"Yes the magican did not seem inclined to keep things properly clean, despite his array of power." Ophelia chimes in on Isama's shower statement. Looking down at her grimy feet/boots she continued. "I deduct that I too may require some cleaning as to not offend others in my vicinity."
"Yeah, I've heard there's a magic thingie for that. Presti-what-si-hoosit. Might be a good investment for us if we keep hanging round in sewers."
"Oh that is actually true." Ophelia nods at Diene. "He must have been very scatterbrained to have forgotten that one!" she adds carefully and waves her hand a bit, activating her ring of prestidigitation to clean up the worst of the wear. Sadly it seemed as if stepping in the muck made most of it come back again. "It is perhaps the thought that count?"
"Well, I think it's more, doing it once you're finished with the scene that counts, rather than in the middle."
"One of my old partners, Cerulean Jake always cast that spell after every fight or dusty street. He was obsessed with style, even more than me. But, I admired his hat. That hat was pretty awesome. Not as awesome as Springwheel Jack's crossbow hat though."
"Another fair point I suppose." Ophelia concedes. But really, the second half of Dienes information was much more intriguing. "A crossbow hat you say ...?" I have always thought about getting a hat. But how would one operate such a thing? "I've seen a spring-heeled jack but it didn't have any interesting hats. Mayhaps they are only tangentially related?"
"Yeah, I think he picked the name to be similar as wordplay, but not quite exactly the same. He had all sorts of gadgets, his favorite being a pair of boots that looked like they'd be springy and let him jump super high like a spring-heeled jack, but instead they made him really fast on flat surfaces. He loved to set up people's preconceptions then prove 'em wrong."
Ophelia perks up and nods. "Ohh - you mean just like rock candy? That was an awkward mistake...A mislabel to create confusion then. Interesting tactic."
"So, what happened to him? A gagdet that backfired? Someone not taking well to being fooled? These kinds of stories seldom end well...so if you tell me he's still alive and kicking, I'd very much like this fella to become an outfitter for the guard - sounds like fun - he could also work undercover if he fears...repercussions, could give him some code name, like Q, because we'd likely queue up to get outfitted by him", Mia chimes in.
"Eh, don't know. As far as I know, he's probably still part of Tarnation John's regulars. He got called in more than every other mission, even more than me."
The exterior of Polo's workshop could be of any old shop on a long street of old shops. There are few marks of identification except its number and an polished sign of wrought iron - proclaming that it is indeed this shop, and noone of the others, that is the home of 'Polonius, Master Clocksmith and Artisan'. On the door there is a notice on a now weathered parchment. "Closed until further notice - commissions only!"
Inside the door there is a small room full of display pieces. There is mostly complete clocks but also gearboxes and other small pieces of highly polished machinery. Most of it is currently unwound and thus not running, but there are sufficient ticking machines to fill the entire house with a soft ambient whirring sound. Behind the counter there is a door leading into the workshop proper.
The workshop itself is meticulously arranged and clean - the exception being a pile of tools, gears and other pieces littering one of the workbenches. The room is illuminated by a large set of polished steel mirrors bringing as much natural light as possible towards the workbench from windows on the roof. There is also a large number of lamps and lanterns - as one would expect in a workshop dedicated to fiddly crafts. There is also a pair of doors leading further in but they appears closed at the moment.
In the middle of the workshop Ophelia stands next to a hastily erected table, polishing teacups. There are four chairs arranged around the table and on its centre there is a hot teapot. As the guests start to arrive Ophelia offers them a newly cleaned teacup while they wait for the others to arrive.
"I'm sorry, the cups were a bit dusty. I don't use them as often nowadays"
When all has arrived and she have given everyone a cup of tea she takes a seat herself, still polishing the last cup. The tea smells lovely but the cookies offered from a small silver platter looks somewhat suspicious. A careful sniff - or even a sampling if one feels brave - reveals that they seems to be flavoured in hap-sap ways that perhaps only Diene would enjoy. The one exception being a couple of cinnamon buns.
"I made those myself!" Ophelia exclaimed proudly and pointed at the cookies. "Except the buns, the nice old lady at the bakery shop gave them to me. She usually does ..."
Daria arrives at the shop, fascinated by the gearboxes and clockwork devices. She had been here before, helping Ophelia, so she was not unfamiliar with them. But every time she saw them, she was in awe anew.
Technically, Ophelia is most this, too...she's special, but still...
Sitting at the table, she smells the tea:"I know the instructions are probably simple, but how come you actually do get tea right, Ophelia?"...picking up one of the cookies, Daria continues:"I mean, sorry if that question is forward, but do you have a working sense of smell?"
Eyeing the cookie curiously, Daria carefully takes a bite, then struggles to keep her facial features under control as she compliments Ophelia, and lets the remainder of the cookie vanish in her pouch.
[dice=Bluff("Oh my, those are delicious")]1d20+8[/dice]
When she's confident she can speak without...incidents, she points at the Buns:"And why does the old lady do so, you think? You don't really eat, right? I mean, of course it's a gesture, but she has to be aware you can only share those with friends, right? In that case, I'll also take a bun so the gesture is not in vain, despite your tasty cookies, I'll take one or two of those home for later, if that's okay with you?"
Waiting until all others arrived, Daria then brings up another thing on her mind, happily gossiping:"I've not seen or heared anything about Castor when he was called for that interview...any of you know more? You think they caused problems for him because of what happened with DeMorgan and Thirus at the Academie? It's been a while now, you think they're going to make acting Sergeant Diene into our permanent officer?"
I dunno. Seems like this squad is built for rapid turnover. We might have lasted longer than anyone else! Isama says biting down on a cookie Oh root and pebble what did you put in these things Ophelia?
"No, I have some trouble with scents." Ophelia chimes softly and retrieves a small mechanical timer, handing it to Daria. "Heat water until boiling then wind the clock and remove the water from the heating element. Wait for the first chime and pour the water into the teapot with the tea. Remove the tea leaves with the second chime. Add a small spoon of sugar for each cup and serve! We used to make quite alot of those, they were popular as a novelty item for the wealthier merchants ..."
Ophelia trails off and gazes longingly at the small clockwork marvel in Daria's hands. But she quickly perks up again when the halfling eats and compliments her mint-orange-blue-cheese cookie. With a nod and a smile she responds to Daria's questions "Yes I think she knows. She says that they are 'good for the heart'. I am not sure about that myself - never heard anything like that about pastries. But I don't want to hurt her feelings so I take some every time still!" Ophelia hums happily blissfully unaware of the true nature of things.
"Hmm. I am not sure about Castor nor have I heard much. Though it is odd that he hasn't returned to the squad. Mayhaps there has been a reassignment? But we would have heard something I think ..." Ophelia chimes in. "And I thought pebbles would be bad for your teeth? I have head that that is an important aspect to watch when making snacks! But I could slip some in if you want for next time ...?" Ophelia generously offer Isama.
Wha.. No no.. it's just fine without pebbles.. or roots for that matter. Where'd ya get the recipie from?
"Oh! Hang on." Ophelia gets up and starts digging trough one of the drawers in the kitchen. For something that was probably thought to contain kitchen utensils or the like there is an awful lot of rumbling and rattling of screws. After a minute she triumphantly exclaims 'aha!' and pulls out an old and dusty cooking book. She flips it open and hums a little before finding the right receipt and handing it over to Isama. The cookie receipt looks fairly normal and so but it doesn't take long to find the liberally interpreted 'seasoning/filling to taste'.
*Knock Knock*
Diene promptly lets herself in, less asking permission than informing those inside she's going to come in now.
"Sorry for the delay, got caught up when I thought I saw a robbery. Turn's out he was just an express delivery boy. Might have to race him again some time, he wasn't half bad at the agility and smarts part of it."
Striding in and sliding into a chair, Diene takes a bite from one of the cookies, as she waits for response. As the first bite is taken, Diene's normal fast pace slows, as she takes a moment of deliberation, swirling the cookie over her tongue in confusion. This is definitely a new flavor to Diene. But then she shrugs, and continues mowing down through the cookie as one might a crusty bread.
It's been seasoned and filled to taste Boss!
"... Yeah?" Diene seems a bit surprised by Isama's reaction.
Yeah. Ophelia could open a bakery shop. Isama grins and sips her tea. We were talkin' about Castor. Wonderin' where he is. You've been here longer than the rest of us Ophelia. Was the squad pretty much the same before we got the assignment?
"Yes! It was surprisingly simple - merely asked the grocer which items that he liked and got those." Ophelia nodded and then tilted her head to the side to think a little. "Hmm. No there have been plenty of flux. Lots of retirement actually. I had a good friend, Daria, but sadly she seemed to have been sacrificed by a demonic cult. And hmm Tieszla drowned... I think Shang just got tired of it all and left. Hmm ..." Ophelia continues to list of a few more names and the somewhat suspicious causes of them leaving the squad for a while before perking up again. "Ohh! But we actually had our Magician disappear once before. I am not sure where Laznist went actually but I haven't seen him since. Hmm. A year now maybe? Still got his spear laying around somewhere though!"
... Lots of retirement actually. I had a good friend, Daria, but sadly she seemed to have been sacrificed by a demonic cult. ...
Daria spews some tea over the table on the mention of her getting sacrificed, before convincing herself that in fact, that was another friend of Ophelia, not her.
In a city such as this, just being alive was not at all a guarantee such a thing had not happened..."So...mostly, death. Maybe Castor did well enough to get promoted out from the suicide squad, and his current wereabouts is simply knowledge above our paygrade?", Daria suggests to return to more...positive topics than name-sakes getting sacrificed.
"Wow, we didn't have attrition that bad when I did a job for a boss who literally ate people who didn't complete their tasks." Diene seems fairly impressed by the casualties that Ophelia was informing them of.
Isama pales a bit as Ophelia goes on but rallies Well here's to the new special squad. she says and raises her cup in a toast.
"To the new squad...I wonder what else they have in store for us, now that we survived twice, against all odds.", Daria joins the toast, pondering the squads future ..."They did allow me to pick up some fancy new stuff at the armory yesterday...I think something big is happening-"
Ophelia raises her own empty cup and join in with the toast. "To us! And for the record, not *everyone* died!" She puts down the cup again and stares into it for a while. "Something big? Hmm ..." She swirled the nothing around a little. "I wonder what that would be?"
"Eh, can't imagine something big that they wouldn't have already put us on if they were going to. I mean, unless it's a cold case, we're usually emergencies only."
"True that, unless we get a case transferred to us...that last one, with the murders? We got that from the other wards...- I just think maybe something's brewing. Or they just think we're worth properly outfitting now that we proven we actually survive against their expectations and bring the equipment back...", Daria answers, cynically.
"We're literally having a tea party. If there was something that important to bring us in on, they wouldn't have given us time off."
"Well, you've put the cat amongst the pigeons, but you did a good job with that wisp case." Spooky nodded, handing over a badge "And there's your reward for that, I suppose. I think you may have made Sergeant faster than anyone else in guard history."
Spooky turned to look out the window "Guard's got everyone on alert for wisps. Council's meeting about new precautions. Everyone's a bit terrified that a swarm of invisible killers could be out there and no-one would know."
He turned back "They're giving your whole team two weeks off duty. Full pay, take a break. Castor's supposed to be forming another squad during that time. We've done well enough they apparently want to have some backup, see if they can't get the turnover rate down by increasing numbers."
He coughed "I don't like it. This unit costs a fortune, it's not like the Council to put lives before money. Still, whatever it is, it seems to be going your way. Have fun."
Daria picks another Cinnamon Bun and starts eating it.
"Well, you call it "Time off", I call it a Hangman's Holiday.", Daria smiled at Diene.
"You are probably right, after all, but I'll keep assuming the worst. Makes it so much more enjoyable if one finds out it's not so-"
Having finished the Bun, Daria grabs yet another:"Those are really well-made, Ophelia...you have to let me know which nice old bakery lady is making those."
Enjoying her third bun, Daria suddenly starts shivering a bit: "Haven't really felt it before, but it seems pretty cold in here. You probably don't need heating, Ophelia, but it'd be nice if you could make some fire in the heating oven. Look, it's covered in cobwebs already because you never use it."
Standing up and walking over, Daria takes a closer look:"Spiders, too, I was not sure but I thought the cobwebs were teeming. Small ones. You best be careful, those tiny things may well end up getting into the clockworks and mechanisms you have here- not sure if they'd do any damage but your customers could well get unwanted passengers with every purchase." Finishing her third bun, Daria returns to the table and considers a fourth one, only to find that there's no cinnamon buns left, and instead settles for one of Ophelia's cookies, eating it more slowly than the buns, but eating it all the same.
This tea is actually really great Isama says as she takes many quick sips of the liquid finishing it quite quickly before getting up and helping herself to more. Can't get enough of it. I think I'll have some more.
Taking longer slurps this time she turns to Ophelia I figger you feel real guilty for so many people dyin' or leavin' the squad. Must be tough
"Yes of course Daria! I can show you the bakery later." Ophelia nods and then fixes her gaze at the fireplace. "Hmm. You may be right, bit I wouldn't feel good burning the poor spiders. And they help keep the moths away - now those are really wicked. Tried to chew on the linen before I got the spiders." Ophelia hums and fetches a broom to gently fish out the spiders from the stove, so that Daria could light a fire, and then she placed them in the corner of the room instead. "Sorry! But I wouldn't want you to burn ... And your webs are actually pretty."
After the spider-rescue Ophelia sits down again and considers Isama's question for a while. "Hmm. I am not sure. With some, like Dara, I could maybe have done more, better or faster things and maybe rescue them. But most I couldn't. They were out of my control. But it feels lonely sometimes ..."
Isama cocks her head to the side as she observes the little dance going on before her eyes and gives herself a little grin. Getting a feel for how people moved and talked and lived their lives in the city was making it easier for her to spot the anomalies, the breaks in normal flow, that signaled something wrong happening.
She considers the busker. The only evidence on him that there was something odd was circumstantial at best. The bun dealer and the rich kids on the other hand. They had Shiver on them. More than enough for Isama to work with.
Carefully observing the kind of people in the crowd, the young guardswoman steps behind a small booth huddled close to a wall, and with A Thousand Faces emerges out the other side with a completely nondescript face and clothing that blends in perfectly with her surroundings. It wasn't the kind of camouflage that she learned in the jungle but it was just as effective.
Then with Longstrider cast Isama slips and sidles through the crowd with an almost supernatural speed making a beeline for the cart just as the rich kids move off. Disengaging from the crowd when she's right next to the cart Isama tosses a coin at the dealer and scoops up one of the 'special' buns before he can react.
She bites down on the bun just long enough to confirm her suspicion and immediately spits it out shouting The Buns are POISONED! and casts Entangle centered on the retreating rich kids. Then she grabs onto the dealer...
Isama slurps down the last of her tea. Damn that's good.
Huh. I think you missed one of your little friends she says holding up a small struggling arachnid.
Oh well.
Isama holds the spider up by one leg and then pops it into her mouth and crunches it down.
So hungry all of a sudden. she comments as she goes to help herself to more tea. I think I'm becoming addicted to this stuff
"You think the tea is addictive? You should have tried those cinnamon buns!", Daria states, inbetween licking the plate they came on and eating another of the cookies.
Watching as Ophelia moves the tiny spiders to a corner, where they promptly start spinning a new web softly shimmering in a silky grey, Daria looks at the oven, shivering some more:"You are right, those spiders look really cute. Now I feel guilty about driving them from their home. Maybe they have their eggs in there...i don't think I could live with the knowledge I murdered countless of their young...I'll prefer freezing over that...but then you moved them and destroyed their web for nothing...it's my fault either way...", Daria states, sadly, as she starts crunching on another cookie.
"Huh, maybe I did..." Ophelia notes and stares at Isama for a while. Has she also been replaced by a demon? Ophelia muses, but she couldn't really see any jaws on the neck - so so far so good. Or maybe they are just hungry! With a shrug Ophelia resumes her duties as hostess and fetches more *uh* "cookies" as well as readying another pot of tea while humming a soothing tune. Hopefully Daria will feel a bit better when she gets more cookies!
"Councillor Drune" whispers the woman, escorting Daria to the back where, she notices, the sound level suddenly drops dramatically. Into this silence the man talks with the voice of someone trained to oration.
”Officer Hearth. So - you’re the special investigation squad, are you? I understand you’re on leave.” he grins grimly ”I had a hand in that. This spell doesn't last long, so I'll be brief."
"Three nights ago Magistrate Fell’s oldest died. We’re not exactly sure how, but we do know his half dismembered corpse killed two more people before it was put down.”
He puts a scrollcase down on the table
”In there is a list of twelve names - Fell is one of them. All dead in the last two weeks. All of them left a grey corpse. All put down as suicides. Most in the vicinity of Bridgefront. At least seven of them were Shiver users, and at least one other was linked to the Shiver trade.”
”I don’t care if the filthy druggies want to kill themselves, but Fell - Fell was a Citizen from a line that goes back to one of Nex's students.”
”The bridgefront guards have been useless. I strongly suspect they’re being paid more by the Shiver trade than their salary. Their investigations are better fiction than the books my wife reads. I’ve gone as high as their Captain and gotten nothing but platitudes.” he pinches the bridge of his nose for a second, looking pained, then continues.
"I'm aware how rarely the Guard discovers misconduct amongst their own, and why. I also understand Guard territoriality. I'm prepared to offer your squad - or I should say the off duty individuals in that squad - sixteen thousand gold to deal with the problem. Not an increase in equipment budget - actual cash money."
"Heh. Maybe. I've seen some strange things, but nothing as strange as that."
He looks around a little "Enjoy your break. You've all earned it."
Spooky looks shifty when you talk about coming back off duty
"Aright, see ya around boss!" Diene leaves with a smile and a wave. Then, a moment after leaving, she pops her head out. "We might hold a little get together or something, you want an invite?"
"This is most peculiar." Ophelia noted and retrieved the cookie jar. Is this what dreaming feels like? She placed the jar on the table and sat down to observe and see if she could not any more strange phenomenons. I don't think I had that knife at home - did I?
"Ohhh...more cookies...gooood", Daria exclaims, reaching up on the table and grabbing the whole jar. Utilizing her extra pair of legs, she then scuttles up the walls until she conveniently rests in a corner, starting to salivate webbing over the cookie jar she quickly rotates in her front set of hands, placing it in a cocoon of sorts:"I'll keep those for later! Always so hungry! Good to have something so addictive when the desire for food grows so strong you start to shiver! Thanks for making them, Ophelia! And don't you feel guilty about all the deaths in the squad. Those who get away from you in time, survive! We're all dead already anyway! Thanks for that, too!"
She does her best to hide her surprise at the man being involved in the leave the squad had been allowed, simply nodding to acknowledge it.
When the scrollcase is placed on the table, she quickly makes it disappear without taking her eyes off the Councillor. The list of names would be very interesting, but she would have plenty of time to study them after the meeting...when there was no hurry. A forte of written knowledge. You could check up on it on your own leisure.
When he notes the bridgefront guards were useless, Daria resists the urge to facepalm. With a few notable exceptions, the regular guards seems all but incompetent in many wards.
When the monetary offer is stated, Daria can't help but whistle and respond after having listened silently:"That's an AWFUL lot of money. Significantly above my regular pay-grade. Makes it almost impossible to say no. But we wouldn't make it that long in this special squad if we'd not been extra cautious and ask the right questions...and here, the question would be: what's the catch?"
Looking around quickly, Daria focuses on Drune again:"You have influence on the squad, or we would not be on leave, but you approach us on unofficial channels with a beyond significant offer of cash. Makes one wonder what you did not use your influence to officially transfer us to that case, and save your money. If you suspect foul-play in the higher ranks, that would be essential to know. You know, so we don't accidently report the wrong things to the wrong people, still bound by a chain of command." Rubbing her nose, Daria continues:"There's also the issue with the bridgefront guards being bribed. Probably could have countered that bribe and gotten some results with a small part of the money you've offered us. In fact, I would be surprised if you had not tried to buy their loyality after figuring out it's for sale. But it would seem that it's not a "highest bidder"-thing, there, and whoever is buying them out has some other hold on them. Causing them to refuse other offers, even if better..."
Patting the place in her clothing she placed the scroll, she finishes:"All pure speculations, of course, but I'd assume you tried a few of the more direct options before considering us...I am certain we can make this work, but if there is anything else you can tell me, wether suspicions or pure conjecture, do share. A bit of information there you find irrelevant could well make a difference between failure and success...for you, that would mean solving the case or not, for us, it may be a matter of life or death, which I'm sure you understand, makes us want to stack the odds in our favor as much as we can."
"Hmm." Ophelia mumbled and sat down on her chair. She had never noticed Daria's extra pair of legs before. Neither her wall-scuttling behaviour. All the signs pointed towards dreaming, insanity or hallucinations. Very interesting. But I appear to be completely lucid - if my own judgement on that is to be trusted. Nevertheless ... Ignoring the specifics for now Ophelia decided to try something she always wanted - but lacked the opportunity earlier. Concentrating hard she thought - I can fly! I *can* fly!!
Getting to the trapped citizens she says Sorry for all this but I'm going to ask you to come with me for some reports. I saw you guys buy some buns from that guy Isama motions to the incriminating baked goods in their possession and it turns out they're poisoned! . Isn't that terrible?. If you could help us all sort this out down in the station that would be grand. Why maybe that man was trying to assassinate or abduct you fine folks!
Then she blows her own whistle