The City: PuzzleLocked Book 1

There weren’t any mini-games or puzzles with the kitchen clean up, but a bit of work, and about an hour later the dishes were clean. Flor had turned up her BGM as a distraction for the chores to avoid getting lost in thought. It’s more important to get out of here and explore than to think through our list of mysteries. It’s nice having what amounts to a radio everywhere we go, even if it does get repetitive.

As she dried the last dish Alastair handed her, he drained the pot and placed it next to the fire. She stacked the dish, turned down the BGM to 5, and clapped her hands. “And done. Probably. Let’s go get the all-clear from Horace and head out.”

“No need, I’m here. Mop the floor and then you’re free to go. You can stay the night, and if you want to come back to prepare the evening meal, I’ll appreciate that too. There were enough positive comments about your food preparation that the warden gave me a coin. I don’t think it’s fair to keep it, although perhaps I ought to since I had to fix a window grate in your room that hadn’t been previously broken. Anyway, here.” Horace handed the coin to Flor since Alastair had already disappeared to find a mop.

Maybe that’s one mystery solved. “Thank you. Can you recommend something to do before we come back to prepare the evening meal?”

Horace looked at a small clock behind the bar. “Well, it’s almost 18 o’clock now. If you promise to mop before you prepare the evening meal, and you rush, you might be able to see the procession depart.”

“Procession? What and where?”

“From the Mayor’s manor. They leave for the Lord’s Keep at precisely 18. Now, go on.”

“But, I have no idea how to get there.”

“Just head left out the door and follow the street until you hit the main gate. The procession will pass through there.”

“Alastair, put down the mop. We’re going to see the procession. Thanks, Horace!”

Flor and Alastair arrived just as the tail end of the procession was exiting the city gate. What looked like a pair of Hansom cabs were pulled by horses, with a slightly larger enclosed cab a bit ahead. A few additional individuals were riding horses in an approximate column ahead of that.

Due to their rushed arrival, neither had gotten an overly good look at the procession, although there were dozens of people idling about, so maybe they’d at least get a chance to find someone in the crowd to chat with about it. As the crowd began to disperse, still huddled against the rain, Flor said to Alastair, “Start looking to see if there is someone with a name we can chat with.”

She started looking through the titles: Guard, guard, mucker, laborer, socialite, laborer, Emma Ragna, laborer, engineer. Flor did a double take. Yes, there was a specific name. Emma Ragna, Merchant 4. Flor elbowed Alastair and nodded in Emma’s direction. He glanced and then indicated the direction he had been looking. Flor saw another name above a man, Arnar Mattias, Farmer 3.

Alastair asked, “Should we split up and meet back here after we see where they are going?”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea if we’re going to try to advance to tomorrow tonight, plan. Better to stay together.”

“So who do we prioritize?”

She thought for a moment. “The farmer. A merchant probably remains in the city, but the farmer probably comes from a farm. So the merchant will be easier to find later.”

“Good call. Let’s follow him for a bit.”

Arnar walked along the street, over a bridge, and into a park. He checked on what must have been his horse. The horse, lazily tied to a tree branch, was grazing. Arnar said something to the horse and continued out of the green space down the street. As they were exiting, Flor saw something flash by.

“Alastair! It’s a cat! You follow Arnar and I’ll go after the cat.”

“Go! Don’t fall off any roofs. I’ll ask after Arnar and meet you back here. Worst case, he’ll come back for his horse eventually.”

Flor glanced in the direction she thought she saw the cat go, which looked like a bit of fluffy bushes. Perhaps it was stalking prey, hiding from a predator, or just avoiding the persistent rain. Regardless, Flor crept toward the bush, hoping not to spook the creature. Or creatures, if it were the case that there were more than one like when she found Ivonette Lillias. Unlikely I’ll be that lucky every time. She bent down, got on her hands and knees, and then lifted the lowest branch.

The smallish cat was lying on its side, licking its paws. But when it noticed Flor, it quickly got to its feet and looked about to dash away.

Flor quickly made the “Pspspspsp” sound that soothes most cats, and sure enough, the dark silver-colored cat hunched over, still on alert but less inclined to sprint away. Flor crawled forward, saying “Here, sweet kitty. I want to give you a gentle pat or two.”

The cat backed away, and Flor was certain it would dart away, so she waited a moment with her hand extended. After a moment, the cat came forward and sniffed at her hand. Deciding that Flor was not a threat, the cat rubbed fully against her hand.

Congratulations! You have pet a cat!

You have met Ratree

Flor continued to let Ratree rub against her hand while waiting for additional notifications or achievements. {Cat 007 is a four-year-old female Korat. Yes, her name is Ratree.} After a few seconds of waiting, she moved in a bit more and Ratree began a soft purr as Flor rubbed behind her ears.

After a few more minutes of gentle petting, Ratree’s eyes grew big and she hissed and ran away from Flor. Flor’s guard went up immediately. She rolled to her side and looked about to see what might cause a cat to flee so quickly. However, she didn’t see anything peculiar, so she marked it as Ratree coming to her cat sense against getting too cozy with strangers.

Flor rolled out of the bushes and decided to wander around the park. Perhaps there was something to be seen or another cat, or she could think through the problem sets that faced her and Alastair while Alastair was off chasing down a farmer.