Private Tales MentOREship

[Mieri]

Anirian Territory - North East

"Urstholm." Mieri read off of the decrepit and half fallen sign, a slight frown touching her lips.

She and her companion stood at the fork in the road, or rather, their hoses stood while they sat. Neither of the two paths were really different from one another, and if pressed Mieri would have guessed they both lead to the same place. The only thing that marked the paths as different at all was the sign which had been wedged between them.

"That's it, right?" She asked, glancing towards Noel. "The town?"

She was sure that was the name the Commander had said.

It had all been rather...rushed. Mostly because Noel had actually gotten the Orders and not Mieri. The only reason she was here at all was because the Commander had insisted someone else tag along, and of course the little redhead had been the only one to volunteer. All of which left her mostly in the dark about what was going on.

Not that she minded much, it was no different than at the Academy.

 

[Noel]

It was a bit of an insult that Noel would even be tested. Had they had a graduation that went as it was supposed to there was no doubt that Noel would've been near, if not at, the very top of their class. Instead their graduation had - well - it had ruined everything. Utterly crushed all she believed in.

But as a consequence there was no class ranking. She was a Third Level Dreadlord and the Black Guard was giving her a task to prove her worth. Worst still, the number of tutors was at an all time low.

So, not only was this mission a chance to prove her worth to the Guard it was also an excuse to have her mentor some initiate.

Noel took in the sign post before them, referenced the map she'd been provided, and then confirmed the inquiry. "Yes. Urstholm is to our left." An index finger reached out to point towards the direction of the fork that led to their destination.

She'd thought that tutoring some initiate would be a massive burden based on the majority of her class the prior year. But Mieri had been, at least thus far, rather perceptive to her place in the hierarchy of command. She'd done as Noel bid and she hadn't complained. Time would tell if they'd end up resenting one another by the end of this job.

"When we arrive please allow me to do the talking," Noel said sternly, while her mentee had been impressive so far there was zero chance the new Dreadlord was going to allow even the slim chance that an initiate ruin her shot into the Black Guard.

 

[Mieri]

"Yeah! Obviously." Mieri was absolutely no stranger to that sort of thing. She'd been on plenty of missions and tended to take a back seat on most of them.

Some of her peers had assured her it was because she was 'the perfect back up' and made for a great 'back line'. Explanations she had always accepted because, well, obviously it wasn't anything to do with her being an absolute loud mouth.

She was after all, just a bit curious and more...forthcoming about things than others were.

Which of course, lead to her next words. "But!"

Mieri added, never noting how obnoxious the word might have been in this context.

"Why are we here again?" She asked, deciding that Noel would probably be a lot more open than the Black Guard she had asked back at camp. "I mean Urstholm is tiny! I've never even heard of it!"

A fact which had been assured by the Guard itself. Urstholm and the mine besides it was one of the best kept secrets in Vel Anir. Even Luana, the House of spies, thought it little more than a quaint town producing iron ore. "We're not chasing a lost puppy are we? I did that once and it was a fucking pain."

Though Governor Halbridge had been really happy when they returned Marci to his wife.

 

[Noel]

Is that what the academy had been reduced to now? They were chasing puppies?

"We aren't looking for a puppy." She said and without waiting for a second motioned for her horse to begin its trot. "We're here because we've been ordered to come here." This time her words actually held a small tinge of annoyance.

It was one thing to ask questions so that you could complete a mission but another entirely to nag like a child.

Perhaps Noel was simply taking out her frustrations on her mentee, however. Truth be told she didn't know much about what this mission entailed. Urstholm was just an iron mine and iron was plentiful. This task seemed far below the Black Guard's paygrade so it just didn't make sense that they'd send a Dreadlord and an initiate to deal with this.

Unless, of course, they were trying to send Noel a message about her odds of actually joining the Black Guards. No, that wasn't it. Ephraim simply wasn't that kind of person. He'd have just refused her outright rather than waste the talents of a Dreadlord to be a showboat.

She sighed. Loudly.

"I don't know precisely why we're here," she admitted to her mentee as she felt a pang of guilt. "There's a discrepancy in the shipments. That's all I was told." Brown eyes glanced over to Mieri with softness at first before hardening to a serious glare. "Before you ask, yes, I asked for more details. They weren't keen on sharing."

Perhaps that was simply a feature of the Black Guard. They expected their agents to figure things out themselves with limited intel.

 

[Mieri]

Mieri didn't balk at the slight irritation that carried through Noel's voice.

With people like Caeso and Corvus in her class she was more than a little used to the odd grump. Not to mention the Proctors. Over the years she'd grown impervious to their judging stares and and disapproving glances.

So when Noel offered her a serious glare she only flickered back a smile. "Well, wouldn't be the first time walking in the dark!"

She declared cheerfully.

"It's probably nothing serious." She said as they continued to trot along the road. "I mean how bad could it really be?"

Someone had once tried to explain the concept of 'jinxing' something to Mieri, but the whole thing had gone over her heard. Not because she was an idiot, but because the thought of something immediately turning negative was utterly anathema to her.

It was always, always better to expect something good.

So she kept the smile on her face as they continued along the road. Riding for another hour or so before slowly the forest around them began to thin, and a ridge formed along the road. Then, laid out just a few miles ahead was a small town butted up against the mountainside. The barest hint of a wall clung around it, two men in surprisingly well maintained armor standing before it's gate.

True to her word, Mieri kept her lips sealed shut as they approached.

 

[Noel]

"First lesson," Noel spoke in an even tone, "always prepare yourself for how bad it could really be." Being a mentor was the absolute worst. As soon as the words escaped her lips she regretted them. The recently graduated Dreadlord could hear those same words being repeated ad nauseam by every Proctor she had detested back at the academy.

She directed her gaze back towards Mieri once more, "you're probably right. It's probably nothing serious. But there's something... off. So, stay alert."

Once they'd arrived at the gates of Urstholm the first thing that caught her eye was the level of perfection to the guards who stood prepared at the entrance. Their armor was glistening and you could tell simply from their posture that they were seasoned veterans of the Guard. Why were men of such talents here to guard a town that centered around an iron mine?

"Noel Schwarz," she declared as they came close enough, "we're to meet with Overseer Caius."

One of the Guards grunted while the other nodded and simply offered, "we received the missive. Central building, he's awaiting your arrival."

The pair rode in through the gates towards the longhouse that, apparently, housed the man they were supposed to interface with. The town was shockingly clean for a small mining operation. What was more is that Noel had been to towns like this before. The hum of metals was something she could feel when they were in such large quantities but here, in Urstholm, she felt nothing. That was surprising.

"Stay alert," she repeated to her assigned protege, "something is very, very, off here."

 

[Mieri]

"Huh?" Mieri intoned quietly, drawing her gaze over to Noel for just a brief second.

A frown flickered over her features, but then she quickly offered her mentor a curt nod.

Noel was right, there was something wrong here. She couldn't quite put her finger on what, but the general vibe of the whole town was...off. Everyone was clean, surprisingly well dressed, and the soldiers were far better equipped than they should have been.

Mieri noticed nothing off with the metals of course, but the people here did not seem like ordinary villagers she had encountered. Not the least because none of them seemed to even second-glance at the two Dreadlords walking through their own.

Before too much time had passed they reached the longhouse. Mieri landing on the ground with a thud of her boots.

Again they were ushered through by a pair of well equipped Guards, and within a few moments they stood in the main hall of a huge home. It's design more reminiscent of a Northern town hall than an Anirian structure. A long warming fire ran through the middle of it, and at a table sat a gruff looking man.

"You the two kids they sent to check up on us, eh?"​

 

[Noel]

Stepping into the longhouse gave a nice change-of-pace after riding upon horseback for much of the day. There was little time for Mieri or Noel to stretch their legs however as they were led into the main meeting room. The decor being more akin to the peoples of the Savannah rather than Anirian architecture was not lost on her either.

"Yes."

Her answer was quick and to the point. "Commander Ephraim sent us to investigate a discrepancy in shipments." She didn't know more than that. She wasn't certain if she was supposed to know more than that. Noel just assumed that now the overseer would fill her in.

Or, in a worst case scenario, he wouldn't really fill her in but at least she wouldn't look like a clueless child.

"Dreadlords are stretched so thin they send two kids? Well, I suppose I shouldn't judge a book by its cover. You're both still Dreadlords after all."
​

Noel refrained from correcting that Mieri was simply an initiate and let the man proceed.

Caius shrugged and waltzed over towards a cart which housed several decanters. He grabbed a particularly fanciful looking one and poured a serving of brown liquid into a small goblet. The man took a sip before making a satisfactory sound as it flowed down his throat.

"Yeah. A discrepancy. Someone, maybe a couple of someone's, are stealing some of the nullinium."​

Nullinium? What was this old fool blathering about?

"See, we've been doing this a long time. We know what our monthly yields look like. We guard overages and we've gotten good enough to forecast a monthly total nearly to the gram. Only, the last few months? We're off. Every. Single. Month."
​

Which meant that this job would be a lot more difficult than simply finding a lost puppy. Worst still, it would likely require them to go down into the mines. "Understood. Do you have any suspects?"

Eyes narrowed as he sipped on his drink and took the two girls in.

"Everyone who works the mines is vetted. We haven't needed to take on any new miners in five years."
​

Yep. A lot more difficult than finding a lost puppy.

 

[Mieri]

It quickly became very clear that this was indeed, not any ordinary mining town.

Mieri listened very carefully to every word the mine foreman said, though she couldn't help but get hung up on the word 'nullinium'. What in the hell was that? She'd never even heard of such a thing, it sounded like something someone would make up!

"You're saying anyone could be a suspect?!" The Initiate suddenly blurted out, no small amount of consternation in her tone.

"Afraid so, lass."​

Mieri slowly gave Noel a rather dubious glance.

How in the hell were they supposed to figure this out? From what she knew Noel was no mind reader, and her own magic certainly wouldn't help bar punching a few people. "Do you have any hints? Clues?"

She asked, the dismay clear in her voice.

"I can tell ya, we watch everyone coming in an out of town. Getting whatever you skimmed out of here would be hard."​

A frown touched Mieri's lips as she listened to the words, and she couldn't help but add. "What is this stuff? Whys it so important?"

 

[Noel]

Noel's head twirled slightly at Mieri's outburst although she swiftly regained her posture. Mieri hadn't embarrassed herself or the Dreadlords. Nor had she said anything untoward. Though her questions possibly weren't befitting their station they'd be useful tidbits of information.

"Nullinium? It goes by many names, maybe yer just not familiar with our local dialect."​

He cleared his throat once more and collapsed into a plush leather chair while taking in the two young women with a vague look of apprehension. Perhaps a slight bit of confusion fell over him.

"You're both Dreadlords, right? You were sent here by the Black Guard, right? You know what it is."​

"Of course we do," she said quickly, "my partner and I are just making sure we are talking about the same thing." He didn't look entirely convinced but he gave a confirming nod as Noel took a bow. "If there's nothing else we'll take our leave for now."

"Have Gustav lead you into the mines."​

And that was that as the mentor and her mentee exited the longhouse and a Guard just outside pointed in the general direction of where Gustav was stationed. Noel could've possibly misread the initiate who accompanied her's expression but if she was correct the Mieri was completely lost. Hopelessly lost.

"It's the ore they use for the Black Guard's armor," she whispered trying to hide her own shock at the revelation.

Noel had simply assumed the stuff had been infused with an enchantment or possibly hexed with some sort of vile magic from a foreign nation. The possibility that it could, at least in part, be magically immune as a naturally occurring phenomenon had never crossed her mind.

 

[Mieri]

Mieri felt a little dumb. She had no idea what the hell they were talking about. She had to stop herself from looking at Noel again, but picked up on the fact that she was making a play. Did she suspect the foreman as well?

Lips thinned, but she kept her expression even until they were lead towards the front door. When Noel leaned in to whisper Mieri let out a gasp. "Ohhhh."

She intoned quietly.

"But wait-" Mieri's lips suddenly snapped shut as she realized how loud she was speaking. Her face immediately flickered back to that more stern expression, and she cleared her throat. "But wait...I think we're supposed to go that way."

Mieri gave Noel a very obvious wink as she covered her own outburst, the two girls quickly making their way towards the canyon side of the city. "So...like I thought the Blackguard couldn't make more of their armor."

She swore that was what she heard once, that was why there were only a hundred of them. But obviously the armor had been made in the first place.

"What do they need the ore for?" A whole slew of questions were quickly starting to stack up.

 

[Noel]

That was a really good point that Noel hadn't even considered.

Was the Black Guard lying and just didn't want to expand their ranks? Did the magical nullification simply wear off over time and had to be replaced? Were they just hoarding the stuff so it didn't slip into the wrong hands? She didn't truly know.

What she did know was that she wasn't going to let her mentee know how ill-informed she'd been on this task. Especially seeing just how very eccentric Mieri was. Noel was a Dreadlord now, not an initiate. She needed to set an example of confidence and level-headedness to the young pupil of the academy.

"That's a state secret," Noel answered, "though you just might learn it for yourself before this job is finished." Noel's voice went serious and she placed a firm hand on the younger girl's shoulder, "if you do, make sure it stays a secret. Understood?"

Maybe being a mentor could be fun after all.

 

[Mieri]

If she had one Anirian Copper for everytime she heard the 'it's a secret' line, she would have been richer than the Great Houses by now.

The Academy had never exactly been open with the truth, and it was no surprise that the Republic wasn't either. Most of their missions they were kept in the dark until the very last minute, expected to just 'go with it' and not ask questions.

Mieri had never much liked that. "O-Of course."

She said, her voice slightly skittish as Noel very seriously grabbed her shoulder. The smile on her face doing nothing to offer any reassurance.

"I can keep a secret." The Initiate lied, hoping that Noel hadn't heard the rumors of her being an exceptional loud mouth.

After the quick exchange the two girls continued through the small town. It was not an expansive metropolis, with less than two dozen houses, a single tavern, and only the necessary shops. Mieri would have been surprised if the entire place had more than five hundred people living in it.

Before long the two of them approached the base of the cliff, what was clearly a small mine nestled right up against it.

Four men stood guard around what appeared to be a warehouse nearby, and two more stood in front of the mine itself. "Which one do you think is Gustav?"

Mieri asked, a voice ringing out from behind her.

"That would be me."​

A rat faced man in an ancient and smudged duster seemingly appeared behind the two girls. A clip-board rest in one of his hands, and the other rested on his hip.

 

[Noel]

It was in the way her tone inflected as she said she could keep a secret that caused Noel to question if her pupil actually was capable of keeping her lips shut. Not that it really mattered, "great," she said with a sudden cheeriness, "I'm glad I can count on you initiate Mieri."

They didn't speak much after that as they made their way towards the mine's entrance.

Noel wondered for a second or two what it took to even live in this place. Were people sent here? Volunteered? Too many questions on this job already and they'd barely started. Part of her wished that maybe they were just looking for a lost puppy.

Then, suddenly, Gustav made his presence known and Noel nodded towards him. "Noel Schwarz. Dreadlord. We were told by Overseer Caius to ask you for access to the mines."

"You two here about that thing?" He crooked an eyebrow and looked the two young women over before looking back at his clipboard. "Alright. Sure, whatever. Just uh, don't touch anything down there. And don't spook any of my men. We're already behind on our quota and - y'know what, just don't touch anything."

With that Gustav poked his head into a small shack and handed both Noel and Mieri a hand lantern. He lit them both before lighting a smaller one that was affixed to his belt. "C'mon," was all he said as he walked into the darkness whilst jotting notes down on his clipboard.

The inside of the mine was cramped at first until they reached a metal box made of iron. Gustav entered a key of some sort, pulled down on a lever, and the box they found themselves in began to descend deep into the mine shaft.

"Any theories?" Noel asked as the box continued its descent.

Gustav didn't even look at her, still scrawling away at whatever thing he was working on. "Trolls."

She was pretty sure he wasn't being serious but his voice was so monotone that it was difficult to tell if he was being sarcastic or not. Either way it was another blow to a mission in which Noel and Mieri found themselves butting their heads against a wall at every turn.

 

[Mieri]

A certain odd queasiness descended in her stomach as the steel box began to move. Her abdomen feeling as though someone had begun to press down on it. A sensation she found decidedly uncomfortable.

”Trolls?” Mieri demanded, her voice slightly incredulous…but also more than a little curious.

“Aye, trolls. They love the stuff. Eat it up like it’s Norro Root.”​

Slowly the Initiate turned her head towards Noel, eyebrow cocking ever so slightly as she tried to ascertain whether or not the man was fucking with them. It was more than a little difficult, especially because Gustav had a face that only his mother could love.

She frowned, contemplating for a moment before continuing. ”And you think they’re…stealing…the…ore?”

Mieri began to ask, her tone slowing as Gustav finally looked up at her. His expression making it very clear that he had been joking about the trolls. Utter disdain peering from his rat like eyes directly into the young Initiate. The box came to a sudden stop, door pulling open as Gustav continued.

“I don’t think anyone is stealing. I think the Overseer is being paranoid and not accounting for spillage and other accidents. This whole thing is a Witch Hunt we don’t need.”​

His voice turned a bit more biting.

“You’re going to point fingers, you’re going to ruin lives, and for fucking nothing.”​

Gustav said bitterly, stalking out of the steel box and leaving Mieri and Noel alone for just a few seconds. A frown pulled at the Initiate’s lips, and she shot a look at Noel which spoke more than a few volumes.

Seconds later she stepped forward, joining Gustav along with her mentor as they entered the mine proper. The stench of sulfur quickly entering the air, and the sound of picks hitting rock echoing out in the distance.

“Mining is slow, the ore is difficult to extract and requires blasting powder. Though first we have to expose the veins with picks. Once the veins are exposed we can blow out the ore and collect it. Once collected it ends up here.”​

Gustav said, gesturing to a large mining cart on rails.

Within the cart was a deeply black ore, it’s color so dark that it seemed to bend the light away from it. The cart was about half full. ”How much ore do you mine every day?”

Mieri asked curiously.

“That’s about three weeks haul right there. When it’s fully processed and finished it’ll turn into about half a pound of metal.”​

The Initiate blinked.

”That’s…all?” Gustav nodded. ”It would take months to-”

“Ye see what I mean? We got our quota, but meetin’ them is hard. It ain’t easy digging this stuff out of the mountain and they should know that!”

 

[Noel]

Noel simply stood and listened while Mieri prodded. In an odd way the girl's play at naivety, or perhaps it was just a play at stupidity, worked well on a person like Gustav. Had Noel been the one asking questions it was unlikely the man would've been so... forthcoming. But Mieri? Her tactic had worked wonders.

Though there was also a part of her that considered maybe Mieri was just simply being herself.

But there'd been a lot of interesting information to glean from what Gustav had said. The ones working in the mine didn't think there was a thief. Did they operate like a fraternity? A work family bonded by their shared occupation, unable to conceive that one of their brothers would steal?

And then there'd been the manner of how this stuff was mined. Pickaxes, explosive powder, processing, and a half mine cart of ore took approximately three weeks of labor to generate. That would mean that a miscalculation would be unlikely, at least in her mind. It should be fairly simple to see if the quota was being met just by the finished haul.

Likewise, stealing some of the stuff would be as easy as sliding a bit of the finished ore into one's cloak pocket.

"You're right, you'd think the Overseer would appreciate what you guys are doing and own up to his miscalculation," Noel said with confidence as Gustav stayed silent for a moment. He took her in, judging her words carefully, hesitant to speak for a second.

"Overseer does a good job. I'm sure it's a lot of pressure. I didn't mean anything by it."​

He'd realized that perhaps he'd been just a tad bit too open. "Not to worry. We aren't here to investigate disgruntled workers. I think you may be right. This is likely just spillage." A smile adorned her features as they took in the foul smells of sulfur and the echoing of the pickaxes. "But my partner and I will need to be thorough, you understand."

"Aye. And we'll cooperate fully. Going to be a waste of time for the two of you though."​

Once they found themselves alone Noel lead Mieri into a darkened corner of the mine and lowered her voice to barely above a whisper. "These miners will cover for each other," she shook her head in frustration, "we're not going to learn a single thing interviewing them." No chance any of the workers were going to give them any information that would, in their minds, frame an innocent man or woman.

"But I have an idea," she said with a grin, "at the end of the work day there's only one entrance and exit. We wait at the top of the shaft. Once the miners leave the box we strip search each and every one of them."

If someone was skimming they were likely just taking a few pieces of ore per day on their person. And they had to keep going if half a mine cart only produced a single pound of metal. There was simply no way they could skip even a single day, even with Dreadlords present. "We just need to convince everyone down here that our investigation has concluded before the end of the work day. How is your poker face?"

 

[Mieri]

"Oh it's great." Mieri lied.

She had tried playing cards a few times while on missions, and it had never gone all that well. Somehow everyone else at the table always knew when she had a good hand, though she'd never quite figured out how. After a while she'd just decided to stick to dice.

At least that was random. "But..."

Mieri added with a frown.

"I think probably it's best if you do most of the talking." She said, clearing her throat. "You're the Dreadlord after all!"

A smile touched her face, and she gave Noel a thumbs up.

 

[Noel]

This was going to be a disaster.

"Right. Yeah, let me do the talking." Maybe if Mieri got too nervous Noel could make an excuse like that the girl was having a medical emergency or something. If the miners didn't believe the Dreadlords were finished with their investigation then it left a chance, however small, that their thief wouldn't smuggle anything today.

Noel returned the initiate's thumbs up and gave her a confident nod. "Let's just meander around for an hour or two, pretend like we're looking into various details, nod assuredly here and there."

---

Hours passed, dust covered the Dreadlords and her pupil's clothing, and they'd pretended to shake or rattle various objects countless times. They'd even taken part in the miner's lunch hour. A bowl of hot grounded oats in water and a slice of cured meat.

Once they'd finished eating she made sure she had Mieri's attention.

Then she turned on her heel and went back towards Gustav. The man was back to scribbling upon his paper and barking orders at a few miners, though it was done in a jovial way. It was more than obvious that Gustav actually did care for these men.

His demeanor shifted though as he saw the two women approach.

"Yes? What can I do for Vel Anir's brightest?"​

She didn't show any sign of annoyance or disdain. Instead, her face was plastered with a smile and look of warmth. "We're done here. Based on our evaluation we think it is a simple miscalculation. No thievery."

Gustav's mouth was wide open but his eyes stayed narrow.

"Feel free to inform the rest of the miners. We're going to go let the overseer know of our findings." Now all the pair had to do was ascend the shaft, stand guard at the only exit, and search everyone who exited the mine from head-to-toe.

 

[Mieri]

"Yep!" Mieri added helpfully, giving a wide smile to Gustav who only returned a dour expression.

He stared at her so hard that after a moment awkwardness slipped into the quiet...which Mieri interrupted by slowly raising her hand with a thumb pointing up.

She felt fingers closing around the back of her collar, and with a quick yoink Noel dragged her away from the table and Gustav. A frown flickered over the man's face as the two Dreadlords departed, his brow furrowing as though he didn't quite understand what was going on.

Then his head shook, and he returned his attention to the papers below.

Mieri's head cocked to the side, but she managed to keep her trap shut long enough to make it to the elevator.

A loud racket of metal striking against metal echoed out as gears were wound, two of the miners beginning to raise up the platform to bring the two Dreadlords to the surface. "I don't think..."

Mieri gave Noel a weary look. "I don't think Gustav is lying. He seemed more..."

Her head shook.

"Confused than anything." But if it wasn't the miners, or Gustav, then who was it? She was probably wrong, had to be.

The miners made the most sense. They had the greatest opportunity, but something about it all didn't sit right with her.

 

[Noel]

"We can't assume anything," Noel responded to her mentee, "but I agree. I don't think Gustav was lying."

Which was a bit of a concern. It was possible that one of the miners was simply doing it under his, and everyone else's, nose but that seemed less-and-less likely. Maybe Gustav was just naive about his crew but the fact that he didn't think it was even possible one of them was stealing left a bad taste in her mouth.

It meant that once they enacted her plan the miners would be livid, doubly so if they didn't find any evidence of thievery. And if they didn't find any thief amongst the miners then what? Where could they possibly look next?

Noel cleared her throat then looked down at the auburn haired initiate. "You need to be prepared. When we start searching the miners they won't be pleased."

After what she faced at the academy a bunch of angered miners yelling at her shouldn't effect her but you never really knew how people would react in live situations. Moreover, they really needed to be thorough here as they either needed to catch their culprit or completely eliminate the miners as suspects.

"Any idea where we should go from here if we don't catch our thief?" Noel wanted to hear her opinion as much so that she could test the girl as she did because Noel wasn't convinced herself. If it wasn't the miners then they'd have to look towards whoever was transporting the stuff. And if they still were at a dead end they'd have to return to Vel Anir and suggest someone look into whoever it was that refined the ore.

Which would be seen as a failure on her part. And Noel Schwarz did not fail.

 

[Mieri]

Mieri jerked her head in a nod.

On a good day she was five foot two and a half, and most of the miners had at least a head on her. But that had never really bothered her. Supreme confidence was a mark of Mieri's personality, and she was more than sure she could knock out any one of these bozzos. "I'll be ready."

She said confidently.

Perhaps they wouldn't even need to fight. There was always a chance the miners would be reasonable and understand their duplicity. Though in her short experience with the world that tended to never be the case.

"Hrm." She intoned, bringing a hand to her chin. Her face changing to one of consternation. "I'm not...sure."

Mieri answered honestly. "If it's not the miners, it could be the people who bring it out of the town."

Though they hadn't been told who had that particular job.

"And..." She said slowly. "There's always Caius."

Though accusing the Overseer of anything would be more than a little dangerous. Especially if they were wrong. "Thing is, we don't know jack shit about anyone in this town."

Their personalities, their motives, why any of them were here in the first place was all a mystery. "Maybe that's what we have to figure out."

 

[Noel]

"Perhaps," she mused with a hand up to her chin. Everything the girl said had made sense although she doubted that Caius had any involvement.

Though, to be fair, it was probably premature to rule anyone out. Even him.

One thing was completely certain though, "this is one of the most annoying tasks I've ever been assigned." Her hand moved from her chin up towards her forehead in frustration. "How are we supposed to solve this in a matter of days?"

When the first elevator cart of miners arrived Noel took point. "By decree of the Republic of Vel Anir we are conducting a search for stolen property. Please form a single-file line and empty your pockets of any personal effects."

Her speech was followed by groans and a few shouts.

"This is outrageous!"
"You can't do this!!"
"My grandfather worked these mines for years and I can tell you that in all of the years my family have lived here I've never heard of something so ridiculous as..."

It did not stop her from patting down each miner before her, checking the items they had removed from their pockets, and then dismissing them as she moved on to the next miner. They hadn't even cleared the first group before the second cart arrived dumping more miners that they'd need to search.

 

[Mieri]

"Gentleman! Please! Line up. This is in accordance with Anirian law I assure you!" While Noel did the searching, Mieri did her best to keep the miners confined. Hoping that the trust her mentor had shown her would not be misplaced.

There were no less complaints as their search continued.

Most everyone began to argue in one form or another. Claiming that they would be late for dinner or that they would miss the first performance at the tavern. Nearly everyone had an excuse, but at the same time most often people complied after a bit of complaining.

"Fuck you!"​

One of the men shouted at Mieri as she made her second announcement, stepping away from the line which had begun to form. Quickly stepping away from his fellow miners in an attempt to leave.

"I ain't letting no kids se-"​

Before he could finish speaking Mieri seemed to just appear next to him. Having moved so fast it was almost hard to follow. Her leg kicked out, tripping the man and throwing him to the floor. He clattered to the ground with a hard thud, his words cut off as he ate a face-full of dirt.

Mieri grabbed his collar, dragging him back towards the line. "Would anyone else like to argue?"

A chorus of noes and shakes of the head followed. "Please do comply, we are simply asking to search your pockets an-"

As she spoke the line of men almost instantly followed her direction, one of them in particularly being almost overeager. Beginning to pull off his jumpsuit before Mieri could object.

"No wait sir you don't need to-" The cloth fell away, and the Initiate's eyebrows raised at the mans muscled form. "Oh."

 

[Noel]

Noel had to resist the urge to smile as Mieri took action and made an example of the miner who tried to defy their orders. She'd shown enough restraint not to seriously injure the man while making it unpleasant enough so that the others would comply like meek cattle.

It was good work. The kind of work befitting a future Dreadlord.

But then a wrench was thrown as one of the men completely disrobing all the way down to his birthday suit. Mieri's reaction was one thing and even Noel found it hard to keep her composure in the moment.

"Sir, um, that isn't necessary," her cheeks were reddened as the man stood there with his arms spread wide, "please put your coveralls back on..."

"You lasses wanted to search us, right? Just tryin' to make sure I follow orders."​

He didn't show any aggression but it was clear that he'd had enough of this search. Enough of the last few days, possibly weeks, of prying eyes looking over everything to ensure one of the miners wasn't a thief. "Very well." Noel riffled through the man's discarded clothes, confirming there was nothing of value, and then handed them back to him.

She turned towards Mieri and nodded before whispering to the initiate, "nice work, not much longer now."

 

[Mieri]

Mieri practically beamed at Noel's commendation, her face lighting up as though she'd just been handed a trophy.

The expression however was colored by bright red cheeks, and she was constantly fighting the instinct to both look away and directly stare at the disrobed man. Eventually settling on just looking at her Mentor. Every now and again briefly watching the line of miners to assure none tried anything funny.

Some of them were chuckling, others were still fuming with anger.

A nod jerked her head, and with one last look towards the rather muscled miner Mieri returned her attention to the rest of his fellows.

It was nearly another hour before they finished their search. Even after the small show of defiance they all complied, though begrudgingly. In the end the Dreadlords found nothing. Not a scrap or ore nor a hidden pocket.

Another dead end.

With the last miner stalking out of the yard and towards the tavern, Mieri and Noel stood near the gate. A scowl pulled over the young Initiate's face, hand half wrapped around her neck as she began to speak. "This is a lot harder than I thought it would be."