Arbeenok glided low toward a protected courtyard along one side of the palace, one that was screened off from the rest of the city by low walls. Vambran wasn't sure if the druid could sense the same thing he did, but a palpable feeling of malevolence hung in the air, making the mercenary feel unclean. It seemed to radiate from the palace and it was particularly strong at some point below ground level, near the plaza the druid had selected for landing.
Arbeenok drew up and released Vambran before alighting on the stones beside him. The druid cocked his avian head to one side, regarding the lieutenant.
"Good luck," the mercenary said to his companion.
Arbeenok replied with a single screech and a nod, then he pushed off and began winging his way toward the city's center.
Vambran turned in place, eyeing the courtyard. The sick, evil sensation bubbled up from below him. A door provided egress from the enclosed plaza, but Vambran could sense that the most direct route to his quarry was straight down, through the rain grate. He yanked the heavy grille aside, muttered a quick prayer to Waukeen in order to light his holy coin, and dropped down into the darkness.
House Talricci seemed abandoned when Emriana and her aunt approached.
They had decided to wait until nightfall to proceed, for they knew that barging onto the property, as they had done at their own home, would not work. Besides the issues of trespassing, Grozier and Bartimus undoubtedly expected the two women to hunt them down, and had most likely prepared a few magical surprises for them. Thus, Xaphira had unpacked a few additional scrolls from her collection, magic that she claimed would help her spy any dangerous traps or magical threats to the two of them.
"I don't want another case of ringing bells giving us away," she had said to Emriana.
While waiting for darkness, Emriana had at last made an effort to contact Vambran, to apprise him of the state of things in Arrabar. And to find out if he's still alive, she had thought, fearing the worst. Hearing the news from the Darowdryn House wizards that Vambran had encountered the plague in Reth had made the girl's stomach turn flip-flops.
Her brother had not answered.
"He can take care of himself," Xaphira had insisted, but Emriana had seen the hint of fear in the older woman's eyes. "And we can't do anything for him right now, anyway," her aunt had admonished. "Focus on Obiron and Quindy. They need us."
Once evening had arrived, they departed the Matrell estate by themselves, asking Steelfists Darowdryn to stay behind and protect their family, especially in case they didn't return. The huge man had agreed, though Emriana could tell by the look in the fellow's eyes that he was spoiling for a confrontation with Talricci and his wizard almost as much as she and her aunt were.
The two women climbed over a wall into one of the gardens. Unlike the lush green places that filled most of the estates throughout Arrabar, the gardens of Talricci's abode were wild and overgrown, thick with weeds and swarming insects, and nearly impossible to pass through. In other circumstances, Emriana would not have cared much for the place, but because of the covert nature of their arrival, being able to slip over a wall behind a screen of impenetrable flora held a decided benefit.
"Stay close," Xaphira said, creeping through the thick vegetation, trying to keep from rustling the plants. Cattails around a pond ahead of them grew so tall that Emriana doubted she would be able to reach their tops even if she stood straight up on tiptoes and stretched her hands upward. She listened for telltale sounds of House guards nearby, the usual low laughter from a coarse joke or scuffing of boots on paving stones as they walked. But the grounds of the estate were eerily quiet.
The two women reached open lawn then, and Emriana peered over Xaphira's shoulder toward the back of the house at the top of the slope. There were no lights burning inside that she could see. "Where is everyone?" she whispered, peering intently to try to detect some movement, perhaps a darker shadow hiding at the base of a tree or in a window.
"I don't know," Xaphira said. "Maybe they took the twins and went somewhere else, hoping we wouldn't be able to follow."
"Well," Emriana replied, "we can't, can we?"
"Which is why we're going in anyway," Xaphira explained. "To make sure. I don't want to go back to Marga empty-handed."
Neither do I, Emriana thought. "Do you see anything?" she asked, wondering what Xaphira's magically enhanced senses were telling the older woman.
"No," Xaphira replied, sounding a bit surprised. "There's nothing. No spells, no traps, nothing." After a few moments more, she said, "Let's go in."
Together, the Matrell women darted across the lawn toward the house. When they reached the porch, Emriana scampered up the steps and went to one side of a large set of glassed double doors, pressing herself against the stone. As Xaphira moved to the opposite side, Emriana held her breath, listening for any sounds from within. There were no footfalls, no creaks of doors, no noises at all.
Tentatively, Xaphira reached over and tried the door. It was not locked. "It's almost like they want us to come inside," she said, hesitating.
"I don't care," Emriana said. "Quindy and Obiron could be…" She left the thought hanging, but it seemed enough to convince Xaphira to keep to the plan.
Xaphira pulled the door open and Emriana waited a couple of silent counts, just to make sure no trap was sprung by the motion. Then she barely angled her head around the corner of the frame, trying to see if anyone stood within. When she was satisfied that the chamber beyond the doors was empty, she glided silently inside.
The girl found herself in a tall open hall, with stairs running up to the second floor of the estate along either wall, meeting again at the top where a balcony led to several other passages. On the ground floor, numerous doorways and halls led out from the central chamber. The house was dark and silent.
Xaphira moved in beside Emriana, breathing slowly. "Still no traps," she said, "and no magical emanations anywhere."
Emriana nodded. "If you were expecting uninvited guests," she said, "would you possibly hold back your defenses until they were deep inside, perhaps lulled into a false sense of security?"
"Perhaps," Xaphira answered.
"And where would you wait for those uninvited guests to arrive?"
Xaphira didn't say anything for a long moment, then she replied, "The basement."
"That's what I was thinking, too," Emriana said. "Let's see if we can find our way down."
"If we get separated for some reason," Xaphira said, pulling a glowing coin from a pouch at her waist and handing it to Emriana, "use your necklace to call to me." She removed a second lit coin, which she kept. "And if you think you hear something, slip that into a pocket and hide."
"I will," Emriana said. And with that, they started forward. The girl crept along, rolling the balls of her feet to be as silent as possible as she roamed toward the nearest doorway. Inside, she saw an open chamber with several dark figures standing still, waiting for her.
She nearly yelped out loud before she realized they were suits of armor, assembled on stands. It was something of a trophy room with numerous treasures displayed on shelves, in cases, and hanging from the walls. There weren't any other visible exits from the room, and she didn't see the point in checking for concealed passages until they had exhausted all the other possibilities.
The girl turned back to try a different doorway and saw motion from deeper in the house. She swallowed hard and slipped the coin into her pocket, dousing the illumination and peering into the darkness. It had not been Xaphira, for Emriana could easily see her across the way by the glow of her coin, moving about in a dining room. Whatever had moved, it had been hidden in the near-darkness on the edge of Emriana's vision.