Event: Think of the Children

Mission 13
Think of the Children Live Event
__TOC__
Prologue
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It’s nearing noon in Aether, but even the sun at its highest doesn’t offer much protection from the chill in the air. Those without proper protection from the cold hurry their business along to find respite by a fire, or at least out of the open. Inside, ‘mons are protected from the frigid winds, but large, wide open chambers still allow the cold to settle in the air.
Tara tightens her coil, begrudgingly aware that she should have worn a cloak. She does a good job of hiding the discomfort on her face as she finishes her meeting, and bids the ‘mon a farewell after they bow to her. She sighs once the door closes behind them and rests her chin on her coiled body.
: Wasss there anyone elssse?
: Matteo did send a courier in earlier requesting an audience before noon, but no one has seen head nor tail of him...
: How odd; he’sss not one to misss meetingsss, essspecially not the onesss he petitionsss.
: Sso, we are finissshed for the moment, then?
: Yes, with Matteo’s disappearance, there is nothing pressing left, though there have been several informal requests for news on the king.
: That newsss will have to come from Guinevere, I’m afraid, and sshe’sss quite bussy thesse daysss…
: Too busy to attend wholly to the king?
: Ssshe hasss more than one patiient - and her mosst reccent onesss are outsside the casstle wallsss.
: (squinting) She didn’t share this with me, how is-?
A knock on the door interrupts him - well, it was more a dull THUD, as if someone had chosen to slam their own head against the door rather than knocking. The door opens a second later, and Dac pops his head in the room.
: Perdone? Señor Gaius, mi Reina?
: Yes, Dac?
: Señor Bál is here to see yo-
 & Gaius Shocked.png|baseline|150px]]: Bál?!
: Quite th’ welcome.
The Typhlosion in question enters the room in a casual stride, taking off a large cloak and draping it over his arm as he does so. He offers the Arbok a quick bow.
: Bál, you musst hurry, Alaric-
: Needs me, yea, I he’rd.
: Where are Gawain and Nicholas?
: Back in Veeth’fölnir; Nicholas got sick, so I though’ it bes’ he remain wit’ healers there. Gawain stay’d wit’ him, an’ th’ Jarl is my friend, he’s in good claws.
: I see… Is there any way we can get into contact with them?
: (shrugging) If you’ve got a courier free, th’n I can give you direc’ions an’ a letter of transit.
: Poor Koji, he hates the cold.
: If you have the letter on you, give it Gaiusss and then go sssee Alaric!
: Didn’t brin’ one pre-written, but I can write an’ talk at th’ same time, jus’ bring me some ink an’ parchmen’.
: Dac, sssee to it.
: Eh? I- vale, mi Reina.
Dac shuffles himself out of the room, and the door closes behind him. The three ‘mons look to return to their previous discussion, but a loud WAAH! out of the door catches their attention, and they look back again. Slowly, the door opens once more, and Dac pokes his head into the room, stray bits of confetti fluttering off of him.
: Señora Guinevere is here.
Dac’s head disappears once and Guinevere stomps into the chamber. She’s generally not what one would call an optimistic ‘mon, but the scowl she enters the room wearing is enough to strip all joy from a wedding.
: Your highness, I’m requesting aid in the outskirts immediately. I’m up to my vines in work with this rubbish.
: What’sss wrong, Gwen?
: I’m swiftly running out of supplies, I have dozens of ill children to treat in the poorest area of Aether, and I can barely work in the conditions without risking illness or injury myself.
: I knew your tripsss to the orphanage had become more frequent of late, but I didn’t realizzze-
 Of course you didn’t - no one did, that’s how things got as bad as they did.
: But you can simply acquire medicine and distribute it to the children, yes?
: Acquiring medicine depends on what the crown allocates me, or if the Artificer Union is feeling generous-
: Somet’ing I could ‘rrange.
Everyone looked to the Typhlosion in surprise, some because of the nature of what he proposed, some because, after his long period of silence, they had simply forgotten he was there. His first response to their stares is a causal shrug.
: ‘S within my power. Madhavi’s due to receive a shipmen’ sometime this evening; medicine migh’ not be among th’ goods she ordered, but havin’ someone as business-minded as Madhavi wit’ you would improve organization greatly, an’ having a leader of th’ Ar’ificer’s Union aroun’ would limit th’ amount of cheap tricks other tradesmen migh’ try to pull.
: That would solve a few of my problems, yes.
: Consider ’em solved; (turning to Gaius) I’m going to need ano’her piece of parchmen’.
: I’ll contact a scribe.
: Now, tha’s only solved a few of your problems, name some o’hers.
: Well… I think the other most pressing issue is that I don’t feel safe in the outskirts.
: Because of the rogues in the area?
: If you ask me, everyone in the area is dubious at best, but yes, they are a concern.
: Well… I’m not sure how much we can do to address that with Gawain gone. There’s no one else who’s quite as good at rallying the warriors.
: I could send someone from th’ Free Swords to oversee e’eryt’ing.
: Cecil?
: (shaking his head) No, but I have someone in mind - an’ I’ll need a third piece of parchmen’.
: Very well.
: Right - (she huffs impatiently) - medicccine from the Artificcer’sss Union, protection via the Free Sswordsss, anything elssse?
: I could use some assistants to help with the children - keep them occupied and cheer them up.
: Distrac’ them from t’e cruel reality ‘round ‘em, got it. I’ll see to it tha’ Matteo is sent to th’ outskirts.
: Matteo?
: (he cocks a brow) Would you prefer ei’her of th’ children I am unwillingly task’d wit’ watching o’er?
: I am happy to have Matteo’s assistance.
: Thought as much. (He gestures to Gaius.) I’m going to need a fourth piece of parchmen’.
: At this rate, you’ll be writing throughout your talking with the king…
: Find someone else who can solve your problems, an’ my paws will be free.
: Isss that everything you need, Gwen?
: It’ll do.
: Good. (She turns to Bál.) May we pleassse go sssee Alaric now?
: Aye.
With Bál’s attention finally back on the king, Tara slithers behind the throne and off to a side entrance, waiting only for the Typhlosion to reach her before she continued her path. She rushes her way through the hall, slow enough for it to be a brisk slither for her, but fast enough for Bál to need to jog to keep up.
With their brisk pace, the two ‘mons quickly reach the hall that housed Alaric’s bedchamber, but the sound of claws tapping against the stone floors stops suddenly. Tara stops herself outside of her husband’s room and looks back, only to see Bál staring down one of the guards, a short Murkrow. The bird offers Bál a salute and, after a few seconds, Bál moves on and rejoins her.
Far from the affluency and security of the castle, the Malevolent Mistress enjoys its regular ambience: smoke thick enough to obscure vision and laced with enough of that special something to drop a Donphan fills the air; seedy customers discuss business over drinks in hushed tones; and rowdy, nasty crime boys made a mess of the place, throwing everything from bottles to tables to ‘mons. It was a real wonder how Umbra’s backroom is so quiet - well, compared to the rest of the establishment.
The Zoroark’s chair might have been leaned back, and his feet might have been up, but he is anything but relaxed as he works, each claw separating a different piece of parchment as he read and cross-referenced his work. A knock on the door is sudden and unexpected, and a snarl curls onto his face at the sudden distraction.
: I keep this room reserved at all times for a reason - it’s for my use alone, and I get to decide when and when not others can utilize this room.
: Ergo, kindly turn yourself around, and make sure to step on every broken bottle you can see on your way to walk directly off of the pier, you tutmouthed dalcop.
: Comm-onnnnnnnnnnn, Umbra, don’t be like that to a couple o’ friendly magsmen!
The voice, lackadaisical and smooth, confuses Umbra for a moment, but realization soon hits him; regret and exasperation follow not a second after. He sets his work down, rises from his seat, crosses the length of the room, and opens the door, grinning widely down at the three ‘mons outside of it.
: My my, if it isn’t Itzal’s favourite fonkins. Last I heard, he had you three running around the streets of Voluntas for something or other months ago. Do tell what took you three so long to get back? Didn’t get lost in the sewers, now did we?
: Finished a while ago, but Ser Space over here took us on a last-minute pilgrimage to get some supplies for… something, I don’t remember, or care, really.
: You’ll thank me later once you see what it does~!
: As much as I would love to pretend that is delightful, it truly could not be farther from the case, so I’ll just let you know that you have exactly ten seconds to tell me what you want before I slam the door in your faces. Go fast, boys.
: S’not what we want, but something you’d want.
: (He pauses and smiles at the crow.) Right, you. I had forgotten that Itzal had hired someone halfway competent, or at least pretends to be.
: You dare to say you know what I want? Go on, then, let’s hear what’s so pressing?
: Was up at the castle an hour ago, heard that those royal bastards are planning on sending a bunch of ‘mon down here soon.
: What?!
: Yeah, and not just warriors too, but denizens and tradesmen, just to really be annoying and get in your business.
: Pray tell, what has caused those so pure on high to look upon our sorry home and grace it with their presence?
: The crazy lae-day dinosaur is looking to poke around the orphanage, try to help those sick suckling maggots out; waste of time and medicine, just give kids that future potion and they feel better in no time, I always say.
: Yes, yes, you and your space juice. (pinches the bridge of his nose) Is that all they want? Just to help those kids?
: Well, that’s all the nurse wants, who knows what the tradesmen and warriors will want.
: (he grunts, but it comes out as more of a growl) Who indeed.
: What will you three be doing?
: Never liked kids. If any come near me, I’ll knife them.
: How very honest and deranged of you. What about you, just slightly more sane, two?
: I’m going to contact Shiny and learn the future~
: Hard drugs, understood.
: I’m going to be keeping them out of trouble.
: I have precious little confidence that you will succeed.
: I do as well. (They ruffle their feathers as they turn.) You know where to find us, Umbra.
With those parting words, the crow leads his companies away from the door - well, he tries to, they’re both distracted, the Scraggy by a large coat slung over a chair, and the Croagunk by the reflection of light off of a shot glass. In the end, the Murkrow has to slap both of them with his wings to get them to start moving.
They get maybe a meter away from the door before Umbra can hear them begin to whisper-
: Where is he gunna find us? I’d don’t actually know where we’re going.
: Shut up.
: Can it be the sewers? I need some things for my potion, and I think the fungus down there would-
: SHUT UP! I CAN’T TAKE YOU GUYS ANYWHERE!
: This is going to be an awful night for me.
Disclaimer:
These are the series of events of that led to the discovery of the murderer and their capture. This journal is meant to explain to everyone what specific steps were taken in the process of revealing the murderer, and not everyone’s actions contributed to this. Even if your isn’t mentioned here, their actions still happened and are canon in the events of the evening, and will be remembered by S.NPCs!
What is reported here are the chronological events that took place from the start of the evening, to the beginning of the RP Event Epilogue. These events tie in together and lead to the reveal of the murderer.
Yazzy's Special Guide
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It’s late, maybe a few hours before midnight, but the market square is alive with action. No one’s actually selling wares right now, but it’s full of ‘mons, in groups and alone, that whisper and wonder to themselves and with others. Many ‘mons saw the extra large squadron of warriors lead what looked to be a member of their own guard through the area and towards the barracks - towards the prison - and word spread fast. ‘Mons were confused and wanted answers… lucky for them, someone was willing to supply them.
Said ‘mon took several massive leaps up the stone fountain on one side of the square until they came to the top of it. They cleared their throat, and then cupped their hands around their mouth.
: Heelllllloooooo, fabulous people!!
All attention went to the Croagunk, and he smiled lazily.
: I’m here to, clear the air, as they say, about that child’s murder at the Outskirts tonight.
There’s murmuring among the crowds, but, slowly, several groups of ‘mons make their way over towards the fountain, and it’s not long before most of the square is standing in a half-circle around it. The frog takes a long drag of a pipe, and breathes out multi-colored smoke upon exhaling.
: Don’t you worry a thing, lovies, I got my friend, Shiny!! Shiny knows EV’ERY-THING about ANYTHING, so you’ll get the story as it happened~!
With those words said, the alchemist pulls a potion out of his bag and plucks the cork out of it. He throws his head back and downs the potion in a few quick gulps. He stumbles a few paces, and then goes still - his pupils go impossibly wide. Then, a lazy smile spreads across his face.
: Oookay, Shiny~ You narrator, I’ll repeat, let’s get this story underway!
The Croagunk pauses for a minute, nodding his head and humming occasionally, but then begins to speak…
: Starting off, Alistair and Anne show up to the orphanage with their cart, and leave the cart alone. This action has consequences, because the cart is stolen by five nasty crime boys who were pretending to be beggars. The nasty crime boys use the cart to smuggle all of their drugs out of the Outskirts and to the port.
: Meanwhile, at the Far Away Wife, Hanakahi - who arrived to the area a few hours before Alistair and Anne - is making friends with the patrons, bartender, and owner. He does this in a way that no one could possibly guess and I will not repeat, because I looove to leave ‘mons with a sense of wonder~
: As this is going on, Gwyn meets up with myself, Faridoon, and Kar in the sewers. He devises a plan to sneak us out by hiding us in his coat. It works and he drops us off in the Deep Ditch Inn, where we manage to hide and lay-low until we find a good time to escape.
: Gwyn meets up with Alistair, Anne, and Kazuki - who hides his true identity with some amaaazing puppy-dog eyes - at the orphanage. The four of them make their way to the docks, where they see the nasty crime boys with Alistair and Anne’s stolen cart. Alistair, Anne, and Kazuki chase after them, and Gwyn follows with the hopes of saving the nasty crime boys. The foursome manage to stop the cart from running off of a cliff and Gwyn manages to save all of the nasty crime boys from death, only for Anne, Alistair, and Kazuki to fall unconscious from some mysterious substance.
: The bartender from the Malevolent Mistress appears, nasty crime boys in tow, and thanks Gwyn for all of his help. He reveals that he unleashed the substance to make the other three ‘mons pass out, and gives Gwen an antidote because the knock-out drug is unfortunately common in the area. Gwyn uses an antidote to wake up Alistair, Kazuki, and Anne, but Kazuki and Anne are still reeling from the effects of the drug.
: While all of that was happening, Hanakahi was at the Lighthouse speaking with the guard David. David hears the noise from the cart chase and goes to investigate, leaving Hanakahi alone at the Lighthouse. Hanakahi explores and finds “David’s Special Lovesack”. He makes the incredibly wise choice of not looking inside, but sends it to the orphanage. This action has consequences.
: At this point, David has made his way to the drug cart. He gets too close to it, however, and passes out on the spot. The patrons of the Far Away Wife and Deep Ditch Inn come to investigate the noise from the cart chase as well, but the patrons of the Deep Ditch Inn end up passing out as well. The Tentacruel bartender from the Deep Ditch Inn, however, manages to stay conscious, and buys the drug cart off of Alistair. Alistair is left with several pieces of supplies that had been stolen off of the Artificer's Union, but also with his moral compass reeling.
: Me and my partners get some of the drugs from the drug cart from the bartender and then sneak back to the sewers - there was just too much activity on the docks and we were worried about getting caught. We don’t blame Gwen though, he couldn’t have known about all that hoopscotch with the cart happening.
: Around this time, Hanakahi figures out who the murderer is - because he is literally the only doing actual investigation at this point - and gathers enough information to prove their guilt, but then quickly realizes that the murderer is standing directly next to Madhavi, the person he needs to report all of his findings to.
: Not wanting to put Madhavi in danger, Hanakahi runs to the sewers and speaks with me and my partners! He asks us for our hardest drugs, and I promise to give him some in exchange for some supplies - what can I say? Nothing’s free in this world~
: While Hanakahi goes out to get us some supplies, Skjern comes down into the sewers and starts talking to us. I don’t remember the conversation, but Kar says he was being “accusative and tactless” and he asked me to throw my special mix at him, so I did. He exited the sewers and made the mistake of licking my special mix and went on a drug-induced hazey adventure.
: As that adventure is happening, Anne and Jay are both in the Far Away Wife. Jay tries to pickpocket a Hitmonlee but it doesn’t go to plan. Tabby, the owner of the tavern, ends up throwing said Hitmonlee onto the bar counter, and Anne ends up covered in booze.
: Meanwhile, Alistair, who has learned the location of Atuf from Matron Seba, learns of the Matron’s special artifact, a bone amulet with a red lace, that the murderer should still have on them. Because the amulet is an artifact soul-bound to Matron Seba, it makes a noise whenever it is not held by her. After sharing his information with Alistair, Atuf leaves and ends up flying head-first into booze-sticky Anne on his way out, giving her a mild concussion.
: Alistair and Anne reunite and together try to figure out who the murderer is. In the process of their investigating, however, they alert the murderer that they are still holding the one piece of evidence that ties them to the crime: the amulet. The murderer drops the amulet into a barrel of water to quiet the sound the amulet makes and not look suspicious. Alistair and Anne fail to locate the source of the noise and end up leaving the Port Town.
: As Alistair and Anne leave, the murderer takes the amulet out of the barrel so they may properly dispose it, however, Skjern, still on his drug-adventure, arrives before he can do so, and the murderer is forced to tuck it away on their person to try to deal with Skjern.
: As this is happening, Hanakahi has finally managed to get enough supplies to trade for my special mix, and we make the trade in the sewers. Hanakahi then rushes to the dock to enact his brilliant plan!
: Hanakahi was given my special drug mix in a vial, so he throws it onto a nearby ship and convinces the murderer that someone is trying to rob it. The murderer runs to the ship and, upon inhaling my special mix, falls unconscious.
: Hanakahi explains everything to Madhavi, but the murderer rolls off of the gangplank of the ship and into the water. Hanakahi dives into the water to try to save him, but he cannot because of the weight difference between them.
: At this point, Skjern’s drug adventure has taken him into the Far Away Wife and the patrons are tired of all of the bullshit they’ve seen today, so a few of them leave. They hear from Madhavi and her couriers that some ‘mons just fell into the water and, upon hearing it is their hero from earlier, Hanakahi, they jump in after him.
: The sailors pull Hanakahi and the murderer out of the water and Hanakahi draws Madhavi’s, and everyone else’s, attention to the sound of the amulet on the murderer, proving without a doubt that the murderer was Adil the Krokorok guard!
: Madhavi, at learning this, sends word to Matteo. Matteo, upon getting Madhavi’s letter, sends word to Báll, the Free Swords guild, and the squadron of warriors in the Market Squad.
: At this point, Alistair and Anne have reported all of their findings to Zhi. A few minutes later, Zhi comes out and tells Matteo about the tip she just got, and you know what happens after that.
: What a wild night, huh? So much happened in those two hours… crazy how things be.
: Wonder what’s in store next time, hehe~
: Well, gotta run, darlings, I see some guards coming, sooooooo-
The Croagunk rips a chunk of something off of their scarf and holds their arm high.
: GADIER GO!
They throw the bit of scarf to the ground and blue smokes erupts everywhere, flooding the market square. ‘Mons cough and cover their faces and try to rush away from the fountain and out of the smoke. There’s swearing and calls for getting the frog in the air, but, by the ‘mons can see clearly and breathe again, there’s no sign of them.
Epilogue
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It was not peaceful at the Malevolent Mistress.
Girtab sighed and rolled his visible eye as another chair threw across the room. If Umbra wasn’t such a raging rakefire, maybe the tavern wouldn’t have to replace as much furniture as it did - alas, the fox was a dramatic and petty little yaldson. The Drapion watched with mild disinterest as the Zoroark went about his little theatrical tantrum, with no purpose other than to put his lackies on end.
: What HAPPENED out there?! There were more of you than all of the other ‘mons combined, and yet none of you were able to find the murderer? What were you doing all evening? Smoking with that knotty-pated frog?
He throws another chair and it smashed against the wall. Girtab sighed, desperating wishing that the fox could stop being a raging bitch for even a minute. To his surprise, there must have been at least one god out that who still favoured him - which was a bloody shock - because Umbra did stop and take a second to collect himself, then spoke again, calmly.
: Reeeeeeeeeealistically...
: I am disappointed, but, ultimately, not surprised by your performances. “Frustratingly mediocre” seems to be your standard.
: But really though, do any you have any excuse?
: Those of you who were arrested, drugged, or beaten, I mean.
: Give ‘em a break, Umbra, some of them were actually getting stuff done.
: I’ll point out to you that your “standards” of getting things done are so low, that ‘mons that have fallen unconscious from punching themselves in the face can “get stuff done” for you.
: You say that as if ‘mons forcing themselves to be silent isn’t something you’d want done.
: …
: Do you have something of worth you wish to add to the conversation, or would you rather I introduce your spermatophore to your esophagus?
: I can vouch for the Charizard over there. He might have not caught your killer, but he was otherwise busy tonight, doing things that actually had effects on us in the moment.
: Meaning?
: You know Liverfucker and his boys?
: Unfortunately.
: Those lads got up to some trouble tonight and nearly got themselves arrested - or killed - by two warriors that came down here. Given the the kinds of things they known, it would have been awful for us if they had been caught and questioned, so lizard-lad over there getting them out of trouble was the best thing that anyone’s done tonight, if you ask me.
:... fine, whatever, that’s important, I’ll give you that.
: I also got my new friends out of the sewers!! The, uh, drug friends!
: Yazzy, Faridoon, and Kar.
: Sure!... if those are those names.
: (rolls his eyes and looks at the Drapion)
: I said he helped, not that he was some hidden genius among the clod-brained.
: Regardless, one of you spending your night getting our partners out of trouble doesn’t excuse everyone else’s lackluster performance - none of you even came to me to tell me what you learned! Not one of you even considered that, even if your fusty, unused brains couldn’t figure anything out, that you could come to me and I’d figure everything out from your scraps of information!
: Now the murderer is off to the dungeons and there’s nothing any of you can do about it, not that I’d trust any of you to even get near them without tripping over your own shadows.
Umbra flicks his earring - all of the rogues present feel a little weaker at his words - and starts walking out of the Malevolent Mistress.
: Where are you going?
: Nowhere special, just somewhere dark and lonely, where I can be alone with my thoughts and pleasures.
: I… I’m sorry, wh-
The fox leaves before Girtab can get more words out. The Drapion grunts and rubs his brow with one massive claw as he addresses everyone.
: I’m around sixty percent sure he didn’t mean “alone with his pleasures” in that way.
: But, regardless, don’t let what he said get to you, he’s just being his usual, overdramatic self.
: Sure, none of you actually found the murderer and a few of you had a, uh… rough evening out there, but it’s like that sometimes. Nothing we can do but press on.
: Now, either order something or get out. You all know where the exits are.
It’d been a long night for Matteo. Sure, it was only two hours after sunset, but the night had proven to have enough stress and chaos in those two hours alone that Matteo felt fatigue in a manner that was not dissimilar to a sleepless night spent hunched over scrolls. His mood was made even more sour when it struck him that this very scenario would be how he spent the rest of his night. Being a scribe was suffering.
That personal hell would come later, though. For now, he just needed to get everything sorted in the Outskirts - hopefully he could convince Bál to take on some of the management work, for once in his miserable life. The local squadron, at least, were helpful, that was far more than what he expected, and to say that he was immensely grateful was an understatement. Milburga and Alfonso were due to arrive soon, and David was being cooperative, there was little more he could ask for at this point - not because it was out of his power, but because it was just unlikely anyone else could summon up the usefulness to actually assist him.
A sudden movement from David brought Matteo away from his musings. The Wigglytuff was saluting as Zhì approached. Matteo offered the young monk a formal nod as she approached, and she offered him a full bow in return - always so formal, that one. Matteo smiled fondly as she rose up from her gesture.
: Matteo, myself and Captain Fearghas just got some information from two of the warriors from the Free Swords. They’ve narrowed down the murderer to two possible suspects, so the captain and I are going to question them.
: (peering at her curiously) Do you… not know?
: Uh… know what?
: Madhavi sent a runner over not long ago, one of her tradesmen found the murderer.
: Wh- WHAT?
: They incapacitated them too, without anyone getting hurt... well, perhaps a little wet, I suppose, but unharmed.
: I-i don't understand, we just got all of this evidence-
: Oh, about the murder weapon and the amulet?
: …
: Old news, I'm afraid. Madhavi's hero of the night found out that information hours ago and was waiting for a safe moment to share it with her - quite unfortunate that the murderer stood next to her all evening.
: Hero of the night?
: One of the tradesmen in the Artificer’s Union found enough evidence to prove that Adil was the murderer and then incapacitated them.
: That’s... mad…
: I’ll say.
Both ‘mons watch as the captain approaches. The scowl on his face is evident to all, but Matteo’s gaze drops to his massive, scarred claws, with the Excadrill holds brandished, before they flick back up to the mole’s face.
: Some craftsmon’ off the streets incapacitating one of the guards? That’s suspicious behavior, even if Adil IS the one to killed the child… which still hasn’t be proven.
: I’m afraid you’re incorrect, captain, the tradesman has provided more than enough evidence to prove that Adil is guilty.
: I’d like to hear about this evidence…
: Oh? But Zhì has just said it was presented to you: the murder weapon and the amulet… or did your warriors not explain those enough for you?
: They…
: They mentioned both things, but they said they couldn’t see or hear the amulet on Adil.
: (frowns flatly) Are they perhaps, by any chance, completely bloody deaf?
: Ah…
: Madhavi, all of her couriers, and about half of the sailors on the docks have confirmed both hearing the amulet and seeing it as well, so I believe that your warriors either came across some difficulties or managed to lose their hearing within the span of two hours.
: Enough of this! I want answers, and I want them from this bloody gobbermouch that was poking their nose where they ain’t belong.
: First off, poking his beak, I’ll think you’ll find.
: And secondly, you should be quite glad they stepped in when they did, or Adil might have gotten away from his crime.
: That doesn’t make him causing trouble any better! For all we know, him asking about and wandering where he shouldn’t caused the warrior’s investigation to be worse!
: Conceivably, but, as you said, that is a case of “for all we know.” May I point out, captain, something we do, in fact, know?
: (gets close and in the Excadrill’s space) Not only did a member of your own squad murder a child tonight, but the warriors themselves let that happen, and they almost let the murderer get away too.
: (pulling back) Fights with rogues that make the locals uneasy, general distrust of the guard, injuring a child, murdering a child, possession of a cart full of drugs, losing that cart full of drugs-
: D-drug cart?
: Yeah.
Before Zhì can question the Wigglytuff further, Matteo continues.
: At best, all you of warriors look like you are incapable of performing your duties. At worst, it appears you only have the capacity to do the opposite of your duties.
: It’s been a bad night for you, and, unfortunately for you, Bál, the Free Swords, and the King are being made aware of it as we speak, I made sure to that. So, for your own good, I suggest that you stay silent and let those whom actually accomplished something tonight handle things. You are, however, invited to watch the interrogation.
: Interrogation…?
: As soon as I got word from Madhavi, I sent Milburga and Alfonso to collect Adil and bring him here. I’ve also sent word to the guard squadron from the next district over to take him to the dungeons for holding, but, if you’re fast enough, you may get a word or two out of him before then.
: You little half-faced rat! You have no right to be ordering my squad arou-
: You’ll find, captain, that I do. Whether or not you find that from your own common sense, or from the member of the Free Swords that ends up chastising you for your behavior tonight, remains to be seen.
The rage Fearghas feels is so evident, that might as well have been pulsating from his body, but he holds his tongue. Matteo seems fit to do the same, and neither Zhì nor David feel the need - or confidence - to break the silence, so it is in silence that they stay.
Not many moments later, Matteo leaves his stare-down contest with the Excadrill and grabs his quill and some parchment, getting right back to work as if nothing had happened. Save for the soft Scr Scr Scr Scrs of his quill, the street is quiet.
A few minutes later, the sound of footfalls can be heard, and it only takes a minute or two after for a group of ‘mons to come into view. Milburga and Alfonso are at the front, each holding an arm of very ill-looking Krokorok that they drag up the street. Behind them, Matteo sees Madhavi, and Hanakahi close behind her. The Pikachu’s eyes narrow at the bird for a second, but he smooths out his expression into something more neutral and puts his work away.
Captain Feargas takes to his feet, and walks up to the group even before they have reached everyone, and stands next to Adil. He pauses and listens for a moment, and then mutters,
: Burn me, those two ARE deaf.
Adil groans, and squints, as if he has a headache… his clothes are also dripping wet. Zhì and Matteo look unsure at the sight of him.
: What happened to you?
: Hanakahi did. He managed to drug Adil so that he couldn’t attack anyone else or flee.
: I… see. But, why is he wet?
: Adil… well, he fell off of the harbor and into the ocean.
: Are you blasted-well kidding me? He drugged a member of the guard and nearly drowned him?! We can’t trust him, he’s just as bad as a common criminal with those means!
: By whose judgement? The captain who unknowingly had a murderer on his squad? I’d much rather hear from Madhavi, or from Hanakahi himself, if you’re not terribly bothered.
Fearghas sneers at Matteo.
: Please, captain, understand: Adil falling into the water was an accident. The drug Hanakahi used simply put him to sleep-
: I beg to differ, I feel like my skull is going to burst.
: I was only told it would put anyone who inhaled it to sleep, so I released it where only Adil would be near it. He made the mistake of inhaling it too close to the water, though.
: Oh, so it’s MY fault? For breathing?
: Yes. Breathe better or do not breathe, those are your options.
: I’ll take those to heart…
: You still chose to use drugs in the first place.
: The murderer was standing next to Madhavi, I did not want to risk her or anyone else getting hurt. I asked a kind and generous alchemist for something that would only put Adil to sleep and they gave it to me.
: You should have come and reported everything to us!
: ...but I only ever saw you two once, and it was when you told me to leave the alley where the body was.
: Still-
: You did not ask me to report anything to you, only Madhavi asked me to search for the murderer, so how was I supposed to know that you wanted my information?
: Beca-
: What about the other tradesmen? Or the denizens? Or all of the other ‘mons who were here this evening? Did you ask them for help or information?
: No, but-
: Then how could we have known you wanted our help?
: We didn’t, bu-
: That’s enough, both you. I think Hanakahi makes a good point, captain: you and Zhì didn’t ask anyone to report their findings to you, save for your two warriors. Everyone else was left to their own devices or, as in Hanakahi’s case, under the charge of their employer.
: He’s right, captain. If you wish to be angry at anyone, then it should be at me. (she dips her head in a low bow) I asked Hanakahi and my other tradesmen to share anything they found with me. I was frazzled by the murder and I wasn’t thinking clearly, and for that I apologize. Hanakahi did what he thought was best with the instructions he was given, you cannot fault him for that… especially since he found and proved the guilt of the murderer.
: Whatever. (he crosses his arms and huffs)
: If we’re all content now, I’d like to ask… (she turns to Adil) how did you hide the amulet from my warriors?
: Threw it into a barrel of water when they weren’t looking.
:...
: (whispers to fearghas) on the bright side, those two aren’t deaf…
: (says aloud for everyone to hear) Oh, they still could be, they missed the sound of an amulet hitting water… or could be that they’re just soft-headed.
: You threw the artifact into water?
: Yeah, I did.
There is a pause.
: In my profession, there is a level of diplomacy and diction that is expected from everyone. However, your actions requires me to forgo it so that I may express the true depth of my contempt:
: What the bloody fuck were you thinking, you absolute fool-born pisspot-stain?
: I… I got it back out of the water, didn’t I?...
: ...and more’s the pity.
Matteo shoves his quill and parchment into David’s arms and marches up to the Krokorok, and stares them down with a burning gaze.
: Do you even know what that artifact was? What it meant to Matron Seba?
: No, because I didn’t mean to take it. I was just… so surprised by what happened, I didn’t even notice I still had it…
: What happened in that alleyway?
: An accident, but… one I can’t really get away from by explaining or apologizing.
: At least you’re being realistic. But still, we’d like a retelling and you have time before your escort gets here.
: Escort?
: Some kind ‘mons from the Market Square squadron are coming to take you to the dungeons for holding. As much as I’m sure Bál would like to speak with you directly, as a member of the guard, you’re under the King’s jurisdiction first, so you’ll get an audience with his ‘mons, though, with Captain Gawain still gone, I’m unsure of who’ll that will be.
: I’m sure they’ll find someone equally as tactless.
: Hard to say, Gawain’s quite spectacularly lacking in common sense. By I digress, if you could start your tale, please?
: (sighs) Might as well, I guess.
: I’ll start by saying it was an accident, I swear that. I didn’t want to hurt that kid it just… ended up like that.
: I didn’t go down into the sewers today because honestly (he throws a glare at Fearghas) I didn’t have the patience to put up with his stupid, racist joke, so I didn’t, and I patrolled in the back allies instead.
: The kid ran into me. They were in a hurry and looking nervous, and I remembered that Alfonso told me that he saw them speaking with Umbra earlier today, so I stopped them and asked them what they were doing.
: Little scullion was rude, tried to tell me to leave him alone because I was a guard and mean and all that, so, since Alfonso said he was speaking with Umbra earlier, I thought he was doing something for him. Then I saw the amulet on him. It stood out, not only for design, but it was much finer quality than the rest of his things, so I thought he stole it.
: I pointed to the amulet and asked him where he got it, and he got twitchy and defensive, angrily trying to get me to leave. Maybe all of you from the better places of Aether of a different mind, but all of the squad down here would take that as a bad sign and try to intervene, so I did.
: I wasn’t doing anything wrong, this kid was acting like a crook and had been seen with the most wanted criminal in Aether earlier, for all I knew, the amulet was an artifact that would help the rogues on some job or heist.
: Either way, I took the amulet from him and started asking him more questions. The kid didn’t answer me though, no, instead they attacked me.
: If a kid attacked normally - hell, if a rogue attacked me normally - I wouldn’t hurt them badly, just knock ‘em down and stop them from fighting, but when this kid attacked, he hit me critically and, I just-
: Anger Point…?
: Yeah… (he pauses for a moment) yeah, that. It took over me the moment he hit me and lashed out. Poor little sod didn’t stand a chance, went down even before I stopped seeing red.
: When I came too and realized what I had done, I-... I panicked. I wasn’t even thinking about the amulet - didn’t even remember I had it until those two warriors reminded me of it, I just shoved it into a pouch while I tried to figure out what to do.
: “What to do” was burn the body, I suppose.
: That was- that was stupid of me-
: I agree fully.
: …
: Why did you burn the body?
: I thought it’d make it harder for people to find out it was me… guess it didn’t matter in the end.
: Why weren’t you just honest, though? You could have come forward and explained what happened!
: Would you have come forward?
: She’s a monk, you’ll find she would have.
: We aren’t all monks, though, and I think if other ‘mons were in my position, they would have tried to save themselves too.
: I don’t doubt that’s true, but, you were caught, and now your efforts to try to hide your crime will only make your punishment worse.
: (sighs) So be it. S’not like there’s anything I can do about it.
: You continue to be realistic, a nice change from some of the ‘mons I’ve dealt with tonight. Captain Fearghas, Milburga, Alfonso- (he nudges his head towards the exit of the Outskirts)- the patrol should be here soon.
: Right, come on you.
Fearghas and warriors begin to walk away, but the Hawlucha steps forward. Fearghas eyes his suspiciously for a moment, but Hanakahi pays them no mind and grabs the amulet out of one of Adil’s pouches. The bird gives the group a nod, and, with one final snort from the Excadrill, they continue towards the exit of the Outskirts. Matteo looks back at Hanakahi.
: I believe thanks and congratulations are in order, Hanakahi...
: But don’t think I’ve forgotten about earlier, though.
: You have not forgotten, but perhaps you can forgive?
: Not anytime in the next coming months, I’m afraid.
: Unfortunate, but fair.
: Is… there a problem, Matteo?
: …
: …
 & : No.
: Ah… very well, then.
: If there is nothing more you need of us, then Hanakahi and I wish to speak to Matron Seba. I want to apologize for the delays on their supplies.
: I also want to check on King Hendrick.
: King Hendrick, you say?
: He is king now, I crowned him.
: I see. Well, I’ll need to discuss some things with you, Madhavi, but those can wait for later. For now, let’s speak to Matron Seba and let her know everything we’ve learn, though I doubt much of this knowledge will put her at ease, or help with her grieving.
Madhavi nods firmly to the Pikachu, and Hanakahi echoes the gesture. The Pikachu’s nose twitches, but he returns their gesture. The two tradesmen make their way towards the orphanage. Matteo sighs and takes his things back from the Wigglytuff. At least it was peaceful at the orphanage now.
In the north of Aether, far away from the Outskirts, Adil sits in silence. The cell is as comfortable as he expected it to be, in that it’s awful and he hates it, but it’s what he deserves. The Krokorok grits his teeth, and not for the first time that evening.
It wasn’t fair, none of it was fair: wasn’t fair that everyone thought dark types were naturally criminals; it wasn’t fair that he was born one; it wasn’t fair that Fearghas hated him; wasn’t fair that Fearghas threw him down in the sewers for patrol either; it wasn’t fair that his mom through Tauros were the most attractive ‘mons out there; it wasn’t fair that his stupid dad gave him Anger Point to inherent…
It wasn’t fair that the kid died.
Adil let out a shaky breathe and slumped against the wall. He closed his eyes, though it made little difference in what he saw - there was no light in the prison, no windows, no candles - and even after his eyes had adjusted to the dark, he still found he could see very little. Surrounded in darkness, an ironic punishment, also not fair.
The sound of a door creaking drew Adil from his brooding. He cracked an eye open and saw a sliver of light outside of his cell. He sighed and sat up fully.
: I guess we’re starting the interrogation now.
: Something of the sort. Fear not, though, it should go fast.
: Ugh, stupid scribe’s letters must have reached the dungeons before I did.
: Oh, I’m sure they did, haven’t read them though, don’t need to.
: ...don’t need to?
: No-
His cell door opens with a rough clang as it strikes the wall, and a form fills the doorway. A massive, mane of hair and skinny limbs gives the ‘mon a freakish silhouette, but the glimmer of jewelry gives them an identity, as does the drawn weapon in one of their hands.
: I know enough to lay down judgment right now.
: You-
Adil reaches for where his weapon usually is but grasps at air - everything was taken from him upon his arrival to the barracks. He resists the urge to panic and stands, claws bared at the fox.
: Planning on giving me a fight? It’s a wasted effort.
: We’ll see.
The two rush towards each other….
Category:Events
Category:Live Event
Category:Arc 2
Category:Aether