[center][h2]Anne Mayer[/h2][h3]??? — Cave Entrance[/h3][/center]
Anne caught the box one-handed, and peered at it with a frown. It could technically be a trap, some kind of oddly-shaped hand grenade, but the circumstances told her that wasn't the case. Millie was still close at hand, within the potential blast radius, and the Herald woman had specifically mentioned wanting to [i]retrieve[/i] the girl rather than eliminate her. That all but confirmed Anne's suspicions that the enemy wanted Millie alive, or at the very least intact.

[i]...And that gives us a bargaining chip.[/i]

That white sigil may have been unknown to her, but she could tell its purpose. The tide must have finally turned back in the village, and someone up the chain of command was getting antsy, demanding results before the Heralds took any further losses. Time was on Anne's side now, and she very deliberately paused for a long few seconds before she responded.

"You'd have me trade an innocent young girl... For a gift box?" She popped it open with her thumb, just long enough to take a quick peek inside before she snapped the top closed again. "You people don't understand the value of human lives. Maybe if you did, you'd be a little less careless with your own."

The tone of her voice had changed. She let her anger show, her stubbornness, one hand clenched so tight into a fist that the Herald would be able to [i]hear[/i] it squeeze. "You're not sure you can win, are you? Not without risking your prize in the thick of the fight. Maybe you really are stronger, but my allies could be here any minute—and if those idiots under Varst arrive first, they'll only screw things up for you even more." Everything she'd learned about the woman, her goals and her fears, Anne threw back at her now. If it didn't make her back down, then it might at least create an opening, a critical moment of hesitation. 

"...So leave while you can. We'll keep Millie safe for now, and you can come back next time with more competent lackeys. At least this time, we can both walk away without losing anything."

[@EchoWolff][@PKMNB0Y]