Cooper's Cases
(Author's note: This is based off a D&D character I'm playing. This is his backstory.)
Background
Cooper awakens in a field with no memory of who he is or where he is.
Case 1
After he woke up with blood on him in the field, he cleaned himself up by finding a nearby body of water to swim in. Getting out of the water, he looked like a drenched rat. Shaking himself as dry as he could, he figured that he'd better find some civilization. Running through a field to get his coat re-fluffed, he eventually came across a road that led to town. His first order of business was to try to figure out where he was. At first, it was a bit difficult, as the dogs seemed to have a strange accent, one he was unfamiliar with. Fortunately, he was able to catch on pretty quickly. They told him where he could find food and shelter if he were careful. For a few days, he hung out in a dark corner of the local pub, but people seemed to pay him no mind. He listened in to see if he could figure out what was going on, but it sounded like gibberish. As he concentrated, he gradually he was able to pick up what was being said. "... children have been missing for a few days," one male voice said. Another guy chimed in "....cave system to the north." The first said, "... no, it was the abandoned mines."
Finding his voice, the dog said, "Excuse me." The people having the conversation looked around for the source of the voice, but couldn't locate it. After a long moment, he cleared his voice and said, sounding slightly annoyed "Down here. The dog." The people who were talking looked obviously confused, he continued. "Yes, I am a dog, and I can talk." Raising a paw to forestall any questions, he said, "Don't ask me how I can talk, I literally just figured it out myself. But that aside, I might be able to help."
"How can you help? You're just a dog... a talking dog, yes, but still, a dog!" the first man said.
"Perhaps it's better if you tell me from the beginning what's going on. I know I interrupted you, but maybe if you can tell me what you know, I might be able to figure things out."
As they talked to him, a picture emerged. The men's names were Robert and Matt. A couple of neighborhood boys ages 10 and 12, friends by the name of Mark and Lucius had decided that they wanted to go exploring. Since the surrounding area was reasonably safe, the parents thought nothing of it. The children were, generally speaking, responsible. They had even brought some supplies: a change of clothes in case they got wet, and some food for their journey. But there was an argument between the parents of the children where they said they were going. One distinctly remembers them saying that they were going to the north to some well-known caves. The other thought they were going to check out an old dwarven mine a half a day away to the east.
"Okay. I think I got the picture. But do you know from where the children left?" the dog asked.
Robert said, "You know, we've been talking to you this entire time, and we don't even know your name."
He said, "Y'know, I don't recall." Looking around, he saw a man making barrels and asked, gesturing with his paw, "What is that man doing? That's not something common from where I come from."
Matt said, "Him? He's making barrels. He's the town's cooper. Why?"
The dog thought a moment before finally saying, "Because I don't recall my name, you can call me Cooper... Cooper...Cooper... uhm... Cooper Jones is a generic enough name for now until I figure out who I am."
"Okay, Cooper, what next?" Robert asked
"I'll need to have an article of clothing worn by each recently. The more of the boy's scent on it, the better." They went to the first man's house and found a shirt he had been using to do chores. Inhaling the boy's scent, he said, "okay, that's good... but I need some way of carrying this with me, so I can remind myself of what I smelled." Robert thought a moment and rigged him a pack, stuffing the dirty shirt inside. Going to the other father's place, he was given a pair of overalls for his pack.
Once both items were secured and the men grabbed a few supplies to ensure safety, Cooper asked, "okay, which way did they leave town?" Again he got conflicting stories. "You know what, forget it." Barking loudly, his howls echoing through the town. Soon dozens of other dogs throughout the town joined his voice. Settling their argument, he said, "They left from the north road. I'll need you to show me where it's at." The men look confused. With a bit of sarcasm in his voice, he says, "Hello! I just got here a few days ago. Not to mention I *am* a dog. I don't know directions!" They showed him the north road, and he started sniffing. "It's very faint, but I can still pick up their scent," he told the men. "You're lucky your town hasn't had much traffic lately, and it's not rained since they left. Not even a bloodhound could track them then." Before they could ask what a 'bloodhound' is, he continued, "follow me, that is if you want to see your boys safe again."
About a mile out of town, the road went into the woods. Soon the boys' trail tracked into the thick underbrush where their scent ended up on a deer trail. Following it up in the hills, after losing it a few times and having to trace back, they ended up in front of a cave. Bounding ahead of the men, Cooper enters the cave. With a curse, Robert mutters, "I knew I should have leashed that mutt!" Lighting a torch they had brought with, Robert and Matt followed.
"Then you wouldn't have found your boys...which I just did, thank you!" Cooper's voice echoed from another part of the cave. "Turn at the first opening to the left, go a few feet and then turn right. And watch your step. There's a drop! I almost fell down it myself."
The men soon caught up with Cooper. Shining their torchlight down the hole, they saw their boys. The boys looked frightened, scraped up, and bruised. Their clothes were torn. They were hungry. But the most important thing: they were still alive. Matt secured the rope they had brought with them to a stalagmite while Robert carefully lowered himself into the drop off where the boys fell. After several moments of quiet talking, he found out what had happened. Lucius had sprained his ankle, and his son couldn't reach the lip of the area where they had fallen. The boys had forgotten to bring pitons.
Climbing out with Lucius, Robert gave Matt his son. Soon afterward, Robert emerged with his own son. As they ate, the men told the boys the amazing story of how this talking dog had helped find them, they petted Cooper. At the end of the story, they had finished eating. Cooper said, "After we get back in town, I'm going to need a good bone to gnaw on and a bath." Everyone laughed. "What? It's true!"
Robert said, "I'm sure we can arrange something."
The men found some long branches and rigged a stretcher and retraced their steps back to town.
He was unofficially adopted by both families who, in gratitude, would help him out any way they could whenever he happened to be in the area.
Case 2
As time went on, he developed a sense about his body. If he wanted something in his immediate vicinity, it was brought to him, though he didn't quite understand what was going on. Other people, in time, commented on it too.
Over the next few days, Cooper introduced himself to the rest of the town.
There was a pub/ bar where many of the town's residents stopped by while doing errands. There he met many of the townsfolk. Most were more than happy to converse after they had gotten over the fact that he was a dog, though a few still thought it was kind of scary to talk to a dog who could actually understand and respond back to them. Many at the bar were content to have him deliver messages for them in exchange for a few minutes of petting. Most of the time, those he was delivering messages were more than happy to pay his "fee" as well. Some were nice enough to feed him something as well, particularly if it were good news.
The town had several shops, each selling different things.
One lady Wynn by name sold fruit and vegetables and a few chickens from a small farm just outside of town. After the first day, she started to bring him little treats in exchange for him, stopping by the farm twice a day to check up on things.
An old, flamboyant dwarven woman who practiced palmistry, "tarot," and crystal gazed by the name of Vadoma Zyra was town's old Wisdom. Despite her shop being the largest in the town - hers was the most disorganized. She had one section of her shop devoted to books on every subject imaginable. In addition to books being on shelves, there were also hastily stacked books that narrowed the aisles into chokepoints. Atop these book-stacks, there were candles, crystals, and occult statuettes. There was even the odd taxidermied crow. She also sold potions and other cures of various types -- though with the odors of the concoctions, Cooper wondered at their efficacy.
Finally, there was the town's "adventure shop." Despite its small size, almost anything an aspiring adventurer could want was packed into his tiny store. Every available space was used to its maximum effect. Shelves, rotating platforms designed to maximize space, and every inch of ceiling space was used. Displays of items for sale even covered the windows and the door.
When he wasn't acting as the town's messenger or hanging out at the bar, he stopped by Vadoma's place to read books or talk with her about what she knew. She was more than happy to discuss almost any subject he came up with, though she was mysteriously silent about her past. He had tact enough not to pry. Just talking with the bespectacled, shawled woman, he was able to learn much about the surrounding area.
Yet no matter who he talked to, no one had ever heard of a talking dog, nor had they ever seen the symbol on his hat. A few of the people even copied the symbol down and wrote nearby towns to see if they had seen anything like it. They hadn't.
Case 3
About three weeks after Cooper was a known presence in town, one of Wynn's chickens disappeared. When the first chicken disappeared, Wynn thought nothing of it. On great occasion, one of the chickens got loose; it was no big deal; she had plenty more. The very next night, a pair of chickens went missing. Wynn started getting upset. At this rate in a few weeks, she would be ruined. Wynn asked the other outlying farms to see if any of them had seen anything or if any of them had any missing animals. One farm, a kilometer down the road, raised sheep and pigs, but none of them had gone missing. Determined to get to the bottom of her missing chickens, she put up wire that would get any fur in it, as whatever was eating her chickens would have to squeeze past to be able to get at the chickens again. The next day the wire she had set up seemed to have worked in deterring whatever was eating her chickens. But the next night was too much of a temptation. Two more chickens were missing. In the wire, there were several red-gold hairs. On the outside of the wire where it had to pause to get out, there was an apparent paw print of a canid animal. "Caught you!" Wynn said. She rushed back to town and came up to Cooper, relaxing in the bar. She asked him, "Where have you been over the last week at night?"
Cooper, confused, asked, "I spend a night at both Robert and Matt's place, spending lots of time with his boys. They've adopted me into their place. I was too tired to make it back to either of their places, so last night I spent the night here at the bar. You can ask the barkeeper, Max."
Niklos Maximilian or "Max" as he liked to be called was a tall, long, silver-haired half-elven man with mesmerizing purple eyes and wearing a tailored suit that matched his eyes. From the lapel of his coat, he wore an eyeglass. In a previous life, he was a bard with a wealthy sponsor, apparently. He retired to get out of the limelight and not have to be risking his neck constantly. So he retired here to live out his days in peace.
"Yeah, that's right. I remember Cooper saying he was too tired to go anywhere else, so I let him sleep in the storage room. He had a few errands to run out by your place late afternoon."
"Out towards my place, you say?"
"Why, yes. Cooper delivered a message to the farm next to yours and told them I needed another barrel of the special Dwarven ale they make."
"The reason I asked is that I came across this," she reached into her pocket and pulled out the hairs. Isolated by themselves, they looked to be the same color as Cooper's fur. "was in the chicken coop. And a pawprint outside. I have no other choice but to think it's you."
Cooper, horrified that he would be accused, said, "People feed me enough on their own accord that I don't need to eat your chickens."
"Be that as it may, I'm going to have to ask you to come with me to the city guard and make a statement."
Max said, "There's no need. He was in the basement when I went to bed. The trap door would have been too heavy for him to open from that side. He was in the exact same place when I returned."
Wynn said, "I don't mean to be nasty about this. I really did feel that you were a friend - at least before all this nonsense came along. Nonetheless, I need to get to the bottom of this. Any more chickens die, and I'll soon be ruined! I hope that once you can be proven innocent, this won't affect our friendship."
They went to the city guard's office, and she filed a complaint. Cooper, being the only golden-haired dog wearing a hat, was released on his own recognizance, provided he was kept on a leash at all times from this point forward, at least until the case was solved.
Wynn went back to her booth in town to sell chickens.
As Cooper was being led back to the bar by Max on a leash which the guard provided when he said, "You know, I think there's a way that I can prove my innocence. I need to get out to Wynn's farm. Now."
Max said, faltering, "I don't think that's such a wise idea. If you are the one who did it, you'd be returning to the scene of the crime."
Cooper said, "You said I was in your bar all last night. Where could I have gone? I agree that it might not be a good idea, but I have a feeling if I don't, I'm going to have problems for a while."
"Fine. Jump onto me and bite my hand. I'll say that you escaped me. With all the commotion, people aren't paying attention to what we're saying."
Cooper growled loudly, jumping onto Max, biting him as he tore his leash from Max's hand. Running away, he made a beeline to Wynn's place. Wynn, seeing Cooper, raced after him, asking her neighbors to keep an eye on her shop. Cooper ran *just* slow enough to allow Wynn to chase, but not to catch up with him.
When they arrived at Wynn's place, Cooper allowed Wynn to catch him. He said, "I know you won't believe me, but I think I can prove I didn't do it."
Wynn, being understandably skeptical, asked, "how?"
Cooper said, "Let me show you. But you'll need to trust me."
Sighing, she grumbled under her breath, "I hope I'm not going to be made a fool of by this dog."
He gingerly walked over to the chicken coop. With the extra wire in place, he shows that without bringing down the whole setup, he couldn't even get *in* the coop, let alone take a chicken *out* of it. He then motions Wynn over and asks her, "Look at that print." Pressing his paw into the ground to make another impression, he says, "Now look at this one. The characteristics are different." Smelling the area, he said, "I think you've got a fox in the area. By the smell, it's probably a female. She may have just had kits, that's why it's looking for easy prey."
Wynn said, "That solves the problem of what's doing it. But that doesn't get rid of the fox if that's what's killing my chickens."
"I'll take a nap now, and this evening, when the fox comes around, it'll have a nasty surprise." Turning around several times, Cooper settled down to sleep.
A few hours later, dusk fell. Crickets sing, and fireflies illuminated the night air. Wynn was in her home, taking care of things there when Cooper is woken up by a faint sound of weeds rustling. He startled awake, and staring at him from across the yards is a small, gold-red, female fox. Thinking that Cooper is an ordinary dog, she slinks closer to the building. Cooper issues a warning bark. The fox ignores him and continues towards the coop. Cooper runs and before the fox can get into the fenced-off area, nips at her flank.
The fox comes around snarling. Cooper just barely avoided her teeth, knocking her off balance with his flank. Taking the advantage, he attempted to grab her neck. She twists out of the way at the last second, biting his right foreleg. Enraged, Cooper bit her shoulder. Outmatched, the fox fled, leaving a bloody trail behind.
Wynn, hearing the commotion, came out of the house and saw the fleeing fox.
Cooper said, "I don't think you'll see her again. She knows this farm is protected."
Wynn said, "I'm sorry I doubted you. Let's get you bandaged up and a few a dog bones for your trouble."
Case 4
It took Cooper a few days to heal up after the fox attacked him, but soon he was good as new. By the time he was able to go outside to return to town, a cold front was coming in from the north. He set out early in the morning. By the time he got back into town, the snow had started falling. At first, it was only a light flurry, but as the day wore on, the snow became heavier and heavier. No one was going anywhere. There was nothing to do except sit inside. There was no one in the bar, so he decided to visit Mistress Zyra's curiosities shop. Upon entering, he found the dwarven woman buried under a pile of books. Apparently, she had been cleaning, and one of the bookshelves had fallen on her, trapping her. While in her heyday, the bookshelves probably would have been nothing for her to lift, she's not as young as she once was. Cooper used the "hands" to try to lift the bookshelf off her, but it was no use. The shelves were solid oak.
He went next door to the bar and practically dragged Max to her shop to get his help in lifting the bookcase off Vedoma.
The lithe elf wasn't much stronger than he, but between the two of them, they were able to lift the bookshelf off her for long enough for her to dislodge herself.
Between the three of them, they were able to set the bookshelf aright. After Vedoma had dusted herself off, Cooper started sniffing around on the floor. There were scuff marks on the floor as if the bookshelf had been pushed. Beyond the copious amounts of dust in the air that was making it hard to breathe, there was also the scent of tobacco and leather. Who would want to hurt Vedoma? Cooper asked himself.
Beyond being scraped up, she seemed to be okay.
Cooper asked, "Do you know what happened?"
Ms. Zyra thought a moment before speaking. "I could have sworn I heard the shop's bell a moment before the shelf fell on me. I must've blacked out for a few moments, and the next thing I knew, you were here trying to get the bookshelf off me."
If indeed there was an assailant, with how faint the smell was, it would be impossible to identify them. Cooper knew he was no bloodhound and any tracks that may have been, were long since gone with the blowing snow. And besides, enough people wore leather boots and smoked that he couldn't accuse half the town.
They helped Vedoma reshelve the books over the next several hours. As they did, when they got about halfway up, she stopped and said, "There was a book here that's now gone. I'm sure of it."
Cooper asked, "What book was it?"
Vadoma said, "It was a book on planar keys. It described the ceremonies required to get to the planes. The ceremonies were complex and unreliable. If you don't know what you're doing, you could end up somewhere you weren't prepared for. And what's more, using these types of ceremonies can endanger others as well. Something... dangerous could get released. That's why it's better to use a Gate spell."
"Do you have any idea who would want to take it?"
"None. But whoever did this may have just gotten in over his head."
Case 5
They soon forgot about the book; they couldn't do anything about it anyways. Max went back to his bar, and Cooper stayed behind. It had been such a long time since Vedoma cleaned, it took them the rest of the day to do so. CJ went next door to the bar for the night and, like before, spent it in the basement storeroom.
The snow continued falling, and by morning it became challenging to move around through the thick snow. No one went outside unless they absolutely, positively had to do so. Since there was nothing to do at the bar, Cooper went back to Vadoma's shop. Despite the snow, about an hour after he arrived, a young, ponytailed, blond-haired, blue-eyed girl, maybe 12 or 13 years old wearing a dark-colored plaid shawl ran into the shop out of breath. Mistress Zyra recognized the girl immediately. She asked, "Kayla, what's the matter, girl? You look white as a sheet."
Kayla said, "Ma's in serious trouble. She's having an awful time breathing, and she's coughing horribly."
Vadoma asked, "Is there anything else? Running nose? Fever? Is she coughing up phlegm?"
The girl bit her lip, thinking, and after a moment said, "No, but yes to the last two."
Vadoma, still sore from the previous day's ordeals, hobbled over to a small desk. As she did, she muttered to herself what was needed. As she arrived at the lone surface that wasn't covered in knickknacks, Cooper noticed that the shelves behind it had glass containers of every description crammed together. She deftly picked up a few dozen looking at each label, putting choice ones to the side onto the desk beside her. From underneath, she grabbed a mortar and pestle, grinding the ingredients into a fine powder. Opening a drawer, she took out a small envelope and put the powder into it. Handing it to Kayla, she said, "Steep a spoon of this into a cup and fill it with boiling water. Sweeten it with honey. It's very bitter otherwise. She needs to drink a cup of tea every few hours. It'll make her drowsy, to allow her body to heal. She should be much better in a day or two."
Kayla reached into her pocket and pressed a small silver coin into Vadoma's hand. As she did, Vadoma shook her head 'no,' saying, "Keep the money. Your ma's helped me in the past. She's helped me by gathering some of these herbs."
Kayla exited, the door escaped her and blew violently open. As she struggled to close it behind her, Vadoma called to her, "don't worry about the door, fool girl, get to your mother! She's waiting for you!" Kayla trudged off into the snow.
Vadoma secured the door, saying, "Lovely girl. None too bright, though." Cooper turned his head curiously. She continued, "Most, if not all of the ingredients I gave her, she already should have in her home. Y'see her family gathers herbs to make into soaps. Whatever doesn't get put into the soap, they give me. I just happen to know the right combinations and proportions. But I also know in the heat of the moment, she might not have been thinking too clearly. Thankfully, some of us have a clear head."
The storm continued to blow and howl. Three hours later, Leif, Kayla's brother, arrived. They looked like fraternal twins, though they were a year apart. "Have you seen my sister? She's not come back home since being sent to your shop."
Vadoma grimaced as she grabbed some winter clothes to protect herself from the weather. "Fool girl! I knew she shouldn't have gone out in this weather. We'll help look for her." They discussed where each would be searching and how and where often they'd be reconnecting.
When they were done discussing their plans, Vadoma frowned for a moment before saying, "Come here, Cooper. I'm going to strap a blanket to you to help keep you warm."
As soon as they were set, the three of them left her shop, each going in a different direction, Vadoma locking the door behind them.
Case 6
As they parted ways, Vadoma handed each one of them a strange-looking chipped coin*, saying. "Even though we are going to be meeting again in a bit, this should help keep us in touch when we're not within earshot. The town's small enough that the weak magic should be able to cover the town."
After a few hundred feet, they couldn't see or hear each other, but to test the coin's magic, Cooper asked through the coin's magic Can you guys hear me?
To which Vadoma answered, Loud and clear.
Cooper went down the street, stopping every couple of houses to see if the people inside had seen Kayla. The first several houses said no. An elderly woman whose name Cooper didn't catch commented that she was surprised the girl was out in the storm. Nothing here, he reported.
A moment later, Vadoma chirped in Nothing here, either.
Down another street, Leif said through the coin, _Only one thought she saw my sister. I'm going to see if she went right or left at the intersection. _
Cooper asked, _Where are you? Vadoma and I can meet you. _
Inside the old bakery at - _Leif faltered a moment before continuing, Polk and Verron. Mrs. Morrison will allow me to warm up while waiting for you. _
Vadoma said, On our way.
Fifteen minutes later, they both arrived. While warming up, they discussed their next moves. Cooper would continue to the east Vadoma would go to the north, and Leif would go to the south.
Five minutes later, they take off in their respective directions. Both Leif and Vadoma report nothing. About a half-mile further to the east, the town starts to open up to barren, snow-covered fields. _ _
Cooper to see signs of passage. An indentation here and there as if someone had forced their way through the snow. _I think I found signs of her passage to the east. It looks like there's a trail going through a field. _
Wait for me there, came the reply from Leif. _I've got a bad feeling about this. _
Leif showed up in about five minutes. Vadoma showed about seven or eight minutes after that.
"Why'd you want me to wait?" Cooper asked over the howling wind.
"Let me show you!" Leif said, leading the way at a fast pace. Even though the field looked flat from a distance, about two-thirds the way through there was an old, rickety bridge over a small creek that could easily be missed if one didn't know it was there.
As they got closer, they started seeing more footprints that hadn't been quite blown away or covered by more snow. Seeing this, the three of them ran, coming up short of the bridge. It was apparent that the bridge was in ill repair. The bridge had a hole where someone broke through the bridge's slats. One of the railings was also broken as well. At the bottom of the hole to the side of the creek was a dark shape, covered in snow.
"Kayla!" Leif called out as he jumped down to where she lay at the side of the creek. As Cooper and Vadoma followed, he shook her "Kayla, Kayla." Her lips were blue, but she appeared to be breathing.
Vadoma said, "It's no use, boy. She's out cold! I know it's typically not a good idea to move an injured person, but we have no choice. Her condition will worsen out here."
The three of them struggled to get her up to the other side of the steep embankment. After they had done so, Leif pointed out a barn to Cooper and Vadoma. "Let's get her into our barn," he said.
As they struggled to support her weight, she moaned softly. Even though it was only a few hundred feet, it took them nearly fifteen minutes to get her there. Once they were able to get her inside, they laid her on a few hay bales. There were some blankets for the horses they put on her. Using smelling salts, Vadoma woke Kayla.
Shivering, Kayla woke, asking, "What happened? Where am I? I'm so cold..." Trying to move, she gasped in pain. "Oh, that's right, I fell through the bridge, taking the railing with me. I think I may have broken something."
Checking her over, to make sure there was nothing else wrong with her, she was indeed right. She had broken her right leg in the fall. Thankfully, other than being exposed to the bone-chilling cold, nothing else was wrong with her.
Digging a few leaves out of her pockets, Vadoma handed them to Kayla. "These'll help with the pain, but keep you awake. I know it's difficult, but we're going to have to get you back home."
Grimacing, she took the leaves and started chewing them, knowing how bitter they are.
In a few minutes, they were able to get help Kayla up and supporting her weight on the uninjured side. With the three of them, they were able to get her back to their house.
Vadoma splinted Kayla's leg. Then, she brewed tea Kayla's sick mother tea.
After the two of them were set, Vadoma got up and collected her magic 'sending coins.' She said, "well, it's time to return to my shop!" Cooper followed her back, but this time, they took a route that didn't include the broken bridge.
* Coin of Sending. Anyone who has one of these coins can cast sending an unlimited number of times a day without somatic or material components. The range is limited to about a mile in radius. The sending can go to everyone who has a coin or to specific individuals. One person who has a coin can act as a "bridge" for another to talk further away. Only those who have the coins can communicate thus, and all attempts to eavesdrop in on the conversations fail.
Case 7
The next few weeks were miserable for Cooper. The snow piled up, and despite being shoveled, it was too bad to want to be outside for longer than he had to. He spent most of his time in the bar or at Vadoma's shop.
Once in a great while, he ended up Robert or Matt's house to spend the night with their boys, but it was rare, as they both insisted on drying the snow his back and feet. Even though he talked with them as if he was their equal, they sometimes forgot that he was more than capable of taking care of himself. He could simply shake himself off, but upon further reflection, putting himself in their shoes, Cooper figured that they wouldn't want it getting everywhere. Also, the boys probably wouldn't want a wet dog getting their blankets all wet when he slept in their bed.
Once the weather became nicer and thawed out some, he noticed that someone had carved... or maybe burned symbols into various structures around the village. Some buildings, made of stone had the same symbol painted onto them. He tried to rub out the paint, but to no avail, it was on there too permanently. The symbol wasn't anything Cooper had run across before.
Curious, he asked Vadoma about them. She bundled up and followed him to one of the carvings. Upon examining the symbols, she did a rubbing to get a clear copy. Returning to her shop, she left the rubbing on the table and took out several books. As she set them on her table, next to her copy of the image, she looked more and more worried.
Cooper asked, "What's the symbol mean?"
Vadoma frowned, saying, "It's a symbol in abyssal. It's proper a name... and an invitation. While everyone was trapped inside, someone was marking our town. And I would bet anything that it was our book thief."
Looking confused, Cooper asked, "An invitation?"
"Yes. Most of the time, warlocks get their powers from beings outside this realm of existence. But most of the time these beings can't directly interact with anything in this plane. Whoever put this here means to change that. Whoever did this clearly doesn't understand what they're inviting here."
"Is there anything we can do about it?"
"Yes, but it will take some time to prepare. But I wasn't called Vadoma the Valorous in my heyday for nothing."
Case 8
Cooper looked at the old dwarven woman with awe. "You were an adventurer?"
Vadoma chucked and said, "Yes. Now help me gather. While I'm not as spry as I once was, I believe this old woman still has enough power to send his little unwanted guest packing. The only problem is that we need to figure out where it's going to be summoned."
Cooper said, "I'll take a look around and see what I can find." Over the next few weeks, try as he might, he couldn't find any sign of whoever did it. But that was not to be the end of this case.
In the intervening time, during the stretch of unusually mild weather, Cooper went out to the farm where Kayla and Leif lived to check up on the girl to see how she was healing up. She seemed to have healed up, but although she was quite a bit healthier after quaffing the tea Vadoma prescribed to her, she never could shake the chill, no matter how hard she tried.
One time, some two and a half weeks after the weather broke as he approached the farm, from down the road, he smelled smoke. At first, he thought nothing of it. It was winter, and fires were constantly burning in the fireplace. But after a few moments, it became clear that this smoke wasn't the type that was associated with a hearth. Running headlong into the field, he crossed the bridge. It still hadn't been fixed after Kayla fell, though, but he was agile enough he was able to scramble across the rickety bridge. They hadn't expected anyone to be needing to use it before spring.
As he approached the barn, he noticed three things.
The barn was on fire. Thick, black smoke came from it.
A horse was panicking. It kicked at the door of its stall.
Kayla was on the floor, unconscious.
Not thinking for anything of his safety, he vaulted himself into the burning building. Dragging Kayla by the collar of her coat, he was able to get her out. Coughing to get the smoke out of his lungs, he went back in to save the horse.
The moment he released the latch, the horse bolted out of the barn. But as it did so, the horse crashed into the wall. One of the barn's support beams was weakened by the shock and crashed down in front of him, dislodging his hat out of his reach, trapping him.
Without the ability to communicate as he usually would, Cooper barked as loud as he could, trying to get Kayla's attention. She wasn't rousing. He started smelling burning fur and feeling the flames sear his flesh, as there was nowhere to escape. Yelping at the pain, he thought _This is it. _
The smoke started getting to him, and he just as he was about to pass out, he saw a male figure silhouetted through the flames.
When Cooper awoke in severe pain, he noticed he smelled funny. A poultice, maybe? He thought. But he had his hat back on.
Leif was there. His whole face was red as if he had been exposed to the sun for too long. He also had some scratches on his face. His hands were bandaged, and his clothes were burned. Noticing the dog was awake, Leif hugged Cooper, saying tearfully, "Thank you for rescuing my sister. She would have died if it was not for you. You also went back and saved our horse."
Vadoma was there, tending to him. She affixed a cone around his neck, saying, "You're lucky that Leif was returning from town when he did. Your foolishness almost cost you your life. You need to think before you act. This cone will help prevent you from scratching. For the next week or so, you're going to have to remain pretty still. Your fur will grow back out, good as new if you leave it alone."
Cooper asked, "How long was I out?"
Vadoma, calculated before speaking, "About a day. For a while, we were wondering if you were going to make it."
"Do we know how the fire started?" Cooper inquired.
Leif said, "It looks like Kayla knocked over a lantern. The smoke overcame her. Saving her from the fire is the second time you saved her life."
Cooper corrected him, saying, "The first time I had help. Speaking of which, where is Kayla?"
Leif said, "She's in her room resting. She should be fine in a day or two."
Cooper simply nodded.