Chapter Four Hundred and Sixty-One - Motivating Factors

The news that Rainnewt was involved hit me like a hammer to the solar plexus, and yet... I probably should have expected it. Kidnapping nice people was exactly the sort of not-nice stuff I'd expect out of a person like Rainnewt.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much more Desiree could tell us.

Rainewt hadn't shown up at the cave or camp while she was there. Not that she knew, in any case.

She'd overheard them talking about him a little, but most of what she discovered was that Rainnewt paid very well and that the bandits were kind of greedy and also kind of lazy.

"If we can secure them in time, we'll be able to ask some probing questions," Mathilde said. "But I wouldn't rely on them."

"The bandits?" I asked. "Or the questions."

"Both. Rainnewt doesn't strike me as a fool. He will likely have some degree of compartmentalization in his operation. It would be idiotic of him not to. The bandits likely reported to someone, who reported to him. Or there might even be more links to the chain."

"Then why use his real name?" Booksie asked.

That was a great question. "By shapeshifting, he could have passed himself off as anyone. I don't think the average bandit has heard all about Rainnewt and his reputation."

Mathilde frowned. "True. We can only speculate, but I imagine that reputation might play a large part in his schemes." At my confused look, she went on. "Captain Bunch, you and your friends have developed something of a reputation yourselves. If you were to show up at the capital on a mission from the guild, they'd certainly offer you more respect now than they would have months prior. The same might be true of Rainnewt. He's establishing himself as a contender on the national stage."

"But as a bad guy," I said.

"As a person with few scruples and some amount of personal and financial power," Mathilde said, her tone suggesting it was a correction. "Certain people will flock to that kind of power. Unfortunately."

"Oh," I said. That was... really unfortunate. I could recall a few people that had been swayed to Rainnewt's cause. If I could call his goals a cause. They weren't the nicest sorts of people.

"He's truly a cunning and conniving foe," Desiree said with a serious nod. "Even I would be tempted by the prospects of working with someone who has proven quite prodigious and powerful. When a three-tailed fox speaks, one does well to listen."

I supposed that there was some credibility that came with being a world-renowned bad guy, but still. Why couldn't people just... not follow the obvious criminal?

There was a knock at the door, and after Mathilde told the knock-er to enter, the secretary from the front came in with a bundle of clothes.

Booksie took them gratefully, and I resisted the urge to Clean them right away. The only shoes were some sandals, but that was better than being barefoot, and there were socks too.

Booksie pulled on a pair of pants that were obviously sized for men, tucked her nightgown into the pants, then cinched a belt on as tight as it would go around her waist. She looked... rather silly, and I had to hold back a giggle as she bent down and folded up the cuffs of the pants so that she could walk in them properly. "Thank you," she said to Mathilde. "It'll do until I get home, at least. Do you want me to return these?"

"Keep them, give them away, do as you want. We have a small stash of old gear that never sees any use," the guildmaster said with a dismissive wave. "I feel like I've gotten everything I could out of the three of you. Once the bandits are delivered to Port Royal, I'll see if I can't get an ear into their interrogation."

"Will you keep us informed?" I asked.

Mathilde frowned, then nodded. "You're involved, like it or not. It wouldn't be fair to keep you out of the loop at this point. So yes, you'll be informed about what we discover. I wouldn't bet on that being very much, however."

"This whole marriage is turning into a mess," Booksie said with a sigh. "Maybe we should just elope?"

"That does sound very romantic," I said.

"A lot of important people intend to participate in the wedding," Mathilde said.

"All the more reason to skip town, then," Booksie said. "Rhawr can just fly." She sighed. "But no. We won't let this Rainnewt guy win. And I did always want a proper wedding. I guess we'll just have to increase security to a level where we all feel safe, no matter what he plans."

"That's reasonable," Mathilde said. "Of course, the Exploration Guild is already making moves to ensure that the wedding will be secure. Getting so many high-levelled individuals to cooperate is like herding cats, but I think it will be worth it."

"Thank you," Booksie said. "Do you think I can go back home now?"

Mathilde nodded. "Of course. You must be exhausted."

"You can't imagine," Booksie said. "I didn't exactly get a full night's sleep. And I think the adrenaline wore off some time ago. Honestly, I could sleep standing up."

"I have a member of the guild watching over your shop. I hope that's not too intrusive. We've noticed some... criminal elements around as well, though if I understood correctly, they're mostly aligned with your future sister-in-law, and are likely meant to be there."

"Thank you," Booksie said. "For everything. I appreciate it."

We said some final goodbyes before slipping out of Mathilde's nice office, then back through the main lobby, being scrutinised by a bunch of explorers, and finally we were out.

"Home?" I asked.

"Home," Booksie said.

"You could sleep over at the Beaver if you want," I said.

She shook her head though. "No. I want my own bed. And I want to see the state of the shop as well. I might not be doing much business, but I am doing some. It'll be a shame if the shop's closed for any longer than it has to be."

I nodded along. "I'll help you clean. Promise!"

With that, the three of us ambled our way across Port Royal. Desiree's head was on a swivel, taking it all in while her tails wagged to and fro behind her. She was enjoying the walk, at least. Booksie was walking... well, she was putting one foot in front of the other, and when I wrapped an arm around her shoulder to give her some support, she was quick to lean into my side.

We did make it to her place soon enough, and without being accosted, kidnapped, attacked, or otherwise bothered. I noticed a larger gathering of Cholondee's ruffians than before on one street corner, some guards on the other, and an assortment of adventurer-looking people casually spread out across the otherwise quiet street.

None of them bothered us as Booksie slipped into the alley towards the back of her place. "I, ah, didn't take my keys with me," she explained. We came onto the backdoor, and Booksie sighed. "This is a mess," she said.

"Hey, it's not that bad," I said as I rubbed circles on her back. "A carpenter can fix all of this in no time."

"I've seen greater damage from enthusiastic sparring. Fear not, long-eared friend, I'm certain that with some small effort your palatial home will be returned to its former splendour!"

Booksie smiled. "Thank you," she said.

We moved in, then I started picking things up right away. It looked as though a few more curious people had wandered in and poked around, but things didn't seem that much more out of place than they had been that morning.

Booksie glared at the room, then she stomped over to her bedroom and shut the door. A couple of minutes later, while I was still sorting through things, she emerged in her own pants and blouse and with proper shoes on. "Sleep can wait," she said.

I smiled. Yes, this would make her more tired later, but I figured that taking action would be much better for her mental health than just wallowing and being sad.

Some twenty minutes into our cleaning, Booksie straightened, and her ears flicked upwards. "Oh," she said.

"Oh?" I asked.

Then the whole building shook.

"Rhawr is here," she said.

The next thing I knew, Booksie had bolted out the back door.

When I followed after her, Desiree just behind me, I discovered Booksie with her front pressed up against a familiar dragon's face. Her arms couldn't even reach all the way around his neck, but she was hugging him anyway, and Rhawr was returning the favour, pressing a single digit into Booksie's back.

I smiled. This was, without a doubt, worth all the trouble.

***