Headache is ravaging me right now, but I need to update something before final projects hit. This chapter marks another POV apart from Louise's.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Louise groaned as lifted the sack full of coins and tossed it aside. Scarron had told her that Montferat taxed the Charming Fairies heavily in addition to demanding service for free, meaning the inn lost a lot of money whenever he and his group of corrupt soldiers decided to visit. Sighing, she wiped the sweat off her forehead before continuing her search. Scarron had told her to look for the funds unjustly taken from them and to bring them back to the inn, lest the establishment get shut down when Montferat was inevitably replaced.

This didn't mean she would steal unjustly, however. Louise crouched down again and stifled through more of the bags: Jessica had marked the sack with a crude drawing of a pig - a subtle insult to the greedy toad - and she had assured her that he wouldn't throw away the satchel containing the new gold due to his laziness. 'Well,' she thought as she removed her gloves, 'he won't get a chance to do that now.' He'd likely stay in a dungeon now, although she wondered briefly whether he could bribe whoever was in charge to make his stay more comfortable. It didn't matter: So long as he was in no position to abuse his authority then this whole debacle wouldn't end up being a waste of time.

"Where is it..." She mumbled irritatedly, her previously calm expression turning into an irritated frown. Jessica had told her that all the coins in total they had given amounted to three thousand ecu; enough for a small estate and garden. Privately, she was impressed with the amount considering the establishment's unique...services. Were people really willing to pay so much just for drinks to be given by scantily clad girls? Brothels she could understand - even if she was disgusted by the thought of paying for intercourse - but Scarron made it clear that the most the customers would do was look and, if the girls consented, sometimes touch.

She supposed she could have just taken any of the other sacks of New Gold, but her aristocratic refused to let her. Sure she was by all accounts no longer a noble, but that didn't mean she had to lower herself to becoming no better than a common thief and cutthroat. She also could've justified it by saying that the funds were unjustly taken, but again she relented. She wasn't greedy and she had no desire to profit from Montferat's fall from grace. She was doing this because she needed to pay back Scarron for housing her - albeit in a rather horrible room - and nothing else.

She looked down at the wrisbow on her left wrist. It was large and rather unwieldy, but if those two sleeping sentries were any indication then it was still rather useful to her despite its large size and age. She still remembered when she had first gotten it.

She was sitting on one of the corner tables and drinking milk, mostly because she wanted to calm her nerves and think on what to do. She'd already been at the inn for a couple of days and, though her promise to the queen made her stop intentionally hurting herself, she still felt restless. The cardinal had told her that Julio would try to find Alexander Richmon in Ordonne, but she felt anxious. What if he failed? He was a priest by the looks of him and he doubted he was capable of fighting against nobles if the need arose. She at least had the power her mysterious benefactor gave her; she didn't know how much trust she could place in him to successfully kidnap the head of judicial affairs.

"Hey, what's with the long face?" The sounds of the chair across from her scraping across the wooden floor jolted her out of her reverie. She looked up and saw a girl with long dark hair wearing a green dress - Jessica, the owner's daughter, "The way father talks about you I expected a hero or the second coming of the Heavy Wind," She grinned lightheartedly when the other girl didn't reply, "Still, I guess I shouldn't complain. A lot of the other girls are giving it their all tonight. The want to attract your attention, I guess."

The pinkette shivered and shuffled in her seat at Jessica's last words, "What do you want?" Louise mumbled back. She wanted to be more polite, but the mind-numbing boredom from waiting for Julio to come back had made her irritable. Knowing her luck he had fallen into a ditch somewhere or gotten ambushed by thieves, making all this senseless waiting pointless, "If you wish for me to humor you then you will be disappointed. I have no desire to tell you my purpose for being here."

"Just trying to make small talk," Jessica shrugged, "A lot of the other girls talk about you, you know? Most of them expect knights to be big and burly, covered from head to toe with armor and drinking ale till they pass out," She leaned on the table, the smile never leaving her face, "I guess they find you interesting because you're the opposite of what they expect. I'll admit, even I'm surprised. I guess I never expected a knight to look so pretty," Louise coughed at the sudden compliment, much to Jessica's amusement, "You and that priest. I didn't know the church and the knights were taking people young."

"You...You don't say," She gulped down the last of her milk before stabilizing her breath. She needed to calm down. At least she knew the disguise worked, although she was tempted to just come clean, if only to stop the workers here from staring at her. She was already getting tired of it, "Look, is there something you want? I doubt you you really came here to talk to me about how everyone's staring at me."

"Alright, you caught me" She shrugged, "Dad wanted me to give this to you. He told me that it might help you in whatever it is you're doing." Jessica placed what she was holding onto the table. Louise looked down at it - It was covered in a thick cloth, but she could make out the curves of one end and the sharp point of the other one, "It was given to him by his sister - Sie-Sie's aunt - and he never really found a use for it. It's not too hard to use, but...I don't know, I guess he never liked it."

Hesitantly, the disguised girl reached a hand out and grabbed for the small object, "What is this?" She unwrapped the cloth and took note of the design - It was similar in shape to the crossbows she'd seen some soldiers wielding, but it was far smaller and - although it was still somewhat large to her given her thin physique - she could see it being used by an average sized person no problem. Her fingers traced the thin slit on the center. It looked like it would be able to fit bolts. A miniature model of a crossbow? Its design and appearance certainly looked like the model crossbows her mother kept in the storage rooms.

"It didn't exactly come with a name," Jessica replied, "Still, I guess calling it a crossbow won't be too inaccurate," She reached across the table and took it from her, "This thing goes into the wrists, like so. Take a deep breath and try not to scream. This might hurt," She grabbed Louise's left hand and fastened the bow onto her wrist. Louise flinched and braced herself, but rather than pain or tightness she felt the device slip into her arm loosely, "Huh, I guess it's a bit big for you. Usually it's tighter and all and feels uncomfortable, but you should still be able to use it."

"Use it? How?" She raised her hand up to her face and frowned as she saw the wristbow (that was what she would call it now) shake unsteadily at her movement. It was way too loose and being jostled too much would likely lead to it falling from her hands.

"Clench your hands and straighten your arm," Louise did so, and was surprised by the sound of what appeared to be a spring releasing from its holding, "We don't exactly know how it works, but Sie-Sie's great grandpa had it and its been passed down through the family like an heirloom of sorts," An heirloom? This thing was more advanced than some of the weapons she'd seen, "Anyway, this thing fires smaller crossbow bolts and syringes. We don't really have any bolts, but syringes can be bought and they can be filled with whatever you want them to be," She shrugged, "I dunno, I'm not really good when it comes to these kinds of things. I've said what I wanted to say."

Jessica stood up from her seat and turned to go back to the kitchen before she heard Louise call out to her, "Hey, um..." She looked down and took a deep breath, "Thanks for...this thing," She raised the wristbow attached to her, "I'm sorry. It's just been hard lately and-"

"Don't worry about it," She clapped Louise on the shoulder and grinned, "I dunno what you're trying to do, but if dad says you're a good person then I believe him. He might not look like it, but he's really good at telling people apart," She giggled, "And besides, we have you to thank for cheering up Miss. You-know-who," She pointed to the roof above them, "Least she eats now and actually gets some sleep. We were worried that she was going to die before she saw her daughter again."

"I won't let that happen," Louise announced, earning another grin from Jessica. While she had her doubts on whether the pinkette would succeed or not, she had to admit that Louise was determined if nothing else. If fate was kind then maybe the goal of the former noble would be realized.

Of course, the very next night that tax collecting sycophant came and, due to the increase of soldiers he'd received, demanded a rather large payment in addition to driving away all the customers in order to accommodate his ego. While Louise felt that going after the tax collector might have been pointless in her goal of saving the princess, she couldn't exactly let the Charming Fairies go under because a lower noble felt the need to abuse power beyond his station. It was of course rather convenient that most of his guards were drunk. That was what happened when you confiscated barrels of wine for yourself.

"Come on, where is it?" She grit her teeth and kicked over a pile of coins lying on the floor. The vault was filled to the brim with the Ecus, Sous and Deniers that he had taken from the commoners and finding the bag among the other sacks was proving to be rather annoying due to the large size of the money storage room. She put her hands on her knees and panted. In additions to the coins and sacks she could see paintings, armors, weapons and other priceless artifacts - More bribes and illegal confiscations, no doubt. A thief would consider this place to be a paradise. How was she supposed to find it without turning the vault upside down?

Her answer came in the form of a rather rude voice calling out to her, "Hey, girly-boy, you just going to stand there or what?" The voice heckled. Louise stood and unsheathed her rapier, but there was nobody else in the room, "Hey, what are you going to do with that sissy sword you got there? Is...Is that a rapier? Ahahahahahaha! You wanna kill someone or poke them? I can't believe you break in to steal without getting at least a dagger. Thieves these days are getting stupider, aren't they?"

"I-I'm not a thief!" She yelled back hotly, ignoring the fact that she had no idea who she was even talking to, "I'm here to get something back that was stolen: Nothing more and nothing less. Don't compare me to a common cutpurse."

"Oh, how magnanimous," The voice called back sarcastically, "If you really want to take back what was stolen then I hope you brought a few friends or at least a cart - Just about everything here was stolen, just like I was," Just like he was? Did that pig have slaves too? It made her sick, "Meh, but what does it matter? If you want money then just grab one of the sacks and make a run for it. If you can get past the soldiers then you deserve it, I guess. You're the first thief whose made it this far."

"I'm not a thief and I won't steal!" She said. Whoever he was he obviously wasn't one of the former noble's bodyguards given the way he talked, "I'm looking for a satchel with a drawing of a pig on it. The money was stolen from acquaintances I owe a debt to and I need to give it back to them. That's all."

"Really? That bag with the bad pig drawing? Pretty tame for a thief," Louise nearly yelled in frustration at the insistence of her being a common pickpocket, "Anyway, good luck stealing whatever it is you're stealing. Although you might want to look on the other side of the vault since that's where it is-"

"You know where it is?" Louise interrupted. At his "Yes" her frown turned into a relieved smile, "Then can you tell me where it is? I've been here long enough and I need to get back to the inn before the new day rises. I can't be seen here when they announce Montferat's arrest."

"Arrest? What, you had that waste of space arrested?" Louise nodded, though he was unsure whether he could even see it, "Huh, then...alright, I'll tell you!" Louise's face brightened, "But on one condition: You get me out of here. He took me months ago from that blacksmithy and it's even more boring here than it was there - At least the shopkeeper talked to me. Granted he always talked about melting me down or breaking me in half, but it was better than being ignored all the time," Being melted and broken in half? The image caused her face to turn green. Torture happened, she knew that, but that sounded rather extreme even by the stories her mother and father used to tell.

"If you tell me where you are then I'll see what I can do about getting you out of here," She called out, stepping forward hesitantly to try and find him.

"I'm over here," The voice was definitely closer, but she couldn't see any other person here.

"Where?" She asked. She looked around her: Suits of armor, some rusted weapons and a painting - Nowhere could she see a person.

"Down here!" She felt something smack into her right boot. Looking down, she saw the hilt of a rusty sword retreat back into its sheath before springing back to tap her boot again, "I'm the sword hitting you, if that wasn't obvious enough!" Louise's mouth dropped, unable to react. A talking sword? "Hah, you got the same look as that tax collector did when he saw me. What is it with people and not knowing that swords can talk? I hear them all the time. They never have anything interesting to say, always bragging about how many people they've been used to kill or how much sharper their blade is than mine. I swear all these new swords have no respect for their elders."

"Uh-wha?" She babbled.

"Ah, but that's a story for another time! Hurry up and pick me up!" Numbly, her mind processed his order and she picked up the sword before nearly tripping. This thing was heavy! "Oh, come on! Don't tell me that you can't carry little old me!"

"You're not little," She struggled out and attempted to lift the sword again, and again she was met with a lack of success as the sheath crashed into the ground. The talking sword was inhabiting the body of a broadsword and carrying him in her tired state was rather hard. Her willpower already felt sapped after her antics earlier and she didn't want to abuse her powers anymore than she needed, especially since she was so close to succeeding in her first 'mission' of sorts, "Gah, you're too heavy to lift! I can't take you with me."

"I take offense to that," The sword clicked, "But I see your point. You know what, why don't you just grab the sack? It's over by that golden armor set over there."

"I'm sorry. Maybe I can come back for you?" She offered. She didn't know how, but maybe she could sneak back in another night or even ask her mother to buy the thing. She felt no love for him, but he did give her the information even after being told that she couldn't fulfill her end of the bargain."

"Nah, it's okay," He was oddly cheerful despite the rejection, "I'll get out of here. You'll see."

"Alright. Thanks again," She bowed briefly before running to the golden armor he had told her about, "Is this it?" Just like he had said, the satchel was lying near the stand where the armor stood. She reached out and sighed in relief as she saw the crude pig drawing at the lower side. Finally she could leave this place.

"Yeah, that's it," She turned back to Derflinger before she paused. He sounded far closer than his place on the floor suggested, "Ah, it feels weird in this thing. Is this a preservation spell? Nice~ Not a lot of people bother preserving their weapons nowadays and those that do always try heating them up and it hurts! I tell you, transferring bodies "

"Wh-Wha!?" She unsheathed her rapier and twitched as she heard the laughter emanating from it. That-That damn sword spirit had possessed her rapier!? "G-Get out of there! This is my mother's prized heirloom and I don't want anyone tainting it!" She shook the rapier in anger, but the sword-spirit just laughed at her attempts to get rid of him.

"Tainting? Boy, this a sword. Unless you never plan to use it this thing's going to be tainted by a lot more things than me," The spirit scoffed, "Besides, we had a deal and I held up my end of the bargain, so you have to hold up yours. Besides," She could swear the thing grinned as it paused, "Going from one body to another is risky stuff and it'll be a few days before I can get the strength do it again. And that's if I can even do it again; not really sure how I did it just now, so unless you want to get rid of this thing then we're stuck together!"

"But..But- Argh!" She yelled, all the built up frustration and anger from tonight being released. This...This thing had taken over her mother's gift to her and there was nothing she could do about it. Closing her eyes and taking deep breaths, she grabbed for the satchel on the ground and ran to escape. She needed to get out of here now before she could vent, preferably far away from an estate of people who would perforate her given the chance.

"Welp, the name's Derf, if you have to know! It'll be a pleasure working with ya, partner!"

"Shut up!" She smacked the hilt of the sword before stifling a groan. This was her mother's rapier; she shouldn't harm it even if it was now being inhabited by that damn sword-spirit. Hopefully Julio was doing better in his task than she was.

Julio looked up at the sky, his lips twitching up into a smile as he saw his dragon pass over quickly before disappearing into the forest surrounding the small town. Ordonne was one of the larger villages on the countryside known for its rare fishes - which were often considered delicacies even by the most snappy nobles - and tonight it was to be the setting of a joyous festival celebrating Reconquista's successful ruling of both Albion and Tristain simultaneously. A celebration to stroke that mad priest's ego, basically.

He walked towards the center of the town slowly, his hands reaching up behind him to tug the hood of his robes up to cover his head. No one would look twice at him - Any nobles would consider him not worth their time and any villagers that saw him would assume he was one of Cromwell's followers, meaning they would leave him alone. Still, it wouldn't hurt to keep his face covered - He didn't need anybody catching sight of his features and coming back to haunt him. That would lead to him killing them and he would've rather avoided deaths when they could be easily bypassed.

All around him he could see people cheering, their hands filled with mugs of ale, beer or wine. He wrinkled his nose and coughed - Romalia was rather strict on the standards of alcohol: No drinking of any alcoholic substances during the day lest you wanted to be branded a heretic. To see so many people be so open about it surprised him somewhat, but he quickly remembered that Cromwell was more of a power hungry madman than a priest at this point.

He turned to one of the stalls and smiled at the person manning it, "One cup of ale," He offered ten sous, which the owner accepted with a drunken grin. He took the offered cup and took a sip, his eyes scanning the thick crowds for any signs of guards. If the information he had was right then Richmon would be making a speech about Cromwell's benevolence and how he would help the common people more than the previous rulers did. Whether that was true or not mattered little to him: He stood in the way of his master's plans and those who backed him needed to be eliminated.

"Come 'ere for the festival?" The stall owner slurred. Julio looked up at him and was pleasantly surprised to find the older man hadn't recoiled in fear from his dual-colored eyes. All the capitals apart from Germania knew about the legend of the moon eyes and how they were fated to bring calamity and destruction. It was either the tender was so drunk that he didn't notice or, as he had hoped, the people of the countryside cared far less than those in the capital to rumors and hearsay from religious zealots.

"Yes, like a lot of others here, I'm sure," Julio answered. He could see a few priests in the crowd, but most of them were old men who carried staves or, in rare cases, small clubs. His hands drifted to the hilt he concealed inside his robes. While priests were often allowed to carry weapons, these were dangerous times and one had to be able to defend himself, he had made doubly sure that his own weapons were concealed in order to draw attention away from himself.

"Yeah, everyone's celebrating about that new king we have," He continued, "Ah, but it's a real shame that the noble making that speech couldn't make it: The chef here did his best and all he sent was a replacement," He snorted, "Eh, typical nobles, I suppose. Ah well, at least the festival wasn't cancelled. Everyone here spent weeks preparing for it - Ordering the best wine, catching rare fishes, and even getting fireworks from the merchants an Rub' a kali. Tonight's going to be fun."

"Couldn't make it? Are you talking about Lord Richmon?" Julio's eyebrows furrowed in disquiet. If he meant what he thought he meant then...his entire journey here had been a waste of time, "I was actually looking forward to hearing his speech on our new King Cromwell tonight."

"You and every priest here," He scoffed, "Ah, but he sent one of the lower nobles as a messenger and to assure everyone that the festival should continue, so it doesn't really matter if he showed up not- Oh, speak of the devil," He pointed to the crowd in the center, "There he is now. Look at him: Surrounded by bodyguards, acting like he's everyone's friend."

Julio turned to look at where the man was pointing and caught sight of him. A brunette man with a trimmed beard and wearing clothes of rather fine make. All around him there were knights wielding swords and halberds, all clad in dull gray armor that reflected the lantern's flames rather poorly. He could see people dancing merrily and drunken louts singing drunk limericks, which made him stand out even more considering his straight posture and strained smile. He didn't want to be here, that much was obvious.

"He was the one Lord Richmon sent?" Julio asked the stall's owner, receiving a nod in response. Without another word, he stood up from the stall and mixed into the crowd, making sure to never let his eyes leave the noble's visage. If he was the one the head of judicial affairs sent then there was also a chance that he knew where he was and, hopefully, what he was doing. He saw him whisper something to his bodyguard before pointing at one of the girls dancing off to the side. A typical noble, he supposed. Sampling the populace, so to speak. He needed to do this quickly then.

It didn't take long before the noble tired of the company and retreated to one of the less populated areas. Julio followed, although he made sure to keep his distance lest they catch on to what he was direction they were heading in was towards the expensive inn. It didn't really surprise him, although it did make his job easier: It was likely that the inn was expensive enough that he was the only one

"This festival is a farce," He heard him say to one of his guards, who only nodded in response, "Why Lord Richmon sent me here rather than one of his other subordinates is truly a mystery," He sighed, "I shall retire to my quarters for the night. Make sure you all keep ample watch - You never know who is keeping watch and I feel eyes on me tonight." With that final order, he went into the inn's interior, taking half of the eight guards with him and leaving the other four outside.

Julio frowned, his hand going near the handle of the dark blade he kept inside his robes. He had hoped that he would let the guards enjoy the festival tonight and leave himself exposed, but obviously this was not meant to be. His eyes scanned the surroundings and focused on the smaller building next to the inn. A storage room in all likelihood, but that didn't matter right now. He jogged towards it and looked at the back. The entrance to the Inn was was being guarded by two sentries. Fighting through them wasn't impossible, but he didn't want to attract any undue attention now and incite a panic. He needed that noble alive so he could bring him back to Tristain. If luck favored them maybe he would know Princess Henrietta's location as well.

His head flicked over to the roof of the storage space before he sighed. Making sure no one was around, he grabbed for the loose wood and hoisted himself up on the roof of the smaller building and crouched. There were two sides of the buildings and each one had a guard patrolling down the width of it. Up above him he could see a window with a golden light - That was where he was staying, most likely. He could climb up there and take him from the window, but...

The guard yawned before turning to do another walk back. The width of the building's side wasn't too large; he would be seen by the sentry if he attempted to climb to the window. That left only one option: He had to take the guard out. His frown deepened - While the noble was thin enough that he was confident that he could knock him out without much drama, the guard was rather large and wore armor from head to toe. Attacking him head on would alert the other guards to his presence and attempting to choke him into submission would also end with him attracting too much attention; and he doubted he could overpower the larger man considering his size.

His thought of calling in Azuro for a distraction before he disregarded it. Having his dragon attack the knights in his stead would immediately cause the noble to run back to the crowded center and then capturing him would be near impossible. His hand grabbed for the hilt before he pressed the switch on the side. From the hole a blade extended, its metal a jet black mixed in with traces of gold. His master had lent him the sword and a few other things from Romalia's sacred vault. He had no idea where the sword came from, but it didn't corrode with age and whatever machinery it had allowed him to hide it in his robe with no trouble. He twirled the sword in his fingers; light as a feather and still capable of piercing armor better than any bullet.

He waited for the guard to circle back again before he jumped. He soared through the air briefly before he landed on the knight and plunged the sword into his neck. The knight seemed to struggle for the briefest of seconds before the life faded from him. The hooded individual looked around him quickly, trying to ascertain whether anyone had heard his faint cries. Seeing no one, he dragged the larger male's body to one of the bushes off to the side before he started climbing up to the window.

Quietly, he opened the window and looked inside. The noble was sitting on a small table and facing away from him, a glass on deep red wine held in his right hand. Julio entered the window silently and raised the sword's hilt.

*whap*

With a quick strike, consciousness faded from him. Julio quickly moved to grab the wine before placing it on the table - No doubt the guards would come to investigate if they heard a crash. With that done he took hold of the noble's body before dragging him near the bed. He didn't bring ropes with him - there was no place to hide them and people would ask questions - so he had to compromise. He grabbed for the sheets on the bed and used his sword to cut them into smaller pieces. Deftly he tied the noble's hands, legs and mouth. There, now all he had to do was call Azuro and-

"Aaaaaahhhhhh!"

"Uwaaaaaahhhhhh!"

"Argggggghhhhh!"

Screams came from the outside. Footsteps came from outside the room before they faded away. He grabbed the noble's limb body and tossed him over his shoulder. What was going on? Azuro was in the forest and he still hadn't used his runes to call out to him. He ran over to the window before jumping down.

"Wh-What in the Void is that-AHHHHH!"

"Kill it! Kill it now-Urgh !Achcchhch!"

The screams and voices stopped and there was silence all around. Julio called Azuro towards him before he stalked forward cautiously. By the sounds of it someone had attacked the knights, but who? Bandits? A roving band of orcs? As he got closer to the entrance the smell of dirt and earth greeted him along with something else. He inhaled and coughed as he made it out - Blood. He hastened his steps and closed his eyes briefly in disgust at what he saw.

Bodies, covered in blood and dirt, strewn across the ground like puppets whose strings had been cut. He let go of the noble and inspected the bodies. Some had been battered into the walls or on the ground, their armor breaking off due to the trauma, but there was one that was impaled by what appeared to be a vine made from the earth. An Earth Mage, perhaps? But if so, why did the 'vine' not disappear? Magic spells ran on Willpower and whatever force generated them disappeared as soon as Mages stopped casting or directing. His hands tapped the vine and he recoiled slightly when it shook in response. This thing, whatever it was, was alive in some way. Did that mean it could be killed?

He brought his sword down on it. The creature screeched in response before retreating into the ground. His eyes narrowed - What in the void was that thing? And why did it attack those knights? Was it to kill the noble? No, they were led out here and no one had attacked him yet.

Across from him he heard what sounded like air being distorted by a small scream. He looked up and, just before the figure disappeared, he caught a glimpse of her - He couldn't make out her features well through the darkness, but he could see what appeared to be a white robe covered in vines and roots. She turned down to look and, just barely, he made out what appeared to be a smile before she disappeared in a puff of dark smoke. She was the one who had killed them all, but for what purpose?

He turned back to the unconscious noble before he called for Azuro again. He didn't know what was going on, but he didn't have time to worry about that now: His objective now was to bring him back to the capital and interrogate him for information on who held the princess. He took one last look at the roof from where she stood and grit his teeth. She could have killed him then and there, he was sure of it. Closing his eyes, he looked up when he heard the sound of flapping wings signalling his partner's arrival. If they hurried then it wouldn't take too long to get back.

He would have to think on what had transpired later.

And there you have it. I decided to merge the Josette thing with the main plot, but like Knife of Dunwall/Brigmore Witches it's mostly Julio's story and doesn't really interfere with Louise's segments. Hopefully we can get to 'stage two' by the next chapter.

Now I know some of you are already thinking: Will Julio get powers? I'm undecided right now, but so far I'm leaning to "No" simply because I want the two segments to have slightly different feels. Julio's segments feel more like Assassins Creed while Louise leans to traditional Dishonored.

Also, time to answer one reviewer's questions. I would make it a PM due to the length, but unfortunately s/he left it as a guest.

1. I said looks and can be excused. I know the rats aren't made of earth, but as proven in the side-novels making Golems that looked and acted human can be done, so rats are certainly possible.

2. How is suicide better? If she's disowned then she at least has a chance. And I meant that she would get married off to Wardes so her family could 'wash their hands clean of her', meaning she lives with him and becomes his trophy wife and not a bother to them - Rather humiliating, but at least she's not disowned and that was the status of most women in that time.

3. Lover? Uh, she was going to be her sex slave:/ Didn't you hear the Outsider's words? "Night after night, year after year, even as her clothes turn into tatters and her silken hair turns dull and gray". You are either innocent or deluded if you think he's going to treat her well and most players admit that killing her is far more merciful. That and how do you know the Outsider toys with people's souls? Even if he does why is lady Boyle important enough? The only person he screwed with was the Empress, and the devs admitted that once Corvo dies she'll be free to go to the afterlife, implying that the afterlife isn't a shitehole if it's better than being trapped into the heart.

4. Varyag. They looked human enough and used regular weapons and armor, but were strong enough to beat the Humans and the Elves to the point that Brimir had to genocide them.

5. Forgot about the eyes. In either case he doesn't appear that way to her.

6. No other elements. And she can still cast Void Magic naturally, so there's no need to improve on the ones the Outsider gave her.

7. How does she brand herself? That's never been shown to be an ability the Mages have. Joseph would've branded himself if that was possible. I know I'm somewhat breaking lore with the Outsider here, but I don't want to tear canon to pieces.

8. Dinosaurs came before us, but are you telling me their survival is more important than humans? More to the point, the Church of Brimir is a haven for zealots. Not human = Likely to get shite treatment. Elves and Vampires came first, but the former are blacklisted and the latter are bloodsuckers who kill to survive so calling them heretical doesn't exactly strike me as odd.

9. ...She's not using Void magic in that scene, she's using Outsider magic :/ Void Magic doesn't allow you to possess people or see through walls. It allows you to teleport, but Blink is faster and more useful. And the Outsider certainly doesn't look or sound like the Brimir that they worship, so Louise wouldn't call him the 'God of the Void'. As far as people know Brimir created magic first and gave it to the other humans, even though we know this is false when we see the memory of Brimir is Volume 16 or so.

10. Evil!Louise is a Villain Sue so she automatically gets all powers maxed out. Another reason I'm dropping her story.

11. You do travel physically - If you Blink while a Wall of Light is aiming for you then it can kill you Mid-Blink, so it's less teleporting and more a burst of speed towards your goal.

12. ...Where was it EVER stated Guiche was a rapist? Mott for sure, but Guiche is a playboy/casanova - Those are very different from rapists. I'm acquainted with two playboys/casanovas and, though they cheat and get called out on it, both of them take offense to being called rapists since that's a different cup of tea altogether. He sleeps around (and maybe not even that; probably just goes to second base) with noble girls, but NOWHERE is it ever stated that he boinks the servants. You'd think Siesta would mention if he does.

13. Because Louise doesn't care about Siesta at that point. Why should she? She's not Saito and the dismissal of one servant doesn't concern her.

14. She saw the images for a brief second before they disappeared. Not exactly enough time to read.

15. Henrietta's her friend first and foremost, so amoral relation or not she'd help. That and in canon she didn't exactly disapprove the relationship, so there's no reason for her to do so here.

16. I did? I swear that I said he lost contact, but that didn't make it null and void. Wardes lost contact years ago in canon but he was still her fiance.

17. You're right on that. I meant land not countries, and I explained that she inherited it after her husband died. Hence why people resent her.

18. She didn't HAVE any power to lose at that point - Daddy was de-throned and her position and money were taken from her. All she had left was her mediocre magic, and that's not much. If she quit while she was at the height of her power maybe, but she had nothing left to lose and Tabitha forgave her, which sparked her redemption. Although honestly I would have hanged her.

19. They're canon - They show up in the second novel of the Karin side-stories. They're not referenced in the other media, either because they died or the author never thought about the implications of having Vampires in Tristain's Black Ops.

20. When did it happen? In Chapter 7 where there's an escape flashback and she was their guide.

21. Because he gave it to the head of Justice Affairs, so who was going to punish him? That and it's not an official mission. Besides, what if the secret service went on a mission and found out the president was selling nukes? Would the right thing to do be to keep the proof secret? Admittedly that's an extreme example, but Henrietta did state in canon that she would get arrested for Bigamy if it was found out, meaning her rule isn't ironclad and she can be de-throned if the need arises.

22. Again, how does she know that the Outsider is the 'God of the Void'? He never told her that he gifted Brimir so she assumes he's a demonic entity, which isn't that far off considering what his powers can do. The powers are clearly separated from the Void Magic explosions etc etc from canon. Oh, and so far for her having Arcane Bond? No idea.

23. She can't make firestone or runes. In canon only the Elves could make firestones, else would have done it himself.

24. Talking about Isabella here. Josette's in the story, but she's no queen that's for sure.

25. Actually, is does apply to Zero canon. See that picture I'm using as a title page? That's not a photoshop: That's Karin from the Karin side-stories using a MALE disguise. And yes, she fools everyone, to the point that then Princess Marianne gets a crush on 'him'. That and it's an in-joke to the people on Spacebattles who love lampshading how anyone could pass of as male while wearing what looked like striperrific cosplay.

26. It's anime, so if Karin can keep it long then so can Louise. Depends if readers want it cut or not.

27. Superior to the guy who beat Chronos and Zeus? Yeah, and I'm the Queen of England :/ Karin's strong, but Bidashal could probably kick her butt, let alone Kratos *I kill Gods with my bare hands* of Sparta. In the first game maybe, but by God of War 3 it's generally acknowledged that any Greek pantheon still alive at that point just haven't met Kratos yet.

28. Mott's a product of his time. Is he horrible? Absolutely. But given that the world of Halk is piles upon piles of arseholes fighting one another Mott comes off as almost benign. He's not good, never said he was, but he's somewhat less awful by comparison.

29. Sleeping potions. Hey, if Montmorency can make a love potion then Louise making sleeping potions shouldn't be too plot-breaking.

30. Don't wanna copy Corvo down to the smallest details. A spyglass might work if need be.

31. Trained an army of killers/army killers? Oh, you mean the griffon knights that got massaced in the Albion war and the Zombie!Wales arc? Yeah, great army killers :/ She's good, but that didn't exactly rub off on her troops if Tristain's meager military is any indication.

Apologies to anyone for the long list. Would've preferred PM.