[maikafanawen]

Gita emerged from her tent, fully clothed in the usual wear of those of the Swan House. Extremely pleased with her clever guise, she draped her black cloak over her shoulders and ran through the shadows on her way to the house.

Night covered her in its protective blanket, shielding her from unwanted eyes. The Laurel trees stood high above her path, perfect and pure in the moon’s beams. Gita cursed the moon in its fullness. It would not be good for the wild men tonight.

Finally she reached the house and discarded the cloak, leaving it behind a tree in some bushes. Adopting her most serene look, she floated into the house and down the corridor to the servant’s quarters. There she busied herself with some unimportant tasks until one of the elder servants called to her.

“Will you take these sheets up to the fourth bedroom from the right of the second staircase. They’ve been needing changing since this morning.” Gita nodded, not meeting the woman’s gaze and took the sheets in her outstretched arms. Excited now with an opportunity to find out who occupied which rooms, she hurried up the first staircase on purpose. She knocked on the first door and a nurse opened the door holding a two year old boy in her arms.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” said Gita. “Wrong room. Oh if you could, I’ve forgotten which room these belong.” She held up the pale green sheets for the woman to see.

“Oh I see. Yes, second corridor actually. These are mostly blue and purple sheets in these bedrooms. Are those for one of the new guests?”

“Guests?” asked Gita, hiding her interest.

“Yes. A group of warriors and of the kind have come to aid against the wild men should they attack again.”

“I see,” the spy mused, nodding her thanks to the nurse. The woman closed the door and Gita hurried to the correct room. She knocked and getting no answer opened the door. On the bed lay a traveler’s pack and beside it was a cloak. She was in the room of one of the ‘guests’. Carefully moving the pack and cloak from its place on the bed, she changed the sheets quickly.

When she was finished she carefully closed the door and began snooping around the room for any other clues. Finding none, she left the room and hurried through the halls, hiding from passer bys as she searched for where the warriors and Taralphiel were holding their meeting.

Finally, she reached a balcony room towards the back of the house. She hid behind a column and listened intently as they conversed.