Chapter 6: Hunting for Truffle Part 2

The day began like any other, with Albert looking in the foggy mirror deep in thought.

'I can't believe it took me 4 days just to learn the Navigate skill, I wonder if there's a way to increase my learning speed without using IP. At least now I have a baseline, if I want to learn a skill without spending points it'll take atleast 4 days. Next, I'll spend a point and see the results then.'

'Status'

[Albert Nelson

HP: 20/20

MP: 9/9

SAN: 44/45

LCK: 45/45

IP: 2

Skills:

- Appraise: 25%

- Art/Craft (Photography): 55%

- Disguise: 20%

- Fire Arms (Handgun): 60%

- Library Use: 60%

- Listen: 30%

- Navigate: 1%

- Occult: 35%

- Psychology: 50%

- Spot Hidden: 60%

- Stealth: 40%

Talents:

- Resourceful

- Lucky

Cthulhu Mythos: 0%]

He could only sigh at his incredibly slow progress, but he could only blame himself for being too stingy and going back on his word to himself to just spend points after the first day. He just kept promising himself that everyday but for some reason or another he would always find a reason not to. But now with his growth plain to see, he knew for sure that it would take A LONG time for him to reach any heights. Peak humans like Green Arrow and Batman were way, way, way beyond him for a while.

'Maybe I should look into---'

Shaking his head in order to jolt his tired mind off that avenue. Magic in both Call of Cthulhu and Pulp Cthulhu should not be meddled with lightly. Those spells takes from three different pools: MP, POW and SAN. And with the fact that he could only see two of the three pools, he didn't dare even think of looking into magic. Sure from his memories, he knew there were spells and rituals that could make him effectively invincible...well certain organs anyway. For now until he had a place of his own, he wouldn't even think of looking for spells. Not like it mattered anyway, he had no real way of acquiring these spells.

After placing his towel in the bin next to the door and walking down the hall towards the cafeteria. He greeted the nearby staff with slight smile on his face which was returned by a good few of them. Over the last couple of days, more of the staff began to warm to him. He kept out of trouble and they greatly appreciated it. He had seen many youths just as young as him get kicked out because they started fights or were asked about from the cops.

Sitting down at his normal spot after waiting in line with his plate full of food, he looked around at the group around him. They were initially pretty cold towards his presence but he liked to believe that he might've grown on them.

"Good morning."

Albert greeted, and was followed by a chorus of greetings in turn. No one spoke for a good while and he was perfectly okay with that as he shoveled down the crispy, buttery hash browns.

"What do you do these days Albert?"

Derek asked after finishing off his eggs.

"I usually just go to the park and then the library most days." Albert answered carefully, he didn't want to advertise that he was looking for a dog. Some would call him paranoid but he couldn't be sure if someone close to the suspect wouldn't snitch on him and alert the man.

"You must be a good student, studying even during summer break."

That caused Albert to pause with his fork midway to his mouth,

'That's probably why no one has bothered me these last couple of days.'

Shrugging slightly he continued eating," There isn't much else for me to do, but not really I just like reading."

Soon that little bit of conversation dried up and they all continued in their silent eating. After a couple of minutes, Albert stood up with his empty plate and bid the group a goodbye. Leaving the building shortly after, it didn't take him long to find his way to park. Unlike before, it didn't take him nearly an hour to get lost…..only ten minutes. Sighing, he took out his marked map and looked around before getting back on track. Thirty minutes later, he found himself stepping foot into the park. Find a bench to relax in, he allowed his mind to wonder.

'Gotham isn't so bad, it was probably shown in such a bad light because there was entertainment to be found in misery. I haven't heard of anything bad happening so far, maybe that's because I haven't even looked at a newspaper or the news. I should probably change that, for the weather forecast if nothing more.'

Leaning back further, he allowed the soft heat from the sun to flow over him. Filling his body with a sense of peace. He knew that in this world, he would have to enjoy these periods of piece before some megalomaniac decided to try and take over the world. If only this peace could last forever, but a-last the world will keep on spinning. Whether you want it to or not.

Just as he was getting ready to get up and leave for the day. Something caught his eye, a shock of short blonde hair. Darting his eyes in that directions, he gazed up on his suspect. The man practically towered over the passerby's with his muscular frame. He wore a faded gray shirt with bright red shorts. Albert inwardly patted his own back for his own foresight, sure that woman said he was big but seeing this man in the flesh was entirely different experience. He looked as though he curled whole people at a time, like he ate nothing but protein powder. All in all, the young investigator was glad that he didn't plan on having any physical confrontation with this beast of a human. That wasn't all either. A tubby brown french bulldog happily pranced next to the man. Now all he needed to do was wait.

***************************************************************************

Albert sat on that bench eyeing the entrance to the park for the next thirty minutes. His previously relaxed atmosphere was gone and in its place tension now filled his whole being. He soon saw the man walking through the gates before he too, began to follow behind him. It wasn't too hard to follow behind the walking wall of a man, he was literally standing heads and shoulders above everyone else. The only problem was that occasionally, the bulldog would turn around to look directly at him with her tail wagging excitedly. During those heart stopping moments, he saw the white tuff of fur around her left eye and verified the fact that she was indeed Truffles.

Gratefully the man would only lightly pull on Truffles leash before continuing on his way, causing his tightened chest to wheeze out air in relief. After that little scare, he was inwardly nudged back a few more feet by his Stealth skill and followed from afar. These days he could better understand exactly what skills actually do, they tend to give him feelings or impressions on how to improve his current actions. They wouldn't outright tell him anything, just point him towards information from the environment around him for him to come a conclusion. In a way, his system were teaching him a way to fully integrate his skills into his subconscious. He would have to look more into this phenomena later, maybe when he wasn't tailing his perpetrator.

Albert followed the man for a good twenty minutes, noticing the slight change in architecture from the normal rundown appearance to a more modern feel. The buildings were starting to look slightly newer and cleaner. The graffiti was cut down to small signatures instead of the over the top paintings that would cover an entire building. They soon entered a nice-sh neighborhood with well taken care of side walks and cut grass. If he were to be honest, it was a nicer looking place than he was staying at currently. He wasn't jealous, definitely not.

The man turned onto one sidewalk and walked towards a well taken care of one story white building with Truffles prancing around him. Entering the building, they both disappeared inside leaving Albert to pass by the house with only a sidelong glance. Noting down the address on the mailbox, the young sleuth power walked out of the neighborhood while inwardly chanting the address. Now all he needed to do was find a phone booth somewhere. Looking to and fro, he soon found said item.

Slipping inside the cramp blue box, he silently activated his Resourceful talent before reaching his fingers inside the metal lid of the change dispenser. Feeling the sensation of his very being becoming 'less' was probably something he would never get use to. But luckily enough, he felt just enough change to make a single phone call. These days he knew the chances of his talent working would increase if he only used it in certain situations; for instance, if he was unaware of what was inside or if it was used on something that was on his person then the success rate would skyrocket.

After inserting the coins and inputting the phone number from memory, he soon waited while hearing the iconic mechanical ringing. It didn't take long, after two loops a tired voice answered,"

Hello?"

"Yes, hello. Your flier said that if I had information I was to call?"

"Do you know where..."The rejuvenated voice whispered the next words,"Truffles is?"

"Yeah, I followed the person but you might need to call the cops" Albert continued,"He's a pretty big guy so don't try to confront him yourself. I followed him to [Address]."

There was a pause before the voice spoke with a shaky tone,

"Are you sure that's the address? What does he look like?"

"I'm pretty sure. And he's round 6'4", real muscular and blonde hair."

"Okay thank you, I will call the cops now. Do you have a phone number I can reach you by?"

"No, I'm currently using a phone booth but I can meet you at the park near the board. My name is Albert and I'll be wearing a white t-shirt."

"My name is Louise and I will meet you there in a couple of hours."

Hanging up the phone, Albert came to a sudden realization, the woman probably recognized the dognapper. She's probably in the same neighborhood as him. He could shake his head the upcoming drama about to unfold. And he wanted absolutely nothing to do with it. As he walked back towards the park, while of course using his map as a reference, he waited for the system to grant him his rewards but nothing popped up. Feeling slightly confused.

'Cases'

[

Open Cases:

Major Cases:

Start a Detective Agency in Gotham (C), Rewards: 3 IP, 1 Talent Voucher, and the small increase of 1 Statistic!, Status: In Progress

Minor:

Find Misses Truffles (F), Rewards: 1 IP, Status: Pending Completion

]

'That somewhat explains it,' He thought,'Maybe I need for the client to say or indicate that the case is close. Hopefully she doesn't go over there herself, I don't think I'm ready for this to turn into a murder.'

Shaking off those dark thoughts, he continued his short walk back to the park. It didn't take to long, maybe ten or so minutes. Sitting down at the bench next to the notice board he took stock of his situation now.

'I have about 30 dollars after working for Jeremiah, that's not nearly enough for me to even get a hotel somewhere. Not to mention, to buy a building. I will need to start to spread out and start going for more riskier ventures, not stealing or any crime like that but I do need a phone. I can't keep spending my luck whenever I need to make a call. It has to have a camera to, that'll allow me to actually use my Photography skill maybe I could earn a little money that way to? It'll also let me collect evidence a whole lot easier during my next case. I can't always expect my clients to just take my words for it, they'll want actual proof. Especially if I'm working with the police.'

With those thoughts in mind, he began to wait. And wait he did. He wasn't sure how long he waited but he did see the rising sun begin to sink into the horizon, he guessed there wouldn't be a library trip on this day. Just as he was getting ready to leave and just ignore the reward, he was approached by a woman.

This woman looked to be in her early thirties, rich brown hair tied in a messy bun, tired blue eyes and a spattering of freckles across her nose. He could tell that she was an absolute stunner, some much so he had to hold his jaw from dropping. A baggy orange sweatshirt couldn't hide her curves.

"Are you the one I'm suppose to meet?"

Albert's could only shake off his awe and act professionally, he has a reputation to build. It wouldn't be good if he was known for gawking like an idiot everytime he met someone even remotely attractive.

"Yes," He coughed,"I am Albert and you must be Louise?"

She slightly smiled before sitting down next to him and they began to just sit there, admiring the tranquil view of nature. The silence was soon broken by her next words.

"I'm guessing you want to know what happened?"

He could only nod in ascent, with a sigh she began.

"It was quite the shock to hear that Truffles was so close to home. After I called the cops, I sat in my car outside the man's house. I was so furious, on the first day she went missing I asked everyone in that neighborhood to call me if they saw her. But no ever did. And then to hear that she was stolen by someone who literally lived a street over. One street. My daughter has been worried sick for the last couple of days, so much so that she hasn't been sleeping well since. When the cops did come, they told me if I didn't have any proof all they could do is knock on the door. I demanded to come with them, and let me tell you how convincing I can be when I'm seething. The moment that man open the door, Truffles came barreling out from between his legs and crashed into me. To them, that was enough proof for them so they asked the man for her registration papers. He obviously didn't have them and I didn't want to escalate things further so I just told them that I didn't care about pressing charges as long as I got my dog back. I couldn't even look at the man, I was too afraid that I would launch myself at him in a blind rage. The rest is history."

'So it seems that Truffles good nature got her in and out of troublesome situations. She probably recognized the man in the park and he just took her. Yeah she is definitely a troublemaker.'

"Here take this," she poked him in side with an envelope," The promised reward, good work."

"Oh ma'am I really couldn't," His hands expertly tucked said envelope in his pocket,"I'm just happy to be of assistance."

Snorting lightly at his blatant shamelessness, she leaned further back into the bench.

"You know," she began," I really hate this city."

"I don't think anyone truly loves their city."

"No that's not what I mean, it's everything. I hate working here, I hate eating here, I hate sending my child to school here. I just hate everything in this city. Its not just the crazies that fight over this place either. Its in the air, it tries to suck everything out of you. Leaving another apathetic citizen."

He couldn't say anything to her in response, she was right in a way. Gotham was truly a cursed city. Literally. They soon elapsed into silence. Sighing lightly, she stood up from the bench and spoke over her shoulder.

"That's why I'm glad that I'm leaving with my daughter. We were ready to go that day first day Truffles went missing, but due to obvious reason had to delay. I like to believe that the city itself knew this and tried to stop us from leaving. But thanks to you, Gotham won't be able to sink its claws into my daughter like it did me."

Albert was soon entranced by her figure as she walked further away, he could blame his hormones all he liked but he knew he would be just as helpless if he still had his older body.

"Thank you again Albert, not just for find Truffles for me and my daughter. But also for cutting the last line of connection we had to this city," She paused,"Word of advice, I don't know what business you have here. But get out when you can. Or else this city will not let you."

And she was gone, leaving him to stew bitterly in his heart. The feeling of cold metal seared into his skin. The mystery and allure of whatever is in that vault was, in her words, like a chain anchored to the city.

[Minor Case Completed! Rewards are being allocated! +1 IP]

'I wish I could heed your advice, I really do. But I'm afraid it's far too late for me.'