act22side

Course set. Drizzles observed. Wayside stations will allow passage.

Incoming telegram from Viscount Dawson. They would like to use this journey as an opportunity to meet with the Dublinn representative.

More nobles coming over to our side.

Don't you worry. The Leader won't deign to make them any statements.

Did they think a simple show of friendliness would earn them a guarantee of peace from Dublinn, a Taran population kept in check?

I say at some point, they need to learn what constitutes true sincerity.

The Leader is still sending you to negotiate?

Perhaps I <i>should</i> fritter away some more time, at least enough that people forget about me.

Good to hear. You've made your share of errors by my standards.

Heheh... well, since you came back to report on your lonesome, I take it you haven't caught Loughshinny yet?

Don't ask rhetorical questions.

You hindered my ranks in their search, only to then leak her prior trail to my men. Not exactly a smart way to save someone, in your case.

And how do you know it wasn't you I was saving?

You know, I don't recall The Leader ever saying anything about executing her. Do you?

The Leader did allow her to roam free. The Leader also allowed me to deal with her at my own discretion.

Don't blame me for being harsh on your friend, Harmonie. In these times, no one in their right mind would let a Draco act freely in Victoria.

Oh, never you mind that. I don't think we were ever that close, anyway.

And you see, I'm about to pay a visit to that medical organization she was holing up in.

Hm-hm-hmm! Maybe, just maybe, I'll be the first to get her.

Wait, a building in the way? Blast this low visibility! How was this not foreseen?

Who signed off on navigation plans? Which team was on survey yesterday?

It's too late for the fleet to turn. Check for any presence of personnel in the building.

Excellent... Brick and wooden construction, small enough not to pose a threat to the ship's treads. Continue on course.

Oh... would you look at that, another tiny mistake.

There are always sacrifices to be made in war.

Yes, I gather what you mean. But listen—I have my own sense of 'discretion'.

Loughshinny as a sacrifice? I say that might be too high a price to pay.

The blood of the Draco still flows in her veins, you see. She remains ever so useful, even with Oripathy.

Yes, I did not bring her back.

She has no resolve to fight, but is plenty capable of fleeing.

Further to which... we pursued her tracks to where the old Taran palace stood. The fires within the ruins have gone out.

Becoming Infected may have changed her Originium Arts.

You seem to think it was Oripathy that made her stronger?

Heh... of course not.

She's my sister. It would be disappointing if she couldn't even hold her own.

Tell me. Who's with her?

A few vagrants. She calls herself the Leader before them.

Then there's no need to follow her.

Since she has at last awakened, and become aware of her power as a Draco...

She will return to me soon.

Are you sure the long-haul trucks pass through here?

Aye, I hitched on one when I fled Victoria.

...Bagpipe.

Eh?

Do you remember when I asked you... what the truth you wanted was, and what you wanted to do after learning it?

Because you knew things would turn out this way. Most things that happen in Victoria end up as a power struggle like this.

Mm, you could say... but it's never the same people involved, each time.

My feelings still haven't changed. I have to submit my report.

I just wonder, you know... when will any part of Victoria truly accept it?

What can I even do, personally speakin', to speed up that process?

You still want to change Victoria, after all this? It amazes me how you're so...

So what? Stupid? Stubborn?

So strong.

Come on, Chenchen, that's why we've always been friends, na? We fixate on a goal and don't change it easily. Not me, not you, not my leader!

Ha. Doesn't seem like a compliment when it's from you.

And I've been thinkin' these days, anyway... who's to say someone else's dream can't be achieved, right?

(White noise)

You're still holding onto that thing Fionn gave you.

Aye. What's wrong with that?

Let me do it... It's an old radio, and I don't want you to turn it into scrap metal.

There we go.

...the attention of all citizens. The conflict in Londinium between Victoria and Kazdel continues to escalate...

War has... *static*... broken out...

The Duke of Wellington... *static*

We ask you make war preparations...

Yes, I'm driving back. I noted nothing unusual during my recon assignment.

The office I used for my last identity? You needn't worry. I'll erase all trails as soon as I return.

Of course I'll accept promotion from the Duke, if all goes according to plan.

I don't plan to hide it. I'll have abandoned my personal identity and face by that point. Whatever I say to you now under my current guise doesn't matter, does it?

I think I'll get off and take a little walk.

Oh, sir, would you like a wooden doll? I've brought some from a village on the other side of the river. The woman who makes them, excellent craft, bless her old heart.

No, thank you.

Alright... excuse me, are you from around here?

Why do you ask?

Er, just thought you looked familiar? Really, I'm sorry, I just settled down, I still don't know the people around here all too well.

I'm Fionn. Peddler of wares. Let me know if you want to buy or sell anything, and I'll sort it for you.

I live right there, see? That house, just finished yesterday. It's a little far from the village, but I like it here right next to the road.

Oh, er, there's your car, I see... Do I have the wrong person?

Sorry for bothering you and all, I won't keep you any—

At a massive rumbling, they both turn around.

A huge shadow looms on the horizon, the earth trembling beneath their feet.

W-What's that sound?

No. Nonono, what's THAT?

An army?

Yesterday, 400km away, I signed off on a reconnaissance mission scouting this force.

What are you talking about?

All along, I've been of the belief that with his militant vice grip, the Iron Duke is our greatest enemy.

With his support, Dublinn will incite hatred amongst the population, dragging innocent people into riot and even outright war. We must find a way to check his power.

Hundreds, if not thousands of lives, hinge upon my every move.

But as for the moment...

He could not let out a sound if he tried.

Rumble. Rumble.

The battle fleet, led by a grand high-speed battleship, sails along its set course.

This is the territory of Duke Caster. She has silently assented to all this, assented to war passing through her roads and across Victoria.

...Flee, Taran.

You built your house in the wrong place.

W-Why?

This belt remains the territory of Duke Caster. The boundary is vague, and you have yet to cross it.

The Marquess of Trent did not switch over to the Duke of Wellington's side come the conclusion of negotiations. Moreover, pressure on the Tarans is set to increase once again.

Perhaps you'll sight those brutal patrol squads again in the next two days. Perhaps they haven't forgotten the appearance of your name in the case files.