Zayn could see Ylisstol's harbor in the distance. By his estimate, they had a good 15 minutes before they hit land. [i]Finally,[/i] he thought to himself. The boat ride was quick, all things considered, but going without real meals (he had eaten a single apple and two pieces of jerky) was still a test of his endurance. He kept calm, however, with the knowledge that his plans were finally about to be set into motion. All he had to do now was make sure the Blades' attention was strictly on Valm, or at least somewhere other than Plegia. Valm was as good a scapegoat as any. He turned around and shouted, "Liam! Get ready!" Liam had been respectful enough during the trip not to annoy Zayn (too much), but now the real test would present itself: how good was he in the middle of a battle? If he died here, Zayn would have to put on some gut-wrenching performance over the loss of his "little brother", and that kind of emotion was hard for him to find these days. It only served to get in his way.

As the boat neared the land, the crew began rushing all about the ship, raising this and lowering that, while Zayn simply stared into his reflection in the water. The sight was intensely unnerving; he couldn't remember when he had looked this carefree. His entire appearance was so different from the fierce, intimidating Commander of the Grimleal 1st Division that it almost didn't look like him. [i]It looks like the old me,[/i] came a rogue thought from the back of his mind, sliding straight through his guard and nailing him in the heart. He quickly clamped down on his emotions; that part of his life was gone, as was all trace that it had existed. He had only one purpose in life now, and he would see it through to the end... no matter what. Even so, he eventually had to turn away from his reflection just to keep himself in check.

Finally, the loading ramp was put down, and Zayn stepped off the boat. He took a moment to let his legs readjust to ground that wasn't constantly moving, then started forward. "Come on," he told Liam, who was coming up beside him. "The ambush is about to take place, and we need to be there before the Blades finish them off." Thanks to Vass's information, he knew the Blades' camp was just outside the city. However, there was no guarantee that that was where they were now, so Zayn would have to use... other methods to locate them. A local merchant was selling freshly caught fish in a stall nearby. Zayn approached him.

"Welcome, welcome! Fresh fish for sale! You two look like you could use a good meal, ah?" the fisherman asked, looking at the two young travelers before him.

"We're in the market, yes, but not for fish, I'm afraid," Zayn replied. He took out a small scrap of paper and, using a small piece of charcoal he'd... [i]acquired[/i] from the ship, quickly scribbled the [url=http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130122062714/fireemblem/images/5/5e/Grima_mark.jpg]symbol of the Grimleal[/url] on it. He then handed it to the fish merchant. The merchant's eyes darkened as he looked at the piece of paper, but then he crumpled it up and casually tossed it into the ocean behind him.

"Ah, no worries, young friends!" he said, quickly back to his old self. "Perhaps you're in the market for entertainment, then? I hear a big jousting tournament is happening today! Everybody will be there!"

"Thank you, we might just do that," Zayn said with a polite bow. "Come on, Liam. Let's go watch the tournament." So saying, he turned and walked off.

"Come again if you ever have a craving for fish!" the merchant called, waving goodbye behind them. Zayn smiled; good informants made life so much easier at times. The Sacred Blades were in the coliseum, watching the joust, and as far as the informant knew, all of them were there right now. [i]How convenient that they've all gathered in one place,[/i] he thought to himself. Still, this was going to be tricky. He'd have to signal the ambush without the Blades seeing him, then rush into the coliseum and merge with the crowd. Once that had happened, he would only have to wait until the ambush took place, then join the fray on behalf of the Blades. From there, it would be simple to convince them that someone in Valm had it out for them. Once he went to hire the assassin to take out the Queen, that would seal the coffin.

After a few minutes' walking, they finally arrived outside the coliseum. Looking around, Zayn saw no one that was particularly armed or armored, so he assumed none of the Blades were out here. So convinced, he slipped into a nearby alleyway and pulled a red tome out from beneath his cloak. Reading the spell within, he raised his hand to the sky and whispered, "Elfire." A burst of flame shot up from his hand into the sky. It rose about twice as high as the coliseum before finally fizzling out. Zayn quickly stuffed the tome back into his cloak and rushed out of the alleyway from the other side. Then he casually began walking toward the entrance. The people that saw him rush out gave him some odd looks, but none of them thought much of a commoner boy dressed in rags. Getting inside was easy. He made his way to an area with open seats and motioned Liam to sit beside him.

"Now..." he said, taking a deep breath, "all that's left to do is wait."