[IC] Graveyard Shift: Session 1

At the constabulary, Barribelynn Bonebelly returns her attention to Barvek and sighs. "I'm on duty for another hour, then I get a break. Taverns and tales'll the to wait till then, old boy!" She purses her lips as if in thought. "In the meantime, give me just a moment. I'll see what I can do."

Barri disappears through a doorway. In her absence, the two of you witness the everyday procedures of the constabulary and barracks: guards leaving for patrol and coming in for breaks from the heat, a half-hearted session of spear-fighting practice by a group of new recruits in the courtyard, even a pair of humans brought in for disorderly conduct.

The dwarf comes back after about ten minutes. She looks confused. "Barvy, you say you're looking into a break-in at the old Dribbage place? The one by the cemetery? I just checked with our record-keeper, and this is the first we've heard of anything."

"Well, now, that is curious," Barribelynn says. "I think you've just given me the excuse I needed to take an early lunch." The ruddy-faced Dwarf turns to a fellow officer, an Elf Barvek recognizes, though he can't remember the name. "Trolvyn, cover for me. I'm checking up on a possible burglary." The Elf barely looks up from his parchment as he gives a cursory salute. Barri leads the two of you out the door and into the heat of the late morning. "How 'bout that old Fishmonger place we used to like? It's just 'round the corner."

As Nekurr and Mengus look for a cart to take them to the gate, a pair of old women pass, both dressed in vestments of Saint Durvin. "Another burial scheduled for next week," the first says.

The second answers, "I know, I know. I'm a bit sick of them to tell the truth. I've done three funerals this week already."

The first woman chuckles. "But you're the best! Somebody's got to keep up the wards against necromancy. Nobody wants to see old Uncle Chester wandering through town reeking of embalming fluid!" The nuns disappear giggling into the crowd, gone as quickly as they appeared.

The tavern is indeed nearby, and stepping inside is quite a relief from the hot street. It takes a moment for your eyes to adjust to the dim interior, but Barri answer's Hildar's query: "Far's I know, most burglaries get reported, or we catch 'em in the act. Least in town." She finds a big, wooden table and takes one of stools. "We handle the farmhouses outside town, too, but most folks out that way have their own security--dogs, guards, and the like." She wipes her brow and leans back, thinking about the next words. "I'm actually pretty surprised someone had the guts to break into the Dribbage place. Most folk are too superstitious. Lotta folk think the cemetery's haunted, or a secret witches' coven. Every once in a while someone'll report that kind of nonsense out that way."

Barri nearly spills her ale laughing. "I'd forgotten about that cat case! Poor puss. I seen a few tracks out at the cemetery--goats maybe? But never any entrails!" Her laughter subsides with a sigh as she slurps a spoonful of mutton stew. "So when I asked about the burglary, my captain said Dribbage has been pretty quiet except for one incident, way before my time. Seems the guy spent a night in jail when he refused to leave Saint Durvin Cathedral. Guess he was a monk there for a time, but he got drummed out of the order and refused to leave." She shrugs and says, "Ain't heard a thing about his niece."

"Probably says something if he's been gone over a year without anyone saying anything," Barri says, brows raised. "Not many folk out that way, but he does have a neighbor, if I recall. Just up a pace down the road past the graveyard. The Stonebriars? Stonethorns? Something like that. They might know something."