“Thanks to Daiga I’d learnt that a lot of the servants from the building go to a particular tavern. I thought that unlikely at first but then I realised that I’d likely recruit staff from amongst people I knew well, if I ran the shadow guild.

Anyway, I found the tavern and wondered how I could get on good terms with the customers. Maybe I could have succeeded with just my natural good looks and charm,” this was said with a grin, “but I thought it would be much easier to get a job in the building.

I had my mandolin with me, so I enquired whether they might need a musician. I wasn’t surprised to hear that they did and I was booked for the same night. This is why you haven’t seen much of me over the last few days.

Fortunately they appreciated my music and singing a lot more than you four and the landlord asked me stay for a week. At the end of each set I’d go and sit down by the group of people that were my targets and it didn’t take long before they started talking to me.

At first they were asking about me, where I came from and what was happening in the world. I told them I was from Cantherin and none of them questioned it. Fortunately it’s an easy accent to imitate and I was able to keep it going whenever I spoke.

After a while I was just another member of the group. Not really part of it but known and tolerated. They stopped asking me questions and started talking about people at work. When I asked them what they did they told me they worked for the priests and I didn’t enquire any further.

From the general conversation I was able to determine who the unpopular workers were. More importantly, one of the cooks was complaining about the amount of extra work lately. What stuck in my mind was the way that she talked about having to send the food to the new lot, you know, those downstairs.

It was the tone of her voice when she said downstairs that really struck me. It suggested to me that something special happens below ground in the place.

From what they said when they talked, I gathered that there were four floors where they moved around freely. I’ve looked at the building and the windows suggest that that is every floor above ground. From the way they were talking, there aren’t many people other than the servants where they work. There’s a lot of paperwork done there and there are a few meeting rooms but that seems to be it.

I noticed that one or two of the group didn’t say much or laugh at the foibles of particular people in the same way as the rest. I had a theory that these were the people that I needed to cultivate, as they might work where the others didn’t. The problem was that I couldn’t just ask them about their jobs and they weren’t the friendliest of the bunch.

I noticed that one of the women, a lady called Irlena, seemed to be only partly with the group. I gathered that she worked in the building but she was one of those who didn’t say much. She also didn’t really sit with the group but rather half way between them and a group of older people that were sat nearby. She looked like she might be a useful target for my charms as none of the men seemed to be interested in her.

I tried a few friendly comments and she didn’t immediately repulse me but also wasn’t very forthcoming. She could have been shy, I guess she was in her mid twenties and dressed at least ten years older than that. She could have been pretty if she smiled more but instead seemed to wear a serious expression most of the time.

She left shortly after I spoke to her that first evening. She was pushing one of the older women who obviously had problems walking and sat in a wheeled chair. It could have been her mother. Their features weren’t that similar but they both had the same expression on their faces.

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After a second set of songs, I finished for the night. I returned here but you were all out performing or something so I had an early night of it. I needed to get up early the next day anyway, one of my strings had broken on the last set and I had to make do with only seven.

The second night was much the same as the first. I arrived some time after the shadow servants. Do you like that name, I thought of it myself? The old charm was working well, as there was a drink waiting for me when I came and sat by them.

I tried to have a few words with Irlena. I swear that girl doesn’t know how to flirt. I did get a few smiles and I noticed that she moved her stool closer to where I was performing when I started my second set. At that rate there was a fair chance I’d get her talking about herself sometime after the war finished. I needed to get her on her own but I couldn’t think of an obvious approach.

By the third night it was time for me to change my approach. Although it goes against the grain for me to spend my own money, I decided that I’d ask her out for a meal. Of course with me asking she said yes. So that is where I’ve been this evening.

I arranged to eat at one of the better restaurants in the neighbourhood. It wasn’t difficult to get a table. Peetsday is always quiet. We met outside the establishment and I could tell that she was wearing her Allgod’s best. She had arranged her hair and was wearing a subtle make-up. It made her look much more attractive. I thought that there might be some benefits of this job.

We went inside and were shown to a table in a secluded corner of the place. They had a musician playing quietly at the other side of the room. I’m glad he was quiet, as let’s just say, Nedric plays almost as well.

I kept the conversation on unimportant matters for a while. I enquired about her mother and how she was coping for the evening. I slight frown passed across her face as I did this and I thought that I’d made a mistake and she would dash off.

It turns out that her aunt was staying with her mother this evening and the frown was because they’d be talking about her. She told me that she was glad to be able to get away. Her mother and aunt spent most of their time together talking about things in their childhood and it was extremely depressing.

I made sure that I kept her wine glass filled and as the evening passed I gradually turned the topic to her work. I didn’t just ask out right what she did but tried to be subtle.

She told me that she’d been sworn to secrecy although she couldn’t see why. Most of her job involved filing papers and making notes at the various meetings that occurred. It seems that she is a secretary for the administrator. She didn’t say that she worked at the shadow guild but she did say something when I questioned her how comes there were women working for the priests.

She stated that they were only working indirectly for the priests and that their work involved the security of the country. I asked if that meant she was a spy and she laughed. She said she was nothing of the kind and she didn’t even know what a spy looked like.

I moved the conversation away from the subject of her work and I talked about myself for a short while. Fascinating though that subject is, I didn’t want to spend too long thinking up a bunch of lies so I switched the conversation to her colleagues.

After talking for a while about the merits and peculiarities of each one and making sure I laughed in all the right places, I asked her why they all referred to downstairs in such an unusual way. Her reply was somewhat evasive and I knew that I couldn’t really push the matter as we had only just met. I left it until later and plied her with some more wine.

After another hour or so of drinking and pleasant conversation. I approached the subject again and she admitted that none of the servants were really aware what went on below ground level. She added that the only things they knew were from the sounds that came from below and the various tasks that they occasionally performed that were connected with the underground floors.

I asked her if she meant things like the cook having to feed a lot more people than previously and she concurred. She even mentioned that she had to perform a similar task in the shape of procuring some women’s clothes at one time. I changed the subject but not without thinking that that might indicate that Elsebeth was held in the building.

We eventually concluded our meal and I offered to walk her back to her house. She agreed and we walked back through the city. I tried to get invited into her house but she demurred but did agree to see me tomorrow. I’ve arranged to visit her in the evening and hopefully I can get more details from her then.”

The other men congratulated Rialto on his success. Nedric was overjoyed and felt that they nearly had enough information to plan a raid on the building. “If we knew what the floor plan of the building was like then we could be in there before the end of the week.”

“I’ll try to get details about the upper floors and that will tell us something about the rooms below.”

Nedric agreed with that idea but did suggest that Rialto ought to be a little careful. He suggested that the rangers should accompany him at a distance just to ensure that nothing unplanned could happen.

“I’m sure that you are quite safe but when we are this close to success it would be a disaster if something happened to any one of us. Especially to the person who has the knowledge we need. We haven’t met any of the criminal class of the city but they might choose tomorrow night to rob you.”

Rialto thought that this was a little far fetched and said so. Nedric couldn’t justify what was only a slight hint of foreboding; he acquiesced.