March 6, 11 ATC

Enabler-White Rose Border

Various stood in the rain, squinting into the distance to see if he could see Osiria Cathedral. The men were lined up in their battalions down the ridge on either side of him, poised to strike the Church legions on the other side of their narrow border. All that remained was to give the order.

In the distance, he managed to catch a glimpse of Osiria Cathedral, a gargantuan building surrounded by low defensive walls. It sat atop an oddly-shaped yet small mountain, with the south side declining gently while the north end, the end he would be climbing up, offered more of a steep, rocky incline. The south road up to the fortress entrance was flanked on either side by tall walls and towers to watch any visitors or intruders. It would be difficult to penetrate.

As he took a seat on a wet log, he saw Austin and Nitesco trudging up the hill, soaked to the bone by the sudden rain. Behind them, Coronam followed, his glaive resting on his shoulder. Nitesco sat down next to Various on the log.

"Wonderful weather we're having," Nitesco said. "It'll take a whole tub of grease to keep my leg from rusting up."

"And the leather will probably start flaking," Austin said, pointing to her eyepatch. "But that's easily replaced."

"Who are we waiting for?" Coronam asked.

"The good admiral," Various said. He scoffed. "The fop. Probably greasing his hair."

"There's no need to be unpleasant," Nitesco said.

"I think we both know that's not true."

They heard crunching from the path up to the hill, and noticed that Bluewhale had come to meet them. He had a large, round shield in his right hand and a mace in his left. He stopped and raised his mace in the air.

"It's time for battle!" he announced. Various sighed.

"Yes, it is," he said. "And remember, I get first pick of the vaults."

Austin nodded. "As per our agreement."

"Very good," Various said. "Coronam, I'm with you. We'll scale the hill together."

"Glad to have you," Coronam said. "Now remember, I'm in front. These are my men you're running with."

"Are we ready now?" Nitesco asked. "Should I send out the runner?"

The commanders looked around, nodding in unison. "Yes," Bluewhale said. "The time has come. Let's finish this!"

"Spare me the dramatic flourish, please," Various said. Coronam sighed.

"Save the posturing for Jannis," he said. "Today, we have a job to do."

Jannis was in a meeting when he got the news. When Strike rushed in and nearly knocked over Rowing, he knew it was bad: an assassin, perhaps, or a local insurrection. But when he and his council went to the walls and saw soldiers streaming down the hills, beelining toward the road up to the cathedral, he knew the situation was far, far worse.

"The men on our flanks are being slowed by their flanks," Strike said. "They knew exactly where to hit us. This must have been in the works for a while."

"What will we do?" Anti asked.

Jannis balled his fists. "The nerve of these traitors, to challenge us not once but twice in our place of power! This time, we will not let them escape. Strike, prepare the defenses on the road, Link, wake up the garrison and arm them. I'll lead the garrison myself."

"Of course," Strike said. Immediately, he and Link started moving.

"And what are Anti and I to do?" Rowing asked.

"Stay in the cathedral," Jannis said. "Bar as many entrances as you can. Keep the priests and the servants out of harm's way."

"And if they get in?" Anti asked.

Jannis frowned. "Then take as many of them with you as you can." Without another word, he followed Strike down the walls, to the courtyard, leaving Anti and Rowing alone.

"Shit," Rowing muttered. "Link! Did he leave already?"

"I'd wager that he's not going to help you escape," Anti said. Rowing tensed.

"You know?" he asked.

"I suspected," Anti said. "But now's not the time for words."

"And what is it the time for?" Rowing asked.

Anti stopped. "Isn't it obvious?" she asked. "Escaping."

Approaching the hill wasn't hard. Most of the enemy soldiers were preoccupied with the flanks, and even if they saw the Coalition's center streaming down the hill, they could do nothing to stop them. It was the march up the hill itself that posed the problem.

Austin ordered her troops to halt just beyond the range of the Church archers. The road up the hill was heavily fortified: on either side, the road was flanked by high walls and guard towers manned by knights and archers.

"How's it look?" Nitesco asked.

"Lots of archers," she said. "Plenty of knights. They'll drop down to skirmish as soon as we march through."

"Wouldn't that make the archers less accurate, if their men are in the fray?" Bluewhale asked.

Austin shook her head. "I doubt it. They're more than willing to fire on them if there's a chance they hit one of our troops."

"Then we'll go in phalanx formation," Nitesco said. "Put the spearman on the sides and keep the skirmishers just behind them in case their soldiers get too close."

"Sounds like a plan," Bluewhale said. "Men! Form up! Phalanx formation, like we practiced!"

The men quickly fell in line, the spearmen at the edges and the other soldiers in the middle. As Austin watched, Nitesco put his hand on her shoulder.

"Stay safe," he said. "Stay in the middle. No heroics until we're past the gate."

Austin grinned. "Funny, I was about to tell you the same thing."

"Alright, men!" Bluewhale bellowed. "Forward!"

Austin and Nitesco weaseled their way into the middle as the phalanx began lurching up the hill. Though caught in between the hundreds of men around her, Austin could feel the pummel of arrows on her shield. As they marched further and further up the path, she heard a sudden clamor behind her.

"Sir!" A man said. "The Church soldiers! They're coming up behind us!"

"What?" Austin said. She glanced behind her, and saw that the back end of the phalanx was coming apart. Halfway up the road, was the closed portcullis. On the walkway above it was the winch that operated it. Austin sighed.

"Okay," she hollered. "Here's the plan. Abandon formation, book it up the path and hunker down in front of the portcullis. I'm going to take a team up the onto the walls to open the portcullis. Any volunteers?"

"Aye!" Several soldiers cried out. Austin nodded.

"Alright. Let's go! Break formation! Charge!"

As the middle section dispersed on her command, the front of the phalanx broke apart as well, going at a dead sprint toward the portcullis. As Austin joined them, her volunteers behind her, Nitesco pulled up alongside her.

"Austin!" he hissed. "What are you doing?"

"Getting that gate open," she said. "Nitesco, I need you to hunker down in front of the portcullis. Their forces cannot scatter us, understood?"

"What? Why did—" Nitesco sighed. "Fine. It's too late to countermand the orders. But I hope you know what you're doing."

"I hope so, too," she muttered. Her volunteers pulled aside with her, darting up a staircase that led to the top of the road wall. Instantly, they were surrounded by archers and soldiers, and they were in the thick of battle.

Austin hewed her way down the wall, trying to make her way over to the winch. She cut through an archer, and then a soldier, and then another distracted archer, but for each one she cut down another appeared. She looked behind her and saw that her volunteers were mired in similar situations.

"Shit," she muttered. Another soldier tried to attack her, but Austin sidestepped him and hoisted him over the wall. Her soldiers began falling in around her, but there were simply too many.

"Sir, what do we do?" One of them asked. Austin pursed her lips and looked around her. There had to be some way…

Suddenly, she saw it: on the wall on the opposite side of the road, she saw Arkosian soldiers charging up the steps, with Bluewhale at the helm. Bluewhale mashed a soldier's head in with his mace and turned to Austin. He pointed at the stairs she had come up on and Austin saw that Arkosian soldiers were coming up the walls to assist her. Austin breathed a sigh of relief.

"Men!" she bellowed. "Form up! Charge!"

With the Arkosians to inflate their numbers, Austin's team charged up the walls, and Austin hung back as the Arkosian and Gunnian spearmen skewered their opposition. As they hacked their way through the Church garrison, Austin made her way over to the winch. Below, Nitesco and his soldiers were holding strong, even though most of the men on the walls had pinned them against the gate.

"Hang on!" Austin yelled down, and she began turning the winch. The portcullis came up just enough let their soldiers through, streaming into the sparsely-defended courtyard as others swept along the walls. As the last of their soldiers made it through, she cut the winch rope, bringing down the portcullis on top of a few unfortunate Church soldiers and closing the rest of them out. "It worked!" A few of her soldiers exclaimed, but Austin took no time to celebrate. She turned her attention to the courtyard.

There seemed to be few Church soldiers there, and those were quickly being dispatched. As she scanned the fray, she spotted Nitesco in the middle of it, and descended into the courtyard to join him.

"Nitesco!" she cried. As Nitesco cut down another Church soldier, he looked up and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Austin! I can't believe that worked." He relaxed and took a look around. "Looks like our men are doing good work here. We'll be in the cathedral in no time at all."

"Ah, today is a good day!" they heard Bluewhale exclaim. His pristine crimson uniform was sullied by blood, but he looked proud of himself. "Quite the gamble. But now we're inside."

"Yes," Austin said. "Now it's just a matter of—"

At once, she was interrupted by the cathedral doors opening, and a swarm of Church soldiers flowed out of them. Their men were taken by surprise, and Austin was forced to retreat as the soldiers fell upon the men near her. Through a haze of blood, Austin saw two men come out behind the rest of their soldiers: Strike, brandishing his saber, and Jannis, fully clad in red armor, clutching his longsword and his shield.

"Jannis," Nitesco said. His face contorted in rage. "Jannis!" he screamed. Jannis and Strike looked at him with contempt.

"Of course it's you," Jannis said. "Nitesco. And you brought that hanger-on harlot of yours all the way here just to die with you."

"Give up, Jannis," Austin said. "You're surrounded and outnumbered. Nobody else has to die."

"If I destroy this incursion here," Jannis said, "then I stamp out your rebellion for good. Nobody will be left to stand against me."

"You underestimate us," Nitesco said.

"And you underestimate us!" Strike interjected. "It was you who—"

"Shut up, traitor!" Bluewhale bellowed. With a war cry, he raised his mace and charged at Strike. Strike raised his saber to deflect Bluewhale's attack the best he could.

As Strike dueled Bluewhale, Jannis stepped out to engage Nitesco and Austin. "A pity it took you so long to try this again," Jannis said as he sized up his opponents. "I always wanted to take both of you on at once. Now is my chance."

"Shut up and die," Nitesco said. He charged Jannis, furiously swinging and stabbing at Jannis, enough to keep him on the defensive without exposing himself to a riposte. Austin joined in the attack, pressuring Jannis, who kept her at bay with his shield.

"You're very eager," Jannis said. "Both of you. I would've thought you'd have more restraint after your lesson at Fort Bombus."

"We learned a lot that day," Austin said. "We learned that you're no better than Zissman."

"Zissman was a great leader," Jannis said. He parried Austin's sword and kicked her in the shin. "Far better than either of you."

As Jannis swung his sword down at Austin, Nitesco blocked it with his own. "If he was so great," Nitesco growled, "then why is he dead and we alive?"

"Because you're cowards and liars," Jannis sneered. He whirled his blade at Nitesco, but Nitesco deflected. "Who can't win a battle fairly. It's why you lost then. It's why you'll die now."

"I wouldn't be so sure!" Austin exclaimed. She lunged at Jannis, but only managed to chip his shield. "It's two on one."

"It was two on one there too," Jannis said. "Zealander and Gwydion. Gwydion paid the price for his hubris in blood."

Nitesco's face contorted into an angry grimace. "He was a better man than you'll ever be!" he screamed. He swung his sword as hard as he could at Jannis, but Jannis merely stepped away, leading Nitesco to whiff and stumble.

"He's a ghost now," Jannis said. He raised his sword overhead. "Say hello to him for me."

Austin lunged at Jannis, shoving her sword in between them, stopping Jannis's sword just before it connected with Nitesco's head. "Tell him yourself," she growled.

Jannis grit his teeth and struck Austin with the stomach with his shield. He watched as Austin stumbled to the ground, wondering whether to attack her or Nitesco, but then saw the situation in the courtyard. His soldiers were almost entirely overrun now despite having the element of surprise, and several League soldiers were barreling at him. Two or three, he could handle, but not with Nitesco or Austin on their side.

He looked to Strike, who was up near the stairs, still fighting with Bluewhale. A pity. He had hoped that Bluewhale would be merciful. Jannis turned and fled into the cathedral.

"Jannis!" Nitesco shouted. He grabbed his sword and got to his feet, following Jannis and the soldiers chasing him. Austin, out of breath, struggled to get up in time to follow him.

"Nitesco! Wait!" she cried. It was too late: as Jannis ran into the cathedral, he sliced a rope connected to another, inner portcullis. It closed with Nitesco behind it, locking him in.

"Nitesco!" Austin cried. Nitesco stopped and turned while the soldiers chased Jannis into the cathedral hallways. "Nitesco, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Nitesco said. "Didn't expect the bastard to have two portcullises, but I'm okay."

"Don't go after him," Austin said. "Wait for the rest of us. He's too strong for you to face alone!"

"I can't let him escape, either," Nitesco said. "I have three soldiers with me; I'll be fine. See if you can find another way in." He turned to pursue Jannis again.

"Nitesco, wait," Austin said. She sighed. "You can't end up like Gwydion. Come back, okay?"

Nitesco forced a smile. "Fingers crossed," he said. He held up two crossed fingers and went deeper into the cathedral.

Austin returned to the courtyard, where her men were finishing off the last of the Church's garrison. A small half-circle had formed around Bluewhale and Strike, with Bluewhale keeping one hand up to stop them from getting involved.

"You betrayed Arkos!" Bluewhale bellowed, holding up his mace to block Strike's swings. "You abandoned our country for these charlatans!"

"I did it because Zealander's soldiers turned on me!" Strike said. "He left me to die at Guns N' Roses! He and those who support him cannot be allowed to drag Arkos through the mud any longer!"

"Arkos will rise again," Bluewhale said. "With or without you, Colonel." Strike stabbed at him, but Bluewhale knocked it away and smashed Strike's hand with the mace. Strike screamed and let his sword go flying, and he clutched his broken hand.

"It's General," Strike sneered. "I earned that title long ago."

"And now," Bluewhale said, "the only thing you'll earn is a prison cell." He beckoned to a few of his soldiers. "Show's over. Tie him up. We'll see him locked up for his crimes."

"Yes, sir," the soldiers said. As they grabbed Strike and wrestled him to his knees, he screamed and winced in pain.

"This isn't over," he yelled. "I will restore Arkos! I will see all those that hold it back in the grave!"

"What a pitiful man," Austin said. She turned to Bluewhale. "Nitesco's been locked inside, with Jannis."

"Locked inside?" Bluewhale asked. "How did that happen?"

"No time," Austin said. "Have you sent your men up on the walls?" Bluewhale nodded.

"Good," Austin said. "I saw on Sphinx's schematics that they would barricade all the doors in case of an invasion, but we can probably still get in on the second or third floor through a window."

"Well, then," Bluewhale said. "What are we waiting for?"

As Austin ran back into the courtyard, Nitesco brandished his sword and went further into the cathedral. He tried the doors that led to the main chamber. Barricaded. Unlocked, but enough was behind them that they wouldn't budge.

"Shit," Nitesco muttered. He looked around. A hallway led off to his right, deeper into the cathedral. He followed the hallway and was soon lost in the labyrinthine hallways of the cathedral.

"Jannis!" Nitesco cried. "Where are you! Come out and face me!"

He turned another corner and heard clanging swords. He broke into a sprint, doing his best to follow the sound through the corridors, and finally came out in a small room.

Another atrium, decorated with a few statues. Two bodies on the ground. Close to him, a young man, slumped up against the wall with a sword in his chest. Across from him, a woman's body, missing her head. Nitesco swallowed and continued.

The atrium led into the cathedral proper, and once inside, Nitesco marveled at it. Though it belonged to Jannis, it was still beautiful. The architecture was intricately sculpted, and every free wall had a skillfully painted mural on in. The pews radiated outward from a central stage, which was drenched in rain from the hole in the roof. Jannis stood there, over another body, freshly killed. He kicked the body aside and looked up at Nitesco.

"Nitesco," he said. "I've cut down the chaff. Now it can be just you and me."

"Let's not pretend this is anything other than what it is," Nitesco said. "You're afraid. You know you couldn't beat me with backup, so you killed them to face me alone."

"Why do you care?" Jannis growled. "You say that like this could end in any other way than bloodshed."

"It can, Jannis," Nitesco said. "Surrender. You'll get a fair trial. It doesn't have to be this way."

"You're the one who's making it so!" Jannis screamed. He brandished his longsword. "This can only end with one of us left standing. Let's see who that is."

"Fine," Nitesco said. He pointed his sword at Jannis. "Gwydion, this is for you!"

Nitesco struck first, sprinting up to Jannis and unleashing a flurry of sword swipes. Jannis held his shield up to block them, but each one came faster than the last, and Jannis found his stamina draining.

"Don't tucker yourself out," Jannis sneered. He brought his longsword down at Nitesco, but missed. "It's a bit too soon for that."

"Don't get your hopes up," Nitesco said. He locked swords with Jannis again.

"Oh really?" Jannis said. He pressed his weight into his sword, forcing Nitesco back. "I can see your concentration slipping. Let go. Embrace your death."

"Never!" Nitesco shouted. Jannis felt Nitesco's knee strike him in the crotch. He groaned in pain and shoved Nitesco away.

"I'll never give up," Nitesco said. "Not until I'm in the ground."

"Gwydion said something to that effect," Jannis said. Nitesco's eye twitched, and Jannis smirked. "Oh, yes, he was quite eager to put me in the ground. Pity he didn't take the chance to surrender when I offered it to him."

"He will have justice," Nitesco said.

"And Zissman will have vengeance!" Jannis said. "Vengeance for him, for Draco, and for Faker, on you and all your allies!"

"Vengeance, huh?" Nitesco said. He ducked under a swipe from Jannis and barely missed his riposte. "Not very holy of you."

Jannis pushed, bringing blow after blow down in Nitesco's direction. Nitesco parried each one with increasing difficulty until Jannis finally bashed him in the face with his shield.

"Forget the Goddess," Jannis said. "This is for me."

Before Nitesco could retake control of the fight, Jannis began swinging his sword and shield at Nitesco with abandon, forcing him back. Every strike had incredible strength behind it, wearing Nitesco down with every strike he weathered. Nitesco felt Jannis's sword chip his arm and Jannis's shield bruise his shoulder. He put all of his energy into staving off what damage he could. Jannis hurled himself into the last few strikes, draining the last of Nitesco's stamina, and sent him to his knees with a shield bash to the gut. Nitesco sank to the ground, coughing up blood.

Jannis stood over him, proud and exhausted from the effort. "Any last words?" he asked.

Nitesco looked up at the open roof, watching the rain pour down, and prepared himself. Then, something caught his eye. On the mezzanine, two people looked down at him, and through the haze of his beating, he recognized one of them.

"Austin!" he cried. Jannis's expression changed to one of surprise and he turned toward the balcony. True to Nitesco's word, Austin and Bluewhale looked down on them, seemingly saying something, but Nitesco couldn't hear it.

"Shit," Jannis muttered. He slammed his shield into the side of Nitesco's head, sending him into a deep sleep.

Anti and Rowing ransacked Sphinx's quarters, frantically looking for anything that could help them escape. Anti had checked and double-checked the cathedral's schematics after her talk with Sphinx, but found no secret exit. Yet Sphinx had escaped the cathedral without any of the guards seeing him. Could he have really dug a secret exit in the few months he was with them? Anti pinched the bridge of her nose. Of course he could have. He was Sphinx.

"Why here?" Rowing asked. He flipped over another table. "Why would Sphinx of all people have this?"

"Because," Anti said, rifling through the books of Sphinx's many bookshelves. "He escaped last night without anyone spotting him! He must have a secret passage somewhere."

"And why did this happen?" Rowing asked. Anti did not like the suspicion in his tone, even if it was warranted.

"We can't worry about that now," Anti said. Think. Papers, notes, schematics. Where to hide them?

"Escaped, huh?" Rowing said. He poked his head in Sphinx's bedroom, but there was nothing there except the dressers and the bed they had already ransacked. "So he knew this was coming."

"Not the time," Anti said. She combed the mantlepiece above the fireplace. Nothing.

"And if you know that he "escaped" instead of "left,"" Rowing said. "It follows that you knew about this too, didn't you?"

"And what if I did?" Anti said, and her hands drifted to the daggers at her side. "What then?"

"Nothing," Rowing said. "It's my own fault for not seeing it sooner, and I won't turn down the aid of someone who's trying to help. Speaking of, why help me? Why not come here on your own and comb through this yourself?"

"Because two pairs of eyes are better than one," Anti said. "And you're the only one who is smart enough and selfish enough to be of use to me."

"Why thank you," Rowing said sarcastically. He got down on the floor with Anti and began combing through the papers that had been knocked on the floor. "We'd best find whatever it is soon, before the enemy burns this cathedral down with us inside it."

Anti picked up a half-written letter, addressed to Hozack. Something clicked in her mind.

"Burns. That's it!" she exclaimed. She set the letter aside and threw several scraps of paper and books into the fireplace.

"What are you doing?" Rowing asked.

"No time to explain," Anti said. "Quick, grab a match and light this up!"

Rowing grumbled, but obeyed, grabbing a matchbox and a match from the mantle. He struck a match and tossed it into the fireplace, and the paper instantly caught fire. Anti held up the envelope.

"I found it," she said. "Our ticket out of here." She stuck the letter in the smoke.

"What are you doing!" Rowing exclaimed. "Are you mad?"

"Just wait," she said. A few moments later, lines began appearing in the smoke. A crude drawing of a well appeared.

"A well?" Rowing said. He sounded disappointed. "How does that help us?"

"There's a well near the barracks," Anti said. "It feeds from a small cave beneath this mountain, which the river drains into. If we can get out there, we can get to safety without anyone seeing us."

"What then?" Rowing asked. "If we get out, the enemy soldiers surely know who we are. Where do we go from there?"

"I have a contact," Anti said. "He agreed to take me to safety when I escaped. I'm sure he'll take you too."

"You really did have this all planned out, didn't you?" Rowing said. Anti frowned and tossed the letter in the fire.

"And we're lucky for that," she said. "Come on!"

They hurried out the door, running through the hallways and arriving at the mezzanine. Down a few more flights of stairs and they would be out near the garrison, practically home free. Just a little farther.

As they walked across the mezzanine, they heard the sound of a door breaking open. On the balcony across from them, they saw two people, a man and a woman, emerge from the door, which led out to the defensive wall. One wore an Arkosian officer's uniform. And the other…

"Austin!" Anti shouted. Austin and her accomplice saw Anti and Rowing from across the cathedral. They were on opposite sides of the mezzanine, but they could easily circle around and take them.

"Anti!" Austin screamed. Her face contorted in anger, and her hand flew to her sword, only for the Arkosian to grab her by the shoulder. He pointed down into the main area of the cathedral, and Austin and Rowing followed his gaze.

"Austin!" A voice from below cried out. Rowing and Anti peered over the railing, as did Austin and Bluewhale. Jannis was down there, looking up at the mezzanine, and Nitesco was down there with him, battered and on his knees. Jannis struck the man unconscious with his shield and peered back up at them.

"Jannis!" Austin exclaimed. "Don't you lay a finger on him!"

"Too late for that!" Jannis said. "Come down here and let's finish—" He stopped abruptly as he saw Rowing and Anti. The anger and indignation in his eyes were replaced by betrayed shock.

"Oh, by the Goddess," Rowing said. "Why did he have to see us?" He backed away and started down the stairs that led to the garrison, leaving Anti alone.

Austin's eyes flashed with anger and indecision, flitting from Jannis, to Anti, back to Jannis. At last, she sheathed her sword and beckoned for the Arkosian to follow. As Austin made her way to the stairs down to the cathedral proper, Anti took a final look at Jannis. He was no longer angry; his expression had changed to one of grim acceptance. He turned away from her and paced over to the altar to wait for Austin and her friend to arrive.

"Goodbye, Jannis," Anti said. She turned away from the altar and went to follow Rowing.

Coronam's forces were almost up the mountain when the attack reached the cathedral. The guards on the walls above them were roused to action, constantly buzzing about the walls. Most were deployed to the front of the cathedral, where Austin, Nitesco, and Bluewhale were making their attack. The precious few that remained would be hopelessly outnumbered by their soldiers.

"Keeping up, old man?" Various said. He dug his falx into the ground above him. The mountain wasn't too steep, so their men could climb reasonably fast, but Various had an edge. His falx was curved and sharp on the inside edge, letting him use it as a hook. He had been one of the last to start climb, and now he was ahead of Coronam.

"To hell with you, Various," Coronam yelled. "You're older than I am."

"I don't feel like it," Various said. He chuckled. "Maybe I just get better with age."

"Stop mouthing and keep climbing," Coronam said. Various rolled his eyes and ascended the rest of the way in silence.

Coronam soon caught up with Various, and eventually the men they had with them were all assembled near the edge of the cliff. As they waited for the stragglers, Coronam cracked his knuckles and stood to address them.

"Alright," he said. "Here's the plan: most of the soldiers will be away by now, so we will encounter decreased resistance. We are going to storm the barracks. Kill anyone who raises a sword against you. Incapacitate those who don't. If you recognize any high-profile targets, attempt to take them prisoner instead."

"Once we sweep the barracks," Various said. "You will divide into three teams, as we discussed. The first team will sweep along the south wall, the second will sweep the north. The third team will remain in the barracks to supervise any prisoners we may capture. Are we understood?"

"Yes, sir!" the soldiers responded. Various nodded.

"Excellent. After you, my liege," he said, bowing. Coronam rolled his eyes.

"Save the comedy for the theater," he said. "Men! Form up! Up and over!"

The defensive wall was incomplete; only the inner layer of the wall was fully constructed, allowing the men to scale it with ease. The men above, so focused on rallying to the battle at the front of the fort, didn't notice the Renorans until it was too late.

"Renorans!" One man finally yelled, but the Renorans were already on top of them. A few scattered soldiers on the walls frantically tried to mount a defense, but they were overrun without much of a fight.

"Down!" Coronam bellowed. He relieved a Church archer of his head and pointed down at the barracks, a large set of wooden buildings separate from the cathedral. "Down to the barracks!"

His men obeyed, charging down into the clearing, where they were met with resistance. A large group of Church soldiers emerged from the barracks, disheveled but heavily armed. As Coronam charged into the fray, Various leaped ahead of him and buried his falx in a frightened White Rose officer.

"Coming, Coronam?" he asked. Two more soldiers came at him; he gutted one with his falx. The other one he grabbed by the collar and threw at Coronam. As the man stumbled toward him, Coronam rammed his glaive into his ribs and killed him instantly.

"You know," Coronam said, removing his glaive from the man. "I could do without your 'assistance'."

"But that wouldn't be so fun, would it?" Various said. He ducked as Coronam lunged over him, allowing Coronam to disembowel the man behind him. "You're cutting it a bit close there yourself," he commented.

Coronam sighed. "Oh, shut up."

They turned back toward the din of battle, and they noticed a particularly oddly-dressed man had appeared at the wall where his soldiers had been just moments ago. He wore a nobleman's battle armor, iron embossed with silver, and a bright white rose was on the front of his breastplate. Curiously, the man also wore a bright red scarf over his face. On either side of him, two Church Crusaders kept the Renorans away while the man barked orders.

"Soldiers!" the scarved man bellowed. "Fight your hardest! We can repel these invaders."

"Shall we?" Coronam asked. He spoke to nobody. Various was already on his way over to the scarved commander. Coronam ran to catch up.

"That's a nice scarf," Various said as he cut down another soldier. "Take it off so I can hear you more clearly."

"My name is Viscount Link of Snowflake Protection," the man said with obvious pride. "And I will not be belittled by a malcontent like you!"

"Too late!" Coronam called up. The Church Crusaders glanced at Link for orders. He nodded.

"Clean up this filth," Link said. Before he could respond, Various charged at them, locking swords with one of the Crusaders. Link drew his rapier and tried to counterattack.

"Damn it, Various!" Coronam yelled. He lunged at the other Church Crusaders, and was deflected. With a spin, he reignited his attack, whirling and slashing at the Crusader.

"Back, back!" Link cried. As Coronam engaged the one on his right, Various took the one on the left. Link shuffled between the two, struck with indecision, before settling on Various. "Take this, mercenary!" he shouted.

"Mercenary?" Various said. He locked swords with his knight and pushed him away before dodging a stab from Link. "I'm no mercenary!"

"You look like one," Link said. Various sighed.

"Would a mercenary… have this?!" he yelled. From his belt, he detached what looked like a large fishing net. He tossed it at Link and watched with satisfaction as it unfurled mid-flight, ensnaring Link and forcing him to the ground like a trapped rabbit. Various ignored Link's screams and thrashing as he resumed his attack on the Church knight.

"Yes!" Link protested. Various ignored him. As the Church knight swung blindly at Various, he slipped under the blade and drew his falx along the knight's stomach. The man screamed and clutched at his wound, looking up just in time to see Various charging at him before colliding with him and knocking him off the wall into the courtyard below.

Coronam dodged his opponent's swipes and stabs, spinning his glaive in wide arcs above his head. Finally, he saw an opening; he feinted left, and the knight moved to meet him. Coronam swung his blade to the right, and the knight stumbled. He rammed his glaive's guisarme into the knight's throat before swinging the glaive back around to decapitate his opponent.

"Good show," Various said. He looked to the trapped Link, who struggled in vain to escape Various's net, and laughed. "I love using that trick. They always look so surprised."

"How long have you been carrying that around?" Coronam asked. Various shrugged.

"Since I got here," he said. "Why?"

"Why didn't you use that earlier?" Coronam asked.

Various frowned. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to refold that thing?"

"I guess I never thought of that," Coronam said. He pointed at Link. "Looks like the men down there are almost finished up. What do we do with him?"

"We take him prisoner, like you said," Various said. "Not a big fan of prisoners, but you're the boss here."

"Very well. You two!" Coronam barked at two men near him. "Take this poor bastard down with the rest of the prisoners. Various and I will be headed inside."

"As you wish, sir," one of them responded. As they dragged Link away, Coronam and Various departed for the cathedral.

As Austin descended to the cathedral floor with Bluewhale, her heart raced in her chest. Nitesco. Anti. Jannis. Her head was spinning, but she knew that Nitesco was on the floor of the cathedral, not yet dead. He would be, though, if she didn't act quickly.

They found Jannis standing beneath the open roof, letting the rain fall on him. He stared solemnly at the ground, ignoring Nitesco.

"Well," Jannis said. "Isn't this funny? I imagined that it would come down to me and you, alone, but I didn't think I'd be so…accurate." He frowned and gestured to Bluewhale. "Though he's killing the mood."

"Excuse you," Bluewhale said. "I am Admiral Bluewhale, Oligarch of Arkos, and the only thing I'll be killing here is you!"

"I am Jannis of the Church of Thorns," Jannis said. "And I grow tired of words."

"Then let's finish this," Austin said. Jannis smirked.

"I couldn't agree more," he said. "Come!"

Austin and Bluewhale began circling around Jannis, who kept turning, swiveling to keep them in his field of vision. Eventually, he ignored Bluewhale altogether and focused on Austin.

"I knew it would be you," Jannis said. "Even if you only pretended to agree with us, I know you understand us. Nitesco never did. But you did. The moment I saw you at Fort Bombus, I knew it would come down to you and I."

Austin lunged at him. Jannis knocked her sword away and weathered a blow from Bluewhale's mace with his shield. Austin stepped back to resume circling, and Jannis kicked Bluewhale away.

Austin charged him with full force, swinging her sword hard enough to chip his on contact. Bluewhale bellowed and wound up his mace, swinging it as hard as he could at Jannis. Jannis backpedaled, and the swing almost knocked the sword from Austin's hand instead.

"Nice try, Austin," Jannis said. He readied his sword and shield. "Your little mind games won't work on me."

"I don't need mind games," Austin said. "Anti and that priest just left you. We're dealing with all your men outside. You're alone."

"Rowing," Jannis said.

"Hm?"

"His name is Rowing," Jannis said. "And those traitors will be killed once I'm through with you."

"Aren't I a traitor?" Austin asked. "Aren't I still alive?"

"Not for much longer," Jannis said. Bluewhale charged at him again, swinging his mace fiercely, engaging Jannis long enough for Austin to lance him in the cheek. Jannis grunted and struck Bluewhale in the hip with his shield, forcing him to back away while he returned his focus to Austin.

"You shouldn't ignore Bluewhale," Austin said. Jannis reared up to attack and swung down, but Austin backed up just in time. The longsword fell into the ground just in front of her.

"I'll kill him when I'm done with you," he said.

"This isn't about just her," Bluewhale said. Another flurry of mace attacks. Austin resumed her attack at the same time. Jannis blocked and deflected as best he could, but some blows still skimmed his armor. "It's about all of us. Every nation you've harmed in your path to power! It's about Arkos! This is our retribution!"

"I could give a shit about you!" Jannis said. He roared and swung his longsword in a wide arc. Austin barely dodged it, but it connected with Bluewhale's mace, twisting it in his hand. He staggered backward and, for the first time in the fight, Jannis turned his attention to him.

"You're all disobedient children, flailing against authority!" Jannis yelled. Bluewhale swung, but Jannis met his attack with his own, knocking the mace from his hand and driving him to the floor. Austin charged, but Jannis turned to knock her in the shoulder with his shield. She tumbled to the ground and he returned his focus to Bluewhale.

"And the disobedient," Jannis said, his voice barely a whisper, "always get their punishment." He raised his sword and brought it down at Bluewhale.

It didn't connect. Jannis turned to see Austin's sword holding his back. He growled and brought his sword back up, and he focused on her while Bluewhale scrambled for his mace.

"You saved him," Jannis observed, "when you could've killed me."

"I'm principled like that," Austin said. Jannis grit his teeth.

"More like foolish," Jannis said. "Gwydion made the same mistake. It cost him his life!"

Jannis reared up like a cat and brought his sword and shield down on Austin in quick, splitting blows. He put everything he had into his feral attacks, his shield splintering and his sword sparking on Austin's blade as she desperately tried to weather his attacks. With a final cry, Jannis brought them both down on her, and as she tried to counterattack, he disarmed her. Her wrist twisted, and she hissed in pain as she fell, slumping against the altar. Bluewhale bellowed and began to charge Jannis, who turned and struck him square in the chest with his shield. A sizeable piece of wood broke off the corner as he rammed it into Bluewhale's ribs, knocking the man to the floor.

"And look at that!" Jannis said, a sadistic tone in his voice. "It ended the same." He brought the tip of his blade inches from Austin's chin. "Any last words?"

"Not for you," she growled. Jannis frowned.

"At least you aren't begging," Jannis said. "But I see it in your eyes. You're afraid, aren't you?"

Austin felt tears in her eye, and tried to blink them away. She stayed silent.

"You're sad," Jannis said. "You think you failed."

Austin stared back at him hatefully. Jannis frowned.

"Be that way," Jannis said. "But you know you did. You failed them, and now you will die here, alone."

"She's not alone!" a voice said.

"And she won't be dying today," another voice said.

Jannis turned and saw, to his horror, that two others had joined the fray. His breathing was heavy. His energy was depleted. Before he could move to kill Austin, she scrambled out of his range.

"Coronam!" Austin shouted. "Various!"

"In the flesh," Various said. He and Coronam readied their weapons. "Ready, Coronam?"

"For a long time now," Coronam said. Jannis hissed. Austin crept toward her weapon.

"This won't change anything," he said. "You'll die, just like— Hey!" Austin dove for her sword, barely dodging a strike from Jannis.

"Little shit!" Jannis cried. He turned his attention to Coronam and Various, who were approaching him. Coronam reached him first, poised to bring his glaive down on Jannis. Jannis raised his shield to block the strike, and readied his sword to stab Coronam in the stomach.

With the last of her strength, Austin swung her sword up, through Jannis's right arm, severing it. His hand and the sword in it fell to the ground in a bloody mess, and Jannis screamed.

Coronam rammed his guisarme into Jannis's shield and swung back, ripping it from his hands. As Jannis stumbled forward, Various swung his falx at his head. Jannis struggled to right himself, but not enough to prevent Various's falx from ripping through his eyes.

"Agh!" he screamed. "You bastards!" He stumbled blindly backwards, towards Bluewhale. From the ground, Bluewhale brought his mace into Jannis's right leg. It landed, and with a sickening crunch, Jannis fell to the ground.

"No!" Jannis hissed, blindly swinging with his remaining arm in front of him. "Get away! I'll—" He was interrupted as a man crept up behind him and rammed a sword into his stomach.

All four of them looked up. Nitesco, badly bruised and bleeding, stood over Jannis, watching as Jannis gurgled and clutched at the sword in his gut.

"That's for Gwydion," Nitesco said. He wrenched the sword from Jannis's stomach, and Jannis screamed again. "I hope that makes it up to him."

Jannis grunted on the ground, clutching his wound, and began to laugh a hoarse, weary laugh. "Is that what this is all about?" he gasped. "Revenge?"

"Not just revenge," Nitesco said. "Justice."

"To preserve my people," Bluewhale said.

"To protect the innocent," Austin said.

"To prevent tyranny," Coronam said.

"People like you aren't worth the shit they make," Various said, squatting down next to Jannis. "I'm glad to see you go. I hope your Goddess has a special place in hell for you."

"Oh, you sorry fools," Jannis said. He spat a glob of blood at Various, but missed. "You still don't see it? There is no Goddess. This is all…that we have."

"All this time," Austin spat, "I thought you believed. I thought you at least had some perverted sense of the greater good. But you're just another despot."

"I did," Jannis said, his voice barely a whisper. "For a long time. I fought this war for her. Because I thought it was her will. I thought that, somehow, all this would make a paradise for her believers. That it would all be for some… greater good.

"It took so long. So many deaths, so much suffering, so many unanswered prayers. But I see now. There is no final judge in this sorry, brutal world of ours." He choked, and grasped his throat. Blood ran down his cheeks. "There is…only us…"

He turned his head to the open roof. His hand fell to his side, and his face went slack.

"It's over," Bluewhale said. The reality of the situation hit them there, and a grave silence filled the room.

"Yes," Nitesco nodded. He looked to Austin, and they saw the tears in each other's eyes. "It's over."

The rain had stopped, at least.

It was nighttime. Anti and Rowing trudged through the forests, covered in mud and sopping wet. The climb down the well was fine, but it was filled with enough grass, dirt, and live creatures that Anti felt sick even at the thought of drinking from it. At least she got wine, where their poor soldiers were forced to subsist on that swill.

Had been forced, Anti reminded herself. By now, the cathedral was probably sacked and looted, and most of their men were dead. And if Sphinx didn't fulfill his end of the bargain, she and Rowing would be too.

"How much farther?" Rowing asked. His once pristine white robes had been sullied with dirt and drenched with filthy river water. Anti sighed.

"Not too much," Anti said. "I was told to follow the left river up toward the Enablerish border. That's not too— there!"

In the distance, she spotted a small campfire. It was so small and so distant that for a second, she though it was a firefly, but it persisted. That had to be Sphinx.

"Is that them?" Rowing asked. Anti nodded.

"Only a bit farther now," she said. "Come on!"

The hustled the rest of the way, ignoring the insects and the branches that swiped at their open skin. At last, the found the campsite. Hozack, Sphinx, and a few other men were seated around the campfire. Sphinx looked up and flashed Anti a broad smile.

"Anti!" he exclaimed. "You came! I almost thought you wouldn't make it!"

"It was rough," Anti said. "We had to take the secret passage out through the well."

"The well?" Sphinx asked. "Why did you do that? I had a hatch under my dresser."

"Oh," Rowing said. Anti sighed.

"Well, we're here now," she said. "That's what matters."

"And Rowing," Hozack said. "You brought him. Why?"

"I thought he could help me escape," Anti said. "And he did."

"He's a witness," Sphinx said.

"And a potential ally," Anti said. "He's shrewd, and clever. A good administrator." She ignored Rowing's look of fear. "He can be of use to us."

"Anti," Hozack said, a wry smile on his face. "If I didn't already know of your…tastes, I'd say that you had feelings for Rowing."

"Don't start that fight with me," Anti said. "I know what you do with Peters!"

"I like to try from both platters, if you'll excuse the metaphor," Hozack said. He ignored the look of distaste from his grandfather. "But that's not relevant. You did it, Anti. All that remains is to get you and our new friend out of White Rose."

"That won't be difficult," Sphinx said. "Before long, you'll both be safely sequestered away in Checkmate."

"And then what?" Rowing asked. "What do you want us to do for you?"

"Oh, don't fret," Sphinx said. "You'll have plenty to keep you busy. But rest assured, my friends," he said, a mischievous glint in his eye.

"This is only the beginning."