I suppose I could go alone, leave them here to recuperate and follow later.”
The Ahbiren would have a fit if he heard that idea.
“What about a trip by path?” Grae pressed. “I finished one yesterday.”
From within the depths of the house came a deep, gravelly voice, “Miss Lirah, we have the strength for that.”
Lirah glanced back, visibly hesitant.
Wolf, seeing that, ruthlessly added more pressure. “The guild that attacked you was ordered not to kill you, to just rough you up. But the situation has changed.”
“The true mastermind behind the attack is basically known, so the original plan of framing someone has failed,” Lirah finished heavily, shoulders slumped as if the weight of the world rested there. “It’s only a matter of time before our nameless enemy realizes this and switches to a new plan, which might not leave us with our lives. That’s what you mean, isn’t it?”
Siobhan could only nod grimly. “We have a small window to get under cover. Iron Dragain is our nearest refuge.”
“Miss Lirah,” a female voice from within the house called weakly, “we must go.”
Lirah looked off blankly into the distance for some time. With one hand raised in surrender, she capitulated. “Siobhan, send word ahead. Have Iron Dragain guard us as we go into the city.”
Not a bad thought, that one. “Will do. Rune, Grae, let’s go back.”
Wolf made a noise of protest.
“Yes, yes, you can come too.” Wolf still didn’t trust Rune out of his sight, eh? Or maybe it was the idea of her going into a city with known assassins lurking in the shadows that made him paranoid.
Either way, they all were a little safer in larger groups.
They made the return trip by path and were back in Sateren within minutes. This time, Siobhan tried to mentally rehearse what to say, how to approach explaining all of this to where it would make sense and not take a lot of time. She didn’t pay strict attention to where they were going, trusting Rune to lead her there safely.
At least, she didn’t pay attention until they ran smack into a tall, imposing gate of black iron that barred their path.
Two tall, very daunting men in black uniform stepped forward, hands on sword hilts, and demanded in near unison, “What business do you have here?”
Siobhan stepped around Rune to answer, “I am Siobhan Maley, Guildmaster of Deepwoods and spokeswoman for Lirah Darrens of Blackstone. I must speak with your guildmaster. NOW.”
The guard on her left looked confused by this rattling of names, but the one on the right clearly recognized enough to understand the urgency. His eyes widened and he nodded once before spinning around sharply, calling to the guards on the other side of the gate, “Open the gate! Let them through!”
As the tall gate slowly swung open, Siobhan’s eyes caught the crest wrought in the middle. She recognized the dagger with the dragon twined around it very well. Oh. Rune had taken her directly to Iron Dragain’s main compound? Well, that was the best option, she supposed.
The guards let her through, one pair splitting off and escorting them across the compound. Siobhan took in the place with glances as she tried to match the quick pace the guards had set. Like every other section of this city, the compound didn’t have any spare space. Buildings were crowded against each other, so tightly that a person could barely squeeze in between. Most of them were built of the same grey stone, the roofs black and sloping along the edges before rising to a sharp peak. The whole place reeked of intimidation, which she rather expected out of a Wynngaardian guild.
Also in accordance with Sateren tradition, the paths leading in and around the buildings had more curves and switchbacks than the wrinkles on an old woman’s face. Siobhan’s sense of direction got lost after the third turn, and she knew without a shadow of a doubt that it would take a guide to get her back to the main gate again.
Oh? This building looked different. And by different, she meant larger. Instead of a small building crowded in, this one sprawled in every direction, rising a full two stories, with a smaller version of an iron gate around it. Guards also stood here, forcing her to repeat herself nearly verbatim. This time, they didn’t immediately let her through but called for someone to come.
It took a few minutes, but eventually a middle-aged man with a dignified bearing and slight limp came down the