Within the Royal Castle of Grado, a group of heavily armored knights marched beyond the front gates. Seven warriors, conformed in a hexagonal formation, surrounded a larger figure marching in the middle. Each time the larger figure was within the sight of the royal guards, they saluted with great respect; such was the might of this man.

Before the doors of the royal chamber, a man in luscious robes wandered back and forth, as if awaiting someone. He had heard one of the great heroes of Grado was on his way to the chamber, and sought to meet him. He, after all, had sent for him in the name of Prince Lyonn.

The squadron met the man upon the robes, and the man bowed towards him, while the soldiers in the front moved aside.

"Hail, sir Caius Erthem, the Southern Wall of Grado!"

"Greetings, Chancellor. I swept to the palace as soon as I received the message. Apologies for the delay."

"Indeed, you are late. I had sent for you weeks ago, and..."

"Again, my apologies. Four days of travel ever since I received the message. Perhaps the blame is within the messenger?"

"Certainly, certainly. Why, they are sent to the safest place in the kingdom, and yet they deliver their messages late!"

"Chancellor, even the horse of the messenger needs some rest. But that's in the past; what's important is this. The Prince has summoned me?"

"Yes...and no. Indeed, the Prince has called upon you for a very important mission, but it is I whom shall provide you with the information. Now, if you wish to follow me?" Caius and his squad followed the Chancellor into a corridor of rooms to the side of the royal chamber, stopping at the third door. The soldiers remained in standing guard, while Caius and the Chancellor discussed things in private.

Inside, and while the Chancellor revised upon scrolls and books, Caius stood tall, his posture no different from the decorative armor. His posture was such that it appeared as if he was not breathing; only a keen eye would notice there was a person inside.

"Sir Erthem, the Prince has called upon your service once again. We are thankful for the service provided within the frontiers of Grado and Renais; because of your dutiful service, we prevented a mass of refugees during the confrontation from entering our lands..." Hidden within his helmet, Caius couldn't but lament the lives of men, taken by he and his men, to prevent Renais refugees and specifically members of the Resistance to enter Grado territory. It was his duty, and he was more than willing to follow, but every now and then the shrieks of horror as the men pleaded for mercy plagued his soul. "...We would desire for you to remain in your post, but the Prince has specifically requested for your presence, and that of your soldiers. You see, the prince Stephan of Renais..."

Caius gulped, although he made no movement. He thought deep into himself. Prince Stephan? He survived...?

The Chancellor kept talking, as he read from one of the many scrolls in his desk. "...survived the assault at the capital of Renais, and allegedly is seeking asylum with the neighboring lands. The other Wall Generals have been sent to capture him, and a wealthy ransom has been provided. However, the Prince has requested for your particular cooperation in this matter."

"Pursuit...a new task. Yet...how will I know who is the Prince Stephan? The heir of Renais was kept hidden from the world; for all we know, he may be anywhere and everywhere..."

"The scroll I have on my hand...", the Chancellor spoke, as he held a scroll sealed with the Royal Mark, "...contains most of the information you need. Rumors state that he may be locating to Carcino, or Jehanna. The Prince wants you and your army to investigate whether Prince Stephan has transferred to Jehanna."

"Understood."

"Our plans will be to send part of your sea troops as a diversion, while a smaller group composed of your strongest units will travel by land. The surviving sea troops will reunite with your own army, upon which you can search Prince Stephan."

"But...after the attack on Renais, won't the royalty of Jehanna suspect of maritime activity in their waters?"

"True, true, but that's not of importance..."

"Send a decoy. I'll tell my troops that a dangerous criminal has escaped and that the Prince has requested my troops to pursue him. Send word that the supposed criminal has escaped by sea, and that my forces have pursued him to Jehanna. We'll allow the decoy to enter Jehanna territory, and seek an excuse to enter their ports. Once there, I will reunite with the sea troops and search in earnest for the 'criminal'."

"Splendid idea! And...whom you shall send?"

"Send one of our spies. Inform the spy to seek information about Prince Stephan and relay his location to us. In fact...I would suggest our spy to become a double agent and support Prince Stephan...for a while. Once that happens, we can threaten him by harboring a criminal, and have a reason to deal with the running prince."

"Excellent! I will send the warrant for the capture of the spy as soon as possible!"

"Thanks, Chancellor. Still...I can't seem to understand something..."

"Yes?"

"Prince Stephan has escaped and may be requesting for support. I have never truly understood why the Prince would have commanded an attack to Renais; I fear that if Grado officially requests his capture, that may set us in a delicate position. Just as I, a loyal soldier, are unaware of the actual reason for the assault, I fear that they may feel the actual pursuit of a displaced noble, and furthermore, a survivor, will cause great troubles for our mission. They may prepare their arms against our people, and I fear that with my forces in pursuit of the Prince, Jehanna may prevent my naval troops from entering or may even take advantage of my absence..."

"Fear not. General Glen will take care of any attempts to invade our coasts. You have your orders, sir Erthem."

"Understood. I will bring Prince Stephan to the throne, as requested. I will take my leave."

"Very well."

"And send my regards to Generals Glen and Duessen." Amongst the Grado generals, Caius held high regard towards two of them. First was General Glen, also a southerner and a humble warrior that rose from the ranks of the peasants. Because of his upbringing, Caius held almost blind faith upon the General's skill.

But perhaps the man he respected amongst all was General Duessen. Only a few years older than him, Duessen was truly the inspiration for his own service as a soldier of Grado even as contemporaries. Caius and Duessen rarely saw each other, if at all; any attempt of communication was done by missives and words of regard. To Caius, the greatest honor would be serving under his hero; it was this desire that pushed him to strive forth in his duty as the protector of the southern borders of Grado and especially of the southern ports.

"I will make sure they receive them. Remain within the Keep for at least a day, so that you may receive the warrant."

"Best to deliver the scroll at Tai'zel, Chancellor. I will wait the day, but in case it is not enough, I will depart; I must also send a message gathering the troops..."

"Maybe...that guard you have...may be enough. If you intend to stop at Tai'zel, perhaps you may replenish with troops and supplies in that location?"

"I would prefer my own troops. I cannot vouch for their loyalty..."

"Then await the day, and I shall provide with the power to allow you to recruit people from western Grado. Keep your squadron small, of course, but feel free to request more assistance on our behalf."

"Understood. I shall take my leave, Chancellor."

"Good luck in your endeavor. May fortune be with you, Sir Erthem." With his orders received, Caius and his men remained within Grado Keep for at least a day, before departing towards Jehanna with haste.

--

Three days after receiving his orders, Caius and his men stopped at the town of Tai'zel, the closest and largest town before entering Jehanna territory. Stopping at the nearby inn to rest for the day, Caius sought to find further information about his secondary mission: a dangerous criminal had escaped from that same town merely a day ago, and Caius was on hard pursuit by orders of the Chancellor. However, the information was but a ruse to determine the next location of the spy, left behind as a secret message to one of the soldiers of Caius.

Once the missive was received, Caius determined the next step on his travel: a small town called Flarg, where he received word that Prince Stephan would be headed to. He requested a large amount of water, as Jehanna was a land of deserts, which would cripple his heavily armored men, and rested for the day. Flarg, by his estimates, was a shy four days of travel if he forced march for two days before reaching the Jehannan desert, and then traveled two days during the night. During that time, the spy would escape, but that would give his troops a chance to land in a nearby town and organize their search.