Chapter 17

Wil entered his family’s Capital manor under an invisibility spell. The Tier 2 Illusion magic was proving to be incredibly useful, although he had to be careful not to come too close to the servants in the hallways.

The magic worked by warping light around him, blending his body into the surroundings. It wasn’t perfect, and keen-eyed observers could still pierce its veil, but the manor’s servants were all mundane, making it incredibly unlikely he would be spotted.

Another find amongst the trove of magic books and scrolls that Amora had provided him and Serena, he was glad to have kept this one from himself, rather than giving it to the young Tiefling. He couldn’t imagine the trouble she could cause with Invisibility.

Walking quietly through the hallways, he entered one room after the other, looking for anything out of the ordinary.

Tabitha had completely redecorated his old home, replacing the furniture and wall hangings with more expensive items, likely given to her from the Third Prince. Her room was kept clean, filled with the personal items her room at the estate had lacked.

Pictures of herself with the prince, more gifts, had been arranged on a nightside table, although it had been turned away from her. Wil suspected she didn’t want the man in the painting watching her sleep.

Her wardrobe was filled with clothes in a variety of colors and styles, enough that even Margaret would likely be jealous of her.

But nothing stood out to Wil, even her desk was clean, her correspondents ordinary and normal. Frustrated, he continued to search, leaving the upstairs, and entering the common areas in the main level. Even then, he found nothing until he reached the cellar.

It had once been an alchemy lab, used by one of Wil’s ancestors, before being converted to storage after no one followed in his footsteps. Over the years, it had gained crates and boxes, not to mention a thick layer of dust. The servants rarely came down here, Wil had barely ever set foot down here when he owned the place.

To his surprise, he found the dust gone, the storage items stacked neatly. Evidently, things had changed since he had been here last. There were even magical lights on the walls, throwing the room into brightness.

“Now, this is interesting.” Wil whispered, his soft footsteps echoing off the bare walls. The servants wouldn’t have cleaned and tidied the place on a whim. Tabitha would have needed to direct them to do so.

“I wonder why…” Wil said, running his hands along the walls. Nothing. Reaching the crates, he lifted the lids off several, finding nothing more than old and forgotten items used by the previous residents. Still not finding anything he reached out with his senses. There was something here, but it was well hidden and dormant.

With no other choice, Wil paced the length of the room, marking the distance from one wall to the other. His measurements done, he sat crossed legged at the center of the room. Divination was a school of magic that he had little talent for. Other mages could make do with an incantation and a Spell Matrix, but Wil found that he required a few extra steps.

Reaching into his bag of holding, he pulled out a piece of clear quartz. Serena had found it for him, wrapping a length of leather cord around it and presenting it to him on his birthday. Lifting it up, he attempted to clear his mind, using the quartz as a focus.

Taking deep, steady breaths, he felt his emotions fade away, nothing existed but him and his connection to the quartz. Slowly, he drew on his mana, forming a spell matrix with the Focus at the center.

“Detect Magic.” He chanted, letting the Tier 1 spell take hold of his mana. Like a gentle wave, it swept out from him, crashing softly against the walls and every object in the room around him.

To his surprise, a few items lit up from within the crates around him. But what truly interested him was a small gap in a wall in front of him. His mana slipped into it, finding something magical within. Standing, he walked to the wall, running his fingers along the bare stone.

“There’s something here…” Wil whispered, his sensitive fingers finding a small seam. There were scratches on the floor, and he could follow the seam up the wall and over, forming a large, sealed doorway. It blended in nearly perfectly, without knowing what to look for, he would never have spotted it.

“The only question is, how do I open you?” Wil said, asking the door to give up its secrets. Not expecting a response, he began pressing the stones, looking for a switch or button. After a few minutes of searching, he found nothing.

“Gods damn it.” He hissed, frustrated by his lack of progress. If Markus or Kathryn were here, they would be able to find it easily. Both of them were skilled in divination, but Wil lacked the finesse and knowledge for the more advanced spells.

He didn’t want to have to force it open, it would immediately alert Tabitha of his investigations. He was about to give up, to teleport back to Markus in failure, when he had a thought. His mother used to read them stories when they were children. Tales of wizards and knights, nobles, and princesses. In one, a princess escaped a tower through a hidden door, pulling on a wall sconce to open it.

“She wouldn’t have…” Wil whispered, turning to the nearby wall sconce holding an orb of magical light. Not expecting much, he pulled on it. It fell away from the wall, hanging forward as the door beside him opened silently.

“Well, Tabitha! I’m surprised. Maybe you have a bit of sentimentality in you after all.” Wil said, entering the secret chamber.

It was barren, the only thing of interest was a Teleportation Array inlaid on the floor. Studying it carefully, he saw that it was short range, only capable of transporting someone within the Capital, maybe as far as the outskirts of the city.

It was also missing large portions, causing breaks in the enchantment that couldn’t be repaired. It was likely that Tabitha had some ‘key’ or item with her that was needed to make in function. Enough of it was missing that Wil couldn’t even determine the destination.

“So that’s how you’ve been sneaking out.” Wil whispered, tracing the runes.

Markus was having her followed, but for large segments of time she stayed inside, where his spies couldn’t see her. With the array, she could go anywhere, avoiding them with ease.

Standing, Wil closed the door once more, ensuring that no one would know he had been there. Leaving the manor, he walked down the road, looking for a deserted alley before teleporting back to Markus at the Brookmoor Estate.

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“So, she’s teleporting out of the manor house?” Markus asked, satisfied that one mystery had finally been solved. “It’s unfortunate that we still don’t know where she’s going. We’ll have to watch the array, perhaps we can find the destination by observing it function.”

“I’ll do it. If she’s involved in a dark ritual, she’ll likely use the array when Night falls. That gives us three days to follow up on our other leads before I need to watch over the Array. Did you find anything in Father’s safe?” Wil asked, sitting across from his brother. Markus was sitting at the Earl’s desk, a pile of papers in front of him.

“Yes, but nothing incriminating. If he’s involved in something, it’s well hidden. There are a few names here, several that match what Margaret told you. I’m having Greaves follow up on them. There’s something else.” Markus said, pulling out a note from his pocket and handing it to Wil.

“What is it?” Wil asked, reading it quickly. It was a missing person’s list, all reported to the Imperial Guards over the last several months. If he understood it correctly, there had been more than a dozen people reported missing in the last month.

“Once you explained that there may be a connection between what’s happening here and the events in Aachen, I had Kellerman reach out to his contacts in the Imperial Guard. One of the things that triggered an investigation in Aachen had been missing people. If you’re right, then something similar may be happening here.” Markus rationalized.

“Aachen involved missing girls, all from prominent families.” Wil said, studying the list. Of over a dozen names, only a few were girls, and all of them were from the poorer sections of the capital. “I’ll look into it.” Wil assured him, tucking the note away.

“Good. We need to work fast before someone notices what we’re doing.”