[center][h3]Dead Zone Hinterlands - Martira, Old Castle Town[/h3]
Harry’s [@Eviledd1984]
[b]Word Count:[/b] 1080[/center]

Though all four players saw Harry approach, none really noticed him until he boldly announced his presence, both the somewhat brazen interruption and his stated career choice earning him a bumper crop of wary, suspicious, or downright unpleasant looks from just about everyone in his immediate vicinity. While it seemed like the somewhat shady denizens of this particular corner of the Friendly Arm could stomach Morris -maybe due to his apparent gambling debts?- the strident arrival of a true-blue cop in their midst was a definite buzz killer. “Detective?” The bird-headed man questioned, shifting in his seat uncomfortably. He fixed Morris with an unfriendly stare. “Friend of yours?”

“No,” Morris grunted through gritted teeth, either aggravated or embarrassed by the association, or both. After a second, though, he switched gears and tried to play off the annoyance casually. “Never seen ‘him before in me life.”

The tense atmosphere loosened a little once everyone realized what Harry’s concern was. Word of Martira’s crisis had reached even the most transient ears here, and few were truly cold-hearted enough to brush off the childrens’ plight. Still, even if a wolf happened to be chasing deer today, a hungry one might still snap at a rabbit, so Harry wouldn’t find much hospitality here. Once he started firing off questions, the crowd’s attention shifted back to Morris, who seemed to shrivel beneath the spotlight. “Uhh…”

After a second or so, the burly conductor sighed. “Well, don’t keep your buddy waitin’ on our account, Morris. Go ahead, your wallet could use the break anyway.” A wide grin spread across his face, and various onlookers snickered. The other players were all waiting to see his answer to what seemed like a test–to see where the guardsman’s priorities lay, and if he was still one of them or not.

Morris pursed his lips. “C’mon guys, I’m still in the game, yeah?” he insisted, not wanting to lose face. Turning toward Harry, he gave an exaggerated shrug. “Ach, can’t ye see I’m busy here, mate? It en’t even noon yet, so we got a while before any more wee ones go missin’. Go have yourself another round, will-!”

At that moment, however, the pot that had been boiling deep within Harry’s gut boiled over. Ever since he downed that Squeck Juice, his nagging symptoms of withdrawal had been relieved by the brain-numbing buzz, but the aftertaste of that ink-black brew had proven rather stubborn. No matter how many times he swallowed, that hoppy, saline flavor stuck to his throat, and after a minute or so it began to swell. There was a stirring, a squirming in his stomach, getting stronger by the second until finally, the detective couldn’t hold it back any longer.

With shocking suddenness, he doubled over the players’ table, throwing up a phlegmy, gelatinous wad of [url=https://i.imgur.com/DzSGTQq.png]squano[/url], which was even less pleasant than it sounded. It splattered across the wood, leaving Harry dizzy and one of the players’ winnings covered in gunk that reeked like a tide pool. The bird-headed man burst out in [url=https://www.myinstants.com/en/instant/tf2-heavy-laughlong/?utm_source=copy&utm_medium=share]uproarious laughter[/url], while Morris turned away, a pained expression on his face. The pink-haired woman, meanwhile, turned up her nose. “Are people really still falling for that?” She rolled her eyes.

Some bystanders joined in the fun, a couple friends even starting a chant. “Get squecked, get squecked!” they sang. Their merriment proved short-lived, however, when the conductor’s chair scraped backward across the floor, and the man rose to his feet. Everyone fell silent; it was [i]his[/i] winnings that Harry had puked on, and judging by his face, he was not amused. He stood a head taller than the detective did, and twice as wide, not even accounting for the glowing green crystals that protruded from his shoulders. Standing before him felt like standing before a hurricane, earthquake, or tsunami–as if the full brunt of a natural disaster were about to descend on Harry at any moment.

Morris gulped, his eyes widening. “H-hey, Stein, let’s just-”

“Now, why’d you have to go and do that?” Stein’s voice had hardened considerably.

At that moment, though, the floor shook ever-so-slightly, then again, and again. Though Stein’s sunglasses shielded his eyes, his head tilted toward something above and behind Harry, at which point it became apparent that the miniature tremors possessed the cadence of heavy footfalls. The next moment, a huge, bell-shaped [url=https://i.imgur.com/bNfnYy5.png]figure[/url], seven and a half feet high, came to a stop. “We gonna have a problem here, fellas?” came a rich baritone underlaid by a smooth metallic echo.

Stein didn’t seem to flinch at the newcomer’s arrival, though. “Dunno.” He looked back down at Harry, raising an eyebrow. “Are we?”

“Daddy!” At the sound of a little girl’s voice, Stein immediately turned his head. A much gentler smile spread across his face as a [url=https://i.imgur.com/9BS34HL.png]little blue-haired girl[/url] in a white winged dress ran over. Just like that, the imminent disaster was gone, replaced by fatherly love at the drop of a hat. “Um, it’s almost lunchtime,” the girl informed him, her manner timid. “Can we go get lunch?”

“Heh. Yeah, I could eat.” Having crouched down to pick her up, Stein walked off without a second glance at Harry, his money, or anything else.

In the moment of silence that followed, Morris shrugged, throwing up his hands. “Well, guess that’s the game, anyway!” He tugged at his color, glancing over at the two newcomers. “Fine, fine, I’ll take your damn questions, but gimme a minute, will ya? Wait for me outside.”

“Works for me.” Keeping his arms hidden beneath his massive trench coat, the big man used his head and fedora to point Harry toward the door. “C’mon, slick.”

A few moments later, both were back in the sunlit town square. A spindly mechanical limb slid out from beneath the stranger's coat in order to tip his hat. “You a detective too, huh? Hard not to notice you beltin’ it out like that, heh. I figure subtlety ain’t your strong suit. Well, seein’ as we’re in the same boat with the missin’ kids case, I just figured I’d lend you a hand.” When Harry’s new acquaintance removed his face from his respirator, [url=https://i.imgur.com/P2g9vXU.png]he[/url] looked a lot less scary. “They call me Big Band, and I’m all there is of the most real. How ‘bout you?”