"English?" Emilia asked. "What's that?"
"It's a language from my world!" Subaru gasped.
"That's the language you spoke?"
"No, I… well, yes… I mean… kind of," Subaru said, struggling to gather his thoughts that were suddenly dashing in every direction like leaves in a whirlwind.
Emilia squinted at him. "That didn't explain very much, Subaru," Emilia criticized.
"I mean, it's not the language that I spoke natively but it is a language that I knew about. We had to study it when I was in school."
Emilia 's eyes lit up. "Then you can speak it?"
"Not to save my life," Subaru admitted. "I was terrible at speaking it. But I might be able to read a little if I…"
Subaru triggered Reason and Judgment .
Subaru stared at the carved message for a moment and then let his mind drift back to a classroom long ago.
You were at best an indifferent student of languages, A voice whispered. Fortunately, at one point out of sheer boredom in a seemingly unending class, you flipped through the entire workbook, including the vocabulary section.
Subaru analyzed the message for a moment and then slipped out of Reason and Judgment .
"If you… what?" Emilia asked.
Subaru frowned. "I can't read all of it. I don 't know all the words. But I think that I've got the gist of the message," He said.
"What does it say?" Emilia asked excitedly.
Subaru cleared his throat. "'I made this. When the people cried out for succor in the dry desert, I fulfilled their prayers. I made these…'" Subaru squinted at the message. "I don't know this word, um… ' dryads , '" He sounded it out. "'I made these walkers to shape the land with their footsteps. I brought great…,'" He hesitated and sounded the words out. "'Great… Birnam Wood to high … Dunsinane hill ….'"
"What does that mean?"
"I have no idea," Subaru confessed. "From the context, I'm guessing that they're the names of places but I don't know where they are or what they refer to. And then there's just… a weird list below that: 'Pride, Wrath, Despair, Sloth, Lust, Gluttony, Greed, and Vainglory.'"
"A list of the sins?" Emilia asked in surprise.
"I guess so. But I'd never heard of 'Despair' or 'Vainglory' being on the list before," Subaru replied. "And I have no idea what that list has to do with the message anyway. The last line just says: 'I glorify the Unconquerable Sun, the creator of light.'"
"What does that mean?"
"No clue," Subaru answered.
"That's such a strange message," Emilia murmured.
"I know. So someone… made these trees? Why? And for what? Was this some mage's solution to trees not being able to grow in the dry desert around here? Creating a forest that would follow the water? Seems like kind of an over-engineered solution to a simple problem."
"I have no idea," Emilia said. She turned her face away and thought hard for a moment. "Subaru, weren't there only eight lines below that message?"
Subaru quickly glanced back at the list of sins. "Yeah. Not counting that line about the sun," He amended.
"So… there are seven sins," Emilia said, thinking hard. "And they added two to the list that we've never heard of."
"So?" Subaru asked.
Emilia looked at him incredulously. "So… aren't we still one sin short? " She prompted.
Subaru blinked and spun around, staring up at the writing again. "You're right," He said finally. "'Envy' isn't on the list…"
"What does that mean?"
He laughed. "I have no idea, " Subaru said honestly.
Emilia frowned. "Maybe she was removed from the list after all the damage that she did during the Great Cataclysm."
"No!" Subaru scoffed.
"What do you mean?"
"That happened just four hundred years ago!" Subaru said. "You said yourself that these trees are way older than that! That message was carved in the base of the trunk and the bark must be harder than stone. I bet the message that we just read has got to be thousands of years old!"
Subaru blinked. "Wait a second. What the fuck ?! " He whispered to himself.
"Subaru?"
Subaru didn 't answer. He stared at the tree, shaking his head. "That's impossible. That's absolutely impossible. There's no way that makes any sense…" He muttered.
"Subaru, what's wrong?!"
"Maybe we're wrong," He whispered to himself. "Maybe the trees are from a time after the Great Cataclysm but everyone dated them incorrectly."
"No," Emilia said immediately. "The books that I read all say that the trees are thousands of years old. The trees certainly long predate the Great Cataclysm but that doesn't mean that all of the messages do."
Subaru looked aghast.
Emilia 's face grew frightened. "Subaru, what's going on?" Emilia repeated. "Why does it matter how old that tree is?"
Subaru took a deep breath. "It matters because English isn't that old," He said.
"Huh?"
"Modern English as a language only goes back about five hundred years. And even then, I really shouldn't be able to read it. The vocabulary and the grammar have changed a lot since then. These words should be spelled completely differently if they were five hundred years old. Hell, I bet that some of the words that the message used didn't even exist five hundred years ago."
"But… the message is supposed to be thousands of years old," Emilia frowned.
Subaru nodded. "That means that we have a message that's at least twice as old as the language it 's written in…"
Emilia stared at him. "Subaru, that doesn't make any sense."
"I know," He muttered.
He was quiet for a long time.
Patrasche gave a honk of protest.
Subaru jumped and looked down at the irate dragon who was moving to avoid a group of saplings coming toward them. Subaru realized that Patrasche was running full speed to keep up with the gigantic walking tree.
Subaru winced, "Sorry, girl," He said, guiding Patrasche away from the largest trees and stopping her in a spot with less traffic so that she could catch her breath.
Emilia stared at him in concern. She didn 't understand why but something was clearly bothering him about this message.
"Subaru," Emilia said. "How could this message be older than the language its written in? And what is a message in a language from your world doing here?"
"I have no idea," He admitted.
As the pair stood there and Patrasche slowly caught her breath, the forest began to move on without them.
Subaru took a deep breath. "We should probably keep heading north. Maybe if we're lucky, we can reach Kyo tonight."
"Alright," Emilia said quietly, sensing that he was still upset about the message for some reason. "Thank you for taking me here, Subaru."
"No problem," Subaru said distractedly, as Patrasche trotted out of the forest.
"Personally, I think that this one would be striking against your hair, Lady Crusch," Anastasia gushed, showing her an amethyst hair clip. "You'll be the belle of next week's ball with this. And I have a beautiful qipao made of Tyrian silk that you simply have to try on!"
Crusch inspected the bauble with a critical eye.
That afternoon, the pair sat on the top floor of a restaurant owned by Anastasia. Since it had been a while since lunch and there were hours yet until dinner, they had the entire floor to themselves.
Almost to themselves.
A crashing sound came from the stairway.
The ladies watched as Ricardo, the captain of Anastasia 's personal mercenaries, carried a weedy little man past the door by the scruff of his neck. Ricardo was a towering demi-human with the face of a wolf and who seemed to be made of nothing but muscle.
"What?!" The weedy man yelped. "Hey, I'm just looking for the bathroom!"
Ricardo snorted. "And I've already shown you where it is! Twice! You 're out of here!"
Ricardo carried the struggling man down the stairs.
"Hey! Get your hands off me, you mutt! I have friends in high places!" The man protested.
"Yeah? Well, they're not here right now, are they? I am," Riccardo growled.
Crusch and Anastasia listened patiently as they heard Ricardo drag the protesting man to the front door and fling him out in the street.
Then they heard the door slam shut.
"Hm," Anastasia sniffed. "It took him long enough!"
All trace of Anastasia 's former bubbliness had faded, replaced with a cold and business-like demeanor.
The merchant princess shook her head in disgust. "For all that damn fool knows, we could have been sitting up here and plotting the overthrown of the kingdom and he wouldn't have heard a darn thing!"
"I suppose that we should be grateful," Crusch mused, handing the amethyst hair clip back to Anastasia without a second glance. "If this really is the caliber of the agents that Montefort and the others have set to watch us."
"Willard Pickett begrudges every copper that he spends," Anastasia said in a voice of contempt. "I'm certain that he doesn't want to bother watching us at all but the others insisted. As far as Pickett is concerned, he has us right where he wants us."
"And I look forward to disproving that ridiculous fallacy," Crusch growled. "But we can't assume that we have much time until we're being watched again. What have you learned?"
"Priscilla has just flat-out disappeared," Anastasia answered. "She vanished the same night that we last spoke to her. Her townhouse was ransacked by thugs and the servants were roughed up something fierce. Nobody seems to know where she is now."
Crusch 's face was grim. "I didn't think Montefort would strike out at her so quickly. It's unfortunate. I can't honestly say that I ever liked her but our list of allies is growing very thin right now."
Anastasia shook her head. "I doubt that Montefort killed her, " Anastasia corrected. "There's still a large price for information about her whereabouts and finding her is apparently high up on the kingdom's list of priorities."
"A poise to conceal his culpability?" Crusch suggested.
Anastasia snorted. "Why would he bother at this point? They 're not playing games anymore, Crusch! Besides, he's squandering an awful lot of resources on this 'poise.' Resources that he could definitely use more profitably to try and deal with the surge of riots and demonstrations sweeping all the way across Lagunica!"
Crusch digested that. "Alright," She acknowledged. "If Priscilla is still alive then where is she? "
"I've got no idea," Anastasia admitted. "I've instructed all the senior operatives of my company to keep an eye out for Priscilla and to assist her if they happen to cross paths but nothing so far. Remember, Priscilla is incredibly lucky and she's much more clever than she lets on. It wouldn't surprise me if she's managed to go to ground. She's probably out there looking for Subaru Natsuki right now."
Or she 's already found him and he not only rejected her offer of an alliance but fed her to the witch, Crusch thought grimly.
Crusch decided not to mention this suspicion to Anastasia. "I don't suppose…" She began slowly.
"No. I'm sorry, Crusch, dear," Anastasia shook her head. "I've told my information network and all my agents that finding Felix is the top priority but there's been no information about him to be had."
Crusch drove her nails into her palm, fighting to keep her expression calm and unemotional.
"Have you brought this little matter to the Lagunican Intelligence service?" Anastasia asked. "I thought that you had some connections with them."
Crusch scowled. "The Minister of Intelligence is now in Montefort's employ," She grated.
Anastasia 's eyes widened. " That is seriously bad news, Crusch. Are you sure? "
Crusch nodded. "Absolutely. Heikel Astrea was attacked a few days ago. His carriage and his family sword were stolen."
Anastasia frowned. "Sorry, Crusch, but I don't think that I'm seeing the connection here," She admitted.
Crusch sighed. "He was likely on his way to Agante to spend his holiday drinking, gambling, and whoring when he was robbed. But he refused to admit to that so he made up some ridiculous story about how he 'd been combing the area for bandits and renegades with a group of guards in his employ and he was attacked by Vollachian nationals."
Anastasia 's jaw dropped. "That's insane! What the hell is the point of that kind of tall tale? He could never hope to back up that story! What was he thinking? "
"Heikel is dumb, bitter, and usually drunk, enough said," Crusch said dismissively.
"So you obviously didn't believe this story," Anastasia said.
Crusch flushed. "Actually, embarrassingly, when I first heard about it, I swallowed it whole," She admitted.
Anastasia 's eyebrows climbed to her hairline but she was too polite to say anything.
Crusch shook her head. "Sir Reinhard brought the matter to my attention. I wasn't skeptical because I have great respect for Sir Reinhard's integrity. Also, he's by far the worst liar that I've ever met," She said flatly. "Sir Reinhard sought me out in good faith and thus, he managed to persuade me."
"Alright," Anastasia said slowly.
"I arranged a hearing to discuss the matter before the Sages' Council. Before the hearing had even started, I saw Heikel castigating his son for telling me about the incident. That was my first hint that something wasn't quite right. Heikel sent his son off on some ludicrous errand, likely to prevent him from repeating anything in front of the council but it didn't take much questioning for me to figure out that the entire story was made up. After that, I decided to just play along and take the opportunity to teach Montefort and the others to underestimate me. At least, I managed to find an excuse to punch Heikel in the face, so the hearing wasn't a total loss," Crusch mused.
Anastasia snorted with laughter.
"In any case," Crusch continued, "Minister Algiers decided to back up Heikel's story. I wasn't sure why at the time. I think that he was just trying to embezzle money from the kingdom. That was my first hint I couldn't trust him. I spoke to him after the hearing. I told him how concerned I was about the 'dead soldiers' and that they should be given a proper burial. Despite the hearing being over, he continued to feign to believe that the bodies were out there."
"In all fairness, Crusch, dear," Anastasia pointed out, "He might think of that as more lying to the kingdom than lying to you."
"A distinction that I do not recognize!" Crusch snapped. She took a deep breath. "But I understand that others do," She admitted. "So I tested him. I asked Algiers if he thought that the threat from the south was sufficient that I should forebear from searching for Felix in order to prepare for it."
Anastasia 's face was grim. "A simple question that would cost him absolutely nothing to support your interests over Montefort 's," Anastasia interpreted.
Crusch nodded. "You can guess what he said. I thought that I had earned his respect and gratitude by not only placing him as Minister of Intelligence but by lobbying to create the position for him in the first place. It seems that I was wrong."
"True friends are scarce these days, Crusch, dear," Anastasia replied.
"Are you finding traitors in your faction as well?" Crusch asked.
"My faction may be full of holes at the moment but my business is rock solid," Anastasia sniffed. "Most of my senior employees have been with me for years. I rescued some of them from the slums. Pickett isn't having much luck making inroads in the Hoshin Trading Company. He's simply too cheap to subvert any of my people. But I'm having some good luck with his!"
Crusch blinked. "Really?"
Anastasia smirked. "Unlike you, Crusch, I don't need to worry about ties of honor and obligation or about people thinking that they're working for the greater good. Subverting a merchant is all about money. Once you make the best offer, they're completely on your team."
Crusch made a face. "I suppose that is promising then. With Algiers working against us, we can 't rely on any information from the Intelligence service being accurate."
"You must have a few connections in the service that you can trust," Anastasia argued.
Crusch rocked her hand back and forth. "Even ignoring Algiers, I suspect that Montefort has managed to infiltrate the service with a few key members of his own faction. Remember, Montefort is extremely confident that I won 't be able to find Felix. He's literally gambling his life on that fact. As soon as I rescue Felix, I won't be taking Montefort to trial. I'll deal with him right then and there."
Anastasia smiled. "I could sell tickets to that particular execution."
Crusch nodded. "This means that Montefort is certain that, in spite of all my resources and connections, I won't be able to locate Felix. This concerns me greatly. As much as I loathe the traitor, Montefort is extremely clever and not at all apt toward taking risks without a solid expectation of victory. All that I can think of to justify his confidence is that he's managed to sink his claws deep into the Lagunican Intelligence Service and perhaps into my own personal network of informants as well. That way he can screen out any information that he doesn't want me to have. This is why I'm relying on your assistance, Anastasia."
Anastasia nodded. "Believe me, girl, nothing would give me greater pleasure than to tell you to go to town on Montefort and Pickett with that pretty little sword of yours. If there's any way that I can help find your knight, I'll do exactly that." She hesitated. "You know something, I wonder if maybe Algiers hasn't done us a favor…"
Crusch cocked her head in confusion.
"Well, we know that Algiers is plotting against us now," Anastasia explained. "He may not be willing to tell us where Felix is but how likely do you think it is that he doesn't know?"
Crusch mulled that over. "Are you suggesting that we torture it out of him?" She asked dubiously.
Dishonorable conduct in the extreme but perhaps that 's what the situation demands…
Anastasia shook her head. "No, not exactly. Not unless we get desperate," She said matter-of-factly. "Attacking one of Montefort's pawns is an open signal that we're trying to get to him. And your knight and mine would pay the price for that."
"Then what are you saying?"
"Felix's location must be in the Intelligence office somewhere," Anastasia pointed out. "All we need to do is find it."
Crusch frowned. "But we have no idea where it is. Besides, us breaking into the Intelligence office would be a stronger declaration of war than a frontal assault on Algiers himself."
"Only if we get caught," Anastasia winked. "We just need to make sure that we steal enough random information that Algiers and the rest think that the break-in was done by a foreign power."
Crusch frowned and thought about it. "The idea has merit," She admitted. "But it would also be very dangerous. Also, I don't know about you, Anastasia, but I am not an experienced burglar! "
"I have some experience," Anastasia said blandly.
Crusch blinked.
"Truthfully, Mimi, Tivey, and Hetaro are the best burglars that I know. Mimi is locked up but her brothers could probably handle the job if we can find enough information to plan the heist first. Especially if they know that doing it might help us rescue their sister."
Crusch nodded. "Maybe," She admitted. "Again, I think that this is very risky."
Anastasia nodded. "I understand. I'm not saying that we'll do it now. It's just nice to have a plan B if nothing else works. In the meantime, I'll use every resource that I have to try and find Felix."
Crusch took a deep breath. "Thank you, Anastasia. I know that we haven't always-"
Crusch heard footsteps on the stairs and Anastasia 's eyes snapped to the door. Crusch stopped talking.
Ricardo appeared at the door and gave Anastasia a grim look and then shut the door.
By the soft 'thud' Crusch heard, he had apparently set his back to it.
"More folks have come to the restaurant. And Ricardo doesn't like the look of them. We need to wrap this up," Anastasia said. "We can't talk openly much longer."
Crusch nodded.
Julius walked by the cell that afternoon to check on Beatrice and Mimi but he made sure not to approach too closely. He didn 't dare demonstrate any abnormal regard for them or he would most certainly be taken off their guard detail.
After confirming that the two were awake and in relatively good condition, he descended down the tower to the refectory for the evening meal.
"Julius Juukulius!" A harsh voice rang out as he passed the guard barracks.
Julius paused and glanced at the desk of the tower clerk who had called out to him. "Yes?" He asked in a measured tone.
"Mail from your brother," The clerk said in a bored tone. He handed him the package.
Julius 's face brightened. Joshua has written to me? At last, some good news even in this dire and morose situation.
Julius walked away, opening the package and reading the missive.
He immediately frowned.
Dear Beatrice, He read.
I was most distressed to hear about your sojourn inside Torgon Tower. I speak from experience when I say that the head researcher and his lackeys are terrible magic researchers at the best of times and often cross the line into sheer incompetence and sadism during the course of their research. I can not imagine that you and darling Puck are enjoying your stay.
Despite our differences, we once shared a unique bond due to my reverence for my beloved teacher. With this thought in mind, I have reached into my collection and sent you one of my treasures.
I am certain that you and Puck will know what to do with it.
Please remember to mention to young Subaru whom it was that facilitated your departure from these trying circumstances.
-Roswaal M. Mathers
Julius read the letter twice. Lord Roswaal has sent something to Miss Beatrice? And it is something that could permit them to escape?
Why would he have sent this to me? I suppose that he did so to avoid detection but how could Lord Roswaal know of my allegiance to Miss Beatrice and that I would give her this item rather than confiscate it or alert the Warden?
I thought that I had been both circumspect and careful in my efforts to aid Miss Mimi and the spirits but if Roswaal is aware of my actions then perhaps I have been neither.
Or is Roswaal simply assuming that I would attempt to save Miss Mimi and that an alliance with Miss Beatrice would be reached as a natural aspect of this plan?
Julius quickly looked up and down the corridor to confirm that he was alone. Then he opened the package and pulled out a most confusing object.
It looked a little like a golden Swiss army knife fused with a bottle opener. It was long and slender and had a dozen strange, sharp, metal protuberances jutting out of its body.
Julius turned it around and around in his hands but try as he might, he could discern no purpose to the thing at all.
I have no idea what this device could possibly be used for but perhaps this is not surprising as I have no formal training in magic beyond what I have learned from my dear spirit companions. I am certain that Miss Beatrice will have some insight into what this device is.
I will show it to her late this evening when I am on patrol. For now, I must get down to the refectory and eat my meal. This night of all nights, I should do absolutely nothing out of the ordinary that might attract attention or arouse suspicion.
That night, Subaru and Emilia made camp by a small watering hole north of the plateau. The watering hole was barely more than a puddle but any water in this dry prairie was noteworthy. Bathing was out of the question but at least they managed to refill their canteens.
However, there was enough water to do some cooking and Emilia was determined to cook some of the food that Otto had provided them with.
Subaru was trying and failing to keep a grin off his face. "Is there anything that I can do to help, Mili?" He asked solicitously.
Emilia stared at the bubbling pot with an intensity worthy of a chemist working with explosives. "I'm fine, Subaru. Just let me finish making dinner."
"Yes, dear," Subaru said, trying not to laugh.
"-And then she screamed, 'Koh, please! Stop! You're killing me!'" Koh said. "'One more orgasm will leave me a cripple!'"
"Wow!" Garfiel whispered with wide eyes. "That's amazing! You've been with so many women!"
Felt just looked bored. "Yeah. Little known fact," She said in a deadpan voice. "Women love to pause in the middle of sex and just scream about how amazing the man fucking us is. As far as love-making goes, we 're really just along for the ride."
Garfiel looked at Felt in confusion and Koh laughed.
Felt, Garfiel, and Koh sat around a campfire in the southwestern Kararagi prairie. Priscilla had already gone to sleep in the wagon.
Koh had been telling stories of his legendary prowess in the bedroom and his countless escapades with women for most of the night.
Oh, brother. I 'm used to listening to guys show off by exaggerating all the sex that they've had but this guy is really pushing it! Felt thought. With all of the stories that he 's told us, he must have nailed a third of the ladies on the continent by now!
What 's even worse is that Garf is clearly swallowing all of these dumb stories whole! A few more of these and I'm worried that he'll start to take notes, looking for moves that will help him score with Ram.
If the big dummy tries any of these asinine tricks with her, the twins are going to put him in a full-body cast for six months!
Koh dumped the ashes out of his pipe and began to repack it. "Maybe when all this is over you two can visit me in Kyo. I know some lovely ladies that I could use help entertaining."
"Awesome!" Garfiel cheered.
Felt rolled her eyes. "Yeah. How exciting," Felt said flatly. "I don't have enough girlfriends , you know. "
"Don't worry, little lady. I'm sure that we can find you some exciting companionship for the night too," Koh reassured her.
Felt rolled her eyes, "Be still my beating heart," She muttered.
"Is your home in Kyo?" Garfiel asked.
"Yeah. That's where I usually live these days," Koh puffed on his pipe.
"I thought that the Alliance didn't have a major presence in Kararagi," Felt said.
Koh briefly looked around as if to ensure that they wouldn 't be overheard even out here in this barren desert. "The Alliance has a presence everywhere," Koh said meaningfully. "There are far more of us than most people think. But you're right, Kararagi isn't a hotbed of activity for the Alliance. That's why I live out here. "
"Huh?" Garfiel said.
Koh puffed on his pipe. "War and rebellion are a young man's game," He said in an oddly dour voice. "This old man has fought his battles. I don't mind helping out the kids here and there but I'm just too old to change the world. These days, I just want to rest…"
Felt frowned. For a second there, Koh sounded like a completely different person …
"You keep saying that," Garfiel said. "But you really don't look that old."
Koh chuckled. "War ages a man. Sex does not. Wise men say that having physical contact on a regular basis can extend your life."
"In that case," Felt grumbled. "You ought to outlast granite."
Koh laughed.
"Tell us another story!" Garfiel said eagerly.
Koh grinned around his pipe. "Well, there was this red-head-"
"Enough already!" Felt snapped. "If you're so desperate to talk about your love life, tell us a story that actually matters!"
"They all matter, little lady! Just think about all the women whose lives I've touched!"
"And did any of them touch yours?" Felt asked pointedly.
Koh 's normally cocky grin flickered and twisted into a pained grimace. It only lasted a moment, like a ripple passing over the water. "That's… not a very good story."
"Why not? At least it'd be a real one," Felt grumbled.
Koh flashed her a thin smile. "People don't like reality in their stories, little lady. They want fantasy. They want to believe in a better reality. That 's the storyteller's craft. You weave reality and fantasy together so seamlessly that the crowd stops being able to tell the difference. Then they unconsciously decide that they like your 'reality' better than theirs. No one wants to dwell on reality. Folks want to escape it. If reality was so great, we'd all want to stay there all the time."
Felt 's eyes widened at this uncharacteristically philosophical analysis from the lackadaisical demi-human.
On some impulse, she kept pushing, "What was her name?"
Koh took his time repacking his pipe, much longer than he usually did.
The silence stretched on and Koh began to fidget.
Felt just waited. She knew that he would answer. Koh would have to say something, have to fill the silence or all that he would be able to hear was her voice.
"Kaguya," He said shortly.
"A Kararagi girl?" Garfiel asked.
Koh puffed on his pipe. "Yeah. A merchant's daughter."
Garfiel shifted uncomfortably.
Koh had shrunk in on himself, staring moodily into the fire.
"Was she pretty?" Garfiel asked, trying to get back to the fun and lighthearted stories that had dominated the evening up until now.
"Hair like ebony, skin like fine marble," Koh answered in an intense voice. "This girl was beyond beautiful, she was intoxicating. She was innocent and kind and loving. Sunlight without shadow."
Felt was beginning to regret ever bringing this up.
"When I met her, I had quite a reputation for being a frivolous playboy," Koh spat. "It sometimes eclipsed my reputation as a fighter and in those days, that was no mean feat. But once I met Kaguya, I forgot about any other women. I pursued her for weeks, months, playing the charming suitor, wanting nothing more than to earn one more of her smiles.
"Her father was never crazy about me," Koh muttered. "He wanted more for his daughter than some mercenary drifter but I showed him all the money I'd earned from various jobs and he slowly came around."
"Wait. You worked as a mercenary?" Garfiel asked incredulously.
Koh puffed his pipe. "Yeah. Does that surprise you? You can't live on being a rebel, you know."
Garfiel looked baffled. "You just… don't seem the type."
Koh laughed bitterly. "You should have seen me when I was younger! Cock-sure and hot-blooded, always ready for a fight, always sure that I knew better than everyone else…"
He shook his head. "I tried to hide from her… what I was. All that I'd ever been, up until then was… a fighter and a killer. I grew up on the Kyo streets. My first memory is of fighting an older boy for a slice of stale bread. Fighting was all that I ever knew. Until I met Kaguya, I never even considered the idea that I could be anything else… I didn't want her to know what I was. Didn't want her to see me that way."
"Why?" Garfiel asked incredulously. "Girls love tough guys."
Koh snorted. "Yes. Girls like tough guys, Garf! Women tend to be smarter. Being a professional mercenary is a tough, tough life. Children see a uniform with all its brass and ribbons … They never see the dirt and the blood…"
There was a long pause. "So, did she agree to marry you?" Felt asked.
Koh puffed on his pipe. "It took some doing but she finally said 'yes' and we were engaged. We were planning a spring wedding when the cherry blossoms were in bloom…"
Koh dumped his pipe and began to repack it. "One day we were traveling toward Fusumi to visit some friends. An old enemy of mine… well, he decided that I'd gone soft and that this would be the best time to… settle the score. He attacked me with a dozen strong men.
"It was a running fight through the woods. I had to carry Kaguya away as fast as I could. Delicate flower that she was, she couldn't run very fast. I hid her in some brambles not far away and then I went hunting. I tricked the men into separating as they combed the forest for us and then I picked them off one by one. Finally, I returned to Kaguya only to discover that my foe had managed to find her hiding place. I was barely in time to save her. I cut him down…"
Garfiel let out a sigh of relief.
Koh shook his head. "I looked at Kaguya and… I realized that I was covered in blood and gore. Her perfect skin was splashed with crimson from when I decapitated that last man to save her.
"She just looked so… horrified…" She whispered. "I brought her home as fast as I could but all that she said during that trip was 'I'm afraid of you…'"
"What?!" Garfiel demanded. "But you saved her!"
Koh didn 't seem to have even heard him. "A few days later, she ended the engagement. She told me that she wished me well but… seeing me now was too painful… She said that the thought of legions of old foes hunting us down for the rest of her life was frightening enough but what was even worse was that she felt like a strand of silk in my hands. She said that she feared that I might break her someday, not by choice but by accident. She said that she couldn 't endure a lifetime of feeling like a porcelain doll just waiting to be dropped on the floor…"
Koh puffed on his pipe. "That was the last time. The only time. I gave her my heart. Even when she refused to take it… somehow, I never actually got it back…"
Felt bit her lip, deeply regretting starting this conversation.
"Hello, the camp," A voice called casually from out in the darkness beyond the firelight.
Garfiel and Felt leaped to their feet. "Who's there?!" Felt demanded, noticing with irritation that Koh was just sitting by the fire and repacking his pipe with a glum expression.
"Take it easy. I'm not here looking for any trouble," The man said, walking slowly into the firelight.
Felt peered into the darkness and saw the silhouette of a tall man. At first, she thought that he was a demi-human because his head was oddly shaped but as he drew closer, she realized that the man was simply wearing an old-fashioned visored helmet that completely hid his face. He wore tattered pants and a tattered orange cloak over a bare chest.
He was also missing an arm.
Felt stared at him. "Wait a second! You're Al!"
"Yup. That is true," Al said calmly, walking up to the fire and holding out his one hand toward the flames to warm it.
Al took a long moment to warm himself up and then he turned to inspect the group.
He cocked his head at Felt. "Hey. You look familiar," He mused.
"I'm… Felt," She said in disbelief. "I'm a member of Subaru's faction. We've met once or twice."
"Oh, right. I remember now," Al said calmly. "So. How have you been?"
Felt just stared at him incredulously. "Al, what the hell are you doing way out here?! " She demanded.
"At the moment, trying to get warm," Al answered calmly. "The desert is freezing at night."
"Shrimp, you know this guy?" Garfiel asked.
Felt stared at Al with a baffled expression. "This is Aldebaran. He's Priscilla's knight."
"No," Al corrected mildly. "I am not a knight. Knights have a serious tendency to be boneheads and I refuse to be associated with them. I'm just her servant; her retainer, her handyman, and occasional muscle."
Al flexed his fingers against the fire trying to warm them. "Also, it's just 'Al,' if you please. I don't really care much for my full name."
"How the hell did you find us out here?!" Felt demanded.
"It wasn't easy," Al admitted. "I feel like I've crisscrossed the continent a dozen times over, trying one direction, failing, and then trying again. I'm not lucky like Priscilla is so the only way I ever succeed in anything is by sheer dogged determination. Or, as Priscilla puts it, being too stupid to give up," He said without rancor.
"You're… here for Priscilla?" Felt asked slowly.
"Yeah. I've got an important message for her."
"She's already asleep," Garfiel warned him.
Al shrugged. "That's fine. I can just wake her up."
"Hey, it's your funeral," Felt said flatly.
Al shrugged. "I've learned over the years that there's no point in trying to avoid suffering."
"That… might just be the dumbest comment I have ever heard," Felt said matter-of-factly. "And I hang out with Garf."
"Why am I always your example?!" Garfiel exploded.
Felt ignored him. "Of course, we should avoid suffering! If doing something will make you suffer then stop doing it! "
"Nah, think about it," Al said, sounding completely unconcerned. "To live is to suffer. In embracing our suffering, we embrace life."
Koh puffed on his pipe. "Do you need a hug or something, my man?"
"No, but thanks for asking," Al said seriously.
Al paused. "Say, did Subaru ever tell you guys about the Vinegar tasters?"
"The what?" Felt replied.
"Who are they?" Garfiel said.
"It's a famous painting from a place near my homeland," Al replied. "I always wondered if Subaru had ever heard of it but I never got around to actually asking him."
"Why would Subaru know anything about it?" Felt asked in confusion. "Where are you from anyway?"
"Oh, I'm from the same place that your friend is from," Al replied, pulling a folded piece of paper out of his pocket and handing it to Felt.
"Our friend? Wait, you mean Subaru?! You're from beyond the Great Waterfall?" Felt asked in shock as she took the paper.
"Yeah but I've been here a lot longer than him," Al replied. "A lot longer than it seems actually. Not sure if I ever got around to telling him about that. Honestly, it's hard to keep track of what happened and what didn't these days. There are too many alternative possibilities."
I have no idea what the hell that sentence means, Felt thought.
Felt and Garfiel took the paper and examined it closely. It was a drawing of three men gathered around a cauldron and tasting the brew. One man looked happy and the other two men looked various kinds of unhappy.
Felt studied the drawing for a long moment. "Al, whatever this is supposed to be, I don't think I get it," Felt said shortly.
"It's three different views on the human experience," Al explained. "I just happened to have a copy in my pocket before I came here. Meant nothing to me at the time, pocketed it on a whim. But since I got to this land I've been studying it more and more. You know, investigating other perspectives on human spirituality?"
Garfiel scratched his head as he studied the drawing. "That's… nice," Garfiel murmured.
"Yeah. Lately, I've been trying to get deeper into Taoism and Buddhism, learning to follow the Way, you know? It helps me keep from losing my equilibrium when I have to do something over and over… and over again," Al's voice broke and he clenched his fist.
Al took a deep breath. "So, you know. I'm just trying to maintain my balance."
Felt handed him back the drawing. "You never answered my question," Felt murmured. "How did you find us all the way out here in the middle of nowhere?"
"Oh, I just followed the Path," Al shrugged.
"The Path?" Garfiel asked. "What path? You can't have followed our tracks on this busy road."
"No, I mean 'Path' in a grander sense," Al replied. "The Way. Honestly, if I didn't have inner peace, I'd really be struggling to handle the garbage fire that is my life," He said matter-of-factly.
Felt and Garfiel shared a baffled look. I just want this weirdo to go away. "Um," Felt said, trying to move the conversation along. "Priscilla is in the wagon."
Al rubbed his fingers against his pants, wiping off some soot and ash from the fire. "Yeah, guess I might as well pull the pin on that grenade."
"What's a grenade?" Felt asked.
"Wow. You read that book too?" Garfiel asked him.
Al paused. "Book?" He asked slowly.
"Grenade," Garfiel said to Felt. "That's like a magical device that explodes when you throw it. It was described in one of the books I read."
Al stared at Garfiel. He stared long enough for Garfiel to start to feel very uncomfortable.
"Is that right?" Al murmured. "You read a book… that had grenades in it…"
Garfiel swallowed hard. He wasn 't sure why but he felt like maybe he might be in danger. He couldn't see Al's eyes but he could tell that they were boring into him. The mellow and slightly goofy gladiator had vanished, replaced by someone cold, hard, and infinitely more dangerous.
And then the moment passed.
"Huh. Ain't that odd…" Al shrugged, walking away.
Al proceeded to head over to the wagon.
Garfiel leaned over to Felt. "That guy is weird!" He whispered.
"He might be more than that," Koh murmured.
Felt 's eyes narrowed when she saw Koh slip a long, thin knife back into a hidden pocket in his robe.
"Al, be careful!" Felt warned him.
"I got this," Al said calmly.
He bent over and peered into the covered wagon.
"Hey, Priscilla?" He called.
There was a bright flash of fire from the wagon and Al quickly stepped back.
"Come on, Priscilla," Al sighed, sounding more tired than frightened. "I know that you're not in a good mood when you first wake up but isn't this kind of overdoing it?"
A moment later, Priscilla 's head popped out of the wagon, her normally haughty face rendered comical by utter shock. "Aldebaran?" Priscilla whispered in astonishment.
Al winced. "Priscilla! Come on! You know how much I hate that name!" He complained.
Priscilla quickly climbed out of the wagon and got to her feet. "Where in the world have you been ?! " She demanded.
Al thought for a moment. "Well, I was in Ganaks with Felix and Julius at first. You know, the place that you sent me to. Then this group of bounty hunters tried to jump me. It took some doing to get out of that mess but I finally managed to give them the slip. I headed back to the capitol but you were already long gone and several of your employees had been arrested or killed. I wasn 't really sure where to look for you but I figured that you'd probably head back to Vollachia so I kept heading south. I managed to slip over the border without being detected and I made it to the Crystal Palace where I spoke to, uh… V , " He said awkwardly.
Priscilla 's jaw dropped. "How could you have possibly done that? " She gasped.
Al shrugged. "Like I said, I just followed the Path. It was really just that simple, honestly."
"Al, please spare me another one of your boring lectures on metaphysics until I am once again in need of a cure for insomnia!" Priscilla growled. "How could you possibly have made contact with… him?"
Al shrugged. "Actually, I reached the Crystal Palace pretty easily. Patrols assume that folks are using the road so as long as you stay off the road, you won't see many patrols. Plus, I found out that the patrols follow predictable patterns so they're actually pretty easy to avoid once you know the pattern."
"We know that, you dolt! That's what the pattern of Vollachian patrols changes every single day!" Priscilla objected.
"Yeah, I must have gotten lucky," Al replied matter-of-factly.
Priscilla 's eyes narrowed. "Mother always told me that Fate had a soft spot for fools and small children…"
Al didn 't seem remotely offended by her words. "Anyway, once I got to the palace, I just sort of… walked in. "
"Are you drunk?" Priscilla demanded. "The Crystal Palace is one of the most heavily guarded locations in Vollachia!"
"Usually it would be," Al nodded. "But I got there just in time for the changing of the guard and apparently there was a delay due to two captains arguing about who was on watch next. One chef slipped out from the kitchen to smoke and he forgot to lock the door. Once I knew about all these little details, it was a cinch to just slip in behind that chef and to walk down the Hall of Heroes to the throne room."
"There are always at least four elite warriors in that hall!" Priscilla snapped.
"Not that day," Al shrugged. "Two of them had just been sent to execute an Imperial adviser that had been accepting bribes from Lagunica. One of the other guards had slipped away for a few minutes to bone one of the palace maids while the last guard covered for him but as it turned out, the last needed to run to the bathroom for a minute because he'd eaten a bad oyster that evening. So, I got lucky and just walked in."
Priscilla stared at him. "Do you really expect me to believe this drivel?! Not even my luck would let me accomplish all of this! "
Al shrugged. "I keep telling you, Priscilla. It's not luck. It's just trying the path of least resistance over and over again until you figure out how to do… whatever it is that you're trying to do. I admit, it's awfully time-consuming but you've got to be patient about these things. And God knows that I have time to spare…" Al sighed ponderously and his shoulders slouched as if the weight of the world pressed down on him.
Al shook his head and then continued in his normal friendly voice, "Anyway, I spoke to… well, you-know-who. He was pretty surprised to see me in his own throne room."
"Of course he was!" Priscilla snapped. "It would take an army to get in there uninvited! And you using pseudonyms is completely pointless now that you've mentioned the blasted throne room!"
Al mulled that over. "Yeah, fair point," He admitted. "Anyway, he said that he needs you to come back," Al finished.
Priscilla stiffened.
Felt thought that this was the first time that she had ever seen Priscilla struck completely speechless.
"Come back? Come back where?" Priscilla asked in an unsteady voice.
"Back to Vollachia," Al said. "Apparently V… is, well he looks like he's in a lot of trouble. He needs somebody that he can trust to help him."
Priscilla was silent for a long time. "Do you… believe him?" She murmured.
Felt 's eyes widened. For the first time, Priscilla's voice sounded young and lost, almost vulnerable.
"Oh, sure," Al nodded. "He's definitely telling the truth. He thinks that he's in deep shit and he's hoping that you can help him get out of it. He asked me to bring you the message. And, since I had no other plans at the time…" Al trailed off with a shrug.
Priscilla gave Al a chill glare. "Did you really walk all the way from the Crystal Palace to western Kararagi? " Her voice regained its normal haughtiness.
"Nah. I found out that doing it that way would have taken too long. You would have gotten to Girali before I caught up with you. And I have it on very good authority that this would have turned out very badly for all concerned," Al mused.
"What do you mean?" Felt asked.
Priscilla ignored her. "So, how did you get here? " Priscilla demanded.
"Mostly hitch-hiked," Al replied. "I met a merchant who was fleeing Vollachia to escape his creditors as fast as he could and I hitched a ride to Priestella with him after helping him fix a broken wagon wheel. While I was there, I found a mercenary company that was just about to head out to Ivada so I signed on. We rode hard to Ivada but we were betrayed and massacred by bandits just outside the city limits," Al said calmly. "So when I finally got clear of that mess, I started walking west until I bumped into a smuggler. I stole his liger and rode out this way until I found a merchant camped a few miles east of here that was headed for Rupgana in Vollachia. I offered him the liger in exchange for a lift back to the empire for the two of us and then I walked over here to get you. All in all, I made it from the Crystal Palace to here in just about a day and a half or so."
Felt stared at Al in open-mouthed shock. "You're kidding, right?" She demanded. "You made it across half the continent in a day because of all these lucky coincidences?! The only way that any of that story would make any sense is if you were psychic! "
"I wish," Al sighed, his voice growing morose again. "Trust me, it would make my life a whole lot simpler. Instead, I've got to figure things out through trial and error…"
Priscilla glared at Al for a long moment. "You just made this plan up as you went?" She demanded.
"Yeah. Seemed to work out fine so far. If I find out later that time is critical, I might try something different but for right now, I follow the Way and the Way is the path of least resistance."
Priscilla 's lips thinned. "I don't believe that I'll ask you to explain that…" She snapped.
"Good call. My explanations always seem to just make you angrier," Al agreed calmly.
Priscilla glared at Al for a long moment and then turned her steely gaze toward Felt. "It seems that I will be leaving you now."
Felt 's face lit up. " Really ?! " Felt chirped, her voice like a song of joy.
Priscilla 's glare could have melted metal. "When you find Subaru Natsuki, " Priscilla grated, "Tell him to come and meet me. We have much to discuss and he'll need my help if he wishes to secure his crown."
"I'll tell him!" Felt promised with a huge grin.
Priscilla growled at the slum girl and then turned away and dismissed her from mind. "Alright, Al. Let's get out of here," She said, walking out into the night without a backward glance.
"Right behind you, Priscilla," Al said, following her.
"Do you guys need any supplies? Or water?" Koh called.
"We'll be fine," Al said with a shrug as Priscilla and he vanished into the dark.
Koh shook his head and refilled his pipe. "That is a strange woman. And her companion is even weirder," He observed.
"You can say that again," Garfiel muttered.
Felt was grinning ear to ear. "Let's call it a night. We have a long day tomorrow."
"Mm," Koh agreed, standing up. "With luck, we should reach Azamiki early tomorrow morning."