What does your mother do?
A bat that wears boots and steals goats.
So..perhaps this is a man-bat. Like those werewolves? Oh boy.
"She's a Sczar-" Rorke began, only to be cut off by his sister.
"She travels with a band." Knolly says.
She probably does something illegal. Or frowned upon. Knolly's response is rehearsed.
Their mother is a Sczarni.
The Sczarni are a mafia-like group based in Varisia.
I see... So- should we head back to the inn for the night or what?
Hmm..Hmm.Okay. I'm sure your mother is a great band member. He turns to the others. So, we got some kind of man-were-bat who steals goats. Maybe the same one who has been flapping around the inn. Perhaps we should check out any rooms being rented out there.
Make sure to stay inside at night- okay? She gives the children a warm smile...We should be back with news about your goat the day after tommorrow.
So..Um..How we be handling this man bat thingie? Gotta check out the place so we don't bash some more slob for being stinky.
"If you find her, give her a leek, okay? She likes leeks!" Knolly insists to Sorval. Rorke sneaks behind his sister and picks up the stick she was chasing him with earlier.
---
Returning to the Three Ears is a small matter, and the sun is beginning to set on the horizon, lighting up the mountainside. Dinner is now being prepared, and the hazy common room is swamped with guests of all sorts. A quick glance would indicate somewhere close to fifty people are seated around the chamber, and Lorranith's part-time barmaid Uzi (a half-orc maiden) is busy assisting the half-elf with keeping them busy.
The proprietor must be in the kitchen, because she isn't at the bar or attending to the customers, but there is a distinct, mushroomy scent coming from the cooking area.
There are four men who could fit into the boot that made the print near Knolly's house.
Only one of them is from out of town.
"So this is the place with the bat problem?"
About 4 men here that fit the bill, don't know any of them. I suppose we could ask Lorranith if any of them are staying here.
The Three Ears is a darker and rattier establishment than the Errant Wolf, and a single look betrays that the place has... well, less picky clientele. It is a three story building, but the third floor seems abandoned. It has a chimney that is on askew and billows smoke out horizontally.
Manny wanders up to Uzi. Hey there. Is Lorrinth available for a bit? We need to talk to her baout her little problem she asked us to solve.
As the others decided to check on the missing goat, Zeltor would take his leave to head off to the cottage to obtain more information about the missing person.
Hopefully he is back on time to follow up on the action back at the inn.
Zeltor is greeted with the plight of the mssing lad's family. Everyone in the house is on pins and needles, and they are desperate enough that even Zaius's wife, who had never so much as heard of the teacher's appearance, let the tiefling in without question.
The student Zeltor recognizes is in the sitting room, trying to play with crude wooden horses, but his eyes constantly flick to his teary-eyed mother and the windows of the room, biting his lip until it bleeds.
The monk is led to a bench adorned with woolen pillows next to a large hand-loom.
Ermes, as the young boy is called (age 5), is left with his teacher for two minutes of what could be silence as his mother goes to make tea to discuss that which has occurred. Taldan hospitality rulings, it appears, are alive and well even in the most desperate of situations in the crumbling empire.
"Is it an emergency?" Uzi asks Manny, her voice hoarse but pleasant as her attention is momentarily taken from a rowdy young woman with biceps of steel trying to show off whilst ordering a drink. "If not, you can probably wait out here. Otherwise... she's in the kitchen. You know the way, halfpint."
Well very possibly, I'll skip off to the kitchen to see her.
Heading back into the kitchen, Manny waves over Lorrinth for a word.
We had some important info about your flapping bat. Seems that there might be some kind of man-bat thing lurking around. Kinda like a werewolf, we think that he has been staying in your inn, either legit or not legit and going out at night to steal goats. We think he is one of four people out in the main room. Wondering if we can get your permission to check out the upper floors.
** spoiler omitted **
Zeltor notices that the boy seems to be holding something back, and makes the most of their moments alone - "How are you Ermes? I haven't seen you in class for at least three days" - he breaks the ice.
Sorval watches the strong-armed lady closely...and chuckles slightly.
I wonder whom she is trying to impress.
Uzi slaps Manny's butt on his way off.
"Ah. Thas' Pimmy." announces a dwarf whose weathered face and shock-white beard demonstrates an advanced age. He has an eyepatch over his left ocular organ, and Manny recognizes him a Gorsky, another miner.
"She's a smith's apprentice, see, and I guess she's just really happy she's gotten as big as she has from that hammer o' hers."
---
Ermes looks at his history teacher and lets the toy fall on the ground.
"I'm scared." "Really, really scared."
He grips onto Zeltor's forearm, baby blue eyes wide.
"Is it going to come back and eat me?" he whispers.
Lorranith looks up from her stewpot cloaked in sweat and steam.
"Manny, my establishment is known for its respect of client privacy. While I appreciate the warning about the man-bat, as it were, I can't help but think that you have to be really sure what you're looking for before you meander onto the housing floor."
She pulls loaves of potato bread out of her brick oven after a few moments, her oven mitt put on with expert ease.
"Does this investigation require you to enter my guests' rooms?"
Well depending on how our target deals with his meals, he might have the remains of a goat up there that he recently snatched. Ruul seems to be a pretty good tracker so he might be able to snort up some proof.
Manny scratches his chin. Just what can you tell us about the four men out in the main room? Manny gives a brief description of the,men The top floor is abandoned, right? If we check there first, we won't be intruding right away on anyone's buisness.
"Eat you? Who would do such a thing to you child? Don't be afraid, I am here to help" - Zeltor questions the innocent looking boy.
"I know two of them to be Vjuun and Jeise... Massive brutes whose primary job is at a hauling business in town. They're decent enough, though Vjuun doesn't do well with drink. He gets a bit mean, if you catch my drift. They don't strike me as were-batty, though. The third might be Irving. Poor man is a bit slow in the head, but... he is always attended to by his younger sister, who has a way with him, so... that leaves our fourth friend. If he is who I think he is, he's an author from Sargava who has come here for a change of pace and inspiration. He arrived two weeks ago."
On the subject of the highest floor, she stops with a blazing tray in her hands.
"I deadbolted the entrance to that, you know. You at least need to wait for me to finish cooking dinner so I can open it for you."
---
"The monster that got Worren." Ermes explains, gulping.
"He screamed."
Hmm..Well I suppose we can wait for you to finish dinner. I reckon we might check out the man from Sargava fisrt, just how long have you been hearing those flappy sounds again?
After talking to Lorranith, Manny will head out to Ruul and gesture him over to the steps leading up to the rooms. She said that one of the men is a foreigner from Sargava who came about two weeks ago and he might be our bat. Once she gets done cooking, she can let us up to the third floor and we can check around there for any clues.
Zeltor frowns deeply at the child's words - "And what did this monster look like Ermes? Did you see it?"
Sure we could, and if we are wrong, we get tossed into jail for brawling and hork Lorranith off for picking fights with her customers.
Manny taps his head. Let's use our heads here, if we find any proof, we can jump on him with no guilt.
Edit: The flapping has gone on for about a week, so a week to settle and then he starts hunting.
"The flapping has been here about a week."
"No, but... but monsters are scary, right? And Worren was big and brave. He was screaming! Worren doesn't scream a lot!"
Sure you don't want to come up, you got the nose for tracking.
Manny waits for Lorranith to come and take them upstairs.
Well okay, I'll come down and get you if I find anything.
Sorval just can't ignore the conversation- she moves in and asks "What's the plan?"
Manny whispers to Sorval. We check up stairs on the third floor and perhaps the second floor. We are scoping out to see if the foreigner in the main room is our bat person.
"Okay; who would that be, again?" She whispers hesitantly.