"Wait, don't you have allies you can call on? I mean you're not going to head off to the enemy's castle with two people you've only just met, right?" I first spoke up to Rider, "You'd be teamed up with that Karisviel woman, wouldn't you?"
"You know her?" Rider's voice rose, before she nodded and replied, "This is true, though not my Master she is indeed the head of our anti-Nazi faction in this Grail War," She then bent down and sighed "I don't mean to be callow, but it's a bit of a shame which Servant she was handed, a soul who is not the most tolerant of others..."
"Oh, you're talking about Archer, right?" I couldn't help but cut in, only for Avenger to suddenly launch a glare at me.
"Master, do not so easily give away what we know to our potential enemy," the dark princess hissed at me, her piercing eyes upon me.
"Really Avenger? I know this is 'War', but how you can brush off Rider when she just saved our lives?" I whispered back at her. Avenger, almost like she was holding back a tantrum, simply scowled and turned her head to the side, not giving any verbal reply.
It was then we were all cut off by another voice, a voice all too familiar. "'Shame which Servant'? Hah, you may want to watch your tongue, my unfortunate ally, when speaking of one with the senses of an Archer," came the haughty tones of that powerfully-built, bow-wielding woman we'd met just this afternoon, as she came leaping down a nearby slope.
"Oh, my- my apologies..." Rider mumbled when faced with Archer's presence. As for Avenger, her scowling self would've leapt straight at Archer if Rider and I had not reached out to restrain her.
"Hillcrest-Wisteria," came a second familiar voice, as the blonde German homunculus slowly levitated down, on tiny rockets in her feet no less. "I did calculate it would be highly beneficial for us to meet again. Now that you have made an analysis of your in-laws, can you now give an affirmative or negative answer?" Karisviel had grown no less monotone.
"Ugh, this again?" I muttered, then tried to tell her, "Look, I honestly don't know right now, about anything really, but... your ally Rider has given me little reason to doubt you," I gestured with somewhat of a smile towards Rider "Even if Avenger still can't bring herself to trust her.
Anyway, we've just gotten out of a scrape with some white-haired, military-type Assassin," I went on, "Doubt he's one of yours?"
"White-haired military Assassin?" Archer of all people swiftly responded.
"He did appear to be a tactician and leader of men. A quite under-handed one, but he could certainly turn the terrain to his advantage," Rider filled in for me, "He was accompanied by a group of ghoulish undead, and, ah, beings I could only describe as 'Shadow-selves'. Both of these were likely minions of other Servants or Masters, as he didn't seem to have much attachment to them".
"I see..." said Archer with a soft rasp, well soft on the outside anyway, "Anyway, where is that Lancer girl, was she not deployed in this area?"
"Ah, just what I'd been meaning to see you about," I got in before anyone else could, "'Fraid your Lancer's gone off on a little solo venture to a castle full of Nazis".
"What? Reckless child!" Archer snapped out without hesitation.
"I would not employ such a negative tone, but it does compute. Attempting such a mission unaided would be a critical error," Karisviel murmured beneath her Servant's fury, which she was about to get more of.
"That Lancer never seemed the most reliable type. Tell me, in a War like this how can you she has not simply gone over to the enemy's side?" Archer had to bring up.
My first instinct was to interject, but then I thought... well yeah, it was something to consider.
B-but someone as bubbly as Lancer, a traitor? Besides, she's non-white, nor Japanese, what would the Nazis even want with her?
"Are you so quick to lose faith in our own ally, do you have no sense of unity?" Rider on the other hand didn't hold back with her words. "True, either way we must determine what Lancer is up to. It would seem to the castle it is".
And was it some castle.
At first I could barely believe what I was seeing, and I say that as a Magus with a resurrected dead princess on my hands. This castle up in the ranges above Winterwood looked utterly unreal, like someone had taken the mere shadow of a castle and somehow expanded it into the third dimension.
"A flimsy construction," Avenger snarled beneath her breath, "Great halls can collapse much more easily than you'd think, one made of shadows would take even less to knock down". Huh, interesting observation.
As we approached it, I soon spotted that Lancer had not in fact gotten too far ahead of us. For she was standing in front of its tall, midnight doors, her eyes darting all over as she looked at it, I guessed finding to find any way to get in.
"Oh hey, Rider, Blossom girl, Karisviel, er and Avenger and Archer, yay," Lancer's bright expression dwindled as she spoke, "Okay okay, I'll confess that running off like that wasn't me at my most co-operative. But still, if this the enemy's base of operations, 'cause what else would something like this be, we've gotta find some way to crack this egg".
"Huh, awfully eager so early on," I was first to speak, before Archer could unleash whatever nasty comment she'd been storing, "Well, I can certainly see the logic in wanting to get the War over with as soon as humanly possible".
"But do you honestly plan to deal with all the Axis Servants and Masters at once?" Rider followed me with.
"Of course not, what do you take me for?" Lancer had to groan at that comment "No need to tell me that we can't just brute force this nightmare, but still, little infiltration route never hurt anyone, right?"
[ ] "Well, what did you have in mind, Lancer?"
[ ] "Hmm, do you think Archer could set up one of those 'arrow ladders'?"
[ ] "So Avenger, how flimsy d you take this thing for?"
[ ] "Really, I should be heading back for the night..."
[ ] Uh, Karisviel, perhaps we should head back to your base first, let your allies know about all this?"
[ ] Write-in.
QM's Note: Starting to think that maybe 'Chalisviel' might've made a better, and more relevant, name for our Einzbern. But unlike Quinton/Quentin, guess it's too late to change it now.
Also, had to rewrite the later part of this update due to second thoughts about the enemy Servant line-up.
