Roan summoned a Memory, and a wall of silence surrounded them. The pile of people slowly climbed off of Flint and gained their composure.
"You all act like I was going to bring down the sky upon our heads!" Flint pushed back his hair away from the scar over his right eye.
"Maybe not the sky, but you nearly brought down a Saint's wrath on your head and perhaps all of us by extension." Roan flexed his fingers, resisting the urge to strike the other man across the jaw.
"I learned my lesson," Flint held up his hand in a solemn oath. "You never need to worry about me again. Between Blondie and Syrce, any notion of sarcasm has been scared out of me."
"Me? I am scary? You can't be too afraid if you are still calling me Blondie!" Noble furrowed her brow.
Some of her students found her intimidating, but she had never thought of herself as particularly fear-inducing. At least right now, when she wasn't pretending to be Queen Bee.
"What? It's a harmless nickname! Surely that doesn't qualify as rude!" Flint was genuinely confused.
"Master Flint, you recall that I did not like it when you were teasing me with royal titles?" Aether clasped his hands like the monarch he never wanted to be. "Would you consider that most people prefer to be called in the way they introduce themselves?"
"I don't get it," Flint rubbed his forehead.
"He's saying people hate your nicknames." Helie shrugged.
"I...really?" Flint looked around at his cohort. "Even you, Roanie?"
"The only person who I would ever accept calling me Roanie is Tyris, and she, thankfully, does not." Roan crossed his arms.
"Fine. No more nicknames. Anything to satisfy that crazy-headed Saint." Flint bit his tongue. "I mean our wonderful commander!" He restated loudly.
"The protective barrier is still up," Roan assured his companion.
"I know. I'm just practicing. Can't be too careful." Flint made a sign to ward off evil across his chest.
Aether placed his hand on Flint's shoulder. "You know. If you find kindness is too tall a task, perhaps silence is a better option?"
The surly Master shrugged off the other man's arm. "You don't think I can do it?"
"Let's put it this way: it took you barely ten sentences from when Lady Syrce left for you to insult her." Helie held up the fingers on both hands.
"What? Are you a mathematician now?" Flint waved off her calculations. "Anyway, what is with you all? Don't tell me that whole thing with Drusus didn't bother you!"
"Of course, it bothered me," Noble pursed her lips. "The rest of us just knew to keep it to ourselves until we had some privacy."
"Why didn't you tell me?!" The man's eyebrows shot to his hairline.
Noble's eyes looked like they might pop out of her head. "We tried! I made this face to let you know to be quiet. You were too adamant about being right to pay it any attention."
"Oh..." Flint scratched his head. "Well, you could have been less discreet. It's almost like you wanted me to get caught."
"Let's not waste this moment alone arguing who could have done what." Roan cleared his throat.
"He's right. It's not worth it." Helie chewed her lip. "What I want to know is how the mirror healed Drusus? I swear he was still and invalid when I left."
"Lady Syrce said the mirror would make all the people's dreams come true." Aether pulled at his chin.
"Yes, but we were working under the assumption that it was meant to transfer people to different places. The healing bit is confusing." Noble pointed out.
"And don't forget the being naked part," Flint added. "That didn't happen to us when we came here, thank goodness."
"That's different. This second Bastion is separate from what that little mirror can do. Our arrival in this version of the Palace just happened to coincide with her retrieving the power from the mirror maze. If I had to guess, Syrce got some rudimentary control of the palace while inside the maze. It would be like when the Spell gives Saints control of citadels. Both the entrance to the Maze and the travel between the two Bastions seem to be tied to the full moon's influence and its power over this place."
Noble knew for certain that this Bastion was not a mechanism of the small mirror.
It would be a lot even for a relic to create a world. That is what divine beings did. Plus Noble had seen the torn tapestry and the reflection of Bastion on the mirror itself. This place pre-existed them both.
There was also the matter of the fake Bastion still existing in the current day. Since Noble was fairly certain the hand mirror was destroyed at some point, it wouldn't have made sense for the Dream Realm to continue to propagate one of its illusions.
And this place wasn't an illusion anyway. It was as real as True Bastion, even if it wasn't the original.
After a pause, Noble continued her thought, "Syrce may not know that the things are separate, though, which would color her perception of the looking glass's power."
If Syrce believed the mirror had created this world and not Mirage, then it made sense that she would think of it like a magical lamp that could grant all of her desires.
Well, all of her desires within reason. It had not brought Orrin to her.
That was strange...
'So much to think about!'
"I could be wrong, of course. And I am only guessing what Syrce knows," Noble added. "The only way to know is to ask."
"Then perhaps we should get some clarification on what the commander thinks," Aether suggested.
"Maybe not all of us..." Roan intentionally avoided looking at Flint.
Noble nodded. "I agree. I should probably go alone. Now that she has demonstrated the mirror for us, I think a little heart-to-heart may be in order."
"And what should the rest of us do?" Flint asked. The others glanced around warily.
"Helie, Aether, and I will go and help unload and store supplies. I am sure the claiming of sleeping places for the evening had already begun. I will personally make sure you get a good spot, Flint," Roan placed his hand on his heart.
"Why does it sound like I won't be with you to pick my own bed?" Flint raised one eyebrow at his cohort members.
Noble laid her hand gently on the curmudgeon's arm.
"I think we would all feel better if you lay low for a bit...at least until Syrce calms down a little more." Noble rubbed her neck. "And definitely avoid Lady Mae. If she goes to complain about you, not even I will be able to save you."
"You all feel this way?" Flint rubbed his thumb across his nose as he saw each member nod their head. "Well, it's good to know how much faith you all have in me. I will show you all. I can be suave and genteel."
"Of course, you can," Noble smiled at him. "Maybe you can keep an eye on Drusus and practice on him?"
"Maybe I will! And I'll get to the bottom of whatever happened without you or your Saint. You'll see!" Flint insisted. "Now if you'll excuse me..."
He flung the belt from one shoulder to another dramatically and turned to leave.
"Where are you going?" Roan dismissed the Memory as Flint marched away.
"Wouldn't you like to know, Roan?" Without providing an answer, the curmudgeon left their presence.
The man in the blue scarf coughed. "I never thought his saying my name correctly would be more irritating, but here we are."
"He just needs some time to calm down. That interaction with Syrce rattled him more than he was willing to admit." Noble sent a small amount of comfort to the man as he tried to escape her influence.
There wasn't much more she could do. Just now, there was a Saint she wanted to speak to urgently.