"Well," said Torrent, "I do have a plan for heading towards the Lyceum without pursuit. The way things piled up here was somewhat unanticipated, so I wasn't as entirely prepared for the getting out part because I didn't expect it to be difficult." She shrugged sheepishly, looking apologetic.
She patted the bag at her hip again. "But once we're out, we stick to mountain paths... and then take the main road! The original main road, I mean. The old Elf Road through Innenotdar Forest. Maybe nobody's been able to figure out why the Fire Forest burns eternally, but people have gone in and out safely enough. As long as you're able to survive a forest fire, you can make it through. I don't have anything that'll let us go through the fire itself, but my mentor, Lee, is something of a potion master... What I have in this bag will let us endure ambient heat perfectly comfortably. As long as we stay on the path and don't go sticking our hands directly into open flame, it's no problem. And the Ragesians won't be prepared for it, I'm sure. So even if they see where we're going, they won't be able to follow. They'd have to go around if they want to pursue us, and our path will be far shorter than theirs."
She moved to the tables where her backpack, cloak, and shield lay and began putting them on. "I'm glad you're all eager to begin, but I do have a few more things to share about this meeting. Badgerface isn't actually a Resistance spy, he works for the Lyceum itself. His contact was a human named Perrin... who we found dead a few days ago. She was killed by arrows. We suspect the Shahalesti, but it could be Ragesians or someone else entirely. One of our priests had a scroll that let him ask the corpse some questions, which is how we know the place and time of the meeting. I've been in contact with Lee, so he knows we're meeting with Badgerface in her stead--but he doesn't. It shouldn't be a problem since I can prove my connection to Lee, but be prepared for it.
"Now, for where we're headed... Are you all familiar with the big depository? You need to go there during business hours to open an account, but once you have one it's open 24 hours. But nobody actually goes there at night, and they don't even bother keeping it lit. Good place for a private meeting, if everybody involved has an account. Perrin did, Badgerface does... and I do. So they'll just let us in, easy enough."
Torrent stopped as she was fastening her cloak, tilting her head and looking confused. "What's that sound?" she said, half to herself. There was a distant, repetitive noise, a kind of soft thumping. "Is that fireworks?" She smiled. "I thought they wouldn't have them with the... well, you know. That's nice! I guess that means it's midnight, then."
