• Closed • Gone.

[Ent]

57th Ymiden, Arc 717

As Padraig would return from his work he would find the house to feel different. The door would open before him but he would not be greeted by the smell of something delicious cooking in the kitchen, no call of greeting from his lover just the barking of the dog as it bounded over to meet him. Still, Padraig would feel it that something was not right, something was missing.

Venturing further into the house he would be unable to find Faith, the women who should have been there instead missing. No note would be found either if searched for, the only thing that could be gathered was that she had not returned since she left earlier that trial. Faith was missing, no two ways about it besides that and unfortunately for Padraig there seemed to be no clues as to where she had gone or why.

So as the dog still ran circles around him, begging for his affection the mood would quickly begin to grow uncomfortable for the scientist no doubt. Especially as the feeling of confusion and fear he would be able to detect from Faith, the bond they shared a most unique one. He would be able to sense the fact she was or had been recently scared, perhaps, even in fear for her life.

The sound of something falling in the next room might steal Padraig's attention though, the sound of some form of glass or mug falling to the ground and shattering being the cause. This sound would be heard alongside the rustling of paper and clacking of pencils and other items being moved around in a somewhat frantic sounding way, whatever it was was in a rush.

Padraig's main advantage right at that moment was the element of surprise, what he chose to do with that was up to him.

[Padraig]

If it had just been the front door left wide open, finding it that way when he returned home from the university wouldn't have caused much alarm. It was unusual, and in fact Padraig couldn't recall that it had ever happened before. But never before had their home been so full of family, friends, animals...both theirs, and his and Faith's. Not to mention Luna. The home he shared with Faith was beginning to resemble a three ring circus. Someone forgetting to shut the door on their way in or out, seemed as likely as tripping over a cat, a dog or a wolf coming down the stairs in the morning.

"Someone left the door open," he called out as he opened the coat closet door, where his weapons were also stored, and left it there on the floor. "There you are Cosmo," he said and reached down to scratch behind the pup's ears. "At least somebody's come to greet me," Padraig added with a smile. But then he got a sense of things, and many of them just didn't feel right. Where was everyone? He couldn't remember the house being this quite since they'd moved in. If not for that strange feeling, everything else could be easily explained. Katie had gone shopping, Grandfather had gone for a stroll and taken Luna with him. Kura was out, doing what it was Kura did when she was out. And Faith was delayed at the university, the Scholar's Nook, the market, Cally's, any number of places.

All of that could be easily explained away, except for the part that something just didn't feel right. Not right enough that after he'd closed the front door behind him, and before he shut the coat closet door, he strapped his sword to his hip, slid his knife in place and got his crossbow ready to go. Why? Because where he and Faith were concerned, a disturbing, curious and in fact confounding pattern had woven itself into place early on, shortly after they'd met. Take an ordinary trial, any trial, just the two of them and something out of their control was bound to swoop down any given trial upside down. Overreaction? There was a time he'd have thought so. Now, not so much.

Still, he looked out in the garden, upstairs, in the bath and he called out without satisfaction before finally he returned downstairs. And that was when Padraig heard it. He wasn't alone in the house after all. The rustling of paper, other things that caused him to look towards his office that also served as a lab where he conducted any number of experiments and created a host of unusual things. It was only then that he was filled with a genuine sense of dread. He wasn't alone, and yet it wasn't any of the usual suspects.

He was worried for Faith now in a way he hadn't been before. He raised a finger to his lips, encouraging Cosmo to be quiet and not bark or dash towards the noise. The nightpup was a protective creature, and Padraig didn't want to lose the element of surprise. His sword and knife stayed where they were. Instead it was his crossbow, locked and loaded in his hands as he moved quietly towards the room in question, hoping not to give his approach away. Was the door open, or was it shut? Either way, thank the Immortals for regularly greased hinges. With his bow in one hand and the other one free, he'd push the door further ajar in order to catch a glimpse inside. And remain out of sight, if he could.

[Ent]

Padraig's search of the house was inconclusive upon what had happened to his love, the rest of the guests were okay. They were out doing similar tasks to the ones he had assumed, all out of harms way. Still he would not not know that for the time being but they would return home soon enough if he was still going to be there. Still the dog still following him around did obey his command as the sounds from his study were heard. The well prepared man ready to check it out.

They grew louder as he approached the door, more papers rustling and other items being moved. Pencils and quills could be heard rolling and clacking against the floors and table. Then the hissing of a cat, their cat, clearly unhappy with something as he pushed open the door, it sliding gently and smoothly on its hinges to reveal the source of the racket. No longer only the source of a racket but also the source of an organised man's nightmare.

Padraig would see papers fluttering in the air and some already screwed into balls in the corner. Pencils littered the floor like arrows on a battlefield and broken items were scattered around, glass and ceramics from all manner of items stored in the room. All this caused by a strange looking miniature wooden humanoid being, a doll of sorts, around two and a half feet tall.

It was sat on the desk, picking up and throwing items over its head in search of something clearly. Its carefully carved body moving with ease on its well designed joints. Padraig would be able to see this and the cat as it hissed at the being again. Then an ink well came, hurtling towards Padraig and smashing against the door beside him as the black liquid splattered across the wall door and a bit on him. The doll was unaware of Padraig though, too caught up in it's search as it threw away yet another piece of paper.

As Padraig watched through the ajar door he would see a most interesting event as the unhappy cat launched itself at the wooden figure. Unfortunately for the cat its electrocuting whiskers would not have much effect on the wood as it fell to the floor with a clatter along with its attacker. A slight burning smell would come as some of the wood was charred but mostly the attack was ineffective as the intruder used its legs to push the cat off and then get to its feet. At this point it would see Padraig peering into the room and panic, making a run for the nearest clear exit, its little wooden legs moving as fast as they could.

[Padraig]

When Padraig was finally able to take a peek through the narrowest of openings in the door, what met his inquiring gaze was quite possibly the strangest thing he'd ever seen. The first thing he'd seen was the havoc that something or someone had wrought in his lab. Under ordinary circumstances that would have been enough, combined with the fact hat he had no idea where Faith was. But there on his desk in the middle of it all was a creature that simply shouldn't have existed. At least, not in its entirety. It looked like a marionette without the strings. One that had somehow developed a mind of its own and had taken control of it's own destiny.

At his feet, Cosmo whined worriedly, and curiously considering the animated wagging of the pup's tail. The sound might have given him away if Quattro hadn't stepped in first. The scholar ducked back as an ink pot came sailing his way and crashed against the door frame. He'd already choked up on his bow and was ready to confront the odd little thing, when all sorts of chaos broke loose. Which resulted in him being seen, and so startled by it all that the small wooden figure managed to get past him.

"Hey, stop!" he shouted as the thing headed for the door, and Padraig turned on his heel to give chase. He would have anyway for the wreck the little creature had made of his lab. But there was a chance that somehow Faith's absence was also connected. Cosmo hadn't known what to think from the start, but the way Padraig ran off caused the pup to assume they were playing a game. He yipped and yapped, and bounded along, wanting nothing more to join in. And boy could that creature run. And it was Padraig's concern that he might know something about Faith that prevented him from firing a bolt. That, and the likelihood that his bolt would bounce right off a wooden target at distance.

And then, concerned that the thing would get away before he caught up, Padraig had an idea. Cosmo was still a half grown pup, but he was already larger than most medium sized dogs. And he was fast. There was nothing Cosmo liked more than sticks, even things that remotely resembled sticks like the now battered legs of the chairs round their breakfast table or the bottom corner of the back door. It was as predictable as rain that when Faith took him out for a walk, he'd return with a stick, only to present it to Padraig for a game of tug or even better, for Padraig to throw it, to retrieve it and bring it back again.

If Cosmo believed this was a game? All the better. As he continued giving pursuit, Padraig looked down at the pup that was at once, protective of the family, and playful. "Cosmo, fetch!" he said, throwing up an arm in the direction of the fleeing little marionette looking thing, as if he'd thrown it just for the pup's entertainment.

[Ent]

The strange being darted out past Padraig and out to the street, its wooden feet clacking against the cobblestones as it tried to search for its escape. As it searched aorund Padraig and the dog were keeping up easily, it only had small legs after all and therefore limited reach with each stride.

When the dog was set after the wooden figure though there was no way he could stay ahead of its jaws. The still growing dog move swiftly and with much more ease than the wooden creation. Nature was almost always more effective than that which was created by the hand of man. So as the dog caught up to it the doll seemed to become more frantic with its movements the empty head darting around as if searching for something as the hound bared down upon it. The wet street was unable to offer anything to the intruder though.

So the dog found its toy, taking the wooden doll into the strong jaws. Unfortunately for Padraig young dogs often have a tendency to play a little too rough. Finally as the large pup took a hold of the doll it did a most natural thing that instinct would tell it and shook wildly. The death shake was a common action of most predatory species and so the dog did it. Its teeth digging into the wood and tearing through to what lay below. The dog would not be greeted with flesh but rather a crystal like item below. Still it shook though and in doing so the doll quickly fell to parts, its limbs breaking off and falling to the wet stones below until the dog got bored and let go.

Left behind by this destruction for Padraig would be only a broken up doll and the strange gemstone. Luckily for him on the other hand a man would approach with concern on his face. "Excuse me but I think I 'ave seen you with that black haired lass before right?" The man looked at him as if he was trying to decide if this was the right man or not. "Well word is she were taken this trial, snatched up by two men on Enormowl. Was told it was a terrifying spectacle." The man looked at the odd broken up doll and the dog and shrugged, not being too bothered by the odd picture before him.

It seemed that as one clue was being smashed up before him another was being revealed, although the strange stone from the doll was still there. Now he also had information about what might have happened to Faith, if this rumour was true.

[Padraig]

A two foot tall creature was harder to capture than one might think. Speed wasn't the issue, height was. Having to run and then bend over to grab the thing when he caught up was enough of a concern to convince Padraig that Cosmo's natural instincts were the better solution. A bolt fired from his bow after all might just bounce off. What he hadn't expected though, and should have, was that Cosmo's 'off' switch wasn't nearly developed enough yet to stop him doing what nature compelled him to.

"Cosmo stop! Heel!" Padraig shouted as the dog shook the thing like a rag doll. It wasn't compassion that compelled him really. He wanted the thing whole and still animated on the off chance that he could somehow question it. If it had self-awareness to run or be fearful, then surely it was a sentient enough creature to provide him the information he wanted? Maybe, or maybe not. But the point was moot when Cosmo finally let the little man drop in pieces and scattered splinters. The dog was pleased anyway, judging by the way he was wagging his tail, looking up for Padraig in hopes of praise and panting in a way that made him seem to be smiling.

The gemstone though. When he spotted it, Padraig wondered if that had been the heart of it, the 'mind' of it, the thing that animated it? It might be all he'd need and he was just bending down to pick it up when another man approached him. "That's me," he said, and straightened with the gem in his hand. But that's where the genuine concern, no, fear began. Not for him, but for Faith. Until now, he'd considered that this thing Cosmo had just shaken to pieces was an intruder that had just taken advantage of the house being unusually empty that trial.

Already, he was planning a dash back to the house to get whatever it was he might need, and take only a trill or three to examine the gem, which might now be far more important than he'd first assumed. "An enormowl? What men? What did they look like. Did they say anything? Did she or did she seem to know them? Was she hurt? Which way did they go when they took her?" he asked.

[Ent]

The man sort of shrugged when asked more about what happened. "I don't know much mate, jus' heard they dropped down and took 'er from the street." He felt useless and the only other thing he knew was that they were definitely not the military so the enormowls they rode were likely illegally kept. "I know they was not Scalv military though, no uniforms jus' old furs and leathers looked like dress for the snow." With that the man stepped back. "Sorry I can't be better help." He began to leave heading back the way he had come from leaving to get back to his life.

Now the peculiar sight of a man a dog and a ruined doll was certainly unusual and likely unusual to attract plenty of attention. Especially from those who would wish to help, which it appeared there was a pair. A young Biqaj and Sev'ryn, a male and female passing by on the street would likely find such a scene intriguing.

Still the clues were there for Padraig to and anyone else who may get involved to put together. A doll controlled by some sort of gem, Faith stolen in the streets, Enormowls, men in winter clothes and of course the hand made doll itself. The scientist would likely be able to put the pieces together and complete the puzzle if he thought about it the right way. When he did figure it out the hardest part would be the getting there but he would figure it out for certain.

The first step though would be to put the facts together and make a plan, get off the street and prepare then set off as soon as possible in search of the missing woman. Time was of the essence, not that they truly knew how much so yet.

[Pash Raj'oriq]

It felt as though much of Scalvoris Town was buzzing with rumors to-trial, the loudest of which had spread across the Central Square like wildfire. Pash had heard a few very excited, very loud conversations about enormowls and a kidnapping, not during the dark of night the trial before, but in broad daylight. In front of anyone awake to see it! At first, he was sure it was just some made up scandal—who kidnapped someone in broad daylight? What in the name of Ilaren’s favorite drink were enormowls? The hushed talk among morning shoppers and vendors made the seafaring musician—who’d been playing a few tunes near the fountain for the entertainment of the crowd as was a favorite practice and offering to Zanik—even more uncomfortable when someone described the victim as female, small in stature, and dark-haired.

That tacked his sails and stopped his playing.

That got the tall Biqaj asking questions instead of just listening. By mid afternoon, he was beginning to worry.

And then he went to find Kali’rial, who’d surely be back from tending the spoils of another successful hunt by now. Perhaps she’d heard, too, on her way to and from his sloop. The dockhands in the port always loved a good rumor, especially one they could travel with.

They’d both heard enough and Pash felt it all too unnerving. Wanting to prove it untrue, to make sure that things were just fine, he managed to cajole some mostly trustworthy-sounding directions from a few who seemed quite up on the gossip around town and made sure he was armed with more than just his lute before the pair of them made their way through town.

“—I’m tellin’ you, it sounds too much like Faith.” Pash’s tone as they made their way up the street implied he sincerely hoped all they’d heard throughout the trial was both not true and did not at all concern their employer—their friend, “But, y’ know this whole island sure has a place for bendin’ truth—“

The salty bard stopped his words mid-sentence, expression halfway into a smile as he was about to remark to Kali quite coyly on just how crazy life had been on Scalvoris thus far, but there in the street was Padraig.

And a very strange … dog?

And some broken pieces of wood?

The other man was alone otherwise, and it only took one good, short look at him for the observant, sensitive Empath to know more than enough. That was the look of loss—Pash knew without the need for magic—and that look confirmed all that he’d hoped wasn’t true. Some Rakahi escaped his lips like a sigh, curses he wouldn’t want his mother to hear, aware the dark-haired Sev’ryn wouldn’t know them either but it would be obvious they weren’t sounds of relief or praise.

This was bad.

Squeezing Kali’s hand as he was apt to hold it without thinking whenever she was in reach, Pash raised his other to be noticed. It wasn’t a wave, really, for that implied something exciting was happening. It clearly was not, and the tall Biqaj had no qualms about jumping into the mess, of running the broad reach of his whole self into this strange wind, concerned immediately for all involved if all they’d heard that trial was, indeed, at all as true as the other man’s expression made it seem. Closing the distance between the three of them, he spoke up,

“Padraig! What’s going on?”

Off Topic

The calvary! <3

[Kali'rial]

The rumours had indeed found Kali’rial before the seafaring bard had, floating around her ears as she had been washing off her hands in the waters on the beach. Surprisingly there’d been barely anything out this morning, just a couple of aye-aye and another depressingly easy mole rat. She had taken them to the sandy beach ready to skin and clean them, but the dock workers had been chattering about enormowls and kidnappings which distracted her. Postponing cleaning the little creatures, she popped them in the storage compartment on the sloop, slinging her bow over her shoulders and jumping down to the dock.

Pash had met her on the way out of the docks, clearly these rumours had come to his ears too. Listening to the information he had that filled the blanks she’d missed out, her face pulled into a concerned frown as she moved with him towards the house that they both hoped the raven haired young woman would be.

”Yeah but Faith? Why would anyone kidnap her? I’m sure it’s fine…” She paused, looking at the scene before them both with a hunters eye. There was too much here to put together just with their limited knowledge and the scattered wood scene, but it was clear that things were not right. There was Padraig, a dog of sorts, and wood. Little bits of mangled wood. Glancing at the Biqaj with worried eyes, she squeezed his hand in return she went with the sailor to join Padraig in the street. She picked up the conversation after Pash's comment.

"We’d heard things, but they seemed too strange to be believed. Enormowls…and Faith? Is it true?” Judging by the look on his face, the young Sev’ryn felt like it was, and a dark frown crossed her face.

”What can we do to help?”

[Padraig]

How was it, Padraig wondered wildly, that half the town, presumably, by now had witnessed or heard rumors of Faith being taken off the streets in broad trial light, by men who clearly didn't belong? And apparently, not without a great deal of chaos and trouble? The only explanation that he could come up with was that he'd spent the better part of his trial going through files in the basement at the university, and no one had known where he was.

He didn't learn nearly enough from the man who'd happened upon him and Cosmo. But ultimately he'd learned enough to make a number of valuable connections. Scalvoris militia rode enormowls, though this was unlikely to be them. Maybe former ones, or rogue ones, or neither. And dressed for snow? Where was it white and frozen this time of the arc? The only place he could think of off the top of his head, was Ishallr, where the ice caves were. He realized more, more particularly about the stone he held in the palm of his hand as he began to turn away and head quickly towards home. This would require some preparations to be made, but quickly.

But then a familiar voice caught his ear and he turned around. Pash, and a woman he might have seen before, but hadn't met. Frowning, he paused long enough to explain. After all, where he was going, or thought he might, he could probably use some extra company. "It's true...so I've been told. Men in cold weather gear swooping in on enormowls, grabbing her and taking flight again." Reminded of the stone in his hand, he uncurled his fingers to show them both. "This, was animating that," he said, pointing at the broken wooden figure on the ground. "There's only one thing I can think of, one sort of magic, capable of animating a non living figure like that." Necromancy, was what he meant, but he didn't say it aloud. instead, he began wrapping the stone in a thick piece of cloth before shoving it deep into his pocket.

But it wasn't just animating the thing, he told them, speaking more quietly now that the thing was wrapped up tight and put away. It was seeing and responding through the doll's eyes. Observing, going through his lab back at the house as if it was looking for something. "Someone," he supposed, "is using that thing to watch and listen." He didn't plan on giving them anything to hear, see or learn about his movements from this point forward. "I'm going after her. I have access to an enormowl myself. One that Faith and I visit every few trials at the menagerie and I'm going to take it with me. Us," if the two of you are willing.

That enormowl was attached to him and Faith both. To such an extent that it often spurned the attention of its keepers in hopes of a visit. If Faith went alone, it looked for him. And if he went alone? His hope was that if he could convince the creature's keepers to allow the enormowl to go with him it would seek Faith out and lead him straight to her. Maybe, maybe not, but it was worth trying. Besides, the terrain would be rough if he was right about where she'd been taking. A flying mount might come in handy. "I'm heading back home to grab some things, then head to the menagerie to get the enormowl, and another one if they've got a spare they can loan us." He'd meet them back in this spot, in less than half a break, he told them."[/i][/b] He was going to find her with or without help, so they ought to bring gear for cold weather but not be late. He wouldn't wait.

Padraig dashed off then, returning home where he'd grab his weapons and a domain back to fill with gear, odds and ends from his lab and weaponry. And as soon as he'd packed what he needed he headed out again for the menagerie, where he'd seek out the enormowl's keepers and ask to take the creature with him. He'd buy the animal himself if that's what it took. And a second one, should they have one to loan or sell him along with the gear required for riding. Then before that half break was up, with or without the enormowl's, he'd be back to the meeting place and ready to head out. So far as he was concerned, any delay was too much. But without the necessary weapons and supplies they'd need, it would all be for naught.