DOWNTIME 6 - ANJI

Anji gets off of work, making her way back to her house after a long shift.

As she approaches the majestic gardens of the estate, the elderly, androgynous elf Cassidy greets her. "Good afternoon, Ms. Honeycomb. I greatly apologize for the disturbance caused the last time you were here. I hope you have not been too inconvenienced in the meantime?"

Anji smiles at Cassidy but doesn't really know what to say. "It's okay, don't worry about it! It looks like everything's okay." She is clearly disgusting and hasn't showered since the scene at the house. "Can you point me in the direction of the bathroom, though?"

"Of course, Ms. Honeycomb. Your suite is right this way."

Apparently, what Cassidy meant by "right this way" involves going through dozens of halls and chambers, so that Anji is a little spun around. He opens the door to a massive suite with a huge four post bed and various couches, chairs and Ottoman's positioned throughout.

"You will find a tub in your bathroom, simply turn the faucet and warm water will fill up, allowing you to refresh yourself. Please call for me if you need any assistance."

This poor elf is gonna need to guide her to her bedroom every day for the rest of his life.

Anji waves goodbye to Cassidy and several very sensually passed shower minutes later looks like a respectable member of society. She investigates the room for any cool books.

Anji browses through the shelves of the room, which are mostly filled with ornate statuettes or other bagatelles. There is one stand devoted solely to books, including a standing stool nearby to help reach the second shelf.

One title catches the eye, "The Secret History of the Underground."

''Hey, isn't that where her mom went? And Korvus and Chief Draco?'' She pulls the book down to read.

As Anji tries to grab the book, she finds it is part of the bookshelf itself. However, pulling the book does seem to have activated a switch, as a nearby wall opens up, leading to darkness.

Holy FUCK.

She thinks about contacting someone to let them know what just happened and very quickly remembers it's a huge secret she's here at all. Swallowing her fear she approaches the opening with every intention of going in.

She goes in, surrounded by the darkness and raises a hand to conjure colorful lights, which dance above her, causing the area to light up, revealing stairs leading down in a spiral.

Anji follows the stairs down with one hand on the wall to keep her balance, bringing her dancing lights down with her.

As she begins descending the stairs, the wall door she entered in closes behind her!

"Eep!" ''Looks like if I made a mistake I'm gonna have to see it through. Good thing I showered!''

She gulps and keeps going.

She walks down the steps, which eventually end and open up in a stone hallway, leading down a corridor.

As Anji steps forward in the darkness, she stops abruptly, catching her foot from falling mid-step. A cleverly hidden button seems to be on the floor tile in front. In fact, now that she looks, she see many such buttons littering the hallway in front of her.

Anji returns to where she was, looking at the apparently booby-trapped floor in front of her. Someone really didn't want her to come down here. Was it Korvus? Cassidy said someone else owned the home before him, was it... Bottomtooth? The annoying guy from the Mage's College? Some King?

Well fuck if I know. She keeps her dancing lights closer to the ground so she can watch where she steps and continues down the corridor, deliberately stepping around the buttons.

Yet despite her best efforts, she accidentally misstep and push down on one of the buttons! At first... nothing happens.

"Phew! Nothing happened!"

Then a pain shoots into her side, as a needle shoots out of the wall! Soon there is another! And another!

She screams! She throws herself on the ground to try and escape the flurry of needles she set off, hoping desperately none of them were positioned to go into an adventurer's feet.

Thankfully, Anji's small size puts her below most of the needles, although occasionally one will still fly wildly and poke her. They don't seem to be slowing down at all!

"Agh!" she yells in frustration and proceeds to army crawl down the corridor, presumably hitting button after button. Now would be a great time for the entry door to not have closed.

Anji continues to crawl through and, suddenly, as if someone had turned off a faucet, the darts stop. Anji looks down and sees she has passed through the last of the tile buttons.

"UGH that sucked!!" Anji stands up and brushes herself off before continuing down the corridor, keeping an eye on the floor and an ear out for noises.

As she looks down the hall, she sees what appears to be a three way split in the corridor.

"Hmm...." she thinks and thinks and thinks. What has three so she can choose a hallway at random?

''Of course! Rock paper scissors!''

She stands up tall and powerful with her fist in front of her and....

Rock, paper, scissors!

She looks at her own hand to see a rock. She looks down the hallway to the left.. and sees only darkness down the hall.

Can't argue with the rock paper scissors! Anji goes down the left hall.

She heads down the dark corridor, for what seems like forever... suddenly, she spots a light up ahead. A room is about a hundred feet away, with bright light streaming in from a doorway.

Anji sprints toward the doorway!

As she bolts through the door, she sees the source of the light... a yellowish light is glowing brightly from a circle drawn into the floor, with magic symbols all over.

More noticeable, though, is a giant monster standing in the middle of the circle! A huge creature with the body of a grotesque ape, with harpy wings, hooved feet and the face of a boar!

Anji, digging deep into the magic knowledge she learned growing up, recognized this creature as a demon, specifically one called a Nalfeshnee. They are gross but intelligent creatures from the demon realm.

It looks up at her. "Pfah. What do you want, dragon?"

Dragon?!

"I just... well, you see, I moved in upstairs recently and I'm just taking a look around! Do you live down here?"

A deep, rumbling laugh escapes the foul looking creature. "I live in a realm of terror, pain and madness beyond your comprehension, mortal." He lowers his head down to be close to Anji's eye level. "So, no... I don't 'live down here.'"

"Oh! Well gosh, that's too bad. It looks like it could be very nice down here if you cleaned up a little! Nice and private. These symbols are really something!"

The demon stares, seemingly baffled. "...what's your name, dragon?"

"I'm Anji! What's yours?"

The demon smirks. "Well, we demons like to keep things private... but call me Porky. Did you say you moved in upstairs?"

"Yep! Found a little corridor right in my bedroom that comes down here!"

The demon peers at her. "And you had no idea any of this was down here?"

"No, not at all!"

"Fascinating." Porky stands back up, towering over Anji. "You are a funny little dragon, Anji. Here..." he points to a door on the other side of the room. "Take this passage up, follow it to the end, and pull the switch. You should be back to your room in no time."

"Wow! Thank you so much, I'll be sure to leave you alone! Unless you want the company, of course."

As she leaves, Porky pipes up, "Come see me again sometime, Anji. I'd be interested to talk with you again."

"Okay! Will do! Thanks so much!"

Anji makes her way through the door Porky pointed out and, sure enough, the corridor leads her to a wall with a switch.

As Anji pulls the switch, the wall slides open, revealing a parlor with many large paintings.

Anji enters the parlor and look around and quickly realizes the wall she just stepped out of is the frame of one of the paintings. The wall slides close, leaving the frame covered in the picture of what appears to be miners digging for gold.

She looks around at the other paintings, Are these all weird doors? Anji heads for the exit and finds herself in a familiar hallway... and then spots her room!

"Whoa!" Anji goes back into her room, "This is wild!"

As she settles back into her room, Anji gets ready for the day at work tomorrow.

As Anji is at her desk in the station the next day, Lieutenant Garius comes up to her desk, addressing her and Dreyson. He opens up, saying "Good morning guys. As you know, I assigned you two and Penny and Sparro to this group Alpha Squad, to handle the task of investigating the most recent murder of Lyle's mentor, Bayne, as well as the similarities between other DragonSin murders believed to be committed by the assassin known as 'The Cleaner.' What thoughts do you all have?"

Dreyson raises his hand. "Garius can I give my input on what the motive might be? It's not certain but there's something the victims have had in common."

Garius nods. "Of course, talk freely."

"It seems between the Drow gang lord Pailor and Lyle's teacher, there seem to be a lot of people with secrets in the cross-hairs. People from the previous generation, I think they knew something that's threatening The Cleaner or his employer." The half orc gives a shrug. "But that's just my guess."

Garius listens, his eyes focused. "Hmmm. Interesting theory. We know The Cleaner is a mystery, but he's also known for being a killer for hire. Do you think he's picking the targets himself now?"

Dreyson again shrugs his shoulders. "Could be? But what I'm saying is that The Cleaner seems to be in the market for more specialized targets, he's going after seasoned people. And there's no connection but their wisdom and experience, and their secrets. He's been going after powerful people one after the other, first a gang leader, then a spymaster. These kills just seem more desperate like there's a reason for them."

Garius gives another nod. "I think you are on to something. Do we have any ideas on who his next targets might be? That could be our lead on finding out who he is."

Dreyson looks thoughtful. "I wanna say Gorag: he's been planning things behind the scenes and had connections to Talvos. But given the Wizard's inept actions, he was putting too many eggs in a fragile basket to be the one setting up these hits. I think it's more likely he's gonna be a target. We need Talvos to talk. Errr... I mean write, I don't want that bastard saying a damn word."

Garius gives a carefree smile. "Well, Beta Squad is talking with the suspects, we'll hear their report next week. But there's nothing to worry about... the anti-magic fields running through this place prevent any magic  from working that's not supposed to."

Garius looks at Anji. "Anji... Korvus is involved with both Gorag and Pailor as fellow crime bosses. Do you think you could get any information from him about any of this? I know he trusts you."

Anji's taken aback at first but quickly straightens out. "Sure, I can definitely ask him!"

Dreyson looks at her asking, "Hey Anji, you mind if I come with? I've never met this guy wanna try and get a read."

"Well.... Yeah, that should be okay. I should probably warn him I'm stopping by, though."

Dreyson waves a hand. "Meh, I'm sure he won't mind a friendly visit! Look, I've got a house warming gift." Dreyson brandishes a bottle of whiskey. If Anji were paying attention, she might notice its not swishing any liquid at the bottom... but she doesn't.

Anji laughs, "He hasn't moved anywhere! What good is a housewarming gift if it isn't his housewarming? But as long as you're friendly, you're probably right, he shouldn't mind."

"Let's stop by my place first, I've probably got something better to bring." Dreyson gives a grin and stands up.

Anji rises with him. "Oh! Well, alright that's okay with me!"

Dreyson returns to his home, which Anji sees for the first time. There is trash and junk everywhere, but the majority of the home is dominated by a complex set of contraptions, with multiple workers bustling around the machine at all times! It easily covers 75% of the entire house. Dreyson gives a dramatic flourish. "Welcome to the oni's den! Careful not to get stepped on the guys are working on something. I got a deadline."

Anji is confused. "I thought you said we were going to your house?"

"This IS my house. See? Bed and kitchen are over there." Dreyson points to a small corner of the mortar house where a small pullout couch is expanded with a small shelf of food next to a large cabinet of spirits.

"...huh."

Dreyson heads over to the cabinet by his bed, scratching his chin as he pulls out an oak wood bottle with a frightening visage of a green angry face on it. One of the men working on the brewing machines comes up to Dreyson. "Mr. Dreyson, sir. We think we have about half of the first cask almost ready. We need you to do a taste test of our first large batch."

"Ya, I'll see how it looks." He takes a taste of the brew... a very generous, deep taste.

Anji has a bewildered look on her face. I have no fucking idea what is happening right now.

Dreyson mulls the taste of this brew in his mouth - it is very smooth, with a hint of the freshly harvested flavors he collected. Not his absolute finest, but definitely an amazing drink by any standards.

"This'll do... Anji what do you think?" He holds out a tasting spoon.

"Uh..." Anji takes it and sticks it in her mouth. A look of horror crosses her face and she silently hands it back. Anji doesn't drink much and she finds the drink has a painful kick, but, underneath it, there is the taste of fresh fruit that makes it not send her in total recoil.

Dreyson, seeing Anji's reaction, "Huh.. probably not your drink then. I had you pegged for more of a juice person anyways. Here, fruit cider from one of the ingredients." Dreyson hands Anji a non-alcohiolic cider made from apples and berries, which Anji drinks the juice gratefully.

As Dreyson makes his way towards the door, he turns back to his workers, "It's acceptable, but we can do better boys. I'll see you later for the next batch; let's go Anji."

"Okay! We gotta go to the club Krovus works at, he's always there when I stop by."

"Sounds fun, what kind of club is this? Shirt and tie? Or skimpy leather?"

Anji gives the question a second thought. "Uh, I never paid much attention. The guard thought I was auditioning. I bet it's really classy if they have such high standards!"

Dreyson looks not as sure. "Uh, yeah, they must have had a line of applicants for the job."

Dreyson and Anji make their way to The Salsa Psuedodragon. As soon as they step in the front door, the guard at the front door pops out. Seeing Anji, he immediately begins stumbling it words. "Ms. Hon-hon-Honeycomb! I hope your day is going well? Can I offer you a beverage? Some food? A drink?Maybe something for your..." the huge troll guard eyes Dreyson with a look of confusion, "...friend?"

"If it's on the house I'll take a double honey whiskey with a lemon sour." Dreyson looks over the club, replying with no hesitation. He looks to Anji. "It's rude to deny their hospitality after all."

Anji seems 100% comfortable with the situation and doesn't think twice. "You know, I'm actually really hungry!" Anji's stomach growls. "Can you let Korvus know I'm here with my friend? I just wanna ask if he knows somebody."

The guard turns and waves his hand emphatically to a nearby server to get the order NOW. He then bows, "Ms. honeycomb, it will be as you ask. I will let Mr. Korvus know of your arrival.

"Okay, thank you! Dreyson?" Anji gestures for Dreyson to follow her and the server. The server takes Dreyson and Anji over to a plush booth in the club. With it being daytime, the place is very empty. Before long, the server returns with drinks for the two and sets them down on your table.

She asks nervously, "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"Can I get a snack?" Anji asks, "Just something small is okay! Whatever your favorite is!"

"Of course! I... my... I will get something excellent for you!" She stutters and walks away.

As the server leaves, Anji looks around the club. "Man I wish Penny was here. She'd look so pretty up on stage!" The two wait around for a few minutes, then the server returns.

As she comes back, the two see she is bringing plate after plate after plate of food, of all different types, sizes and cuisines. The table is practically overflowing with all the delicacies. The server again stammers, "I... it's... our menu is so delicious, I couldn't pick a favorite! So we made you a little of everything. Let us know if there is anything else? At all? We'd be happy to custom cook anything you desire."

Dreyson points to his now empty glass. "Can I get some fire ball In here? Oh and a candle I've got some Trouble seeing In the dark. Genetic thing." He flashes a friendly toothy smile, enjoying mooching off of Anji's friends' hospitality.

Anji smiles at the server, "Wow! I had no idea everything was that good, this is so nice thank you!" Anji looks at the plates and plates and plates of food and begins eating, wondering how on earth they'll ever eat everything between two of them.

Almost reading Anji's mind, Dreyson whispers, "I will show you The Way... of The Squalor Dog." With this, he begins shoving much of the huge portion of food into his backpack and pockets as he looks around to make sure no one is looking.

Anji watched intensely, eager to learn this new Way.

It is then that Penny comes up to the table where Anji and Dreyson are sitting, trying to not look like a complete fool, but quickly run/walking over to them. If it clear she feels very uncomfortable here. "Hey, you two!"

"Penny! Hi Penny!" Anji waves at her, signalling her over. As Penny sits down with the two of them, she looks at Dreyson taking food from the table and putting it in his clothes. "What are -- uhm -- what are you doing...?"

Dreyson looks up between stuffing food. "Living well on a low food budget that's what." Satisfied with what he has stowed, he begins now stuffing his face as he gazes around the club. He spots a large stage in the center of the club that he assumes is for... exotic... activities. Over by the entrance near where the bouncer was when he came in, he sees a set of stairs leading to a second floor that cannot be seen from this vantage point.

As Dreyons spots the stairs, suddenly the bouncer begins coming down them quickly, followed by Korvus, who climbs down at a leisurely pace. He spots the table and gives a big smile, throwing up his arms. "Anji! You look radiant, more amazing than ever. I trust you were able to take a luxurious bath?"

Anji sees Korvus and begins waving at him too. "Hi Korvus! The food here is great, and everyone's so friendly! These are my friends, Dreyson and Penny! We wanted to stop by to say hi."

Dreyson smiles at Korvus and presents the oak wood bottle with his stamp on it. "This is thanks for taking care of Anji, she says you can give us a hand with something."

Korvus waves off Dreyson's gift. "I appreciate the sentiment, my boy, but if you are a friend of Anji's and in my establishment, it is I who must be bring YOU the drink!" He smiles. "Dreyson? And Penny? Korvus Kraggstaff... charmer to meet your acquaintance." He gives a bow.

Penny look between Anji and Dreyson and then over to Korvus. "H-hi..." She gives her best 'I-don't-belong-here' nervous smile.

Korvus is a half Orc who could easily pass as human. His fangs protrude JUST slightly, his skin is just a slight tinge of orange that looks more like an exotic human than a true Orc.

Dreyson just stares at Korvus, silently wondering if he had his teeth filed down to not protrude. Anji sees him staring and says, "Dreyson, you're being weird!" Anji aims to kick him but is too short. "Do you wanna sit down with us for a little while, Korvus?"

Dreyson mumbles under his breath, "I'm not being weird! I'm thinking! It just requires some focus..." while Korvus, nonplussed by any of this, smiles delightfully. "Of course! I appreciate the kind offer." And with that he sits. "So, how do the two of you know Anji?"

Dreyson replies, "We work in the same precinct."

Anji nods, shooting a glance at Korvus. "Yeah, we all work together! I don't get out much otherwise."

Korvus keeps on smiling. "I can imagine! Getting out of the house can seem like dodging an obstacle course, running on pins and needles!"

Dreyson raises an eyebrow. "Ah, so you're keeping busy too Korvus? What sort of work do you do outside managing this club?"

Before Korvus can answer, all of the group's Sending Boxes come to life immediately!

"Detectives Pepper, Grey and Honeycomb... it's Meclin! Lyle and Lucian just discovered that the orphanage fire was a cover to drive out the young Dragonborn girl! You need to find her right away, she is in serious danger!"

Dreyson pounds his drink immediately, while Penny exclaims, "Yvette! Oh no!" she nods to Dreyson and then to Anji and Korvus. "Sorry to cut this short, my family needs me."

Korvus stands up with the rest of the group. "Of course, of course... I hope everything is alright?"

Dreyson gives a stone face to Korvus. "Can't disclose anything, but as a precaution you should know that many people with power and secrets have been targeted and killed by means of Dragon Sin." Dreyson seems to peer deeply at Korvus, to try and see how he reacts to this statement.

Korvus seems concerned, but doesn't give off much more than that. "Please Detectives... be careful. It's been very dangerous in the city as of late." He turns to Anji and gives her a hug, "Be safe." is all he says as he holds her close.

Anji hurriedly stands and grabs her things when she's given a hug from Korvus! She hugs him back, "Thank you so much, I'll be safe! I'll come by later, okay?" Anji nods, then the group ducks out the door.

As they arrive outside, Anji clicks her Sending Box, "Where are we meeting everyone?"

Meclin replies back "I... don't know? Penny? Where are the orphans?"

"I..." Penny hesitates. "I think they're with Mr. Swanson...."

Meclin pipes up on the Box, "Old Man Swanson? Lucian brought him by the station last week, great guy. Where can he be found?"

"The library," Penny replies, still a little unsure. "Though I'm not sure when he works..."

"Welp, it's a start" Anji blurts out. "Let's go!"

Dreyson gives a smug smile. "Well Penny, Anji, it's about time I show you my shortcuts. I may not go there often, but I know this city like the back of my hand."

Clearly impatient, Anji pulls on his arm, "Are you gonna talk or are we gonna go?!!!"

Dreyson dashes off, running just ahead of the two, calling the directions to them as they go. Penny and Anji rush to keep up, as fast as they can.

At this point, Anji, Dreyson and Penny approach the library from one path, Sparro, Lyle, Lucian and Rumil from another all converging at roughly the same time. The daunting building is a massive monument to learning in the Palisades District.

A crack of thunder punctuates the intensity of everyone running, as rain begins to trickle and then hammer down.

Thomas runs up to Penny. "How did we lose the orphans?"

Penny shakes her head, a look of grief and guilt on her face. "I spent so much of my time trying to find them a new home, I... I let them down."

Lucian shakes his head. "It's not your fault, let's find Mr Swanson."

Penny nods. "Follow me," and she heads off to the desk where she knows he usually works.

Everyone all heads inside the building. Inside there is row after row of shelves, filled to the brim with books, novels and reference tomes.

It does not take long to spot Old Man Swanson, filing a box of books back onto the shelf.

"Mr. Swanson! Hello!  The kids -- where are they right now?" Penny is a little out of breath from running around in full armor and clearly distressed.

"Penny!" He turns to look. "...and Lucian... and... everyone else...? What's going on?"

"The Dragonborn girl! Where is she?!" As Mr. Swanson continues to give a bewildered look, Penny supplies, "Yvette."

Ron Swanson quickly answer, "I... Madame Margery asked if we could keep all the kids here at the library last night, right before they move everyone into the new house. They should all be on the second floor?"

Lucian and Penny bolt towards the stairs, with the rest of the party following after them, except Lyle. The group hears a "I'm going to check the perimeter," before he disappears from sight outside.

As everyone nears the top, the group hears the din of a large number of kids. There are dozens of kids running around, with laid out cots, clothes, books and toys strewn out in a large open area where you would guess desks and tables for reading had been pushed out of the way.

Lucian begins to call out, "Yvette! Has anyone seen Yvette?" while Penny begins searching for Madame Margery. One of the children comes up to Lucian, "Hey mister! Your ears are funny."

Lucian kneels down in front of the boy. "Hey buddy, you like funny things dontcha? You know another funny looking person? Yvette? She's real scaley. Have you seen her?"

"Yvette? Yeah, she was..." His brow furrows... "...she was here the other day. She..." the boy's voice trails off... then another child runs by and yells "TAG!" and he runs off.

Meanwhile, Penny makes her way through the second floor and then spots Madame Margaret, surrounded by kids. She seems a little overwhelmed and out of her element without the orphanage.

Penny runs up, "Madame Margaret... have you seen Yvette recently?"

"Penny! What are you..." she sees the worry on Penny's face and Lucian looking around furiously. "Yvette... she was here... I... don't think I've seen her?" She stands up, calling out, "Yvette? YVETTE?"

Lyle makes his way up the stairs, shaking his head. “Coast is clear outside. What’s going on in here?”

"We can't find Yvette!" comes Lucian's impassioned response.

Lyle looks Lucian square in the eyes and then turns, marching as if to make his way back to the Station with a terrifying look on his face. It’s the type of face that is about to cross some lines that can’t be uncrossed.

Lucian grabs Lyle's shoulder. "Don't do anything rash. We still haven't exhausted all possible options, there's a lot of kids in here. Help us look. If we can't find her, then we go torture Tavlos some  more." Penny looks up very sharply at the word "torture." Lucian responds quickly. "It's our code word for question."

Lyle is angry, but he does indeed stop. “SHE’S A KID LUCIAN! A KID! THEY USED US AND THEY TOOK HER AND THAT SONOFABITCH KNOWS WHO HAS HER!”

Lucian tries to calm Lyle down. "We don't know for sure they have her. How about we send someone more level headed back to question him. You are needed here with your investigatory skills."

Lyle starts pacing back and forth. Finally he throws his hands up. “You’re right. Fuck it, but you’re right.” Lyle closes his eyes and takes a deep breath to try to calm himself.

Madame Margery pipes up, "Who is looking for Yvette? Who would want her?"

Penny shakes her head. "I'm not sure... but when was the last time you saw her?"

Margery face looks guilt ridden. "We had the children in so many different places over the last few weeks, wherever we could find a dry warm place to sleep. With us moving into the house, we got all of the children together yesterday here. I know I saw her then..."

Lucian speaks calmly, factually. "There is an organization collecting dragonborns, draining their blood. I have reason to believe the fire at the orphanage was a diversion to get Yvette in the open to kidnap her."

Penny has a look of horror on her face - this is the first she's heard of this.

"Oh my! That's..." Madame Margery looks around, then moves in close out of earshot of the children, "...that's ghastly! Yvette was always an explorer, she would go off by herself all the time. That's why it never registered with me she might be..." her voice trails off.

Lyle dashes down the stairs, intent on heading back outside to look for small dragon born foot prints, some sign of leaving the library... and his eyes are drawn to a door leading down to what appears to be a lower level standing open. Lyle quickly yells up for the others to follow.

All the others bolt downstairs, with Penny grabbing Madame Margery's hands and say, "We're going to find her," and heads off ofter the others.

At the sound of Lyle yelling, Old Man Swanson also comes running. "You can't go down there! That's the the restricted section. You need the key..." he pats himself, not finding what he is looking for. "Oh, no..."

The door is open and ajar. Based on Old Man Swanson's face, the group quickly surmises that its not supposed to be.

"It looks like someone's already down there..." Penny gives Mr. Swanson a grim look. Ron says, "You all see if you can find Yvette... I need to stay here and make sure no one else comes down. I can't lock the door without my key!"

All seven go through the open door and descend down the staircase. At the bottom, the light is very dim, sporadically light by magical lanterns. The corridors down here seem to go on forever, leading off beyond the light in every direction.

Lyle looks around the faces in the group. “Divide and conquer? Everyone spread out?”

Penny shakes her head at Lyle. "I don't think so..."

He gives a nod to her. "Ok, then we move forward as a team."

Rumil extends his hand, sending his owl Nimdem out with the command to return if they see anyone else besides the party. Everyone else makes their way through the books, winding through the maze-like halls.

As Lucian turns a corner, he spots a little Dragonborn girl, sitting and reading a book, with many more titles spread out around her. She looks up, startled.

He begins talking to her, "Hi Yvette, sorry I scared you, we've been looking all over for you. How'd you get down here?"

"I... I..." the little girl breaks out in tears. "I'm sorry! I just wanted to read the books!" She is now wailing. "I DIDN'T MEAN TO GET IN TROUBLE!"

As the scream wails out, the rest of the party can now hear the sound of a child's cries and have a pretty good idea of where it is coming from.

Dreyson and Penny are the first to reach the sound. There, they see a child Dragonborn crying at the feet of Lucian, a mess of books all around them.

"It's ok Yvette, you aren't in trouble. We are just glad we found you." Lucian goes to pick her up, but she shoves him away. "No! You're a stranger! Stay away, stranger! You won't get my blood!"

Penny, now in full view of Yvette, opens up her arms. "Yvette!" Before Yvette has a chance to react, Lucian tries to grab her attention, asking, "Who told you someone was looking for your blood? And I'm not a stranger. Don't you remember me? I helped save you from the fire."

The girl sees Penny and runs breakneck over to her. "PENNY!!! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to get in trouble, I just wanted to read the books like you do..."

Penny shakes her head and just picks her up and hug her, trying VERY HARD not to cry. Wetness comes down her cheeks, despite herself.

As the girl wails into Penny's shoulder, her muffled cries say, "I just wanted to borrow the key from Mr. Swanson, I was going to give it right back!" She is sobbing. "Are they going to send me away? Am I not going to be able to go to the new home now?"

Lucian asks again, "Who told you somebody wants your blood, sweetie?"

Penny shakes her head and smiles at Yvette. "No one is sending you anywhere except to the new home.  We're all just glad you're safe." Penny sniffs, trying to regain some composure. "...though you really shouldn't be down here.  And taking Mr. Swanson's key was wrong." She hugs Yvette again. "You had me worried sick!"

Yvette's breathing becomes a little less ragged. "I'm sorry Ms. Penny! Is the library on fire? Is that why all your fire fighter friends are here?"

Dreyson gives smile to the child in Penny's arms. "Nah, Penny missed you, so we came to find you. That's what friends are for."

Lucian presses again, "Who told you someone wanted your blood?"

Yvette sniffs into her sleeve, and looks at Lucian, talking to Penny. "And is he a friend too?"

Penny nods and smiles. "He's a good friend.  He works with me at the station to keep people safe!"

Yvette looks over at Lucian, still a little unsure. Penny continues on, "Yvette, do you still have Mr. Swanson's key?  We need to get you back upstairs and he needs to lock the door."

"Ummm... it is..." she looks around, then points to a spot on the ground, covered by a toppled book. "...right there!" She turns back to Penny. "Ms. Penny... what's your other friend's name? If I answer him, will I get in trouble?"

"These two are Lucian and Dreyson.  You won't get in trouble, we're all here to protect you." Penny goes over to where she indicated.

As Penny heads over, Yvette sniffs, then says, "Sorry for screaming, Mr. Lucian. I didn't know you were one of the good guys."

"It's ok Yvette." Lucian seems a little more relaxed. Penny moves over to the book Yvette indicated and, underneath it, finds a brass key. She then goes back to Yvette and picks his up on her hip.

"I thought you were one of the strangers. One of the bad strangers."

Penny straightens  "...Yvette, what bad strangers...?"she asks, a feeling a dread in her gut.

"The strange lady who came by. And said she wanted to do a fun experiment." The dragongborn girl looks now more cross than scared. "And then she poked me!" There is a little fire in her eyes.

Penny, still carrying the girl, starts heading for the door. "What did she look like?" she asks, brow furrowed. "What happened next?"

"She was a young lady, like you Ms. Penny. Except she had scales like me. And she wore a pretty, bright orange dress!" She looks sour again. "Well... I THOUGHT it was pretty. But then she poked me with her dagger. The meannie! Said she wanted to see if I was a special dragon kid."

Everyone heads back up to the main floor of the library, Penny carrying Yvette in tow. Old Man Swanson greets the party with a relieved smile. "Yvette! There you are, you stink bucket!"

Dreyson growls out, "What'd you call me you bag of wrinkled shit?" and is promptly kicked by Penny, while Lucian smacks Dreyson in the back of the head and pulls an imaginary list from his pocket and cross something off.

Yvette, oblivious to this, giggles, "No, YOU'RE the stink bucket, Mr. Swanson!" Then she looks down at her feet. "Sorry I took your key, Mr. Swanson. Ms. Penny helped save me though!"

Penny hands the key back to Mr. Swanson. "It looks like Yvette just wanted to read." She turns her attention back to the child. But there are plenty of books up here to read! So many even I haven't read them all."  Penny's face turns serious, "What happened after that?"

"Oh... well, the lady put my blood in a little glass thingy, and it turned blue. And then she smiled and patted me on the head and said I a special little girl and I was going to be safe." Yvette crosses her arms. "She's lucky SHE was safe. I was about to unload a can of whoop ass on her!"

Dreyson crosses his arms and snorts. "I like this kid!"

Old Man Swanson yells out, "Yvette! Where did you hear that kind of language!"

Yvette replies "From you, Mr. Swanson!"

Flustered, Old Man Swanson sputters, "Well... don't listen to me! I'm the last person you should be taking cues from."

Penny tries to hide her smile but can't help it; it's clear she's just glad Yvette's safe. "Yvette, when and where did this lady find you?" she ask gently.

Dreyson leans over to whisper to Lucian while looking at Yvette. "Can I adopt her?" Lucian whispers back, "I'm pretty sure she already has a mom." And he beams at penny.

Yvette thinks on Penny's question. "She came up to me... last week? It was when some of the kids were all staying in the big warehouse in the Merchant District for a few days." She has a relived face now, albeit still a death grip on Penny... and it appears the grip is reciprocated in kind.

Lucian just approach penny and say, "I'm glad she's safe." He pats Yvette on the head and walk off. While Penny stays with the other orphans, the rest of the group heads out, relieved that nothing had befallen the poor Dragonborn girl.

END OF DOWNTIME 6

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