... Not gonna lie, I like this," Sabiha remarked with a smirk.

"At least we're appreciated here," Kulthum commented, instinctively comparing her time as "Kronya" and being treated as little more than a nuisance by the Seven Sages.

"So this is what earning the people's goodwill feels like..." Baki said with a hint of awe, their head still wrapped in bandages (the mask is being repaired by the local smith recommended by Aali). "... A new experience!"

"KEEP IT COMING, EVERYONE!" Ishtiyāq pumped up the crowd. "I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

"ELTANIN! ELTANIN! ELTANIN!" the crowd cheered even louder.

The old man scoffs as he walks away from the jubilance. "... Don't you think that it's going get any easier," he warned. "Silver-Rank means you're taking more dangerous and high-priority jobs. Hell is coming for you lot."

"Eh, nothing new for us ex-slaves. Our former masters HATED us," Karim boasted with a goofy smile. "At least this time, we're getting paid for our hard labor. DON'T YOU ALL AGREE, MY FELLOW SELLSWORDS!"

Everyone in the Military Office then share a laugh, admittedly finding the joke a bit funny.

"Anyway, me and my lot has got lots of telâh to spend so let's waste it all at a nearby tavern!" Karim announced, causing everyone to cheer. "DRINKS ARE ON ME!"

"ELTANIN! ELTANIN! ELTANIN!" The crowd then carries the group that they were chanting its name away like a human wave, sans Baki, who was too heavy, but was the last one to leave.

"We hope to see you all tomorrow," the Eligor remarked. "Until then!"

The large armored figure then leaves, joining the crowd as they all swarmed towards the tavern where the old man's second wife and first daughter were working at.

Awkwardly looking at his boss, the receptionist wandered if he could join in on the hype.

"... Oh what they hell, you can leave early today," the old man remarked. "It's not like the rest of the day going to be busy when everyone's busy getting drunk!"

The receptionist then blitzes out the door and beelines towards the tavern. "WAIT FOR ME! I WANT A DRINK TOO!"

The old man lets out a breathy sigh as he found himself alone in the Military Office. "... Gods, what's Almyra come to?"

First the royal family's half-siblings engaging in a murder-competition on who's the last one standing. Then the "democratization" of the Almyran Military introducing sellswords that cost him his prior job. And now, there are monsters from children's fairy tales and folktales coming to life and killing folks.

If he were any older, he would assume that he was going senile. Or at minimum, the whole world itself was going mad where people like the Eltanin, a bunch of ex-slaves whose gift for murder was second to none, had no sense of self-preservation or danger, and comes out killing an infamous bandit as their FIRST ASSIGNMENT and then a month later, they kill a fucking Manticore and get promoted to Silver-Rank.

Honestly, he himself could use a drink himself, but he was still on duty. His habits as a military man of Almyra tempered his intrusive thoughts of self-gratification-

"Um..." Suddenly, from the door, a group of four followed up by a white-gray-coated hunting dog with a pair rubicund eyes crowned with a pair of triangular pointed ears perking up from its head came into the Military Office. "... Is this place open?"

The old man sees the group of four more clearly with is only good eye, spotting the following people:

A chestnut-haired young man with a dark-brown parka over his maroon vest, pants whose legs were bound with straps that went around his feet and sandals, and a pair of [Yatagan] blades sheathed behind his waist, and a [Taksh] crossbow with a quiver full of bolts carried behind on his back, who then knelt down and affectionately petted the hunting dog, indicating that he was its main handler at minimum. Judging by the boy's fleet-footed appearance and choices in weaponry, he was an Assassin.

A crimson-haired young woman whose head was covered in a milky-white shayla-headwrap and cloak over her steel-scaled armored dress and leggings, the hard soles of her brown-leather high boots clicking against the floor, carrying herself dignified and orderly like a proper Almyran military cadet, wielding a long-handled [Damascus Axe] akin to that of a Wyvern Knight's lances. However, despite that, her demeanor was that of a Warrior's, presumably a former Wyvern Knight before choosing to go on as a footman.

A large, bare-chested man with a long flap of messy dark-brown hair drooping over his right side of his face that also went over his leather strap acting as an eyepatch, his muscled chest having another leather strap over his toned torso looping around from his left, his stomach/midsection being wrapped in bandages, his pants and legs enclosed with a pair of shin guards made of steel, his feet bound in slippers, and his burly arms contained in a pair of [Killer Knuckles]. It was obvious that he was a Grappler.

And a bald, grizzled old veteran with a scruffy beard and an eyepatch over his left eye wearing a hooded cloak over his light, composite leather and iron armor with a leather flask that stunk of mead hung around the belt of his armored pants, and around his back carried a large tower shield with a custom emblem of that of a large black bird superimposed over a crescent moon at its face, and a [Trident] attached to a linked chain around its spearhead. A rather atypical layout, given Almyra's general environment, but a Fortress Knight was a welcome addition.

"... So you lot looking to join?" the old man remarked out loud, to which their young leader nodded before he handed a letter with the Ameer's seal stamped onto it. "... Another one?"

However, he can tell that despite the group looking rather... thrown-together, he could at least tolerate them more than the Eltanin.

"... Alright, the four of you, into the backroom." The old man then leads the four inside as the dog barks. "... Oh fine, you can come in too."

The dog yips happily as it joins its master inside as he and the rest of the four begun their interview.

To Be Continued...

Support Conversations:

- Tsukiko and Karna (C):

Tsukiko: ... So, tou-san.

Karna: *looks at Tsukiko* What is it?

Tsukiko: *looks apprehensive* ... You know those times I spent as... you know, not myself? Me being the Seven Sages' attack dog and to be disposed of when they're through with me?

Karna: ... Yeah, that was a dick move on their part. I mean... when I took that plunge... I thought I'd never see you ever again. And alive for that matter.

Tsukiko: *snorts in amusement* ... Guess miracles do exist, huh?

Karna: I'm just grateful that I still held onto my dying will to live for long enough to see you again. Honestly... *sniffles a tear* ... I'm glad you held on, too.

Tsukiko: *chuckles* ... Like adopted daughter and father, huh, tou-san? We're both stubborn bastards that refuse to die when told to by others.

Karna: *rubs Tsukiko's hair affectionately* Only because I raised you right, pumpkin.

Tsukiko: *laughs being tickled at* I guess so!

*two share a laugh before sighing, laying on the ground and staring at the night sky*

Tsukiko: ... You know, I get the feeling that we didn't hang out enough as parent and child. And I don't mean fighting and murdering together as our "bonding activities." I mean like... normal stuff?

Karna: What do you got in mind?

Tsukiko: Dunno, tou-san. You mind helping me make a bucket list of things to do?

Karna: The whole world's our oyster, so we have all the time in the world... now where to start?

- Tsukiko and Topaz (C):

*Tsukiko is staring into a wall as Topaz sneaks up to her from behind*

Tsukiko: *singing off-key* The daruma doll has fallen down~!

*Tsukiko quickly turns around, Topaz stops in place as soon as she does*

Topaz: Try again.

*Tsukiko groans before turning back*

Tsukiko: *singing off-key* The daruma...!

*Topaz makes a break for it*

Tsukiko: *suddenly speeding up and turning around just as fast* -Hasfallendown!

*Topaz successfully freezes in place, now merely inches away from Tsukiko*

Topaz: Go ahead. Make my day.

Tsukiko: *groans* ... Let's just stop here for today.

*two girls then sit down on the ground across from each other*

Tsukiko: You never even heard of this game before, so how are you so good at it?!

Topaz: My work before coming to Fódlan required me to develop a patience of a saint. I'd say that I have more patience than those so-called Four Saints of Church of Seiros.

Tsukiko *sighs* Look, I get that you're an Assassin like me, or at least, raised as one, but how are you better at managing your footing and pacing better than me?! I mean, did the Seven Sages really retard me that badly?!

Topaz: Who knows. We kinda killed them before we could even ask.

*Tsukiko groans in disappointment as she lays her back on the ground*

Tsukiko: *covering her face in shame* ... Why did I press the issue of the Seven Sages making me dress like a cross between a clown and a whore of all things?!

Topaz: To be fair, it was rather concerning why they would go that far... but I digress.

*two girls stare into the sky in silence*

Topaz: *sighs* Nothing for it, I suppose. We're going to have to help you get your groove back.

Tsukiko: How, exactly?

Topaz: Another round of the "Daruma Doll Fell Down," please.

*Tsukiko groans*

- Tsukiko and Víðarr (C):

Tsukiko: *staring awkwardly* Hmm...

Víðarr: *staring back* Is something... on my face?

Tsukiko: *shakes her head* Nah, nothing of sort. Still can't believe that your face was super-fucked up before your rejuvenation. Is this how you really looked when you were a kid?

Víðarr: *struggling* Can't... remember much. All I know... my father name... Einar... and fire...!

Tsukiko: Oof, so sorry that I brought up shit... *sighs* Can't help but be curious, you know? You know, about our pasts and what things could've been like?

Víðarr: ... Why bother? We busy living... right now.

Tsukiko: True, but just imagine! What if... if we weren't born in a world where we lost everyone that we knew and love, living with them as a normal family? A world without gods or Dragons, but just mankind to deal with? What if we were just... normal people, living normal lives?

Víðarr: *looks genuinely confused* ... What is normal life like?

Tsukiko: *also looks confused* ... Shit.

Víðarr: ... You don't know... do you?

Tsukiko: *groans* You know what? You're right. I don't know. So wanna see how normal people live their lives to find out how?

Víðarr: *conflicted, but ultimately settles on an answer* ... Okay.

Author's Notes: And now, we've reached the end of the first arc, and OMG, I didn't mean to make it this massive.

Then again, I kept you readers waiting long enough, so here's something to chew on for the time spent waiting.

So while the Dustbin basically play their iteration of Monster Hunter Wilds, the Fódlan Survivors (faction name pending: please leave any suggestions or ideas regarding it in the comments) are not in the most ideal of conditions now that all social order has broken down, and those who listened to Karna's words before his and the Dustbin's departure from Fódlan had their brains broken to the point where even former commonfolk have become hardened bandits within WEEKS.

And those that didn't break or are in denial are in need of saving or on the fast track of getting wasted. And not to mention, "The Beast" being the one who is answered by all of the bandits in Faerghus ALONE like a sort of bandit-king/warlord. Wait until you see the rest of Fódlan's mess left behind that everyone else has to clean up after.

Speaking of the Dustbin, their time in Almyra is not exactly a clean sweep, mainly due to the whole "no Fódlander crap"-rule in order to maintain cover from Khalid/Claude's eyes, meaning no magic, magical weapons, or speaking Fódlander tongue while out and about. So while they're in Almyra, they have to fight handicapped due to the risk of spies catching wise of their activates.

Topaz/Taslima got lucky catching one before he could make a run for it. The again, she enjoys fast food, so everyone's a winner!

That said, Khalid, even though he lost the espionage game against Khawlah, he didn't exactly come out empty-handed, in that he figured out there's a worrying lack of information regarding Demonic Beasts and their origins besides what scant details were taught back at Garreg Mach. And Almyra is no better, since it's heavily implied that the existence of Demonic Beasts have faded into myth for the general populace.

And now said Demonic Beasts are showing up in Almyra, and said Almyra-endemic Demonic Beasts are fewer in number compared to Fódlan's population, but they make up for each individual monster being DEADLIER and harder to put down.

Chanchal wasn't so much as a "guest star party member" but more akin to an essential help. Doubly so with the whole "no Fódlander crap"-rule in place.

Silver lining, the Dustbin/Eltanin are now Silver-Rank, meaning that they're now more well-respected among the Almyran populace now. And Khalid/Claude bought into Karna's fake letter from "Lorenz" hook, line, and sinker.

The game is afoot, and about less than 300 days remain until the Amira's power grab...

And no, fem!Shez is not showing up anytime soon. Like male!Byleth being Byleth's dead brother, Belial, at best, she's dead. At worst, NONEXISTENT.

Tune in next time where the Dustbin/Eltanin finally enter the hard knocks of being a Silver-Rank sellswords as Fódlan becomes just as dangerous as Almyra during its downwards slide into HELL.

Until then!

OC Fancast:

- Chanchal "The Brave": Fairouz Ai (JPN), Corinne Sudberg (ENG)

- Gohar "The Adamant": Kenta Miyake (JPN), John Swasey (ENG)

- The Old Man's Second Wife: Nanako Mori (JPN), Alexis Tipton (ENG)

- The Old Man's First Daughter: Yui Ishikawa (JPN), Karen Strassman (ENG)

References:

- Dimitri and the rest of the "Fódlan Survivors" (proper faction name pending) scenario is one giant reference to Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (Dark Conflict in European and Australian releases), with the raiders and bandits answering to "The Beast," and the whole post-apocalypse setting brought upon by a meteor (with Karna himself being a slight reference to Sturm) being the setting of Days of Ruin in general.

- Aali's response to Karna role-playing as Hilda is a reference to Final Fantasy 7 Machinabridged, where Rufus replies to Cloud's crossdressing incident.

- The other named sellswords, Chanchal "The Brave" and Gohar "The Adamant" are each based on Metaphor: ReFantasio characters; the former being based on Catherine the "Bounty Queen" and the latter being based on Goddard the "Demo Man." The chewed-up sellsword that Khalid's spy accidently steps on is based on Milo the "Adonis."

- The Almyran-endemic Demonic Beast, the Manticore, is based on the mythological creature from Persian mythology, and it's general appearance is based on the Doshaguma from Monster Hunter Wilds, with the tail of the Nargacuga, including the fact that it can shoot out its quills, and its ability to dig through the sands being a reference to the Monoblos and Diablos. It's "Rage Mode" is based on Monster Hunter Rise's Goss Harag (behavior) and Sunbreak's Lunagaron (standing upright).

- The Manticore's entrance scene is based on the scene from Michael Bay's Transformers (2007) movie, where Scorponok erupts out of the sands to pursue/kill "witnesses."

- The gambit where Baki (Byron) threw Vasim (Víðarr) is based on Colossus and Wolverine's combo move, the "Fastball Special." Later on, the former performs one of Raphael's special moves he used in Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes to stun the Manticore from range.

- Going off the old man's Grius-inspiration, his second wife and first daughter respectively are based on Fabienne and Maria from Metaphor: ReFantasio.

- Khalid/Claude's personally-endorsed sellswords, appearance-wise, are based on Project Re:Fantasy/Metaphor: ReFantasio Beta version character concept arts, with the group comprising of, a young Assassin with a canine companion (beta Will w/dog companion based on Koromaru from Persona 3, only now an IRL albino Basenji breed of hunting dogs), a female Warrior (beta Hulkenberg), the long-haired and shirtless Grappler (beta Strohl, although that in itself is implied), and an eyepatched and bald Fortress Knight (beta Grius).

- Tsukiko and Topaz's Support Conversation is a reference to a real-life children's game variant of "Red Light, Green Light," only in a Japanese context, "The Daruma Doll Has Fallen Down."

... And as this fic's feature, at the end of every arc, there will an Epilogue Section on how rest of Fódlan's been doing!

Enjoy!

"Hey...!" a former page of Garreg Mach, Pit, heaved out as he walked behind Saints Cichol (formerly Seteth) and Cethleann (formerly Flayn) as the three trudged through the corpse-strewn shores of Rhodos Coast. "... Not all of us... have long legs... or centuries' worth of stamina behind me!"

"We specifically warned you, Pit!" the older of the Saints remarked. "That this journey would be a tumultuous one!"

Cethleann shudders at the frozen visages of the dead as she walked past by, the whole hellish scene rivaling that of the one from the War of Heroes over a millennia ago. "... Indeed," she commented as she swallowed her fear. "... Your courage is admirable, young Pit. So show us that it's not mere bluster!"

The ex-page groans as he trudges through the sands sewn with death. "... Who could've done all this?!"

"Hard to say." Cichol then looked at the piers... or the charred remains of them, the boats docking them being nowhere near. "... Someone really doesn't want anyone leaving Fódlan when they took all the boats with them... cowards."

Soon enough, after crossing through the shores of Rhodos Coast, the three head up towards the misty plateau hanging above their heads, slowly making their way though the foggy forest before arriving at a lakeside shrine with a large pedestal waiting at the end.

"Is that it...?!" Pir asked as saw the shadow at the end of the fog move slightly. "... The 'Lord of the Lake'?"

"Indeed." Cichol nods as they all march through the path up ahead, passing through even more bodies that were in varying states of being pummeled, mulched, and hacked, presumably each other or by the "Lord of the Lake" himself. "... Best not to keep him waiting."

The silhouette of the main shrine grew bigger as they drew themselves closer. But as they did, the fog became thicker and the ambiance ever more suffocating, to the point where Pit was hyperventilating.

"... Hang in there." Cethleann then helps the young page back up to his feet. "We're almost here."

And the moment their feet reached the first steps of the pedestal, the fog around the figure clears, revealing a massive, turtle-like dragon that completely eclipsed over them with its shadow alone.

Pit tried not to faint before the Lord of the Lake's awesome majesty, but as soon as the Dragon lowered its head towards his eye level, the ex-page promptly pisses himself before fainting.

"... Oh dear," Cethleann grimaces. "So sorry, Uncle Indech. He bears no ill will."

The now-revealed Saint Indech sighs. "... No offense taken." He then turns towards Saint Cichol. "... Brother."

"As much as I like to catch up myself, brother, we have more pressing matters to discuss." Cichol then prepares to explain what the actual FUCK happened while his brother was sleeping away in his shrine.

"You mean like those three people behind you?" the turtle-Dragon pointed out, causing both Cichol and Cethleann to immediately pull out their weapons to confront their stalkers.

"WHOA! WHOA! CHILL!" An armored figure with their hands raised up comes out as Saint Cichol pointed his [Spear of Assal] towards the figure as Saint Cethleann trained her [Magic Bow] at the ready. "... We come in peace."

"Take off your helmet or I'll shoot through it," the young Saint warned as the armored figure then collapses their helmet, revealing a mop of magenta-red flowing down from the woman's head. "... ANNA?!"

The revealed Sniper sheepishly smiles as Shez and Miklan come out of the fog with their hands up. "... The one and only."

Cichol retained his weapon at the three. "... What are you doing here, Miklan?!"

"Surviving, like everyone else," he answered, to which Shez nods. "Now that the Flame Emperor ate shit, we're practically on our own."

"Spare me your sob story and give me a reason why I shouldn't kill you here and now!" the older Saint order as Shez then opens up their chest, revealing a [Crest Stone] bearing the [Light Dragon Sign].

Cethleann's own Crest that had been stolen from her months ago, causing the original owner of the sigil to begin feeling a tempest of emotions of both relief and pure RAGE.

"Why. Do. You. Have. My. Niece's. CREST?!" Saint Indech's voice boomed like a powder keg, the fog clearing out temporarily from the force of his roar alone.

"... Look, we kinda had to take several detours due to bandits gumming up every known footpath with barricades, costing us several weeks' worth of travel to get here," Anna explained. "As for why... we sort of banked on you guys... coming here."

"... Why?" Cichol's voice was ice-cold in its seething fury from a father that had to watch his daughter get violated in the worst way possible. "... What, more, DO YOU WISH TO TAKE FROM HER?!"

"... Funny thing about that," Anna countered, using her merchant's silver tongue to get them through this jam alive. "... We're actually here to bring Miss Cethleann's Crest back. And we could kinda use your guys' input."

"EVERYONE! FOLLOW ME!"

On the trail leading away from another burning village, Dimitri led the survivors of another raid, but this time, he and his group had actual help.

"I couldn't have done it without your help, Your Highness," the Armored Knight replied as she marched alongside with her people.

"We help those in need and those we can help, Viscountess Enid," the Prince answered earnestly. "I'm just grateful that you held on long enough for us to arrive."

The noblewoman forced to take up arms sighs in melancholy. "I wish the same could be said for others," she commented. "My fellow nobles either being felled by their own people gone insane or have become despots to preserve a title that no longer means anything... At times, I doubted that what I was even fighting for... until you came."

She then looks back at her people, now being guarded by a contingency of Prince Dimitri's coalition of volunteer forces led by Dedue and Ingrid, while those unable to fight due to injury or age being healed by Mercedes and treated by Annette. For a haphazardly put-together force, it was solid and organized like an actual army.

"Where there's life, there is hope." Then the road ahead begins to choke up with thick white fog. "... Curses, our sight has been impeded!"

Annette then casts [Wind] to clear out the fog, but more just replaced the cleared out spot. "No good."

Mercedes then lights a [Torch], but a single light wasn't enough to light their way though. "We don't have enough!"

"EVERYONE!" Dedue barked out. "STICK TOGETHER AND DON'T TAKE YOUR EYES OFF THOSE IN FRONT OF YOU! THOSE WHO CANNOT WALK GO ON THE CARTS! CHILDREN AND THE ELDERLY TAKE PRIORITY! LINK UP YOUR ARMS AND MARCH SLOWLY AND CAREFULLY TO NOT GET SEPERATED!"

"Take this." Dimitri then hands Ingrid a lit [Torch]. "Fly ahead of us and see if there are anything up ahead."

"Yes, Your Highness!" The Falcon Knight then flies ahead, sort of lighting the way forwards as everyone makes their methodical march forward.

As they trudge the foggy road ahead, the fog continued getting thicker and thicker to the point where no one could see anything inches away from their eyesight, causing some to panic.

"DON'T LOSE HEART!" Dimitri cried out. "KEEP MOVING FORWARD!"

With their leader's rallying cry, the herd persists. As the light on Ingrid's [Torch] petered out, she instead whistles to keep everyone on track, keeping their spirits up and leading a way forward.

Soon enough, everyone was walking without illumination, but Ingrid's signals via her whistle kept up the spirits of everyone following her Dimitri.

"... The fog is unnaturally thick," Dimitri thought out loud. "... In fact, it's too thick to be natural."

Then, a certain thought passed.

"... Magic."

Dimitri then rides ahead towards Ingrid. "Yes, Your Highness?"

"There might be work of magic nearby," he theorized. "Tread with caution. We do not know what lies ahead."

The Falcon Knight then flies ahead with her Pegasi, still whistling as she flew through the thick blanket of white until spotting a shadowy lump ahead.

Ingrid the flies in closer, spotting lanterns hanging on intact buildings. She then quickly flies back towards where Dimitri was.

"There's a village nearby!" she informed. "We can take temporary refuge there!"

"And the likelihood of bandits?" asked Viscountess Enid.

"No smell of blood or ash, so at worst, its completely deserted," the Falcon Knight reported.

"Then that's where we'll go." Dimitri then turns his horse around towards his people. "EVERYONE! SANCUTARY LIES AHEAD! MAINTAIN COURSE AND ENSURE NO ONE GETS LEFT BEHIND!"

"STEADY!" Dedue barked as the speed of the march accelerated, slowly making it toward the phantom village before seeing wisps of light up ahead.

"Salvation!" one of the villagers cried out.

"We're almost there, everyone!" Mercedes cried out.

"Slow and steady! We got this!" Annette encourages as everyone finally makes it into the village, the fog miraculously clearing out by itself. "We did it-!"

"Who goes there?!" Dimitri then pulls out his [Silver Lance] as Dedue with his [Silver Axe], the group now found themselves surrounded by Warlocks living in said village.

"Please!" plead Dimitri. "We come in peace-!"

"Prince?!"

The fog clears up, revealing former Duke Rodrigue Achille Fraldarius and Count Gunnar Galatea found among the crowd of defenders, along with the entire student body (of four) of the Ashen Wolves and ex-Cardinal Aelfric.

"... Father?!" Ingrid cried out.

Immediately, Gunnar puts his [Silver Lance] down. "EVERYONE! PUT YOUR WEAPONS DOWN! THEY'RE NOT BANDITS!"

The situation quickly deescalates as everyone in Dimitri's group let out a sigh of relief while the Warlocks native to this village walk away as if nothing happened. Once all that was said and done, Ingrid wastes no time hugging her father.

"... Father," she sniffled as Gunnar embraced his daughter.

"I'm here," he answered reassuringly. "... I'm here."

"Your Highness!" Rodrigue then runs up towards Dimitri before taking a knee. "Forgive me for my rashness prior!"

"Water under the bridge, Duke Fraldarius," the Prince replied as he looked around. "... Where are we?"

"I think you should let me explain." Then from behind one of the buildings, a quirky-looking minstrel walks out, to which Annette immediately recognized, much to his dismay. "Oh hell-"

The Warlock immediately tackle-hugs him down to the dirt, a mixed surge of worry and relief flooding her heart as of now. "... You idiot! Where were you this whole time?!"

Aelfric nervously chuckles. "... Shall I be the one to explain, then? For convenience's sake?"

"Knock yourself out." Hapi then walked away from the group with the rest of the Ashen Wolves following her.

"Tell us," Dedue asked, still keeping his guard up around the phantom village's native inhabitants. "Where are we?"

The former Cardinal sighs before revealing the location of their hidden location.

"... Welcome to the secret village of Timotheos," he revealed. "Probably the last safe place in all of Fódlan."

In hindsight, Bernadetta von Varley herself knew that critical-thinking skills wasn't her strong suit, but her most recent action took the preverbal cake.

Running back to her home estate in probably the most isolated and cut-off patch of land in all of the Adrestian Empire, on FOOT, for over a month with little food or water, wasn't her smartest idea.

It's actually a miracle that she lived, let alone reach her home within said month.

But reality itself had to be a total bitch. All of the inhabitants have fled Country Varley with whatever they can take with them, including the things that were in said manor that she planned to spend the last of her days locked in.

Now, for over a week and a half, she had been living in complete squalor in her raided and looted manor, with various pest animals cohabiting with her as her sole witnesses, her hair now a complete mess, her skin marred with dirt and other kinds of filth, and the only clean clothes she had left were here wedding dress that her Lord Father planned for her to wear during her "big day" that she had no say in, let alone, anything.

Oh the fucking irony being reduced to wearing the clothes that her spineless coward of a father picked out for her. "... I need a drink."

She'd subsisted on nothing but old caskets of wine she found in the basement and other rotten food that had about 40-50% chance of regurgitating within the next hour.

Honestly, she didn't care anymore. She stopped caring long ago after she and everyone else in Fódlan witnessed Count Varley get mulched to ground meat by Karna.

The Devil of Fódlan.

All she wanted to do was die, but she no longer had the will to even walk off a ledge for a quick death, so she simply settles for slowly and painfully rotting away alone instead.

It's what she deserved, that's what she thought, every, damn, fucking, day.

But as she stumbled down into the cellar, the barrels had now gone dry, to which she instead throws down her goblet in a childlike tantrum, an impotent sign of her own despair.

"I'm so thirsty..." she whined as Bernadetta crawled out of the basement. "... I seriously hope that the well is poisoned."

Trudging herself out of her own manor, staining her white dress with even more mud, the suicidal hermit makes her way to the village's well and look down, spotting fetid waters below.

Without a word, she then dunks the bucket and pulls out a pail full of swampy, undrinkable water.

She partook in the filthy cocktail without batting an eye, now feeling her stomach churn wildly, begging for mercy.

"Shut up...!" she sniffled as she begins punching herself in the chest. "SHUT UP! HURRY UP AND DIE ALREADY! I DON'T CARE ANYMORE! I DON'T CARE! ANYMORE!"

Losing all of her inhibitions, she begins bashing her head against the stone well's edge, repeatedly.

"SHUT UP AND DIE! SHUT UP AND DIE! SHUT UP AND DIE-!"

Then her chest begins BURNING.

"Yes... YES!" she rapturously cheered as she could feel her body finally expire. "Thank you...! THANK YOU FOR BRINGING MY SUFFERING TO AND END-!"

The last words of one Bernadetta von Varley was cut off with a shrill-ear piercing howl akin to that of a Demonic Beast's roar.

Her body thrashes about the town square, bumping her body building off of building like a thrown ball, her torso stretching and her arms elongating. Her back bulging and her legs twisting into opposite directions of its prior articulations.

She could feel nothing but PAIN. And it brought her joy.

At last...! Her body violently shuddered and quake in on itself, gazing into the warped reflection of her own face cast from the spilled fetid water no longer resembling that of a human being. I... AM... FREEEEEE!

The desolate lands of County Varley is now completely deserted of human beings.