Latest revision as of 04:54, 1 April 2014

Participants

Date

31/3/477

Log

The city guard are in large numbers in the streets of shanty town today, many of them watching every which way and waiting on their superiors orders. A few folks stand about making records and documenting as much information as possible, and a few guards stand about trying to comfort a servant girl of a goat, who leaks fluids profusely as she occasionally glances towards a crowded body. To those who can see it, a solcaious fox lays upon the ground, their chest is almost nothing but pulp, a bloody hammer sitting to the side of it appears to be the murder weapon. "So then what happened?" a eel says to the goat as he scribbles furiously.

Arimia is out in Shanty Town herself, not an usual place for her, especially with the guards currently infesting it. Dressed in her usual cloak hood pulled up, the short raccoon pushes her way through the crowd toward the body, likely leaving a few cuts here and there when others try to push her back. Once she's near enough to see the body she pauses, tilting her head slightly and waiting to hear what the goat has to say. Though she makes no move to keep with the crowd, apparently not caring if the guard wants her that close or not.

Cassidy creeps onto the scene. She wasn't too far away when she heard the news, and, as always when in Shanty Town, she kept her cowl and mask up. "What have I been missing," she mutters under her breath as she skirts around the crowd, trying to see if she can recognize the poor victim. Her ears are kept alert, though tucked as they are, hoping to pick up on any stray conversations that may lead to clues.

Kalt had heard the call, and without too many details decided it was worth a look into... And so, the Vixen was soon making her way up to the scene. Clad in her usual armor and weapons, with her solacious bannerman's sash tied around her waist. When she finally gets a look at the scene, the vixen grimaces slightly and frowns as she debates what it was she should do specifically. Her gaze flicking around to try and spot anyone else from the house before she makes her way closer to the guards with her hands clasped behind her back. "'Scusin' me an' all, I ain't but went an' happened to go noticin' you gotta situation on you're hands an' all but eh, what might've gone on here an' such?" Her tail flicking as she'd glance back to the body before looking to them once more with concern plastered on her features.

Less than a day back in the city and already something happens. Given all she missed, it seems like it didn't all pass by. Issi keeps an eye on the guard and another on the crowd. A killing in Shanty Town can't be uncommon, but a noble? It was worth looking in to, given what she remembers of Shanty town. First thing's first. Body. That should say something, at least. The snake worms her way to the front of the crowd, though for now just examines what she can see of the body.

Another day, another murder in the Shanty. But this time, a noble! Someone has grown some very large family jewels. What was a noble doing over there anyways? Only one way to find out. With his typical gear of a large tower shield upon his back and a spear to compliment, Dio heads towards the scene of the crime, making his way through crowd to get a fine look upon the deceased. "O' that's an awful scene if I ever saw one," the lion comments idly, peering over the crowd and such. "Us Freeswords 're 'ere to 'elp out with the investigation if it'll let up the burden a bit."

The guard eye Arimia, one of them attempting to gently guide her away with his sheild as he says "This area is off limits, I'm sorry." Those in the nearby the goat can hear her blubbering a bit as a tuatara puts her hand on her in an atempt to custard her. "I said I'd carry the books... that she was too good to carry those vile books she bought. Jamie was too good for it, tha disgusting magic wasn't even for her she was just being nice..." she says before she breaks down hard. The eel sighs to himself. Kalt is given a look by one of the guard, who flatly says "One of 'em nobles met an end a little early. Lookin into it." The crowd watches rather silently, a few folks complaining they're taking up the whole street.

Arimia lets the guard start think he's guiding her away, then slips around the shield swiftly and moving past him. "Yeah. It is. So get the bloody hell out of my town. An' take your trash with you." She waves a hand at the dead noble, light glinting off the metal appendage. She then reaches up to push her hood back, making her way toward the body. "Every bloody time noble trash comes here there's trouble. Every bloody time." She lifts her gaze again then and glances around at the guards. "An' ain't nobody gonna be tellin' you louts anythin'. Freeswords they might, an' me they will. But there's only one of me." The pink raccoon shakes her head and then makes her way toward the goat. "I'd like to see these books. An' hear what you know 'bout why she needed 'em."

Cassidy shifts her eyes around the crowd, finally managing to catch a glimpse of the body. Her face falls a little behind the mask as she recognizes their house. "Nngh. Great thing to return to." She lets her eyes roam again, first resting on Kalt's sash, then on Dio. "If there's anything I can do to help, just let me know. I'm not quite a Freesword, though. Just a concerned citizen."

Kalt nods slightly as she looks to the guard, adjusting her gear slightly as she sighs. Her ears flicking as she listens to the woman, and furrows her brow for a moment in thought... That was unusual talk, disgusting magic and the like? Well, she could figure they may have meant dark math and such... And soon enough the Vixen gives another nod before smiling slightly to the guard. "If'n you don't be mindin', M'employed by the house that noble were in before they went an' took to bitin' dust an' such. If'n I could go an' be helpin' you an' such, M'sure the Solaciouses would be rather thankfull an' such." The vixen's tail flicks as she awaits the response, not moving from her spot as it was prime eavesdropping location for her to listen to the goat. Though she's soon to narrow her eyes as Arimia starts insulting the dead noble, the vixen scowling for a moment as she watches the raccoon before deciding her own distaste wasn't worth interupting a investigation.

Issi gets paper and a pen out of her satchel. First word she heard she started scribbling things down for herself. Given what she knows, there would be good reason for Solacious members to need books of Dark math. She doesn't say a thing though, she just keeps scribbling down things she hears and what comes to mind about the whole affair. She worms her way back out of the crowd, seeing all she needs of the body. The snake hands a slip of paper off to Dio, though she really hopes all of her suspicions are very much wrong. Not that it changes the fact that there was a murder, but she hopes that's all it is.

Dio listens to the story with interest, tail idly flickering back and forth here and there and probably annoying a few poor beings that manage to get in the way. "Books?" That was definitely the biggest clue to go on. Looking down, he finds a piece of paper pushed in his direction, eventually taking a moment to glance at its contents. "This lass 'ere is askin' if the books mention anythin' specific such as places o' entities. So, 're we dealin' with dark magic o' somethin'? Dark magic is nasty an' all, but it's a magic as any other really."

The guard watch the hostile raccoon as an owl hoots "I'm sorry but we can't go around do thing that, this needs to be documented and all the information put together before any of that happens." before the eel says "Please don't bother the witness." The goat looks to Arimia and shakes her head. "They're supposed to help one understand the makings of dark magical spells, we were gathering them for someone we met on our walk around town in the central plaza, a nice young narwhal who didn't have the funds but wanted to further his education, she thought it would help him be a better spell crafter and make his own money..." Kalt is given a nod by the guard and allowed closer, Dio recieving a warm welcome as well for his offered help, and Cassidy is given a nod as the guard go about their business. The eel looks over his notes and seems to be trying to find another writing surface as his has been filled to the brim. "The books that are over there correct?" he asks as he does so, pointing to a pile of collected objects. "One moment here... and then I'll need to know what happened next.. the act itself."

Arimia scowls at the eel and says, "I'll bother who I want in my town. I don' trust you lot to do this without exactin' retributive 'justice' on folk who don't deserve it." She looks about to say more when something seems to catch her attention causing her to stare at the body. She shakes her head slightly, an ear flicking and walks toward Dio. "Someone read through the books an' see if that's what they're for or if they're duped. Stopping near the lion she drops her voice to a low murmur and says, "Someone in the crowd's playin' tricks an' laughin' 'bout it. Think you or one of these ones you got with you can do somethin' about it?"

Cassidy bites her lip and slides a little closer to Kalt, reaching out to lightly bat the other fox in the hip with the back of a gloved hand. "You said you work for the family, right? Is this a regular thing? Murders of the Solacious, that is. Trying to figure out if this is someone's vendetta or if this is something more. Just carrying around dark math books hardly seems like a cause for murder."

Kalt moves past the guard with a slight nod as she listens to the girl, her hands still clasped behind her back as she goes to make her way over the books before kneeling and . "Right then, now there's plenty safer spots up 'round to go learnin' some things an' such... Why'd you go runnin' down round here in all this unpleasentness an' such? That fella tell you to go over here?" Her attention seems to be lacking for the most part until Cassidy bat's her on the hip, causing her to speak to the woman as she reaches down to pick up one of the books and open it. "Not too terribly common an' such, least since I went an' started workin' with'em. Shanty town ain't no surprise folks gettin' murdered... But if'n you go killin' a noble I'd be figurin' you ain't gonna be takin' the time to go pulpin' their chest an' such... Not for robbin' an' such like most killin's go. Nah, this'd be somebody with a grudge, or just wantin' to get their sick thrills off an' such." The vixen going quiet as she stared at the book's contents to try and figure out what sort of dark math it was about at the least.

Issi sighs, or a message. She makes a quick shift, time to see if she was right. The guards are saying nothing about specifics, so its more than likely there's something here that's of note. The snake stops her quck scribbling for a moment taking a deep breath, making sure everything had settled down before she heads over towards the books.

Having delivered the message, Dio crumples up the piece of paper and stuffs it into his pocket. Even in Shanty Town he wouldn't litter if he could help it. Now allowed to get a bit closer, the lion listens to the story, doing his best to piece the clues together. "Killin' the noble, but leavin' the books? More than a bit strange if ya ask me." Getting a whisper from the small 'coon, the lion drops down a bit to hear better, occasionally nodding his head and looking forward during the process of it all. "Ah, right lass," he says in a similarly hushed voice, "Jus' show me where the fun is."

Valor had heard the call but was late to the party. He had his combat loadout, with his huge warhammer over his shoulder. He walks up to the guards and decided to stand just away from the guards, helping to watch for possible riff-raff or troublemakers.

The goat says "Well they were a group of cloaked figures... they came out of an alleyway and threw us against the wall before she told me to run and engaged them... I saw them stab her chest when I looked back and paniced... I called for help but no one came, I wish there were guards around this miserable town..." The guard look amongst themselves as the eel scribbles. "Did they say anything to you?" the eel says before the goat shakes her head. "Nothing..." she adds. One of the guard looks to the group and says "If theres anything you all know please share it so we can work on it, we're almost at an end until we can place anyone here..."

Arimia murmurs a reply to Dio, "Not sure yet. Started seein' things an' heard a laugh come from the crowd over that way." She waves a hand in the general direction of that chuckle, then makes her way over to the body, dodging and ignoring any attempts to keep her away, and examines the remains of the fox's chest. "There ain't guards here 'cause the cowards are afraid they'll catch apostatism from us if they stick 'round too long. An' we don' want any stickin' round here 'cause you lot can't seem to stop yourselves from abusin', verbally an' phsically, us when you are around us." She pauses and pulls at something near the waist of the corpse. A pouch. She pulls open the top, then shakes her head, tossing it on the ground, a few crown spilling out. "This weren't the work of your usual gang. They'd have robbed the noble. But the crown is still here, the books are here. I think it's someone wantin' to stir up trouble for Shanty Town. An' part of me thinks they want to do so fast, thus a murder."

Cassidy nods slowly at Kalt's words before looking towards the goat. "Not thieves, then. And a group of them? I don't know many professional assassins that work in teams, so I don't think it's that, either..." The fennec sighs and folds her arms behind her head. "I don't know what to say, then. Where did it happen? Maybe I can find some tracks or something. Which alley was it?"

Kalt furrows her brow and sets the book down as she thinks, her tail flicking as she lets out a hrm and looks around. Spotting Issi she waves the snake over as she motions to the books. "I ain't thinkin' they're nuttin' to go killin' over... Ain't nuttin' but simple stuff in this book." She blinks though when the goat speaks once more, standing as she turns to look at the body, the hammer, and then back to the goat. "... Stabbed? If'n that's the case then why go an' start smashin' a chest in with a hammer? An' why go leavin' it?" She looks to Arimia as if contemplating the bit about causing problems for shanty town before she shakes her head and just stands in thought for a moment.

Issi can only assume it was some kind of message, but what? The snake looks over the books, Cloaks, silence, no attempt to hide anything? She scribbles down a note to Kalt on another scrap of paper, passing it to her and looking over the book one more time. Was this worth killing for? There has to be a better lead that this, Dark Magic is one thing, but this is barely 'vaguely dim' magic. She keeps going through the rest of the books, not satisfied with the findings from the first.

"Oh? Is that so, lass?" Dio straightens out his posture and looks towards the area Arimia pointed. His eyes flicker here and there, peering at each individual being, hoping to discover who might not belong in such a crowd. And perhaps even find the infamous snickerer. Detective Dio was on the case! And who is this? What a strange kitsune over there. The lion breaks any eye contact he might have with him and starts moving towards the crowd until he can get beside him. He doesn't say anything quite yet, instead choosing to look forward at the body, hoping the others might pick up on his mysterious movements and position in the crowd without verbal explanation.

Valor meanders around and walks over to one of the guards. "I'm not going to pry horribly much, but is there anything that I might be able to help with? He manages to get a look at the weapon. He looked over the weapon and easily recognized the etchings on the handle. "Hmm.... Crox's handywork? Why would you want something from a no-name blacksmith like him?" He pondered out loud to himself. Kinda ironic, considering he fit that description. He walks up to the guards. "Excuse me, but I have valuable information concerning the murder. More specifically, the murder weapon, and I need a closer look."

The kitsune Dio approaches looks at him and puts a hand on his shoulder, leaning on him as he offers Dio a tiny piece of bread he takes a bite out of. "This is a shame isn't it?" he says, the rest of the crowd either agreeing or staying silent. One of the guard looks to Valor and says "If you have vital information you may look, but don't touch. I'll be watching you." as he waves Valor on. the goat frowns and shakes her head to Arimia. "If things like this can happen then this isn't a safe place, and there needs to be some roughing done to set it proper... miss Jamie..." she says. To cassidy, the goat points towards a nearby alley, which is rather blocked by the crowd at the moment.

Arimia tilts her head slightl at the goat's words and says, "Ain't no place safe, stupid bint. Someone determined to cause harm will do so, no matter where a being is." She looks back toward the dead fox, examining it's wounds before Dio's movements catches her eyes. "If that's it, bring it over!" Then she looks back at the goat. "An' if I hear you talkin' 'bout harmin' my people again, I'll start the roughin' up with you. So still your tongue, or lose it."

Cassidy catches Dio's movement and follows his lead as she nods to the goat. "Thank you, miss," she says as she skirts around the edge of the crowd. She takes up a position a bit behind the kitsune, far enough to avoid causing suspicion, hopefully. She's rather nonchalant about the whole thing, acting as if she was just wandering around to try to get a better view of what was happening in the crowd. Her eyes occasionally glance to the alley, but with it being blocked off looking is all she can do.

Kalt looks to the note and nods to Issi as she sighs. "Doesn't make much sense... Least of all, why they were trying to get such a spell from the Shanty town. Figurin' there's safer places an' such for nobles to be goin' for 'em." The vixen standing as she turns and gives a slight huff at Arimia's words. "Why don'tcha -not- go threatenin' witnesses an' such, may make more friends for once in your life you know." Her movements slow as she goes to slightly follow after Dio and Cassidy, without leaving Arimia and the Goat alone... The Vixen's curiousity of the kitsune losing out to her distrust of Arimia for the moment.

Issi grumbles. Nothing. Nothing, nothing, nothing. She huffs, closing the books. They were dark magic alright, but nothing valuable. She shakes her head, looking around the rest of the area. The books are a dud, nothing in there but a false lead. The snake moves with the group, someone apparently found something else, this might help shed some light on the rest of the case.

Dio didn't expect the kitsune to be so forward, but he keeps his cool for the moment and continues to look again. However, he decides to make his move once the bread gets shoved his way. "What 're ya doin' eatin' at a scene like this? Who could possibly even stomach some bread when yer lookin' at that?" While it pains him to waste food, the lion slaps the bread down with a heavy scowl upon his face. "An' do ya mind explanin' why ya were laughin' earlier? An' I ain't the only one who saw ya doin' that either. An' not only that, someone else is lookin' strange once ya start laughin' too. I don't see anythin' funny 'round 'ere, so perhaps ya should explain to everyone what's got ya laughin', huh," he says an accusing and scolding tone.

Valor walks over to the weapon and sets his hammer down head-first on the ground, kneeling down and getting a closer look. "Yup, its Crox's handiwork. Once again, why pick something this recognizable. I think that the assailant just walked into the market and bought from a no-name smith who wouldn't really care WHO bought their wares...." He says out loud, stating it to the group.

The guard look to Arimia and frown, one of them saying "Keep that up and you're going to have to explain yourself back in Firmament." The kitsune grins and laughs once more before he picks up his bread. "S'cuse me, but not all of us are fine flowers who wilt at the sight of blood, theres bodies all of the place, they just ain't all nobles who draw attention. You really don't belong here do you kitty?" he says with a laugh as he eats his bread. The guards take notes as Valor speaks, nodding. "Well about the magic... I understand there is a magic shop here... and it did originate here, you can't get any finer than those who invented the stuff..."

Arimia shrugs her shoulders and says, "You'd have to catch me first, an' ther ain't none been able to do that yet." She turns her attention back to the corpse and stares at it a few minutes before asking, "The attackers have anythin' particular stand out? 'Cause if not, then dead's dead, an' there ain't anythin' else that can be done here. you gotta stop bein' afraid an' think. Ain't easy, but you gotta remember all the details you can. 'Cause otherwise, we ain't gonna be able to find crap out 'bout this."

Cassidy narrows her eyes, but it seems like Dio has things under control with the kistune, so she starts to shuffle off to wiggle through the crowd, aiming for that alley. Assuming she gets there, she starts to look for the glinting object she saw. Alleyways are rarely fun places, though, so she keeps her hand near her sword, just in case.

Kalt relaxes some as she watches Arimia, nodding gently as the woman puts out a good fact. Turning then to the goat as she kneels slightly and gives a gentle smile. "Come on then, you ain't got nuttin' to fear. I ain't gonna let no folk come runnin'round an' hurt you. Just go tellin' us what you remember 'bout 'em." Her tail swaying some behind her as she does her damndest to appear as friendly and kind to the woman.

Issi scribbles down more notes, rather hurridly on anything she can hear. Anyone nearby probably now knows what its like to sit next to a court scribe. Its probably a small miracle her pen doesn't catch fire. The one issue being, nothing adds up. Witness said stabbing, but it looks like a killing with a hammer, Dark Magic worth little to nothing in terms of knowledge or monetary value, and a weapon from a small time smith. Who, cloaked and silent would want to kill a Solacious? The snake just huffs, for now, best to keep gathering information, so she keeps close to the group, darting about trying to find some connection from the evidence. She's not one for talking.

"Come now," Dio replies, crossing his arms and getting a bit annoyed with the kitsune's attitude. "I've been a mercenary fer decades, but even then, no one would ever eat bread in front o' a dead body. An' ya didn't address yer laughin'. I don't care 'ow common murder is 'ere, I never seen anyone laugh 'bout it 'less they were crazy an' did it themselves. Now I ain't sayin' ya did it directly, but I bet ya know somethin' yer not lettin' on. Kitsune 're awfully tricky. The 'orse over there mentioned where the murder weapon might've gotten purchased. If we take both ya an' yer friend yer laughin' to in yer real form, I wonder if they'd recognize ya?" The lion's gaze jumps to Arimia for a moment and locks on, staring and staring. Perhaps he wants something?

Valor stands, nodding to the guard. "That might have something to do with it, but I'm just a blacksmith. I'd recommend someone go and check Crox's sales registry. Maybe the crook was stupid enough to tell him their name. And take the weapon too. Maybe he can match a weapon to a buyer." He says, committing the image of the hammer to memory. He leans on his hammer haft, thinking and looking around, waiting for some action to be taken by the guards, and also keeping an eye on the crowd for any suspicious activity.

The Kitsune blinks and bursts into laughter. "You can take me wherevr you want I gurentee I had nothing to do with this death. I can't say you're not all going through some roadblocks, and rightly so, why are you helping them rectify some goodie goodie noble who can't be bothered to come here, lessin its to take what is rightfully ours to use and spread it elsewhere? You against business in places that aren't your little guarded hovel of a city? You think we don't want better? Nah course we don't. I find it funny, but maybe my humor isn't in tune with yours, still no reason to waste good food." The kitsune finishes his food and stretches, the rest of the crowd murmering, positively or negatively its hard to tell. The goat says "They had scars... they looks a little funny..." As Cassidy enters the alleyway a bolt fwooshes through it, well placed but glancing off their armor. The culprit seems unseen, and silent.

Arimia continues to stare at the corpse, as though committing it to memory before turning her attention back to the goat. "Looked funny how? An' what sort of scars? Jus' 'bout everyone in Shanty Town's got scars, kid. Were they on their faces or their arms? or somewhere else? An' if on their faces you can tell us what race they were an' all." She looks over toward the kitsune then and calls out, "Hey! If they wanna come here to spend their coin, let 'em! Jus' make sure to charge 'em double."

Cassidy starts to slide the disc into her pack when the bolt glances off her armour. She can't see her target, but maybe she doesn't need to. Tossing her hands up, she sends a buffeting gust of vicious, slicing winds all down the alley as she tries to assault her unseen foe in retribution. "Guards! We've got one back here!"

Kalt sighs and rubs her eyes, figuring that the goat wasn't going to be much help anymore, she went to stand and adjust her gear. Her gaze flicking over to the crowd as she frowned and shook her head as the kitsune works to provoke the crowd, well aware that wasn't something she could do much to help against... And then the call for guards from the fox by the alley alerts her and the vixen is off in a dash, her hand pulling the dark looking sword from her hip as she goes to try and take a spot at Cassidy's side and look into the alley.

Issi is not one to ignore a cry for help, she quickly stores her paper and pen, taking off after Kalt. She instantly draws her dagger, pulling off her silk blindfold. As long as no-one looks her dead in the eyes, this should be fine. She keeps her head low though, she is not one to be attacked first.

Dio grumbles under his breath and bites his lip, still quite agitated by the kitsune. However, it's not like such behavior was too abnormal in Shanty Town. The lion takes some heavy breaths in a sort of exercise until he eventually calms himself of his anger. "I see..." Hearing the call for some guards, he reaches back and unstraps the large tower shield hanging upon his back. Bringing it to his front, he clanks the bottom of it down open the floor in a loud fashion. "Looks like my friends there 're takin' care o' that situation. On' last thing before I let ya go..." The lion digs into his coat pocket and pulls out a crown worth one hundred in value, keeping it close so not many could see it. "Take off yer shirt entirely an' that'll be it from me. I'll give ya this 'ere coin if I don't find what I'm lookin' fer."

A drop of blood hits the alley before a being does an amazing flip aided by air magic over at the very least the building behind them, but the arc suggests multiple buildings may be crossed. Quite the impressive flight, although not quite silent, as the wind kicks up fiercly as they do. The goat says "They were on their arms, and they were wearing your standard grubby clothes these folks wear, dirty rags thrown overtop of some matted fur, one of them had scales and a tail." The kitsuune laughs and rips his shirt off, showing a little rib but nothing out of the ordinary. The guards respond to the call by barreling into the alley, a few of them attempting to give chase however they don't gain much ground against the rapidly departing culprit. One of the guards collects all his notes and checks down the alleyway. "Bring them back to the station we need to prepare a release on the matter."

Arimia jerks her head up at the call and starts toward the alley, one of her hands slipping into her cloak. Then there's that burst of wind, and the pink raccoon starts moving. Instead of heading for an alley she takes a running jump at a nearby building, latching the metal claws of her prosthetic hand into it and using that grip to launch herself up the side. Then she's moving swiftly and adeptly across the rooftops, eyes locking onto the fleeing being. She pushes herself to run as fast as she can, starting to gain ground, despite the headstart the being got with it's little flight.

Cassidy growls and tugs the bow off her back, rapidly preparing an arrow, but the being is out of her line of sight by the time she's ready. "Dammit! A thousand crowns to whoever finds that person and brings them to me!" She grumbles but looks around to those who came running and bows her head. "Thank you for the swift reaction. It's unfortunate that we weren't able to get them, though..."

Kalt frowns as the target takes off, causing the Vixen to sigh and straighten her posture as she sheathed the sword once more. "Well, ain't leavin' with'em it seems. Knowin' her we ain't gonna hear a peep if'n she catches 'em." The Vixen tsks slightly before nodding to the guards as she moves out of their way, her gaze settling once more on the body with a sad look. "Guessin' I'mma be goin' an' givin' bad news today an' such."

Issi looks at the top of the building, No way to get up there fast enough at this rate. Even with Arimia as backup it would be stupid to go after them alone. For all they know it could be one of a gang. She can't do much, not now. She stops and sheaths her dagger. The one time this indiscriminate Earth Magic would have come in handy...

Dio grumbles under his breath as he looks at the kitsune's torso. No identifying marks like he'd hoped. "Well, a deal's a deal. I ain't on' to go back on my word now." Regretfully, he hands over the coin just as he had promised. "An' in that deal I said I'd be done with ya, so ya can walk off an' I won't persue ya. But if yer interested, I bet ya know somethin' 'bout what's goin' on. Maybe a hint beyond what's been told. Perhaps ya know someone who'd really like to make a message like this. Perhaps the Vox? If yer up to it, there's more coin in it fer ya." The lion keeps returning his eyes to the alleyway, hoping everyone is doing alright with the attack. He hadn't heard anything for a bit.

Dio spends 100 Crown to: Handing over some crown to the kitsune.

The kitsuune snickers and takes the crown, stowing it before he says "Of course its the vox, who else? I'm off to the hammock, have a great time with your stiff." The being Arimia chases whips around and tosses a net at the incoming being, hoping to snare them, and midly succeeding, although its far from a direct or precise hit. They call back to them "If you promise nothing happens to me we can stop and chat, sound good?" The guards back at the scene are collecting the body and weapons and clearing the streets, a few thanking the gifted present for their help. "Thank you freeswords, here, for your trouble." says one as he hands out a few baggies.

Arimia doesn't seem to be giving up, despite the fact that it would be just her against the fox. When the net is tossed her way she does her best to try and avoid it, though isn't entirely successful. So instead of letting it slow her down too much she reaches into her cloak and produces a dagger, using that to cut through the net and take off again, still chasing after the being. "If you jus' wanted to talk than runnin' wasn't the right choice! It jus' screams guilt! But fine! I promise nothin' will happen to you!"

Cassidy slings her bow back over her shoulder and reaches out to rest a hand on Kalt's arm. "I can give it, if you would like. I have to go to the manor, anyway. Might as well temper the bad news with some good news, yeah?" She shakes her head and leans on the wall, checking the spot on her armour where the bolt had grazed her. "I'm glad this wasn't worse. A little to the left and that would've hurt."

Kalt sighs and shakes her head to Cassidy, offering a slight smile as she takes her rewards in hand to pocket them. "Aw no need an' such. Headin' back myself anyways an' well... It ain't gonna do if'n I don't go doin' my job an' tellin' when some such go happenin'. Thank you kindly though Ma'am." The vixen's head dipping into a bow before she goes to get the name of the departed as she left.

Issi walks out of the alley, though she sticks around a little longer. Something still bugged her, she couldn't place it though. The snake doesn't do much aside from watch the guards do their thing, keeping out of the way and once again taking more notes. Somehow she was relieved that the day seems to have gone the way it has, still if this starts to get out of hand she could just see the chaos erupting.

"Right right, the Vox 'gain," Dio comments as the kitsune walks away. "They're really steppin' up their crimes. If they keep goin' up, won't be too long 'til they try an take a royal's 'ead o' somethin'. But at least we got some clues." Curious as to what became of the alley way situation, he heads down the same way until eventually meeting up with Cassidy and the departing Kalt. "Oh!" He proclaims, noticing the spot upon the fennec's armor. "I'm glad yer alright, lass. 'fraid I didn't figure out much more information 'sides guessin' the Vox 're up to it 'gain. Do ya know where the wee little 'coon went off to?"

The fox stops running, a knife coming out as they take a step back from the 'coon. "Alright lets have a chat." they say. The rest of the guards are gone, the crowd dispersing as the group dismantles, and the heros are left standing about in shanty town to pack up their knowledge.

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-<div></div><br> <br>The city guard are in large numbers in the streets of shanty town today, many of them watching every which way and waiting on their superiors orders. A few folks stand about making records and documenting as much information as possible, and a few guards stand about trying to comfort a servant girl of a goat, who leaks fluids profusely as she occasionally glances towards a crowded body. To those who can see it, a solcaious fox lays upon the ground, their chest is almost nothing but pulp, a bloody hammer sitting to the side of it appears to be the murder weapon. "So then what happened?" a eel says to the goat as he scribbles furiously.<br> <br>Arimia is out in Shanty Town herself, not an usual place for her, especially with the guards currently infesting it. Dressed in her usual cloak hood pulled up, the short raccoon pushes her way through the crowd toward the body, likely leaving a few cuts here and there when others try to push her back. Once she's near enough to see the body she pauses, tilting her head slightly and waiting to hear what the goat has to say. Though she makes no move to keep with the crowd, apparently not caring if the guard wants her that close or not. <br> <br>Cassidy creeps onto the scene. She wasn't too far away when she heard the news, and, as always when in Shanty Town, she kept her cowl and mask up. "What have I been missing," she mutters under her breath as she skirts around the crowd, trying to see if she can recognize the poor victim. Her ears are kept alert, though tucked as they are, hoping to pick up on any stray conversations that may lead to clues.<br> <br>Kalt had heard the call, and without too many details decided it was worth a look into... And so, the Vixen was soon making her way up to the scene. Clad in her usual armor and weapons, with her solacious bannerman's sash tied around her waist. When she finally gets a look at the scene, the vixen grimaces slightly and frowns as she debates what it was she should do specifically.  Her gaze flicking around to try and spot anyone else from the house before she makes her way closer to the guards with her hands clasped behind her back. "'Scusin' me an' all, I ain't but went an' happened to go noticin' you gotta situation on you're hands an' all but eh, what might've gone on here an' such?" Her tail flicking as she'd glance back to the body before looking to them once more with concern plastered on her features.<br> <br>Less than a day back in the city and already something happens. Given all she missed, it seems like it didn't all pass by. Issi keeps an eye on the guard and another on the crowd. A killing in Shanty Town can't be uncommon, but a noble? It was worth looking in to, given what she remembers of Shanty town. First thing's first. Body. That should say something, at least. The snake worms her way to the front of the crowd, though for now just examines what she can see of the body.<br> <br>Another day, another murder in the Shanty. But this time, a noble! Someone has grown some very large family jewels. What was a noble doing over there anyways? Only one way to find out. With his typical gear of a large tower shield upon his back and a spear to compliment, Dio heads towards the scene of the crime, making his way through crowd to get a fine look upon the deceased. "O' that's an awful scene if I ever saw one," the lion comments idly, peering over the crowd and such. "Us Freeswords 're 'ere to 'elp out with the investigation if it'll let up the burden a bit."<br> <br>The guard eye Arimia, one of them attempting to gently guide her away with his sheild as he says "This area is off limits, I'm sorry." Those in the nearby the goat can hear her blubbering a bit as a tuatara puts her hand on her in an atempt to custard her. "I said I'd carry the books... that she was too good to carry those vile books she bought. Jamie was too good for it, tha disgusting magic wasn't even for her she was just being nice..." she says before she breaks down hard. The eel sighs to himself. Kalt is given a look by one of the guard, who flatly says "One of 'em nobles met an end a little early. Lookin into it." The crowd watches rather silently, a few folks complaining they're taking up the whole street.<br> <br>Arimia lets the guard start think he's guiding her away, then slips around the shield swiftly and moving past him. "Yeah. It is. So get the bloody hell out of my town. An' take your trash with you." She waves a hand at the dead noble, light glinting off the metal appendage. She then reaches up to push her hood back, making her way toward the body. "Every bloody time noble trash comes here there's trouble. Every bloody time." She lifts her gaze again then and glances around at the guards. "An' ain't nobody gonna be tellin' you louts anythin'. Freeswords they might, an' me they will. But there's only one of me." The pink raccoon shakes her head and then makes her way toward the goat. "I'd like to see these books. An' hear what you know 'bout why she needed 'em."<br> <br>Cassidy shifts her eyes around the crowd, finally managing to catch a glimpse of the body. Her face falls a little behind the mask as she recognizes their house. "Nngh. Great thing to return to." She lets her eyes roam again, first resting on Kalt's sash, then on Dio. "If there's anything I can do to help, just let me know. I'm not quite a Freesword, though. Just a concerned citizen."<br> <br>Kalt nods slightly as she looks to the guard, adjusting her gear slightly as she sighs. Her ears flicking as she listens to the woman, and furrows her brow for a moment in thought... That was unusual talk, disgusting magic and the like? Well, she could figure they may have meant dark math and such... And soon enough the Vixen gives another nod before smiling slightly to the guard. "If'n you don't be mindin', M'employed by the house that noble were in before they went an' took to bitin' dust an' such. If'n I could go an' be helpin' you an' such, M'sure the Solaciouses would be rather thankfull an' such." The vixen's tail flicks as she awaits the response, not moving from her spot as it was prime eavesdropping location for her to listen to the goat. Though she's soon to narrow her eyes as Arimia starts insulting the dead noble, the vixen scowling for a moment as she watches the raccoon before deciding her own distaste wasn't worth interupting a investigation.<br> <br>Issi gets paper and a pen out of her satchel. First word she heard she started scribbling things down for herself. Given what she knows, there would be good reason for Solacious members to need books of Dark math. She doesn't say a thing though, she just keeps scribbling down things she hears and what comes to mind about the whole affair. She worms her way back out of the crowd, seeing all she needs of the body. The snake hands a slip of paper off to Dio, though she really hopes all of her suspicions are very much wrong. Not that it changes the fact that there was a murder, but she hopes that's all it is.<br> <br>Dio listens to the story with interest, tail idly flickering back and forth here and there and probably annoying a few poor beings that manage to get in the way. "Books?" That was definitely the biggest clue to go on. Looking down, he finds a piece of paper pushed in his direction, eventually taking a moment to glance at its contents. "This lass 'ere is askin' if the books mention anythin' specific such as places o' entities. So, 're we dealin' with dark magic o' somethin'? Dark magic is nasty an' all, but it's a magic as any other really."<br> <br>The guard watch the hostile raccoon as an owl hoots "I'm sorry but we can't go around do thing that, this needs to be documented and all the information put together before any of that happens." before the eel says "Please don't bother the witness." The goat looks to Arimia and shakes her head. "They're supposed to help one understand the makings of dark magical spells, we were gathering them for someone we met on our walk around town in the central plaza, a nice young narwhal who didn't have the funds but wanted to further his education, she thought it would help him be a better spell crafter and make his own money..." Kalt is given a nod by the guard and allowed closer, Dio recieving a warm welcome as well for his offered help, and Cassidy is given a nod as the guard go about their business. The eel looks over his notes and seems to be trying to find another writing surface as his has been filled to the brim. "The books that are over there correct?" he asks as he does so, pointing to a pile of collected objects. "One moment here... and then I'll need to know what happened next.. the act itself."<br> <br>Arimia scowls at the eel and says, "I'll bother who I want in my town. I don' trust you lot to do this without exactin' retributive 'justice' on folk who don't deserve it." She looks about to say more when something seems to catch her attention causing her to stare at the body. She shakes her head slightly, an ear flicking and walks toward Dio. "Someone read through the books an' see if that's what they're for or if they're duped. Stopping near the lion she drops her voice to a low murmur and says, "Someone in the crowd's playin' tricks an' laughin' 'bout it. Think you or one of these ones you got with you can do somethin' about it?"<br> <br>Cassidy bites her lip and slides a little closer to Kalt, reaching out to lightly bat the other fox in the hip with the back of a gloved hand. "You said you work for the family, right? Is this a regular thing? Murders of the Solacious, that is. Trying to figure out if this is someone's vendetta or if this is something more. Just carrying around dark math books hardly seems like a cause for murder."<br> <br>Kalt moves past the guard with a slight nod as she listens to the girl, her hands still clasped behind her back as she goes to make her way over the books before kneeling and . "Right then, now there's plenty safer spots up 'round to go learnin' some things an' such... Why'd you go runnin' down round here in all this unpleasentness an' such? That fella tell you to go over here?" Her attention seems to be lacking for the most part until Cassidy bat's her on the hip, causing her to speak to the woman as she reaches down to pick up one of the books and open it. "Not too terribly common an' such, least since I went an' started workin' with'em. Shanty town ain't no surprise folks gettin' murdered... But if'n you go killin' a noble I'd be figurin' you ain't gonna be takin' the time to go pulpin' their chest an' such... Not for robbin' an' such like most killin's go. Nah, this'd be somebody with a grudge, or just wantin' to get their sick thrills off an' such." The vixen going quiet as she stared at the book's contents to try and figure out what sort of dark math it was about at the least.<br> <br>Issi sighs, or a message. She makes a quick shift, time to see if she was right. The guards are saying nothing about specifics, so its more than likely there's something here that's of note. The snake stops her quck scribbling for a moment taking a deep breath, making sure everything had settled down before she heads over towards the books.<br> <br>Having delivered the message, Dio crumples up the piece of paper and stuffs it into his pocket. Even in Shanty Town he wouldn't litter if he could help it. Now allowed to get a bit closer, the lion listens to the story, doing his best to piece the clues together. "Killin' the noble, but leavin' the books? More than a bit strange if ya ask me." Getting a whisper from the small 'coon, the lion drops down a bit to hear better, occasionally nodding his head and looking forward during the process of it all. "Ah, right lass," he says in a similarly hushed voice, "Jus' show me where the fun is."<br> <br>Valor had heard the call but was late to the party. He had his combat loadout, with his huge warhammer over his shoulder. He walks up to the guards and decided to stand just away from the guards, helping to watch for possible riff-raff or troublemakers.<br> <br>The goat says "Well they were a group of cloaked figures... they came out of an alleyway and threw us against the wall before she told me to run and engaged them... I saw them stab her chest when I looked back and paniced... I called for help but no one came, I wish there were guards around this miserable town..." The guard look amongst themselves as the eel scribbles. "Did they say anything to you?" the eel says before the goat shakes her head. "Nothing..." she adds. One of the guard looks to the group and says "If theres anything you all know please share it so we can work on it, we're almost at an end until we can place anyone here..."<br> <br>Arimia murmurs a reply to Dio, "Not sure yet. Started seein' things an' heard a laugh come from the crowd over that way." She waves a hand in the general direction of that chuckle, then makes her way over to the body, dodging and ignoring any attempts to keep her away, and examines the remains of the fox's chest. "There ain't guards here 'cause the cowards are afraid they'll catch apostatism from us if they stick 'round too long. An' we don' want any stickin' round here 'cause you lot can't seem to stop yourselves from abusin', verbally an' phsically, us when you are around us." She pauses and pulls at something near the waist of the corpse. A pouch. She pulls open the top, then shakes her head, tossing it on the ground, a few crown spilling out. "This weren't the work of your usual gang. They'd have robbed the noble. But the crown is still here, the books are here. I think it's someone wantin' to stir up trouble for Shanty Town. An' part of me thinks they want to do so fast, thus a murder."<br> <br>Cassidy nods slowly at Kalt's words before looking towards the goat. "Not thieves, then. And a group of them? I don't know many professional assassins that work in teams, so I don't think it's that, either..." The fennec sighs and folds her arms behind her head. "I don't know what to say, then. Where did it happen? Maybe I can find some tracks or something. Which alley was it?"<br> <br>Kalt furrows her brow and sets the book down as she thinks, her tail flicking as she lets out a hrm and looks around. Spotting Issi she waves the snake over as she motions to the books. "I ain't thinkin' they're nuttin' to go killin' over... Ain't nuttin' but simple stuff in this book." She blinks though when the goat speaks once more, standing as she turns to look at the body, the hammer, and then back to the goat. "... Stabbed? If'n that's the case then why go an' start smashin' a chest in with a hammer? An' why go leavin' it?" She looks to Arimia as if contemplating the bit about causing problems for shanty town before she shakes her head and just stands in thought for a moment.<br> <br>Issi can only assume it was some kind of message, but what? The snake looks over the books, Cloaks, silence, no attempt to hide anything? She scribbles down a note to Kalt on another scrap of paper, passing it to her and looking over the book one more time. Was this worth killing for? There has to be a better lead that this, Dark Magic is one thing, but this is barely 'vaguely dim' magic. She keeps going through the rest of the books, not satisfied with the findings from the first.
+<div></div><br> <br>The city guard are in large numbers in the streets of shanty town today, many of them watching every which way and waiting on their superiors orders. A few folks stand about making records and documenting as much information as possible, and a few guards stand about trying to comfort a servant girl of a goat, who leaks fluids profusely as she occasionally glances towards a crowded body. To those who can see it, a solcaious fox lays upon the ground, their chest is almost nothing but pulp, a bloody hammer sitting to the side of it appears to be the murder weapon. "So then what happened?" a eel says to the goat as he scribbles furiously.<br> <br>Arimia is out in Shanty Town herself, not an usual place for her, especially with the guards currently infesting it. Dressed in her usual cloak hood pulled up, the short raccoon pushes her way through the crowd toward the body, likely leaving a few cuts here and there when others try to push her back. Once she's near enough to see the body she pauses, tilting her head slightly and waiting to hear what the goat has to say. Though she makes no move to keep with the crowd, apparently not caring if the guard wants her that close or not. <br> <br>Cassidy creeps onto the scene. She wasn't too far away when she heard the news, and, as always when in Shanty Town, she kept her cowl and mask up. "What have I been missing," she mutters under her breath as she skirts around the crowd, trying to see if she can recognize the poor victim. Her ears are kept alert, though tucked as they are, hoping to pick up on any stray conversations that may lead to clues.<br> <br>Kalt had heard the call, and without too many details decided it was worth a look into... And so, the Vixen was soon making her way up to the scene. Clad in her usual armor and weapons, with her solacious bannerman's sash tied around her waist. When she finally gets a look at the scene, the vixen grimaces slightly and frowns as she debates what it was she should do specifically.  Her gaze flicking around to try and spot anyone else from the house before she makes her way closer to the guards with her hands clasped behind her back. "'Scusin' me an' all, I ain't but went an' happened to go noticin' you gotta situation on you're hands an' all but eh, what might've gone on here an' such?" Her tail flicking as she'd glance back to the body before looking to them once more with concern plastered on her features.<br> <br>Less than a day back in the city and already something happens. Given all she missed, it seems like it didn't all pass by. Issi keeps an eye on the guard and another on the crowd. A killing in Shanty Town can't be uncommon, but a noble? It was worth looking in to, given what she remembers of Shanty town. First thing's first. Body. That should say something, at least. The snake worms her way to the front of the crowd, though for now just examines what she can see of the body.<br> <br>Another day, another murder in the Shanty. But this time, a noble! Someone has grown some very large family jewels. What was a noble doing over there anyways? Only one way to find out. With his typical gear of a large tower shield upon his back and a spear to compliment, Dio heads towards the scene of the crime, making his way through crowd to get a fine look upon the deceased. "O' that's an awful scene if I ever saw one," the lion comments idly, peering over the crowd and such. "Us Freeswords 're 'ere to 'elp out with the investigation if it'll let up the burden a bit."<br> <br>The guard eye Arimia, one of them attempting to gently guide her away with his sheild as he says "This area is off limits, I'm sorry." Those in the nearby the goat can hear her blubbering a bit as a tuatara puts her hand on her in an atempt to custard her. "I said I'd carry the books... that she was too good to carry those vile books she bought. Jamie was too good for it, tha disgusting magic wasn't even for her she was just being nice..." she says before she breaks down hard. The eel sighs to himself. Kalt is given a look by one of the guard, who flatly says "One of 'em nobles met an end a little early. Lookin into it." The crowd watches rather silently, a few folks complaining they're taking up the whole street.<br> <br>Arimia lets the guard start think he's guiding her away, then slips around the shield swiftly and moving past him. "Yeah. It is. So get the bloody hell out of my town. An' take your trash with you." She waves a hand at the dead noble, light glinting off the metal appendage. She then reaches up to push her hood back, making her way toward the body. "Every bloody time noble trash comes here there's trouble. Every bloody time." She lifts her gaze again then and glances around at the guards. "An' ain't nobody gonna be tellin' you louts anythin'. Freeswords they might, an' me they will. But there's only one of me." The pink raccoon shakes her head and then makes her way toward the goat. "I'd like to see these books. An' hear what you know 'bout why she needed 'em."<br> <br>Cassidy shifts her eyes around the crowd, finally managing to catch a glimpse of the body. Her face falls a little behind the mask as she recognizes their house. "Nngh. Great thing to return to." She lets her eyes roam again, first resting on Kalt's sash, then on Dio. "If there's anything I can do to help, just let me know. I'm not quite a Freesword, though. Just a concerned citizen."<br> <br>Kalt nods slightly as she looks to the guard, adjusting her gear slightly as she sighs. Her ears flicking as she listens to the woman, and furrows her brow for a moment in thought... That was unusual talk, disgusting magic and the like? Well, she could figure they may have meant dark math and such... And soon enough the Vixen gives another nod before smiling slightly to the guard. "If'n you don't be mindin', M'employed by the house that noble were in before they went an' took to bitin' dust an' such. If'n I could go an' be helpin' you an' such, M'sure the Solaciouses would be rather thankfull an' such." The vixen's tail flicks as she awaits the response, not moving from her spot as it was prime eavesdropping location for her to listen to the goat. Though she's soon to narrow her eyes as Arimia starts insulting the dead noble, the vixen scowling for a moment as she watches the raccoon before deciding her own distaste wasn't worth interupting a investigation.<br> <br>Issi gets paper and a pen out of her satchel. First word she heard she started scribbling things down for herself. Given what she knows, there would be good reason for Solacious members to need books of Dark math. She doesn't say a thing though, she just keeps scribbling down things she hears and what comes to mind about the whole affair. She worms her way back out of the crowd, seeing all she needs of the body. The snake hands a slip of paper off to Dio, though she really hopes all of her suspicions are very much wrong. Not that it changes the fact that there was a murder, but she hopes that's all it is.<br> <br>Dio listens to the story with interest, tail idly flickering back and forth here and there and probably annoying a few poor beings that manage to get in the way. "Books?" That was definitely the biggest clue to go on. Looking down, he finds a piece of paper pushed in his direction, eventually taking a moment to glance at its contents. "This lass 'ere is askin' if the books mention anythin' specific such as places o' entities. So, 're we dealin' with dark magic o' somethin'? Dark magic is nasty an' all, but it's a magic as any other really."<br> <br>The guard watch the hostile raccoon as an owl hoots "I'm sorry but we can't go around do thing that, this needs to be documented and all the information put together before any of that happens." before the eel says "Please don't bother the witness." The goat looks to Arimia and shakes her head. "They're supposed to help one understand the makings of dark magical spells, we were gathering them for someone we met on our walk around town in the central plaza, a nice young narwhal who didn't have the funds but wanted to further his education, she thought it would help him be a better spell crafter and make his own money..." Kalt is given a nod by the guard and allowed closer, Dio recieving a warm welcome as well for his offered help, and Cassidy is given a nod as the guard go about their business. The eel looks over his notes and seems to be trying to find another writing surface as his has been filled to the brim. "The books that are over there correct?" he asks as he does so, pointing to a pile of collected objects. "One moment here... and then I'll need to know what happened next.. the act itself."<br> <br>Arimia scowls at the eel and says, "I'll bother who I want in my town. I don' trust you lot to do this without exactin' retributive 'justice' on folk who don't deserve it." She looks about to say more when something seems to catch her attention causing her to stare at the body. She shakes her head slightly, an ear flicking and walks toward Dio. "Someone read through the books an' see if that's what they're for or if they're duped. Stopping near the lion she drops her voice to a low murmur and says, "Someone in the crowd's playin' tricks an' laughin' 'bout it. Think you or one of these ones you got with you can do somethin' about it?"<br> <br>Cassidy bites her lip and slides a little closer to Kalt, reaching out to lightly bat the other fox in the hip with the back of a gloved hand. "You said you work for the family, right? Is this a regular thing? Murders of the Solacious, that is. Trying to figure out if this is someone's vendetta or if this is something more. Just carrying around dark math books hardly seems like a cause for murder."<br> <br>Kalt moves past the guard with a slight nod as she listens to the girl, her hands still clasped behind her back as she goes to make her way over the books before kneeling and . "Right then, now there's plenty safer spots up 'round to go learnin' some things an' such... Why'd you go runnin' down round here in all this unpleasentness an' such? That fella tell you to go over here?" Her attention seems to be lacking for the most part until Cassidy bat's her on the hip, causing her to speak to the woman as she reaches down to pick up one of the books and open it. "Not too terribly common an' such, least since I went an' started workin' with'em. Shanty town ain't no surprise folks gettin' murdered... But if'n you go killin' a noble I'd be figurin' you ain't gonna be takin' the time to go pulpin' their chest an' such... Not for robbin' an' such like most killin's go. Nah, this'd be somebody with a grudge, or just wantin' to get their sick thrills off an' such." The vixen going quiet as she stared at the book's contents to try and figure out what sort of dark math it was about at the least.<br> <br>Issi sighs, or a message. She makes a quick shift, time to see if she was right. The guards are saying nothing about specifics, so its more than likely there's something here that's of note. The snake stops her quck scribbling for a moment taking a deep breath, making sure everything had settled down before she heads over towards the books.<br> <br>Having delivered the message, Dio crumples up the piece of paper and stuffs it into his pocket. Even in Shanty Town he wouldn't litter if he could help it. Now allowed to get a bit closer, the lion listens to the story, doing his best to piece the clues together. "Killin' the noble, but leavin' the books? More than a bit strange if ya ask me." Getting a whisper from the small 'coon, the lion drops down a bit to hear better, occasionally nodding his head and looking forward during the process of it all. "Ah, right lass," he says in a similarly hushed voice, "Jus' show me where the fun is."<br> <br>Valor had heard the call but was late to the party. He had his combat loadout, with his huge warhammer over his shoulder. He walks up to the guards and decided to stand just away from the guards, helping to watch for possible riff-raff or troublemakers.<br> <br>The goat says "Well they were a group of cloaked figures... they came out of an alleyway and threw us against the wall before she told me to run and engaged them... I saw them stab her chest when I looked back and paniced... I called for help but no one came, I wish there were guards around this miserable town..." The guard look amongst themselves as the eel scribbles. "Did they say anything to you?" the eel says before the goat shakes her head. "Nothing..." she adds. One of the guard looks to the group and says "If theres anything you all know please share it so we can work on it, we're almost at an end until we can place anyone here..."<br> <br>Arimia murmurs a reply to Dio, "Not sure yet. Started seein' things an' heard a laugh come from the crowd over that way." She waves a hand in the general direction of that chuckle, then makes her way over to the body, dodging and ignoring any attempts to keep her away, and examines the remains of the fox's chest. "There ain't guards here 'cause the cowards are afraid they'll catch apostatism from us if they stick 'round too long. An' we don' want any stickin' round here 'cause you lot can't seem to stop yourselves from abusin', verbally an' phsically, us when you are around us." She pauses and pulls at something near the waist of the corpse. A pouch. She pulls open the top, then shakes her head, tossing it on the ground, a few crown spilling out. "This weren't the work of your usual gang. They'd have robbed the noble. But the crown is still here, the books are here. I think it's someone wantin' to stir up trouble for Shanty Town. An' part of me thinks they want to do so fast, thus a murder."<br> <br>Cassidy nods slowly at Kalt's words before looking towards the goat. "Not thieves, then. And a group of them? I don't know many professional assassins that work in teams, so I don't think it's that, either..." The fennec sighs and folds her arms behind her head. "I don't know what to say, then. Where did it happen? Maybe I can find some tracks or something. Which alley was it?"<br> <br>Kalt furrows her brow and sets the book down as she thinks, her tail flicking as she lets out a hrm and looks around. Spotting Issi she waves the snake over as she motions to the books. "I ain't thinkin' they're nuttin' to go killin' over... Ain't nuttin' but simple stuff in this book." She blinks though when the goat speaks once more, standing as she turns to look at the body, the hammer, and then back to the goat. "... Stabbed? If'n that's the case then why go an' start smashin' a chest in with a hammer? An' why go leavin' it?" She looks to Arimia as if contemplating the bit about causing problems for shanty town before she shakes her head and just stands in thought for a moment.<br> <br>Issi can only assume it was some kind of message, but what? The snake looks over the books, Cloaks, silence, no attempt to hide anything? She scribbles down a note to Kalt on another scrap of paper, passing it to her and looking over the book one more time. Was this worth killing for? There has to be a better lead that this, Dark Magic is one thing, but this is barely 'vaguely dim' magic. She keeps going through the rest of the books, not satisfied with the findings from the first.<br> <br>"Oh? Is that so, lass?" Dio straightens out his posture and looks towards the area Arimia pointed. His eyes flicker here and there, peering at each individual being, hoping to discover who might not belong in such a crowd. And perhaps even find the infamous snickerer. Detective Dio was on the case! And who is this? What a strange kitsune over there. The lion breaks any eye contact he might have with him and starts moving towards the crowd until he can get beside him. He doesn't say anything quite yet, instead choosing to look forward at the body, hoping the others might pick up on his mysterious movements and position in the crowd without verbal explanation.<br> <br>Valor meanders around and walks over to one of the guards. "I'm not going to pry horribly much, but is there anything that I might be able to help with? He manages to get a look at the weapon. He looked over the weapon and easily recognized the etchings on the handle. "Hmm.... Crox's handywork? Why would you want something from a no-name blacksmith like him?" He pondered out loud to himself. Kinda ironic, considering he fit that description. He walks up to the guards. "Excuse me, but I have valuable information concerning the murder. More specifically, the murder weapon, and I need a closer look."<br> <br>The kitsune Dio approaches looks at him and puts a hand on his shoulder, leaning on him as he offers Dio a tiny piece of bread he takes a bite out of. "This is a shame isn't it?" he says, the rest of the crowd either agreeing or staying silent. One of the guard looks to Valor and says "If you have vital information you may look, but don't touch. I'll be watching you." as he waves Valor on. the goat frowns and shakes her head to Arimia. "If things like this can happen then this isn't a safe place, and there needs to be some roughing done to set it proper... miss Jamie..." she says. To cassidy, the goat points towards a nearby alley, which is rather blocked by the crowd at the moment.<br> <br>Arimia tilts her head slightl at the goat's words and says, "Ain't no place safe, stupid bint. Someone determined to cause harm will do so, no matter where a being is." She looks back toward the dead fox, examining it's wounds before Dio's movements catches her eyes. "If that's it, bring it over!" Then she looks back at the goat. "An' if I hear you talkin' 'bout harmin' my people again, I'll start the roughin' up with you. So still your tongue, or lose it."<br> <br>Cassidy catches Dio's movement and follows his lead as she nods to the goat. "Thank you, miss," she says as she skirts around the edge of the crowd. She takes up a position a bit behind the kitsune, far enough to avoid causing suspicion, hopefully. She's rather nonchalant about the whole thing, acting as if she was just wandering around to try to get a better view of what was happening in the crowd. Her eyes occasionally glance to the alley, but with it being blocked off looking is all she can do.<br> <br>Kalt looks to the note and nods to Issi as she sighs. "Doesn't make much sense... Least of all, why they were trying to get such a spell from the Shanty town. Figurin' there's safer places an' such for nobles to be goin' for 'em." The vixen standing as she turns and gives a slight huff at Arimia's words. "Why don'tcha -not- go threatenin' witnesses an' such, may make more friends for once in your life you know." Her movements slow as she goes to slightly follow after Dio and Cassidy, without leaving Arimia and the Goat alone... The Vixen's curiousity of the kitsune losing out to her distrust of Arimia for the moment. <br> <br>Issi grumbles. Nothing. Nothing, nothing, nothing. She huffs, closing the books. They were dark magic alright, but nothing valuable. She shakes her head, looking around the rest of the area. The books are a dud, nothing in there but a false lead. The snake moves with the group, someone apparently found something else, this might help shed some light on the rest of the case.<br> <br>Dio didn't expect the kitsune to be so forward, but he keeps his cool for the moment and continues to look again. However, he decides to make his move once the bread gets shoved his way. "What 're ya doin' eatin' at a scene like this? Who could possibly even stomach some bread when yer lookin' at that?" While it pains him to waste food, the lion slaps the bread down with a heavy scowl upon his face. "An' do ya mind explanin' why ya were laughin' earlier? An' I ain't the only one who saw ya doin' that either. An' not only that, someone else is lookin' strange once ya start laughin' too. I don't see anythin' funny 'round 'ere, so perhaps ya should explain to everyone what's got ya laughin', huh," he says an accusing and scolding tone.<br> <br>Valor walks over to the weapon and sets his hammer down head-first on the ground, kneeling down and getting a closer look. "Yup, its Crox's handiwork. Once again, why pick something this recognizable. I think that the assailant just walked into the market and bought from a no-name smith who wouldn't really care WHO bought their wares...." He says out loud, stating it to the group.  <br> <br>The guard look to Arimia and frown, one of them saying "Keep that up and you're going to have to explain yourself back in Firmament." The kitsune grins and laughs once more before he picks up his bread. "S'cuse me, but not all of us are fine flowers who wilt at the sight of blood, theres bodies all of the place, they just ain't all nobles who draw attention. You really don't belong here do you kitty?" he says with a laugh as he eats his bread. The guards take notes as Valor speaks, nodding. "Well about the magic... I understand there is a magic shop here... and it did originate here, you can't get any finer than those who invented the stuff..."<br> <br>Arimia shrugs her shoulders and says, "You'd have to catch me first, an' ther ain't none been able to do that yet." She turns her attention back to the corpse and stares at it a few minutes before asking, "The attackers have anythin' particular stand out? 'Cause if not, then dead's dead, an' there ain't anythin' else that can be done here. you gotta stop bein' afraid an' think. Ain't easy, but you gotta remember all the details you can. 'Cause otherwise, we ain't gonna be able to find crap out 'bout this."<br> <br>Cassidy narrows her eyes, but it seems like Dio has things under control with the kistune, so she starts to shuffle off to wiggle through the crowd, aiming for that alley. Assuming she gets there, she starts to look for the glinting object she saw. Alleyways are rarely fun places, though, so she keeps her hand near her sword, just in case.<br> <br>Kalt relaxes some as she watches Arimia, nodding gently as the woman puts out a good fact. Turning then to the goat as she kneels slightly and gives a gentle smile. "Come on then, you ain't got nuttin' to fear. I ain't gonna let no folk come runnin'round an' hurt you. Just go tellin' us what you remember 'bout 'em." Her tail swaying some behind her as she does her damndest to appear as friendly and kind to the woman.<br> <br>Issi scribbles down more notes, rather hurridly on anything she can hear. Anyone nearby probably now knows what its like to sit next to a court scribe. Its probably a small miracle her pen doesn't catch fire. The one issue being, nothing adds up. Witness said stabbing, but it looks like a killing with a hammer, Dark Magic worth little to nothing in terms of knowledge or monetary value, and a weapon from a small time smith. Who, cloaked and silent would want to kill a Solacious? The snake just huffs, for now, best to keep gathering information, so she keeps close to the group, darting about trying to find some connection from the evidence. She's not one for talking.<br> <br>"Come now," Dio replies, crossing his arms and getting a bit annoyed with the kitsune's attitude. "I've been a mercenary fer decades, but even then, no one would ever eat bread in front o' a dead body. An' ya didn't address yer laughin'. I don't care 'ow common murder is 'ere, I never seen anyone laugh 'bout it 'less they were crazy an' did it themselves. Now I ain't sayin' ya did it directly, but I bet ya know somethin' yer not lettin' on. Kitsune 're awfully tricky. The 'orse over there mentioned where the murder weapon might've gotten purchased. If we take both ya an' yer friend yer laughin' to in yer real form, I wonder if they'd recognize ya?" The lion's gaze jumps to Arimia for a moment and locks on, staring and staring. Perhaps he wants something?<br> <br>Valor stands, nodding to the guard. "That might have something to do with it, but I'm just a blacksmith. I'd recommend someone go and check Crox's sales registry. Maybe the crook was stupid enough to tell him their name. And take the weapon too. Maybe he can match a weapon to a buyer." He says, committing the image of the hammer to memory. He leans on his hammer haft, thinking and looking around, waiting for some action to be taken by the guards, and also keeping an eye on the crowd for any suspicious activity.<br> <br>The Kitsune blinks and bursts into laughter. "You can take me wherevr you want I gurentee I had nothing to do with this death. I can't say you're not all going through some roadblocks, and rightly so, why are you helping them rectify some goodie goodie noble who can't be bothered to come here, lessin its to take what is rightfully ours to use and spread it elsewhere? You against business in places that aren't your little guarded hovel of a city? You think we don't want better? Nah course we don't. I find it funny, but maybe my humor isn't in tune with yours, still no reason to waste good food." The kitsune finishes his food and stretches, the rest of the crowd murmering, positively or negatively its hard to tell. The goat says "They had scars... they looks a little funny..." As Cassidy enters the alleyway a bolt fwooshes through it, well placed but glancing off their armor. The culprit seems unseen, and silent.<br> <br>Arimia continues to stare at the corpse, as though committing it to memory before turning her attention back to the goat. "Looked funny how? An' what sort of scars? Jus' 'bout everyone in Shanty Town's got scars, kid. Were they on their faces or their arms? or somewhere else? An' if on their faces you can tell us what race they were an' all." She looks over toward the kitsune then and calls out, "Hey! If they wanna come here to spend their coin, let 'em! Jus' make sure to charge 'em double."<br> <br>Cassidy starts to slide the disc into her pack when the bolt glances off her armour. She can't see her target, but maybe she doesn't need to. Tossing her hands up, she sends a buffeting gust of vicious, slicing winds all down the alley as she tries to assault her unseen foe in retribution. "Guards! We've got one back here!"<br> <br>Kalt sighs and rubs her eyes, figuring that the goat wasn't going to be much help anymore, she went to stand and adjust her gear. Her gaze flicking over to the crowd as she frowned and shook her head as the kitsune works to provoke the crowd, well aware that wasn't something she could do much to help against... And then the call for guards from the fox by the alley alerts her and the vixen is off in a dash, her hand pulling the dark looking sword from her hip as she goes to try and take a spot at Cassidy's side and look into the alley.<br> <br>Issi is not one to ignore a cry for help, she quickly stores her paper and pen, taking off after Kalt. She instantly draws her dagger, pulling off her silk blindfold. As long as no-one looks her dead in the eyes, this should be fine. She keeps her head low though, she is not one to be attacked first.<br> <br>Dio grumbles under his breath and bites his lip, still quite agitated by the kitsune. However, it's not like such behavior was too abnormal in Shanty Town. The lion takes some heavy breaths in a sort of exercise until he eventually calms himself of his anger. "I see..." Hearing the call for some guards, he reaches back and unstraps the large tower shield hanging upon his back. Bringing it to his front, he clanks the bottom of it down open the floor in a loud fashion. "Looks like my friends there 're takin' care o' that situation. On' last thing before I let ya go..." The lion digs into his coat pocket and pulls out a crown worth one hundred in value, keeping it close so not many could see it. "Take off yer shirt entirely an' that'll be it from me. I'll give ya this 'ere coin if I don't find what I'm lookin' fer."<br> <br>A drop of blood hits the alley before a being does an amazing flip aided by air magic over at the very least the building behind them, but the arc suggests multiple buildings may be crossed. Quite the impressive flight, although not quite silent, as the wind kicks up fiercly as they do. The goat says "They were on their arms, and they were wearing your standard grubby clothes these folks wear, dirty rags thrown overtop of some matted fur, one of them had scales and a tail." The kitsuune laughs and rips his shirt off, showing a little rib but nothing out of the ordinary. The guards respond to the call by barreling into the alley, a few of them attempting to give chase however they don't gain much ground against the rapidly departing culprit. One of the guards collects all his notes and checks down the alleyway. "Bring them back to the station we need to prepare a release on the matter."<br> <br>Arimia jerks her head up at the call and starts toward the alley, one of her hands slipping into her cloak. Then there's that burst of wind, and the pink raccoon starts moving. Instead of heading for an alley she takes a running jump at a nearby building, latching the metal claws of her prosthetic hand into it and using that grip to launch herself up the side. Then she's moving swiftly and adeptly across the rooftops, eyes locking onto the fleeing being. She pushes herself to run as fast as she can, starting to gain ground, despite the headstart the being got with it's little flight. <br> <br>Cassidy growls and tugs the bow off her back, rapidly preparing an arrow, but the being is out of her line of sight by the time she's ready. "Dammit! A thousand crowns to whoever finds that person and brings them to me!" She grumbles but looks around to those who came running and bows her head. "Thank you for the swift reaction. It's unfortunate that we weren't able to get them, though..."<br> <br>Kalt frowns as the target takes off, causing the Vixen to sigh and straighten her posture as she sheathed the sword once more. "Well, ain't leavin' with'em it seems. Knowin' her we ain't gonna hear a peep if'n she catches 'em." The Vixen tsks slightly before nodding to the guards as she moves out of their way, her gaze settling once more on the body with a sad look. "Guessin' I'mma be goin' an' givin' bad news today an' such."<br> <br>Issi looks at the top of the building, No way to get up there fast enough at this rate. Even with Arimia as backup it would be  stupid to go after them alone. For all they know it could be one of a gang. She can't do much, not now. She stops and sheaths her dagger. The one time this indiscriminate Earth Magic would have come in handy...<br> <br>Dio grumbles under his breath as he looks at the kitsune's torso. No identifying marks like he'd hoped. "Well, a deal's a deal. I ain't on' to go back on my word now." Regretfully, he hands over the coin just as he had promised. "An' in that deal I said I'd be done with ya, so ya can walk off an' I won't persue ya. But if yer interested, I bet ya know somethin' 'bout what's goin' on. Maybe a hint beyond what's been told. Perhaps ya know someone who'd really like to make a message like this. Perhaps the Vox? If yer up to it, there's more coin in it fer ya." The lion keeps returning his eyes to the alleyway, hoping everyone is doing alright with the attack. He hadn't heard anything for a bit.<br> <br>Dio spends 100 Crown to: Handing over some crown to the kitsune.<br> <br>The kitsuune snickers and takes the crown, stowing it before he says "Of course its the vox, who else? I'm off to the hammock, have a great time with your stiff." The being Arimia chases whips around and tosses a net at the incoming being, hoping to snare them, and midly succeeding, although its far from a direct or precise hit. They call back to them "If you promise nothing happens to me we can stop and chat, sound good?" The guards back at the scene are collecting the body and weapons and clearing the streets, a few thanking the gifted present for their help. "Thank you freeswords, here, for your trouble." says one as he hands out a few baggies.<br> <br>Arimia doesn't seem to be giving up, despite the fact that it would be just her against the fox. When the net is tossed her way she does her best to try and avoid it, though isn't entirely successful. So instead of letting it slow her down too much she reaches into her cloak and produces a dagger, using that to cut through the net and take off again, still chasing after the being. "If you jus' wanted to talk than runnin' wasn't the right choice! It jus' screams guilt! But fine! I promise nothin' will happen to you!"<br> <br>Cassidy slings her bow back over her shoulder and reaches out to rest a hand on Kalt's arm. "I can give it, if you would like. I have to go to the manor, anyway. Might as well temper the bad news with some good news, yeah?" She shakes her head and leans on the wall, checking the spot on her armour where the bolt had grazed her. "I'm glad this wasn't worse. A little to the left and that would've hurt."<br> <br>Kalt sighs and shakes her head to Cassidy, offering a slight smile as she takes her rewards in hand to pocket them. "Aw no need an' such. Headin' back myself anyways an' well... It ain't gonna do if'n I don't go doin' my job an' tellin' when some such go happenin'. Thank you kindly though Ma'am." The vixen's head dipping into a bow before she goes to get the name of the departed as she left.<br> <br>Issi walks out of the alley, though she sticks around a little longer. Something still bugged her, she couldn't place it though. The snake doesn't do much aside from watch the guards do their thing, keeping out of the way and once again taking more notes. Somehow she was relieved that the day seems to have gone the way it has, still if this starts to get out of hand she could just see the chaos erupting.<br> <br>"Right right, the Vox 'gain," Dio comments as the kitsune walks away. "They're really steppin' up their crimes. If they keep goin' up, won't be too long 'til they try an take a royal's 'ead o' somethin'. But at least we got some clues." Curious as to what became of the alley way situation, he heads down the same way until eventually meeting up with Cassidy and the departing Kalt. "Oh!" He proclaims, noticing the spot upon the fennec's armor. "I'm glad yer alright, lass. 'fraid I didn't figure out much more information 'sides guessin' the Vox 're up to it 'gain. Do ya know where the wee little 'coon went off to?"<br> <br>The fox stops running, a knife coming out as they take a step back from the 'coon. "Alright lets have a chat." they say. The rest of the guards are gone, the crowd dispersing as the group dismantles, and the heros are left standing about in shanty town to pack up their knowledge.[[Category:RPLogs]]

Difference between revisions of "Solacious murdered - RPLOG"

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