What Is Done

Chapter 30 - A Gilded Cage

Essaerae and I had ducked behind a run-down store. I had to catch my breath pretty quickly. We minded what happened when Sellion was blindfolded, and Ersli cuffed and led him away.

"You've seriously never ran in your whole life?" Essaerae asked me in a disapproving way.

I placed a hand on my chest to track my heart beats. They slowed as I took deep breaths. "Think about it. How often do I need to run?"

"I would think a lot considering how many assassins have broken into the castle over the years."

"The last attack from the I'Rūttiné was four years ago."

"And the previous one was less than a year before that. My point exactly," Essaerae said. "Now that I think about it, it unsettles me that it's been four years since the last attack."

"Oh, I'Rūttiné-Jíngost tends to disappear for years at a time to plan their next attack along with their leader." I continued to track my breaths. I turned my attention to Sellion and Ersli when my heart rate returned to normal.

"Morcane?" Essaerae suggested. I gave a gesture that implied a yes. "At least you get breaks in between and don't have to worry about someone sneaking up on you with a crossbow for a while."

"Right..."

We witnessed Sellion willingly go with Ersli. We witnessed her tie a blindfold around his head and cuff him like a prisoner—something he'd never willingly do. I needed to know what the catch was.

"We ought to follow them," I said quietly. "Perhaps we can save Sellion from doing anything more foolish before they throw him in a vat of acid."

Essaerae's lips curled into a smile at the thought of Sellion drowning in acid due to his own stupidity. "Okay."

---

Essaerae and I quietly followed Ersli and Sellion to a gang's hideout, the building the farthest south in town. It was built to appear to look like a retailer yet bore no name like a store or a tavern. The front appeared to be constructed like a warehouse, wind-powered fans and all.

We crawled into the ceiling rafters upon entering. It was silent inside. The air was still. The building had been bare except for a chair where Sellion sat. Ersli and Noa stood on either side of him. They seemed as if they were waiting for something to happen.

 Sellion asked, writhing his wrists against the restraints enough to indicate he was still tied up.

"Yes," Noa replied.

"Do I have to be blindfolded still?"

"Yes," Ersli replied.

As Sellion was about to ask another daft question, the dwarf who'd been riding Maehara waltzed in. "Guys! Look what I found in the saddlebags!" She held my crown in its gilding light. She had wild, frizzy hair covered by a beanie. She wore a heavy leather outfit like most dwarves did, including metal greaves. The two elves wore similar adventurer's leather with fur lining. The only difference was Ersli's accent color was purple. 

Essaerae held me back, placing her hand against my chest. "Don't do something rash." She whispered, soothingly. I huffed and exhaled my nose. My heart started beating rapidly, a bit unused to a woman's touch. Once I calmed it down, we continued to listen without interrupting.

"Isn't that the crown from the elf that Fotdrouk pointed at yelling about a royal elf?"

The dwarf nodded giddily while biting her lower lip. 

"Grindel," Noa's complaint was implied and her inflection on the last part of the dwarf's name. 

"What, no? We could sell it for a ton of money!" Grindel had a greedy grin on her face. She held my crown up to the light, admiring its golden shimmer. "I bet it's worth that royal's ransom in gold! No, no, platinum!"