The light and noise of the Dragon's Inn was a welcome sight to Emmon
Filgers, Montfort's only (and probably with good cause ) Private
Investigator. His early leads in the Menagrem case were now as stale as
Lecinda's fresh baked bread, and the only bright note in Emmon's day was
that he wasn't eating at The Rampant Jackal; where Lecinda tried to poison
customer and friend alike, and where the owner, Montban, learned (three
times out of ten) to dodge his skillet-wielding wife.

The stocky half-Elf (half High Elf, thank you) worked his way through the
usual crowd at the inn, and made his way to the table where William,
Perrin Mayce's assistant, sat.

"I am beginning to think," Emmon said, slumping into a seat, "That our
marks have decided to take an extended vacation." He brushed back his
lackluster blond hair and signaled for a waitress. "There's nary been a
whisper of the mage, and over half of Montfort roughly fits the
description of the knife...."

[Sable and Magda Nightwalker]

The leather-clad twins entered quietly.  Two sets of dark blue eyes noted
Emmon and William's table as they slid through the crowd.  They chose one
of the inn's many darkened booths and ordered a pitcher of water and a
loaf of bread.  Then they waited.

[William]

"I was afraid of that,"  said William.  The young man took a long drink
from a large tankard of ale.  The other empty tankards scattered around
the table, and the gentle slur in his voice, gave the impression that the
lawyer's assistant had been drinking for quite a while.  While not
'falling down' drunk, William was a tad slower and more care-free than he
would've been otherwise.  It took him a few seconds of fumbling to
retrieve his notepad, quill, and bottle of ink from his coat pockets.  He
lay them out on the table and prepared to take notes.

"Mean men with knives are in no short supply in this city,"  he mused.

It actually took three or four attempts to get the word 'city' pronounced
correctly.

"Still, Perrrrin wants to know who you talked to... et ceterra...  All the
details.  Names, places and descriptions.  Everything.  Leave no stone
unturned, and so on and so forth...."

[Emmon]

~Good thing he's staying here,~ Emmon told himself, ~He's taken quite a
liking to Dragon Inn' ale.~

"Got them right here," he said, digging into his vest pocket to pull out a
neatly-tied wad of notes. These he pushed over to William.

"Here," Sera said, landing a mug on the table.

"Thanks...," the half-Elf started, but the waitress had already scooped
up his coin and was gone.

Emmon took a pull on the dark ale, and stretched his tired legs. "Maybe I
should have asked for travel expenses," he said with a chuckle, "I think
my boots are going to need resoling after this."

He shook his head, and his usually affable expression turned more serious
when he added, "I can tell you one thing .....the knife's description
tends to make people nervous...." Emmon shrugged, "Of course knifes make
anyone nervous....But I've talked to the folks in the shanties - the ones
who were at the fire that night and there was the usual wariness and
dislike. ..No, its not till you start checking around the city proper and
then you start getting the edge of fear."

[William]

"mmmm... fear is one thing I certainly know about..."

William drank a little more as he looked through Emmon's notes.

"Very good,"  he mused.   Then he frowned.  "I su- suppose
that Perrin would say that perhaps this fellow with the knife is- 
still in town... and is some sort of  well-known criminal.   We've
dealt with that kind of thing before... they usually tar-  target
the shops and leave the common people alone.   That'll
explain the  reaction you got from the... uhhh... from the...
what was I saying, again?"

[Emmon]

Emmon drowned a chuckle in a pull on his ale, and said, "You were saying
that we may be dealing with a known, and local, criminal."

Sera slide his dinner in and headed away.

And while cutting at the dragon pods, lightly marinated, the private
detective said, "I'd been considering that myself...and it would fit with
the fact that there are just enough sightings of the mage to make him a
regular around town, Unless, of course, they travel through regularly -
though it had to be _real_ regularly to inspire the type of fear that
keeps everyone's mouths shut."

He chewed on his food for a moment and added, "I've been reviewing what we
know of the witnesses, to see if fear could play a part in keeping them
quiet. The King's Envoy, Mr. Ournel, unlikely...possible but
unlikely....Lucc Caithe doesn't fit the profile since he is mainly a
woodsman, which holds true for Yals and Alexandrin....if I could ever find
them...."

A swig of ale washed down the fiery pod, and after a few moments of
coughing, Emmon continued, "Batista Dyer does have a shop, but I don't see
her paying someone off."

He cut another slice of pod and said, "That woman is just plain spooky
..And I would say she's playing her own game."


[Eric Hood]

Eric stood in the shadows across the street from the dragon's inn.  He
leaned lazily against a wall and eyed the inn's patrons as they came
and went.

"You sure he's in there?"  he said to no one.

Somewhere above his head, something hissed a reply.

[William]

"You know......"  William frowned and studied his beer for a
moment... then remembered what he was going to say.  He also realized that
he was drunk.  He signaled the waitress to bring him a glass of water and
a pot of coffee, then continued his sentence.  "Perrin says that in order
to  understand criminals, you have to  think like them.
Well...uhhh... oh, right... if I were a criminal... which I'm not... then
the last thing I'd want is a  royal investigation of the city and
it's  various goings-on.  That would  most certainly happen if
ole' whatsisname hadn't been caught for the crime.  Any local criminal,
 if he had enough to lose, would be VERY interested in 
bringing the killer to justice and avoiding all that royal unpleasantness.

He  might even be so inclined to  f-force a confession out of
someone who was actually innocent.  This beer is really good, don't you
think?"

[Emmon]

"Ambrosia," Emmon agreed, "Particularly when compared to what Lecinda
brews in her cellar." The mere thought of the "beer" made the stocky
half-elf turn a touch green.

And though he had been discreet in his own drinking he poured two cups of
coffee - it too being ambrosia when compared to the river sludge served at
"The Rampant Jackal." The main thing he was loving about this assignment
was the time spent far from his office and at the Dragon's Inn.

"You may be onto something there," he agreed, "Though Menagrem isn't even
a jewel in the rough - just plain coal. But be he innocent or guilty your
reasoning is sound."

He stirred a touch of cinnamon into his coffee and considered the swirling
liquid. When he looked up he said, "But that still doesn't bring us any
closer - just gives us a perspective on why hes hiding." Emmon shook his
head and grinned, "And William, my friend, I don't think either of us are
up to too much more pondering tonight....You're staying here at the inn,
aren't you?"

[William]

"Inn?  What inn?  OH!    Yes, I'm staying here.    Wonderful accommodations
for such a small... uhhh...ohhhhhh... "

Suddenly William turned a nice sickly shade of green.   The strong coffee
and the equally strong beer were warring in his gut... and the battle was
about to reach explosive proportions.

"...'scuse me!"  William managed to mumble as he leapt from the table and
ran for the door.

[Emmon]

Emmon shook his head and grinned. He dropped an extra coin on the table
and went to follow William out the door. ~Wouldn't do,~ he decided, ~To
have the poor guy mugged or knifed while barfing his dinner out.~

[Sable and Magda Nightwalker]

They were up and following like a pair of extra shadows.  As soon as they
passed the doors, they disappeared into the darkness outside and trailed
after their quarry silently.

[Eric Hood]

Eric watched as William ran out of the inn and headed for the alley that
separated the Dragon's Inn from the next building.    The man didn't quite
make it... he doubled over and began throwing up just before he reached
the relative privacy of the alleyway.

Then the door to the inn opened again, and Emmon Filgers stepped out.

"Well, well,"  said Eric.  "The Inn must be having a two-for one special
on corpses tonight..."

Eric reached into his pocket and removed a shiny oblong object.  He pushed
a hidden button-

CLICK!

And a sharp blade sprang from one end.

Eric started walking calmly toward Emmon and William...

[William]

"UrURrrrURrrAAAACK!   uhhhh.... ohhhh.... uuURrRrAaAACK!   Ohhh..
never going to drink that much again..."

[Emmon]

"All things in moderation," Emmon helpfully agreed while he kept a
watchful eye, with his hand resting near his dagger.

[Sable and Magda]

Magda drew a black cord between her hands as she crept along the shadows
towards the investigator.  ~Just let this guy walk on by and we'll be home
with good news.~

Sable stood motionless with his hands resting lightly on the hilts of his
swords.  With any luck this would be quick and clean, but just in case he
was ready.

[Eric Hood]

Eric thought he saw something in the shadows... something that shouldn't
have been there.  It could have been someone hiding... or maybe not.
If someone WAS there, they were good... after the one brief glimpse,
Eric couldn't find the slightest sign of them.    He knew that Emmon worked
alone... so who were the newcomers?   Whoever they were, they were
about to get more than they bargained for.

Hood slipped his switchblade up his sleeve, where no one could see it.
He made a motion with his other hand, signaling his back-up to get ready
for trouble.

[J'Hasp]

It had taken him...it... a few extra seconds to get into place.  The
creature had leapt silently from rooftop to rooftop and now crouched on
the edge of the building adjacent to the Dragon's Inn.  J'Hasp's claws
sank into the hard brick as if it were soft clay... he peered into the
darkness below... sniffed the air...

There were more scents than there should have been.  Two more.  He looked
to Eric Hood, and saw the assassin's signal.  J'Hasp prepared to pounce.

[William]

William leaned heavily against the wall and caught his breath.

"I do believe I'm going to be all right,"  he said.  "Eventually."  He
heard footsteps and looked up at the stranger approaching.

"Hey, who's that?"  said William.  "Do you know him?"

[Emmon]

Emmon had already noted that the newcomer was between them and the
entrance to the alley. "Can't say that I do," he said affably, "But dark
alleys always make identification an iffy proposition."

As he spoke he used his off-hand to help William to his feet, but kept
himself between the stranger and the lawyer's assistant. "Back up -
slowly," he hissed under his breath.

He got a better grip on his own dagger and began to follow his own advice.

[Sable/Magda]

Magda slipped the cord back into one of her leather bodysuit's pockets and
eyed the scene.  She seemed to be unnoticed so far, and the time to use
that surprise was now.  She stepped away from the shadowed wall and drew
her matched silver blades with a practiced ease.  As the twin short swords
danced an intricate pattern in the air before her, she spared the stranger
a glance.  "You don't want any part of this," she told him quietly.

Sable remained hidden, sliding his own weapons (which were indentical to
his sister's) from their sheaths.

[Emmon]

"Shh....," Emmon muttered when he saw the newcomer and her swords. "This
place is getting too crowded," he told William - driving the man
backwards.

The investigator knew the area and prayed they could reach the other end -
there lay the safety of the Dragon Inn's stables. Not only a busy place,
but under their wardings.

[Eric]

"Any part of it?" said Eric.  "Hell, I want the whole thing...  But you'll
just have to wait your turn while I take care of the official business."
He kept his eyes on William and the detective, appearing to ignore the
woman... even though she had more of his attention than the other two
combined.

[William]

"Official business?  Who are you?"

[Eric]

"Well ain't that ironic... you spend all this time and money looking for
me, and you don't even recognize me when I show up on your doorstep."
Eric twitched his wrist, and the switchblade dropped down into his palm.

"Right here's where I say my little speech about not being too curious
about things in this town... but seeing as you neither of you will be alive
to make good use of my advice, how about I just skip it?"

He walked calmly toward Emmon.

[Emmon]

With two knifes out for his, and probably William's, blood, the
investigator knew better than to try turning his back and
running. However, this didn't keep him from inching back, and as he did so
he said, "You know, Mister, its not too late to give that speech - I think
William and I would be more than happy to take it to heart. After all its
dark in this alley and we've still not gotten a good look at you...And
Hells, I'm not all that eager to be dying for this case. I've gotten paid
for the work I did - more than happy to drop it now."

Emmon didn't hold out much hope for a reprieve. He'd never kidded himself
about having a heroic death - a dark alley was high on the list of
locals. ~Though I wish it was some fine maiden I was about to lay my life
down for,~ he passingly pondered, ~Instead of a lawyer's assistant who not
only can't hold his ale, but can't hold his coffee either.~

Under his breath he hissed to William, "On my signal run and yell as
loudly as you can."

He didn't think the commotion would do him much good, but it might buy
William a chance. Fortunately, the Dragon's Inn wasn't like most of the
taverns in town - the inn had an overabundance of would-be rescuers.

[Sable/Magda]

She moved slowly and warily down the alleyway.  ~Bryce wanted the detective
dead, he never said it had to be one of us that did it...~ she thought.

A sudden glint of light reflected off Sable's silver blades as he stepped
out hiding and blocked the way to the stables.

[Eric Hood]

Eric paused as the second assassin stepped into view.    It wasn't the
sudden appearance of yet ANOTHER armed witness that bothered him... it was
the smell.   Like almonds...   Eric recognized it as a poison, although the
exact type and its effects eluded him for the moment.     Whatever it was,
it was all over the man and woman who'd joined him in the alley.

<> he thought.
<>

Suddenly the two newcomers moved up on his list of priorities.  He moved
to one side, so that she was in front of him, with Emmon between them.   He
could see everyone... and everyone could see him.

[William]

Emmon had said to wait for a signal.   William was always one to follow
instructions... but seeing as how he was severely drunk and frightened
for his very life-

"HEEEELLLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!"