Emriana began to shake her brother, calling to him. Vambran regained consciousness as she rolled him over onto his back.
"Hello, Em," he said, blinking in confusion in the light. "What are you doing here?"
"Shut up," Emriana scolded as she hugged her brother. "If it weren't for me, you'd probably be dead by now."
Kovrim knelt down beside Vambran.
"Let me look at you," he said, gently moving Emriana a little to one side so he could see how severe the lieutenant's wounds were.
Vambran didn't complain as his uncle checked him out. Gently, Kovrim settled his palm on Vambran's forehead and reverently spoke a prayer of healing. Some color returned to Vambran's face, and he began to breathe easier. Emriana found a bit of cloth the other soldier had left beside her brother, picked it up, and began to dab at his face with it. She wiped the blood from his eyes and sat back.
"You'll live. That's twice today, Vambran," the priest said, shaking his head. He rose to his feet. "And now my attentions are needed elsewhere."
"Adyan? Horial?" Vambran asked weakly, looking at his sister.
"The dwarf said they made it," Emriana said. "Though he doesn't understand how."
"Good," Vambran said, and he closed his eyes in relief as the girl continued to wipe the blood from his face. "I didn't know if I got to them in time. I led them here, into a trap, and they nearly paid for my foolishness with their lives."
He shook his head in anger as he struggled to sit up.
Emriana glanced over to where the dwarf was standing, staring down at the remains of something, holding his nose as he inspected it. He nudged it once with the toe of his boot.
Kovrim moved over to what the sergeant was looking at and made a face.
"Leechwalker," he said distastefully. "Don't see that in the city every day. Someone brought it here."
"So that was some quick thinking, calling Uncle Kovrim," Vambran said, "even though you're supposed to be at home."
"This pendant isn't such a bad birthday present," Emriana said, grinning and ignoring her brother's scolding.
Vambran looked up at his uncle and said, "The red stranger was here tonight, too."
"The one from today, who assisted you at lunch?" Kovrim asked.
Emriana looked around.
"Maybe he's still here," she added, worried.
"I doubt it," her brother said. "And it's a woman, not a man. She spoke this time. Whoever she is, she doesn't want to be found. But that's strange. Really strange. She's apparently following me."
Shaking his head, Vambran looked at his sister again.
"And what are you supposed to be?" he asked, nodding at Emriana's outfit. "A spy? Where's your mask?"
"What? You don't like it? I thought I looked rather sinister. Came in handy enough to keep you from noticing me following you."
Vambran rolled his eyes and asked, "And why were you following me?"
"Because I know you. Even though you say there's no chance to go investigating, I figure that's exactly what you've got planned. Only you're going to go with your buddies instead of me. So I decided to tag along."
"You followed me all night?" The lieutenant asked wearily, finally climbing to his feet. "Dressed like that?"
"Hey, it worked. And yes, to the Crying Claw and over here."
"If Uncle Dregaul finds out, he's going to-"
"Don't start lecturing me," the girl retorted. "You're just as guilty of sneaking off as I am. I thought you were only going to take care of company business tonight."
Vambran groaned and said, "Well, I did. This just happened to be part of the evening, also."
"Well, I was right not to trust you to be honest with me, so you've got no right to yell at me."
"Fair enough," her brother replied, and Emriana was surprised that he didn't put up more of a fight than that. "But you still should have worn a mask." She looked at him sharply, and he gave her a sidelong glance accented by a smug grin. "The question is, can you sneak back inside without Uncle Dregaul noticing?"
"The only way Uncle Dregaul finds out is if you tell him, in which case you have to tell him what you were doing here, too. And I don't think that's something you're quite ready to confess, is it?"
Vambran sighed and waved his hands in surrender.
"All right, you win. But you're on your own if you do get caught."
Emriana didn't say anything, just gave her brother a smug look.
"Well," Vambran continued, changing the subject, "someone sure didn't want me to talk to these thugs. I should have realized whoever is behind this would kill again to protect their dirty little secret."
"Vam," Emriana said, giving her brother the most serious look she could conjure. "You scared the hells out of me tonight."
Vambran nodded and said, "I know. I'm sorry. It was a blunder of me to underestimate these people. Twice." He eyed her right back, his expression severe. "You realize that, if I had let you come with me instead of them, it would be you and me lying here bloodless, right?"
Emriana gave a little shudder as she considered the possibility. She shook her head.
"And there would have been no one watching your back to come to the rescue," she said. "But that's not how it ended up. We're all alive, and the thing's dead."
"Right, thanks to some mysterious red-clad benefactor. Em, this is getting out of hand."
"You don't know the half of it," Kovrim said, coming to stand beside the two siblings again. "This whole thing does indeed have temple connections."
"What?" Vambran blurted out, drawing a sharp look from the mercenaries, who were in the process of carrying out the still unconscious sergeants. "How do you know?"
"Because," Kovrim replied grimly, "I had a conversation with Grand Trabbar Lavant tonight. He didn't deny it. I was surprised, to say the least."
"How can he justify murder?" Vambran said, his voice a bit softer, but no less vehement.
"He didn't. At least he claimed not to condone it. But let's not talk in here. Eavesdroppers might be about. It's already happened at least once, I think."
Emriana spun around, staring wide-eyed into the darkness. "I thought your men said it was all clear!" she said, trepidation making her shake. "Who's still here? Vambran's mysterious rescuer?"
"Calm down, Em," Kovrim admonished. "I meant magical eavesdroppers. Scrying and the like. I'll explain why when we're a safe distance away."
The trio took a walk, leaving the rest of the cleanup business to the mercenaries. Vambran stopped quickly before they departed the warehouse, fetching Emriana's dagger and returning it to her. Then they began to walk through the misty evening, making their way in the general direction of the temple.
Kovrim continued his revelation as they strolled.
"What Grand Trabbar Lavant told me was, the temple is on the verge of negotiating a very lucrative business opportunity, and the murders were an ill-advised cover-up on someone else's part to eliminate something standing in its way. He assured me that the guilty parties were being suitably punished, and he just felt that there was no good reason to bring the authorities into it, drag the whole thing before the public eye, and ruin the chance to complete the deal."
"That's absurd," Vambran said, shaking his head. "The Lady herself would never approve of such underhanded business tactics."
"I agree," Kovrim said, "but the fact remains that you're inadvertently butting heads with the temple, now. Regardless of the morality of your actions, you're taking your career's future in your hands. You need to be very careful how you proceed."