Sorcerous Dissipation

All Mirabelle said was, "Good." and watched them leave.

Rose crossed her arms and looked at the ground as they walked to the docks, wondering how Nassirah could do this as a permanent career, when it made you feel so scummy.

"How are we going to know which one is his house?" She asked
 
"Most likely an abandoned one" she answered simply "if he went off grid he wouldn't have left any sort of trail by selling the place. That requires change of address forms" she said. Not the first time she had gone after someone who tried to escape

She looked over at Rose and sighed "and this is why they remain a target and not a person. A paycheck and nothing more"
 
"But they are a person," she said, "they are rank with personhood, it screams out about them, and every new fact we learn only makes them more real. We came here knowing nothing, and now? We know his name, that he's married, that he owns a dog--or at least, used to, three years ago--that he was liked well enough by the town, that he was a little odd and kept to himself and had a workshop he spent most of his time in. The closer we come to finding him, the more actualized he becomes, and we still don't even really know why he's a wanted man."

She didn't look at the other woman, because she knew Nassirah thought she was soft already. That wasn't how Rose felt about herself. She was compassionate, yes, but she wasn't soft.
 
Nassirah sighed "Just clues in a game that's all that is. Just clues" she said "I can't afford to start seeing these criminals as people. I can't afford to be soft and sympathetic" she said firmly. It did make sense that she had to keep it seperate from her emotions. Couldn't make a living at this if you got too involved in peoples lives
 
"It's not being soft," she said, "any anyway, you chose this, and we don't know if he's a real criminal." Rose walked down the docks, gazing at all of the buildings. Who could say which one was the one this person used to live in. She stopped a few people to ask, and was eventually directed to a little white house at the end of the lane. From the outside, it wasn't particularly noteworthy. There was some built up dust in the windows, and the plants in the planters had died, but beyond that, it looked typical.

She tried to open the door, but it was locked, so Rose knelt down, and from the bag she carried pulled out a lockpick set, and quietly got to work.
 
Nassirah chose not to comment. They were not going to see eye to eye on this and that was fine. She didn't expect anyone to understand.

"I could just..break it" she said as she watched. She would humor her though and wonder "why do you know how to pick locks anyway?"
 
"I have six sisters." She said, as if it explained anything. Of course it wasn't the only reason why she knew... but it was the main reason she first began to learn. Later it became handy when people asked her to retrieve stolen items, which she could only do by theft, which... she was unfortunately quite good at.

Good enough that before Nassirah had a chance to break the lock, Rose stood up, and opened the door which swung open with a gentle creak, "no need to break it, and anyway we don't want anyone to know we were here, in case he has people protecting him in town. I'm sure they'd notice if his door, or even just the lock, was broken."
 
"Six sisters. Big woop" she said, not impressed which suggested she had more siblings than that or just didn't care. Hard to say which.

"Good job. Now watch your step, could be traps. Never know with these people.." she picked up a rock from outside and tossed it in to see if anything happened or if they were all clear
 
Rose inhaled, closing her eyes for a moment, quietly wondering if there was anything she could say which wouldn't be disparaged by her partner.

Nothing happened when the rock hit, and as much as Rose wanted to send Nassirah in first, because if she triggered a trap it may soften her attitude, she knew that she should, because of the elven ability so gently even snow would not crush beneath their feet, making her less likely to trigger a trap, but there seemed to be nothing.

Layers of dust covered all surfaces, but it appeared Dark tried to neaten the place up before he left, even if almost all of the furniture was still there. Empty picture frames hung on the walls, so he seemed to have cared enough to take down anything either memorable, or immediately revealing, and he made sure to empty the icebox and the pantry, so as to leave no food to rot.
 
"Well he is a tidy fellow" Nassirah mused as she looked around, not bothered much by the lack of light "smart not to leave anything revealing too...." the smart ones were always the most annoying to find but he couldn't hide forever.

"Go start asking neighbors about him. I have a feeling they are more likely to willingly give you information than me" she said "I'll keep looking here..has to of left some sort of clue"
 
"Whatever you say," she said, and slipped from the house. She breathed easier once she was on her own again, because she was less afraid of doing something or saying something that would only get her insulted.

The house, meanwhile, was interesting, because although it seemed Dark had purposely and carefully scrubbed all life from it, all traces of real person living there, on the back wall, in a little room--the only one that had no furniture left in it--were the words, "LEAVE ME BE," painted haphazardly in black paint, as though it were an afterthought. Then, underneath it was a more careful painting of a gear, with what looked like a horse with a pole through it inside, also painted in the same black paint, almost like a signature.
 
Nassirah curiously walked over to the paint, smirking slightly "should have thought about that before going and breaking the law mister Dark." She mused to herself.

She made note of the signature. Literally, sketching it out on a notepad before looking around the rest of the house. She would then wait on the porch for the elf to return. Hopefully with more useful information
 
Rose asked around, speaking to as many people as she could, because under no circumstances was she returning to Nassirah with a shrug and a, "Nobody had much to say."

This meant she was gone for three hours, but she returned with the energy of someone who had only been gone five minutes, "He's an inventor," she said, "and a strange one. Look at this," She reached into her bag and pulled out a strange mechanical bird, with bronze wings and a little knob in its back. She turned it, and it fluttered around in the air for a bit before landing, "I met a mother who had been keeping it. I guess he gave it to her son, and since he left in such a suspicious way, she thought she better makes sure it didn't get lost. Doesn't use magic or anything. He also, I'm told, frequented Drakenwood, to the east. That's what a fellow I met on the streets said, anyway, and also I met a man who said, and I quote, 'for such a handsome guy, you'd never expect the horse of a woman he ended up with. Never seen an uglier dark elf, she must have been stomped on as a baby,' which I don't think is relevant, but he wouldn't let it go." She checked her notes to make sure she relayed everything important. Not a lot of people knew anything, at least, nothing that they hadn't already learned.
 
"Darkenwood" she repeated and pulled out a paper map, sitting on the porch she folded it out and smoothed it on the old wood.

"Hunted down my fair share of people here...it's called that for a good reason. Tree's so thick it's always dark and very easy to get lost" she said.

There were hand drawn lines thru the area with marks indicating different landmarks she knew "an inventor who doesn't use magic. No wonder they want him.."
 
"Doesn't really feel like a crime, though, does it?" Rose mused, turning the bird over in her hands, "it isn't hurting anybody, except maybe somebody's profit margin. And you can't deny it's a neat little toy." Of course she expected Nassirah to say some fuff about it isn't our job to care about the why, we just have to bring him in and damn soft elf, don't go making him a person, you don't know what he's talking about, a criminal is a criminal.

She didn't care, she was pretty sure she could have brought the wanted man back with her and Nassirah would've had something snide to say.

"I suppose we should head out that way, then."
 
She wasn't wrong "doesn't matter. Jobs a job and we don't know if that's the only reason. Far as we know he's killed people"

Nassirah glanced up at tje sky, frowning "we will stay somewhere in town tonight and go at first light. Being caught in the darkenwood at night is never good. Even with perfect night vision it's hard to see" she said. "You got enough for you own room tonight?"
 
"I should, yes," she said, and as she went into her bag to make sure she exclaimed, "Oh! And the baker gave me some brioche and a bag of salted caramel because I helped him out on some deliveries. Figured it wouldn't do any harm to help him out, since it gave me an excuse to talk to people without them wondering why I was talking to him."
 
Nassirah smirked "if you weren't so soft you might actually be a good bounty hunter" she mused "we can enjoy some of that while we go over tomorrows plan at the inn" she reasoned, seeming a bit eager to get indoors before sunset but was trying to play it off as just the logical next step
 
"Oh, we?" Rose replied, with big doe eyes, "it's just... I don't think you, considering how hard you are, would have stopped t'help him, especially because he himself didn't have any useful information." She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, made direct eye contact with Nassirah, and for a millisecond smirked before heading to the nearest inn.

She knew she'd end up sharing if she was asked properly, but she hadn't been asked, and kind as she was, she wasn't a doormat, and she respected the word "please."
 
Nassirah rolled her eyes "ok you enjoy some. I don't give a damn." She said shouldering her bag and going after her.

It wasn't a big town by any means so there was a single inn and plenty of vacancies.

"I'll order us a pizza and wings. Want anything specific?" She asked as they stepped put of the lobby, pocketing the key for her own room
 
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