"Alright," you say. "Keep your finger on the speed-dial, but don't call the old man until you're sure we need him."
Altria smiles faintly. "Not eager for another meeting, I take it?"
"Is it that obvious?" you joke back.
"Yes. And I can hardly blame you for it." She hangs the cellphone on her hip, where it stays by means of some mechanism you can't perceive. More magic, probably. Adjusting her grip on her knife, Altria says, "Shall we proceed, then?"
"I was thinking we might want to sit tight," you reply. "The closer we get to that room, the more likely it is the occupants will notice us and do something. I'd rather not risk touching off a fight, at least not until we have more of an advantage. And this way will make it easier for Briar to home in on my position."
Altria nods.
You pass the next couple of minutes in silence. Nothing much happens in the room that you can detect through your ki sense: the ki void doesn't move or change its intensity; and the human presence doesn't alter its position or mood. About the only thing that really happens is that your sense of the human's aura grows steadily clearer, overcoming that feeble effort at concealment a little bit at a time. About forty-five seconds on, you begin to suspect that the human is female; after a ninety seconds, you're certain of it, and also that she is older than you, but not a full adult. She seems to be concentrating on something, with the kind of single-minded intensity that suppresses errant trains of thought and mutes emotional impulses. You'd have to probe more directly to get more than that, which you're reluctant to do, for fear of alerting the girl or her ki-absorbing companion to your presence. Still, a couple of minutes of dedicated ki-reading while under threat of discovery and danger is worthwhile exercise of a basic ability that frankly needs the workout, and the resulting improvements in ki sensing yield some natural benefits in a few other fields.
Gained Ki Control F+++
Gained Ki Sense F
Gained Ki Sight E++
Gained Power Sense F+
Then you see a light at the end of the gloomy hallway. Briar's appearance is followed shortly by that of Cordelia and Lu-sensei. All three of your companions are moving at a cautious pace, clearly seeing the same shadows that you are, and while it's obvious that they saw you as soon as you saw them, none of them call out to you. In fact, the only sound you hear from them is that of Cordelia's designer shoes, clacking against the floor. Even that is softer than usual, hinting that your friend is trying to be stealthy.
Cordy's efforts are admirable, but unsuccessful. The aura of the girl in the room momentarily spikes in surprise, then shifts to the kind of frantic haste that you normally experience when somebody not in the know is about to walk in on you when you're in the middle of practicing a spell.
...actually, it's exactly like that feeling. It looks like you stumbled across another magic-user working her craft in what she thought was privacy.