Chapter 16: Sword and Shadow

"This is your third visit in a short while," Bronson sighed as he entered the room where Matthew had been waiting for him, "Do you have another report already?"

Matthew, again in his guise of Maxim the bounty hunter, nodded, "Yeah, and this will be my last one for awhile. It's also the most important one yet, so make sure it's delivered fast and by someone you trust absolutely."

The simple urgency in his voice made the wyvern rider just nod in reply, "Very well. I'll have it go by wyvern as soon as possible."

"Thanks." Matthew handed Bronson the report he'd written up. It contained everything he learned from Lilac, what little she could add to the identity of the new morph maker, where they thought he was hiding...even who she was. He hadn't really wanted to include that last one, but Grant needed to know what games the morph maker was playing, just in case Matthew failed to take him out.

"Anything else?" Bronson asked as he tucked the report into a pocket.

Matthew stood up and shook his head, "No, that's all. And please do not discount the importance of this. I'm not exaggerating when I say Grant would prioritize this over everything else. This report contains the answers to the entire reason he hired me. Even Dame Vaida would consider this only slightly less important then protecting his highness's very life."

The rider's already serious expression grew a bit more solemn, "I understand. Don't worry, if the next messenger that comes in isn't someone I can leave this with, I'll deliver it myself."

"You have no idea how much I'm glad to hear that," Matthew offered the man a half grin, "Alright, we've both got work to get back to, so I won't take any more of your time."

Taking his leave of the rider's office, Matthew headed for the town's market where Lilac had gone to pick up some supplies for the trip. A small part of him, the part that was always a professional spy first and everything else second, was expecting her not to be there, to have used this opportunity to escape. But for once he couldn't take that part of him seriously at all. If she was an enemy, she could have killed me in my sleep last night. Or during the fight. Or just run away at any point during the trip here. He had made the decision to trust her, so now that's what he did. And it came far more easily to him then he should have been comfortable with.

Of course there was nothing about the woman he should be comfortable with. A puppet made in the image of his dead lover, somehow retaining powerful aspects of her personality and even shadows of her memories. She wasn't entirely Leila, but there was enough of her there to make Lilac simultaneously comfortingly familiar and profoundly disturbing. He was just making the decision to ignore that last part for now.

She wasn't hard to find in the market once he got there. The same cloak that made her so hard to see in the woods at night made her stand out like a sore thumb in the middle of a city street. Not to mention she was the only woman in sight that was openly wearing weapons without having a military uniform on. Though he couldn't see the contents of the bags the boy behind her was carrying, he did note with approval one obvious purchase she had made.

"I'm surprised you could find a headscarf in that color," he remarked, partly to announce his presence, as he approached. Indeed she was wearing a dark green headscarf, which neatly concealed her distinctive black hair completely. With that, there would be little way for even someone who knew exactly what to look for to tell she was a morph from a distance.

Lilac turned and half smiled, "I was too. Apparently dark green is a popular color for women in the Western Isles right now."

Matthew blinked a bit, "I wasn't aware they had fashion in the Western Isles."

"Neither was I, but the tailor was happy to go on about it at great length while he was mending my cloak."

Matthew chuckled, then looked to the boy carrying her bags, "So what are you getting paid for bag duty, kid?"

"Uh," the boy startled a bit, clearly not expecting to be spoken to, "um, ten coins and lunch. Uh, sir!"

"Yeah, sounds fair enough." Matthew slid effortlessly back into character as the bounty hunter as he looked into the bags, "Rations, spare clothes, camping gear...no climbing gear?"

Lilac shook her head, "Couldn't find anything good here yet, and I'd rather not get second rate stuff."

"Yeah I'd prefer not to trust my weight to anything but the best when I'm dangling a hundred feet over rocks." Matthew sighed. Fallen Giant Pass, according to Lilac, was in a very rocky area. And if they wanted to get in without being caught by the morphs that would doubtlessly be on patrol, they had to go in the hard way instead of through the easier paths. Good climbing gear would be essential.

The boy's eyes widened a bit, "Are you going after a badguy in the mountains?"

"Yeah," Matthew nodded and lied easily, "army deserter, killed an officer on his way out and took out the scouts who went to bring him in. Real rough sort."

"Probably not going to get the 'or alive' bonus on this one," Lilac sighed, falling into the pretense just as fluidly as Matthew himself. Then she cautioned the boy, "Make sure you're a good citizen and obey all the laws when you grow up, okay? Don't want people like us to have to come after you."

"I will!" he exclaimed proudly, "I'm gonna be a wyvern knight and fight for the Prince!"

"Well, that's certainly a worthy goal," Lilac smiled and laughed at his enthusiasm before getting back to the task of shopping.

"Hope you like heights, kid," Matthew almost smiled as well. She likes kids, huh? Leila didn't like anklebiters any more then I do. But it was easy for him to tell that wasn't just pretend. Lilac's smile was honest, even though her pretense as a bounty hunter was not. The idealism and energy of children had always made Matthew a little tired, and reminded him of just how worthless the world considered most ideals to be. Leila had thought much the same way. But Lilac...then he did smile, I guess she's not as jaded as I am.

Setting that observation aside for now, Matthew pitched in for the shopping trip. If they were going to confront the morph maker then he wanted to make sure they had absolutely everything they would need before going in.

"This was last night's camp," Aerie announced as she picked some large crumbs out of the grass, "We're only a few hours behind him now."

"You can tell that from a biscuit crumb?" Dastan sounded a bit amazed.

"Sure," Guy nodded, "if it had been here any longer, some birds or mice or something would have made off with it."

"You sure about that?" Cauld joked, "I'd think even animals would avoid hard tack."

Aerie focused on finding the tracks to go with the crumbs, but called an answer back over her shoulder, "That's just it. It was still hard, so it had to be from this morning. If it had been even from last night, it would have absorbed moisture from the grass and gotten soggy."

"I see," Dastan nodded, "he bolted his breakfast and ran. He knows we're on his tail."

"He probably doubled back to see if anyone was following him once, managed to see us before we saw him and is now trying to make up the distance he lost by checking." Aerie noted, "And got it, let's get moving."

"Huh," Guy considered as he fell in beside Aerie to begin the day's chase, "not a very bright move. Sure it lets him know we're here, but lets us gain too much ground."

"How many people can you name that are good enough fighters to take Branta out that easily, and good enough trackers or scouts that they'd think of that?" Aerie asked in a deadpan.

"A few, but I get the point," Guy shrugged, "and I guess even the intelligent morphs we fought before weren't exactly good at tactics."

"So what are our odds of catching up with him today?" Cauld asked as he got himself ready to move as well.

"That depends. You two up for a few hours of double-time going straight into a dangerous fight with no time to rest?"

"If I plan on staying a Badger, then I'd better be," the swordsman shot back.

"Well at least I'm not wearing armor like the rest of you," Dastan sighed and pushed his hair out of his eyes yet again.

"Let's go then. Pick up the pace Badgers, it's double-time until we catch our target." Aerie set the pace and led the way. The last leg of the hunt was on in full.

"So what do you know about that town near the pass?" Matthew asked as they walked along the poorly maintained road.

"Vylard?" Lilac shook her head, "Not much. I know it's one of a couple of towns our Creator has some sway over, but I don't know how much."

"Probably not a good idea to stop in there at all then. Even with a good disguise, it's remote enough that any stranger will stand out enough to be noticed by whoever's reporting to him."

"Yeah." Lilac agreed "We should head for the pass from the direction opposite the town, so we can be sure to avoid anyone from there at all."

Matthew had to find it funny in some ways, that despite his earlier determination, here he was working with a partner yet again. But at least this time it was someone who he didn't have to keep any secrets from, and who could keep up with him in almost every area. He and Leila had always been roughly even at almost everything, with one ahead in some areas while the other led in others. Of course Lilac had the usual morph problem of being a bit worse then a human for indefinable reasons, while Matthew himself had gotten better since Leila's death. But this still didn't leave her all that far behind him.

"Thinking about her?" Lilac asked softly, interrupting his train of thought.

"...yeah." Matthew nodded, seeing no reason to hide it from her. After what they'd already been through, even in such a short time, he was hard pressed to find a reason to hide anything from her. "Professionally, actually. The difference in our skills, things like that."

"Oh?" Lilac's tone became much more interested, "How do I measure up?"

"You...mostly do?" Matthew shrugged, "I'm not really sure why, but morphs always seem to be a bit behind humans at everything. You're not any different there. It's a bit strange, since your technique looks the same, there's no difference I can really see...but there's just something missing."

"Hmm," Lilac mulled over that as they walked, before just shaking her head, "one more thing to ask the Creator about I guess. So...when we fought, was that the reason you were so much better? Or have you always just been better then her?"

"Neither." Matthew replied, "It's just been awhile since...since she died. You're as good as she was then, and we were always about even. I've just been through some situations that forced me to improve since then."

"That makes sense." Lilac nodded, then offered a smile, "I guess I'll just have to try and catch up."

"If you can." Matthew pointed out.

She snorted, "What, you don't think she could close the gap? If she could, then so can I."

"It's...not that," he struggled a bit to put what he was thinking into words, but finally came up with, "what I mean is that...well, I don't even know if morphs can become more skilled. Can you learn and improve your technique? Or because you're created already knowing so much, is that all you can have?"

"I..." Lilac was taken aback by the thought, "I don't know."

"Yeah." Matthew nodded, "I've been thinking alot about how much I don't know about morphs lately. You aren't human, but how much are you really different? And in what areas? There's just too much we don't know. Too much that nobody knows."

"Nobody except the Creator," Lilac finished the thought. "I guess...there's even more we have to ask him then I thought."

Matthew nodded. He didn't like it. He didn't like that the only person he could ask about these things was someone he may have to kill. Someone he could state with near certainty Lord Hector would order him to eliminate. But they were things he had to know, for Lilac's sake as well as his own. Since making his decision it became obvious that he could no longer simply think of morphs in general as 'the enemy'.

It was a fact that was going to make doing his job considerably more difficult.

As they made their way towards the pass, Matthew and Lilac continued to talk about the things they didn't know, the things they would have to ask the very man who Matthew was supposed to kill.

The four Badgers were exhausted. Behind him, Guy could hear Cauld and Dastan doing their best not to pant heavily, and mostly failing. Aerie looked like she was fine, standing easily beside him, but Guy could see the small signs that she was nearly at her limit as well.

He...certainly wouldn't claim that he was fine, but he was in better shape then the others. Growing up as a nomad gets you used to impossibly long hours of fast travel, though he hadn't moved like this since the time his entire tribe packed up and moved to practically the other side of Sacae.

Slowing her pace, Aerie called a short break, "Alright, take a breather. Dastan, let me see your map."

Guy turned to take a look as well as the mage pulled out his thunder tome and just handed it to their acting captain before slumping down in the grass.

Aerie didn't say anything, simply taking the book and letting him have his rest. Opening the back cover, she looked over the sketched map, "Hmm. I...think we're less then a day from Vylard now, even off road and on foot."

"And the pass is a bit beyond that," Guy nodded.

"Yeah. So...we have to make a guess here. Will our target push on through the night to reach the town? Or will he avoid the town, make one more camp, and go for the pass tomorrow?"

All eyes turned to Guy. It was only natural, he's the one who knew anything about morphs and thus was the most qualified to make that call. That didn't mean he actually had any idea, of course. Just that he should theoretically have more of one then his companions.

"Uh..." he considered for a bit, "Nergal did take over the Black Fang, it's not like he tries to avoid people. The town is closer, and if he thinks he's being pursued he'd want to be behind walls as fast as possible. Maybe he'll tell whatever guards or fighters that are in the town that we're the bandits or something to try and get backup."

"If he's clever," Dastan attempted to peel his sweat drenched hair away from his eyes, "that's exactly what he'll do."

"So we head for the pass, then?" Cauld asked, "I mean he hasn't seemed to be that bright so far. Just fast."

"There is a difference between intelligence and cunning," Dastan shook his head, "A wolf is not smart, but it knows how to hunt. Likewise, a bandit knows how to fight dirty."

"Yeah," Aerie nodded, "I agree. We'll make for the town, which means I'll let you all rest a few more minutes then back to the march. If we can catch him before he reaches the gates, it'll be best. Otherwise we find him in the town."

"And if the townsfolk are hostile?" Dastan asked.

"We meet words with words and weapons with weapons, even if they are harboring him I don't want to start any fights unless they attack us first," Aerie answered with what wasn't really a plan at all.

It seemed to satisfy the mage, however, as Dastan silently nodded and went back to trying to get as much rest from their short break as possible.

Deciding to do something productive while resting, Guy turned to Cauld, "Put your hand on your sword. Don't draw it, just rest your hand on the hilt."

Cauld blinked at him, "What? Don't tell me you want to give a sword lesson after all that running? We don't have that kind of energy to spare, Guy."

Guy shook his head, "No exercises this time, just senses. Put your hand on your sword and close your eyes. Feel the air around you, tell me how I'm moving. Tell me when you know I've drawn my sword."

Complying, the younger swordsman closed his eyes and gripped the hilt of his blade. As Guy quietly moved around him, Cauld did his best to track his teacher's movements by turning himself. Guy was pleased to note that Cauld was only occasionally off, and never off by much.

Suddenly, Guy turned to look on hearing a sound, the soft scraping of metal against leather.

Cauld snapped his head that way as well, "There! ...wait. No, that's not your sword. Aerie, was that you?"

Aerie didn't answer, but laughed as she slid her blade back in the sheathe.

Guy couldn't help but chuckle as well, "That was actually impressive, that you could tell the difference between the sounds our swords make when drawn."

"Well..." a bit reluctant to turn down the praise, Cauld slowly admitted, "honestly I can't. I thought for a second at first that it was you, but that would mean I was way off on where I thought you were standing."

"And you weren't about to admit you were wrong, huh?" Aerie teased.

"Don't see why I should," Cauld snapped back, "I wasn't wrong."

"You were absolutely right," Guy nodded, "doesn't matter how you knew it wasn't mine, you knew it wasn't. Trust your judgment and act, no hesitation. And never believe your enemy will fight fair. When you heard the sound, rather then assume it was me because I was the only one you were supposed to be facing, you considered the option that the rules were broken and a second enemy joined the battle."

Now Aerie frowned, "Aren't you praising him a bit much there?"

Guy sighed and actually glared at his partner a bit, "Maybe, but I don't want him second guessing his good instincts in a real fight because of your teasing."

There was silence for a bit, and Guy was on the verge of wanting to apologize despite the fact that he didn't think he was wrong, but Aerie nodded and softly apologized herself first, "Sorry, that really was rude of me. I'll shut up while you're teaching."

"Wow," Cauld broke the silence that followed, "I'm impressed Guy, you really know how to handle her."

Cauld's life, or at least what small part of it he knew, flashed before Guy's eyes. He looked over at Aerie who was, as he predicted, narrowing her eyes dangerously at the younger swordsman.

"Well," her voice practically dripped with venom, "it seems that Cauld has recovered his energy sufficiently. Let's resume the march." She turned her back to the others and began moving, "Double-time Badgers, I want to catch our quarry before he reaches the gate."

Dastan, being the only one on the ground, scrambled to his feet as quickly as possible and shot Cauld a glare that bordered on the murderous as he rushed to keep up, hissing out, "I cannot properly express how much I want to electrocute you right now."

Guy sighed as he moved to get back to his position in the front. He still couldn't figure out why Aerie reacted so differently to Cauld and the twins then she did to anyone else, but at least she was consistent in her inconsistency, so he really couldn't say he didn't see that one coming.

Part of that thought bothered him a bit, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it until after they had been marching for a few minutes already, and the revelation almost made him trip and fall. Wait a minute...when did I become one of the more mature people in the group?

"So this is Fallen Giant Pass?" Matthew looked up at the mountains they were about to start scaling.

"Yeah," Lilac nodded, then amended, "well, the mountains around the pass anyway. We could go straight for the pass, but..."

"That would take us too close to Vylard," Matthew finished. "So how close to what he's using for a base in there can you get us before we have to leave the mountains for the pass itself?"

Lilac considered, "Fairly close. I was made in an old ruin, I think it used to be a temple of some kind, though not to Elimine. Some older religion that probably doesn't exist anymore. It's...I wouldn't call it right up against the mountains, but it's fairly close. Though...remember that I don't know if he's there anymore."

"Yeah, I know." Matthew nodded, "But even if he's not, getting to investigate where I know for a fact he was will help. I'll guarantee he forgot to clean up or cover something that I'll notice."

Lilac nodded again. It sounded arrogant, as she knew quite well how intelligent her Creator had to be. But intelligence and training are two different things, and a well trained spy will find things that even the most brilliant genius would miss. Especially when the genius in question has a lot of other things to deal with, like keeping track of who knows how many other morphs were out there.

That was what pained her the most, that she wouldn't let Matthew know. Not rebelling against her Creator, that was an easier choice to make then it should have been. He wronged her first, sending her to kill someone he made her to be in love with. It wasn't an unforgivable crime, but he would need one hell of a good explanation before she'd accept it. What troubled her was the idea that she may have to fight and kill other morphs. They weren't puppets to her, even the mindless ones. She didn't really know what they should be to her, but she knew that she didn't want them to be her enemies. Siblings, maybe? Should I treat them like that?

It was a thought, but maybe not the best one. She did know very well if any morph besides her attacked Matthew, they would fight to kill. And he would fight back, of course, also to kill. And then she would try to protect him, which would mean killing other morphs. She knew it could happen, she had known it since she made her decision not to kill him herself. But that didn't mean she liked it.

"You alright?"

Matthew's voice stirred her from her contemplation, and she offered him a smile, "Yeah. I was just thinking about what's coming."

He was quiet for a moment, then nodded and offered, "If you don't want to come, I can take it from here. I don't want to make you fight your own maker."

She shook her head, "That's not it. I made my choice, I'm just hoping there's a way to avoid fighting. Don't worry about me if it comes down to it, though. I will fight."

He gave her a careful look for awhile before finally nodding. "Alright, I trust you. I made my choice too."

She smiled, but Matthew didn't see it as he had already turned back towards the mountains.

"Come on," he started towards the rocks, "There's still some time before dark, we should get a bit more distance in."

I will fight. Lilac confirmed to herself, but...not today. Reaching out, she grabbed Matthew's hand as he was moving forward. "Let's...stay here for tonight?"

He was quiet for a moment before nodding, "Alright. We'll make camp early." Squeezing her hand before letting go, he set his pack down and dug out the supplies.

The simple joy that small gesture gave her told Lilac that she was making the only choice she could. Whatever reason I was made for...it doesn't matter. It's still my life, and I'll live it for my own reasons.

That was it. That was why she didn't want to fight other morphs. She wanted them to have the same feeling, the desire to live for themselves, no matter the purpose they were made for. Because the more of them that tried, the better chances that one of them would succeed. And if any of them could do it...then all of us can.

It was a cold camp, and a simple one. They ate a quick supper of cold trail rations and got ready to sleep. Lilac moved next to Matthew on the ground and curled up beside him, putting her head on his shoulder and draping one arm across his stomach. He didn't pull away, and she didn't try to move any further, content to simply feel his warmth beside her.

For now, this was enough.

"Stop right there!" Aerie shouted at the back of the figure before them. It was dark, but she had good eyes and the moon was nearly full so she could still seem him well enough. As well as the wall of the town beyond him.

The figure turned to look...then began bolting for the wall as fast as he could run.

Aerie winced. Shouting probably wasn't the best idea there, but she was tired, cranky and really wanted to get that guy before he got into the town. Putting as much energy as she could into her already exhausted body, she gave chase.

Only to feel something rush past her at a speed she could never match. How does he have THAT much energy left?

Guy moved, leaving the rest of them behind in a blink, closing the distance between himself and the retreating form faster then the bandit could reach the town. Normally she would think this was going to be over in a flash, but the image of Branta cut up like a weekend roast came into her mind and she knew better then to underestimate the man they were chasing, "Guy! Be careful!"

But of course he wasn't listening, so she tried to run even faster. Even if she was exhausted, she could still trip up the enemy and give Guy the opening he would need. The morph or whatever he was couldn't be in much better shape then they were, afterall.

Ahead of her, Guy reached the morph and slashed at his back with the Wo Dao. The man threw himself to the side, barely avoiding the attack. Coming up in a roll, he slashed wildly at the direction he was attacked from...but hit only air. Guy hadn't attempted to pounce on his target after he hit the ground, choosing to position himself between the bandit and the town instead.

If she had the breath to spare, Aerie would have breathed a sigh of relief. He was listening. Slowing her pace, she moved in carefully, catching her breath as she advanced to flank their target.

"You..." she could hear the morph stammer out, "you're...damn you people are fast. Fine, whatever." He stood up completely and took an offensive stance with the odd looking sword in his hands, "I'll just have to kill you all here then."

Aerie felt her heart move up into her throat. She was fairly good at figuring out bluffs and boasts, but there was none of that in his voice. Whoever this man was, he truly believed that he could beat all four of them without issues. People with that kind of attitude were usually crazy. But sometimes...she couldn't help but think of the captain again. Sometimes they were perfectly sane.

Guy, for whatever reason, didn't seem to be impressed. Without a trace of fear or even anger in his voice, he dismissed the claim, "Not likely. I've beaten stronger morphs then you."

"...so I wasn't imagining things. I did hear that word back then." The morph sighed, "Well now I really have to kill you. I won't let you go even if you beg."

"Strong words from the one who's been doing all the running," Cauld growled out as he finally caught up to Aerie's position.

Not willing to take a chance, she held a hand out to stop his further advance, "Let Guy take the lead."

The swordsman stopped moving and nodded, "Right."

Aerie almost laughed. At least he listens in a fight. She could hear Dastan moving up behind her as well, but didn't need to tell him anything, so she kept her attention on Guy and the morph.

"Heh," the morph actually laughed, "thanks for telling me your strategy."

Guy was still quiet, but now Aerie couldn't help but smirk, "Doesn't matter if you know it or not. Sure, he's our best fighter. But if you turn to face us, you'll die instantly. We've got you surrounded, so your options are limited. Stay where you are and our mage will drop lightning on your head until it works or you attack. Attack us and Guy will cut you down from behind before you've taken three steps. Fighting Guy first is the only choice you have that might not lead to instant death," she could resist adding the taunt, "and even then your odds aren't looking good."

This was how the Badgers fought, the tactics Branta had taught to her. Simple but brutal, take away the enemy's options until the only course of action they have left is to do what you want them to do. Or pull something completely unexpected out of their ass, I guess. That does happen sometimes.

But the man before them didn't seem to have any such options. As Guy took half a step forward, he spun to face the Sacaen, playing right into their setup. "Fine," the morph spat out, "I suppose it doesn't matter what order you die in."

Holding the Wo Dao easily, Guy fell into a defensive posture. Aerie had fought with him long enough to know what that meant. He wanted to test the measure of his opponent before attacking for real, he wanted to see the skill that defeated Branta so easily. "Hey Cauld," Aerie quietly called to the swordsman next to her, "pay close attention. You're about to see what you might possibly be able to do when you grow up."

He snorted at her jab, but nodded anyway.

Following her own advice, Aerie carefully observed the two fighters under the moonlight, waiting for the first move. Neither showed any sign of the fatigue she knew at least one of them had to be feeling, but that was the only similarity. Their stances could not be more opposed, Guy's showing not a single opening in his defense, while the morph seemingly did not care about defending himself at all. His posture was purely aggressive, more like a berserker with a sword then any kind of swordsman she'd ever seen before. She wasn't quite sure what to make of that.

Finally the first move that she was waiting for happened. The morph charged...and she couldn't believe her eyes. The speed his sword moved with was somehow faster they Guy's. Twice he slashed with wild strength at the smaller swordsman, but twice his blade was parried by the Wo Dao. That part didn't surprise her, though. It wasn't the fastest thing she'd seen him block.

Guy didn't attack, continuing his defensive stance, parrying more rapid blows from the superhuman speed of the opponent, before finally slipping to the side and watching the morph stumble past him, carried forward by the aggressive motion of the attack.

What he did next surprised everyone there. Guy sighed and shook his head as if disappointed, "So that's how you beat Branta. You have a Brave Sword."

Brave Sword? That sounds...kinda familiar. Have I head that somewhere? Behind her, Aerie heard Dastan gasp. Okay, he knows it. I'll remember to ask him later.

The morph sneered at Guy's statement, "Of course. The only thing deadlier then a swordmaster is a swordmaster with a magic sword. You may as well give up, even you can't match my speed with this weapon."

Guy sighed again, "Except that you aren't a swordmaster at all. The sword gives you speed, but you don't have the skill to control it. It doesn't matter how fast you are, you'll never hit me. Weapons like that are meant to be used to quickly overpower slower opponents who could kill you in a single blow if you gave them the chance, like heavy axemen or powerful sages. Against fast opponents with more skill then you..." he shrugged, "it just makes you miss more."

"What do you know?" The morph snarled, seemingly furious at the lecture. "I'll cut you down right now!"

He charged, using all the speed his blade could give him. Aerie watched as if the fight was in slow motion, a small part of her unsure if even Guy could react to that in time.

Rather then parry the attack again, Guy stepped forward into the charge, holding the longer Wo Dao before him, crouching and leaning into the thrust to give it the most extension that he could.

Unable to stop his magically enhanced momentum in time, the morph neatly impaled himself, the speed of the charge and sharpness of the Wo Dao causing it to slide right through his chest as easily as a knife through hot wax.

He swung as well, of course. But Guy's crouching position plus the shock of being suddenly stabbed through the chest caused the attack to go wide. And it was the last attack he would get, as Guy quickly wrenched the Wo Dao, tearing it free of the morph's body, right through his side.

"Woah..." Cauld breathed out beside her, taken by surprise by the sudden end of the fight.

Aerie had to admit she was nearly as shocked. But she didn't have the time to be stunned, since she had a job to do. Moving forward, she impaled the cut open morph with her own sword, making sure he was completely dead. This time she wouldn't ask Guy to take on that duty.

Guy sighed and cleaned off the Wo Dao before sliding it back into its sheath. "I guess we weren't going to get anything out of him anyway."

Aerie shrugged, "Not likely. But we can look for information in the town if we need to. May as well push on into it and see if we can get some actual beds tonight. Any objections?"

Dastan came up beside them and bent to the practical task of searching the dead bandit for anything informative or useful, "None. But we should be careful. And...it looks like our bandit here had grabbed a few valuables before he ran. Aside from his sword, he has a magic talisman and a nice little red gem."

"Bag it all for now, we'll figure out what to do later." Aerie instructed, then thought a moment and asked, "Nothing else, no papers or instructions or anything like that?"

Dastan backed away from the corpse and called for a canteen for some water to wash his hands of the blood, then shook his head, "Not that I could find. If he had any orders he had them memorized."

Guy seemed to find something about that funny, as he almost chuckled and muttered, "This is a message from Lord Nergal...yeah, memorized sounds right."

She wanted to ask, but there were more important things to deal with right now. "Alright, are we all ready here?" Looking around at the others, Aerie was pleased to see everyone nod, "Then let's go see if we can get some space in town. Leave the talking to me, alright?"

The first objective completed, the Badgers moved on to their second task, and towards the gates of Vylard.

Matthew eyed the figure above him from the shadows of the mountain, waiting for the archer to look the other way. Minutes crawled by as he sat there, frozen in place, each second he was expecting the morph to notice his position and turn this into a fight.

But it never happened. Eventually the watcher turned to view a different direction for a bit, and the spy took that as his invitation to move. Quickly sliding out from his hiding spot, he moved around the corner without making a sound, getting himself out of the lookout's line of sight. Behind him, he knew Lilac was following, just as quickly and quietly.

It would have been so much easier to just sneak up there, surprise the archer from behind and take him out. But...Matthew stole a glance behind him at Lilac making her own way around the rock, and almost sighed. It would be easier, but she asked him not to. She didn't want to kill any more morphs then absolutely necessary, and he had agreed since he could tell how much it meant to her. It didn't really surprise him, once he thought about it. Leila was always less willing to resort to killing then he was, and he considered himself to be pretty soft about that for a spy. It only made sense that Lilac, based on Leila as she was and in such a vulnerably place emotionally, would want to avoid death.

As if she could tell what he was thinking, she smiled at him when she saw him looking back. It was stupid, but somehow that was all he needed to not regret agreeing to avoid the sentries.

Moving a bit further, Matthew looked around for any more watchers in this area before relaxing and sitting down to lean against a rock, "Let's take a break until dark."

Lilac nodded and sat down beside him, "Yeah. It'll be hard to use the climbing gear while the sun is up without being noticed."

Matthew considered how they should proceed. Moving through the mountains had been rough and very slow going, thanks to the number of watchers and how slow it was to slip past each one without being seen. "We may be better off moving closer to the pass itself. Stay in the mountains, but right along the edge, letting us move up or down as we need to."

"Maybe," Lilac nodded, "we're far enough in that we should avoid anyone from the town finding us now, even if we go down to the pass."

"Yeah, that was my thought. I'd really rather not involve normal people in this if we don't have to."

"They may already be involved," Lilac pointed out.

"Maybe," Matthew nodded, "but if they are, it's not me that got them involved. All I can control is what I do, if your maker mixed them up in this, it's on his head, not mine."

Lilac frowned a bit, "There's something that bugs me about that philosophy, but I can't put my finger on it. I just don't like it."

Matthew couldn't help but smile, "It means you're a nicer person then I am, that's all."

"Hmm..." Lilac eyed him, "I don't really like that explanation either. You're too jaded."

"Can you blame me?" As soon as he said it, Matthew realized it was the wrong thing to say. Sure it was the truth...but it would only depress her. Which he didn't want.

"...I guess not." As he expected, she went quiet after that.

He didn't really know what else to say, so they waited quietly for sundown. It was probably for the best to conserve energy anyway, they were getting close now.

With a bribe that bordered on outright extortion, Aerie had talked the town guard into opening the gate for them late at night. It was almost a waste of coin, as the town didn't even have an inn for them to stay at, just a tavern they were able to get sleeping space on the floor of the common room in. Still, the warmth of the fireplace was welcome, so they didn't complain.

Come morning, Aerie and Dastan had gone out to ask some questions, while Guy and Cauld were left to clean the common room, one of the conditions for being allowed to stay. He could hear the younger swordsman grumbling, but Guy didn't actually mind the work. Motion was motion, mopping the floor was as good an exercise as any to get himself going, and the steady pace of the work helped him focus.

The goal now was to kill Nergal, who Guy suspected was hiding in Fallen Giant Pass. But going in blind against an opponent like that was asking to die. Still, they didn't really have the resources to go scouting first, so it was up to Aerie to find out something here. Which made trying to come up with any plans before she came back a waste of time.

Guy sighed at how his logic had circled back around to waiting, but he supposed it couldn't be helped.

"You sure you're a mercenary and not a janitor, sonny?" The old woman who had started cooking that morning interrupted his thoughts, "This room's as clean as it's been since my back got too bad to scrub the floors myself. Lazy grandson of mine could stand to learn a thing or two."

"Huh?" Guy looked up, finally noticing that he had indeed finished his half of the room...and a decent chunk of Cauld's half. "Oh, are we done then?"

"Did more then I expected. Sun's not quite up yet, so it'll be a couple more minutes before the menfolk start coming in for their morning cup." The old woman gestured towards the back door with her ladle, "you boys go wash your hands and get yourselves a table before the rush, I'll get you some cornmush."

"Do you have any eggs?" Cauld asked as he gratefully set down his cleaning supplies.

"Only if you have coin. Some mush I can spare for a good morning's work, but milk, eggs or beer will cost you."

Guy nodded, "We can pay. Eggs and milk for both of us as well please."

"I'll get that sorted then. Go wash your hands and have your coins ready." The woman shuffled back into the kitchen, leaving them to get themselves ready.

Guy led the way out back, "Should we get anything for the others?"

Cauld followed along and shook his head, "Nah, they'll sort themselves. No telling when they'll be back anyway."

That was true enough, so Guy went along with it and the pair got themselves washed up and had a relatively pleasant country breakfast, doing their best to ignore some of the odd looks and occasional outright glares of the locals who were also eating.

After finishing, they got permission to use the tavern's backyard for some practice, and went outside to do some sword work.

As Guy set their things down, he could see Cauld looking at Dastan's pack...or more likely at the blade tied to it. As he expected, the younger man asked after a moment, "So...are you going to use that? The brave sword, I mean?"

Guy shook his head, "No."

"Why not? I mean, I heard what you were saying to that guy when you beat him, but you're skilled enough to control the speed, right?"

"Yeah, but..." Guy shrugged, "I'd need time to practice to learn how to move with it. I've only used one before once, and it wasn't in a real fight. Just seeing what it was like, before I gave it back to its owner. And even if I did take the time, it's not a better weapon for me then the Wo Dao. I'm already fast enough, I can do more with precision and a single perfect slice then with even more speed."

Cauld nodded, "Think Aerie will take it then?"

"Probably not," Guy shook his head, "it doesn't fit well with her defensive style. She needs her shield to be faster then her sword, the brave sword would throw her off balance."

Cauld thought about that for a minute, then surprised Guy by asking a different question then he expected, "You make it sound like it's not a very good weapon at all. What kind of fighter should use it then?"

"An offensive fighter who understands the difference between their own abilities and what the sword does for them, then uses it for fights where they know the extra speed will be an advantage, then doesn't for fights where it won't," he replied, thinking about how he saw Sir Harken use his blade in battle. Then looking over at Cauld, he decided to put his student to the test, "If we aren't going to use it, do you want to take it?"

The younger man was quiet for a bit, then shook his head, "With my skill now, if I use it I'll only end up using it like a crutch, same way he did. I don't want it to replace my skill."

Guy grinned, "Good answer. You should probably hold onto it anyway, though."

"Really?" Cauld sounded surprised at first, then thought it over and nodded, "I guess if I get in a fight that's over my head, it could give me an edge. I just won't use it unless I need it."

Satisfied with his answer, Guy got them started on practice, drilling Cauld until Aerie and Dastan made it back.

Once they did, the Badgers took a break to have a strategy meeting. By now it was a bit after lunchtime, so they managed to avoid the tavern's lunch rush and got a quiet table to themselves.

"Well," Aerie began before food had even arrived, "for a provincial town, the people here are pretty friendly. I think we were worried about them for nothing. They do think Fallen Giant Pass is haunted, but apparently a bishop of the church came through a couple months ago and is purifying the area. He sends some of his assistants back to town for supplies once a week, so they figure it's a long job but he's getting it done."

"Nobody seems to remember what the bishop himself looked like," Dastan added, "but two of the men who do his shopping fit the profile of a morph. I would assume this bishop is in fact your target."

Guy frowned, "Nergal is a hard man to forget...the bishop is probably just another morph."

"Adding one more layer to the deception," Aerie nodded, "yeah, I can see that. The good news is, the townsfolk are staying away from the place both on general principle and the bishop's orders. So I told the trading post owner that we were interested in heading to the pass ourselves to see if his grace could use some extra magical aid and got pretty clear directions to the pass, as well as getting a decent deal on some supplies."

"Magical help, huh?" Cauld chuckled, "I dunno, I've heard of some really good mages being able to afford three bodyguards, but were you really able to pass Dastan here off as being that good?"

The mage ignored his teammate's comment and continued talking strategy, "The road between the town and pass had been closed for sometime, but the bishop's men reopened it, we should be able to reach the pass in half a day following the same road. That does present the problem of running into guards, but I think we can either avoid or overwhelm any we encounter."

"The problem," Aerie kicked Cauld under the table before he tried to provoke Dastan again, "is once we reach the pass. Surely that area will be well guarded. We may want to think about moving into the mountains themselves to avoid any traps set along the road in the pass."

Guy winced, remembering his attempts to follow Matthew through mountain regions during the war. More of the memories then he'd like ended in him getting bruised up. "Uh, how tough are the mountains here? If they're bad, we'll need some rope and...what are those spikes called, that you use to make handholds?"

"Pitons," Dastan answered, then shook his head, "sadly, the trading post here is out, and they're fairly low on the list of priorities for the town's blacksmith. We can get rope, but that's all."

"That should be fine," Aerie shrugged, "I can climb most rocks bare without any problems. I'll go up first, down last, and carry the rope either way."

A slow smirk started to spread across Cauld's face, "I'll go ne..."

"Bare," Dastan interrupted sharply, "in this case, means without equipment. Not without clothing."

"So," Guy spoke up before Aerie could retaliate, "if the pass is that close, when do we want to head out? Now and try to move through the pass under the cover of night? Or get another night's sleep and leave in the morning?"

"...we'll compromise," Aerie stayed on topic, despite eyeing Cauld, "we'll get some sleep now and head out close to sunset. Lets us cover the road near the pass under darkness as well."

They stopped talking as food came out, then polished off some lunch and went to get some sleep until dinnertime. Guy normally wasn't the type to have problems getting to sleep, but this time it took him awhile. He couldn't stop thinking about the fight ahead. Nergal was strong, and he'd already escaped death once. Guy had no idea what the dark druid could have up his sleeve, nor how to combat it. All he could do was fight, pitting sword skill against magic and hoping this time his skill would be enough.

Lilac sighed a bit sadly as Matthew removed his hands from her shoulders. She had started giving her partner a backrub earlier to help him relax, without realizing how bad she needed one herself when he returned the favor. I could stay like that all day...

Reluctantly shaking off the relaxation, she got up and pulled her cloak back on. "I guess it is dark enough, we should get moving again."

"Yeah," Matthew nodded as he got himself ready as well, "I could wish we had more cloud cover, but we work with what we're given."

Lilac looked up at the sky, the nearly full moon providing far more light then was strictly necessary for the two of them to get around by. With this much, any sharp eyed morph, not just those with the same skills as the pair of them, would have passable vision. Still, she tried to put a good face on it, "Better then crawling around in the day at least. And my cloak isn't quite as good against rock as it is against brush, but I doubt even you could notice it from a distance so we just have to avoid getting close to anyone."

"You've got better eyes, so I'll lead the way and you keep lookout. I know the general direction at least, so I should be able to handle picking out the paths from here." He finished his own equipment check and waited for her, "Ready?"

She nodded, "Yeah. Lead the way."

The pair began to slink through the rocks, making their way closer to the road through the pass while not quite entering it, staying in the mountains so they could move up or down as needed to avoid detection.

It was a good plan, she thought. They moved in short bursts, slipping from cover to cover, stepping into the open only when she was sure nobody was watching. It was slow going, but avoiding fights was worth the pace. She had figured out how the Creator had set up his lookouts by now as well, so finding them wasn't difficult. A single archer or javelin thrower stationed in a spot where it was easy to see a far range around. The problem is that they weren't that hard to see if you know what you were looking for, which of course Lilac did. So every time she spotted the watcher, and managed to avoid letting the watcher ever spot them.

But as they moved, something caught her eye. Not above, for once, but below. Shapes moving through the pass itself...but approaching the side. She narrowed her eyes to focus on the group, trying to see how many there were and what they were doing. It's...four, I think. And...no. Oh no. One of them is climbing.

"Matthew," she breathed out as quietly as she could, still knowing it would get his attention, "There are people in the pass. They're climbing into the mountains, towards us."

Her partner winced ,"Light be damned...how many?"

"It looks like four. And...they're coming from the direction of the town."

"Crap. Alright, stay here," he started to move ahead, "I'll go take a look."

...if they're morphs...he'll fight them. Lilac hesitated a moment, but made the only decision her conscience would allow, "No...I'll go. I'm smaller then you, I see better in the dark, and I have my cloak for hiding." She didn't exactly know what she would do if she was seen by a group of morphs...but being one herself she had more of a reason to be here then Matthew did. Maybe she could talk them down. She'd think of something.

Matthew balked, but after a tense moment he moved back and nodded, "Alright. But don't get too close."

"I'll only get close enough to tell what they are," she promised. I just hope that's not as close as I'm afraid it will be.

Pulling her cloak tight about her, Lilac carefully moved towards the shapes that were climbing into the rocks.

Aerie eyed the rocks before her with a bit of distaste. Getting to the pass hadn't been a problem, though they'd had to kill a trio of morph sentries when they tried moving into the pass itself. Fortunately for them, Guy went from still to a full run faster then the only mounted enemy could swing into the saddle, and Dastan's thunder spell put a quick stop to the one that tried bringing a horn to it's lips. But now that they were here, it was time to climb.

Despite her earlier promise, she was relying mostly on her skill at scaling trees to help her climb rocks, and was a bit dismayed to find that they weren't nearly as related as she was hoping. Still...can't let my team down. Hope we'll only have to do this once or twice...

Tying the rope around her waist, Aerie handed her shield and sword to Cauld and placed her hands on the rock, searching for a good handhold by feel rather then sight. In this darkness, her eyes could play tricks on her fairly easily, but sense of touch doesn't care about how much light you have. Finding a grip, she took a deep breath, unable to put off the inevitable any longer, and began to climb.

It was impossibly slow going, but she prioritized care over speed and took the time to find a good purchase for each foot before moving the other, then the same for her hands. After what felt like an eternity, she reached the ledge and pulled herself up.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself...Aerie felt the hairs on the back of her neck start to stand. It felt like she was being watched. Quickly untying the rope from her waist, she reached for her weapon...only to remember that it was still on the ground with the others.

Mentally cursing, she leaned down to call to the others in a harsh whisper, "I think someone's up here, toss my sword up!"

Cauld began to comply, but Guy pushed past him and hissed back, "Just hold the rope!"

Fortunately she was able to react to the sudden weight on the rope in time, bracing herself instantly to avoid having it pulled right out of her hands. Even more fortunately, she was strong for a woman and her partner was rather small for a man, so she was able to support his weight fairly easily.

With the rope to brace on, Guy was up to the ledge in a fraction of the time it took Aerie, but even as he climbed she could hear movement behind her. Whoever was there realized they'd been noticed and was moving. She only hoped they were moving away instead of approaching to strike her while her hands were full with the rope.

As he reached the top, Guy practically leapt up the last bit, coming up on the ledge in a roll and taking off after the shape she could now see moving, thankfully away. She wanted to follow, but unarmed as she was, she wouldn't be of any help against any real opponent. Instead she tightened her grip on the rope and called to the others, "Tie the packs to the bottom and climb! Hurry!"

It was all on the others now, Dastan and Cauld to quickly climb and Guy to chase the enemy. All she could do was hold the rope and watch Guy move. Her eyes being sharper then most, she could see the figure moving with amazing agility through the rocks, but not nearly fast enough to stop the Sacaen from gaining ground. This would be over long before the group managed to pull themselves together to back him up.

He trusted her, but Matthew still followed Lilac as she went, staying far enough back that he didn't think she'd notice. He had a bad feeling about this, so he wanted to be close in case something went wrong.

His eyes weren't quite as good as hers in the dark, so he didn't see exactly what set her off, but he could see her start to run back towards him without any semblance of stealth clearly enough. But if that sight alone was enough to fill him with dread, what he saw next nearly made him panic.

A second shape was pursuing her...and gaining ground. If Lilac moved like the wind, whoever was chasing was a bolt of lightning. If that person caught her, it wouldn't even be a contest, she would be killed in the time it took him to blink.

I...won't... he didn't even realize he had started moving, launching himself towards Lilac and her pursuer as fast as he could, though he didn't know if it would be fast enough ...let that... he closed in on Lilac with incredible speed, but the man behind her was closer still. Matthew drew his sword and leapt, doing the only thing he could thing of to save her life, giving the pursuer a different target ...HAPPEN!

His attack, hastily launched as it was, still should have connected, should have killed. But the man he threw himself at twisted and parried the surprise assault with a slender blade, a blade that began moving for Matthew's own heart the very moment it had deflected his blow.

Using the momentum from his leap, Matthew threw himself to the side, hitting the rocks hard and rolling away. But in a flash he was back on his feet, ready to take on this opponent that all of his instincts were telling him would be nothing short of suicide to face in a fair fight. Even as he fell into a ready stance to try and take this man on, he expected an attack...which did not come. The man had fallen back a step, sliding into a defensive stance of his own. Matthew allowed a small amount of hope to creep into his mind. I might still have a chance to get away.

But as he finally got the chance to consider his opponent...Matthew's thoughts changed entirely. The man was small...surprisingly so for one who managed to parry Matthew's fierce attack so easily. His clothes were clearly of the Sacaen style, and the stance was familiar, though far superior to the stance like it that he remembered.

A horrible thought hit him like the blow of a hammer ...they made a morph of...no...his eyes. The eyes of the man before him were not those of a morph, not even an intelligent one. They were darker, and held neither the emptiness of the likes of Limstella or Eagle, nor the strange kind of youth and eagerness that he saw in Lilac's. This man's eyes held nothing but a clear focus, a focus that was sharper then even the sword he held. His eyes told Matthew that when his sword moved, there would only be one strike, and it would be a fatal one.

He's going to kill me. He doesn't... he had no more time to think. His hesitation left an opening in his stance, one that such an opponent would not pass up. The Wo Dao moved swiftly, with pure intent to kill.

Matthew frantically tried to dodge, but in a bizarre reversal of fortune for once he was the one that was too slow. In a last desperate attempt to save both of their lives, he croaked out as the fatal attack descended, "Guy, stop! It's me!"

The attack had come out of nowhere, and only by some miracle did Guy's body respond before his mind even registered this new opponent, turning aside the diving thrust aimed right for his neck and countering with a fast thrust towards the attacker's chest. But the man was too fast, turning his momentum aside and rolling away before Guy's blade could connect.

Falling back, he took a defensive stance to give himself a chance to see what kind of opponent this man was before deciding how to fight him. But the posture the man took told Guy that he may have just made a fatal mistake buy not following up immediately. It was similar to a stance he'd seen before, one used by a very specific kind of fighter. He was facing an assassin, and one both fast and skilled enough to not only launch an attack that should have killed out of nowhere, but dodge Guy's own counter with ease. A chill ran up the Sachem's spine at the realization. One mistake...one misstep, and I'm dead.

In a fair fight, he knew he would have the advantage. But no fight remains fair for long. The uneven terrain, the darkness, either could cause him to leave an opening. The assassin's ally, the one he had started chasing, could turn back around and join the fight at any time, and they could do it faster then Guy's own allies could manage. I have to kill fast...the longer the fight goes on, the more chances there are for me to mess up. One attack, that's all I'll get. I have to make it count.

Amazingly, he got the opening he needed. Maybe the assassin had underestimated Guy's skill, or maybe he was waiting for his partner to make a move. But for whatever reason, he suddenly left a gaping hole in his defense, one that Guy could not ignore. If this was a feint...then Guy was dead. He knew it, but he couldn't chance that he could hold out against two attackers long enough for Aerie to get there. He had to move now. Putting all of his speed and skill into a single blow, he brought the Wo Dao into an arc at the assassin's neck...

He saw the man move the dodge, but he was too slow. He couldn't move in time to avoid this killing strike. Guy began to feel relief inside before a simple shout turned everything into horror.

"Guy, stop! It's me!"

He knew that voice. He tried to drop the sword mid attack, but his hands would not obey, dropping his weapon in a fight went against everything he was. All he could do was force the Wo Dao down, changing the angle of attack and praying it was fast enough.

The sword descended, but missed it's target's throat, instead slicing open a wide gash across his shoulder and down the side of his chest.

Now as his opponent fell to the ground, so too did the Wo Dao fall from Guy's hands. "Matthew? I..." Guy saw the bloody mess he had just made of the last person he expected to see and couldn't think, "I didn't...I...I don't have any medicine..."

Oblivious to the danger of shouting in enemy territory, Guy looked back over his shoulder and yelled, "Aerie! Aerie, come quick!"

All he could do was wait for the others to get there...and for the first time in his life wish that his skill had not been as honed as it was. Father Sky...please, please don't let me have...just...please...

Author's Note: Multiple PoVs! Secondary characters get more lines! Guy becomes logical as Matthew lets his emotions free! Cliffhanger ending! This chapter truly has everything~

We're getting into the final stretch now, as our heroes meet back up for the first time since chapter 5. Hope you all enjoy! And please don't kill me for the cliffhanger!