Chapter 5 Home is where the Heart is (Ubberific) GMed by ranger

Rikke moved to the desk and opened it up. The upper part had the various things one would expect. A quill some ink and paper, as well as various notes. None of these seemed important and seemed to be notes about meetings with students. Turning to the draws Rikke pulled out several other letters, but they seemed personal in nature. Several where offers to work privately at various estates, nothing however had Jericho's name or seal. Moving to other draws Rikke found a very interesting set of harnesses that were far to small for horses and not exactly the right shape. In another locked drawer a set of dildo's and other accessories.

Papers... papers... job offers... Obviously he'd not keep anything that could compromise his station in the University out in the open! So then the drawers perhaps?! Rikke opened the first one only to find more useless bureaucratic dribble, only for the second drawer to open up and reveal some sort of... leather pieces? Why would someone keep THIS here?

Yet it was the third drawer that seemed to pause the rogues movements entirely, as she'd blink looking at the items... only for a rising blush to color her face as she'd be looking at a drawer filled with various dildos and other questionable 'accessories'! O-Okay! Why was THIS in here?! Rikke slammed the drawer shut with a cute blush, before leaning back out and sighing. Nothing, there had to be something else in this room. Something that stood out! If she was a terrible pervert, where would she hide far more sensitive or personal papers....

Not content to simply give up Rikke searched the room thoroughly. Surprisingly the couch folded out and could be flipped around to reveal a leather glad bench with straps to tie something human shaped down. Turning away from that Rikke noticed hooks in the ceiling to suspend something from chains or ropes. A hidden wall panel revealed manacles.

Unfortunately further exploration of the rogue would only reveal... something most chilling! T-That the room was some sort of semi-torture chamber!!! Rikke wasting little time to make sure everything remained untouched, only for her thoughts to soon enough shift to her other finds. No, not just simple torture at all. T-This was a very specific sort of 'torture' or moreso aids for far more devious different intents!

Yet time was running out! Even if her heartbeat did rush a tad more now, due to the suggestive findings she was no closer to any sort of leads to Jericho! Seemed she'd need to go for plan c and stalk the stablekeep to keep tabs on who he keeps in touch with throughout the day! Lest something else caught the girls eye... as indeed considering her latest finds, suddenly even the slightest risk of being caught shifted to perhaps some taboo at the back of her mind to utterly scary!

Leaving the office after carefully setting it right. Rikke heard the Stable keeper call out. "Okay girls bring it in. Thats enough for today. Anna Please come to my office we need to discuss your technique." It seemed Rikke had finished her search just in time. She could of course hang around to see if the Stable keeper did anything that would give her a clue or she could explore some other avenue's. After all while his office didn't reveal any direct clues he might still keep his personal papers some place else.

Seemed the girls departure came not even a moment too soon, as just as Rikke closed the office door she'd hear the mans voice from further on! Even if after all the rogue had seen her thoughts of this 'discussion' were anything, but pure! Still slipping out of sight Rikke, the rogue made sure she was in the clear, before sighing deeply... The massive break she had hoped for proved to do little more than reinforced her suspicions that the stable keeper was just a massive pervert... perhaps even to a dangerous degree! Yet this was not the trail she could use to find out more about the chain of command that lied underneath.

The office proved to be nothing short of entirely devoid of any truly noteable details, completely! No personal logs, no notes unrelated to the school... absolutely nothing--- personal... Rikkes eyes widened as one last desperate idea struck her! The office indeed had completely none of the mans personal items and no bed! In other words, the obvious crossed the girls mind... his personal items would be found not here, but in his personal room! Every teacher had one, he was surely no exception!

And~ with him busy 'tutoring' poor Anne, now was the perfect time to slip in! So... where exactly was the man living? With that thought in mind and mischievious smile the gorgeous rogue quickly went onwards!

Easily enough Rikke remembered the map she had seen during her first introduction to the school. Much like the maid dorms the Teachers had their own small off set of buildings. It would be a simple task to look up the right house for the stable keeper. It would mean a trek back to the admin building but would not hinder her efforts for the evening.

As Rikke stood before the modest house, she was thankful that the admin staff were quite proficient at their jobs. It hadn't taken long for her to find the right house. Conviently enough it was also the most remote of the small buildings, in an area known as the old campus. She could see the tell tale signs of the former buildings that used to adorn the area. Most where just crumbled fireplaces but a few still had hints of walls choked by vines and vegetation.

Moving up to the home in question Rikke tested the door and found it unlocked. Information from one of the secrtaries had told her the house was only used by Mr. Steel the Stable Keeper and Riding instructor. He had the whole place to himself and it made RIkke wonder if he had decked this out as he had with his office. As the door creaked open she was greeted with a small mud room that opened up into a common room. Here she could see sofa's and chairs in the style of the academy. the flooring was a darker color, and the wall paper different style as well. At the end of the common room was a stair way that lead up and out of sight. The stairs however did pass over the door to what seemed to be a small kitchen/dinning area. Too her left a door way led into what looked like a study with big windows to let massive light threw. However these where currently blocked by heavy curtains, letting only peaks of light threw. No doubt the upstairs lead to the bedrooms of the people staying here.

It was still quite the sight to see a fair few of the staff, if not flatout all of them have their own small little houses! It was like a small little building of... what previously the rogue may have considered uptight snobs, but truthfully most, barring a few exceptions, all of the staff proved quite friendly and welcoming! Still as she was wandered through the buildings, she had one target specifically in mind... One that thankfully had been marked out by a clear number for her to follow and soon enough reach!

Yet as the rogue went through the grounds soon enough, she'd indeed note that this whole area bored some hints of some sort of different structure once being here... infact, the rogue did recall the map she had seen on her first day hinting at areas that were no longer used as well... Was this it? Or had the University once been even more grandiose than it was before?

Whatever the case may be, soon enough the rogue raised her eyes and sharpened them just as swiftly, as she had reached it... the house of the black haired stablekeep, Mister Steel. Looking around to make sure no wandering guard would catch her mischievious and particulary illegal action, Rikke stepped closer and just as she prepared to test her lockpicking abilities once again--- she'd find the door unlocked? The orange haired beauty nothing short of leaned out in surprise, her eyes blinking a few times at the unexpected fortune... Yet she'd hardly have the luxury to question it! Not with it likely still being sort of light outside and there being patrols around!

As indeed the moment Rikke got in, she'd close the door behind her and smile with clear mischief... it was time to search this place to its fullest! Starting with the first floor and then moving to the second!

Stepping threw Rikke tried to ignore the ominousness and heavy clunk the door made behind her as it closed. Checking it to be sure she found the handle turning free as if to open. A small flood of relief flowed threw her as she began her search. Sadly the living room was just that. A simple resting place with a cold fireplace and a few comfortable sofa's and chairs. A small bookshelf was almost devoid of any books. While clean the books were nothing impressive. A few old school manuals and a yearbook collection that took up one of the four shelves. Nothing else at least in this room seemed to hint at any danger or misdeeds.

Heading to the study Rikke found even more year books, as well as a few journals of other residents from the past. Sadly Mr. Steel didn't seem to keep one himself or at least no in the study. However a pair of desks filled the center of the room. One was devoid of papers besides a few that had spilled over from the other desk which seemed sloppily kept. It was also kinda of dusty an oddity in the academy with such proficient maids basically on beck and call. Everything else in the room was immaculate. Taking a quick glance Rikke saw mounds of bills in two piles. Some where opened and others had yet to be. Looking the unopened one's Rikke saw a few current dates. The others where that had been opened were much older. None of which bore any logo of Jericho. Another item of notice was a ledger with a red ribbon bookmarked a few ways in. Turning away from these a moment RIkke checked the rest of the room and found it free of any devious hidden compartments or horde of sex toys.

Nothing truly stood out throughout the girls search, bills, papers or other inconsequential items... Everything except a few! Among these were the duo of desks the rogue had found, while one certainly didn't seem too out of the ordinary... the other was nothing short of perplexing! Where the room itself proved to be utterly immaculate, just as one would expect with top grade maids absolutely at arms reach... This table seemed dusty and barely if ever used... why?

Besides that the other item of note, was indeed the marked ledger. Even if the rogue had seen far too many bills already, ironically it had been a Ledger that sent her on the trail to Jericho! Meaning it would be an item she'd absolutely look over, including the bookmarks within! Still at the very least the rest of her search was oddly sex-toy or without any other particulary deviant items. Yet this was only the first floor!

Bitting on her lower lip, the girl looked to the stairs up... yet for now remained downstairs to more in-depth look over the two desks and the check the ledger proper! 'Come on, Steel... I know a deviant like you is involved!' the thought spurring the rogues search on!

The clean desk was completely empty. Moving her attention to the ledger she opened it up at the book mark. From the bookmarked page an immediate name popped up. No less than seven positive deposits from Jericho Enterprises for finder fees. Finally she had hard evidence for a connection. Other than that the ledger had little else to offer. Checking the desk she found it locked, smirking she quickly disabled the lock and pulled open the drawers. Here she found a small coin purse and few more personal notes. Doing what RIkke dose best she moved up to the upper floor.

At the summit of the stairs she found two separate rooms. One was closed but the other was slightly open revealing a messy floor. No doubt the messy room was Mr. Steel's.

She absolutely knew it! No way was a student screwing pervert like him clean from this!.. Yet more importantly seemed dear mister Steel was potentially one of the main scouts to find the girls? At least judging by all these finders bonuses he was getting! Still, this only confirmed that he was indeed a member, without a shadow of a doubt... but it wasn't the string that the rogue could use to find the other members and most importantly the head of this perverse snake! Ultimately that was indeed the rogues goal here...

Placing aside exactly as she found it, Rikke moved onwards to the dusty desk and.... as tempting as it was to snatc---er liberate ill-gotten gold, it was best not even a hint of anyone sneaking around here was left. As indeed with a heavy heart and a few quick glances through the notes later, Rikke had to close the drawer and lock it!

With her suspicions confirmed it seemed the rogue just might have to use plan B - stalk the bastard through his day, or at the very least have Cheryl do it as subtly as she could! Yet perhaps she'd not even have to as Rikke had a whole second floor to investigate! As with that he girl moved onwards and checked both rooms, starting with the closest one!

The messy room opened up before her and she was immediately hit with the smell of sweat and dirt. It seemed much like his desk Mr. Steel kept the maids away. Even the Warg's barracks had been cleaning than this still it wasn't as bad as Seve's lair though the smell was a close second. Thankfully more evidence seemed to pop right in front of her. A very familiar robe lay to one side, and next to that a black mask like the one the men wore at night during her training. The bed was a tangled mess and covered in questionable stains. A small end table with three nearly empty glasses of some brownish liquid sat. Next to them was a note. Looking it over she saw it listed a simple date and time. The date was for a few nights from now and the time was early 5 bells before dawn.

Rikke carefully pushed open the door and just as it opened, suddenly something truly horrible unveiled itself!... 'Nhegh..' the stench at least by its 'richness' almost felt like it should've been visible! Though unfortunately the rogue had to take a final breath of the 'fresh' air in the hallway, before she'd fully open the door and head inside! No wonder the university kept the man in the stables!

Still the smell was easily worth bearing through, as nothing short of an array of clues all rested in plain view! Even if at first Rikke only saw the robe as suspiciously familiar, it would take just the glance at the nearby mask to put it all together! The night traps! He was among the group who were there!!

This confirmation and finding soon enough lead to another key and vital piece the rogue found - a date! A few nights from now and extremely early in the day? Though even if at first the rogue found the early hours puzzling, shortly after it hit her.... this date, the mask and the robes... This was the date when the next 'training' session was meant to be! It all fit, considering each time the rogue was awaken from her sleep! Licking her lips as Rikke now knew she was onto something truly substantial the girl looked over the note and checked if it was indeed hand-written, as if it was she'd stash it away! The room was an utter mess... and considering how few clues the rogue left, dear Mr. Steel would just hopefully shrug its disappearance off as misplacement or being lost!

Afterall, if the note was hand-written, this could serve as a vital clue to the main organizer of this 'event'! Few if any people truly shared their writing styles! Still with all this the rogue finished her investigation and unless something more came up, she'd look to just as sneakily as she arrived to depart! Her investigation for today was finished and finally with solid results!

The note was indeed hand written but she had little to go on to compare it too. Still it was a right step and some solid clues. Locking up was easy to accomplish as the personal spaces where so unkempt that she only had to close the front door to and it was like she was never there. Until she heard the foot steps crunching on the worn path. They sounded heavy like a man's walk. Going in was out of the question and there was no immediate cover to be had. She was quick however and some nearby ruins would make a good hiding space. Which one though? To her right was an small ruins probably another cottage like this one or the larger ruins with its outer wall still standing.

Finally it felt like the girl was getting some progress done! Rikke giggled to herself as she'd close the door and turn away rather confidently--- yet the moment she began to near the worn path, suddenly all too audible heavy footsteps caught her notice?!! 'Uh-oh...!' while the girl wasn't doing anything explicitly wrong or illegal now... her presence here would certainly raise some questions! Worse yet - it may be a hint of her investigation!

As indeed wasting little time the rogue quickly turned and rushed off to the safest and largest cover she could find - the larger ruin wall! If anything perhaps it could give her the perfect peep-hole to see exactly who was stomping around to begin with!... Even if it was likely the guard she had seen awhile back.

Rikke was quick into cover, long before the owner of the heavy footfalls came into view. In fact it was Mr. Steel himself, shirt open coat thrown over one shoulder. From her spot she could see his zipper slightly down and he had a pleased look on his face. WIth out so much as a care he reached down and gave himself an adjustment before retreating into his home. It seemed it was a good thing she had finished when she did. Brething a sigh of relief Rikke began to look away when a single dangle thread of silk and its eight legged owner dropped right in front of her eyes with out warning.

Steel?! Rikkes eyes widened, as it seemed she had snuck out not a moment too early! And with the way she left everything, there'd be little doubt that the Jericho bastard wouldn't even ever suspect that she was there to begin with! The beauty snickered to herself in sheer delighted mischief... unaware of the small spindly shadow that was slowly descending down upon her! As indeed the moment, Steel disappeared behind his door... Rikke waited a moment longer and with a subtly bit down lower lip of victory turned around to--- to--- to---

Rikke nothing short of froze in place as turning around right infront of her was a massive spindly black spider?!!! Its body handing down by the single silk thread as it looked on to her. The girls heart nothing short of stilling as she'd almost go cross-eyed and pale at the sight--- only for the spiders silk to snap off and for it to land somewhere on her thigh!!!! "W-Wuaaaaah~!!!!" Rikke cried out as she nothing short of bolted right out of cover instantly looking over herself, as goosebump upon goosebump coursed through her! Oh gods where was it?! Where was it?! Her mind in brief panic, before thankfully she'd be able to conclude that the horrendous... poor creature likely got scared out of its wits more than her, as it dashed away.

Rikke's yell echoed off the wall as she jumped to her feet and dashed from her cover. Checking herself out she sighed with relief only to hear a rather ominous *crack!* She held still a moment only for another to echo out and little plumes of dust to shoot up from around her feet. She barely had a moment to move as the floor seemed to open and swallow her whole. She didn't know how far she had dropped but as it came to an abrupt end she fell back and her vision swam in darkness before it closed in around her.


With a terrible buzzing in her head Rikke came to. It was almost complete darkness only glowing mosses that coated the decaying walls gave off any light and it was poor at best. Looking up at the whole she fell threw Rikke couldn't see sky, it seemed the collapse had sealed her in where ever she was at the moment. All around her the room was filled with rubble. Broken furniture, and torn cloth and rocks. In the very dim light Rikke thought she made out a door, but couldn't tell. Checking herself over she found she was unhurt but her cloths were in a dreadful state.

In her panic, just as the rogue could let loose the sigh of relief-- just as quickly the omnious crack came! Rikke blinked a brief moment, before looking down only for that very same crack to shift into nothing short of a pitfall! As suddenly the beauty found herself tumbling down somewhere?!

"M-mmmh..." Rikke winced lightly as she'd sit up her head still buzzing lightly, yet a quick check of her senses showed that thankfully she wasn't too hurt at all. The orange haired beauty shook her head lightly, as if to restore her senses and finally properly looked around, even attempting to stand up if her sense were no longer as numbed... Where.. was she?

Even looking up hardly revealed how far down the beauty had fallen or where she even was! Broken furniture, torn clothes, rocks and glowing mosses? This place appeared nothing short of abbandoned and almost ancient! This... was under the ruins? Why? Still a quick dusting off and a singular thought of how Cheryl was absolutely going to not let her live down the state her uniform was in later. The rogue could refocus and actually look around! This did not seem to be a cave, but moreso an abbandoned part of the university?