777 had seen 669 in a deep sleep akin to a coma at a table, then the strange girl asleep on the lounge.

“What’s this?” He asked Reddy when he assumed his seat at his favorite table near the window and close to the bar.

Reddy served his dinner of lamb cutlets, baked vegetables and mash. “The girl was in trouble. 669 healed her from Corpse Puppet Magic.”

“This girl was victim of that foul magic?”

Reddy nodded.

777 rubbed his chin with a frown. Even if Corpse Puppet was a demonic magic, it was still evil as fuck. So much so, the Grand Demon Overlord banned the practice and had shunned necromancy from the order’s skill list with agreement from the Majestic Peace order.

Necromancy like thievery was seen as a disruption to the world balance, so could be punished severely with no consequence on the Majestic Peace. It seems their company was being caught up with criminal business.

“First the broke window that leads to a lord’s murder, involvement with the Royal Guard and now this little girl being a victim to necromancy. Is this all just unlucky coincidence?”

“Maybe.” 777 said as she eased onto a seat at the other other end of the table. Her eyes lit up at the sight of the steaming meal Reddy served before her.

“How did your meeting go with that lord prat?”

“The man’s a creep. Glad his interest is in men. What 669 sees in him is beyond me. Still, he seems to be innocent.” She paused to swallow a mouthful of mash she had shoved in mouth then carried on. “Or plays the innocent card well. He’s asked us to solve his brother’s murder case and will pay us ten-K credits at the end.”

“Oh?” 777 rubbed his chin and leaned back in his chair as his mind perked up with thoughts of credits flowing into their safe. “Well, let’s play by his expectations for now.”

Eventually, 669 stirred awake while everyone else was polishing off their apple pie dessert.

“My head.” He shook his head clear and stared at his hand, which was showing a bit of color but still clammy. He staggered out of his chair and stepped through the far-end door to enter into the glass room reception area. Where some of the window panes were still stained-glass images from their wholesome chapel days. Shiyan was keen to ensure they remained, even if they were Holy Order deities, albeit crazy looking ones where wings were throwing projectile weapons at the masses. It was a reminder of the land rights the Demon Domination had taken over.

The reception area was more like a mediation and magic bubble where a slight stage was propped up at the floor’s hexagon center for various magic purposes. Many cushions and low chairs ringed the area.

He eased onto one of the low chairs and began to meditate, focusing on the Corpse Puppet poison still lingering in his system. His mind navigated through his meridian channels and the blockages: arms flowed in a motion to loosen and move the unwanted energy through areas where he could disperse it.

After some time, he was able to both push out the energy and cleanse his system. The Corpse Puppet Magic hovered before his eyes like a ball of purple light.

“Mine!” 789 boldly declared as she tossed a glass orb at the energy to bag it. The orb parted to enclose the purple light and snapped closed to capture it.

“Knock yourself out.” 669 yawned and froze with a horrid thought. “Actually, please don’t. I like my room.”

She responded with a chuckle that didn’t reassure him.

Their attention was diverted to 777’s call back to the barroom. Everyone of the Cannon Fodders 4Hire team regrouped around the bar. 669 noticed the girl was no longer on the sofa.

“I carried her to a guest room.” Reddy said and chuckled when 669 grumbled that he didn’t ask.

“Right, snacks, eat.” Fat Monk said as he dumped trays of after-dinner appetizers down on the bar counter.

“What have you learned of this case so far?” Shiyan said in his rabbit form. He hopped up on the counter and began nibbling on a plate of sugar carrot pieces that was placed before him.

“Boss.” 669 acknowledged the rabbit, like everyone else. “Seems Marcus had an argument with a worker on the night of his murder.”

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“And?”

789 got the gist of the recap that their boss was after. She broke down their experiences and facts to the bare basics to date.

It had only been a couple of weeks since Marcus Poirot’s body was found dead by a young servant girl as she was walking the garden path directly beneath the hall window where his bedroom was.

“It looked like he was drunk, but the broke glass suggested he had an accident out the window.”

“But the Royal Guards had other thoughts about it, right?” Shiyan asked.

She nodded and continued to discuss the silver lotus disc they had found in a bush near Marcus’s body.

“The disc carried a poison that caused unstable virya energy. It could’ve been the reason for the window to be breakable.” 669 mused.

“And what magic was this poison?” Shiyan sat back in thought. “A magic to weaken the Poirot’s protection array, would be something powerful. And contained in a silver disc…”

He muttered more to himself as he chewed on a thought, like he was trying to unravel a tangled piece of string in his mind. After a while, waved it off and had them continue the recap.

“Well, this disc had parasitic magic to attack a spirit core, so it was highly likely the cause for the window and array’s weakened state. That much is known.”

Shiyan swallowed the rest of his sugar carrots before asking more questions.

“How did your task with Detective Morse and Constable Emelia go at the Greendale Border?”

777 explained that they had gone to visit the mansion of another murder that happened the same way as Marcus.

“So, we’re dealing with a serial killer.” Shiyan mused.

“Possibly. There was the same type of poisonous magic at the scene, albeit faint.”

“Then you get attacked by arrows carrying the same poison properties.”

“But way attack us then run?” 669 blurted. “That’s one thing that bothered me. It’s like those arrows were left for us for some reason.”

“Left for us? They tried to pierce our brains.” 789 scoffed.

“No. I think 669 has a point. But, they could also have been a bad shooter.” Shiyan said and prompted someone to continue on.

669 mentioned he had a feeling someone had been following and skillfully concealing their identity to remain in stealth.

“Stealth? They’re a scout unit?” Shiyan gasped.

“Possibly. It felt like we were being watched in shadows. So, does sound like them.”

“I need to confirm this further. Talk to me later about it.”

669 nodded and continued with the recap where he and 789 had met with Bosgar and discovered a clue to the person who had argued with Marcus on the night of his death.

“Maud called her Fairy Blossom. He had her punished for crossing him. It seems she might be the one trailing us. Although…”

“Highly unlikely, unless she’s been hiding her strength and living against her Majestic Will.”

“What about this other death?” Shiyan asked.

669 briefed him on Aston Sommerville who was another regular at Peony Soap House with preferences for rough sex. It seems he may have caused unexpected troubles and caught the attention of the wrong person, which led to his death.

“So we have two deaths dealt in the same way, with what seems like the same weapon of virya poisoning. They both frequented the Peony Soap House on the nights of their deaths.” Shiyan summed up.

It was obvious to everyone that the connection was the Soap House. So far the likely suspects were Maud Risk. Bosgar Poirot and one Fairy Blossom.

“Has anyone managed to track down this Fairy Blossom yet?”

“Not yet, Boss.” 789 confirmed.

“Well, do that and find out if she has an alibi or not. Work with the Detective and Constable on this. She might very well be your strongest lead to a case closure.”

“Sir!” Everyone said in unison as they snapped to attention to confirm their order.

Shiyan hopped off the counter and made his way to the door. “Keep me posted. Upper Management wants to see this case closed by the Demon Lord’s Solstice Festival. You have three months to close case with the Royal Guard.”

“Three months?! He’s gotta be kidding me!” 669 tugged at his hair with exasperation and dropped his head on the counter with a groan.

“Whelps. You heard our boss. Three months. Don’t forget the ten-k credits on offer. Let’s do this right, okay?” 777 slapped 669’s back who was still reeling at the impossible task before them.

“Can I suggest we prepare to go into hiding after we fail this assignment?”

“Who’s failing?! Definitely not me, moron. People are dead and more will die if we don’t catch this killer. So straighten up, and get it together.” 789 snapped at the pretty-boy who was still face-down on the counter, groaning.

“Fine. But don’t drag me into any deadly fights and the likes. I want to live to see another handsome man’s bed and play around in it with him.”

“Grose.” She screwed up her face at the thought.

“We have our tasks. Let’s get to it.” 777 closed their makeshift meeting where everyone dispersed for the night.