He knocked. Knocked again. Knocked harder. Soon he was pounding on the door with his fist but there wasn't even a hint of movement from inside nor anywhere else in the barren surroundings. He'd fallen at the first hurdle - the one chance there was of finding the culprits, the one and only lead he had was already gone and there wasn't even a clue to where they'd gone or why. Peeking through the grimy windows, what little furniture was barren and empty. Beds without mattresses, a lone table without any chairs and the beginnings of a thin layer of dust over the top, a desk without a chair and all of the drawers pulled out. Whoever had once lived in the passable excuse for a shack had swiftly packed all of their belongings and moved on, leaving whatever they couldn't carry and a sturdy lock over the door to make sure that investigators like him wouldn't come snooping in afterwards to try and find clues. They could have been harmless, innocent farmers horrified by the atrocity they'd witnessed and forced into hiding somewhere else for fear of their lives; they could have been co-conspirators who offered a quiet place for the dirty business to happen. There was no way to tell anymore.
Elyna had nothing else to offer but a feather, which he took and examined closely. Nothing. "ṣïṣẹ akra mïsälï iwọnotu ingyentsim ọyä, sev akra aladani epọv!" Except they already had. "Are sure nothing else?" Nir'wei spent far too long scouting up and down the same stretches on the outskirts of the holding, even after Elyna seemed to give up and leave with a few choice words that sounded hollow to him. "People sick, yes. Deserve justice, yes. But justice not find," he replied sadly after what felt like many breaks of constant searching yielding no useful clues. "It was..." he started and paused, mostly because he was trying to think of the right word to say, "... good attempt. Thank you for trying and good luck, I guess."
Unlike Elyna, when he parted ways, he didn't have others waiting for his return to update him with news of their findings. The Lodge would mourn the loss of yet another wild Volareon but they were simply not equipped for taking the matter into their own hands. Nir'wei wasn't, for that matter, even though he tried to put on a stern face and give it everything he had. Even though he tried his hardest, with the help of a surprisingly kind Skyrider and a nosy journalist, he still did nothing more than waste everyone's time.
Elyna had nothing else to offer but a feather, which he took and examined closely. Nothing. "ṣïṣẹ akra mïsälï iwọnotu ingyentsim ọyä, sev akra aladani epọv!" Except they already had. "Are sure nothing else?" Nir'wei spent far too long scouting up and down the same stretches on the outskirts of the holding, even after Elyna seemed to give up and leave with a few choice words that sounded hollow to him. "People sick, yes. Deserve justice, yes. But justice not find," he replied sadly after what felt like many breaks of constant searching yielding no useful clues. "It was..." he started and paused, mostly because he was trying to think of the right word to say, "... good attempt. Thank you for trying and good luck, I guess."
Unlike Elyna, when he parted ways, he didn't have others waiting for his return to update him with news of their findings. The Lodge would mourn the loss of yet another wild Volareon but they were simply not equipped for taking the matter into their own hands. Nir'wei wasn't, for that matter, even though he tried to put on a stern face and give it everything he had. Even though he tried his hardest, with the help of a surprisingly kind Skyrider and a nosy journalist, he still did nothing more than waste everyone's time.
