"Tell it to the investigator!" The dwarf turns his head and spits on the ground. How uncouth!

With Willie and Yrwin arrested and a rudimentary search that doesn't reveal Archy at all, the officers take their leave. Archy is now alone. What do?

"Oh my, how lovely!" Rahini breathes in the scent. "Do you have a lady friend?" She grins wide. "It's about time I become a grandmother you know..." She narrows her eyes from Darnic to Cinrad.

"Glad she isn't looking at me..." Jana mutters under her breath as she takes a seat at the table.

"Soon." Cinrad teases. "Once you turn 20, all of a sudden it's 'where are my grandkids!' even if you don't have a relationship."

Archy slips out of his hiding space, digs through his pack for his convincing pair of thick rimmed glasses, nose, and mustache, and grabs Geldem's satchel which apparently wasn't evidence called for in the warrant.

Taking on the guise of Matrim Paendrag he takes a moment to get into the mind set of his False Identity... Did those guards even present a warrant? Did they even have a warrant? ... He heads over to the Dragon Towers to find Darnic.

Darnic laughs between bites, “Nothing yet, I’m afraid. Give me a couple of hours to clean up, then we’ll see who can resist the old Yshgar charm.” 

Willie tries to choke back tears. "But, b-but, we haven't done anything wrong! We were just minding our own business."

Desperately, she continues

"We have muffins in the oven. You can't just take us away like this, what about the muffins? They will burn, and could burn the house down."

She shows her hands, which hold the whisk for the batter.

"Sorry miss..." The arresting officer says. "Orders..."

Archy makes haste and takes the nearest skycoach to the Dragon Towers. (Subtract 2 silver.) Archy pushes through the crowd and makes it into the tower entrance. Once inside, he spots the reception desk. He remembers that they serve all of the houses, so he may need to be specific in his request.

The kithkin spies a pair of human girls seated at the desk currently. They couldn't be more different. One with dark features and the other with bright, blue eyes and light colored hair.

"Can we assist you, sir?"

The breakfast before you, Darnic, is incredibly delicious and filling. You note that Willie's cooking rivals your own mother's. Cinrad catches you up on how things have been going with the family, with a few corrections from your mother. It seems that your father has experienced a boon of business in Xendrik and has recently managed to partner up with a renowned professor of some sort. Next month, as you heard earlier, should be the culmination of all your father's dealings.

Jana has been uncharacteristically quiet. At least the version of Jana from your memories. She quietly eats and listens, nodding along with the conversation.

"Yes, ma'am," Archy replies politely. "I'm Matrim Paendrag, I've come to meet with Rahini'Yshgar of house Tharashk. She's expecting me. Just some quick notary business." He pats the the satchel, and produces his ID, giving the girls a wink.

“Really? Well how about that.” Darnic sits for a moment, mulling over some perfectly cooked bacon, “So... how’ve things been in the city? Safe, I hope.”

Yrwin stays quiet all the way to the station. A dark shadow looms over his eyes. It may seem like he has found himself in a similar situation before.

"Of course, sir, just a moment..." The lady at reception nods at Archy. She gets up and disappears into the back room for a moment. The other lady offers Archy a small smile. After a few moments, the first receptionist returns, "I don't see you on the list..."

(If you try to convince her of something that is a lie, roll deception, but if you say something that has truth to it, roll persuasion. :OOOOOO )

The other two cuzkin are thrown into a jail cell after being told that the inspector was being called on and would visit with them 'soon.' The jail cell is fairly clean, if not sterile, and at least Willie and Yrwin are thrown in there together. Within are two benches on either side of the wall, a very small barred window that is out of reach unless they stand on each other's shoulders, and the only way out seems to be the iron bars they were now trapped behind.

Across from them is an occupied cell. It's hard to tell, but there seems to be one person in there asleep on the bench.

"Oh, it's the same as it ever is. Crime is scarce around these parts." Cinrad comments as he pushes his plate away from him, full. "'Course traveling to the lower wards is always a gamble. I love it!"

"I really wish you wouldn't travel to Downstairs quite so much..." Rahini says. Downstairs is Lower Methis Plateau, which has all the best cheap drinks and thrills. Naturally, its a hotbed of crime. 

"You should be more worried about this area, mama," Jana states as Rahini takes a deep breath. This cues Darnic that a point of tension is about to come up. "You might not like to hear it, but crime is creeping up to the middle and higher wards. They're letting Tarkanans run amock of this place."

Tarkanan, sometimes called House Tarkanan, is a pseudo-dragonmarked house filled with those who possess aberrant dragonmarks...

Willie stomps her feet, angry at the injustice. She tries to calm herself, remembering that an arrest is not the same as a conviction. Still, the arresting officer had spat on Yrwin's floor. The action was filthy, disgusting, and disrespectful to the man, his home, and kin. She seethes, and violet motes of light twinkle around her. 

After several minutes of fruitless stewing, she looks across and spies the person in the bed across from her.

"Pssst! Hey!" she calls. "Are you awake?"

"My time has value, of course. Particularly in this matter." Archy says, "I don't mind waiting, if you want to send a message up." He checks his time piece. "She may forward my invoice down here, if it turns out to be a problem..." (Deception: 10) "Let her know... Darnic's assets have been recovered?" He tries to come up with reasons for urgency as well as success, but he doesn't want to reveal his identity in case another party comes poking around.

Quote from LaRue >>

"Of course, sir, just a moment..." The lady at reception nods at Archy. She gets up and disappears into the back room for a moment. The other lady offers Archy a small smile. After a few moments, the first receptionist returns, "I don't see you on the list..."

(If you try to convince her of something that is a lie, roll deception, but if you say something that has truth to it, roll persuasion. :OOOOOO )

---

 

The other two cuzkin are thrown into a jail cell after being told that the inspector was being called on and would visit with them 'soon.' The jail cell is fairly clean, if not sterile, and at least Willie and Yrwin are thrown in there together. Within are two benches on either side of the wall, a very small barred window that is out of reach unless they stand on each other's shoulders, and the only way out seems to be the iron bars they were now trapped behind.

Across from them is an occupied cell. It's hard to tell, but there seems to be one person in there asleep on the bench.

---

"Oh, it's the same as it ever is. Crime is scarce around these parts." Cinrad comments as he pushes his plate away from him, full. "'Course traveling to the lower wards is always a gamble. I love it!"

"I really wish you wouldn't travel to Downstairs quite so much..." Rahini says. Downstairs is Lower Methis Plateau, which has all the best cheap drinks and thrills. Naturally, its a hotbed of crime. 

"You should be more worried about this area, mama," Jana states as Rahini takes a deep breath. This cues Darnic that a point of tension is about to come up. "You might not like to hear it, but crime is creeping up to the middle and higher wards. They're letting Tarkanans run amock of this place."

Tarkanan, sometimes called House Tarkanan, is a pseudo-dragonmarked house filled with those who possess aberrant dragonmarks...

 At the mention of that, Darnic chokes on his drink, but recovers, “Really... that’s interesting. How have they been operating so freely?”

Yrwin sits on one of the benches, chewing his nails to the root, one by one. "Wi.. wi.. Willie? How long has it been? Minutes or hours? I don't do well without an even supply of food..." 

As Willie starts calling to their neighbour he stops biting nails and turns his attention towards them.

"You've been gone for a while," Cinrad prefaces his next statement. His expression is somewhat somber. "House Tarkanan's been here awhile, you know, but they've been ramping up activity in the past couple of years."

"A small-time gang of aberrants has turned into one of the top criminal organizations in Sharn," Jana's expression darkens as she speaks. If she didn't sound passionate before, she certainly has an edge to her voice that seems to cause the other family members to pause and listen. "Their numbers grow every day. We know they only accept those with aberrant dragonmarks, and that's incredibly troubling. They've evolved from petty crime and theft to assassinations and manslaughter. They particularly enjoy targeting the dragonmarked houses at large." Jana looks at you Darnic, and her expression bares something you never expected to see on your little sister's face - hatred. "These disgusting aberrants need to be eradicated. They are attracting that filth to the city. Just last month, one of their kind used their poor excuse of a dragonmark to cast some sort of illusionary spell. It backfired and 12 innocent souls paid the price."

"Oh, Darnic? Was that really him I saw... I couldn't believe my own eyes, but if you mentioned him it must be true..." the receptionist nods to Archy. She seems to read the desperation on Archy's face. You get the sense that if you had not mentioned Darnic, she would have turned you away. She walks around the desk and toward you. "Come with me. I'll lead you to him. We thought he was dead, so I'm so relieved..." Being so close to her now, Archy spies the edge of a dragonmark tattoo on the hairline of her neck. 

The receptionist leads you to the portal for House Tharashk. She pulls out a wand and uses it to gesture toward the portal. After a moment, she beckons you to step through. After a bit more walking and another portal jump, she takes you right to Darnic's front door...

"Eh.. ehm..." The figure shifts in their cell. It's still hard to tell what is over there, but they speak. "Wha-? I'm tryin' to sleep over here."

Archy thanks the receptionist, and knocks. Feigning calm patience.

“Right, right, I agree with you, sis...” Darnic takes a long swig of orange juice before hearing a knock, “Oh! The door, I’ll get that! Excuse me.” Darnic gets up quickly and answers the door. He looks around before looking down, “Oh, Archy, hey. I was just about to bring up the case to my family. Whatcha need?”

Archy glances over at the receptionist and back to Darnic. "May I come in?" 

Once they have a moment Archy removes his glasses and stows his face in a pocket. He fills Darnic in on the mornings events, "Yrwin and Willie have been arrested for murder. Kundarak goons came knocking this morning, and they'd probably like to lock you and I up as well. Something's fishy." 

Darnic rubs his temples, “That’s no good... Evidently Tarkanan’s ramping up as well, from what I’ve heard. Could be related... Anyway, if we’re about to be under the microscope, then I need to get this approved.” Darnic will head back to the table, “Mom, something’s come up. I need file an investigation and get on it quick. Anything change about the process that I need to know about?”

Yrwin looks expectantly at Willie. Shifting nervously on the bench. 

Willie looks back at Yrwin, nodding earnestly. She whispers loudly back across to the figure. "What's going on? What are you in here for? When do the guards come?"