[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/BjtZNtv.png[/img][/center]
[color=ed1c24]Location[/color]: Outside Stritzel's Estate, Western Kindeance.
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The night watch was thankfully uneventful. If asked, Veronica did not have much to say about it, and that suited her perfectly fine. "Nothing" was, after all, what any night guard ideally would rather have to report. Jazdia was amongst the first of the early risers, not that Veronica had expected any less, and one chorus of howls from a recruited Evan's warg pack later, the rest of the group was roused if that hadn't already.

Similarly uneventfully, the journey to Stritzel's manor passed without incident, much to her relief. Veronica kept watch as best she could in transit, her darkvision sufficient to scan the early morning murk, the sun's light still hours distant, but her concern seemed largely for nought, which was for the best really.
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Upon arrival, Veronica followed Jazdia a small way ahead of the group to test the elf's theory, and to the pale woman's pleasant surprise... it was exactly as she said. Stepping through the veil's boundaries, Veronica allowed her protective magic to fall away, as her Sight bloomed back into full functionality. She briefly cast her Sight towards the outer wall, nodding at the far too close loom she got at the old stonework, before letting it fade away.

She considered Jazdia's words carefully and nodded. [color=ed1c24]"There's still the risk Jonas has the expertise to detect me, yes, but now that we have our full strength prepared, he will have little time to react even if he does."[/color] A small chuckled escaped her lips. [color=ed1c24]"The time for stealth is largely past us, it seems. Now is the time for shock and awe, speed and brutality. I suppose I'm just putting off the inevitable, but I've always been a bit of a perfectionist at heart."[/color]

Veronica closed her eyes, and her Sight came alive.

In moments, her perspective had soared high above, a bird's eye view that was still within the scrying veil's boundaries. She idly noted the same guard positions Jazdia had, her mind whirling with considerations of her own approach.

The western tree line would suffice for her purposes. It wasn't as close as she'd have liked, but it was as good as she was going to get. Tracing the path to her goal swiftly, she noted that the outer walls had no guards patrolling atop them. It was something she'd seen in her first, physical pass through, but double-checking never hurt, not if there was the slightest possibility they'd mixed things up. Regardless, Jazdia's intuition was on point; the defender's numbers were thin, too thin to properly man their most effective barrier. Instead, they had four patrols moving about behind the wooden palisade that comprised the inner wall.

Veronica narrated her own observations aloud as she went, ensuring Jazdia was on the same page. [color=ed1c24]"The basement entrance leads to a large, standard basement area. This area contains a corridor leading to an underground facility. Following through these corridors..."[/color] Her brow pinched, a frown spreading across her lips. [color=ed1c24]"I've found Cedar. He's in a cell, cuffed, unconscious. He looks... thin. This can't have been good for his health; I doubt they've been feeding him well enough or even keeping him lucid enough to feed himself. The basement level's defenses are minimal, only five guards... and a redheaded woman in another cell. There's..."[/color] Veronica's brows rose high towards her hairline. [color=ed1c24]"-another bear here. He's [i]huge[/i], bigger than Cedar. He's sitting on a bunk, and the redhaired woman is administering something on one of his arms. Might be an ally; could be a fellow prisoner."[/color]

She waited for a while longer, watching, but there didn't seem to be much else she could glean right now, not while time was of the essence. She turned her sight back from the basement, heading for the upper levels.

[color=ed1c24]"The manor's population seems to be about the same as when I last saw it, largely abandoned. However, Stritzel is sleeping in a room on the second floor, and there are five thugs standing motionless in another."[/color] Odd, but moving on. [color=ed1c24]"A large room on the first floor appears to have been fashioned as a barracks for Delving's Usuals. Although..."[/color] She cast her Sight around swiftly, yet... [color=ed1c24]"Jonas Delving is nowhere to be seen."[/color] Troublesome, but it didn't take Veronica long to consider the reason. [color=ed1c24]"I'll bet he has an extra, personal layer of scrying protection on himself, which means he might as well be invisible to our magic; yet, if intelligence is to be believed, he must still be here somewhere."[/color]

Veronica opened her eyes, her Sight fading away, as she glanced at Jazdia. [color=ed1c24]"Keep an eye out. The preexisting plan should still work... hopefully. I could go as far as to inspect the other people here until I find someone talking to something only they can see, but if we haven't already alerted Delving to our presence, I'd rather not push our luck."[/color]

Cracking her knuckles, Veronica grinned, crimson eyes glinting under the pale moonlight. [color=ed1c24]"Lets finalize the teams and get this party started."[/color]