It was mid-afternoon when Karliah picked the lock of Black-Briar Manor’s back door and slipped inside. Before she had come, she had wandered around town to locate all the family members and ensure the house was empty. Maven was in her office on the second floor of the Bee & Barb, and Ingun was working at Elgrim’s Elixirs. Sibbi was still in jail, and Hemming was practicing swordplay in Mistveil Keep’s training yard. Still, she was swift as she darted through the house to find Maven’s desk. There was no desk to speak of, but she did find an end table with some of the mead magnate’s personal stationery, ink, and a quill. She took a piece of the stationery and, in handwriting so like Maven’s the forgery would never be detected, wrote the following:

Continue reading →