The taller woman's expression roils between amusement and frustration at the differing reactions of Lia and Ro, and she shrugs in short order and reaches a hand out to the blue-haired one with manners. "I'm Karina. It's nice to meet you, Lia." Her eyes flit over towards Ro, and then the others as she seems to contemplate Ro's question. She shakes her head. "I'm, uh, just a musician," she says. "I got a feeling something bad was happening here. Lots bad happens here."
Ignoring the yelling and odd sudden outburst of the strange lady, Karmid's gaze was arrow focused on the scarred man once his face was revealed. He squinted, opened his eyes wide, then squinted yet again. Suddenly a single eyebrow arches up, and the 'big Shoanti' rumbles forward to grab the scarred man suddenly and raise him up in an enormous bear hug three feet off the ground!
**"Grimmie! GODS ABOVE! You're alive!"
Tears suddenly streak his face and cut swift rifts in the dust covering his face...as he seems to be happier than he had been in a long time!
Setting down the Varisian, Karmid smiles and punches the man lightly in the shoulder.
"Gozreh told me you would be fine! The Sheriff refused to tell me where they took you! THAT was SO frustrating. They just kept telling me you were sent 'Exactly where you deserved to be!' BAH!"
Issengrim freezes, trying to rectify the small Shoanti child he remembered from what felt like a lifetime ago, with the bear of a man hauling him off the ground now. The smile is the same.
When Karmid puts him down, Izzy can’t help but grin like a fool and shake his head in disbelief.
”Na’zangi yo, moninga ya kala. Kasi mokolo nini okómaki MONENE boye?” He switches seamlessly into Common, ”Hate to say it but the sheriff was probably right about… all of it. They figured if the Scarnetti caught a whisper that I wasn’t rotting in a cell they might come looking. Can’t say whether that would have happened… but I was safe and I’m still alive.”
The tall woman's account of herself piques Ro's interest enough for her to take a second look. Maybe she isn't just a pushy scold who can't mind her own business.
"You're a musician? What do you play?"
The surliness hasn't left her tone but it has diminished, replaced by curiosity.
"Oh, we are musicians too. Kind of. Some of us.", Lia adds, suddenly unsure, then smiles again: "Nice to meet you, too."
Turning back towards the rubble, she adds "It totally was not our fault, but sorry about the mess. On the positive side there should be a lot less bad happening here, now. I think Xani....that is the bad gal...won't stay in Magnimar now. So no more cult murders harvesting souls, at least."
The tone of her voice seems entirely too carefree and casual for the weight of the words.
"Cello," Karina offers. "At the Triodea mostly."
She seems about to ask what the other musicians in the group play when Lia turns towards the rubble. Her eyes widen. "That was you all?" she asks. Karina looks around and draws a bit closer to Ro and Lia, lowering her voice. "Ironbriar, I mean." She shakes her head. "The government has been trying to keep it quiet, but there's been talk."
"Yeah, him" Ro answers in a low voice. "Real ugly crap."
Ro is really not interested in dwelling on that subject though. Time to move past the supposedly deity mandated dirty work, and on to a better and brighter future.
"Rebec here. Rose and Rake Theater. But writing a score rather than playing."
The claim is mostly true, maybe an overstatement to claim a formal connection to the theater. But Ro isn't above a little competitive puffery, even if she's also a little excited about running into another strings musician.
Karina puts one hand back on her hip. "Well, then. Fellow artists doing good in their spare time. What are the odds?" The other hand she puts into the air to make a lazy circle indicating the surrounding area. "Hell of a world we live in when artists are doing more good than paid guards."
But getting the impression than Ro wants to move on, so her eyes light up at the mention of the rebec. "Ooh, I haven't tried that one. Is it anything like the kontra? Mom had one of those growing up. Oooh, and what are you scoring? When does it premiere?" She seems to have almost moved on from the discussion of politics unless someone drags her back.
Ro doesn't know what a kontra even is. She covers by taking off her pack and rummaging through to pull out her rebec. She offers it over to Karina.
"Try it out and see what you think. It gets a bonus in my opinion because it's easy to travel with."
Izzy splits his attention between his reunion with Karmid and the animated conversations swirling around him. From the shifting discussions, he tries to sift the important details: allies, enemies, recent events, political issues, and potential threats.
Now that most of the dust and rubble has settled, an oversized butterfly emerges from it's hiding space and returns to Lia, sitting down on her head. "It is most unfortunate that the Lamia managed to escape. You are probably right in that she will not cause trouble in the city any more, but I am almost certain she will not abandon whatever agenda drove her to set all of this up. Chances are our paths will cross hers again. We should be prepared for that. Maybe bolster our numbers. Karmid, you know this person?"
Smiling broadly, Karmid retrieves Angela and rests the weapon on his shoulder casually as he introduces his old friend.
“This is Grimme! Issengrim is from Sandpoint too. He…was forced to leave town many years ago. His pretty mug had a bad encounter with a ferocious… racoon? Right? It was a raccoon? Anyway, when he was a kid, I was even younger!”
Suddenly Karmid gets pretty serious.
“Look, this is amazing Grimme, but I need to get back to the rubble. There could be people …kids…trapped in there.”
"There could be what?"
Karina has just reached for the rebec when she hears Karmid reference the possibility of trapped, crushed innocents, and she thrusts the instrument back into Ro's arms as she practically dives into the rubble, lifting large chunks of stone above her head and tossing them to the side. "Another time!" she cries.
Ro sighs and puts away the rebec. As tensions had dropped Ro has come around to the realization that the tall, dark-haired woman is really cute actually. She's always had a thing for dark hair.
Ro takes a moment to stretch, which reminds her just how sore and tired she is, then she trudges over to join the search. Having seen the tower fall, she really doubts anyone needs rescuing.
“This is Grimme! Issengrim is from Sandpoint too. He…was forced to leave town many years ago. His pretty mug had a bad encounter with a ferocious… racoon? Right? It was a raccoon? Anyway, when he was a kid, I was even younger!”
Izzy quietly corrects, ”A badger” He nods polite greetings to the others. ”You might have heard a tale about a kid named Wart or Wartface… killed some deer on Scarnetti property and got life-in-prison for it. I always figured the old man would keep the story alive to scare others from crossing his family.” He sums up concisely, ”Well, that was me.”
Suddenly, Karmid gets pretty serious. “Look, this is amazing Grimme, but I need to get back to the rubble. There could be people …kids…trapped in there.”
He raises an eyebrow on the side of his face that still works. ”I’m not here by accident… but we can talk later. I’ve got an ally searching for injured already. And I’m here to help.” Without further explanation he heads toward a building scarred by falling masonry and begins a careful search for victims.
Karmid quickly approaches the rubble thinking like a mountaineer or rock-climber looking for friends under an avalanche of rocks...
"Everyone keep an ear out for any noises, and keep shouting to a minimum out here! Watch large rocks or support pieces for movement, there are more likely chances of voids that someone could be trapped inside of. What I wouldn't give for a hunting dog right now..."
He then taps his 'tattoo' with a grunt and he suddenly grows to the size of an ogre (Enlarge Person), and starts tossing large rocks away into a clear area to start a path to the heart of the rubble.
*eee ssshss’kkk saaaahhh*
Translation: ”I have Scent, if that helps.”
"I honestly doubt anybody was in the tower with us, or trying to rush towards where it collapsed. It was a miracle it fell the way it did, but if you insist on checking the rubble...", the butterfly responds to the Shoanti rushing off towards the remains of the shadow clock, then turns to Lia:"I am small enough to look beneath the rubble, check if there is anything or anybody worth digging out - but my wings are delicate all the same, so if you could provide some magical grease, that would be helpful."
Lia happily complies, then places Flutter on the rubble, watching her butterfly crawl into the debris while softly humming a song about hope and overcoming adversity to herself.
Zoeye continues her sweep around the tower, periodically landing to crawl bat-like among the rubble, sniffing for blood and two-leg flesh.
The Shadow Clock groans, swaying this way and that as the people below gasp and scream. Running as fast as he his legs will carry him, Drasven Hammers, Scion of Abadar, offers his most fervent prayer to his patron to avert the seemingly inevitable disaster. As he prays, eyes closed, those around him observing the tower watch as a purple rune begins glowing around the cracking foundations. Then a second and third join it, gold and red, before there is a near explosion of runes cascading upwards in a spiral. Within the tower, another of the bells snaps from its frayed rope and plummets down to snap the final beams of the Terrible Stairs. Taking advantage of the sudden lack of balance, one of the final bells swings through the wall, sending a shower of bricks and jagged steel flying through the air. And yet these arrest in midair, held fast by some unseen force instead of raining down certain death.Brick by brick, beam by beam, fragment by fragment, the Shadow Clock straightens from its sagging mess once more to its original height, until the final spire tip recenters itself. Then the runes all wink out at once and the structure collapses in on itself with a final terrifying clatter of debris and a cloud of dust that blankets the entire Underbridge District in a matter of seconds.
His prayer completed, Drasven feels a brief sense of achievement as his deity's power channeled through him serves to right the tower for a brief moment before allowing it to collapse safely.
Taking a moment to center himself, he watches as his companions rejoin each other and yet others drawn by the commotion comes running up.
Having quietly caught his breath, Drasven moves and discovers that he's being covered with a thick layer of dust from the tower's fall but it doesn't matter much to him as he joins the others in their search.
The stronger members of the Sandpoint group, along with allies old and new, begin lifting large pieces of rubble and chucking them safely aside. The smaller, lither members slip through the rubble looking as much for items as for bodies. Drasven and Flutter help guide the effort, ensuring that no one gets crushed by debris. The entire effort is accompanied by Lia's song, which seems to attract more than a few citizens of Underbridge around to observe the proceedings.
Issengrim finds the crushed corpse of the Scarecrow near the bottom of the tower debris, lying in gruesome state.
Karmid uncovers three more bodies destroyed amidst one of the bells are the three bodies: those of the three faceless stalkers, their featureless whorls already further destroyed by the party's earlier assault. Near them are three masterwork longswords .
Around this time, Lia overhears some people arguing about whether beings without faces or giant flesh golems count as dead people for the local Death Pools.
Ro, Drasven, Zoeye, and Karina find a series of locked chests that have maintained their structural integrity despite the collapse: seven in all once the search is exhausted. Ro sets to work and makes short work of them to help the group begin to figure out what they have uncovered. Five of the chests are filled with hundreds of leather pouches. Each pouch has exactly 100 coins, marked with their denominations of copper, silver, gold, and platinum. This makes it easy to realize (without counting every single coin) that there are 33,000 copper pieces, 8,100 silver pieces, 900 gold pieces, and 100 platinum pieces.
A sixth chest is filled to the brim with jewelry and small pouches of gemstones, both cut and raw. Karmid gives a rough estimate that, whether their original owners can be found or not, the group should be able to fetch 4,200 gp for all of the gems.
The seventh chest contains magic items. Lia takes point on identifying the items, with some assistance from Drasven, Izzy, and Ro, and discovers four potions of cure moderate wounds, a ring of jumping, a bloodletting kukri , and a golembane scarab.
It has taken several hours to comb through the rubble at this point. While the Underbridge district never gets direct sunlight, even the residual sunlight that creeps and bends around the Irespan is but a glint on the horizon by the time the heroes of Sandpoint, exhausted and sweaty, finish their excavations.
It is near the end of this tremendous effort that Flutter emerges from the rubble carrying a crumpled-up wad of parchment. Flutter brings this to the group. Upon uncrumpling it, it reads:
My sister—
I trust your little band of murderers is doing well, gathering the greedy souls for our Lord’s rise? Has Magnimar proven to be as sinful as you had hoped? It may interest you to know that my plan to nurture greed here in this backwater has blossomed—the quality of greed in a soul is so much more refined when it is given the proper care. Are you still simply carving the Sihedron on them as they expire? How crude! My method of marking is so much more elegant. In any event, I’m sure that your plans for harvesting greed where and when you can find it “in the wild” are progressing well enough—I just hope that your raw, ungroomed, and likely inferior victims don’t interact poorly when mixed with the purity of my own subjects. If you tire of your little project there, know that you’re always welcome to come to Turtleback Ferry and serve as my assistant, little sister! Fort Rannick should be in our control by the time you receive this letter, in any event, so there’ll be plenty of room for you if you wish to take me up on my generous offer.
Oh! Before I forget! Have you managed to harvest that lord-mayor yet? By all accounts, he might just be the cream of the crop in Magnimar—his soul might even rival several from my hand-grown harvest!
Upon reading the note, Karmid nods.
“We know where she went now! Or at least most likely went. Something is going on! This monster has a sister at Turtleback Ferry!”
"Fort Rannick? Where is that?"
By the end of the search Ro is very pleased with what they have found, and with what they haven't found. She mentions a couple of times that she was sure no bystanders had been caught up in the collapse from the beginning, and that anyone seeing it come down could only reasonably have concluded the same as her.
She skips gracefully past the corollary that if they had known, and therefore not searched, they wouldn't have found the good stuff.
When the note found in the debris strongly suggests Xanesha is fleeing to Turtleback Ferry, where there is a second one of her no less, Ro groans.
"Now that's just great. She's going to a flyspeck sized town in the middle of nowhere halfway across Varisia. I think that's well outside our jurisdiction."
She just knows everyone will be chomping at the bit to track her down.
"I think we found all the stuff. I mean, we know no people were in there but I think we got everything that we were supposed to find.", Lia notes as Flutter delivers the crumpled note.
Listening to the others, she also gets a turn at reading it:"No, I don't think Xani will go there. I have a big brother. Had. Have. Her older sister is just teasing her. She will not go there and admit that she failed and just be an assistang. But we should go there, still. Her sister harvesting sinful souls cannot be good, and if I am right, she will not even learn that we are coming in advance, if we move swift enough."
She looks at all the stuff retrieved from the collapsed tower, then picks out the Silver Mirror:"That one is pretty. May I have it?"
Flutter, remaining more focused on the contents of the note, turns to Ro, adding to her statement:"Not OUR jurisdiction, but Magnimars all the same since 4662 AR. I think after what we achieved, we may be officially sanctioned to go there and find out what is happening."
Ro shakes her head in disagreement.
"We're the protectors of Sandpoint though. We don't work for Magnimar so it doesn't matter what Magnimar claims or whatever. Besides you have a good point. We shouldn't assume Xanesha has left town and go chasing around after her hundreds of miles away until we checked here to be sure first."
Lia cocks her head and seems confused:"But this is about protecting Sandpoint. If Xani's sister gets all the souls she needs, she'll...", Lia blanks out for a bit:"...what were we talking about?"
"You were talking about what a couple of crazy cult leaders are saying about themselves like they aren't crazy cult leaders" Ro reminds Lia archly.
Karina is anything but stealthy at the best of times, but the four from Sandpoint had become engrossed in their findings. She followed the patter between Lia and Ro arguing about the note like a back-and-forth ball game. She clears her throat and speaks up. "It sounds like you should talk to the lord-mayor. Whether you decide to go to Turtleback Ferry yourselves or not, this does concern Magnimar. And I'm sure the lord-mayor would appreciate knowing that this Xanesha has been targeting him." She shrugs. "And according to you, apparently still could be."
Knowing this will disappoint Ro, Karmid sighs and nods again while waving at the center of the city.
"She's right Ro. If we tell the lord-mayor about ALL of this, he might thank us and let us go. But if we can find some way to continue to help Magnimar, maybe the mayor can help Sandpoint too! He has much more general resources at his disposal. Tracking down Xanesha or her sister, could be what helps Sandpoint the most in the end! I believe we should gather everything of value here for further inspection later, and ask for an immediate meeting with the lord-mayor."
Karmid's chin hits his chest now, eyes locked on the note they found.
"As your elected leader, I know this situation did not turn out as we hoped. However, we did stop Xanesha's machinations here in Magnimar proper, drive her from her base of operations, and none of us or any innocent was hurt in the process. I call that a pretty big win...I think. Gozreh knows I'm not perfect, but he knows a simple ball of clay can be made into almost anything and be one of the toughest once it is cured in fire. We survived our fire. We are stronger for it. I say: What's NEXT. I will not shy away from a civic duty, if asked. That's why I'm here in the first place. People are getting hurt: Evidently, giving up part of their souls in the process! If that is not something evil that needs to be stopped...then I don't know what else would be! After we speak to the lord-mayor, if any of you would prefer to go your own way...I will understand completely. But I'm going on, wherever this path takes me."
The remainder of Ro's grumbling is half-hearted. She knows it will do not good.
"My bet is the lord-mayor is a typical politician who will be happy to take what we offer for free."
Ro does give Karmid a slap on the back though.
"You did really good Karmid."
She's still tired and need of a bath and a couple of drinks, so Ro doesn't dally for any further debate. It can wait until tomorrow.
Before she moves off to start collecting the stuff they've found to carry away, Ro stops to finish the last bit of the interrupted conversation she'd struck up with the tall woman Karina.
"The play is named 'A Nymph or Not?', and it's about to start rehearsals. I could get you a pass to attend if you'd like. If Madame Shivarlu doesn't get too hot about me possibly having to miss the rehearsals that is."
Clearly Karina is a good and conscientious type of person. But conversing about ethics isn't on the list of top ten things she'd like to spend time doing with her, so Ro is alright with it.
"By the sound of that note, I don't like the Lord Mayor. If a Lamia thinks he is the worst human in Magnimar, I don't think he is a very nice person.", Lia attempts to put her feelings into words. "I know we are going there but I would prefer if we didn't have to meet him."
Karina grins at Ro. "A Nymph or Not?, huh? Sounds like fun! I'd love to attend!" She grabs a spare sheet of paper from one of the chests and scribbles onto it. "Here's my address. Call on me whenever. And I'll let you know about my performances at the Trio, too."
She also wrinkles her nose a little at Lia's proclamation. "He's...a duly elected, arrogant, self-serving man. I don't know if I'd call him the worst, especially given Justice Ironbriar. Surely there are some prisoners in The Hells, or some Sczarni who are worse. But I don't know what a lamia considers bad, so..." She shrugs. "It's been a long day, and I need to get home to feed my cat. I hope to see you all around under less exciting circumstances. Good luck."
"Take care. Thanks for checking in on us!", Lia waves goodbye to Karina, then reorients herself towards the Sarenrae Shrine, even getting the direction right with a bit of nonverbal assistance from Flutter.
Near Usher's Hall stands the impassive gray stone fastness of the Pediment Building. The impressive upper halls--replete with stern-faced gargoyles and grim judges--serve as the home of the Justice Court, the Halls of Virtue, and the Office of the Lord-Mayor. You've been here before,, of course, so you know where to go. The same woman with the large, leather-bound book and the same bored guard are waiting, though at this time of the day there is no line of citizens waiting.
The woman's eyes light up in recognition upon seeing you. "Oh!" she says. "It's you again. Back so soon? Another bounty, or--"
She opens her leather book and holds a quill ready.
---
The old shrine to Sarenrae is located in the Shadow district, under the Irespan and sheltered from the direct rays of the sun save for a few hours just before sunset. Upon coming within sight of the shrine, Lia observes that it is in bad shape; its stone walls still stand, but the wood-shingled roof that once sheltered the single-story building has fallen in almost completely. The shrine's front door has fallen away as well, and the stained-glass windows lie shattered, covering the ground nearby with colorful shards. It looks completely abandoned.
A small patch of wild, overgrown hedges lies to the right of the shrine proper.
Old Shrine of Sarenrae
Lia sighs when she sees the desolate state of the shrine.
In the sandpoint cathedral, the Sarenite section was next to the Desnaan one, in the east wing. She knew several disciples and acolytes that would have wept seeing this.
There was little that she could do to fix the structural damage - she was no roofer, no carpenter.
That said, the walls seemed to stand, strong - and that was what mattered, right?
The roof fallen in? Just meant that the sun could shine inside for the little time it covered the shrine.
The door fallen away? Just meant anybody who wanted to offer a prayer was welcome inside.
The windows shattered? Just bringing color elsewhere.
Lia went inside and started cleaning. Bringing shingles and debris out to the entrance, until the interior of the small shrine was emptied. She looks for a broom, or anything that could be used as such, and continues to clean the interior.
Then she walks outside, and gathers all the colored glass shards large enough to carry, bringing them inside and laying them out over the Ankh and Sun engraved in the altar.
She does not offer a prayer - Sarenrae was not her Patron...but a member of the Sandpoint Six all the same.
The labor took quite a while, and there was so much more to do. But all the same, it looked like a shrine again.
Lia hoped that just maybe, some of those in this desolate area - maybe some of those that stared at her as she worked - would feel inspired to invite Sarenrae back here by continuing what she started.
Or maybe they would not, but even then, Lia felt content that she tried, and showed some respect for the place.
Sighing slightly at the red tape already in the way, Karmid explains.
"We are here to speak to the Lord Mayor as soon as he can find the time. It is about the unexpected demolition of the Clock Tower in the Underbridge area. We...meaning to say I and my companions...not Grimmie here...were there investigating further into the Skinsaw murders. We discovered an operative involved with sponsoring, or at minimum, working with them. She was a monster! We fought her and her servants. Unfortunately we were unable to stop her permanently, but we did drive her from the tower as it collapsed. She has escaped..."
He looks suddenly worried for a moment.
"Can we just talk to the Mayer? Please? It is VERY important. Maybe for the entire safety of the city!"
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Ro grins back at Karina and take the note with her address.
"I'll be seeing you soon then."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ro helps lug the stuff they've collected to the townhouse. She's glad for a place with more privacy than the inn where she can get cleaned up. The beds are better too.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ro grimaces inside at Karmid's rather pathetic mewling to the gatekeeper woman about seeing the mayor. She takes things in hand.
"Listen, tell the mayor we are here to see him about an important matter. You now us from the bounty we collected so tell him we're the ones who got Redshiv Bilger. Tell him why we want to see him in these words: 'we can explain how Ironbriar, the Skinsaw Cult, the collapse of the clock tower, and a threat to his own life connect to each other'. Also tell him we're here and available today, not tomorrow or the day after or next week. If he wants to know, he'll make time for us now."
Drasven looks on as his companions attempts to persuade the gatekeeper for entry. He decides to weigh in as well.
"Gentle woman, Would you please do us the honor of informing his excellency Lord Mayor that we have come to see him and seek his wisdom on an important matter." he pauses.
"We would appreciate it if you'll relay that word for word as well."
The Pediment Building
As the Shoanti, Varisian, and dwarf all clamor around and press the secretary for a meeting with the mayor, she looks overwhelmed. After trying to scribble some notes down, she drops the quill in exasperation and holds up her hands, palms outstretched. "Ye gods, folks! Slow down, all right? Feels like I'm being bludgeoned here."
She sighs. "The lord-mayor is very busy, especially with the--what did you call it?--unexpected demolition. He's not even here right now. You realize I can't just make him appear, right? Ye gods."
She picks the quill back up, scribbling a bit more. If anyone speaks up, she holds a hand up and makes an abrupt, nasal sound that sounds almost like a goose honking to cut them off until she is done. "Look, I agree that this sounds important. Can you wait a bit until he's done with his meeting? I'm sure he'll make time for you, but just...ye gods."
---
Old Shrine of Sarenrae
Lia's years of training as a temple maiden serve her well. Although she is no Sarenite, she shows proper reverence for this long-abandoned place. Although the sun has set below the horizon, she feels confident that tomorrow, for the scant time that the sun shines anywhere under the Irespan, that the Dawnflower's light will illuminate this place anew once more. As though to confirm this, Lia feels a surge of warmth well up in her chest.
Lia is about to leave to rejoin the others when she hears something like a flap of wings. turns her head towards the sound to see a red-skinned, horned, winged creature looking for all the world like a demon descending towards her with claws outstretched.
Unprepared for an assault in this formerly holy place, Lia feels the creature's talons rake painfully across her .
The gargoyle opens up on the poor sphere singer, claws, jagged teeth, and horns flurrying in a destructive maelstrom of pain.
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"Ouch. That hurts. Don't do that.", Lia exclaims in surprise, noticing all the blood on the creature, not quite yet realizing it is hers.
She takes a step backwards and vanishes.
Flutter makes a withdraw action perpendicular to Lias new location, and attempts to hide mundanely using scenery and city as cover.
Lia and Flutter disappear from view, leaving the fiendish gargoyle bewildered within the cleaned-up shrine. They hear the flap of wings and the sound of a nearby roof creaking, but no one seems to follow them--invisible and inconspicuous as they are respectively. It's a narrow escape, but a complete one. Thankfully, Lia knows where they others were headed, along with a few temples that might be able to help patch her up.
Ro is surprised to hear the mayor does things. She frowns in annoyance and begins to drum her fingers on the desk, thinking.
"Where do we wait? Where's his office?"