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Post by Emery on Apr 5, 2024 14:57:58 GMT -6
A slower day, for once. Emery came to the quest board frequently while she could, but it was frequently mobbed by other quest goers. Seeing it so emtpy for once was a relief, though she knew it was probably because most of the quests were taken already. Sure enough, as she read the notices on the board she found that many of them had had the contact info ripped off or crossed out, and many pins were now missing their papers altogether. There was one man, a kapper, still looking at the board with a frown, eyeing a particular notice. It looked like she wasn't getting that one either. As she read the other posters, the silence between them grew long and awkward, leaving Emery to wonder if perhaps she should try and strike up a conversation of sorts. Or at least a smidgen of small talk to break the tension. Emery 1 Moxie 62.1/62.1 1
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Post by Emery on Apr 6, 2024 16:27:49 GMT -6
"Are you, ah, thinking of taking that quest?" Emery said awkwardly, her voice a mechanical drone. The man looked at her quizzically for a moment, until his eyes widened. "Oh, no! I was the one who put it up! I was actually just wondering why no one had taken it yet, but... Oh dear, is that why no one's taking it?" He said, nudging up his glasses to rub his nose. "I need someone to find my glasses for me- no not those." He said, nudging the lenses back into place. He then rifled around in his pockets, pulling out several glass figurines. Emery wondered how in the world he kept them in there without them breaking- but was also starting to wonder what she was getting herself into. There was nothing else to do but hear him out, though. "I had more earlier today, but, well..." He heaved a deep sigh.
Emery 2 Moxie 62.2/62.2 2
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Post by Emery on Apr 6, 2024 16:41:26 GMT -6
"I was working at a public market earlier today, selling my wares. I'm a glass blower by trade, I mean, just look at me." He said, though Emery wasn't exactly sure what she was supposed to be looking at other than his colorful variety of little glass animals and fancy marbles. "I had other things to do that day though, so I left the stall in the care of my assistant, and by the time I returned from my errands many of them were gone!" Emery's screen blinked. "I'm assuming they weren't purchased." "No! Though my damn assistant insisted they were. The numbers didn't add up at the end of the day, and eventually he admitted that he lost them. He had kept seeing little flashes out of the corner of his eye the whole day, but assumed it was just a banner or the tablecloth on someone else's stall."
Emery 3 Moxie 62.3/62.3 3
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Post by Emery on Apr 6, 2024 16:47:53 GMT -6
"So you think it was a thief." Emery said, crossing her arms. The kapper sighed, putting the figurines away. "Well, I don't know what else it would be. I make some very high quality figurines, but even then they still can't get up and walk away." Emery sighed, and tilted her head back. "...I'll do it." She said flatly. It wasn't like she was going to find anything better today at this rate, and she had already wasted time just talking to this man. Besides, if it was something like thievery... the questing association generally tended to pay well for those sorts of things. They wanted to keep crime low after all. The kapper at least seemed overjoyed. "Oh perfect, thank you! The best place to start would likely be the fairground that the market was at..." He said, and soon they had exchanged information. Emery had all she needed to start her investigation.
Emery 4 Moxie 62.4/62.4 4
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Post by Emery on Apr 6, 2024 19:14:52 GMT -6
A thief, huh? But one fast enough that the witness could only catch small, colorful flashes of it. Last time Emery checked, most thieves didn't dress up in bright colors. Or move that fast. She had some ideas on what it could be, but she could always be proven wrong. To his credit, Moxie seemed plenty happy to follow along. The directions to the fairground were easy enough to follow. In fact, Emery was pretty sure she had been here at some point or another to pick up more obscure mechanical parts for her various projects. During the day the market was bright and busy, but by this time of evening and at this time of week the place was a ghost town. It was little more than dirt plain, with a few patches of park, benchesm and trees to keep some variety in and give people a place to rest while shopping.
Emery 5 Moxie 63.0/63.0 5
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Post by Emery on Apr 7, 2024 8:49:16 GMT -6
There was nothing around but scraps of litter and cleaner versus dirtier spots to mark where the stalls were, but using the rest of the kapper's directions, Emery was eventually able to find the spot that the glass blower's stall had once been. There were a few stray shards of glass around. Emery picked one up. It was small and red, in the shape of a cat's paw. Apparently not all of the glass baubles could be thrown around so easily, and one had shattered on the ground. Probably not a huge loss for the glassblower, and at least it let Emery know that she was in the right spot. She looked around further, but there weren't many other clues. The ground here was swept clean by so many footsteps and objects being dragged across it, so there was no chance of being able to find footprints in the dust.
Emery 6 Moxie 63.1/63.1 6
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Post by Emery on Apr 8, 2024 11:54:14 GMT -6
Emery continued out from that point in a circular motion, looking for any other traces of glass. A lot of garbage from that day had been swept away already so there wasn't much to be found. But Emery was able to pull up a few scraps. Definitely shards of glass in various colors, though none so recognizable a part as that paw she found before. It worked as a little trail, though Emery quietly hoped that it was all from just one increasingly chipped sculpture and not multiple, or else she might not have many pieces to return to the kapper by the end of this. And if that happened... well, she hoped she would still get paid either way. Moxie was happy to trot along behind her, sniffing noisily at the ground, though it was mostly in imitation of Emery and without any actual understanding of what they were doing.
Emery 7 Moxie 63.2/63.2 7
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Post by Emery on Apr 8, 2024 11:58:32 GMT -6
She followed the shards of glass outfit of the flattened market area, leading into a nearby park. Emery hummed quietly as she walked in. Slowly but surely, the chips of glass petered out. It was a lot more difficult to see them in between the cracks in the cobbles in the paved areas of the park. If they should fall off of those cobbles as well, they would be instantly swallowed by the forest floor. Emery's trail had gone cold. She tapped a hand on her thigh, trying to think of an alternate way out of this. Perhaps the kapper would be happy with just this lead? No, that wouldn't work. She certainly wasn't happy with this. At that moment however, Moxie shoved past her, continuing down the path. Emery was about to protest at the rude intrusion, but the words died in her throat when she saw how doggedly he was walking down the path.
Emery 8 Moxie 63.3/63.3 8
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Post by Emery on Apr 8, 2024 12:02:37 GMT -6
Had he actually managed to catch a scent? Emery was skeptical to say the least. Kito might have excellent senses of smell to help hunt prey, but they weren't used as bloodhounds for good reason. For all she knew he had caught on to something entirely different and was only following that trail because Emery hadn't stopped him yet. And yet... she had few options here except to trust his judgement. Emery looked around for a moment, sighing deeply to herself before trudging along after Moxie. This had better be good. He did seem quite sure of himself though- she followed him for dozens of feet, wandering through the winding paths of the park. She had long since lost any sort of trail of broken glass shards, so Moxie was all she had to go by. The trees loomed high above her, and even though it wasn't that late in the evening, the oppressive atmosphere was thick.
Emery 9 Moxie 63.4/63.4 9
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Post by Emery on Apr 8, 2024 12:05:09 GMT -6
By this point though,Emery had the feeling that it wasn't a person that had stolen these glasses, but some sort of animal that knew how to make itself hard to detect. That would explain why Moxie was so interested- he would be happy to track anything that he thought he might be able to eat. Within a few moments however, Moxie slowed to a stop, sniffing loudly on a patch of bare dirt in front of a tree. There was no more trail to walk down- perhaps he was making a decision on what to do about the dead end? Emery would prefer not to have to hike through bushes, but if that was what was needed... But no, Moxie continued circling around that one tree, seemingly growing increasingly frustrated based on how he was flicking his leaves. He looked up at Emery and narrowed his eyes, and she could understand the sentiment.
Emery 10 Moxie 64.0/64.0 10
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Post by Emery on Apr 8, 2024 14:34:15 GMT -6
It was impossible for their culprit to simply disappear, however. Instead, she assumed a much more likely course of action- they had simply climbed the tree. Emery peered up the tree and sure enough, there was a huge snarl of branches and leaves high above her, like a giant birds' nest. She paced around the base of the tree, and spotted something half buried in the leaves. She reached down to pick it up. It was a glass sphere, like the kind the kapper had shown her, with an even smaller glass bird inside it. "It looks like we've found our thief, Moxie." Emery said, muttering to herself. The only issue now was getting up there. Emery wasn't much for tree climbing. Or climbing anything, really. And Moxie only had two limbs, both of which he used for walking. He could burn the tree down, but that would create a far bigger problem.
Emery 11 Moxie 64.1/64.1 11
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Post by Emery on Apr 8, 2024 14:47:46 GMT -6
It wouldn't get them the glasses back either, that was for sure. Emery pocketed the orb she was able to find though- if worst came to worst at least she'd have SOMETHING to show for this quest. Then, she looked around for any potential ways of climbing the tree. Not far from her, there was a picnic table across the clearing. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to get up to the nest like that, but it would have to do. Emery walked over and pulled it, slowly and painfully, towards the tree. She wasn't cut out for this kind of hard labor, but she hadn't trained Moxie to be able to help, so she was going to have to figure it out. He was able to stare at her with great concern, however. How helpful of him. After several agonizing minutes, the picnic table was finally up against the tree.
Emery 12 Moxie 64.2/64.2 12
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Post by Emery on Apr 8, 2024 14:49:56 GMT -6
With that done, Emery climbed on top of it... and sat down to take a bit of a break. She was exhausted from pulling the table over. As she waited however, she realized she didn't hear anything from the nest- no rustling or breaking of twigs. Perhaps that meant that its occupant had decided to go elsewhere for the evening. That would be a big windfall for her- she could grab the nest, collect the glasses, and leave. The thought of it gave her enough stamina back to stand up again, reaching towards the nest. She couldn't quite make it- but luckily she wasn't out of tools. Emery picked up her cane and slid it between the branches, hooking the nest on one side. It slid out surprisingly easily from the boughs supporting it, and she was able to grab it in her arms as it fell without it tipping over at all.
Emery 13 Moxie 64.3/64.3 13
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Post by Emery on Apr 9, 2024 8:26:32 GMT -6
She sighed with relief- and was immediately met face to face with a terrified looking black lerrel, who had apparently just bedded down for the night. Its ears pressed back against its head, and its eyes opened wide at the sight of her. The pair sat and looked at each other with shock for a moment (an exclamation point appearing on Emery's screen) before the creature starting shrieking. It swiped its tiny claws at Emery's screen, bouncing them off the glass, and started flapping its wings so hard Emery thought the nest might fall apart. and Emery immediately stumbled backwards. Luckily, Moxie was standing right behind her so Emery didn't fall off the park bench so much as slithered down Moxie's back. The lerrel's nest slipped from her fingers and landed with a loud thump on the table, leaves flying everywhere. Emery quietly prayed that the glasses it had stolen weren't damaged by the fall.
Emery 14 Moxie 64.4/64.4 14
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Post by Emery on Apr 9, 2024 8:31:54 GMT -6
Moxie wasted no time- he saw a creature smaller than him, he decided he was going to try and eat it. The lerrel shrieked even louder as he lunged in now that Emery was out of the way, jaws snapping shut with a horrifying popping noise. The lerrel took off in a panic, fleeing back into the woods with Moxie hot on its heels. "Moxie, no!" Emery called after him, but he was already gone. She sighed deeply. Well, whatever. He wasn't particularly clever and the lerrel was more nimble than him, so he probably wouldn't get far. And it meant that she could go through the nest at her leisure rather than fighting off a lerrel the whole time. So he could do what he wanted. Within a few minutes Emery was back up again, and she sat at the picnic table, facing down the nest. Time to get to work.
Emery 15 Moxie 65.0/65.0 15
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