The sound of footsteps echoed in the hallway outside. It took a moment to get my breathing under control and actually focus on the sounds in the hallway of Thaddeus' house. A single set of feet paused outside the hidden door and I caught the unmistakable sound of rattling spurs.

“Bradford, my friend,” Thaddeus said. “It’s good to see you again.”

“Likewise, Thaddeus. Still smoking those cloves?”

He chuckled. “Of course. Care for some?”

“You might be able to handle the stuff, but it’s too strong for me.” Bradford’s gravelly voice barked in a genuine laugh. “Is that freshly-baked bread I smell?”

“Come in and sit down. I’ll have the help bring you some,” Thaddeus said.

The footsteps vanished into the living room and the voices faded into an indistinguishable murmur. Bradford was in the house, then, which left eight individuals unaccounted for. My homunculi couldn’t gather any more information about the intruders outside without revealing themselves. And if Thaddeus’ tongue slipped, it would be well within the policy of the Commission to conduct a search of the old man’s property. My companions would be found out, and an inquiry would be launched. If they caught me, I could expect an interrogation at minimum. But if the Commission found any sign of Thaddeus’s failed experiments, he could easily expect a summary execution without any questioning in the slightest.

I took another deep breath to calm myself.

I needed more information, and I wouldn’t get it by listening in on Bradford and Thaddeus.

Selene flinched as I jumped down the stairs. The huge Replicator cast her terrified expression in a pallid glow of blue and she shook her head as I pointed up to the floor above us.

“I’m not going up there with them, Caleb. You don’t know what they’ll do if they find out that I betrayed them and let you kill Kilcoy and his mercenaries-”

“Shh,” I murmured. “We’re not going up there, not yet. Can you read their auras from here and give me an idea of what we’re up against?”

The warlock gritted her teeth, brushed her hair out of her eyes, and then glanced up at the ceiling. Her face narrowed in concentration as she scanned for any sign of an aura. A shade of relief flickered across her face as she met my gaze again with a nod.

“One human in the house with Thaddeus. He’s relaxed, which means that they don’t have any suspicion that we’re here.” She sighed in relief. “It’s the Commission Officer - Bradford, I think he said his name was? He’s bored, and he doesn’t want to be here. Which is good for us. It means they’ll likely leave soon.”

“And the others outside?” I asked. “Are they homunculi?”

“Four of them are human. They’re lazy, bored, and hungry. I can’t tell what kind of homunculus the other four are, if that’s what you’re wondering,” the warlock said. “It’s difficult enough trying to find them through a rather large blanket of earth and stone, you know.”

I nodded. “But now we know that we have an advantage against them. They’re not expecting us to be here. It’s probably a routine, and Thaddeus was likely too deep in the clove to remember that he had other visitors aside from us today.”

“Are we going to attack them while their guard is down?” Alexia asked.

“We should see where these tunnels lead, and see if there’s a way out of here,” Selene told her. “Attacking them is suicide. We don’t have the numbers, and even if we did, we’d attract the attention of the rest of the Commission.”

“I think you’ve got a point about the tunnels,” I said thoughtfully. “But we’re not going to run, and we’re not going to fight them unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

Selene muttered a curse. “I know that look on your face. You’re scheming.”

“We need more information on them before we make a decision,” I said. “Thaddeus is keeping them off our backs for the moment. Be a shame to waste the time he’s giving us.”

Selene joined my side as I turned to the opposite wall of Thaddeus’ hidden chamber. Two tunnels sliced away into the dark. I stepped into the gap on the right and took a deep breath. The overwhelming stench of rotting flesh and hot, thick air eliminated the first tunnel as anything more than some kind of repository for corpses. The second tunnel tickled my face with a soft breeze. Decomposing flesh and its sickly-sweet stench still hung in the air, but there was airflow. I started into the second tunnel and grimaced at the stench.

“Master, you can’t just kill or bargain with everyone you meet off the farm,” Selene warned me. “The Commission is dangerous, and they don’t take treason of any kind lightly.”

“But you still left them behind for me, didn’t you?”

“Yes, but I thought you had more sense than to tangle with them.”

“Have some faith,” I said. “I know what I’m doing.”

Something crunched under my foot and I glanced at the floor. A grinning skull with half a jawbone fell away from my foot as I stepped back and squinted. Shapes piled against the walls of the tunnel in the dark and my gut lurched. Thaddeus hadn’t seen fit to install an incinerator as part of his homunculi operation.

“Are those people?” Alexia squeaked.

“I think they’re homunculi,” I assured her.

“Gods, that’s foul,” Selene muttered as she covered her nose with a hand.

“That’s why Jamin has an incinerator,” I said grimly. “It keeps everything neat. No need to drape a clone of yourself over your garden fence to keep trespassers out.”

I stepped over the discarded skull and used the wall to guide me further down the tunnel. The smell grew stronger, but the tickle of fresh air drove me forward. The tunnel curved around in a U-shape, and a shaft of light pierced the darkness as we rounded the bend. I blinked, let my eyes adjust, and glanced up at the source of light.

The rich smell of fresh trileaf and gorequinces wafted through a heavy grate fixed into the ceiling of the tunnel and told me that Thaddeus’s tunnel ran underneath his garden. Thaddeus must have repurposed an old drain to use as a disposal method of his dead homunculi and used the fragrance of his garden to chase away the stench of rotting flesh. I stepped around a mangled corpse without arms and gazed up at the midday sky. Alexia and Selene joined me while I measured the distance between the grate and the floor of the secret tunnel. It couldn’t have been any more than five yards above us, and the grate was wide enough that I could fit my head through one of its square-shaped gaps

“Are you going to tell us what you’re planning anytime soon?” Selene asked me.

I chuckled. “All in good time, Selene. Wait here.”

I rolled my shoulders to loosen them up and then lunged up. My hands found the steel bars of the grate and I hoisted myself off the ground. Strain immediately burned through my muscles, but years of farmwork served me well as I hauled myself up. I peeked over the edge and rapidly scanned my surroundings. A trileaf hedge obscured the front door, but the four homunculi stood by the front gate. Each of them shifted lazily, toyed with the hilts of their rapiers, and waited for orders. Lean, snake-like muscle rippled underneath their blue-and-teal surcoats and every inch of them radiated speed and grace.

Four humans sat on a bench in the garden to their left. Two of the men puffed on short pipes while the others busied themselves with bunches of scrolls. Their features were unremarkable, but I knew scholars and bean-counters when I saw them. They weren’t a threat, at least not if the Commission’s incursion came to a fight.

My shoulders started to tremble, and I lowered myself back into the tunnel again.

“What kind of homunculi are they?” Alexia asked eagerly.

“Some of the best that money can buy,” I grunted. “Duelist-class Companions in service of the Commission. Military-grade units. Damn near impossible to find in the adventurer market. There’s a pack of bookkeepers out there, too, but they’re not my concern.” I flexed my arms to get some feeling back into them. “Shit. It makes things more complicated.”

“Can’t you take them out with the Swordsman and Archer?” Alexia asked.

I shook my head. “The Swordsman is impressive, but these units were designed to kill some of the best human fighters in close-quarters combat. And they’re fast as snakes. I’d just lose my homunculi.”

Selene gritted her teeth. “Dammit. So we’re stuck here?”

“Not exactly,” I said. “The Commission might’ve brought good homunculi with them, but they have no idea how to handle their units. They’re just standing there waiting for orders. They won’t be keeping an eye on the gardens because they weren’t told to.”

“So you want to catch them while they’re sleeping?” Selene asked hopefully.

“Look at his face,” Alexia pointed out. “That’s not what he’s thinking at all.”

“You know me too well,” I laughed. “Listen, if we play our cards right, we can manipulate this Bradford into working for our interests. I’ll feed him a story and see if he bites. If not, then yes, we’ll fight. Alexia and my homunculi take the Duelists by surprise and we deal with Bradford and his clerks. But we can’t miss an opportunity this huge.”

“You’re talking about lying to a Commission Official’s face,” Selene choked. “You do realize what will happen if he doesn’t take to your story, don’t you?”

“Well, it’s a good thing I have a Commission mage pledged to my service,” I grinned.

Selene’s features turned ashen.

I turned to Alexia. “Alexia, you need to do everything you can to stay away from the Duelists. You can’t let them get close to you.”

“I’ve been practicing,” Alexia protested as she tapped the hilts of her new knives. “How am I ever going to learn how to fight in close if you don’t let me?”

“You’ll get your chance,” I replied, “but not today. If everything falls apart, I need you to take the Duelists apart with everything you have. I’ll send the other homunculi to flank them and give you the opportunity to kill them. No playing around.”

An excited light sparkled in the elf’s eyes. “I won’t let you down.”

“I know you won’t. Selene?”

“Yes?”

“Can you get that grate loose?” I asked.

Selene shivered as she raised her hands and focused on the steel bars above my head. I stepped back and narrowly avoided a ribcage while hazy energy swept into being around the warlock’s hands. Her face tightened in concentration as tendrils of magic meandered upwards to the opening. Alexia darted forward as the steel bars began to shake and surprised me with a kiss. I caught my balance, appreciated the warmth of her mouth, and pulled away a moment later.

“Can you find some blood down here somewhere?” I asked quickly.

Alexia wrinkled her nose, but nodded and held her hands out toward the corpses as she walked down the tunnel. I turned my attention back to the opening in the roof. The steel shuddered crazily as Selene’s magic buzzed around the bolts holding it in place. Rusty filing fell from the roof as the bolts gave with a mercifully quiet thunk, and then the grate plummeted downward.

The corpses beneath absorbed the impact with a thick crunch and I nodded my thanks. Scarlet light flooded from a bright sphere of energy in Alexia’s hand as she rejoined us. A ghost of a smile cross Selene’s face as the warlock nodded her approval.

“Remember, just keep your mind quiet,” Selene told her quietly. “No distractions.”

I gestured up to the exit to the garden. “Remember what I told you, Alexia. Wait for my call. If my homunculi move out to attack, support them from a distance.”

She nodded, and I offered her my interlaced fingers as a step. The blood mage closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and maintained her concentration. Then she took a running start and leapt lightly up onto my hands. I wrenched upward and propelled her through the gap in the tunnel ceiling.

Alexia vaulted effortlessly into the garden, offered me a quick smile, and then vanished from sight. That was one contingency plan up my sleeve. Now came the difficult part.

Playing a little game with an Officer of the Commission.

But the weak link in my plan was Selene. I’d seen the warlock face down my homunculi and murderous adventurers with nothing but savage joy and ruthless cunning. And yet somehow she was terrified of Bradford.

Selene noticed my questioning gaze and bit her lip. “What is it?”

“What’s wrong?” I asked. “Three days ago, you worked for the Commission. Then you came to work for me, happily helped me use the bodies of mercenaries to build homunculi, and a few hours ago we did the same to a trio of adventurers. You didn’t even flinch. What are you so scared of?”

“It’s complicated.”

“And we’re running out of time,” I agreed. “Come on.”

We left the sunlit section of the tunnel and groped our way back toward Thaddeus’s hidden chamber. Selene made a soft sound of disgust as she snapped a femur underfoot.

“Selene,” I asked, “do you trust me?”

She didn’t answer until we arrived in the eerie blue chamber. She turned to me and met my frank gaze with an uncertain light in her eyes. I took a moment to appreciate just how she looked. Even after half a day’s fighting and stripping corpses, Selene still radiated effortless sensuality and poise. But I could tell that she was deathly afraid of something, and she didn’t want to tell me what it was.

“I trust you,” she said finally with a lift of her chin.

I reached out and brushed a curl of blonde hair behind her ear. She moaned softly at the contact and that familiar catlike smile tugged at the edge of her mouth.

“I don’t know what it is that scares you,” I said to her quietly. “I’m not sure why the Commission has you clammed up like this. But I can tell you one thing. For as long as you’re by my side, I’ll protect you like I would Alexia.”

Her smile widened and she couldn’t hide a slight blush in her cheeks.

“You’re not getting soft, are you, Master?” Selene asked coyly.

“Doubt it,” I snorted. “I need you in the game, Selene. No hesitation, no fear.”

A dangerous calm flickered over her face as she set her jaw.

“I know. What do you need?”

“Just follow my lead,” I winked.

I traced my fingers over the inside of the hidden door until I found a lever and gently eased it to the left. The door clicked and swung silently inward. I held it open and ushered Selene into the hallway with a finger pressed to my lips. She nodded and adjusted her step as I quietly pushed the secret door closed and then crept through the hallway. The familiar buzz of nerves sparked in my gut as I heard voices from the parlor.

“And you’re complaining that Essence prices are up again?” Bradford asked. “Thaddeus, every man and his cow around here knows that you’ve plenty of money to spare. I mean, look at this table. How much did it set you back?”

I turned to Selene and gestured for her to follow me.

We ghosted around the corner of the hallway and paused just outside the parlor. I shrank back against the wall and motioned for Selene to join me. Her shoulder brushed against mine and a warmth thrill slipped through my whole arm for a moment. Selene offered me a smirk, took a long breath, and then waited.

I inched just a little closer to the entrance of the parlor and peeked around it.

Thaddeus’s bare feet were on the table, but the rest of his body was half-hidden in a plume of smoke in his chair. Bradford sat with his broad back to us. The Commission officer was a burly man, easily six feet tall, and built like a farmer. A long white scar slashed across his neck and vanished behind his collar. A steaming tankard of tea sat beside his elbow, but the Commission Official hadn’t touched it just yet.

“Too much,” Thaddeus grumbled in reply. “In any case, shall we get to why you’re still sitting here? Surely they don’t pay you enough to make small talk on top of routine inspections?”

“That’s a little too close to home, Thaddeus,” Bradford chuckled. “No, they don’t pay me anywhere near enough.”

“So why the prolonged visit?” Thaddeus asked with a hint of suspicion.

Bradford leaned forward over the nexus and scooped up his tankard of tea. “I’ve been hearing some troubling rumors from the local farmers, Thaddeus. Troubling rumors indeed.”

Thaddeus hesitated for a fraction of a second, then snorted dismissively.

“Farmer’s wives tales, Bradford? I thought you knew better than to entertain absurdity like that.”

“And wild tales they are,” he said pointedly. “A few of them swear that they’ve seen you running naked through the fields in the moonlight. Screaming loudly.”

Thaddeus glanced down at his pipe and shrugged. “In summer, perhaps, but this late in the season in the North? My old cock would shrivel up and fall off from the cold, Bradford. They must be seeing things.”

“But here’s the fascinating part,” Bradford said. “They said it wasn’t just one of you. It was always in packs of two or three. All identical versions of the local herbalist.”

Thaddeus lapsed into a long silence. Selene tensed beside me and wrapped her fingers around the hilt of her short sword. I caught her arm, fixed eyes with her, and shook my head. Thaddeus couldn’t lie to save his life, but we could use this opportunity. Adrenalin rippled into my system like a tidal wave of fire as I made my decision.

“The homunculi,” Selene breathed in my ear. “You need to use them. Now.”

“Just follow my lead,” I reminded her. “You said you trusted me. Do you?”

A steely look brightened her eyes. “I do.”

“Then let’s go.”

I stepped through the doorway and strode casually into the parlor.