act10mini

Enough questions! Run!

A lively flame springs from the young lady's palm, its licks surging upwards. The sound of metal cracking under the sheer heat bursts forth before her, as if a gargantuan creature emerges from the blaze, awoken from its slumber.

The flames' light laps past the shattered fluorescents, flowing over the pillars, the air warped and twisting in the heat's dance. Only the flames themselves, sweeping about the debris on the factory floor, shine brighter, fiercer, more brilliantly.

The hooligans are wide-eyed and slack-jawed in terror, not daring to twitch a muscle.

Amidst this sea of chaos, the flames' tongues play gently with the ends of the lady's hair, unable to harm her in the slightest.

...Kneel before the flame of the heavens.

And all of it is thrown down, the resplendent red light filling their eyes, until soon enough they can see no more.

The lady brings down her two arms, held high.

That... that was marvelous.

You're... incredible!

Are the others alright? Is anyone hurt?

We're fine, we're all fine.

The Caster turns around, intending to help up the Infected.

When from behind, a figure hidden away in a corner comes charging a her.

Shit... bloody Caster, it's you or me!

Watch out!

Ugh...

Who's there?

From a staircase beneath the ceiling, a nimble silhouette quickly flits through the opening overhead, disappearing from Skyfire's line of sight.

Miss Caster, are you still fine?

I'm alright.

Help me with the others! First things first, we all get out of here!

November 27th, 1097, 6:40 A.M.

Kidnapping Infected? Blowing up the factory?

Right, though I still can't make sense of what in the world they were trying at.

Odd indeed...

What about those bandits you got? Did they say anything?

...Er...

Things were a bit of a mess there. I might've gotten slightly heavy-handed...

Never mind. I won't ask for the details.

Disguising as Infected to bomb a factory... I do have a guess for what made them do this.

Trying to capture those few runaways might pose some difficulty.

It's not too realistic to hope the guards look into an Infected community case, either.

And some other things are puzzling me about this... I could swear I saw...

Forget it, let's not mind this for now. Have any of you found Miss Susie yet?

I'm sorry, but not yet. I've already sent people to search. The guards say they saw her there when it caught on fire, but she quickly ran off in tears.

I'll search too if needs must... I'm a little worried for her.

Mr. Root! Open the door! Mr. Root!

Mr. Root! I'm begging you, save her!

We've got an Infected who's almost gone, help us!

Susie? Mr. Red? What happened??

November 19th, 1097, 7:44 A.M.

And you don't remember when someone first opened it up?

Has to have been two months ago, at least.

But we always sealed this part off with planks. A few naughty kids pulled them off to climb in a while back, so it might just be the same story this time.

Have you seen anyone go in or out?

No, it's dark as night down here. Why would anyone?

Alright... got it.

*Sigh* This still isn't making sense... and it's so suspicious. I've already found six abandoned structures up till now where the entryway's started being used again.

Plenty of witnesses are testifying about dragging sounds from the underground channels at evening, too. The atmosphere around the Infected community just doesn't sit right. It feels like someone's fiddling about.

Not one person's got a reason to be using these entrances again...

(Claps face)

Forget it, enough of that for now. Both the littlest things and the big stuff the town's survival hinges on are just as important, yep!

Let's see what else there is... Oh, yeah... the burglary case at Count Bishmer's.

Where do I start investigating that?

*Sigh*... Who would it be? Slipping past a noble house's strict defenses and stealing something isn't your standard thief's fare.

According to the Count's servants, the burglar pops in and out all over the Infected neighborhood. So, they're either extra familiar with the terrain there, or have special Originium Arts.

—Of course, that's assuming the servants aren't lying to avoid responsibility.

...Hmm, I don't think they would though. I've heard a lot of similar reports the last two weeks. All signs say there really is some thief on the run in Caladon City.

A very strange thief, special Originium Arts...

Whatever, let's drop by the Infected community and see.

Grani, finally found you!

Mrs. Sunny? Calm down, calm down, what's the matter?

My little Pom's run away! I've been looking for two hours already, help me find him! He usually listens so well, he's never run off before, what if someone bad finds him...

No worries, Missus, I'll help you look right away!

Thank you, thank you!

Did anything happen right before Pom ran away? Have you asked anyone nearby? ...Ah, don't rush, Missus, take it slow...

An hour later.

Over here, Mrs. Sunny, I've found Pom!

Oh...! Let me take a look. Phew, that's a relief... he's still alright. I'm so sorry to trouble you, Grani, I know you're so busy with work, and here I am making you search for a pet of all things.

Don't worry about it. If Pom really did vanish, you'd be torn to pieces! I wouldn't call that nothing!

But, I heard John next door saying you aren't getting along too well with the Guards, and they even got on your case a few days ago for something or other...

Hahaha... it was nothing.

But if you're going to raise a fowlbeast, Mrs. Sunny, I'd recommend keeping him in a cage... Things would get hairy if he bit anyone.

Oh, you've got a point.

Speaking of, Missus, have you seen any strangers about the Infected community lately?

Strangers? Plenty of the people here come from other cities—strangers aren't the strangest thing.

I mean the sort that... um... might have uncanny Originium Arts, that sort of Infected?

Well...

You know how the power went out in the neighborhood last month.

Oh! Yep, the case of some bad actor wrecking the community's generators, right? But we've never found the culprit...

I did hear the supply got restored in no time, though. Did someone fix all the generators up?

Right! I heard they got this incredible engineering Caster in, and in a few hours, they already had the generators repaired! Question is, when did the community ever have an engineer so great?

Right... something's definitely odd about that...

November 20th, 1097, 6:44 P.M.

Here's my work report for today. If you could give it a look over, guv'nor.

Hm. Two robberies, an inquiry report on rumors in Caladon... You must be pulling my leg.

What about the burglary at Count Bishmer's?! How long do you think it's been? Get on it!

Um—isn't that one only a day old...?

Is a day not enough?!

But...

I broke my back getting you as a temporary transfer. The Mounted Police were singing your praises as an investigator. And for what? A day's worth of time isn't enough for you? For one tiny case of property theft?!

(Under her breath) It was the City Council who borrowed me from the Mounted Police...

Enough! You don't know respect, you talk back to your senior! Is this how the Mounted Police behave?!

I'm sorry, guv'nor!

'Investigated entranceways of abandoned structures. Turned out to be as suspicious as thought, inquired with surrounding residents...' What the hell is this?! Weren't you told you could leave this be?

Caladon City gets strange business day in, day out, and wherever else the bloody day feels like! If every one of the Guards was as suspicious as you, we'd all be dead from the stress!

But, guv'nor, if we let this all lie, then there's a real chance...

Stop with the rubbish, get out and investigate!

Yes, guv'nor!