approached, the girl quickly recognized the emblem of the Sapphire Crescent on their tabards.
'I'm over here,' she said, making herself visible.
Kovrim and his retinue quickened their steps and closed the distance with her. When he was near enough, Emriana ran to her uncle and hugged him tightly.
'They haven't come out, yet,' she told the priest, pointing to the window the three mercenaries had used to get inside. 'I heard fighting, and now nothing. Something terrible has happened, I just know it!'
Kovrim gave his niece a calming pat on her head.
'It's all right. We're here, now. You did the right thing, summoning me.' He looked to the five mercenaries and jerked his head. 'Get in there and see what's what. And be careful.'
The dwarf, a sergeant in the company named Grolo Firefist, gave a quick nod.
'Yes, sir,' he said in a deep, resonating voice. He turned to the other four and began to give orders. 'All right, you heard the man. Let's get in there. No, not the window; I'm not climbing through that. Find the front entrance and let's get the doors open. Move it!'
As the soldiers leaped to obey, Kovrim stepped back and eyed Emriana up and down, his lips pursed in a frown. She blushed slightly in the semidarkness, feeling very foolish at the moment. She was dressed in her dark clothing, a snug black shirt and a pair of breeches. She also had a very fine crossbow that was diminutive in size but could be slung easily onto her back by a long leather strap. Kovrim had actually given her that when she was a few years younger, a delicate weapon that she could cock and fire as a youth.
'I knew he would do something like this,' the girl told her uncle, trying to divert his attention away from her.
'And so you did exactly the same thing?' he asked, but she could hear no real recrimination in his voice.
Emriana simply shrugged and turned back to the soldiers making their way around the building. She watched the soldiers looking for an easier way inside, and she and Kovrim followed them, the priest with his arm around her shoulders. It didn't take long for the mercenaries to break inside the warehouse and begin to check for threats. Kovrim and Emriana waited outside.
Finally, Grolo returned to the entrance and called, 'It's all clear.'
The girl darted forward the moment she heard the dwarf's first words.
'Is he all right?' she asked, not stopping to wait for an answer as she scampered inside.
She never saw the sergeant's nod.
Emriana found Vambran lying face down, being carefully examined by one of the other members of the company. She dropped down next to her brother, looking for some reassuring sign from the man tending to him.
'He'll live,' the soldier said, 'though he needs treatment from the priest. Same for the other two,' he added. 'Though how they lived, I don't know. They're each hanging by a thread.'
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.
