<blockquote><div><cite>Angel wrote:</cite>"Additional questions? I'm not sure what else there is to ask about."</div></blockquote><br/>"Well..." Alyssa's eyes hesitate to meet Angel's as she grasps for a suitable answer before the lupine picks up on her uncertainty. The displeasure in Angel's and, to a lesser degree, Vanika's tone is obvious, and Alyssa can hardly fault them for it; from a citizen's point of view, it's hard to see her request as anything more than a needless imposition during an already trying time. Even as a watchwoman, she has to admit that her new instructions are, well... perplexing, to say the least. Sgt. Ananda made it quite clear that she was washing her hands of both witnesses, and it isn't like her to overturn a decision so quickly. Perhaps the arrival of Captain Vignar has done changed the situation somehow, though she can only speculate as to why.<br/><br/><blockquote><div><cite>Angel wrote:</cite>"Umm, sorry about that. I'm just not entirely sure what else there is you could want to ask about."</div></blockquote><br/>"It's quite alright," Alyssa replies. "To be quite honest, I'm not entirely sure myself - the new orders came just a moment ago, and I'm afraid the sending spell my commander used was rather brief.  However, I , and I'm sure he'll be able to answer your questions more adequately. He'll be meeting us by one of the shops next door, so if you'll follow me this way..." Alyssa turns to check past the festival banners for witnesses before she leads Vanika into the open again, only to find herself almost face-to-thigh with the tall demoness. Her eyes move automatically up the powerfully built woman's body, refusing to linger where they shouldn't only by concerted effort on her part, until she meets Vanika's pernicious grin. Before she can gather her wits enough to excuse herself, Vanika jumps in with a decidedly unsettling question:<br/><br/><blockquote><div><cite>Vanika wrote:</cite>"Say, Nibbles… Would you, by any chance, get in trouble if I… took off?"</div></blockquote><br/>"Took off? W-what do you mean?" Alyssa's wide eyes dart nervously between Vanika and the guard-filled square beyond, debating which is the more alarming prospect: losing a ten foot tall demoness on her first watch, or having said demoness try to make 'Nibbles" something other than a byname. Caught up in her indecision, she doesn't consider the third option until Vanika's fading presence makes her real motive clear - or rather, transparent. The realization spurs Alyssa into action just in time to lay a hand on Vanika's arm for a single second before the demoness's body vanishes into the aether, leaving her empty handed.<br/><br/><div style="padding: 3px; background-color: #FFFFFF; border: 1px solid #d8d8d8; font-size: 1em;"><div style="text-transform: uppercase; border-bottom: 1px solid #CCCCCC; margin-bottom: 3px; font-size: 0.8em; font-weight: bold; display: block;"><span onclick="if (this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display != '') {  this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = ''; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;hide&lt;/a&gt;'; } else { this.parentNode.parentNode.getElementsByTagName('div')[1].getElementsByTagName('div')[0].style.display = 'none'; this.innerHTML = '&lt;b&gt;Spoiler: &lt;/b&gt;&lt;a href=\'#\' onClick=\'return false;\'&gt;show&lt;/a&gt;'; }"><b>Spoiler: </b><a href="#" onclick="return false;">show</a></span></div><div class="quotecontent"><div style="display: none;">I'm assuming that the DC to recognize an outsider being returned to their own plane is at least 25 (the same as a very tough question). If it's higher, let me know.<br/><br/>Knowledge (planes): 1d20(11) + 20 = 31, success</div></div></div><br/>"Wait, Miss Vanika... oh dear..." Alyssa casts about, clutching at the empty air in the vain hope that the demoness might have a change of heart and reappear. As the seconds tick by, however, it becomes increasingly clear that Vanika is gone for good, or at least for the foreseeable future; returned, she presumes, to some obscure planar pocket, or wherever it is that rogue demons dwell. Unless Larynn happens to call her assistant back, she'll have to come up with an explanation for  the captain and sergeant... quickly.<br/><br/>"Oh dear..." she mutters again, starting forward, then stopping as she remembers Angel. "I'm sorry for the delay," she says, "but we should - I mean, we can meet with Captain Vignar now, if you're ready..." She fidgets quietly as she waits for Angel to follow, then leads her lupine charge across the square at a brisk pace to meet her commander and the other witnesses.<br/><br/>"Captain Vignar, sir," Alyssa announces as she halts in front of her commander. "As per Sgt. Ananda's orders, I've brought Miss Celaire for your personal inquiry. Unfortunately, I was unable to persuade the second witness to cooperate." She pauses, and nods in Larynn's direction. "Miss Rynn, would you happen to know the whereabouts of your, erm... associate? I'm afraid I don't know where she's gone."