Like an owl in a storm, casually sitting at its own comfort until things calmed down, Sidric casually flipped through the latest volume of News Flash Detective, a continuation of Claudius Angus's detective fantasy when he heard a loud whoosh along with a bird's shriek resound from the office upstairs.
Although heavily curious, Sidric sat quietly and continued reading as he had to maintain his secret investigation confidential, Sidric was a pretentious owl.
Sephro, who was reading the pile of reports he had received upstairs, stood up straight and approached the mail beside his open window with anticipation.
Inserting his hand inside like a boy into his father's shop register for money, he dug and found the warm and dry envelope and brought it to his desk.
He saw The Erfinder's faceless eagle crest sealing the envelope, then ripped it open.
Pulling out the neatly folded paper, Sephro inserted his index finger in between the fold and flicked the letter open. The letter read: "Good evening, Sir Blazeheart. We have gathered information regarding the incident relating to the Relené couple."
Sephro heaved a sigh of relief, not because of the lack of consequences to face but the information would surely serve as a lead in the investigation.
He softly shook his head then continued reading the letter. "First. The murder of the couples was not caused by a demon, echo nor a spirit."
I figured as much… Sephro, who had seen many such cases, was easily able to discern that. "Second. The entity is akin to a hybrid, one born of a Usurper and a Shifter."
The letter ended there, following with Sir Abraham's full name: Leonard O' Abraham and a stamp of a faceless eagle in a green color, confirming its authenticity.
Without folding, he set the letter on the table and opened one of his drawers where he kept blank paper and pulled one out, setting it beside the Erfinder letter.
He dipped his quill in the ink three consecutive times before he began writing to the head of the police known as Edward Hill.
•••
In an unfamiliar place underground of Sterling District, Mason White, a lieutenant officer with a chiseled clean face in the Wainwright Police department slicked his brown hair back before returning his round hat where it was supposed to be. He could not wear the casual police uniform in order to be discreet. Instead he was forced to wear casual middle class clothing consisting of black trousers, white shirt and a long coat along with a mask of a fox.
He hurdled through the crowd of sweaty people awaiting the line, cursing Edward Hill under his breath every whiff of the sweat he had to endure before getting to the bouncer.
Mason finally got where he needed and showed the bouncer the card Edward gave him, a black metal card with golden stripes that waved like smoke in the air which the bouncer accepted with a shock on his face.
"G-Good Sir! What made you come through here of all places? Aren't you aware of the VIP doorway?" Mason was alarmed upon hearing that but having been a police officer for a while, he quickly regained his composure and responded. "Oh, I wouldn't forget of course. It's just that even the highest noble has to step in mud at least once and I decided to do it by choice before it is forced upon me!"
A silence fell between the two, Mason nervously broke the silence as he continued, "You know, experience right?"
The bouncer, a tall bald man with a round head and several scars on his face furrowed his almost nonexistent brows and scrutinized Mason for a few seconds before finally opening the gate and letting him in.
Loud crowd noise raged once the door opened, growing louder every step the brown haired officer took in disguise.
The bouncer notified another worker to escort him, one with feminine curves that wore a stitched bunny mask who wore the attire of a butler.
He was given a set of two crystal balls, one blue and the other red designed like a pair of cherries. Then he was sat down far up and away from the ring among the other VIPs, several of them dressed far better than Mason edged away, he was left alone sticking out like a black sheep among the others.
Mason White had no idea what to do with the balls so he placed them inside his breast pocket.
"Where is he?" He looked around, hoping to find the man he was looking for, remembering the words of his superior. "You will know who he is, just trust your intuition, I trust you with this. Mr. White."
The least you could've done was give me his description or even his name, you darned fool… Any amount of cursing would not have sufficed to calm Mason White down, he was cut from a precious dinner with his fiancé for this mission and it requiring brain power made it even worse.
Just as he reminisced about the time he could've spent watching the woman he loved smile, a voice whispered from his right. "Evening, mister." He turned his head and saw a woman, curly blonde hair let loose from each side and the rest tied up like a bouquet. She wore a bat's mask, her hands gloved and her lips red like blood.
"H-Hello!" Mason stuttered and the mysterious woman chuckled, feeling like a mature woman witnessing a boy.
She fluttered her fingers and sat down when he moved aside. Out of respect, Mason slid a bit farther than her, not for himself or the woman but his fiancé.
The mysterious woman crossed her legs, covered in her long black gothic dress and planted her hands on her knee, one over the other.
She did not turn her gaze as she introduced herself, "To introduce myself, I am Lenore. Your handsome face earned you my first name," She turned her head, "You can earn the rest when this is over."
Looking with the corner of his eyes, Mason shook his head and showed the ring on his finger. Lenore turned her gaze back onto the commencing ring as she commented, "Lucky Lady."
"LADIESSS AND GENTLEMAN!!!" A voice rang, drawing the attention of every single attending person, halting their noise altogether.
The gate of the arena gradually lifted, Mason could only hear the voice as the gate was below his area of sitting.
Then a muscular man walked in, the light reflecting off the oil rubbed on his skin, he was around 6 foot tall, bald with the back of his head resembling a resting dough.
He was built like a beast, the shackled collar the only thing preventing him from unleashing chaos on the crowd.
"THE FIRST CONTESTANT OF THIS ROUND, THE GOBLET OF FURY. SPONSORED BY NONE OTHER THAN THE QUEEN OF BLOOD HERSELF, LENORE! A ROUND OF APPLAUSE TO HER!!!"
Lenore, who sat beside Mason smirked and raised her cup to the crowd, attempting to allow Mason to see what he missed.
The Goblet Of Fury? Is that supposed to be a name? Mason lampooned, holding in the burst of laughter that could break out any minute.
He noticed odd things happening to Fury, his head constantly twitched, he constantly rubbed his right elbow and his feet struggled to stay in place.
"THE NEXT CONTESTANT… A MAN WHO VOLUNTEERED LAST SECOND, SPONSORED BY NONE BUT HIMSELF…" The gate in front of the gigantic man slowly rolled up, a dark room shown from the distance.
One step at a time, he unveiled his form, first his tagged unstylish trousers, then his casual white shirt and finally his hooded coat that covered his face. "LET'S HEAR IT FOR JIMMY…. GOLDENFOOT!!!"
Am I inside a coliseum or a circus? What kind of names are they giving to people… Mason sighed and cursed his superior one more time, clasping his hands together as he watched.
Jimmy lifted his hood, revealing his long wavy black hair, his rough beard and eyes that had not known sleep for who knows how long.
The crowd laughed all at once, such a name was unheard of in the entirety of the Wainwright Settlement, something beyond normal but Jimmy wasn't fond of normal, normal was something that only shackled his true self to him.
Surrounded by laughs and boos, Jimmy looked into Fury's eye and said, "I won't live long so let's get this over with."
The rest of the crowd couldn't hear from the cheers but Mason with his keen eye observed the movements of his lips and understood.
"THE ROUND BEGINS IN 5 SECONDS SO POP YOUR CRYSTAL TO PLACE YOUR BET! BREAK THE BLUE CRYSTAL FOR JIMMY AND RED FOR FURY!" Mason took out the set of tiny crystal balls and glanced over it, rubbing his thumb on the red one.
"Who are you betting on?" asked Lenore, using her lorgnette to thoroughly observe the contestants, she didn't bother sparing Mason a glance.
Mason rubbed the crystal a few more times then placed it back into his pocket, "I'm not a gambler, my lady. Good luck on yours, though."
"Hmph!" Lenore confidently broke the blue crystal, "No filthy man is beating someone of my choosing."
A minute passed, it seemed everyone had placed their votes in and were impatiently waiting for the match to commence.
Jimmy pulled the chain binding his neck twice but got no reaction, "You can let us go now."
The announcer finally spoke again, "THE BETS HAVE BEEN PLACED… WE WILL BEGIN IN THREE…"
The audience counted down along with the announcer, each number raising the anticipation of the fight and when the count finally passed one, the fighters were unshackled.
Before the chains even dropped on the ground, Fury with his unbelievable speed rushed towards Jimmy with flames of anger matching his name burning in his eyes. Was it his nature to act this way or the provocation? Only he knew.
With his massive arms, ones that sized the triple of Jimmy's, Fury swung aimlessly, rampaging so he could even perhaps kill the man before him.
But like fuel to a fire, not a single hit struck as he swiftly danced through the attacks, dodging one after the other.
He's not serious… yet he is capable of dodging so effortlessly. Was his attire purposely put on for deception? No… I doubt someone like that would care much for appearance let alone base it to deceive. As a trained police officer, Mason couldn't believe that a man one would presume homeless at first sight could be so agile.
As he thought for himself for a moment, he saw the muscular man known as Fury exhausted when his gaze returned, looking as though his flames were about to be extinguished any minute.
Jimmy spun around, unable to stand properly for an instance as the dancing dizzied his mind. He struggled back on his feet then immediately stood straight, looking straight at the panting Fury, no emotions present in either eyes.
"My turn." Jimmy ran onto Fury, kicked him on both of his calves then purposely used the man's right elbow as a foothold to propel himself up to the back of his neck. His feet hung before Fury's chest, continuing his streak of attacks by performing three consecutive chops on each side of his nape.
The world spun for Fury, his ears rang and vision gradually grew blank, eventually falling on his back, Jimmy along with him.
But unlike Fury, Jimmy retained his consciousness although the pain remained as well.
The audience grew quiet all of a sudden, as though everyone had lost their life savings over a match less believable than Santa making an appearance.
"Well… THE WINNER IS… Jimmy… Goldenfoot…"
That has to be him… I doubt anyone would've noticed Fury acting strangely, let alone the exact points of his body. Mason rubbed his chin, ready to be off his seat any minute but he held himself back momentarily.
Jimmy removed himself off of Fury and stood up as he dusted himself, everyone remained quiet and watched. "And kids… that is why you don't gamble."
Crack! Mason heard the crystal break from his right, Lenore's anger was obvious even through her. Her pale hand clenched into a fist, blood dripping from within.
She slammed her head on the armrest and stormed off, a bunch of men from the audience following her—likely her bodyguards.
I hope to never cross her again… Mason White sighed, returning his observing look upon the stadium. Six men coming through, four holding a stretcher and the other two in black suits, their size slightly smaller than Fury.
"I bet on myself by the way, I'd like my money upfront!" Suddenly, cracks echoed in the entire arena, everyone following Lenore in her action of destroying the crystals. Usually, that would've gotten them banned from the coliseum but the volume of individuals was too high to act that way.
Jimmy sighed, offering both of his hands to the bouncers. "Can't be honest with human pigs… even piggy banks get full eventually, you don't!"
Jeers from the crowd as the two bouncers carried Jimmy to the arena. Mason hurriedly left the coliseum, hurdling through the angry crowd that threw all kinds of garbage in the empty stage, most of them leaving.
Never did Mason understand the cause of their anger, their loss was never out of sight, even betting on an elephant fighting against an ant, the amount should be 50-50 in hindsight, which is why gambling was never an ethical way of making money, only a loser's way to become a bigger loser in the deeply philosophical police man's eyes.
Finally, out of the underground coliseum, Mason found Jimmy Goldenfoot sitting together with a homeless man in tattered clothes, barely worse than what Goldenfoot wore.
A deck of cards laid in his grasp, a bronze box wrapped like a gift. He pulled the wrap and opened the box then deliberately threw out the set of jesters that came along with it.
The homeless man rubbed his hands together, making Mason wonder if it was because of the cold or excitement of victory—he could only wonder.
Mason looked around for any suspicious observers and when he was sure they were safe enough. Out of courtesy, he took off his hat and mask, revealing his true face.
"Good day, Mr. Goldenfoot." He nodded, his hat placed on his chest. Interrupting the card game before it even began.
Jimmy squinted his eyes, examining the stranger before him. Mason felt it odd but allowed it, believing in his own intuition that this was the man he was sent to look for.
"Tall. Combed hair. Straight posture and a hard glare, you're a policeman, maybe not as bad as the others. Call me Golden." Mason's brows gapped, a clear look of shock in his eyes.
Mason fixed his expression, put his hat back in its place and said, "Whatever that means. But very well, Golden it is."
Golden suddenly stood up, leaving the deck of cards with the homeless man, knowing he'd sell it. "If I hear you bought cigarettes or booze from this, I'll personally throw you in the icy water of Nekhlmoun."
The homeless man shivered, making Mason wonder again if it was the cold or this time, fear.
"Walk with me." Golden was almost already out of the alley, and Mason ran to catch up.
Both of Golden's hands covered themselves from the cold under his pockets, he walked indifferently. "Assuming you aren't here just for a quick chat… what's your angle."
"A murder case." Mason firmly stated then continued, "The aristocratic couple, Julie and Hans Relené were found dead at the haven of their own home."
"Aristocrats…" Golden pulled a broken tooth from his pocket, rubbed his thumb against it and placed it back once Mason's gaze was reaching it. "Can't say I care much about aristocrats but that's very tragic. How far have you gotten in the case though?"
Mason shook off any suspicious feelings he had and focused on the road ahead, slightly distracted from time to time by people passing by them.
"There are suspects. One's an unregistered lass who appeared out of nowhere and the other well… he's an interesting case. He's being protected by Lord Sephroteus."
Golden looked at Mason with the corner of his eyes, a smirk forming on his lips. "I think I like where this is going."
Confused at first, Mason scoffed then said, "It's the notorious vagabond hunter, Walker Soliraine."
"Now we're talking. Get him on the investigation scene, it's more fun with him around." Golden grabbed his hair in a handful, tying it with the other.
Out of curiosity, now looking at Golden, Mason asked, "Why would you throw the jester cards out?"
Golden chuckled, a dry and unmotivated chuckle. "You're a glassboy aren't you."
"Glassboy?" Mason raised an eyebrow. Golden's eyes fixed forward, not sparing the look to see his expression.
"It means you're transparent, untainted by the oddities of the world." Golden's eyes finally met Mason's as he finally answered the question, "We throw it out because we don't have a use for it. A very human act indeed."
Mason sighed and didn't bother thinking about the answer. "Let's get to the police station then. We'll get you an escort to get you to the scene."
"How ignorant. You think I'm unaware of the Relené Mansion's location?" Golden shrugged then continued, "What district was it in again?"
Mason chuckled, "We'll get you there, don't worry."