Neil poked her skin experimentally, eyes boring into the tattoo his new girlfriend now sported. He admitted it looked pretty cool, and he would have definitely asked who gave her the ink if he hadn't seen the snake-demon thing leap into the two dimensional space. He shook his head, perplexed. He wasn't drunk enough for this, he decided. Luckily Neil had bought a myriad of drinks for he and Emmaline to imbibe in throughout the coming evening. 

"So... this doesn't hurt, right?" He asked, stroking his chin. 

"Uh... no? But I'm still wildly confused?" Emmaline said, fretting. The snake thing remained unmoving, but Neil didn't trust it. Would it pop out of her skin and bite or strangle either of them? It seemed like a dumb way to go, but he had seen more humiliating and strange ways to die before. Neil and Emmaline exchanged looks of confusion, but as the woman began to shake her head and part her lips to say something, there was a distant knock. Neil lifted himself up and turned his head like a meerkat, another knock following. 

"[sub]Neil Edwards![/sub]" a voice called. 

Neil sighed. "Great, it's Inspector Leizbauhnor." He muttered. 

"You don't think..." Emmaline said, uneasily clutching her bodice.  

"ONE SEC!" Neil called through the open balcony door. He turned to Emmaline and shook his head. "Nah, I doubt it. Even if it's the case, I'll just shoot him and we'll get back to drinking." 

"Drinking is a good idea," She said, the blonde thinking back to the chase, the crash, and now this weird serpent familiar embedded into her body. 

"Wait, wait." Neil held both index fingers up. "Before you drink and before I go out there, I have an idea. In the closet there's some dye." 

"Uh, yeah?" 

"Look, they're going to be looking for a blonde woman. You might want to think about changing your hair color. Wait! Just for a few days." He reasoned. "If this Leizbauhnor guy is here, he's either here with that description of you or he's wanting us to go back out and do something for him, in which case someone might spot you. You can't really hide that banging chest and that big butt, but you can look different with the hair..." 

"Some guy saw you too!" She protested. She didn't seem disturbed by changing her hair, but it was still likely a hassle.

"Some guard saw me steal a few bottles of the good shit and some chocolate. Em, you have an entire city looking for you. Just change your hair to whatever we have just for a few days, and by the time it's out of your hair we'll be sailing to Tilea or Stirland or wherever, alright?" He placed a hand on her cheek and kissed her. "I'll go see what the walking stick wants and then we'll get to drinking. One second." 

Neil departed out of the bedroom, hurrying down the stairs to the hall in the second floor, opening up the wide window to peer down at the tall, thin man with the wide brimmed hat and the spectacles. Beside him stood a man that looked carved from granite, grey eyes staring out just below a bronze circlet with the twin tailed comet emblazoned at its apex. He wore great plate armor, and in his hand was a large, ornate warhammer that looked more than adequate enough to break through the tower door if the man felt so inclined. 

Neil leaned over the side. "You boys missed the parish by about two miles. Just head right down that road and keep walking until you hit the wall. You won't miss it, it's full of beastmen." 

"Mr. Edwards, where is your plump companion?" Leizbauhnor asked, adjusting his glasses. He looked to have gained a new scar since last they met. Perhaps the man did more than bookkeeping for the Order of the Fiery Heart. 

"She is currently indisposed my good man, shall I bring her a message?"

"Were you two near the southern docks, anytime recently?" He asked, betraying no emotion. The warrior priest remained silent, just staring at Neil. 

"We were just out, but no we were up near the palace. We were just helping some of the common folk, putting out some fires. It was the priest-er, the [i]least[/i] we could do. So many looters, nowadays. This city won't hold together if we don't stick together. Anyway, could you get to the point? It's been quite a day, sirs."  

"Very well. My companion here, Warrior Priest Valkar Baudenhal, is tasked with stamping out all corruption in the city. Rampant magics and such. He asked for my aid, and I knew just who to requisition for help. My two lawless initiates who happen to be quite useful at sniffing out trouble. A number of notable families, including a very prominent one just the other week, have been accused of heretical practices. I believe are familiar with one case that was infested with mutants..." 

"-Yeah, shit's messed up-" 

"-and it is paramount that we remain vigilant. So, I would ask you and your...friend... to keep an eye out and have a few names to add to our list when I return in three days time." 

"Uh... well, I'll see what I can do. Is that all?" Neil inquired. 

"For the moment." Leobowitz said. The grim-faced Warrior Priest finally opened his mouth and said. "I look forward to working together." 

"Yeah, me too! Ok! Thank you! Goodbye! Goodbye-" He closed the window and superfluously locked it. Immediately he was thinking of the family Emmaline had stolen from, but that would put her in the crosshairs of the law. No, no, the best option was to just somehow leave the city before three days time. He would talk with Emma about it, and so Neil walked back up the stairs to make sure she hadn't guzzled half the keg of Bugmans.