The smell of the chicken feathers was tinged with the faint trace of copper. The color, held close to his face, looked off. As though it were not entirely soaked down to the feathers completely. Rubbing them would produce a slight residue on his fingers that wasn’t pink…but red.
Nikolai looked at Vincent. He thought for a moment before shaking his head.
“There doesn’t appear to be any rhyme or reason to who gets taken. At first we thought it was only members of the guard. But that doesn’t explain the missing villagers. Men. Women. Kids. All different ages. Although…” He thought for a minute as Thysbae posed his question. “A few days ago, there was this caravan that rolled through. Travelers. The kind of traders you see on the road all the time. They stopped by the day after the mists rolled in. Set up camp right outside of town. We didn’t think anything of it and they didn’t cause any trouble. From what I know, I think a couple people across the town did some trading with them.”
At the question of whether there was a map of the town anywhere to be found, Nikolai nodded.
“We have one at the guard house.” When Myles began asking his questions, Nikolai gave him a crisp nod.
“Minder Bertrand was his name. He was pretty solitary. Worked mostly with the higher ups. He used that…that protection magic. Could also look at something and tell you things about it. He also worked with the town’s apothecary. Outside of that, I didn’t work very closely with him. There are no sewers in Weissburg. There are cellars however. Storms roll through from the grasslands often enough for people to need to take shelter in the right seasons.” When Myles went into his speech, Nikolai went a little wide eyed but did not interrupt him. A beat of silence followed before Nikolai awkwardly cleared his throat and rendered a sharp salute.
“Hail, Zaichaer!” There was a chorus of repeats as the rest of the soldiers caught on and performed the same salute and shout. Nikolai walked up to Myles.
“Sergeant, I recommend starting with the Minder’s house. We’ve looked it over but you might be able to find something we didn’t. I also recommend doing another once-over of the other missing personnel’s homes. Send out teams, have them report back by sundown.”
Off Topic
Alrighty folks! This is where I am going to allow you all to split off into your own threads or to collaborate amongst each other. After you post the opening to your respective threads, send me the link either via DM on Discord or via PM here on the forums. I will be giving you additional clues after reading the openers to to your threads. Upon the conclusion of either your solo pieces or collaboration pieces, please submit them directly to me for review.
As a summary and if Nikolai or the immediate soldiers are asked further questions, the following information would be revealed:
-Minder Bertrand practiced Negation, Semblance and Alchemy
-There are a total of 20 people missing. Including the Lieutenant, Sergeant and Corporal.
-At least 8 of those people traded with the caravan that stopped by on the 55th. Minder Bertrand among them.
-There are no obvious signs of struggle.
Franky - Private Hector is joining your search. He is a decent scout and rifleman. The best among the soldiers there.
Myles - Private First Class Nikolai is joining your search. He has a fairly decent running knowledge of most strategic aspects of the town. He’s both a skilled rifleman and a decent survivalist.
As a summary and if Nikolai or the immediate soldiers are asked further questions, the following information would be revealed:
-Minder Bertrand practiced Negation, Semblance and Alchemy
-There are a total of 20 people missing. Including the Lieutenant, Sergeant and Corporal.
-At least 8 of those people traded with the caravan that stopped by on the 55th. Minder Bertrand among them.
-There are no obvious signs of struggle.
Franky - Private Hector is joining your search. He is a decent scout and rifleman. The best among the soldiers there.
Myles - Private First Class Nikolai is joining your search. He has a fairly decent running knowledge of most strategic aspects of the town. He’s both a skilled rifleman and a decent survivalist.