Assassin took a deep breath. She was not a legend from the Age of Gods, but as a Servant she possessed awareness of the myths of others. As a result, a few things immediately stood out to her. The first was that Lancer's appearance, the manner of her armor, it was all very distinctive. While the silvery-haired samurai didn't possess much in the way of a specific knowledge of Lancer's potential origins, her unique appearance made it more likely she would be able to discern who the enemy Servant could potentially be. The second was... King of Strategists? While she was unable to immediately guess at who that was, she could narrow down Rider's identity form that information, and the weapons and armor he used, almost immediately.

Finally, it became quite clear that in spite of her eavesdropping, Lancer was indeed an honorable opponent.

"I would be happy to accept your honorable proposal, Lancer," she began, "I would also like to accept the proposal for a duel, as well."

After all, it was how she preferred to conduct herself in combat. Not that she was somehow incapable of fighting in a situation where there were multiple opponents, but rather she simply preferred a one-on-one duel. There was nothing about Lancer's terms that could be considered disagreeable.

@KoL@Raineh Daze@King Cosmos

Lancer decided to not reply to Kazamyr’s words. A Master that didn’t understand the honor of a Heroic Spirit — even of those among them who were worthy being called Antiheroes — was not the kind of person the silver-haired Servant wished to bother herself with. Rider, however, was another story.

“Even though I’m unaware of a Heroic Spirit — especially one of the last warriors to roam the battlefields of Age of the Gods — who would not feel pride in having their identity be recognized by others, I’ll do as you request, Rider,” Lancer said as she stared the ancient king from above, just like an angel chiseled from the most pristine marble. “I imagine that the Holy Grail might be of greater value to some than it’s to others, after all,” she added in cold voice.

“Nevertheless, I shall take my leave now. May the Allfather’s blessings be with you until we cross paths again,” Lancer said as she vanished once more, letting her body slowly revert back into the ether from which it was built.

“We must leave now, Master. We learned more than we could have expected. Now, we must devise a strategy to make good use of this information,” Lancer said telepathically as she got back to her Master’s side.

Once her Lancer had finished negotiations and returned to her side, Astrid simply nodded and began to slip away. Nobody had even acknowledged her presence with her Servant taking the spotlight, so leaving the park was just as simple as entering in the first place. There was probably still something to be said about how nobody even glancing in her direction, but the translator had no reason to question her luck at the moment.

With the runes that Lancer had carved for her still in hand, the half-valkyrie wasted no time in leaving the park and making her way back to the hotel. The information that had been gained was invaluable, yes, but there was still a part of her that simply wanted to sleep and get rid of her exhaustion before the caffeine and adrenaline fully wore off... Which it was already well on its way to do.

"We'll get you a change of clothes tomorrow," she said, making her way back to her room. "I do worry a bit about someone attacking at night, but... Hm. Can I leave that to you, Lancer?"

There was a bit of uncertainty in Astrid's voice with that last sentence, almost as if she wasn't entirely sure if it was okay to direct her Servant as she was. The blame for that could probably go towards her own heritage, but that justification didn't change how she was feeling regardless of that fact.

@KoL


"You wound me, dear Master. I was simply complaining that the job wouldn't be as simple as it usually was," the old man responded, a half-mocking smile on his face as the two continued forth. "It is obvious that a place such as this could never become a utopian landscape like those found in fairy tales. It may take me a smidgen longer to gather what pawns I may need as a result, but nothing so consequential to the point where I might have to remake my plans from scratch!"

With a laugh, the Archer paused for a moment before turning towards his Master. They had been walking along, yes, but he was only acting as a bodyguard to this capacity and no more.

"Did you have any particular destination in mind, or will we simply spend the night wandering about like tourists? You simply asked me for a suggestion, but it is up to you to decide. Either one is fine by me."

@King Cosmos

The Overseer sent by the Church was, perhaps, of a higher caliber in combat prowess then usual. This may have had something to do with the fates of the previous Overseers, though indeed the Fifth War's Overseer had perished in a manner that had not made such a thing matter. Regardless of that fact, they had selected someone very deliberately who could hold her own.

The blue-haired girl sat quietly, mulling over her lack of food and the current situation. She had just been contacted by one of the Masters who had yet to summon a Servant, and said Master had proceeded out back behind the Church to do exactly that. She could expect others to register soon enough, though the Master of Berserker had already verified her summons quite a while ago. For now, she was simply awaiting the others in silence.

Sure enough, one of them arrived. Ciel rose from her feet and approached. It was a silver-haired, waifish girl, alongside a smallish blonde... Swiftly, the white-haired girl clarified that she was Caster.

Both seemed fairly young, but given the nature of magi and Servants... well, Ciel was here as the overseer.

"I see. Then this is your notification of your participation in the War?"

@KoL@Raineh Daze

“Oh yeah, that’s what we are doing here,” Kirsi said to the Overseer lady who looked very unlike what she was expecting to see. The smallish blonde smiled in a childish manner while scratching the back of her head as she asked, “So, eh… is there any contract we need to sign? Or ritual required by the Church? Or, maybe, can we just go already?”

“You needn’t worry, Master. I’ve had my share of sleeping for a whole life time. A nocturnal vigil is something that I would hardly disagree with,” Lancer said, answering her Master’s hesitant question.

“Regarding the matter of clothes. I appreciate your concern. As long as it’s not going to impose too much upon you, I’ll gladly accept it. Actually...” Lancer said. She made a short pause as if she were uncertain whether or not to say what she had in mind before finally making her mind and saying, “there’s a request that I’d like to make. If it’s not too much, could I ask you for a pair of glasses as well? It’s difficult to explain the reason for this, nevertheless, I would be indebted to you for it.”

“Very well… the church.” It was the most likely location for the other Masters to visit at this early stage of the war. It was imperative that he at least learn what they look like before the night was over; anything less than that would leave him behind on his plans. And given the peculiar nature of his magic and the inordinate amount of preparation required falling behind meant he would never succeed.

“You can gather your pawns at any time, whereas I can only scout for our enemies with you by my side, so it is best if you do such things when I don’t require your assistance. During the day, or when I am working on my own preparations, you are free to carry out whatever plans you wish. I only ask that you keep me informed and don’t do anything that would draw undue attention to ourselves or interfere with my own plans.”

@PKMNB0Y

"Yes, and if you don't mind, we'll be taking our leave now," Kezia said, giving the Overseer a perfunctory bow. It wasn't a guaranteed thing, but the bird was a giveaway--at least one other set of Servants was likely to be headed their way in the near future and that meant that they had best get going, "Master, if you follow me, we can return directly to where we started..."

She was still pretty confident none of the other Servants had a good way to track her when she moved around like that.

The Allfather's blessings... With those three words, the pieces snapped together. A powerful warrior, ancient, female, wielding a spear and speaking in the name of Sigföðr, Odin, king of the Norse Gods and Father of Victory and War. Kazamyr exhaled, in awe of what he had just witnessed. Never mind the danger, I should have come along! Should have been there myself! Imagine that— to witness a Valkyrie in the flesh!

Of course, that didn't answer everything; there remained the matter of which Valkyrie had been summoned here in Redrock. But that field only contained a few significant possibilities, and once he had some time to think and research, it wouldn't take him long to narrow it down to one. Grinning, he whispered gleefully to his Servant, this time via telepathy rather than a bird. "Well played, Rider! Your mind is every bit as keen as your reputation would claim..."

Now what? He'd been planning on going after Caster, but due to the risk of losing his familiar he hadn't been able to keep eyes on her since she emerged from the catacombs, and with the delay caused by Lancer's appearance, there was no guarantee she'd even be in the same place. Besides which, there might be other teams hanging around there as well, just waiting to ambush or spy on us.

The familiar on the lamppost ruffled its feathers once again. "Well, that could have gone worse... but the timing was bad. Dawn isn't far off, and I'm afraid Caster's team has likely moved from where I last spied them." It punctuated its annoyance by clicking its claws against the hard metal beneath. "No matter, we'll have plenty of nights to hunt them yet." It dipped its head briefly towards the Master of Assassin. "Stay safe, and try not to expose yourself during the day. Blend in with the locals, wear what they wear, avoid speaking Japanese where others might hear you. It would be a shame if my ally were to get caught before we can even show off our combined strength, no? Now, Rider, let's take our leave."

The familiar took off, flapping its wings and quickly ascending into the warm summer night. As it glided just over the young Master's head, however, it whispered down at her, just loud enough to hear but too quiet to be caught by any unanticipated eavesdroppers:

"Eleven PM tomorrow, under the old bridge on Morrison Boulevard." It cawed once, louder now. "See you there!"

With that, it flapped again, rising further and further until it disappeared into the gloom.

@King Cosmos@Raineh Daze@VitaVitaAR

They'd managed to find shelter after that.

It wasn't the safest place, but the old, abandoned building was at least dry and had a ceiling. Assassin had to cut through some tape, and ensure that no-one else was hanging around and there wasn't any serious danger in the area they had selected, but her Master had to rest for the night.

When morning came, Assassin was still awake, standing guard over her Master. Servants didn't have to sleep, after all. They could, but... well, her Master had to stay safe, especially somewhere like this!

@Anza@Raineh Daze@King Cosmos@KoL@PKMNB0Y

The sun broke through a thin layer of clouds, staining them a deep purple as its orange radiance swept past their wispy vapors and blazed high over the horizon. As the last shreds of darkness faded away with a gentle sigh, bright dawn met with earth the color of rust, each accentuating the other's natural hues and making clear from whence this town had earned its name: from stone and dirt alike turned bloody red by the touch of the morbid heavens. Viewed from afar, the landscape looked almost as if some great massacre had taken place the night before.

An omen which, as of yet, remained frustratingly unfulfilled.

Fiery light trickling through the open window of a dingy apartment, rented out a week prior, and illuminated the shape of a lanky man sat deep in thought. Kazamyr hadn't slept much. He'd rested, letting his body recover a little from the strain of using so many familiars alongside a Servant, but all the while his mind had been turning, and before the day even broke he'd risen and showered, dressing once more in pure black as he considered what needed to be done.

Clearly his enemies were playing things safe, for the most part. He supposed that he'd have noticed any Servant battles occurring, but none had, other than the one he'd instigated himself and then cut short before it stretched beyond a swift exchange of blows. His brow furrowed. Is this to be a war of attrition, then? It made sense, given the seven sides, that the obvious tactic would be to wait things out and let the other factions deal with each other. Hence the notable absence of Saber, Berserker, and Archer... A slow grind, however, wasn't Kazamyr's style. He'd spent his time waiting and setting up already, and he wasn't the kind of man to count on victory falling into his lap while he languished in inaction.

The 'alliance' was his biggest advantage. Hard to say how much that girl trusted him at this stage, but if he could secure her cooperation for at least another night or two, they could overwhelm their opponents one at a time with the combined strength of their Servants. As such, he'd been researching his targets, readying himself to confront them in the very near future.

Handwritten notes lay scattered about the room, alongside the wards and glyphs that protected the apartment from assault and observation. Notes on the Valkyries, a list of possible identities for Lancer. Brynhildr, Eir, Geirdriful... On another sheet, sparse bullet points detailing famous witches within the last millennium. On yet another, some interesting tidbits he'd found on Japanese warrior women, legends that might explain Assassin's blinding speed. Uesugi Kenshin, Nakano Takeko, Tomoe Gozen... All possible, but none of them quite seemed to fit. He'd need to dig deeper, there.

He'd also considered the known abilities of the other Servants, and how one might deal with them. Assassin wasn't much stronger than Rider, but was slippery and quick. If it came to a fight he'd need to find a way to pin her down, and if they fought together he'd want to take care to keep opponents from doing the same. Lancer was a bigger problem: likely stronger than Rider due to her class, armed with powerful magecraft from the Age of Gods, and on top of that she could almost certainly fly. Which is bad news, when our trump card is an elephant charge.

Most of all, though, he was worried about Saber. Supposedly the strongest class of all, but a complete unknown thus far. What am I up against? Where are they hiding? The thought made him shudder with dread and anticipation both. I wonder...

"Rider," he pondered aloud, "you've been able to meet some of our opponents now, and even crossed blades with one of them. So tell me— if it had turned into a serious fight last night, could you have defeated Assassin? Or defeated Lancer? What would be your chances, if you had to guess?"

@King Cosmos

Standing near the window, far enough to the side so as not to block the light entering the apartment and staring out at the city beyond the dingy pane of glass, Rider too was deep in thought. He was preoccupied with the events of last night and the two Servants he had encountered, so it was apt that his Master should ask him about them now.

“The Assassin is not what I expected; her swordplay was superb and her speed extraordinary.” Better than his own, definitely. Not to mention he was certain that she had been holding much of her strength back during the fight; neither of them had brought their Noble Phantasms to bear after all. “During our battle I never got the impression she was looking for a chance to slip away like I would expect an assassin to, though I didn’t have time to discern her full strategy. I would believe she is a swordswoman through and through where it not for her given class suggesting otherwise.” If Kazamyr hadn’t overheard the young girl call her Servant Assassin then he would have assumed she was a Saber.

“I can defeat her, depending on what tricks she has hidden away. I have ways of nullifying her advantage of speed should we face each other again; if I were to take away her agility then I believe I could best her in combat.” His strategies were based on incomplete information however and depending on the nature of his opponents Noble Phantasm could fall apart. Lancer all but giving away his identity and therefore his trump card didn’t help either.

“As for Lancer… I am certain I would lose should I try to face her. I know almost nothing about her other than her class, but I know a powerful opponent when I see one.” She had known who he was at a glance, which didn’t sit when with the father of strategy. It bothered him immensely as a matter of fact. “That and I seem to have annoyed her during our brief encounter.”

@Anza

"Annoyed her, you say?" Kazamyr laughed at that. "Well, isn't that unfortunate! Though I confess, that might have been partly my fault." It had been hard not to take on a slightly mocking tone whilst talking through a crow. That, and his status and methods as a lowly mercenary didn't tend to sit well with high-and-mighty types. "Alas, I doubt there's much we can do in that regard, and it may be for the best. One alliance is fine, but we should still think of the other Servants as our mortal enemies."

He pinched his chin, considering. It sounded like Rider could maybe win against Assassin, or at least hold her off for a while. And that one's Master seemed vulnerable, which could give Kazamyr an opening to take out the pairing if his Servant was unable. On the other hand... there's no use in taking them out right now, since we're supposed to be working together. It was good to have contingencies— there was only one Grail to go around, after all —but for now he needed to focus on the immediate targets. Lancer is definitely a problem, even assuming she gives us two days. But Assassin mentioned a duel... If he could let the other two Servants fight one-on-one under the pretense of honor, then perhaps the speedy swordswoman would be able to injure the Valkyrie enough to leave her vulnerable to a follow-up assault. Dear Lancer wouldn't approve of such tactics, of course, but it's not as if she likes us anyway. Besides, it's easy for a great warrior like her to put pride and honor on a pedestal, but rats such as I have no choice but to play dirty. No choice!

He stood up and stretched, slow and languid. All this scheming was starting to give him a headache. "I thank you for your honesty, Rider. What little we've learned, we'll make good use of tonight." He smiled. "But for now, I'd say a little fresh air is in order. Breakfast, I think, followed by a trip to the library." Searching online had given him plenty of leads to chase with regards to the identities of his opponents, but books were often more thorough, especially when it came to history. It'd also be useful to read up on Redrock itself, to see if he could find anything interesting buried in the town's past. I've heard there are catacombs... and if my enemies are hiding down there, a map of some kind will be essential.

"I'll take care to stay in public," he continued, stepping towards the door, "and as far as I know nobody's seen my face, so chances are I'll be safe. Still, it wouldn't hurt to have you around, if you're amenable." He looked back at Rider. "And if there's anywhere you'd like to visit yourself, I could probably manage a detour or two."

@King Cosmos

Fire.
Blue flames wreathed the land, stretching into the sky as if to block anyone else from bearing witness to what was within. She, of course, was in the middle of it all. In her arms, an older man, bearing on his face a pair of glasses, lay limp. She, too, seemed to have no strength in her limbs; her legs refused to move, and her hands remained firmly clasped in place.
And as the flames grew brighter, the heat grew, until finally——

Astrid opened her eyes as the apparent nightmare ended, the mild concern evident on her face as she groggily got up from her bed and stretched her arms. The scene that presented itself was unnaturally vivid, and the young woman could feel the cold sweat on her forehead slowly dripping down. While the caffeine from last night's coffee had done its job well (down to the perfectly timed crash following her shower and change of clothes), the scant hours of sleep she had been given were just a few too little. The sun seemed to barely rise over the horizon, judging by the light barely streaming through her window, but that meant this was probably one of the best times to handle any other issues at hand. It was definitely far too early to go shopping—that'd have to come after some breakfast—but at the very least, she could attempt to contact her mother. It was probably sometime in the evening in Korea, anyhow, and it wasn't as if she was a magus with the ability to prepare. She could make a few runes, yes, but without actually having burned any resources during their scouting last night there wasn't much of a point in doing so.

With that in mind, the half-valkyrie pulled out a laptop from her luggage and, after setting up whatever needed to be set up, attempted to contact her mother. The miracle of the internet was not something to be underestimated, and Astrid wasn't so fixated on tradition that she would pass up the opportunity to use this on the job anyhow.

"Oh, right, Lancer," Astrid remarked as the somewhat obnoxious sound of the call connecting bounced through the room, "we should visit the Church before buying you a change of clothes. I believe that was something mandatory to be handled...?"

Before long, the sound resonating from the computer stopped, and after a second of pause, the sight of a woman with blonde hair chatting with an older Korean man popped up on screen.

"Oh, Astrid!" the man said, waving at the screen from the other side as she waved back. "I heard you went to America for—"

"Not now, Seong-il!" berated the woman next to him, and before long the old man was shooed off somewhere to the side. "So, young lady, did you meet any troubles over there?"

"Er... No, not particularly, but I did meet... I don't know, one of my aunts? I think that's the best way to describe the situation..."

"Oh?"

Given that her father wasn't exactly aware of anything involving magi, Astrid found this to be the easiest way of dancing around the issue. It was possible that Lancer would poke her head in to speak, but... Well, she'd cross that bridge when she came to it.

@KoL


Once the matters for the night were handled and his Master returned back to his base, Archer wasted no time in slipping out and scouting the rest of the town out. Finding 'contacts' was far easier than he had expected, and the funds that he had obtained from his Master were enough to at least set up a basic information network. Despite learning of the marvel that was modern technology, the idea of having something so easily traceable by others turned the old dandy off from the idea of utilizing it altogether. While it might be easy to connect with others, a system like that made it just as simple for any plebian to follow the tracks back to him.

That was far from the ideal.

Once that was handled, though, Archer returned back to the hotel where his Master was and took some time for himself to sleep. Despite being a Servant (and, by all means, dead), the feeling of rest after having accomplished something was still something worth savoring. There was still more to be done later, but for now...

This would do fine.

Awakening early the next morning was a simple task, but it was a matter of waiting for his Master to be awake and alert before seeing if any of the seeds he had sewn had borne fruit.

@King Cosmos

“I will accompany you. It would do well to familiarise myself with the town and its surroundings before it becomes a battlefield.” Knowledge was power. An old cliché perhaps, but no less true for it; especially for one such as him, who relied on his mind far more than the strength of his arms or the swiftness of his feet to claim victory. “Maps would be useful, if the library has them, but nothing compares to first-hand experience in this regard.”

It would also be wise to seek as much information as possible on their opponents; their strategies would be far more discernable if he had even an inkling of what they were capable of, or had some idea of what drove them in life. Assassin was surely hiding some kind of trick, else she would not have been summoned in such a class; her past might give some hint as to what that was. And Lancer… perhaps his Master’s words had contributed to her soured mood somewhat, but it had seemed to him like she had somehow taken offence to the idea that he would prefer to keep his name hidden.

“I’m unaware of a Heroic Spirit — especially one of the last warriors to roam the battlefields of Age of the Gods — who would not feel pride in having their identity be recognized by others”

It would seem his legend had travelled quite far indeed since his death; even heroes from lands far from his own knew who he was. It was hard not to feel some pride in that, his deeds had earned him the right to be remembered as one of the greatest tacticians who ever lived and rightfully so, even if personal glory had never been his main goal in life.

But this was a war, one where having your name and abilities known put one at a large disadvantage. He may have been proud of his moniker as the ‘Father of Strategy’ but if announcing it only weakened his position relative to his opponents then why would he knowingly reveal it? He may be a Heroic Spirit but he still considered himself a general first and foremost; his first priority would always be the claim victory in this war.

“Have you given any thought towards how we are going to make use of our new ally? It was you who suggested the alliance after all; though I have a feeling it was a spur of the moment decision for you.”

@Anza

****

Thomas awakened not long after Archer did, emerging from his bedroom fully dressed and eager to start the new day. Although, there was not as much to do today as he had hoped; alas, his hunt last night had proven futile and he had not been able to find even a single person who might have been one of the other Masters in the war. This would set back his preparations, something which he had not wanted to do as it could cost him the war entirely.

“Good morning Archer. Did you make much progress last night?”

Hopefully his Servant’s attempt to set up an information network had been more fruitful than his own endeavours, and also that the money he had provided the man with had been spent well. Heading for the kitchen he began boiling water for tea, somewhat despondent over the lack of a kettle, and made preparations for breakfast.

While the water boiled the Magus walked over to where he had left his luggage the previous night. Opening the smaller of the two suitcases, the one which held all of accoutrements of his magecraft, he pulled out a small paper-wrapped parcel and carried it over to the coffee table before sitting down on the couch. Removing the wrapping from the parcel revealed a small block of wax and at the same time Thomas pulled a small penknife from his pocket and placed it on the table next to it.

Reaching up to touch the frame of his glasses the Magus activated the magecraft latent within them, the image of a blue-haired young woman appearing before his eyes as the memory stored within them was brought out. Picking up the knife and the wax Thomas began to skilfully carve the block into a likeness of the executioner he had seen last night, catching a glimpse of the woman as he waited to see if anyone would make a late night visit to the church.

Even if he didn’t intend to do anything with it, creating a poppet linked to the churches operative may prove useful later on; you could never tell how events might play out and the witch was always a fan of being overly prepared. Besides, without an image of any of the other Masters to work with it wasn’t like he could start preparations against them anyway and he needed something to pass the time with as he listened to Archer’s report.

@PKMNB0Y

"I would recommend against doing that, Master," Lancer said as her Master talked about visiting the Church. "Rider's Master is a shrewd adversary. It's all but certain that he set his familiars all over the city, especially the Church. We would be taking a pointless risk to go there on our own. Furthermore, the fact that you were able to summon a Servant and form a contract with them is proof enough that you are allowed to take part in this ritual. Acquiescence to the Church's demands is not necessary, but if you still wish to do so, I recommend that you send a courier — especially an unrelated party — carrying a message that does not disclose any important information. That should be enough to satisfy the Overseer if they know anything about their role in this conflict," she said as she observed her Master set up the computer for a video conference. The silver-haired Lancer had an impressed look in her face as she admired the device, especially its ability to reproduce letters and symbols instantly, even though no one would be able to see her expression while she was in her spirit form.

"That said, his choice of using Father's sacred birds as his familiars will be to our advantage. When the time comes, I'll be able to turn his eyes against himself."

As soon as her Master was done with her talk, Lancer materialized her physical body before the camera. Before she spoke even a single word, she drew a few runes in the air, producing a bounded field that isolated their room from the outside word. She didn't fear the idea of others finding about her identity, but betraying the privacy of her Master's family relations was a completely different matter.

"I'm pleased to meet you, Madam. I'm Brynhildr, Queen of Isenlant and the oldest of the Allfather's Chooser of the Slain. However, for this Holy Grail War, I have been summoned as a Lancer-class Servant under the command of your daughter. You can rest assured that I'll not allow any harm to come to her, even if it costs my life to do so," Lancer said, introducing herself in a formal way.

Sleeping in an abandoned apartment with a pile of blankets that Okita had found... somewhere (and she wasn't going to ask too closely--she'd rather not break the law or acknowledge that, but it was a darn sight better than freezing to death) was not the most comfortable thing that Ami had ever done, and still left rather a lot of questions unresolved. Food. Drink. Access to running water because otherwise there would probably be some sort of enemy that could track her through scent.

For now, the schoolgirl had just done the same thing she had every day since her Servant had been summoned: practise as soon as she was awake. Knowing that there were people that would want to kill her... there was no way that she could let her training, however inadequate, slip!

"Assassin, I know you used to teach this. I've dreamt it. So, do you think...?"

---

One of the biggest disadvantages to not being a normal Servant was that she couldn't get away with not sleeping entirely. Oh, Kezia had her ways to get the most out of as little sleep as possible-=-a witch had to be good with potions--but there was no getting around that she would suffer to go entirely without rest. Fortunately, she could use the time spent waiting for her Master to fall asleep to prepare.

She did not want to risk any dreams of her life getting through. Or, rather, she needed to strictly control them--and that took some planning. It wouldn't be the worst thing for Kirsi to learn here and there what her magecraft was really about, but if the dreams covered the full range of her memories, then the entire looping nature of her existence would come to light.

So she played it safe. Manipulating dreams was a speciality of hers, and what could go wrong with showing everyday life in colonial Salem? Maybe if she got lucky, her Master would wind up recognising Abigail's name this time and look up the witch trials instead. Not that she remembered them, they'd not happened from her perspective... but the witch knew that, ironically, she wouldn't be caught by them. The records were there.

And any iterations where her past wasn't investigated were so much easier.

At the mention of the name Brynhildr and the Servant materializing in front of the camera, both Astrid and her mother freaked out, if only for a moment. Though Astrid herself was more shocked about how brazen the Lancer was (and the revelation of her name, which she hadn't actually been told of up until now), her mother seemed to be frozen stiff.

"B-Brynhildr? Elder sister?!" she asked, practically screaming into the microphone before Astrid's frantic gesturing towards her in an attempt to get her to calm down finally registered. "A-ahem. My apologies. It has been a while, elder sister. Though it may be a bit troublesome, I do hope you will take care of my daughter."

With that awkward moment past them, Astrid let a nervous smile slip on her face as she turned towards Brynhildr.

"Well, as you can probably tell by now, my mother, Mist... Was one of the last remaining valkyries wandering the Earth after the rest had left. Or so she's said; it's not like I've ever been part of a family reunion to see the others."

"B-but in any case, elder sister... How are you liking America? Though I'd much prefer to take care of you in my daughter's stead over here in Korea, you two have a job to do over there, right? You should visit us once you're done over there, actually!" Mist continued, a smile on her face unlike any other Astrid had seen.

"Mother, this is the first time I've ever seen you smile like that," Astrid said with a slight smirk on her face.

"Well, of course! It's been ages since I've seen Elder Sister, after all! Wouldn't you be happy to see someone you haven't seen for so long, too?"

@KoL


Once the old man in the next room over got out of bed, Archer, though still wishing to savor the lingering feeling of sleepiness, pulled himself out of bed and changed back into his usual outfit. The day was still young, which meant it was the time for more civilian joys. Fighting could be left to the cover of night, where all manner of things was best done with a modicum of secrecy.

"Ah, Master," he said, walking out to find that a pot of tea was already being prepared. "Last night went far smoother than I had expected it to. No interference from the other Servants or their Masters made my job far easier; we should be seeing the results of our money in a few days' time at the absolute worst; should they, well... Disappear from the web I have weaved, their peers should give us the information we need to track down the culprit. If the others stand out, then it should be a simple matter of eliminating them once we have learned of their patterns and mannerisms. Ah, would you pour me a cup, too?"

As things were now, he was simply playing the waiting game. It would be incredibly difficult for anyone to mistake him for anything more than an old man, after all, and playing the role would make it all the easier to toy with his enemies should they fall for it.

Simple.

@King Cosmos

For a few moments, the girl samurai paused. It was almost as if what her Master was asking her didn't immediately click... but soon enough, Assassin put two and two together.

"Oh, you want me to try teaching you?" asked the swordswoman, brightly. She smiled. The memories of being an instructor of swordplay were fond ones. To be honest, she was the same age of many of her students. In a few notable cases, she had been younger. As Assassin recalled, there had been more than a few of her students who were surprised by this, but that was mostly the older ones among them. She enjoyed teaching in general, but her favorite people to teach were children. Assassin had always had a soft spot for children, and she loved to see their skills grow as they progressed through their lives. And so, the opportunity to try teaching once more, well... it certainly wasn't an unappealing one.

"It's been a while, but I'm up for giving you a few lessons!" declared the white-haired girl, with a cheerful smile.

@Raineh Daze

"Ah-ah-ah!" Kazamyr held up a finger at the mention of the alliance. "I may have been the enabler there, the one who laid the terms, but the initial suggestion came from that girl, the Master of Assassin. I'd have been perfectly happy to wipe out both her and her Servant, had she not made the plea that we should talk instead of fight."

Throwing on a coat, he headed for the door, switching to their telepathic link rather than talking out loud. "But then, your very claim that I suggested the alliance should tell you how I mean to use it, no? Even if it was her idea to begin with, it has become mine, a tool in my arsenal." It was notable, as he strode silently out of the apartment, that he no longer accompanied his words with gestures. After all, only Rider could hear him, and a man gesturing without speaking would look quite suspicious indeed.

"The most difficult thing about this war is that there are several sides, none of which can fully control the other. Yet as you've admitted yourself, we're not strong enough to defeat them all with mere brute force. Our only hope lies in influencing the other sides into a situation that favors us." Once Rider was through the door, in spirit form or otherwise, Kazamyr closed it behind him and strode down the hallway, turning to make his way down the staircase to the ground floor. "And so, what better opportunity than this? You saw Assassin's Master: she's naive, without the proper ruthlessness needed to succeed in this war. Left to her own devices, chances are she'd have tried to lay low and hide, until a side like ours cornered her and crushed her like a bug. Useless to us, in short." One floor, two floors, and then he was down at street level, heading for the door. "But now? We can point her at things, drag her with us into fights. We direct Assassin's power, which her Master would have wasted so, towards our mutual enemies. I'll wager she'll get taken out somewhere along the line— but by the time she does, her actions will have shifted the board into a position more advantageous for us. We'll have influenced a Servant's impact on the war, and turned it to our benefit..."

He strode out the door, into the warm morning outside. The sun was up, now, no longer orange-red but shifting into its natural yellow. "And at what cost? Normally such an arrangement would see us manipulated in turn, but that girl? Pah! She's no conniving magus, and Assassin doesn't seem like a schemer to me. So long as we're not stupid about it, we should be able to influence their strategy without compromising ours."

Smiling to himself, he carried on down the street at a brisk pace, heading towards a quaint little corner café he'd scouted out a few days prior. That feeds into our larger goals, too. Lancer might be a difficult opponent in a straight fight, but if we can find Archer and Saber, then we can try to set them against her. As for Caster, she'll likely prove even better at influencing events than we are, so rather than trying to beat her at her own game I say we locate her and crush her as soon as possible. Against superior force, we strike with cunning, and against superior cunning, we strike with force."

@King Cosmos

“Elder Sister?”

It had been a long time since Lancer heard anyone calling her in that way. Even discounting the fact that she had been dead for several centuries, it was still a long time since she had any contact with her origins. Nevertheless, it was impossible to negate who the person before her was. The only way to put this meeting into words was fate, almost as if the hands of the Norns had guided them together.

“I’m as surprised, and glad, as you are. To think that one of us would still be walking the Earth after all these long years. It must have been quite… hard for you to endure,” Lancer said, bringing a clenched fist to her chest as she looked at her sister with wistful eyes. “But, to answer your question, the current world seems very kind. I didn’t get the chance to see much of it yet but I think I like it like this. Even if no more great heroes are ever born. Also, if it’s possible I would do it as well as... visit the resting place of my beloved Sigurd,” she said, answering her sister’s excited questions. Though her voice trailed to barely above a whisper as she finished her reply, almost as if she were talking to herself by the end of it.


To think that anyone could not only sleep but also have a good night of rest while tucked away in a catacomb full of vengeful wraiths and witch of legend, would normally be a travesty. But the fact was that Kirsi was used to think kind of environment, to the point that the most noticeable thing she could remember when she woke up was having some kind of weird dream about an old village, a young girl with a big, shiny forehead, and nothing else of much importance.

“I wonder if that had anything to do with Caster’s past. Also, for some reason, I really feel like having some milk,” she thought as she got back to her feet and readied herself for another day.

“Hey, Caster, do you wanna go out and have some breakfast? I had a strange dream yesterday and now I’m really feeling like having some milk and pancakes. If you want, I can get some for you as well,” Kirsi said after she finished washing her face and changing into some fresh clothes.