Remembering a little tea room and bakery near the gate to the Inner Quarter that he has frequented in the past, Vhailor heads in that direction. As he goes, he sees Alicia coming through the gate from the lower portion of the town.
Vhailor waves companionably towards Alicia as he flounces upon his calorific quest.
Down on her dizzying perch...
Banny whistles to herself as she studies the tracks and draws the conclusions of someone jumping onto this little ledge. Not her, thanks, and she considers herself a decent climber...
She squints down where the path curves ahead, highly tempted to follow it. Instead, she sits down on the edge of the ledge, fishes out her flask of applejack, and has a long, thoughtful swig as the morning sun rises a little bit higher. Once she gets under that overhang, nobody at cliff's-top could see her-- including Marikel, when he comes back with the rope.
And this is, this could be, just a wild wyvern chase... could lead to a dead end... but, a little voice at the back of her head says, it could lead to something worse, as well. Maybe Kurst's murderer, ready to lash out at someone who's on a narrow mountain ledge, and who didn't don her armor this morning before heading out. That sort of thing.
So, for now, she'll wait a bit. Nurse her applejack, and gaze out over the drop below.
She hopes Kurst was already dead when he went over. A bad thing, to fall like this, to feel the air rushing past your ears and have just long enough to regret things in those seconds before impact.
Since nobody is there to witness it, Banny lets out a shaky breath and wipes away a little moisture from her eyes.
As Marikel stands, wondering which way to go, a female soldier appears in the hallway from one of the open doors and looks at him in mild surprise.
Marikel's eyes light up when he sees the soldier.
"I need a coil of rope, and a rope ladder. The guard outside said you had some in here. We won't need them for long."He strides purposefully towards her.
"Um, in there," the woman stammers, pointing Marikel to the first door on the left. She joins him as he opens the door to a supply room, equipment crated in boxes or hanging neatly on the wall. There are several coils of rope on offer; as he takes one, the soldier opens a box and lifts out a rolled rope ladder.
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Vhailor locates the tidy building near the gate with an unobtrusive handwritten placard leaning against the inner pane of the window: Russell and Pence. He pushes open the door, and the enticing aroma of baking bread and brewing coffee welcomes him into the converted parlor of what was once a private residence, now speckled with small round tables and chairs. A few patrons, lingering over a late breakfast, break off their quiet conversations over the fresh tragedy to stare at the Small man entering their sanctum with raised eyebrows.
Ali slows her pace and tilts her head quizzically as Vhailor approaches. She opens her mouth to speak, but decides against it and continues on her way to the Longhouse instead.
Humming to himself "Il a mis le café
Dans la tasse
Il a mis le lait
Dans la tasse de café" Vhailor smiles as he moves into the café, giving the rubbernecking patrons a brief smile and nod of the head. Singling out the serving staff of the establishment he awaits acknowledgement before querying "Hullo... a coffee and a sandwich please, but not to stay - it's got to be to go."
"Um, in there," the woman stammers, pointing Marikel to the first door on the left. She joins him as he opens the door to a supply room, equipment crated in boxes or hanging neatly on the wall. There are several coils of rope on offer; as he takes one, the soldier opens a box and lifts out a rolled rope ladder.
"Thank you very much. What was your name?"
Marikel repeats her name."Is there a hammer and a few pitons about? We may need them to secure this."
Marikel takes the rope ladder and loads himself up.
"We're just behind the Longhouse."
Marikel remembers to thank her by name again and rushes back not quite to Banny.
"Morris, sir ... Padre," the Patrol member replies, not sure how to address the priest. "Did someone fall? Do we need more men?" She gathers the requested hammer and pitons.
Marikel rushes back out the door and around the building, past the guard. Despite his hurry, he thinks he sees Alicia nearby. When he arrives back at the edge of the cliff, he can still see Banny on the ledge below, seemingly in no immediate distress.
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As Alicia approaches the Longhouse, her attention focused on the half-elf and dog, she is surprised to see Marikel rush out the front door with some coils of rope, heading toward the back of the building and the precipice.
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Singling out the serving staff of the establishment he awaits acknowledgement before querying "Hullo... a coffee and a sandwich please, but not to stay - it's got to be to go."
The woman Vhailor addresses is the older and stouter of the two women. He has never ascertained if she is Russell or Pence; the other woman is younger and thinner with red hennaed hair. The white-haired woman looks down her nose at the gnome with an air of disapproval he took personally at first but has since surmised is her habitual expression. "What sort of sandwich?" she asks stentorianly.
"Morris, sir ... Padre," the Patrol member replies, not sure how to address the priest. "Did someone fall? Do we need more men?" She gathers the requested hammer and pitons.
"No one has fallen yet, Miss Morris. Just being careful."
Marikel rushes back out the door and around the building, past the guard. Despite his hurry, he thinks he sees Alicia nearby. When he arrives back at the edge of the cliff, he can still see Banny on the ledge below, seemingly in no immediate distress.
Marikel does not go anywhere near the edge of the cliff, but calls out from a dozen or so feet away.
"Banny? We've got a rope ladder here. I'm going to secure this end and throw the other end over. There's also a rope here if you want to check that path."Marikel sets about securing the rope ladder and tosses the other rope rope down to Banny on command.
Vhailor thinks hard for a few moments before straight-faced replying "The one with the stuff between two bits of bread."
The rogue decides that Marikel's got whatever-it-is-he's-doing under control and slips into the Longhouse, looking for Rob or Marian...or any guard, really.
As Alicia heads for the front door, she nearly bumps into Marian Morris coming out of it, a hammer in one hand and a bundle of pitons in the other. "Oh," the Patrolwoman sidesteps the near-collision, "excuse me." She quickly follows Marikel around the back of the building.
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Vhailor thinks hard for a few moments before straight-faced replying "The one with the stuff between two bits of bread."
The woman's expression grows even more withering. "Any preference what sort of ... 'stuff?'" she asks.
Voice rising in inflection with confusion "Tasty stuff?... it's not for me, it's for one of the guardsmen." flashing a smile.
"Oh! Marian!" Ali calls, following after the guardswoman as she follows after Marikel. "I have a question to ask you."
"Uh ... yes?" the woman answers distractedly, as Alicia follows her around to the back of the Longhouse where Marikel is unrolling a rope ladder over the edge of the cliff. "What is it?"
-----------------------------------
"Tasty stuff?... it's not for me, it's for one of the guardsmen." flashing a smile.
The white-haired woman throws her hands up in exasperation, rolling her eyes, and retreats into the kitchen. "Hermione, make a sandwich," her gravelly voice can be heard. "No, I don't care what you put in it; just make one!"
"Oh! Marian!" Ali calls, following after the guardswoman as she follows after Marikel. "I have a question to ask you."
Marikel looks up at Alicia from unrolling the rope ladder and frowns.
"And I've a question for you too, Miss Alicia, but that can wait a while. If you'd please lend a hand here. Banny climbed down to a ledge just over the cliff and I'd like to ensure her safe return."
"Did you see a half-orc leave the city late last night?" Ali asks Marian, not bothering to answer Marikel for the moment. She glances from Marian to the Iomedan cleric and furrows her eyebrows.
"...Why?"
Vhailor smiles and bounces up on the balls of his feet as we awaits the return of the sandwich-questor.
"Banny? We've got a rope ladder here. I'm going to secure this end and throw the other end over. There's also a rope here if you want to check that path."
Marikel sets about securing the rope ladder and tosses the other rope rope down to Banny on command.
"'Preciate it," Banny calls, getting back to her feet and dusting off her canvas trousers in the seat area. She slides the flask away once more. "Stick your head on over, yeah?"
(When (or if!) Marikel does, Banny says up to him, more softly (not wishing to yell and have half the guards hear), "Someone knows about, an' travels, this little trail. Had to figure they jumped down from where you are t'where I am. I can see how hard they landed. Anyhow, it goes on a little bit, curves under that overhang there, see? Well I don't know if you can tell it's an overhang from up there. Once I go under it you likely can't see me. But I think it's worth checkin' out. This ain't just a little marmot track. Someone person-sized is usin' it, an' mayhap it's got nothin' t'do with Kerst, but mayhap it does, too, an' I wanna know."
She finishes that determined little speech then shrugs. "Anyhow if it ends in a dead face or somethin' I'll right back up the ladder. Teach me to head out in th' mornin' without my rope."
Or her armor, Banny thinks grimly to herself. She waits for the rope itself to be lowered, then knots a loop of that through her belt. "You got th' other end, or you gonna hammer it in, or what?"
"Did you see a half-orc leave the city late last night?"
"Lots of folk left town last night after the celebration," Marian answers dryly. "Any half-orc in particular you're wondering about? Here," she produces the hammer and pitons for Marikel. "Let me do it. I'm sure you're good at healing and preaching, but I wouldn't bet anyone's life on how much they teach you about fastening a rope at priest-school." She makes sure the rope is secure.
-----------------------------------
Inside Russell and Pence, Vhailor waits. After a while, the proprietress returns with a squarish package wrapped in paper and a battered tin mug. "Coffee," she informs Vhailor with great dignity, "and a sandwich. That's thirteen coppers. You'll get two back if you return the mug." Her tone says she doesn't think it's likely.
"Yeah, one who signed into the Ramblehouse as Mr Freley. He would have ducked out late last night," Ali replies tersely, going on to try to describe the half-orc as best she can.
"'Preciate it," Banny calls, getting back to her feet and dusting off her canvas trousers in the seat area. She slides the flask away once more. "Stick your head on over, yeah?"
Marikel's face goes white and he turns to the others. As Alicia ignores him and Marion secures the rope, Marikel takes a deep breath, grabs the other end of the rope, then drops to his hands and knees and crawls slowly towards the edge of the cliff.
Banny notes some white knuckles gripping the stones above her. When Marikel's head appears the eyes are squeezed tightly shut.Some rope is lowered near her.
Marikel listens to what Banny has to say then squeaks, "The other end is hammered in but I'll make sure it doesn't come out."
He vanishes from the ledge and holds tightly to the secured rope.
Between gasps of breath Marikel looks back to Alicia and his eyes slowly lose their wildness and seem to focus on her.
Marikel deliberately slows his breathing and speaks quietly. "Banny thinks she's found something important."
"Yeah, one who signed into the Ramblehouse as Mr Freley. He would have ducked out late last night," Ali replies tersely, going on to try to describe the half-orc as best she can.
"Late...," Marian repeats, shaking her head slowly. "I don't remember anyone leaving late, not after the last stragglers headed back to their farms. There was a half-orc came in late, hours after the ceremony was over, but he didn't leave again before morning."
Banny gives Marikel's strained face and gripping hands a slightly perplexed look in answer (not that he can see it with his eyes shut). "Y'alright, there?" she asks dubiously, reaching out with a loose gesture to grab the dropped rope. (It's just as well Marikel can't see that either, as Banny is probably uncomfortably floppy in her gestures for someone standing on a very narrow ledge, to be good for Marikel's sensibilities.)
"As for important... well, we'll see," she grunts. She gives the rope that she has now knotted into her belt a tug to test it, nods in satisfaction that it is secure, and then starts the short little walk along the ledge, to that overhang point and where it curves around the cliff wall. Banny keeps her hands empty, even though her axe is hooked at her belt... better for balance, especially with one resting against the cliff wall and the other held out into space.
Having secured herself to the rope, Banny sets out carefully along the narrow trail. Though the drop-off to her left is precipitous, there seems to be no immediate danger as long as she moves deliberately. It's only a few steps before she moves beneath the overhang; glancing up, she sees that the bulge in the slope, though slight, is indeed enough to block the hilltop from view.
Moving on in the niche beneath the overhang, Banny's dwarven sensibilities detect signs that the rudimentary trail she is on has been artificially widened; telltale gouge marks, as of a pickaxe, show where the cliffside beneath the overhang has been hollowed out to make passage less precarious.
As she rounds the curve, she sees the western face of Bloodmarch Hill before her, pockmarked with small caves and mineshafts. The trail she's walking looks as if it will approach or pass by one or several of these potential ambush sites ... but she has come to the end of her rope -- literally. To go further, she will have to untie the rope from her belt; alternatively, she could return to the others and let them know what she has found before investigating.
Banny squints at the tool-marks on the cliff-face, frowning thoughtfully. Her eyes trace the continuing passage of the narrow trail for a few moments, then she turns around and trudges back to the rope ladder. A little hand-over-hand and she is at the top, brushing rock dust off her hands.
"That trail goes round the hillface... goes by more'n a few holes in the face. I don't mind pokin' my head in there, but if so, I'm gonna do it with my full kit," she says to Marikel.
Noting the guard who had secured the rope, Banny gives her a nod of thanks for that. "Thank you kindly. Listen, d'you know if a lotta folk know about that little trail right there? Cuz it's seen travel, an' tools to widen it, but I don't reckon I've ever noticed anybody movin' about on the cliff-face right here. Might be folk usin' it who don't care to get seen."
Marikel's sighs with relief as Banny climbs back up but his face soon turns white once more.
"A trail? To holes in the cliff? Like caves?"
Marikel chews his cheek a moment.
"Banny. We've got several other leads. Jess just took of with the hound. Maybe we should check the caves out later? I mean, they're not going anywhere and the other trails, the hound and maybe the base of the cliff, I think we should check them sooner rather than later, while they're fresh."
Everyone is aware of the mines in Bloodmarch Hill. Banny is quite certain that there are no large deposits of valuable metals or the dwarves of Janderhoff would have had an operation up and running long before the settlers of Lastwall made their stand against the orcs on the hill. However, in the early decades of Trunau, one of the new citizens hit a minor strike of iron while digging a basement for his home; it made the family's fortune and fueled a hundred fever dreams of would-be prospectors.
Most of the shafts drilled into the cliffside date from the resulting rush more than a hundred years ago. When no more sizeable ore deposits were discovered, mining attempts tapered off to only the most desperate or most gullible. Lacking capital and equipment, modern-day prospectors mostly restrict themselves to exploring and widening old shafts or natural caves, without the resources to drill their own mines.
Noting the guard who had secured the rope, Banny gives her a nod of thanks for that. "Thank you kindly. Listen, d'you know if a lotta folk know about that little trail right there? Cuz it's seen travel, an' tools to widen it, but I don't reckon I've ever noticed anybody movin' about on the cliff-face right here. Might be folk usin' it who don't care to get seen."
The woman shakes her head, her brow creased with concern. "I've never heard of it. Far as I know, it shouldn't be there at all. We depend on the cliff for defense against the orcs; if there's a trail leading up and they find out about it ... this could be real trouble. The Council needs to know right away."
"You said you didn't see a half-orc leave last night...but one did enter early in the morning, hm?" Alicia muses.
She lowers her voice, trying to restrict who hears her speculation to Banny and Marikel. "It was the Sawyers who struck it rich with that early ore deposit--surely they would still remember the various tunnels and quite possibly the trail. The half-orc I didn't recognize was talking with Councillor Sawyer in an alley last night, some sort of shady deal. Maybe he was getting instructions about where to jump off so that it looked like a body deposited outside the walls was actually a suicide attempt. The half-orc 'jumps off' the cliff onto a ledge, then makes his way down the trail and back into town via the front gate. The only question is how they snuck the body outside of town. I wonder if their basement has a tunnel that leads outside the walls...."
"You said you didn't see a half-orc leave last night...but one did enter early in the morning, hm?" Alicia muses.
"Late at night," she corrects. "It was still a few hours before sunrise."
"Fine, late at night," Ali concedes. "Was that before or after the alarm bell rang?"
Marikel lowers his voice too.
"That, Miss Alicia, is a lot of maybes. We'll discuss how you obtained this information later. However, if Councillor Sawyer and a half-orc are involved, the last thing we want to do is tip them off that we're investigating. You make a very good point, though. If Kerst didn't fall from here then how did he get to the bottom of the cliff. I'd like to look round there as soon as possible. The people that went out there weren't looking for clues, just bringing back poor Kerst. They may well have missed something important. Like his hopeknife. We should catch Jess and head out. Banny?"
Marikel looks to the dwarf for permission.
Alicia seems to recalls something and thrusts her hand into her pocket. She withdraws a scrap of parchment and hands it over to Marikel. "Found that at the Ramblehouse in the room the half-orc was staying in, by the way." The scrap of paper appears to be the corner of a larger document, what looks like a map or a diagram. Certain points are plotted and then crossed out with a later hand; near each X is a date written in Orcish figures. All the dates appear to be within the last few months.
Banny frowns at hearing all this stuff about Sawyer in the mix. She rubs at her jaw with one callused hand.
"This... seems t'be gettin' tangled," she murmurs in the same quiet tones to the others. "I agree we oughtta go find Jess an' th' gnome, see if th' dog found mucha anything. Meanwhile, the guard's goin' t'be tellin' the Council about this path.... which means Sawyer will hear that we know, an' that we're pokin' around. Unless... we wanna ax her to hold off on' tellin' for just a few hours? Give us some time?"
Nodding sagely at the protective cladding that the sandwich was delivered in the gnome takes both restoratives with a "I'll let him know... thankyou" passing over the coinage required before heading back with a slight bounce in his step towards the guard in question.
Once he arrives he peeks a little this way and that before handing over the results of his diversion. Smiling he adds "Sandwich and coffee... though I don't know what's in it... the sandwich that is. You didn't say and I didn't ask and then the lady in the shop..." a beat passes "Where did the other guys get to?"
"Was that before or after the alarm bell rang?"
"Before," Marian replies definitely. "By a few hours, at least, although it's hard to keep track of time on the night shift."
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"Where did the other guys get to?"
The Patrolman accepts the food with alacrity and answers through a mouthful of sandwich. "Around back ... and over the edge, I think. They came back for rope."
"Cheers... oh and if you return the mug you'll get 2 copper back..." before tipping his forehead and moving at a careful shuffle around the corner to the ledge.
"Found that at the Ramblehouse in the room the half-orc was staying in, by the way."
"His room!?" Marikel hisses. "How did..."
Marikel shakes his head but thanks Alicia for the paper which he then passes to Banny."Can you read this?"
He responds to her suggestion.
"That's a good idea Banny. I'll speak with Miss Morris and see if she can delay her report."
Marikel stands and takes the guard aside, glad to edge further away from the cliff.
"Miss Morris, while I'd like to thank you for the great help you've been so far, I have a further request for your good self. We don't know too much about the trail yet, or even if it's a concern, and the council are very busy today after what's happened to Kerst. Perhaps you could inform the council tonight, after we've had a chance to check things and find out a little more? We'll report anything we find about the path to you of course."
"Well, I... I guess so," Marian replies slowly. "But I can only give you until my next shift, which starts at sunset. I'm not going to risk the orcs already knowing about the trail and coming up it after dark to attack the town unawares."
Marikel shakes his head but thanks Alicia for the paper which he then passes to Banny.
"Can you read this?"
Banny sees what Alicia did: a torn scrap of a larger map or blueprint of some kind. Various points are plotted and then crossed out, with a date within the past few months next to each X. Without the rest of the document, it seems impossible to tell what sort of structure or terrain may be depicted or what the scale might be.
Wombling amiably up to Marikel as he finishes talking to the new guardsperson. After a fleeting thought of should've brought two sandwiches Vhailor shakes his head and stands with tilted head waiting for the Iomedite to finish his quiet talking. Carb yawns and seems disinterested with the situation.
When a moment presents itself Vhailor puts his hand up and waves before quizzically asking "Where did the lady with the dog go?"
"Well, I... I guess so," Marian replies slowly. "But I can only give you until my next shift, which starts at sunset. I'm not going to risk the orcs already knowing about the trail and coming up it after dark to attack the town unawares."
"My thanks, Miss Morris. Of course, I'd never dream of endangering the town. And while I doubt the enemy will come tonight, best to be safe."
Marikel turns back to the others and almost trips over Vhailor."Where did the lady with the dog go?"
"The lady with the...? I told you to follow her so we wouldn't lose her. I was busy with Banny and..."
Marikle rubs his temples and looks back to the others."Let's put these ropes back for now and see if we can find Jess. If she's on the trail of a half-orc that came into town," he looks quizzically at Alicia, "then we may be heading out of town to check where Kerst was found."
Blustering and gesturing making pantomime of held coffee and pointing at the cat on his shoulder Vhailor manages a succession of "But.. he... Carb... dog... guard.. can't... ugh" ending with a limp submission to trail after the cleric with a headache. Sullenly he murmurs "Mint might help with your brain squeeze..." kicking at an innocent rock that had done nothing to deserve the treatment.
Banny looks at the note, then shrugs both shoulders. "Looks like a little fragment of a map, but can't tell nothin' on just one piece of it."
She coils the rope ladder up, out a vague sense of not wanting to leave an easy climb should anyone becoming the other way-- then glances over at the question to Vhailor, and the resulting admission that the gnome has no idea where she is.
"...hang on," says Banny with a frown, her eyebrows beetling together. "I heard th' priest ax you to go after her. If you weren't gonna do that, then why the hell didn't you say somethin'? I coulda asked Jess to wait, and climbed back up and gone with her myself-- but I thought you were doin' your part in this, so I didn't. An' now we find out you went off an'-- did whatever you felt like, I reckon?"
As Banny begins to round on Vhailor, Carbonel rears on his shoulder. The cat bares it's teeth with a wary hiss... and it's form ripples. Taking on an ephemeral substance the feline's features begin to become both sharper and less distinct combined. The mismatched green and blue eyes ebb and glow like a fire's ember.
Pointing to the moggy Vhailor fires back "Bumpus didn't like Carb... the priest knew that. I told him I was busy... he just barked six words at me before turning and walking away giving me no chance to respond." some skerrick of the constant overlooking by the tall folk bearing down upon him and the lens-less voids of his glasses begin to darken as though they were shaded against the glare. "So I let Jess and the hund go... would you have preferred I followed? Let mfalme wa paka kuzima mbwa?" catching himself as he realises he's slipped out of the common tongue.
Setting his jaw he seethes "I'm here to help... but I'm not going to do something stupid just because he tells me to."
Alicia saw Jess and the dog as she was approaching the Longhouse, heading down the road west of the Commons, over near Brinya Kelver's house, and tells Marikel so.
Pointing to the moggy Vhailor fires back "Bumpus didn't like Carb... the priest knew that. I told him I was busy... he just barked six words at me before turning and walking away giving me no chance to respond." some skerrick of the constant overlooking by the tall folk bearing down upon him and the lens-less voids of his glasses begin to darken as though they were shaded against the glare. "So I let Jess and the hund go... would you have preferred I followed? Let mfalme wa paka kuzima mbwa?" catching himself as he realises he's slipped out of the common tongue.
Setting his jaw he seethes "I'm here to help... but I'm not going to do something stupid just because he tells me to."
Banny's frown turns into a darker one at Vhailor's response. "Didja even listen to what I just asked you?" she snaps back. "I didn't ax why you didn't do it, I axed why you didn't tell someone you weren't gonna. If the priest was gone, then you coulda said it to me, instead'a just walkin' off and lettin' other folk think you're handlin' somethin' if you ain't!"
Banny's voice rises a little, flat and unhappy. "If this business turns out bad and we wind up in fights with bad folk, then I got to know that everyone 'm with is gonna do their part. I ain't got to like them, or they me, but I do got to be able to trust them. That's how Trunau works, because everybody here knows that when the orcs come, we all fight, and nobody just walks off their job. I'm a damned drunk and I know that much.
"So fine, you want to 'help out,' but not when you've decided that the way you been asked to help is stupid. How do I know you ain't gonna decide the next thing you get asked to do is stupid too, and you reckon you're not gonna do it neither, and not tell nobody that time neither? Maybe next time, it'll be somethin' more important than a dog."
Banny looks like she could certainly keep gong, but she shuts her mouth with a click and starts jogging down towards Brinya's house, as per Alicia's information.
Vhailor takes a breath to return fire again on the dwarf only to find the accusatory one has done exactly the same thing... that is to bark orders before turning to run before he has a chance to speak. His teeth grind over themselves as he sends a lancet dagger stare into the departing dwarf's back... his fingers twitch and mouth half-form words to beckon powers from the dark beyond... a few long beats pass before the dark shadows clothing his glasses fade away and he closes his eyes. A deep breath is taken and exhaled, and the white cat upon his shoulder also seems to relax back into it's skin, returning to hairball production as it's sole passion of the moment.
Opening his eyes he turns to face Marikel with earnest disposition again, no real remaining malice or concern clouding his face. Pointing at the fading back of the dwarf he makes plain his position on the matter to Marikel "Your fault."
The dog is moving slowly and deliberately as he tracks the scent, and Jess is matching his pace, so by the time Banny jogs around the western wall of the building and onto the road the pair aren't out of her sight. They are skirting the northern edge of the Commons, Bumpus's nose to the ground beneath the lone bur oak whose spreading branches loan the amphitheater a refreshing patch of shade in the summer heat but are bare now, waiting for spring.
With a bit of effort, Banny catches up to the two. "Tracking him back," Jess murmurs, concentrating on the dog's tracking as if she herself were trying to follow the scent. "Find out where that knife came from before it was driven into the wall."