way over to it, he places his ear against the door and listens for any sound coming from the other side. Not hearing anything, he opens the door a crack and finds the hallway on the other side to be dark and empty.
Exiting the room, he closes the door behind him and then looks down both directions of the hallway. The hallway to the left is dark, further down to the right is a barely perceptible light. Deciding in favor of the light, he moves silently down the hallway toward it. He passes several closed doors before reaching a flight of stairs leading up to the second floor. The light is coming from the flickering of an unseen candle in the hallway beyond the top of the stairs.
Taking the steps quickly and quietly, he ascends to the top where he pauses to peer around the corner. Several burning candles line the empty hallway, allowing no shadows in which to conceal himself. A door further down to the left stands ajar several inches, voices can be heard emanating from within.
He decides to risk detection and creeps quickly down the hallway to the door, peering inside. Within the room are several people, including the brown robe. James is sprawled out unconscious upon a bed to the side of the room and one of the men is examining his eyes. The man turns to the mage and makes a comment as he lets go of James’ eyelids, allowing them to close.
All of James’ things are sitting on top of a nearby table, including the medallion that he used to open the secret door back in the City. A few more words are exchanged and then they all turn and move toward the door behind which Jiron is spying on them.
Panicking, he bolts back to the stairs and descends to the bottom as fast as he can to avoid being seen. Once there, he listens from around the corner and hears their footsteps coming down the hallway toward the top of the stairs. About ready to run back down the hallway to the library, he stops when he realizes they’re continuing down the second floor hallway past the stairs.
Relieved, he again creeps to the top of the stairs and peers around the corner. Two guards stand at the door to the room holding James. He pauses there at the top of the stairs and ponders the situation. Apparently, they’re not going to interrogate James immediately, it didn’t look as if he was even conscious. Gotta get in that room!
Deciding on a plan that’s rather risky in nature, he returns to the room where he initially entered the house and goes back to the window. Watching for the patrolling guards, he soon sees the first one pass. He opens the window and slips outside, shutting it before the second one turns the corner.
The largest gap is after the first one passes, the second one seems to be lagging behind, so he sits and waits until the second one passes. Then, when he sees the first one turn the corner and approach, he makes ready. Once the guard has gone ten feet past his hiding place, Jiron gets to his feet and begins scaling the wall of the estate up to James’ room.
He gets ten feet up the wall before the second guard appears around the corner. Holding absolutely motionless there on the wall, he waits for the guard to pass beneath. Sweating, heart pounding fast, he watches as the guard approaches, knowing that if the guard but looks up, he’s dead.
Walking toward the spot where Jiron hangs precariously upon the wall, the guard draws ever closer and then passes a scant two feet beneath Jiron as he continues on his way. Stopping the sigh of relief that almost escapes him, he waits until the guard moves further away then he maneuvers to the window and positions himself so he can look inside. He sees James still there on the bed, the door closed and no one else is in the room.
Realizing the first guard is about to turn the corner, he moves away from the light coming through the window and back into the shadows. He holds still as he waits for the guard to turn the corner and pass underneath. Once he’s past, Jiron returns to the window and attempts to open it. The window opens easily and he slips inside before the second guard makes his appearance. He shuts the window just as the second guard turns the corner and then moves silently over to the bed upon which James is lying.
He looks like he’s sleeping. Jiron shakes his shoulder in an attempt to wake him. What’s wrong with him? His eyes open a fraction and then he mumbles something incoherently before slipping back into unconsciousness. Now what?
Trying to determine the best way to get him out of the house, he realizes going out the door would be a bad idea. The guards standing outside would alert the whole house to his presence. He might be able to hold his own against the guards, but he would stand little chance against the mage. That leaves the window.
He moves back to the window and peers out, trying to avoid casting his silhouette from the candle on the table across the window. Other than the two guards passing at intervals around the house, the only other guard visible is stationed at the gate. A plan begins to form and he waits until the first guard passes by before slipping back out the window. He closes the window once he’s securely clinging to the side of the house and manages to maneuver down the side a little before the second guard rounds the corner.
After the second guard passes by below, he drops silently to the ground and immediately ducks behind the bush. The guard pauses a moment as he looks back in his direction. Not seeing Jiron hiding behind the bushes, he turns back and resumes his trek around the house.
He waits for the first guard to pass again before racing across the lawn to the wall and the safety of the shadows there. Pausing a moment to see if he was seen, he then moves silently toward the gate and the guard stationed there. Luckily, the gate is poorly illuminated on this side of the wall so it’s easy enough for him to sneak upon the guard and quickly silence him. He pulls the guard’s dead body along the wall and stuffs it behind several bushes.
Checking the gate, he finds it locked. Returning to the dead guard, he searches his pockets until he finds a set of keys. Returning to the gate, he uses the keys to unlock it and then places a stone against its base to prevent it from swinging open and announcing to everyone that something’s not right.
He goes back to the deeper shadows along the wall as he watches the two guards continuing their patrol. When the first one passes again, he races once more to the side of the house and again hides behind the bush until the second one has passed. Then when the first one rounds the corner and passes by the bush he’s hiding behind, he jumps out and grabs the guard from behind. Quickly and quietly he slits the guard’s throat with his knife, then drags the body back behind the bush and lays it against the house.
Taking his place behind the bush, he waits for the second guard to round the corner and pass by. He again jumps out and silences him the same way he did the first. When the second guard’s body lies next to the first, he begins to scale the wall, this time more interested in speed than in avoiding making noise.
At the window to James’ room, he cautiously peers in and with relief, finds him still sleeping and alone. Opening the window, he slips in and closes it behind him. Moving across the room to a chest of drawers, he begins sliding them open until he finds what he’s looking for. The third one down from the top holds what he needs, a spare sheet.
He takes it and goes over to James where he begins tying it under his arms. The sound of approaching footsteps coming down the hallway toward the room warns him someone is on their way. Jiron quickly removes the sheet from around James and slides under the bed, scooting as far back against the wall as he can.
The bedroom door opens and two men come in, quietly talking to each other. They walk over to the bed, their feet mere inches away from the spot where Jiron is hiding. It seems as if they’re seeing whether James is ready for interrogation or not. After they stand there for a few minutes conferring with one another, both men turn and walk back out the door.
Slipping from under the bed, Jiron again ties the sheet tightly under James’ arms. When he has it secured, he goes over to the window and opens it wide. Returning to the bed, he lifts James up and carries him to the widow where he sets him on the window sill.
Taking a firm hold of the sheet, he eases him over the edge and begins to quickly lower him to the ground below. The sheet isn’t quite long enough to reach the ground and ends up having to drop him the last three feet to the ground where he lands with a thud. Hoping James hasn’t broken anything, Jiron slips out the window and begins to descend the side of the house when he suddenly remembers James’ medallion and the other items sitting on the table.
Sighing, he goes back inside and quickly grabs James’ empty pouch that’s sitting on the floor and scrapes everything off the table into it. Tossing it out the window so it lands near James, he again begins his descent and closes the window.
Once on the ground, he takes the pouch and secures it to his belt, then he removes the sheet from James. Picking him up, he slings him over his shoulder as he heads to the gate.
Running as best he can with James’ added weight, he crosses the distance quickly. Upon reaching the gate, he kicks the rock that was set to keep it closed to the side. Pushing the gate open wide, he starts through just as a
