Discworld RPG

by Mrs Wizzard

Watch the adventures of a food vendor, a guard, two werewolves, a wizardess, a vampire, a drunken priest, and his God, watch them travel to exoctic places, uncover shocking secrets, piss everyone off, and witness the return of a certain psychopath murdere

3. Chapter 3

Jeannie tried to pretend she hadn't noticed the cape falling, but her blushing face was a give away.

She nods gratefully to Jake

"OK then thankyou, but do you think that some clothes night be a good idea first?"

she was slightly concerned for Jake, he seemed different since he had drunk that stuff, but put it down to him feeling better after a meal and a drink

"Gigio, maybe you and Mrs Wizzard can find out what route the brothers took and see if there were any witnesses when the brothers escaped? Any leads right now would be a bonus...oh, and do you think you may have some spare clothing?"

..after a few minutes Gigio returns with a shirt and trousers, Jeannie had found a pair of boots in her pack from C.M.O.T Dibbler. She offers them to Jake

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Mrs. Wizzard looks Jake up and down. "Well, the shirt's a little baggy, but he looks normal enough to pass here." Resisting an urge to pat Jake on the head, she walks over to Gigio. "Shall we go, then, Gigio? I have a pretty good idea where they might've hid out after that farmer caught them in the barn." She and the guard strode out of the doorway. Mrs. Wizzard turns her head and, to Jeannie's horror, winks at her.

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When she sees Mrs Wizzard wink at her Jeannie blushes even more, she had hoped that the obvious chemistry between herself and Jake wasn't that...well...obvious. She reassures herself with the reminder that Mrs Wizzard, being of the magical persuasion, has special observational qualities and that the others probably hadn't noticed

Jeannie turns back to Jake, and forces herself to act normally despite the vicious blush that is assaulting her skin
"Well, if you are ready? we should probably head over there now?"

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Baggy as the shirt was, Jake was certainly glad to be in some clothes again. Strange it had never used to be a problem, now it seemed very important, that was city life he guessed. Jeanie's blush intensified her scent, but he managed to stop himself from throwing caution to the wind and grabbing her in an embrace. Cotton wool seemed to have surrounded his brain, the red stuff had been really excellent, so good infect that he barely noticed the wizard and the guard leave.

Trying to shake his mind into action, a painful process he took a step towards the exit, he felt surprisingly steady.

"Shall. We go?"

He asked and started leading the way down the street only to realise that he had no idea where he was going, but he of course, wouldn't admit that. He stopped and picked the first dwarf he saw, deciding that following the little beard with an axe, would eventually lead them to the dwarf district of the city.

"You know, there's got to be a law against smacking a guy over the head and dumping him in a city he doesn't know."

He wasn't sure, but the evidence of his surrounding seemed to suggest that is what had happened.

"Are you from the…old country?"

He asked in a whisper and with a slight mocking emphasis on "old country"

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she replys in a low voice "yes, I am. My 'pack' she loads the word with scorn have been in a feud with the Baron and his for years, I'm not...I got sick of it and joined the watch so I'm not part of their precious pack anymore"

As she looks up into his eyes , her expression tells him that there is more to her tale, but that she dosn't want to say much more.

She asks him "Are you? you know, from there too?"

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A feud with the Baron's pack? Wow it seemed he was really good at picking fights with….well most people.

"Uh…yeah."

He clears his throat, suddenly aware of his family history.

"I left a while ago though, well, kicked out. I didn't know there was a watch, I thought the families ran things up there."

They had followed the dwarf and it seemed his hunch had been right. They seemed to be surrounded by lots of…uh…short bearded folk, saying men would have implied that Jake had any idea what gender each was, but that seemed to be something that only the dwarves knew and that was only after very long and awkward silences with a lot of beard twitching.

"Where's Mrs Wizard? What are doing her?"

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Jeannie begins to reply "Yeah, the families did run things, but then there was an incident with Ankh Morpork and The Barons Pack, huh what a surprise eh? Then Captain Tantony started the Uberwald watch..."

She became aware of the short yet noticably armed figures around them

OK so the dwarves weren't yelling and charging but they were exactly shaking them by the hand and inviting them back for a tankard of beer and some home-cooked dwarf bread either, which was probably just aswell given the concrete qualities of your average loaf of dwarf bread. There was a strange atmosphere of tension among them

Jeannie backed up towards Jake

"I'll fill you in on the news from 'home' later, right now I'm concerned that they are asking after Mrs Wizzard. If the dwarves are involved with her brothers then this isnt a good sign, they have a tendency to try and kill her at every opportunity...any suggestions?"

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Jake wondered if Jeannie had ever tried eating dwarf bread, but decided that right now wasn't the time to be asking her those sorts of questions. He had noticed as well, that palpable taste of tension. Something nagged at him as well, a scent seemed very familiar, but he wasn't sure how it could be, he'd never been here before and yet his mind, still aching as it was, tried to make him aware of something.

He noticed a few of the dwarves in doorways casually leaning against them, almost too casually. He frowned and a part of him, it must have been his ancestor's genes, was enraged that these dwarves could be so openly defiant. Thankfully, and this time just barely, the rational side of him won out.

"You don't think they'd try something with us? I mean we're just two people walking through the city? It's just that I feel like they're looking at us and seeing trolls."

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Jeannie looks around and nods, she doesn't know why the dwarves seem to be so tense but she has a better chance of finding out if they get out of here in one piece

She talk to Jake in a low whisper

"I'm getting the same feeling. I think we should just carry on past them as normally as possible. If we run away, or run past them they will be suspicious and possibly give chase, if we get defensive they will be suspicious, either way we are out-numbered. Lets just act like we are a couple of people out for a perfectly innocent walk until we get past them. I don't know about you but I don't fancy the idea of trying to strike up a conversation with them just now."

Shivering at his touch Jeannie links her arm through Jakes as they engage in meaningless conversation and stroll through the street full of dwarves

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Was there such a thing as an innocent stroll? Well he certainly hoped it looked like there was. The Uberwald werewolf within him berated him fro his cowardice and he wondered, not for the first time, if it wouldn't be so much easier to just be a man or a wolf, having both seemed to end up always for one vying for attention over the other.

"I thought you wanted to talk to one-"

There was an expulsion of air as his groin met with something metal and low to the ground. The helmet fell off of the dwarfs head and bounced once before rolling around in a circle. Jake tried to recover his composure, always difficult when a male is hit in that particular area. He wheezed, the dwarf looking impassively at the pair of them

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She looks at Jake struggling to regain his composure

"Yep, that would be why I decided against it"

She shrugs and decides it was worth a try, she addresses the dwarf who had 'walked into' Jake

"Hello, I'm a old friend of Chrys Hammersmith, could you tell me where to find him?"

The dwarf spits out a short sentence in Uberwaldean,

Jeannie :"well, theres no need to take that tone! Look, if Crhys isn't here and you guys won't tell me where he is then me and my friend here will just be on our way. We don't want any trouble"

As she turns around a dwarf stands very pointedly in her way, holding his axe in a 'not very aggresive but making darn sure you know I'm armed' kind of manner.

Jeannie tries to step around him, but the dwarf moves infront of her. Its obvious that leaving here was not going to be easy

Jeannie begins to give the dwarf a warning growl, then rememberd that there were several dozen other dwarves around her who were all waiting for an excuse to jump in.Suddenly they all seemed to be holding their weapons

It was nearing full moon, she had been battling with the wolf ever since Jake had arrived and now in the face of such danger, her morphic field won the battle

As she felt herself changing, unable to stop the wolf from emerging, the dwarves began to back off repulsed by the various shapes that were evident during the change and unsure as the best way to tackle a really, really angry werewolf

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To be honest it hadn't been a great day so far and it didn't look like it was going to get any better. There was the being hit over the head, the waking up naked in an alley, being walked into by a dwarf and now he was surrounded by a lot of dwarves all of them holding very pointy things and all of them looking at the pair of them. The instinct to survive in people was always strong, but the instinct to survive in a werewolf is usually being screamed out by two brains inside. His arms itched but he tried to hold on, thinking was always harder in wolf.

He took a step back at seeing Jeannie in the various stages between a wolf and human, he knew there were stages of course, he had gone through them himself, but usually behind a bush with no one else watching. There seemed to be a collective intake of breath form the dwarves around him and an expanding circle around the two of them. The street went quiet, okay they were taken by surprise now, but how long would it last? His mind raced, but all he could think of was what was about to happen, someone would shout from the back and then there would be fighting and then the watch would arrive, see the two of them on the floor and if they had managed to survive, which seemed to Jake a million to one chance, then they'd be carted off to a cell somewhere

"Was that really a good idea?"

He whispered to the large wolf beside him from the corner of his mouth.

"You killed my brother you mangy bastards!"

Came the predictable shout from the back, there was a cheer and the mass of dwarves surged forwards.

"WAIT!"

To his surprise they did, although it appeared that it was only going to be a pause and a brief one at that.

"Uhh….We're just passing through?"

He said again hopefully and trying to look as innocent as possible

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I'll stay here with the priest, I'll try to put some order in what we know and send a report back to AM. If you are not back from the mines I'll warn Vimes and then try to find you

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Jeannie cursed herself, she normally had almost complete control over the wolf. Ah well, no point in changing back now...although a naked woman appearing infront of them would certainly cause a distraction. She knew she couldn't fight them all, but there was another advantage to the wolf shape...

When the dwarves stopped at Jakes shout, Jeannie took advantage of the momentary confusion,bunched her muscles and leapt over the circle of dwarves, landing gracefully on the other side with an open street behind her.

As the dwarves all watched her, she growled at them and began to back up, the dwarves advanced on her having temporaily forgotten about the still human looking Jake.

She waited until she was sure Jake was far enough away, and was no longer surrounded.
Making sure she had the dwarves full attention, she kept backing up slowly then made a break for it down the empty street with the angry mob of dwarves chasing her, leaving Jake alone but completely in one piece

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It had all happened so quickly he was still standing there as the street cleared. His body had been so prepared to defend itself that it was taking a moment to adjust to the fact that no one was trying to stick him with pointy things. As he stood his mind replayed the last few seconds for his viewing pleasure and then his body took over, hurling him down a side street (there is always a side street when you need one), grabbed a tray of dwarf bread muffins and ran.

It was narrow and dark, but curved gently around, not knowing the city at all Jake was aware that he might get totally lost, but there was not a lot of alternatives. Eventually seeing the exit to a street he ran out and skidded to halt in the middle of it. Looking down he saw the place was empty, he could have sworn that he'd been going in the right direction. There was a cheer and Jake went cold, feeling tingles race up his spine, he turned slowly. Coming down the other end of the street was a raging mob of Dwarves and in front was Jeannie.

"Oh sh-"

His voice was drowned by the cheers and sound of clattering metal. Hurling the muffins with all his strength (not inconsiderable) he aimed for the front line of pursuers. Knowing that there was no time to see if it would work he shouted at Jeannie.

"This way!"

Before diving into the alley, she was tired, he could see that, but knew that a werewolf could run for a far distance, the only thing was so could dwarves as they were the ones that often got chased. He looked around wondering what he was supposed to do now. Look up he spied a window and scrabbled up. On the ledge he looked down.

"Jump!"

He nearly got a face full of female werewolf, but managed to squeeze back in time. So there they were both crouched on a small ledge, her smell was almost intoxicating, that and a mixture of adrenaline made his entire body tingle, he concentrated and settled himself.

"Okay, so coming here was not a great idea."

He whispered to the wolf

"You know, your Wizard friend would be REALLY useful right about now."

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Jeannie lets out a soft bark in agreement, and wonders how they are going to get out of this.

Jeannie also had another problem, paws and claws were not the best shape for staying on this ledge, but her clothes were still lying on the cobbles back in the dwarf street. Also in wolf form, Jakes scent was completely intoxicating and hard to resist. She needed to change, she spoke in Wolf to Jake, asking him if he could give her his shirt and close his eyes.

After a moment, Jeannie was back in human form, wearing Jakes shirt, huddled next to him on a ledge after being chased by a very angry mob of dwarves. She was cursing herself for being so careless as to end up in this situation, and also wondering why the dwarves were acting so aggressively. She was also, admittedly, quite enjoying being so close to Jake...the watch officer in her scolded herself for not keeping her mind on the job in hand

She knew Mrs Wizzard had that very useful Transportation Powder which was exactly what they needed right now, but how could they get hold of her?

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When he opened his eyes he saw her wrapped in the cloak he had borrowed from her and his shirt, of course boots and trousers were something she was still missing.

"Seems to me it would be a lot easier if there was a manual that taught you how to not rip your clothes, very useful, I'm sure the writer would make a lot of money."

He asked himself, not for the first time he knew, how he had managed to end up on a ledge, being chased by dwarves and having a semi naked werewolf in front of him. It just seemed that life was a great deal simpler when he was in Ank-Morpork.

"So we just wait here and hope that your wizard manages to find us? I should imagine that our little friends have gone to get the good silver and I don't think they're going to invite us round for tea."

Mind you he thought, being invited around for a dwarf tea might be worse. Although the dwarves hadn't seen him change they might think him a werewolf through association.

"Naked in an alley was easier than this."

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"No, I dont expect to just sit here and expect Mrs Wizzard to magically appear..."

she pauses for a moment, just incase...well stranger things have happend

"look, I think I can reach that next ledge then there is a low roof. if we stick to the rooftops we should be able to get away from here before our little friends come back"

She stands up, luckily the shirt is long enough to keep her decent and the cape certainly helps matters.

She begins to move carefully from ledge to ledge and jumps onto the flat roof. In the distance she can hear the clanging sound of the mob on the way back

She turns back to Jake "well, are you coming or are you going to wait for the fun and games when they come back?"

As she begins to move along the roof, she wonders how her companions are getting on?

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Jake followed her up, realising that praying had never worked before so it seemed pointless to start now. Standing on the flat roof he looked around at the ladders that connected each building and the chimney's, some of which were spewing very odd coloured smoke.

"Okay, now we're on a roof, safer perhaps, but not helping you with your enquiries."

He paused a moment and cleared his throat

"You know, when we were standing there and my life flashed before my eyes."

He didn't admit how short a flash it had been

"I thought that I smelt a very familiar smell, I could have sworn it was the same scent I smelt the night someone decided to clonk me over the head. It wasn't in the crowd though, the scent was too….uh tall, it wasn't a dwarf smell."

He looked at the sinking sun, he was pretty sure it wasn't a full moon just yet, well, quite sure. He decided not to mention anything in case it just added something else on top of their current situation. It seemed like his life for the past day had been a string of desperate acts

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"my enquiries aren't going to get very far if we end up in pieces, and those dwarves tend to have a fair bit of silver close to hand"

she absentmindedly touches her neck, where the silver burns from her encounter with Carcer were still visible. That awful burning strangling sensation she shuddders it had shaken her more than she would admit

"come on, it's getting dark and the others might be back at the Inn by now.I'm guessing that who-ever attacked you didn't leave you any money so I'll book you a room for the night if you like?"

As she said it Jeannie realised she hadn't slept since before they'd left Anhk Morpork, she didn't relish the idea of closing her eyes, the images that flashed before her eyes were still too raw, too much pain...but her body was arguing, it needed rest

They begin to make their way through the rooftops

"So this smell, can you describe it? Human? something else?"

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With Gigio staying with the priest, Mrs. Wizzard was on her own to investigate where her brothers had been hiding out after they fled that barn. This called for a bit of fun. She danced and sang along the dirt road, something she'd never have the courage to do in front of other people, as she reminisced.

Here was the field where she and her friends would play. And over there was the old barn where they had all of the harvest dances.

She pranced along until she came to her destination. The sight of it made her freeze as memories hit her like a boulder.

One by one they flashed in front of her eyes. Her friends, her parents, the fun, the sad, and the fire. This was the rubble of the only true home she'd had ever known.

The charred bricks and mounds were all over. As Mrs. Wizzard walked through them, her eyes glazed over with Memory. She hadn't seen this place since she was twelve. That was ten years ago. She never imagined that coming back would hurt so much. Mrs. Wizzard continued walking along the rubble until she found what she was looking for

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Jake felt a flush of irritation; he was a proud werewolf and the fact he had to rely on her charity annoyed him. Still, he needed somewhere to sleep so he accepted gratefully and they continued in silence, well not completely silent, there were grunts of effort, but no words were exchanged.

Jake was trying to think of what the smell reminded him off.

"It's hard to explain, it was like really strong and cheap cologne but it was obvious that it was trying to make another scent, I could only just get that one, it was a grey scent, I thought it could be another werewolf scent, but it wouldn't make sense if that was the case."

His forehead crinkles in frustration and he shakes his head.

"I can't think of anything, I just remember the smell and then blackness. I thought most of the people that didn't like me were left in Uberwald."

He shrugged and was grateful to see the roof of the in come into sight

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Jeannie could sense that his pride was a little bruised, but she was too tired to do do anything about it. Male pride affected every species she had ever met, although was admittedly stronger in were-wolves. She put it down to the Alpha Male thing.

She tried to think about the smell he had described but it didn't throw up any immediate clues.

She let out a sigh of relief as the Inn came into view. She was struggling from sheer exhaustion now, she hadn't slept properly for a very long time

They gently dropped down into the alley way next to the Inn and checked the street before walking out to the front of the building, true this wasn't technically necessary since they could both smell it was safe but still seemed like a sensible precaution given the recent homicidal nature of the towns shorter inhabitants

Jeannie enters the Inn ahead of Jake, pays the innkeeper for a room for him then sees Gigio sat in the corner waiting patiently with the priest.

She walks over to her companions, trying to ignore their puzzled expressions about her 'not very dressed' appearance and fills in Gigio on the events with the dwarves. She manages to mumble a enquiry as to if Mrs Wizzard had returned yet, then heads upstairs

Getting up the stairs was hard, her body was ready to collapse. She reaches her room, discards the cloak and crawls onto the bed. As she fell into a deep deep sleep, the dream began

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Gigio prepared a report for Vimes and updated it with the results of the trip of Jeannie and Jake to the dwarf community, than went to the semaphore tower to send it to AM.

As a afterthought he added an enquire about Jake, he was in AM after all and is always better to be safe, and asked about any news gathered from the jailed brothers.

Having done all that is strolling back to the inn when a hand grasps his leg and a knife is pressed in his kidneys region.

"We know you stay in the inn with the ladywolf, and you where seen talking toghter. You tell her that she better mind her own businnes and be back to where she come from, we got plenty of silver here, and we know how to use it... You know, arrowstips, spearheads, sworblade alloy and armor alloy, you don't need too much, we know when it is enought, we got experience"

After this Gigio is hitted from behind at the knee level first and then on the head, when able to stand again is alone in the dark alley, he rests five minutes and than move towards the inn

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Jake was certainly very glad at the comparative safety of the inn, at least the things that looked silver here, were actually just cheap tin. He could feel a growing unease though, there was something wrong, other than the fact of course that he appeared to be in a party that consisted of an Ankh-Morpork watchman. I realised the pull of the wolf was too strong now, it was night time, what was the worst that could happen? The words seemed to be accompanied by a voice saying "You could get hit on the head and wake up in a different city and not know how you got there." Of course this was always a distinct possibility but the wolf seemed to be drowning out rational thought. In the privacy of his room, he folded his clothes, put the window on the catch and changed.

The city was alive with smells, fair enough most of them seemed like cabbage, but here and there that was crossed with something else. Moving back to the alley where he had woken he sniffed around, attempting to detect a hint of the scent he had smelt in Ankh-Morpork. It was no good though, there was too much blood and it was making his head spin, he felt his hackles rise though, there was a wrong smell in the air, it was a grey smell, but he could not place it. Catching the wizards scent he tracked her through the streets, making sure he kept in the deeper shadows, fair enough it was night, but you could never be sure.

He had expected the trail to peter out a long while before he actually found the wizard so when he spotted the robed figure he was slightly surprised, still he decided it would not be a good idea to allow her to see him, no need to confirm what she already suspected. Mind you, humans often saw a dog, maybe a wolf and they all looked the same, he suppose it was the same for werewolves with humans, they all looked the same to him, it was only their scents that seemed to separate them. He skulked, if there was something a werewolf was good at it was skulking and this is what he did now, watching her curiously.

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Upstairs, oblivious to what has happend to Gigio, Jeannie sleeps the deep sleep of the exhausted

The Dream comes...The icy cold river, the body gently spinning as it floated face down towards the bank where she was searching. The splash as she wades into the water, the hot tight feeling in her stomach as she sees the dress she had seen so often, the moment when she turns the body over and recognises the familiar face made so unfamiliar in death, the knife wound, the lifeless staring eyes...she had thrown back her head and howled...

Jeannie awoke herself with her howl, so full of grief, so full of anger...so full of pain

As she sits up in the dark room, she shivers with the memories that won't leave her alone. She vows to herself , not for the first time, that she will catch the murderer, she has to, if not for her own sanity then for her sister, her poor little sister. Jeannie had felt her heart break as she had looked upon the body of her sibling...Jeannie trembles, but this time with rage. No! With the rage comes the Wolf, with the Wolf comes trouble...had to gut it down, had to stay focused. She shakes her head, trying to dislodge the dark thoughts...

she sits in the darkness, hoping her howl hadn't been heard, trying to pull herself together

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Among the rubble and debris was the old trapdoor to her home's cellar. Mrs. Wizzard opents the lid and steps down the stairs, closing it behind her.

Inside, she snapped her fingers and there was a small flame floating in her hand. This seemed to light the whole room. Sihlouettes of the old furniture danced across the walls as the light flickered in her palm.

In the dust were footprints that indicated her brothers were here for quite a while. Mrs. Wizzard stepped around them, as if in a maze, as she walked to the old dresser, upon which something familiar lay. Carefully, she picks up the picture frame and examines the photo. Tears beaded in the corners of Mrs. Wizzard's eyes as she stared at the photo of her and her parents. It was the night of the harvest dance twelve years ago. She was in her red dress and her parents were hugging her. Mrs. Wizzard hugged the photo and carefully placed it in a pocket inside of her robes.

Wiping the tears from her eyes, she looked around the room again. It wasn't filled with weapons and maps like she had expected. No, she thought, my brothers aren't that stupid. They'd made sure to clear out before anyone came down here.

Suddenly, something in the corner caught her eye. As she strode across the room it turned out to be a note. At the top of the note, it said: To Mrs. Wizzard

Mrs. Wizzard read the note, nearly screamed, and shoved it deep into her robes. She quickly turned, climbed the steps, and closed the lid behind her as she strode out into the night, back to the inn

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The wolf that was Jake watched as Mrs Wizard disappeared into the house and shut the door behind her. That was definitely one thing you missed as a wolf, thumbs, trying to open a flap without thumbs or indeed fingers was always tricky. He sat and scratched his ear vigorously and waited. When the wizard re-emerged she smelt of fright and worry, she seemed to be moving a great deal faster than when she went in and he watched as she disappeared.

Deciding that it would probably be far better to head back to the inn, he did so. Slinking through the streets once more until he came to the alley by the side of the inn. He leapt and landed on the ledge of his room. Nosing the window open he dropped lightly onto the floor and changed. Putting his clothes back on he washed his face and made his way downstairs. He saw the watchman sitting there and gave him, what he hoped was a disarming smile before sitting down and ordering a drink. He wondered if he had made it back before Mrs Wizard.

"Hello." He said to the guard looking at his drink

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Jeannie finally managed to compose herself, she got some fresh clothes out of her pack.She pulled on the white shirt and the brown leather trousers, she washed at the basin and ran a brush through her long hair.

Hoping that she looked better than she felt she took a few deep breaths and went downstairs.

She saw Jake and Gigio sat together at a table. Gigio looked very concerned when he saw her, she wonderd why?

Jeannie ordered some drinks, she certainly needed one (that dream, every time she slept the same damn dream) and walked over to the table.

She sat down with the two men, the powerful scent of Jake was strangely comforting, it must be the Male thing,she was shaken and she felt safe because she was with a powerful male. She found that ironic, she had never needed protecting in her life.

She drinks her beer in one go, looks at the slightly surprised Gigio and wonders how he got that bump on his head

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Mrs. Wizzard walks into the inn, orders a drink, and sits down with her friends, sipping her beer. She didn't say anything. She was vaguely aware of Gigio's strange bump, but for now she wrote that out of her universe. Her hands were hsaking slightly and her thoughts were racing as she stared out into space. She could feel herself trembling a bit

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Jeannie could sense Mrs Wizzards anxiety the moment she enterd the inn, it was even more apparent when she sat down at the table.

Jeannies own unease fades away in the concern for her friend

"Mrs Wizzard? what happened?"

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Mrs. Wizzard snaps back to reality.

"Huh, wha? Oh. Um. Nothing. I'm fine. Really." she sounded more like she was trying to convince herself. She found the distraction she needed. "Gigio, what happened to you? How'd you get that bump?"

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Jeannie wasn't convinced, Mrs Wizzard was obviously shaken about something.

Jeannie still felt out of sorts after the events of the day, especially the Dream and all the memories that had flooded her mind so she orderd a couple more beers, and gulped them down while she waited for Gigio to explain what had happend to him, he had looked fine before she went to bed

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Jake was catapulted back about a month or two ago, boxes had been flying everywhere and produce had bounced across the street as the drunken wolf had zigg-zagged through the them in order to get away from a number of watchman in hot pursuit. It had been alleged that he had, in a drunken state, got away with a few chickens and bitten the farmer that had tried stopping him. The farmer was fully recovered although it would appear that his chickens were still going missing, he had no re-collection how, it just seemed that he went to sleep certain times of the month and woke up with the taste of feathers in his mouth and another chicken gone.

They had caught him of course and put him into a cell, a cage, he had trembled the whole time. He wasn't usually a claustrophobic person, but to be locked in a cage, it had seemed like a very long time. He had been told he was lucky, that the farmer didn't know what was going on and was now attending…counselling? The details were a bit hazy, but he had dutifully avoided the sells since. So it came as a surprise when he noticed the lump on Gigo's head, well that now meant that fifty percent of their little group had knocks on the heads, it seemed a bad omen.

When Mrs Wizard entered he frowned, it was true she looked worried, but her scent was stronger, concern and perhaps slight fear. He leaned towards the wizard, unsure if he should do such a thing, I mean, she was a wizard.

"What did you find?"

He realised he had chosen his words badly; it seemed to suggest that he already knew she had found something, but it was only a little mistake

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Jeannie wonders why Jake is so sure Mrs Wizzard found something...but dismisses the thought.

Gigio looked dazed, and there was a certain scent on his clothing. Jeannie placed it in a second, it was an earthy smell tinged with the aroma of the flammable oil she had smelt on the coach and at the dwarf mines near Lancre

"Dwarves!! the little buggers! what did they do to you?"

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Mrs. Wizzard is a bit surprised by the question.

"How did you know I-"

"Dwarves!! The little Buggers! What did they do to you?"

Mrs. Wizzard turns to Gigio.

"Dwarves did that to you!? So, that means we've all been victims of attempted murder, so far. The priest is gonna have a field day with me for this but, thank Om we're all alive." Mrs. Wizzard pulls an ice pack out of her bag and places it on Gigio's bump. "This is gonna be freezing but it should help the swelling go down"

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Gigio tells his tale to the company and than goes on "You were able to upset a lot of people with your trip in the dwarf community, I'm lucky to have still my kneecaps in their places... they wern't sure of our connection, but you better stay out of there, now they are aware of you and they hinted they know how to kill you" Gigio sips his ale and goes on "If I was you I will move away from Sto Lat for a while, also Jake now is associated with you and it's in danger, they can be souspicious about me and Mrs. Wizzard too... but we can live with that. Anyway it's up to you, you can also stay in Sto Lat avoiding the dwarfs, but you can also be back to AM and search there for what the brothers did"

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Jake stays quiet, his gaze wondering around the inn common room, it was never a good idea to let your eyes linger on someone for too long, in case they decided that they really didn't like you staring at them, not to mention the fact that people became very nervous whenever he kept staring at their throat.. He stopped his musing when he thought he heard the words "trying to kill you." Always a phrase that you never wanted to hear around a table, or anywhere else for that matter. Gigo was talking, so the dwarves didn't like Jeannie and now they didn't like him either, that was just peachy, mind you the thought of leaving this cabbage infested place and going back to Ankh-Morpork sounded like a great idea. True Ankh-Morpork had…well it had a lot, but it was home, or as near as Jake cared, saying that, anywhere other than Uberwald would be acceptable he supposed.

"Well I think we should go back to Ankh-Morpork, at least things make sense there."

He realised the irony of the statement but he set is jaw in an expression of resolution and wouldn't take it back

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Jeannie sat back in her seat, staring into her beer

She could feel the rage boiling inside her. How dare the dwarves threaten her friends! How dare they!!

Chrys, he was the key to all this business with the dwarves she knew it. She had to find him.

She looks around at her companions, feeling terrible that they were in danger because of her.She knew that Jake wanted to return to Ankh Morpork anyway, and as far as she knew the others had nothing keeping them here any longer

"You are right Gigio, it's too dangerous for us to stay here anymore. You should all get on the next coach out of here"

She stood up quickly, knocking her chair over and went to her room, she knew she was acting out of character but she was so damn angry!

Well, she was going to have one last shot and finding that traitorous little sod Chrys

She found her emergency pouch which contained a few essentials such as clothes, fastened it around her neck and climbed out of the window.
In the alley she changed.

In wolf form the scent of the city opened up before her...lets see, Gigio was attacked over there so there must be...aha!

Having located the dwarfish scent she followed it for a while until it split up in several directions. Oddly enough, one of the trails headed away from the dwarf district. She followed that one...

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"Jeannie will problably do something foolish in her frame of mind... can you do something to check on her Mrs. Wizzard?"

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Jake was not a hero, he had never claimed to be one and he certainly was not interested in being one, but he recognised the signs in Jeannie and got worried. Telling them to go back to Ankh-Morpork and then disappear off, usually that was accompanied by doing something stupid. What was more important that it usually meant the people around her would do something stupid and they would all get into far more trouble then if they had just stayed in the inn drinking and chatting. He stood up quickly, realising how far a determined 'Hero' could get.

"Uh…I think I'd better just, make sure…you know."

He said absently before starting up the stairs.

The door to Jeannie's room seemed to, magically unlock as he turned the handle, guess they didn't make them like they used to. He could smell her trail going out of the window he rolled his eyes and wondered why he had to be right . Getting up on the ledge he dropped down and began to race after the other wolf. The streets were nearly empty, well of people who cared to be seen in any case. He spotted her by accident, she was slowly down, and looking two directions, he was never going to catch her like this. With a fool hardiness he was sure he shouldn't have and using a tactic he had been 'taught' while with his 'family' he leapt and landed on Jeannie, whispering quickly that it was Jake.

"Are you crazy! You can't go around trying to be a hero, that sort of stuff will get you killed."

There was a clink in the darkness and Jake felt his entire body go rigid, clinks in the darkness were never a very good sign. Then, there was the sound of a match being struck, oh yeah, a clink and a match, this was REALLY bad

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Jeannie felt the weight of Jake land on her, she just about managed to stop herself from turning and snapping at him before she realised it was him. She was enveloped in his scent, it made her tingle but the anger was too strong

Letting out a series of growls, she spoke to him angrily..."what are you doing here!? who said anything about being a hero? This is watch business!"

She knew she was being slightly ungrateful, after all he hadn't had to follow her, but before she could apologise she heard the clink, and the match.

Feeling Jakes body freeze at the sound, she groaned inwardly, she would be really really glad when she left this place...even Ankh Morpork would be an improvement

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There was a thin trail of smoke from the cigar, the lit end giving Jake's eyes enough light to make out…the woman? It was certainly too tall to be a dwarf and it smelt female. Jake made to stand.

"I don't think you should do that, I don't know whether you're a werewolf or not but a silver tipped crossbow would do either way."

Jake's witty remarks seemed to dry up and he heard the wolf inside him growl in frustration. The silence stretched on and the wolf's frustration and irritation began to build eventually being released in some sarcastic comment, perhaps not the best idea.

"Okay, okay, so why do YOU want to point things at us? I mean I've been in this city for all of five minutes, what could I have POSSIBLY done to annoy so many people."

The woman didn't speak she appeared to be thinking of something, but the way she looked at the two of them Jake thought she might stare holes into each of them

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Jeannie felt a huge surge of relief when it became apparent that the noise had not come from a group of angry dwarves, the anger was burning its self up and she was beginning to think rationally again. Kicking herself for acting like a hot-headed rookie she took stock of the situation.

Considering the woman's reaction when Jake tried to stand up, Jeannie decided to remain where she was. She doubted the woman could speak wolF so she bided her time and waited for the conversation to continue

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"I'm hired to hunt special individuals, like the one you appear to be sitting on."

Jake thought faster than he had ever thought before, he supposed it was the silver . He squinted at the woman and then at the wolf he was sitting on.

"What? You think this is a werewolf?"

The was a long silence from the darkness, the cigar had been forgotten and was burning away slowly.

"Are you saying it's not?"

Jake hoped that he could be a good actor.

"She's not an IT she's my dog, I was letting her out before going to bed, she got away."

There was another long pause from the shadows as this news seemed to be absorbed, it was so unlikely, it was so improbably, it had to be true.

"She's pretty big for a dog and she looks more like a wolf."

Jake rolled his eyes, he was glad she couldn't smell his nerves.

"Please don't make me explain what happens when a daddy wolf and a mummy dog get together."

Of he was building up to patting Jeannie on the head, of course he was becoming more nervous of Jeannie than the woman with the crossbow, he just hoped she realised he was trying to save both of their lives

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Jeannie listened intently, and almost chuckled inside when she heard Jakes explanation.

The woman seemed to want some convincing though, so going against everything that the wolf was Jeannie licked Jakes hand hoping it looked convincing. She could smell his nerves but he managed not to even flinch as jaws capable of crushing a skull were a hairs breadth from his hand

She debated wether to roll on her back or not to add to the good doggie act, but decided against it, there are some levels she just wasn't prepared to stoop to

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He felt the warm lick and felt relief flood through him as he realised that Jeannie knew what he was trying to do. There continued to be a long silence from the shadows, there was a clink again and the woman spoke.

"Think quick."

She tossed something at him and he grabbed, it took all his self control not to drop the silver. He had experienced silver before, it had been part of his 'training' but the pain was something he had never been able to get used to, his entire body felt alive with it. He felt his palm bubbling, but he knew that his reaction to this toss was another test. He had to throw it back to her, but his entire arm felt liked it had, the wolf inside wanted to curl up whimpering and lick the wound. With all the strength he could muster he threw it back to her, in what he hoped was a casual manner.

"It's not clever to throw shiny things at people, they have a tendency of keeping them."

He could tell she was smiling when she spoke again.

"It's worthless, just a piece of tin."

Tin huh? His hand begged to differ, he'd never he'd not be able to walk on that paw for days.

"All things are valuable to the right people."

He thought he saw her shrug and lower the crossbow, she didn't say anything else, she turned and disappeared. When he was sure she was gone and out of earshot he grabbed his palm, in his good hand, squeezed his eyes shut and bit his lip. Standing he realised his arm was limp.

"Come on, let's go back to the inn, you're not going to achieve anything by going after this dwarf now."

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After the woman had gone, Jeannie darted into a convienient alley and came back out buttoning up her shirt.

"I know I know, you're right. I'm not going to find him, but I was so sure that he could give me the leads I needed. Guess I was like a dog with a bone eh?"

She smiled and winked at him, with the rage cooled she felt much more like her usual self now.

They walked back toward the Inn

"That was silver wasn't it? let's see your hand...that looks pretty bad. Maybe Mrs Wizzard has something that will help it heal...or perhaps you'd like me to lick it better"

she said with a playful nudge, and chuckled "daddy wolf and mummy dog...quick thinking there!"

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He felt pretty shaky, his entire arm felt like he'd stuck it into a flame, but he decided there would be no point in complaining about it, it would heal, werewolves were good at that.

"Well, I know how my oversize pet likes to lick, but I think I will just let it heal. I'm sure there is a bandage at the inn. I don't think we need to let anyone else know about my hand. What we do need to decide is what is our next move going to be? Do we not have any leads?"

He took rolled his hand in a pocket as they entered the common room and returned to Mrs Wizard and Gigio.

"Well that was an exciting little jaunt, I thought I best fetch her back. So, do you guys have a plan as to where to go from here?"

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"Well, I think we should all get some sleep. It's well past one in the morning." The rest gratefully agree and they head upstairs, each to their own room.

Mrs. Wizzard, now in her nightdress, tosses her robe onto the nearest chair. The note slips out and onto the floor. Picking it up, she reads it again, sighs, and puts it on top of her robes. She'd deal with it later. Grateful for a moment ot lie down, Mrs. Wizzard crashes onto the bed and falls asleep

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The last thing Jeannie wanted was to sleep again, but there would be no point in letting herself get exhausted. She had let her friends down enough recently as it was

She undressed and climbed in bed, after tossing and turning for a while she eventually drifted off to sleep

As always there was the dream, the body...the howl

As always the howl woke her, she sat up and sighed.

The dawn was breaking when she awoke so she knew she must have slept for a while. Everything seemed quiet so she assumed she hadn't woken anybody. She lay back on her bed and tried to gather her thoughts about what to do next. She rememeberd that Gigio had done a report back to Vimes, she made a mental note to ask him about it when everyone was up

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As they all went to their own rooms, their own concerns caught up with them. He knew that Mrs Wizard was troubled by that note, Jeannie had demonstrated tonight that she had her own demons and him? Well when he finally managed to lock the door and undress, never an easy task with only one hand, He sank to his knees and pressed his injured palm into his forehead, gritting his teeth and feeling tears trickling down his face, Ghods it hurt. He allowed the wolf to overtake him and colour seemed to drain from the world replaced by the colours of the nose. He crept underneath the bed and began licking his wound, until at last, the throbbing eased and he managed to sleep.

Dawn was a watery haze through the smell of cabbage, he decided that closing the window would probably mean fresher air, so he did so and plunged his hand into the cold water, it stung, but he knew that it was healing. Dressing still took twice as long, luckily when the knock came he was just doing up his shirt.

"Who is it?"

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"it's me"

Jeannie looked up and down the hall, all was quiet.

she had deliberated long and hard about doing this, but wanted to talk to him. Looking at the piece of cloth she held in her hand she blinked away a tear. It couldn't hurt to ask him surely?

"um, can I come in?"

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Mrs. Wizzard sat up to the sunlight shining into her eyes. She experienced those sweet first few moments of conciousness where you completely forgot about everything that had happened the previous day. Then her inner insticnts kicked in and she looked around to make sure no one was ready to mug/kill her.

When memory served, she looked over st the note, hoping that last night was just a dream. Even from the bed Mrs. Wizzard could make out the message.

'Your brothers know about your little friends. They're not at all happy in prison. We'll be watching'

She groaned and sat back again. Her head was hurting

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He took the damp cloth that had sat next to the wash bowl and wrapped around his hand.

"Just a second" he said as he padded bare foot over to the door and fiddle with his one hand on against the lock, eventually opening it.

He held the door open, admitting her inside he made a show of being sleepy and closed the door behind her.

"You're up early, I thought after last night you would like to have had a little bit of a lie in. Mind you, I guess it's good that you're here, I've been thinking. I followed Mrs Wizard last night, she went to a ruined house and when she came out, she was running, I think it is because of whatever she found in the house."

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"a lie-in? yeah well, sleep dosn't come easy to me at the moment."

Her face clouds over for a second, then is a picture of confusion

"Mrs Wizzard went to a house, and you were following her? Do I want to know why? You're lucky she didn't notice, she's very tuned in to stuff like that you know..."

Jeannie trails off into deep thought, as a watch officer it came naturally to her to look at the bigger picture

"From what she has told me Mrs Wizzard grew up here, she had a difficult childhood with her brothers. Her parents were killed in a house fire...I'm guessing that if she was visiting a ruined house then it must have been the remains of her old family home. She obviously found something that upset her, possibly something left behind by her brothers, they probably hid out there during their time in this area..."

Walking across the room, she carrys on voicing her thoughts "she was very frightend when she came back last night, I've only ever seen her like that around her brothers, I think we need to know what she found."

Jeannis sits on the end of the bed, she needed to get her reason for coming to his room over and done with.

"Jake, I came here to ask you...it's probably a waste of your time but I would appreciate it if you would humour me." looking down at the cloth in her hands she felt the sting of grief again

"This cloth was found in the hands of...someone. She was murderd. From the scent I got from it I was able to get this far after the man who did it but now I've lost the trail. It's probably a long shot but I was wondering if you would mind...I mean, you might have smelt it before or you might do in the future in which case I can pick up the trail again."

As she looks up at him her eyes are rimmed with tears "Sorry, but this scent is the only clue I have and you have the same sense of smell as me, and I just hoped..."

realising she was rambling her voice tailed off as she held out the piece of cloth

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It was funny how things came in circles, he was sure he'd been told that history loved it, it seemed in this case that it did anyway. Jake knew the scent on the cloth before he even raised it to his nose. His mind had gone racing back to a day when the ice had been melting and he was younger, a werewolf trying to fit in, it sounded so embarrassing. They had been hunting and it had turned nasty. They had chased down a lone werewolf who had wandered a little to near their lands and Jake had watched as the pack had drowned the wolf and then, just for good measure put a dagger between her ribs. His mind suddenly raced and he panicked, why was she asking about this scent? Did she have suspicions who he was? And then he did something he had gotten very good at, he turned and shook his head sadly.

"I'm sorry, I don't recognise it."

Another thing his family had made him, a good liar, but perhaps all werewolves needed to be like that.

"Perhaps we should meet up with other two to see what our next move is."

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A mnigraine was setting in. Mrs. Wizzard pinched the bridge of her nose ans she tried to sort her thoughts. So, now she knew that her brothers had connections on the outside and had gotten one of their little pawns to leave that note. Who knows how many people they've got spying on her and leaving her messages where they somehow know she's heading.

Well, she was never going to get anywhere while she was this drowsy. It'd been a rough few days. She'd been half asleep half of yesterday. It was throwing her senses off. She needed some coffee.

Mrs. Wizzard got dressed, adjusted her hat, and headed downstairs. The note was still on the nightstand...

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Her shoulders sagged as he handed the cloth back, she had known it was a long shot but had really hoped...

Blinking back tears, she nodded

"The others should be up soon, I'm going to head downstairs and wait for them" was what she tried to say, but she was so choked up it came out as a hoarse mumble.

Trying not to look at him she got up walked to the door

"thanks anyway"

Leaving the room she fought back the huge sobs that wanted to burst out of her as the grief stabbed her in the heart over and over again.
She had lost the trail, she had lost the only lead she had on her sisters murderer, she had no idea how to find it again.

Standing still for a few minutes,she composed herself. she went back to her room, carefully packed the cloth away, washed her face with cold water and went downstairs.

She saw Mrs Wizzard enjoying some coffee and went to join her

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Yay! Staggers noisily downstairs to Jeannie and Mrs. Wizz wrinkle forehead, peer at coffee gasp Have at thee, fiend! hits coffee mugs, sending them off flying, after a few innefectual flails Be basnished from the lands of ye faithfull, hellspawn! produces sponge from somewhere in robe and feverishly wipes coffee off walls Hm! smug as Mrs Wizz and Jeannie stare, he squeezes the contents of the sponge into a new cup, and sits down beside them. So, you were saying? takes a sip happily

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"Um..right." Mrs. Wizzard looks helplessly at the priest. Well, I've seen stranger things, she thinks to herself. "So, Jeannie," she says, trying to pull yhe stares of the rest of the Inn away from them. "How was your night?"

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Looking gobsmacked at the priest,
Jeannie replys

"It was the same as always sigh , but thanks for asking. How about you? you seemed very anxious when you came back from the...erm, wherever you went?"

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"Oh..um..I..got stung by a bee..? Yes, I'm terribly allergic to bees. I get all jittery.." Mrs. Wizzard knew this probaly would not pass, but it was the best she could think of on the spot

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sips coffe smiling stupidly. sip...sip..sip.sip.sip.sipsipsip. Stares into empty mug. Starts to tremor. Smiles and nods to Mrs Wizz and Jeannie, whenever one of them says something

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Jeannie gives Mrs Wizzard a look, but can hardly tell her she knows where she went. Jeannie wasn't afraid of much but her survival instinct told her loud and clear that annoying a wizard was not top of the list of "Things to do if you want to see Tomorrow in the same shape you are Today"

"A bee? ok then. Has anyone seen Gigio this morning? I know he sent a report back to Vimes, I'm wondering if he's heard anything back yet?"

Jeannie orders more coffee, quickly picking up the cup before the priest can attack it

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Ah, I perceive that you are lying! points a trembling finger towards Mrs. Wizz, still smiling like an idiot

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Jeannie chokes on her coffee at the priests exclamation

trying not to expel it from her nose she watches Mrs Wizzards reaction

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stands up, walks slowly, but trembling towards the frightened Mrs Wizz. Breakes into run and lunges right... past Mrs Wizz towards a loaf of stale bread. Grabs it, falls on floor, and struggles with the bread
Liar! The Wrath of Barrucadu is upon you! looks at the other two Beverages! I need Beverages! turns to bread again Thou wilt soon be soaked by Barrucadus beverages and torn into pieces by his might!

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leans across to Mrs Wizzard and whispers

"any chance you have any dried frog pills with you!?"

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Relieved that the priest was accusing a loaf of bread instead of her, Mrs. Wizzard stands up, and walks out of the door. Moments later, she returns with a bucket of ice water which she throws onto the priest and the, by now, very frightened loaf of bread.

"Break it up ladies, we've all had a rough night."

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Jake sat on his bed for a long while, the smell of his father's scent still strong in his nostrils. The scene was all too clear to him. From Jeanie's reaction he knew that whoever it had been had meant something to her and he had lied, well why not? He didn't oh her anything? Looking round the room he knew that was a lie. He tightened the bandage, he was pretty sure Mrs Wizard suspected something about him, but no need to tell them where he got the burn from.

Wandering downstairs he saw Mrs Wizard holding a bucket and on the floor a figure he'd not seen before, soaked to the skin clutching a loaf of bread. He could ask, he KNOWS he could ask, but instead decides to get a cup of coffee.

He picked up the coffee with his good hand and looked at the figure on the floor and then turned to Mrs Wizard.

"Are you feeling okay today? Have we decided on a next move?"

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Mrs. Wizzard looks up at the sound of Jake's voice. She looks at the bucket in her hand and quickly drops it.

"Yes, I'm fine. I'm not sure what we're doing next, though. I was going to ask Gigio, but he doesn't seem to have woken up, yet"

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Jeannie can't help but laugh at the Priest, oh boy, after the past few hours it felt good to laugh!

She wonders if she should send a report back to Captain Tantony, she decides against it. What could she say? 'Traveled long way, nearly been killed a few times, met another werewolf, nearly got him killed, oh and nearly got friends killed by irate dawrves'...hardly a informative report. Deciding to wait until she has something more conclusive to tell the Captain, she looks up at the sound of Jakes voice.

She had smelt him before she saw him of course, she could probably smell that powerful scent even in the slaughter house district in Ankh Morpork. Allowing herself to enjoy the delicious tingle it always gave her at first, she gave him a little nod in greeting

"Well, we are all here apart from Gigio. Maybe I should go and knock on his door, we need to decide on a course of action"

She made her way up to the rooms, accidently knocking on the wrong door before realising her mistake. The latch was obviously faulty as the door swung open slightly at her touch, as she went to close the door something caught her attention, werewolves also have extremely good vision and from here she could clearly see and read the note on Mrs Wizzards nightstand. Closing the door quickly she stood in the hallway trying to digest this new information...

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Taking a sip of the coffee he decided that he didn't need to drink it THAT much and pushed it away, carefully, in case it began eating through the table. Still not allowing himself to comment on the soaking priest clutching a shredded loaf he spoke again.

"Well, as I'm still not that sure what this is all about, I'm not really much help in deciding our next move, although I would say that I'm anxious to get back to Ankh-Morpork, but that would be a lie. I would however prefer it to…"

He looks around the inn and decides that lowering his voice is a good idea

"A place where the smell of cabbages will be ingrained in my skin for weeks"

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stalks rooms in search of paper and, guess what? he finds Mrs Wizzs note. It is turned with the blank side upwards, so the priests starts scribbling some holy verses on it:
'And Barrucaddu shalt smite the etc Oh great Barrucadu, when wilt thou return from thy holy vacation? The numbers of faithfuls are falling and thou must come down from Cori Celesti and smite etc etc.
Yrs faithfully, Priest.'
He stares at the paper a bit, and adds:
'P.S.: Thy wisdom is eternal.'
satisfied he folds tthe paper up, in order to commence with the rite of wossname, so that the message may reach any deity wich might be paying attention at the moment, but notices the writing. He reads it with an impassive face and goes downstairs to have a cup of coffee and see if he can understand what the hell it meant

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Hearing the priest coming along the rooms, Jeannie snaps out of her deliberations and walks quickly back downstairs.

She arrives in time to hear Jake talking about going back to Ankh Morpork.

Difficult as it was for her to leave here without becoming any closer to her goal, she knew they couldn't stay here much longer if they wanted to leave alive

"I agree with Jake, this town is getting too dangerous and we have no more leads here.I think that heading back to the city would be a good idea, maybe another little chat with the brothers will help us, or maybe Vimes has some new information?"

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Jake said nothing when they mentioned the watch, he would as soon not have anything to do with them, but he supposed that was true of most of the city, although Vimes was one of the cleverer watchmen and it was a great deal harder to get anything past him. Some of the others just seemed to be, good but diffusion, it sort of filtered down from others in it.

Jake was slightly concerned that the report Gigio was going to receive would contain a few of his, not worth mentioning, misdemeanours.

"Perhaps there are dwarves in Ankh that can help us as well, and maybe they will be more helpful, as opposed to staring at us coldly and then giving chase"

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Still debating on whether anyone she ever met was sane, Mrs. Wizzard realises that she's forgotten something.

"Oh, I'll be right back. I left my medical bag upstairs."

When she enters the room she sees her bag at the foot of the bed.

"There it is." Mrs. Wizzard picks it up and sees the note, now folded up, on the nightstand.

"Oh, bugger! I left that thing in here, too?" She unfolds it and sees someone's been scribbling on the other side.

"...shall smite thee...Oh, good, it was only the priest"

Relieved, Mrs. Wizzard grabs her bag and makes for the door, absently tossing the paper into the waste bin on her way out.

When she arrives downstairs, the priest seems to be in deep thought. You know, I wonder if he's gone mad or if he's just really really religious, she thinks to herself

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Jeannie nods at Jakes suggestion

"yes, although I think we'll start with the dwarves who are in the watch, I'm pretty sure that none of them will feel like throwing any silver in my direction"

She wouldn't voice it out loud but the bounty hunter that her and Jake had encountered was bothering her...the dwarves tended to be more hands on, imagining them sending a professional after her just didn't add up, so that left the question...who sent her? Jeannie hadn't been in Ankh Morpork long enough to make enemies, and although she had left a few back home she doubted that they would go to all this trouble just to kill her. Playing with their prey was much more their style

As Mrs Wizzard went to collect her things, Jeannie got up to go and fetch her pack

she cast a sideways glance towards Jake on her way past him, she could have sworn there had been just a glimmer of unease when she mentioned Vimes

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Jake would have gone upstairs to get his things sorted, but his things happened to be in Ank-Morpork, well that's where he had left them at least, he still wasn't sure how long he had been asleep and whether his stuff had been thrown into the street and a new tenant accepted due to late rent, although he doubted it, his stuff had probably been taken and the room burned to the ground.

Surprisingly enough he didn't find the thought upsetting in the least. Instead he waited patiently for everyone to get there stuff sorted.

"How are we getting back?" he asked

He could think of a way, but unfortunately only two of them could have run the distance

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Jeannie sits back down having got her pack and all the 'quality' merchandise that was going to go straight back to Dibbler along with a few choice words

"the same way we got here...well, most of us. There is a mid-day coach run to Ankh Morpork, we might aswell go on it. No sense in hanging about.

I can report back to Vimes once we get back"

yep, it was barely noticable but there was the faintest reaction on Jakes face when the Watch was mentioned. She wonderd again about Gigios report, he was a watch officer, he knew Jake was from Ankh Morpork, surely he would have asked...

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Jake had made the decision, these people had been kind to him, but he had returned the favour, at least to Jeannie, by stopping that woman filling her with a silver tipped crossbow bolt. Once they were in Ankh-Morpork, he would make himself scarce; after all he was not really anything to do with this group. He felt slightly cowardly at the thought of doing it, but better that then…well just better that.

"Stupid question perhaps, but how long will it take?"

The idea of being stuck on a coach with a load of people he didn't know (present company accepted of course) did not fill him full of joy. He wanted to get away from the smell of cabbage not be put into a small box with a load of people from the same city.

A cold chill came over him then, small box, a coach? He had never been very good at small enclosed spaces, but a coach was pretty small and packed with other people? Well at least the coaches he had seen were, mind you, many of the vegetable sellers had open coaches that would be okay.

"Uh…What sort of a coach are we talking about?"

He said, with what he thought incredible calmness

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"hmmm? oh the normal kind, four wheels, 2 doors, plenty of luggage space on the roof..why?"

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Jake didn't like this at all he would MUCH rather run there, in fact perhaps that was what he should do, mind you it might throw up questions with Mrs Wizard, Gigio and the strange priest.

"I…uh…I'm….not great at coaches."

He said finally, he tired to imagine himself, agitated in a small box full of lots of people, all of whom with the sound of pounding hearts…it would be fine if it only smelt of cabbages, blood might just tip the scales.

"I usually…find other means of transport"

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Jeannie leans over and whispers "oh, right, I think I get what you mean. It's pretty common with wer...with people like us. It's not a very long journey, do you think you could cope with it?"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie and Jake disappearing into whispers can't be a great sign, he feels like a conspirator and perhaps merely makes the fact of what he is all the more obvious to someone who suspects.

"I'm not sure, I could try, I suppose it might turn out ot be an exciting journey if I can't."

He said pointedly but still whispering

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie found herself feeling more and more annoyed, she had tried to help the guy at every turn since they met. She should have known better really, her mother had always told her never to spare a thought for those who couldn't provide for themselves...she had always scorned such teachings but just for an instance the rage made it seem credible

"ok, well if you want to run back to the city then be my guest!but you owe me for the room!"

She gets up and walk towards the counter, after ordering breakfast she sits herself back down and calmly sets about consuming her meal.

she casts a thoughtful glance towards the priest, who seemed to be unusually deep in thought

------------------------------------------------------------

Jake knew that his claustrophobia had made him speak out of turn, but he didn't care he was angry now, the idea of having to admit to such a fear bad enough but to have someone feel pity was even worse.

"You know you're right, when you get back to Ankh I'll send an envelope to the watch, I'm sure they'll be able to find you."

With that he stood and without a word to Mrs Wizard, Gigio or the priest walked out of the inn. He was a werewolf after all, who the hell laws going to mess with a pissed of werewolf? Not to mention the fact he'd been brought up in Uberwald a far more inhospitable place than the journey from Sto Lat to Ankh-Morpork

--------------------------------------------------

Mrs. Wizzard's expression didn't change as Jake stormed off and the tension from Jeannie grew. Silently, she pulled out a flask of whiskey from her robes, took a few sips, and put it away.

She'd had some phobias that she'd had to deal with in the past. Claustrophobia was an on and off one. She didn't mind enclosed spaces, depending where they were. A small room was fine. Even a small closet. A small box or sack, however, was a bit unnerving. But, her claustrophobia wasn't nearly as bad as her fear of needles and pointy objects. This resulted in many years of not going to the doctor.

Mrs. Wizzard didn't bother to order breakfast. In the past 24 hours she'd left her home, returned to her old home, returned to the cellar of her old house, found a note that she was being spyed on around the clock, and had dealt with a mad priest. Hunger was the last thing on her mind at the moment.

As the alcohol set in her stomach, she sat back in her chair and relaxed

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Growing up in her Mothers merciless clan had taught her many things, fortunatly leaving the clan and joining the watch had taught her many more, such as self-control.True this hadn't been very self evident in the past 24 hours but most of the time the rage was overcome.

Instead of acting on her anger Jeannie sat and focused on calming the rage, her companions didn't deserve to have to deal with an angry werewolf.

Once the rage had cooled slightly Jeannie stood up,

"I'm going to go and book our seats on the coach.

I'll meet you back here in about half an hour"

She headed first to the Clacks tower, and sent a report to Uberwald, letting the Captain know that she was heading back to Ankh Morpork, she included information about the hostile dwarves...after all some of them were Uberwaldean.She also mentioned the bounty hunter

Having sent her report she wanderd towards the Coach Yard, deep in thought

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Surprisingly it didn't take him long to get to the outskirts of the city. Once outside he somehow managed to find a small clump of trees amidst all the cabbage fields and took of his cloak and began putting his hsoes into it. One thing you certianly learnt about as a werewolf, was how to carry clothing as a wolf, fair enough it's not easy to cary a lot, but he didn't have a great deal at the moment and it would probably be good to have some clothes before wandering into the city.

It was easier this way, he was used to covering a lot of distance on his own and he usually managed to find something to eat. It was probably safer as well, what would happen if he was in the coach and he couldn't control himself? He shuddered and lifted his shirt over his head placing it in the cloak

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Gigio sits at the same table as Mrs Wizzard with a loaded plate and see there is also the semi-catatonic priest... "Good morinig! I rised early and went to the semaphore tower before coming for breakfast, I have some news from Vimes... The brothers are strangely smiling and that is putting Vimes on edge, there is something afoot... I also enquired about our new friend Jake, not nice of me, but you know 'better be sure than trodded on by a group of enraged elephants' Vimes says he is a fellow that has already been in our cellar, often for a fistfight in some taverns, Angua placed him in the 'werewolf in the city list', that's can be a surpise but we had some hints isn't it? On the list got only two stars, that means he never really did great damages to people in AM, almost a good-guy if he dosen't drink to much, Vimes says doesn't trust him as anybody else"
Mrs. Wizzard relates to Gigio of the decision to go back to AM
"I think it's better if I stay here for a while, we will keep in touch, I think I'm not in danger here, I have been more carefull about my cover than Jeannie and I am only loosely related to her by the dwarfs"

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Still mulling over the events of the past few days and trying to make sense of it all, Jeannie wandered into the Coach Yard.

She spied the coach driver having a quick smoke by the stables and walked over to enquire about the midday coach run

She went back to the Inn to collect her things and tell the others that they had seats on the coach. A whiff of cigar smoke made her look around hurriedly, the last time she had smelt it she had found a silver tipped cross bow aimed in her direction, but it was just a gentleman enjoying a Pantella.

Feeling a huge sense of relief to be leaving this place, she arrived back at the Inn and went inside.

She over hears the conversation with Gigio as she approaches

with a slightly embarrassed smile she sits down with them

"Gigio, you're right.My personal issues got in the way, I was careless. It's inexcusable for a watch officer to act so recklessly. Please accept my apologies and my assurances that I will not be so careless in the future

I'm pretty sure once I've gone you will be safe here. We'll communicate regularly by clacks"

Jeannie sat back, she wasn't surprised that Jake was known to the watch.After the way he had followed Mrs Wizzard she had become slightly suspicious. She wanted to trust him, after all he had saved her from the bounty hunter, but there were nagging doubts about just how solid that trust was.

she shrugged to herself, well it wasn't her problem now anyway, he was probably well on his way to Ankh Morpork by now

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The Priest was very quiet in the last time, occasionally glancing at Mrs Wizz, muttering some religious phrass half-heartedly, sighing, and messing around thoughtfully with his multi-functional religious pendant. (wich can easily be folded into the most popular religious symbols or can even be used to create new religious symbols of your own design. Also includes a pocket-knife and a foldable ((how the hell do you spell that?)) mug, useful for drinking various beverages out of. Only 5 AMDollars, buy three and get a discount! Treacle Street No15, open between 6am and 9pm. Order now!)

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Jake knew it could be dangerous making this journey during the day, especially until he could get to better cover, but his anger and his desire to get home and get drunk was too strong to ignore. He picked up his bundle between his teeth, peaked out and moved with a ghostly efficiency of movement, but certainly not doing it slowly. He had a general idea which way he was going and his wolf sense of direction would certainly help, he was no charity case and it annoyed him that he had allowed himself to be one. It was only as his thoughts cooled did he realise the pain in his paw. He looked at it, it was blistered over, it had been from the bounty hunter. Raising it from the ground he continued, he had three other legs after all

---------------------------------------------------

Mrs. Wizzard notices the priests occasional glances and quiet chants. She wasn't sure but he almost looked..concerned. She never thought he was capable beyond anything of the mad grin that he usually wore.

Dismissing the thought, she took off her hat and absent mindedly twiddled with the point

--------------------------------------------------

Jeannie gathered her things and headed to the coach, she didn't want to hang around in the Inn anymore. She couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched and wanted to get moving as soon as possible.

Informing the others that she would meet them on the coach if they were coming back to the city, she set off at a leisurely pace.

She still had the feeling of being watched, her mind played out several senarios ranging from the woman who had threatend her and Jake last night, to dwarves loitering with murderous intent.

Remembering Mrs Wizzards note, she became 100 sure that they were being spied on.

She thought to herself, that if they were being spied on then surely the fact they were leaving would be a good thing from the point of view of the spies? hopefully they would be left alone if it looked like they had given up and were heading home

she hung onto that thought as she arrived at the coach and put her pack on the luggage rack on the top

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Mrs. Wizzard collects her things and gets up to leave for the coach. Before she goes she turns to Gigio. She does something that she didn't excpect, and hugged him.

"Be careful, Gigio. We'll see you back at Ankh-Morpork soon."

She turned and walked out with the priest. Jeannie was already inside when they got to the coach. Mrs. Wizzard sits back and pepares for the ride back home

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It was dark when Jake came to a halt and sniffed the air. He had been running all day and had covered a fair distance, but he was tired and needed, if not something to eat, then certainly something to drink. Sitting back on his haunches he lifted a leg and scratched his ear, it felt really good, pleasures were a great deal simpler in wolf form. Picking up the little bundle again he loped along, usually a forest was a dangerous place, but to be honest, what on earth would attack a wolf let alone a werewolf. Finding a pond he looked at his reflection, he was large, but not yet full grown and black with a white patch over one eye that gave him an almost cute expression. Jake knew that his face had been the last thing that many had seen. Shaking the thoughts from his mind he began to drink from the stream. He would hopefully make Ankh-Morpork, mind you knowing his luck, it would be just in time for the full moon.

Looking up he saw the gibbous moon hanging and felt it's pull, it was waxing. Without meaning to he felt himself howl

--------------------------------------------------------

Gigio waves at the departing coach and head back to the inn, he will have to lay low and wait for the troubled waters to be back to normal, keep hears and eyes well open and see if everything will be back to 'normal' in a few days, than can make his moves..

------------------------------------------------

Jeannie welcomed Mrs Wizzard and the Priest as they climbed aboard the coach.

"All ready then? I hope Gigio stays safe"

her companions nodded in agreement

As the coach pulled out of the city there was a deep comfortable silence, each one deep in their own thoughts.

After a while Jeannie pulled a deck of cards from her pack and the group played a few hands of Cripple Mr Onion...

later on as she was jolted awake by the coach hitting a bumpy patch of ground she realised she had dozed off, even more remarkable was the fact she had slept without having the Dream. It felt refreshing, and for the first time in ages she felt rested.

"Mrs Wizzard? I didn't want to mention anything back in in Sto Lat but we were being spied on on on the way to the coach.I just thought I'd let you know so that..."

Jeannie looked sharply out of the window at the sound of Jakes howl, the others wouldn't have heard it so keenly but her ears picked it up with ease. After all it was part of the wolf thing.

"um, what was I saying? oh yeah, so that you are aware of it and won't be taken by surprise. It would be a good idea for us to warn Gigio by clacks when we get back to the city...just in case, although I think he'll probably be left alone now"

---------------------------------------

It didn't surprise Mrs. Wizzard that someone had been spying on the coach. After all that's happened, she'd have been surprised if they weren't being watched.

She was, however, concerned for Gigio's safety. But, there wasn't much that she could do from here. Mrs. Wizzard took a book from her robes and found her marked page.

"I think Gigio will be fine," she lied

----------------------------

sigh "I hope you're right"

After a while the coach approached the city gates, as it passed through the city Jeannie breathed in its various smells. It was quite a relief compared to the permanent vegetable smell they had left behind in Sto Lat.

The coach clattered to a halt outside the Post Office, Jeannie and the others dis-embarked

"Well, I need to go and report to Vimes and get directions to Mrs Cakes, I'm going to need lodgings...is that Dibbler? it is! Oi! Dibbler, I want a word with you! Top of the range shampoo was it? Yeah right, top of the range in the nearest pet shop! and don't get me started on those wigs, I've encountered corpses that smelt better!"

Jeannie marches over to a gobsmacked Dibbler, after a brief haranguing from Jeannie he accepts the merchandise back and even offers her a refund. This was a real achievement considering she didn't gave him any money as he was 'helping the watch in the interest of being a good citizen' when he 'donated' the goods.

Obviously satisfied but having refused the refund, she re-joins her companions.

Smiling at them she picks up her (now much lighter) pack.

"What about you guys?"

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It was early morning when Jake finally smelt the stench of the Ankh, he was glad that there had obviously been rains recently the stink wasn't enough to make him gag. On the outskirts of the city he changed and put his clothes back on. Doing his best to clean the mud off he straightened his things and moved into the city he had come to call home.

He found his room still with all his possession in it and with only the money for rent missing. His land lady, he forgot her name, must have been the most honest person in Ankh-Morpork and that was certainly saying something. Changing into his own clothes he counted an approximate amount of money into an envelope and began walking to the Yard, he would drop this there and he would disappear out of the little groups life.

It was still early, but he saw the way the watchman kept an eye on him, he was on "the list". He went up to one of the trolls and held out the envelope.

"There is a watchman Jeannie is coming here soon, could you give her this please."

It wasn't that he trusted the troll, but trolls generally didn't have a lot of use for buying things so it was unlikely he would take it and keep it, he might of course forget, but that wasn't his problem. After a few growled words a large hand came out and the envelope disappeared. Jake turned and prepared to flee

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Jeannie headed away from the Post Office, the Priest seemed happy enough and she knew that Mrs Wizzard was perfectly at ease in the city..She had asked them to come to the watch house when they were ready and they could catch up on the latest news regarding the brothers

She headed towards the watch house, She went in and changed into some fresh clothes. As she was heading to the canteen she stopped, She would recognise that scent anywhere.

Her curiosity got the better of her, she headed to the main door

"There is a watchman Jeannie is coming here soon, could you give her this please."

Jeannie leant against the door frame, and as Jake turned to go, said

"She's already here"

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Jake turned at the sound of her voice, he mentally berated himself that he had left it so late before coming. He stood there in his own clothes now, not very fancy, but far better fitting. He opened his mouth to speak, but the Troll saved him the trouble.

"Here you go miss, someone left this for you."

Jake took a step backwards, he knew it was early but he would really rather be in a bar right now, besides being around watchman made his hackles itch.

"It's the money I owe you, I don't like being in anyone's debt"

----------------------------------------------------

Mrs. Wizzard closed the gates of Unseen University behind her. Her husband was home but he felt like he needed to sleep for a few days. She wasn't surprised. He'd actually done so in the past. She'd told him that she still had some buisness to take care of and left him to sleep.

Mrs. Wizzard strolled down the street, taking in the sites and smells. She had only been gone for a day or so but she had truly missed this city. She suddenly heard something a few yards away.

"Ugh. Dibbler, I'm surprised anyone can eat these sausages. There can't be anyone on the Disc that could eat more than one!" She smiled. Oh, yeah. She was home.

"Excuse me, sir," she said, "Do you like to wager?"

-----------------------------------------------

The constable passed her the envelope, Jeannie took it.

"Thankyou. Consider the debt paid."

As she turned to go back in the watch house she hesitated, turn back to face him and looked him straight in the eye

"Maybe now that pride of yours can heal"

She walked back into the watch house,as she made her way to the canteen she wondered if her being a watch officer was one of the reasons for Jakes strange attitude towards her, that and a large dose of male pride. He really didn't like being helped. Well, it didn't really matter now, he had paid his debt and from what she had read in Gigios report back in Sto Lat Jake would probably head to the nearest bar

When she arrived at the canteen she helped herself to a mug of the tannin rich tea that was part of any watchmans daily diet. Spotting Vimes at one of the tables she walked over

"Excuse me sir, may I?"

Vimes gave her a brief nod, Jeannie sat down opposite him

She filled him in on the events back at Sto Lat, and Gigios decision to remain undercover there.

He informed her that the brothers were acting too cocky, it was making some of the watchmen uneasy, when Jeannie told him about the note that Mrs Wizzard found he nodded, that fitted with what was going on alright. When the briefing was finished Jeannie went back to the locker room, gathered her few possessions, she wasn't surprised to smell Nobbys scent on the locker door and set out to find Mrs Cakes lodgings

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Mrs. Wizzard walked away from the crowd smiling. Those who had participated in the sausage eating contest were on the ground either being sick or crying for their mums. The bystanders could only watch in disbelieving horror. One of the menn on the ground watched her go, from a lopsided angle.

"That woman is NOT normal!" he moaned.

Dibbler went on counting his money. "Yeah, but she's good buisness," he said, happily

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He watched Jeannie walk away and stood there until she disappeared. It was the gaze of the troll that brought him out of his reverie. Having what amounted to a small mountain would do that to you he guessed. He was suddenly very aware of where he was and decided it would be a good idea if he turned and took his leave.

Jeannie was wrong though, Jake did not find the nearest bar, he bought himself a few bottles of bear huggers and prepared to sleep the rest of the day and probably most of the night away. Shutting and bolting the door to his room he noticed a dust pan and brush on the inside of the door and wondered what they were for, shrugging he moved to the window and flipped upon the top of the bottle, looking at the label before pouring some of it into a mug and taking a slug. One thing he had to thank Angua for was setting him up with a night watchman duty standing around looking after other peoples stuff, at least it paid well, as well as anything pays in Ankh-Morpork. Realising the mug was already empty he refilled it and took another slug

----------------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie finally located Mrs Cakes, and arranged herself some accomdation. Mrs Cake was very understanding about 'morphically gifted' people and all the doors were easily used no matter what shape the resident was.

While putting her few things away, she found herself holding the cloth. She stood for few moments and re-newed her personal vow...she will find him!

Having sorted her things out, she picked up her emergency pouch. She undressed, fastened the pouch around her neck and changed.

There was a mirror in the room, Jeannie had never really looked at herself in wolf form before. She looked almost like any other wolf apart from the slightly longer fur and the golden colour with white patches around her muzzle and throat. Her colouring had probably helped convince that woman back in Sto Lat that she wasn't a wolf

She went back outside, she needed to get to know this city better so she set off to check out her new surroundings

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Jake woke with a start as a knock came at his door. It was a gentle knock he was sure, but it sounded like someone banging on a large gong. Turning his head he saw that one of the bottles was empty, if he hadn't been a werewolf he would probably be dead by now. It hurt to blink, he made a mental check and realised that his legs were tingling with numbness, but he could move his arms, that was good enough for the moment. Looking over at the mug he realised there was still a little bear huggers left and swigged it down, the pain eased slightly and the feeling in his legs returned again.

"Hello?"

He croaked, sitting up, but remaining where he was.

As the door opened he saw the figure silhouetted in the doorway and realised it was his land lady, she was nice and didn't make a statement about how the room must have smelt. She looked at him and laid the note on the table by the bed.

"This came for you, they said it was urgent that I give it to you."

He looked at the note and saw his name written clearly on the front of the plain card. He turned to the woman and thanked her. Waiting until she left he picked up the folded card, the scent of it was obscured completely by the scent of whiskey in the room. The words in the note were better than any Klatchian coffee though and the feeling in all his limbs had suddenly vanished. His grip on the not was white with force, eventually though he managed to fold it and place it by his bed before collapsing back down. How had they found him? What could they want? He felt a slight trembling grip him, but he wasn't sure if that was the bear huggers or the note, perhaps a mixture of the two

-------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie made her way through the streets and alleys, watching the people and sniffing the scents.

Once or twice she came across familiar scents such as Mrs Wizzard, the Priest and some of the other watch officers.

She carried on exploring...she could smell the territories marked out by the city's dog population, she could smell the river, she could smell the trails leading into the river where corpses had been disposed of, she could smell Nobby Nobbs having a sneaky smoke down that alley over there...

after a while she found a convenient alley. She ducked in and came out fully dressed, she needed to send a clacks to Gigio. She made her way through the streets...

---------------------------------------------------------

NO NEWS FROM HERE - STOP - WENT TO SEMAPHOR TOWER ALL FINE - STOP - NO SIGN FROM LITTLE FRIENDS - STOP - WILL SEND AGAIN DAY AFTER TOMORROW - END -

------------------------------------------

He awoke to the familiar tingling in his body, he had thought it had been the bear huggers before, but it was clear as he looked out the window and into the patchy sky that it was full moon. It really wasn't a good time for him to change tonight, but he knew from experience that to deny the change would be more than a little painful. As quickly as he could and with a morphic field that was quickly getting confused, he did his best to take his clothes off.

Jake blinked his lupine eyes and could see the thick smog of the bear huggers that hung in the room, the smell of it almost made him feel drunk again. In the midst of it all the envelope, surrounded in it's own small cloud of distinct scent, luckily drowned, almost completely by the thick must of alcohol. The mere thought of the scent made him cower slightly and he felt his body tremble. Without a second thought he dived out of the window and landed lightly on the paving below.

The night smelt of all the familiar scents, he could have closed his eyes and known where exactly in the city he was. The sharp tangs of blood, sweat and urine seemed strongest here but he knew it would change as he wandered around. He guessed it was time for him to go to work anyway, the owners were never there as long as stuff wasn't stolen then he would get paid. The remains of the alcohol In his blood and the feel of the pull of the moon brought the werewolf out, not just a wolf but a wolf with human emotions and intelligence. His scent was a mixture of terrible rage, fear and a little bear huggers. Toughened street dogs form the guild backed away as he passed through territories clearly marked, tonight was not a good night for dogs

----------------------------------

Jeannie recieved the clacks from Gigio and sent a brief one back to him to tell him they had met with no trouble on the way back or in the city and would keep him informed on any new developments from this end.

Her exploration of the city had taken the best part of the day and as night closed in the full moon called to her. Slipping into an alley Jeannie emerged on all paws.

A couple of large street-scarred dogs ran into her as she walked, they were sent off yelping. Jeannie had learnt self control, if she had been one of her mothers pack the dogs would have been ripped to shreds.

The way they had come pelting down the street towards her suggested they were running away from something, well what ever it was it didn't bother her as she slunk along almost enjoying the familiar feeling of primitive power

well, for now the night belonged to the wolf...

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The dog hadn't moved quickly enough and now cowered before the wolf with the patch of white fur that seemed to gleam in the bile light of the moon passing through the haze of the Ankh. The dog whined piteously and bled from delicately from a slash across its side. It wasn't sure how it had all happened, one minute it was walking along and then it had smelt the wolf, but it had smelt strange not quite a wolf. The dog, very particular about its territory ambushed the intruder and then it had all gone wrong, now it was here and looking at the eyes of a true predator.

Jake seemed to shake with the anger, the unfairness of it all and the confusion. Why now? What could they possibly want from him now? The wolf seemed to be working on auto-pilot and deftly spun the dog to the ground while its mind tried to see through the red haze of its anger. Wrestling with himself Jake did his best to concentrate and noticed his clawed foot on the dogs side. The creature trembled with anticipation of further retribution but the lupine turned and walked away, he had to get to his job, he couldn't afford these distractions.

In the shadows all that was clear were his amber eyes that seemed to float in darkness. As a rat scurried past the wolf lunged expertly and grabbed it, flipping it in the air and snapping it's neck before biting down. The human part of Jake was disgusted but the wolf was board and hungry. Withdrawing into the shadows he watched the street as he was paid to do

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeannie padded along the streets, then smelt a smell that pierced through the stench of the city...blood!

The wolf had instinctivly run towards it before Jeannie managed to regain control, she saw the injured dog but forced herself to walk past it. The scent of the blood was strong, vey strong. There wasn't a great deal of it but that didn.t matter to her nose.

She made up her mind that she should really get back to her room. The wolf was feeling very powerful tonight and the last thing she wanted was to wake up with a mouth full of chicken feathers...or worse.It had happened before, in the old days back in the pack. The human part of her shudderd at the memories, yep definitly best to get away from the streets

While she was still in control she carried on down the street, trying to ignore the scent of blood that filled her nose

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He spotted her then, his own scent concealed by the blood that hung in the air. Jake watched the female that seemed to be moving through the streets, he had a vague recollection that he had seen the wolf somewhere before, but he dismissed it. Jake's human mind threw up a name 'Jeannie' but the wolf just sat and watched the female, she was not of his pack and she was dangerously close to the territory he was protecting, should she travel much closer he would have to warn her.

His meal was forgotten instead his smouldering gaze watched as she sniffed their and made her way through the streets. She smelt nice, the wolf licked the blood from its maw and watched, tilting his head Jake tried to remember where he had seen the female before

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Jeannie felt the wolf getting stronger, so she picked up the pace a bit. It was the blood, she knew it, but that didn't make it any easier. She had gotten good at riding the wolf during these times but now her human mind was becoming swallowed by the wolf.

As she carried on down the street she felt a sensation of movement somwhere ahead of her, she froze, the blood was making it hard to detect any other scents..for a werewolf this was like being blind, she advanced cautiously

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As the female advanced a blood curdling growl was ripped from the wolf that lay on the box. Jake's human mind knew that this was not what he wanted to do, but the wolf remembered Uberwald, remembered being a pack and protecting that territory. Now was the wolf's time, but the wolf was confused, this was a female, an intruder yes, but a female all the same.

Jake saw the intruder, could see her smell, but could barely smell it in the haze of blood that seemed to hang around the boxes, the snarl came again it was clear it meant "Mine!"

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Mrs. Wizzard never needed much sleep to get by. Mostly, she spent her nights wandering around the city. There'd been a vampire somewhere back along in her bloodline. She'd inherited a love for nights. The night called out to her.

Taking care to look out for herself, Mrs. Wizzard made her way to the Brass Bridge. Leaning over the parapet, she looked down into the river. Well, more at the river. It was so thick that if anyone could look into it it was a damn miracle.

"Bingely-Bingely-Beep!" Mrs. Wizzard sighed and reached into her pocket. She produced a small box and opened it to reveal a small demon.

"Remind me again why I bought you damn little thing," she said.

"Eleven-fifty pee em: Get attacked by a thief on the Brass Bridge," the demon chimed.

"What the-" She turned around. "Oh, bugger."

Mrs. Wizzard ducked as the thief made a grab for her, took hold of his legs, and threw him over backwards. There was a plop as she heard him hit the water and slowly sink. Smiling, she straightened herself up and walked off.

"Damn, it's good to be home," she said

------------------------------------------------------------

The growl came out of the shadows, in immediate response Jeannies ears pricked up and she bared her incisors. Her fur bristled and she assumed the crouching position to show she was ready to attack if it came to it

Her human mind was trying to tell the wolf to leave before it got nasty, her wolf mind simply knew that it had been threatend, and that was not going to go unanswerd

She let out a vicious snarl in response, she could now see the other wolf in the shadows, she didn't recognise the markings and she could still only smell the blood. Her snarl intensified as her human mind cried out in vain to stop

--------------------------------------------------

At first, the priest just sat in the gutters in the Temple District, ignoring just about everything, even the small change that was thrown beside him. Then suddendly, he stood up, eyes gleaming, and walked purposefully towards the street of Cunning Artificers.
He strode through almost the whole city (even the Shades), ignoring carts, horses, passersby (including some of his travelling companions) and causing major traffic jams. He would enter different houses, emerge after a few minutes, and stride whitout pausing towards his next goal. With each house he visited and person he talked to, his grin became wider...
'It's going to be beautifull, impsoing, marvellous, godly !' he said to himself

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Mrs. Wizzard heard something growling a little off in the disctance and her curiosity got the best of her. As she made her way to the noise she saw the two werewolves standing there, ready to attack each other. Not knowing what else to do, Mrs. Wizzard hides behind a pile of discarded boxes, a few yards away.

"Ye gods, what happened this time?" she whispered to herself as she watched her friends in quiet horror

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After finishing his business, the Priest inconspiciously sneaked into the temple of small gods. He sneaked into the Chapel of Any God Who Might Be Listening and, after checking all corners to see if he was alone, emptied the donations box. Then he left. And entered the Chapel of Gods Of Dead Pixies Found In Cupboards While Sober.
A while later, and a few streets away, the Priest entered a house, pockets jingling.
There was a sign nailed to the door. It said:
Selling Property: Street Of Small Gods, Blood Alley (Shades), Cable Street, Sheer Street (Isle Of The Gods), Myrtle Street

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She was clear now amidst the dancing motes of blood scent, he had warned her he had, but she was a female so he dithered, this was not due to any mad sense of gallantry but just because she smelt very good. Jumping down from the box he moved towards her, his growl getting louder "MINE!" the growl was clear.

The moon hung so impassively it was hard to imagine that it was partly responsible for the crazed behaviour. Jake's human mind tried to claw its way up, but the smell of blood seemed to drown everything out, it was amazing what the smell of that liquid seemed to evoke from all peoples, it's just it usually invoked a slightly more fatal response in a werewolf

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As he approached her his scent finally cut through the blood haze. The human part of Jeannie recognised it in a instant and tried to make itself heard.

The wolf didn't want to listen. If the male had stayed in the shadows Jeannie might have had a chance to get through to the wolf but It was crazed by the smell of blood and the male was approaching, she felt threatened and she got ready to defend herself.

Jeannies human mind struggled for control as the wolves eyes locked

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The Troll guarding the gate of pseudopolis yard watched impassively as a construnction site was set up viz-ah-viz of the Watch house. He wondered what posh bugger is paying for this. After all, only posh buggers could afford to buy property on the isle of the gods.
A ragged, thin, pale priest strode up to the construction site with an air wich contrasted brutally with his appearance. He started shouting feverishly at the workers, quoting religious phrases and promising extra money if they finished the work by tommorrow.
The Priest wandered off to earn some fast money, so that he could get on with the really important work, before the building was finished

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Feeling the instinct and training of his pack he moved with the confident strut of a male, with just a hint of tension in case she decided to try and tear him to shreds. This was a side of Ankh-Morpork that the other residents never saw, when the full moon came out, come to think of it, it wasn't often that you could see the full moon anyway.

Moving closer the snarl lessened by did not disappear, he did not attack her, she smelt very good. Moving to one side of her, he sniffed deeply, it was truly intoxicating, he felt saliva cling to his jaw. The smell of her was so close now that the human part that was Jake jumped up and the wolf took a step back, there was too much blood here, he took another step back, but it wasn't an easy step to take

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noticing the change in the tones of the snarl, she relaxed slightly and stood still. She allowed the male to approach her. His scent was much much stronger now, it was enticing. A name came into her mind 'Jake!'

At the recognition of the name, Jeannie felt her human part getting through to the wolf. She saw the male back away. The air was thick with the blood scent, but Jakes scent was pre-dominant now giving Jeannies human part the chance it needed to regain some control

Her tail drooped as she relaxed and she also backed up to show Jake that she was no threat...it was a struggle but she was winning, she was thinking more coherently. The blood,needed to get away from the blood

still backing up, she looked around for any alleys that would lead her away from here without going near the bleeding dog. Having found one she looked at the male, made a soft "muurrr" noise and padded away.

She headed straight back to Mrs Cakes, she needed meat! and Mrs Cake was very considerate to the needs of her lodgers and kept fresh meat in a special larder. Jeannie grabbed one of the birds in her jaws and headed back to her room. Whilst Jeannies human part turned away in disgust the wolf savoured it's meal, licked it's paws clean and curled up under the bed

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Mrs. Wizzard was still watching. Well, it doesn't look like they're gonna kill each other now, she thought to herself. Still moving slowly, she got up and wandered off to find something more interesting to watch

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The priest rushed into his shed, and opened the more fiersome religious grimoires on the table. He then took a blank book, bought especially for this, and started editing, translating and copying like mad.
'Who knows which daft old buggers wrote these, they never believed. These things never were true. But they will be...' He grinned.
It was already morning. He dried out the ink, and strode towards the construnction site.
It was finished. ''What cheek!' theyll say... to build a temple to a god no-ones ever heard of... on the isle of gods too, in the posh district...Well, its called the isle of gods, so why not have some gods... This will certainly attract some attention...' he thought.
He payd the workers and was happy to see that all the priests he had spoken to, were already here. He assigned them theyre tasks, and gave instructions on how to decorate the interior.
The book was layed on the altar. Torches fixed on massive pillars basked the room in an mystic light. Loud thumping noises announced that a golem just entered.
'You, what are you called?' asked the Priest.
'Tjmkl' rumbled the golem.
'I have no idea how you pronounce that, but youll be called ... Messenger of Barrucaddu! Youve been freed by my friend Dorfl, so I trust you do know something about religion.'
'All There Is To Know.'
'Good, you will be High Priest. Whenever you have nothing to do, and preferably when people enter, stand behind the altar. Lets see how you look.'
The golem did as instructed. Anyone who entered the temple would now see a long room lined with pillars and torches, dimly lighting the room, statues on the walls,casting weird shadows and depicting Barrucadu in various poses. The ceiling is painted with lemons. At the end of the room, an altar with two blood red glowing eyes behind it.
This will certainly make an impression. A golem High Priest? In the temple of an unknown god? On the isle of Gods? He could see the look ont he face of all thos eposh buggers already. Barrucadu will be pleased, he thought. And if there are any troublemakers, theres the golem and the Watch House viz-ah-viz.
He gave some mopre instructions about the decorations and went to eat a pizza

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Jeannie awoke just after dawn, she opened her eyes and enjoyed those first brief moments before recollection comes flooding back.

She groaned as she remembered the encounter with Jake, she had been ready to rip his throat out...well, not her exactly but the wolf had wanted to. Of course the ending of the encounter gave her pause for thought, his scent had been very attractive...

Damn full moon! Not for the first time in her life she cursed the fact that she was neither wolf nor human. Always the struggle between the two…but it had been so much easier back in the pack, before she had begun to question her mothers ways. There had been no guilt, no remorse. Just the pack, the hunt…the kill

She shuddered, and locked the memories back into the darkest recesses of her mind

As she got dressed she found herself idly wondering who would have won, people often assumed the males were stronger but this wasn't true. A fight between her and Jake really could have gone either way. She felt the need to apologise to him, but that was silly. He was a werewolf, he would understand the nature of the beast.

Now fully dressed, she washed and brushed her blonde hair. Slipping some coins into her pocket she went out to find somewhere that did a decent breakfast

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GOT NEW PATH TO FOLLOW - STOP - NOTHING STIRRED - STOP - WILL MOVE TOMORROW - STOP - WILL SEND AGAIN TOMMOROW EVENING IF I CAN - END

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Mrs. Wizzard sat at the back table of the Mended Drum with a half empty mug of beer in front of her. She had a bowl of peanuts in front of her that she was shooting through a straw and into an empty mug at the bar. Some people would give her a penny everytime that she made one in. She'd win a dollar if she broke a shot glass with a peanut. By this point, Mrs. Wizzard had made about three dollars and eightpence

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The Priest enters the Mended Drum, sees Mrs Wizz, proudly walks up to her table and orders a coffee and a mug of alcoholic beer. He hands the cup of brown-grrenish coffee to Mrs Wizz, grinning ,along with a shiny new pamphlet. It read:
Demonic Coffee, How to recognise in five easy steppess! Also includes prayers for different types of aforementioned coffe and general prayers to the great Baruucadu, Great God, Drinker Of Blood, Saver Of Souls, Breaker Of Hearts, Shower-er of Lemons, etc. (purchase additional pamphlet for rest of titles)

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Mrs. Wizzard looks at the liquid the priets had handed to her. Did he expect her to drink this stuff? It looked like he'd just dipped a mug into the river Ankh and added more dirt. She read through the pamphlets and looked up at his madly grinning face. It somehow looked more maniacal than usual. She sighed.

"Okay, I'm gonna regret asking this but, what have you been up to all night?"

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Patrick climbs down from the latest coach to arrive in the city and stands in the middle of the street for a moment taking in the sights and ...smells. He's never been here before and tries to catch the attention of passers-by;

"Excuse me, can you please..."

"Sir! Good day to you! Do you know where I could find..."

People don't make eye contact with him, moving well off to the side as he approaches. Finally, he looks around and spots a place called...The Mended Drum. He's seen places like it before in his travels and although there is little for him inside, he hopes to have better luck meeting some locals.

A place to sit right now would be perfect. Maybe they'll know where I can find a room to stay.

Hoisting his one bag over his left shoulder he walks through the door and as his eyes adjust, spots two people at a table in the back. Walking toward the bar he notices the peanuts and broken bits of glass and thinks "?".

"Something light please, sir. In a clean glass." The barman mumbles something about "forners and their ways" as he ducks behind the counter. A minute later, Patrick finds a seat and settles down with his glass of...what did he call this?

He can almost hear the conversation from the back table, but is just glad to have finally made it here in one piece. Travelling is hard

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