From the battlements of Inferno's castle, Vulpix looked down on the large trading port below, Pollination. The castle, which was situated on a hill that overlooked the city, offered a beautiful view of the sunset. The last rays of the setting sun glistened off the ever-flowing waters of the Sunken River, which converged with the Crack River a few miles down. He had to admit, it was beautiful.

He heard someone behind him. Before he could turn around to see who it was, Inferno was there, standing next to him. They both looked down on the city.

"You know, I spent the first twenty years of my life here."

Vulpix turned to him. "Really? I would have thought you stayed in the capital with your father."

"No," Inferno chuckled. He paused. "Fun fact: I'm illegitimate. Well, not that many people know that."

Vulpix looked at him, surprised. The Crosshares king laughed again.

"Before the Third Shipping War, my father stayed here during the summer. He had a child with the mayor of the city. The mayor was my mother. I was brought up in her care, being told that my father had died of illness shortly after I was born. From an early age, I was taught to be an administrator."

"Then the war came, and most of my father's legitimate children, my half-siblings, were killed in battle. The others killed each other in an effort to become my father's heir."

"Eventually, my father died, but the only remaining legitimate child was an imbecile who was completely incapable. He died about a year into his reign, but the throne did not pass to his cousins. Apparently, it was known among the court that I was his son, and since I had proven to be a more capable administrator than my cousins, they raised me to the throne and retroactively added me to the family trees. After seeing what my half-brother did to the country, nobody really questioned it."

Vulpix stroked his chin. "A most interesting tale. But why would you tell me this?"

Inferno shrugged. "Because I trust you."

They both returned their gaze to the setting sun, which had almost disappeared behind the horizon. The pair stayed that way for a while.

A sudden tap on the shoulder startled Vulpix, whose sudden movement snapped Inferno out of his reverie as well. Behind them stood Jokey, who had a ghost of a smile on his face.

"My friends," he said in his gravelly voice, "Celtic is expecting us."

They nodded, and Inferno descended the staircase back into the main castle. As Vulpix followed the king, Jokey nudged him playfully, earning a scornful look.

They reached the throne room, where the rest of the Council either sat or stood. Celtic was whispering to Nachbar and Samurai leaned patiently on a pillar in the center of the room. The oldest of the Council, Maker, Greatness and Yukon, stood opposite Samurai, talking and laughing like young gossips.

Celtic, noticing the three's arrival, cleared his throat. The Council suddenly quieted and stood at attention, waiting for their liege to begin.

"Gentlemen, it seems that there has been an unexpected, yet favorable development. Yukon, tell them what you've learned." Yukon cleared his throat and stepped forward.

"My scouts have reported that a large portion of these insufferable insurgents are traveling down the river by ship. This is our opportunity to wipe out their leadership and end this quickly. We can engage them navally and force them onto the beach. There, they will be slaughtered."

"Wait." Inferno said. "If we engage them here, they could disembark and attack the settlement below. It has no defenses, and thousands of civilians could die."

Celtic replied, "But here, we have an opportunity to end this war. How many lives can we save if we end this cleanly now? Surely the risk is worth it."

Inferno walked up to him and stared him straight in the eye. The entire room became uneasy. Vulpix raised a hand to his mouth, stifling a gasp. Samurai and Jokey instinctively reached for their weapons. Greatness awkwardly cleared his throat while Maker and Yukon slowly receded into the shadows. Nachbar merely smiled.

"You promised me," Inferno whispered. "No more innocents." The entire chamber was dead silent. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Celtic finally relented.

"Fine."

Inferno nodded tersely. He beckoned for Samurai to return to his side as he exited the room. The remaining Council members glanced at each other uncomfortably before they all turned their gaze to Celtic.

"We're…not really going to let an opportunity like this go, right?" Greatness asked. Celtic merely sighed.

"It seems we are. We must keep this Council together, or this new order we have so carefully constructed will collapse inward, and all our work and sacrifice will be for naught."

"If I may," Peter spoke up, "It is possible to keep Inferno from lashing out at us while eliminating the insurgent leadership. If we use the cannons to hole the ships beneath the waterline, then we can destroy them without any harm to the city."

"A good plan," Maker voiced her opinion.

"I concur," Celtic said. "All in favor?"

Jokey raised his hand, and he was quickly followed by Yukon, Greatness and Maker. Vulpix hesitantly raised his hand as well. "Then it is decided," Celtic said. Jokey, go tell the generals to set up artillery on either side of the river. The rest of you, return to your duties." Vulpix nodded and began walking out of the throne room, only to feel a cold, metal hand on his shoulder. Jokey beckoned for him to walk with him.

"What is it?" The general asked impatiently.

"When Nachbar proposed his plan, you hesitated to raise your hand. Why?"

"We shouldn't risk upsetting Inferno. Not when it could mean the destruction of what we've worked so hard to achieve."

"Is that all?"

Vulpix huffed and brushed off Jokey's hand. He merely laughed and began the walk down to the shore, where the generals were. Al-Jahan and an Arkos colonel were standing on the shore having a conversation. Al-Jahan noticed Jokey walking toward them and instinctively stood at attention.

"Sir von Zockey, sir!" He cried. The colonel gave a more casual salute.

"I have a message for both of you. Colonel, have your men set up cannons on both sides of the river. When the rebels come through, we're going to blow them into kingdom come! Station a couple brigades on the shores too, as to mop up any survivors. Understood?"

"Yes, sir. I'll get to work right away."

Jokey, with a wicked grin on his face, turned to Al-Jahan.

"I have a message for you too, my good sir."

The admiral swallowed. "And what would that b-"

The assassin drew his sword and rammed it into Al-Jahan's stomach. He gasped in pain and grabbed Jokey's shoulders to steady himself.

"Failure is not tolerated." Jokey wrenched the sword from the admiral's gut, watching with satisfaction as he fell to the ground, already dead. He turned to the colonel, who cleared his throat and walked away, unnerved.

As he walked away, another of Celtic's advisors stopped him, the one named Nachbar.

"Hey, my guy, I have another message for you. You know those cannons? Station them in the settlement; the rebels won't attack them there."

The colonel nodded. "Alright then. I'll get to it."

The officer walked off, leaving Nachbar on the shore line alone. He smiled to himself.

The spymaster began walking down the shoreline, watching the last light of the day slowly dissipate beyond the horizon. A beautiful sight, but he had more important work to attend to.

Nachbar walked for some time, before finding a medium-sized pile of rocks on a small crag above the sandbar. There, he sat down and pulled a small pouch of vegetables, half a loaf of bread and a skin of wine out of his satchel; his dinner for the day. The spymaster set them on the rocks and reached into his pocket.

He pulled out a small tinderbox with a stick of wood and a fire striker, and a firework specially imported from the faraway lands of Chibi in the east. Nachbar set it next to him on the rock and took a bite out of the loaf of bread.

As he looked down the river, he praised himself for his own ingeniousness. He took a bite out of a small potato and grinned as he waited for his enemies' ships to arrive.

On the deck of the Flamebearer the sailors crowded around Quixotic and Gwydion, who stared at each other, stone-faced. Around them, the soldiers threw coins at Nitesco, who gladly took and logged their bets.

Quixotic raised his arm. The whole crowd fell silent.

The rogue closed his eyes and threw the pair of dice across the deck of the ship. He opened his eyes, ready for his long-awaited victory, but his hope was quickly dashed. The dice turned up a three.

Gwydion laughed and grabbed the dice; it was his turn to roll. As Nitesco hurriedly doled out the soldier's rewards to their bets, the blacksmith turned to him.

"I thought you were a serf. Where'd you learn to take odds?" Nitesco laughed, reminiscing. "When I ran away, to the city, I was taken in as a bartender for a tavern. The tavern hosted dice games, and I slowly learned how the odds worked. I built up a small fortune rigging games for the house. If we ever go there, I'll show you the place."

Gwydion laughed and turned to Quixotic.

"You know," he said, "for such a scoundrel, you're really bad at dice games." Quixotic scowled.

"You know, I only learned how to play this a few years ago. Freezerburn strictly prohibits gambling of any kind, and I guess I always kept that with me."

"You were from Freezerburn? Gwydion asked. "I would have pegged you as an Enablerese."

Quixotic extended his middle finger just as Austin emerged from his cabin in the lower decks. He stood outside and stretched his arms.

"It's a nice night tonight. Good to see three fourths of our leadership gambling their savings away." He scoffed, half-joking.

"Can't gamble your life savings if you don't have any savings." Quixotic remarked, tapping the side of his head as he did so. The other three shared a laugh.

Austin beckoned to his co-commanders to follow him. The went over to the stern of the boat, away from prying ears. Nitesco and Gwydion leaned on the edge while Austin and Quixotic stood in front of them.

"So, how long until we reach Villainia?" Gwydion asked.

Austin cleared his throat. "I don't know. I'll ask the captain of the ship later. In the meantime, keep a look out for any pigeons you see. I sent one out to a mutual friend in Jaded, and he's lending his support to us."

"Do you think this'll work?" Nitesco piped up. "Celtic's more powerful than I'd like to admit, and his lieutenants are utterly ruthless. It's going to take more than a couple legions here and there to-"

"Guys." Quixotic interrupted. He pointed to a small light on the riverbank. It couldn't have been very large, but in the dark of the night, they could see it very clearly.

Suddenly, they heard a strange sound, like something flying up very quickly. All of a sudden, the night was illuminated with a large flash of light, and a huge bang disturbed the strange quiet. The flash lit up the shoreline. For an instant, the four of them saw everything as clear as day. Cannons were lined up on either side of the river, hidden in the treeline. Gwydion gasped.

"Ready the cannons!"

As soon as the words left his lips, cannon fire descended on them from both sides. One struck off the mast of the boat, sending pieces of wood everywhere and forcing the leaders down. The lumbering troop transports, all arranged in single file, made for easy targets. Their ships were being eviscerated.

"Abandon ship! Abandon ship!" Quixotic cried as he jumped overboard. His compatriots quickly followed him into the cold waters of the Sunken River.

As Austin looked around, he saw that they were not the only ones who abandoned ship. Most of their soldiers were also swimming toward the shoreline.

They got out of the water and turned to survey the damage done to their ships; it was massive. Most of the ships were sunk or in the process of sinking. A few of the smaller ones had managed to evade some cannon fire, but they would soon be taken down as well. A cannonball shot past Quixotic, narrowly missing his head but striking the man behind him straight in the stomach. He traced the path of the projectile, and he saw similar blasts of light coming from the settlement up ahead.

The four of them crouched behind a small pile of rocks as cannonballs sailed overhead. Their men desperately tried to find cover, hoping that the rain of artillery fire would miss them.

"Where did they hide their artillery?" Nitesco asked. "We're getting slaughtered!"

"The cannons are up the hill, in the settlement. They think we won't attack them there, but they are dead wrong." Quixotic raised his sword, but Nitesco grabbed his arm.

"But the civilians! They could be…"

"Better a few civilians than our entire fighting force! Come on boys, we can still make it out alive!" Quixotic raised his sword, and charged, out into the fray.

The rest of the men massed behind him rather quickly, advancing valiantly toward Pollination. They charged through the rather sparsely manned artillery in the tree line and toward the town, from which they were still barraged by cannon fire. The forces there rose to meet them, and they became locked in battle.

From afar, Inferno watched as the rebels laid siege to Pollination in a desperate, final gasp of defiance. Normally, he would be slightly exasperated, but relieved by their final demise.

Not now, though. Inferno was livid.

He stormed through the halls of the castle, his castle, that he had unwisely handed over to Celtic. That two-timing, conniving son of a bitch. He had defied Inferno and cost his town—his birthplace—innocent lives. For that, he would pay.

He walked down the hall, encountering his servant Samurai standing and looking out the window. Samurai turned to his master; his expression was equally grave.

"You know what this means, Samurai?" Inferno said. The bodyguard nodded. "Go to the men," Inferno ordered. "Lead a counteroffensive and rescue the rebels."

The bodyguard nodded again and departed.

Inferno kicked open the door to the throne room, his throne room. Celtic was speaking nonchalantly with Yukon and Vulpix. Inferno angrily marched up to them.

"CELTIC!" He cried loudly. Vulpix's eyes widened in fear, and Yukon groaned.

"Ah, shit. I knew this wasn't going to end well."

Inferno glared at him, utterly contemptuous, before returning his focus to Celtic, who looked concerned.

"Inferno? Is everything alright?"

Inferno's response was to grab Celtic by the collar and shove him against the wall. Yukon instinctively placed a hand on his flail, and Vulpix reluctantly drew his sword.

"You promised me. TWICE!" Inferno hissed. "And now my people pay for your treachery!"

"Inferno, stand down." Vulpix demanded. "Or we will use force."

Celtic waved them off. "It's alright, my friends. I understand his anger. But I'm also concerned. Are you going to endanger your future and the future of your country, over a couple of peasants? You can't be so foolish, can you? Just take a step back and think about your next actions. Carefully."

Inferno let a contemptuous grin entrench itself on his face. "It's a bit late for that. I couldn't, even if I wanted to."

Celtic sighed and furrowed his brow before meeting Inferno's steely gaze.

"So be it."

The Crosshares king felt Celtic's hands clasp his arms with his viselike grip, before he was thrown to the ground. He looked up and saw Celtic walking over to the throne, on which lied his battleaxe, while Yukon and Vulpix stood over him.

"You want him alive or dead?" Yukon asked.

Celtic chuckled. "Alive if you can, dead if you must."

Vulpix angled his sword at Inferno. "Please, surrender. I don't want to fight."

"Speak for yourself." Yukon interjected. "He is a traitor. And traitors must die. Face judgement!"

Yukon grabbed his flail and raised it up to strike. Inferno rolled out of the way just as it struck the pristine floor, leaving a small dent. Inferno's rapier launched forward, seemingly of its own accord, nearly slicing Yukon's neck. With his free hand, Yukon drew his sword and knocked it away from his face.

Celtic, now armed, rocketed forward and swung wildly, forcing the Crosshares king back, as Vulpix tried to knock him down. He managed to slide out of the way, taking a swipe at Celtic as he did so.

Yukon swung his flail around, hoping to ensnare Inferno or his sword. Inferno managed to dodge yet again, forcing Yukon to coil the flail around his arm to regain control.

Vulpix took his turn, launching into a duel with Inferno. They moved as mirror images; Inferno managed to block every swing, strike and swipe the general threw at him. Celtic took the opportunity to bash Inferno with the end of his battleaxe, sending him to the floor again. The three of them crowded around him, ensuring he could not recover again.

"Fool. No one betrays me and lives!" Celtic laughed.

Suddenly, a large explosion rattled the tower, and a cannonball sailed through a window, catching them off-guard and surprising them. Inferno took the opportunity to get up, and he knocked Yukon out of the way before opening the doors to the outside and fleeing. Celtic and Vulpix gave chase while Yukon got up from the floor.

The pair stopped in their tracks, as they saw the chaos that their carefully executed plan had devolved into. The Crosshares soldiers had marched into town to assist, but now they were engaged in a bloodbath just outside of it. It was anarchy. Their men were going to be slaughtered by the superior Crosshares force.

"Vulpix?" Celtic asked. "Gather the others. I'll commandeer what men I can and order a retreat. We've lost."

The general nodded gravely and walked back into the castle.

Down below, Inferno had leapt into the bloodbath, intent on finding the leaders of the Rowj League and explaining the predicament. As he charged recklessly into the fray, some of his unoccupied soldiers took up their arms and followed him.

He charged through the bloodbath, breaking through the back of Celtic's lines, miraculously unnoticed, and charged into the burning town. His men fanned out, intent on finding the Rowj leaders. At last, Inferno found the four of them, stationed on a dock.

Austin and Nitesco, if he remembered correctly, were barely able to stand, weakly clutching their swords in one hand as they cupped their wounds with their free hand. Quixotic seemed to be the most badly injured, with blood seeping through his clothes around his midsection. The one he didn't recognize, whose face was caked with as much soot as his own blood, stood in front of them. He pointed the tip of a broken spear at Inferno.

"My name is Gwydion, commander of the Rowj League, and I order you to surrender."

Inferno chuckled slightly, in spite of himself. He sheathed his rapier and began walking toward them.

"Men, I wish you no harm. I only want-"

"My liege!"

A squad of his men appeared behind him, armed to the teeth. They leveled their weapons at the four.

"Ah, shit." Inferno muttered under his breath. "Wait. I mean you…"

It was too late. The four of them had already dived off the dock in unison, into the water. Their heads disappeared as they dove in an effort to get out of the Crosshares soldiers' sight.

After getting some ways out, the commanders finally stopped and began treading water in an effort to stay afloat.

"Well, would you look at this. The great Quixotic Quail, commander of the Rowj armies, dies not at the hands of his enemies in battle, but in the freezing waters of the Sunken River. Damn it all."

"Damn. I think I'm bleeding to death." Nitesco groaned in pain and let himself float on his back. "I need to rest my eyes."

"Wait, guys, guys! Don't close your eyes! Don't fall asleep! Guys!" Gwydion pleaded.

"I think…I think we're a little past that, my friend." Austin mumbled tiredly as he began floating on his back.

"No, no! Shit. Help! Help!" Gwydion began crying for help, hoping someone would hear him. The only answer he received was the cold sound of the river's current washing against the shores.

"No…" He mumbled weakly, and he turned his face up to the stars.

Austin awoke to the sound of something bubbling. He sat up and took in his surroundings. He was in a small room, unfurnished except for four thin straw mattresses with blankets set over them. Two were cast aside, and under the third, Quixotic lay, snoring loudly. The veteran tried to stand, but a splitting pain in his chest caused him to cry out in pain.

Suddenly, Gwydion appeared in the doorway. He quickly ran over to Austin and gently laid him back down.

"Easy there. Don't move if it hurts too much."

Austin coughed, small droplets of blood escaping his mouth as he did so.

"Where are we? What happened?"

Gwydion gave him a small slice of bread and sat down next to him.

"I was crying for help last night, in the river. I attracted the attention of a fisherman. He rescued us and brought us back here."

"I see. And where is here, exactly?"

Gwydion smiled. "Why, Guns N' Roses, of course."

"Oh, fuck." Austin said, and he laid his head back down. Gwydion shrugged and left the room, leaving the old man alone with his thoughts.