[center][h2][color=aa8585]Beatrice LaForet[/color] and [color=#94b8b8]Lancer[/color][/h2][/center][hr] Beatrice was almost clear of the woods behind the church when the deep voice intoned towards her, bringing her steady pace down to a slow advance as she looked over her shoulder to see Lancer approach. [color=aa8585]"Less than I'd have liked, but we still got something out of it."[/color] She raised an eyebrow as her Servant seemed to disregard her order to wait for summons; but she let it pass without comment. She doubted he'd have moved ahead if he were anything less than confident that they were safe. So, instead of admonishment, a gentle stream of information flowed from Beatrice's mind into Lancer's, as she leaned into their link to apprise him of what she'd learned. Some of it, he was already aware of, but now they weren't in imminent risk of an attack or ambush, she had some breathing room to unpack and make sense of it. [color=aa8585][/color] At least one of them seemed to be on their way now, judging by Lancer's own encounter and testimony, likely leaving two whose positions were unknown. It wasn't as if the others were entirely likely to be on the level, but the fact that they'd been willing to make an account of themselves to the church at least suggested they wouldn't be looking to turn the city upside down from the word 'go'. She'd already taken care of one individual who likely would have, her own Command Seals a testament to his foiled ambitions. She very much doubted that dullard had been the architect of anything but his own untimely demise, so that meant their U.N. Owen was likely among the remaining two Masters. Following that, the question was whether or not they were the latecomer the Overseer had mentioned; the aftermath of the ritual she'd discovered suggested otherwise, but the factors were by no means mutually exclusive. [color=aa8585][/color] And on that note, there was the matter of the Overseer's companions. Even more so than in Fuyuki, the potential for the Sako Grail War to go awry concerned [i]everyone[/i], and as far as Beatrice was concerned, the Church hedging their bets with a team of their own was understandable. Not disclosing as much was perhaps a little more dubious, but with all the uncertainty around them, perhaps that prudence was for the better. They seemed to have picked their Master well, at least. Charming and shrewd in equal measure, and shamelessly bold when it came to her interests; she'd be a hypocrite to disapprove. That just left making sense of the girl's apparent Servant. [color=aa8585][/color] The flow of information continued, playing back what she'd observed of the mysterious woman. Though maybe 'mysterious' was the wrong word: [i]puzzling[/i] felt more apt. Loud, colourful and [i]flamboyant[/i], she was like an open book compared to her likely Master; but one that offered no easy answers, concealing whatever truth it held amidst an overload of information. [color=aa8585][/color] There wasn't enough certainty to make a call on the woman's identity, but the information they had could still help them determine a broad plan of approach. And while the Servant in question didn't give them much to work with to eliminate any of the remaining four classes... [color=aa8585][/color] Perhaps the Servant Lancer had just encountered would offer a little more clarity there. [color=#94b8b8][i]"Good eyes. Built like one that's not unfamiliar with the direct fighting we expect here. Fancies himself a smooth talker, independent, and stealthy in his own way. But too open, too well built for the sort of duplicity in talk and battle you would normally expect from an Assassin. A magus, but unless he was better at hiding himself than I thought I would not assume him a Caster. Too controlled in the face of everything for Berserker, to my mind."[/i][/color] Not that every Berserker could be assumed to be a raging maniac, especially if their mad enhancement had not been triggered—but there was a certain instability he had come to associate with similar types in life, Sétanta having been one of many. Whether it be an uncontrolled temper, a divorce from reality in some aspect...there were many things he'd known to look for. The servant who had addressed him bore none of those. [color=#94b8b8][i]"I figured him for either a foolhardy Rider, an overconfident Saber throwing his weight around, or an Archer. He had the sense of a hunter. The way he moved, the lay of his muscles as he turned and walked away from me...I called him out as such as he walked away. I must have touched a nerve, because he finally made a point to try and hide his reactions when I did."[/i][/color] As information flowed from his mind to hers in full detail, Beatrice pored over Lancer's recollection, weighing up his words against the finer details of what he'd observed. A tall, well-built man with a confident demeanour; or at least that was how he chose to present himself, until Lancer refused to play along with his games. He might have felt her [i]recoil[/i] a little, as if recalling bad memories, but it soon passed, and she returned to analysing the information. The picture Lancer and his memory painted for her was of a man neither careless or quite so controlled to fit satisfyingly into the role of Berserker or Assassin. While she wasn't as certain as him that they could rule Caster out, considering her own experiences, perhaps that was just her ego talking. Of the remaining options, it was hard to make a conclusive judgement; but perhaps, as with the strange woman she'd encountered in the church, it was best not to assume too much too soon. Lancer seemed to believe he fit most readily into the role of Archer, judging by his observations, and she wasn't inclined to disagree... [i][color=silver]"Don't forget to say hello to the Einzberns for me."[/color][/i] But as she ran his recollection of the encounter through her mind, something else [i]interesting[/i] sprung out to her. It wasn't exactly unusual for the Servant to speak of the Einzberns. She was sure any Master worth their salt would have warned their Servant of the war's most infamous founders, of whatever ridiculous entity they would bring to the table for this last hopeless grab for their insane dream. But for whatever game the man had intended to play, the comment seemed more than a simple ploy to ascertain where Lancer stood; there was a very palpable [i]rancour[/i] in the way he spoke their name, his tone dripping with contempt that seemed misplaced for one working off of secondhand recollection. The story of the Einzberns extended back into the distant past, but they were reclusive, with the Holy Grail being one of an infinitesimally small number of affairs they held outside their fief. Had this Servant known them in life? [color=aa8585][/color] In the end, it seemed like they'd both come out of the trip to the church with some useful information. As Lancer took every available opportunity to note, however, tarrying into the night was going to leave them vulnerable, and so she picked up her pace as she offered her praise. She'd picked out a few spots over the past handful of days in Sako that they could use as temporary bases of operations, and if they could make it to one without incident, they could go over their discoveries at greater length there. [color=aa8585][/color] Beatrice's words cut off sharply, and she tugged on her link with Lancer to beckon him back to spirit form as she stopped in place. Up ahead, against the setting sun, she could perceive another figure making their way up to the church through the clearing in the trees behind it. One of the outstanding Masters, coming to announce themselves? Clearly not one who put much stock in the armistice that existed upon the church's grounds, if that were the case; but at the same time, seemingly not one who was out to take advantage of that arrangement for their own ends. She resumed her path forwards, narrowing her eyes, focusing her senses to peer through the haze of dying light to better appraise the approaching form as she did- ... [color=#94b8b8][i]"Don't waste too much time, now."[/i][/color] She heard Lancer's voice, but it suddenly seemed far away as she realized [i]who[/i] was approaching them. [color=aa8585]"I'd ask what you're doing here, but I really should have expected this."[/color] Beatrice's tone was cold and level, but Lancer would almost certainly perceive the sudden buzz of static, of intangible and imperceivable thoughts going every which way through her mind as she came within speaking distance of the all-too-familiar woman. [color=aa8585]"Got tired of hiding away, did we?"[/color]