Suikoden VI

Chapter Two: Part Two

Part Two

Daunte stood in front of the mirror and raised his arms. He held the tekko on his hands. His raised his right arm high to the same level as his head, while his left arm lowered and was parallel to his left leg. He bent his knees slightly, his left leg forward while his right leg was back.

He stared at his posture for a long moment before he nodded and straightened. "That's the stance I need to take in combat."

"How do I look?" Roen asked, turning to face Daunte. He'd taken a forward stance with his bolo knife, holding the weapon vertical while his left hand directly behind this blade, and his right leg bent forward while his left was bent back. "Jantu has been giving me helpful pointers in how to properly hold my weapon."

Me, too," Daunte said, removing his tekko. "Has he taught you dueling?"

"He's offered, but dueling doesn't seem practical to me. Most of the soldiers we've fought haven't had any interest in running their mouths at us in the middle of a fight." Roen relaxed his stance and sheathed his bolo knife. "I heard Gunther's group would be coming back today, so that means Felicity will be back today."

"Yeah," Daunte began, but before he could say more a uniformed Liberation Army soldier approached them. "Daunte, Roen."

"What is it?"

"Lord Bearyl has summoned you both to meet with you." The soldier then left without hearing their reply.

"Huh," Roen said, looking at Daunte. "I wonder if he's going to throw us out too."

Daunte didn't answer. It'd been three days since Caesar had visited him in his room. Three days since the strategist had basically revealed to Daunte that he didn't have any faith in their leader anymore. It felt awkward to be on the receiving end of such revelations, particularly since Daunte didn't have a position in the Army appropriate enough to hear the strategist talk about their leader in such a way. It puzzled him as to why Caesar had sought him out to tell him these things. If Caesar was having problems with Bearyl Lutis, then he should've taken his concerns to someone who could actually make a difference. Like Varnaz, or Allise.

Is it because of the Rune of Restoration? Maybe it's because I have a True Rune that he confided in me in such a way.

Daunte was also concerned, however, about whether or not Bearyl had found out about his talk with Caesar. Daunte hadn't told anyone about it, not even Roen, and Arin hadn't told anyone either. It didn't seem appropriate to just gossip about such a thing.

They made their way upstairs, catching snippets of conversation as usual. While most everyone still spoke positively about their chances, others were apprehensive about Lorik Varra's departure and Bearyl's proclamation that the Liberation have zero contact with Agameru. Daunte kept his head ducked and hurried upstairs.

"Don't waste my time."

Daunte paused on the top step. In front of the doors to the war room, Bearyl Lutis was addressing a man in his late forties. The man wore a black bowler hat and was dressed in a black tunic and baggy pants. A small cart was behind the man, and Daunte saw various items sticking out of it, including a soroban and a balance scale.

"My Lord, I assure you that I'm not wasting your time," the stranger told Bearyl. "It has taken me twenty years, but I've perfected this formula and I just it will be essential to the Army."

"As you have told me, Mr. Eliasen, you are not a warrior and you have no political connections," Bearyl retorted. "So I don't see how you would be essential to the Liberation Army."

"Ah," Eliasen answered. "But what I offer you is a chance to bring Nagarea into the modern age, to compete with the economies of the world. As I'm sure you're well aware, Nagarea is one of the few countries in the world that does not use the universal currency of potch. However, with my expertise." He gestured to his cart. "I've devised a way to convertNagarea's bits into potch. I've perfected the currency conversion between the two, and I can provide for you the means—"