4. Silvershield Estate

Entar jumps in surprise as Stella barges in. He stands in front of his bookcase - which is slid open, revealing a hidden passage. "What is - Stella!" He steps in front of the secret passageway, blocking her view within. "Halt our... What happened to the wind - What tiger?!"

Entar follows Stella into the dining room. "Koveras' loss is regrettable, but the plans are already in motion. We must proceed!"

He looks around at the group. "I'm glad you're all here. The Harpers contacted Rieltar last night, and he's responded today. He's meeting our 'Knights of the Shield' in Candlekeep at midnight tonight!"

"Leave him be," Aiwë tells Stella. No tapping or pacing or rhythms now. "The Duke is right, we can't interrupt our plans. Besides," she says quietly, "he's made his choice. I'm done chasing people who don't want me." She passes a hand over her face.

"Aldous can we get that tea?"

Stella furrows her brow. Secret passages? Where did it lead? Perhaps a warded room or item used to communicate? He probably hadn't used it in a while, forgoing magic and all that, but coordinating forces across such great distances in such a short amount of time surely required something more than handwritten letters.

She shakes her head to clear it before she loses focus on her spell. Not her business. He had already earned her trust.
Stella nods and bites her lip, watching Aiwë sympathetically. She finally allows her focus to drop, letting the summoned tiger outside dissipate.

"Should...Aldous accompany us for the infiltration, then? Additional firepower if things go wrong?" She glances to Aldous then looks to Lord Silvershield. "Or do you still want him to help coordinate efforts with you?" She bites her lip again and looks back to Aldous. "I mean...What do you think?"

"Right!" Aldous calls for the servants, who bring out a large kettle, various flavorings, and a number of cups. He waves the servants away and starts handing out the cups.

The young noble looks at his father. "Midnight tonight!" He glances at the clock. "That's... a little more than eight hours from now!"

When Stella questions that perhaps he come along on the mission, Aldous nods eagerly. "You three will need an extra hand! And while Koveras had knowledge of the inside, I've got magic. Which ought to be at least as valuable." He grins. "I can fly now! Well. Sometimes. Or let someone else fly!"

"Whatever you think is best," she tells a Aldous. Aiwë walks to the kettle. "What can I get you, sister?" she asks Stella. "Dieter? Aldous? My Lord?"

Stella glances to Dieter and Aiwë to gauge their reactions, then looks back to Aldous and grins, eye-stars suddenly a mix of yellow and green. "You learned to cast Fly? Aldous, that's amazing! Wait, that's a Third Level spell! Can you also cast..." She turns her head slightly and raises an eyebrow. Fireball? she mouths. "Though I hope it doesn't come to that, of course..."
Violet sparks appear in her eyes and she smiles. "Anything will do, but Pale Jade if they have it. Thank you!"

This seemed like such an impossible contrast from the day before. She wasn't sure how long she would feel so...light and connected. But she would savor it as long as she could.

Aldous shrugs. "A fireball sounds most fun. But... I'm not sure I've figured that one out. We'll have to see!"

In response to Aiwe's question of tea, he waves a dismissive hand. "Any flavor is fine. But extra sugar, if you don't mind!"

Entar frowns at Aldous. "You're having our guest serve the tea? Have you no sense of etiquette?"

Aldous rolls his eyes. "Father. Aiwe is practically family. Why, if you'd let Dieter help the cooks in the kitchen, you'd find him capable of all sorts of culinary wonders. And besides, she offered."

In spite of his words, he looks over to Aiwe. "You... don't mind, do you?"

Aiwë smile wryly at Aldous. "I offered, didn't I?" She looks to the Duke. "Let me get you something, my Lord. Times like these, it helps to keep my hands busy."

While she waits for his answer, she prepares some Pale Jade for Aldous and Stella, remembering the extra sugar for the young lord. Her hands are steady on the kettle and the teacups, and she stirs with precision. She taps the teaspoon on the edge of the cup once without flourish, then carries the teacups over.

"Here, sister." She hands Stella her cup. "Extra sugar for you, Aldous." She returns to the kettle and begins to prepare herself something.

"So what's our plan of infiltration then? Aldous' flying could change our strategy up a bit. How well can you see at night?"

Entar relents. "Earl Gray, please."

Aldous chuckles. "At night? Not at all, I'm afraid. But with you or Stella to guide me, it shouldn't be that hard." He thinks a moment. "Or Dieter! He seems to be able to find his way around in the dark just fine."

Stella smiles warmly at being called 'sister' again and accepts her cup.

She thinks for a few moments, inhaling the aroma. She blows gently on the tea, then takes a sip.

"How much can you carry, Aiwë?" She asks. "If Aldous casts the spell on you, could you carry both Dieter and Aldous with all of their gear?"

She gestures towards her room where her pack is. "I bought four potions of invisibility today. After you casts the spell, Aldous, we can drink them. I can shapechange into a spider and have a Detect Magic spell active to watch for wards. Or if we're confident there aren't wards on the second or third floors, I can focus on keeping us silent instead. I could also scout for wards with Detect Magic beforehand by riding around on Noctalia, though it's possible to mask wards, however, and if something goes wrong during that, I'd be in more trouble, so I'm not entirely sure how reliable that would be...Either way, a preliminary Find Traps seems in order at the very least."

"Well with all my gear I still weigh less than the elk Aiwë tells me about, she can carry me. We should all go in at once, I don’t want you flying around the grounds before we begin." Dieter says

"The other dukes didn’t answer my question though; what are our rules of engagement?"

"Earl Gray, coming up," Aiwë smiles at the Duke. "I think I'll have some too." She listens to Stella's planning attentively while she works to serve two cups of Earl Gray. Once again she stirs smoothly, the teaspoon making no sound against the side of the teacup. She taps the teaspoon once on the side without musicality, then brings one cup to the Duke.

"I can carry a lot, but carrying both Dieter and Aldous at the same time seems more logistically difficult than anything, sister. If Dieter doesn't feel comfortable taking two trips, maybe you can be something that flies and carry one person?" She has an appreciative sip of her tea before looking at Dieter.

"Do you want anything before I sit, cousin?"

"No thank you, swallowing is painful at the moment.

If you can carry Aldous, I can climb without being noticed."

"I can do that." Aiwë leans against the wall instead of sitting and taps her teacup with a finger a few times in a rhythmless beat. "What's the plan for when we get inside?" She takes another sip.

"Let me know if your tea is the way you like it, my Lord Duke."

Duke Entar sips his tea. "Most excellent. Thank you, Aiwë."

He looks over to Dieter. "At this point, much as I hate to say it, the use of lethal force is necessary, particularly to keep any of you from being caught. I will take full responsibility for your actions should we be proven wrong about the Iron Throne and Rieltar."

"well, that’s where it gets complicated.

Our objective is to find incriminating evidence to remove Rieltar from power. Our first stage of the operation is already planned, the second stage would be to find Rieltar’s safe room. His safe room will either be in the top floor or the basement. Personally I think it is in the basement. He will have a means of travel between the top floor and the bottom. The third and most important phase of the operation is extraction. We need to plan an escape route and a safe house for us to reach. Can you take care of that Entar?" Dieter asks

"For the second phase… if we want to do this textbook… we kill everyone we see, take a captive and interrogate them within an inch of their life then dispose of them. Pivot our plan as needed then quickly and violently raid the safe room to secure our target then move on to the third phase" Dieter waits for everyone’s input.

Stella purses her lips, "I...haven't figured out shapechanging into something with wings yet. I could summon something and have it drink the potion of invisibility, I guess? Then become a spider myself."

Stella turns to Dieter.

"Aren't his strongest lackeys on the third floor, to protect his study on the top floor?" Stella asks. "Though I suppose it could be to divert attention from a hidden basement..."

She scowls at the idea of killing everyone on-sight. "The longer we stay undetected, the more time we have to find evidence without Rieltar becoming aware. The potions of invisibility and my Pass Without Trace spell can last up to hour. If we get into a fight, then yes, silencing the noise should be our first priority, but if we're reckless about it, I can't see it ending well."