{-Rennyn-}

It was hard to stay focused through it, but he managed. Barely. He thought he saw unpleasantly familiar faces—those of foes, of Dhymos—but he chose to convince himself that they were not real. Or, if they were real, he needed to stay on guard. He couldn’t fall prey to memories here.

He needed to know what they might be up against, that’s the sole reason for his question. It felt like it took painfully long for one of them to answer it, though.

“No,” Seldir responded. “I was too busy making sure Lyrei stayed safe.”

“I didn’t hear any windows breaking or anything,” Lyrei recalled. “I know for a fact there weren’t any other exits he could’ve gone through there, though.”

“Is there a chance he’s still in there?” Rennyn asked.

“Unless he’s got more seemingly-impossible skills, then it’s pretty likely. Plenty of guards were stationed nearby before and there’s got to be triple that amount now. They mentioned evacuating everyone but, if he’s stealthy enough, he might be able to avoid getting caught. But he won’t be able to leave without making a bigger scene.”

“You’re sure?”

“I mean, not really. But trust me, I can’t think of any discreet way he could’ve gotten out of there. I have that place memorized.”

Noa took the opportunity to ask, “Are you really that familiar with the Archives? Do you visit a lot?”

Lyrei nodded. “I guess that’s the simpler way to put it. I’ve spent most of my life there, since both of my parents are archivists. That, and I… didn’t usually have a chance to leave very often.”

“That’s why I’m here,” Seldir explained casually. “To keep her out of trouble. Like the exact opposite of what this is going to turn out to be.”

“We’re right where we’re supposed to be! With old friends!” she argued in a hushed voice, as if that changed anything. “What bad could happen from that?”

Rennyn was quick to respond with, “Anything, really. Seldir’s right—if you were a target before you were with us, you definitely are now that we’re together. Things are only going to get worse from here.”

He had the memories to back it up. But even knowing that they believed the truth of his past lives, they could—and will, frankly—ignore the warnings they brought with them.

Kaylin asked a question of a somewhat-related vein. “So, if you’ve more or less spent your whole life in Zaitha, do you know anything about what’s happening now? I’ve noticed a lot of guards even before the fire. Did something else happen that we hadn’t heard about..?”

Lyrei glanced at the streets, as if she’d never noticed it before. Perhaps she didn’t, if she truly didn’t leave the Archives as much as it sounded like she did. “Oh, all of those guys? They’re pretty standard at times like these. A lot of shops and things run events during this time of year—probably related to the harvest season. Queen Vaeri likes being prepared so there’s often more guards around in order to make sure everything goes well.”

“Well, usually…” Seldir mumbled. He shook his head and continued a bit louder. “Lyrei’s right for the most part, but it was more than usual. I had that kind of question for myself, honestly—if there’s something Queen Vaeri knows that we don’t. I definitely haven’t heard of any news that would warrant the extra guards.”

“Has Dhymos already been here..?” Rennyn hated to say it, but it was said before he could stop himself. A sense of panic rose and was hard to beat down again as he turned to Kaylin. “Do you think he knows what the goddesses wanted us to find? Is there a chance he’s already taken it from Queen Vaeri?”

She treated this much more calmly. In fact, she didn’t seem to realize what his concern was for in the first place. “If no one’s heard about the reason behind extra guards, then no one’s heard of a break-in. I don’t think ‘someone taking something from the queen’ will go unnoticed. Especially if it’s something as important as the ring would be.”

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“Can, uh… someone explain what you’re muttering about?” Lyrei prompted. “I don’t think I follow.”

“Along with all five of us, the goddesses told Rennyn and Kaylin that they had to find five items,” Noa explained. “Each of them were gifted to the nations’ founders—a sword, a ring, a shield, a set of armor, and a helmet. We got the sword from Lord Aymer and we’re currently trying to figure out a way to get the ring from Queen Vaeri.”

“Oh, then I can definitely assure you nothing like that’s happened,” she remarked casually.

Rennyn did not believe any bit of it. “And what makes you so confident about it?” They couldn’t let Dhymos get another step ahead of them here—he was already too far. At this rate…

No, they weren’t going to lose again.

Not that saying that really helped things either.

“We’d know,” was Lyrei’s simple response. She really didn’t know the seriousness of the situation, did she?

“Know how?” Rennyn urged. “Be more specific than that. How can you confirm that Dhymos doesn’t have the ring?”

She shrugged. “Queen Vaeri may not have been very… public lately, but she’s still open about everything that’s going on. It doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad, everyone in Zaitha knows. Even if, on the off chance she didn’t say anything, and something was stolen, there’d be even more guards around.”

“While there are more guards, it’s not in the right places if something was stolen,” Seldir agreed. “They wouldn’t be more in general, there’d be more in specific places—like the palace and the Archives. Otherwise it spreads defenses too thin if the intention is to protect something.”

Rennyn just had to tell himself, then, that they still had a chance. “Back around to the original question… is there any way we can learn where the fire-manipulating guy is? If he’s working with Dhymos—and he undoubtedly is—it’s better to know what his plans are here.”

Seldir considered it, then gave his answer cautiously. “There’s always the guards. If anyone’s going to know something about him, then it’s going to be them. Especially since the fire, they’re probably pulling up records of sightings of weird or unfamiliar people.” He paused. “Actually, it’s almost a little surprising they haven’t called in witnesses. They wouldn’t just be content with interviewing the ones who are still in the Archive, especially not if someone mentions me or Lyrei…”

“What do you think that could mean, then?” Kaylin prompted. “Is there a chance that they already know who did it?”

Rennyn didn’t need an answer even for the possibility. He immediately stood up. “None of us are going to learn the answer by just standing around here. Let’s get going—the sooner we can figure out what he’s doing, the better. It looks like they’re starting to send people home so we have to be quick.”

He didn’t really think of waiting for any of them; in fact, a part of him felt like it would be better if they stayed there. They’d be safe where they’re out of his way. Who knows what dangers they might come across…

But he heard Kaylin say something that, even though he wasn’t paying attention to what it was, got everyone else to follow him too. Any comfort he might’ve gained from knowing that they were doing this as a team, however, had lost its meaning after so many painful memories.

The only thing keeping him from pushing through the thinning crowds was that he didn’t want to lose them. Seldir looked capable, but Rennyn couldn’t be sure of that—only he was prepared for whatever Dhymos might do. He only slightly slowed down, though, just to make sure they knew that he wasn’t going to waste any more time.

After a minute, Seldir came up beside him and remarked, “I know where one of their stations are. It’s the closest to the Archives so it’s the most likely to have people looking into that.” At Rennyn’s nod, Seldir took the lead, though he had one last thing to say. “Let me do at least a bit of the talking, alright? I’ve done a couple of jobs for the guard before. Plus, they’d take us a bit more seriously if someone a bit older asked about it.”

“I can assure you, you’d be underestimating me if you think I’m naive because of my age,” Rennyn mumbled.

“Not like acting a bit closer to someone your age would be a bad thing…” Kaylin said in a near-whisper. While there was concern in it, it was practically like he didn’t hear it at all.

Seldir shrugged. “I never said I was underestimating you. But kids like you, coming from Elatenes? Their job makes them believe that you’re just trying to play pranks on them.”

Well, there wasn’t too much room to argue with that logic. Rennyn instead instructed, “Just keep it simple and to the point. All we want to do is get the information we need. We’re not trying to impose on their investigation.”