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The late morning air was crisp and cool as they arrived at the estate of Lady Seneca. Leo remembered the location, so they had no difficulty. Even if he had not, the town they passed by horse a short time ago had a wooden signpost indicating the road to take to Seneca Estate, and there was other signage along the way.
On the way, Darshalla mentioned that she saw some people in the distance who many called goblins, but they were heading away from the road. They may have some name for themselves, but, as they were not part of Megalos, it was unknown. The northern border was disputed land now after an earthquake a few years ago had damaged the legion’s main border fortress, and, as there were fewer Megalos legion patrols, border men or goblin hunting parties looking for wild game would occasionally be seen.
The estate had a large vineyard alongside it that was harvested during the warm part of the year. Leo noticed the estate walls as he passed around and toward the gate. The outer wall was capable of deterring small forces, and personal guards manned the gate. A small defense force from the main garrison, commanded by a centurion, guarded the supplies while they were being stored at Seneca Estate. There were many other guards as well and many workers or servants. The lands patrolled by the lady’s guards included those outside the outer wall. She also had a retired centurion to command her personal guard. The Barricus family was well-connected and had great wealth.
The Barricus family and the main attendants lived in a central, semifortified area of the large estate. This area was made of layered stones and tile, partly in the old Roman style; however, many other building styles had been incorporated into Megalos over the years, and part of the main house was set up like a tower keep, as seen in the kingdoms to the west, like Gateway.
As they passed the main gate, Darshalla inspected the frame. She said, “No forced entry in; they must have gone over a wall when a patrol was elsewhere.”
Leo said, “Agreed. They appear to have taken the supplies and equipment out the gate. I can see one or two deep tracks from wagons.”
Two guards approached, and he handed them the writ from Senator Barricus. They bowed and ushered him in, and one of the guards blew a horn. It was usual to announce the arrival of an important guest during the day. He and Darshalla rode toward the main house and did not stop to examine any of the side storage, farming, or living areas along the way.
They arrived at the central living area, to what Leo recalled was the main house and the partly fortified area. The area had been built up more since his last visit many years ago. It now had a full four-story tower and some surrounding walls. It had become more of a small fortress, likely because of the lack of normal legion protection.
“It would not be a simple task to take this place, especially with the extra guards for security,” he said.
Darshalla said, “Indeed, they would have had some difficulty and, even if they brought ladders and timed the guards’ positions, it would have been difficult to not raise an alarm; however, we do have the report of the presence of night crawlers, and they can be quite quick and silent.”
“Yes, and perhaps something else was there as well.”
The central area was well kept with rimmed hedges, and the evergreen trees were all intact. There was no burned area and no ripped wood or destroyed front door. Two flower pots were broken on the ground, the pottery shards well scattered as if they fell from a height, and the surviving plants starting to take root in the nearby ground. Leo used a spell he anticipated her might need and had prepared earlier; to levitate upward and looked at the ledge and the stained-glass window on the second story. The glass had sustained some damage, as though the window had been pushed strongly to gain entrance from the outside. He could see some soil and water rings from where the flower pots had been on the ledge. When Leo landed, a man in gray robes, likely an administrator of some kind, headed toward him.
“Who are you?” the man with dark hair and brown eyes asked.
“I am Master Leozanthicus, and this is the Dawn Knight Darshalla.” Leo pulled the writ from Senator Barricus out. “I hope you recognize the senator’s seal.”
The fellow opened the writ and read the letter. He seemed unsure of what to do. “I am Hutolocus, the new caretaker. I was sent by Tribune Orem. He did not want anyone on the grounds or disturbing the house.”
Leo said, “I believe that Senator Barricus outranks the tribune in this case. He also owns the estate now that his sister is dead. Senator Barricus asked me to do the investigation and gave me direct authority to do it. You can contact Tribune Orem and the senator if you like, but I have to continue my investigation.”
“I suppose I will have to then,” said Hutolocus. “Until later.”
“I will be heading into the main house shortly,” Leo said. “Darshalla, I’m going to set up a clairvoyant spell to allow me to view the events near the house on that day. When they attacked, hopefully no one thought to bring a spellweaver or wizard who was skilled or wise enough to ruin what I will attempt.”
Darshalla said, “I have heard that past viewing spells and other divinations do not always provide what you want. I will, of course, keep the servants from interfering.”
Leo smiled. “Thanks, and you are right. Divinations usually are not the best choice, but the methods I use are more focused. I have some preparation to do then.”
He walked around the main house, gathering small pieces of things he believed might have been disturbed by the attack: a fragment of pottery, ground crushed by boots, a wood chip from a scattered pile, a small piece of broken stained glass, and some dirt from where the equipment and supplies were stored.
He then went into the main house and looked for remaining signs of struggle. Most of the blood was cleaned up, but he found two dry drops in places that were likely missed in the cleaning. The house was mostly as he remembered it, well appointed with some gold or silver plating in an ornamental fashion, fine wood furniture, marble floors, statues from the capital, and some other relics of Rumallian past. Strangely, little was destroyed, and only a few gems seemed to have been pulled out of statues’ eyes. Whoever came wanted the supplies, and anyone who saw them was killed. They were not common thieves; they had particular goals.
Eventually he found a fragment of a servant’s torn cloth with some more blood in a trash pile.
Leo needed these components to help facilitate his spell. Blood was always good for fine-tuning in to an individual. He did not need to collect any large components as he was already in the place where he wanted to view events. With the small pieces, he could fine tune his viewing and get better results, and choosing the best components was important. He then selected an observation area where he could view as many rooms or entrances as possible as well as a window, for at least a partial view of the outside area where the supplies were kept. He began his chant and concentrated on going into a trance, keeping his eyes partially open. He was good at this type of magic, or essence manipulation, as some of the more sagely called the process.
Leo watched as his vision dimmed and past events overlapped the present. The images were somewhat ghostly and insubstantial. Out the windows, he saw the stealthy movements of warriors, a mixed group of mercenaries and barbarians, possibly from Norsica.
The images were through a kind of second sight. They did not fully use his magical sight, which was another ability he possessed; however, Leo only needed to see the events and not what spells, if any, were used.
Initially, the attackers seemed cautious and slew as silently as possible, probably so as not to warn the guards. Leo did not recognize the mercenaries. Perhaps three of those he saw in the vision wore a symbol that might represent either some Chaos beast or entropy. A servant, the one whose blood sample he had, was attacked rapidly from behind by a night crawler that appeared to be a vampire. The creature wore a large dark cloak that made its movements seem to shift. The vampire’s face was covered in swirling shadows and wasn’t fully seen. It paused, sucking blood from its victim. Then it tossed the body aside and moved into the shadows.
Out