NM Part 9

After another night of the howling and gnashing of the lost souls held at bay by the door of the Marlon estate the sun rises once again and banishes them back to their holes. Thin streams of light pouring through cracks in the shutters to herald the new day and leaving the group to plan their next move.

Ka'len digs out some food and quietly partakes while rubbing at his eyes and muttering, "I think this place drives you insane by lack of sleep. That howling...." He shudders and then pushes himself up, "so.. the next step... Uh Marduke? Perhaps check the book and see if maybe it migh give us any ideas what would be the next best step? I doubt it, but worth a try.."

Marduke is yawning as he wakes up and glances around. Reaching up he rubs his eyes, "Ey? I just tune it out when I sleep. Learned that habit on the road, forest are noisy places and all." Shrugging his shoulders and then raising his eyebrows, "Where to go next? Thats easy, the Curio shop that was mentioned during the night by the ghost of the couple here. We start looking for the boy who was lost, this may be part of the broken family one."

Alba stretches, eyes opening slowly. Uncurling from her place at the floor, she cranes her neck one way, then another. "...It is not the ideal song to sleep to," she mutters, raking her fingerclaws through her hair, "but to know they cannot enter of their own will, enough." Sniffling once, she flicks an ear, rising from the floor and arching her back to get the knots out. "The lost child, then? Mmn."

Remi starts stirring from his slumber when everyone else does... The bunny Bard having slept with his ears covered for the most part, to try and drown out some of that incessant wailing. Sitting up them, he rubs groggily at his eyes, before peeking at the others, and climbing to his feet... Only ducking down again to gather up some of his belongings. Stretching a bit then, he quietly asks, "So to the shop, then? ... I really hope we're nearing the end of this." Seeming a bit sullen.

Sebastion, who has had slightly less trouble sleeping than the rest of the group, issues a grunt of agreement with Alba's words. He's still sore after being knocked around by that ghost woman, but it seems he's awake when everyone else is, and ready to begin their journey to their next location. He's otherwise quiet, except for the rare sound of his armor clinking against an object here or there.

The trek through the town is a little more ominous than before, the destruction of the crone seemingly having an affect on the environment. The sunlight seems muted, the shadows longer. You can practically feel eyes upon you from between the boards covering the windows on the sealed homes. The occassional sound of somthing skittering through a back alley enough to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end.

The Curio shop is easy enough to find, the door swinging open effortlessly to reveal the interior. Shelves of various odds and ends line the walls, toys, various pieces of art, a handfull of weapons, and a huge selection of random housegoods and knick-knacks fill the shop from top ro bottom. A counter at the far wall seperates the sales floor from a door leading to a back room. Shelves behind the counter filled with wrapped packages each adorned with a tag on where they are to be delivered.

Ka'len moves through the road quietly, his fingers lingering on the hilt of his weapon as he pauses and starts every once in a while, his head tilting during those brief stops as if he's listening to something. Pushing on he enterst the shop and starts to look around while murmuring, "doubtful the boy was here, but keep an eye out for rooms." He glances towards the weaponry and other strange items briefly before he moves on to inspect the wrapped packages.

Marduke shakes his head slowly, "This place is going to get darker for each one we resolve, the seals being broken." A soft sigh and then a glance around the shop, "Possible, but check the logs, and check the tags see who belongs to what. may be clues there." Moving to start looking around slowly, his expression turning into a darker more thoughtful one.

"Father Antlion grows angry at us," Alba says in agreement with Marduke's theory, dropping back to walk next to Remi, keeping pace with the timid bard, curved mithril knife glittering in the wan light. "Should the light continue to fade as we continue, Bard, it is certain that we shall have need of your music to push back the darkness." Once they enter the shop, Alba threads her way between shelf and package, eyes and ears moving every which way in case something useful is spotted.

Remi is slightly jumpy as they move through the street, ears and eyes flicking to every sound... But as Alba falls back to join him, he smiles at her some and relaxes just a bit, soon nodding at her statement, "Good idea, miss Alba... I'll gladly do that... I just kinda hoped this place would be a bit friendlier after we killed the ghost. It getting worse doesn't make me feel very confident." And he shruggles then, before moving with the others into the shop... Taking a few moments to look around, before he carefully moves to that door behind the counter, and inspects the handle.

Sebastion seems as tense as before, having his sword drawn during their trip to the shop. He almost seems jumpy, and the peculiar sounds and the idea that they may have things watching them sets him more on edge than may be healthy for any person. When they finally reach the shop, like usual, he's the last one inside. He nods at Alba and Marduke's words, turning to start exploring the shop for anything of interest, wary of any sudden frights.

The goods in the shop seem completely mundane, the packages all tagged to be shipped to buildings in town with the two largest being marked for the Valley Theater. Marduke however finds somthing out of place, a silver button obviously from a high-quality vest or jacket though from it's size it would be a child-sized garment. The door to the back room is locked, a sturdy but overall simple padlock keeping it closed.

Ka'len shakes his head a littlebit, nothing catching his attention, and finally ends up near the locked backroom. After checking the padlock the young noblemane starts to look for a way to either bust it open or keys to unlock it, whichever first present itself. Marduke picks up the button as he looks it over and holds it up, "Well I think we can say the boy was here." Eyes looking towards the back, "break it pick it, I think we need to get past that door now." Eyes looking to some of the items to be shipped, "Vally Theater? Hmmm." Shaking his head, "Should probably remember that place." Then over to Remi, "Sadly it probably won't. Once we get past the last challenge we have to fight off this avatar of madness as well. Music can probably be a very powerful tool against such a thing, we are going to need us all I suspect to get out of here." Smiling to the man.

"Nothing," Alba says from her corner, frustration evident even in her naturally sullen voice. Rounding the corner, she pauses upon spotting Ka'Len, arching an eyebrow as she spots his latest puzzle. "If no key may be found, perhaps the magics of fire may sunder it?"

Remi glances back at Marduke and nodnods at him, and seems to think for a moment before he responds, "... Maybe the violin will help..." Referencing the one he found, and is currently strapped to his pack. Shrugging a bit though, he looks over at Ka'Len and Alba next... And lets out a quite sigh, followed by a smile, as he suddenly holds up his roll of lockpicks, waggling it at everyone, "Remember these?" The Bard selecting a pick and tension rod then, and going to work on the padlock.

Sebastion makes a soft sighing noise as he turns up nothing interesting from his search. He turns his mild eyes toward Marduke as he speaks. His brow creases as he talks of the avatar of madness. He shrugs, making an armor rattling noise, and approaches the door that Remi is about to try and pick open. He watches, patiently. He hasn't said a darn thing since they woke up this morning. The padlock comes free after a few moments the door swinging open and showing the backroom. The room is disorganized and messy, signs of a struggle still evident despite how long the room has sat dormant. A toy soldier made of tin lays on the floor along with a discarded rag and small empty glass vial. A door at the back of the room leads to an alleyway behind the shop.

Ka'len flashes a quick smile at Remi then he looks into the room before starting in. The rag and vial are given a quick glimpse and he frowns a little before tilting his head, "y'don't suppose it's like in those books where they covered the boy's mouth with a cloth dipped in some substance that knocks people out...?" He looks around before crouching to grab the bottle and give a delicate sniff at the emptiness, his curiousity getting the better of him.

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