Over the past few days they had learnt that there was always someone watching the inn. Whether it was the children who were around during most of the daylight or guards or stablemen during the night. They decided that they had a better chance of passing the guards rather than the children especially if they were to leave the inn about dawn, when the guards would be less alert.

The inn being spread over a large area, it was very easy for the rangers to borrow one of the other customer’s sedan chair. They had decided that it was easier to pretend to be waiting for a master for a long time rather than just stand around. Slaves standing around doing nothing attracted attention from everyone.

Fortunately the two rangers were of a height, as the chair required them to move with an even gait. Slaves who carried their masters in the chairs were normally matched so that the master was not thrown around with every step. As it was, the two rangers could have been exactly what they pretended to be. Even their above average height was not that unusual as the sedan slaves needed to be strong as the richer masters could be extremely heavy.

They made their way from the inn, passing a guard who didn’t even give them a glance. Heading in the direction that they had been the previous day and making their way to the headquarters by a slightly circuitous route. They didn’t want anyone to know where they stayed.

Instead of heading for the square they made their way to the rear of the building. This was where deliveries were brought and there was a slow but steady stream of traffic in and out of the building each day. It was also where servants entered.

Daiga and Scabad put the sedan down by the rear entrance of an imposing building and did their best to look inconspicuous. In this they were following the traditions exhibited by every other slave in Nothering. All of which took advantage of whatever breaks they could. If they had looked keen and eager, the guards would have been suspicious but as it was they were again ignored.

They sat by the sedan, pretending to chew on Gwana roots. These were mildly intoxicating, addictive and had a tendency to colour the chewer’s teeth blue. Many slaves had the distinctive blue smile and the two rangers had coloured their teeth to suggest they were addicts. The roots were tolerated, as slaves who chewed them were more amenable but it didn’t interfere with their productivity.

As they sat, they noted who was using the entrance. The servants were of all varieties, cooks, cleaners, waiters and the like. The numbers of servants suggested that a large number of people worked in the building but from where they were, they couldn’t see anyone else entering it. It was quite surprising that none of the servants were slaves. The guards at the door knew each servant and nodded at them as they entered.

After a while the servants stopped arriving and there was a lull in proceedings. They waited, enjoying the unseasonably warm weather and after an hour or so slaves started appearing with various supplies. They saw various forms of food delivered, along with candles, linen and all the everyday requirements of a large office. Scabad noticed that the guards, who seemed to recognise all the servants, were hardly aware of the slaves as anything other than walking furniture. He mentioned it to Daiga, who spent some time checking it out. He agreed with his friend that it was a potential way in to the building.

After a while, the guards changed. This was a bonus as the rangers were debating whether they should move on. The activity around the back of the building was pretty steady but the numbers entering and leaving were inconsistent with the size of the building. For the numbers to be right, the building would have to be at least twice the size of the one they could see. It was possible that the building went several levels beneath what they could see. If so then there should be air vents which might provide another means of access.

After a while they decided to move around to another side of the building. Hoisting the sedan they set off. Although the building was rectangular, it only appeared to have the two entrances and they saw nobody enter the door that led on to the square whilst they were there. They didn’t hang around in the square as they felt that it would make them conspicuous as everyone else hurried through it.

Standing in an alcove to one side of the square, they could still see the main entrance and were out of sight of most people. Those who did see them, didn’t. Their eyes glancing off the two slaves as though they did not exist. It was an extraordinary blindness that only existed in Nothering.

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They stayed in their alcove for roughly two hours and at no point did anyone enter or leave the main entrance. This did not seem realistic. The rangers decided that either the building could be reached by another entrance or entrances, which were connected to the building in ways they could not see or the place was mainly used at night. They resolved to revisit the building at a different time.

* * *

There was a pressing need for the group to find a place of their own. They couldn’t speak freely at Packam’s and that meant that it was difficult to make plans. Fortunately they were beginning to get a bit of a reputation for their show. This meant that they were being asked to attend functions at the homes of the wealthy and prevented them from working at the inn. It would be only a matter of time before they were asked to move on.

They had made it a necessity to buy everyday clothes as soon as possible and this meant that the younger men could walk around the city without attracting attention. They decided that Rialto would do his best to rent them an appropriate accommodation, whilst Nedric found an agent who could take their bookings and not have a connection with Packam’s. Bethan was constructing a map of the city, which was made easier by his previous army training.

One of the advantages of being asked to the wealthier residences was that the guides were unwelcome there. The group therefore had to find their own way around and that helped, both in familiarising them with the city and getting away from possible followers.

By the end of the second week Rialto had found a number of possible properties that they could use as a more permanent residence. They had amassed enough money through their private contracts to rent a reasonable size property and that should also mean that they were less under the gaze of the guild agents. Not that he had any reason to think that the guild had any interest in them now.

After inspecting various dwellings they finally settled on a place that was a few hundred yards from the inn, in the direction of the guild building. The place was as clean looking from the outside as every other place in Nothering and had several advantages.

It was quite roomy, with space enough so that each of the five men could have a room of their own. This was a necessity as each of the men were acquiring female admirers. Whilst Nedric discouraged them, as did Scabad for some reason, the other three men were happy to welcome them and the women were not interested in sharing a room which also held four men other than the one that interested them.

The place also had three exits, which led to three different roads. Two of the roads met near the house but the third, reached by going through a back alley, which went along the side of a shoe makers exited near a market. This meant that anyone leaving that way could quickly merge with the passers by and was unlikely to be spotted.

The third advantage to the house was that it had a yard large enough to hold the two wagons. Nedric didn’t want them to be under public gaze any longer than was necessary. Despite the fact they had passed through the customs post without causing concern, the wagon the three of them had come in was special and he didn’t want anyone to discover this fact.

With a place where they could talk unhindered they started to make plans. The rangers had checked the comings and goings from the headquarters on several occasions and their initial observations had proved to be correct. There were far too many servants going in and out and no other obvious routes. They had various possibilities but hadn’t been able to check them out or discuss them with the others.

Nedric suggested that they discuss their priorities and assign people to discover some answers. He asked the rangers to determine the residencies of some of the servants and suggested that Rialto and Bethan might be able to charm one of the women into revealing some of the internal details of the building. He also needed to know whether Elsebeth was being held there or whether they were wasting their time.

Another thing they needed to know were possible entrances into the building. He asked the rangers to map any possible above ground routes and any nearby entrances to sewers or vents. He planned that he would undertake the exploration of the sewers himself, as he couldn’t ask anyone else to take on that unpleasant job.

In the meanwhile, Nedric would undertake the preparation of useful devices. The wagon they had brought from Setherland had been built with the help of a magician and had a chamber hidden between a false floor and the real one. Unless you knew, there was no easy way of telling it was there, other than by ripping up the flooring. It currently held most of their money and a supply of narwood. He hoped that Elsebeth could be smuggled out of the country that way, if they could release her without being suspected.

Nedric had decided that his knowledge of impressing was the key to attacking a building with only a few people. He initially thought of sending double-impressed wooden statuettes to people within the building but he couldn’t impress enough of them at the same time to ensure that it would have a sufficiently disruptive effect.

At the moment, he was trying to discover a way of using the effect along with some blasting powder that they had brought with them. Unfortunately although there was a lot of force produced, there wasn’t a corresponding rise in temperature. In fact the area where the wood and blasting powder were placed together became much cooler. The water condensed from the air and the blasting powder became damp and unusable. It was extremely frustrating.

The wood did get much hotter as it exploded and moved rapidly through the air but then the heat was in the wrong place and did no good. He was trying to find a way to direct the wood at the blasting powder in a way that would cause an explosion but had not succeeded yet.

He had much better success in purchasing weapons. Apparently the citizens of Nothering were becoming more nervous as the threat of war loomed. Little shops had appeared throughout the city selling all sorts of weaponry. Nedric was able to obtain swords, daggers and even bows easily and discreetly. If he had been governing the city, he would have been alarmed at this situation.

Over the next week the others came back with more information and the maps and plans grew. They wanted to cause as much confusion as possible to make their job easier. Their planning involved a slow approach that should be disruptive and totally unexpected. They hadn’t finalised plans when Rialto entered one afternoon with a broad grin on his face.