Interlude: Conflict

Date: 5/23/991; Time: 7th hour

Nana and the 70 men with her finally made their way out of the south end of Emerald Jungle. They were weary from their travels, but they could not stop now. They had a rendezvous at Dusk Mountains that they could not miss. The Emerald was to be handed over so that the 2nd phase of their grand scheme could begin. Nana had no time to rest, so they continued their march across the Talis River to the southwest.

After walking for a while, they heard heavy footsteps behind them. Nana and her men continued to run, but eventually they were caught by the enemy. Nana turned around to see her foes. The enemy's leader was a tall brown-haired man with green eyes. He was clad in steel armor, with a sword by his side. Their foes were wearing light blue armor and green capes. Nana knew that these were the colors of Charon.

"So, you found us. I presume there is a traitor amongst the Blades of Malice?" said Nana in disgust.

"Perhaps there is. Don't underestimate Isles' information network," replied the brown-haired man.

"It's a pity that it's come to this," said Nana as she prepared her lance. Her men were not only outnumbered but severely weakened. She yelled loudly, "For the Malice!" and charged with her men right behind her.

The brown-haired man picked up his sword and his men charged as well. The two sides fought for the space of 10 minutes. Spells, swords, lances, and bows, all being used to wipe out the enemy.

The red-cloaks were losing. One of them ran over to Nana, and pleaded with her, "You cannot fall here! Our mission is to deliver the stone safely."

Nana nodded and took eight of her best men with her. The rest stayed to delay the enemy. The fighting continued and the two sides were at a stalemate, but none of them backed down. They had a mission to complete. Isles and the Malice kept fighting until eventually, the men of Charon won. However, victory came at great cost. Isles was down to 20 men, but the men continued their hunt.

They tracked the red-cloaks as best as they could and several days later, finally confronted them. Nana and the Emerald were already gone; they missed their opportunity. They interrogated the men but they never said anything and were fiercely loyal until their last breath.

They visited taverns and talked to villagers, but there were no leads. Eventually, a villager said they spotted a woman matching Nana's description near the Dusk Mountains. The brown-haired man and his soldiers went there to search, but it was a trap.