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| - (Camera descends until Castle Krakenburg is in full view. It then transitions to the throne room)
* Iago: Hmph. So the little snake has slithered out of our grasp once more... How did that ragtag team manage to make it through the Wind Tribe village?! One of their ranks should have lost a leg or at least an arm by now! Yet they are all in perfect health and high spirits. How utterly disappointing. King Garon must be furious. As his advisor, it is my duty to set things right. Luckily, their next stop is a fitting location for Avatar's fall from grace. The Eternal Stairway, rumored to lead straight to hell. Heh, it's too perfect! I wonder how many friends and loved ones our little prince/princess will lose there... Prepare to drown in your despair, Lord/Lady Avatar. Your king and I look forward to feasting upon your cries of agony! (At the Eternal Stairway. The Nohrian royals, except for Xander, appear on the map)
* Avatar: Ugh, so many stairs. Just a shot in the dark here, but is this the Eternal Stairway?
* Azura: It is. Once we make it through here, we'll be near the Hoshidan castle. Soldiers will undoubtedly be awaiting our arrival, but this path is our only option. We'll have to break through their numbers by sheer force of will.
* Avatar: And so we shall... Well, let's get on with it. (Felicia and Jakob appear)
* Felicia: M-milord/milady! We have an emergency!!
* Avatar: Let me guess... Hoshidan soldiers?
* Felicia: Um, well, yes! But... I mean, no? It's a little... Oh boy. So! The thing is... Um...
* Jakob: Quiet, Felicia. Your stammering isn't helping anyone. Milord/Milady, we scouted ahead as ordered. We found a great many Hoshidan soldiers... All dead. The stairs up ahead are littered with their corpses.
* Avatar: Gods... What happened?!
* Felicia: W-we're not sure. They all appear to be healthy, strong warriors. And yet there's not a single survivor. It's...it's awful to behold.
* Avatar: Perhaps Father sent another unit of Nohrian soldiers ahead of us...
* Jakob: Highly unlikely, milord/milady. There's no way they could have passed us unnoticed. The only other route into Hoshido requires crossing the Bottomless Canyon... But they would have had to circle back, so we still would have gotten here first.
* Camilla: A tragedy to be sure, but this works out quite nicely for us. Having our enemy taken care of before we even arrive is a huge boon. We should take advantage of this and get going before more troops arrive.
* Leo: Agreed. These soldiers would have fallen anyway—better that it's not by our hands. We should be grateful that someone saved us the trouble of a tiring battle.
* Avatar: I suppose. But... (A growl is heard)
* Avatar: Huh?! What's that sound? (Faceless appear)
* Faceless: GRRRAAARRRGHH!!
* Avatar: Faceless! Here?!
* Felicia: Oh no, oh no, oh no! There are too many of them, and they're headed right for us!
* Jakob: Damn! So this is what befell those Hoshidan soldiers. We must not let the same thing happen to us, Felicia, follow me! (Felicia and Jakob run toward the Faceless, and Jakob defeats one of them)
* Faceless: RAAAAARGH!!
* Felicia: Take that! AND THAT! (Felicia defeats another Faceless)
* Faceless: Grrraaargh... (New Faceless replace the fallen ones)
* Avatar: It's no use! There are too many of them! Everyone, pull back! We can't win this battle!
* Elise: We can't leave! They've got us surrounded! (More Faceless appear from behind)
* Avatar: We're trapped...
* Camilla: Oh, Father... Did you really have to send quite so many of these beasties?
* Leo: Camilla, this is no joking matter!
* Xander: Something's not right... Even Father wouldn't dispatch this many Faceless to one location. There's more at play here than we know.
* Avatar: We'll figure it out later! For now, we need to concentrate on making it out alive. All we can do is carve through the Faceless and head for the top of the stairs. Everyone, watch each other's backs. I won't lose any of you! I WON'T!
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