OOC: Alright. Christmas rush is over. Sorry, fellas. Didn't expect to get an Xbox. I spent the two days I should have been updating playing Halo 3 and NHL 2006. And I regret nothing!
You are all at the temple of Halina. The rains are beginning to let down as light hits the streets. The sun, however, is still out of sight, being blocked by dark clouds that seem to press down upon the rooftops. The wooden and stone buildings seem a bit cleaner, but the cracks of the streets themselves are filled with filth, as if the entire city has been hastily cleansed. The rats shake off the water from their fur, and set to work feasting on detritus that was flushed out of the roofs and onto the cobblestones.
You are able to make a more thorough search of the manorhouse on Merchant's Avenue - the home of Lady Ciara Ilvassa. A few men wander in and out of the structure, but nothing seems too out of the ordinary.
The building is made of stone, with shoots of ivy crawling up one side. The glass windows have discreet bars that block entry, particularly on the lower, basement floor - not unusual in Orussus. There are two chimneys, and a wide balcony on the second floor that overlooks the main road. The entire manor is surrounded by a low stone wall, with a bronze gate at the front entrance. The well-kept grounds are rather small - it is less than twenty feet from the main gate to the building itself.
Aiken is able to note a two guards, that move discreetly from position to position throughout the day. They attempt to look like passers-by, but they frequent the street too long for that to be truth.
Major 'lily gatherings are done in secret, but Cepheus (with Aiken's aid another check) is able to direct the children's inquiries in many different directions to eventually come to the conclusion that many blacklilies are seen (without their scarves) at a two-floor manorhouse on Merchant's Avenue. This home, Aiken discovers after paying for a few drinks at a well-to-do inn for Merchant folk, belongs to Lady Ciara Ilvassa - the only daughter of the late Korben Ilvassa (a fairly well-off merchant, though not wealthy by any standard).
