Roman seemed to be in thought, an odd occurrence considering his all-too-sunny desposition. Unfortunately, it had been many years since he so much as picked up a sword—the comfort of guards combined with the overall peace in Bhujerba had done him a favor in that sense—yet, the idea of hiding wasn’t quite as attractive. He looked at Jaakuna, and let out a sigh as he would loosen his collar slightly. No, even if he was just a placeholder, it simply wouldn’t do to leave everything in Jaakuna’s hands. Not yet, anyway. At the very least, Isaiah was on their side, so at least some of the guards knew that Hamut was in the wrong. “[color=indianred]I can’t say I’m much of a fighter, but there is little point in fleeing when the entire army is probably out searching for me as we speak,[/color]” Roman pointed out, immediately returning to his cheerful self. “[color=indianred]I fear I must leave myself in your very capable hands, my brother. Do your best![/color]” He cheered Jaakuna on, a shit-eating grin on his face like no other. [hr] Frightened? Her? As if. Reia couldn’t help but scoff, and had half a mind to correct Hamut. If she was afraid of anything, it would be the fear of dying from boredom from his rather tenacious speech. The man did love to go on, although for once, he actually went into a direction she desired. Just as she had suspected, Hamut managed to catch Jaakuna’s message to Roman. And just as she thought, Hamut really did intend to spread war across Ivalice. At that point, Reia found herself lamenting the damage from the mines—she would have gladly stood right then and there, letting herself get struck if it meant that Rozarria finally had its reason to war with Archadia, but as things were, her armies were crippled. But this was not the end. No, Hamut chose to continue, revealing his intentions to, put simply, take over the world. Before he could continue, the pair were interrupted. Hamut had the gall to keep Roman prisoner, though it seemed Jaakuna had liberated him. Raising both her eyebrows in fascination, she looked at Hamut as he would look to her. “[color=turquoise]Speaking of those opposing your reign…[/color]” Reia lifted a shoulder, her expression almost innocent. “[color=turquoise]While I admit I had my own troubles with my Council, I can’t say I’ve had the same opposition with my family. Would you slay your own grandchildren, Hamut? They clearly do not seem to be on the same page as you.[/color]” It was more than obvious who it was liberating Roman and the other person, and it gave Reia a newfound determination. “[color=turquoise]Even you must recognize that your grandson won’t let this foolishness of yours continue. Tell me, Great Dragon of Darcone, would you slay your own family if it meant no one would oppose your reign?[/color]” [hr] As much as Grant hated to admit it, Savayna definitely had a point. Not that he doubted Emiri’s abilities to Savayna’s extent, but none of them had been a match for Shion, the only instance being that of Jaakuna’s possession—and even then, Shion had bested him there as well. What kind of power did Emiri have? The thought alone was frightening, though he scowled at Vlyn’s chuckle. “[color=thistle]I failed to mention that it was Emiri alone who defeated us. That boy…he didn’t even lift a finger. Shion figured that perhaps he was the source of her newfound power, but she quickly disposed of him, and if anything, it made Emiri stronger. What I found peculiar was that when the boy was decapacitated, the girl showed signs of being hurt, almost as if Shion had struck her instead,[/color]” Vlyn continued, frowning. “[color=thistle]Whoever that boy is—whatever he is—it is clear that he is a real threat, but Aloa only had theories on how to truly kill him.[/color]” “[color=purple]And what theory is this?[/color]” Grant pressed on the subject. Vlyn hesitated. Grant didn’t like that at all. “[color=thistle]There was a story passed down through our village once about demons who liked to possess people. The thing is, anytime the townspeople knew, they’d kill anyone who was possessed, and while the person died, it was a true way to kill the demon—[/color]” Grant immediately cut him off at that point. “[color=thistle]We are [i]not[/i] murdering an innocent person.[/color]” “[color=thistle]Of course. I expect no less, my prince,[/color]” Vlyn chuckled, though he would continue, “[color=thistle]But stories, no matter how old, always have a grain of truth to them. Aloa thought it best if she would find out the truth, and so sent Shion and myself to retrieve you all, so as to notify and warn you. Emiri is dangerous, there’s no telling what she will do. I understood her aggression towards Shion, even towards Aloa and I—at one point we were enemies—but I could not understand her aggression to Karolina, who had done nothing but help her.[/color]” Grant released a breath he had no idea he had been holding. What a story, indeed. No wonder Vlyn found it so urgent that they had to meet once more. Staring at the fire, Grant scratched the back of his head, his hand resting there for a moment. In all honesty, if it came to it, could he strike Emiri down? No, there had to be another way, besides, there’d be no way in hell Jaakuna would allow that to happen. Wait a minute… “[color=purple]Wait, if you’re here, where is Shion?[/color]” Grant asked. “[color=thistle]Archades, I imagine. She has her own way of getting around, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she found Jaakuna already,[/color]” Vlyn shrugged. “[color=thistle]Though, with Hamut at the helm of Archadia once more, I fear his plans for peace may be more difficult to pull off than he would have intended.[/color]” [hr] Shion had half a mind to whack Dominic upside the head. Her rose glowed softly as Shinto would start. Taking in a deep breath, she would take it from her hand, and as the soldiers moved, she would gently blow on her flower. Its petals would scatter, dissolving into what looked like dust, though in the next moment, they quickly spread and scattered around the soldiers, and each one would slump to the ground. Lorenzo made yet another mental note, though he slapped Shinto’s back. “[color=darkorange]Would you look at that! How the hell are you friends with this idiot?[/color]” Lorenzo laughed, clearly referring to Dominic. As the petals would gather in her hair once more, she raised an eyebrow at the prince. “[color=deepskyblue]He isn’t the only idiot here,[/color]” She reminded him, immediately kneeling down to the soldier as she would begin to remove the soldier’s armor. “[color=darkorange]You wound me, my lady,[/color]” Lorenzo whined, though he figured he may as well get started as well. He hesitated as he went to take off his shirt, looking at Shion. “[color=darkorange]Do you, uh, want some privacy?[/color]” He asked her. “[color=deepskyblue]Your concern is appreciated, but unneeded,[/color]” She repeated herself, though at least this time she smiled at him. “[color=deepskyblue]We haven’t the time to waste on such a luxury.[/color]” She rubbed her bandaged hand, letting out a sigh. “[color=deepskyblue]…No time indeed.[/color]” [hr] Nadeline didn’t quite understand what had happened either, but she was more surprised by Sylvester’s reaction. Her body tensed up immediately, a fearful expression on her face. She understood that he had something against the Espers, but that had nothing to do with her! The very thought lit a fire in her, and she regained her composure, wriggling out of Sylvester’s grip. As she opened her mouth to scold him for yelled at her, she heard Ultima chuckle. [i]Pay him no mind. Go right.[/i] She told the princess. [i][color=coral]Sylvester has a point. We mustn’t lose any more time.[/color][/i] Nadeline chided her. [i]Tell me, have I steered you wrong yet?[/i] Silence was all the response Ultima needed. Taking in a deep breath, Nadeline looked at Sylvester. “[color=coral]Give her the benefit of the doubt, Sylvester. Let us follow suit…and see to it that she won’t lead us astray.[/color]” She wasn’t exactly confident about her choice of words, but there was little choice. “[color=coral]This time, she says to go right.[/color]”