Amber had thought about Moragon, and the son the Tingaran High Lord thought was his. "I know," she had said, knowing it was a lie.
More frightened of telling Miro her secret than facing the streets, Amber had refused Miro's offer of an armed escort, eager to turn the conversation to another topic.
Part of Amber thought the journey to the market would do her good. Amber loved to cook and the act of doing something she was familiar with, on her own and completely independent, would do wonders for her confidence.
As she looked at her basket and the items she had gathered, Amber realised she was starting to enjoy herself. She would finely slice the mushrooms and olives and crush the walnuts, combining the trio over a hot pan. After she scooped out the seeds from the peppers, she would stuff the mixture into the cavity of each, and roast them in a hot oven.
Having finished up at the vegetable market, Amber turned down a side street. She wanted to purchase a whole chicken, flattening it and seasoning with herbs and lemon zest. She thought she'd seen the butcher's stall down this alley…
When she didn't find it, Amber halted and turned around, then took a left turn, still looking for the butcher's stall.
Amber suddenly stopped in her tracks, realising she was lost. She began to tremble, but held herself stiff and strong, promising herself she wouldn't be afraid. If she simply followed this street to its end, she would soon be back to where there were more people.
Her face set with determination and her elbow looped through her basket, Amber walked forward, ignoring the cloaked figure huddled in the doorway she was walking past.
Amber wrung her hands as she walked, so nervous that when a hand thrust out and grabbed her shoulder, she didn't even scream, only whimpered. She looked up into the round face and tattooed cheek of a Tingaran.
Surely this was a nightmare. It wasn't happening.
He pulled her roughly to him, so close Amber could smell the stench of his breath. The basket fell out of her arms, clattering on the cobblestones. A few mushrooms rolled down the street, down, down, down…
"You're the whore what gave Moragon that brat," the Tingaran said, holding Amber's arm in a grip of iron.
Amber opened her mouth to scream, but his hand clapped over her mouth.
"None of that, love," he said. "You talk nice and quiet, else I gut you here." The Tingaran slowly lifted his hand away from Amber's mouth.
"I… I don't know what you're talking about," Amber said.
"Yes. Yes it's you. Luck, she's with me. They can't call me deserter if I bring you in."
"Please, let me go," Amber said.
She felt herself turned around and pushed against the wall. Her hands were tied behind her back at her wrists, and a balled up piece of dirty cloth was thrust into her mouth.
"There's a few of us," the Tingaran said when he was done, "all wondering how we can get home without being hung as deserters."
Amber cried out, but the sound was muffled. Lord of the Sky, was this really happening?
"Don't worry, girl. We'll get you back to your one-armed lover safe and sound. I expect the High Lord will reward us, for bringing you in. You're coming with me."
~
MIRO was glad Amber hadn't come to the conference.
As the area of land under the allies' control grew, the truth about the prison camp became impossible to hide. It sickened them all to their core, and if there was one thing they agreed on, it was that they needed to push all the way through to Seranthia, removing Primate Melovar Aspen from power and ridding the world of his evil.
Much was clear now that had previously been rumour and speculation. Recovering as she was, Amber shouldn't hear this.
Miro knew the whole picture now. Some valiant men, perhaps templars rising up against the Primate, had destroyed the Assembly's relics in Stonewater. With their ruin, the Primate's source of essence was gone. This courageous act had levelled the playing field, as both the Black Army and Altura's supplies of essence dried up, and the Primate could no longer produce the elixir he used to control the leaders of the houses.
However in the last few months the Black Army's devastating use of orbs, dirigibles and avengers had increased. The Primate had some new source of essence.
And now they knew what it was.
"We've destroyed the facility completely," Marshal Beorn said, "and the vats with it. I don't think it would do the common people any good to know what went on there."
"Agreed," High Lord Tiesto said. "However I think we can safely assume this wasn't the only site."
"Rumours are that there are two more, both in Tingara. I think Tingara makes sense," Miro said, "simpler logistics and faster transportation of the essence to where it's needed."
"Lord of the Earth, what a mess," High Lord Tiesto said.
"We should make the location and destruction of these… facilities… a priority," said High Animator Salvatore.