The next three days were a slog. Nothing much happened in the mansion, most of it lay still without even a sound escaping. The thaumaturge left once to get something from his overgrown garden but that was it. On the second day, weird sounds came from the second floor for a few minutes. It sounded like insects chirping. But it was quickly silenced by a few crackling bangs. To alleviate some boredom I spent a few hours circling the estate from the air. And I spent the nights hunting some extra food and training [Eldritch Shift] a few times. I made sure to always keep a use ready though, just in case. I also found a small forest further away to keep any prying eyes off my practice.

Now the third day was coming to an end. I had no clue when the thaumaturge went to sleep or if he even rested at all. He most likely did. I could have waited for a few more hours but I was impatient. So once the sky had turned dark I made my way into the mansion. I crossed the outer barrier with [Eldritch Shift] again and flew above the wall. No movement in the windows convinced me I was not spotted. I closed in on the door and stood next to it so it would hide me if opened. Then I strained my ears for any movement inside. Nothing. I started counting.

One, two, three.

Still no sound.

Four, five, six…

It was so quiet I would have doubted someone lived here if I had not seen him myself.

… eighteen, nineteen, twenty.

Good. Nobody there. I could go in. A tendril of shadows snaked upwards and into the tiny gap between door and frame. This was another [Eldritch Shift]. I really hoped there was a way to open the door from the inside. Otherwise, I would need to avoid using any more because I needed my other two uses to get out.

A thought activated the Skill. Colours exploded, aspects of magic everywhere. Then I was inside. I looked around for a moment while dragging in my shadow tendril. Conservation of energy was key.

I stood in a dark hallway laid out with violet carpet trimmed in a golden-yellow pattern. The walls and floor were bare grey stone. The ceiling was covered in dark wooden planks. Several doors lead off into side rooms further down and shelves filled the spaces in between. On those shelves, I spotted the first sign of truly intelligent life. Books. Old and heavy tomes side by side with small string-bound notebooks. A few candelabras stood on the shelves, candles partially burned down. A long staff stood next to the door right behind me. It looked and felt heavily magical, even though it was a simple straight piece of wood with a small golden ring embedded near the top.

I made sure to stay away from it. Disturbing magical tools would surely give my presence away. The books however were not magical at all. I really wanted to take a look at them but even just glancing at the spines I realized I could not read the letters at all. I would have to learn from scratch. Maybe [Mingling] would help with that? I really hoped it would.

The door leading outside was the only one looking anything but normal. It was made of the same stone as the walls and floor and had runes carved all over its surface. It only took a moment to understand the magic. There was a small spot surrounded by concentric circles where normally the handle would be. Magical funnels lead the mana to the top and bottom of the door where they would move it. I had no idea of how to open it from the outside, but I could certainly escape through it, without using [Eldritch Shift].

For now, I wanted to figure out where the thaumaturge was so I could avoid him at all costs. I listened carefully for any movement and this time I actually heard soft mumbling and scribbling sounds from deeper into the house. The hallway split off to the left and right at the end with a door leading straight. Through that door was the one I had to avoid. This meant making good use of [Sneak]. The carpet was also very helpful at muffling my steps.

I spent another careful look to scan for further magical defences. There were a few spots in the walls looking much like the lightning traps outside. They were however rather inactive. There was a bunch of mana but it felt far less ‘on guard’ than the one outside. The thaumaturge apparently did not want to be fried by his own defensive measures. Better for me.

I made my way up to the first door and carefully opened it with a tendril of shadows. [Sneak] prevented any potential creaking sound. The inside was a dusty and mostly empty square room. A simple bed stood on the far wall and a closet next to the entrance. The window was covered by heavy curtains. And that was it. A dust layer thicker than my talons covered everything. An unused room. The room opposite was the same.

I made my way down the hall and carefully checked everywhere. Three rooms on each side were empty. The fourth on the left was a bathroom. Some sort of magical shower and toilet combination. I noticed there was no plumbing so it probably drained magically somehow. It was also well maintained instead of dusty which made me believe it was used frequently. The same went for the room opposite. It was a kitchen. Or more like a storeroom with a stove and counter. A magical stove, powered by fire crystals. The food was simple and long keeping. Dried meat and sausages, sour bread and some small barrels of vegetables and fruit. The latter ones had magical runes carved into their sides, probably for preservation.

Then I came upon the junction. In front of me was a large double door leading to what was probably the main room of this house. Maybe a research lab or a living room. Occasional mumbling and scratching sounds could be heard every once in a while. The hallway down left held another door leading further right. The hallway to the right led to a staircase going both up and down.

I decided on the staircase. I would check out the other room if I was sure the ork would not move in there. Otherwise, it would only be a dead end. Careful soundless steps brought me to the stairs. And I ran into a problem. My wings were too wide to fly up and the steps were too high to use them traditionally. I had to jump up awkwardly step by step. Why would there be such a small staircase in such a huge house? I struggled my way up, one jump at a time. [Sneak] and [Soundless Flight] worked overtime preventing sounds from leaking out. I even covered my wings in shadows to dampen the sound even more.

As I made the fourth jump, I heard a sound from the main room. Wood scratching on stone. A chair had been shoved back. Then, steps. The ork was moving. I picked up the pace. There were still 6 steps to go before I would reach a landing and then the same length again after turning around to the right. Jump, flap, up. Jump, flap, up. The steps moved across the nearby room. Jump, flap, up. A click told me of the door being opened. Jump, flap, up. With a bit of creaking the door opened. Jump, flap, up. A voice grumbled about having to fix the creaking. Jump, flap, up. Steps made their way… away from me. Into the bathroom. Or the kitchen? I took a deep breath and calmed my racing heart. I had a few more moments. Tackling the next set of stairs was easier since I was far less stressed. I heard the splashing of water as I made it two steps up. He was showering. I had all the time in the world.

After reaching the top of the stairs, I looked around once more. The hallway was set up exactly the same as below. From my position, a double door was to the right, directly above the one from before. Further down was another door leading right. Opposite the double door, another hallway extended.

For now, I stayed at the landing and listened. I wanted to know where the ork would go after taking a shower. Maybe to sleep? If so, I would have a lot of time to snoop around. Maybe I could even try to figure out the letters?

Shortly after, he finished washing up and I heard steps once more. This time the walk was short before another door opened. He really was eating something. Though he walked back out of the kitchen again a few moments later and I heard the creaking of the double door. He was back to his work. What a workaholic. Did he not need to sleep? To be fair it was still early in the night.

I decided to keep exploring. The double door would be last, right before moving up to the next floor. The corridor leading away from it held more empty rooms. Six of them again. The first door each on the left and right led to storage rooms filled with all kinds of curios and materials. This was not the scrambled goblin hut. Proper glass jars and bottles held dead animals and plants. Samples of rock, sand, wood and metal were organized neatly on several shelves. Some of them held obvious magic while others were wholly mundane. The hallway itself was empty. No bookshelves, not even cupboards or paintings. Nothing.

Next was the door on the far end. Opening it led me to a messy bedroom. A half-closed closet stood at the back and a messy bed and chair were covered in clothes and cloth. At least there was no dust layer on top of everything. It looked like a bedroom was changed to function as storage for fabric materials. If the lower floor was set up the same it would hold another bedroom. That was good news since it meant the thaumaturge would sleep at some point.

Last on this floor was the double door. I got close and only barely stopped from opening it. My ears made out sounds. Murmuring and scratching. This entrance seemingly led to the same room as the double door down below. The sounds were less distinct, however. I surmised there was something in the way between the mage and this door. It would probably be fine to open it.

Before I did that, however, I climbed up to the third storey. This floor was much more cramped, the ceiling lower and slanted on the edges. It also was just a single room filled with all kinds of assorted trinkets. These were magical, that much was obvious, but they were also very weak and dusted over. It almost looked like practice work or disused tools. There were wands, staves and gems, none of them holding a sufficient amount of energy to do anything with. Metal and bone tools and weapons sat on a big pile, most of them chipped or rusted. A few were lined up on a rack with a little more care. These again held a remnant of magic. Several closets and chests were filled with porous and ripped cloth that might have one day been worn by someone. This was obviously a dump for stuff that nobody should get their hands on. A hatch and a ladder signalled an attic sitting above but disregarding my lacking confidence in climbing a ladder, I expected nothing interesting to be there. I heard no sound and even my magical senses picked up nothing. It would be a waste of time to work my way up.

This floor however might be a good temporary shelter. I needed two shifts to go in or out of this house so having a safe place inside was advantageous. Now I only needed to find out if there was anything for me to learn in the big room. Or from the books in the hallway. But first, I would wait for the mage to get some sleep.