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drnuncheon's Freeport Story Hour - Book II: Inheritance
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<blockquote data-quote="drnuncheon" data-source="post: 309075" data-attributes="member: 96"><p><strong>Session Three, Part One: Theories, Hunches, and Wild-*ss Guesses</strong></p><p></p><p>Dru growled as the ink dripped from her pen onto the paper. She despised paperwork at the best of times, and after the fight last night there was plenty to be filled out. And Di'Fier wasn't around to do it - he had to sleep in to be able to compose his mind to prepare his spells. <em>I wish <u>I</u> had that excuse,</em> she thought.</p><p></p><p>As if the thought of her partner had conjured him, Di'Fier stepped into the room and sat down across their shared desk. He picked up the partially completed paperwork. "You forgot about the elf that was down when we got there. And they're called <em>magic missiles</em>, not 'godsdamned magic da-'" he cut himself off at the low warning growl from the elf's throat, and set the paper down carefully. "Did you talk to the Captain yet?"</p><p></p><p>Dru nodded. "Nothing on the missing persons angle. I showed him the cipher, but we still have nothing to go on to figure out who this 'hellion' is. Or how it connects to the warehouse. If it even does."</p><p></p><p>Di'Fier nodded. "I've been thinking about it a lot," he admitted. "Does your father deal in narcotics at all?"</p><p></p><p>"...probably." She knew he did, but decades of training not to speak of her father's business still had a powerful hold over her.</p><p></p><p>Her partner continued on. "What if the foreman works for your father? He's got the access...we already know he's crooked. Here's where it gets rough. If your father has something on Roth, maybe Roth is trying to get back at him. Maybe he's hired these wizards to go after your father."</p><p></p><p>"It's a possibility..." Dru said grudgingly. "I hadn't thought Roth would view the workers as just assets. It could be the foreman is trying to play both sides, too." She thought for a moment, then brightened a bit. "We could kill him and see if things stop."</p><p></p><p>Di'Fier chose his words carefully. "I think he's a minor player, all things considered."</p><p></p><p>"You're probably right. But where does the girl fit in? We've assumed that she was from a rich family...they could be poor, or homeless."</p><p></p><p>"Or they have a note saying 'Don't go to the Watch,'" Di'Fier replied. "But you're right, we should check with the beggars - maybe they know what happened to Echo, too."</p><p></p><p>"Dru. Di'Fier." It was Captain Donnach. "They've found the body of the third wizard from last night's fight. By the city wall near Scurvytown. Get your team together and check it out. It's no ordinary killing. The heart's gone."</p><p></p><p><img src="http://www.io.com/~jeffj/b2sep.gif" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /> </p><p></p><p>The rain had washed away any evidence that might once have been on the body. Now, fish-pale and bloodless, it leaned against the Old City wall, ribs gaping and face frozen in a rictus of pain.</p><p></p><p>"Looks like he fought back," Dru commented, standing over the corpse. "Look at those cuts on his arms."</p><p></p><p>Di'Fier did. Privately, he thought they looked a lot like the thin white web of scars that spread in a network across Dru's arms. "Looks like this was the death-wound, though. Single stab, severing the artery coming from the heart." He sat back a bit. "Somehow I'm glad to know we aren't dealing with something that's ripping the hearts out of people while they're still alive."</p><p></p><p>"Is there a magic spell or something that would use a human heart?"</p><p></p><p>Di'Fier shook his head. "Not that I know of. Some potions use the heart of an animal - say, a bull or a tiger, to give you their strength." He looked over at the broken body. "I wonder if this was punishment for failure?"</p><p></p><p>"Or maybe revenge." As the other Watchman prepared to load the corpse onto the cart, Dru noted something else odd. "Look at the legs. They've been broken."</p><p></p><p>"That's new. Then again, this one was sitting up, too."</p><p></p><p>Dru pulled back her hood and studied the scene. There - higher up on the wall. She pointed. "There's some kind of stain above where the body was. Almost washed away by the rain. Drag marks or something."</p><p></p><p>Di'Fier studied the wall. "I wonder if the killer dragged him down the wall as he was trying to jump away."</p><p></p><p>A check of the other side of the wall revealed nothing, and so the team haded back to Watch Headquarters. Before long, Dru and Di'Fier found themselves in the Rusty Lantern over a pair of hot lunches. As they ate, the door opened to admit a slight figure, hunched against the weather, and carrying an oilskin-wrapped package. Forcing the door closed, the figure threw back his hood to reveal the face of Lucius. The older man smiled when he saw that Dru and Di'Fier were present, and he crossed to their table.</p><p></p><p>"Lucius!" Di'Fier exclaimed. "How is the job going at the Guild?"</p><p></p><p>"Oh, quite well. The other librarian - well, as a librarian he's a pretty good wizard. I've already begun plans to reorganize the guild's library to something more along the lines of the Temple's - as it stands there's almost no organization at all."</p><p></p><p>"Why do you think so many Guild members came to the Temple for their research?"</p><p></p><p>Lucius turned to Dru. "Actually, it's because of you that I came here. Word has gotten around the Guild about the spellcasters, and the warehouse." As he spoke, he was unwrapping the bindings on the package to reveal a small stack of thin books. "I thought it might be helpful for you to know a little bit more about what you're up against. Anything in Di'Fier's library is probably a bit beyond the layman, but I've found these books to be quite helpful in explaining things in terms we non-wizards can understand. I don't think they'll be missed from the library, but -" he glanced at Di'Fier "- please keep it quiet all the same."</p><p></p><p>"Of course," said Dru. "And thank you, Lucius."</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="drnuncheon, post: 309075, member: 96"] [b]Session Three, Part One: Theories, Hunches, and Wild-*ss Guesses[/b] Dru growled as the ink dripped from her pen onto the paper. She despised paperwork at the best of times, and after the fight last night there was plenty to be filled out. And Di'Fier wasn't around to do it - he had to sleep in to be able to compose his mind to prepare his spells. [i]I wish [u]I[/u] had that excuse,[/i] she thought. As if the thought of her partner had conjured him, Di'Fier stepped into the room and sat down across their shared desk. He picked up the partially completed paperwork. "You forgot about the elf that was down when we got there. And they're called [i]magic missiles[/i], not 'godsdamned magic da-'" he cut himself off at the low warning growl from the elf's throat, and set the paper down carefully. "Did you talk to the Captain yet?" Dru nodded. "Nothing on the missing persons angle. I showed him the cipher, but we still have nothing to go on to figure out who this 'hellion' is. Or how it connects to the warehouse. If it even does." Di'Fier nodded. "I've been thinking about it a lot," he admitted. "Does your father deal in narcotics at all?" "...probably." She knew he did, but decades of training not to speak of her father's business still had a powerful hold over her. Her partner continued on. "What if the foreman works for your father? He's got the access...we already know he's crooked. Here's where it gets rough. If your father has something on Roth, maybe Roth is trying to get back at him. Maybe he's hired these wizards to go after your father." "It's a possibility..." Dru said grudgingly. "I hadn't thought Roth would view the workers as just assets. It could be the foreman is trying to play both sides, too." She thought for a moment, then brightened a bit. "We could kill him and see if things stop." Di'Fier chose his words carefully. "I think he's a minor player, all things considered." "You're probably right. But where does the girl fit in? We've assumed that she was from a rich family...they could be poor, or homeless." "Or they have a note saying 'Don't go to the Watch,'" Di'Fier replied. "But you're right, we should check with the beggars - maybe they know what happened to Echo, too." "Dru. Di'Fier." It was Captain Donnach. "They've found the body of the third wizard from last night's fight. By the city wall near Scurvytown. Get your team together and check it out. It's no ordinary killing. The heart's gone." [img]http://www.io.com/~jeffj/b2sep.gif[/img] The rain had washed away any evidence that might once have been on the body. Now, fish-pale and bloodless, it leaned against the Old City wall, ribs gaping and face frozen in a rictus of pain. "Looks like he fought back," Dru commented, standing over the corpse. "Look at those cuts on his arms." Di'Fier did. Privately, he thought they looked a lot like the thin white web of scars that spread in a network across Dru's arms. "Looks like this was the death-wound, though. Single stab, severing the artery coming from the heart." He sat back a bit. "Somehow I'm glad to know we aren't dealing with something that's ripping the hearts out of people while they're still alive." "Is there a magic spell or something that would use a human heart?" Di'Fier shook his head. "Not that I know of. Some potions use the heart of an animal - say, a bull or a tiger, to give you their strength." He looked over at the broken body. "I wonder if this was punishment for failure?" "Or maybe revenge." As the other Watchman prepared to load the corpse onto the cart, Dru noted something else odd. "Look at the legs. They've been broken." "That's new. Then again, this one was sitting up, too." Dru pulled back her hood and studied the scene. There - higher up on the wall. She pointed. "There's some kind of stain above where the body was. Almost washed away by the rain. Drag marks or something." Di'Fier studied the wall. "I wonder if the killer dragged him down the wall as he was trying to jump away." A check of the other side of the wall revealed nothing, and so the team haded back to Watch Headquarters. Before long, Dru and Di'Fier found themselves in the Rusty Lantern over a pair of hot lunches. As they ate, the door opened to admit a slight figure, hunched against the weather, and carrying an oilskin-wrapped package. Forcing the door closed, the figure threw back his hood to reveal the face of Lucius. The older man smiled when he saw that Dru and Di'Fier were present, and he crossed to their table. "Lucius!" Di'Fier exclaimed. "How is the job going at the Guild?" "Oh, quite well. The other librarian - well, as a librarian he's a pretty good wizard. I've already begun plans to reorganize the guild's library to something more along the lines of the Temple's - as it stands there's almost no organization at all." "Why do you think so many Guild members came to the Temple for their research?" Lucius turned to Dru. "Actually, it's because of you that I came here. Word has gotten around the Guild about the spellcasters, and the warehouse." As he spoke, he was unwrapping the bindings on the package to reveal a small stack of thin books. "I thought it might be helpful for you to know a little bit more about what you're up against. Anything in Di'Fier's library is probably a bit beyond the layman, but I've found these books to be quite helpful in explaining things in terms we non-wizards can understand. I don't think they'll be missed from the library, but -" he glanced at Di'Fier "- please keep it quiet all the same." "Of course," said Dru. "And thank you, Lucius." [/QUOTE]
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drnuncheon's Freeport Story Hour - Book II: Inheritance
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