Thalia kept her head down, her eyes locked onto the floor to prevent herself from meeting Inquirer Reid’s gaze. The ill-tempered veteran was currently in a heated, yet still whispered, argument with two Skullcaps, who had taken the prisoner she had detained into their custody a few hours beforehand. It oddly reminded Thalia of being a little girl, when her parents would have veiled arguments with barbed words and harsh tones hidden behind a facade of civility meant to shield their daughter. This wasn’t the first time Reid had tried to get past the guards who were keeping them out of the old watch-house that served as the Skullcap’s headquarters. Each time he had been rebuffed with discourtesy bordering on outright insult and a growing air of hostility.
Indeed, the seizure of the two prisoners had almost come to blows with the Skullcaps all but outright threatening the Wardens on the scene, whom they vastly outnumbered. It nearly gave Reid an apoplexy, seeing as Wardens as an institution technically outranked every man and woman in the city guard. Reid had issued message after message to the various offices of the Ministry of Law, the body oversaw the Wardens and the city guard and the enactment of the legislation both groups enforced, and to various nobles sympathetic to the Wardens. Thalia and her fellow Wardens were sweaty and sore from pelting back and forth across the city, yet no matter where they turned they were stonewalled. Some nobles even went so far as to refuse to meet with the Wardens, speaking through intermediaries or firmly shut and secured doors.
With no end to the perplexing situation in sight, Thalia felt hard-pressed to keep her spirits up. Pug had already become severely disenfranchised with it all, settling into a morose slump atop a nearby crate. The sound of hurried footsteps drew both of their attention, and the pair were elated to see Eleanore scurrying towards them, nodding to the Wardens and ducking her head to avoid the half-lidded stares from the Skullcaps. She and Reid exchanged a brief nod though the Inquirer didn’t miss a beat, continuing to spit venom unrelentingly at the Skullcaps.
“Hey.” Eleanore said with a small wave.
She looked a little nervous, which was perfectly understandable. This was rapidly turning into a standoff between the only two law enforcement agencies in the city. In fact, Thalia hadn’t seen a normal pedestrian or civilian in hours, the citizenry canny enough to sense something was going on. She felt a pit begin to open up in her stomach as nebulous worry began to crept up on her. Almost instinctively Thalia moved to take a defensive posture around Eleanore, giving her shorter friend a reassuring smile as Eleanore regarded her with uncertainty.
“I’ve been hearing rumors going around saying the Wardens and the Skullcaps were at each other’s throats. Hadn’t realized how true it was.” Eleanore nodded towards Reid. She let the silence hang, clearly intending to let Thalia vent if they needed to.
“They took our suspects off of us as soon as we detained them. They don’t have power, not without some sort of documentation from the courts or the Ministry of Law.” Thalia explained, her voice more venomous than she expected.
Apparently I needed to vent a little after all. She thought with a rueful smile and a shake of her head.
“Worse,” She continued. “We were so outnumbered, Reid had no choice but to turn them over. As insane as it sounds, we almost broke out into open conflict with them.”
“We could’ve taken them.” Pug groaned. “We should have fought them off.”
“Even if they’re in the wrong, it sets a bad precedent to fight them in public. Both institution’s reputation with the citizenry would have been ruined.” Thalia repeated for what felt like the thousandth time. Eleanore gave a little giggle as Pug let out another groan fraught with agonizing boredom and angst.
“The most frustrating part is we’re getting rebuffed everywhere we turn. The few nobles actually meet with us are hardly any help, talking in circles incessantly.” Thalia finished explaining, some of her anger relieved by venting on her friend.
“Well that’s very unfortunate.” Eleanor frowned at the lingering Skullcaps, the guards completely oblivious to the tiny woman’s disfavor. “In better news, I have a little something for you.”
The inventor gave Pug a little jab with her index finger, which for the fairy was more like getting sucker-punched in the solar plexus. The fairy involuntarily let out a puff of air and wrapped his arms around his stomach. He collapsed onto his rear and eyed Eleanore sullenly, his glare growing particularly pointed as she smiled, completely oblivious to his discomfort.
“What is it?” He wheezed, crawling back to his feet.
Eleanore excitedly withdrew a small wrapped object from a satchel she had strapped to her side. Shrouded in what appeared to be a kerchief, she was not able to tell what the item was other than it was long, thin, and cylindrical. With a wordless cry of exultation Eleanore yanked the cloth away from the item. The beauty and craftsmanship of the object took her breath away, and from the periphery of her vision she could see Pug was equally dumbstruck. Held in Eleanore’s hands was a masterfully created work of art, a spear of dark iron. The solid shaft of metal was inlaid with intricately twisted lines of silver interspersed with simplistic flower buds. It produced the visual effect not unlike that of vines crawling up a trellis, with all the vines coming together at the tip to fully wreath it in silver.
“You made it in the few hours we’ve been waiting here?” Pug said, awestruck.
“I’ve been stress tinkering.” Eleanore said defensively. “I already had a lot of the material handy.”
“Sure.” Pug grunted absently, managing to voice his skepticism even as he leaned in closer to inspect the piece, entirely enraptured. So invested was he in admiring the weapon he let out a mewling, wordless cry of complaint as Eleanore began to withdraw it.
“If you’re not happy to have it, I had the perfect little automaton I could put this on.” Eleanore teased.
“No!” Pug wrapped the spear in his arms like he was hugging it, which did little to stop Eleanore from lifting the spear and him along with it. “It’s just so beautiful! I’m surprised you can make something like this so quickly.”
“That’s more like it.” Eleanore smugly set the spear, fairy attached, on the crate. Pug went straight back into gazing at the weapon adoringly. As Eleanore turned to look at her, Thalia put an aggrieved expression on her face.
“And nothing for me? Your best and only friend?” She pouted.
“Shush you. I’ll make you something very nice once this is all settled.” Eleanore knocked her shoulder into Thalia’s as she stood next to her friend, earning herself a jab from Thalia’s elbow in response. Eleanore frowned, a thought seeming to occur to her. “You’re not my only friend.”
Thalia laughed as her friend shoved her in irritation and the trio returned to silence broken by intermittent conversation and the occasional murmured jest. The eccentric little tinkerer had lifted the mood, Pug’s flagging spirits bolstered by the gift, and Thalia simply glad to have her friend by her side. Her presence had an effect that managed to persist and soothe even in the face of Reid’s stormfront-like approach. The thin veneer of control did little to hide the Inquirer’s frustration or exhaustion, though the tightness around his eyes softened somewhat as he regarded the trio, particularly Pug’s child-like wonder and fascination with his new weapon.
Taking a deep breath and looking around, Reid seemed to decide there was little to be accomplished by having every Warden under his command lingering in the street. He began to send Wardens home, thanking each of them quietly. Thalia was heartened by how many of her allies wanted to stay and support the Inquirer, though it took little argument from Reid to convince them to leave. Everyone was dead on their feet, and few protested more than once or twice. Still, when it came her turn to be relieved, Thalia hesitated.
“What about you sir? Surely you’re not going to stay here?” She asked.
“I’m staying. I don’t know if they’re being truthful or not, but they said they expected an update from the Captain of the Guard soon.” Reid sat with his back to the wall, leaning into its support. His eyes were bloodshot, dark circles hanging under them in thick crescents.
“Then if it’s alright with you sir, I’ll stay for a little longer.” Thalia said, standing firm as Reid eyed her irritably.
“I suppose you’re the most invested person here.” Reid mused. “Suit yourself Warden. I just don’t want to hear any complaints tomorrow.”
“I’m off tomorrow sir.” Thalia arched her brow.
“Not if we get our prisoners you’re not.” Reid said, laughing at Thalia’s scowl.
Thalia let out a long suffering sigh, though it was mostly in jest. She’d be glad to end this little sideshow and get back to her investigation as soon as she could. The poachers had consumed far too much of the Warden’s time and attention, leaving the Faerie Dust case idling. Reid settled in to rest, his eyes half closed as he entered into something akin to a meditative state. Feeling the late hour, the evening chill, and her own fatigue Thalia slumped down into a seated position next to Eleanore, her back against the wall of what appeared to be a tailor’s shop catered particularly to dress uniforms for the Guard. She stared at the front doors to the Skullcaps offices, fighting to keep her eyes open. Thalia hardly noticed as she slumped over and began to lean against Eleanore, using her shorter friend as a support.
An indeterminate amount of time passed before the sound of doors being thrown open and her name being harshly whispered, in conjunction with a sharp jab in her side roused her. She was unsure if she slept or if the wait wasn’t as long as she’d thought it would be, but the Warden clambered to her feet and moved to stand beside Inquirer Reid. They watched as a procession of people trickled out of the guardhouse in a stream, Eleanore sidling up behind her to poke Thalia in the side once again.
“I think you drooled in my hair!” Ah, so she had fallen asleep.
Before she was able to assuage Eleanore’s displeasure, Thalia was frozen in place as the last two people departed the building, easily recognizable even though all could be seen of them at first were their silhouettes against the brightly lit interior. The first was Simon Linz, Captain of the Guard and commanding officer over all the Skullcaps in the city. His presence alone would not have been surprising, given it was their guard house. Annoying perhaps, as they had been told repeatedly he was unavailable and not in the building, but not shocking. But alongside him was Inspector General Totterheim, the highest ranking Warden in the city, and the person their team had sought out most ferociously as their primary hope of getting their prisoners returned to them. Thalia shot a glance at Inquirer Reid, but her senior Warden was just as shocked as she was.
“General Totterheim, sir?” Reid called out hesitantly. The General looked around lazily before his gaze settled on their little group. He leaned into Captain Linz and muttered something, which got a laugh and a large smile out of the man, before turning and striding over to them.
“Ah Reid, I’m glad you’re here. I have something for you.”
The general rooted around in his pockets, apparently searching for whatever it was he had to hand off. Thalia took the brief moment to inspect the man, having only ever seen him once, at a great distance, when she was sworn into the Wardens. The Inspector General spent the rest of his time at his office in the Ministry of Law. His job there was, as Thalia understood it, purely political and had little bearing on the average Warden’s day to day. As with most high profile jobs required intense politicking to attain, it seemed to pay well given how opulently the man was dressed. Some poor furred animal had been slaughtered to make his scarf, and his jacket was a fine dark leather with burnished golden buttons gleaming in the fast fading light. As he checked the inner pockets of his coat, she could see the clothes beneath his jacket were riotous colors and Thalia knew, despite not being as fashion-aware as Eleanore, this man was dressed for mingling with nobility. Deep-set eyes glittered dully about a bulbous and red nose, and his mouth was completely hidden by his bushy gray mustache. He wore a fancy little cap, from under which little gray curls poked out. He ought to have looked like a nice old man, but Thalia felt there was something cold and hungry in his aspect. As though his shoulders bent under the weight of some dark ambition.
“Ah, here we are.” Totterheim presented a slip of paper pulled from his breast pocket, pressing it into Reid’s hands. “Now, I don’t know where all your subordinates went, but you’ll want to round them up. Lazy buggers.”
“Sir?” Reid prompted, bristling at the insult to the Wardens.
“That paper there has the location where they get the Faerie Dust.” Totterheim said in passing, distracted with the buttons on his coat. “Your little friend’s… friend, should be there too.”
“Pardon me sir, what was that?” Reid exclaimed, simultaneously bringing the hand with the paper in close, as though he worried someone would snatch it away.
“That’s where they go to buy the Dust. You know, the thing I’ve been having you investigating? It also, luckily, happens to be the place kidnaps mystical creatures.” The general finished buttoning up his jacket, and gave himself a little pat down, as though checking his work. Satisfied, he flashed Reid a smile. “Apparently they were told to bring creatures in and they would be given Faerie Dust in return.”
Reid sputtered before giving a dumbfounded, “Why?”
“I don’t know Reid, but I do look forward to reading about it in your report. Which you’ll write once you get back from arresting the dealer, this guy they call the Merchant, tonight.”
“Tonight!?” Reid protested
“Well, you don’t have to write the report tonight, it is late. However, I am ordering you to strike the building tonight. We don’t want him to catch wind we’re onto him, now we’ve caught his lackeys.”
“Sir, if you would be so kind, how did you get this information?” Reid said, each word clipped and terse with frustration and the tense sort of bewilderment of a man who’d been duped and would slip into anger as soon as he figured out the trick.
“From his lackeys, which you arrested. I just said that, Reid.” Totterheim said slowly, as though speaking to a child. Behind him Captain Linz gave a dry laugh, though he studiously avoided the searing glares of Reid and Thalia, attempting to pretend as though he saw something hilarious on the ground.
“I apologize sir, this is all just moving a little fast for me.” Reid explained through gritted teeth. “If you would be so kind, why were our prisoners taken from us? Why were the Skullcaps allowed to interrogate them? And if time was so sensitive, why were we not brought in on this before now? We’ve been out here for hours trying to get in contact with you, or anyone else who could enlighten us on the situation.” Reid fumed, before adding a belated, “Sir.”
“You know how this goes, Reid, you were just the victim of bureaucratic mismanagement. I got it all smoothed out, I got you your lead. Now you just need to follow it.” Inspector General Totterheim turned and strode away, seemingly fine with ending the conversation there. Inquirer Reid was not so inclined.
“We were all but threatened to hand those men to the Guard, despite this being our jurisdiction.” Reid protested. “This isn’t over, sir, the Guard has too much to answer for!”
“Yes, Inquirer, it is over.” Totterheim caught up to Linz and the two resumed their conversation, quickly disappearing down the street and into the long shadows of the encroaching shadows surrounded by lackeys and sycophants.
“What the hell was that?” Thalia exclaimed. Eleanore put her hand on Thalia’s arm reassuringly, but it did little to calm her anger.
“Warden.” Reid cut in calmly. His tone was benign, but a heat lingered in his eyes. “Go gather the rest of the investigation unit.”
He regarded the paper he had been given, crumpled and wrinkled in his clenched fist.
“Apparently, we have a bust.”
***
The ifrit across the way looked on with poorly feigned disinterest as Lina rummaged through her alchemical supplies. Pouches, sachets of herbs, and small vials of reagents were pulled out and analyzed before being tossed back into her pack. Occasionally she would set something particularly interesting aside, such as this cluster of metallic fungus. Once she was satisfied with her little pile of ingredients, the last thing she removed from her pack was a small and worn trowel.
Taking the trowel, Tourmaline approached the bars of her enclosure, a few of which were rusty, grimy, and deteriorated. It seemed like whoever had procured the cage had felt little need to maintain it, though what meant for its previous occupant she did not know. Part of her felt she ought to be offended at the poor state of the device enclosing her, however she quickly remembered the cage wasn’t truly what was keeping her here. Deliberately turning her thoughts from the cursed hound and the ink black shadows it lurked in, she set about her task once more. Even if the cage wasn’t the primary line of containment, she still needed to overcome it to escape. Steadying herself with a deep breath, she scraped the rusted bar with the edge of the trowel, cupping her free hand below the worn tool.
In her eagerness she worked far more vigorously than she ought to have, drawing too much attention to herself. At first it was just her nearest neighbors, who hardly had the presence of mind to worry about what someone else was up to. Those who did have the wherewithal to look on did so with dead eyes, staring glassily through half-closed lids. It would have been fortunate had they been the only neighbors she had to worry about, but they were not. A low rumble and abrupt movement compelled Lina to pause, the Black Dog stalking through the aisles and tilting its head side to side as it hunted for the source of the noise. Keenly disinterested in being made, Tourmaline stepped back from the bar she was working on.
Pulling back into the shadows of her confines she held her breath in anticipation,dreading the moment the cursed beast bayed and alerted its master. The soft patter of its footfalls persisted for many moments as it strode back and forth, though it appeared to be unable to find the source of the noise disturbed it. Giving a dissatisfied little chuff, it slunk back to its corner and flowed into the shadows like it was of the same material, though its eyes remained glittering in the darkness.
After several more minutes of waiting silently, until the Dog’s eyes shut and their dark glimmering ceased, Lina resumed her work, more slowly and quietly this time. Before long she had amassed a sizable mound of rust and other detritus in her hand. She hoped the filth wouldn’t compromise her mixture, though she did her best to sort out the worst of the contaminants. Once she had the rust as clean and pure as she thought she was going to get it, she placed it in a pile next to her other ingredients before resuming her work. She only had to interrupt herself one more time on account of the Black Dog, though this time it was simply going about its usual rounds and didn’t seem to be alerted to her activities.
After essentially cleaning her entire cage, Lina took the rust she had gathered and added in her alchemical ingredients which included the shiny metallic fungus and metallic powder from her pack. Kneading it all together, she added a vial of clear liquid would work to soften the materials, allowing them to become soft and malleable like clay. Soon her mixture had homogenized into a brownish red paste. She was technically not supposed to expose her skin directly to the liquid she had added, which was technically an acid, but this wasn’t her lab and she had no gloves here. She simply had to be mindful not to touch her eyes or any other sensitive areas, and to hope her skin could handle the abuse for a little longer.
Taking a small handful of the paste she had made, she smeared it across the back side of the locking mechanism holding her cage door closed, wrapping some of it over the top until she felt certain she’d applied enough. As she stepped back to regard her handiwork she caught her neighbor, the ifrit, looking at the pile of paste she left on the floor of her cage, obviously curious. Seeing she had his interest, she grabbed another handful of the paste and shaped it into a ball. Glancing around to be sure no one saw, she underhand tossed the paste into the ifrit’s cell, where it rolled awkwardly, one side flattened from the impact of its landing. The ifrit arched an eyebrow, looking from the brownish puck she’d tossed him, to her, and back. He crawled over and picked it up tentatively, analyzing the material, though he made no move to put it on the lock to his cage as she had.
“What is this?” He inquired archly. Upon giving it a sniff he scrunched his nose and looked likely to toss the goop out of his cage entirely.
“It’s our escape plan. All you need to do is get it on your lock, and when we get our chance you light it up with your fire magic.” Lina said excitedly.
“And it’ll do what? Dissolve the metal?”
“It will melt through it, actually.” Tourmaline corrected.
“Uh huh. And the Black Dog won’t notice?” Skepticism dripped from the ifrit’s tone
“Well the idea is to wait until we have an opportunity to use it. So the beast will be distracted.” Tourmaline explained patiently.
“Listen little gnome, I’ve been here for quite a while. We don’t get opportunities in this place. Even if the Merchant is in his workshop in the basement, out of the shop entirely, Dog is always here. It’s always watching us.” Fatalism clung to his words like a dark shadow as he spoke, slumping back into seated position with his back to Lina.
“It’s better than doing nothing isn’t it? If we never get the chance, then that’s fine. But I’d hate to have a shot and not use it because we weren’t prepared.”
Tourmaline thought she hadn’t gotten through to him, but after a moment of deliberation the coal black ifrit stood again and approached the lock to his cage. He applied the paste, mimicking what he had seen Lina do earlier. Once he had used all of his paste he returned to his seat. Feeling an opportunity to make a connection, Lina spoke again.
“I didn’t think you’d give in quickly. I thought I’d have to spend a few days convincing you.” She flashed a tight smile at his back.
“That’s precisely why I did it now. I didn’t want you badgering me every day until that lunatic takes me to his workshop and kills me.”
“That’s a bit gloomy. I’m telling you ifrit, we’re getting out of here.” Lina said, half to convince herself.
“Eschen.” The ifrit muttered. Taking her silence for confusion he elaborated. “My name is Eschen.”
“Doesn’t that mean ash?” Lina pondered aloud.
“Well what’s your name then, gnome?” He cracked back, irate.
“…Tourmaline.”
“Isn’t that a rock?” He said flatly. Tourmaline shook her head and grinned. Naming conventions among mystical creatures seemed to be universal.
“Alright alright, I get it. Just be ready for our opportunity Eschen. It’l be closer than you think.” Tourmaline said, hoping her optimism wasn’t misplaced.
“Whatever you say Tourmaline.”
***
Each Warden on the Dust investigation was present and accounted for. Some were blearily blinking sleep from their eyes, and more than one had been drinking when they were rounded up, but they were all here. Pug perched on her shoulder with his spear in hand, tapping his fingers in sequence on the haft in a nervous tic. All eyes were on the storefront Totterheim had directed them to.
Reid was talking to the court wizard attached to the Wardens, probably double checking to make sure the magical defenses on the building were actually going to come down before they accidentally fried themselves running into them. While it wasn’t uncommon for gangs and the like to employ a hedgewitch or conjurer, the quality of the wards on the store was disturbingly high. The wizard had already called in a few others to help him pull it down, preserving some of his energy so he wasn’t insensate when they actually breached the building.
“Alright people, gather round.” Reid whispered, waving at a few of the Wardens too far to hear.
“The wizards say they can bring the arcane defenses down shortly. Alphonse, I want you on point when it happens.” Reid continued, addressing the large Warden directly. Alphonse was a mountain of a man and the primary doorkicker in the squad.
“How will we know when the wards are down? I want to be extra sure this time. My toes are still tingly from last time.” Alphonse said slowly, turning to look at the Caimon, the wizard.
“Look, no one expected a second layer of wards! Besides, you’ll see these wards coming down. There’s enough power in them to blow your foot clean off, let alone make your toes tingle.” Caimon replied, doing little to relieve Alphonse of the doubtful expression on his face.
Alphonse certainly wasn’t thrilled with the idea of losing a foot, but before he could say anything the other wizards advised they were ready to start with a flurry of whispered words and quick hand signals. Half of the wardens lined up on either side of the front door, while the other half circled to the back. After giving the second group a one hundred count to get into position, Reid signaled the wizards. There was a chorus of arcane chanting and a sudden crack. Light flashed, blinding Thalia as coruscating energy flickered up and down the walls of the building. As the last of the flickering bolts of power faded, Alphonse planted his foot solidly in the middle of the door.
There was the sound of splintering wood and then a body was pushing at Thalia’s back, and she was pushing at the back of the person in front of her. The entire team of Wardens bulled into the shop, and from what Thalia could hear the back door of the shop was experiencing a similar event. Thalia stopped as she cleared the doorway, suddenly struck by a sense of familiarity. She had been in this shop before, seen these shelves and these aisles. But where nothing had been amiss before, now there were cages upon cages full of creatures. Things looked like tiny people, a lizard with eight legs, a pile of rocks in the vague shape of a bull, so many magical and unnatural beings stacked on top of each other in one place.
A twinge of pain flashed through her mind as the memory she had of this store roared to the forefront of her thoughts. For a brief moment the world spun as the idea of what was tried to overlay itself over what is. Clearly the enchantment on this place had been strong, if the mere memory it made still tried to deceive her. Unfortunately the momentary distraction was not without cost, and a large black shape barreled into Alphonse, carrying the large man into the darkness of the unlit room with a cry of surprise and the sound of vicious snarling.
At the very same moment a door to the back rooms of the building flew open, and the Merchant stood there. His eyes were alight with rage and power, a sickly yellow-white light also shone in his outstretched hand. As bolts of sick light leapt towards them, Caimon stepped forward, speaking words of power and erecting a shimmering half sphere of force in front of the Wardens. Before the bolts impacted Thalia swore she saw a flicker of sparks and something catch flame on one of the shelves, but suddenly found herself with greater concerns as one of the bolts of light the Merchant had thrown slipped past Caimon’s shield before it fully deployed. The bolt caught her on the shoulder and she felt her entire arm go numb as she was flung through the air, twisting as she flew back out the door, taking the last Warden entering the shop in the stomach, sending both of them back into the night.
