Wisdom

Collingwood put a hand to the mossy surface of the old warehouse which had seen better days. Its grey walls made of dry and cheap concrete were displaying several holes all over, forming a far from coincidental pattern. Openings punched into hard material like this were reminiscent of bullet holes if anything, but the size didn't match. This was the work of something unnatural for sure. The sight of a battle between Servants.

"Archer's handiwork?" He muttered and then kicked in the unhinged door. It had been part of the collateral. Inside the damp warehouse were only destroyed crates and a feeling of abandonment.

"It appears that the good General wanted to test that grim knight for a bit." Caster spun inside and jumped on top of the one intact wooden crate in the entire warehouse.

"Lance wasn't impressed I reckon." Seeing how he there were no other signs of battle to be found, the two had moved their fight somewhere else quickly. "Anything unusual?"

"This is the last trace of irregular mana flow I could sense in the ley lines." Caster shrugged indifferently.

Collingwood rubbed his neck and sighed. This was it, huh? "Where did she go?"

"As entertaining as it can be to go sightseeing with you Master, I'd have some suggestions for better locale. Preferably somewhere with a lovely sight on the city where they happen to serve fine foods and exquisite wine." She leaned her face in one hand and looked down on him with a sarcastic smile.

He ignored her and kicked aside a pile of splintering wood. There was a secret passage here. The trap door had been torn out entirely to reveal a long ladder downwards into a passage. Their search wasn't at a dead end yet…

"Won't you stop this wild goose chase already?" Her suddenly tired call made him finally stop in his tracks. When looking up he saw that she was viewing him with a displeased expression. "Even you should have realized by now that she will not let herself be followed."

"She can't just disappear." He put his hands into his jacket pockets and let the irritation wash over him.

"That woman is not a mindless animal which leaves behind tracks for a boorish hunter to exploit. Although I had already taken note of it before, you really have a habit of underestimating your opponents." The criticism sounded mild, but cut rather deep.

"If you are so wise, why don't you pull another magic trick from your hat and make her appear before us?" He couldn't take it and just retorted defiantly.

"A magic trick will only work if the audience believes it does." Caster replied unaffected and then flipped down in front of him. "And I do not sense much cooperation from my ever so vigilant audience right now." She tapped his chest softly and then stepped through a portal.

Before Collingwood could even raise his hand she already jumped back and disappeared with a wink. From the space he had seen behind her she had apparently connected to a spot close to the Ahnenrast hotel. This was probably her way to declare this investigation concluded.

"So fickle." He grumbled and then left the warehouse. Walking back to the hotel would take a while, but it's not like he regretted being left behind. He could do just fine without Caster's help.

If she had been honest with him though, that meant Naoka Ootori had legitimately managed to disappear from their perception completely. After the events of the night Collingwood could just not let it go. For a magus it was natural to be wary of others and to make sure to hide ones actions and presence in some way. Yet Ootori had completely thrown preparation out of the window and made her exit in a nearly suicidal jump off the rooftop. There had been no time for a concealment spell of a trick, she just vanished.

In his time as a hermit in South-America he had become exceptionally good at sensing presences even in the dark of night, in an eerie jungle. His tracking skill should have at least been more than decent. And Caster was an exceptional magic user who had been quite adapt at keeping tabs on everything around her. If even she lost track nearly immediately it would not be a stretch to say that the woman in black leather was like a ghost.

Just why did he feel so frustrated though? Going by the current status of the Holy Grail War, Ootori might very well be the least antagonistic Master he had met.

That was exactly why he couldn't trust her. The way she spoke just reeked of someone who had their hands in every fire that sprung up in this city. She clearly knew a lot about the situation.

Honestly, he just wanted answers already.

"Welcome home, Master." Caster gave him a traditional curtsey with the widest smile.

"Having fun?" He was just exasperated and threw his coat on the couch before locking the apartment door behind him.

"A little."

"The staff looked at me weird, so don't be surprised if they suddenly check for Madame Leger's safety." Of course they would be suspicious if a stranger suddenly claimed to have business with a famous actress and wanted to enter he apartment. He had to use mind alteration on the bellboy again.

"I am so scatterbrained sometimes." She chuckled. So she was fully aware that this would happen all along. "But you would never dare lay a hand on me, right?"

"Considering it right now." He threw her a sideway glare and then took swig of the water carafe. No time for pouring it into a glass. It was really refreshing and helped cool him down. The bright sunlight streaming into the apartment started to hurt his eyes already, so he pushed the remote that activated the blinds. This stuff was weirdly futuristic. As expected of a high end hotel.

After he had settled down and massaged his eyes he finally collected his thoughts and got ready. To his surprise Caster was already waiting for him with a big white board.

"Where did you find that?" He raised a brow.

"You would not believe what kind of things they store in the second closet to the right." She pulled out a pointing stick from her sleeve and put summoned glasses from solid light. He could only guess that she had seen something like that on TV and was now role-playing a teacher. If she would use even half of that energy on doing her job…

"Alright, we did what you wanted. Nothing but reconnaissance and failing to catch an enemy Master." He leaned back and raised a hand to the side. "Now what?"

"You might change your tone soon, that's my prediction." She spun her finger and in response shapes of colorful light appeared on the whiteboard.

'What's the point if you aren't going to use the markers?' He thought to himself. If he actually said it out loud that would just lead to another witty reply.

"Very well, let us begin our first official strategy meeting now~!" She raised her fist cheerfully.

"…"

"Yay!"

"…"

"You could stand to play along a little bit at least." She pursed her lips cutely.

"Haaah… Let's start already." He weakly pumped his fist to humor her. Every fiber of his arm wanted to resist the motion.

"Yes! To start with a little overview of the Grail War's constellations then. There are we, the underdogs, the magnificent Caster and her plucky side-kick!" The colors took shape in the likeness of their faces. Except Collingwood looked like he had a constant 5 o'clock shadow and eyes that wanted to kill something. Urgently. "As of today we are still in one piece and have managed to garner the unpleasant attention of nearly every participant in this little game of catch." She traced several arrows from every direction convening on them.

She wasn't wrong. Did she always have to treat it as a game though?

"Secondly we have the overseers of the land, the mysterious Tohsaka clan. I know almost nothing of them, but you said that you had an arrangement with their mistress." She put a big 'T' with a question mark to the far left of the board. "Are you certain this will not come back to bite us?"

"Ryouko Tohsaka gave me her word. That means something in the world of magi." He nodded.

"Your reliance on rules and order is so uncharacteristic." She tapped her hand with the stick and tilted her head.

"Even if I left the Clocktower on bad terms, the rules didn't change. We take pride in our…" He put a hand on his mouth. "Equivalent exchange is a law of this world." He corrected himself. It couldn't be that he still felt like he belonged with them even now…

"Well, well well, well. For a magician, rules and the laws of the universe are little more than an inconvenience to overcome. To me your pride and loyalty are naught but a quaint little act." She adjusted the purple glasses with a smirk.

"Mock me if you will, but I believe Tohsaka will keep her word. She has been keeping the church off my back until now at least."

"Is that so? MacNeil did seem rather amicable from the start to me."

"He is just a representative who oversees the war. Probably has his hands full without trying to capture me." The real troublesome ones were still waiting in the shadows, that much was clear to him.

"I shall stake our future on your faith in that pretty Lady then." Caster acquiesced to his judgment.

"Who said she is pretty?"

"Just an inkling I had." She looked at him with a knowing expression. "Nonetheless, we do not know much about their actions and movements. There has been a fight at their workshop, but they still seem active. Did they defeat their enemies? What type of Servant do they have? How many people are under their command? Who else did they form alliances with?" She made a list of questions.

"I only made a ceasefire with her, so she wouldn't relent that much info to me. It's not like we are partners."

"Do you think you can obtain that information without breaking off your fragile balance?"

"I will do it." He said with certainty. This was one of the few things he was certain of.

"…so you can make a face like that sometimes." Her brows loosened and she smiled lightly. "Moving on. Next we have quite the opposite type of Master. I nearly every way I must say." She formed a new face, this time of a pretty teenage girl with traditional braids left and right of her bangs. "Koyuki Yukimura. She seems to be a follower of some outlandish religion and quite adept with their blessings and practices."

"I never saw one before, but those spells looked like something from an Onmyouji. Didn't think they were real until now." Collingwood had noticed her miko clothing on their first meeting and her abilities during tonight's battle. Ootori had called her Yukimura, just as Caster said. Where did he hear that name before?

"Hehe, you now see the fruits of my reconnaissance. She hails from the Yukimura shrine near the Inugami forest. They have a nice little temple atop a big hill."

So that's where he must have heard it. When he studied the map of Matsumae the shrine was definitely mentioned. That could be the only reason his gut responded to that name…

"This brave little girl is the Master of Archer and seems to have a good relationship with him. It would be hard to disrupt their teamwork and bond." She slipped in her personal assessment of their threat level so casually. "We also managed to pick up Archer's true identity as a little bonus. Yue Fei is a brilliant fit for the Archer class indeed. Of all our opponents we have to be weary of his intellect the most."

Even Collingwood knew a bit about history around Asia. He had heard of Fei in a different context though. He didn't even know that he was a soldier until recently. To him he was just a famous martial artist.

"You think he won't fall for your tricks?"

"I did not say anything of the sort." Caster smiled sardonically. "There is always someone a little cleverer than oneself out there." Her ribbons were flowing tranquilly in the air as her hand went through her shoulder length hair. She posed confidently. "Yet we won't be challenging them too soon if I interpreted your hesitation correctly."

He averted his eyes guiltily.

"I do not dislike that part of you Master." She smiled. "Even from a strategic standpoint it would be unwise to attack them haphazardly even if we know their base of operations." She tapped her stick on the board and a connecting line was created between Yukimura and a new pair. "They have allied themselves with this dysfunctional duo."

"That boy." Collingwood subconsciously rubbed his cheek. The young man's fists had left an impression on him.

"Shigechiyo Sano. Telling by his uniform he appears to be a student. They must be close in age, so that could be how they met. Sounds like destiny, does it not?" She folded her hands and sighed romantically.

"His Servant is that woman with the Pegasus." Collingwood completely sandbagged her question and moved on. "She put you in that bad state. Guess we shouldn't try to confront her directly."

"O-oh, but I am certain I have a grasp on her abilities now. Next time could turn out much more in our favor." She was shifting around suspiciously. Well, more suspicious than usual.

"Even if that's the case, we can't take on two Servants at once. The Masters seems inexperienced, but I don't like surprises." Those two were using very unfamiliar magecraft. Especially the boy. He had no magic proficiency to speak of and yet…

"The awkward boy seemed to be relying on some sort of charm."

"I noticed. Occult, armor type perhaps." He had seen similar things before, but not this effective and from just a simple charm to boot.

"It negates physical damage and could even block a Noble Phantasm." Caster crossed her arms in thought. "It felt otherworldly to say the least."

"Something even you can't discern?" His small jab was unintentional, but still rewarded with a huff.

"If I had to make hasty conclusions I would say that the boy's power and that Rider's essence are rather similar."

"Beyond coincidence?"

"If you will."

"Could it be the Servant's Noble Phantasm?"

"That is not out of the question. The range however seems a bit much…" She made a serious, yet fascinated expression that Collingwood had never seen before. She was like a kid that wanted to figure out a trick.

He coughed and straightened his vest. If she found out he had compared her to a kid again it could get annoying. Her eyes focused on him again.

"Your toys seemed to go right through his defense." She pointed out. "Your magecraft is strangely capable. It always seems like you are not using it as well as you could."

"You're exaggerating. It wasn't that easy." He was going to overlook that toy comment for now. "Though if I had to rate my chances in a fight, I'm going to take the kid out 9 out of 10 times."

"How reassuring. Just do not let him keep his Command Seals again if you go through the trouble of capturing him." She smirked.

"That alliance is troublesome, so we will leave them alone, did I get it right?"

"Troublesome is not the right term. Useful would be a better label." She shrugged. The colors took shape in response to her words and took form as a looming giant on top of the board. "They might be able to keep that Mad Dog at bay."

"Berserker." Even saying that name left a bad aftertaste in his mouth. That was not something he wanted to confront any time soon.

"Fortunately these children seem to be on the side of justice and won't let a big bad monster roam the streets unchecked. The Valkyrie in particular seems to have this sense of chivalry, whatever that might be about." Her reaction was so derisive it made him feel bad for the blonde Servant.

"I don't think they can handle that guy alone." Collingwood cupped his chin. This night had been an exceptionally close call. Without their help the alliance wouldn't have been able to even get a draw.

"Even so, they ought to be a nice distraction. Just weakening that thing would be a blessing to us." She seemed perfectly fine with using them as a fodder. After seeing his expression she flipped the stick and rolled her eyes. "You do not think we paid them back enough yet? Your sense of obligation is stifling. Let it be so. I will take that into consideration for my plan."

"What plan?"

"Not so hasty." She wagged her finger. "Let us finish our overview first. That mad titan is Thanatos, the god of death in the bulging flesh. Scary~"

"Ootori said she made a pact with him to only appear every two days." Collingwood added. In other words Berserker wouldn't continue his rampage until the day after tomorrow.

"Ah, so you believed her." She noted quietly.

He blinked and then twisted back and forth. She was right; he had just… believed Naoka Ootori without question. That wasn't like him at all. This night had been really taxing on his mind.

"No no, please do not look so troubled. I as well think she was truthful. That information is quite convenient for us." The chaotic whirlwind of death had suddenly become predictable.

"There is one thing that bothers me about this though." He added. "If he appears every two nights, why did he only start rampaging now?"

"Why, did I not explain that already? There have been cases of 'gas leaks' and disappearing people all over town." She reminded him.

"…so that monster has been gathering his strength quietly in the shadows this entire time?" It was hard to believe.

"That is my assumption. Unless some other Servant relies on Soul Eater as well, but that seems unlikely."

"Can a Berserker even act so controlled?" That just seemed completely polar opposite to the Class description.

"That woman said something to that affect. She must have done something to his Mad Enhancement. It has been highly inconsistent."

"A faulty summoning?"

"The opposite I fear. If she gave him free reign on when to activate the Mad Enhancement we might have a unique case on our hands."

"As if a god appearing wasn't bad enough." The report about the Fuyuki Grail War had said that gods, no divine beings in general, were not allowed in the summoning process. The Throne of Heroes would not have such beings stored in it, right? What had Ootori done? The mysteries around her kept piling up.

"The greatest light in the proverbial darkness is that woman's passiveness. She is strictly an observer and has no interest in supporting her lapdog." Caster spun a ribbon around her finger while thinking for a while. "That aside, there is one person that might be able to counter our ugly friend."

"Who?" He couldn't think of anyone with that skill set.

"You will not like the answer." She winked and then another pair appeared on the board. It were the unmistakable faces of Lewy du Rézny and his one-eyed Servant.

"Damn right I don't." He glared at the emotionless eyes of the former Executor.

"I know you'd rather avoid that man for the rest of your life - however short that might be - but the grim knight in his entourage is quite gifted."

"What do you mean?"

"Lancer has a Noble Phantasm that seems to be able to break through the Mad Dog's armor." She raised a finger and poked it through the fabric of her purple-black dress.

"After the beating Rézny received today, he might go into hiding." Collingwood was pessimistic. "And we haven't seen any sign of Lancer after his battle with Archer."

"Something tells me that that rude man is not finished quite yet."

"Where did you get that from?" He raised a brow.

"The stars told me so." She declared confidently.

"Hah?" His eyes glazed over.

"Do not look at me so! Astrology is a legitimate study. Wise people have predicted the undulations of fate countless times using the stars themselves." Her eyes were lighting up.

"Sometimes you say things that really fit your looks." He said dryly.

"Insult my impermanent appearance if you will, but do not take astrology lightly! What is your Chinese Zodiac?" She pointed at him full of desire to prove herself.

"Why would I know something so useless-" Just as he wanted to wave it off he suddenly had a vague memory of something. Someone had asked him the same thing once… some kids in the orphanage. He didn't remember their faces or their voices, but the enthusiasm… it was quite similar to Caster's. "…Snake I guess."

"Oho, what a villainous choice." She held a hand in front of her mouth to hide her fake shock.

"You can't choose when you will be born." He sighed.

"Hmhm. Then let the stars speak through me." She raised her hands to the ceiling, completely ignoring the fact that it was the brightest day outside their dark apartment. "You are 23 years old." She suddenly declared.

"!" He didn't manage to suppress his surprised reaction in time. Her self-satisfied grin was outrageously annoying.

"Bullseye?"

"What has that to do with predicting anything? You just made a lucky guess." He leaned his chin on one hand and looked away unimpressed.

"It was far from lucky. I took all the recent 12 years cycles into consideration and based my assumption on the current year, your apparent age and personality."

"What part of that is astronomy?!" He let his head sink. She had just used simple math and circumstantial evidence.

"Everything is connected in some way. I cannot divine the future, but I can make a very good guess." She gave him a softer expression for once. "After all that is all advice really is."

"Fine. Your intuition is better than any star sign to me." Seeing her frail expression he felt that he had no choice but to go along with her.

"I'm honored, Master." She just had to curtsey again. "To return to the topic then, we would have to convince that scowling man to take down the Mad Dog."

"There is only the tiny problem that he wants to kill me on sight."

"Is that truly a problem?"

"Assuming you don't want to switch Masters… I guess this is where your plan comes in?" He connected the dots.

"Ah ah ah, we still have more to go. If we put that deadly triangle aside for now, we still have another urgent issue on our hands." She spun the white board on its axis and the top went down. Now what had been slumbering at the bottom was suddenly right on top of everything.

Leroy Derickson and his mysterious Servant.

"He ran away with his tail between his legs and as amusing as that was…" Caster smirked darkly.

"…he is going to come back for revenge." Collingwood squinted his eyes at the face that was half-covered by dark-blue hair. This guy was the most dangerous Master of all. Not because he was more skilled than the others, but because he had no regard for anybody. Nothing was controlling him; there was not a single shackle of reason on this guy. If he had to shred every last person in this city to meaty bits to reach Rézny or any other prey, he would do it.

"If he takes out your boxer friend, we will lose our counter for the big guy. And there is also the matter of his Servant, that sneaky creeper."

"If the original Classes apply, then it should be an Assassin." There were only two classes of the seven left and he somehow couldn't imagine that Ryouko Tohsaka would summon a weak Assassin. She was a prideful person who preferred to crush enemies with a cold smile. If she couldn't establish her dominance to the world, then she would consider that a failure.

"Mhm. As part of this system I can confirm that we have only the seven classes you know. Sure enough, such a cowardly specimen can be nothing else but an Assassin." It was strange to hear her speak badly of cowards, considering the tactics. "In all seriousness, he is the scariest Servant in this Grail War."

"What?" Collingwood turned to her in surprise.

"You may put this on my intuition again." She shrugged. "I do not like that thing." Her mouth barely opened as she hissed those words. While she mocked and belittled people with nicknames and wit, she never showed clear dislike. What she saw in that nebulous Servant must have been extraordinarily evil.

"Then we should take them out first."

"Oh?"

"Did you think I would be afraid when I heard that?" He stood up and walked to the white board. "We can't win this war if we let our fear control us. Doesn't matter if the scariest guy comes first or last, in the end we will defeat them all." He pushed the board so hard that it kept spinning on its axis until it was back in its original orientation.

The arrows pointed all over the board revealed the relationships that had formed in this first week of the war. There were still far too many mysteries for his liking and most of those arrows coming their way were not encouraging, but for his wish, for the salvation he sought, no battle was too gruesome. No challenge was too much.

"You falter so easily, but you still won't give up. Like a petulant child." Caster looked up to him with a mixed expression. Then she threw the pointing stick aside and stretched her arms. "Nothing less of my partner! It would not be interesting otherwise."

"I can't figure you out either, partner." Collingwood smirked dryly. But he didn't feel bad about it at all. After last night he had decided to trust Caster… at least a bit. "Now tell me about that great plan of yours." He demanded.

"See, you did change your tone after. From slightly impatient, to strongly impatient." She giggled. "Listen up then. This is the grand unveiling of my greatest magic trick!"

Another hour passed as Collingwood discussed the plan with Caster. They ended up arguing a while, but ultimately he caved in. To think she would be this daring, well he had no right to talk. The amount of trickery required to pull it off was a big uncertainty to him, but he would bet on this hand rather than draw new cards from the pile.

As he kept thinking of their next move he felt himself dozing off. He had trouble keeping his eyes open and got startled every time he almost drifted off.

Unable to bear it any longer he got up and staggered into the kitchen. Some coffee would raise his spirits and mind back to working capacity. Caster had a distaste for the brew and didn't touch it, so he was fairly certain it wasn't empty yet. Everything else was liable to disappear without his input.

As he grabbed the coffee-maker and opened the lid to fill the beans inside, he could hear the light steps of the ever-present girl approaching. She really didn't like the spirit form much, huh?

"Master, you should just accept your body's craving and surrender to sleep." Her words were so light it almost sounded like a lullaby to him.

"This is nothin'… I'm used to it." He hadn't slept properly in years. Even in his hut he had always felt the threat of the Enforcers on his back. Sleep was only a limited resource for the sake of replenishing energy. If he didn't have to he would rather…

"You are not alone anymore. There is someone who will keep watch at the fire while you sink into this comfortable darkness." Caster put a hand on his arm that was shakingly trying to insert the beans.

He waited until his blurred vision returned to normal and then finally nodded. The couch was waiting for him like a trusty companion already.

"Why is it that you like this thing so much? This must be terrible for your back." Caster shook her head dismissively.

"Why are you acting like my mother now?" He retorted and let himself fall on the folds of the couch.

"Huh? Did you finally realize my mature charm?" Her ears perked up.

"Keep dreaming…" He yawned and then closed his weary eyes.

"So you are saying I am cute rather than ladylike?"

"Shut up." He muttered before drifting off.

She watched him leave the world of the waking with a subtle shift in expression. How stubborn he was. Resisting the inevitable was not always a virtue.

At least in his sleep he was not grimacing all the time. There was a trace of that uncertain young boy in his face when she looked at him from this angle.

It was time again. She as well had to close her eyes to see what he saw, to get closer to that truth.

Caster leaned back in her armchair and gave herself to the world of dreams.