Quillan froze for a moment, then grinned, "Of course, the cards will always be here later."
We all stepped out onto the parapet. Yaelin's breath, the air was clean. The wind combed the smoke out of my fur and set the pennants clacking like old bones. Quillan stood with the sun on his face and did no squint. The breeze shifted for a moment, and I finally caught the scent again. It smelled like a wet cellar, frayed ropes, and old brick.
Annalise rested her back on guardhouse wall. Her posture friendly. "Thanks for helping out. So far, I've only heard a story of a story of an event. I want to hear it from the source." She said. "Could you please walk me through what you saw at the silo. Not the report version. Just the truth the way your feet remember it."
"Of course," he said. His sandpaper voice seemed to smooth itself out now that it was out of the smoke, "You know how the late summers swell. Heat sits under the tongue, while work piles up. The grain was coming in day after day. Harvestwatch living up to its name once more." He let out a small chuckle at his own joke before continuing.
"Everyone swears they checked twice and then check twice again. Captain read the list." He gestured toward the wall we climbed up. "The second bell was ringing when we logged the incoming wagon, cut the seals, and watched the pour into the Silo. Silo forty two. That was… three days ago."
"Who was posted with you?" Annalise asked.
"Reckon," He said. The name arrived almost faster than Annalise asked. "Pell was at the gate with another newer guard. The two porters brought the wagon in. Nothing was out of the ordinary that day really. Just a normal day."
"I heard there was a problem with the pour?" Annalise pressed
"Yea. I could have sworn I saw something go into it. I called for an investigation, which ticked a few people off. Nevertheless, they inspected and didn't see anything. I guess I was right though. They should have trusted me."
So far, his answers, were smooth. No change altered his expression nor demeaner; I couldn't discern any visible lies from him, but the fur on my neck pricked with unease. I just could not shake the odd feeling. I understood what Jerverm meant earlier about being off.
"I heard you just got back from being sick?" Annalise continued. "Are you feeling better?"
"Oh yea, feeling a lot better." He scratched his chin, "I'm feeling great. Three days at home does wonders for the soul."
"But you weren't at home, were you?" Annalise's tone didn't change, but the energy wavering in the air stilled. And for the first time, Quillan didn't immediately reply.
"Oh yea. No not at home. But at my parent's home." He said. "I had mentioned to my parents that I was sick, and they came over and forcefully brought my family to their house. In fact, my wife is over there now."
"And your son?" I asked
"Yes, he's with his mother right now." He said.
"That's all we really needed to hear to get an unofficial statement." Annalise stated, "Sounds like the firebugs have been taken care of. But would you mind coming to the guild house with us? Just to get an official statement down? There's extra coin for your trouble."
"Well." He hesitated, "My break ends at the third bell. Which should go off soon…"
"I'm sure we can get you off of work for the rest of the day." Annalise said. "We got permission from Lord Puddilock to do whatever solves or helps solve the case. And your written statement is going to be needed to continue before we find the source of the problem."
"Then in that case, I suppose I'm headed over with you all." Quillan chuckled. "I got all my gear on me, I can go whenever you are ready."
"Then let's go." Annalise said and started walking.
Our footsteps echoed as we walked along the wall, before being overtaken by the sound of the bustling city as we approached the gates where Jerverm was stationed.
As we walked down the stairs the smell followed us. I was behind Annalise and Quillan as they both conversed over the annoyances of work, especially paperwork.
As we passed by the gate, I saw Jerverm cast a glance our way, a mixture of fear and hope lingering in his gaze. With little knowledge of what I was going to be able to give him, we continued through the city.
The idle chatter of Annalise and Quillan continued as I walked behind them, my head held aloft as I focused. Cities were always harder to track in, the harsh scent of stone paving the houses, the sharp tang of dirty clothes left out by working mothers, and the early remains of horses on either side of the road. And yet I concentrated on one scent, separate from the heavy musk coming from Quillan, I took a deep inhale to try to find the fainter hit of its familiar cousin.
As we passed the rest of the farming district, I found it to be nowhere. Neither was it in the eastern market nor the noble district. But as we crested into the western district, in the chasm of the river beneath the bridge, its face reared once more. It was difficult to determine if it originated from the river itself, or if there was an undercurrent below the city.
Annalise didn't seem to notice and was laughing at a joke told by Quillan.
Before long we arrived at the Vanguard guildhouse. The smell of roasted meat, sweaty bodies, and good ale all mixed together and filled the streetside as Annalise opened the door and the noise of the tavern washed over us.
"Adratsos can you stay with Quillan while I go and see if the Guildmaster is upstairs?" Annalise asked cheerily and she bounded without answer behind the bar and up the stairs.
I pulled over to a table and sat down across from Quillan.
"So… wolf. How did you appear? Over the wall perhaps? You mother mate with a Fenrir?"
All it would take would be a single blow to break open his skull, and he would never get to open his foul mouth again. The best part about being a healer is that I could fix him before the guards arrived. Dawnbringer, give me the patience and humility. It is not my place to conduct judgement on others. Please grant me the ability to understand and use your mercy.
After one more beat too long, "I'm just joking. I'm just joking. I was trying to make fun, you have barely spoken the whole time. A big, scary looking guy like yourself makes people nervous you know. Try and smile more."
I smiled.
"Maybe not. Sorry about asking." Quillan seemed more nervous now for some reason. "Do you know any table games while we wait."
"No."
"Okay." Quillan looked around, the guild was lively around us. The sound of wooden swords clacking together echoed from outside, led by a large gray skinned orc who was currently fighting two people at once. Inside, by the bar, the dark-horned twins sat across each other smiling and laughing with each other.
After another minute Annalise came down the stairs and bounded over to us. "Thanks for the wait Quillan! If you don't mind coming upstairs to sign some documents, we'll get you some silver and a drink for your trouble."
Quillan shot up, "Sounds good to me."
We all made our way up the stairs and onto the second floor. It was a long hallway that held the conference room, the alchemy lab, storage closet, and Helena's office. Annalise stepped outside the conference room and gestured Quillan to go first.
Quillan reached up. The moment his fist touched the wood, the door shattered off its hinges. It shot from its frame like a cannonball, slamming Quillan and pinning him against the back wall with a sickening crack of splintering wood and bone.
He lay there, arms bent at angles they were never meant to hold. For a heartbeat, there was only the sound of dust settling.
Then, the body moved.
Limbs snapped and jerked, not like a person, but like a broken puppet. His skin rippled, sloughing its goblin-like color to reveal a mottled, glistening black hide beneath. With a wet, tearing sound, the thing that was Quillan pulled itself free of the broken door, unfolding into a nightmarish, spider-like crouch.
It gathered itself and sprang, skittering towards us, towards the stairs. I began gathering divine power as swift as possible to gather a shield, but Annalise was faster.
She roared. "FREEZE!"
The word wasn't a request. Magic rippled with the sound in a physical wave of power that slammed down the hallway. I felt the air leave my lungs, but the focus of the spell took it worse. The create stopped instantly, limbs locked in mid-stride as if flash-frozen in time.
Before the choe of her command faded, Helena burst from the conference room, her boot a blur. It connect with the creature's skull, driving it and a chunk of the floorboards clean through.
There was a final, wet squelch, a brief, spider squirming, and then it was still.
"Damn doppelgangers." Helena cursed.
"What the fuck was that." Annalise panted. A trickle of blood stained the edges of her mouth.
"Doppelganger." Helena looked at Annalise. "A monstrous creature that has the ability to mimic a person near perfect. However, to do so it kidnaps someone, lays an egg in them. Once the egg hatches, the Doppelganger will be born and eat their host, gaining their memories and body."
She kicked the body before continuing. "From what you described of the odd smell, and the trouble with remembering habits and memories. I gave it a seventy percent chance that Quillan was a doppelganger."
"And if he wasn't?" Annalise asked.
"That's why I had you bring Adrastos." Helena chuckled. "Doppelgangers are incredibly dangerous. If you two had been alone at any point, it could and would have left you both barely alive. And I would have seen your corpses moving in a few days."
I glanced down at the contorted black form. Just mere moments ago he had seemed mostly kobold. Not dangerous in the slightest.
"I'm taking the case from you, I'm going to pass it to someone higher. Any more information you guys got from the investigation of firebugs?"
"We got distracted." Annalise said, "But they were definitely connected with the case, it's too close not to be."
"I smelled the same scent on the doppelganger by the bridge separating the noble district with the western." I interjected. "I would start my search there."
"Thank you Adrastos." Helena grumbled, "I will look into any more connections around the firebugs and the doppels. For now, I would take this monster and skin it. The skin sells well; the claw and fangs can be utilized by a blacksmith."
She turned and looked at the door. With a sigh she said, "I'll get the door fixed, and the blood cleaned. You all have done enough work. Go collect your reward from Aarson, Garrick can teach you how to skin the thing. Good job today."
With those parting words, she walked back into the conference room.
Annalise stared down at the doppelganger with a faraway gaze. I put a hand on her shoulder.
"You okay Annalise?"
"Oh? Yea, yea I'm great." She said with a smile. Her clenched hands said otherwise.