After a pleasant evening's chat with Shalelu, she heads up to her room for the night, and leaves in the morning.
The day after tomorrow, Noro wakes up at the Rusty Dragon to find something quite odd- the tavern owner, Ameiko Kaijitsu, hasn't put breakfast on for the first time in living memory. Noro finds Bethana Corwin, an elderly halfling woman employed by Ameiko, knocking nervously on Ameiko's door calling out to her.
Chaise walks in, hearing the commotion. "What seems to be the problem?" He seems to still be somewhat half-asleep. Isme isn't on his shoulder.
Ms. Amiko hasn't come to get you for breakfast. Glimmer said from her perch in Spectrum's study.
"Good." Spectrum said, concentrating on his work. "It is nice not to be interrupted for once."
But Ms. Amiko always comes to get you for breakfast. Glimmer said, obviously concerned.
"I will check on her once I am done with this translation." Spectrum said, annoyed.
Array cracked an eye where he had been sleeping in his nest, high up on the central beam next to the loft window. He raised his head, looking at Glimmer, then at spectrum and back to Glimmer who was flexing her wings nervously. He yawned, stretched, and dropped off the beam, straight down, not even bothering to open his wings, landing in the middle of Spectrum's paperwork like a scaled stone thrown from a catapult.
Spectrum leaped up and back, a palm full of prismatic light beginning ot form in his hand. He stopped half way through the gesture and opened his mouth, flabbergasted and angry.
Array looked back with a combination of reptilian uncaring and feline superiority.
I'm hungry.
Three minutes later an unhappy looking elf in a white burnoose stalked into the Rusty Dragon, a pair of small dragons in his wake who headed straight for the upper beams.
"Amiko! Will you please feed these two ungrateful monsters so I can get back to work!"
Isme tilts her head at the dragons, the raven having already taken her perch on one of the beams. He looks at Spectrum then back at the dragons and says something in Varisian.
That was when the raven learned that pseuodragons can smile and wink.
Bethana rubs her hands nervously and nods to Chaise. "Good morning, Sir Chaise, it's just... Miss Ameiko is not up yet, and it is most unlike her, and she doesn't appear to be answering her door... oh dear, what should I do..."
Spectrum rolls his eyes and walks back to Amiko's bedroom, opening the door without a hint of respect for decorum.
The door is not locked and Spectrum easily waltzes in. The room is well-ordered and the bed has been unslept-in. His sharp eyes spot a crumpled note on the bedside table.
Spectrum comes out of the room sprinting, crumpled paper in this hand. He's out the door in tearing down the street before anyone can ask him anything.
Uh oh. Glimmer's thoughts crept into the minds of everyone in the room. He... doesn't usually do that. Ever.
She drops down near the people she knows and looks up.
What do we do?
Array was already following out the window and flapping higher. There was a hunt. That was all he needed to know.
Chaise sees Spectrum enter the room, read the note and then tear out of it.
While seeing to his horse, Sir Wyaam hears someone call out in surprise and if he pokes his head around the corner sees Spectrum sprinting down the street.
Noro, depending on if she is awake or still asleep, manages to hear some of this and knows something is going down.
Chaise opens his mouth to respond when Spectrum rushes out the door, leaving the human blinking.
Isme flaps from above, landing on his shoulder and giving him a meaningful glare.
"Well, I suppose we'll take care of it," he says to Bethana. "See you!"
And with that, Chaise runs after Spectrum, following the dragons.
"Spectrum! What's going on?" he asks futilely as the elf continues running.
"This can't be good. C'mon, Fearghus, let's see what's going on," he mutters, rushing to get the horse out of the stable. Lashing the saddle on and smacking the horse to break so he can cinch the saddle, he quickly mounts and takes off after Spectrum.
"Amiko... trouble..." is all anyone can make out. Spectrum clearly has too much on his mind to explain himself.
Um... he's thinking about... lots of possibilities. Lots of different potential things that could happen, all on top of each other. He thinks really fast. Let me see if I can... It's about Amiko. She's in trouble? Amiko's his best friend, and she... went to see her brother last night, and her brother isn't a very nice fellow, oh, and he's worried about her because her brother has a... ven.... data, something- I don't know that word- her brother doesn't like her dad and might be involved in the goblin attacks somehow. Spectrum doesn't really trust anyone and he really doesn't trust Amiko's brother and thinks that he set her up to use her or hurt her somehow, and if he's there when Spectrum arrives, Spectrum is going to... oh... that's not very nice at all. We should hurry."
Glimmer's stream-of-conciousness byplay of Spectrum's mind continued, but in a far more disjointed way. It was clear, however, that spectrum was very worried, and very angry.
Chaise tries to keep his breath steady as he runs, thinking over what Glimmer is relaying in his mind.
The process of glassmaking is as much an art as it is a craft, and one that the Kaijitsu family has held pride in for several generations. After the family was exiled from Tian Xia and made the perilous journey over the crown of the world, they finally settled in Magnimar, where the family trade played a key role in their acceptance into society. When the Sandpoint Mercantile League was established, the Kaijitsus were there, and not long after Sandpoint was founded, they began construction of what would become one of the town’s most unique and profitable businesses—the Sandpoint Glassworks.
You arrive outside the immense factory. It is curiously silent- you hear no sounds of life. But the big furnace chimney plumes still vomit smoke high into the sky. A quick scan of the perimeter reveals that curtains have been drawn along every window and every door is locked. Atop the circular room at the south-west end of the building there is a large skylight.
"Whoa, there, Fearghus!" exclaims Wyam, drawing up at the sight of the factory. The plume of smoke seemed especially peculiar given the lack of any other activity around it.
Chaise arrives next to Wyam, panting for breath. He can't seem to talk right now.
Wyam looks around for Spectrum, focusing on doorways and ground-level windows.
"Look in through the skylights! Tell me what you see! Hurry!" Spectrum says to Array and Glimmer between heavy breaths while he starts trying to get the doors open with an oddly shaped key.
The two pseudodragons flap to the roof, landing and looking inside.
South-west bubble: The dragons look through the skylight and see a display room, a shop where customers can browse through the various glassware produced here. Bottles, windowpanes and glassworks art are the primary contents.
Center-most bubble on the northern wall: This skylight lies above the immense glassworking room, containing a long and loudly rumbling furnace along the southeast wall as marble workbenches sit throughout. The main furnace burns at the northeastern end with a hot blue light. The dragons also see a gruesome display of goblin boredom. Eight murdered men and women- probably staff- lie in various stages of dismemberment; the goblins have been thrusting burning legs and arms into the furnace with glee and pouring melted glass on the remains. The reason for this is swiftly discerned, imitation- atop a chair in the central alcove is the body of Lonjiku, encased in thick runny sheets of hardened glass.
Oh no! More of those Goblims! They killed a bunch of people!
"Chaise, Noro: something's happening inside - come on!" he exclaimed, spurring Fearghus directly toward the sound of breaking things.
Spectrum easily opens the door, finding himself in a familiar corridor. The door to the left leads to where the noises and Lonjiku lies.
Everyone who's not breaking a window, give a rough description of where you'd like to be placed and say what you're doing, though I'm guessing Spectrum will be bursting through that door. It is unlocked.