“I want groups of four. Two bards, two warriors. Keep track of each other at all times, hold hands if you have to. If you think you have a shot at incapacitating or containing them, do it. But the priority is keeping each other safe. Anyone left over, guard the ball or the medical area. Clear?”

Theo gave out marching orders, and everyone almost naturally grouped up. They stood in clusters outside the reading room that had been designated the medical area. Very few were missing members, but Jenny, Bruce, and Drew were keeping their distance from everyone else.

“What are you guys waiting for? You need a fourth member.” A chuckle passed through the crowd, as Jenny looked at him with a mixture of amusement and exasperation.

“Yeah, we have one in mind.” Theo looked at the warriors remaining, who had already moved back to the medical area and conferred with Felix.

“You’ll need another bard to round out the group, not a warrior.” The laughter continued, and Theo started feeling defensive as he clearly missed the joke.

“What, did you think you were just going to sit here and command us from safety? You’re coming with us.” Drew threw an arm around his shoulders, which quickly turned into a headlock, and Theo was pulled off his feet.

He wasn’t too averse to the situation, as at the very least it let him hide is blushing face from those gathered as he processed what had happened.

Theo hadn’t intended to stay back, and knowing his friends were looking out for him was rather comforting. This only added to the blushing, until he was almost related to a peach.

At the very least, the tension running through everyone’s muscles relaxed by a fraction.

He cleared his throat. “I will go with Drew, Jenny, and Bruce. Now,” he continued, trying (and failing) to regain a semblance of seriousness, “Let’s find these bastards.”

He paused, turning around as everyone started to move. “Jokes aside, be careful.”

Final message delivered, the teams split, each headed off to a different part of the estate.

One headed to check on Rowena’s parents. The other went outside to check the perimeter and moat, while also making sure nobody left the premises. Theo’s team, after a small pause as he activated Dog’s Nose, were checking where guards had been stationed. They didn’t lose much time because of that, as Drew had also pulled out his armour, and then decided against wearing a percussion set while trying to find hidden spies.

They walked warily, slowly making their way through the Flake Estate. Their eyes searched the alcoves and unoccupied rooms, expecting spies to appear from any and everywhere. Drew held a plain-looking mace, and Bruce had a quarterstaff that glowed with inscriptions. Jenny and Theo stayed unarmed, which conveniently let their hands brush against each other as they walked side by side.

They were arranged in two rows, with Theo looking forward, Jenny on his right looking to their right, Drew behind Jenny looking behind, and Bruce to Drew’s left looking to their left. It allowed them good visibility and coverage, and letting them easily change orientation at any time. Of course, they moved slowly, but they were trying to be meticulous in the first place.

Theo put up his hand as they approached a corridor.

“Why are we stopping here?” Jenny asked. It was empty and as clean as the rest of the estate, but the stone floor was chipped in multiple spots. It was a number of almost inconsequential flecks, but it stood out against the immaculate state of everything around them. They were clustered, deep but thin cracks, and if you squinted you could almost make out the path of something bouncing.

“Drew, do you think that’s a dagger or sword?” Theo asked aloud, taking his eyes off the cracks as the group slowly rotated to allow Drew to see what Theo had just been examining.

“Hm. If it was a sword, there would be one very deep and many more shallow indents than here. Dagger.” Theo nodded at his assessment. Those on guard duty had been provided with a small dagger as a last-resort option.

“We’ve found where someone was paralysed.” They rotated once more, and as Theo reached the front again he activated Dog’s Nose. He breathed in deep.

The crispness of a cold, wet winter’s morning was first and foremost, almost baked into the soul of the walls. That was followed by the impressions of their group, and the slightly floral notes of their uniform. While lavender-scented uniforms were pleasant for a ball and a display of not-insignificant wealth, it was definitely making it harder for Theo to rely on his sense of smell. There was no strong smell of smoke or anything else that would easily identify who had been here.

Theo muttered under his breath, and tried to clear his head of all these scents that told him nothing. And soon, after inhaling a few more nosefuls, they faded enough into the background for him to start picking out other, subtler things.

There was enough lingering dust from the chips and cracks to give the vaguest impression of construction and chalkboards. Would have been useful, if they hadn’t seen the cracks already.

The pungent smell of untreated wool and sheep farms existed as a ghost amidst the dust, once more adding nothing to what they knew. Lanolin oil, while pricey, was used as an alternative to animal fat to keep blades from rusting. And besides being subtle enough to be hidden behind lavender, just like lavender the House of Flake would not blink at the expense.

Theo closed his eyes, carefully controlling his breathing, doing everything in his power to find whatever else lingered in the space.

There it was.

It was very herbal, almost caustic in the way it attacked his nose.

A bitter, cloying smell.

One that he recognised from the chaotic melange of the medical area. One that had been so inseparable from the beehive of scents that he frankly hadn’t even been sure it was the toxin before now.

“I’ve got the smell of the toxin.” There was triumph in his voice, even as the others remained cautious.

Theo smiled, and for a moment his teeth were sharper than they had any right to be. “And I can track it.”