Chronicles of the Lonewolf: Welcome to Vaysoom

I slowly raised my hands to where they could be seen to be empty and shifted my weight just enough to get the point out of my side. I looked over my right shoulder and called, "Oh, constable."

The point of the bolt shifted away from me just slightly and the voice behind me said, "Huh?"

I spun to my right, slapping the crossbow down and making it fire harmlessly into the wood of the pedestrian walkway as my other hand shot out, my palm connecting with the person's chest and slamming them into the wall of the warehouse across the boards. I didn't move, just looked at the person leaning heavily against the wall and trying to catch their breath. I simply held up a finger, wagging it slowly, as I pointed to the badge with my other hand. They held up a hand and nodded as if to say, My fault.

They coughed and gasped, "That was a good move. Where did you learn it?"

"Time in service," I replied, holding out a hand to offer assistance if it were accepted. "No hard feelings?"

The dock watch shook her head and laughed. "None at all. That was my fault." She grasped my wrist in greeting, rather than in need of assistance. "I should have realized that no one looking to break in would be so obvious about it in broad daylight, but it has been trying times," she explained. "Nykoal Robyns," she said by way of greeting. "I'm daywatch commander for the docks."

"Karl Roberts," I returned. "Temporary special investigator for Fairwater, I guess."

She laughed, "You guess?" I noticed her hand twitch and realized she'd just called off one of the other guards.

"Apparently, being willing to help out with the Dark Doorway and lend a hand here earns me a title," I said, somewhat uncomfortable with it. "I'm just Karl."

"Well, 'just Karl'," she began with a small, sobering smile. "I welcome the help. My people and I have not been able to determine a point of entry nor anything disturbed until the merchants get inside to retrieve stock." She led me toward the center of the docks where a small gazebo stood like an office or information kiosk. "As near as we have discovered, things have only started to go missing within the last week or so."

I followed her into the enclosed gazebo and was, once again, impressed. It reminded me of the bullpens on crime drama, right down the timeline board. Not only did the board note the items missing and the days they were discovered missing, but also tracked any shipments delivered and expected for the month. I noticed that a few shipments had been delayed the past week due to weather issues to the west with two or three boats listed in those delays. "Are there any connections between the items taken," I asked, taking a seat on the corner of a desk.

She kicked out a chair and said, "Get off my desk," though not unkindly. "From what we have seen so far, someone my be trying to outfit some troublemakers," she began. "I wouldn't say 'army' because of the low counts, but a few sets of Sunforge armor and weapons slated for delivery to Ravenfell and a mix of foodstuffs both imported and exported." She sighed, looking hard at the board. "There has been no sign of forced entry and I have increased the rotations as much as sleep and funds allow, but we know not how this is being accomplished."

"Has anyone checked the roofs," I suggested.

"The Claw has their own watchers who report no disturbances through that route." She held up a hand before I could even ask. "I do trust them as it seems they have had some things go missing from their own warehouses as well. Something they would usually allow the Tooth to handle."

"So, if they reported it, then they likely are in the dark as to the who and how as well," I mused, as she nodded, impressed herself, it seemed. I looked up at her, "And the merchants never know when they might need to restock, so the odds of these thefts occurring during the day are slim to none."

"Exactly," she answered. "In some other places, I might suspect one of the nightwatch, but they have no way to access the warehouses. The merchants have the only keys," she explained.

I nodded, thinking. "Magic," I suggested, half joking.

She sighed heavily. "Gods, I hope not. There are none in town with the ability to deal with that, unless someone new is in town." She considered, "Magic complicates things. People learned that long ago."

"Yeah," I answered soberly, thinking of how some technologies did the same. "Has there been a pattern to the warehouses hit so far?"

"Not that we can tell," she answered. "Admittedly, we do not know for sure when the items were taken, either. All of this is coming from when the discoveries were made."

I looked over the board and something was bothering me, but I just couldn't see what it was. "I swear, it's on the tip of my brain," I muttered, drawing a confused look from Nykoal. I shook my head to tell her not to mind it, as I said, instead, "There's something here. I'm just not seeing it." I looked at her and asked, "Do you have something I can copy this down on?"

She nodded to something on the desk and I looked down to see a scroll case, smaller than the one Ambreth had given me. "If you are willing to deliver that report to the constable for me, take it."

I thanked her and headed for the door, figuring I'd grab some food and pour over some of this new information before coming back. "Could you," I began. She smiled, nodding, "I shall inform Mayborn to watch for you."

I nodded my thanks, tucked the case into a pouch on my belt, and headed for the Cauldron.

--------------------------------------------------------------

The entire walk back, I was lost in my own head. I wasn't sure what I should go over first or just how much I should say to anyone. Max was missing and, while most of the people I had met so far were wonderful people, Ambreth's reaction to the books concerned me. I started to realize that, in this world, I might just be better off hidden within my helmet, if only to hide the turmoil in my mind. I made it all the way to the stairs of the Cauldron before I realized someone was trying to get my attention. I turned to find Flay's waiter standing at the bottom of the stairs and looking up at me. "Oh, hey," I started, then broke off, realizing I didn't know his name.

"Syl," he provided, helpfully. "Constable Ood stopped by with this for you. Said something about an arrest?" He handed over a small pouch and I glanced inside.

I laughed at the fifteen gold pieces inside and said, "Thank you, Syl," handing over one of the coins as a tip for all the Cauldron had done for me in the short time I'd been here. "Share that with Fil, if it isn't too much trouble."

He stared at the coin, then at me, before stuttering, "Th-thank you, s-s-sir." He swallowed hard and said, excitedly, "Anything you need, just ask."

Before I could ask about his reaction, he darted off for the kitchen calling for Fil. I shrugged and continued to my room where I shed my armor for the time being and set my pack beside the small desk in my room. I sat for several long moments, tapping my fingers on the desktop and thinking hard about what was most important to look into first. While the town job was important, I was clearly not the only investigator on the case. On the other hand, I had no idea just how long it would take to pour over the voyahdae scrolls and magic was definitely something frowned upon here. I walked to the door and firmly locked it before returning to the desk and pulling out that first book once more.

I flipped through it quickly, at first, finding the entire thing written in English with some very complicated scientific and mathematical formulae, especially the deeper into the book I got. "This is way too complicated for me," I muttered, frustrated. I turned back to the early pages and decided to try and work out the first spell for simple things, like cleaning. From the description, the spell had multiple effects depending on just what you put your focus pm, so I tried to just light a candle. After trying for an hour, I had a headache starting and the best I could tell, I might have gotten the wick to begin smoking, but that may have just been wishful thinking. I slipped the book into my pack and rubbed my eyes.

Looking out the window, I noticed that the sun was setting quickly. I got back into my armor and clipped my helmet to my belt this time before heading downstairs to find a bright and lively common room. I ducked my head, a little embarrassed by the cheer that was started by someone near the kitchen and was taken up by the room. I raised a hand to acknowledge it, but had no idea what to say for just doing, what I saw, as my job.

Flay was beside me before I'd realized it and asked, "May I get you something, Karl?"

"I'm kind of in a hurry," I answered, mostly uncomfortable with the full room. I could feel eyes on me and it made me nervous. "I'd dip into the muffins you gave me, but I'd rather save those until I need them." A thought came to mind and I smirked. "Have you ever made a flat patty with your ground beef before?"

"Why would I do that," he asked, surprised.

"Have I got a recipe for you," I said with a wide grin.

--------------------------------------------------------------

I was amazed at what Flayrian was able to come up with using ingredients I had never heard of. I headed for the docks to meet Mayborn, who was the dock nightwatch commander, I assumed. I was thoroughly enjoying what had recently been dubbed a Karl's Burger from the Cauldron, a bacon double cheeseburger with a homemade barbecue type of sauce and a couple of onion rings, which I'd also had to explain. Part of me started wondering why I wanted to go home so badly until an image of that first zombie returned to mind. I shuddered, and nearly passed up the rest of my food, but I was too hungry not to. Especially if I was going to be working tonight.

I could see the gazebo ahead in the rising mist and the door opened, letting out some light as someone backed out of the room. A voice came from within saying, "One of them can do it. I am certainly not wasting my time tonight babysitting some worthless investigator."

As I got closer, I recognized Nykoal as she turned and called back over her shoulder, "You know, nobody likes you, Mayborn."

The angry voice snaps back, "That is Commander Kynsei!"

I gave Nykoal a smile as I called out. "She's right, Mayborn. Nobody likes you."

"That is insubordination," they screamed. "I am putting you on report! Who are you," they demanded, their voice hard to read around the volume and arrogant self-importance.

"The worthless investigator," I replied, calmly, and noted the sudden silence with a bigger smile. "Reminds me of someone," I whispered to Nykoal.

"Beautifully done," she whispered back. We could both hear some scrambling around coming from within the gazebo. "He may be an ass, but he would not do anything he has not already covered his backside for."

"I know the type," I said, quietly, with a sour look. I let my voice return to normal volume and said, "It isn't that I need a babysitter, just maybe a general lay of the land," I noted her look and laughed. "Unless you don't trust me enough that I need a babysitter."

She didn't laugh, but did give me an odd look. "I have asked around about you, Karl. Heard some things, but I do not know what to think, to be honest." Mayborn came to the door, a little disheveled, but otherwise a rather plain man with a well-kept uniform. Before he could speak, Nykoal said, "I shall give him the once around, myself, Mayborn. You need not bother yourself with the effort."

I grinned at him as she shut the door in his face then turned to her and asked, "As near as you can tell, where did the first theft occur?"

"Right," she said, getting right to work. She led me to the warehouse furthest north against the river. "This warehouse holds general foodstuffs and ingredients and is opened up multiple times a day, usually. Mostly staples and trail friendly foods were noticed missing a week ago today based on the previous day's inventory." She gestured to the three nearest warehouses. None of these have been hit, but more food went missing from at least two other warehouses since the first night. She pointed to another warehouse down the line and well inland from the river. "The Sunforge warehouse was hit sometime during the week, but we only found out about it three days ago."

I nodded, not seeing any kind of pattern to the warehouses chosen and the food made no sense to me where the people of the town make sure that no one within the walls go hungry. "What was taken from that inventory?"

"Two full crates of armor and several bundles of arrows. Every blade has been accounted for, to our knowledge, but we are not given inventories of the Claw owned warehouses," she explained. "They did report disturbances among their warehouses but will not admit that anything was taken let alone detail what those items may have been."

I shook my head. "Hard to get full cooperation when even one side has their own agenda," I sighed. "Even among supposed allies." I looked around us at the several warehouses looming up out of the mists and slapped my hand against the wall of one of the inland ones near us. I heard the faint sound of splintering wood and asked, "What's in this one?"

"That would be Gildren Mercayr's warehouse," she said, glancing over to see which I was meaning. "General supplies, clothing, and equipment. Why?" I pointed up and her eyes followed until she, too, saw the light moving inside the window high on the wall. "Damn," she breathed. She turned to me and whispered, "Thothe windowth do not open and there ith a thingle entranth." I smiled, slightly, but nodded my understanding.

When someone whispers, the letter S tends to be one of the loudest sounds. By intentionally lisping, she was further muffling her voice to keep anyone inside from hearing us. I followed her around to the door, watching the windows high up on the walls as the light continued moving around inside. "If the merchantth have the only keyth, how do we thtop them," I lisped back.

She bit her lip, thinking, then held a finger up in front of her lips. I raised an eyebrow as she pulled a small pouch from her belt and pulled two slender metal pieces. I raised the other and she just shook her head at me before turning to the lock. I glanced up at the window and noticed that it had gone dark, but before I could signal that to Nykoal, the padlock clicked quietly open. Easing the door open, slowly, she also noticed that whatever light there had been was gone now. She looked at me, confused, then stepped inside.

I followed, pulling the door shut behind me and drew a pair of my batons, but left them closed for close work. "Where'd they go," I asked in a low voice, knowing that anyone inside would have known we were here by now. I hate those stereotypical creaky wooden doors, don't you?

"They did not slip past us," she agreed in the same low voice. "Do you have a light? There are too many crates and boxes to see clearly." She maneuvered back toward the door and I kept my lantern turned away so as to not mess up either of our visions. I also kept the hood low to keep the light angled away from our eyes as the wick caught and brightened the cluttered room.

I slowly began to walk the room, shining the light in all the shadows while she stayed between the only door and open warehouse floor. After a quick, but thorough search, I turned to her and said, "Nothing. What did I miss?""

"That is not possible," she replied, moving cautiously forward. She was clearly expecting some dark figure to dart for the door, but nothing happened. "There is only one exit. They did not pass us, I would swear to it." She turned to me, momentarily suspicious. "How did you know to look?"

I held my hands up defensively. "Hey, I was with you, remember?" She frowned, conceding the point, and I continued, "I thought I heard wood breaking." We both looked at each other, wide eyed, and looked up. Nothing atop the shelves, as I'd already used the light on the levels between. No holes in the roof or ropes hanging and no broken shelving. "So, what did I hear," I asked, rhetorically as I shined the light around the room more slowly. In the rear corner, a crate in the middle of a stack had a plank broken near its center. I pointed and we found a crate full of well-made boots imported from Skandyura. "It looks like someone didn't want to wait to do some shoe shopping," inspecting closer and finding a sizable gap in the inventory.

"We might get a better look during the day," she suggested. "The windows provide much better light than even those lanterns."

I considered and agreed. "I'll go back and get some rest, see if I can figure out what's bothering me about this case and meet you back here, when?"

She thought it over and said, "It has been an unusually busy week thanks to the gala and all of these issues." She gestured to the room. "I should have the day off, but give me until, say four of the clock? I really need to spend some time with the wife and kids."

I nodded to her and said, "Sounds good. Now, do you want to tell Mayborn he screwed up, or should I?" I gave her a wolfish grin.