"I've been livin' my life like a man in chains Ever since she took her love away... Now, it's dark as a dungeon down where I've been And there ain't no way I'm going back again"
Isles of Myst Brookshire Rue rubbed his jawline and stared again at the charred structure of the warehouse, most of it lying in smoldering piles upon the ground. It was amazing that no one had been injured with such destruction. The hemp had burned like the dry weed it was, taking everything with it. All that remained was the sweet heady scent that still hung heavily in the air, seeping its way into fabric and hair. This morning Duke Darell Branton had offered him a job. Security Investigator. Rue shook his head as he recalled Lady Aurine's hand over his as she tried to...persuade him or console him? He couldn't quite be sure, but that touch had made him feel neither persuaded nor consoled. He'd turned it down flat, offering them both a simple but personal reason why he could not accept such a position, as honorable as it was. Just...not right now. But it lingered on Rue's clouded mind that it might be the last job he's ever offered, and it was a damn good one at that. He crouched down to the nearest pile of smoky debris and ran his gloved hand through the bits, bringing his palm up to gaze at the black pieces. Not for the first time since he agreed to at least take a look at the fire damage for the Duke, did he wish Brin was by his side to offer her thoughts about the crime scene. She had a natural talent for assessing things that he'd never truly appreciated. Well, it was nearly obvious that it wasn't a Wyvern Gang job, which came as both a relief and a disappointment to Rue. Despite the gang's recent apparent taste for fire damage, there was only one set of footprints here, and they were on the small side. Child, elven, or...perhaps woman of average build? Rue stood up and brushed his gloves together. What were the chances that Lady Aurine had set the blaze, or paid someone to set the blaze for her? He didn't know enough about the merchant to determine if that was even a viable possibility. More importantly, he'd only agreed to take a look at the scene, not solve the case. Shifting his feet as he turned to go, the tip of Rue's boot clunked against something hard amidst all the charred bits that simply softened with a crunch under his step. He glanced down as saw the dull, sooty piece of quartz. He reached down and palmed the item. A flint. Not an ornately cased flint, but a flint of common use by anyone who had need of lighting something. Not an unexpected item, but a potentially helpful one nonetheless. Rue pocketed the flint and headed out of the crime scene to seek out Luna, his best tracker. He told, rather than asked, the Duke's private guards to remain outside the area and not to let anyone around the warehouse. And that meant Lady Aurine and Duke Branton as well. ~*~ Rue took one glance at the slumped, hooded figure on the floor of the Hart Pub as he walked in and quirked a brow, knowing instantly what it was and masking his frustration that it has simply been left during one of the rare time he'd not been there. "Sorry my business seems to be dirtying up your floor there," Rue said to the tavern owner's son who tended bar. Rue stepped over the chained, motionless form and leaned against the bar rail. "I'll get it out of your establishment immediately." He inquired what the bounty hunter had said upon delivery and cursed as the barkeep quoted the man. Blast, now the man on the floor likely knew his name, since it'd been said at least twice. Well that determined the man's future as far as he was concerned. But he'd bring the bastard along to the meeting tonight anyway. ~*~ A short while later, Rue set two heavy velvet sacks before the tavern owner, and held another in his palm as he leaned against the door to the back office. "This is for next month's room and board for us all, and a little extra for your continued silence on that matter...." He set the third down, apart from the others. "This is the bounty hunter's fee...that leech will be back for it." Rue wanted to add something about threatening to cut the man's tongue out if he uttered his name again, but it seemed pointless to rant to the owner who had no ties to the bounty hunter. Besides, lawless bounty hunters would do whatever the hell they wished. "And this, I need delivered, to the Duke's door itself." Rue handed over a sealed missive addressed to Duke Darell Branton. "Please see that it arrives before dusk." The private missive to the Duke of Brookshire said: ~The fire is not Wyvern Gang related. I will deliver an update on the evidence tomorrow. I've instructed your guards to remain posted and not allow anyone into the scene. ~Denali~ the_____________end A brief background on Rue Denali: http://www.islesofmyst.com/char/rue.html "It sounds cold, but it's not cold," he explains. "I mean, what the truth in life is, you need failures, you need tough times to get any kind of value on what's important to you and what's not. There's no way around it." (BP '92) -- To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Archives & Other DMI Lists: http://islesofmyst.com/lists.php3
