"Ground forces are only a part of any respectable military. One must also have supporting forces to provide supplies, healing, and strategy, along with troops for such uncommon situations as forest-fighting or the infiltration of enemy castles. A credible force must also include a naval component, even one as small as a single troop transport, for the mobility advantage provided by the sea is critical and telling. Wars have been won and lost by the sea, and will be so again." -- from "The Precepts of Conflict," by Djeng Dao Scrap Iron Productions presents a Rocketarian Pictures production in association with Improfanfic Suikoden: Distant Shores started by Illyria and Todd Harper Part 15: Across the Waters by Scott Johnson "I don't see... oh, wait, there I am. Near the bottom. 'Chisou' -- Earthbound Grandness. Well, I guess I can't complain. Seems a little much, though." "Ah, you sell yourself too short, my friend. 'Earthbound Brilliance' fits me quite well, no? I am sure yours does as well, in its own way." Pane half-grinned at Alouette. "I guess. I don't have much in the way of grand aspirations, though. I'd prefer to just get on with the windows and leave the heroism to the others." "Ah, well, we all have our roles. In a drafty place like this, windows are more welcome than soldiers, I would say." Alouette traced his finger along the lines of the names engraved in the tablets. "It is a shame that my grandfather could not be on here, though. I would have been proud to see his name alongside ours." Pane shrugged philosophically. "I'm sure he'll get added if and when he decides to come back. He's got to sort this out in his own time. If he's as good as his reputation, he'll be back eventually." "I do hope so." A thought struck Alouette. "Though how, do you think, will his name be added? Will the esteemed seeress perhaps send someone around with a chisel, do you think?" Pane stifled a laugh. Nearby, at his post by the wall, Luc just rolled his eyes at the prattling. "The names appear on the tablet through magic, when the appropriate hero is recruited for good," he said in exasperation. "No chisels need to be involved in any form." "Okay, but how does it pick who to put on there?" Pane asked. "I mean, we've got something like six or seven thousand soldiers already, but there's only about a dozen names listed. And just over a hundred spots total." "It's fate," Luc said simply. "Certain people are born under one of the Stars of Destiny. One person under each star is destined to have the chance to join our cause, if the Tenkai Star plays her cards right. They're the ones who'll make the real difference in this war. If she recruits too few of them, she won't have much of a chance no matter how many regular troops she has recruited -- and without the Stars, she won't have many regular troops anyway." Alouette nodded. "So, the destined heroes of the war? I suppose that makes some sense." Pane, however, frowned. "I don't know. It just doesn't..." He shook his head. "Alouette... Your grandfather fought on the nobles' side during the Crownbreaker War, didn't he?" "Indeed. I was but a child at the time, but I remember some parts of the struggle well." "How about all the noble propaganda, then? You know, that certain people were born to be leaders, and by accident of birth were just plain better than others? I mean, it seems kind of silly now, but people believed it then." "Ah, I think I see your point. Still, I am not certain if it applies..." "It's completely different," Luc snorted. "That propaganda was the work of fools trying to give their pathetic lives meaning. They had no justification, only their own prejudices. But the Stars of Destiny are real. They have influenced history, and they are an integral part of the magic of the world. There's nothing to be concerned about." Pane looked on the tablet uneasily. "I guess. But... I don't know. There's just something about destiny... it rubs me the wrong way, I guess. Shouldn't we be free to pick our own paths?" "Oh, you can fight destiny," Luc said. "It just always turns out poorly. There have been cases where the Stars of Destiny weren't gathered, and the world always suffered as a result. It's just the way the world is." Pane frowned as he looked on the tablet. Maybe it was true. But that didn't mean he had to like it. "It's not just military commanders we'll need, of course." Lierni tapped the quill irritably against the paper she'd been writing on. "An army needs much more than soldiers and generals. A good quartermaster wouldn't be unwelcome, for instance -- it seems nobody we have has any better idea of how to store equipment than 'toss it in an empty room.'" "Quartermaster. Right." Tavia scribbled the note down. "And I guess we'll need some supplies, too. We can last a little while longer without more food, but not indefinitely. So maybe some sort of merchant could figure out how to get us some?" "A good idea. And on similar notes, a blacksmith or runemaster might be useful, to better equip the troops. Possibly someone with farming experience, as well -- it would ultimately be cheaper and safer to grow our own food than to transport it overland all the way here. There's not much growing land up here, but it's worth looking into." "You're really thinking in the long term, aren't you, Li?" "Somebody has to." She looked at her notes again. "We should also look for someone with intelligence-gathering capabilities... and also a good long-term strategist." "Really? I thought you could handle that. I mean, you were top of your strategy class back at the academy..." "Yes. I was. However, if matters grow more serious, we'll be facing Heresha's greatest generals and strategists eventually -- and they have far more experience than I do. We need someone who can meet them on an equal footing." "Right, right," Tavia chuckled. "Funny... I never expected you to admit anyone was better than you at that sort of thing." "You know I've always been willing to admit to my weaknesses." Tavia giggled. "Right. Sure." Lierni looked flatly at her. "Tavia, you're giggling." "Yeah," Tavia managed between her laughs. "I've known you since practically the first day we arrived at the academy. I've seen you in every conceivable mood. And this is the first time I've ever heard you giggle." She coolly took in the sight of her leader convulsing with laughter. "It's disturbing. Stop it." "I-- I'm sorry," she giggled. "It's just that -- hee -- lately I've been in -- hee, hee -- such a good... mood..." And she very slowly toppled over, collapsing off her chair onto one side, still giggling. "Tavia!" Lierni bolted from her chair, rushing around the table to her friend's side. "Tavia, are you all right?" Tavia looked into Lierni's eyes as Lierni grabbed her shoulders. "Li..." she gasped between giggles that belied the panic in her eyes. "I... I can't stop..." Kyrina set the teapot down on a side table as she stepped into the conference room, closing the door behind her. "She's sleeping now -- the herbs worked. But she's still giggling a little, and muttering in her sleep." She shook her head. "I don't like the looks of this at all." "Do you think it could be poison? Or some sort of magic?" Reid asked nervously. "It could be. Or it could just be that she's been under a lot of stress. I've seen people crack in weirder ways. But I'm not a doctor -- I have no real idea." "That's why I asked you all here," Lierni said, taking the initiative. "Right before this happened, Tavia and I were discussing whether it would be a good idea to begin recruiting for specific positions our army needs. It looks like our hand's been forced -- we need a doctor, and we need one fast." "We've got a few people with Water Runes," Daniel said. "Shouldn't they be able to help?" "Water Runes work best on physical wounds," Alyssa explained. "There's not much they can do for poison -- or stress. I tried mine, but it didn't seem to help." "Okay, so where are we going to get a doctor, then?" Daniel asked. "Bristow?" Lierni shook her head. "The medical facilities there, outside the academy, are... less than stunning. Surely you remember that. I suppose we could send someone -- Baren, perhaps -- to check on Werner and see what's available there, but we need someone with true skills." "I might be able to help, there." Charlotte pulled out a map and unrolled it on the table. "There's a city -- could you just hold that corner down? Thanks -- a city called Rosemont, about -- and that other corner, thanks -- about a day and a half's ride from here. They've got a medical academy there -- here, let me just get something to weigh down the edges with -- that has a pretty good reputation. We could probably find someone to help there." "Perfect." Lierni nodded. "We should take a small group, then. I'll lead, and Alyssa, you and your brother can --" "Wait, wait," Reid interrupted. "Rosemont? Isn't that in Lierstam?" "Of course it is," Lierni said briskly. "That's why I suggested Alyssa and Alaric. They know Lierstam better than most of us, and--" "That's not the point. We can't just waltz across the border like that. There's checkpoints even at the best of times, and with the Wind Children so active lately, along with our skirmishes, I'd be shocked if they hadn't been cracking down on security." "We don't have much of a choice, Arondight." "That's just it -- we do. Charlotte, how far away is Eregon from here?" "Um, let's see. By land, it's about... four days' journey. Maybe five. But I wouldn't recommend the overland route -- it's rough terrain, and there's been a lot of bandit activity lately. Taking a boat would be quicker, if you could get one." Lierni shook her head. "We don't have that kind of time to waste. Tavia could be dying, for all we know. A little risk is worth it to save her. Besides, what makes you so sure Eregon has a doctor we can rely on?" "Because there's a doctor there I know personally. A friend of the family. And if he can't figure out what's wrong, no one can." Reid looked at her evenly. Lierni held his gaze for a long moment, then finally shook her head. "Fine. I won't argue with you. But how do we get there?" She turned to Charlotte. "Is there a coastal town anywhere near here?" "Um, yes. Definitely yes. There's a fishing village, Maire, at the foot of the mountains. It'd take you about a day to get there -- well, normally. I know some shortcuts, and I think if you took them now, you could get there by sunset." "Perfect," Reid nodded. "I'll go, along with..." "Wait," Lierni said. "You can't go. With Tavia incapacitated, we need someone to oversee our soldiers, and make certain they don't worry overmuch. Daniel will do for the cadets, but you're the highest-ranking member of Senrou's old army left. You're needed here." "Like hell. Kyrina's respected enough to keep the troops in line -- heck, she'd probably be better than me. You've got some nerve if you think I'm going to just sit around here twiddling my thumbs and watching Tavia get worse." A moment passed in awkward silence. Finally, Reid spoke again, a little calmer. "We'll need someone else to back us up -- probably just one person; we don't want to slow ourselves down too much. Alouette..." "That fop?" "He's a good man and a good swordsman. Anything beyond that, I don't particularly care about." She sighed. "Fine. Charlotte, prepare us a guide map. Arondight, find Alouette and tell him the plan. I'll gather supplies. And the rest of you... don't let word of Tavia's condition spread too much. We don't want to worry the troops." "General, you have a visitor." As cells go, it was a relatively pleasant one. General Aisha Nevenheim may have stood accused of high treason and attempted assassination, but she was still one of the five most important people in all Heresha, and thus merited the finest treatment. The chamber was well-lit, with a comfortable bed, a writing desk, a small dining table, and private facilities -- but in the end, it was just a gilded cage. Aisha looked up from her writing as the door swung open. "Adele. It's good to see you." The younger girl stepped in nervously as the guard closed the door behind her. "General Nevenheim." "So, to what do I owe the honor of this visit?" Aisha set her papers aside. "The assassination attempt? Or is this just a social call?" Adele flinched at that, which somehow set Aisha at ease a little. "I... General, it's about the... the assassin. I... I can't just... Did...?" "Did I order it?" She turned to face the younger girl more fully. "I could probably give you any answer you wanted to hear... but what do you think the truth is?" "I... The evidence was... very convincing. Letters from the assassin to you, and drafts of letters in your hand to him, ordering the attack... Some financial records showing you taking money from the army treasury to pay him... Even a map to Professor Serre's chambers. But..." "But?" "But... I just can't believe you'd do something like that. And the evidence... it's just too easy; it was right out in the open and I know you'd never be so careless as to leave it like that; you're not careless... There's no real reason why you'd even want to kill Professor Serre... And... and I just can't believe you'd do that..." She was almost pleading for Aisha to confirm it wasn't true, Aisha realized. Something deep inside her didn't want to be betrayed like that. Aisha sighed and smiled. "You're very perceptive, Adele. And you're right. I didn't have anything to do with that assassin. And I'd never even heard of that evidence until you mentioned it." The tension almost visibly drained from Adele's body. "Then it was really...?" "Planted? Definitely. Someone forged it all, and placed it right where it would lead straight to me. The only question is who." Adele straightened. "A traitor to the state, of course... but that could be anyone. Treason hides in the most unlikely of places." She rubbed her arm uncomfortably. "General, with your permission, I'd like to try to track down this traitor. You deserve better than to be framed for something like this... and we've got to bring the real criminals to justice." Aisha smiled. "Go to it. I'm sure my staff already has an investigation going -- you might want to consult with them to get some leads. I'm sure that between you and them, you'll have this solved in no time." Adele saluted, and even managed to smile a little. "Thank you for your confidence, ma'am. I won't let you down." "At last." Lierni wiped some sweat from her brow, looking out on the small village spread before and below them. "The next time Charlotte suggests a shortcut, remind me to hit her." "Agreed," Reid nodded. "How steep would you say that last slope was?" "Roughly? Vertical," Alouette groaned, rubbing his bruises. "But on the bright side, there were no bandits, no?" "No, bandits have far more sense than we do," Reid replied. "And more self-preservation instincts." "But we've made it," Lierni countered. "We should hurry to find a boat now -- it's almost sunset, and I for one want to get out on the water as soon as possible." "I guess that's not a bad idea. Though since we're strangers, it might take us a while to find someone willing to take us. These village folk can be pretty insular." "Nope. 'Fraid I can't help you, son." Reid and Lierni seethed in frustration. A dozen boats, a dozen different fishermen tried, and the same response from each. This one, the last and largest of the lot, had been their final hope. But the fisherman lounging in a chair on deck, with a line trailing into the water, was just as irritatingly obstinate as the rest. "Look, sir, this is important," Reid tried. "A friend of ours is sick, possibly dying, and we have to get a doctor fast. But to get to the only one I know, we need to get to Eregon, and that means taking a boat. Please, can't you just give us a break?" "I'd like to son, honest I would. But y'see, there's been a fair mess of piracy on the open waters nowadays. Risky to stray too far from home. Then there's making a living to think about -- ain't much good fishing 'tween here and Eregon." He tugged his hat down over his eyes and leaned back a bit more. "'Sides, 'tain't my decision anyway." "Now you tell us," Lierni groaned. "And just whose is it, then?" "That'd be the wife. She owns the boat. I just fish on it." "Fine. Then can we see her?" "Don't see why not. She's standing right behind you." There was a chuckle. "Zeb, you have got to stop spooking the customers like that." The woman who had spoken was perhaps getting along a bit in years, but still quite striking. She was quite tall, with hair shading from black to grey, and wore a long, weatherbeaten broadcloth coat in faded green. She was built with a sort of lean strength to her, and stood with an easy confidence. "The name's Sara, and I'm the captain of this here boat. I take it you folks want to take it out for a trip?" "Ah, yes," Reid replied. "We're trying to get help for a sick friend, and..." "Skip it. I've heard enough sob stories in my time, and I don't need to hear any more. What I do care about is whether you can pay me enough to make it worth leaving my fishing grounds for however long it takes." The trio quickly trawled their pockets and pouches, and came up with a total of just under two hundred gold. Sara just shook her head at that. "That wouldn't even rent the boat for a day. I've got to eat too, you know, and a gal can't live on fish alone." She shook her head. "I'm sorry, but you're gonna have to look somewhere else." "Ah, but madam..." Alouette swept forward gracefully. "Surely one so strong and graceful as yourself must have an astonishingly noble heart, non? And certainly one who has risen to a position of such independence and determination must know the need to depend on one's friends, be they old or new." He looked at her soulfully, with hopeful eyes that weren't quite pleading. "We will most certainly be able to repay you someday... and you shall have our eternal gratitude regardless." Sara was doing her best to hide a smile, and failing quite miserably. "Well, I do say, you've got quite a smooth tongue on you." Her husband tugged his line from the water placidly. "You always did have a thing for the sweet-talkers." "Tell you what I'm gonna do. I like you, so I'll give you a chance. I've always been a gambling kind of gal. So you put up all your cash as a stake, and I'll put up an equal amount. You win all my cash off me, I take you where you want to go. I make you broke, you look for another way. Deal?" "It sounds kind of risky," Reid said dubiously. Alouette flashed a brilliant smile. "Ah, but what is life without a risk? Madam, you have an agreement. What shall the game be?" She pulled a worn deck of cards from her coat. "I'm fond of a little thing called Hero's Rune. Ever heard of it?" "Ah... somewhat. It is the game in which one attempts to make hands representing the various runes, non?" "That's the one." "Unfortunately, that is the extent of my knowledge. I have yet to ever play it. Perhaps one of the others...?" Reid shrugged. "Don't look at me. I've never been much of a card player." Lierni rolled her eyes. "Honestly, the two of you... We'll never get anywhere at this rate." She stepped forward. "I'll take you on." Sara nodded. "May the best gal win, then." "Commander Davon?" "Lieutenant. Good to see you. I heard you were going to see the General." "Yes. I talked to her, and... I'm sure she's innocent. I'm going to be undertaking an investigation to prove it, and she suggested I talk to you for help." Davon nodded. "Some of her aides and I are already looking into it. We've got a few leads, and I'm pretty certain we can come up with something to clear her quickly enough... assuming, of course, she really is innocent." "She is." Adele's voice brooked no argument. "Oh, of course, of course. We're well on the way to proving it, I'm sure." "I'm willing to help in any way I can. What do you need me to do?" "Hmm." Davon tapped his pen against his chin. "We've actually got just about as many people as we need on the hunt for evidence. But there is one thing you could do that would help out a lot." He leaned back in his chair. "You see, while the General is imprisoned, there's a lot of her duties going undone. Some of the purely administrative details, we've been able to handle... but she's been scheduled for several more public matters that we haven't found anyone appropriate for." "Public matters?" "Troop reviews, civic banquets, a speaking engagement or two. Not the most dramatic of duties, but important ones." Adele frowned. "That sounds rather frivolous. Why should we worry about banquets when the General is on trial for treason? This could cost her her life!" "But what good is it if, when she gets cleared of all charges, her reputation has been ruined? If the public doesn't believe she's innocent, then they might cry for her resignation anyway. You have great charisma, and you come from a respected noble line. If you can keep people thinking that she -- and the army -- are worthy of their respect, you'll be doing her a great service." Davon considered her. She was still looking uncertain, but wavering. He tried a final gambit. "I'd say it was almost your duty... both as a military officer... and as a Malespoir." That had been exactly the right tack to take. She straightened almost immediately. "Yes, of course. You're right. I've got to carry on in her place. It's the only proper thing to do." Davon smiled. Perfect. Li looked dispassionately at the cards in her hand, then at Sara. "I will raise you another five." Sara looked at her cards again, then tossed them down in disgust. "I fold. Don't have nothing more than a Fire-Water combo anyway." She slid almost all of her remaining stack of coins over to Li's side. "What've you got?" Li laid her cards down with a thin smile. Sara blinked at them, then groaned. "You bluffed me *again!* With a lousy Double Beat! I swear, girl, I don't know how you do it." She looked at her meager stash of coins regretfully. "Where'd you learn to play, anyway?" "I didn't." "Come again?" Li carefully tidied up her cards and stacked her coins. "I have no idea how to play this game. I have no idea what the card combinations mean, or what would beat what. I only know the bidding conventions through following your lead. I still haven't got the foggiest idea how you determine when we are dealt five cards and when we are dealt six." She fixed Sara with a steely gaze. "But I know that you do. And I can read you well enough to tell whether you think your hand is sufficiently good or not. The rest comes down to having more nerve in the showdown. And I'm told I have quite some nerve." Reid had the decency to look mildly embarrassed at this last. Sara just looked incredulously at Li for a moment. Then she threw her head back and howled with laughter. "Damn, girl, but you've got spirit! I've been playing this game for nearly thirty years now, and you're the first one ever outbluffed me like this." She tossed her remaining coins over to Lierni's side. "I like you, kids. And I get the feeling that if I stick with you, things are gonna get a lot more interesting. As long as you need me or my boat, I'm with you." Li smiled. "Splendid. Then it's off to Eregon?" "You bet. And probably the ends of the earth, if you guys live up to my expectations." Harod Tovias, First Assistant to the Vice-Chancellor in Charge of State Security, was possibly one of the dozen most powerful men in Lierstam, despite his lack of a particularly impressive title. Tovias had the ear of the official who made the decisions regarding threats, internal and external, and in many regards, that was better than being the Chancellor himself. Far less chance of assassination, for one thing. Far more chance of an ulcer, though. Which was exactly what Tovias could swear he was developing for himself right now. He glared at the reports littering his desk. Chancellor Ansuro was somehow hanging on to life despite the best predictions of his doctors, and still meddling in affairs that shouldn't concern him. His daughter, even more of a meddler than he was, still had the ear of the people, despite the best efforts of Tovias and his allies. Tovias had always been a firm believer in the stupidity of humanity in the aggregate, but it took a special kind of stupidity to see a moron like Matteo as a better leader than Nereida, a kind of stupidity that Tovias was desperately trying to engineer. And that wasn't the worst of it... "I have returned." Tovias scowled as a dark shape detached itself from the shadows of the office. Black armor. A black-hilted sword strapped to his back. A black helmet that obscured every detail of the tall man's face. His presence dominated the room, looming over the smaller politician. "Well, it's about time. You've been gone for over a week now." The black gauntlets worked the catches on the helmet. "That's pretty good time to get from here to Lindael and back, you know," the knight chided mildly. "True. Which brings up the question of how you do it in the first place." "Trade secret." The knight smiled as he removed his helmet, shaking his long black hair free. "Anyway, things are still going well over there, for the most part." "Certainly good to know. I was beginning to think only bad news would cross my desk today." "Really? What's irking you?" "Various matters. Among other things, I'm starting to think we have a whole ring of Hereshan spies up to no good. We caught yet another one today, and I can't for the life of me determine what they're planning." He shook his head and set his pen down. "What news of Lindael, then?" The knight continued removing the bulky armor from his trim frame, placing each piece carefully in the fitting slot in the trunk by Tovias's desk. "At Evenweir's request, I engineered an assassination attempt against Professor Serre. Of course, I didn't let it succeed, but the evidence I planted was enough to get General Nevenheim arrested. And there are flaws in the evidence sufficient to cast suspicion on Evenweir -- not enough to convict him, or totally clear Nevenheim, but enough that when they're found, no one else will quite be able to trust either of them again." Tovias finally cracked a small smile. "Excellent work, Valon. We're ahead of schedule now. A few more months of this, and Heresha should be ripe for the taking." "None too soon." Valon wiped the sweat from his brow and tied his hair back into a ponytail, leaving only a few strands to frame his bright blue eyes. "That armor's like an oven. And I can't even take the helmet off for a minute, just in case someone notices me." "It works, though. Evenwier's bought into the 'mysterious black mercenary knight' mystique hook, line, and sinker, if I'm any judge. The man's a greedy idiot." "I wouldn't say that." Valon tugged on a blue jacket, embroidered at the collar with tiny silver dragons, and checked his appearance in a mirror between two bookshelves. "He had to have some merit to rise to the top, after all." "Pfah. Look at the company he's in. Shaendra's a fanatic, Harfeld's a bumpkin, and Serre can't descend from her ivory tower long enough to see the nose in front of her face. He fits right in. Nevenheim was the only one of them who was both honest and competent, and she's out of the picture now. Evenweir would have self-destructed regardless, but now with our help he'll bring down all Lindael with his petty infighting. With that fool Matteo as chancellor, it'll be easy to engineer a pretext for us to step into the power void. Then we'll have Heresha's farmland, its timber, its mines, even its fishing industry... and enough room to expand almost indefinitely. With one stroke, Lierstam will finally have the strength it needs to stand forever..." Valon frowned. "I think you're underestimating some of the governors... and we're not the only power waiting to step into the light. There's a few rising young stars in each of the ministries... and perhaps more worrisomely, there's the Wind Children, the new rebel movement, even the bandits of the White Tiger range... I've been studying them all, and there's a non-negligible chance any of them could come into a position to unify the country against us." "So? Just more factions to squabble over the pieces. They'll tear each other apart, and we'll come in to destroy the weakened survivors. You've got to think in the long term, boy, not just a few moves ahead." Valon sighed and shook his head. "You might be right, but... You scare me sometimes, you know." "And what's that supposed to mean?" "Nothing, nothing." Valon flipped his ponytail out of the collar of his jacket, and regarded the other man for a long, silent moment. "Oh, by the way... I stopped by Mother's on the way here. She said you hadn't been home lately." Tovias shifted awkwardly. "Yes, well... I've been busy. Work, you know." "She's hosting a ball tomorrow night -- wanted to know if you'd be attending." "Another one? What's she celebrating this time?" "The opening of the new opera house, I think." Tovias sighed. "Tell her I'll be there. But not for the whole gala, just the dinner." "Understood. I'll be staying at the Azure Moon while I'm here. Got to make the social rounds and keep up with appearances, after all. Send a message if you need me for anything." And with that, Valon Dragonslayer Tovias, famed hero of Lierstam, slayer of beasts, wooer of fine ladies, and deep covert agent, set forth, confident that the evening could only grow brighter from there. Pane sifted through the sand with an appraising eye. Fairly evenly grained, very clean, and most importantly almost perfectly white. He cinched the bag shut, set it down on the dining table, and opened the next. Not quite as good -- probably too much iron in it -- but still worth a look. "What are you up to?" Pane glanced up. "Oh, hi, Kyrina. I was just looking at some sand I picked up from the lake shore. It's pretty good quality -- I think with a little care I could make some decent glass from it." "Really? Good to know. We could use some around here. Is sand all you'll need?" "Well, technically, but that sort of glass won't make great windows. If I can get my hands on some powdered lime and soda, that would be best. There's a couple of other ingredients I could add, but--" "Ssh!" Kyrina had suddenly stood bolt upright, eyes unfocused as she concentrated on something. "Did you hear that?" "Hear what?" Pane strained to listen. "I don't--" "There!" Her Wind Rune flared, and a shower of petals swirled around an upper balcony, silhouetting a figure in a dark cloak. The figure stumbled, jerked its head, then regained its balance and ran through an archway and out of sight. "Blast it! He shook it off. Come on." Pane grabbed his bag of ground glass and dashed off after her. "Who on earth was that?" "I have no idea," she replied grimly. That's why we're chasing him. Hurry up!" And the chase was joined. ----- Notes: Stars Recruited: Sara, the Tenhei (Heavenly Peace) Star Zeb, the Tenson (Heavenly Waste) Star Every army needs a navy, and every Suikoden needs a pair of fishermen lending out their boat. Sara and Zeb aren't quite Tai Ho and Yam Koo, but I tried to play to their archetypes a bit. Reid's doctor friend will most likely be the Chirei (Earthbound Ghost) Star, going by past example, but anything can happen in a story like this. And who's to say they won't find any other recruitable people on this trip? This chapter was somewhat hampered by my falling ill in the middle of it, but I hope I managed to present it well regardless. Many thanks to all my prereaders, for keeping me properly motivated and suggesting some interesting changes.