THE GRAND STORY OF THE SEEMINGLY IMPOSSIBLE ADVENTURES OF BARON BRITPOP BLASTFURNACE

Snoffduffle Investigates / Arriving in Spain

Baron Britpop Blastfurnace • Part 14

Cover design by Mark Starlin (royalty-free image by Andrey_Kuzmin)

Snoffduffle Investigates

Here my story must veer off again. As The Jellyfish was sailing toward Spain, the Grand Duke dispatched his man Snoffduffle to track down my attempted killer. I learned of it much later, of course, but I think it best to share the events in their proper time frame. Snoffduffle has kindly agreed to share his experiences, so this is his telling of his part in the story.

The Grand Duke was determined to find out who made two attempts on the young Baron’s life. Since we had no access to the sailors aboard the Sea Merchant II for questioning, it was decided that I should visit the inn where the bribe was made. It was my task to interview the innkeeper and inquire about who was conversing with the sailors. I arrived at the Port Belly Inn precisely at ten o’clock in the morning and approached the innkeeper, a surly individual named Dominic Keep.

“Sir, might I have a moment with you in private?” I asked. I did not want to risk the possibility that the culprit might be present and listening.