Hearing Vern's question, they all fell as silent as statues. Honestly, they never expect Vern to find them; there is no other way now. They must tell the truth before this matter reaches Rufina's ears.
"Vern listen to us. We don't mean anything malicious. We want to borrow Rufina's white bird for a while to take us to Orian's cave," Asher said trying to explain everything to Vern. "That's all, nothing else."
"Yes, Asher's right, Vern. Since Sir Sebas still needs some materials for weapons against the orcs, we're trying to help him find it."
Vern was silent for a moment. "Oh my, so it is. I suppose you're trying to steal Queen Rufina's favorite being." Vern slowly relaxed his grip on the sword "Why don't you ask Queen Rufina directly? She will surely be perfectly fine with it."
"Yeah about that," Asher lowered his voice. "Rufina seems very busy and we don't want to disturb her."