Ironhollow 26

Paisley fell into step with Goldie down in the catacombs.
"So, this council, they, er, have their meetings down here?" Paisley asked. Goldie nodded.
"And why doesn't the rest of Ironhollow know about them? Why are they so secretive?" Paisley pressed on.
Goldie narrowed her blue eyes. "They haven't kept themselves secret, people just refuse to notice them. That's what it's  like for the entire Lower Levels! No one wants to deal with the unimportant population of the Lower Levels." Goldie said, anger rising in her tone.
Suddenly, Paisley spotted a door at the end of the winding tunnel.
"At last!" Arden exclaimed.
Goldie opened the door to reveal a round chamber with stone floors, a high ceiling and a fire pit in the center of the room, surrounded by three armchairs. In the first armchair sat a big man with a red beard to match his size, in the second armchair sat a hunched old woman, with wispy, fading red hair. In the third sat a young woman, maybe twenty, also with red hair, but her's was more a fiery orange. They stared at the group of girls.
"This is the Council of the Lower Levels." Goldie said with a dramatic sweep of her hand.
"Golden Harris, why have you brought these people among us?" the man asked loudly, "Look at their clothes, they are not Lower Levelers."
Paisley and Arden were still wearing their banquet dresses.
"They wish to know of Operation Iron." Goldie said, then she stepped forward and whispered something in the old woman's ear.
The old woman looked off-balance for a moment, before heaving a sigh and saying, "Tell them, Earysta."
The young woman nodded, and launched into the tale: "Many years ago, when this council was only my father and grandmother, the law had been passes that no Lower Leveler could enter the Upper City with clearance from the government. Why? For fear that any illnesses would get transferred to the Upper population. This sparked anger within the Lower Levels,and a plan was devised; if ever the city was attacked, we would take advantage of the weakness in the city. We would go up into the city for the first time in years. We would place someone in the government building, and in the confusion, they would only be seen as a random politician. And we would finally have someone on the inside."
Arden shrugged. "That doesn't sound too bad."
Earysta continued, "That was stage one. Stage two, we take over the government, holding most important politicians in the main chamber. The city would be ours."