I don't own digimon.
Chapter 62
Questioning for answers
Right across from our clothing shop, we have ourselves a furniture shop. A nice quaint place, filled to the brim with a variety of wooden furniture. The walls are a nice stained cherry, floor being left bare. Cobblestones have their charm, but I was kind of hoping for something a bit more… homely. If you know what I'm saying. Still feels like the sort of place you would expect to be run by a nice elderly couple. That's probably not the case here. More likely to be a young orc and their spouse. Maybe a succubus. Who also might have a spouse. Can't really say till we actually see what we're dealing with here.
Which is exactly where we find Yvonne and Munbimon currently - in between an aisle of beds and nightstands. Talk about coincidences or something. Probably not one of those here. I'm guessing Blaze and Dave split off and went to the soap place?
"Pretty much." Munbimon announced, Yvonne's gaze shifting to the ceiling. I'm not particularly sure how to exactly explain to you two, but I have some very bad news. Okay, 'news' probably isn't the correct term here. More… a revelation of bad things to come.
"How bad are we talking here?" Yvonne announced and got a look from a shopper - an elderly succubus. Sorry about that. Focusing on the aisle ahead, the knight headed to the end and took a left. That should hopefully be better. Here goes nothing. Bubbles got a message from his 'deity' that his mom had offered her all of Aldia. Of course, she was pissed that more of it hadn't died and was depriving her of energy. Then, another deity appeared and said something about being there for him. "Anything else?"
Yeah. Said her name was Crimson. Outside of that, Maddie and Ella found a note that's different from the one that our shopkeeper claimed she found. Also, Maddie really needs penmanship lessons. Do you know anyone who can help them with that?
"Not really." Yvonne remarked, feeling Munbimon shifting to her other shoulder. Fair enough. More wishful thinking than anything else with that last one. Had any luck on your search? "Still looking for the owners."
Oh. Guess that makes sense. That's all I need to tell you at the moment. Best of luck on your search.
Yvonne nodded, already heading for the next aisle. For a shop of this size, there can't be that much on offer here. Unless there's multiple sizes of furniture for the clientele of Aldia. Which would be a bit excessive for a town made primarily of o-
The next aisle was all little furniture. Stuff for dwarves, halflings and other small races with a couple 'large' objects thrown in for good measure. I brought that one on myself here.
"Who said that?!" a voice called out, a pebble heading right towards Yvonne. Not the most threatening thing we've had to face down. So the knight tanked the shot, slowly making her way towards the source of this voice. At the other end of this aisle, we find an elderly gnome of all people. Dressed in a plain tunic and pants, he looks a touch frustrated. I would definitely be too if I were in this situation. But that's beyond the point.
"That's just a friend of mine." Yvonne explained and watched the gnome look up to the ceiling. Hi there. I'm the weird voice up in the sky. Feel free to ignore me or just pretend that I'm some kind of background noise that's necessary. Understood?
The gnome nodded and focused back on Yvonne. Even if that did get Munbimon of all people a look. Yes, she's with her. It's kind of a long story. One we're still not quite sure on the details.
"Yvonne! It's been such a long time!" the gnome greeted, arms wrapping around one of the knight's legs. Thankfully, Yvonne bent herself down. Which was still not quite enough to be on the same level as our dwarf. Close enough. "What brings you back to my shop?"
Looking away, Yvonne took a deep breath. The question of where to begin is a mountain of magic traps on its own. Add in Yvette, the investigation and the possibility of just biting the dust at any moment, there's no real 'wrong' answer. Whatever you think is best, go with that.
"Mom is back in town and making things difficult." Yvonne finally answered and the gnome looked away. Mutterings of not-so-veiled threats echoed out, followed by a sigh. Good to see we're not the only ones who are having problems with her. That's kind of a bad trait for a leader to have in the first place. How exactly does anything get done when she's around.
"It doesn't." the gnome muttered and looked up to the ceiling. Then how the heck do you even manage in a situation like that? Is there some kind of plan for all the times that Yvette isn't here? You have to have something to keep things running.
"Does Madame count?" the gnome remarked and I took a deep breath. That isn't really much a strategy. That's the opposite of one. Yes, they are a method of protection. The sort of protection that takes money from you and then maybe gives it back to you. Kind of depends on their mood. That's extortion. Thief too, but that's just part of extortion.
"What our friend just said." Munbimon remarked, focus back on our gnome for the moment. "Do you by any chance remember the clothing shopkeeper's husband?"
The gnome looked away, only to then motion for our pair to follow him. What follows, is getting led to the office part of the store. A small room, but this is a gnome that we're talking about here. The walls have been left mostly bare on all sides, plans for various furniture and orders have been placed haphazardly. As for the floor, that was where more of the attention had been put. Piles of papers covered every inch of this floor, with what little space not covered reserved for a couple pieces of scrap wood. Perhaps they were something to be used in the off time or maybe even future projects for clients. Or some mix of both here.
"Take a seat anywhere you like." the gnome continued, pushing away a couple piles of paper Then he took the time to seat himself down in what looks to be a rocking chair. Though, I'm not entirely sure if the skulls quite work here. Maybe something softer perhaps? Like I don't know, stone or any other material normally used to make furniture. "It was a special order for a collector who really wanted to be part of a chair. Who am I to refuse such a request?"
Okay… I'll keep that in mind for the future. Just one question. Did you have to kill him beforehand or did he do that himself?
The gnome let out a chuckle and shifted his position in the rocking chair. For now, the chair remains stationary. Looks a bit odd. Ignoring the skull of course. Easier said and done when that thing is staring right towards our pair. I'm just going to ignore it for now.
"The latter, thankfully." the gnome continued and moved his focus away from the ceiling and back to Yvonne and Munbimon. "What exactly would you like to know about him?"
Yvonne took a deep breath. I'm going to leave it up to you on what you want to start with your questioning. I'll just scribe down what he says and then compare it to the information we got from the succubus.
A nod. Good to see we're on the same page at the moment. I got my paper and pencil ready. You can start at any time.
"How long did you know the clothing shopkeeper's husband?" Yvonne started, our gnome looking away for the briefest of moments. Then we're right back to the knight.
"His name was Shiv and I knew him for a couple years." the gnome answered and let the chair rock a little. Any more than that and he probably get sent into the papers all about the office. "That's what he wanted everyone to call him."
Okay… By any chance do we have a last name as well?
The gnome shook his head. Let me rephrase that then. I'm aware that Yvonne has a last name. Are there any other orcs with a last name?
"Not really." the gnome continued, looking through one of the many piles of papers. Coming to a stop, his focus automatically shifts to another paper pile. Not for long though.
"On the day that Shiv died, was there any out of the ordinary?" Yvonne inquired, the gnome's gaze returning to her. What looked to be a walking cane now sat right beside the rocking chair. That wasn't there a couple seconds ago, right? Please tell me you're not going to just turn on us if we say something we don't like.
"One thing." the gnome announced and took the time to pick his walking cane up. Now set beside him, his gaze hangs to the weapon. "He said that he believed that someone would kill him tonight. Someone that no one would see coming."
Yvonne shot the suspect a look, unsure of what to really make of that revelation. That doesn't really lower our list of subjects. If anything, that's the opposite. We now have even more people to worry about. Unless some of them have died in the timeframe between then and now.
"Any people in particular that Shiv didn't care or didn't like him in general?" Yvonne continued, our gnome looking through his papers for the upteempth time. I'm not completely sure what's so mesmerizing about them. Makes him look even more questionable.
"Not really." the gnome answered, gaze already swiveling back to Yvonne and Munbimon. Though now, he's chosen to tap his fingers against the skull part of the rocking chair. "Wait. There was someone that didn't quite see eye-to-eye with him. Madame von Strauss."
I would say I'm surprised, but I'm really not. Seems like a lot of people have a problem with them. Is this in regard to their role, or more of a personal thing?
The gnome looked about the office, pointing his cane at various piles. I'm fairly certain we're the only ones in here. An assassin would've needed to know we were going here and get in before us. Unless one of Marulyn's 'sucell' or whatever the heck they're called had wandered off course and somehow managed to end up in your office by mistake.
"I'm fairly certain that Marulyn is still repairing them." Yvonne remarked, Munbimon taking this as her opportunity to glide off of the knight's shoulder and down to the pile of papers in front of the gnome. A bit of sifting followed. Actually, a lot of sifting of papers. Any luck?
"Maybe." Munbimon answered and brought up a piece of paper. Much like the one Maddie, Ella and Bubbles found, this too had seen it's fair share of time. Even has one of those little roses on it to signify that it came from 'Madame von Strauss' or one of 'her' maids.
I think I can just make out what's on it from here. Quite pretty handwriting.
1 Coffin for Madame von Strauss. For the love of fuck, please let this note be only seen by your eyes only. You'll be paid once the job is completed.
Well, that's definitely an oops moment. Maybe you should eat that right now to make up for the mistake? Or not. It's really up to you.
Munbimon slowly made her way back over to Yvonne and handed off the note. Giving it the briefest of looks, our knight's attention returned to the suspect. Taking a deep breath, the note joins our bear. Maybe one day they'll be reunited with their owner. Wishful thinking.
"I'm aware." Yvonne answered, gaze still on the gnome. After all that fidgeting and whatnot, his gaze was finally meeting her's. Not that hard of a thing to do. Right? We're not asking much here. "Any reasons why Madame didn't see eye-to-eye with Shiv?"
Silence, our gnome trying his hardest to keep looking at Yvonne. He's doing alright. Even if the urge to fidget and move about in that chair is crystal clear.
"From the few times that he brought it up, she wanted to buy him out of the business." the gnome explained and resumed his rocking. "Even if she did do that, Jezza would still own part of it."
So that's her name. Kind of surprised she didn't take on a last name after his you know anything else in regards to that day?
"Not that I can think of at the moment." the gnome remarked and got up from the rocking chair. Making sure that it came to a stop, he motioned for our pair to exit. So Yvonne got up and made her exit. Did take the time to give our gnome just one more look. Just in case there was something that else that he wished to divulge. Sadly, that doesn't look to be the case. Even in the face of knowing that he played a part in a grand conspiracy. A grand conspiracy that's falling apart at the seams and needs to just die.
"Okay. I might have a good idea of one more suspect." the gnome whispered, flinging out a paper. Munbimon grabbed it and brought it back to Yvonne. The knight gave a nod, taking the time to look it over
Jilla
Let me guess. She's somehow related to the shopkeeper succubus. Definitely a sister or someone related to her. Better than anything else that came out of that gnome's mouth.
"It was definitely not Madame von Strauss." Yvonne remarked, already heading for the exit for the furniture shop. Munbimon used this as her opportunity to switch shoulders as our pair head on out. Yeah, 'she' is definitely out of the suspect list. "Though, I don't quite understand why she had a need for a clothing store."
Back outside, those archers from earlier have dispersed. Though, I think I can still make out one or two off in the corner trying to hide. We don't want any trouble, especially after what happened earlier with Bubbles. That clear?
Nods all around. Good to see that we're all clear on that front. Back to the investigation.
I think I might have an idea. She wanted a life outside of being a thief. A clothing shop would be a good way to have a stable flow of gold coming in without worrying about someone finding out you're not who you say you are. That's an easy way to get yourself ran out of a town. Especially if said town has well-connected people. Even worse if you're a cleric of war.
Yvonne's gaze shifted up to the sky. Sorry about throwing off your chain of thought. Wasn't my intention here at all.
"Not at all." the knight remarked and took a deep breath. Do you want to know about these 'war clerics' at least? "Why not."
Okay. Everything that I know about clerics is pretty much second hand knowledge or just inferences. I hope that doesn't change your decision.
A head shake. Here goes. War clerics are pretty much as they sound. They usually bring with them the announcement that everything belongs in the name of their god and there is nothing you can do about it. Yeah. They're that kind of assholes. Makes the job of say... a narrator a lot more difficult. Especially since they're always going off on their own in the hopes of dealing with the problem themselves. Usually, that gets them killed. Even faster than they would've had beforehand.
Though, there's also a couple sects devoted to more adventuring and 'war games'. Except the latter involves throwing rocks at each other for some reason. I don't personally see quite a use in such an activity. As ways to go out go, there's definitely worse ways that you can go about.
Yvonne nodded, focus already shifting back to the streets ahead. Anything you want to talk about now?
The knight nodded, coming to a stop to collect her thoughts.
"Shiv didn't sell her his part of the business." Yvonne remarked, the former alleyways of Aldia coming into view. "So in turn, she was unable to free herself from this cycle… so she made sure the next 'madame' would be able too."
That's one way to look at it. We know that Mari Gold and her wife straight up refused to keep this going. Quite possible that her hand was forced by the maids to have one more heir. A heir they thought they could control.
"Sounds about right." Munbimon of all people chimed in as Yvonne came to a stop. You alri-
I don't get to finish that sentence, Marulyn heading right for our knight. Thankfully, she came to a stop before slamming into Yvonne. I don't really want to imagine the result from that collision.
"There you are." the mage announced, carefully grabbing hold of her girlfriend's hand. Yvonne gave it a squeeze. "Yvette is back in town."
Yvonne nodded. Yeah. We met her earlier. Quite a wonderful person to be leading you people. I'm kind of surprised she hasn't gone after your moms… since you know, their work. On top of your gals wish to create a sentient set of armor.
"He does have a point." Yvonne added and pulled her khakkhara from her back. Even if Marulyn's attention had already turned back to the small hole in the armor. Yeah. You still need to get that fixed. Along with getting that new set of gauntlets. Stuff for after this mess. "By any chance, do you know where Jilla lives?"
Marulyn focused back on Yvonne, even if the temptation was still very much there. A sigh followed.
"Far end of the ruins." the mage answered, just now letting go of her girlfriend's hand. "Just be careful. After Rantha broke the alleyways, she's been a mess."
Yvonne nodded, her gaze shifting to Marulyn's cloak. Uh… Why do I get the feeling I'm going to need to give you two some alone time? Perfectly alright if you do.
"I will." she answered, whispering something under her breath. Marulyn nodded, the pair heading for one of the few alcoves in this part of the town big enough to change clothes. Best of luck on your search. I have one more person to go check up on.
Notes:
A shorter chapter this time. Though, we're right on the cusp of a true 200k. So that's pretty exciting.
.
Next Time: That whole job offer. That should go well.