Chapter 7 - The Investigation Begins!

Drink this,” the young Dark Elf said. “And please make sure you finish it.”

Akaja lay face-first on a soft straw bed. Every bone in her body ached, and she felt like someone was inside her head, kicking the inside of her skull. The surge of power which suddenly overcame her in Talai’s hideout was gone, and what was left was the lovechild of a bad hangover, and being ran over - repeatedly - by a carriage.

Standing over her, holding a cup of tea, was a baby-faced Dark Elven man, short and willowy, wearing a simple blue robe, he was apparently in charge of the temple Yukiko and the other had taken her to. He didn’t exactly seem the wise religious type, but Elves were weird. Despite his youthful appearance he could easily be old enough to be her great-grandfather.

“Thanks Pendo,” Akaja said, taking the cup.

“It’s Tendo…”

“That’s what I said,” She slowly sat up, and took a careful sip of the Elf’s tea. She immediately spat it out. The damn thing was so bitter it made her entire body cringe.

“I forgot to tell you…” Tendo chuckled awkwardly. “The taste is… well… unpleasant. I do have some mango juice and coconut milk if you want something to chase it down with! What is your preference?”

“Do I have to drink this?” Akaja scoffed.

“It’s either this or be stuck in bed for a week,” Tendo retorted. “If it helps I ca-“

“No, it’s fine…” Akaja sighed. “Give me the mango juice.”

“I made it myself,” Tendo said with a smile.

The juice made the experience slightly more tolerable, but whatever Tendo’s concoction was it was surprisingly effective. She was left feeling drowsy, but her migraine had faded, as did the pain in her joints.

“Rest up, alright?” Tendo said. “Let the tea work its magic, and you’ll be as good as new come the morrow. I’ll bring some food up for you for when you get hungry. We’re serving curry today!”

Dangling from a wall by your wrists really made Akaja appreciate the simple luxuries of a bed, and despite the grueling week she had, she had no trouble relaxing. Even in her current state, Akaja still felt the rush of determination that wizard-boy’s magic orb had given her. Yu’s killer was still out there, and she would do all she could to bring them to justice.

Akaja was awoken by the sound of the door swinging open.

“Good morning!” Yukiko exclaimed. “We bring goodies!”

Following close behind was the wizard boy, carrying a bag of food, and a small pot.

“Breakfast and some freshly brewed coffee!” Yukiko continued. “I told dad what happened, and he made your favorite! Axebeak omelet on top of a bed of fried rice. Also a side of bacon! And I’m going to brew the coffee myself! I’ve been practicing, and Andros has been my guinea pig. Quick! Tell her about my last cup of coffee!”

“It tasted burnt,” Andros said bluntly.

“But it was also still drinkable,” Yukiko retorted. “And now this mug will be better than the last!”

“Divines…” Akaja grinned. “Thank you both! And thank Ryoma too!” Without hesitation, she began to chow down, scarfing the food down as if it were her last meal.

“Now that you seem to be doing better,” Andros said, taking a seat by the bed. “Let’s get straight to the point.” He set the orb down in front of her, which now gave off a faint silver glow, which shined brighter the closer it got to her. “Who hired you to steal it?”

Her mouth full of food, Akaja shrugged. “Don’t know. Anonymous client, yeah? Maybe Ryoma knows?”

“We’ve already asked him,” Andros said. “Apparently it came from someone wearing a koi pin. And they specifically requested you for the job.”

“A koi?” Akaja frowned in thought. “Someone from the syndicate did send Yu a bunch of rare koi for his last birthday. Even sent over a landscaper to carve out a pond for them.” She sighed wistfully. “He loved those fish. Gave each one a name, and would feed them by hand every morning…” she trailed off, staring silently at her now half-eaten plate of food.

“You believe that these two are related?” Andros asked.

“Maybe…” Akaja murmured. “If they were willing to pay me to steal it then they should’ve been looking for me at the Vagrant, right?”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“There wasn’t anyone besides me and dad that were trying to find you,” Yukiko said, carefully trying to brew her best cup of coffee. “Maybe it was Talai? Or whoever Talai is working for?”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Akaja grumbled. “Why hire me to steal something and then kidnap me? Unless they really didn’t want to pay my fee.”

“It is plausible though,” Andros interjected. “Talai was holding onto the orb personally. It wasn’t in her hideout’s stash… we’ll have to have a chat with her about it later.”

“Definitely,” Akaja said coldly. “Couldn’t you guys have just locked her up in the basement? And not in a room just down the hall from me?”

“Tendo would never agree to that,” Andros said. “Plus her hands are bound, and I’ve placed wards around her door. She won’t be escaping any time soon. I did think it was a waste of time for Tendo to take the time to heal her, but she might have some good information for us.”

Yukiko set two mugs of coffee on the night-stand near the bed. One for Akaja, the other for Andros. “Careful! It’s hot!” Yukiko said excitedly. “And don’t you worry about Talai, Kaja. I have Spring keeping an eye on her.”

“Thanks, Yuki…” Andros said, taking one of the mugs. He sniffed it carefully, then proceeded to drown the mug in milk and sugar.

“I thought you liked your coffee black?” Yukiko asked.

“Just trying something new,” Andros said. Even Akaja could tell that was a lie. Bless Yuki’s heart… also… he called her Yuki… Akaja gave Yukiko a knowing smirk.

“Anyways…”Akaja said, clearing her throat. “Are you worried that they’re going to try and send another sucker to steal your orb again?”

“That’s part of it,” Andros said, taking a sip from his mug. “Also, there are very few people besides me who are interested in it, and they’re all a continent away. Speaking of… the artifact you stole is an integral part of my research. Something I’ve been working on for nearly half a decade. I won’t have it stolen from under me.”

“What kind of research?” Akaja asked. “And don’t worry… I have no plans on stealing from you again.”

“It’s complicated…” Andros murmured. “But… essentially I am researching another world. Think of it as a place where thoughts and emotion come to life. Ever since the death of the Old Gods five thousand years ago this world has been separated from our own, but I have reason to believe its coming back. The orb you stole is connected to this world… sort of.”

“Have you ever been to this world?” Akaja asked.

“Well, no…” Andros said. “That would be very difficult - almost impossible. In a world governed by emotion and thought, where the slightest hint of anger, sadness, or belief could irreversibly change the land around you… truth be told I don’t really know what would happen if we physically crossed over, but it wouldn’t be good. Even emotions here in the physical realm have a tremendous effect over there. For example, let’s say everyone in the city believed that there was a giant dog with magical powers, who gave boons to mortals. The sheer power of belief from every mind in the city would manifest that very creature in the other world. And since the shroud that hid this world away from us is weakening, that giant dog might eventually start exerting its influence in our world. I theorize that this is how the Old Gods came to be all those years ago.

“Uh-huh…” Akaja nodded her head, pretending that she understood everything he said.

“He’s so smart, isn’t he?” Yukiko said, fluttering her eyelashes at him. However, Andros didn’t seem to notice.

“Speaking of which!” Andros pulled out a pen and parchment. “This orb… it reacts to your presence somehow, and it supposedly gave you new powers. How did this happen?”

“That’s… well…” Akaja shrugged. “I just sort of kept being defiant. Talai would try and make me write a false confession, and I would refuse. Eventually it just sort of… started moving towards me, and it created this weird projection of me.”

“Fascinating,” Andros said, quickly jotting down his notes. “So, it must respond to strong emotion or distress! Fascinating! This gives me new ideas for experimentation…”

Yukiko put a hand on his shoulder. “Maybe save it for later?”

“So…” Akaja cleared her throat. “From everything you’ve told me it seems like the same bastard who killed my Yu is also after your research.”

“Perhaps,” Andros said. “But we lack solid evidence.”

“Then let’s find some!” Akaja grinned. “From what it sounds like this other world you’re researching gives people special powers! And if this absolute shit-bag is trying to get something like that… well, shouldn’t we stop him? Imagine what he’d do to the city?”

“Ooooooh!” Yukiko wrapped her arms around both Akaja and Andros. “Sounds like an adventure! Uncovering the the true culprit behind a murder! Unraveling a conspiracy! Partaking on a grand quest for truth and justice! We’re like a real adventuring party now! Oh, I should register us with the guild! What should our group’s name be?”

Akaja giggled. “Enthusiastic as always! Though, I think you’re getting a little ahead of yourself.”

“Do whatever you like, Yuki…” Andros said. “But what exactly would registering us as a new adventuring group do? Wouldn’t it be better if-“

Akaja nudged Andros forcefully. “Let her have this! She’s talked about being an adventurer since we were kids.”

“Adventurers… INVESTIGATORS!” Yukiko exclaimed. “What’s our first step? Oh, I need to get us a bag of holding! Oh, and we should get Kuana in on this! Where is he again?”

“Selling off the loot from Talai’s place,” Andros said. “And well… there’s the encoded documents we found in the hideout, and we need to interrogate Talai.”

“I’ll handle that,” Akaja said. “Just let me get a hammer!”

“I doubt Tendo would approve of that sort of interrogation,” Andros interjected. “I suppose I can handle decoding Talai’s documents, and you and Yuki can speak with Talai.”

“Oooh, how exciting!” said Yukiko with a grin. “What are we going to do? Good guard bad guard? Bad guard bad guard? Good guard good guard?”

“Bad guard, bad guard” Akaja said. “Definitely bad guard, bad guard.”

Andros sighed. “I’ll start looking at the documents once I finish up some errands. Tendo requested that we not disturb Talai today, so ask him tomorrow.”

“That gives me enough time to register our group!” Yukiko added. “Are you feeling better, Kaja? Let’s register together!”

Smiling Akaja pushed herself out of bed. “Let’s go then.”