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C:Session:1

"How is our 'friend' doing, Sibly?"

"Fine enough, sir. The effect of the draught of drowse seems to be fading though."

"Good, I'd rather get this done quickly so I can get back to my reports."

"Yes sir."

"That was sarcasm, Sibly."

"As I am aware, sir."

"Of course you are."

"It looks like he is waking, sir."

"Huh...? Who said that?"

"It is good to see you back to your senses, what little of them you have, Sir Rodrick."

"Untie me so we can settle this with blades instead of words of cowardice."

"Oh, I can almost guarantee this will end in blades, but not the way you think my good Sir Rodrick. That is assuming this plays out the way I expect, which would displease me."

"So then, who exactly am I speaking to? It is difficult to read faces with a potato sack over your head."

"That, Sir Rodrick, is unimportant. The only thing you should know about me is that I have ties with the Council and High Lord Azlef. That is to say I work for them."

"The High Lordship? I haven't-"

"I haven't even told you what you have been charged with. Unless you are a seer I don't see how you could already be denying something I haven't spoken of."

"Why else would I be here? It is unlike situations like this to go with River Valley Wine and a bowl of raspberries."

"At least you aren't stupid. With that in mind I hope we can finish this up quickly."

"Forgive me if I do not take that compliment for its full weight."

"Sibly, inform Sir Rodrick why he is here."

"Sir Rodrick of House Baysalt, Heir to the Barony of Salt Crop, and Knight of Fairwood, you are accused by the High Council and High Lord Azlef of selling value information to individuals deemed unfit for such."

"Is that a woman?"

"Sir Rodrick, you have bigger things to worry about than what is between my subordinate's legs. One of these concerns is the idea of your head rolling down the Blood Stairs. I'm sure the addition of your blood to it's steps would very much please the High Council."

"I am a knight, a sworn defender of Fairwood and Tarsis. I have said my-"

"Yes, yes. Your words. I only want to hear about your words with this dark skinned intruder, not a pompous lord in some keep."

"You would dare insult Count Starling of Fairwood? He would have you quartered for such words."

"Fortunately for me he will not hear of them."

"Tis' true. I have spoken with a man of dark skin, but the only words I have swapped with him were ones of fish and Soratan women."

"Do talks of such nature usually call for private meetings under moonlight in an abandon warehouse? Enough with your coy front. Tell me why you divulged military statistics to this man."

"I am a knight, not a statistician."

"Tell me or I will remove a heads worth from your height. Do not think my ignorance of the information makes you untouchable. A dead informant is only slightly worse than a compliant informant."

"Whatever my answer is it seems I will be fated toward the axe."

"As odd as it may seem I would rather keep you alive than see you killed. However, I can't help you if you don't help me."

"...If I admit to selling military intelligence I will leave here alive?"

"And who was buying, what the man's name was, and where he came from. After that you will leave here with blood flowing through your veins instead of on the stairs, Sir Rodrick."

"...The man came to me. I did not go looking for some foreigner to sell information to."

"Of course, because you would never betray your country and kinsman by your own volition."

"I never betrayed my country!"

"No, you simply helped a foreign nation evaluate our military."

"I did it for my country and kinsman, never to hurt them... Have you ever been to Seridel?"

"...Upon a time I have found myself in its streets. What of it?"

"Then you have witnessed through your own eyes the decrepit state it is in."

"I will agree with you, it is certainly not Boray or Goldwater."

"People starve in its streets. I have seen children rip each other apart for a piece of stale bread. The city is corrupt and lost. Baron Alcard sits in his manor while the city rots away."

"I'm hoping for your sake that you have a point, Sir Rodrick?"

"Fine, if you wish me to be blunt, I will be. The High King and the High Council will lead this country to ruin. It is time for a new sovereign to help Tarsis to its destiny."

"Don't worry, Sibly. He's not a traitor."

"Mock me all you want. I love my country and its people with all my heart. That is the truth."

"Did this dark-skinned man promise you that all your dreams would come true? That he his tribe would be the best thing to happen to Tarsis since the coming of West Valley Brandy? I took you for a smart man, Sir Rodrick, but it seems that you have proven just how deep your foolishness runs. You think once the Council finds out about your reasoning's that they will even dare give you a fair trial? You, my foolish friend, have just pulled the handle on your own guillotine."

"Though... though you promised that I would live if I explained everything to you. Are you an oath-breaker?"

"I said if you told me everything. I can't believe for a second that this is everything."

"He didn't divulge his name! I swear. He only said that he was from Sorata and... and..."

"...and?"

"...And he told me 'The dusk will give way to the dawn. Have faith.'"

"He sold you on that load of horse shit?"

"When a situation is hopeless, you grasp onto any hope you can find."

"Fool's words from a fool's mouth... I must leave you for a moment, Sir Rodrick. Your fate has yet to be decided."

---

"Soratan's promising a better future for Tarsis? How can they think to go against Tarsis when they can't even unify their own desert? What makes this tribe stand out from the rest?"

"The fact that they came across the Great Sea to sow dissent, Captain Wraith."

"That's why you're my second-in-command, Sibly, and not Lieutenant Verez."

"Thank you, sir."

"Remember, it's Bryce when we're alone."

"Of course, Bryce."

"...You mean to have him executed... Don't you, Bryce?"

"...Yes. I can't have someone like him spread rumors of a Soratan invasion."

"I see."

"...I...How..."

"What is it Catrain?"

"How... How do you continue to live with yourself when you have killed so many people? During the Menosian War, during countless assassinations, and even now. How do we live with ourselves when we know that we are the harbingers of death?"

"...Huh. How long has this been on your mind?"

"A... A while now."

"...You tell yourself this. 'Kill the few to save the many.' When you kill a murderer you save the people he would have killed otherwise. If you kill a conspirator you will save a whole country-"

"Or condemn it."

"...Perhaps."

"I'm sorry, Bryce."

"To be honest, there is really one answer to your question. 'How do you continue to live with yourself when you have killed so many people?'... The answer is ...'You don't.'"