Dresden: Time Warp

Holland related this to the group, adding, "By the way, what's the name of the city? Just out of curiosity." He made his way over to check Elli's condition.

Lynette smiled at him and replied, "I did tell you the name yesterday, though you were occupied with aiding your companions, so you must have forgotten...this city is called Caerloyw."

"I don't suppose you have a map?" John asked, knowing full well his ability to navigate streets would be the only asset he could reliably bring to the table. "I swear, when I get lost it's never my fault. Like that time someone decided to replace the door to my clients apartment building with a rift to the Nevernever."

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean..." Lynette said in response, "what is a map?"

"Paper or parchment that shows the layout of a city or region?" John replied confused. Then he remembered that not everyone in this time would be able to read or write. Thinking about literature, John asked Holland "wait, why can I understand Old English? Victorian used to be difficult for me."

"Ah," Lynette said, "I'm afraid I do not have those, as I have no need of them. I know my way around town and the surrounding area."

The discussion gradually woke Elli, who didn't rush to consciousness as much as meander. It seemed like every muscle in her body was aching, something she hadn't felt more than once or twice since she had become Fall Knight.

In retrospect, I should have paid more attention to that, Elli mused. She closed her eyes and tried to attune herself to sense the life forces of the people in the room. She could sense her companions, but her range didn't extend beyond them. She quickly stopped when she began to feel throbbing at her temples.

Well, I can use some magic, Elli thought, But I'm at about a quarter of my usual range and sensitivity. Better rely on diplomacy if I can. If that looks like it's failing, it's time to go straight for the throat. Might have the muscle strength for one good blow, but I can't let myself miss.

She stretched and yawned.

"Man, a good night's sleep does a world of good. I feel almost like new. We doing anything about breakfast?"

"I suppose that I can at least aid with household duties to help our generous host out," John replied at the mention of breakfast, "I at least have some skills that can be used to chip in. I suppose I may be able to get things working without electricity, after that trip that delivery that ended with me lost in the woods." Knowing full well that this would generate skeptical looks, John added, "I'm still alive, that has to count for something."

"I'm not sure what would suit you for a meal," Lynette began, "though I do have many stored of dried and smoked meats from hunting and dried fruits."

The motion of Elli waking up stirred Nomei from her... deep slumber. Nomei groaned and stretched, fully waking herself and checking to see if she had fully healed yet. Though she already knew the answer, it gave her a strange sense of gratification knowing that her regenerative powers exceeded most other White Court Vampires. She opened her eyes and looked around; realizing that she'd fallen asleep a few feet from Elli, she stood up and continued her stretching a few feet further away.

"Elli, how are feeling now? Better, worse?" she asked her friend, however, before she even let Elli respond, something clicked in Nomei's head. "Yo pizza boy, why is it that you seem so familiar?"

"You wouldn't happen to frequent abandoned warehouses much, would ya?" She chuckled at her own joke. Even more so as she realized that neither the pizza guy, nor the the woman who they were staying with would get the joke.

Lynette looked puzzled for a moment before shrugging and saying, "now that all are up, we might look into finding any missing companions. The man with the lantern appears to know where one of them is."

Elli rubbed her eyes and sat up straighter.

"I'm feeling a lot better," she told Nomei, "I think a lot of it was the shock, yesterday, not having the mantle all of a sudden."

And that excuse will hold up for another day or so, Elli reflected, I'll have to hope I'm close to normal by then. Don't want to worry anybody or show this new woman I'm weak.

Lynette's words then finally registered.

"What do you mean, Holland? Have you found Inigo or Juliette?"

Nomei turned and narrowed her eyes at Elli. She didn't believe for a second that that was all that her friend was dealing with, but she'd let it go for now. Besides, she had found something to distract her until she needed to actually talk about it. Speaking of which... "Hey pizza boy, seriously, where do you hang out usually? You look really familiar."

"I don't see how, I get so many prank calls that my employers all end up firing me 'cause I'm 'bad luck.' I don't blame them." John answered Nomei, "And I suppose you overheard my conversation with your lantern carrying friend about the burning buildings?"

"Ummm, no actually, he didn't," Nomei said, somewhat put off at the mention of burning buildings. Sure, he seemed familiar, but she was joking about the warehouse thing. "I was only joking about the warehouses. See, for some reason, the work my friends and I do takes us to a lot of abandoned warehouses - seriously, you'd be amazed at how many abandoned warehouses Vancouver has - though, we tend to end up... Damaging the warehouses."

She let out a laugh, "The guy who introduced me to these guys told me stories about how he'd often end up... Burning... Buildings... Down..."

Lynnette took in the group, thinking for a moment, before saying, "we had best leave soon. If your companion is here and lost they could run into trouble..."

"Do you mind if I take something of your's?" John asked, hesitant about learning more of who these people are. "I think I may be able to figure out if you're the ones who are responsible for what I've seen."

"Knowing Inigo," said Holland, "if he hasn't found some trouble, I think that would be far more surprising." He went about gathering his things for the trek.

Lynette nodded and gathered up her gear, also putting together enough food for a few days for the group.

Once everyone was prepared and moving, they headed into the city of Caerloyw to look for Inigo. Holland took the lead, relying on his psychic link to guide the group to their friend.

As they walked,  Holland took in the countryside,  the weather,  the local flora and fauna,  and generally did everything to keep himself from worrying about Inigo's wellbeing.  Joke all he might,  Holland was still worried about his friend.  He generally liked to keep his friends within lantern range,  especially in an unexpected and unpredictable situation such as this.

Lynette eyed the town, concern building. Their companion would stick out,and the townsfolk weren't very friendly to outsiders and those who are different. She could see people staring at them as they passed and wished that this group had agreed to use the clothes she had offered...they would blend better that way. Turning to Holland, she whispered to him, "perhaps later we can work on making your group blend better with the people here..."

"That's the point," said Holland, flashing Lynnette a smile. "we're looking for a nefarious individual who could be anywhere. The best way to find someone of this nature is to put out some bait and wait for a bite." He gestured at the group. "We are that bait. The trick is to bite back harder when that happens. We're good at that."

"At most times that would be a decent plan, but this town can be hostile to those who cannot blend..." Lynnette said, still looking around uneasily, "it is close to the forest where many dangers lurk, and they have been known to enter the town occasionally..."

"Don't worry," said Holland, "I'm quite the fair hand with diplomacy. If they come to us with a problem, I will see to it that it's resolved in a peaceful manner."