Emmaline sat up in bed, warming to the idea. In truth, she would have been glad for any excuse to dwell on something other than the low grade fear of the city's possible fall and the sharper fear of what she had seen on the barge the previous night. The fact they hadn't yet received a visit from their new found 'friend' at the Order of the Fiery Heart, suggested that their work had been appreciated and that their right to squat in the tower was at least not officially refuted. A harmless bit of looting seemed just the thing to start of the morning and she suspected that the salted fish she had stored in the lower levels would get pretty monotonous if the siege dragged on. Of course monotony might not be such a bad thing when compared to the excitement that would ensue if a horde of ravening beastmen managed to break the walls. Emmaline tried to imagine what the odds of that happening might be. Nuln was a mighty city and well defended. Beastmen rarely took walled towns, having not the skill to construct siege engines. And yet why try if it were doomed to failure. She brushed the thoughts aside.

"Can I wear my looting clothes?" Emmaline asked excitedly. Neil gave her a look, cocking his head and arching an eyebrow.

"Do you have looting clothes?" he asked. Emmaline sniffed hautily.

"A proper lady has clothes for every eventuality," she declared.

"Right, but what about you?" 

Her pillow bounced off his face.


The streets of Nuln were not quite empty. Here and there people tried to go about their regular business, though there was a furtive aspect to them. Occasionally soldiers could be seen tramping through the street towards the walls. More than once Emmaline saw men in splendid armor and fine cloaks with polished weapons being chivied towards the walls by the rough and ready city watch. Someone had obviously decided to strip the nobles of their personal guards and send them to defend the city. Evidently this met with some favor from citizens who had only ever seen the noble's personal bullies swagger and swive in taverns and shove their way through the markets. Their forced patriotism was greeted with cheers and cat calls and the occasional handful of thrown mud.

"Do you have a plan for where we should begin?" Emmaline asked as they walked through the twisted streets. Much as Neil had predicted there were guards set on granaries and mills but as yet little care had been taken for private stores which traded in foodstuffs. For the most part the toughs who policed such places were being swept up to defend the walls. Emmaline saw several stores protected by nothing more than 'closed' signs.