Carl Hammonds notebook: Case one - To find a feather

[Vince Valentine]

I look the man square in the eye and he looks right back. The hustle of the tavern seems to fade and there's silence. After what seems like an eternity, he finally speaks.

"Well?" He says.

"I'll take it" I reply.

I get to my feet and walk towards the door. He didn't give his name, and I sure as hell didn't ask. The only thing I needed to know was that i was getting paid...


I sure had my work cut out for me with this one. I'd only been in town a couple of days, and barely knew where to begin. Seems this guy wanted to know where a certain someone had disappeared to. According to him, she was in the Covian army and just disappeared one day. Name was Jennifer Feather.

Hell, another missing persons case. I always hated these. Not too dangerous, but alot of fishing for info involved. Ah well, can't be wine and roses all the time Carl...

I decided to start at the Tavern. You can usually dig up at least a little something from the drunks there, and the barman is usually clued in to most of what's happening around his patch. I ordered my drink and began small talk with the two guys there. Barman named Kyte, and a Guardsman named Hoagie.
After a while, i decided to test the water and mention the missing dame, and they were soon singing like newly hatched canaries...



I pushed a little harder, and managed to find out that she wasn't hitched, and she was a member of a certain squad, the scouts. The Hoagie guy started to get a little twitchy, so I decided to ease off for now. I did get a final lead out of him though, the name of the scout sergeant...



I made my excuses and left. It was time to see this 'Arkay'.
I headed for the scout tower...

The wind felt refreshing on my face. The heat of the tavern had left me drowsy, and I'd need a clear head for this. Be cool Carl, keep it casual. The last thing you need is people getting suspicious.

Knocking at the door, I straightened myself out. Hell, another round of chit chat was the last thing I needed, but that's how this game went down.
A dame came to the door. Average height, dressed in green, but something about those eyes didn't ring right...



I spun her some yarn, and she seemed happy enough to answer my questions. Seems this Feather dame was her superior when she was around. She was the previous Sergeant, Arkay told me. Seems Feather disappearing made things pretty comfortable for Arkay. I suggested this to her and seemed to hit a nerve...



Arkay was hiding something. The way she was pushing her hair behind her ear, avoiding eye contact, i've seen it a thousand times. Question is, what?
We'd spoken for some time by now, so i decided it'd be best to save something for another day. Just as well, some rude broad burst in just as we were finishing up, one of her squad. I wasn't interested in seeing what i could get out of her, I'd already got enough from Arkay. Hell, if Arkay was hiding something i need to find out what, and fast. I need to get a look around her office....

To Be Continued....

From the notebook of Carl Hammond

[OOC: This Information is to be classed as OOC knowledge only, unless your character is directly linked to the case and was there when a certain event happened :OOC]

[Vince Valentine]

Part Two: The plot thickens...

The morning sun stings these eyes of mine as lay in my bed, staring at the ceiling. I'd barely slept at all, as i threw around the details of this case around in my head.

"Damn, morning already? I'd better get to work.

I'd managed to loosen a few nuggets of information from the guardsmen I'd met so far, but nothing that'd satisfy the guy who was hiring me. I needed more. This Arkay dame seemed to be involved somehow, so I decided to poke around and see how.
There a tavern that seemed popular around these parts, 'The Swaggers'. Not too high class, but it was my kind of joint. The booze was fine and the seats were comfy.
The guy behind the bar looked like he'd been around the town a few times, so I thought I'd see if he knew anything. The Covians came here alot by the sounds of it.

I softened him up with some small talk, the weather, all that sort of crap, before making my move...



I questioned him about Arkay, and struck gold.

Damn Carl, you've been doing this for too long. It's like second nature, it's not just about what you ask, but how you ask...

He knew Arkay, told me she went there alot with a guy named Hoagie. Think i met him already, hell, they all look the same. Shame the guy didn't know this Feather though, still can't win them all. Turns out he didn't know anything fresh about Arkay either. Damn, the trail was going cold, I had to do something to heat it back up...



I knew I had to get into the scouts HQ, but damn, that would be trickier than it sounded. These guys didn't play around, and if one of them was onto you, you wouldn't even know it. I cased the joint. Seems all of the scout gear had been moved to a building just outside the town gates whilst they patched up the old tower.
One entrance, up a flight of stairs. I checked the surrounding area closely...

Silence. Nothing but the wind blowing gently through the trees. It'd be a fine day if I had time to waste enjoying it. Just get on with it Carl...

I'd seen a bunch of the Covians head out into the woods not long before, so i figured this'd be my best chance to get a look inside the scout building. I slid up the stairs, before hurridly shimmying the lock...



Just like the good old days eh Carl? Hell, your mom would be so proud. Screw it, I'd done worse in my time, and if that was the only thing keeping me awake at nights I sure as hell wouldn't spend hours staring at the damn ceiling each evening

I managed to hook it open, and pushed the door in, quickly closing it once I was inside. I leaned against the door, breathing heavily. Damn, even after all these years, still gave me a rush. I didn't want to push my luck, the last thing I needed was Arkay returning, finding me with my hand stuffed in her sock drawer. As I went through one of the bookshelves, something caught my eye.



As I turned the item over in my hands, I smiled to myself. I'd say this trail just got hot again...

To be continued...

In game changes: Any member of the scouts may realise that the door to their building has been tampered with, and that some items are missing from the bookshelf

[OOC: This information should be considered OOC knowledge, unless your character is directly linked to the case :OOC]

[Vince Valentine]

Part Three: Wrapping things up

As I rummaged through the small box, I felt a pang of guilt. This was, after all, Feathers personal property. What if she was dead? He'd be going through a dead dames pride and joy

"If she's dead, she's dead. Nothings gonna change that Carl."

I'd managed to snag the small box from the scouts building, and was busy rummagig inside. The usual crap was inside, a couple of rings, some letters. I was just about to give up hope of finding anything useful, when something caught my eye.
The stitching of the box, seemed too fresh. When you've been doing what I've been doing for this long, you tend to notice crap like that.

I tore it out, and a tiny piece of cloth fell out.

"Cute, you always did like hide the thimble eh Carl?"

Opening it up, a small key fell out, with a number, 215.
Instinctivly I knew it belonged to one of those safe boxes you find at the bank.
Trouble was, which damn bank? It had to be pretty close, stands to reason. I began at Cove. Nothing. Vesper bank was just as useless, and the guy there tried my last nerve. One left in the area, Minoc.

I walked in casually, and asked the dame working there if I was in the right place. Had to play this one casually, told her I was picking up something for my sister.
Then Bingo. She lead me to a quiet room at the back and left me to it. I soon found what I was looking for...



As I turned the key, I glanced behind me. God I hated these backwater towns. Full of farmers and simple people. The room smelt faintly of hay, and the bustle of the townspeople rang in through the open window. God I wanted to leave...

I peered into the box and saw it. A file of some sort, nothing else. I pocketed it, and made off back to Cove. Sitting at the desk in my room, I could see the sun setting through the window opposite. I lit a candle and took out what I'd found, reading through the first couple of pages. Some sort of mission file, looked pretty hush hush if you ask me. It named Feather, and when I skipped to the last page, didn't seem to be signed. Hell, this could be the break I've been waiting for! I wrapped the file back up, and went to deliver it to the guy who hired me...

"Dead? What the hell....?"

Seems my luck was running out faster than my gold. Guy who hired me was taking a dirt nap, and that means he'd have a hell of a job reading anything. Damn it Carl, what now?

You can't just sit on this Carl, hell, if that Feather dame is still alive, you got to tell someone.."

As I wondered what the hell I was going to do, a dame walked in. Thought it was Arkay at first, but as I looked closer, I realised she was just dressed the same.
She introduced herself as Kelly Valentine, and said she needed to speak to me.

"Getting a reputation around here Carl? Hell, you've still got it..."



I decided I'd beat her to the punch, and explained about what her I'd found out. It was her old man that hired me to find out about feather, so I guess she was next in line now that he was dancing with the big man upstairs. As she read the file, she got a bit hot under the collar, made a few threats that I doubt she can cash.
I told her straight, said I had no reason to lie. Hell, is that what I get for playing the nice guy? Now I'd got that load off of my chest, I was out of there. She was getting pretty glassy eyed, and the last thing i wanted was to be comforting a wailing broad.
As I left, I took one final glance at her, and felt kinda sorry for her. Not a bad piece, but looks like she's had a hell of a time. Her old man gone, one of her friends missing, not surprising I guess. Still, not my worry, tell someone who cares sweetheart. I've heard that tune a thousand times and I ain't danced to it yet. As for the case of Feather, I'd done all I can.

"Let the Covians do the rest Carl, you've still got to earn a living..."

Case 1: To find a feather

Objective: Find out any information about Scout Sergeant Jennifer Feathers disappearance, and report it along with any evidence: COMPLETE

Case Closed

[OOC: All information is to be considered OOC knowledge, unless your character was there at the time of certain events :OOC]

[Jack Sinist (•̪●)]

(OOC: Very well written and a fun read. )

[Jenifer Feather]

[OOC] Fantastic stuff, entertaining and interesting! ^.^ [/OOC]

[Mela Arkay]

{OOC: This was well written and great fun;) Thanks for doing them chick!}

[Faden]

[OOC: Wow this is one of the best posts i've ever read on this forum, well spoken and planned. Keep up the detective work! I want to read more!]