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"The great outdoors. A wonderful example of why I prefer the urban life. Is it really necessary to have these trees and bushes everywhere?" Although Zith's tone is casual, it is belied by his actions as he slips from cover to cover. Every time Yel or Jacinthe step on a particularly noisy branch, he winces and shifts a little further away from his two companions.
"Yes, it seems to be a picture of domestic tranquility. Shall we move on, then?" Zith sidles towards the door.
Zith grits his teeth and steps inside. "It's nice enough, but I'm not sure that I'll keep it. Feel free to take anything that you'd like for your houses."
"No objection here. Any preferences as to where we should begin?"
Zith speaks soothingly to Jacinthe. "Jacinthe, why don't we get some fresh air upstairs. We'll nail the door shut and then lock up upstairs. This stuff will be safe until we figure out how best to dispose of it."
Zith speaks in a soothing voice. "No rush, Yel. I don't think anyone has been in here in a long time." Zith's tone hardens. "That said, I think I may have to have a discussion with whoever picked out our new homes. This would have been an unpleasant surprise for Aneon if he had stumbled on it alone."
"Cut out the shiny bits and sell them?" Zith starts poking around the rest of the room, looking for any hidden items of interest.
"Not the most pleasant of experiences, but I'm doing better than our viscous and vicious foe. What was that thing, anyway?"
Zith recoils from the creature and slashes at it with the dagger in his left hand.
Zith tilts his head to one side and watches the creature. He flips the dagger over to his left hand and draws his dart thrower from his belt with his right hand.
"Jacinthe, I believe your particular expertise is called for here. Yel, any idea what this thing is?" Zith eyes the cylinders on the other side of the room and tries to figure out if he can get to the safe ground on top of one.
Zith peers through the door. "Interesting. Now I'm very curious about the identity of the previous occupants of this house." Zith drops into a crouch and slips around the doorframe, dagger in hand.
Zith slides his own prybar from a pocket in his cloak and leans in to assist at the door. "Ok, let's try it together"
Zith looks back and forth between Yel and Jacinthe. "Ok, let's make this easy. Who says we open the door? I think we have to."
Zith speaks up, directing his conversation at Jacinthe. "Normally I'd agree, but I'm starting to get a bit worried about Aneon. I know he's absent-minded and all, but I expected him to show up here before this. Given how reckless he can be, I'm concerned that if we were to leave, he might arrive and open the door up on his own. If we're going to go ask some questions, I think someone should stay here in case he arrives." Zith looks at Yel. "Jacinthe's not wrong about being cautious though. Whatever is behind that door could be dangerous, and if we can't deal with it, we'll have set it loose in the town."
Zith crouches by the door and listens intently for any noises on the other side.
"Then lead on, oh fearless leader", quips Zith. "We'll follow in your wake."
Zith raises an eyebrow at Jacinthe as he slides a dagger from his sleeve into his hand.
"That's a very good point, Jacinthe. However, given our new status as constables and officers of the peace, I think it behooves us to explore further. After all, there might be a threat to the good people of this town down there! Zith drops his voice and murmurs to himself, "And if there's anything of value down there, so much the better. Thus far, being a guard has been woefully unprofitable."
"Alright then. Perhaps I should go first, given that I've had some small experience sneaking around in dark basements and the like? If I run into any trouble, I'll be happy to let one of you take over." Zith grins.
Zith slots his prybar in under the trap door and bears down on it.
Zith turns and bows to Jacinthe. "I think perhaps you should make a go at it. We'll do what we can to assist."
Zith takes advantage of Yel and Jacinthe's distraction to slip the pair of daggers from the package and under his cloak while murmuring, "I'll just hang on to these. Aneon wouldn't want them laying around where the wrong person could just walk off with them." After securing the daggers, Zith moves to the trapdoor to assist Yel with opening it.
Zith shrugs, then slips a knife from his sleeve and cuts the twine around the package. "I'm sure Aneon wouldn't mind us checking on what's in here. He certainly wouldn't want to risk leaving something valuable just lying around."
"Interesting. This package looks like it has been here for quite a while." Zith points out traces of dust around the base of the package, as he leans in for a closer look.
"Hmm. It doesn't look as if Aneon's been here yet." Zith points out the frost on the doorknob. "I wonder what's in that that satchel though ..." Zith's fingers twitch subconsciously as he steps into the main room.
GM Kassil:
"Hmm, I would have thought we'd have heard his pets by now." Zith walks up to the house and quietly tries the door.
"I think that, as much as it pains me, we probably have to leave the comforting embrace of taverns and venture into That Place. Should we maybe try to find Aneon before venturing out?"
Zith puts his feet up on the table, leans back, closes his eyes. "Read them out, if you would, Yel."
As Jacinthe turns towards the pantry, Zith winks at Yel and whispers, "Always good to have a fall back place to run to when things turn sour." Zith speaks in a normal tone of voice. "Perhaps we should start by reviewing the list of the missing and see if there are any obvious connections?
GM Kassil:
Zith smiles as he adroitly hands his cup to Jacinthe "Allow me to sort these out, dear." Zith scoops the remaining scrolls from the table and looks at them. GM Kassil: I'm going to get everyone their correct scroll, but at the same time try to pocket the scroll for Aneon's house without anyone noticing.
Zith shows the drawing proudly to Yel before leaving three shins on the table and departing the restaurant en route to Jacinthe's house.
Zith clears his throat to bring Yel back to the present. "Well, we best head over to Jacinthe's new home. I did promise her the opportunity to entertain her new comrades." Zith signals for the bill, as well as an extra bottle of wine to take with him.
"Oh, I don't know. I'd like to think that my disappearance would be mourned by certain demographics." Zith's eyes track the waitress as she walks back across the room.
"The problem is, you might be thinking logically, when you need to think like a politician. I find the trick is, before you try to figure anything out, ask yourself, 'how can I best cover my posterior?'" Zith smirks. "For example, it wouldn't surprise me if our good mayor isn't really that interested in finding the missing people. Maybe they aren't the 'right' kind of people. However, it's probably in the mayor's best interests to look like he's doing something about it." Zith settles back into his chair as he continues. "As for where we're being housed, it might just be a matter of a complete cluelessness as to how crises really play out on the ground. I've been around for enough crises to know how important communications are, but our good mayor may not have the same breadth of experience when it comes to guards running around in confusion." Zith waves at the bartender and motions for a second drink to replace the one that has already disappeared. "That said, it may also be that the mayor has some interest in keeping us separated. Whatever that may be, I certainly don't plan to sleep soundly in my new residence without knowing who else has a key. Finally, as to why us? As much as my massive ego screams, 'who else?', I have to think that someone, somewhere has a vested interest in putting some new pieces on the board. It could be the mayor, or it could be someone else, but whoever it is likely has little to no faith in the standing guard. Which to me, is an insult to uniformed doorstops everywhere."
Zith and Yel meander towards Milly's and find a table. Zith makes a point of determining the various ways in and out of the establishment, and of finding a seat where he can keep his back to the wall. "Barkeep! Two of your finest for two of the town's finest!" Zith turns to Yel. "So, what kind of horrible mess are we walking into right now?"
"Suits me. To which bar should we retire? Also, if we're going to be discussing our situation, perhaps we should consider tracking down Aneon? If you listen long enough, he sometimes says some surprisingly lucid things." Zith notices Yel eyeing the slashes on his shoulder. "Oh, this? Nothing to worry about. My new accommodations are exquisite, but the neighbours leave something to be desired."
Zith strides over to where Yel is standing and bows elaborately. "Well met, Yel! A puzzle? What's the reward for solving it? Or, given the way my day has gone so far, what's the price for failure?"
Zith strolls casually through the alleys of Sweet End, exiting on to a main street. It would be rather rude to arrive at Jacinthe's without a housewarming gift. I'm sure I could pick something up from one of the disgustingly rich merchants up in the wealthier parts of town. With a smile on his face and a song in his heart, Zith heads off to steal away the unpleasant feelings that came with being named a constable.
As the mange-cat backs off, Zith has time to glance down into the alleyway below him. Before the creature can charge again, Zith dives from the ledge, twisting around in mid-air.
As Zith winces from the impact of the mange-cat's fangs, he swings his knife up, attempting to catch the creature from underneath.
Zith attempts to push away from the creature after burying his knife into it, but the knife catches, causing him to stumble.
As the mange-cat hurtles towards him, Zith flinches in fear. As it strikes, he slides a knife from his sleeve and slashes at the creature.
GM Kassil: I'll give the XP point to Jacinthe, given how I've complicated her life already
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