I entered the house and rushed down the hallway. After landing in front of the workshop I had to walk the few steps to Ignas’ bedroom. I had never been in there. I did not plan to go in either. The door looked normal but I could feel the magic behind it without even straining my senses. So instead, I knocked. My beak rapped against the wood like a woodpecker’s. I managed four knocks before I had to take a break. An owl’s bill was not made for punching wood. Ignas did not react. I knocked again, and again. Nothing. He was sleeping deep. I needed something better.

I could do loud but [Intimidating Screech] was not the smartest move to wake up someone surrounded by magical equipment. And shifting into my metal body would use a lot of mana. So went for a different strategy first. Shadows. A few tendrils extended through the gaps below the door and started to feel around on the other side. Stone floor, expected. A few grooves, possibly runes. Something soft, maybe a carpet? There was a stump on the right-hand side, going up I met a blocky form. It went higher and higher, too high to be a bed. Probably a closet. On the left, the same stump. A rounded piece of wood. This one held a smaller board on top and then, soft. A mattress. Ignas bed. It was just within range, now I only needed to carefully find him.

My tendril reached higher. More softness, then a corner. It continued horizontally across a slightly wavy surface and reached a large bump going upwards. Soft again. A pillow. I carefully felt my way forward and just as the softness started to dip down, I hit a blockade. A hard barrier stopped my shadows from moving forward. In the same instant, two things happened. First, a scream of someone waking up to an unpleasant surprise, quickly followed by a jump and someone falling onto wood. Second, all the traps in the hallway flared to life, myself sitting right in the middle. And the traps did not like me sitting there.

As energy built up in those close to me, I shifted and moved into Ignas’ bedroom. A crackling explosion resounded right outside the door I had just slipped past and I suddenly stood on top of an empty bed looking down on my panting host. Something had woken him up rather unpleasantly. Whatever that was, I had nothing to do with it. I innocently looked towards the door as Ignas’ angry glare settled on me.

“What did you have to do that for? Stupid bird,” he grumbled to himself before righting himself up. He wore a robe looking very similar to the one he had on during work only without the golden trimming.

“Well, looks like we have guests. Unless you triggered the shockers?”

I shook my head and pointed at the door.

“Fine, let’s see if they brought what I need.”

With that, Ignas threw the blanket on top of the bed, only missing me because I dodged to the side just in time, and started undressing. I had no desire to see that, but it beat getting fired by lightning so I just turned away. Once done, the ork activated some magical trinket hidden in the folds of his robe. I felt the magic in the hallway die down and followed the ork into the hallway.

I wondered why he had such an elaborate safety system and then just turned it off when it activated. Maybe there was something telling him what had triggered it? I did notice him having put on his weird glasses again. And a few extra rings on his fingers exuding magical energy. None of it felt dangerous. It was very obvious these trinkets had primarily defensive and investigative functions.

We walked down the hallway and stopped right in front of the door. Before opening it, Ignas turned around and addressed me.

“Listen, girl, no weird shenanigans, okay? Stay back, best if they don’t even see you. The guards might freak out and try to kill you. And I want to make sure other thaumaturges don’t learn about you. They would ask me to send samples or come over to dissect you. Just, hide, okay? That would be the best for us.”

I thought about it for a moment. He definitely made sense. And staying hidden was easy for me. So I nodded and slid into the darkness making my way back to the workshop. As I stepped in, I heard Ignas open the front door. He called out to the other orks.

“Finally here. Put everything down. I’ll get the payment.”

A greasy male voice answered him, much quieter and harder to make out. I still understood it, though. My hearing was just that good.

“Always so distrusting, you thaumaturges. Not even a greeting. I brought something extra. An emergency meeting of the circle has been called in. I brought a letter with your stuff. No need to hurry, the ox needs some rest anyways.”

The circle? Was that the meeting of the thaumaturges? I had read something like that in one of the books upstairs.

“Get outside the barrier. I don’t want you here.”

That was Ignas sounding irritated.

“Ah, yes, of course. I will be waiting for the payment.”

“Yes, yes.”

Steps and shuffling reached my ears, followed by a cart starting to roll along. Shortly after, the lightning runes in the house activated again. Did the barrier trigger those? Was this not a little stupid? What if Ignas was walking through his house when someone breached it? He would get fried by his own defences. Unless he had something on his body to prevent triggering the traps. Or to prevent the damage.

I heard him walk and huff as if carrying something heavy. He was making his way into the house. I carefully opened the door and saw the runes had been deactivated already. Ignas was coming towards me hauling along two crates, one large, one a little smaller. A letter laid on top. As he passed me by he huffed a “Thanks” before unceremoniously dropping the stuff on his workbench.

“This was supposed to be just a delivery. Some food, some materials, that’s it. But no, of course, the circle has to have an emergency meeting right when I am this close to a breakthrough in enrichment theory. Damn.”

I eyed him. He looked to be ranting mostly to himself but I still considered telling him he could just not go. There should not be too big of a problem if he prioritized his research, right? Before I could do anything, Ignas had already grabbed the letter and was reading it with a slowly darkening mien. Occasionally, his eyes flit towards me. Had this something to do with me? I grew more and more concerned until Ignas finally put the paper down with a sigh and looked straight at me.

“Tell me honestly. Did you kill a squad of guards near Charwood?”

I tilted my head. Charwood? Where was that? A town name, maybe? I brought over a piece of parchment from my desk and wrote down a question.

Charwood?

“Hmm. It’s a village west of here. Two days by foot, if you use the street through Roughroot. The town closest to this place. There is a terra-ignis node in a cave nearby.”

Well, what a coincidence. There was a cave a few hours flight to the west where I might have had an encounter with an ork squad. I did not really want to get blamed for that, even though I had done it. After a moment of consideration, I shook my head. Innocent, your honour!

Ignas narrowed his eyes. He glared at me for a moment before letting it go with a shake of his head.

“Fine. The squad had gone there on a report of a monster. When they didn’t return, a second squad specialized in scouting followed them up. They were dead. Something had ripped their throats and magic blasted a few wounds as well. There was also a dead bear. The bodies stacked up in the cave with the node but no perpetrator in sight. The local circle of thaumaturges has called an emergency meeting to find and kill or capture whatever or whoever did that. You will come along. I am not letting you root around my house while I’m not here to keep an eye on your stupidity.”

I tilted my head to the other side. Why should I go with him? I could just go out and spend some time flying around the valley. Maybe even invade some of the other mansions with the owners not home. I shook my head. My actual answer was written out again.

Not coming. Exploring the valley.

Ignas sighed.

“You are coming. I know you can just get back in. I got something for you to try your storage thing but I will be watching when you attempt it. Otherwise, you will just blow up my home. If you don’t come, you’re not getting it.”

That was unfair. I hooted in protest and stomped my foot.

Ignas rolled his eyes and grabbed something from the back of his desk. A pouch clinking with the sound of metal. Coins. There was money in this world. Well, of course, there was. I was just surprised I had never seen any before.

“I am going to pay the merchant and tell him I need to get my stuff ready. We are riding on his cart. And you are coming along as my pet. I should have a cage somewhere. Nobody will bother you, as long as they don’t use [Identify]. Which nobody will do, because it would be a risk angering an unknown monster. Understood?”

I shook my head again. I would not go into a cage. Especially one a thaumaturge had made. There was no telling if I could free myself.

“Whatever, you don’t have much of a choice. I will be back in a moment.”

With that Ignas left. I looked at his back for a bit before deciding I should just leave right now. Then he was out the front door and the lightning runes activated. That way was no longer an option. I had used one [Eldritch Shift] earlier, I still had a few in me. I only needed an opening. Maybe I could get past the ork when he came back? That would be risky. My eyes fell onto one of the covered windows. I would be sad not to finish my research but I would rather keep my freedom. I flew over and pulled the curtain aside with a shadow tendril. The window had no latch. There was no way to mechanically open it. I spread out my magic sense. Power exploded in my vision. This was enchanted massively. I could barely make out what it did. There was something to move air in and out without actually opening the window. A whole lot of strengthening. It felt almost stronger than the walls. And there even were multiple traps that seemed to trigger on touch from the outside or breaking. This was not an option.

I strained my ears and just made out two orks haggling. I still had some time. The hallway was a no, as were the windows. I could not get through the walls either. That left only hiding or getting past Ignas as he came back in. I flew up. My wand had been in the storage room for a while before I remembered and brought it to the top floor of the library instead while Ignas was asleep. Now it might let me distract him long enough to make my way out and past him.

I stood ready at the door, wand held to my left wing with shadows. It needed to touch my body to shift with me but I could not aim it efficiently using my beak. I listened closely, double doors closed. Then the voices stopped. Steps along the gravel path. Then feet on stone. The door slid open. Any time now the lightning traps would deactivate. Only they did not. The steps moved forwards through the corridor. I heard lightning go off but they did not slow down. He actually had a defensive item. This was really bad. I retreated again, flying upstairs and hiding in the darkness between the bookshelves. Time to make good use of [Sneak] and [Owl’s Shadow]. Only, I never got to that part.

Ignas grumbled as he entered the workshop but he did not stop moving. He walked straight up the stairs to the second floor, then the third. I pressed into a corner filled with darkness, my own Skill making me practically invisible. As the ork turned the corner and stepped into my view, I knew I needed to move. I did not make it far. A single step before a net of mana flew directly at me. I activated [Eldritch Shift] and moved along the shadows to dodge it. I made it just barely in time. The net dissipated as it hit the ground but I was still in Ignas line of sight. And his wand was still pointed at me, a second net flying at me. Before I could react, I was lying on the ground, unable to move.

I wanted to shift again but all my shadows were cut off. There was no path to follow. And the net did not even fall through me as I was outside of this realm. It fully existed both in the magical and real world. I had been captured. There was no way out. I deflated and just laid down. Why could I not meet the friendly ork that would respect me as a fellow sapient? I really had messed up.

Ignas stepped closer and loomed over me. He sighed. He really liked sighing, huh?

“Ahh, well. Not much to do about it. I didn’t think you would so easily leave after I let you read my Thaumonomicon. Good thing you came back. Now I can make sure you won’t spread my secrets. And I will make sure you help me finish my research. But first, we need to get done with this stupid meeting.”

I glared at the ork with narrowed eyes as he crouched in front of me. Now, this was a reason to stay true to my Class…