Chrom and his army made it to the fight with Validar to end him before he could resurrect the Fell Dragon Grima however, that is where they met their doom. Robin the Tactician of Chrom's army betrayed them and became the Fell Dragon. Few know of this turn of events as Morale would likely plummet moreso than it already has. Lucina has sent out a call to arms for everyone to come to Castle Ylisse, in order to create an army to rival, and even surpass Chrom's mighty Shepards. However despite her and her brother's best attempts many believe they can fight the Risen and Grima with their own armies. Xavier, Lucina's younger brother, has sent many messages to the respective leader's of the Valm Empire, and the neighboring countries. However, few have even deigned to answer the call let alone, accept aid from them. Fools all of them really, the Fire Emblem and the blood of the Exalt are the only things that really matter in this bleak future.

Xavier looked at himself in the mirror, he moved his navy blue hair out if his eyes and touched the Brand of the Exalt on his cheek. "Father give me strength." He mutters and puts on his Brigandine armor and looks at himself. He nodded and, grabbing up his pack, tome and sword walked out of his room in Castle Ylisse. He continued walking until he reached the courtyard where his sister was making a speech to the people who had come to aid them in their battle against Grima. He took his place behind her and nodded smiling at Lucina. She continued after that, telling everyone how honoured she was they made it and how they were all needed in the coming battles, Xavier quickly grew bored and looked out at the many faces, wishing he could just fall through the ground and get away from all these people. Lucina then did something surprising she called him up to speak with everyone. He looked at her standing dumbfounded shaking his head.

"Come on." She whispers pulling him up next to her. "They need to hear reassurance from both of us." She says smiling at him....Begrudgingly he nodded and cleared his throat.

"Thank you all for joining our cause, our primary goal is the locating and retrieval of the pieces of the Fire Emblem, we have the shield but we need the gems as well." He looks to Lucina then back to everyone else, his palms were sweaty...he hated this type of thing, he takes a deep breath and continues "Many of you are from different countries and even kingdoms, you all are welcomed as brother's in arms, we need every last man, and woman to do their part in order to keep our operation running smoothly. There are already small teams searching for the other gemstones. However we can't continue on with our dwindling supplies so we need to send out salvage teams as well now. So we need volunteers, we will have need of only one small group, it shall be lead by Lucina, and I am her second. We need able bodied men and women to join us." He looked back at his sister and gave her a weak smile. and motioned for her to continue. Lucina nodded and Xavier sat back down his head in his hands. He muttered a string of curses under his breath and took a deep breath again. Lucina looked towards the gathering. "The rest of you will keep the castle secure, no one in or out until we return." She says the note of authority in her voice making everyone jump as Xavier's voice lacked it at all. Xavier got up and walked off, going to "check" on their own supplies and hand out orders to the quartermaster and everyone else he needed to talk to to keep this operation running smoothly. He shook his head touching the brand on his face and chuckles at himself. "Father, you left us with some pretty big shoes to fill." He says, ruefully. Looking back at the assortment of people. Plegians, Feroxi, some Valmese, many Ylissians, and even some converted Grimleal. He did not know how his sister commanded so much respect at such a young age but he commended her for it. This is what we need right now unification. He checked in with a few guards, making his own rounds around the Castle.

The Silver Hawk Mercenary Carn
(While reading this keep in mind Carn has been out of the loop of the current goings of the Shepards and is unaware of Chrom's demise)

---

-Earlier-
As Carn entered through the gate of the city of Ylisstol and looked around the city. This place made him feel ill almost immediately. The savior of the land Emmeryrn had once been here as exalt as well as her sickeningly sweet brother whom was the current exalt. In Regna Ferox he was taught that power was everything. The sickening notion of friendship ran through the blood of the Hero King's bloodline. What was friendship in a world of warriors? What were warriors of old to this old fool? He respect Ike more than Marth as Ike was never afraid to use his sword when he had to or at least that's what he heard. He was hearing rumors about the slow decay of this nation as well...was peace finally becoming stagnant and polluting this place? Maybe or maybe not. The young man known as Carn could not care either way. "This place has many good people in it though...so I suppose I shouldn't wish for it's demise so soon." Carn said to himself when a guard told him to move along. He grunted and did as he was told but he didn't like being ordered around by the local guard. He had killed better men without a thought. His time with Red Fist had taught him one thing though: All men need to earn their worth and that was why he was stopping here before moving to the even more repugnant ransacked area known as Plegia. Carn walked down the path keeping his sword within easy reaching distance and he stopped by a merchant stall buying some water and more supplies, meat especially, from a nearby stand exchanging his silver coins in exchange for the supplies. Eventually after sometime he eventually found himself sitting down on a nearby bench in the middle of a busy sidewalk.

-Sometime Later-

Carn was still sitting on the bench when a sudden ruckus erupted around him. He immediately pulled out his sword and stood up looking around for immediate danger. A woman ran up to him and was breathing heavily, "Are you a Shepard!? Please help us! There is a robbery going on." the woman begged him as Carn's face twisted in reluctance. On one hand he hated thieves. On the other he never denied a call for help from an innocent person who genuinely needed his help. "I'm not a Shepard but I will help you because I must." Carn said plainly which were words he never used often. Because he must? Heh that was laughable he didn't need to do anything. Red Fist never did shit without someone paying him to do so. Carn was much more compassionate than people gave him credit for and Red Fist did his best to help Carn get rid of it. But he only succeeded in a technical sense. Carn ran alongside the woman until the reached an inn where a group of guards surrounded the place. Carn looked at the woman and frowned and then turned to the guard, "Guards excuse me I'm a mercenary for The Silver Hawk Company and I'm here to get rid of the thieves inside of the building." Carn said plainly to one of them who shrugged and told him to go ahead.

There's four of them and it's his funeral for going in there but really...what were four bandits to him? He entered the building and saw two hostages along with the criminals. Two barbarians it looked like and the others were mercenaries. The barbarian one the left stupidly charged him in an attempt to surprise him and immediately got a sword through the lung for his trouble and somehow regained enough strength for another swing but Carn dodged handily and was finished off with a quick slash. "I believe that this is the part when you say some stupid line about not giving up. I recommend doing the exact opposite before I disembowel your livers and feed them to you then disembowel your stomachs." Carn replied with a down right disturbing calm as if he had done the exact same thing many more times than he should have. In truth Carn had...but only in the battlefield and never in this situation. His group rarely went into town. Carn's enemies demanded to know who the hell he thought he was and he responded with a simple, "Me? I'm death walking with an iron sword." Carn replied with pure malice in his voice as he was so easily trained to do. Being from the West Khanite from the time he was little he knew had to naturally act like this. One of the last two, mercenaries by the looks of them, straight out gave up which made him happy he didn't need to waste his energy on killing him. The other carefully approached him and stabbed at him but was parried and Carn quickly slashed back at him twice but was blocked both times and then was hit by the enemy's weapon but just barely. "Ha you're not as good as you think punk!" the other barbarian moved to hit him only for Carn to dodge out of the in a roll and block the next blow with his sword quickly then pushed the mercenary back with a quick kick to the gut and tackled the barbarian who was able to keep from falling back and grabbed Carn. Damn he hated these types of bastards! They always had so much bulk behind them that physical attacks were like a child's poke. However....playing dirty was in Carn's area of expertise as he kicked the man in his private area and dodged as the mercenary recovered and accidently killed his friend with a quick stroke of his blade. Carn wasted no time and killed the man with a brutally precise stroke to the throat. "They almost got me." Carn replied plainly as he breathed in calmly. A nice work out this was but it was nothing to hard for him it seemed. One of the hostages got up and asked about the cut on his arm and he brushed it off as a flesh wound. Leaning down he felt the pain but he ignored it and cut off some of the cloth from the mercenary's clothes. He quickly wrapped it around him and looted the man's body for coin. That would be his reward for this mess...as Carn left through the front door he told the guards to do their jobs next to before walking away to somewhere more quiet. He had no interest in thanks from peasants....However his guards stopped him and looked at him with a mixture of amazement and fear...as men of their kind usually do...and told him that he would need to be taken to the palace for a proper thank you from the new exalt. Carn was about to laugh in their face and refuse when he heard 'new' come out of the guard's mouth. Well then..."Very well take me to the Exalt if you would then." Carn said as the men led him to the palace. To think a meager man like him would met the new exalt personally...luckily for them he was no assassin.

Damien stood among the massive crowd, waiting and watching as Lucina gave her speech. He'd only arrived in Ylisstol a month prior and as such wasn't particularly used to the life of a Shepard just yet. The speech was typical, something a general would routinely give to their troops to maintain morale in the face of overwhelming odds. Which was the exact situation the group was in now. Of course, so long as Lucina and her brother Xavier lived, there would always be hope that Grima could be destroyed, but that hope was but a distant star to many. However, with multiple teams searching for the Fire Emblem's gems, Damien hoped that it would only be a matter of time before they could at least make a solid step in the right direction. To many, this speech might seem like a callous pick-me-up attempt from their Exalt, but to Damien it was a woman's genuine attempt to keep the people's hopes alive. And for him, that was enough.

When Xavier took over for Lucina, Damien couldn't help but smirk a bit. The man was clearly nervous about giving this type of speech, but Damien couldn't blame him. Even all the training in the world could do nothing to prepare you for delivering a grand speech to a great horde of people. He himself had only done so once, and was blessed to have had a podium and prepared script from which to read while making his speech. The fact that Xavier had managed to make such a speech was impressive. The man had already earned his begrudging respect for his skills with both tome and blade, but with a little refinement, he could make an excellent Exalt should Lucina befall the same fate Chrom had...

The idea of joining a special group, lead by Lucina and Xavier, made Damien's heart beat like a drum. This was what he'd been waiting for, why he'd come so far to join these people in their fight. The legends of their father were magnificent themselves, but he had high hopes that Lucina and Xavier would forge their own brilliant tale...and that Damien had a place in it. Stepping aside from the crowd, Damien wormed his way through some people and attempted to follow after Xavier. When he reached the Castle's gates, the guards asked for his business. "Well, I would speak with milord Xavier in regards to the mission he just spoke about. I would like to volunteer myself for the war effort."

"Oh my goodness, she is pretty."

Standing just a few meters away from Adalbert there was this young girl with platinum hair that had completely enticed him the first moment he saw her in the main street of the capital of Ylisse. When he arrived at the city looking for clues of the location of Stahl he never expected to end up finding such a girl. He was rather nervous with approaching and talking to her, what if she though he was creepy?.Because of that he instead though of the most rational approach and decided to stalk her around the city, hoping that she wouldn't notice the knight ridding a horse following her. At one point he was about to enter a place when a pair of guards stopped him and said "Sorry sir, but no unauthorized horses are allowed past this point.". Normally Adalbert wouldn't appreciate getting rid of his mount so easily without his supervision, but it wasn't any normal situation, a cute girl was involved, and she was getting away, so after handing the horse to a stableman next to the guards, he ran quickly in the place and looking through the crowd gathered there he found the girl again. Adalbert tried not to be seen and stayed a bit on the back lines, but not enough to not be able to see her. It was then when another person poked him in the shoulder and said "Hey, what do you think of the speech?"
("Wait, what? Speech?")
He then snapped and realized that he was standing in a courtyard and crowd gathered were people being persuaded to join the army of Ylisse, more surprising was that the venerable Lucina herself was the one giving the speech. While he was surprised at first, his search turned out better than he expected, since now he could ask the sons of the former ruler Chrom about the possible whereabouts of his father and maybe even he could travel with them in his search. Standing next to the beautiful Lucina there was youngster not older than Adalbert himself that, if he wasn't mistaken, was Xavier, who was caught yawing by Adalbert ("Well, he looks less regal than I expected") and after some minutes stood up next to his sister and commenced to talk
[b]*Xavier opening speech*[b]
Well now it was clear why Lucina was the one in charge, Xavier lacked confidence. But still he was more likely to give Adalbert some minutes of his time than Lucina, so Adalbert was determined to go speak with him after the speech was over when he noticed Xavier standing up and leaving the place. Adalbert sneaked out of the courtyard and tried to follow the venerable when he was once again stopped by one guard
"Halt! Who goes there?"
Okay, think fast...
"One night I was playing cards with Xavier, he lost and now he owns me money. He probably doesn't remember because he was drunk. Go tell him I'm waiting"
Genius

Xavier was snapped out of his studies when a guard came into the room. "Sir two men have need to speak with you, one wishes to join the other...." Xavier nods, smirking a bit, and motions for the guards to let them in. The guard bows and let's Damien and Adalbert into the study. Xavier closes his book and looks at the two of them. "Your Damien and Adalbert, the former a lord of a Valmese kingdom, who thought himself the best swordsman in the land, and you a cavalier, son of the hero Stahl and think pretty highly of yourself because of it." He looks the two over "Damien I'm guessing your the one volunteering, and Adalbert you are here because he used your silver tongue to pretend like I wen't out drinking with you. As I recall you took me out, and I carried you home because you got drunk and dragged me into a fight with ten of the other patrons." He smiles at them. "Damien welcome aboard and Adalbert....you too shall be joining us now." Xavier leans against his desk, this he could deal with, making plans for the troops, showing his brilliance, how easy it was for him to size up events. He waited for either of the two to answer.

"I find lovely how you think that I was drunk we got into that fight, I'm very sturdy, remember?"
Adalbert laughed sonorously before continuing
"Well, I wasn't planning to join the army, but I guess I have a very good reason now, but I think Damien here has more important issues to discuss with you, your highness"
Adalbert looked for an empty chair in the study and without waiting for permission he sat on it in and loosened his armor a bit to await for the news that the lord from Valm had to offer.

Damien headed into the study as the guard assented, listening to what Xavier had to say. He found it a bit suspicious that the Ylissean royal immediately knew who the two of them were, but after a moment's thought, he supposed it wasn't to surprising that his reputation had preceded him. As for the other man, the two seemed to be on familiar terms. Apparently they were drinking buddies. Hearing the name Stahl, however, changed Damien's tune a bit. After Xavier and Adalbert made their exchange, Damien made his own reply. "Well, I'll admit that I'm far from a master when it comes to bladework, but I'm a far step off from being a novice, as well. However, I didn't come here to talk big, milord. As you were able to deduce, I'm here to pledge myself to you and your sister's cause. Valm is in a bind, just as Ylisse and Regna Ferox are. I could hardly sit back while my father sheltered me from the truth, could I?"

Letting out a brief sigh, he continued. "Ah, that's of no matter, really. I came for more than that reason, though, as the knight has deduced. Your speech was excellent, milord, and I mean that as no idle flattery. You spoke the truth, and you did so from your heart. What you and your sister have is more than simply Divine blood. It is for that reason that I wish...I wish to make a proposition to you. A long-term goal to give us just a little more reason to fight for our world. Should this war end in our favor, I would like very much that you put in a good word to your sister. Having her as an ally would surely help me regain the honor I left behind in Valm upon my return there. The people around me saw me as little more than a bastard, and the average folk still treated me as a lord. In short, I was alone from the very start, and running off to Ylisse has certainly earned my father and I no love. It might be presumptuous of me to request such from the royal line of Ylisse, but I can only hope that the two of you would find it in your hearts to help me, should this war not leave us all risen, that is..." As a grim smile crossed his face, Damien continued to look Xavier in the eye. It was a bit much to ask, but Damien's only hope of truly becoming a lord after the world was free was to have help. His birth was now the least of his worries on that front.

Xavier nodded, "We could certainly help with that, Valm and Ylisse, did become allies after my father defeated Walhart we will see what the words of two members of the Ylisse royal house will do. Hopefully it can sway them. If it were up to me we'd head for Valm, there are still some forts and towns that are fairing better than here, being so close to the Fell Dragon and his minions may keep our skills honed. But it's not doing so well for morale and well...sleep for anyone. But anyway, yes we will look into getting you restored to your proper place, it'll be the lest Lucina and I can do if we all survive." He says slowly putting his hand out to shake Damien's, gloves on his hands now, damn him and his nervousness, it's a wonder he was able to talk this long.

Another knock on the door signaled the arrival of even more guards and from the uncomforting voices they seemed to be very wary of something. They opened the door and a man stood between them with a sword on his leather belt and it was clear he was not from around here. His stance was clear, this was not a man who was not an experienced killer and his look in his eyes showed a cold and shallow emptiness in them. "Excuse me my lords....this is....this man just saved a inn alone...he killed three people and intimidated one so bad he gave up. Those were members of mercenary band nearby that went rogue. He killed them like they were children and only that scratch on his arm to show for it." the man chuckled and grinned without teeth. "I hope that doesn't end in my execution. I know how you lords love to kill people for killing others." Carn said with a cold plainness. "In Regna Ferox I learned that there are two kinds of people. People who can and can't fight. I happened to get this scratch fighting for the former and I don't regret it. My given name is Carn and where I come from doesn't matter to high borns like you." Carn continued with scorn as he looked over the two of them, "My reason for being in this city is I'm looking for a employer. My former chief was killed after he went down the wrong hole so to speak. I'll leave the city if you prefer me doing so. I only stopped here for supplies anyways. Carn said as the guards next to him didn't say anything either do to the aura he gave off or the fact he could kill three guys single handedly with only an iron sword kept them from doing so.

Katherine sighed. She had apparently already missed the speech by Exalt Lucina and Prince Xavier. "Oh, fiddles...I can't get anywhere on time can I?" She frowned and continued on, she wanted to speak with the Exalt and her brother and offer her services in the fight against Grima. A healer was worth a hundred soldiers after all.

With her father off fighting Risen somewhere, and her mother off healing soldiers, just as she would be, Kathy decided it was time to do something herself. Otherwise, they would all be dead anyway. She didn't want to die. She didn't want her parents to die or anybody else for that matter. However, she realized there was only so much one can do, something both her parents had taught her on occasion. Sometimes, all you could do was ease the suffering. Sometimes, you had to put someone out of their misery. Sometimes, you couldn't do anything. Those were the worst to Kathy, honestly. That feeling of helplessness was just too much.

As she got closer to where the Exalt and Xavier were she noticed a lot of people going into the room with the Prince. She noticed one was injured. Well, not injured persay, a scratch was nothing to worry about, it could get bad if unattended, though. She quickened her pace to stand beside the man at the door with the injury, put her staff next to his arm and healed it in short order. After she was done, she looked up and gave him a pretty smile, after all a smile healed the soul and sometimes that could have a huge impact on healing, before turning to Xavier. "Greetings milord... My name is Katherine. If you would have me, I would like to offer my staff in the fight against Grima!" she smiled at him. "I've never really been in combat, to be honest, but my parents always told me even one healer could have a big impact."

Just as Damien grabbed Xavier's hand and started shaking it, another man entered the room. When the handshake broke, Damien turned to look at the newcomer, a feeling of dread overcoming him when he heard what the man had done. Great, somebody else who throws their weight arou-wait, Regna Ferox?! Oh...ohhh no. I'm not doing this. Not today, not today. Coughing, Damien turned back to Xavier and bowed, excusing himself. "Apologies, milord, we'll have to discuss this later. My presence seems to be offending the sellsword here." He stopped himself before making any further comments, though every ounce of him was jumping to return the mercenary's lip. Making a wide path around the Feroxi man, he exited the room and looked about, stretching his arms. Not much to do here anymore, so I think I'll head back to the inn. Xavier will be able to find me when he needs me, after all. The boy's resourceful. As for that Feroxi urchin...I can only hope that is the last I see of him.

Damien didn't have anything against Regna Ferox, of course, but in his time, he'd found that most Feroxi were...brusque people. Nobility and warriors by culture did not mix well under most circumstances, and although he respected the skills of those the nation produced, he couldn't help but hold prejudice against them as low-born murderers, running about and slaying those who give them dirty looks. And since when did I value human life so much? Argh, why did my father have to be a lecher, and my mother a whore?! I can't fit in with any of these people! Bastard lords always shunning me, commoners treating me like a fragile piece of china, dammit! He nearly slammed the door to his room, but stopped himself at the last moment, unbuttoning his belt and throwing it on the bed. As he pulled off his boots and grabbed his flask, he downed a heavy drink, burning his throat on the way down, trying to kill the memories of his past before they overtook him yet another day.

What the hell is she smiling at...bloody girl. Carn paid little attention to the girl as she passed by him he turned his attention to the coughing lord. He frowned and deeply at the man's weakness as he left and then turned his attention back to the two lordlings in front of him. "I hope that my presence here isn't a hindrance Master Exalt. Carn said to the two lords as he kept his hands away from his sword in order to keep the two from becoming cautious. Of course his hand yearned to clutch his sword as it normally did but it was controllable now. Feroxi like him were not uncontrolled beasts of nature and pain. Red Fist beat that out of him when he first entered the duel arena. His parents taught him better.

"Hm...? what do we have here?"
Shamefully, Adalbert almost felt asleep because of the little rest he had last night due to an incident involving three chickens, a leather bag, a wig and a fake hand. He was woken up when an arrested man entered the room. Who the heck would let a prisoner keep his weapon?
""In Regna Ferox I learned that there are two kinds of people. People who can and can't fight."
Adalbert chuckled, when he was in regna ferox he learnt that there were three kind of people, those who can't wield a weapon, those who can't eat with a fork and knife at the same time and that girl that almost drove him into an unwanted marriage. Oh, such good memories. Adalbert could sense the uneasiness of the guard accompanying the myrmidon, but he couldn't understand why, he seemed like a cool guy to him and hoping to give a good impression he gave the newcomer a wide smile.
Only a few moments later a girl entered the room and without warning she raised a healing staff and mended the wound of the Feroxi swordman and presented herself
Her name was Katherine, she was a priest who had never fought before, she was offering her healing abilities and she was one of the most beautiful girls Adalbert had ever seen. He needed to make a good impression...

"Katherine, marry me."

Once again, genius .

Xavier smacked Adalbert upside the head and looked at the newcomer, a feroxi warrior....myrmidon actually Xavier remember that, don't want to piss of the sellsword now would we. He looked the newcomer over, scanning him, making sure the man's powerful aura did not make him fidget at all. Feroxi were proud, and ferocious warriors, and they honoured the strong. He motioned for Carn to sit, "No I thank you for dealing with them, we obviously will not punish you for helping the citizens of our kingdom..." He stops looking at Carn and trying to read him it was more difficult then he ever had to do, information was his specialty how did he miss a commendable mercenary wandering into his sister's kingdom...into the Capital no less. He continued "But you are mistaken I am not the Exalt, my Sister Lucina is, however I would like to reward you for the trouble you endured on our carelessness. I do apologize about the injury you sustained...I'm sorry, I seem to be lacking my damned manners." He says hoping the brusque speech would be better. "My name is Xavier, Prince of the Halidom of Ylisse, and you are?" He asks staring Carn straight in the eyes, this would either show the Feroxi he knew this would either end in two ways, this man would give his name, or he would draw on Xavier, and he and the guards would die putting this man down. He did also nod to Katherine giving her a quick warm smile before his conversation with Carn.

"Well you must have quite the highly skilled warriors here, or a large amount of poor ones, to be able to casually smack your subordinate like some wench from a nowhere inn. As I said my given name is Carn when I first walked in. Carn stated hiding his annoyance at having this petty lord question him for his name once more. "If you want a more substantial answer I will give you part of one. I hail from the West Khan's territory and what happened with my status there is none of your concern. I however promptly joined a mercenary group after I left my people under a man known as Red Fist. He was called that because he once beat a man to death with a broken fist after he caught a two handed sword between his hands. He was my mentor but after he woke to find himself in the wrong bed so to speak he was promptly executed. I have been a traveling sell sword ever since. I'll be honest by profession I'm as cold a killer as an animal. But in intelligence and combat expertise I am no runt. I was forged with battle hardened vets from various wars. My hands are not stained with blood they are made of the substance.. If you don't mind paying me a decent sum of money and giving me a place to sleep I suppose I have no objection in helping you Xavier. Assuming you're no self-righteous hero of glory. Those people die quickly in my line of work because they're too focused on helping everyone and not those they CAN save. Carn said calmly as he explained part of his past to the men and healer in front of him. He honestly wasn't too impressed with this upstart and he wondered if this kid's little sister would prove more impressive if not....he may have dug himself in a hole he can't climb out of. He was no Red Fist only a meager copy.

Xavier nodded listening to Carn speak. "I apologize, with everything going on and whatnot I've had very little sleep, I would appreciate the help as would my Sister. You are hired Carn, and no I do not seek glory, but if I can spare my soldiers from an agonizing death at the hands of the Risen I shall use all of my power to do so. No one under my command dies. If you do have a problem with that, I can show you either the door." He points, "or the floor." he then powers his finger, his other hand shaking under his robes. The hell was he doing...when did he ever act like this. Xavier couldn't believe himself but kept himself steely eyed and determined, his hands may shake and he may be meek but here he was still Prince, and here he would not stand being treated like an arse just because he was born into nobility. This man did have scorn towards him and towards Damian this he could tell, he did hide it amazingly well but there were some tells, his eyes for one do give off alittle more severity when they look upon Xaiver, or when they looked upon Damian, then with Katherine or Adalbert. "And no, camaraderie is expected when two people have known each other since they were children it is only natural."

"Do as you will sir. You're the employer now I only do as ordered. Just don't expect me to share your philosophical side. I don't intend in charging into a situation against people who will die even if I can get to them. The Risen however will make a good challenge for my blade in mass....singular risen.... Carn said as he suddenly unsheathed his blade ran forward and slashed then backed off with stupidly well rehearsed movements and incredible speed that a man would need to train for years to obtain. And...in the end no one was hurt and as soon as the cling of his blade reattached with his sheath the desk spilt in near perfect half right next to Xavier. "That's strange...I thought I he started before the chair did something similar. Overall nothing was harmed besides the furniture. "I'm out of shape normally they fell in four halves...whatever. I'm sorry for taking you by surprise sir. I just like to show I'm not all talk. Well I'll be leaving now...I'll go set myself up in the barracks... Carn said in his usual monotone plain voice as he walked away and tossed the lord a bag of coins he took from the bandits behind his back. "That should pay for the damages." Carn wondered if his little display fooled them or not. Be it he did or he did not fool them hardly mattered though his speed spoke for itself. While he never was a monster of death on the field of war he was quick enough to close gaps and kill whenever he needed to. He didn't need to slice something in four halves. Only two. One good sword swing solved many problems.

Katherine smiled at Adalbert, blushing slightly, "Um, I'm sorry, but I'll have to decline. I kind of have this thing about not marrying men I've barely met..." she giggled. "Perhaps try again some other time after we've known each other..."

She watched Carn leave after his performance, after the door was closed once again and then turned back Xavier, "....Are you sure you can trust him, milord? I hear mercenaries tend to go where the gold is...." she shrugged, ".... But, I suppose I'm not one to talk, though, seeing as you don't know me either, plus it's not my place to question."

Katherine blinked, the thought occurring to her that she would probably need a place to stay as well. And food she thought, as her stomach grumbled. "Um, milord, would you be able to find me a place to stay nearby you? It would be a comfort to know someone was around to help you in an emergency, don't you think?"

A boy walked through the streets of Ylisse before being stopped by a group of bandits. "What do you got on you boy? You know a kid like you shouldn't be wandering the streets alone. We would usually take a kid your age to that alley over there and relieve you of your stuff. Today since I'm in a generous mood though, I'll let you keep your goods as long as you hand your money over." The leader of the group requested in a nice tone. The boy turned and looked up at the men, while searching for an escape route using his peripheral vision. "And if I scream?" The boy asked, making the bandit leader lean over and whisper in his ear. "We'll shut you up before the guards can hear your pathetic plea for help. Now we can keep prolonging it til I gut you like a pig, or we can get to business and we can all walk away from this as if we never met. So what's it going to be?" The leader asked, leaning away from the boy's ear before opening up his bag so the kid could toss his money in it. Nothing was going as planned, become the dragon and all these tough bandits would cower in fear but his cover would be blown. Get mugged and the only warrior that could get close enough to Naga, wouldn't be able to fund his journey.

Either way, all hope of ridding this world from the plague that slowly consumes it will be gone. "Fine!!! You can have it but just know my friends won't be so happy to hear of this. By friends, I mean the Exalt and her younger brother Xavier, they will be wondering why I'm not at the speech. You said so yourself that it's abnormal for a child my age to be roaming about. I'm the prodigy mage Lefix that is suppose to accompany them on their journey, now it's time for you to hear my demands since I've already heard yours." Felix said in a demanding tone, not showing any signs of intimidation which instilled fear into the bandits' eyes. He let out a small yawn before opening his mouth once again,"I thank you guys for your understanding and patience. Now let's see what I want...ok, your bag hand it to me and scram." "But this is a month's worth of gold." "But this is a month's worth of gold. Not my problem, give it to me or be imprisoned for trying to mug a friend of the Exalt." Lefix ordered, placing his hand on the bandit leader's bag, expecting him to let go of it. "I admit you've got some balls, making me look like a bitch in front of my underlings. You better hope we don't see you outside the city gates because the Exalt won't save you out there. The bandit said, letting go of the bag before leaving with his crew.

That went better than I had originally expected. Still, father would be disappointed that I had to resort to such tactics but it was for the sake of the world. The boy thought while rushing to his next destination. He was traveling with a ton of bags, that made him look like he was a young traveling merchant. After sometime, the castle was in eye's view. "State your business wanderer." The guard commanded, approaching the boy. "I come with supplies and request to join Lor...I mean Exalt Lucina's fight to defeat the evil dragon." Lefix replied. "You may proceed inside but your luggage will remain out here until your departure." The guard noted. He handed the bags over to the guard be heading to the courtyard.

"Ouch!"
Adalbert was actually glad that Xavier had smacked him, that was really a stupid idea and Katherine must have though that he was an idiot. The common sense of a good friend showed, once again, invaluable
"Perhaps try again some other time after we've known each other..."
OR PERHAPS not everything was lost! He was about to answer something among the lines of "I was kidding" when suddenly the myrmidon went bananas or something and started an impressive demonstration of sheathing techniques, he wasn't bad, but he had probably spoiled the sword and if he continued he would have to buy another one quicker than he though. After leaving, Adalbert listened to Katherine and then he intervened whispering to the ear of Xavier directly
"Xavier, I don't want to sound like an ass, but maybe she is just a beggar..."
Adalbert stopped mid sentence, looked at the girl and then continued
"Well, more likely a runaway daughter that is just taking advantage of your highness to simply find a place to stay for the night at your expenses. Or, in a worst case, maybe a spy, so I suggest to beware of the nice ones for the time being."