[Minis]

Minis carefully made his way up through the catacombs and into the abandoned building that sat above them. He crouched quietly for a few moments, listening for any signs of pursuit. There were none. No shouts, no whispers, no furtive footsteps. Minis stood and walked into the dark street. A few blocks away, he ducked into an alley. Again, he paused. He thought about going a few blocks more, just to be sure, but decided that this was probably far enough.

Minis reached into his pocket and pulled out a flat, circular object that fit into the palm of his hand. He pushed a concealed button, and the object opened, revealing a mirror and an empty space which probably held coins or other small objects at one time. He ran the tip of his finger across the flat space, and waited for the magic to activate. It wasn't long before Minis's reflection in the mirror wavered and faded away. It was replaced by the stern, ancient face of Jerimiah Trisk.

"Were you followed?" demanded Trisk.

"No. I made sure."

"Report, then."

"I told him what you said to tell him. That Benjamin Cerin attacked the shipment."

Silence

"I think he bought it." added Minis

"Fool. He's too smart to take your words at face value. He won't trust you or the Night's Bloom; he'll look into it himself."

"Well, he said to keep an eye on him. Benjamin, that is. I mean December said to keep an eye on-"

"Doesn't matter. As long as you made your statements in front of the others."

"Yeah. Rivus and Hars and some others. They all heard."

"And you know what to do next?"

"Yes. Stay close to Rivus, keep him from talking to December."

"Intercept any messages that are sent to that freak."

"Got it."

"Good." The image of Trisk nodded slightly, then frowned. "I thought you said you weren't followed?"

"Huh?"

"There's someone there." Without warning, Trisk's image faded and Minis's young face was once again reflected in the mirror.

Minis looked up and down the alley. No one. He looked straight up, on the odd chance that someone was on the roof of one of the buildings. Nothing. The street, too, was empty. He stood still and listened to the silence for almost a minute, then he shrugged, and cautiously made his way back to the Night's Bloom.

Scant seconds after Minis vacated the alley, a blue-cloaked figure detached itself from the wall, just inches away from where Minis had been standing.

[Benjamin Cerin]

Benjamin Cerin stood by the fireplace, coaxing flickering flame onto the new wood that he had just added to the pile. His wife Melanie sat behind him, wrapped in her favorite quilt.

"Hurry up, dear. You're blocking the heat."

"I don't get 'er goin' and we won't have any heat."

"Right, so hurry up and move. Dear." Melanie smiled, and her husband turned his head to smile back at her.

"Gimme a minute." He gave the wood a few more good stokes and placed the poker in the iron holder beside the hearth. Benjamin stepped to the side pointed at the fire with a dramatic flair. "Ta-Daaa!"

Melanie clapped. Then snickered. The fire was only slightly larger than it was when he began his ministrations.

"Bravo!" she cried.

Benjamin settled into his chair, which faced his wife's. Both of them were angled toward the fire.

"What was that?" she asked suddenly.

"What was what?"

"Out the window. I thought I saw a flash somewhere down the street. What an odd color, too... the prettiest shade of blue..."

Groaning, Benjamin got up and walked over to the window. He looked out into the night, and saw nothing.

"Gone now. Shouldn't have the curtains open at night, anyway." Benjamin closed the handmaid curtains and returned to his chair. He sighed, and then glanced back nervously at the window.

"You still worried about those men?"

"Yep. I'm tellin' you Melanie, they're watchin' me. They're camped out at my store every day, like... I don't know."

"If they meant any harm it would've happened by now, dear. They're just bums."

"Don't look like bums. Thieves. Rogues. Especially that little skinny one."

"Like you have so many dealings with the scum of Montfort that you know them on sight."

"I'm a shopkeeper. I know trouble when I see it. They're there when I open in the morning. They watch me all day, and then they disappear right when I lock up at night. Someone's keeping an eye on me. On my store."

"That's not necessarily a bad thing though."

"Either way, I had the Mage's Guild strengthen the wards on the store yesterday. Cost me quite a few gold pieces. That stuff's not cheap. I'll have them do the house next."

"Can we afford that? There's so little crime in Montfort. I'm sure no one means you any harm."

"Maybe."

"Stop being paranoid, Ben. It's not like you've done anything wrong. You don't associate or do business with these... people."

"Has nothing to do with nothing..."

"Why would they be interested in you, then?"

Ben shrugged. He wondered if the latest cache of weapon's he'd sold had brought this on. The purchasers where from out of town, a place called Bephal, and there was something odd about them. They didn't carry themselves like rogues or highwaymen. The way they moved, stiff and authoritative...the way their eyes shifted around, taking in every detail. He'd seen that look before. He wondered if he hadn't gotten himself tangled into some kind of sting operation. He'd done nothing illegal with these men, but he made it a point not to do any further business with them.

"Ben, I think there's something wrong with the fire."

The fire appeared to be burning heartily. It was still a far cry from a roaring blaze, but it showed no sign of burning out.

"Looks fine to me."

"Then why is it so cold all of a sudden?" Melanie gave an exaggerated shiver.

"You know, now that you mention-"

Benjamin's words were cut short by the sound of something large and heavy bashing into the front door. The sound was repeated an instant later, from the rear of the house. Then, the window was smashed in, and a large shape began to climb through the frame. Melanie screamed. Benjamin reached under the cushion of the chair and retrieved the dagger that he kept hidden there. At the same time, the front and back doors were bashed down. Bright orange sparks flew into air as the fading wards that strengthened the doors were overwhelmed. Instead of rushing in, the attackers slowly moved into the house with an inhuman, shuffling motion, their immense feet dragging across the wooden floor. There were three of them. Without thinking, Ben took aim and buried his dagger in the first creature's chest. The dagger sank in with a sickening *thud,* but the thing kept coming.

"Run, Mel! Downstairs!"

Melanie ran, but was forced back when on the creatures jumped into her path with a surprisingly quick motion.

"Ben!"

It was too late. The creatures had cut them off, and cornered them in the living room. They were being slowly herded away from the fire, and into the far corner of the room. The temperature continued to drop as the things closed in, and soon the room was freezing cold despite the fire in the fireplace. Finally, Ben saw one of the inhuman intruders clearly as it stepped into the light.

"By the gods!" he exclaimed. He could barely hear his own words over his wife's screams. "Mel! Mel! They're made of ICE!"