Covert Operation

At first, Belboz proceeded with caution. He had already been foiled by Arius once, and even now, he had no clue how the other wizard had done it. This time, he was taking no chances.

For days, he spied on the outskirts of the wizard’s property, taking down where wards had been placed and noting when anyone would come or go for any reason. Thus, he found Arius’s home to be rather isolated from the nearest town thanks to a thick surrounding forest and a row of short hills. The only reliable way or approach seemed to be the main path that led up to the front gate.

On the fourth day, a girl, most likely Marcelina, exited the property to run errands for her father. Judging by the basket on her arm, she was doing some shopping. She had grown quite a bit from the last time Belboz had seen her, becoming a quite fetching lass promising to become a fine woman someday. Wherever Sir Fred could be, she would probably be about the same age, by now.

Following Arius’s daughter, Belboz could see that she was a bit more social than her father, interacting easily with the townsfolk as she visited different shops and tradesmen. They all treated her in a familiar way, indicating they saw her quite frequently. She even took a break to chat with a few other girls her age who welcomed her as a good friend. When the blacksmith’s son passed by on his own errands, the girls, Marcelina included, settled into excited whispers and giggles. With mild amusement, Belboz noted that the boy showed no hint of awareness that he had his own crowd of admirers. That would probably change as he grew older.

Eventually, Marcelina headed back home with her purchases, and Belboz felt he had a good idea of how to get inside.

1. Belboz decides to throw caution to the wind and confront Arius directly.
2. Belboz disguises himself as a traveling salesman and knocks on Arius’s front gate.
3. Belboz changes into a double of the blacksmith’s son and approaches Marcelina.
4. Belboz captures Marcelina and changes himself into her twin to impersonate her.
5. By coincidence, Arius is throwing another birthday party for his daughter.
6. Belboz noticed that Arius’s cat has its own entrance, a convenient flap of some kind in the back door.

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