Page 87 of Steel & Thunder
“You got it.” Ragnar grabs his own sword from the wall behind him and we head out.
“Do you really think this guy is dangerous?” I’m feeling a little underdressed walking between these two big...swords.
“No, not really.” Khazak shakes his head. “But I would rather be prepared than caught by surprise.”
We make our way to a section of town I haven’t been in yet. The houses here are much smaller, though there are also some large buildings that look like they could be apartments. I see broken fences and a lot of sparse clotheslines, and I realize we are probably in a lower-income area of the city.
“This is it.” Khazak stops us before we approach Thog’s small home. “Okay, David. Deputy Rockfang and I will be asking Mr. Grimrock some questions, which will also keep him busy. While that is happening, I would like you to look around his home for anything suspicious.”
“Are you sure that’s okay?” Seems a little weird.
“This is one of those grey areas I mentioned.” He shrugs.
“What am I looking for exactly?” Am I just supposed to search through all his stuff?
“Just anything that seems out of the ordinary.” I give him a look. What does that even mean? “I understand your idea of ‘ordinary’ might differ from ours, but trust your instincts.”
“Yes, Sir,” I sigh. Nothing like vague instructions, a case that involves the city’s military, and my own personal hang-ups to really pile on the pressure and stress. I’m sure there’s no way I can screw this up. It’s not like Khazak’s high ranking job or professional reputation are on the line.
I keep my thoughts to myself as Khazak reaches out to knock on the door, which opens a crack a minute later.
“Hello?” The occupant is still mostly hidden by the door.
“Good morning, Mr. Grimrock? I am Captain Ironstorm, and this is Deputy Captain Rockfang, with the rangers.” Khazak motions to the insignia on his shoulder. “I am here about the militia delivery you signed for yesterday. I was hoping you might have a moment to speak with us.”
“I don’t know nothing about weapons being stolen.” Well, that is an interesting thing to say when we haven’t mentioned anything being stolen yet.
“I understand, sir.” Khazak definitely doesn’t believe him. “However, I still need you to answer some questions. May we come in?”
There’s a moment of hesitation, but then he nods, opening the door all the way and waving us inside. It’s a small home, much smaller than Khazak’s. The living room is barely bigger than our bedroom, and there’s a small kitchen connected in the back of the room, separated only by a long counter. A lot of the furniture just seems less...nice. Thog himself is about my height, though stockier, with braided mid-length brown hair that passes his ears. His large tusks have been scowling at us since we entered.
“Who’s he?” He stands stiffly behind his couch, eyeing me wearily.
“My avakesh and assistant,” Sir responds as both orcs I came with move to partially block me from his view. Almost wish I had that collar now. “Could you walk us through what happened last night when you received the delivery?”
As Thog starts to recount things, Ragnar gives me a look that says it’s time to start snooping. I start my search slowly, wandering around the room aimlessly while I watch for Thog to notice my movements. Aside from a brief glance, the two rangers hold most of his attention, and I slip down the hall unnoticed. There are only two doors: a bathroom and a bedroom.
I start with the bedroom. It’s sparse; nothing on the walls and the only furniture is a set of shelves in one corner and a small bed in another. I’m not even sure I would fit very well in that bed, let alone an orc. I look under the bed and pick through the shelves but don’t find much interesting. Just some folded clothing and the occasional random trinket. Seems Thog has a penchant for collecting wooden carvings of animals.
I move on to the bathroom, which is nothing to write home about either. I don’t see faucets so I don’t think there’s plumbing. Not a lot to look inside of or under either, but I check the tub and lift the cover on the thankfully empty chamber pot. Nothing. As I turn around to leave, my foot bumps into something I missed—a metal waste basket on the floor. I peer down, suddenly interested in its contents.
Sitting at the bottom is a book, leather bound and slightly singed. There are also some half-burned matches, like someone tried to burn the book but did a shitty job. But what really catches my eye is what’s on the cover: a large, black claw. A bird’s claw, I think. I reach down to pick it up.
I open the book, flipping through a few of the pages and noticing the burned edges. Yeah, someone definitely tried to torch this, but for whatever reason it didn’t take. I try to read a few pages in vain, unable to recognize any of the letters, but I do notice a lot of numbers. I think. It’s only been like a day since I started learning, alright? The way these are arranged look like some sort of table, a different one on each page. Maybe it’s nothing but...better safe than sorry, right?
I step back out into the living room with my findings, waiting for a moment to grab their attention.
“Sirs.” All three orcs cease their conversation and turn to look at me. “I found this in the bathroom.” I hold up the book in front of me, cover out.
At the sight of the book Thog’s eyes go wide, and not a second later, he bolts out the front door.
“What the fuck?!” Ragnar exclaims as the three of us take off once the surprise of the sudden exit wears off, but he’s got a good lead.
“Dammit, he is getting away.” Khazak growls as we watch him down the road, fading in the distance.
“Like hell he is!” I shove the book at Ragnar and start running.
“David, wait!” I hear both orcs call out to me, but I ignore them. I am not letting this guy get away.
