Find a hiding place

You look at the grim-faced men that surround you, but there is no way that your small squad can hope to capture Har'Amaden when he has over a score of his own men with him. Antonios is right about staying here on the outskirts of the mansion. We'll find somewhere safe to hide, if we get the chance we'll take Har'Amaden, at least we'll know if he has Amara with him when he leaves. You see your men nod slowly and Sophia breath a sigh of relief.

You back away from the wall of the now dead Rastus of Minos' estate and circle around to the river so you'll be able to see if Har'Amaden crossed the river on boats. You set up on the roof of a neighboring boathouse, carefully watching Har'Amaden's men tear apart Rastus' fine mansion. From the angry yelling and screams of pain coming from within the gilded mansion you imagine that things are not going according to Petrocolus' plan, but you take only small consolation from that. You were this close to finding Amara, and came up empty.

The moon had nearly set in the western night sky when Petrocolus marched his men out of the mansion and up the main boulevard past the very spot where you had been hiding. He did not have Amara, for that matter none of the household of Rastus were taken, and considering the screams you had heard you would not wager a half bit on finding them alive. You were just about to search the mansion for clues left by Har'Amaden's men when the first trickles of smoke reached your nose.

That bastard was not only a cold-hearted murderer, he was a madman willing to risk firing half of the city in order to cover his tracks. The flames that leapt from over a dozen different windows and the atrium could only have been set deliberately, you were just about to sound the alarm even if it meant giving away your position when you heard the panicked cry of 'FIRE' spread from nearby houses. These were not your people, in fact the owners of these riverside mansions were likely as guilty of the excesses of the city as the high-council and regent himself but the indiscriminant destruction of a great swath of his own city made you despise the Great Betrayer even more.

As much as you'd like to help the scores of men and women (even children) carrying buckets of water from the river, you order your men to remain hidden on the roof of the boathouse while the fight to contain the fire continues. The three story mansion is lost, but the nearby outbuildings are soaked with water and after an hour or so it becomes clear that the fire will not spread into the rest of the city.

The sound of coughing from below you catches your attention. As you watch in surprise you see three women crawling from beneath the foundation of the boathouse hacking and gasping in the cool night air. Judging by their clothing, one of the three was a free woman and the other two were slaves. It was hard to tell in the moonless night, but all three looked young and pretty.