Stalking

The stone and cobbled roads and alleys with once luxurious residences were now cracked and worn taken by sand and brush.

There was no possible way to keep a safe elevated vantage point to spy where the group was headed so when she exited the building, she did her best discreetly following mostly in their footsteps so as not to create tracks of her own.

A right, a left, another right. She stalked them when she could from alleyways, corners, and sometimes the next street over, scrutinizing them and memorizing the path.

The men and women openly carried weapons which was clearly one reason the citizens might fear them. But she was armed, and she was sure she could take three of them at least before anyone got a strike in.

Finally the group came to an old building into which they disappeared.

She waited a few minutes, scoping out the place from afar until she was sure it was clear to proceed.

The building was designed with grand arches and large wooden doors that stood partially open. She could tell this used to be a place of utter opulence, now fallen into disrepair. Voah approached with caution, listening for any sounds. The robes had all been very lively in their discussion for a majority of the trip, but now she heard very little and it was coming from deeper within.

She scanned the wide, dim hallway leading inside and ahead she could see sunlight from a sort of atrium or garden. Slowly and quietly, like her times with Hunter, she snuck inside and down the hall until she reached a stair that descended into the garden which was somewhat reminiscent of the one at the rectory back in the Misty Ward. This garden was much smaller, encircled by the house and open to the sky, its fountains and urns bereft of any water or manicured plant life.

The garden was surrounded by colonnades on both upper and lower floors and from her position in the dark she could see movement of several people on the balconies on either side. She guessed there must be at least thirteen of the dark robes men and women. She smelled smoke of some kind but couldn’t tell if it was incense or some kind of pipe weed.