[IRP] The Dead One Calls

[WyvernSlayer]

Satsume listened to Shad’s barrage of questions, and was preparing a reply when he interrupted himself.  “Sorry,” he said.  “A bit out of control there.  I tend to drown myself in loads of speculative thought.”
 
And others in your "speak-as-I-think" nonsense, Satsume thought.  He folded his arms and looked outside the window again.  The man outside was nowhere to be seen.  It made him nervous.
 
“Would you like anything worked on?” asked a voice from the back of the shop.
 
It took Satsume a second to realize that the smith’s question was directed at him.  “Oh.  No, thank you,” he replied, bowing his head slightly.  His armor had held up exceedingly well since the last time he’d had a chance to work on it at his father’s shop, and although there were some small nicks and wear marks on his collapsing spear, he wouldn’t dare trust its maintenance to anyone other than himself or his father.  Shad and Satsume took their leave of the smithy and stepped out into the street.
 
Satsume’s head instinctively turned in the direction where he last saw the man from earlier, but he saw no one.  He turned to Shad again.  “Look,” he said.  “It’s not just Cecily; I’m starting to get a very bad feeling about this, myself.”  He could feel his pace quicken as he walked back towards the inn.  “I think we need to gather up the rest of us and stick together, come up with some sort of plan.”
 
Satsume already had one brewing in his head, of course.  But thinking it through reminded him of Orica.  He shook his head in an effort to jostle the idea from his mind.
 
Upon reaching the inn, Satsume went to Cecily’s room.  The bed where he had last seen her was empty.  Suspecting that she had gone to explore the town with one of the others, he returned to the reception desk.  The innkeeper yawned and put on a tired half-smile.
 
“Yes sir?”
 
“I was with a young woman, about yea tall,” said Satsume, holding his hand up to indicate Cecily’s height.  “Dark hair.  Did you see her recently?”
 
“Yes, she left a few minutes ago.”
 
“Was anyone with her?” asked Satsume, trying to mask the trace of panic that had crept into his voice.
 
“I don’t believe so, no.  She left here and headed in that direction, down the road.”  The innkeeper pointed in the direction of the tanner, where the group had been earlier.
 
“Thanks.”  Satsume waved Shad along with him and hurried outside.  This better not be one of your “split up and blame Satsume for not reading your mind” things again, he thought.  He was relieved upon sighting her walking up the road with Paige and Ellie.  Or Eli.  Or whatever his/her name was.  He waved to them as he and Shad approached.
 
“You know, I think it’s time we had a talk about this whole noblewoman-bodyguard relationship,” Satsume said, trying to sound playful.  “Where are you headed?”