pulled out a tiny wire and began working at the lock as Alias and Dragonbait proceeded to investigate all the other first floor rooms.
It didn't take them long to ascertain that there was no one else in the other rooms. If there were servants in the house, Alias suspected they were quartered upstairs. Throughout their search she could hear pacing upstairs, punctuated by a man cursing occasionally.
Alias took the precaution of securing and locking the front door against any other evening visitors. Then she and Dragonbait returned to the entrance of the previously locked laboratory. The halfling stood within, her lantern propped up on an accounting table. A huge smile graced her face. With its window bricked up, the room had been converted to a treasure vault. All about the halfling were sacks, crates, and chests, each labeled with a tag. Alias read the nearest one. In a crabbed, tight handwriting was the notation, '500 gold, 100 platinum, Duck Statue stolen from Family Urdo for later ransom.'
Quite a hoard for a simple vintner,' Alias noted. 'Grapes must have been exceedingly good these last few years.'
Olive pointed to the last pages of a thin red leather-bound ledger lying on the accounting table. 'According to these figures, Melman's profits are minimal. Not even enough to require payment of business taxes.
'So all this is just spare change he's found lying in the street,' Alias commented.
Olive held up a finger for Alias to wait, then thumped deftly on the side of the accounting table and a small, secret drawer sprang out. Prom it the halfling pulled out a second ledger.
'This,' Olive said, cracking open the ledger and taking several moments to peer down the page, 'shows that our man Melman is a major player in Westgate. He's got his thumb in extortion, fencing, smuggling. It's all written down here.'
'So we've caught ourselves a big Night Mask,' Alias whispered with glee.
'Actually,' Olive said, lifting a false bottom out of the secret drawer and pulling out yet a third ledger, 'we've caught ourselves a big Night Mask who cheats. First ledger for the law, second ledger for his criminal cohorts and bosses, third ledger-well, that will have the numbers closest to reality. Melman was not only skimming off the top, but he was collecting outside his own territory. Here's today's entry from One-Eye in the second ledger. Two hundred gold, Gateside Protection, it says. In the third ledger it's entered as three hundred gold, Gateside and the Shore.'
'Let's see if Melman is interested in talking about his books,' Alias suggested.
Just as the adventurers began climbing the stairs, they encountered their man turning on the landing, coming down toward them. He was dressed in a long nightshirt and slippers, and oddly enough, a full cloak with a very deep hood, which concealed his features.
For such a heavy man Melman moved very quickly. The moment he spotted them, he grabbed from the landing a halfling-sized urn filled with dried flowers, tossed it down the stairs, and bolted back up to the second story.
Dragonbait dodged aside, but longer-legged Alias leaped over the obstacle and charged after her prey. Olive caught the urn and fell back down the stairs with a curse and a crash.
In the upstairs hallway, Alias caught sight of Melman disappearing into the only lit room in the house. He tried to slam the bedroom door closed, but he caught his cloak in the door frame and was forced to reopen it to pull the robe free. Alias threw herself against the door before the Night Mask could manage to lock it.
The force of the swordswoman's entry flung the vintner into the center of the room. His hood fell back, revealing his face, and Alias felt her throat constrict in horror.
This must be what Jamal had meant when she spoke of the branded ones, Alias realized. Melman's face was hideously burned all about his eyes, in the shape of a domino mask. The damaged flesh was covered with great white blisters and bright red all about the edges. Blisters even covered his eyelids, and in the brightly candle-lit bedroom his eyes squinted as if the light pained them.
Alias recovered quickly from her shock and leveled her sword at the man's chest.
'It's you! Alias the Sell-Sword!' Melman gasped. 'When I saw you on the stairs I thought you were a burglar,' he explained. Meekly, he raised both hands, shaking back his sleeves to reveal there were no weapons! concealed there.
'I'm glad to see you recognize me, Master Melman,' the swordswoman said. 'We have a lot to talk about.'
'I haven't got anything to say to you,' the vintner insisted. Dragonbait and Olive entered the room.
Olive whistled at the sight of Melman's brand. 'I can see why he needed a priestess,' the halfling muttered.
'The rest of the house is empty,' the paladin reported in Saurial.
'I can summon the watch, you know. You're all trespassing!' Melman declared, his voice rising in pitch.
'It appears you've let all the servants have the night off,' Alias noted. 'Didn't want them to catch sight of your face? No matter. I'm sure Olive will be glad to fetch the watch for you… if you're serious. The watch will probably be fascinated with the trove of treasure you've got downstairs. Especially those pieces that are undeniably stolen property. Then, too, there are the ledgers. So many different accounting books.'
Olive made for the door, suppressing a grin, but she halted when Melman called out, 'No need for that. What do you want? As you already saw, I can offer you a great deal.'
Alias motioned for Melman to have a seat. 'What I want from you, Master Melman, is information. Let's start with the Faceless.'
Melman sat down on the bed. 'Who?' the vintner asked, but there was a quiver in his voice that belied his ignorance.
Alias leaned forward. 'The Faceless, Master Melman. You remember him. He's the man who burned your face.'
This,' Melman said, pointing to-his face. 'An accident. Walked into a torch.'
'Very funny,' Alias said. 'We'll see if the watch finds you so amusing. You should get along with His Reverence Durgar. He doesn't know anything about the Faceless either. The Faceless, however, knows something about you. He probably knows you'd be dangerous in Durgar's custody. I understand Night Masks do not always survive once they are taken by the authorities.'
Melman flinched, and he licked his lips nervously. 'Try to understand,' the man pleaded. 'If this is my punishment for arguing,' the vintner pointed to his face again, 'imagine what will happen if I betray them.'
At a nod from Alias, Dragonbait stepped forward. He spread his clawed fingers to touch the perimeters of Mel-man's shocking wound. At first the vintner shrunk back, but when it became clear that the saurial was not attacking him, he relaxed considerably. The paladin's whispered prayer invoked the same healing blue aura over his hands as ever, but the blue light seemed to spark and dissolve as it formed. Melman's face remained as damaged as before.
The saurial looked at Alias and growled and clicked, 'There is some evil force preventing the healing. I've never encountered anything like it.'
'Is that what happened when the priestess of Mask tried to heal you?' Alias asked Melman.
The man nodded. 'He said it wouldn't heal until it scabbed over.' 'He who? The Faceless?' Melman nodded. Alias felt her stomach twist with excitement. An admission of the Faceless's existence was a major concession from the man. Now if she could just press her advantage.
'So basically the Faceless has made it impossible for you to leave your home for the next several days,' Alias pointed out. 'In the meantime, you're a sitting duck.' Melman did not reply.
'You didn't think we were burglars when you spotted us, did you? You thought we might be Night Masks assassins,' the swordswoman guessed.
'That's ridiculous,' Melman retorted, but without much conviction.
'Is it? I don't think so. This is the deal, Master Melman. You tell us all you know about the Faceless and the Night Masters, and if you're telling the truth, I'll help you escape from Westgate.'
Dragonbait radiated the scent of his displeasure with — this idea, but he said nothing, instead shifting toward the window.
'You hold out on us, though, Melman, and I'm going to have to leave your fate to Durgar's discretion.'
Melman shuddered. 'Ill-I'll tell you what I can,' he said.
'Good. Let's start with you. Are you one of the Night Masters?' the swordswoman asked. Melman nodded
