Open The Trenches Occult Division Das Verbotene Wissen

[Paphnutia "Nutty" Gowdie]

Nutty frowned, picking up on the tension in the air between Nevali and Kaii. She recalled all too well that same tension between herself and Took once, albeit in a different direction. He'd been all action and heroics, diving in without thinking of the consequences. They'd been the cautious one, logical, a thinker. They had both argued their approaches many a time before they'd found a respectful balance between them. Hear him out, Minister Rainblade's urging voice reminded her. He might just see things you don't.

Nutty's ears perked up at the mention of coal oil. They didn't know much about chemistry, but she knew enough to believe in the rarity of the substance. More than that, they could see that it was a clue of significance to the todd. "Is coal oil a restricted compound?" she inquired, glancing between him and the beleaguered Yfanti with curiosity. "I take it that it's not the sort of substance to be found in an establishment like this." If it was rare, she supposed it could point the way to the thief's whereabouts.

Nutry glanced to Nevali, sharing in the significance of the signs assembling before them. The oceans held depths and terrors untold; anything dredged from those antediluvian waters could potentially be powerful, even dangerously so. "Some more tea for everyone does sound good," they agreed, turning inquisitive eyes upon Yfanti. "You said you felt lucky to find the ambergris, then called it a curse. Why did you feel that way about it? As my colleague said, it's hardly rare or valuable." She nodded toward Kaii's contribution as he continued his forensics. He might not believe in the esoteric, but they were sure he could appreciate the significance if the beast they were chasing did. One didn't need to agree with a killer's motives to want to stop him, after all.

 

[Yfanti Walzetung]

The short weasel - the least of the trio, Yfanti thought mirthlessly, made off with her teacup before she could stop her, moving shortly before stopping herself. Not that the weasel got far either - letting loose an unseemly swear before blindsiding the ferret with an offer to fetch more tea and a wet cloth.

"Sure," she breathed, though wondering if letting the beast wander around her store was truly wise. It'd get the oddly-dressed jill away from her for a time, but there was no telling what else she might seize. That famous actor's words about government beasts and their assistance again echoed in her brain, and Yfanti had to grit her teeth before she said something to make her wind up another dead body found mysteriously floating among the harbour's refuse.

"Stove in the next room over, with a kettle. Mint leaves in the storeroom."

At least her attackers hadn't stolen that.

She'd started to sigh before the opposite of the ministry beasts, the tall, well-dressed fox she thought most likely to be making money on the side, spoke to her, even finding something the Fogeys probably missed.

Yfanti shook her head, something she immediately regretted. Wincing, she spoke softly.

"I don't use anything like that - just oil for lanterns in the dark. 's not mine."

The fennec and grey fox both seemed to have low opinion of her business sense, or else the perfume shops around town were far better stocked than she thought. It would figure that her lack of care for such things would bite her in the ass someday, like everything else in this rotten world did.

"Ambergrease," she started, lingering on each word as though she wasn't sure what to say or what would be understood, "is very valuable, especially in good quality, aged as this piece was. I was exceptionally lucky to find the piece I got for the price I paid."

The albino ferret frowned, thinking about what she'd just said for a moment after, having already decided it was a mixed fortune at best. For all she knew, the fisherbeast had parted with it so easily for the same reason she was in a ransacked shop talking to strange ministry beasts now.

"It - it has many uses for which beasts are willing to pay. Perfume, yes - as an incense, in ointments, broth, tea - beasts in Akef use it to treat just about everything. Hanshima too, I've heard. Beyond medicinal uses, some beasts-"

Yfanti's mouth opened and closed uncertainly, and she made to clear her throat before forcing herself to finish her thought, feeling for a necklace hidden under her shirt collar.

"Some beasts use it for other things also, like... as a sort of ward."

She looked between them then, eyes suddenly narrowing behind the too-small glasses Nevali had given her.

"If you're from Commerce, I'll have you know I've all the paperwork needed to keep it, and anything else in this shop."

 

[Nevali]

Nevali nodded absently and pattered away down the hall. Storeroom, storeroom... probably the room with all the stores in it. That made sense. It took her a moment to find the mint, the smell of everything a little overwhelming, and being unfamiliar with the ferret's labelling system. Then she puttered off into the other room, the one with the stove, and gently shut the door.

Nevali had a ritual when it came to tea. She had timed it, and found it helped.

As the water boiled, she sat down in a nearby chair and gazed up at the ceiling. She took off her glasses, placed them on her lap, and closed her eyes, and let the structural support around her unsteadied heart fall away.

"Junebug," she whispered, "Hope you're alright up there, exploring the stars. Could really use a hug today. I got taken off the desk finally, my first field assignment. I think it's too early. I don't have any lick of an idea what I'm doing, babe. I think I'm messing it up. Everything's out of order, feels wrong. Is it supposed to feel like this? Feels like I'm never where I'm supposed to be... Feels like maybe I was never supposed to be. Am I the anomaly here? My folks never wanted me, Harbour never wanted me, that... you know, that one jack I told you about... never wanted me... Even the starbeasts never wanted me. What's one day I can't remember in the stars, compared to the years you've been? And now I bet Nutty doesn't want me either. She'd want Took, instead. I bet I'm here just so I can fail and they can get rid of me. I thought, maybe at last, I found something I... somewhere I could belong. You're the only one who ever wanted me, and you're gone. So what's the point, really? What am I for, bug? Why doesn't - "

The kettle began to whine. Nevali exhaled, dried her eyes on the sleeves of her robe, which took long enough that the whine began to turn to a scream. She stood and took the kettle off the heat, gathered three cups, doled out the mint leaves, and poured the water. While it steeped, she took out her notebook and sketched the mulch at the bottom of Yfanti's previous cup, highlighting the pattern similarities with the cracked lenses.

She took a few more moments to get her breath and heartbeat under control, to stop sniffling, and to dab the last of the tears that kept flowing.

Then she opened the door, and gathered the cups, and put a smile on her face as she wordlessly brought everybeast their tea, not quite trusting herself to speak without her chin quavering. She had not made a cup for herself.

Once the cups were passed out, she fetched the skein of yarn and began to unravel it. She'd wanted to teach Kaii, to show him, but... chances are I'd just mess it up. Best to let him do the things he was brought in for. She frowned to herself as she went from smashed case to smashed case, coiling the yarn around to mark the points of interest on the floor. What's all this negative talk? This ain't you, Pudge. Yes, it is. I can be both. But you're supposed to stow it after the whistle. That's the rule. Focus on the positive. Find the things you love, and if they're not here, find the things you like.

She straightened up briefly and glanced around the front room, then eyed each of the other three in turn.

"I like Nutty's bowties," she whispered under her breath. "They really match her ear shape and make them stand out. I like Kaii's vest, the swirling patterns remind me of napping in flowers. I like Yfanti's eyes, they're cute and red, and she's rather cute herself... I like..." Go on. You're here, too. "I like when I get excited, and my voice squeaks, because Junebug liked that... Likes that."

Her ears flicked. Had anybeast heard her muttering? Hopefully not... she hadn't been paying attention to their conversation for a while now... but the yarn needed to be done, the sigil had to be found, leylines accounted for, and... and she was making the same pattern as the tea and the lens, wasn't she...? Was it on purpose? Or was it the nature of things? This is why the Rites pawbook says to do the yarn first...

Nevali sighed. Hopefully Nutty and Kaii had more to go on. She needed to get her head on straight. Steady her heart again at least for twenty-three more hours.

"So, uh, wot'd I miss...?"

 

[Kaii Nashirou]

Whilst Nevali left to make the tea, Kaii focused entirely at words of Nutty and Miss Walzetung. they both implied what he should've suspected. Ambergris was kept here for reasons coming from superstitious beliefs, and it sounded as if those were also why the crime did happen. To Kaii it sounded pointless really to steal a piece of old ambergris, knowing how it has same properties as a fresh one, which would be easy to procure legally. Still, he knew that such esoteric matters were of importance to all that surrounded him, and if they were a motive behind the crime, he ought to acknowledge them fully.

With certain eagerness and a glint of his eye Kaii was more than happy to elaborate on what he knew about coal oil as soon as Walzetung finished speaking. "Coal oil Nutty is extremally difficult to procure. To my awareness, from years of my industrial experience, you may only obtain it in small doses directly from Ministry of Innovation's facilities on Magh. I need not to tell you how much of a complex task that is. Needless to say, assuming that you, Miss Walzetung, truly did not have any, which sounds more than plausible, the thief definitely had either excessive wealth or... were a member of Ministry of Innovation. It would also explain their knowledge about magnetic forces and ability to obtain sufficiently powerful magnet."

Kaii's words were accelerating as he continued to speak. "But of course, that would imply we have to deal with somebeast who is most likely highly knowledgable and, at the same time, finds value in affromentioned warding capabilities of ambergris, otherwise they would just procure it normally which..." He finally stopped as he realised he had missed Nevali coming back to the room. Specifically he had realised she was mumbling. Whilst he couldn't hear all she said, he had heard his own name and the word like.

It confused the marble fox greatly, if only for a moment. He realised that indeed, while he decided to bury the hatchet with Nevali on his side, he was yet to take meaningful actions to show his goodwill. The beast was still most likely shaken and had to reassure herself. Something he did... if in slightly different matter, many times before he ditched his emotions for a period he would rather not have to relive.

As such, at her meek question he offered her full attention of his. "To catch you up to speed Nevali, the beast we are after had access to compounds that indicate they come from Ministry of Innovation itself. Their need for this specific piece of Ambergris seems to stem from need for making wards." He then followed up more to the group than just to Nevali "I would be eager to hear what kinds of wards this material is used for. It can be important in order to find out what will happen to it now."

 

[Paphnutia "Nutty" Gowdie]

Nutty nodded at the mention of ambergris's medicinal uses in Akef, absentmindedly offering her confirmation for the knowledge while their mind was elsewhere, trying to turn over this puzzle from every angle. The return of Nevali and the contributions of Kaii were enough to solidify a picture in her mind... and draw their attention to something that Yfanti had said. Shrewd, spectacled eyes turned upon the reluctant ferret jill. "You bought it for a ward, didn't you?" she assessed. "You didn't have it on display, but kept it hidden; otherwise the intruder wouldn't have needed to make a mess of things to find it. You knew about its esoteric properties when you acquired it, and you had enough foresight not to advertise it, which means that either someone tracked the purchase from the fisherbeast to you, or you stumbled in handling someone's inquiry about it. You don't seem that socially awkward - a little bit, but not that drastically - so let's assume that the fisherbeast who pulled it from the ocean is already dead, and his murderer accosted you last night to steal the ambergris. That means that, as of now, you are our new expert on ambergris and the apothecarial sciences writ large. Congratulations Miss Yfanti, welcome to the team."

Nutty left that announcement hanging in the air and turned their gaze to Kaii, approaching to be able to speak a bit more softly to him. "I know you don't believe in any of this, but I also know you can appreciate that the beasts who do are willing to rob and kill for it," she stated, looking up at the lanky fox. "If you are right - which, to be clear, I trust you to be - then this piece has been taken from my realm of expertise into yours, the domain of the rational skeptic - perhaps into a part of Innovation a little less skeptical than the rest. We," they gestured with her paw to broadly include themself, Nevali, and Yfanti, "are out of our depth in that world, but you seem like the kind of beast who could walk a group right into those halls without anyone blinking twice. Do you have any contacts in Innovation that you can leverage to get us all inside? Whoever it is that has this piece, whatever they plan to do with it, it won't be good no matter what you do or don't believe."

 

[Yfanti Walzetung]

Yfanti's question went unanswered, enough to trouble her. Of course, there was some talk of the Ministry of Innovation, the apparent source of the substance found in her shop, as the tall fox seemed to draw near to a conclusion about the nature of her attacker, explaining for the benefit of the now-returning weasel, who brought tea for them.

"Thank you," the ferret offered in return, softly so to not interrupt the others. Government beast or not, it hurt no one to be polite.

Tea cup once more in paw, she took a strong sip to push down her anxieties. She had enough presence of mind to notice the weasel had not made a cup for herself, though her thoughts soon came to focus on the large-eared, oddly-dressed vixen, who asked her questions directly.

Her competence as a businessbeast still seemed to be in doubt, though more subtly now. The albino ferret had no desire to muster up further protestation or explanation - that ambergrease was rare and particularly expensive, that its age made its quality. In a sense she supposed it did answer the question of whether the beasts were from the Ministry of Commerce, though it didn't mean much for her sense of security, knowing it was somehow one of the more benign agencies of the government.

In truth, the magical function of the ambergrease had been a nagging thought even as she'd made the deal to acquire it. It wasn't an item she had use for in that context, at least not that she'd seriously considered. After the night's events, she even had reason to doubt its efficacy as a protective ward, though its other uses she couldn't comment on.

Talk of murder followed. Then, more pointedly, judgement of her social competence. But before she could explain herself or make an indignant protest for how she was being analyzed, the ferret found herself involved.

She nearly spat tea when she heard it.

"Team? Wh- what?"

The ferret looked to the three individually, eyes suddenly more wide behind the small glasses she'd been given.

"You can't be serious. I-"

She had a store to run. Or, well - she did for now. Sales were poor, money tight, the new owners likely looking for reasons to be rid of her and sell the old failing shop. But to go off with some strangely dressed and strangely behaving beasts, looking for the villain who'd broken in and attacked her? The same culprit who likely murdered the fisherbeast she'd bought from?

Yfanti took a step back.

"I don't even know who you beasts are."

 

[Nevali]

Nevali leaned against the wall by the hallway. It felt like the building was the only thing strong enough to support the weight of what Kaii had said. Her own two footpaws weren't up to the task.

She was used to being wrong. She hoped this was another thing she'd be wrong about.

Her fears settled back for a moment as the important of what just happened struck her. She pushed off the wall, digging in her pockets again, unscrewing and then coating her fingers in the little bit of glue she kept in an old spit-tin, and then dipped them into her paper bag of watermelon seeds. She slunk herself up to Yfanti and gave her a hearty pat on the back, careful not to upset her too much and cause her tea to spill, followed by a friendly, gentle rub, to make sure the seeds stuck to her clothing.

"We're your teammates, now," she said. "Nevali Wayward, Rites an' Countermeasures. First time in the field! You can call me Pudge. Bowtie there is Paphnutia Gowdie, we calls them Nutty, not Pappy, head of Research. And that leaves Kaii Nashirou, Science an' Skepticism - is that a thing, Nutty, or did I just make it up? I don't know - I don't think he's one for nicknames. So now we ain't strangers, welcome to the team. I've seeded ya now, normally we do it outside in the dirt, but I think as long as nothing cracks the floorboards open you'll be alright if'n glass, metals, or fates forbid, cloth or pudding crack and let this reality start seeping out."

She gave Yfanti a thumbs-up, although it was not paired with any sort of smile, and waddled over to Nutty and Kaii.

"Nutty, I'm scared. This Innovation-maybe beast what done all this, using that old piece, you sure they need it for a ward? There's not somethin' else it can be used for, is there?" She glanced back at Yfanti questioningly, ears flattening somewhat, then turned back to stare Nutty in the eyes.

"'Cos I'm bloody terrified of what a beast like that thinks is scary enough to need the sort of wards that's used for..."

She glanced up at Kaii and shrugged helplessly.

Old magic was bad enough on its own. Old whale magic had the real horror stories tied around it. And with all the whaling the Imperium had been doing lately... Her imagination was being stretched to its limits trying to picture what could happen. She didn't bother speaking further, hoping she was off track and just wallowing in her own paranoia again. But if those sly Innovation beasts knew something was coming and needed protection - who was it they were going to try to protect? Not likely the little folks...