Chapter 66 An Existential Fear.

  “This place is dead.” Isaac commented. There wasn’t even anyone at the receptionist’s counter. The bounty board was covered in copper and silver tier bounties but there wasn’t even a single gold or higher bounty posted. It was a far cry from Safeharbor that seemed to have as many high level bounties as low level ones.

  The lights inside the Guild Hall were still glowing brightly but there was no one present to be illuminated by them. For all Isaac, Lenna, and Shamesh knew, they were the only ones in the entire building. Isaac moved Gretta’s body over the receptionist’s desk and laid her on it like an open casket funeral table. “That will be quite a shock.” Lenna told him with a raised eyebrow.

  “It’s better that way.” Isaac replied. “Whatever her reasons, she was still an adventurer. I am sure that Heitor will have legal and inheritance related things to take care of.”

  “Do we just leave?” Lenna wondered.

  “Let me make sure that Heitor isn’t here. I’ll be right back.” Isaac told her and then vanished in a puff of shadows. He returned less than a minute later. “No one is here. Let’s just move on and meet up with the Magistrate.”

  Lenna nodded in agreement. “To the Thronsen Estate then?”

  “Yes.” Isaac replied. “I would just send Shamesh to go look but he is still refilling his mana reserves.”

  “I don’t mind walking.” Lenna told him. “I am just surprised that you are willingly walking all over town tonight.”

  “I’m not some bum who is too out of shape to walk a mile.” Isaac retorted defensively. “I just see walking as only a means to get from place to place. People that do it for fun are weird.”

  “Would that make me weird?” Lenna wondered.

  “If you liked walking for fun.” Isaac told her directly. “But you are already weird so it would just make you weirder.”

  Lenna blinked at him owlishly. “Is that a good or a bad thing?” She asked after a moment of silence.

  “It depends.” Isaac cryptically replied. “I can only deal with normal people for so long before they just get boring. Are you glad that I’ve stayed utterly fascinated by you since the day we met?”

  Lenna scowled at him. “Yes.” She said but her scowl didn’t leave. “I feel like you just dug yourself out of a hole with a trap. If I’d fallen for the trap then we both would’ve found ourselves stuck.”

  Isaac just smirked and then turned to leave. “You coming?”

  Lenna just rolled her eyes and followed after him.

  —

  “This place is lit up like the noontime sky.” Isaac commented in awe. There were glowing stones in mirrored lanterns set on top of every fence, in the middle of every stretch of path and road, and perched atop every corner of every building surrounding and inside the Thronsen Estate. The lights were so pervasive that, to anyone else, it would have seemed like there wasn’t a single shadow in sight. For Isaac, however, there were more shadows than he could count. Each light cast its own shadow that intersected a shadow of a different light and so on. To Isaac’s Polarity Sense enhanced mana senses, the entire estate felt like a lattice of kaleidoscopic pathways waiting to be traversed by the most acrobatic shadow-step ever performed.

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  “I think it is safe to say that the raid already happened.” Lenna said with a frown. “But where are the soldiers?”

  “Do you think they might already be at the courthouse?” Isaac wondered.

  “Maybe, but if they are, there should still be some left to guard the estate. Something doesn’t feel right.” She told him.

  Isaac nodded. “I agree. Shall we try the front door?”

  Lenna chuckled. “I would usually agree, but I somehow feel like it would be a bad idea.” She countered.

  “Lenna, take the left, I’ll take the right, Shamesh, go over the estate and meet us on the other side. Maybe there is just something that we are missing.” Isaac instructed his party members. “Shamesh, Shroud Lenna. I’ll keep the two of us shadow-cloaked.”

  “Understood.” Lenna replied.

  “As you say.” Shamesh said at the same time. The three of them then split up to each take their assigned paths.

  Lenna took the actual path that went around the building on the outside. The wall that surrounded it was too high for her to see over in most places, and where it wasn’t, there was a side entrance to allow servants and guards easy access to the outside. The little bit of the inside that she could see was entirely devoid of life. It was nothing but flowerpots and walkways.

  Isaac opted to walk on top of the surrounding wall so he could get a good look inside without actually entering. As he walked, he was starting to get concerned. The place was dead silent. There were no soldiers, guards, or servants out and about. There was nothing and he felt nothing out of the ordinary with his mana and Polarity senses. He was almost the entire way to the back when he finally noticed a sign of life, and he did not like what he saw. There was a soldier, with a massive chunk completely removed, laying on the ground in a pool of blood. It looked like a Disintegrate had hit his left arm, while it was about a foot away from his body, and had taken his existence personally. Isaac, knowing that the risk of getting caught in a trap while checking on the dead soldier was far too high, continued his walk around the building.

  Shamesh flew over the building and stopped at the same time that Isaac did. Both of them noticed the dead guard at the same time. Immediately after noticing it, Shamesh’s gaze passed over the entire building. His ability to see souls caught something through a skylight near the middle of the manor. It was hard to tell anything more than the fact that there was someone glowing inside, so he continued on and decided to just inform his master and mistress of the life form at the same time.

  Isaac, Lenna, and Shamesh all arrived at, more or less, the same time. Lenna appeared at Isaac’s request and then the three of them relayed what they’d seen. “If there is someone inside, we should meet with them.” Lenna insisted.

  “I agree.” Isaac replied. “The question is whether all of us should go in or just me.”

  “I think we all should.” Lenna told him. “I think it’s much more dangerous now than it was the first time you were there.”

  “Even more reason for me to go alone with Shamesh in my shadow.” Isaac countered.

  “No.” Lenna said directly. “I do not want to be stuck out here if something happens to you. You know that I hate being left behind.”

  Isaac nodded. “Fine.” He conceded. “Shamesh, return to my shadow, for now. It’s too much for me to keep all three of us invisible indefinitely.”

  “What if there is a magical trap?” Shamesh questioned.

  “I can summon you while inside a Poison Bubble.” Isaac reminded him.

  Shamesh seemed to want to argue but after a moment bowed in acknowledgement of his orders. “As you say.” He acquiesced and let the shadows that opened up beneath him pull him into their embrace.

  Once Shamesh was completely gone, Isaac turned to Lenna. “Did he just question my order? And then after that, didn’t it look like he was about to try and argue his point?” He asked her.

  Lenna nodded. “He did.” She agreed. “He is really becoming his own person.” After a moment she frowned and continued: “I wonder if he ever thinks about the fact that if you die, he dies as well?”

  Isaac frowned in thought as well. “That’s a good question. I am kind of afraid to bring it up though. What if he hasn’t ever thought about it before and I just end up giving him an existential fear.” He replied.

  “Fair point.” Lenna said with a nod. “Well, shall we?”

  “Yes, let’s.” Isaac spoke and offered her his arm.

  Lenna took it and the pair walked the five feet from their starting position to the wall as Isaac’s shadows wrapped around them to hide them from the rest of the world. “You are going to have to let go of my arm if we are going to climb this wall.” She told him as they stared up at it.

  Isaac sighed. “Fine.” He then let go of her arm. Lenna turned to face him and offered him her interlocked fingers as a step. Isaac stepped into her hands and then onto her shoulder before he pulled himself up onto the wall he then laid on it and offered her his hand.

  Lenna bent her knees and jumped to get as much natural height as she could while pulling herself up with his hand. She then heaved herself the rest of the way up and over the wall. The pair silently landed on the other side of the wall. The small servants’ pathway that ran behind the main building of the estate was paved brick but, due to Isaac’s shadows, their boots didn’t make a single sound. It was time to find out why there was only one confirmed living being inside the Thronsen Estate.