The day is winding down and the evening finds the Jokers applying their skills to another unique task. Snackhappy has been back for several hours and is resting comfortably upstairs in the shared rooms at Aggie's. His desire to eat opened up a lot more mouths than his own. The Ghost Ship out in the lake was not something Fox had seen on their arrival.
Chok'lat was out last night at another drinking hole and tossed a few locals around, who seemed to have warmed up to the physical nature of his diplomacy. Needless to say his information on affairs outside of town were eye opening. Neglected and discarded belongings, several weeks and months old.
Calyx worked over a street gang during the mid-day today. Fox was not certain if it was Calyx's charm, or his shocking ways that had the gang open up to him. But their information on places not to visit at night mean that the other Jokers had more specific location tolook into.
Between Growler and Henry, they had watched movements of locals. Observing the places they frequented and who they visited and spoke with gave Fox another layer to sort through. People have patterns and routines and it seems that the kidnappings had altered the norm.
Echo and Herra had followed a different sort of lead. Once word had come back from the other Jokers, Herra and Echo begun back tracking on the missing individuals. The missing were random kidnappings. Nothing linked one to another, other than the time they were out, that they were alone, and possibly a proximity to the dark avenue.
Fox had come down to Aggie's dining room around 8 pm. Having spoken earlier to Aggie, Fox had made arrangements for the dining room to be cleared and empty by 8 pm. 8 pm was also the time the sheriff got off and her deputy took over. It had been agreed upon that after her shift, she would come to Aggie's to check up on the investigation.
With Echo, Herra, and Snackhappy, Fox had swept the dining room for listening devices and as casually as possible had blocked out other scrying and listening possibilities. Fox felt that meeting was as secure as they possibly could get. So he waited at a table with a frosted root beer and a deck of cards.
At 10 after 8 the sheriff entered the dining room and spoke briefly with Aggie. "
New guy arrived today." Pointing to where Fox was sitting.
"
Please bring me tonight's special to that table then," the sheriff paid for her meal and grabbed a cold beer and walked over to the table where Fox was sitting.
Approaching Fox's table, "
Hello stranger, welcome to our town. I am the sheriff here. Mind if I join you?"
"
Hello Sheriff. Please do. Have a seat. Relax."
Sitting quietly drinking his root beer, Fox waits until Aggie has brought a fresh plate of pot roast hash and gravy to the sheriff and a new frost glass and a root beer for himself. After Aggie has left, Fox looks at the sheriff and asks, "
Ever had your fortune told Sheriff?"
The Sheriff with a mouthful of food, raises an eyebrow at Fox's question, but then shakes her head.
Fox deals out a five by five square from a deck of cards he has been shuffling, while waiting for the Sheriff.
Flipping over the center card, there is a star, "
Welcome Sheriff. I am Fox," he flips over a card with a fox on it. The Sheriff nods and Fox continues.
Flipping over cards to the left and right of the fox card. "
You have requested assistance from the Tomorrow Legion and they have sent us, the Jokers to your aid." One card shows a sun burst over the horizon and an army coming down from the sunburst. The other card is worn and folded at the cardinal and sub cardinal points, it has the Joker on it.
"
One of the first things we discovered in the past day, is a hole in security." Along the perimeter, Fox has turned over several cards with fences on them. Once all the fence cards are turned over and surround the cards representing Sheriff, Fox, the Legion, and the Jokers, fox places a three by three square of black faced cards over the fenced area. "
Someone has been using magical or mystical means to hide events and details and to spy on your case and investigations."
When the Sheriff raises an eyebrow in question, Fox puts a card with a question mark on top of the darkness cards, "
We are not sure yet, who it is. We have taken precautions here and are certain that no one is watching us at this time."
"
Another detail we noticed is a darkened ally. We believe the lights to this street have been tampered with. Needless to say it is dark and with arcane support provides a perfect avenue to move the kidnapped."
Fox has positioned more dark cards down the center of 'town' with tunnel entrances at the either end.
Taking up the cards, he shuffles. Motioning for the silenced sheriff to finish her dinner, "
Trust me, ma'am the hash is much better warm. I had two helpings of it."
Fox looks over to Aggie, "
By the way Ms. Aggie, I apologize for not thanking you sooner for your hospitality and the great meals."
As the Sheriff eats, fox lays out a dozen cards in two rows of six. "
We found evidence that the kidnappings you reported," Fox turns over the lower six cards, "
were only half of the known kidnappings, that have occured in the past year."
The sheriff raises an eyebrow, "
A year's worth of kidnappings?"
Fox collects the cards again. Shuffles. Deals out a peace sign in cards.
Pointing to the three prongs, "
These are avenues merchants and visitors use to come to your town."
Fox looks to the sheriff, "
Have you noticed a decline in the number of visitors and merchants from anyone of these three directions?"
The sheriff looks briefly at the map and points to to the middle and lower prong. Fox nods and flips over some cards with horses, wagons, people, and camp fires. "
There is much in the way of old evidence that suggests that these kidnappings were originally occuring outside of town months before they came into town."
The sheriff points to the haft of the trident/peace sign, "
There is no road out that way. That would be just docks and the lake."
Fox nods again and adds a card to the end of the haft. The picture on this card is of a derelict ship. "
Regretably those avenues into town feed the avenue of darkness heading out of town, across the lake, to the derelict ship that sits out on a shelf heading into deep water."
Fox agains collects the cards. Shuffles but does not deal. "
The kidnappings have been occuring in the early morning hours between 1 and 3."
Fox gets real serious, "
What resources do you have that might help transport out my squad and myself out to the derelict ship?"