When they arrived, however, her good feelings disappeared. Several of the buildings they had fixed had been vandalized. Windows had been smashed, eggs had been splattered, paint and feces had been smeared, holes had been knocked in wall, as well as other assorted damages. Perhaps the damage to the workers was worse, as they all looked defeated. Several were crying and Epsley was sitting on the ground, dejected.
"Oh no," Shallista said, trying not to get emotional herself. "What happened?"
"No one knows," Epsley said. "It was like this when we arrived. For something like this to happen after all that hard work..." He sniffled.
Penelope ran over and sat down to comfort him. "Don't worry. We're here now. We're going to fix these buildings and make things right."
He wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Thank you, Penelope."
"Not to interrupt your tender moment," Vilka said, "but do you have any idea who could have done this?"
Epsley shook his head. "None at all. All the citizens seemed to be on board, so I don't think it was any of them. Maybe some of the visitors could have done it, but why? It doesn't make sense."
Maybe whoever did it was still in town. "I'll ask around," Shallista said. "The rest of you stay and help the builders."
"Yes, milady," her charges all said.
*
Shallista found herself in front of the inn. If a traveler was the culprit and still in town, they'd likely be here. Either way, she would get to the bottom of this.
She noticed an armored woman sitting out front, looking away from her. It was the woman she fought in the guild hall a while ago. "Hey, you! Remember me?"
The woman did not look her way.
She decided to walk over and plop down in front of her. "I'm not here to fight. I just want to ask if you've seen anyone suspicious around here."
Without looking at her the woman said, "As if I'd help you, whore."
"Okay, fair enough." Shallista stood up. "By the way, you wouldn't mind changing into your sexy armor so I can check you out, would you?"
She noticed a slight crack in the woman's expression. "I-I don't know what you're talking about."
"You can't fool me," Shallista said. "One of my guild members left the storage area with some armor and didn't say where she was taking it. Judging by the size of the missing armor and what you should look like under your armor, I'm assuming she gave it to you."
"S-she could have g-given it to anyone," the woman said.
"But, no new members came through my door," Shallista said. "That could only mean the person who received the sexy armor was trying to keep it a secret."
"Piss off!" the woman shouted.
Shallista sighed. "Just put it on and show me what's hiding under all those plates. It's nothing to be ashamed of. You can come to my headquarters and show me later if you're too embarrassed to do it in public."
Suddenly, another armored woman shot up of the inn, sword drawn. "What's going on, Lady Victoria?" Then, she noticed her. "You! What are you doing to my guild member?"
"Just a little friendly conversation," Shallista said. "By the way, have you seen anyone suspicious at the inn?"
The woman simply looked her up and down with a look of disgust.
"You girls need to chill out. Try wearing some sexy armor. It'll help you relax." She left them to themselves and entered the inn.
All eyes were immediately on her as she stepped inside. She noticed three more armored women sitting on a sofa, sneering at her. She turned away from them and looked to the check-in clerk.
"Stinking whore!" a female voice said.
"Nobody wants you around, so go away!" another said.
She turned back to the armored women.
"Yeah, we said it," one of them said. "What are you going to do about it?"
She wasn't here for a fight. "Since you're talking to me, perhaps you've seen-"
"Shut up, harlot!" one of the women said.
"Hey, no fighting," the clerk said.
Shallista nodded at him. "Have you seen anyone suspicious wandering around here?"
The clerk laughed. "I run an inn. See 'em all the time. Yer gonna have to be more specific."
She thought back to the condition of some of the buildings that got vandalized. "Maybe their clothes were a little dirty or they smelled odd. Perhaps they were carrying a bag of some sort."
He looked up for a moment as if thinking before he looked at her again. "Now that I think about, a young man did come in with a bag of...something. But I never saw 'im leave. Maybe one of my employees saw 'im after I went to bed. Or maybe Lady Grizelda saw. I've never seen her sleep since she's been here."
"Lady Grizelda?" Shallista asked.
"The leader of that armored lot you just had a falling out with."
She wasn't going to get any answers from her. She'd have to go straight to the source. "What room is the young man currently staying in?"
He looked uneasy as he answered, "Room 205, on the second floor. Please don't cause any trouble."
She nodded. "I'm just going to talk." At least that was the hope. She made her way to the stairs and headed up.
When she got to 205, she gave the door a good knock. "Hello, young man. My name is Shallista, guildmaster of the Sexy Warriors. I would like to ask you a few questions."
No answer. She attempted to twist the knob, but it was locked. Busting down the door wasn't an option and the innkeeper likely wasn't going to let her in to invade his privacy. She wasn't totally up a creek, though.
She made her way back to the innkeeper and asked, "Would you be willing to give me a description of the young man?"
"It couldn't hurt," he said. "He was a young fella, maybe in his late teens. Pale skin, brown moptop hair, average height. Heck, just a regular kid by all standards."
"Hmm, that doesn't really narrow down the possibilities," she said. "But it could still be helpful. Thanks."
"Sorry I couldn't be more help," he said. "I'll let 'im know you stopped by if I see 'im."
*
Shallista returned to see everybody cleaning buildings with their heads hanging. Epsley just happened to see her, hope in his eyes. "Did you find the piece of crap who ruined our work?"
Everyone stopped working and all eyes shifted to her. Unfortunately, she had to let them down. "I'm afraid not, but I did find out that the person may still be in town. If this is true, I promise me and my Sexy Warriors will find him. We'll crush him, drag him here, and throw him at your feet for judgment."
Epsley nodded. "Heh, me and the boys can't wait." Other builders nodded and chuckled eerily.
She turned and started walking. "Okay, girls, let's go. We have to make things right."
Wendy, Cordelia, Penelope, and Vilka nodded and said, "Yes, milady."
