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DOC'S APARTMENT - MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT
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Narrator: A loud thump sounds through the building, followed by the sound of footfalls and scratching coming from the roof.
Doc Plume cracks open an eye and lets out a groan. "Again?" They sit up, listening keenly for a bit, but when the sounds don't continue, then lie down and eventually get back to sleep.
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NESSETH'S HOUSE - A COUPLE OF HOURS BEFORE DAWN
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Doc Plume lets themself in with the key Nesseth has given them. They lock the door behind them and walk quietly through the increasingly-familiar house to the bedroom. They open the door and peek in, speaking quietly. "Nesseth?"
Nesseth is currently fast asleep in his bed, looking peacefully unaware of the rest of the world as he softly snores with each breath. A fairly weighty blanket covers most of him, leaving only his head, neck and one of his arms exposed.
Doc Plume walks over to the bed and sits down. They reach out and give Nesseth a firm shake by his shoulder. "Ness, wake up..."
Nesseth 's snoring stops as he's shaken awake, and he manages some incoherent sounds as his brain reasserts consciousness. "Mmrgh... mmf? Mm... wha... Plume...?"
Doc Plume leans down and kisses Nesseth's cheek softly. "The one and only. I need your help. I think there's something up on the roof of the clinic..."
Nesseth smiles warmly at the kiss, even as he extracts his other arm from beneath the sheets to rub the sleep from his eyes. "Something... on the roof of the clinic...?"
Doc Plume nods. "Sounds like something's walking or moving around up there... woke me up three times tonight and once last night. You have way more experience with this sort of thing, so you seemed like the person to ask." They lie down next to Nesseth and hug him warmly. "Please."
Nesseth wraps an arm around Plume and gives them a soft hug, then starts to sit up. "Of course... I'll just get ready, and then we can check out what's going on." He yawns and stretches his arms up over his head, "What time is it, by the way?"
Doc Plume helps Ness sit up and yawns a bit. "About four o'clock, I think." They stand up and stretch a bit. "I probably should have checked out the roof before now..."
Nesseth shakes his head as he tosses the covers off of himself and takes a moment to stretch his legs out. "No, it's better that you just came straight here instead. With the shield down, there's always a possibility that it's something nasty..."
Doc Plume nods. "I meant in general... I should have at least checked out the integrity of my water tank..."
Nesseth nods a bit as he slides out of bed, then goes to flick on the light in the room. He pauses as his claw hovers near the switch. "We can check it once we get back. I'm gonna turn the lights on, by the way..."
Doc Plume looks down for a moment in anticipation of the lights flaring up. "Go ahead..."
Nesseth nods and flicks the switch, bathing the room in warm light. He turns and nods as he continues to stretch out his arms, preparing for an impromptu hunt, and not at all caring that he's completely nude at the moment. "Right, so... just gonna get some clothes on, grab my crossbow and gear, and then we can go and hunt whatever it is."
Doc Plume takes a moment to appreciate the sight of Nesseth's body as they just otherwise wait for him. "Of course... is there anything I can do to help?"
Nesseth smiles a bit, letting Plume appreciate the view for a few moments before he wanders over to his dresser and starts pulling out some clothes. He answers as he starts to get himself dressed. "Maybe you could describe the sounds a bit? It would give me a bit of a better idea of what we're dealing with."
Doc Plume moves back to the bed and sits at its foot. "Well, it woke me up, so I can't recall everything. But there's always a big thump and then some sort of scrabbling noise. It's not the normal birds. I hear them hopping around up there most mornings and this is way bigger."
Nesseth hums thoughtfully as he starts to lace up his boots. "Hmm... could be something that hunts at night, if it's active enough to wake you up repeatedly... About how long ago did it last wake you up?"
Doc Plume is wearing their simple linen cloak over their undershirt and drawers. "Not too long. Took me about five minutes to decide to come here, so maybe ten minutes ago?"
Nesseth nods as he stands up again. "Okay, so whatever it is is probably still there. I'll grab my crossbow and gear on the way out." He smiles and offers Plume a hand up from the bed, "Shall we?"
Doc Plume takes Nesseth's hand and stands up. "Of course." They give him a quick nuzzle as the pair head out back to the clinic.
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BACK IN DOC'S APARTMENT - A FEW MINUTES LATER
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Doc Plume moves aside a narrow bookshelf in a corner to clear access to a door that's made to mostly blend into the wall, which they unlock and peer inside. "I've only been in here once to stow some stuff, but there's a ladder up to the roof." They carry an oil lamp with them into the cramped storage, which mostly contains extra nonperishable supplies like bandages and gas tubing as well
Doc Plume as some rarely-used medical tomes and a few of Plume's personal effects in crates on the lower shelves.
Nesseth leans in a bit to look around after having helped Plume shift the bookshelf aside. "Huh... a little hidden storage closet, eh? And the roof access... Where about did you hear the sound coming from?"
Doc Plume looks back to their bed and thinks a bit, then points to the ceiling near the kitchen. "There, I think, but with how sound carries through the roof, who knows. And it's not meant to be hidden. It's just overflow for the clinic. I just don't have a better spot for the bookshelf yet. Hooktail had it sitting on that trunk over there which seems pretty unsafe..."
Nesseth nods. "Ah, alright. Are there any fixtures on the roof that might give some kind of cover or shelter to anything? Like... overhangs, or anything of the sort?"
Doc Plume shakes their head. "I have no idea. I told you I hadn't been up there yet. There's the water tank at least... beyond that, I have no clue."
Nesseth nods again as he unslings his crossbow and prepares it, drawing the string and loading up a bolt to start. "Alright, then. Let me take the lead going up, just in case."
Doc Plume walks into the storage room and looks up. "All right. Let me get the padlock undone at least." They set the oil lamp on a shelf before climbing up the ten or so feet to the hatch on the ceiling. They take their keys out and fiddle with them until they find the correct one to remove the lock. They quickly descend the ladder and move out of the storage room, since there's not
Doc Plume space for two people to stand abreast in it.
Nesseth waits patiently for Plume to unlock the hatch and step out of the room. Holding his crossbow relatively even in one hand, he ascends the ladder, then carefully lifts the hatch open to peer outside.
Narrator: The hatch door hinges open to the left, revealing a mostly open rooftop in front of of it. Immediately behind the hatch is the large holding tank for water from the autopump which allows it to warm in the sun. The rest of the roof is open and flat, though there are a few chimneys and exhaust pipes poking out near its edges. Nothing in particular can be seen, though the cloudy night shrouds most everything in darkness.
Nesseth hums quietly as he pushes the hatch open and climbs all the way out onto the roof. He steps a little ways away from the hatch and then turns on the spot, trying to spot any potential hiding spots a creature could shelter themselves in, in addition to the water tank.
Doc Plume moves to the bottom of the ladder and whispers up to Nesseth. "Should I come up?"
Nesseth calls back down in a low voice. "I don't see anything, so if you want to check the tank, now might be a good time. I'll keep searching around."
Doc Plume passes the oil lamp up through the hatch to Nesseth before climbing out of the hatch and looking around. "Interesting..." They pick up the lamp and move carefully around the large copper tank, examining it for any signs of corrosion or puncture.
Nesseth hums as he carefully moves around the rooftop, noticing a slightly raised section of the roof on the other side of the building, just over the kitchen's window. Cautiously, he moves forward, eyes watching for any movement.
Narrator: As Nesseth approaches the raised section of the roof, now obviously a vent for the kitchen, a faint scrabbling sound fills the air, and it seems to come from just under the oversized vent's cap.
Nesseth frowns upon hearing the sound and raises his crossbow, slowing his approach a bit as he focuses. He calls quietly over his shoulder back to Plume. "I think I found our intruder."
Doc Plume finishes checking the tank and finds it in good order. "Should I bring the lamp?" they call out as they slowly approach.
Nesseth nods. "A little light wouldn't be a bad thing..." He frowns a bit as he comes to a stop a bit away from the vent, "Hmm... mind if I, er... accidentally dent the vent a bit?"
Doc Plume blinks at Ness as they approach with the lamp in hand. "Uh... do what you need to do, I guess?"
Nesseth nods and kneels, then digs through his satchel for a moment. He pulls out what looks like a blunt-tipped bolt and quickly swaps it with the standard bolt he'd loaded earlier. "Just gonna give the vent a light tap and see what we've got."
Doc Plume sets down the lamp and moves back to give Ness some room. "What do you think it is?"
Nesseth shakes his head as he takes aim at the vent. "I'm not sure, but if it was something aggressive, it'd have already tried running or attacking."
Doc Plume crouches down and wraps their wings around themself to ward off the cold a bit.
Nesseth Nesseth fires the bolt, and it strikes true. With an unexpectedly loud clang, the bolt strikes the vent cap and spins away into the dim morning light. A moment later, there's a solid thump and mad skittering as what looks like a perfectly normal pangolin falls into view from under the vent's cap.
Doc Plume blinks. "What is that thing?"
Nesseth raises an eyebrow as he swiftly loads up an odd-looking cylinder into his crossbow. "Looks like a pangolin... Pretty armored things, those. They're not dangerous, though..."
Doc Plume cocks their head. "Oh, like an armadillo?"
Nesseth nods as he hefts his crossbow again and takes aim. "Something like, yeah. They eat bugs, and I bet this one got in after the shield dropped to snack on whatever is here in town."
Doc Plume ponders. "So it climbed up? I guess there are bugs up here?"
Nesseth nods again. "Maybe. Either that, or it chased something up here and just made itself at home for whatever passed by during the night." He pauses, then pulls the trigger.
Narrator: The bolt sails through the air, quickly splitting apart as it flies, revealing a small net with a few weights attached around the rim. Moments later, the net hits the pangolin and ensnares it, causing the creature to coil up into a tight, armored ball.
Doc Plume blinks as the net deploys. "Oh... that's... interesting." They walk over with the lamp to get a closer look at the beast. "It's... not that big, really."
Nesseth moves up with Plume and takes a moment to secure the net a little better. "They're not too big, yeah. I think they eat small pests, like termites and such, if I recall..."
Doc Plume looks down at at the creature. "So what do you do with it now? Just put it outside of town?"
Nesseth nods as he picks up the net like a sack. "Yup, I'll just take this little guy out a bit away from the walls and let it go."
Doc Plume smiles a bit. "As long as it's not hurt... I mean, it didn't mean anyone any harm... It's not dangerous, is it?"
Nesseth shakes his head. "Nah, it wouldn't hurt anyone. Their first instinct is to run or curl up into a ball like this." He grins, "It shouldn't be hurt, either. That blunt bolt was to just jar it loose."
Doc Plume looks around. "We should make sure nothing else is nesting up here that shouldn't be."
Nesseth nods. "Yeah, might as well just check everything while we're up here." He gently sets the net down again, "That little guy's not going anywhere, anyway."
Doc Plume walks past the kitchen vent to the edge of the roof and looks around, shining the lantern around. "Hmm..."
Nesseth gives the vent a couple of sharp raps with his knuckles, then peers underneath. He shakes his head after a short search. "Well, at the very least, the vent's good. How was the tank when you checked on it?"
Doc Plume nods. "It looked good from what I can see. Should have a professional up to check it, though." They move around the perimeter of the roof not finding anything other than a few insects that scurry away from the light.
Nesseth paces around on the other side of the roof, checking to make sure nothing's been making itself at home up there. He doesn't find much of note at all, not even insects. "Wouldn't hurt to make sure, yeah. Anything on your end?"
Doc Plume circles back around to the end of the clinic and the tank again. "Nothing that I saw, no. I guess we can take our guest back outside town?"
Nesseth nods and takes a moment to go back to the vent to grab the pangolin, which is still curled up in a tight ball. "Yeah, but we don't have to go too far out from the wall, though."
Doc Plume heads down the hatch with the lamp and waits in the storage room so that the hatch stays illuminated.
Nesseth takes a moment to safe his crossbow before sliding his arm through the sling, securing it to his back. With the light from Plume's lantern for guidance, he makes his way back down through the hatch and shuts it above him.
Doc Plume exchanges the padlock for the pangolin as Ness comes down a bit. "Lock it up, please?"
Nesseth nods and quickly locks up the hatch before climbing down. "There we go."
Doc Plume hands the net back to Nesseth just to make sure that they don't accidentally damage the pangolin. "Right, so let's make sure we find somewhere nice for this one so he doesn't come back to my kitchen?"
Nesseth accepts the net and chuckles. "Sounds like a plan. Let's make sure our friend here has a nice place to call their own."
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MARKETPLACE - MID AFTERNOON
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Strix: Strix was back with his stall. He's run out of money again, so he's dredging up some minor trinket to hawk and earn some coins. This time it's what appears to be a dull piece of silvery metal, disk shaped and about an inch thick. Apparently sold in blocks of 4. It's labeled as the 'Anti Ground'. He's not paying a huge amount of attention, tinkering with a little box of wires and fuses at his stall.
Nesseth wanders through the marketplace, having purchased some essentials for his pantry a little earlier. He's now just walking through and checking out various stalls and chatting with some of the merchants doing their jobs.
Strix isn't the best merchant. He's more of a 'let the product speak for itself' but also not actually having any clue to what it does (He thinks the name explains it perfectly). He does occasionally look up whenever anyone comes near, and when Nesseth comes close, he regards him with less suspicion than he does anyone else. At least Ness won't try to steal from him!
Nesseth notices Strix and offers a friendly wave as he approaches. "Afternoon, Strix! How goes the sales today? Anything interesting on offer?"
Strix: "Strix made AntiGrounders. Some sold. Some make bad jokes about explosions. Very rude people. Have on offer anti grounders. 10 gold for set of 4"
Nesseth tilts his head a bit as he examines some of these 'anti-grounders'. "Well... I might be interested. What do these do, exactly?"
Strix: "They anti ground things!" He flails, annoyed that yet again someone doesn't understand a 'simple concept' "You put them under a thing, and they they'll antiground! Just a little! Can't fully antiground heavy things. Need to use four. For balance. Otherwise not antiground, just sorta spin about. Very bad"
Nesseth hums and nods, though the explanation does go over his head pretty readily, not having really bothered learning the intricacies of magic or magitech at all while growing up. "Sounds like something that could be useful. You said 10 gold for 4?"
Strix: "Yes. That's what Strix said. Good Nesseth at listening"
Strix isn't being sarcastic. Strix doesn't know the meaning of the word.
Nesseth chuckles. "I try. It tends to make things easier if I do. I'll take a set, then. I'm curious to see what I could do with them, if they do what I think they do."
Strix takes the top pack, and then removes a small fifth disk with it "Put four disks under thing, then put five on top and poke. Poke again to turn off. Strix is not responsible for misuse"
Nesseth hums, nodding along with the instructions as he digs through his satchel for the proper payment. "Got it. What do you consider misuse?"
Strix: "Anything Strix not say about how to use. Strix not give people ideas. Exploding Strix task. Not everyone else"
Nesseth smiles as he passes Strix the payment. "Alright, then. I'll make sure to not explode anything while using these, then."
Strix: "Good. Strix will be disappointed if Nesseth does"
Nesseth laughs. "I try to avoid accidental explosions, so you don't have to worry about me trying to do any of that."
Strix: "Good. Good" Strix takes the payment "Excellent! Strix will make good use of this gold, for further shinycrafting. Strix has plans. Great plans" First rule of shinycrafting. Don't cackle. Strix manages to not cackle.
Nesseth: "I'm always for the furthering of scientific endeavors. Hopefully that money will help a lot."
Strix: "Will help small amount. Can buy burnyjuice now"
Nesseth nods. "Good to hear. I'll let you know how this stuff works for me!"
Strix: "Strix will! Strix will show everyone! Especially all those that doubted Strix!"
Strix almost cackles again, but restrains himself, straightening an imaginary tie "Strix will further the cause of engineering, for the good of all"
Nesseth nods as he looks over the little package of discs he just purchased, then blinks and looks up at the mention of engineering. "Oh, by the way, have you met May, yet? She's the engineer that's been brought in to work on the town's generator. You two should talk shop one day!"
Strix: "Yes MetMay. Seems nice. Is SadMay, which isn't nice. Needs to become HappyMay. Told her how Strix is HappyStrix. Maybe will listen. Maybe not" He snickers "May-be" puns! He's learned Punning!
Nesseth catches onto the pun as well and chuckles a bit. "Hopefully May finds what makes her happy, yeah. She seems to be brightening up recently, though, so maybe she's taking your advice."
Strix: "Good. StrixAdvice is good advice. More should listen"
Nesseth flips the package over to continue examining it for a moment before he tucks it away into his satchel. "Who knows? Maybe with May finding some good success with it, folks will come to you for advice in the future."
Strix: "Strix could write a book"
Strix: "..Strix would need to learn to write NotStrix..."
Nesseth shrugs. "Or you could always hire someone to write for you while you talk. Some scholars do that, from what I know."
Strix: "Strix don't think that work. Strix ideas come and go! Can't explain them to notStrix!"
Strix: "Strix could make talkwrite shiny..."
Nesseth grins. "Well, hey, there's an idea for you. If you can do something like that, you'd probably make quite a bit of money selling it to others, too."
Strix: "Strix only sell small shinies! Strix doesn't want lots of money! Strix's best shinies are for Strix only!"
Nesseth nods. "Fair enough, Strix. If you do try to figure out how to put voice to written words, I wish you luck."
Strix: "Strix not sure. Strix try think of plan..not really what Strix does..." He mutters to himself "Strix try after Strixproject now"
Strix: "Strix thanks Nesseth for idea"
Nesseth smiles and gives Strix a little salute. "No problem, Strix. I'll let you get back to marketing, though. I want to get home and test these discs out, see what I can do with them."
Strix: "Strix hope you Market good"
Nesseth hefts the bag of stuff he purchased earlier. "Yup! I've just finished shopping around, so now it's time for me to head home. Have a good day, Strix."