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.The Watch commanders, fearing an increased lack of trust in their officers, had called for reinforcements to patrol until the ward's matters could be settled.Investigators had been summoned, and the details of the killings, such as they were, were under review.Already they had found odd notations and inconsistencies in the recent logs.Primary among them was a sizable donation to the local Watch by the slain Loethe family, a donation recorded and signed for yet long since disappeared.As much as he could, Tavian had defended Allek Marson to his superiors, proclaiming him to be a good man in unusual circumstances, but as evidence mounted and changed by the bell, he found he could no longer trust his own report of the man.He'd known Allek to be honest and trustworthy, an efficient officer if ever there was one, though he could not deny the growing sense that the fallen rorden had been manipulated and used.Worse still was the idea that Allek had allowed himself to be treated that way, pawn to a foul plot and seduced by something he could not turn down.As rumors spread through the ranks, more and more patrols frequented the perimeter of the House of Wonder, suspicious of the magic-users within.Tavian imagined any sleeping wizards within would dream of armies on the march, such was the foot traffic outside their courtyard.The Watchful Order had been summoned to question the wizards, much to the discomfort of many of Sea Ward's regular officers, rumors of foul magic abounding in the tales of the murders.Tavian had never had much trouble with wizards, but somewhere in the ward, he smelled magic at work, as if it were on the air, worming itself into the cracks and gutters, making ready for some final act to unfold.A shrill scream pierced the streets, echoing through the lofty spires.He stopped his men in their tracks, listening as it faded in the distance.Tavian held a gloved hand up, his breath steaming as they waited for the scream to repeat and give them a direction.His heart pounded and he wondered, after all the reports, what bloody scene might await them.The scream came again, and he dropped his fist, leading the patrol west and north to the disturbance.Pale green light swung from one building to the next as the officers ran, breath steaming in puffs behind them as they turned a corner and found a woman, frantic and leaning out from a second-story window, wailing and pointing.Her face was white as a ghost, and masculine hands held her shoulders as she struggled, grasping for something unseen.Half of Tavian's patrol entered the home as he directed the others to secure the entrances, confused bodyguards reluctantly making way, their eyes also on the rooftops.Signal horns blared short notes in quick succession at Tavian's back as he stood in the middle of the street, following the wild-eyed stare of the woman to the rooftops across the street.He saw nothing out of the ordinary.A single plume of smoke drifted from a lone chimney as drizzle swirled in the light of the Watch lanterns, but naught else caught his eye that might have caused such a stir.He wandered down the street, following the roof line, squinting in the dark.The woman's cries quieted some as his officers reached her, though she remained at the window, speaking hysterically.At the end of the street, Tavian sighed and shook his head.Turning back, he paused, breath catching in his throat as a blot of shadow shifted above him at the base of a cold chimney.He froze, staring at the spot for what seemed an eternity before two red eyes blinked open and glared at him from the dark.In that hellish light, he could make out long, gangly arms wrapped around a struggling bundle, held close in a cloud of wavering shadows.Tavian's sword was halfway drawn, his signal horn barely from his belt, when the thing leaped into the air, tattered, black robes spread wide around it like the wings of a diseased crow.It landed on a wall across the street, flattening to the surface and crawling up like a spider as he loosed a strident call from his horn.The thing leaped again, almost gliding from one building to the next, nearly invisible against the sky."Mystra's bones!" he swore and stumbled back, waving his men on as they rushed to answer his call."Eyes up high!" he shouted, pointing at the last place he'd seen the thing."A child, sir!" Aeril said, skidding to a stop at his side."She says it took a child!""Bloody bones," he whispered, unblinking as he searched the northern skyline and waved Aeril to be silent."What is it, sir?" Aeril asked, catching his breath."The woman said she caught just a glimpse before—""Hush, man!" Tavian demanded, listening, though only the wind could be heard for several breaths.Men shouted down the street, their boots echoing around the next corner, lanterns casting dancing shadows as they searched
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