"An opportunity uniquely suited to your skills, hmm? I swear, Beak, if this is another noble playing coy about needing a plantation surveyed- hey! Cut that out!" As he enters the atrium, Tarquin is interrupted by the antics of his winged companion, Beak the rhamphorhynchus. The young swoop lizard has dived towards a shiny gold-plated candelabra, and Tarquin rushes to set it back upright before it can catch the manor on fire.

Only then does he realize he's not alone. In fact, the atrium also contains two of his best friends, the Sotheby brothers. "Gerald! Nathaniel! - I didn't see you there. Wait, what are you doing there? Err, I guess I mean here. Here at the Vandorboren's, that is, not over here by the..." He takes a breath, shakes his head, and tries again. "Um, you weren't summoned here by a mysterious letter too, were you?"