Act 2: Upheaval I - The Werewolf

"I'm on the right track?"

Florolf tilts his head the other way and stops wagging his tail. He then starts licking his paw.

"Well, be sure to get our attention if you sense it or whatever. If you do, I'll get you some treats and some brushing time."

The carbuncle's ears perk up at the mention of a reward. He leaves the place between Amber's feet and approaches Steve, rubbing himself against his legs while purring.

"Huh, always told me to go to hell whenever i tried to give him anything. Starting to understand why, though." - Mihai remarks, without much energy.

Steve rubs the carbuncle behind the ears like he's seen Fedler do. "Well, we all have our strengths Mihai. Speaking of which, where to now Boss?"

"I'm gonna try Stroik, see if he knows anything we can use." - he walks off

Steve follows the rest.

"That's a good idea." Konrad follows the rest to Stroik.

"Time to hide!" Fluffle exclaims as he nestles back into Amber's hood.

The teenager follows the rest of the group out of the back alley. When they come out of it, they see Damian at the same place as before. The expression on his face is grim and tired. He barely glances at the party when he asks his question.

"Found what you wanted?"

Mihai tries to be tactful - "For what it's worth, she didn't suffer. Barely even knew."

Stroik looks straight ahead of him as he listens to Mihai.

"I know," he states. "The Defenders told me."

When Konrad speaks up, he brings a pipe out of his inner pocket and a match to light it.

"Would you happen to know who the other victims were?"

Konrad pulls out his own pipe and lights up.

This question makes Damian smirks for some reason. He puts the lighted pipe between his lips and takes a puff.

"You mean the monster's, or the ones who disappeared?" he asks in Imperial. "People are quick to lump them together."

Amber looks at Konrad's pipe as he lights it up before refocusing on the matter at hand.

Mihai shrugs - "Both. I don't know what to think of it yet."

"Well, I know that since the monster appeared two days ago, we've found one mutilated body everyday," Damian continues. "All of them in or near the Den. But the disappearances started a few weeks ago. Most people assume the monster is responsible for those too."

He exhales gray smoke.

"No one really bothered to check on the disappearances until the monster was first seen."

"The missing people were from around the Den too?"

"Some of them, I think," the man answers with a sigh. "The ones who would know are the Defenders. Maybe City Hall too."

"Last questions I promise. Have you heard anything about who the missing and mutilated were? All women? Women and men? Same age?"

"I don't know much. Only that they were from different walks of life."

"How late were you open last night?" Konrad speaks through the smoke he exhales out.

"Until five in the morning," he answers. "I found her once I had closed shop and finished bookkeeping."