The feeling when Noble exited Mirage's illusory palace was strange. Much like the walls of Ravenheart, the stone here was imbued with some indefinable quality. While it wasn't as noticeable inside the home of Imagination, the sudden absence of its protection was palpable.
Noble was immediately assaulted by the feelings of all of the people far down the hillside. While that usually didn't bother her too much, there was an uncanny quality to Maelys and her crew that irritated Noble in a way she couldn't describe.
'But it's not jealousy!' She assured herself.
Rather than give in to the irritant, Noble retracted her emotional sense, pulling it as close to herself as her ability would allow. There was no way to ignore those closest to her entirely, but she could at the very least insulate herself against their influence.
'I don't want to be swayed by anyone else's emotions when I talk to Syrce,' Noble promised herself.
She instinctively took into account others' feelings when conversing. It was natural to make conversation run smoothly. However, this particular conversation needed to be based solely on facts and gathering information, so Noble did not want to be swayed from that goal.
The only thing she really needed to know was if Syrce gave her true information. The Saint had never lied to her before.
Hopefully, that trend would continue.
'Now where is she?' The only problem with retracting her emotional sense was that it left Noble blind in her normal way of locating a target.
But Child of Promise had other ways of navigating without having to ask for directions. Concentrating on her Kingdom Keeper attribute, Noble followed the gentle pull. Flint could claim that these people were fake all he wanted.
To Noble, they were real, and she could not help but care. Therefore, her attribute covered many of them in the blanket of her protection. The ties would be forcibly severed when the Nightmare ended, but until then, they would be firmly in place for those creations of the Spell that held her sympathy.
Ambling through the crowd, Noble noted how orderly things had become. Either Maelys had become more strategic in her planning, or Lady Syrce had taken over command. Rounding a corner, Noble got her answer.
"All of the foodstuffs will go up the hill. We will have to search out a proper kitchen, if Mirage had one. Until then, the building with the sloped roof will be the base of operations for food preparation. The plaza out front has ample room for cook fires." Syrce directed her men.
They listened to her every word before moving into action.
Syrce had changed into a shorter tunic than she had been wearing before. It was not quite as short as many of the men, but it allowed an ease of movement for her to participate in the hard labor and carry crates without the threat of tripping.
Her leather belt and the mirror that hung from it were missing, replaced with a simple cord of what looked like spun silver. Lacking her voluminous sleeves, the Saint's arms were laid bare, allowing a rare glimpse of her strong muscles.
Her mossy hair had been tied back, making her look more like a warrior than a woman of the court. She was a commander now, and her dainty habits had been cast aside in search of hard manual labor.
Just now, Syrce easily handed a crate to a mundane soldier, who nearly dropped it before getting the assistance of his fellow worker.
"Be careful now!" Syrce scolded them, "That has some of our more precious cargo. Place it by the door of the main keep, and I will handle it personally in a little while."
The commander brushed off her hands. In searching for the next job, she spotted her friend.
Noble smiled. "I hardly recognized you. You went from regal ruler to humble helper in the span of half an hour. I had no idea that such an outfit even existed in your wardrobe."
"I am full of surprises, dear Bel. I wish you could have seen what I used to wear before the war! Alas, those gowns are gone with the wind, most likely. Or the water..." she added a little more pensively.
"I am sure you will have new gowns once everyone is settled. And they will be more glorious than anything you have ever had before."
"Perhaps," Syrce was unwilling to let her vanity show too much, but the smile on her face revealed she would be pleased with the prospect.
Returning from a completed task, a new group of soldiers appeared and saluted their leader.
"Load the wagon with these and take them to the armory. If it is too much, have a Pink One help you. But don't disturb Cyrus next door. He needs to leave with a message shortly, and he will not appreciate the interruption to his beauty sleep." The Saint smiled faintly at the final words.
The soldiers straightened, but went to work without complaint. They moved silently, neither wanting to anger their leader or the Violet One whom they would shortly be passing.
"They worry too much." The Saint laughed. "If Cyrus wanted them dead, they wouldn't feel a thing."
"You really know how to motivate. How may I help?" Noble held out her arms.
"We can take these to the stables. They are food for the Pink Ones. I am sure they are already hungry again. Syrce handed Noble one of the many boxes around them and took a second for herself. "Shall we?"
"Which way, Commander?" Noble dipped her head in place of a salute.
Syrce led the way, and soon they were at the stables of Bastion. Except for the ones helping to transport goods, the Pink Pachyderms were spread about the stalls, resting comfortably.
Soft material like straw lined the floors, giving the creatures a bed more cozy than anything they had while on the road. Were they the reason the stables had been built by Mirage in the first place? Or had some other colorful creature inhabited them at some point?
The Saint pulled open the crate, careful not to bend the nails sealing it shut. Inside were more of the fruit that Noble had seen near the Wonder Woods. Suddenly, all of the resting Pink Ones were awake and moving.
Trunks reached from all directions, stretching impossible distances to reach the delicacies.
Syrce blocked the box from the greedy grabbers.
"Oh no, you will wait your turn. It's just snack time!"
When the trunks receded, she took a fruit in each hand and motioned for Noble to do the same. "This won't take long if we both do it."
Obliging, Noble picked up two pieces and held them out to the closest creatures. The food was gone in the blink of an eye. If the creatures had gone for her neck instead of the juicy fruit, Noble was not positive that she would have been able to react in time to protect herself.
The creatures chewed and swallowed almost just as fast. One of them was already grumbling for more.
"This will go very fast, indeed," Noble laughed.
"I know," Syrce's smile turned wistful. She looked at her companion with a knowing expression. "So, dear friend, whatever you want to talk about, you'd better do it soon..."