Chapter 15 #2
“Do you think the family is worth talking to?” Maybe they can tell us something about Murbank if he’s still involved with them like he says.
“Possibly, but if they were being used as pawns like that, I doubt they were ever aware of it. Which would have put even more pressure on Thog to hide the truth,” Khazak points out.
“I am far more interested in finding out why Mr. Grimrock ran into so many problems when trying to reopen his father’s factory. Something about that seems odd.”
“How do we do that?” I ask, turning toward the building’s main exit.
“We spend some time in the archives.” A hand tugs me away from the doorway, instead leading me down the hallway at the other end of the lobby.
“I hate the archives,” Ragnar groans.
After some winding hallways and a few doors, we come to another office seemingly watched over by a much, much older woman.
Like, there’s something about her that makes me think of one of my old teachers or a librarian.
She’s happy to let us in, though Khazak waves off any further assistance.
Best not to let too many people know what we’re doing here.
Which is looking at a lot of papers. Seriously, the room is wall to wall shelves, each stuffed to the brim with books and files.
Even if I knew what we were looking for, none of it is in Common, so there’s not much I can do to help.
Khazak asks Ragnar to search for the permits related to Thog’s attempt at restarting his family’s business while he looks into any changes to the city’s laws that might have happened around that time that could have affected things.
That leaves me to act as a lookout... I’m just trying to feel useful, alright?
“Ha! Got ‘em,” Ragnar announces maybe half an hour after we started our search. He crosses the room to Khazak, and I move to join them. “Thog filed permits to open the factory three times, and each time, the council voted to deny it. Really wanted to help his friend, huh?”
“Does it say how they voted?” I don’t even know why I’m looking at the paper to be honest.
“No, but your guess is as good as mine,” Khazak grumbles.
“That same year, the council voted to approve two different measures that restricted where in town certain types of businesses were allowed to operate. This was two years ago. Either the councilman has been planning this for a while now, or he was holding on to Thog for some other reason.”
“That’s good, right? We can use that to show he has a motive.” I feel a little upbeat for once.
“It is still not enough to actually accuse him of anything.” Khazak shakes his head. “But it is good information to have.” Khazak folds the papers together and hands them to Ragnar. “Take these back to the station to make copies of. I do not want to risk Murbank covering his tracks.”
“Aww, by hand?” Ragnar whines. “But the archivist can use a copier-wand.”
“She can also tell others what she has made copies of.” Khazak fixes him with a look. “It is the only way to be safe.”
“Are we stealing those?” Is Sir actually gonna break the law?
“Borrowing,” he clarifies, and I’m not buying it. “We will return them later tonight.”
“Wait, what are we going to do?” I just realized he only gave that order to Ragnar.
“You will be returning to the station with Deputy Rockfang,” he clarifies.
Boooo. “Though I am not sure anything useful will come of it, I am going to go speak with Mr. Grimrock’s family.
As they are still grieving his loss, three of us may send the wrong message.
I will meet you both back at the station in an hour or two, and we can discuss our next steps. ”
“Yes, sir.”
“Yes, Sir.” I nod while Ragnar stuffs the papers into his shirt.
The archivist is just as friendly on our way out, and I can only hope she doesn’t get a lot of visitors because she definitely seems like the type to talk someone’s ear off.
I am glad we got some new info, but I am more than a little antsy for the chance to talk to Ragnar without Khazak’s supervision.
I have a feeling he’ll be a lot more understanding.
We split when we exit the tribal hall, Khazak heading north while we go east. I wait until we are far out of earshot of anyone before turning to Ragnar.
“So... I might have done something really really really stupid.” Stupid enough that I’m looking over my shoulder right now.
Ragnar narrows his eyes, but nods at an alley on our right, which we both duck into.
“What did you do, David?” Ragnar asks after making sure we’re alone.
“I might have, maybe, kinda, sorta...stole Councilman Murbank’s keys?” I hold up the keyring with a grimace.
Ragnar’s eyes go wide, looking between me and the keys. Then he breaks out into a huge grin. “You did what?!”
He doesn’t look angry, so I press forward.
“It was just...I knew he wasn’t going to tell us anything, and I kept thinking about what you were saying about not wanting to give him the chance to hide anything, and after the way the conversation went, I thought there was no way he didn’t know we were onto him now, so I just sorta.
..panicked and decided to pick his pocket. ”
“David, that is amazing.” Okay, I didn’t think he would be pissed off, but I still figured I’d have to convince him to get on board a little.
“Really? Because I’m pretty sure Sir is gonna kill me for this.” Like actually kill, maybe.
“Oh, definitely,” he confirms as he takes the keys from me. Great. “Which is why you and I are only going to tell him if we find something good after we go over there and search the place.”
“Wait, right now?” Honestly, if you’re still surprised at this point to learn that I didn’t think any of this through, that’s on you. “Does he live alone? Isn’t he married or something?”
“Yes, but any time Murbank throws a big event like this, his wife is the one who does the actual planning,” he responds confidently, already moving down the alley.
“We’ll knock on the door when we get there, but I’d bet money she’s back in the hall’s main ballroom right now, ordering around the crews setting up. ”
We walk quickly to the southern part of the city.
We have some time, but if we want to beat Khazak back to the station, we still need to hurry.
We pass by the shipyard on the way, and it’s only another few blocks before we reach the councilman’s home, obviously in one of the wealthier parts of the city.
Just like you’d expect for a man of his station, it’s big, though not quite a mansion.
A metal gate surrounds his yard, which is filled with fountains and statues depicting orcs in various poses.
Behind the house, I can see the wall of the city, acting as a fence for his backyard.
“Wow.” It’s not that it’s unimpressive. There’s just something about it that’s so...
“Pretentious, right?” Ragnar finishes my thought.
“Very,” I agree, the two of us stepping toward the gate.
It’s not locked, so we swing it open enough to walk inside and close it behind us.
The streets look empty right now, but you never know who might be watching.
I make sure to search the windows of the neighboring houses for any faces, and Ragnar is doing the same.
He’s the one to approach the large wooden doors, giving two quick knocks.
We wait a minute before trying again, but there’s still no answer.
“See? No one’s home.” Ragnar grins as he pulls out the keyring. “You and I will be in and out before Murbank even notices his keys are missing.”
He sorts through the ring, deciding on which he thinks are house keys.
He tries three before we find the right one, the lock clicking open with ease.
After one final look around, Ragnar opens the door, and we slip inside, locking the door behind us.
We’re standing in a large foyer, but it’s the next room that really catches my eye.
Murbank’s living room—if that’s what they’re called when they’re this big—is massive.
I think it might be bigger than Khazak’s entire house.
There’s a similar sunken area, this one with three couches in front of a very ornate fireplace.
Statues dot the sides of the room and artwork lines the walls, and in the back of the room, I can even see a large piano in front of a set of glass doors that lead to the backyard.
“Fuck,” I say to no one in particular.
“Yeah, I don’t think you get this rich without doing some questionable things.” Ragnar steps forward, looking around the room. “Alright, we don’t have a ton of time, so we should split up. You take left. I’ll go right.”
There’s a hallway on either side of the room, and another in the back that looks like it leads to a kitchen.
“What are we looking for, anyway?” I ask as I move toward the left hall. “I can’t exactly read anything.”
“Something that could tie him to the robberies or the bombings,” Ragnar tells me from the opposite doorway. “Maybe some of the stuff that’s been stolen or a set of black robes. If you see anything that might be suspicious, come find me, and I’ll check it out.”
“Alright, first person to finish comes and finds the other?” I don’t wanna be here any longer than we need to.
“Sounds like a plan.” Ragnar hits his chest in a half-salute and turns down the hall behind him.
And so begins my search for...whatever it is we’re hoping to find here.
The hall I start down is a long one, and I pass door after door after door.
Some closets, a few bedrooms, and a lot of bathrooms. Is he showing off because his dad invented toilets or something?
I search each room as I pass it, though there isn’t a whole lot to look through in the bathrooms and closets, and all the bedrooms look completely unlived in.
I don’t get the point of having a house with rooms you never use.