(scrit-scrit) Whaaaat?

Scene: The city of Altdorf. A Street. Two black-clad figures on horses stopped outside an ironmongery shop, tried the door and fiddled with the lock. With a protesting creak, it opened.

Inside the ironmongers, Johann swore as the scratching started *again*. Picking up his trusty sledgehammer and darkening the lamps, he quietly opened the trapdoor down to the cellar, and listened. A high-pitched chittering came from below; gazing downward he saw the glints of reflected light from eyes, flickering. Occasional bumps and thuds testified to heavy work being done. With a deep breath, Johann drew back, prepared to switch on the lamp--

"Excuse me, sir, but I don't think that would be a good idea."
Johann jumped out of his skin as a hand lightly but firmly guided his arm away from the lamp. The voice was Bretonnian in accent. "We'll take it from here, thankyou." Another figure drew up; in the greenish light that seemed to be coming from nowhere, Johann saw that both men wore black cloaks and carried pistols beside them. The new arrival cleared his throat and spoke quietly and slowly; he seemed to have a Caledonian accent. "Palace Guard. I'm Commander White, this is Mr Black. If you'll just step away from the trapdoor... ah, thankyou. Take care of it, would you, Mr... um... Black?" "Right." Mr Black dropped through the trapdoor, landing below with a thud. Red and white light flared suddenly, and the chittering rose in pitch.

"Well, Mr..." Mr White paused. Johann stammered as he replied, compelled to fill the suddenly terror-filled silence. "Ludenberg. Johann Ludenberg. But what... you have no right to some into my shop, and, and, peform magic in my cellars!" There was a loud thud from below, and a groan. Another flare of red light blinded Johann- as he blinked to clear his vision, he saw that White was wearing darkened glasses. "I demand you show me your proof of identity!" He brandished his sledgehammer agressively, nearly dropping it as his unwanted companion spoke.

"Mr Ludenberg, you're lucky we caught this in time, or your house would be infested with them. It's not every night we can clean up this sort of thing, you know." Another loud bang came from the cellar, followed by silence, then a scraping noise. "But why... " "Mr Ludenberg, all will be explained when Mr, uh, Mr... my colleague returns. If you just wait until then?..." The cloaked figure strode around the shop, whistling under his breath as he inspected the merchandise. Mr Black climbed up from the cellar, letting the trapdoor fall with a crash that made Johann jump. "Now, Mr... Greys or whatever you call yourselves, I demand an explanation!" The figures turned to inspect him, Black taking out another pair of darkened glasses and putting them on. "Mr Ludenhof," he said in his Bretonnian accent, "all will be revealed if you look into this." He drew out a short, metal object from his pocket. "Just look at the light, please." A small red light flickered on.