Autumn is a busy time for Ankoydes. The local harvest festival happens near the hot spring (Gyogy-To) with many people coming to bath and soak in the healthy waters. He has been overseeing the guards to protect the compound but also the locals at the festival. A lot happening and too few guards to cover it all. Food and entertainment booths are set up outside the walls of the compound but near the lake. The place is crowded with not only the locals but travelers from nearby villages.
On the evening of the 2nd day of the festival, Ankoydes is having dinner with his family when there is a knock on the door. Sargent Myska, a very competent and friendly man, is at the door. He humbly begs the Magus pardon for disturbing him while in his residence but there are some families asking for help. One of the women is quite distraught about a missing child. The Sargent continues. Normally we would not bother you with something like this Magus but the other families have also had missing children over the past two years.
[hr][/hr]
This adventure could take 2 weeks or 2 (or more seasons) It is an investigation. With magic, sometimes these things go fast. Other times, you may need to invent a spell to help you. I am familiar with Gumshoe and like the system for investigations. I will not allow this to stall out. But do not feel that you need to solves this right now and get frustrated.
Among the locals attending the festival is Ankoydes's wife, Xenia. Although her command of Slavic is just enough to get by, she still misses much of the conversations around her, and she contents herself with wandering the marketplace and sight-seeing. Sophia, meanwhile, is probably pulling mall-cop duty as part of the turb (unless she got kp, again, for trying to lord it over the plebes who don't have magi for fathers).
Ankoydes invites the sergeant in and offers him a beer. His face quickly grows more somber as he hears the sergeant's report...especially when he hears this this been going on for a good while.
[color=blue]"Why has no one brought this to my attention before?" he asks himself under his breath in Greek.
[color=blue]"How long has it been since anyone's seen the child?" he asks Myska.
(If it's only been, basically, long enough for Myska to come get Ankoydes, then he will go outside and Seven-League Stride to the marketplace. If not, he and Myska will hurry down together while he tries to get information about the girl, where she disappeared, anything unusual, and anything along the same lines about the other disappearances.)
Sargent Myska looks taken aback over the thought that he or the guards have done anything wrong. Magus! They have just brought this to our attention. The women are from villages around here. One is from almost 12 miles away. He pauses to regain his professionalism. As near as I can figure, the Reznicek family, who is from Keszthely ( large village near Lake Balaton), had a daughter go missing two days ago. The wife is distraught and when others came to comfort her and hear the story other families came forward with missing children. They talked to me about it because they know my wife Jarmila, and I was struck that they have all disappeared within in the last two years. It made me wonder if we he gestures to the compound in general, have not stirred something up.
[color=blue]The sergeant speaks Greek. I must remember that.
"I did not mean to disparage you, Sergeant. But when people's safety is at risk, especially children, I take that very seriously. Perhaps too much."
Ankoydes ponders Myska's words as they make their way to the village, unwittingly setting a difficult pace, with his long legs, for the sergeant to match. [color=blue]"I hope that what happened to those children isn't our fault. If it is, we will make amends, as best we can, although I know nothing can repair the losses they have suffered. And I will do everything in my power to make sure no more children are lost."
Once they reach their destination, he looks around. [color=blue]"I would meet with the families. The one who lost her daughter first, I would think."
The Sargent leads Ankoydes through the compound to the Inn run by the Oppidum (Zlaté Srdce or The Golden Hart). There have been some tables set up outside to handle the overflow from the festival. At one table you can see a guardsman standing and a huddle of folks standing and sitting around a woman. Her face is blotch from crying. A stocky man that Ankoydes takes for the husband sits by her with his arm around her shoulder.
As Ankoydes and Sargent Myska step up the people visibly pull back away from Ankoydes. He gets looks from some men which is typical for people with the Gift.
Magus. This is Draga and her husband Bogdan. Their daughter went missing about a week ago. The Prochazka ( he gestures to another couple) said their son went missing almost a year ago. The Skalickys ( yet another couple with other children) had a child disappear early this year.
(Ankoydes actually has Gentle Gift; he does, however, have Feral Scent.)
Ankoydes looks at each of the couples in turn. [color=blue]"I am sorry for your losses," he says to them all in his pitiful Slavic.
He then turns to Myska. [color=blue]"Translate for me, please." He then goes to Draga and Bodgan and kneels before them. [color=blue]"I promise you, I will do everything in my power to find your daughter and bring her back.
"Can you tell me where you last saw her? What she was doing? What was happening?"
((they are reacting to Ankoydes' Feral Scent. While not as strong as the negative part of the Gift, coupled with Ankoydes size and appearance is making the men more aggressive/protective and the women draw back. ))
Draga looks confused until Sargent Myska translates. He looks at you and shrugs Apologizes Magus. Your accent is very thick.
Draga begins speaking rapidly and Ankoydes loses track of it quickly. Myska begins a low voiced translation into Ankoydes' ear.
She is a good girl and would never wander off. She was helping her father on market day last. He sent her running to Resnik's farm to ask when he would send some lambs that were promised. She never returned. Bogdan could not leave his stall to look for her as he was working on making sausages. That evening she did not show up. My husband went to Resnik to find out what had happened. He thought she was playing with the lambs. Resnik said she came and told his son Juri the message. He said she did play with the lambs for a bit then sent off through the woods back to town. We have searched the woods for any sign but there is nothing. Someone has taken her! I know it.
[color=blue]"I will try to learn more better Slavic."
[color=blue]"These woods," Ankoydes says to Myska, [color=blue]"where are they? How far?"
If they aren't too far (say,within seven leagues), he will ask the family if they have anything of their daughter's he can use to help find her. A doll, a piece of her clothing, anything.