Soon after Andarin and lord Terrin left and Miryanna saw this as the perfect time to ask her father about tomorrow.

"Father," She started, "I was wondering if it'd be alright for me to go out tomorrow, and spend the day in the town. Just by myself, that is. Would that be alright?" She asked hopefully.

Lord Dominic thought for a moment and Miryanna waited in tense silence.

"All by yourself?" He asked a bit skeptically.

She shrugged, "I've been wanting some alone time, a change scenery for a little while now, so, I was wondering if tomorrow would be a good time."

"Well, for how long?" Her father asked.

"Um, most of the day. I was thinking of leaving an hour after sunrise and I'll probably be back before or a little after dark,"

"Get home before dark and I guess that's alright." Her father finally said.

"Yay! Thank you, father!" She hugged him and after bidding each other good night, they headed to their rooms.

she's says yay! two times already with no hint of irony

When she reached her room, she sunk down on the bed happily.

She was going to become an Ergli tomorrow. The thought filled her with glee.

Of course she knew that it could be very dangerous, but shea also knew that Andarin was a part of it too, and he would go to all lengths to keep her safe. She hoped she wouldn't take advantage of this.

She got ready for bed and was son beneath the soft covers, sleeping deeply.

Unbeknownst to her, while she was asleep, a figure stole into her room. He surveyed area in the darkness, the only light coming from his glowing red eyes.

oooooOOOOOooooohhhhh

Miryanna awoke the next morning feeling fresh and bright. She jumped out of bed and started getting ready for the day. On her vanity, she saw a little piece of paper it looked like at first, but upon closer inspection, she saw that it was animal skin. She frowned, wondering if this was another note from Roric, but the handwriting and general manner of the message was decidedly not his style.

You're making a mistake

Was all it said. It spelled perfectly and written in beautiful flowing handwriting, unlike the harsh jerkiness of Roric's strokes. She turned it over half expecting to see the growling lion and the sneering serpent, but was greeted by another sight. It was indeed a growling lion and a sneering serpent, but this time, the serpent was victorious. It had it's coils wrapped around the lion and was choking it. Over this was the slogan, We Will Conquer.

okay so obvs this is the bad guy and obvs this is about her joining the erglis for how the heck did he find out about that? I mean it stands to high reason that he'd have spies everywhere in the palace but if him knowing that miryanna was an ergli should have affected the scheme of things more than it did. As it is, this was just me and my penchant for mysterious notes

She felt a little frightened. What did this mean? She got dressed quickly, bothered by feeling that she was being watched. She tucked the scrap of leather with the words on it in her purse and started out to breakfast, her cheerful spirit dampened.

She ate quickly, wanting to get a move on, and left accordingly at an hour after sunrise.

She walked at a brisk pace through the town, window shopping on her way to the alley. When she finally reached it, she felt a bit apprehensive about going onto the dark place after that morning, but she did it anyways.

"Hello?" She called out softly, waiting for Andarin's reply.

"Miry, glad you could make it," Came his response. He came out of the shadows and she could see his face in the dim light. Seeing him comforted her.

"Ready?" He asked.

Roric also partly stepped out of the shadows, awaiting them.

"Before, we go, I found this on my vanity this morning," She said, pulling out the scrap of leather from her purse. "Does it mean anything to either of you?" She asked, handing it to Andarin who studied it as well as he could in the dark alleyway.

Roric also studied it over Andarin's shoulder, but she could tell by his somewhat blank, somewhat confused expression that he couldn't make sense of the words. He put his mouth net Andairn;s ear and said something, but it was too quiet for Miryanna to hear. Andarin read the note aloud and Roric looked to be contemplating it now.

Could it be that he couldn't read? No, he wrote the note out, though it was written atrociously, but she dismissed the idea of him not being able to read. When Andarin turned it over, they both inhaled sharply.

yes, in fact, roric is mostly illiterate. idk i thought it'd be kinda endearing that Super Cool Tough Guy can't read. vulnerability and all that.

"What do they want with her?" Roric demanded, "How did they know?"

"Well," Andarin said thoughtfully, "They do have spies everywhere, I guess this just means that we'll have to be doubly on our guard." He turned to Miryanna, "Miry, were you followed here?"

"Oh, I didn't think to check..." She desperately hoped her absent mindedness wouldn't be the downfall of this secret group. "I'm sorry, I didn't know," She wasn't really sure how to apologize for not checking if she was being followed.

hey, i wouldn't know how to apologize for not checking if i was being followed either, you're in good company

"You don't know to check if you're being followed?" Roric asked, a note patronizing in his voice.

gosh roric she's a noblewoman she hasn't spent her life looking over her shoulder like some people i could mention

Andarin laid a hand on his shoulder, almost as a restraint, "Please, Roric, she hasn't the same life you or a lot of other members had. She hasn't had to watch her back."

thanks andarin

Roric snorted and crossed his arms, "Her little mistake might cost us dearly."

g o s h roric at this point just change the appointment like.. there's no way they don't have a tail... except there is because yours truly is dumb and this is seat of the pants writing at it's finest.

"It's not her fault, it could've happened to anybody. Now let's get moving before we really are spotted." Andarin said firmly, putting an end to the conversation.

yes it really could have happened to anybody. I glimpsed such a note on my sister's desk day before last. Such a bother tsk tsk

"If we haven't been already," Andarin and Miryanna both heard Roric mutter under his breath.

i'll only excuse myself for this after i've written a short slapstick about how the spies and tails got into hilarious shenanigans that kept them from following miryanna and comp.

Miryanna bit her lip, not happy with how this had turned out. "I'm sorry," she whispered to Anadarin.

"It's not your fault. I'm sure you weren't being followed, it's just that Roric is paranoid sometimes. As I've said before, the Erglis are no laughing matter, and there are those who take it especially seriously." He explained. "Don't worry. I'm sure nothing bad will happen."

thank you andarin, but she was definitely being followed.

At the end of the alley, they reached a small wagon and they all got in. The driver slapped the reins and the horse stepped out. The wagon was covered, so no one outside could see it's occupants, and Miryanna couldn't see out either.

They ride didn't take terribly long, but it seemed longer, since there was an awkward silence the whole ride. It finally ended when the wagon stopped and the driver announced they had arrived at their destination. They all filed out and Miryanna looked around to find that they were in the middle of nowhere. There was a copse of trees nearby and Miryanna followed Roric, Andarin, and the driver into it. There, Roric went over to a certain tree that had a lot of big knobby roots, and felt on the ground between two especially large ones. He grabbed another smaller root, and pulled. directly inspired by The Pit Of Despair. Miryanna gasped, for a slab or earth was coming up! Upon closer inspection she saw that it was really a wooden trapdoor that had dirt and grass and stuff growing above it to camouflage it. Andarin went first, leading Miryanna by the hand, then the driver, then Roric. When Roric closed the door, it was completely black until Andarin found a torch in the wall. He lit it, and Miryanna could see that they were in a small room, rather like a root cellar. Miryanna didn't like dark cramped spaces at all, and this fit the bill perfectly. She was relieved when Roric went over to one of the walls and applied pressure, revealing a long dark passageway, lit with torches. She gaped at all of this. It was amazing! A secret passageway underground. This was the stuff of novels and stories, she thought as they walked along, finally coming to a door. They'd passed other doors along the way, but this was the first one they stopped at.

I have may issues with their hideout. it's in a copse of trees in the middle of nowhere. secluded yeah, but hard to get to. and it's not in an area that people would usually be traversing so a sudden flow of people going to and from this specific location would have to raise some brows.

Roric, who was now leading, opened the door to reveal a room much like the one that Miryanna had woken up to a few days ago, but this room was more airy and better decorated. In the room, there were a few people. She recognized Wis among them, but the others were unfamiliar. Three men who looked important. Roric, Andarin, and the driver bowed slightly before them.

"My lords," Roric was saying, "we've brought the woman who wishes to become one of us." He gestured at Miryanna, who curtsied to the three men.

One of them nodded, "What's your name?"

"Miryanna Heolstor," She replied.

"And your parents, who are they?"

"My mother passed away when I was young. My father is the lord Dominic, chief ambassador for the crown." She said with some pride when stating her father's office.

yeah but who was your mom? there's' gotta be more info than "she died when i was young". disappointingly, no there isn't. *shakes head at younger writer self*

The man nodded, "And he does not know of this?"

She shook her head, "No,"

"And you will not tell him or anyone else until you are given leave by authorized personnel?"

She nodded. "Yes,"

The man looked at his two grim faced companions and seemed to have an unspoken exchanging of words.

The man who had spoken earlier turned to Andarin. "And you vouch for her?"

Andarin nodded, "Yes, sir, I do."

He turned to Wis, "Do consider yourself qualified to vouch for her?"

"Well," she replied, "I can't say that I know her very well, but from what I do know of her, she's a nice, trustworthy girl who'd be an asset to our little organization." She said confidently.

that's not enough. she could be a serial killer for all you know

Miryanna smiled at Wis and Wis smiled back.

"Alright, it seems that we shall have a new member. Any objections? Speak now or forever hold your peace."

Miryanna glanced at Roric, who shifted his weight, and frowned, but said nothing.

G o s h roric

"Miryanna Heolstor, do you swear to never reveal any of the members of Ergli to anyone, unless they also be of the Ergli?" The man said.

"I swear." Miryanna said.

"Do you swear to never reveal any of our secret hideouts?"

"I swear."

"Do you swear to give your utmost to defending the kingdom of Terinnia and will do whatever is necessary to keep it and it's rulers safe?"

"I swear."

"Do you swear to always be a good member of the Erglis and do whatever it's leaders order you to do?"

"I swear."

The man paused for effect then announced grandly, "If that's the case, I proclaim you, Miryanna Heolstor, a member of the Erglis."

that was kinda a pathetic initiation ceremony, ngl

Miryanna smiled and there was a bit of clapping, mainly from Wis and Andarin. 

:)

Wis came and embraced her, "I'm glad that you're a part of us. There needs to be more cultured ladies like yourself to keep an eyes on the more rowdy of us," She eyed Roric, who was standing in a corner, his ever serious expression on his face.

ha