act46side

Come in, Alpha.

Alpha, can you hear me? Report!

What's going on...?

Command, the target car has entered our surveillance zone and is approaching the final point of action. Should we move?

When did he... is there any movement from the target?

No, the target hasn't exited the vehicle. I can't see inside from here.

Stand by. Engage once you have visual on the target.

Bravo reporting.

We have visual on what we believe to be an armed Kjerag patrol.

Have you identified them?

Unclear, possibly Paleroche guards.

Charlie reporting! We've spotted Kjerag warriors too. They're searching nearby buildings.

Our position may be compromised. Should we make a move now?

Negative, stand by.

We've been compromised! Engaging!

They found us! We've been exposed, repeat, we've been exposed!

Permission for final action!

Bloody hell...

Affirmative—

The north winds blow, over the mountain road...

The tuskbeast hides, among the rocks he bides...

Take your bow, swing it low...

...By the little wood window.

Hit.

The forest is the domain of the hunter.

The young huntress takes Enya into the forest, the mysterious assailants in hot pursuit.

Their numbers are soon thinned by crossbow bolts that seem to come out of nowhere.

There's at least one more... where are you...?

The huntress knows that her last shot has revealed her position, while the enemy has withdrawn into the shadows.

She hides behind a large tree, zeroing in on one little sound.

Lock, load, loose—

Missed?!

The young huntress is pushed to the ground as her shot misses.

The attacker picks up a bolt from the ground and aims it at her throat.

But he never gets the chance to bring his raised hand down. It is frozen.

A blurred silhouette appears from above the assailant, bringing the weight of a thousand mountains down upon his head.

The ground trembles, and the snow on the tree branches is scattered...

...Degenbrecher?

Degenbrecher catches the bolt flying towards her with one hand.

Who are you?! What do you want with the Saintess?!

Stop, Joanna! Degenbrecher is a friend.

Degenbrecher...?

Joanna hesitantly removes the bolt from her crossbow as she looks up and down at Degenbrecher.

I've heard your name before... they say you're a strong warrior.

But I've never seen... a man beaten into permafrost like that...

What are you doing here, Degenbrecher?

Enciodes sent me.

I apologize, but now is not the time to stick to the rules.

How did he know I was in danger...?

This is not the only attack in recent days.

There were attempts on the lives of the members of Clans Silverash and Paleroche, soon after you left the Vine-Bead Court. The three clans are on the brink of civil war.

How could this be...?

These people...

Only now do the trio have the time to take a long look at the assailants—late assailants, more precisely.

They are wearing Paleroche armor, and they are carrying standard-issue Kjerag weapons.

Clan Paleroche...?

That's impossible!

Clan Paleroche has always been loyal. They would never think of murdering the Saintess!

But there has to be an explanation for these people.

Th-They must be in disguise! Someone is trying to frame the Paleroches!

Let me see... There must be some gap in their disguise...

Yes! Look at this bolt!

Hmph! These people thought they could fool us wearing Paleroche clothes, but they got a very important thing wrong.

Look, the bolts they're carrying are two-fletched, but the ones used by Paleroche warriors are three-fletched, which are more suitable for battle than hunting.

Dad told me that our family was the best, most loyal warriors of the Paleroches before we split from the clan.

Our shooting skills were passed down from our ancestors, who used them in war, mostly against—

...against the Silverashes.

A logical explanation.

All ancient history now.

The wars between the three clans, Paleroche, Browntail, and Silverash, have long since come to an end, and your family became hunters under Kjeragandr's kind guidance.

Yes... by Kjeragandr...

It's not hard to guess who is impersonating Clan Paleroche.

The Victorians...

Degenbrecher pulls a bolt from one of the Victorian's necks and examines it.

Hm...?

Did you make this yourself?

Yes, my dad taught me when I was little. The craftsmanship has been passed down my family from one generation to the next.

From one generation to the next?

The cut of the fletching, the shape of the point, even the etching on the shaft, these are all unique to Ursus.

How's that possible? Dad said it's a mark of Kjeragandr's faithful.

I've seen arrows like these in the arenas of Kazimierz many times, used by those who claimed to master the most authentic Ursine martial arts.

A gimmick, no doubt, but the GCC also sponsors legitimate historians. I've read their papers and seen the artifacts they dug up.

But... but we're all indigenous to Kjerag. We used to be part of Clan Paleroche!

What does Ursus have to do with Kjerag?

...Enya?

'...Some brought flags, some brought drums, and some brought swords.'

'The three outsiders fought constantly, and their blood turned the rivers red, and She grieved.'

'She went to the place of battle and said—'

'Sheathe your weapons and let your hearts be joined, and I will bestow upon you the blessings of prosperity, and protect you from ill.'

'But the three were foolish, and continued to fight even after they heard Her words.'

'So She cracked the heavens and split the clouds, and She brought forth a miracle, and the fighting was stopped.'

'One of them wept: But how could we forget the hatred, the blood that was shed?'

'And She wept as well, and Her tears froze the enemy, becoming three eternally frozen peaks.'

...What was that?

A passage from the <i>Kjeragandr</i> that is often overlooked... now, I think I understand.

Joanna, I believe that your family... indeed, all of Clan Paleroche, originally came from Ursus.

You think so too?

Yes. But it's not just you. The Silverashes and Browntails came from elsewhere as well.

As the scriptures say, our three clans were outsiders who fought incessantly over resources, until Kjeragandr intervened.

The 'three frozen peaks' seem to refer literally to the three mountains surrounding Kjerag, but it in fact refers to the domains of the three clans, which She had demarcated.