Second Shield | The Case of the Dwarven Scammer

[detectiveforhierophant]

Sender: King Arthur/Firebird | Ryotaro Dojima/Eustace

Recipient: Everyone

[If you noticed Dojima’s handwriting before, it could be a bit chicken scratch- not from a lack of penmanship, but simply because his work had him writing up a lot of reports, and you had to do it quickly. This time however, his handwriting is noticeably neater and careful, trying to make sure no one can misread the information.]

Notice to All Aspects.

Within the recent months, a scam artist has been making the rounds in the Index, going after both locals and Aspects alike.

Based on description, the culprit is likely a Dwarf, who’s hair varies in colour, possibly dying it or using magic to change it.

If you or anyone you know has been involved in some sort of scam, please let either me or Eustace know; we’re currently involved in the investigation. Information on what the scam entitled, the date it occurred, the scammer's appearance, and location would be a great benefit.

[The handwriting then switches to something a little cleaner and not necessarily elegant, but neat.]

There are suspicions that there may be multiple individuals, making it a crime ring. If you think you found one, don't do anything stupid. There haven't been reports of any violent exchanges, but we don't need this to become more complicated than necessary.

However, if you do manage to capture one, bring them to the nearest law enforcement.

Feel free to respond to us here, or come to us in person at the Index Guard house where we’re currently stationed.

[Notes: Dojima did most of the talking, Eustace is the colored text. Reminder that all threads are open to everyone, so feel free to respond to each other to swap notes or be reminded of clues. The official "plotting" posting is here and anyone can still sign up if they want to! We can work out follow-up threads if desired and last reminder that players are free to come up with random clues to help flesh out the dwarves and scams.]

Comments

[arrogator]

[Presumably all that happened, yes. Even if he hadn't asked, it's super reasonable to assume the super pissed off looking person might've been a victim of the scam ring.]

Yeah that's me. And this is the place.

[She'll point behind her over at the deserted building and judging from her mood, she still hasn't gotten over it not being some super exclusive buffet.]

[flamekthunder]

[He'll just nod as he eyes the building before walking up to it. Time to investigate.]

And this is where they were handing out the tickets, correct? Was it just you or were there others?

[arrogator]

There were a few people around, but he singled me out. Here I thought that was a good thing.

[And clearly he would single her out because she is awesome and the type of person that would be very interested in something like that!

..also she might've been staring at the signage promising delicious gourmet food making her an easy mark.]

[flamekthunder]

[...Yeah, he's definitely thinking that.]

You didn't think anything about his behavior was suspicious at all? Or were you that blinded by the deal?

[arrogator]

Hey! It seemed like a good deal, all right?

[She might be a little touchy about that subject still.]

And besides, I don't know a lot about these things. Haven't been to that many restaurants before. Not like they are now anyways.

[flamekthunder]

[That gets him to arch a brow as he glances back at her before he opens the door. It appears as if it were boarded up, but it opens easily instead.]

Sheltered?

[Yep he did just say that, also if she wants to follow he's holding that door open for only so long.]

[arrogator]

No.

[...yes, kind of. Just not in any sort of conventional sense.

But Mordred won't think about that as she heads in to the apparently not boarded up restaurant.]

Just not a lot of things like this where I'm from.

[There were almost certainly pubs and taverns and things like that, but she wasn't super big on socializing, so she didn't really go. Kinda hard to do that without taking her helmet off, so it just didn't happen.]

Mostly got food from the kitchens and ate in the hall or my room, so it's not something I really got to visit or try until I was summoned.

[flamekthunder]

Summoned?

[An odd choice of words. Given the context he's heard so far, was she some kind of servant or knight?

But he's only half paying attention, his focus more on the building itself. If this had been operational restaurant, it wasn't for long. It seemed as if they took everything out, including the furniture. No tables or chairs, nothing on the shelves. Just some leftover trash and copies of the coupons Mordred had received. He hadn't even entered the kitchens yet, but he's suspecting a similar desolate look.]

[arrogator]

Long, complicated ass story. Don't worry about it.

[While he's doing that, Mordred'll look in the kitchen and yup, deserted. And here she was still kind of hoping for some sign of it being desserted instead.]

What a bunch of crap!

[She'll just kick at one of the cabinets getting more and more irritated about this.]

If you're gonna do this kind of thing, at least dress up the inside too!

[flamekthunder]

[Eustace only casts her a sidelong glance at her kick, but then he stops and turns back. The door had opened and from his angle he can see something inside.]

They knew they wouldn't be here for long.

[Stepping towards the cabinet, he pries the door open wider and narrows his eyes before pulling out the item still inside. A small bottle of hair dye.]

The only thing they bothered dressing was themselves.

[Does this place have a fingerprint system? He's wearing gloves regardless and he'll just slip this in a bag from his satchel.]

[arrogator]

You've gotta be kidding me, can't put together the inside, but they can store their crap here?!

[She's not here for this! And the jury's out on if Mordred even knows what fingerprinting is. Maybe? Who knows?]

You guys better catch them because if not...look, no way am I going to be made a laughingstock by a bunch of dwarves with stupid hair!

[flamekthunder]

You wouldn't be the only one. [Clearly not showing much concern to her indignation.]

We'll catch them, but if you have time to complain, you can help. Look through the other cupboards, see if there's anything else left behind.

[arrogator]

Fine.

[She'll grumble and start looking through the cupboards, opening and slamming them shut, her annoyance only growing as she looks, until...]

Hey wait...

[She'll pull out a bunch of paper from one of them.]

Found a bunch of the tickets, and some blank paper too! Wonder if they were going to use this for another trick.

[flamekthunder]

[Oh? Hearing her, he walks over to inspect, carefully taking one of the already made tickets.]

Does it look the same as the one you had before?

[arrogator]

[She'll take another look and...]

Yeah, looks about the same to me. Think it'll help find them?

[flamekthunder]

I'm not familiar with how investigations work in this world, but it can. Whether it's tracing where the paper is bought, the ink, or even fingerprints...

[An idea suddenly strikes him and he stares at the slips of paper for a moment. This is...kind of a ridiculous thought, but something is telling him to try it.]

Hold on.

[And without any further warning, he transforms into a larger, silver gray wolf.]

[arrogator]

Whoa!

[She hasn't seen anything like that before. Big magic wolves, yeah probably. People turning into things, sure. But not both at the same time!]

Hey wait, can you still talk like that?

[Because she really has no idea.]

[flamekthunder]

Yes.

[However, unlike modern CGI movies, although his mouth parts as he speaks, his lips don't move.]

Set the papers on the table. I don't know if this will work since I've never tried it before, but I might be able to catch their scent.

[He's already getting a whiff of a lot different smells in this place, so that's at least a good sign that he has a heightened sense of smell. Whether his wolf essence is that of an average wolf or as good as a bloodhound, however, they'll find out soon enough.]

[arrogator]

[Mordred's never seen a modern movie, so it's not like she'd know! She'd probably be weirded out if his mouth moved and human speech came out. Not a lot of talking animals in her parts of the story. Maybe if Disney had kept adapting past the Sword in the Stone, but that would've gotten really awkward really fast.]

All right, sure.

[She'll just set them on the table for him to..sniff. wow, this is weird to her. She's hoping it works! If not, it'd be kind of embarrassing honestly.]

[flamekthunder]

[The one would be embarrassed would be him, okay. Let's just hope Mordred didn't use any weird smelling soaps or something.

Stepping up to the slips of paper, Eustace closes his eyes and takes a good whiff. ...Hm.]

...The scent on the ink is still strong, so they weren't printed that long ago. There's also something strange...

[He moves over to the plain slips of paper, and once the scent of ink fades, his brows furrow, nose crinkles a bit, and his ears twitch slightly.]

Animals? [.....Hm.] A farm, maybe?

[arrogator]

[Mordred is more likely to be like "what is soap" than use weird soaps. Which isn't to say she doesn't use it, it's just not something she puts too much thought into.]

A farm? Are you saying I got tricked by a bunch of farmers?

[Probably not what Eustace is saying, but it's the first conclusion Mordred jumped to.]

[flamekthunder]

[Even as a wolf he is giving her the driest, "Are you stupid?" look manageable.]

No. [The word comes out as a low growl before he turns his head, catching a faint trail. As he slowly pads through the kitchen and towards the back, his ears swivel every now and then, catching the odd noise here and there.]

But they may have a hideout or a production line out there. An abandoned farmhouse, a relative's cellar. Could even be just outside of a farm or any place that is housing animals.

[His nose eventually leads him to what at first appears as a pantry, but after Eustace stares at it, he turns to Mordred.]

Open it.

[Yep, just dishing orders like it's no big deal.]

[arrogator]

[She might be grumbling about that dry look even as she goes to open the pantry. She knows when someone thinks she's stupid! ...mostly because she occasionally got looks like that in Camelot from a certain wizard she can't stand.

But she'll stop griping to check out the pantry door he's led her to, giving it a curious look.]

There's something in here too?

[She'll just reach out and pull the thing open to find...?]

[flamekthunder]

[Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

However, Mordred may feel a small breeze of cold air filter in from somewhere in the back of the pantry, and when Eustace steps to the side to allow more light, she'll see a small rope hanging from the top. It's up to her if she wants to pull it or not to reveal the secret panel at the bottom that will open to a ladder going down. But in the meantime, Eustace transforms back to his normal self and thank God his clothes stay on.]

A hidden passage. Up to you if you want to follow along.

[Meaning, he's going in.]

[arrogator]

[Yeah thanks for keeping your clothes on Eustace.]

Of course I'm following along! No way am I backing out now.

[She's not the type to do something like that, so she will absolutely be following him down the ladder.]