Beneath the Surface

"Y'all alright down there?" She asks.

"Mostly." He touches a hoof to his still-raw shoulder and winces. "I'm not writhing on the floor in the throes of death yet, so I suppose it's okay."

Griff sighs and casts a pain-killing spell on Ician, making him feel no pain at all. "This last time, Ician. Or until you employ me again."

"You didn't need to do that. It was just a semi-deep minor shoulder wound." Ician looks at Griff. "But thanks anyway."

Divine sighed. "Sorry I dragged you into this. I didn't think they'd follow me here." She wiped the blood of her cheek.

"No, no, it's not your fault at all." Ician waves his hoof dismissively. "How could you have known, at any rate? No, I suppose it's for the better. We'll interrogate whoever's left and see what we can get out of them."

"Not a whole lot I reckon. So who's this fellow from the night guard you keep hunting at?"

"The Night Guard?" Ician raises an eyebrow. "Whoever said anything about the Night Guard?"

"Pardon, it was a slip of the tongue. Night court was it not?"

"Yes, the Night Court." Ician gazes up towards the towering monolithic Canterlot Palace. "He's a telepath in service to Princess Luna."

"Really? How's he gonna help? And how soon can we go?"

"He can help. Trust me." Ician turns his gaze back to the Crystal Viper. "We can leave as soon as the Captain gets back to us with the details of all your rewards, I suppose."

She bounced like a little filly, her armour hampering her none. "Alright~"

"Now... we wait, I suppose." Ician sighs. "Waiting... and waiting..."

She continued to bounce, Arcane snorting as he watched her, before vanishing. Ruby raised an eyebrow at Ician, before turning to see Arcane vanish. "Mercenaries." She muttered.

"Mercenaries indeed." Ician sighs. "Although, if he's still listening, he might care to note that his payment won't be by the Captain. Paladin hired him, so Paladin's in charge of making sure he gets paid."

"I've already paid him." A voice says as a white stallion in dark blue armour approaches. "Welcome back tactian." Paladin says quietly.

"Ah, Paladin. Good to see you again." Ician swivels to face him. "Well done, sending reinforcements my way. I couldn't have done it without you."

Paladin shrugged. "You needed them, I sent them. With the Gala in a few days, it's good have you back."

"Thank you. I... suppose it is." He shrugs. "Not sure how much more good I'll do here, but at least I'm home. It's better than nothing."

"You're the tactian, I'm just a pleb thrust in the line of fire." He chuckled. "I hate paperwork."

"It'll be a relief for me to get back to paperwork after that adventure." Ician smiles slightly. "Ah, how I miss my comfortable office. I can't wait to get back."

"Oh... Ummm... Yeah, about that..." Paladin rubbed the back of his neck. "Some of the guards played a prank of your room..."

"... Who are they?" Ician deadpans. "And what happened?"

"Don't know who did it... But your office is... Well... Filled with whipped cheese." He chuckled at the thought.