Kire smiled at Ysaryn’s statement. “Can’t disobey Envy now, can’t we?” she said, looking at her.
“So you listen to Envy but not us, hm?” Elva said, though her tone was more teasing than angry. “Whatever keeps you alive, I suppose.” She turned to the others. “You’ll have to make them in Daryll’s house, where his alchemy chamber is. I’ve sent along the materials you need there. It’s not far, just a walk across,” Elva said. “The girls will be staying here in the meantime. They’re upstairs, reading in their rooms,” she said to Kire’s silent question.

“Ah. I should spend a little more time with them before we go off to the council tomorrow,” Kire commented before glancing at Gavin. “A few hours then. Though hopefully you lot will be able to take a quick break or two through the duration of it. I know you’re not here on a holiday, but this is Gavin’s first time in Amria, after all.”

“First time in the mountains, too,” Gavin put in, unable to help the grin on his face, “gods, I can feel the chill from here.”
“I’ll have someone hand you proper coats then,” Elva said, amused. “Did you clean up at your place?” she asked Daryll.
“Uhh. Mostly. The house parts, at least.”
Elva rolled her eyes.
“Coming with them? Or stay here?” Kire asked Ysaryn. “Though I’d hazard a guess you wouldn’t be too interested sitting around in the alchemy chamber with them.”

After Elva’s attendants brought coats for them, Daryll led Ruli and Gavin out of the manor. “Shit, that’s cold,” Gavin said, teeth already chattering as they stepped out, the mountain air nipping his skin. Still, he had a wide grin on his face, taking in the view in front of the manor.

Daryll paused to let the lad get a look around. “Not bad, eh?” he said. “I’m not fond of the cold, but the view isn’t terrible. And the people here are much less…” His voice trailed off as he frowned, gesturing. “…stuck up, I suppose, is the description.” He gestured behind them. “This way.”

He led them down the slopes onto a carved stairway until they reached another house, simpler and much smaller than the manor, though still large enough to house a sizeable family. Inside, upon Elva’s instructions, attendants had lit the fireplace and prepared food, anticipating that the guests would be staying here while working. As he had said, the common areas of the house looked clean enough, but once they entered the alchemy chamber, it was a right mess. The smell of singed hair and chemical fumes still lingered faintly. The tables had traces of soot. Half of the large chamber was dedicated to his library and notes. Half of the books and parchments were arranged in order, the other half were strewn about on tables, stacked on chairs. He had, thankfully, cleaned his equipment, at least. These, plus crates of ingredients, were the only ones that looked neatly arranged.

“Uh. Yeah. Sorry,” Daryll said simply, before removing his coat and tossing it on a chair that had two other coats draped over it.
“Holy gods. Envy will throw a fit,” Gavin whispered, suddenly glad the Kartaian made him help with arranging his things.
“There’s hot chocolate or coffee upstairs. You can bring down food if you want,” Daryll said as he cleared space on the tables for them.

Thankful for the coat, Ruli followed Daryll, Gavin in tow, out into the cursed snow and down the slope. In the back of his mind, Ruli would have appreciated the view if it weren't for the blistering cold that burrowed down into his bones. He shivered immediately, recalling that the last time, he'd barely stepped out of the house before deciding the snow wasn't something he'd enjoyed. The horrible morning after that night with Kire.
Are you sure you weren't too hasty? He wondered as they marched down the stairs. He picked his way carefully, fearful of slipping. If you're thinking about it... Or, maybe you're just thinking about it because you're here again.

He pushed the thought of her and all she reminded him of out of his head as they stepped inside Daryll's house. Keeping his jacket on, Ruli followed into the alchemy room, where his expression matched Gavin's.
"Holy Gods is right." Ruli said in awe. "This is larger than what we had in Ziad. Look, you have ... and these? I've never seen more than one before. They're so rare in my world I never hoped to see another one. Are they common here? I ..." Ruli went quiet, eyes wide while his mind tried to accept the room and all that it held.
He instantly wanted to tell Gavin not to bring food in here. It was always a rule with Envy's alchemy chamber, as the scents could cover critical clues about recipes, but he felt no need to step on Daryll's hospitality.

"I'll pass." Ruli said, honestly having no idea what a hot chocolate was. Coffee would be helpful later, though. He clapped his hand together. "Okay. So."

They dove into work. Bent over the tables, each writing notes the other couldn't read, asking for Gavin's input on certain magics in case it aligned with what he recalled while under Ikegai's control. They went to work making the alchemical recipe for a flash bomb, Ruli working on the colour while Gavin and Daryll went to work on the bottles. A two part compartment that, when shattered, will allow to two pieces of the puzzle to mix. A few times, they went outside to test, recreating the flash accurately enough, but they couldn't get rid of the hiss that accompanied it. It wouldn't matter, they decided, battle was loud.

After a break for coffee, Ruli wandered back down to pour over the map again, going into detail about the wards, the pieces to that, the decision made to make it difficult to break and what would happen if they tried. The difficult parts were, of course, keeping Kire out of the warded zones, or, as he opened discussion, a way to hide her from the Gemini beyond the decoy 'portals.

~

Up in the main manor, Ysaryn paced for a while, figuring Kire needed time alone with family. She bundled herself up, with the coat Ed had lent to her, as well as a few more borrowed items and she went out into the snow to run through her exercises, practicing with her new blades to get used to their weight.

Gavin, too, knew the importance of keeping food away from any workspace that involved volatile and delicate processes, though he was also sorely tempted to dash back to the dining hall to at least taste the food. Work first. As soon as Ruli and Daryll were ready, Gavin nodded, and they began putting their heads together for the job. Though, like with Narda, Gavin was wary of other outbursts, it seemed for the most part Daryll was alright with working in close quarters with him. Was he just testing me, then? he thought, eyeing the Wyvern scholar now and then in between tasks. Thankfully, the alchemy chamber and their work absorbed his attention too much to be overly bothered by this thought. And while he always enjoyed the lessons he had from Envy and Ruli, actually working on a project like this invigorated him in a way he hadn’t felt before. Not since…no. While there had been some excitement when Ikegai had first taken him in, the fear, guilt, and disgust for himself and the tasks he was coerced to do had wrung out whatever budding interest in magic he had had while under his unwilling tutelage.
Everything seemed to go well. He didn’t particularly mind the hiss that went with the flash when they tested it, or maybe he was just too excited that they were testing something out at all for him to really find it detrimental. And as they pointed out, battle was loud. They went back inside for a break, and while Ruli had coffee, Gavin decided to be a bit more adventurous and tried out what Daryll called hot chocolate. “Holy shit. You should have this stuff,” he said, looking down at his mug like it contained the elixir of life. He quickly drained it and filled it back up with another full mug before they went back to work.
“We could have someone wear an enchanted piece of jewelry?” Gavin asked, as the discussion moved to how to keep Kire away from, or safe within, the warded zones.
“Mm. Like the flashes, that would have a momentary effect, though eventually they would figure out the subterfuge,” Daryll replied. “Unless the visual illusion is accompanied by another that would mask her.”
Gavin chewed his lip, tapping the now-empty mug as he thought it over. “Like—someone else’s aura, right?” he asked.
Daryll looked at him. “There had been some discussion before about making people untraceable.” He looked at Ruli, wondering if the matter of using Gemini blood had been brought up in front of Gavin before.

--
“Slow down, you two!” Kire called after the girls, laughing as Etta and Precy practically ran downstairs. She had stayed with them in their room for a while, hearing them gossip, and affirming that, indeed, they had bothered Daryll about the details of what they had talked about. Kire was thankful that, though her scholarly cousin was terrible at keeping secrets, he had enough sensibility to spare the girls from the more unsavory details. After a while, though, the girls requested to go outside, especially after hearing that she had brought another friend from the other world back with her.
They found Ysaryn soon enough, and Kire wasn’t at all surprised that the elf had been occupying herself with drills using the new sabers. “Can’t wait to use them, can you?” she called out, grinning as she stood in the snow, while the girls looked on, eyes wide. Kire looked down at them, amused. “Etta and Precy, this is my good friend Ysaryn. These are my cousins. Precy is Daryll’s younger sister.
Etta gasped, already enraptured. “Your hair! It’s beautiful!” she exclaimed, gawking, looking like she was biting back a request to touch it. Pres elbowed her, but was obviously similarly enthralled. Etta blushed, and both girls curtsied in greeting.

Ruli hummed thoughtfully, glancing from Daryll to Gavin. "There is an idea," he began cautiously. "I need to remind you this is simple discussion at the moment, and we're not yet asking. But if we were to use Gemini blood and use it to mask her, or a few of us, the Gemini wouldn't be able to locate her as easily. Like, if they sense her, they'll mistake her for another one of their own. Be more likely to ignore her." Or come running, if they sensed their ally was in danger, but Ruli didn't peg them for the empathetic type.
He shook his head, running his hand over her bound hair. "Its trickier, and would require the fresh blood of a Gemini. The more we use, the more powerful it is, but its not something I want to jump straight for. Not unless we can't find an alternative." Ignoring the fact that he'd used Kire blood, but only to find her blood relation or, only to use on her own person. This was different. "Hiding Kire with Gemini blood, thought, would be useful. And, if by chance we used her blood in turn to mask someone else in her aura, then we would have a genuine decoy, complete with the flash bombs."

~

Ysaryn paused mid-lunge, lowering her arms and straightening as the noise hit her ears, and she turned toward the manor to spot the girls rushing toward her. Ysaryn blinked, not entirely used to children, let alone two of them. To Kire, she grinned. "I need to be ready." She insisted, looking down to the girls as Kire introduced them. When the blonde one complimented her hair, Ysaryn grinned again, flashing her teeth. "And you hair, too. Gold like jewel, like you cousin, Kirai." She gestired to Etta's curls, twirling her finger to wordlessly mention. "Those are rare. Not see often."

Daryll looked at his notes as he thought this over. “On paper, that does sound like the perfect decoy. Should we proceed with it.”
Gavin nodded. “I’ll—I’ll think about it,” he said after a while, still tapping the mug in thought. “That would mean I need to be there too, right? To make sure the blood’s as fresh as possible?” He glanced at Ruli. “And we gotta figure out which one of you’ll be the decoy, too.”
“Can we start preparations for that now, or is that something we need to do closer to the time of the siege?” Daryll asked, then wrinkled his nose. “Gods, that reminds me, I did volunteer to attend the war council. That’s going to be long and grueling.” He looked at the lad beside him. “I’m not sure if it would be wise for you to attend that, though.”
Gavin’s face fell. “I’m starting to see that. Not everyone’s gonna get up in my face simply to test me. They might actually mean it.”
Daryll smirked at that. “We’ll see how Her Highness feels about it first. Along with the idea of a decoy. You two are lucky; she’s oddly mellowed out just a little bit.”
“Kire’s mellowed out?” Gavin asked, brows raised. Daryll chuckled.

--

Etta giggled. “Thank you,” she said back. “Are you gonna spar with her?” she asked Kire.
“I haven’t had the pleasure yet, come to think of it,” Kire replied, smirking at Ysaryn
“Yeah, we haven’t seen you spar in a long time, Kay,” Precy put in, turning to Ysaryn, “she’s the second best swordsman in our family.”
Kire gasped, mock indignant. “What do you mean second?” The girls giggled.
“Ed’s the best one,” Etta said, grinning cheekily. “and then you. Only ‘coz it’s faster for you to get sloppy, he says.”
Precy nodded din agreement. “Jan doesn’t spar much, but she’s wicked good at archery. Daryll and Elva don’t fight at all. But they’re good at other things, anyway.”
“Hmm.” Kire was already shrugging off her cloak. “We do have some time yet before the boys come back from their tinkering, I think.” She smirked at Ysaryn.

Ruli made a face, hesitating. Envy would kill him if anything happened to Gavin, and having him on the field, in the thick of battle, put him in danger. And if anyone discovered he was Gemini? "I don't like that. But I told Envy I'd stay by you. So, if you go, you're with me." He considered putting him next to Ysaryn, but something told him the elf would toss him to the enemy for another sword. "You've been sparring with Zeke and Ysaryn, how are you doing? Have you won against either of them?"

To Daryll's follow up question about when to begin, Ruli tapped his finger on the table. "We need to figure out who we're sending in as a decoy. And ... I hate it, but Ysaryn's right. Myself or Ed would be the prime candidates. They'll be looking for blond hair and high ranked armour. If we used me as Kire's double, and I went into the grounds to negate magic, and carried a few of the flash bombs, I would draw attention. I like myself more then Ed because, should anything go wrong, I can get out before magic is gone. And, in turn, Kire would be masked as a Gemini, which would make her invisible. Unless we can get two of us. Ed and myself, both. Make them look in two different directions. But," Ruli looked up to Daryll again. "He's probably needed on the field, isn't he?"

~

When it was mentioned that Kire hadn't sparred with Ysaryn yet, the elf let out a sadistic chuckle. "I would wipe the snow with your precious face, Chieftess." She said teasingly. Hopefully. But, when Kire offered the option, Ysaryn spread her arms in a mock bow in invitation. "Come to me, then. Chieftess to Chieftess. I win, I get you pretty crown." With a swing of her arms, she turned her sabres in the air, emitting a dangerous whoosh sound.

Gavin cringed at Ruli’s question. “’Almost’ doesn’t count, right?”
“Nope,” Daryll said, not looking up from the notes he was browsing through. “I’m shit at physical stuff, but even I know that much.”
“Right. Was afraid of that. I’m good for a street brawl but not war,” he admitted. “But I’m only going if you need me there. And I haven’t decided yet if I’ll say yes.”
Daryll looked up from his notebook. “I understand it’s a big thing to ask of you,” he admitted. “Only say yes if you’re sure. Though, I’d also like to point out you might need to decide by the end of the day, before the war council.”
The scholar turned to Ruli. “You’re right. Ed would be needed on the field to command the soldiers. And especially if we’re disguising Kire. We can’t have both of them invisible from the battle.”

--
Kire laughed at Ysaryn’s remark, rolling her shoulders. “Funny. Was thinking same,” Kire replied in Elvish, returning the wicked grin. At Ysaryn’s challenge, the girls ‘ooooh-ed’, with Etta dissolving into giggles as they stood back and found a place to sit. “First you have to help me get the crown back, though,” Kire pointed out with a laugh. “And if I win…hmm. I don’t know. Ask Ed if he’d like to have dinner with you? I don’t know how it works for elves,” she added with a shrug. “I just want to see if he’ll get flustered, for once.” She unsheathed her own sword.

Each round went by fast. Ysaryn was light on her feet, and Kire recalled the first time she had watched the elf spar with Bolym back at the mountains where she had first met the Ziadi. She didn’t dance around. Certainly wasn’t like Jan, who was calculating with every move and barely took risks, or Ed, who, the few times she had been able to spar with him this past six months, had combined his long experience as an Amrian swordsman with the Raielwen’s prowess. By the end of their session, they had won two rounds each. “You don’t hold back at all, do you?” she laughed, breathless.
Kire was on one knee, her sword at Ysaryn’s side, while the elf’s sabers were inches from her neck. “This makes us even,” she said out, red-faced from the exercise. She grinned. “Looks like you’ll have no problem with your sabers.” She climbed to her feet, brushing snow from her knees as she caught her breath.
“It was kinda like watching two versions of Kay, isn’t it?” Pres whispered, after the end of the fourth round.
Etta giggled. “Kinda. They’re different but sort of the same somehow.”

A servant had approached them, politely informing them that there was food and drink ready for them, and that they had called Daryll and the others back, too. “We should do this again. I want to see you in hand-to-hand. I’ve been curious ever since I saw you training with Bolym,” Kire remarked, sheathing her blade as they followed the servant back inside. “Is there spiced wine?” Kire asked, once they were seated around the table.
Elva and Daryll both frowned at her. “Now, Kay,” Elva said, pointing a fork at her. “You know what happened the last time.”
Kire went scarlet, glancing at Ruli briefly, before Daryll went on.
“Yeah, it’s never a good idea to let this one have a hangover at an important meeting,” he said to the others, shaking his head. “You’ll start a whole other war.”
Kire almost breathed out a sigh of relief when she realized they weren’t going to bring up the particular incident she had in mind. She cleared her throat and told them about the sparring session, with gleeful commentary from the younger cousins as they ate.

Afterwards, with the girls excused, she asked the men about how their planning had gone, and Daryll explained what they had accomplished so far.
“And thus far, we’ve agreed that it might be best for Ruli to be our decoy. We would need your blood for that, too. And, if Gavin agrees, his blood would be used to conceal you.”
“Unless there’s an alternative,” Gavin put in.
Kire was silent, thinking over the details. While she was anxious about Ruli drawing most of the fire as the decoy, he at least had the capability of holding his own in a battlefield. She was concerned with Gavin, though. “I can use my blood for the decoy. Barring the use of Gavin’s is there anybody else’s aura we could use?”
“No.” Gavin spoke up. “No way around it. Unless you got another Gemini.” He sighed deeply, but his eyes showed he was resolute. “We could find an alternative, but the council is tomorrow, and the battle would happen not long after that, right?”
Kire nodded. “This isn’t an easy thing to agree to.”
“I know.”
“I’ll ask you again tomorrow, right before we leave. Just to be sure,” Kire put in.
Gavin smiled briefly at that, but said nothing else.
Elva sighed. “I suppose then you’ll start working on this decoy thing tonight?”
“Now that we’ve decided who it is, yes.”

Kire went with them back to Daryll’s house. Much of Daryll’s work she could barely follow, and with three of them working together, she tried to make herself scarce, until it was time to draw blood from her. Daryll watched closely, both intrigued at the process and slightly worried, knowing how ambivalent Kire was with this kind of magic. Gavin, though, felt…peculiar. The last time he had gone anywhere near any kind of blood magic felt like a lifetime ago. This was both familiar and totally different. They were doing this to protect someone. Against my kin. He had no affinity for them yet beyond shared blood. But it was still a strange thought to reckon with.

She did see the look on his face, but said nothing yet. Let him think through it. After that, she returned to her restless pacing until Daryll insisted she go somewhere else until they were finished. Kire hunted down Ysaryn, ready for that rematch she mentioned earlier, this time without swords. By the end of the day, Kire had a thoroughly good workout, though her mind was definitely still racing, thinking over how the war council would go tomorrow. She was mostly quiet over dinner too, not wanting her thoughts on the coming battle to seep into dinnertime talk while Etta and Precy were with them. Once dinner was over, Gavin asked Daryll if he could have a room to stay at his instead of the manor, wanting to look through the library in the alchemy chamber. Happy to finally have somebody who was enthusiastic about talking to him about his work, Daryll agreed.

Deciding it would be best to turn in early and have a clear head for the meeting tomorrow, Kire went for a short bath in the hot springs before returning to her room to retire for the night.

Ysaryn exhaled heavily, her breath rising in a cloud. "To hold back is to stop trying." She answered, retracting her steps and sheathing her weapons. "I like them. Like pieces of me I miss and now have." She gave the weapons an affectionate pat. "When to see Maika? I will return the one and we will share many words."
Watching Kire rise to her feet, Ysaryn turned her head when the servant appeared. She knew they were voluntarily employed and paid, but seeing people serve others made the elf's stomach twist slightly unpleasantly. At least these ones seemed comfortable. The Raielwen servants seemed miserable.
Of course the whole of the Raielwen court looked miserable.

"What is you hope in making Ed fluster?" She asked as they walked in. "You think I will succeed? Maybe I should spar to him, instead. Beaten by younger female would fluster?"

She greeted Daryll, Ruli, and Gavin indifferently, sitting herself at the table and unceremoniously bent her legs to sit with her feet crossed beneath her legs. Leaning back crooked in the chair, she was the exact opposite of Ruli, who sat straight, who was clearly trying to be proper. After taking a moment to redo his hair, he requested a serving of the spiced wine, unable to pass the chance of figuring out if it was the cinnamon within that made him like the drink so much. Only one serving, however, which he nursed slowly over dinner.
The moment Ysaryn noticed he had it, however, she tossed a crooked grin to Kire.
"I'm somehow unsurprised you were able to match her." Ruli said to Kire over his plate. "Not even Zeke can. Granted, he can't fight as well since his injury."
"He improves." Ysaryn muttered in Zeke's defense, and Ruli shrugged, conceding. "Unlike you. You should fight more."
"I don't fight for sport." Ruli argued in their tongue.
"It isn't for sport, its for improvement."
Ruli only gave her a look that ordered her to drop the topic, and they moved on.

When conversation came around to the plans and progress, Ruli, having finished his spiced wine and dinner, leaned on his elbows, her head propped on one fist. "We've tried to consider alternatives." He agreed. "Unfortunately, this is the best chance we have with the least amount of hiccups. If I play my cards right, they won't catch me. Won't even get close enough to notice I'm not actually you."
He watched Gavin as the young man spoke, trying to gauge his temperament and thoughts on the matter. He looked nervous, but Ruli felt it was more of the overwhelming size of the situation, rather than his involvement.

He felt less sure about this shortly after, in Daryll's home again, when it came time to take Kire's blood. Ruli made sure to ask pointedly, before Gavin and for his benefit, if Kire consented to the blood he'd take, explaining how much. Only when she agreed did he press the blade to her skin to draw their valuable ingredient.
He went to work, explaining his process to Daryll and Gavin, slightly unnerved by the rapid note taking from the former. Then he moved on to the enchantment for Kire, asking Gavin for a small amount of his blood just as he had Kire, to walk them through the process of what he'd do in a larger scale the day of the battle.
After a while, he told Gavin to get rest, as the night was creeping on them, and it was only when Daryll muttered that they, too, should rest that Ruli halted his work. Deciding he had no intention of shuffling through the freezing night air to reach the other manor, Ruli also asked for a spare place to sleep, taking another of the spare rooms.

Come morning, he woke to the smell of coffee and followed it to the kitchen. Once he had a mug, he wandered back into the work room to let his eyes wander over their plans, his eyes lingering on the enchantment that would make him the decoy. Such a tricky thing, to make it work when magic was cut off. Stripped of its magic core, it would essentially be work as a thurible, casting the scent of Wyvern blood without the magic. The flash bombs would strengthen the illusion. A few days to get it right. Ruli sighed, going through his mental checklists again.

Gavin had slept late, having been too excited to go to bed early. Before going to his room he had asked Daryll if he could borrow one of the books, never mind if he couldn’t yet understand the script. The runes he could recognize, anyway, as well as some of the drawings. Deciding that, when all this is over, he would like to learn not just Elvish but the Amrian language as well, Gavin finally forced himself to lay down. He woke not too long after Ruli had gone to the alchemy chamber. “Morning,” he greeted. He had forgone the coffee, having more of the hot chocolate. “We should bring back this stuff. It’s like magic. Though it’s got sugar in it…yeah you probably won’t like it.”

He grinned, sipping on his mug, then his eyes scanned their notes. It still felt strange to him, jumping back into bloodwork, and for a war in a foreign land. A foreign world. “Uh…mind if I ask you something personal?” he said after a while. “This is all—almost too much. I’d turn tail and run, but—I’m here to get mine back. For everything that happened. And I wanna see what these people are made of. After being told over and over that they’re a part of me, that I’m supposed to be one of them.” He flexed his hand, where Ruli had made the small cut yesterday. “That’s clear to me. Ysaryn, well, she’s pretty straightforward with what she wants. But…” he trailed off, almost unsure about asking. “You’re pretty far in deep here for someone who’s just swept along. What’s your stake in this? Sorry,” he apologized immediately, knowing how Ruli could be very tight-lipped with regard to himself. “Just curious, is all.”

Not long after, Daryll entered. He looked very different from how he was usually dressed: he combed his long brown hair and attempted to tie it back neatly (without much success), and he wore a light green shirt, doublet, pants, and boots that looked new and more expensive. The face he wore when he entered the alchemy chamber reflected the fact that he wasn’t particularly happy with being attired thus. “Uh…yeah. We’ll be leaving for the war council soon after you’re ready.”
“Well, you’re looking pretty smart,” Gavin said with a grin, before he pursed his lips. “We’re not gonna have to wear formal clothes, are we?”
“Not unless you want to.”
Gavin shuddered. “Not if the demons of hell were after me.” As Lord Itallo’s ward and right hand man, he had worn his fair share of nobleman’s attire, and he wasn’t willing to stuff himself in those clothes anytime soon.

“Lucky you,” Daryll muttered glumly. “Anyway. I spoke to Kire earlier. She said it might be best not to introduce you as a Gemini at the council. So, strictly within family, and close friends.”
Gavin glanced at Ruli, then nodded to Daryll. “Do we bring everything we need? Or are we coming back here?”
“We’ll be back here after the council, so maybe by dinner tonight or early morning tomorrow,” Daryll replied. “Unless you think it’s necessary for the lords and ladies and their officers to see these things, we don’t have to yet. The council is convening at another castle, where the main camp will be. I surmise our main function would be to tell them the broad strokes of the plan so we could coordinate the attack properly, and then to meet with Narda, Maika, and the others to explain how we’ll lay down the wards.”

Gavin exhaled noisily. “How many people will be at the council?”
Daryll looked just as anxious as he was. “Too many for my comfort. Now, and be honest,” he said, pulling out a feathered cap he had tucked under his arm and pulling it down over his head. “Do I look absolutely ridiculous in this? It’s ridiculous isn’t it. Gods, I haven’t worn these since Elva’s marriage.”

Elva was back on the pipe today. She had elected to stay behind to man the fort, but it made her nervous that Kire, Edward, Jan, and even Daryll would be gathered for the war council. Granted, they weren’t all marching to war right this instant, but it made her nervous. “Gods above, I’m a wreck,” she muttered, wondering if it was too early to drown herself in drink. “If I’m like this before the war council, how much worse would I be before the battle itself?”
“You’ll be alright. Once it’s time to work, you have the steadiest hands in the empire,” came Kire’s voice as she entered the great hall. She wore clothes fit for an empress, a lord’s apparel fitted for her more feminine body: a black shirt worn under a deep green doublet with gold embroidery, breeches of the same color, and high boots. Over all these was a black, fur-lined mantle with the Wyvern insignia woven in green and gold thread. Her hair had been tied back, too, and her lips had red rouge on them, standing out even more against her skin and the dark fabric. Her sword gleamed by her side. Elva took a deep breath and walked up to her, holding her by the shoulders.

“You look—ready,” the healer said, lips pursed afterward.
Kire nodded. “The others?”
“Daryll went back to tell them to prepare.”

Ruli glanced over to Gain when he entered, shaking his head. "It smells sweet. I'll pass on it." He declined, sipping his coffee again. As Gavin asked about a personal question, Ruli froze and glanced at him, a million hypotheticals spreading through his mind, wondering what personal question Gavin would ask.
The one he actually voiced wasn't as personal as Ruli dreaded. "I don't have one." Ruli answered. "I've lived a long time. Done some bad things. Here is someone, a whole nation, who needs help, and I can offer mine. So, why wouldn't I?" he asked Gavin in return. "I have a set of skills that are useful. It would be selfish not to help."

He sipped his coffee again, then cleared his throat. "Gavin, being told you belong to a group of people, that you are one of them because of blood you share, its not true." Ruli shared. "You get to decide who your family is. If you don't want to be a Gemini, you don't have to be. You don't have to offer your blood, you don't have to be here, anything. If Envy and Úvano is your family and home, then that's it. Don't let anyone else convince you otherwise."

When Daryll entered shortly after, Ruli blinked, barely recognizing the man. Daryll was visibly unhappy with the outfit, even if he did look smart in it.
"The less people see, the better." Ruli answered. "People talk. Magic makes a lot of people uneasy. Look at Zeke. Or Narda." He looked over their work again. "If anything, bring one of the flash bombs to let them know what to look out for. Avoid the flashes, so if the Gemini move in, they're not in the crossfire. Unless thats the plan." Ruli realized.

"Come on, Gavin." Ruli said, standing upright. "Lets go brush our hair. Can't have Daryll making us look bad."

The three arrived in the main manor shortly after, Ruli's hair was combed but unbound and imprinted from his hair-tie. He wore the same sort of casual clothing he'd had before, deciding no amount formality would force him into clothes like Daryll's.
Or Kire's. Ruli blinked at her as he came inside, pulling the toast from his mouth so he wouldn't choke on it. "Scratch that, Gavin. She is making us look bad."
"You do that on you own." Ysaryn teased from the table, her feet propped up on the chair beside her, her body draped over the armrest. She wore her tight fitting leathers, as usual, the deep scarlet and black robe draped over one shoulder and hip.
"Bite me." Ruli answered. She chuckled at him.

Kire turned around when Daryll, Ruli, and Gavin arrived, raising a brow and smirking at Ruli’s reaction to her getup, then at Ysaryn’s response to him. “The woman has a point. I’d still look better than you if I put a sack on,” she quipped, before grinning at Daryll, who hadn’t been wearing the royal attire when they had spoken earlier this morning. “Nice hat.”
Daryll went red, frowning, as he promptly pulled it off his head. “I don’t know how formal a war council’s going to be! And I didn’t know you weren’t going to wear one!”
Elva looked at Ruli, Gavin, and Ysaryn. “You’re going to need a coat, still. It won’t be snowing where you go, but it would still be cold, and a bit windy. So lose the hat,” she added to Daryll with a wink. Daryll grumbled as he put it into a satchel he had with him, where he had carefully wrapped and stored the flash bomb.
“Elva, will you tell the girls I said goodbye? I didn’t want to wake them.” Kire stepped closer to Ruli as she fixed the mantle around her shoulders. “If you’re ready, I have the location.” She extended her hand to him. “Daryll, we’re going to Shadow-Walk. I told you about this before, so just brace yourself.”

They stepped out into another great hall. Though narrower than the manor, it was taller, with a vaulted ceiling. Tapestries and paintings decorated the walls, while the banners of the great noble families hung in between the pillars. Greatest of these was the winged dragon in gold on a green field, the sigil of the Wyvern house. They had arrived early, so the people inside where mostly attendants and guards ensuring everything was in place. As soon as they saw Kire, however, they gasped, surprised at her sudden appearance, each bending in a bow or curtsy as Kire passed and acknowledged them. “You alright, Daryll?”
“Yeah.” Daryll was reeling from Shadow-walking, despite the forewarning, but despite the unpleasantness he grinned. “Fascinating,” he murmured.
“Is the lord of the castle present?” Kire asked one of the guards.
“Yes, Your Grace, but he is out meeting with the newly-arrived guests. Shall we fetch him for you?”
“No need, just send word that I have arrived. He can finish with his task. But are Lord Edward or Lady Janes here? I’ll see them first.”

Not long after the guard went to fetch them, Edward strode in. Like his cousins, he had dressed formally, his long, gold hair parted on the side and tied back, though the green of his clothes was closer to Daryll’s, while the cape around his shoulders was all black. He acknowledged them all with a nod in greeting before he looked Kire over; even on days when Kire wanted to deny it all, her body slipped into the manner of Empress all too easily. He stepped closer to hug her, glad she was alright, though he did hold up her scarred hand, frowning down at it, and at the Ring on her finger.
“It’s fine, Ed,” she murmured, and he put on a smile.
“It’s been a while since we’ve been decked out like this together, hasn’t it?” he commented. Daryll, though, made his brows rise. “Now that is a surprise.” Before Daryll could retort, however, he extended his hand to Ysaryn. “It is a genuine pleasure to see you again. Half a year is much too long,” he greeted with a grin, before taking her hand and kissing it.
Kire grinned, watching him before she cleared her throat. “Ed, before we get carried away, I’d like to introduce Gavin. And for the purposes of the war council, he’ll be just Gavin.”
Ed looked thoughtfully at Gavin, who gave him a formal bow, the way he did Elva. “You were the lad who helped bring Kire back after Ikegai, correct?”
“Yes my lor—yessir.”
Ed paused thoughtfully again. “My thanks, then. Let’s hope that doesn’t become necessary again this time.”

“So.” He looked around at all of them. “Narda told me about the plan you cooked up. And I assume we’ll hear a bit more about it. Am I going to be happy or very worried about what I will hear later?”
“If this one actually manages to follow it, we’ll all be happy,” Daryll put in, pointing to Kire with his thumb, making her frown.
“How long do we have till the meeting starts? Half an hour? I’m actually surprised Lord Ulrich wasn’t at all hesitant for us to use his land and his castle for the duration of the planning until the final march,” she commented, looking around the hall. “He’s mostly a decent man I think, but I remember him to be quite shrewd, too. Don’t know if I can say the same for the sons, though.”
Ed tilted his head, a quizzical frown on his face. “You…don’t know?”
Kire frowned back at him. “Don’t know what?”
“…ah. I think Jan wanted to tell you in person. It was very sudden, admittedly; I was surprised too. But I’m shocked no word has reached you, though.”
“What about Jan? Reached me about what?” Kire pressed, growing annoyed at the dancing around. “Ed!”

“You’re alive! And Daryll, you look ridiculous!” Myka called, before Ed could answer. Though her clothes were still rather simple, not too different from when Ysaryn had last seen her, she did throw on a bright red coat and a rather loud hat, adorned with ostrich plumes. Kire grinned, raising a hand in greeting.
“I am, indeed. And I’ve brought along the riffraff.”
“Ha! The riffraff are most welcome,” Myka said, grinning wide as she took of her hat and bowed to them, doffing her hat in a flamboyant gesture. “Welcome back to Amria, messirs.” She smiled at Ysaryn, saw the blade she had lent the elf, then gasped, seeing the twin sabers. “No! Two, really? Did you have to twist Kay’s arm to get that out of her?”
“She’s prettier than you,” Kire said, to which Myka stuck out her tongue, then glanced at Ruli. “Hello again, matron of honor. Are you growing out your hair to match Kire’s for the wedding?”
“The what?” Kire threw up her hands. “What is everyone talking about?”

“And this is the lad, then?” Myka said, ignoring her, stepping closer to Gavin. The young man regarded her carefully but didn’t speak just yet. “Hm. Seems a bit short, isn’t he?”
“Oy,” Gavin said, frowning, crossing his arms, more irritated now than afraid of backlash. “The ‘lad’ has a name.”
“Relax, Gavin, I’ve been told.” Myka saw the Wyvern dagger at his side. “That’s a good dagger.” She nodded, as if this was confirmation enough of Kire’s trust in him.

Ruli couldn't help but look around the moment they emerged in the second manor, despite seeing a good deal of the exact location in Kire's mind. It seemed older. More lived in. Like a place that had housed generations rather than becoming a makeshift home for a noble family displaced from their real one. Ysaryn, beside him, inhaled deeply, her fuchsia eyes narrowing.
"What?"
"Smells different." She answered vaguely. Ruli watched her for a moment, wondering what she meant. He found her answer strange until she tugged her borrowed coat tighter as if to hide herself. Smells male, then, Ruli decided. Ysaryn was often uncomfortable around human males she was unfamiliar with.

Her disposition shifted when Ed walked in, however, the elf's expression lightening as she took in his hair and clothing. "Far too long, my dear soldier." She purred back, enjoying the warmth of his hand and breath on her skin. Her eyes, as well as Ruli's watched Ed as he was introduced to Gavin. She, to take in his appearance, and Ruli to make sure no threats were made.
But Ed only thanked him for his part in making Kire came home, and Ruli exhaled.

The odd exchange about the lord of the manor was lost on Ruli, as he had no previous impression on the man nor his offspring, but the tension in Ysaryn's shoulders told him enough about the sons. Again, the elf's discomfort was disrupted by a new arrival, and she grinned toothily at Myka. "Hello Captain Maika." She raised her borrowed sword to offer it, as if to announce it was no longer good enough. "I promised her double the deaths." Ysaryn answered smoothly.

Ruli laughed at Myka's retort to him. "Can't let her be the best looking one, now can I? And you can't tell me I'm wrong about the elf now. Two, afterall." He glanced sideways to Kire when she demanded to know what was going on. He grinned at her.
"Myka has an eye for weaponry." Ruli muttered to Gavin. "Knows how much Kire likes you based on the weapon you wield from her armory."
"Don't give the boy a complex about size/" Ysaryn muttered under her breath. Ruli snorted softly.

Myka grinned, taking the sword from Ysaryn. “Fair enough. We shall expect no less from you, then.” She took the sword, then laughed at Ruli’s retort. “I do see your point. Though I think she has competition. Right, Ed?”
Ed merely grinned, shrugging without a word. Kire frowned, pouting a little at Ruli’s grin. “No sword measuring please,” she muttered back at Ysaryn. “Or I point out Gavin had his blade first. Now, where is Jan? I want to find out what it was that was apparently so important I need to hear about it the same day I am to preside a war council.”
She turned to Ed, frowning. Ed chuckled. “Alright. She’s heading for the meeting chamber, anyway. Lord Ulrich should follow later with the other lords and ladies. Narda will arrive later, too.”

Jan was already in the chamber when they arrived. Though smaller than the great hall, the chamber was still sizeable, enough to seat the guests. In the middle was a large table, where large maps had been laid out. Tokens were placed on certain locations, indicating where the armies were. Jan had been looking down at the spot on the map where they were presently located, the dragon token beside a grey jay, the token of Ulrich’s house. She looked up at Kire and gave a small smile. “You had them worried for a while,” she commented, her gray eyes surveying the newcomers. If she had any reaction to the presence of Gavin, or to Daryll’s, she had yet to express them. “Introductions?”

Kire, too, took in Jan’s attire; while she had always been the one who observed the most formality out of all of them, Kire found it unusual that she wore a dress made of terracotta-colored satin cloth. She still had the Wyvern sigil as a brooch pinned to her overcoat. “What’s this news Ed said you wanted me to know in person?” Kire asked, going over to the head of the table. “Not exactly the best time to blindside me with something, and I’m usually the one doing the blindsiding.”

Jan didn’t answer at first, which now made Kire more suspicious. She could see her cousin collecting her thoughts. She turned to the others and waved them over to let them sit to the left of her. “Kire, if that’s alright, the lord of the castle will sit here, beside me,” Jan said.
“’If that’s alright’? Jan,” Kire narrowed her eyes at her cousin. Beside her, Ed chuckled. “What did you do?”
“Ulrich has been widowed a long while now, but he’s still a viable match. Good family, good rank. Invaluable resources. He’s always sworn fealty to the Wyvern house but we needed to make sure his assets are firmly tied to us. I put marriage on the table to secure his unwavering support.”
“Whose?”
“Mine,” Jan said, and the barest hint of a smirk was on her lips.

Kire’s jaw dropped. Daryll, too, looked speechless at this. “Holy gods, Jan? Betrothed?”
Ed grinned, shaking his head. “That was me yesterday,” he commented.
“I—well, shit.” Kire leaned her elbows on the table, fingers laced together, staring ahead, a little incredulous. “Maybe a little forewarning would have been nice.”
Jan huffed. “Like the forewarnings you would give us whenever you were off on a reckless quest? Those? The real question is, do you disapprove of the match?”
“I can’t very well disapprove now that we’re occupying his bloody castle,” Kire said, running a hand through her hair, almost undoing the ponytail. “It’s—objectively, I can’t find fault in it.”
Myka laughed softly. “Never a dull moment with Wyverns, eh?”

“Well, since we’re on the subject of surprises, were you informed why Daryll’s here?” Kire asked.
Jan nodded. “And why the Gemini is here, too. But I presume we won’t be announcing that to everybody else.”
“I need a drink,” Kire said. “I’m already starting to feel this will be a long day.” She glanced at her cousin. “Er—congratulations, then?”
Jan snorted at that. “Could you be less enthusiastic?”
“I will be enthusiastic. Just—maybe give me time to process this after the battle?” Kire said, though she allowed a smirk at that. A servant had entered, announcing that Lord Ulrich will be inside shortly, as well as Lady Narda and the guests. True enough, Narda strode in, looking like she had just come from a battle and hadn’t bothered to freshen up like the others had. She looked around at those present, then grinned.
“Congratulations, Jan. I heard. And look at you lot! Already dressed for a wedding.” She grinned at Ysaryn. “Long time. I hope you’re ready for a lot of boring war-talk. And you, lad.” Gavin gave her a hesitant nod, which she returned. “Kire. How’s the arm?”
“Good enough. And your injuries?”
“Elva’s done good work.” She gestured over her shoulder. “Ulrich’s coming. And the whole lot.”

Ysaryn, like Ed, made no response to the comment about competition. A grin toyed on her lips, but her eyes glittered with challenge. Even if she did chuckle at Kire's plea. Ruli turned to smirk at Gavin, who didn't understand what was being said. He tilted his head, inviting for him to follow as the company moved along. Out of all of them, Ysaryn dragged her feet, her body language announcing she was on alert.
"That bad?" Ruli asked.
She sniffed. "It is worse than Zeckiel's room."
Ruli didn't want to ask how she knew how Zeke's room smelled.

As they came across Jan pouring her attention over the maps and tokens, Ruli noticed nothing strange about her. He and the other off-worlders kept toward the back, Ruli standing close to Ysaryn, and likewise nudging Gavin to do the same. She had her arms folded over herself, angled to be within fast reach of her weapons.
"You need to relax." He whispered low to her. "Kire nor anyone else won'tallow anyone to act in a discourteous way toward you. You're going to make people nervous."
"They should be nervous before a war."
"Alright, well, you're making it worse."
She let out a low growl in his direction, and Ruli relinquished his attempt, just in time to hear the announcement about Jan's betrothal. Ruli glanced toward Myka, shaking his head with a smirk as if to say he wouldn't be matron of honour for that wedding.

Once more, an arrival displayed the minor tension. Narda greeted them, and Yaaryn grinned, her eyes even watching the giants carefully. At her remark about being well dressed, Ruli glanced down at himself. Clearly, wearing his best clothing. Ysaryn's chuckle brought his attention back up, and he caught her glancing him over. He winked at her, but the sound of approaching footsteps drew her gaze away.

A group of men entered, led by a man in his later years, his once-muscular body softening with age. His black hair was lined with grey at the temples, his beard peppered. He had dark green eyes roamed the group gathered in his roam. Behind him, four men walked in a line. It was on them that Ysaryn's eyes fell, her gaze intense. The first to enter, presumably Ulrich, turned to greet Jan. "My Lady." He said cordially, before moving on to the rest. "Empress Akire." He greeted, bending at the waist into a polite but not overly flexible bow. Behind him, the four well-dressed men bowed as well. "A pleasure to open my home to you and your family. And your guests." He added, glancing over not only Myka and Narda, but the trio near the back. His gaze lingered on Ysaryn, genuine curiosity in his gaze. He completely ignored Ruli and Gavin, until he they were introduced as the sorcerer and his apprentice.

"Sorcerer. Really." Ulrich said skeptically, looking Ruli over again. Ruli met his gaze in silence, figuring this was one of the many who would view magic and its involvement as a bad thing. Sure enough, even the group that had accompanied the man looked Ruli over with distrust.
Ulrich clicked his tongue and held out his arm. "Well, you've met my sons, but for those of you who have not, my oldest, Sven, Leif, Hans, and Rogvar at the rear." He listed them off as if offering them an arrangement of teas. Sven, who appeared to be around Ed's age and who took after his father in appearance, though more in shape and far less grey, looked worn and tired, but attentive. As did Leif, who, judging by his appearance, took after his late mother, his sandy blond hair cut short. He was the only one of the group to appear attentive and eager. Hans, also blond, wore his hair combed upward to make himself appear taller, and his attention roamed the women in the hall with a distracted eye The youngest, Rogvar, perhaps around Gavin's age, had his hands in his pockets, his face hidden behind his combed, dark hair, as if he would rather be anywhere else.
None of them looked like fighters, though Ruli supposed appearances could be deceiving. None of them wore weapons, either, so perhaps they just looked docile compared to the many other swords present.

"Shall we get to business, your Grace?" Ulrich said, gesturing to the table. Ruli twitched an eyebrow. That was it. That would be Jan's marriage. Business. Nothing more. He felt a flicker of pity, then a wave of relief that he wasn't a noble. Even Ysaryn had a choice. He glanced to the elf, then noticing that she'd sidled even closer to him, her nostrils flared. The thirdborn, Hans, watched her, his green eyes roaming.
Clearing his own throat softly, Ruli took a step to the right, blocking her from view under the pretense of whispering to Daryll. "Is there some sort of seating arrangement we should be aware of?" He asked, unsure.

From her seat, Kire observed the men who entered, her expression neutral. Ulrich and his family had overseen this particular province of the empire for many generations. They were dependable folk, though they hadn’t taken big risks. Shrewd, as she had said to Ed. Just like Jan. The observation made her sigh a little, and she put on a small smile to hide it. “Lord Ulrich. Likewise a pleasure to be welcomed into your home.” She saw the glance he had at her friends. Myka and Narda greeted the lord with a nod each, glancing at each other, too. “Let me introduce my guests.” His reaction to Ysaryn, Ruli, and Gavin wasn’t far off from what she had initially expected. Her gaze wandered from Ulrich to his sons as he in turn introduced them. Will Jan bear him sons? She didn’t know them very well, though she remembered at least not having a bad impression of the two eldest. Hans and Rogvar however were another story.

She looked at Jan. Her cousin had her usual stern look, only slightly softening when Ulrich looked her way. Was she sure about this? Either way, what right did Kire have to question the decision, when she’d made so many reckless ones over the years, herself? Stubborn, headstrong Wyverns, she thought, stopping herself from sighing out loud. “Ah—yes,” Kire said, turning her attention back to the patriarch. What was done was done, and even if she thought the match would be totally disastrous, they had a war to fight first. “To business. Though, given the pressing matter of war, I hope you don’t mind if we discuss the particulars of the match afterward. Tomorrow morning, at the earliest.” Kire looked at Jan, who nodded, then glanced over at Ulrich’s sons again. Particularly the younger two, both of whom she wasn’t enthusiastic about. “Sven and Leif will be joining us, then?” she asked Ulrich, the omission of the latter two an implicit expression of her disinterest in having Hans and Rogvar around. Especially with the way Hans glanced around.

“Right,” Ed said, at Ruli’s question. “Empress’s guests of honor. Here.” He gestured, smiling warmly at Ysaryn and the others. “Are you alright?” he murmured in Elvish to her. To Kire’s left sat Jan, and as host and her betrothed, Ulrich sat next to her, followed by his sons. To Kire’s right was Ed’s place, followed by Daryll, looking ill at ease. Ed directed Ysaryn to sit by Daryll, followed by Ruli and Gavin. Narda and Myka sat next to each other after Gavin, midway down the table. Not long after that, a few other noble-born officers entered, each giving Kire and her family the appropriate greeting before Kire gestured for them to take their places. Once everybody was seated, Kire began introducing everyone once more.


“Before we begin, I would like to make clear that these are my guests of honor, and they will have an active role in the siege. I’d like all my esteemed lords and ladies to extend all courtesies to my guests,” Kire said afterward. “As much as possible, we will conduct this council in the common tongue. Now. I know there are other important matters pertinent to the final battle that you all wish to address, but first I want to start with why I had called my guests here, and what kind of involvement they will have.” She looked at Daryll and gestured for him to go ahead and speak.

Daryll looked around, cleared his throat. “Uh. Right. So. M-many of you have seen the Gemini dolls and the gate, I wager. We’ve come up with a plan to counter their blood magic with our own wards, once our forces have breached the Capital and their physical defenses. Most likely, the Gemini would have put up magical defenses of their own around the Palace grounds.” He went on to explain, stammering a bit here and there, the purpose behind the wards, with Ruli and Gavin helping to clarify some points. He opened his satchel and produced the flash bomb, setting it carefully on the table. “We’ll demonstrate this later, outside. But the idea is to draw the enemy’s defenses towards the source of the flashes to make them think it is the Empress. The decoy will be setting them off.”
Jan looked at Daryll, then at Kire. “How confident are we that this will work?” she asked, wary at the amount of magic that their siege was riding on. “Though, I do agree very much that Kire should stay away as much as possible.”
“I knew you’d say that,” Kire muttered, then, to the rest of them, “For those of you who had been around when we destroyed the gate, you’ve seen Ruli and Ysaryn at work already. I have confidence in the plans.”
“How will we know that the wards are set?” Ed asked. “Or, I suppose once we see the flashes, we’ll take that as some sort of sign to move in.” He pointed towards some of the tokens. “We’d have to get the timing right. Our forces should be close enough to draw away most of their swords while you set the wards, and to be able to move in at once when you finish.”
“I do not relish the thought of meeting more of those exploding monstrosities,” Narda said with a grunt. “If this stops them, I’ll be glad for it.”
“How many hands do you need?” Myka asked Ruli. “After you demonstrate the flashes, we’d have to discuss who goes with you to set the wards and map out our route around the Palace grounds.”

The rest of the meeting was spent ironing out the details, with the officers in attendance recounting how many soldiers they had and what preparations had been accomplished thus far, as well as whose armies will march in first and who will provide support. A couple of times Kire had to force a couple of lords to back down and stay silent when they began to argue about who got to enter the Capital with their forces ahead of the other.
“Perhaps it’s time for refreshment,” Ed said, seeing Kire’s mounting temper. Kire took a deep breath, biting back stronger remarks as she sank back onto her seat. “And after that, we need to discuss what happens to the lords we had captured from the recent battle.”
Kire pursed her lips. That was a grim business to discuss. “Afterwards, yes.” She turned to Ruli, Gavin, and Ysaryn. “You don’t have to be around for that one later.”

Food and drink were served in the hall where they had emerged earlier. Kire was mostly quiet as she ate, while the cousins conversed with each other. Narda and Myka talked to the other three, with Myka asking questions about the other world where they had come from, and Narda asking how Envy was doing. Not long later, Kire called the other members of the council back to the war room. “Eh, tell me what you talked about later,” Myka said to Narda. “Are you going to talk about who gets…you know…” She finished her sentence by drawing her thumb across her neck. Narda nodded grimly. When the giantess followed the Wyverns back to the meeting, Myka turned to Ruli, Gavin, and Ysaryn. “Looks like we’re stuck out here while the big boys and girls are in there,” she said with a smirk. “Have you seen the outside? Come on, I’ll bring you to the ladies so you can tell them what you’re pulling them into. Wear the coats, we’ve got a bit of a gale blowing about.”

The terrain of Ulrich’s territory was filled with green hills, fields, and forest. The castle sat atop one such hill, with lush fields spread out around them. From this vantage point, they would be able to see the snow-capped mountains of the Northern territories far off in the distance. But much closer to them, south of the castle, was the mountain range where Ed, Ruli, and Ysaryn had emerged via the errant gate. During peacetime, they would have seen the rolling hills empty and serene, but the moment Myka led them outside the castle, they would have seen, instead, a large military encampment. Banners whipped about in the wind, similar to the banners they had seen in the great hall inside, and just like within the hall, the largest banners, hanging from the ramparts, were those of the Wyvern house.

“Capital would be a day and a half march from here,” Myka noted. “A day to get to the mountains, where we’ll join with the army camped there. You’ve seen them,” she added. “And then a half day after that.” She led them down the castle grounds and towards the edge of the military camps, where members of the crew of the Wench had been waiting. Most recognized Ruli and Ysaryn. “And this one’s Gavin,” Myka said, patting the lad behind his back. “And as you’ve noticed, he’s joined the merry little band of people Kire had gifted blades to. We should just be called the Empress’s Swashbucklers or something.” She wrinkled her nose at that.

As the empress hinted that the younger of the Froheim children weren't welcome, Rogvar, the youngest, turned and left without hesitation. Hans, the thirdborn raised a finger. "I recall hearing all those who are—"
"Out, Hans." Ulrich ordered. His son gave him a dark look, looking annoyed at being excluded, but he followed his younger sibling reluctantly. Ulrich watched them leave, then glanced at the elder two, his expression one of warning. Good behavior, or they'd be ordered to leave as well.

"Any reason I shouldn't be?" Ysaryn asked, and the tone of her voice made Ruli glance over warily before he took his seat where directed. Ysaryn sank into her own, folding her legs and clasping her hands on her lap, all while slightly angled in her usual, feline slant.
As Daryll broke into a nervous explanation of the gist of their plan, Ruli listened, though on occasion helped answer questions when Daryll looked to be tripping over the words. He could tell Ulrich and the others were wary about their plan, considering the amount of magic it involved, but the helpful comments of Narda and Kire, at least, helped prevent the lords from dismissing the idea outright.
It was necessary if they wanted to get close.
"It should." Ruli added to Narda when she mentioned preventing the dolls from exploding. "The magic within them will be neutralized, so the gems will be nothing but marbles. If it works the way I hope, the dolls, themselves, will be neutralized."

When the rest of the discussion and planning filled the room, the trio and Daryll fell silent, having no input. Ruli tried to follow, though was lost on several topics, while Ysaryn hung onto every word. Whether or not she understood it, with the different names for formations and strategies, Ruli didn't know, but she looked involved. Later, she looked almost disappointed when Kire announced they didn't need to be present for the second part.
She was definitely insulted when she caught on that they were to decide which of the hostages would be executed.

Out in the open air, Ruli tucked his arms around him, taking in the view. Amria was pretty, he'd admit that. If they survived this, maybe he'd ask for a tour of his own. He thought to ask Ed if he could join the one he offered to Ysaryn, but thought better of it. Maybe Kire would entertain him for a tour of her country. May as well see what he was risking his life for.
Whats your stake in this? Gavin's question repeated itself in his head, and Ruli sighed, thinking about it. Because they needed it. It was a stupid reason. A stupid answer. Ysaryn all but threatened Kire if she wasn't allowed to join, but he? Whats your stake in this? Kire hadn't even asked for his help. Not directly. But he knew she needed it, so he willingly offered.
Because of her.

He turned his head watching Ysaryn chatter to Myka happily, at ease among the women in the fresh mountain air. How was she so amiable after all that talking? Plotting and planning? Ruli felt tense, and he'd barely understood most of it. Kire had visibly grown impatient and borderline angry several times. He couldn't understand carrying that sort of weight on his shoulders.

As Myka's Wenches dragged Gavin and Ysaryn into conversation, Ruli remained to the side, shivering and thoughtful. Ysaryn twisted, showing off her new weapons, then tilting her head. "I do not know this word. Wash buckler?" She struggled to get the word out. The wind whipped her black-stained hair around, her nose and ears darker from the cold. Still, she managed better than Ruli did, her arms tucked close without the constant shivering.

“Swashbuckler,” Myka repeated with a grin towards Ysaryn. “It’s a silly word. Means…ehm—come on help me out,” she said, frowning while gesturing with one hand, before turning to her comrades, who just chuckled and shook their heads. “It’s like a romantic adventurer. Off on righteous adventures against some villain, sword in hand. Like you lot. Or Kire, actually. Only, she’s both the swashbuckler and the damsel in need.” Myka chuckled. “I can’t even say ‘in distress’ and ‘Kire’ in the same sentence.”

“Does it count if she looks for the distress? She does run towards trouble a lot,” Gavin commented, a bit more at ease, now that they were away from the prying eyes of the noble-born Amrians. It was one thing being Itallo’s errand boy, meeting rich merchants and self-made lords in a port city like Cordon, but quite another to be confronted with all of this. An empire so big that it enclosed kingdoms. In another world. He crossed his arms, likewise cold.
Myka chuckled. “Fair point. Maybe she needs rescuing from herself sometimes. But anyway, you two explain the plan again, as I have no idea how in the gods I am going to relay all that to my crew without botching it. I can hardly believe it, myself—wouldn’t, actually, if I wasn’t around for that big gate incident.”
The women listened carefully and seriously as the two ‘sorcerers’ repeated the plans. “See? Sounds deceptively simple, no?” Myka said afterward, smirking, before turning serious again. “Ladies, you know the risks. A lot is riding on this, but if we pull it off, it would leave the armies with no other opposition than your standard combat hazards. Like Narda said in the meeting, I have no wish to encounter some monster exploding in my face.” She turned to the other two. “You’re the decoy, then?” she asked Ruli. “We’ve been studying maps of the Capital in preparation for the siege. But do you know where to go?”

Later, two guards approached the group, politely informing them that Her Majesty and the war council had gone out to the grounds and would be demonstrating the flash bomb. “Ahh. I’m a little excited for this one,” Myka said. “Come on.” She and the Wenches walked back with them towards the castle grounds again. The council was already there. Jan was whispering to Kire with a frown, Ed looked stoic and a little worn, while Kire whispered back to Jan with curt, impatient replies. Narda cleared her throat, seeing the rest of the group approaching them.
Kire looked their way, then, realizing she still had the impatient look on her face, softened her expression. “Yes. Daryll, go ahead.”
Nodding, Daryll produced the bomb again. “Stand back.” Just as they had done back at his house in the mountains, he tested out the flash bomb, with success. Gavin sighed in relief; while he was confident in their work, he had still been nervous leading up to the demonstration. The hissing was still there, and he could see a couple of the officers were itching to make some comment.
“Looks near enough to the portals to me,” Kire said. “And in the thick of battle, nobody will be looking too closely to check, anyway.”
Myka whistled. “That’s impressive. Could you make some extra for us?” she added cheekily. Narda laughed softly at that.

Kire stepped forward, turning to the rest of the council members. “We can adjourn now, unless you want to bring up other matters. You’ll need time to relay all the information to your battalions, and to rest. Jan, Ulrich, tomorrow morning, we’ll talk about the terms of the engagement.” The council bowed to her, and she dismissed them with a wave, the Wyverns staying behind. “Gods, that was bloody tedious,” she muttered, once they were gone.

“I thought you were close to breaking the table in half at some point,” Ed put in, rubbing his temples. “But—honestly, I wouldn’t have blamed you.” He looked at Myka. “Things got quite heated in there.”
“An understatement,” Jan said with a scoff. “While I do not regret the alliances we have solidified during this whole campaign, some of them are, by the gods, vultures in human form.”
Kire looked like she wanted to comment further, but instead drew a deep breath and sighed. “You know what I need? A fucking drink. I’m going back to Elva’s to give her an account. No, I’m not actually going to drink,” she added, cutting Jan off. “I need a clear head tomorrow. Anyway, everyone coming?”
Jan shook her head. “Ulrich and I have a few matters to settle first.”
“Mm. Maybe set his youngest sons straight, eh?” Kire muttered.
“I’ll handle his sons,” Jan said. The Paladin smirked. If there was anybody who could put them in place, she knew it would be Jan.
“I’m coming back with you,” Ed said. “Elva will eviscerate me if I don’t say goodbye before we go off to war again.”
“See you lot tomorrow, then,” Narda grunted. “We have our own preparations to finish.” Myka raised a hand in farewell.

The moment they were back at the manor, Kire loosened her hair and shrugged off her mantle. “Food. Wine. Just one cup. Take it to my room. Thank you,” she said as soon as a servant approached them. Ed, too, looked like he wanted to gulp down a barrel of ale, running his hands through his hair.
“That was a long day. But I’m only saying that because the actual fighting hasn’t actually started,” he said, shaking his head. “Where’s the mistress of the manor?” Another servant informed them that the lady had gone out on her healer’s duties but will be back soon.
“I don’t know about you but I am going to change out of these ridiculous clothes,” Daryll declared, going off outside towards his house.
“Mm. Same. I’ll nap and come down later when Elva’s back,” Kire declared, already on the way up the stairs. Ed watched her, concerned, his hands on his hips, before turning to the others, putting on a smile for them, even though Kire’s own exhaustion at the long meeting was reflected in his own eyes. “That was a lot to take in for everyone. Sorry you had to be cut out of the latter half,” he said, “but it was a lot of sensitive information being exchanged, and I don’t think Kire wanted you to be around such uncomfortable talk. You go on and get your rest, too. We still have time before Elva comes back and we have a proper dinner.”

Come sundown, Elva had come back, and had been informed of their return. Gavin had spent the downtime back at Daryll’s, too restless to sleep. He and the Wyvern scholar talk in the library, where Gavin asked questions about Amria, politics—about which Daryll only gave him short explanations—and the contents of his library. Kire, meanwhile, after changing out of the formal royal attire, ate and drank before going to sleep. She was the last to come downstairs to the dining hall, where the presence of the younger cousins at least helped lift her mood somewhat. She was quiet though, and distracted, as they ate, her mind miles away, dwelling on the battle they were about to face.

Afterwards, with only the adults present, Kire and Ed gave Elva a summary of what had been discussed, and a very barebones version of the debate about the executions. “I feel I should be relieved I wasn’t around for that,” Elva confessed, lighting her pipe.
“I wished I wasn’t around for that,” Kire said, only half-joking. She turned to Ruli, Gavin, and Daryll. “How far along are the preparations? Is everything ready, or will you be burning the midnight oil for this one?”

Ysaryn wrinkled her nose at the term, lost on the phrase 'romantic adventurer', as well. When Myka clarified with the explanation, Ysaryn nodded. "Blood hungry." She agreed, and Ruli smirked at her. Let her have that, he supposed.
He went into the explanation for the group, his teeth chattering. Ysaryn betrayed just how much she'd understood about the war talk and strategies by repeating much of it with accuracy. When it came to war, apparently her mind was a sponge. "We've got m-maps in Daryll's chamber." Ruli went on to answer. "But we'd appreciate more eyes and advise on where to move. Where y-your map?"

When they were fetched by the guards later on, Ruli and Ysaryn had a much better grasp of where to move throughout the grounds. He kept Gavin beside him, mindful to keep him informed, as they would be side by side if the younger man agreed to join. He was somewhat relieved Gavin was still so apprehensive. As they joined Kire and her cousins, the tension in the air was almost visible, much of it emanating from Kire. They demonstrated the flash bomb, and Ruli shielded his eyes, but focused his attention on it, watching for odd side effects. When none occurred, he sighed. "Yeah, we can make several extras, now that we have the recipe down." He answered.

With the council members firmly dismissed by the empress, Ruli was relieved to hear they'd be returning to the manor, where at least the fires kept the place warm and the wind out. He'd suffered through far less that she and the cousins had, and even he felt like he needed a drink. Upon arriving at the manor, he shuffled toward the nearest fire, listening as everyone declared they'd be resting. It would be wise, considering the long day that tomorrow and after would be.

But Ruli went instead to Daryll's workroom, his mind unsettled, and he bent over the maps with Myka's information in mind. "You know with Daryll's equipment," Ruli added to Gavin when they crossed paths. "should you agree, I could collect enough of your blood and leave you far from danger. I'm sure Elva has some anticoagulant somewhere." He looked over Gavin's face. "You could be here, far from the war, but still doing your part to help. Put that into consideration, as well. Whatever you decide."

By dinner, he'd regretted not napping, and he picked tired at his food. Ysaryn, having clearly napped judging by the way her hair sat against her head, was likewise quiet and pensive. Mentally preparing the for the storm of violence she'd unleash. Kire, too, was lost in her thoughts, making dinner a rather somber thing to sit through.

"Preparations are mostly complete." Ruli answered when asked. "A few things to fine tune, but will be better done closer to the palace grounds." He took another glance at Gavin, offering a small grin in encouragement. Whatever he decided, Ruli would make sure he would be safe. "Tomorrow morning we'll make a few more of the flash bombs, and the rest just has to wait."

Kire nodded, glad to hear Ruli’s explanation. She didn’t want to dare hope that everything would go according to plan, but she felt so close to their end goal already. And with the help of Ruli’s wards, she wanted to believe they wouldn’t have a more dangerous repeat of what had happened in the battlefield with the exploding dolls. She glanced down at her right hand, momentarily rubbing her thumb against her other fingers, feeling the burn marks. “Good,” she said.
“Good,” Ed echoed. He looked his cousin over, reading the anxiety in her posture. Her body was wound up, but her mind, he knew, was heavy. “And are you ready to talk to Jan and Ulrich tomorrow about their marriage?” he asked, hoping to at least get her to think of something else for a few more minutes.
Kire cringed. “Should I get them a gift?” she asked, though she did chuckled a little after her joke. “Elva, did you know? You didn’t tell me anything.”
Elva grinned, sipping some tea. “I thought it would be better this way.”
“Better—funnier, you mean?” Kire retorted. Elva grinned wide, turning to her brother.
“You missed the look on her face,” Ed said, gesturing at his jaw. “Practically dislocated it in her shock.”

The cousins laughed. “I suppose that’s only fair. I got in the way of her first betrothal, after all,” Kire said with a sigh. “I deserved that.” She looked around the table. Everyone was tired in their own way, or lost in their thoughts. Gavin still looked like he was debating with himself on whether or not he would be present on the field. “Empress’s orders. Time for bed.” Gavin looked up, looking relieved at the dismissal.
Daryll was the first to stand. “Don’t mind if I do. I’d like to be up early, work on the bombs and whatever else. Rest well, everyone.”
“Thank you, Dar.” Kire stood, and the rest followed. Ed hummed in thought.
“Good night, everyone. I’ll go loiter around a bit, settle my mind before I lay down,” the Captain said, though he glanced for a brief moment at Ysaryn as he spoke.

Upstairs, Kire lay down, hands laced together under her head as she stared up at the ceiling. In less than two days, we will be standing in the Capital. “Less than two days,” she repeated out loud, as if hardly able to believe it. Over a year’s work fighting, fleeing, and then gaining ground again. Defeating Ikegai, finding Ed, destroying the gate. Hunting down traitor-lords and winning back territories. A long, hard-won year, culminating in this.

Ysaryn didn't hesitate when ordered to go rest, unfolding herself from her chair to direct herself upstairs. Gavin, Daryll, Kire, Ed, they all left, and Ruli remained in his chair for a while, finishing his glass of spiced wine. He'd never really been in a situation like this. Knowing war was coming. Planning for it. Attacks and raid in Ziad had always been unexpected. Prepared for, yes, but they never knew when it was coming.
This was unnerving.

Drink finished, he wandered upstairs to his room and went in, pulling his hair into a bun to sleep. But as he kicked off his boots and lay himself in bed, he found himself unable to sleep. The day was coiling itself in his mind. The plans, the flash bombs, how he'd move as the decoy, how he'd protect Gavin while doing it.
It had only been days. How has Kire been doing this for months?

He got up with a graceful movement and, barefooted, crept to the door. Listening for a moment, he opened it and crept along to hall to Kire's room, where he knocked, then waited.
When her face appeared, he couldn't tell if she was confused or not by his sudden appearance. All he could read was the tension of the day. Ruli inhaled and whispered. "Say no, and I leave." He offered. "Say yes, and no more words will be exchanged between us, and I leave before dawn."