Chapter 17
Amelia found herself in Lamy's bedroom. "A windowless area with the only entrance being a thick wooden door with a simple metal latch with no other lock," she analyzed. She then turned to the others and asked, "Does anyone of you know how to detect magic?"
The cleric stepped forward. Grasping her amulet, she muttered softly, "O goddess, grant me sight to see the weave of magic." And then she gasped.
"What do you see?" asked the detective.
"A trail of magic linking my bed and the bedroll to… the entrance of my room," she muttered aloud.
"So… it is either the thief knows magic or has access to purchase a magic scroll," muttered the detective, "A question though, your friend normally stays in the school dorms, correct?"
"Yes."
"And normally, there would be people protecting them. Guards and sometimes other teachers," she reasoned, "Whereas here, she barely needed to do anything. Even simply sneaking into your room would have been enough. However, by putting your friend on guard, the thief maneuvered her into an advantageous position for themselves and outside of the safety of her dorm. This was planned. Even in the other cases, only two others received messages of a similar nature and they were tricked into making mistakes that normally wouldn't have happened. This way, they only needed one spell scroll instead of multiple."
Turning around and heading towards the doorway, "Now, are there any windows here? Or does this building have access to an attic?"
"Hold on, I can go down and ask Miyabi!" shouted Polka as she dashed away.
Amelia walked out of the room and peered at the ceiling. "Ah, a ceiling trapdoor," she declared as she pointed to the barely visible outline and a small indentation, "I believe the thief entered through the roof and made their way down through the trapdoor. Then, they came to the door to your room and used a tool to move the latch inside. A sleeping spell later, they removed your friend's valuables and made their escape."
"Hello, I believe you need the attic open," called out the guild clerk as he came in with a long pole with a hook. He then pushed up against the indentation and opened up the attic. Then, he turned around and called out, "Polka, the ladder!" He then stepped aside as the monk brought up a sturdy ladder and placed it against the opening.
The detective went up first, the metal arm extending from her hat and holding a monocle to her eye, and looked around. She looked down and said, "Have you repaired the roof recently, sir?"
"Not recently," he informed, "It will be due in a few months."
"I see," she muttered as she made her way down, the metal arm retracting, "It is apparent that while there are shifts in the tiling, the gaps aren't large enough for a human. There are also visible footsteps in the dust of the loft. So, I believe they might have access to a spell or an item that helps them with transformations. Interesting." She hiccuped and continued, "I have seen enough here. Come with me, everyone. We will now meet up with my counterpart in the guards. Let's go, ladies."
The party followed her out of the guild house, Polka rushing after them after putting away the ladder. They made their way to a different guardhouse where she met with a cat girl, who was talking to a guard. She waved at them and greeted, "Mogu, mogu, what's up?"
"There's been another theft, Okayu," stated the detective as she motioned to the party, "Their friend has had a jewel stolen. Have you heard from your sources yet?"
The urban bounty hunter nodded and replied with, "Prasadiv."
She groaned as her shoulders slumped, "Of course that rakshasa is somehow involved with this."
"Well, I heard he is meeting someone at his normal watering-place later tonight. Need backup?" asked Okayu.
She nodded. Turning back to the party, she stated, "I presume you want to join us?"
"Yup," quipped Nene, popping the P, "We want to get Artia's gem back."
"Yeah!" cheered the others.
"Very well. Meet us here again in the evening and Okayu will lead us to the tavern he frequents," ordered Amelia, "Then, we will gain our answers."
The party, Amelia, and Okayu stood outside the Broken Stool tavern. It sounded loud and rowdy inside.
"Alright, everyone knows what to do, yes?" questioned Okayu as she turned to them, "Nene, Botan, Lamy, and Polka will go in and flush out whomever Prasadiv is meeting. Aloe will watch the entrance. I'll be watching from the roof in case they try to run. Amelia will go around the back to make sure they get caught."
"Already there," affirmed the detective as she headed out.
"Alright, people. Move out and try not to cause too much trouble inside," warned the cat girl as she ran to the side and scampered up the side of a building.
Nene turned to the others and said, "Alright, let's do it."
"Be safe," said the succubus as she took to the sky. The four then walked up to the doorway and went in.
The level of sound increased as the sound of people talking and the slamming of flagons on the wooden tables became more apparent. Raucous and boisterous laughter could be heard all around them. They took a look around. The din of the cacophony was quite disturbing but Lamy's sharp eyes spotted the rakshasa. He matched Okayu's description of him. He was in the corner of the tavern, speaking with someone in dark leathers. Motioning to the others, they headed to Prasadiv's table.
Unfortunately, a few seconds later, the rakshasa noticed them. He said something and the person turned around. A pink-haired girl with bright green eyes that narrowed when she caught sight of them. She then sprinted away, tossing something behind her. A flagon of ale that crashed into someone's head. That person spun around, roaring indignance, and started to punch down another. The loud bar then descended into a brawl. Lamy and Nene took cover behind an upturned table. Botan stayed with them, punching and pushing the brawling patrons away. Polka just grinned and jumped into the fight, taking every chance to take a swig of ale while treating this as a chance to put her tutelage into practice. It wasn't long before she was the only one standing among the unconscious bar patrons, getting a standing ovation from Prasadiv.
"Wonderful! Wonderful performance!" he exclaimed with a big smile, "In return, please tell Prasadiv what you need. It will be done free of charge."
Amelia waited patiently, keeping an eye on the backdoor. The door suddenly burst open and a shadowy figure dashed on through.
"Halt! You're under arrest," she shouted. The figure was stunned for a moment and with a burst of speed, ran the opposite way.
"Stop! Why are you running!?" she continued to shout as she ran after the figure.
The alley was rather clear and she was able to keep up easily. Unfortunately, the same could be said for the figure. Suddenly, they ducked and avoided several bolts which got lodged in the wall. Then, skidded to a halt when the next bolt flew right in front of her. The detective then pulled out her pistol and took aim.
"Last warning! Surrender now!" she shouted.
The figure ignored the warning and scrambled forward. She pulled the trigger. She missed and the bullet ricocheted off the ground into the air. The sound still startled them and they fell backward. Then, a dark figure leaped off the roof and landed on them.
"Please stay still," requested Okayu as she rested her shortsword on their neck, "I wouldn't want to cut anything important."
The figure shrieked and whimpered a little. Amelia jogged over to see who it was. A female human in dark-colored leather armor. Bending over and dipping her hand into her pouch, she pulled out a gleaming purple gemstone.
"Well, I believe this belongs to someone else," the detective stated as she peered at the jewel in the moonlight.
"Alright, I'll be taking her to the guards," stated the cat girl as she hauled the thief to her feet, "Go ahead and let the others know." Then, she dragged her out of the alley by the arm.
"Sure thing," she agreed, pocketing the gem.
"In return, please tell Prasadiv what you need. It will be done free of charge."
The party looked at each other in confusion. "What?" Polka finally said.
"Ah, you don't know who is Prasadiv?" questioned the rakshasa. Getting negatives from the party, he exclaimed, "Unbelievable! Prasadiv must remedy this."
"You know, we are with the guild… we don't normally find people like you," stated Nene.
"Hmm, true, true," he replied with a hum, nodding a few times in understanding, "But! Those needing access to rare and magical items would come to Prasadiv, so it is best to know Prasadiv sooner than later."
"Oh? Hmm, maybe..." murmured Botan as she rubbed her chin in contemplation.
"You know, if you could come with me to the guards and tell us about the thief, I would be grateful," quipped Amelia as she stepped through the backdoor.
"Ah, is that all? Easily done!" stated Prasadiv with a snap of his fingers, "Very well! To the guardhouse!"
Hence the detective and the party escorted the rakshasa to the guardhouse to take his statement. They went out the front door and got Aloe to follow them. Unfortunately, they underestimated the thief and much to Okayu's and the guard's embarrassment.
"Apparently, the thief had a smoke bomb on her and she dropped it as I was passing her on to the guards," the cat girl informed them with a blush.
"Ah, Spade Echo is very resourceful," quipped the rakshasa, "Prasadiv has been quite impressed."
"Spade Echo… does she have any magical items on her?" asked Amelia.
"She bought a bat cloak from Prasadiv," he said truthfully with a shrug, "Paid with gold. Prasadiv does not ask where she got it, only that Prasadiv receives payment for services."
"Tch, at least we know what she has," stated Okayu as she wrinkled her nose, "The smoke bomb smelled homemade. Burnt ashes and such."
"From a fireplace," added the detective. Turning to the party, she said, "Well, you five provided quite a lot of information concerning this Spade Echo. Here, I suppose we can return this to your friend." She then tossed the gem at them, which Nene caught neatly.
"Thank you very much, Miss Amelia," the bard said gratefully.
She smiled in return. Turning back to the cat girl, she stated, "Very well. Time for us to catch the thief. The chase is on."
"Thank you so much!" exclaimed Artia gratefully as she hugged each and every one of the party with tears of happiness falling down her face.
"It seems you care much for that gemstone," stated Lamy, "I admit, I am curious as to why."
The ice genasi took a moment to brush off her slowly crystalizing tears and explained, "I found it in the ashes of my home. My… my family died in a fire and… this is all I have left to remind me of them." She looked at each party member and said, "I am eternally grateful to you all. If you need any help, just name it and I will do my best to help." Then, she brushed away more tear ice that formed as she added, "Ah, thank you for having me, but I think I better be going now. I shall be returning to my dorm."
"Please, allow me to escort you back," requested the cleric. Getting a smiling nod, she followed the genasi out of the guild house.
"Well, that's enough for one night," quipped Aloe with a grin as she headed out as well, "Good night, everyone. We did alright." She wasn't looking ahead when she bumped into someone that was coming in.
Aruran chuckled and said, "Be on your way now. I think you need rest as well." The succubus muttered her apologies and went on her way, but not before sending a suspicious glance at him.
Meanwhile, the rest of the party greeted the noble, who replied, "Good evening. Polka, You seem to have gotten into a fight. How did you fare?"
"Hi, hi, I beat everyone and won," she stated proudly as she thumbed to herself.
He chuckled a bit and said, "Well done…. Well, I think you had better turn in. The night is long and everyone needs their sleep."
"Ah, then, good night, sir," the three wished him before heading up the stairs.
Nodding at them, he then looked around before he headed to the trapdoor that led to the basement. Time went by and Lamy came back and headed upstairs. Then, a few other guild members left the side room, followed by Miyabi, who snuffed the candles and closed for the night. Time went by before Aloe popped into existence inside the guild house.
"Right, time to find out why he felt so cold," she mused mentally as she headed straight for the trapdoor. Only the basement held questions as she had explored the rest of the guild house save for the attic. Tugging the trapdoor open, she descended down the wooden stairs as quietly as possible.
Much to her surprise, the basement was spacious and lit. Light shone from a wood stove, its faint smoke flowing out to a grille on the side of the wall. Next to the stove was a small side table and a large armchair with a tall backrest. On the opposite wall were two bookshelves filled with books. Beside it was a wine rack, fully stocked. The more concerning piece of furniture was a large coffin at the far end of the room. The man himself was sitting in the chair, a bottle of wine and a glass half full of the alcoholic beverage on the table. He was busy reading a book, presumably from the bookcase, the faint rustle of pages turning being heard once.
Her fiendish heart skipped a beat when he said, "I thought you would be resting, Aloe Mano. What brings you here?"
She heard the dull thud of a sudden closing of a book and he placed the book on the table. Then, he got out of his chair and turned to face her. She was scared out of her wits. Was she going to die? She heard of vampires before. To have survived so long, in the capital city no less, meant that he was quite powerful. If anything, she should have disappeared there and then. But then, he made no move against her. What was his game?
He then pulled out a pipe from his overcoat and a small bag. Tipping some tobacco in, he then produced a piece of paper and went over to the stove. "Well? I'm waiting," he said as he lit the paper and in turn, lit his pipe, "What brings you here, Aloe Mano?"
Seconds ticked by and she slowly got over her fearfulness and replied, "I just… wanted to know why you felt so cold." She hoped that honesty would amuse him enough to let her go.
To her surprise, he laughed and stated, "You do realize the saying 'curiosity killed the cat' could apply to you right now. Now, the question is… what will you do with this information?"
Her face scrunched up as she thought this through. On one hand, she could tell everyone and turn everyone against him… and possibly get her new friends in trouble just by association. On the other, she could keep quiet and have this held against her like a sword above her head… with her friends none the wiser… and safe. Oh, the urge to cause trouble is strong. And the amount of souls she could possibly bring to her side in the ensuing chaos. She could easily escape and tell the world. But…
"Why did you create the guild?" she found herself asking, suddenly having more questions popping up in her mind. If a vampire is supposed to be evil in action and behavior, why do all this?
"A very good question," he replied as he smirked, spinning the chair around and sitting down, "To be honest, it started as a whim. However, as time went on, it started looking like a good idea. The city getting back on its feet helped to push its benefits. Not to mention… hiding in plain sight."
Then, he leaned forward and asked again, "You still didn't answer me, Aloe Mano… what will you do with this information?"
AN: From the now defunct HoloCN, the professional thief, Spade Echo.
Spade Echo
Human Rogue
Thief
Full rogue. Has Cloak of the Bat to facilitate getting around in the city. Any other tools she has are homemade stuff. She has been quite lucky that none of the homemade stuff didn't blow up in her face.
And after that, a little more is revealed about our enigmatic guild master.
Arurandeisu a.k.a. Lord Aruran Daiso
Human but secretly a Nosferatu
Way of the Open Hand monk with fighter dip (2 levels)
So, a nosferatu or elder vampire. The first thought when making his character did not bring me to the normal vampire type in D&D, but instead, I first thought of Slayer from Guilty Gear. He is a vampire too, a lineage traced back to Nosferatu, hence the variant's name. In his case, the dandy gentleman traces his roots back to the first vampire in this world as well. Coupled with high levels of monk and training in other areas, some vampire weaknesses are canceled out.
