Saun 22nd 716
Drip...
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The rain seemed to be never ending, outside the wooden walls of the office. Even still there was work to be done, and for now the rain was not on his head. Wald looked over piles of papers spread across a wooden desk. He would shift them around, separating them by location of the events described upon them. A string of high thefts, murders, and vandalized businesses. Almost every paper was in a new area of the city, but there had to be a connection to be made somewhere.
Wald gripped his hair in frustration for a moment, swinging his head back as he laid back in his chair. A deep sigh came from his diaphragm, as he leaned forward once more. Pulling out one of his drawers, he pulled out a small sack and a piece of small paper. Opening the sack he pulled from it a large pinch of dried leaves, spreading it upon the small sheet. Rolling it up slowly, before taking a match from his pocket. Placing it in his mouth, he lit the match then the roll, before taking a deep inhale. The red embers glowed bright, before the man exhaled a large bellow of smoke. It help relax him for a moment, clear his head for thinking over things. As Wald placed his back back in the drawer, something fell from under it as it closed.
Blinking for a moment, Wald would lean down to gather the fallen parchment. Turning over it was a ransom note that he had missed. Slowly he studied it before looking to the other papers on his desk. Placing it atop of another piece, it was the only place that had two happenings. That would be the best place to start the investigation, Wald would slowly pinch the bridge of his nose. Smoke would flow from his nose, as he continued to smoke his roll.
Getting up, Wald walked to get his overcoat on. It was made of a thick leather, perfect for keeping the rain off his body. After adjusting his hat, he took one last long drag from his tobacco, before leaving the small office to the rainy road.
The streets were paved in a cobble, though it was not maintained properly. Water would gather in large puddles, causing carts to splash when the went through them. Lucky that many people did not ride in the rain, as Wald began to walk down the street, doing his best to avoid getting splashed. The sound of fire places could be heard, as he walked passed houses with people inside. Most of them knew of him, he was one of the few privet investigators in town. The bulk of his cases were finding lost animals, and sometimes children. Something like this job was a rare sight for him, despite that, he was up for the task.
In the past Wald worked directly with the lord of the city of Ragenstadt, but he was taken from that position due to internal politics. The new head investigator was a man of... Questionable morals. He was known to take bribes from certain people. He ran by the thought of organized crime keeps small crimes down. Though crime is still crime, even if the criminal wears a nice suit and pays in onyx coins. This case though did not have the signs of the local king pins. They were from an outside force, or a new comer on the scene.
After walking for some time in the rain, Wald arrived at a store front. The window was smashed in, goods taken from showcases. On top of all that, the door and wall were painted with unknown lettering. Another language? Perhaps. He would have no way of telling, as he only knew of common. Making reference to common would give no results to anything.
Wald would go through the door of the business, broken glass crushing under his boots. He took a slow look around, as his hat dripped with water from the rain. The place was robbed, though it seemed like only certain things were taken. Several of the cases were still untouched. Wald cleared his throat, before shouting out into the darker corners of the storefront. "Mr. Schmidt, Can I ask you a few questions?"
The sound of shuffling came from the dark recesses of the store, as a large man came from the back. He held a sword with him, and was ready to defend himself. Though when Schmidt saw Wald's face, he lowered his guard relaxing for the briefest of moments. "What do ya want?" Schmidt's voice was rough, carved by smoke from the forges he worked.
Giving a slow nod, Wald turned first to close the door he came in through. "Yes, I need to ask you a few questions. It is about your son, and the ransom that was given to you." Wald asked these questions, as he pulled a charcoal from his pocket, along with a parchment book.
The man gruffed out a few words. "Not like they need the ransom anymore, they took what they wanted." The large man leaned against the wall. "Why do ya even care, not like ya work for Ragenstadt anymore." Schmidt crossed his arms while glaring at the investigator.
Wald gave a slow shrug. "The Madame asked for my help in this case, I need to know what they stole. Can you tell me?"
Schmidt gave a sigh, and began to list off a few items. There were two items stolen that were considered weapons. The rest were materials such as ingots and leather. Wald would write down everything onto the parchment with the small charcoal piece. "Did you see any of them?" Wald would question the smith.
Shaking his head, Schmidt spoke out. "No, they struck when I was at the grocers. I needed some cabbage for my stew that evening." This struck Wald as odd, his son was kidnapped and he simply went out for things to eat.
Tapping his charcoal on the paper for a moment, Wald thought over a few things. "And your son, have you seen him since they took what they wanted?"
The large man slammed his fist against the wall. "That boy went to join those crooks. Why would I want to see them."
Wald was taken aback by the outburst of anger. But it did answer a question that the investigator had. "The same crooks that robbed you, or was it one of the local gangs?"
The smith pinched the bridge of his nose. "He joined with those rats who run the southern drug den. That boy just is not right. But he is my son, so if ya see him can you knock some sense into him?"
So the boy joined with old McAnderson's boys. Wald would not be welcomed in that part of town, not after trying to bust their operations so many times. Each time they found a way to get around the long arm of the law, but he did have a in, if he could only get in contact with someone he lost contact with some time ago. "Thank you Mr. Schmidt, I will go visit the McAndersons. Wish me luck on keeping my neck."
Turning out to the door, he could hear the large man give a chuckle. Before giving off a sigh, he seemed to be a mess. First his boy joins a gang, then gets caught by another group, and finally his lively hood gets vandalized.
The rain was lightening up, though it was still a mucky mess across the city. The cobble streets drained off slowly, though the puddles in the middle remained. The sun would have to take those away, unlike the storm drains. Wald would head south, towards the place that Schmidt said his son headed. He was not looking forward to this meeting, it may be best to gather something to defend himself. He had not taken anything of the sort form his office, it could be a grave mistake not to head back for it.
Wald would take a quick moment at his office. When he walked in, papers were scattered all around the room. And paint was smeared upon his walls, they were similar symbols to the ones on the smith's shop. No. They were the same symbols, there was no doubt about it. Who ever did this, knew Wald was investigating them, and wanted to scare him off the case. It would work on most other men, though Wald was use to getting death threats from the big players of the city. Adding one more to the list was not something he worried about.
Searching his office, he found nothing was stolen. Nothing except for the papers that were gathered about the organization's crimes. They were hard to come by, and would take a trial to replace, but Wald had his trail to follow. Opening the large draw to his desk, he removed a false bottom to reveal a steel mace hidden underneath. It was a hold over from when he worked with the Lord, and was illegal for him to have as a civilian. Though no one would see it under his overcoat.
