Margrett opened the shop door, letting out a sigh.
Come on, Tallia. Let's see what we can do here. Her voice sounded already defeated. She looked around at the shop, mostly general goods and odds and ends, before leaning on the counter and tapping it with her hand.
Tallia "There are some things... that we all can't escape from..."
Tallia nodded, and followed Margrett inside, looking equally as distraught. She was a little nervous about the situation they found themselves in, and looked around apprehensively, hoping for a good sign so they could get this over with.
Margrett raised an eyebrow at Tallia, smiling a bit.
Don't be so nervous, kitten. We're just in a shop. She patted Tallia's head, and at that moment the shopkeep came out. He was a shortish, portly man, and smiled widely when he saw them.
Ahh, the guard I presume. It's good you've come here so quickly. I trust you heard about my recent theft? Margrett nodded, her voice turning dry and professional.
I have. A gauntlet of some kind? The storeowner nodded, placing his hands on the counter.
Indeed, an enchanted one. The reason I merely didn't write it off as some cat burglar is that this gauntlet has a peculiar power. Anyone who wears it who isn't of royal blood will become, well...insane. And very very powerful. It's pure odds that the thief isn't of royal blood, and it's in the guard's best interest to find him before he does any harm.
Tallia "There are some things... that we all can't escape from..."
In... insane...?! That sounds crazy! (no pun intended... maybe) Her ears fell as she didn't like the sound of coming across an insane cat-burglar... especially if it was literally a Cathian. Well, no point in standing and quaking in fear about a possibility of outcomes... She listened intently on the words of the shopkeep, hoping to find something of interest from them, while she nervously scoured the store for any types of clues.
Go look at the stand where it was kept, see if you can find anything. I'll talk to the gentleman here.
Should Tallia do that, she'd see a glass case among the shelves of normal items. The glass was broken, and some of the glass had a strange, black, sticky substance on it.
Tallia "There are some things... that we all can't escape from..."
She did as told, nodding to Margrett and moving over to the now empty stand. Within her scope of view was a glass case, broken, and a sticky, black substance caking its surface. She reached her hand out cautiously to figure out exactly what it was, but jerked her hand away, as though it had been touched by a fire. She thought about sniffing it before deciding not to ruin her nose. Out of options to really determine what it was, she decided to wait for Margrett to finish talking with the store manager to try and sort this thing out.
Margrett seemed to get done at that moment, nodding to the man and walking over to her, patting her on the shoulder as she examined the case herself. After a moment she chuckled.
Ha. Looks like someone cut themselves pretty bad getting in. He said it happened during the night, and the back door lock was picked when he woke up. A few other things were stolen, so it's unlikely they knew what they were getting into. She looked to Tallia, thinking.
What has black blood?
Tallia "There are some things... that we all can't escape from..."
The little color on her face faded as she suddenly thought of that being a possibility.
"Bl... black... b...b-b-blood...?"
To think she was about to touch it... She turned to the Captain, looking as though she'd seen a ghost.
"A... are... are you sure... it's... b-b-blood...? It... it could be... uh... i... ink... or... or some... ah... residue...?"
She didn't want to think of it being blood... not if they hadn't confirmed it, you know. Confirmation was necessary. Yeah, that was it... they couldn't be too sure of it being blood with a look... maybe a smell, though...
"A... anyway... it looks like... a standard case... where... where there other tracks... left...? If... if it really is... b-b-b... blood... then, it wouldn't be... from anything customary... which means... there should be... something... something unique... t-that they left... like... prints... prints... would help..."
It could be something else, sure, but it looks like he cut himself. She straightened, looking around the store with her hands on her hips.
You're right about it not being a usual thing, though. Like it might have left footprints. Go check the backdoor, I'll ask him if he cleaned the floor or anything.
Tallia "There are some things... that we all can't escape from..."
Tallia nodded frivolously, then turned sharply as she made a short dash to the backdoor. It certainly wasn't human... then, what was it...? Could a monster have found its way to the store...? Nah, too improbable. She shook her head clear of those kinds of thoughts as she took a closer look at the backdoor, carefully inspecting it, but not tampering with it whatsoever.
The back door was hanging open a bit, and she could see some mud had been drug into the shop. Looking outside, there were footprints; small but deep bootprints that led into the alley behind the shop.
Tallia "There are some things... that we all can't escape from..."
She carefully eyed the mud. A very important clue; it discerns where the thief came from, at the very least... Excited that she already found a lead on their... creature, she rushed over to Margrett, grabbing her arm and tugging on it lightly. She pointed frantically over to the back, as though she had found a toy she wanted in a toy store.
"I... I found something...! I... I found something...!"
Neither of them were skilled trackers, but luckily it had rained the night before, making the footprints easily trackable in the mud. They followed the tracks for a while, until they reached a road just outside town. The footprints stepped onto the road, then vanished a moment later. Margrett groaned.
He must have been picked up. Looks like this is the road that does to the docks. Why would he escape out of town just to go back in?