Sergeant Declan had a number of things to absorb, trying to piece together the whole situation from the mess he and his guards stumbled in to. But there were a few solid items of consideration to note. The troll--Tol--had been allowed into the city earlier in the day, this much Declan had known from word passed along;
trolls were among some of the more
unusual visitors to the city, but not unheard of. There was also the ballista that guardsman--well, former guardsman--Jakub Bram pointed out, and a matching bolt across the street lodged into a home. The troll didn't seem to have gone on a rampage suddenly--no account corroborated any notion of that--and these other men, the alleged
monster poachers by the lizardman's claim, weren't talking and certainly weren't as cooperative as
Jakub, Tol, the lizardman Ye, and
Rizzo Bouchard (of all people).
The word of travelers and noncitizens, like Tol and Ye, often didn't amount to much. Such wasn't meant to be insulting, but
Alliria had any number of people the world over passing through on a given day, many of whom harbored outright ill-intent. It was simply the fact of the matter.
That wasn't to say Rizzo's word counted for much either. The dark elf was walking trouble with a smile. The Bouchards were a lovely couple, a good man and a good woman, who raised an outstanding family, and their children having gone on to do the same here in Alliria or elsewhere. Declan didn't know how they came to adopt Rizzo--he'd never asked--but he thought that perhaps their hearts were a little too big...and a little too lenient. Especially after he himself brought a much younger Rizzo back to their doorstep on several occasions, explaining what the hell she'd been up to
this time. Now that Rizzo was a young woman instead of a girl, he'd not heard or personally dealt with her getting into trouble in recent years. But that was
far more worrying than comforting; it suggested more to Declan that she'd simply gotten better at not getting caught.
So it came down to the weight of
Jakub Bram's testimony. And Declan decided that his claim, out of all those involved, ought to be given the most credence. That it lined up with Rizzo's and Tol's and Ye's was happenstance as far as Declan was concerned at the moment.
But first.
"Leave him be," Sergeant Declan said to Tol, his tone unfazed despite the gargantuan size of the troll he was addressing. "That man is in Allirian guard custody."
Back to Jakub. "So we ought to find a number of potions inside that inn over there if all this lines up." A pause. "Alright, Jakub. Let's go have a look."
* * * * *
Alright, Jakub. Let's go have a look.
Rizzo was positively ecstatic now. She looked from the Sergeant Declan back to Ye and bounced up and down on her feet and shined a bright grin and brighter eyes at Ye. Wow, what a day! But it was a day taken by storm, alright! She
earned those potions, she did, she did! And they were going to go get 'em and bring 'em out to Ye and she was going to buy 'em right in front of all those cuffed monster poachers and she was going to be
SO. POLITE.
THAT'S. RIGHT!
"CanIcomecanIcome? I'll help you and Halberd Man look! No trouble, you can watch me! Promise-promise!"
Declan gave her a look that, again, didn't show much of his immediate thoughts. And he said for a moment, "Very well. But you're staying on the scene until this is resolved.
Don't make any bad decisions, Rizzo. Clear?"
Rizzo straightened up in a mock military manner and slammed a fist to her chest, her cheeks puffed out as she attempted to look serious. "Clear!"
Declan eyed her for a bit longer, then shifted to Ye. Said, "Same goes for you, lizardman. You can come and help search the inn if you wish, but regardless you're to stay in the area until this is all resolved." To the guards around him: "Uncuff him for now." They did so.
Some additional orders from Declan to the other guards, to keep the arrested group of monster poachers here and under watch. He turned his attention back to Jakub. Gestured his head toward the inn across the street where the crossbow bolt had been fired from. And he walked to it and went inside.
Rizzo pranced up to Tol and said loudly as she snapped a finger up at one of the windows, "Hey, hey, you can help too! Peek inside the windows and see what you can see! We'll find the potions, I
know we will!"
She clapped her hands together, rubbed them fiercely, then set off with a strut toward the inn, her cape fluttering up from her sharp turn toward the building. Along the way she sung quietly to herself:
Gives me the notion!/Of a big promotion!
And she went inside the inn.
