Sneaking In

A quick loop around the gardens doesn't seem to show any obvious gaps. Whoever arranged the patrols was clearly meticulous and experienced.

If there are no gaps, perhaps they could make one. One of the blast runes would make quite the distraction, a distraction that may allow them to get in undetected.

Taking a rune each, Angela and Lenara each go to a different side of the place they want to enter: the kitchen door. Priming the runes only takes a moment, their unique anima 'fingerprint' allows them to trigger the runes at any moment.

Retreating back to near the entry point, Angela nods at Lenara. "Ready?"

"Ready."

A wave of heat rolls over them as the runes are set off. The estate descends into chaos as men scrabble to see what the commotion is. Despite their leader being experienced the rest were clearly untrained rabble as they paid no attention to the fact that they are leaving their posts.

With how distracted the lookouts are, it would be an incredible feat if the two managed to fail in their attempt at sneaking in, hovering just centimetres above the ground the two move quickly and slip through the door, entering the kitchen.

The building was fairly old fashioned and, while it had been slightly renovated, the old age of the room definitely shows. Cold, hard, stone floors make it hard to be quiet while the crackling bread oven that had usually been going in most of Angela's memories of the kitchen was dull and sooty, charcoal being the only reminder that there was once fire.

With the fire unlit, the only light source is the dim, blotchy light coming from the sole, frosted, glass window in the room. Given how little light said window lets in, Angela's vision is rather limited and as such, she takes great care when moving from doorway to doorway, watching in case she bumps into any cooking implements that would cause a loud noise.

The doorway is followed by a small set of stairs which lead to the main hallway of the house. The hallway is much warmer, as well as more modern (though it still kept the aged oak and tall ceilings). This room is the center of the house, leading directly to almost any room on the first floor as well as providing access to the second floor and the basement.

Straight across from the kitchen is the dining room, with its large table and grand mantlepiece. It is there that Angela's father used to take guests, though for normal meals they much preferred the sitting room on the left which is much more comfortable.

On the right of the sitting room is 'the grand foyer' which, while very large and impressive, serves little purpose. Nevertheless, it is still the main entrance to the house and as such they would have to be careful there as it is most likely guarded, assuming their distraction has ceased to be useful.

It is doubtful that her siblings are being kept on the first floor; the second floor, however, is a likely choice. The second floor is where the bedrooms, as well as the study, are located, both of which are definitely places that should be searched.

Her thinking done, Angela decides that the first thing to do is to go upstairs. The staircase is on the complete opposite end of the hall, just next to the foyer. This means that they will have to continue to be careful the entire way.

Several of the floorboards are squeaky, as is the norm with such an old house. Thankfully though, having lived here for so long and having snuck out of bed for a snack so often, Angela knows exactly which ones are squeaky and so it shouldn't pose a problem. They could try to fly over but the hallway isn't exactly wide and so there is quite a high chance of their wings hitting the walls which while it might not cause any damage it would certainly make noise.

Treading carefully, Angela motions to her feet, indicating to Lenara to follow her footsteps. About halfway down the hall, however, a loud creaking noise echoes off the walls; agonisingly loud to Angela's ears. Lenara had made a slight mistake and triggered one of the boards.

They pause, tensed, and cock their ears, listening for any sound in response. After about a minute of listening, Angela relaxes; apparently no one was there. They continue on nimbly, darting up the stairs to the relative safety of the second floor and hopefully they would be able to find what they are looking for.