The room was dark and devoid of people. Although it had been dark outside, he still waited a moment to allow his eyes to adjust to the deeper blackness. The room appeared to be a kind of catchall workroom with equipment ranging from washboards and basins to files, grinding stones and whetstones to broken cart axles. He made his way to the door, careful not to upset any of the equipment. From the outside, this side of the house appeared to be quiet and unoccupied, and it seemed his evaluation was correct. The corridor was unlit and empty.

As Rezkin slinked down the hall, he felt the tingle of mage power slide over his skin from somewhere above. He realized that something of interest must lay up there if someone went to the trouble and expense to have it warded. For him to feel the ward down here meant it was poorly shaped and unfocused. Still, any ward was costly, even a poor one.

He reached the stairs, but rather than following them all the way up where he might be spotted, he launched himself onto the banister with silent grace and then leapt up to grasp the balcony railing. His toes touched the second floor without a sound, and he crouched low in case anyone had detected his movement. Just as he was about to stand, a door opened below and a man’s voice echoed through the stairwell.

“Yes, Guildmaster, but you know people are talking. It’s bad for morale. Half the men want to give in already, and the other half want to kill the first half,” the voice argued.

“I don’t care,” replied a woman. “We have no reason to believe the Raven will come here. For all we know, this is a scheme cooked up by the authorities to throw us off. They’re probably hoping we’ll give ourselves away in a panic.” Rezkin could not see the two since they were below him, but the woman sounded mature and confident.

“But, if he does come here demanding our loyalty, what do we do?” the man asked in frustration. Rezkin wanted to know the answer to that question as well. Then, more quietly the man added, “They’re saying he’s not human.”

Silence ensued for a moment, and he assumed the woman was contemplating the answer. Finally, she said, “From what we’ve heard, he only kills people who oppose him. So, if he comes, then we just go along with it. We’ll let him think we’re on board, and when he lets down his guard, we take him out. He’s only one man.”