2-17-10 - Darklett, Micah, Tyree, Redtail.

Salamandastron: Entryway

• -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Salamandastron *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

This is a small, raised platform in the side of the mountain upon which

you can see down to the small niche in the mountain. Cunningly designed,

this precaution allows one from this vantage point to 'see' who is

standing outside without being detected.

• -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

                 Visible Exits:

[Outside] [A]long [P]assageway

[S]tairs to [S]entry [R]oom

Darklett's shrugging his overcoat up further onto his shoulders as he approaches the exit. "All set?" He spots Micah already standing by the passageway out, his nose wriggling as he prepares to head back out into the rainy cold.

Micah hasn't been waiting for very long. He too is bundled up, a light pack over his shoulder as all he's bringing with. Healing supplies, of course. He pushes off the wall and falls into step next to Darklett with a nod. "Yessir," he agrees. His brow is furrowed, still looking like he doesn't quite have a handle on his emotions. But he's keeping it mostly in check.

"We'll head out towards Halyard... You said you wanted to check around there some more, right?" Darklett apparently doesn't think this is a /terrible/ idea. "Yeah, we'll head towards Halyard... Check the outskirts, the docks maybe..." And out into the rain they go, ever so eagerly.

Micah glances to the side at mention of the dock. "... Ah, yeah. I hadn't thought of lookin' there," he admits with a quiet, frustrated sigh. The searching and the not knowing is rough. "Major, how long does it usually take t'find someone in a situation like this?" Dark's had experience. He can give a rough estimate.

Uh... Darklett glances upwards. "With this kind of search effort..." The major trudges alongside Micah, thinking for a moment. "...I'd say it could be a couple weeks, or... Or a couple weeks more than that, I guess." He shrugs. "For all I know, we could see him tomorrow." Real helpful, Maj. Way to go.

It's not super helpful, no. The thought of it being a month leaves Mike with a faint twitch in his forehead. Ah, man. "... Y'know, next time lie t'me." Haha. He ducks his head and rubs at the back of his neck.

"Sorry," is all Darklett offers at first. After a few seconds of just walking alongside the younger buck, he finally adds, "But I've got a feeling Tam won't be missing long. Just a hunch."

Micah... can't help but grin. Just a small one, which he accompanies with a snort. "Now I don't know if yer lyin' or not," he jokes. His eyes roll up towards the sky "... but. I don't think 'e will be, either. I hope he won't be."

"Heh." Darklett manages a little smirk. For better or worse, he really does think they'll know sooner rather than later. "Who knows? Maybe we'll find him tonight." He can hope, right?

Micah sighs softly, sounding a little. Enthusiastic and comforted by that thought. "Yeah... yeah. We'll find 'im," he agrees. "We c'n jog it if you want." Or run! He's okay with... running. Heh. XD

"Heh. You know, maybe a few seasons ago I'd consider running along with you while weighed down by wet clothing." Darklett shrugs. "...But now I feel like I've got something to prove, and there's really no consideration." And at that, he darts forward towards Halyard.

At least he's not on a patrol with a long-legged bloke like Zeraph! Mike snorts his amusement when Dark breaks out into a run. He shakes his head and breaks off after him at a brisk pace. He catches up - for now, and keeps up alongside him. Oof, he might regret this.

It isn't long before Darklett starts slowing -- not because he has to, but because he just doesn't feel like sprinting until he's dead tired then panting like an idiot while walking the rest of the way. Hopefully Micah slows down with him. :P "Probably not a good idea...!"

Micah slows... gratefully. Because he is neither a runner nor a fighter - he's a soft, squishy healer. Who was infirmary bound a month ago, at that! Tsk tsk, silly buck. The new pace is a great deal more comfortable for him and he breathes out a quiet sigh of relief. "Yessir," he agrees, and falls silent as they continue along towards Halyard.

Eventually, the two hares arrive at Halyard. The major continues further into town towards the docks, looking up as the rain only gets heavier, cursing under his breath. So much for evidence. "Hey, no ducking into the tavern. Stay focused." He's joking, looking over his shoulder at Mike with a grin.

Micah looks up at Dark at the joke, managing a faint grin. They may not have run the whole way, but he's still breathing a little heavy. Stupid... healers... notenoughtraining. He grunts and nods. "Yeah, heh. Ya know. Thought I'd just duck in for a little nip, first."

"Stay vigilant," Darklett mimics some of the more... Regimented officers, taking on a fairly haughty tone and accent with that quip. "Let's just go check the docks and if we don't find anything there, well. Skirt around the outside of town for any signs."

Tyree hasn't said much up to this point. Mainly because he's been staying vigilant as Darklett says, ears up straight as he plods behind the group. "Doubt we'll find anythin' just wandering the streets," he remarks. "If Tam's been 'napped, they're unlikely ta' lay out clues where we can see them passing by."

"'E hasn't been /kidnapped/," Mike replies with a shake of his head. He's just... um. Hurt. Bleeding... somewhere. Or, no. That's not any better. He grimaces, though, and nods in answer to Darklett. "Sounds good. We'll check the docks," he agrees.

"Only if there wasn't a struggle, then a need for a quick getaway," Darklett contradicts Tyree. "There probably /was/ a struggle, and if it's in the middle of the street, somebeast's bound to have seen it, so they could have just turned tail and fled without worrying about cleanup." Ahem. "...Still, other patrols would have found it by now, so we should look where they haven't yet." That would be... Where they're going! The docks.

Tooo... the docks! Tyree, still expecting the worst of this expedition, follows dutifully. Interviews may help the most... rain and other events would hide most evidence, otherwise. Unless they find a huge blood stain on a wall or something, which really wouldn't be an encouraging hint to Tam's fate.

"And I don't think anyone would've looked at the docks, righ'? Righ'..." Mike breathes out a soft sigh, his ear flattening back as the rain gets going good again. Towards the docks they go! Which takes them back out along the path and towards the water. "I dunno what he would've been doin' down here, though."

"It's worth a look," Darklett encourages. Docks are shady places! He would know. "Keep an eye out for anything that's... Broken. Or bloody, but that much is obvious."

"Or vermin who look less willing ta' talk to us than usual," Tyree supplies. Heavy rains, overturning shady areas, on the trail of foul play... why does he get the feeling something bad will happen before the night's out?

Halyard Village: Dock

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Halyard Village ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The dock of Halyard Village is nothing extraordinary. Simple planking runs up

the beach a distance, beyond the point of high tide. The dock extends out

over the water a goodly distance, technically deep enough for a ship the size

of a small merchant ship to tie off. However, this is the exception rather

than the rule. Most of the ships that dock here are small fishing vessels,

carrying no more than a handful of beasts. At the very end of the dock there

is a wider platform, covered gazebo-style, with open sides.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

                               Visible Exits:

[Fi]shery [B]each

Across the sands 'til they reach the planking which begins the docks. They move along it a distance until the tide comes in under the dock and Micah scans to the left and right, brow furrowed slightly. "Does anyone see anythin'?"

"Naught 'ere but a fishery," Tyree says over the sound of the swishing rain. "Unless we're goin' ta' entertain 'e was pulled out ta' sea... eh?" As Tyree scans the beach for evidence of just such an event, he catches something flashing as the waves retreat from the beach. Pearls, maybe. No... nothing shaped like that. "Wait a tic," he calls to the others and points out the anonymous shiny thingamabob, heading towards it. It's strange, so it might be worth checking out!

"Hm?" Darklett glances over towards Tyree, heading his way. "...See something?" He can hardly believe it, himself.

Micah's ear perks and he glances around at Tyree, already having started to head further down the dock. He turns, stopping, but continues to scan around all the same. "What d'you see?"

A hop, skip, and a jump later and Tyree is upon the item before it's washed out and lost forever. He wipes grit from the surface and his expression grows even darker than it was before. Tutting, he clambers back up onto the docks and shows them the evidence, turning it over for signs of ownership. They *could* potentially be anyone's brass knuckles, after all, but they're well made enough to be a Patroller's.

Darklett frowns. "...Any signs of blood around where you found those?" He steps back to let Micah through. They were /so/ optimistic just moments ago.

They could be, but they aren't. When Mike sees the knuckles, he goes pale... and walks the short distance back to Tyree. He half-reaches out to take them from Tyree, but stops himself. He's seen enough. "Those're Tam's," he confirms at a dead mutter. He doesn't answer Dark's question.

"Not in all this," Tyree reports, nodding up at the rain and the waves. "Well. I think this is safe to say there was some kind of trouble... Tam didn't strike me as the type to throw his weapons around."

Tyree

"Was afraid of that." Darklett runs his paw through wet headfur, hanging in silence for a moment. "...Well. At least... We found something, right?"

Micah is silent for a few seconds after Tyree speaks, and then he grits his teeth. And goes to snatch the knuckles away from him. "Would you jus' shut /up/?" he grunts.

"If these were all the way out 'ere, whole flippin' village could be a den of suspects," Tyree muses, but then does shut up when Micah grabs the knuckles. He stares down at the younger buck with apparent indifference, breathing calmly. He's not unsympathetic. But the knowledge that someone dangerous for hares is loose in a village right outside the mountain... well, that's nothing to sniff at. He feels the need for action.

Down by the dock is tethered a small rowboat, which someone appears to made a poor attempt of mounting a mast on. A black coat is stretched from one pathetic crossbeam to the other by the sleeves. In the bottom of the boat itself, Redtail stands, hat perched atop his head, rainwater running out of the corners as he splashes around in the rising puddle, tending various accouterments.

Knowing when to leave things alone, Darklett doesn't speak or even move all that much. He just stands there, paws pocketed, letting Micah have a second or two.

Micah's second or two involves staring down at Tam's weapon in silence for a minute... and then his jaw works again and he turns, heading to the edge of the dock and jumping off, into the shallows. It's about knee deep? He starts wading around, his eyes turning left and right as he searches for anything else. He wades out deeper, ducking down for a second to get a look under the dock itself.

"What..." Tyree mutters as Micah leaps into the waves. Unless he's looking for a body, he doubts anything else will be down there. Eyes flicker to the squirrel in the boat, raising an eyebrow. Little stormy to be sailing. He's not even out to sea. Or has a proper boat yet. Wait... he remembers that creature! "Sah," he asks the major, nodding at the crazy boat-squirrel. "Think he might know somethin'?"

"Hm?" Darklett turns his eyes out to sea. What in the world. "...Who knows? He may." He walks to the edge of the dock, waving his paw high over his head until he gets there. "Evening. Hi, I'm Major Darklett Fletchpaw of the Long Patrol... I just have a question or two, if you don't mind?"

"O ye three-headed god of the sea!" Redtail throws his head back to roar into the sky, his hat falling back unheeded into the boat. "Thinkest thou to retard my vengeance with a mere squall?!" The squirrel scoops up the hat, filled with water, and chucks to load over the side towards Micah. "That thou canst halt the approaching date of my retribution?" He slaps the hat back on his head and turns to look up at Darklett. "Ask thy questions, rabbit, for I am not afraid."

Meanwhile, Micah has faded into the background. He's doing what he's doing, actually ducked down now to dig one paw into the sand.

"We were on the lookout for any foul play you might have witnessed or heard about," Tyree supplements, looking straight at the squirrel, but hoping he doesn't remember his face. He really can't deal with crazy beasts asking him to go on vengeance quests and then being angry when he says he has to stay behind tonight. "Specifically involving a young male hare."

"...Uh, it's hare," Darklett corrects the squirrel, before nodding in accordance with Tyree, glancing with expectation of an answer to the squirrel.

Redtail seizes the opportunity to stare nostalgically into the distance. "A young male hare. I had such a one on my ship, I tell ye, truly!" He turns and cinches the sleeve more tightly to the mast. "As for the one thou seekest, I know not."

Tyree grumbles under his breath. Of course this squirrel wouldn't know anything. "Well, keep your eyes out, will you? This is a bit more immediate than gettin' out ta' sea when the weather's a mess!"

"Thanks for your help." Darklett snorts out of his nose, turning back to the dock and peering into the water for Micah. "...Didn't drown himself, did he...?"

"I certainly hope not, that'd be rather anti-climactic." He glances at Dark and back at the water. "And um. Extremely depressing an' sad, of course." Because, you know, he'd be dead, and there'd be no reason to look anymore.

"He meant me," Micah mutters as he appears behind them on the opposite side of the dock from them now. Still in the water. He puts a paw up on the dock and hoists himself back up.

"...I meant Mike," Darklett says in perfect chorus with Micah. "...So no he didn't. Any luck down there, Mike?"

"... Knew that," Tyree mutters as he reaches down in case Micah needs an extra paw.

Micah ignores the offered paw with a glance away, shaking off some of the excess water. 'Course now he's bloody /freezing/. And shivery. "Nothin'. Not a damn thing."

"...Let's get inside." Darklett pats Mike's shoulder with a wet 'thwap.' "Don't want you getting sick or anything. Maybe we can find some answers from asking around, too."

Micah's eyes drop down to the brass knuckles which, by the way, he's put on. They're big on his paw, which is a good deal smaller than Tam's, but he's holding it on. He turns his fist this way and that and then drops his arm to his side with a sigh. "Yeah. Let's get on in," he agrees.

Tyree observes Micah's apparent tribute to his friend, but doesn't comment on it. "Get you a nice warm fire, eh?" he says softly as he follows the others, giving the sea one last cool glance. This doesn't sit right with him. But, at least there's no body... yet.