The Black Wyrm of Brandonsford

"You better be right uncle." Gann takes another terrified look at the rat thing, then rushes back to retrieve his sword. As he goes, he calls out again with false bravado.

"Nice trick buddy! But it’s over. Give it up right now, or mark my words-" the sound of steel scraping on stone fills the space as Gann drags the two handed sword off the ground, and heads to the corner where Kit is barking to help Sable block it in. He raises the enormous blade dramatically over the seemingly empty space, "I will split you in two."

Wren rolls out from under the table and drops into the trapdoor, grabbing hold of the ladder and hurrying down. At the bottom, she draws her dagger and looks for a foe. "Where is he? Where's the booze thief?"

Wren rolls out from under the table and drops into the trapdoor, grabbing hold of the ladder and hurrying down. At the bottom, she draws her dagger and looks for a foe. "Where is he? Where's the booze thief?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Sable sees a figure drop down from the trapdoor. However, he decides to let Gann handle their new party guest as he now stretches the tarp wide and pounces on hopefully something solid in the corner Kittridge growls at.

As Wren climbs down and Gann draws his impressive Marchguard sword with a ring that resonates in the cellar, Sable springs trying to envelop the unseen thief in his tarp!

Wren gives Gann a puzzled look and says, "What is it? A small unseen creature, talking about Queen Mab? If the songs the river men sing of the fey be true, I'd say you've caught yourself one, and this one has a penchant for drink. So be careful."

"Good job Kit! We'll get you a whole chicken later."

Sable nods to Gann and Wren to confirm he has their thief. As he holds their quarry tightly, he is surprised at the small size of the tarp's occupant. He had thought it a human adult, but clearly this was some type of fae based on what they had seen. Or hadn't seen.

He nods at Wren's advice as the last time he remembers dealing with fae is with Gann when he was young. What was a Queen Mab anyway? Wasn't that a mouse's name?

"We don't intend to hurt you, but do you promise to answer our questions truthfully?"

"In or out everybody. This thing’s slippery so we need to close that trapdoor while we talk to it."

Gann does his best to hurry everyone into or out of the cellar, in case Sable has a mind to trust it outside the tarp.

"I will stay up here and make sure the trap door remains closed." Rowan begins listening intently trying to pick up on the conversation with the mystery creature.

Wren looks up at Rowan as he is closing the trap door and says, "Perhaps one of you up there can fetch Quinn as well, let him know we've caught his thief. And it seems to be a fey creature. Ha, and he was so certain it were the folks from the other Inn..."

Wren holds up a hand and climbs up the ladder far enough to grab the trap door. She says to Nessa, "Stand on this and don’t open it." And then she swings it shut.

Sable rolls his eyes at the claims of suffocation. The tarp is not a watertight one after all.

"I'll remove the tarp over your head. Maybe you'll make it visible so I can do so?"

Once Wren and Nessa have secured the exit out, Sable maneuvers the tarp to allow the thief's head to stick out, but he keeps its extremities firmly tied up in the tarp. If it is being particularly troublesome, he will hold it like a sack with the open part up where the head should be to pop out and allow the thief to breathe, speak, and see its interrogators.

Now that the trap door is secure, Rowan says, "I'll go wake Quinn" and heads off in the direction he thinks will take him to Quinn's quarters.

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The Golden Egg - Cellar

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The trap door slams shut with finality as Sable allows the little thief to pop his head free of the makeshift sack.

The head that wriggles free and draws a dramatically gasping breath is visible! And oversized for the wriggling, wrestless body that Sable still holds firm in the tarp. Pointed ears, a wispy red beard, a large nose, a sheepish grin and a jaunty little hat definitely mark the capture as a weird little guy... and then some. Maybe he is some kind of fae!

"Hello sir! Sirs! And lady! I'm Naggeneen! And I was just lookin' for a wee drink! Would ya let a fella have one, then be on his merry way? I could, why I could make it worth your while! I truly could!"

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The Golden Egg - Upstairs

---

With all the racket, Rowan doesn't get beyond the common room before he finds Quinn wandering towards the kitchen, decked out in a nightshirt, a night cap, and slippers. The man carries a candleholder with a lit candle and has the squint of someone woken from a deep sleep.

"Did you catch them!?" he asked excitedly, not even sure which one of them it is he's talking to. "Did you!? It was Bentley, I'm sure, or someone he put up to the awful task!"

Nessa does what she is told and stands on the trap door once again. "In and out, in and out. Just leave me to mind the door." She bickers, then she notices Quinn arriving. "Oh, there you are. I'm afraid you're all out of flour." She informs him.