"The dancers shall fall out of step and the world will fall into darkness, and the entirety of nations shall be captive to war." - The Prophecies of Light

"We're leaving, now." Hyesung hurried into the room, causing both Mingyu and Wonwoo to leap to their feet in surprise. They shared a quick look, Mingyu's face heating a bit in chagrin at the fact that a Mage had been able to sneak up on him, then the tall mercenary cleared his throat and dared a question.

"Leaving?" he asked, motioning around the small chamber with a jerky movement. "But we just got here. And no offense, High Mage, but I would like to know what is happening before I..."

The older man tossed a small bag at him, retrieved from underneath his robes, and when Mingyu caught it he could hear and feel the distinct nature of coins. "I don't pay you to ask questions, understood? The gold is yours, if you will me." Hyesung watched him from the corner of his eye as the mercenary pulled the slip on the bag to find that there were, indeed, gold coins inside. Nearly a year's pay from what he would get from doing ordinary soldiering work. 

His brow furrowed in thought as he hefted the bag in hand. The Mage was trying to not be obvious about watching, but as a fighter he could tell when someone was trying to appear uninterested. It seemed that there was much more to this story than the High Mage was willing to tell and that wasn't a comforting thought. However... 

Mingyu hefted the bag once more as he dragged his lower lip into his teeth to worry away at it. So much gold, and to simply a Mage...

"Very well. How should I pack?" he asked, the question loaded with much more than a simple inquiry. The answer would tell not only the direction that they would be heading, but also the duration of their journey and possibly how dangerous the Mage expected it to be. Hyesung's half smile told him that the Mage knew all of that, though, and he answered accordingly.

"I have already seen to it. And you?" He abruptly turned to Wonwoo. Mingyu did the same, noting that the thief had been watching the exchange with a calculating look on his face. He raised an eyebrow at Hyesung but did not answer, forcing the Mage to actually ask him. "The same pay is in it for you, if you will me."

"I'm not a soldier," Wonwoo said with a quirk of the lips, but Hyesung only gave him a flat look in return.

"You are a thief and a skilled fighter, and as I told you already, I have need of someone with your abilities. If you do not want the pay, though, I can always find another..."

Wonwoo's quick acceptance brought a small smile to Mingyu's face, but it fell away quickly as the Mage began to hurry them out of the room. He was in such a hurry to leave when he had seemed so leisurely before. It must have something to do with the meeting with the other High Mage... Dongwan, he thought was what the guard had called him. Mingyu couldn't help but to think that Hyesung was not sharing important information about the journey, and yet, with a pocket full of gold, should he even worry about that? One look at the thief's face said that he was thinking along the same lines, though he tried to hide it as soon as he saw Mingyu looking at him. The mercenary only gave him a tight smile before looking away, his thoughts back on the Mage's strange actions. 

They were led through the halls and to the stables in a hurry, Hyesung seemingly lost in his own mind nearly the entire way. At one point, he caught a passing servant by the arm with muttered instructions, then ordered for three horses to be saddled and one pack horse to be prepared. The grooms jumped to work at his words, but Mingyu could tell that they, too, were surprised by the commands. It was already falling dark outside, late to begin a journey, and yet Hyesung couldn't even sit still to wait, instead pacing up and down the length of the barn as he awaited his orders carried out.

The servant came back to the barn, his small, sharply tilted eyes looking curiously at the High Mage's companions before he turned to the man himself. "Sir, here are the things you asked for," he said, motioning at the several more servants he'd brought with him, all with their arms loaded with bundles. Mingyu tried to get a look at what exactly they began to pack onto the panniers of the pack horse, but all he could make out were bundles tied tightly in oiled cloth.

"Are you leaving?" The voice came from the entrance to the barn, and Mingyu turned to see the same blond guardsman from earlier standing there with the reins to his own horse. The tall sorrel had a light sheen of sweat along his bod