Not having to sneak around made things far easier than they would have been otherwise. Themis and Snozzy strolled right into the main building of the Ferrymen, while Jim and I waited outside, as if we had every reason to be here.
We did, obviously. While they were mainly concerned with intra-city transportation, the higher ups in the Ferrymen guild still had more than a few connections to the larger shipping and boating industry. More than one ferryman found themselves carrying cargo when the ship it came in on was unable to get all the way to their desired drop-off point. Themis hadn't known of this relationship at all, but now that she did, it only made sense for her to speak with the guild in hopes of finding a faster or cheaper way to get home. Snozzy was a bit too large of a pet to be comfortably invited to those conversations, and he was tied up to a pillar inside the building, but was otherwise left to himself. As for me and Jim, we were quite clearly the hired ride for the bounty huntress, and were obliged to hang around the entrance to the guild waiting for them to finish up.
I couldn't see what was happening personally, but Jim was more than happy to quietly relay how the workers of the guild were distracted by the copper-haired Copperhair for a good half hour before they reluctantly had to return to the paperwork waiting for them. Snozzy enjoyed the attention, but he managed to keep himself entertained once left alone as well. By the end of the hour, Snozzy had managed to give every object and person he could reach a thorough olfactory examination, and Themis was wrapping up a singularly unsatisfactory series of negotiations. Knowing what we did of the Ferrymen’s smuggling activities, it made sense for them to be wary of working with or for a bounty hunter, even if they managed to provide a half dozen other reasons as to why it simply wasn’t a good time of year to be sailing to Frost Hill.
It was an angry Themis that stormed out of the building after collecting her pet, and once the pair had hopped back inside me, they quickly gave Jim directions leading to a quiet spot underneath a nearby bridge.
“Argh!” was Themis’s first exclamation. “I know you warned me, but it was still frustratingly impressive just how many ways they could tell me they couldn’t help me without actually telling me why. Again, not concrete evidence, but it definitely makes me think that they are involved with something fishy.”
“It would have been nice if you could have secured passage out of here, but we knew going in it was a long shot. How did Snozzy do?”
“Snozzy, work!” I might not be able to see, but the rapid scramble the dog went through as he pulled himself into the appropriate stance was still easily noticeable. Satisfied that her dog was giving her his full attention, Themis continued with her series of trained commands. Snozzy might lack the ability to speak, but he had been trained almost since birth to be able to answer a couple of critical questions for his bounty hunting owner.
“Snozzy, target?” Snozzy barked a couple times in response, and Themis translated for the rest of us. “He did smell the thief, but it wasn’t recent enough for him to get a scent trail from it. It could be that the weather or magic erased his trail, I can’t say for sure either way, but he was either here long enough or interacted with some of the objects to the degree that Snozzy was still able to get his smell.”
“I don’t think we can just run around the city hoping to stumble into him again, even knowing that he's possibly here, but the next hand-off is only a few days away. I still don’t think we should overplay our hand, but would there be enough of a trail there four or five hours later for you to follow it?” I asked, curious as to what Snozzy’s limits were.
“Maybe.” Themis admitted. “Snozzy is good at what he does, but that’s still a long period of time when the air has so much saltwater in it. Means it doesn’t hold a scent well, but you are correct that it doesn’t cost us anything but time to try. And while I would prefer catching this thief sooner rather than later, my finances should keep me mostly fed for a while yet. Better to take it slow and get it right, than to rush and to lose everything.”
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Once again I found myself taking up the role of inanimate object observer. Not that I could see much, but by having me spend the next few nights at the guild, I was able to confirm for Jim and Themis when exactly the smuggled items were handed over.
The next morning Jim and I were up bright and early, the better to pick up Snozzy and Themis and to take them to inspect the scene of the crime. It was so early as to still be completely dark out, but none of us needed light to do our work. We had travelled to and from the guild building enough times that Jim could likely do it in his sleep, while I had access to as many senses as I always did. The dark did mean that other people were less likely to notice us or make an issue of our presence, and once we arrived back at the Guild, Snozzy went to work with the vigor that only happy dogs are capable of. Round and around he went, making circles of various sizes as he tried to understand the complex medley of smells he was inhaling. Themis was right alongside him, praising him for everything he accomplished, while doing her best to keep the energetic and sociable puppy on task.
Twenty minutes after they started, Themis returned, dragging a very reluctant dog.
“It worked perfectly. Snozzy here was able to pick up the scent of not just the thief, but also what I think is a rather unique painting that was stolen a month ago. The pigments were magical in nature, and unusual enough that they probably stand out to his sensitive nose. Snozzy wanted to start tracking them down immediately, but both trails immediately split up and both lead onto the canals”
It takes a bit of back and forth discussion, but Themis eventually made the unilateral decision to try and chase down the thief first. Both Jim and I are more interested in figuring out where exactly these criminals store their valuables, but since Themis is the one person that Snozzy listens to, we reluctantly decide to go along with her plan, with the goal of returning and trying to pick up the trail of the painting later.
Trying to accommodate a scent hound on a boat is novel headache. The scent in the air isn’t considerate enough to stay in one place, but diffuses and moves around as the weather changed. This isn’t a forest or solid ground where the scent has places it can attach to and linger, and we do our best to chase down the rapidly fading trail.
What makes us call the chase off is not Snozzy losing the trail, but the fact that it led to an expensive neighborhood. We don’t know if the thief is staying here or if it just a convenient stop on the way to his final destination, and once the aggressive guards nearby spot us it becomes clear we won’t be finding out today either. Jim and Themis are clearly not dressed like people who live or work in this part of the city, and while Snozzy is a good boy, he’s also about ten times larger than the little yappers that most high society women prefer as companions.
Not wanting to attract unwanted attention to ourselves, I reluctantly rowed us back to the guild, and we began the process of tracking down the stolen painting.
This time luck is on our side, as whatever magic is imbued in the pigments allows it to flaunt the rules of physics. Even after all these hours the trail is strong, although whoever left it was doing their best to throw pursuers off their trail. More than once the boat we’re tracking turned around, or perhaps handed the package off to another carrier. Unable to run free like he wanted to, Snozzy began to get anxious, but some more dried meat was enough to bribe him to stay focused a little longer.
The trail ends at a newer warehouse, and we content ourselves with observing it from a distance. Two burly men were on guard outside the only entrance we can see, and both looked mean and ready to commit violence at the slightest provocation. Just as we’re about to leave the place, the doors opened up and someone walked casually out from inside. Jim was in the perfect position to let us know that it was Mr. Winkler, an older gentleman with a management role in the guild, who served as a liaison between the Ferrymen and multiple other groups. We still didn’t know what exactly was inside the building, but Mr. Winkler’s presence was enough to confirm that this was a Ferrymen building that they didn't tell people about, and that it was almost certainty connected with their smuggling business