In the dead of night, the portly man and his aging, suited butler traversed the empty city streets. And Suran followed. Not one sound was made from either party, the silence only being broken by the low hum of a cool wind through the city corridors. From street to street, the two hurriedly traveled. Lurking in the shadows, Suran prowled. Through the city they went, south against the wind.
Expansive estates turned into efficient town homes then to cramped storefronts. All familiar scenery dissipated the further Suran followed the two; the scent of salt water wafted through the breeze and the compact buildings evolved into wide warehouses. Past the gloomy architecture out there was a sea, gleaming under the light of the blue terrestrial and brown Jovian above.
Suran tailed them through the warehouses and an expansive dock opened up before him. Ships lined the wooden docks accompanied with the crates of all shapes and sizes. The sea reflected an indescribable and breath-taking light from the planetary duo above – Suran allowed himself to be taken for not even a moment. The portly man and his companion were not equally enthralled by the scenery and instead shuffled their way down the harbor road. They dipped back into an alley way into the building, and peering over the corner, Suran watched the two crack upon a door and disappear inside.
He waited a minute before walking up to the door and jostling it's knob – but it was locked. Quickly scouting the exterior, he found there were no other windows or doors on its side. Except on the roof where he could barely make out skylights on the slanted surface. Standing at roughly 20 feet tall, the roof was out of Suran's reach. So he went around back to look for a way up. He was disappointed at what he found: Smashed wooden bars and rails indicating that at one time a ladder had existed in this spot but was removed. However, it looked like the ladder was built along with the building and was removed after so Suran thought there was a possibility that other buildings would have a way up.
The next building down had the exact same situation, evidence of a ladder that was torn off. It was not until two more building down he found one intact, and promptly scaled it to the top. Treading carefully on the slope, he positioned himself across from the next building, took a few steps back, and ran forward, launching himself over the gap separating the buildings, safely to the other side. He repeated this process until he reached designated building. Acting quickly, he scaled to the windows and began trying to pry it open. The window panes were caked in dust and dirt, apparent that no one had bother to clean or maintain them in ages. Working his hand around the edge, he finally found a latch at the bottom, and with a tug he unlocked the window. Suran gently raised open the window from the latch and inched underneath. Wooden beams, constructed parallel to the ground, ran underneath the roof for support. Suran dropped down from the window onto a thick wooden platform, careful to not make a noise.
He could make out voices below, so he balanced along the wood supports, making his way to the source. Down below was a concrete floor and rows of crates stacked high, so he was very careful on not falling; tumbling down was one problem, but landing on a hard surface or on a crate risked bodily damage, alerting those in the building, or both. A cubicle set aside along the wall was the source of the voices, so Suran made his way over and lightly dropped down from the beams down onto the top of the cubicle room. The door to the small, sectioned off room was open, letting their voice ring out loud and clear.
“No more excuses, Mr. Shroom,” a monotone, cold voice said. Silence permeated the air save for the repetitive tapping of fingernails on wood. “You understand that if you want our continued support you will need to make progress, correct?”
Someone replied in a wobbly voice, “O-o-of course! You know how I have been making headway in breaking the ranks of the lords, like Reginald – I'm sure he will break any day now. Speaking of Reginald, h-how is Anna doing? Is she well –“
“Enough of the girl,” the unknown voice snapped at him. “You know full well if she is safe so stop bringing her up. You can have the dumb broad if and when you provide results.”
“Yes, yes, of course! Not a thing to worry about.”
“There better not be a damn thing to worry about. That strange man – who your men couldn't chase down – asking about us around town after you kidnapped a guy's daughter better not be a damn problem. The riot that started in the market better not be a damn problem. The fact some nobleman are fancying resisting better not be a damn problem. Remember, there is more on the line here then that stupid bitch you rave about all the time.”
A peculiar sound that was between a wheezing, nervous chuckle and a piggish whimper was the only response.
“If there is nothing else, then get out. I don't have any more time to waste on you.”
The screeching of chairs followed by the opening and closing of a door indicated that the conversation was finished. Without a sound, Suran showed himself out as well, climbing back up to the supports and making his way to the window. He climbed back out into the night and closed the entrance behind him. Lord Shroom, who he could see waddling on the path below him like a kid that was scolded harshly by his mother, certainly held the information he desired. The sooner he could extort Annabelle's location, the sooner he could wrap this request up.
Up on the roof, he waited for the area to clear before leaping across the rooftops back towards the ladder. There was no use in following Shroom anymore; he had what he needed, so he opted to make his way through the city to Reginald's home. Now was the time for action, and he needed a plan.
A new sun was rising in the sky by the time he reached the home. Even though he had not a bite to eat or a wink of sleep in the last few days, Suran was full of energy. There was at last some real headway that could be made, and that prospect sustained him. Without another thought, he strolled up to the home and entered it. It was quiet, as usual, and Suran began making his way through to gather everyone.
“Who goes there?!” An alarmed voice rang out behind Suran as he walked through the corridors. He turned around to see Fletch brandishing a rather large sword in a fighting stance.
“Oh... It's just you,” he replied rather disappointed. “Would you mind knocking next time?”
“Sorry it slipped my mind,” Suran said, “Also why was the door unlocked in the first place?”
Fletch gave off a very sad frown, “I was gardening so I left the door open...”
“Anyways, gather everyone up – I have news.” Suran's eyes were wandering all over the place, completely restless.
The sword wielding man nodded and went off through the house while Suran went through the home and sat himself in the living room where he first met the Baron. A few minutes later, Baron Reginald came darting in, huffing and puffing, with Keira striding right behind him.
“What news?! Progress, anything?!” Reginald desperately asked, finding his way to a sofa and plopping down on it. The strained man leaned forward, listening intently.
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“First, you daughter is safe... probably,” he added after a moment of thought. “Last night I tailed Lord Shroom and he is working with Namnoc and most likely knows of her whereabouts.”
“That fat fuck...” Reginald muttered, burning rage visible in his eyes. “So what do we do?”
“What do we do?” Suran teased the answer. He had already come up with an idea that at least one person here would find enjoyable. “We visit the dear Lord and the dead of night and.. extract the information from him through various means.”
The Baron's furious frown twitched into a devilish grin, “Ahhh! I see how it is. If you need anything, please let me know, but just one request.”
“Hmm?”
“When you visit our dear friend Shroom, please kindly give him my regards.”
“Very well,” Suran said scanning the room. It was just Keira and Reginald – no, Natalya was here as well, lounging in a chair. When did she get here? “The plan is as follows: Me and preferably two to three other people infiltrate his home at night. After taking care of any threats, we secure the Lord. At that point, I will take him away separately and begin to question him. What I want from everyone else is to search the house for any information he has.” He paused to let the information sink. Reginald was processing while Fletch just walked in. “We will continue once we know her location.”
Reginald raised his hand and said, “Question.”
“Yes?”
“After you interrogate Shroom, what will you do with him?”
“A man of worth will leverage his assets against others. A man of no worth will seek to gain value in the eyes of anyone, lest he be cast away.” It was a better option to coerce Shroom into working with them rather than offing him.
Reginald caught on to the meaning and nodded in disappointment. “As I said, if you need anything, please ask. Keira and Fletch both have various combat training and experience so you may use them if you wish. I have a few others I can call to the estate, but that will take some time.”
“No need for more people,” Suran said as he stood up. “I will look around for what I need. If I find everything, we can begin tonight.” The Baron nodded his head and left the room, leaving everything to Suran. Keira remained in the room and Suran turned to her and asked, “The Baron said you had some combat experience. Could you elaborate?”
“Of course,” she swiftly responded, nodding her head. “I was trained to be, more or less, a guard for Baron Reginald. Daggers, knives, fist-to-fist fighting, and poisons are some of the things I learned.”
“Does your study of poisons include acids?” They will need to get through doors and windows, and if no one knew how to pick locks, they would need a way to enter without causing too much commotion, such as melting the lock or integrity of the door to allow easier access.
“Sometimes, yes.”
“Do you know any that would help in weakening locks, doors, and windows?”
“A few options come to mind, but I will have to look into it.”
“Then try to see if you can secure what you think will be useful, in the event we need an alternate way to get in.” Suran thought for a moment if there was anything else to add, “And grab me some mild, fast acting poison. Nothing lethal, just discomforting.”
She frowned and her eyes looked up and to the left, thinking over the request, before nodding and leaving the room.
Fletch stepped forward and asked, “Will I need anything?”
“Tools,” Suran answered. “We need tools: ropes, hammers, crowbars, whatever you can find. Some will be for breaking in, some will be for other purposes.”
“I got plenty of equipment out in the garden shed,” Fletch said pointing over his shoulder with his thumb. “Take a look through and see what you need. I will make the arrangements to bring them along. Anything else?”
“No, nothing else. Just be ready for a fight.”
Fletch left, leaving Natalya and Suran alone. She straightened herself out in the chair and looked eagerly at Suran.
“Sooooooooo, what am I doing?”
Suran blinked at her with an emotionless face, “Nothing,”
She let out groan and sunk back in her chair, “Whhhhy don't I get to do anything?!”
“What can you do?” Suran retorted.
“Cook.”
“Case in point,” Suran said, rising from his chair. “If all you can do is cook, then this will be too dangerous for you. You chose to follow me; if you don't like it, then go home.”
She slipped down into the chair and yawned “Well, it's not like I can go home anyways. Besides, it looks like you are bout to be finished here. What do you plan to do after you rescue Annabelle? Fight these Nomnac people?”
“I have no intentions of picking a fight with them. I will rescue the girl, and that will be the end of it.”
Natalya's face scrunched up as she did not seem to like the response, “If you say so. Then what are you going to do when this is over?”
“It's not over, yet,” Suran responded annoyed.
She groaned again, “Are you dense or something? I know that! I'm saying after this. B. Regi is gunna help you with becoming registered with that guild, but then what?”
Suran snapped at her, “Look, we can deal with that later. I'm more worried about the current situation.” Frustration visible on his face, he was in no mood to talk anymore. He left Natalya in the room and went out to find Fletch's shed to gather tools. His mind was already set; no matter what, Lord Shroom will be getting visitors tonight.