The carriage slows, stopping a few streets away from Thrain's estate. We exit, moving through the shadows. The night is cold and a light rain falls, helping to cover our tracks.
Thrain's estate is massive, even larger than Primsyn's. Tall walls, multiple guard posts, gardens that sprawl in every direction. Breaking in won't be easy.
But I've done harder things.
We circle to the eastern wall where Tessa said the servants' entrance is located. Two guards patrol this section, but their rotation is predictable. We wait in the shadows, rain soaking through our clothes, until they pass.
"Now," I whisper.
We scale the wall. Primsyn is more agile than I expected, keeping up without complaint. On the other side, we drop into a garden, using the foliage for cover.
The servants' entrance is ahead, a small door that Tessa assured us would be unlocked. Servants use it throughout the night for various tasks, so it's never secured.
Our luck holds, we reach it without incident. I ease the door open, listening. Voices in the distance, the clatter of dishes being cleaned. The servants are still working, which means we need to be careful.
Primsyn leads now, navigating the servants' corridors with confidence. She knows where we're going, knows which turns to take. We pass a few servants, but Primsyn handles them with quiet authority, as if she has every right to be here.
They don't question her. To them, she's still elite, still someone who commands respect.
Finally, we reach a wider corridor. Primsyn points to a door at the end. "That's his study. It should be empty. He's likely in the main house entertaining guests."
"Should be?"
"Nothing is certain." She meets my eyes. "But it's our best chance."
We approach the door carefully. I press my ear against it, listening. Nothing. No movement, no voices.
I try the handle. Locked.
"Of course." I pull out the tools Corvask provided, working the lock. It takes longer than I'd like, my hands slick with rain and sweat, but finally I hear the click.
The door swings open.
Thrain's study is opulent, all dark wood and expensive furnishings with shelves of books lining the walls. A massive desk dominates the center of the room. Everything here screams power and wealth.
"The locked drawer," Primsyn reminds me. "Bottom left according to Tessa."
I move to the desk while she keeps watch at the door. The drawer is indeed locked, a more complex mechanism than the door. My picks work carefully, trying not to damage anything that might alert him later.
Click. And the drawer slides open.
And there, exactly as Tessa described, is a collection of items. Jewelry, strands of hair tied with ribbon, even a few teeth. Each item labeled with dates and names.
"Gods," Primsyn breathes, moving closer. "He really is a monster."
"This is perfect. Exactly what we need." I begin to gather the items, careful to document what's there. "He can't explain this away. This is proof of multiple murders."
"Come on. We need to move fast."
A sound in the corridor freezes us both. Footsteps. Heavy, deliberate. Coming closer.
"Someone's coming," Primsyn hisses.
"Hide." With no time to gather all the evidence, I shove everything back into the drawer and shut it, not bothering to lock it.
We duck behind a tall cabinet in the corner just as the door opens. Through a gap, I can see Thrain enter, another Lactari male with him.
"I don't care what excuses she has," Thrain is saying. "If that human isn't gone by tomorrow evening, I'm bringing this to the council."
