Recudor: Eman Ytirucsbo Inn

To everyone's surprise, the Inn is nearly empty, and at noon to boot.
Pleasantly surprised Feli steps inside and finds herself a table to sit down.

The last time RD had been here at the beginning of this week the Inn was bustling with people, drink, and laughter. Now only a handful of people are currently residing in the Inn. He takes note of a few of the square tables that have been pushed together in the corner of the room, almost turning it into a makeshift lounge of sorts. A handful of shady looking people are hanging around the corner playing cards next to a collection of empty mugs and glasses. RD can easily identify the men as belonging to his contact's gang.

Aside from them, there Innkeeper is chatting away with a trader sitting alongside her backpack at the bar. She doesn't have any real noteworthy features aside some flowing long black hair, pulled back in a pony tail. She is wearing the signature coat of the Traders Guild's higher up caravans though she doesn't seem to be joined by any people.

There are also two women on the far side of the Inn who have fallen into a drunken stupor and seem to be giggling and drinking away their worries.



"I'm not used to any Bar let alone an Inn being so empty in this city. Especially not in the southern district." Feli says as she unholsters her wrapped up rifle and props it up against a wall, and lays back in her chair. For her usual annoyed and professional appearance she seems very relaxed, maybe due to the lack of people, or perhaps for some other reason. It serves as a strong reminder of how young she appears to be, despite having apparently gone on plenty of solo bounties.

Shortly after the two of them get settled in a waitress comes by to take their orders. Feli decides on whatever the day's special soup is, and a beer. The waitress gives RD a stern look of disapproval, likely believing that he is her guardian and letting her drink. "And what would you like, sir?" she asks him politely.

"Hmm." Richard mutters to himself as he enters the neigh-empty inn, mildly surprised at the lack of attendees despite the time... "then again it's merely noon" he thought to himself as a possible reason for it. He takes a quick glance around the bar, noting those within, before responding to Feli. "Actually me neither. Last i was here place was bumpin', wonder what's up... Doesn't seem to bother you too much though, not a people person eh?" Verbally ribbing the young hunter a bit, RD smirks playfully before the waitress arrives to take their orders.

After the waitress takes Feli's order she gives Richard a look to which he can only return with faint amusement and a chuckle before ordering himself a BLT and something sweet to drink. He then comments offhandedly, "Business is kinda slow today eh? Something happen?" in an attempt to mayhaps derive a bit of info from the waitress pertaining to the current state of affairs surrounding the inn before he sees whats up with the other patrons.

The waitress shakes her head in worry. "I'm afraid not, no. Ever since the beginning of this week things around here seem to have taken a toll for the worse. 'Surprised you haven't heard all about it by now. First those people disappearin'. Some even straight out of the Inn at night. Then a wife murdered her husband in his sleep and between the unsafe reputation and..." she glances over into the corner where the gambling is going on and sighs. "...less desirable folks; Customer returns have been diminishing greatly. Well and then there was that Mercenary. A new guy in town, and his lady companion. The both of them send shivers down my spine, 'specially with them magic black books but being fair it's none of my business." she laughs halfheartedly as she finishes writing down the orders. Feli raises an eyebrow as she sits down properly to address the waitress.
"Black books, huh?" she asks, her interest piqued. The waitress waves her off and shakes her head once more. "Oh you know how it is. When there are people around things are noticed. I happened to be attending the bar when those two came in yesterday, but it really wasn't any of my business so I'd rather not get involved with magic. Causes too much trouble."

Richard raises a quizzical eye at the disappearances but nods at the murder and the shady groups being big reasons as to the inn's decline in guests. The merc and mention of black books grab his attention, but Feli is instantly hooked to the info. Seeing this reaction RD asks "This pair with the strange literature... remember what they looked like? I'm thinking I've seen this merc before... and uh, on a lesser note, would ya mind telling me a bit more about these people who just dropped off the map? Anything similar between the incidents? Did ya know anything about the individuals? Oh, and by the way, i'm actually looking for someone with a bushy tail and animal ears, seems to be a big fan of tattoos as well, seeing as this person has em all over their body, including their face... Seen anyone like that?" He takes a slow, deliberate look around the area once more, getting a better grasp of what each individual other than himself, the waitress, and Feli, are doing at the moment... to see if they too are listening...

"Well... lets see..." the waitress tries to recall, "The mercenary was definately ex-military, judging by his appearance. Though his outfit was rather worn out. He seemed very disinterested in any kind of gossip, however, he is staying at the Inn this week. His companion has already made all the appropriate arrangements and booked two rooms for themselves." she notices she is trailing off a little and focuses again. "Oh, and his companion was wearing some serious out-of-fashion clothes. It's been many many years since anyone has worn Gothic attire like that. A lot of lace and lots to look at."

Feli takes a brief moment to remind her of the question regarding the missing people, making it appear as though she isn't interested in descriptions, or already knows about the two people in question.

"Well in all honesty I'm surprised you haven't heard." the waitress remarks, "For the last few months people had been steadily disappearing around the southern district. Some blame it on the recent resurgence of gangs, and others say they are simply runaways who are making a new life for themselves." she then leans forward a little, making sure her words can only be heard by the three of them. "There has been a rumor of an old clan of vampires resurfacing in Novernin..." she then begins to talk normally again, "Although... these are likely just fairytales. Vampires haven't been around for hundreds of years. One might even say they never existed to begin with."

She shrugs lightly and finishes her explaination; "In either case, 'spose it doesn't really matter anymore. A lot of the missing people have been found by this new group of adventurers that recently moved in'ta town. So hopefully once the crime rate here dies down we'll get a lot more customers."

She sighs and gives the two a friendly though forced smile. "Well, I shall be right back with your drinks."


She excuses herself and makes her way across the wide room and through some doors that presumably lead to the kitchen. Feli decides to lean back in her chair, tipping it onto two legs and rocking back and forth carefully as she considers the information the two have been given.
"It's definately him. That new guy. Something about him bothers me, but I can't quite put my finger on it. I mean... some stranger walks into town, takes down the biggest crime boss in all of Novernin on his first day, then brags about it as if it were nothing... it just doesn't line up."

"Hmm." Richard nods at the retelling of events so far by the waitress. He had heard the story before from the other members of the group, the very same 'adventurers' she spoke of. The vamps caught his interest, but he'd seen nothing hinting of them, merely stories that seemed to hint at some kind of vampire presence. There had to be some kind of truth behind these 'fairy-tales' though, so he kept it in mind. More than both of those tidbits though, the merc's companion... the one in Gothic attire caught his interest. As the waitress mentioned, the attire was indeed unusual during this time, no matter who or what wore it, even... oh lets say... dolls?

RD wonders if he just got tipped off as to who exactly interrupted their quiet evening, but decides not to jump to any conclusions seeing as it could merely be a coinciden- "Heh" he chuckles to himself, half in response to Feli's animosity towards the merc, half for thinking such an odd coincidence could be unrelated. The two were definitely connected, but other than clothing choice he had no proof. "Ya seem to be familiar w/ the pair already... Though it seems yer not a big fan of the merc; Who's the lady hangin' with him?" he directs the questions at Feli as he leans forward, resting his elbows on the bar's table and his chin in his hands as he watches the waitress head toward the kitchen, he then glances towards her and adds one more question: "... And you nearly leaped outta yer seat once ya heard about that tome of theirs, what's up with that?"

Feli crosses her arms and closes her eyes with a mild frown building on her face. A by now common and relate-able trait of hers. "I can't say for sure. All I know about the book, or rather the books as there seem to be multiple of, is that each variation belongs to some figure that is connected to the rest in some way. Call it a conspiracy if you feel passionately enough about it." she pauses for a moment, as if thinking. Linking each topic together in her head.

"Turns out the White Claw leads a mining operation somewhere in the mountains. Did you know that?"
She opens one eye, just long enough to wait for RD's response, and upon him shaking his head she stops to balance on the chair's hind legs and sits properly at the table. "He's mining for gold. Sure it's just gold, just riches, but he is mining for enough of it to make a fortune. Yet the white pack never trades with any of the other gangs or guilds." she taps the table with her finger a few times as she continues to explain. "That much gold could build a fortune's worth of protraction weaves. And I believe that's what he's after. Ah, and as to my theory of the merc. Well, let's say I may have had gotten my hands on one of these books. I took it alongside a note while I was at the church a few nights ago, investigating my leads. It took me a while to translate the encryption in the book, but then the pages changed. It's very common magic, but also very complicated. Just yesterday when I still had it around I read in it that someone was sent after a decoy of sorts. The message read; The White Claw is still dangerous, still out there, hidden in the public's all-observing eye."
She briefly scrambles around with her pocket and produces the note.
"This is the lead I meant to follow, but I haven't been able to make out what it means. It's some secret phrase or guide of some sorts. Have a look."

Moments later the waitress returns with their drinks, setting them down on the table and excuses herself once more. Feli takes the beer and begins to drink it like it's been a natural occurrence.

"Protraction weaves eh? So i'm guessing gold is a damn good catalyst for em'... i wonder what his endgame is, but i guess we'll get to that after we've got em' cornered." Richard strokes his chin musing over not only the fact that there's an encryption on the book that makes it difficult to read, but allows the message to change every so often... And, of course wonders even further as to who, or WHAT exactly is sending these messages and why was it so concerned with this 'White Claw, hidden in the public's all seeing eye'. Was there a bigger game encompassing all of this? He wasn't sure... Only one way to find out.

RD watches Feli search for something for a moment as she soon produces a rough note, the text upon it hastily written, and twice as cryptic. He studies the note for about a minute, sitting in silence as he analyzes and reads it multiple times. "Dammit..." He curses aloud, frustrated, before standing in a huff and trekking straight towards the innkeeper and trader who had been carrying on a conversation since the pair (Feli and RD) entered the establishment.

"'Scuse me, hate to interrupt, but i could use your help with something... See my friend and I have been given a rather aggravating riddle by an acquaintance of ours, and we can't make heads or tails of the damn thing. They're amusing but sometimes my pal tends to make them a bit convoluted. We were hoping to get a few more heads on this, i think this time it's trying to warn us of something or turn our attention to something in particular..." He scratches his head in irritation as he presents the note to the pair.

The waitress who was just picking up a few beers for one of the other tables stops in her track, listening to RD and taking a look at the note. "Sure, I'd be glad to help, if I can."

She studies the note closely... for a little while... finally frowning and taking a closer look at the note...

"God's message..." she finally answers- and shrugs in defeat. "I'm sorry, 'afraid i'm not very good at riddles." she sighs and points to the top of the page as she hands him the note back "'only thing I can tell is that something is happening eight times after something else. Not sure to be honest."

As she hands RD the note he notices the woman from the traders guild is peering at the two from the corner of her eye. She looks away and slides a few coins over to the bar tender to pay for her drinks, presumably about to leave.

The waitress excuses herself and goes off to serve the drinks as the nearby church's bell rings, signaling that it is now 13 at noon.

"Hmm" Richard mutters "... and i'd say the 'Six umbral chimes' indicate the time in which those eight things are happening... but that's all i'm getting from it, the rest is gobbledygook to me..." Richard thanks the waitress and watches the mistress from the trader's guild curiously as she preps to leave. He is about to ask for her thoughts, before being interrupted by the toll of the nearby church bell.

He pauses, looking back down at the note and mumbles "...the study of holy men...?"

The woman adjacent to RD gets off her stool and holsters her backpack on one shoulder, nodding at the barkeep before making her way to and out of the entrance.

Suddenly the raising of voices nearby catch RD's interest.
"You can damn well try." feli states, the annoyance in her voice distinct and easily recognizable. At least to RD, and not the three men who have huddled around the table RD and Feli were sitting at. The three of them laugh and one of the men eagerly reaches for Feli's wrapped up rifle. "Hehe... We'll see, won't we little girl." he says and suddenly rears back to the shattering of glass as Feli's empty mug shatters against the side of his face, causing him to fall back flat on the floor. It's easy to tell the man is far from dead, just a few injuries and maybe a broken jaw but nothing overly serious. The other two however are a completely other problem.

The two remaining men both pull out knives, getting into a ready stance as Feli non-chalantly balances on her chair with her arms crossed and only one eye open. "See what you've done?" she asks tauntively gesturing to the fallen man. "You broke that mug, now who's going to pay for that, do you think?"

The barkeep and waitress are about to get a word in when one of the two men charges Feli, who lets herself and the chair fall back. Not anticipating the sudden move the man stumbles overtop of her, after which she pushes herself off the ground with a grunt, kicking the man flat in his stommach. He gasps and falls to the ground next to her, and she gets up dusting off her jacket and picking up her rifle to holster it on her back. "Tch." she remarks and stares down the remaining man, who simply backs off without saying a word and tends to his fallen comerades.

The spectacle was over just as fast as it had begun, and Feli walks up to RD and the barkeep, handing the latter a few coins for the drinks and the broken mug. "We should get out of here..." she says with her usual annoyed tone.

Richard whistles in appreciation of the spectacle, as he watches Feli walk away from the carnage, "Damn girl, remind me to never get on yer bad side..." he remarks as he walks towards the trio, "Feisty one, ain't she?" He remarks to no-one in particular before turning to look at the three. "Got a question for ya'll, i'm looking for someone, from what i remember he used to roll with ya'll, big hearty guy by the name of Toshurta Garbin? Haven't heard from him in a bit, how's he doing? Do me and by extension the lady a favor and tell em' Rock's lookin' for em'."

He turns to leave, attempting to keep up with the migrant Feli.

RD and Feli leave the Inn, having pretty much exhausted all the resources within. Feli stops for a moment before turning to RD, her temper having calmed down at least a little. "So what's your plan? Anything specific you think we should get to first? What did you find out about the note?" she asks him.

"Heh, well unfortunately those ass-hats couldn't keep their hands to themselves... they were the only links i had to my contact present at that time; so no information coming from that end... As for yer note, i'm guessing the six umbral chimes have to do with a time, dunno if that could be any chime other than the bell tower o'er at the church though. The waitress figured eight things are supposed to happen in reaction to the chimes; and i'm guessing 'the study of holy men'..." RD looks over to the nearby cathedral, "... Is a church."

Richard sighs as his focus lowers to the temple's doors "I'm not much into worship, but we've run outta leads on my end so we might as well follow this one." And with that RD bows slightly as he allows Feli to lead the way.

A few minutes later a newly dressed Sartana emerges from the small grounds heading towards and from the market. He finds himself in a familliar setting. The streets here are a lot less clouded, and he can see the Inn he was staying at the previous night or two back, as well as the Gate he came through that evening. The Inn brings back memories of free drinks and a good nights rest, as well as his former companion. 

A sudden force pushes him, as a man accidentally stumbles into Sartana. The man, wearing a black rain coat with a hood apologizes with some slurred speech. "My apologies sir. Good day sir." as he continues his way over to the church down the street from them. At first he seemed like a  drunk due to his slurred speech and staggered walk, but his sudden composure and purposeful step suggest he is as sober as can be as he walk into the Church. 

Sartana is just about to head back into the Inn when he notices Anna, also present at the church, walking with a group of unknown people. The group heads inside of the church with one of them hesitating greatly as if some sort of harm were to come to him simply by entering.

Busy day, perhaps. He considers the entrance to the Inn.

Relaxing slightly, Sartana sat in the same spot as last time he visited the Eman Ytirucsbo. Taking off his coat and hat he hung them both of the back as his seat, playing with the buttons on his new shirt. It wasn’t quite as nice as his old one, just a little on the itchy side. Sitting back he thought about what he would order, maybe a nice kolsh, or a schwarzbier? Then again, as long as it was cold, anything would pass.

As Sartana sits and waits to be served he takes a quick glance across the room. He notices one of the chairs on the far side is knocked over, broken in fact, and there are some skid marks on the ground. Across from it, in the corner of the room, there are a few guys sitting there arguing among themselves a seemingly eager discussion, both aggressive and in awe at the same time.

The bartender, different one from the previous night, finally leans against the counter. "Salty those ones. An what c'na get'cha?" he asks, his thick accented voice dripping with manliness. The man itself was a pretty large guy. Not fat, but muscly. The kind of man you wouldn't want to get into a brawl with unless you were set on a more than masochistic serving of beef.

As Sartana states his order the door opens letting the cool afternoon breeze mingle with the stench of sweat and ale for a short refreshing while. In comes a figure that Sartana very briefly recognizes, but can't recall from where. The man is a mercenary, with a lean sharp face and striking eyes, sporting a nobles garment under an expensive leather harness. His long jet black hair is pulled back into a sleek ponytail secured by a red silken band, and he carries two impressively intricate swords with him. A rapier, and a long-sword, both fastened to his left hip.

He steps inside, his boots leaving short but deep echoes behind them, as he makes his way over to the counter where Sartana sits and takes the stool next to him. He doesn't say anything at first, but simply puts a few gold coins on the table and nods to the barkeep, who returns his understanding to the man and leaves for the tap to serve their respective orders.

Finally he turns towards Sartana, asking him; "A fan of hunting?"

The bartender placed a cold glass of dark foamy beer in front of Sartana. Looking over at the man seated next to him, Sartana shrugged. “It putts meat on the table, but there’s not a lot of sport in shooting at something that can’t shoot back. “He said just before taking a drink from his glass. The cold dark beverage had a heavy taste that reminded him of smoke and metal. Setting the glass back down, he wiped foam from his stubbed and smacked his lips in pleasure.

The swordsman leans against the bar, flashing Sartana a confident smile. "Yes, it is quite boring when your hunt doesn't fight back, isn't it?" he takes a sip from his rather fruity drink before continuing to elaborate on his intentions. "What say you, we catch ourselves some bandits? 60-40 your way, of course. I heard you took down the White Claw all by yourself. A slaughter they called it. A few more wouldn't pose a problem for you, right?"

Sartana raised a eyebrow at the man’s offer, before shaking his head.
“Do you think I was born yesterday? What’s your game? You want to partner up with me and let me walk away with 60% of the profits.”
Taking another drink from his glass he chuckled to himself before looking the swords men dead in the eye.
“Are you sure you don’t want to just plant a sword in my back when it’s turned to you, or maybe I’m just a little paranoid. But let’s say I do agree to go on a hunting trip with you, what did you have in mind?”

The swordsman stares at sartana for a moment before laughing.

"I suppose you're right. Well... For starters my name is Alban. I am a local mercenary, you may have heard of me." He dusts his shirt off a little, seemingly brushing all modesty aside in the process.
"You see, it's not everyday that a new guy comes into town and takes down the most elusive of gang leaders just like that." he pulls out the four barreled pistol Sartana had retrieved from the White Claw's corpse and lays it on the table. "There have been some bandits that have made their claim on the city. You've heard of the recent abductions? These men are behind it, and they have recently returned with only a handful of them posing as their rescue. The tale is pretty colorful and unbelieveable, i'll spare you the details, but as of recent they have been building a hideout in the city. A fellow mercenary of mine had something valuable stolen from her by these ruffians and we've decided to put an end to their thieving once and for all though the two of us against an entire  group of bandits?" he shakes his head in mock defeat. "It would be most helpful if we had someone like you by our side. We really just want our relic back and the money can safely be yours."

Having finished his long winded explanation he takes another sip of his drink and waits for Sartana's answer.

“hmmmm” Sartana took another drink before running his hand threw his hair in thought. After thinking on it for a minute or two, he sat up a little. ‘Alright, I’m in.” He said with gusto before finishing the rest of his beer and ordering another one.