Tale of Eldramir

The conversation with Murry was both helpful and informative. Helpful in that he was able to expand on a few of the comments that Chester had made regarding the information on Sasha, and informative since he had a few extra details regarding some places that she tended to hang out at before her current crime spree, as well as a few places that were apparently near and dear to her.

With these additional clues Ezekiel headed to the area where the fountain was supposed to be located. Stopping at one of the main streets, he looked towards the city hall area. There was a large clocktower there that told the time for most of the city.

The bell for noon had rung not long ago, but depending on exactly how much time was left before half-past he would need to potentially start running to get here in time.

Seeing that he only had about ten minutes left and was still a fair ways away from the warehouse area of the large dock district, he figured that it’d be best to make haste.

The roughly half an hour walk was completed in roughly five minutes, and Ezekiel couldn’t help but feel frustrated at the expenditure of mana.

“It absolutely sucks that improving one’s Step when it comes to magic is so dependent on not using one’s magic for long periods of time.” Ezekiel couldn’t help but internally complain at the thought of losing a few days’ worth of mana just to make it to the meeting point on time.

“Well, that’s why Hunters make faster progress than Mages, right? They have a Spirit whose mana is exchangeable with their own, allowing them to break through steps faster.” Shine wasn’t as frustrated at the lost mana as Ezekiel, but they hadn’t really had to do any large expenditures of mana before.

“Yeah, but that can only be done once a month, else the ‘Will’ that we have within the mana we absorb will accumulate, and the mana will become unusable for the recipient.” While Ezekiel was thankful for Shine’s encouragement, that didn’t mean that the situation wasn’t frustrating. “Not only that, but you can only share mana if you’re partner has less mana, at the time, than you. We learned that the painful way, remember?”

Shine rattled in their sheath, violently shuddering, as they remembered what had happened when they were experimenting with sharing mana with one another.

Ezekiel was able to share his mana easily enough, after a little bit of trial and error after experimenting with some of the mana sharing techniques that Ezekiel tried to imitate from his own imagery and ideas.

The image they settled on was one where they pictured two tanks, one was Ezekiel, the other was Shine, with a tube connecting the two tanks. Ezekiel’s tank was obviously more filled compared to Shine’s and it was simple for the mana in his tank to travel to Shine’s tank.

The opposite was not the same, however, and it resulted in a sudden backflow of mana as the connection was opened. Shine ended up suffering immense pain, which Ezekiel took the brunt of after opening his mind as much as possible to comfort Shine as best he could.

It was somewhat unexpected, as the techniques he’d looked through didn’t mention anything about a backlash occurring like it had with them, but then Ezekiel realized that he had forgotten one of the obvious issues with what he’d been imagining.

His magic worked off of physics, or the innate knowledge and instinctive understanding of physics unknown to him due to Shine’s being made of the Void.

This meant that the image of a tank with a higher amount of substance with it, and therefore higher pressure, would take significantly more force to fill with substance from a lower pressure tank.

He didn’t know why this wasn’t a problem that the techniques listed when he was researching a means of sharing their mana, but assumed it was due to weirdness of Void mana when compared to the other elements. As well as the fact that the images used didn’t involve things like physics in their intent.

Ezekiel was pulled from his thoughts as he entered the large open area surrounding the fountain that he was meeting the guards at. He quickly noticed that there were a number of large carts and carriages that were taking people and products to and from the expansive warehouses he could see past the fountain.

Standing around the fountain were the rest of the guards. They seemed to be waiting for Ezekiel, but he knew for a fact that there were at least a few minutes before the official time for them to meet up.

“I’m not late, am I?” Ezekiel asked as he made his way over to the guards.

The guards all shared a look before Eugene replied.

“Not really. We didn’t really have any leads, so we came here early to see if anyone had anything that could help. I followed up with Sasha’s aunt, while the others tried talking to some of the people in the district to see if anyone had seen her recently. No answers from anybody.” Eugene explained.

“Oh, well I found a few things that might be helpful.” Ezekiel said, hiding his disappointment at Eugene and the other guard’s inability to find many answers.

Eugene and the others perked up at Ezekiel’s words.

“Oh? What did you find?” Eugene asked.

“Well, I don’t know the city like you guys do, so I went and talked to the only person I knew that might have information, since you guys were kind of sparse on the details when we talked earlier. Anyway, Chester told me about Murry, who I’m assuming you guys know about?”

Eugene nodded his head in response.

“Yeah, we found out about Murry the first time Sasha got to Chester with a con. But that was a while ago. Did he have some new info?”

Ezekiel nodded.

“Yeah. I mentioned to Chester that you told me how Sasha’s family hadn’t seen or spoken to her since before she’d started doing crimes, but according to him, and Murry confirmed, Murray saw Sasha dropping off and taking letters out of her mother’s mailbox. Apparently, this happened not too long ago.”

Eugene looked confused and doubtful after hearing Ezekiel’s explanation.

“That shouldn’t be the case. Sasha’s mother is only a low Step Adept. She wouldn’t be able to lie to myself, nor the other guards that were there when we questioned her. She was quite clear when she told us that she hadn’t seen or spoken to Sasha in months.” Eugene said with a shake of his head.

“Did she specifically say, ‘seen or spoken too’? Because from what I know, exchanging letters doesn’t involve seeing or speaking to the person in question.” Ezekiel asked, hoping for clarification.

Eugene paused for a moment. Taking a second to think about it. Sasha’s mother had been very specific when answering questions. He could distinctly remember asking if she’d made contact with Sasha at any point recently, but she’d insisted that she hadn’t ‘seen’ or ‘spoken’ to her.

“It’s very rare that such a specific word choice is used to full the senses of a Mage who’s focusing on reading the truth from a person, especially when the Mage in question is trained, but with the use of specific words, as well as some emotional intensity, it would be easier than straight up lying, and harder to catch. How did you recognize something like this?”

Ezekiel smirked as he replied.

“Do you remember the letter of introduction you read this morning?” He asked.

“Yes.”

Taking a deep breath, he looked at Eugene.

“I swear to you right now. I did not blow up an Ancient Ruin.” Ezekiel declared with a steady tone of voice and an intense gaze.

Eugene, who’d been focusing on Ezekiel, widened his eyes in surprise. He could tell for a fact that Ezekiel hadn’t said a single lie. But before he could say anything, Ezekiel continued

“I swear to you now. The Ruins were destroyed because I was there.”

If Ezekiel’s first statement was enough to surprise Eugene, the second one had him shocked, and he nearly took a step back at the sheer truth that he’d heard in Ezekiel’s voice.

“I noticed due to experience, Captain Eugene. Nothing more. That said, perhaps we should pay a visit to Sasha’s mother one more time, before we proceed with anything else?”

Ezekiel phrased his suggestion as a question to soften the blows he had just dealt to the guard captain, who was now staring at him with a much wearier look on his face.

“That’s not a horrible idea. We’ll certainly be able to find more clues if we request specific answers that are not potentially misleading. Ladies and Gentlemen!” Eugene’s voice sharpened as he spoke to his team. “Let’s go speak with Mrs. Melen one more time.”

The rest of the guards nodded their heads before they all set out to speak with Sasha’s mother once again. This time, they would get some appropriate and helpful answers.

The group of six slowly approached a house located at the edge of the docks district. Connected to it was what looked like smithy, and a small storefront was apparently attached to the side. In front of which was a large window and bench.

As they approached, Ezekiel noticed a woman with brown hair and eyes carrying what looked to be a box filled with a large number of tools from the smithy to the store. She greatly resembled Sasha, but was slightly taller, and looked more world weary than the younger girl had been.

Noticing the approaching guards, she stopped and glared at them before putting the box down and stepped forward to confront them.

“Well, what do you want? I know you’re here to talk to me again, and all I have to say to you is that I haven’t seen or spoken to my daughter once since she left home a couple months ago.” Mrs. Melen said as she crossed her arms in frustration.

The guards took a moment to spread out around her, just in case things became violent, which started to draw some attention from the people around them and the people in the store.

“That’s nice Mrs. Melen. Have you exchanged any letters with her, perhaps?” Eugene asked with a flat and toneless voice.

Ezekiel wanted to facepalm with how blunt the guard was being. But a part of him understood that they were likely tired and frustrated at how long and difficult this investigation was.

Worst of all, however, was the fact that Eugene’s bluntness was apparently working, as Mrs. Melen visibly flinched at Eugene’s question.

“I told you-”

“Yes or no. Have you been exchanging letters with your daughter? A criminal of the city of Sanafalls.” Eugene’s voice had no patience in it as he demanded an answer that Mrs. Melen could redirect from.

“I- I don’t- You can’t just-” Mrs. Men's attitude took an abrupt turn, as she came to realize that her redirects weren’t going to work this time.

By this point even the other guards had caught onto the fact that Mrs. Melen had been misleading them in their previous interactions. Two in particular looked very angry, and Ezekiel assumed that they were likely the ones that Eugene had come here with previously.

As Mrs. Melen continued to bluster in an attempt to not actually answer Eugene’s question, another figure exited from the store, this man had red hair and eyes. Given that the brightness of the red was beyond what Ezekiel knew to be natural, even in this world, he figured that this man must be a Tier three Mage.

“What’s going on here? Eugene! You’re not bothering the poor woman again, are you?” The Flame Mage asked with a gruff and accusing tone.

“Yes, they are! They’re asking me the same questions over and over again, and they won’t leave me alone!” Mrs. Melen exclaimed as she dashed over to the man’s side.

“First of all, that’s a lie, and second of all, Norn, I understand that you want to protect your employee and friend, but I have one question that I want answered. All she has to do is say yes or no. That’s it.” Eugene explained as he approached the Flame Mage.

Sighing, Norn turned to Mrs. Melen and gestured toward Eugene.

“Just answer the question. Then we can all get back to work.” Norn said in the hopes of encouraging Mrs. Melen.

“To reiterate, have you been exchanging letters with your daughter? Yes or no.” Eugene asked once again.

For a second, Ezekiel had thought that Norn was on their side, and would further encourage Mrs. Melen to answer the question. However, focused as he was on Norn and Mrs. Melen, he was able to see something that Eugene missed, as he was standing behind Norn, rather than off to the side like Ezekiel was.

Norn’s eyes narrowed as soon as he heard Eugene’s question.

“He knows something. He might be the one protecting Sasha, not just her mother.” Ezekiel’s thoughts started racing as he realized that they were in a precarious predicament.

“Ezekiel! Behind you, and off to the side!” Shine’s voice echoed through Ezekiel’s mind with panic and haste.

Glancing out of the corner of his eye, Ezekiel saw a couple of men standing at the edges of an alley. They weren’t obviously armed, but they were tense, and likely preparing to attack if Eugene and the rest of the guards pushed too far.

Taking a chance, Ezekiel turned to look over his shoulder, and saw that there was another group of about three or four people, spread throughout the street, that were watching the events with great interest.

However, something he noticed about this group of people was that each of them was wearing a Guild sash. One with a ship that was broken in half emblazoned on it.

“Now, that’s a question that’s a little bit different than the ones you were asking before. Mind if I ask why the change of pace?” Norn’s question brough Ezekiel's attention back to him.

Looking more closely at the man, he realized that Norn had a large hammer attached to a loop on his hip. Ezekiel realized that the smithing hammer would make for a very good weapon if things came to a fight.

Luckily, Eugene also seemed to notice, as he subtly waved at Ezekiel to call him off. Which was a good thing, as he was slowly reaching for Shine, and was more than prepared to draw weapons if needed.

“It was simply brought to our attention that the previous answers given by Mrs. Melen were very open to interpretation. We simply wished to ask a more specific question, per the suggestion of our Church granted assistant.” At this, Eugene nodded towards Ezekiel, who brought out and held up his official badge.

Norn winced and glared upon seeing the badge, having originally written off Ezekiel’s presence as an aid, rather than an official representative, who actually had the authority to bring matters directly to the Church.

Even the men off to the side and behind him seemed to be hesitating slightly. Drawing back a bit from their intense focus from before.

“I thought the Church didn’t interfere in the lives of civilians?” Norn mildly asked, attempting to throw Ezekiel and the guards off for a little while longer.

Realizing that acting like a kind and helpful person wasn’t going to be of any use right now, Ezekiel hid his emotions and acted like he didn’t care.

“We’re not interfering with anything. Merely providing assistance and suggestions to the legal authorities of Sanafalls.” Ezekiel said in an equally mild, but somewhat mocking tone.

“Ooh. Nice argument, Ezekiel. Now they can’t get angry at us for doing our job!” Shine ecstatically exclaimed.

“So, if we refuse to answer, then you won’t be doing anything?” Norn inquired, raising his eyebrow as if to challenge Ezekiel’s authority.

“These people are really asking for it.” Ezekiel thought to himself and Shine as he stared back with a neutral expression.

He had found that, after facing the bigotry and intent of the Scholars and Acolytes at the Cathedral these past six months, he was finding it easier and easier to school his expressions when facing those of higher Tiers.

“Of course. Although, all that I have seen and observed will be reported to the Church, including any and all efforts to dodge questions, as well as the presence of Guild members and outside parties that are actually interfering in an official investigation. Should things turn out for the worst, wanted posters and bounties may even be requested for any and all criminals involved.”

Mrs. Melen’s face grew fearful, while Norn’s grew angry.

“Was that a threat?” Norn asked as he rested his hand on his hammer.

“Norn.” Eugene raised his voice, warning Norn not to go too far. “Ezekiel, I think that’s enough.”

“What? I’m not threatening anybody. I’m stating a fact. If it turns out that the criminal, Sasha Melen, is apparently receiving outside assistance, or worse threatening her family with blackmail, then it only makes sense that such a vile monster would be given bounty, and her family would be given protection. To ensure that they are safe, of course.”

Norn grit his teeth while Mrs. Melen paled at the thought of her daughter getting an official bounty.

Hearing Ezekiel’s words, Eugene smirked. Threatening Sasha at this point was likely a better option, as she was an actual criminal, and Norn and the rest couldn’t help much more, since they had presented their intentions as those of helpers and protectors rather than interrogators.

“Mrs. Melen, our only desire is to find Sasha before any of the more, unreputable groups in the city get her first. We can’t do that if you keep hiding things from us.” Eugene said in an attempt to further coax her into answering.

Seemingly giving in, Mrs. Melen opened her mouth to answer.

“She sent me a letter.”

“Sandra!” Norn called out. Mrs. Melen ignored him.

“It wasn’t anything important. She just said she was sorry, and that she wouldn’t be coming home anytime soon. That she was going to be heading inland after she dealt with one or two more things in the docks. That was all.”

Norn looked to the side, and Ezekiel looked behind himself; they quickly noticed that the Guild members with the broken ship emblems had disappeared from the street. The two men at the alleyway across from the smithy were still there, but they seemed concerned.

“Up and to the side. There’s a couple of birds still watching us. Down and to the left, there’s a cat that’s staring too.” Shine pointed out a few of the remaining watchers that had stayed behind when the men had left.

Glancing in those directions, Ezekiel mentally cursed at the fact that they’d helped potential enemies.

“Ancients dammit!” Norn exclaimed, as he too noticed the Guild members had left. Eugene also had a concerned look on his face.

“What? What’s going on?” Sandra, Mrs. Melen looked around, confused.

“Those weren’t your men?” Eugene asked Norn.

“Of course not. Those were men that were looking for Sasha! I’ve been trying to keep Sandra safe myself for the past few weeks, they’re the ones that got Sasha making cons. They’re Hull Breakers.” Norn had a look of helplessness on his face as he moved to slump down onto the bench in front of his store. Sandra started to look faint, but her stubbornness forced her to stay standing.

“The Hull Breakers? That group of pirates!” Eugene nearly shouted in fury. “You’ve been dealing with those scumbags, and you haven’t brought this to the city guard of the Church?”

“They wear their sashes in the open. The city guard is aware of their presence, and so long as they don’t mess with Sanafalls’ ships the city doesn’t care.” Norn said in a deadpan voice.

Eugene looked like he wanted to dispute this, but he realized that Norn was right. The men that had been keeping watch were wearing their sashes in the open. He just hadn’t gotten a good look at their emblems since he’d been focusing on Sandra and Norn.

“Dammit! I’m assuming they came after her because Zeph made some deals before his final dive, right?” Eugene asked.

Hearing the new name, Ezekiel assumed they were talking about Sasha’s father.

“Yeah. Most of the debts have been paid off, but a few of them didn’t want money.” Norn didn’t go much further into details regarding what they wanted. But Ezekiel and the rest assumed the worst.

As Eugene and Norn started arguing, and Sandra grew more and more worried, Ezekiel was having a discussion of his own.

“Ezekiel, we have to help her!” Shine declared after hearing what Norn was saying.

“I don’t disagree, but that won’t be easy.” Ezekiel replied as he thought of a way to get more info from Sandra, without having it leaked to the Hull Breakers, or anyone else for that matter.

“Have her hold me!” Shine said. “I might be able to talk to her if she channels mana into me.”

“Where did that idea come from?”

“Well, it’s what happened when you channeled mana into me the first time, remember?”

“She has a completely different element than us! And I’m also bonded to you with my soul. She isn’t.”

“Well, yeah, but my body isn’t made of Mana like other Spirits, so the difference in mana type won’t destabilize me like it would with other Spirits.”

“That’s not how it works, or humans would also be able to absorb mana of different types.”

“Fine. Don’t have her channel mana, just let her hold me. I still think I can talk to her.”

“How?!”

“Instinct!”

Hearing Shine’s less than stellar reason and argument, Ezekiel desperately wanted to say no, but a part of him remembered what the Void Remnant said to him before. About how a Void Spirit, like other Spirits, would instinctively know how to use the Void, in ways that he simply wouldn’t.

“Fine. But you will not absorb her mana.” Ezekiel reluctantly agreed to have Sandra try to talk to Shine.

Drawing his sword, Ezekiel held Shine’s body horizontally in front of him and approached Sandra, who was standing in the doorway to the store of the smithy.

Eugene and Norn looked toward him, concerned, and wondering what he was going to do.

“Ezekiel-” “Kid!”

“Mrs. Melen!” Ezekiel’s exclamation cut off both Eugene and Norn from how intense his voice was. The air rippled as he allowed a bit of mana to leak out.

This was surprising to Eugene and Norn for several reasons. First, neither was actually aware of what Ezekiel's element was, but had no idea it was Void, as his eyes didn’t reflect it unless he was channeling his mana. Secondly, neither had felt the buildup of mana that would usually be needed to use magic. Given that Ezekiel channeled his mana entirely internally, this was understandable.

“Mrs. Melen. Please place your hand on this sword and answer any questions as truthfully as possible. Yes, we wish to apprehend your daughter for her crimes, but now we also wish to save her. Let us do that. Help us, do that.” Ezekiel’s voice was almost pleading as he spoke. Far different from the uncaring front he was projecting earlier.

Looking at Ezekiel’s face, and sensing the truth in his words, Sandra placed her hand on the sword.

“Hello there!”

“Ah!” She immediately drew back as Shine’s voice echoed through both her and Ezekiel’s mind.

“You can hear them. Good.” Ezekiel said as he felt relief that Shine’s ridiculous plan worked.

Sandra looked confused, as did Eugene and Norn, as they hadn’t heard anything.

“What did you do?” Norn demanded as he stood up from the bench.

“I’m talking to her using a means that cannot be overheard by Hunters with Spirits that are no doubt listening in. We need information, and we need it fast, if we want to get Sasha before they do.”

Norn and Eugene looked around, Ezekiel flicked a rock at the cat who was watching from the corner, channeling mana as he did. The flare of mana as it defended itself drew Norn and Eugene’s attention, but all they saw was the cat’s tail as it ran away.

“There’s more than just that one. But we won’t be able to chase them all away. Mrs. Melen, please talk to the sword.” Ezekiel insisted once again.

Sandra placed her hand on the sword once again, bracing herself for Shine’s voice.

“Sorry about that. I didn’t think it would surprise you that much.” Shine apologized for scaring her.

“Focus!”

“Mrs. Melen, can you tell us where Sasha might be hiding? Or better yet, can you tell us where she went?”

“Still hesitant, but more willing to answer now that she knew her daughter was in actual danger, Sandra was willing to answer the question, and told the two of them exactly what they needed to know.

“Outside the city, to the northeast, there’s a tunnel system that leads further inland. I used to go there when I was a child, and mapped a path to get away if things ever went bad for me. That’s what was in the last letter I sent her. The exit is beneath the maple tree grove outside the village of Oxren. It takes roughly three days to get there using the tunnels. I’m not certain where she’ll go after that.”

After giving the information, Ezekiel thought about some of the places that Murry had told him about. One of which was a cabin that Zeph, Sasha’s father, had taken them to that wasn’t far from Oxren, built not far from a waterfall that fed into a small lake.

It was a place that her father had been building as a surprise for her mother. One that Sasha, Murry, and Murry’s father were helping build as a surprise for Sasha and Murry’s mothers. Apparently, it still wasn’t finished, and likely never would be.

With those thoughts in mind, Ezekiel thanked Sandra for the info before turning to Eugene.

“Can we keep them safe?” He asked, gesturing to Sandra and Norn.

“Mort, Teri, Bruce!” Eugene called out.

“Sir!” Three of the guards, two men and one woman, saluted and approached.

“Stay here with Norn and Sandra. Keep them safe, and only allow people in who Norn says are okay to enter. He seems to know who to trust, as well as having his own little posse for protection.”

Norn snorted at Eugene’s words but looked thankful for the assistance.

“We’ll be returning to City Hall to regroup. Ezekiel!” Eugene called out, grabbing Ezekiel’s attention.

“Yes?”

Eugene paused for a minute, as if he couldn’t believe that Ezekiel had actually been of any help.

“... Thank you for the assistance. I assume that you have the information we need?”

“Yes. But we shouldn’t talk here.” Ezekiel said as he glanced at the birds that were still watching them closely.

“Agreed. We’ll talk when we get to City Hall. Let’s go.”

With those final words said, Ezekiel and the two remaining guards followed behind Eugene toward city hall. Their investigation was nearing its end.