Baltimare Rains

[Cyreni]

@Blackout, @Nox, @runeblue360

It had rained for two weeks straight, and the weather team was stumped.

Rain defined Baltimare nowadays. Warm rain, cold rain, light rain, heavy rain, rain with thunder, rain with pockets of sunshine. It rained all the time, and there wasn't a weather jockey or mage out there who could stop the oceanic clouds from rolling in whenever they pleased. However, even the unnatural, untameable weather was secondary to the rest of the problems plaguing the city, and would remain as such unless Baltimare was suddenly washed into the Horseshoe Bay.

It was a cold, miserable rain that Karl, Circle and Geraon found themselves under today, the kind that soaked into fur and feather alike and sapped all attempts at keeping warm. The BPD was already swarming the scene: an upper-end apartment building along Bay Street, named as such for the fantastic view of the bay it would have on any other day. The chief of police, a solidly-built, permanently scowling earth pony in a rain poncho was also present, barring their way into the building alongside a pegasus.

"Circle. Karl. Glad you two could make it," he grunted, futilely trying to wipe the rain off his muzzle with a wet foreleg. "You're needed on the sixteenth floor. Foalnapping and violence today. Geraon, I'm less than glad you made it. Just once I'd like a day where you sticking your beak into one of our investigations won't result in sparks flying between you and my stallions. You're not even on our payroll, why are you here and not, I don't know, looking into weather factory management or the weather team?"

 

[Blackout]

"Any other day, I would. Believe me, I'd rather be anywhere but here, Cobalt. But that's just incompetence. Possibly criminal incompetence, but still. But this? This?"

The griffon ruffled his feathers, yellow eyes boring through the pony.

"I have a sense of priority. You know, a little voice in the back of my head that tells me "Geraon, this thing is not as important as this other thing". Now, that may be a foreign concept around here, but right now, it's telling me that the weather," Geraon emphasized, "is not quite on the same level of priority as kidnapping. Thank you for confirming that, by the way. You and I both know that there is no force, being or event on Equestria or elsewhere that will keep me from this investigation. You can either use that fact, or not."

 

[Cyreni]

"Oh, are you calling me and my stallions incompetent? That we need an anarchistic journalist to do our jobs for us? Hah!"

Cobalt looked skyward and huffed. "Of course. Of course. Why should I expect anything else from the gryphon who'd flip Princess Celestia off if she asked him to pass the sugar?" He looked down again. "Circle, Karl, can you use him?"

 

[Lealope]

Circle side eyed Geraron for a moment before addressing Cobalt.

"He'll probably be a net positive in utility for the investigation. Of course, that relies on him having a modicum of discretion but I'm sure the "little voice" in his head will help with that. Think you can manage not to run your giant beak until we've actually apprehended the kidnappers, Thunderfeather?"

 

[Blackout]

"Oh, are you calling me and my stallions incompetent? That we need an anarchistic journalist to do our jobs for us? Hah!"

Cobalt looked skyward and huffed. "Of course. Of course. Why should I expect anything else from the gryphon who'd flip Princess Celestia off if she asked him to pass the sugar?" He looked down again. "Circle, Karl, can you use him?"

Click to shrink...

"How very dare you," Geraon drawled. "I would show her majesty the precise level of respect she is due."

Circle side eyed Geraron for a moment before addressing Cobalt.

"He'll probably be a net positive in utility for the investigation. Of course, that relies on him having a modicum of discretion but I'm sure the "little voice" in his head will help with that. Think you can manage not to run your giant beak until we've actually apprehended the kidnappers, Thunderfeather?"

Click to shrink...

"Ah. The long arm of the law, always quick to silence the dissenting voice."

 

[Lealope]

"Ah. The long arm of the law, always quick to silence the dissenting voice."

Click to shrink...

"Ah. The fanatical anarchist, always quick to throw away lives in the name of principle. Basic operational security necessitates that we need to minimise the amount of information that the kidnappers have access to. Feel free to kiss and tell after they're behind bars."

Circle turned his head to face his partner, looking up at the tall Diamond Dog.

"Karl, have you noticed anything or should we continue inside?"

 

[Vozen]

"Karl, have you noticed anything or should we continue inside?"

Click to shrink...

"hmmm...nothing out here Circle, at least not at a casual check." the dog said with a deep growl. "All the rain makes outdoor scents harder to pick up. I should have more luck inside."

 

[Cyreni]

@Nox, @runeblue360, @Blackout
Cobalt harrumphed and stepped aside, waving them in. "As long as he can help you two and lets us do our jobs. Geraon, you're a good gryphon, but you're a migrane and nopony wants a migrane on top of a foalnapping."

The apartments were a place for the upper-middle, the halls were well-decorated and well-maintained with soft carpet, gentle lights and the occasional historical painting or bright flower in a vase on a chest or table. The majority of the building was empty of police, most of them were in the air watching the windows and doors outside, though there were a number of them on the sixteenth floor. Two were watching the elevators, two others the stairs, and at least half a dozen asking the tenants questions.

One apartment door was cordoned off with police tape, which naturally meant the three were led that way. A civilian unicorn mare and stallion were just outside the tape, with an officer standing by. The mare's eyes were puffy and red, and was sobbing quietly. She was clutching a framed picture to her chest. The stallion was sporting a gauze pad and some bandages around his jaw, and he had the quiet look of someone out for blood. A foreleg was draped across the mare's withers, holding her close.

"That's Blue Diamond," Cobalt gestured to the mare, "and Bit Coin," the stallion, "the parents of Gilt Leaf, a six year old colt who was foalnapped approximately half an hour ago at four in the morning. From Coin's account, three masked and robed pegasi broke in through the window and flew off with Leaf. He got in a fight with the last one out, landed a solid hit but took a hard blow to the face. The masks apparently had strange horn designs on them, but he couldn't make out any detail past that."

The interior of the apartment looked intact and cozy, except for the chill of outside air that was coming from one of the bedrooms. The reason for that was clear once the bedroom was glanced at: the window overlooking the bay was completely shattered across the carpet. A tarp had been stretched across the opening to stop the rain from soaking the scene any further. A bed was against one wall, the Power Ponies sheets thrown across the floor, and a dresser was directly across and against the opposite wall. A toybox was next to the dresser, and next to that a stack of board games and paperback foals' books. A single light fixture illuminated the room.

A few drops of red blood and a hard fragment the size of Geraon's hind claw were on the carpet between the bed and the window. The fragment was shaped like a four-faced pyramid, three faces were dark brown and smooth, and the last was tan and riddled with pinhole pores.

 

[Blackout]

Geraon nodded to the parents, his perpetually displeased expression morphing into the closest approximation of sympathy he could manage.

"Geraon Thunderfeather, my condolescenses."

The gryphon produced a notebook and pencil from his belt, starting to scribble down.

"If you would be so kind as to answer a few questions? Was this done by hand or did they carry weapons or tools? How long did the incident take? Anything in particular you might be able to tell about the attackers' demanour, the way they moved and fought?"

 

[Lealope]

Circle had enough of a grasp on his social skills to realise that Geraon was significantly better suited to handling the grieving couple. Instead, he began scanning for magical anomalies that his teammates might not detect.

 

[Cyreni]

"If you would be so kind as to answer a few questions? Was this done by hand or did they carry weapons or tools? How long did the incident take? Anything in particular you might be able to tell about the attackers' demanour, the way they moved and fought?"

Click to shrink...

"I'll tell you the same things I told the police," Coin answered, monotonous. "I woke up to the sound of a window breaking and my colt screaming bloody murder. I ran in and saw three figures in black robes and horned masks holding Gilt, gagged and hooded, as they flew out the window. I grabbed one by a hindleg and pulled him back enough to punch him in the face." His right hoof twitched. "He hit me back," he gently touched the gauze on his face, "and flew off. I never saw what color his fur was, it was too dark to make out any details. It took... twenty seconds? I don't know. I couldn't focus on anything but my foal."

Circle had enough of a grasp on his social skills to realise that Geraon was significantly better suited to handling the grieving couple. Instead, he began scanning for magical anomalies that his teammates might not detect.

Click to shrink...

There was a very, very faint residue left behind, so faint it was easy to pass over if you weren't able to subtract all the variables in a crime scene and then apply the mental calculations to the real world. It was distinct for sure, it certainly wasn't any magic one would come across in a day-to-day routine; dark, forbidding; but simultaneously it was too faint to pin down exactly what it was. And the trail ended just outside the window tarp.

The residue was slightly more potent around the tiny chunk on the floor, but again it was too faint to pin down what it was.

 

[Vozen]

There was a very, very faint residue left behind, so faint it was easy to pass over if you weren't able to subtract all the variables in a crime scene and then apply the mental calculations to the real world. It was distinct for sure, it certainly wasn't any magic one would come across in a day-to-day routine; dark, forbidding; but simultaneously it was too faint to pin down exactly what it was. And the trail ended just outside the window tarp.

The residue was slightly more potent around the tiny chunk on the floor, but again it was too faint to pin down what it was.

Click to shrink...

Karl spots the direction Circle is looking, and sees the residue.

"Hmm...now what do we have here." his voice murmurs. "Give me a sec, Circle. Let's see if I can figure this one out." he says to the unicorn with a dismissive wave of the paw.

Closing his eyes and dropping to all fours, he positions his snout over the substance, and takes a deep breath through his nose, taking in every aspect of the scent he can.

 

[Blackout]

"I'll tell you the same things I told the police," Coin answered, monotonous. "I woke up to the sound of a window breaking and my colt screaming bloody murder. I ran in and saw three figures in black robes and horned masks holding Gilt, gagged and hooded, as they flew out the window. I grabbed one by a hindleg and pulled him back enough to punch him in the face." His right hoof twitched. "He hit me back," he gently touched the gauze on his face, "and flew off. I never saw what color his fur was, it was too dark to make out any details. It took... twenty seconds? I don't know. I couldn't focus on anything but my foal."

Click to shrink...

"Hmmm. Thank you for your time."

With that Geraon moved to regard the wider room, to search for clues that might not be immediately apparent to the eye.

Blackout threw 4 3-faced dice. Reason: Investigate Total: 9

 

[Cyreni]

Closing his eyes and dropping to all fours, he positions his snout over the substance, and takes a deep breath through his nose, taking in every aspect of the scent he can.

Click to shrink...

The residue was more arcane in nature than anything else, more magical than physical. It didn't have a scent so much as a resonance, easily picked up by unicorns, alicorns, zebras, or sensitive equipment, but less so for other species.

He did, however, pick up the scent of three pegasi. What made them stand out was that, underneath the rain and city, they smelled like old, musty dust, and just a hint of decay. Like a graveyard.

"Hmmm. Thank you for your time."

With that Geraon moved to regard the wider room, to search for clues that might not be immediately apparent to the eye.

Click to shrink...

No other clues could be found. The perpetrators had confined the crime to the bedroom.