The building had no markings. That was the first thing.
No house sigil, no trade seal, no merchant registry plate beside the door the way every legitimate operation in the Creslan border townships was required to display. Just stone and locked shutters and a side entrance wide enough for a cart, recently used judging by the wheel marks still fresh in the mud. Two guards at the entrance. Three more visible at the far corner of the structure. They wore no faction colors, which was its own statement.
Vaelis stood at the tree line with six master mages at his back and said nothing for a moment.
The guards by the entrance felt it first.
