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Post by Nerius on Aug 28, 2020 10:53:18 GMT -6
[1]
Nerius, admittedly, often didn't think to check the Quest Board. It did offer items of interest, or at least cute little moths, and it really was worth his time to at least remember it existed. He'd done better than that today, as he had a break between tournament rounds, and had not only remembered the board existed, but actually visited. The board looked rather empty, even from a distance, but the sight of the two standing next to it was a good sign that there was something to be done, at least.
To his surprise, he actually recognized the pair, they were the brothers that ran the bookstore. He accepted one of the fliers, and listened as the brothers explained the situation, quickly becoming interested. It involved books, hardly unexpected, and more interestingly, related to Vai Min Mur. That was already a subject that implied magic or the supernatural, and if they'd been stolen by the person he thought they were describing, it was that much more intriguing.
(Nerius: 1/20)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 28, 2020 11:11:04 GMT -6
[2]
He wasn't much of a sleuth, but, "If there are traces of magic in the books, I might be able to track them that way." One of the brothers, Nerius couldn't tell which but it was the one that had claimed to have a 'lost shipment', seemed hesitant, but after a moment the other confirmed that the books likely held some trace of magic. He'd probably still need to do some more traditional investigation, but that would make matters easier if he at least could find the right general area.
Which could be a lot of places, he realized, as the brothers continued to explain that the books, and the thief, would likely be found at the docks. His aquatic critter choices were a little limited, but Nerius was sure he had something that would work. "I'll search for your missing books," he agreed, accepting the quest. Though, first he'd need to make a stop at his kennel to pick up a creature.
(Nerius: 2/20)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 28, 2020 11:24:12 GMT -6
[3]
At least he had time to think on it during the trip to his kennel, because Nerius really wasn't sure what would be the best creature for the job. Not a lot of his creatures were natural swimmers, and most were either too big, too awkward to easily transport, or too young. There was also the matter of training, a pliathor might technically be useful, but he had no way of keeping the seamonster from, err, eating the thief.
Eventually though, he settled on one of his water wiurns. Large enough to be useful, small enough to manage, and able to travel on land and water, she was the best choice he had. There was the matter of her rather confusing name, she'd came with one, and unfortunately her name of 'Nerissa' was very similar to 'Nerius'. It would likely be very confusing if he had to introduce the wiurn to anyone, but he didn't need her to have a non-confusing name to be able to have the wiurn sit on a thief.
(Nerius: 3/20) (Nerissa: Lv: 1, 5/10 | Lyl: 3, 5/10)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 28, 2020 11:53:11 GMT -6
[4]
She wasn't trained either, which wasn't ideal, but none of his aquatic creatures were, so there wasn't a better option there. The water wiurn was at least somewhat used to him, and not prone to excess violence, so it was easy enough for Nerius bring her along on a lead. Whether or not she'd be useful was another matter, but at least she could potentially serve as a distraction and/or meatshield.
That was assuming that he actually found the thief, a task easier said than done, Nerius realized as he looked over the docks. There was a lot of 'ground' to cover, and just being able to sense magic from the book wasn't going to cut it. There were sure to be all manner of magical items being traded, and he'd need some other method of tracking it down. He'd been tracking down magical artifacts for almost two decades, but traditional investigation was something he didn't have any experience with.
(Nerius: 4/20) (Nerissa: Lv: 1, 6/10 | Lyl: 3, 6/10)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 30, 2020 12:14:23 GMT -6
[5]
He'd keep an eye out for the individual himself of course, but that didn't seem like a very efficient method, his best bet that he could think of was to ask around. The individual was memorable, at least, even if the shipping area of the docks were so large that Nerius was starting doubt he'd be able to find anything out at all.
He tried to consider if there was anywhere that the shipment was more likely to be. The shipment had been stolen, which suggested a less than scrupulous ship, that didn't mean much about the ship itself. Sure it brought the image of a shadier part of the docks, but if they were running a truly successful smuggling operation, the ship might well be a more wealthy looking one. It may not have even been on a ship yet, and could be sitting in a warehouse somewhere, which honestly might make things easier.
(Nerius: 5/20)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 30, 2020 12:24:28 GMT -6
[6]
Nerius hated not to have a real strategy, or methodical way of searching, but he wasn't getting any closer to finding the books just standing there looking at the docks. As much as he disliked it, he'd just have to wing it. With a resigned sigh, he started down to the docks proper, leading along the wiurn. He hoped she wouldn't make talking to the locals any more difficult, but at least he hadn't brought a pliathor.
The docks were a bustle of activity, even in the mid morning, and Nerius suspected he'd have more luck if he tried to ask someone that didn't appear terribly busy. 'Busy' seemed to be the default state of activities, but after several minutes of walking, he managed to find a worker who was unloading crates at a less than hurried pace. He looked to be the sort who wouldn't mind chatting if it gave him an excuse not to work for a few minutes, and Nerius decided to question him.
(Nerius: 6/20) (Nerissa: Lv: 1, 7/10 | Lyl: 3, 7/10)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 31, 2020 7:18:40 GMT -6
[7]
"Excuse me," Nerius got the man's attention, and when he didn't seem bothered to be interrupted from his 'work', he continued, "Have you seen a rather.. odd individual around?" He gave the same description as the Bukkukipas, it had sounded like the person with their 'lost' item back in December, but he couldn't be sure.
"Nah mate, I see plenty a' strange folks on the docks, but none like that." The man was idly curling up a length of rope, technically 'working', but clearly in no hurry to get anything done.
"Ah, well thank you for your time, I'll let you get back to work," he managed to say the last part with a straight face, even though he doubted his presence had slowed the man's productivity in the slightest. It would have been nice if the worker had seen the individual he was looking for, but Nerius hadn't really expected to find out information on the first try.
(Nerius: 7/20)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 31, 2020 7:28:40 GMT -6
[8]
It was always possible he was lying, but nothing about him seemed suspicious to Nerius, and so he moved on. He had to tug a little on the wiurn's lead, there were old crates that smelled of fish, and she was interested in a potential snack. "Hey, that's not for you," his words didn't do anything more than surprise the wiurn, but he was at least able to pull her away from the fishy crates.
Again he lamented the creature's lack of training, but he was here now, and she was at least even tempered enough not to disrupt his investigation as he continued. There was no shortage of people on the docks, and Nerius continued to ask around. Not everyone was as willing to talk as the first person had been, and some were so gruff on answering that he wasn't sure if they were hiding something, or just that put out at having to speak with someone.
(Nerius: 8/20) (Nerissa: Lv: 1, 8/10 | Lyl: 3, 8/10)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 31, 2020 7:50:46 GMT -6
[9]
Nerius continued his investigation for the better part of the day, but eventually needed to head home for the evening. It hadn't exactly been a productive trip, but he'd head back down to the Docks again tomorrow. The wiurn usually resided in his kennel, but tonight he boarded her in one of the spare stalls in his stable, to save on unnecessary kennel trips.
The next day arrived, and though he wasn't feeling any more confident, Nerius collected his wiurn, and headed back to the Docks. He'd considered asking Varkon, he likely would have been more helpful, but the cyborg absolutely hated large bodies of water, and never would have agreed to accompany him. Nerissa, while not terribly helpful so far, was at least enjoying herself and was visibly excited as the loch came into view. Perhaps he ought to bring her down to the water some time when he wasn't 'on the job'.
(Nerius: 9/20) (Nerissa: Lv: 1, 9/10 | Lyl: 3, 9/10)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 31, 2020 8:06:27 GMT -6
[10]
Nerius continued to ask around for anyone matching the thief's description, but like before, wasn't getting any useful leads. He was starting to think either the information he had been given was wrong, the individual was very good at moving around without being seen, or some of the people were lying. It was starting to get discouraging, but he persevered, at least until lunchtime, when he decided to take a break and get something to eat.
There were an assortment of open air places, all focusing on seafood, unsurprisingly, and he chose one that had a place for him to tie up his wiurn. She was staring intently at his plate the moment it arrived, even though she'd been fed before they left. Nerius and his wiurn weren't the only ones there, it was lunch hour for the people that worked at the docks as well, and the seafood place was bustling with business.
(Nerius: 10/20) (Nerissa: Lv: 2, 10/15 | Lyl: 4, 10/15)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 31, 2020 8:28:32 GMT -6
[11]
All that business meant a lot of chatter, and the area certainly wasn't quiet. It didn't make for the nicest dining environment, and not far from where Nerius was sitting was a person complaining rather enthusiastically to his coworker. She seemed to be doing her best to tune him out, and was far more interested in her shrimp than his griping.
Something about a messed up shipment, he wasn't bothering to be quiet, and it wasn't hard for Nerius to overhear the conversation. He didn't look in their direction, and appeared focused on his own lunch, but he eavesdropped on the complaining dockworker. First, there had been a shipment that hadn't arrived by the time it was supposed to. It eventually showed up, days overdue, and was quickly loaded onto the ship, only for it to be discovered that it wasn't the missing shipment from the manifest. Other cargo had already been loaded, which had to be rearranged to find and remove the incorrect shipment, which was now sitting in a warehouse.
(Nerius: 11/20)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 31, 2020 11:01:20 GMT -6
[12]
A cranky superior and the effort of lugging all those boxes around were the focus of the man's complaints, but it was the odd shipment that caught Nerius' interest. It was possible that was the shipment of books he was looking for, but the man hadn't opened the shipment, and his complaints hadn't included mentioning what it actually was. Still, it was the best lead, no, only, lead he had, and it was worth investigating.
Other than the name of the ship, he didn't get much else from the man's complaints, though they continued throughout the dock workers' entire meal. It didn't take them long to finish, and crowded as the place was, they quickly disappeared into the mass of people. It was probably just as well, it would have been hard to follow someone without being noticed with the finned wiurn in tow. She was rather large, and not exactly subtle.
(Nerius: 12/20) (Nerissa: Lv: 2, 11/15 | Lyl: 4, 11/15)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 31, 2020 11:13:24 GMT -6
[13]
At least it shouldn't have been too hard to find the ship, most conveniently had their names plastered across the sides, and there were far less ships at the Docks than people. He had the name of the ship, the Silveroak, though technically it wasn't the ship he was looking for, but a nearby warehouse. Or maybe an unloading bay? The complaining dockworker hadn't been terribly specific, just that it was off the ship somewhere, waiting for someone to decide what to do with it.
First things first, the ship. He didn't know where it actually was, but decided to start looking in the general aria. The complainer had worked on the ship, and Nerius doubted he'd have gone to the other side of the Docks for a lunch break. There was no shortage of ships in the area, it was a bustling mid class trade area, but the ship 'name tags' made his job a lot easier.
(Nerius: 13/20)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 31, 2020 11:24:40 GMT -6
[14]
It also meant he didn't have to ask around, and potentially draw any suspicion. Even without help, it didn't take him long to find the ship, a medium sized trading vessel that, while not overly ornate, was kept in as pristine a condition as a working ship could. That suggested a certain amount of care and attention from the people in charge, which to Nerius made it seem somewhat of an odd choice to try to slip an extra shipment onto.
Because it certainly hadn't worked, someone had noticed the rogue shipment, and removed it. Now the question was, to where? There were still a large pile of shipping containers near the ship, but they all seemed much too large. The description of the shipment he'd been given suggested it was much smaller, enough to be carried by one person. Though, Nerius realized, just because he couldn't move those large containers on his own didn't mean someone else couldn't.
(Nerius: 14/20)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 31, 2020 11:50:58 GMT -6
[15]
He'd deal with that issue later if he had to, first, he needed to actually find the books. This could be where magic sensing would come into play, there were too many magical items being shipped to pinpoint the lost shipment out of the entire docks, but now that he (hopefully) had the general area, it might work.
It was loud and busy, and it took a little work to tune out all the mundane noise, and focus on the presence of magic. There was something magical in the stack of not yet loaded crates, but he didn't think it was the books. The missing books were for a display on Vai Min Mur, a holiday associated with the god of Dark. The unknown items, though magical, were not dark aligned. That was a relief really, those crates would have been impossible for him to move, even if he had been able to get to them without being spotted.
(Nerius: 15/20)
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