"Duly noted. You don't have to come with me, you realize."

"One of us is somewhat known as an adventurer, and it ain't you. Were you going to walk up to the sign up sheet for sellswords to defend Ishgard and mime at them?"

"Well if it's a sign up sheet, presumably I'd just -"

"There is not a sign up sheet. Adventuring's all interpersonal, who you know and whatnot. 'Til you get a decent rep going, it's all fetch quests and skepticism as far as the eye can see, and nobody paying any decent amount of coin to defend a wagon, let alone Ishgard's most key defense."

"I was planning to offer a discount."

"Don't. There is nothing more suspicious than a cheap sellsword, especially to a bunch of jumpy Ishgardians. They expect you to be dishonorable or whatever, and if you don't prove them a little bit right, they'll strip search you for heretic trinkets because they don't believe anyone 'cept for Ishgard knows shite about honor. You charge them through the nose to save them and you like it. ... Ma'am."

"... Also noted." She sighs. "Okay, it is admittedly a very dumb plan."

"That it is." Sigh. "And if I don't help you you're going to run off and do it anyway, 'cept even dumber. You didn't tell anyone else this was your plan, did you. Just me, 'cause I'd absolutely be able to find you armor on short notice."

"I can't rightly tell anyone, can I, they'd all fall over themselves to help and also do the very dumb thing with me. Like you're doing. Right now. Except with Ishgard's protections sabotaged, they're all on high heretic alert, and a crowd of well armed randoms all in concealing hats would scream 'Hello, we are here to sabotage the place.'"

"And one helmeted mute can more easily slip through the cracks, I get it. But why's it you, instead of, I dunno. Drawing straws, send the one with the short straw. Or long straw, I guess."

"Out with it, or I throw the helmet off a cliff and make you go play fetch quest to get any chance of doing your dumb plan."

"They think I did it!"

"Pardon?"

"They think I sabotaged the wards! Lacking any other ideas about who could have possibly pulled off the stunt, they picked the most famous heretic leader that specializes in sabotage and theft, and guess who that is."

".... So it's for your paladin honor or whatever?"

"No! It's because I'm pissed, and if I don't get to stab something over it I will go mad, and find an even worse, less useful idea to do with my anger!"

"So, basically, yes." Sigh. "It's my head if you get caught, too, you know."

"You don't have to come with me."

"I know I don't! So, plan is, I go first to scout, then I come and get you if I think you can get past the checks. That armor not being glamoured will help. And you will not talk even a little bit. If I hear so much as a grumble out of you, I will be the first to point at you and cry heretic, got it?"

"Yes, Cynric," says Vethrione. The stated threat is completely toothless, of course, but she doesn't want to get herself and her friend caught and tortured to death either, so she'll take it in the spirit it was given.

"Good. Fine. Here."

He (grumpily) hands her the helmet, and then it's off to go do a very dumb thing. Hooray.

Honestly Ishgard was not expecting an assault of this scale so the checks are... not amazing.

Not that "amazing" is a word one could've ever applied to them, anyway, although usually the way in which they are terrible is by just assuming everyone is a heretic until proven otherwise which would not help Cynric's case.

But today in particular they are sort of taking all the help that they can get, from sellswords and Scions and the like, and if they can die at the front lines and spare the more expensive and useful knights from the same fate then all the better.

There is one person who could recognise him anyway, though. One person who is currently not actually standing out, one more dragoon amidst many, casually leaning against a wall, only distinguishable by the azure tint to her armour and the emerald orb attached to her shoulder. And if she has spotted Cynric from a mile out and has been tracking his movements as he figures out what to do, she hasn't mentioned it to anyone.

...

You know what, she seemed pretty laid back the last time he talked to her, and clearly everybody here is taking what help they get, so. He'll go say hi.

"Hey," he says, with a little wave, "if I have a hedge knight that's very touchy about keeping her helmet on, would you be willing to..." he waves his hand vaguely. "Azure Dragoon at anyone that disagrees? I don't know all the particulars of the why, but her help's conditional, and uh. Kinda seems like you need all the help you can get."

The Azure Dragoon turns glacially to look at Cynric and lifts her visor just to show how far up her left eyebrow is going. "Hmm. We do, it's true. But hedge knights are not very well trusted. You should really keep an eye on her, too."