“R-Right.” Iliskra stammered, stuffing the letters into her pocket as she hurried behind Leon - not bothering to close the desk drawer behind them. She had a feeling that this Jadarl was going to know about their presence soon enough. Unless he already did. Thoughts of Elthel flickered through Iliskra’s conscious but the half-elf pushed them away for now. There was nothing to be done about her right now. Iliskra’s mind also swirled with this possibility of Jadarl being associated with the Thayans? Was this true? What had Leon discovered to indicate such? [i]I can ask him and we can figure this out later.[/i] Iliskra decided.

Leon and Iliskra met Firoz and Willory in the hall, the Turmish thief had a worried look on his face. “We should finish here quickly.”

“Why?” Iliskra asked as she closed the door to Jadarl’s room.

“The snowstorm is passing, our shroud will be gone soon.” Firoz replied.

Willory suddenly pointed to the warded door, “If there’s anything of value here then it must be in there.”

“Indeed.” Firoz nodded.

Iliskra looked at the rune covered stone Leon had clasped in his hand. She knew enough of magic to ascertain that this was the key to lowering the menacing red wall of energy that protected the metal door. Removing the padlock would be the easy part.

“The honor is yours.” Iliskra smirked at her partner, nodding toward the stone and then the door. Firoz, Willory, and Iliskra all took a step back as Leon turned and approached the door and raised the stone close to the humming ward. With a feint hiss of magical energy the ward faded from sight, the metal door now removed of its’ magical barrier. Once the four were sure that there were no traps Firoz helped himself to picking the lock, swiftly catching it in hand when it finally popped free of the door. Leon led the way in, pushing the heavy door open with a groan of rusty hinges. Weapons at the ready, the group immediately saw that they had walked into a wizards’ lab.

Shelves lined the walls lined with a variety of bottled concoctions and odd alchemical ingredients. Tomes as large as cobblestones and stacks of papers were scattered about on tables, in chairs, and even on the floor. Bizarre plants hung from ceiling pots and flowery vines crawled up small trellises erected against the walls. The smells of the lab were in variety - from sour lingering scents to thick, sweet fragrances. Amid the clutter of the room was a neatly organized desk tucked away in a far corner, and above it was a wall safe with twin padlocks. There was no one in the lab, no guards, no servants, no Jadarl.

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