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Message: <blockquote data-quote="PhoenixAsh" data-source="post: 2187171" data-attributes="member: 18230">Update #19: A Fruitless SearchAlright Micah, you're on!  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> ***Elisa and Ruel search amidst the crates and stores in the cargo holds and re-examine the sparring ring.  Stifling a yawn Ruel announces, “I do not think there is anything to find.”Elisa frowns and shakes her head.  “Well its obvious Uuka was here.  I think I can even see a footprint here that looks like his, see?”Ruel cocks an eyebrow, “Are you sure you are not just seeing what you want to see?  It does not look like anything to me.”Elisa sighs, “Errol’s your friend, work with me here!”  She goes out to the crew access passage and looks around for a minute while Ruel contemplates the dust on the hold’s floor.  “I don’t see any footprints out here… hey wait, what’s this Ruel?”Ruel follows Elisa out and studies a scuff on the lower part of the passage’s wall.  “Now that looks like a heel mark from a women’s shoe.”Elisa looks up at Ruel, “And you can tell that how?”Ruel smirks.  “I have actually been around a few proper ladies in my time.”  He shakes his head.  “But this puts us back to square one.  If we have Uuka’s prints and a heel mark here, it does not rule out anyone.  Though it is suspicious that the heel mark is in this passage, it is supposed to be for the crew only.”Elisa rolls her eyes but is forced to agree, “Alright, let’s go see what the others have found.”***“After exhaustive searching, we found a button.”  Alexandre sighs, leaning against the bar.Audric nods.  “So we have two buttons missing and a male or a female sneaking around in the hold.  That does not put us very far from where we started.”Dox rubs his chin.  “Well, only a few of the passengers stayed behind to help clean up after you beat up Bligh.  There was just Denneth and all three ladies.  Bligh was out cold, though I guess he could have grabbed a button from Errol’s coat in that struggle.  Uuka was hauling Bligh out, and Seaghan stumbled out with them.  I don’t think they would have had the time to pick up stray buttons.”“Maybe, but that does not prove anything.” Audric frowns.“Hey, what did Errol do to get Bligh so mad at him anyways?  Why did Bligh grab his coat?”  Elisa stares at Audric.“I’m not certain.”“Let’s go talk to Errol, I want to know why Bligh was grabbing him.”  Elisa strides purposely towards the brig and the rest of the party hurries after her, struggling to keep up.The party finds Errol locked in the cell, playing checkers with the Bo’sun through the iron bars.  He looks up hopefully as the party approaches, but his face falls at their somber expressions.  Ruel comes forward and speaks quietly to the boy, “Errol, why did you come up to the bar the other night?”“Denneth asked me to, he said he wanted to show me somebody.”Ruel leans in, “He wanted to show you somebody, who?”“He said a friend of his, he said he wanted me to meet…” Errol frowns and looks up from the checkerboard.  “I don’t know, he was pretty pushy though.” “And was he near you the whole time?”“No, once we got to the top of the stairs he stopped being pushy.  Maybe he was looking for his friend or somethin’.  I don’t remember him getting close after Bligh grabbed me.”Ruel smiles gently.  “You did not forget to lock your chest, did you?  You still have the key?”Errol shakes his head and displays a small brass key.  “No, I didn’t forget and I have the key right here.”Dox nudges Alexandre, whispering, “This ship may be state of the art, but those locks are as cheap as they come.”“Remind me to buy a better lock on our next shore leave.”  Alexandre replies, rubbing his eyes.  “Look, I don’t think we’re going to learn anything tonight, let’s do this in the morning when the people who could have done it are actually awake.”Ruel nods, “Thank you Errol, are you going to be okay?”The cabin boy manages a smile, “I’ve slept in worse places than this.”***As the party files back up the stairs towards their quarters, Ruel draws Audric aside, “Do you think this is the same thief who took the Vidari’s money?”Audric nods slowly.  “It seems likely.  I don’t think that a casual thief would concoct such an elaborate fiction to frame Errol.  It would rule out Wrel and Denneth… though I do not suspect either of them myself.”Ruel shakes his head, “Then why do you think Denneth was so eager to get Errol up to the bar?  Could not Bligh and he have had some sort of arrangement?”“Perhaps, but I think it is most likely that Denneth was just trying to get close to Princess Wrel.  He has been trying ever since he got onboard, with no success.  He has the look of a love struck lad, not a criminal,” Audric reasons.“Oh.  Oh!  Wrel did say Errol seemed kind of cute at dinner, I suppose you may be right.”  Ruel covers a yawn.  As the pair approach Audric’s guest quarters, Ruel continues down the hall to the crew cabin, calling after the monk.  “We will catch the thief, but that will have to wait for the morning.  Good night Audric.”“Good night Ruel.”</blockquote>

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