"Indeed, madam, there were several visits to your vault over the past month," said the clerk.
"By whom?" demanded Lavinia, her voice icy and stern.
"Not by any unauthorized personnel, I assure you," the clerk said. "Only your brother, Vanthus."
"What?!" Lavinia gasped. All the ice vanished from her demeanor, replaced with shock. "My brother has been missing for a month! You must be mistaken."
The clerk seemed puzzled. "I am certain it was him. I've dealt with Vanthus enough times in the past to recognize him; he's quite distinctive. And he had the Vanderboren signet ring. I had no idea he was missing or I would have informed you of his presence at once. My deepest apologies, madam."
"You will inform me at once if he returns," said Lavinia shakily.
"Of course. And again, my deepest apologies."
It was clear that Lavinia was still rattled as we climbed back into the coach. Once we were on the road, she sighed, and said, "So. It seems I have another task for you all. My brother must be found."
"Yeah, so, what is the deal with him, anyway?" said Liona. "There's clearly some kind of hang-up between you two."
"We were close growing up," Lavinia said wistfully. "Our parents were rarely around, you know, so we grew to depend on each other. You may find it hard to believe, but we were quite the pair of troublemakers back in the day." She was right. It was hard to reconcile the image of her as a troublemaker with the dignified noble she presented herself as today. "But alas, after a particularly complex prank involving several love potions being emptied into the water tower, our childhoods came to an end. I was sent out to Thelanar Academy, while Vanthus was shipped out to work on a plantation.
"We only returned to the family manor last year, after five years away. We had both changed. Thelanar suited me, and I became the woman you see now. Vanthus...he was bitter, resentful. He had no time for me. He slept all day, and spent the nights with...associates of dubious character. He would go days at a time without even visiting home. Then our parents died. I think that was too much for him. All the easy humor he had as a child left him, replaced with cynicism and bitterness." Her voice grew hollower as she continued. "One day, we had a fight, a big one. By the end of it, he had packed up his things and moved out of the house. I think he ended up living with a lover somewhere in Azure District. I never learned the details. I haven't seen or heard from him since."
It was hard to read her face. "That, uh...that sucks," I said awkwardly.
"Indeed," she responded.
"Squawk!" said Squawk.
"I don't think that's a comment on the story; I think he's just hungry," Kala translated. She pulled a pouch of sunflower seeds from her pocket.
Lavinia smiled (the human face can only withstand so much cuteness before succumbing), but her expression quickly turned serious again. "Vanthus must have fallen in with a bad crowd. Thieves, smugglers, maybe even killers. But even if he is stealing from the family vault, I have to believe it's not too late for him. The brother I loved is still in there. Please, bring him back to my side. I know I can talk some sense into him."
"We'll split up, then," said Liona. "First thing tomorrow, we'll start making the rounds. I'll do a bar crawl, ask around all the taverns in Azure and Merchant. Snickers, you know Shadowshore better than any of us—use your contacts. Annie, you have a foot in the door at the Academy, right? Ask the students, faculty, follow whatever leads you can. And Kala...have you gotten that talk-to-animals trick down yet? Maybe the local wildlife can help us out."
"I'm still practicing, but I can try," said Kala.
I raised my hand. "I'm...not exactly great at talking to people," I said. I tried to imagine spending all day approaching strangers to engage them in conversation. I would probably take it over fighting the rhagodessa again, but wow, it was close.
Liona patted me on the back. "You'll do great. Don't you have any spells that could help?"
Hmm. "I might have one," I said.
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