"Kilnmarch? Ah, I think I remember hearing something about that..," Mercutio reminisced, running his hand thoughtfully over the beard that had been starting to grow over the past few weeks. "A few years back, wasn't it? I was sweet on a handmaid of the Lady Varence at the time, and I'd be damned if she talked of nothing but. I could've sworn she thought I was behind it." And while he<span style="font-style: italic">hadn't</span>been behind it, he'd used it as a clever distraction to liberate a few of the Varence family jewels.<br/><br/>Mercutio kept his smirk, though he silently weighed down on what his partner had said. Something did feel off about this. Jhoran's nervousness, the amount of riders on the sideroads to Aershire... The bastard knew something that he hadn't wanted to mention, that much was certain.<br/><br/>Halam lightened his mood as soon as those thoughts had started to fester. "You can't beat good coin and a good fuck, my friend. This might turn out to be worth the hassle."<br/><br/>Merc tightened his reins and pulled to the right, veering his palfey off onto the main road to the shire. The walls looked unnecessarily tall, even from where they were at, and the portcullis was just as thick. If things went downhill, it would be more than a little difficult to make it out of such a secure place in one piece, let alone with a kidnapped noble. Something told him that he'd want to be on the look out for alternate routes all the while he was in the city. For all he knew, they would need them.