The Fire and The Black: Daemonfold [IC]

[Genth]

"Sounds excellent. Will meet you therr in one hour." Tsolg nods, and turns to leave and find Rakinen

[Hazuki]

Solys pats herself down, to make sure she has everything she came in with, and steadily makes her way out of the Academy. Hardcheese pokes her nose out of the top of Solys' robes, helping her keep an eye out for any troublesome wizards or their familiars hanging around the area. She checks again once she's out of the Academy itself and, feeling somewhat less anxious now that she's out of the most dangerous grounds in Korvosa, heads to the Shoreline Drinkhall to secure a room for the group.

[Stelio Kontos]

Rakinen had found a small bench outside the hall to perch on, with his elbows rested on his knees and his bowed head resting on the interlaced fingers of his hands. He was apparently in deep thought, for he paid no heed at all to any of the passersby that walked just a few feet away; it seemed as though Jerrick Overni himself could have danced a jig along the path and it wouldn't have drawn his attention.

[PersonMan]

Spoiler: Solys

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Leaving the campus is as easy as going around the large Hall of Conjuration and going back out by the same gate as the group came in through earlier. The same two students are present there, not seeming to question that Solys is leaving on her own, merely giving her a nod and returning to their discussion. Outside the Academae's walls, the setting sun is both more and less noticeable, as shadows stretch over many of the streets. Solys moves downhill as she leaves the aptly-named Heights, going along a road parallel to the Jeggare River before turning and eventually crossing over the High Bridge. As always, she's followed by stares, and has a good look at the backs of many heads along the way. Once across the river, in East Shore, she turns and quickly finds the Shoreline Drinkhall precisely where its name implies it to be - less than a hundred feet from the edge of the Jeggare.

The Drinkhall itself is relatively empty, not yet filled by those coming from their work for a drink, with only a few scattered Shoanti and Varisians nursing drinks or eating the plain food on offer, conversing just enough to fill the air with the quiet sound of colliding words. As she arrives, Solys catches the attention of...all of them. And the barkeep, who pauses in his cleaning of a mug to look at her for a moment before clearing his throat.

"Ahem. What'll it be?" He asks. The low murmur of conversation from before doesn't return.

[Hazuki]

"A room, please." Solys tells the barkeep. "And for you to tell a hobgoblin and human who come in what room it is." She pauses again. "Do you have one with a table and sturdy chairs?"

[PersonMan]

Spoiler: Solys

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The man nods slowly. "A human, and a hobgoblin...I, uh, guess I won't need their names, unless they come in separately," he says. "We have one like that. How long do you need it?"

[Hazuki]

"A few hours." Solys nods.

[PersonMan]

Spoiler: Solys

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"Alright. Three silver," the man says, already stepping back from the counter to take a key from the wall behind him.

Assuming Solys pays, he hands her the key and gives her brief directions; following them takes her up a set of stairs, to the left, and into the second door, leading into a fairly cozy room with a bed on the opposite wall, next to a small window, with a table and four chairs in the center of the room.

[Genth]

"Rakinen" a voice says, quietly.

"RAKINEN!" the voice barks, harshly, and Tsolg is standing in front of the priest, frowning. "Come on. We're meeting Solys at the Shoreline Drinkhall to plan our next steps." he growls, and turns to go.

[Stelio Kontos]

The first mention didn't get much attention, but the second certainly did. "Wha --" was all he could say, having almost been woken from a sleep, until he realized who was yelling his name. He gave a small silent nod to acknowledge the hobgoblin, took a deep breath, and rose to follow.

[PersonMan]

Spoiler: Rakinen, Tsōlg

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Leaving the campus is as easy as going around the large Hall of Conjuration and going back out by the same gate as the group came in through earlier. The same two students are present there, giving the two a nod before returning to their discussion. Outside the Academae's walls, the setting sun is both more and less noticeable, as shadows stretch over many of the streets. The route takes Rakinen and Tsōlg downhill, from the aptly-named Heights along a road parallel to the Jeggare River before turning and eventually crossing over the High Bridge. Once across the river, in the accurately if uninspiredly-named East Shore, it's a quick turn to the left that brings the two to the Shoreline Drinkhall, which is placed precisely where its name implies it to be - less than a hundred feet from the edge of the Jeggare.

The Drinkhall itself is a touch busy, with about half a dozen men sitting down around a table, each with a mug in their hand and loosened vests of the Korvosan guard, their energetic chatter mixing with the lower discussions of various Varisian and Shoanti to form a background chatter that fills the room. The barkeep smiles when he spots the duo, and gestures them to come forwards, before giving brief directions - up the stairs, left, second door - that will bring to the room that "your friend, the big...very big, horned woman got for you all".

Following these directions leads the pair to a fairly cozy room, with a bed on the opposite wall, next to a small window, with a table and four chairs in the center of the room. Solys sits in one.

Spoiler: Solys

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The others (presumably) arrive.

[Stelio Kontos]

Rakinen followed Tsolg dispiritedly toward the East Shore without a word; it was just as well to let Tsolg lead the way, for Rakinen only had a vague idea of the location. It was in, quite frankly, a nicer (and more expensive) part of town than he usually frequented. How expensive? He hadn't really dared to find out of late. That was only reason seven million (give or take) why his stomach was churning and his heart was pounding at what felt like a thousand beats a minute, but it was still on the list.

Once at the hall, he gave a nod of thanks to the bartender and ascended the stairs, placing himself silently into the chair opposite Solys at the table.

[Genth]

Having enjoyed the silent trip, Tsōlg deposits himself in the chair, gives a small sigh, and looks at the other two, one hand rising to rub at his left temple slightly. "Do we want to talk about our teamwork first, or about what we practically do next?" he asks, in a small voice.

[Stelio Kontos]

Rakinen, his voice almost a whisper, murmured "I do not see the point in discussing how we are going to work together if we do not even agree on what we are trying to do." He shifted uncomfortably in his chair, bracing himself for yet another mental blow.

[Genth]

Tsōlg thinks for a moment, then nods. "Yes, that's a fair point. Solys?"

[Hazuki]

Solys rolls her eyes. "We're finding Jerrick, you ****ing fool. Are you going to keep whining like a little bitch to try to make us feel sorry for you, or actually do the job?"

[Stelio Kontos]

Rakinen thought for a few seconds, took a deep calming breath, then turned calmly to Tsolg. "Sometime tomorrow you're going to have to explain to me how I'm the fool for not understanding that when Solys was asking what we were getting paid to do, that she already knew exactly what we were getting paid to do. Anyway...

"Here's how I see the situation: we don't really know very much, do we? We don't know for sure where he's gone, or why he's gone, or how he got there. All the signs say he's probably gone far away to the mountains -- but I can't help feeling we would be making a mistake to rush off. Jerrick, or whoever has taken him if that's what happened, has far too big a head start; there's little sense in us trying to run a race they will already have finished. Maybe it couldn't hurt to listen to the professor, make sure we're confident he's really left town, before we go chasing after him?

What bothers me is if someone took him, wouldn't they have contacted the family by now? Family's got lots of money, after all, and they're willing to pay to get him back..."

[Hazuki]

"You're the one who asked when we sat down. If you don't know, you were in no position to answer the question earlier." Solys says. "And we're here to go over the information we have to find something we missed. A list of things we know for certain, things that are uncertain, known connections, things like that."

[Stelio Kontos]

"I'm not stopping you."

[Hazuki]

"The idea is that we pool all of our information. I can't take the thoughts out of your head, however few they are." Solys says. "Does anybody have paper?"

[Stelio Kontos]

"Paper?" Rakinen hesitated, just for a moment, then reached down into the pack beside him, withdrawing a neatly wrapped chronicler's kit, which he unbundled, placing a well-worn journal back in his pack; the one that remained was apparently blank and unused. "Take care with it, please. It's the only one I have."

[Genth]

Tsōlg gives a small chuckle. "After this mission, you can have all the paper you want, Rakinen." he says, before leaning forwards and placing both the tightly wrapped bottle and the glove on the table. "Lets start with what Solys and I recovered from the boy's room. This vial,
has a magical aura with an oily quality, and a mark that corresponds to this new tribe. The glove is marked with the symbol of a Dawnflower group who seeks redemption, primarily for Tieflings. Correct so far, Solys?"

[Hazuki]

"The symbol on the glove is not always associated with Sarenrae." Solys corrects. "But...yes, other than that."

[Stelio Kontos]

"The girl, the tiefling, what's her name, Irena... she had a glove just like that, you know" Rakinen mused somewhat uncertainly, not quite sure he was invited to speak. "It's probably hers. I'm not sure if that means anything other than we know she knew Jerrick though? But we already knew that."

[Genth]

Tsōlg nods, curtly, and pushes the glove aside. "Likely just a token of his infatuation, and irrelevant then." he remarks, and focusing on the vial. "Next set of information. His room was ransacked, and magical texts ruined, practical components torn out, save for an abjuration text on mage armor. Meanwhile, we have information from other students to the tune that Jerrick was a poor student until recently, when he suddenly became excellent. Still correct so far?"

[Stelio Kontos]

"I guess so. It would be nice to know who tore the books up though -- Jerrick or whoever was after him. Do you think maybe there's any importance to that one book being left alone? We also have that map, of course. That seems important. Maybe there was another message like it, with the hidden message, in the book... I hope not."

[PersonMan]

The pair compile the information they've gathered, then set to the more difficult task of sorting through it and finding an explanation that fits all of it. The plans of the guard routes and sudden disappearance make it seem like Jerrick may have snuck out of the Academae, which itself most likely points to some fear (whether unfounded or legitimate) of the Academae's administration and a desire for secrecy, given that students are allowed to exit the campus if they wish to. Given what you've heard about the Academae's so-called "Archrules", it would follow that Jerrick broke one and was afraid of being discovered, so he decided to flee the campus to avoid punishment.

Of course, this theory doesn't explain the state of his room, the vial, the vial's symbol...but it does narrow the most likely possibilities, given the Archrules cover cheating, unauthorized summoning, sabotage of other students, unauthorized entry to an off-limits area, and unauthorized exiting of campus grounds. Dusk settles and the time Solys rented the room for comes to an end; a decision is made to meet up again the next morning to continue the investigation.

Spoiler: The Morning

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Unless a different location is chosen, you meet up again at the Overni residence; nothing particularly unusual happens during the time between.

[Genth]

Morning comes, and Tsōlg arrives at the gates, looking his usual charming self. He nods at the guards, but doesn't head in, moving to the side and leaning up against the outer wall and looking back out on the street. "Waiting for the Nemesis of Doors." he explains, sardonically.

[Hazuki]

When Solys arrives, she's looking relatively fresh-faced and, like yesterday, clad in all of her gear. "Tsolg." She greets him. "I've been thinking...from what we know of Jerrick, he didn't know much about the city, did he? Or how to escape? And maybe he had to get somebody's help to help him escape, and if we can guess whose he'd want, we can just find them."

[Genth]

Tsōlg nods thoughtfully, stroking his chin slightly. "I mean, he did grow up in this city, but that doesn't translate into knowing how to get out without help..." he looks to the guard. "Please tell Lord Overni that we are here."