-Laciel-
The young man made his way to the temple, wandering the streets until he found himself at the foot of it. The blood was still leaking from his arm, and it was his fault that it was there. If he didn't get cocky during the fight, that mark wouldn't be there, painting his skin with a crimson hue. "(I should of been more careful,)" Laciel thought to himself, annoyed at such a simple mistake that could easily be eluded. "(Next time it could be my whole arm, or worse.)" He sighed, and shook his head, ascending into the temple in search of a cleric who could mend his wound.

There were plenty of clergy inhabiting the temple at time, and some looked busy doing.... Something. (What was it that the clergy did again,)" Laciel questioned himself as he began looking for an available cleric. "(... I think they worship Naga if I remeber right... Although, I've never been inside a temple before. Pretty neat looking place I guess.)" As he began wandering around, he spotted a cleric who was chatting with someone who looked to be a knight, or mercenary of sorts. He made his way over to the two, and interjected in, trying to be polite as possible.

"Excuse me, miss," he said to the woman of the cloth (Mara). "I hope I'm not intruding on anything, but do you think you could heal this wound of mine?" He leaned his left arm in front of him, which showed the open wound. "If this is a bad time, I could always look for another."

Ah, the bread sure hit the spot. It was delectably warm and made his belly feel full. Now it was time for the cake. The myrmidon who had given it to him had told him that it was filled with fruit. Virde hadn’t had anything but apples and bread for what seemed like an eternity. It was nice to have a fruity sweet every once in a while. The red haired thief grinned as he sunk his teeth into the sweet bit of goodness, humming in pleasure. Maybe he should settle down and become a baker. He would teach his children how to bake delicious cakes such as the one that he was eating. He could finally live in peace and have no one chase after him with a broom. That sounds tempting…

But he wouldn’t do it. After all, he was a thief. He enjoyed living a life on the run, dodging guards and sleeping with any woman that he wanted. If he wanted something, he would get it for free, no matter what. It certainly was interesting being a thief… he didn’t understand why people would rather be sheep than wolves. Sheep just followed the crowd, while the wolves watched over them and were not tied down by allegiances of any kind. Yet, they were incredibly lonely and often spent their free time by themselves. Virde believed that he was the latter. And how he loved his lonely life.

After eating his dessert, Virde decided to head toward the joust. He could cut some purses and leave with a hefty load before the joust could even start. With the amount of money he would steal from the people attending the event, he would be able to get a room at an inn. The thought of being able to actually rent a room again brought joy to his heart. I’ll finally have a bed to sleep on again… and a few bottles of rum, at that! The grin on his face spread further as he approached the jousting area and slipped into the crowd.

There were a whole ton of people. Men, women, children, you name it. They all came to see armored men on armored horses smash lances into each other. Virde would sometimes watch a few rounds of jousting tournaments from perches above rooftops. It was a brutal sport; the men who competed would often get hurt. Sometimes, they died. It was sad, but he supposed that humans naturally wanted to see blood and gore and the like. For them, it was entertainment.

By the time the joust was about to start, Virde’s clothes were stuffed with coinpurses. There was a greedy glint to his eye as he looked around the crowd. This’ll keep me in a room for a few months, at least. he thought as he snaked his way over to his next victim. I’ll take one more purse and get the hell out of here. the thief grinned, pulling out a dagger and beginning to deftly cut the rope that held the purse to the person’s belt. A little bit more, and I’ll be rich~

---

There’s a joust today?

Sina’s lips blossomed into a grin. She adored jousts. They brought excitement to her heart and made her shudder in anticipation. Who didn’t like jousts? Sure, sometimes the worst happened and a man or two would be seriously injured or killed… but it was a contest of pure strength. The way the contestants’ horses rushed at each other, completely trusting their riders… It made Sina shudder. I wish there was such thing as a wyvern joust. I would sign up for one if I knew how to use a lance. she thought as she made her way to the jousting arena, munching on her apple.

Her eyes drifted to the sky, and she saw that Balerion was slowly descending. Perhaps he wanted to spend some time with her as they watched the joust? Sina didn’t mind—maybe, just maybe, if she sat on her wyvern’s back, she would have a better view of the joust than most people. Her grin only spread as she was buffeted by the wind pushed aside by the green wyvern’s wings. Balerion landed with a light grunt and peered at Sina with wide, blue eyes. The wyvern rider giggled as she pet his muzzle. ”Come on, boy. We’re going to see a joust.” she told Balerion as she walked to the side and pulled herself into his saddle. Taking his reigns, she began to guide him toward the arena.

People gave her wary glances as they approached the tournament, but said nothing else as they returned their gazes toward the arena. Sina’s moss colored eyes followed theirs, her hand pushing aside her silver hair to get a better view of the tourney. Excitement began to well in her heart once more, and she patted Balerion’s neck. ”Balerion, do you see that? We haven’t seen a joust in a long time, right?” the wyvern only purred in reply. ”You better not be thinking about eating those horses. I rather not be thrown in prison for the rest of the year.”

While some people might think wyverns were thick and aggressive creatures, the pretty woman thought differently. To her, wyverns were even more intelligent than horses. Balerion had more than twice a horse’s power, but he was twice as graceful. He knew how to control his power well. Sina felt the wyvern shift his feet and tuck his wings closer to his body. ”Good boy.”

Vincent stayed quiet, watching the joust, but something felt wrong... Like there was someone behind him... and, the weight on his belt had just lightened. He smiled. This thief had picked the wrong man to rob. He swiftly turned, and grabbed the thief's arm, hoisting him up, before using that momentum to twist the arm and throw him down. He put his foot down on the man's ribs, and twisted and pulled the arm he had in his grasp. He could have easily broken it, or pulled it out of place, but he settled for just a painful experience. "Theif, you have chosen the wrong pocket to pick. Do you know what they do to those who steal where I come from?" He leaned in closer, and lowered his voice menacingly. "They cut off your hand." He pulled back, and took his boot off of the man's ribs. "Luckily, you are in Ylisse. So, we shall settle this another way." He yanked the man's wrist, pulling him to his feet, before dragging him out of the crowd and into the street. He pulled the stolen goods off of the man, and laid them at his side, before pulling out his sword. "That's 10 bags of gold right there. 10 crimes. Sins must weigh heavily on you." He drew his sword back and struck hard, hitting the man across the knees with the blunt side of his sword. "That's one." He proceeded to hit the thief with the flat of his blade nine more times. In the end, he probably still managed to get cut a few times, and he might've had a fracture here and there, but he was otherwise in tact, but sore. "Now we are going to find every person you stole from and return their belongings. Fair?" He heard no objection. "I thought so." He checked the satchel that had been stolen from him. Candy. The thief had almost stolen his candy. He would have rather it been a few coins than that... He probably would have hit harder if he had known the bastard had the gall to steal his sweets. He picked up the leather that had held the bags together, and bound his wrists before leading him to the owners of the stolen goods.

He was so close. So close to getting that purse of coin. But the victim knew what was going on. Before Virde knew it, the man had grabbed hold of his arm and roughly threw him on the ground. The thief cried out in both pain and shock, trying to scramble away, but the man had held him down using his foot and pulled his arm back. Pain razed up and down his arm, making Virde scream in pain once more. The man leaned forward and started to tell him that, where he was from, they could cut off his hand. Oh no. He’d wouldn’t want that. He felt as if he was going to lose his arm to this… savage brute, but thankfully, he stopped just before he could tear it off [of course, Virde was just over exaggerating]. He thanked Naga that the man seemed like he had finally lost interest in the poor, scavenging thief, he yanked him back to his feet and dragged him away from the crowd.

The man pulled away his stolen goods, tearing apart Virde’s heart at the same time. There went his good food and wine. There went his shelter. And there went all of the pretty women he could spend the night with for just a few coins. ”I don’t—“ before Virde completed his sentence, the man in armor raised his sword and struck him across the knees with the blunt side of his sword. Pain racked him again, and he bit his lip so he wouldn’t scream. But more blows came and they just wouldn’t let up. Whimpers and blubbering came from his lips, along with the occasional pleading and cry. And he absolutely hated it. There he was, an exceptional thief, begging as he was beat to a pulp with the blunt edge of a blade. He just hoped that he could at least end his suffering… that way, he wouldn’t have to steal ever again.

Virde was pulled to his feet again, but his legs were like jelly, and every time he applied pressure to them, pain slithered up them like a snake. Virde could hardly walk as he was led back to the crowd. ”Please… don’t…” he whimpered. ”I’m just a thief… I have nowhere to go. I have no home, no life. That’s why I steal.” he glanced up at him. ”I need money to eat… to survive. I’ll die if I can’t feed myself… and I think you broke my legs...”

Once the King's meeting had finally let out, Zayn returned quietly to his chambers. He closed the door behind him, then smiled coldly. His plan had finally been set into motion. From this point, he would have to play an active role to make sure everything went smoothly. Naturally, however, he would have to stay out of the spotlight, since he didn't want to tip off either the Blades or the Grimleal to what he was up to. He began running calculations in his head: the ambush was to take place in two days, so if he were to take a Quickboat (boats powered by magic to move much faster than regular boats) to Ylisse within the hour, he would probably arrive just before the ambush occurred. Once there, he could-

A distinctive flapping sound pulled him back into reality as Ragmi, the messenger hawk, landed on his window sill. He opened the window to allow the hawk entry. Sure enough, there was a note attached to his leg. Zayn opened the note and began reading. It was a basic status report: Vass had not been discovered, and the Blades were heading to Ylisstol. Good, then all is going as planned, he thought. He took a new sheet of paper and wrote a quick reply, offering Ragmi a small rat as he did so, which the hawk gladly gobbled up.

Continue to act as normal. Draw no suspicion to yourself. Report again in three days.

Since Zayn was the only one who handled communications with Vass, he didn't bother signing it. Vass would know who had sent the message. He tied the message to the hawk's legs and ordered it back to its master. The hawk cried a vicious cry as it took wing back to Ylisse. "Good. That's one thing taken care of," he said, mostly speaking to himself. Once the hawk was out of sight, he closed the window again. This time, however, he closed the curtains as well. He opened his wardrobe and removed the false bottom, revealing a tattered brown cloak, a tan-colored head wrap, and a pair of travelling boots. They were commoner's clothing, made all over the world and sold in almost every shop that handled them. He would blend right in. Removing the items, he placed them on his bed and returned the false bottom to the wardrobe. Anyone else in Grimleal likely wouldn't be caught dead wearing such tragic clothing, but to Zayn, these clothes might as well have made him invisible; more than worth the ragged appearance and derisive sneers he received while wearing them. Before putting them on, however, he opened his door and stuck his head out.

"Guard."

The armored man turned and saluted him quickly. "Yessir?"

"Send Liam to my room, and tell him to pack for travels. I will be departing briefly, and I would have him accompany me." Liam was young and naive, making him very easy to manipulate, but he was also a healer, making him very useful to have around.

"Sir." The guard saluted again and rushed off to find Liam. Zayn shut his door again and sat down. Truthfully, he would have liked to take someone else along as well, in case something went wrong. However, of the very limited people who had earned his attention, no one else would be a wise choice. Ruby was a skilled swordswoman, but if her sister was with the Sacred Blades, she would be recognized immediately. Verin- well, in Zayn's eyes, Verin was next to worthless, and he would remain that way until he could prove otherwise. Alice the Pegasus Knight would have made for good aerial support, but Zayn placed no trust in her being able to restrain her killing urges long enough for him to accomplish his objectives. In the end, Liam was the only person he knew of that could support him while posing the least amount of risk to his mission. Still, he had considered each of these individuals before, and if they continued to prove themselves (in Verin's case, if he could prove himself at all), Zayn would definitely make use of their skills. For now, he only had to wait. He was leaving in forty-five minutes, with or without the young cleric.

~Alice~

Alice was having a wonderful dream. Standing on a field covered with corpses, the blood of her enemies painted the battlefield a shade of beautiful crimson red. She smiled before heading back to ride on top of her gallant Pegasus that rested it's weary legs on a nearby hill. Taking to the skies she surveys the battlefield for any survivors of the Grimleal army's assault. Despite all the soldiers she has killed it still wasn't enough. She needed more to satisfy her maddening craving for blood-stained combat. She rode the trails of the sky like a dark harbinger of death and destruction. Cackling maniacally like a witch brewing up a poisonous concoction. Her voice echoing far and wide at this one sided slaughter-fest.

The sun shining through the window of her room at the barracks cut short that wondrous dream. It was the best one she had in a while. Getting up and stretching a bit she gazed at the sickeningly beautiful and peaceful day. Changing out of her pajamas and into her normal attire she walked out of the barracks stopping to greet her Pegasus steed before leaving. The slight smirk and blood-curdling look she gave the poor winged horse further imprinted upon the misfortunate creature's soul. The simple fact that the horse was her eternal servant, that there would be no escape from her wrath should he misbehave and that any failures would not be tolerated. Tartarus, the once wild and uncontrollable Pegagus was a mere child's toy to the cute yet sinister Alice.

As she left the barracks full that were full of dull new male recruits that avoided Alice like the plague she walked around looking for something to do. She longed to go back on the battlefield but she would have to behave for now. Any “accidental” deaths caused by her would probably get her killed. There were a lot of people more powerful than her in this place and while she trained and became stronger thanks to them she had a long way to go. Alice started wondering if any wimps in the area would make for a good challenge for her and started looking for her next "victim".

As she watched there was a commotion to the back of the crowd that caught her attention. Curiosity got the better of her so she made her way over was shocked at what she saw. There was a man holding another, who was clearly defenseless, and beating him with the flat of his sword. The one being beaten was obviously being punished for picking the wrong pocket She narrowed her eyes then shook her head, "I know I shouldn't do this but this scene really bugs me."

Taking a deep breath she changes her posture. She straitens more then necessary rests her arm on her sword and just generally looking like an overconfident swordsman. Tsugi ruffles her feathers but stays where she is. Striding out she calls out to the man who had started dragging the man into the crowd, "I think he has been punished more then enough," many eyes turned towards her, "I thought Ylisse was known for their fair punishments, This just seems a little excessive if you ask me. The beating should be enough no need to humiliate him any farther. Besides it would be difficult to find his victims there are probably several other pickpocket in the crowd. Why not just let him go to a healer while you go search for the owners of the purses? Or we could settle this the way they do it in Ferox. What do you say?" Tsugi flies off as she grabs the hilt of her sword and gets into a loose ready stance, "I'm ready for a fight though I doubt the guard is in any mood to deal with a fight."

"Quit your bellyaching. If I wanted your bones completely broken, I would have hit harder." He replied. "Hmph, I have just the place for you." He dragged the thief away before being stopped by a woman. "I see. Do you know what this thief's punishment would be in Ylisse? Years in prison. I taught him a life lesson, and he'll only be immobile for a couple days." He saw her draw her sword. " I dislike hurting women, but if that's the way you think it must be, then I accept your challenge. I too, have been in ferox, and I served in the west khan's elite. Hopefully you have similar experience, else you've made a dire choice. Either way, I'll make this quick." He dropped the thief. "Running might seem like the best option, but I assure you it's not. Stay put." He sighed, and waited for the woman to decide.

Vincent wasn't the kind of man to back down easily. Nor was he one to have his actions questioned. For someone to so boldly challenge him over business out of their concern was quite surprising, but he would easily lift his blade if it came down to it. He already had plans to drag this man back to the blades to mend him, and put him in an honest position, but she didn't know that. Either way, it didn't really matter. Apparently her sense of justice was dulled. He would uphold his honor and the justice of this decision.

Ruby and Liam

A stray ray of sunshine hit Ruby’s face as she paced underneath a shaded tree. Word had come out about these mismatched fools that called themselves the Sacred Blades. The name alone irked her. They’re going around the realm taking out rapscallion bandits and such, but what worried her most was that they possibly possessed the ability to take out the Grimleal and their sacred plans, she could just feel it. Ruby also happened to discover that her “dear” sister had joined the pitiful group, she could tell simply by the description. But that didn’t faze her one bit. If she had to kill to brat, so be it.

Ruby plopped down onto the ground, avoiding the troublesome sun as she resumed the mundane task of sharpening her blades. It had been a rather uneventful morning as she awaited whatever the other Grimleal decided on next. In the meantime, the pink haired girl would busy herself with menial tasks; with no action going about the surrounding area seemed dull.

Pulling out a stack of logs, she readied herself as if in a one on one battle. Gripping her sword tightly, Ruby attacked the imaginary opponent with all her might. After awhile, standing back, the girl admired her handiwork- the logs were coated with scratches and dents. “Good, but not great…” she stated to herself in monotone. If she didn’t continue to train herself, what good was she in the battlefield? She continued to pressure herself until satisfied with the halved log in plain sight, a menacing smirk appearing on her face. With exhaustion at last settling in, Ruby leaned against the tree trunk, panting, allowing herself to slide onto the ground. Although she was ready for battle, there were many obstacles to overcome. But soon everything would be perfect, for now all she could do was dream of such a day as she gradually dozed off.

Meanwhile...

"Here you go ma'm!"

An old woman hobbled away with a small child at hand, their cuts and bruises a thing of the past. They had been travelling for days, after their home was ransacked by a ruthless gang, barely escaping with their lives. They happened to come across a cleric, who graciously healed the pair without asking for anything in return. All he needed was their smiles. The tall red-head smiled as he gazed upon the two figures, loneliness glazed in his eyes. He turned around, heading down the beaten path as the morning sun began to peek out form the horizon.

The cleric, Liam, was quite bored. The Grimleal weren't moving much, staying in the shadows as the plotted their next move against a rising threat; the Sacred Blades. He already studied everything he knew about one of the members of the Grimleal, following the guy around for a whole month as Liam learned all of his personal secrets. In the end, he got kicked out after he was found snooping around in the guy's house. He took his strange hobby very seriously, to the point where it was considered stalking. Of course, the young man didn't think it was stalking. It was just to satiate his curiosity.

After walking around a bit, he caught the sounds of whacking - like a blade against wood. Now, who would be hacking away poor trees this early at morning? Liam wandered around till he caught the sight of a pink-haired girl. He stood there for a moment, trying to remember the girl's name. Was it Rose? Rosanna? No... It was the name of a gem - Ruby! A smile plastered on his face, he walked up to the sleeping girl, watching her breathe in and out.

Hmmm. Ruby was fairly interesting. He had seen her a few times when he was occupied with another person. Perhaps he could get to know her well... "Goooood morning, Ruby! Beautiful day, isn't it? he cheerfully said in a loud voice.

Ruby's eyes fluttered open in an instant, awoken by someone's voice. Glancing upwards, she already had her hand gripping tighthly onto hilt of her weapon. Realizing who it was, she quickly released her sword and sighed outwardly. "D-don't do such things! I could've killed you..." the girl factually stated."Ugh...too much happiness... she thought to herself after studying his facial expression. "Anyways, there's too much sun today, so I do not agree with your statment," Ruby stated with a scowl before pulling her sword out once more to re-sharpen it. She thought the boy would leave her be but he still remained by her side. "So what is it that you're exactly seeking...?" she questioned after time, eyes unwavering from her current task.

A light chuckle escaped from Liam's lips as he continued to stay by Ruby's side. She was very amusing and interesting, even if she was sharpening her sword. He hummed once, before taking a seat as he thoughtfully gazed at the soon-to-be-sharp blade. So far, this was all he knew about this Ruby. A myrmidon, female, and part of the Grimleal. He required more information... Her question then broke his train of thought. That was when he decided that Ruby was going to be his next friend. "I want to know everything about you," he honestly said, staring straight at her. "Everything."

She was taken aback by his ridiculous request. "Everything?!" she repeated, cautiously facing towards the boy. "Why do you wish to know everything about me...?" she questioned in a monotonous tone. Ruby brushed off the unnerving feeling she'd gotten and returned to sharpening the blade in front of her, awaiting an answer all together. She still couldn't understand his question and that bothered her deeply.

His smile widened as Ruby questioned his actions. "'cause I think you're very interesting," he answered back. Not really asking if it was okay for him to ask questions, Liam shot away. "So, so, so. First question, what's you favorite food? What kind of foods don't you like?"

At first, Ruby was going to shoo Liam away, but, after thinking it over, she assumed that if she answered his silly questions he'd leave her alone. "I suppose if you really want to know, I enjoy consuming both sweet and spicy foods. I dislike anything too sour," the pink haired girl cooed before lifting up her sword to examine the blade. "It appears significantly sharper than before, I suppose." Sheathing her sword, she turned fully towards the redhead. "Any more questions? If not, I'll be taking my leave right about now. I'm terribly hungry..."

Liam nodded, repeating what Ruby had said twice in his head. In his case, he was prone to forget such general details. However, this was Ruby, the object of his fascination. He wasn't going to forget anything for a while. After she had sheathed her sword and stated that she was hungry, Liam jumped up in excitement. 'Yeah, I got loads of questions! Let me go with you!" he pleaded. "I'm pretty hungry too and I'm useful!" The girl groaned internally but stayed silent for a moment before hopping to her feet.

"...Come if you'd like, I'm not making any attempt to stop you," she stated subtly before turning. "Hopefully he doesn't distract me too much." Ruby began to head towards town.Liam began to follow Ruby to town, trailing her as he looked around the scenery. "Thanks for letting me come with you! You're pretty nice, y'know? So, got any family?" he asked. As the pair walked, one could see the town's outline from a distance. Ruby heard a compliment and ignored it, then she heard something that she'd never liked to think about. Family. Even thinking about the word almost made her gag.

"No, I do not have any family," she lied in a nonchalant manner. Making the city gates in only minutes, the girl stopped to ask what has been floating in her mind for awhile now. "Exactly how many questions do you intend on asking me?" she inquired, a scowl creeping up her face. No family? Liam's lips pulled down into a frown. The way she said it almost made it seem she didn't really care for any family members. However, he didn't ask any more questions about it. The two reached the gates and Ruby suddenly stopped, a scowl on her face. The red-head gently smiled, tilting his head slightly to the left. "Till I learn everything about you!" he casually replied before heading into the town. "C'mon, let's find something to eat! Say, that reminds me, what kind of animals do you like?"

His answer only made her sigh, a sigh filled with remorse. It was going to be a long day and she could already sense that as she slowly traipsed down the now stoned path. "I don't particularly care for animals. But if you must know, I do admire ravens," she replied, stopping by a fruit cart to admire the delicacies. Ruby allowed her hand graze over a peach before gently taking it into her own possession, paying the owner of the stand what she owed him. She turned a corner before stopping by a small stream to wash her hands and her food. How she hated interacting with commoners- it disgusted her to a certain degree.

"Hmm, ravens! Good choice." The two passed a fruit cart and Ruby bought a peach. Liam crinkled his nose at the selection, knowing full-well that all of them were sweet, juicy, and ripe. Well, fruits were healthy so it wouldn't hurt to eat one. He picked out a crisp apple, paying for it before running after Ruby. She had stopped by a stream to wash her hands and food. "Very hygienic," Liam thought as he took a bit out of his own fruit. He chewed and swallowed, his mouth bursting with sweet - yet distasteful - flavors. "So, what do you not like?" he asked, blinking a few times.

"Your questions..." she said boldly, voice profuse in a monotonous tone. Standing straight up, the girl brushed herself off before taking a careful bite into her peach. She was already getting fed up with this game. Ruby took note of Liam's reaction when he ate his own snack and let her mind wonder, only for a brief moment, why. Not so long after did the girl with rosy pink hair spot a messenger making his way directly towards the two. "What does he need?" This time she became wary of what was going on, as if there was something they were trying to do. That disconcerting feeling took no time to reappear.

"E-ehhh?" Liam paused for a moment before setting down his apple, almost disappointed to hear that Ruby disliked his questions. "I-" Then Ruby had caught sight of something. Curious, Liam also looked around, spotting a messenger coming towards the pair. Once the man reached the two, he delivered his message.

"Commander Zayn requests Liam's presence. You shall be travelling with him."

"Commander Zayn? Who?" Liam echoed.

"Commander. Zayn."

"...U-uh...Ohhhhh. Aww." A long sigh escaped his lips as he stood up, glancing at Ruby. Why did that man even need him? Certainly there would be a lot more candidates worthy for this trip. Yet, Liam didn't argue against it, since he was kind of scared of Zayn. His orders were law. "I'll be back!" he brightly said, completely forgetting what Ruby had said about his question-asking.

Ruby scoffed at what he said. Finishing her peach, she then made her way back towards her favorite tree, leaving Liam with the messenger, sitting down on the other side of the wood, the girl then began to think an intense sort of thinking. "What were they planning and why does it seem so secretive?" They probably didn't want many people to know if they haven't announced anything at all, not even once, yet. She could pester someone about the fact, however, she decided to wait and see how things played out first. Leaning onto the bark, she slowly reverted back to her slumber.

Once Ruby left, Liam and the messenger were off. In a few short minutes, he had a sack filled with necessities at hand and his staves renewed. Although he felt honored to be chosen for this journey, he couldn't help but wonder why. He had no offensive spells (he would certainly like to have some)...Maybe he would be used as a healing meat shield? Liam shrugged, running a hand over his staff before slinging his sack over his shoulder. Once the cleric was ready, he was led to Zayn's room. He exhaled once before knocking on the door. "Hi!" he brightly said. "I'm ready!"

Zayn and Liam

Zayn turned to see Liam standing at his door, already packed and ready to go. Good, at least he's speedy. "Liam, we're going to go to Ylisstol. While we're there, we'll be acting as two brothers who live on our own. You are to follow me through town and, should the need arise, keep me alive in battle. I, in turn, will protect you until my business is concluded and we return here. Any questions?"

Brothers. They were going to pretend to be brothers. Liam, astonished, just numbly nodded his head in agreement. "I'll defintely keep you alive," he vowed, tightening his grip on his staff. He was quite pleased to know that Zayn, in return, would protect him. It was as if they were going to actually be brothers. "Let's get going," he said, prepared to follow Zayn anywhere.

Zayn grabbed him by the shoulder. "Not so fast," he said, turning Liam around. He released the boy's shoulder and went to close the door. Once it was shut, he went over to his bed and picked up the tattered cloak, removing his own in the process. "Take off everything that could connect you to Grimleal first. Emblems, insignias, rings, jewelry, anything. If there's even a hint of Grima in it, leave it in this room." Zayn put on the ragged cloak, wrapped his head like a desert-dweller, and put on the old traveler's boots. He then ruffled up what hair was still showing on his head, sighed, and closed his eyes. When he opened them, his face and appearance were entirely that of a casual young man on his way to exploring the world. He turned to see if Liam was ready yet.

Before Liam could heroically dash off, Zayn pulled him back inside before shutting the door. The cleric silently watched the other male as he picked up a tattered cloak. "This is an undercover operation. Be sleek and sly," he told himself as he began to take off anything Grimleal-related. Before long, Liam had a small pile of Grima objects on the ground. Finished, he glanced over at Zayn, only to freeze in surprise. The regal and powerful Zayn had suddenly turned into a commoner. "Whoa! Hi there new Zayn!" he greeted.

Zayn glared at him, all his intimidating fury returning in an instant. The look in his eyes made it clear: he had no desire to be friends. "Come on," he said, blinking his face back to an average commoner as he opened the door and stepped out. The guard outside did a double-take as the two of them passed by, but he was wise enough to recognize Zayn and Liam before raising his weapon. The two of them eventually made it outside and Zayn turned to head for the shipyard. The castle had several ships, both magic and plain, and all from various parts of the world. It helped agents of Grimleal to move freely and in disguise. For this trip, Zayn had commandeered a small, magic-enhanced vessel once stolen from a Ylissian fishing company. The name and general appearance had been altered somewhat since then to hide its true origins. Zayn headed up the loading ramp and motioned for Liam to get on.

A small whimper escaped his lips when Zayn turned back into his normal self. Liam then proceeded to tell himself not to get on the other's nerves too much. He would rather live another day to bother Ruby again. He followed Zayn out of the room and into the shipyard. Liam whistled, looking at all the different ships that were skillfully disguised. When Zayn had motioned for Liam to get on a small Ylissian vessal, the cleric paused. What if Zayn decided to throw him into the sea? Worrisome thoughts crossing his mind, Liam reluctantly boarded the ship, a frown on his face.

Once Liam was on board, Zayn signalled the captain, who saluted and began shouting orders to his crew members. They all began rushing about making final preparations for launch. They also gave Zayn as wide a berth as possible; if Zayn noticed, he made no sign of it. He sat down very casually against the side of the ship and opened his bag, producing two large apples. He threw one toward Liam. "Here," he said as he tossed it. "It's a day's trip, so we'll eat sparingly on the way. It'll help sell the 'hungry young travelers' look."

He made sure to stay out of reach, cautiously glancing at Zayn a few times. He seemed...okay, even digging into his bag to throw an apple at Liam. He caught it, staring at the fruit with an evil eye. "Er, thanks," he said, taking a bite of it as a look of disgust crossed his face. Like the apple he had this morning, this one was sweet and juicy. Although he would have preferred to throw this apple into the sea, Liam put up with it and took another bite of it. "So, what is your big plan?" he asked, tapping the railing with his free hand as the ship began to set sail.

"The Sacred Blades," he answered. "The group is becoming a bigger and more dangerous threat with every passing day, and if we make the mistake of ignoring them while they're small, we risk being overwhelmed by them when they grow. That's how our ancestors lost their shining chance to free Grima; they underestimated the Shepherds. So, we're going to make sure that the ambush that's been set for them goes smoothly. If it doesn't, we'll just have to think of something else. With me so far?"

Liam listened to Zayn's words, his curiousity piqued when the Sacred Blades were mentioned. He had heard that the group were trying to become like the Sheperds. If so, then they would become a huge problem in the future. "I'm with you," he said, nodding. "But an ambush with just the two of us...? Wouldn't that be like suicide?"

"Probably," Zayn said, so nonchalantly that it almost didn't sound like him. "Fortunately, we're not actually taking part in the ambush itself." He took a bite out of his own apple, then paused to consider. "...Well, that's not entirely accurate. We will be taking part, but not on the side of Grimleal. We're going to help the Blades escape the ambush unscathed."

"E-eh?" Liam scratched his head, confused.

"You heard me. We're going to help the Blades escape with their lives."

"And then?"

"And then, we're going to make sure they think forces of Valm are entirely responsible for the attack." He took another bite of his apple. "Walhart, unbeknownst to the general public outside of Valm, did have a few descendants among his harem girls. It wouldn't be a stretch to assume that one of them wanted to kill the Sacred Blades for what the Shepherds did to their ancestor. So, once they've bought into that, they'll start turning their gazes on Valm, rather than on Plegia. And once they've turned their backs to Grimleal...?" he paused, wanting Liam to finish it for him.

What Zayn had said next cleared up Liam's confusion. He eagerly nodded, excitement flooding within him.
"Uh, we..uh...we..." he paused, his eyebrows knitted together in thought. "We...destroy..them?"

Zayn sighed. "No, we make our real moves. Once the biggest threat to the Grimleal turns their backs on us, it gives us the opportunity to make our real move, something not even the council knows about." Zayn looked up at him, and the ice in his smile almost seemed to chill the air around him. "We send a Valm assassin to kill Ylisse's Queen."

Zayn took another bite out of his apple. "Though they might be a threat to us, a rag-tag band of warriors poses no threat to a nation like Valm. So, we need to give them an army to back them up. I've selected Ylisse's army. I truly doubt that any assassin will be able to make his way to the Queen, but even with the attempt, it'll seal Valm's fate as the adversary. Ylisse will be outraged, and even if outright war doesn't spark from this, they'll be so busy bickering with each other that their scrutiny of Plegia will loosen slightly. And that loosening is all we need to make our next big move. Soon, the world will know that Grimleal is back." He took the last big bite out of his apple and threw the core behind him. It flew over the railing and landed in the sea. "For now, however, our job is to make sure the ambush doesn't succeed. We'll pose as simple passersby who happened to be in the area and decided to help them out, as thanks for all the work they've done around Ylisse. Once they're casting glances in Valm's direction, we make our exit and head home."

"So," he said, finishing up his speech, "what do you think? Any questions? Comments? Concerns? And don't be afraid to mention them; I don't care for kiss-ups or sugar-coaters."

"I think you're quite brilliant," Liam finally said after a long pause. Zayn's plan was well thought out to the point where it scared the young cleric. It was as if Zayn had laid out a row of dominoes, and he only needed to give one tiny push to make them all fall into chaos. He was truely worthy of a Grimleal commander and the power that came with it. He only wondered what would happen after Grima revived.

Zayn frowned at him, more annoyed than enraged. "I just told you I don't like kiss-ups." He sighed. "Ah, it doesn't matter. Anyway, make yourself comfortable and be ready when the sun rises. It might only be the two of us, but we're about to start a war." So saying, he pulled his head wrap over his eyes and closed them. It would only last a day, but it was likely to be a long, tense boat ride; if he got spotted, or if his cover got blown, he could very well be walking into his own death. But if all went according to plan, this was going to be the start of a glorious field of chaos. I should invite Alice along next time. I'm sure she'd love to be a part of that kind of killing. With that, he drifted off to sleep.

Liam shrugged. He had only stated what was true. He nodded, watching Zayn as he settled into sleep. Scary. Not saying another word, he leaned on the railing as he watched the sun sink below the horizon; the sky painted with reds and oranges.

"It's very close to Rosanne, actually," An'zu replied, voice softening to a whisper as she thought of home. Her not being there shouldn't be a problem, right? It wasn't like she actually did anything; she just traveled from city to city, reciting lines they fed to her while she played at being love-stricken. She shook her head, forcibly dispelling any depressing thoughts out of her head. Being sad was not allowed. Freedom from the responsibilities they forced upon her was everything she wanted and now that she had attained that freedom, she will enjoy it.

Looking to change the subject, An'zu refocused on the match, just in time to see the first victory of the day. "Oh, look!" she pointed at one jouster as he was painfully unseated from his horse, the loud clang from when his opponent's lance hit him square on the chest still ringing clearly. The falling jouster landed on his arm wrong, and she could have sworn she heard bones crack. People cheered as someone declared the unharmed jouster the winner. "Whoa. Jousting's pretty brutal, isn't it?"

An'zu winced as someone rushed over to the jouster to set his broken arm and leg—it seemed their cleric was yet to arrive—and turned her head away from the arena, looking around everywhere but the man screaming in agony. She always hated watching others get treated. From her perch on Lune's shoulders, An'zu was privy to a lot of the goings-on around the arena, and so she focused on them instead. Over there, just to her right, there was a man and woman loudly arguing over who would win the tournament. Across the street, someone was taking bets—oh, never mind, some guards just took him away.

"Ylisse certainly is an interesting place," she told Lune, smiling. An'zu placed both hands against his cheeks, freely swiveling his head as she pointed out things she thought seemed interesting. This time, she spied the poor-looking redhead man from earlier this morning. She couldn't tell what was happening, but from where she was, it certainly seemed as though the brown-haired man and the tall redheaded woman were fighting over him. "Do you see that guy? I gave him my best cake! I wonder what he's doing now."

It didn't take long for An'zu to lose interest in whatever love triangle the man got himself involved, however, as soon after she noticed a woman arriving at the arena with a wyvern trailing behind her. She had seen many wyverns before, but never one that looked as graceful as this one. Perhaps it was because the woman it arrived with seemed to exude such elegance, as well? She heard that the bonds between a wyvern and a rider are extremely deep; it wouldn't be too farfetched for the two to be similar.

Excitedly, she turned Lune's head that way, under the impression he'd like to see it too. Who wouldn't want to see wyverns up close? "Lune, look, there's a wyvern over there!"

The man didn’t show any mercy. Virde’s legs were screaming with pain and his head was hurting like hell, and yet, the man thought that wasn’t enough. Anger was welling up in him and his patience was wearing thin. What he wouldn’t give to stab this man straight in his face. But his hands were bound and all he could think about was the pain. He grunted as he was led back to the crowd—but, thankfully, someone stood up to him. It was a woman, surprisingly. His heart dropped. He was pretty sure that he wouldn’t make it out of this without having to give away all of his prize money. The man dropped him on the ground, making him grunt in complaint. I’m never going to get out of this situation…

-Laciel-
He decided to go look for another cleric, due to the fact that he was kind of impatient at the moment. He didn't want a gaping wound on the side of his arm, and he felt he might of been interrupting the two. The man sauntered off, in search of another cleric to close the decently sized cut on his arm. He found another one who was free for the time being and told him of his predicament. After a few moments, Laciel was leaving the temple without a scratch, and a lighter coin purse.

"Let's see... Where was the joust again?" Laciel pondered to himself for a bit before looking down the streets to see which direction he had to head. "(If I remember, the joust is that way, as always,)" he thought, walking in the supposed direction of the joust. It had been a while since he visited Ylisstol, three months to be exact, and he never thought he would get to return to relive an old memory. Laciel quietly hummed to himself as he made his way down the street, passing by different types of people.

The man eventually found himself amongst a crowd of people, cheering fervently at an event going on. "(Ah ha, I found it!)" This was the biannual jousting tournament of Ylisstol! His mother took him and his brother to thos once, and they watched as the two cavaliers would ram their spears into the other, knocking them off the horse. It was a wonderful and entertaining experience for the two. "Heh, jousts sure are pretty fun to watch, aren't they."

-Gran/Vass-
Gran watched as the three ran off somewhere, unknowing about the quarrel that was about to take place. He shrugged, and continued watching, showing a slight amount of interest in it. "(I wonder if there are jousts like this back in Plegia... Its kind of a nice distraction.)" He continued to watch with the crowd, grinning just a tad bit.

His concentration on the joust was recently broken by a familiar voice. He turned in shock and horror to see his brothers face, watching the joust. The man was cheering along with the crowd as he watched the joust take place. "(Oh, so this bastard is here in Ylisstol... Finally, I can.... No, I can't take that risk of slaughtering him for right now... Alright, just act natural, and respond back.)"

"Yup, this is my first one, and it intrigues me," Gran said, grinning to Laciel. "So, you here for the joust I guess?" Gran watched his brother, and awaited his response. He was hoping for the best that it was just for the joust, but the inevitable truth would soon be revealed.

-Laciel-
"(Strange, this man has never been to a joust." He studied the brunette man before responding back. "Nah, I came here to join the mercenary group, The Sacred Blades. I'm a recent recruit of them, their leader is a pretty serious but nice guy from my first impression." As he spoke, he heard some shouting from the crowd, and it sounded a lot like someone was crying out in pain. "What the, that isn't good... I would love to continue chatting, but something is wrong." Laciel shoved himself through the crowd, to see what was going on.

As he shoved his way to the crowd, he saw two people, poised, and preparing to fight. There was a man who looked like he was seemingly in pain. One of them must of done this, and he interjected in to figure out what the problem was. Laciel put his hand on the hilt of his sword, and approached the woman and man facing off, ready to draw at any time.

"Excuse me, but what is going on here?!"

He shouted with anger in his voice, hoping to intimidate one of them into explaining what was going on here. He was irritated that a lot of fighting was going on today, and that it was seemingly endless. There was no reason to be fighting in a city right now, especially in a crowd of villagers who wanted to watch the joust taking place. "Well?!"

-Vass/Gran-
His heart sank as soon as he heard the news. "(Oh this is bad, this is really bad... I need to report to Zayn aboutthis.)" He would of ran off, searching the skies for his bird, Ragmi, but Laciel quickly dashed off somewhere. "(Oh great, what the heck is going on now?!)" He followed the mercenary, keeping up with him until he found that a possible two or three way was about to happen.

"(Oh this is just... Perfect.)" He devilishly grinned inside while having a look of worry on his face. If they could slaughter his brother, then the Grimleal could continue going with their plan with nothing in their way. Gran brandished his Elwind, waiting for the first move to happen. He could always try to "assist" in the fight if necessary.

Perhaps Lune had visited Chon'sin. It's possible he passed through while on his way to the coast, he, he truly could not remember much about his past. He did appreciate An'zu, as she was also Valmese, even if she came from another nation he hadn't heard of. He cringed at the collision of the players. Lune twisted his face slightly as he closed his eyes,, wishing the best for the competitor.

"Nngh... Hey," Lune muttered softly, resisting her moving his head for a bit before finally giving in to the girl. Lune then noted the masked man getting a brutal beating for what looked like a robbery. He didn't recognize the person from earlier, but, he smirked softly. If you get caught as a thief, you deserve it. It made Lune feel a bit better about his recent life choices.

Lune felt his head turned once more, and An'zu pointed something out. "There's a wha-" Lune started, but was interrupted by a torrent of shock that took over his body. He let out a small shout, stumbling a bit and nearly knocking An'zu off of him.

"I h-hate wyverns..." Lune stammered, continuing to move away from the crowd.

Noelle was watching the joust, her eyes gleaming with excitement. However, her attention was diverted when Vincent suddenly threw down a man to the ground. From his words, the man he had thrown down was a thief. Before she could tell Vincent to calm down, he had already started dragging the poor thing out of the crowd. Worried, she followed the pair, only stopping when Vincent started whacking the man's legs. She had seen many cases where criminals were punished out in public when she traveled, yet the sight of Vincent dealing it out was both painful and shocking. Noelle could only place her hands over her eyes as the beating continued nine more times.

Once the sounds stopped, Noelle peeked from behind her hands as Vincent yet again dragged the man into the crowds. "V-Vi," she weakly said before another woman confidently spoke up. With a new player in town, Noelle stopped the study the obvious swordswoman with a raven. All she heard was Ferox and fight, and that easily clicked together. Of course, being born in Ferox (and living there for a few broken up months), Noelle knew how these types of matters were solved. Before she could step up, another man decided to call out. He seemed quite irritated that such a fight was happening in the middle of the street.

The tension crackled in the air, almost ready to burst. Worst case scenario; the two would start fighting and the other man would jump in. How many would die? What if Vincent was going to be the one lying on the ground, lifeless? Confused and pressured to try and do something, Noelle stepped up towards Vincent, slapping him hard enough to make his head turn a bit. She paused, her hand frozen midair as it prickled in pain since it came in contact with the other's helmet. "You!" she angrily spat out. Noelle then turned towards the unknown woman, glaring at her. "And you! Have you two lost your minds? Fighting in the middle of the Ylisstol's street just because of some Feroxian pride?" Her gaze then turned to Vincent as she lowered her hand, her eyes stinging with tears. "Vincent, this is stupid. Don't throw more oil into the fire," she pleaded. "Let him go now, he has learned his lesson. You're part of the Blades, right? We're supposed to help and protect the weak."

-Laciel-
Laciel could only stand there, stunned at the scene that took place. He watched as the woman attempted to talk some sense into the two, and he released his hand from the hilt of his sword. "(That girl has some guts, spunk, and sense... And she's a part of the Sacred Blades too? She seems to be a pretty good example to lead by.)" Laciel could only clap, walking up to the girl. "Missy, glad you had the sense to try and stop this," he said, grinning to the girl with no hostility. "Because my day has not made a lick of sense today."

"Anyways, the two were fighting because of this guy doing something," Laciel said, pointing his hand at the broken thief. "And you..." Laciel stares at the man who was lying on the ground, whimpering in pain. "Jeez, I feel bad for this guy... Looks like you roughed him up a lot more than you should of." The man sighed before continuing on. "Look, can we just stop this silly fight before someone gets killed? And I'm not just talking about you two." He turned toward the girl, and noticed the tears in her eyes. "Hey Missy, you going to be ok," he asked, trying to comfort her.

-Vass/Gran-
Just before things could heat up, Noelle stepped in, trying to prevent any blood from spilling. "(Damnit, this isn't good... Might as well interject.)" Gran stepped in, looking pretty angry at Vincent. "What the hell? Vincent, Feroxy woman, this is Ylisstol, and there's citizens in the street watching a joust. If you don't end up killing each other, you might end up killing a few innocents." He just shook his head in anger, and continued ranting. "Are you two frickin' stupid, because that's a great way to spend some time locked up somewhere."

He let out a breath of air, before returning to a calm state with an irritated face. "By the way, thanks for helping wth trying to calm down the tension Noelle and Laciel, I would of stepped in if this escalated."

-Laciel-
As he was trying to comfort Noelle, he heard the mage from earlier say his name, despite never introducing himself to him. "(What the hell? How does that man know my name?)" He would question him later, but right now there were more important things to attend to.

Margaret smacked Wyeth across the back of the head. "Hey you imbecile, who are you to be scaring away a possible recruit, and a skilled one at that? And don't give me none of that 'He might be a traitor' or 'he's too weak' bull. You let me and Piers in no problem, And I might be a traitor and Piers can barely fight. Next time we bring someone as a new recruit just trust us okay?" Margaret asked, slightly angered.

Piers had since wandered off, not interested in hanging around Wyeth or Margaret for the time being. He looked around the town enjoying the beauty of it, when there was movement in his shirt. Out of his shirt popped out a small baby squirrel, looking at Piers almost pleadingly. Without anyone looking, Piers quickly took a small piece of food away from one of the many food stalls, walking away fast and feeding the squirrel at the same time. Bored with looking around, Piers finally came upon the jousting grounds, barely witnessing the situation that had just happened.

Studying the next two jousters closely, Sapphire predicted which one of them would lose to the other. She loved making predictions then watching to see if she was accurate or not. ”It’s naturally the bigger, more muscular man, he seems to be too full of himself to actually pay any sort of real attention to the other.” Pointing at the larger competitor, the girl turned behind her, thinking her friends were still present. ”Hey guys, I bet-“ She stopped her sentence short because she noticed the lack of a Noelle and a Vincent. She was too into the joust to pay any mind to whatever was going on around her; luckily no malice was inflicted on her. After only a few seconds of listening, she heard the noticeably loud voices not too far from where she stood. Her curiosity piqued, she cautiously hopped on over in the direction of the source of all this noise.

She stopped in her tracks once she identified some faces amidst the apparent feud. ”Whoa, what happened here…?” she questioned herself before taking a better look at the unfolding scene. There was dejected man who appears to be a thief on the ground near Vincent who was standing crosswise from a red haired woman whilst three others stood in between them (Gran, Noelle, and some random guy). The teal haired girl came much too late to be privy to what was going on and made the decision to stand back and watch whatever would occur next; she didn’t want to be directly included in whatever absurdity the others were all up to.

Sayuri smiled inside as the others walked up and stood up straight lowering her sword. She frowned slightly when the mage spoke but straightened her face quickly, "Well it looks like one of your friends, and a pair of strangers, agree that you went to far," she turns to face the girl looking her over before speaking, "I apologize for the scene however I was unable to watch any longer. I was just hoping the threat of a fight would've been enough to get you friend to back down. As I'm sure you've seen it wasn't. Though I would hope," she looks at Vincent, "Now that several others have stepped forward he is willing to back down."

Looking at the other two people her gaze lingers on the mage, 'Why do I keep getting this weird feeling today? It's like seeing a ghost where ever I go,' she starts cautiously walking towards the thief as Tsugi circles overhead, "Now If you may be so kind as to let me take the man to a healer that would be great and I will be on my way. Though the fighing option is still there if you really want to deal with the guards and any such charges that come with it cause I know I don't," as she says this several more crows join in circling above, "Do any of you guys have a problem with that?"

Everybody filed into this justice. Every soul against him. Their views of what was right must be very skewed. He didn't notice Noelle, and when she smacked him upside the head, he quickly drew his blade out, putting it's tip to her chest. "YOU!" Vincent was on the verge of losing it. He turned to her, but when he noticed it was her, his grip on the handle weakened, the blade shaking. He held his head, and slammed the blade town, it's tip piercing the ground next to the thief. It acted as a stake for his tether. "I am committing an act of justice." He said, barely maintaining his cool and serious tone of voice. Angry undertones permeated his speech. He clenched his fists so hard his nails would have dug into his flesh if he weren't wearing gauntlets. His blood was boiling. He strode up to the Feroxian. "Where has your gusto gone? You've decided against defending this man now that more strangers have arisen to help you? Hah. Shame on you." He turned to the robed man. "You think I' mind your I'm stupid enough to fight in the middle of the street? What kind of man do you think I am, hmm? Can't mind your own damn business, you want to jump in and cause more of a panic?" He walked back to the sword, and pulled it out of the ground, sheathing it. "Since you all are so willing to interject, you'll return the stolen money." He stated, as if it were a fact, and an order. "If you must know, I had already decided upon taking him to a healer. Your assumptions are a waste of my time." He hoisted the thief up onto his shoulder as if he were a sack of potatoes. ( A light sack, at that.) "Find somebody else to bother with your inanity before I really begin to lose it." He strode off with the man on his shoulders. He headed for the Blade's camp.

"So, kid, here comes a life of honest work for you. You won't have to steal your bread anymore." He said quietly. "I'm recruiting you into the Blades. You are a good thief. You just picked the wrong pocket. I knew you wouldn't willingly stop and come with me unless I beat you into a shape that couldn't run. The clerics there will take care of you." He headed out of the town's gates, and into the field, before stopping. "You might hate me now, but, I hope you'll understand me later..." He pulled a candy out of his pocket, and gave it to the guy. "Have some. It's what you stole anyway. Oh, and... don't tell anybody I was lenient on you... I have a face to preserve." With that, he walked into camp, and found a cleric to leave the man in the care of.