{-Noa-}

Heists were just as thrilling as they were mildly anxiety-inducing. Not like this could really be called a heist. It was more of a “randomly come in there, demand a couple of things, and really, really hope no one bothered to fight back.” At least to Noa.

But all of that growing anxiety was actually proven to be worth it for once, as they were actually able to get somewhere. For practically the entire time, it felt like they were only getting breadcrumbs about Mira’s whereabouts. Now, they were being led by the very person who, by the sounds of it, had put her here.

And he didn’t seem too unwilling to actually let them walk away afterwards.

The leader of the mercenaries led them to a small hallway that, after two turns left, lead down a flight of stairs.

“You can rest assured, I’m not going to trap you down there,” the leader remarked. He undoubtedly noticed Rennyn’s expression, where a bit of panic was seeping into the overall cool appearance. “There’s at least three other staircases leading down there, and a hatch that will lead you directly to the top. I don’t think I’m going to get a paycheck if you end up getting murdered.”

Rennyn still didn’t seem too convinced, but Kaylin put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay,” she tried, though they probably all knew it wouldn’t mean much. “We’re only going to go down there, find Lady Mira, and leave again. I don’t think we have any reason to think anything else will happen.”

“Aside from the memories, you mean,” he mumbled back.

Almost begrudgingly, she responded, “Aside from the memories.” She paused, then remarked, “But even that isn’t going to make too much of a difference. Those were all in the past—they have nothing to do with now. Just because it happened once doesn’t mean it’s going to happen again.”

His expression made it pretty clear that he didn’t really believe her, but he made a step towards the stairs anyway. “I’ll take the lead, and Seldir should be in the back. The three of you need to stay in at least one of our lines of sight, preferably both.”

They all gave nods or mumbles of their agreement.

“You’re all acting like I’ve got fifteen dead bodies down there,” the leader muttered. “And you’re wasting time with your meaningless plans. I thought you wanted Mira back as soon as possible? So come on.”

He led the way down the stairs without saying another word, then making a turn at the bottom. The place was surprisingly well-lit, all things considered, and it was clear that he wasn’t lying about all the other exits—Noa was able to see at least two other staircases on their way to wherever Mira was.

The leader stopped at a specific door and fumbled through his set of keys. “Take the cellar door back out,” he said. “And if anyone asks? I actually had a spine and fought you, you got the best of me, and you took Mira back. But I’m not dumb enough to try to stand in the way of someone who probably won’t know when to stop.” Finally, he seemed to find the key that he was looking for, and he unlocked the door and pushed it open. “If you don’t need me anymore, I’ll leave you to it. Quite frankly, you’re freaking me out just being this close to me…”

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And then he left.

When Noa worked up the courage to peer into the room, he was expecting to see something unnerving. Maybe he was thinking it would look like a jail cell, or an otherwise barren room with nothing but Mira and some flimsy excuse of a bed. And maybe he thought she’d be bound and gagged, or otherwise stopped from talking, to keep anyone from noticing her.

Instead, what he saw was what could’ve passed as a room at an inn, with who must’ve been Mira casually reading a book in the armchair. There was a tray of tea beside her, complete with biscuits, and the room was just as well-lit as the others in the hallway. She certainly looked to be much more like a guest than a prisoner, complete with an apparent lack of concern about her present situation.

“Lady Mira, we’re here to bring you back to the capital,” Rennyn announced.

Mira looked up, offered a small smile, and marked her place in her book. “So you’re the ones that Merith sent? I’m surprised he chose someone other than soldiers this time. Mercenaries, I assume?” But as she stood up, she must’ve noticed everyone else just outside the door, and she curiously tilted her head. “Isn’t that… Lord Noa back there?”

“It, ah, it’s me,” he responded nervously. “So, as you can probably imagine from that fact, we’re a little more than just mercenaries…”

“So you’re the group that Queen Vaeri wanted us to keep an eye out for, then? I don’t recall being given much in ways of descriptions, just that Lord Noa would be with you.”

“We’re those people—were you told about how we’re on our way to stopping Dhymos? It’s more or less why we’re here.” After a moment, he added, “And, as much as I appreciate you getting my name and title right, just Noa’s fine. I think we all prefer to keep it casual.”

Mira nodded. “Just Noa it is, then. You know, you’ve grown a lot since the last time I saw you. Seems you’ve finally found some friends.” She began to walk out of the room. “You were told about the exit out of here, weren’t you? I know where a few of them are, but not the one directly out.”

“The leader told us,” Rennyn mumbled. “But if you knew about an exit, why didn’t you try leaving? I get that it looked pretty comfortable in there, but you were still being held against your will. Who knows what they could’ve done to you.”

“Oh, I do know,” she responded casually. “They wouldn’t have done anything. They never have before, and I doubt that it ever crossed their mind to change that.”

Though a bit cautious, Seldir remarked, “Sounds like this isn’t your first time dealing with stuff like this. Does this happen often?”

“When you’re the one considerate person in a court of self-centered egomaniacs, you paint a very large target on your back.” Despite all the seriousness the topic should’ve called for, she still didn’t change her tone. It was like she was simply talking about the weather. “So, no, things like this certainly aren’t new to me. I’ve been dealing with kidnapping, assassination attempts, and general setbacks since I took up a position in the council.”

“And that doesn’t bother you?” Lyrei prompted.

“It did at first, I suppose,” Mira responded thoughtfully. “But after a while, it just became a part of the routine. Merith will do anything but actually attempt to hurt me, because he knows what the people will do if he does. This is simply one of his ways of getting me out of the castle for a little bit… though he always brings me back before he does anything drastic. He likely assumes that, if he took advantage of my absence like that, it would lead to a similar outcome as simply killing me would.”

Kaylin seemed to think about it for a couple of moments. “None of that makes sense. If he doesn’t truly do anything without you, then why would he go through all of the trouble to take you away then bring you back..? It’s only going to cause more reason for conflict later down the line, which it seems like he’s trying to avoid…”

“Your guess is as good as mine, I’m afraid,” Mira said. “I don’t ever want to get close to understanding him. The only thing he and the other two council members know is what they want personally—and they’re willing to do whatever they need to get to that point, regardless of how it affects the others around them.”

“That’s fair enough, I suppose. People like that really aren’t worth trying to figure out anyway…” Kaylin shook her head. “There is one thing we’d like to ask of you, though. Do you know where we can find the Goddess’s Shield?”