Lady Silmariel Quel'silith wandered into the barracks, seemingly on top of the world, for the cat-that-got-the-cream look on her face. She hummed softly to herself as she approached the Commander's office, giving what might now be a fairly familiar knock on the door.
No response came from the other side of the gate. No sounds of someone standing up from a chair, or armored footsteps either. "Dame Commander is in the training yard, M'Lady.", one Guardian, an older human fellow with a balding head and a grizzled look, bluntly said to the Highborne in passing, while walking around the barracks and going about his own business. Lyrena was certainly there too. Observing a few of her comrades as they trained. Discussing tactics together. Their gazes alerted her that someone was waiting for her outside her office. And indeed, the Dame Commander noticed a familiar figure through the glassless window. She waved with a hand in case Silmariel saw, indicating to the Lady to wait for her there. "Lady Silmariel.", Lyrena greeted when close enough. "What brings you here today? Should we speak in there, or?", she asked, her head briefly dipping in the direction of her chambers.
Lady Silmariel Quel'silith turned, glancing up as the Dame Commander approached, "Ah, there you are. Yes, in your office would be best, I think. I hope I'm not interrupting your duties."
Lyrena Auberan nodded, and with that, approached the door to her office - opening it and letting the Highborne step inside before she herself followed suit. "I imagine you have heard by now that the men have returned.", she said while closing the door behind them, and approaching her chair. "And what they have found.", she added. "Three children. Two boys and a girl. They are upstairs in the living quarters. In decent health, but underfed and afraid. Two Guardians are already out in the city to summon their families here."
Lady Silmariel Quel'silith followed her inside. "Yes, I had heard the expedition was complete," she answered, moving to the opposite chair. She smiled widely on hearing the news. "I had not heard about the children," she answered. "I expected you would not find the visitor, but I'd hoped there would be something to make the effort worth your while. It warms my heart to hear that these children are safe."
Lyrena Auberan put away her axe, leaning it against the wall behind her, after which the Blood elf sat down with a bit of a heavy thud, on account of all her armor. "The visitor.", she reiterated Silmariel's words, about to brief the Lady on that as well. "Nothing. No traces of green magic. No obvious attacks or murders. A couple of scoundrels tried to lie to my men, either for their amusement, or hoping for a purse of gold in return, but…", she paused, referencing the final pages of a journal she had been given by the expedition's captain, detailing the squad's deeds in the Undercity. "After… Questioning the men more closely, they confirmed it was nothing but lies.", she added, peering into the Lady's eyes for a reaction. "Perhaps the creature has fled.", was her own theory.
Lady Silmariel Quel'silith nodded. "Good," she said, she would have preferred 'dead', but 'fled' suited her just fine too. "That's what I thought, and I am glad of it. No doubt it will sow trouble wherever it has gone but I'm well pleased it won't be doing it here."
"Who was holding the children? And for what purpose? Not slavers, I hope?" she asked.
Lyrena Auberan picked up the journal again as the Lady inquired on the children's previous circumstances. She flipped over to the pages detailing just that, and instilled a moment of silence as her eyes followed the captain's inked words. "They were found in a small hut. Derelict. From the outside, it looked abandoned. No candles, no torches…", she recited. "Two boys, one girl. One boy and the girl were in a cage together. The second boy was in another cage. It was one of the boys' crying that alerted my men that someone was in the hut. Otherwise, it was unguarded. No one was nearby. No one watched them from afar, as far as they could tell…", she said, flipping to the next page. "The children haven't been very talkative. They were certainly taken from the streets of the city a few weeks ago, they confirmed. The girl has said that she was blindfolded after she was taken… And that they were often blindfolded while in the cages too. And that usually, they were visited once a day to be given food and water. Typically very little. By… Either men and women, always wearing hoods. And that…", she paused, looking closer at the text. "…One of the boys claimed there was a fourth child with them. A third boy, that about a week ago was taken out of his cage by the strangers, and they haven't seen him again."
Lady Silmariel Quel'silith frowned at this. "That's concerning indeed. It may be wise to post one man nearby, in disguise, to watch the house, in case they return… well, it would have been wise at the time. I'm not sure you'll catch them now. If they've been back already, they'll have found the children gone, and know the game is up."
Lyrena Auberan hummed and pondered. "The men were eager to come back to the surface by then. Captain Keanan told me they waited around for a little while longer, but saw no one suspicious approach, or watch. Ah, and…", she remembered another thing, looking back the journal. "The fourth child, his name was Micah, according to the other kids. The problem is… We have no reports of a missing child with that name here. It means the child was taken from some place else.", she added. "We mean to question the children some more, when they have calmed. One of the Guardians updated me on them a few minutes before you arrived, and told me we will likely not get much more out of them today."
Lady Silmariel Quel'silith nodded at that. "It may be wise to send word to some of the outlying villages, at least, or inquire with captains of ships in port. Micah may be a farmer's son, or a ship's boy. As to the rest of the children, I'll be most interested in what they have to say. There are few things I loathe quite like the slave trade, at least the nonconsensual side of it, but if such scum are now trading children then that's certainly something I cannot abide."
Lyrena Auberan closed the slightly filthy journal and nodded. "We will find ways to ask around. Only, we have no description of the boy, besides the fact that the other children think he was around their ages. Nine, ten…", she surmised. "Either way, it certainly looks like the work of these wretched cultists. Considering when these abductions took place. If we can find out which other city or village is looking for a 'Micah', that can give us an idea of where else they are operating besides Ansa 'fel." The Blood elf then leaned back, huffing a slow, slow sigh while she contemplated. "Unfortunately, I fear that this success will be the only one for a while. My Guardians were wise not to shout "Children, children!" everywhere they went. Perhaps that gave these slavers… Cultists, confidence that the Guardians were there for something else. Just the day before the expedition, a… Now, rather fortunate incident occurred in the Undercity with another one of my Guardians, Sir Tyrasius. The big man assigned to Queen Etain. The cave denizens first thought that was the reason the patrol squad had been sent down there. But from now on, these cultists will be far more careful. They will likely move any remaining children in their possession to far more secure locations."
Lady Silmariel Quel'silith smiled a little. "Take heart, Lyrena," she said. "You've made a bigger splash in your first few days than your predecessor did, or his predecessor. And you've verified that a real threat has gone, and saved three children from sale or sacrifice or worse. You should be proud of what you've done here. Now…. how did the people of the Undercity react to your presence?"
Lyrena Auberan appreciated that bit of reassurance with a brief smile of her own. "The expedition was your suggestion.", she reminded the Lady. "Your reasons were different, but… I suppose we should feign no surprise that -something- would be found down there." Upon the last question, she opened the Captain's journal again. "My presence…", she repeated with a slightly amused smirk. "I was last there before my promotion. Out of curiosity. Amongst… Other things.", she reminisced with a brief, devious grin. "I should have been there, ideally. With the squad. But there were things to keep an eye on here. And, from what I have read here…", she muttered while glancing at the text once more. "It went about as well as you would expect. The Undercity folk wanted them gone the moment they stepped foot there. There were a few close calls with some of the rowdier locals, but no one was killed or greatly injured.", she explained to the Highborne. She paused a bit, remembering the conversation she had with Ven-Vyzran just a few hours ago by the House of Healing. "Ven-Vyzran.", she dropped the name. "You know of him, yes? Chief of the so called Guroussard Seekers?"
Lady Silmariel Quel'silith was about to point out she didn't mean Lyrena's presence -specifically-, but the blood elf got there first, answering her question fully, and the Lady nodded. At the mention of the orc she smiled. "Ah, Ven-Vyzran. I know -of- him, and I -know- him, quite well. He's wily, smarter than he sounds, and very capable, and he's also a good man. He and his band have earned a king's ransom from me by running various errands for me over the years. Money well spent, too, every copper."
Lyrena Auberan leaned forward a bit. "Do you, now?", she asked curiously. "He approached me a few hours ago while I was out in the city. He had been looking for me.", she explained. "He knew about the Undercity expedition. To my surprise, he… Approved." The lingering surprise on Lyrena's face returned for a moment. "He spoke very dearly of the people down there. Told me that there are good people there. Neglected by the Guardians. By this city.", she added. "He… Asked me to consider making the Guardians more involved down there. To help those few that are honest and good of heart."
Lady Silmariel Quel'silith nodded. "That sounds like something he'd say. Though in fewer words probably." She smiled. "Like I said, a good man. And I encourage taking his advice, at least as soon as you have the men to spare." "He's right, you know," she pondered this at moment, "Not everyone down there is a criminal. Many - most even, I'd reckon - simply can't afford better. Those folk need to know the powers that be in this city have their backs. And the criminals… -they- need to know that we are watching them. The healers say that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure; I say that a guardian presence in the Undercity is good for a lot more than an ounce."
Lyrena Auberan gently nodded on occasion while listening to the Lady's thoughts on the matter. "Then we think similarly.", she replied. "This divide, it need not be so stark. Even if mending it will take time.", she said. "I promised him I would consider his request. After things in the city stabilize. As it stands, there are too few Guardians in these halls to send any substantial number of them down there for any time too long. Besides other concerns. I would not have them just linger there shelterless. An outpost of some kind will have to be built somewhere. With beds. A canteen. The essentials.", she nodded.
Lady Silmariel Quel'silith nodded at that. "Sounds like a good plan," Silmariel noted. "When you have it laid out in more detail let me know and I will be pleased to help you budget it, and present it to the King." She rose from her seat. "Unfortunately, though, much as I enjoy your company, I must be departing for the night. I have a number of things I need to see to."
Lyrena Auberan stood herself up as well. "Understandable.", Lyrena nodded. "And thank you for your kind offer, as usual. I believe we have one or two former builders in our ranks here. I will speak with them tomorrow and find out just how we might start organizing this venture.", the Blood elf said. As the Lady began to depart, she said one final thing. "Let His Grace know of our victory today. Remind him of your role in its inception, and word it as a testament to how you and I should continue working together.", the Dame Commander offered. "But for now - I bid you good night."
Lady Silmariel Quel'silith smiled. "Nothing would please me more. Goodnight, Lyrena." And with that, the Lady turned to go, closing the door lightly behind her.