Blood from Stone [AU]

[NPCs]

"If you can sketch us a layout, that would be a big help." Sgt. Mulligen pauses, then continues in uncertain catfolk. "Please not to get Light killed, thank you."

"This is all the city sent to rescue a Light? Ah, no offense, officer, just..." Gamelan offers a weak smile. "Would have expected a larger turnout is all."

[GamesMaster]

Miki glowers at him, muttering, "Of course not."

[Carver Amell]

Carver rubs the back of his neck. "I know Aveline's busy with the poisoning thing and I'm sure most of the troops are dealing with the riot at large, but it does seem a bit small even so."

[NPCs]

Mulligen shrugs a little. "We put in a request to the high ups in Upper City but... I guess the shitstorm at Coalbin is worse than first reported. Anyway. If you can get us that layout, I'm sure Lt. Peregrine will come up with some kind of plan, eventually." He flicks his eyes to Carver. 

Lt. Peregrine is a gnome, and an older guard, one of the few remaining holdouts from pre-Aveline times. She's very by-the-book, but is also very good at using that book to block certain requests or actions. Specifically those that might benefit Cattown or lower Coal in general. Why she would be sent to Cattown for a mission of this significance is... difficult to understand.

[Carver Amell]

"Coalbin?" asks Carver, then he shakes his head. "Nevermind. Alright, thanks for the intel, we have this," he says, pointedly not promising to talk to Peregrine. 

[NPCs]

Clearing his throat, Mulligen says in a deadpan, "the guard would like to remind you that civilians, even adventurers, are not supposed to interfere with official guard business. It should probably take... an hour after we get a floorplan before the L.T. is willing to approach the Sons to talk again about their demands." Which would be a very good time to sneak in, if one was thinking of doing so.

[Carver Amell]

Carver nods. "Cool. I'm going to duck over there with Miki and walk him through drawing out a floor plan for your Lt." 

[Tethras Clan]

A few minutes later, the Sgt. is taking that over to the Lt. Which leaves a small gap, a minor distraction, for the three of them to sneak into the building next door that just happens to share a service tunnel with the temple. As they get inside, the trio are stopped by a low growl, that swiftly turns to a pained whine.

[Carver Amell]

Carver hesitates, holding up a finger. A canine? In the Heart of Cattown? 

[Tethras Clan]

Following his hears- and nose- Carver finds himself facing a faintly glowing eye from a small gap in a stack of boxes. With a grunt, a very familiar canine head emerges from the gap. The snout is caked in blood, though some attempt was made to lick off the blood. More importantly, there's a patch of burnt fur around the left eye, which is a mess of cartrized tissue. The mabari whines softly as she struggles to get the rest of her way out of the hiding spot she's crawled in to in order to recover from what must have been a terrible beating.

[Carver Amell]

"Silence," he breathes, moving to help her get free. He kneels to embrace the canine, petting her gently. "Poor girl. Gods, what happened to you?"

[GamesMaster]

Miki swallows, hard. "Same thing happen'sa everyone else," he mutters in Common. 

[Tethras Clan]

Silence presses into him, trembling slightly. She's got a few more scrapes and bruises on her, her fur matted with mud and gore. Aside from her eye, she seems more exhausted and worried than injured.

"Damn. I have some jerky on me if..." Gamelan pauses as Silence shifts to look at him intently. "Ah..."

[Carver Amell]

"Yeah, give it to her. Silence, Beth's at Summerhill. Can you make it that far? Or do you want to wait here for us?"

[Tethras Clan]

Silence shakes herself, then moves over to take the offered food from Gamelan greedily. When Carver suggests she leave, she fixes him with a one-eyed glare and shuffles over to stand on one of his feet- an ageless canine trick to ensure their person can't leave without them.