Delmechia
You turn back. With the dagger now unsheathed, you rush up to the old country-style building and stand with your back to the side of the glass window out front, turning your head to peer in.
A crowd of people are formed in a ring around one of the tables, with the ones closest to the center squatting down by something. Everyone else is either getting up to leave or gazing warily towards the back exit.
As you look through the window, the front door opens and a crowd comes out into the street with a group of dwarfs in the lead. You run over and stand in front of them.
"What happened in there?" you ask, in what sounds like a loud whisper.
The lead guy measures you up, staring into the shadow of your hood and then dismissing it.
"Shooter," he says. "Took out some guy in there and left."
"Just one guy? Did anyone go after him?"
"Stellwetter probably sent a couple of her men after him; look, I got places to be."
"Why did he do it?"
"How the hell would I know? Who are you anyway?"
The dwarf looks at you and then, suddenly, realization dawns on his face and he starts walking away. As he joins the crowd, he casts one last glance over his shoulder. That's one of the perks of being an elemental lord. Among your own people and the elves, you are considered honorable. Go around anyone unfamiliar with magic, and people act like you're a damned plague or something.
Still.
You wait for the last people to disperse and then reenter the building where the ring of onlookers is still formed around the table. The crowd creates a subtle rift as a group of guys in the middle lift up a corpse wrapped in a white sheet. It's the pale guy with the black eyebrows.
"What happened?" you ask an old woman at the edge of the crowd.
"Man in a mask shot him and left." she whispers quietly.
"Did he leave through the back exit there?"
You point over to the door, where a group of people stand talking and pantomiming with their hands; discussing what just took place. A couple of them are gathered around the back window looking out into the rainy darkness.
She nods.
You take one last look at the dead tall guy as he gets carried away; the green eyes now rolled up to the whites and a rose blooming through the thin sheet on his chest. You start to walk toward the door when you hear a low growl.
"Get out of here."
You turn and see Claire Stellwetter standing at your side. She's at least a foot and a half shorter than you, but she still looks fierce. Her gray, intelligent eyes are unflinching.
"I know what you are," she says.
"Look, I just want to see --"
"I don't care. For all I know you had something to do with it. Get out."
You feel a small flush of anger, but fight it back.
"Listen --"
"I told you; get out or I'll have you escorted out."
You stare closely at that battle-hardened face. Just as stubborn as any other human's, you suppose. At this point you could gladly knock this woman out, but you can't. Anyone who tried to hurt Claire would have a room-full of weapons on them before they could make a move.
"Fine," you say, turning back to the door.
Outside, you walk up to the alleyway leading around the block and pause, thinking.
On one hand, it seems like pointless idea to try to track down this murderer who you know nothing about. On the other hand, it is curiously coincidental that he made his move right after you left the bar.
And that guy at the table was looking at me, you think.
For some reason the image of the human girl pops into your mind again. The one that you never should have met in the first place. The one who started all your troubles months ago. She had known something, alright. Could it be related to this? It seems unlikely to you, but... it's definitely possible.
As you wonder about whether to go or return back to your clan of elementals, a third option pops into your head: you could always stay the night here and see if Stellwetter's men have any luck capturing the murderer. The way that gossip spreads around here, you might be able to find out some details in the morning.
Whatever you decide to do, you have to make up your mind fast.
A crowd of people are formed in a ring around one of the tables, with the ones closest to the center squatting down by something. Everyone else is either getting up to leave or gazing warily towards the back exit.
As you look through the window, the front door opens and a crowd comes out into the street with a group of dwarfs in the lead. You run over and stand in front of them.
"What happened in there?" you ask, in what sounds like a loud whisper.
The lead guy measures you up, staring into the shadow of your hood and then dismissing it.
"Shooter," he says. "Took out some guy in there and left."
"Just one guy? Did anyone go after him?"
"Stellwetter probably sent a couple of her men after him; look, I got places to be."
"Why did he do it?"
"How the hell would I know? Who are you anyway?"
The dwarf looks at you and then, suddenly, realization dawns on his face and he starts walking away. As he joins the crowd, he casts one last glance over his shoulder. That's one of the perks of being an elemental lord. Among your own people and the elves, you are considered honorable. Go around anyone unfamiliar with magic, and people act like you're a damned plague or something.
Still.
You wait for the last people to disperse and then reenter the building where the ring of onlookers is still formed around the table. The crowd creates a subtle rift as a group of guys in the middle lift up a corpse wrapped in a white sheet. It's the pale guy with the black eyebrows.
"What happened?" you ask an old woman at the edge of the crowd.
"Man in a mask shot him and left." she whispers quietly.
"Did he leave through the back exit there?"
You point over to the door, where a group of people stand talking and pantomiming with their hands; discussing what just took place. A couple of them are gathered around the back window looking out into the rainy darkness.
She nods.
You take one last look at the dead tall guy as he gets carried away; the green eyes now rolled up to the whites and a rose blooming through the thin sheet on his chest. You start to walk toward the door when you hear a low growl.
"Get out of here."
You turn and see Claire Stellwetter standing at your side. She's at least a foot and a half shorter than you, but she still looks fierce. Her gray, intelligent eyes are unflinching.
"I know what you are," she says.
"Look, I just want to see --"
"I don't care. For all I know you had something to do with it. Get out."
You feel a small flush of anger, but fight it back.
"Listen --"
"I told you; get out or I'll have you escorted out."
You stare closely at that battle-hardened face. Just as stubborn as any other human's, you suppose. At this point you could gladly knock this woman out, but you can't. Anyone who tried to hurt Claire would have a room-full of weapons on them before they could make a move.
"Fine," you say, turning back to the door.
Outside, you walk up to the alleyway leading around the block and pause, thinking.
On one hand, it seems like pointless idea to try to track down this murderer who you know nothing about. On the other hand, it is curiously coincidental that he made his move right after you left the bar.
And that guy at the table was looking at me, you think.
For some reason the image of the human girl pops into your mind again. The one that you never should have met in the first place. The one who started all your troubles months ago. She had known something, alright. Could it be related to this? It seems unlikely to you, but... it's definitely possible.
As you wonder about whether to go or return back to your clan of elementals, a third option pops into your head: you could always stay the night here and see if Stellwetter's men have any luck capturing the murderer. The way that gossip spreads around here, you might be able to find out some details in the morning.
Whatever you decide to do, you have to make up your mind fast.