String of Unfortunate Events: Struck, Stolen & Strange

[Una Tanta]

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Una felt the intrusion before she saw the black shrouded figure approach. Leaning forward into his walk he scoured the two with as much menace as could be outwardly portrayed in the peaceful city. Stepping back and unconsciously closer to the powerful visage that was Alses Una couldn't help the gulp that caught her throat.

“Excuse my intrusion,” voice dripped with what those who spoke common called Sarcasm. In Vani the word for it would be translated as a voice of poison while in Nari it was simply so much a part of their tone there was no word for that which spewed from his wide mouth. His unkempt hair and goatee disturbed the slender and hairless Charoda making her nose wrinkle despite herself. Humans can be utterly disgusting...I always thought the Vantha locks were as beautiful as floundering fish, but the way this man wears it...it is like grizzled and weathered insect legs...

Prone to exercises in Vanity the glorious city of Lhavit had indulged the vice more thoroughly than any other city and as she gazed upon the filthy, in more ways than one, man before her she could not help the unflattering scowl that crossed the bridge of her nose and twitched her lips. Alses however, held her form and face far better.

“But I’d like to know the reason why another bunch of guards should come over.” His eyes bore into Unas own pink pupilless depths and for once it was she who squirmed beneath an unwavering stare and felt her tentacles wrinkling fearfully up the back of her neck.

“Is it because we commoners, the multitude of the population of Lhavit, are too much beneath you to allow your Councilor Radiant to mingle with us? You do realize that with guards around people won’t really feel very comforted by her presence. It shows distrust, and the response will be the same. Distrust.” Una met his own impetuous stare with her own but refused to deign the rude words with a response, allowing him to finish his tirade.

“If you are so worried about her, then why don’t you tag long and see to it that the Councilor comes back unharmed? Well, if you believe you can actually pull that off, that is!” A challenge?! From such a ridiculous and argumentative man? As if Una would ever leave Alses alone with such a man as he.

“The Shinya are excellent protectors, and we're grateful for them since there have been attempts on my life in the past.” The pale faced Charoda couldn't help the satisfied grin that trickled upon her face like that of a belligerent two year old who was finding themselves supported against their squabbling sibling by their parent. However, Alses tactfully avoided finding too much favour with her own personal assistant.

“Even so, our forthright friend over there does have a point, they're not awfully good at discretion, it has to be said. Never have been, in my experience – no offense,” She directed at the Shinya whose eyes had shifted toward them. Admiration swelled through Una's aura, like a shimmering of dazzling stars at the edges. In a simple sentence or two the Councillor had managed to both defend myself, pacify a belligerent citizen, and lay no offense to the Shinya while maintaining a playful and relaxed guise. It was remarkable.

“As for my clothes, Una – they're practical. We've helped the city out a few times now, and I've lost more fine clothes than we care to remember because of it. Covered in blood, ripped and torn, set on fire – on purpose and by accident - used for bandages...the list is endless! I've learned my lesson; help out the city, wear clothes that don't catch on things and that you don't mind losing, if push comes to shove.” Una's eyes widened covetously as Alses spoke, so many stories to be heard and told. One's she hadn't dreamed of hearing in such a tranquil city. However, as Una glanced up the pert and iridescent form of the Ethaefal she still couldn't help but feel a tight bright red dress was hardly practical, despite Alses protests.

“All the important bits are covered anyway,” This comment left a chuckle on the Charoda's lips and soon her tense shoulders had relaxed into a swaggering ease. It didn't take much to relax her, but with the constant Mercadier biting like a restless dog at her heels it didn't take much to wind her as tight as an eel either.

"Plan on joining us on this little jaunt? For the good of the city, of course – we'll sign it off as a workday, even, if you like? Mercadier can scream all he wants, but it is in the job description.” Una grinned up at the tall transcendent form before her. She had never seen Alses so charmingly friendly or impish and was both delighted and dismayed by the jovial twinkle in her keepers eye. She had adored Alses for her stately distance and refined repertoire of skills. Was she, like so many others, a simple willful child underneath?

"Like I would leave you alone with a man such as him," Una replied nodding a chin toward the retreating form of the black shawled man, "besides, any excuse to get away from Mercadier I can get behind..." She added with a bubble of impish glee twinkling in her eyes. She dropped her professional veneer far more slowly than Alses, and simply tested the water with the quick little inflammatory comment. Alses was her employer and free to drop pretenses as infrequently or frequently as she liked and as free to choose the topic, Una was less than sure about the allowances made to her and tread more carefully on the unmarked ground.

The boy that approached next was immediately familiar and had been a great source of knowledge to the ignorant Charoda in her first few days in Lhavit. Allowing her tentacles to relax along her back and neck she greeted the boy with the first truly warm smile she had allowed across her lips that day.

“He-hello Councillor Radiant, I um...not sure what your title means but...er...it sounds important so forgive my rudeness if I some-somehow mess things up, my name is Kaik Leyr...I’ll uh been in your care during this investigation.” Una was dismayed when he had not deigned to approach her first but resolutely, if sadly, understood. The councillor was of far more import than she and reserved the right to speak first to those that approached.

“It means that we have responsibility over magic in Lhavit, In all its terror and majesty. Our name is Alses; it's my pleasure to meet you. I'll be in your care, too.” Alses replied, as succinctly as usual.

“I’m very happy to meet you again Una...so um...are you doing well? You got a job right? Will you be joining the investigation? And also...um...why are you here?"

"Hello Kaik...It is a pleasure to see you again as well. I am doing very well indeed and yes I was fortunate enough to employed by Councillor Alses here as her personal assistant," She nodded toward Alses in a small symbolic bow of acknowledgment.

"Of course, I am here to serve Lhavit in whatever form it asks of me," The next question flummaxed her however and left her unsure of her own answer. Why am I here? Well I am here because I was following her grace...but he doesn't know that. "I am here to aid Lhavit..." She replied briefly, if awkwardly. Certainly the presence of the Shinya, shattered bottles and scattered belongings lent itself to a disturbance but the nature of which was yet unknown to the woman.

By the time they had finished the formalities of catching up the incredibly perceptive Alses had already noted the doll at his side. How does she do that? Una wondered scrutinizing the form of the doll. Knowing she was not truly real made it much more obvious but despite that fact it was still difficult to note that which lent itself to a wooden carving instead of flesh, hidden as she was behind the black cowl.

“We see you're an Animator, always good to find another practitioner. Have you met Maeki yet?” As was typical of her conversations with Alses the topics quickly moved beyond Unas own understanding and she stepped slightly behind Alses watching, listening, and silent.

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[Trickster]

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String of Unfortunate Events

OOCSorry for the wait, and thank you for your patience! I love what I'm seeing so far! Let's get this show on the road, shall we?

Location: The Starry Chalice

Out of the corner of his peripheral vision, Aphil caught the movement of the first arrival. As he began to turn his head, he wondered if it was the first volunteer, but immediately doubted his initial assumption once he saw the small figure in full. It appeared to be a boy with a small child trailing behind him- a curious sight, as both were cloaked, their hoods hiding their faces despite the season. Vaguely, some small detail alerted to him that the child was... different, yet he could not entirely place it. Was it the movements? As the boy neared, he lowered his hood, revealing both black hair and eyes, and presented himself with a short bow before stuttering his way through a brief introduction.

Great. If this bumbling kid was to be the first of the volunteers, he couldn't wait to see who came next.
“Yes, you appear to be the first, although hopefully not the last-” Aphil began replied, eyes roaming over the crowd, almost hopeful to find someone, anyone else approaching. No sooner than he had spoken, did another person walk up, a sneer already at his mouth to scorn the other volunteer. Aphil's eyes narrowed at the sight of the newcomer, as a feeling of familiarity nudged it's way towards his consciousness, although he could not place the fellow. One had to admit that a grey haired man who looked relatively young would not go completely unnoticed amongst the assorted peoples of Lhavit. At the very least, it seemed that he would be more useful for the investigation than the boy, despite his annoying way of speaking. It was then, that the boy introduced himself to the newcomer, saying that his name was Kaik, and that the little one with him was Arya. Something in the grey haired man, who called himself “Djas,” aroused Aphil's curiosity, and caused him to follow the man's gaze, which rested upon the child. 'Wood..?!' He thought with a start, his gaze immediately shifting between what appeared to be some sort of doll or golem and the boy who had named himself as Kaik. 'There's more to him than meets the eyes, eh? An Animator...'

As he straightened his posture, moving his Kwan Dao to his left hand, he covertly glanced across the square at the man who leaned against the wall, seemingly observing the place. 'Another volunteer?' He wondered, 'or a suspect?' The man hadn't made any move for some time, seemingly content to observe. 'Perhaps he is waiting for someone... no matter, he seems harmless for the moment.' With that, he turned his attention towards the volunteers once more, only to find that another one had made her way over.

Aphil froze for a moment, caught unaware at the sight of the Ethaefal, who made her way through the crowd. If he wasn't mistaken, she was presumably the Councillor Radiant who had been recently appointed... but he failed to recall her name. The next thoughts that struck his mind were that there were no other Shinya within sight, and that she was wearing a rather indecent, though practical red dress. The young Acolyte quickly shunned the later thought from his mind, preferring to focus on the fact that she lacked a guard. 'Where are they? They couldn't possibly have left her to go on her own?! Wait, could she have given them the slip? But why? Are they truly that incompetent that they couldn't have noticed?! I wouldn't have made such a mista- no, she must have used something on them? She is from one of the towers, so she likely knows magic, and they wouldn't have let an incompetent take office, so she is likely quite skilled. However... why leave her guard? Should I contact someone for back-up?' The onslaught of thoughts passed through his mind in mere moments, before he gathered himself once more, and decided to keep a close eye on her for the moment. The Councillor Radiant most probably had some sort of reason for her lack of security, perhaps to be less eye-catching, although that was nearly impossible as a member of the city's divine patrons' race.

The Shinya snapped to attention at the Ethaefal's voice, belatedly realizing that she had made it within earshot while he had been distracted by his thoughts. He berated himself internally, for such a mess-up in the wrong situation could easily end his or another person's life. “Yes... My lady, you have arrived at the correct place,” Aphil replied, bowing slightly as he did, “it is a honour to meet you, however, pardon my rudeness, I must ask; where is your guard? Surely they will be worried once they find your absence?” He watched as her eyes roamed over the scene, rather than directing her gaze towards him. 'Perhaps I am below her notice,' an errant thought, accompanied by a small twinge of annoyance.

That was when his eyes met the sight of something uncommonly seen- a Charoda in an ornamental green dress, who seemed to be scowling in their general direction. 'Things just keep getting better and better,' he thought. From the looks of things, she had something to do with the Ethaefal, perhaps an assistant or attendant, which was only confirmed once she approached and began scolding the Councillor, which in his opinion was an incredibly gutsy move, but who was he to say? His eyes flickered towards the one who had called himself Djas, who was watching the pair of women with more intent than Aphil found comfortable, and unconsciously shifted onto the balls of his feet. There was something about him that he didn't like. His sense of dislike was further enhance when the man made his way towards the pair- no, the trio, as Kaik had joined the conversation- and proceeded to voice what was in all aspects, a challenge. The young Shinyaman bristled at the mention of his comrades and was nearly about to call him out on it, when the Councillor calmly took the situation into her own hands, appeasing him with a mere sentence, only to make him bristle slightly once more with her following words. She jested at the notion that his fellow guardsmen where known to lack discretion, while he knew that the Shinya could be silent and deadly when needed, which was one of the reasons they trained for so long. Irritation bubbled around the corners of his mind, barely kept at bay by his training in meditation. 'Patience... patience,' he recited as a silent mantra, barely catching the Councillor's name in the process.

As things were, it seemed that all the volunteers that were going to come had arrived, and nothing would get done if they stayed as they were. Aphil cleared his throat. “Enough chit chat. It seems that you have all introduced yourselves to one another, so let's get started. My name is Aphil Ancha, and I have been tasked with the duty of helping out with this investigation.” He paused and waited to be sure that he had all the volunteers' attention. “I assume that you all have come as volunteers, and that you are all prepared for challenges along the way, no matter how unexpected. As you probably know, the property before you was broken sometime last night, and has sustained serious damage. The perpetrator is unknown, though there is a suspect, whom I will disclose a bit later. For the moment, I would like you to gather your wits and examine the shop for any evidence or clues.” His eyes roamed over each of the volunteers' faces. “Tian J'net herself, will be here in a bell or two, so we better get started."
With that he nodded, indicating for the team to enter the shop. He would wait to enter after them.
'Better get this over with.'
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[Kaik Leyr]

Kaik fell into the calm voice and entrancing appearance of the councilor, though he did not let the fact that she was the Councilor Radiant of magic pass him by though. “Amazing...if she had responsibility over magic in Lhavit then surely she is a user of magic herself...what a fitting title she has”. For a moment it felt as if he got hit in the shoulder, a gesture that reminded him of Ellen. She did that quite a few times in the past when Kaik was doing something stupid, which went to show how careless he was in the past.

He had expected to be done with his introduction but it seemed she had more to say as a small smile appeared on her face, Kaik caught off guard by what she said was at a loss of words. To him what she said seemed almost like a promise so he intended to do just as she said, “Yes! Of- of course!” he said while making sure to keep eye contact. It was strange thing for him to be so serious over a simple reply but if he would be under Alses care than he wanted to give her the same care.

Kaik was happy to see Una was already getting used to life in the city. He found it slightly funny how she too had become an assistant much like himself. He was even more delighted to hear from herself that she would be joining the investigation, though it worried him that her reason for doing so was ‘to aid Lhavit’ to most it would seem like a worthy cause but to Kaik he wanted to hear her own personal feelings and what she would gain from it. Although he did want to know such things he felt such questions rude so instead he said, “I’m happy to hear you’re doing well and will be joining the investigation. Well um...I’ll be in your care Una.” He gave a short bow and noticed the councilor’s glances toward Arya.

When the counselor had turned to her attention to Arya Kaik slowly placed his hand on her head as if to be reassured of her presence. Arya kept her head down, as instructed by her master when they were outside, to allow her hood to mask her wooden appearance. Kaik’s attempts at masking Arya’s true nature proved useless as Alses stated what Kaik was. “How did she know? She couldn’t possibly have seen her so...hmm...of course! Having responsibility over magic surely she would be well versed in the use of Djed. Which would explain the lack of surprise or interrogation…. Auristics...it must be what she used...wait! She knows Maeki!? Better yet she is a practitioner of it herself!” With such thoughts in mind he said, “Y-yes...I am an Animator...and um yes I’ve met Maeki, actually I’m her assistant...that was Auristics right? That will definitely be useful in the uh...investigation… so th-” he was interrupted by Aphil’s announcement of the investigation beginning. Kaik decided to leave his idle questions for another time as he said to no one in particular, “I s-suppose we should go.”

Entering the shop Kaik was surprised to see how much the outer appearance had betrayed the interior. The shop was much larger than expected and held an assortment of containers but of course most were lying on the ground, curiously enough the upper shelves were untouched, “Perhaps the culprit is short?” he said aloud. He decided to just voice his questions despite how obvious or silly they may seem in hopes they might strike a spark of genius in the others. He studied the room and as Aphil said tried to gather his wits. Based on the state of the shop Kaik doubted the goal was to steal something or else the person would have just used a more quiet method, “I don’t think...the goal was to steal something...so why...um...what purpose is there to this?” Trying to think of an answer as to the purpose of what had happened he asked Aphil a question, “Aphil...so does...um...what was her name...oh! Tian is it? Does she have...any enemies?”

Box Code by Scarlet Rose

[Brandon Blackwing]

Brandon had not allowed the expression on the Charoda’s –Una’s- face to escape him. It had displayed disgust and while the bat did realize he was not the most dapper or clean of men, he was still pissed off. He considered himself a true part of the lower class of the population of Lhavit, and it was more than obvious that Una –or Slimeskin, as Bran decided he’d call her- was part of the upper classes. The councilor too, but she had at least had the manners not to show whether she’d despised the poor or not. Those who didn’t were his true enemies, Brandon made a mental note to find out where the Charoda lived, so he could pay her back. Revenge!

While Kaik was still busy talking to the Councilor and Slimeskin hid herself behind the Ethaefal’s back, the Shinya-guy spoke up, his voice reaching far and the people standing by to watch remembered they had something to do and started walking again, not really wanting to get into trouble with the Shinyaman. The guy didn’t really seem all that happy either, rather grumpy actually. Deciding this was a good time to join the others and get back into vision, the bat detached his figure from crowd with their still-slow-to-watch-the-show pace.

Observation was the first step in an investigation, Brandon knew that much and thus he let his eyes absorb the scene, guessing the outside was as important as the inside of the shop. As he had noticed before, the window had been smashed and used to enter the shop while the door did not seem to have sustained damage. Brandon furrowed his brow as he approached, pondering deeply. Picking the lock would have been his choice of creating a way to get inside, but not every thief was skilled with pick and wrench… Or perhaps they were in a hurry, picking locks took some time after all… Still, if he couldn’t have picked the lock, Bran would have broken the door instead, or tried to anyways before choosing to take the window…

Well, it was no use thinking about it without having seen the whole picture, Brandon thought as he headed for the door, spotting a boyish figure inside when he neared. Damn! I should have entered first! Brandon raged I could have used my nose to pick up the thief’s scent… well, I suppose with only one person inside it can discern which smell I need to follow… But as soon as the bat stepped inside his plan was rendered useless. Hundreds of different smells attacked his nostrils, mixing and twisting, some smelling nice and others not. The cacophony of scents was enough to make him gag in surprise, nearly throwing up his lunch as he covered his mouth with a cupped hand. Ugh, having a great sense of smell is not always a blessing.. the bat complained internally, slowly getting used to the disgusting mixture of scents.

Shards of glass and liquids of strange origin were littered across the floor, shelves broken loose from the wall and laying on the ground as well. A mess, the room was one big mess. The only things that were saved from the onslaught were the pots and containers stored on the highest of shelves. While Kiak suggested the thief might have been short, Brandon doubted that had anything to do with it, he shook his head upon hearing the statement. Something was off about this whole case, Brandon could feel it. This was not a normal break-in, not at all.

If I came in here with the purpose of stealing something, what would I do? I would unlock the door, that’s for sure. Given that I manage to get inside using that method –maybe using the window is the culprit’s modus operandi? Or his signature? … hmmm… I don’t think that’s it… Okay, next, what would I do next? I steal something and I don’t want them to notice something’s missing. I just take what I need and leave, close the door. Of course, usually I’d leave it opened, since that would show the residents that a door is not enough to stop me… wait…!

“It’s a message,” he voiced, unknowingly replying to Kaik’s question about the purpose, only realizing it a tick later. The boy seemed to have followed the same line of thought Brandon had. “The window is a scream for attention, to notify the owner that something’s not right, that there might have been someone in there. The trashing of the place is the true message, it’s a threat I think. I’m guessing Tian has pissed someone off quite a bit. And that person has come back to extract revenge.” It was just speculation, but it couldn’t be too far from the truth, after all, Brandon had once done something very much alike. Only that time he’d burned the building down, reduced it to ashes.

The strangest thing was the fact that the upper shelves had been left alone, untouched. If it had been him, the Kelvic would have trashed the whole place, except if it was too dangerous. “The upper shelves… I’m guessing the culprit knew what is stored up there. He must have thought it wouldn’t be a good idea to smash those as well, thinking he would endanger himself or something the like. Whatever those contain, I bet it’s not something you want to unleash while standing next to it.”

A short pause was taken to turn around and head for the exit, “In any case, I believe we have a culprit who is familiar with the business and holds a grudge against its owner.” Ah, fresh air! He couldn’t have left that building too soon, that bastard wouldn’t be as easy to catch as he had thought, no scent to pick up, no trail to follow. However, if Tian was willing to cooperate and provide them with answers –if she possessed them anyway- they would have been a huge step closer to catching the fool who was too obvious about his motives.

All that was left was to wait for her to arrive. Two bells huh? Tsk, that was quite a while. The Kelvic lowered himself on his behind and crossed his legs, sitting down would be easier than standing while practicing patience, but it was still not his favorite activity. Hell, it wasn’t even an activity! Maybe he should take a quick nap?

Credit goes to Cylos Marn

[Sal Mander]

From his vantage point across the street, Sal watched as the odd collection of volunteers began to filter inside. Waiting for them to be swallowed by the entrance to the Starry Chalice, he sauntered over, weaving between the bystanders and street traffic. He could see that the window had been smashed, most likely the entrance point for whoever had wanted inside. Peering in through the vacant window, he noted that inside had been turned over with more than a little hint of malice. Either someone was really trying hard to find something, or else this was an act of vandalism. Perhaps it was someone with an axe to grind against the owner. Perhaps. Really at this point it would have made little sense for Sal to make assumptions. Being an investigator by trade, his method was to gather the facts before voicing any theories.

Not that he could do much gathering of anything stood outside as he was! However, in the past he had learned that it was best to tread carefully, not to be rushed while going over a crime scene. The smallest of clues could be laying in wait, hidden under a fallen object or tucked just out of sight. With the group foraging inside like hungry predators, it left little room for Sal to add himself too. He only wished he'd gotten there first, to examine the scene unobstructed and unhindered.

His focus returned to the window itself, realizing that here might have been a good place to start as any. After all, this had been the starting point for the crime itself. Chances were, a window of that size being smashed, there might have been ears and eyes that witnessed the occurrence. Had the breaking and entering occurred within earshot of the neighbors, maybe it would have been enough to entice one of them to have looked out their own window. So then, turning to the building to the right of the Chalice, Sal ventured over to the heavy wooden door and thudded hard on it with his fist. There had been no answer from this residence, so he crossed by the Chalice again and tried the other side. A short conversation with the resident there had garnered no worthwhile information. Either they genuinely did not know anything, or they were just keeping out of it.

Resigned to defeat, Sal plodded back to the Chalice itself wondering if the party inside were almost done. He figured now would be a good time to introduce himself and contribute to the investigation, for that was why he was here after all. But he stopped short of the entrance when he noticed Brandon had taken up residence out front of the shop. The lad was sitting there, looking like he had not a care in the world. The kelvic might well have smelt his former 'acquaintance' approach, but none the less Sal stopped so he was stood over Brandon and gave him a light nudge with his foot. "Sleeping on the job I see. How are you Djas, my old friend?" The addition of 'old friend' might well have been a stretch, slim as their time together was, not to mention the circumstances. But it was those very circumstances that for Sal at least had led to a certain feeling of camaraderie between them. For that fact alone, 'old friend' was a well deserved moniker for the kelvic sat before him.

[Alses]

“Oh, he's not that bad, Una,” Alses said with the blithe ease of someone who didn't have him as any sort of superior, her eyes dancing. “Once you get to know him. Weather a minor crisis or two with him, that sort of affair.”

An appraising look was her initial response to Kaik's leap of deduction – if, indeed, it was deduction. It was, after all, moderately well-known that she'd been Dusk Tower before she took up her current post; perhaps he simply knew already? Somehow, she doubted it; the golden smugness of a petty triumph glowed in his shivering aura, along with the suction of anticipation, waiting to hear if he was right. That sort of thing was hard to fake, very hard indeed.

“Mmm. Maeki's a friend; she teaches me bits of the craft when both she and we have a spare bell or so – a rare occurrence, I admit but it does sometimes happen.” She smiled, and in that smile was an echo of the joy of magic and its learning. “I enjoy it, like all world magic, and we like her, even if we do spend quite a bit of our time tidying her up.”

Alses shook her head, amused at the memories. “I daresay cleaning up after her is one of your principal tasks; the woman can't keep anything beyond her Animation lab tidy for more than five chimes, can she?” It was shared in a conspiratorial tone, a gossamer bridge of common ground that would either solidify to form the first steps of a relationship with the young – and almost painfully nervous – Animator, or else fall apart with nary a sigh and she would have to find some other way of beginning to reach him.

“And you're quite right with your deduction; auristics it was. We've got some small skill in the discipline; I used to be a part of the Dusk Tower, in fact.”

Kaik seemed more comfortable with Una than he had with...well...anyone else, and so Alses took a subtle mental step back, letting her presence fade a little, taking stock of the others as best she could, a second look sweeping across them all even as she listened to the Shinya as he stirred himself from contemplative torpor. Or what felt like torpor, anyway.

She gave Aphil a short, courteous bow, in response to his own, a recognition of his value just as much as his was of hers. “Thank you...” her eyes sought his sleeves and assessed his uniform, hunting for the badges and trappings of rank. “Acolyte?” she finished, a slight rising note in her voice turning it into the most delicate of questions. “Our apologies for my momentary distraction,” she added, noting the prickle of annoyance ray out from under the still-forming shield of Shinya discipline and acting to soothe it. “Our nature and our magic together are hard to resist.”

Alses shook her head, as though to clear it of any lingering cobwebs of cogitation, her golden gaze now fixed on the young Shinya. “My guards are at the gates of Elysium Hall, I'd imagine, where they usually are; I hopped over the wall instead.” She grinned. “Bit of a security hole, but we have to say I was glad of it, this time. They might think of themselves as inconspicuous when they trail us around, but to me – and to some of the citizens - they're really not. The forthright gentleman had the right of it a little earlier.”

A twinkle in her eyes betrayed the next little burst of mischief. “If they worry, then all to the good. They need a little excitement in those shifts; guarding me must be hideously boring, after all. Either that,” she noted pensively, “Or they'll decide I've chosen to spend the day at home.” She frowned, dissatisfied, and feeling a little guilty for simply abandoning her protectors. “If we happen across a courier, I'll dash off a note to the Pavilion, explaining matters, all right?”

Alses listened, politely attentive, as Aphil then raised his voice to carry to the other volunteers of their merry band, outlining the very basics of what would be going on. To her, a veteran of the Shinya and past outings on behalf of the city, it was all quite familiar – comforting, almost. She reminded herself sharply that it wouldn't do to get complacent, and the sight of the smashed window and the disarray of the lacquered shelves further hammered it home.

Tian J'net was a friend and sometime mentor, in any case, and since personal feelings always came into things like this, no matter how much mortals tried to pretend they didn't, Alses felt invested, more than strictly usual, in this particular matter.

Those thoughts, unfortunately, took up valuable ticks, ticks in which people began to enter the Starry Chalice before her, before she could command – or ask – them to stop, before she could sample the undisturbed scene with her magic, forcing the world to give up its secrets with consummate skill.

She hurried – rather undignified, perhaps, but it was essential to get inside and immerse herself in the auras before they were polluted by people tramping everywhere – after the others, ready to barge should it become necessary.

Fortunately, it wasn't, and the sad remains of hundreds of phials crackled under her heavy boots as she walked inside, hot on the heels of the other volunteers. The floor was awash with a rainbow of different shades – red, orange, purple, green, blue, yellow and many more, mixing and intermingling queasily, uneasily.

Occasionally, where several met, there was a crack of displaced air, an explosion, a puff of acrid smoke or odd-coloured steam, as philtres reacted against one another, but that aside, the interior of the shop was quite peaceful – if one could ignore the signs of chaos just passed, anyway.

She listened with half an ear as the others speculated, drawing on wild conjecture and wishful thinking even as she was preparing herself to evoke powerful magic, a wave of djed carrying her consciousness, mapping every scrap of the room and drawing in all the information for her to assess, evaluate, analyze.

“The top shelves are explosives and some of the nastier airborne philtres, if memory serves,” she murmured absently, mind still mostly elsewhere, preparing. “Could also be a distraction; the real prizes here are in the laboratory – could everyone please stop for a moment? It's easier to scrutinize the place if no-one is mucking about.”

Hoping that they'd listen, Alses prepared herself further for the magic. It was rising inside her, eager and seemingly boundless in scope and puissance, champing at the bit to be let loose inside the complex labyrinth of the Starry Chalice, hounds of djed eager to find every scrap of obscured secret and shadowed fact that might be lurking here.

[Brandon Blackwing]

OOCWell, since I assume we have lost about half of our companions, I'll continue

While the Councilor and the others rummaged around in the Starry Chalice, the bat enjoyed the feeling of Syna's rays caressing his dark-cloaked figure, experiencing a pleasant warmth spread through his body. With his eyes closed he could focus on the sounds around him better, scanning the environment unconsciously, hearing the noise of boots crushing slivers of broken glass, footfalls of passersby going about their business while sneaking a look to the crime scene, curiously, though from a distance. The wind breezed gently, carrying with it the scent of Lhavit, a mixture of mountain air, Okomo scents and soap used by the population. Much better than inside.

In his mind he mulled over the words Councilor Alses had spoken just a couple of chimes ago. Explosives and nasty airborne philtres... Well, that does sounds like my conclusion is correct, but... a distraction huh? Might be possible. After all, we don't know who wrecked the place, not yet. Still, what kind of distraction could it be? There has to have been someone who knows about the ordering of the products involved in this, otherwise we'd have found a corpse between the glass. Explosives and nasty airborne philtres...

I don't see why this should be a distraction, letting the upper shelves escape the fate of the rest of the shop, that is. Any sane person would -if they had the knowledge- be sensible enough not to destroy explosive vials if they were right next to it, nor would they break something that is probably containing a toxic gas. Hmmm. It's not a distraction, no, it's just a matter of safety I believe. If the culprit had come here to mess the place up without knowing the setup of the phials, all of them would have been broken, except if they had been hired to do so, and had been given a warning.

But there was something else that bothered him, the fact that Alses had mentioned a laboratory, where the real valuable things were kept. Brandon hadn't looked in that place yet, though he doubted it would have been wrecked too. Given that the culprit was someone who knew about it, someone who had worked here -had or still did- they probably wouldn't have destroyed it as well. Why? Because of the shock effect. The bat himself wouldn't have done it... most likely, unless he'd been really, really angry. Like he had stated before, Brandon believed the scene he'd left to be the result of vengeance.

Someone had been ticked off by … what's-her-name-again and had voiced it by the usage of this method. Everything pointed in that direction, or that the bat thought anyway. The broken window; so the owner would notice right away something was wrong before she had even opened the door, to install fear in her being. Then, the shop wrecked; a slap in the face, a result of anger. Though there was another possibility. It was plausible the whole destruction was indeed a distraction, meant to hide what the culprit had stolen. In this mess it was impossible to find out. Or perhaps the crime as a whole was a distraction, to throw the Shinya off balance, luring them here with a very noticeable crime, only to stealthily steal something in a whole different place. Smart, clever. It was something Bran would do should it be necessary.

A foot prodded his knee, his face snapped up to see who had the insolence to do so, along with the opening of his eyes and the shattering of his concentration and his circle of thoughts. The voice that came with the prod made things a lot easier on the bat, who was temporarily blinded by the sun. Sal? “Sal!” he spoke surprised, crawling to his feet and dusting off his pants. “What are you doing here? Ah, wait. Doing your job I suppose? Going to help us amateurs solve this case?” A brief laugh. “Ah, it's good to see you again,” the bat smiled honestly, relieved to see his … well … something-of-a-friend was alive and well. Black orbs darted up and down for a brief moment, scanning Sal from head to toe, settling on the former afterwards. “You're doing fine I hope? How's your friend holding up? We never really got to talk again after … things got rough. But it seems the both of us have made it through alive!” He patted the taller man on the shoulder with a grin.

Credit goes to Cylos Marn

[Sal Mander]

With Brandon climbing to his feet, Sal gave the man a friendly slap on the shoulder as the two exchanged their greetings. There was much to be said for having traversed perils and dangers together, that served to cement a respect between two people. But aside from such events, Sal was just pleased to see his friend was doing well and, he suspected, up to no good as usual. For the briefest of moments, he wondered if the bat had anything to do with the incident inside the Chalice behind them. But of course it was just a passing thought, realizing that leaving such a mess was far from the kelvic's style.

Actually, now that he thought of it, Sal did not really know what Brandon's style was. Officially he could not say for sure what the lad's line of work was, but he did in this case rely heavily on his own gut feeling. Brandon had shown aptitude and skills that were at the root of the reason why Sal had enlisted his help to start with. But no need to dwell on such things right now. This was to be a friendly catch up rather than any further appraisal of character.

"My friend does well, though I dare say he's literally under house arrest by his wife since...well, since then. Glad to see you're doing well too. I wondered if I might bump into you again anytime soon." As the two men talked, any notion of continuing the investigation of the Starry Chalice faded from mind, replaced instead of humorous recollections of their past adventures together. There was talk of angry jamouras, uncanny luck with cards, and of course the advancements of one particular ship captain that had apparently taken a certain liking to Brandon dressed as a noble merchant.

Soon enough the time for talk was at an end, Sal bidding his friend a good day before heading off on other duties. The Starry Chalice mystery seemed to be in good hands as far as he was concerned. Besides, he felt that adding his own presence to the matter would only serve to crowd the situation. Off he went, along the streets of Lhavit, chuckling once more to himself about that ship captain. He reminded himself not to let this be the last time he reminded Brandon about it.

OOCThis will serve as my last post here. Good luck with the investigation