"Strength to strength, kind to kind, Hearty body, sturdy mind; Not enough is flesh and bone, Add strong metal and hardest stone!" --Dwarven drinking song SKJAM! Inc. presents A Rocketarian Pictures production In association with Improfanfic SUIKODEN: DISTANT SHORES created by Illyria and Todd Harper Part Thirty-Two: Relative Heat by Scott K. Jamison "It looks too easy," said Adele, frowning at the charts in her tent. "How do you mean, m'lady?" asked one of her aides, Sebastian. "If we sweep down this way, and the scouts' reports are correct, the resistance should be light, and Bristow in our hands within a day. But if the scouts have betrayed us, or there are unexpected reinforcements...." She traced a line from White Cloud Castle with her finger. Sebastian frowned, and scratched his cheek. "Why would the scouts betray us? And I thought General Fransck was going to deal with any support from the Crescent Rebels." "Treachery can be anywhere. Our last foray against the rebels failed for two reasons. One: a betrayal within our ranks. Two: a failure to anticipate this betrayal. This will not happen again. I've prepared a list of possible disasters, and the strategies we will take in case of each." "I see, M'lady." Sebastian looked warily at Adele. "But if treachery can be anywhere, then...." The Malespoir heir stared coldly at her aide. "I trust I will not have to activate my contingency plan to deal with you. Now, call in the others, and we shall begin." She gave a thin smile as Sebastian left the tent. Adele had discovered the flaw in General Fransck's story. Clearly, Nevenheim had renounced her oath after being imprisoned. Thus, her way had been clear to betray Adele. Fortunately, the woman was dead now, and would not be a factor again. -- -- -- "She's a Star of Destiny?!" asked Lierni, agog. "Didn't she try to kill Kojiro?" The others in the sickroom seemed only slightly less stunned. Luc was the only one who appeared perfectly calm. "Her name has appeared on the Tablets of Destiny. As has a Katrina Cole's." Tavia started. "Any relation to Cerus Cole, do you think?" "It would not surprise me. The Stars of Destiny have a strong tendency to coincidence." "Sounds about right, Luc." Reid looked thoughtful. "I remember Master Cole saying he had a daughter out there somewhere." "She's probably on that island with the dwarves then, and we won't see her for a while," said Lierni. "So, back to the assassin?" Tavia nodded. "Kojiro says her oath of fealty is valid enough, provided she hasn't made a contingent oath to the Old One that overrides it. And it's pretty certain Megumi has. It's just a question of when it takes effect, and why." "Leknaat has not been very forthcoming on the subject of the Old One, I fear." Luc formed an image over the palm of his hand of the mysterious ninja master. "But treachery in the ranks of the Stars of Destiny is not a new thing. It can be overcome, if the First Star is careful and wise." "I've put her in with Gaela, Jiana and Valise for the moment," said Tavia. "Our Children of the Wind beast tamers are pretty sharp, and that'll be six pairs of eyes watching Megumi." There was a knock at the door. "Miss Totorika, I brought your lunch. Doc says this soup'll do you good." Li put her face in her palm. "Oh, no. Not the spoonfeeding again." "We were just about done, Pane," said Reid, smiling as he opened the door. -- -- -- "So, you replaced me." Katrina's back was to her father as he worked on Marionette. "It seemed like a good idea at the time." Cerus Cole used tweezers to make a fine adjustment to one knee. "You made a daughter out of wood, who'd do exactly as you told her, no talking back." "That was the plan. Marionette, systems check." The artificial girl moved each of her joints in turn. There was a slight squeak from the left ankle. "Touch of oil there," said Cerus, kneeling. "But there's a fatal flaw in the design." Katrina turned to look at him. "Just one?" "Marionette is solely my handiwork, animated by my magic, obedient to my will alone. She can never be more than what I've made her to be. You, on the other hand, are the product of two people, both your mother and myself. You can be more than either of us ever was." Cerus started packing away his tools. "Even if you didn't want me to be what I am?" "Even so, Katrina. You are a grown woman now, not a doll. It's time I acknowledged that." Katrina looked at her father, and her frown lessened slightly. "Yes. That's good enough, for now. Let's join the others." As they left the hut, Katrina's gaze met the blank stare of her wooden double, and she flinched. Marionette flinched to the same degree, which seemed odd, but the axe wielder had more important things to think about. -- -- -- There was something warm and wet being dragged over Megumi's face. She cracked an eyelid and discovered it was a tongue. She opened her eyes fully to see that it belonged to some kind of...dog? No, a jackal. "Well, Topo likes her," said a female voice. Another woman replied, "Thar would be more comforting if Topo weren't such a bad judge of character." Megumi remembered now. The barbarian women. They'd been briefly introduced last night. The ninja sat up. "Clear path to you," said the second woman, a stocky-figured one named Jiana. "Good morning," replied Megumi as she stood. Topo scrambled back to his mistress, the whipcord-thin Gaela. That woman said, "The necessary is through that curtain. A city-dweller luxury I rather like." Megumi nodded her thanks as she strolled to the facilities. When she came out, the third Wind Children woman had returned, the impressively tall Valise. They'd set up some sort of board game on the table. "You play Fangs and Claws?" asked Valise. Megumi shook her head. "We'll teach you," offered Gaela. "I hear ninja pride themselves on moving silently." "Yes. I am not the best in my clan, but my training is good." Gaela smiled, revealing sharp, remarkably white teeth. "Excellent. We'll test that out in a few days, when we go hunting." "I...I would be honored to join you." Like all kunoichi, Megumi was trained in the art of infiltration. She had to gain these people's trust without giving them hers. A task made harder by her targets knowing perfectly well what she was up to. Still, a difficult task was all the more satisfying to accomplish. Valise moved towards the outer door. "Let us show you around. You haven't seen much of White Cloud Castle in the daytime, right?" Megumi nodded. The women moved outside, their animals (Jiana had a leopard, and Valise a black wolf) falling in behind them. The rooms they'd been installed in were an outbuiding near the walls of the castle, at the opposite side from the stable. "I've trained Jussa to remain calm around horses," explained Jiana, "but the opposite is not true." As they walked towards the kitchens, Gaela saw someone and waved to him. "Ooh, Baren One-Eye! Come and join us!" The large man calmly and with great dignity turned and fled. Megumi's companions giggled, a sound belying their fierce appearance. "Who was that?" "Baren, who's also from the Hawk Clan," explained Jiana. "He's sweet on Valise, we think, but he won't admit it while we're around." Valise moved some of her hair over an eye and puffed out her chest. "I am Baren One-Eye! I have the strength of a buffalo, the ears of a wolf, the speed of the panther...but the tongue for romance of a timid deer!" She swept her hair back to its proper place. "Pity. He might be a good husband, if he'd ever bother to *ask* me!" "Men. Who can understand them?" Megumi's universally applicable comment earned her complete agreement from the others, and they continued on their tour. -- -- -- Kelsea sniffed the remains of a campfire. "Yes, he was here! And went...that way, I think." Kaleen's ears twitched. "I concur. Lead the way, Private, and Demonstrate futher your most excellent tracking skills." "Aye, sir!" Kelsea practically bounced in the direction she'd indicated. The party continued into the jungle, single file along the narrow path. Marionette carried a shirt that was said to be among blacksmith Darl's favorites. The wooden woman had a neutral scent, and wouldn't cover the dwarf's odor. It seemed her new gears were an improvement, as she hadn't stumbled once. Katrina, bringing up the rear, decided to take her mind off her double by talking to the person in front of her. "So, Ilena, was it? What exactly are you people doing here?" "We're recruiting for the Crescent Freedom Army." "The what?" The noblewoman paused. "You've been away for a while, haven't you? We're fighting to reform the governments of Heresha and Lierstam. And undo some of the wrongs of the past." "I've been abroad, yes," said Katrina. "How long has this been going on?" "Nearly a year now. I've only been involved for a few weeks myself." Ilena chuckled. "In fact, I had barely made it to White Cloud Castle when I was asked to go on this diplomatic mission. I didn't even get a good chance to talk to Reid." "Reid?" "My fiance. He's one of the leaders of the rebellion. A handsome and gallant man." Katrina adjusted her axe. "Ah." Kaleen held up a hand. "Danger." The party readied their weapons as a pack of carnivorous plants broke from the underbrush. -- -- -- Cerus said several unprintable words when his foot struck something hard lying in the path. He said several more when he saw what it was. "And to think you and Mother used to wash my mouth out with soap for such language," said Katrina. "Pardon my High Tir Eslyn, but I think I've found a clue," replied the inventor as he bent to pick up the offending object. It was revealed to be a smith's hammer. Ilena felt it was incumbent on her to say the obvious. "Darl's?" Kelsea sniffed the hammer. "It has his scent, good work Master Cole!" "And he wouldn't just leave it lying about?" "No," assured Cerus. "A workman would never abandon his tools without reason." "So, he's...." "Up there, I suspect," said Kaleen, pointing to a nearby cliff, upon which was built a huge bird's nest. "Now, I could climb up there easily enough, but it would be best for us to stick together, yes?" "Perhaps if we followed that ridge over there, we might come out above the nest?" asked Katrina. Ilena looked at the jagged cliff, then at the gentle ridge. "Yes, let's do that." -- -- -- Several hours later, the party emerged from the jungle above the nest, somewhat the worse for wear. "That was an experience I'm not eager to repeat. Who knew that an active lava flow was so dangerous?" Ilena saw everyone shake their heads, Katrina and Marionette doing so in perfect synchronization. She found it a little spooky. They descended the short distance to the nest, which was made of entire trees woven together like twigs. It was filled with eggs, which looked like no birds' eggs Ilena had ever seen, even given their size. To one side was a greyish, lumpy mass that had various animal parts sticking out of it. Oh, and a dwarf's head. "Perhaps we can get partial credit for bringing what's left of him back?" suggested Kaleen. Kelsea's nose twitched. "No, he's alive in there!" She jumped to the mass, and began tearing at it with her hands. As the others were moving to help, the dwarf awoke. He was an elderly-looking fellow, and he scowled as he looked at Kelsea. "What's a kobold doing here? Wait, there's something wrong with you...I'm being rescued by a *woman*?! Granite and steel preserve me!" "Don't worry, Master Darl, we'll have you out of there in a jiffy!" The dwarf rolled his eyes. "Save me from foolish females. You're only going to get yourself killed by the pitvaavs." "The which?" asked Katrina. "I would presume he means those things," Cerus said, pointing at several rapidly approaching winged figures. "We'd best hurry," said Ilena, using one of her darts to chip at the constraining mass. Despite their best efforts, the party had only managed to free Darl down to the shoulders by the time the pitvaavs arrived. The winged creatures resembled birds superficially, but had the multi-faceted eyes of insects, and were approximately the size of warhorses. As the party drew up into battle lines, Ilena used her Earth Rune to protect the front-line fighters. "Unfortunately, that's all the power I have right now. I used most of it dealing with those plants earlier." Kaleen grinned toothily. "That should be sufficient, I think." He unlimbered his scimitar and leapt into battle. The al-Kazzin and his allies fought bravely, and soon they had reduced the enemy forces from four to three. Even Ilena's darts seemed to be doing some damage. Unfortunately, it was at that point that the remaining pitvaavs disgorged a grey fluid over the warriors. "I can't move," said Katrina. "It's too sticky, and it's hardening fast." "There isn't much on me, but I don't think I can stop those things." Ilena backed away for a better shot at the creatures. Cerus looked pained. "I might be able to stop them, but it's a long shot." Kaleen struggled in his goop. "By all means, Master Cole. Pray enlighten us as to your extreme option." "Right. Marionette." The wooden woman, who up till now had done nothing in the combat, stiffened to attention. Cerus continued. "Marionette, Whirlwind Attack." Marionette rose to her toes and began to spin, her arms held out at a ninety-degree angle. Soon, her features blurred as the spinning increased in speed. Then, somehow, she was moving forward, sideways and up and down at seemingly the same time, striking the winged creatures dozens of times. Blood and feathers flew everywhere, and the pitvaavs fell to the bottom of the nest, obviously dead. Marionette stopped spinning, and fell apart. "Most impressive, my inventive friend." Kaleen finished freeing himself from the goop. "Unfortunately, it only works once. Rest well, Marionette." Cerus began piling her parts together. Katrina scowled. "This is some replacement, Father." Ilena made the introductions as Darl was freed from the hardened goop. "An army run by a woman, eh? Can't see that working." Darl hefted his hammer and took a practice swing. "A woman who happens to bear the Victory Rune, good smith, and impressive in her own right," said Kaleen. Darl nodded. "She'd have to be, to get one of your folk to follow her. I hope that not all of your leaders are female." "My fiance Reid is high among the Stars," pointed out Ilena. "And we have General Peridon." "He's still alive, then? Your father's men aren't much on delivering news of the main islands. Very well, I'll join your Crescent Freedom Army, as it's clear you need another man's touch." "Hooray!" cried Kelsea. "We got another one!" TO BE CONTINUED Stars added: Darl, the Chijiku Star Author's Notes: As always, time grows short, and so does this chapter. I'd like to especially thank Reader in Invisible Fanfics for his pre-reading, and my other pre-readers. Comments and such would be appreciated, and here's hoping the next chapter is soon! Peace, SKJAM!