Stranger in the Mist

[Anonymous]

The second eldest child of the Great House Feyal had no knowledge of what the world outside of Serendipity looked like, which probably had to do with the fact that he had no knowledge of the word 'vacation.' Most of Evangelus Feyal's days were spent training, making rounds with his men around the province, catching up on local politics, paying obligatory visits to local noble houses, and dealing with other matters swiftly and soundly that no one else wanted to touch.

He worked himself to the bone, mainly because he had no use for free time – and was scared of what his idle mind would ponder in his spare time. No, it was better to work, and feel that sweet satisfaction of being productive when one laid their head down at night, than to sit and dream and think of things that could've been – things that would never turn into a reality. At the end of the day, if he was awake enough to start dreaming of a life where he had been the eldest – well, that just meant he wasn't working hard enough. It was better to work with a noble air than to be bitter about a fate he could not change.

When Ev had managed to catch Calyse on a day when she had some free time, it was obvious that the first thing he should suggest to her was a patrol around some of the local villages in the provinces, given his workaholic nature. Well, he had called it a 'visit' when he proposed the idea, but in reality, Evangelus was looking to patrol the locals and do some daily rounds – it wasn't really a special task, but he hadn't done it in a while (three weeks or so) due to his previously busy schedule.

Besides, it had been quite some time since Ev had managed to spend some free time with his elder sister – or with any of his siblings, really. Sure, this sort of thing barely qualified as free time, but it was the closest thing to a 'break' that Evangelus Feyal knew. It wasn't going to be a large patrol (or rather, visit), just a quick roundabout the village and they'd be done. For that reason, Ev left his horse in his stable, and carried no heavy armor on his person, as he normally did when he went about on local visits. Still, he was not dressed casually – he still donned his typical noble Feyal clothing, with buckles and high-collars that made him look presentable, neat – as a Feyal should look.

Checking the sides of his pants to make sure his twin kukri blades were still strapped in, Ev took a deep breath, taking in the fresh country air. This village, a small dwelling by the name of Mesa, was small, but humble and thriving. Its people mainly made their living by logging, as the village was located directly on the edge of the province's forests. It was a noisy place – its people lively and fun-loving, but today, there seemed to be a solemn air amongst the residents. It was strange, for these people to not all be smiling and rowdy, so strange that Ev almost wanted to dismiss it. Children still played in the streets, and there was still merriment to be found – it was, however, accompanied with frowns and dim whisperings, which made Ev bit his cheek in worry.

It was a couple of hours after noon, and the sun could be seen far off in the distance, the sky filled with lavenders and light blues. A light breeze rustled through Mesa, which made anxious mothers call from their steps for their children to come back inside – a call that was ignored by most of the little ones. It was colder than it should've been for a summer in this area of Atlas Verde – which made Ev wonder if he was just imagining things.

He had only been here for a few moments, and waited near the gates of Mesa for Calyse's arrival – who promised to arrive here shortly, after wrapping a few appointments up that she had promised to finish today. Perhaps she would know what made this village seem so different – or maybe he was just letting his mind run wild. After all, he had not been to Mesa in quite some time, but he could not shake the feeling that something, or someone, was hanging a dreary gloom over the heads of these peaceful villagers.

[Xphy]

(OoC: Sorry for taking so long with this. I had a lot of things pop up on me.)

To the heiress of the Feyal family the province she called home was a beautiful place to live, and Calyse had always thought that way. However as much as she loved her home she couldn't help but long to see what the world had to offer. Of course she had visited a few of the other Serenian provinces in her youth while accompanying her mother on political visits. She had even visited her aunt at the embassy in Adela on one occasion. However she knew there was so much more out there to see, and she wanted to see it all.

Unfortunately as the heiress her ability to do so would always be somewhat limited. Her duties to Serendipity and the province would always have to come before her own personal interests, and she wouldn't exactly be able to come and go as she saw fit. However she was not the High Lady quite yet, and barring some unfortunate circumstance she wouldn't be for some time. Her mother still in very good health and she highly doubted anyone would want (or be able) to take her life anytime soon, a fact Calyse intended to take full advantage of.

That was where her little errand this morning had come into play, and judging from how well things had gone it seemed she would be able to get her wish, even if only for a short while. Her mother had granted her permission to leave the province for a few months, and to be honest the heiress had been quite surprised at how easily she had agreed to it. Then again she was old enough to take care of herself, and perhaps her mother had finally recognized it.

Unlikely... but regardless of the reasons behind it her mother had agreed, and she wasn't about to question her lest she lose her opportunity.

Of course with her success with her mother Calyse was in very high spirits as she approached Mesa on horseback. Unlike her brother she had dressed fairly casually, though she still bore the black, red and blue of the Feyal family. Evangelus did say that he only wanted to pay the village a little visit, although he had never really struck her as the type to want to do something so frivolous. It was always "work, work, work" with him, but perhaps he had lightened up a bit. Maybe he had finally found a nice young lady to spend time with.

That thought made her giggle.

When she spotted her brother waiting for her outside the village gates her smile turned into a small frown. It was so typical of him to dress so formally for such a simple visit. She did notice a look of concern about his face as she rode up to him however, which was odd. As uptight as he always seemed to come off her brother had never really been the type to worry about something unless it was actually worth worrying about.

Had something happened that she wasn't aware of?

"Good day brother." she said politely, pulling on horse's reins to bring the creature to a stop in front of him. "Is something troubling you?" As she continued her eyes watched him carefully trying to gauge how serious the situation was. Part of her kind of hoped it was only her imagination, but she doubted that was the case. It rarely ever was.

[Anonymous]

The slow canter of hooves on a dirt road brought Evangelus out of his lost thoughts and pulled him back into reality. Down the road, he could see Calyse, his dear sister, riding towards him atop her steed. She was dressed rather casually, more casually than he would ever dare to dress if he was to be in public, but that was Calyse for you. It seemed like it didn't matter what she wore on any occasional – she could be regal and eloquent in any sort of garb that she chose to wear. With Evangelus, his formality was his own 'armor,' one he felt would hide him limb, one that strengthened the miniscule authority that he had – a robe which covered all the bumps and flaws of his persona.

"Good morning to you as well, sister," he returned, bowing his head briefly towards her, while a faint smile painted itself on Ev's features. "I'm glad you could make it. The day's perfect for getting some fresh air."

Despite everything, he was always glad to see her, especially considering how very rare it was, to be able to talk to her for more than five minutes. It was his own fault, he knew – he didn't have to keep himself so busy, but believe it or not, work was soothing for Evangelus. It made him appreciate the little things in life more – like speaking to his sister, or having more than a fifteen minute break from work. You could call him a masochist because of it, but Ev preferred the term 'extremely motivated.'

"Is something troubling you?"

Sharp as a tack, Calyse was. He could almost feel that her eyes had been watching him, but then again, his concern for Mesa must've been easy to gauge, just by looking at his face. His bit his lip, recalling how solemn the air had felt here, and shook his head slowly in the affirmative. "It might be nothing, but..." Evangelus muttered, looking out towards the sleepy town of Mesa, "...this town feels more... It feels more melancholy than it should." It was possible that Ev could be in the wrong in this situation, but he didn't give himself the title 'the maintenance man of Atlas Verde' for nothing. For Ev, it was normal to know what these towns felt like – he lived and breathed them, for they were his own self-given responsibility. And Mesa, he knew, was not supposed to be so glum and lifeless.

"You'll have to forgive me," Ev started, running a hand through his hair. "I had proposed for us to take a visit here, but really, I was hoping to do a quick patrol of the place with you. Admittedly, I haven't been here for three weeks or so, and things seemed to have... changed, since I've last been here." He crossed his arms over his chest, nibbling on his inner lip. "But... there's always the chance that I could be wrong." He had said these words, but he didn't really mean them. Ev was not conceited, really, but he was a realist – what were the chances that he was wrong.

He did manage to pull a small smile on his face though, shaking his head. "Right or wrong, we may as well make the most of this day." He uncrossed his arms, assuming a more relaxed stance. Or rather, to the untrained eye, Ev may have seemed relaxed, but underneath it all, he was balled up, and tense. "Shall we?" he offered to her, making his way into the melancholy Mesa.

[Xphy]

Calyse furrowed her eyebrows slightly when her brother spoke about the village feeling unusually melancholy. That was odd... It had been a while since she had visited Mesa herself, weeks in fact, but melancholy was not the word she would have used to describe it. Perhaps it was just him as he had said, but she suspected that wasn't the case. Evangelus was no fool and she trusted his judgment. If he thought something was wrong it was probably best to have a look into what was going on.

It could have been nothing, but it was her duty as a knight and province's heiress to at least check.

"Indeed. Lead the way," she sighed, her eyes remaining focused on her brother for a little longer before moving toward the village itself. She couldn't really see much evidence to support his intuition, but she knew a glance wouldn't be enough to make a good judgment. It almost never was. If something had taken place in Mesa they would most likely have to speak with someone who would be aware of it.

"If that was your intention dear brother then perhaps we should pay the local guard a visit first. I'm sure they would able to shed some light on your worries." Though she didn't show it Calyse was actually slightly annoyed that her brother had not been completely honest with her about why he wanted to visit this particular village with her. Had he told her that he wanted to perform a patrol she would have come prepared for one, or at least come dressed appropriately for one.

Then there was the fact that she had actually been looking forward to spending a peaceful day with her brother. These days they had had so little time to talk tone another, and truth be told she missed his company. But it seemed it wasn't meant to be. No matter at least they would be able to spend some time together, even if it was in a more formal setting.

[Anonymous]

Traversing into Mesa was more unsettling than anything. A thin mist seemed to be settling over the city, clouding Ev's vision and his insight. It was an unassuming mist, one that thinly veiled the city, like the gossamer web of a spider's home, but it set an eerie stage. Evangelus shrugged off the chills this town crept up his spine, and, with his sister by his side, decided that the local guards probably would be able to shed some insight on the town's situation.

He nodded firmly, keeping alert as he trekked through the town. "One would think the guards would be doing something about this," Evangelus muttered – but it was with confusion, not with scorn. Perhaps it was true, and Ev really was imagining things, but he doubted it, he highly doubted it. Ev had learned to put away his imagination at a young age – he had dedicated his life to hard work and toiling for the province – he did not make novice mistakes.

The only novice mistake he'd ever made had nearly cost him his leg.

His limp was noticeable as he walked, as it always was. It was easy to spot Ev from the crowd, as long as you were looking down – his leg was the one that seemed to flinch every time his bad foot touched the ground, as if he was continuously walking on red hot coals. Thankfully, a local guard was not too far away. He lay against a building, arms crossed, watching an empty road, his eyes cold and lifeless.

Evangelus cleared his throat, to wake the guard from his daydreams, and offered his hand out to him, shaking it firmly. "Evangelus Feyal," he introduced to the guard quickly, wanting to get the formalities out of the way. "And Calyse Feyal, the heiress of Atlas Verde." The guard, now wide awake after realizing the company he kept, stood ready and alert, able to nothing but not and give a firm salute. Ev didn't bother wasting any time, "Can you tell us what's going on here?"

His face seemed to fall, and the guard pulled his hat down on his head, sighing. "There's a thief – or maybe thieves – that are runnin' rampant around here. We can't catch 'em, though heck knows we've tried." He gestured over towards the town, and how empty it seemed. "All the villagers are inside – we thought it'd be easier to recognize a thief if respectable folk were at home. But the thief can blend in with us or something – 'cause he just keeps on stealing."

The guard shook his head. His accent seemed to be that of the country, and Ev sympathized with him immediately. He was probably a new recruit, fresh from training, only to be faced with a job so tough that even old guards weren't able to handle.

"We thought we could handle it," the guard continued. "We didn't think things would get so bad that the Feyals would have to help us out."

[ Feel free to control the guard  / bring in other guards, etc, if you wish! ]

[Xphy]

For the most part Calyse had remained quiet as she accompanied her brother through the streets of Mesa, her eyes taking everything around her as she did. Mist aside there seemed to be an odd lack of activity around them, and what few people were outside seemed to be in a hurry to reach their homes. It was odd to say the least. She now understood were her brother's feeling of melancholy came from and she didn't like it.

Something was definitely wrong here. It was just a matter of what.

As they came upon one of the town's guards she heard her brother mutter something to himself, though she decided against asking him about it. She knew her brother well and if Ev had meant it for her ears he would have spoken clearly. So instead she trained her eyes on the guard himself who seemed to be caught off guard by their presence, especially after her brother introduced them. It was unbecoming behavior but she said nothing of it since he appeared to be young, most certainly younger than she was.

Besides there were much more pressing matters that needed to be addressed.

She listened intently to the guard as he spoke, carefully thinking over exactly what was said. Apparently the village was having problems with thieves, though the fact that the local guards weren't able to track them down did pique her interests. Why was that?

Of course there were a number of possibilities for why they hadn't been able to find the culprit (or culprits), the simplest being that he or she could have been one of the local villagers. It could even have been one of the guards for all they knew. Another possibility was that the thief was using some form of sorcery to mask their presence or appearance in order to go undetected, which would have only made them that much more difficult to track down. Whatever the case was as heiress she simply couldn't leave a situation like this one be, and to start with she wanted to know everything the guards knew.

"How long have you been receiving reports of stolen property?" she asked, calmly folding her arms across her chest. "Also what exactly has the thief taken?"

[Anonymous]

The guard was shaking in his boots, literally. Of all the guards the Feyals could've stopped to question about this matter, it had to be him, the newbie? He had already made a horrendous decision to become a city guard in such a tumultuous time, and then he had to stop and report to the Feyals, about a matter he barely knew anything about, except for the basics. Still, despite his anxiety, he remained vigilant, calm, and collected, although he wasn't sure if he looked that way to them.

The Heiress had asked about how long things had been reported as stolen, and what the thief had taken. The guard sighed in relief – good, these were questions he could answer. "I wouldn't say the reports have been coming in for very long," he started, trying to come up with an exact date. "I'd say he's been around for two or three weeks now." Ever since he started on the force, the thief had been swiping stuff, which had probably been for that amount of time.

"As for what he's been taking... I'd say he's been looking for anything valuable. Gold, necklaces, pendants, money... And... it's strange..." The guard stopped for a minute, thinking. "He's been swipin' a lot of heirlooms too. Not all of them were necessarily valuable in regards to money. A lot of them were just loved items by the people in this town. You wouldn't even be able to tell that some of the stuff he stole was heirlooms. But either he knew, or it's a massive coincidence."

Evangelus furrowed his brows, wondering what that could mean. He turned to Calyse, one hand on his hip, the other hanging by his side. "If he knew he was stealing heirlooms from people, perhaps he's a resident of this town. How else would he know what's valuable to residents here, and what's not?" Then again, perhaps the heirlooms had just been caught up in his stealing spree. Really, the situation could go either way – and it didn't really help to pinpoint a target. There was so many questions Evangelus wanted to ask, too, but he wasn't sure where to begin...

The guard fidgeted, and seemed uncomfortable. "The other guards are expecting me to show up for a meetin' soon," he related, a little anxious. "I have time for three more questions, but then I've got to go. My apologies." He bowed a little, as if he was apologizing for not being able to offer up any more information.

Ev looked to Calyse – as she was the eldest, if she had any more questions, he'd let her ask them. If all the guards were going to be held up in a meeting soon, this could be their last chance to get any more information out of this guy.

[Xphy]

Calyse nodded when her brother suggested that the thief might have been a local. It did make sense since they were targeting heirlooms, but that wasn't all that was bothering her about that. She just couldn't put her finger on what. It didn't sound like whoever was behind these acts was doing it for the money, but then what else could they possibly after? Did they have some kind of vendetta against the villagers, or did they perhaps have some other reasons for their actions? It irked her not knowing.

Nevertheless she had already decided to help them find the thief, and she had every intention of seeing it through.

When the guard mentioned that he had a meeting to go to she sighed, and closed her eyes for a second before replying. "Don't worry, I won't keep you from the meeting." There were many questions she wanted to ask, but clearly she didn't have the time to ask them all. So instead she narrowed down her questions as much as possible, and found that only one of them she actually felt needed to be answered now. One that went back to what he had said about what the thief had stolen so far.

"However there is one more thing I would like to ask if you have the time," she continued, looking to her brother for a brief moment before returning her gaze back to the guard. "You said that the thief has been targeting objects loved by his or her victims, correct? But were there any instances where the thief actually left something behind that a normal thief wouldn't have?"

[Anonymous]

The Feyal heir's question made the guard stop and think. He lifted his guard's cap and scratched his head with a single finger, furrowing his brows, attempting to think back, to remember if the thief had left anything behind. After a moment of thought, he shrugged his shoulders and shook his head in the negative.

"Nope," he finally concluded, after a minute, "He hasn't left anything behind, as far as I can say – and I've been to every crime scene." He crossed his arms over his chest and nodded twice. "He's been very clean not to leave anything behind, especially when it comes to evidence. In fact, it's hard to tell that he's broken into houses at all. The victim's house is usually void of any sign of a break in – except for the fact that their things have been stolen, of course."

The guard adjusted his cap, looked over his shoulder, and then turned his attention back to the Feyals. "If you'll excuse me now, I have to get to that meeting at town hall. They'll tan my hide if I'm late again..." He bit his lip, then bowed awkwardly, unsure of the protocol to follow when in front of high nobles.

 "Sorry I couldn't help you all out more... If you need to talk to anyone else about the thefts, the townsfolk are as helpful as ever. A lot of them might be at the Red Dragon Tavern –" he stopped, to point to the west, where the tavern was most likely located, "– so if you need more leads, they might be your best bet. Good luck!" The guard turned and ran, heading toward the east, to town hall.

Evangelus furrowed his brows, piecing the information together. "From what we know so far, the criminal has to be someone from around here, or at least someone who knows the area well... They've been so meticulous that they haven't left behind anything a normal thief wouldn't have as well." He sighed, shaking his head. "We'll need more information, if we want to get anywhere... We could try the tavern, or maybe that guards meeting in town hall could have to do with the thefts..." He turned toward Calyse, curious. "What do you think?"

[Xphy]

So the thief had been thorough with their crimes, and had somehow entered the homes without disturbing anything? That answer had interested Calyse greatly. If she had to guess he or she was a person of some intelligence if they weren't leaving any clues behind, or at the very least they were a very careful person. Perhaps he or she was a career thief or mercenary of some kind, but that didn't explain how they knew what the victims had cherished.

It seemed their much more to this case than she originally thought.

When the guard finished she gave him an approving nod before glancing in the direction he had pointed in, then turning to her brother. He seemed to be on the same page as she was. They simply needed more information if they were to get anywhere, and had he not done so first she would have asked him the very same question. She was curious what he thought on the matter, but as he asked her first it was only right that she answered.

"Brother, I believe we could benefit from visiting both but unfortunately that doesn't seem to be feasible," she replied, folding her arms in front of her and stopping to think for a second. If they went to the tavern first they would probably miss the guards' meeting. At the same time if a curfew was in place the tavern might have been empty by the time the meeting was over. They could only go to one it seemed. "Perhaps we should go to the tavern. We can always speak with the senior guard here later if we need to.

"What do you think?"

[Anonymous]

Evangelus Feyal was no detective, but he knew that his sister was right. They could always find the head guard later if they had to, but right now, the tavern was probably at its busiest. With a bunch of thefts occurring in the village, and no real way to protect themselves, he wouldn't blame the villagers of Mesa for wanting to down their sorrows in alcohol. He was starting to regret that he looked so official now – he would look very out of place at a tavern, he knew, but it was too late to cry over spilled milk.

He looked toward his sister, nodding. "You're right – going to the tavern is probably our best bet." He agreed, looking in the direction that the guard had pointed in. "It shouldn't be too far..." The guard pointed in the west direction, hadn't he? So Evangelus turned down the cobblestoned road that the guard had pointed down, keeping an eye out for any signs that would lead to the Red Dragon Tavern. Mesa was a small village, so Ev was sure that the journey wouldn't take very long.

After a moment, they had arrived – at the Red Dragon Tavern. The building was on the larger side – it was easily one of the largest establishments in the village. Build with red brick, towering over all the other, it seemed like it was newer than all the buildings as well – as if it were built in the last decade or so, rather than the older houses than the villagers lived in.

With a push of the door, Evangelus led his sister inside, taking in the sights of the tavern. Before he could do anything or say a word to his sister, however, they were accosted by the tavern owner – a young man in his late twenties, who greeted them with starry eyes.

"You must be the Feyals, correct?" he asked, tilting his head to the side. "I've heard rumor that you were in town – but I would've never dreamed that you'd visit my humble tavern~ Please, is there anything I can get you two? Lunch? Or an early dinner, perhaps? Dessert, or maybe just a drink?" The tavern owner spoke quickly, obviously thrilled to have high nobles at his establishment – and was already directing them towards a table by the window. "Don't worry, I'll be sure to take good care of you two~ Now, what can I get you?"

[Xphy]

It hadn't taken long for them to reach the tavern, though Calyse hadn't really expected it to have. Mesa was a fairly small village after all. It did seem to stand out among the other buildings though, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing for such a place. The owner had probably just opened it a few years ago, or had had to rebuild for some reason. In any event she hoped they would be able find some clues or learn about some possible suspects there.

Once they had arrived Ev had lead the way inside only to have the owner greet them almost immediately. Granted she was used to receiving such treatment from merchants and other business men, but the owner's reaction still managed to catch her a bit off guard since they had only really spoken to young guard since she'd arrived. Then again her brother's attire did scream nobility so perhaps it wasn't so strange.

Either way it seemed that word traveled quite quickly in this village.

When the owner led them over to the table she looked at Ev briefly before taking a seat. "Some cider should be fine for the time being. And anything my brother wishes off course," she replied, taking in the tavern's atmosphere for the first time. There was no point in rushing things. They could always as questions when he returned.

[Anonymous]

The tavern owner took down Calyse's order, then looked expectantly toward the younger Feyal, pen at the ready, eager to please. Ev bit his lip, not really hungry or thirsty, but decided to order something for the hell of it. The guy seemed really anxious to make sure they were at home here – who was Ev to just turn him away?

"I'll have a cider as well," Ev echoed, mainly because he didn't feel like drinking anything anyway – the quicker he could find out what was going on around here, the better. He wasn't a 'stay and socializing' kind of guy when he was on the job. Perhaps it was a bad thing, to be so tense all the time, but it wasn't as if he meant to be this way – this was just how he was programmed to be.

After taking down their order, the tavern owner took off quickly, leaving Evangelus alone with his sister. He tented his fingers together, biting his lip, scanning the tavern with teal blue eyes. So far, everything seemed normal and ordinary – there were only a bunch of civilians here, drinking, talking, laughing... But if the thief was a citizen of Mesa, did that mean that the thief could be right under their noses, drinking and laughing amongst them? It was Ev's job to find out, of course, but that didn't mean it would be easy... How could one find a stranger when he seemed to be hiding right under their noses?

One particular man was drinking heavily at the bar, downing beers like they were water, putting everyone else to shame. The other villagers all seemed wary around him, except for a few drinking buddies of his, who tried to compete with the portly man, to no avail. As he drank, he blurted out, "Damn lootin' thieves! Just wait 'till I get my hands on whoever the 'ell took my silver spoons. I'll kill 'em, kill 'em dead!" His buddies cheered at his drunken ramblings, holding up beer mugs and clanking  them together, before taking a swing of their drink.

Ev sighed – the tavern owner was taking quite some time to pour two glasses of cider. "What do you think of all this, Calyse?" he asked, his voice low, not wanting to be eavesdropped on. "Do you really think the thief could be amongst the villagers? Why would he steal from his own people... and why would he stick around?"

[Xphy]

Once the owner had left them Calyse carefully scanned the tavern for anything out of the ordinary, but found nothing. Everything seemed fairly normal, though the large man drinking at the bar did stand out among the crowd. She felt sorry for him. He must have really cherished the spoons he had spoke of to be drinking so heavily. No doubt they had been a gift or heirloom of some sort.

It only made her want to find the thief that much more.

 "I honestly do not know," she replied when Evangelus finally spoke, matching his tone to the best of her abilities. Clearly her brother didn't want their conversation to be overheard, which was understandable. "It does seem a bit strange that one would steal from their own people. But if the thief was not from Mesa how would they know which of their belongings the villagers treasured?

"Surely if an outsider was asking such questions it would have raise suspicion by now."

The only other possibility she could think of was that the thief was using some form of surveillance magic to watch their victims, but she doubted that was the case. It seemed like a bit too much effort for a thief to go through just to burglarize a few homes. Especially since what additional gains they would reap would be so small.

She paused for a brief moment, crossing her arms across her chest before speaking again. "Also there is the issue of where they would stash their loot." She could only assume that the guards were watching the roads by now to prevent the thief from transporting the villagers' belongings out of Mesa. So unless he or she had some other means of getting the loot out of town undetected it was very likely that at least some of it was still nearby.

"Perhaps we should speak with that gentleman at the bar? He might be able to help us figure out what is going on."

[Anonymous]

She had a point – how in the hell would the thief know what valuables to take if he were an outsider?

"Maybe he didn't have to ask," Ev offered. "Maybe the valuables were something that they wore on their person, or something they kept in plain sight in their houses. If only we knew what valuables were stolen..." Perhaps that was something they could ask a local guard later. He liked the theory that it was a villager amongst them that was stealing from them – it would explain why they knew just what valuables to take.

Someone who lived here for a while would know what treasures the villagers possessed, but that only begged the question – why start stealing from them now? "If it's a villager stealing from his peers, he'd need to have some kind of motive, something that happened to him recently that gave him reason to steal. Maybe he's run into hard times financially, or something along those lines. I doubt anyone who's been a long time villager would steal from his peers without good cause... but then again, you never know..." There's no such thing as halfway crooks – either they had a motive or they didn't.

And then, that was true – where would they stash the loot? "Good point. At this rate, I can't see any of the villagers stashing their loot in their homes, unless they blanketed it with some sort of concealing magic. Or maybe they can create magic pocket dimensions, in which to store the loot, perhaps." He had seen some knights, who weren't sure of which sword they should fight with, carry all of them in small pocket dimensions, so that they could call out a different weapon without having to carry it on their person. Perhaps the same situation was being dealt with here.

Calyse mentioned that they should go talk to the man at the bar, to which Ev bit his lip. The portly man seemed drunk out of his mind, and all the drunks Ev had ever encountered were pugnacious at best, but she was right – he seemed to be willing to talk about the case, if anything. "Let's go," he offered, standing up from the table. They had not yet been given their cider, but Ev hadn't cared about it in the first place.

"Excuse me, sir," Evangelus began – tilting his head toward the portly drunkard. "You seem to have had your belongings stolen as well. Do you mind telling me about what happened?"

The portly didn't turn around to face Ev at first, but merely slammed his mug down on the counter, groaning. "Tell you about what happened? You gotta be a damn fool if you don't know about –" He spun around at that moment, and from Ev's noble attire, realized immediately who he was talking to. At that moment, Ev didn't regret coming here in his best. "The Feyals," he spluttered out, immediately changing his tune. He grabbed his mug once again, took a swig of his beer, and held it up in the air. "The Feyals are here to catch that filanderin' bastard, everyone! Give 'em a cheer!" Most of the villagers in the pub let out a hearty cheer and a good round of claps, before returning to their alcohol.

"I'll tell you what happened. He strikes when you're not home, he does. Or she – maybe it's a damned flighty woman doin' all this, hell if I know. Anyway, he knows when you won't be home for some time. He knows when your neighbors aren't home too, and then he strikes. Hell if I know when he does it, but he can see – everything. He came into my home when I left for a three day trip into the mountains to get some minin' done with my crew. When we came back to the village, my silver spoons were gone!" He hissed, a drunken garble, but lowered his voice, so his drinking buddies wouldn't hear. "But that's not the scary part. There's a part that the guards forget to mention, there's a part that no one bothers to tell the guards when they come. He left me a note. From what I can gather, he left everyone a note. Here, come here, I'll show you."

He lead the Feyals off to the side, and pulled out a small piece of paper from his pocket. The paper seemed to be enchanted – despite how many times it had been folded, it didn't appear to be wrinkled. The words on it were written in a bold print, but it didn't seem to be ink. If anything, perhaps the ink had been enchanted, so that it would never smudge or smear.  On the note, it read, in bold print, "TELL LARA WHAT YOU DID."

"Lara's my wife's name," the man replied, and he seemed to be a little sober when he said it. He hesitated, wondering if he should continue. "A year ago... I cheated on her. It was a one time thing, but, but still, I shouldn't have done it...." He growled, angry with himself, and the situation. "I told you – this guy knows everything. I think the others got notes too – but they won't talk about it. And I don't blame them, to be frank. If the notes are like mine – well, I don't talk about what my note says either."

"So, would you say..." Ev began, but the man cut him off.

"Yeah. All of us victims – I think we all got something to hide."