Audric laughed out loud in response to his friend's outrage, in spite of the seriousness of their situation. "I didn't realize you were so petty," he teased. They were on Audric's turf, after all, and most of the people in Allar only heard about the Masked Mordecai in conjunction with the Shrouded Swordsman.
Now, down to business... Audric glanced around, then and smirked as a few of the plants Nera had kept in the fountain bobbed by.
"You know," he said as he snatched the plants. "When I was little, I wanted to be a frog." He fished out his dagger from his belt and began to slice into the green plants. "My mother pointed out that frogs could stay underwater much longer than a boy...and since my parents could never agree on anything, my father brought home one of these."
By the end of his little speech, he had a pair of breathing straws. They were tricky to use -- and he hadn't used one in years -- but as long as they could stay underwater, the guards should walk right by them... After all, Audric couldn't see his own hands, the misplaced dirt was so thick!
"Here," he said, offering one to his colleague. "I'd rather not murder my guards, if you don't mind."
Without a word of explanation further, he stuck the hollow tube in his mouth and disappeared under water, leaving only the bobbing plant where he had been. And then, as Leif watched, the plant made its way at an almost natural pace away from the wall towards their goal.
