4-50 Divulged

“Who goes there?” Amyra asked in a low voice but the individual on the other side had an acute hearing.

“The razorfish has entered the pond,” came the answer from a woman. “They came for the one hiding amongst the lilies.”

“What manner of razorfish?”

“Gold and silver.”

“Understood. The pond shall be cleared,” Amyra responded.

The woman then made a hasty retreat from the door, apparent by the noises of her brisk steps.

“The razor fish?” Erin mused.

“A predator of freshwater. They ate other fish who swam near lotuses and water lilies. Apparently, the city guards are looking for us.”

“The city guards are looking for us?” Rigetta blurted. “Corrupt guards?”

“They won’t have business with us otherwise.”

“How do they know we’re here?”

Amyra glared at Rigetta, the dwarrow Guild Master.

“You suspect me, Amyra?” Rigetta asked with a firm face.

“Either you betrayed us or you were followed.”

“I certainly don’t want to be accused of the former but for the latter reason, no one should know I’m here. As far as they are concerned, I’m still in my office signing paperwork.”

“You told no one about this meeting?”

“I…” Rigetta fell silent.

“You told someone?” Erin pressed.

“I did… My assistant… She was beside me when I got your letter from the swallow. She’s the only one I completely trust in the Guild… It can’t be… She couldn’t have…”

“Well, we’ll ascertain her innocence after we get out of here and elude the guards,” Amyra said and strode over to the corner of the room where a small vase of flowers was placed on an ornate pedestal. She lifted the vase, revealing a symbol that was carved onto the surface of the pedestal. She tapped on the symbol three times and then it began to glow. The light flowed down the pedestal, following an invisible circuit to the other corner where a shelf of decorative trinkets resided.

After the light disappeared into the back of the shelf, conjoined slits appeared on the wall, forming a rectangle that seemed to denote a detachment of a chunk of the wall. The detached chunk then spun with the middle as the pivoting point, revealing a hidden passage.

“That was such a gratuitous dragging display,” Erin muttered.

“It’s not,” Amyra retorted. “The more intricate it is, the harder it is for one to accidentally stumble on it or intentionally uncover it. Now quit dawdling, m’lady. Follow me,” she said and disappeared into the passage.

“Without any lights?” Rigetta asked.

Amyra snapped her fingers and a small drop of fire materialised on the tip of her forefinger. “If this is not enough, m’lady has Light Drop but I would recommend travelling in the dark as much as we can. Now come on, no time to lose.”

Rigetta said no more and followed Amyra into the passage.

Erin entered after Rigetta.

“See that lever beside you? Pull it down,” Amyra said.

Erin did as she was told and the wall moved back into its original position after the lever was pulled.

Together, they moved in the darkness with only the petite flame on Amyra’s fingertip as their only source of light. They were able to create more but as they were moving behind brick walls, any light too intense would inadvertently expose their location. But it wasn’t as if they couldn’t navigate in the dark. Amyra was used to the dark from her time spent training in dungeons and labyrinths. Erin had the innate ability to see in the dark. Rigetta was the only one having troubles with the dark but it wasn’t too severe. With enough time, she soon became accustomed to the passage.

“Where does this lead to?” Erin asked when the passage turned from bricks and concrete to rocks and soil.

“If nothing has changed for the past five years, we should come out to a thicket not far from the pleasure district. There used to be a shrine of Aeryo but it long since been abandoned and now it’s nothing more than a pile of ruins.”

“You’re talking about the Red Grove?” Rigetta chimed in.

“Not a grove anymore. Not since the death of Aeryo.”

“You’re familiar with the place, Rigetta?”

“Not personally but I have heard it used to be a wonderful place for picnics. It’s a Grove in the truest sense but it was a Grove where the public was allowed to enter, by the good will of Aeryo. But after the Dragon God’s death… it became just another common thicket out of the lot in the valley and the people, of course, lost interest in it.”

“Thanks to that, we don’t have to worry about stumbling onto random people when we come out of this tunnel, hopefully,” Amyra muttered the last word.

But naturally, it did not escape Erin’s hearing. “Hopefully?” she questioned.

“Just a random mulling, m’lady.”

“Is there something you neglect to tell me?”

“Rest assured, m’lady. There isn’t… I hoped.”

“Amyra, what did you do?”

“It’s nothing huge, m’lady.”

“Amyra…” Erin uttered. “Tell me now, or suffer a harsh punishment later.”

“Alright, fine. I confessed, m’lady. I may have brought one or two whores to that place to— you get the gist, m’lady.”

“You meant to tell me that you brought whores to a place where no one is supposed to be? May I know why?”

“Um… it’s thrilling?”

Erin sighed. “This discussion is not over.”

“Please don’t tell his lordship.”

“If the place isn’t compromised, I won’t.”

The tunnel they were treading through eventually came to an end. A large boulder stood in their path but it was no hitch for them. With ease, Amyra moved the boulder out of the way and they emerged into a small patch of pale red trees that looked to be on the verge of completely withering.

The first thing Erin did upon exiting the tunnel was to scour the area, making sure no one other than them was present in the thicket.

Amyra knew she dodged an arrow when she noticed Erin’s shoulders loosened and her tails slackened. “We’re in the clear?”

“For now. Which way is the Grove?”

“That way,” Amyra pointed to their right.

“I guess this is where our paths diverge. I need to head back to the guild.”

“Are you sure?” Erin asked. “You can come with us.”

“No, she can’t,” Amyra interjected immediately.

“It’s alright, Lady Erin. I have to go. I need to know how much of the guild is compromised and whether my trust has been misplaced.”

“Well, if you insist, Rigetta, I will not stop you. Good luck. Till we meet again.”

“Till we meet again, Lady Erin,” Rigetta returned the bidding and was about to head off when Erin suddenly put a hand on her shoulder. “Lady Erin?”

“Footsteps,” Erin said. “Approaching us.” She then glared at Amyra.

“Oops?” uttered the Augur in response.

“Amyra’s lady friends?” Rigetta asked.

“Unfortunately, no,” Erin answered. “Unless her friends had a peculiar and unison gait.”

“Then, it’s not my fault, right?”

“I didn’t take you for a dullard, Amyra. Why do you think they know where to look? It’s because they questioned your known associates, that’s why.”

“Damn it… you’re not as dim as his lordship says.”

Erin glowered. “I’m going to have a nice word with Aedan after this.”

As soon as those words left her lips, a group of armed guards flooded into the thicket. With the amount of armour they were wearing and the heavy weapons they were carrying, Rigetta could hear them now even when they were still some distance away.

“There’s a lot of them,” Rigetta muttered. “Dispatching so many guards for unlawful reasons, the royal court is bound to catch wind of this. The viceroy would not be able to get off scot-free. And this is very unlikely of him. Rylan Grid is never one to be brazen. He would have no excuse for this.”

“Which means he’s desperate. The Covenant must be pressuring him into cooperating. But we can worry about that later. Right now, we should figure out how to slip out of here unnoticed. Any ideas, Amyra? Preferably one that hasn’t been compromised.”

“Uncompromised ideas? My sweet lady, you still don’t know me well,” Amyra said with a smug grin tinged with imminent dread.

Erin sighed and buried her face in her palm. “What were you thinking…?”

“I wasn’t. I didn’t think that my life would get this exciting.”

“Alright alright, escape first, blame later. Since we don’t have a choice, where should we go, Amyra?”

“The ruins of the shrine. There are plenty of covers there. It will be the first place they’ll look but I know where to hide.”

“Then take us there.”

Amyra nodded and led the way. The three infused Mana into their bodies and made extreme haste for the shrine. Fortunately, they arrived before the enclosing guards could. The shrine had been a wonder and a sight for sore eyes but now it was nothing more than a dilapidated pile of remains of a once marvellous place of worship. Erin couldn’t help but feel a little saddened by what the shrine once was.

However, in spite of its everlasting degradation, it was still a gathering spot for Spirits. An idea popped into Erin’s head then.

“Ah, bollocks,” Amyra swore.

“What now?” Rigetta inquired with a frown.

“See that pile of rubble? That’s where we were supposed to hide. Damn the elements.”

“Contingency places or corners?”

“It won’t be enough to fool the guards. They may be indolent most time but they are still trained and mildly experienced. Those secondary hiding spots won’t elude them. Looks like we have no choice but to fight them.”

“Nonsense,” Erin scoffed frivolously with a smirk. “We still have another option.”

“You do, m’lady? What is it?”

“Just watch,” Erin said and began gathering the Spirits. With the amount of Spirits amassing, even those without Spirit Sight were able to perceive them. A soft yet vibrant glow began to form and grow in between her clasped palms.

“Ah, clever,” Amyra exclaimed softly in awe.

“Twilight Shroud,” Erin chanted and spread her arms wide, scattering the Spirits in all directions, dousing the area in drops of cyan glitters. “Let’s hope it works,” Erin muttered.

“We’ll see.” Amyra shrugged.

“Illusion spell?” Rigetta asked.

“Sort of, but at present, it’s more of a camouflage.”

Soon enough, the guards trod into the ruins with brisk and hurried steps as if time was against them.

The three held their breaths instinctively as they watched with trepidation at the guards roaming and eyeing the ruined shrine with scrutiny. The officer of the group shouted his orders, promising his men that they would not be able to return until they found them or simply a clue.

Their faces told Erin they didn’t want to be here but as they had already taken the bribe, they had no choice. They trained their gazes on each corner and spot they would most likely be able to hide a person or two. They looked high and low, searched every nook and cranny, but they came up with nothing.

Erin, Amyra, and Rigetta were in fact just standing in the middle of the shrine, huddling close together. Aside from their breathing, which they made as quietly as possible, they moved not a single inch of their body.

“No sign of them here, sir,” said a guard after a good ten minutes of searching the ruins and turning over every rock and boulder.

“Impossible, they must be here. That pink cotton whore told us the secret passage leads to this place.”

Erin and the other two widened their eyes.

“Cotton whore?” Erin muttered in a whisper.

“Pink hair with cotton-like hair, he meant. I think I know who’s the squealer. Pinea, she was once a harlot but left that life to become a follower of Aeryo. But she disappeared one day, leaving us a letter telling us she wanted a life not bound to a dead god.” Amyra chuckled. “But it seems she has turned coat.”

“Thank the Divines…” Rigetta breathed easily.

Meanwhile, the guards’ conversation continued. “She could be lying, sir,”

“She’s not. She won’t dare to. We already have the place surrounded. They are not back in the brothel, so they must be here. We will not leave this place until we find them. Double your efforts.”

“Yes, sir. Right away, sir,” the guard said in attention and resumed his search.

“Well, that’s unfortunate. They won’t be leaving any time soon. What now?” Amyra asked.

Erin sighed. “Plan B,” she muttered with a reluctant expression.