The library was on fire, and no one knew about it, yet. Sera indifferently stood in the corner of the lower library and watched as the fire slowly spread across one of the shelves.

“What a shame. These were such nice books,” she shrugged, “but desperate times call for desperate measures.”


She snuck out of the library, which was now slowly filling with smoke, quietly closing the door behind her. Many of the candles residing in the mounted lanterns had burned through, leaving the halls in a dark hue. All she could hear was the sound of crickets chirping outside as she passed by open windows, making her way to the servants’ sleeping quarters. Stifling a cough as smoke clouds accumulated in the halls, she opened the door slightly.

“Fire! Fire!”

Sera hid behind the door as the other servants rose from their beds in a panic and fled into the halls towards the smoke. As they entered the hall, she merged with the crowd and made her way towards the basement. Looking over the castle terrain as she passed a window, she saw many of Myghell’s men confusedly rushing towards the steadily growing hysteria. She ran through the hall, screaming frantically, “Fire! Fire! The library’s on fire! Anyone! We need all the help we can get!”

Two guards appeared, rushing towards her.

“What’s wrong?” the skinnier of the two asked, “Why’re you running around screaming?”

“Please,” she begged as she fell to her knees, “Please help, the castle will burn at this rate!”

The guards looked at each other, clearly conflicted.

“You know what, you should go,” the skinny one insisted, “I can handle things down here. The prisoners haven’t said anything in hours.”

“Which way, girl?” the other responded.

“Many thanks, sir!” she responded, elated, “It’s this way! We need all the help we can get!”

The guard set off towards the library with Sera following closely behind.

Castle Melchior was descending into utter chaos. As the two rounded the corner, they bumped into servants who were either frantically rushing away from the smoke with their mouths covered, or running towards the library with wooden buckets, clumsily spilling water as they ran. After seeing the guard merge into the crowd, Sera made her way back to the basement.

She spotted the lanky guard at the entrance, with his hands clasped as he softly muttered prayers. Sera pondered momentarily before pulling up her sleeves, revealing several small vials tied to her wrists. She reached for the empty vial she had used to drug the servants and threw it down the hall, slightly past the guard’s position. It shattered as it hit the ground, causing him to jolt. She watched as he nervously turned in the direction of the broken glass. She dug in her pockets, pulling out a small square handkerchief. Removing a vial from her sleeve, she dabbed the tissue with its contents, leaving behind a small unscented wetness. Then, she quietly snuck up behind the man, not daring to make a sound. With the handkerchief in hand and her heart beating rapidly in her chest, she leapt onto him while he was facing away from her, locking her hand around his nose and mouth. The man struggled as he tried to pull her hands off his face. Unable to peel her off him as he inhaled the odorless substance and loosened his grip as his eyes rolled back. Within moments, he lay on the floor, unconscious. Sera hopped over the unconscious man and entered the basement.