Roen stared at the empty room.
Nothing remained. No boxes nor supplies, no bottle of rum, nothing that would hint that this used to be a safehouse. Everything had been cleared out. Even the windows were boarded up.
Did he leave…?
It had been suns since she’d seen Nero last, since she ran away from him on the docks of Crescent Cove after he kissed her. Surely that had nothing to do with this, Roen told herself, dismissing the thought as soon as it rose. But then…what?
Roen ran her finger over a dresser, and glanced at it. It had not been too long since this place was abandoned. Perhaps just a sun at most.
I should have looked for him sooner, came the unbidden thought. But she had been purposefully avoiding doing so, making excuses that they no longer had a private linkpearl, and the fact that she did not know what she would say to him even if she did find him. It was somewhat childish, she knew. But now that she had finally worked up the courage to clear the air...
He was nowhere to be found. This safehouse on Pearl Lane was the one place she knew she may be able to find him--or at the very least leave him a message. But all signs of habitation had disappeared from the place.
What if he ran into other troubles?
It was possible. Since his arrival into Ul’dah, Nero had set up a prominent Monetarist noble to get arrested, and now was also responsible for the death of a Brass Blade, not to mention a veritable plethora of bandits. But after the talk with Sergeant Melkire a few suns ago, Roen thought that both she and Nero were in the clear of the Nanawa Mines investigation, at the very least. For that, she was relieved. In the midst trying to figure out the exact nature of her alliance with the smuggler, the paladin had woefully neglected to follow up on the Mines investigation.
"Dead Blade, dead bandits, brought low by someone dangerous. Skilled... and invested. Heavily. Emotionally. I know that y'must've gone up there for something, though I can't fathom what. I know you took your friend.... your thaumaturge friend... with you. I know you left with a wagon full o' somethin' or another, since y'went and humiliated two men t'do so."
By the time the Flame Sergeant spoke to her, he had already most of the facts. But he had approached her discreetly, and sought out a private corner at Scorpion Landing to exchange words. Roen had not been alarmed; she still remembered all he had done for her and Gharen, and because of it she trusted the man implicitly. But he gave her a stern warning when she tried to explain what had happened at the Mines.
"Witnesses, documents, physical presence....these things constitute proof. And right now, Roen? There's a bloody trail leadin' right back t'you, and the only reason no one but me's followed up on it is because the damned Blades are too lazy and too corrupt t'bother with anythin' but a cover-up."
The Sergeant was right. Roen knew she had left bodies behind, and two Brass Blades could put her at the scene. It would be yet another towering pile of evidence that Taeros could use against her if he found out.
"... don't hand him evidence he can use against you." Osric warned her.
The Sergent had been surprisingly accepting of her actions. He did not condone them, but he was not there to arrest her either. He even offered to help to avoid such an outcome the next time, should she but ask.
"Like a scalpel. Not like the dagger your friend is. Ask any chirurgeon which carries the greater risk, and which leaves behind a worse scar."
He understood her goal to try and reform the Blades, to try and bring change to Ul’dah.
"Do you think me foolish? Do you think this can be done without needless bloodshed?" Roen had asked him in earnest. She needed to know that she was not the only one who thought this way.
"To be honest with you? No, I don't think so." Osric paused. “But I hope so.â€
"It does not mean we cannot try." Even a sliver of optimism from the Flame still bolstered her own.
"No, it doesn't." He had answered her with a smile.
The Sergeant had promised to help her, if she asked, on the condition that he also met ‘her friend.’ Roen had not given him Nero’s name, but her mind had already been made up--that perhaps both she and Nero could use an ally like Osric Melkire. The Flame Sergeant was always known to do things unconventionally, and as far as she was concerned, his heart was always in the right place.
Now all she needed to do was to find Nero.
Roen ducked out of the safehouse, her eyes quickly scanning the area to make certain she was not spotted. She left Pearl Lane quickly enough, making her way back toward the gaols. Perhaps Daegsatz would know where she would be able to find his captain.
Now that she could not locate the smuggler, the paladin suddenly felt more urgency in needing to find the man, having forgotten why she had been avoiding him in the first place. It truly felt foolish now. Nero had promised to be better. They shook each other’s hand, for the second time, promising to be there to help each other in this impossible task.
She could not let her own uneasiness jeopardize that. Not when it seemed evident that they could be gathering allies to their cause.
Her stride lengthened as she entered the palace. She needed to find Nero and clear the air, so that they could truly start working together in earnest for Ul’dah.
Nothing remained. No boxes nor supplies, no bottle of rum, nothing that would hint that this used to be a safehouse. Everything had been cleared out. Even the windows were boarded up.
Did he leave…?
It had been suns since she’d seen Nero last, since she ran away from him on the docks of Crescent Cove after he kissed her. Surely that had nothing to do with this, Roen told herself, dismissing the thought as soon as it rose. But then…what?
Roen ran her finger over a dresser, and glanced at it. It had not been too long since this place was abandoned. Perhaps just a sun at most.
I should have looked for him sooner, came the unbidden thought. But she had been purposefully avoiding doing so, making excuses that they no longer had a private linkpearl, and the fact that she did not know what she would say to him even if she did find him. It was somewhat childish, she knew. But now that she had finally worked up the courage to clear the air...
He was nowhere to be found. This safehouse on Pearl Lane was the one place she knew she may be able to find him--or at the very least leave him a message. But all signs of habitation had disappeared from the place.
What if he ran into other troubles?
It was possible. Since his arrival into Ul’dah, Nero had set up a prominent Monetarist noble to get arrested, and now was also responsible for the death of a Brass Blade, not to mention a veritable plethora of bandits. But after the talk with Sergeant Melkire a few suns ago, Roen thought that both she and Nero were in the clear of the Nanawa Mines investigation, at the very least. For that, she was relieved. In the midst trying to figure out the exact nature of her alliance with the smuggler, the paladin had woefully neglected to follow up on the Mines investigation.
"Dead Blade, dead bandits, brought low by someone dangerous. Skilled... and invested. Heavily. Emotionally. I know that y'must've gone up there for something, though I can't fathom what. I know you took your friend.... your thaumaturge friend... with you. I know you left with a wagon full o' somethin' or another, since y'went and humiliated two men t'do so."
By the time the Flame Sergeant spoke to her, he had already most of the facts. But he had approached her discreetly, and sought out a private corner at Scorpion Landing to exchange words. Roen had not been alarmed; she still remembered all he had done for her and Gharen, and because of it she trusted the man implicitly. But he gave her a stern warning when she tried to explain what had happened at the Mines.
"Witnesses, documents, physical presence....these things constitute proof. And right now, Roen? There's a bloody trail leadin' right back t'you, and the only reason no one but me's followed up on it is because the damned Blades are too lazy and too corrupt t'bother with anythin' but a cover-up."
The Sergeant was right. Roen knew she had left bodies behind, and two Brass Blades could put her at the scene. It would be yet another towering pile of evidence that Taeros could use against her if he found out.
"... don't hand him evidence he can use against you." Osric warned her.
The Sergent had been surprisingly accepting of her actions. He did not condone them, but he was not there to arrest her either. He even offered to help to avoid such an outcome the next time, should she but ask.
"Like a scalpel. Not like the dagger your friend is. Ask any chirurgeon which carries the greater risk, and which leaves behind a worse scar."
He understood her goal to try and reform the Blades, to try and bring change to Ul’dah.
"Do you think me foolish? Do you think this can be done without needless bloodshed?" Roen had asked him in earnest. She needed to know that she was not the only one who thought this way.
"To be honest with you? No, I don't think so." Osric paused. “But I hope so.â€
"It does not mean we cannot try." Even a sliver of optimism from the Flame still bolstered her own.
"No, it doesn't." He had answered her with a smile.
The Sergeant had promised to help her, if she asked, on the condition that he also met ‘her friend.’ Roen had not given him Nero’s name, but her mind had already been made up--that perhaps both she and Nero could use an ally like Osric Melkire. The Flame Sergeant was always known to do things unconventionally, and as far as she was concerned, his heart was always in the right place.
Now all she needed to do was to find Nero.
Roen ducked out of the safehouse, her eyes quickly scanning the area to make certain she was not spotted. She left Pearl Lane quickly enough, making her way back toward the gaols. Perhaps Daegsatz would know where she would be able to find his captain.
Now that she could not locate the smuggler, the paladin suddenly felt more urgency in needing to find the man, having forgotten why she had been avoiding him in the first place. It truly felt foolish now. Nero had promised to be better. They shook each other’s hand, for the second time, promising to be there to help each other in this impossible task.
She could not let her own uneasiness jeopardize that. Not when it seemed evident that they could be gathering allies to their cause.
Her stride lengthened as she entered the palace. She needed to find Nero and clear the air, so that they could truly start working together in earnest for Ul’dah.
