"I know, I stink," Venden grinned, his voice hoarse. Fate could only imagine the amount of pain that would render his vocal cords so shot from screaming.
"Worse, you smell. Is your mother home?"
"Asleep."
"I thought Masters didn't need to sleep?"
"That doesn't mean they can't. She always said it was important to get rest once a week, strengthens the mind or some other BS. You're lucky you came when you did, this is the only time they've left me alone since I got here. We've got about two hours before she wakes up."
Luck? That, Fate doubted. More likely Kathrin knew about her mother's schedule and used it to her advantage. If Helga skipped for whatever reason, that would only raise suspicions.
"They don't have anyone else down here to do the deed?"
"She wants to be there when I break," Venden said simply.
"No offense, but your mom is the worst."
Venden chuckled, stopping when the laughs turned to bloody coughs.
As Fate helped the staggering Venden toward the pad, he decided to get some more information.
"Who all do I need to worry about?" Fate asked.
"My mother and the head butler, along with the healer our family employs," Venden replied.
He expanded his aura to its full range, which was five hundred feet for a Journeyman.
It was at this point that Fate noticed the jump in comprehension the man had experienced during his time as a captive, going from 10% through the Journeyman Stage to 20% since Fate had last seen him.
Fate supposed that when all you had was Time, you learned a thing or two about it.
"Kathrin said the butler was the one who warned her about your situation. I don't think we have to worry about him."
"Kathrin? She sent you?" Venden frowned. "I guess I owe her a lot, then."
"Not yet. We still have to get you out of here. Anyone else we need to watch out for?"
"All of the servants, mostly. They won't attack us, but they'll sure as hell tell my mother that her son is walking around half-naked and bloodied. If we get spotted, we might only have a few minutes before a Master is on our heels."
Fate helped Venden onto the pad, stepping up himself before glancing down at it. "How does this thing work?" he asked. "I don't see any Imprints."
"Mother called it science," Venden said. "Said she got it from a 'benefactor' so she could keep me hidden down here. Untraceable by most forms of magic detection."
"How do we use it, then?"
"Like this." Clearing his throat, he stomped lightly and said "Up."
The pad pulsed with invisible energy, which Fate could tell was decidedly NOT Mana, and their surroundings shifted to a small walk-in closet with coats, shoes, and small drawers.
Venden put a finger to his mouth, signing silence, and opened one of the drawers, pulling out a pair of socks which he slipped on his feet to make his steps quieter.
Following that, he crouched down, wincing as his joints popped and cracked. Fate crouched as well as Venden slowly, carefully opened the door.
It didn't squeak, a testament to the vigilance of the servants. Venden poked his shaggy head out and looked around, then pushed the door all the way open and beckoned to Fate to follow.
They entered a wide hallway big enough to fit three people side by side, of which they were at one end of. It was lined with doors and doorways, as well as two intersections with more hallways.
Staying low and quiet, they went as fast as they felt was safely possible, ducking into rooms here and there when Venden's Test of Time Spell warned him of an oncoming servant.
"We're on the second floor," Venden has said in hushed town when he deemed it safe. "That makes this tricker. My mother sleeps on this floor so she has quick access to the rest of the house, so it's by far the most dangerous as of this moment.
"Just follow me and keep your head down."
Eighteen years living in the same house was more than enough to memorize every nook and cranny if one was diligent. Venden's knowledge of the grounds, combined with his Spell and Kravoss' vigilant watch, meant it was smooth sailing for the most part.
Only the head butler was a Mage, with every other butler and maid being mortals unable to detect and distinguish Mana from the air. Venden made sure to keep his touch gentle on them regardless, as feeling Mana on one's skin was a separate matter entirely.
It was when Fate and Venden were hidden under the grand banquet table in the front left of the first floor, waiting for five maids to finish dusting the paintings on the walls, that they ran into trouble.
"What's this?" a maid said, a young girl around Fate's age with long brown hair and pretty blue eyes.
She dropped to a knee, holding her feather duster in her hand as she traced the ground with a finger. Fate and Venden held their breath; with how she was positioned, they could just barely see her shoulders. If she bent any lower, she'd see them.
Her finger came back up covered in red, earning a gasp as she realized what it was. The boys said every vile phrase they knew in their minds when they realized it as well.
It was blood, Venden's blood. The emancipated noble had left a trail leading right to them under the table!
They watched the bottom of the young maid's neck twist as she followed the damning trail with her eyes right up to the large table the two boys hid under.
"What'd you find, Andem?" Another, mature maid asked.
"Blood," they heard Andem say. "And it leads from the doors to under the table."
"Blood?" A different maid asked, this one older and gruffer. "The other maids reported blood on the second floor as well. Have them wake up Mistress Helga. She won't like it, but it seems we have an intruder in our midst."
Venden cursed under his breath. "Stay here," he hissed, jumping out from under the table.