Makings of a Monster

- "This is Sarevok, Reiltar's son, as you probably well know. He'll accompany us as a student for tonight." It was irregular, though not unheard of, to have a boy as young as Sarevok to accompany a dangerous and secret mission, but everyone knew that Reiltar Anchev was ambitious. He was also admired for his fairness and lack of nepotism: he never showed any sign of overt warmth for the boy or demanded any special treatment for him. Indeed, the boy had once hurt himself in arms training and sprained his ankle painfully. Reiltar was immediately sent for, but he didn't come, saying that the boy would just have to manage on his own. Of course, the magician Winski Perorate hurried there and took the child home, but everyone could still tell that Sarevok would have to do by his own merits. Hence the chosen ones just accepted the boy. After all , Winski also was in tow. He had shown his worth more that once or twice, and would certainly keep an eye on the kid.

Semaj, the young magician with regular, frighteningly smooth features and pale grey eyes, nodded at Winski with a mix of disapproval and curiosity. The man was known to have a considerable power, especially in the more sinister areas of magical arts. Still, he never wore robes, attended the informal meetings of magician community, or otherwise showed interest in being an accepted as a part of the brotherhood of mages for hire. He mostly kept to himself and his books, and as of late with tutoring the boy, and once he did join the others, he drank too much, got obnoxious and withered everyone with his sarcasm and cynicism, leaving even the most mercenary of the Throne magicians relieved as he staggered home.

Allonia was an assassin, a professional if there ever was one, and she approved of both Winski and the boy. She didn't think much of people who desperately sought approval, and she had shared an odd tumble in linen with the feline mage, pleased with the experience. She wasn't the type to form long-lasting relationships, however, so she was just happy to work with a fellow professional, with no hard feelings. And the kid showed natural talent. He was more a type for heavy-handed regular fighting, but would certainly be an asset in more clandestine stuff as well.

And then there was Ledia the priestess, a young, grave woman, seeking her fortune and identity. She wavered between her foot soldier style of honest dignity, bordering on stupidity, and the fascination with serving the darkness, tapping the power . Ledia was only twenty years old, and she didn't have an opinion of either of her newest companions. She was rather excited about the mission, though.

- "Off we go, then," said Allonia, the leader of the party. She was amused about the enthusiasm the boy radiated. A cute child, really. A pity that they were so bothersome once you actually were in charge of them. The silent party reached the mansion that was their goal, careful not to make any noise. Naturally their goal was to enter and leave without attracting any attention. Even failing that, there was no point in trying a frontal assault, they'd have to sneak in. They had two powerful mages quite capable of casting charm spells, but the risk that some of the guards would resist them was just too great. The man who owned the place would likely stop at nothing to avoid them robbing his mansion. Calling the city guard would not be an option to him, since they were likely to find some rather incriminating evidence of his endeavours.

The plan was that Allonia would sneak in first, enter through a dining room window, proceed to a small balcony opening to the bushes of the garden, and help the others quietly in with the help of a rope. They didn't know the exact plan of the house, but the idea was to avoid the guards and find where the owner kept his documents. They had already broken in his office building and found nothing so it was likely he kept this stuff home. Should they get caught, they were regular burglars, of course, and the Throne would bail them out of prison. That was all in the contract. The true worry was, though, that the owner of the mansion would be more suspicious than the city guard about that aspect. So they would avoid getting caught by fighting, if necessary.

The window was naturally locked from inside, but that didn't stop Allonia for long. She secured herself as she best could and reached for her tool pouch. A few minutes of concentration, and she was silently able to pull the window open and glide in. Seeing her disappear into the house, Winski motioned to the others and they followed him into the garden. Two guards were stationed in there, but the remainder of the party was able to bypass them without incident, silently moving among the trees and bushes. Even the priestess was wearing leather and dark clothes, Winski was relieved to note. He wouldn't have been half surprised if she had shown up in a clanking and creaking field plate armor and iron-laced boots. Apparently Allonia had briefed the brainiac. Semaj carried his mage robes with pride and Winski was tempted to ask why he hadn't sewn the Iron Throne insignia into it so that no-one would fail to notice that he was an important mage. He bit it back, though. Mustn't be too hard on the youngster. He was a good mage, and being proud of his chosen profession was only natural of someone so young. Winski himself had got past such feelings a long time ago. He preferred that people didn't recognise him as a mage until it was too late. Simple black trousers and silk vests were more attractive than robes to him, which was a definite bonus.

Allonia appeared on the balcony, fastened a rope into the rail and let the other end of it descend. Semaj and Ledia made their way up, managing pretty well. Sarevok didn't even break a sweat, and lastly Winski followed them himself. It was quiet inside the mansion. The shadows of the furniture loomed large, an occasional sound of the guards conversing downstairs made their hearts jump. Winski glanced at his companions. Allonia looked relaxed and confident, Semaj and Ledia grave and concentrated, and Sarevok was alert, yet glowing with barely controlled excitement and joy.

Allonia started to investigate the corridors and doorways while the others stood ready without moving. Winski was proud to notice that Sarevok was looking at her movements with concentration, apparently intent to learn everything he could from working with an experienced assassin. There was no sign of fear on the little, passionate face. The assassin found nothing on the floor so they ascended upstairs, stepping carefully. After searching a while Allonia signed them to follow, and they entered a room that looked like a study. Sometimes Winski wondered why people stored their incriminating documents in the most obvious places like a study (if this man indeed did, like most people he had robbed in this fashion). He guessed they had to access them so often that it would be too annoying to keep them in a cookie jar. Come to think of it, he would not be happy himself if someone decided to give his laboratory a thorough search.

Again the others stood guard as Allonia searched. She found that all the drawers and lockers were trapped and started to work on them. Suddenly Sarevok froze and grabbed Winski's arm, giving him a sharp look and motioning towards the door. Footsteps. Winski alerted the others with a hand sign, and everyone quietly retreated into shadowy spot cowered by a curtain or a piece of furniture. Allonia ducked and hid under the desk. The footsteps were steady and dragged a bit, and spent some time on the second floor, opening doors. A guard on regular checking round, not aware of any danger, Winski guessed. Sure enough, the footsteps eventually approached and the door creaked open. The guard popped his head in, looked around, yawning. He spent a few seconds in the doorway, then closed the door and started to walk away. Allonia resumed her work and Winski already almost congratulated himself for keeping Sarevok out of the harm's way, when Allonia suddenly uttered a yelp of pain and an involuntary "damn!" The guard outside stopped and started to alert the others in a agitated, shaky voice.