The approach to the Baron’s mansion was at a slight incline uphill. Niko's talons clicked against perfectly uniform rust-red brickwork that appeared to be of, at least, somewhat higher quality than in the rest of the city. The sides of the road were also adorned with flagpoles tipped with lanterns and alternating, manicured trees. He had little issue with the slight displays of wealth to that point, but it was what came next that left Niko questioning the owner’s sense of decor.

Further down the road, as they drew nearer to the Baron’s estate, stood a number of statues of knights that, were it not for the tackily added jewels and out-of-place precious metal, would have looked stoic and intimidating. Each statue was five meters tall, set atop a pedestal of one meter in height. They were what he imagined might belong in some medieval castle, so in that regard it wasn’t particularly surprising.

“Isn’t this guy just a Baron? Why is he decking things out like he’s the King?” Niko, flabbergasted, couldn’t keep his beak closed any longer. Skye translated with vigor, sharing her scathing opinion with Niko.

“This is certainly… interesting.” Mithel offered with a cough, doing her best not to laugh at the tacky statues.

Ronald subtly stopped Dachna from speaking, “Keep in mind to express yourselves carefully here.”

The Wyldwalkers around Ronald nodded at the reminder. Poking fun at art was fine, but poking fun at a Baron’s estate while they were going to be visiting the man likely wasn’t. In the first place, Niko had no idea what he would and wouldn’t be allowed to do in regards to meting out punishments. While Niko had no experience with nobility here, history in his world had enough accounts of ‘peasantry’ not precisely enjoying the same rights as they might otherwise enjoy when a member of the nobility was involved.

Then again, it wasn’t as though the general level of livelihood and technology was the same here as it was on Earth in those ages, so perhaps that wasn’t the case here? He could hope as much, anyways.

‘He is a pecking arsehole according to everything we know, so…’ Niko’s line of thought trailed off as they neared the front gates. The pair of guards there were clad in shining armor that glowed to his essence vision. Sygaldry was outwardly evident on several of the pieces they wore, and likewise extended to their currently sheathed swords. He focused his vision, parsing the essence they wore from the essence they themselves wielded.

‘Low tier two, I’d guess. Their armaments might be a problem, but I think I could take them pretty easily.’ Niko nodded internally before his attention went wide. The gate and wall dimly gleamed with low amounts of essence, but he found it much harder to discern any sigils. Either they were very weak, or obscured, or perhaps both. That was something Niko hadn’t been able to learn much more about. He’d have to ask Skye later if they could find some more information on that, given that Niko was fairly positive his essence sight was leagues above anything else their team could get their hands on for detecting such things.

“Greenhorns, correct?” One of the guardsmen stepped forward, a clipped and short motion that matched the man's tone.

“Formerly,” Ronald corrected, “We are known as the Wyldwalkers now, and have begun the pilgrimage.”

The guard stiffened for a moment before giving a slight bow, “I apologize for the mistake. I will ensure that the Master is aware of your change in identification. If I could ask you all to follow me?”

“Pay it no mind, and we’ll be happy to follow you.” Ronald answered, but Niko could tell that he was as confused as he was regarding the guards reaction. Was it such a big deal to get someone's designation incorrect?

The man rose from his bow, “This way, I will see you to the entrance.”

He turned on his heel, and with the other guard opened the gates wide. The Wyldwalkers followed the man through, affecting neutral expressions as best as they could. Niko noted that the gates closed behind them, and another guard came to take their escort’s position outside of the gate.

The air around them was significantly more charged with essence than the rest of Greenleaf. Niko could taste what must have at least been tier three levels of ambient power on the grounds of the estate. Moreover, Niko could plainly see expansive and heavily manicured gardens that he, begrudgingly, had to admit did look very nice. At least, up until his eyes settled on a number of perhaps questionably risque statues depicting men and women in various states of teasing poses. Some of the ones furthest away looked to be engaging in… revelry. Normally Niko wasn’t much for being especially prudish about nudity or depictions thereof, but something about these particular statues just set his nerves on edge, and he didn’t know why. He couldn’t tell much of anything this far away, though, so he resolved to simply stay away from them.

The mansion itself was huge, a three story tall construction with a domed roof in the center of the building. It was hard for Niko to adequately pin down what made it feel non-hospitable, save perhaps the opulence that adorned every windowsill and the stairs leading up to the building proper. For him, it felt more like something that was to be looked at, rather than lived in, if he had to put his thoughts to words. Niko followed the others, noting silently that Dachna had slipped closer to the middle of the group.

The Phorus’ eyes rested on the man, his thoughts going back to what he’d seen during the closing moments of the ritual. He remembered seeing the jewels and fine metals shaped like caltrops across the floor, the high quality dress clothes he’d been wearing on one half of his body reduced to shredded, bloody rags. Niko hadn’t been blind to how Dachna had been somewhat discomfited by shows of wealth, but now he wondered if it was related more to a deep seated trauma than anything else.

Regardless of the reason, Niko put himself subtly in lock-step beside the man, who shifted at the clear attention from the bird.

Niko gave him a low, reassuring cluck, which the man took with a chuckle, “Thanks, Niko. I’ll be… fine. Better, after we’re done.”

The others did their best not to put the man on the spot, and refocused on their escort. The guard was walking up to the front doors when they opened from the other side, revealing a stern faced woman whose cold expression settled first on the guard, then scanned over the group.

“Announcing the arrival of the Wyldwalkers, formerly called the Greenhorns, pilgrims all, for the invitation of the Baron.” The guard clasped a hand to his chest, surprising Niko.

‘Is she like a head maid or something?’ He studied the woman closer, noting that her essence tier was third. ‘Ugh… I thought Greenleaf was a beginner area!? Why are there so many of you around!?’ A mildly outraged Niko subtly fluffed up, before forcing himself to calm down. There were bound to be more tier two and three people than tier one in higher offices. In fact, he wouldn’t be all that surprised to find that everyone in higher offices tended to be higher tier, or at least backed by someone that was of a high tier.

“You all must have had quite the busy time, then, to have put off the Baron’s invitation so long.” The woman let a slight smirk tug at her lips as she spoke to the Wyldwalkers, which the guard took as the dismissal that it was. He vacated the area much faster than when he’d escorted them to the building. She then gave a small curtsy, “My name is Tabitha Wyles, Headmaid of Master Enner’s estate. You may call me Headmaid, Miss Wyles, or any other designation if it pleases you.”

Ronald nodded to her, “We have indeed been busy, but now we’re here, thank you, Tabitha. I must apologize in advance for any breach in etiquette we may have–we are adventurers first, afterall.”

The woman nodded cooly, “Such breaches are expected of adventurers.” The nonchalant way she said it was clearly a slight against them, but none of the Wyldwalkers reacted to the bait. The Headmaid turned slightly, “If you’ll follow me to the parlor, the Master will see you shortly.”

Niko followed the others in, though he had to duck his head to get into the building. Unlike the Guildmaster’s estate, this building was not nearly as friendly towards tames, it seemed. The foyer was at least large enough, but he noted that the attention-grabbing displays of wealth had only expanded. Rich carpets that Niko guessed were hand woven over long hours traced long paths over rich, polished stone tiles. He wasn’t certain if they were marble or not, but he did know that they must have been quite expensive, given the elaborate designs they bore. They were black and white, predominantly, a color pattern shared somewhat through the rest of the decor. Splashes of gold and gem encrusted, clearly ceremonial armor–then again, who knows, maybe they work just fine, Niko shrugged–and weapons sat on displays against the walls. From the foyer there were three possible routes, one on the left, the other to the right, and the third was straight ahead, leading visibly to a large room with a pair of curved staircases that lead to the second floor with an overlooking ledge that Niko imagined would be perfect for a monologuing villain to stand on.

‘Way to flag that one,’ Niko thought with amusement. Admittedly, he did really like the domed ceiling, slotted with glass allowing light to enter and reflect off of mirror-polished surfaces high overhead.

“Follow me,” The headmaid led the way through the doors in front of them, rich halls with diamond-patterned wallpaper and wood covering that rose halfway up the walls. Much of the wood used had a dark-gray appearance, looking more like ash than wood. It complimented the rest of the austere layout of the building’s interior. Niko found that he actually rather liked the decor, so far anyway.

But Niko couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong with it all. It was too cold and distant, and as he walked the empty halls echoed the group's stride back at them. Niko shared his uneasy thoughts with Skye as they walked.

Contrary to trying to make him feel better, she doubled down and thought back to him “Place creepy. Bad vibes. Dark forest.”

“Why are you speaking so clucking weird?” Niko sent back in confusion.

A bloom of embarrassment fed back over, “Still practicing! Drumstick!”

Niko almost tripped over himself at that, and couldn’t help but stare at Skye aghast. “Did you just call me drumsti–”

“The Baron will see you shortly, please, relieve your feet here in the waiting room until then.” The headmaid said and then gave a short and shallow bow before leaving them behind.

The Wyldwalkers all awkwardly stared at the room they now found themselves in. It was indeed a waiting room, complete with a nice view of the garden out of a back window, and with gray wooden furnishing with white and black cushions. At this point, Niko was beginning to dislike how much they’d stuck with that color pattern in the entire place.

“Well… alright.” Mithel was the first to talk, “Great? I mean… there’s some water here, at least?” She gestured to a pitcher and a set of cups that were currently resting in a cloth-covered stand against the corner of the room. That same stand had a modest assortment of pastries, but nothing that was especially impressive to Niko even if it hadn’t been for the Guildmaster’s generosity.

A few more seconds went by before Skye bristled, “I’m feeling… a little snubbed, is it just me?”

Ronald’s gaze landed on the formal feeling of the room, trying to keep the doubt from his voice as he did so, “Maybe it’s just… bad timing?”

Mithel moved over to serve everyone drinks on a tray, before frowning, “Uhh… nevermind, the pitcher is empty.”

Niko saw Skye’s gaze burrow into the back of Ronald’s head at that. “Let’s just… wait for a bit then? Maybe it won’t take long and they aren’t going to bother with refreshments?”

“He’s a Baron, I’m sure a little wasteful pandering to guests wouldn’t be remiss. I’m with Skye, I can’t see a nobleman of any variety leave a guest unattended without reason.” Niko said before flopping down next to the couch.

Skye translated happily, as they all sat down together, joined in the shared awkwardness of the space. Niko noticed Dachna’s glower growing as a minute became five, then bled into fifteen.

When the wait neared thirty minutes, Dachna finally said, “Yep. Powerplaying nobleman bullshit. Samut’s cursed arsehole.”

Ronald’s lips firmed into a thin line as he looked to Dachna, but couldn’t fault him for his incendiary comments. Mithel spoke, “Well, if it’s going to be like this, I’m okay with just leaving.”

Niko clicked his beak with a light trill agreeing with her, before he paused as he reconsidered things. ‘No… we came here for a reason. And he’s almost guaranteed to be involved in the Oath-Sworn business… matter of fact, can I just ki–no, I can’t just kill him, we need information first. Well, and I guess it’s illegal, that might make things hard for us.’ Niko shook his head regrettably, which Mithel took as the begrudging denial that they couldn’t actually just leave.

“Nothing for it, then.” Ronald stood, surprising the rest of the group.

“We’re leaving?” Skye asked with disbelief.

“No, of course not,” Ronald scoffed, then with a smirk taking over his expression, “We’re going to find someone to take care of our basic needs as guests. And if we happen to stumble around the place while that happens, who can blame us?”

They all grinned at that, and Niko happily pushed himself to his feet just hard enough to carve scratches into the pristine floor. Skye winced, seeing it and hearing it, but only flashed him an approving smile as they left the room. Afterall, they were just adventurers. Who could blame them for such breaches in etiquette? They were only adventurers, after all.

Niko trilled in amusement as they stalked the halls. He wondered where the Baron’s personal quarters were, or perhaps… “Oh! Think I can find the treasury?”

Skye snorted and translated, and then the rest of them grinned widely at the idea. Dachna patted Niko’s side, “Shame we don’t have your carrier vest yet.”

“Shame indeed,” Niko exaggeratedly shook his head along with the man.

“You guys are getting waaay too chummy with each other over looting.” Mithel’s words didn’t match the amusement she radiated, “At this rate, you’ll be stripping the walls.”

Niko stopped and stared seriously at the walls.

“Seriously don’t, please,” Ronald said with a pleading tone, “That will be so hard to explain away.”

“You’re no fun,” Niko squawked at him jokingly, and Skye didn’t need to translate for Ronald to roll his eyes at the bird's not-words.

“Maybe we can find the kitchen, at least?” Said the large man as they backtracked their steps somewhat, “Niko, you wanna see what you can track? I think between you, Skye, and Dachna, we have a good chance at finding some grub, at least.”

Niko slapped up a faux salute with one of his wings, “Aye, aye! Captain!”

Dachna promptly lost any composure he had and cackled. Skye turned her gaze to the man and shook her head, “How are you even teaching him these things? You’re barely ever alone.”

“What, me? No, hold on, just because he learns something derpy it’s gotta come from me?” Dachna spluttered, before realizing the others didn’t believe he wasn’t to blame in the slightest. “Niko, help me out?”

“Derpy, huh?” Niko helpfully supplied the man with a smug grin, “Skye! Tell him to tell the elf joke again!”

Skye translated half of the statement before she stopped cold, “Elf joke? Dachna?”

“You are such a bastard bird!” Dachna put Niko between them, “I don’t know what he told you, but I’m sure it’s lies and slander!”

Mithel coughed, “You… do have some tasteless jokes, Dachna.”

“Not you, too!”

Ronald decidedly kept out of it, but not without sighing deeply. Niko cheeped slightly louder to get his attention, before pointing upstairs. “Something smells… interesting, up there.”

Skye stopped play-harassing Dachna and looked up where he pointed, “He says he smells something up there.”

“Not an exact translation?” Niko quickly asked.

Skye responded with a low whisper, “Plausible deniability. Learned that one from Mithel. Ronald just needs to answer for me.”

Niko nodded in approval, “Good idea. Oh! Is there some kind of truth magic? Is that something we should be worried about?”

She was about to answer when Ronald started leading the way, though an eyebrow was quirked as he looked back at the pair. “Anything you’d like to share?”

Skye and Niko said and squawked, “Not at all!” at him.

Doubtfully, Ronald shook his head at them before climbing the staircase. Niko hoped that they’d find something interesting at least… Though, he had also begun to find it odd that the mansion was so empty. It was… weird. Hopefully, they’d at least find someone, though he supposed that it would be easier to scout the place out with nobody around.

‘The ‘Nope’ meter is rising steadily,’ Niko thought to himself privately, ‘This better not be some haunted mansion type stuff… I’m out of here through the nearest wall if that happens.’