I don’t understand Damecus sometimes. When he heard about the tree, he was clearly panicked and distressed. But when we arrived at his house, he was incredibly calm while he rocked Verity, despite the clear chaos around him. Then, as soon as he put her down and left the house, he was storming through the streets, absolutely fuming with rage. Did he hide his emotions around Verity to help calm her? If so, then he’s certainly adept at concealing his emotions. You rarely see him visibly express emotions. The only real time I’ve seen him be properly emotional before was anything regarding Alterius.

  Obviously, Chloe and I kept trying to calm him down, but we certainly didn’t succeed… at all. We have investigated two lumber mills so far… and nothing… not a hint of oak anywhere. There are only four in the vicinity of Kataravonia… if we don’t find anything at the next two, then I fear he’ll storm all the way to Vardan and start looking there.

  So here we are… at lumbermill number three. Damecus went straight to investigate the lumber yard while Chloe and I went to speak to the foreman.

  He was a big man… I suppose you need to be if you spend your days lugging massive logs around. Still… not as big as Damecus… not that anybody in this city is as big as Damecus. He had a very gruff voice too… very much a manly man… so me… trying to interrogate him… was… interesting. I’m not exactly intimidating.

  I would have preferred for Chloe to do the interrogating, but she says that I need to learn to be more forceful and insisted that I have a go.

  Foreman: “As I said before, we ain’t had any oak round these parts for twenty years.”

  Dwynfel: “Have you seen anybody abnormal around your facility today?”

  Foreman: “What d’ya mean, abnormal? ‘Cause a goblin’s pretty abnormal to me.”

  Chloe: “Hey! Don’t be a smart arse.”

  Dwynfel: “Just, anybody who doesn’t normally work here.”

  Foreman: “Can’t say I’ve noticed anybody.”

  Dwynfel: “Well, do you mind if we ask around? Some of your staff may have seen something.”

  Foreman: “Look, we’ve got work to do and…”

  Damecus burst into the foreman’s office from the side door. He grabbed the foreman’s head and smashed it down onto the table, holding it there.

  Dwynfel: “Damecus, what the hell?”

  Chloe raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Damecus ignored me and moved his mouth to the ear of the foreman.

  Damecus: “I know the tree was in your lumber yard. There is no purpose in lying to me. Was it you that stole it?”

  The foreman spat blood onto the table… it looks like his lip has been split open. This interrogation is certainly a bit more intimidating than when I was doing it.

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  Foreman: “No! Look… I didn’t take the damn tree, okay!”

  Damecus: “Then who did?”

  Foreman: “I don’t know. They brought it to the lumber yard… demanded we make it into a table and some chairs. Said they’d burn the place down if we didn’t. We cut it down to the right size and now it’s in the carpentry workshop round the back”

  Damecus: “And what are you to do once it is finished?”

  Foreman: “They gave me an address… we send a messenger there and they come collect the furniture.”

  Damecus grabbed some paper and a pencil from across the desk and slammed them on the desk next to the foreman’s head…

  Damecus: “Address, now!”

  The foreman went to pick up the pencil but it had split in half.

  Foreman: “You broke my pencil.”

  Damecus: “I do not give one solitary fuck. Use the half with the point and write the address down, now!”

  With the address in his hand Damecus went to leave the office.

  Foreman: “Don’t you want the damn tree back?”

  Damecus: “It has been felled, it may as well be used. Make the damn table. I shall make use of it after I deal with these degenerates.”

  Once again, we rushed off after Damecus as he stormed off towards wherever the hell this address is.

  Chloe: “Damecus, look, I get it, you’re pissed. And I know you were right about that guy having the tree. But you can’t just slam people off tables without any evidence.”

  Damecus: “I did have evidence. I found oak shavings on the ground of the lumbermill.”

  Chloe: “Then maybe lead with that instead of the head smashing. Fuck’s sake, I should not be the one being the voice of reason.”

  Dwynfel: “Chloe… you are an official knight of the city… that is exactly what you should be.”

  Chloe: “Shut it, Shorty.”

  Damecus: “We are almost there. The address is around this corner.”

  We rounded the corner to see a rather dilapidated building. Broken windows, the steps up to the front door were cracked, the banister was broken and the door was no longer connected to the lower hinge.

  Dwynfel: “Not the type of household that I would have expected to go out of their way for a fancy table and chair set.”

  Chloe: “I don’t like the look of this.”

  Dwynfel: “Think he lied about the address?”

  Damecus shrugged off our concerns and barged through the front door, knocking it completely off its remaining hinges. Chloe flung the door to one side and we followed him in. Damecus stood in the centre of the drawing room. There were various people strewn about the place… all clearly off their faces on something. None of them were in a fit state to answer any questions.

  Chloe: “Oh shit…”

  Dwynfel: “What is it?”

  Damecus: “Can you not smell it?”

  Dwynfel: “Oh, I can definitely smell something, but I am unfamiliar with what it is. The place itself smells rancid and mouldy… but with a weird floral incense smell.”

  Damecus: “Opium.”

  Chloe: “It’s a fucking opium den.”