"Leechwalker," he said distastefully. "Don't see that in the city every day. Someone brought it here."

"So that was some quick thinking, calling Uncle Kovrim," Vambran said, "even though you're supposed to be at home."

"This pendant isn't such a bad birthday present," Emriana said, grinning and ignoring her brother's scolding.

Vambran looked up at his uncle and said, "The red stranger was here tonight, too."

"The one from today, who assisted you at lunch?" Kovrim asked.

Emriana looked around.

"Maybe he's still here," she added, worried.

"I doubt it," her brother said. "And it's a woman, not a man. She spoke this time. Whoever she is, she doesn't want to be found. But that's strange. Really strange. She's apparently following me."

Shaking his head, Vambran looked at his sister again.

"And what are you supposed to be?" he asked, nodding at Emriana's outfit. "A spy? Where's your mask?"

"What? You don't like it? I thought I looked rather sinister. Came in handy enough to keep you from noticing me following you."

Vambran rolled his eyes and asked, "And why were you following me?"

"Because I know you. Even though you say there's no chance to go investigating, I figure that's exactly what you've got planned. Only you're going to go with your buddies instead of me. So I decided to tag along."

"You followed me all night?" The lieutenant asked wearily, finally climbing to his feet. "Dressed like that?"

"Hey, it worked. And yes, to the Crying Claw and over here."

"If Uncle Dregaul finds out, he's going to-"

"Don't start lecturing me," the girl retorted. "You're just as guilty of sneaking off as I am. I thought you were only going to take care of company business tonight."

Vambran groaned and said, "Well, I did. This just happened to be part of the evening, also."

"Well, I was right not to trust you to be honest with me, so you've got no right to yell at me."

"Fair enough," her brother replied, and Emriana was surprised that he didn't put up more of a fight than that. "But you still should have worn a mask." She looked at him sharply, and he gave her a sidelong glance accented by a smug grin. "The question is, can you sneak back inside without Uncle Dregaul noticing?"

"The only way Uncle Dregaul finds out is if you tell him, in which case you have to tell him what you were doing here, too. And I don't think that's something you're quite ready to confess, is it?"

Vambran sighed and waved his hands in surrender.

"All right, you win. But you're on your own if you do get caught."

Emriana didn't say anything, just gave her brother a smug look.

"Well," Vambran continued, changing the subject, "someone sure didn't want me to talk to these thugs. I should have realized whoever is behind this would kill again to protect their dirty little secret."

"Vam," Emriana said, giving her brother the most serious look she could conjure. "You scared the hells out of me tonight."

Vambran nodded and said, "I know. I'm sorry. It was a blunder of me to underestimate these people. Twice." He eyed her right back, his expression severe. "You realize that, if I had let you come with me instead of them, it would be you and me lying here bloodless, right?"

Emriana gave a little shudder as she considered the possibility. She shook her head.

"And there would have been no one watching your back to come to the rescue," she said. "But that's not how it ended up. We're all alive, and the thing's dead."

"Right, thanks to some mysterious red-clad benefactor. Em, this is getting out of hand."

"You don't know the half of it," Kovrim said, coming to stand beside the two siblings again. "This whole thing does indeed have temple connections."

"What?" Vambran blurted out, drawing a sharp look from the mercenaries, who were in the process of carrying out the still unconscious sergeants. "How do you know?"

"Because," Kovrim replied grimly, "I had a conversation with Grand Trabbar Lavant tonight. He didn't deny it. I was surprised, to say the least."

"How can he justify murder?" Vambran said, his voice a bit softer, but no less vehement.

"He didn't. At least he claimed not to condone it. But let's not talk in here. Eavesdroppers might be about. It's already happened at least once, I think."

Emriana spun around, staring wide-eyed into the darkness. "I thought your men said it was all clear!" she said, trepidation making her shake. "Who's still here? Vambran's mysterious rescuer?"

"Calm down, Em," Kovrim admonished. "I meant magical eavesdroppers. Scrying and the like. I'll explain why when we're a safe distance away."

The trio took a walk, leaving the rest of the cleanup business to the mercenaries. Vambran stopped quickly before they departed the warehouse, fetching Emriana's dagger and returning it to her. Then they began to walk through the misty evening, making their way in the general direction of the temple.

Kovrim continued his revelation as they strolled.

"What Grand Trabbar Lavant told me was, the temple is on the verge of negotiating a very lucrative business opportunity, and the murders were an ill-advised cover-up on someone else's part to eliminate something standing in its way. He assured me that the guilty parties were being suitably punished, and he just felt that there was no good reason to bring the authorities into it, drag the whole thing before the public eye, and ruin the chance to complete the deal."

"That's absurd," Vambran said, shaking his head. "The Lady herself would never approve of such underhanded business tactics."

"I agree," Kovrim said, "but the fact remains that you're inadvertently butting heads with the temple, now. Regardless of the morality of your actions, you're taking your career's future in your hands. You need to be very careful how you proceed."

"Are you suggesting that I stop? Give it up and trust the Grand Trabbar to see to it that justice is served?"

"Not necessarily," Kovrim began.

"Good, because there's no way I'm leaving this alone now," Vambran replied angrily. "The man and woman who were murdered were servants of House Pharaboldi. Her name was Jithelle, a kitchen maid, and his was Hoytir, a stable hand. Apparently, Denrick Pharaboldi was seeing her on the sly. Em found that out today."

Kovrim whistled and said, "That sheds some unusual light on the whole affair."

"Exactly," Vambran replied. "And seeing as how our two Houses are so friendly right now-Em was, in fact, there for a social tea-I think it behooves me to make sure we as a family are not getting involved with someone untrustworthy or willing to commit murder to further their business causes."

Kovrim nodded and said, "I agree. But you still need to be particularly cautious. You don't want to draw any more of the temple's attention to yourself in this way."

"It's a little late for that, don't you think?" Emriana said, nodding back the way they had come. "You brought a squad of mercenaries who answer to the temple with you tonight. Word is bound to get around."

Kovrim looked at the girl with surprised admiration.

"Very good point, Em." He smiled and continued, "But in this case, not a worry. Those are some of my most trusted soldiers. We already discussed the need for silence on this matter. They are working tonight strictly freelance."

"Excellent. And Adyan and Horial know to do the same," Vambran said. "At least, once I get a chance to talk to them. Perhaps we can make sure Grolo takes care of that."

"I'm sure we can arrange that," Kovrim answered. "I'll speak to him later. But for now, here's what I think you should do next. If this is the same Jithelle I think you're talking about, I know her mother, Nimra Skolotti. A sweet old woman, and likely wondering what really happened to her poor daughter. She might know something useful, so I think you two should go visit her tomorrow and see what you can find out."