"Later?" Emmaline asked before producing a tin flask and unscrewing the cap. She took a drink and passed it to Malcador who sniffed at it's contents.

"Smells like fruit juice," he complained.

"Vodka and lime juice, kind of a tonic," she explained. Malcador put the flask to his lips and took a sip, his lips tightened out the sour bite of it but he didn't comment beyond passing it back to her. Emmaline screwed the cap back on and tucked the flask back into her satchel.

"I'm uhhh sorry about my friends, they are a little irritated at being stood up," Malcador told her. Emmaline made a beckoning guesture to the other apprentice to follow as she continued across the interconnecting courtyards.

"Well if they through out every apprentice who is unpleasant I would have the place to myself," she quipped.

"One hopes not quite to yourself..." Malcador grinned and Emmaline blushed, her pale cheeks turning rosy.

"Mmmm," she rejoined wittily as they passed into the Jade College and through a series of rather overgrown gardens. It might have been the imagination but it seemed like the gnarled trees paid rather too much attention, their leaves rustling where no breeze blew. Squirels and other small wildlife scuttled about with no fear of humans. Every now and again some student decided to zap one with a spell, it never ended well for them.

"So where are we going?" Malcador asked as Emmaline stepped into one of the large towers and began to climb the curving stairs. Malcador followed behind at a distance to put his eyeline level with her rump, which she found she didn't mind. She might have even swished her hips a little more than was strictly necessary. They climbed several more flights of stairs and passed along some mostly dissused corridors. The Jade College was large but its members frequently prefered the wilds and Taal Bower to dwellings of stone. This area seemed largely to have been give over to storage, with forgotten crates an ancient chests all but bursting from the unused chambers.

"Scrolls to deliver," Emmaline replied guesturing to her satchel as a pair of jade acolytes hurried past, heading down and out towards day two of the Pie Week festivities.

"Think anyone would notice if you were a little late?" Malcador asked and caught her around the waist sweeping her through a door into an ancient and, from the dust, unused chamber. He pressed her up against the wall and kissed her thoroughly.

"You brute!" she giggled before kissing him back, her arms going around his neck.

"I really am," Malcador admitted, his kisses begining to trail down her neck when the sudden sound of voices caused them both to freeze in place. The voices appeared to be coming from an adjoining room, probably another dusty and half abandoned store room like this one.

"...ambassador Clodfot wont be in town very long, it isn't a big window to snatch the gold," a voice was saying.

"I don't care about the gold, I just need him to vanish, the tension will give my cousin the excuse he needs to snatch those lands!"

"Well I do care about the gold Scmidt, I've spent too long and risked too much to abandon it now, if the little half pint gets knifed in the bargin fine but I expect to be buying myself an estate with enough docile women to ruin me!"

Malcador's eyes cut up towards Emmaline's, rather a comical aspect from his position and they both turned towards the door. Horatious Clodfot was the ambassador from the Moot, in town for the festival and Emmaline had no desire to be close to anyone plotting to do harm to such a towering (metaphorically) figure.

"If we just slip out no one will be the..." Malcador began. Emmaline's foot caught on a loose paver and she tumbled forward to strike a suit of armor. The ancient visor snapped down with a clang and the suit toppled over. Malcador made a grab for it but clolided with Emmaline and the armor crashed down and shatterd a crate, that spilled a half dozen pots from its broken timbers with an almightly clatter. One of the pots rolled to a stairwell and tottered on the edge before going over, banging noisitly and making Emmaline wince with every step. 

The voices in the next room were dead silent. 

Emmaline and Malcador stared at each other in shock, then leaped to their feet, coliding again as they did so. Malcador grabbed Emmaline and  half dragged, half carried her out of the room, running back down the stairs they had just ascended as fast as their legs could carry them.