Private Tales Fight Fire With Fire

[Smiling One]

Willis smirked at that. Him a knight? He much rather be keelhauled. “A knight huh?” Willis said crossing his arms while smirking at Ayreal. “Then I wonder who my lady will be?” He have a blatantly obvious glance at Ayreal while he said it giving the red head a charming smile.

The servant finally appeared and said that the knight would receive them. “It is about time,” he muttered to Ayreal as he followed the man to the side room. By the time they got there knight was waiting for the two of them his eyes darting at Willis and Ayreal trying to get a read at them. He had black hair and a look of fierceness on him though there was an air of “I’m more important than you! Bow down to me peasant!” Look on him like many other nobles.

Willis and Ayreal sat on the seats and Willis winced a bit at the hard wooden seat. Ayreal remained silent seemingly want Willis to do the talking. “Okay then,” Willis thought.

“Greetings Sir Dore,” Willis said. “We’re here investigating a series of fires that have been plaguing the cities lately. We suspect that they may have been deliberate. We ask for your cooperation as we investigate the damage that was caused to your property?”

 

[Ayreal Mellbrand]

Sir Dore's brows shot up, "Deliberate? You don't say. I would hate to stand in the way of an investigation, especially if I might be targeted again," He looked between Will and Ayreal again before settling on Will "Though I don't remember you from the other night, and you don't look like a Melbrand. Would you be one of the firefighters? or perhaps have they called in outside help?"

"Well any chance, ask away, I'm an open book," He said with a disarming smile and a sweeping motion of his arm as if to show the many pages of the book that was his psyche.

Ayreal merely yawned and glanced around lazily at the elaborate furnishings and decorations.

 

[Smiling One]

Well, at least the Knight sounded cooperative compared to the snobbish nobles who Willis worked for. Maybe they can get a smooth investigation without getting into an argument. "Well I'm shocked you noticed that I don't look like a member of the Melbrand family," Willis joked leaning on his chair. "What gave me away? Let me guess it's my sense of humor," he winked at Ayreal before getting serious.

"They called me for help," Willis explained. "Ayreal needed me for extra pair of eyes for this mission." Willis adjusted in his chair resisting the urge to roll his eyes when Sir Dore tried to make a joke.

"Anyway," Willis said. "The first question I should ask is that when did you notice the fires appearing in your home? Were there any fire hazards, any monsters who could breathe fire who infiltrated your home?

 

[Ayreal Mellbrand]

At Will's comment on humor, she gave him an exaggerated look of shock, pretending to be offended. Then he returned to business asking Sir Dore about flammables, or perhaps magical flaming monsters. Some sort of creature might actually make sense. Something loose in the city could explain the seemingly random target pattern.

"Well the stable was made of wood, and filled with hay and manure, it wouldn't have taken much to set it on fire... there were no signs of any kind of monster... though, now that you mention it, one of my gardeners found the back gate was broken, the lock melted off and the metal bent out of shape. We just assumed that a carless Melbrand broke it in their hast to save the stable that night but... it could have happened before the fire. If you think an arsonist is on the loos than anything I can do to help, I will do my best to accommodate." He said then it looked as if he just got an idea as he stood up abruptly "Actually, why don't you take a look at it yourself, see what you think about it." He said.

At the description of the damage, Ayreal frowned and glanced questioningly at Will.

 

[Smiling One]

"Lock was burned off?" Willis said frowning "no monster I know would have the intelligence to simply burn the lock." It could be another Pyromage but Willis wasn't sure how many were there. Ayreal and her family were the first Pyromages that he met. "Still can't sit here making assumptions," Willis said getting up. "We would love to investigate the area to learn more."

Willis gave Ayreal an uneasy look. Based on Sir Dore's description Willis can rule out a possibility of a monster. He had a feeling though it was someone more sinister. "Come on Ayreal," Willis said grimly. "Let's check it out."

 

[Ayreal Mellbrand]

"Yes," She nodded, her expression hardening. She needed to see this for herself. Perhaps Sir Dore was exaggerating. They followed him outside and into the garden past the chard remains of the stable which still smelled of ash in the breeze. All that was left was a chard frame. They after a short walk they came to the back wall of the estate and an iron gate, tall as the stone wall but as narrow as your average door. When they got close enough they could see the nature of the damage and Ayreal's hopes feel. The lock was lying in a twisted molten heap on the ground and the area one the gate where the lock had been was bent and twisted out of shape molten mettle having changed the shape of the mettle and harkening back into its new warped shape.

Ayreal tried to hide the shock on her face. Outside a very skilled pyromage, she didn't know any way to bring mettle up to that temperature in such a concentrated form. and outside of the Mellbrand family, she didn't know of anyone, pyro mage or mancer who was skilled enough.

"Here is the gate, feel free to look around for clues, just try not to break anything else." He said.

 

[Smiling One]

The two arrived at the back wall of the estate and just like Sir Dore said there was a melted lock strewn onto the floor along with the mettle being twisted and melted off. Willis knelt down to examine the carnage, from the corner of his eye he saw Ayreal trying her best not to appear shocked. She knew along with Willis that these attacks were deliberate.

Willis held the melted lock in his hands feeling the metal among his fingers. "Our Arsonist broke in and headed straight for his target," he deduced. "This estate is small compared to the average noble but it does have it's blind spots. This Arsonist knew what he was doing."

Getting up, Willis placed the melted lock down and headed for the destroyed stable. "An arson case is tough," Willis muttered to Ayreal. "It's hard to find evidence since the fires burn it all."

Looking over the stable Willis placed his hands on his hips observing the charred remains of the Horses. "Poor souls," Willis said. "What kind of man would do this?"

 

[Ayreal Mellbrand]

Ayreal followed them to the stable her mind spinning. If this was done by a Mellbrand then this was a family matter. It needed to be dealt with internally. For all that Will was a good flirt, she didn't really know him at all. She couldn't trust him not to turn her family in.

"We were able to get most of the horses out... but some of them didn't make it," She said. The whole back section was almost completely burned to ash while the front of the stable was still somewhat standing, though the roof was collapsed in and everything was charred black. In fact, it looked like if you pushed the wall it would collapse in. Then she noticed something, a smell on the wind. She took several steps into the ash that once was the back of the stable. Bending down she scooped up a handful of the ash. On top of the usual wood ash smell, there was also a strong acrid smell that was unfamiliar to her. She let the ash run between her fingers and get pulled away in the breeze.

 

[Smiling One]

Willis frowned in response looking at the ash the young man once again knelt down and began to dig to see if there was something hidden in the burnt stable. As he lifted the ash into his hand, a strong stench filled his lungs and Willis immediately pulled back wincing. "Well that's strange," he said to Ayreal letting ash drop to the ground. "I smelt something unusual, perhaps there was more to this burning. Maybe the arsonist was targeting something."

Willis got up and walked around the ruins of the stable heading for the charred corpse of the Horse. It's possible there are clues in next to the-. Willis heard a crack and he looked down to see a broken glass bottle stuck on his boot with a symbol etched on to it. Willis lifted removed it and held the item in his hand. "It's a necklace," Willis said to Ayreal. "Could be something to go by."

 

[Ayreal Mellbrand]

Ayreal glanced at Sir Dore debating whether or not to share her insights as a pyromage with him around. But if she said nothing it was almost condemning.

"Pyromagic still requires fule like any kind of fire... whether this was a natural fire or a magical one whatever was burning was not just wood... I'm not familiar with the smell though. It doesn't smell like any kind of ash I have encountered before." She explained. Then Will stepped on the pieces of a bottle and picked them up. She moved to get a better look and she saw the symbol molded into the side of the colored glass bottle. It was the symbol of the glassblowers guild. It was a large shop near the docks, where a large group of skilled glassblowers worked with many people working below them, producing everything from everyday glassware to glass for art and jewelry. Many Mellbrands had worked there over the years. She had spent two weeks there keeping the fires the right temperature, but some of her family had worked their way up in the guild and were respected glassblowers in their own right. Sean and Gail currently worked there and her great uncle Morten retired from there.

"That's the symbol of the glass blowers guild," She said, but she didn't tell them about her cousins, at least, not yet.

 

[Smiling One]

Willis didn't know that there was a difference between regular fire and magic-fueled fire. He always thought it was the same based on the books he read about elemental magic. It was interesting that Pyromages can summon real fire with a wave of their hand "whatever the substance," Willis said sniffing the air. "It was powerful enough to have its user harness it to the point where they can melt a lock without setting a house on fire."

Willis smirked at the thought. "Very impressive," he said turning to Aryeal statement about the symbol belonging to the glassblower guild. "Well at least we have a lead," Willis said smiling. "We can ask Sir Dore about if had any glass made by the guild and then drop by their place and ask them a few questions."

It looks like this case could be solved after all.

 

[Ayreal Mellbrand]

"I probably own some pieces by them, they are rather popular, however anything I owned would not have been stored in the stable." Sir. Dore said. He had followed them to the stable but stood a distance from the ash so as to keep his clothes clean. "I am glad you have found a lead which you may pursue. Please let me know what you find. If you have no more questions I will leave you to it," he said.

"Yes, I think that will be everything," Ayreal said with a fake smile before heading back to the main gate Will in tow. Reaching the gate the gatekeeper came out of the cottage without having to be prompted. He wiped dirt from his hands on to his pants before rummaging around in his pockets and retrieving the keys. Muttering under his breath as he unlocked it and rushed them out, clearly glad they were leaving.

"Good riddance to you too," Ayreal muttered as they returned to the street.

 

[Smiling One]

Willis frowned when Sir Dore rushed them out of the estate rather quickly. The gatekeeper pushed them out of the cottage cursing along the way. "Well he seemed to be quick in rushing us out," he said. "Makes me wonder if he's up to something."

It was more of a hunch rather than legitimate proof, Willis and Aryeal were not authority figures and Sir Dorne was cooperative for the most part. "Or better he just some stuffy noble who just doesn't want the peasants scurrying around in his home." Willis surmised wiping his hands clean.

As the two of them walked through the city, Willis stared at Ayreal. "So Red," he smiled. "You seem to know about the Glassblowers guild. You've been a part of it?"

 

[Ayreal Mellbrand]

Ayreal shrugged "I worked there for two weeks when I was twelve. Did simple apprentice jobs, kept the fires the right temperature and stuff." She chewed on her cheek as she considered how much to tell Will. Finally, she sighed and turned to Will, her expression serious. "Hey, you seem like a decent guy, but if this arson really does turn out to be a Mellbrand that makes it a family matter. My family is going to want to deal with it internally... I would hate to see you getting in their way. They can be rather stubborn sometimes," She said, genuine concern clear in her expression.

 

[Smiling One]

Willis was enjoying Ayreal explaining more about her past. He didn't like explaining about his past, but he always liked when other people talked about theirs. Ayreal was an interesting and unique woman something Willis wanted to know more. However, the young man stopped walking when Ayreal mentioned that the arson may turn out to be a member of her family. Willis stared at the redhead, frowning. That explained why she was acting weird when they were investigating the burnt stable and especially when Willis found that piece of glass belonging to the Glassblower guild.

Willis sighed, he really wanted this arson to be a mad man who burned buildings because it made him feel powerful. Now he's faced with a dilemma. He liked Ayreal, he really did but what guarantees would she bring by letting her family take care of it. He barely knew Aryeal's family much less their Pyromage ability. If this arson was part of the Mellbrand family then what would they do? "All right," Willis said already regretting his words. "I'll let your family take care of this, but you have to be honest with me from now on. What is going on? Who do you suspect is causing these fires?"

 

[Ayreal Mellbrand]

She sighed, obviously relieved. "I don't know specifically. It's just, the evidence is pointing to a Pyromage. I don't know anyone aside from a skilled pyromage who can make fire that can melt mettle like that. And I don't know of any Pyromages outside of my family who would be skilled enough. Then add to that the fact that several Mellbrands have worked at the Glassblowers guild. Currently, two of my cousins hold some pretty prestigious positions there." She explained "I would hate to think one of them did it... tonnes of people buy their glass from the organization. But it's hard to ignore the evidence... the only thing that makes no sense is motivation... why would anyone in my family be setting random fires. It makes no sense."

 

[Smiling One]

Willis nodded so what Ayreal had was a hunch, but one that had a lot of supporting evidence. His heart began to beat a little faster but he began to breathe and be at calm. Perhaps it was just a powerful mage but then again many mages he fought would rather flat out kill their targets rather than resort to petty things like what the arsonist is doing.

"I see," Willis said nodding. "All we have is the Glassblower symbol we sweep in, conduct our investigation and leave. I'm doubtful it's anyone in your family Ayreal don't worry."

However, this was Willis telling himself that if anything.

 

[Ayreal Mellbrand]

Ayreal could tell he didn't really believe that. She just hoped that she could trust his word not to get involved. Some mercenaries would do anything for the money and she had just asked him to turn a blind eye. They walked the rest of the way in uncomfortable silence. Approaching the shop it was a large workshop that opened up onto the street. Inside was a wide open space with multiple furnaces, bustling with activity. The heat washed over them as they entered. Ayreal looked around not seeming to notice the choking heat. Then she saw what she was longing for. amoung the bustle of the shop, she made a beeline for a workstation in the back. A man in his thirties expertly spun a bubble of glass on the end of his metal pipe. A second man stood nearby, a bit younger. he cupped his hands in the shape of a pipe and blew on the glass. a small bright flame appeared and a segment of the cooling glass began to glow again melting the glass into an asymmetrical pattern. Working quickly he did this in three different locations before applying the guilds stamp to the bottom of the bottle. Then the older man twisted the pipe and using another tool snaped the bottle off the pipe and setting it down before turning Ayreal.

"Ayreal, what brings you here?" He smiled.

"And who's your friend?" The other man laughed.

"This is Will," Ayreal said. "Will, these are my cousins Sean and Gail," She said first gesturing to the older one, then the younger man. "We found this glass and we were wondering if you knew what it was from and who might have bought it?"

Sean looked at the glass shards and scratched his chin, "looks like your standard bottle... but I do know that Morgan recently just finished a big order of these blue bottles," He pointed to another man two stations over "You can ask him... what's this about anyway?"

Ayreal shrugged "We found it in the wreckage of a fire, In a bit of an odd place, thought it might give us a lead on the person who's been setting these things."

 

[Smiling One]

Willis suspected that Ayreal was aware that he didn't say his statement with a lot of conviction. Honestly, Willis did not know what he'll do. The young man supposed that he'll find out if it ever happens, though Willis was hoping that the arson wasn't one of Ayreal's family. After about an hour of walking in awkward silence, the two of them arrived at the Glassblower's guild. The place was like walking inside a giant furnace. The sounds of metal clanking on metal with men and women walking around with freshly made swords and placing them in water so it can cool down.

Ayreal and Willis approached two men working on items and applying the guild's symbol on them. They seem to recognize the young woman and she introduced Willis. "My name is actually Wills," the young man said with a small smile. "It's actually a pet name she has for me. Just like pet name for her is Red."

Willis gave Ayreal a small wink while he remained silent examining the man's facial expressions. He didn't seem to give anything that would seem suspicious. "It's the only lead we have," Willis said choosing his words carefully. "So it's best that we get this done."

 

[Ayreal Mellbrand]

Ayreal glared at him at his odd remark about pet names, and her cousins gave him a confused look, looking back and forth between him and Ayreal. She could tell he was just nervous to be talking to a member of her family now that she had told him it was very likely the arsonist was one of them. But this was not helping.

"Thanks," she said to her cousin giving them a nod before grabbing Willis by the arm and dragging him out of earshot, which wasn't far in the din of the workshop. She was stronger than she looked and she didn't cut him any slack, not loosening her grip till no one was listening.

"Pull something like that again, in front of my family, and you will have more than your eyebrows to worry about. My family can be very protective. If you make them think anything is going on between us I am not responsible. If this arsonist is a member of my family I don't know what they would do to protect me. So don't pull shit like that again got it," She hissed.

 

[Smiling One]

Willis yelped a bit when Ayreal grasped on his forearm and dragged him into a secluded area away from the workers. “What’s going-“ Willis was about to ask but Ayreal chewed him out about how her family was very protective and that they would immolate Willis if they suspect that there was something going on between them.

The mercenary gulped listening to Ayreals words pierce him like daggers. There were times where his loose tongue around women did get him in trouble. He recalled a time when he narrowly escaped a hanging because a noble found Willis in a tavern flirting with his daughter. Willis sometimes wondered if he still had a price on his head. Still this wasn’t the time to be acting like an idiot and the more they delay, the more the arsonist assuming that he’s a member of Ayreals family could formulate a plan to escape.

“I’m sorry,” Willis said in a hurry. “I got too carried away. I didn’t have a family growing up so I don’t know these things like how family works!”

That was a slip of the tongue.

“Well I did,” he said. “But she would always beat me and tell me that I’m no one but a monster and then abandon me at the age of six.”

That was a bigger slip of the tongue.

“Forget it!” Willis said shaking his head. “I’m sorry I won’t do it again but we got a job to do.”

 

[Ayreal Mellbrand]

Ayreal softened as she saw her words register in his ears and understanding wash over his face. "Alright, Let's go talk to this Morgan person." She said letting him distract her from his slip about his past. If he wanted to leave it in the past she wasn't going to push.

They walked over to where Morgan was working. "Hey," Ayreal greeted him walking over her hands resting casually in her pockets. "I'm Sean and Gail's cousin, they told us you had recently finished a large order of blue bottles. Could you tell us who was paying?"

Morgan paused and looked over to where Sean and Gail had gone back to work. "it was one of those sailor types, came to pick up last week, said he was a captain." He shrugged rubbing his nose. "A Gail- Gor- something or other.

"Wait, Gordan, Captain Titus Gordan?" Ayreal started.

"Yeah, that's it!" The man said surprised.

"Thank you, that was a big help," Ayreal said turning to leave then realizing that Willis didn't know what she was talking about.

"Titus was the name of the captain who's ship caught fire the other day," She explained.

 

[Smiling One]

Willis wished he didn’t say anything about his past. The look on Ayreals face was one of understanding though, the young man didn’t want pity he just wanted to forget about his past. He forged a new name, a new outlook on life. Willis was a new man now but still the thoughts of his past was still something of a sore spot for him. The two of them went back to Morgan and Willis fell Silent not wanting to say anything that would have him burned alive.

Morgan mentioned that someone was ordering the bottles that they found by a man named Titus Gordan. Willis raised an eyebrow at that mention, Aryeals face lit up shock and the two quickly left. Willis was about to ask who this Titius guy was but Ayreal beat him to the punch explaining that it was his ship that caught fire yesterday.

“Okay,” Willis said crossing his arms. “Looks like our Captain has some questions to answer. Strange that his bottle was found in Sir Dores estate.”

 

[Ayreal Mellbrand]

"I know, why would-" but she didn't finish. They hadn't even gotten halfway through the workshop when the heat intensified, an a burst of flames exploded from the back of the workshop with the sound of shattering glass. Ayreal spun around to see the workstation where her cousins had been working go up in flames. The furnace was in pieces. Her cousins stood in the middle of the flames the fire dancing around them but not touching them.

She saw that several people had been caught in the blast. An apprentice lay on the edge of the flames seemingly unconscious. She ran towards him and with a sweep of her arm she seemed to move the flames away from him. She turned him over, he was badly burned but still semi-conscious. "it's ok, come on, I got you," She said taking his good arm and draping it over her shoulder as her cousins helped the other two workers who had been caught in the fire. The heat and flames danced at their backs but she didn't let it touch them. Once they were out of the reach of the flames she laid the boy down.

"Get everyone back and to safety," She called out to Willis before turning back to the fire.

 

[Smiling One]

There were sounds of screaming behind the Glassblower workshop. Willis spun around just in time to see an explosion that instantly filled the entire area with flames along with men and women scrambling to avoid the falling debris. "What the fuck?!" Willis said with his hand instinctively on the hilt of his Saber. The young man frantically looked around to see if there were any suspicious people but all Willis saw were panicked stricken individuals trying to get rid of the fire.

Willis released his hand from his hilt, it was foolish to do so when the only enemy right now is fire. There were a couple of Ayreal's relatives using Pyromage techniques to quell the damage while Ayreal assisted them with getting rid of the fires while ordering Willis to get people to safety. "On it!" Willis said rushing towards the people who were hurt.

There was an Elf who twisted his ankle and cried for help. Willis picked him and placed the Elf in a firearm carry. "You're going to be okay!" Willis shouted to the Elf who thanked him repeatedly for saving him.

More furnaces exploded with molten debris flying everywhere. Willis placed the injured Elf down away from the flames and returned to assist other people. It took the young man almost an hour to evacuate the many people who were trapped inside the Guildblower's Guild. Willis was on his knees and sat behind the railing his mind trying to figure out what happened.