NOVEL WEB Chapter 5: Hunting for Truffles
Albert could believe, he was under assumption that the only the system could give out cases and grants rewards but now it seemed he would have to rethink a couple of things. Now it made perfect sense as to why the system would want him to open a detective agency, requests from others could trigger a cases by themselves. He could only salivate at the possibility of the police approaching him for help and what kinds of rewards the system would give him in that situation. But now wasn’t the time to drool over fantasies, from what he could tell IP, Improvement Points, seem to be the most common rewards type. Meaning he could expect to quickly stockpile points to greatly enhance his skill growth.
‘That’s for the future, for now, I should think of a way to solve this case first.’
From what he could tell from the picture of “Truffles”, she was just an incredible cute dog. She doesn’t seem to be the right breed for fighter dogs so he could push that option to the side, but he was getting ahead of himself. Was the dog even stolen? Could she have just ran away? He couldn’t be sure, there wasn’t enough information on the flier to tell. In the photo, the bulldog seemed incredible happy, especially with her tongue hanging out and eyes sparkling. Her coat was well taken care of and she obviously wasn’t starved given her rotund belly. All these things together tied together his theory that if she was stolen, it wasn’t from someone who participated in dog pits.
He softly sighed before rubbing his hands over his face as he tried to think of a solution, thinking sitting down would help he sat at a nearby bench and began to think harder. From the flier he knew the meeting spot he was suppose to go to if he found their dog, but where was he suppose to start?! Asking everyone at the park wouldn’t lead anywhere, if he were to ask anyone it would have to be someone who worked there. Or even someone who went here regularly but how could he tell? He just arrived here yesterday. Rising to his feet he began to slowly walk down the pathways,’There’s no reason to sit here doing nothing, might as well do a quick lap around the park and look for his clues.’
There many things about this situation that irritated Albert, the only lead he had was from 3 days ago at the minimum meaning any possible trace of Truffles was overshadowed by the continuous passing of many people enjoying their day. And the chances of gaining another one required the vocal testimony of someone who, from how well taken care of this park is, assuredly overworked. That meant he would have to question more workers until someone called the cops on him for harassing the employees. They won’t care that he’s looking for a dog, they’ll just slap him with cuffs and be done with him. So he’ll have to careful with who he talks too during this time.
Albert spent the next half hour talking to open looking employees of the park, all while leaning hard on his Psychology skill in order to avoid those who he deemed would cause him trouble. Don’t get it wrong, even with his skill he barely got any information. If some ugly, scrawny and short kid came walking up to anyone, they would of course be a lot less charitable than if someone had an attractive face. He could count on a single hand on how times he hasn’t been turned away or ignored and even then he could only retreat when his skill gave him the sense of coming annoyance. He was ready to throw in the towel when he finally made a break through with an older maternal looking woman who seemed a lot more patient with his existence.
“You remind me of my husband when we first started dating,” Her green eyes stared pass him as she reminiscence her past,” A true ugly duckling but I loved that man for over 50 years.”
“What happened to him,” Albert asked while trying to hide his blackened face at being called ugly (again).
“He died to cancer not even a year ago,” Her eyes began to moistened,” Oh how I miss him, he had the most beautiful laugh.”
She closed her eyes and breathed in the clean air smiling slightly, "Sometime when I’m here I can still hear his laughter. But that’s enough about me, what do you want to know”
“I am sorry for your lost,” Albert slightly bowed,” Have you seen a brown French Bulldog with a white tuff of fur around its left eye?”
The woman’s closed eyes slightly scrunched up in thought before she opened her eyes once more,” Yes I think I do, I usually see a big young man with blonde hair around here but recently I did see him walking a dog like the one you described.”
His heart beating as he listened to her spin her tale of this new suspect.
“But do be gentle with him,” She said sharply,” He’s like a child in that giant body of his.”
After noting down the information in his mind, he thanked her and began to turn when she called out to him
“Be sure to come by more often to keep this old lady company.”
Smiling at her and nodding in ascent, Albert began to meander his way back to near the entrance of the park. Sitting down at the bench, he began to dread his assuredly lengthy stay. He really wished he could’ve brought something to speed up the time but it seemed that wasn’t in the cards for this adventure. He slowly began to withdraw into his mind as he processed the information he learned; his suspect was a 6’4” tanned male of around twenty-three years old with short blonde hair, heavily muscled, brown eyes and he seemed to have some sort of developmental disorder given the woman’s description of the man. After hearing how massive this person was, any plans he might’ve had of physically taking the dog back was thrown out of the window. He didn’t have the necessary skills to take someone down of that stature, he decided that he would follow the dognaper home and just call the police instead of getting physically involved. Plus, he wasn’t too comfortable attacking anybody to be honest. It didn’t help much that the woman described him as a ‘child in a giant body’, that made him even more adverse to violence in this situation.
He didn’t believe his luck would be high enough for him to run into his suspect on the same day he got this information so he could only continue onto other things. Like visiting that library for instance. Leaving the giant gates of Gotham’s City Park, he referenced the map for awhile before turning down the street and continuing until after a couple of minutes he stood with mouth gaping at the sight before him. Before stood an absolute marvel of architectural prowess. Who ever made designed this building deserved a raise.
The gigantic white building had multiple pillars that brought to mind the style of Ancient Rome, the two white marbled lion statues seem to look down on any who would dare approach these sacred halls of knowledge. Large glass windows lined the building, giving a peek to the outside world of it riches. From where he stood, rows of books could be seen from the outside.
The enchanting allure of learning, of stimulation after so many year almost caused a line of drool to escape his lips. Stumbling forward he barely let the heavy gaze of the two marble guardians cause him to hesitate entering this heaven. His eyes locked onto metal cage surrounding the inside of the entrance as he entered. There seemed to be a security check station before he could enter, with a metal detector and a conveyor belt that led into an x-ray scanner. The sense of elation and desire he felt for this place of knowledge soon dried up at the start reminder of where he was. The underbelly of Gotham wouldn’t even leave this sacred place without scars.
Multiple security guards sat in front of a metal table, lazily looking at his slight frame. They wore a dark blue uniform with some sort of side arm at their sides, he didn’t want to find out if it was a fire arm or not. Fidgeting slightly, he approached the guards with a hopeful feeling in his chest. It didn’t matter how their eyes made his spine shiver, he was going to get those books.
“Halt.”
A blonde haired, brown eyed female guard voice drawled.
Stopping, Albert looked around at the bored face in front of him before tentatively answered,”Yes?”
“You know the drill,” She droned,”Empty your pockets into that bin, take off your shoes and do the same. Do you have any metal implants?”
“No ma’am, I don’t have any.”
It did feel a bit weird to be walking around without shoes on such nice marbled floor but this level of discomfort was more than worth it. It didn’t take long him to empty his pocket of his only possessions, but the cold feeling against his ankle gave him pause. He had completely forgotten about that inheritance key, with burning cheeks he rummaged around in his sock and pulled out the plain looking key for putting them in the brown bin along with his wallet. The woman’s raised brow didn’t help the heat slowly filling his face.
“Anything else,” Her voice was tinged with teasing so obvious that even his own lacking social skills could clearly hear it. No matter how he shouted at his body, it couldn’t help but blush even harder. Maybe when he grew older, he resist this level of teasing but now? He was just easy prey.
“Stop bothering the kid, he looks like he’s going to burst into flame.” A male guard guffawed.
“I’m not doing anything to him,” She protested,” It’s harmless.”
“Go on through kid,” a deep voice proceed him forward,” She won’t do anything to you.”
The next couple of minutes amounted to Albert going through the metal detector, collecting his things and scuttling away from the now rowdy guards. He would probably have to stay long here just to avoid the teasing they would definitely give him on his way out today. His eyes roved over the rows upon rows of wooden shelves filled to brim with books, causing his heart to palpitate slightly. Logic soon reeled his excited mind back onto trap before he could just take a book off the shelf all willy nilly. He needed a plan, what did he need most in this situation?
‘I need to know my way around Gotham, I got lucky today. I could’ve ran into some crazy gangsters territory and gotten beaten or worse.’
From what he could remember there indeed was skill that could help in that regard, Navigation. It was skill more commonly used to help safely and efficiently travel through unexplored the wilderness or ancient ruins but would suffice in this situation. The only hitch in that plan was that the skill wasn’t on his status, so it would probably start at zero percent. But it would have to do, he couldn’t keep relying on being lucky enough to find a helping hand and not a dagger in the back.
With his mind made, his foots step assuredly weaved through the forest of shelves before him. Unlike during his trip through Gotham’s streets, he practically fused with the shelves around him as his eyes danced upon the endless names listed. With the occasional light tugging from Library Use, he quickly found himself sitting at a desk that was well hidden from the more streamline sections of the library. Under the soft glow of the small lamp besides him, he drove out any outside distractions and dived into the book aptly names ‘Navigation for Dummies’.
Albert wasn’t aware of how long he spent in that still position with nothing more than the crisp sound pages turning, until he was shaken out of his fugue by the sound of giant bells ringing. Rubbing his tired eyes, he looked up from the thick book and looked upon the orange rays of light filtering through the shelves.
“Please be advice, we will be closing in 10 minutes. If you wish to check out any books, now is the time to do so.” A soft male voice spoke over the slight crackle of an intercom overhead.
Grumbling slight, he noted his progress before putting the book away and walking towards the exit. He also noted that guard team was different than the one’s saw while entering with a sigh of relief. Walking outside, he took in the setting sun over the gloomy streets with a light heart. He might’ve said once but he’ll say it again, this city is truly a beautiful place. The way the orange rays fell through the tall buildings and changed the natural fog into that of a fiery appearance made it seem like he was in a painting. As he swung by Coffee Stains, he couldn’t feel a real difference from the hours prior and could only lament his experiment for the day. He wanted to see how fast he could pick up skills without IP and but there didn’t seem to be any changes on his status.
[Albert Nelson
HP: 20/20
MP: 9/9
SAN: 44/45
LCK: 45/45
Skills:
- Appraise: 25%
- Art/Craft (Photography): 55%
- Disguise: 20%
- Fire Arms (Handgun): 60%
- Library Use: 60%
- Listen: 30%
- Occult: 35%
- Psychology: 50%
- Spot Hidden: 60%
- Stealth: 40%
Talents:
- Resourceful
- Lucky
Cthulhu Mythos: 0%]
It seemed he would either have to be willing to spend more time or IP in order to gain the Navigate skill. He would try again tomorrow but if there was still no progress even after getting here earlier than he wouldn’t hesitate to spend points. This skill was pivotal in not only his survival but also for his own growth. What would happen if he was chasing a lead and lost them because he didn’t know that there was an entire hidden back alley. The base scenario would be for them to have left him in their dust but what if they saw his ignorance as a chance and attacked him while his back was turned? Then he could only curse his lack of foresight before bleeding out somewhere in a dingy alley. With those grim thoughts he strengthened his resolve, 'Navigate first and then I can start to train my other skills.’
Seeing the familiar shop, his shoulders slightly hunched in relief. Maybe that book actually helped? With the same ring of the bell, he soon saw the old man Jeremiah standing behind the counter.
“Ah good your here,” He started warmly,” I got the garbage prepared since its your first day but don’t expect this old man to do it again.”
Chuckling softly, Albert eyed the bulging trash bags set in front of the large counter dubiously.
‘It’s just some coffee cups or coffee grounds, it shouldn’t be too much for me.’
As if to disavow him of that belief, the moment his fingers wrapped around the neck of one large garbage bag he could immediately sense how heavy it was with a slight tug. Sure, he expected them to weight something but not to this extent.
“They aren’t that heavy,” The old man chortled,” It builds character, I swear.”
Grunting with exertion, the youth swung the large bag onto his shoulders and regretted it instantly. Sure it might’ve offset some of the weight but it still caused his body to nearly buckle under the load. Taking a few deep breathes, his legs soon stopped shaking enough for him to walk. With unsteady feet, he trudged towards the door with all thoughts just focusing on not falling. After leaving the building he looked to the side and saw a nearby alley with a large steel dumpster causing his heart to leap in joy. His quickening steps sounded loud in his ears as he neared his salvation. Practically catapulting the accursed bag over his shoulder and watching it fly into dumpster filled his body with relief. That was then crushed by the realization that he would have to do that atleast two more times.
He went back and forth between the coffee shop and the dumpster multiple times with ever increasing exhaustion creeping into his body. After his third trip he wanted nothing more than to collapse into a bed somewhere and sleep for about eight to ten hours. Sweat stickily stuck to his skin and rubbed uncomfortably against his clothes. Back muscles he didn’t even know he had pulsed and he knew that was going to be sore in the morning.
“Well that’s good enough,” Jeremiah chuckled at the sight of the exhausted youth,”But next time please don’t put them in my neighbors bin, they get awfully annoyed when I do it. Mine is down there.”
Wrinkled, calloused fingers pointed further down the alley, just a few feet away from the dumpster Albert used. A red blush soon took over his face and a sense of cold dread ran down his spine.
“Don’t worry about coming everyday, just come atleast once a week. But be warned, if you wait that long you’ll have to do runs a lot worse than the one today. And here you go, its not much but it’s still something.”
He felt slightly better at the fact he wouldn’t have to do something like everyday, maybe when he was a bit stronger it wouldn’t be so much of an issue. But now? It could constitute heavy lifting for his weak frame. He felt even better when he saw the green bill in his face, taking the cash in gratitude he put it in his wallet before standing up.
“Thank you, I’ll be back.”
Albert then shook the man’s hand.
“Its no problem, be safe on your way home and avoid the alley ways if you can.”
Jeremiah warned.
Nodding in agreement Albert soon walked down the street deep in thought. He earned a solid ten dollars after a short ten minutes of work, sure he would be cursing the old man in the morning but for now he had a steady stream of revenue until he could find that dog. He needed to take stock of his situation. So far, he had a saf...safe-ish place to stay, food in his belly, a steady flow of income, a biggish payout from his case and whatever his grandfather left for him. All he needed was time.
That was his schedule for the next couple of days; in the morning he would wake up, eat breakfast with the isolated group, chat up some seemingly open people from the park, study up on navigation techniques at the library and go home. Occupationally he would go to Coffee Stains and take out the trash trying to avoid doing multiple runs again. His routine was soon shattered by appearance of his prime-no...perpetrator.
