{-Kaylin-}

The rendezvous point was just outside of the city—in fact, it was the same street they passed every time they wanted to go in and out of it. It all felt… a little too obvious. Surely someone would’ve noticed something if anything had happened here? The five of them had asked around this area when they were first trying to locate Lady Mira; everyone they talked to denied knowing anything.

There were usually only two ways these kinds of things played out: it was all done because the people responsible were sloppy, or because they wanted whoever ended up looking to think they were. Rennyn was undoubtedly thinking the same thing, too, because she had to make sure she kept an eye on him in case he ran off. She could tell that he was thinking about it—unluckily for him, though, so did everyone else, and they all seemed ready to at least distract him if they needed to.

As alert and nervous as he was, though, he didn’t seem too willing to talk to people.

That’s why Kaylin took the initiative, and walked up to the first vendor that was explicitly marked on the map. And given that the news had definitely spread over here, she also didn’t bother dancing around the truth. “Good morning. We’re trying to find Lady Mira, and we gained some intel that she may have disappeared around here. Did you see her or any other suspicious individuals before or after her disappearance?”

The shopkeeper thought about it for a little bit, then shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. If they didn’t come to my stand, then it’s very likely I didn’t pay any attention to them—my motto is that the customer always takes first priority. You know, there was this one time when people were starting to set up for a parade, and a float with a giant chicken came by—“ He stopped when he noticed her expression, though, and instead let out a nervous chuckle. “Right, you’re not here for my stories. Well, while you are here, might I interest you in something? You’re going to need some energy if you’re going to be finding Lady Mira, and I happen to have the best energy-boosting snacks on this side of Astiri!”

Kaylin offered a small, but clearly fake, smile and said, “I think we’ll pass for today. Thank you for your help, though.”

“But before we officially go.” Seldir stepped up beside her. “Do you know where the guards usually end up patrolling? They’re bound to have seen something.”

The shopkeeper pointed further down the street. “Around there is where their base is. It’ll be too difficult to try to explain all of the areas they end up lurking in, so that place is probably where you should go. Besides, seeing Lady Mira would’ve definitely been something they’d report—the attendants there are more likely to know something than any one guard would.”

“We’ll check it out, thanks.”

As they all started to walk away in that direction, the shopkeeper called, “Oh, and best of luck to you! I hope you’re able to find her, we’re all rather worried.”

“We’ll do our best, at least.”

Then they all walked away and towards where the shopkeeper pointed. It wasn’t too hard to figure out what he was referring to; the building was rather clearly marked, and guards went in and out of it regularly. Then, once they were at the door, they could see the sign stating that any citizen with problems could come there. Rennyn was the first to enter, pushing the door open into a nice-looking lobby considering its location.

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Someone—a guard, by the look of it—walked up to them and prompted, “Is there something you need?”

“We’re the people King Merith has told to try to find Lady Mira,” Kaylin explained. “Someone else said that you’d be the best people to ask about if anyone’s seen her or any other suspicious individuals.”

The guard seemed surprised at first—or maybe it was some kind of amusement?—then shrugged. “I’m one of the ones that are supposed to be recording everything that comes in and out of this place. As far as I’m aware, there’s been no sign of Lady Mira—we would’ve already sent the news to King Merith of anyone had reported it. Where’d you learn that she was here, anyway? Some old guy who really needs to get out more?”

“We might look young, but we aren’t stupid,” Rennyn pointed out. It was almost surprising that he said anything at all. “You’re hiding something. If you actually want something to get done, you’re going to tell us what you know.”

The guard didn’t seem fazed, and his response proved it. “Dunno what you think you’re capable of doing, but your fake intimidation tactics aren’t going to work with me. You’ll have better luck running back to whatever grandparents you heard all your other stories from.”

Seldir stepped up. “You might think you’re doing what you need to preserve your pride and status now, but things could quickly get a lot worse if you decide to go down this route… Things that include a whole bunch of angry people if it turns out that Lady Mira’s hurt somewhere. You might not think a lot of them, but they’re more capable than you think they are—and they’ll be more than willing to make sure you know what role you played in it.”

Oddly enough, Kaylin wasn’t expecting that kind of threat out of him; it seemed a bit more like what Rennyn, if he weren’t fully aware of the circumstances, might say. But it was ultimately for the better—Seldir was, after all, the bigger and, by appearance, strongest of them. Compared to the others, he had to have been a much more obvious threat.

The guard didn’t say anything for a minute. At first, his expression didn’t change, and it seemed like he might not be fazed at all; slowly, however, it changed, as the full weight of it sunk in.

“Alright, alright! Fine, you got me. I kind of know something.” He looked around the area, though, as if he expected someone else. “But it’s not a lot. All I know is that, yes, Lady Mira was here with a couple of guys—I think they called themselves mercs. And there might’ve been this other guy with them, but they didn’t spend too long talking to him. The mercs and Lady Mira went out of town to the west, I think, but the other guy was here for a while longer.”

“This other guy,” Rennyn began. It seemed he didn’t acknowledge Kaylin’s look that it wasn’t exactly important right now. “What did he look like?”

The guard shrugged. “I dunno, some suspicious guy. I don’t remember too many of the details, just that he wasn’t someone we see around recently. If I remember right… reports mentioned him being tall. Light brown hair. Wearing some kind of cloak—might’ve been purple.”

Rennyn turned to the others. “That must be Viragi. We have to—”

“Our first priority should be finding Lady Mira,” Kaylin said. “We can worry about Dhymos’s minions later. As far as we can tell, they’re not directly involved in this, so we can afford to ignore them for a little bit.”

“But what if they are involved?”

“Then we’ll come across them naturally on our way to her.”

It seemed, however, that he wasn’t willing to take that as an answer. Or, perhaps, he felt like he couldn’t. He turned his attention back to the guard and asked, “Do you know where Viragi went after that? You only said he stayed for a little while, but he must’ve gone somewhere.”

“I can’t say for sure,” the guard began, “but I think it was the east. That’s my guess from what other people have told me, at least. As far as I’m aware, there’s no official note of where he went. After he stopped talking to the mercs, he wasn’t important enough for it.”