Madelyn led Raine to the library, where she opened the small window. It was a tight squeeze, but Raine got out. Trying to avoid lights, they crept across the city silently, and avoided snow where they could. Lynn was right, there weren't many people out. The snow and cold kept people inside, and the few patrolling Templars shivered and moved quickly without looking too hard. At the eastern edge of the city, the brick factory lay quiet and empty. Small lights moved around it, soldiers watching their precious weapons. Madelyn led Raine to the side of the building, where they climbed up a rough patch of wall to a landing on the second floor. After picking the lock on a window, the two entered the building. Everything echoed as they moved, but the parts inside creaked and groaned as the temprature shifted. Moving quietly, Madelyn brought Raine to a small room and pulled her inside before closing the door.

"Good so far. I'm not used to this, if I was alone that trip would have taken me half the time." Maddie whispered.

"Sorry. I'm not used to this either. Thank goodness it's snowing again. I think that'll help cover our tracks."

"Yeah. There's the master blueprint." Raine looked at a giant piece of paper pinned to the wall. "Don't touch it. I might not know much about runes, but those are tamper runes." She pointed to small etches in the wood frame.

"Touch it and anyone within a mile of here will be alerted to us, I know the kind. Alright, let's see what we have." Looking at the runes, she pulled a sketch book from her pocket and a pencil, and began copying as best as she could in the dim light. For several long minutes, she scribbled and marked. She didn't use any magic, nor was her book or pencil magic, so the runes would do nothing. Finally, she reached the end of the chain, and said "Done, let's get out of here."

"What do they do?"

"I don't know. But we can analyse them back at the inn. I'd like to spend as little time here as…" Something caught Raine's eye on the desk. A pair of parchments with fragments of runes at their edges. Picking them up, she twisted and rotated them, seeing if they fit together. They did not.

"What's wrong? I thought you wanted to leave?"

"Something isn't right…" Holding it up, she held one at arm's length and held it over the blueprint, and gasped. "It's a modification to the runes!" She held it up and moved it around, fitting it into a dozen locations where the edges seemed to line up well enough. She did the same with the other one, and likewise it fit well enough in a dozen areas. "This changes everything. Literally. Depending on where I hold them, it changes what runes I see."

"I thought as much. The Templars aren't that stupid. I doubted they would leave the actual runes just laying here. If it was that easy, I would have copied these days ago. This is why I brought you. What do they do now?"

"Give me a minute…" Raine moved the papers around a dozen times, each time frowning more and more. "I think… OK, here's my theory. This top line is an anti-tamper line. Keeps people like you from messing with the weapons once they're finished. The next one is the control line. This is what they used to move the weapons without soldiers. But this third line… This is unique. I think it's either an amplifier line, or a connector line. I can't tell. If it's an amplifier, then if it has access to mana, it should boost the power of the other two lines, meaning longer control range, better tamper protection, things like that. But if it's a connector line, then they could use one person to control multiple machines at once, if they have a strong enough will. But it could also be a dozen other things depending on where I change."

"Either way, it's bad."

"Putting is simply, yeah. It's-" A light out of the corner of Raine's eye caused her to duck down. The patrols were inside the building. "We need to leave, now." Maddie walked over to the door, and peeked out. She gasped as the guard walked over to the window they had entered through, and closed it, latching it with magic.

"That's not good."

"There's another way out, right? You have a backup plan, right?"

"For me, yes. But you can't come. You're too big." Maddie pointed at a small vent at the top of the building. "That is never locked. No one can get up there without a ladder, or by climbing. I'll slip out there, and get to the front door, unlock it, and get you out."

"Why can't I unlock it? I'm in the building."

"One way magical locks. It's a control method used to make sure the slaves stay working. The Templars can come and go as they please, but the slaves could get locked in if they disobey."

"Right. Be quick, I'll be down by the door." Maddie scurried off, and left Raine alone. As quietly as she could, she left the office, and went down the nearest staircase, wishing her fur wasn't so bright and visible. The door wasn't too far away, but Raine was very aware that there was at least one other person in the building. As she approached the door, she hoped that Maddie was as fast as she boasted she was. Then, her tail caught on something. And before she could stop it, a hammer fell to the floor with a loud clang.

Her heart stopped.

"Who's there?" A male voice called, and footsteps began to approach. Raine rushed the last few steps to the door, and pulled on it. It was locked still. Her heart and mind raced as she looked around, sweat began forming on her brow, and the panic set in. She was a wolf still, she would be seen, she would be killed, she had to do something, but she had nowhere to go! As she tugged at the door, she wished more than anything to get out, to not be there. "Hey!" She whirled around suddenly as a voice behind her scared her. "What are you doing in here? Who are y- Where's your coat?"

Raine suddenly felt very, very cold. Putting her arms around herself, she felt no fur, and she slid to the floor as the bitter winter freeze chilled her to the bone. She hadn't even realized that she had shifted back, or that she was crying, but cold tears rolled down her face, and her mind raced, fabricating a story. "L-l-l-lost it-t-t-t."

"Lost it? Wha- Who loses a coat in weather like this?" The Templar soldier looked a lot like Richard, but with brown hair and scars on his hands. He carried a shuttered bullseye lantern in one hand, and a short sword in the other. His armor looked to be a size too small, but he seemed to wear it well enough.

"I'm-m-m-m sorry. I was trying to get to my house, because I left something there, and I got lost, and this man tried to grab me, and he- he tried to-" She fell into shivers and put her head down, hoping he bought the story. She heard the scrape of a sword going into a scabbard, and the soft footsteps approaching.

"Hey, you're alright now. It'll be OK. Here." The man took off his own cloak and put it over her. It smelled funny, but it was at least warm. She looked up as tears streamed down her face. "It's dangerous out there. I'll walk you home. Where do you live?"

Raine sniffled, and put on her best 'helpless girl' look. "I live in the Westward Gate Inn, we got kicked out of our house. I just wanted to get my mother's locket…" She put her head back down and the man put his arm around her.

"It's alright. I'll get you back there safely." Pulling her up, he placed his hand just above the doorknob. There was a soft click, and he pulled the door open, to find two other guards fumbling with shaking fingers for the right key. "Bloody useless you two are. Get back to your patrols! False alarm, but keep your eyes open for a particularly unsavory man with this lady's coat. I want you to beat him and take his coat for trying to take advantage of this young lady, then bring him here so I can do the same." The two mumbled 'yes sir' and left.

It was a twenty minute walk back to the inn, and it was uneventful. The snow fell slowly around them, and as they approached the inn, Richard's face appeared in the window, and the door flew open. "Raine! You're OK!" He rushed out to usher them inside. "What happened?"

"Found her in the factory on the east side. Some… unsavory fellow tried to have too much fun with her, but she left her coat, and him behind. She's alright, just shaken. Keep an eye on her tonight, and don't let her wander again." Raine handed him his cloak back.

"Thank you. I didn't expect such kindness from… sorry, that was-"

"Ah, it's alright. Templars have been recruiting more and more folks recently, and we've gotten a bit of a bad reputation. A lot of us are just people looking to protect our homes and families. Even my wife hates what I do now, but there's nothing I can do about it right now. Anyways, I should get back to my patrol. Stay safe." With that, he left Raine and Richard on their own.

"You're human!" The door had barely closed when Richard looked her over. "You actually did it!"

"No. I have no idea how this happened. I just knew I needed to not be a wolf, and next thing I knew, I wasn't."

"It was rather impressive on it's own," Maddie's voice came from the balcony above them. "but your acting really sold it. Who knew you could play the 'helpless girl' so well?"

"I admit, it was only half an act. I didn't expect it to actually work. Why didn't you unlock the door?"

"Sorry. Those two idiot guards were already there, and fumbled about way longer than you would imagine. Now, get up here. Lynn wants a full report from you."