Grugg swung out with Thud in a wide arc, catching the closest plant-villager with the metal cap. Instead of the crunch of bones or the deep thunk of skin and muscles being crushed, there was a light flop as the petal-like creature was just knocked away.
Bart swore under his breath as he dove and rolled through the mud, thankful that Kurt had some muscle mass to him and he didn’t break his old wizard shoulders as he ducked beneath the second striking villager.
The crack of Gregor’s whip rang out beside the cyclops, and the impact cut a small section of fabric from one of the attackers hovering in the air.
“I am not sure this will go our way, ser Grugg.” He snarled and drew his silver dagger into his left hand.
“Need to catch criminals,” the Detective responded, his eye darting over to the pair who were supposed to be on the stage.
They had retreated now, Jack dragging Lauren off to the back, the woman’s eyes lingering on the restrained Kurt before she vanished past the looming flower monsters and hazy fog.
The cyclops flourished his large club as his eye darted between the enclosing enemies. “Grugg think need to get to root of the problem.”
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“That’s… well, I’m not sure what to say in response to that, actually.” Claudia wrinkled her nose up at the folders Peony had opened up on the table.
“You can let me know if you have any disagreements.” The Investigator gave her a wry smile before moving the page round so both the clothesmaker and Hessler could see.
“How… unique,” he said, furrowing his brow at the page.
That’s not how Claudia would describe it. Before her was some manner of chart arranged into a grid. It detailed all the different pair or groupings of the five of them and what they were effective at. Grugg and Gregor were a good match for a pragmatic response. Grugg and Bart were a match for an intelligent or thoughtful response. Grugg and herself were for an emotional response.
She furrowed her brow and pointed. “It says here that the group of Grugg, Gregor, and Bart are the ‘recipe for disaster’.”
“Correct.” Peony smiled wider. “They are no less effective, but they are more… chaotic. At least, since Barthelemy attained his new form.”
Claudia pouted, but couldn’t really dispute that. Grugg was a handful alone, but paired with someone to guide him, he was mostly controllable. Gregor and Bart spent most of their time at each other’s necks. Trying to babysit the cyclops with the pair of them often involved them getting into more danger than they had bargained for… but also coming out on top still.
“You seem to think the pairing of yourself and Gregor is highly effective.” She raised an eyebrow at the monochrome Investigator.
Peony shrugged in return. “Yes, well, these are only rough guides I made in my spare time when I needed more paperwork to do. Hessler, just needs to know what you’re capable of, and if you can be an asset to his work.”
The clothesmaker nodded. If anything, she wished she was doing some detective work and getting into trouble right now.
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Grugg was starting to think this was a little bit too much trouble than it was worth. Moving away from the center of the village hadn’t dissuaded the strange plant flowers from following them. Bart, who was now cradled under his arm and still restrained, had suggested going back to the roots. The criminals might escape, but it was better that they still had their lives and got rid of the dangerous problem first.
“Can’t ser Hat transform into something to remove the cuffs?” Gregor duck around the corner and tried to catch his breath.
The cyclops slid on the wet mud as he tried to do the same, instead just slamming into one of the decrepit houses and breaking through the wall.
Gregor narrowed his red eyes. “I have no idea how we have made it this far.”
“Was stagecoach, and walking,” Grugg offered helpfully, as he tried to right himself out of the wreckage created.
Bart groaned, some blood running down the side of his head in his shapeshift form. “Yes, I can shift, but only back to myself for now.”
He picked himself up out of the mess of ruined wood in his red robes and wizard hat, passing the handcuffs back over to Grugg. “Now that they can’t see me, it’s fine to turn back, I suppose.”
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“Enough supposing,” Gregor snapped, “let’s get to the underground.”
Grugg nodded and then swung Thud down into an enemy that darted through the alley toward them. Crushed down into the mud, he then stepped down upon them. While they squirmed, he could now see the dark brown root that trained down from their flower body and deep into the ground.
He didn’t need to say anything, as the ratman had already leaped upon it and began cutting through with his dagger.
“There are more coming our way,” Bart warned, before looking around. “From the sides, too. Storeroom is just behind the next two houses.”
After a faint shriek as Gregor severed the root, the petals fell limp and flat onto the mud.
Grugg turned in the direction of the tunnel hatch. “Just through building, Bart say?” A wide grin crossed his face.
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“Takes more than a smile to win us over,” Claudia said and crossed her arms. “We aren’t really motivated by treasure or glory, either.”
Despite the admonishment, Hessler remained smiling. “Naturally, Miss Ollen. If I thought you were so easily swayed by simple reward, I would have not approached Lady Valoth.”
“So,” Peony interjected, “other than paying us well, there will be other benefits, correct? Not that we have unearthed the roots of Nightshade, the team will be hard pressed to remove their nose from that scent.” Her gray eyes shot over to the clothesmaker for backup.
Claudia nodded eagerly. “The others are definitely difficult to dissuade once their minds are set on something.” Usually that something was eating or thinking of a new insult to call one another, but the criminal gang was an exception.
“Of course.” Hessler held up his hands in surrender. “In fact, if my assumptions are correct, our paths might be more adjacent than they at first seem.”
The clothesmaker narrowed her eyes. She wasn’t sure she liked the implication that whatever he had been up to was suddenly tied to their current breakthrough. Too convenient.
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“Nice shortcut!” Grugg grinned as he plowed through the second building, tearing it to broken parts with little effort. The damp and decay had made them soft and allowed the cyclops to barrel through with ease, the other two following behind closely.
The monsters had tried to swerve in and attack them, but hadn’t expected the direct route the cyclops was taking. Unable to sprout themselves through the floor of the houses, they’d had to circle around the outside.
“There’s storehouse!” Grugg thundered forward across the thick mud and slammed through the wide doors and into the intended building. Without hesitation, he had leaped up into the air and slammed his heavy boots down on the hatch. It creaked and buckled, but stayed put.
“Not the best idea, ser Grugg,” the ratman scowled between the large Detective and then back out into the village. At least two dozen flower-ghosts clouded the air, visible amongst the gloom. They were closing in fast. “Perhaps caution is a dangerous vehicle for our current destination.”
“Poetic,” Bart huffed as he gasped for air, hands on his knees. “Wrong body for cardio.”
“Stole it from a book,” Gregor murmured.
A second crack and Grugg had jumped a second time, this effort now splitting the center of the hatch off and away from the sturdy hinges. With little ceremony, this brief raft of wood then sped off down the decline toward the bottom of the tunnel with the cyclops aboard.
The ratman tutted and hopped down over the wrecked frame. “Always too eager. Coming, ser Shifter?”
Bart leaped over the debris in wolfman form. “Oh look, we’re twins now.”
Gregor bared his fangs but ignored the jab, and the pair set off down the slope to wherever the Detective had managed to get to. The sound of wood scraping against stone echoed up through the wide chamber before stopping. As silence tried to fight through the fading sounds of his descent, the soft chuckles of Grugg could then be heard.
The wizard kept an eye behind them, but it didn’t look like they were being followed down into the tunnel. It stood to reason that the roots couldn’t go through stone, but that just made him worry that they’d be waiting in the large underground chamber.
They slid to a stop to see Grugg waiting with his arms crossed, his single blue eye almost glowing in the dim light. “Took time.”
Gregor ignored him and slung his backpack around. From within, he threw an unlit torch towards the wolf-wizard, who couldn’t catch it, and into his own hand, he withdrew a flask. “Spare lantern oil,” he said with a wide grin.
“You don’t even carry a lantern,” Bart said, slightly muffed as he tried to pick the torch up with his mouth.
“That’ll be why it’s spare then, ser Hat.” Gregor rolled his eyes. “We might destroy any remaining evidence down here as collateral, if you have any problems with that, ser Grugg?”
The cyclops thought for a second. In normal practice, it would be a terrible idea to ruin the crime scene. Then again, without getting rid of the plant monster, they wouldn’t be able to leave the village. If Bart and Gregor had been content enough with what they gathered from the small room, then that’d have to be good enough.
“If only Grugg brought adventuring kit with Message Stones in,” he thought out loud. With a shrug, he then gave the ratman a shrug. “Let us kill naughty plant.”
After all, the sooner they could get all this actually over with, then he could get back home and get some good food in him. Hopefully Claudia would be back, too.
He withdrew the bar from the door and placed it nicely to the side. Never knew when it might be handy. As he placed his hand on the door, a voice stopped him from moving further.
“I can’t let you do that.”
The trio turned slowly to see Jack and Lauren, both of them holding crossbows loaded and aimed at the group.
“Why are you here?” The woman asked the wolfman Bart. “Where’s Kurt?”
“Foolish,” Gregor bared his fangs. “You can only kill two of us, and the third will slaughter you while you reload.” His tail lashed back and forth behind him.
“Grugg told you under arrest.” The cyclops narrowed his eye and his grip on Thud tightened. “Trying to make Detectives dead is very serious crime.”
“Only if they catch us,” Jack said, raising his weapon up to aim at the cyclops.